Paranormal - No Title Yet (part 2)

THE GREEN BOOK



II – Meditation – Meeting your Spirit Guides



Now that you are comfortable with meditation it is time to make use of it.  Meditation is an excellent way for you to meet your Spirit Guides.  You may well have more than one.  Your Spirit Guides will help to protect you and will provide you with guidance as you travel along your path.  You will get to know them very well over time but now is the time for that important first encounter.

What you should do, once you are in a comfortable meditative state is to cast your mind back to your childhood.  Remember a place that you knew well.  Somewhere you used to play or a secret place that you used to go to.  Visualise yourself walking to this place.  On the way there try to take in as much of the detail of your journey as possible.  You will find that, with your state of meditation, you will recall even the smallest details.  The colour of the doors on the houses, the cracks in the pavement, the smells and the sounds will all come to you while you walk.  It is important to focus on the destination you are travelling to.  One of your Spirit Guides will be there to meet you.

When you arrive, try to take a good look at your guide and make a mental note of everything that you see.  Is your guide male or female?  Is your guide tall or short, old or young?  What are they wearing?  Introduce yourself to your guide and ask their name and where they are from.

You may not be able to do all of this in one session.  Remember that getting to know your guides is something that will take a long time.  Do not expect to find out everything at once and do not be disappointed if there is no-one there to meet you.  This does not mean that you do not have any guides.  It just means that they, and you, are not yet ready to meet.

You may also have an animal guide.  At this point in your meditation you may have already seen them.  This is something you will get used to.  You animal guide is a symbolic link to a specific part of you.  You will not be able to get answers from you animal guide but it will be there to protect you and help you find your way when you are lost.



You can use your meditation sessions to ask you guides questions.  Once you have become acquainted with them you can meet them in this place and get their help and advice.  If you have anything that is worrying you or of which you are unclear then, before you start walking, visualise yourself writing your questions down a piece of paper.  Carry the paper with you and hand it to your guide.  There are many different ways in which your guide will answer you and you may not immediately understand the answer.  Remember that this world you are walking through, the world from your childhood, is a place that you have built in your imagination.  By inviting your guides to meet you in a special place you are inviting them into your imagination.  You are opening up a piece of your mind to them so that they can communicate with you.  Because of this fact you are able to control how they communicate.  This, again, will take time but if you visualise your method of communication then it will make it easier.  An example would be for you to visualise your guide showing you a picture.  The picture will represent your guides answer to your question.  Take in as much details as possible from the picture.  The answer may not be immediately obvious.

Your guides are an important part of your spiritual development and at this early stage you should try to meet them as often as possible.  Establishing a strong relationship with your guides can only be a good thing but, again, this will take time.  Be patient with your guides and they will be patient with you.















Chapter Five





John had decided to drive this morning.  He was travelling out of town into the Greater London suburbs in the evening and he had to pick up Carla on the way.  Also, he had decided that arriving at Jason Marsh’s house in a black cab would probably raise a few alarm bells.  He had not given his BMW a run in a while and he felt duty bound to justify the money he had spent on it.

His first stop was to visit Giles.  John was intrigued to find out if Giles had turned anything up in the data he was processing.  He also had an ulterior motive.  If Giles could prove the CCTV footage had been faked then he would not have to visit Marsh’s place and he would not have to meet up with Carla again.  He had been shocked by Carla’s comments regarding his father.  This was something that he definitely was not expecting.  He had never bought into anything like this.  He had always thought of mediums as stereotypical fortune tellers trying to twist your words into something, making use of your gestures and movements to decide what to tell you about your future.  He lay in bed last night contemplating what she had said and it bothered him enough to keep him awake until the early hours.  He had felt that he would not be able to sleep until he had decided how to deal with what he had heard.  At around 3am this morning he had decided that Carla Warwick had made a lucky guess, that she had not been specifically referring to his father and that he would only play along with Fortelli’s whim for as long as it suited him.

He parked his car a few streets down from the block that Giles lived in.  He did not want to risk leaving his convertible M3 anywhere near that place.  He walked down to the block where he found that this time the lifts were out.  He climbed the eight flights of stairs and Giles let him into the apartment.

“Any news for me?  Are we looking for a ghost or the person that faked one?”  John asked.

“Well...”  Giles replied, “I ran the raw data through the scanner and there are no jumps or glitches in the signature.  This tells me that this footage actually came from the camera and that, after leaving the camera it was not tampered with.”

