“I can’t interrogate a dead man.”
“You shot him?” Kat whispered.
The sheriff shook his head, “No. Near as we’ve been able to piece together, he was hiding in Miss Chloe’s room having some sort of mental meltdown over dropping his gun at the scene of the crime. When Chloe walked in on him, he suffered a sort of seizure and died. I guess crime doesn’t sit well in some people’s brains.”
“Wow,” Dalian said, settling on the bed next to Kat.
“Is Chloe okay?” Kat asked. “Cal didn’t hurt her, did he?”
The sheriff shook his head again, “She was obviously distraught, but she’s here at the hospital getting checked out by the doctor just to make certain all is in working order.” The sheriff couldn’t reveal what he really wanted to say – that her story was hokey, and he would be keeping a close eye on her in the future.
“Harvey and I had a suspicion something was off about the man, but other than an unusual display of cowardice, there wasn’t anything about him that made us think he capable of killing.”
“He may have seemed cowardly to you,” Kat interjected, “but there was something about the way he talked to me that sent creepy-feeling shivers along my spine. I mean, the few times he talked to me, I got the impression he was super pissed that you and I had gotten together,” she concluded.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Dalian asked.
“Dalian’s right,” the sheriff interjected. “It may not have seemed important to you, but with as little to go on as we had, every little morsel would have turned into a piece of bread, eventually.”
“What the sheriff is saying,” Dalian translated with a grin, “is that his behavior may have given us a first clue as to his character.”
Kat sighed, “Well, I guess the point is moot now, isn’t it? But, if anyone comes after Dalian and me again in the future – God forbid – I will certainly be more aware of how people behave around me.”
“Sorry sweetheart. We didn’t mean to make it seem like we were coming down on you.”
“I’m good. I completely understand what you’re saying – now. Hindsight is, after all, twenty-twenty.”
Just then, Chloe appeared at the doorway, looking fresh as a spring daisy, with the exception of her red and puffy eyes – the only indicator she’d suffered an emotional meltdown. The tears started again when she moved into the room and made her way over to Kat’s side.
“I’m so glad you’re okay – again,” she sniffled, bending down to give Kat an affectionate hug.
If I wanted the headache of trying to separate these two, I’d turn our sights on Mr. Gorgeous.
Chloe stiffened visibly at the entity’s lustful game play, primarily because she sort of understood from where it derived its “fun”. It seemed to enjoy the thrill of the pursuit almost as much as she did; however, her motivations were simple – to snare a rich husband and settle down – permanently, she always hoped. With the entity, motivation was unclear. Unless having ‘fun’, as it stated in her bedroom earlier, was its only motivation.
You nailed it, blondie. It stated in response to her musings. She winced. That was one aspect of sharing her mind that she was never going to get used to – having something else privy to her innermost thoughts. It was unnerving, especially since those thoughts were meant to be private. Another aspect she’d never enjoy about sharing a mind was having something else controlling her every movement and decision, as it did when she moved to settle into the chair next to the bed.
Don’t sit. We have men to pursue, fun to be had. Bid your farewells and let’s hit the road. I’ve had enough of this barren landscape.
“I would really rather stay to talk to my friends,” she said, and a slight pain shot through her head. She visibly winced.
“Are you alright, Chloe,” Kat asked.
“Ever since I found Cal in my room,” she replied, rubbing at her temples vigorously, “and saw him have a full-fledged epileptic seizure of death, I’ve had this horrible recurring headache. It just won’t go away!”
Do be careful, blondie. They may not know what you’re trying to say, but I do, and you best be warned – I would prefer to have fun with you rather than kill you, but kill you I will. If you doubt it, just remember what I did to poor, helpless, defiant, Cal Withers.
“Can’t you just find someone else? It’s obvious I’m not interested in being your patsy,” Chloe hissed, trying to keep her voice down, but a quick look at the occupants in the room said they were growing rapidly concerned about her.
