TORTURED MINDS
A SUPERNATURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, THRILLER
Written by
Colin Griffiths
Rachel McGrath
Grant Leishman
Copyright © 2016 Colin Griffiths, Rachel McGrath, and Grant Leishman
Published by: McGrath House/Dream Publications
All rights reserved.
ISBN (Paperback): 10: 978-1530881031
ISBN (Paperback): 13: 153088103X
DISCLAIMER:
This novel is a total work of fiction. Any similarities to real events and / or real people, is purely coincidental, except where indicated below:
Although the towns, cities, and institutions named in this novel may, in some cases, be real, they are only included to provide realism and nothing about them or their activities should be construed from these works of fiction.
Any mistakes, factual or otherwise, are totally of our own making and we take full responsibility for them all.
Colin Griffiths, Rachel McGrath, and Grant Leishman – Authors April 30th, 2016
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all the dreamers who never listened to what others said and went with their gut. Anything is possible!
Also By Colin Griffiths:
Never Say Goodbye
There Was No Body
Underwood
Doll’s House
Rhymes of Nonsense
Someone Else’s Dream (May 2016)
Also by Rachel McGrath:
Finding The Rainbow
Eye of the Storm
Dark and Twisty
The Wonderful World of Willow
Coco the Crazy Pup
Mud on Your Face
Muddy Face
Grimwald’s Evil Plan
Also by Grant Leishman:
The Second Coming
Just A Drop in the Ocean
Paranormal Alley (By Grant & Chris Leishman)
Rise of the AntiChrist (Publication: April 2016)
Introduction
The initial concept for Tortured Minds came from the imagination of Rachel McGrath. As she would later tell it, on a whim, she tabled the idea of writing a novel in collaboration with two other authors; Colin Griffiths and Grant Leishman.
Once all three were on board with the plan and despite some skepticism that it would work, they set about making it so. Each author adopted one of the main characters within the story and their chapters were written from the first person perspective of that character. Rachel McGrath, whose character was Molly, was given the honour of beginning the twisted tale of these three tortured minds. Colin Griffiths would follow from Molly’s chapter with his character Jake, and finally, Grant Leishman would end each round with Daniel. The story followed this pattern, until the very last chapter.
There were no rules set and each author was given implicit carte blanche to take the story in any direction as it progressed. This led to some interesting plot developments and sometimes quick rethinking, by the other authors, as the story took unexpected turns.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say it wasn’t always easy and at times it did get a trifle testy, but we had an absolute blast writing Tortured Minds together. We hope you enjoy reading it, just as much as we enjoyed creating the story. Please do let us know how you liked it (or otherwise). Thanks for your support of this adventure.
Grant Leishman, Rachel McGrath and Colin Griffiths
Chapter 1 - Molly
I hesitated at the front door, reluctant to go through. As I stood there in the hallway the silence enveloped me. I felt uncomfortable here. This place, where I had lived contentedly for eight years, no longer felt like home. The only way I could explain it was to say I felt like an intruder who had stepped into someone else’s life.
I moved my hand to close the door behind me. As it latched, the room echoed, reinforcing the utter emptiness now surrounding me. I realised I was indeed completely alone in this house. The past week had been the worst of my life and now, I really did not know how to move forward, or what I would do. I looked down at myself, still dressed in the obligatory black attire for a funeral service. In my hand I held the memorial card and I lifted it, slowly, to read the front page.
In memory of Daniel Wilkins, beloved husband of Melinda Wilkins.
The last time I had seen my name as Melinda, not Molly, was on my wedding papers. It all felt so formal and final. I couldn’t read any further, my eyes started to well up and for the first time in days I felt I would actually cry. Catching myself, I wondered if it was grief for Daniel or whether it was self-pity threatening this burst of tears. I stepped out of my pumps and nudged them aside, walking over to the small side table in the hall, which housed many photos from the past eight years. We had been happy, most of the time.
I picked up the small, framed photo of myself, Daniel and Jake. We had been inseparable, the three of us. I wondered idly to myself, how many women can honestly say that they loved two men? Although, thinking about it, I had never admitted that openly to either of them. As I stared at the small picture, their smiling eyes seemed to pierce me, flooding me with memories of a time that could never be recaptured again.
They were both handsome in their own different ways. Daniel, my husband, I had known since College. Jake, at first a colleague, soon he became part of our family. I blinked away the tears as I recalled the events of the past week.
Stop it! I chastised myself internally. I hadn’t slept for days, as that fateful night played over and over again in my head. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t think about it any longer. Nothing could change what happened, and even if it did, would I go back and do it again - could I?
