Synopsis - Shadows
Main characters
Jonathan Mathias
David Blake
Kelly Hunt
Dr Stephen Vernon
Alain Joubert
Michel Laselle
Maurice Grant
Jean Decard
Toni Landers
John Fraser
Minor characters
Lucy West
Frank Anderson
Lee Jacobs
Tony Sollozzo
Harvey
Mrs. King
Maggie Straker
Jim O'Neil
Sir George Howe
Gerald Bradock
Roger Carr
Vicki Barnes
Paul Barnes
Dean Barnes
Suzanne Peters
Julian Hayes
Melissa Campbell
Kevin Taylor
James Morrow
Detective-Sergeant Ross
Detective Inspector Allen
Inspector Malcolm Barton
Laura Foster
Paul Foster
Terry Pearson
Denise Pearson
Arthur Horton
Maureen Horton
Gordon Mackay
Claire Mackay
Doug Jenkins
Bruce Murray
Derek West
Bill Howard
Sergeant Tony Dean
PC Roy Fenner
Settings
New York
London
Oxford
Paris
Manchester
Liverpool
Norwich
Glasgow
Southampton
Part One
1
On a stage of a large hall in New York's West Side, Lucy West lies on a couch. 40-year-old American psychic Jonathan Mathias performs psychic surgery on her, removing three malignant tumours from her stomach. As the audience applauds and cheers, he returns to his dressing room.
2
Mathias has three meetings like this every week and a bi-weekly TV show, which has an audience of over 58,000,000. He earns $20,000,000 a year. There is a knock on his door, and 28-year-old writer and Englishman David Blake enters the dressing room. Blake has written five best-selling books about different aspects of the paranormal and he has spent the last five days with Mathias, for research for his next book. He asks Mathias how he does what he does. Mathias tells him that he can control other people's souls or 'astral bodies'. He demonstrates his power to Blake by making him feel freezing cold and almost pass out. Blake gets a cab back to his hotel leaving Mathias in his dressing room.
3
At his hotel room overlooking Central Park, Blake runs a bath and scribbles some notes onto a pad about his recent incident with Mathias. He underlines 'Astral Body'. About to take a bath, he suddenly sees a body floating in it - his own blue, bloated corpse. He closes his eyes and opens them again, and the body is gone. He hears a chuckling from the bedroom, but when he goes to see where it came from, there is nothing there.
4
Oxford
At the Institute of Psychical Study, Kelly Hunt, 25, listens to a tape recording of a man, Maurice Grant, 32, describing how he kills and cut up the bodies of his wife Julie and ten-month-old baby Mark. As it turns out, Grant has only done this in his dreams. For the last week Kelly has been studying Grant, giving him a drug cocktail of a muscle relaxant and methylphenidate which forces him to sleep and then dream. Grant can somehow talk about his dreams while they are happening, and this is what Kelly is listening to. While looking at an EEG read-out, Dr Stephen Vernon walks in to her office. Vernon, an overweight 55 year old is the Director of the Institute. They discuss the EEG, noting that only one area of the brain, the part that controls unconscious thought is affected by the drugs. Vernon says that it looks like the subconscious minds can function independently. He asks Kelly to run another EEG while Grant is awake and then asleep, but not drug induced. Vernon sounds desperate and has become obsessive.
He returns to his office, hoping that they have discovered an area of the mind that was previously hidden. He stares at his phone. He's been waiting for a phone call that may come in a few hours, or even weeks.
5
Paris
At a Metapsychic Centre on the outskirts of Paris, 41-year-old Jean Decard has been hypnotised by Alain Joubert, 36, while Michel Laselle, 38, takes notes. They deal 30 playing cards and Decard guesses each one correctly. Joubert writes down some words on a piece of paper and Decard says what they are. Suddenly Decard announces that there will be a bus crash in 3 minutes. When they ask him how he knows this, Decard tells them he can see the dead. Four will die. Decard mouths a silent scream, then blacks out. Eventually he comes round but doesn't remember what he has said, he just feels sick. There is a knock on the door and a gendarme tells Decard his 12-year-old daughter has been killed in a bus crash, exactly when and where he saw it happen.
