The House of Secrets

by Terry Lynn Thomas

  ‘But to answer your question, I’ll just say that I remain hopeful. You’ll learn more about his story when you transcribe my notes. I read what you did yesterday. Commendable job.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said, pleased with myself for a job well done.

  ‘I’ve left a pile of handwritten pages on your desk. You will find the date they were written in the upper right-hand corner. If you would organize them chronologically, current date on top, that is the order I would like them in when you type them up. They aren’t going to be included in the book, but I need them typed today.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I’m glad you’re here, Sarah. I will see you later. I must check on my patients. Oh, and get you a key.’

  Dr Geisler thanked Mrs McDougal for breakfast and left me sitting at the table with the San Francisco Examiner. The headlines RAF Rips at Berlin: Fires Rage and Jap Fleet Nears New Guinea jumped out at me.

  Here I was, worried about mundane matters, while our soldiers faced the ravages of war and, somewhere in this city, someone’s wife, mother, or daughter was receiving a dreaded visit from a Western Union man.

  * * *

  Someone had left a flower arrangement on the desk in my office, a simple Mason jar filled with yellow roses, white tulips, and a spray of baby’s breath. There was no card, and I wondered if they were from Zeke. They brightened the room, a singular attempt to override the endless grey outside my window.

  The promised pile of notes lay on my desk, waiting for me to sort them. I opened the curtains and the window, turned on the banker’s lamp, and set about my task.

  I couldn’t help but read the notes as I organized them. They were written accounts of Dr Geisler’s hypnotherapy sessions dating as far back as 1938. I read of patients who had lost weight, controlled pain, and overcame chronic phobias. Dr Geisler had even cured two children of bedwetting.

  I had just settled into a routine, sorting by year, then month, when Bethany came into the room.

  ‘I’ve come to see how you’re doing today,’ she said. She eyed the pile of papers on my desk and the vase of flowers.

  I stretched my neck and flexed my fingers, using the exercises that Miss Macky had taught us to treat the inevitable cramps that arose after long hours of typewriting.

  ‘Beautiful flowers,’ Bethany said.

  ‘I don’t know who they’re from. I used to grow roses at my house in Bennett Cove.’

  ‘Do you miss it there?’ Bethany sat down in the chair next to my desk.

  ‘No. My memories of Bennett Cove are not good. But I love the beach.’

  ‘Sometimes it’s difficult to leave the past behind.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll see you at lunchtime.’ She left my office, closing the door behind her.

  Through my window, I could hear her enter Dr Geisler’s office. The conversation between them latched on to the spring breeze and flowed into my office, allowing me to hear it as though I were in the same room.

  ‘Did you buy Sarah flowers?’ Bethany asked.

  ‘I did. The poor girl deserved a little something. She’s alone in the world, and Jack Bennett’s trial has taken a horrible toll on her. She’s upset over Zeke. You can tell by looking at her.’

  ‘She’s doing a good job of avoiding him. They met yesterday in the library. They were very intimate at first. There’s no denying they are in love. You can see it between them. But Sarah’s jumpy. I wonder if she knows her own mind, Matthew. She’s at least ten years younger than he.’

  ‘Sarah’s 26 and Zeke is 34, but Sarah’s an old soul. I think they are good for each other. There’s no need for you to watch her every move, darling. Let’s try to make her feel at home. We must get her a key—’

  ‘Matthew, don’t try to placate me. We need to finish our conversation. As I told you last night, I’m concerned that you would turn away paying patients, when we are so low on funds. There are patients ready to check in to this hospital and pay us to be here. In order to make the hospital pay for itself, we need to have patients in the beds.’

  ‘But I don’t have the time to give to them, not now. Can you not see that?’

  ‘Because you’re off on these séances with Minna? Matthew, darling, please. I love you, but I am so worried. You’ve become obsessed with Alysse, and for some strange reason you think that Sarah Bennett is connected to her. Don’t you realize how absurd you sound? Alysse is dead. This obsession of yours is not healthy.’

  I heard the sound of a chair moving on the wood floor. In my mind’s eye, I saw Dr Geisler moving around the desk to sit next to his wife.

