Clear Expectations - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 20) (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mysteries)

by Terri Reid

  “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she said. “I’m so sorry there was no one here to protect you and watch over you.”

  They nodded wordlessly.

  “I want you to know that Carol tried to help you,” Mary explained. “But the bad guys locked her up so she couldn’t get to you.”

  Their eyes widened, and they turned to look at Carol. “I’m so sorry, babies,” she said.

  “But now,” Mary continued, “you get to go to a place where you will never be afraid or sad again. A place where your families are waiting for you. A place of light and warmth and love.”

  “There’s no such place,” Anna said, shaking her head.

  “Yes, there is,” Mary said. “I promise. And it’s so close by. All you have to do is look around and you’ll see—”

  “The light!” Jack screamed in terror. “The light is coming! Run!”

  “Wait!” Mary cried. “The light is good.”

  “No, it’s not!” Anna cried. “The doctor used the light. They would shine it in our faces so we couldn’t see what they were doing to us. The light hurt us.”

  “But this light is different,” Mary insisted. “This light is a good light.”

  Jack shook his head. “I hate doctors,” he said. “And I hate lights.”

  Then he faded away, along with all the other children.

  Mary looked at Bradley. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

  “Whatever it is, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “They could still demolish this place on Friday.”

  Chapter Sixty-seven

  The bus pulled up in front of the house on Thursday morning as Mary, Bradley and Margaret watched from the window.

  “I can’t believe they didn’t close school,” Margaret said as they walked back to the kitchen. “They’re calling for blizzard conditions.”

  “But not until this evening,” Bradley said. “So, she should be home from school well before it hits.”

  “When will you be home?” Mary asked Bradley, sipping from her cup of tea.

  He shrugged into his jacket. “It all depends on how bad the storm is,” he said. “I might be out all night.”

  “Well, just be careful out there,” she said.

  “Are you staying home today?” Margaret asked Mary.

  “I can’t, even though I want to,” she replied. “I was at the hospital all day yesterday, trying to convince the kids that the light wasn’t scary, but they wouldn’t listen to me. So, I have one more idea.”

  “What’s that?” Bradley asked.

  “I’m going to go to the nursing home and see if Karen feels that Dr. Reinsband is up to traveling,” she said. “The kids knew him. He was their nice doctor. Maybe he can convince them.”

  “I sure hope that works,” Bradley said. “Just be careful and get home early.”

  She nodded. “I plan on getting home way before the first snowflake drops from the sky.”

  Margaret hugged herself and shivered slightly.

  “Ma, are you okay?” Mary asked.

  “I’m feeling a little anxious about the day,” she answered. “Maybe it’s just the drop in barometric pressure. But I’ll feel much better when all of you are home safe with a cup of cocoa in your hands and a fire blazing in the fireplace.”

  Mary leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Well, don’t worry too much,” she said. “We’ll have a fun snow day tomorrow, and bonus, it’s Friday the 13th. So we can have double the fun.”

  “Isn’t Friday the 13th supposed to be unlucky?” Bradley asked.

  Mary shook her head. “Not if you’re an O’Reilly,” she said. “Then it’s one of the luckiest days of the year.”

  Bradley shook his head. “Well good, we could use a little luck,” he said. He gave a quick kiss goodbye. “I’ll call you.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Remember, be safe!”

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  A few hours later, Mary was sitting in the same room at the nursing home she and Bradley had sat in a week earlier. But this time, Karen was assisting her with her meeting with Dr. Reinsband.

  “Last week I asked you to consider going back to the hospital,” Mary said. “And today I’m here to ask you to please consider it again.”

  Dr. Reinsband shook his head. “I’m so sorry,” he said sadly. “But, right now, the idea of going back to that hospital— after understanding what happened to me because of that hospital— I just can’t. They stole my life. They stole my whole life.”

