Ghost Detectives Bk. 01: Discovery

Dimensions 1 -- Discovery Password: Discovery

Chapter One

When is the best time to reflect, he wasn't sure. James poured himself a drink from his decanter and carried it and his glass over to the window and sat in his favourite chair looking out over his garden. The sun had passed the midday point as he took his first drink of the day. Normally, he very rarely touched alcohol this early but today he had a lot on his mind. He could not accept anything paranormal, or for that matter, anything that couldn't be explained by common logic, but something unexplainable had happened and it didn't fit within the confines of his rational mind. There must be an explanation he kept repeating to himself, but the more he said it, the less he believed it, there was no rational hook. He picked up the local paper and there it was on the front page, a picture of two people he had known who were now dead.

He heard the front door open and close but didn't move, took another sip from his glass and carried on staring out of the window. His wife, Carolyn, walked past him without noticing him and went into the kitchen carrying two bags of groceries and started to place the contents into cupboards; hearing him cough, she jumped back startled at the sudden noise.

"James is that you?" She shouted.

He stood, turned and looked at her. "Who did you think it was," he growled sullenly.

She left putting away her groceries and walked back into the lounge. "What are you doing home so early and why didn't you speak when I came in the room, at least you could have helped me with the bags?" She grumbled, intending to follow through on her annoyance until she saw the look on his face. She knew her husband as well as she knew herself, even better perhaps, and her first thought was that there must be something wrong with the children.

"The children are fine, the boarding school is fine, their school work is fine, they are fine."

"What then?"

"Not feeling myself."

"It's more than that, home early, drinking early, sullen, grouchy, a fiddler's face, come on James, spill."

"A problem at work," he lied, then felt even worse about lying.

"Everything at work was fine yesterday so why the sudden change today?"

The last thing he wanted to say was the real reason for his melancholy, but he had always told his wife the truth, but this... He needed time to think. "Our largest customer is not happy and may go over to our competitor," not quite a lie. This was really getting to him. How could he tell her something he had meticulously argued against all his life had happened and thrown doubt on his own belief and value system. "The children are home this weekend, do you know what time?" He needed to get off this subject and change his wife's focus.

She smiled apprehensively, "your mother is fetching them from school and they are staying there for the weekend for the horse riding competition, you should know that."

"Yes of course."

"James, what is wrong, have I done something to annoy you?"

"I just feel a bit screwed up, nothing you did or said."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"No, give me a bit of space and I'll work it out, sorry if I'm not myself."

"Is it about the explosion yesterday?"

He hesitated, "why do you say that?"

"Phil and Anne were both killed in the blast and you knew them from the pub."

"You also knew them."

"Yes, but I only met them a handful of times, you saw them at least twice a month for the last few years."

He wasn't ready to go there, perhaps he'd never be ready, perhaps it was only a dream or an hallucination, a twisting of his mind into something that was impossible, and yet he had read it as clear as the glass in his hand. "Yes, that is playing on my mind." He wasn't outright lying to his wife, at best it was but a half-truth, but better that than an absolute lie.

"Nothing you could have done to prevent it. The gas leak was something no one could have foreseen. I know it's not what you want to hear, but at least there was no suffering, both were killed instantly." She lowered and softened her voice, "I'll leave you to sort yourself out, I'll be upstairs taking a bath," she smiled, offering him a veiled invite to join her. Feeling aroused, she needed to give her body what it craved, if not with James, by her own ministration. She could see he was worried and what worried him impacted upon her. She loved this man totally and utterly and there were no boundaries in her mind with her love towards him.

He loved his wife with the same intensity. He had married her ten years ago and loved her a little more every day since, and yet, how could he confide in her what he knew. Something had happened and there was no explanation, and yes, he could have prevented the deaths if he had acted on the information in his possession, but it was all so unreal. Two people had died around thirty days after he had the warning and he ignored it, more than ignored it, he laughed at it, but now it had happened and he tried to convince himself that it was little more than a coincidence, but he was only fooling himself.

He read the article again, almost the exact same words, exact same picture but he had read this very same paper a month ago sitting in this very chair, but was no longer sure, thinking it but a bad dream and ignored it. He remembered dozing off and when he woke his memory of the event stayed vivid. He recalled the words, even the time of the accident was the same: 6.20pm Thursday 16^th, today being the 17^th, and yet, how could he have known? He had never been psychic, didn't believe in any of that nonsense, or held any sway with dreams bad or otherwise. If he had acted on what he read, he could have saved both lives and could have removed them from the building before the gas explosion happened. He heard his wife shouting from the bathroom telling him she needed her back washed. He smiled to himself, he knew exactly what she wanted but wasn't in the mood.

He had always been the practical one and tried to place this happening behind him. A fluke, nothing but a coincidence. He needed to get past this, convincing himself it wasn't real, denying his own reality and headed towards the stairs and his wife. She was sitting in the large bath and handed him a loofa. Her nipples, just above the water line, hardened, and staring at him, she fingered her breasts.

"Look, they are happy to see you," she smirked. "I think they need attention."

He smiled. "They seem to be responding without any input from me."

