Hearing Voices

by E. C. Bell

  I wished I’d learned to stop talking to my mother—and then my shrink—about the colours. They hadn’t believed me when I said that it helped me navigate the world. They both just figured it proved I was not well enough to live with everybody else. That the institution was where I needed to be.

  A twinge of old anger bubbled up, pushing back my exhaustion. Marie was so lucky. She’d found people who believed her. Who thought that her being able to see ghosts was a gift, not a curse. I never got that chance. And I should have.

  I followed Marie and Dr. Parkerson into the office, and then waited as Marie drank three big glasses of water and lay down on the big leather couch for a few minutes to pull herself together.

  “All right,” she said, finally sitting up. “I think I can handle it now. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” Dr. Parkerson asked at the same time.

  Marie looked annoyed. “It’s Jasper’s final session,” she said to the doctor. “Remember?”

  “I remember,” the doctor said. “But you can’t stay.”

  “You can’t stay in here for that!” I cried at the same time.

  Marie’s eyes jumped from me to the doctor and back again. “What?”

  “Doctor patient privilege,” we both said at the same time.

  “Good grief.” Marie grabbed her glass and filled it. Drank the water, then set the glass back down. “So, how do we do this, then?” she asked. “After all, you can’t communicate with each other—”

  “We’ll work something out,” the doctor said. “If that’s all right with Jasper.”

  “Sounds fine to me,” I said. “And tell her I’m impressed with how well she’s taking this whole talking to ghosts thing. Can’t be easy for her.”

  “I guess it helped that she was attacked—twice—by a ghost,” Marie replied. “But yeah, I’ll tell her.”

  She turned to Dr. Parkerson. “He thinks you’re being brave,” she said, then glanced at me, and shrugged. “I paraphrased,” she said. “But close enough, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Thank you,” Dr. Parkerson said to the room, looking everywhere but where I was. “But I don’t feel brave. I feel deep shame, but very little bravery. You two are the brave ones. You took on a being that was trying to kill me, even as I held on to my irrational beliefs. I owe you both my life, but the best I’m going to be able to do is offer you my apologies for not believing you right from the beginning.”

  Marie smiled, and stood. “I’d say that’s a good place for you to start,” she said. “But tell Jasper. He needs to hear this more than I do.”

  “Really?” I said.

  “Really?” Dr. Parkerson said at the same time.

  “Really,” Marie snapped. “And now, I’m out of here.”

  Marie:

  Time to Catch a Murderer

  I LEFT THE room, closing the door to Parkerson’s office as she started speaking. I dearly wanted to put my ear to the door to listen, or to at least wait until one of them called for help, but I didn’t. I tottered down the mostly empty hallways to my room and lay down on my bed.

  I waited for the voice who was not my mother to start chattering about what I needed to do next, but it never showed up. And when I finally closed my eyes—just for a minute—I fell into a deep dreamless sleep. No ball diamond. No peanuts. No demon. No nothing.

  Just sleep.

  I WOKE TO someone hammering on the door of my room.

  “Go away,” I muttered. Then I remembered, jumped up, and threw open the door. I figured it was Dr. Parkerson coming to tell me that Jasper’s final session was over. I wondered why Jasper hadn’t come, because he was the one in control of that whole situation.

  I was shocked when I saw who was standing there, though I should have guessed. Cops always knock so loud.

  “Sergeant Worth,” I said. “Glad you finally made it.”

  Sylvia smiled. “Still pissed at me for not getting you out of here quicker?” she asked.

  “I take it you haven’t talked to James lately,” I replied. “I was supposed to be out of here a couple of days ago, but I decided to stay.”

  She looked shocked, then shook her head. “We are going for beer as soon as we get you out of here for real,” she said. “And you are going to tell me the whole sordid story. But for now, we gotta talk about Otto’s death, and how we’re going to catch Melodie Iverson. Nurse Willoughby called me. Told me everything. You’ve been busy, haven’t you?”

