by Jason Wood
Mystery:
Distance Hours:
The Hidden Truth
Jason Wood
5
Copyright © 2016 Jason Wood
All rights reserved.
Table Of Content
Copyright
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter3
Free Book
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Copyright 2016
All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Summary
The hidden truth
Michaela Rhodes never thought that it was possible to lead a normal life. It wasn’t until she met Emily a therapist that had a mind for the unconventional that she began to see that it was in reach. She had a boyfriend and those feelings after the treatment had grown to more than just a physical attraction. They were living together and not sleeping with each other, until such time that they were able to make it official. They convinced one another that it would be best to see if they were compatible. So far, there was very little that he had done that made her want to run in the opposite direction. The person that was after her was making her play a deadly game and one that could make her see everything that she had wanted go down the toilet. How was she supposed to handle a normal life, when her other life was bleeding through to make her want to come out and play?
Chapter one
I had seen the look on the Maestro’s face. It almost seemed like he had known who his assailant was. I had to stand there for several moments to immerse myself into the scene. I wanted to remember it, as a cautionary tale. I took a few photos and a very descriptive video up close and personal. Emily and my friends were still inside and it was just a matter of time before somebody came across this grisly discovery. I had to take this time to get my thoughts straight. I could not show any of the discomfort that I was seeing by looking at the one man that had cost me a part of my soul. I wasn’t upset that he was dead.
The maestro was the only one that understood me. He had given me a chance to prove myself beyond a shadow of a doubt. I had to admit that he was probably doing it for his own motives, but he did give me a direction to use my unusual gifts. He had taught me that I should never use the same technique twice, even though there were those that had used their own signature. I looked for any signature with the killings up to this point and so far there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason.
It was his surprised reaction that caused me the most concern. He was always very careful and he had probably come here to warn me about something that he had found and was now willing to share. Whoever had done this to him had wanted to make a statement. They had done that and so much more. It gave me the impression that the Maestro was very intimate with the person that did this to him. It was possible that I had met them in passing. We had meetings and maybe it was about time that I went back to one of them to ferret out the culprit once and for all.
Most people in this situation would be screaming or calling 911, but that was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn’t want them to come here and disturb this masterpiece, but that was unavoidable. The authorities were going to make it necessary to tiptoe around them like I was walking on broken eggshells. I had to stay away from the scene of the crime. They would obviously be looking for those that were sticking around to admire their work. If I were to show up and become suspicious, then they would want to dig into my past.
This was a little hard to swallow, but being off that treatment had opened my eyes. I was no longer blind or stumbling around trying to figure out what to do. I knew that eventually I would come across this individual and that we were going to have more than just words. I was not a stranger to death and how easily it could find an individual in some form or another. We as hired killers were taking out the middleman, but I believed in my heart that destiny wouldn’t have allowed us to exist without a purpose.
I went back into the club and the girls were still yelling and hollering for the twins that had now gotten down to their birthday suit. They were letting the girls get a little too close for comfort and Emily in particular was taking some liberties by grabbing onto that piece of their anatomy that had garnered the most attention. Sandra was not exactly staying off to the sidelines and she was now whispering to one of them with a pile of cash clutched in her fist.
“I think that we both know what Sandra is telling him. The only thing that remains a mystery is if she wants one or the both of them at the same time.” Emily pointed and I saw that the one guy was now whispering to his brother about the possibilities of having this cougar at their beck and call. He was obviously interested and they were both ogling her like she was made of candy. “I guess there is no mystery after all. Her eyes are bigger than her expectations and I guess we shouldn’t have expected anything less from her.” Sandra was that one girl that had the boys eating out of the palm of her hand.
“You know that I’m a study of human nature, Michaela. When you first came to me, I knew that you were hiding a deep dark secret. It was written on your face, but I had no idea how deep that secret went. I hate to make office talk here with all of these beautiful bronze bodies putting themselves on display for all of us, but I think that I see a twinkle of your old self trying to scratch free. Are you sure that you’re OK?” I should’ve known that she would be able to see what I was trying to hide.
“I think that by being near my friends and away from temptation is the best thing for me at the moment. I will say that I do feel that certain something. That dark entity is there. That shadow of my former self is raising her ugly head. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I could probably take one of these guys home and then stick cab fare in his underwear on his way out the door afterwards. I’m not going to do that, because frankly it’s cheap and demeaning. I’m sure that there is a place for something like that, but for me I need to take things slowly. With Neil, I have that opportunity to get to know him and not just his body. I have seen him come out of the shower a few times and what I’ve seen is impressive enough to make me wish that he will get down on his knees very soon.” There was the part of me that didn’t want anything to do with the institute of marriage. It was just a piece of paper. If I was really committed, then that should’ve been more than enough.
