"Timmy, a four year old, was tortured in a tub of hot water. Not hot enough to actually cause damage to his skin, but hot enough to hurt. He would then be taken from the tub and sodomized. Tom, a seven year old, was woken in the middle of the night by the father lifting him out of bed by his throat. He was then dragged into the kitchen where he was usually beaten with the buckle end of a belt and then given a choice of punishments. Some of the punishments would consist of being burned on the stove or under the hot tap water or burned with cigarettes. Tom was hung by his arms on a hook on the wall that Peter kept raising as the child got taller. He would be made to stand against the wall for twelve sometimes fifteen hours, until he admitted to whatever crime Peter imagined he did. He would be made to do things like kneel while holding his heels, with his pajama bottoms rolled up to expose his knees, in a pile of uncooked rice, for hours on end."

Bill could see by the look in Susannah's eyes and by the rapid way she was describing the litany of tortures Todd endured that she needed to say all this. It was more than just a need to inform him. Susannah needed to be able to say this to someone with no emotional attachment to Todd or to his family, someone who could just listen and allow Susannah to express the pain she felt for this young man. Bill continued to listen without saying a word. He allowed Susannah to continue uninterrupted.

"Todd remembers some of this abuse. Most of it was blocked out. They were all made to play one of Peter's favorite games . . . making them hold their hand over a cigarette lighter for as long as they could. Thomas was one of them. He's an eight-year old doesn't feel pain. So Peter found the punishment he was most afraid of. He would lock him in a dark, rat infested storage shed. There are others who bear the emotional scars of what Peter and Barbara did. Jimmy is a fourteen-year-old who witnessed the father throw the mother out of the house and cause her to fall. This happened the day before she died. He has blamed himself ever since and is suicidal. Ten-year-old twin boys and girls came out because the mother sent Todd back to his father after he ran away and walked through the woods for nearly two days to find her."

Susannah took a deep breath and went on. "There's the other Todd. He's the fourteen-year-old alter who was the actual witness to Michelle's murder. He had been beaten, burned and raped by the father that same night. He was then forced to help bury Michelle's body. Pete is also fourteen. He tried to kill Peter that night for what he had done to Michelle. There is Rodd. He's Todd's age and handles Todd's sexuality. There are parent alters who nurture Todd and the children. Goodone, Miss Perkins and Carol. There is Saber, he is what's known as an internal persecutor alter. He embodies Peter Manning. He hates Todd and wants to destroy him."

Bill was left speechless by everything Susannah said. It was almost beyond his imagination and understanding. He looked at Susannah. While her voice was telling him a cold, clinical, description of her patient, her eyes held the sadness and sorrow she felt for him. Bill noticed Susannah's hands trembled as she lifted the coffee mug to her lips. He realized her professional demeanor, as she described the torture Todd had gone through, covered up the love she felt for her patient. Bill wanted to give Susannah some time away from all this. He knew she needed it and would not give it to herself.

"Doctor Hanen . . . Susannah, I have many more questions to ask you about Todd, but you know what? I think I would like to visit your Llanview Hospital cafeteria after all and see how it compares to the Palace Hotel."

"I'm sure you'll be, not, so pleasantly surprised," Susannah kidded and smiled at him.

Bill noticed what a lovely smile Susannah had. It was warm, open and honest.

"You know what I really hate?" Bill began, "To eat alone. How about joining me and then you can give me the grand tour? Then, if we're up to it, I can ask the rest of my questions."

Susannah realized, for the first time that day, she was hungry. She had not eaten breakfast and now it was nearly noon. "I think you have yourself a deal, Commissioner. I just have to check in on Todd. Can you wait for me in the lounge in front of Todd's room?"

"Sure, it will give me a chance to work up more of an appetite," Bill happily agreed.

Susannah walked him to the lounge. The Baby was still out. He had already had two feedings since the morning. He had been put back to bed to allow him to sleep for a while. He was on his stomach, sucking his thumb.

Bill was surprised when Susannah asked him to step into Todd's room for a minute. "I thought you didn't want me anywhere near him?" Bill restated Susannah's words.

"He's sleeping. He won't know you're there," Susannah replied.

Viki and Sam knew Susannah was going to bring Bill in to see Todd and they knew why.

Bill saw them standing by the bed when he came into Todd's room.

"This is Todd," Susannah pointed to the figure in the bed.

Bill was not sure what he had expected, but this was not it. Bill could not believe his eyes. The young man who lay in the bed, on his stomach, sucking his thumb, was skin and bones. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent. The Baby's innocence was evidencing itself through Todd's face. Bill's heart broke for this boy. This was not what Bill expected to see. He immediately knew this young man could no more have taken a bat to his best friend's skull then his own children could have. He, like those who loved Todd, knew he would do whatever was in his power to keep Todd out of prison. Susannah looked at Bill's face. She knew allowing him to see Todd, to see the sleeping Baby, was the right thing to do.

