“I hypnotize people to act like dogs and chickens. The crowd gets a big kick out of it.”
“Really.” Thunder leaned on the rail. “What is hypnotism, and how can you do such a thing?”
“It’s like when we drift off and enter the sleep state, we pass through the state of awareness known as hypnosis.”
“Let me understand this, you can make people do what you want them to do, such as acting funny, once you put them under?”
“Yep.”
“I see,” Thunder said, rubbing his chin. Suddenly he stopped and looked McCoy dead in the eye. “So how do we know that you didn’t hypnotize Mary? It would explain why she can’t remember anything. And it would be very convenient for you to do the murdering.”
McCoy’s face turned an angry red. “You ain’t got no proof.”
“Oh, but I think that I do,” Thunder said. “Your Honor, may I approach the bench?”
“Both of you and Mr. Bryan approach the bench," the judge snapped. “McCoy, you can step down for the moment, but remember you are still sworn in."
The judge peered at Thunder. “I want to know where you’re going with this line of questioning, Bradley.”
Thunder explained his theory, but in order to prove it, he asked the judge to clear the courtroom.
“This is highly unusual but an interesting theory, to say the least, "Judge Parker admitted. “However, you had better prove your point fast If you don’t, it won’t look too good for the defendant”
Chapter Twenty-One
The courtroom was cleared of everyone except the jury, the lawyers, Carter, and Delaney. Thunder stood, waiting for the judge to signal him to continue. Thunder had a lot riding on what would happen next. If this failed, he wasn’t sure how he could prove Mary innocent.
Finally, as the doors were closed and locked, the judge nodded to Thunder for him to proceed.
“Your Honor, this is Delaney Shoff,” Thunder said, indicating Delaney, who had moved up beside Thunder. Delaney was as tall as Thunder with blond hair and a kind face, Mary thought.
Thunder continued. “Delaney has studied hypnosis. I feel that something is blocking Mary’s memory. We believe that Delaney can hypnotize Mary and make her remember what happened the night Big Jim was killed.”
The judge held up his hand. “First, I have a few questions. I need for you to explain hypnosis to me.” He turned to Delaney. “And exactly what are your qualifications, Mr. Shoff?”
Delaney stepped forward. I’ll answer your second question first I am a doctor, and I have had the opportunity to study hypnosis for many years, Your Honor, at the universities back east. Hypnosis is a normal and natural state of awareness, which most if not all, people experience on a daily basis.”
The judge leaned forward and propped his chin on his hand, peering at Delaney. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Yes, I know. I thought the same thing when I first learned of hypnosis, but let me finish. Our conscious mind”—he pointed to his head—“or awareness, sometimes known as our waking mind, is the portion of our brain that we access to analyze things. This is generally referred to as critical thought Every action we have begins with thought Think about it Your Honor, do you ever do anything without first thinking about it?”
Judge Parker thought for a moment then said, “I guess not”
“So, you see, the brain does not send messages to other parts of the body until it is told what to do by a thought When we remove the analytical process from our thinking, as we do when we are in a state of hypnosis, our subconscious mind is opened to redirect information so that it may empower us in our actions and behaviors. We can actually direct someone not to remember anything.”
“That is an interesting theory, but do you have some proof of what you say?” the judge asked, his look still very doubtful.
“Yes,” Delaney nodded. “And I will demonstrate in a moment on Mary. But first I want to tell you about a documented case that happened in the 1820s in Germany. A woman by the name of Cindy Berg was controlled for seven years and made to do things against her will. And the sad part was she knew nothing of what she had done for those years. It was a big black hole to her.”
“Seven years!"Judge Parker bellowed.
“That’s right, Your Honor,” Delaney said with a nod. “A hypnotist named Wolfgang for seven years extorted thousands of dollars from Cindy, used her sexually, and sold her services as a prostitute. That was bad enough, but then he compelled her to attempt murder on her husband six times.” Delaney glanced around the room as he walked over to get a drink of water. He definitely had everyone’s attention and that was good.
