Chapter X

When Catherine got to the lab she saw that most of the others, including Heather, were assembled in front of JT's laptop. JT himself was still working with the samples and seemed oblivious to what was going on. Vincent and Heather had similar stunned looks on their faces that made Catherine uneasy.

"What's going on?"

"It's one thing to read about something," Heather answered without looking up, "it's a whole another thing to see it with your own eyes. That's…I can't describe…"

Catherine turned to Vincent who apparently couldn't take his eyes off the screen either. "Vincent?"

"Catherine you need to see this."

Catherine almost went back, worried as she was that seeing whatever it was they were all staring at might just throw her over the edge again. But then she knew it was the cowardly way and that, in the end, she'd have to face whatever it was anyway. So she reluctantly joined the others and made herself look at the screen. The moment she saw the first picture she grabbed Vincent's hand so tightly he actually winced but said nothing. "Oh my god…that's for real?"

"As real as they come. Or at least that's what it looks like. I mean who would even think of creating a hoax like that. And trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg," Tess told her.

On the screen Catherine saw a woman that looked exactly like her but wore clothing that could only have been from another century. Her hairstyle so severe, she'd never have imagined herself with it. Like in many old pictures Catherine had seen before, the woman wasn't smiling but rather stared at the camera stoically and yet in spite of all those details, there was no doubt she was staring at her doppelganger and the caption said Rebecca Reynolds, 1850. She breathed in, trying to find a calm center. "This is just a weird coincidence, I'm sure…"

"I wish we still had the journals. Then you could see the sketch depicting Alistair. That would blow your mind…but here is another one…" Tess moved the cursor to another tab and a new picture showed up on the screen. This time, both Catherine and Vincent were taken aback. Not only was there a double of this Jeremy in the picture but beside him sat the exact same woman who attacked Catherine. For a long moment Catherine feared that she'd lose control again but Vincent pulled her gently toward her and she took strength from his own restraint. "I figured it could be upsetting for you," Tess offered as calmly as she could given she also feared her best friend might be a little rattled. "But really, we're all a bit upset."

Tess went ahead and changed the page to the picture on the train platform. That one was slightly less upsetting until Tess directed them to the date and names.

"John Reynolds ?!" Heather exclaimed.

Catherine remembered the name Heather mentioned earlier. "That's the same one who wrote the journals!"

"Wait what journals?" Tess questioned. "I thought you were reading your mother's journal."

"I was but Heather also kept two journals written by this man or if it's not him..."

"Right, way too coincidental." Tess confirmed. "Those agents will have a cow when they hear this...which they possibly already did if we didn't get all the bugs out."

"What's it to them," Heather wondered.

"It would seem this guy was like their founder or something."

"He looks so much like you," Catherine indicated to Vincent who really didn't need to be told but still took it without commenting. "Are you seeing this?" Catherine insisted.

"Yes but I don't quite believe it." The more he saw, the more he felt the surrealism of the situation.

From his work station JT called to Tess. "Show them the search results. The third down..."

Tess nodded her assent and opened the new page for all of them to see. After reading the short but very informative article about the children and the murder Catherine's state of mind was quickly moving from astonishment to complete consternation. "That's..."

"That's not possible..." Vincent finished the thought for her.

"But it all fits," Tess insisted, as she had not noticed her friends expressions. "And there's more..." Going back to the result page Tess moved to an item further down the list about a reverend William Keller, who apparently had made the news in the 1940s when he was tried and convicted for the murder of a young woman named Clara Reid. After scanning a few of the courtroom pictures which weren't clear enough to recognize anyone in them, she found what she was looking for, one of those court sketches. As soon as the picture resolved itself, Catherine felt as if the world was falling away from her. She held on to Vincent but even so, she could feel his own center slipping away. The court artist had apparently chosen to draw the victim and the accused side by side in the same sketch. When Tess managed to look away and directly at Catherine and Vincent a stupid thought came unbidden that they must just have been posing for the artist so clear the similarities were. Other than the fact that both of her friends had gone nearly white from the added shock…

"I need some air," Catherine managed through the haze that threatened to engulf her.

"I think we all do," Vincent approved even as he couldn't take his eyes away from the damming picture.

Tess finally seemed to grasp the enormity of what her friends had to take in. She clicked on a few links to send the most relevant articles to a remote printer JT had set up just that morning then she turned to them. "How about we make that a stiff drink?" Then she seemed to think better of it. "Not a problem right?"

