"Have you talked to the police? Rape is a very serious crime"
"No! I, what would I tell them? Th-That some ghost tore my clothes off and, and--" Christine clutched herself and leaned forward sobbing.
Marcia grabbed some tissues from her drawer and came around her desk.
"Here, I'm sorry." She patted the terrified woman's shoulder and made soothing noises. {if I'd wanted to be a councelor I'd have trained for it.} She thought to herself.
"I'm so sorry," Christine sobbed, trying to stand, "I'll go--"
"No." Marcia said firmly, startling her would-be client. "I'm the one who's sorry, I should have realised I was dealing with a trauma victim and been more compasionate. Let's go sit on my sofa and you can take as long as you need to compose yourself."
"Thank you," Christine said, dabbing at her eyes as Marcia lead the way. "You're the first person to take me seriously."
The two women sat together; Marcia mentally weighing whether dealing with an emotional basket case would be worth what this case might do for her bank balance, Christine blowing her nose and checking her make-up.
Christine folded her compact with a snap and looked at Marcia appologetically. "I suppose you think I'm vain, but if my make-up is mussed when I get home I'll have to explain to--to my husband where I've been."
"Is your husband aware of what happened to you?" Marcia asked.
"He, at first he thought I was cheating on him. Now he thinks I got high on paint stripper and made it all up. Only--"
"Only what Christine? You need to tell me as much as you can for me to be able to help you."
"It's happened m-more than once." The woman gasped as if the effort of saying this had been almost more than she could bear.
"Okay, why don't we start from the beginning" Marcia said. "Tell me about yourself and your husband and why you bought that house."