“We can arrange that.”
“Tell us where she lives and John and I will go up there; Joe will see the place through my eyes in my dreams.”
Burrows looked up, surprised. “Wow! Like with the pictures?”
“Yes.” Alice had to explain quickly: “When I’ve seen the place and then go to sleep, Joe will visit me and rewind my day, and play it over. He will see the place just as I saw it earlier.”
Burrows’ jaw dropped open, and goose bumps ran up her spine. She knew it worked something like that, but to hear Alice say it so casually… “He can really do that?” she queried.
“That’s why you people call him the Magic Man,” Alice said with pride as she went on. “Joe will pick the location to meet her, and then…”
“Hang on; it’s not going to be that simple.” Burrows shook her head. “The local police are working on these cases; however, the FBI is in charge, overall, because it’s the same gang. I’m only helping out as a profiler, so I’ve got no say about how or when Joe gets to see the girl.” A faint smile touched her lips. “Look, before we even arrange this, we have to get her mother to agree to let Joe hypnotize Jessica––that’s the girl’s name––Jessica Palmer. But, don’t worry, we’ll work something out with the agent on the case.”
Joe whispered to Alice: “What? More Feds!”
“If Joe sees the FBI is all over this case, he’ll walk away, he won’t show up.” Alice found it hard to talk to Burrows and listen to Joe at the same time. “I told you, he doesn’t trust them.”
“I understand. Tell him I’ll try to sort it out.”
“Tell her about my father.”
“I asked Joe what religion he was,” Alice said nervously as she tried to remember everything Joe had told her to say. “He said he was raised a Christian. His father was exceedingly religious, seeing the devil in just about everybody. If someone smoked, swore, or drank alcohol, he would preach the gospel to them. His father was a tall man, with a deep voice that frightened most people.” Alice slowed down to let Burrows write the information on her notepad. “Joe left home when he was in his late teens. He didn’t tell his mother or his father; he just left a note saying he was leaving to look for work, and he’d keep in touch. He believes in God, but he’s not an overly religious man.” Alice waited for Burrows to turn a page in her notepad, and then continued. “His father died while arguing with a neighbor a few years after Joe left. The boy who lived across the street swore in front of Joe’s younger sister. Joe’s father started shouting at the boy, and the boy’s mother came out cursing even more than her son had. Joe’s father began preaching to her, and then he put his hand to his chest and just fell over––dead––from a heart attack.”
Burrows stopped writing and looked at Alice. “Joe told you to tell me this story?” She waved her notepad in the air. “Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know,” Alice shrugged, “I guess so––no reason I shouldn’t.”
“Joe knows I’m a profiler, so he’s telling me that his father was a tall man, therefore, I should assume Joe is tall, too. He’s telling me he has a sister, and he left home in his teens because his father was a bully. Now, a bullying father could give a boy several problems.” She looked thoughtful. “I think Joe is trying to throw me off who he actually is.” She chuckled. “Maybe he wants me to think his father made him into what he is. He’s hoping I’ll put in my report that he’s tall and timid, hiding behind his wife’s apron, whereas he may be short and full of confidence, and in the public eye. He could be anybody,” Burrows surmised. “I’ll write his story in my report if that’s what Joe wants, but I don’t believe it––not for a minute.”
The phone ringing stopped Burrows from further analyzing Joe’s story.
“Hello.” Alice put her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Burrows. “It’s Agent Jones.”
Burrows whispered back. “Don’t say I’m here.” She tried to pick up the one-sided conversation. As soon as Alice put the phone down, she asked, “Is he on his way here?”
“No. He wants me to meet him at two o’clock at the supermarket parking lot.” Alice frowned questioningly. “He didn’t want to come here; he said he’d explain later.”
Burrows was packing her belongings. “Looks like you are going to be earning that secretary’s wage sooner than you thought.” She gave a slight smile. “Don’t tell Agent Jones about this other assignment I’ve got for you––not yet anyway. Tell Joe that Narcotics comes first. See what Agent Jones wants, and I’ll phone you later to work something out about the Jessica Palmer case.”
Chapter23
Alice was on time to meet Agent Jones, but before she had parked her car, Mike and a woman were getting out of their car and walking toward her. He opened the
passenger door and slipped in, and his colleague got in the back seat. “Alice, this is Special Agent Walters,” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “This is Mrs. Timberlake,” he introduced Alice. He didn’t wait for them to say hi: “We want Joe to find out if he can get into this Gerald Lomas’ dreams.” He pulled out an envelope and passed it to Alice. “Here’s a list of items that we’d like to know about Lomas, mainly the bank account numbers. I know Joe got into Jake Donovan and Ryan Taylor’s minds without our help. This time, however, Joe cannot do it without our say so, and our back up. We’ll stay out of Joe’s way. But, if we screw this up in any way, Lomas’ lawyers will get him off on a minor legality. So, I stress again, Joe is not to go in that shop unless we give him the okay.”
“Shop? What shop?” Alice asked.
“Lomas has a coffee shop that is a front for his betting business; it also looks like a cover for his drug dealings. It’s best if Joe goes into the shop and places a bet, and tries to talk to this Lomas––if that’s the way he gets into their heads. We’ve made a list of times during the day that we think he’ll be there through the week.”
