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    Intervention: A Gripping Contemporary Christian Suspense Novel
    Intervention: A Gripping Contemporary Christian Suspense Novel
    Intervention: A Gripping Contemporary Christian Suspense Novel
    Ebook355 pages5 hours

    Intervention: A Gripping Contemporary Christian Suspense Novel

    By Terri Blackstock

    4/5

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    • Drug Addiction

    • Family

    • Family Relationships

    • Desperation

    • Fear

    • Police Procedural

    • Parent in Distress

    • Murder Mystery

    • Damsel in Distress

    • Race Against Time

    • Detective Story

    • Parental Neglect

    • Missing Child

    • Concerned Parent

    • Secret Identity

    • Police Investigation

    • Parent-Child Relationship

    • Missing Person

    • Intervention

    • Revenge

    About this ebook

    In this New York Times bestselling novel from Terri Blackstock, Barbara Covington has one more chance to save her daughter from a devastating addiction by staging an intervention. But when Emily disappears on the way to rehab--and her interventionist is found dead at the airport--Barbara enters the darkest nightmare of all.

    In the wake of Barbara's husband's death, her eighteen-year-old daughter Emily has developed a severe addiction to drugs, and Barbara is afraid her son Logan will pursue the same path. In desperation to save her daughter, Barbara enrolls Emily in a rehab program, complete with an intervention agent scheduled to securely escort Emily to the facility.

    Emily and the agent set off for Georgia, but when the interventionist is murdered in the parking garage of the Atlanta airport and Emily disappears into thin air, Emily becomes the prime suspect. Convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that her daughter is innocent, Barbara and her son race to Atlanta to try to find Emily before Detective Kent Harlan arrests her for the murder.

    Detective Kent has questions of his own. His gut tells him that this is a case of an addict killing for drugs, but as he gets to know Barbara, he begins to hope he’s wrong about Emily. Fearing for Emily's life, Barbara maintains her daughter's innocence. But does she really even know her daughter anymore?

    The panic level rises as the mysteries intensify: Did Emily's obsession with drugs lead her to commit murder--or is she another victim of a cold-blooded killer?

    Don't miss Terri Blackstock's Intervention series, a New York Times bestseller! With three captivating books in the Intervention series, including Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, you'll be hooked on the suspenseful storyline and compelling characters. Plus, this book comes with discussion questions for book clubs and a list of additional resources, making it perfect for group discussions and further exploration. Get your copy today!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780310313168
    Author

    Terri Blackstock

    Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series. Visit her website at www.terriblackstock.com; Facebook: tblackstock; Twitter: @terriblackstock.  

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    Reviews for Intervention

    4/5

    76 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Not one of my favourites by Blackstock because I felt that she didn't work hard enough to make us care about the drug-addicted daughter or explain the motivation of the mother but an interesting read. I don't know how she will address the underlying attraction between the mother and the cop considering they live across the country from one another in the second book...
    • 5/5
      very engaging and hard to put down...excellent character development.
    • 5/5
      A single mother engages an interventionist to escort her drug addict daughter to a rehabilitation center. They never even get there as the interventionist is found murdered in her vehicle and the girl has gone missing. Is the teenage girl the perpetrator or a victim? This is the story of a mother's anguish through her child's dark journey of substance abuse. A widow's story of doubt and self-recrimination as to how she had 'failed' her children. Most of all, a story of a woman's strength in holding together her sanity, her faith, her family... A high-octane suspense thriller that grips the reader from the start and never lets go. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. 5 stars!!!
    • 5/5
      I really liked Intervention by Terri Blackstock. It was an awesome book that told the story of a teen addicted with drugs that with her mother and brothers unrelenting help eventually came to Christ. Her father died a couple of years ago, so that was why she chose to turn to drugs-it was her way of grieving. This book really tells the tale of how others are affected by the actions of an addictive person within the family. However, on her way to intervention, her interventionist gets killed and she gets kidnapped. So her mother and little brother go on a search to find her.The love of the mother for her daughter was never extinguished even though it appeared her daughter would never come around. How many parents would mortgage their home to pay for treatment of an unwilling child? That's what Barbara Covington did and it paid off though not in the way she expected. During the time the daughter is kidnapped, she learns what Christ did for her. He took all of her pain and suffering at the cross so she could have eternal life in Heaven. I thought the book was awesome because the plot involved a teenage girl coming to Christ after a life of drugs. She finally realized what Jesus had done for her, so that she wouldn't have to. I think this is a book with a lesson to be learned. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.
    • 3/5
      There is good suspense once the novel gets going, but it was tougher for me to like the main characters early in the novel. The "bad guy" kind of comes out of left field partway through the book too.