Hmmm. You know what? You’re right. I don’t think I like inhabiting your brain. You are much too strong-willed and I fear you may just hamper my fun. Be a good girl and stretch out your hand. Why I didn’t think of this before, is beyond me.
Chloe’s hand instinctively lifted, but she began a mental tug of war over control of the appendage.
You don’t want me in your brain, so touch your friend there, and I’ll just make the leap into her brain. I wanted Cal to marry her initially anyway, so why not just eliminate the middleman, as it were. Now stretch out your hand, and touch her. The entity snapped louder, causing Chloe to wince, but she refused to allow the entity complete control.
“No,” Chloe hissed between clenched teeth. Sweat popped along her forehead and upper lip, as the struggle for control became more intense. Everyone in the room remained stock still, unable to comprehend what was taking place. It was apparent that Chloe was in some form of distress, and appeared to be waging war with her own body. What no one knew was what to do about it.
“Um, Chloe,” Kat whispered finally, “are you sure you’re okay? Because I have to admit you’re really freaking us out.”
“Don’t let me touch you,” Chloe hissed. “It can only jump to one of you if I touch . . .”
Stop talking! Her brain yelled.
“No! I won’t . . .” Chloe gripped the side of her head when a brutal pain shot through her skull. She fell to her knees and whimpered.
“Dear God, what is happening?” Kat gasped, watching as Chloe writhed about in apparent torture.
“I don’t know,” Dalian replied, pressing the nurse’s call button frantically. The sheriff was equally dumbfounded. They all watched the scene unfold before them with a mixture of fear and uncertainty, as none had ever witnessed anything of the like before and was uncertain how to proceed. It appeared as if Chloe were having some sort of mental meltdown; the same sort of meltdown in which she described Cal as having.
However, one thing that Chloe said registered with the sheriff, just seconds before the nurse dashed into the room. “Don’t touch her,” he shouted, stepping between the nurse and Chloe.
“What?” The three other occupants shouted simultaneously.
“You can’t just leave her laying there writhing in pain . . .” Kat screeched, but the sheriff interrupted.
“Didn’t you hear what she said?” The sheriff asked, turning to Dalian. “She was trying to warn us about something; something that caused Cal to endure something similar at what’s happening to her . . .”
“She said not to touch her,” Dalian supplied, his gaze, wide-eyed and worried, turning back toward the floor. As if just realizing how close Kat was to Chloe’s writing body, he leaned down and scooted her over, closer to his side. “I’m not taking any chances,” he said softly, when she looked at him quizzically.
“What do you think could be causing this?” Kat asked, “And can’t we do something for her?”
“I’m thinking!” The sheriff snapped, pacing the length of the room and back. “And we can’t do anything until we know what it is we’re dealing with.”
The nurse wasn’t any more certain as to what was happening than the other three people in the room, but their fear was palpable, contagious. She was completely clueless; shouldn’t be afraid of what appeared no more than a seizure, but because of the reactions of those around her, her heart was pounding in fear. She took a deep breath, trying to regain a modicum o
f professionalism. After all, she’d been train to work in all injurious circumstances. She took another deep breath, squared her shoulder, and stepped toward the sheriff.
“Perhaps I can get close enough to inject her with a powerful sedative. That might make transporting her to a secure facility doable.” Everyone looked at the nurse in admiration, which made her blush, “I don’t know what’s going on,” she admitted, “but apparently something is, and we can’t just wait to see what happens next, or wait until she has a brain hemorrhage. You may not have noticed, but that woman is wrenching her head about on her shoulders pretty hard; which means her brain is banging around in her skull like a runaway bouncy ball. If she keeps that up, her brain will begin to swell . . . watch out!” She shouted at the sheriff, who quickly jumped out of reach of Chloe’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Get the strongest sedative you have in stock, and make it quick.”
“This is way too bizarre,” Kat whispered, clinging to Dalian’s arm.
