Power of Suggestion (12 page)

F
OR A LONG
moment, Nancy just stared at Maury and Diana. “Wow,” she said. “That certainly puts a new twist on things.”

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the case in light of this revelation. “If Edberg falsified his results and Wayne found out, Edberg's entire career and reputation would be destroyed. He might have seen killing Wayne as the only way to protect everything he'd built for himself.”

“What about that Boyd guy?” Maury asked. “The one Dave recognized.”

That was another possibility, Nancy realized. “Maybe Boyd and Wayne were trying to dupe Edberg. If Wayne was working for Positive Tapes, he could have been feeding Edberg the false data
and keeping a correct record for his own purposes.”

“So you think Boyd knew from the start that they wouldn't be able to prove that the tapes worked?” Diana asked.

“It's possible. He could have hired Wayne to make sure that Edberg would see student test results that seemed to confirm that they worked.” Nancy's mind was working a mile a minute. “We know that Dave Webb saw Boyd near the psych building before Wayne was killed. The question is, what was he doing there? Maybe Wayne tried to blackmail Boyd. Maybe he threatened to tell Edberg, so Boyd decided to kill Wayne.”

Diana shook her head adamantly. “That's not the Wayne I knew! He was outraged by dishonesty and fraud!”

“People sometimes aren't what they seem to be,” Nancy responded. “But maybe you're right. After all, you knew Wayne. I didn't. The point is, we've got to find a way to determine whether Boyd or Edberg is our culprit. It might even turn out that they're in it together.”

Diana frowned. “It doesn't sound like you have any hard evidence so far,” she pointed out.

“There might be something that could help answer your questions in Parker's file,” Maury suggested to Nancy. “Unfortunately, I
still
can't find the file.”

“That's odd. Have you found the records for
all the other students in the study?” Nancy asked.

Maury nodded. “There was a master list of students who've participated. I've been able to find files on anyone I looked for—except Parker. At last I thought I'd finally found it.” He tapped a few keys to bring Parker's file up on the computer screen. “This is what I got.”

On the screen were the words
File deleted.

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Nancy said, “Someone erased Parker's file. This tells us something, at least. Someone had something to hide, so they deleted Parker's file. But now we'll never know what it was.”

“Uh, Nancy, there's something I haven't told you.” Diana looked sheepish. She reached into her purse, which was sitting on the floor, and pulled out a third computer disk. “This was in Wayne's computer. I had it in a different pocket from the others. I haven't looked at it yet.”

Nancy felt a thrill of excitement as Maury took the disk from Diana.

“It's unlabeled,” he remarked. He popped the disk into his computer, and his fingers danced over the keys. Letters and numbers flashed on the screen.

“It has a blocking sequence similar to the one on Wayne's other disk,” Maury murmured. “Shouldn't be too hard to get into it now.”

He tried several times as the two girls watched, and finally he said, “Voilá! ‘Wright, Parker, test subject.' Am I the best, or what?”

Nancy leaned forward excitedly. There on the screen was Edberg's file on Parker. “So what are we looking for?” Maury asked Nancy.

Nancy thought for a few moments as Maury flipped through the file, bringing up page after page of records. “Is there a list of the music they had Parker listen to?” she asked.

“Yup! It's one of the variables they were testing. Did the kind of music have any effect on the ability of the listener to pick up the subliminal message, that sort of thing. Here's Parker's music list. Anything particular you have in mind?”

“Yes,” Nancy said, looking over his shoulder. She pointed to a title that had appeared on the screen. “That's it!” Listed among the selections was Johnny Lightning's “Cosmic Mind Control.” The date next to it indicated that the song was a new addition that Parker had started to listen to only a couple of weeks ago.

“Something strange happens to Parker when he hears that song,” Nancy explained. “And I want to find out why. Ned and Bess are with Parker at the infirmary now. Maybe they've made some progress.”

• • •

Nancy arrived at the campus infirmary soon after her meeting with Maury and Diana. She still had misgivings about bringing Diana into the investigation, but she had to admit that Diana had been helpful. She and Maury had done terrific work on the computer
diskettes. Now, if only Dr. Cohen was as successful.

As Nancy entered Dr. Cohen's office, she saw that Ned was leaning against the wall, while Bess sat on a corner of the doctor's desk. Both of them gestured for Nancy to be quiet. Parker sat on a chair, looking edgy and nervous while Dr. Cohen sat near him, talking quietly.

“How's it going?” Nancy whispered to Ned, going over to him.

“They've just finished taking a break,” Ned told her, speaking softly. “Dr. Cohen has established that Parker goes into a highly suggestible state as soon as he hears that Johnny Lightning tune.”

Dr. Cohen glanced over at Nancy, flashing her a friendly smile. “We're just about to play the song again.”

“I'm ready,” Parker said, taking a deep breath.

The doctor reached over to his cassette player, which sat on the floor. He flicked it on, and the opening chords of “Cosmic Mind Control” boomed out. Johnny Lightning's raspy, compelling voice began to sing.

“No, I don't want to show it,

But darlin', you know it,

I feel weak when I try to be strong.

'Though I know what you're asking is wrong

wrong wrong wrong wrong

I just can't resist

your cosmic mind control!”

“Look at Parker!” Bess whispered to Nancy.

Parker's entire manner had transformed, Nancy saw. Now that he had fallen into a hypnotic trance, he looked relaxed and peaceful. His eyelids fluttered, and his eyes were only half open.

Dr. Cohen lowered the volume on the cassette player, but “Cosmic Mind Control” continued to play softly in the background. “Parker, how do you feel?” Dr. Cohen asked.

