He Is Not Alone

It’s Monday morning and I am just getting to the police station in Philadelphia. Daisy and I had a great night on Friday. You know pizza isn’t too bad for breakfast. Although we almost didn’t make the train this morning, I was able to stop by the house and take care of Butch before catching the train.

I walk up to the front desk and ask for Detective Benson. The desk sergeant tells me to take a seat he will be down shortly. Apparently, shortly is about how long it takes to walk over to the chairs as I no sooner sit down, then Benson walks through the doors and calls to me.

“Will, thank you for coming in this morning. I don’t want to say too much about this case. Let’s just say that it is a high profile case that the brass wants answers to.”

With that, we walk into the office area and I am introduced to the rest of the squad. Seems that even though Benson was pretty impressed with my capabilities, several of the detectives want to know more about what I can do. After the introductions, Benson sits down with me for a little more background talk. All he really tells me is that someone with influence was murdered and these folks may or may not have any information. Whichever is the case they are not willing to talk, even with their lawyers present.

I am led into the blacked-out viewing room. I am handed a tablet and a couple of pens and asked to write down whatever I ‘hear’. Over the next few hours, I listen to the first person of interest. After a little while, I can tell that this guy is not involved. Then they bring in a teenager. Almost immediately, I can sense that he was at least present when the murder took place. As I begin to write, one of the detectives in the room with me is looking over my shoulder. His only comment is “SHIT!!!”

As I sit there listening to the young man, I can tell he wants to talk but the lawyer is keeping a tight rein on him. I know that the lawyer knows of the teen’s involvement. I make a note of it. Thinking to myself, there has to be a way to let the kid talk. At this point, the teen was present but not involved in the murder so he won’t be in trouble if he comes clean.

To my surprise, the lawyer interrupts Benson and says he wants to talk to his client. Benson leaves and the detective with me turns off the speaker so we can’t hear the lawyer and client. Except that I can hear what they are thinking and therefore what they are saying. I continue to write down what I hear. Everyone is confused and conflicted. The lawyer isn’t willing to let his client talk and is cautioning the young man about saying too much. I think this is wrong, if the kids know something and isn’t a party to the crime, why not let him talk. I continue to write down what the lawyer and client are talking about. Normally they would not be privileged to know what was being said, but since they asked me to eavesdrop and I am doing what they asked, should they continue with this or ask me to stop. Before they can make up their minds the lawyer signals that they are ready to continue.

As soon as Benson enters the room, the lawyer says that the teen has some information; but that he was in no way associated with the crime. The lawyer wants it understood that he can stop this at any time. It is agreed after some discussion and the teen spills what he saw and knows. It seems that this was a gang hit by an up and coming gang in Philadelphia. The couple that was murdered was going to prevent a project that was important to the gang dealing with the conversion of a housing project. The gang used the apartment complex as housing for its members as well as a headquarters for its illegal activities. Based on what Benson and the other detective were thinking they had no clue of what was happening. The teen was able to give descriptions of the individuals, their street names, which apartments they use and where they normally hung out. The teen also was aware of the drop locations for the weapons that were used. After all, the information was written down, typed up, printed and signed, Benson thanked the teen and lawyer and they left. Then it was my turn.

Benson enters the room and immediately says, “Well, I guess we didn’t need you after all. The teen was willing to tell us everything.”

“Actually, detective, I think I told the lawyer to let the teen tell what he knew. The boy wanted to talk but the lawyer was keeping him quiet.” I said.

“Wait, you TOLD the lawyer? How did you do that?” Benson turns to the other detective and says, “Did he say or do anything that would have gotten a message to the lawyer?”

“No sir, I was with him the whole time. He just wrote notes. He did know that the boy was involved and wanted to talk almost as soon as he entered the room, but he said nothing.”

“I don’t understand what you are capable of, but how were you able to talk to the lawyer?