Chloe suddenly stopped writhing. She lifted her head suddenly and speared the sheriff with an angry look; a gaze that could fire arrows, if her eyes had been made of bows. When Chloe finally started to speak, Kat jumped, the nurse cringed, and the men sucked in sharp breaths, for the voice speaking obviously did not belong to Chloe.
“Cal was far easier to control and command,” The voice whispered angrily. “All I needed to do was tell Cal to reach for Chloe and he did, but this woman,” he spat in disdain, “refuses to relinquish control of her body. It’s damned inconvenient. For centuries, I’ve successfully inhabited humans, but in a span of just minutes, this one female may destroy my ability to have fun. I thought she was weaker or I never would have opted to inhabit her.”
“What are you?” The sheriff asked, unable to hide the trepidation in his tone.
“There would be no fun in my revealing that.”
Kat winced. It was odd watching Chloe’s head cock inquiringly yet to hear a different voice issue from her throat. “What’ll happen,” she whispered, “if you can’t get out of Chloe to inhabit someone else?” She whispered, and clung tighter to Dalian’s arm, when the head snapped around to look at her.
It eyed Kat for a long while before speaking again, “I wanted you for Cal, as it seems to be a need of your species to copulate frequently. I found it an amusing past time, which is why I allowed it. Cal liked you, and since we were running out of money, we needed to find another mate for him. You suited nicely. You had both looks and money. Money seems to be another need in which your species cannot be without. But then you,” it hissed, turning its full attention on Dalian, “had to get in the way; had to have the same woman in whom I was interested. Couldn’t step away.”
“So, if you can’t have Kat, and Chloe is rejecting you,” the sheriff intervened, “what is it you think you can accomplish?”
“Oh, I’ll find someone to take her place. Someone somewhere will slip up one day and get near enough. I can’t say as I will enjoy having my fun interrupted though, so I may have to use all of Chloe’s wiles to see it done sooner rather than later.” Chloe turned her gaze toward the door as the nurse entered caring a sizable syringe full of clear liquid. “Time for lights out, I presume?” The nurse cringed and backed up a step, but the sheriff placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “It will be interesting watching you attempt to get that needle into my arm without getting too close.”
The nurse looked at the sheriff and winced, “How . . .” she started to inquire, but the sheriff just smiled encouragingly, and then pulled his DDS101 dual-firing taser from its holster. With no hesitation, he took aim and fired. The Lightening Strike cassette shot from the base and speared Chloe in the thigh. Her body arched and twisted as the electrical pulse shot through her body. Within moments, she was no more than an incapacitated mass.
No one spoke as everything that had transpired began to register in his or her minds. After several minutes, Dalian finally whispered, “That was disturbing.”
The sheriff nodded, “I’ve heard about possession – in novels – but I can’t say as I’ve ever witnessed one firsthand?”
“Do you think it’s safe to approach her now,” the nurse asked, eyeing Chloe’s inert form as if it was a panther, lying in wait; waiting to strike.
“I’ll go ahead of you,” the sheriff offered. “If the taser didn’t work, I’d rather it jump into me than into you. I’m probably better equipped to fight it off than a petite miss like you.”
“What do you propose we do with Chloe?” Dalian asked, as the sheriff moved cautiously, the nurse following directly behind.
“It was right, you know,” Kat finally muttered, fighting back nervous tears. “If we simply lock her away, it will only be a matter of time before that thing finds a new host and begins its “fun” all over again.” She looked up at the sheriff, “Can you afford to allow that to happen? Can any of us afford to let it happen?”
The sheriff shook his head and then closed his eyes against the onslaught of indecision and moral obligation that rattled around in his mind. He took his oath to uphold the law and to protect the citizens of his town seriously, but he’d never faced this sort of dilemma before and wondered whether he had the fortitude to do what was needed.
“The taser seems to have had an effect,” Dalian whispered, watching Chloe carefully for any signs of movement.
“I’ve never shot anyone in cold blood before, and I’m not certain I have the legal authority to do it now,” the sheriff whispered, the torment over the indecision etched on his features and clearly displayed in his gaze. “And I’m not certain we can taser her for the remainder of her life either.”
