Chapter 17: Memories
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhcne3sJok
The Real-Cassidy found herself wandering through a dream of events that felt familiar to her. At that moment, she did not know what was real and what was not. The illusion that she was floating through had become the whole of her existence. The real-world around her was gone. Her conversation with Nadja had ceased to exist. Her meeting with Lucian in The Cavern was the first memory to play out in her mind.
“Detective Tremaine, how did you find us?” Lucian questioned with a careful pronunciation of each word.
“Find—you, find?”
The Real-Cassidy could feel how vague the Dream-Cassidy’s response was, but she did not understand why her brain was functioning that way. The Dream-Cassidy’s mind felt sluggish, as though functioning in a stupor. Despite her awareness of the Dream-Cassidy’s condition, the Real-Cassidy felt sober and wide awake. The Real-Cassidy noted that the man speaking to the Dream-Cassidy did not seem to be surprised by her incoherent response.
“How did you know we were here?” Lucian asked again in a clear and unhurried voice.
The Real-Cassidy could feel that she had a better understanding of the question as she answered with, “I followed.”
She noticed that Lucian immediately accepted her answer. She thought his unconditional acceptance seemed strange. Then she became aware that the Dream-Cassidy was unable to say anything other than the truth at that moment.
“So much for repressing her obsession with this investigation,” Stefan uttered with distaste.
“She is tenacious of mind,” Lucian agreed.
“She’s dangerous,” Stefan spat.
“Detective Tremaine, who knows that you are here?”
The Dream-Cassidy quickly processed Lucian’s question despite her dazed condition.
“Nina,” she answered.
“Does anyone else know that you are here?” Lucian immediately queried back.
“No.”
“Is Nina expecting you to call?” Lucian asked.
“I—ah, Nina?”
A dazed Dream-Cassidy stammered out this comeback in place of an answer. The Real-Cassidy noted that her dream-self was having trouble with the idea that she should know what Nina was expecting. She thought it likely that Nina would be anticipating a call, but that was something she did not feel comfortable giving a yes or no answer to. Shortly, the Real-Cassidy saw Lucian grow annoyed with Dream-Cassidy’s fumbling response.
“Yes. Is Nina waiting for your call?” Lucian asked again with impatience.
“Yes,” Cassidy answered, looking unsure of her answer.
“When is she expecting you to call?” Lucian continued questioning her.
The Real-Cassidy was aware that there was no answer to that question. Neither versions of her had any idea when or if Nina would be expecting a call from her. She could feel her dream-mind struggling to find an answer, but the Real-Cassidy did not understand why the question was such a problem. In her mind, the answer to the question was, I don’t know.
“Will Nina send someone to look for you?” Lucian asked her in a clear tone of voice.
“No,” Cassidy answered with a dazed expression.
The Real-Cassidy watched as Lucian wasted no time going to his next question.
“Detective Tremaine, approximately how long will it be before someone begin to miss you?”
“4 o’clock,” Cassidy responded without thought. “My neighbor will miss me if I don’t arrive to pick up my kids.”
Once again, the Real-Cassidy noted that Lucian accepted the answer without question.
“We should deal with this,” Stefan said decisively.
“Blank her, and send her on her way,” David suggested quickly.
“We can’t do that,” Christine Meyer insisted sharply. “She knows too much.”
“Nothing that she can prove,” David argued back.
“It’s enough for her to start to believe it,” Evan Pritchard spoke in support of Christine Meyer. “We can’t have her pointing a finger at us.”
“Razvan is right,” Stefan quickly added. “Trying to throw her off the scent has failed. We need to deal with this while we have time.”
It was clear to the Real-Cassidy that the last speaker’s comments were the most popular consensus. She watched as most within the room nodded their agreement.
“I will drink her blood this time,” David asserted sternly. “She will remember nothing.”
“It’s too late for that, Cristiãn.” Brooke Chapman challenged sympathetically. “Her mind is already cluttered with incongruities about us.”
“I will manage it,” David instantly insisted.
“That’s too dangerous, Cristiãn,” Ronald Hollis disputed.
“It’s my call,” David rifled back with temper.
“It’s our risk,” Brooke Chapman countered without hesitation.
The Real-Cassidy watched as David gave Brooke Chapman a stunned look. She watched as his mind seemed to be in search of a counter argument. Shortly, his thoughts were interrupted by another voice.
“We will deal with this when the others arrive,” Lucian directed softly.
There was no challenge to Lucian’s words. A prolonged silence followed. Then Nadja began to speak pleasantly to all present.
