Chapter 33

Melissa eyed Alfred nervously, what was he doing there? Michelle made nothing of it though and continued her pleasant banter. Melissa relaxed when Alfred did nothing more than join in the conversation. Melissa clamped her knees together when Michelle put her hand on her leg again and gave the blonde woman a warning look. Michelle just smiled at her and continued chatting. Alfred seemed to pay them no attention as Michelle slowly forced Melissa's legs apart. Michelle had just reached Melissa's panties when Alfred suggested they shoot a game of pool and see what was on the jukebox. The trio slipped out of the booth, the women headed through the beaded curtains while Alfred detoured by the bar for another round. Alfred slipped the bartender two hundred dollars to hang the 'closed' sign on the door for the next hour before bringing the women their drinks.

Melissa had a good time shooting pool and dancing to the jukebox. Michelle and Al were such good company, he so urbane and polished, she so beautiful and sophisticated. Theirs was the life Melissa had given up to raise a family. She much preferred the life she had chosen but had to admit this was nice for a change of pace. If Jake had been there, it would have been perfect. As it was, she was getting plenty of attention from her new friends. Michelle kept up the subtle sexual pressure as Alfred watched in amusement. Melissa stopped worrying about him when she decided he just wanted to watch and let Michelle set the pace.

Melissa danced with each of them a couple of times. They were both smoothly polished dancers and glided her around the floor with practiced ease. She enjoyed the difference in the way they felt against her.

"Tease my husband a little, Melissa," Michelle directed. "We don't want him to feel left out."

Melissa did as her friend suggested and pressed herself against Alfred as they swayed to a slow song; the alarm siren that should have sounded was silenced by a combination of the drug and Melissa's feeling of invincibility - she was the one that knew everything, the Tremonts were under control. Alfred was only about five-nine, so their crotches were almost even as they danced. Melissa felt him harden against her and felt a little thrill. She still had it, she exulted; even after two children, she could still excite a man besides her husband. Melissa tipsily laid her head on his chest as he stroked her ass. It was all innocent fun and his wife was right there, after all. Michelle came up behind her and pressed herself against her back, Melissa moaned as Michelle worked her hands under her print blouse. Alfred stifled her moan by covering her lips with his. Between them, they had her worked to a fever pitch. She wanted to say stop but her lips could not form the words.

After toying with her until she thought she would scream, Michelle and Alfred stepped back from her. She opened her eyes with a mew of displeasure; her still-clouded brain was mainly registering only the end of pleasurable stimulation.

"We've got to get back to the bus, Melissa; so we'll have to continue this later," Michelle said.

Melissa nodded and hastily rearranged her clothes. God, they could have had her right there on the pool table if they had kept it up. Alfred's lips and hands had set her on fire the same as Michelle's touch had. She blushed furiously as she thought about how she had held his dick though his pants when Michelle had pushed her hand down on it. She had wanted it then, wanted it badly. It took a super-human effort on her part not to fall on the floor and beg for it. Well, Michelle had promised her she would be safe and she had kept her word. Melissa decided that she was going to talk to Jake, tell him about the events and about Michelle, get them together maybe, so he could see for himself that Michelle was not the evil one here. Heck, even Al, when all was said and done, was just another man trying to get into her pants. She was use to that and he did not seem to be that bad when Michelle was there to keep things under control.

Jake arrived home at four from surfing with the Kahuna. Muffy was taking a nap when he came in, the bags from her shopping spree strewn around the living room of their suite. Jake let her snooze; he needed some quiet time to finish his plan anyway.

Erika and Debbie were flying in tomorrow in the Lear. Their cover story was that they were scouting locations for a HERZ fitness center. Kane was going to help him make the Tremonts disappear on Friday. So far, so good, if his luck could just hold out for another sixty hours he might just pull this out of his ass.