“I feel good,” Parker answered dreamily. “Nice.”

“Do you like the music?”

“Oh, yes, it's my favorite song.”

“Do you remember this song making you feel good before?” Dr. Cohen asked in a steady, calm voice.

“Sure.”

“Is there anything different now?”

“Your voice . . . is different. And . . . you're asking me questions. Usually the voice just tells me things.”

Ned leaned toward Nancy. “He's talked about this voice all afternoon,” he explained in a hushed whisper. “The doctor has been trying to get him to identify whose voice it is. So far no go.”

“But that doesn't make any sense,” Nancy said softly. “The message is supposed to be
subliminal,
which means the person doesn't hear anything but the music or ocean or whatever. They can't actually
hear
the message.”

Ned looked at her, astonished. “You're right,” he said in a low voice. “I hadn't even thought about that. We'll have to ask the doctor when he brings Parker out of the trance.”

“What sort of things does the voice tell you, Parker?” the doctor was continuing.

“It tells me to obey. It says it's my friend.”

“And do you do what it tells you to do?”

“I try. But sometimes . . .”

“Yes?” Dr. Cohen prompted.

Parker said nothing.

“Do you remember your last study session with Wayne, Parker?” Dr. Cohen asked, taking a new approach.

“Yes.”

“Tell me all about that night,” Dr. Cohen encouraged.

Parker leaned back in his chair, and a soft smile came over his face. He looked almost happy. “Wayne was mad at me, but then he cooled off. He said I really was a good test subject and a good student,” Parker said dreamily. “But he thought this might be our last session.”

“Why was that?”

“He said he thought the study was about to end.”

“Did he say why?”

Parker shook his head. “No. I was in the chair, and then the music started.”

“What music was playing?”

“I don't know. It had soft flutes and bells. . . .”

Nancy leaned over to Bess. “Like the tape Boyd played for us at Positive Tapes,” she whispered.

“And then?” Dr. Cohen prompted Parker.

“Then the song came on—Johnny Lightning. Wayne is in the room with me . . . but he doesn't hear the music. He takes out a book. . . . He doesn't need to pay much attention while I'm listening to the tapes.”

A note of anxiety crept into Parker's voice as his story shifted into present tense. Bess jumped off the desk and took a step toward Parker, but Dr. Cohen waved her off.

“He's upset,” Bess protested.

“We've got to let him live through it,” the doctor said urgently.

Parker was babbling now. “The voice . . . the voice is talking to me. Wayne has his back to me, he's just reading. The voice tells me to reach into my pocket. . . .”

Nancy exchanged a wide-eyed look with Ned, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. This was amazing!

“My gun, the one my father gave me, is in my hand!” Parker went on, becoming more and more agitated. “I don't remember taking it from my desk at home, but I remember the voice told me to get a gun.”

Wild-eyed, Parker leapt to his feet. He jerked his head around, as though he were seeing the lab instead of his actual surroundings. Now he was
reacting as if the mysterious voice were speaking directly to him.

“No! I don't want to shoot him! Wayne turns around. He sees the gun in my hand. He puts his hands up and says, ‘Please, Parker, don't!' The voice is still ordering me! No, no, please, no! I can't shoot him! Don't make me! No!”

Nancy took a step toward Parker. “You've got to bring him out of it, Doctor,” she implored. “He's going to injure himself!”

Parker flailed his arms. In the next instant his whole body jerked, as though he himself had been shot. Then he collapsed to the floor.

P
ARKER!
” Nancy cried, rushing toward the inert figure. She and Bess reached him at the same time.

Dr. Cohen immediately switched off the music, a look of concern etching his features. A moment later Parker opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and looked around.

“Are you okay?” Bess asked.

As the others crowded around, Parker sat up shakily and shook his head. “What happened? What am I doing on the floor?”

Dr. Cohen helped Parker up and into a chair. “You just reexperienced the murder,” he explained.

Parker turned pale. “Did—did I kill Wayne?”

“We still don't know, pal,” Ned said, resting a
reassuring hand on Parker's shoulder. “You were seeing something that really freaked you out, and you collapsed before you could tell us exactly what happened.”

A steely glint of determination lit Parker's green eyes. “I want to try again,” he said firmly.

Nancy could see that Parker was still very shaken. As much as she wanted to get at the truth, she worried about his mental state. “We can wait a while, Parker,” she said. “This is obviously very hard on you.”

Parker jumped up and pounded a balled fist into the open palm of his other hand. “I don't care about that!” he cried. “This is important. I have to know—I have to!”

“Hey, take it easy. It'll be okay,” Bess reassured Parker, hugging him. She looked from Nancy to Ned to Dr. Cohen. “This is tearing him apart,” she said. “The sooner he can learn the truth, the better.”

“I agree,” the doctor said. “But let's give him a few minutes to rest.”

Nancy decided not to mention her thoughts about Parker actually hearing a voice. The explanation might become clear as Parker relived his experience.

Parker stood up and began doing stretching exercises. Soon his breathing was back to normal, and he was noticeably more relaxed. At last he nodded to the doctor and sat back down. “I'm ready to try again,” he said.

Once more Johnny Lightning's voice rasped
through the room, and Parker immediately dropped into a hypnotic trance. Dr. Cohen spoke soothingly to Parker, bringing him quickly through the events of Thursday night, until they were back at the moment when Parker pulled the gun from his pocket.

This time the doctor was ready for Parker's distress, and he talked him through it, calming him. Now Parker was relaxed as he recalled what happened next. He leaned comfortably against the back of the chair. Nancy was surprised to note how natural he sounded.