Psychiatrist Haleigh Hugo thinks he’s found the perfect setting for his experimental treatment plan -- an isolated home in the middle of a small lake in the high Sierras. Dr. Hugo’s office mate and life partner, Guy Sanford, is unconvinced that the benefits of the treatment plan outweigh the risks, but soon gives in to the charm and boundless enthusiasm of his lover.<br><br>Dr. Hugo’s subjects are six female patients who have failed to make what he considers significant progress in one-to-one therapy. They all share something in common: grief over the loss of a loved one, a psychological barrier that prevents them from moving on. Hilary Colbert lost her life partner to a serious illness; Jennie Travers no longer trusts her unfaithful husband; Meeda O’Connell’s infant son died in his crib; Vera Field wakes from a coma to learn her father has committed a senseless crime: Sarah/April Preston no longer knows who she is and suffers from a loss of identity; and Emily West has psychic abilities yet longs for a normal human existence.<br><br>The six patients, overseen by Dr. Hugo and Dr. Sanford, descend on Devonshire, a simple mountain home on the lake for a weekend of intense therapy. Yet within the walls of the home lies a terrible and painful secret that haunts anyone who comes near.

Too Long Among the Dead

Jennie began treatment with Guy. But after the first session or two, she told him she thought he was too young to understand her problems. When a conflict arose in therapy, Guy and Hal adopted the practice of sharing a patient, or, in a case like Jennie’s, taking over a case for the remainder of the treatment plan. By her third session, Jennie was seeing Hal and was thrilled with the change.


Small of frame and a conservative dresser that hid whatever figure she possessed, Jennie was never late for appointments. Today, true to form, she arrived on time, and without preamble, walked over to a Queen Anne chair in the corner, and dragged it across the room. “I like this one, remember?”


Hal grabbed his tape recorder and came out from behind his desk to greet her. He sat in the chair she’d pushed aside, the one reserved for patients. “How are the new meds working?”


Chapter 10