“Well, let’s not keep her like this. Let me take her into Cristiãn’s office while we wait.”
There was a long moment of awkward glances after Nadja’s suggestion. David looked to his escort. She looked to Lucian. He looked back to her and then to Stefan. Stefan looked to her and then to David. The others in the room looked back and forth between the four of them.
“Yes, please do,” Lucian agreed with a smile and a nod.
Nadja got up from her chair with a hand from David. She casually walked over to Cassidy and gently took her hand into hers. The Real-Cassidy felt her dream-self comply without resistance. She could see Nadja, but the Dream-Cassidy had no awareness that she was standing next to her.
“Come with me,” Nadja softly spoke into Cassidy’s ear.
After speaking those words, Nadja led Dream-Cassidy from the main room and through the hallway entrance. She followed alongside Nadja with only the slightest urging to keep her in motion. They had just reached the door to David’s office when the room suddenly dissolved away, and a new memory began to materialize in its place for the Real-Cassidy.
~~~~~line break~~~~~
The Real-Cassidy suddenly found herself in David’s bedroom, lying in his bed. The transition felt natural to her despite thinking she should be in shock. She shortly became aware of the fact that she was lying naked under the covers. Her gaze was fixed up at an angle and toward the foot of the bed. She thought to move, to sit up and look around the room, but her body would not respond. Suddenly, the image of David’s face appeared at the edge of her vision, and then she heard his voice speaking softly into her ear.
“When you awaken, the things you heard and saw inside the warehouse will begin to feel like a distant memory. You will forget about the woman’s voice that you heard. You won’t remember how tall or strong the man was that attacked you. The whole event will be a faint memory. Do you understand?”
“Warehouse?”
The Real-Cassidy understood what David was saying, but the Dream-Cassidy could not stop herself from questioning the word warehouse. That event was primarily fixed in her mind as an address.
“Last Friday,” David began again in a slow and soft speech. “You went to a warehouse in Brooklyn, do you remember that?”
“The fire?” The Real-Cassidy heard herself question back.
“Yes, at the warehouse in Brooklyn,” David softly corrected. “It caught fire. Do you remember that?”
“Yes, the warehouse. I remember,” The Real-Cassidy heard herself say without reservation.
“When you awaken, all that you heard and saw in that warehouse will feel like a distant memory. Your interest in this case will be gone, and you will stop thinking about vampires as suspects. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy responded.
“You will forget about the woman’s voice that you heard. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy answered.
“You will not remember how tall or strong the man was that attacked you,” David asserted in a quiet voice. “The whole event will feel like something that happened many months-ago. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy replied without hesitation.
A brief silence followed. The Real-Cassidy watched as David examined her face as though trying to memorize it.
“Go to sleep. When you wake up, you will not remember this conversation.”
After hearing those words, The Real-Cassidy felt herself slip away into slumber. Shortly, she reopened her eyes to find she was no longer inside David’s bedroom.
~~~~~line break~~~~~
The interior of The Cavern appeared out of a slowly dissipating haze. Everything about the location felt familiar to the Real-Cassidy. It felt like a prolonged déjà vu event. The sounds, the smells and the images all rekindled a sensation of an event that she could not attach to a time or day. She had a memory of saying that she wanted to meet the booth three regulars. She remembered that she had decided to take their measure. She was standing in the main room of The Cavern and watching the booth three regulars. Suddenly, she recalled asking a question.
“Can you introduce me?”
“You want to meet them?” David questioned back.
“Yes, I want to meet them,” Cassidy answered succinctly.
The Real-Cassidy noticed that David paused.
“Okay, but I warn you, they’re conversation can be a little—lewd.”
The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self’s growing determination to meet them, and then she remembered her reply.
“I can deal with lewd.”
She saw David smile before responding.
“How should I reference you?”
“Tell them I’m a friend,” The Real-Cassidy recalled herself saying just as she had said it in the dream. “We met three years ago when I vacationed in England.”
She recalled David’s response as he said it.
“Were we romantically involved?”
The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self give David a squint just before she answered.
“A summer fling—we separated as friends, and we’re renewing our friendship.”
“Our friendship?”
She heard David’s question and recalled it with a feeling of déjà vu. As soon as she heard his response, she felt a reply coming from her dream-self.
“We’re taking it slow. Can we do this?”
In this dream that felt like a memory, the Real-Cassidy could feel herself following David as they walked toward the booth three regulars. She saw them examine her as they approached.
“David, have you come to join us?” Alexandra Hays spoke first.
Somehow the Real-Cassidy knew that she would speak first. She then waited on David’s response as though watching a movie she had seen several times before.