She was now in full seduction mode. "Wrong, I look at you and they stand to attention waiting your orders."

"Carry on with the nipple massage while I get undressed."

"Oh, I do so like a man with authority."

James stepped in the bath his penis already in action mode and sat facing her. Her toes soon found what they were seeking and using both her feet masturbated him under the water as he opened his legs giving her greater access. She gazed into his eyes and began masturbating herself, one hand on her breast the other under the water not even blinking while staring intently into his face and he stared back with the same intensity.

"Do yourself, James," she panted, raising her legs out of the water and parting them, her hand below the waterline increasing in speed. "Let me see it, show me! On your knees, I need to see you climax."

He knelt in front of her, and panted, "I'm coming."

She watched his every movement without saying a word and when she saw his release the sight drove her own lust forward into orgasmic bliss. Standing, resting one leg on the side of the bath she started to deep finger herself. "Watch me James, moving closer towards him grabbing his head and directing it towards her vagina. "Tongue me, suck me deep. I need it, don't stop, faster," holding his head tight against her clitoris. James felt her tension lessen as her body released its enjoyment into his face and mouth. "That was powerful."

"Glad to be of service," he laughed.

I'm well serviced, almost." She turned around, bent over and rested her hands on the top of the bath.

Words were superfluous. He stood behind her, grabbed her thighs and pushed himself into her, steadying her body as she pushed back. Her breasts wildly swaying, nipples hard, body flushed, both finding their own rhythms working towards their own satisfaction, using each other's bodies for their own lustful fulfilment.

Later, sitting on their bed watching his wife dress he knew he had to say something. "Do you believe we can foresee the future?"

"What's brought that on? I know you don't." She didn't want to disagree with him and trod carefully, after all they'd just had great sex and his melancholy had lifted.

"I was reading a book on it that's all." Keeping the conversation light.

"As a matter of fact, I do, I can see us still together when we are walking on sticks and still having sex. There, I have seen the future," she giggled.

He looked lovingly into his wife's eyes, thinking how suited they were to each other, her sparkling blue eyes, brown tousled hair still slightly damp, but it was more than just her looks. Her personality matched his but this time he needed her to take him seriously.

"I mean, foresee an earthquake or tsunami, something like that."

"By measuring and sampling I think we can't actually tell when... what I mean is we can have a good idea of what will happen sometime in the future, is that what you mean?"

This was getting him nowhere. "Something like that, anyway, I think we should both go the funeral."

"I heard the bodies were in a bad state. It'll be sometime next week I expect."

"I think I'll take a walk up there and see how the house looks."

"This has got to you hasn't it?"

"I'll see you later."

"Love, what's wrong?"

"Give me a little time to get my mind in order and we'll talk. I love you."

"I know, you are my world, James."

Chapter Two

James left the house and headed for the river and sat on a bench watching the water slowly moving on its relentless journey to the sea, the sun reflecting on its flat surface. There had been no rain for a few weeks so the river was not in full flow and this is how he liked to watch it, slow moving. He noticed a ripple in the centre, couldn't see the fish but knew it was there. A bird dived into the water only a few feet from him and came up empty, the fish obviously quicker than the bird.

He took the paper out of his pocket and read it again trying to convince himself that his mind was playing tricks with him and this was the first time he'd seen the page that morning. He couldn't take what was on his mind further with his wife but needed to speak with someone. His brother in law seemed to know a bit about everything, they got along well so he decided to sound him out and phoned him.

He stood and walked toward where the explosion happened yesterday finding that the whole street was cordoned off with yellow tape. Several people were milling around in white overalls and he stopped next to the tape and looked up the street. The blast had taken out most of the house and damaged the houses either side, debris covered both pavement and road and he marvelled at how only two people had been killed. He studied the scene for a few minutes but got nothing from it and left to walk over to his brother in law's house.

John had a heart of gold, a bit eccentric for most people but get through his strange ways and underneath there was a first-class brain holding a first class-degree from Oxford and a PhD from Bristol university in astrophysics. He didn't need to work, James wasn't sure where his income came from but he never seemed short of money and lived alone in a large old Victorian house and kept very much to himself. James knocked the door several times but there was no response so he walked around the back but the gate was locked which was very much what he expected. He knew John was somewhere in the house or garden as he had spoken to him less than an hour ago and was expected. He called John's name several times asking him to open the front door and walked back to the front of the house to wait.

"Sorry James, I was down in the basement working," he apologised, "come in, come in. How is Carolyn?"

"Good."

"Let's get some tea and you can tell me all about your adventures."

James smiled thinking it was typical of John to look upon everything as an adventure. He took him into his study and when they were settled after the compulsory cup of tea with two biscuits, waited for James to speak. Having got here where would he start? It felt so easy walking over but now John may well think he had gone mad, consequently, he decided to say it as it was and wait for his response.

"I see, most unusual, yes indeed, most unusual, around a month before you say. Could be a reverse regressive dream."

"A what?"

"When you read about the accident your subconscious brain flashed back and you believed you had read the page before. You only thought it relevant after the event and not before, that's what you said. Do you have proof that you read the paper before it happened? Something written perhaps before the accident and dated?"

