Authors: Sylvia Hubbard
“What time is it?” he growled groggily.
“Eight. Have you even packed?”
“Some.” He nodded over to the suitcases near the front door. “You need to finish packing my suits only.”
“Well, I think I can manage that. Would you like some coffee?”
He nodded heading to the bedroom and closing the door.
Trisha went to the kitchen and quietly fixed some coffee listening to his every move. Soon she heard him in the shower and quickly began to look through the cabinets, but found nothing, which she thought would be there.
He was quick with the shower and when he was done, she waited until he came out dressed in khaki’s and a nice shirt. He was too handsome and she wondered what a man like him was doing single. Why was he so elusive?
“Does Ms Patterson still type for us?” he asked his tone of voice just a little bit lighter than previous. The shower had lightened his disposition.
“Reluctantly yes. Do you want me to keep her?”
“Of course.” He handed her some micro cassettes. “These are from my videoconference. I want you to send Terrance over to Ms Patterson’s home and make sure she is set up on PCAnywhere as soon as possible. When you’re out of town with me or on your upcoming honeymoon, I can depend on her to get the work I need done in the city. Pay her whatever you have to.”
“Yes Mr. Newman.” She went to the phone to call the usual courier service they always used to deliver the tapes and instructions over to Skye’s house. As he spoke more instructions, Trisha shorthanded them knowing Skye would be able to understand.
“When will you be leaving?” Thaddeus asked.
“Nine tonight. I will meet you for breakfast at eight in the morning in the hotel’s lobby.”
“Make it six. I have some business at seven-thirty and I am looking forward to spending the rest with Thomas.”
She could tell he was eager to see him. Thomas Blair was a good friend of Thaddeus since college. It was Thomas who had front the money for Thaddeus to start Newman Enterprises. It was also Thomas who had gotten Thaddeus to even consider running a business on his own when Thaddeus was working for others and making them successful. Thomas gained his money from his grandfather who was a stockbroker and knew investments like the back of his hand. Thomas was just as good and had created his own fortune, but none of this seemed to please the man.
“I’m going to make some stops then I’ll be going to the airport. Could you make sure my suits are at the hotel by tomorrow morning? I trust your opinion, and I will see you at six.” Thaddeus grabbed a jacket out the front closet, took his suitcase and left. He knew the sleeping serum hidden in a secret compartment in the back of the cabinet in the kitchen was safe from anyone knowing. Even he had a hard time remembering which one was the secret place, but he knew he could not trust anyone with what he was doing. In addition to this, he didn’t want to entrust Trisha with the case information. It could jeopardize her life.
As close as he felt to her, Thaddeus knew her fiancé would not like her keeping secrets from him.
Thaddeus also knew that Trisha’s father didn’t trust Alan, and the young man seemed leery of Thaddeus. Thaddeus knew this was probably because Trisha had to travel with him a lot, but he really saw Trisha in a light almost like a sister. Even less. It was almost like a sister’s friend who he had no intention to gain any more on their relationship.
They kept it strictly platonic, just business.
After Trisha finished packing his things, she left the suits, the notes and the tapes at the front desk of the Riverfront apartments with the proper instructions for the courier service. After that she went home to finish packing her clothes and say goodbye to Alan who promised to come by before she left.
Her pager went off just as she finished packing. Going to the phone, she called the number back. “Hello Skye, you called me?”
“Yes, I know you told me yesterday you’d be out of town for two days, but I just wanted to let you know, I received the tapes and instructions. I will start on them immediately.”
“Thanks. Terrance is waiting on your call and since you are familiar with the software, I don’t think you’ll have a problem with it.”
“I could just install it myself and call Terrance with any technical questions.”
Trisha was impressed with Skye’s technical knowledge. It was always difficult working with people that had no computer skills at all except how to punch the buttons on the keyboard. “That would be fine. You can leave messages on my voicemail. I will check it every couple of hours.”
“I think I will be fine. Call me if you need anything here before you get back.”
They spoke more, but Trisha heard no worried fluctuation in her voice. She was appeased with what she heard and let Skye go after a while.
* * *
Hanging up the receiver, Skye breathe a sigh of relief. She figured she had played that off smoothly. Looking down at the package the courier had just delivered knowing fully well what it was.
Her body shook again. Quickly she sat down in the nearest chair to regain her composure. Just thinking about what she dreamed made nerve-racking spasms overcome her. She had placed three voicemails to Dr. Carter’s service and didn’t know what else to do.
“You’ve got mail!” her computer exclaimed.
Looking at the screen, a little mailbox flashed, then went still.
She went to the desk and slowly sat down in the chair in front of the monitor. Wiggling the mouse, the screen flashed two messages. Double clicking, the first message quickly opened from a Dr. Robert Hardwick in Southfield, Michigan.
In response to your question, I haven’t heard of this drug since the early testing of it in 1993 in France when they were trying to increase sexual emotions in woman because of the decrease sexual intensity Depro-Vera produces. I don’t know a lot about it, but I do know that you can have a great amount of hallucinations, dreaming and auditory fantasies.
There would be no way to get the drug out of your system, but I would prescribe Thorazime to take the effects of the hallucinations away, but it will make you sleepy. Speak to the doctor who prescribed the drug, and if you can’t do that, you may contact my offices. My number is below. Call me anytime.
After printing off the email, she double clicked to bring up the next one.
Hello Skye,
I do apologize for taking so long to answer your calls or your emails. Our small town has been so busy with many fall activities. You know how this time of year is here. You use to help coordinate most of the events. It’s not the same without you or your smile. Nurse Stephanie says hello and she misses you as well as many of your other associates.