6
Michel Laselle takes another tranquilliser. He's been taking them since his wife died at 35 and he had a nervous breakdown, 18 months ago. Alain Joubert earned his phD while working at the Laboratory of Parapsychology in Utrecht, then the University of Frieburg in Germany before joining the Centre in Paris. They've tested three people so far, but none had the 'precognition' Decard had. Could others predict future events if held under for longer? Had they discovered a previously unexplored area of the mind which only responds when the subject is unconscious? Joubert phones the Institute in England.
Kelly answers the phone. The two Institutes have been sharing the research, one using drugs, the other hypnosis. Joubert lies to Kelly, telling her that they have made no progress with their subjects and wants to end their collaboration. Kelly has only spoken to Laselle before and can sense the hostility in Joubert's voice. She tells him that Laselle has told her that they were making progress, but Joubert replies that he exaggerated. He ends the phone call and Kelly wonders if she should call Laselle, as she studies Grant's new EEG, which looks normal.
7
Oxford
Stephen Vernon returns home to find a large envelope on the doormat. He puts it on his bureau and pours himself a whisky. Going upstairs, to get changed for bed, he pauses at a locked room, seemingly too scared to enter. He hears a noise from inside, but decides it must be a tree outside scraping against the window. He returns downstairs. He is about to open the envelope when the phone rings. It's Joubert, who tells him about Decard and the day's events. Vernon asks him who else knows and he tells him only Laselle. Vernon says he will deal with Kelly. Joubert tells Vernon that they will know if the experiments have been successful soon, then they end the call. Vernon opens the envelope which is headed 'Fairham Sanatorium'.
8
New York
Mathias takes Blake to the party of a famous Emmy-award winning actress, Toni Landers. On the way, Blake tells Mathias he wants to know the extent of his powers. Has he ever thought of using his powers as a weapon? At the party, Landers asks Mathias if she should leave her 9-year-son at home for 4 months, while she goes on location to film the next Star Wars movie. Would he be OK? As the room falls silent and the party guests watch, Landers gives Mathias some Tarot cards. Mathias deals the cards and as he turns over the last one and says 'Danger', a framed photo of Landers' son explodes and falls to the ground. A very scared Landers asks Mathias what he meant by 'danger'. Mathias tells her he only sensed danger, that was all. She tells him she will not leave her son. As she walks away, Mathias and Blake walk out into the garden towards a fish pond. Mathias tells Blake he knows her son will die, but he did not see this in the Tarot cards. Blake stares down into the water and see his reflection contorted into a silent scream. A moment later the reflection is gone.
9
It's 3.04am, and Blake is back at his hotel room but cannot sleep. He tries watching TV and listening to the radio but returns to his notes, adding to them what happened that night at Toni Landers' house. He falls asleep and dreams of walking into the bathroom and seeing himself in the bath, scalded and burnt. When he awakes he sees new writing on his pad that he thinks may be 'automatic writing', and his hand feels as if it's been scalded in very hot water.
10
Oxford
Kelly records another interview with Maurice Grant with another investigator, John Fraser. They've deliberately kept him awake for two days, and gets increasingly more angry as they ask him questions about wanting to kill his wife and child. In a fit of rage, he picks up the tape recorder and throws it through a large window. Grant and Fraser begin to fight, Grant has Fraser on the floor by the throat, but is pulled away by another man, Frank Anderson and Vernon. They strap him to a table and connect him up to the EEG again. One of the five pencils that plots brain waves barely moves, they wonder if this is the area of the brain that controls the subconscious. To find out, Vernon sedates Grant. 15 minutes later, Grant starts to dream and the fifth pencil begins to move rapidly, while the other four stop. They realise this part of the brain is the occipital lobe, concerned with vision. Vernon's secretary enters the room and tells him the police are on the phone with him. They want to know if Grant has been with them for the last hour or so, as his wife and child were found at home dismembered 20 minutes ago and a neighbour saw Grant in the house.
11
In Vernon's office, Fraser says they need to stop the research before more accidents happen. Vernon disagrees saying that the research will benefit so many people. Fraser replies that it will benefit one person in particular, but Vernon cuts him short and tells him he can be re-assigned if he wants then tells him to get out of the office, which he does. Vernon asks Kelly if she wants him to replace Fraser, the research is too important to be jeopardised by one man. Kelly asks Vernon if he thinks that now Grant's wife and child are dead, does he think his dreams will stop. Were they the catalyst? Or were the drug-induced dreams just visions of the future and not unconscious desires? Kelly leaves Vernon's office and heads off to find Fraser, who has got into his car and is about to go to the pub. She asks him what he meant by 'it will benefit one person in particular'. He tells her to ask Vernon. He drives off, as they are both watched by Vernon.