“Hi. I’m just here to make sure that you’re enjoying yourselves.”
“We are. Who’s your friend?”
That question was asked by Ryan Sandoval. The Real-Cassidy knew the speaker in the same way that she anticipated his inquiry.
“This is Cassidy Tremaine,” Cassidy heard David introduce her as he stepped aside. “She’s an acquaintance from my past.”
As the Real-Cassidy thought to respond to David’s introduction, the Dream-Cassidy did.
“Hello.”
The Real-Cassidy was aware that Evan Pritchard was going to speak next.
“A past love?”
Giggles erupted from the women and smiles from the men. She listened as David responded to the suggestion.
“Our first meeting was too brief for that, but I have hope for the future.”
“Oh, I have no doubt of that,” Evan Pritchard returned with a smile.
There were more giggles and laughs.
“I think Ms. Tremaine may have been in here a couple of weeks back.”
Ryan Sandoval spoke those words. Alexandra Hays bobbed her head in excited agreement with his observation. For the Real-Cassidy, everything about their conversation was expected. Their meeting was one long familiar event. Shortly, her response popped into her head, and the Dream-Cassidy spoke it.
“Yes, I was. I dropped in to say hello to David.”
“I told you,” Alexandra Hays bragged in response.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Tremaine.” Ryan Sandoval acknowledged with a smile. “Won’t you join us?”
The Real-Cassidy knew his invite was coming. She knew that her dream-self would eventually acquiesce. She could feel where the conversation was going, and she watched as Dream-Cassidy feigned a reluctance to do so. Despite her reluctant response, the booth three regulars, overrode her with simultaneous assurances that she would not be an intrusion. They sidled over to make room at the end of the booth seat. Dream-Cassidy happily agreed to their invitation and sat down.
Shortly after she sat down, the group began introducing themselves. The Real-Cassidy knew their names, including the four guests. She greeted each one with a smile. Their greetings to her were full of pleasantry and excitement. Afterward, they immediately dove into small talk about her. This conversation lasted for several minutes before Ronald Hollis broached the subject of her plans for the remainder of the evening.
“So, how late do you plan to stay out, Cassidy?”
The Real-Cassidy could feel that Dream-Cassidy was eager to entertain the question but was reluctant to show it.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”
She listened as Ronald Hollis made the suggestion that she was expecting.
“You should join us. We always have a little get-together when we leave here.”
“Oh yes, you must come,” Alexandra Hays urged to no surprise of the Real-Cassidy.
Cassidy listened as Christine Meyer, Brooke Chapman, Ryan Sandoval and Evan Pritchard added their encouragement.
“Our get-togethers are great fun, aren’t they, Barbara?”
Cassidy watched as Christine Meyer directed her question to one of their female guests.
“Yes, they’re the best,” she agreed with a suggestive smile.
Cassidy continued to watch as her dream-self agreed to be a part of their get-together. She looked through the eyes of her dream-self as though she were a passenger inside of her own body. She followed these events as both participant and spectator. She watched herself drive to the condominium that held the apartment that Ryan and Alexandra shared. She recalled being the first to arrive at the apartment behind the owners. She could feel herself going through the doorway to the residence with a pleasant smile on her face. She began to foresee events an instant before they occurred.
Everything inside the residence looked familiar to The Real-Cassidy. The colors, the feel, the smell of the interior was just as she expected. She knew the floor plan as though by instinct. The furniture looked the way she expected it to look, and each piece was exactly where she expected them to be. Almost immediately, Alexandra took her arm-in-arm and delightedly toured her through the expensively adorned condo. It all felt like a dream sequence in a movie that she had participated in many years ago. Shortly, she began to hear the familiar laughs and giggles of the other six attendees as they entered the apartment. She did not know why their laughs were familiar or how she knew that they belong solely to them, but she did.
When Alexandra led her back into the living-room, she saw that the remaining members of the booth three regulars were comfortably seated and situated about the room. There was no music playing or drinks being consumed. The four guests of the regulars, Barbara Markowitz, Elliot Copeland, Cora Peterson and Kenneth Dunn, were coupled in two locations along the edge of the room. They whispered and giggled as they watched Cassidy and Alexandra enter the room. The remaining five regulars were seated in and about the center of the room. Christine and Evan occupied one of the two sofas that faced each other. They were snuggled together as they whispered and giggled while watching Cassidy enter the room. Ronald was seated in a lounge chair, and Brooke was seated in his lap. They were also affectionately engaged in whispers and giggles as Cassidy walked in. Ryan was standing beside the sofa where Christine and Evan were seated. The sofa opposite them was unoccupied.
