Of That Day and Hour: A psychological thriller (14 page)

“Damn, that’s frightening.
And to think it could happen to any of us.”

“Innocent men and women have
died because of witnesses' false memories. That’s why so many sit on death row
for years; people do come forward with new evidence, or confess.”

“That’s scary shit!”

“Yeah.” For a moment Eve
recollects past clients. “It is.”

“Jack.” Jeff wants to divert
his attention away from Eve. It’s just a hunch, he isn’t certain, but he’s seen
lust in Jack's eyes before. “Have you any thoughts about settling down?”

“To be honest, I like life
the way it is, simple. I’ve seen too many divorces, kids suffer, and people
lose their homes. I don’t need that.”

“You haven’t met the right
person then?”

“No, but if I do you’re both
invited to the wedding.”

“We’ll hold you to that.”

“Let me get you that
number.”

“Thanks.”

“We’ll get going after this
coffee, Eve.”

“Cool.”

After coffee they make their
excuses. Outside Jack walks to the car.

“Now that’s a classic.”

“Sure is. What do you
prefer, Mustang or Camaro?” Eve weighs him up.

“This is beautiful, but I
like the lines of the Mustang.”

“There’s no accounting for
taste.”

With those parting words and
with a smile, Eve slips back into the driver’s seat. Jeff says his farewells on
the sidewalk, then joins her in the car. In Jeff’s hand sits that all-important
telephone number.
  

The road trip
home is uneventful; this gives Jeff time to think, to contemplate the events
that encircle him like an ever-tightening noose. His mind tumbles in and out of
the past and the present. Spinning between scientific and spiritual knowledge,
all this brain-storming and he’s still no wiser. Thankfully the evening sky of
Colorado welcomes them home, and driving through the desert with Eve by his
side, Jeff feels that, for once, he’s finally found his place in the world.

Later the day draws to a
close, and safely back home on the porch they catch the warmth of the sun’s
last few rays. Jeff toys with his prize piece of paper; scribbled in black ink
is Marcus’s telephone number.

“Well, are you going to use
that or just keep looking at it?”

Jeff has the paper between
his fingers, which are outstretched in front of him. With one eye closed, like
a marksman with his rifle, he toys with the setting sun.

“Did you know the safest way
to view a partial solar eclipse is to project the sun’s image onto a piece of
paper?”

“Don’t change the subject.”
Eve knows he just needs a gentle, and final push.

“I’m not.” He looks to her
and smiles. “I’ll phone him tomorrow.”

“Good, and while we’re on
the subject of phone calls, shouldn’t you contact your daughters?” Eve knows,
from her past how lonely it is for a child to be without a father.

“Yes, with everything that’s
happened recently I’ve neglected them. I will phone home.” Eve gives him a
look. “No I didn’t mean home, I meant-” She interrupts.

“It’s okay, I know what you
meant.” After a moment’s thought, she reinforces her status. “Don’t worry,
you’re not going anywhere.” With a smile she teases, “You’re mine now.”

***

A modern brick built, glass
fronted building stands within its own private and secure grounds. A black
plaque with gold lettering is set to the right of the entrance: ‘The Pearson
Institute, founded by Marcus Pearson.’ A quote by Confucius is carved into the
plaque: ‘Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.’

Inside one of the many white
rooms dividing this building is Marcus. Opposite him sits what at first glance
appears to be your average eight year old girl, with colorful cartoon characters
across her t-shirt, and pigtails in her hair. The room itself consists of one
white table, two chairs, plain white walls and no window. A large mirror is set
into the wall. Behind this mirror is a camera with the latest high tech digital
recording equipment. The room is intentionally plain to avoid any distractions
or outside influences. Between Marcus and the girl, neatly lined up in a row on
the table, are chrome metallic balls of varying weights and sizes. One of these
chrome balls levitates a foot above the table, and silently spins. The girl’s
eyes are focused intently upon her task.

“Well done, Emily. Keep it
there for just one moment longer.”

