Deadly Deception Read online

  The doorbell ringing interrupted my thoughts.

  “Meow?” Moses said, looking at me.

  “I guess this is Stewart. I asked him here, my friend. Don’t be jealous,” I replied, walking to open the door, followed by Moses.

  “Hello. How are you doing?” he greeted, coming in.

  “Can’t complain. How about you?” I replied.

  “I thought that since it’s getting late, we might have dinner together. I bought something from the Chinese restaurant. I hope it is fine for you.”

  “Yes, it is. Do you want to eat right away, or do you prefer to have it later?” I asked.

  “As you wish, but now, I am more eager to see your destinations for the first two months. Perhaps it is better if we start with the plan, and we can warm up the food later,” he proposed.

  We both sat down at the living room table, followed by a very curious Moses, who came to join us. Stewart traveled a lot in the past, and he knew many things about the places that were worth visiting, and others that were to be avoided.

  We looked at the map, writing down all the places worth a visit. Certainly, every single country has many things worth to be seen, but to visit them all might have required more than just six months. I needed to focus on a few of them.

  “Wow, that seems a long journey,” I said, stretching my back, as the first draft of the journey was set. “But I’m afraid I wouldn’t have the time to see it all.”

  “Let’s cut some of those countries and focus on the ones where there will be different things to see.”

  “What if they reject it?” I wondered.

  “Well, you will have to ask the reason, and then we will figure out another route. Don’t you worry. You are going to have your holiday, and there is nothing they can say about it,” he replied, patting my shoulder.

  It took the whole evening to set up a final draft of the journey plan. It was late in the night when, tired and satisfied, we examined the final version of the program for my world tour.

  The first leg of the journey would have been through Africa, and in the first month, I would visit Morocco, Ghana, Togo, and Benin. The last three countries seemed very easy to cross, considering that they are more extended on the North-South direction than on the East-West one. From Nigeria, I would take a flight to South Africa, moving North through Zambia, Zimbabwe. This would take another four or five weeks, depending on the schedule I could follow.

  At this point, I would start my second leg: Asia.

  This was, perhaps the leg which would take more time to travel along, because of the vastness of the whole continent and the countries I wanted to visit. Therefore, from Zimbabwe, I would travel to Georgia and Azerbaijan, then India and Nepal, China, and Russia.

  From Russia, it seemed almost obvious to continue through Europe and visit Finland, Norway, and Sweden, moving to Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Spain. Certainly, I would have liked to visit all the Countries in Europe, but my trip wasn’t allowing me all, and after Spain, I would be back to Boston, in the hope that the therapy sorted the hoped results.

  “Well, now, it looks like you will have a great holiday,” said Stewart.

  “So it seems, but I still have some doubts about it.”

  “What do you mean? Do you think we should add something more?”

  “No. I am afraid that they will not accept my proposal. Maybe I am shooting too high, or I am too greedy,” I started to consider. “What if they think I have been abusing the offer, and they will search for someone else…someone who doesn’t ask for such an expensive plan?”

  Stewart smiled, “Listen, there is no need to be paranoid. You are not easily replaceable because your illness is not so common. Just think about it for a moment. If they think your plan is too expensive, they will ask you to modify it. I don’t think they will search for someone else.”

  Maybe he was right, but I wasn’t feeling reassured in any way. It was like there was a voice inside me that told me to forget about this plan. How can a trip change what you are? If it were this easy, then they had already developed this sort of therapy, I pondered.

  Nevertheless, it was also true that I hadn’t the slightest idea about what they intended. I wasn’t a psychiatrist, so I had no means to judge their methods. For this reason, I followed the advice of the other voice in my head and stopped thinking about it.

  Stewart glanced the clock, “Now, it is time for me to leave. Will you be able to manage the loneliness?” he asked, amused. “Moses, take good care of your friend here because I am afraid I do not trust him at all. Thank God, in this house, there is someone with some sense left.”

  “I think I can manage to be on my own. Thank you for everything. I will keep you informed of their answer,” I replied, walking with him to the door.

  “You’d better do so, or I won’t talk to you anymore, and I won’t take care of Moses during your absence,” he replied, smiling.

  Monday morning, I arrived at work earlier than usual, and I decided to put the letter my psychiatrist wrote to my supervisor on his desk. I didn’t have the guts to go and talk to him, explaining what was going on in my mind. I was also ashamed to admit in front of my employer that I am a liar. I needed the letter of a psychiatrist to explain that being a liar is not a real explanation to what was going on inside my brain.

  After a couple of hours of steady work, my supervisor arrived in my room with an expression that told everything about the reason for his visit.

  “Hello, Jackson. I need to talk to you,” he started, with clear embarrassment in his voice. “I had the time to read the letter you placed on my desk, and I had a chat with your psychiatrist. He explained to me about the visit you had last Friday. While I am sorry for your problem, I must admit that it is not easy for me to let you go into therapy for six months. I hope you understand my point,” he added.