“Have a seat,” Alexandra proffered Cassidy with a gesture toward the empty sofa.
The Real-Cassidy could feel the distrust and worry within her dream-self with regards to this odd assembly. Despite her feelings of distrust, she heard herself thank Alexandra as she walked over and took a seat on the vacant sofa. As she took the seat, she noticed that Alexandra took a seat on the opposite sofa and Ryan promptly sat next to her, sidling in for a cuddle.
“You have a very attractive home,” Cassidy said to Alexandra and Ryan while smiling pleasantly.
The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self scheming to focus the conversation on them. She wanted to encourage them to talk about themselves. She wanted them to reveal their secrets through idle conversation or by a direct proposal to include her in them.
“Thank you,” Alexandra returned with a wide smile that was followed by a mischievous laugh.
Cassidy noticed that the other booth three regulars were equally amused about something that only they seemed to be in on. Even their other four guests seemed to be out of the loop.
“So, Ryan, what do you do for a living?” Cassidy questioned at the tail end of a group chuckle.
Again, The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self maneuvering the conversation on to them. And again, she noted that her query engendered more mirth in the six regulars and nothing from their four guests. Ryan grinned broadly at her and forced an answer despite himself.
“As little as possible.”
“So, you’re financially independent?” Cassidy questioned over the chuckles of the six regulars.
The Real-Cassidy already knew from the background checks she ran on them that they were financially independent.
“More or less,” Ryan returned with a wide smile.
“Is this true of all of you?” Cassidy asked as she panned across the faces of the six regulars.
Their chuckles expanded into laughter. Shortly into their mirth, Evan responded.
“More or less.”
The laughter continued for several seconds more before Cassidy noticed that Barbara, Elliot, Cora and Kenneth were as clueless as she as to the source of this humor.
“I imagine that I would be bored near to death if I didn’t have something to do,” Cassidy courteously suggested with a confused expression and a smile. “What do you do to occupy your time?”
With that question, the Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self pursuing her plan to keep the focus on them. But as she advanced her question, she began to feel a little dizzy. The sensation caused her to rock back slightly. She righted herself in time to hear Alexandra’s enthusiastic response.
“We entertain.”
Another burst of laughter erupted from the regulars behind that last remark. Cassidy heard nothing coming from the four guests. But she could not tell if it was because they were not laughing, or her mind was simply not registering it. With each passing second, the Real-Cassidy became increasingly aware that her dream-self was slipping into a stupor. This sudden change in her dream-self’s state of mind made her suspicious. She thought it was too quick to be the result of alcohol, and highly unlikely because she only had a few sips of wine almost an hour earlier. She started to believe that she had been drugged, but she could not think of how that was done. She had not ingested anything since the wine.
Nearly a minute went by with nothing said. The Real-Cassidy noticed that the booth three regulars examined her with growing amusement. They began to whisper among themselves, but she was still able to hear what they said.
“What shall we do with her?” Christine (Dumitra) spoke softly to everyone present.
The question produced a few giggles and shortly a response.
“There is no hurry on that, Dumitra, is there?” Ryan (Radu) said, looking and smiling her way.
“What are you thinking, Radu?” Brooke (Adrianna) whispered.
“She amuses me,” Ryan (Radu) answered with a constrained grin.
The Real-Cassidy watched their exchange with a feeling of amazement, but it was a feeling that her dream-self did not share. She could feel that the mind of the Dream-Cassidy was vacant of any thoughts. It felt as if she were lost within a void that existed deep within her brain.
“Flavia, please tell your mate to find his pleasures elsewhere,” Christine (Dumitra) instructed as she turned to look at Alexandra.
“Dumitra, you take things too seriously,” Brooke (Adrianna) gently chastised with a feigned look of disapproval.
“It could be, Adriana, that you do not take things seriously enough,” Christine (Dumitra) returned with a serious look that was not at all fake.
“I like her,” Alexandra (Flavia) declared with a wide smile. “Why can’t we just play with her and then blank her memory?”
“Flavia, do please grow up,” Christine (Dumitra) responded with a critical expression.
Alexandra (Flavia) showed no sign of being harmed by the rebuke and was quick to giggle in response.
“I think we should dispose of her,” Evan (Razvan) announced.
“I agree,” Christine (Dumitra) supported.
The word dispose set off an alarm inside the Real-Cassidy. For the first time, she became fully aware that they were discussing her fate. She wanted to run or to call for help, but the body of the Dream-Cassidy did not respond to her commands. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Barbara and Elliot. She examined them for some sign that they might come to her defense, but they looked to be just as dazed as her dream-self. They appeared in every way to be in a catatonic state.
