Our Little Secret Ch. 04

The waitress's account rang eerily familiar. There were over a hundred people on that catnap flight. If he was somehow affected by the ball of light, and empowered to command girls to do what he wanted, why not others?

He checked out of his hotel room, went home and changed, and then drove to the Mojo restaurant. It was 2:15 PM when he got there, between the lunch and dinner rushes. Joel pulled open the large glass door and was greeted by two lovely, tall, slim, young ladies. "Table for one?" one of them asked. Her name tag wasMANNIE.

"No," Joel said. "I'm investigating the incident between the waitresses and patrons two days ago," he said. "Let me speak with one of the girls who was working the floor then," Joel Commanded.

"I'm pretty sure Bethany was working then," the other one said. She didn't have a name tag.

"Can you get her please," he commanded. Joel watched her walk into the lounge. She looked around, not finding Bethany, and disappeared into the back. Two minutes later another tall, slim beautiful girl walked over to Joel. "You're looking for me," she asked with a look somewhere between curiosity and caution. She was five ten with long honey blonde wavy hair, blue eyes, high cheek bones, and a slightly pointed chin. She was not wearing official restaurant attire. Instead she wore slim jeans and black T shirt with a picture of a tiger's face staring out, with its eyes either coincidentally or deliberately placed overtop her smaller breasts. "You're Bethany?" Joel asked.

"That's me," she answered with a practiced smile

"Let's go where we can talk in private" Joel commanded. She looked around. There was a section of the restaurant side that was closed until business picked up again around dinner time. She led Joel to a corner table in the empty section. "Answer my questions truthfully," he commanded. "Were you working the day of the incident between the girls and the customers?" She nodded. "Did you see what happened?" She nodded again. "Tell me in your own words what happened."

"It was two days ago around supper time" she started, which would have made it Tuesday. "I was working club side. It was really busy – there were no free tables. People were eating at the bar." Joel nodded. He understood the only reason someone eats at the bar is because they cannot get a table. "Anyway, everything was fine until all of a sudden, all three of them – Kelsey, Mary, and Christina – they all jumped up on top of the bar – all at the same time – and they started stripping their clothes off. People started yelling, screaming, whistling – it was chaos."

Joel remembered Christina Carroll's quote used the same word – chaos. "Then what happened."

"One of the guys – a customer at the bar – jumped up too, and then Mary ... yeah I'm pretty sure it was Mary – she started, you, know, kissing him and stuff."

"When you say 'and stuff', what exactly do you mean?"

"She was rubbing his – you know – his junk – but he had all his clothes on. Then she bent over and, like, pretended to – you know, like with her mouth – through his pants."

"And she was naked by then?"

"I think she still had her underpants on," Bethany looked up and to the right to a distant point, visualizing the memory. "Yeah, Mary still had her underpants on. Christina was definitely naked. I'm not sure about Kelsey."

"Did any other girls pretend to do sexual things with the guys?"

"No, they just danced on the bar."

"And did you speak with any of the girls since?"

"No," Bethany shook her head. "They were all fired."

"Did you notice anyone else unusual or suspicious?"" Joel asked.

"We had a hundred people in there. Once those girls started stripping, everyone was acting unusual and suspicious." Joel realized it was a dumb question.

"How long did their dancing last?"

"I dunno, maybe two minutes," shrugged Bethany. "Funny thing, though, they all stopped at the same time – just like that," she snapped her fingers.

"Do you know how I can get in touch with the girls?" Joel asked.

"I have Christina's cell number," Bethany offered. Joel didn't know if that would help him.

"When do you get off work?" he asked. He didn't know if Bethany was coming in or leaving.

"I'm actually off now," she said. "It's lucky you caught me. I just finished the lunch shift. I was leaving when Haley found me."

"Are you're friends with Christina?" Joel asked

"Yeah," she shrugged.

"Text her," Joel commanded. "Tell her you want to come see her and check on how she's doing."

Bethany pulled out her phone. She flashed the thumbs across the virtual keyboard, and pressed send.

"Do you have a car?" Joel asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I take the subway home." Her phone chimed, and Bethany read the message. "She says sure – but it has to be at her place. She can't go out."

"Do you know where she lives?"

