“Sorry there aren’t more chairs,” Isobel spoke up. “It’s usually just me and the individual I’m treating in here.”
“It’s fine.” Poppy offered the other woman a soft smile.
“Before we begin, would anyone like something to drink? I can get us some water or coffee…I think there might also be some tea—”
“We’re not here for tea and crumpets, Doc,” Jax interrupted with a cross of his arms and a wide, almost defensive stance. “We came to get answers.”
Unfazed by Jax’s sour mood, Isobel simply smiled. “And I hope to help you find them. Or rather you.” She turned to Poppy. “Detective King tells me you witnessed two men committing a crime, but you’re still a little fuzzy on the details.”
Poppy nodded. “I know I saw two men put a body into a trunk, and that person was bleeding and appeared to be dead. I know all three men were white, and one of the men—the one who seemed to be in charge—was either bald or balding. But it was dark, and I couldn’t make out the details of their faces.”
“Perhaps you did, but you simply can’t remember.”
Brows turning inward, Poppy stared back Isobel. “What do you mean?”
“Our brains are very complex machines. They record a lot more than we think. The trick is figuring out how to access those memories in order for them to be more useful.”
“And you can do that?” Poppy asked, hope blooming inside her chest. “You can help me remember more from that night?”
“I can’t make any promises, but we can sure try.”
“How?” Jax demanded to know.
Isobel slid her hazel gaze in his direction. “It’s called forensic hypnosis.”
“You want to try to hypnotize me?”
“Seriously, Dec?” Jax shot his brother a look before the nice doctor could answer. “This is what you brought us down here for?”
“I know how it sounds, but just hear her out.”
“The use of hypnosis in criminal investigations has been around for decades. While it can be open to scrutiny in the court system, it’s been known to help victims and witnesses recall details from crimes they can’t otherwise seem to remember. It gained popularity in the nineteen fifties and has been well-documented in hundreds of court cases across the globe since.”
“What do I have to do?”
“No. Fuck this.” Jax turned and started for the door.
With a deep scowl, Poppy asked, “Where are you going?”
“I’m taking you home.” Almost too quickly, he amended that answer to, “Not your home. I meant my place.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “We’re leaving.”
Staring at the back of his handsome head, Poppy crossed her arms at her chest and firmly planted her feet on the room’s tiled floor. “No, we’re not.”
Jax froze mid-reach, turning away from the closed door. “Excuse me?”
“I said I’m not leaving. Not until I’ve at least tried this hypnosis thing.”
“You can’t possibly think this is going to work.”
Poppy shrugged. “Won’t know unless we try.”
“She’s right, Jax.” Declan stood by Poppy’s side. “Look, I get that it’s an unorthodox approach, but if there’s anything else in Poppy’s head and Dr. Garcia can help her retrieve it, it could give us exactly what we need to close this one.”
“You can go if you want,” Poppy told Jax bluntly. “But I’m staying.”
His dark gaze locked with hers, the muscles on both sides of his jaw bulging with what she knew to be a set of clenched teeth. And just when she thought he was going to turn around and leave, he swung his gaze in Isobel’s direction.
“This is safe, right?” he demanded. “You don’t have to inject her with anything?”