Darkness Exposed - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 5)

by Terri Reid

  “We don’t want you to get hurt, dear,” Rosie finished.

  Mary sat back in her chair and looked around at her friends. She realized their motivation was their concern for her, but she really couldn’t let that get in the way of discovering who murdered Jeannine.

  “First, I want to thank you for your concern, I really appreciate it,” she said. “And I know the only reason you don’t want me to be hypnotized is because of what happened to me yesterday. So, what I need from all of you are your ideas on how I can get the same information without being hypnotized.”

  She leaned forward and placed her arms on the table. “Stanley, what do you think?”

  He shrugged. “Well, maybe Jeannine could use someone else, like me,” he said. “That way you could listen to what was going on rather than live it.”

  “Ian would that work?” Mary asked.

  Ian shook his head. “No, it’s not likely,” he said with a sigh. “The only reason this works now is because of Mary’s connection with Jeannine. It’s doubtful we could recreate that same kind of bond with anyone else.”

  “And, I have to add,” Mary said. “That because I’m actually living Jeannine’s memories when she’s being hypnotized I get even more information and detail than I would if I were just listening to her.”

  She turned to Rosie. “Rosie, what would you suggest?”

  “Is there a way to get any more information from the suspects?” Rosie asked. “Pay them another visit.”

  “Well, I could wait until tonight and try to break in to each of the suspects homes and check out their basements,” Mary suggested. “But, other than that, and the bugging Ian’s already done, I don’t think another visit will do us much good. Stanley, what do you think?”

  “You wouldn’t have to be the one to break in,” Stanley said. “We could help you.”

  Mary held back her smile. “Stanley, I think you and Rosie might be a little rusty at breaking and entering,” she said. “And I don’t believe the professor has a lot of experience as a cat burglar.”

  Ian shook his head. “Too many years spent in a library, I suppose,” he said. “But, if you want me to be there, I’d be willing.”

  “And you’d probably set off all the alarms in the neighborhood,” Stanley grumbled.

  “Oh, dear, we really aren’t getting anywhere,” Rosie said. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. But it seems to me that maybe having you hypnotized is the best idea.”

  Mary turned to Ian. “So, how about you? Do you have any suggestions to replace what we originally planned?”

  “No, I don’t like it,” he said. “But I can see this is the safest route of all. Perhaps after this is all done I can hypnotize you and remove any of the memories you don’t want to have mixed with yours.”

  “That would be good,” Mary said. “I don’t need someone else’s scary situations, I have enough of my own.”

  She pulled her plate back in front of her. “So, are we all good now?” she asked.

  They all nodded.

  “Good, because I’m starving!”

  An hour later, Mary was lying on the couch and Ian was sitting next to her. Rosie and Stanley were sitting on the other side of the room. The cameras had been turned off and the microphones muted. The only thing keeping them from proceeding was Jeannine who was pacing the room.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” she said. “It was so frightening last time.”

  “But remember Jeannine, Mary will be with you,” Ian said. “So, you don’t have to be afraid.”

  “Do you promise, Mary, that you’ll stay with me no matter what?”

  Mary nodded. “I promise, I’ll be there with you. Living it through you.”

  Jeannine took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do it before I chicken out.”

  Ian brought Mary under first, as he had the last time and then had her invite Jeannine in.

  “Jeannine, where are you now?” he asked.

  “I’m leaving Mary’s room and walking,” she said. “I really can’t see much around me, but it’s getting darker. I think I’m going back to the place where he kept me.”

  Mary could feel the temperature drop and she rubbed her hands against her arms. She was no longer walking. She was back on the rough couch in the dark room. Her mouth felt dry and her vision was slightly blurred, but she was feeling a little stronger than she had in the past. She stood up and wobbled a little. Bracing herself against the couch, she was amazed to find her pregnancy had progressed considerably.

  “I’m really big now,” Jeannine said. “I must be at least eight months pregnant. When the baby moves, my whole abdomen moves with her.”

  Mary placed her hand on her belly and felt the wonder of her baby. Moving her hands slowly, she could actually feel her baby beneath her skin. A rush of love and fierce protectiveness engulfed her. She had to get out of there. She had to save her baby.

  Walking around the room, she searched for a window or a large vent, but the only door was the steel one that was always bolted. But was it always bolted or just when he wasn’t down here with her?

  She moved back over to the door and pulled on the latch. It was bolted shut. She looked at the hinges on the door and realized both the bolts and pins were on the other side. Her only chance, she decided, was to wait until he came downstairs and to catch him off guard.

  This time when she looked around the room it was to find something she could use as a weapon against her captor. Lifting and discarding a number of items, she finally was able to find a loose cinder block in the corner of the room.

  Half-dragging the block across the room, she paused when she heard the footfalls on the stairs. She knew she wouldn’t make it to the door, so she carried it to the couch and hid it beneath her blanket.

