Duplicity

by Charles Anikpe

  “Maybe since we have been seeing each other for a while now, we could maybe think about going away for a weekend.” Her face took on the emotions of a child begging for sweets.

  “Sure.” I said, gulping, not wanting to offend her. I was beginning to become extremely worried about this memory issue. I apparently was in a relationship, which had reached the serious stage of going on a mini break, and I was not even aware of it.

  I decided I would just forget about my problems for the rest of the day. The fact that I had a murderer sending me body parts and that I had a real problem with memory loss was concerning, but I would drive myself crazy if I continued to obsess over it. So I gave myself the night off from playing ‘detective’ and just enjoyed some time with my ‘girlfriend’. Now that sounded weird. I was not considering the future at this point, and whether I would continue seeing her, she obviously had a deep connection to me, but I felt like I had just met her.

  I also had to consider that time was running out for the poor women whose foot was sat in my outhouse, but tomorrow was Saturday, and I would fix all of these things tomorrow. A selfish decision I know, but right at that very moment, I wanted to do one thing. Drink.

  And drink I did. The drinks flowed all afternoon; we ate, drank and laughed the day and then the night away. Ironically, I did not end up calling Sam that evening. I stayed with Julia at her place, and after some incredible, tension releasing sex, I feel asleep in her arms, and it felt good.

  Perhaps this was an opportunity for me to get close to someone for once. I liked her after all, and clearly she liked me and seemed to know my flaws already. It’s like the uncomfortable part of dating was already taken care of.

  Chapter 10

  I awoke feeling quite amazing. Well, I felt like I had slept for the first time in a very long time, however, my head was muddy from the hangover. I turned over to cuddle into Julia. The bed was empty.

  Pulling a shirt over my head I got up and walked into her living area. She already had coffee brewing; the perfect woman. Alas I had come to my senses overnight. If I could have dragged myself away from my playboy ways and settle myself down, I would choose someone like her, but why would you limit yourself to one kind of candy bar, when the candy cart has all manners of delicious treats for sale!

  I did have to admit, she looked radiant. Her long hair flowed down her back in loose curls with her black silk negligee barely covering her perfect bottom as she leaned over the kitchen countertop.

  “Good Morning.” She said, gleefully.

  “I was wondering when you were getting up, you seemed in a very deep sleep.” She was right.

  “You have no idea.” I responded.

  “Maybe you should stay over more often, you normally leave so early for work, you barely get chance to sleep. I don’t know why anyone would need to leave for work at 3am, anyway!” Her tone seemed to change from happy at the beginning of the sentence to angry by the end. It reminded me of the reasons I had never gotten into a relationship- well not knowingly anyway.

  It very quickly brought me back to the reality of my situation, and reminded me that I needed to make a doctor’s appointment to see about my memory loss.

  “I’d better go” I said. “I have some things I really need to do today. “Could I get some of that coffee to go, though?” I was being cheeky, but she was my girlfriend in her mind, so that was ok, right? She looked at me in a slightly irritated manner and poured some of the fresh coffee from the pot into a thermal cup. I wasn’t sure what I should do next so I gave her a kiss on the forehead. It changed her persona instantly. Maybe this relationship stuff wasn’t so hard after all.

  I headed towards the door to make a swift exit, but was interrupted.

  “Oh wait!” she shouted, “you told me to give you this next time I saw you.” She walked over to her coat which was hanging on the corner of her bedroom door and took a sealed envelope out of the pocket.

  “Thanks.” I said as I walked out the door and towards the stairs, examining the envelope more closely as I did. It felt like a card. Presuming she had used the line of me giving it to her to get me to open it, I decided to let it wait until I got home. I could not cope with any slushy stuff right now. I put it into my pocket; I had much more pressing matters to attend to.

  Chapter 11

  I arrived home around 10:30am. I needed to take everything into consideration and decide what my next move would be. I only had a couple of options, really. I would go back to the prison, and see what Johnny actually knows that he is avoiding telling me, or I go to police and let them sort out this mess while taking myself off to the doctor. Trouble was, that would put me straight back in the firing line of Daniel Johnson. He already thought himself to be Sherlock Holmes; I really did not fancy putting myself back on his radar again. I was a little stuck, but I didn’t have a choice, I was going to have to go to the police. I had given it my best shot, I have already missed too much time from work, and I was no further ahead than when I started; I just needed to hand this one over to the professionals now.

  I headed on down to the outhouse to collect the evidence to take to the police station. I opened the door of the outhouse bracing myself for the expected smell of rotting flesh. I was pleasantly surprised to smell nothing. I flung open the door fully. The box was gone…

  I gasped out loud, catching myself before I yelled in both shock and anger, drawing attention to myself from any possible passer-by. Someone was playing mind games with me, or maybe I had simply dreamed up the last few days. My head began to hurt, not only from the hangover, but also from the increasingly frustrating state that I found myself in. I walked into the outhouse, frantically searching for the missing evidence, throwing things around as I did. It was nowhere to be seen.

