by P J Mann
In that exact moment, Dr. Wright arrived, he looked tired and somewhat concerned. It was like he’d lost complete control of the situation.
“I am terribly sorry for being this late,” he said, trying to regain his self-control. “Have you been waiting long?”
“No, we just arrived,” replied Laura. “Are you sure you feel okay? You look pale.”
He smiled weakly, “Thanks for your concern, but everything is fine. I just had a long night, with some reports, and I couldn’t sleep much. I couldn’t even hear the alarm clock going off, and I woke up only an hour ago.”
He took a seat and invited all the others to do the same, ready to start the group therapy.
His mind was somewhere else, anyway. He wasn’t sure his patients could realize that, and at that moment, he was too busy thinking about what was going to happen during that day.
They said that they would have met Mrs. Dowell today. I am wondering whether they will succeed. They certainly know what they are doing, but I still trust only myself and Prof. Doyle, he thought. Something for sure is that I will take a long holiday after this is over. At least before starting with the next formulation and group of patients.
In the early afternoon, Klaus and Abraham reached the pet rescue farm, where Mrs. Dowell was voluntarily taking care of her sister’s business.
The pet shelter was at that moment closed to the public so to have the chance to clean all the compartments.
“Good afternoon,” greeted Mrs. Dowell walking smiling towards them. “I am sorry to receive you in this state, I could not wait to be in a better moment to hear what you have to say about my sister. I hope she is fine and didn’t get into any trouble… Oh, but where are my manners? Please come to the office, I can offer you some coffee.” She was talking fast, and it was obvious she was trying to hide her concern for what could have happened to her sister.
“Thank you, Mrs. Dowell, we won’t take up much of your time,” replied Klaus.
Abraham didn’t say anything he smiled to hide the turmoil in his soul. Mentally, he went through the whole procedure again and again and wondered whether it wouldn’t have been better to meet her at her house, so as to have the right environment to perform the hypnotic routine.
Everything will go fine, there is nothing to be afraid of, he repeated to himself to calm down.
“Please, have a seat; I will go prepare the coffee, and I’ll be back soon,” she said as she went to a small backroom that was apparently used as a kitchen. “Just let me know something, do you know my sister personally or have you just seen her and recognized her from the pictures we’ve sent to the newspapers?”
“We recognized her, but we wanted to be sure that she was the right person, so we also went to talk to her,” replied Klaus.
She smiled as she poured the coffee for the three of them when she noticed Abraham, who remained in silence for the whole time. “You are not the kind of guy who talks much, are you?” She asked, smiling.
“Uh… no, I mean… I am just a bit shy with people I meet for the first time,” he replied trying to smile. “May I also have a bit of milk?”
His hand browsed the pockets of his jacket, trying to appear as casual as possible.
“But of course,” she replied. “I will go get it immediately.”
As soon as she disappeared from the room, Abraham took the small bottle containing the drug and poured it into Mrs. Dowell’s coffee.
Klaus smiled satisfied, well, the most difficult part seems to be done, now it is the time to evaluate its effect, he thought.
Chapter 10.
It was Sunday morning, and as usual, Justin lingered for a longer time in his bed, reading the news on his mobile phone.
“Same old news. It seems like someone is having fun telling the news using different tone and style, but what is telling is always the same facts. Either nothing is changing in this city, or the journalists are having fun with us,” he said.
He was taken by surprise by the telephone ringing suddenly, as it vibrated off his hands.
“Hello,” he replied after having struggled to find the telephone between the sheets of his bed.
“Good morning Officer Sheen. I hope I haven’t disturbed you too early, this is Johanna Dowell, and you are following the case of my sister’s disappearance,” she said.
“Oh, of course, Mrs. Dowell. No, you didn’t disturb me. I was already awake,” he replied standing up from the bed.
“I wanted just to inform you that my sister finally called me. She said that after the death of her husband, her life seemed to be over, and her insomnia worsened, forcing her to seek help. She said that the therapy helped her, but she also realized that to be cured completely, she had to make a drastic change and start fresh. For this reason, she left and has no intention to return any time soon. One day, when she feels ready, she will come back and take back her life from where she interrupted it.”
That was indeed very good news, but there was something in her voice that didn’t fit with what she was saying. Justin could not say whether it was just the relieving of the stress she had been under or the fact that she didn’t yet realize that she didn’t have to worry anymore.
Her voice seemed tired, but also emotionless like she was simply relaying something that didn’t concern her at all.
“Mrs. Dowell that is fantastic news, you should be happy about it,” he replied trying to test her reaction.
“Of course, I am happy, but this last period has taken its toll on my nerves, and now that this nightmare is over… I still cannot believe it,” she replied.
Justin smiled, “Completely understandable Mrs. Dowell, I am just glad to know that for once we can close the case because the missing person was found safe and sound. The only thing I need from you is to come down to the Police Department on Monday morning to sign the papers to officially close the case. Do you think that your sister can reach out to us too?”
