"Mary, please help me," the woman whispered.
Mary took a deep breath. "Are you Magdalene--Magdalene Laroussard?"
The figure nodded.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Find me, help me rest."
"You're dead. How can I help you?"
The apparition shimmered as specks of light began to dim. In moments, the ghost had disappeared. Puzzled, Mary shook her head. Was this why she'd seen so much of the past while she was at the plantation? Evidently it must be Magdalene who wanted her help. But--how could she help a dead woman?
She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and hobbled into the kitchen, wincing at the pain in her hip. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. The clock chimed four as she buttered her toast and padded back to the living room. So much for sleeping--it was time to do something about the nightmares and visions. She waited a couple of hours, then dialed DeeDee's number.
DeeDee picked up as the answering machine kicked in.
"DeeDee, I need to see you."
"Hang on, let me turn off this stupid machine," DeeDee grumbled. "What time is it?"
"Seven."
"Seven? Have you lost your mind?"
"That's why I want to see you. Can you come over right away? I need to talk."
DeeDee hesitated. "Can it wait? I'm tired."
"Please, DeeDee," Mary begged. "It's really important."
"All right, but it better be good. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Mary was removing cinnamon rolls from the toaster when the front door slammed. A moment later, DeeDee appeared in the kitchen. "I hate being dragged out of bed at this hour," she groaned. "You know I'm not a morning person. What's for breakfast?"
Mary passed the rolls across the table, and set a fresh cup of coffee beside it. "Here, this will make you feel better. I've got a lot to tell you."
"About what?"
"About what's been happening since I left the plantation."
DeeDee frowned. "You already told me about Jack."
She hesitated. "Yes, well...there's more. "
DeeDee slammed her cup on the table. "What do you mean, there's more? Don't you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you? I've been worried sick about you."
Mary searched for the right words. "Of course I trust you, DeeDee. I just didn't want you to worry unnecessarily."
"Yeah, right," DeeDee scoffed. "Like I'm not worried now. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You've got bags under your eyes big enough for a week's groceries."
She glanced at DeeDee's empty plate. "Do you want something else?"
"All I want is to hear is what's been going on."
Mary stared at the ceiling, sighing. This wasn't going to be easy. "All right. Let's go into the front room, and I'll start at the beginning."
"Make sure you don't leave anything out. This time I want the whole story."
Mary plumped the couch cushions and sat down. "Ever since I left the plantation, I've been having two terrible nightmares. They started sporadically, but now I have them almost every night. In the first one, I'm trapped in some sort of cave, and all the air disappears. It's impossible to breathe, and my lungs start burning. I know I'm going to die, but before I do, I wake up. The second one is where I'm trapped in a well, and the water starts to rise until it's over my head. I try to swim to the surface, but the weight of my dress keeps pulling me down until I can't fight any longer. Just before I drown, I wake up."
DeeDee's eyes grew large, and she placed a hand on Mary's arm. "Why didn't you say something? After the accident my doctor gave me some sleeping pills. I'll give you some."
"I don't want to take any pills. Besides, if they sprang a drug test at work, I'd need a prescription for any drugs they find in my system."
DeeDee snorted. "So, call your doc and get a prescription for the kind I have."
Mary sighed. "Can I get on with the story, please?"
DeeDee put her hand up to her mouth. "Sorry."
Mary hesitated, and DeeDee leaned forward, eyes wide.
"After several repeats of the first nightmare, I saw the ghost from the hallway at the plantation. I've seen her several times--the latest was early this morning."
DeeDee gasped. "Oh, my God. How long after you left the plantation did she start appearing?"
Mary chewed her lip, thinking. "It had to be right after I couldn't get anybody to go in with me on the bed and breakfast deal."
DeeDee sat her cup on the coffee table. "Are you sure it's the same ghost?"
She nodded. "I was terrified at first, but then I figured it had to be Magdalene."
"What happened?"
Mary lowered her voice. "Last night I screwed up my courage, and asked if she was Magdalene. She nodded yes."
DeeDee nearly fell off the couch. "You mean she talks to you?"
"Not at first. The first couple of times she didn't have any form. Spots just floated together in front of me. Then it started to take shape and call my name. The last two times she whispered to me. Her voice is really weird, but somehow I understand what she's saying." Mary dragged her hand across her forehead. "This is driving me crazy. I need to know if I'm losing my mind."
DeeDee patted her shoulder. "You're not losing your mind, sis. Magdalene's trying to reach out to you. It's really cool if you think about it."
A frown etched Mary's face. "It's not cool. It's awful. How would you like to wake up screaming, or drenched in sweat from dreaming you were dying? I can assure you, it's not fun." Tears welled and a sob caught in her throat. "It's horrible, and I don't know how much more I can take. I can't sleep at night, and I'm so tired, I can't function. I want this to go away so I have my old life back."
DeeDee wrapped her arms around her. "It's going to be okay, sis. We'll figure it out. Don't worry, I'll think of something."
Mary leaned against her as sobs wracked her body. When her tears finally subsided, she got up and blew her nose. "I think it's time to see a psychiatrist, or somebody," she said. "I've tried and tried to figure out what's causing the nightmares, but I can't find the key."
