by P J Mann
“I understand, unfortunately, this is something I cannot help with,” sighed Dr. Wright as his expression turned serious. “By law, I cannot give away personal information about my patients without their consent. Concerning Mrs. Lynn, we know that she left the country to start a new life and I do not have her new address. Mr. Abbey and Mr. Blake didn’t give me the authorization to make their contact info public.”
Laura sighed disappointed, she really would have liked to get to know Jonathan a bit better.
“Come on, this is not the end of the world,” Gabriel tried to console her, noticing her expression.
“If you come to one of the fairs I participate in with my shop, you might find the right guy for you,” added Sabina with a giggle.
“No, I don’t think that I have any hobbies in common with anyone interested in extreme sex. I am looking mostly for a romantic relationship, you know candlelight, roses,” Laura replied. “But you’re right, I have to stop thinking about the others. From now on I have an entire life to rebuild, and this also means my social life.”
“That is a wise decision. However, I would like you to remember that if you have any questions or if you need a follow-up, you can contact me at any time,” Dr. Wright assured. “If for any reason, you start to experience trouble with your sleeping pattern or any other sort of discomfort, I would like you to make an appointment immediately. Don’t wait and see what is going to happen with the time.”
“Yes, of course,” Sabina replied. “I guess that the time has come for us to leave. Thank you one more time, Dr. Wright.”
Sabina, Laura, and Gabriel finally got inside the taxi, and after a short discussion to agree on the route, they started their journey back to the city. The first stop was at Laura’s home, then the taxi would have continued to Sabina’s house, and Gabriel would have been the last to reach his destination.
During the following days, Laura didn’t really have the time to connect with Sabina or Gabriel, and it seemed like they also didn’t have the time or the will to reconnect. This detail didn’t seem to bother her, as she barely realized that almost an entire month had passed since she came back from the therapy when her telephone started to ring.
She was too busy reading a book, and she simply grabbed the phone without even looking at who was calling.
“Hello,” she replied still immersed in the reading, determined to finish at least the paragraph before focusing on the call.
“You seem to be very busy, at least judging by the intensity of the tone in your voice,” a charming, warm voice observed.
“Who…? Sabina?” She replied surprised.
“At least you haven’t forgotten my name. How are you?” Sabina asked.
“I am doing incredibly well, the therapy did miracles, as now having a sleepless night is either up to me, or something really rare. What about you? It has been since we left the hotel that we didn’t hear from each other,” Laura replied carefully closing the book leaving the bookmark on the page she was reading.
“I cannot complain either, and concerning my sleeping pattern, I have to say that the same applies to me too, and insomnia seems to be a bad memory. I was calling you because perhaps we can meet again, a coffee maybe or a dinner…” Sabina proposed.
“That would be a great idea. I am really sorry if I have let so much time pass without getting in contact with you, and having you call me first. I didn’t mean to forget about you, but time seemed to slip through my hands like fine sand, and I didn’t realize it,” Laura replied. “When would you like to meet? Do you have any particular schedule with your job?”
“I can free myself whenever I want, remember I am the boss here; what about you?”
“I work every day from seven in the morning to three. The job of a curator doesn’t involve staying for as long as the library is open; that’s the job of the librarians, who will make shifts to keep up with the hours of operation,” Laura explained.
“That is a decent work schedule, I have met people doing slaving shifts and not being paid enough for their efforts. Never mind, what would you say if we meet this Friday?” Sabina proposed.
“Works perfectly for me, at what time and where? I know a nice cafeteria in the city center, close to the metro station. You know, that one close to the mall.”
“I think I know what you are talking about, that is exactly the kind of place I would expect to find a person like you. Maybe not really my style, but it is a good place to meet; quiet and cozy,” Sabina said.
“Perfect, then we’ll meet in a couple of days,” replied Laura, ready to hang up the phone, and continue her reading.
“One more thing I wanted to ask you…” Sabina interrupted, her voice turned serious and sounded almost concerned.
“Anything you want…”
“Did you try to contact any of the people who quit therapy early?”
“No,” replied Laura. “To be honest, I have been too busy, and since it was obvious that they didn’t have any intention to keep in touch with any of us, I let them go, have you?”
“I have been a bit curious about how they were doing, and I tried to search for them on the internet. I think I found their profile on one social media,” admitted Sabina, feeling a bit excited about her discovery. “But I cannot be sure because their accounts were deactivated soon after they left the therapy. Now, I cannot be sure that we are even talking about the same people, because what was left on the web is just their names and some pictures, where they were tagged, but nothing that really could connect those pictures to Max and Jonathan. I haven’t even thought about trying to find where Carolina was hiding, as it was obvious she needed to be left alone.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” she replied uncertainly. “I wanted to understand what they were up to and how they were doing. They couldn’t finish the therapy, and I was wondering whether they found another way to deal with their insomnia. I guess I just got curious to know whether…”
She didn’t continue and wasn’t sure whether talking about her thoughts was beneficial for a person like Laura. She is quite sensitive and gets impressed quite easily if I recall correctly, she thought, considering whether she should have kept her mouth shut about her macabre imagination.