Both Susannah and Bill made it a point not to talk about Todd during lunch. Susannah realized she needed a break as much as Bill had realized she needed one. They did talk about some places in Chicago that they were both familiar with. They spoke about places to see in Llanview. Bill told her that he was divorced and shared custody of his three children aged sixteen, twelve and eight. Susannah told him that she had never married. What she didn't say, was that her career had been "her baby," until Todd.

They discovered that they both liked museums, old movies, the Chicago Cubs and deep-dish pizza. Susannah took Bill on a tour of the hospital. Finally, they headed back to the psychiatric unit Todd was on.

Susannah asked Bill to wait in her office for her while she checked on Todd. Viki had gone to the lounge to get some rest. Sam was standing over Todd's bed, jangling some keys above the Baby's face. The Baby reached out for them and laughed and cooed.

"He's been pretty active since he woke up. He's been reaching out for things and he's been very vocal," Sam informed Susannah, letting her know the Baby had been happily gurgling away and cooing, as usual.

As if on cue, he gurgled and laughed when Susannah approached him. He reached for her locket as she bent over him to listen to his heart. Susannah remembered how he had done that when he first came out.

"We have to get you back in the chair, huh, cutie? Yeah, I know you like that, don't you?" Susannah stated as she watched him put her locket in his mouth. "Here, I brought you back something from the cafeteria that tastes better than an old locket."

Susannah reached into a bag she had brought in with her and handed the Baby a bagel. "It's better for you too," she said, smiling at him.

The Baby reached up and grabbed the bagel. He put it in his mouth and began to suck on it.

"Well, that's one way to get food into him," Sam declared. He smiled at Susannah's ingenuity.

"Sam, as soon as Viki is rested I would like for you both to come to my office and join Bill and me. I have already explained about the alters to him. I thought perhaps you and Viki might have some questions or something you wanted to say to him," Susannah stated.

"What do you think of him? Do you get the same feeling Bo and Tea did, that you can trust him?" Sam asked nervously.

"Sam I do. I absolutely do. Especially now that he's seen Todd. He loves kids, Sam. He has three of his own. I'm sure he believes Todd did nothing to hurt Michelle," Susannah was sure of what she had just said.

"Susannah, sometimes your instincts amaze me. How did you know bringing him in to see the Baby was the right thing to do? I know the Baby got to him. I saw it in his face," Sam confirmed. Sam's eyes were full of admiration for Susannah.

"I just had a hunch. Even shrinks just go on hunches sometimes," Susannah joked.

The Baby started to coo loudly.

"What's the matter cutie? No one is paying attention to you?" Susannah said, as she walked over to him stroked his head.

He held the bagel up to her and laughed. She took it and handed it back to him again. They did this several times. Susannah could see he was enjoying the game he made up. She called Frank and Terry in to secure him to the chair again.

He didn't put up much of a fuss this time. The Baby's sweet nature charmed anyone who came in contact with him. This child was pure joy. He didn't seem to be too traumatized by his bout with pneumonia. Of course he was unconscious for most of it.

Terry and Frank enjoyed keeping him occupied with a game of "peek-a-boo." They covered their face with their hands and then removed them, calling out "peek-a-boo," as the Baby kept laughing and laughing.

"I think this would be a good time to come to my office and meet Bill. Do you think we should disturb Viki?" Susannah asked.

"I think she would very much want to be disturbed for this," Sam answered.

Sam, Viki, Susannah and Bill sat in the club chairs in Susannah office.

"Has Todd always dissociated, if that is that the correct term, into an infant?" Bill inquired.

They could tell that Bill had been studying up on DID.

"Yes, that's the correct term. The Baby didn't come out until after Todd went to the lodge and after he went blind. He may have been dormant for many years or the trauma of what happened may have caused a new split. Bill, Todd's case is the most complex I've ever worked on. The traumas he experienced were horrendous and chronic," Susannah explained.

"You said he has nineteen alters that you know of. How many more can he have? Is there a limit?" Bill asked.

"The only limit is Todd's imagination. Every alter's compartmentalized to a specific trauma. The system is efficient," Susannah replied.

"I guess Todd had enough trauma in his young life for an army of alters," Bill said sadly.

"Bill, Bo and Tea mentioned that eventually you will have to take this case to the DA, a Steve Harris. From what we heard this would not be good news for Todd," Sam stated.