“Okay,” Alice said as she put the envelope in her purse. “Now, why are we meeting here? Why the secrecy?”
Mike looked a little sheepish. “There’s no secrecy.” Mike struggled to get his words out. “Honestly.” He nodded his head to his partner: “We still can’t get our heads around how Joe’s gift works, and some of the team thinks he must be in your neighborhood to pick you two in the first place. So, your house is like … taboo. Know what I mean?”
Alice laughed. “You guys think he visits me in person? Joe is miles away; he only comes to me in my dreams.”
Agent Walters spoke for the first time. “And that doesn’t scare the crap out of you?” She was shaking her head in disbelief. “I’d be screaming the house down.”
“It was scary, at first,” Alice shrugged, “but now I’m used to it.”
“I wouldn’t want to get used to a dream stalker visiting me regularly.” Agent Walter was still shaking her head. “No way. You’re braver than me, ma'am. It must be like living with a ghost.”
Mike nodded in agreement. “Yes … well, I think that says it for all the team.” He opened the door. “See what Joe says about the best time to meet, and we’ll try to have an undercover cop in or around the shop for backup. Not that he’ll know who Joe is, but if any trouble breaks out, tell Joe to shout police.”
“Is that it, you dragged me down here to give me this envelope?”
“Sorry,” Mike said. “Phone me as soon as Joe makes his mind up when it’s best for him,” he added.
~
Joe had been with Alice and Burrows when Mike had phoned, and he had heard the nervousness in Mike’s voice when he told Alice to meet him in the parking lot. Joe had popped into Mike’s mind before the meeting, and he’d stayed with him until after it was over. Joe was still skeptical the FBI was laying a trap for him. But Mike and his partner’s thoughts gave nothing away. They talked mainly about Alice, wondering how she could put up with Joe coming and going in the night—like a ghost walking about the house. Joe could see they didn’t want to work with him, and they definitely d
idn’t want to meet him. If his powers scared the narcotics team that much, then no wonder Homeland Security wanted him removed. Joe was happy, though, that Agent Jones wasn’t out to capture the Magic Man, unlike Agent Jefferson, who had been more than interested in finding out where the Magic Man was.
~
Alice was home from her meeting, and had just about settled in when Joe paid her a visit.
“Hi, how did it go?”
“Oh shit!” Alice jumped. “I wish you could knock or ring a bell when you call.” Alice had to sit down; every nerve in her body seemed to be jangling. The meeting with Mike and Agent Walters had upset her, especially the comment Walters made about living with a ghost.
“Sorry if I frightened you, I was just wondering what Jones wanted?” Joe didn’t let on he had been there in Mike’s mind, he wanted to hear her version. After she had finished, he told her his plan.
“If I were to tell them the time of day I’m going into that shop, then they could nab me, or at least think they’d have me on videotape. They’ll have cameras everywhere, you can bet on that. They could follow me home, and before you know it, they could rush me off to some foreign country to spy for them. No one would be the wiser; I’d just disappear.”
“Are you not going into the shop, then?”
“No need to––I’ve already been in with Ryan Taylor when he went into the shop to make his payments. I met Mr. Lomas then.”
“So you’ve already got into his head?” Alice smiled. “You crafty old bugger, you!”
“I wasn’t going to just hang around these last few nights. It was obvious they were going to ask me to check him out ... it’s my way of staying one step ahead of them. Anyway, I’d like to ask you for that favor now.”
“Now?” Alice tried to hide her feelings of what she thought the favor might be. “I’m exhausted.”
“They said the FBI is not after me, now that I’m helping them. I still don’t believe them, and I’d like to put them to the test, just for my own piece of mind. Jones and his team might not even be aware of what is actually going on, but asking me to go to that shop at a given time doesn’t sit well with me.” “But you don’t have to go there now.”
“They don’t know that. They think I have to make contact with someone to get into their heads, and that’s what I want them to think. That’s what we must let everyone think. If Burrows and Mike knew I got into their minds through you, then this little partnership we’ve got will be no more. They’d stay away from you as if you had the plague.”
“That’s how you got into my head, isn’t it? You got into John’s mind and then through John to me. We’ve never met, have we?”
“No, and I hope we never do. I like to think of us as friends, like on the Internet in those chat rooms. Or pen pals, like in my younger days, friends that never get to meet each other.”
“So, what does this test have to do with me doing you a favor?”
“I’m thinking about having another adventure. I want a young woman to wake up in the morning and find her panties folded on top of her slippers. Then, I want her to go to the police, like you did. The police should report the incident to the FBI, and if they have called the search off for me, the story won’t interest the Feds. They’ll know it’s me having my fun and leave it to the local police. But, if they show up and ask questions like they did with you, then they are still looking for me, and more than likely working for Homeland.”
Alice thought about it, and then shrugged. “I guess that makes sense.” She frowned. “How do I fit into this little adventure?”
“If the Feds think I’m still in your neighborhood, then I want you to introduce me to one of your neighbors, preferably a young, smart, married woman.”