  “It wasn’t the hospital, Dr. Reinsband, that did this to you,” Mary countered. “It was a few very greedy, very bad men. And, the children are as much victims as you were. More so, because they never had a choice. They never got a payout. They were human guinea pigs.”

  “What do you want me to say?” he yelled. “I was wrong. I neglected them. I helped to cause their pain.”

  “No,” she said. “Because all of that is about you and your guilt. What I want you to do, no, what those kids need you to do is go back to the hospital and apologize. Help them understand that that light, that eternal light that is so important, is not something to be afraid of.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t do it,” he said softly, not meeting Mary’s eyes. “I just can’t do it.”

  Mary stood up, frustrated and angry. “No, that’s not true,” she said. “You are choosing not to do it. You are choosing to let those children suffer again. You are choosing to let them become scattered souls because you are too afraid.” She exhaled heavily. “Well, I hope you can live with yourself.”

  She turned and marched out of the room.

  “Mary,” Karen called, running down the hall after her. “Mary, are you okay?”

  Mary nodded, trying to hold her tears back. “I’m sorry, Karen,” she said. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that—”

  Karen shook her head. “No, you had every right to say what you did,” she said. “I’ll call you if he changes his mind.”

  Mary nodded. “Thanks,” she said, and then she winced.

  “Are you okay?” Karen asked, concerned.

  “I must have gotten up too quickly in there,” Mary said. “My lower back is aching. But it’s no big deal. I’ll go back to my office and put a heating pad on it.”

  “An ice pack,” Karen advised. “That’s better for it.”

  “Thanks,” Mary said, smiling at her friend. “An ice pack it is.”

  She worked through the rest of the day, replacing ice packs and massaging her lower back as she looked through files. But the pile of files didn’t get any smaller because she couldn’t concentrate on anything. Finally, she pulled out her phone and called Alex.

  “Is there any way we can stop demolition from happening tomorrow?” she asked him.

  “I wish there were, Mary,” Alex replied. “But since I can’t tell them the real reason why, I don’t have a good enough excuse to stop it.”

  “Could we just lie?” she asked.

  He chuckled softly. “If I could think up a good enough lie, I would do that too,” he said. “But I’ve got nothing. I’m sorry.”

  She sighed. “That’s okay,” she said. “I was just looking for a miracle.”

  “Keep looking, Mary,” he said. “Don’t give up on miracles yet.”

  She hung up and looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost four-thirty, and the sky was already starting to darken. Maybe she would just call it a day and head home.

  She had just stood up to get her coat when her phone rang. She reached for it and saw that it was Karen. “Hi, Karen. What’s up?” she asked.

  “Dr. Reinsband is willing to try to talk to the children,” she said. “We can meet you at the hospital in a half-hour. Does that work?”

  “Oh, Karen, that would be so wonderful,” Mary replied. “Yes, I’ll meet you there.”

  She hung up with Karen and called her mother. “Hi, Ma,” she said. “I just got a call from Karen at the nursing home. Dr. Reinsband just agreed
to try to talk to the children. They want me to meet them at the hospital at five. So, don’t worry. I’m going to be a little later than I thought.”

  “Mary, the storm is supposed to be fierce,” Margaret said. “I don’t like the idea of you traveling in it.”

  “If it looks like it’s too bad by the time I’m done,” Mary said, “I’ll head up to the fourth floor and hang out with Rosie and Stanley until Bradley can come and drive me home. How does that sound?”

  Mary could hear her mother’s sigh of relief. “That sounds like a perfect plan,” she said. “Okay, be careful, and good luck with the children.”

  “Thank you, Ma,” she said. “Have a safe night with Clarissa.”

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Big, fat snowflakes dropped down onto her windshield as Mary drove from her office downtown to the hospital. The ache in her back hadn’t subsided, but she was almost getting used to it. She parked near the emergency room and hurried down the hallway to the elevator.

  “Hey, Mary. Mary O’Reilly.”