Don’t have time in the big city to call them, huh? Well I know this is your first experience by yourself and you’re just settling in.
Now back to business. That drug you specified as ‘sic’ was very hard to look up. No ones heard about it or don’t want to speak about. I finally found some intern who said he worked in Dr. Carter’s office in Detroit for about six months before he was conveniently fired for ‘being too nosey.’
He said the drug is a form of GHB mixed with Depro-Vera to control the subconscious. He knew Dr. Carter was trying to get it approved by the government, but they didn’t feel that this should be used in women as a form of sexual stimulant with a birth control twist. He was trying to compete with the Viagra market for women, but the government disapproved too much of the drug due to it’s high GHB content. If you can obtain a sample, but you don’t feel comfortable sending it through the mail there is a contact in a medical West Bloomfield laboratory that can assist you. I’ll send that information to you in the next email.
If you need anything else that I can help you with let me know and I will make sure it is just between you and I. Take care and I do hope you are well.
Dr. Welch
Hearing from Dr. Welch perked her up, but knowing the drug was not good and in her system did not make her feel any better. Control her subconscious? Why would Dr. Himes want to control her subconscious? How could this improve her panic attacks? When she tried to think about what he could be doing to her while she was in this state made her stomach fly into a million butterflies.
What would happen when she went into the state again? When would she go into this state again? Sleeping? Awake? When did it happen?
She was not sure and that alone terrified her the most.
Sitting on the loveseat in her home office, she tried to remember the dreams that she had been having lately. It was difficult to remember, but she was positive she had no control over these dreams and these dreams had something to do with the drug in her body.
Lying down, she made herself relax and remember. Her stomach felt full of butterflies trying to get out.
“...be mine,” a voice whispered... candlelight... black silk boxers... the smell of lavender... kissing—nice sensual kissing... a scar below the collarbone... she licked it.
Sitting up opening her eyes, she tried to control her vapid breathing. Going back to her computer she picked up a notepad and pencil and drew the oval with a beveled line coming from the center out past the edge of the oval. In her memory, the oval was crooked and there was a light vertical line-marking running from each side of the shape.
Why could she remember this mark so well? Why couldn’t she see the face of this mystery man, yet she felt she knew him, knew of him?
Thaddeus. Why did it seem to fit so nicely?
‘Because that is what you want, silly and you know it could never be true,’ she told herself.
‘This is not a dream,’ she tried to convince herself, but turned around and asked, ‘What is it then?’
That was the million-dollar question. Who was it? Who had this mark on them?
‘You could just ask Mr. Newman to take his shirt off,’ she remarked sarcastically to herself knowing full that was never going to happen. ‘Torturing yourself isn’t doing anything for your pocket book, Skye.’
She plopped down at the computer and put the tape on. As she began typing the note, the voice seemed to drone in her head.
Her fingers lifted off the keyboard and she read what she had just typed in the past five minutes.
Be mine.
Where did you come from?
Be mine.
Why did you come back?
Who sent you?
Why would her mystery man ask her these questions of this sort, when it should be her asking these questions? Furthermore, why the heck was she typing this and not what was on the tape.
Rewinding the tape to the beginning she forced herself to concentrate on Thaddeus’ dictation. It was a letter to a Heaven Wineguard of Chicago.
“Ms. Wineguard, It has come to my attention that you were part of the adoption process of a female child born December 9, 1977. To my understanding you were the one that was in charge of sealing the record to anyone who wanted to inquire about the adoption process. It is also my understanding that five years after the adoption was done, it was ruled an illegal adoption due to the fact Judge Henry Prophet received information that both parents had not signed a form giving their release to the child. The father’s signature was forged. Under orders from Judge Prophet, he has given me permission to secure these records so that I may use my own means to find the female birth child of Thomas Blair. Typist please signature myself and cc: Thomas Blair, Judge Henry
Prophet and Lethal R. Heart of Lethal Security and Investigation Services, thank you.”
She did as she was told and immediately e-mailed the letter to his address, cc-ing Trisha as well.
The other letters were not as interesting as the first, but she quickly typed them and got them out the way before she stopped working for the day and decided to take a long hot bath. The whole weekend had been rather stressful for her. Maybe she should just drop the entire Newman account. It would make her life simple again like in the beginning before involving herself with this whole matter. So what the money was good, peace of mind outweighed everything and Thaddeus Newman did not give her peace of mind.
Yet, Sheila and Margaret were definitely enjoying the different work and the bonuses she had given for their excellent turnaround times and professional typing was gratefully appreciated.
Skye hardly needed to type unless there was an overload or unless she just wanted to. She enjoyed that aspect of her home business the most.
Lying in bed she looked at the pillow beside her. Empty. It would always be empty if she didn’t get her butt out the house and meet more interesting people. She would call up that friend Gladys in Davenport had told her to look up when she got here. It wouldn’t be so bad. This whole dreaming thing could all be from the seclusion she accepted since she had been to Detroit.
Chapter 12
Thomas closed the curtain longingly and turned toward Thaddeus who had been like a son to him. “She would have been twenty-three today, Thad.”
Thaddeus was use to the older man drifting off on days that should have been. Thomas was going on fifty-two and with the knowledge of never having an offspring since his stroke eight years ago, he had been on a desperate search to find a child that was given up for adoption. His mother put an injunction against the adoption process because it was her only grandchild and the baby girl was given to a foster home until a decision could be made. The judge making the decision had died, and a year passed before the next date was set for a new trial. During that time, Thomas mother died and no one went up to support the family.