“You expect me to help you to put a woman through what John and I went through?” Alice got up and stormed into the kitchen. “No way will I do that!” Alice spoke the words loudly, and then went back to talking through her mind: “You can find your own women.”
“I’m sorry you feel like that.” Joe thought he might have trouble convincing her, but he didn’t expect this outburst. “I can’t chance coming to your neighborhood, and it’s important that we use the same police department.”
“I understand that, but you think I’d go out there and say, hi, to some pretty young woman for you so you can hop into her mind?” And then, it dawned on Alice that it would be one way of keeping him interested and working with her and the FBI. She started to make herself a cup of coffee. “It would be like being your pimp.” She laughed nervously.
“When you put it like that, I guess you’re right.”
Alice was thinking it over. “You honestly think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s the only one I’ve come up with,” Joe said in a pleading tone. “It would only be a onetime deal.”
“I’ve got to admit, it does feel like the Feds might be setting you up to catch you.” Alice didn’t want Joe caught, not because of the money side of it, but because of what he said about them being like pen pals––being friends. Alice had come to think of the Old Joe in her fantasy dreams like a friend, like the time when he tried to save her from the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men. “I expect you’ll take her to meet Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? I’d like to hear how she’ll explain that to the police.” She heard Joe giggle in her head for the first time, and it made her want to giggle with him. “Did you have someone in mind?”
“No, I was hoping you’d know someone that would fit the bill.”
Alice found herself looking out the window, up and down the street. “They’re nearly all married. Mrs. Wilkinson is a widow and a bit too old for you. She lives across the street.” Alice found herself going from house to house, telling Joe who lived there and what they were like. “Ah, Mrs. Hodges might be who we are looking for, she’s got a hair salon in town, and she’s young and attractive. Her husband’s in the army, and is overseas, I think.”
“She sounds okay––will you help me?”
“Shit … what am I getting myself into?”
“I know it’s a big favor to ask.”
“Burrows said I’d have my work cut out being your secretary.” Alice, too, wanted to know if the Feds were still after Joe, or was that just her excuse not to feel guilty about helping him. “How are we going to meet her?”
“What time does she come home from work? Perhaps you could be passing as she gets out of the car, and you could say hi–
–that’s all it will take,” Joe said, his tone relaxed.
“No … I can’t … John will be home by then.”
“You could stop by her salon and buy shampoo or something.”
“I never go there.” Alice thought about it, shrugged, and finally said, “I guess we’d better go buy some shampoo.” The words Burrows said to her about Joe moving on to greener pastures came to her mind, yet again, and with that, she thought–
–at least he’ll be on the same street as me.
Chapter24
The next morning Joe was back in Alice’s mind. He waited until she had finished her breakfast before he announced himself. She had just picked up the paper, but before she
could read the headlines, Joe spoke to her: “Ding dong, Joe calling!” Alice had been waiting for him to call. “Ha, ha, very funny, I nearly went to answer the door,” she joked.
“You said to knock or ring a bell…”
“You’re late … have a busy night?” There was a hint of sarcasm to her thoughts.
“Yes––and a busy morning. Barbara had the police over early.”
“Who’s Barbara?”
“Your neighbor, down the street, Barbara Hodges; she woke up this morning and found her panties on top of her slippers.”
“So you’ve done it then?” She tried to seem casual about it, but she wanted to hear more––Joe could tell, as she eagerly asked, “Was her husband home?”
“No, he’s still overseas. The police have been there, and they told her some other offi
cers might want to hear her story. Sound familiar?”
Alice had gone to the window and looked down the street to the Hodges’ house. “Are they still there?”
“They left a few moments ago. I stayed to put Barbara in a more relaxed mood. She can’t make head or tail of it.” Joe was stretched out on his bed, feeling pleased with himself. He had enjoyed his little adventure with Barbara, and he wanted to get back to her as soon as he finished giving his report to Alice. “I’ve also got all the information that Mike wants, but we’ll let him stew a little.”
“If he phones, what should I say?” Alice turned from the window and went and sat back down.
“Tell him I didn’t visit you last night. We’ll see if he’s heard about Barbara yet. And if he has heard, then he’ll know why I didn’t visit you last night.”
“How did Barbara take it?” Alice realized what she had just asked. “I mean, about finding her underwear on top of her slippers?”
“When she woke up, I made sure she remembered her fantasy, first. After, she laid there, going over her dream, a big smile on her face. As she relived the erotic parts, she realized she was sleeping downstairs with no panties on, and the burglar alarm was off. I told her subconscious mind that someone had been in her house, and she should phone the police.”
“Did she panic?” Alice asked, but what she wanted to ask was if Barbara had enjoyed Dopey and Doc’s lovemaking.
“No, she didn’t panic; she was more confused than anything, but she did go into more detail about her dream than she did about the intruder she thought she had in the house. At first, I think the cops thought she was some nutcase.”
“I see. About the other information you got last night, do you want me to make out a report and have it ready for Mike?” Alice thought she’d change the subject before she started reliving the sexual parts of her dreams.
Get Out Of My Dreams Page 17
