Dangers in the Dark

The Truth Comes Out 6.5

A/N

Yes, I know... another double upload. Yay!! I'm gonna try and do a double upload every other week (If I have enough time to do so). So yeah. Enjoy the second chapter.

Third Person POV

The dim sunlight was slowly bathing itself over every inch of the city as a new day began and the roads of Gotham started to awaken. But for others, like Harvey Bullock, it was just another chance to succeed. He hadn't slept since he and Jim were assigned the case of the Copy-goat and he had no intention to until this case was solved.

In an attempt to do so, Harvey had returned to the first victim's house, the Hastings residence. When he had arrived, he was led upstairs to the office by one of the Hastings' maids. The soothing voice of Dr. Marks echoed through the corridors as Harvey approached the office that Dr. Marks and Mr. Hastings were in.

"You're drifting down and away, deeper—" Dr. Marks was currently in the process of a session when Harvey knocked on the door to gain her attention. She looked up at him before turning to the maid.

"I got it," Dr. Marks assured the maid, who promptly left them alone.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Harvey apologised.

"It's Detective Bullock, isn't it? Did you wanna interview Mr. Hastings?" Dr. Marks asked.

"Actually, your secretary told me I might be able to find you here. I was hoping to pick your brain about the case," Harvey told her.

"Oh. Uh, I'll be just a minute. It's okay," Dr. Marks assured Mr. Hastings, who looked slightly concerned that she was leaving.

She gave Harvey a small smile as she walked out of the office into the hallway next to the grand staircase. Harvey followed swiftly after and they stopped just beside the railings.

"I didn't realise this before. You're a hypnotist, right?" Harvey said.

"A hypnotherapist," Dr. Marks corrected.

"Oh, therapist. It's a funny word, 'therapist'. It can either mean 'therapist' or 'the rapist' if..." Harvey attempted to joke, only to receive a confused look from Dr. Marks. "So do you do pro bono work at an outpatient clinic or a couple of them?"

"I do. I try to give back," Dr. Marks nodded.

"Yeah, you've been giving back for a while," Harvey commented, looking in his notebook at the notes he had scribbled down. "Um... twelve years now."

"Mm-hm," Dr. Marks confirmed.

"That's good. To be honest, I wanted to talk to you about one of your pro bono patients," Harvey told her. "Er, Raymond Earl. He's a person of interest in our investigation. Our records indicate you've seen him at least a few times, right?"

"Hmm. Sounds familiar. Last year, maybe?" Dr. Marks replied, sounding unsure.

"And Mr. Hastings, Amanda's father, we know he's your patient. When we were here yesterday, he was doing something really curious. He kept clenching his fist, over and over," Harvey demonstrated with his own hand.

"Yes, he does that," Dr. Marks agreed.

"Yeah. See, I was reading about that, and it said if a patient has a compulsion, like a bad idea or an impulse, that the hypnotist can put the poor sap under and introduce a physical movement like clenching your fist," Harvey clenched his fist again. "So instead of doing what the compulsion wants the person to do they just... clench their fist."

"That's how it works. Pretty much," Dr. Marks nodded.

"So Mr. Hastings, when he's in a room full of people and he wants to start screaming his head off, I don't know... instead of doing that, he just:" Harvey continued clenching his fist. When Dr. Marks nodded in approval, Harvey stopped and began thinking again. "Yeah. Okay. What about Raymond Earl? Why does he clench his fist?" Dr. Marks remained silent. "And what about Randall Milkie? I know you treated him over 10 years ago, and I want you to follow me because this part gets a little weird. See. I think a hypnotist completely turned both those men upside down until their own identity was the bad idea and then it wasn't even them clenching their fists anymore. It was the Spirit of the Goat."