Chapter 5 – After 9pm

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Jenks (to himself): Nine o’clock. Poor Emma. It’s possible that what she said led to Liam’s death, but I really doubt it. I blame the Rands before I blame her.

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AT ATLAS FINDING THE LAMP

Jenks (to himself): That’ll come in handy. Don’t know why I never remember to buy one.

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BACK TO YOU, RYAN…

Jenks: So tell me more about this doll burning.
Ryan: It’s a symbolic ceremony we perform every few weeks on the course.
Jenks: What’s about it?
Ryan: It’s about burning your old personality and finding a new one. A better one.
Jenks: So the dolls are…?
Ryan: You. The doll represents you from the past… Each doll has a picture of the student as a child or a teenager… and they burn the doll and symbolically destroy their old personality. It’s quite simple, but effective, I find.
Jenks: And why did that girl shout?
Ryan: Because it’s an emotional thing. She’d quite clearly become very attached to her doll. They do spend the first month with them, we tell them to take the doll everywhere with them before they actually go through with the doll burning.
Jenks: And you believe that’s a good thing? Destroying your past?
Ryan: Of course it’s a good thing, Inspector! We’re all shackled to our pasts, particularly you by the sound of it… Perhaps we should make a doll of you, Inspector, and burn that, what do you think?
Jenks: No, thank you.
Ryan: You’re probably right… I’m not sure it’d do any good anyway…

Jenks: Can you tell me about autohypnosis?
Ryan: Well, what would you like to know?
Jenks: Do you use it on the course?
Ryan: We dip into it occasionally, but it’s not a major feature on the course. I would say that, well, a minority of the students know how to use it, but the majority wouldn’t know or have a clue.
Jenks: It’s not a requirement of the course?
Ryan: No, not at all. We don’t ask people to do things they’re not… Comfortable with. There’s no bribery, no coercion… We’re thinking about phasing autohypnosis out actually.
Jenks: What’s the reason for that?
Ryan: Well, to be perfectly honest with you, Inspector, it doesn’t actually work very well.

Jenks: I didn’t realise you were a musician?
Ryan: Oh, I’m not really a musician, I dabble a little bit… To be quite honest, I’m far more interested in collecting guitars.
Jenks: You’re NOT in a band?
Ryan: Well, I did audition, I did audition a few years ago… When I say a few years ago, of course, I mean about twenty years ago. Doesn’t time fly?
Jenks: What band was that?
Ryan: Oh, I can’t remember, something Stone… Aren’t they all called something Stone? Hammer Stone! That’s it.
Jenks: And you still collect?
Ryan: Er… I haven’t bought a guitar for over a year, feel I’ve moved on.

Jenks: Do you know what this is?
Ryan: Well, I think it’s a bag. Is it a bag, Inspector?
Jenks: The shop.
Ryan: Oh, yes, the costume shop, yes, we used to hire from them.
Jenks: For the course?
Ryan: Well, yes, for the course. At the end of each stage, we have a little party… We asked students to dress up, try acting out being somebody new, their new selves as it were.
Jenks: Could you explain a bit more, new selves?
Ryan: One of the main elements of the course is learning how to act, how to be whoever you need to be in any given situation. I think you’ll agree, Inspector, that business is about the right person in the right situation at the right time. What it does is it helps them to detach themselves, become somebody new, pretend… You know the kind of thing. It’s surprising what a little bit of cross-dressing can do for you, Inspector, you should try it.
Jenks: Not at this stage.

Jenks: What do you know about your father’s money stealing stunt?
Ryan: Oh… Well, yes, that was something that dad decided to do as part of the shock aspect of the course.
Jenks: But he went too far, you believe?
Ryan: He usually does.
Jenks: And do you think it DID have anything to do with Liam’s death?
Ryan: No, no, no, no, no! Liam wasn’t like that at all, that was just an unfortunate coincidence. Liam had his own problems, but he didn’t have any problems with the money shock stunt, no.

Jenks: What do you know about Emma Bowman criticizing Liam before his suicide?
Ryan: I was there, I witnessed it… Well, I know Emma blamed herself for his death.
Jenks: Did she?
Ryan: Well, she was upset and all of that but… I wouldn’t blame her, Inspector, I really don’t think she had anything to do with it at all.
Jenks: You don’t think?
Ryan: Liam was a very confident person, very out-going, very strong individual. Or so it seemed. I think people are free to do what they like. Even something as irreversible as bumping themselves off… Sad though that is, of course.

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OUTSIDE THE PUB

Jenks (to himself): Well, well, and there’s the mask symbol again. Looks like someone’s been trying to make a point.

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DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING, REBECCA?

