Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1)

by Nellie H. Steele

  After checking her job logs, noting anything that might need followed up on later and verifying everything else, she found herself distracted by anticipation. She paced the floor for an hour before deciding it was time to leave.

  She arrived at the coffee shop early, parking outside and watching the entrance for about ten minutes before she found the nerve to enter. She forced herself to open her car door and walk toward the entrance. Her stomach was jittery, her palms were sweaty and her pulse was racing. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she walked through the door. She scanned the room, not expecting to find the man there since she was early. However, he was there, sitting in a back corner with two mugs in front of him. He waved to her. She took a deep breath, swallowing hard. A last minute impulse screamed at her to turn and run but she squashed it, favoring the strange sense of acquaintance, and pushed herself to walk to his table.

  He stood as she approached and pushed the chair in as she sat. “I bought you a tea, two sugars, just the way you like it.”

  Already unsettled, Josie became more so. He knew about her dreams, he had a picture supposedly of the two of them and he knew how she liked her tea. “You said you can help me. Tell me how.”

  “Celine…” he began gently.

  “Josie,” she snapped back. “My name is Josie.”

  “Okay, all right, Josie.” He held up his hands.

  “How can you help me? Why do you think you know me?”

  “I realize you want me to tell you everything, but we have to start slow. I don’t want you to think I’m crazy.”

  “And knowing everything will make me think you’re crazy?”

  “I’m concerned that knowing everything too fast might, yes.”

  “Okay, I’m leaving,” she said, beginning to stand.

  “Josie, please wait,” he said, grabbing her wrist.

  “Wait for what? For you to feed me another line about how you can help me and not follow through?”

  “I CAN help you. Please wait. I’m not lying to you.”

  “So help me!” she exclaimed, sitting back down.

  “Okay, all right. Now, you’ve been having the dreams? Being chased through the cave, hands covered in blood? Carrying a book, right?”

  “Yes, I’ve been having dreams like that, sometimes in the dreams my hands are covered in blood, sometimes I have a book. And now I’ve been having, I’m not sure how to describe them, visions, perhaps? In an instant, it will be like I’m remembering something, I can see, smell, hear things but they are nothing familiar to me, but they seem like memories.”

  “Visions? Can you describe these visions?” the man spoke quickly, leaning forward toward her.

  Josie was anxious because of his behavior but she pressed on. “Um, one was, uh, I was swinging, it smelled like flowers, it was a beautiful sunny day and…” She paused, trying to remember. “I was speaking French. I never learned French, but I was speaking French. That’s the same thing I did when the doctor hypnotized me.”

  “You were hypnotized? When? By whom?” He appeared to become agitated.

  “Yes, after I fainted the doctor in the ER recommended a therapist. He hypnotized me and apparently I spoke French while I was recounting my dream to him. Well, not apparently, I did speak French. My cousin has a video of me doing it.”

  “And you’ve experienced the visions ever since? Any other ones?”

  “Yes, ever since that. There’s one more that I remember. It was of a big white house, I remember smelling the sea. It only lasted a few seconds, so I don’t have very many details.”

  The man sat back, lips pressed together, mulling over the information. “Well?” Josie said, impatient. He remained quiet. “Look, that’s it, this is ridiculous, you have no way of helping me.”

  “They’re memories,” he blurted out.

  “What?”

  “Memories, the visions you describe, they are memories.”

  “Memories? Memories of what? Places I’ve never been? A language I’ve never learned?”

  “Yes, memories. The hypnosis unlocked them. Although only one session probably wasn’t enough,” he mused as if to himself, then turned to her, “I have a family friend, a doctor. She can hypnotize you, she’s familiar with your background, she can continue the treatment so you can remember everything.”

  “Remember what? There’s nothing to remember. These aren’t my memories. I’ve never been to a white house by the sea or swung in a garden while speaking French. I told you I don’t even speak the language.”

  “They’re not your memories, no,” he admitted. “They’re Celine’s memories.”

  “Who is Celine? Why would I have her memories?”

  “This will be difficult to understand, Josie. But…” He paused, reaching out to take her hand. “You are Celine. I realize you don’t think you are, but you are. You are Celine, they are Celine’s memories, but they are also yours.”

  “Okay, no, it’s not difficult to understand. It’s crazy.” Josie pulled her hand away. “How am I this other person? You’re crazy.”

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I showed you the picture of us, I am familiar with your dreams, because I knew you when you were Celine. I knew you.”

  “I have never been Celine! I have always been Josie, from my birth until now. I have been Josephine Elena Benson for almost twenty-five years now. Never once have I ever called myself Celine, ever, not even as a joke or a screen name or anything. You have me confused with someone else.”

  “You were Celine long before you were Josie.”

  Josie sighed, exasperated, flinging her hands in front of her as she spoke, palms up. “How can I have been someone before I was me? I have no clue what you’re talking about. Is this some kind of past life you’re referring to?”

  “In a way, yes.”

