The chair was hard and uncomfortable, a big change from his cushy leather one. But even though that was the case, Dr. Hasselback looked like he couldn’t be comfortable anywhere. He was already squirming, as if he couldn’t get into an acceptable position.
“Sorry if we’re intruding, doctor,” Dex said, leaning forward in his seat with his diplomat’s face on. “I had mistakenly thought we were on for five.”
The doctor let out a nervous giggle, steepled his hands together and leaned back in the chair with a creak. “Oh, no, you were right on time. It was my fault. I hadn’t told Mrs. Roundtree that you were dropping by. I’m afraid we close the hospital to visitors at 4:30 p.m. I should have mentioned that, too.”
“That’s kinda early for a mental hospital, right?” I said.
His eyes turned unkindly for second. At least I thought they did. It was hard to tell when they were so small and weasely and he was wearing such thick glasses. But he smiled, perfect orthodontics from childhood. “It is early. But it is the winter and we go by the light here. It’s just easier. And our patients don’t get many visitors these days anyway. We don’t have many patients in general.”
“How many are here?” Dex asked.
“Thirty-three,” the doctor said. “And the numbers diminish each year. Technically, we shouldn’t even have three over thirty, but families get desperate and I have a soft heart.”
I wasn’t sure about that.
“Do you mind if we start setting up for the interview?” Dex asked, bring around the camera and placing it on the desk. With his other hand he produced a few waivers out of his camera bag and placed those along with it.
The doctor eyed them suspiciously before picking the papers up and giving them a very thorough read.
“I hope you two realize why I am letting you do this.”
Dex and I looked at each other.
Dr. Hasselback continued, eyes on the paper, “It’s risky for me to open my doors to a film crew. Too much publicity, the wrong publicity, and I would humiliate myself and my patients.”
“I can assure you that won’t happen,” Dex said.
The doctor looked up at him. “Can you? I hope so. The reason I said OK to this little venture is because you aren’t the sensational type. You’re honest, I believe. I hope, anyway. Sometimes I can’t really believe what it is that you’re writing, but I’ve noticed that even if you are making up every episode, you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
“Which are?” I asked.
He looked surprised and then looked back down at the papers again. “You’re obviously seeing things that aren’t there. Things you want to see. But you’re not making it up for the wrong reasons. For fame. And money.”
I opened my mouth to say something in our defense, but Dex laid his hand on my knee and shot me a subtle, warning look.
“And therefore, I don’t mind if you film here. Because I know from personal experience that you aren’t going to find anything. And I know you won’t embellish on something that isn’t there. However, I’m also agreeing to an interview and this is the most important part. Because an interview, right now, would help shine a little bit of light on this dark corner of the world. The country has forgotten we exist. And I can bring that light back, with you both.”
So the doctor wanted to use us as much as we wanted to use him. I suppose that was perfectly fair. And we were all being honest about it, a major plus.
“That sounds like a great plan, Dr. Hasselback,” Dex said, smiling but uneasily eyeing the papers he had yet to sign. He picked up on that and eventually signed it with a runny pen.
He handed them back to Dex and said, “Shall we begin then? I’m afraid I don’t have all night. You two are free to film in this building for tonight. The third floor. It’s totally empty. I’ll see tomorrow about Thursday and access to Block C.”
I presumed that it was all up to him whether we were going to film Thursday or not, but I let him have his power trip instead of questioning him. I knew how much of an accomplishment this was for Dex to get us any access at all. I especially saw it in the face of Annie Potterson when she realized we had access to a mysterious institute. They knew all right.
Dex lifted the camera up to eye level and aimed it at him. I wondered if I should say something or introduce it but Dex had already hit record. I guess we would edit my part in later. Fine with me. My hair was wet and grody and I probably matched it.
Dex did most of the talking. He seemed to know a lot more about the institute than I had garnered from my brief internet session. That didn’t surprise me at all. The upper hand changed over, at least in this regard.
Dr. Hasselback was just as jittery on camera as he was off camera, but he was forthcoming and passionate about the questions. He gave a thorough history of the place and the challenges of getting funding for America’s struggling mental health victims, before Dex touched on the whole haunted aspect.
“When was the first time you heard Riverside was haunted?” Dex asked.
The doctor laughed, naturally for once, and leaned back in his seat. “I have no idea. Probably the first day for me. I only came on board after medical school. Brought on by my father, who, as I just mentioned, took over the institute after the war. But you must understand, every hospital, every institute…or any place with history, is haunted in some way or another. Every place has stories and a place like this, festered with people who have stories of their own…it’s inevitable.”
“So you don’t believe in ghosts?”
“Heavens, no.”
“Then how do you account for what has happened here?”
Hasselback clasped his hands into a steeple again, and for the first time tonight, looked calm. He lowered his brow and looked at Dex head on. “You tell me, Mr. Dex Foray, what you think has happened here. What you’ve heard.”
Dex pursed his lips for a split second before shrugging. The camera moved a bit. “Just what has been reported around the world. That patients have seen apparitions in their rooms. That visitors have been locked in with their relatives when they try to leave. That nurses hear whispers and footsteps when no one is around. That Block C is occasionally riddled with random, decaying body parts.”
I shivered at that last sentence. I hadn’t read that part. I looked to the doctor for his opinion. His fingers were pressed harder together but his expression hadn’t changed.