"I think she's over in Norwood – she lives with her mom and dad," Bethany offered. "We take the same subway sometimes."

"Tell her you have a ride. You can be there in half an hour."

Bethany's thumbs whizzed over the keyboard again. "Done," Bethany nodded. "So you're my ride?"

"At your service," he smiled. "Let's go meet Christina," he said without commanding her.

"I have to get my things. It's better if I don't leave with you. Come around back and pick me up," she offered.

"Okay," Joel commanded this time, "wait out back for me."

He left the restaurant by the front door and walked to his car, unlocking the doors with his key fob as he approached. Joel pulled the car around the back of the building, and Bethany was already waiting for him as ordered. "She sent me her address. She's near the Norwood Central Line Station, she gave me instructions from there," Bethany announced as she climbed in the car. Joel typed in the Christina's address into his GPS, and followed the directions.

"So why does everyone look like a model in there," Joel asked after Bethany buckled up.

"Oh," she explained, "they hire through a talent agency. Most of us are models in waiting, and paying the bills here. The manager is really good," Bethany explained. "She gives us time off for audition calls, interviews, shoots, call ups," Bethany said. "She keeps her ears open for jobs and things."

"And what magazine covers are you on?" Joel asked lightly.

"You're cute," Bethany smiled. Joel knew she didn't mean in a physical attraction kind of way. "I've done some web work."

"You model for the web?"

"Yeah," Bethany nodded as Joel turned onto the I-93 onramp. "No one has catalogs anymore, but they still need models for on-line stuff." Joel nodded. "I have a call-up in two weeks, actually," she said "L.L. Bean."

"So," Joel ventured, "I guess getting fired from Mojo isn't so good for you modeling career."

"Oh, they are so done," Bethany bemoaned. "I mean, I feel bad for Christina, but honestly – what the fuck was she thinking?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Joel agreed.

"And who are you again?" Bethany asked.

"I am a friend who is trying to help Christina," Joel commanded. Bethany just nodded.

They pulled into Christina's parents' driveway forty minutes later. It was an ordinary two story house. They walked to the front door together, and before Bethany could ring the doorbell, a tall, slim, attractive girl opened the door. Her hair was too dark to call a blonde, but too light to call a brunette – it was in that middle world of colors. The same with her eyes – they were undecidedly between blue and green. She had a slightly squarish jaw, but her exquisitely delicate features around her nose and lips presented a warm, feminine glow. Her perfect skin radiated health. She could also grace the cover of any magazine.

She was wearing jeans and a short sleeve button up shirt with a camisole underneath. The buttons were undone down to her small bust, but the camisole protected her modesty. Like Bethany, she had skinny legs and slender hips.

She smiled at Bethany, and they hugged. "You are such a good friend," Christina said softly. "No one else even texts."

"Christina, this is ..." she realized she didn't know his name.

"Joel," he offered, and extended his hand.

Christina said "come in," and she stepped back from the open door, letting them pass.

She led them to the living room with three armchairs and a sofa. The girls sat on the sofa together, and Joel took a chair across from them, with a coffee table in between. The house and furniture looked middle class to Joel – nicely appointed, but nothing exceptional. Joel didn't hear anyone else in the house, and assumed mom and dad were at work.

"First," Joel started, "I am not here to judge you, Christina. I expect you're getting enough of that already." She nodded warily. "I want to know what happened to you."

"What happened to me?" she asked skeptically. "What do you mean?"

"I'll answer that later, but for now, I'd like you to answer some questions," he commanded. "And remember, I'm not judging you, but I need information." She nodded. "You were quoted in the paper as never having done anything like this before. Is that true?"

"Yes," she assured him. "I've never been in trouble. I am so not a slut. I feel ... God, I still feel disgusted with myself," she shivered involuntarily.

"Okay," Joel nodded. "I believe you," he commanded, and she smiled.

"There were three of you who did this together, right?"

"Yeah," Christina nodded. "Kelsey, Mary, and me."

"Did you discuss or plan this with Kelsey and Mary beforehand?" Joel asked.

"No!" Christina nearly yelled. "The police won't believe us. They're saying it's some publicity stunt."