  ‘I can’t explain what I saw at the trial, darling. And as crazy as it sounds, Alysse was there. I know it.’

  ‘Have you seen her, Matthew? Have you seen her with Sarah?’

  ‘Well, no, not really. I just—’

  ‘I can’t talk to you about this, Matthew. Not now. We need to take the patients. These are soldiers with psychiatric injuries, soldiers who need peace and quiet. They need our help, now. The hospital needs the income. We can charge them, and I can get Dr Severton to see to their care. Don’t you see, you need to work, darling? You can pursue this new interest of yours at the weekends.’ Bethany couldn’t keep the desperation out of her voice.

  ‘Dr Severton could see to the patients. That’s a splendid idea. You know, Bethany, you do have a remarkable business sense. Whatever you think, darling. I trust you implicitly. I know this hospital means the world to you. That’s why you’re the business manager.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I’ll see to it right away. How’s Sarah doing? Will she be able to do the job?’

  ‘She is doing very well,’ he said.

  ‘Matthew, you realize if the newspapers discover you’ve hired Sarah, they will stake this place out. We’ll get no peace. The sanctuary we offer our patients will be compromised.’

  They murmured and for a moment I couldn’t hear what was said between them.

  ‘What’s bothering you, darling? Something tells me that your worries have nothing to do with Sarah or my interest in the occult.’

  ‘It’s Minna,’ she said. ‘I’m worried about her. I know that she believes she has a newfound psychic ability, and I realize how interesting that is to you. She thinks that Gregory is alive and has come to get his revenge. She needs more help than we can provide. I know how much you care for her, but I think we are doing her a disservice by allowing her to stay here. This house can only remind her of the past. You don’t believe that Minna is truly a medium, do you? Darling, you are risking your career.’

  ‘You’re shivering,’ he said.

  ‘Close the window, please. It’s freezing in here.’

  He closed the window. And that was that. I couldn’t hear them any longer.

  Try as I might, I couldn’t focus on the stack of notes that needed to be sorted. Rather than sit at my desk, I stood by the door that led into Dr Geisler’s office with my ear pressed against it. I could have left, gone upstairs, packed my things, and slipped out the front door with no one any the wiser. But I had no place to go and no money to get there. I listened until I heard Bethany leave. When the door shut behind her, I slipped into Dr Geisler’s office. He uncapped his pen and started to make some notes on one of the yellow pads that were scattered all around the office.

  ‘Excuse me,’ I said.

  ‘Finished?’ Dr Geisler put his pen down.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Are you able to read my handwriting?’

  ‘Yes.’

  He studied me and something in my expression must have led him to ask, ‘Is everything okay?’

  I pointed at one of the guest chairs that faced his desk. ‘May I?’

  ‘Please.’ He studied me. ‘Sarah, whatever is the matter?’

  ‘I can hear everything that is said in this office when the windows are open,’ I said. ‘Since I’m one of those people who needs fresh air, I had my window open this morning.’

  ‘I’m so sorry.’ Dr Geisler would not mak
e a good poker player. Regret, followed by the flush of embarrassment, washed over his face.

  ‘Who is Alysse?’

  The seconds passed, marked by the ticking of the brass ship’s clock that rested on the shelf behind the desk. He closed his eyes and used his forefinger to massage the furrow that had formed between his brows.

  ‘Forgive me for being blunt, but I heard everything you and Bethany said. I know no one named Alysse, and I would like you to explain yourself. You said she’s attached herself to me. What does that mean?’

  ‘Alysse is the sister I lost in the influenza epidemic. She didn’t want to die.’

  ‘Does anyone?’

  ‘I’ve seen her. Not like a ghost, white and shimmery like the gothic fiction that my wife loves. I’ve felt her essence, seen glimpses out of the corner of my eye. She’s come to me in dreams, and just when I see her, just when I think I can speak to her, I wake up. I think she is trying to communicate with me.

  ‘I know you are the key. Sarah, what happened last October? There were no fingerprints found on the gun, and based on Jack Bennett’s shoulder wound, the weapon couldn’t have been fired by you.’

