Nebulon's doctor and was practically retired now. She took Teresa to the old man too, though he, Broderick, had brought her into the world and looked after her parents while they lived.
He had asked both Olive and Jerri a number of questions, getting nowhere much and realizing at last he was just going in circles. Then he said, "Suppose you sit in the waiting room, Olive, while Jerri and I discuss a few deep secrets."
Olive left the room and he beckoned the little girl to him. He lifted her onto his knee. "Now tell me," he said, "is it true what Teresa told Miss Peckham, that you put her up to doing that to the frog?"
"Uh-uh." Emphatically she wagged her head in denial.
"I didn't think it could be. What do you do when you go over there, anyway?"
"We just play."
"At what?"
"Different things. Like hide-and-seek."
"Hide-and-seek, hey? I used to play that when I was your age. Where do you play it, outdoors or in the house?"
"Both, but mostly in the house. Sometimes we open the door."
"What door?"
"The door. But I'm not supposed to tell. It's a secret."
"Who says it's a secret? Teresa?"
"Uh-huh. She says if I tell, we won't get to open it any more. So don't you let on I said anything."
Doc had never been inside the Gustave Nebulon house—Elizabeth had not lived there when she was his patient—and had no idea what she was talking about. The word door intrigued him. He said, "Where is this door, Jerri?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"You open a door and you don't know where it is? What kind of talk is that?"
"Well, I don't. Honest."
He had been told that Elizabeth Peckham used only part of the huge house and kept a number of rooms locked. Old Gustave too was said to have used only part of it after his wife died and he sent the servants packing. "You mean you go into one of those closed-up rooms?" he asked the child on his knee.
She briskly wagged her head. "I'm not telling."
"It must be kind of spooky, going into a room that's been shut up so long. Does Miss Peckham know you go in there?"
"I'm not telling."
"I bet there's lots of interesting things in that room. Old things that used to belong to Mister Nebulon." The child tried to wriggle off his knee but he held her. "But if you go into a locked-up room, you must know where the door is. So you lied to me just now, didn't you?"
"I wasn't talking about that door," she said with a snort of impatience.
Hold on, boy, here we go 'round in circles again , Doc thought. But he persisted a while longer. "All right. You open a locked door, or at any rate one that's usually kept closed, and you go into one of those secret rooms, but that isn't the door you've been talking about. Where is the one you're talking about?"
"I told you I don't know."
"But you said a while back that you and Teresa sometimes open it. How can you open it if you don't know where it is?"
"I'm not telling.
"Well, what do you do when you go through it?"
"We don't go through."
"What's the good of opening it, then?"
"I'm not telling. If I tell, we can't ever do it again. I told you that. Please . . . can I go home now?"
He tried for a few minutes longer but it was no use. Either she was determined not to tell him more or there was no more to tell. Reluctantly he walked her out to the waiting room, where he managed to convey to Olive that he had better not talk to her with Jerri present and would phone her later.
Seated in his easy chair, Doc finished his cigarette and carefully stubbed it out. Strange. He had always had a desire to see the inside of that old house, and now his curiosity was keener than ever.
He thought of something. Rising, he crossed the living room and went into his study.
The telephone on his desk there began ringing before he reached it. Annoyed, he picked it up. "Yes?"
"Norman, this is Will. Are you very busy?" Willard Ellstrom never called him Doc.
"Well, I'll be damned. I was just about to call you and ask if . . . Never mind. Is something wrong?"
"It's Lois. Did
He had asked both Olive and Jerri a number of questions, getting nowhere much and realizing at last he was just going in circles. Then he said, "Suppose you sit in the waiting room, Olive, while Jerri and I discuss a few deep secrets."
Olive left the room and he beckoned the little girl to him. He lifted her onto his knee. "Now tell me," he said, "is it true what Teresa told Miss Peckham, that you put her up to doing that to the frog?"
"Uh-uh." Emphatically she wagged her head in denial.
"I didn't think it could be. What do you do when you go over there, anyway?"
"We just play."
"At what?"
"Different things. Like hide-and-seek."
"Hide-and-seek, hey? I used to play that when I was your age. Where do you play it, outdoors or in the house?"
"Both, but mostly in the house. Sometimes we open the door."
"What door?"
"The door. But I'm not supposed to tell. It's a secret."
"Who says it's a secret? Teresa?"
"Uh-huh. She says if I tell, we won't get to open it any more. So don't you let on I said anything."
Doc had never been inside the Gustave Nebulon house—Elizabeth had not lived there when she was his patient—and had no idea what she was talking about. The word door intrigued him. He said, "Where is this door, Jerri?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"You open a door and you don't know where it is? What kind of talk is that?"
"Well, I don't. Honest."
He had been told that Elizabeth Peckham used only part of the huge house and kept a number of rooms locked. Old Gustave too was said to have used only part of it after his wife died and he sent the servants packing. "You mean you go into one of those closed-up rooms?" he asked the child on his knee.
She briskly wagged her head. "I'm not telling."
"It must be kind of spooky, going into a room that's been shut up so long. Does Miss Peckham know you go in there?"
"I'm not telling."
"I bet there's lots of interesting things in that room. Old things that used to belong to Mister Nebulon." The child tried to wriggle off his knee but he held her. "But if you go into a locked-up room, you must know where the door is. So you lied to me just now, didn't you?"
"I wasn't talking about that door," she said with a snort of impatience.
Hold on, boy, here we go 'round in circles again , Doc thought. But he persisted a while longer. "All right. You open a locked door, or at any rate one that's usually kept closed, and you go into one of those secret rooms, but that isn't the door you've been talking about. Where is the one you're talking about?"
"I told you I don't know."
"But you said a while back that you and Teresa sometimes open it. How can you open it if you don't know where it is?"
"I'm not telling.
"Well, what do you do when you go through it?"
"We don't go through."
"What's the good of opening it, then?"
"I'm not telling. If I tell, we can't ever do it again. I told you that. Please . . . can I go home now?"
He tried for a few minutes longer but it was no use. Either she was determined not to tell him more or there was no more to tell. Reluctantly he walked her out to the waiting room, where he managed to convey to Olive that he had better not talk to her with Jerri present and would phone her later.
Seated in his easy chair, Doc finished his cigarette and carefully stubbed it out. Strange. He had always had a desire to see the inside of that old house, and now his curiosity was keener than ever.
He thought of something. Rising, he crossed the living room and went into his study.
The telephone on his desk there began ringing before he reached it. Annoyed, he picked it up. "Yes?"
"Norman, this is Will. Are you very busy?" Willard Ellstrom never called him Doc.
"Well, I'll be damned. I was just about to call you and ask if . . . Never mind. Is something wrong?"
"It's Lois. Did
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