Oops. I’d said his name out loud.
“Ah, um, no one—”
“Aren’t you listening?” The woman waved a hand at me impatiently. “This is important. There’s a stash of money and jewellery and rare coins in a hiding spot in my house and it’s worth a lot of money, and if no one knows where it is, they’ll clear out my house and sell it and no one will get it. Or maybe the new owners might find it. I can’t let that happen. You have to tell him where it is.”
Dr Calthorpe cleared his throat again. “Maddelyn? Are you okay?”
Did I tell him his grandmother was here and risk him thinking I’ve lost my mind? Do I ignore her?
I didn’t think that was possible. She looked like she was going to dive across the desk and throttle me if I didn’t help her.
I looked the doctor in the eye. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Yes, of course,” he said, a slight frown creasing his brow.
“These delusions. They’re not delusions. I can see the spirits of people who have passed away.”
His brows crept upwards.
“The guy yesterday had just died and he was confused and upset.”
“Get on with it, dear,” she urged. I cut her a look.
His face hadn’t changed. Was that a good sign? Probably not. I pushed on.
“And now there’s someone else here. She says she’s your grandmother.”
His eyebrows slammed back down again. “That’s impossible,” he scoffed. “My grandmother is very much alive.”
“Not anymore,” she said. “Tell him my name is Ethel.”
“She says her name is Ethel,” I said.
“How did you know that? Have you been stalking me online or something?”
“No. She’s here. She says she passed away this morning.”
His face went pale. It took a few seconds for him to compose himself.
He straightened his back, his mouth a straight line. “Maddelyn, this isn’t funny. Death is not something to joke about.”
“Tell him you can prove it. I’ll tell you some things only I would know.”
“I’m not joking, Doc. I can prove it.”
He folded his arms across his broad chest. “Okay. Prove it to me.”
I looked at Ethel and raised my eyebrows.
“Tell him that my name is Ethel Margaret Calthorpe. I have two sisters and one half-brother.”
I repeated what she’d said and his face paled some more. “You could have found out that information with some digging.”
“Tell him that I was in love with Cary Grant when I was young… and I’ve always been too afraid to drive a car.”
I told him.
“You could have asked someone else in my family.”
“Okay. When he was little, we used to pick up fallen banksia flowers and gum nuts for him to play with because he loved the story of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.”
This one sounded like something he wouldn’t have told anyone.
“My mother knows about that.”
I frowned. “How do you suppose I was able to contact your mother while being locked up in here?”
“You could have help from someone… Your mother.”
“How—”
“Okay, okay,” she said. “He has a large mole on the back of his left knee and a weird birthmark on his right shoulder that looks like a little bird. The last time he came to visit, we ate carrot cake and talked about my home town of Terrigal and how I miss the beach.”
Once I’d repeated this information, he faltered. “Would you excuse me, Maddelyn?”
“Sure.”
He left the room and Ethel followed, leaving me alone in his office. My mind was a mess. I went from hoping he would let me go home to panicking that I’d just blown my chances forever.
Surely he would release me once he found out that his grandmother had died.
But… ice slid down my spine. What if she wasn’t dead? What if her spirit wasn’t really here? What if I really was delusional?
Stop. Just stop.
I took some deep breaths while logic pushed its way into my brain. If I’d just imagined her here, the “facts” would be wrong. He would have told me outright that I was wrong. Instead, he had run out to see if his grandma was really dead.
I wanted to be right, but I hated the fact that to find out I was right meant that he was finding out that his grandmother was gone. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath in. There was nothing I could do about her.
When he returned about ten minutes later, his eyes were glassy and his face was red. “How did you know?”
His voice was almost a whisper.
I lifted my chin. “I know because she’s here. In this room. She told me what happened. She wants me to help her. She has something to tell you. It’s important.”
He looked around the room. “Where is she?”
“Standing to your left.”
He looked to his left and loosened his tie. “What does she want to tell me?”
“There are some rare coins, money, and jewellery hidden in her house. No one knows where they are. She is worried that they will never be found.”
He swallowed hard. “Where?”
I looked to her.
“There’s a loose floorboard under my bedside chest. There’s a nice little cavity there and I’ve jammed it full of goodies.” She beamed at me like a kid who just won a medal.
I repeated her words and watched his face. Did he actually believe me?
“Thank you, Maddelyn. I…” He loosened his tie some more. “… I will need to check this out, you understand?” I nodded. “I think our session for today is over. I would like to see you tomorrow. I’ll make the appointment with Melinda.”
“I’m really sorry about your grandma.”
He seemed a bit dazed. I took his silence as my cue to leave.
Ethel smiled at me. “Thank you, dearie. You did good.”
I smiled back and left the room.
Warmth blossomed in my chest, followed by a chill. Did he believe me? Would he find her treasures? Questions filled my head.
Three sets of eyes looked at me expectantly when I reached my spot in the garden.
“What happened?” Mrs C asked. “What did he say?”
How was I going to explain this? “Well, Doctor Calthorpe’s first name is Ivan.” I giggled. Their frowns made me want to laugh out loud. “Okay. So, Doctor Calthorpe’s grandmother popped into the room while we were talking.”
Her face fell. “Oh, no. Not again. How did you avoid looking at her while you spoke to the doctor?”
“I couldn’t. She wouldn’t let me. She had something important to tell him.”
“So what did you do?”
I hesitated. “I told him I could see ghosts and that she was there.”
All three of them talked at once and I held up a hand to stop them.
“He didn’t believe me at first because he didn’t know she’d passed away this morning, but she told me some personal stuff that convinced him. He went and made a phone call and found out that she really had died, so I told him her message. She had some money and stuff stashed under a floorboard and was worried no one would find it.”
“So, what happened after that?”
I pushed some hair behind my ear. “I think he believes me now. He wants to see me tomorrow. I guess he’ll go and check out her hiding spot tonight.”
Mrs C sat on the grass and tucked her legs under her. “Well. I guess we have to wait till tomorrow then. This could be good, Maddelyn. If he finds the money, he’ll know you’re not delusional.”
Mr Newbie was quiet. Maybe because he knew I was still angry with him. Mrs C had had a long conversation with him at some point yesterday and he still couldn’t remember his name — or anything else.
Mr J’s eyes were bright. “He’ll have to let you go home if he knows you’re not crazy.”
I’d already come to that conclusion, but I was desperately trying not to get my hopes up. “Yeah. I hope so.”
The butterflies in my stomach wouldn’t quit. I had to slow my breathing so I wouldn’t get light-headed.
All I could do now was wait.
I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the thing that put me here in the first place could be the thing that got me out.
Mr Newbie turned to me with a scowl. “I can’t believe it. Are you out of your damn mind?”
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Author's Note: What’s his problem?
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