12
At home, Vernon opens another envelope from Fairham Sanatorium. It contains a file, a ring binder and photos of his wife, Janet. Six years ago she witnessed something which reduced her to the mental state of a cabbage. Vernon tried to nurse her at home for 3 months, but eventually had to have her committed. But could the research at the Institute cure his wife? Could it unlock her mind? But should he release her memories?
13
New York
Rick Landers and Andy Wallace, both aged 9, are at Rick's house watching John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. When Elita Garcia, the cleaner, starts hoovering it interferes with the video, so the boys go to play in the garden.
Lee Jacobs and Tony Sollozzo have stolen a car, have a kilo of smack and are being chased by the Police.
Hearing the sounds of an ice cream van, Rick and Andy head out to get an ice cream.
Sollozzo begins firing at the Police car behind them as Jacobs hits the ice cream van doing sixty. The ice cream van's petrol tank explodes, catapulting Rick into the air. As he lands, the Police car swerves and mounts the pavement, running him over and almost decapitating him.
14
Blake has been in his hotel room working all day. He sees a news report on TV about Rick's tragic death and rushes out to buy a newspaper so he can read about it.
He gets a taxi to Mathias' house. Once there, he notices Mathias has works from Black Magicians Aleister Crowley and Anton Le Vey, who Mathias was friends with. Blake asks Mathias if he has heard the news, but he replies he hasn't. He tells him about Rick and asks him how he knew it was going to happen. Mathias says Astral bodies can be projected forward in time. He said he felt no Astral presence from Rick, so he knew he was going to die. Blake asks him to tell him about his future, but Mathias refuses. Mathias says his power is the shadow of his inner self, his alter ego, which is wholly evil. Blake says he needs to know more, and leaves. Mathias turns over some Tarot cards: Death, The Devil and The Hanged Man. Mathias hands start to shake.
15
Kelly wonders if 48 hours of sleep deprivation did that to Grant, what would a week do. She waits for the pharmacist Mrs King to go home, then puts 10ml of atropine into a syringe. See enters Grants room and asks him if he has had anymore dreams. He says he has, but not as vivid and he woke up before killing his wife and child. Kelly tells him this is probably because he wasn't given any drugs. He asks her why sleep deprivation makes people aggressive, she replies that she doesn't know. She gives him a full 10ml, 5 times the normal dose then starts the tape recorder. Grant starts to dream, but opens his eyes and sits up. She ask him to describe what he sees. He says he can see his brother having sex with his wife on their bedroom floor. He says that the child was his brother's and he is glad he killed them both. He then tells her spiders are falling onto him from everywhere. Kelly straps him down. He says he cannot bare to see it anymore. In a fit of rage, he rips open the straps and using a fork, pops his own eyeballs out from their sockets, and slumps to the floor.
16
In Grant's room, Vernon, Kelly and Fraser discuss what happened 15 minutes earlier. Fraser says that they need to call the police. Vernon disagrees. Kelly offers to resign, but Vernon refuses. Fraser and Vernon argue, Fraser demanding to know why Vernon is so obsessed with the research. Vernon grabs him and tells him to leave the Institute and not come back. Kelly wonders why Vernon is so angry. Vernon tells her to take a break from the Institute and he will call her in a fortnight. She leaves. Vernon listens to the tape recording in his office, then calls the Metapsychic Centre in Paris. Kelly goes home and takes a shower, thinking over today's events. She decides to get a flight to Paris in the morning.
17
Paris
In a restaurant in Place de Wagram, Kelly, Laselle and Joubert are talking. Joubert is openly hostile towards Kelly, then leaves the restaurant. Laselle tells Kelly about Decard and his precognition while being hypnotised. She wonders why she wasn't informed of this sooner as they are supposed to be working together. He tells her Joubert was supposed to let her know. Kelly asks Laselle how he's been since the death of his wife, then they go back to discussing Decard and leave the restaurant.
