The Hypnotist

***All characters depicted herein are of age, 18 years old at least, and some activities portrayed may cause readers some distress. Any acts of violence herein should never be recreated in any way.***

At the apartment of lawyer, Valentina Cortes, 30, her friend, Detective Inspector Luke Bailey, 28, knocks on her front door. The door opens to reveal Valentina in casual clothing: a t-shirt and joggers, and seems out of breath as she offers the DI, "Come in. It sounded important when you said you wanted to see me."

Luke walks in, and takes a seat at the small, circular dining table, soon joined by Valentina, as he says to her, "Thanks for seeing me, Tina."

From the bedroom, pulling on a blouse as she walks around the sofa, therapist and counsellor, Melissa Fisher, 40, takes a seat at the table also. Curious, Luke asks, "Is this still a thing between you two?"

Tina replies, "Evidently," as she holds one of Melissa's hands on the tabletop, asking in return, "Why, is there a problem with that?"

Breathing a small chuckle in good humour, Luke candidly tells Tina, "Always so defensive with me. I was just expressing interest. It's a good thing to see you with someone," and he turns his attention to Melissa to say, "I actually could use your professional insight to help me with a case."

Tina concernedly asks, "Case? What case?"

Luke takes a moment of pause before coming straight out with, "The case I am working on involves a series of rapings that could be connected, hopefully to a single rapist, so we can resolve this with their arrest. The victims have a strange commonality that they remember the incidents, but don't recall any details about the rapist, recalling people from their lives who couldn't possibly be there because of definitely being elsewhere at the reported times, and, are conflicted about their feelings about it being consensual, but feel ultimately sickened and violated, hence, their coming forward to the police."

Melissa confirms, "You said you could use my help. What do you need?"

Luke asks, "How would you go about influencing someone's mind like this?"

Melissa responds, "There are a number of ways you can influence someone's thoughts or behaviour. The one that you would expect to find would be drugging?"

Luke replies, "Drug screenings have come back negative."

Melissa continues her assumptions, saying, "Then we are looking at suggestion, hypnosis, psychological manipulation. I have a working understanding of these techniques for my work to help relax and create a sense of comfort in my patients. I can't do anything like mind-control though. The best I can do with any of my techniques is to reinforce an already existing idea in someone's mind, which could come from planting an idea using suggestion, or negating another idea to focus on the target and not be distracted. You can't force someone through these techniques to do something like murder or suicide, because our subconscious would fight against that, but rape could be possible if the subject were to believe it was someone they consent being with."

Luke asks, "Is there anything you could do to help the victims remember who was actually present?"

Melissa confirms, "No. I'm sorry, but we can only remember how we actually perceived things at best, but over time, even those memories get distorted. If you have ever been drunk and blacked out, you never remember what happened during that period, even if someone tells you what happened. Best you can do is to imagine what it would have been like, but it won't be a real memory. So, no. I can't help with that."

Luke nods to show understanding, and asks, "What types of people would have the skills to do this?"

Melissa suggests, "I don't even know if I have the ability to do this, but a medical professional trained in these techniques is possible; although, no one I know would ever do something like this, mainly for moral, as well as legal, reasons. So, I would suggest a non-professional who has studied mental health and psychology to a high level of qualification, possibly even the highest; certainly more qualified than me. That should narrow down your search considerably."

Luke gratefully says, "Thank you, Melissa. I will take that under advisement," and asks Tina, "Is there anything you can add that could be of help?"

Tina thinks for a moment, and tells Luke, "Mmm, I can't tell you any more than Melissa already has, and she has suggested better options for how to proceed with your case than I could come up with. I will be more help when I am defending someone.

"Speaking of which, I am representing Miss Tiffany Bright in a suit."

Luke recognises the name and remembers the young woman, asking, "Young Miss Bright? How is she?"

Tiffany answers, "She is doing well for herself. I am representing her in a case with the charges against her opposition being: sexual harassment, attempted rape, and assault."

Luke comments, "She has had a bad time with rape and assault over the last year. She deserves a good outcome from this."

