They tore James’ room apart but found nothing to indicate where the man had gone. Or how he had managed to suddenly disappear, along with three others. Tina, James’ wife, sat across from his desk, looking at him with concern. Then he realized he had another problem.
There were five other men in that ward in the same situation as James. Edwin had turned their wives against them like he had done with Tina. They had become part of his personal “harem,” but some of them were now doing other… work. In short, they were supplementing Edwin’s already bloated income with their bodies, performing as high-end escorts or porn actresses.
Like James, the husbands of these women were in controlled catatonic states, with their insurance policies footing the bills for their “treatments.” If James managed to get to the authorities, Edwin’s goose would become well-done, and he knew it. In his twisted, warped mind, Edwin felt he only had one option if James couldn’t be located quickly. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“Start warming up your ovens,” Edwin said when a man answered at the other end. “I may have some work for you.”
“Right away, Dr. S,” the man at the other end said before ending the call. Edwin put the phone down and looked at Tina. He had seduced many women into his lifestyle over the years — all of them married — but Tina was his crowning jewel. She happily humiliated her husband and pledged herself in a way no other woman had ever done — by allowing him to brand her.
“So, what now?” Tina asked.
“It may be time for us to retire,” he said. “If we can’t find and retrieve your husband soon, I’ll have no choice but to close up shop and tie up all the possible loose ends.”
“And the other girls?” Tina asked.
“They’ve played their role. I’m sure I can unload them pretty quick. They’re still in their prime and can fetch a pretty good price,” Edwin said.
“What about your staff here?” Tina asked.
“I’ll give them all a nice severance package and a recommendation,” he said. “They’ll get hired on somewhere else.”
“Any idea who those three people are?” Tina asked.
“None,” he said, looking at their images on his computer. “But I’ve got some people working on it.”
“And when you find them?”
“They’ll wish to God they never heard the name Edwin Skitz,” he said with a cruel smile. Tina smiled back.
…
“There’s several videos on that thumb drive,” Cameron said as he handed a small USB drive to Max. “We’re still evaluating Mr. Eastland’s brain feed.”
“What have you found so far?” Max asked.
“I ran it by Smith and Jones and they agree with my assessment. There was absolutely no medical need for Eastland to be kept hospitalized. The damage to his brain was corrected by surgery. He could’ve been released at any time,” Cameron said. Max knew that Smith and Jones were the two alien beings whose experimental device was responsible for the changes in Cameron.
“So this was all done deliberately to keep Eastland in check?” Max asked.
“Yes,” Cameron said. “In fact, Skitz admitted that to him. The video is on the drive I gave you, along with several others. This Skitz is certainly no Albert Schweitzer.”
“Anything else?” Max asked.
“We did a deep dive on Skitz and his private clinic,” Ginger said. “Over the last 20 years, there were more than 50 men who died while in his care. All of them were married and all of them were cremated almost immediately after their deaths.”