Jake woke Melissa up at five-thirty. His adorable baby was all smiles and quickly randy when she saw him. They showered together, helping each other with those hard-to-reach spots. Under the drug's mind-clouding influence, Melissa's intention about telling Jake the details of her 'shopping' went down the drain as well. At seven, they walked over to the inn for dinner. They sat with the Davises during dinner that night; the Tremonts were at the next table with the fourth couple from the mailing. The last couple, John and Theresa Corry, was from Boston. He was an up and coming lawyer; she was the heiress to a food processing fortune. The Tremonts were not very animated with the Corrys; Jake guessed that Eastern Liberal Democrats were not Al's cup of tea. Then too, John and Theresa were also aloof, disdaining conversation with what they saw as nouveau-riche social climbers.

As soon as dinner ended, the Corrys beat feet, as did the Davises. Jake noticed that neither Ted nor Caroline would look the Tremonts in the eye. Jake was not thrilled that his wife then invited the Tremonts to have a drink at their table -- but he put on a smiley jock face and acted pleased to see them. Michelle and Melissa immediately started gabbing as if they had not seen each other in weeks. Jake wondered at that. Why was Melissa so chummy with Michelle when she knew that Jake considered the Tremonts so dangerous? She must be doing it to keep them from being suspicious, Jake guessed.

Jake was drinking coffee after dinner while Melissa was back to Mimosas. Michelle slipped another pill in the creamer while Jake and Melissa were talking to Alfred. Jake, like Melissa, had over-estimated his invulnerability.

Even though he knew the Tremonts were evil scum, Jake had to admit they were good company. He and Muffy talked about them as they danced; Melissa again forgot about telling Jake the details of her time with Michelle.

"Isn't she just the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?" Melissa asked.

"No," Jake said truthfully, "You are. She's right up there in second place, though."

That got him a kiss. Melissa said that she enjoyed Michelle's company and thought the woman was much different than her husband. Melissa even allowed that Alfred in this setting was not the ogre she thought he would be. For some reason, Jake found himself agreeing with her assessment. Could he have this all wrong? Sure, Al had done some underhanded things, but was he really as monstrous as Jake had built him up to be? When the song ended, the four of them were standing next to each other on the dance floor. When the band started another slow number, Michelle winked at Melissa and held her hand out to Jake.

Michelle sure felt good in his arms as Jake lightly held her. She was such a good dancer she even made him look good. They talked as they spun around the floor. Michelle's low-pitched voice was captivating. When the song ended and another started, it seemed only natural that they continue together. The house lights were dimmed now that dinner was over and Michelle was snuggled closer to him.

"I'm glad we met you and Melissa. The Davises are nice but they only want to talk about business and social issues. I did not come to Hawaii for that," Michelle said with a tinkling laugh.

"What did you come to Hawaii for?" Jake asked.

"To have fun, of course, and with you and Melissa I think I will."

Michelle pressed herself more firmly against him after her declaration. She was a nice hand-full. Jake loved the way her large, high riding breasts dug into his chest. Jake glanced over at Melissa and Al. Melissa was laughing at something he said; she seemed to be having a good time. After another dance, the couples returned to their table for another drink. Even Jake had a shot of Jack Daniels with Al. They danced some more, sometimes with their spouses, sometimes not. At eleven, the Tremonts invited them to their cabin for a night cap. Jake hesitated but, when Melissa said please, he went along with her.

Al fixed them drinks while Michelle went to freshen up. Then Melissa went to the restroom while Michelle found some mellow music on the radio. When Melissa returned Michelle turned off the lights and took Melissa in her arms.

"I've wanted to dance with you all evening," Michelle said.

Jake and Al sat on the couch and watched the women dance. Less than half way through the song the women were kissing passionately. Melissa felt that she could finally let go now that Jake was there. It took only a minute for Michelle to strip Melissa naked. Then Michelle stepped back and took off her own clothes; her body was as perfect as advertised. The two beautiful women put on a spectacular show on the carpet in front of their husbands. They orgasmed at least twice each while locked in a torrid sixty-nine. Alfred languidly stood up and stripped naked. Jake was surprised to see that he was shaved as hairless as his wife.

"Come on, Hubby, get naked too," Melissa said, voice drenched in passion.

