“Hello,” she called out. “Is anybody there. I need help.”
Her vision still hadn’t recovered from earlier, everything was blurry. She tried to sit up, but her legs wouldn’t hold her and she fell back against the cushions of an old couch. Something stirred in the corner of the room. Leaning forward she squinted her eyes to try and focus on it.
“No, no, no,” Jeannine screamed, squeezing Ian’s hand. “He touching me, he’s touching me. Make him go away.”
“Jeannine, take a deep breath. You’re fine, you’re safe,” Ian said. “He can’t hurt you.”
Mary shivered with disgust as the man’s hand roamed freely over her body. She tried fighting him, but he easily captured both of her wrists in one hand. “Just a few more moments, darling,” he whispered, “and the drugs will make you relax and then we can both enjoy ourselves.”
“No, don’t touch me,” Mary cried. “I don’t want you to touch me.”
“Oh, darling, yes you do,” he insisted. “You’ve always wanted me. You never wanted Bradley. I could tell by the way you looked at me. It was always me.”
Tears flowed down Mary’s cheeks as she fought for her freedom, but she could feel her consciousness slipping away. “That’s right, my dear,” he whispered, kissing her on the neck. “Relax and enjoy. You’re going to love this.”
Jeannine screamed and thrashed around on the couch. “No, you are not going to touch me. Stop it!!! Stop it!!”
“Bring her out of it,” Stanley yelled, storming across the room. “Bring her out of it now.”
Ian placed his hands on Mary’s shoulders. “Jeannine, it’s Ian,” he shouted. “Jeannine, listen to me. I want to help you, but you have to do what I say.”
She whimpered, but calmed down. “Help me,” she cried.
“Jeannine, look around for the door you came in through,” he said. “The door in Mary’s room. Can you see it?”
“It’s dark in here,” she said. “I can’t see it.”
“Look around,” Ian insisted. “It’s right there, behind you.”
“Oh, I see it. I see it,” she cried.
“Good, good girl,” he said. “Now go to the door and open it up. Once through, you will be safe.”
Ian released his breath in relief once he saw Jeannine appear above Mary. But, his relief was short-lived when he saw that Mary had not responded to the hypnotic suggestion. “Mary,” Ian said, squeezing her hand. “Mary, can you hear me?”
Mary moaned softly and shook her head.
“Mary, where are you?” he asked.
“Well, it sure in hell isn’t Hawaii,” she responded. “Ian bring me home.”
Ian took a deep breath and wiped a tear from his cheek. “You certainly know how to age a man, Mary,” he said. “Can you see the room you started in? The room with your books and memories?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m in this dark place and it’s really creepy in here. I was here in Jeannine, but now I’m just here on my own.”
“Well, then,” Ian said. “You get to use your skills, not Jeannine’s. Mary, you’re not the victim, you are the law enforcement officer. You can get out of that room.”
Mary looked around the dark chamber. There was a wooden door at one end. She stood and felt more solid on her feet. She was a cop, a Chicago cop, no one pushed her around. She walked to the door and tried to pull it open, but it was locked.
“Ian, the door’s locked,” she said.
Ian knew that Mary’s subconscious had to conquer the fear that was keeping her locked in Jeannine’s memories. “Mary, kick the bloody hell out of the door,” he said.
Mary backed up a few steps, raised her right leg and kicked through the center of the door. Light flooded in from the other side. She moved closer and kicked again. There was now a hole large enough for her to climb through.
“I see my room, Ian,” she called.
“Good girl,” he said. “Go to your room and lay down on the couch. I’ll wake you up when Rosie has lunch ready for you.”
He waited for a few minutes. “Mary, can you hear me?” he asked.
She nodded slowly.
“Mary, it’s time to wake up now,” he said.
Mary slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up on the couch and stared at Ian for a moment. “How long was I gone?” she asked.
“Oh, well, you and Jeannine have been traveling in her memories for about an hour,” he said. “Do you remember?”
