John’s face drained of color as he looked at Alice. She nodded and whispered to him to say yes. “Well, I wouldn’t call them nightmares, but I have been having dreams about work. I guess you could call them strange dreams.”
“Mr. Timberlake, may I ask you what your job is?”
“I’m a prison officer.”
“Can you tell me about your dreams?”
John was feeling sick. He couldn’t tell him what his dreams were about, but he also didn’t want to lie to the Feds. “I’d rather not talk about them.”
Alice snatched the phone from John’s hand. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Timberlake.” She didn’t wait for the agent to say hi. “My husband has been having dreams about letting prisoners out of their cells. We think that’s why he’s getting up in the night and taking the bolts off the front door.” The words rushed out of Alice’s mouth all in one breath.
“Evening, Mrs. Jefferson.”
“Good evening, sheepishly, realizing she had skipped proper introductions in her haste to tell him about John’s dreams. There were a few seconds of silence before he spoke again.
“The detectives failed to put in their report that your husband was a prison officer.”
“Why … what difference does his job make?” John crowded in close to Alice and the phone so he could hear, as well.
“Well, it may put a different light on the case.” Alice and John frowned. “Mrs. Timberlake, I would like to ask you a few questions if I may?”
“Yeah … okay,” she replied, hesitantly.
“They might be difficult for you to answer; if you don’t want to, I’ll understand.” There was another slight pause. “I don’t know how to ask you this, but in the report it said that you woke up and found your panties on the floor, and there was an empty condom packet on the bedside table. I’m sorry to have to ask you something as personal as this, but did you have any dreams those nights, any…”
“No, I don’t remember any dream,” Alice interrupted him abruptly.
“Did you have any sexual fantasy dreams?”
“What kind of question is that? It’s my husband that’s sleepwalking, not me.”
“Yes, I know. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you, but it could be relevant to the case.”
“In that case, the answer is no; I haven’t had any sexy dreams in the last two nights.” If John hadn’t been holding the phone with her, she might have slammed it down.
Timberlake, I’m Special Agent
Agent Jefferson,” Alice replied “Why the interest in our dreams?” John asked. “Mr. Timberlake, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to drive
up to see you tomorrow––if that’s convenient for you and your wife, of course. Perhaps I can explain a bit more to you then.” “Where are you coming from?”
“I’m at our L.A. headquarters on Wiltshire Boulevard. I could be there around ten?”
“Yeah, that’ll be all right.”
“Good … just one more thing. Mr. Timberlake, are you working at the moment?”
“No, the doc has given me a couple of weeks off.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow, and I hope you sleep well tonight. By the way … I’ll have a patrol car parked outside your house tonight, not that I think you’ll go on a walkabout, but just for added peace of mind.”
The phone went dead. John and Alice looked at each other, the same puzzled expression on their faces. John hung up the phone, and asked, “What do you make out of that?”
“I think we should have a fresh cup of coffee, and talk it over.”
By the time Alice had made the coffee, they both had time to think over the phone call. Alice was concerned that Agent Jefferson had asked her about her dreams, when it was John who had the nightmares, and unlocked the doors.
John worried about what his dreams meant, and he knew that Horse, Tony, and Vince would be with him again tonight–– how he knew that for sure, he couldn’t tell, but it frightened him. He wondered if he should come clean and tell Alice his sordid secret, or wait to see what the Feds wanted first. Alice’s voice broke his thoughts.
“Why do you think he asked me if I had any sexy dreams?”
“It beats me.” It was him who was having the sexual dreams; he was glad Agent Jefferson hadn’t asked him that question.
“Did you notice a change in his tone of voice when you said you were a prison officer?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Do you suppose,” Alice looked thoughtful, “he thinks you are going to help some of the inmates break out of prison?”