18
At the Institute, Laselle hypnotises Joubert, while Kelly operates the EEG. He correctly states what is written on over ten cards, despite having his eyes closed. Four of the tracers sit motionless, a fifth is moving. Laselle says he is walking up to a woman named Danielle Bouchard who works in an office down the corridor. As she types he grabs her, pushing her to the floor, then sexually assaults her. He says he wants to kill her and tells them he has his hands around her throat. There's a scream from outside the room, and Kelly goes to see while Laselle wakes Joubert up. They all go to the corridor, Danielle points at Joubert, saying that he attacked her. He looks under his nails and there is some red cloth the same colour as Danielle's ripped blouse, and several auburn hairs.
19
Back in the laboratory the three of them discuss Astral projection. Kelly claims that with drugs or hypnosis they've witnessed how the subconscious mind can control the Astral body, the evil side of man. They wonder if everyone has this ability.
20
At home later that day, Laselle writes a 6000 word article detailing their discovery which he addresses to 'an editor'. He seals it in an envelope and puts it on his desk, ready to post the next day.
21
At the airport, Blake looks for something to read on the plane, and buys a magazine called 'Journal of Parapsychology' which features an article entitled 'Astral Projection: The Truth'. He heads to a washroom and looks into the mirror, but see a reflection of Mathias staring back at him. He looks away then looks back to see his own reflection, but his mouth is open in a silent scream. Two men enter the washroom and ask Blake if he's OK. He leaves and they notice the mirror Blake was staring into is cracked.
22
Paris
At home, Laselle is visited by an angry Joubert who wants to know why he told the Journal of Parapsychology about their research. He asks him if Kelly knows what he's done, and who will get the credit for their work. They argue some more, then he leaves, slamming the door behind him.
Joubert drives home, and talks on the phone to Vernon, who wants to know about the article. Joubert explains that it was all Laselle and also tells him that Kelly has been with them for over a week. This shocks Vernon. Joubert tells Vernon to handle the girl and he will handle Laselle.
23
London
Blake lands at Heathrow, gets a taxi back home and pours himself a brandy and soda. He then goes into his cellar, where his study is.
24
New York
At the funeral of her son Rick, Toni Landers almost collapses but is held up by her friend Maggie Straker. Toni notices Mathias is there, and asks him why he never told her her son was going to die. He tells her no one could have done anything about it. Then she has a thought.
25
Oxford
It's 36 hours since Kelly has arrived back from France and she's in Vernon's office as he reads the report she wrote for him about her time in Paris at the Institute. They talk about the Astral body becoming a tangible force, and an American named Paul Twitchell who, in the 1960's, began to teach what he called the Eckankar doctrine. His students claimed to have seen him when we was in fact miles away. Kelly asks Vernon how he knew she was in Paris and he tells her that he was in contact with one of the researchers there. He asks her if she thinks what she saw in Paris could be duplicated outside of laboratory conditions. She tells him she doesn't see why not, the subject was simply hypnotised. She asks for her report back, Vernon says he'd like to keep it and locks it in his briefcase.
Kelly walks into Frank Anderson's empty office and as she leaves Anderson walks in. She asks him for John Fraser's home address. He writes this down for her and the address of a pub he thinks he will be in.
26
It's 9.36pm and Kelly has driven her Mini to a pub called 'The Huntsman' to see Fraser. Fraser isn't there but a barmaid assures her he will be, so she orders a drink and waits for him. He arrives 20 minutes later. Kelly asks him what he meant about Vernon hiding something. He tells her all he knows is that something happened to Vernon's wife about six years ago, and no one had seen her since. She wonders why Vernon has all of this a secret, and how would her research help him. She then leaves the pub.
Fraser leaves the pub an hour later. His brakes fail on his car and he narrowly avoids hitting a lorry. He tries the brakes again and they are fine.
27
The next day, Kelly drives to Fraser's home. His sister-in-law answers the door and tells Kelly that his car hit a tree the night before, killing him.
28
New York
Toni Landers has read in Variety magazine that Mathias is doing a TV special in England. He's the only one that can help her. She has a run-in with two photographers outside her home, then is driven to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
29
Paris
Laselle dreams that he digs up his wife's grave and has sex with her rotting corpse, while Joubert watches and smiles.
He wakes up and is sick in the bathroom. He can't sleep for the rest of the night.
30
Oxford
Blake drives from London to the Institute of Psychical Study in Oxford for a meeting with Vernon. He meets Kelly for the first time who recognises him from a photo she's seen in his books.
