“Oh, but that’s where you’re so very wrong. Corinne also operated under the misapprehension that she was in complete control of her life. That the choices she made were her choices. That she engaged in distasteful behavior because she wanted to. But in reality, there’s always a part of a woman that wants to be cherished and protected, not subjected to multiple sex partners. Much less have those most intimate moments sold to the highest bidder.”

Taylor looked at Ricard. Behind the glasses, the 298

J.T. Ellison

mask of cool reserve, Taylor saw a shrewd woman. Taylor made sure her own face revealed nothing but cool interest in Corinne Wolff.

“So you’re saying Corinne is a victim?”

“In a way. Corinne, unhappily, is no longer with us to verify that she felt abused by her husband’s proclivities. You, on the other hand, are early enough in the game that you can steel yourself to the accusations against you, knowing deep in your heart you’ve done nothing wrong. Corinne didn’t have your fortitude, I believe. She was easily led. Instead of fighting, she acquiesced. Allowed herself to be used.”

“I’m not a victim, Dr. Ricard. That’s where Corinne and I differ. I’d appreciate you keeping this discussion strictly about her, please. Was she being used by her husband?”

Ricard looked amused for a moment, then nodded and continued. “Corinne was being used by many people. Husband, family, siblings, lover. You’ll hit upon the truth soon enough, Lieutenant. Let’s talk for a bit about the anxiety a young mother might feel if she were in a position similar to Corinne Wolff.”

“Okay.”

“Think of the difficulties facing an exceptionally talented child. A completely controlled existence, a world structured around said child’s genius. Constant work, attention, adulation and expectation. Until the one day the child wakes up, literally and figuratively, and decides she doesn’t want to be a prodigy. She doesn’t want to work so hard to live her life. She sees the people around her taking the easy road, sleeping in on the weekends, having plenty of time to date and do homework, and suddenly, she decides that is the life Judas Kiss

299

she wants. Someone who is so driven might actually pursue that simple life with the dogged determination that made her such a gifted athlete.”

“Corinne’s mother mentioned that her drive for tennis dissipated when she got into high school,” Taylor said. When Ricard didn’t comment, she asked, “Would small things that normally wouldn’t be a big deal to you or me set this kind of person off?”

“Certainly. Someone so in control would have great difficulty in letting others take the reins. Unless she was compromised, to a point. Something that wouldn’t be rational. Like being in love.”

Well, that made sense. Taylor thought back to the first video she’d seen, with Todd and the two girls. Corinne was manning the camera. Perhaps she enjoyed the sex play, perhaps not, but by taking control of what the audience saw and felt, she took control of her situation with her husband. She was directing him, a thoroughly nontraditional role.

“Was there something in Corinne’s life that presaged this need for control?”

“Ah, sadly, Lieutenant, since we are only discussing a hypothetical situation, I can’t answer that. But someone with this level of need for stability might have a past that saw some sort of abuse, self-inflicted or external. With many young phenoms, their manifestation comes out in their talent. Once that talent is taken away, even something as simple as a parent telling the child he or she must go to bed now instead of studying their art could send a child of extreme gifts into a tailspin. They use their talent for control, just like an anorexic child uses starvation to whittle away her body. It’s all perception.

300

J.T. Ellison

“Take that away, by force or necessity, and you’d have a child who couldn’t, or wouldn’t be able to survive without some sort of mechanism to control the behavior and desire.”

“Sexual promiscuity?”

Ricard gave a ghost of a smile. “Very good, Lieutenant. You’re catching on. Monogamous sexual promiscuity, another example of how distasteful anything indiscriminant could be to a child like this.”

“But that child would grow into an adult. I take it that she wouldn’t grow out of it?”

“Some do. Some don’t. Some follow their art, some, when separated from the one item that controls their identity, decline rapidly. They shrivel up, and ultimately end up institutionalized or dead. But that is only extreme cases. Most go on to lead productive, if not happy, lives.”

“Would there need to be a catalyst? Something that would send a person like this over the edge, make them do things they otherwise wouldn’t?”

“Yes, I believe you could say that. A life-changing event.” Ricard spoke pointedly, and Taylor began to understand.

“Was this pregnancy unwanted?” she asked. Ricard nodded, but said, “I couldn’t say one way or the other about that. Corinne was a very regimented, controlled person.”

So, that was the problem. She had gotten pregnant and wasn’t thrilled about it. That was strange, for a young mother who was seemingly happy.

“Would an unplanned pregnancy be difficult for a woman who has to have control over everything? To the point that it would spark a pathological issue?”

Judas Kiss

301

“Nicely deduced, Lieutenant. In some extreme cases, an individual would have difficulty relinquishing control over their body in order to carry a baby. The individual might feel that the fetus is a foreign being and experience moments of hatred so profound that the only comfortable resolution is termination. Or, the individual may seek counseling to better handle the claustrophobic tendencies they are experiencing. Highlevel anxiety, overwhelming desire to escape, to effect a separation, yes, those things would need to be dealt with using extensive cognitive therapy, regression, relaxation and biofeedback.”

“Was Corinne having these problems? Claustrophobia about her pregnancy?”

“Now, Lieutenant, you’re treading too close to our hypothetical line again.”

“All right. What about medication?”

“Well, in the case of a pregnancy, the client would certainly be encouraged not to use medicinal means to handle the situation.”

“But Corinne chose the medicinal route. Why?”

Ricard glanced at the clock. “Oh my, Lieutenant, I’m afraid we need to wrap things up here.” She stood.

“One last question.” Taylor got to her feet too.

“Would Corinne Wolff have been a danger to herself?”

Ricard straightened her glasses and pulled her tunic down so it lay tight across her hips. “She may have been. But I think it highly unlikely that she wielded the murder weapon and beat herself to death.”

Thirty-One

Taylor left the doctor’s office, head spinning, full of ideas and theories. A better picture was emerging of Corinne Wolff. Taylor knew that the best way to solve a murder was to know the victim. Chances were the murderer was someone in the victim’s sphere. The deeply personal nature of the beating, the accessibility to the house, all pointed to a killer bent on revenge and punishment. Ergo, someone Corinne knew. If Taylor could get to know Corinne intimately, she would find the person who killed her. It may have been Todd—the evidence against him was certainly damning—but it could have been someone else. Since she didn’t have anything better to do, she decided to go ahead with her illicit day. She wondered if Julianne Harris would accept a phone call from her?

Michelle Harris had obviously checkmarked the box that said Taylor wasn’t on their side, but if the mom hadn’t shut her out yet… She pulled out her notepad and flipped back to the first few pages. Yes, there was the number for the Harris house. She dialed it, fingers Judas Kiss