Rachel and I made no further progress with the journal that weekend. I have to admit, that was mainly my fault. It was hard to keep focused on our task with a beautiful woman next to me.
It was two days later that I received another visit from the Sheriff and this time it wasn't as pleasant as the last one.
"Bob Russell, you're under arrest for the murder of Dylan Roberts."
I listened as I was handcuffed and read the Miranda Warning. My only response was that I wanted to talk to my lawyer.
It wasn't until noon that Rachel got the message that I'd been arrested. She was in court dealing with another case. By 12:30 she was at the police station speaking to the Sheriff.
"Good afternoon, counselor."
"Why is my client under arrest?"
"He's been charged with the murder of Dylan Roberts."
Hearing the name, Rachel played innocent, "Who's Dylan Roberts?"
"You know him better as Jack Smith."
"I don't understand."
"Jack Smith's fingerprints matched those of Dylan Roberts, a person flagged on an FBI database so they contacted me. It seems they know quite a bit about the two of them. Jack Smith was more than just a good tenant. He paid your client $200,000 for the return of a personal journal. Perhaps your client got greedy and wanted more. Whatever the reason, it'll be up to a jury to decide what happens now.."
"He's not a flight risk. Has bail been set?"
"Since the charge is capital murder, the judge determined that your client be held without bail."
"I'd like to speak with him now."
"Afraid that's not possible."
"Why not?"
"The Feds came this morning and took him away."
Do you know where they took him?"
"The Federal Correctional Facility in Petersburg."
The drive to Petersburg took about an hour, enough time for Rachel to consider what had happened. Something was definitely wrong. For some reason the wheels of justice were being fast-tracked as if there was a hand at work behind the scenes.
Upon arriving at the prison in Petersburg, Rachel identified herself as Bob's attorney and was led to a room where Bob was sitting nervously.
"Rachel, they arrested me for murdering Dylan."
"I know."
"Can I get out on bail?"
"Unfortunately not. The charge is capital murder and there is no bail."
"What's capital murder?"
"It's the most serious murder charge. It's the willful, premeditated and intentional killing of a person with an additional condition. In your case it's during a robbery or attempted robbery."
"Does Virginia have a death penalty?"
"No, but a person who's convicted could get life in prison."
"You have to clear me. I swear I didn't do it."
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay."
"How can you be so sure?"
"We're going Tahiti, remember?"
"But how long will I be in prison before we can get married?"
"I guess that depends on how soon we can find Dylan's real killer."
"I feel in my bones that the key is in that note about DVDs. I don't have access to the internet but you do. Research anything important that happened on October 21, 1983 and October 21, 2025. I don't understand the reference to movies and DVDs yet but I'll try to think of something. Dylan saw us in Tahiti so we must have figured out his message."
"I'll return tomorrow, hopefully with good news. Stay strong, Bob. Think about Tahiti."
Researching the two dates seemed to yield no useful information. On October 21, 1983 the only important event reported was the appointment of three Dutch bishops by the Pope and on October 21, 2025 the only important news of that day was that President Trump was petitioning the Supreme Court to abolish term limits for the President.
Rachel was starting to worry. The judge had ordered jury selection for Bob's trial to start the following week.
"Bob, Dylan's journal is keeping my spirits up but we're running out of time."
"I know you're trying your best. Dylan hasn't been wrong yet. I have to believe something will turn up."
That night, in the hope that it might mean something to Bob, Rachel wrote down the names of the five movies that were released on October 21, 1983 and the six released on October 21, 2025. It was a long shot but it was the only thing she could think of.
Seeing the lists, Bob's attitude changed immediately. "Rachel, you're a genius, if it was possible, I'd kiss you right now."
"What do you see that I didn't?"
He started whispering, "There's a movie you listed that Dylan said I should watch. I need you to go back to the house. In the den you'll find his collection of DVDs. Look for the DVD of the movie The Dead Zone. I have a feeling the answers we're looking for are inside the case."
Rachel left and drove to the house trying not to break any speed limits getting there. Once inside, she ran to the den and found the movie she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, she opened the case and was rewarded when she saw a disk but not the disk containing the movie. A black marker had been used to write the date October 21, 2025 on it and the cryptic message in the journal now made sense. Forty-two years after the release of the movie, Dylan had replaced the movie in the case with another DVD. The only thing left to do now was to play the disk. She received another surprise when the disk was removed from its case. A small key was behind it.
Thankfully Rachel didn't have to drive home to watch the DVD. There was a DVD player hooked up to a television in the den. She turned both on, inserted the disk and saw Dylan Roberts for the first time.
Hello Rachel. We've never met, but I've seen you many times ... in my dreams. Bob is a lucky man, much luckier than I was but possession of that rock sealed my fate. Most people don't know how or when they'll die but I did so I installed a surveillance system in the house. The camera is in the living room ceiling vent. It will capture a perfect picture of my murderer's face. To avoid detection, the system itself is sealed within the wall behind the bookcase in the den. It was programmed to record on only one day, the day of my murder. Use a hammer to break the wall about five feet from the floor and you'll find it, along with the dvd inside that it recorded. You'll need to take a trip to Washington D.C. and hand the evidence to the United States Attorney General. He's a good man and one of the few people powerful enough to take down the man who murdered me. I know what you're thinking. You think that because you're just a lawyer in a small town and he's the Attorney General you're never going to be allowed to meet him but you're wrong. Mention Bob's name and he'll see you. Bob did a big favor for him once. If he asks, tell him the truth, that you found the disk in a surveillance system that was installed in the house.
For the record, my killer's name is Samuel Raskin, that's right, the Deputy Director of the FBI, and the person who put me on the FBI watch list. When he was younger my file crossed his desk and he became obsessed with it. He never believed the story that that I'd gotten rid of the rock but I can put your mind at ease, the future is safe, he never found it.
Considering how I obtained my wealth I thought it fitting that half of it be donated to NASA. The other half has been divided between you and Bob. When Bob checks the balance in our joint account, he'll see it now is $20,000,000 and Rachel, the key in this DVD case is to a safety deposit box at your bank. That box contains stock certificates in your name worth that same amount of money. You became the beneficiary of those shares when I died. The gifts were made for a simple reason. I always believed that the marriage of two people of vastly unequal wealth will have its share of problems. Now, money will never be an issue for the two of you.
There is the problem of the rock though. You already know that I lied. I thought about dropping it in the ocean but I wasn't strong enough to actually do it. It still exists. And even though it led to my death I leave the choice to you. You can skip to the last track on this DVD and discover its location or you can destroy this disk. My dreams never divulged what your decision was. I hope you make the right one. Whatever you decide, I will remain your friend in eternity.
Static filled the screen as the video ended. Rachel turned off the machine, put the disk back in its case and the key in her pocket. She had work to do and it started with finding a hardware store to buy a hammer. It was too late to tell Bob the good news today but she'd tell him before her flight to Reagan Airport the next day.
