Reese
Neither Knox nor I speak the rest of the way to Gates Crossing. Knox’s map app eventually directs us off the freeway, and after a few quick turns, we reach a newish estate. The house we park outside of is a grey and brown brick two story home. It’s modern, pleasant looking, but not really any different to the rest of the houses in the street.
The late afternoon sunshine on my face is welcome as I step out of the car. I’m about to start walking towards the house when Knox puts his hand on my arm, stopping me from going anywhere. It’s not until I force myself to look up at him that I realise just how close he’s standing. I can see golden flecks in his brown eyes, and I’m once again breathing in the crisp scent of his cologne. His gaze is intense as he looks down at me.
“If you’re not happy with the story we came up with, we’ll change it.”
“It’s fine.”
I cared for him so much a decade ago, and even though I wish I didn’t care about what he thinks now, his judgement still swings a bat at my ribcage, smashing my heart.
But that’s not his problem, it’s mine.
It’s just so easy during moments like this, when he stands so close and appears concerned - caring, almost - to forget what he thinks about me. I’ve made that mistake too many times and I can’t keep repeating it.
“Are you sure?”
I nod and offer him a tight smile. “Yeah. Now, let’s go. They’re waiting for us, Knox.”
On cue, the front door of the house swings open, and we’re waved to by a petite woman with shoulder length dark hair.
Rachel and Tim Jones are a couple in their early thirties. They own a nursery in town and agreed to take the time out to meet with us at the end of the day to answer a few of our questions.
Shrugging off Knox’s hand, I put on a smile and walk towards the woman. “Rachel?”
“Reese and Knox, right?” Rachel puts her hand out and I shake it.
Tim joins us at the door and introduces himself to us, and then we’re being invited into the house for coffee and biscuits. Their home is bright, modern, airy, and the scent of freshly baked Anzac biscuits makes my mouth water.
Rachel brings our coffees into the loungeroom before settling herself onto the couch next to Tim. Knox and I have already taken our seats in the two plush white armchairs opposite, and I’m already halfway through my first Anzac.
Finishing her biscuit, Rachel wipes her hands on her jeans. “You have some questions about the robbery for us.”
Leaning forward, I take another biscuit off the tray but resist taking a bite so I can answer her.
"The two of you went to Peter Von Gruber to undergo hypnosis to quit smoking?"
Tim pulls Rachel against him. “That’s right. I never wanted to go. I'd tried hypnosis before and it failed, but Rachel talked me into it."
Rachel puts her hand on top of Tim’s, absently stroking his hand while watching us. "I was desperate to spend time with Tim and it was a good excuse."
The look she shoots her now-husband is full of affection and he leans in and presses his lips to hers.
He looks a little dazed when his attention finally returns to us. "Rather foolishly, I couldn't see what was right under my nose.”
Knox’s eyebrows draw together. "You weren't dating at all before the hypnosis took place?"
Rachel shakes her head. "No. I was in love with Tim, but he was in love with someone else."
Knox’s eyes widen and mine do too. From everything I know about hypnosis, you shouldn’t be able to fall out of love with one person and fall in love with someone else.
I study Tim. “How strong were your feelings for Rachel before you went to the therapist?”
"I liked her a lot as a friend, but pretty much straight after the session, I decided I had to ask her out on a proper date. It was like all of a sudden, I couldn't keep my hands off her."
"Did the hypnosis work for the smoking?" I ask.
Tim and Rachel look at each other, then burst out laughing. "No," they say together.
"Of course, we've given up now, but I walked straight out of that room and lit up," Tim explains. "When Rachel asked me for a cigarette, there was just this…sense of magic about the way the light hit her eyes that had me enraptured."
“Magic,” I repeat.
Rachel beams at us. "Amazing, isn't it?"
Amazing? Disturbing is the word I would use. These two went to a 'therapist' to be cured of their smoking habit and left that appointment still smoking and unable to keep their hands off each other. Then they'd attempted to rob a store six months later. Sure, the two seem happy, and they’re obviously in love and own a business together now, but it’s very perturbing.
I pass them a photo of Lars Von Gruber. "Did you see this man at the hypnosis session?"
Rachel and Tim study the photo and shake their heads.
Knox leans forward in his chair. "Was anyone else hanging around Peter’s office, either before or after you went into the room?"
Tim hands the photo back to me. "When we came out, there was a man with a long ginger beard and a beret waiting to see Peter, but he didn't look like that."
