Crazy in Chicago

by Norah-Jean Perkin

  But Cody ignored her, focusing his attention on Garnet and the girl. His distant politeness hurt Roberta more than any of the accusations he’d hurled at her earlier. Every time she looked at his stiff profile, her heart cringed with guilt. It didn’t matter what she told herself. It didn’t matter if her motivations were not all bad. It didn’t matter if she cared about him. She felt guilty. While she hadn’t actually lied to him, neither had she been forthright about her intentions, about her desire to make him her star abduction case.

  Roberta glanced at the open door to Garnet’s office. Cody had saved his questions about the regression until after this second session. The combination of Cody’s skepticism, his dislike of all things “weird”, and his anger at her, with Garnet’s foul mood and suspicions, was likely to result in fireworks any minute. Then Garnet would never forgive her for setting up this interview, and her life at work, as well as at home, would be hell.

  Roberta started toward the office. She wondered if today’s session had affected Cody as strangely as yesterday’s had. She remembered his ashen face, the sweat on his forehead, and the rash on his arms. If he’d developed a rash today, she couldn’t tell; he still wore his suit jacket. If he’d suffered from nausea, he’d managed to hide it.

  She slipped back into Garnet’s office. Cody sat on the edge of his chair, a notepad open on his knee and a pen in his hand, his attention focused on Garnet. Garnet was rattling off a monologue about alien abduction that Roberta had heard many times before.

  A rush of guilt-tinged affection for Cody nearly bowled Roberta over. She clenched her fists. Why did she care about this man at all? It made no sense. Besides being a potential case, he was all wrong for her. He moved far too fast, and with far too much charm, for her to handle. He had a reputation for loving and leaving, even if he said it was no longer true. And despite his claim to open-mindedness, she was certain he considered alien abduction just so much craziness, no matter what he heard or saw to the contrary. How could she possibly care?

  A picture of the way he smiled at her filled her head. She knew why she cared. No one had ever looked at her like that, as if she was the most wonderful, delicious, lovable female in the world. No one had ever pursued her so relentlessly, teased her so unmercifully, made it so obvious he wanted her. She hated to see a man like that hurting. And hurting he definitely was.

  She sighed. But it didn’t matter. Since the discovery of the file, Cody had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. With a heavy heart, she sat down across from Garnet and Cody, and tried to pick up on the conversation. At least it hadn’t come to blows.

  Finally Garnet paused, allowing Cody a chance to question.

  “Dr. Jones, why have you chosen to use hypnotism, in particular hypnotic regression, with people who believe they may have had alien encounters?”

  Garnet steepled his fingers under his bearded chin. “I don’t use it with everyone who claims to have had an alien encounter. Only in cases where we are already investigating, and it is clear the individual has lost a block of time. I know from personal experience that alien encounters can be traumatic. The human mind regularly defends against such trauma by blocking the conscious memory of such traumatic events. Hypnosis can be an effective tool for unlocking blocked memories.”

  “You’ve already noted that it wasn’t particularly successful with Tara today. But you’ve found it to be successful with others?”

  “Not just others. I’ve been hypnotized myself, in an attempt to uncover the alien encounters that occurred when I was a child. Together with a hypnotist, I discovered truths that had been buried deep in my subconscious mind.”

  Roberta relaxed a little. So far Cody hadn’t attacked. Perhaps the interview would progress without a fight.

  Cody frowned. “Many therapists have used hypnotism to uncover forgotten incidents of rape or incest in their clients’ lives. One of the criticisms often leveled is that the therapist asks leading questions. Weren’t you worried that you were leading Tara?”

  Garnet shrugged and looked through his bifocals at his hands. “You were here. You heard what I asked her. I think if you examine the recording we made of the sessions, you’ll see I never put any ideas or suggestions into her mind.”

  “Hmm.” Cody looked at the painting of the alien on the wall behind Garnet. If that painting wasn’t suggestive, he didn’t know what was. He frowned, then looked back at Garnet. “What about expectations? Some studies have shown that a subject will say what the hypnotist or therapist expects her to say.”

