by P J Mann
The night was calm, and it seems like she was the only one left in the world. The only noises that could be heard were those of the crickets and the wind, gently whispering through the crowns of the trees. Even the lights in the rooms of Sabina and Gabriel were switched off, suggesting that for them the therapy had started to lend some positive results.
The chant of the wind through the trees was so calming that she soon forgot all the troubles she had and remained there focused only on listening to that melody that soothed her soul.
She yawned, “Maybe I can find a way to fall asleep again, but this time I want to try and keep the window open, it is such a pity to quit listening to this melody.”
She went back to her bed and for the first time, falling asleep wasn’t her main problem; the real concern was perhaps understanding what had happened to Carolina. Even though she couldn’t consider her a friend since they’d only known each other for such a short period, behind her grumpiness there was a wholehearted woman who deserved to get known.
“Perhaps it was only the lack of sleep that put you in a bad mood. I really hope you’re fine, wherever you are.”
She sighed, and for a second, she realized that she was thinking and talking to her like she would have done with someone who has already passed on. The idea was too frightening, and she felt guilty for the fact of having instinctively conceived those thoughts. “Now I am sure that besides being worried, I won’t be able to fall asleep.”
She glanced at the bedside table, considering whether continuing to read her book, or to switch off the light, attempting to fall asleep. Her eyes met the pills that were to be considered an emergency, in case everything else would have failed to put them to sleep, she could have taken one of those pills. Nevertheless, she never took any of those, as she considered it like cheating.
Perhaps this might be the time when it shouldn’t be considered cheating anymore; after all, my sleeping pattern has reached impressive results. If I cannot sleep because of all the thoughts swirling in my mind, I can allow myself one of those pills, she considered as she took the box in her hand.
She turned it over a couple of times in her hands, like expecting to find an answer to the question whether it would have been right to take one of them.
On the other hand, if Dr. Wright gave them to us, it means that this is not to be considered cheating, she thought trying to overcome that guilty feeling that gripped her as she opened the box.
“Oh, screw that, I need to get some sleep,” she said and took one of those pills with a glass of water.
“Good night!” she said switching off the lights.
It didn’t take more than half an hour, and she was already fast asleep.
The next morning Dr. Wright woke up earlier than usual, his night was not as peaceful as the previous ones. The arrival of Officer Sheen was not something he could define as a pleasant surprise.
He needed a way to divert his investigation to another place, but Carolina Lynn had been already killed, and Mr. M’s associates had already disposed of her body.
To be honest, he didn’t know what happened to her body, and this detail could have cost them dearly.
“I need to understand what happened to her body, but most of all I need a good cover story to make sure that the investigations will not continue,” he considered, talking to himself as he walked to his office.
He wondered whether Prof. Doyle was already awake as well. “Together we might find the best way to act. Although it would be better to talk directly with Mr. M, we do not have any means to contact him,” he whispered opening the door of his office.
He sat down on his chair and started thinking about a way to make sure that nobody would have any reason to be suspicious of them. “This is spiraling out of control; the Police shouldn’t have even come to talk to us. He promised to keep them away.”
At that exact moment, the door opened, and Prof. Doyle gingerly peeked from the door.
“I was wondering whether you, just like me, couldn’t sleep any longer,” he said entering the room.
“I was tempted to come and see whether you were already in your laboratory, but instead my legs walked me down here to my office, where I could start thinking about what has happened in the last 24 hours. I am wondering whether Officer Sheen will be able to get his warrant, as he promised; in this case, we might be in trouble as he will go searching for the other patients, and do you know what will happen when he finds out that they have all mysteriously disappeared? He will start to investigate our research, and it might not take him too much time to connect us to the deaths of those people,” Dr. Wright said concerned.
Prof. Doyle shook his head, “If I were you, I wouldn’t really worry that much. Remember that it wasn’t us to kill those people, there isn’t any evidence that connects us to their deaths. We might just be considered as the victim of a plot aimed to discredit our research. We have big pharmaceutical companies that are funding our research, and one of their competitors might have thought that discrediting us might have helped them in slowing down the research allowing them to reach the formulation for the same drug earlier and claim the patent before us. Wouldn’t you think that this could be a good reason to sacrifice a couple of lives?”
Dr. Wright remained silent for a moment thinking about it. He had to admit that the hypothesis made sense, and in fact, neither one of them were at the crime scene. Their alibi was almost bulletproof, but there was always the uncertainty of the cloud of suspicion. They could not control how the investigation might proceed. Although it might have taken months before their position might have become difficult, and their alibi started to sway.
At that point we might still be on time to leave the country, he considered.
“Perhaps you’re right, but I won’t feel reassured until I cannot speak with our client. I want to understand how he means to solve this situation.”
Prof. Doyle nodded without saying anything, but suddenly, he opened up into a bright smile, “perhaps I might have the right solution to the problem, even without the intervention of our client.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the first trial we tested?”