She nodded. “Yes, I remember it all. I was there, Ian. I was living her memories.”
“Well, that’ll be a help to find the bastard who did this to her.”
Mary shuddered. “Yes, and we’ll send him to the same kind of hell he put her through.”
Rosie and Stanley hurried over to Mary’s side. “Mary, how do you feel?” Rosie asked.
“Like I’ve been beaten up,” Mary said.
“Well, that’s it,” Stanley said. “That’s the last time we let you do something damn foolish like that again. Hypnosis, bah, nothing but playing with folks’ minds.”
“Stanley,” Mary said. “I have to do it again. We need to discover what happened to Jeannine. This time we only scratched the surface.”
“Mary, dear, is there anything I can do for you?” Rosie asked.
Mary nodded. “For some reason, I thought you were making lunch.”
Chapter Twenty
“I’ve searched this file three times and there are no crime scene photos that contain a basket of muffins on your kitchen counter,” Mary said.
Mary, Ian, Rosie and Stanley were seated around the kitchen table munching on sandwiches, chips and homemade cookies, while they searched through boxes of information Bradley had gathered during his investigation.
“Does that matter?” Stanley asked. “Sounds like those muffins were a crime by themselves.”
“Well, the only reason it matters is because Mercedes and her muffins were the last thing Jeannine remembers before she was taken,” Mary said. “She remembers Mercedes leaving the house and the basket still on the counter. So, if they’re not there, someone had to take them.”
“But why would someone take the basket of muffins?” Rosie asked. “Could the kidnapper have been hungry?”
“Not for those muffins,” Jeannine said.
“The muffins could have contained drugs and the kidnapper might not have wanted them around for evidence,” Ian said.
“Which would mean that Mercedes had something to do with the kidnapping,” Mary added.
“She could have just wanted her basket back,” Jeannine said. “She brought them over in one of those fancy Longaberger baskets. Those are pretty expensive.”
“But how did she get back in the house?” Mary asked. “And what did she see when she got here?”
Mary picked up her cell phone and pressed a speed dial number. “Hi,” she said into the phone, her voice softening. “How was your day?”
“She’s speaking with Bradley,” Rosie said. “You can tell by the way she’s smiling.”
Mary grinned. “I’m putting you on speaker, so I won’t be accused of neglecting my duty.”
His laughter was broadcast across the room as Mary laid her phone on the table. “We had a couple of questions for you,” she said.
“Okay, ask away,” he said. “I’ve studied those case files so many times, I’ve probably memorized them.”
“This might sound silly, but did you remember seeing a basket of muffins on the kitchen counter on the day of the breakin?” Mary asked.
“No,” he replied slowly. “And, you know, now that you mention it. I always thought there was something wrong with the kitchen photos. Something I couldn’t put my finger on. Do you have those photos in front of you?”
Mary pulled out the photos and placed them on the table.
“Well, it ain’t what’s in the photo,” Stanley said. “It’s what ain’t in the photo. Look at the big clear spot on the counter there. There’s crap scattered all over every other space in that kitchen, ‘cepting for that one bare spot on the counter.”
Mary examined the photo and realized that Stanley was right. “Stanley, you are a genius,” she said. “He’s right, Bradley. There’s a bare spot on the corner, like someone…”
“Lifted a basket of muffins off the countertop,” Bradley finished. “Damn, how could I have missed that after all these years?”
“You was looking at what was there, not what was missing,” Stanley said. “Besides, why would you think to look at that bare spot? Don’t beat yourself up, not everyone can be a genius like me.”
Bradley chuckled. “Thanks Stan, I appreciate it. So, what’s your next move?”
“Well, Mercedes is definitely on our list of possible suspects,” Ian said, writing down her name on a yellow pad. “And it will be interesting to see if she still has her basket.”
“Yeah, I think we’ll pay her a visit tomorrow,” Mary said. “Bradley, we’re going to keep going on here for a while. Thanks for your help.”