“Razvan, you know we must find out what she knows first,” Ronald (Sorin) instructed soberly. “There could be others examining us.”
Evan (Razvan) pondered his comment for a moment before agreeing with a nod of his head. During the silence that followed, Brooke (Adrianna) introduced a new point to consider.
“Cristiãn may not care for us doing harm to her,” she suggested with a shrug.
“Cristiãn likes her,” Alexandra (Flavia) agreed with an excited nod. “I can see it.”
“Cristiãn will have to find someone else to play with,” Evan (Razvan) challenged gruffly. “This is something we must address right now.”
“Still, we must question her,” Ronald (Sorin) insisted.
“Yes, Sorin, we will do that,” Evan (Razvan) agreed with a hint of exasperation. “The question is, are we in agreement on what we have to do?”
“Shouldn’t that depend on what we hear?” Ronald (Sorin) challenged softly.
“No, she examines us,” Christine (Dumitra) insisted. “She must be eliminated.”
“I think it is too soon after her partner,” Ryan (Radu) pondered aloud.
“Of course, it will look like an accident,” Evan (Razvan) responded as though speaking the obvious.
“It will look suspicious,” Ronald (Sorin) countered.
“Suspicious or not, they will not connect it to us,” Evan (Razvan) returned defensively with temper.
“We dare not become the focus of police attention,” Brooke (Adrianna) spoke up with a stern expression.
“There it sits,” Christine (Dumitra) vehemently countered with a look of shock. “And as long as it lives and breathes it will not go away.”
There was no argument in response to her last remark. The Real-Cassidy could see that they were all coming around to the same decision. Ronald, Brooke, Ryan and Alexandra appeared to be doing so with varying degrees of reluctance. Evan and Christine were showing no emotion either way.
“Then it is agreed?” Evan (Razvan) questioned after a moment of silence.
Evan (Razvan) looked to his right and then to his left for any dissension. His eyes settled on Ronald (Sorin) for a few seconds who followed with his response.
“It’s agreed.”
Another moment of silence went by before Alexandra (Flavia) expressed herself with a lack of enthusiasm that was not normal for her.
“Aw, I like her.”
“Yes, Flavia, we gathered that,” Evan (Razvan) returned with a look of disbelief.
A prolonged period of silence began, then all eyes of the booth three regulars turned on Cassidy and held there for several seconds. The Real-Cassidy had a sense of déjà vu. She knew who was about to speak and what was about to be said. Her attention went to Evan Pritchard.
“Detective Tremaine, what makes you think that we had anything to do with these Greenbelt killings?”
“Haynes made calls to The Cavern,” Cassidy responded automatically.
Cassidy’s report surprised the booth three regulars. There followed a moment of silence as they began to give one another suspicious glances. Evan (Razvan) then looked to Cassidy with a new question.
“Which of us did he call?”
“I don’t know,” Cassidy answered blandly.
Again, there was a moment of silence as all who were self-aware devoted some time to ponder her answer. After a brief time, Brooke (Adrianna) broke the silence.
“Detective Tremaine, are we being investigated?”
The Real-Cassidy could feel that the Dream-Cassidy was having trouble determining the appropriate answer for that question. Shortly, Christine (Dumitra) jumped in with a new query on the same subject.
“Detective Tremaine, is anyone other than you investigating us?”
“No,” Cassidy answered without delay.
“What is the status of your investigation?” Christine (Dumitra) asked sternly.
“The case is suspended pending a new lead or new evidence,” Cassidy returned without any sign of conscious thought.
“Is anyone other than you doing the search for this new lead or evidence?” Ronald (Sorin) quickly asked.
“No,” Cassidy returned with a subtle questioning tone. “The case will be reviewed periodically by cold case detectives.”
There was another moment of silence as the group gave her answer some thought, then Evan spoke up with a new question.
“Does anyone other than you see us as suspects in this investigation?”
“No,” Cassidy promptly returned.
“Detective Tremaine, why didn’t you close the case?” Christine (Dumitra) asked, exhibiting mild curiosity.
“We think Andrew Lantz may have had an accomplice?” Cassidy automatically returned.
Her answer gave Evan, Ronald, Christine and Brooke reason for momentary reflection. Ryan and Alexandra seemed to be content to let the others do the questioning. Shortly, a brief discussion broke the silence.
“She has nothing,” Evan (Razvan) smugly announced to no one in particular.
“She has enough to make her curious of us,” Christine (Dumitra) countered.
