by Jay Sharman
Julian wanted to run, but his feet were grounded to the floor. Despite his best efforts, his feet and whole of his body turned towards the figure. The door to the gallows opened slowly with a creaking sound and despite his reluctance, he ambled across the door to enter into a dark hall of the gallows. The figure started to move forward and the door behind Julian closed with a faint sound of a click. Julian could see now the white figure moving in the centre of the room, where no human had gone for many years. There were spider web nets everywhere and Julian could feel death everywhere as a staunch odour hit his nostrils.
Julian could hear his heart beats getting louder by the minute, he found it difficult to breath as dust particles started to clog his respiratory system; his eyes started to itch as chemicals in the atmosphere began to interact with the conjunctiva of his eyes
In the middle was the gallows held in its place by wooden pillars, where many prisoners had been hanged over a period of time. The white figure was turning slowly into a shape of human figure. Julian heard sounds of soft steps from one corner of the room, and it became louder. Julian heard a whisper that said, ‘Mr Dashwood, do not be frightened. I am Dr Cohen and I was hanged here more than fifty years ago. Yes, I am the wandering soul but do not be frightened.’
Julian retracted his steps, as he heard another sound. The gallows lights suddenly switched on and he could see a shadow in one corner of the room.
Julian asked, ‘What do you want from me? Why have you been chasing and bothering me?’
‘Dr Dashwood, this is a long story. I was accused of killing my wife fifty years ago and was sentenced to death along with my girlfriend. During my trial my girlfriend, called Sally, gave evidence against me and the prosecution team only gave her four years sentence, but I was told that she will be hanged at the same time as me, but that never happened.’
Julian saw a figure of a man in his late thirties suddenly appear in front of him, who was wearing a brown jacket with large and broad collars that was matched by a brown silk tie and tweed trousers hanged loosely on to his suede shoes.
Julian felt more comfortable in seeing a man than a ghostly figure. He again asked, ‘But why do you need me? There are so many doctors in our community that you could had easily picked up from, but why me?’
Dr Cohen laughed, and his echoes could be heard all around the gallows. He whispered, ‘Well, I will explain that to you in a minute. Your current girlfriend Nicki is the same Sally who was also my girlfriend and she is the one who betrayed me. She is going to do the same with you. So we both have a common goal.’
Julian took a deep breath as he thought about close liaison of Nicki with Mike, he said, ‘I am not convinced by that. How can you say that. How about those three prisoners who were found hanged in the prison? Did you have any hand in killing them?’
‘Yes, Dr Dashwood you are right, they were same four people who were responsible for my hanging all those years ago. One of them was the hangman, who gave me a very painful death. The second person took turn to put a rope on my neck.’
Julian felt more comfortable now talking to the spirit as his breathing became more comfortable, he moved a step forward to ask ‘What about the other two people? What had they done to you, Dr Cohen.’
Julian saw the spirit take two steps back to look at the gallows to say, ‘They were the two prison officers, who dragged me to the gallows. They were so rude and aggressive that I fell to the floor and injured my wrist bone. I told them that I needed medical help, but they did not listen to me, they were cruel and inhumane to me.’
‘Dr Cohen, all these people were doing their duty, you can't punish them for what they did in their last life.’
Dr Cohen folded his hands in front of his abdomen and whispered, ‘Maybe, but they were horrible to me and I can't live in peace until I punish all of them.’
‘So, who is your next victim? ‘asked Julian
‘I can't tell you that as you have to wait and see, Dr Dashwood.’
‘Dr Cohen tell me what Greg’s job was in his past life, was he the hangman?’
Dr Cohen walked towards the gallows to put his right foot on to its edge and said ‘Yes, you are right.’
Julian felt that it was an opportunity to solve some of the mysteries surrounding to earlier deaths in the prison, he asked, ‘How did you kill all these people in the prison?’
‘Dr Dashwood, I had to use you to kill these people. My spirit came inside you to give you extra strength and power and then you lifted them with your hands to strangle them.’
Julian looked at his both hands and asked, ‘How come then the police could not find any of my fingerprints or DNA at the murder scene?’
Cohen laughed, ‘We spirits to not have any physical structures or a human body so there is no chance to find us, even if I was using you to commit those murders.’
Julian felt a sense of betrayal towards other prisoners as he felt responsible for their murders, but he still he was more comfortable in asking questions to Dr Cohen to clarify his role in committing those heinous crimes. He asked with his eyes half closed ‘Why did you bring me here to the gallows? Are you going to kill me as well?’
‘No, I do not intend to kill you as you have been helpful to me and also, I see my reflection in you. I brought you here so that I can give you the reasons for all the incidents in the prison. One more thing, I do not want you to tell anybody that you have spoken to me, otherwise there will be adverse consequences both for you and others. Do I make myself clear.’
Julian wiped the drops of perspiration from his forehead with his hand, the bad odour was becoming unbearable, he took a deep breath and said, ‘I need to go back to my room. The prison officer will be looking for me everywhere.’
