Near Sighted (A Jake Townsend Science Fiction, Action and Adventure, Thriller Series Book 2)

by Richard C Hale

  Near

  Sighted

  By

  Richard C Hale

  Praise for the Thrillers

  of Richard C Hale

  Frozen Past

  “Hale captures emotion, seemingly effortlessly, and in turn this created reactions from me. During this read, I experienced a spectrum of emotion - anger, fear, and heartbreak to name a few. I even found myself “talking” to the characters more than once. When an author can elicit these reactions, I consider this a true talent”

  ~ Carolyn Arnold, Author of the bestseller Ties That Bind

  “Mr. Hale’s first thriller, NEAR DEATH, was an excellent debut novel but with FROZEN PAST, he’s bounded to a new level of mystery and suspense. Don’t let this one pass you by.”

  ~ Chuck Barrett, Amazon Best-selling Author of The Toymaker

  “What a ride! Richard does a great job of keeping the reader intrigued and constantly guessing. This was my first read of this author, it won’t be the last.”

  “In his second book, Mr. Hale has a winner”

  “My body felt shell shocked from the thrilling tension the author was able to convey in his highly charged writing. From beginning to end, Mr. Hale was able to keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what the demented, psychopathic serial killer was going to do next. I must say, this killer is one of the creepiest I’ve read about.”

  Near Death

  “NEAR DEATH is a fast-paced, romance-laced, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining novel with an intriguing premise.”

  ~ Author Lisette Brodey

  “Blew me away! An approach I never saw coming. Well Done!!! I can’t wait to read your next book.”

  ~ Author Fred Paxton

  “As I read the book, I couldn’t help but think about a movie and who would play each part. I envisioned Matt Damon as Jake and Paul Giamatti as Bodey. What a fantastic read. I highly recommend it”

  ~ Ryan Krohn Author of OUR BELOVED RED

  “Richard hooked me, pulled me in and kept me reading till the very end!”

  “It was a romp that I finished in a couple of days, and I enjoyed almost every page.”

  “Wow, what an awesome read. I have not come across a book I could not put down like this since “The Firm” or “A Time to Kill.” The subject and storyline is very thought provoking, and the twist and turns of the story catch you off guard.”

  Books and Short Stories by Richard C Hale

  Near Death

  Near Sighted

  Frozen Past

  Cache 72 Coming Spring of 2013

  Short Stories

  The Camera

  Flash Mob

  The Sandbar

  The Guitar Man Coming Spring of 2013

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 Richard C Hale. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of the text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material.

  Cover Designed by: Richard C. Hale and Devon Bradford

  Excerpt from Frozen Past Copyright Richard C Hale 2012

  Copyright ©Richard C Hale 2013

  Please Visit the Author’s Website at:

  http://www.richardchaleauthor.com

  Richard always answers e-mails. Drop by the website and say ‘Hello!’

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First, I’d like to thank my wonderful wife and family. If not for their continued support, I may never have had the courage to continue on the journey. They inspire me in everything they do and my life would be incomplete without them. Thank you.

  Special thanks to my readers: Dianne Hale, Tanya Christensen, Mark Brown, and Chuck Barrett. Your wisdom and insight helped shape the story and keep me on the path.

  Once again, thanks to Devon Bradford for the use of his fantastic photograph of the Jacksonville skyline.

  Many believe Near Death Experiences to be real, and for those who have lived through them, very powerful. If you would like more information and to read thousands of actual testimonials, please visit the Near Death Experience Research Foundation at their website, http://www.nderf.org/

  For Paula, My Light

  Chapter 1

  Jennifer Milan opened the door to her apartment and smiled. The tall, dark haired man she met at the gym smiled back, holding up a bottle of wine and some flowers.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi back.” She held the door open wider. “Would you like to come in for a moment?”

  He nodded and stepped into her living room. She watched him study her things and wondered at her luck. She stared at his tight rear and could not believe he was even the slightest bit interested in her. She knew she lacked the features a hotty like him probably fought off daily, but her personality often prevailed in situations of the opposite sex. Just not with this caliber of men.

  “Nice place,” he said, turning to her. “Do you have a vase for these?”

  Smiling, she stepped to the small kitchen and opened a cupboard. “You didn’t have to buy me flowers.”

  “I like to pamper my dates. You are special.”

  She felt her face blush as she filled the vase with water. “Benjamin, you’re embarrassing me.”

  “Ben. Call me Ben. And your smile is dazzling when you blush.”

  “Keep it up, I could get used to this.”

  He removed the paper from the bundle of flowers and she trimmed the stems with scissors before placing them into the vase.

