“All right, all right! Tell me what you want to say.”
“It took me a while to figure it out,” I say. “The thing is, Seri…she’s…she’s not just Seri.”
“Bishop, I’m trying to understand, but you aren’t making much sense.”
“I know I’m not.” I sigh and rub my fingers into my temples as I attempt to find the right words. “It’s not just Seri. It’s her sister, Iris.”
“You’ve got two women in your cabin?”
“Netti, too. She’s kind of the go-between for the other two.”
“Three women? The man who wants to live in nearly complete isolation to the point of forbidding me to come to see him now has three women living with him?”
“Not really.”
“For goodness’ sake, Bishop! Tell me what the hell you’re trying to say!”
“There’s only one body,” I finally say, “but there are three women inside of her.”
Margot’s brow furrows as she stares at me in silence. She turns and leans against the door as she stares at me for another full minute before she speaks again.
“She has multiple personalities?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s it.”
“I’ve read about that. They call it dissociative identity disorder now. Some people say it doesn’t really exist.”
“I would beg to differ.”
“How do you even know who you are talking to?” Margot asks.
“I didn’t at first,” I say. “I’m starting to figure it out. They’re all pretty different, really. Seri is very sweet and kind. Netti is always calm and controlled, and Iris…well, Iris cusses a lot.”
Margot shakes her head slowly as she looks away from me for a minute. When she looks back, her eyes are serious.
“Bishop, if she’s got multiple personalities, that must mean she is really, really messed up. Are you sure you want to be involved in all of this?”
“I promised to protect her.”
Margot’s eyes widen.
“You really care about her.”
“Yeah,” I say quietly, “I do.”
Margot takes a couple of deep breaths before she sits up straighter and turns toward me.
“What do you need me to do?” she asks as she gives me a tight-lipped smile.
“Can you look and see what you can find out about her? Serenity McGuire or maybe Iris McGuire. See what you can find out about either of them.”
“I’ll try,” Margot says. “It might take some time. How do you want me to contact you?”
“I can try to get back here in a few days,” I say. “I guess if you find something, you could come out to the cabin, if you can make it.”
My stomach tightens at the thought. I guess getting used to Seri being there isn’t the same as inviting Margot.
“I can do that.” Margot focuses her dark eyes on me, then reaches up and pushes my hair off of my forehead. “Be careful, Bishop. This all sounds just a little too bizarre.”