The Seer by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 33

Gordon breathed a sigh of relieve as he hung up the phone, seeing his meeting with Tom as a chance to finally get some answers. On the other hand, he also saw it as his last chance, realizing that if this didn't work, he would be out of options. This was something he consciously chose not to think about. Instead, he would distract himself with work, seeing his patients and reading journal articles. He also considered writing a paper for publication, but had not decided on a topic. Remembering back to his residency, he thought that, perhaps, the psychodynamics of ego splitting and reintegration therapy were a possibility, but would require a great deal of research. The problem was acquiring case studies, and it had been many years since he had dealt with anyone diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

Even though the paper would likely never be written, Gordon mentally pursued his chosen topic and began reading, looking up cases on the internet and searching through back issues of on-line journal articles. He did whatever he could to distract himself not only from his upcoming meeting with Tom, but also from the fear associated with his repeated interactions with the deceased. The only reason he knew they were dead was because they usually appeared out of nowhere, and usually asked what it was that had happened to them. Even the dead have a back story, and it is usually that story that leads one to their grave.

For the remainder of the week, Gordon managed to distract himself, but Saturday arrived far too quickly, and he soon found himself on his way to Topsham. Because of the nature of his upcoming meeting, Tom and Gordon did not arrange a specific block of time. Unless his visit became an inconvenience, Gordon would take advantage of every moment he was there, describing his experiences, exchanging ideas and questions.

Soon, Gordon turned off I-95 toward Topsham, and following the directions Tom had given him, found the large renovated farmhouse. He pulled into the driveway, and as he got out of his car, he saw Tom walking out the front door.

“Gordon?” Tom said.

Closing the car door, Gordon nervously walked up to him and extended a hand.

“Yeah, Tom, right?” he replied. “For a minute, I thought I had the wrong house.”

The two men shook hands as Tom invited him in.

“Wow!” Gordon began. “I'm almost jealous. This is a nice place you've got here.”

Showing Gordon in, Tom announced to his family that they had a visitor. This brought Zachary and Kara running from their rooms, caught up in curiosity and excitement. With the exception of relatives, friends, and the occasional paranormal curiosity seeker, visitors were rare, and the children, taking Gordon by the hands, were eager to give him a tour of the house. Linda, however, wanting her children to behave politely, stepped in to curtail their enthusiasm.

“Wait a second,” Tom whispered. “Let them go.” Gordon had spent little time around children, but demonstrated remarkable patience for their youthful energy.

“Hey, Gordon,” Tom continued. “Do you mind if the kids show you around a little?”

Gordon looked back as he tried to keep up.

“Oh, yeah, it's okay,” he replied. “I guess we'll be right back.”

Tom had told him about Eleanor, and following behind him, hoped to see if Gordon's claims were true.

The first place they took him was upstairs, eager to show him their rooms. Getting to the top of the stairs, they pulled him to the right and down the hall.

“This is my room,” Zachary said. “Mom and Dad always leave the door open.”

As Gordon was pulled into the room, he was startled by the sight if an elderly woman standing next to the bed.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Gordon said. “Who's this?” Zachary, lost for words, looked back at Tom, as though waiting for him to say what he was not able to.

“Go ahead, Zack,” Tom said. “Tell him.” Zachary looked up at Gordon with a lost expression. He had seen a few people visit, wanting to see what 'they' were seeing, but never had anyone seen Eleanor in a way that was real.

“This is Nana,” he said. “She died.” She looked as real as anything else, and looking back at Eleanor, gave a friendly wave, as Tom stepped up behind him.

“So,” he began. “What does she look like?” Now, Gordon understood that he was being tested. Certainly, with matters of the paranormal, one cannot be taken at one’s word. Eleanor gave him a gentle smile and a slight nod, as though greeting him. Tom was stunned when Zack described her in striking detail. In fact, the clothing he described was the same she had worn when Tom found her all those months ago.

Backing up into the hallway, Gordon turned to Tom with a blank stare.

“You didn't tell me about this,” he said.

“I'm sorry Gordon,” Tom replied. “But I had to know if what you telling was true.”

“Yeah,” Gordon replied. “I know what you mean.” Kara insisted on showing Gordon her room as well, and impatiently pulled him across the hallway. He found it to be the room of a typical little girl, with one exception. Eleanor was standing in a corner of the room, still with a kind smile.

“Hey Tom,” he said.

Tom stepped up to the doorway.

“She's in here now.”

“Yeah,” Tom replied. “She came back to keep an eye on the kids, and so far, it looks like she's doing a good job.”