A knock at the door, and the
appearance of Sarah has the ball dropping back to the table with a bouncing metallic
thud.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Sarah
feels awkward for disrupting his work. “You have a call.”

“Sarah, you know I don’t
take calls during sessions.” Marcus keeps himself composed; raising his
eyebrows, with a fixed smile.

“You need to take this one.”

“Why?”

“You have Jefferson Davies
on the line.” His eyebrows and feigned smile drop instantly.

“Would you stay with Emily
for a moment, please?”

“Of course.”

Sarah looks to Emily and
smiles. Emily says, “He’s missed his friend, hasn’t he?”

“Yes Emily, I believe he
has.”

Marcus walks briskly along
the corridor, passing beautiful and inspirational paintings of nature, the
cosmos and spirituality. Opening the office door he walks quickly to his desk,
sitting down whilst picking up the phone. He hesitates, takes a deep breath,
then presses the button to connect the call.

“Hello, Jeff.” He tries to
maintain an even and professional tone of voice.

“Marcus.” Jeff too plays it
distant and cool. Although he does want any information Marcus may possess.

“It’s good to hear your
voice after all these years. Thank you for contacting me.”

“That’s quite alright. After
all these years I’m intrigued. Jack said you’d left your number for me.”

“That’s correct.”

“May I ask why?”

“Of course. Now, please
listen carefully to me. I understand that without scientific evidence you’re at
best skeptical about the paranormal. However, I wouldn’t contact you unless I
believed something big was heading your way.”

“Would you care to enlighten
me?” Jeff probes, wanting to know more.

“I can’t say what forces are
in motion. However, I would first like to apologize for my appalling behavior
as a student all those years ago. It’s unforgivable, I know, and I would like
to believe out of character for me.”

“It was.” For a moment
there’s an awkward silence between them. “I’ll take that as a full apology
then.”

“Please do.” Marcus waits
with bated breath to see how Jeff responds.

“I’ll be up front with you,
it wasn’t easy to phone you Marcus. However, you are correct in your
assumptions. I’m in the middle of something of which I have no understanding,
and it appears to be getting worse.”

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know where to
start. What I’m experiencing goes against my every belief. I have to concede
there’s more to this world than meets the eye.”

“There is.” Marcus has to
think, and quickly! It’s apparent to him that Jeff’s closed to discussion over
the phone. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Please do.”

“Come over and we can talk
face to face.”

“Where are you?”

“Kansas.”

“Kansas, give me a moment.”

“Sure.”

“Eve, how long will it take
to drive to Kansas?”

“It’s a good day’s drive.”
Eve’s curious. It sounds like a trip, and she may even get to meet the infamous
Marcus.

“Thanks honey. Marcus.”

“Yes.”

“We’re in Colorado, we could
make it to you in a day.”

“Well, stay with us for the
weekend.” There’s silence on the other end of the phone. “The honor would be
ours.”

“I wouldn’t like to put you
out. We’ll book into a hotel.” Eve’s in the background listening intently.

“If my partner knew that I
let you stay at a hotel, I would be in serious trouble. Pack your bags for this
weekend. We have plenty of spare rooms at our house, then we can try and
straighten out whatever’s happening to you.”

“My partner will be
travelling with me.”

“Perfect, Sarah will be
excited to have some female company. Please. It’s the very least I can do.”

“Can you hang on one
moment?”

“Of course.”

Jeff places his hand over
the mouthpiece, and turns to Eve.

“He’s invited us over to his
this weekend so we can discuss the situation.”

“Good, arrange it.” Eve has
a sense of relief.

“Okay.” Jeff releases his
hand. “Marcus,”

“Yes.”

“We would like to accept
your invitation.”

“That’s settled then.”
Marcus is pleased; he’s crossed the first hurdle. “Do you have an email
address?”

“Of course.”

“Give it to me. I'll forward
our details and a map of how to find us.”

Eve watches as Jeff passes
his details on. She’s many reservations concerning Marcus, but he may be able
to help. At this stage in the game, any help is appreciated. Jeff says his
farewell, ending the call.

