Our Little Secret Ch. 08

They left the house at two thirty in the morning. Joel was dropped off at a hotel, and was told he would be picked up at seven thirty.

- - -

"Shelby," Joel said in the small room the next morning. She was sitting on a small, two person sofa. Joel sat across from her, with a small round table in between.

Shelby McTigues was one of the girls at the Albuquerque 'party'. She was five foot six, pretty, petite, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She had a long face with delicate features. In this small room, she was wearing jeans and a loose sweater.

They were in a small meeting room at the Lovelace Woman's hospital. All the women from the party were being treated there. "I want you to close your eyes," Joel commanded Shelby softly. They had already introduced themselves. A small camera on a tripod recorded Shelby over Joel's shoulder. A laptop computer rested on a small table in front of Joel, facing him.

Colonel Greene and Evelyn Miller, the psychiatrist who Colonel Greene hired, and Joel paid for, were sitting in a nearby room watching Joel's interview on a TV screen. Agent Spagnola and Detective Halton were also in the viewing room. Evelyn Miller had already struck out with Shelby, unable to get any useful information from the victim. She had a laptop in front of her. She had a pre-defined script queued on her laptop, and she could also type new text interactively.

Shelby closed her eyes. "Imagine you are in a field on a beautiful, bright, warm day," Joel commanded, reading the script from his laptop. They had rehearsed it before so Joel didn't sound like he was reading a script. Evelyn fed the next part of the script from her laptop, and it showed up on Joel's laptop. He read the entire thing to himself first, like they practiced, internalized it, and then said it back to Shelby in his regular voice using his own words.

"It is your favorite field. Can you see it in your mind?" Shelby smiled and nodded. "Okay, in a moment, I am going to tell you to put a crystal ball around you, but first I am going to describe it."

Joel read the next part of the script, understood it, and then spoke softly. "It is a large crystal ball. Large enough for you and several of your friends to fit inside. You can see right through it. You like this crystal ball. When you are inside this crystal ball, you are safe. Nothing – absolutely nothing can hurt you when you are inside this crystal ball. Do you understand?"

Shelby nodded. "Okay," Joel commanded, "make that crystal ball all around you. It makes you safe, and nothing can hurt you when you are inside it. Is the crystal ball around you?" She nodded. "Do you feel safe?" She nodded.

"Now, I want you to imagine a boy – a twelve year old boy. He is outside the crystal ball. He cannot get in the crystal ball. Do you see him?" She nodded. "Don't let him in the crystal ball. Imaging this boy throws a rock at you, but the rock falls harmlessly when it bounces off the crystal ball. It doesn't even come near you. Can you see him throw the rock?" She nodded. "Are you afraid?" She shook her head no. "Good. Now, a man is in a tank – you know, an army tank with a cannon. He is outside the crystal ball. He is aiming his cannon at you, and he is going to fire his tank, but the shells will bounce harmlessly off the crystal ball, and you will not be afraid. Is he firing his tank at you?" She nodded, and then laughed out loud. A red text flashed on his laptop screen. He knew to read that out now. "Shelby, describe to me what is happening?"

With her eyes still closed, she smiled "He is firing and firing and firing, and the shells are bouncing off the crystal ball everywhere, and he is so mad, but I am laughing because he cannot hurt me."

Joel's screen returned to normal, and the next script appeared.

"That's great, Shelby, you are doing very well." Joel read softly. He commanded, "now send the tank and the boy away. You are in your crystal ball. Nothing can hurt you. Are you still in your ball?" She nodded. "Okay, in a moment, I am going to ask you to remember something, but when you remember, the memory is going to be on the outside of the crystal ball. The memory cannot hurt you, just like the tank and the boy could not hurt you. Do you understand?'

She nodded. "Shelby, this will be a painful memory, but it will not hurt you, because you are inside your crystal ball and the memory will be outside the crystal ball. Are you ready?" She nodded.

"Shelby, on the outside of your crystal ball – don't let the memory inside. On the outside of your crystal ball, remember from two nights ago when you were at the dinner party at the huge round table."

"Please don't make me remember," she cried.

The screen flashed red. Joel read it.

