Thrown Away/Twisted Roots

chapter? maybe 6

Chapter 6








Brian arrived at the Sierra Hospital outside Los Angeles. He'd flown in the day before, rented a car and drove the hour and a half and found a nice hotel not far from the hospital. He'd booked a room and relaxed on the balcony overlooking the valley. Dry desert and hot sun soon drove him back into his room where he spread his notes out on the desk and prepared for the meeting with the esteemed Dr. Peter Talbot.


He pulled the pictures of the man from the file. He knew Peter stood five foot nine with thinning grey blond hair. His tanned face had weathered well over his fifty-five years. By what the women around him said, he was good in bed, generous with the current woman of his interest, but never try to hang on to him. He would be vicious with his retaliation. He would have false reports made and as a doctor he could be cunning when he wanted the world to believe his story. On more than one occasion he'd had women and men put in the psychiatric ward of a hospital for evaluation and kept them there until they lost their job.


Dr. Peter Talbot ruled Sierra Hospital as if it were his own. He had the final say on who came in and who left. Brian knew he had to be very careful how he preceded with his bid to interview Sawyer Hamilton.


Brian had called Sawyer's parents and asked if he could have their permission to speak with Sawyer about his life. He told them he was a writer and wanted to observe Sawyer's prognosis with Dr. Talbot. If the good Dr. was helping him it would be a wonderful campaign for new patients who might benefit from his expertise. They agreed. They told him not to expect much. Sawyer didn't recognize them most of the times they visited. His rational wavered in an out of reality. He told Mr. & Mrs. Hamilton it may take a few visits to get a feel for Sawyer's situation and to call his Dr telling him to allow Brian to visit and interview him.


With their permission he called Peter Talbot with his request. It took a week before he got a response to his email and phone calls. The first one was an automatic no. A form email about the patient not being capable of communication and the ongoing work might be reversed. He would need the parents permission as they had guardianship of Sawyer.


Brian responded that he had the permission of Sawyer's parents and he had a plan he'd like to follow. This would give him a control subject. If Sawyer responded to the control questions compared to the copy of Sawyer's evaluation he'd been given my Sawyer's parents, then a favorable report would be made. When the article was published in one of the medical publications it would mean more patients for Dr Peter Talbot. After a short time, he was sent permission to come to the hospital and interview Mr. Hamilton.


Here Brian was, from hot and sunny Texas to hot and sunny California. He put all his notes and typed questions in the folder Renee gave him. He was ready to face an insane man. Who knew how Sawyer would react to the questions Brian would ask him?











The next morning Brian arrived at the hospital. The building must have been the set for a number of movies, because he'd seen this setting many times. A driveway mad a horseshoe in front of the four-story building. The first floor sat in the ground by a few feet to allow for a wide staircase that ended on a equally wide porch flanked with white columns. A colonial structure.


At the top of the stairs he turned to look back toward the front of the property. One could only drive up the horseshoe drive. There were no parking space on the narrow paved road. Public and guest parking flanked the right side of the building. Wrought iron fencing extended around the perimeter of property with gates that closed off both ends of driveway.


The green lawn stretched completely around the building extending to the woods to his left. A fence could be seen just inside the treeline. He turned and walked into the building and checked in at the desk and a woman came to escort him down the main hallway to a reception room to his left.


He sat while the woman at the desk didn't give him much notice after she returned from presumably announcing him to the doctor. Brian hoped the stereo-type psychiatrist in the movies wasn't atypical of the real doctors. After twenty minutes of cooling his heels, he knew the scriptwriters for the movies either had sat where he sat or the doctors watched the same movies and thought it was a good idea to treat their guests the same as they did in the movies.


Not to let the time be wasted he pulled his computer out of his bag and sat it on the coffee table in front of him. and began to answer emails. After he finished that duty he signaled the woman at the desk.


"Ma'am I'm sure Dr. Talbot is busy, but I called and made an appointment for, "he checked his watch,"Forty minutes ago. If this is going to be longer, will you call and have an aide bring me some coffee? My throat is parched." He smiled as he watched a surprised expression cross her face. He looked back at his computer as if he expected his request to be answered.


He had that itchy feeling he would get sometimes when he was being watched. He felt as if the good doctor might be watching him on a monitor in his office. When the woman didn't make the call he cleared his throat. She looked up with an irritated expression. He made the motion of drinking by lifting his hand to his lips. She stood and stomped down a private hallway. He hear a rap on a door and a low hum of conversation.


Yep, the good doctor was in his office exerting his control over the situation so Brian was sure to understand who he was and who was in control of the situation.


The woman returned to the lobby, "Dr. Talbot has returned to his office and can see you now."


Brian looked up and raised one eyebrow as he nodded and began to collect his things. He closed his computer and methodically put it in his messenger bad and then inserted the notebook and slid his pen into the space allotted to it. He stood and slid the long strap over his shoulder and check the area before turning. He knew the woman stood there in fit because he could hear the intake and exhale of her breath. Brian turned to face her and gave her his best dimpled smile. "thank you, where is his office?"


He whirled on a heel and strode down the hall not checking to see if he followed her. He stood right behind her when she stopped at a door , giving it a sharp rap before opening the door.


The man behind the desk sat a man that matched the professional picture in the brochure he'd been mailed. He approached the desk before Dr. Talbot could stand.