      What I liked: Blackstock didn't glamorize the drug addict's life. She let us see how much the people around the addict suffer as well as showing insight into what goes through the addict's mind; Barbara and Lance both seem to love Emily despite what she's put the family through; Lance is still able to talk to Harlan about God even with all that's happened; Emily reaches out to God and finds He is still there, waiting for her to come to him;

      What I didn't like: Road Back Recovery's methods seem a bit off to me (based on Kent Harlan's visit there and what is recorded on the blog Barbara Covington reads); Barbara chooses the first rehab center that comes up on her search of Christian rehab centers--apparently without doing any further research into the treatment center--since she's paying big bucks to do this, one would think she'd want some assurance they had a decent treatment regimen; Lance doesn't listen to his mom and uses manipulative techniques to get her to give in to him--I'll justify the one where he calls Harlan to tattle on his mom when he thinks she's going to get herself into trouble, but others were not done for unselfish reasons;
    • 2/5
      First of all, I enjoy Christian fiction when well-written and engaging. I am over halfway through this book and I keep hoping it will get better. The main characters, Barbara Covington and her son Lance are on a mission to find their daughter and sister Emily, who disappears while enroute to a detox/rehab center. The interventionist is murdered and Emily is the prime suspect.

      The writing seems repetitive and overly simplistic and the characters do not engage me at all. It is a book I pick up and hope that I will begin to enjoy; however life is too short to read bad books and I feel I will abandon this one.

      Terri Blackstock is a favorite of mine with her series "Restoration" and I thought this would also be great. Not so. I recommend the "Restoration" series by Blackstock highly. The characters were very engaging and real. I felt a real sense of caring and wanting to know what happened next and eagerly picked up the book to find out. Not the same here.

      I do not see where there is much mention in the book of faith or God or Christianity as some readers have said, and I am over halfway through. Maybe that comes later on.
      This one by Blackstock is a "miss" for me. I also have "Double Minds" by this author and I hope it is better. Not recommended.

    Book preview

    Intervention - Terri Blackstock

    one

    The interventionist stood on the sidewalk at baggage claim, smoking a cigarette and chugging a Red Bull. What irony. The woman who’d promised to help rid Barbara’s daughter of her addictions clearly had a few of her own. Barbara considered driving past her, leaving her to get back on the plane and return to the rehab she ran. She could work this out herself—lock Emily in her room and take away her car keys, force her to stay sober. But hadn’t she already tried that? Despite Barbara’s best efforts to turn their home into a lockdown, Emily still managed to sneak out and get high.

    How had this happened?

    That familiar knot burned in Barbara’s stomach as she pulled to the curb and waved at the woman. It had to be her—the long red skirt, the white peasant blouse, just as she’d said. The outfit made her look more like a college student than someone who could escort a determined addict across the country. What if Emily put up a fight? How would this petite thing handle her?

    Barbara stopped along the curb and popped her trunk. Forcing a welcoming smile, she got out of the car. Hi, are you Trish?

    Sure am. The woman dropped her cigarette on the concrete and stomped it out with a sandaled foot, then thrust a hand out to Barbara. Trish Massey.

    I’m Barbara Covington.

    Barbara glanced at the small bag at the woman’s feet. Is this all you have?

    Yeah, I won’t be here long.

    She picked up Trish’s bag and set it on the back seat as Trish got into the car. Barbara slipped back into the driver’s seat. The car that she’d freshened with Febreze suddenly smelled of smoke. How was your trip?

    Uneventful, which is always a good thing. Trish was all smiles. So where did you tell Emily you were going?

    To an Al-Anon meeting.

    And that’s okay with her?

    Barbara breathed a laugh. Oh, yeah. She likes it when I’m working on her problem. She would love it if everybody she knew were going to meetings and wringing their hands. She loves to keep us playing the What-To-Do-About-Emily game.

    There she went again, letting her bitterness spill out to a stranger.

    Meetings are good, Trish said. Have you really been to any?

    Barbara slipped the car into Drive and pulled away from baggage claim, heading to the loop that would take them out of the airport and into Jefferson City. Plenty. I’ve done the workbooks and gone through the twelve steps, like I’m the one with the problem. I’ve done everything they’ve told me to do. But she’s still using.

