A New Game

by Linda L Barton

  Jennifer ran up to Mac and hugged her. “Lucinda…oh, God, I cannot believe this,” she cried breathlessly.

  Both girls stood there crying for several moments when Davis finally spoke, “Lucinda, I don’t think Jennifer is in any condition to drive you to the hospital. Come on, I’ll take you. Do you want Jennifer to go along, as well?”

  “Yes, I need her to be there.” Mac pulled away from Jennifer to look at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

  ***

  Mac came out of her trance to the sound of the telephone ringing. “Crap, who could that be? She turned the water off and grabbed a towel then ran to the telephone, “Hello.”

  “Hey there, I hope I’m not bothering you, but I wanted to know how the visit went today. Are you okay? You sound out of breath,” Rick chuckled.

  “Yeah, I was in the shower,” she laughed.

  “Oh, I can call you back later if you’d like?”

  “No, it’s all right…hold on a second.” She sat in the chair before continuing, “Anyway, it was quite an informative visit. It appears this Erebus has played his little game before. You will not believe what he did to that poor man, and to all the others he used in his game. Rick, I’m scared. Erebus knows how to do so many things to trick people. He was able to frame a man for multiple murders, and get the guy convicted beyond any doubt. Then he convinced a man that his lifelong friend and business partner had embezzled money just to make it look as if he had done it. He knew what buttons to push to make him walk into the office of his friend and kill him!”

  Mac paused a moment to compose herself before she continued, “After that he murdered a woman and her unborn child to make the world believe she had killed herself because her husband had cheated on her. The damn thing about it was he did not cheat and had no idea why she would kill herself. These were only parts that led up to the final play in his game. You see, the goal for Erebus was to destroy John Cooper. He used those other people to chip away slowly at John and everything he believed. First, he made him question his ability as a detective, and then he made him question his marriage and finally his entire life! This Erebus is smart and dangerous. He doesn’t kill for the thrill of killing. He kills as a necessary part of his games! Rick, if he’s trying to destroy me like he did John Cooper that means the Afton boy is in real danger.”

  Rick did not want to believe what she had said. In all his years of working in law enforcement, he had never come across anything such as this. “Mac, what do you plan to do?”

  “I’m not sure. I have another appointment with John before I fly out in the morning. Maybe he’ll have an idea on how I can beat Erebus at his game.”

  Mac knew she was in over her head this time, but she hated to give up without a fight. “Rick, I want to thank you for all your help because I don’t think I could face this alone.”

  She closed her eyes to the vision of John Cooper sitting across from her with a look of defeat on his face. “I don’t want to end up like John,” she said silently.

  Rick cut her off, “You’re not alone, and don’t you think it for one second! We’ll figure out how to beat Erebus, and then we’ll lock him up for good! Now you wipe those thoughts from your mind, okay?”

  Mac was glad she had confided in Rick. He was a dear friend, and she knew he would never let her down, “Thanks.”

  “Now, you get yourself a good night’s sleep, and then go have another talk with John. You learn everything you can from him. I’ll see you when you get back, okay? Put all this aside for now and get yourself some rest.” He prayed she would believe they would beat Erebus at his game.

  Mac knew he was right. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand, and quit feeling sorry for herself, “I will, I promise. Goodnight and thanks for everything. Give Sharon and the girls my love.”

  “I will. Goodnight, and I’ll talk to you when you get home.”

  Mac sat a few moments quietly, mulling over the day’s events. She knew the first thing she needed to learn, was how Erebus set up his moves.

  Suddenly, a terrifying thought came to her; John said that Erebus had been in his house! What if he’s been in mine!

  This idea had never occurred to her until now, but it would be something he would need to do to monitor her every move.

  “Shit, he’s been watching me in my own home!” A sick feeling came over her at the thought of him being in her apartment.

  “You bastard, you may have been on top of your game before, but things will be different this time!” Mac walked back into the bathroom to get ready for bed, but she knew it was not going to be a restful night for her.

  Chapter 8

  Mac was awake before her wake-up call. She had had a restless night and found herself anxious to get to the hospital, and continue her conversation with John. As she walked to the entry door of the hospital, her cell phone began to ring. She looked at the phone number but did not recognize it.

  “Not now, Erebus. You will just have to wait until I’m finished here,” she groaned.

  She pushed the power button on her phone to turn it off, and then laughed to herself. “Let’s see how you like that!”

  ***

  He was furious when she did not answer her cell phone. “What are you up to Lucinda? I hope you’re not breaking the rules of The Game.” In all the times, he had played the game, none of his opponents had ever defied him, and to have it happen now was unacceptable. “You have no idea what I’m capable of Lucinda, and if you’re not careful someone you care for may become a new piece in the game.”

  ***

  Mac walked straight to Dr. Jenkins’ office. He was sitting at his desk involved in a tense conversation on the telephone when he noticed her at the door. He motioned for her to come in, and sit in the chair across from him.

  “Yes, I understand he’s a bore, but your sister appears to love him…” he said as he looked at Mac, and then rolled his eyes.

