Of That Day and Hour: A psychological thriller

by Anthony O'Brien

  “Your higher self is telling you that your old friend needs your help.”

  “Yes I know. But.”

  “But what?” Marcus looks shifty. Sarah knows something isn’t right.

  “It’s not that simple.” He feels like a worm dangling on the hook.

  “Why not?”

  “We parted on bad terms.”

  “You never told me?” Her eyebrows raise in curiosity.

  “It’s in the past.”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Spit it out, Marcus.” Sarah has a special tone of voice that she uses when she wants to prize information out of him. It always works.

  “Well, we were childhood friends, and room-mates at university.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I...hmm.” Sarah knows what’s coming even before he says the words. “I slept with his girlfriend.”

  “I should have guessed.” She pulls her hands away from him.

  “I fell in love.”

  “Love?” One thing she knows about Marcus is that when cornered, he’s full of it.

  “She came on to me.”

  “You’re a shit.”

  “Look, it’s in the past. Anyway you can’t judge me!”

  “Stop right there.” Now she’s pissed. “You said that wasn’t being brought up again.”

  “There’s no difference.” He’s smug, and he knows it.

  “Don’t turn it onto me, Marcus.”

  “Well don’t judge me.”

  “I’m not.” She takes a deep breath to calm down. “So what do you plan to do now?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  ***

  One week later. Suburbia is filled with the leafy greenness of familiar trees and sacred places. Jeff excitedly points out to Eve his old high school, bike paths, houses once occupied by friends. Willow Woods is where the boys built dens, played soldier, and later, as teenagers, took girls. He knows these roads and curbs like the back of his hand. The houses, garages, backyards and alleyways haven’t changed. There’s a longing here, a passing of life, a community lost where once he belonged. In later years friends moved away, married or simply lost touch. Jeff loved his childhood; he blossomed so much that one day he was being nurtured and the next, with confidence, he flew. Over time the news he naively thought he wouldn’t have to face came twice: first his father, then his mother passed. Taking along with them a part of him, and leaving behind the ache that would always be, to be back in the innocent loving past of his childhood home once again.

  Eve pulls up outside what would seem to the casual observer any American street. Jeff steps out onto the curb where he once played marbles, he sees that nothing’s changed, yet everything has. Eve can already see the child standing in front of her; the boy who had everything taken away.

  “Are you alright?” She reaches for his hand.

  “Yeah.” His smile covers the pain. “This is it, this is where I grew up.”

  “It’s a lovely house.”

  “It is. On a day like this my dad would have been out tending to the garden. He planted that tree and those bushes.”

  “It’s a beautiful garden.”

  “Yeah.” Jeff looks around. “It’s nice to see the new owners are looking after the place.”

  “They are.” There’s an awkward silence; she needs to keep him talking. “What were your parents like?”

  “Dad had a great sense of humor, and mom wore her heart on her sleeve. You would’ve been out back by now chatting with an iced tea in your hand.”

  “That would’ve been nice.”

  “Yeah, they were good people.” Jeff would have loved to have introduced Eve to his parents. “It’s a shame they didn’t get to meet you.”

  “It is, but they left behind a very handsome son for me.”

  “Thank you.” At last a real smile shines through. “See that window up there.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was my bedroom.”

  “I would have loved a peek.”

  Jeff’s in his own world again. Longing for his father to call him in for supper, or once again hear the sound of pans in the kitchen. He remembers cap guns on the pavement, basketball in the street and cops and robbers. Even the constant sound of Mr. Taylor mowing his lawn next door. Eve’s conscious of Jeff’s nostalgic moment and gives him a minute before breaking the silence.

  “So where did Marcus live?”

  “Over there.” Jeff points across the street. “See the house with the white garage and the trellis fence?”

  “I see it.”

  “That’s the one.”

  “And his family's no longer there?”

  “They sold up and left years ago.”

  “Any siblings?”

  “He was an only child.”

  “Would any of the neighbors know where they went?”

  “I doubt it, we’re talking over twenty years ago. Our best bet is Jack. Last time I heard he was still living in the family home, and Marcus was always a close friend of his.”

  “Let’s hope he didn’t shit on him too then.”

  “Yeah.” Jeff’s bemused. “I never thought of that.”

  “You think Jack’s still here?”

  “He always said he wouldn’t leave this town.”

  “Shall we find out?”

  On one hand Jeff feels sad to be leaving the family home, yet on the other, well, it’s never good for the soul to dwell too deeply into the emotions of the past. Once away from the house Jeff begins to relax, and guides Eve through the maze of the subdivision.

  “Take a left here.”

  As the car turns left into the street, from behind the hedge and without warning a boy around seven years of age runs out chasing a ball. Jeff sees the boy’s terrified face as he freezes in front of the car. He has blonde hair, wears a bright red t-shirt and blue jeans. Moments before the car hits Jeff turns away, unable to watch the consequences. At the thud he opens his eyes, only to find himself back moments before the accident. Eve steers around the same corner.

  “Stop!”