"But you all got the idea to jump up on the counter and take your clothes off at the same time."

"I know it sounds crazy," Christina offered with demoralized frustration, "but that's exactly what happened."

"Okay, Christina," Joel asked, "I want you to think very hard before answering this next question. Take your time and think. Was there ever a time before you, Kelsey and Mary jumped up the bar when the three of you were in a conversation together with one man?"

"YES!" she barked immediately. "I've been racking my brain over and over again, and that's the only thing we three had in common that the other girls didn't."

"Would you recognize him if you saw him again?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely," she declared.

"Joel," Bethany asked with a measure of trepidation in her voice, "what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," Joel promised.

"Christina, can you describe him to me?"

"He's good looking," she said. "I'd say about five ten, brown hair. Not ripped, but a decent body. He has a nice smile."

"Eyes?"

"Brown," she answered quickly. "I liked his eyes."

"Why did you like them?"

"They were warm," she looked off, visualizing his face in her mind, "confident, and alert. He seemed nice but strong at the same time."

"Did he say anything particular or unusual about himself?"

"He was bragging he was in a plane crash," Christina offered sardonically. "You know, the catnap flight?" The hairs curled up the back of Joel's neck.

"Do you wear glasses?" Joel asked Christina. She shook her head no.

"So, now I am about to sound like the crazy one," Joel said cautiously. "I've been investigating this kind of thing for a while," which technically was true. "I can speak with some authority here." The girls waited for him to continue. "The man you mentioned – the man who spoke with all three of you – there is a good possibility he told you to do what you did, but he told you in a way that made you remember it as your own idea. You remember it that way because you were under his mental control. In that conversation – a conversation you are not able to remember – he ordered you, Kelsey, and Mary to jump up on the bar, take off your clothes, dance, and maybe do other things. When you did these things, you were under his command, and you had no control over your own actions."

"Like hypnosis?" Bethany cut in.

"If hypnosis were a slingshot," Joel tried to compare, "then what this guy does was a cruise missile. It is the most powerful, intensive, and invasive mind control ever known to man. And no one knows about it."

"If no one knows about it, how do you know?" Bethany challenged.

"Like I said," Joel offered, "I've been investigating this for a while. Like I said, now I'm sounding like the crazy one."

"I believe you," Christina whispered, and she wiped a single tear from her cheek.

Bethany looked at Christina's earnest face, and back at Joel. "Holy shit!" she whispered, "you guys are for real!"

"The bad news is," Joel offered, "this is no help to you. The police will never believe you or me."

"I just now figured out who you are!" Bethany cried out. "You were on that plane too. I saw you on TV!" Joel just nodded.

"Why did you ask me if I wear glasses?" Christina asked.

"If this guy comes back, you won't know it. He can come up behind you without you seeing him, and he will tell you do to something, and you won't even realize he spoke to you. You will just do what he said, and you won't know why." Joel waited a moment, wondering how to continue. "You can buy glasses that have a hidden camera and microphone built into them. They look like ordinary, cheap glasses. They won't stop it from happening again, but they will give you the capability to record what happened and prove you were not acting on your own accord."

"So could he make me ... you know ..." Christina leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper, "have sex?"

"He can make you do anything he wants. And when I say anything, the only limit is his imagination." Christina's whole body shuddered in a flash of disgust and fear.

"I saw so many people with cell phones taking pictures," Christina's tears flowed. "My whole life is ruined. I can't go outside. I can't get a coffee. So many naked pictures and videos of me are posted on the internet. Everyone recognizes me. They call me horrible names. One guy walked right up to me and grabbed his crotch and said 'hey baby dance on this, like really loud." Joel nodded.

"So what's your deal?" Bethany asked Joel. "Did everyone on that plane get this cruise missile, or whatever it's called?"

"I don't know," Joel answered truthfully. "I don't know if it has anything to do with that flight."

"Do you have it?" she continued.

"No," Joel lied.

"Would you tell me if you did?" Bethany pestered.

"I don't know how to answer that," Joel objected.

"So we're just supposed to trust you?" she complained. Joel saw Bethany's point. He just told her a person with this ability can make anyone do anything.

"Listen," Joel offered softly, "the focus here is Christina, and how we can help her." Then he added as a command, "So please stop asking these questions until later."

