My Name Is Lydia (Jack Nightingale short story) Read Online Free PDF

a
cigarette and lit it. He studied her as he inhaled and held the smoke deep in
his lungs. He blew smoke and then nodded slowly. “I don’t think we can cast
Lydia out. But maybe there is something we can do.” He took out his phone. “I’m
going to call my assistant. When do you expect your husband back?”
    “Not until late,” she
said. “He has his surgery and then he’s got a business dinner. He’ll be out
until nine at least.”
    Nightingale nodded.
“Hopefully that’ll give us enough time.”

 
    * * *

 
    Mrs Warren went
upstairs to see her daughter while Nightingale phoned Jenny. “Is everything
okay?” she asked.
    “Not really,” said
Nightingale. “But I have a plan. Can you get over here with Barbara?”
    “I’ll call her. Why?”
    Barbara McEvoy was an
old friend from Jenny’s student days, now a trained psychiatrist and hypnotherapist.
“I’m pretty sure that there are two personalities sharing Christine’s body. It’s not possession , they both belong .
But one is good and one is evil. I’m hoping that Barbara might be able to use
hypnotic suggestion to keep the evil personality supressed.”
    “How did that happen?”
asked Jenny.
    “It’s a long story.
I’ll explain everything but at the moment I need you to get Barbara here as
soon as possible.”
    “I’ll call her and
pick her up,” said Jenny. “If there’s a problem I’ll let you know.”
    Half an hour later,
Jenny’s Audi sports car pulled up in front of the Warren house. He had the
front door open for them as they walked up to the path. Barbara was wearing a
sheepskin flying jacket and tight blue jeans. Nightingale grinned. “You look
like you’ve been flying a Sopwith Camel,” he said.
    “Nice to see you, too,
Jack,” she said, air kissing him on both cheeks. She brushed a lock of dark
brown hair over her ear. “What’s going on? Jenny said you wanted help.”
    As Nightingale ushered
them into the hall, Mrs Warren came down the stairs. “Jenny!” she said. “What
on earth are you doing here?”
    Jenny kissed Mrs
Warren and introduced her to Barbara.
    “I think Barbara might
be able to help,” explained Nightingale. “Let me take her into the garden while
I have a cigarette. Perhaps you could take Jenny up to see Christine?”
    As Mrs Warren and
Jenny went upstairs, Nightingale took Barbara down the hall, through the
kitchen and into the back garden. There was a white-painted gazebo next to a
small pond and Nightingale walked over to it as he lit a cigarette. He quickly
explained the problem, but didn’t mention the Satanic pact, Marcus Fairchild or Proserpine, the demon from hell. He stuck to the
basics – that Christine Warren was struggling to cope with a second
personality that was threatening to overwhelm her.
    When he’d finished,
Barbara shook her head. “Jack, Christine isn’t a patient. I can’t go treating
people willy-nilly.”
    “It’s hypnotherapy,
not brain surgery,” said Nightingale.
    “Thank you very much.”
    “I didn’t mean it like
that. Look, Christine needs help. There’s a second personality that‘s trying to
take over and I think you can stop it.”
    “That doesn’t happen,
Jack. Really. There’s no real evidence of multiple personality disorder. We
only have the one brain, the one consciousness. Okay, your subconscious might
try to fool your conscious, but the idea of two personalities inhabiting one
brain has been pretty much discredited.”
    “Then humour me,
please. Just put Christine under and have a root around.”
    Barbara smiled. “A
root around?”
    “Just see what you can
find.” He flicked his cigarette away. “These people need help, Barbara. They’re
at their wits end.”

 
    * * *

 
    Barbara decided to do
the session in Christine’s bedroom, figuring it was where the girl would be
most at ease. Mrs Warren stood by the window, watching nervously as Barbara
helped Christine make herself comfortable.
    “Draw the curtains,
please, Mrs