  “In a way? You’re talking in circles and I’m guessing it’s because you’re crazy. I don’t know why I came here,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Because you know,” he said, grabbing her hand, “that I’m right, you can sense it, I’m sure of it. Deep down you realize this is true but until you remember everything you will continue to suffer from the visions and the dreams.”

  Josie sat for a moment, too confused to move. She let him take her hand and continue to hold it. Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks at any moment. It was too much to take in. He was right, there was something that kept drawing her to him and to presume that he could help, but she didn’t understand what and she couldn’t accept anything he was saying. “I can’t do this, I need to think,” Josie said, abruptly standing and bolting from the table and out the door to her car.

  The man followed her. “Josie,” he called after her when they were both outside. “Josie, please,” he said when he caught up to her just before she climbed into her car. She wiped a few tears away that had fallen as she had made the mad dash from the café. “I’m not trying to hurt you, I’m trying to help you, please. You’ve got to trust me.” He gently cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. She looked into his sea-blue eyes. He was so sincere and so tender with her. Still, she couldn’t process what he was telling her.

  She sniffled. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I feel I do trust you. You’re the only one giving me a specific explanation, however bizarre it might sound. I just… I need some time. Right now, this is too much for me. I need to process this.”

  “I understand,” he said, dropping his hands to her arms, giving them a squeeze. “You go, get some rest, text me when you’re ready to talk again.”

  She nodded, “Okay.” Turning, she opened her car door.

  “Josie,” he said, as she climbed into the car, “it‘ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

  She nodded in place of a response, closing her door and starting the car. He watched as she pulled away. Josie took a deep breath as she watched him disappear in the rear-view mirror as she drove away. Focusing on the road, she concentrated
on getting home; trying not to dwell on the strange conversation that had just occurred.

  When Josie got home, she decided a soak in the tub might relieve some tension that had built up from the meeting earlier. Slipping out of her clothes and into her bathrobe, she started the water running into the tub. After she got the temperature right, she let the tub fill while she put her hair up and checked her email. Finding nothing urgent, she headed back to the bathroom, stopping along her way to grab the music box. She placed it on the vanity and opened it. The music filled the air as she disrobed and stepped in the tub, shutting off the water as she settled in.

  She laid her head back on the rim of the bathtub, closing her eyes, trying to relax as she listened to the tinkling sound. The warm water surrounded her, wrapping her up like a warm blanket. Her thoughts drifted first to the man she had met then to their conversation. She realized she still had not learned his name; she never asked for it and he had never given it to her. Perhaps it would be helpful to establish that fact; maybe she could find some information on him and this Celine person he was referring to. She considered what they had discussed. It was surreal, the conversation made no sense to her even after trying to analyze each detail after getting distance from the event.

  She took a deep breath and tried to push the thoughts from her mind. Opening her eyes, she stared at the music box playing on the sink. She reached over, her fingers just able to catch the necklace inside. Holding it up to the light she admired it, it really was beautiful. The red rubies sparkled in the light. She put it around her neck, careful that the water wasn’t high enough to touch it when she settled back into the tub.

  She closed her eyes again, letting her hand run over the necklace. This time she let her mind wander over more pleasant thoughts. The warm summer sun heating her face as it rose over the ridge while she sipped her morning tea on the porch. The quietness of the area during her morning jog. Another memory entered her mind and she let herself dwell on every detail, bringing a smile to her face. She lay on a beach, the sun shining down on her, the aroma of salt in the air. Waves crashed nearby, she saw her dress lying on a nearby rock, discarded for a swim. The warm water lapped at her toes. Her smile grew; it was such a happy memory.

  Josie shot upright, her eyes wide. The memory that had been so comforting to her, she realized, was not her memory. She had never visited that beach. She had never owned a dress like that. She swallowed hard; it seemed she had just experienced another one of her visions.

  A voice from a distance broke her thoughts. She focused her mind on the noise. “JOSIE!” Footsteps pounded up the stairs. “JOSIE!” the voice called again. She recognized the voice as Michael’s.

  “Just a second!” she called back, hurrying out of the tub and toweling off quickly before slipping into her bathrobe. She opened the door of her en suite, finding Michael standing inside the doorway of her bedroom.

  “Josie! Why haven’t you been answering your phone? I texted you as soon as I was out of my meeting, then I called, I texted Damien and he hadn’t heard from you, then I tried calling you again and got no answer, I’ve been worried sick.”

  “Oh, sorry, I was taking a bath, I didn’t have my phone.”

  “Seriously? It didn’t occur to you to update me or Damien to tell us you were home and what the doctor said?”

  “Sorry, no, I guess I just wanted to get home and decompress. I wasn’t thinking.”

  He sighed. “Okay, well, anyway, what happened at the doctor’s?”

  “Oh, um, nothing really. He didn’t prescribe anything, just said to relax and wait for Wednesday’s session and we’ll go from there.”

  Michael cocked his head to the side in disbelief. “He called you into his office for an emergency appointment and then didn’t prescribe anything and told you to relax and wait? What was the point of you going?”