"What do you remember about the attempted robbery at Brighton's on Fifth?" I ask.
Tim rubs his chin. "Very little. I still can't believe we weren't charged."
Rachel nods. "It was like I was asleep.” Tim squeezes Rachel's hand before she continues. "When the music started-"
"Music?" Knox inquires.
"When we went into the jewellery store it was quiet, no music was playing. But then the clerk put on a CD, and…"
"She doesn't remember anything else from that point," Tim says. "Neither do I. We’ve watched the footage from the attempted robbery, but we didn't do that. I mean, we weren't there. We weren't present. Our bodies were in that store, but our minds…weren’t."
"You really don't remember any of it?" Knox fails at keeping the disbelief out of his voice.
Rachel swallows hard. "We know it sounds crazy, but-"
"The police believed us," Tim finishes.
"And thank heavens they did," Rachel says.
“Yeah.” Tim gulps down the rest of his coffee. "But only because his brother Lars Von Gruber came forward and said it was a result of hypnosis, and that Peter had set us up to rob the store. According to him, he slipped us the gun and everything."
"And Peter went to jail for it," I mutter.
"The gun was registered to Peter, and when the police questioned our hypnotist, he knew which song had triggered the robbery, and when they played it in the interrogation room, the police actually witnessed us trying to pull the robbery again until Peter broke us out of our trance."
Peter went to prison, but he says he was framed by Lars. I have so many more questions, but I doubt there’s little else Rachel and Tim can tell us.
We finish our coffee and say goodbye to the other couple.
As soon as we’re out of the house, we head back to the car, Knox unlocking the doors from the distance.
"Well, what do you make of that, Cameron?"
I slide into the passenger seat and look at him once he’s beside me. "It's the craziest story I've ever heard."
Knox nods, starting the engine. "You know what they say? Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction."
“True.”
It’s an effort to keep up my side of the conversation as we drive back to the office. There are too many questions floating around in my head. Will Lars hypnotize Knox and I? Will the two of us come out of this marriage retreat capable of committing a crime? Can Lars truly make unwilling people fall in love with each other?
A light sweat breaks out over my body as a wave of nausea makes me question whether the Anzac will make a reappearance.
God. Losing control of your body is one thing, but losing control over your emotions, too? How much encouragement would I need to fall in love with Knox again? It’s already an effort to remind myself we’re nothing more than friendly rivals. What if Lars Von Gruber forces away the barriers I’m using to control my feelings for Knox?
Maybe that’s how Von Gruber is so successful at fixing marriage problems. No couple who has attended his marriage retreat has ended up divorced. A one-hundred percent success rate is impossible without some extreme intervention, right?
I knew this story was a big one. There’s something wrong with my brother and my neighbours, and I have the chance to uncover all of it, but what if Knox and I are in over our heads? Stupidly, I haven’t anticipated being a victim of hypnosis until now. The biggest cost of this retreat may not be the $20,000 price tag.
"You're awful quite there, Cameron," Knox says, breaking into my thoughts.
"Sorry. I just can't stop thinking about poor Rachel and Tim."
"It certainly wasn't an ideal situation, but they weren't charged for the crime."
"Not an ideal situation? They went to Peter Von Gruber, trusting him to cure their smoking habit, and instead they came out as a couple and attempted armed robbery."
"You think Von Gruber's going to set us up to fall in love and rob a bank or something?"
He tries to scoff, but I hear the concern beneath the amusement.
I turn to look at him. "Right now, the idea doesn’t seem as preposterous as it should. Knox, this could actually be dangerous."
Knox studies me. "You knew it was."
“I did. I guess…maybe I just didn’t realise just how much until now.”
“No one has committed a robbery lately,” Knox reminds me.
“Yes but…What are you doing?”
Knox has just pulled into the car park for The Croaky Seagull. "Why are we here?"
"You're worried and I need you to feel comfortable with this. We can discuss it over dinner."
I’m not sure that spending time with Knox outside of work helps me see him only as my rival. Knox, however, is taking my concerns seriously. I’m grateful for that right this second because the memory of my elderly neighbours hearing music, slipping into a trance, and stripping won’t leave me alone. After meeting Rachel and Tim, the memory just seems even more alarming.
One thing is certain. This will be the story of a lifetime – if Lars doesn’t hypnotize us to fall in love with each other, give away all our money or commit a robbery first.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading this crazy story. I hope you're enjoying it. Please note, there is no realism intended, just pure absurdity!