Dead Past

out of the way.
    The two of them guided Juliet to a chair where she sat and put her head down. Diane got her some water from the fountain in the corner. As she handed it to Juliet she caught sight of Whitney Lester in the doorway of her office with a satisfied smirk on her face.
    “Don’t just stand there; call the nurse,” said Diane. Lester’s smile faded, and she disappeared into her office.
    “What’s the matter, child?” said her grandmother. “Where were you?”
    “I don’t know. I was just suddenly running through the brush and a man was chasing me to your house, Gramma. It was so real.”
    Mrs. Pierce, one of the museum’s nurses, arrived quickly, and Diane explained what had happened. Mrs. Pierce had a motherly bedside manner with a knack for comforting hurt and sick children. She took Juliet’s pulse and felt her skin.
    “Your pulse is a little rapid, but your skin isn’t clammy.” She shined a light in her eyes. “You’re OK. It looks like an anxiety attack. Have you had these before?” she asked.
    Juliet nodded.
    “Are you seeing someone about them?” she asked.
    Again Juliet nodded.
    “Good,” said Mrs. Pierce. “I recommend you take a rest for the remainder of the day. You’ll be fine. Be sure and call the person you’re seeing and tell him or her.”
    “I will, thanks.”
    “Thanks, Mrs. Pierce,” said Diane.
    “That’s what you pay me for.” She smiled and left the aquatics lab.
    “This is just so stupid of me,” said Juliet.
    “No, it isn’t,” said Diane. “Can you answer some questions?”
    “Sure.”
    “Did you see what the man chasing you looked like?” asked Diane.
    “He was mean. He had a black goatee of a beard and straight black hair.”
    “Do you know why he was chasing you?” asked Diane.
    “No. That thing you said, why did you say it to me?” She looked up at Diane in anguish, as if Diane had done it on purpose.
    “You mean the sentence with the word you feared?” Diane was careful not to say the words again. “I heard it while I was looking for a friend in the library. Students were studying and it was just a phrase I heard. It stuck with me, I suppose because it was a kind of tongue twister. That word is so unusual, it was odd to hear it twice in so short a time. Why did that throw you into a flashback?”
    “Flashback . . . like Grampa? I don’t know.” She looked confused. “The man said it,” said Juliet.
    “To you?” Diane thought that would be an odd thing to say to a seven-year-old.
    “No, but . . . I don’t know who he said it to. I just heard him say it. It was scary when he said it. I don’t remember anymore. I’m sorry,” said Juliet.
    “Did he just say the word, or the whole phrase?” Diane thought that highly unlikely, but why did she freak out so when Diane repeated the sentence.
    “The phrase. He said the whole thing the way you said it, and he was looking at me,” said Juliet.
    “Looking at you? Directly at you?” asked Diane.
    “No, I’m not sure . . .” Juliet looked like she might panic again.
    “That’s all right. Why don’t you take your grandmother to the restaurant? Sit in a quiet booth, have something cool to drink, get some nourishment,” said Diane. “I’ll walk with the two of you.”
    “I think we both could use some food,” said her grandmother. “I’ll bet you’ve been skipping meals, haven’t you, dear?”
    Diane walked them to the elevators and they all went down to the restaurant. Diane told the hostess to seat them in her place, which was her code for the bill to be put on her tab as well.
    “Have a good meal. When you finish I’ll have someone drive you home,” said Diane.
    “I can drive. I’m fine, really,” said Juliet. “It’s just that darn word.” She tried to smile.
    Ruby Torkel turned to Diane. “You keep the doll. Don’t let anybody take it away from you.”
    “I won’t.”
    Diane didn’t even try to explain to her that the security guard was just making sure that nothing dangerous was being brought into the museum.
    “Is that the doll you said I stole?” asked Juliet. She touched the package with her fingertips. “I don’t even remember what it looks like.”
    “Do you want to see it?” asked her grandmother.
    Juliet grabbed her hand back as if the package had turned into a snake. “No . . . I think I’ve freaked everyone out enough for one day. Maybe when the museum is having a slow day.” She smiled again.
    “Do you remember anything Juliet