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‘And if I don’t feel anything, I don’t say anything. I’m just an old lady, spending a few hours keeping some very poorly people company. If I can offer comfort, I do.’
‘Okay, but what about people with less integrity? What about fraudsters?’ Kim asked.
‘What about them?’ Eloise asked. ‘Every profession has them.’
‘But how do you feel about them? I went to a stage show last night and I have no idea whether the psychic was genuinely gifted or not. My natural scepticism tells me not, but I struggle to see the harm if she’s a fraud. She gave many people comfort.’
‘And she probably did very well out of it.’
‘You’re saying I’m wrong to feel that way?’ Kim asked.
‘I’m saying it’s up to you how you feel about it. Let me use this example. People love designer handbags – not sure why, I don’t get it myself, but horses for courses. If someone unknowingly buys a fake one and never finds out because it is such a good copy, does it affect their enjoyment of the product?’
‘You’re saying that fakes do no harm?’
‘I’m not saying it’s right or wrong for people to do what they do. I’m saying that the indignation is only an issue if the fakery is discovered.’
Kim opened her mouth but Eloise held up her hand. ‘You’re not going to stop until I give you a straight answer so here it is; no, I don’t approve of people using clever techniques to read people. It’s not something I would ever do. For me the truth is the truth and that’s the end of it.’
Kim said nothing. She was not getting the answers she’d hoped for.
‘I can see that you’re still conflicted but I can’t reach a resolution for you. Your indecision tells me that you’re not yet ready to receive your gift.’
‘You have one for me?’ Kim asked, surprised.
‘I’ve always had one for you. To be passed on at the right time, which is not now.’
Kim couldn’t help the curiosity that had been piqued, and yet she knew Eloise was right. She wasn’t ready for the suspension of disbelief.
‘So, in the meantime, I’ll send a gift via you. There’s someone linked to you that needs to be told to check the pocket of a camel coat.’
Kim raised an eyebrow, and Eloise opened her hands.
‘That’s it.’
Kim thanked her for her time and let herself out the front door. She had hoped to leave this meeting with a firm opinion one way or another, but as she straddled the bike, she was no longer sure what she believed.
FORTY-FOUR
‘Great, everyone’s here,’ Kim said, stepping out of the Bowl.
Tiff had pulled up a chair next to Stacey, and Richard was back with his laptop and books at the spare desk.
‘A quick debrief about last night and then Tink can get back to work,’ Kim said, looking towards Richard. ‘It all happened like clockwork. Tink was approached and questioned. Everything she told the stooge was repeated back to her by the psychic. Totally got everything you said about emotional investment and willingness to see past the misses. We may have been the only two non-believers in the audience,’ she said, looking at Tink, who coloured slightly but smiled and nodded.
‘I spoke to Victoria afterwards, to try and warn her. She didn’t seem too bothered and I doubt she’ll take my advice. She did, however, reveal that Monty Dunhill’s hatred of frauds went beyond the limits of professional disapproval. He even made some kind of drunken threat about wiping them all off the planet. Most likely nothing but he stays on our radar.’
They all nodded their agreement.
She turned to the constable. ‘Tink, you wanna share your experience last night?’ Kim asked, folding her arms.
‘Err…yeah…I…umm…decided on a story that was pretty much true about me and my gran. I told Neil all about our argument and her fall. I told him how close we were.’ She swallowed. ‘And the psychic got it all. She told me that my gran forgave me and was with me every day.’
‘Don’t forget that small detail about the crisps,’ Kim said.
‘I didn’t tell him about the crisps,’ Tiff said.
‘You must have done,’ Kim said.