  I nodded, “I do understand that it might be difficult, but I would appreciate if you’d find a way to help me out. I honestly cannot continue my life in this way. I need to try everything possible to be able to live normally like all the others do.”

  He remained quiet for a while. “So be it, Jackson,” he said suddenly. “I understand that health issues are more important than anything else. If I were in your situation, I’d try all the possible therapies to get healed.”

  “You mean that you’ll allow me to follow the treatment without firing me?” I wondered, almost surprised.

  “Yes. Professionally speaking, I do not have any good reason to fire you, and letting you go only based on health issues is illegal. I do not want to find your lawyer in front of my door, ready to send me to Hell. Therefore, you are free to go, but I would like you to give me a reasonable time before you leave. I mean, don’t just disappear, please,” he said.

  “Of course, I won’t. As soon as I have all the details fixed with the doctor, I will let you know,” I replied.

  He smiled. “That would be helpful, at least to organize who will do your job in the meantime.”

  “I sincerely appreciate your understanding, and I promise to keep you informed about the progress of the therapy,” I assured.

  He stood up from the chair, and without saying anything, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

  It was about three o’clock in the afternoon when my mobile phone rang. “Hello,” I answered.

  “Good afternoon. Do I speak with Mr. Jackson?” a voice asked.

  “Yes, that's me. And you are?” I wondered.

  “This is Professor Larry Doyle. According to Dr. Jason Wright, you agreed to participate in our research about compulsive liars. Is that so?” he asked.

  “Yes. In fact, I still cannot believe it. I am grateful that I can have some confirmation about it. How everything will happen, though? What are the steps I will have to follow?” I asked, not even sure what I needed to know.

  “That is the reason I am contacting you. It would be good for us to meet. I have been talking with my colleague, but I woul
d also like to have a talk with you and do some further tests, which will be the starting point of our research. We need to assess your condition in every single detail; therefore, I would like to fix an appointment with you. We also need to understand your plans for your trip. Have you already thought about your destinations?”

  I felt a bit embarrassed to admit that, together with Stewart, I didn’t simply think about a destination, but we planned the whole trip. Perhaps it might have also been too greedy, thinking about a world tour, but I felt so excited that I didn’t want to give up that great opportunity.

  “Yes, I have a sort of plan for the trip. I hope I haven’t shot too high with it.”

  “We will see about it,” he replied, chuckling. “When can you manage to come to the University?”

  “I might even come right away. My workday is almost finished,” I said, glancing the clock.

  “That would be perfect. Do you know how to reach the University Clinic?”

  “I suppose I can find it, yes.”

  “Great. You can find me in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology. You can go to the front desk, and tell them you have an appointment with me. I will come to pick you up from there,” he replied kindly.

  As I was speaking on the phone, I searched on the internet the directions to reach the clinic in the fastest way. “Thank you. I think I can manage to be there within a half an hour or forty-five minutes. See you soon.”

  I switched off the computer and got my coat. At that point, I had no doubts about the what was happening to me. With the hope to heal myself from the lies that trapped me for one entire life, I left the office with a bright smile on my face, heading to the University Clinic, where I also met Dr. Wright.

  The tests I had to go through at the Clinic took quite a long time, and most were, in my opinion, unusual to assess mental illnesses. They took blood samples, scanned my whole body through a magnetic resonance device, and did an EEG and ECG.

  They gave me questionnaires about my personality to fill, and we had a clinical interview to better assess my condition and understand my problem. I couldn’t understand the reason for all those questions. I thought that at that point, the Professor knew more about me than I could ever know. Thinking about it, I felt a bit uncomfortable to have someone know perfectly what is going on in my mind and in my personal life. However, I understood that it was necessary if I wanted to have a chance of regaining the control of my life.

  “So, you also said you had a sort of plan for the trip. Can you be more specific? I don’t want to be pushy, but understand that we need to get an idea of the money required for this experiment.”

  “Yes, I have it with me,” I said, searching the pockets of my coat. “Here it is. I was thinking to have a trip around the world. It doesn’t have to be like that. I can adjust it in a way that might sound more reasonable,” I tried to explain.

  Professor Doyle took the sheet of paper, then with a chuckle, he passed it to Dr. Wright. “What do you say?”

  Dr. Wright looked carefully at it and smiled. “Next time I need a holiday, I have to remember to ask for your help. This sounds like a great world tour.”

  I felt really embarrassed; I knew that I was too demanding when planning my trip. I was also upset with Stewart, who didn’t help in that sense. That was certainly the holiday of a lifetime, but I was afraid I made a fool of myself.

  “I don’t know what to say, if not that I am ready to change my plan according to your funds. I realize right now that I have been quite a fool to plan something when I had no idea about the money at my availability.”

  Dr. Wright smiled kindly at me. “Don’t worry. It is perfectly normal to grab the chance of a holiday. The fault was ours because we should have told you about the budget. However, luckily for you, there isn’t any given budget, and we just need to submit the request to the committee and see what do they think about it. You haven’t done anything wrong or stupid. You did what you thought was right, and in your place, we all would have done the same.”

