by P J Mann
Justin realized that between the job and the personal issues for Jonas could have been quite difficult to manage to organize his life.
“At least I know the reason why he stays far from me is not another man. I can’t be jealous of his work and family.” Justin sighed as he was coming back home.
Dr. Wright was still working in his office; the last patient of the day left an hour before, but he had still many things to take care of. Particularly, he had to go through the results of the new hypnotic routine he was developing to couple with the drug Prof. Doyle seemed to have ready to be tested.
Also, he needed to go through the list of potential patients who would have tested the drug.
“There are many interesting cases, but I am not sure whether we should try again with a group or if it would be better to have a single patient,” he whispered. He lifted his gaze to the clock on the opposite wall of the room.
He remained listening for any noise coming from the empty ambulatory. The silence was almost perfect if only he could exclude the light ticking of the clock. It was almost imperceptible, but in that silence, it felt more distinct.
Dr. Wright closed his eyes and concentrated on the clock. He could almost swear to be able to hear also the gears of the inner mechanism rotating to move the lancets. It was a soothing sound, and he wondered whether he would have soon fallen asleep.
Suddenly the telephone rang, and Dr. Wright almost screamed with surprise. It took at least three rings before he could even think about answering.
“Hello,” Dr. Wright replied panting without even looking at who was calling him.
“Darling, is everything alright?” Samantha, his wife, asked.
“Yes, Sweetheart, everything is alright. I was just so immersed in my work that I got startled by the phone ringing,” Dr. Wright replied, smiling.
“It’s starting to get quite late, and I was just wondering whether I should start dinner or wait for you.”
Once again, he looked at the clock, and only at that moment, he realized that it was really late. “I am sorry darling. I must have been so focused on my work I lost track of time. I will lock everything up and come home right away.”
“Then I will be waiting for you. See you later.”
He shook his head and decided that whatever he was working on could have wait for the following day. Despite the need for making everything ready for the next stage, he realized that he could not ignore his wife. He loved her, and perhaps it was only for the sake of giving her the life she deserved that he was risking everything.
“No, it is not the money; it is something more valuable I want to give you, my sweet Samantha. Time, I want to give you all the time of my life, every day until death do us part,” he said aloud.
He went to his car and set up the handsfree, so as not to be disturbed as he was driving.
As soon as he got out of the parking lot and started to drive, his phone rang one more time. This time he knew who could have been the caller, so he took a deep breath.
“Hello,” Dr. Wright replied.
“Good evening Dr. Wright, I am calling to inform you that I am going to send Professors Klaus Eckstein, Abraham Whiterfeld to Tbilisi. I am going to help that nosy detective decide that the case for the murder of that prostitute should be closed, there is nothing more annoying than a cop that cannot accept defeat,” Mr. M. replied with a clearly disgruntled tone in his voice.
“Why are you telling me this?” Dr. Wright replied, not sure whether this information was something that concerned him.
“Because they will be in touch with you in case there is any trouble or if they need support.”
“Weeks ago, you were sure that there wouldn’t be any trouble for us,” Dr. Wright said.
“Things change, and my snitch informed me about suspicious moves. There is nothing that binds us to the crime, but the fact that one of your patients was suspected, and the recent investigations on the disappearance of Mrs. Lynn might raise some suspicions on you, and I would prefer to reach the final formula for the drugs before your arrest.”
Dr. Wright didn’t like the tone of his voice, nor the fact that his client put the eventuality of their arrest as something almost certain.
Will he go and betray us as soon as he gets what he wants? Will he send us to jail before paying the final price for our services? Dr. Wright thought.
“I know what you are thinking,” said Mr. M. as he noticed the pause of silence after his last sentence. “I am not going to betray you, I was just putting it as an eventuality.”
“Of course,” Dr. Wright didn’t feel reassured in the slightest, he needed to talk with Prof. Doyle in private, he needed to find a way to communicate with him in a way that their client could not track.
“Don’t you worry, as soon as I have the final formulation, you will be paid and free to leave the country as fast as you please,” Mr. M. reassured. “I can assist you with that, and you will be out of this country without any problems.”
“Thanks, I don’t doubt your words. It just sounded like you were giving our arrest as something certain,” admitted Dr. Wright.
“Then I think everything is clear,” Mr. M. replied and hung up the conversation.
Dr. Wright reached his house shortly after the conversation he had with his client, but he remained in the car for a while to think about the best way to deal with the feasibility of their arrest.
How can I be sure that he will pay the final price? He thought.
His mind seemed to go crazy with those paranoid thoughts, and he wished nothing more than seeing the end of the project, having the money in his account and a one-way flight ticket to a faraway destination.
“I don’t even want to be questioned by the Police, not even for a second,” he mumbled as he got out of the car ready to relax with his wife.
“I am sorry to be so late,” he said aloud as he came inside the house.
“No problems at all,” replied Samantha as she reached him from the living room. “That was a long day, I have prepared your favorite food; it will cheer you up.”
He smiled knowing that he would never meet anyone in the world who could love him the way she did, and there was nobody he could love the way he loved her. Every time he was with his Samantha, every trouble became irrelevant.