Tina says, "I intend to give this to her."

Luke recalls, "She had a hard time with the Linford Wain case."

Tina remembers, "You didn't help with that."

Luke admits, "I did what was necessary at the time to push for any details that could help me track him down. Unfortunately, the case went cold. Mister Wain disappeared without a trace. Not even a body has been found matching his description, and an APB turned up no help.

"Even so, I am happy to hear about Miss Bright. Her friends and family are good people, and I wish them every success. I know you will do everything in your power to create a strong case for prosecution against the defendant, and get the justice she seeks."

Tina tells Luke, "I will let Tiffany know you are thinking of her and supporting her when I see her next."

Melissa points out to the others, "I worked with Miss Bright last year to help her overcome her low mood at the time."

Tina looks surprised at this coincidence, and remarks, "It certainly seems like you did help because she is a lot more confident and assured now compared to then. It's almost like she is a completely different person."

Melissa informingly says, "I don't want to go into detail about her personal life, but she has been confident and outgoing for much of her life. She has had her struggles, but her strength of character usually shines through. I just helped her get herself back to that, and reinforce those feelings of self-worth even in troubling times."

Luke enquires, "Could something like this reinforcement of self-worth be used to brainwash people into something like I'm investigating?"

Melissa explains, "What I employed were methods of association, to create a connection in the mind to certain thoughts and feelings, and that is coupled with dissociation, to pull attention away from the negative thoughts and feelings, and centre on the desired state of mind. It is certainly plausible that enough suggestion, and use of association and dissociation, could create a false awareness of reality in someone's mind. It would take a tremendous amount of effort to induce a strong enough state, and it would take even more effort to maintain it. Any distraction or outside influence could immediately break the illusion."

Luke thinks aloud, "So, what you are saying is this takes a lot of preparation, and is meticulously planned, and not something that can be done quickly on a whim?"

Melissa nods and affirms, "Yes, you seem to understand. These incidents would all be pre-meditated and set-up long ahead of time to create the controlled conditions necessary to pull them off to the degree of success you are looking at. Almost like a magic trick, each victim is finding themself a part of an elaborate act that is prepared for, for the satisfaction of the rapist."

Luke seems unsure, and says, "This seems like a lot of effort to go to."

Tina supposes, "It seems like someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to create the perfect crime where they believe they will get away with it. With no means of identification, they will. Has forensics turned up anything?"

Luke defeatedly explains, "As of yet, no. Forensics haven't turned up anything that can be used to identify a potential suspect. Any DNA recovered is mostly from those who live at each premises, or doesn't match anyone on record. We are looking at someone without a criminal profile who is well-educated. That does narrow things down, but could still be thousands of people. The victims so far are localised to the city, so we are looking at a resident, or someone staying long-term, so I can check hotels, inns, B-and-B's, and hopefully find someone staying unusually long, maybe from a combination of stays," and through rambling, following his train of thought, Luke says, "I know now how to proceed with this investigation. It will take a lot of sifting through paperwork, but if there is something, I will find it."

Tina smiles at Luke, and encouragingly says, "I wish you all the best with your investigation."

Luke tells her in return, "I wish you all the best with your prosecution."

Over the next week, the DI does the tedious work of compiling and pouring over records of people who have stayed at local temporary accommodations, as well as records of graduates from universities from around the country, hoping to find a name in common between them. A few names match between those staying in the city, and those who have graduated from universities, but one name in particular stands out as having a couple of stays at various lodgings across the city over the past few months coinciding with being before the earliest reported incidents, but other names of bookings create a timeline of continued stays.

Through checking the provided identification for these stays, with a few coincidental exceptions, many of the provided credentials show a single face checking in under various aliases, including what seems to be her real name: Samira Malcolm. The DI goes to the most recent known location, being a hotel in the city centre.

Once there, the DI explains to reception that Miss Malcolm is a person of interest in an ongoing investigation, and asks for the staff's co-operation in bringing her in for questioning. He goes to her room with a member of staff, and gets them to knock on the door, announcing themselves as room service. However, there is no response, so the DI dismisses the hotel staff and lets himself into the room with a keycard issued to him.

