Читать книгу Black Mad Wheel - Josh Malerman, Josh Malerman - Страница 15

Are you afraid of flying, Philip?”

“No.”

“Heights?”

“No.”

“Spiders?”

“No.”

“Spiders?”

“You asked me that.”

“Spiders?”

“No.”

“Snakes?”

“No.”

“You would handle a snake if I asked you to?”

Philip pauses. One of the twin tape recorders is rolling behind Dr. Szands. The identical machines, Revere T-700Ds, were the first thing that caught his eye when he was wheeled into this room. Dr. Szands, sitting, cross-legged, like a disappointed father, was second.

“Not in the condition I’m in right now I wouldn’t.”

Szands rings a bell on the table beside him. Philip knows that the sound of the bell will show up as a spike on the VU meter. It’s the doctor’s way of telling the tape that something of note was said.

“Cats?”

“No.”

“Small spaces?”

Philip thinks of a red piano. But doesn’t mention it.

“No.”

“Death?”

Philip pauses again. The Revere T-700D wasn’t made for recording music. But it’s ideal for interrogations.

“Yes.”

Szands rings the bell.

The meters spike.

“Women?”

“No.”

“Speeding in a car?”

“Sometimes.”

One word answers. Just as Szands asked for.

“Do you believe in ghosts, Philip?”

Philip closes his eyes. The reels are rolling and he thinks of Private Greer’s theories in the desert. Greer’s Wheel, they came to call it.

The sound of history spinning.

“Yes.”

The bell.

“Have you seen a ghost, Philip?”

“Yes.”

The bell.

“Where was the sound located, Philip?”

“I don’t know.” No hesitation. But he does know. And he could direct Dr. Szands to it himself. Almost.

“Are you afraid of needles, Philip?”

“No.”

“Large crowds?”

“No.”

“Loud sounds?”

“No.”

“How about this sound?”

Szands reaches to the second T-700D and presses play. Before he even hears it, Philip starts to feel sick.

“Turn it off.”

The bell.

“Does this sound scare you?”

“Turn it off, doctor.”

The bell.

“Where was the sound located, Philip?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why do you believe in ghosts?”

“Turn it off!”

Szands turns it off. Philip looks to see if the doctor got sick from it. But Szands, his upper half in shadows, his arms and legs emerging from what looks like solid tar, isn’t giving anything away.

“Why do you believe in ghosts, Philip?”

“Because I saw one, dammit.”

The bell.

“Where?”

Philip doesn’t answer.

“Where, Philip?”

“In the desert.”

The bell.

“You saw a ghost in the desert?”

“I saw a hundred ghosts in the desert.”

The bell.

Philip is crying now. The questions, the list of fears, the sound …

The bell.

“Where was the sound located, Philip?”

“I don’t know.”

“You do know.”

“I don’t know, doctor!”

But he does.

“Philip, this test isn’t designed to elicit true or false answers from the subject. The test is supposed to give us a clear understanding of whether or not a man has any secrets. And whether or not he’s keeping them.”

“I’m not keeping any secrets.”

“But you are.”

But he is.

“Now, Philip, you have a choice to make. You can either play dumb or play smart. And the longer you play dumb, the longer I’ll have to simmer. And you don’t know me well enough to know where that might lead. Do you understand? I may be a doctor, but that doesn’t mean my only concern is your well-being. There are many other people on this planet, Philip Tonka. So play dumb or play smart. Get to it or suffer my simmering. Now. Tell me about the ghosts. Tell me about every one you saw. And when you’re done … tell me where the sound is located. Every turn you took. Every door you opened. Every nightmare you encountered on the way.”