“He did sound concerned, and he seemed glad I wasn’t working. He also said he’d have a patrol car outside our house tonight.” John had a puzzled look on his face. “Is that to keep me in, or to make sure no one gets in?” He was still wondering why the agent would ask about sexual fantasy dreams. Does he know I’m having those kinds of dreams? Did he only ask Alice about sexual dreams to throw me off?
Alice was only half listening to John. She had hoped the FBI would have had a simple explanation for what had happened to them the last few nights, but they seemed more concerned about John’s job, and her and John’s dreams. “I’m not sure why they’re putting a patrol car out front, but I really hope the FBI doesn’t think you would do something as crazy as help with a prison breakout!”
“I hope not!” John hoped the little lie he had spun wasn’t going to get him into a web of trouble. He cursed himself for making up such a story, but it was better than telling Alice, or anyone, the truth. Once again, John had an unsettling feeling that his sins were catching up with him.
When they went to bed that night, there was a nervous tension in the room. Alice decided to wear pajama pants over her panties, and tied the waist cord extra tight. Try undoing that without waking me up, she thought. John had insisted she change the code on the alarm; he was half expecting to set it off.
John was unsure about taking the medication the doctor had given him, so decided he wouldn’t. He had told the FBI agent he wasn’t on medication. He sensed he was going to have, more or less, the same dream of being raped. His dream was like a TV series that continued on from where the story left off and he knew he would go to the cell willingly, as if he were paying some sort of debt he owed them. He had a picture in his mind of Horse standing there, showing off his enormous erection. He fell asleep telling himself it was only a dream and it would end one day, and everything would return to normal.
Chapter4
John awoke to a sun-filled room. A quick glance at the clock told him it was 7:58 a.m. His first thought was that he had slept late, then, he remembered he was on sick leave. Through
the corner of his eye, he spotted his t-shirt and shorts on the floor. He sprang out of bed, waking Alice at the same time. “Alice, get up!”’ He shook her. She turned and pushed up on one elbow, and looked at where he was pointing. “Alice, look!” he shouted. “I’ve done it again.” And then his eyes fixed on the empty condom packet. “Oh no,” he groaned, “not again. I’ve been sleepwalking.”
Alice couldn’t have been more frightened if he had shouted fire. Her heart was racing as she sat up in bed, but she was glad to see she still had her pajamas on. “The alarm hasn’t gone off,” Alice said as she tried to comfort him, “perhaps you just got out and undressed, and came back to bed?”
John grasped the condom packet and asked, “So, what did I do with the condom?”
Alice wasn’t quite awake, and had a tough time taking it all in, but his question made her look on the floor on her side of the bed. There, on top of her slippers, were her panties, folded just like the last two nights. She got out of bed slowly and picked them up. “There’s no way you took my panties off without waking me … no way!” Her eyes filled with tears as her panic turned to confusion. “How could you have?” Alice was holding up her panties, and at the same time checking her pajama cord. It was tied tightly. “John, what’s going on?”
He was just as confused. Then, he noticed her pajama to
p was buttoned wrong. He pointed his chin to her. “Did you button your top up like that last night, before you got into bed?”
Alice looked in the mirror and could see what he meant. The thought of being undressed and made love to, and then being dressed back up, but leaving her panties off, was too much for her. “I’m going to be sick.” She lurched toward the bathroom, and then stopped dead. The landing light was on. “John, the light is on.” She froze on the spot. “Go and check the door.” Her voice was just above a whisper––not far from crying––as her panic returned.
John was still sitting naked on the bed, holding the packet. “I can’t … I don’t know the new code, you’ll have to do it.” Somehow, John knew the bolts would be off, too. He began to dress.
The sick feeling eased slightly as Alice went and checked the door. The alarm was deactivated, and the two bolts were open. Alice went to the door and opened it. The police officer who had been there all night in his car gave her a wave and mouthed the words, good morning. She ran back upstairs and into John’s arms. “I’m scared, what’s happening to us?”
“It’s not you, it’s me and my silly dreams; I’m driving us both crazy.” He kissed the top of her head. “Perhaps I should have taken my pills.”