  She slams the brakes on just in time to see the young boy run out from the hedges. He’s identical in every way and wears the same red t-shirt and blue jeans. Thankfully the car stops short of hitting him.

  “Shit, that was close!” Eve holds her hand to her chest, and catches her breath.

  Jeff remains silent whilst a jittery Eve composes herself. The boy looks up, fearing that he’s landed himself in serious trouble. Before Eve can open the door and step out, the child’s mother, alerted by the squeal of tires, runs into the road. She sweeps him up into her arms, taking him safely to the sidewalk. Only after she’s held him in a tight embrace does she release him. Still holding onto one of his hands, she scolds him. He’s got one eye on the ball, neatly brushed up against the curb.

  “How did you know, Jeff?”

  “I don’t know.” He’s bewildered himself.

  A car pulls up behind and the driver sounds the horn. Eve raises her hand to apologize before driving away. Still shaken from the experience she pulls over a short distance further up the road.

  “You knew that was going to happen didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.” He’s frowning and confused.

  “How?”

  “You won’t believe me.”

  “Try me.” She’s apprehensive. These events are getting more serious by the minute.

  “I had a premonition.”

  “A premonition?”

  “Yes.” He’s unsure if Eve will believe him.

  “What happened?”

  “Well.” He swallows hard. “We were driving round the corner and the boy ran out, but we hit him the first time.”

  “The first time?” Eve frowns. What does he mean?

  “Look, he ran out and we hit him. Then we’re turning the same corner moments before the accident, but I had already experienced what was about to happen.”

  “Jes
us, Jeff, what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know.” He can see the look of shock on her face.

  “You foresaw the event.”

  “I know… but how? There is no malfunction in the machine.”

  “What does that mean, Jeff?”

  “It means I don't believe in precognition, déjà vu, whatever. Time flows in one direction only.”

  “Well, you’d better start believing in something. The precognition you don’t believe in just saved a boy’s life. When are you going to start accepting the evidence?”

  “We need to find Marcus.”

  “I know.”

  A few minutes later and a dusty black Camaro pulls up beside the sidewalk. The wide two-story, double timbered fronted garage residence they have pulled up outside, has a blue truck sitting in the drive.

  “It’s no different to how I remember it.”

  “Houses don’t age like people.”

  “Yeah I know.” He doesn’t like to be patronized.

  “Looks like someone’s home.”

  “I’ll knock, best hang back just in case he’s not here anymore.”

  “Okay.”

  Eve watches him walk towards the house, realizing her hands are still shaking from their close call. Just what’s going on with Jeff? He rings the doorbell, then stands back. Is anyone home? He tries again. Seconds after the door opens. He’s blocking Eve’s view, but appears to be shaking hands, then turns round to face the car. He waves and beckons her over.

  Eve steps out of the car. There’s no denying it, she looks pretty darned sexy as she walks towards the boys. She can see Jeff’s pride and Jack’s lust as his eyes drop from her head to her toe, and all the way back up. Jeff thankfully appears to be blissfully unaware. After all these years Jack still lives up to the description Jeff gave of him. Long hair, beard, bell bottom jeans, denim shirt and a welcoming smile.

  “Eve this is Jack, Jack, Eve.”

  “Nice to meet you, Eve.”

  “Likewise.” Eve inwardly sighs. Why do men always have that glint in their eye? As far as Eve’s concerned, she’s discovered yet another of Jeff’s friends that can’t be trusted.

  Entering the house a large and beautiful wood Buddha in the hallway catches her eye.

  “Oh I do like that!”

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it, all hand carved.”

  “Where did you get it?”

  “It was being used as a window dressing. It wasn’t for sale, but then I heard that the store was closing down. I went back and they sold it to me.”

  “Lucky you.”

  “I thought so.”

  As Eve anticipated, the living room plays host to bohemian artwork complimented with psychedelic wall rugs. Which is quite her thing, along with the old Chinese wood carvings. The air has a faint but familiar smell of pot. Jack walks over to the turntable and turns the music off.

  “Sit yourselves down guys. Do you want a drink?”

  “Coffee would be nice.”

  “Eve?”

  “Coffee’s fine, thanks.”

  “Be right back.”

  Jack walks across the hardwood floor to the kitchen. The house is open plan, enabling them to talk freely as he sets up the coffee-maker.

  “It’s quite a coincidence that you’ve turned up.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I had a phone call yesterday. Guess who’s trying to track you down.”

  “Who?”

  “Marcus.”

  “Marcus?” A sharp intake of breath from Jeff. He looks to Eve. She looks equally stunned.

  “Yeah, Marcus. I haven’t heard from him in ages.”

  “What does he want?” Jeff has a feeling that Marcus may already know something isn’t right.

  “I don’t know. He just said that he didn’t have your number. I didn’t have it, so he asked me to pass his on to you.”

  “Surely he wouldn’t have known I was coming to see you?”

  “I said I hadn’t seen you for years, but he said you would be along soon. I don’t know how he knew?”

  “Interesting.” He raises his eyebrows to Eve. “What line of work’s he in?”

  “Paranormal research.” Jack frowns. “Must be something in it.”