"Shelby," Joel commanded, "put the memory on the outside of the crystal ball. It cannot hurt you. Can you see it?" She nodded yes. "Is it outside the crystal ball?" She nodded. "Can it hurt you?" She shook her head no.

The screen returned to normal.

"Okay, look at the memory, but just like the tank, it won't hurt you. Can you see the big round dining room with the hole in the middle?" She nodded. "Can you see the man wearing black?" She nodded. "Can you see him talking?" She nodded. "He cannot hurt you, because he is outside your crystal ball. Can you tell me what he is saying?"

"No," she said. "I can see him talking, but I don't hear it. No, that's wrong," she corrected herself. "I hear it, but I don't remember what he said."

Joel waited for Evelyn to find the next appropriate script. It took a while, because she had to type it in. Then it flashed on his screen, and he commanded to Shelby, "There is a door somewhere outside your crystal ball. It is closed. You cannot remember what the man in black said, because the door is closed. If you open that door, you will see through the door, and you will remember what he said. Can you see the door?" She nodded. Joel commanded, "You can make the door open. You don't need to leave the crystal ball. Just make the door open, and the door on the outside of the crystal ball will open, and then you will remember what the man said. Can you open the door?" She nodded. "Do you remember now what he said?" She nodded. "Tell me what he said."

"All women will do exactly as I say. You will not speak unless spoken to by a man. You will not leave your chair or stand up. You will not put your hands below the table top. If a man touches you on the legs, you will open your legs as wide as you can and leave them wide open. If a man touches you anywhere on your body, you will let him, and you will not stop him or resist him. If a man puts something inside you, you will let him. You will not stop him from doing anything to you. You will sit quietly with your hands above the table, and let any man do anything he wants to you. You will not remember me or what I said."

In the observation room, Detective Halton felt sick.

"Shelby, you're doing very well," Joel read from the script. "Do you still feel safe inside your crystal ball?" She nodded. Joel commanded, "Now, there is a second door. It is also outside the crystal ball. It is closed. Do you see the second closed door?" She nodded. "The second door is outside the crystal ball. Leave it outside. When you open it, you will remember what the man in black looks like. Are you ready to open it?" She nodded. "Go ahead and open it. Do you see what he looks like?" She nodded. Can you tell me what he looks like?

"He has dark curly hair. Black glasses. There's something wrong with his eyes."

"Shelby," Joel said off script, "you are doing very well. He is outside the crystal ball, and he cannot hurt you. Are you still feeling safe?" She nodded. "Tell me what is wrong with his eyes."

"It's like they are looking in different places. Maybe one is a glass eye."

"Tell me more," Joel said, but he didn't listen to the answer. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to Sylvie in his phantom office in Boston. He had already silenced his smartphone so the reply would not bother the session.

She had finished answering her question. "Shelby," Joel read from the script, "I want you to close both doors now, gently. Are they closed?" She nodded. I want you to make the doors and the bad memory go away, gently. Just let it go, and it will float away. Tell me when it's gone."

"It's gone," she said moments later, still with her eyes closed. Joel continued from the script. "Okay, Shelby, you're doing very well, and we're almost done. Go back to the field you started in – your favorite field on a warm, sunny day. Tell me when you're there."

"I'm there," she smiled.

Joel commanded from the script, "Think about someone or something you trust. A person or an animal that you love. Someone or something that will never hurt you. Can you see?" She nodded. "What do you see?"

"My little sister," she said.

"Shelby, would your little sister ever hurt you?"

"No," she shook her head. "Never."

"Do you love your little sister?" Shelby nodded. "Then invite your little sister inside the crystal ball with you," Joel commanded, "and then she will be safe with you inside the crystal ball." Joel waited. "Is she with you inside the ball?" Shelby nodded.

"Okay, Shelby, you can invite your little sister any time to play with you inside the crystal ball. But for now, tell her goodbye, and be happy knowing she can come back and play with you anytime inside your crystal ball." With her eyes closed, Shelby raised her hand and waved goodbye, and smiled.

"Shelby," Joel read from the script, "when you're ready, and only when you're ready, let the crystal ball go. Only when you feel safe enough to let it go. Tell me when you feel safe enough to let it go."

She waited about ten seconds. "I feel safe. I can let it go."