“I can only take solace in that you will be in my office tomorrow morning. I want to see how you’re coping. I’m not at all convinced that this is the right course of treatment. Going cold Turkey is only going to feed on that desire to kill.” It was nice that she was whispering this into my ear, so that nobody else could hear what she had to say to me. The others were too engrossed with the naked bodies and the money that they were more than happy to throw in their direction for a brief peek at the good stuff.
“I understand that you’re concerned about me, but right now I have everything under control. Any time that I feel that need arise, I just think about what I have and what I have to lose. I don’t want that to happen and having Neil and you in my life have given me a reason to fight back from that black abyss that is threatening to swallow me whole.” I had a life before all of this, but it was nothing to write home about.
I kept glancing towards the back and wondering when that moment was going to come about. There was no way that they wouldn’t find him and eventually somebody would go outside to put the trash away. I could almost imagine the bloodcurdling scre
am and what kind of pleasure I would take from their obvious discomfort by seeing something that would scar them for life. Something like that could never be wiped from the human mind no matter how much you wanted to rid yourself of that haunting image.
“I know that what you say has some conviction behind it. I want to believe you, but I’m worried that you’re going to do something that is going to make me do something for the benefit of all those that will be hurt by your behavior. I admire you for wanting to try it without the treatment, but I think that you’ll find that you’ll need to come back. It might be a good thing that you walk away from it for awhile. It will give your body a chance to rediscover what it was about those electrical jolts that made that part of you diminish.”
“I really don’t want to talk about this, Emily. I would rather just have a good time with my friends. I did tell Neil what I was doing tonight and I believe that honesty is the best policy.” I knew how hypocritical that might sound, considering that I had not even mentioned the fact that I was a serial killer for hire. I had watched a certain show on television for several seasons. The main character reminded me of myself and how easily you could lose sight of what’s important. He lost his family and had only himself to blame for making mistakes that came from dealing with his human half.
I was feeling that same pull and I was hoping that I could find a way to circumvent that from happening to me. I didn’t want to be making any mistakes, especially when this killer was very effective. The Maestro couldn’t have been in the hallway in the darkness. There was no way that short amount of time would give the killer enough time to do what he or she needed to do. I could only assume that the killer had come in wearing something similar to the maestro to get my attention and make it possible for me to find that grisly discovery before anybody else could.
I heard somebody scream and then a panicked face of a young man of impressionable taste came flying through the door looking like the devil himself was on his ass.
Chapter two
I knew that I was asking for trouble to stay here. I had to answer these inane questions from the police. I remained cordial, but I also showed that I was visibly shaken by what had occurred no more than a few feet away from the festivities. They questioned everybody. Emily found me in a corner and she pushed me up against the wall with her two hands on my shoulders.
“I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you had nothing to do with this. I want you to tell me that you had no knowledge of what happened out there tonight. You know that I’ll be able to read you like a cheap suit.” There was no way that I was going to hide the fact that I had found the Maestro. What I could do was hide the fact that I knew him at all.
“I heard something out back and I went to investigate. I saw the body, but there was no way that I wanted to get involved. I walked away quickly, because staying back close to something like that could make me back step into a life that I had left behind. Do you believe me?
“I do, but you have a tendency to be able to lie with a straight face. I think that I’m going to have to take you on face value, until I know otherwise. We’ve been given the green light to leave and I think that we should do that, before we risk saying something that we’re both going to regret.” Sandra came up with those two guys hanging on her arms. She winked in my direction and I had a feeling that one of her stories was going to be very explicit. She had a tendency to want to brag. I guess I couldn’t claim her for wanting to share her pleasures with another.
“It looks like Sandra got exactly what she wanted from this evening. She doesn’t look at all affected by what happened out there in the Alley. I think that it might be different had she been right there. Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it is another matter altogether. I promise you that I’m not lying when I tell you that I had nothing to do with it. That is my gospel and the one thing that you can take to the bank.” I’d said what she wanted to hear and I saw a sense of relief come across her features.
“Murders happen in this city all the time. I saw the body and how it was affixed to the cross and I can only assume that the killer had meant that as some kind of message. I told the officer that I’m willing to consult and they told me that they were more than willing to entertain the idea. They have asked me to come in to do an analysis. They want me to get into the mind of the killer and hopefully I can give them a brief portrait of who they might be looking for.”
