The Devil's Deal, page 22
part #3 of Deadly Deception Series
Julius’ father felt a bit emotional, but differently than his son, and perhaps also because of his profession, he was able to control his emotions and keep a steady voice.
“I will, for sure, come there to spend some time. Although I need to check if that’s a possibility with my employer, I have been away from my job for two weeks, I believe that when I am back, there will be already a big pile of work waiting for me. I might come for the weekend, and thinking about it, I might also come more often to spend the weekends there. I think my friends can survive if they see me less frequently,” Julius joked with a bright smile on his face.
“How is the therapy going by the way?” His father asked.
“The first two or three days it was a nightmare, I was in withdrawal, and I have never experienced anything like that, I wish I had never started smoking. However, I am feeling much better now and the crisis situations, do not just get less frequent but also less intense. Now they are something I can handle just by going for a walk or keeping myself busy with other activities. I am sure that by the end of the next week I will get out of this resort like a new man, without any addiction and ready to take control of my life in a way that so far I could only dream of,” he felt so confident of the therapy results.
Chapter 14.
There hasn’t been a regular weekend for none of the people at the Police Department involved in the case of Dr. Wright in quite some time. That was particularly true in the case of Justin and Jonas, who barely went to sleep in order to be able to reconstruct the last days of Carolina Lynn and trying to search for any connection that could tell them the whereabouts of Jonathan Abbey and Maximilian Blake.
The families of both men had been interrogated, and both gave the same version given by Gabriel. “Now I would like to understand the reason why a young student would leave their studies, going to an unknown destination, knowing that one day he will have to return or at least inform his parents that he is no longer planning to return home. The same could be said about Mr. Blake, a junior researcher with a brilliant career in front of him who decides to leave in the same manner.” Justin wondered pouring the umpteenth cup of coffee feeling like his eyes would have soon drifted closed.
“We need to get some sleep, or we will die soon,” Jonas joked yawning.
“I don’t want to go home. First off, I believe I won’t be able to drive my car in this state, then I am afraid I won't be able to fall asleep, and I would feel guilty for sleeping instead of taking care of this case,” Justin replied tiredly.
“I have an idea,” Jonas proposed. “Let’s take a nap here, I am ready to go stretch out in one of the cells, they are comfortable enough for a small nap.”
Justin glanced at him curtly, “I think that is a genius idea.”
He stood up, yearning to already be in one of the beds, hoping to find some sleep. Jonas smirked and walked with him to the side where the jails were.
“Good night,” he greeted as he went in one of those.
“’night,” Justin replied.
As soon as Justin laid on the small bed, he fell immediately into a deep sleep without dreams. He’d been awake for a couple of days with just perhaps a couple of hours of rest; he also needed a shower, but at that moment the most important thing to have was just some rest.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sleeping, what he knew was that when he opened his eyes, the whole place was immersed in darkness.
He stood up and switched on the light in his mobile to realize where he was and what time it was. The clock of the phone glared with 7:00 p.m.
“I have slept the whole day,” Justin noticed.
“Jonas!” He called, but no answer came for the other cell, he opened the door, and Jonas was still sleeping. “You look less threatening when you sleep. We should keep you that way,” he said as he went to wake him up.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty!” he said aloud shaking him.
“Wh... Oh, my goodness, I slept like a rock!” Jonas replied standing up and stretching his body. “What time is it?”
“Time for dinner, it’s seven in the evening,” Justin replied.
“We might call for some takeout and continue to work, I am sure that I won’t be able to sleep any further, after today,” Jonas replied
“Works for me, we can go back to the interrogation room and start all over again. I feel much more focused after this long nap. I think we were really in need of some rest,” replied Justin. “Now, I could also use a shower, and then I will feel complete.”
“Let’s stay here until midnight and then we’ll go home for another nap and shower. Tomorrow morning, we might continue from where we have left,” proposed Jonas.
“So where did we leave off?” Justin commenced as he sat down in the chair. “Oh, yes, Mr. Abbey and Mr. Blake. They both left the country during the same time frame leaving behind their job and studies for an unknown destination. They lied to their friends and relatives to disappear from the face of the world, but one thing I checked early this morning is that they must still be in this country, as they never went through any of the borders.”
“Yet, they might be wherever within the USA, which means that we are still trying to find a needle in a haystack, or in this case two needles, but it doesn’t make a difference. What makes me suspicious is that they were all patients of Dr. Wright and they decided at the same time to disappear. I can’t get it off of my mind that this is too suspicious and goes beyond the regular coincidence. Someone is lying to us, but I would exclude the families of those two guys, so could it be this Gabriel actually knows what happened to them and he is hiding something?”
“But then his version should have been different than the one given by the families. I do believe that indeed something has happened to those three people, but Gabriel doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with it,” Justin said. “Do you want to know what I believe?”
“What?”