"So how do we help Christina," Bethany obeyed Joel with equal annoyance.

"That's the million dollar question," Joel nodded. "I'm working on it."

"Some help you are," she whined.

"Bethany," Christina turned to her friend beside her on the sofa, "he's trying to help. Don't blame him for not having all the answers."

"You two should be in touch every day," Joel offered. Now he commanded Bethany. "Check in with Christina daily. Just a fast how's it going text message. Text me right away if you think something is wrong." Joel looked at Christina.

He asked for both their cell phone numbers, and he pulled out his cell, and texted them both. "Now you both have my number, and I have yours. Let's stay in touch."

"And if you ever see him again, it might be too late. But if you can, put your head down low – literally, duck down – and get yourself to a bathroom, and lock yourself in. He can't control you if he can't see you. You stay put and you call me," he emphasized strongly, but didn't command her. He wanted her to remember this conversation.

"Why duck down?" Bethany asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because she's tall and beautiful, and she stands out in a crowd," Joel explained to Bethany neutrally, without trying to flatter Christina. "She's an easy target."

"That's the first time my looks have been a threat," Christina observed ironically.

"And lastly Christina, and I know this is going to hurt, but you can't go around talking about this." He was not commanding her.

"I know," she nodded.

"If you go to the press, they'll print it, or put you on TV, but not because they believe you. They'll do it just to show what a nut job you are, and that's what sells news these days. If you tell your friends, they'll text it everywhere, or tell the press."

"I get it," she warned him, annoyed by his pedantic advice, but mostly she was angry at the world.

"And you can't tell the police either. They'll use it against you in court, showing how you are not responsible for your own actions."

"What a fucking mess," Bethany lamented. "You're all alone," she sympathized with Christina.

"No I'm not," Christina said, and she gently took one of Bethany's hands in hers. "I have one good friend," she smiled to Bethany, and turned to Joel, "and one good ally." Her expression changed to a curious look. "What about Kelsey and Mary?" Christina asked. "Should I talk to them about it?"

"No, don't talk to them for now" Joel commanded. Then he added normally "It is better that I talk to them. I agree we should bring them into the fold, but let's manage that carefully."

"Okay," Christina nodded.

"And Bethany," Joel commanded, "you can't tell anyone about this. Not at work, nowhere, no one." Bethany didn't respond.

"Have the police charged you?" Joel asked Christina.

"Yes," she answered. "They charged all of us with public indecency, but then they charged all of us again with promoting prostitution."

"What!" Joel exclaimed. That didn't sound right. "Tell me," Joel commanded, "on what grounds did they charge you with that?"

"We all yelled out 'The highest bidder gets to fuck us'. That was when the guy jumped up on the bar with us." Tears were trickling down her cheeks, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Tell me, Bethany, did you hear them yell that?" Joel commanded Bethany. She said yes. This information changed the context of the situation significantly. It was curious Bethany didn't reveal that earlier at the restaurant. Perhaps Joel's questioning techniques needed adjusting.

"Are there more charges pending?" Joel asked. Sometimes the police will say there are.

"I don't know," she mumbled with her face still in her hands. "I can't be a prostitute," Christina sobbed into her hands. "I just can't be."

Joel didn't think prostitution was a serious crime in Boston, but the lifetime stigma attached to a conviction was likely much worse than the actual sentence.

"How did it end?" Joel asked Bethany. Christina seemed too upset to press with more questions.

"They just stopped," Bethany shrugged. "Like, all together, they stopped dancing, jumped off the bar, grabbed their clothes and ran to the back." She paused. "It was chaos in the lounge. People were running around, they were shouting, no one was in their seats. A lot of people walked out. The manager announced that no one would be charged for their meals, so after a while, people just left."

Joel felt Christina was too upset to continue. "I'm going to go. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll stay with her," Bethany offered.

Joel found his own way out and sat in his car. He needed to talk to someone he could trust. He pulled out his cell phone and looked up Captain Paul Granger's entry in his contact list, and composed an email.

Paul – Just a note to say hi and see how you're doing. Are you in Boston any time soon? I wouldn't mind talking to you sometime and catching up. – Joel