“I need to tell all of you how grateful I am for your work on this case,” Bradley said. “You’ve gotten further in two days that I got in eight years.”
“Well, it’s easy when Mary is so willing…” Rosie said, but was cut off when Stanley’s hand came over her mouth.
“Mary is so willing to do what?” Bradley asked, suspicion in her voice.
Stanley sent Rosie a warning look.
“Oh, so willing to let us take cookie breaks whenever we want to,” Rosie said. “I swear I’m going to gain ten pounds working on this case.”
“Rosie, begging your pardon, but you’re the worst liar I’ve ever heard,” Bradley said. “Mary, remember what I told you before you left. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“Bradley, I haven’t even left this house, yet,” she said. “Don’t worry, we are being very careful.”
“Ian?”
“Aye, she’s telling the truth,” he said. “Most of the day she’s spent lying on the couch. Word of honor.”
“Well, thank you, again,” Bradley said. “Call me if you need anything else.”
“We will,” Mary said. “Good night Bradley.”
“Good night.”
Mary disconnected the call and then turned back to the group. “Well, I think that went well,” she said. “Now - who else gets put on the suspect list?”
“I vote for Mercedes’ husband, Harvey, the techie guy,” Stanley said. “He wasn’t anxious for his wife to find out he was visiting Jeannine and you can never trust those nerd types. Can’t barely understand them half the time.”
Ian nodded and added Harvey to the list.
“Oh, I want a turn,” Rosie said. “Bob, the quiet unassuming neighbor, those are always the murderers in the made-for-television movies. I think Bob did it.”
Ian shrugged. “Okay, I’m adding Bob.”
“How about Gary?” Mary asked. “He was here that morning too.”
“Aye, but Mary we’ve met Gary and the only reason he dropped by was to return some tools,” Ian said. “And Bradley said he’d trust him with his life.”
“We have to consider all the possibilities,” Mary said, looking pointedly at Ian. “Add Gary.”
Ian rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll put him down.”
“So, who else do you we want on the list?” Stanley asked.
Mary scanned the list Bradley had collected. “Well, actually, Bradley did a remarkable job of compiling and following through on any other suspect that wasn’t a neighbor,” she said. “So, let’s start with these four and see if they lead us to anyone else.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Ian said. “So, how do we divide up the names?”
“Oh, can I help?” Rosie asked. “I’ve been told I have a remarkable ability to relate to men.”
“That’s because they all fall in love with you, you goose,” Stanley grumbled. “You ain’t going to have a killer falling in love with you. It’s too dangerous.”
Rosie giggled and patted her hair. “Stanley, that’s not true,” she said, with a titter. “Perhaps they develop a crush on me, but I can’t say they fall in love.”
“Listen, girlie,” Stanley said. “You ain’t going out there looking for some killer all by yourself. It ain’t safe and you ain’t trained for it.”
He looked over at Mary. “You tell her, she ain’t going out there,” he said.
Mary nodded and turned to Rosie. “Stanley’s right. This could be dangerous and I don’t want to risk your life,” she said, and then turning to Stanley, “Either of your lives. However, I do need your help, so we will plan a way to allow you to do that, without endangering your well-being.”
“So what’s your plan?” Stanley asked.
Mary turned and smiled at Rosie. “So, Rosie, how do you feel about making some cookies?” she asked. “A lot of cookies.”
“I can do that. Why?”
Ian nodded and smiled. “Because we are going to go visiting our new neighbors with plates of cookies,” he said. “Aren’t we Mary?”
“Yes we are,” she replied. “We’ll team up and meet the neighbors in pairs. Stanley and Rosie, I want you to go next door and meet Bob.”
“Bob? You want us to meet with Bob?” Stanley asked. “Don’t you think that’s a little dangerous for Rosie?”
“I wouldn’t send you into any situation that I thought was going to be dangerous,” Mary said. “And I don’t want you to say anything or do anything that will make Bob nervous or feel threatened. All I want you and Rosie to do is go over there and act like his friendly new neighbors, that’s it.”