Obsession: Callie Douglas, Book One

Chapter Fourteen

I asked Brenda and Hugh, the two police officers escorting Brian Scott to his interview, to once again remove his restraints. They did so unwillingly. I ushered Brian into the inner office, followed him in and shut the door. I sat down, turned on the recorder and I got out my trusty notepad.

"I've been thinking about what you said last time, about deserving to have a girlfriend who cares for me like you do", he said.

"Not like I do. Better than I do. I have a doctor-patient relationship with you. A relationship in which both you and your girlfriend share, where you both enjoy spending time together, where you both love each other, is what you want. And that's something that we don't have and could never have. It's interesting that you bring that up today, because I wanted to talk to you about your past life and particularly your relationships with women. Let's start at the beginning. What was your relationship like with your mother? Did you get along with her?"

"I got along well with her. She loved me very much."

"You're lucky then. What was it like when your brother was born?"

"It was good", he answered quickly. Too quickly.

"Really? Because it would be normal for there to be some tension there. You had your mother to yourself for ten years, and then suddenly there was a little bundle that demanded a lot of attention and diverted a lot of that attention away from you."

"My brother was my Christmas present."

"Yes, but had you wanted a brother for Christmas?"

"Yes!" Brian was starting to get agitated.

"You wanted a new brother instead of a new bike, or a new board game or army soldiers?"

"No." He hung his head in shame.

"What did you want instead of a new brother?" I asked gently.

"A new stereo for my room. I've always loved music."

"And did you get a new stereo?"

"No, there wasn't enough money after all the supplies and furniture for the new baby was bought."

"Did you get a stereo the next year?"

"No. There wasn't enough money for a new present for me."

"Did Jeffrey get new presents?"

"Yes. He was the baby."

"How did that make you feel? Honestly, now..." There was a pause and Brian didn't say anything. After the pause grew too long, I said, "I might have felt angry if such a thing had happened to me. How did you feel?"

"I felt angry", he whispered. "He got everything because he was the baby and I got nothing. Mom and Dad were so happy that he was alive and it was like I didn't exist anymore."

"That must have made you feel pretty bad." Brian nodded his head. "Did you have any relationships in high school?"

"With girls?"

"Or guys. I am talking about love relationships, where you liked another person. The person didn't have to like you back."

"There was one girl. I liked her for years before I asked her out." He fell silent again, lost in his memories.

"How did you let her know you liked her?" I asked softly. I didn't want to disturb his mood.

"I wrote her really bad poetry," he said with a smile, "and I wrote her letters and sent her flowers and chocolates. I'd drive over to pick her up from work at the diner when her shift ended and pick her up from school."