Jenks: Have you ever seen these?
Rebecca: Yes, it’s Ryan’s car, it got vandalised last year… His camera had been stolen, so I took the pictures. Whoever did it made a mess, didn’t they.
Jenks: But nobody was prosecuted for it?
Rebecca: Not that I remember… The insurance paid out for it though.

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WE’RE NOT DONE HERE, RYAN!

Jenks: Do you know what these are?
Ryan: Oh yes! That’s my old car. It was vandalised. I took those for the insurance company. Where did you find those?
Jenks: At the pub. You know who did this?
Ryan: Yes. A girl called Lisa Blint, she was on the course. Very strange girl.
Jenks: And why did she write the words ‘Devil worshippers’ all over your car?
Ryan: Well, she was a very strange girl, she had a lot of psychological problems. I’m not entirely sure, Inspector… She… she took a dislike to the course for some particular reason, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She asked for a refund, I declined… And she decided to spray her disapproval all over my car.
Jenks: Odd thing to spray though isn’t it? Devil worshippers?
Ryan: Well, she was a very odd girl, Inspector. Maybe she thought it was a way of getting back at us, I have no idea.
Jenks: Did Rebecca know about it?
Ryan: Well, yes, she did, but I wasn’t about to unleash Rebecca on her! She can be quite fierce sometimes, you know. I mean, the girl wasn’t vindictive, she had psychological problems. She lives in the village actually, the run-down house at the end of the lane. Can’t miss it.
Jenks: Really? Right, thank you.

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MEETING LISA

Jenks (to himself): Could that be where Lisa lives? Run down house at the end of the lane. That’s what Ryan said, wasn’t it?

Jenks: Is it Lisa?
Lisa: Yes?
Jenks: Inspector Jenks, I’m investigating an incident in the village. Wonder if I could ask you a few questions?
Lisa: What sort of incident?
Jenks: I’d rather come in and discuss it, if that’s alright with you? Promise I won’t take long. Thank you. I’ll just go in here, yes?
Lisa: I have to go out in a minute.
Jenks: Oh, look, I can come back later…
Lisa: I might not be here. What did you want to ask?
Jenks: I just wanted to ask you… Did you know Kate Vine?
Lisa: No.
Jenks: Right. Well, I heard you’re familiar with Atlas, the life skills training company?
Lisa: What do you want to know about Atlas?
Jenks: Well… I heard you reacted badly to it?
Lisa: Of course, I reacted badly. So would anyone.
Jenks: Now why do you say that?
Lisa: Because they’re Devil worshippers.
Jenks: Devil worshippers?
Lisa: They’re marking demons appear. They’re tricking everybody. They’re getting people to join up, then they’re putting demons inside them. You can see them.
Jenks: See who?
Lisa: Demons!
Jenks: Where could you see them?
Lisa: In the mirrors.
Jenks: At Atlas?
Lisa: ANY mirror. You can’t get rid of them. They stay inside you.
Jenks: So… How did you get rid of them?
Lisa: I didn’t.
Jenks: You still see them?
Lisa: I just don’t look. I put all the lights on. Make sure it’s all bright… I put them on when I need to look in the mirror. If I make sure everything is bright, I just see myself, without… seeing the other person.
Jenks: Who is the other person?
Lisa: She’s like me, but… Older. It’s like her eyes sink in. She’s all wrinkled. With a wrinkled mouth… Like she’s dying. And then… I realise… I’m her. I’m not me anymore. I’m her. I’m sorry, I have to go now. I’m sorry…

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ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOR, JAMES…

Jenks: Know anything about these?
James: No.

Jenks: Do you know anyone who is interested in or involved with Devil worship?
James: Have you met Lisa?
Jenks: Which Lisa are you talking about?
James: Mad Lisa. Lives on her own, doesn’t like mirrors.
Jenks: Yeah, yeah, I’ve met her. You think she’s mad?
James: If you can’t look at yourself in the mirror without seeing ghosts, you’ve got problems, don’t you think?
Jenks: How do you know her?
James: She came to the farm for a couple of eggs, got talking to her once, that’s all.
Jenks: And what did she tell you?
James: Nothing much, except she thought the Devil was after her.
Jenks: What did you tell her?
James: Told her the Devil needs a good reason to be after you. She was just like most people really, blind to herself. Except she was more extreme. That’s all madness is. Being blind to yourself.

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WHAT DOES REBECCA THINK?

Jenks: Have you ever come across anyone interested in or involved with the occult?
Rebecca: As in… black magic? No, why?
Jenks: Atlas don’t use occult techniques or anything like that?
Rebecca: Atlas? Not unless Ryan’s got a secret he’s not telling me about. Why, who’s been talking?
Jenks: Just a line of enquiry. OK, thanks.

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EMMA?

Jenks: Do you know anything about these?
Emma: No. Sorry.

