Page 76 of The Mastermind

“That’s possible. Trauma affects the psyche in mysterious ways. Sometimes you don’t realize what you remember or don’t remember until years later.”

I looked over at him. “Has it happened to you? Have you remembered things that came out of the blue but felt so real?”

“I have.”

“I think the dream is giving me a message, Remi.” I had always believed in intuition.

“What’s the message?”

“That there was someone else there on the day of the fire. I thought it was my dad looking through the window, but it couldn’t have been him. He was in his office when the fire started. He sacrificed his body and saved me. That was how he died. Who was the other person? I couldn’t see his face. Why hadn’t he helped me? Or is the trauma from today confusing my brain?” I placed a hand on my head. “I don’t know. It felt so real, though.”

“What kind of work did your father do?” Remi asked.

“Real estate development stuff. I’m not familiar with it.” I could see the wheels in Remi’s mind turning. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Stop it.” I slapped his thigh. “Don’t treat me as if I don’t understand anything. I know you’re trying to protect me, but I can handle the truth, whatever that is. I need to know what you’re thinking.”

He sighed. “I have a question. You mentioned you dropped a candle in the library, but the way you described the event, it seemed like the fire spread too fast, too wildly. What did the investigators say? Did they look into it?”

“I believe my mom and uncles spoke to the investigators. I was young, and I didn’t have the capacity to even think about that stuff. I’d been suffering from guilt that my dad and cat had died from my carelessness.”

“Hypothetically, what if the fire wasn’t caused by the candle? The investigator should have done a thorough search. When you mentioned you saw a figure in the window, he would have seen you or, at the least, the fire. He could’ve called for help, found a fire extinguisher, or whatever to help, but he didn’t. So my immediate reaction is to ask, who was your dad’s competitor? Business, it can be a dangerous game, and I have witnessed horrible acts from people who would do anything to destroy their enemies.”

My eyes widened. “Have you?”

His face tightened. “Not in that method. But that’s not important right now.”

Part of me wanted to know, but I wasn’t sure if my heart could handle that right now.

“Have you tried hypnosis?” He pulled me into his embrace. “It can help you remember things that have been buried.”

I’d heard about hypnotherapy, but I’d never had a reason to go. It helped one of my coworkers to lose weight and quit smoking.

“Have you gone?” I asked.

“When I was in college. It helped me deal with stress and family issues.”

I looked up at him. “Will you go with me?”

“For you, I’d go anywhere.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN

REMINGTON

The following week,I convinced Audri to stay with me at the La Luna Hotel suite. The incident at the shopping center and the flashbacks had unsettled her. I spent the week catching up on meetings, conference calls with international vendors, and reviewing pending issues.

I’d dropped Audri off at work and picked her up on days I didn’t need to be in the office at Starke Vision. Today, I was running errands and made a stop at the shopping center. I surveyed the streets, the stores, and the cameras. I was going to ask my PI to look into the incident, but he had his plate full of the other tasks I had given him.

Besides, being present in the place helped me see the scenario better. It was like building a scene in a video game. I needed to feel the atmosphere, absorb the surrounding noises, inhale the various scents, and know what it felt like to stand on the sidewalk just as Audri had done that day.

A jewelry shop had a wonderful view of the street corner. They should have several cameras. After spending a substantial amount of money at the store, I whispered to the manager, Diane, “Would it be possible to see a recording from your store camera for last weekend?”

Diane, who would get a huge chunk of commission from my purchase, glanced around the store. Her associate was assisting a couple on the other side of the shop. “I saved the old recordings on the office computer. I can look and send it to your email? What do you need them for?”

“That would be wonderful. Can you please send the recordings for the entire week? I’m conducting a speech about shopping centers. Most people prefer to shop online these days, but personally, I love shopping centers. I enjoy going into a shop to browse, see and touch the actual items, so I want to show clips of the shopping crowds to support my speech. I won’t mention anything about your shop. Promise.”

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