The room has a calming atmosphere from the burning of incense as the DI closes the door behind him and locks it, checking everywhere in his periphery for the presence of anyone. He proceeds to check in the en-suite bathroom and the walk-in wardrobe to find no-one present, and goes to check the bed.

Immediately apparent to the DI, the bed clothes are arranged in a mound on top of it, and the DI approaches with caution, gingerly reaching for the sheets as the scents of the incense pervade his senses. All of a sudden, the sheets are thrown back, and a hand grasps at the DI's temples, over his eyes, hearing a soothing voice speaking softly, "Sleep now... Becoming relaxed... Falling deeper... Feeling the incense... Drifting down... Calm now... Hearing my voice... Being aware of yourself... Focusing on your innermost feelings..."

Sense of time and place fall away for the DI, as Samira's voice is heard clearly in his mind, instructing him, "Picture the one you love clearly in your mind... Start to really get that picture bolder and clearer like a photograph or a video playing over and over again... Projecting bolder and bigger and clearer... You can feel their presence... You feel like you can reach out and touch them... Get as sense of their figure... Really feeling the tingling in your fingertips and the skipping of your heart as you reach out..."

Suddenly, the DI forgets any sense of where he is, and anyone else there, except for the presence of Tina, felt through her voice calling to him in his ears, as if waking him from a dream, "This is not a dream... This is real... I am here for you... I have always been here for you... You can reach out and touch me... I don't mind... I want it... I know you want it too... Open your eyes..."

Luke opens his eyes, as the voice suggested, and he sees Tina's face smiling down at him as she does, and, as he comfortably lies on the bed, feeling the weight of his stresses dissolving, he sleepily asks, "Tina?"

Tina mounts the bed and softly caresses Luke's face as she leans down over him, and she tells him, "Yes, it's Tina. I am here for you," and she kisses him for the first time; gently, almost with apprehension.

Luke senses the trembling in Tina's lips, and he stares deeply into her dark brown eyes, and he confidently lifts himself up to kiss her with a passion he has built up for a long time. He rubs his hands over her body, noticing she is wearing a dressing robe, and pushes it off her shoulders to unwrap Tina's naked body beneath.

Tina gets herself naked for him, and she undoes Luke's trousers, teasing them gently down his legs as she leans down to plant subtle kisses on his crotch and legs on her way down until she removes them and pushes them gently to one side. She then softly prowls like a cat, teasing her pleasing form to Luke as she looms over him, and gently rubs his throbbing cock to an erection.

Sitting softly on Luke's lap, Tina leans to his face, and kisses his lips with a trembling tenderness echoing his nerves at doing this with her. It didn't seem like so long ago that Luke had his reservations about whether all of this would work, but, those thoughts dissipate as he feels Tina's hot figure snaking around as he lies there.

Luke's thoughts melt away into the mounting arousal as Tina rubs his cock gently against her pussy lips, and pushes herself down onto it, softly running her hands over his chest and shoulders as she sensuously grinds her hips onto his cock, with Luke enraptured in the ecstasy of finally getting to spend this time with the woman he has admired for so long.

All of a sudden, a knocking raps on the door of the hotel room, and a voice calls, "Detective Inspector?" Tina's hand clasps hard over his mouth, and her other hand tightly around his throat, throttling him as Tina's face melts into Samira's, and the DI realises the true reason he is here.

Summoning what strength he has, coupled with his adrenaline, the DI attempts to fight back, trying to free himself from Samira's grip, but Samira's strength and her position pressing down on him makes pushing back difficult, especially with the softness of the bed making it hard to push against.

In a moment of desperation, the DI presses a shoulder deeper into the mattress, and he thrusts his weight into a roll. He doesn't quite get up off the bed, but he makes Samira's balance slightly unsteady as he tries again, and rolls the pair of them over the side of the bed, crashing onto the floor, and the DI pulls his throat away from Samira's hands and holds them as he attempts to reach for his trousers.