Mary sat glued to Delaney’s every word. Could terrible things have happened to her, too?
Delaney took a sip of water before he continued. “Wolfgang met Cindy on a train. She was alone, as her parents didn’t have enough money for another ticket. Wolfgang just happened to sit down next to Cindy. She was seventeen and traveling to find a doctor to help her with the terrible headaches she’d been having. Cindy knew she shouldn’t speak to strangers, but she was lonesome so she started talking to Wolfgang. Cindy told him her purpose for traveling to the city, whereupon he replied that she was in luck because he was a doctor and could help her.
“When the train stopped to get coal, Wolfgang clasped Cindy’s hand and stared into her eyes. He channeled so much mental command through that gaze that, after a moment, Cindy felt as if she no longer had a will of her own. And she didn’t. As I said, Wolfgang controlled her for the next seven years, putting the poor woman though a hell that none of us would want to go through. When Cindy was away from Wolfgang she lived a pretty normal life. She even married. But those post hypnotic suggestions kept Cindy returning to Wolfgang.
“Wolfgang began to resent her husband, so Wolfgang suggested that she try to kill him.
“After she tried to kill her husband, he grew suspicious and knew something was wrong, because Cindy wasn’t of a nature to kill people. However, every time she went to the doctor, she came home and did weird things. But Cindy couldn’t tell him the name of the doctor she was seeing. Of course, he thought that was strange, so he went to the police.
“After hearing what her husband had to say, they called in Dr. Ludwig Mayer, the most respected medical hypnotist in all of Europe. Dr. Mayer did not believe that unethical hypnosis was possible. That is, until he hypnotized Cindy. Then he found out the ugly truth. She’d had pain induced by the evil doctor which could only be relieved by bringing him money. Wolfgang used her as a whore and then gave her to his friends. He suggested that she not only poison her husband, but when that didn’t work, he suggested shooting the man. And she remembered nothing until Dr. Mayer dove into her subconscious.”
Delaney approached the bench. “And that is what I want to do today, Your Honor. I want to put Mary in a hypnotic state and hear from her own lips what happened. I think I’ve found the signal that was used to put her under.”
Judge Parker shook his head. “This is most unusual, but you do have my interest, so please proceed.”
Delaney glanced over at Mary. “If you will take the stand, Mary.”
Mary was shaking so hard that she could barely walk as she made her way to the witness stand. She felt as though she were going to her own execution. What Delaney had just revealed scared her. What if she’d done terrible things like Cindy Berg had? The thought made her skin crawl.
Finally, she made it to the chair. Once she was seated, she glanced at Carter and saw the sympathy in his eyes. That warmed her heart. But what if Delaney could do as he claimed and then she divulged she’d done horrible things? How would Carter react?
Delaney touched her hand, drawing her attention. “I want you to relax, Mary.”
Mary gaped at the man as if he’d lost his mind. He wanted her to relax when she was being tried for murder. Yet, those very words sounded familiar, as if she’d heard them before. However, Delaney had a calming effect on her. She noticed that he was
staring into her eyes, holding her so she couldn’t glance away, and then he reached for his ear and ...
Mary’s head fell to the side. Delaney looked at the judge. “You see, Your Honor, by tugging on my ear, which was the previous cue she’d been given, Mary has gone under, quickly. You see, if a hypnotist is attempting a re-hypnotization and he uses the same induction or deepening routine as the former hypnotist, progress will be substantial. Mary is in a trance, but at the moment, it’s light.
“Look at me, Mary,” Delaney said, and when she did, he tugged on his ear again. She nodded, but she didn’t close her eyes as she watched him. “Can you tell me what you remember?”
“No.”
“Your Honor, what good is this doing?” Bryan protested. “She’s saying the same thing—she can’t remember.”
The judge looked at Delaney and waited for his answer.
