escaped him.
At the other end of the room, carrying a sheaf of printout Lee Chen
entered from the reception lounge. He closed the door quietly. Julie
put a finger to her lips, then motioned him to the sofa.
Jackie spoke soothingly to Frank, trying to allay the fear that had
electrified him.
Suddenly Frank let out a sharp cry of fear. He sounded more like a
frightened animal than like a man. He sat up even straighter. He was
trembling. He opened his eyes, but obviously did not see anything in
the room; he was still in a trance
“Oh, my God, he’s coming, he’s coming now, the twins must’ve told him
I’m here, he’s coming!”
Frank’s unalloyed terror was so pure and intense that some of it was
communicated to Julie. Her heartbeat speeded up, and she began to
breathe more rapidly, shallowly.
Trying to keep his subject relaxed enough to be cooperative, Jackie
said,
“Calm down, Frank. Relax and be calm. Nobody can hurt you. Nothing
unpleasant will happen. Be calm, relaxed, calm.
Frank shook his head.
“No. No, he’s coming, he’s coming, he’s going to get me this time.
Dammit, why did I come back here? Why did I come back and give him a
chance at me?”
“Relax now-”
“He’s there!” Frank tried to rise to his feet, seemed unable to find
the strength, and dug his fingers even deeper into the vinyl padding on
the arms of the chair.
“He’s right there, and he sees me, he sees me.”
Bobby said, “Who is he, Frank?”
and Jackie repeated the question.
“Candy. It’s Candy!”
When he was asked again for the name of this person he feared, he
repeated:
“Candy.”
“His name is Candy?”
“He sees me!”
In a more forceful and commanding voice than before, Jackie said,
“You will relax, Frank. You will be calm and relaxed.” But Frank only
grew more agitated. He had broken into a sweat. Fixed on something in
a far place and time, his eyes were wild. His terror seemed to be
sweeping him into a heartbursting panic.
“I don’t have much control of him,” Jackie said worriedly.
“I’m going to have to bring him out of it.”
Bobby slid forward to the edge of his chair.
“No, not yet’ In a minute but not yet. Ask him about this Candy. Who
is the guy?”
Jackie repeated the question.
Frank said, “He’s death.”
Frowning, Jackie said, “That’s not a clear answer, Frank.”
“He’s death walking, he’s death living, he’s my brother, her child, her
favorite child, her spawn, and I hate him, he wants to kill me, here he
comes!” With a wretched bleat of terror, Frank started to push up from
the chair.
Jackie ordered him to stay where he was.
Frank sat down reluctantly, but his terror only grew, cause he could
still see Candy coming toward him.
Jackie tried to bring him out of that place in the past, toward the
present, and out of his trance, but to no avail.
“Got to get away now, now, now, ” Frank said desperately.
Julie was frightened for him. She’d never seen anyone more pathetic or
vulnerable. He was drenched in sweat, shivering violently. His hair
had fallen over his forehead, into his eyes, but it did not interfere
with the vision of terror that had been called up from his past. He
clutched the arms of the chair so fiercely that a fingernail on his
right hand finally punctured the vinyl upholstery.
“I’ve got to get out of here,” Frank repeated urgently.
Jackie told him to stay put.
“No, I’ve got to get away from him!”
To Bobby, Jackie Jaxx said, “This has never happened to me, I’ve lost
control of him. Jesus, look at him, I’m afraid the guy’s going to have
a heart attack.”
“Come on, Jackie, you’ve got to help him,” Bobby said sharply. He got
off his chair, squatted beside Frank, putt his hand on Frank’s in a
gesture of comfort and reassurance.
“Bobby, don’t,” Clint said, standing up so fast that he dropped the tape
recorder he’d been balancing on his thigh.
Bobby didn’t respond to Clint, for he was too focused on Frank, who