Depth of Deception (A Titanic Murder Mystery) (11 page)

"
Really?
"
asked Natalie with a sigh of relief.
"
I wasn’t aware of that.
"

"
From NYU. Interned with Dr. David Wechsler at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. I originally wanted to help people after I returned from the war.
"

"
Which war?
"
she asked.

"
World War II,
"
Edward said
,
trying to repress his memories.

"
Had your own personal demons there?
"
asked Natalie. Then she caught herself.
"
I’m sorry I didn’t mean to ask such a personal question. Occupational hazard, I guess.
"

"
I understand. No offense taken. Let’s just say I carry more than my fair share of survivor guilt from the first half of this century,
"
Edward said with a smile. But he noticed Natalie’s eyes flit over to the photo of her sister when he said ‘survivor guilt’. He then added,
"
I guess we all have our own demons to battle.
"

Natalie looked over at him with a look of surprise.

"
Forgive me. I didn’t mean to pry,
"
said Edward as he tried to think of a way of changing subjects. He spotted the rumpled copy of
Futility
that he saw on the news on the corner of Natalie’s desk.

"
It’s okay,
"
replied Natalie.
"
Most of the psychoanalysts that I know have their own issues to deal with.
"

"
May I?
"
asked Edward, gesturing to the book.

"
Go ahead,
"
replied Dr. Lindsay.

Edward opened it up to see if there was a personalized inscription or name on the inside cover. The spine of the book crinkled and moaned as it was cracked open. He was surprised to see a child’s drawing in pencil.
Waves? A boat?
He had an odd sensation of déjà vu. His fingers traced the waves for a moment.

"
I tried reading it while I was waiting for you,
"
Natalie said, bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
"
It’s not a very long book.
"

"
What did you think of it?
"

"
It was okay, I stopped reading. It was getting too… anti-Semitic for my taste. The character of Meyer was so stereotypical— I have real issues with racial prejudice.
"

"
Well, it was written in a different century,
"
replied Edward as he flipped through the water-damaged pages,
"
Back in the late 1800’s the Jews were being driven out
of
Russia with the
pogroms.
There was a huge immigration to Europe. They were a different culture, religion and appearance. Mankind has a habit of fearing and hating differences rather than embracing them.
"

Edward paused, he could see it was striking a chord with the good doctor. He decided to share a part of himself.
"
Near the end of the war, I witnessed first-hand the horror that mankind is capable of infl
icting on another human being, w
hen our company liberated one of the concentration camps in Poland. At the age of thirty-five, my own hair turned white when I saw what the Nazis had done to the Jews…
"

Edward fell quiet. It was a tenacious image he had tried so hard to forget.

"
I can’t even begin to imagine,
"
Natalie said after an awkward pause.
"
I’ve witnessed racial prejudice when I was a teenager. Not to the extent of near-genocide but… still brutal and unjust…
"

Edward could see she wanted to continue but no words came out of her open mouth. Edward estimated the young doctor to be in her thirties. So when she was in her teens, it would have been during the late 1960’s – when America was in turmoil over the civil rights movement. Another dark chapter in mankind’s history. The racial prejudice she’d experienced must have been quite personal. He chose not to open up any further wounds.

"
What did you think about the fact that this novel was written fourteen years before the
Titanic
sank?
"
asked Edward, pointing to the illustration of the sinking ship next to an iceberg on the cover.

"
I thought it was interesting,
"
replied Natalie, obviously relieved to be moving back to the case at hand.

"
Just
interesting?
"
prodded Edward, closing the book.

"
It’s merely synchronicity,
"
replied Natalie.

"
Synchronicity?
"

"
It’s when a connection of two or more psychological or psychic phenomena occur without causation,
"
explained Natalie.

"
Yes, I’m familiar with Dr. Carl Jung’s theory,
"
interrupted Edward.
"
But do you believe it’s simply a matter of experiencing two or more seemingly unlikely, unrelated events connecting together by chance?
"

"
Do you believe that cause and effect are held together by a higher power?
"
countered Natalie.

