“It’s true, Dr. Hale. That’s what the doctor told me at the hospital. I could have died.”

“But you didn’t. You survived. You’re a survivor. You could have bled to death in that cabin, but you ran through the rain and mud and you flagged down a car to help you. That’s why you’re alive.”

“I don’t feel like a survivor. I feel like… like a mess. I can’t sleep. I can’t even hold down a job.”

“That’s what you’re here for. To get better. This is just the beginning.”

“If they had caught him, I could move on. But every time I close my eyes, I imagine he’s at my window. Watching me sleep.”

“The key word is ‘imagine.’ He’s not really there.”

“You don’t know that! After all, I’m the only one who can identify him. I’m sure he wants me dead.”

“You can’t think that way. You’re safe now. If he were going to find you, he would’ve done it already. This is an impulsive man.”

“I’m going to lose my mind, Dr. Hale. It’s all I can think about. Every time I get into my car, I feel like he’s following me. As I was driving here, I was sure he was in the car behind me.”

“But you know that’s all in your head.”

“I don’t know that. You don’t know that. For all you know, he did follow me here. Maybe he’s waiting outside right now. Maybe the second I open the door to your house, he’s going to kill us both.”

“Do you know how unlikely that is?”

“I…”

“Listen to me. You cannot let this psychopath control your life. You are here to get better. Your family cares about you and that’s why they sent you here.”

“But I’m not getting better.”

“This is just the beginning. You’re going to get better.”

“Dr. Hale…”

“I promise you. You will get better.

Chapter 11

TRICIA

Present Day

I get about forty minutes into the tape when I realize that I’ve been down here for too long. Like me, Ethan is notoriously slow in the bathroom, but even he has got to be done showering and dressing by now. Any minute, he’s going to come down here looking for me.

I lost track of time. There was something about Dr. Adrienne Hale’s voice that was simultaneously hypnotic and powerful, as she advised the young patient featured in The Anatomy of Fear, whose friends and fiancé were murdered by a maniac in a cabin in the woods. When she says, You will get better, it’s like the voice of God himself saying it. No wonder she was such a respected psychiatrist. No wonder so many people struggling with major trauma came to her for help.