  “Do you have an opener for the wine?”

  “I thought we were going out to eat?” she teased.

  “The best place in town,” he said as she searched in the drawer for the opener. “I thought we could relax a little before heading out, though. Get to know each other. Sometimes restaurants can be so—public.”

  She thought that an odd way to put it, but said, “And noisy.”

  “Yes.” He came around the counter and reached for the opener. “Here, allow me.”

  Their fingers touched briefly and the electricity she felt between them at the gym returned. She was normally a cautious girl, but just a look from this one and the panties were probably coming off. She almost giggled to herself as she thought of how bad she was going to be tonight.

  He must have seen something in her face. “What?”

  She felt herself blushing again, but tossed her head, casually, and said, “Nothing.”

  He smiled at her as he worked the wine open. “Glasses?”

  Now, she felt like a school girl. Hold it together Jen. He’s just a guy. Hold it together. She couldn’t help it. She could get lost in those eyes. She opened the cabinet again.

  “Do you have a hammer?” he said.

  She turned from the cupboard and gave him a strange look. “A hammer?”

  “Yes.” He continued to smile
that beautiful smile of his and she couldn’t help herself. She smiled back.

  “I do,” she said. “But what on earth do you need a hammer for?”

  “I’ll show you.” His smiled change to a mischievous grin, and she actually thought he was joking with her.

  “A hammer.”

  He nodded, his eyes twinkling. “Just humor me,” he said.

  She grabbed two glasses, set them on the counter in front of him and went to her utility closet as he poured the wine. “All right. One hammer coming up.” She rummaged around in her closet until she found the hammer her father had bought her when she moved out. Along with an assortment of tools he gave her, he said no one should be without a hammer. She remembered the vision of his serious face explaining to her what was important about living alone. If only he knew what she was going to be doing later tonight.

  “Will this do?” she asked, handing the hammer over to Ben.

  “Perfect.”

  He raised the hammer high, and before she could react, brought it down on her head and the world went dark.

  Chapter 2

  Jake Townsend looked into the mind of the killer and cringed. What he saw was both wondrous and appalling, something beyond comprehension, a psychopath having visions of normal everyday life with flashes of blood and violence. The killer tried, but couldn’t hide everything.

  Benjamin Tolaver lay in the chair hooked up to ANDEE, the machine Jake developed to see into the human mind. Benjamin had a grin on his face though Jake could tell he was anxious. The man was sweating.

  “Mr. Tolaver,” Jake said, “tell us one more time who Jennifer Milan is and what she means to you.”

  Benjamin almost giggled. “You people are amazing,” he said. “I don’t know a Jennifer Milan so she means absolutely nothing to me.”

  Jake watched ANDEE’s screens as the man answered and was surprised to see an open meadow with wildflowers blowing in the late afternoon breeze representing what he was thinking. Jake almost flinched when a sudden image of Jennifer Milan flashed up on the screen. She was covered in blood. It was only a brief flash, but it was enough for Jake to see.

  The district attorney for Duval County, Rebecca Morney, winced ever so slightly, but then shook her head. She sat off to the side away from the others in the lab and took notes on a yellow legal pad. She was a short, overweight woman with a quick mind and deliberate movements. Formidable in the courtroom, she didn’t let anyone push her around. Her brown, shoulder-length hair matched her mood this morning, looking tousled and tangled in spots. Her pale blouse and brown slacks gave her a casual business look and Jake couldn’t ever remember seeing her in a dress. She glanced at him and scowled.

  The wildflowers had returned and a puppy pranced through the meadow chasing a butterfly. Jake turned to his wife, who had a look of disgust on her face, and gave her a nod. Maddy sighed, but said nothing. He knew she believed this was all necessary, but didn’t like it. She confessed to him she felt like she was letting a killer into her own home and felt dirty. He understood and knew exactly what she was talking about.

  ANDEE continued to display the puppies and flowers as Benjamin’s grin remained plastered on his face. Rebecca leaned forward and asked, “Can he see what we’re seeing?”

  “No,” Jake said. “The body mold over him does not project an image. He’s basically staring at the underside of the material and the ceiling. He can’t hear us, either, unless I use the intercom system.”

  Rebecca nodded and sat back. She turned and whispered something to the detective next to her but Jake could not hear what was said. The detective stood and approached the console where Jake controlled the system.

  “May I?” he asked, indicating the microphone on the console.

  “Be my guest,” Jake said. “Press this button to talk.”

  “Got it.”

  The man pulled out some notes and cleared his throat. He pressed the button. “Benjamin?” Jake watched Benjamin Tolaver’s grin falter ever so slightly. “This is Detective Walters.”