"
Not every connection needs to have an explanation in terms of causation,
"
replied Edward since neither of them were giving a straight answer. Turning his attention back to the book, he saw that aside from the water damage on the cover, the inside pages did not seem to have yellowed with age as did the copies he had under glass.
"
This would have been in remarkable condition before getting wet.
"

"
I also thought it was very new-looking,
"
added Natalie.
"
From what I read, the
Titanic
boarding pass she had in her possession was also in excellent condition.
"

"
Where is that boarding pass now?
"

"
Still being authenticated as far as I know,
"
replied Natalie.
"
What confuses me about this case, is that I’m
sure
this patient
truly believes
that she was on the
Titanic
…but would she go to the trouble of forging a fake
Titanic
boarding pass? At what point does awareness of her own actions end? She’s either fully immersed in this fantasy, or she’s a very good actress.
"

"
I’ve dealt with good actresses before,
"
replied Edward.
"
I once had dealings with a woman who claimed to be the only child that perished from First Class… and heir to a fortune, I might add.
"

"
I take it she was a fake?
"

"
Completely,
"
replied Edward shaking his head.
"
It was a terrible ordeal for the family as well to open up old wounds, but I was able to find the flaws in her ‘story’. I expect to do the same with your patient.
"

"
I read that you were two when the
Titanic
sank,
"
began Natalie.
"
If you don’t mind me asking, do you have cognitive memories from then?
"

Edward paused before he replied,
"
There are some moments that are very clear from that night, but in all honesty, I’ve spoken to so many survivors over the years that there are times I’m not certain which
are
my memories, and which
are
theirs.
"

"
I appreciate your honesty.
"

"
Fear not, good doctor,
"
Edward smiled.
"
I have enough knowledge and experience with real survivors that I can expose the truth. Once we prove she was not on the
Titanic
, you can proceed with her treatment.
"

"
That was what I was hoping for,
"
replied Natalie.

"
Do you mind if I take this with me?
"
Edward asked holding up the book.
"
I’d like to have it examined.
"

"
Go right ahead.
"

Edward placed
it
carefully in his briefcase. He then looked back at Natalie and said,
"
I’ll assume that sitting in on a hypnotic session is out of the question.
"

Natalie grimaced,
"
I don’t think she’ll agree to it. It was hard enough to get her comfortable…
"

Edward raised his hand as he nodded,
"
I understand, I expected as much. Besides, recalling a memory is never reliable. However, there are other senses that can tell us whether a memory is real or not. Can you answer me one question? What class did she say she was in?
"

"
Class?
"

"
First, second or third class passenger?’

"
Actually she didn’t say… wait…
"
Natalie opened her desk drawer and pulled out her notepad from the hypnoanalysis session. Her finger traced over the shorthand squiggles to the passage she was looking for and punched it with her fingertip. ‘Here it is… she mentioned a stateroom, a fireplace, an adjoining cabin and a tea cart.
"

"
Ah! First class!
"
For a moment Edward pictured the stateroom he and his family stayed in.

"
What do you suggest?
"
asked Natalie, interrupting his thoughts.

"
Dinner,
"
replied Edward as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a couple of books about the
Titanic
. He quickly flipped to a marked page and handed it to Dr. Lindsay.
"
This photo is of the dinner menu from April 14th,
Titanic
’s final meal.
"

Dr. Lindsay poured over the menu. Her brow folded into a frown. Then reading aloud,
"
Oysters a la Russe, Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Filet Mignon Lili, Páté d’foy grass…?
"

"
Páté de Foie Gras,
"
Edward said, correcting her French.

"
I don’t even know what that is…
"
Natalie replied as she looked back at the menu in the book. Then she glanced up and remarked,
"
I don’t think I can afford reading this menu let alone eating from it. It’s an eleven course meal!
"

"
Cost is not a factor,
"
Edward said without hesitation.
"
I will cover the expense. I know of a wonderful chef here in Manhattan who can prepare the whole meal.
"

"
I can’t authorize the patient leaving this clinic,
"
interrupted Natalie.

"
You won’t have to. It will all be catered. As long as there’s a room large enough to accommodate the three of us… and an eight-piece band.
"

"
Eight-piece….well, er… I’m really looking forward to this,
"
Natalie stammered as she handed the book back to Edward.
"
But don’t you think our patient might have also read this book?
"

Edward grinned,
"
That my dear Doctor, is what I’m counting on.
"

April 3, 1982

Chapter
XIV

The past whizzed by Callum’s eyes as the microfilm scanner whirled through the thick spool of film. On each frame that spun by the illuminated screen was a page from a newspaper circa 1909. When Callum found a newspaper article pertaining to Alice Cleaver, he would deposit a 25p coin into the slot and make a photocopy of that page. Hopefully he'd find a clue to lead him to the murderer of Agatha Gilcrest or to the missing diamond brooch.