Of That Day and Hour: A psychological thriller Read online

  “What brings you out here?”

  “Just passing through.”

  “Fancy a beer?”

  “Wouldn’t say no.”

  “Come on up.”

  Eve walks inside to fetch a cool beer from the fridge. With each step Al takes the porch vibrates. He stops at the top of the stairs, expands his physique and looks into the house to see if he can see Eve. Then he glances over to Jeff.

  “Hi.” The last thing he wants to see is Jeff.

  “Hi, what brings you out here, Al?” Jeff knows exactly what brings Al out here; he’s interested in what he’s got to say.

  “On a run, thought I’d check on Eve while I’m passing.”

  “That’s kind of you.”

  “I thought so.”

  There’s a pause between both men. Each not knowing what to say to the other, the silence of a predator circling, Jeff sensing Al’s true intent. Al’s face lights up only when Eve walks out and hands him a beer.

  “Sit yourself down.”

  “Cheers.”

  “What are you doing out here?” Eve already knows Al’s true intentions, and part of her is flattered.

  “Just fitted new pistons and barrels. I’m running her in, and thought I’d check on you whilst I was passing.”

  “Thanks Al, it’s appreciated.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Al still believes he’s in with a chance, if it wasn’t for Jeff being here.

  “How’s the diner?”

  “Same as always.”

  “And Angel?”

  “All over the boys.”

  “I was the same.” Eve’s smile reflects past memories.

  “And now?”

  “I have Jeff.”

  “You both an item?” He didn’t realize this.

  “Yeah.” Eve can see Al trying to smother his envy.

  “And you Al? Is there anyone on the horizon?” Jeff keeps his voice disinterested, a polite query, nothing more.

  “Not at the moment, Jeff.”

  Jeff listens whilst Al chats to Eve. They rarely look his way, giving him the opportunity to study Al’s non-verbal cues. Any attentive observer can peer into our truest feelings and emotions via the visual clues we emit. Thankfully Eve shows no signs of sexual interest, unlike Al, cunning as the fox.

  With relief Jeff hears Al say that it’s time to go. Eve walks down to the bike with him. Jeff looks on, sensing a message passing between the two. Her body language reassures him, although he can't hear what they are saying.

  “You got back together with him?” Al looks at her fiercely.

  “Yeah, it’s good.” Eve’s stance shifts, and she folds her arms; she doesn’t want to hear what’s coming.

  “Sure you can trust him? He’s still married, isn’t he?”

  “Separated.” She knows Al’s game. As a psychiatrist, she can read him like a book.

  “Just watching your back.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay sister. You know where I am.”

  He stands on the kick-start, feeling rejected; lets his weight drop. It takes a few attempts before the heartbeat fires. Eve can feel the earth shake beneath her feet as the dust rises. Al winks before riding away; Eve’s flattered, but with Jeff on the scene, Al’s lost his charm. The sound of the Harley fades into the distance. Eve walks back up the steps. She knows how Jeff feels, and vows to herself that she’s not going to lose him again; not this time.

  “You okay, honey?”

  “Yeah.” He feels like saying 'I am now he's gone', but doesn’t.

  “Don’t worry about Al, his bark's worse than his bite.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m sure. If he does fancy you, that’s only because he’s got good taste.”

  “You have a way with words, Dr. Davies.”

  “I believe I do.”

  Jeff doesn’t like his juvenile feelings of jealousy. Al’s the least of his problems; there’s a bigger one to face in the morning.

  How do you walk into a room, and break the news that will crush a hardened criminal? Someone with nothing left to lose but his own beloved mother. Look him in the eye, tell him all hope’s gone. That he’s not permitted to attend her funeral, nor hold any of her possessions, and that all he’s left with, for the remainder of his life, is a jailer’s prejudice.

  “I don’t know if I can go through with this.”

  “Look at me.” Eve can see the dread in his eyes. “You’re the only one who can tell him. Do you remember his crime?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Do you think for one moment the guards won’t use this against him? They’ll torment and destroy him. Incarceration is already a psychological torture.”