“Whether they are dead?” Asked Laura suddenly interrupting Sabina’s concerns.
“No, that was not what I was thinking about, I was concerned whether they are doing okay,” she tried to lie.
“Sabina, I am not a fool, you think that something more than the simple flu has happened to them. More precisely I believe you were thinking about some sort of deadly conspiracy,” she replied with a calm tone in her voice.
“Sometimes you are able to scare even me,” Sabina admitted. “You look like a very innocent girl, unable to even conceive a murder, but deep inside, you might be a cold-blooded assassin.”
Laura remained silent for a second, trying to understand what Sabina just said; then she burst into loud laughter.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, but that was the most ridiculous thing someone has ever said about me. Please don’t get offended, but really? Me, a murderer? Last time I dared to peek when they were taking blood samples from me, I passed out!”
Sabina smiled, “That was a joke, you silly! Of course, I don’t think you could be an assassin; I guess it is a good material for a thriller movie.”
“Ok, you don’t think that I can be an assassin, but do you really think that something happened to Max and Jonathan?”
“I don’t know, but I would like to know at least what they are doing. In the beginning, it seemed like they intended to keep in contact with us all, but then everything seemed to change without any reason,” Sabina admitted.
“Perhaps you are worrying too much, but what about if we talk more about this on Friday? At least we won’t be embarrassed by not having anything to say to each other,” Laura proposed.
“That might be a good idea. I will cont
inue to search for them in the meantime; I am too curious.”
“Why don’t you go see that sexy Police Officer; Oh, right you said he was gay,” said Laura, with a chuckle.
“And I am rarely wrong, but perhaps he is bi-,” Sabina observed. “I might do that, but I am afraid I do not have enough proof. I am not even sure whether I need to be a relative of the potential victim to report them missing.”
“Just let it go. Max and Jonathan are probably doing great and totally forgot about us; we should do the same,” Laura replied. “Sometimes you need to let go particularly of people who are not interested in you in the first place. Keep your love for those who are interested in it; those who deserve it.”
Sabina remained silent for a while and pondered about what Laura just said. She had to admit that her curiosity brought her too far, and Laura was right when she said that the best thing was to let them go, as much as they let everybody else go.
“You are right,” Sabina replied with a sigh. “Sometimes I get carried away, and it is good to have a person like you as a friend; so that I am not risking wasting too much time and effort in things that do not deserve any.”
“Pleased be helpful,” giggled Laura.
As soon as they confirmed their plans for Friday, they told each other goodbye, Laura took back the book in her hands determined to continue her reading.
She tried to focus for at least ten minutes, then she almost slammed the book on the table. “Damn you, Sabina!” She yelled.
“Why did you have to put these suspicions in my mind?”
She stood up from the couch and walked to her computer, with the full intention of finding out anything that could at least give her a peace of mind about Max and Jonathan.
After an hour of fruitless searching, she decided to give up. “Not even the slightest trace; it seems like there is nothing about them on the internet, and it might be because they do not belong to any social network. I can say that I can totally understand and admire them if that is their choice, it is not easy to resist the temptation when all your friends are on the net.”
With that idea, she felt satisfied with the fact that they just went on with their lives and forgot about her or anyone else in the therapy group. It wasn’t something that she could understand, but the least she could do was to accept it. Therefore, she just decided to go on with her life, particularly now that everything was heading in the right direction.
Gabriel was heading home, when his mobile phone started to ring, as he recognized that the call came from Mr. M, he hurried inside, not to be overheard by anyone else.
“Hello,” he replied.
“Good afternoon, I believe you have something to share with me,” he said.
“Yes, I have been following the two girls for some time, and I do not believe they have ever remembered anything that happened that night. We can call it a successful test, I guess,” Gabriel replied.
“That is good news. However, I have also been informed that the girls have been searching for Mr. Abbey and Mr. Blake. What do you have to say about that, is that something I should be concerned about?”
“No, it happened only once a couple of weeks ago. Ms. LaMotte was wondering about the fact that she could not find any of them on the internet, but when they met, Ms. Jefferson was able to convince her that they probably do not belong to any of those social media sites, so they started to change the topic,” Gabriel said smirking. “For the following week, at least so far, none of them ever mentioned in a phone call anything that was related to the therapy. We can also consider this case closed.”
“I have contacted Dr. Wright and Prof. Doyle, it seems like we might soon start the phase three trials. According to the simulations, this time the drug they developed could act within a couple of weeks. It is still too long, but at least we are making progress,” Mr. M replied.
“Indeed, and this also means that I might get ready for it. Will it be a group therapy setting again?”