John’s face dropped.  Until now he had not realised how much he was hoping Giles would turn something up.

“But,” Giles continued, “I did find something else a little unusual.  Well, I say, a little unusual, it is actually pretty damned freaky if you ask me.  You remember the flash that occurs just as everything goes dark.  Well, take a look at this.”

Giles picked up a printout from the coffee table and handed passed it to John.  John studied it for a few seconds looking confused.  It seemed to be a picture of somebody.  They were standing on the far left of the shot, almost out of sight.  The figure was facing the camera and you could make out two thirds of the face.  The figure’s left arm was raised as if it were holding something but the extremities from the wrist out seemed out of focus and blurry.  The rest of the print was completely dark.

“Where on earth did this come from?”  John had no idea what he was looking at.

“I ran the blank section through a few filters trying to find out if anything was captured during that time.”  Giles’ voice was excited.  “With some adjustments to the contrast and boosting the brightness this is what I found.  The image is there for the entire fifteen seconds.  It is as if this image was burned into the camera by the flash.  I double-checked the footage after the blackout and the image has gone.  There is nothing to suggest that this is present when the camera comes back online.”

John studied the picture again, questions swirling around in his head.  How did this get here?  How was this possible?  His thoughts turned to Carla.  He felt confused and wanted to leave.  He needed some time to get himself together.  He thanked Giles, made his excuses, took the photo and Giles’ number and left saying he would give him a call.



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Back in his car John started the engine and headed south.  He hooked his mobile phone into its adapter and called Don Fortelli.  He did not have a mobile number so he called his office at InterSec.  The tone rang out of the hands-free speakers before it was picked up by the InterSec receptionist and John asked to be put through.  Bad hold music circulated through the car until the receptionist came back on the line and told John that Donald Fortelli was not currently available and that he was out of the office on business until the end of the week.  John had her put him through anyway, left an indifferent message on Fortelli’s voicemail and continued his drive south.  He would have to go to Billy’s and try to reach Fortelli from there.  It was two thirty in the afternoon and John was feeling like he may need to break his alcohol watershed.



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John had a large scotch when he arrived at Billy’s.  Fortelli was nowhere to be seen and the bar staff were unhelpful.  He took his drink to one of the tables and made himself comfortable.  He may have a long wait.















Chapter Six





Carla took the bus home from the Travel Agent.  It was a cold February evening and it was already dark outside.  She watched the rain stream down the windows of the bus as it trudged its way through the rush-hour traffic.  After having time to think about it she was having second thoughts about helping out this John fellow.  She really had no idea what she was expecting.  She was worried more about what she would find when she visited this place rather than John’s intentions.  Her main concern was that she may not find anything at all.  Her lack of self confidence was beginning to show itself and she did everything she could to stamp it out.  She was also worried about what to say when John asked how much she would be charging him for the visit.  She new he would not be expecting her to tag along for nothing but she had never done anything like this before.  She decided that the best she could do would be to play it by ear.  She was not really concerned about the money.  She was more intrigued by what John had said was happening at the place.  She did, however, have a distinct feeling that John was not telling her everything.

Looking out of the windows she saw that the bus was approaching her stop.  She got up and pushed the button.  It was still raining when she got of the bus but it was only twenty yards from her house and she made it home without getting too wet.



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Carla looked at the clock on the wall in her kitchen.  She had taken a shower and made herself a small meal.  She had left most of it though.  For some reason she did not have much of an appetite.  It was quarter to eight and she found herself feeling a little anxious.  She was quite looking forward to what she perceived would be a little adventure but she was also feeling nervous. John was late and she was wondering if he would even show up.  She forced herself to make some coffee.

The doorbell rang just before eight.  She let John in and offered him a drink.  He apologised for being late, blaming the traffic, and said that it was better if the left sooner rather than later.  He did not want to be out all night.

Carla agreed, switched off the lights and they left.  John held an umbrella over Carla as they walked to his car.  They jumped in and John pulled away.

“So John, where is it we are heading tonight exactly?”  Carla asked.

“A big house in the country.  It is about forty five minutes drive from here.”