Blake meets with Vernon, to discuss his book. They talk about Mathias and his ability to seemingly be able to control the subconscious mind. Kelly enters the room and Vernon tells her that Blake will be conducting some research and she must help him with whatever he needs. They both leave Vernon's office and he tears up the letter Blake sent two days earlier, requesting their help.
Kelly asks Blake how she can help him. He tells her that he just wants to watch what she does in the lab, and use the library.
Blake spends the next four hours in the library, when Kelly joins him. Blake asks her out for a drink. She agrees and he arranges to pick her up at 8pm.
He drives off, as Vernon watches the two of them from his office window. He then makes a phone call.
31
Kelly and Blake meet for a drink in a pub called 'The Jester'. They ask each other about their pasts, and then talk about Kelly's work. She tells Blake that she thinks Vernon has become obsessed with her research but doesn't know why. She explains some of what has happened over the last few days but starts to feel uncomfortable. Blake drives her home to her flat, and he goes in for coffee. They talk some more, then the phone rings.
32
Laselle is on the phone, telling Kelly that he has seen and touched his dead wife Madelaine. Kelly tells him it must have been a nightmare, but Laselle says Joubert was there too, he saw them. He is always there. He then laughs and ends the phone call. Kelly tells Blake what Laselle said, Blake says it must have been a nightmare. He starts to comfort her, then they have sex on the floor. Part Two
33
London
Blake and around two dozen others are awaiting Mathias' arrival in The Waterloo Club in London, where he is guest of honour. Blake spots rock star Jim O'Neil, head of the BBC Sir George Howe, Government Minister for the Arts Gerald Braddock and chat show host Roger Carr. Blake has taken Kelly to the party. Mathias walks in and is introduced to Sir George Howe. They then notice Vernon there. They go to the bar for another drink and talk to Jim O'Neil. They leave the bar, then Mathias comes over and talks to Blake and Kelly and there are some other awkward introductions. Suddenly Toni Landers bursts in from out of the cloakroom, looking very haggard. She is about to be thrown out when Mathias steps in. they give her a brandy then she tells Mathias she wants him to contact her son.
34
Mathias, Toni, Carr, Blake, Kelly, Braddock and O'Neil all sit around a table as the lights are turned off. They touch fingertips while Mathias begins to groan and then shout 'the child. Suddenly in the centre of the table, the apparition of Rick Landers appears, burnt and disfigured, smiles and walks towards his mother. She screams, breaks the circle and Rick disappears.
35
It's almost 8am the next day and Blake is in his cellar working on his book. He leaves the cellar locking the door behind him and joins Kelly in the kitchen where they drink coffee and eat toast. They talk about the night before and he asks why he thinks Vernon was there last night. Blake replies that he is a friend of Sir George Howe. She tells him that she still doesn't trust Vernon.
Blake drives home to find a letter from his publisher Phillip Campbell, informing him that he has rejected an early manuscript of 'From Within'. Blake calls Campbell, and he tells him he needs more concrete facts in the finished manuscript.
36
Oxford
It's 1.05am and Vernon wakes up to hear a knocking coming from downstairs. He investigates and sees a figure outside his house. He opens the door and Joubert walks in.
37
London
Toni Landers is staying at her friends house and considering taking an overdose of sleeping tablets. Her friend, Vicki Barnes goes to check on her baby, then goes to see how Toni is, as she's heard her crying. They talk and Vicki leaves her room, taking the tablets with her. A while later, Toni goes into the nursery to see Dean Barnes in his cot awake. She puts four fingers into his mouth and presses as hard as she can, ripping his tiny mouth and eventually killing him, as Vicki and her husband Paul walk in.
38
Oxford
At Vernon's house, he and Joubert are going through all of the Paris team's research. Joubert says something is missing and calls Laselle. Laselle wants to know why Joubert is in London, and tells Laselle he cannot cope with the press and their questions, it's all too much for him. Joubert demands Laselle sends him the research he needs to Vernon's address. Laselle is angry because he wants recognition. Years earlier he himself discovered proof of a true haunting and captured it on camera, only for it to be stolen by someone else, and he swore to never let that happen again.
39
Paris
Laselle awakes from the nightmare about Madelaine, remembering Laselle laughing at him at the end.
40
London
Mathias is being made up, about to go on air at the TV studio. He can hear Roger Carr speaking. In the TV interview, it's obvious Carr thinks Mathias is a charlatan and only does what he does for the money, but Mathias remains calm and ends up making Carr look a fool. At the end of filming, Carr storms off angrily.