  “I have,” I said. “And what do you mean, how we are going to catch Nurse Melodie? Don’t you mean how you are going to catch her? She’s at the greenhouse. Didn’t Willoughby let you know?”

  “She told me. That’s the first place I checked,” she said. “She’s not there, so it’s up to you and me. Her car’s still here, so I’m certain she hasn’t left yet, but we haven’t found her. So, I want to try something.”

  “What?” I asked. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to hear her plan, because it had something to do with me. Which was never good.

  “I’m going to use you as bait,” she said, and smiled.

  “Bait?” I said. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” she said. “We can’t find her, so we think it’s time to let her think that she won. That we’re not looking for her anymore. My guess is, she’ll want to have a conversation with you, so, we’ll let her. When that happens, we’ve got her.” She smiled again. Like a shark. “Trust me. You won’t be in any danger at all.”

  Famous last words.

  “I kinda got some stuff on the go,” I said. “And I’ve got some place to be.”

  “It would be better if you didn’t leave this room,” she said. “What’s the deal?”

  I took a deep breath, in and out, to calm myself. “My shrink is talking to a ghost,” I said. “And I think when they’re done, he’ll be ready to move on.”

  Sylvia blinked. “Did you change shrinks?” she asked. “’Cause the one I saw at the hearing did not believe in ghosts. At all.”

  “Same shrink,” I said. “But she’s had the scales ripped from her eyes. I gotta go check on them.”

  “Yeah,” Sylvia said. “All right. But not too long, all right? I don’t want to lose the nurse.”

  “I’ll be back, quick as I can,” I said.

  I walked past her, then sprinted down the hallways to Parkerson’s office. I hoped that they were almost finished with their final session, and was trying to think of some way to hurry the process along when I saw a light bee drift out through the doctor’s closed door.

  “Oh my God,” I muttered, and opened the door just in time to see Jasper move on.

  “I made my choice,” he said. “I’m redoing my life.” Then he smiled at me, beautifully, and disappeared in a blizzard of red and white.

  He did it himself. Nice.

  Dr. Parkerson looked at me from behind her desk. Her eyes were red and her nose was running. “Do you have any tissue?” she asked. “I can’t find any.”

  “No,” I said. “I don’t.”

  “I think Jasper and I are really making some headway,” she said. “I told him everything, just like you suggested. How I didn’t believe that seeing emotions as colour was an ability. Like you and your ghosts.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, like a kid would, and sniffed. “Just because I didn’t believe didn’t make it true,” she said. “I think he understands.” She looked out at the empty room. “Do you understand?” she asked, then looked at me. “What did he say?”

  “He’s gone,” I said gently. “He moved on, just a minute ago.”

  “Oh no,” she said, and started crying again. “What have I done?”

  “It’s all good,” I said. “You gave him what he needed, and he was able to move from this plane to the next. He didn’t even need my help to do it.”

  “Oh,” she said. She sniffled again. “I’m glad I could do that, at least. You know,
I don’t think I’ve been a very good psychiatrist. In fact, I’m thinking that maybe a little therapy might be better for me than for you.” She smiled sadly. “I can’t believe I was going to do to you what I did to Jasper. That had to be the low point of my professional career.”

  “It gave me pause,” I said.

  “Well, I’ll give you the names of a couple of other doctors, They’re good. Either one of them will be able to help you with your sleeping issues. The PTSD. You know, the issues I should have been concentrating on, instead of the ghosts.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said. “I don’t think I want to have to break in another shrink about the ghost thing, though. One was definitely enough.”

  “I’ll tell whoever you choose,” she said. “Explain everything to them. If you want.”

  Then she ran around her desk and pulled me into her arms. Hugged me hard, and I could feel her shaking. “Thank you for saving my life,” she said. “And for saving Jasper’s soul.”

  I didn’t correct her about the soul thing. Just pushed her away, as gently as I could.