  The door burst open, just as she pulled the blanket over the block and her stomach.

  “Darling, are you awake?” he asked. His voice was still slightly slurred, but it sounded familiar. If she could just concentrate for a little longer.

  “I’ve been cutting down your drugs because we don’t want to hurt the baby,” he said. “But we don’t want you to be too alert, do we? It’s not as much fun when you’re fighting me.”

  He sat on the edge of the couch and put his hands on her belly. “I can’t tell you how much this excites me, darling,” he said. “I love to see you swollen with my baby.”

  Her vision was still a little blurry, but she was beginning to focus on his face. It just needed to clear up a little more.

  He bent forward and placed his head on her belly, next to his hands. “Come on, little girl,” he cooed. “Let your daddy feel you move. Show your daddy how much you love him.”

  Anger and desperation gave her strength. She slid her hands under the blanket and picked up the cinder block. She pulled it out from under the blanket and swung it at his head with all her might.

  “I hit him,” Jeannine cried. “I hit him with the cinder block.”

  Jeannine’s hand tightened on Ian’s arm. “Oh, no,” she cried. “I’m sorry. No, please, no!”

  Jeannine’s screams echoed in the room.

  “You little bitch,” he screamed, as he punched her in the face. “You ungrateful little bitch.”

  Mary could feel the pain echo through her jaw and into her head. She tried to protect herself from the next blow, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled then over her head as he punched her again and again. “No one does that to me,” he screamed. “No one. Do you hear me?”

  He dropped her wrists and the rest of her body fell with them against the couch. She could hear someone sobbing uncontrollably and realized it was her. She tried to touch her face, but the swelling had already begun and it was unrecognizable.

  She felt the pinprick on her arm and the world started to fade away again. “I would have let you be without drugs,” he said. “But you betrayed me. From now on, you will be so high, you won’t know if you’re awake or asleep.”

  And then her
world went black.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Mary was in pain. Sharp cramps had her nearly doubled over in agony. Her breath was coming out in gasps and her whole body hurt.

  “Help me, please,” she gasped.

  The pain was gone for a moment. She reached out for her water glass. She was so thirsty. The cool water soothed her parched mouth and tongue. She didn’t have much water left; the pains had been going on for at least an hour. Probably more, but she couldn’t remember.

  Another pain hit. She screamed. Oh, it hurt so much. Sweat poured from her face. Her whole body shuddered as she tried to control the pain. Then once again, the pain faded for the time being.

  She heard footsteps and, for the first time, she welcomed them. The door opened. “Help me...” she started to say, then another fresh pain hit again. She screamed and pulled her legs up into a fetal position. Suddenly water exploded from her body and soaked the couch and her clothing.

  “You’re in labor,” he yelled. “How long have you been having contractions?”

  Mary looked up at him helplessly. “Help me, please,” she said.

  Then through her drug induced haze she realized what he had said. “My baby,” she said. “My baby. Help my baby.”

  He laid her back on the couch and stripped off her panties. She felt him press against her and she screamed. “Stop it,” she screamed.

  “This isn’t supposed to be how it happened,” he said, his voice rising in panic. “You were supposed to have a nice normal labor. There’s something wrong here. You’re baby isn’t coming out the right way.”

  She reached out and grabbed his arm with her hand. “My baby,” she cried, “save my baby.”

  “Wait here,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t leave me,” Jeannine screamed, holding fast to Ian’s arm. “You have to save my baby.”

  Mary’s body was trembling uncontrollably by the time he got back to the room.

  “Come on,” he said. “We’re going to a hospital.”

  He helped her up and bundled her into a blanket. She tried to climb the stairs, but her limbs were shaking too hard.

  “Dammit, you’re in transition,” he said. “You’re just going to have to hold on until we get there.”

  He helped her up the stairs, through the cold night air and into the back of the waiting car. She rolled back against the seat as he accelerated and she felt another contraction hit her body.

  “Oh, my baby,” Mary cried as the contraction wracked her body.

  “Shut up,” he screamed from the front seat. “Shut up or I’ll pull this car over and you and your baby can die on a street corner.”

  She pulled the blanket up to her mouth and bit into it to muffle the sounds of labor. Tears streamed from her eyes as the contractions got closer together, but the drugs didn’t allow her to brace herself for their impact.

  The ride seemed to go on forever, but finally she felt him turn off the highway and drive down a street. She saw bright fluorescent lights just before the car door was opened. “Hurry, my wife, she’s in labor,” he called out.

  Several people helped her out of the car and then they put her in a wheelchair. Her trembling had become worse and she was feeling nauseous.

  “She’s in transition,” she heard someone say.

  “She got in to my drug supply,” he said. “I think she took some Valium.”