Mrs. Dowell remained for silent for a moment like she didn’t know what to reply to that question.
He was almost going to ask whether she was still there on the phone when she sighed. “I am afraid that this won’t be possible. You see she left the country and has no intentions to return for the moment. Is it possible that I could just sign the papers myself?”
“Yes, of course, I understand,” he replied. “Your word and signature will be enough for us. It was mostly for my own curiosity.”
“Thank you, Officer. However, I would also like to ask you a favor,” she said. “Would it be possible to solve those bureaucratic things today? On Monday I have a lot of things to do with my own job and arranging the schedule at the pet shelter to take care of. From tomorrow on I will be in charge of running that place, and there would be too many things to take care of.”
Justin thought about it for a moment, “Oh well, why not? I do not have much to do today, so I think I can meet you there at the Police Department this afternoon. Would you be able to come down there in about three hours?” He said calculating as much time as possible to get dressed and have a proper breakfast – or lunch – before reaching the Police Department with all his ducks in a row.
“Yes, that would be just perfect. Thank you very much, Officer Sheen, I’ll see you later.”
He hung up the conversation and reflected for a moment to think about it, it was for sure a relief having solved that situation. He thought about going to tell Jonas, or maybe not, I can tell him everything tomorrow morning or even later this evening. For the moment, I guess it is better to go and meet Mrs. Dowell to get the case closed as soon as possible, he thought, still uncertain about it.
He took his time to dress up and have something to eat for lunch; he knew that today Jonas would have been busy with other programs, so he didn’t even bother to call him to eat together. “We both need to keep our routine and particularly to keep our lives separate for as much as possible. These are the kind of things you do not want to make public, particularly at the Police Department,�
� he said grabbing the keys of his car, ready to meet Mrs. Dowell.
On that day the travel time seemed almost double than the normal half an hour drive to his work, which was a good and a bad thing. It was good as it gave him the time to think and bad because his thoughts were mostly of the haunting kind.
He could not erase from his mind the fact that she sounded strange as they spoke on the phone. Certainly, she was right and the stress she accumulated during this period could have easily caused her to be nervous, anxious, tired or a myriad of other emotions. Yet, there was a feeble little voice in his mind that kept saying that there was something suspicious.
“Well, tomorrow I will have the warrant on my desk, perhaps I could still have a chat with those other patients,” he said, parking his car on the spot reserved for him. “But what would I ask them? whether they have seen a woman, who is not actually missing anymore?” He snorted, “That doesn’t make any sense, and I need to talk about it with Jonas or someone else at the department.”
He met Mrs. Lynn as he was coming inside, “this is what I call a perfect timing, Officer Sheen,” she said greeting him with her usual kind smile.
“Indeed, on the phone, your voice sounded strange, but it seems like it was just a stupid impression. You look much more relaxed than you did last time we met,” Justin replied. He wasn’t sure whether he was talking to her or mostly to the vexing little voice in his head. “Please follow me, and we will cut through the bureaucracy in a short time. Would you like a coffee?” He asked as they got to his office.
“You are very kind, but I already had a coffee before leaving my house, but I would be grateful for a glass of water,” she replied taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk.
“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll be back in a second. In the meantime, you can start filling out these forms.”
She grabbed the sheets of paper and started to read through them carefully, as Justin went to get some water.
As he returned she was still filling them out, and he remained still for a moment to look at her. Nothing, he thought, there is nothing unnatural or suspicious anymore. I should stop thinking about it and be glad that this story ended up for the best.
He shook his head, it seems like I am hoping for some complications rather than for a reasonable solution.
He entered the room and offered her the glass of water. “Here you are, do you need some help with the form?”
“No, I just need to sign it and then it will be ready,” she replied naturally.
“Do you think she will be back?” He asked.
“My sister?” She shrugged. “I don’t know, it sounded darn serious when she said that she needed to start her life fresh. I don’t say that I am happy about it; we have been best friends since we were born, but I can understand that it might come a time when you need to think about yourself and put your happiness in front of anyone else. She promised to call me every now and then so we won’t be really apart.”
“I understand,” he mumbled and looked at the completed form to check whether there was something more to be added.
“Well, I think this will be enough,” he smiled standing up from his chair. “Take care of yourself and of the pet rescue center.”
They shook hands, “Thank you, Officer. I will…”
He watched her walk away and with a smile on his face, he placed the paper on Jonas’ desk to be signed off on the next morning.
“I should be happy for this case that got solved…” He said and left the Department, ready to enjoy his weekend.
As he was driving back home, he thought he could have called Dr. Wright, he was sure he would have been glad to know that there wouldn’t have been any further investigation about the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Lynn.
Dr. Wright tried uselessly to keep himself busy, avoiding thinking about the two researchers who were supposed to keep him informed about the results of the hypnosis, or about Officer Sheen.