  “I understand what you’re saying.” Underneath he’s angry to be put in this position. “I didn’t think this was part of the job description.”

  “It isn’t. It’s called humanity. Man up and give him some dignity, and he’ll respect you for it.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am.”

  “Okay.” Jeff protests with a sigh. “Let’s do this.”

  Eve gives him a kiss on the lips, and brushes her fingertips across his cheek.

  “You’ll be okay.” She burns her eyes into his. “I have every faith in you.”

  The adrenalin that circulates through his body is worse now than at his first meeting with Casey. His legs are weak, he’s breathless, his heart beating rapidly. The click of the door mechanism sounds like a bullet entering the breech. Then, to his horror, the steel door, like a stage curtain, is pulled open, and he can see the whites of Casey’s eyes staring out to him.

  “Don’t look so scared, Jeff. Sit and let’s see if we can put your mind at rest.”

  “Yes.” Jeff fells like an executioner as he walks towards him. “Thank you, Casey.”

  “How was your little trip?”

  “I need to talk to you about that.”

  “I thought you might. Shall I put you out of your misery, or would you like to put me out of mine?”

  “I’m not sure how to say this Casey.” Jeff takes a deep breath in a bid to stop himself from hyperventilating. “But I thought it best that you hear this from me, rather than anyone else.”

  “How very noble of you; I’m surprised you’ve managed it this far.”

  “This far?” Jeff’s in no mood for games.

  “Come, Jeff. If I’m psychic; I already know what you fear so much to tell me.”

  “What do you know?” Jeff’s curious; he can’t possibly know.

  “Would you like to hear the words come out of my mouth?”

  “Yes.”

  “My mother’s dead.”

  “Oh God.” Not only is Jeff in a bizarre situation, now he’s bewildered. “But, but how?” Then guilt for such an awkward, and selfish question. “I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry, how insensitive of me.”

  “Why? What do you dread so much? My loss or your awkwardness?”

  “Both.”

  “In the future you’ll understand. I may seem cold, even callous, now, but how do you think she knew?”

  “Through you?” Jeff’s astonished at this turn of events.

  “Yes, through me.”

  “It’s not possible.”

  “Everything’s possible.”

  “The future can’t be predetermined. We can't possess the knowledge of a date, time or place for our deaths.”

  “But why not?” Casey’s smugness shines through. “How did you find the step, Jeff?”

  “The step?”

  “Yes, the step.”

  “At your mother's.”

  “Yes.”

  “The one you didn’t fix because...?”

  “You wouldn’t have tripped otherwise.”

  Jeff’s mind twists in inconceivable torture; this was how he thought Casey would feel.

  “And the date you carved into the beam?”

  “A celebratio
n of your arrival.” Casey takes no pleasure in watching Jeff suffering.

  “No. It’s not possible.” Jeff feels his world and his belief systems crumbling. “This goes against all the laws of nature!”

  “Nothing’s impossible. Our experience of reality - yours as well as mine - are the same.” Casey’s pleased. He’s breaking Jeff down. “One you can touch, test and feel. Where our sensory organization, stability and our experience is our basis for knowing. These are your words, Jeff. Incoherence in thought is only the uncertainty between the dream and the waking state.”

  “I’m not incoherent, nor am I in a dream state.” Jeff raises his voice. “Answer me! How do you know?”

  “Maybe I’m just a controlling psychopath. A clever cold reader who will leave his audience mesmerized; after all, it’s all information gathering, misdirection or pseudo-prophetic.”

  “You use my words?” His ordeal gets worse by the minute.

  “I do, but why ask me when you have all the answers?” Casey possesses a smile that could belong to either a devil or a preacher. “You already know everything about the track, don’t you?”

  “The track?”

  “Your little railway track.”

  “You can’t know that.” Jeff has a pain in his temple. “You can’t get inside my head.”

  “Can’t I?”

  “Stop.” Jeff’s hyperventilating. “What’s going on? Who are you?”