  “I gotta go,” I said.

  “I know,” she replied. “I’ll get your clothes.”

  “No,” I said. “I just have to go back to my room.” I smiled. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I have to catch your killer, first.”

  “But the police are here,” she said. “Shouldn’t they be the ones?”

  “You’d think,” I said, and shrugged. “Gotta go.”

  I walked out of her office and back down to my room where Sylvia Worth was waiting impatiently for me to return.

  “See?” I said. “I’m back.”

  “Good,” she said. “Time to set the trap.”

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked.

  “Just get into bed,” she said. “I’ll handle the rest.”

  I noticed the shark smile was back, and momentarily felt sorry for Nurse Melodie. I had a feeling Sylvia Worth was going to tear her apart.

  Marie:

  The Trap Is Set

  I NEARLY FELL asleep again while I was waiting for Nurse Melodie to spring the trap Sylvia Worth had set for her. Moving on five ghosts in one day could do it if nothing else could, though. No doubt about it. And Sylvia had assured me that all I had to do was be here, in the room. Melodie wouldn’t be able to get to me, because Sylvia would be watching the whole time.

  I wondered what time it was, but didn’t have a clue. I promised myself that if everything went well with Nurse Melodie, I was putting a new battery in my mother’s old watch and I was using it for its real purpose. No more hanging on to it just because it reminded me of the past.

  That went for my mother’s rules, too. Just because she hadn’t figured out a way to deal with poltergeists didn’t mean there wasn’t one. There was. I’d seen it myself and had used it to not only stop a poltergeist from attacking, but to convince her to move on. And not to hell, either. In fact, I hadn’t lost one spirit to hell the whole time I was here. I was on a roll.

  I opened my eyes with a snap when I realized I had actually fallen asleep again. With no dreams, again. It was quite wonderful.

  I wondered what meds were doing it, and then realized that I hadn’t taken any that day.

  “I gotta remember to tell my shrink,” I muttered as I poured myself a glass of water and drank it. “She’ll be pleased.”

  I thought about opening the door just a crack, even though I knew Sylvia would let me know when they caught Melodie. Heck, I might even hear it happen, if she made it as far as my door.

  “I’ll be able to watch them perp-walk her out of here,” I muttered. “Because my door isn’t locked anymore.”

  And then I heard the fire alarm whooping and wailing down the hallway. For a second I thought about leaving, but didn’t. Sylvia Worth would let me know if there actually was a fire. I had to wait.

  A clattering at my door, and I frowned. A key? Why would Sylvia be using the key to my room? She knew it was open, and that it couldn’t be locked from the inside. Had she locked me in while I was sleeping?

  “That door better not be locked,” I said.

  The soft clatter stopped and the door knob slowly turned. “Is there a fire? I asked. “Should I get out?”

  “No fire,” came a soft voice though the crack of the open door. “Just a little diversion, so I have you to myself.”

  That wasn’t Sylvia’s voice. It was Melodie’s, and she was coming into my room. My unlocked room.

  “Stay out!” I cried, kicking off the bedclothes so I could run to the door and slam it shut, but they caught on my legs and I fell to the floor. When I looked up, Melodie was in my room and she wasn’t smiling, not even a little bit.

  Where the hell was the Sergeant?

  “You’ve caused me nothing but trouble, girl,” Melodie said. She pulled something from her uniform pocket—a capsule, a pink capsule—and I tried to kick at her but all she did was grab my leg and pull me toward her. She was strong. Freakishly strong.

  “You’ll be my last official task,” she said as she dropped on my chest and grabbed my face with her freakishly strong fingers. “And then, I’ll have to move somewhere else. Start all over again.”

  I tried to bite her, tried to kick her, tried to do anything to stop what she was doing, but I couldn’t. She knew the moves and countered every one of them, easily.

  Where the hell was Sylvia? I was in real trouble here.

