‘What about a child born with a bad heart, a cleft palate, even transgender cases, people who know they were born into the wrong body? Should they not be given every opportunity to live the right life for them or should they just shut up and play the hand they were dealt?’
Kim wondered how she had turned into the unreasonable one in this argument.
‘I suppose it depends on the methods,’ Kim countered.
‘We use a whole range of processes which I’m happy to discuss in more detail once I know the reason for your visit.’
‘We’re investigating two murders. Both victims may or may not be linked to your treatment facility.’
‘Please tell me their names.’
‘Jamie Mills.’
Celia nodded and frowned at the same time. ‘Jamie came to us a couple of years ago, brought in by his parents the first—’
‘So not everyone is here of their own accord,’ Kim noted. ‘Jamie was a minor and would have had to be put in the facility by his mother.’
Celia sighed heavily. ‘We do have occasional cases where the parents feel their child is at risk of suicide if they don’t get help. In these cases we do a risk assessment, and in Jamie’s case we found him to be suffering psychologically and deemed that it was in his best interest to have him stay for a while. I like to think we helped him see clearly.’
You sent him to the nearest gay bar and into the company of River Harris and probably the happiest days of his life, Kim thought. They had indeed helped him, just not in the way they intended.
‘Are you saying Jamie has been murdered?’
‘Yes, it was staged to look like suicide but it definitely wasn’t.’
‘Poor kid,’ Victor said, shaking his head.
‘But why?’ Celia asked.
‘Maybe because he was gay.’
‘But he wasn’t any more,’ Celia protested.
‘He actually really was,’ Kim argued, thinking about his social-media page.
Victor shook his head. ‘We should have kept him longer.’
Celia nodded her agreement.
Kim wanted to scream that it wouldn’t have made any difference, but they wouldn’t be convinced. They had built a lucrative business on their ideals.
‘What sort of treatment did Jamie receive during his stay?’
‘I’m sorry. I can’t discuss that with you without his parents’ written permission.’
Kim knew that was never gonna happen.
Celia continued. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be obstructive, but we could get into a lot of trouble.’
Having met Jamie’s parents, she could imagine just how much trouble. They wouldn’t want anything discussed about the son they wanted to bury and forget about as soon as possible.
‘Can you elaborate on the types of treatment you offer?’
‘I can certainly do that,’ Celia said, allowing Kim the loophole.
‘We offer substance-based methods, for example hormones, sexual stimulants, sexual depressants.’ She paused.
Kim had no questions. She’d assumed that much, although she didn’t see any of those options as a cure.