"At this point I think it would be a problem not to," Vincent finally shook himself out of the near trance he'd been stuck in for the past few minutes.

"JT? How about that drink?"

"You go ahead and bring something back. I'm gonna be stuck here for a while."

"Suit yourself but keep that trank gun with you and call even if you see a cockroach look at you funny alright?" Tess admonished half-jokingly.

"Yes ma'am," was all she got out of him before he went back to his work.

For a brief moment after they all left for a nearby bar-restaurant JT got an uneasy feeling at the pit of his stomach as he suddenly remembered a time not so long ago when he was left by himself and nearly died. Then another thought came to him related to that event. It was something that seemed innocuous at first, something he thought might've been related to stress but now after almost a month he couldn't deny it to himself anymore. He hadn't slept in more than five days and still didn't feel the need to. The scientist in him knew something was very wrong but he also thought of it as an opportunity to work faster for his friends sakes. JT simply promised himself he would tell them if it didn't get back to normal...soonish.

About an hour later his first results were coming in and in that instant all thoughts of his problems were resolutely set aside while his mind reeled from the implications. "No way!" He sighed in utter shock. Rather than accepting the results as his, he began preparing new samples to redo the tests. After having set the machine anew he decided to take his mind off it for a while. He grabbed the printouts of the last search results Tess and the others had only skimmed before they left.

Coatbridge Herald, June 14, 1949

At the time of this going to press the trial of one William Keller, age 37, is coming to an end. The accused, a formerly well respected clergyman in his community still claims his innocence in the gruesome murder of Clara Reid, born, Clara Reynolds, who died at the age of thirty-one. The evidence against the accused is damming as brought forth by the well-respected prosecutor, Daniel Ddraigs. On the morning of March 17, 1949, the victim was found eviscerated in the woods behind the accused residence. This came on the heels of an ill hidden affair between Keller and the victim whose husband, Jasper Reid, had been out of town for his work as an architect on many occasions prior to Clara's death. A few witnesses, some of which frequented the church reverend Keller officiated at, reported that during the last few days leading on to the murder they had heard the accused and the victim argue loudly on more than one occasions. None of them could recall the exact nature of the arguments but for the mention of the victim's twin daughters in at least one of those instances.

The case itself is one of the most gruesome and sad this reporter has ever had to cover. The victim had been slashed repeatedly across the throat and torso in what was originally presumed to be an animal attack. It was later established to many people's surprise and horror that although the coroner couldn't pinpoint the exact nature of the weapon, the crime scene revealed the presence of human prints and tracks rather than that of an animal. Following a distinct trail of blood, as if the victim had been dragged, the detectives in charge of the investigation were led to a nearby church and, subsequently, to the connection between the victim and the accused. Based on the testimonies of many neighbours and parishioners, a search warrant was executed promptly, only hours after the body's discovery and bloody clothes and shoes recovered from the living quarters of the accused were collected and later, the blood identified as that of the victim, Clara Reid. Based on the wealth of evidence recovered, William Keller was indicted within days. Ever since, the inquest has uncovered many more reasons to link the two people in this drama of epic proportion for our little town. Many witnesses and acquaintances of the victim and accused claim that the affair may have been going on for over two years and that the recently born twin daughters of the victim might in fact have been the accused's daughters. Keller himself has kept most of the details of his dalliance with the victim quiet. His only declaration was to proclaim his innocence and that he had been framed. Not many people have given credence to this however and the fate of the accused is already anticipated by most.

Jordan McGregor, court reporter for the Coatbridge Herald.

June 22, 1949

On this day, the verdict has been rendered in the murder case of one Clara Reid. The accused, Reverend William Keller has been found guilty and the judge didn't lose time pronouncing the sentence of death by hanging to be carried out in three months time within the walls of the HMP Barlinnie, in Glasgow. Upon the reading of the verdict and sentence, the accused remained stoically silent and no one has managed to get a reaction from him or his lawyer. He was returned to his cell shortly after the verdict. All I can say is that our city will rest easier knowing that the murderer was caught and tried so swiftly.

Jordan McGregor, court reporter for the Coatbridge Herald.