"I don't think you need a psychiatrist," DeeDee said. "You need a therapist. This kind of stuff is more along their line. A shrink might lock you up in the loony bin, but a therapist would put you in regression therapy to find the cause of your nightmares. It's obvious they're connected to that plantation because you didn't have them before you started that job, right?"
"They didn't start until I arrived at the plantation."
"Before or after the Voodoo ceremony?"
She tried to remember. "Before. The minute I parked the car and walked to the front of the house, I started having strange feelings, and remembering things I hadn't experienced." She shivered and her voice cracked. "I've narrowed it down to two things: either I'm having a nervous breakdown, or this is real, and there really is a ghost who needs my help."
"Don't worry, sis," DeeDee soothed. "I know a therapist who can help you. His name is Doctor Benton, and he's terrific."
Mary raised her eyebrows and looked at her. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but how do you know this guy? Have you been going through therapy?"
DeeDee blushed. "I've been going to see him, but not for the reason you think. A couple of my friends have been trying to find out if they have past lives, so I did some research and decided to see if I had a past life."
Mary's frown deepened. "Oh, great. That's just what I need right now. To go see some hypno-fraud who tells people they have past lives." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Thanks, DeeDee, but I think I'll stick with a psychiatrist."
DeeDee stiffened. "Don't get high and mighty with me, Mary. For your information, this isn't the guy my friends went to see. They saw a psychiatrist, and he's the one who told them about past their lives. From what they told me, I figured he was taking them for a ride. An expensive ride." She glared at Mary. "And so you should be ashamed. Do you really think I'd send you to a quack, muc
h less go to one myself?" she asked. "Dr. Benton happens to be well-known in Boston, and a very respected man in his field. He and I had two sessions, and he told me I was wasting my money, because I didn't have a past life. There, are you satisfied now?" she demanded.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." Mary paused, then cleared her throat. "Do you think he'd see me today or tomorrow? I know it's the weekend, but I'm desperate. I don't think I can take another nightmare. I've had one almost every night this week."
In a subdued voice, she told her sister about the incident at the hotel. "The people in the next room called the desk and reported the screams. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. I wanted to sink into the floor."
DeeDee laughed. "I'm sorry, but that's really funny. They probably thought you were having wild sex with some man you picked up in the bar."
Mary giggled in spite of herself. "I wish I had. I think they thought somebody was killing me. The guard peered past me to see if anybody else was in the room. It was awful."
Still giggling, DeeDee thumbed through the yellow pages for Dr. Benton's number. She reached his answering service, and left a request for him to return her call as soon as possible. "He's on call this weekend, so you're in luck. It will probably be a little while. What do you want to do until he calls?"
"I don't know. I need to do the dishes, but after that we can do anything you like." Mary hugged her. "Thanks, sis. I don't know what I'd do without you."
DeeDee answered the phone while she was doing dishes. A few moments later, DeeDee stuck her head in the doorway. "Go change. He's meeting us at his office in thirty minutes."
Chapter 18
"Tell me why you're here, Mary," Dr. Benton requested.
Mary glanced at DeeDee, who squeezed her hand. "I've been having terrible nightmares ever since I took an inventory job at a plantation in Louisiana."
"Do you think the nightmares have something to do with that job?"
She nodded. "I'm sure they do."
"Tell me about the plantation, and why you went."
This wasn't as hard as she'd imagined. Maybe talking to him would help. She began by telling him about her job, and why she'd traded assignments with Tony Parker.
"What happened when you arrived?"
"It was very strange. My first impression was deep sorrow. Then I started to wonder what happened to the hand-painted shutters and rose bushes Jean-Pierre had planted out front."
"Jean-Pierre?"
"Magdalene's husband. I didn't know it then."
"Go on."
She told him about the nightmare she'd had after her first visit from Sadie.
"Have you ever had this sort of nightmare before?" he asked.
"Never. It was awful." She grew silent as she watched him scribble notes on his pad.
He glanced up and motioned for her to continue.
She described her memories about the house, giving specific details she hadn't thought about before. Then she described the Blue Moon Voodoo ceremony, and her vision.
"Do you believe you saw something from the past?" he asked quietly.
She took a deep breath and glanced out the window. That was a good question. Did she really believe what she saw? She thought about everything that had happened, and sighed. "At this point, I don't know what I believe. All I can say is that I know details about that house that only somebody who's lived there would know. It's driving me crazy." Her gaze fixed on Benton. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Have I lost my mind? Am I crazy?"
He shook his head and smiled. "I don't think so."
She let her breath out in a sigh of relief. "You don't? Not after what I've told you?"
"No. Has anything else happened?"
Beside her, DeeDee shifted, and Mary glanced toward her. Her sister nodded encouragingly. Mary took a deep breath. "I've been seeing an apparition."
His pen paused above the paper. "Describe it for me."
"It's a woman, made from specks of light. I first saw it in the hall at the plantation. I've seen it two, no, three times since."
He looked up. "What does it do?"