  A shiver ran down my spine. I grabbed the arms of my chair, bracing myself as the room started to spin.

  ‘Take a deep breath,’ Dr Geisler said in a soft voice.

  I did as he instructed. The dizziness passed.

  ‘Sarah, I’m familiar with your case file. I’ve spoken to Dr Upton about your testimony at Jack Bennett’s trial. I’m well aware of your position and the things that you witnessed, the things that the jury didn’t hear. I also have spoken to Zeke, and he told me what he saw. Would you like me to tell you what I think?’

  I must have nodded, for he continued to speak.

  ‘I think your biological mother, Grace Kensington, came to you in spirit form, with the sole mission of protecting you from Jack Bennett. I’m willing to bet that you haven’t seen her again. Have you?’

  I shook my head, ignoring the implication of his words, not trusting him enough to confide in him about the weeping noises that had plagued me for weeks.

  ‘So she fulfilled her quest and crossed over. That’s not so unusual. Spirits are with us all the time. We’re separated by something that no one understands.’ He opened his desk drawer, took out an old picture, and slid it across the desk to me. The picture showed a young woman dressed in a floor-length evening dress. The tilt of her head gave her an air of self-assurance. Her smile radiated warmth. I turned the photo over. On the back, someone had scrawled Alysse, June 1917.

  ‘Why do you think she’s here?’ I asked.

  ‘Because I’ve heard her weeping.’ Dr Geisler watched me. ‘You’ve heard it too?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It started after the foreman read the “not guilty” verdict.’

  ‘She was at your trial, as God is my witness. I felt her presence hovering around you, and I make no claim to any special ability in that regard. I’m afraid she wants me to do something for her, and she wants to use you as the conduit. I know it’s a lot to take in, but all I’m asking is that you listen for her. If she comes to you, please tell me. I give you my solemn word that I will not send you to an asylum. I won’t breathe a word of what you say to anyone. I will treat our communication as sacrosanct. I know you experience things.

  ‘Zeke knows there’s no way you could have shot Jack Bennett. He’s worried about you. In fact, he approached me about your psychic ability. He thinks you may be a medium. I know that you took a terrible fall off the second-storey landing at Bennett House. Did you know an incident like that can trigger latent psychic abilities?’

  ‘I didn’t,’ I said. ‘Does Zeke believe your theory?’

  ‘Zeke is an educated, open-minded man, with a healthy dose of scepticism that will keep me honest. You need to talk to him. He wants to know why you experience these things. You can’t blame him for that, can you? If you were in his shoes, wouldn’t you want as much information as possible?’

  I didn’t get a chance to answer. The door burst open and Minna rushed in, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes wild, her breathing hard and fast.

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Matthew, I swear I’m going mad.’

  Matthew got up and went to Minna. He put his arm around her, and led her to the small love seat in the corner of his office.

  ‘I’ve seen him, Matthew. I swear on my life that your brother is alive.’ Minna sat down in the chair and buried her hands in her face. ‘He’s going to kill you. He’s coming after us.’

  ‘Minna, Gregory’s dead.’ Dr Geisler met my eyes. I motioned towards the door. He nodded his head. I flung the door open, ready to flee to the safety of my own room, but I collided with Bethany. We almost toppled over, but Bethany remained upright and held me fast.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ I said. ‘I didn’t realize—’ I didn’t realize you were eavesdropping.

  ‘I wanted to see my husband, but Minna—’ The skin on her cheeks blossomed into an unbecoming shade of red.

  ‘She’s quite shaken.’

  ‘That woman is going to be the end of us.’ She shivered and rubbed her arms. ‘She’s clearly worked herself into a frenzy. Do you know what’s wrong?’

  ‘She mentioned someone named Gregory. I thought it best I leave.’

  ‘Good thinking. I need to speak to them. I’m sorry you had to witness that, Sarah. My sitting room is just a few doors down from your room. I’ve got shelves of books in there. Help yourself. Borrow anything you like. Lunch will be served in half an hour. I’ll see you then.’

