Seven-X (16 page)

“That’s messed up,” I said, remembering the video and thinking to myself, “who’s trying to put one over on me?”

Tyler continued his story, “They’re gonna get to you too. You’re staying in crazy house. Out by the gate.”

“How’d you know?”

 “I see you. Got my eyes on the prize. This is bonus money. Big business,” Tyler said.

“What do you mean?”

“Turn that off, man!” Tyler howled, making his way back to the metal bars and pressing his face through them. “They know you know.” 

He paused and looked me straight in the eyes, saying, “You’re here forever.” Then he mashed his face even harder between the bars and whispered. “Turn it off. This is for your ears only. If you want out of here, then put your ear right here.” 

I did what Tyler asked, shut off my recorder and moved toward the bars, pressing my ear to the metal. I felt a chill go through me as he pressed his face even deeper into the metal, only inches from my ear. Close enough to bite it off. But instead he whispered with a foul breath that turned my stomach. 

He told me that the government was in on this experiment and were forking over millions to develop mind control techniques and drugs to put fear into people, so they could take over. If they could keep people passive, poor and fearful, they could control them. He told me his whole murder trial was a set-up and they drugged him and tortured him. They made him tell everyone he was the vampire killer, so people wouldn’t believe his story.  He said the pharmaceutical company he worked for was putting drugs into foods. He was going to blow the whistle and they made their move and set up the murders. 

I wasn’t sure if he was crazy or not, but I wanted to know more. There was something about his story that intrigued me. And just then, Billings came back in, telling me my time was up. That’s when Tyler said something that really shook me.

“Hey Eddie. Them two blondes in El Paso. Careful! When your outcome’s the devil. You hear me! Death and the devil. No turning back from those cards.”

I spun around quick and tried to go back, but that security guard Curtis blocked me and escorted me out. Tyler continued ranting, “Come back and see me. You want to know what happened that night, right? Or should I say two nights. I was there, man. I’ll fill ya in. ‘Cuz I like you!” 

His voice got fainter as I was forced out the door, which sealed shut behind me. Tyler kept ranting in muffled tones, trapped behind iron walls, and Billings acted too innocent about the subject matter. He seemed convinced it was a demon speaking through Tyler, and I wasn’t going to get a straight answer about anything.

According to Reverend Billings, I had met
“Ipos
,” a cunning, but powerful demon who has special insight into the past and future. His possession turns a man proud and gives him charismatic appeal. 

I must be shopping in the Costco demon section, because they got one for everything. Mix and match personality traits, pop them into the “Demonatic” and presto you got your custom-made, demonic possession. Order in the next ten minutes and we’ll throw in the voice modulation kit free!

Nobody is going to manipulate me. I have to get my battle plan ready. 

First, it’s back to Dell City. The Post Office will be closed by the time I get there, but I can stock up on food and supplies.  

I’m not eating any more of the food here. Why take chances? I got to get a hold of Mel, and let her know what I got.  I’m going to dump all my media, all the video, audio and my notes up to today on a hard drive, and ship it out tomorrow. 

I better get moving. It’s going to take a few hours to copy all this data. 

I’m out of here. I’ll let you know my next move when I get there.

AUDIO LOG/JOURNAL ENTRY:                    

MONDAY DECEMBER 13, 2010 7:42 PM

I hate that it gets dark so damn early. I had to drive down those non-lit, back ass, country roads with no streetlights. I finally got reception and I’m back at the diner, logging in with my favorite waitress, Aida Mae. Well, now that I’m in civilization and my food is ordered, I should step out back and give Mel a call.

“Hey.” 

“Hey what asshole!” Mel replied harshly. “Didn’t you get my messages?” 

“No. I didn’t check anything. My voice mail is full.”

“No shit. I’ve been trying to reach you for days. I’m worried, Eddie.”

I could sense it in her voice as I told her, “Relax babe. I’m way out of cell range. I was gonna…”

“You’re in some deep shit!” she interrupted.

“Hmm?”

“You’re in deep shit. Please come home,” she begged me.

“What?”

“Eddie, please. Get in the car and drive back. Now!”

“I can’t,” I told her.

“You have to.”

“What?”

“Eddie, please.”

“Mel. Relax. I got it under control,” I said, still feeling her energy on the other side of the line.