“It seems that my capabilities are slowly expanding. This latest development just started. I wasn’t sure if it was me or just a coincidence, but people have been doing what I was thinking as I was reading their minds. There was a young man at the dog park and he was having problems with his dog. The dog wanted to play and the young man wanted to do some training. I was thinking that he should just let the dog play and he did. I have been seeing a young woman and when you called and asked me to come in today, we were supposed to go see the Blue Man Group. I was thinking of how to tell her when she changed her mind and we stayed at her place instead. I knew what was going on between the teen and the lawyer and I was thinking that the boy should be allowed to talk. That was when the lawyer asked to talk to his client. I wasn’t sure if it had worked until they called you back in.”

“I don’t know if I should believe you or not, but in either case, we got some excellent information both on the case and the new gang. At this point, please do not say anything about this case or what you heard to anyone other than the detectives here. If we need your help, I would like to be able to call on you again, would that be all right?

“Of course, anything that I can do, I will.”

“Thanks, Will. We will be in touch.”

“Okay, have a good afternoon.”

As I walk out of the police station, I begin to review what has happened over the last few days. I need to see if this is something new or not. What can I make people do? On the way to the train station, I start looking at people and selecting a few of them to see if they will do what I tell them. First is a woman who has her face in her Smartphone. I simply have her put the phone away. She immediately puts the phone in her purse and continues walking past me. Then a couple is walking towards me and I have them kiss and hold hands and they do exactly that. Next, I have a businessman start skipping instead of walking. The ride home is uneventful as I think about this new capability.

Monday afternoon was pretty calm compared to the morning. Butch and I went over the Daisy’s and picked up Misty on our way to the park. As soon as we show up, people start to gather around me asking for help with their pets. A couple of hours go by when Butch and Misty come over and let me know they want to leave. It’s almost 5:30 by the time I drop Misty off. Daisy is just coming up the walk as we were leaving. I stop and give her a hug and a kiss.

“Will, I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner? “

“I would love to Daisy, but I need to take care of Butch and some paperwork for the accountant. How about Wednesday night? Tomorrow is the pet training class in the afternoon and evening at the pet store.”

“Oh, Okay. Will you call me later on so we can talk at least?”

“Sure, how about 8 o’clock or so?”

“That would be fine,”

“Okay, well I need to get Butch fed and get the paperwork out of the way. I’ll talk to you around 8.”

“Bye.”

As Daisy walks away, I can tell that she is upset. She really wanted to get together tonight, but I am really tired and I want to explore this new capability.

Detective Benson finishes filling out the reports and sits back thinking about what has happened. The report of the new gang, gun stash, finding the murders was big news in the department. His boss was very happy with the results. But something was bothering him. Was Will able to change the lawyer‘s mind? If so, how was he able to change the lawyer‘s mind without even talking with him? If he could do that to a lawyer, what else could he do? Was Will someone who needed to be watched? Should he tell someone else about this and if so who? It was going to be a sleepless night for Benson.

I get home and feed Butch. Not sure what to make for me. I guess I will have a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and a Not Your Father’s Root Beer. After all, I am a grown-up now. I sit down and read my mail, catch up on the emails and spend some time going over a few Facebook Groups and some of the friends/customers websites that I still keep in touch with. All finished by 8 pm and call Daisy.

“Hello?”

“Daisy, it‘s Will, is everything okay?”

“OH, hi, Will. I wasn’t sure if you were going to call or not.”

“Why wouldn’t I. I said I would. What’s wrong?”

“I thought we had something going last night. Then when you wouldn’t come over for dinner, I thought that I might be a one night stand.”

“Daisy, the only reason I wasn’t able to come over was getting the paperwork to my accountant, so I could finish closing down the business. With the money, I have invested and what will come from the lawsuit I no longer need to work, but I still have to take care of things the law requires.”

“Okay,” Daisy says dejectedly.

“Look let’s go out Wednesday night. It will do us both good. We can go to any restaurant you want and then find a show. If you still want to see the Blue Man Group, I can get tickets for that, how about it?”

“Okay, but you better not stand me up, Mr. Smythe.”

“I promise. I’ll pick you up at 6:30. Get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need it on Wednesday.”

“I will, Night!”

I can’t believe this girl. First, everything is fine and she likes that I’m taking it slow. I say I need a night to get some stuff done and she thinks it’s over. WOMEN!

“Butch, let’s go for a walk!”