There was an awkward silence as they drove.  John did not know how to take Carla.  This morning he had been convinced that that what she proclaimed to do was just her imagination.  He did not think she was a fraud and he had no doubt in the fact that she believed in what she said.  He had been sure that there was nothing more to it than that but it had been playing on his mind all day and seeing this latest picture from Giles had made him re-evaluate his opinions.  He was now more confused than ever and he did not what to show that confusion to Carla.  He was also plagued by a feeling of guilt because he had lured her into this visit under false pretences.  He just did not know how he could tell her what was really going on.  He thought he would sound stupid and he was certainly regretting lying to her.  In the end, after over twenty minutes of silence it was Carla the broke the deadlock.

“This big house in the country.  It isn’t a friend we are visiting is it?”  Carla could tell that there was something going on and she wanted to know about it before they arrived.  She certainly did not want any surprises.  “I know you haven’t told me everything and I want to know the full story.”

John relaxed a little as he told her about the place getting smashed up and about the CCTV footage showing no signs of breaking and entering.  He told her about InterSec and that the owner of the house did not know what had been captured on CCTV.  He then explained that, until InterSec had found out what happened, it was best that the owner of the house did not know.  He told her that InterSec did not want to cause any undue concern to their very valuable customer.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place instead of lying to me?  I don’t appreciate being lied to.”  Carla’s voice was stern.  John new he had been wrong to mislead her and he felt that he should tell her everything.  He knew he should tell her about Marsh and his violent background and less than legitimate business ventures.  But he also new he had a job to do.  Five grand was a lot of money for a couple of days of running.  He decided he would only tell her if it became necessary.

“I’m sorry OK.”  John said after a period of silence.  “I wasn’t sure you would come along and I didn’t really know what to tell you.”

“You should have told me the truth.  A lie, no matter how small, will always track you down in the end.”

“I know.  I don’t really understand all of this.  I don’t really believe in it to be honest.  I am just taking you over there to help out a friend.”  John pointed at the glove box.  “Take a look in there.  There is an envelope on the top.  Open it up and you will find two ID Cards that will identify.  We will go in, have a look around, make a few notes and we are out of there.  I’ll take you straight home.”

John was getting nervous.  He didn’t know if Marsh was going to be there.  If he was he may start asking questions.

Carla was examining the ID cards that he had taken from the envelope.

“Who on earth are Katherine Worthing and Daniel Fielding?”

“Ah...”  John had not yet had a chance to look at the cards.  “Those are our working names for this evening Miss Worthing.  It is a small gesture to preserve anonymity.  We will be posing as employees of InterSec during our visit.  They thought it would prevent any awkward questions being asked.”

“OK.  And where the hell did they get my picture from?”

John glanced down and saw Carla Warwick staring up from her ID Card.  Fortelli must have had someone tail her and get a picture before he had called him.  She had not been looking directly at the camera when the shot was taken it did not notice a first glance.  It occurred to John that he had put a lot of effort into getting Carla here and he did not know why.  Maybe Fortelli had not told him everything either.

“I don’t know.”  John tried to make his voice sound calming.  “Listen, I didn’t realise they had your photo and I didn’t know there were fake names on the ID card.  If you don’t want to do this then I can take you back home.  I don’t want to force you into doing anything.  It’s your call.”

There was another reason that John was worried.  He had been trying to reach Fortelli all afternoon and had not been able to.  His stake out at Billy’s had been a waste of time and he had no idea if Marsh was expecting them.

Carla thought about what was happening.  She felt scared and everything was putting her on edge but she had a feeling that she had to do this.  It was as if there was an energy urging her on despite her reservations.

“I am not sure I am ready for this.”  Carla sounded nervous.

“It will be fine.  Just have a look around.  If you don’t like it we’ll leave right away.”  John flicked on the indicator.  “Anyway, we are here now.”

The driveway was long, about two hundred yards, and lined with large square lights on both side.  It was difficult to see the grounds in the darkness but Carla was able to make out a few trees that were close to the drive.  At the end of the driveway the tarmac gave way to gravel which crunched loudly under the tyres.  The drive opened up into a large parking and turning area in front of the house.  John swung the car in next to a convertible Mercedes, the only other car there, and they both got out, ID Cards swinging from their necks.

The gravelled area was lined with lamps and was well lit.  There were spotlights on the ground in front of the house which lit the building from outside.  The house looked quite new.  Red brick walls rose from sculpted bushes and thick, colourful bedding plants.  A wide flight of steps led up to huge double doors, painted black, with huge round brass handles.  The gravelled area narrowed opposite the driveway and led down to separate garage large enough to fit five or six cars.