  “Yeah, that’s interesting.”

  “What happened between you two anyway?”

  “What did Marcus say?”

  “He didn’t.”

  “We just drifted apart.”

  “It happens. It’s been how long?”

  “Since university.” Jeff snaps himself from the past. “Anyway enough of him! I came here to see you. How’ve you been keeping?”

  “Oh I can’t complain. I’m happy. Now how many people can say that?”

  “Not many. What do you do?”

  “I’m self-employed as an eco-friendly landscaper.”

  “That’s great, Jack.” Jeff smiles. “I do recall you being quite the eco-warrior.”

  “I still am.”

  “And how’s Dave?”

  “Oh he’s doing well for himself; he's the CEO of a software company.”

  “Lucky him.”

  “Yeah. I’m the brother who stayed behind and looked after mom. She passed six years ago, she had cancer.”

  “I’m sorry, she was a lovely woman.”

  “She liked you too, Jeff.” Jacks eyes glaze in thought. “She suffered at the end; it was a blessing when she passed. I now firmly believe in euthanasia.”

  “I think it has its merits.”

  “It would have to be strictly regulated.” Jack brings the drinks over on a tray. “This may sound crazy; but I swear she’s still around.”

  “In spirit?”

  “Yeah, it’s difficult to describe.”

  “Well where else would she be, but home with her son?”

  “Maybe.” Jack takes comfort in Jeff’s words. “Here’s your coffee.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What do you do now?”

  “I lectured at Harvard until this year. At present I’m lucky enough to be working with Eve.”

  “Lucky you.” Jack smiles at Eve before turning back to Jeff. “How long have you been together?”

  “It’s complicated.” Jeff’s unsure as to how much he would like to divulge. “We’ve only just got back together.”

  “I used to be one of his students.”

  “Oh, you old dog.”

  “It wasn’t like that.” Jeff borders on being offended. Especially in front of Eve, who’s smiling to herself at Jack’s comment.

  “I heard you were married?”

  “It didn’t work out.”

  “I’m sorry.” Jack picks up that Jeff’s uncomfortable discussing his past, and quickly changes the subject. “So what do you both do?”

  “We work at a prison in Colorado. Eve’s a psychiatrist.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” She loves his reaction, and smiles.

  “I would love to have done that. It must be fascinating getting inside people’s heads.”

  “It can be very interesting and it’s certainly never tedious.” Eve reinforces her point, her hand tapping her temple twice. “Memory isn’t always what we think it is. When people find out that I’m a psychiatrist they always ask me about their poor memory, or tell me about their Uncle who has Alzheimer’s etc. But I love working with false memory. Take for example the innocent person who’s arrested, and convicted on the testimony of someone else. Charged with being a rapist or an attempted murderer. Can you imagine the horror for the witness, when years later the real perpetrator of the crime is arrested or confesses? What makes the person so convinced in the first instance that they had the right man or woman? They’re assured in their own mind, they're able to point out the perpetrator in a police line-up. These people wouldn’t want an innocent party to be convicted of the crime but they're convinced of what they think they remember. False memory fascinates me.”

  “Damn, that’s frightening. And to t
hink it could happen to any of us.”

  “Innocent men and women have died because of witnesses' false memories. That’s why so many sit on death row for years; people do come forward with new evidence, or confess.”

  “That’s scary shit!”

  “Yeah.” For a moment Eve recollects past clients. “It is.”

  “Jack.” Jeff wants to divert his attention away from Eve. It’s just a hunch, he isn’t certain, but he’s seen lust in Jack's eyes before. “Have you any thoughts about settling down?”

  “To be honest, I like life the way it is, simple. I’ve seen too many divorces, kids suffer, and people lose their homes. I don’t need that.”

  “You haven’t met the right person then?”

  “No, but if I do you’re both invited to the wedding.”

  “We’ll hold you to that.”

  “Let me get you that number.”

  “Thanks.”

  “We’ll get going after this coffee, Eve.”

  “Cool.”

  After coffee they make their excuses. Outside Jack walks to the car.

  “Now that’s a classic.”

  “Sure is. What do you prefer, Mustang or Camaro?” Eve weighs him up.

  “This is beautiful, but I like the lines of the Mustang.”

  “There’s no accounting for taste.”

  With those parting words and with a smile, Eve slips back into the driver’s seat. Jeff says his farewells on the sidewalk, then joins her in the car. In Jeff’s hand sits that all-important telephone number.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The road trip home is uneventful; this gives Jeff time to think, to contemplate the events that encircle him like an ever-tightening noose. His mind tumbles in and out of the past and the present. Spinning between scientific and spiritual knowledge, all this brain-storming and he’s still no wiser. Thankfully the evening sky of Colorado welcomes them home, and driving through the desert with Eve by his side, Jeff feels that, for once, he’s finally found his place in the world.

  Later the day draws to a close, and safely back home on the porch they catch the warmth of the sun’s last few rays. Jeff toys with his prize piece of paper; scribbled in black ink is Marcus’s telephone number.

  “Well, are you going to use that or just keep looking at it?”