The devils deal, p.11
The Devil's Deal, page 11
part #3 of Deadly Deception Series
He stopped in the middle of the room and looked around, “I am still wondering how I could get myself involved with something like this. Certainly, I wasn’t thinking about anything else but the scientific meaning of such research. Regardless of the initial scope of the study, such a coupled technique can help a lot of people dealing with very serious problems, and when I think about the good side of the research, I can’t avoid being enthralled by the potential benefits. The dark side is something that shouldn’t concern me at all.”
He went back to his desk and switched on the computer, to check and see if there had been any new messages from Prof. Doyle. He knew that there wouldn’t be any messages from his client, as he generally preferred to call him.
“Hmm, no news must be good news,” he whispered and considering that it was time for him to return home, he thought that perhaps it would have been better if he’d called Julius, just to be sure that everything was going according to the plans they had already laid out, and in a couple of days he would be set to arrive at the resort.
Nevertheless, after spending the entire Christmas holidays in that empty resort, he started to feel quite lonely and couldn’t wait to have someone around.
The Christmas holiday went on and before Dr. Wright could even acknowledge it, he received a call from his wife.
“Good morning, Honey,” She greeted as she was calling him from her car. “I just started to drive back home. I believe I can make it for this late afternoon.”
“Oh, hi Sam. I have been missing you, and I can’t wait until you’ll be back,” Dr. Wright replied. “How is your mother now?”
“She is better, and she sends you her best. Next time we might go together to spend some time at her place,” She proposed. “I hope you haven’t been using all your vacation time only for work.
“I had my idle time, don’t you worry. I just needed to fix a couple of things for the next therapy session, but I had time to get caught up on some rest.”
He hated lying to her, but he didn’t want to make her worry about him overworking. He knew the end of the whole project was quickly approaching, and after that there would have been only free time to be enjoyed with her. It is just a matter of time, he considered.
“I was thinking we might go out for a romantic dinner, if you think you won’t be too tired,” Dr. Wright proposed.
“That would be a great idea, I know you are not a great cook, and I won’t be in the mood to do anything in the kitchen. We could also need some quality time to spend together, you have no idea how much I have missed you,” she replied, happy to return back home.
“Then I will book a table at a nice restaurant, nothing fancy, so you won’t have to spend time in dressing up for the occasion.”
“How thoughtful,” she replied giggling. “See you this afternoon, I love you madly.”
“You are the only reason of my life, Sammy, never forget it,” Dr. Wright smiled. “I will be waiting for you.”
She hung up the phone and switched on the radio to her favorite station. It was good to be away from home and have some quality time with her mother. Yet, as she was now driving back home she realized how much she really missed being with Bernard immersed in their comfortable routine.
If only he could be less focused on his job and more focused on our relationship, that would be just perfect, she sighed, Oh, well, perfection is not achievable is it?
***
The sun had already set, when he finally reached home.
“Darling is that you?” Samantha’s voice resounded from the bedroom.
“Yes, it has been a long day, but now I can relax,” he said taking his coat off.
“You always say that, but every time you come back home, it just means that you will lock yourself in your office and continue to work from there,” she replied walking in to the living room. “I am wondering whether there will ever be a time when we can spend more than just one hour together.”
He sighed, feeling guilty for neglecting her that much. He realized it and hoped she would understand and wait for the day when they would have all the time just to enjoy each other.
“I am sorry, Sam,” he replied apologetically. “I wish I could say that from today on everything will be different and that I won’t let you down. The reality is that I really wish to spend all the time with you, having fun, and doing all the things we used to enjoy before this project started.”
She hugged him, and kissed him, understanding his feelings, wishing only to help him, rather than giving him more to worry about. “I didn’t mean to nag you, I wanted you to understand that you should also take time for yourself. When you talk about relaxing it shouldn’t mean work from home, it should mean not working at all.”
He smiled and held her tight to himself. There wasn’t anything or anyone in the world he loved more than his beloved wife, Yet, I am constantly keeping her in the dark about the terrible secret behind this research. I should be ashamed of myself, he scowled at himself.
“You are right, and I am not unfair only to myself but mostly to you. I feel guilty for not being present in your life the way you deserve, but I promise that once this project is over, we are going to retire somewhere nice,” he promised, glancing at her. “We will have all the time to enjoy each other’s company until you have enough of my presence.”
“Then it will take a million years because I can never get enough of you. I love you, Bernie,” she smiled tenderly at him.
“I love you too, Sammy, and tonight as I promised, I will take you out for dinner.”
He grabbed her coat and helped her to put it on.
He switched off his phone so as to not risk being interrupted during one of the rare evenings that were meant only for him and his wife.
“I know I shouldn’t ask, and I know I will regret it, but you mentioned leaving the country after this project. Did you really mean what you were saying? How will we manage? We do not have enough funds, and there will be many years before we can retire,” she asked as they were driving towards the city center.
