She shuddered, her hands turning into fists.
‘I won’t let him make love to me. After that first night... never, never again! Oh, Clay! I can’t talk about it.’ She put her hand over her eyes as she whispered, ‘Horrible... horrible.’
The telex began to clatter. I spun around, my nerves crawling.
She caught her breath in a dry, choking sob.
‘That’s him now.’ The fear in her voice chilled me. ‘He always knows when he is succeeding in punishing me. It doesn’t matter how far away he is. He knows.’
The machine stopped typing.
‘Go and look.’
With my heart hammering I went to the machine and ripped out the paper. It shook in my hands as I read the message.
Don’t bother me with trivialities. Hire any additional staff necessary. If Mrs. Vidal needs typing assistance, supply it.
Silently I gave the message to Val. When she had read it, we stared at each other.
‘You see?’ Her voice trembled. ‘He knows he has succeeded. Now do you believe me? Do you still think I’m being hysterical? Do you still believe that I am a free agent and not completely in his power... that his will hasn’t conquered mine?’
‘There must be some way I can help you, Val.’
‘But you still don’t believe, do you?’
‘Yes, I do. I think he has got you under a hypnotic Influence. It can be the only answer, but how can I help you?’ She shook her head wearily.
‘There is nothing you can do. There is nothing anyone can do. I thought I was strong enough to fight him, but I’m not!’ She looked away as she said half to herself, ‘As long as my life lasts, as long as his life lasts, I shall be his slave.’
Then I remembered what Dyer had told me: that he had snapped his fingers and Val had gone into a trance. Without thinking of the consequences, I lifted my hand.
‘Look at me, Val,’ I said, then I snapped my finger and thumb together
Six
The hands of my desk clock moved to 13.15.
Two hours had gone by since that terrible scene I had with Val. I was at my desk, still shaken and still too shocked to deal with the briefs spread before me.
What had I done? I kept asking myself. What evil influence had I released by snapping my fingers? Although Dyer had warned me, I never expected to get such an alarming reaction. Val had turned into a zombie. All character seemed to drain out of her face, leaving it blank as if she were dead. Her eyes became fixed in the stare of the blind.
Then she leaned forward, peering past me at the opposite wall. ‘I will kill you!’ she said in a low, fierce whisper. ‘I will never be free until you are dead! Your death is my only hope!’
As I watched her, unable to move, she slowly stood up.
‘You can stand there laughing at me!’ She looked and spoke as if she were seeing someone opposite her, invisible to me. ‘Go on, laugh, you devil! You have destroyed me! Now it is my turn to destroy you!’
She came around the desk and rushed blindly across the room, her hands like claws, her lips drawn off her teeth. She thudded against the wall, reeled back, threw herself at the wall again, her hands striking blindly.
‘Let me go!’ she cried, wrestling as if she had someone in her grasp who was stronger than she and she was being forced back. ‘I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!’
There was something so macabre and horrible in this scene, I could only stand motionless, feeling the hair on the nape of my neck bristling.
Then she gave a piercing cry and fell on her knees, her hands trying to tear invisible fingers from her throat.
The fear contorting her face galvanised me into action. I rushed to her and caught hold of her arms.
‘Val!’
She struck me violently across the eyes, blinding me for a moment. As I staggered back, she straightened up, threw out her hands as if to ward off a blow, then she fell. The back of her head struck one of the claw feet of the desk with a sickening sound, her eyes rolled back and she went limp.
With my heart hammering, panic rising, I ran to her and bent over her. Her breasts under the white blouse rose and all, but she was unconscious.
Shaking, I blundered over to the intercom and called Dyer.
‘Who is it?’ he demanded petulantly. ‘I’m just going to lunch.’
‘Burden. Get help up here!’ I cried. ‘Mrs. Vidal has had an accident. Get a doctor! Hurry!’
‘Is she hurt?’ His voice became efficient and alert.
‘Get someone! She’s hurt! Get a doctor!’
‘At once!’
As I snapped up the switch, Val moaned and I went to her. She opened her eyes.
‘My head! What happened?’
‘You fell,’ I said. ‘Just stay still. Help’s coming.’
She caught hold of my hand. Her grip was so fierce it was painful.
‘He was here, wasn’t he? You saw him?’ She shivered. ‘He tried to kill me! Clay, please... don’t leave me! Promise?’
‘Of course. Stay quiet. The doctor’s coming.’ She gave a little sigh, muttered something I couldn’t hear, then her eyes closed and she seemed to drift off into unconsciousness.
The door opened and a middle-aged woman with white hair, sharp blue eyes and a hard mouth came in.
She looked at Val, then as I stood aside, she knelt by Val’s side. She seemed very efficient and calm. She lifted Val’s right eyelid, felt her pulse, then stood up.
‘I am Mrs. Clements, Mr. Vidal’s housekeeper,’ she said. ‘It would be more convenient if you would now leave her with me, Mr. Burden.’
‘She hit her head on the desk,’ I said as I moved to the door. My voice was unsteady and husky. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?’
‘The doctor’s coming. She had better stay as she is until he has seen her.’
Moving slowly, my legs shaky, I went down the corridor, down the stairs and out into the garden.
‘Burden...’
I turned.
Dyer was coming quickly towards me.
‘What happened?’
I couldn’t keep it to myself.
‘She went into a trance and she fell. She hit her head on the desk.’
He eyed me.
‘You look shaken, old boy. What you need is a drink. Come back to my office. Come on,’ and putting his hand on my arm, he led me towards the office block.
I heard a car coming up the drive and I turned my head.
‘Doctor Fontane,’ Dyer said. ‘He’ll take care of her.’ We entered his office and he produced two big whiskies. I drank and was grateful.
‘Sit down. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,’ he said.
My eyes searched his face. The sneering, jeering expression was gone. His eyes showed genuine concern.
I sat down, gulped down the rest of the drink and set the glass on his desk.
‘Did you set her off?’ he asked quietly. He snapped his fingers.
I nodded.
‘I wasn’t thinking.’ I certainly wasn’t going to tell him the whole truth.
‘Yes... the way it happened to me. You’ll have to tell Tiny, Burden.’
I flinched at the thought of speaking to Vidal.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to let the doctor do it? He’ll be able to say how bad she is.’
‘Yes, but Tiny will want it first hand from you. Have another drink?’
‘No thanks.’
‘Oh, come on. You look as if you need another.’ He made two more drinks. ‘And Burden, a tip... don’t tell him nor anyone else about the finger snapping. It wouldn’t go down well with Tiny. I suggest you tell him she came fainted.’
I never imagined I could get to like Dyer, but I now found myself liking him.
‘Yes, you’re right.’
‘It’s damned odd, isn’t it? What do you make of it? It’s as If she’s been hypnotised. Do you think she has? You know I’ve wondered about Tiny. He could have hypnotic powers. Once he stared at me and I’ll be damned if I didn’t feel as if I was suddenly floating. A most odd sensation. Do you think he hypnotises her?’