Responding to his wife's voice, Jake stood up and stripped. Michelle's eyes went wide as she took in his imposing physique and substantial penis. She disengaged from Melissa, whispered something in her ear, and knee-walked over to the couch. In one fell swoop, she engulfed his shaft in her mouth. Jake's knees almost buckled at the intense pleasure her lips were imparting.

Alfred, meanwhile, had joined Melissa on the floor. Melissa opened her arms to him and kissed him deeply as Michelle had suggested was 'only fair'.

"I know you want it, so put it in for me," Alfred said in a commanding voice.

When that statement reached Jake's brain, alarm bells started sounding. He blinked his eyes and looked at the pair on the floor. An image of innocent, manipulated Cindy Sorenson with evil Alfred registered on his consciousness. As Melissa reached for Alfred Tremont's shaft, she never even looked at Jake. That is when it hit him in a bomb-blast. She was drugged! The second bomb went off, so was he! With a burst of animal energy, Jake lurched forward and roughly pushed Michelle backward onto her round ass. He reached forward, grabbed a hand-full of Alfred's perfectly groomed hair, and snatched him off Melissa just as he was about to enter her. Melissa looked at her husband in confusion as he slammed his fist into the side of Alfred's head.

Jake released the dazed Alfred's hair and the man slumped to the floor. Michelle was just opening her mouth to scream when Jake caught her under the chin with a chopping uppercut. Michelle was unconscious instantly so Jake turned his attention back to Alfred. Alfred was just getting to his knees groaning when Jake kicked him in the solar-plexus. Alfred's breath left him with a whoosh and he fell back to the floor gasping.

"Find something to tie them up with," Jake said sharply to his wife, "and something to gag them, too. Hurry!"

Melissa did not wait for an explanation; when Jake said move it in that tone of voice, she knew not to waste time. She ran naked into the bedroom and returned a matter of seconds later with a handful of new packages of stockings. Remembering about the gags, she grabbed her and Michelle's panties off the floor and passed them to Jake. Jake bound and gagged Alfred first then did the same to Michelle.

Melissa hurriedly dressed while Jake was securing the Tremonts.

"Why did you do that, Jacob?" she asked a little fearfully.

Jake was pissed at his own stupidity. The very thing he had warned Melissa about had happened because he thought he was such a hot shit. He had talked a good game then severely underestimated his opponent. He had almost let the most important person in his life do something that would have caused her to violate what she held most sacred.

"They drugged us, Muffy. Alfred was manipulating you through Michelle and they were manipulating me through you. I should have figured it out sooner; I let my ego get in the way, thinking I was so much smarter than Tremont. Shit, even knowing what they were capable of, I almost let us become their victims. I thought I was in control because they never directly told me to do anything. They knew that I would do about anything you asked so they just relayed what they wanted through you. The drug must have made me question what you wanted even less than usual."

"Oh, Jesus -- Honey, I am so sorry, I was going to let him take me; I even asked him to," Melissa sobbed.

Jake took her into his arms and held her.

"The drug was doing that, not you. And it's my fault, not yours. I never should have exposed you to any of this in the first place. Then too, I should have caught on to what was happening quicker. I just have to stop thinking I am Superman and stay cautious."

Melissa did not look mollified in the least by what he said, but they had more pressing immediate problems.

"So what are we going to do now, Honey? Erika and Debbie won't even be here until tomorrow."

"Let's get them to our room and call Kane. Maybe he knows a place where we can stash them for a day or two. Until we get them to Kane, we have to keep them gagged. I don't know how much they can make us do until the drugs wear off."

Melissa nodded strongly; she was ashamed, scared, and starting to get angry. Between them, they managed to get the Tremonts' outer clothes back on. Both Alfred and Michelle were awake by now, their eyes wary but unafraid. Jake could almost see the wheels turning as they tried to think of a way out of their dilemma. Given the cunning the pair displayed, it was entirely possible they could succeed.