“I am entirely serious, and I have been considering the opportunity for a long time. I am not yet sure whether we can really do it right away. What I do know is that the final compensation for this project will be extremely generous. Although we won’t be able to live a life of luxury, it could be enough to live happily until we start to collect our pension,” he replied without taking his eyes from the road.
“I still can’t understand, are you hiding something from me?” She wondered suspiciously.
“The only thing I am hiding from you is the real amount of the bonus we are going to get. This is because it is just a rough calculation I have been doing and I can’t be totally sure of the final amount. What I know is that the pharmaceutical consortium we are working for is willing to pay our salaries plus a substantial bonus whether we can deliver the final product on time,” Dr. Wright replied avoiding having to explain the real reason for that testing, which didn’t have much to do with the pharmaceutical research than with more illegal practices.”
He tried to find the most feasible lie to satisfy her curiosity, without raising any suspicion, knowing that this would have been a very difficult task. It’s good that she can’t look straight into my eyes, she would surely spot a lie, and then I would be forced to tell the truth,” he thought scared of the consequences this would have caused.
“Hmm, makes sense,” she replied casually. “I would love to go to live in a tropical paradise…”
He smiled relieved, “tropical paradises are plagued by yearly monsoons, are you sure?”
“We will be there only for the dry season,” she giggled, having the fun with the situation.
She didn’t really believe that he meant to move away from the country to some paradise abroad. She preferred to keep her feet on the ground, although, she had to admit, the idea of early retirement was appealing.
The morning after, as he reached his office for the last day before leaving for the test session, he felt relieved for having spoken to his wife. Of course, he couldn’t tell her the entire truth, but at least she knew about the possibility to move to another country.
“I should find a way to tell her that perhaps she should move before it’s time, but how? I cannot allow her to suspect that we might be in danger, I could never be able to explain to her what I agreed to without hurting her,” he said aloud as he waited for the first patient to arrive.
***
Julius started to feel a bit nervous about the new therapy, he glanced at the cigarette pack as he slipped one out for the first smoke of the day.
“Enjoy your power now, because soon, you will mean absolutely nothing to me and I will be free from this stupid habit,” he said lighting up the cigarette, inhaling deeply as to enjoy that last pleasure.
He stood up from the bed and opened the curtains checking the weather. The sky was grey, and it was raining cats and dogs. With a disappointed grunt, he left the window ajar to let the fresh air come inside the room and walked into the bathroom to turn the shower on.
For the whole day, he could not concentrate on his job, he was thinking about the start of the therapy, and he couldn’t stop thinking about what to expect out of those two weeks he was supposed to spend in the location Dr. Wright had selected. He had sent him the details by email the previous evening.
“One thing for sure is that after those two weeks, I will no longer smoke or touch any tobacco. Also, I hope to gain more control over myself, my emotions and my whole life,” he whispered as he desperately tried to focus on his job.
He smiled broadly and felt excited like a child on his first day at school, he had never been so close to finally quit smoking, and now, that goal was something almost tangible.
He sighed and stood up from his chair, the time seemed to pass slower than usual, and he couldn’t just focus on anything but what would have happened from the next day on.
What kind of life was waiting for him after those two weeks? How would his life have changed without the addiction hanging over his head?
He felt intoxicated, his head was spinning, and he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Absentmindedly he grabbed the pack of cigarettes and slipped one out of it. He was almost going out with the lighter to have a smoke when he realized how stupid that might be.
“Sorry buddy, I am not going to fall in your trap anymore,” he said and with a swift move, he threw the whole pack in the trash bin. “That’s where you belong!”
The telephone ringing brought him back to reality; he grabbed the phone, trying to collect himself before answering.
“Hello,” he replied trying to sound in control.
“Good morning Mr. Mendoza,” Dr. Wright greeted. “This is Dr. Wright, and I called to remind you about the first day of therapy tomorrow morning. If you would like you will be welcome to check into the resort this evening, so you can get acquainted with the place and make yourself at home.”
“Oh, good morning Dr. Wright. Yes, I think that would be a great idea, so that we can start tomorrow morning right away without wasting any time in settling in. At what time should I be there?” Julius wondered.
“Whenever would suit you best, today there are no strict schedules or timetables to be followed.”
Julius began to ponder how much time would it take for him to drive home, get ready, and then drive to the resort, “I suppose that best case scenario, I can be there at about six o’clock. If I get out an hour earlier then I can avoid the traffic jam.”
“I will be waiting for you, you just call me when you are getting close to the resort, and I will come to greet you at the reception desk,” Dr. Wright proposed, as he was preparing to leave the office.
“Of course, see you this evening, then.”
“Yes, and welcome to the therapy program,” Dr. Wright greeted before hanging up the conversation.
Julius remained thinking about Dr. Wright’s words long after he hung up the phone, and felt glad that he could start to move to the therapy location; he wouldn’t have been able to fall asleep that night with all the excitement he was charged with.
