She looked like she was about to say something, but Shawn gave her a calming shush and she stopped herself, closing her eyes. Shawn studied her carefully and he saw. Saw the small scratch on the side of her neck. Saw the four red stripes of rash on the back of her hand. Saw the smudge of chalk dust high on her forehead and the small brown spot on her blouse. He pressed his fingers to his temples and bowed his head.

“I’m sensing something,” he said. “A banana.”

“A banana?” Ellen Svaco sat back up in her chair.

“Not just a banana,” Shawn said. “A giant banana, hurtling through the world at amazing speeds, filled with songs of joy. Does that mean anything to you?”

It did to Gus-that they were going to be here all day while Shawn played silly games with the new client. “Sometimes the visions take a while to coalesce,” Gus told her. “He just gets random images at first, and eventually they come together into a coherent whole. So maybe we could call you tonight and-”

“That’s what we call the school bus,” Ellen said. “On Monday I took my second-grade class on a field trip to-”

“No, wait,” Shawn said, again pressing his fingertips to his temple. “I see a magical land of enchantment. A place of peace and happiness where no voice is ever raised in anger and everybody loves everyone else.”

“She took them to Fairyland?” Gus said.

“Nicer than that,” Shawn said. “Canada.”

“It was only a half day,” Ellen said. “And I’d be fired if I took the kids out of the state, let alone the country.”

“No, not Canada.” Shawn scrunched his eyes shut even more tightly. “ La Canada. You took them to the Descanso Gardens outside Pasadena.”

She stared at him suspiciously. “How do you know that?”