Or maybe she wasn’t trying to con him. Maybe she really did have visions. Maybe she truly believed she had some kind of connection to people in trouble, and was here out of a sincere wish to help him. However, maybe what she had wasn’t a gift. Maybe she was a madwoman, with delusions. Her visions might be nothing more than the product of a twisted mind. In short, perhaps she was just hallucinating.
And then, of course, there was a third possibility: that she was the real thing.
Garfield considered that prospect highly unlikely. But what if, somehow, for reasons he did not yet understand, she was on to something? Did he want her talking to the police?
Not really.
The smartest course, for now, seemed to be to hear her out. He would hear what she had to say.
Once Keisha was back in the chair, with Wendell sitting across from her, he said, ‘First of all, let me apologise if I was at all rude earlier.’
‘Not at all. I understand that what I do, the talent I have, is difficult for many people to get their heads around.’
‘Yes, well, I have to admit, I have my doubts. But then again, I very much want to know what’s happened to Ellie. I need to find out where she is. I want her to come home. I suppose it doesn’t make sense to discount what you have to say until I’ve had a chance to hear it.’
Keisha smiled and nodded. ‘I think that’s very wise of you.’
‘So, if you want to tell me your vision, then, what the hell, let’s hear it.’
‘I truly value you being open-minded about this. I would have felt terrible, not being able to help you in your time of need.’
‘OK, then. Go ahead.’
‘There is one other matter to deal with first.’
Here we go, he thought.
‘This gift that I have is also my livelihood,’ Keisha explained. ‘I’m sure, if you were to hire a private detective to assist you in finding your wife, you wouldn’t expect him to put in his time without being paid for it?’
‘Of course not.’
‘I’m pleased to hear you say that.’
‘And what sort of money are we talking here, Ms Ceylon?’ he asked.
‘One thousand dollars,’ she said, not being the least bit shy about it.
His eyebrows went up. ‘You’re not serious.’
‘I have a rare gift,’ Keisha said. ‘I believe it’s worth much more, but it would be my pleasure to help you for that sum, which I think is quite reasonable.’
He thought about it. ‘I’m not a rich man.’
‘I understand,’ she said. ‘I took that into account when I quoted that fee.’
‘I see. There’s a sliding scale? You take a look at the house and the kind of cars in the driveway, and if you see a BMW you jack the price up? You decide what the market will bear and so forth?’
Keisha started to get up. ‘I think I’ll just be on my way, Mr Garfield, if that’s OK with—’
‘How about this?’ he said. ‘You give me a hint of what your vision was all about, and if it sounds credible to me, then I’ll give you five hundred dollars. If the information you have leads to my finding Ellie, I’ll pay you another five hundred dollars.’
She considered his words for a moment, and then said, ‘I will tell you a bit about my vision, and if you wish to hear more, I will tell you everything for the full amount. One thousand dollars.’
He let out a long sigh. He could only imagine what she must be thinking. His wife is missing, and he’s going back and forth with her as if he’s buying a new Ford. He was worried how that might look, so he said, ‘All right then, we have a deal.’
‘I’m very pleased,’ she said. ‘Not just because we’ve reached a satisfactory arrangement, but because I do very much want to be able to help you.’
‘Yeah, yeah, fine.’
‘Do you have something of your wife’s that I might be able to hold?’
‘What for?’
‘It helps.’
‘I thought you’d already had your vision. I don’t understand why you need something of my wife’s to hold on to.’
‘It’s all part of the process. Some of the fuzzier details in my vision may come into sharper focus if I can hold something that belongs to the person, something that’s come into close contact with them.’
‘What do you need?’
‘An article of clothing would be best.’
‘Like her bathrobe or something?’
Keisha nodded. Garfield excused himself and went upstairs. A moment later he was coming back down the stairs with a pink robe in his hands. It was faded and tattered from many years of wear.
‘Thank you,’ Keisha said, placing the robe in her lap and laying both hands on it. She ran her fingertips over the material and closed her eyes.
Several seconds went by without her saying a word. Finally, Garfield interrupted her trance state and said, ‘Are you getting anything or what?’
‘Just a moment.’ She opened her eyes. ‘I’m feeling some … tingling.’
‘Tingling?’
‘It’s a little bit like when the hairs go up on the back of your neck. That’s when I know I’m starting to sense something.’
‘What? What are you sensing?’
‘Your wife, she’s …’
‘She’s what?’
‘She’s cold,’ Keisha said. ‘Your wife is very, very cold.’
Six
Keisha