JT looked up from the page with an uneasy feeling. To be truthful, he couldn't separate his own friends from the two people he'd also seen in the court sketch. And that in spite of the fact that after having found and subsequently read the court proceedings he was convinced that the case had indeed been as hair tight as could be. But then again, a detail of the case, or rather a name had also caught his attention. The name of the prosecutor, Daniel Ddraigs seemed like too much of a coincidence to him.

The bar was relatively empty but the part of town they were in wasn't where most revellers would end up. The quietness should have been conducive to conversation but the four people sitting almost alone in the bar were sipping drinks, all seemingly lost in deep thoughts.

Finally, it was Heather who broke the heavy silence that the background music only seemed to underline. "I don't think you should put too much into that…no seriously…that happened over sixty years ago! Those people they weren't you!"

"Heather is right you know…we're not even sure what this was about. For all we know, it's all some elaborate hoax! Maybe those damn agents did it."

Both Catherine and Vincent stared at the other two in turn without a word. "That wasn't even a real picture!" Heather insisted a little more forcefully. "And there are cases of people looking exactly like others. Doesn't mean they have anything to do with each other! Come on now…"

"And those other people you're talking about," Vincent finally answered with a definite bitter undertone, "did they also happen to be a couple identical to another couple?"

"Coincidences happen," Heather replied with just a hint of hesitation.

"Once," Catherine said, "once, I could have said, yeah it can happen…Twice…well in the cosmic scheme of things…maybe…Three times?"

"Ok, ok…" Tess conceded, "I know that this whole thing is probably way beyond us…but I do know you! What does it matter what might've happened years ago? And whoever they were, just like Heather said, they weren't you."

"Forgive me for disagreeing," Vincent said, "but if they weren't us…why do we remember some parts of their lives? But what do I know? I don't understand shit about any of this!" He finished with mounting irritation.

"This all sounds like science fiction to me and I never was much of a fan," Tess admitted moodily. "Although, of course," she added, remembering who she was talking to, "maybe reality is stranger!"

Once again, the silence fell among them like a pall and once again it was Heather that broke it. "How about more drinks?"

"If only I could get drunk," Vincent bitterly commented.

"What you don't?" Heather questioned.

"High metabolism and all. To be fair I don't know if there's a point where that would happen but I haven't gotten drunk since…well, you know."

"Alrighty then, drinks all around and you two can be designated drivers in future outings…" Tess joked. When she saw the reproachful stare Catherine turned to her she added, "What? There's always a silver lining!"

Back in the lab, JT sat back from the laptop and pondered what he'd found out. As he had suspected, the presence of this Daniel Ddraigs as prosecutor wasn't entirely coincidental. He did belong to the original family that had been a big part of the Alistair/Rebecca drama. In addition to that, JT found out that he had requested the assignment specifically, according to some documents he hacked into. Much more than this, the victim's husband was loosely related to the prosecutor, the husband's mother being a Ddraigs herself. But although he searched high and low, and both Clara and William had been born in the Reynolds and Keller families, there was no direct connection between them and Alistair or Rebecca. He had even followed the tracks of both this John Reynolds and his sister, Anna without finding even the remotest occasion where their paths or their children's paths might have crossed. Not to say that there couldn't have been. Anna Reynolds had lived all of her very long life in England, marrying twice, and having had 6 children of her own. John travelled extensively throughout the British colonies, with stays in Asia and Jamaica, marrying and divorcing twice and leaving behind 8 children of his own before returning home to finish his life in Suffolk. None of them having had any connection to this William or Clara either. The only overlap if one might call it that was that John died in 1950 at the ripe age of a hundred and one while his sister outlived him by 4 years. The most amazing thing about them was that late pictures of them showed very healthy elderly people who hardly seemed to wear their old age. Both of them died of sudden illnesses still in full possession of their faculties according to writings by members of their family.

JT also guessed that he could learn a lot more in time from the agency people but for now, he preferred to keep his investigation to himself. Going back to the prosecutor, he found out that the man had indeed been a respected lawyer in his time, working mostly out of Glasgow. Until the murder trial, his practice had been mostly civil law however and it had surprised quite a few people in his office that he would undertake a criminal trial. However, some correspondence that JT collected from the Prosecutor's office in Glasgow referred directly to the case and spoke of a personal grudge or family connection having been the principal motive for Daniel Ddraigs involvement in the case. As it turned out that JT had already made this connection, he wasn't really surprised. But what was more significant was the fact that Daniel Ddraigs had rented lodgings in the city of Coatbridge two years prior to the murder, even if his main address was in Glasgow, and he had been known to go there on a regular basis, telling people that he had family there.