"When you let it go, you will still be in your favorite field. Nothing will change, except the crystal ball will be gone. Tell me when you let it go."

"It's gone," she said right away.

"Shelby," Joel commanded from the script, "if a memory inside your head ever scares you, you have the power to bring back the crystal ball. I didn't make the crystal ball happen, you did. When you bring back the crystal ball, you have the power to make the bad memories go on the outside the ball where they cannot hurt you. And then you can look at the bad memories without them hurting you. And you can make them go away when you don't want to see them anymore by just letting them go. And you can invite your little sister to come inside the ball and you can play together, and the bad memories cannot hurt you there. From now on, you will always have the power to do all that. Do you understand?" She nodded.

"Okay, Shelby, open your eyes."

She looked around the room. "Did that really just happen?" Shelby asked. "Did you just make all that happen?" she asked Joel.

"No," he smiled, not reading from any script. "You did."

- - -

"In all my years I've never seen anything like that," Evelyn exclaimed. They were in the observation room with Colonel Greene, Agent Spagnola, and Detective Halton. "You took her so deep into a single session with such clarity and control, and on the first try. Most therapists do not achieve that level of clarity after ten years of sessions. Are you certain you are not a trained psychologist?" she asked Joel.

"The only psychology training is the crash course you gave me before this," Joel offered.

"Well, Mr. Winkman, you have a most power gift," Evelyn claimed. "You can advance therapeutic treatment by orders of magnitude," she estimated.

"Well, it's not my first time." Colonel Greene looked at Joel with surprise. "When I was experimenting with this gift, I counseled a woman to gracefully terminate an affair she was having in order to spare her children from the inevitable fallout."

"More importantly," Colonel Greene argued, "you got useful information from her that we can use to identify the man in black."

"William Fieldman," Joel said. "I recognize the description." He looked at the text message reply from Sylvie. "He lives in Savanah, but he's in El Paso right now. I'm guessing he's getting ready to cross the border."

"Where in El Paso," Colonel Greene asked. Joel gave the exact address. Colonel Greene nodded, stood up, pulled out his cell phone, and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Detective Halton called after Colonel Greene. "Joel has this guy under continental wide surveillance?" She asked Colonel Greene. Everyone froze for a moment. "Colonel, with all due respect, what the fuck is going on?" There was no respect in her tone.

"I hunt these guys," Joel said. "I already told you that."

"And the dinner parties?" she demanded. "Jesus Christ, Joel, you've been surveilling every catnap passenger."

"You can't hunt what you can't see," Joel offered whimsically. Detective Halton knew tracing one man could be done through GPS, but surveilling a hundred people was not a one-man operation. She suddenly appreciated Joel was the tip of a much bigger iceberg.

Colonel Greene left the room, presumably to call his team to apprehend William Fieldman in El Paso, Texas. When he returned several minutes later, Detective Halton spoke up again. "Colonel, now I'm not comfortable with this. You have engaged the support of a rogue private citizen who has the backing of an illicit intelligence organization, and who is breaking I don't know how many federal laws and constitutional amendments, and who probably gets unlimited financing by stealing it through completely legal means. When you brought him under this tent, we all conspired and colluded with a criminal enterprise, and worse, you have made Joel a de facto law enforcement agent. No evidence this task force gathers will ever survive a trial, assuming any of us still have jobs and aren't facing jail time when it comes to that." Colonel Greene just stared at her in silence. "Oh my God," she gasped as her shoulders sagged under the weight of her enlightenment. "You're not taking this to trial."

"Like you said last night," Colonel Greene reminded her, "this is war. And I have the President of the United States' guarantee you both will keep your jobs and you will not face jail time by cooperating with this task force. If you need further evidence to that effect, I will furnish it for you."

"I need to speak directly with Director Stanley," Agent Spagnola stipulated. Director Leopold Stanley was the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – the top man.

"I'll make it happen," Colonel Greene nodded. "And Detective Halton, if you need, I can arrange a meeting with Susan Bernard, Director of Homeland Security. But at this point, I feel I must remind you both, you swore an oath before a judge when you came onto this task force that you would not discuss anything with anyone outside the taskforce – not with your boss, not with fellow law enforcement agents, not with your family, not with anyone except me, Joel, Evelyn, and each other."

