xp_logs | Angelo and Caitlin, Friday evening (Reply)

Angelo gets to the police station and has a talk with Caitlin the social worker.

The young man in the police station interview room was visibly nervous, shifting from foot to foot as he waited. He'd never liked places like this, even when he knew he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Mr. Espinosa?" Caitlin smiled at the young man nervously shuffling back and forth in the interview room. "I"m Caitlin Sheppard. I understand you know Amanda?"

He looked up at her with a quick nod and something like a smile in return. "Yeah, we, uh... we've been datin' for a bit over a year now."

Caitlin nodded and then put on her 'professional' face--calm reassurance and mild sympathy. "Mr. Espinosa, in normal circumstances I am bound by confidentiality not to disclose any information to you regarding Amanda--or, in fact, even acknowledge I possess any information. However, in cases where a person's welfare is at issue--" She paused, and sighed. "Mr. Espinosa, Amanda is here and appears to be...in a very unstable state. Any information you can give me to help her would be appreciated. And I'll try to answer any questions you may have."

"I don't know what happened", he said quietly. "Nothin' like this ever happened before. You can ask whatever you want, though, if you think it'll help. When can I see her?"

Caitlin danced around his question for a moment, answering his first response. "You said you've been dating Amanda for about a year--and this hasn't happened before? Has Amanda been under any stress recently? Depressed or upset? Is she working, and if so, has she had any problems at work?" Caitlin smiled a little ruefully, "I realize I'm asking a lot of questions, Mr. Espinosa, but I just need to know if anything has happened that could have triggered..ah...anxiety, recently."

"I've known her longer than that", he corrected. "Since she was sixteen. An' her work is kind of stressful sometimes - she works for a think tank - an' there's some bad stuff in her past, but she's seein' a therapist. I don't know what set this off." That was a lie, of course, but he couldn't exactly explain the truth.

"Has Amanda discussed with you anything about her past," Caitlin asked. "And how long has she been seeing a therapist?"

"Since we were at school", Angelo told her. "A different one to now, though, the first guy was for kids an' teenagers. An' for her past... I know she was on the streets before, an' I know about a guy called Rack." He was watching Caitlin's face on that, to see if the name meant anything to her.

Caitlin nodded slowly. "During the time you've known Amanda, has she ever mentioned hearing noises or unusual sounds? Or had dreams that caused her to wake in the night? Has she..." Caitlin paused, searching for a way to phrase the question delicately. "Has she continued with her interest in, ah, the occult, or magic?"

"She has nightmares sometimes", he confirmed. "Not as much now as she used to, but she does. Don't know about hearin' noises. But she's still into magic, some. Nothin' that'd worry me."

Thinking about the way Amanda had presented in the interview room earlier, Caitlin was still concerned about the lack of any triggering event. "Mr. Espinosa, to be truthful, I'm very concerned about Amanda. At the moment she is...in a very fragile state, and her perception of reality seems to be, ah, altered. We still don't know what triggered this incident, and until we do, she may require a significant amount of mental health care."

"I wasn't here - she was on a business trip, I was back in America. Ms. Sheppard... I've been here lookin' for her for two weeks, since she disappeared. Her friends have been here, her brother's been here as much as he could, he made me promise t'call her family in Germany if anythin' changed... I need to see her. Please. Maybe it'll even help - an' if not, then I'll call her brother an' you can talk to him about what t'do." His face was wide open, pleading.

Caitlin bit her lip absently. "I would like to let you see Amanda, but I want you to understand that..." she trailed off, took a breath and continued again, focusing on the young man in front of her, "the Amanda you're going to see may be very different from the Amanda you're familiar with. Mr. Espinosa, with individuals who are exhibiting these kinds of symptoms--it may very well be weeks before we can determine the cause of her behaviors and work to manage them. I wish I could wave a magic wand and cure whatever is causing this...situation, but I can't. Amanda has had a very troubled life, and it may take some time for her to regain her stability."

Angelo nodded seriously. "I'll be here, whatever happens. I promised."

She studied his sober face carefully and then finally nodded. "Alright. I'll give my approval, but you will need to talk with PC Acland first."

"Not a problem. I'll do anythin' if it gets me in to see her."