Page 70 of High Society

Saturday, April 20

Holly sits at her desk and stares at the blank computer screen. She had begun to see clients every second Saturday to keep up with the crushing demand on her practice, but this morning she has only come into the office to work on her manuscript. She promised her editor in New York that she would submit a chapter of her book before the weekend. But Holly is totally uninspired. Besides, how she could write anything about the untapped power of psychedelics with all that has happened within the tribe and her own life?

Holly senses her assistant’s silent presence outside the open door. As dedicated and competent as Tanya is, she’s no poker player. And Holly can tell in a glance that something is troubling her. “What’s wrong, Tanya?”

“Um, Reese Foster, is… er… here to see you.”

Holly shuts her laptop. “I didn’t think I was seeing clients today. Especially anyone from that group.”

Tanya seems embarrassed. “And I told Reese that when she called.”

“But she came anyway?”

Tanya holds out her palms, helplessly.

“Don’t worry, Tanya.” Holly musters a smile. “Give me five minutes, and then show her in please.”

Five minutes later, Reese is seated across from Holly in one of the padded interview chairs. “Thanks for seeing me, Dr. Danvers.”

“Not to nitpick, Reese, but I didn’t actually agree to see you.”

“True.” Reese laughs. “I kind of muscled my way in, didn’t I?”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to speak to you or anyone else in the group,” Holly says. “But after all that’s happened, I thought it best if we took a collective break.”

“Of course, yes. That makes sense. I would’ve done the same, probably, in your shoes.” Reese shows an apologetic smile. “I wanted to tell you in person how sorry I am for JJ’s loss.”

Unsure how to respond, Holly simply nods.

“It’s been hard on all of us,” Reese says. “But as her therapist…”

“I must feel responsible?”

“No.” Reese shakes her head. “Not at all. I just assumed it must be very difficult to lose a client that way.”

“It is, yes. Thank you.” Even more so when it’s your second one in two weeks. “What about you? It must be very difficult to lose a friend. You and JJ were close, right?”

Reese leans forward in her chair. “Not at first. But yeah. She grew on me. JJ was silly and goofy, and I don’t think she ever did an honest day’s work in her life, but she had a pure heart. And she understood loneliness. Probably better than anyone I’d ever met. So we had two things in common.” Reese smiles sadly, then remembers herself and straightens her posture. “There’s something else I wanted to ask, Dr. Danvers.”

Holly waits in silence.

“There’s a rumor circulating among the group about JJ and Elaine.”

“Which is?”

“That you thought JJ might have been… involved in Elaine’s death.”

Holly struggles to keep her expression neutral, wondering how this could have possibly gotten back to the group. She considers her answer carefully. “All my discussions with clients are protected by privilege. As a lawyer, you must appreciate that.”

“Of course, I do. But they’re both dead. And if you believe something… nefarious happened to Elaine or JJ, then shouldn’t the rest of us know?”

“I can’t comment on this rumor. Or anything that came up during my private sessions. Client confidentiality is sacrosanct.” Holly pauses. “But I can tell you the police are investigating. I’ve already spoken to the lead detective. As far as I know, they haven’t reached any conclusions.”

Looking disappointed, Reese only nods.

“Where did you hear this rumor?” Holly asks.

“JJ. Not directly, though. Through Simon. JJ told him that you thought Elaine’s overdose could have been staged. And for some reason, JJ believed you suspected she might have been involved.”