    "Al-Anon meetings are to help you cope, not to give you some secret code to sober up your loved one."

    Barbara knew that now. She’d gone to a few meetings, hoping to learn what would work with Emily. When she didn’t get those answers, she’d lost interest. Her own sanity would return when her daughter was sane.

    Strange that a woman who couldn’t be more than thirty would be counseling Barbara now. And who was Trish to counsel an eighteen-year-old? Emily would take one look at her and declare her dominance.

    What was she doing? Maybe this was all wrong.

    You’re doing the right thing, Trish said, as though she’d read Barbara’s mind.

    Barbara didn’t want to cry in front of the stranger. For a moment she drove silently, staring at the taillights of the car in front of her. Finally, she spoke again. When Emily was going into preschool, I personally visited fourteen schools. I interviewed teachers. I even spent a day with her at the one I liked, to see how she fit in.

    I don’t blame you. I’d probably do the same thing if I had children.

    It’s no easy thing, sending her to a place like this, halfway across the country. But I had to act quickly. There wasn’t time for a careful, deliberate search. I should have been more prepared when things escalated.

    You mentioned on the phone that she’d stolen money?

    Yes. Not the first time, but this was the most she’d taken. Four hundred dollars, right out of my account. She got my debit card out of my purse, went to the ATM. Spent every penny on drugs.

    How do you know?

    Barbara’s fingers tightened over the steering wheel. Because she didn’t come home for three days. I found her strung out at a friend’s house. I got her to come home, and while she was sleeping, I searched her things. Found some credit cards she’d taken out in her dad’s name. John, my husband, died four years ago.

    Barbara paused, expecting a gasp, but it didn’t come. She supposed Trish had heard it all before. You had to intervene, Trish said. It sounds like her life has spun out of control.

    Barbara’s own life had spun out of control. First, John’s cancer had disrupted their idyllic lives. When he died, she swam through grief so deep it almost drowned her. Being a forty-year-old widow with two children was the next mire she slogged through. But now, Emily’s drug abuse was more than she could take.

    You won’t be disappointed in our program, Trish said.

    Barbara glanced at Trish. She’ll be locked in, right? Because if she isn’t, she’ll leave. I’ve tried treatment two other times—one time, she ran away after only a week. The second time, she smuggled drugs in and got kicked out.

    We don’t lock them in, but she’ll be monitored at all times. Don’t worry, we do this all the time. She’ll be very comfortable.

    Comfort wasn’t Barbara’s main concern, though she didn’t want Emily to be miserable. Barbara bit the inside of her cheek as she pulled onto the interstate, headed for the hotel she’d reserved for Trish. She was sinking thirty thousand dollars into Road Back Recovery Center, money that had come from a second mortgage on her house. But being expensive didn’t guarantee that it was good. Even the best rehabs had underwhelming success rates.

    She wished Trish inspired more confidence. You seem very young. How did you come to own Road Back?

    Trish flicked her hair behind her ear. I’m a recovering addict myself. I got clean at Road Back, and when I graduated, I stayed and worked there. I’ve been doing interventions for them for five years. A couple of years ago, the directors wanted to retire, so I decided to buy it. I couldn’t stand the thought of it not being there anymore. That’s how much I believe in the program.

    That made Barbara feel somewhat better. She wished she could go to the facility herself to make sure it was all they advertised. But once she’d made up her mind to do the intervention, there hadn’t been time to take a trip to check it out in person. Waiting could have resulted in Emily’s arrest.

    And Barbara knew she couldn’t take Emily there herself. No, it would take a professional to convince Emily to go, and Trish had to be the one to escort her. Barbara was sending her daughter off to some unknown place with this woman she didn’t know. Emily would pass this new threshold all alone . . . and be there for ninety days.

    Emily had once been a fan of Hello Kitty and Amelia Bedelia. Now she collected pictures of her hero, Amy Winehouse, the famous addict with the hit song about avoiding rehab. Barbara still loved Emily with a love so painful that it ached through her at night, keeping her from sleep, but she didn’t like this person who’d replaced her daughter. If only this rehab could exorcise the addiction within her, and return Emily home in her former condition . . .

    It would be a miracle.

    But what if this failed too? What if turmoil and madness were all the potential Emily would ever fulfill?

    Blinking back tears, she took the exit near her home. The Hampton Inn sign loomed ahead. I hope the room is okay. I went ahead and checked you in. Barbara handed Trish the key card.