  She turned to see a man dressed in a maintenance uniform jogging her way. “Mel?” she asked.

  He smiled. “I was hoping I’d see you,” he said. “It was great what you guys did upstairs. Just great.”

  She smiled at him. “Well, we couldn’t have done it without your help,” she replied. “Thank you so much.”

  He shrugged, a little embarrassed. “So, what are you doing here now?” he asked. “The storm is supposed to be a big one.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said. “But Dr. Reinsband is coming by in a little while to meet me on the third floor to make sure that we’ve gotten everything we need for the case. I shouldn’t be up there too long.”

  “Okay, well, you just holler if you need anything,” he said. “I’ll be here all night.”

  “Thanks, Mel. Thanks a lot.”

  She hurried to the elevator and pressed the button for three. The elevator arrived quickly and went directly up to the third floor. Mary stepped off the elevator and rubbed her back again. “I must have really pulled something,” she murmured, using the base of her hand to push against her lower back.

  An hour and a half later the elevator opened again, and Karen and Dr. Reinsband stepped out. “I’m so sorry,” Karen apologized. “With storm preparations at the nursing home, I got delayed.”

  “That’s okay,” Mary said, getting up from the folding chair she’d found in the supply room. “What’s important is that you’re here now.”

  “Wow, this brings back memories,” he said. “I spent so many hours in these halls.”

  “Thank you for coming,” Mary said.

  He turned and took her hands in his. “Thank you for being bold enough to tell me the truth,” he said. “You were right. I need to try and help these kids.”

  Mary led the way through the double doors and to the end of the hallway. The door to the unit was still propped open, so they all stepped inside.

  “Where should we go?” Dr. Reinsband asked.

  Carol appeared next to Mary, glancing at Dr. Reinsband. “Well, you performed a miracle,” she said. “The children are at the end of the hall in the old television room.”

  “They’re in the television room,” Mary said.

  “And you know that because?” he asked.

  “Carol Ford, their social worker, just told me,” Mary replied bluntly. “She was killed by Claeys last week.”

  “Oh, I am so sorry to hear that,” Dr. Reinsband said. “Carol was a good, good woman.”

  Mary nodded. “Yes, she was,” she said.

  “I still am,” Carol said. “Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I’m going to change my ways.”

  Mary laughed. “That’s true,” she replied.

  “What’s true?” Karen asked.

  “Carol said that she’s still a good woman,” Mary answered. “Now, let’s hurry down to the television room and see what we can do.”

  Mary walked in first. The television room now consisted of old, gray carpet, empty spaces on the floor where furniture used to stand, rusted hardware on the wall for hanging a television, and a light fixture hanging drunkenly from the ceiling.

  “This is not how I remember this room,” the doctor said. He shook his head and walked into the room behind her.

  Mary saw all of the children look up in surprise when he entered the room.

  “The children are here,” she said. “And they can see you.”

  He nodded and then shook his head. “I’m here to tell you how sorry I am,” he said. “You put your trust in me, and I betrayed that trust. I should have never trusted those other men with you. They told me that you were getting better. They told me that the medicine was working. They told me that you were happy. They lied to me. But I should have checked on you.”

  “Why didn’t you check on us?” Jack asked.

  “Jack asked why you didn’t check on them,” Mary repeated.

  “Well, soon after I agreed to work with those men, I started getting sick,” he explained. “I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t remember things. And I stopped taking care of people.”

  “Did you get better?” Jack asked.

  “Jack wants to know if you got better,” Mary said.

  “Last week, this nice lady and her husband came to the place where I live,” he said. “They talked to my doctors and they found out that the medicine I’d been given was hurting me, causing me to not think clearly.”

  “The medicine hurt us too,” Anna said.

  “Anna said the medicine hurt them too.”

  “I know,” he replied. “Mary told me what happened to you. I almost didn’t come because I was afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?” Anna asked, confused.