Butch and I head to the park, it’s almost 8:30 pm and I’m too uptight to do anything else. The park is deserted. Butch has no one to play with so it’s my turn to be his playmate. We haven’t done this in a while and it kind of feels good connecting with him like this. No stress and no worries. While we are playing, I get a chance to think about this morning at the police station. Can I really change someone’s mind or was it going to happen anyway? Perhaps that’s what it was, I just read his thoughts and he was already going to have the kid talk. How can I find out for sure if it is something I am doing or if the person was going to do it anyway? If I can do it, what are the limits?

Butch is sitting next to me waiting to play some more when he goes into his alert position. I look around but don’t see anything or anyone. But decide we better head home. As we leave the park the hairs on the back of my neck also begin to rise. Butch is very nervous. This is the same area that I was attacked the first time. This time I can sense the man waiting for me. He wants my money for a drug deal. He knows I have a dog and thinks he should shoot the mutt. Butch and I turn around and start walking the other way. Instead of heading home, I decided to head to Daisy’s. I can sit there for a while until the thief gets tired.

What a coward! It’s only money. If I tell Butch to stay so that he would be out of danger, the thief would get what he wants and probably run away. What the hell.

We turn around again and I tell Butch to sit and stay. Then I continue to where the thief is.

“Come on out of there. I know you are in the alley.” It takes only a moment for him to come out of the alley with a gun pointed at me. I can tell he is not sure how to use it. He has been watching too much TV with how cool it is to hold a gun sideways. In addition, he is really nervous.

A thought enters my mind.

“Look, I don’t want to hurt you. Put the gun down.” The kid looks at me like I’m crazy. So instead of talking, I think it. I tell him to drop the magazine from the gun, so he doesn’t hurt anyone including himself. It takes a few seconds, but he lowers the gun and drops the magazine. Next, I tell him to sit down which he also does. Finally, I have him hand me the gun. He does so.

I think I have my proof. Here was a situation where I am pretty sure the kid was going to rob me. He was not looking to lose the gun and sit on the ground waiting for whatever was going to happen, happen.

I take out my cell phone and dial 911. The cops must have been around the corner because they arrive in just a minute or two. They take the gun away from me, put the kid in the car then come back for some background information.

Since I have been working with the police in Philadelphia, I don’t see any problems telling these two what I am capable of doing. Just like Detective Benson, they don’t understand how somebody could read minds and in my current case make someone do what I wanted them to do. So, I have to show them. I ask one of the officers for a piece of paper and a pen. On the paper, I write that I will have his partner take his pistol out, unload it, put it on the ground and then sit Indian style and whistle Yankee Doodle. I fold the paper, hand it to the older officer, and tell him not to look at it until I say so. His partner is standing next to him and they both agree.

Then I turn to the partner and think; take out your handgun, remove the magazine and place it on the ground. After a few seconds, he takes out the handgun, removes the magazine and places them both on the ground. I then think; face away from us, sit down Indian style and whistle Yankee Doodle until I tell him to stop. The young officer, turns around and sits down, but doesn’t start to whistle.

“Is there something wrong, officer?” I ask.

“I don’t know how to whistle,” he says.

“Why do you want to whistle?” I ask.

“I always wanted to whistle Yankee Doodle, but I can’t whistle.”

“Officer, please pick up your gun and magazine and stand up.”

Turning to his partner, I tell him to open the note and read it out loud.

The officer opens the note and starts reading it. He finishes the first sentence and then stops.

“How did you do that?” he asks.

“I have been working on this for a while. It started out by me being able to read cats, dogs and birds thoughts. Then being able to have them do whatever I was thinking I wanted them to do.”

Then I remember that Butch is sitting back around the corner. I call for him. He comes up, tail wagging and sits beside me.

“I forgot that Butch was sitting around the corner. The kid was willing to shoot him and I didn’t want him to get hurt. So, I told him to sit and stay.”

“He has been sitting back there all this time?” the older officer asks.

“Yes, he would have stayed there until I came and got him.”

“Is he the one you started your training with?” the officer asks.

“Yes, Butch and Sundance were my first. Sundance passed away a few months ago.”

“What can he do?”