    It’ll be fine. You should see some of the places I’ve had to stay. As Barbara pulled into the parking lot, Trish shifted in her seat to look at her. So, did you write the letters?

    Yes. She parked and got the envelopes from her purse. Here they are.

    Trish took them and turned on the overhead light. And who is Lance?

    My son. He’s fourteen. It’s just us.

    Did Emily’s problems start when her father died?

    Not right away. But losing John was hard on all of us. Over the next year she got in with the wrong crowd. She paused and settled her gaze on Trish. I want you to know, we’re not like this. There was never even alcohol in our home. I’ve taken her to church every Sunday of her life . . . Her voice faded. Trish had probably heard this same song and dance from every parent she dealt with.

    It’s not your fault.

    Then whose fault is it? Pursing her lips, Barbara let Trish read.

    Finally, Trish looked up. Will anyone else be at the intervention? Grandparents?

    They’re too far away, and not in good health. I’ve kept them in the dark about all this. It would kill them.

    Friends? A boss? Teachers?

    Emily dropped out of school several months ago. Her senior year, six months before graduating, so there aren’t teachers. Her friends are like her. They don’t want her sober. And she lost her job three weeks ago. Hasn’t been sober enough to get another one, so there’s not a boss who can get through to her. Barbara glanced at Trish in the shadows of the car. Is it a problem that it’s only my son and me?

    No, we can work with that. Trish handed the letters back. You both did a good job with the letters. You told her what her addiction is doing to the family, how you see her destroying herself, and what you’re asking her to do. The main thing is that you stick to your guns about what will happen if she refuses to go. To bring about change in her, you have to be willing to throw her out with no resources.

    Barbara said nothing. She had grappled with that issue for months now and lain awake for the past three nights, begging God to give her a way out. Why couldn’t he sweep down and deliver Emily, before Barbara had to send her away for help or throw her out on the street?

    Are you ready for that? Putting her out if she refuses to go?

    Barbara swallowed. I don’t know. I know it’s what I should do, but it’s like giving up. She’ll die for sure.

    Or she might hit bottom and decide to get help.

    Barbara wondered what hitting bottom really meant. The picture that always came to mind was of a body lying broken and bloody on the street after falling from a twenty-story building.

    I’ve tried tough love. The third time she got arrested for a DUI, they sentenced her to three weeks in the juvenile detention center. I didn’t bail her out. It was the hardest three weeks of my life.

    But it still didn’t scare her straight.

    No. She went back to drugs a week after she got out.

    Did you really think it would change her?

    I’d hoped. What good was all that suffering while she sat in jail, if she didn’t change?

    Your suffering, or hers?

    Barbara looked at Trish. Both.

    "Again, you’re doing the hard things because you expect them to change her. You need to shift your thinking. Tomorrow, if she refuses to go and you have to put her out, do it because you and your son refuse to keep participating in her destruction. Do it for the mental and emotional protection of you and Lance. And you have to convey that to her. Make her understand you’ve come to the end of your rope."

    Barbara leaned her head back on the seat. She has to go with you. That’s all there is to it.

    Trish reached over the back seat and got her bag. Sometimes they want treatment, she said. Sometimes they’re more fed up than you know with the endless cycle they’re caught in. Constantly trying to get enough money for another hit, thinking about it every waking moment, and never able to get that high they’re looking for. Running on that horrible treadmill just to feel normal—or their version of normal. Do you think she’s there yet?

    I don’t know. I really don’t. I was hoping you were here to convince her, even if she doesn’t want help.

    I can only do so much.

    So what had this extra thirty-five-hundred-dollar fee paid for? A free vacation for this woman? "She has to go with you. If she doesn’t, she’ll wind up in jail."

    Or dead.

    Dead. No, Barbara couldn’t survive burying anyone else. I can’t let that happen. This has to work.

    I’ll give it everything I’ve got. Maybe she’s sick of her disease.

    Barbara fought the urge to argue semantics. She hated the AA words like disease and relapse, like it was a virus Emily had caught somewhere. Yet she couldn’t deny that Emily was sick.

    Trish opened her car door. What time will you pick me up?

    Barbara tried to think. The flight she’d booked for Trish and Emily was at three p.m. tomorrow, and this thing could take hours. They had to start early. Eight a.m. I’ll get her up while you’re there.