At the beginning of the trials, William's lawyer had attempted to force the prosecutor to recuse himself based on his family connection and the fact that many witnesses saw him frequently in the company of the victim. The motion was eventually dismissed by the judge and the trial went on afterwards.

JT shook his head dejectedly. He knew that he couldn't possibly solve a cold case that happened more than sixty years ago, in Scotland to boot, but he couldn't shake the idea that William had indeed been framed. Then again, JT was back to his original conundrum of whether he was thinking along those lines because it was a possibility or because those people looked so much like his friends. Before he could dismiss the whole thing however, he had one last thing to check. None of the pictures he had seen so far were of the prosecutor himself. He thus went in search of just that, finally finding some obscure file about a civil case Daniel had prosecuted ten years before the murders. The picture nearly threw JT for a loop again. Once more, coincidences piled up as the picture was the perfect replica of the man in the painting and the Jeremy they now had met a few times. JT realized suddenly that even after all his time researching those people, he had not even once tried to figure out the man's last name. On a whim he tried Jeremy Ddraigs but got no results. Then he tried permutations of the other family names with the same lack of results.

Finally, he went back to the book jacket, written by this Tiffany Ddraigs. "Couldn't be this…" JT spoke up, almost spooking himself as the dungeon had been so quiet since the others had left. Still he decided to give a try to the most unlikely possibility. First he simply tried Jeremy Dragon…no result. Then he went ahead and put in the full name, Jeremy Pendragon. Right away he knew he had found his man. As a matter of fact, the full name almost took his breath away. Jeremy Arthur Pendragon. Suddenly the dungeon felt even more empty and foreboding. "Where are you guys," he asked of the silence before grabbing his cellphone and texting Tess just that.

After confirming by text with Tess that he was alright but would prefer they came back soon, JT turned back to his computer where a more thorough search quickly wielded a bio of this Jeremy character. The second shock came from his birth date. The man was in fact 56 years old. JT didn't dwell on it and chalked it up to a typo since the man had not even looked his 56 years in the picture. He'd been born here in New York and according to the file had his name changed from Arthur Ddraigs to Jeremy Pendragon, which pretty much explained why JT had not found him at first. JT let his mind wonder about the similarities with Jeremiah's name and if it had been done on purpose but he dismissed it out of hand as too much.

Then another thing occurred to him. If the prosecutor had been him or at any rate some double of him…He went back to the search on the prosecutor and found his obituary with a long sigh of surprise. The prosecutor had not been long for this world after the murder trial. JT found that the man died of a gunshot wound in February 1950, while visiting family in Coatbridge. No one was ever convicted of the crime as it was never solved. One of the detectives assigned to the case at the time had a theory but it was never proven. It referred to the very unusual circumstances surrounding the execution of William Keller and the possibility that a witness to the execution might have come undone and gone after the prosecutor.

During the investigation into Ddraig's murder, two people came forward with an outrageous story about the hanged man and the prosecutor who had been present at the time. Those two witnesses both insisted that the hanging itself had been a horrible affair where the Reverend had taken more than thirty minutes to die, during which time his face had taken a beastly shape that scared even the executioner. But what had really spooked the two witnesses was that they thought they saw the prosecutor's eyes glow for a brief moment as the reverend finally expired. The detective who had hypothesized that one of those witnesses might be responsible for the prosecutor's untimely death could never make a case for either of them being anywhere near the scene of the crime and he had to drop that lead eventually.

Once again and in spite of a loose family connection between the Scottish and American branches of the Ddraig families, there was no direct link of any kind between the two men. JT's mind was beginning to spin and he wondered if the lack of sleep might be responsible and if he was in fact seeing things. He desperately needed someone to confirm or infirm his findings just then.

Meanwhile, he caught sight of the journals supposedly written by the very John Reynolds he'd just read about. Heather had left them with him at the same time as Vanessa's notebook. Since he still had some time to kill he cracked the second one, where, according to Heather, he would find the most astonishing story. Thirty minutes later, JT looked up from the journal and he felt light headed and shaken to the core. Then the ping of the machine behind him brought him right back to the other spooky occurrence of the day. The difference was that now, he expected the results would be identical to the previous ones and they were.