He felt so electrified that he could light up the whole city for an entire month if his feelings could be converted into energy.
However, meanwhile Julius was feeling in seventh heaven, there was someone who felt more than concerned about what was going on around the world.
As Gabriel was at his usual pub trying to relax, his phone started to ring, and a familiar number appeared on the display of his mobile. “So long, relaxation!” he whispered sipping the last bit of his drink and hurrying outside.
“There must be some serious troubles if you are calling me now,” Gabriel said answering the phone.
“Indeed, there are troubles. It seems like silencing the Officer in Tbilisi didn’t have the hoped-for results,” Mr. M. replied with an annoyed tone.
“What happened?”
“It seems like Lieutenant Avaliani and his cute boyfriend, Officer Sheen, are determined to find out more about the case, by questioning Mr. Jackson,” Mr. M. explained.
“Why would they be digging up the past for?” Gabriel wondered.
“That is something I am going to find out really soon. But they decided to gather more information about the case in an attempt to better understand why Detective Bochorishvili decided not to pursue the case any longer.” Mr. M. took a long pause to regain his calm.
“According to the sources I have in place, Lieutenant Avaliani had a chat with Lieutenant Sabari. I have no idea about the topic of their chat, but if Avaliani asked for information about the murder case, I am more than certain that he got out with no information at all. However, he might have discovered that there hasn’t been any official order from him to close the investigation. If this is the reason why Avaliani decided to investigate the case, then there is the slight chance that he might be able to reopen the case of Ethan Jackson, Carolina Lynn and all the other patients who followed her same fate.”
Gabriel remained silent, considering the news he just received. “Do you think he might be able to find out everything?”
“We do not have anything to lose, nobody knows who we are and…”
“Dr. Wright knows me, he saw me several times,” Gabriel interrupted him.
“I will take care of your safety, you should know that,” Mr. M. assured.
“Don’t you care about the fact that you will have only half of the formula needed? To be honest, at the moment you have nothing concrete in your hands, so if you should have to start everything from the beginning, this time you could not count on the help of the most prestigious names in psychiatry, as they might be in prison for the rest of their life,” Gabriel pointed out.
“I am well aware of this risk, we are too close to the final formulation, and losing everything when we are merely a step away from the final result, is something I cannot afford. There are too high of interests involved, and I am not the only one who wants to get his hands on such a powerful combination of drug and hypnotic routine,” Mr. M. replied concerned. “Just think about the potential!”
“I know, do you think it would be wiser to move the two researchers out of the country? They could continue their work in a safer location where the police won’t be able to get them. Let them play with the investigation if this makes them happy. They will never be able to get their hands on us or on our most precious assets, Dr. Wright and Prof. Doyle.”
“This might raise too many suspicions, and too early in the process, I need to slow their investigations as much as possible. At least until we achieve the final stage of the formulation. At that point, if I see the necessity, I will move everything abroad,” Mr. M. pondered thoughtfully, as he started to take into consideration Gabriel’s suggestion.
“I need to plan this carefully. If Dr. Wright, Prof. Doyle, and their families suddenly leave the country, we might still be in trouble. If we want to secure them, we need to do everything one step at a time, acting as careful as possible. I suppose the best thing for us to do is to follow the situation very closely and be ready to act accordingly. What we have at the moment are two Officers who have no idea who are they messing with. To start with as soon as they arrive back in the States, Officer Sheen won’t be able to follow the case anymore as he will be transferred to Georgetown. I do not expect this to divide the two lovers, but I will make sure that he won’t have time to follow any other case not officially or unofficially.”
“One day you will have to explain to me how you do this,” Gabriel smirked.
“What?”
“Playing with people’s life at your will,” Gabriel explained. “Like how you managed to transfer Officer Sheen to another Department?”
Mr. M. chuckled, “That was the easiest part, and Lieutenant Avaliani has no idea the way he helped me in achieving this goal. He was the first to send the transfer request so that he could live his love story freely. Of course, I do not need to explain to you that I have hands and ears wherever I need them to be, I didn’t reach my status by chance.”
“I guess you’re right. You have all my respect for that, even if this meant sacrificing other things equally important,” he added sourly.
“I will keep an eye on the situation, you just take care of making sure that the victim will reach the resort in two weeks. Everything will go fine.”
“Let’s hope so, see you around,” he greeted hanging up the phone without even waiting for a reply or a greeting.
Julius left the office about an hour in advance. I still have to finish packing my luggage for those two weeks, he thought. I know it sounds ridiculous. I am preparing like I have to leave for the rest of my life, but I feel so electrified about the start of this therapy.
He walked faster towards his car in the garage of the building and started to drive faster so to be sure he wouldn’t get stuck in the rush hour traffic. He was a person who enjoyed his life as decluttered as possible, others would have called it humble, but in that situation, he felt blessed as he could fit everything he needed in one small suitcase. This also meant that to prepare everything he used just a little time and in a matter of minutes he was once again on the road to the resort.
