HORATIO THANKED FREEMAN and headed back to the B amp;B. When he got there Horatio checked messages at his office. There were quite a few, but only one really excited him. He quickly called her back.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Rose? Hazel Rose?”

“Hold on, she’s in the next bed.”

Horatio waited a few moments as the sounds of the phone being passed over reached him. Then a deep, southern voice came on the line.

“Hello? Who’s calling?”

“Mrs. Rose. It’s Horatio Barnes. I just got your message.”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Barnes. I wanted to thank you for what you did. They’re transferring me to that facility you talked about. I really can’t believe it. They actually have a library with real books in it instead of just magazines.”

Horatio’s enthusiasm waned. He thought she’d remembered something about Michelle’s childhood. “Right. Absolutely. I’m glad it worked out for you. I know you’ll be much happier there. Thank you for calling.”

“Now just hold your horses. That’s not the only reason I called.”

Horatio immediately tensed. “It isn’t?”

“I remembered something else. I don’t know if it’ll help you, but I thought I should pass it on.”

“Right now, Mrs. Rose, I’ll take anything I can get.”

Hazel Rose’s voice sank to a whisper, probably so her roommate couldn’t hear. “Remember I said that Frank Maxwell went to college at night to get a master’s degree so he could get onto a bigger police force?”

“I remember. With Michelle’s brothers grown and gone by then, I’m sure it was pretty lonely for her.”

“Well, I don’t think Michelle was the only lonely one in that house.”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t hear this from me.”

“I swear. Now please tell me.”

There was a long sigh and then she said, “Around about the time we were talking about, at least once a week I used to see a car parked down the road a bit from the Maxwell place.”

“A car?”

“I didn’t think much of it to tell the truth. And it was never there in the morning when my husband went off to work. I’d know because I’d be up to make his breakfast.”

“You ever find out whose car it was?”

“No. But I did see the car at another place once. It was parked outside a Dairy Queen.”

“Did you see who was driving it?”

“Yep. A good-looking man. He was in uniform.”

“What kind of uniform?”

“Army.”

“Was there a military base nearby?”

“No, but there was a recruitment station in town.”

“So you think he worked there?”

“Maybe. I never followed it up. It really wasn’t my business.”

“But why do you think the car had something to do with the Maxwells’ house?”

“Back then it was the only house down that way other than mine. And the only other homes on the street were occupied by women whose husbands were home at night.”

“And Frank Maxwell wasn’t?”

“That’s right. And the nights he was home, that car wasn’t there.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you just thought of this?” he said skeptically.

“I thought of it while you were here. But why rake up muck? What good will it do?”

“What made you change your mind then?”

“The more I thought about it, the more I believe the truth, whatever it is, might help Michelle. She was just a little girl. Whatever might have happened back then it wasn’t her fault.”

“And what do you think happened, Mrs. Rose?”

“Mr. Barnes, that I just won’t say. It’s up to you now. I hope this helps. Did you tell Michelle I said hello?”

“I did and she remembered you very well.”

Hazel Rose’s voice cracked slightly. “I wish nothing but the best for that girl.”

Horatio thanked her, hung up and slumped back in his chair. This put a whole new spin on everything that the psychologist didn’t like at all.

LATER THAT EVENING Horatio moved into an empty room in the mansion at Babbage Town after Michelle told him Champ had authorized it.

“I’m surprised,” he said.

“Even geniuses change their minds,” she pointed out.

“No, I’m surprised that you asked him to do it.”

“How do you know I asked him?”

“I’m the head doc, okay? I just know.”

After he was unpacked Horatio asked Sean to come to his room. There he filled him in on what South had told him about Camp Peary and German prisoners of war being held there. And also the phone conversation he’d had with Hazel Rose. Sean mulled the latter part over. “What do you make of it?”

“Make of it? I make of it that Michelle’s mother was having an affair with this Army guy.”

“That part I figured out. I mean how does that fact tie into Michelle’s personality changing?”

“I’m not sure,” Horatio admitted.

“Did Hazel say when the Army guy stopped coming around?”

“No. Actually I didn’t ask her.”

The two men stared at each other. “You think Michelle saw something, don’t you?” Horatio slowly nodded. “Like what?”

“It’s only speculation, but something… bad. Like maybe her mother in bed with this guy. But what I’m really thinking is even worse. Her brother Bill didn’t believe it was the case, but I’m thinking that maybe Michelle was sexually abused by him.”

Sean looked skeptical. “And her mom would just allow that to happen? Come on!”

“Believe me I’ve seen it all. And maybe the mom didn’t know about it, or didn’t want to know about it so long as the guy kept coming around to see her.”

“So what would that do to a six-year-old kid?”

“Seeing the mom in bed with another man? At that age she might not be able to understand anything other than a strange man is with Mommy. And if Mom was quick enough to explain it away? But the sexual abuse? That could be devastating. Particularly if her mother acquiesced in it.”

“I can’t believe this, Horatio. Michelle has been very successful in life. Could she have done all that carrying around that sort of baggage?”

“Sometimes the abuse history makes a person incredibly driven and that ambition allows them to achieve a great deal. But underneath the success lies a very different picture. It represents a stark imbalance in life. And at some point that imbalance can bring everything crashing down.”

“That sounds like what happened to Michelle,” Sean pointed out.

“I know.”

Sean glanced out the window. “If Michelle saw her mom with another man or was abused by that guy and then told her dad about it?”

Horatio let out a long, troubled sigh. “Then you’re getting into some serious mental shit. Hazel did say the Army guy just stopped coming around. Maybe he couldn’t come around because he was dead.”

Sean blurted out, “Wait a minute. Army guy! The guy she beat up in the bar. He was dressed in military style clothing when I saw him.”

“Then that makes sense,” Horatio said slowly.

“What do you mean it makes sense?”

“I talked to people who worked with Michelle over the years, as well as friends, athletes. Some of them spoke about the fights she’d gotten in.”

“Let me guess. They were all military people?”

“Yes, as far as I could find out.”

“Horatio, we need to find out if anything happened to the Army guy.”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Horatio said.

“When is the truth not a good idea?”

“This isn’t one of your investigations, Sean. This is about a person’s head. Sometimes the truth can do more harm than good.”

“At the very least I think we need to know so you can decide what to do next with her. She said you wanted to hypnotize her. If you do and you start asking questions you might end up somewhere you don’t want to be. Better you know all the facts before you do that.”

Horatio said, “Actually, you’re right. But how do I find out?”