    Tonight, you need to take her car to a friend’s house. Park it there and hide the keys. If it’s not in the driveway, she can’t talk you into giving her the keys. If she leaves, it’ll have to be without the car.

    That wouldn’t be hard. Emily could have one of her drug buddies there in minutes.

    Hopefully, her connection with you and her brother will be enough to make her go. And I’ll do my part to make her see the possibilities. She got out her cigarettes, pulled one out. It’ll be okay. Most of the interventions I do are successful.

    But there’s no guarantee.

    I’m afraid not.

    She’d have to pay her whether Emily agreed to go or not. It had to work. Her resources were running out.

    two

    Morning was slow in coming. All night, Barbara’s mind raced through possible outcomes. A year ago when she’d tried to force sobriety on her daughter, Emily had run out in a rage and called a cab, which took her to a place where she could use without censure. It had taken Barbara a week to locate her. Emily’s network of drug-using friends was loyal and kept secrets well.

    Barbara had taken pains to keep that from happening this time. She’d made certain Emily had no cash or credit cards in her wallet. Emily’s car was parked in the driveway of Barbara’s assistant who lived fifteen miles away, and the keys were well hidden. Barbara had taken Emily’s cell phone out of her purse, and her laptop was hidden in Barbara’s closet so Emily couldn’t communicate with her friends during the intervention.

    Still, her daughter’s resourceful, conniving mind usually ran a few steps ahead of Barbara’s. She had tried many times to guess what Emily might do in a given situation, but Emily almost always surprised her.

    Mom?

    Startled, Barbara sat up in bed and turned on her lamp. Her fourteen-year-old son, Lance, stood in her doorway, his dark hair tousled from his pillow. She glanced at the clock. It was five a.m. The sun hadn’t begun to come up yet.

    What is it?

    He sat down on her bed. I could tell you weren’t sleeping. I listened at the door, and you weren’t snoring.

    I don’t snore!

    You do, Mom. It’s not the demonic, gargoyle kind of snore, like Jacob’s dad does, but you definitely cut some Z’s.

    He looked like he’d had a rough night, as well. So, you couldn’t sleep, either? she asked.

    No. I keep thinking about how Emily’s gonna react when she sees that lady. She’ll just freak. It’s not gonna be fun. Mom, are you sure it’s the right thing?

    Barbara had asked herself that question a million times. Honey, what do you think will happen to her if we don’t intervene?

    He considered that for a moment, his blue eyes soft in the lamplight. I don’t know. I guess she’ll die.

    Then we have no choice, do we?

    But maybe she’ll come to her senses. I know a guy who had a brother who was heavy into cocaine or something, and one day he just got sick of it and quit.

    Emily’s addiction has taken over her mind, Lance. She’s not thinking clearly. I don’t think she can quit without some help.

    But if we force her to go, don’t you think she’ll just wait to get out and go right back to it, like she did the other times?

    "My hope is that she’ll get sober there, and then she’ll be able to think clearly. If she gets back into her right mind, she’ll want to get well, won’t she? How could anybody in their right mind not want that?"

    Lance lay down next to her, on the pillow where his dad once slept. I don’t know, Mom. Maybe her mind is wrecked so bad that she can’t ever think like that again.

    Barbara stared at the ceiling. Then we’ll keep her alive for the next few months. After that, we’ll figure out another way to keep her alive.

    Lance lay silently for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. Can’t we do it another day, and just go to the zoo or something?

    Barbara smiled. If only she could turn back time, to before Emily had her driver’s license and all the freedom that entailed. If only she could have her as a bright-eyed kid again, happy and enthusiastic, with hopes and dreams as big as the universe.

    I wish the zoo was the answer, she whispered. But this is big.

    You could ditch the rehab lady and take her yourself. At least then she wouldn’t be so scared. I’d be scared if some stranger showed up to take me across the country.

    What do you think would happen if I did that? First of all, she’d never go. She’d flat-out refuse. And if I did get her on the plane, she’d spend the whole time trying to talk me out of it. By the time we got there, Lance, she’d have me so worn down that I’d give in for sure.

    Yeah, she would.

    We can’t force her to go. All we can do is make her understand that if she won’t go, she won’t have our support anymore.

    That’s forcing her, Mom.

    No, she still has a choice. Deep inside that brain of hers, maybe she really wants a way out of this bondage.

    I hope so. I’m sick of all the drama.

    Me too. She closed her eyes as painful memories flooded her mind. Hey, Lance?

    Yeah.