“John, you didn’t know the code for the alarm, so I must have gone downstairs and turned it off, and taken the bolts off the door.” Alice burst into tears as she repeated, “What’s happening to us?”
John had goose bumps, but no answers for her. “It’s like living a nightmare, even when we wake up nothing makes sense.”
Alice had a flashback of her dream, and she pushed away from him. “John, I had a dream about you last night.” She caught his hand and led him to the bed, “And, it wasn’t a good dream.” They sat on the bed holding hands. “It was stupid, but I think I’d better tell you.”
John had a good idea what her dream was about and didn’t want the embarrassment of listening to it. “Let me have a shower and breakfast first; we can talk with a clear head then.”
“No, I want to tell you while it’s still fresh in my mind.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “It started when you forgot your lunchbox, and I took it to work for you. Some old guy called Old Joe said, ‘Hi Mrs. T., you looking for J.T?”’
At the mention of Old Joe, John flinched. “There’s no one at work named Old Joe.”
“It’s only a dream, babe.” Alice gave him a feeble smile. “His name was definitely Old Joe, though, and I can remember the other names, too. It’s as clear as if we watched it in a movie last night.”
John couldn’t look her in the eyes. He just stared at their hands, as he knew what was coming next.
“Old Joe said to me, ‘come on, Mrs. T., I’ll take you to him; he’ll be down in the restroom with the boys.’ We went into this room, and Andy and Bob were there, and they greeted me with, ‘Hi, Mrs. T.’”
“Mrs. T. … why would they call you…?” John left it at that as Alice went on.
“Old Joe asked where you were, and they said you were doing your rounds. Then Old Joe grabbed my hand and led me through the prison. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘I know where he is.’” Alice squeezed John’s hand tighter. “If it wasn’t for these awful dreams you’ve been having, I wouldn’t tell you the next part, but…” She lifted his hand and kissed the back of it. “But darling, I’ve got to tell you.”
John gave her a weak smile. “Yeah, go ahead, tell me the worst.” He bowed his head in shame.
“Well, just before we got to this cell, Joe warned me I would not like what you were doing. But I marched on to where I could hear your voice, anyway.” Alice swallowed. “You were naked, and so were three of the prisoners!” She didn’t tell John the prisoners had sex with him in her dream. She wanted to save him from that embarrassment. “I know that it’s only a dream, but the one called Vince said, ‘thank you for the condoms, Mrs. T.’”
John felt faint at the mention of the name, Vince. How could Alice have had the same dream and the same characters in her dream as him? “Did I tell you that Vince was one of the men in my dream?” he interrupted her, hoping she’d say yes.
“No, you didn’t.” Alice could see the bewildered look on his face, and she had to ask him, “Were Tony and Horse also in your dreams?”
John shot up; he couldn’t take anymore. “Don’t say anymore, you’re freaking me out.” He was waving his hands about like a madman. “How can this be happening to me?”
Alice was in a state of shock herself, and she spoke softly: “Let me finish.” She caught his hand and he sat back down. She took a deep breath. Alice couldn’t believe what she was about to say, but she knew it had to be said. “Horse said that if I wanted your dreams to stop, all I had to do was come to his cell tonight, instead of you.” Alice was expecting John to jump up and start ranting again.
He shook his head and stared at the floor, disgusted with himself. “I know. I had the same dream where Old Joe fetched you, except in my dream, you caught me having sex with those guys.” He couldn’t bring himself to say he was being raped. “And, Horse made you that offer in my dream, too.”
Alice put her arms around her husband and hugged him. “What does it all mean?” They sat in silence for a moment, both in deep thought, when part of Alice’s dream made her sit up straight. “Oh my God, I know how you had the new code for the alarm! Old Joe must have told you the number in your dream.” Her voice was just above a whisper: “When Old Joe was taking me back, we came to the main cell door and he said I could open it because it had the same code number as our alarm.” She looked at John. “I told him the new number that I set last night for the alarm. So, you see, that’s how Old Joe knew it.” She gasped. “Oh John, what have I done?”
