She dropped her head and chewed her knuckle. She appeared to be thinking about something. Then she looked up at him.

‘Could a person do something in a flashback that they wouldn’t normally do, perhaps even be unaware of?’

‘By all means. Flashbacks are dissociative by their very nature.’

He wondered what she was getting at.

‘In cases of really serious trauma,’ he added, ‘people can even fall subject to conditions such as dissociative identity disorder.’

‘Dissociative identity disorder?’

‘Sometimes known as split personality. A most fascinating condition, from a clinical viewpoint, but not so pleasant for the person experiencing it.’

She moved closer, onto the edge of her seat. He could see that she was very interested, but he wasn’t sure why because he was fairly certain that she herself didn’t suffer from dissociative identity disorder.

‘Tell me more about it,’ she said.

‘I feel we’re moving off-topic here, Bailey. This session is supposed to be about you.’

‘Doctor, I’ll get round to talking about myself soon enough. I promise.’

‘Well… it’s not unknown for the personality structure to fragment as a result of particularly traumatic experiences.’

‘Fragment? How?’

‘It breaks into two or more sub-personalities – distinct identities with their own individual patterns of thinking and behaviour. All the bad stuff that the person experienced or did during the traumatic experience is compartmentalised into one of these sub-personalities.’

‘And that sub-personality could suddenly take over?’

‘Yes. It’s like a severe form of flashback. It would probably be triggered by some kind of environmental cue or stressor. During this state, the sub-personality takes control of the person’s behaviour.’

‘Is the person aware that this is happening?’

‘Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t.’

He watched her as she sat there digesting what he’d just told her.

‘Thank you, Doctor Bodie,’ she said. ‘That’s very interesting. You’ve been most helpful.’

She started to stand up.

‘Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘You said you’d talk about yourself.’

‘I will, Doctor. Next time.’

She turned and left the office, closing the door behind her.

He clenched his fist in frustration. Why did he get the funny feeling she’d been using him in some way?

She truly confounded him. Doctor Bodie had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of inmates over the considerable time he’d spent as a psychologist in the prison system, but, out of all of them, Bailey Pike had to be one of the most puzzling he’d ever come across.

Chapter 84

Bailey watched Detective Superintendent Frank Grinham as he observed the controlled chaos of the visit hall. His customary cold detached look was accompanied today by a slightly clenched jaw and agitated twitching fingers. These signs, she knew from experience, meant that he was nearing the limits of his patience with her. She’d only just sat down and already she was feeling apprehensive about talking to him.

They were sitting in their usual seat in the far corner, their conversation conveniently drowned out by the bawling of children and the intermittent barking of the prison officers as they reprimanded both inmates and visitors for infringing visiting guidelines by sitting too close or touching each other.