“If you’ll just give me a few moments. You see, the mind is very complicated. The person who hypnotized her, who we believe is McCoy, has probably threatened her unconscious with terrible things if she breaks the amnesia ride. If she remembers forbidden information and betrays his secret, someone could fall dead. First, I have to undo that command.”
The judge nodded.
“Mary, do you remember anything?” Delaney asked in a very calm voice.
“No.”
“Watch me, Mary,” Delaney instructed. “When I pull on my ear, nothing bad will happen to you if you remember back to the night of the murder.”
“I will hang if I talk.”
“No, Mary. You will feel good for remembering the burden that you’ve carried around. You will feel peaceful for telling us what happened, and when you wake up you will remember everything that has happened to you.” He waited for a moment, then said, “On the count of three. One, two, three.” Delaney paused, making sure he had her full attention, then he tugged on his ear again.
“I want you to close your eyes and remember back to the day when you struck the vein of gold. How did you feel?”
“I felt wonderful,” Mary said with a smile, even though her eyes were still closed. “I couldn’t wait to tell Jim.”
“And did you tell him?”
“Yes. Jim was happy. He said we’d have all the money we could spend in a lifetime. We worked all day, side by side, until quitting time.”
“Then?”
Mary sighed. “We were tired, so we headed home. I told Jim I was going to cook a big supper, and he said, ‘Good.’ Then he told me there was a possibility that his brother might come and have dinner. Jim said his brother had just arrived at the camp.”
“What was his brother’s name?”
“John McCoy.”
“You are doing fine, Mary,” Delaney praised. “And with each thing that you remember your burden will become lighter.” He paused. “Now, did he say anything else about his brother?”
Mary nodded. “He said John was his half brother and they had never been close. He said John was more or less a vagabond and didn’t stay long in one place. He wanted to come and help us in the mine, but Big Jim said once John saw how hard the work was he’d change his mind.”
“And did John come for supper?”
“Yes.” Mary nodded, her eyes still closed. “I had just placed the last dish on the table. Big Jim told me to stay dressed as a boy because his brother tended to have a big mouth, and we didn’t want the other miners to know that I was a woman.”
“What happened next?”
“John came into the cabin and shook my hand. There was something about him that I didn’t like right away. It was his beady eyes or something, but I had a hard time looking away from him. We all sat down to dinner. Big Jim excused himself to go out back to the outhouse. So I sat at the table with John while we waited for Big Jim to return. John wanted to know if I wanted to play a game that he knew. I thought he was a little crazy, but he was a guest, so I humored him. He said that he could make me fall asleep just by pulling his ear.”
She paused, her forehead scrunching up as if she were trying to remember every little detail.
“And,” Delaney prompted.
All of a sudden, Mary became agitated. “I can’t remember. If I tell, I will have pain so intense that I will want to kill myself.”
“Mary, I am going to take away your pain—all of it—but you must trust me,” Delaney urged. “I want you to pretend that you are floating in the air and seeing everything around you. You’ll be able to see everything, but you’ll feel no pain as long as you listen to the sound of my voice.
“Now you are back at the supper table waiting for Big Jim to return. What did John say?”
Mary took a deep breath. “John told me to look deep into his eyes and not look away. He told me I was sleepy, and I told him I was not, but then he repeated the words and told me I would be asleep when he tugged on his ear.”
“And?”
Mary began to shake her head, as if to say, “No, no.” Delaney knew she was finally in a deep trance, reliving something that had happened to her, and it wasn’t pleasant She made pushing-away movements with her hands and then she began to cry softly.
“For Christ’s sake, do something,” Carter said, seeing how upset Mary was becoming.
Delaney looked at Thunder. “I’m going to have to bring her out for now.”
Thunder nodded.
“On the count of three, you will wake and remember,” Delaney said. “One, two, three.”
Mary’s eyes snapped open from the trance and she looked around the room until her gaze met Thunder’s. “Now I know. I know everything,” she sobbed.
Carter rushed to her as the judge banged the gavel.