  “In time, all in good time. You have to learn to trust me first.”

  “I do.” Jeff's appalled to hear himself say this, knowing at this moment he’s surrendered his authority.

  “You don’t, but in time you will.” Casey goes quiet, his face becomes stern.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “A presence; it’s time for you to go.”

  “To go?”

  “Yes, to meet my opposite. My advice to you is to seek and ye shall find.”

  “Seek and ye shall find?”

  “You’re the scholar; work it out for yourself.”

  Casey leaves Jeff with his riddles. After a moment, Jeff walks back out of the room, all color drained from him.

  “Tell me this is some kind of elaborate hoax.”

  “It’s no hoax, Jeff.”

  It takes a few seconds for Jeff to register the presence of others in the room. One of them is the prison governor, a man with the body of a matador who has maintained his agility and strength, yet one cruelly betrayed by old features, lines deeply carved into his Italian-style poker face. The other man blossoms with youth. His face is as smooth as silk beside the old decaying thorn. Both men display whiter-than-white credentials; the only difference between them is the color of their ties.

  “Jeff this is Governor Troise.”

  “Pleased to meet you sir.” Jeff steps forward and shakes his hand, he’s still trembling.

  “Likewise Dr. Davies.”

  “And this is Mr. White. He oversees operations and offers guidance.”

  “Guidance?” Jeff may be in shock, but mentally he’s still sharp.

  “That’s correct, Dr. Davies.”

  “To guide means you must have navigated these waters before?”

  “We have not.”

  “Then you’re here as an observer and reporter, not to offer guidance.”

  “I accept your correction.” White says, almost with a bow.

  “To whom do you report?”

  “I am only at liberty to say that I act on behalf of government.” Mr. White possesses the smile of a shark, or a salesman. “Mr. Jones holds great promise in many areas; we do not wish to alert him to our presence, and require your full cooperation in maintaining our anonymity.” Unbeknownst to Jeff or Eve, and even to Governor Troise, White is the individual who stood over John Martin at the university, and instigated his cooperation.

  “You have my word.” For Jeff this plot is thickening by the minute. “But doesn’t he already know that you’re here? He said it was time for me to leave and to meet his opposite.”

  “The opposite of evil is good, Dr. Davies. Under all circumstances deny any knowledge of my existence.”

  ***

  “Seek and ye shall find.”

  “What’s that honey?” Eve’s half asleep.

  “Casey said seek and ye shall find.” Jeff’s been unable to sleep; his mind racing. “He can only be on about Marcus.”

  “Who?” Eve can’t be bothered with his ramblings. “What time is it?”

  “It’s two in the morning.”

  “Go back to sleep, honey.” Eve snuggles back into her pillow.

  “I can’t.” He lets out a sigh. “I‘m going to get a drink.”

  “Don’t be long.”

  Jeff makes himself a coffee in the kitchen. It’s chilly; he puts his coat on before stepping outside and taking a seat on the porch. It’s cold in the desert at night. He looks up to the stars; without the glow of city lights illuminating the sky they seem that much brighter. He recalls a quote by Vincent Van Gogh: ‘I often think that the night is more alive and richly colored than the day.’

  He can see his breath, and takes a sip of hot coffee to enhance the effect. The timber weathervane is blending into the sky. He can see the outline of the old Ford truck at the side of the barn. A slight movement catches his eye. A fox or coyote? He isn’t sure. Jeff believes this land belongs as much to the animal kingdom as it does to man. The shadow continues to flicker around the barn for quite some time. Intrigued and entertained, he watches the show, until then a shadow steps out.

  “What the fuck?”

  A human shadow can only mean one thing: an intruder. Jeff tries to stand but is unable to move. He can’t even shout to warn Eve. The malevolent presence keeps advancing. The closer the cloaked figure steps, the greater becomes a pressure, heavy on his chest. The dark reaper starts to climb the steps. With each agonizingly silent step Jeff trembles with fear. The apparition glides over the porch to stand over him. Jeff feels his heart about to burst. Inside the cloak there’s only darkness. The hood is pulled back. He tries to scream, and then realizes he’s staring into the eyes of someone he knows. Someone he knew. Casey’s mother. An abhorrent silence hangs for a heartbeat before she speaks.

