All the way there, she chided herself ... she HAD to get control! She HAD to find out how he took those girls! She HAD to get some sort of physical evidence that she could go to the Captain with! But when they were there, she found herself wishing that the walk had lasted longer. She wished she could feel his arm around her just a little bit more.
It was a Victorian home that had been converted to an office/apartment combination, and he led her upstairs. The apartment was immaculate! She was after some sort of DNA evidence, but she doubted that anyone could even find a fingerprint in the place! Somehow, she kept from showing him her disappointment, but she couldn't suppress a comment. "This is a bachelor pad?"
He laughed. "You couldn't have picked a better evening. This was the maid's day. She's a little ... well ... efficient. I'll have it back in its normal state of chaos in a day or two."
"Can I use your bathroom?" she asked as he advanced toward her, a gleam in his eye.
"Er ... sure. Right over there."
And her heart sank. The bathroom looked as if an army of scrubbing bubbles had spent a year on the job in there. Somehow, she had imagined finding a hairbrush with dozens of strands, roots still firmly attached, waiting patiently for her ... but there was no hairbrush. Who was she kidding? Forlornly, after making a thorough search, she stood regarding a toothbrush that looked brand new. Likewise the blade in his razor.
A knock at the door. "Hey, you okay in there?" Out of time. Out of ideas.
She opened the door. "Hi," she said, smiling.
He handed her a glass of wine and led her back into the living room. They sat on the couch and sipped from their glasses and just looked at each other. Somehow, she knew that if he made a move, she wouldn't be able to say no. Would she really justify having sex with a serial rapist as the only way to get a sperm sample? That was crazy! But, of course, that wasn't the real story at all. She WANTED this! She wanted HIM! Oh, this couldn't be happening! Deep down inside, she didn't believe it, of course. She would never fall in love with a rapist, and she was falling in love with him ... ergo, he wasn't the rapist. But he had been there ... four out of seven times ... and maybe more!
Okay, time for a plan. She had to have more than just a sample, anyway. She had to have a method. She thought she knew, and despite what the crummy FBI profiler had said, she still believed it. She took a deep breath.
"Brett," she began, and blushed and looked down again, unable to actually say it.
"What is it, Donna?"
She blushed even more. "You're going to think I'm awful." And she paused and fumbled her hands together. "Brett, could you ... could you hypnotize me? Please? I've ALWAYS wanted to know what it was like ... and here we are ... and ... and I trust you ... and ... and ...."
"Hey," he said gently, smiling. "Sure. Sure I will." He rose and walked toward the bedroom. "Just let me get something that will make it easier. You settle back on the couch and relax. I'll be right back."
She couldn't suppress a frown. Easier? She had no intention of actually LETTING him hypnotize her. She was just going to ACT as if he was putting her into a trance. She planned to go along and see what he did with a girl once he had her "under." But if he brought back some sort of drug or something, she'd have to put a stop to the whole thing.
And he walked back in with a piece of cut crystal dangling from a short monofilament line. With his free hand, he moved a chair so that it was facing of her, and he sat down and dangled the thing in front of her eyes. "Lean back and look at the crystal," he told her in a matter-of-fact voice ... not the tone of voice she expected to hear from a hypnotist at all. "Lean back and relax, please."
"Promise me that if you make me act like a chicken, you won't let me remember it," she said timidly.
"Relax."
Okay, she told herself, here we go. She knew that he'd be able to see whether the muscles of her arms and hands were tense or relaxed, so as she leaned back, she visibly relaxed them for his benefit. And she knew he was looking directly at her eyes, so she concentrated her sight on the shining crystal orb as its facets fractured the room's lights into a myriad of colors that filled her vision. She would relax. She would do what he told her. But she would NOT fall asleep when he commanded ... she would just pretend. Will power, Donna! Stay with the plan!
"Just relax and look at the crystal. Listen only to my voice. Relax. Yes, that's it. And now tell me, please, why it is that you are so tired. Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
This startled her, but she stayed relaxed for his benefit ... she kept her eyes on the crystal. She hadn't expected that he would ask her a question. "Um ... no. I only got a few hours sleep this morning." Which was the truth, of course. She wouldn't tell him a lie ... she would just withhold a few things.
"Ah, that explains it, then. I could tell that you were very tired. I could see it. I could sense that you were very, very weary. You don't have to sleep, if you don't want to. But if you relaxed even more, you might not feel so very tired. It might help. It might."
And she gazed into the crystal and felt confused. She didn't have to fall asleep? Wasn't that what he was trying to get her to do? The plan was to pretend to be asleep ... but not actually fall asleep ... when he told her to go to sleep. But if he wasn't going to tell her to do that, what was she going to .... Oh, she was SO tired! How did he know she hadn't had enough sleep? Okay, change of plans. She would relax more for him, because he was watching her very closely, and if she relaxed more and more, then maybe she wouldn't feel so tired. So very, very tired.
"And relax even more now. Yes, that's it. And you will see only the crystal. Hear only my voice. And relax. Deeper and deeper. More and more relaxed. Yes, I know you are very tired. I understand, since you haven't had enough sleep. Not enough sleep. I know. SO tired. How do you feel, Donna?"
"SO tired," she replied immediately, because it was true. Relaxing wasn't helping very much. Maybe if she tried relaxing even more ....