“Jesus Christ,” said the officer. “A regular resort.”

A large elderly lady stood at the entrance of an office on the right. Her broad, friendly face was framed in black ringlets, as if she’d just had a hair dye and permanent. She smiled when they stepped into the small admissions office and said softly to the policeman, “Can I have your name?”

“I ain’t the one being admitted, lady. ”

“Well,” she said, “I am receiving the patient from you, and I need your name to document who brought the patient in.” The officer grudgingly gave her his name. Danny stood aside awkwardly, stretching his fingers, numb from the tight handcuffs.

Dr. David Caul, who had seen the policeman push Milligan into the office, glared and snapped, “Take those goddamned handcuffs off him!”

The officer fumbled with his key and removed the cuffs. Danny rubbed his wrists and looked at the deep marks on his skin. “Whats gonna happen to me?” he whined.

“What’s your name, young man?” Dr. Caul asked.

“Danny.”

The officer who had removed the handcuffs laughed and said, “Jesus Christ!”

Dr. Caul jumped up and slammed the door in his face. He was not surprised that dissociation had taken place. Dr. Harding had told him the fusion seemed fragile at best. His own experience with multiples had taught him that a stressful situation, such as a trial, could cause unfusion. Right now he had to gain Danny’s confidence.

“I’m glad to meet you, Danny,” he said. “How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Where were you born?”

He shrugged. “I don’t remember. Lancaster, I think.”

Caul thought about it a few minutes and, seeing how exhausted Milligan was, put his pen down. “I think we can let these questions go for another time. Just take it easy tonight. This is Mrs. Katherine Gillott, one of our mental health technicians. She’ll show you your room, and you can put your suitcase away and hang up your jacket.”

When Dr. Caul had left, Mrs. Gillott took him across the lobby to the first room on the left. The door was open.

“My room? That can’t be for me.”

“C’mon, young'un,” Mrs. Gillott said, walking in and opening the window. “You’ve got a nice view of Athens and Ohio University. It’s dark now, but you’ll see it in the morning. Make yourself t’home.”

But when she left him alone, he stayed in the chair outside his room and sat, afraid to move, until one of the other mental health technicians started turning out the lights in the corridor.

He went into his room and sat on the bed, his body trembling, tears in his eyes. He knew that whenever people were nice to you, you had to pay in the long run. There was always a catch.

He lay on the bed, wondering what was going to happen to him. He tried to stay awake, but it had been a long day, and finally he fell asleep.

(2)

In the morning of December 5, 1978, Danny opened his eyes and saw the light streaming through the window. He looked out and saw the river and the university buildings on the other side. While he was standing there, someone knocked at the door. It was a rather handsome, mature woman with short hair and wide-set eyes.