Read Online Cookie Cutter Man by Elias Anderson - Free Book Online Page B

or make her cry. They went to bed and an hour or so later,
they went to sleep.

Chapter Five
    The little penlight was bright, like a needle in his eye, and
Daniel flinched.
    “Try not to blink,” Dr. Stanzliek said quietly.
    Try not to blind me, Daniel thought.
    The doctorbug put the penlight in his pocket. “Now, I’m
going to ask you a series of simple questions, and I want you to answer them as
honestly as you can. Do you experience bouts of dizziness or nausea?”
    “Nope.”
    “Do you have an unusual aversion to bright lights?”
    “Only the one you shined in my eye.”
    “How about loud noises?”
    “No.”
    “Do you still get headaches?”
    “No.” Right now, Daniel’s head was pounding.
    “Do you experience frequent or extreme mood swings?”
    “No.” Nothing this asshole could solve, anyway.
    “Now, why would you lie to me?” the doctorbug asked.
    Daniel looked up with a start and could have cheerfully
pistol-whipped him, thinking again, briefly, that it had been a good idea to
leave his weaponry at home.
    “What makes you think I’m lying?” Daniel asked.
    “Well, Ms. Allen and I have had a few discussions about your
recent ... erratic behavior, and she was quite adamant about the changes
in your disposition.”
    “What’d she say?”
    “Now, Daniel, I’m sure you know what is said between a
patient and a doctor is confidential.”
    “ She’s not your patient. What did she say?” Anger
bubbled in his guts, and he did little to push it back down.
    “At any rate, it is confidential. I’m only trying to
help you, Daniel. Answer the questions honestly, please.”
    Daniel stared at that smug roach smile and dreamed of
kicking it in, shattering the teeth and busting the gums. He wouldn’t need a
gun to deal with the likes of Dr. Stanzliek. The man was old, soft. He could be
easily broken. Daniel suppressed a grin.
    Doctor Stanzliek continued. “Are you experiencing feelings
of paranoia?”
    “Huh-uh.”
    “Looking over your shoulder, peering through the windows,
thinking people are after you?”
    “Nope.” Daniel blinked away the segmented antennae that
sprouted from Stanzliek’s head.
    The doctor sighed. “This is all very contradictory to what
Ms. Allen has told me.”
    “Fuck you.”
    “Excuse me?”
    Daniel could hardly believe he’d come here, in light of all
Jared had told him. “I’m done with this bullshit.”
    “But—”
    “Can you take my stitches out yet?”
    “No, but—”
    “Fine. You and my girlfriend seem to be pretty fucking
chummy, so why don’t you set up an appointment with her and I’ll be back in a
week.” Daniel stood and the doctor followed him out of the small exam room,
sputtering, eyes bulging, his face turning red.
    Echo looked up from her chair next to the door. She smiled
and stood. “How’d it—”
    “Let’s go,” Daniel said, grabbing his jacket from her.
    “What did the doc—”
    “Let’s go !” Daniel said, grabbing her by the hand.
    “Ms. Allen, may I have a word with you?” Dr. Stanzliek
asked.
    Echo pulled away from Daniel and gave him a funny look.
    “Echo, please, I need to leave .”
    “Daniel, I don’t understand—”
    “Fine,” he said, turning and walking down the hall. “I’ll be
in the car.”
    He didn’t need to look over his shoulder to know she wasn’t
following him and he ached because of it.
    They’re only trying to help you , the voice said, the
voice that had at first seemed to be Jared’s, or his own, the voice of his
conscience, perhaps. The voice sometimes seemed to be the voice of his heart,
and sometimes it was a whisper in his ear.
    Daniel wanted nothing more than to pull the little bottle of
hall-pills from his pocket and pop a couple, but they were in Echo’s purse. On
their way from the apartment to the car they’d been in his pocket and rattled
loudly when he walked. They’d had a laugh about it and his head had been fine
then, so he’d handed them over without a second