Strange Diagnosis

I went in to speak with the psychiatrist, Dr. Silverstein. He looked very serious. "This is one of the most unusual cases I have ever seen. Tell me if I'm right about how your wife was before this episode. Could she be described as trusting, gullible, naïve, and submissive?"

"Definitely."

"I thought so. In my opinion, this Ron character must be a highly accomplished hypnotist and your wife is particularly easily hypnotized. He has convinced, absolutely convinced your wife that she has a condition for which inserting medication with his penis is her only hope. He has created a scenario that is absurd to a normal person that makes perfect sense to your wife. She needs a lot of Reality Therapy. Her weird perception of the world has been created and solidified by him. He has anticipated the arguments of people, like you, against what she is doing so that she is prepared to vehemently counter the arguments. No matter how ridiculous it might seem to the average person, it not only makes sense to her, but she strongly believes she is right."

"Can you say she is a danger so we can force her to go for treatment?"

"Being tricked into having sex probably won't qualify as a 'danger.' Especially, when she doesn't think she is being tricked."

"What do I do?"

"First of all, I have called the police. I am required by law to report crimes against my clients. What this man has done is basically rape. I'm sure they will be talking to you and your wife. I have implored them to talk to you first. Your wife will deny being forced to do something against her will. I have told them about the suspected hypnosis. That could be a sticky legal issue, that is, did she participate of free will or because of hypnosis."

"What can we do to help my wife get out from under his control?"

"She needs intensive, in-patient therapy at a mental health facility with a doctor experienced about undoing hypnotic suggestions. The problem is that she has not done anything that would allow her to me committed against her will. Somehow you have to convince her to go."

"Do you know a good place?"

"A couple and they are expensive. It's unknown how long she would need to be there."

"Any ideas how she could be convinced?"

"Maybe if everyone or almost everyone who means something to her has a confrontation meeting. You have to promise a consequence she cannot face if she doesn't go."

"I'll try with my daughter, her boss at work and her best friend, Jenna."

Before I could do anything more about Crystal, I got a call from the police. I was asked to come down and talk to them. Special Victims Detective Pearson told me that he was breaking protocol by not talking to the alleged victim first. His confidence in the psychiatrist convinced him to give me my story first. I told him all that I knew. He said he would request the District Attorney issue a warrant for Ron, but if I couldn't give him an address, we would have to wait until he came back to town. I told him that all I knew about his whereabouts was that he would contact my wife on Wednesdays and the last time they met at the Holiday Inn Express although she said they met at some of the other motels in that area.

He interviewed Crystal. He said the police had a complaint about a doctor practicing without a license. She willingly described the treatment regimen she was having and was perfectly satisfied with the qualifications of the person treating her. She said he was not treating her in an official doctor-patient relationship. Pearson thanked her and she left.

Detective Pearson called me soon after. He said he was glad I told him first as he would not have believed that it wasn't some prank being pulled on the police. The DA had agreed to issue a warrant and arrest Ron this coming Wednesday since we did not know where he was before then. I was to wait in an area where I could see anyone entering the five motels area and let them know which motel and which room. The police would take it from there. I was forbidden to participate further.

I was waiting at turnoff for the motels on Wednesday. I saw my wife drive up, park and go to a room at the Wyndham Inn and Suites. The door to 211 quickly opened after she knocked.

I called Detective Pearson who was waiting a couple of blocks away. I told him the motel and the room number. He reminded me to wait. I told him I remembered what he had told me. Technically, I didn't promise him I would wait. All I could think about was my wife was in the process of being raped.

I have no idea where I got the strength, but I broke down the door even with the dead bolt in place. Unfortunately, part of my left shoulder broke along with the door. I disregarded the pain and headed toward the naked man prepared to stick his large penis in my wife. He was scrambling to get something out of the night table when I attacked him. In my condition, it was not an effective attack at all. He was able to get a gun out of the table drawer and was just starting to aim it at me when three armor-plated police came in with their guns drawn. "Put the gun down now!"

Ron was quick. "Officers arrest that man. He attacked me and my girlfriend."