  “No, my baby,” Mary cried, trying to make them understand.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” a comforting voice said. “We’re gonna help you deliver that baby. I’m sorry, dad, but you’re gonna have to stay back in the waiting room. We got an emergency on our hands.”

  They wheeled her into a surgery room and lifted her up onto a bed. “Tell me, honey, how long have you been having these pains?” the nice voice said.

  “A long time,” Mary responded. “Hours.”

  “And how come you didn’t come here sooner?”

  “Locked up,” she said. “Couldn’t come.”

  “Yeah, you look a little rugged,” she said. “Okay, now, I’m going to check you and see what the problem is with this little baby.”

  Mary bit her lip hard enough to bleed to stop crying out.

  “Oh, honey, if you want to scream, you just go ahead and scream,” the nice voice said.

  “My baby,” she whimpered.

  “Oh, I think your baby is gonna be fine,” she said. “She just got a little stuck, that’s all.”

  Mary felt more pressure and took a deep breath.

  “That’s it honey, take a couple more of those deep breaths.”

  Suddenly she needed to push down. “Oh, there you go girl,” the voice said. “You know what to do.”

  “Okay, now, that contraction’s over, so you take it easy and suck on these ice chips.”

  “Thank you,” Mary whispered.

  “Oh, honey, you don’t need to thank me,” she said. “But you call me, anytime you need anything. My name is Rachael.”

  “Thank you, Rachael,” Mary stammered.

  “There you go, thanking me again,” the doctor said. “You got a name I can call you?”

  “No, owwwwwww,” she moaned as the next contraction hit.

  “Okay, honey, I see a head coming out,” Rachael said. “Someone get me a baby kit and one 1 mL of Syntometrine in case she’s a bleeder.”

  “No,” Mary panted. “No shot.”

  “Oh, honey, don’t worry,” Rachael said. “I won’t give it to you until the baby is almost out. It helps prevent hemorrhaging and you can’t lose any more blood.”

  “No,” Mary panted.

  “Okay honey, bear down and push that baby out.”

  Mary pushed down with all her might, felt the whoosh of the baby slip from her body and then she felt the pinprick in her side. She heard the sound of her baby’s cry and tried to lift her arms to hold her. But suddenly she couldn’t breathe.

  “We got a code blue in here,” Rachael called. “Code Blue. Get in here right now.”

  “I can’t breathe,” Jeannine screamed. “Help me. I...I...I can’t.”

  Her hand went limp on Ian’s arm.

  “Jeannine,” he called. “Jeannine come back.”

  Mary’s face was pale and drawn. “Mary! Mary can you hear me?”

  Stanley and Rosie rushed over to the couch.

  “Mary, I need you to respond. I need you to come back,” he said. “We need you here. Your job’s not done here. You have to still find the baby.”

  Mary’s body shuddered. “Ian,” she said.

  Ian ran his hand over her forehead. “Oh, God,” he breathed softly, tears in his eyes. “Yes sweetheart, you can hear me?”

  “Ian, the baby,” she said. “I can’t find the baby.”

  “The baby is somewhere in this world Mary,” he said. “You have to come home and then we can all find it.”

  “It hurt Ian,” she whispered.

  “Oh, darling, I’m sure it did,” he said. “And you were so brave. I was so proud of you.”

  “Ian I see my room,” she said. “I’m so tired. Can I take a nap?”

  “Well, you can take a short nap in your room and then when I bring you home, you can nap for the rest of the day. Okay?”

  She nodded her head. “Okay.”

  “Now Mary lie down on the couch and close your eyes,” he said. “Close your eyes and take a nap. Are you sleeping, Mary?”

  She nodded again, slowly.

  “Mary, darling, I want you to wake up and be back with us,” he said.

  Mary opened her eyes and they immediately filled with tears. Rosie bent down and embraced Mary in her arms. Mary didn’t try to be brave or strong this time. All she wanted to do is cry for Jeannine.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  An hour later, Mary had taken a hot shower and put on her Chicago Police Department sweats and wool socks and was seated at the dining room table placing a video call to Sean.

  “Hey, sis, you look like
you had a rough night,” he said as he greeted her.

  “You always know how to cheer a woman’s heart, Sean,” she replied.

  “And that’s why I’m not married.”

  “Truer words were never spoken, Sean,”

  “So, what can I do for you?” he asked.

  “I’ve got some information on Jeannine’s death and I’d like you to follow up on it,” she explained.

  “Sure, what do you have?”

  “She was in labor and I’m pretty sure she was taken to Cook County Hospital,” Mary explained, “Which would make sense, because that’s where we picked up her ghost, after Bradley was taken there with a gunshot wound.”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “Okay, Cook County.”

  “The doctor’s name was Rachael; she performed an emergency delivery that came in sometime during the night. The pregnant woman was high on something,” she said. “She received an injection, I think it was Syntometrine, after the baby was born. She had a bad reaction. The woman died of cardiac arrest.”