“I don’t yet know. Dr. Wright is searching for the best person or group of people. Personally, I do prefer having to deal with just one person at the time. Last time there had been more victims than the forecasted number, and it had been difficult to make sure that nobody would have reported their disappearance to the Police. We got very close with Mrs. Lynn, I’d prefer not to get that close again,” Mr. M. replied.
“I thought you were the one who gives the orders,” Gabriel said sarcastically.
“I find your way of being sarcastic rather insolent. I suggest you change your attitude, at least when you talk to me. I do not care whether we are related by blood; I have very little patience,” he replied spelling the words slowly with a rage that was barely capable of keeping the beast from emerging from the dark abyss of his soul.
Mr. M drew a deep breath, trying to regain his temper, “However, to reply to your question; there are matters where I prefer to give the green light to Dr. Wright and Prof. Doyle. There isn’t anyone who can organize their job better than they can do; I trust their decision fully, and so far, they proved me right.”
“Yes, sure; sorry for my lousy humor,” Gabriel replied, knowing that Mr. M wouldn’t have any sort of problem in eliminating whoever seemed to be an obstacle to his plans.
They had met face to face a few times in the past, and for some reason, Gabriel always felt attracted by the aura of power that surrounded Mr. M.
There was something mystical in his way he could command the attention of everyone in a room, just by walking through the door. He wasn’t sure it was a question of fear or admiration or a combination of both of them. What he knew was that one day he would have become just like him.
That was at least what he thought as a teenager. As he grew older, his mind had the time to reconsider his dangerous relative, and perhaps, he wouldn’t like to be just like him; he wasn’t sure he wanted to strike fear in the heart of anyone.
Respect and admiration were the qualities he was after…
But sometimes admiration and respect come also from a sort of awe, he considered between himself.
“Do you want me to continue to keep an eye on the girls?” He asked then.
“Yes, just to be sure that everything went according to the plans. Just follow and listen to their conversations for another month. After that, I believe we will be ready to start with the next phase,” Mr. M. replied.
“Fine,” Gabriel said. “So, if you don’t have anything else to say, I will continue with my life as I was doing before you called me.”
“That was all, keep me informed.”
Gabriel hung up the phone and threw it to the couch, like to free himself of something that started to burn in his hands and went for a shower.
Justin just came out from the restroom after a shower that was supposed to take the tension of that long day at work off his mind and body. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went to grab a cold beer from the fridge. The only idea in his mind was to relax in front of the television, without even paying attention to whatever program was going on.
Since Jonas didn’t call him or send him a message, he thought that he was probably busy with other personal issues to even bother and spend some time together.
“Lately it seems like he has time only to talk on the phone with his family,” he said as he was flipping from one channel to another. “I am not upset or jealous; I know that family is important too, particularly when you live abroad, but I am starting to miss him.”
A noise coming from his bedroom grabbed his attention…
He switched off the TV paying attention to every noise coming from every place in the house or from the adjacent apartment. He slowly stood up, when the noise repeated itself. It was like someone came from the window of the bedroom.
How would anyone be able to climb ten floors? He thought, as he slowly walked towards the bedroom unless he came from another apartment.
His mind raced with the possibilities opened to whoever could reach his apartment and felt vulnera
ble to every kind of intrusion.
He reached the door and paused to listen before barging into the room. It was then when he felt the gun reloading and the cold touch with the steel on his head.
Justin froze for a second, trying to recollect his thoughts for a second.
“What do you want?” Justin said, and without even finishing his sentence totally, he turned suddenly aiming to grab the intruder’s hand, holding the pistol. He twisted the arm to force him to the ground when something unexpected suddenly happened.
The intruder started to laugh hysterically.
“Well done, Officer Sheen!” he said taking his breath.
Confused by what was going on, Justin switched on the light in the corridor.
“Jonas!” He said as the intruder was still laughing on the floor.
“I wanted to surprise you, but you were just as ready as you must be,” Jonas exclaimed standing up, recovering from the laughter. “You earned ten points on preparedness.”
“What the fuck! You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were a thief or a maniac!” Justin replied.
“You should thank me, I proved to you that you need an alarm system, even if you are at home. You have just experienced how easy it is for someone to force themselves inside your apartment.”
“Yeah, thanks for nothing. I almost had a heart attack,” Justin said taking a deep breath.
“Besides, I am not a thief, however I did come to arrest a suspect,” he said getting the handcuffs from the back pockets of his jeans.
Justin’s mood changed immediately, and with a cunning smile he smirked at Jonas, “are you going to arrest me?”
“At least, I am going to ask you some questions first,” he said snapping the handcuffs on his right wrist. “You will have a lot to explain, punk.”
That said Jonas twisted Justin’s arm and forced him to walk in front of him towards the bedroom, where Jonas took away the towel from his waist, revealing the naked body of the man he desired.