The Executioner

Thirty-Four

As soon as they entered their office, Garcia reached for another of Father Fabian’s journals.

‘Have you come across any passages in these journals about a bad dream that pestered Father Fabian for years?’ Hunter asked, flipping open one of the leather-bound volumes on his desk.

‘I have, actually.’ Garcia searched for a specific journal. ‘And I meant to ask you the same question. Some reoccurring dream that scared him senseless.’

‘That’s right.’

‘I made a note of it. Here it is.’ He found the journal and opened it to a marked page. ‘Listen to this.

‘3:00 a.m. I just woke up again. For minutes I could barely breathe. My hands are still shaking and my clothes are soaked in cold sweat. I am too scared to go back to sleep. Too scared to close my eyes. It’s the dream again. All these years and it has never left me. Why, Lord? Why am I tormented by these visions? Is it a warning of what’s to come?’

‘I’ve been through several passages that sounded just like that,’ Hunter observed.

‘It seems this dream came back to haunt him frequently.’ Garcia placed the open diary on his desk. ‘Maybe it’s nothing.’ He shrugged. ‘We all have bad dreams every now and again.’

Hunter leaned back on his chair. ‘Do you know many people who wake up from dreams short of breath, shaking, sweating and too scared to go back to sleep on a constant basis?’

Garcia thought about it for a moment before conceding with a slight head tilt.

‘Dreams that have that kind of effect on a person are usually based on reality. Farfetched, maybe, but a reality nonetheless.’

‘I’m not sure I know what you mean.’

‘If you have a dream based on fantasy,’ Hunter explained, ‘a fire-breathing dragon, for example. No matter how shocking or violent the dream is, your subconscious knows it’s an impossible fantasy. It might scare you, but it shouldn’t trigger a severe panic reaction.’

‘But if you have a dream based on reality, like being stabbed-’ Garcia caught up with Hunter’s line of thought ‘-your subconscious knows that the chances of it actually happening are very real.’

Hunter nodded. ‘Most nightmares are spin-offs of lived traumatic experiences. We have no control over them.’ He gestured towards the open diary. ‘I know about such dreams. I have them.’

Garcia looked at the scars on his hands for a long moment. ‘Since the Crucifix Killer’s case, so do I.’

They read the journals in silence for a while before Garcia cursed under his breath. ‘Shit!’

Hunter’s head snapped up. ‘What have you got?’

‘Father Fabian’s disturbing nightmare. And you won’t believe this…’