Before I could say anything, Crystal with her naked ass up in the air yelled, "All of you, get out of here so I can get my treatment!"

I was stunned. Then I became aware of the pain in my shoulder. I heard Detective Pearson say, "Let's get the husband to the hospital. Take the other two down to the precinct for questioning."

I was treated at the hospital and had a cast on my upper arm and shoulder. I went to the police headquarters as soon as I could. The interviews had already been completed by the time I got there. Detective Pearson confided in me. "We think he has been scamming women for almost two years from what we can tell. He only stays a couple of months in one area and moves on. He says he does not present himself as a doctor. He just gives a full massage that the women request. He denies the payments are for anything other than massages. It looks like your wife was one of three women he was 'massaging' in this town. We got lucky. Today was to be his last trip to this area. He says every woman was not only fully agreeable to having sex with him but also sought his services. He says your wife made up the story about the medical treatment in case she got caught cheating.

"We interviewed your wife. She maintained she was there of her own free will and that she was not raped. She contends she was receiving a medical treatment. She would not agree to prefer charges against Ron for anything. In fact, she said she planned to sue you and the police for interfering with her medical treatment. If it's not rape, we still have prostitution charges against him which means we would have to go for soliciting prostitution against your wife. It's questionable about charging him with pretending to be a doctor. This could be a real cluster fuck."

"Can I take my wife home now?"

"Yes. Good luck. You're going to need it."

Detective Pearson grossly underestimated the negativity of Crystal's state of mind. She screamed, yelled, and threatened even before she got into my car. I took her home in a taxi since I could not drive with my cast on. Luckily, she went straight to our bedroom and locked the door. I thought she was more likely to kill me than kill herself. To her, I would have to improve immensely to be anywhere close to being as nice as Satan.

I called the three people who I mentioned to the psychiatrist. All three agreed to cooperate. We scheduled an intervention with Crystal. She was upset when we all appeared in our living room. "Crystal, this is an intervention. We all believe that you have been unduly influenced by a con artist. He hypnotized you and made you believe he was treating you when he actually was raping you. You must go to a hospital for help. We know you don't believe this, but we are telling you that if you don't go, you're on your own. You will not have a husband, a daughter, a job or your best friend if you don't go."

"I can't believe you all would gang up on me like this. I feel like you all have betrayed me. How could you? All I was did was seek medical treatment." Crystal broke down and cried hysterically, but it seemed to be working. For the first time in this whole saga, she seemed to realize something was seriously wrong, and she needed help. Finally, she spoke.

"Will you be there to pick me up after I get out of the hospital or will you just leave me there?" All of us were falling over each other to promise our continued support. She agreed to go. We didn't wait for her to change her mind. We went that night and sighed a huge sigh of relief when she signed herself in. I was not allowed to contact her for six weeks. It was the longest six weeks of my life. Dr. Silverstein kept in touch with the staff at the hospital, but all he would tell me was that she was making good progress.

I had to go to work. The non-insurance covered expenses for her care were piling up faster than I could make the money to pay for them. Our savings account was wiped out. I took out a loan against my retirement funds. I got a second mortgage on the house. I prayed: make my wife well but make her well before we have to declare bankruptcy.

Having no wife at home, I had lots of free time. That was not a good thing. It allowed me to start thinking negative thoughts. I thought of Crystal with Ron in the hotel room. I heard her crying for me to leave her alone so Ron could fuck her. It was hard to believe she could be so easily convinced to cheat on me. It became easier to believe that maybe unconsciously she wanted to cheat on me. I began to think I might have to renege on my promise to be there for her when she got out. Before long I would have to think of self-preservation.

God threw me a lifeline. My daughter came home to live. She had decided to drop out of school at least for a while to come help me and her mother. Once she saw how the house had gone downhill, she said, "Lord, what have I gotten myself into." It took her three straight days to get the house clean and in order. We celebrated with dinner, drinks and dancing. Well, I watched while she danced.