  Without needing to hear Anna’s comment, Dr. Reinsband continued. “I was afraid you would hate me forever for not being here when you needed me,” he said. “I was afraid you would think that I wanted this to happen to you. I was afraid that you would be afraid of me too. And that would break my heart.”

  “What about the light?” Jack asked.

  “Jack wants to know about the light,” Mary said and prayed silently that Dr. Reinsband would say the right thing.

  “Well, I want you to know that those bad men who hurt you are in jail,” he said. “The police picked them up yesterday. And so, they can’t hurt you anymore. The light they used was broken a long time ago. So, there is no bad light. The only light that you’ve been seeing lately, the one that Carol and Mary showed you, that’s a good light. But, it’s not really a light. It’s a passageway. It’s like when you’re going down a slide with a tunnel and it’s dark, but you can see the light on the other side. That’s what you’re seeing. It’s the end of the tunnel. It’s the end of being scared. It’s the end of being sad. It’s heaven.”

  Chapter Seventy

  “Can you see the light?” Mary asked the children. “Look around you. Can you see it?”

  Jack nodded. “I can see it,” he said. “But I’m still scared.”

  “I can see it too,” Carol said. “And it’s a glorious sight to behold.”

  She turned to look at the children. “Why don’t we all go together?” she asked. “We can all hold hands.”

  Jack glided over to Carol and tucked his hand securely inside hers. “I’ll go with you, Carol,” he said. “I’m the gatekeeper, so I should be at the front of the line.”

  Anna sighed but then came over and held onto Jack’s hand. “I’m the oldest,” she said. “I’ll go next. I’m not afraid.”

  Once Anna had stepped forward, the other eleven children slowly moved forward and took their place in line. Carol smiled down on her little chain of children. “Are we all ready to go?” she asked them. When they all nodded their assent, Carol turned to Mary. “God bless you for all you have done,” she said. “These children will find peace because of you.”

  Mary smiled, tears filling her eyes. “Thank you for loving these children and bringing them home.
”

  “What’s happening?” Karen whispered.

  “Carol is taking the children to the light,” Mary said. “They are all hand in hand walking together. It’s perfect.”

  Suddenly, the dingy room was filled with golden light that slowly dimmed as each spirit walked beyond Mary’s sight. The room was nearly back to normal when Mary heard Jack call out, “Look, it’s my dad. He’s waving to me.”

  With a shuddering sigh, she turned to Karen and Dr. Reinsband. “They’re all gone,” she said. “They made it back home. Thank you.”

  “That was beautiful,” Dr. Reinsband said. “I could feel the warmth and the love.”

  Mary nodded. “It really is a wonderful thing to experience,” she agreed. She turned to Karen, who was wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Thank you again.”

  Karen stepped up and hugged Mary. “No, thank you,” she said. “I’m so glad we got here in time.”

  Then Karen looked down at her watch. “Oh, my,” she said. “This took longer than I thought. It’s nearly eight. I’d better get Dr. Reinsband back to the nursing home.”

  “The storm is probably going strong,” Mary said. “Are you sure you want to drive?”

  “Oh, we’re only a few blocks away,” she said. “I’m sure the plows are already out there. How about you?”

  “Well, I’m first going to make a stop at the ladies room,” she whispered to Karen. “Then I think I’ll take the elevator up to the fourth floor and hang out with a friend of mine who’s up there until Bradley gets off work.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Karen said. “I wasn’t feeling good about you driving home.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Mary said. “And my back is aching, so it will be nice to just relax for a little while.”

  “Let’s go, doctor,” Karen said. “We’ve got to face a winter wonderland together.”

  All three walked down the hall together until they reached the ladies room. “This is my stop,” Mary said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Mary was relieved that the lights worked, and just to be sure, she checked her stall for toilet paper before she sat down. A few minutes later, she was feeling much better as she pressed the up button for the elevator. Mary waited for a few minutes, but the elevator finally arrived and the doors slid open.