“That appears to have gone
well.”

“Better than I anticipated.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked what’s been
happening. I said it’s difficult for me to discuss matters over the phone,
which is why we’re going to meet him. He also apologized.”

“That’s a start.”

“I guess.” Jeff’s still
unsure if he’s doing the right thing.

“When are we going to see
him?”

“This weekend. We’re going
to stay with them at their home.”

“Them?”

“His partner, apparently
she’ll be glad of the female company.”

“This should be
interesting.” Eve thinks that, on the plus side, at least there’s another woman
to keep the boys in check.

“You said it yourself, we
have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“Yes I did. Now I’ll give
you a minute alone, and you can phone your daughters.”

“You don’t have to go.”

“It’s okay, I have a few
things to attend to.”

Eve walks back into the
house. She watches Jeff through the window as he picks up the phone, dials the
number, and sits listening to the digital ring in his ear. She can tell from
his face when someone answers.

“Hello.”

“Hi, is that Jessica?”

“Dad, is that you?”

“Yes, love.” He relaxes,
it’s good to hear her voice. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. Where’ve you
been?”

“Sorry, Jess.” Jeff tries to
justify himself. “I’ve been tied up with work.”

“We were worried about you.
Mom tried to get hold of you at the university, and they said you didn’t work
there anymore.”

“It’s a long story love, I’m
in Colorado.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Just some temporary work.
How’s everything at home?”

“It’s okay.” Her voice is
blasé.

“And school?”

“Boring.”

“Yes, school’s always
boring, love, but you know how important it is to work hard.”

“Yes Dad.” There’s rebellion
in her voice.

“How’s dance class?”

“We’re rehearsing for a new
show, and I’ve learned to Lindy Hop.”

“Lindy Hop?”

“Yeah, you know, like the
Jitterbug, 1920’s Harlem.”

“And the Charleston?”

“I already know the
Charleston, Dad.”

“Of course you do, love. So
you’re enjoying it?”

“Yeah it’s cool.”

“That’s fantastic.” Jeff’s
more upbeat. “Have you any other news?”

“I don’t know, hmm, Mom’s
got a new friend.”

“Has she?” He’s curious.

“Yeah, he took us all out to
the fair, and he bought us a PlayStation!”

“Did he now?” It’s all good,
he knows, but for some reason, it still hurts.

“Yeah, he’s nice.”

“Good. Is there anything
else I should know?”

“I think that’s it. When can
I see you Dad?”

“Soon love, as soon as I can
get away from work I’ll visit.”

“Promise?” Jessica sounds
unsure.

“I promise.” With emphasis
he adds. “I want to see you too!”

“Okay.”

“How’s Louise?” Jeff almost
winces as he speaks her name.

“She’s okay.”

“Is she there?”

“Yeah, hang on and I’ll get
her.”

Jeff imagines Jessica
walking with the phone along the hallway and into the living room. He listens
intently to the conversation.

“It’s Dad.”

“So?”

“What do you mean so?”

“I don’t want to talk to
him.”

“I thought you did?”

“Well I don’t.”

“Why?”

“He walked out on us.” Jeff
shakes his head; she’s still not forgiven him.

“That was ages ago, don’t be
silly. He’s waiting for you.”

“I said no!”

“Okay, you don’t have to
shout.” Jessica walks out of the room and back into the hall. Jeff has that
sinking feeling that only a father who’s walked away from his children can
comprehend.

“Dad I’m sorry, she doesn’t
want to talk to you.”

“Don’t worry love.” Inwardly
his heart sinks. “We’ll just have to give her more time, and she’ll come round.
Will you send her my love?”

“Of course.” Jeff can hear
another voice: his ex-wife, Chloe.

“Who’s on the phone?”

“Dad.”

“Dad.” Her voice becomes
stern. “Tell him I want to talk to him.”

“Dad, Mom’s here, she wants
to talk to you.”

“Okay love, you take care,
and I promise I’ll see you soon.”

“Cross your heart?”

“Cross my heart.”

“Okay, love you, Dad.”