“It’s imperative that we find out what happened to one of those three people and then we will have the entire mystery solved. I feel like everything is connected, from the murder in Tbilisi to the disappearance of Carolina Lynn to the mysterious departure of Mr. Blake and Mr. Abbey, and everything that hasn’t yet popped out, but that I am sure it will come out once we start digging,” Justin stared into Jonas' eyes.
They both remained silent, considering what would have been the next move and how to proceed even without a warrant.
“Can you call the Magistrate Office tomorrow and ask them to reconsider the warrant? Now we really need it. If we had access to the patient records from Dr. Wright, we could make so much progress with this case,” Justin pleaded, feeling hopeless.
“I will try, but there might be a way we might get to the records in an unofficial way.” Jonas winked.
“Do you mean introducing us illegally? Are you out of your mind?” Justin replied surprised by that proposal.
“Not really illegally, but I just had one of the best ideas in this world, do you wanna listen to it?” Jonas challenged.
“Of course.”
“What if you get hired by the cleaning service that takes care of Dr. Wright’s office at the clinic? You will be legally authorized to clean and enter the place. If you find something important, we will stop caring about the warrant,” Jonas replied. “Moreover, I am starting to feel quite paranoid about this delay. Generally, they might take some extra time, but they never outright rejected a request. This sounds too strange, and I am sure that it’s somehow connected to this case.”
“Well now I think you are a little paranoid, and I don’t believe that anyone at the Magistrate Office is trying to obstruct our investigation. What would be the reason… do you believe they are also involved in the case? Give me a break!” Justin tried to reason.
“Okay, maybe I have been a bit paranoid, but admit at least that it is a bit strange their constant rejection. I have brought them more than enough material for a warrant, but they seem to ignore every piece of evidence that I can find. I just feel frustrated about it,” Jonas admitted.
“I get your point, but we need to follow the rules,” Justin replied.
“We are following the rules… with a twist, my personal twist, so what do you say?”
“When do I start my shift?” Justin said.
“That’s the reason why I love you,” exclaimed Jonas, “you know how to have fun. I will get you a position by tomorrow afternoon.”
“Some way to spend my holidays!” Jonas exclaimed sarcastically
***
That evening Dr. Wright and Klaus met in the office to plan the testing of the drug on Abraham, “are we sure that there won’t be any side effects?” questioned Klaus.
“It might make him more self-confident than he normally is, but I don’t think there will be anything we need to fear. The composition of the drug is not supposed to have any permanent effect on the patient, and with the help of hypnotherapy, we prevent any side effect as you call it.” Dr. Wright reassured.
Klaus nodded, he really cared for Abraham, he was like a little brother to him. Although they were of the same age, he felt like it was his duty to protect his innocence.
“I trust you and Prof. Doyle, particularly after having worked with you, so I think we might start tomorrow morning. We might have him taking the drug with his morning coffee. There should be at least a ten-minute span of time from the moment he will take the drug to the time he will be ready for the hypnosis,” nodded Klaus.
“I will have him in my studio, and at that point, there won’t be any coming back, the test will be officially underway, and he will come for a therapy session every morning after his coffee. The fifth day, he will be ready for the final test.” Dr. Wright explained.
“At this point, it would be better if Abe will be working with you, so to have him monitored, and Prof Doyle and I will continue developing the final drug, also based on the results gathered with Abe. I really hope to have everything ready by the end of next week,” Klaus yawned. “But now it would be better if we all go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day, and we might have to forgo sleep like the situation called for this week.”
“Yes, it is better to get some proper rest while we have the chance,” replied Dr. Wright. “Good night, and see you tomorrow.”
The morning after, as usual, Dr. Wright met Julius at the buffet table, “Good morning, Mr. Mendoza, how do you feel today?” He asked routinely.
“Good morning to you, I feel much better. Yesterday I actually called my father, and I believe we are on the right path to rebuilding our relationship. It might take some time, but we are not in a hurry, particularly now that we both expressed our willingness to get together and behave more like father and son than like sworn enemies.”
“That sounds absolutely fantastic. I am really happy to hear that everything is going to be solved between you and your family. I hope that also in the future for every other relationship, you will be able to face the situation without running away in the face of the first difficulty,” Dr. Wright replied satisfied. “By the way, I have to postpone our session this morning, and if you could come an hour later than the usual schedule, I would greatly appreciate it.”
“Of course, I am not in a hurry, I will come to you at 9:30, will that be OK?” Julius asked.
“Yes, that would be perfect, thank you very much for your understanding.”
At the same time, Dr. Wright glanced at the entrance to the hall and noticed Abraham and Klaus, who were coming to have their breakfast. He gave them a fast nod, and with his cup of coffee, left to go to his office, getting ready to perform the first hypnosis session with Abraham.
He felt slightly nervous about it. Generally, we do perform tests to assess the suitability of the patient. This time, Jason proposed that we wouldn’t do any, as he was sure that the new formulation could work perfectly on the vast majority of the cases. Although I trust his judgment, I cannot stop being slightly worried about it, he thought.
