Chapter 42

After her confrontation with Liisa, Holly lumbered through the rest of the afternoon’s appointments on autopilot, struggling to focus on her other clients.

As she is packing up her bag to leave the office for the day, her mobile phone rings with a number and an area code that she doesn’t recognize. When she answers, a woman says, “Hello. Is this Dr. Holly Danvers?”

“Yes. Speaking.”

“This is Dr. Shayna Pearlman from the California Board of Psychology,” she says in a friendly tone. “Sorry to return your call so late in the day. I was trapped in meetings.”

Holly drops back into her chair. “Thanks for getting back to me, Dr. Pearlman.”

“Happy to. You were looking to speak to me concerning a disciplinary matter, Dr. Danvers?”

“Not you specifically. But yes. I was hoping to speak to someone in your office.”

“I’m probably as good a place as any to start. I’m the chair of the Enforcement Committee.”

“Perfect,” Holly says. “I wanted to inquire about one of your members, Dr. Liisa Koskinen.”

There’s a momentary pause. “What about Dr. Koskinen?”

“I’m a psychiatrist with a practice in Laguna Beach. I’m professionally… acquainted with Dr. Koskinen,” Holly says, being deliberately vague. “And I’ve recently learned about licensing issues involving her and the Board.”

“Dr. Koskinen is not practicing in Laguna, is she?” Dr. Pearlman asks, sounding concerned.

“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s more of a… historical issue.”

“Ah, all right. Just a moment please, while I pull up her file.”

Holly hears the clicking of a keyboard. She understands Dr. Pearlman must assume that she and Liisa shared, or at least counseled, the same client. Rather than correct the misconception, Holly says, “I was hoping to get some more clarity on Dr. Koskinen’s interactions with the Board.”

“Certainly,” Dr. Pearlman says. “It’s a matter of public record that Dr. Koskinen’s license is currently suspended.”

“Can you share the details of the complaint that led to her suspension?”

“In the state of California, all the Board’s disciplinary actions are part of the public record,” Dr. Pearlman says, although Holly picks up a trace of reticence in her voice. “But do you mind if I ask why you’re inquiring?”

“Of course.” Holly clears her throat. “It has a direct bearing on the course of at least one of my clients.”

“All right,” Dr Pearlman says, seemingly satisfied. “Two years ago, the Board received complaints about Dr. Koskinen’s conduct.”

“Complaints? Plural?”

“Yes. And after a thorough investigation, the deputy attorney general formalized charges. Then last year, we reached a stipulated agreement with Dr. Koskinen whereby she accepted a suspension of her license for a minimum of eighteen months.”

“Can you tell me more about the complaints themselves?”

“The misconduct was related to issues of substance dependence.”

“I understand that, but it would be really helpful if I could understand the specifics of those complaints, Dr. Pearlman.”

“Plain English. Sure. Why not? After all, the complaints are no longer confidential.” Dr. Pearlman is quiet for a moment. “The first two were submitted by clients who noticed that Dr. Koskinen appeared intoxicated during their sessions. Not from alcohol, mind you, benzodiazepines. Xanax. Apparently, she fell fast asleep during one session. And in another case, she stumbled and fell in front of a client, cutting her head. The client had to apply pressure to Dr. Koskinen’s bleeding wound.”

“Oh.” Holly is shocked to hear how much Liisa’s addiction had impaired her at work. In Holly’s experience, most high-functioning addicts hide their substance abuse better. “Under what conditions can Dr. Koskinen regain her license?”

“To be reinstated at the end of her suspension, Dr. Koskinen would be required to provide proof of completion of a substance dependence rehabilitation program, as well as verified, regular attendance with an addiction counselor. And, of course, she’d need to submit to random drug screening.”

“That all makes sense.”

The line goes quiet again. “I probably should tell you, Dr. Danvers, those were only the two complaints that fell under the stipulated agreement.”

Holly’s neck tenses. “There were others?”

“One other. In my opinion, it was more serious in nature. But the complainant decided to withdraw it after the charges were already drawn up.”

“Can you talk about it?”

“It’s a little unorthodox to discuss, but since charges were drawn up by the attorney general’s office, it is also in the public realm. However, I have to stress that since the complainant didn’t cooperate fully, the allegations are not in any way substantiated.”

“I understand,” Holly says.

“This client claimed that Dr. Koskinen took her prescription medications from her.”

“Took?” Holly gasps. “As in stole?”

“Not exactly. The client claimed that Dr. Koskinen badgered her into stopping—cold turkey, mind you—her daily Xanax that her psychiatrist had been prescribing. And allegedly, Dr. Koskinen convinced the client to bring in the bottles that contained a three-month supply. But later that day, when the client had a change of heart, Dr. Koskinen refused to return the pills to her, insisting she had already disposed of them. And the client further alleged that Dr. Koskinen tried to coerce her into silence.”

“Coerce?”

“Apparently, Dr. Koskinen threatened to reveal personal and sensitive information to the client’s prescribing doctor if she insisted on telling him what had happened to her medication.”

“Liisa was blackmailing her own client?”

“I can’t stress enough that these allegations were never substantiated, Dr. Danvers. And they had no bearing on the eventual disciplinary action against Dr. Koskinen.”

“But you have no idea why the client retracted her claim?”

“No, I do not.”

“Did you believe her, Dr. Pearlman?”

Her pause is confirmation enough for Holly. “It’s not my role to speculate,” Dr. Pearlman says. “We investigate. And we only proceed if the evidence supports the charges, and the complainant wants to go forward.”

If Liisa was capable of stealing drugs from a client and then blackmailing her into silence, who knows how far she would go to protect herself? Would murder be too far?

Holly thanks Dr. Pearlman for her time. After she hangs up, she grabs her bag and heads for the door. She waves goodbye to Tanya without stopping to chat and then heads down to the underground garage.

Holly is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t even notice the object in front of her driver’s door until she kicks it with her foot. She kneels down and spots the empty glasses case lying by the front tire. Even before she reaches for the case, she recognizes it: one that she sometimes carries to hold either her corrective lenses or her sunglasses.

Holly’s pulse quickens as she unlocks the door and tucks the case back into the side pocket where she always keeps it. She is certain she didn’t remove it when she got to work, and there is no way it could have fallen out of the deep side pocket on its own.

Even more alarming, Holly knows that her car automatically locks as soon as she walks away with the key.