Jake picked up Alfred like a sack of potatoes and threw him over his shoulder. Then he got a firm grip on Michelle's arm and frog-walked her out of the cabin. Melissa walked about twenty steps in front of them out in the open while Jake hugged the shadows. If anyone spotted Melissa or if she ran into anyone, she would be able to warn him. Jake kept an escape route into the thicker jungle in sight at all times. Because of the preservation of the natural vegetation, and the way the cabins were sited among it, Melissa and Jake were able to avoid detection as they made it back to their cabin.

Jake did not like the looks the Tremonts were exchanging so he had Melissa blindfold them with pillow cases. The blindfolds would also keep Kane's identity secret in case this blew up in their faces.

Jake and Melissa took the Tremonts to the bedroom. Melissa opened her suitcase and extracted a small automatic pistol from her hair-curler bag. Jakes eyebrows shot up when she slapped in a magazine and chambered a round. Melissa smiled thinly.

"Your sister gave me this at my bachlorette party. I never thought I'd need it, let alone be so willing to use it. If either of these two do anything, I'm going to shoot Al's dick off."

Jake turned on the radio in the bedroom then called Kane from the kitchen phone. Kane answered the call on the second ring, awake and alert.

"This is Jake; I have a problem that is going to ruin our plans for tomorrow. Can you bring a vehicle to my cabin as soon as possible?"

"I was just headed out the door to check on you because our man at the restaurant called and said you had left with the Tremonts. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Kane said.

Kane actually arrived in ten minutes driving an old panel delivery van. Jake met him outside and briefed him on what had happened. Thank God, at least one of contingencies worked.

"Because of the drug they gave us we need to avoid being alone with them for the next twenty-four hours, I think. We can't risk the drug having some property that lets them compel us to do something we couldn't fight. I have them tied, gagged, and blindfolded to prevent them communicating with each other; they need to stay that way," Jake explained.

Kane said he knew where to stash them and that they could still set up the scenario for the Tremonts' disappearance tomorrow. Jake and Kane took the Tremonts out through the lanai and put them in the van. The Kahuna checked that they were still tightly bound then got in the van and drove away.

Jake and Melissa showered and fell exhausted into bed. Melissa started crying and apologizing again as soon as they were in bed. Jake reassured her once again that it was not her fault. Melissa finally believed that he meant what he said but that still did not erase what she had done. After all, Jake had fought off the drug's effects and saved her. Melissa decided right then that she was going to find a way to show him she loved him every single day they had left on Earth.

Of course, what had really happened was not a super-human effort on Jake's part at all. Rather, it was the result of his body size and the way Michelle had tried to slip him the second pill. Michelle had dropped the pill into the cream only seconds before Jake poured some in his coffee. The pill had only partly dissolved in the bottom of the little pitcher. Sometimes it is just better to be lucky than good.

Thanks mostly to Kane, the plan got back on track the next day, Thursday the sixth. Jake and Melissa were up early Thursday morning despite their rough night. Melissa scrubbed Jake until he sparkled in the shower then spit shined his dick with her lips. They had breakfast with Kane at nine at the inn's restaurant. Kane told them that he checked on his guests on his way in and had given them some water. Kane mentioned in passing that Alfred had offered him a million dollars to let him go.

Thursday was a free day at the resort, so Jake and Melissa were meeting Erika and Debbie at the airport as soon as the women flew in. At the front desk, Melissa signed the Tremonts out as well. Their destination was put down as Volcano National Park. A picnic lunch was ordered and delivered to the Tremonts' room for their outing.

Erika touched down at Hilo International at one in the afternoon. The Hokulii Inn van with Jake and Melissa as passengers met them at the terminal. Debbie and Erika had a room booked at the inn for the night and a conference room set aside for Debbie's presentation that evening. Debbie was hosting a reception for the owners of all the resorts, hotels, and motels on the island. She was going to try to get them signed up to support a HERZ fitness center shared by all of them, instead of each resort having its own facilities. Her real purpose for being there was to fly the Tremonts off the island.

