Angie of the Garden

Chapter Seven-1

Angie did not appear for three weeks. Hollis lay awake at night, wondering if he would ever see his most interesting patient again. Being of flesh and blood the doctor could not even imagine where the specter had gone. Hollis was now more determined than ever to learn how Angie had come to be a servant at Fairhaven. He hoped the lure of recovering the diary would be enough to insure her return.
Hollis was momentarily distracted from his concern about her by another patient. Despite the enthusiasm he displayed at their previous meeting, Gregory Hill had left the office without scheduling another appointment. Several days later he called the receptionist to do so, but Hollis was less than certain that the detective would show.
On this afternoon Doctor Simms was involved with another patient from the talk show. Perry Albright had called in with a behavioral problem that was jeopardizing his ability to earn a living. He was a clerical office worker with the annoying habit of thinking aloud. The endless soliloquies Perry gave while processing his paperwork had begun to drive his co-workers to the brink of revolt. The office manager informed Perry that he was to cease the endless chatter or be gone in very short order. Hollis's office happened to be next to a health club offering scuba diving lessons in their Olympic size pool. The doctor suggested to Albright that he participate in the classes. The patient was to sit on the bottom of the pool with a board scuba divers use to communicate with each other while underwater. Instead of writing messages as the divers do, Perry Albright was to write numbers in order to mimic a typical day's work in the office. As there was no way to talk aloud under those circumstances, Hollis believed it would teach his patient to work silently.
"I didn't expect you to wear the scuba suit while walking around town," Hollis said to him when he walked into his office dressed to dive.
"I just wanted to show you my outfit. I'm having a blast."
"And how are things going at work?"
Perry nervously shuffled his flippers.
"Not too good. Ben, my boss, says I'm still driving everyone nuts. If I could only
wear this stuff in the office, I'd be able to keep my job. Could you write a note for me saying that it's medically necessary?"
"You really need to learn how to work quietly," Hollis responded.
Albright's shoulders sagged. The doctor reconsidered his position.
"I could write a note saying that you needed to wear the regulator. That would
only cover your mouth. But even so, you'll be subject to a lot of ridicule, I'm sure."
"I don't care. As long as I'm quiet, they can't do anything to me."
"I'll send the note to human resources. Good luck."
His newest patient arrived at the doctor's office. Hill started to sit down next to
Albright's wife Alma in the waiting room. She gave the detective a disapproving look. "You're sitting on my friend Eric," she protested.
"Eric? I don't see anyone there."

"He's invisible," Perry's wife explained.
Gregory stood up and looked for another place to sit. Alma suddenly laughed hysterically.
"I was only joking. I'm just waiting for my husband. There's nothing wrong with me."
Hill thought about beginning a debate with her on the subject, then though better of the idea. Perry Albright walked out of the doctor's door, dressed in his diving attire. Greg eyed him curiously when he walked by. Alma and her husband left for the health club.
"Do you give diving lessons, too, doc?" he asked Hollis when the doctor walked over to shake his hand.
"I really can't discuss my other patients."
Hollis escorted him into his office. He shut the door behind them, and then motioned for him to sit in a chair. Gregory handed him the drawings he had made and sat down.
"I thought you would make me lay down on the couch, doc," Gregory said as he sat down.
"Today will be a continuation of our get acquainted session," Hollis replied. "As for future sessions, I let my patients decide if they want to lie on the couch or sit in a chair. I will say that over the years my experience has been this: most people find it easier to relate their thoughts and feelings to me when they're lying down. But it's up to you. I see you're originally from Brooklyn."

"Once you're from Brooklyn, you're always from Brooklyn," Gregory said with a smile. "I only live in Manhattan now because it's where I'm assigned. I need to be there twenty-four seven. You pick up a lot just listening to the people in the neighborhood. But every Sunday I go home. I usually make mass at St. Catherine's. You ever see the churches in Brooklyn, doc? They're beautiful. Most of them have been around for a hundred years or more. And then there's the food. I'll take you to Mama Rosetta's sometime. You haven't eaten pasta till you've had a plate of it there. Of course, the old neighborhood isn't what it used to be. When I grew up there it was a tight knit community. You couldn't mess with any of us without the whole damn place coming down on you. But things change."
"That they do. I appreciate your letting me read your personal file. You've given twenty years of exemplary service to the NYPD. It's no wonder your superiors are so anxious for you to begin your duties as chief of detectives."
"I'm just doing my job," Gregory said as he shifted his position in the chair. "Why did you decide to become a policeman?"
"I was going with a girl named Joann Confessore in high school. Her old man
owned a deli on Greenpoint Avenue. One day a couple of animals robbed the place. They popped him on the side of his head with a tire iron. Jo's dad survived, but I saw how it affected the old man and the rest of his family. Those lowlifes were never caught, so there was no justice for the Confessores. And I don't think he ever went to his store again without wondering if he'd be dead before the day was over. So I decided to do what I could to help people like them."

"That's a very noble reason. Tell me, do you feel you've been able to help the victims? You've certainly solved a large number of cases, and brought the criminals who committed those crimes to justice. But at the end of the day, do you feel your efforts have really helped the people who have been robbed, or worse?"
Gregory put his hands behind his head and looked up towards the ceiling. He stared at it for several moments before he replied.
"I guess you could say that about some of the cases. If it's just a matter of getting someone's jewelry back, it's possible to make things right for the victim. But I've also handled rape cases and homicides. That's when you can't ever make it right for the victim or their family. The best you can do is to get the scum bucket off the street. Then let them rot in jail."
"And how does that make you feel?"
"I'll bet it's pretty much like you feel, doc. You do what you can, and it's really all you can do. I'd be bonkers in a week if I let the people who never get justice haunt me. So I don't. And I'll bet you're the same way about the patients you can't cure."
Hollis ignored his patient's remarks regarding his feelings. Their discussions had to remain relevant to Gregory Hill alone.
"You're forty years old and still single. Why do you think you've never married?"
"I guess partly because I'm in love with my work. A good detective gets too caught up in the job to have much of a social life. If the right girl had come along I probably would have changed for her, though. But she never did, so I never did."
"Is there any particular issue that you're having trouble coping with at the moment?"

"Do you mean like hating my mother or father? Or maybe wanting to sleep with my sister?"
"You tell me," Hollis replied.
"My parents are both gone, God rest them. I get along fine with my brothers and sisters. Of course I don't see them very much, which is probably why we get along. No, I don't have those kinds of problems. In fact, I don't have any problems."
"Your superior thinks you do," Hollis pointed out.
"That's because of my project," Gregory said with a smile.
"Your project?"
"Yeah, or you could call it a plan. See Avalor has a lot of information about what's going to happen tomorrow, and the day after, and for as far into the future as you can imagine. She can tell us all we need to know to prevent crimes that haven't happened yet."
"I understand. This woman can access the records pertaining to our time when she goes home. Then she'll tell you about crimes that are going to be committed before they occur."
"Right. I just have to convince her to do it for me. And she will, I know she will." "Have you ever wondered why Avalor contacted you?"
Gregory was at a loss for words. He had apparently never considered the question
before.
"I can see you at the same time next week. Think about my question before we
meet again."
"I'll be here, doc."