Exposed: The Psych Diaries

PROLOGUE

“The court thereby sentences Spencer Erin McCroy to life imprisonment for the murders of ten innocent people, namely Marley Smith, Carrie Woods, Scarlett Jones, Elizabeth Ryder, Katie Denver, Paul Wish, Jacque Dupree, Sam Stevenson, Elijah Diamond and Josh Lopez.”

And with those words, the jury broke into smiles and the crowd cheered loudly. Before being led away by the guards, Spencer looked into her daughter’s eyes with sadness. She could see anger, betrayal and determination all at once reflect in Emma’s stone cold eyes. Emma looked at the jury and the judge with a resentment that was strong enough to set the place on fire.

Emma switched the television off threw the remote in anger. The news stations just couldn't get enough of it, even after all this time. The footage from the court room played on and on, over again, just like a broken record player. It was the twenty fifth anniversary of her mother’s term in jail and Emma felt furious that an innocent person like her mother was sentenced to life imprisonment for murders that she did not commit. Her mother was a renowned psychologist and was absolutely incapable of killing people, particularly her own patients. She felt betrayed that the court, the abode of righteousness and justice, could make such a big mistake.

“We’re going to make this right, Brian. We’re going to make this right,” she whispered with courage to her uncle who was silently weeping as the two of them drowned in melancholy.

She understood why it hurt so much for Brian. Brian and her mom were twins, born five minutes apart. When her mother was in immense pain, Brian felt it and silently suffered it. 

“Yes, we are. The bloody justice system failed the one person who believed in it the most, and I’m not going to let that happen,” Brian replied with rage as he glared at the wretched court house, which was barely fifty meters away.

“She’s been given specific orders and she can’t see or contact us until tomorrow. They’ve given me a break at work, so I’ll probably clean up. Oh and call Mr. John up and ask how he’s doing. He still did a spectacular job as a lawyer, you know.”

“Oh I’ll pay him tomorrow. The three of us need time to drown in the gloom and sorrow of the day.”

“You do that. I’m going to go ahead and clean Mom’s room. It’s been untouched for twenty five years, it’s about time we cleared it,” Emma said as she walked up the stairs.

As she approached her mother’s room, the familiar sinking feeling in her stomach took over her. The room was the same and it still had Spencer McCroy written all over it. The antique wooden bookshelf at the corner of the room caught Emma’s attention. It contained her mother’s favorite novels and literary works. As she glanced at the humongous collection of books, she noticed something stuck behind her mother’s unedited version of ‘War and Peace’. She slowly removed the book from the shelf and a thick, white file fell at her feet.

What’s this? she thought to herself as she picked it up. As she skimmed through it, its contents made her head feel heavy and stomach quiver. Emma swallowed hard and basked in the glory of realization. It was the diary her mother kept of namely Marley Smith, Carrie Woods, Scarlett Jones, Elizabeth Ryder, Katie Denver, Paul Wish, Jacque Dupree, Sam Stevenson, Elijah Diamond and Josh Lopez. On the top of the cover page, there was a big warning sign that read DO NOT READ UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. And that was why Emma sat down on the dusty red carpet and began reading the diary.

Page One: “Of all the patients, I have treated, I am convinced that the ten of them are by far the most challenging and bizarre people I have met in my entire life.”