“No you don’t,” she snapped. “No you don’t! No you don’t! I did what you asked okay. That writing. It’s not Greek. It’s Latin. I went to this Lingual school in Beverly Hills, and you know what it says. You wanna know!”

“Yeah, sure.”

“You really wanna know,” she bellowed.

“Yeah.”

“Really.”

“Mel.”

“You really want to know, Eddie. Okay here goes. It says ‘Your Soul is Mine!’ You hear that. YOUR SOUL IS MINE!” 

“Relax!”

“No. No Eddie, No! I’m not. I’m not. I’m not relaxed. That shit is fucked up. That tape said, ‘I will inhabit your soul like I inhabit this recording.’ When I listened, I felt something in the room with me. It touched me! I swear! It kept saying the same thing over and over. I didn’t know what it meant. The translator even freaked out. I’m having bad dreams. Really bad.”

“Sweetie. Calm down. I’m sorry. Don’t let your imagination get to you. Okay… Hear me out. Mel, can you do that?” I pleaded.

“What?” she said softly.

“Hear me out baby, just listen. Can you do that?”

“Okay,” she whined.

“Good. These guys are the ones in deep shit. I got the goods on them, really good stuff. This is big and when we break this case. Girl, you and I are going to be rich and famous. Can you handle that?”

“Okay.”

“And we’ll finish that album of yours.”

“Really?” she perked.

“Yeah baby, of course. We can do this. You can’t let them get to you. They know who you are, and know you’re helping me. So stay tough!”

 “Alright,” she answered. 

I knew she’ be alright now as I broke the good news, “Annette Dobson’s here. I got her on tape.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. In the flesh! And on camera. I’m going to send it tomorrow, when the post office opens. That bitch is pregnant and they are going to deliver her baby.”

“Oh my God,” Mel gasped.

 “Yeah. They told me she had an exorcism. Now she’s acting like the Virgin Fucking Mary. They got her and Tyler here.” 

“You saw them?” Mel asked, perking up.

“Yeah. And get this. Tyler claims he was framed for spilling the beans on the pharmaceutical company he worked for. Remember anything about that?”

She paused for a second then said, “He worked for Dow Lantra way back, before his trial. I remember you saved that story. I got it here with all the notes.”

“Exactly,” I told her. “See if you can find anything about Dow developing new food preservatives. Tyler said they were making preservatives and additives with drugs to induce fear. I think they conducted some of these experiments here.”

“Are you serious?” she asked.

“Yeah. They’re big players. Someone at the FDA had to let this pass through. You know what? Check FDA records. Get me a list of all new FDA approved drugs, food additives and preservatives. Alright.”

“I’m scared, Eddie.”

“Don’t be. People prey on fear. That’s how power is established. We’re on to something big. I need you to follow through.”

She paused again, and I know that silence. Finally she whimpered, “Eddie.”

“What babe?” I said, knowing something was wrong.

“The priest wasn’t lying. He was speaking Greek.”

“Okay.”

“Everything he said was true. The whole translation was true…” She paused.

“So?” I said.

After a moment, she came out with it. “Jamie, at the hotel. Did that happen?”

“Don’t worry about that?” I told her.

“Did it happen?”

“Mel!”

“Answer me damn it. Eddie. Be honest for once. If we’re ever going to have anything you have to be honest with me.”

That’s when it hit me. She’s gonna find out sooner or later about El Paso and the girls. What do I do? I mean it’s not like we’re married. Should I tell her, now?

“Eddie.  Eddie you there?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, now at a loss for words.

“Tell me! Did it happen?”

“Yeah, it did. I went there to kill Scott. But I couldn’t… Okay.”

“How would that lady know, Eddie? In fucking Greek! What if these demons are real? You’re in deep shit. I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do this!” 

I could feel it in her voice, she was scared. I told her, “Mel… Mel! C’mon. Ain’t no such thing. When billions are at stake, people make shit up. Break shit up! Fake shit up! You know that. We covered an election for Christ sakes.”

Just then, who should appear out back, but Aida Mae, peeping her head around the corner, saying, “You’re meatloaf is getting cold. Want me to put it back in the oven, honey?”

“No,” I told her. “I’ll be right in.”  

Now back to Mel. “Baby, I got to head back. I’m mailing you the hard drive tomorrow. Take the video of Annette Dobson to Carl and tease him with it. Let him know, I’m not messing around, and tell him I want my next advance and all expenses paid now. Got it.”