As they walked across to the steps John noticed at least five CCTV cameras aimed at different parts of the building.  They climbed the steps and John pushed the button on the brass panel to the side of the door.  A small red light began blinking at the top of the panel.  A few seconds later the red light blinked green, there was a faint buzz and there was the metallic clank of locks opening.  The door swung open and they were confronted by huge man, nearly seven foot tall with huge arms and broad shoulders.  He was wearing a black suit with a bow tie.  He was probably and InterSec employee.  He looked like he should be standing outside the door of a nightclub.  He looked down at John, who is six foot tall himself, without saying anything.

“Hi there...”  John decided he should open the conversation before he got the door slammed in his face.  He raised his ID Card as he continued, “We are from InterSec, the security people, and we have some maintenance checks to do in follow up to the recent problems Mr Marsh has had with security.  We have to send test signals from some of the cameras and we have to do an evaluation of the camera coverage.  If you could show us to the study we can be done in twenty to thirty minutes.”

The man looked at John’s ID Card and looked him up and down as if assessing any possible threat he may cause.  He did not pay any attention to Carla at all.  Seemingly satisfied he gestured for them to enter and began walking of down the hall.  John and Carla followed.  John glanced over at Carla feeling her eyes drilling into him.  Her look said everything.  She did not want to be here.  Everything about the place was making her nervous.  She could feel some kind of intense energy that she had not experienced before.  It was as if she had been connected to an electric current.  Her legs felt weak and her body felt twitchy and awkward.  She could feel a tingling around her head and down the back of her neck.  There was definitely something about this place.  Something had happened here.  Something significant.

They stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall.  The Security Guard informed them that this was the study, and opened the door for them.  He told them that, since there had been builders in repairing damage to the walls and floor that the room was currently being left unlocked.  John assumed that everything in the room would have been removed.  As they stepped in he realised he was right.  The study was almost completely empty.  There was no desk and there was only one bookshelf against the far wall.  There were a few cardboard filing boxes stacked to one side of the room and there were several blankets covering the floor on the opposite side where it appeared that the wall had been repainted.  The smell of paint was thick in the air.  There were several boxes of tools left by the workmen who had been here during the day.

John walked over to where the CCTV camera was mounted.  He raised his ID Card and passed it to the left side of the camera.  The red light on the top of the camera blinked three times.  The envelope with the ID Cards had contained brief instructions on how to send a maintenance signal from the camera.  John then pretended to check the angle of the camera, pacing back and forward and looking from the camera to the door and then around the room.  He then stood directly underneath the camera.  Carla watched him with some confusion.

“Kate, do you think we need an additional camera in here?”  John saw Carla’s face go blank for a second before she realised he was using her alias for the evening.  He continued before she had a chance to answer. “You know, I don’t think we do, the blind spot in this room is pretty small and there aren’t any shadow areas.  Maybe we will get a better idea when all the furniture is back in but I think it is all pretty much covered.”

John stepped away from the wall and looked up at the camera.

“It looks like we may be able to fit a wider angle of lens on this model.  That would give us better coverage of the wall along here.” John walked along the recently painted wall, gesturing with his hand. “Yeah.  Maybe we can fit a 35.  Or a 38.”

As John spoke the security guard turned and walked off up the hallway.  The door slowly swung shut with a clunk.  As it did John turned to Carla.

“Right...  That has gotten rid of the gorilla.  So now it is over to you.”

Carla took a deep breath.  The energy in this room was stronger than it had been in the hallway.  She continued to take deep breaths as she opened herself and asked her guides for protection.  She had been stood with her eyes closed for a few minutes.  When she opened them she saw that John was looking at her expectantly.

“There is a strong energy in this room.  I felt it in the hallway but it is certainly stronger in here.  It does not feel like an active energy though.” Carla was beginning to control herself and she began to relax a little. “It is difficult to describe.  It is like a memory of an event that has been dislodged and does not belong to anyone.  It does not change but stays constant.  Like something happened here.”

Carla began to slowly pace around the room to get her bearings and to focus on the energy.  She could sense that there had been a death in this room.  She also had an intense feeling of fear leading her to believe that the death had been anticipated and not accidental.  Could someone have been murdered in this room?  Carla focussed herself and tried to visualise the sequence of events that she was feeling from this energy.  She stopped pacing and looked around the room.  She took a step forward and then a side step around something.  She realised that she was imagining where the desk would have been and was walking around it.  She closed her eyes and let the energy take her forward.  She took a few more steps in vague semicircle and stopped.  Focussing on the energy she began to raise her left hand until it was almost shoulder height with her arm outstretched.  Her eyes snapped open with sudden realisation.  She looked over at John and she felt a shudder run through her body.