Jake sweated out the next twenty-four hours. The critical time for them would be the period between Kepa notifying the authorities that two of his guests were missing and Erika and Debbie being wheels-up with their reluctant passengers. Melissa and Erika did their best to keep him from worrying by taking him to bed. Melissa told Erika the story of what had happened with the Tremonts and how Jake had saved her. Erika wanted to go kick Alfred and Michelle's asses but Melissa talked her into giving Jake her own ass as a reward instead.

At two o'clock Friday afternoon, Erika and Debbie took off. Jake and Melissa missed seeing them off because they were at the inn waiting for news about their new friends, the Tremonts. Although it took a month to complete the investigation, for local law enforcement the case was really solved in a couple of days. This is the summary of the lead detective's report on the case:

... Mr. and Mrs. Tremont evidently left the Hokulii Inn sometime during the morning of January 6, 1977, headed for Volcano National Park. Three witnesses stated they had glimpsed the couple on the trail leading from the Hokulii to the park. According to Kaneakua Paoa Kekoa, Mrs. Michelle Tremont had inquired about her and her husband renewing their wedding vows at Kilauea Volcano. Housekeeping informed inn management that the Tremonts had not used their room on the night of January 6. Hotel management conducted a check with its staff to see if anyone knew the Tremonts' whereabouts. Police were notified at 11:00 AM on January 7. Preliminary investigation by the first officers on the scene led to notification of the missing persons to the Volcano National Park officials. The park rangers conducted a search of the park assisted by local guides familiar with the park. At 5:30 PM, a park ranger found a picnic basket, identified as having come from the Tremonts' inn, as well as an empty bottle of champagne, near the south caldera in an area of recent volcanic activity that was clearly marked as off limits. The ranger stated that the area was extremely unstable with new fissures appearing daily. No further sign of the Tremonts was found. The search was terminated on January 9. Our preliminary finding is accidental death due to the negligence of the victims...

Mindful of the possible negative impact the disappearances could have on the local tourist economy, officials played up the fact that the couple met their fate while being somewhere they should not have been.

When Debbie and Erika flew out of Hilo International Airport, they had passengers. Michelle and Alfred Tremont, still bound, blindfolded, and now heavily sedated, were locked in a hidden compartment in the aft bulkhead. They flew from Hilo to Nogales, Mexico. At the Nogales airport, Erika taxied to ramp where Tiny Johnson was waiting with a van. Tiny made quick work of off-loading their cargo and drove them all to a villa Jake had leased during the trip in November. Tiny, Erika, and Debbie made sure their 'guests' were still securely tied; then settled in to wait for Jake.

Jake and Melissa flew back to Los Angeles from Hilo on Sunday. They stayed in LA Sunday night. Melissa flew back to Palmdale Monday morning while Jake caught an Aero Mexico flight to Nogales. As they held each other at the gate to her flight, Melissa clung to him fiercely.

"Hubby Bear, get this behind us and come back to me. I'm going to make you the happiest man who ever lived."

"You already do that, Muffy," he replied.

"Then I'm going to find some new ways to keep you that way," were her parting words.

Tiny met Jake at the airport and drove him to the villa. Erika was at the airport supervising service and refueling of the plane while Debbie was guarding the Tremonts.

The Tremonts were not so hostile now -- or so dangerous-looking. They stank and were filthy. Jake took Alfred into the bathroom and threw him under the shower with his clothes on. Jake did not do it for Alfred's comfort; the man's stench was becoming over-powering. Jake removed the pillow case over his head and took out the gag. Alfred thirstily drank from the shower. It was his first water in two days. After he drank his fill, he started to say something but Jake regagged him and pulled him from the spray. Hood back in place over Alfred's head, Jake led him to a separate bedroom and tied him securely to the bed.

Michelle he treated differently. Michelle was going to be his source of information so it was time to earn her gratitude. Jake removed the pillow case from her head, took the gag from her mouth, and untied her hands and feet. With his help, she shakily got to her feet. He gave her a glass of water that she greedily drank.

"Sorry about all this, Michelle," Jake said. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

Her dull listless expression brightened; he had said the magic words. Michelle was a fanatic about her appearance as could be guessed from all the cosmetic surgery. The sixty hours that she had gone without bathing was forty-eight longer than she had gone in this life-time.