  “Do not trust him.”

  “Who...? Casey?” Jeff receives no answer. He manages to whisper “Aimee?”

  Her face bears no expression; her eyes bulge as they stare into his. Her lips pucker before she shouts.

  “White!”

  A flash and she’s gone. Jeff finds he can move again. Shaking, chilled to the bone, he makes his way back inside. Just a dream, he tells himself. The coffee beside him was after all stone cold.

  ***

  One week later Jeff sits opposite a doctor, watching the second hand slowly ticking on the clock. The framed anatomical drawings displayed as artwork on the wall remind him of diagrams of choice cut meats at a butchers. The doctor thumbs the paperwork before looking up.

  “Dr. Davies, eighty five percent of all diagnoses we make are made in the laboratory. I have your results here, and thankfully all your tests have come back clear.” The doctor looks down at his notes. “We can safely eliminate dementia, psychosis, epilepsy, partial seizures, delirium, lymphoma and schizophrenia.”

  “That’s a relief.” Jeff physically relaxes; inwardly, he sighs.

  “Indeed. I would try to keep your blood sugar up, and reduce your caffeine intake. Take a holiday, relax; it will do you the world of good.”

  “Yes, thank you doctor. I will take your advice. But this was such a vivid dream. A waking experience, and I feared that I may have been delusional.”

  “Forgive me for asking; do you take any illegal narcotics?”

  “Certainly not.” Jeff’s face expresses his repulsion at the suggestion.

  “I didn’t think for a moment that you would. However, it’s my job to ask. I’m sorry,”

  “I understand.” Redeemed, his guard drops.

  “Anomalous experiences, such
as the benign hallucinations that you have experienced, may occur even if you’re in a state of good physical and mental health without the absence of a trigger such as intoxication or fatigue. We now understand that hallucinatory states are experienced by a significant cross-section of the healthy population. There does not need to be any abnormal situation or stress.”

  “So as I understand it, this is normal, or within the range of normal. You’re saying I shouldn’t worry?”

  “Yes. When you were outside on the porch, the fact that you felt pressure on your chest and were unable to move is symptomatic of sleep paralysis. When you awoke, your coffee was cold, supporting evidence that you had been asleep.”

  “And the apparition?”

  “A hypnagogic image, and not uncommon. The apparition appears external, however it’s an illusion, one located within your own mind. Commonly they happen at the transition between sleep and waking.”

  “And that’s normal?”

  “It can happen to anyone, at any time in their life, and without the presence of any underlying disease.”

  “You have no idea what a relief it is to hear those words.”

  “More comforting than the alternative, I’m sure.”

  “Thank you.” Jeff smiles for the first time since entering the doctor’s office. “You’ve eased my mind, Doctor.”

  “That’s good news. Now remember, relaxation is the key; too much stress and you’re asking for trouble.”

  “I’ve been under a lot of stress recently; I’m sure that will account for it.”

  “I’m sure it will. Do you have any other questions?”

  “I believe that’s everything.”

  “Good. Now I don’t wish to alarm you, but if you have any further hallucinations, or any other symptoms, you must come back.”

  “Of course. Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Have a good day Dr. Davies.”

  It's with relief that Jeff steps out of the doctor’s office and onto the busy sidewalk. He understands what’s been happening to him. This isn’t the paranormal, and he isn’t slipping into psychosis, or going mad. His apparitions are merely illusions at the threshold of sleep; all symptoms are apparently normal. He can now concentrate on the matter in hand. Casey’s words 'seek and ye shall find' are now the focus. He believes this is a play on Matthew 7:7: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ There are no secret tricks or magic to study. The world is based on verifiable knowledge, the most noble pursuit. He'll need resources: books and people. This is where Jeff intends to start his search.