    Don’t make me go through this again with you. Look at what drugs are doing to your sister, and decide never to use them.

    I won’t. I like my teeth. Emily’s look bad.

    Just another casualty of Emily’s drug use. After never having cavities as a child and wearing braces for a year, the drugs and nicotine were ruining her smile.

    I mean it, she said. There’ll come a day when you’ll have the chance, and you’ll think it’s no big deal. That you can handle it. But that’s a lie straight out of hell.

    I know. I’ve already had the chance, and I did say no.

    She sat up and looked down at him. You had the chance? You’re only fourteen. Where did you have the chance?

    Don’t worry about it, Mom. The bottom line is that I didn’t do it.

    Who offered it to you? One of your friends? Are they already using?

    You can get it anywhere. If I wanted to do it I could. But I’m not a loser like Emily.

    Your sister is not a loser. Barbara dropped back down on the bed. The ceiling fan had a spider web trailing across the blades. There had been a time in her life when they were spit-polished. Everything was once nice and neat, organized and beautiful—like an advertisement for her interior design business. Now bedlam ruled her home. I wish I could gather you both up and take you to some utopia where nothing bad could ever happen to you. I want you away from a culture that could do this to its young.

    It’s not so bad, Mom. Lance’s eyes were closed, and his voice was a whisper. You did your job. You raised us right.

    Did I? Barbara’s mind did its familiar replay of all those critical moments in Emily’s life when she’d done the wrong thing. She’d put her in the wrong high school, allowed her freedom too soon, failed to say no enough. There hadn’t been enough consequences for her infractions, and the consequences Emily had faced had been too severe. Barbara had been overbearing and under-attentive. She’d yelled too much, let too much pass.

    She heard Lance falling into a gentle sleep. The soft, rhythmic sound of his breathing told her she’d lost him.

    Funny how a parent’s goals could change. She had once dreamed of college and careers for her children, godly spouses and bouncing grandchildren. Though she still held that dream for Lance, she had only two goals for Emily—to keep her daughter from prison or death.

    That had to be enough for now.

    Tears burned as she thought of John, who’d died entrusting these children to her. She had done a terrible job with Emily. What would he think if he came back for a day and found that his daughter had given her life to drugs?

    She wished he could be here to sit through this intervention with her. He would be able to convince Emily to go. But if he were here, her daughter never would have chosen to medicate away her grief.

    Unable to sleep, Barbara got up to shower and get ready for this fateful day. She was a soldier going into battle, embarking on a fight for the soul of her child. Defeat was not an option.

    three

    Emily was hard to wake. Barbara stood over her bed, shaking her gently, pulling her from her sleep. Emily had slept fully dressed in a ragged pair of jeans that she’d worn for a week, and a Third Eye Blind T-shirt that reeked of odors Barbara couldn’t name. Tangled hair strung into her eyes, unwashed and greasy, thinner than it was a month ago. Deep, dark circles hung like bruises under her eyes.

    Barbara had left Lance in the living room making awkward conversation with Trish, who sipped black coffee, waiting to do what they’d paid her to do. Barbara’s heart was heavy as she turned Emily over and shook her again. Emily, wake up, honey.

    Emily’s eyes slit open. What? I’m sleeping.

    I need you to get up.

    Leave me alone. She turned over again and pulled her pillow over her head.

    Emily, get up. Now.

    What time is it?

    It’s eight-thirty.

    Are you kidding me? I’m not getting up at eight!

    Losing her patience, Barbara threw back the covers and pulled Emily up to a sitting position. I want you to come into the living room. Somebody’s here to see you.

    Emily squinted up. Who?

    Come out and you’ll see.

    No, tell me now. Is it the police?

    Barbara’s heart sank. Did Emily know something Barbara didn’t know? Were the police after her? Barbara crossed to the door, opened it. Come on.

    Emily slid out of bed. Can I at least go to the bathroom?

    Yes, but hurry. She watched as Emily dragged herself into the hall, to the bathroom next door. She followed her and waited outside the door. Emily was taking way too long. Was she using? How would they get through to her if she was high?

    Barbara opened the door. Emily stood at the sink, pills in her hand.

    What is wrong with you? Emily yelled, closing her hand. Why can’t you give me some privacy?

    This wasn’t going well. Barbara’s job was to get Emily to the living room quietly, in a non-threatening way. The introduction of her interventionist was supposed to be done calmly—not with yelling and anger. By the time Barbara

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