The Scripted Stalker-Chapter 9-10
A Psychological Thriller
Chapter 9
Amanda rubbed the back of her neck and was ready to kick off her heels. She had one more appointment for the day. She groaned when she saw the name. Barney Blevins. It was that strange old guy. The one that thought she needed to be saved. Oh lord! She pulled a large shirt over her tight top and replaced her heels with brown loafers. The look was finished with a low ponytail. She wiped off her remaining lipstick. Perfect, she told herself. She would look the way he wanted her to.
If he saw how she really presented herself, he might freak out and condemn her. It could possibly undo months of therapy, and they have come so far.
Barney was a pro-bono case. He helped her with her taxes and never asked any questions. So, it was a win-win case. She kept a loaded revolver in her desk to be safe. A woman can’t be too careful. Especially with Barney. He was as unhinged as they came.
At 4:49 p.m., he was in the waiting room. She wondered how long he had been waiting in his car. Probably all day.
Promptly at 5 p.m. Amanda opened her office door and ushered Barney in. Barney’s gray eyes darted around the room. His t-shirt was wrinkled and looked like it had come directly from the hamper and smelled like it too. It was going to be a long session.
He took a seat opposite her.
“So, Barney. How was your week?” Amanda asked studying his unkempt appearance.
“She’s not talking to me. Natalia. Hasn’t talked all day,” he said defeatedly and slouched in his chair.
Amanda knew that Natalia had been dead for a few years now. Barney was having a dissociative episode again and his hallucinations appeared to be getting worse.
“Why do you think that is?” Amanda asked. She wondered how much he remembered.
He put his face in his hands, “she knows!”
“Knows what Barney?”
“There’s someone else. She’s trying to tempt me. The way Natalia used to do… before she became an honest woman.”
Amanda wondered where in the world Barney would meet another woman. She knew he was a recluse with a hoarding problem. Maybe it was the woman that delivered his mail? She stifled a laugh.
“Where did you meet this...woman?” Amanda asked.
“None of your freaking business!” He boomed and stood up from his chair almost knocking it over.
“Breathe Barney. You don’t have to tell me anymore,” Amanda said softly.
The glazed look faded from his eyes and was replaced by calm. The hypnosis sessions seemed to be working. He was putty in her hands once again.
He sat down and stared at her with a tear in his eyes. “I don’t want to betray, Natalia,” he said.
Amanda knew he was deep in a psychotic episode, and she didn’t want to push him any further.
“I know Barney. You can talk when you are ready,” she said.
Amanda had Barney count backwards from ten and did a brief hypnosis session to bring him down. Luckily it seemed to work, and he drifted off.
Barney seemed to be dazed but calmer when Amanda clicked her fingers to end the session.
“How are you feeling, now Barney?” Amanda asked.
Barney looked around the room and then back to Amanda. His eyes softened and he nodded.
“Good!” Amanda said and glanced at her Apple watch. It was almost time for the session to be over. “We have to stop for the day.”
He still looked like he was in a trance.
“Next week, same time?” Amanda asked.
He nodded and walked out of the room.
Amanda sighed in relief. There would be time to find out more, this was making her nervous though. With all of the hypnosis, would he remember? She had to make sure he didn’t. Uncovering it all too soon could lead to a huge setback.
She would be glad to get out of her frumpy “costume” and meet Tad at his office after hours. There were more important things to do now. She would make him forget every stressful case ever!
Chapter 10
It was 2 a.m. and Marissa couldn’t sleep. Tad was snoring like a buzz saw. He reeked of alcohol after returning home just before midnight. He said he was out for a few drinks with partners from his firm. She was wondering if she should believe it and not be worried. He would impatiently tell her he needed his “guy time” and it was necessary for his career. The guy times were now every night it seemed, and she was left taking their children to activities and eating a tepid dinner alone.
It wasn’t Tad’s snoring or late evening whereabouts that was keeping her up. It was Barr! Who was he really? What did those posts he wrote about really mean? Were they about her? Was she in danger?
She opened up her phone and went to his website. There were endless posts about “his woman” and one was from 3 years ago.
You sang like an angel
You are my muse
yet why do you refuse
some day you will see me
forever we will be
Hmm. Maybe not a long-term relationship. Marissa thought.
She read one from a year later.
I read to you
just me and you
it’s all I can do
my feelings are true
please stay
don’t ever go away
and don’t betray
I know our love can sway
Trouble in paradise? Marissa wondered. Or was this after she passed away?
Then below that, there was a new one. Woman on the Lake. Her heart thudded as she clicked on the post.
“Your beauty
captivated me
how can it be
an illusion
you are an intrusion
your beauty and grace
will never take her place
I will turn away
before I fall from grace
beautiful woman
I know you are not pure
Do you know your lure?
Hair blowing in the breeze
you smile with ease
don’t you know
my feelings will never show
I’m on to you
I know what I must do
Marissa's shaky hands dropped her phone, and she glanced around the room as if Barr would jump out at any moment.
She picked up her phone and took a screen shot of his poetry. Then she scrolled to the end and there was a drawing. Marissa gasped and looked at it again not believing what she just saw. The image was uncanny. It was a penciled drawing of a woman on a boat, hair in the breeze with a toothy smile. It was her down to the color of her bathing suit and the strand of hair that caught in her mouth.
Her heartbeat faster and she started to feel dizzy. There was no way she would have a panic attack over this creep. She didn’t need to know any more about him.
Marissa went to her blog account and went directly to his name. Barr. She hovered over his name and clicked delete and block. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. She did not want to see any more of his profile. If Connie wanted to continue to delve, then more power to her.
Marissa yawned and felt the calm she hadn’t felt in days. She put down her phone and walked upstairs to bed. She was thankful that this would soon be behind her.
Chapter 11
It was 3 a.m. and Barney awoke from a dream, his heart pounding. He saw his Natalia crying for help. There was a figure in black next to him. It was as if that person was communicating to him without speaking. Fire was around the lake; Natalia’s eyes were open wide in terror as he watched her body sink into the murky water…
Great cliffhanger! Looking forward to see what happens next 😊
So good, I'm totally hooked!