He smiled as he was looked at her walking to the dining room.
She turned to him with a bright smile “although you have been working till late, you seem to be in a good mood. I can only presume that everything went quite smooth today?”
“The only thing that makes me happy is seeing your smile,” he replied holding her hips. “I will never be able to love anyone else but you.”
“I love you madly, and you know that, but you are talking like someone who is condemned to death. Are you sure that everything is alright?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I am fine, just a long and stressing day that needs your presence to heal,” Dr. Wright replied.
“Then let’s go eat, I am sure as soon as you have your dinner, even those worrisome thoughts will waft away.”
Despite all her efforts and the lovely dinner, Dr. Wright could not find any peace, and he was sure that the only way to quiet his spirits was to have a talk to Prof. Doyle.
I need to call him, but I cannot speak on the phone about my doubts on our client’s intentions. I need to communicate with him in a way that nobody can track us, but first I will have to call him, he thought.
He walked to his home office and closed the door behind him. He knew Samantha would have preferred having some time to spend together. “It will change, Sammy. I promise you that.”
With a deep sigh, he grabbed his telephone and dialed Prof. Doyle’s number, not even caring whether it might have been too late for calling someone.
“This is not something I can afford waiting until tomorrow for,” he whispered as he waited for Prof. Doyle to answer.
“Good evening,” greeted Prof. Doyle answering the phone.
&nbs
p; “Good evening to you. I am sorry to disturb you at this time in the evening, but I could not wait for tomorrow,” Dr. Wright commenced. “The fact is that I received a call from our client. Certainly, you remember the two researchers who helped us with Mrs. Lynn’s sister.”
“Yes, I do remember about them, why, did something happen to them?”
“No, or rather not yet. They are going to leave for Tbilisi; they aim to use the same technique on the Detective who investigated the case of the prostitute killed by Mr. Jackson,” Dr. Wright replied.
“Has something happened that could potentially compromise us?” Prof. Doyle wondered.
“No, nothing has happened, or at least not to my knowledge. I have no idea whether something alerted our client in such a way to make him decide that the paranoia of that detective could compromise us.”
“What do you think about it?”
Dr. Wright didn’t even know how to reply, “I have no idea, I am sure that there wouldn’t be any chance for that Detective to reach us. There isn’t any proof that nails me or anything related to us to the crime scene. Sure, Ethan Jackson was there, and he was the main suspect, but the lawyer from the Embassy could prove that he couldn’t have committed the crime. Mr. Jackson returned home without being charged, and I cannot be blamed for the behavior of one of my patients.”
“Hmm…” said Prof. Doyle. “Perhaps our client got different information, why are you so worried about it?”
“I don’t know, perhaps this situation is becoming more than I can handle. I am getting a bit paranoid, and I can’t wait until this project is over, and I can leave the country to spend the rest of my life only with Samantha. I guess I am just tired of it all,” Dr. Wright replied. “By the way, do you have some time tomorrow to talk about the progress for the next stage of testing?”
“Certainly. You can come to the University whenever you please; tomorrow I forecast an easy day,” Prof. Doyle replied. “Why don’t you come over around lunch?”
“That would be a great idea. I will pick you up at about twelve o’clock.”
“Perfect,” replied Prof. Doyle. “See you tomorrow.”
Dr. Wright paused for a moment thinking about the chat he had with his colleague, and perhaps he was really starting to be uselessly paranoid. Nevertheless, he wanted to be sure that his fears were unfounded and talking to Prof. Doyle about it would have been extremely helpful to understand it.
The next morning, Dr. Wright reached his office earlier than usual; he needed to take some time to collect his thoughts and get a grip on his emotions to face the day and see his patients for that first part of the day before the lunch break.
He switched on the computer and checked the appointments with his patients, “There are just five patients this morning, but one of them is quite a special case,” he said aloud.
That patient was one of the potential patients he classified fit-for-the-test; Mr. Julius Alvarez Mendoza. He opened the file created for his profile and went through all the data collected.
Hmm… He seems to be one of the best candidates, his problem lies in his incapability of quitting smoking. An easy problem to fix, but the reason why so far, all his attempts to quit smoking failed is a lack of self-confidence coupled with hyperactivity, to which nicotine is acting as a relaxant. I am sure with a few sessions of psychotherapy and targeted hypnosis, he will become a brand-new man, free from his addiction problems. Since this case also implies hypnotherapy, including our testing, would be the easier of the tasks. I will make further tests today to ascertain his full suitability, and perhaps we will have the perfect candidate, Dr. Wright thought as he leaned down on his armchair.
He closed his eyes, trying to focus his attention on his heartbeat, following the usual relaxing routine he’d use to get more focused on his work and forget for that morning all the worries.
When he opened his eyes, he glanced the clock in the opposite wall. “Soon Mary will arrive, and I feel ready to start the day,” he said with a deep breath, as he remained silent to listen to whether he could spot the steps of the secretary as she reached the info desk.
He stood up and went to greet her.