I walked slowly into the living room and sat on the edge of the sofa. Perhaps it would be easier to just pack up, leave and start anew? I shook my head, for I couldn’t just disappear. I couldn’t leave Jake, even if he never wanted to see me again. I knew things would never be the same between us, yet I knew I had to be here for him. Perhaps, after some time had passed, we could meet and talk about it, but I knew that right now, it would all be too raw.
I was sure that Jake had loved Daniel too. At the service today, as I stood to read the verse the minister had given me, I looked across at him. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments and for the first time, I couldn’t read them. Was it grief I could see, or something else? His eyes had seemed cold nonetheless. That beautiful warmth that had melted my heart from our very first meeting seemed to have disappeared completely. The man I loved was not the man sitting there, three aisles back, his eyes piercing through me. He was angry with me, I knew that, but today of all days, we should have been there for each other. We’d lost our Daniel. We hadn’t spoken since that night, we couldn’t. There was nothing we could say to each other. We knew that we both needed space, but I missed him. I missed them both! Despite what anyone else thought, we three had shared a bond like no other relationship.
I knew what everyone had been saying about us. I had heard the whispers at work when Daniel would come to meet us for lunch. A threesome, a ménage a trois! The gossip had, of course, made it full circle back to us. I smiled as I remembered how we would laugh at such rumours, sometimes even exacerbating it a little with some open flirting. We didn’t care what anyone thought and we knew it was nothing of the sort. Perhaps we had been in our own little bubble, the three of us, but for the past eight years, it had been a wonderful bubble.
I loved them both, equally and differently. Daniel was my husband, my best friend, my strength and my solace. Our love was perhaps different to many other wedded couples, although we did try the traditional route. In the past eight years, however, we had barely shared
a bed. It wasn’t for want of trying, it was just the way things had happened. Our love was different to most, but we were true partners in every other sense of the word.
Jake, well that was something entirely different altogether. He was my soul mate, my other half, always one step ahead of me, knowing my every move and thought, often even before I did. I had been so very lucky to have both these amazing men in my life. They were the two halves of me, both of them together made me whole. That was the heartbreaking and in many ways ironic part of this predicament in which I now found myself. Selfishly, I felt split in two, lost and broken. Now, Daniel was dead and Jake was to all intents and purposes, gone.
There were times when I had wanted to escape their hold, both of them. Perhaps I was to blame for the tragic turn of events. I shook my head, standing up suddenly. No! I had promised myself that I would not dwell on that night. It was done and it was over, the past was the past. Nothing could bring Daniel back and even if it could, it would never be the same again. We had overstepped the line that night, all three of us. It was something we could never speak of, living or dead. It was done. It was time for me to move on, forget the past and find myself a new future. I had to seek out a future that could no longer tie me to either Daniel or Jake. Today was the farewell I needed to the past eight years. The memories would stay with me, but I had to find a way to shelve them, forget what had happened and forget that last night.
But could I really let it all go?
***
Chapter 2 – Jake
I hadn’t seen her since it happened. Ever since that day, just over a week ago, I have barely been able to say her name, never mind going to see her. I knew if I spoke her name it would leave a bitter taste in my mouth and I didn’t want that. The easiest thing would have been just to walk away and to forget her, try to lead my own life without her, hoping no one would ever find out the truth.
Was it a secret we could ever keep? I doubted that very much at the time. Could I walk away from the woman I loved, whose name I couldn’t even bear to say? I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk away. Molly has this intense, animal magnetism that just draws you in and she knows it. She’s clever and she uses it very well. She used it on me to great effect and showed me a kind of love like no other. It made me feel special. I thought I was special to her. I thought the friendship the three of us had was special.
We all knew there was gossiping about us. It usually made us laugh. I mean people have dirty minds and if the thought of the three of us indulging in some bizarre sex cult satisfied that their own desires, then that was okay with us. We knew the truth. It was nothing like that, nothing like that at all. We sometimes played along with it. Some of the innuendos she came out with were hilarious. I often wondered if she was putting thoughts inside our heads, messing with our feelings. I know she touched a part of my heart that I wanted to remain unscathed, but I’d allowed her in. I regret that so much, yet I know if I could turn back the clock I would do it all over again. I loved her then and I love her now, even though I can’t bear to say her name.
Whatever happens, now, I guess that night will haunt us forever, or, at least, I hope it will haunt her as much as it will haunt me. I don’t want to be the only one to feel this pain.
I didn’t want to go to the funeral. Daniel was dead! Would going to the funeral bring him back? Of course it wouldn’t. I didn’t want to go and say goodbye to a good friend. Even on the morning of the funeral, I was determined not to go. I knew it was the guilt talking, making me feel like that. It was the hurt I had been feeling ever since he died. I hadn’t slept well since, waking up in cold sweats as my dreams haunted me. They kept reminding me what had happened that night, but I didn’t want to be reminded, I wanted to forget.