41
Carr is at home in bed, cursing Mathias. Suzanne Peters, 22 and a receptionist at Broadcasting House is in bed with him. He swears he will have his revenge on Mathias. Suzanne calms him down by instigating sex, but during it, Carr becomes rough and almost strangles her to death. When they finish, he apologies, saying that he doesn't know what came over him.
She tries to leave but in the kitchen they fight and she stabs him in the hand. He hits her round the head with a chair. She collapses and he grabs the knife and scalps her with it, as there is a loud banging on his front door.
42
Blake meets Campbell for lunch in a restaurant. Campbell tells him the finished manuscript is still no good, it still needs some kind of concrete proof of his claims. Blake refuses to say he will name Kelly despite Campbell saying he must. Blake tells Campbell he could do with a demonstration.
43
Gerald Braddock drives to London where he is to open an Activity Centre in Brixton. Once there he meets with organiser Julian Hayes who hands him a pair or shears to cut the ribbon. Be begins his speech, and starts to feel a strange coldness come over him. His speech becomes more and more racist the crowd becomes angry. Suddenly he thrusts the shears into the stomach of Julian Hayes, then pulls them out and decapitates another black man. He stares at what he's done and is sick.
44
Kelly drives to Blake's house and shows him a newspaper with the headlines "Actress kills baby" and "Television personality charged with murder." She also says that what Braddock has done has been on the radio. But none of the murderers remember doing it. Each one was at the seance. Blake calls Campbell, suggesting that this is the proof he needs, but Campbell disagrees.
45
Campbell is at home and his daughter has cooked dinner for them both. He goes to get changed.
Later they clear up the dinner things. Melissa goes to bed while Campbell finishes reading through some things he's brought home from work. He falls asleep and dreams that he rapes and kills his daughter by pushing a pencil deep into her ear. He awakes and bolts upstairs to check on her. She's fine but as he leaves her bedroom he notices that he has a wet patch of semen on his underpants and trousers.
46
Campbell calls Blake and tells him he'll publish his book.
47
Paris
Laselle drives to a cemetery. Equipped with a shovel, he climbs over the fence. A gendarme notices Laselle's car and sees him digging up a grave. They fight then Laselle tries to run away, swinging the shovel and smashing a marble angel. The gendarme knocks him over and Laselle falls back onto the broken angel, which pierces his chest and lung, killing him.
48
Oxford
Kelly is in her office, going through her notes but cannot concentrate. Vernon and Joubert walk in, and tell her about Laselle's accident last night. Kelly is shocked and angry at Joubert's attitude. Vernon tells her that Joubert is here to work with her on the dream project, with Joubert in charge. Kelly says that if Vernon does this she'll resign. Vernon accepts her resignation. Kelly goes home and immediately calls Blake, who tells her to come and live with him.
49
London
Jim O'Neil is about to perform with his band on a stage to an audience of thousands. During the opening song, O'Neil spears his lead guitarist Kevin Taylor through the stomach with his microphone stand causing him to fall back into a bank of Marshall amps and speakers, which explode.
50
Kelly tells Blake she is convinced someone from the seance is responsible for the murders and she thinks it's Dr Vernon. Blake tries to call Mathias and O'Neil. He's told Mathias has checked out of his hotel and can't be reached. He then finds out about O'Neil killing a member of his band and is now with the police. He tells Kelly this. She wonders who is going to be next.
51
New York
At a hall in the Bronx around 2000 people have come to see Mathias perform. Paralysed from the neck down, James Morrow is wheeled onto the stage by his mother. Mathias places his hands on his head, and his thumbs onto his eyelids. Moments later, he presses both thumbs into James' skull then punches his mother in the face as she tries to intervene.
52
London
In his bedroom, Blake tells Kelly that he is going to drive to the Institute in Oxford tomorrow to confront Vernon. He unlocks a cabinet in his bedroom and takes his .357 snub-nose Magnum which he lays on top.
Kelly has a nightmare that she is lying spread-eagled on a bed, bound, gagged and blind-folded, while Blake holds a gun against her vagina and masturbates onto her.
She awakes to find red marks on her wrists, like rope burns.
53
In the morning, Blake gets up and is careful not to wake Kelly. He dresses and heads off to Oxford in his XJS, taking his Magnum with him.
