“Dr. Davis, are you alright?! Dr. Davis!” Methra’s anxious voice broke through my consciousness.
“Yes, yes…I’m okay. It’s just such shocking news. I was supposed to see her today.” I managed to babble. “You go on. I think we have a long day ahead of us. I’ll get to the rest of these files.”
“Okay,” Methra replied in a dubious voice as she handed me the stack of files and went back to her work.
It took me another 5 minutes to gather my wits and the other things strewn around me. I slowly walked to my desk, sat down, and waited for my pulse to return to normal.
My head was still reeling with the news and images from my dream kept popping up to remind me that there was more to come. I was fully aware of the files on my desk. The one on top seemed to be mocking me. Once again, I felt that my gift had failed me. If only I had had the chance to meet Nona, maybe I could’ve got a clue, maybe I could’ve saved her, maybe I could’ve helped the others. Now, I knew as much as I knew when I woke up today - someone out there was taking the Ten Commandments a little too seriously.
I finally gathered the courage to pick up the file. I knew I didn’t have to. It was of little use now. But, I felt that I had to know who she was. The first few pages had her regular details - name, photograph, age, address, family, education, work, hobbies, and so on.
She was 36 years old and had been married for 10, with no kids. She’d taught in an elementary school and loved to read, travel, and play tennis. The next few pages had some more details about where she’d grown up, her school, college, etc.
I was more interested in her psychological profile and the case history that Dr. Harris, from whom I had inherited her case, must have written up. In the beginning, it looked like she’d had a regular, uneventful, content suburban life. But, eight years into a happy marriage, she’d discovered that her husband, Neville, was having an affair and that’s when she’d started seeing Dr. Harris. She’d felt unable to forgive or leave her husband. She didn’t have any other family to speak of and she felt unable to let go. And then, the murder happened. She’d been the one to call 911 when she heard gun shots and screams from her best friend, Sonya’s house. When she peeked out of her window, she was sure she’d seen Miguel’s car pull out of the driveway and race away into the night. Sure, it was dark, but she was positive that it had been his car. And given that Sonya had confided her marital problems with her, Nona didn’t think twice about his identity.
Sonya and her son’s death had put Nona into depression. But, she had resolved to bring Miguel to justice. The case had been all over the papers, putting more pressure on Nona and straining her already deteriorating marriage. Neville felt she shouldn’t be involved at all and believed that Miguel couldn’t have committed the murder. And, then, two days after the trial had begun in court, the threatening calls had started.
I turned the page, my pulse quickening at the thought of getting a clue. But, that was it! There were no more pages in the file. I looked closely and was shocked to see that the rest of the pages had been torn off! I sat there for a few minutes, trying to think of a reason for this. On an impulse, I decided to check the other files. Sure enough, each of the other 10 files had the last few pages torn away from them. Now, I was sure it was a sign. And what it signaled was even more horrifying. The killer could’ve had access to these files. It also occurred to me that the other victims from my dream could be people from these files! I quickly checked all names and was a little relieved to see that of the 10, only 2 were women. I made a mental note to pay extra attention to them. But, that still didn’t explain the missing pages.
Dr. Harris had moved out of town. Maybe, I could track down his secretary, Rita. She might know something. As I contemplated how best to contact her, Methra burst into the room.
“Dr. Davis! The police are here. They want to speak to you.” She said breathlessly. I was fully expecting them, but not so soon.
“Okay, show them in.” I sighed. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible.

“Hello, Dr. Davis, I’m Detective Larsen.” The tall, slim woman shaking my hand looked strangely familiar. But, I couldn’t place her and she didn’t seem to know me from anywhere. She had honest, blue eyes and her long, brown hair had been pulled into a severe knot at the nape of her neck. Her partner, who didn’t introduce himself, had all the signs of a rookie; eager, nervous, and obviously in awe of his partner.
“Good Morning Detective. How can I help you?”
“I trust you’ve heard about the unfortunate murder of Ms Nona Flores yesterday? We found her diary and it seems like she had an appointment with you today.”
“That is correct. In fact, I should’ve been meeting with her right now. It was going to be our first meeting. Actually, she was Dr. Harris' patient. He had his office in the building around the corner. When he shut down his practice to move away to Florida, he sort of transferred some of his clients to me.”
“I see. So, you wouldn’t know anything about this lady and the murder I suppose?”
“I’m afraid not.” I definitely couldn’t tell her about my dreams. She would be the last person to believe it.
“Do you know how we can contact Dr. Harris?”
“No. We weren’t really friends. Although I believe Methra, my secretary, would have his office and his secretary, Rita’s number. I’ll ask her to get them for you.”
“No problem, we’ll take it from her on our way out. Say, Dr. Davis, when a patient gets transferred to another doctor, doesn’t the doctor have to hand over the patient’s case history to the new doctor?”
“Yes, but you know that is confidential, detective. If you can bring a court order, I’ll be glad to help you with the details.”
“Okay. I guess we don’t have a choice. I’ll try to get that for you as soon as possible.”
“Sure. And..umm..there is one thing about the files I received from Dr. Harris. I...I was planning to get in touch with Rita about it.” I ventured a little nervously.
“Yes?”
“Well, none of the files have all the pages. It looks like the details of the last few months have been deliberately torn off.”
“What? Why would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know. It’s been troubling me too.”
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind when talking to Rita. Thanks Doctor. I’ll be in touch with you.” She smiled.
“Uh..sure!” I smiled back.

I heard them talking to Methra on their way out. And soon it was time for my first patient for the day – Marge.
Marge was a sweetheart. She didn’t really have any problems so to say; she just wanted someone to talk to. And today she was full of stories about the murder. I’d already had enough of that but was forced to listen to every little description of the case she’d heard all morning. She lived alone in a secluded neighborhood and the case had brought back fears I’d just about managed to help her get over. It took quite a bit of convincing to alleviate at least some of those fears.

The rest of the day was not very eventful. I had a quick working lunch while reading through whatever remained in the files of Dr. Harris' other patients. As I read through them, I realized that each file ended about six months back. The pages for the last six months were missing from each file. I decided to let Detective Larsen know about it.

I reached home around 6, my mind still exhausted from the events of the morning. I found a leftover casserole in the refrigerator, shoved it into the microwave, and switched on the TV. I deliberately avoided all news channels. I had had enough of the murder for today. In any case, I was sure Methra would update me in the morning, whether I wanted it or not. I found an old movie I liked and settled down to watch it with my dinner.
My cell phone rang right in the middle of my favorite scene and I absently answered it, my eyes still glued to the TV screen.
“Hello, Dr. Davis?”
“Yes?” the voice seemed vaguely familiar.
“Good Evening, Dr. Davis. This is Detective Larsen.”
“Oh! Hello, Detective.” I sensed the disquiet in her voice and knew that this had to be bad news. I was all ears now.
“We found Rita,” she said in a voice that hinted that was not all they’d found.
“And? What did she have to say?” I asked, steeling myself for what lay ahead.
“She couldn’t. Rita is dead. We found her decomposed body at an abandoned construction site near her apartment building. She must be dead at least two weeks now. There’s one more thing I feel you should know Dr. Davis.”
I knew it before she said it. But, I waited for her to say it.
“Rita’s body has a sign around the neck too. It says, ‘Thou shalt not steal’.”