“What do you want him to do?” I ask

“Never mind, I got the idea. So, you can read our minds, make us do whatever you want and we will do it.”

“That is how it seems. I am still learning what I can and cannot do.”

“Sir, we would like you to come down to the station with us. Can the dog find his way home?”

“Am I under arrest?”

“Honestly, I am not sure what to do with you. But for yours and our protection, I would like to have some other officer’s talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

I wasn’t expecting this, but after a few moments, I tell Butch to go home. He runs off down the block and is gone.

“Thank you. Please do not do anything that would make us look stupid or injure someone. I will have another patrol car come by to pick you up.”

“I promise not to do anything unless they ask.”

After about 30 minutes, I am escorted into an interrogation room. These rooms are not made for comfort and having half a dozen people inside them makes it pretty cramped. Besides the six officers in the room, I can sense several others in the viewing room.

The questioning starts out with who, what, when, where, why type of questions that the cops always want to know. Then it gets a little more interesting as they want to know my limits, how to prevent me from making them do something, who else knows about my capabilities, etc. When I tell them about the Philadelphia Police, one of them leaves to make a phone call.

In the meantime, it is show and tell time. I am asked to read an officer’s mind, have another one sing like a bird, do a repeat performance of the unloading a pistol, etc. The other officer returns and asks the sergeant and lieutenant to come outside for a minute.

I take this opportunity to show some real-world examples. I start by reading the officers’ minds in the hallway and telling the group what is going on. Then the bad news, they want to hold me, until someone can determine what I can do and how to prevent it.

At this point, I decide to lawyer up as they say. Fun and games are over when you are being put in jail.

Sure enough, the officers in the hallway come into the room and have everyone else leave. The lieutenant says they are concerned about my safety and they are going to keep me here for a while. I tell them, I want a lawyer which seems to go on deaf ears. SO, with a simple thought, the lieutenant changes his mind and I am allowed to make a call. I call the law offices of Lou Pickerelli. Specifically, I called Daisy and ask her to get Lou or one of the other lawyers down to the Warminster Police department and that I was under arrest with no specifics.

I am taken to a holding cell. If this weren’t so serious, it would be funny. Here I am, I can read minds and apparently make people do whatever I want. I could have just as easily made them let me go. But I am a law-abiding person, so I will play the game, for now.

Lou arrives in record time. He comes in to see me and tells me Daisy called and said I was arrested on no specific charge. He tells me that the desk sergeant had no clue what I was being held on and that Lou would have to talk to the lieutenant. Lou wants to know my side of the events before he goes out to find out the charges and bail etc.

I give him the same story as I gave the cops without any demonstrations. He has a lot of problems believing what he is hearing. His mind is saying this is science fiction. When I tell him what he thinks, he turns all white and doesn’t say anything for several minutes. He finally gets up and is let out of the cell. It is about an hour later when they come and let me out. No charges were filed and there was no way they could hold me once the lawyer was involved.

Lou drives me home and on the whole ride home, is quiet as a church mouse. When I go to get out of the car, Lou says he would like to see me in his office in the morning. Of course, I agree.

I have several messages waiting for me when I walk in the house. Daisy wants to know when I get home. Detective Benson wants me to call as soon as possible. Mr. Jackson had called when he saw all the police action on the news.

I called Mr. Jackson first and tell him there was nothing to be concerned about, it was an attempted robbery and I am fine. Detective Benson had left his cell phone number so I called him. He was concerned about my getting too involved with the police as they have a tendency to overreact to unknowns like me. He wanted to know in detail what had happened. After about 20 minutes we hang up. My final call was to Daisy. She was glad I was home and wanted to know if I needed anything or if she should come over. I told her I was fine and going to ‘hit the sack’. I thanked her for getting a hold of Lou and would take the train to work with her in the morning as Lou wanted to talk to me.

I fed Butch and we both head off to bed. I can tell Butch is worried, so I love on him a little and he calms down. We both fall asleep. For once, it is a peaceful rest.

The next morning, I am up early and meet Daisy at her place for the walk to the train station.

“Good morning, Daisy!”

“Will, what happened last night? Why were you arrested?”