Jake sat her on the toilet -- then started filling the tub with water. Michelle stood up and stripped when the tub was full. She lowered herself into the warm water with a grateful sigh. Jake took the shampoo one of the other girls had left in the bathroom and started lathering her hair. Jake was the first man not a hair-dresser to wash her hair. After rinsing her hair, Jake worked in the conditioner. While the conditioner was sitting the required five minutes, he soaped her back. Michelle was oddly quiet the entire time in the tub. She did smile slightly when Jake handed her shaving cream and a disposable Bic razor.

Jake held a towel for her when she exited the tub. She dried off and put on the terrycloth robe he held for her. When she had towel-dried her hair and carefully brushed it out, she finally spoke.

"What are you going to do with us?" she inquired.

"I don't know yet," he lied as he led her to an empty bedroom.

Jake scrounged her up a pair of Debbie's jeans and one of Erika's tops. She dressed and sat down on the bed. Jake gave her a bowl of fruit and she hungrily devoured a couple of bananas.

"Michelle, as long as you tell me the truth, I'll let you have liberties like today; if I catch you in a lie you will be right back to wallowing in your own filth."

Michelle made a face and shuddered.

"What do you want to know?"

"Start with who you were before, and cover from the time you woke up in Michelle Osgood's body until today."

Michelle's eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"Why did you say that?" she asked.

"It takes one to know one," he replied.

Jake's admission opened the flood gates. For the next hour, Michelle encapsulated the eight years she had been in this time-line. She did not leave much out from what Jake knew. Perhaps the biggest revelation was about her relationship with Alfred.

"It is as if he can read my mind. In my first life, I was plain and frumpy, eaten up with insecurity. Alfred somehow knew that and encouraged me to remake myself in the image I wanted.

Jake asked Michelle if she wanted anything special to eat. Michelle replied that she would rather have some make-up right now.

"I must look a fright," she said.

In the other room, Tiny fed Alfred a couple of pieces of bread. Jake wanted Alfred on short rations to take some of the starch out of him. Alfred's questioning was going to start soon.

They spent one more day in Mexico. Jake had Debbie go out and buy Michelle the make-up she wanted and some nice clothes. She also bought a nurse's uniform for herself and a wheelchair. Early in the morning on Wednesday, they took off for Ireland. Michelle rode unrestrained in the passenger cabin; Alfred was locked away in the hidden compartment. They landed in Limerick mid-afternoon. Jake and Michelle deplaned and picked up a rental car. Jake drew many admiring looks as Michelle held possessively onto his arm. Debbie also went to the rental counter and rented a station wagon. Jake was still keeping Michelle and Alfred separated. He felt it was even more important to keep them apart since he had questioned Alfred the day before.

Jake had begun interrogating Alfred the day after Michelle had opened up. Jake had first shot Alfred full of sodium pentothal that the ever-resourceful Tiny had purchased in Nogales. Jake was blown away when Alfred told him who he had been before his latest recycling. No wonder he had manipulated Michelle so easily, he knew exactly how to push her buttons because they were his own. Alfred's admission had also removed any doubts Jake felt about what he had to do to Michelle. Alfred's dupe or not, Michelle still had the same capacity to figure out how to loop back in time that she had had in her last incarnation. Essentially, both of the Tremonts were one person in two bodies. Jake kept stringing Michelle along because her cooperation was making it much easier to move the prisoners from place to place.

Jake drove his rental car to where Erika had parked the Lear Jet. Debbie pulled her car up next to the jet's passenger doors then boarded the plane and changed into the nurse's uniform. Fifteen minutes later, Tiny carried a heavily sedated Alfred out of the plane and Debbie followed with the wheel chair. Tiny put Alfred in the back seat of the wagon while Debbie was putting the wheel chair in the back. This was all for show, of course, protective coloration for their actions.