Kelly was only pretending to be asleep. She watches Blake drive away, then goes down into his cellar. She goes through his notes and reads how Blake has experimented on himself for over a year, and has discovered how to manipulate his own Astral body, using it in a tangible form. He has also found that injuries sustained to the Astral body will also manifest on the host body. He can also manipulate another person's subconscious mind.
54
Blake returns from Oxford and tells Kelly that Vernon said nothing incriminating. Blake tells her he doesn't know what to do next. She asks him what he knows about Astral projection.
55
Oxford
Kelly dreams that Blake attacks and kills Vernon in his kitchen with a corkscrew. When she awakes, she finds a small spot of blood on the bed and Blake has a small cut on his left forearm.
Getting up from bed, she calls Dr Vernon but is told that he's been murdered.
56
Kelly mentions nothing of her night to Blake, but gets in her Mini and drives to Vernon's house. There, she speaks to the police and pretends she is Vernon's daughter. Joubert appears and plays along with her act. Joubert notices that his research files have been taken.
57
In the bar of 'The Bull' hotel, Kelly and Joubert meet and talk. Joubert tells her about how his research was stolen years before and he didn't want to risk that happening again, that's why he was so secretive. He said that Laselle had been one of his best friends, but Laselle was close to insanity just before he died. Her then tells her that Vernon and his wife used to own two Dobermans, but one day while their grandson was playing in their garden, the dogs escaped and tore the one-year-old to pieces in front of her eyes. Kelly tells Joubert that she saw Blake kill Vernon in her dream. She says that she loves Blake and doesn't want to believe that he did it.
58
London
Kelly returns to Blake's house in London, but he's not home. She goes in his cellar and sees Joubert's missing files. Suddenly Blake is there behind her. She asks him why he killed Vernon and he replies because he needed the files. For as long as he can remember he has been fascinated with the idea of Astral projection and now, years later, he has mastered how to control the Shadow, the alter-ego or the subconscious. She asks him why he had to kill all those people to which he replies he wanted to be sure of his own abilities, to prove to himself he had the power to control peoples' subconscious. He tells her he can use his power to control world leaders. His power can be used as a weapon. He shows her a letter he's been sent by a TV company, inviting him to discuss if the supernatural is real or imaginary. He plans to prove it once and for all. She tells him that she loved him and he tells her that he's been probing her mind for a week or so. He says they are one, that he can teach her to share the power but Kelly refuses. Blake tells her to get out.
Kelly gets into her car and heads off to find a phone box to call Joubert. She spots one, but as she looks into her rear view mirror she sees Blake staring back at her. The shock makes her veer onto the other side of the road and into the path of a lorry. At the last minute, she swerves out of its way and onto the pavement. The driver of the lorry and another car stop and ask her if she needs help. She apologies, thanks them and drives off looking for another phone box.
She calls Joubert and tells him everything. He tells her that she must get away from Blake.
Part Three
59
Kelly stands hidden outside Blake's house and waits for him to leave. She then lets herself in, goes to the cabinet in his bedroom and unlocks it.
With Blake's gun inside her handbag she drives across London.
Blake is driving to a TV studio.
Kelly is heading there too.
60
Kelly pretends to be a reporter from The Standard as is let into Studio One, ten minutes into the discussion programme. She watches and listens to Blake talk about his religious beliefs. She still loves him and knows she won't be able to use the gun.
Blake tells a psychiatrist that he believes that he can isolate the evil side of man and make it a tangible force independent from the rest of his mind.
Kelly watches as Blake says that everyone can be made to do things they normally wouldn't.
Blake starts to stare into the camera silently for a minute or so, before the audience start to mumble. Everyone starts to feel icy cold. Kelly pulls the gun out of her handbag and points it at Blake.
The first shot misses and hits the floor. The second hits a table. The third hits Blake in the chest lifting him off of his feet. The fourth hits him in the side. The bullet hits his shoulder and the final one almost takes his head off. She drops the gun and security grab her.
61
At Albany Street police station, Inspector Malcolm Barton goes over Kelly's statement. She told him she was Blake's lover and she had been living at his house. That she went to the TV studio to kill Blake but she didn't remember doing it. That he had powers. She asks them if she can call Joubert to back her up. She calls him and tells him what's happened. Tells him that she was too late, Blake made the broadcast. She says they might be too late, but asks him to come to London, gives him the address and ends the phone call. There's a knock on the door and another sergeant enters. Says they've had eight reports of people killing animals, killing babies and killing family members. Kelly says 'it's already begun and there's no way to stop it'.