“It started out when a guy tried to rob me. The police wanted me to come ‘downtown’ to some more questions. After a while, I got tired of the same questions over and over and refused to answer them. Apparently, the kid was a member of a gang and they put me in a cell as they were concerned for my safety. That’s when I called you to have Lou come get me out of jail.”

Things are a little strained between us as I haven’t told her about my ‘abilities’ and the whole story with the police just doesn’t make sense unless you know why they were interested in me, to begin with. I could just ‘suggest’ to her to drop it, but that is no way to build a relationship. During the ride in, Daisy is pissed as she doesn’t believe me, so she is giving me the cold shoulder. I practice reading the thoughts of those around me. It is hard not to read Daisy’s mind, she is so close and so pissed. Being pissed is a very strong emotion and sends out very strong thought waves. It’s no wonder people can tell when you are upset. Our minds must pick up some of the energy as well as the body language. There are a few people on the train that are friends and of the opposite sex, I decided to have some fun and have the girl kiss the boy ‘out of the blue’. For one couple this must have been the trigger for taking the relationship to the next level. They continued to kiss until it was their stop. I hope it works out for them. For the other couple, it was a shock to both of them. They moved away from each other but continued to talk to each other until they too got off the train. Together, I might add.

We arrive at the office and Daisy tells Lou that I am here. He comes out and asks me to come into his office. At the same time, he tells Daisy, no calls.

Lou has a nice corner office on the 6th floor of Penn Center in Philadelphia. He has half a dozen other lawyers and about a dozen other people working for him now. Looks like he will continue to grow with what Sandy did for the city and how grateful they are. We walk into his office and closes the door.

“There are two reasons I wanted to talk to you today, Will.” One of the things I like about Lou is he gets right to the point.

“Okay, besides that happened yesterday, what is the other reason?”

“The trucking company’s insurance company would like to settle. They are offering 15 million dollars. If we go to court we will probably get more, but we could get nothing as well. The agency is not going to take a cut, so whatever we settle on will be all yours. You can take a few days to think about it if you want.”

“Actually, I have been thinking about it off and on now for months. That is a lot of money and more than I thought I would ever see. I would like to get this over with. Please accept the offer. I do not want an annuity; one check would be fine. What do you want to know about yesterday?”

“For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to ask or where to begin. It’s like picking up a sci-fi novel and starting from the middle of the book. You have no idea what has happened or why?”

“What happened yesterday is just one of a whole line of events that have been unfolding since Sandy’s death. After I got out of the hospital, I started hearing thoughts. First, it was from animals, then people. Over time I could narrow it down to individuals and I would concentrate on whose thoughts I was listening to. During this process, I was also able to ‘talk’ to the animals, just like Dr. Doolittle, then to people. With both animals and people, I have learned I can control what they do. I worked on a case with the Philadelphia Police and learned that I could change people’s minds simply by thinking about what I wanted them to do. That is what occurred the last night. I knew the kid was going to rob me. I ‘talked’ him out of it, made him unload and drop the gun and then sit until the police arrived. When they started to ask me what happened, I told the truth. Naturally, they didn’t believe me, so I demonstrated it to them. I wrote down what I was going to have the one cop do and gave the paper to the senior guy. After it was all done, the senior guy read the note and I guess, got concerned. We went to the police station where I explained my actions, which lead to some demonstration of my abilities, which got them very concerned for ‘my safety’. They were not going to allow me to make any phone calls until they figured out what to do with me. I hadn’t broken any laws, but they were afraid. At that point, I told the lieutenant that I was allowed to make a phone call and he gave me permission. I called Daisy and the rest, you know. I have no idea why I can do this or what I am supposed to do with this ability. It scares the authorities as well as people who know about it. By the way, Daisy does not know anything about my capabilities and I would like to keep it that way, at least for now.”

“That is an amazing story. You say you can read minds?”

“Yes, Lou and you can talk to Fran about this. I know you don’t keep many secrets from her. Does that answer your question?”

“WOW!”

“I have no idea what I am going to do about this. Once all of this is settled with the trucking firm, I may just take some time and travel. Getaway from everything that has happened here. See if I can find some peace and understanding.”