Finally, the news came that the hospital wanted us to come for a discharge meeting. There would be two meetings, one for just us and one for us and Crystal. Bailey, Dr. Silverstein, and I met with two of the staff who had worked with Crystal. We waited anxiously.

"It took a lot of time and intense therapy to break down the story that Ron fellow had planted in her brain. She now knows what really happened."

"Thank God." I exclaimed.

"Don't be so excited yet. Now she knows what happened, she has tremendous guilt. She is very fragile emotionally. She has trouble believing you and your daughter especially would want to take her back. Crystal has talked about going away on her own to spare you further pain from seeing her and reminding you of her infidelity. She needs to stay on her medications, continue to see Dr. Silverstein, and be accepted by her family. If that sounds easy, don't be fooled. It will be difficult for all of you, but more so for Crystal."

Bailey and I cried. We pledged to do our best. Once we got under control, they brought Crystal in. Tears poured out all around. She was reluctant to hug us, and it was hard for us to hug her freely. It was like we were afraid she would break physically because she was so fragile emotionally. Then she asked if we were going to take her home or drop her off somewhere. I hoped my tears answered her. My mouth could not.

Her discharge briefing went well. The staff got Crystal to tell us that she now knows that she was tricked into sex with Ron. It was hard for her not to dwell on the guilt and how sorry she was for us. Eventually, she was able to outline what she needed to do from now on: take the medicine and continue to see Dr. Silverstein. We took her home.

For several days, she would see something or smell something that would provoke a memory and she would start crying again. One of us would try and comfort her for a while. She would apologize and try to move on. We let her do as many of her normal chores as she wanted to try. Some got finished and some didn't. Gradually, she got better although there were ups and downs. A real breakthrough was when she asked if I might be interested in sleeping with her. She almost immediately started saying how she would understand if I never wanted to sleep with her, much less have sex. I had to grab her arms and kiss her to get her to shut up. I backed off and said, "Yes, I will sleep with you." That was the first glimpse of happiness I had seen on her face since she returned.

We did sleep together. In other words, we were in the same bed at the same time. No sex. No kissing. No fondling. No touching. I don't think either of us got any sleep. I thought it was a disaster. Then as we got up, Crystal initiated a hug and a smile. She said, "Thank you." I barely held back my tears.

Things got slowly better from that time on. We finally were having sex again although the first few times were awkward. I confess, I was wondering if my lack of size compared to Ron would make a difference to her. If it did, she never said anything. Gradually, I began to see more and more of the woman I married and loved for so many years. She was even able to go back to work part-time. I was so glad that I had stuck by her despite my doubts.

Then that damned Murphy struck. Detective Pearson called out of the blue. "I don't know how to tell you, but Ron is probably going to be released. Some freaking so-called human rights advocate made an appeal on Ron's behalf. He was able to convince a liberal leaning Appeals Court that a rape could not have occurred when the victim says she was willing. They also presented 'scientific' study that was not available at the time of the trial that a hypnotized person could not do anything against their will. He submitted that the time Ron has served be sufficient punishment for the prostitution conviction. It may be bullshit, but the judge ruled that Ron should be released. He could be re-tried on the rape charges if the DA has more proof than the hypnotism theory. We are pressing the new DA to re-arrest him when he gets released. I don't know how successful we will be."

I couldn't believe it. I fell down on my knees. Crystal came in and saw me. I did the most stupid thing I have ever done. I told her the truth. Her demeanor changed immediately. I could almost hear her mind snap. All emotion drained from her face. She walked into the kitchen while I sat on the couch crying. I didn't realize it, but she walked through the kitchen and out the back door. I heard her car leave but could get outside in time to stop her. I chased after her in my car and went to everywhere I thought she might go. I had no luck.

I was home with Bailey figuring out where Crystal might have gone when Detective Pearson said that Ron was getting ready to be released. The DA was only allowed to keep him for 48 hours to see if there was enough evidence left for a re-trial. Ron's lawyer forced the decision for release immediately with another court-order. Ron was being out processed right now. He will probably be let loose in the next hour. Pearson told me he was sorry.