“Ethan Jackson, you mean?” Dr. Wright didn’t know where he was going with this, but something in Prof. Doyle’s smile told him that he just reached one of the best ideas in his lifetime.
“No, I am not talking about just the very first hypnotic trial we made when we were still at the University, it worked perfectly to plant small suggestions in the patients, but it wasn’t powerful enough to reach the full manipulation of the patient’s will,” replied Prof. Doyle.
“Yes, I remember that we were able to plant false memories, but that was all. That was the reason why we started to develop the drug coupled with the hypnosis,” Dr. Wright said. “To control the actions of the patient for one night, and remove any sort of memories after that. Nevertheless, I cannot understand where you are going with this; that method was totally useless.”
“Indeed, we can easily call it a total fiasco, but I thought that sometimes also failures can become useful, and if you follow me, I will explain my plan,” Prof. Doyle replied taking a pause. “What do you think would happen if suddenly Mrs. Lynn would return?”
“That is nonsense, Mrs. Lynn is dead!” exclaimed Dr. Wright
“But this is a detail that only we, who are involved in the plan know. For the rest of the world, Mrs. Lynn left, and nobody had anymore any news about her. What I am proposing is to use the first technique to plant into Mrs. Lynn’s sister a false memory, according to which, Mrs. Lynn called explaining her need to leave and go live somewhere else. Her husband died years ago, we might use the haunting memories as a good excuse for Mrs. Lynn to start a new life somewhere else. Once the police are informed of the false alarm, they will close the investigation and archive the case.”
Dr. Wright remained open-mouthed looking at Prof. Doyle. He was speechless and had to admit that it sounded like the b
est-laid plan. The only problem was that they also needed to inform their client.
“We need to wait for our client to call. As for me, that is a brilliant solution, but we all need to be informed about each other’s moves. We cannot risk failing.”
“Then we just wait. I am sure that it won’t take long for him to call us, you just need to remain calm, and follow the plan like nothing has ever happened. I know it is not easy, but we need to make all the efforts to make this project run smoothly,” replied Prof. Doyle.
“I guess we don’t have any other choice, do we?”
“I guess not, but now we need to hurry to breakfast, or we will have to wait for lunch to eat.”
Laura reached the breakfast hall, a bit later than usual; she took some extra time to indulge herself in the shower. That stupid sleeping pill made me extremely dizzy like I have a hangover. I swear to everything I have that this is going to be the last time I am taking anything similar in my entire life she thought as she reached the buffet table.
She turned her gaze and looked at the hall. Sabina and Gabriel hadn’t yet arrived. Also, Dr. Wright and Prof. Doyle seemed to be late for breakfast.
Could it be that it is just me who is early? – She thought, looking at her wristwatch – Wow, the time for breakfast is almost over, so perhaps it is me who is late for breakfast… Oh well, nevermind.
She started to eat, not caring about the timetable and the group therapy.
As she forecasted she arrived a couple of minutes late to group therapy, “We were starting to be worried,” said Sabina as Laura came inside the room.
“I know, and I am sorry. Last night I woke up, and I started to think about Carolina and her mysterious disappearance. Although I cannot consider her a close friend, I feel really upset thinking about what could have happened to her. For this reason, I had to take one of those sleeping pills we got as an emergency remedy, but now I feel like I have a hangover,” Laura admitted.
“Hmm… considering the improvement of your sleeping pattern, I believe it would be better not to use those sleeping pills anymore. Those are very strong and were needed in the initial period when your sleeping pattern was a bit messed up. I will ask to have them removed from your rooms,” Dr. Wright replied. “Concerning Mrs. Lynn, we do not know what really has happened, she interrupted her therapy quite early, and she had several issues that made her life more challenging. The hypothesis is that she decided to leave and start over in another place would perfectly fit with her condition. If I were you, I would wait to have more information from the Police Officer, before worrying about her unnecessarily. Sometimes we need to divide things and give priority to those we can influence directly.”
Laura nodded, “I guess you’re right, and this has always been my problem. I get really anxious about things even though I cannot influence them. Perhaps, all the problems with my insomnia stemmed from this anxiety.”
“This could be a plausible reason. The fact that your sleeping pattern improved dramatically is due to a combination of factors, you are far from your everyday struggles, immersed in a peaceful environment. You have learned the meditation techniques necessary to help you to unwind at the end of your day and help you to sleep. All this has been coupled with our test drugs and individual psychotherapy, which is supposed to make all the improvements permanent, also once you will be back in your everyday lives. Moreover, I want to remind you that you can call me whenever you feel the need and book an appointment for another session.”
Chapter 9.
“There are less than two weeks until the final test,” said Dr. Wright, as he was alone in his office with Prof. Doyle.
“And everything is ready, what I am wondering is why hasn’t our client called us yet? Officer Sheen was supposed to come back today with a warrant, so I guess it might take some time before we can see him coming. However, I would like to understand whether he agrees with the plan we were talking about yesterday evening, or if he has another plan going on. This one-way communication is something that must change,” Prof. Doyle replied.
