Psychiatrist Alex Gator

Dr. Alexander Gator’s head throbbed, from his eye sockets to the nape of his neck, with a searing pain that hadn’t gone away for the last two hours. He sat in his office, away from the insane traffic, for the time being.

His first patient had been Larry Hopkins, a neurotic fool obsessed about his psychosomatic illnesses. Today Larry thought he might have a brain tumor and told him he should get checked out too. Everything went downhill from there.

Alex focused his blurred vision on the clock. It’s only noon. He looked down at his closed schedule book. He started to open it, but closed it quickly. He picked it up off the desk and threw it against the far wall. Too many people have too many problems and he has to hear them all. Their words echo in his head during the day as they utter every detail of their dilemmas and at night in his dreams, awakening him with cold sweats.

Glenda came in staring down at her notebook and read from it. “Milton Crowe just called. . .”

“Do you have to speak so loouud?” he whined.

Glenda looked up and her stern countenance softened. “I’m sorry. I would tell you this later, but it is urgent that you get to New York City as soon as possible.”

“New York? Milton Crowe wants me to go to New York? I knew I should have never told an old friend my occupation. What does he need me to do? Did he say why he wanted me to come in from D.C.?”

“He said that you’re the best at breaking down people’s problems and profiling them into their disorders. He wants you to interview a woman for a case he’s prosecuting. He needs to show the judge that she’s insane.”

“I’ll only tell the truth. He should know that.”

“He said she’s accused of driving a man to commit suicide using telepathy.”

“She’s being charged with murder?”

“Frankly, he’s baffled by her case file. He’s been emailing me all morning while you were in with patients.”

“So, he wants me to talk to a woman who mentally drove another man to kill himself. She’ll know I’m there to judge her sanity. I do believe in telepathy, and if she can hurt someone without touching them, what makes him think she won’t hurt me.”

“I think he’s desperate to get some answers. She’s not cooperating with authorities who try to lock her away.”

“I’ll have to break her down then. What right does she think she has to guide another man’s mind into the breaking point anyway?”

“You feeling better or should I tell him you’ll have to wait a couple days to unwind?”

“No, book me on the next flight to New York City. I have an interesting case study to break. I’m pumped.”

“I’ll call your wife for you to tell her you won’t be home again.”

“Fine. I should only be gone for a couple days, tops. I can just buy anything if I need it. I don’t want to see Angela right now. I know she’s home, waiting to start in on me about whatever itched her nerve wrong today.”

Glenda left the office and let Alex alone with his daydream of echoes and building anticipation of diving deeper into an unknown storm in New York City.