The telephone rang, and he jumped on his chair, completely taken by surprise.
“Dr. Wright,” he replied still panting.
“Good afternoon,” greeted Justin, “I am sorry to disturb you during the weekend, but I have some news about Mrs. Lynn.”
“Good afternoon Officer. No, you aren’t disturbing me, I hope you’re bringing me good news?” he replied.
“Indeed, Mrs. Lynn’s sister called me this morning informing that her sister is no longer missing. She called to inform her that she decided to start a new life somewhere else. It seems like she could not get over the death of her husband, and her problems with insomnia didn’t make things any easier,” Justin said.
“God, thanks I was really worried about her. Since you left, I could not stop thinking about her and wondered whether there could have been any hint that could have justified her sudden disappearance. Of course, I was aware of the state of mind with which she left the therapy. When you told me that she was missing I started to fear for the worse, thinking that she might have also committed suicide,” he replied. “I am extremely grateful for your telephone call.”
“That is also part of my duty, I was sure you would have appreciated this news. Well, I do not have anything to add, and I wish you a pleasant weekend.”
“Same to you, Officer Sheen and once again, thank you very much for calling and letting me know.”
Dr. Wright hung up the conversation and felt like a big stone falling from his chest and started to laugh hysterically, “They did it! I cannot believe that it worked.” He’d never felt so threatened before.
He remained for a moment to listen to his heartbeat trying to understand that the worst was over, and they could focus on the final stage of the whole project. He finally stood up, when he was sure that his legs would hold him and walked to the laboratory of Prof. Doyle.
“I have good news,” he began. “I just had a call from Officer Sheen, it seems like Carolina Lynn is no longer missing.”
Prof. Doyle raised his gaze from the computer and smiled, “That is indeed good news. This means that he won’t come asking for the personal details and contact information of the other patients. We need to celebrate and to congratulate our colleagues on a job well done.”
“He sounded like the whole case would be closed, and they will focus on more urgent cases. I have to say that I was sure we should have started to prepare our escape plan. I hope we won’t find ourselves in a similar situation ever again. When I heard Officer Sheen’s voice, I started to shake. I was almost sure he was calling and requesting that we prepare all the data for tomorrow.”
“We have to admit that our colleagues did a remarkable job with the hypnosis. Perhaps we might start to work together to improve the drug. With their help the next stage could be ready for testing as soon as next month,” replied Prof. Doyle.
“I was a bit worried too, but perhaps we should have more faith in our client; he surely wouldn’t have liked to have troubles with the police. The target drug is still far from its full development, although I have achieved interesting results by changing a couple of key components to the latest formula; we only need a preliminary test, and then we will need only the right patient for the final test.”
“Really?” asked Dr. Wright. “What is the timeframe we are looking at now?”
“It should be two weeks, but I can tell better once I get it tested. It is possible that it might need some calibrations, but in line with the principle two weeks should be the timeframe.”
“Oh, but that is fantastic. I suppose I have to hurry up finding the right patients for the next round of testing,” said Dr. Wright.
“I thought you didn't lack patients for the test?”
“This is not a question of having patients, we are looking for a particular kind of person. The perfect candidate is that one who doesn’t suffer from major mental problems and is mild natured. Despite the number of patients, I have in treatment now, there are quite few who fit the profile for the testing, and they need to be chosen wisel
y.”
Laura came inside the hotel after her afternoon meditation ready to walk to Dr. Wright’s office for the routine individual therapy, when the receptionist called her.
“Ms. Jefferson are you going to see Dr. Wright?” the receptionist asked.
“Yes, I have a session in about ten minutes.”
“Well, Dr. Wright asked me to inform you all that for today there won’t be any session. He apologized for the inconvenience and said that the group and individual sessions will continue again tomorrow following the usual schedule.”
Laura felt a bit surprised about this change in the program, particularly because it just arrived a few minutes before the therapy.
He might have been busy with Carolina’s case. It is a shame that the therapy is canceled, this would have been a great chance to ask him if he has any news about the investigations, she considered. I wish I could call and ask about her at the Police Department, but since I’m not a close relative of Carolina, they would never give me any information.
“Boo!” said Sabina, coming from behind.
Laura jumped, as she turned to look in the direction of the voice. “Jeez, you scared me!”
“You looked like a salt statue, I wanted just to make sure you were still alive,” Sabina giggled. “Well, I am glad to see that you are alive and well.”
“Not so well, I almost had a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. What are you doing anyway?” Asked Sabina.
“I was going to the therapy session, but they are all canceled today, so I started to think about Carolina and the investigation about her disappearance. I was wondering whether Dr. Wright has any news from Officer Sheen.”
“Ah yes, the sexy police officer,” replied Sabina with a wink. “I hope he will be back soon.”
“If he will be back, it means that Carolina is still missing, personally I would prefer not to see him anymore, at least not on official business,” Laura replied.