Motioning him toward the stairs, Tom led the way back down as he continued his questions.

“So, Gordon,” he said. “What do you do for work?” Most people are uncomfortable around psychiatrists, often believing they are being 'analyzed'. So, Tom's response would be telling as to the direction things would proceed.

“Um, I'm a psychiatrist.”

This was, indeed, a surprise for Tom, never having had a medical professional, of any kind, visiting their home.

“That must be an interesting job,” Tom said.

“You have no idea,” Gordon replied. A few moments passed as Gordon, walking into the kitchen, shook off his nervous tension.

Linda already had coffee on the table, and joined them as they sat. Although she had a passing interest in the paranormal, she remained silent throughout their conversation, allowing Tom to further pursue what had become an obsession.

“A psychiatrist,” Tom began. “How does a psychiatrist deal with something like this?”

Gordon took a moment to sip his coffee.

“Well,” he began. “Not very well, at first. I thought I was losing my mind. So, uh...I went to a therapist, and he sent me to get some tests done, but everything was normal. Then, he sent me to see a priest. Father Thomas, I think.”

“Oh yeah,” Tom interrupted.

He was surprised to hear the Father's name come up, as he sometimes recommends cases for investigation.

“We do a little work for him once in a while.”

“Oh,” Gordon began. “I guess that's why he had this.” Reaching into his pocket, he took out the business card the Father had given him and slid it across the table toward Tom, who picked it up and examined it briefly.

“Yeah,” he said. “This is one of ours alright.” He put back down on the table, and asked what he thought was a very important question.

“So, Gordon,” he began. “And be honest, what were you hoping to find when you came here?” Throughout his experiences, Gordon had always raised questions regarding the reality of what he had seen, as well as his state of mind. But, this was a question he not considered, and now, it was time to provide an answer that would prove to be rather elusive. However, in truth, Gordon wasn't sure what he was looking for. In all his experiences and reading – even with the appointments with doctors and the priest – he failed to asked himself that one simple question. 'What was he hoping to find?' After a few moments of thought, Gordon admitted he was unable to answer the question. What seemed worse was that he may never reach an answer.

“Okay,” Tom said. “Let's get away from that. How would you like to help us? I mean, you have a skill we could use. You see, one of the things we try to do is to send people on their way, so to speak. Some people get lost, or stuck, and don't move on. And some people don't even realize they're dead, so we try to help them on their way. I'm not sure we ever do. I mean, how would you know?” Gordon listened to every word, but still wondered if he wanted to join the paranormal team. Certainly, his colleagues would not understand, and there would be a good chance he could be ostracized from the local psychiatric community, should his activities with the team become public.

“Now, I'm not going to say that you'll be able to quit your day job, and we all do this without pay, but we really could use you on the team. What do you say, Gordon?” Gordon sat looking down at his coffee as he considered Tom's offer. Volunteering wasn't an issue. His patient load was stable, and financially, he was probably doing just well as Tom.

“Well,” he began. “As long as it doesn't end up as a reality show, I guess I'm in.”

Tom was elated, and reaching out across the table, shook his hand and welcomed him as a team member.

“Gordon, I really think you're going to like doing this,” Tom said.

“Well,” Gordon replied. “If nothing else, it'll be interesting.”

A pause went by as Tom considered a novel idea.

“Now, you say you can talk to them, right? I mean, you can have conversations with them, can't you?”

“Um, yeah, it happens a lot,” Gordon answered.

“Alright,” Tom said. “Because, I was just thinking. You're a psychiatrist, and I bet you could get a back stories from this. You might even be able to write a book from them.”

Gordon had never considered this, but knew that if he did it, it would have to be done under a pen name, in order to maintain his reputation.

“That would be interesting, wouldn't it?” Gordon said. “So, when do we start?”

His enthusiasm seemed somewhat muted by the desire to be cautious about what he was involving himself in. Not everything works out as one would prefer. Not that there wasn't a lack of consistency in the experiences he's had so far, he simply wanted to see more, to build a theory about how these experiences develop in the first place. This would be his rationalization for becoming involved, at least, until he could figure out what he was looking for.

Continuing their conversation, Tom felt that Gordon's participation should begin as soon as possible. He would be able to meet the rest of the team, and Tom would be able to further test Gordon's ability.

“Gordon,” Tom began. “We're doing an investigation next Saturday night. Seems someone's been seeing some unusual things in a cemetery not far from here. You wanna go?”

It didn't take much time for Gordon to decide, and they decided to meet at Tom's house. There, he would meet the rest of the team and begin to learn the details of paranormal investigation.