  “That’s only a theory. And it’s clear Tara didn’t do that. Especially after today, I don’t know how you can conclude that.” Garnet frowned. He started to drum his fingers on his knee, a sure sign of his growing displeasure. Roberta grimaced. Oh no.

  “The same study showed that subjects were as likely to recall forgotten fantasies as they were to recall real events,” Cody persisted. “How can you be sure that what Tara recalled was real and not just a dream or a fantasy?”

  “It’s not a fantasy. No one has fear like that in connection with a dream.”

  Cody changed tack. “Is Tara pregnant?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Garnet looked taken aback by the abrupt question. “She’s having a pregnancy test later this week.”

  “I didn’t see a ring. She’s not married, is she?”

  “No. What does that have to do with this?”

  Cody paused. “Well, it seems to me there’s one thing you haven’t considered. Isn’t it possible that Tara is making this whole story up? That she knows she’s pregnant, and is afraid to tell her parents, so she’s concocted this story to protect herself.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” snapped Garnet. “Tara is very reliable. Besides, aliens abducted her long before this, an abduction with significant physical proof.”

  “All of which proof is disputed,” Cody retorted.

  Garnet slapped his hand on his thigh. His eyes flashed. “That’s the trouble with you people. You always accuse UFO researchers of being naive dupes. But you aren’t much different. You selectively choose which facts you’ll believe and which you won’t.”

  Cody remained unruffled. “You said you don’t influence your subjects.” He gestured to the alien painting. “But isn’t that picture on your wall designed to do just that? To affect everything from your subjects’ state of mind to what they tell you they remember? Tara’s description of the little man at the end of her bed isn’t much different from your picture.”

  Garnet jumped to his feet. “Tara and I are not the only people who have seen aliens of that description,” he said coldly. “That’s merely a painting of what I saw, reflecting my relationship to it. It’s not there to influence anyone.”

  Cody shook his head. “Sorry, Dr. Jones. I haven’t found this terribly convincing. Taking into account the arguments disputing the value of hypnotic regression, it seems to me what happened here yesterday and today was absolutely predictable. And ultimately controlled by you.”

  “That’s unfair,” Roberta interrupted. She glared at Cody, her whole body trembling with the injustice of his accusations, the injustice of his unwillingness to listen to Garnet or to her. “You’re twisting what you saw and heard to fit your own prejudices. Dr. Jones is a trained professional. His methods are impeccable.”

  Cody’s cold glance stung. “Yeah, sure. He also makes his living—a very good living, I might add—on the backs of poor deluded people who would do anything for a little attention.”

  “How can you say that? Tara and her mother asked to come here, not the other way around. They came because they know how respected and astute Garnet is.”

  “Yeah. And a millionaire several times over,” Cody responded.

  Garnet stared icily at Cody. “I think you’d better leave. You’ve made it clear . . .”

  “No.”

  Both men turned to look at Roberta. She straightened. “I’ve got a much better idea,” she said. “Mr. Walker here thinks this i
s all a crock.” She looked hard at Cody. “Well, why don’t you let Garnet hypnotize you? Find out what really happened the night you disappeared.”

  Cody’s eyes flashed with irritation. He scowled. Garnet stepped back, puzzled. “What are your talking about? Why would I want to hypnotize him?”

  “Because.” Roberta ignored Cody’s anger. “Remember that reporter who disappeared for six weeks last summer? Remember how we talked about how his disappearance had trademarks of an alien abduction? Well, Cody Walker is that reporter. And he still doesn’t have a clue what happened to him during those six weeks last summer.”

  “Hmm.” Garnet’s annoyance faded. He rubbed his beard as he studied Cody with new interest. “I don’t know. It . . .”

  “In the past two weeks, Cody’s been suffering from insomnia and nausea. Yesterday, during the session with Tara, he developed a bright red rash on the insides of his elbows. And he suffered an attack of nausea.”