“Someone was killed in this room.  Murdered!  They were shot, from right here where I am standing.”  Carla’s voice was shaky. “I don’t know when this happened.  I can’t tell.  This is scaring me and I think we should leave.”

John stood in silence.  Carla could see something in his eyes but he could not tell what it was.  John was keeping it hidden well.  She lowered her arm and turned towards the stack of boxes in the corner.  For some reason she felt drawn to them.  She walked over to them and took the lid of the top box and peered in at the contents.  The box seemed to be filled with stationary and other supplies.  It was likely to be the contents of the desk, taken out before it was removed from the room.  On one side of the box were a few photo frames slotted in behind a desk lamp.  She took them out and looked at each of them in turn.  The first was a picture of a woman in her early twenties, a traditional portrait with a soft warm glow and darkened corners.  The second was of a boat, a yacht moored somewhere in the bright sunshine.  It was the third photo that grabbed her attention.  It was a small postcard sized print in a thin glass frame.  The picture was of a gentleman in traditional shooting wear receiving a trophy from a tall man with grey hair in similar attire.  It was one of the people in the background of the photo that Carla was drawn to.  A man, standing in the background to the right of the picture was clapping.  Carla could not explain why but she felt that this person was the same person that was killed in this room.  Carla felt John leaning over, also looking at the photo.

“It’s him!” She pointed at the gentleman in the background. “He’s the one who was killed here.”

She looked at the rest of the picture, taking it all in, when suddenly she gasped and fell backwards.  John had to catch her to stop her from falling and the photo frame smashed as it hit the floor.

“What is it?”  John asked.  “Are you OK?”

“I... We have to go!”

Carla straightened herself and headed for the door.  John crouched down, picked up the photograph from amongst the shards of broken glass and slid it into his pocket.  He lifted the corner of the three boxes and kicked the remains of the photo frame under them.  He stood up and strode to the door just as it opened.

“Everything OK in here?”  John was worried the security guard had heard the smash.

“Yep!  All done.”  John tried his best to sound up-beat. “We were just on our way.”

John ushered Carla through the door and the security guard led them up the hallway.  John took his mobile phone from his pocket, dialled a number and pretended to have a conversation with someone about the visit and ordering a new lens for the camera.  When they got to the door he placed his hand over the phone, thanked the security guard and continued his conversation as the walked down the steps.

“Come on...” John spoke when he heard the door shut behind them. “Let’s get out of here.”

Carla stared blankly out of the window and did not say a word to John for the entire journey.  She thanked him when he dropped her off at home and John watched her as she entered her building.  John took the photo out of his pocket and stared at it.  Something in this picture had scared the hell out of Carla.  John wished he knew what it was.















THE GREEN BOOK



III - Working with Energy in different ways



There are many ways a person can work with energy.  The way you work with energy is initially determined by what type of energy you are working with.  There is Residual Energy.  This is energy that is tied to a particular place or a particular object.  This energy is not an intelligent energy.  It is more like a recording or an impression of past events.  There is also Spiritual Energy.  This energy is within all of us and makes us who we are.  This is the energy of those who have passed over.



A Spiritual Medium can work directly with the Spiritual Energy of those who have passed over.  A clairvoyant can see spirit how they were in this life and spirit will show them events in their lives and events in ours.  A clairaudient is able to hear spirit and interpret messages from spirit.  A clairsentient is able to perceive feelings and emotions from spirit as well as smells and tastes.  A Spiritual Medium may use one or all of these gifts when working with spirit.



A Spiritual Medium may be able to detect and read residual energy.  The process of psychometry, the reading of energy within objects, is a way of doing this.  As a spiritual medium comes into contact with, or in proximity to, an object they may be able to feel and read the energy it is charged with.  This could be a place or building in which events have occurred or it could be an object or possession, a watch or a piece of jewellery that belongs to someone.