  She rapped twice on the door and let herself in.

  Chapter Three

  After a simple lunch of potatoes au gratin and broccoli I went back to my typewriter. I had just settled into my work when Dr Geisler knocked on my door. He stepped into the room. Energy crackled off him like bolts of lightning. He rose up on the balls of his feet and rocked back down on his heels.

  ‘Sarah, would you like to come with Minna and me to visit a house?’ He stood before my desk, rocking and bobbing.

  ‘Visit a house?’

  ‘A woman named Virginia Wills is turning her house over to the City to house servicemen. She doesn’t want to live there anymore, but can’t bear to part with it. She believes her grandfather is angry with her. She wants to try to reach him.’

  ‘Why can’t she talk to him herself?’ The minute I uttered the words I knew the answer to my question.

  ‘Because he’s dead. Don’t you see what an opportunity this is? I’ll bring you and Minna. If we’re lucky, one of you will sense something. This could be the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for. Don’t worry, there’s no pressure. Mrs Wills won’t even know that you have the ability to see ghosts. She thinks that Minna is the psychic, and we won’t disabuse her of that idea, unless, of course, you see something.’

  I hesitated.

  ‘Of course, if you’d rather not, I understand. I just thought you might be interested.’

  ‘I’ll just get my coat,’ I said as I pushed away from the desk.

  Minutes later, I stood before my vanity, trying to tuck my flyaway curls into some semblance of order when there was a rap at my door.

  ‘Yes.’ I pinched my cheeks, trying to force some colour into them. The pinching didn’t work.

  ‘It’s Minna.’

  She glided into my room in one graceful motion. Her hair had been swept up into a subtle but elegant French twist, and held into place by a silver-filigreed comb. Her black dress flowed over her sinewy body in waves.

  ‘I come bearing gifts.’ She held out a burlap sack that smelled of lavender and tangerine. ‘It’s soaking salts. I wanted to apologize for bursting in on you today.’

  She wore no shoes, so her white feet, with their high arches and callused toes, stood out against the black of her hemline. I recognized those calluses. I had seen them on my adoptive mother, Jessica Bennett, the result of many years spent en pointe as a principal for t
he San Francisco ballet, a career sidelined after a knee injury.

  ‘I bought them at City of Paris. There’s a seashell in the bag that you use as a scoop.’

  ‘They smell wonderful. Thank you,’ I said.

  ‘You know, Magnin’s victory window broadcasts KYA live each day at noon. Would you like to go some time?’

  The radio station’s victory window was quickly becoming famous. Last week Lana Turner showed up and broadcast live on the air, while an enthusiastic crowd gathered outside the window. Was I ready to face a crowded Union Square? The thought of it raised my heart rate.

  Not wanting to explain myself, I pretended to hesitate. ‘I’d like to, I’m just not quite ready to be out in public yet. The trial – I encounter hostility at times.’

  ‘That will pass.’ She moved over to my dresser and stood before my seascapes that lay on top of it. She leaned close and studied them.

  ‘This room suits you. Its colours are warm and bright. Like you.’ She reached out a finger and traced a slow, sensuous line over one of the paintings. ‘Did you paint these?’

  ‘No. I brought them from home. They were done by a Bennett Cove artist.’

  ‘The brush work is remarkable.’ Minna took a deep breath. ‘Listen, Sarah, I wanted to explain what happened to me earlier, if you don’t mind. It’s rather strange and no one believes me.’

  ‘There’s no need to explain. I understand.’

  ‘But you don’t.’

  I watched with dismay as she sat on my bed, folded her hands on her lap, and kept her eyes riveted on them as she spoke. ‘Twenty-seven years ago I stood Matthew’s brother up at the altar. I left Gregory standing there, rejected him at Grace Cathedral with 200 people as witness. He never forgave me. Two days later he crashed his car, probably on purpose. They said that it was completely incinerated in the fire. The body was burned to ashes. But I think Gregory is here. I’ve seen him. He’s either a ghost come back to get revenge on me for leaving, or he didn’t die at all. I’ve seen him, and I’m frightened.’