She opened her eyes and blinked. "Have you started?"
"We've finished."
"How did I do?"
"Toni and Alette talked to me. We've made a good beginning, Ashley."
The letter from David Singer read:
Dear Ashley,
Just a note to let you know that I'm thinking about you and hoping that you're making good progress. As a matter of fact, I think about you often. I feel as though we've gone through the wars together. It was a tough fight, but we won. And I have good news. I've been assured that the murder charges against you in Bedford and Quebec will be dropped. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know.
Warmest wishes,
David
The following morning, Dr. Keller was talking to Toni while Ashley was under hypnosis.
"What is it now, Dockie?"
"I just want to have a little chat with you. I'd like to help you."
"I don't need your bloody help. I'm doing fine."
"Well, I need your help, Toni. I want to ask you a question. What do you think of Ashley?"
"Miss Tight Ass? Don't get me started."
"You don't like her?"
"In spades."
"What don't you like about her?"
There was a pause. "She tries to keep everybody from having fun. If I didn't take over once in a while, our lives would be boring. Boring. She doesn't like to go to parties or travel or do any fun things."
"But you do?"
"You bet I do. That's what life's all about, isn't it, luv?"
"You were born in London, weren't you, Toni? Do you want to tell me about it?"
"I'll tell you one thing. I wish I were there now."
Silence.
"Toni...? Toni...?"
She was gone.
Gilbert Keller said to Ashley, "I'd like to speak to Alette." He watched the expression on Ashley's face change. He leaned forward and said softly, "Alette."
"Si."
"Did you hear my conversation with Toni?"
"Yes."
"Do you and Toni know each other?"
"Yes." 0f course we do, stupid.
"But Ashley doesn't know either of you?"
"No."
"Do you like Ashley?"
"She's all right." Why are you asking me all these foolish questions?
"Why don't you talk to her?"
"Toni does not want me to."
"Does Toni always tell you what to do?"
"Toni is my friend." It's none of your business.
"I want to be your friend, Alette. Tell me about yourself. Where were you born?"
"I was born in Rome."
"Did you like Rome?"
Gilbert Keller watched the expression on Ashley's face change, and she began to weep.
Why? Dr. Keller leaned forward and said soothingly, "It's all right. You're going to awaken now. Ashley...."
She opened her eyes.
"I talked to Toni and Alette. They're friends. I want you all to be friends."
While Ashley was at lunch, a male nurse walked into her room and saw a painting of a landscape on the floor. He studied it a moment, then took it to Dr. Keller's office.
There was a meeting in Dr. Lewison's office.
"How's it going, Gilbert?"
Dr. Keller said thoughtfully, "I've talked to the two alters. The dominant one is Toni. She has an English background and won't talk about it. The other one, Alette, was born in Rome, and she doesn't want to talk about it, either. So that's where I'm going to concentrate. That's where the traumas occurred. Toni is the more aggressive one. Alette is sensitive and withdrawn. She's interested in painting, but she's afraid to pursue it. I have to find out why."
"So you think Toni dominates Ashley?"
"Yes. Toni takes over. Ashley wasn't aware that she exists, or for that matter, that Alette existed. But Toni and Alette know each other. It's interesting. Toni has a lovely singing voice, and Alette is a talented painter." He held up the painting that the male nurse had brought him. "I think their talents may be the key to getting through to them."
Ashley received a letter from her father once a week. After she read them, she would sit in her room quietly, not wanting to talk to anyone.
"They're her only link to home," Dr. Keller said to Otto Lewison. "I think it increases her desire to get out of here and start leading a normal life. Every little bit helps...."
Ashley was becoming used to her surroundings. The patients seemed to walk about, although there were attendants at every door and in the corridors. The gates to the grounds were always locked. There was a recreation room where they could gather and watch television, a gymnasium where inmates could work out and a common dining room. There were many kinds of people there: Japanese, Chinese, French, Americans.... Every effort had been made to make the hospital as ordinary- looking as possible, but when Ashley went to her room, the doors were always locked behind her.
"This isn't a hospital," Toni complained to Alette. "It's a bloody prison."
"But Dr. Keller thinks he can cure Ashley. Then we can get out of here."
"Don't be stupid, Alette. Don't you see? The only way he can cure Ashley is to get rid of us, make us disappear. In other words, to cure her, we have to die. Well, I'm not going to let that happen."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find a way for us to escape."
Chapter Twenty-Four
The following morning a male nurse was escorting Ashley back to her room. He said, "You seem different today."
"Do I, Bill?"
"Yeah. Almost like another person." Toni said softly, "That's because of you."