"No, not really, I gave it little thought, but I know I had read that paper before. Look, even the words and picture were similar."

"Strange, strange indeed."

"Maybe, but true none the less."

"More research, that's what we need, more research. Same chair you say, you saw the actual paper from the same location and sitting in the same chair."

"Yes, as I said."

"Was the room the same, or in any way different, I mean carpets, walls?"

"I think so."

"Sun, where was the sun in relation to before and after reading?"

James wasn't expecting this question and needed time to think. The daily paper was delivered in the morning around 9pm but he didn't read it until a little after mid-day. There was very little shadow in the house. Then it hit him, the first time he read the article was the same time of day. "Same time in both cases," he answered.

"Two different time lines roughly thirty days apart. It's like staring into a mirror with the images separated by time, one reality with only one substance, the other a mirage. Most inquisitorial, an interrogational conundrum, an enigma of primary order."

"Never mind all that, do you believe it?"

"I believe, you believe, and that'll be our starting point."

"I don't understand, what are we supposed to be starting?"

"The hunt for the truth. Have you had any other... let's call them sightings?"

"I've had a few but nothing life or death like the last one. The first one I read a scaffolding tube fell on a person somewhere but thought nothing of it, also read about a rape next town over of some old woman but again thought nothing of it, as well as an earthquake in Chile but I didn't check."

"We have our starting points. Do you remember where you were at the time and the dates?"

"Same place, sitting in my chair. I need to check on the dates but around six to seven months ago, the quake in Chile over a year ago but there are a few quakes there every year so that will be a difficult one to verify. I don't want you mentioning this to your sister, not yet anyway, let's see what happens over the next month or so."

John nodded his agreement and went over to his computer checking to see if what James stated had any validity and it soon checked out as being correct. There was indeed an accident with scaffolding and the person in question spent several weeks in hospital and the incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. He was also able to verify the rape that took place and the investigation into it, the culprit being caught within days and convicted and was still incarcerated. The next thing James needed to do, John informed him, was to log down incidents as he encountered them and then to search for validation.

Arriving home that night Carolyn was waiting for him and wanted answers of where he had been and why his phone had been turned off. "So?"

"I've been at your brother's house we are working on a project together."

She softened her stance somewhat when she heard where he had been. "You could have phoned me," she grumped.

He apologised stating his phone must have run out of battery.

She shot him a look tinged with distrust. "What is this so called project, first I've heard of it?" Crossing her arms and waiting for his explanation.

He hesitated. "You know John is into all this astrophysical stuff and I needed to have a few things clarified."

His wife looked at him as if he had just grown horns and a tail. "Since when were you interested in physics, chemistry and all that. You know, sun, stars, galaxies and extrasolar planets."

"All right I get the picture. I just needed to know about time travel." He still couldn't bring himself to mention the real reason.

"Doctor Who and all that," she laughed smiling at him.

He grinned back and kissed her.

"You'll be wanting a telescope next and all that paraphernalia that John has dotted about his house."

"It's a thought." He smirked back.

"Boys toys," she chuckled waving her hands about and asked him if he had eaten and said he had with John. She yawned saying she'd make her way up to bed and read for a while.

James poured himself a whiskey and sat in his chair, it had been an eventful day and he needed a bit of alone time to think it all through. What he didn't tell John was that there had been many other instances where he had sat in his chair and when he dozed other prophesies had also come to him, quite a few he couldn't even remember, others stayed as vague memories but it took the accident to bring everything into focus, now he knew he could never fall back into denial mode again. Perhaps that was the reason why it had taken him so long to break through, he just didn't believe in any of this mumbo jumbo of unreality. But no more, it had happened, and more importantly, John had believed him so it wasn't just his imagination running wild but where to go from here? He had no control over these visions, no control over anything really.

He dozed off in his chair and woke later in a sweat. This can't be he mumbled to himself. He had read of an event, a high loss of life. He looked at the clock it was just after 3am too late to call John and made his way upstairs.

He woke to the sun shining into the room, his wife already up and he heard her downstairs preparing breakfast. The memory of last night quickly returned as he got out of bed and dressed staring out of the window as if in a trance. The article he'd read stated a terrorist attack had happened in the underground at Victoria station where already over fifty people had died with more expected with at least that number again injured.

This time, and this is what startled him the most, on the television he saw the bomb being placed and the faces of two terrorists leaving the case. Saw the explosion and the bodies and injured. It sickened him and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

He turned the television on in the room to the news channel but there was nothing reported. A political debate about abortion on one channel, a little about the schools on another, nothing about any terrorist attack and he turned it off and went downstairs to breakfast.

"What time did you get to bed last night," were her first words with a touch of disapproval.

"Late, dozed off in the chair."

"You should have come up the same time as me. I need to go, see you later."

He heard the door slam and immediately phoned John, explained what had happened and John said he'd be over within the hour. When he arrived, the front door was open and he went straight into the library and found James studying a book on time travel.

"We need to inform the authorities," James stated agitatedly