  “It’s time for you to take your meds,” Melodie said. “And then I can leave with a clear conscience.” She grunted when I caught her thumb with my teeth, and carefully placed the pill on the floor beside my face, then slapped me so hard I saw stars and let go of her thumb.

  “I have removed the incorrigibles from this place. And at no cost to the province, either. I should get a medal, for that.” She snarled. “I shouldn’t have to run away. It’s your fault.”

  “Sergeant!” I screamed, struggling to free myself. “Where the hell are you?”

  “Oh, your friend is dealing with the alarm,” she said. “I recognized her when I came into the building and decided to give her something to do while I dealt with you.” She grabbed my chin and pulled. “Open up,” she said. “It’ll only take a moment, and then we’ll both be free. You won’t have to deal with your life anymore, and I can finally be done with this place.”

  The door crashed open and Nurse Willoughby flew into the room. “That’s more than enough,” she said, and grabbed Melodie by the hair. “Leave her alone.”

  And then, Nurse Willoughby laid a shit-kicking on Nurse Melodie.

  It was fairly amazing to watch two middle-aged nurses kicking and punching like a couple of MMA fighters. When Willoughby got Melodie pinned to the floor, I considered telling her to stop, but since the bitch had just tried to poison me, all I did was cheer Willoughby on.

  After a while, Melodie quit making any noise and all I could hear was Willoughby’s fists hitting her.

  “Maybe that’s enough,” I said.

  “One more,” she replied, and hit Melodie one last time. And I applauded.

  What the hell.

  THE ALARM FINALLY stopped, and Sylvia arrived just as we were tying Melodie to a chair.

  “Where were you?” I asked. “Why did we have to do all the work, here?”

  “Sorry,” she said. “Fire alarm. It got a little crazy out there.” She looked around the room, and at Melodie’s beaten, unconscious face. “Looks like you handled yourself well enough,” she said.

  “It wasn’t me,” I said. “Melodie had me dead to rights. Luckily, Nurse Willoughby came to my rescue.”

  “I was watching the video feeds,” she said. “And I saw. I couldn’t let that woman hurt any more patients.”

  I thought of Otto and my heart broke a little. My guess was that he’d be back in a few days, confused and frightened. And that was Melodie’s fault, too.

  I couldn’t do anything about Otto. Not until he decided to show. Which meant
I was free.

  Finally, free.

  “I’m glad you were watching,” I said. Then I turned to Sylvia. “Do I have to stick around any longer? For interviews or whatever? I got someplace I think I’d rather be.”

  “Let me guess,” she said, and smiled. “You want to go home.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I most definitely want to go home.”

  “I can arrange that,” she said. “After all, it’s not like I don’t know how to find you if I have any questions for you.”

  “Great,” I said, then sighed. “Man, I gotta get all the paperwork in order before they let me out of here.” I imagined there would be a ton of it, and it could take hours. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was spend any more time in this place. I needed to leave.

  “Dr. Parkerson already okayed your release,” Sylvia said. “You can go home right now.” She looked at me pointedly. “Well,” she said. “Maybe once you get dressed.”

  “And brush my hair,” I muttered.

  Sylvia frowned. “What?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Just lend me your cell phone. I have to call James.”

  She handed me her phone. “He’ll be happy to hear that,” she said.

  “Hope so,” I said.

  HE WASN’T THAT happy to hear from me until he found out I’d solved my case and was coming home.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Really,” I said.

  There was a long pause, and I was afraid he was trying to figure out how to tell me that he’d decided I wasn’t worth the trouble, and that he wanted out. Then he sighed. “You want me to pick you up?” he asked. “I could be there in an hour.”

  “No,” I said. “Sylvia’s here. She can give me a ride.” I glanced over at her. “You’ll give me a ride, right?”

  “Absolutely,” she said.

  “Thank you,” I mouthed, then turned back to the phone. “Meet me at Jasmine’s.”

  “All right,” he said. “I can hardly wait. I’ve missed you, you know.”