“Good morning,” Dr. Wright he said as she came in.
“Dr. Wright, you’re in early today, good morning,” she replied smiling.
“Yes, I needed to go through the appointments I have this morning. I was going to prepare a cup of coffee would you like to join me?”
“Sure, I was a bit in a hurry to take the kids to school, and I didn’t have the time to have it at home,” she replied, and after she switched on her computer, she joined Dr. Wright in the small kitchen where a coffee machine was placed.
“Wasn’t it usually your husband who brought the kids to school?” Dr. Wright asked as he started the coffee machine.
“Generally, yes, but today he was supposed to be at the office earlier, so he couldn’t drop them off. But this is my fault, I should have set the alarm clock earlier than usual,” she replied with a giggle.
“Well, this is not the best coffee in town, but it’s better than nothing,” he said offering the cup to her.
The rest of the day went by faster than he could even fathom and soon enough it was already time to leave for lunch and meet Prof. Doyle.
“How are you doing? You look quite shaken,” said Prof. Doyle as they met at the entrance of the University clinic.
“This project is literally stealing my sanity. I cannot stand this kind of stress, but there is more to it, and that is the reason why I wanted to talk to you,” commenced Dr. Wright. “I am afraid I am becoming a bit paranoid about everything…”
“This isn’t a new development, I have noticed it since we were at the hotel,” replied Prof. Doyle.
“I know but now something new happened, and I needed to talk to you to understand whether I am overreacting or if there is really something suspicious going on.”
Prof. Doyle looked at him puzzled, but he didn’t reply, he waited for his colleague to tell everything he was obviously keeping locked up inside himself for some time.
“The fact is that yesterday evening the chat with our client started to sound a bit suspicious, and by the tone of his voice I could grab the idea that he is not intending to pay us at all, but just to betray us to the police. He has all the proof he needs to nail us, but we do not have anything against him. We do not even know his name or his telephone number,” Dr. Wright continued.
“Can you be more precise about the chat you had yesterday evening? What makes you think that he would do such a thing?” Asked Prof. Doyle quizzically.
“I am not sure, but he was talking about reaching the final formula for the drugs before our arrest. I don’t know whether it was just an odd way of saying or he betrayed his real intentions. I need your help to think clearly.”
Prof. Doyle remained silent for a second thinking about the words of their client; although he was sure that his colleague, Dr. Wright started to be a bit nervous about it, he had to admit that those words were a bit dubious.
“I still believe that you are overreacting, but I agree that in our case, and considering the risks we are running, there is room for suspicion,” replied Prof. Doyle. “We might want to act more cautiously, particularly on the choice of our patients. The last two testing put us into a risk we couldn’t afford, so at least from now on we might choose to test only one patient per time. Do you have a candidate?”
“Yes, I have Mr. Julius Alvarez who has a problem with his smoking habit, he is the mildest person I’ve ever met, but the problem with his addiction lies on a form of hyperactivity coupled with an inferiority syndrome. I guess it has some root back to his early life, and I know I can help him greatly with the right psychotherapy and coupled with hypnosis. This makes him the best candidate for our study,” Dr. Wright replied.
“That is fantastic. I guess you could send your potential candidate to me and I will perform all the final calibration tests. We are very close to the beginning of
the next stage.”
“I think so too, but then, about our client?” wondered Dr. Wright.
“What about him?”
“Well, don’t you think that his behavior was deceiving?” Dr. Wright asked with a quiet tone.
“Maybe, and possibly we should keep our eyes on him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you could record his calls. In case we find ourselves in a trap because of him, we can still bring him down with us. You might think about getting him to reveal details that might nail him, we need to have something against him,” replied Prof. Doyle.
Dr. Wright paused to consider, “You might be right, I will do as you suggest, but we need to find a way to communicate without being tracked. I was thinking about the old fashioned way of written messages. Once they are destroyed there is no way to have them back.”
“This might be a good idea, for the time being, we might need to communicate more discreetly.”
Dr. Wright looked at the clock “I need to get back to work. I have a busy afternoon, and I cannot be late.”
“Yes, I will be waiting for your patient,” Prof. Doyle replied.
Dr. Wright thought carefully about the chat he had with his colleague and felt a bit relieved by the fact that he wasn’t the only one who thought there was something suspicious about their client’s behavior.
“It would have been a pity to discover becoming paranoid. As a psychiatrist, I should not fall into any of my patients’ pathologies,” he said chuckling.
He returned to his office light-hearted and promised himself more time that evening for his wife.
A few more days passed by, and Jonas was ready to book the tickets for Justin and himself to Tbilisi when suddenly a call coming from a well-known number interrupted the process.
“Giorgi! What a surprise,” Jonas replied.
“Hello to you, Iona. Have you already booked the flight?” He asked a bit apprehensively.
“Yes, I was just finalizing the payment, why?”
“Because I had a long chat with my supervisor, he convinced me to give up the investigation. He was right, and there are some crimes that, despite our willingness to solve, will remain unsolved. This is one of them, and there is nothing I can do,” Giorgi replied.