  “Dear, I have to go. Yes, I’ll be home as soon as I can…goodbye.” He hung up the telephone with an exasperated look on his face.

  Mac snickered, “I guess this means that your family is still visiting?”

  “Yes, and they’re driving us crazy. I love my wife, but I wish she would just tell them that Thanksgiving is over, and it’s time to go home!” he laughed with a look of frustration on his face.

  “But, enough of my problems, let’s get to your situation. Mr. Cooper appears much better today. I was surprised to see him up and alert when I dropped by to check on him earlier. Detective, I have to admit I was a bit worried to let you visit, but I think it has been a great help for him. I must confess that I never believed Erebus was a real person, so to learn the truth changes everything. I contacted Capitan Riggs last night and updated him on the developments. He was surprised and wondered if he could speak with you as well. I hope you don’t mind, but I told him you would be back this morning, so he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  “No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I would love to speak with him. Maybe he’ll be able to fill in a few more of the blanks for me.”

  Mac felt a new sense of excitement. Things are finally coming together. Erebus and his precious game are going to have some new rules from now on.

  “Wonderful.” He began to speak again when he noticed someone walk up to the door, “Ah, Capitan Riggs, you’re just the person we’ve been waiting for. Please join us,” he motioned to Tom to come inside his office.

  “Capitan Riggs, I’d like to introduce Detective Mackey. It would appear that she knows the mysterious Erebus, as well.”

  He sat in the chair next to Mac. “Please, call me Tom,” he smiled and held out his hand.

  Mac smiled and firmly returned his handshake. “And you may call me Mac.”

  Both sat quietly for a few moments measuring each other up before Tom finally broke the silence. “So, John told us the truth about Erebus, and now he’s calling you?”

  Mac could tell by the look on his face he still had his dou
bts, but at least he was willing to listen. “Yes, he’s contacted me several times recently. He told me that I was chosen to play in some sort of game, and he called me the Tracker in this game. At first I thought he was a nut who was trying to insert himself into a kidnapping I’m working on, but events began to prove that theory wrong.”

  “What type of things,” Tom asked with his interest now piqued.

  “Facts about the case that no one, which unless involved, could have known. He seemed to know things even before I did. Then he began to tell me things about my past…personal things.” Mac looked at him with the fear clearly in her eyes.

  Tom was at a loss for words. He had always believed that Erebus was something John had cooked up in his mind, but to learn that it had been true, made a chill come over him.

  He turned to the doctor. “If this is true, what does this mean as far as John is concerned? I know John killed his wife, but what if Erebus killed all those other people for a sick game?” Tom looked at the doctor, hoping for an answer that he knew would never come.

  “I wish I knew. John did seem better this morning. He was alert and appeared to be in a better state of mind when I stopped by for my morning visit. Now, I’m not saying John is completely well, but I think to have the existence of Erebus confirmed helped him.”

  “You know, John had sworn he never wrote the report he found in Kathy’s desk and was adamant that Kathy and I had conspired against him in a cover-up over the death of his partner. He said we had created a file full of memo’s and letters stating how we believed he was at fault and would cover it up to save his career, as well as Kathy’s. The thing is we never wrote those memos or letters. John told Kathy that he had found the folder in her desk drawer, but she swore she didn’t put it there. She swore she had cleaned out her desk before her trip to Florida, and it wasn’t there. She also mentioned that she had received a telephone call from someone when she was in Florida informing her that John was drinking again, and how he got suspended from work.” Tom looked at Mac and saw the look of fear on her face before he continued.

  “Kathy decided to fly home early to see for herself and was greeted at the door by a furious and extremely drunk John. He told her how he had found the folder, and was shocked by its contents. She said she had tried to reason with him, but he did not want to listen. He simply got in his car and drove away. Two incredibly special people had their lives destroyed by that damn game!”

  Tom reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek. “Detective…I mean, Mac, you need to be careful when dealing with Erebus. He is not only dangerous, but he is smart. To drive a man to murder his wife the way he did, takes cunning and patience. John said Erebus would use your weaknesses against you. He said Erebus would chisel away at everything you believe about yourself before you found yourself lost in his world of lies. He pleaded with me to believe him, but I didn’t. All the evidence clearly pointed…”

  Mac cut in, “All the evidence indicated where Erebus wanted it to!”

  She realized for the first time what she was up against, and this caused a knot in her stomach. “Tom, what happened to the people Erebus used against John?”

  He closed his eyes, as the shame became more than he could bear. “Well, Charles Everett is serving seven life sentences for the murder of the prostitutes, and George Mizlan is sitting in a room in this very same hospital for the murder of his friend and business partner. As for the lawyer, I heard he had moved to somewhere out west and is working as a delivery driver. From what I understand, he lost everything. All that death and destruction for a game makes me angry. Why didn’t I listen?”

  Mac knew how he felt. She had always trusted the evidence, and to have someone be able to make you question it did not set well with her. “You can’t blame yourself; how could you have known?” Mac knew her words would never help ease his pain, but she had hoped it would.