  I stormed back upstairs flinging open my apartment door and letting out an infuriated roar out of the ear shot of any onlookers. I was pleased that my downstairs neighbour was very hard of hearing.

  I sat down at my table with yet another glass of Scotch. If I wasn’t careful my memory problem would be accompanied by a drinking problem, but I had more stress than the average person over these past couple of days. My inner devil and angel argued between themselves about how it was far too early to be drinking on a Saturday morning, but it was the only thing keeping me calm right now.

  I was at a complete loss, I had absolutely no plan, and the life of a woman was in my hands. I could not even go to the police now as my evidence had been stolen. I guess at least one positive thing had come from that was that it had ruled out Johnny as a suspect. He could hardly have stolen the box from prison unless… he had an accomplice? Something was telling me I was on completely the wrong track.

  I hung my head, and as I did my own aroma filled my nostrils and it wasn’t pleasant. I hadn’t showered in two days; the smell of sex, scotch and sweat lingered in my nasal passages. I lifted my hand and stroked my cheeks, finding that my five o’ clock shadow had gone way past 9 o’ clock. I needed to clean myself up. Maybe a bath and a fresh change of clothes would also give me a fresh perspective on things.

  I turned the faucet on while I shaved in the sink, cutting myself as I did. Tiny drops of blood dripped from my face into the basin. I put my head down as the realization hit me that somewhere, a girl was probably bleeding to death, suffering in agony, and there was not a thing I could do to stop it.

  I took off my jacket realizing there was something in the pocket. I pulled out the card from Julia, and set it down on the side of the bathtub. I folded up my suit to go to the dry cleaners and proceeded to climb into the tub.

  The hot water felt great, my muscles were aching from tension and it soothed it, although it made the cut on my calf sting rather badly. It felt more like a burning than a stinging.

  I laid back in the bath, dipping my head under the water. It was the most relaxed I had felt in weeks, despite everything that I was going through. I lay there for a couple of moments, just enjoying the only thing I could see, absolutely n
othing. The blackness filled my senses and I was grateful.

  I sat up, and looked at the card on the side of the bath tub. ‘What the hell.’ I thought to myself and I picked up the card and laid back down to open it. I tore open the plan envelope, and pulled out the card, throwing the envelope on the floor beside the bath tub as I did.

  The card was completely blank on the front. ‘Bit of an anti-climax’, I thought to myself. I guess I had been expecting some kind of card declaring her everlasting love for me. I had never been in love, but that’s what seemed to happen in the movies. It was a little sad that I had made it to this point in my life without experiencing love, but after the bitter disappointment in the love department from my father I had made a conscious decision never to get too closely involved with another person.

  I opened the card; it was completely full from top to bottom of writing on both sides. She obviously had a lot of feelings she wanted to get out. The writing was a little dishevelled, like it had been written in a rush. I began to read what it said.

  Connor,

  Johnny got away this evening, I’m sorry. I tried to take care of him before he was sent down. Alas, he overpowered me.

  Great! I am writing myself notes to remember now. Ironically, I can’t even remember writing it, not to mention my ego is a little wounded as I really thought Julia was just trying to get me to read her love letter! I continued…

  I am not too concerned. No-one will believe him in prison, so I will just take care of him once he is out. He discovered my secret. No-one who knows can be trusted, and let’s face it, there was a little pay back owed to him for the past anyway.

  I know that finding out about our past will have somewhat haunted you, but trust me, the accident did not affect you in a negative way. The psychological damage you have is completely under control. Other than your ‘episodes’, you are a perfectly functioning human being. It was me that it affected…

  ‘What the fuck’, I thought to myself, why am I addressing myself as ‘you’ and ‘me’? ‘Weird’, I thought. The anger began to overtake me again, but something pulled me back to the card to carry on reading.

  It has been difficult to make you aware of what I am. Who I am. For so long I have been hidden in the mask of darkness, only appreciated by Julia (You’re welcome by the way, I am assuming since you are reading this you have had the pleasure of her company).

  I have been leaving you little clues, as I feel it’s about time you discovered the truth. I want you to join me. With my impeccable skills and your brilliant lawyer brain, we could be the perfect team.

  Come on over to the dark side. Make the choice today.

  There is an old ship at the docks; its name is “Destiny”. You’re chase ends there. I would like to say that I will see you there, but as long as you are awake, I will remain in the deepest corners of your mind. I would give anything to see your face when you see my creation…

  Yours truly, Connor

  My heart pounded, my stomach turned, my eyes became glazed over as my hearing started to fade out, I thought I may pass out so I thought it best I got out of the tub as quickly as possible.

