Mind Switch

by Lorne L. Bentley

  Maureen, attempting to muster the best attitude she could, said, “Oh, this will be fine,” as if she were commenting on the accommodations at a five star motel.

  She added, “Before you leave, Doctor, just one request. Please make sure that under no condition will you allow me to leave this place until my husband indicates I am authorized.”

  Fred added, “And she is not to have any visitors unless I approve of each of them personally.”

  Dr. Clinton said, “Of course, I understand,” although he really didn’t. He would ask Maureen what in hell this was all about after it was all over.

  Fred kissed Maureen goodbye and promised he would visit her that evening. He hated to leave her under these circumstances but he rationalized, this is the only way I can insure that she is safe. At the same time, he feared that not even the dedicated security of the sanitarium could prevent the unknown assailant from getting to her if he tried hard enough.

  Chapter 42

  On the way back to the station Fred kept muttering, “Damn Harry Ford, Damn him! Fucking hypnotist!” He knew somehow he had to get him off the street to protect Maureen. But at the same time without any evidence of a crime, it would be difficult—extremely difficult. Fred had assigned a detail to continuously watch Ford’s office. There was only on entrance to the office; so whenever Ford left the premises he would be spotted and trailed. At some point he has to show his hand, Fred told himself.

  The policeman on detail was Lamb, the same officer who had found Maureen’s abandoned car. Fred liked Lamb, but he was a detail person to the nth degree. He not only metaphorically saw the trees in the forest but the lichen and insects boring into the trees as well. That grated Fred to no end since he was purely a forest man. He used his intuition to solve many crimes; he usually left the details to others.

  *

  After Fred got back to his office, he looked through the Orlando Yellow pages to find a hypnotist in the area. He feared dealing with any local hypnotist, since whoever he contacted might know, and even be a friend of Ford’s. Even Orlando, which was a two hour drive, might not be far enough away, but he didn’t have the luxury of driving all over the universe.

  He called the first name under the heading Hypnotism. Mr. Able answered on the first ring. Fred said, “Hello Mr. Able, before I begin, I want to know if you know of a Sarasota hypnotist named Harry Ford?”

  “No, I don’t believe I do. Why do you ask?”

  “It’s not important. I just thought that most hypnotists knew of each other.” Fred made an appointment for that afternoon.

  *

  The office of Mr. Able was well appointed. The pictures decorating the wall were all in good taste, but Fred noted they were all prints. Mr. Able did not use a receptionist. He rose from his desk chair as Fred entered. Able warmly greeted Fred as he shook his hand.

  Fred showed him his badge while simultaneously stating that his visit was purely police business and he would only take a few minutes. He skipped the small talk, asking the critical questions that Maureen was unable to answer. “Mr. Able, how long does a post hypnotic trance last?”

  Able said, “It depends on the subject. But in my practice the longest I have experienced is a couple of days. However, I do know there are instances where a subject can be under a type of trance for over a year. Those subjects reach a somnambulistic level and are hyper-programmed. That is not my hypnotic specialty, but I do know that type of hypnotism has been used by the CIA during war times. I am quite sure that foreign powers have used it as well.”

  Fred said, “It would seem to me that the person would have to be hypnotized continuously to maintain a trance for that length of time.”

  Able smiled, “Well, these subjects are not really in a true trance for 24 hours a day. And in fact, in the instances I knew about, they were usually not in a trance at all. They in effect were programmed to function normally until a mental switch was activated. Basically they were functioning under two levels of consciousness; and neither level was aware of the other.”

  Fred needed an example that could best illustrate the condition that he was talking about. The only link that he was familiar with was the movie he had talked to Maureen about. “Have you seen the movie, ‘The Three Faces of Eve,’ Mr. Able?”

  “Yes, a great movie with outstanding acting.”

  “Well, if I recall correctly,” said Fred, “The dysfunctional woman had multiple personalities. Is that an illustration of what you’re talking about, could someone like that be hyper-programmed to function as if they were a totally different personality?”

  Mr. Able reflected before he replied, “To a degree, but that movie dealt with a woman who subconsciously used different personalities to deal with extreme conflicts in her basic personality. The emergence of these different personalities was unknown to the core personality and formed a type of defensive compensation for what she perceived to be flaws in her dominant personality. There’s a basic difference from my example. In the movie her own psyche induced the changes; in the case I was referring to, an external source was the controlling agent.”

  Fred then asked the question that was bothering him. “I always thought people who had mental superiority could not be hypnotized.”

  Able laughed, “If that were the case I would be out of business. No, I’m afraid that’s false; it depends on one’s susceptibility to be hypnotized. Some people have such a fear about losing control that they would never succumb to the process.”

  “Mr. Able, can people be directed to commit crimes under hypnosis?”

  Able took an abnormally long time responding to Fred’s question. “Well, the standard answer is that people would never do anything under hypnosis that they would not do in a fully conscious state. Of course, a person’s perceived environment can be mentally altered under hypnosis; and that would open the door to all sorts of actions that were not perceived by those hypnotized to be against their moral code.”

  Fred said, “I don’t understand. My wife said one’s moral code cannot be violated even under hypnosis. She said, for example, one would not take their clothes off during hypnosis.”

