EVELYN TURNER

This might not be such a good idea, but that rarely stopped Evelyn from forging ahead. She knocked on the door of Number Four hoping that Jess would answer, not that prickly woman with the silly wizard name. She was in luck.

“Hello, Evelyn,” Jess said.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” Evelyn asked.

Jess stepped back to let Evelyn enter. “Sure.”

When they were seated, Evelyn had second thoughts. She didn’t know Jess well at all. “I’m sorry to bother you,” she began, “but you’re on the committee for the Memorial Garden dedication tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“I am. I’m the MC, but only because no one else was willing to do it.”

“Can you tell me what to expect at the program?”

Jess grimaced. “It’s sort of up in the air right now because of Mrs. Blum being missing. Dr. Blum was the main speaker.”

Oh joy, Evelyn thought. “What’s he supposed to speak about?”

“His book, I gather. The one he’s writing about the state hospital and the history of the treatment of mental illness over the last couple of centuries.” Jess reached for a stack of papers on the coffee table. “If it helps, the title of his book, and also of his talk, is What We Thought We Knew.”

At least he admitted to some uncertainty, Evelyn thought.

“May I ask why you want to know?”

“Just curious,” Evelyn said. “Will there be an opportunity for people in the community to speak?”

Jess nodded. “A few people have asked to speak in memory of family members who were patients at the hospital or to read poems.” She hesitated. “Do you want to speak? I could put you on the program.”

“Oh, no no no.” Evelyn stood up. “I’m not even sure I’m going to attend. I really like Iris, but I can’t stand Dr. Blum. When something horrible happened to me many years ago at his precious hospital, he wouldn’t help. He was horrible.”

Evelyn covered her face with her hands. Why was she blurting like this to a stranger? She was out of control recently, ever since Iris went missing—thinking about dead patients and wandering ghosts. She couldn’t seem to keep her mouth shut. She had better get home.

Jess reached a hand to touch Evelyn’s shoulder, but Evelyn pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” Evelyn said. “Please forget what I said. I’m just upset about Iris.”