She gazed into his eyes.  They had changed. The gaze that once pierced through her had now softened up abit.  They were pulling back to let her in.  Maybe it was a trap.

William had a certain effect that Amber didn't really understand. She put a mental note that he attracted the women he killed and not the other way around.

She didn't want to think of how he started to make her feel. She didn't want to think of how she secretly enjoyed the attack. Up until the ear biting, of course. Looking at those blue eyes, she asked.

"Why did you attack me the last time I saw you? "

"Did it hurt? " he asked with a most evil smile.

"Did you want it to hurt?" he merely scoffed so she continued. "Did you......hurt the girls too? "

"You think you're so smart but I see right through you. "

He was in his acrobatic slanted position and looked aloof. It didn't fool her. This time, she was ready for anything.

"And what do you see? "

"A mask."

His voice made  her uncomfortable and she twitched a little. A big mistake! He noticed and the preditory eyes came back. Her ear started burning up. It was his time to push.

"Who are you hiding from? " He continued.

"From you. " She had to throw him off.

A heinous laugh erupted from the man's chest.  He vibrated so vigorously that she feared he might fall over.

"Mr. Heard, " He stopped laughing as suddenly as he had started. She registered that it was a fake laugh. "How about we both take off our masks? "

"Like doctor Harris did?"

"Who's doctor Harris?"

"Let me ask you this." she did her best to hide her apprehension. "Do you know how many doctors came in to see me before  you did? "

"Five? " she overshot it, a guessing game.

He erupted in a laugh and went on to reveal a real shock to her.  She stormed out of the room leaving William more than pleased with himself.  She knew that he had managed to divert attention away from himself but she didn't care.

She burst into Dr.  Shepherd's office to the astonishment of both men. A head nurse was in the room as well.

"Over already? " Lee questioned.

"Do you mind explaining this?" she said,  throwing her portable voice recorder onto the table.

"A voice recorder? it's a really handy piece of tech." Lee continued.

She walked up to it and found the exact  spot where William had began his explanation.

"A dozen doctors have seen me in the last one week......"

White noise.

"They all failed miserably.  No wonder no one told you. "

She pressed the stop button and suddenly the tension in the room was palpable. Dr.  Shepherd nodded for the head nurse to leave the room and she closed the door behind her.

"You thought I wouldn't find out?" she was livid.

"Need to know basis, you knew that when you sighned up..... "

"Don't give me that crap!" she cut Lee off. "Twelve, really?"

"We didn't want to scare you. " Dr.  Shepherd stepped in.

"I need to see all their reports. Yours too! " Dr.  Shepherd backed up.

"Negative. " Lee's voice was as cool as ever.

"Unbelievable!"

Amber couldn't bring herself to understand why Lee would keep all that information from her. Anger soon gave way to determination.

"So who the hell is Dr. Harris? "

"Did William mention her? " Lee asked.

"Will you tell me or not? "

"You're only allowed to read the file of the doctor who came directly before you. That's how this taskforce works. " Lee stood up, arms folded over his chest. She felt so cheated.

"So what you told me in the car yesterday, about being  the only one who could uncover him,  that was all bullshit?" she said flatly.

Lee looked down and that was all the answer she needed. She slammed the door on her way out. Answers needed to be found where they might. She remembered having Dr. Bennet's file in her office. It was a start.

********

Looking at Dr. Bennet's assessment of William,  she couldn't help but think it was odd. Coming from the lead in tramuma and a holder of a few PhDs, it was the most bland and flat report she had ever seen.

It lacked anything important and stated that he apparently only had two seasons with William.  Amber found this beyond weird because she knew Dr. Bennet's capabilities. He had been her lecturer and she once worked under him.

Reading the file was as pointless as reading a plain page.  Only one thing was of importance. Dr. Bennet's contact and address.

"Dr. Brown?" Sonya, her office secretary's voice came in. 

"Yes, Sonya."

"Your husband is here to see you."

"Send him in." she sighed. "This should be interesting. "

She tore the edge with Dr.  Bennet's  information and the door went open.  Her office was rather large and gave alot of natural light.  The walls were dull and muted. They let the decor do the talking. Mostly bookshelves, sculptures and awards. 

John's eyes instantly went into his surroundings and she saw a glint of pride. Clearly his best friend Mace had done a good job.  The two were like brothers.

Mace had moved to America from England but never really made it.  John left everything that home promised inorder to help his closest friend. With John's family money,  the two started an empire. John was the builder and Mace the designer. The technician and the artist.  It was a winning model.

"Love what Mace did with the place? " She asked inorder to divert his attention from the fact that she didn't make it home the night before.

"Yes. It's incredible. "

She put her arms around his waist and gave him a sweet kiss which he returned gently. She returned the favour by thrusting her tongue into his mouth but he backed away. Content.

"Are these my grandfather's?" He asked wiping his lips.

The two swords hang so beautifully on the wall.  Mace had found a way to make tacky look tasteful. The swords were a gift from John's grandfather. The only member of his family who truly loved her.  He shared the same curiosity as her.

"No. He gave them to me, they're mine. "

She suddenly noticed the file and pushed it under a book.  John turned just in time.

"Cecilia came over." He said.

"Yeah?"

"Said that you need to talk. She was in a panic. Is there something I don't know? "

"Mmmh." she denied casually, purposing to give Cecilia an earful. None it was to get back to John.

"She also mentioned an Edmund. "

"Edmund? " She was now surprised.

"Who is he? "

"Just a mutual friend."

John's gaze turned more focused. He cast his eyes into her own.

"Another friend came over. " She almost chocked on his words. "Dr.  Shepherd. "

"Dr. Shepherd.... " She pretended to be trying to remember.

"Asylum." He said flatly. "He apparently wanted me to join him for a smoke "

This time she really did cough. Shock apparently messed up with the involuntary function of swallowing saliva and it went down her windpipe.

"Look." He placed his arm on her shoulder. "Now, I don't know what you're involved in but I don't know when we started keeping things from each other. I won't even ask why you didn't come home yesterday. "

He pulled her hair back and revealed her bitten ear. She drew her head to the side in shame.

"I want to know things like these. "