Cohen laughed and said, ‘Do not worry. Nobody is looking for you. That prison officer who came to get you was me, and I will take you back to your room.’
The door behind Julian started to open slowly. Cohen asked as Julian stepped into the corridor. ‘How is Nicki?’
Julian replied without looking at Cohen. ‘She is frightened by all these killings. I hope that You are not going to harm her?’
The door in front opened automatically, Cohen laughed and whispered,
‘Look I engineered the whole incident to get Nicki to prison. I wanted her to change her hairstyle and clothes to look more like a man than a woman. I do need to see her and feel her. She reminds me of my Sally, and I have come to your room many times without causing any disturbance to either of you.’
Julian was feeling a sense of fear now and started to walk towards the door. Cohen closed the door behind him without touching it and said, ‘We need to be careful here so that nobody can see you on your own so I will walk with you as a prison officer.’
‘Dr Cohen, what are you going to do about Greg‘ asked Julian as he started to walk up the stairs.
‘Yes, Dr Dashwood, I must point out that Greg was the main culprit in causing me the maximum anguish and pain, so I have left him to die in the end. Nobody can save him now.’
Julian could hear echoes of Cohen’s laughter in the landing of the wing.
‘Dr Cohen, Greg is a different person now. This is a new life and a new beginning for him, you cannot punish Greg for something that he did in last birth. You should forgive him.’
Julian could see some bright light emitting from Cohen’s white stony eyes, who said, ‘You do not tell me what I should do. Remember, that you should not tell anybody about this conversation between us. Ok, your room has come. I will see you later.’
Julian’s room opened automatically, and he went inside. He found Nicki fast asleep. Julian was so tired that he fell asleep straightaway after jumping into his bed.
Chapter 37
The following day, Mike Jackson was holding meeting with two prison officers in presence of DC Lewis.
Jackson said, ‘Thank you gentlemen for coming to this meeting today. Last time I asked you to check the history and background of all the executions i
n this prison. I have got the list of all of them and the last hanging was in 1961. We have received some forensic reports for the hanging of Robin, but there are no fingerprints or DNA of anybody else, which points out that the prisoners might have killed themselves. We have also witnessed some supernatural phenomenon associated with Dr Dashwood. He was present at the scene of all the killings, but there is no evidence of his involvement in them.’
Prison officer Smith questioned, ‘In the last case Dr Dashwood was called to assist a prisoner who had fainted, so he could not have planned Robin’s murder.’
Jackson smiled, ‘That is why this is so puzzling. DC Lewis felt an electric current when he shook Julian’s hands. Mr Smith you also felt a gush of air and saw the gate of the landings open by itself. So we can accept that there is something bizarre happening in this prison.’
DC Lewis, who was busy drinking his tea intervened, ‘We need to act quickly to stop more deaths from happening. I think that Greg could be the next target as he is the last of the Greens alive. That means that he needs extra protection by prison officers or we might have to shift him to another prison.’
Jackson said abruptly, ‘We are looking for a place in another prison but Greg himself does not want to move from here. So we will have to keep him here for the time being. He has been put in a special cell in the block where other prisoners are not given much of an association together and it means increased protection for Greg from any impending attack’
Lewis said, ‘If a ghost or supernatural power is involved, then it may not be very safe for him there.’
Smith said, ‘There is no safe place as such in a prison, but we have to do our best to protect him. If we our suspicions of supernatural occurrences are made public, then people will be scared to work in this prison and even the prisoners could demand to be moved to a different prison.’
‘Thank you for reminding me of that Mr Smith.’ said Jackson. ‘We have gone through the history of various prisoners and the one which stands out is that of Dr Cohen, who was hanged in 1932 for the murder of his wife. His girlfriend Sally was also a co-defendant but was acquitted by the court. Cohen felt betrayed by the release of his girlfriend and there is a chance that he wants to take some kind of revenge on somebody.’
DC Lewis was listening attentively and intervened. ‘That is a very interesting coincidence. Can you tell us more about the incident?’
Jackson got hold of some paperwork in front of him and started to read. ‘The year was 1931. That was the time of the great depression in England, which followed after the market crash of 1929. The majority of people were struggling to survive as the wages and income had dwindled.
A huge number of the working-class people had lost their jobs and many of the younger women had turned to prostitution to supplement their income. Other women were attracted to affluent and rich men who did not mind becoming their lovers or mistresses.
Dr Cohen ran a successful medical practice in South West London; he was a young handsome man of 37 years of age, who lived with an American wife Cora Turner. Cora was a socialite and an outgoing person who liked to spend lavishly and party all night long.
In contrast Dr Cohen was of a shorter stature of five feet and four inches, he was shy and introvert. He preferred to spend time at home, reading books or do gardening. Since he took home calls he did not want to go too far away from his home and did not want to get drunk in case he had to see a patient.
Cora Turner was also a friend of the wife of an American Ambassador, which further increased her sphere of influence among American expatriates in London. Cora was very attractive, elegant and tall and people often asked her why she married Dr Cohen when she could have married anyone she wanted.