Sheila looked around the room. "So this is what the dark side looks like."

Within an hour after Colonel Greene's phone call, an unmarked, plain clothes unit rolled out of the Fort Bliss Army Base, and found William Fieldman exactly where Sylvie said he was – at the Lucky Star motel in El Paso, Texas. The Army took Fieldman into custody, and took him back to Fort Bliss where he was detained until the Air Force OSI took over his custody. The Air Force flew him to the Kunsan Air Base in South Korea where he was detained for questioning for threatening national security. Most importantly, at no time was William Fieldman ever taken into custody, handled, or even observed by any domestic law enforcement agencies, which would have afforded him the due process entitled to every citizen who comes before the law.

Back in Albuquerque, Joel took two days to thoroughly interview all of the eleven surviving women guests from the dinner party. Thanks to Dr. Miller's remote coaching, Joel was able to command the women to remember the evening in a hypnotic state, and Joel pieced together all the details from that night, including the fact there were four videographers of the event. They didn't have a clear memory of the two deaths themselves – one remembered a girl slitting her own throat, but the memory was too fuzzy to add details.

At the same time, Joel left the eleven girls with powerful coping mechanisms to deal with their painful memories without reliving the psychological trauma of the experience. Dr. Miller was astounded at the progress Joel made with each of the girls, and jokingly accused Joel of trying to cut into her billable hours.

Joel didn't think the purpose of the videos was to share on the internet, but things had gone wrong. William Fieldman fled the scene, and who knows what the cameramen did with their videos. It was helpful to know the cameras were shoulder mounted professional units – that narrowed the search down considerably. Colonel Greene told his bosses finding those videos before they hit the internet was a top public concern, and within hours it was among the FBI's and the Department of Homeland Security's highest priority nationwide.

Joel also learned the female serving staff were auctioned off. "We don't have them," Colonel Greene mentioned.

"I don't know who they are," Joel said. "We may never get to them."

"Let's see if the videos turn up," Greene nodded.

Joel and Colonel Greene both knew it was going to be impossible to contain this story. William Fieldman fled before commanding the women to never talk about the evening, and thanks to Joel's puppet master assisted hypnosis therapy, many woman were remembering things William Fieldman had commanded them to forget.

Joel needed to go home to Jen, and Colonel Greene understood why. Colonel Greene said he was still working on the impossible – give him time, and it would come. Colonel Greene had one piece of advice to Joel. For Colonel Greene's impossible plan to work, Joel had to deny commanding Jenny on his first date. Do that, and things would eventually fall into place, he promised.

Evelyn Miller begged Colonel Greene to keep Joel in Albuquerque. She said Joel was doing more good with her patients in one session than she could hope to accomplish in a good year. Colonel Greene said no, and let Joel go.

At four o'clock on Friday afternoon, Joel rented a car, and drove to Phoenix, where he had told Jen he was staying. He dropped the car off at the Phoenix airport at eleven that night, and flew American Airlines to Boston on the overnight flight through Chicago, leaving Phoenix just past midnight and landing in Boston at six thirty. Even though Joel slept through both flights, he was exhausted when he landed.

The story broke before he touched down in Boston. A murder suicide was reported in an Albuquerque orgy during a night of slavery and forced sex among over a dozen women. It went national and international instantly. Joel went home, and slept until noon. He woke up and called Jen. She was out shopping when she answered. He said he was home – would she like to come over for dinner.

"No," she declined. "You come over here – it's easier that way." Joel knew Jen meant it was easier for him to stay there overnight with her dogs at home. In the afternoon, he bought some wine. He found a rare gifts store, and bought a genuine Gucci Italian leather executive briefcase for an insanely high price. He figured Jen should start her new job in style. He would take it with him to California and give it to her then.

When they met that evening, Jen thankfully had a lot to talk about, because Joel could tell her precious little about his two trips to Seattle and "Phoenix", which wasn't even Phoenix. She had submitted her two weeks' notice at Quinton, and that caused quite a stir, because the HR department was already in a bind to hire new people and put new policies into place, and Jen was at the center of all of that. They offered her a bit more money, and she turned it down, knowing they could not come close to the offer she got on the West coast.