  I didn’t know if I was being set up, dreaming, or whether I really was a monster. Whichever it was there was only one way to find out. I was going to have to go to the docks.

  I could not have done these things; it is just not possible for someone to entirely lose themselves within themselves to the point of oblivion. Isn’t it?

  Chapter 12

  I headed down to the docks just as the rain started to fall. Tiny droplets bounced off the pavement and made them shiny, reflecting every street lamp and car light.

  I was functioning on autopilot, I felt nothing, and I was completely numb. I just knew this was either a massive fuck up, or I was about to save a woman’s life.

  I parked my car at a reasonable distance from the boats in case anyone saw me, and walked towards the jetty; the rain splashing up the legs of my pants with every step. I had no idea of what to expect on that boat, but at this point I just needed to get it over with, to once and for all stop this drama that had been consuming me night and day.

  I started walking toward the boats, one by one, eyeing them up to find their names. It had never occurred to me before now what stupid names people come up with for their boats. Royal Beauty, Golden Fleece, Desert Sailor. It was ironic that the boat I was looking for was named Destiny, as though I did not know what lay ahead of me. I did know one thing though, this day would forever change my destiny.

  I finally found Destiny. She towered above me like a rusty goddess. She would have been beautiful in her day, but it was clear Destiny had seen her best. Although she floated in the water, I would have been highly surprised if she was seaworthy.

  The steps to the boat were already out, extending an invitation to enter. An invitation I was reluctant to accept, but my Destiny awaited. The six steps up to the boat felt like the largest climb I had ever made, and my offices were in a seven storey building.

  I reached the top. The door to the living area of the boat had a porthole window that had been painted black. No one could see in, but even worse, no one could see out.

  I opened the door; it creaked and groaned with age, disinterested in performing its duties. The living quarters seemed perfectly normal, a little decayed sure, but nothing unusual.

  As I walked deeper into the cabin, the atmosphere changed somehow. It was as if darkness had gathered. I knew it was my own tension and adrenaline driving this feeling, but I couldn’t shake it. I was getting closer to whatever it was I was looking for.

  I felt a couple of drops of rain on my head, I looked up, the roof was leaking in. I watched as the drops fell in through the roof and landed on the floor at my feet. It was then that I noticed the hatch. I knew instinctively this was it.

  Being a successful lawyer, I relied a lot on my gut instinct to win my cases, and this hunch was no different. I had learned to never ignore a gut feeling, and so I knew what I had to do. I was going down the hatch…

  Chapter 13

  I threw open the door to the hatch; it was heavier than I had anticipated, and so old that small pieces of aged wood flaked off in my hand. I peered down the hole in the floor at the vast blackness that lay below me. Darkness was usually calming to me, but not on this occasion. On this occasion it was unnerving, the unknown.

  I took the first step down; wary of whether or not the steps would hold my weight, two, three, four. I was on the floor of the lower level. I could literally see nothing around me. The blackness from above was oblivion from this angle and it closed in on me faster than I could gather my senses.

  I felt along the walls beside me for a light switch, but I was greeted by cobwebs instead. Dusting off my hands on my pants, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket to light the wall to my left, desperately searching for a source of light and sanity.

  I saw the light switch beside me, and breathing a sigh of relief flicked it into the on position. The leisure battery of the boat must have been very low, as the lights would stay on for just a few seconds before flickering.

  I could not have been prepared for what I saw next. In front of me in the right corner was a huge cage, and inside it, a girl. She lay there entirely unaware of my presence, probably drugged. Her clothes were stained with blood and bodily fluids, and her shirt had been torn from the chest down and was wrapped around her ankle. An ankle I assumed was no longer connected to a foot. I had no idea if she was still alive, but this was it, the finale to my gruesome journey.

  I stared at her for a moment in disbelief. Her long dark hair was matted and messy. She could not have been more than 19 years old. She was someone’s daughter, someone’s sister. I was disgusted. Only a monster could do this. Could I really be that monster?

  I was thankful to have learned a little more about my past, about myself, but was this what I really was? Was I really the kind of person who could take some innocent girl, hack her up and chain her up in a cage like an
animal? I was on the ultimate journey of self-discovery, and I didn’t like what I was discovering.

  I fell to the step behind me, and sitting for a moment, tried to decide what my next move would be. Should I just call in an anonymous tip to the police and run? Should I set her free myself? The truth was that I felt some kind of commitment to this girl. I felt I owed her something. I needed to help her, I just wasn’t sure how.

  I did not really have time to decide before the girl stirred and awoke, she was facing the opposite direction of me; I slowly walked over to her, when she heard the footsteps she sat up, pulling herself into the corner of her miniscule living space.

  My face must have been shaded by the shadows that eerily crept along the walls, because it was clear when I finally did become apparent to her. As soon as she saw my face she became hysterical, screaming at the top of her lungs for help, flinging her arms around, begging me to keep my distance.