Before Bill had a chance to respond Viki said, "now that you seen Todd and Susannah has explained some of the details of his life to you, you can't believe that he killed Michelle? You have to know that what you heard on the tape was true. It almost, literally, killed that child to tell what happened. The time he spent at the lodge was agony for him. Can you imagine what it must be like to go through life with a secret like that? Bill, my brother was a much a victim of Peter as Michelle was," Viki statement as more like a plea.

"Mrs. Carpenter, I want you to know that the more I find out about this case the more I want to find a way to prove Todd did not kill that girl. Right now I have no body and no evidence that a crime has been committed. I have a taped description of a rape and a murder made by a desperately ill boy. I do not feel I would be doing Mr. Harris a service by bringing an unsubstantiated case to him. So, in plain English, no I am not planning on going to him in the near future. I want to find that girl's body, if it's there and I want to find that bat and have it tested. I want to prove, beyond a doubt, that Todd could not have killed Michelle Baker. Then I will go to see our new DA."

Bill was touched deeply by the look of gratitude on Sam and Viki's face. He was still haunted by her despair, earlier that day, as she spoke to Susannah outside Todd's room.

Susannah held off telling them about Paradise. She knew on one hand it would get their hopes up, and on the other it would mean Bill was that much closer to having a case to take to Steve Harris.

As if he could read her mind, Bill asked, "Susannah, you hypnotized Todd to get him to be able to tell you what happened that night. Why can't you hypnotize him again and try to find out where Michelle is buried?"

"I feel that, at this point, that would be far too traumatic for him. Reliving it sent him into shock the last time. I can't get to it directly, with him or any of the alters. I have to approach them in subtler ways. The other Todd, the boy who was actually there that night, is extremely fragile. He stayed hidden for fifteen years. He still hides. He doesn't live among the others. He cries constantly. The others can hear him, including Todd. They are frightened by the sound of his cries. Miss Perkins, a caretaker for some of the children, encourages them to cover their ears and ignore him. She is afraid of him. I think she has always known the secret he kept."

"Another boy came out at the end didn't he?" Bill remembered the tape.

"Timmy?" Sam responded, thinking that was whom Bill was talking about.

"No, the one you called Pete," Bill clarified.

Sam, Viki and Susannah exchanged looks.

"Did I say something wrong?" Bill asked.

"No, not at all," Viki answered.

"It's just that Pete came out last night and that was the first time he came out since the lodge," Sam explained.

"Is that the one you told me tried to leave?" Bill directed his question at Susannah.

"Yes, Pete has been trying to get out since the day he first found himself here. He doesn't handle confinement very well," Susannah confirmed.

"Does he remember what was disclosed at the lodge?" Bill pressed for information.

Susannah knew that neither Sam nor Viki were privy to what Pete said when she saw him last night. It was not that she didn't trust Bill, but she did not think this would be a good time to divulge the fact that Pete does remember and that he said Michelle was buried in Paradise. Susannah did not want anyone to put pressure on her to try to get Pete back. She felt forcing him back, if she could, would not be good for any of them. Lying did not come easily to Susannah. As a matter of fact she hated even the smallest evasion of the truth. Susannah was a firm believer in "the truth shall set you free." Now, however, her instincts were telling her that she should not divulge Pete's memories of that night. "Pete was really not coherent when I spoke with him. He had already been heavily sedated," Susannah answered truthfully but leaving out what Pete confirmed.

Bill accepted that without question. Susannah already felt guilty, something she hated to feel.

They heard a knock on the door. "Yes," Susannah called out.

"Susannah, I'm sorry to interrupt, Terry apologized as she stepped into the office.

"That's all right, come in," Susannah motioned her in with a wave of her hand.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" Terry asked.

"It's all right, you can speak in front of the Commissioner," Susannah assured her.

"The Baby needed changing so we moved him to the bed and Frank was cleaning him up. Andy came out. He became he became terrified when he realized Frank was washing his genital area. He jumped off the bed and . . ."

"Where is he now?" Susannah interrupted.

"He managed to crawl under the bed before we could stop him. We didn't want to try to get him back out until we checked with you. He's talking to himself and crying. As weak as he is his movements are much quicker than most of the others. We allowed him to get away from us. I'm really sorry Susannah." Terry took responsibility without making excuses.

"That's all right. I know how fast Andy can be. Who's with him now?" Susannah understood that this was not Terry or Franks fault. "Frank," Terry replied and added, "Carl just came on shift he's also in the room."

"We'll be right there," Susannah said to Terry. Susannah then looked at Bill and said, "You may as well meet Andy, but no questions, understand!" "Doctor Hanen, do you always bark orders at people that way?" Bill asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Yes," Susannah answered and then said, "let's go."

TO BE CONTINUED