0144

"Hello my name is Jack Miller, is your name Sara?"

"Yes."

"I'm looking for Mary Angle."

"Oh, yes. Did her husband..."

"Yes, but I'm under orders not to discuss his involvement. So, for now, you contacted me."

"That sounds good," Sara responded.

"Is Mary around?"

"She's sleeping."

"Well, can I come in? I wouldn't mind talking to you for a little bit before I speak with Mary."

Sara invited Jack in and the pair went into the kitchen to make coffee.

"So, how long has Mary been staying with you?" Jack asked.

"Since the night she found out her daughter was dead and that the police didn't know where her granddaughter was."

"So she got the bad news and left?"

"Basically."

"Hmm. What's she been doing?"

"Well," Sara answered, "she's been a housewife for all of her life so she's been cooking and cleaning. She's even doing my errands. It's actually kind of nice to have her around."

"So what made you contact me?" Jack asked.

"I found her crying on the steps when I got home after work. She usually goes for a jog at lunch. She was still in her running gear, so I think she was out there for five or six hours."

"That's it?"

"No. She was saying some odd things. She thought that she saw and spoke with her granddaughter."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know. I mean, no one knows where she is, but it seems odd that she would turn up in Rye."

"So you think she's hallucinating."

"I have no idea, but she definitely thinks she is."

"Hallucinations aren't uncommon in traumatic losses, particularly when the loss is sudden. I should probably talk to Mary now."

"I'll go wake her," Sara said, as she left the room.

"Mary," Sara said, gently shaking her. "I want you to meet someone."

Mary woke up groggily and looked at the clock sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. "Oh God, what time... How long have I been sleeping?"

"A couple of hours."

"You said someone's here?"

"Yes."

"To see me?"

"Yes."

"It's not Bill, is it?"

"No, his name is Jack. He's a psychiatrist."

"Oh," she said, in a sad town. "I guess I did say I wanted to talk to someone. I just didn't think it would happen so soon."


[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005. All rights reserved.]