Chapter Fourteen
Several hours after sun up, an officer drove me home. Carter and Williams would see no prospect of rest until late that night. I was profoundly greateful that I had sworn myself to no such vocaton as theirs. I tried to resume mysleep where it had been interrupted so many hours ago. However, all was in vain; the excitement of the last few hours had left my nervous system strung at such a pitch that rest, let alone sleep, was an impossiblity, nor could I even concentrate for any length of time on my music. My mind flitted from one thought to another so quickly that it would have been easy to believe that I'd taken a dozen uppers.
By the time Barry arrived home, absolutely exhausted, I had wound down enought ot doze on the couch. I awoke when he unlocked the door, using the extra key I'd given him. At one glance I could tell that their tedious hours of sifting through the available information had resulted in nothing but a tired body and an aching head.
The next three days progressed in much the same manner. Finally hypnosis was turned to as a last resort with Anna, but again in vain; she had seen nothing, and so there was nothing to remember. As we, Carter, Takahaki, Williams, and I, left her motel room, for she was in protective custody, the psychiatrist tured to me with a questioning look. Once we were outside, he asked abruptly, "Would you consider being hypnotized? It could bring out some things you hadn't noticed, or maybe make you more receptive to something new."
"We can try, but I doubt it will do any good," I replied, as we walked. "It's been tried on me before, to make me more relaxed and ready to recieve impressions, butthey come when they want. They can't be forced." We remained silent until we reached the car, then I spoke up again. "Let's try it at my place. I might do better in familiar surroundings."
"As you wish," replied Takahaki.
The drive to my apartment was a brief one--- I had a sneaking suspicion that Carter had planned it that way for convenience (to make it easier to keep an eye on both Anna and me).
Once everyone was seated and the usual amenities performed, we began. Dr. Takahaki spoke in a quiet, soothing tone, "Choose some somall object to focus on." I chose a many sided, glass paper weight, with an oister shell and a pearl in it. It's multitudinal sides caused it to act as a prism, and depending upon which way one looked at it, one could see as many as four pearls. "Now," he continued smoothly, "concentrate, concentrate, you must sleep." His voice grew distant, but remained clear. The paperweight grew blurry and then was gone. "Can you hear me? Answer yes or no."
"Yes."
"Now, you are seeing the back entrance of that night club on Sunset. What is
happening?"
I shall not relate what I described in the succeeding hour, since my memory produced nothing new, and I have told the stories elsewhere. At one point, however, I do believe I must have become excited and agitated, because the doctor found it necessary to stop for a couple of moments to calm and reassure me. After which we continued with no further interruptions. All the while, I could hear the soft whir ofthe casette recorder and could sense the presence of the others.
At last we surrendered. Nothing could be accomplished and we all sat in disheartened, silent gloom.
"Well, it looks like we're going to have to wait till he has another go, or your 'whatever-it-is" can tune in on him. Maybe we'll even get lucky and someone will spot the right car or something. Aftar all miracles do happen," Carter moaned.
"There's one more thing we might try. I've never done it, though, and it's
supposed to be a little risky."
"What?" the lieutenant probed, as if he was a cat pouncing on a mouse.
"Astral projection," I replied with some reserve.
"I've heard of it," the doctor stated.
"What is it?" Carter asked.
"Well," I sighed, "in a nutshell, one concentrates very hard, but relaxed, and sends his mind to wherever he wants to be. It's an out of body thing. Something your people came close to, Carter, with their vision quests."
"What's dangerous about it?" injected Williams.
I continued, "Hear-say has it that, if, while I'm in this state,I'm disturbed in any way, like the phone ringing or someone trying to wake me, I could die."
"What! Why?" came the unanimous, incredulous question.
"I don't know. I'm not an expert on it. I only know a couple who have tried it and say it's a fantastic high, when it goes well. I guess maybe the risk is that my consciousness is removed from my body."
"No, you're not going to do it," Carter ordered.
"It might be our only chance to stop him before he kills again," I said firmly.
"And what if something goes wrong? You're our only key."
Silence followed.
Finally, the drapes having been pulled and the phones taken off their hooks, Williams stationed outside the door to prevent any possible disturbance, I ascended to my bedroom with Dr. Takahaki, leaving Carter seated nervously in the living room below. I slipped off my shoes and laid down on the bed. I recalled and concentrated with all my strength upon that room which I had seen through the memory of the killer. Inch by inch my mind crept around that room, across the cracks in the painted over wallpaper, across the dingy, three-year-old calendar, across the crucifix with a sagging Christ, whose arm had long since been broken off, beneath which hung the picture of a lovely, red-haired girl. "This must be the daughter," I thought.
Now, I was no longer seeing through the memory of another man; I was floating just above the ratty, overstuffed furniture. I concentrated with all mymight, but could not force myself down to floor level. "This is wierd," I thought. I surveyed the room, obviously in a less than not so well-to-do hotel, but since I possessed no body, nor could I descend, I could only look at things. This is when some teledenetic ability would have come in handy.
The view through the window yielded nothing, other than that the room was on the second floor of a three storey building and overlooked an alley. However, at the end of the alley I could see one sign which read "Louie's".
I had intended on trying to wait for him, should he be absent, as was the case, when I tried the experiment, but, unfortunately, I was becoming ver tired, almost exhausted. Strange, how quickly it sneaks up on you. I was about to return home when I saw something ahiney in my peripheral vision which attracted my attention. It was lying in a bundle of clothes, dark colored clothes, in a half-open drawer--- it was the tip of a knife. Now I truly wanted to remain longer, but did not have the strength. I drifted into what seemed like a space that was without form, and void, as the Bible says.
I do not know how many moments later it was that I became aware that I was once again a whole person. I laid there on the bed for a few minutes, completely without the strength or the desire to move. I had no idea that it would be such a sapping experience.
At last, I rolled out of bed and wobbled down the stairs. Carter and the doctor were seated in the identical, nervous positions as when I had left them.
"Are you all right? You're so pale," Carter asked with anxious concern.
"Just tired. Wow, that was something else!"
"Well, what happened?" both said at once.
"Sit down," said Dr. Takahaki, after which he felt my pulse and performed other medical details. "Your pulse is highly irregular. This sort of thing is very hard on your body."
"Aren't you going to recall Barry from his guard duty?" I commented. "How long was I gone?"
While Carter walked toward the door, he replied over his shoulder, "About twenty minutes."
As soon as I had another drink of water and the three police department
employees were seated and ready to listen, I related to them all that I had
discovered during my preceding mental expedition. Carter, I believe, still retained a
modicum of doubt and cynicism, but he was willing to accept gratefully any
assistance he could obtain. However, both Barry and Dr. Takahaki were thoroughly
engrossed.
| Chapter 15 | HOME |
| E-mail: Dubricus |