  “Detective. So nice to hear your voice. When did you get here?”

  The vision in Benjamin’s head changed to a pool of black material that resembled tar and then quickly reverted to the flowers and puppies again.

  “Just a few minutes ago,” Walters said. “Are you comfortable?”

  “Very.”

  “Good—good. We’re going to be here a bit.”

  Benjamin didn’t answer, but a picture of Walters appeared on the monitors for a moment, a big, red, clown nose adorning his face. Jake almost laughed, but the seriousness of the situation did not warrant it, so he suppressed it. Maddy smiled slightly. Walters displayed no emotion whatsoever.

  Walters flipped to a page in his notes and said, “Thursday, January 21. That date mean anything to you?”

  “Should it?” Benjamin asked. The screens’ scenes wavered slightly, but remained on the puppy.

  “Yes, it should. That’s the day Jennifer Milan died.”

  “I’ve told you people before, I don’t know Jennifer Milan and had nothing to do with her death.”

  The scene changed on the screen to show Jennifer Milan being struck with a hammer and her scream cut off in mid-vocalization. Benjamin’s face scrunched up, and then the puppy and flowers returned.

  Jake knew from experience that the human mind could not conceal its own memories from itself. It tried, whether to protect the psyche, or in this case, lie to itself and others, but all it usually took was the mention of an event that had occurred in the mind’s past and the neurons fired too quickly to completely control the process. For his benefit, Benjamin Tolavar was doing a better job at controlling his thoughts than most, but he could not hide it from ANDEE. She saw everything.

  “Where’s the hammer, Benjamin?” Walters asked.

  The puppy sat panting in the flowers, then a bloody hammer being held in a hand popped onto the screen and vanished just as quickly.

  “Hammers? Dead people? Women I don’t know? What are you getting at detective?” Benjamin asked.

  “Desondra Miller,” Walters said, quickly.

  Jake saw Benjamin’s face display a quick tic at the corner of his mouth, then it was gone. The screens flashed a brief picture of a young African American woman, her skull grotesquely misshapen and bloody. It lasted only a blink of an eye, then the playful puppy returned.

  Maddy turned away, gasping.

  Jake had discussed the effectiveness of rapid fire questions with Walters and Rebecca Morney before they began their ‘interrogation,’ explaining how they would probably see immediate results if they could keep the subject off balance. This worked well in normal police interrogations, but was dramatically effective with ANDEE. Walters actually smiled.

  “Desondra Miller?” Benjamin asked. “Don’t know her.”

  “March 26. The Lighthouse Apartment complex,” Walters spit out next.

  The puppy in the meadow actually growled for a moment before being replaced with a scene from the inside of Desondra’s apartment. Desondra lay on the floor of her kitchen, dead, a hammer lying beside her. Flash. Wildflowers returned but the puppy was missing. In its place Walters was chasing the butterfly, then disappeared.

  “Charlotte Mansion,” Walters said, before Benjamin had a chance to say anything more about Desondra Miller.

  Flash. Charlotte sprawled across a bed with blood splattered everywhere. Flash. Flowers and puppies.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Benjamin said.

  “April 23. Laurel Cove Condominiums,” Walters said, his voice rising slightly.

  Flash. Charlotte Mansion tied to her bedposts, a hammer descending upon her head, crying. Flash. Puppy lying dead in a field of weeds, then instantly changing to flowers and hundreds of frolicking puppies.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Benjamin repeated.

  Walters turned to Rebecca. “He’s our man.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “We need to
find the weapon. We have no evidence against him.”

  “This son-of-a-bitch killed these girls.”

  “I know that,” Rebecca said. “But I can’t prove it. I can only hold him so long without evidence of a crime. He hasn’t confessed, nor has he provided us any useful information to help us find anything, and I repeat anything that will tie him to these murders.”

  “How did you find him?” Jake asked.

  “Guy in a bar overheard him bragging about beating his old lady with a hammer,” Walters said. “He’s not married. Lots of dates, but no steady girlfriend. He’s a playboy.”

  “Bathroom!” Benjamin said again, squirming.

  They ignored him.

  “I can’t use any information we obtain with this machine,” Rebecca said. “The judge will throw it out.”

  Even though the technology was proven, Jake knew the legal system would not accept the results using ANDEE. The lawyers had a field day with the ethical and moral implications of what they were doing. The only success they could claim was to provide information which would assist the investigation along towards traditional methods; finding evidence, weapons, bodies, things of that nature. One day soon, his machine would be admissible, but that day had not yet arrived.