62
Manchester
Laura Foster cuts her husband Paul's testicles off while turning up his trousers.
Liverpool
Denise Pearson watches as her husband Terry grabs their baby son by the neck and throws him at a mirror. He cuts into the baby's flesh with a broken shard while Denise laughs.
Norwich
Arthur Horton hits his wife Maureen on the back of the head with a petrol can as she reads a romantic novel. He pours petrol on her, lights it and watches her burn to death.
63
London
Kelly is asked if she wants to change her statement because she could get twenty years for murder. She stands by what she said, it's not just coincidence that the police are getting so many reports in. With the TV show broadcast nationally Blake has reached out to so many people. She says that anyone that watched the show is at risk. She wonders where Joubert is.
64
Glasgow
Gordon Mackay is baby sitting his sister Claire and other two siblings. He grabs Claire's hand and forces it into the waste-disposal unit up to her wrist.
Southampton
Doug Jenkins and Bruce Murray are in Doug's garage about to begin work on Jenkins' old Ford Anglia. Jenkins grabs his chainsaw and uses it to kill Murray.
London
Derek West drives his diesel train doing 95mph at King's Cross station, into the buffers and through the platform.
65
Kelly hears a loud bang but doesn't know what it is. With her head on the table and without looking up, she asks the person that has just entered the room what the noise was. She looks up to see David Blake.
66
She tells him that she saw him die. How could he be there? Blake tells her it's the power of the Shadow that's let his Astral body live on after death. Only the destruction of his physical form can stop his Astral projection. She screams and sobs and begs him to stop what he's doing. Then he's gone.
Barton hears her scream and rushes into the room, Joubert behind him. Kelly asks Barton where Blake's body is and tells him it must be destroyed. She tells him what happened. Barton tells her she's mad. It will stay in Great Portland Street Hospital until it's buried.
67
Bill Howard works in the morgue of Great Portland Street Hospital. He's in there with Blake's body when a strip-light blows. He replaces the tube and switches the light on.
68
At Albany Street police station, reports are coming in of incidents all over the city. Sergeant Tony Dean is taking calls and instructing officers on two-way radios. Barton goes into the room where Kelly and Joubert are. PC Roy Fenner attacks Dean with his truncheon, breaking his jaw. There is a loud crash and Barton goes to see what it is. Moments later Barton crashes through a glass-panelled door and is impaled. They go through the door, exit outside and drive to Great Portland Street Hospital.
69
Once at the hospital, they follow the sign to the mortuary. Once there, they expect to find Blake's body on a slab, but pull back a sheet to reveal Howard's corpse. There is only one place Blake can be.
70
At Blake's house they decide to split up to find his body quicker. Kelly is to check the house, Joubert the garden and garage.
Kelly enters the house and checks the hallway and sitting room.
Joubert checks the garage, the garden and then a shed where he grabs an axe.
Kelly moves into the kitchen and switches the light on.
Joubert sees the light come on and decides to go and help her but at the door, Blake grabs him by the throat and head, and throws him around in the darkness and onto the floor where he passes out. When he comes round he makes his way to the house.
71
Kelly sees Joubert approaching across the lawn and opens the door to let him in. As she does so, he swings the axe at the door. Kelly runs from the kitchen, into the hall then upstairs. Joubert follows. The first of four doors is locked but the second is open. She enters and hides under a bed. Joubert enters the room and when he stands by the bed, Kelly pulls at his ankles and he falls over, dropping the axe. She runs out of the room, but Joubert grabs her. They fight and Kelly pushes him down the stairs, the fall breaking his neck. She grabs the axe and heads to the dining room. Breaking the lock on the door with the axe, she heads down into the cellar. Once in there, she notices a small door she hasn't spotted before. She goes in and find Blake's body covered in a blanket. She chops the limbs off, and then the head. The cellar door slams shut and as she looks up to the top of the stairs she sees Blake standing there. She tells him it's over. He walks down towards her and then grabs her by the throat, then lets her go and drops to his knees. He lets out an an inhuman scream, bursts open and collapses. Then he vanishes. Kelly dials 999 but feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns and sees her alter ego carrying the axe. Sees her bringing it down...
© Shaun Hutson 1985