  Somehow, I felt reassured by the tone of his voice and his words. Of course, anybody would have acted the same way as I did. The proof was that also Stewart, who was the main player in the planning of the trip, let himself go.

  “I still have a question, though,” I said in the end. “How everything will work?”

  “Oh, yes. I need you to fill out those papers. You do not have to do it right now. You can do it at home, and bring them to me whenever they are ready. They are nothing else but the bureaucratic steps to allow you the access to the funding, which must be approved by the research committee. As soon as I have them, I will submit them. When we are ready to start, I will let you know,” Dr. Wright replied.

  “I have been talking to my supervisor today, and he didn’t seem eager to have me away from the job for six months. I promised to give him the right time to arrange a substitute before I leave,” I said.

  “Of course, I understand. Hmm...” Professor Doyle said, thinking for a moment. “In the best case, I’d say everything will be set to start in about three months. You might tell him that you will leave in four or five months, just to be large with the timetable.”

  “That would be a reasonable time to find a temporary substitute for doing my job. I will inform him first thing in the morning,” I replied.

  Then I left the room, ready to go home.

  ***

  As they remained alone in the room, Professor Doyle glanced at Dr. Wright. “What do you think about him?”

  “He will be the right person for the project. This time, I am quite sure we will have another positive result.”

  Professor Doyle remained quiet for a few moments, pondering it, then shook his head. He took in his hands all the tests they performed that day. “I still have some doubts about him. On the other hand, we need to test our treatment, particularly after the recent modifications we made to it.”

  “Everything will be fine. I am positive about his potential. And without testing, we cannot reach the desired results.”

  “Hmm… yes, perhaps you’re right,” Professor Doyle replied. “I need to go through those results carefully. Maybe I can calibrate the dosage of the drugs he is going to take during that period. Although, we need to find a way to shorten the time. Six months is too long. We need to get results within one month, or even a couple of days.”

  “That is true, but perhaps we might consider shortening the time right away with this patient. We need to figure out a solution,” Dr. Wright proposed. “What if one of us will leave with him?”

  Professor Doyle looked suspiciously at him, “You mean to follow him closer?”

  “Right. What do you think?”

  “That might be a great idea. We need to plan the way we are going to act. He should never know that one of us is following him.”

  ***

  I reached home in the evening, and Moses was already waiting eagerly in front of his empty bowl.

  “I know, my friend. I’m sorry I couldn’t come home earlier. You know, I had to go to the clinic, and it took me more time than I thought. I can make it up to you,” I said as I poured an extra amount of his favorite food into the bowl.

  I guessed he was quite upset because he didn’t even reply, as he usually does.

  I know that most people think I am crazy, not only because I cannot control my lies, but also because I talk to my cat as if he could understand me. However, those who can understand me are not interested in having any kind of relationship with me. Excluding a few good friends, I could consider myself quite lonely.

  Moses has been my companion for seven years, since the day I found him as a tiny kitten in the middle of the street. From that day on, he behaved like the most loyal of the friends. He was the one who wouldn’t have ever cared that I wasn’t perfect.

  It was September when my phone rang once again. I recognized the telephone number of Professor Doyle.

  “Hello,” I answered casually.

  “Hello, Mr. Ja
ckson. This is Professor Doyle. Am I disturbing you?” he asked.

  “No, you’re not. Is there any news?” I replied briefly, still looking at my computer.

  “I just called to inform you that the plan you have submitted to us was accepted. I hope you have already told your supervisor about it because the time is right, my friend,” he replied in a happy tone.

  For the first time in my entire life, I felt lucky and completely happy.

  “I have to admit that I already forgot about it, but that is, indeed, good news,” I said.

  “Yes. Could you come this afternoon, to solve all the details before your departure? Dr. Wright is coming at about five, and if you can join us, we could set everything at once,” he replied.

  “That would be just perfect. See you this afternoon, then,” I replied excitedly.

  I thought it was a smart move, telling my boss about my departure months ago. I just had to confirm to him that the time of departure was getting closer.

  At ten-to-five, I reached the University Clinic. I felt excited, but I tried not to show it.

  I tried not to reach the room of Professor Doyle too much in advance. I didn’t want to look too eager; although, defining my state of mind as eager does not give justice to how I felt.

  I knocked on his door, trying to regain some calm.

  For the next two hours, we talked in a very relaxed tone about the plan I had and the technical details. In the beginning, I was a bit shy about my trip plan; I was afraid I was shooting too high, with traveling all around the world at their expenses. Nevertheless, it seemed that the fund was incredibly generous, and even my ambitious plan could fit in.

  “So, let’s go through all the details of the deal again,” said Dr. Wright. “This is the camera you will have to wear every single moment of the day. You can put it wherever you want as long as it will never leave your body.”

  He handed me the camera disguised as a pin. If I hadn’t known about it, I would have never suspected it to be a hidden camera.