Darkness Exposed (21 page)
“Mary.”
“Okay, I had a thing today,” she admitted. “Really, Bradley, I’m just about asleep here.”
“A thing?”
“Yeah, well, Ian thinks it could be related to Jeannine using my body when she’s hypnotized.”
“What the hell?”
“Oh, that’s right, that’s another one of those things I didn’t tell you about, right? I must be more tired than I realized.”
“Well, it must be exhausting to have to keep all of these secrets,” he replied. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that we need to find out who did this to Jeannine and the only way we could hypnotize her is to allow her to enter my body. We talked about the risks, we took precautions and we proceeded in a scientific and controlled environment,” she said, then yawned once again. “And, quite frankly, I don’t appreciate your attitude.”
“You’re right,” he said.
“And another thing… Wait, what did you say?” she asked.
He sighed. “You’re right,” he repeated. “Trying to protect you is a gut reaction. I need to remember that you are a very capable woman.”
She smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t mind knowing that you want to protect me. I actually like that. But, I don’t like feeling you are questioning my decisions.”
“Can I just say that I have never questioned your intelligence or your courage,” he said. “When I do…worry…is when you try to conquer the world on your own, without asking for help. Risk more than you need to risk.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” she said, then chuckled sleepily. “You would have been proud of me this afternoon. I actually asked for help. I got dizzy for some reason and Ian drove over and rescued me. I almost didn’t call, but then I thought, ‘If Bradley finds out, he’ll kill me.’”
“So Ian got to rescue you today?” he said.
She sighed and nestled into the blankets. “It would have been better if it had been you.”
He smiled. “Good answer.”
She covered a yawn and shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“I miss you,” he said.
She smiled sleepily. “I miss you too.”
“Even with Ian there,” Bradley hated himself for asking, but he couldn’t forget how cozy she looked being carried in Ian’s arms.
“Uh-hmmmm,” she murmured, her eyes slowly closing, “Although he has nice shirts.”
“Nice shirts?”
She smiled widely in her half-sleep state. “Bradley, you don’t have any black spandex turtlenecks do you?”
“Spandex shirts?”
“Oh, yes,” she purred, snuggling into the pillows. “Tight spandex shirts.”
“Mary? What the hell…”
“Good night, Bradley,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “Sweet dreams.”
The screen went blank, but Bradley stared at it for a few more moments. Then he flipped over to view the cameras for the rest of the house. He searched the living room, the laundry room, the dining room and then, ah, there he was, in the kitchen. Ian was behind the refrigerator door, obviously looking for a snack. Bradley could only see the back of his shirt. It was black. Then Ian closed the door and turned to face the camera.
“Well, damn,” Bradley said.
Chapter Thirty-three
Mike faded into Bradley’s living room and watched him for a while. His mind was awhirl with so many things. What if this was what he was still on earth for? What if this is what was holding him here on earth?
Could he take the chance of telling Bradley the truth and then be moved on and never see Mary again? Did he want to move on? Did he really need to move on right now?
And why should Jack be punished when he only had a few months to live anyway? Why the hell didn’t they give that jerk the death penalty in the first place?
He sighed. He knew what he had to do. He knew it when Bradley placed his confidence in him. He realized he knew it even before he left Jack’s.
Gliding over to Bradley, Mike leaned forward and looked over his shoulder.
“Why are you looking at black spandex shirts?” he asked.
Bradley quickly closed the page. “Never mind,” he said. “What do you need?”
“Well, I’ve got a story to tell you,” Mike said. “And I want you to listen to all of it without making a decision until the end.”
Bradley sat back and listened as Mike explained Jack’s story.
“So, bottom line, he killed him,” Bradley said.
Mike shrugged. “Yes, he did.”
“Well, damn, that’s not what I wanted to hear. I like Jack.”
“Yeah, me too. He was kind of a second father to me.”
“And I really hate the bastard he killed,” Bradley admitted. “The guy deserved the death penalty.”
Mike nodded. “Yeah, he did. But, that’s not what the court system gave him.”
“Yes, and we were both sworn to uphold the law.”
“Yes, we were,” Mike agreed. “And so was Jack.”
“But you don’t think he should be punished for this?” Bradley asked.
Shaking his head, Mike tossed his hands in defeat. “I don’t know. Obviously I must think the truth needs to be out there because I came to you. But, on the other hand, I think the guy got what he deserved.”
“What the hell do you want me to do about it?”
“Damned if I know,” Mike said. “But I’m just the dead guy here.”
“Is there any danger…”
“Of Jack killing himself?” Mike finished. “No, he said he wasn’t going to take a coward’s way out.”
“Well, I got to think about this one,” Bradley said. “Because right now, I don’t know what I want to do.”
“Yeah, well let me know when you decide, okay?”
Bradley nodded. “You’ll be the first one.”
“Thanks.”
Chapter Thirty-four
The light in the basement room was switched on once again and the lock was slid in place. But this time there were no careful steps taken to plan for the perfect night. This time the chair was dragged over to the freezer and the door was thrown open.
“I found her,” he said to the frozen corpse. “I told you I would and I did. And she’s perfect.”
He took a deep breath and then slowly rolled his tongue over his lips. “She’s going to taste so good,” he said. “And she’s going to feel so good. It’s been such a long time.”
