[13 Sept] Arthur's appointment with Dr Reece

The receptionist looked up, brushed some of her red hair from her face and adjusted her glasses. The moment she caught a good view of Arthur she blushed a little, he was certainly nothing like the usual types she saw. Smiling politely she nodded, "There is some paperwork that needs filling out, the information is all provided for you to read." she said, collecting a few sheets from a draw and sliding them over the counter. "I shall call you when Dr. Reece is free," she paused for a second before finishing with, "Roger" and a bright smile.

The forms were as expected; Address, any current diagnosis and medication, contact details of a friend or family member in case of emergency, doctors name, address as so forth.

The receptionist gives a warm chuckle at the hat tipping and busied herself with her duties while Arthur dealt with the form. When he was done she was more than glad to take it back from him. Her eyes glanced over the information, there was slight surprise at the blank spaces especially for the doctor but she smiled a little when she noticed Caleb's name. She glanced at the clock, there was still a little time before Mr. Moore's appointment and she did not have too many duties at the moment. "No wife or girlfriend then, Roger?" she asked politely as she moved to organise the paperwork in the appropriate place. She put a slight wiggle into her walk as she turned away from the desk, glad she was wearing a nice blouse and tight skirt today.

There was clear disappointment as she sat back on her chair but she kept smiling, "Now that is unfortunate, still.. new girlfriend suggests you don't know where it will lead." she laughed her warmly pleasent laugh and looks Arthur straight in the face. She had noted his address as a shop, maybe in a few weeks she'll be able to pay the place a visit.

The phone rang then and she sighed, "Sorry, Roger." she muttered apologetically and stepped away to answer it, leaving Arthur alone in the reception room.

The call keeps the receptionist out of the way as long as Arthur waits, at a couple of minutes past eleven a door opens and an older woman with a less pleasant attitude looks out. "Mr. Moore?" she asks, looking directly at Arthur as he was the only one in the waiting area. "This way," she spoke the moment he stood, turning and walking slowly down the corridor beyond.

Beyond the reception the corridors were a pale blue which was likely meant to be neutral or soothing but instead gave the place a a cold feel. There were no signs on the doors they pass but the staff member clearly knew where she was going. She led Arthur through one door to another corridor and past a set of old looking stairs, up top the lights were off. After a moment she stopped in front of another plain looking door and indicated for Athur to step inside.

Manuel Reece was in his late-fourties at least. He is a slender looking man with black wavy hair which has begun to go grey, he sports a small matching mustache and his mexican ancestry shows clearly. He smiles as Arthur steps into the room, "Mr. Moore? I'm Dr. Reece, please take a seat," he says waving to the room where several different chairs and a chaise lounge sit empty.

"I do hope you had no trouble finding the place," he moves to take a seat near whichever Arthur picks. "What brought you here today?"

"Life has ways of doing that, yes." Reece nods, "Sharing your life with someone entails also sharing difficulties and often complicated pasts."

The doctor took a relaxed position facing Arthur, "You used the word stressful twice in a row there, did you notice that?"

"It shows you have a lot more on your mind than what you were saying." Reece smiled in a relaxed way, "You realise that everything said here is entirely confidential? Any session notes I make are kept sealed and do not include names, so they cannot be tied back to you. I am checked and tested every couple of years by a national board to ensure my practises are up to date and the only reasons I would ever break that confidentiality is if I felt you were a risk to yourself or others."

He looked totally at ease in Arthur's presence, he did glance up to the scar when Arthur touched it but decided to leave it for now. "Anything else will remain entirely between us." he added.

Reece nods, not phased by the question. It was a normal one to ask. "Suicidal or murderous thought combined with intent, but even then I would do my utmost to determine whether I considered there to be a serious threat. More than that, I would not contact anyone else without consulting you first." he nods firmly. "We are not too dissimilar from priests in that respect, though while confession can ease the soul, I strive to do more."

He leans back a little in his seat, "Is that acceptable?"

Reece noticed the reluctance and nodded slowly. It was not a good start but there was little he could do but hope it would never come up, he had never needed to break confidentiality before and had no plans on changing that record. At first glance Mr. Moore did not seem to compare to some of the former felons he had dealt with before and the fact he had come here of his own free will suggested that even if there were thoughts like that, any intent was being resisted.

"Alright, so tell me about all this stress. Your work and your girlfriends life."

"You are a busy man," Reece observed and nodded, "Clearly you travel an awful lot too. Many people would not consider owning a book shop to insolve such much conflict and high stakes competition." He notices the gesture again, "I am curious what constitutes an unusual problem, that too sounds rather unlike what people usually associate with private detective work. Should I assume it was that part of your profession life that led to your getting hurt?"

"Fun?" the doctor asks with a small smile, nodding his understanding of Arthur's travels.

At the mention of the house and the haunting there is a look of acceptance on the mans face and perhaps even interest. "A haunting? So is paranormal investigation the focus of that business?"

Reece actually smiles as he listens to Arthur talk about his holiday, it was certainly clear that whoever this girlfriend was she had become a truly important part of his new clients life. He then nods politely as the experience is mentioned. "Rare to see an overlap between paranormal and private investigation." he observed.

"I imagine something truly unexpected must have happened to escalate your concerns since that holiday, you do not seem the type to relinquish control easily. Nor the type to seek help like this without putting a lot of thought into it."

The doctor nods and smiles brightly, "Love brings with it a lot of unexpected emotions, some paranoia is certainly commonplace. Moreso if you both live somewhat dangerous lives." he nodded to Arthur's scar. "Had the two of you talked about each others family before these problems came to light?"

He listened to Arthur talk of his uncertain lack of control and nods slowly, "I believe I do, such a lack of control like that would remove much of what makes you who you are."

Reece gave an acknowledging nod at the comment about Arthur's parents, it did not sound like an issue that weighed on the mans mind too heavily now but he would keep it in mind. "Is hers a large family?"

Put it down, that was an interesting turn of phrase not usually associated with most paranormal investigators, he thought. The mention of gods too, not one but plural. In his experience most people who believed in the paranormal were atheists in any case.

"I believe there is an awful lot in this world which cannot be readily explained, Mr. Moore." he spoke truthfully.