“Yes,” Evan (Razvan) agreed with a look and a smile. “But it’s not enough to lead the authorities to us if she comes to an unfortunate end.”
There was a long moment of quiet behind his remark. Evan (Razvan) looked to the others for any dissent. With no forthcoming comments from anyone, he took their silence as affirmation.
“Okay.”
“Aw, I’m going to miss her,” Alexandra (Flavia) complained somberly.
“You don’t even know her,” Christine (Dumitra) contradicted incredulously.
“She’s different,” Alexandra (Flavia) argued back playfully. “These weekend party mortals are all the same. I like the feeling of intrigue I get when she’s around,” she finished in a dejected tone.
“Well, you’re going to have to find your intrigue elsewhere,” Evan (Razvan) instructed looking at Alexandra (Flavia). “Detective Tremaine is too dangerous to keep around.”
“Well, if we’re not going to let her go can we at least give her a night she’ll remember for the remainder of her life?” Ryan (Radu) asked with a sly smile.
“Yes,” Alexandra (Flavia) supported cheerfully.
Evan (Razvan) gave Ryan (Radu) a smug look then a smile.
“I suppose that’s the least we can do.”
Alexandra (Flavia) cheered and clapped her hands. Evan, Christine, Ronald and Brooke snuggled back into their seats and looked on, waiting for something to happen; Alexandra and Ryan followed their lead. The Real-Cassidy watched them with growing fear. Her imagination foretold what was about to happen while her mind attempted to dismiss it as fiction to be ignored.
As the regulars examined Dream-Cassidy, The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self stir into awareness. She had the sensation of rousing from a deep slumber that seemed so familiar to her. But moments later, the sensation began to feel prolonged and unnatural. She could feel how her dream-mind was being held from achieving full cognizance. As she struggled for clarity, the Real-Cassidy began to hear her dream-self mumble out one and two-word questions.
“What? Where am…? What’s going…?”
Dream-Cassidy felt disoriented. Her sense of sight, sound and smell were degraded. The Real-Cassidy had no such hindrance and was immediately aware of the four additional guests, Barbara, Elliot, Cora and Kenneth. Their mental stirrings, coupled with their moans and physical movements, coincided with her own struggle for self-awareness. Moments later, Cassidy began to feel physically aroused.
The sensation of sexual excitement came on gradually then grew rapidly. The Real-Cassidy felt that the mental state of her dream-self was in a stupor. Her dream-self had a faint awareness of who and where she was, but she was too groggy to act. Her effort to clear her head was also complicated by her growing sexual arousal. Her dream-self was not aware of the writhing she exhibited in response to the sensations she was experiencing, but the Real-Cassidy could plainly see that her feelings were breaking down her inhibitions. Real-Cassidy also noticed that the booth three regulars were watching her evolving contortions with dispassion and amusement. They watched Cassidy nearly to the exclusion of their four other guests who were kissing and groping and disrobing each other.
“Elliot,” Alexandra (Flavia) called out to her guest that had Barbara Markowitz pinned to floor and half naked.
There was no response from him. He continued kissing Barbara about the mouth and neck while he fondled her bare breast in his hand.
“Elliot!” Alexandra (Flavia) called out in a louder voice.
Elliot Copeland looked up at Alexandra with a dazed expression. Alexandra directed his attention toward Cassidy with a hand gesture. It took him a moment to comprehend her meaning. Then he raced over to the couch and threw himself atop Cassidy. His lips searched out her lips, her neck, her breast. His hands were everywhere. The Real-Cassidy could feel how out of control her dream-self was. She was lost in the throes of lust and arousal. Her mind had lost all interest in anything else going on. Her body relished the attention of the man in the process of ravishing her.
Alexandra (Flavia) giggled repeatedly at the sight of Cassidy out of control. Ryan (Radu) shared her amusement with a wide smile. Christine, Evan, Brooke and Ronald displayed no sign of amusement in what they saw, but their eyes did not stray. They watched Cassidy even though Cora and Kenneth were already fully engaged in sexual intercourse, and Barbara kissed and groped at the two of them for any attention she could get.
Elliot had been on top of Cassidy for little more than a minute when his hand found its way between her legs. Cassidy moaned excitedly at the feel of his touch and then searched out Elliot’s lips as if to award his action. She writhed heavily under the attention of his hand and clasped him tight around the neck and back. She was lost in the moment; she could not get enough of the man who was on top of her—nothing else existed, only the man ravishing her. For the Real-Cassidy every sound and every person within the room registered within her mind. She heard the ecstatic moans of Cora, Kenneth and Barbara as they rolled about the floor. She could see the regulars watching her with amusement and glee. And then she heard the apartment door open and shut just as Elliot moved his head down between Dream-Cassidy’s legs. He began to kiss her there while simultaneously searching out the tops of her panties so that he could pull them down. He was seconds from accomplishing his goal when David Burrell grasped his arm, pulled him off Cassidy and threw him several feet across the room to the floor.