She often replied that she loved her husband and that he was such a nice, intelligent and caring person. People would laugh at this response, but she did not care too much about what they thought. She did let other men flirt with her to some extent, but she did not sleep with anybody else. The wives kept an eye on their husbands so that Cora Turner was never left alone with married men.
Gradually over a period of time Cora Turner was influenced by other people’s comments and started to ridicule her husband both in public and in private. One day Cohen was attending a party given by his doctor friends. They were all dressed in black dinner suits, but Cohen had a brown coloured tweed jacket with dark brown trousers, that made him stand out like a sore thumb. Cohen’s friend passed comments, ‘Gary you earn so much money and I am sure you can afford nice clothes.’
Cohen laughed, ‘I am also busy working, that is why I do not get time to buy my clothes.’
‘You have got an attractive wife who has plenty of time to do all that for you.’
Cohen blushed. ‘I do not get time to even think of that.’
The friend turned to Cora, ‘How do you spend your time with such a boring husband?’
‘I get invited to lots of parties, but I do not take Gary with me otherwise people will start asking embarrassing questions about him.’
Cora was already tipsy, and she started to laugh loud. Other friends joined in laughing with Cora.
Gary Cohen, after feeling a sense of humiliation, left the room to go to the toilet. When he came back, he saw Cora dancing with his friend on the dance floor.
Cohen was happier in his work place where his secretary Sally looked after him well. She never made fun of him but always paid full attention to Cohen’s needs. She was attracted to Cohen for his money and his status in society. She would bring to office her home cooked meals for him and that made Cohen feel closer to Sally. Cora never had the time or the inclination to cook for Cohen.
One day, Sally touched Cohen’s hands by accident and Cohen just firmed his grip on her hands and pulled her towards him to kiss her lips passionately. Very soon, they became lovers and planned to live their life together.
Cohen’s feelings towards Sally grew stronger but towards Cora became diminished.
Cora Turner came home one day late under the influence of alcohol and started to shout at Cohen, ‘You little man, you are not good for anyone, you are the source of all my problems. People laugh at me because of your stature and looks and at home, you can't satisfy me in the bed. What kind of life is that?’
Cohen just kept his cool and said, ‘If we are not compatible , then what is the point of living together? I have enough of your taunts and caustic remarks. We are not happy with each other, so what is the point of living together?’
Cora shouted, while staggering slowly to the bed room. ‘If you are thinking of a divorce, then forget about it as my family will not approve of it.’
Cohen went to the adjoining bedroom to sleep as he found it difficult to tolerate his wife any more. When he lay down in his bed, he constantly thought about Sally, who had mesmerised him by her deep love and softer approach. Sally had given the kind of love and hope that he had desired for a long time. Cohen twisted and turned in his bed many times, as his thoughts were focused on Sally most of the time. He saw his future together with Sally and hoped to raise children with her.
Cohen was married to Cora Turner for four years, but Cora had failed to become pregnant. As was the case in that period, all the blame was put on women for the cause of infertility.
Cohen loved to have children and if Cora had not become pregnant by now then there was less chance that she would ever become pregnant in the future.
Cohen had not developed physical relationship with Sally yet, he knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. Next day, Cohen told Sally about his conversation with Cora and asked Sally to find a solution, if Cora Turner did not agree for the divorce.
Sally asked, ‘Gary, do you really love me or I am just a shoulder to cry on during your adverse times?’
‘No, I strongly feel for you and that is why I feel that I am drifting away from Cora. I do not feel like touching her anymore, as your image comes in front of my eyes. Everything Cora says to me feels bitter and acrimonious.�
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‘So how do you see our relationship going forward?’ asked Sally.
Gary moved forward and took Sally in his arms and started to stroke her hair, ‘I just want to live with you. Either you move with me or I move with you.’
‘Dr Cohn the society will not approve of our relationship, if you are still married to Cora.’
‘So what shall I do? Cora does not want to divorce me.’
‘Well, there are other ways by which people can end up their relationships.’
Cohen paused for a moment and then moved away from Sally, ‘You are not suggesting that I should ----’
Sally stepped forward to put her head in Cohen’s chest and said, ‘Accidents do happen sometimes.’
Chapter 38
A week later Cora stormed into the surgery and went straight in Sally’s room and started to shout, ‘So you are the bitch that is trying to take away my husband. How dare you do that you cheap slut.’
‘You do not care for your husband anyway, as you are so busy partying with other men.’
Cora shouted again, ‘That is none of your business. I want you to stay away from my husband I know that you don't love him. You are only after his money.’
‘I do not need Dr Cohen’s money but just his love. I am happy the way I am at present. Everybody has rumoured that you only married him for his money.’
Cora Turner stepped forward and slapped Sally’s face, which left her staggering on the ground. Cora quickly left the room without waiting for Sally’s reaction.
After Cora left the room Sally rushed to Cohen’s room. The tears were still rolling down from her eyes, she looked at Gary Cohen and said, ‘She was here questioning about our relationship and before I could say anything, she slapped my face. What are we going to do now?’