I didn’t want her to profile the killer. I was worried that she would get the impression that it was me and then want to do something about it before I struck again. “Are you sure that you don’t have too much on your plate as it is? I know that you have patients every day and to juggle that sort of thing with working with the police is only going to alienate them. They may even consider going to another therapist that can give them that undivided attention.” I didn’t mean to make her feel that she couldn’t help her patients, but it was the only way to get her to back down from getting involved with the investigation.
“I consulted in the past and it has never affected me. I can tell you that the killer is confident and is most likely in the age bracket of 30 to 40 years old. The person knows how to kill without allowing emotions to cloud their judgment. They have done this before and there is no hesitation. I would gather to say that the person that did this found enjoyment out of making that man suffer needlessly. I think that the coroner will find out that the nails were put into his body while he was still alive. He most likely screamed the entire time that it was happening and none of us heard it because we were screaming ourselves for more skin.” The portrait that she was making made me aware that the Maestro had fallen into the hands of somebody that was malevolent. They didn’t care for others’ feelings.
“I don’t know why it even matters to me, but I think that I would like to know what you know. This might be the perfect way to keep me from going out and doing something about this feeling deep down inside. Hearing about this investigation from your point of view and what this killer is all about might be the placebo affect that I’m looking for. Just hearing you talk about the killer has filled me with a sense of calm.” There used to be a storm raging within me and I could feel that that moment was coming upon me again. “This really has helped me and I know that it’s against procedure, but I think that you can trust me with your innermost secrets.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder “I think that it would be a good idea for you to hear all the details of the killing. I want you to really listen to what I have to say when I find out this information. This might be the perfect way to keep that inner demon from coming out. You might be right and hearing about the heinous details might subdue that part of yourself. I know the kind of pleasure that serial killers get at seeing their work admired. I have been in prisons and got information out of killers by showing them photos of the crime scene. It gives them that brief moment of pleasure, before it’s taken away to leave them with a sense of emptiness. I don’t think that will happen to you, but there’s really only one way to find out. You know that I know you better than you probably know yourself.” I didn’t want to admit anything of the sort, but I knew deep down that she was probably telling the truth.
“I think that you know me better than most people do. I feel bad about leaving Neil in the dark, but I’m not sure that he’s capable of learning the truth. I look back at those times and I feel sort of a remorse for those people that had to die at my hands. I know that that is your influence, Emily and there are times that I curse your name in the middle of the night. There are also times and I get down on my knees and worship the ground that you walk on. I don’t think that there would be a Neil in my life, if it wasn’t for you. I don’t want to give you a swelled head, but you really do your profession justice.” I didn’t mean to gush, but she was instrumental in making me see that what I had done in the past was only hurting me.
“You know how much it pleases me to hear you say something like that, Michaela. My patients don’t usu
ally say anything of the sort. I think that you might be the one that all of us therapists are looking for. The one that we know that we can help and that the person will do practically anything that we say to get the required results. I have to give you all the credit in the world for denying yourself that inner demon. It can’t be easy to give up on the one thing that you know. I know you told me that you felt bad, but I think deep down you just didn’t wanna get caught.
“I will admit that I came to you in a knee jerk reaction to meeting Neil. He gave me the courage to walk through your door to sit down and tell you my darkest thoughts. I know that I stunned you by some of the things that I’ve said in session. I want to apologize, but I don’t think I could’ve gotten this far without unloading that burden.” I’d taken a few baby steps and it wasn’t long before I was asking her to do the impossible.
“I still think that you hold things back. You probably think that I wouldn’t understand, but you’ve already told me the hard part. I think that deep down you don’t want to trust anyone. You’re worried that when people know who you are that you’re going to find them walking away. You have a real phobia of abandonment. You probably don’t know that yourself, but trust me that is the underlying fear that has been driving you all this time.”
“I never really thought of that before, but I suppose there is merit to what you have to say.” We left there and I promised that I would be there in the morning. I just wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hold true that promise. That feeling was getting stronger and seeing Wilson and then the Maestro was like a cold slap to my face. I wanted to believe that I could fight back, but I had no idea of how I might do that. I believed myself to be a lost cause and that eventually my old ways would emerge even stronger than ever. The feeling of having no remorse was not something that I was looking forward to. I’d just got back my life and now it was being unraveled before my eyes.