  Roberta glanced at Cody. He looked as if he’d like to throttle her. She’d been pushed too far to care. If she’d lost everything, at least she’d have a chance to find out what was at the root of Cody’s disappearance. And a chance to help him, whether he wanted her help or not. “As you know, Garnet, those are classic signs of radiation sickness, something regularly associated with alien abductions.”

  “Hmm.” Garnet’s professional interest took over. “Why don’t you sit down, Mr. Walker. It won’t take that long to hypnotize you and take you back to—”

  “No.” Cody shoved his notebook into the pocket of his suit jacket. He shot Roberta a look that clearly said, “I’ll kill you for this”.

  Roberta smiled sweetly. She no longer had anything to lose. “Oh, come on Cody. You’re a reporter—a big name investigative reporter, too, if I recall. Why won’t you let yourself be hypnotized?”

  His black eyes glistened with anger. “I don’t see the point in it.”

  She cocked her head. “You wouldn’t be afraid, would you? The crusading reporter, afraid to try what a poor, deluded girl was willing to undergo?”

  “Of course not. I just don’t see the connection to me.”

  “But you don’t really know that, do you?” Hurt by his rejection, by the guilt he had inspired in her, she pushed as hard as she could. “I think you’re afraid—afraid of what hypnosis might reveal.”

  “I’m not afraid,” he bit out.

  “Fine. Then there’s no reason not to go ahead.”

  “Cody’s eyes narrowed. His mouth set in a grim line. He looked at Roberta, challenge in his eyes.

  “All right,” he ground out. “Let’s do it.”

  Chapter 7

  Roberta sat on the edge of her seat, her neck craned forward, her heart racing. Her fingers dug into the seat cushion. She still couldn’t believe that Cody had agreed to undergo hypnotic regression.

  She watched the amber pendulum swing back and forth in front of Cody. She listened to Garnet’s low, soothing voice, saying the same phrases over and over. What if Garnet failed to hypnotize Cody? It had happened before, with other subjects. Her fingers dug deeper into the cushion.

  Cody’s eyes fluttered shut. Garnet lowered the pendulum, then pocketed it. “Good,” he said. “He’s under.”

  Roberta shut her eyes and sagged back into the chair. With luck they were on the verge of discovering what had happened to Cody during those missing six weeks—and proving her hunch that he had been abducted by aliens. She was sorry she’d hurt Cody. She felt guilty about pushing him so hard. But even he would have to relent if the hypnosis gave him back his six lost weeks. She sat forward again, her body humming with an excitement she could barely contain.

  Garnet flexed his shoulders and shook his head, then regarded Cody. “All right, Mr. Walker. I’m going to call you Cody from now on. And you can open your eyes. We’re going back to the night of June fifteenth, the night you disappeared.”

  “June the sixteenth, actually,” Roberta interjected as Cody’s eyes flickered open. “He disappeared in the early morning hours of Thursday, June the sixteenth.”

  “Hmph. All right. June the sixteenth,” Garnet acquiesed. “If I recall, you were driving in your car, a white Corvette, and heading north on Lake Shore Drive, roughly halfway between Hyde Park and Burnham Park. You were on your way home from the apartment of a woman called Tiffany Jaines. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  At the mention of the other woman’s name, Roberta stiffened, then berated herself for being silly. Cody’s love life had nothing to do with her now, if it ever had.

  “What time is it?” Garnet asked.

  “I left Tiffany’s about one thirty in the morning. Traffic is light and I’m making good time along the Lake Shore. Every once in a while I can see the city lights glinting off the lake.”

  Roberta studied Cody. In keeping with other hypnosis subjects, he appeared absolutely normal. She hoped he wasn’t faking it. Too much rode on the discovery of the truth.

  “And what is your state of mind? How are you feeling?”

  “State of mind?” Cody paused, then frowned. “Tired, I guess. A little sad, too, and relieved. Definitely relieved.”

  “Relieved?” Garnet’s eyebrows shot up. “What are you relieved about?”

  “My fiancee had broken our engagement. I’m sorry—I like Allie, but more than anything I feel relief that it’s over.”