Jenks: Have you ever heard about there being Devil worship at Atlas?
Emma: Devil worship? No! Definitely not. Who said that?
Jenks: It’s just something I heard. It’s OK, thanks.

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SIMON?

Jenks: Have you seen these before?
Simon: No, don’t know the car.

Jenks: What do you know about Devil worship?
Simon: Devil worship? Where?
Jenks: At Atlas.
Simon: Devil worship at Atlas? No there’s none of that!

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RYAN!

Jenks: Has Devil worship ever been part of the course, Ryan?
Ryan: Am I correct in assuming that you have spoken to Lisa Blint?
Jenks: You would be. She’s been telling me all about the Atlas obsession with Satanism, Ryan.
Ryan: Well, if you’ve met Lisa Blint you’d have worked out that she has a very vivid imagination. She also has psychological problems, diagnosed psychological problems, as a matter of fact.
Jenks: So where DID she get the idea that you lot were Devil worshippers?
Ryan: I really have no idea, the girl is insane. She’s frightened of her own shadow, bless her. She actually thinks Demons are possessing her even now. You really can’t trust a word she says.
Jenks: So you are saying there has never been ANY Devil worship at Atlas?
Ryan: I don’t know what Devil worship is, Inspector, it’s not something I particularly know anything about. I certainly don’t recall anyone ever having worshipped ‘The Devil’ at Atlas. We even tried to help the poor girl by paying for the treatment, but she didn’t want it.
Jenks: Really?
Ryan: It’s not easy to offer someone help when they think that YOU’RE the problem.

Jenks: So you used to read a lot about voodoo and Satanic rituals… but you don’t know ANYTHING about Devil worship?
Ryan: Well, obviously! I just meant that we don’t worship the Devil! We’re not Devil worshippers here at Atlas, Inspector! Ridiculous…
Jenks: But the point is, Ryan, that you claim not to know anything about it, but admitted you were obsessed with it when you were younger. Are you SURE none of that made its ways onto the Atlas course, and that Lisa isn’t basing her beliefs on ANYTHING within that course?
Ryan: Lisa isn’t basing her beliefs on anything other than her own imagination, Inspector. Look. We do use some techniques that some students find… difficult. Disturbing. We encourage them to see things differently, that’s all. And some people simply aren’t up to that. Some people like Lisa. That’s why we introduced the aptitude test.
Jenks: What’s the aptitude test?
Ryan: This. We ask students to fill in an aptitude test, medical history, psychological issues, that kind of thing… Any medication that they have used in the past. Any medication that they currently are using. Here. Take a look. Basically, it’s just to try and make sure that we don’t get another Lisa.
Jenks: Has it worked?
Ryan: Touch wood, so far, yes.
Jenks: Can I keep a copy of this?
Ryan: Hmm.
Jenks (to himself): I wonder how much importance they actually give to this test and what they’re doing that’s so disturbing anyway.

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HAVEN’T YOU FORGOTTEN SOMETHING, SIMON?

Jenks: Did you do a test before you started at Atlas?
Simon: Oh yeah, yeah… It was all just questions about whether I had any illnesses…or mental health problems, just stuff like that. They didn’t ask for any proof, so you could have lied through your teeth on that one. Don’t think they actually checked.
Jenks: Interesting.

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EMMA WOULDN’T LIE AGAIN!

Jenks: Have you seen one of these before?
Emma: Not this one exactly, but we had to fill something similar on the first night of Atlas. One of those aptitudes tests, you know, fitness and stuff like that.

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REBECCA REMAINS ELUSIVE

Jenks: Do you know anything about this?
Rebecca: It’s the aptitude test, isn’t it, for Atlas? What do you want to know?
Jenks: Do you know why it was introduced?
Rebecca: I think they had some trouble with some unsuitable students. I suppose you have to be careful who you work with.

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WILL PAUL TALK TO US?

Jenks: Do you think Emma’s criticism of Liam on that last night led to his suicide?
Paul: I doubt it helped.
Jenks: Did you encourage Emma to criticise him?
Paul: I didn’t encourage Emma to do anything. I merely told her to do what we tell every student to do. To express themselves as they want to. It would be out of order to criticise them after that, wouldn’t it? However, I didn’t expect her to criticise his birthmark, if that’s what it was. That’s a decision she took herself.
Jenks: So you didn’t know her well?
Paul: No, not at all.

Jenks: Do you know what these are?
Paul: Yes, that’s Ryan’s car. Another toy he managed to ruin. It was vandalised sometime last year.
Jenks: Do you know who did it?
Paul: I don’t believe anyone was ever prosecuted for it.