It is possible that Spiritual Energy can influence the physical world.  If you compare Spiritual Energy to electricity then you will find some interest similarities.  Electricity cannot be seen.  It runs silently through conductive materials without detection by normal human senses.  It is possible, however, for electricity to be perceived.  A large concentration of electricity can result in a humming sound.  A spark can be seen if electricity jumps from one conductor to another.  Spiritual Energy is not normally perceived by the human sensed but, when it is concentrated, it can sometimes be seen, even by those who do not have a spiritual gift.  It is possible for Spiritual Energy to move objects but this is a rare occurrence without a Spiritual Medium.  A Spiritual Medium will act as a channel for this Spiritual Energy.  The ways that spirit will use this channel are normally more subtle.  The use of devices such as pendulums and dowsing rods is a perfect example.  When holding a pendulum you try to keep your hand still and let it hang motionless.  This is not possible and the pendulum will swing and move.  The subtle projection of Spiritual Energy in this process is almost undetectable but posing questions to this swinging stone will afford you answers.  There is no doubt that the motion of your hand is what causes the pendulum to move.  The question is what is making your hand move?  The same is true when a Medium shuffles a deck of tarot cards.  Shuffling a deck of cards is normally a way to induce an element of randomness but the gentle push and pull of Spiritual Energy will affect the process in many subtle ways, affecting the order and draw of the cards.  Reading tarot cards is not just about knowing what the cards mean.



Spiritual Energy affects Mediums in different ways.  Acting as a channel for this energy is a major part of what makes a Spiritual Medium.  This energy can be used or channelled in endless different ways.  For many it is a source of messages for those this side of life.  Psychic Artists use this energy to influence drawings of people and places from Spiritual Energy.  Others use this energy in conjunction with decks of cards to provide people with advice and guidance in their lives.  At this point you are aware of Spiritual Energy and you are aware that you are a channel for this energy.  It is important for you to find ways of using this energy that you are comfortable with and that allow you make best use of this energy.















Chapter Seven





Carla sat at her dining table staring into a cup of coffee she had made nearly an hour previously.  She had not slept well last night.  The events of yesterday evening had played over and over again in her mind.  She felt cold and sick, but not through any bug or virus.  She had called in to the Travel Agent this morning at eight thirty and told them she was unwell.  She must have sounded convincing after sleeping for just an hour or so during the night.  The manager did not ask any questions and said that he hoped to see her tomorrow.  She had been sitting here ever since.  She sat alone, thinking, and all she felt was confusion.  It would appear that last night had been a success.  There was certainly something going on in that place that warranted further investigation.  She had been able to read the energy and she felt that the visit had been worthwhile.  What had kept her awake was not the energy she had felt around the house and in the study.  It was not even the feeling of someone being murdered in that room that worried her.  What bothered her most was the photograph.  There had been four discernable faces in that photograph.  The main figure was a face unknown to her but she assumed that he was the owner of the house.  He had been receiving a trophy from another person unknown to her.  The third face she had recognised.  Not because she had met the man previously but because she had felt the energy around the room and she had seen his face in her mind.  The fourth face was the one that bothered her so.  This was a face that she had see many times and was the face of someone she loved.  The fourth person in the photo had been Michael, standing to the left in the background.  The face had been a little out of focus but she was sure it was him.  She wished she could see the photo again and justify the way she was feeling.  She may have been mistaken but she was so sure.

Seeing Michael in that photograph had been a huge shock to her.  She had no idea why he had been there at that time and she had no idea where or when the picture was taken.  Maybe it had been something to do with his work.  Maybe he had been there with friends.  Michael had a few good friends that he visited regularly but she was not aware of any of them taking up shooting.  It was not just his presence in the photograph that made her anxious it was Michael’s sudden presence with her.  As soon as she had seen his face she had felt him by her side.  It had not been the warm and comforting presence that she was used to.  This had been different.  His energy was strong and forceful and filled with fear.  There was something about his presence that she did not understand.  There was an emptiness that she could not describe.  He did not speak to her but she felt he was willing her to leave.

To her it was obvious that Michael had not wanted her to be there.  Maybe he had felt she was in danger.  From that point she had felt nothing more of his presence.  Not in the car on the journey home and not at home when she got there.  She would normally feel him around her.  If she looked for it she could always sense his watchful and protective gaze but last night had been different.  Last night she was aware of the distinct lack of his presence.  She had felt Sam around her as normal but Michael had been strangely absent and was still now.

Carla thought that maybe she was imagining it.  Maybe the shock of seeing him in the photo had affected her even more than she thought.  Maybe his energy was still there and she was not focussed enough to feel it.

Carla felt like she had been betrayed but she did not know why.  Maybe it was because John had not told her everything about what was going on.  Maybe she would find that there is much more to tell.  She also thought that maybe the photo was an indication that Michael had betrayed her.  That something about his presence in the photograph was tied to a lie that he had told her, a truth that he had withheld.  The absence of his energy had saddened her deeply.  Maybe he was feeling guilty.  Maybe it was Michael that needed to tell her something.