  Roberta squirmed. She felt like a voyeur, looking into parts of Cody’s life that were none of her business.

  “Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blue light is shining into my eyes.”

  Roberta tensed. Breathless, she waited for Cody’s next words.

  “I can’t see. I’m squinting. I put down the visor. Nothing helps. I’m pulling over to try to get away from that blinding light.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “I still can’t see but somehow I manage to pull over. The light is shining in my eyes, but I can’t tell from where. It’s burning, burning. I can’t get away from it.”

  “What are you doing now?”

  “I’m fumbling for the door handle. I find it, open the door and get out. I can’t see. I raise my arm to shield my eyes, but it’s not doing any good.” As he spoke, Cody squinted and raised his arm. He put one hand out before him and groped at the air. “I . . . I’m feeling my way around the hood of the car to reach the shoulder. I don’t want to walk into the roadway.”

  “What are you feeling now?”

  “Fear,” Cody replied from behind his raised arm. “I’m afraid. Disoriented. I can’t see. I want to escape but now I can’t seem to move, either. I don’t know where the road is any more, or where I am.”

  Garnet leaned forward. “Do you see anyone? Do you hear anything?”

  “No. No one. Nothing. Only that light. It hurts. I . . .”

  “You what?”

  “There’s a noise, like a whooshing in my ears or the rushing of water. I think I’m going to be sick.” Cody’s arm dropped from his face to his stomach.

  With alarm Roberta noted the beads of sweat on his forehead. She jumped up and raced for Garnet’s wastepaper basket. She shoved it between Cody’s legs but didn’t touch him.

  Roberta returned to her seat. Garnet posed his next question. “What happens then?”

  “I—I don’t know. There’s nothing. Just nothing. The blue light is gone. So is the noise.”

  “Relax,” Garnet purred. “Try to look around you, to adjust your bearings. Try to listen, to smell, to feel your surroundings. Anything at all that you can remember.”

  Cody stopped clutching his stomach. He shook his head and blinked. “I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. But . . . but I feel as if I’m waking up. That’s it. I’m waking up from a sleep.” A look of bewilderment crossed his face. “I can’t move! I’m trying, but I can’t open my eyes. I’m powerless. It’s . . .”

  He frowned. “I hear . . . voices . . . human voices.”

  Roberta’s mouth dropped. Huma
n voices?

  “Human voices?” Garnet echoed Roberta’s surprise.

  “I think so. Not talking to me. But around me. I don’t understand the words, but I can hear voices. Human voices. I know they’re human voices. And there’s a man . . . a big man bending over me.”

  “Do you see him?”

  “No.” Cody rubbed his eyes. “I can’t open my eyes. I don’t see him. But I know he’s there. I don’t know how.”

  Garnet turned and made a face at Roberta. Yes, she agreed silently. This was strange, and not a bit like anything they’d gotten from a subject before. Worst of all, Cody’s insistence that he heard human voices was blowing her theory about alien abduction to bits.

  “Can you describe the man?”

  “No. Yes. No.” Cody grimaced. “He’s familiar, but not familiar. I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t actually see him. It’s as if . . . as if I sense him.”

  “What is the man doing?”

  “He’s looking at me. That’s all. Just looking. Then he goes away.”

  “Hmmm.” Garnet rubbed his beard once more and bared his teeth. He seemed uncertain how to proceed.

  Finally he cleared his throat. “What’s happening now?”

  Cody frowned again. “I . . . don’t . . . know. It’s as if I’m drifting or floating. I don’t feel anything or see anything. But—but I hear a voice. Just one voice this time. I can’t make out the words, but they repeat. Over and over, like a mantra, soothing. I don’t understand the words, but it doesn’t matter. The voice is speaking to me and I listen.”

  “Who’s speaking?”

  Cody shook his head. “I don’t know. The voice grows fainter. It’s only an echo now but I keep listening.”

  Garnet drummed his fingers on his knee. “Is this a human voice?”

  “Yes. I think so. A woman’s voice. Over and over. I don’t know the voice.”