The Master Calls

Chapter 8

Madam Delores was located in an upper apartment complex. The building had seen better days, but it was clean, so Rose couldn't complain too much.

She knocked on the wooden door and waited for a response. A few seconds later a woman opened the door and Rose blinked in surprise. She had been expecting a gypsy type woman, with scarves and rings and colorful robes. Instead, a neatly groomed woman with a blonde bob that reached her shoulders greeted them. She looked to be in her early forties with light make-up and a natural tan. She wore a white dress and her feet were bare.

"Madame Delores?" Rose asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled and extended her hand for a handshake. "Hello, Rose. Thank-you for calling me. I have grown quite concerned about Sheela. Please come in."

She stepped aside to let them in and Rose and Matt gave each other sceptical looks, but entered the apartment. The apartment was neat and decorated in sunny colors. This did not look like the home of a psychic.

"You hold séances here?" Matt asked, looking around the apartment with a critical eye.

Delores went to sit on the light yellow couch and gestured for them to do the same. Once they had been seated, she replied. "Among other things, we do hold séances here. I dabble a bit in psychic endeavors. But my main interest is that of the mind. Telepathy."

"Reading minds?" Matt elaborated questioningly.

"Yes!" Delores exclaimed enthusiastically, her eye alight with passion as they ventured onto the subject that was of interest to her.

"Are you telepathic?" Rose asked.

Delores stilled and then sighed. "No, I am not gifted. But Sheela was."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. She came to me six months ago. Told me that she had done research. Unfortunately there are no telepaths here and she needed help. Said she had heard voices since she was a child."

"Yes, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia."

Delores leaned forward. "But that's the thing. It wasn't schizophrenia. She was telepathic and was hearing the thoughts of everyone around her. It was only when she was eighteen that she realised this and started taking control of her life. She learned to control it."

"So why come to you if she was handling it?" Rose asked.

Delores leaned back languidly in her seat. "She wanted to find others like her. And the best place to look is in the psychic field."

"Did she find any others?" Matt asked.

Delores shook her head. "No. She has been the first and only telepath I have encountered."

"Not surprising. Telepathy is not a human trait. Our brains are just not equipped to conduct telepathy," Rose mused. Then she turned her attention back to Delores. "Was Sheela acting strange before her death?"

Delores sighed sadly. "I wouldn't know. She used to come here once a week for the last six months. But she stopped showing up for our last two sessions."

"So two weeks, give or take. The last time you saw her, did anything seem out of the ordinary?"

Delores pondered a moment and then shook her head.

Rose pondered her next question. "Are there any friends or partners we can chat to?"

"I'm not sure about friends outside of our circle. She was fiercely private, so I have no idea if there was a boyfriend or girlfriend in the picture. I can give you a list of all who attended our meetings."