  “That’s only partially true. For example, under hypnosis they might be told they are in the shower in the privacy of their own home. Under hypnosis, even in front of an audience, they would believe they were in the privacy of their home environment and proceed as if they were at home, in which case they would not be breaking their moral code.”

  “What about committing crimes?”

  “Well, a simple method would be to tell a person the gun they are holding is a toy gun and if they shot someone, the person would not be injured.”

  Fred said, “I understand, but what about a more complex crime, a crime requiring a series of individual responses and reactions?”

  Able said, “Wow, you’re getting way beyond my simple brand of hypnosis. But I have read about cases where the hypnotist takes on such a strong role that he becomes a type of master in which he can alter a subject’s ethical and moral codes.”

  “I can’t believe that would be an easy feat to accomplish.”

  “No, I guess it’s not. I also suspect the hypnotist would have to be exposed to the individual for an extended period; and a high degree of trust would be required between the subject and the hypnotist. Again, Lieutenant, you are going well beyond my expertise.”

  Fred thought about Maureen’s false belief that she was on a cruise. “Can a false memory be placed in a person’s mind through hypnosis?”

  “Oh, sure, that’s not hard. Subjects are highly tuned into the words of the hypnotist. They tend to accept, without question, the absolute accuracy of the statements he makes. What you and I would perceive as outlandish behavior becomes entirely rational to the subject in a hypnotic state.”

  “I understand. And I appreciate the time you have spent with me.”

  “No problem,” Mr. Able said. “And if you ever have a bad habit that you want to break, please come back and see me.�
�

  Chapter 43

  Patrolman Lamb had been on an emotional high since he found Maureen’s car two days ago. Now he had to radio in very unpleasant news. He had been assigned to watch Ford’s office and to follow him wherever he went. Jane Reynolds, the station’s civilian operator, received his call. “Uh, could you please put me in contact with Lieutenant Harris?”

  Jane said, “Sure. He’s out on a call but I’ll try to radio him.”

  Fred received the call a few minutes later. Lamb said, “Sir, I have to report a change in the status of the man I have been watching. Mr. Ford has, well, I don’t know how else to say it, but – well, he’s disappeared.”

  Fred said, “What are you taking about? There’s only one entrance to his office, and your job was to watch that office constantly!”

  Lamb’s voice exuded failure, “Yes sir, I know, I don’t understand it but he is definitely not in his office. Ford routinely stays in his office until after 5:30 p.m. and as it starts getting dark, I can spot his office light being turned on. Today we had a heavy overcast and it got dark about 5:15 but he never turned on his light. I gave him another 15 minutes and peeked into his window. He wasn’t there. I’m sure of it.”

  “OK,” Fred said, “I’ll meet you at his trailer.

  *

  When Fred arrived at the RV resort’s guard station, Lamb was already waiting for him. They walked to Ford’s trailer, which was indeed dark. Fred said, “Let’s see if we can get in.”

  Lamb was a stickler for following police regulations. What he was asked to do was a violation of everything he had been taught. “Uh, sir, do we have a search warrant?”

  “Look, Lamb, it would take much too long to get one and we don’t have the luxury of a lot of time at our disposal. For all we know, Ford has been kidnapped and we are here to help him.”

  Lamb realized the lieutenant’s rationale for breaking in was a stretch, but he reluctantly agreed to accompany Fred. Fred knocked; no response. He tried the door; it was locked. Fortunately, Fred thought, these trailer locks are never very secure. In less than a minute he had it unlocked.

  Lamb followed Fred into the dark trailer. Fred said, “Let’s see what we can find out about this mysterious Mr. Ford.” Turning on a light, he said, “Somehow I suspect he will not be back.”

  Fred noted Lamb’s uneasiness in looking through personal belongings without the backing of a search warrant. Reluctantly, Lamb chose the trailer’s single bedroom to examine, while Fred took the living room.

  The furnishings were sparse; it took little time to examine the contents of the living room. Fred glanced at the books aligned in one small bookcase. He saw Hypnotism—the Cure All, The Causes of the Civil War, and a few novels by James Patterson and Mark Bentley. Nothing suspicious here, Fred thought.

  After he finished he went into the bedroom where Lamb was just finishing looking through the contents of the dresser drawers. “Any luck?” Fred asked.

  “Nothing so far, I was just going to check this bag I found in one of the drawers.”

  Opening the bag, Lamb pulled out an artificial goatee, and a jet black hair piece. Lamb said, “This guy must be a real phony.”

  “No, he’s much more than that!” Fred said. You’re looking at how Ford escaped without your seeing him. In fact, I’m sure you saw him exit his place of business but you didn’t even know it.”

  Chapter 44

  The Marvel was pissed! The smart-assed lieutenant was getting much, much too close. Of course, The Marvel appreciated the fact that Harris was still light years away from discovering what the real secret was. The Marvel had released a significant amount of chaff intended to confuse and complicate the investigation but Fred was somehow “starting to fly around and above it.” It was no longer the playful game that it started out to be.