“Yeah. Call me tomorrow,” Mel begged. “Please, don’t let a week go by, Eddie. It scares me. I worry about you.”

“Don’t. I got to run,” I told her before saying, “I love you.”

“Love you too. Lot’s Eddie.” I knew she meant it. And the next words were hard for me to say, “Bye.” 

“Bye,” she said and hung up.

And that was that. 

God, women are exhausting. See. My brains all off. I can’t think about her now. I need to rest. And I’m not getting it at the Mad Villa. She’s got me thinking about everything. Damn it! 

I better head back inside and finish my food and concentrate on what I need to do now. I’ve got water and canned goods. I don’t have my hard drive. All those files are still being copied. I’ve got to head back.  What am I thinking? 

See, bitches make you loco. And as if I needed any more proof, here she comes right on cue, bobbing her head like Daisy May Dukes, with a flick of her hair, asking, “You alright?”

“Great. Aida, thanks,” I told her, trying to keep myself composed. “I’m addicted to your meatloaf.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I made it with love. If you make everything with love it just comes out better.”

“I guess so. Thank you,” I told her. What else could I say? Oh, I know. “Aida, what do you know about Reverend Billings?”

“Well he seems nice. He comes in after church sometime. But I never go there. I’m not the religious type.”

“Don’t worry. Me neither. You believe in demons though, right?”

“I don’t know. I guess,” she answered. “People do some bad things. Just God-awful stuff. I don’t even watch the news anymore. They just shoot each other like animals, and carve them up like a chicken, and not even think one was the other. People and animals, I mean. Not chickens.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to be a reporter.”

“No. I’m happy here. Real happy,” she said, as she cleaned up around me.  “I mean everyone here’s pretty nice. Except Geoffrey. Now if anyone’s got a demon, it’s that boy. I’m real sorry ‘bout the blood he rubbed on you. He’s just not all there. His mama drinks all night. She’s mean. She’s an ornery little bitch. I hate to say it, but she is.”

“It’s alright. Geoffrey. That Goth kid with the eyeliner?” I asked.

“Evil little child. I’m convinced he killed Rhonda Daniels cat. Not no animal that did that. It was that boy. I know it.”

“You know anyone in town named Ose.”

“Not off hand, hon,” she said casually moving between the tables.

I told her, “You mentioned that name to me. Last time I was here. You said Ose was calling me.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember that. And I’d remember Ose. What an unusual name. Ose.”

“Yeah, It is,” I said. “You told me that. You said you thought Uphir was demon possessed. You called it the heartbeat of hell.”

“I did. I am genuinely sorry I said that,” she replied, moving over to the next table to wipe down. “My memory is not real good. Sometimes I guess I say stuff. I don’t even know what. I guess I just hear things and say them. I say my thoughts, maybe. Is that weird? Am I weird?”

“I think you’re fine,” I assured her.

“I just did. I realized it, ‘cuz I was talking about with you. But I heard it again. Should I just say it?”

“If you want,” I told her.

“You won’t stiff me on my tip,” she said, turning back to me.

“No. I promise. I promise,” I said again, reassuring her, but needing to get that information.

“Okay, well here goes. I’m just saying what I heard,” she told me, before closing her eyes and letting out a rush of breath. ‘It’s your last chance to turn around.’ Whatever that means. That’s just what I heard. I’m sorry,” she said, scurrying away from my table.

“It’s alright. How’d you hear it?”

She stopped and looked back. “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

She got quiet for a second, and then in this girlish, shy voice she says, almost embarrassed, “Like a friend talking to me. Been like that since I was little. We played games and made cookies. I know it’s just my thoughts, but they run wild. It’s kind of how I am. I just always heard stuff.” 

“That’s fine. If you hear anything else. Let me know.”

“Will do?” she said walking back toward the kitchen.” You want some coffee, dear?”

“I’m good. I need to get going, but thank you for everything,” I said getting up and leaving money on the counter. 

“Thank you. You have a nice night,” she replied, putting the money in the register, then heading back into the kitchen.  I got about halfway to the door when she ran back out yelling, “I just did. It just came. I heard it. ‘It’s in the cards.’ How do you like that? That’s what I heard. ‘It’s in the cards.’ I just get the funniest stuff. In the cards. That doesn’t even make sense, but I thought you may need… to know that.” Then she turned and walked back into the kitchen.