Erika arranged refueling of the plane and turned it over to a contract ground crew then piled into the station wagon with Debbie, Tiny, and Alfred. Jake led the way as they drove out of the airport. Three hours later, they pulled up to Buckley manor in Keelmira. Tiny unloaded Alfred and Jake led them into the house.

Restoration of the manor had really moved forward. The bottom floor was almost completed and most of the second floor was completed. Three bedrooms were even furnished and ready for occupancy as Jake had requested. Jake had Debbie help him take Alfred to the basement while they left Tiny and Erika with Michelle. Jake carried Alfred down to the basement and Debbie followed, lugging the wheelchair. Once in the basement, they put Alfred in the chair and wheeled him through the caves to the dungeon. They secured Alfred to a large metal ring set in the wall of one of the cells with a length of chain and a pair of handcuffs; then they locked him in the cell by bolting the heavy iron-clad oak door. An enemy of the O'Buckley was a prisoner in the dungeon for the first time in nearly four hundred years.

Jake questioned Alfred Tremont for three additional days in the dungeon. Alfred related some disgusting and disturbing things about his activities. Jake questioned him about the films of Cindy and asked if there were any others. Alfred replied that he had hundreds of reels of film featuring a wide variety of important people in compromising positions. Jake came to question Alfred at different times of the day and night, never setting a pattern. He made certain that his prisoner had lost all track of time and knew Alfred did not have a clue as to the day and date.

Jake spent many an hour sitting at the big rough-hewn desk of his ancestors in the basement room. He sat morosely going over all the mistakes he had made in dealing with the Tremonts. If not for the dumbest possible luck, Kahuna Kane, and the fact that Alfred had not recognized Jake for what he was, things would have gone very badly indeed.

Under the influence of the sodium pentothal, Alfred related to Jake that he had recognized Melissa's name from an article in the Wall Street Journal he had read two years ago. He had run a cursory check on her background back then because he did not recall her auto dealership operation from his former lives. His check turned up nothing about her to arouse his suspicions so he chalked her up as not being a threat. She became a target though, once Alfred saw her in person. Michelle had slipped the drug in the champagne served in first class while Alfred distracted the stewardess. Melissa and the Davises were drugged before they arrived in Hilo. Jake and the Corrys were not drinking champagne so they were not affected.

Alfred's plan had been to have Jake and Melissa come back to Chicago as his and Michelle's guests. They would have become just two more blackmail candidates. Having Kane watching his back probably would have prevented that, but it would not have prevented what Alfred had planned for that night in his cabin. Overall, it had been a humbling experience for Jake; pride indeed preceded a fall.

Jake put the Tremonts to rest on the fifth day.

He asked Michelle if she wanted to dress up for dinner with him. She, of course, was most pleased with the opportunity. Jake even had Debbie go to Castlebar for the nicest dress she could find for Michelle to wear. Jake dined alone with Michelle; he had sent Tiny and Debbie back to Limerick that afternoon with Erika. Jake had drugged the wine he served Michelle as they sat in the drawing room. She fell asleep on the divan and he carried her to the basement. He put her in Alfred's wheelchair and rolled her to the dungeon.

Jake took her to the cell next to Alfred's and began injecting her with prepared doses of twenty-milliliter syringes of sodium pentothal. Michelle went from sleepy to fully unconscious, then became comatose. After close to ten doses, she stopped breathing and expired quietly soon afterward. Then he went next door and repeated the same procedure with Alfred, who required twice as many injections. By using the progressive injections, Jake was pretty sure neither of the Tremonts could have gotten the energy to slip away to another time.

Jake stripped off the Tremonts' clothes and placed the lifeless bodies in two of the large oak casks that littered the floor of the dungeon. He hammered lids on the casks and set them with the others. Fifty years later, an archeological dig funded by New Man University would find the mystery bodies in the casks and speculate about who they were and how they had gotten there.

Jake resealed the entry to the dungeon and made his way back to the manor. He picked up his bags, loaded his rental car, and drove to Shannon airport. He arrived at Shannon at five-thirty in the morning on Saturday. Erika had them zooming towards Palmdale by six-fifteen.

Joe J

Chapter 34