  Long ago The Marvel realized that most major scientific breakthroughs came from outside of the operating field of expertise. Einstein was not a physicist, he was a mathematician; the Wright brothers made bicycles and were not aeronautical engineers; the list went on continuously. Experts were mentally bounded by conventional logic and knowledge. The truth is that expertise sets boundaries, and that acts as a self limiting constriction. It reinforces existing knowledge; it does not facilitate the expanding of scientific horizons. To the same extent The Marvel understood and relied on the fact that the systems of society function in much the same way, as to their firm, fixed boundaries. Their major contribution to society is that they provide reliability, clarity, consistency and reinforcement. They are, however, self contained; that is both their strength and weakness. They are a necessary ingredient in society; they cannot be ignored, the orderly maintenance of society demands it.

  The system used by law enforcement is one that seeks, using evidence, to identify the guilty and prosecute. It’s as simple as that. Given overwhelming evidence, the system must move inexorably forward, the forces of society require it and hold its implementers accountable. It does not look back; mistakes of the system are fundamentally ignored in order to continuously advance to focus on the next incident, the next case.

  That was the reality that The Marvel depended on in order to execute the plan. By all logic, the evidence was structured to point to a killer and there should be no question in the eyes of the authorities of his guilt. By this time the killer should be perceived guilty and going through the motion of a trial. But this damn lieutenant is delaying the natural judicial process with his endless probing. He is attempting to move outside the system’s parameters and ignore its dictates. In the meantime, he has so far escaped death, diversion and embarrassment in his pursuit. His psyche is fragile; he is fraught with lingering doubts, unsure of his next move, ostracized by his peers—but, somehow the bastard tenaciously hangs on.

  As much respect as The Marvel was gaining for Lieutenant Harris, he was becoming a potential danger and would have to be eliminated. The sooner the better, and at all costs.

  Chapter 45

  Fred had the police artist provide several drawings of Mr. Ford, with and without his disguise, with and without hair, with glasses and without. He had the drawings posted at the sanitarium’s guard stations. He left orders through the hospital administration that if Mr. Ford attempted to enter the ward, he was to be apprehended and held for police custody.

  Deep down, Fred felt Maureen was not in great danger, at least while she was in the hospital. That gave Fred one week to apprehend Ford.

  Fred had ordered an all-points on Ford under the guise that he was a material witness to a major crime. Of course, if challenged by the chief, he had no evidence of Ford’s involvement in a major crime, or any crime for that matter. He just hoped that the chief didn’t probe into the all-points, or Fred would be in deep trouble.

  Jim had problems releasing the all-points. He challenged Fred as to what Ford was a material witness to. “What crime has he witnessed?” he asked Fred.

  Fred said, “You just have to trust me,” hoping Jim would not press the point.

  Jim said, “Well, I’m sorry but I can’t.”

  Fred felt betrayed; his best friend on the force was now deserting him. Fred ordered the all-points himself.

  Fred would feel greatly relieved once Ford was apprehended; but at the same time he knew he had no tangible evidence against him. He could hold Ford a couple of days at most, under some trumped up charge. But unless he could find something of substance that would hold up in court, he would have to free him after that.

  “Well,” he muttered, “like Scarlet O’Hara, I will have to worry about that tomorrow.” Today he was going to interview additional personnel at AU. Schultz had made all the arrangements.

  Fred didn’t tell the chief where he was going. After all, Schultz’s subordinates were not even in the mix of legitimate suspects. He had shown the pictures of all of the personnel in Schultz’s organization to the theater ticket taker who had observed the killer. He also had had the ticket taker look at the police artist’s various d
epictions of Ford. The ticket taker did not recognize any of them. However, Schultz recognized Ford as the therapist who treated him when he had encountered severe sleeping problems. That revelation made Fred more than certain that Ford was somehow involved in the killings; but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out how or why.

  Fred’s decision to interview Schultz’s subordinates was a necessary part of the investigation. Even though Fred did not suspect any of them as the brains behind the murders, he had to go through the loop; because although employee involvement was improbable, it remained a remote possibility. To do nothing would be even more depressing for him since it would result in an extended period of inactivity.

  Fred had started his interviews with Ron Lyons, who was the temporary division head of the Stealth Division. His visit with Lyons had left him with nothing except a desire not to return to that ominous area. His next objective was to interview subordinates who had worked directly under the two murdered colleagues, as well as the person who had once registered a grievance against his boss. Remote as it might seem, someone might be motivated to eliminate their boss with the prospect of a future promotion to the position of the deceased supervisor. Schultz had told Fred that all future promotions were to be made from personnel already working in the firm; that made subordinates possible but improbable suspects. Harry Ford remained the number one suspect by a long shot.

  First in line for Fred’s next interrogation was Michael Flynn. Flynn worked for the Matter Division, previously under the now deceased John Jackson. Flynn had the most seniority of all the employees in that division and was the acting division head, so Fred felt he was the most logical candidate for a future promotion. In addition, Michael was also one of the two employees who had registered a grievance against their boss.

  Fred said, as he started his interrogation, “I respect the fact that much of what you do is classified. But without releasing any government secrets, tell me as best you can what each of the divisions in the company is all about.”