Despite everyone’s apparent cogitations, no one was able to supply an alternate solution to killing Chloe, or permanently zapping her with a taser gun, and the sheriff sighed heavily. When Chloe moaned, the sheriff was jarred from his indecision and spurred into action, “You will all need to keep what you witness here today confidential because you are culpable in what we are about to do. Do you understand?” Everyone nodded compliance. The sheriff took a deep, calming breath and then turned to address the nurse, “I need you to go ahead and inject the sedative in her arm,” the sheriff ordered. “Preferably before she recovers from the shock.” The nurse stood rooted, shaking her head in fearful indecision. “Look, I’d do it, if I had the training. You’d agree that the shot has to be administered correctly or she could wake up during transport and harm me. Do you want to be responsible for that happening?”
The nurse shook her head, and slowly, cautiously, knelt down next to her, fear still coursing through her veins that the stun effect would wear off and she’d be assaulted. Still, the sheriff was right, if she didn’t inject the sedative correctly, the effects could be short-lived and Chloe could attack him on the way to – wherever he intended to transport her. As vigilantly as was possible, she slowly lifted the sleeve of Chloe’s dress and, without bothering to apply iodine, positioned the needle on the deltoid muscle. With a deep breath, she sank the needle into the muscle tissue and depressed the plunger. The moment all of the liquid was gone, she stood quickly and resumed her position in the far corner of the room.
Without hesitation, the sheriff was moving, “Dalian, help me get Chloe wrapped up into one of the bed sheets, and be careful. That sedative may prove effective on humans, but we don’t know its effectiveness on the entity inhabiting Chloe. Right now, I just want to ensure that we pinion her arms to her sides. If she wakens, I don’t want her arms flailing about.”
“What do you have in mind?” Kat asked, as the men knelt near Chloe.
“I’m going to try to save her, if I can.” The sheriff spread the sheet on the floor. Nerves jumping, and eyes fully alert, Dalian reached down to scoop up Chloe beneath the arms as the sheriff reached down and grasped her legs at the knees. The men hefted the dead weight hurriedly, depositing her onto the sheet. The sheriff quickly rolled her up, and
then stood to remove his belt. “Lift her, so I can wrap this around her. I don’t want that sheet slipping off.”
“Now what?” Kat whispered, when the sheriff finally stood and stepped back, eyeing the mummified body with chariness.
“Now it’s up to me to try to save this woman’s life,” the sheriff replied tightly. “The only problem is – I don’t know what it is that I’m saving her from.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
“Just for the record,” the technician said, pulling the belt from around Chloe’s sleeping body, “I am completely uncomfortable performing a brain scan under enigmatic circumstances, on a bound and unconscious female . . .”
“Duly noted,” the sheriff interrupted.
“I don’t know whether this patient has a medical condition that could . . .”
The sheriff interrupted again, “It’s a chance we’ll have to take, now get her on the gurney and let’s get a look inside her brain, preferably before she wakes up.”
“I really wish you’d let me call my supervisor,” the technician muttered, pressing the button on the hovering, self-propelled gurney. There was a whisper of a whir as the table moved across the floor and hissed to a stop amidst a dozen mechanical arms, awaiting instructions from the technician. The tech tapped a few buttons on his electronic tablet, and the two mechanical arms closest to Chloe’s head began whirring and then spinning rapidly, circling her head like a massive halo, simultaneously sending four-dimensional images of Chloe’s brain back the lab tech, “What exactly is it I’m looking for?”
“Any signs of . . . hell, I don’t know . . . something abnormal,” the sheriff snapped, eyeing the images so hard, his head began to pound.
“Abnormal, right,” the tech mumbled. After a few minutes, the technician pressed another button and sighed as the mechanical arms slowed and returned to their original station, “Other than what appears to be a high level of synaptic surges occurring sporadically in different regions of her brain, primarily the frontal lobe, the computer can’t find anything abnormal in this woman’s brain function. She’s perfectly healthy.
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