“What about Daisy? From what I hear you two are becoming a ‘thing’.”

“Daisy is a very lovely young lady. I find spending time with her very enjoyable. But if this is going to continue, I will have to tell her about my abilities. I just don’t know what will happen after that. If you don’t have anything else, I have a pet training class this afternoon and evening. I need to get home before then.”

“No problem. I will get the paperwork ready for the lawsuit. When everything is ready, I will call you to come down and sign the documents. As for the other issue, I don’t think the police will go any further. If they do, I will let you know. Thanks for coming in today.”

“No problem. I look forward to hearing from you.” With that, I leave his office and stop by to see Daisy.

“I have a class this afternoon and evening. Are we still on for tomorrow?”

“I guess so.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I just get the feeling that you are hiding something. None of what happened makes any sense.”

“There is nothing to what happened. Even Lou agrees that nothing will come from it. It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow around 6:30.”

“Good, have a good day at work”, I say with a smirk. “Would you like me to call when I get home?”

“If you want,” she says.

Out the door, I go, catch the train home and take Butch for a walk before heading to Pet Start. I arrive at the Pet Start and it is mobbed. There has to be close to 50 people and their pets waiting for the start of class. Frank meets me as I come in and pulls me to the side.

“Will, these people are here to see you. They heard that you are the next Dog Whisperer. What are you going to do?”

“ME? It’s your class. I’m just here to help you out. What do you want me to do?”

“We can’t disappoint them, it will ruin the store. Maybe you can sit with each of them, do your thing with their dog and show them how to teach the dog how to do a trick.”

“Frank, you must have 50 people here. Even if I spent 5 minutes with each one, we would be here for hours! Some of them will have to wait for another day. Don’t they have to sign up in advance?”

“Yes, but even then, we had more people sign up than the class holds.”

“Well, you get paid the big bucks to make things happen. So, I would suggest that you tell those people that had not signed up for a class that we are overbooked and they will have to come back another time. If I remember correctly, the normal class size is a max of 20 people. That is all we can handle. Even then it will take almost two hours to get to everyone. Can we run that long?”

“I can if you can?”

“Well let’s get started. It’s going to be a long day. I hope the night class is more normal.”

Frank took care of letting people know that we would have to limit the class to those that were registered due to time constraints, while I got down to business talking with the people and their dogs on a one to one basis. For the most part that was fairly easy. The dogs were well behaved and seemed to take to the training easily. A few of the dogs had some issues; these were mostly the puppies in the group. Many of them simply did not know that they were being called as they haven’t associated the name being called as them. It also didn’t help that all these new smells were around as well as all of these new dogs. I found that I could group some of the older dogs and their owners based on how they reacted to each other. In that case, I was able to “teach” them as a small group and save from time. After two hours, we were saying goodbye to the class. The next class would start in another 90 minutes, just enough time for a quick dinner. The second class was much easier. We told the people that were not registered that they would need to register because of the size limits. It still took almost 2 hours to get with all the people and their pets. Overall, I think the classes went well.

“Well, Frank, what do you think? Did it go well?”

“Those were two LONG classes. I checked with the front desk and we are already booked for the next two classes and have people on a standby list.”

“Why?”

“Seems the word is getting around about Dr. Doolittle or the Dog Whisperer or whatever you want to be called. You are a hit!”

“Well, I guess it had to happen eventually. I just hope I don’t disappoint them. Anyway, I must get home. Butch needs to be fed and I should spend some time with him. It’s been a busy couple of days. I’ll see you next week.”

“Have a good night, Will. Thanks for helping me out.”

“No problem. Goodnight.”

Frank was right; the stories had been getting around, not only in the local communities but with the legal authorities as well. Police reports about my abilities made their way to the FBI. In Philadelphia, the Special Agent in Charge of the local FBI office received the reports from SEPTA on the bombing attempt, from the Philadelphia Police on my assistance with a local murder case and from the Warminster Police about my involvement with a local gang member. All of the reports seem to come in close to each other which is why they kind of stuck in the agents’ mind. If they had been separated by even a few weeks, nothing would have connected them, but as it was, they all seemed to ring a bell, which means further investigation was needed.