It was only an hour before his funeral that I finally decided to go. Why?
I’d like to say it was to say goodbye to a good friend, who had gone from us too soon. That would be the easiest thing to say and I tried to convince myself that was why I went, but I knew the real reason. It was so I could have one last glance at her; see her just one more time. It’s like I said, animal magnetism. I needed to look her in the eye and see if it was still there, to see if that spark she had created between the three of us had just been tempered or fully quenched.
I sat three rows back from her and a wave of emotion came over me throughout the funeral service. It was poignant, yet at the same time haunting. I knew the rest of the congregation, as sad as they may have been, they were not feeling the same thing as she and I were. The pain and the feeling of emptiness was overcome by remorse and regret. What the hell had we done?
She got up to do a reading and all my feelings and emotions changed. The woman I loved more than anyone looked so completely alone, as she walked to the rostrum. The bereaved wife of my best friend, dressed all in black, spoke eloquently, as if the words she was reading were her own.
I wanted to reach out to her then, to let her know I was there for her. For one moment in that church, when she was on the rostrum with a single tear on her cheek, I thought things were going to be okay. But then our eyes met and she momentarily paused from the reading as our eyes locked. I knew then that we couldn’t just carry on as before. Her eyes were dark and empty, other than the ghostly shadows that seemed to reflect in them. Even though she was a distance from me I could clearly see it, as if she was standing right in front of me. But that wasn’t the worst of it. What was much worse was the look on her face, for I knew she could see the exact same thing in my eyes. I didn’t look at her again during that service. I plastered my eyes to the floor and stared at my shoes, not taking anything in. All I could think about was those eyes and the emptiness in them. What the hell had we done?
I went home to my apartment, just three point seven miles from where she and Daniel shared their home. I had timed and measured that distance over and over again in the past. I even thought about moving closer, so just like any friendly neighbour I could pop around to “borrow some milk”. I was a bit of a loner before I met them. I wasn’t shy, but I lacked a lot of confidence, especially when it came to girls, where I always found myself at a loss for words. She and Daniel gave me the confidence I lacked, that and so much more. I soon felt part of their lives and I know this may seem funny, but although Daniel was married to her, I felt she had married me as well. I know we never had any marriage ceremony and legally it wasn’t even possible, but that was the way the both of them made me feel. She told me she and Daniel never slept together, but in the end, I didn’t believe her. I thought she was just saying that to make me feel better. Do you know what? It worked.
I sat in my apartment the evening we buried our Daniel. All sorts of emotions were filling me and I didn’t know how the hell I was going to manage without him, without both of them. The past week had been filled with loneliness and emptiness. I opened the bottle of Famous Grouse I had been keeping for a special occasion. Pouring myself two fingers I knocked it back in one go. The hot burn in my throat felt good, even as it robbed me of my breath. My apartment was on the fourth floor of a modern apartment block, with views overlooking the city. I poured myself another Famous Grouse and stood on the balcony, looking over at where they both lived. I didn’t drink my second drink.
I grabbed my keys and ran out of the apartment, taking the four flights of stairs, two at a time, until I was out on the street and at the wheel of my SUV. That three point seven miles could take an age at times, what with the traffic lights and the traffic. This time it was as if I had blinked and I was there. The engine was barely warm before I shut it down again.
A moment’s panic came over me as I got out of the car. I had no idea what I was doing there. Even if I had the emotional strength to knock on the door, I knew I wouldn’t know what to say. I knew I would just go back to being that shy, tongue-tied introvert. The curtains were closed but the lights were on and I thought of her sitting there alone. I so wanted to knock on the door and comfort her, but I couldn’t. Not just for the
fear of her possible rejection, I just wasn’t sure if I could cope, emotionally I mean.
I slid down the side of my vehicle until I sat leaning against the wheel. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my head in my hands, just saying one word, as I cried. The same word over and over again, as I sobbed like a baby.
“Molly... Molly... Molly... Molly... Molly...”
***
Chapter 3 – Daniel
I knew I was dead! Well, bloody hell, I must be, right? You don’t fall off a twenty-two storey building and survive, now do you? The weird thing was, although I knew rationally I was part of the dear-departed, it was like someone forgot to tell my soul. I seemed to be in some sort of limbo, caught between two worlds maybe. Now, I’m not a religious person, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always had this deep conviction that there was something more to our reality than just this gritty struggle to survive and be happy on planet Earth. I knew there just had to be more to come, but what it was, I had no bloody idea. I guess I was about to find out.
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