Samira pulls her hands away and tries to punch the DI, but he evades and uses the momentum of her swing to help him roll her over onto her front, and holds her hands behind her back as he reaches for his cuffs, and binds her hands.

The DI gets dressed, and dresses Samira as decently as he can before calling for backup to help bring her into the station for questioning, being feisty and unwilling to co-operate. He really has a handful with her, but as soon as she arrives at the station, she calms down and falls silent.

Whilst the DI readies his report of what happened during the case, at Tina's apartment, she enjoys the hot comfort of Melissa's body, melting away the stresses weighing on her mind.

The couple cuddle up on the bed together, wrapping their arms around each other's waists as they snuggle up into the pillows, nuzzling their foreheads and cheeks as their hair drapes closed between them like curtains. Melissa asks, "How was your day?"

Tina tiredly tells her, "I spent a lot of time with Tiffany today to prepare her for court. Apparently, the defendant is part of her boyfriend's sister's fiancee's family. Seems like the defendant has distanced himself from them though, with the family in support of Tiffany. Still, it's going to be hard on all of them going through this."

Melissa offers, "If any of them want someone to talk to outside of the family, I can offer them counselling, or even therapy if they book in with me?"

Tina replies, "I will let them know."

Melissa asks, "Have you heard from Luke?"

Tina sighs, and replies, "No. He will have been busy working himself too long and hard trying to find leads to persons of interest in his case."

Melissa worriedly states, "That is not healthy," and concernedly enquires, "Do you know if he gets enough sleep?"

Tina answers, "I don't know if he ever really does. His life is spent at that police station. Catching a nap at his desk when he can. His work never stops, and neither does he."

Melissa looks increasingly concerned for Luke's wellbeing, and Tina's feelings about it, and concernedly probes, "How do you feel about Luke working so hard?"

Tina stares intently as she focuses her attention on her feelings, and she says, "I have always respected his dedication to his work, and, admired how he handles himself. He seems to be able to work well like this, so I have never questioned it. Now you mention it, I worry about him even more."

Melissa probes further, "You really love him?"

Tina admits, "Yes, but you knew that already. I already told you that I wanted to be with him, but he didn't want it."

Melissa clarifies the intent of her question, "I mean, you love him more than you love me."

Tina hesitantly breathes, "Yes, I do," and tells Melissa, "I am sorry if that is bad, or is too much for you, but it is how I feel."

Melissa smiles, and says, "You don't have to apologise. It does hurt, and invite feelings of jealousy in me, that you have such a love for Luke. I will deal with those feelings in the ways I know how. I knew before I wanted to be with you how you feel about him," and asks, "If he did want what you want, would you leave me for him?"

Tina struggles to find her words, and says, "I..."

Suddenly, the couple are interrupted by a knock on the door. Tina looks deeply in Melissa's eyes, and gets up off the bed to answer the door, opening it to see Luke standing there, and she says, "Luke, come in."

On this visit, Luke remains standing beside the circular dining table, as Tina shuts the door and turns to him as he says, "I managed to track down the rapist from the case I was working on."

Tina interrupts Luke to say, "Congratulations. I knew you would get him."

Luke corrects Tina, "Her," and swallows hard before continuing, "She... um... She... Well, I tracked her to a hotel she recently checked in to, and I ended up sedated in her hotel room, and seduced."

Tina looks shocked, and asks, "Really? What happened?"

Luke looks breathless as he tries to get out his story, "It happened how the victims said. It all felt familiar, and right, and I couldn't see her at all. I was picturing someone else."

Tina waits for Luke to tell her who he pictured, and Melissa stands beside the sofa looking at the pair of them standing together, feeling like she's watching a movie instead of actually being present, and Luke confesses, "It was you, Tina. All I could think about was you. It was like a dream come true and everything I ever wanted since I first met you all those years ago. Even when I came to the realisation that it wasn't you there, and I saw her, I could only think about you, and I felt angry and betrayed that someone played with my mind to take that moment with you away from me."