I didn't even think. I acted in haste and anger. I told Bailey I had an emergency at work. I went to my garage. I had the truck I was had re-built as a hobby. It was made from several different trucks with three different VIN numbers involved and none were associated with me. I had bought the parts separately over time. I was going to have the new-old truck registered as a new vehicle, but I hadn't yet. I got in and turned on the engine. It didn't sound too good, but it ran. The important thing is that no one would associate me with that truck. I headed for the jail. I got there just in time to see Ron getting in a taxi. I followed him. He was dropped off at an Enterprise rental place.

I followed his rental for over 30 minutes. It had gotten dark. He was on a state road I knew well from the days I drove a route through here for the company I worked for. There was a highly wooded area on this road with some sharp curves. Maybe Murphy was making way for Karma. When we got to the spot I remembered, I sped up and clipped his back end causing his car to spin and hit a guard rail. His car rolled and came to rest against a tree. I went over to his car. He was trapped but alive. "Hey there Ron, having some car trouble?"

"Oh shit. You did this? I'll sue your ass and get you put in jail. Then I will fuck your wife in your bed. I never had to hypnotize her. She wanted me from the first minute I massaged her big ass."

"You say you want a cigarette? You're in luck. It just so happens I've got one. You got a light?"

"You fuckwad, I never said anything about a cigarette." Almost immediately, I could see the expression on his face change to horror when he realized that gasoline was seeping along the ground beside him. "No, man, you wouldn't. Shit, you can't kill a man just for screwing his wife a few times. Hey, it wasn't just my fault. She begged for it."

"Don't worry Ron, I have a whole book of matches here. I'll light the cigarette for you." I made a big production about trying to get fire. "Damn, it's hard to get these matches to stay lit." I slowly went through ten matches as he cried and begged me each time not to do it. "There, I almost had to use all the book of matches just to get one to work." I lit up the cigarette took a big drag so there was a nice red glow on the end and said, "Here's your cigarette Ron, catch." I flicked the cigarette which somehow missed him. By sheer coincidence, it fell instead into the gasoline. "Oops." Damn, the flames came up so quickly I almost burned myself.

I had nothing in the truck to identify me. I brought it over and rolled it into the fire. I walked away. The gas tank in the truck exploded about two minutes later. Karma kept other cars away until I was deep in the woods. I had a general idea of where the nearest gas station was. Fifteen minutes later, I found out I was only off about a half mile where I thought I was. I got there just as a volunteer fire truck roared by. At the gas pumps there was a guy filling his semi with diesel. His truck was pointed in the direction I wanted to go. I asked if I could bum a ride. He looked me over. "You got any money to pay for the ride?"

"$20."

"That'll do."

I rode back into town and got Bailey to pick me up. I told her what had happened and said she could either be my alibi or become a virtual orphan. She said, "Do you think that after all the undeserved shit this family has suffered that I would have trouble lying?"

Of course, I was questioned about Ron's death. Detective Pearson did what he needed to show he had done due diligence. Bailey lied with the straightest face I had seen. And I had seen her lie many times as a child. This time she almost had me convinced she was telling the truth. Pearson and I both knew why he called me about Ron getting out of jail. Neither of us spoke about it other than a random comment to me by Pearson, "That was extreme, but effective." It became a cold case before the ashes finished smoldering from Ron's car. Actually, that's poetic license, but it was wrapped up quickly.

I found out that Crystal had taken $500 from an ATM the night she left. Her car was found several days later at the bus station. We had no idea where or even what direction she might have been headed. She had left her cell phone behind. There were no charges on the credit card nor were any checks from her cashed over the ensuing weeks and months. I had hoped she might have checked herself back into the hospital she had been treated at. Nope.

Not too long after we pretty much gave up on finding Crystal, Detective Pearson knocked at my door. I was pleased to see him. I knew he was not there to interrogate me. He was there to take my daughter on a date. It seems he was really impressed by her when he interviewed her. I'm pretty sure he knew she was lying. It doesn't matter. I think Bailey won't be going back to her college. There's a college closer to our house and a certain police detective.