Caitlin squinted at the cop, still so disoriented. “I’m sorry, but how did you figure all this out?”
As if on cue, Dr. Rose, the psychological profiler, appeared in the doorway. She wore a tan pantsuit and a serious expression, and held a cup of Starbucks in her hand. “Detective. Girls.” Dr. Rose nodded at each of them as she crossed the room.
McMinnamin gestured for her to sit. “Caitlin was just asking me how we knew Julie Redding was our suspect, Doctor. Would you like to fill them in?”
“Sure.” The doctor sat down and collected her thoughts for a moment before speaking. “When Julie and I had our private session at the precinct the other day, I got a sense of what might be happening with her. She lives in a chaotic, abusive home. She’s looking for some sort of anchor and stability. I’ve worked with a lot of patients who have what we call ‘dissociative identity disorder,’ and I recognized the signs in her immediately.”
“Is that, like, when people think they’re more than one person?” Ava asked.
“Yes, Ava. It’s what we call it when someone—in this case Julie—believes she has two or more distinct and separate identities. And not just two names, but two separate personalities. It’s almost like having two entirely different people living in one body. And for Julie—”
“The other person is Parker,” Caitlin interjected.
“Yes. Julie is Julie, and she is Parker, at different times—and sometimes at the same time, too.”
Caitlin swallowed hard, the antiseptic smell of the hospital suddenly making her sick. She’d hoped there was another explanation besides this. But here it was. And in a way, it made sense. She recalled that strange, sullen, totally un-Julie-like Julie she’d met in Julie’s front yard yesterday. Had that been “Parker” she’d met? Caitlin had known something was wrong. Should she have done something about it? Alerted someone? Then again, how was she to know it was something so . . . extreme?
Dr. Rose shifted in her seat. “When she told Detectives McMinnamin and Peters the other day that her alibi the night of Ashley’s disappearance was hanging out with Parker, well, that basically confirmed my suspicions,” she said. “Julie most likely hears Parker in her head—and probably sees her as sort of a hallucination. She’s as real to Julie as I am to you right now. And I’m guessing,” Dr. Rose went on, “that if you girls think about it, you’ll remember incidents when you thought you were talking to Julie, but you were really with Parker—or, the Parker identity of Julie.”
Caitlin nodded reluctantly. Then Mac. Then Ava. They all looked so guilt-stricken. Caitlin sensed they felt as duped as she did.
“Why do you think this happened to her?” Mac asked quietly.
Dr. Rose sighed. “Julie didn’t help Parker the night Parker’s father killed her. My guess is that she assumed Parker’s personality soon after Parker was killed because she couldn’t handle the guilt. Becoming Parker was a way of keeping her alive—and Parker served as an outlet for the angrier parts of Julie’s personality. It’s my understanding that Julie was a very popular, high-achieving—dare I say perfect—student at Beacon Heights High. Is that correct?”
Everyone nodded mechanically. “That’s an understatement.” Caitlin let out a dry, sad laugh. “She was amazing.”
“Smart, pretty, friendly . . . everyone loved her,” Ava said.
Dr. Rose took a sip of coffee. “Well, that fits. Julie couldn’t break the rules, because she was protecting her own secrets—about her mother, her house. So she needed to keep a very pristine exterior. She couldn’t skip school or mouth off or otherwise step outside the lines. Everyone needs to let off steam, but Perfect Julie could never allow herself to do such a thing. She had too much at stake. Parker, on the other hand, was free to do and say whatever she wanted. Including get her revenge on people who hurt her or those she is close to.” She looked around at the girls. “Nolan Hotchkiss, yes, but also Ashley Ferguson, who was ruining her life—police haven’t found her yet, but we fear the worst.”
“She hurt my stepmother, Leslie, too,” Ava said in a choked voice. “I told her how awful Leslie was. But I never thought she’d . . .”
“And Claire, obviously.” Mac pressed her hands over her eyes. “Claire tried to sabotage my Juilliard audition. But I would have never wanted to hurt her.”