For a long time, Mary cried in Carter’s arms. For so long she’d wanted her memory back and now she had it
Mary remembered everything.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Mary had finally calmed down, Carter returned to his chair.
The judge banged his gavel against the desk and looked very flustered. “Order,” he demanded. He hit the desktop again. “This is a most unusual case,” the judge stated, rubbing the back of his neck, “the likes of which I’ve never seen, but we must continue.” He turned sideways and asked Mary, “Are you ready to proceed?”
She nodded.
“Since this is such a sensitive issue, I’m going to leave everyone outside so you’ll not be so nervous.” Judge Parker glanced at Thunder. “Mr. Bradley, do you want to take over the questioning?”
Thunder nodded and came to stand in front of Mary. “Tell us in your own words what you now remember. Take your time.”
Mary glanced over at the jury. It appeared as if each one of them had stopped breathing, and all eyes were glued on her, waiting in anticipation for her to tell them the truth.
Her memory had seemed like a puzzle where she’d only had a few pieces, until now. However, with the help of Dr. Delaney, she finally had the rest of the puzzle. “Oh God,” she whispered to herself as she gripped the sides of the chair. They were not going to like the story.
Mary swallowed hard. She couldn’t look at Carter nor Thunder while she revealed the ugly truth. So, knowing that the next few moments would be some of the hardest she’d ever faced, she focused on a light in the back of the room.
“John McCoy placed his hand on my forehead,” she said softly.
“Speak up,” the prosecutor shouted.
Mary jumped from the tone of his voice, but her next words were indeed louder. “I had no control of what I wanted to do. It was as if I were in a fog, waiting for someone to guide me. My eyes were open, but I couldn’t see.
“John told me, ‘Now, with no will of your own, you will do anything I ask you to do. And you will remember nothing of what happens here today. Do you understand?’ He then told me to pick up Big Jim’s bowie knife and slip it into the back of my breeches at the waist.
“When Jim returned from outside, I was to let him begin eating, then get up to fetch something from the cabin
et so that I would be behind Jim,” Mary said, then took a deep breath.
“I did as I was told. Jim and John were talking when I pulled the knife from my breeches and came at Jim from behind. Slowly, I raised my arm, knife poised, ready to come down in the middle of Big Jim’s back.” A small sob escaped Mary’s lips. She swallowed hard so she could continue. The bile trying to rise in the back of her throat tasted terrible, but she had to get everything out. Hopefully, the jury would understand and the truth would set her free.
“But something happened.” Mary felt the blood drain from her face as she remembered.
“I stood there poised to kill Jim, but I couldn’t move my arm. John hollered for me to do it now! I tried to obey, but Big Jim swung around and, seeing the weapon, caught my wrist. I remember screaming and struggling as Jim swore. And then I saw Jim’s eyes ... the surprise in their depths... the hurt. I’ll never forget the hurt.”
Mary choked on her words. Several moments passed before she could contain her crying, and she had to swallow a couple of times to calm her breathing. Finally, she continued. “John yanked out his own knife and started stabbing Jim over and over again. I remember screaming. ‘Don’t! Don’t do this!’
“Blood was everywhere! And I could do nothing but stand there and watch. It was as if I were stone,” Mary sobbed. “Tears streamed down my cheeks. I wanted to help Jim, but my arms wouldn’t move. Even though I couldn’t stab Jim, his brother was still very much in control of me.
“When Big Jim fell to the floor at my feet, John grabbed my arm. He snarled, ‘You little bitch, you’ll follow my commands one way or the other.’ He touched my head and I quit crying.
“I still had the knife clutched in my hand. He forced me to kneel down, then he jerked my arm over my head and forced it with a mighty thrust into Big Jim’s body. I remember the warm b-blood spattering my face. Over and over again, guided by John, I stabbed Big Jim.” Mary was crying harder now. “I—I couldn’t stop. John wouldn’t let me. I had blood all over me, too.
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