She rubbed her chin and concentrated on the sequence of events. "The first time it simply floated in the hall. Then it started to become more defined, and finally it called my name. It was strange, like somebody whispering from far away. Last night I finally got the courage to ask what she wanted."
"Did it respond?"
"Yes. I think it's Magdalene, and she wants me to help her."
"How do you know it's Magdalene?"
"I asked her, and she nodded." Mary leaned forward, and held the palms of her hands out. "I know this sounds crazy, but it's the truth, Doctor. I really saw her. You have no idea how frightening this whole thing has been. Can you help me?"
He walked to the couch and patted her shoulder. "You aren't crazy, Mary. We'll get to the bottom of what's causing you to see this apparition or 'ghost' as you call it. Don't worry."
Tears slid down Mary's cheeks and she leaned against her sister when DeeDee wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"You don't know what that means to me, Dr. Benton. I've been a wreck, wondering what to do. Will I ever get rid of the nightmares?"
"I think so, but it will take more than one session." He walked back to his desk. "Have you heard of regression therapy?"
She shrugged. "I've heard the phrase, but don't know much about it."
"It's a form of hypnosis, where you go back to your past. It's painless and can be very effective."
Mary felt a terrible burden lift from her shoulders. For the first time in weeks, she felt a glimmer of hope. "I'm willing to do anything, Doctor. How do we start?"
An alarm beeped from his watch. "We're out of time for today, Mary. If you'll follow me to the outer office, I'll schedule a session for tomorrow."
At the reception desk, he checked a scheduling book. "I don't have an opening until six tomorrow evening. Would that work for you?"
She nodded. "Six is fine, Dr. Benton. I can come right from work. My office isn't very far from here."
"Good, I'll see you then."
She grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your coming out on Sunday afternoon, Dr. Benton. I was at the end of my rope when DeeDee called you, but I feel a lot better now."
He squeezed her hand. "I'm glad, Mary. I'll do everything I can to help you."
He turned to DeeDee. "Thanks for being so cooperative. You may want to come back with her tomorrow. She'll feel more relaxed if you're here, especially since you've already been through regression therapy."
"Yeah, but in my case, there wasn't anything to remember," DeeDee complained.
Mary gazed at her sister's solemn face. "Be glad you don't have anything to remember. I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat."
Dr. Benton walked them to the elevator.
"You're going to be fine, Mary. Believe me, I've seen several cases like yours. Once you confront the past, your nightmares should disappear."
She sighed. "I hope so. It would be wonderful to have a good night's sleep for a change."
DeeDee placed an arm across Mary's shoulder. "Don't worry, Doc. I'll take good care of her," she promised as the elevator door closed.
DeeDee studied Mary's solemn face. "What do you think of him?"
"I don't know. I just hope he can help me."
DeeDee hugged her. "You silly goose. Do you think I'd let you go crazy? You're the only real family I've got, and I'm not about to let them lock you up in the loony bin. If that happened, I'd have to go see Aunt Elizavon for holidays, and we'd end up killing each other. Believe me, I have a vested interest in keeping you sane."
Mary laughed. For the first time in weeks she felt almost like her old self. It felt good, and she was determined to hang on to that feeling as long as she could.
Chapter 19
Mary had vacillated between enthusiasm and cold feet all day, but finally, here she was, sitting in Dr. Benton's office, sti
ll wondering if this was all a mistake. The atmosphere in the office had changed. Yesterday's friendly aura had become barren and foreboding. The plump, overstuffed sofa felt claustrophobic, and the light blue carpet reminded her of a sheet of ice, cold and lifeless.
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and she brushed them away with the side of her hand. A wave of unreasonable panic washed over her, and she almost succumbed to the urge to call the whole thing off. Beside her, DeeDee smiled and squeezed her hand. Mary felt grateful for DeeDee's support, but part of her longed for the comfort of Jack's presence. Was he going through the same doubts and fears? If only he was here...
Dr. Benton switched on a candle-shaped lamp in the center of his desk, and it blinked on and off rapidly. He watched Mary's expression for a few moments, then walked over to pat her shoulder.
"Mary, I want you to try to relax. It's natural to be nervous the first time you go through this kind of therapy. Concentrate on the light, and let your mind go blank. I'm going to close the drapes and turn off the overhead lights so there won't be any distractions."
The only sound in the room was the click of the tape recorder as he switched it on. "Mary, listen to the sound of my voice and continue to watch the light. I want you to think of a long flight of stairs, with a door at the bottom. You're walking down the stairs, and as you descend, you become more relaxed with every step."
She watched the light flicker off and on, and the outside world faded further and further away.
He paused a few moments, then continued, "Do you feel more relaxed?"
She stared at the blinking light. "Yes."
"Good. There's nothing to be afraid of. You're a detached observer. Go to the bottom of the stairs and stand in front of the door."
Silence.
"Are you in front of the door?"
"Yes."
"Good. This door represents the gateway to your past. I want you to go through it. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She suddenly tensed her shoulders, clenched her fists, and inhaled deeply. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, and rolled down the sides of her face.
Dr. Benton leaned forward. "Mary, are you still relaxed?"
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