He wiped his sweating palms against the knees of his pants. “And she touched me today,” he said. “It was her way of telling me that we were meant to be together. It was her way of telling me that she wanted to be mine.”
He looked at the corpse and his lips curled into a sneer. “You said no one would ever want me. You said women cringe when I touch them. You said the only way I could have a woman was if I drugged her.”
He sat back in the chair and laughed, a high-pitched girlish laugh. “You’re so wrong and I’m so right,” he said in a sing-song voice. “You’re so dead and I’m so alive.”
He sat forward on the chair. “Her name is Mary and she is pregnant. Just like you were, she’s pregnant. And I’m going to keep her all to myself. She’ll like that. And I’ll help her keep the baby safe and strong. And I love them. I’ll love them both.”
He reached up and took the white box from the shelf and opened it. “Guess what little girl,” he said to the frozen embryo. “You’re going to be a sister. You’re going to be a big sister.”
He put the top back on the box and placed it carefully on the shelf. Then he turned back to the corpse. “I may not be able to visit for a while,” he said. “I have to get things ready for Mary. But when she’s ready, I’ll bring her here to meet you and then we can be a family.”
He started to close the door, and then paused. “Oh, no, she can’t live here,” he said. “She’s going to be my new bride. We need the bridal suite. We need time to be alone.”
He laughed and rubbed his hands together. “We need time to get to know each other, intimately.”
He closed the freezer door and hurried up the stairs, leaving the latch to the room unlocked.
Chapter Thirty-five
So, how are we feeling this morning, Mary, me darling?” Ian asked as Mary came down the stairs.
“Fine, I’m feeling great,” she said. “I had a good night’s sleep and I’m ready to get going with Jeannine.”
Rosie put a plate filled with bacon and eggs on the table. “Mary, dear, I’ve made you some breakfast. Sit down and eat while it’s hot.”
Mary sat down at the table, stabbed a fork into her scrambled eggs and began to lift it to her mouth when she noticed that all eyes were on her. She put the fork down and sighed. “What now?” she asked.
“I can’t do it,” Ian said. “I can’t let you be hypnotized with Jeannine again. It’s just too dangerous.”
“Yep, we were all discussing it last night and we all feel that it’s not the best thing for you to do,” Stanley said.
“We don’t want you to get hurt, dear,” Rosie finished.
Mary sat back in her chair and looked around at her friends. She realized their motivation was their concern for her, but she really couldn’t let that get in the way of discovering who murdered Jeannine.
“First, I want to thank you for your concern, I really appreciate it,” she said. “And I know the only reason you don’t want me to be hypnotized is because of what happened to me yesterday. So, what I need from all of you are your ideas on how I can get the same information without being hypnotized.”
She leaned forward and placed her arms on the table. “Stanley, what do you think?”
He shrugged. “Well, maybe Jeannine could use someone else, like me,” he said. “That way you could listen to what was going on rather than live it.”
“Ian would that work?” Mary asked.
Ian shook his head. “No, it’s not likely,” he said with a sigh. “The only reason this works now is because of Mary’s connection with Jeannine. It’s doubtful we could recreate that same kind of bond with anyone else.”
“And, I have to add,” Mary said. “That because I’m actually living Jeannine’s memories when she’s being hypnotized I get even more information and detail than I would if I were just listening to her.”
She turned to Rosie. “Rosie, what would you suggest?”
“Is there a way to get any more information from the suspects?” Rosie asked. “Pay them another visit.”
“Well, I could wait until tonight and try to break in to each of the suspects homes and check out their basements,” Mary suggested. “But, other than that, and the bugging Ian’s already done, I don’t think another visit will do us much good. Stanley, what do you think?”
“You wouldn’t have to be the one to break in,” Stanley said. “We could help you.”
Mary held back her smile. “Stanley, I think you and Rosie might be a little rusty at breaking and entering,” she said. “And I don’t believe the professor has a lot of experience as a cat burglar.”
Ian shook his head. “Too many years spent in a library, I suppose,” he said. “But, if you want me to be there, I’d be willing.”
“And you’d probably set off all the alarms in the neighborhood,” Stanley grumbled.
“Oh, dear, we really aren’t getting anywhere,” Rosie said. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. But it seems to me that maybe having you hypnotized is the best idea.”
Mary turned to Ian. “So, how about you? Do you have any suggestions to replace what we originally planned?”
“No, I don’t like it,” he said. “But I can see this is the safest route of all. Perhaps after this is all done I can hypnotize you and remove any of the memories you don’t want to have mixed with yours.”
“That would be good,” Mary said. “I don’t need someone else’s scary situations, I have enough of my own.”
She pulled her plate back in front of her. “So, are we all good now?” she asked.
They all nodded.
“Good, because I’m starving!”
An hour later, Mary was lying on the couch and Ian was sitting next to her. Rosie and Stanley were sitting on the other side of the room. The cameras had been turned off and the microphones muted. The only thing keeping them from proceeding was Jeannine who was pacing the room.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she said. “It was so frightening last time.”
“But remember Jeannine, Mary will be with you,” Ian said. “So, you don’t have to be afraid.”
“Do you promise, Mary, that you’ll stay with me no matter what?”
Mary nodded. “I promise, I’ll be there with you. Living it through you.”
Jeannine took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do it before I chicken out.”
Ian brought Mary under first, as he had the last time and then had her invite Jeannine in.
“Jeannine, where are you now?” he asked.
