Paul Alan Fahey

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

It was also Ms. Lansing who dealt with the patients’ emotions and the occasional temper tantrum when a doctor was ill, had other commitments that suddenly popped up, or ran late in a session. “Leave it to Ms. Lansing” was heard bandied about the office so often many of the long-term patients had picked up the habit and went straight to her, circumventing Hal or Guy, when they wanted a special favor. Ms. Lansing was the indispensable jewel in the Hugo and Sanford crown and both doctors knew it.


Guy ordered a Manhattan and Hal stuck to a dry martini. They both tipped well and the waitress always smiled brightly, and brought them their drinks, sometimes without asking, along with an “on the house” order of salsa and chips.


Chapter 15