He closed his eyes and focused on his heartbeat to find the right sense of calm and detach from all those feelings that might have interfered with the routine.
It wasn’t quite half an hour before someone knocked at his door.
“Come in,” he invited opening his eyes.
“Good morning,” said Abraham, with a slight smile on his face. “Klaus proposed that we could work together on the hypnotic routine. Meanwhile, he is working with Prof. Doyle on the next formulation of the drug. Personally, I do not know how can I help you, but you might know better.”
“Indeed, you can be of great help, only I have to tell you that in about an hour and a half we will have to interrupt our work, as I will have to take care of Mr. Mendoza’s test,” Dr. Wright replied. “Are you sure you feel okay? You look a little tired.”
“I had a turbulent night,” he explained briefly.
“Please take a seat, and close your eyes, you need to rest before we can even think of starting,” he said, knowing that the time to start the hypnosis had arrived.
Abraham took a deep breath and did like Dr. Wright asked, and as soon as he did, he felt very relaxed, and the soothing voice of Dr. Wright seemed to reach his core giving him a sensation of freedom and calm he’d never experienced.
For the first time in his life, he felt like there weren’t any worries to haunt him, or whether there was something it was too far to bother him. It was like floating in the air carried by the sound of Dr. Wright’s voice.
As he opened his eyes, he found Dr. Wright sitting on his desk, writing something in his notebook. He looked around himself to understand what had just happened and what time it was.
“Oh, you woke up, finally,” Dr. Wright noticed smiling.
“Did I fall asleep?” Abraham wondered.
“This is what it seems. You told me you had a restless night, so I told you to have a seat and try to rest, but as soon as you closed your eyes, you fell asleep.”
“What time is it?” He asked surprised.
“It is nine o’clock, in half an hour my patient will be here...” Dr. Wright replied observing every movement of Abraham’s body.
“I have slept for more than one hour, yet I feel like I have slept for the whole day. I feel so relaxed and rejuvenated. It might have been that this small nap was exactly what I needed to regain my energies,” Abraham observed. “I will leave you to deal with your patient. Call me when you are ready, I can’t wait to start working!” he exclaimed smiling, as he left the room.
Everything seems to be fine. He responded in the desired way, and I believe Jason was right, this formulation is going to be a good fit for everyone. We are really reaching the final formula, which is only going to need a few hours to reach the desired result. I have never felt so close to my achievements as I feel now.
He started to write his notes about the hypnosis results and the reaction of the patient. This would have helped him with the improvement of the final routine to be followed.
That one will need to be quite short, it must be maximum of a minute, but since the drug is going to be quite powerful, this should not create any problem. The real challenge is to concentrate on the right combination of keywords that become as effective as an entire routine
***
Justin reached Jonas’ office only at lunchtime.
“You are late,” Jonas observed, as he came inside the office.
“I am on holiday!”
“Fair enough, I have arranged your new job at the cleaning service firm that takes care of the cleaning and maintenance of the clinic where Dr. Wright has his office. You start your shift this evening at eight o’clock,” Jonas said handing him the ID badge and the keys to the premises. “You will have to go and get your uniform at this address,” he added giving him a small sticky note.
Justin took the ID and the paper and shook his head amused. “That place won't be as clean as they want it to be, I’m afraid.”
“Nobody will complain, they go to clean the place twice a week, how dirty can one place ever be?” Jonas wondered. “By the way, just for the sake of understanding, don’t take anything from his office, whatever you might find, just take pictures of it, we will assess their importance tomorrow morning.”
“Of course, but why can’t we meet immediately after here at the station. At that point it would be easier to plan what to do the morning after, instead of wasting time,” Justin proposed.
“Good thought, call me as soon as you are done with your cleaning,” winked Jonas.
Justin stood up and started walking towards the exit, “I’m on my way. See you this evening.”
He walked to parking lot got in his car and started driving to the address indicated on the note he’d received to get the uniform. This is the first time I go undercover as an employee of another firm. It will be fun to change the role for once. Maybe I will find my new calling in life, and I will start a career in the cleaning industry, he thought, laughing at himself.
As soon as he got the uniform, he went to a cafeteria. He needed a place where to gather his thoughts and list once again all the clues they’ve gathered, trying to think whether there was something that could have been added to the list or that needed more considerations.
He ordered a coffee and opened his agenda. He started to list everything that came to his mind from the clues for the murder in Tbilisi, to the missing person’s case of Carolina Lynn, and the sudden disappearance, whether voluntary or involuntary of Mr. Abbey and Mr. Blake.
I am starting to believe that we will never find them, at least not alive, but which was their fault? How and when did they eventually die? Who killed them, and why were they killed? Apparently, there isn’t any reason that connects their deaths. Or better for the three patients, the connection was that they were all patients of Dr. Wright, but then what had to do with him the murder of the prostitute? The only connection with Dr. Wright is that one of his patients was suspected of her murder, but that creates an exception. Why kill her? He thought as he was sipping his coffee.