Dr. Wright shook his head, “Indeed, it is frustrating enough living on edge only to add more uncertainties…”
He didn’t have the time to finish what he wanted to say before his telephone started to ring.
Dr. Wright looked at the phone and hesitated a second as he saw an unknown number.
“Bernard Wright,” he replied.
“Good evening Dr. Wright, I hope I am not disturbing you,” said Mr. M.
“This is a surprise,” he replied. “Generally, you use a private number to call me.”
“A little bird told me that you felt the need to have a way to contact me. Therefore, after having pondered the situation, I decided to grant you with my telephone number. However, I hope you will use it only in case of emergencies or whenever you have something important to say. I am a busy person, and I do not have the time to spend on informal phone calls.”
“Are you spying on us?” Prof. Doyle thundered, as he looked around for anything that might have resembled a camera or any sort of recording device.
“Oh, I see we are not alone. Good evening to you too Prof. Doyle,” he replied sarcastically. “I have my sources of information, but I wouldn’t say that I am spying on you per say, let’s call it keeping myself updated with the news.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, but I will try to be more precise; have you installed surveillance cameras to keep yourself updated?” Prof. Doyle pursued bravely, as he continued to search every item that might have concealed a recording device.
“No, but I have ears wherever I need to have them. As I said, I am not spying on you,” Mr. M. replied. “However, I would prefer you use a friendlier tone. You are not in the position to threaten me, and it is more advisable to have me as a co-conspirator, rather than as an enemy.”
Dr. Wright looked at Prof. Doyle with a severe expression, “I am sure Prof. Doyle didn’t mean to be rude. The fact is that we are all stressed by the unexpected developments of this situation. Officer Sheen was supposed to return today with a warrant to obtain the names of the other patients who have left the therapy. However, the fact that he didn’t arrive, didn’t help with our state of mind, and we still have no idea what is going on. Are we still safe here? Should we start preparing our departure from the country?”
Mr. M. sighed, “I see, according to my sources the warrant won’t arrive before Monday. Therefore, you still have three or four days to prepare for the time he will arrive.”
“We think we might have a plan that might work to sway the attention from us,” commenced Prof. Doyle, taking a short pause to find the best way to express his plan in the clearest way possible. “We were thinking to use the first hypnotic technique, to plant a false memory in Mrs. Dowell, Mrs. Lynn’s sister. The aim is to make her believe she received a telephone call from Mrs. Lynn, telling her of her intention to leave the country and never to return. We can use the death of her husband as the main reason that pushed her to make the decision to leave and start her life far from those places that bear too many memories that she would like to forget. Of course, in this case, Mrs. Dowell will call the police, who will in turn close the case.”
“Hmm…” said Mr. M.
“Do you have a better idea?” Asked Prof. Doyle sarcastically.
“No, I was just considering your plan. I think it might work, but you must for no reason in this world leave the premises of the Hotel. Not until the case is archived, at least.” Mr. M. replied.
“But how are we supposed to plant the false memory of Mrs. Lynn, if we are not supposed to leave the hotel? We can’t possibly ask her to come here, it would be far more suspicious,” protested Dr. Wright.
“I can count on a certain number of associates, and between those, there are qualified people to scrupulously carry-out the task. All we need to do is give them the right instruction, and we will have the task accomplished in no time.”
“I guess we do not have any other choic
e,” admitted Prof. Doyle.
“The world is full of choices, but not all of them lead to the desired destination. Starting from tomorrow, I will put you in contact with the people I will designate to carry out the task. You will have the time to go into detail about the technique so that they can familiarize themselves with what needs to be done. We do not have much time, and this must be done before the warrant arrives in the hands of Officer Sheen,” Mr. M. said.
There was a moment of silence to let the information sink in, “Fine, but let those people contact us early in the morning. During this evening, me and Prof. Doyle we will go through all the documentation and the tests we conducted, and we’ll see whether there is something we can improve upon.”
“If we can have your associates instructed by the late morning, they can start acting already in the afternoon, and everything should be ready for the following day,” continued Prof. Doyle, pondering about the time they had at their availability.
Dr. Wright shook his head, “who are those associates of yours. How can we trust that they will be able to perform the hypnotic routine correctly?”
“They are trusted scientists just like you are. Certainly, they do not have the same experience as you have, but they have great potential,” Mr. M. replied.
“Does this mean that they are still students?” Dr. Wright replied, outraged.
“No, they are researchers, but they know what they’re about, trust me.”
“Fine, tell them to call us at seven in the morning, we will be awake and ready with the necessary materials to explain the procedure. Make sure that those researchers won’t be late,” warned Prof. Doyle.
“So it shall be,” Mr. M. said hanging up the conversation.
Dr. Wright glanced over at Prof. Doyle, “We don’t have much time either, let’s go to your laboratory so that we can gather all the material and go through the hypnotic routine once again, also trying to add some improvements, if we can.”