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The first thing Harry felt was a pulsating pain at the temples. He opened his eyes but it was still completely dark. He could see absolutely nothing. He had no idea where he was or the last place he had been. He tried to concentrate but his thoughts were all jumbled, pieces of dreams, conversations, pale blue eyes, a girl.
Name was something short. Started with an "L" I think. The club - I met her at the club, the Bluelight. We were drinking and talking. I was trying to pick her up. What happened? Did I leave the club? Did I leave with her? It's a total blank. God, I must have had more to drink, too much, must have blacked out. But where am I and why can't I see anything.
Harry blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, but nothing. It was still completely black. For the first time he felt something over his eyes, some kind of cloth or patch. His eyelashes touched it when he blinked. Next he felt something resting on the bridge of his nose and across his upper cheeks and forehead.
Oh God, I must have been in an accident. Am I blind?! Is it a bandage? Is that why my eyes are covered?
Harry tried to touch the thing covering his eyes but his arms wouldn't move. He wiggled his fingertips slightly to make sure he could feel them and was able to do so but his arms were absolutely pinned, immovable. They seemed to be pulled back behind him, straight down, perpendicular to his body. Harry tried again to move his arms. Nothing.
Harry's mind started to clear a little more and he started to take stock of each part of his body. Although he couldn't see any part of himself, he could feel it and he used that sense to try and figure out just how badly he was hurt.
He felt a flat, hard surface pressing on the back of his head, his back, butt and backs of his legs. He reasoned that he must be on some sort of hard bed or table. Maybe an examination table or a surgical table he thought. He tried to lift his legs but couldn't; they were held fast. He wiggled his toes and felt them flex back and forth.
Next, he concentrated on his torso, trying to detect pain as he inhaled and exhaled. Nothing, no pain. He tried to sit up but couldn't move at all. It felt like he was cemented to the table - every part of him pressed hard against the unyielding surface.
Next, he switched to his other senses. He could neither see nor hear anything. He could smell something though. It was familiar but he couldn't quite put a name to it. He had smelled it recently, of that he was sure, but he couldn't place it. His head hurt and his mind was still fuzzy and unfocused.
An image of a black Mercedes flashed into his mind. He didn't know why but it was connected somehow to the smell. Then it came to him. It was the leather interior, the strong smell of leather inside the car. Wherever the source of this leather smell was, it had to be close because the smell was strong. He felt a band or belt pressing on his forehead, pinning his head to the table.
Suddenly, he was aware that his mouth was open, wide open with some sort of object jammed into it, filling it completely. He tried to push it out with his tongue but it wouldn't move at all. He yelled but only a muffled sound came from his throat.
He struggled to get up but made no progress. Again, he felt some sort of bands or straps holding his neck to the table. Similarly, his torso was pinned to the hard surface. As his head cleared a bit, he felt tight bands across his hips above the hip bones, abdomen and upper chest.
Geez, I must have been hurt badly. I'm completely immobilized. Must be a neck or back injury to pin me like this. But why the bandage over my eyes, why is something jammed into my mouth and why am I alone? Why can't I remember what happened? I was talking to that girl, something about that car, . . . then nothing. I can't remember. Must have been an accident, a crash. How bad is it? How bad am I hurt? How bad?!!!
Harry dozed a bit, still feeling sleepy, but the sleep was very disturbed. Images of the girl, the club, the car flashed through his mind in a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. He awoke again. He could feel sweat rolling down his cheek. He tried to clear his vision, tried to move. Nothing. It wasn't just a bad dream. He was really pinned to this table, blind and alone.
For the first time, Harry heard something besides his own breathing and gurgled attempts at a yell. It was a series of different sounds; a rustling noise like fabric, a squeaking noise like, . . like leather bending; a clicking noise - the sound of heels on a hard floor. Then a faint whiff of something, . . something familiar. Jasmine, jasmine, I've smelled that recently. An image flashed in his mind, the girl, that girl I was trying to pick up, walking by me when she first came into the club. I smelled it then, the same faint whiff.
The sounds stopped but the smell of jasmine was still there. Harry breathed deeply and listened intently for sounds, any sounds but heard nothing. He tried to call out but only a very muffled sound came out. He tried to lift his arms, his legs, anything, but nothing moved, not a bit, not a scintilla of movement.
Was it my imagination? Am I dreaming this? What is going on here?!!
"Welcome back to the living Harry."
That voice, it's the girl, what's her name, the one I was trying to pick up. What is she doing here? Was she hurt also? Are we both in a hospital?
"I know you don't have the slightest idea where you are right now or what is going on. I'll bet you have a hundred questions running through your agile mind. Some will be answered now; some in due time; some you will be able to figure out for yourself; and some will just always remain a mystery. In case you haven't already guessed, let me introduce myself: I am the lady you picked up at the Bluelight, Laura Scott, or to be more complete, Laura Scott Jansen."
Yes, yes, Laura Scott, that was her name. But Jansen, Jansen, the name sounds familiar too. I know that name from somewhere. Laura Jansen, . . Laura Jansen, I've heard those names together but something is missing from it, something is missing.
Another first name, something in front of it, or a title, . . . Mrs. Laura Jansen? . . . no that's not right; Doctor Laura Jansen, Doctor Jansen, that's it, that's it. Doctor Jansen, Betty's therapist. I've been writing checks to her every month for the last year and a half. Betty's doctor? What the hell is she doing here? What was she doing at the club? Coincidence? Not likely. Spying for Betty? A set-up, a trap? What the hell is going on here?!!
"Yes Harry," she said, seeming to read his mind, "I'm Betty's therapist or shrink as you like to call me. I told you in the car that I am in the business of helping people solve problems and Betty has a big problem."