Memories of Midnight

chapter Twenty-two
Confidential File Transcript of Session with Catherine Douglas

C: I'm sorry I'm late, Alan. There was a last-minute meeting at the office.

A: No problem. The delegation from Athens is still in London?

C: Yes. They - they're planning to leave at the end of next week.

A: You sound relieved. Have they been difficult?

C: Not difficult exactly, I just have a...a strange feeling about them.

A: Strange?

C: It's hard to explain. I know it sounds silly, but...there's something odd about all of them.

A: Have they done anything to...?

C: No. They just make me uneasy. Last night, I had that nightmare again.

A: The dream that someone was trying to drown you?

C: Yes. I haven't had that dream in a while. And this time it was different.

A: In what way?

C: It was more...real. And it didn't end where it had ended before.

A: You went past the point where someone was trying to drown you?

C: Yes. They were trying to drown me and then suddenly I was in a safe place.

A: The convent?

C: I'm not sure. It could have been. It was a garden. And a man came to see me. I think I dreamed something like that before, but this time I could see his face.

A: Did you recognize him?

C: Yes. It was Constantin Demiris.

A: So, in your dream...

C: Alan, it wasn't just a dream. It was a real memory. I suddenly remembered that Constantin Demiris gave me the gold pin I have.

A: You believe that your subconscious dredged up something that really happened? You're sure it wasn't...

C: I know it. Constantin Demiris gave me that pin at the convent.

A: You said you were rescued from the lake by some nuns who took you to the convent?

C: That's right.

A: Catherine, did anyone else know you were at the convent?

C: No. I don't think so.

A: Then how could Constantin Demiris have known you were there?

C: I - I don't know. I just know that it happened. I woke up frightened. It was as though the dream were some kind of warning. I feel something terrible is going to happen.

A: Nightmares can have that effect on us. The nightmare is one of man's oldest enemies. The word goes back to the Middle English nitz, or "night," and mare, or "goblin." The old superstition is that it prefers to ride after four A.M.

C: You don't think they have any real meaning?

A: Sometimes they do. Coleridge wrote, "Dreams are no shadows, but the very substances and calamities of my life."

C: I'm probably taking all this too seriously. Other than my crazy dreams, I'm fine. Oh. There's someone I would like to talk to you about, Alan.

A: Yes?

C: His name is Atanas Stavich. He's a young boy who came to London to study medicine. He's had a rough life. I thought that perhaps one day you could meet him and give him some advice.

A: I would be happy to. Why are you frowning?

C: I just remembered something.

A: Yes?

C: It sounds crazy.

A: Our subconscious doesn't distinguish between crazy and sane.

C: In my dream, when Mr. Demiris handed me the gold pin.

A: Yes?

C: I heard a voice say, "He's going to kill you."

It must look like an accident. I don't want anyone to be able to identify her body. There were many ways to kill her. He would have to begin making arrangements. He lay on his bed thinking about them and found that he was getting an erection. Death was the ultimate orgasm. Finally, he knew how he was going to do it. It was so simple. There would be no body left to identify. Constantin Demiris would be pleased.