“Cristiãn,” Brooke (Adrianna) called out as she and Ronald (Sorin) stood up. “What are you doing here?”
Ryan and Alexandra also rose to their feet. Evan and Christine gave David’s presence no special attention.
“Not her,” David (Cristiãn) bellowed angrily toward Evan (Razvan).
The Real-Cassidy saw David’s anger even as her dream-self jumped up from the couch, threw her arms about him and began to kiss him despite his resistance.
“She’s just another mortal, Cristiãn,” Christine (Dumitra) complained with a frown. “Find another to play with.”
David took a moment to push Cassidy back just far enough to create a small gulf between them, but she struggled to continue her amorous advances on him.
“This mortal is off limits, Dumitra,” David commanded.
“I told you he liked her,” Alexandra (Flavia) boasted gleefully.
“She’s a danger to us all,” Evan (Razvan) asserted strongly as he got up onto his feet. “You can’t keep her from us.”
“To us all or to you, Razvan?” David questioned angrily. “Is there something you’re hiding?”
“Are you accusing me of something, Cristiãn,” Evan (Razvan) returned with a scowl.
Cassidy stopped her struggle to get past David’s resistance and went limp. David pulled her into his embrace and allowed her to snuggle at his chest. Dream-Cassidy closed her eyes despite the efforts of the Real-Cassidy to do otherwise. David returned Evan’s scowl then responded with acrimony in his tone.
“I will not have her harmed.”
“Be reasonable, Cristiãn,” Christine (Dumitra) countered with insistence. “She examines us all. You cannot make a pet of her.”
“Dumitra is right, Cristiãn,” Brooke (Adrianna) supported with reluctance. “She is a problem for all of us.”
“I will take care of this,” David returned.
“Be realistic, Cristiãn,” Ronald (Sorin) pleaded. “She’s a threat.”
“She continues to investigate us,” Brooke added in support of Ronald (Sorin). “Think of what could happen if she convinces others to suspect us.”
“We all agreed on this, Cristiãn,” Ronald (Sorin) added soberly.
“You cannot make this decision,” David argued as he gathered Cassidy’s purse off the end table. “The others will be here Monday. By then she will have lost interest in this investigation. I promise.”
“Don’t be stupid, Cristiãn,” Christine (Dumitra) argued. “This is her job. She will always come back to this mindset.”
“Monday,” David insisted as he scooped Cassidy up into his arms and setoff for the apartment door. “I have until then. You don’t decide.”
Cassidy promptly opened her eyes, wrapped her arms about David’s neck and began to smooch him as they walked. David was a step away from reaching the apartment door when Evan (Razvan) yelled after him.
“Monday, Cristiãn!”
The Real-Cassidy listened to their entire conversation as though it had come through a radio. The Dream-Cassidy had no idea what was happening. When David set her down on her feet at the door, The Real-Cassidy could feel her excitement well up in response to being under her own control again. She immediately attempted to kiss him on the lips again. He evaded her efforts several times as he guided her through the doorway and down the corridor. The Real-Cassidy could feel the persistence in her dream-self. She felt how her dream-self was aware of nothing. Her desire to have sex with David, or with anyone else available, was a mindless compulsion that dominated her existence at that moment. When they stopped at the elevator door, her hands made several attempts to undo his tie and unbutton his shirt. David intercepted each effort by grasping her hands and steering them away from his garments.
The Real-Cassidy saw David smile when he restrained her dream-self with a hug and looked into her eyes. The bell for the elevator rang before the door slid open. David separated himself from their hug and led her into the elevator. When they stopped inside, Cassidy’s amorous intentions went back into full activation as she attempted to disrobe him once again. David quickly pulled her hands away from his shirt. As he grappled with her hands, she tilted her face up to kiss him. David turned away from her kiss and fixed his attention on the elevator buttons. As he reached out and pressed the button for the parking level, Cassidy stooped down and unzipped his pants. David caught her arm before she could put her hand inside his pants. He pulled her up and pressed her against the wall of the elevator. While restraining both her arms behind her with just one of his, David zipped his pants back up. Once again, Cassidy took advantage of his distraction to kiss him on the lips. He entertained her kiss for several seconds before pulling away just as the elevator came to a stop.
