Page 110 of The Boathouse By the Loch

She nodded. ‘Yes, I told you I do.’

Marnie looked around the room. ‘Anybody else have a question before I proceed?’

Gayle raised her hand. ‘Hi, I’m Gayle. How long will this take?’

Marnie replied, ‘I can’t answer that.’

‘No matter,’ said Gayle. ‘My neighbour said she could look after my mum for as long as needs be. And by the way, this is Marty, and Nick …’

‘Hi,’ they both said in unison.

‘They’re staying with me at Lark Lodge at the moment. Have you heard of it?’

‘The new guesthouse in Aviemore, backs on to the Rosses’ holiday home, so I heard.’

‘That’s right.’

David spoke again. ‘I forgot to tell you that I’m David, her fiancé, and this is Joe, my brother, and Annie his wife.’

‘I’m Duncan – their dad,’ Duncan added.

Marnie stared at them all. ‘Well … er, thank you for introducing yourselves. Has anyone got anything else to add before Ibegin?’ There was a hint of weariness in her voice.

When nobody answered, she said, ‘Good. Let’s begin.’ She turned to her patient again, but as she began to speak, her voice was drowned out by a ruckus coming from outside the office.

‘What on earth …?’

Everyone turned towards the door as it opened. It was Sean. ‘Sorry, but there’s a guy out here, Jake Campbell-Ross. He said he was going to meet all you guys at the police station, but then got a text to come here.’

David said, ‘Oh, he texted me. Sorry, I should have asked you before I told him about the therapy sessions. He says he needs to be here, that he thinks you might know something about Eleanor, and what happened the day of her accident on Christmas Day.’

She looked at David. ‘Why would he think that?’

‘I don’t know.’

She looked around the room at her friends. Mr Campbell-Ross obviously had something unresolved he needed to find out.

‘It’s your call,’ said Sean.

‘I think if there’s any possibility I met her, then he needs to be here.’ She looked at Marnie and winced. ‘Can I have one more?’

She threw her hands in the air, clearly getting exasperated. ‘Come in, come in. It’s already like a zoo in here.’

Jake walked in and thanked Marnie’s patient for letting him join her therapy session. Sean provided another folding garden chair. Jake walked up to Marnie, shaking her hand, and introducing himself.

She looked at him sideways. ‘Please,’ she said, securing the return of her hand, ‘just sit down. Now I’m going to try this one more time, and if I get one more interruption it may be best for you all to leave. Do … you … understand?’

Every head nodded. There was not so much as a whisper.

Satisfied, Marnie turned to her patient and started the hypnotherapy, getting her to relax to the point of a hypnosis-induced state. She said softly, ‘We are going to go on a journey, a journey into your past,’ she paused. ‘Will you take me there?’

‘I will,’ she said in a dreamy voice.

‘But before we go, we must get better acquainted, you and me. Can you tell me your name?’

There was a pause. ‘Yes, I can tell you my name … it’s Bonnie.’

Chapter 40

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