Jenks: Do you know anything about Devil worship, Paul?
Paul: I beg your pardon?
Jenks: Devil worship? Satanism?
Paul: Am I missing something here?
Jenks: I heard Atlas had elements of Satanism on the course.
Paul: You were misinformed. We’re a training company, we’re not Devil worshippers, what kind of question is that?
Jenks: So you’ve no interest in the occult?
Paul: No, Inspector, I have no interest in the occult… any more than I have interest in pole vaulting, cheese making or snake charming. Anything else you want to know that I’m not interested in?
Jenks: That’s fine, thanks.

Jenks: Could you tell me a bit about this, please? It’s the Atlas aptitude test.
Paul: What you want to know?
Jenks: What does it test exactly?
Paul: It’s a test we introduced to make sure any student didn’t have any major personality problems… skeletons in the cupboard so to speak. We introduced it because we had a little bit of a problem with one of the students.
Jenks: Lisa?
Paul: You are well informed.
Jenks: And what do you think it was that disturbed her?
Paul: I believe that the course proved to be too demanding for her. We discovered that she had one or two psychological problems and she couldn’t handle it.
Jenks: And did you change anything else on the course, apart from introducing the test?
Paul: We increased the entrance age to 21. Well, it wasn’t much but it was about the only thing we could do… We didn’t want another Lisa, we didn’t want students turning round and suing us, did we.

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I NEED COFFEE, CHIEF!

Chief: Jenks, I presume…
Jenks: Yes, Chief. Bit more news – it turns out Emma was with Liam on the night he died. And she thinks she caused him to commit suicide. She made fun of him, mocked him, as part of course.
Chief: Nice of her. Why did she do that?
Jenks: Requirement of the course, apparently. To say something offensive. It’s meant to encourage free thinking.
Chief: Interesting opinion… And I suppose the Rands just think that’s what, ‘par for the course’, or something like that, do they?
Jenks: Well, Paul wasn’t too bothered. He claims he didn’t know Emma, so couldn’t have predicted what she was going to do.
Chief: That doesn’t wash. What does Emma say about him?
Jenks: She does not like him. Really doesn’t like him.
Chief: So she must have known him well enough. How well did he know her?
Jenks: He claims not very well.
Chief: Well, make sure he’s telling the truth. I’ve got a cup of coffee to make.
Jenks: Coffee… Okay, thanks, Chief.

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LYING AT YOUR AGE, PAUL!

Jenks: You said you didn’t know Emma, yet you bought her a Freedom necklace?
Paul: I don’t remember saying anything about buying Emma a necklace.
Jenks: So you DIDN’T buy her one? So you DID buy her one! That means you must have known her, and quite well, too.
Paul: Stop making such a big thing about this, Inspector. Look, I’ve been around a few years, the clock is ticking…. and I admit I have an embarrassing weakness… for attractive women. It was a stupid mistake, but that’s ALL it was.
Jenks: So you’re saying you tried it on with her.
Paul: No, I didn’t try it on. I bought her a necklace. I’m not aware that there’s a law against buying presents… unless, of course, the Third Reich has been elected while I was at a Bridge party. Emma was old enough to make decisions for herself… and, as a matter of fact, she decided she didn’t want to be bothered with an old fool like me, so… Nothing happened, nothing happened, nobody got hurt. Alright?

Jenks: So nobody has ever been affected by autohypnosis… except Lisa.
Paul: Hypnosis wasn’t the problem, Inspector, Lisa was the problem with Lisa. That’s why we introduced the test.
Jenks: But hypnosis WAS the trigger, wasn’t it?
Paul: Lisa arrived on the course believing we were all Devil worshippers. She was nuts to start with, we didn’t make her like that.
Jenks: Well, as far as I can tell, Paul, you’ve had one student accuse you of Devil worship and two others commit suicide. Some of your students aren’t having a very good time on this course, are they?
Paul: Nonsense! Kate was enjoying every minute of it, she couldn’t get enough of it.
Jenks: Really?
Paul: She was full of the joys of life, bubbly, confident… flirty.
Jenks: With who?
Paul: You mean ‘with whom?’
Jenks: With whom?
Paul: Pretty much everybody, including me, as I remember.
Jenks: Really? And did you respond?
Paul: I don’t get into relationships with students, Inspector, company policy. It’s not professional.
Jenks (to himself): Interesting admission that Kate flirted with him. There’s no way Paul would have turned down an opportunity like that.

Jenks: So you avoid relationships with students, except for Emma, who you tried to date!
Paul: Come on, Inspector, that was a long time ago.
Jenks: And what about Kate Vine? Did you try to date her or not?
Paul: Kate was an exceptionally clever girl… She knew exactly what she wanted and she knew how to get it.
Jenks: You mean… that Kate approached YOU…
Paul: It wouldn’t surprise me if she was playing everyone in the group, Kate had more enemies that you’d think. She was a very, very manipulative young woman.

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