“Okay, Ms. Tremaine, let’s get you home,” David whispered to Cassidy with a smile.
When the elevator door slid open, David led a giddy, dazed and affectionate Cassidy into the parking garage and to her car. The Dream-Cassidy had no knowledge of what was happening despite the fact that her motor skills and mental acuity had much improved. Her highly aroused state kept her thoughts on David and sex. And for the first time, she could articulate what she was thinking.
“Are we going to do it in the car, David?” Cassidy inquired, intoxicated with delight. “I’ve never done it in a car before.”
Cassidy paused to giggle at the thought of having sex in the back seat of a car, and then she was seized with a thought that produced even greater delight for her.
“But there’s a first time for everything, right?”
The Real-Cassidy paid little attention to what her dream-self was saying. She paid close attention to the return of her mental faculties. She felt her thinking begin to improve from the moment she stepped out of the apartment. It felt as if the intake of new air began to clear the fog from her mind.
“That sounds very exciting, Ms. Tremaine,” David said as he stopped beside the driver’s door of Cassidy’s car and began rummaging through her purse for the key. “But I think I’m going to have to pass on that tonight.”
Cassidy’s reaction to his rejection was to step in close so that their faces were inches apart then whispered a reply thick with sexual innuendo.
“I know you want me.”
David found the keys, pressed the keypad button to unlock the door and turned away to open it. He then maneuvered Cassidy down into the driver’s seat.
“I want you too,” Cassidy continued with a smile as David lifted her legs into the car. “I always have; from the first moment I saw you. I bet you didn’t know that.”
“No, I didn’t,” David responded just before he shut the door.
David closed the driver’s door and then walked around to the passenger door with the keys still in his hand. He immediately opened the door, climbed into the passenger’s seat and closed the door behind him. No sooner had he closed himself in, than Cassidy leaned in toward him, making their proximity more intimate.
“Hi,” Cassidy said with a large smile and her face just inches from his.
“Hi,” David returned with a smile while gently clasping her head between his hands.
His attention brought Cassidy nearly to a grin. She waited for David to kiss her on the lips and was taken by surprise when he kissed her on the forehead.
“Relax,” David whispered into Cassidy’s face as he gently pushed her back into her seat.
At first, Cassidy resisted the push. She strained to physically connect with David.
“Relax, Cassidy. Relax,” David continued to whisper as he slowly settled Cassidy back into her seat.
The Real-Cassidy could feel her dream-self calming. She noticed how quickly the effect was washing over her.
“Sleep,” David instructed softly.
Instantly after hearing that one word, Dream-Cassidy closed eyes and began to drift off into slumber.
“Sleep,” David continued to whisper while he slowly took his hands away from Cassidy’s head. “Sleep, sleep.”
David moved back from Cassidy and examined her for a short time as she slept. The Real-Cassidy sensed his presence but could see nothing while the eyes of her dream-self were closed. He began to speak to her again in a soft voice.
“Cassidy, do you hear me?”
“Yes,” Cassidy answered with her eyes still closed.
“Cassidy, when you awaken you will not remember what happened upstairs. You will not remember coming here. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy returned as she slept.
“When you wake up your only thought will be to go home. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy answered as she continued to sleep.
“When you wake up you will not remember meeting Ryan, or Alexandra, or Brooke, or Ronald, or Christine or Evan. You will forget your entire time with them. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy answered.
“Cassidy, listen carefully to this,” David leaned forward and whispered. “Are you listening?”
“Yes,” Cassidy answered from behind closed eyes.
“When you get home, you will go to bed, and you will sleep for the remainder of the night. When you wake up tomorrow you will feel refreshed. You will feel happy. And your investigation of the Greenbelt murders will be the last thing on your mind. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy confirmed from a deep sleep.
“You will lose all interest in this case. As the hours, days, weeks and months go by, you will remember less and less of it. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy confirmed.
David said nothing for several seconds. The Real-Cassidy suspected that he was examining her. It was the only explanation that made sense of the silence.
“When you hear the car door close, you will start to wake up,” David instructed, breaking the silence. “When you are fully awake, you will go home. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Cassidy confirmed again.
The Real-Cassidy saw nothing because Dream-Cassidy’s eyes were closed, but she listened to all that had been said with great interest. She recalled his words just an instant before he spoke them, but rehearing them intrigued her greatly. She had no visual memory of their exchange. She took note of the silence that that followed, and then she felt a soft kiss on her lips. A few seconds later, she heard the front passenger door open and then felt the thump of it as it closed shut.
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.