John hugged her. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”
“John,” Alice struggled to say what was on her mind without hurting him more, but she had to say it. “You were having sex with those prisoners in my dream, too.”
“Alice, it was only a dream; if they raped me for real, I think my ass would be sore this morning. It was all in our heads, no one broke into the house.”
“Are you sure? I think we should phone the police again.”
That was the last thing John wanted, Alice telling the police about him being raped by three prisoners in their dreams. The police could find out about his secret. “No, we are going to have a shower, and then eat breakfast. After that, we will work out what we are going to tell the FBI agent when he comes by later.”
After breakfast, they sat down and went over their dreams. It was no good John saying his dream was about letting prisoners out of their cells, not now that Alice had, in some strange way, had the same dream as him. She now knew his nightmare was of being raped by three prisoners. She had caught him in his little white lie, but they decided he would still stick to that story for everyone else—he couldn’t handle the embarrassment of others knowing the truth.
He wondered if he told Alice that he thought he knew what the root of the trouble was, would she forgive him, or leave him. He went over it in his head, of how he would tell her. But the fact that he had had sex with a prisoner––even if the prisoner had offered his service for just a pack of smokes––was wrong; he had still had sex with another man. It was a crime that he had committed, and he couldn’t take a chance on Alice understanding––he knew he wouldn’t. It was John’s biggest regret, and he had thought it was in the past. He had been a rookie, and an inmate had offered him his service. He had done it to see what sex with another guy was like, but now it looked as though it had come back to haunt him. Somehow, his indiscretion had caught up with him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized there was no way he was going to let the Feds or Alice know the truth. He had to keep that sordid episode of his past a secret.
Alice, like John, had time to think what the best thing to do was. She wondered if she said yes to Horse in her dream if it would really stop John from having these nightmares. Perhaps tonight, if sh
e had that dream again, she would say yes. They didn’t hurt John, and they can’t hurt me; it’s only a dream, Alice told herself. Her thoughts of Horse and the other two standing there naked, and asking her to join them, started to arouse her.
She remembered that they were well blessed as the image of their manhood came clearly to her mind. And, as long as they didn’t want rough sex, she guessed she could cope with them–– for John’s sake, of course. She’d tell Old Joe to tell them that if there was any rough stuff she was out of there. She couldn’t believe she was even thinking like that. It wasn’t as if she could go back and talk to Old Joe, that dream was gone, and she’d not likely have it again. Alice tried to keep her mind on what she and John were going to tell the FBI agent, but she couldn’t.
It was strange. When Old Joe had walked her along the gantry to the cell, she hadn’t noticed if all the cells were occupied. It was when she walked back that she had noticed they were full, and all the men were smiling at her. It was then that Old Joe had asked her to punch in the code for the door. Before Old Joe had waved goodbye to her, he had whispered: “See you tonight, now that you know you can set John free––if you want to.”
Alice gasped, and her heart started racing. She pulled herself from her thoughts and looked around, half expecting Old Joe to be standing behind her, but the voice was only in her head. Everything was getting to her and John, making them uneasy. Old Joe could be right, she mused. It’s worth a try. She’d get laid by three sexy guys, and John would stop walking in his sleep. Alice still couldn’t believe she was thinking like this, but the thoughts didn’t want to go away.
She took a deep breath, and the vision of her in the cell with the prisoners making love to her was back in her thoughts. Old Joe was outside the cell, looking in, and he told the boys if there was any rough stuff, he’d take Alice out of there, and they’d be on detention. For some reason, Alice wanted Old Joe to be watching them––he seemed in control of the situation––she trusted him and he made her feel safe. Why she trusted an old man, she didn’t know. Her vision of what would happen tonight was getting her more than aroused, and she was disappointed when John broke her thoughts.
Get Out Of My Dreams (Joe the Magic Man Series Book 1) Page 3
