Chapter 10
A few days have gone by since the leak of Janice’s involvement in the memory thief’s case and the night they all went out for coffee and dessert together. Janice has confided in the others about her weird feelings she had for Zane and they, too, told her they felt something is off about the guy. Janice didn’t want to hurt Elizabeth but she didn’t want her to physically get hurt by the guy if he turns out to be an abuser or something. She wonders how she can tactfully tell Elizabeth about Zane but Jarred tells her to let him handle it.
Jarred and Jock scoured the files to find out who Zane is but they couldn’t find anything. It is as if Zane doesn’t really exist or just isn’t in the system but everyone else is in the system so how did he escape getting put into the system? It was as if he wasn’t even born because there are no records of him in any hospital in London or anywhere else for that matter. Jarred and Jock even asked help from Mr. Stephens and their own boss who has his fingers in everything couldn’t find Elizabeth’s mysterious boyfriend.
They push Zane out of their minds as they try to get back into their daily schedules, with work and other daily life routines. Janice is once again sitting behind a desk, inscribing all of the solved and unsolved mysteries into their computers. She jumps now and again, taking Simon with her sometimes, and leaves notes or things for the others to help solve the cases with but doesn’t dare to use it just yet on the memory thief case. Jarred, Simon and Jock work on other cases but they continue to work on the thief case at night together. They make plans to get together late one night so that they can get Janice into the minds of the victims to try and see if they had anything hidden in the secret parts of their minds. Janice is nervous about the task once again but she knew that they need to get it done urgently as the thief may target her next.
Everyone is ready for the late-night gathering, even Elizabeth who has been MIA a lot because of her new relationship situation. Janice doesn’t bring up her emotions towards Zane whenever Elizabeth is at work and they talk, doing her best to not push her newest friend away. She even kept quiet when Elizabeth talked about her and Zane’s dates or how he would stop by and bring her flowers whenever she least expects it. Janice even bites her tongue whenever Zane shows up at their office and brings Elizabeth flowers or lunch or some special treat. She excuses herself anytime he shows up, hoping that Elizabeth thinks it is just to give them time together and not because Janice doesn’t want to be around the guy. She then heads back to her desk and begins to work again, doing her best to ignore the girly laughter from Elizabeth as Zane whispers in her ear.
Simon and Janice continue to go out on dates when they have days off or after work, growing closer. Elizabeth tries several times to invite them to join herself and Zane on their dates but Simon always found a way to weasel their way out of having to go which Janice is thankful for since she didn’t want to be on a double date with them. She knew that Simon couldn’t keep coming up with excuses for much longer so she knew that she would have to put on a fake smile and join them on a double date one day. But until that day came, she enjoyed her time with Simon on their own dates.
On the last night of the month, Janice sits at her table alone besides Tiger, drinking a cup of hot tea and stares at a picture of her parents. She wipes away a few tears as she stares at their smiling faces as they stand on a bridge overlooking a river with a new invention at the time, a steamboat. They were going to go on it that day, too. She sets the picture down and takes another sip from her cup as her eyes turn to stare at the calendar.
Her anxiety is growing as she reads in dark purple letters that they will be meeting tomorrow night on the first of the month to past jump. They had felt that since nothing has happened yet, Janice could safely return to the abandoned warehouse and start working again on the memory thief case. It has been quiet since the last murder and they knew that he or she is stalking their new prey. They felt that they are running out of time and soon there will be another body with memories missing and they will be further from catching the person.
Janice taps her fingers on the table beside her cup, watching the steam rise up in front of the calendar before she jumps at the sounds of something buzzing. She glances down at her watch to see that someone is calling her from an unknown number. Her eyebrows knit together and she scrambles for her phone that sits on her couch, grabbing it up, and answering it quickly.
“Hello?” she says out of breath.
“Janice…..”
“Yes?” The hairs on the back of her neck begins to stand up when she hears a voice hiss her name.
“Jaaaaaanice….it is almost time, Janice. Come and find me.”
Janice nearly drops her phone when she hears the voice cue in her ear, “What do you mean? Who is this?”
“I have stolen memories and I will continue to do so, Jaaaaanice, unless you come and find me. I have stolen lives, Janice, and will continue to do so unless you find me soon. I already have another I will be taking soon.”
Janice sucks in her breath, fear rising in her chest as her heart begins to pound. It is the memory thief! But she can’t tell if the person is male or female as the voice sounds like it is a mix of the two. How can a voice be both male and female? She heads over to her bookcase to see if she had anything that could tell her how it is possible “How can I find you?”
“Oh Janice, Janice, Janice…I can’t tell you how to find me. You have to figure it out. You, Simon, Jock, Jarred, and Elizabeth.”
She can’t help herself when she gasps, provoking laughter from her caller as she turns away from the bookcase, losing interest in the books as she hears the thief name her teammates.
“It wasn’t just your name that the newspaper said is on the case so now I know who I am dealing with. I just have to bid my time and corner you off one by one. I can be very patient. And I already have begun pulling one of them away from you. Can you find out who it is before it is too late?”
Janice cringes as the voice or is it voices, sounds like a chorus of laughter ringing in her ears until the phone goes dead, leaving her with only the sounds of her heart pounding in her ears. She drops the phone on the ground, barely hearing it as it hits the floor and she collapses to her knees. The call has left her more confused and in more fear than before.
The thief knows who they all are and the person is going to do them harm but how? The thief said that they were already starting to pull one away from the team but who could it be? Jock has been absent a couple of days but he won’t tell them what he has been doing. Simon is with her most of the time outside of work. Jarred has been working like crazy but that is nothing new for him. And Elizabeth has been absent but that has been because of her new relationship. Was it Jock? Or Elizabeth?
She lowers her head into her hands as her head spins out of control from fear and her thoughts of who could be the one the thief is targeting. She hears a faint meow and looks up to see Tiger sitting in the doorway staring at her but her vision begins to blur until she can’t see him any longer. She feels the ground bump into her body but she doesn’t understand why until her mind is only a buzz and she passes out completely.