Thoughts spun around in her head.  What if Michael had been involved in the murder?  Why had he been their in the photograph?

Carla got up and walked through to the kitchen.  She poured away the coffee untouched and then slouched onto the sofa in the living room.  The lack of sleep was starting to make her eyelids heavy.  She let her head tip back, closed her eyes and fell into a deep yet disturbed sleep.



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Carla woke with a start.  Wrestling with the memory of her dream before it slipped away from her completely.  Michael had been there, rolling hills with brightly coloured flowers and a solitary tree at the top of a hill, walking but going nowhere, holding hands and talking, a wooden box, a chest of some kind, half buried in the ground and hidden by the long grass.  A key on a chain around Michael’s neck, shining brightly in the midday sun, take the key but Michael protests.  The key unlocks the chest but the hinges are rusted closed.  Push and lift.  The chest opens.  Darkness pours out, drowning the flowers and painting the sky black.  Dead flowers, mottled brown, crunch dry underfoot.  Running, fleeing the darkness but it swallows them whole.

Carla did not often have bad dreams but this one was filled with fear.  She tried to fathom the meaning of the dream but it was lost on her.

Looking over at the chair she had been sitting at earlier she noticed that the InterSec security pass was still hanging over the back of it.  She looked at the clock.  It was just past three in the afternoon.  She decided that she wanted answers and she was not going to find them sitting here.  She got up and checked the back of the card.  The address for InterSec was printed on the back of the card.  She called a cab and got herself dressed.  Donning a smart black trouser suit and putting her hair up she looked at herself in the mirror.  She pinned the InterSec ID to her breast pocket and brushed herself down.

Two can play games John!















Chapter Eight





John’s head felt heavy.  He had been in bed all night and most of the morning and the excess sleep had left him with an ache behind his eyes.  He found himself thinking of Carla, wondering if she was OK and wondering what it was that had disturbed her last night.  He felt guilty about getting her involved and wished he had told her everything before the visit to Marsh’s house in the country.

John had only been up for a couple of hours but it was already past one in the afternoon.  He was still lounging in his dressing gown, avoiding getting dresses until it was absolutely necessary.  His apartment was spacious and almost bare.  His minimalist approach to furniture and the clean lines of white and grey made the place look modern yet dull.  When had first moved into the place he had thought that the design was stylish but now, more than ever, he was aware of its lack of character.  It occurred to him that maybe this lack of character was a reflection of his own life.  Full of ups and downs but with no real meaning.  He had no wife or girlfriend, just a string of casual relationships that never ignited a fire within him and ended almost as soon as they had begun.

John realised that he was lonely.  He made good money in his chosen profession but it was wearing him down.  He was beginning to despise the person that he was and longed for change.  Most of all he wanted a normal life.  A life he could share with someone.

John was thankful when the ring of his mobile interrupted this train of thought.

“Douglas!”

“John.  It’s Donald.  Can you come by the office at 3:30?  I want to know how things are progressing.”

“Sure...  I’ll be there.”

“And John...” John could hear a break in Don’s voice as if he was unsure of himself. “Thanks.”

“See you then...”  John pushed End Call and put his mobile on the glass dining table where he had retrieved it from moments earlier.

John was beginning to worry about Donald Fortelli.  It was obvious that Marsh was putting the pressure on him to find out what happened and he was concerned that Fortelli might buckle and pass the heat onto Carla and him.  John new that Marsh was capable of more than a touch of violence and he was sure that Marsh’s patience would be wearing thin.  He was even more concerned, more than he would admit to himself, about Carla.  She had no idea what she was getting into and now she was tied into the equation.  He desperately wanted to talk to her before going to see Fortelli.  He wanted to tell her everything that he knew.

Sat on a white moulded chair at his dining table he stared at his mobile phone.  It looked for a moment like it was floating on air.  The glass of the table top was clean and John tried to remember if a meal had ever been eaten off of it.  He decided he would drop by the Travel Agent where Carla worked and speak to her on the way to see Fortelli.

John took a shower and pulled on a clean suit.  He collated all of the items that Fortelli had given him and added the photo prints from Giles.  He found a leather case to put them in and zipped them inside.  He grabbed his wallet, keys and cigarettes and made his way down to his car.