  “No idea. I guess once we talked he decided to try another session before prescribing anything.”

  Michael was annoyed, throwing his hands in the air with frustration. “All of that and he did nothing. On Wednesday I’ll go in with you and have a word with him. This is ridiculous.”

  “He’s the professional, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

  “Well, I’m glad you consider him a professional because so far, I’m not impressed.”

  Josie remained quiet, hoping his frustration passed before she was forced to tell more lies about her morning excursion.

  Michael eyed her for a moment. “Why are you wearing that necklace?”

  “Oh,” Josie said, clasping at it. She forgot she put it on while in the bath and, in her rush to get out, had never taken it off. “I just put it on while I was in the bath, no particular reason.”

  Michael didn’t answer for a moment. “I guess,” he said, loosening his tie, “I’ll let you get back to your bath. I’m home for the rest of the day, I’m going to grab my laptop and do some work downstairs.”

  “Okay,” Josie said, giving him a weak smile. As he left, she turned, grabbed her phone and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She glanced at herself in the mirror before sitting down on the edge of the tub. She had no intention on getting back into the bath, but she didn’t want to be disturbed so she let Michael conclude that’s what she intended to do.

  Instead she toggled her phone on. She saw several missed messages and phone calls. She ignored them and opened her text message app, sending a text to the mysterious man she met with earlier: What can you tell me about my visions?

  As she waited for the response, she cleared her notifications and sent a text to a very worried Damien, telling him she was fine and that the doctor prescribed nothing for her.

  As she sent the message off, she received a reply from the man: Have you had another vision?

  Frustrated she sent back: Why can you never just answer me? Can you answer this… what is your name?

  Within a few moments the response came back: I want you to remember my name. It’s better if you remember on your own… explaining it will sound crazy like you keep telling me

  Josie responded: I can’t remember your name… I don’t know you

  He responded: You’ll remember and then it will all make sense… let’s meet again

  Although unsure, the person she most desired to talk to was this man. Why, she wondered, was she so drawn to him? She considered his proposition, again unsure when she could meet him. As she considered her options, another text came through: We could meet in the morning, during your jog… if you don’t want anyone to find out

  Josie was taken aback. How was he aware she jogged, and that she did it alone? Moreover, how had he surmised that she was keeping this from her friends? Even with the unsettled sensation the message gave her, Josie found herself typing an affirmative message back to him, telling him to meet her tomorrow morning at the end of her road around 5:30 a.m.

  He texted back a confirmation, and the two ended their conversation for the moment. Josie decided she would re-dress and try to finish some work while Damien gave her a tongue-lashing about her lack of response earlier.

  The afternoon and night crawled. Josie tried to focus on her work and the mundane details of her day but found herself unable to do so. Her mind continued to return to her strange visions and the conversation that she had earlier in the day. She had another restless night, not getting much sleep with the apprehension of the meeting coming up the next morning. At least, she contemplated as she lay awake, this was one way to avoid the nightmare.

  Chapter 12

  Josie rose early the next morning, dressing for her run, driven by nervous energy. Despite the early hour the clock showed, she was anxious to get going, so she figured she would wait for the man to arrive before finishing her run.

  Much to her surprise, as she approached the end of the road, she spotted a car. She slowed to a walk, approaching it. The man was leaning against the car, waiting for her. As she approached, he walked toward her.

  “Good morning, Jo
sie,” he said, as he approached her.

  “Good morning,” she said, suddenly concerned this might not be a good idea.

  “Did you sleep?”

  “No.”

  “You had another vision, didn’t you?”

  “I did. Of a beach somewhere.” She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know what to think.”

  “It’s okay. You’ll figure it out. I imagine the hypnosis can help.”

  “Yeah, sorry, I’m not comfortable going somewhere with someone who won’t even tell me his name and then being hypnotized by someone else whom I’ve never even met.”

  The man snorted a laugh. “Oh, I always admired that feistiness you have. You don’t have to come with me, your doctor can do it. I expect it might take longer because your doctor doesn’t understand what to trigger, whereas mine does. But it’s up to you, whatever makes you comfortable.”

  “So, you’re not opposed to me saying no and going back to my doctor?”

  “Other than you struggling for a longer time, no, I’m not opposed.”

  “Why can’t you just tell me what is happening? You keep hinting at it but you won’t tell me. It’s frustrating.”

  “Josie, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, that’s why you’ve got to come around to it on your own.”

  “Why are you so concerned about me ‘remembering’ and not struggling and whatever?”

  “Because I care about you.” He paused. “And because, truth be told, I need your help, desperately. We all do. The sooner you remember, the sooner you can help.”

  “You need my help? With what?”

  “Well, I need Celine’s help. And again, you wouldn’t understand even if I tried to tell you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

  Josie sighed, crossing her arms and walking a few steps away, turning her back toward him. “Why does this have to be complicated? You won’t tell me your name, you won’t give me any information. The only thing I have to go on is someone else’s memories, this Celine person’s memories. I mean, how do I have them? Do I have multiple personalities or am I possessed or something?”