  “But I do blame myself. I should have known better than to believe John would ever cheat on Kathy. I should have been able to help Kathy, and I should have been there for her.”

  Dr. Jenkins cut in, “Tom; you can’t blame yourself for what happened to Kathy. No one could ever have imagined someone had the ability to manipulate John to the point where he would react the way he did. This Erebus fellow is quite cunning, so you cannot blame yourself. I think John has finished with his morning routine, so why don’t we go and have another talk with him, okay?”

  Mac and Tom both nodded in agreement then they stood and walked toward the door.

  ***

  John sat at a table in the recreation room and waited for his visitors. He felt stronger today, and more in control of his emotions.

  I was right. Erebus is real, and now the bastard is playing his game with her! I hope she is stronger than I was and can stop him.

  He reached for the remote control and pointed it at the television on the wall in the corner of the room.

  Dr. Jenkins walked into the recreation room. “Good morning, John. I have some visitors for you.”

  John looked up and waited for them take a seat at the table before he spoke. “Detective, you said you feel like you’re not alone when you’re at home, correct?”

  Mac hesitated a moment then answered, “Yes, but only recently. Why?”

  John looked at Mac, as though he wanted to see deep inside her, “I had always wondered how Erebus was able to know everything I did. He knew when I was on my computer, even where I was in my car and even what happened while I was in my car. He would always tell me how he knew everything about me, but I never understood what he meant. You need to check your house for cameras and microphones. I would also go through your car.”

  Mac cut him off, “There is no way to get into my house. I live in a gated complex, and you must have permission to enter,” she paused a moment, as a memory came to her.

  “You know, one day when I came home I had to enter my code three times to get the gate to open. It had never done that before, I wonder...”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me if he were in your apartment at the time. He knows all about computers and security systems. He was able to breach the one I had at my house without any problem. Hell, he hacked into the computer system at the Internet Company and made transfers to an offshore bank account without getting caught until he wanted it to be known,” John laughed.

  The look on her face was ashen at the idea of Erebus in her apartment to set up cameras to watch her.

  “Shit, that gives me the creeps. Just the thought of him watching me while I’m at home…,” her face turned red at the idea he was probably watching her during her most private moments.

  “You have green eyes!” John caught everyone by surprise with this statement.

  “Ah, yes, why?” Mac did not understand what this had to do with anything.

  “Erebus never does anything without a reason. When he chose the prostitutes, he had made sure all of them had green eyes. I didn’t catch on to that, until after he’d killed the lawyer’s wife who also had green eyes. Then when I confronted Erebus about it, he told me he had always had a fondness for green eyes! Mac, he not only chose you for your special skills but because of the color of your eyes,” John leaned back in his chair with a strange look on his face.

  “Why would the color of my eyes be an important part of his game?” Mac tried to contemplate the direction this was going.

  “And what plan does he have in store for me because of it?”

  “This is all insane! John, what can we do to stop him before someone else dies?” Tom was beside himself with grief and fear.

  “I’m not sure, but I do know that you can’t let him get to you no matter how much he pushes. You have to remain calm and focused at all times,” John dropped his head, and he tried to hide his shame.

  “I didn’t do that. I gave in to my weaknesses and began to drink again. Then I let the whiskey carry me deeper into his game by allowing his taunts to force me to do unthinkable things. I ought to have asked for help as you are d
oing Mac, but I let my pride and shame, cause me to make the wrong choices. He used that against me just like he did George Mizlan, and because of my weakness innocent people died.”

  The room was quiet for several moments before Mac finally spoke. “John, I’m sorry you went through all of that alone, but I promise you there is nothing Erebus can do to force me to give in to him. I can be rather stubborn, just ask my Capitan,” she laughed, trying to hide her fear.

  She looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was nearly 9 am, “I need to go and catch my flight home. John, I want to thank you for everything you have shared with me. I now know what I need to stop Erebus and to keep him from ever playing his game again. I promise when I have him locked up you’ll be the first person I call, okay?” she tried to force a smile, but she knew he could tell her heart was not in it.

  John looked at her without saying a word. He knew she was in danger, but he also knew she would now be better prepared to take on Erebus than he had been.

  He watched as her smile faded, and turn into a look of concern, “I just wish I could help you more. I know he is a real flesh and blood man now, but he’s like fighting the devil himself. Please, be careful and always remember to trust your instincts because he will do everything he can to make you question them.”

  Mac sensed the fear in his voice, “I will, I promise.”

  John looked at Tom. “I want to thank you for standing by me through all of this. I know how you would come by and visit me in the beginning when I was not myself because of all the medication they had me on. You have always been a valued friend, and I am thankful you were the one to come to the house that night. I know I have let you down in many ways, and for that, I will always be sorry. I want you to know I feel better now that I know for myself that Erebus is a real person and not a product of my delusional mind. I just pray some of the terrible things he did can be set right, and that he’s stopped for good.”