The Cursed Man Read Free Page B

out of the binding. He dropped it on the desktop and slid it toward Anna.
    â€œWhat’s this?” The musty stench of the pages filled her nostrils.
    The director raised an intriguing brow. “That is my last chance to get through to you.”
    Anna glanced at the book. “This is absurd.”
    â€œCan’t you put your skepticism to the side even for a moment?” The director allowed the question to hang in the air. “That book holds bits and pieces of Alister’s unabridged history. It won’t hurt you to have a look. Go ahead—amuse me.”
    Anna pulled the book close with a sigh and looked inside its cover. The pages were stiff to the touch, and several black and white photos sat freely inside the cover. She flipped through them. One photo after another showed the inside of a filthy house. Piles of garbage were stacked as high as three feet and narrow paths were routed through them. Bugs covered discarded things and maggots were in abundance. She flipped the picture over and “Kunkle/Living Room” was written with a ballpoint pen.
    The next item was a letter addressed to anyone that would heed a warning. The handwritten letters were jagged and scribbled down in haste. The words spoke of death and suffering and the need to be left alone. Alister’s signature finalized the correspondence.
    She turned the page and a newspaper clipping fell out. She read the story of Alister’s wife drowning their daughter before killing herself.
    The next page consisted of several small articles that told of fallen police officers and dead civilians. All the causes of death, according to the articles’ headings, were mysterious in nature but had one thing in common: Alister.  They called him a cursed man.
    Anna turned another page and found a neatly folded and pressed brown paper bag stuffed between two pages. She removed the bag and opened it. Written in large black letters were the poorly scribbled words, “I’ll only talk to you.”
    â€œOkay, I’ve seen enough,” Anna said, and she folded the bag. She dropped it between the pages she had pulled it from. “I won’t tell you what I’m thinking because I am a professional and a lady. I want to see the patient and I want to see him now.” Anna stood. “I expect all necessary resources will be in place and at my disposal without delay.”
    The director closed the book and put it away. “I hate to sound so glum, Dr. Lee, but if you do that, you’re as good as dead. I’ve mourned the death of many since I’ve taken responsibility of Mr. Kunkle. You couldn’t imagine what that can do to a man’s soul.”
    â€œOne more second of delay on your part will have me on the phone with my boss. I’m sure he’d love to discuss what I’ve found today. What do you think, two, three hours tops before they’ve relieved you of your duty? Make your move. What’s it going to be?”
    The director picked up the phone and turned away from Anna. “Bonnie, I’d like you to send Michael in. Let him know he’ll be escorting Dr. Lee to see Mr. Kunkle.”
    The director twirled the phone chord around his finger and nodded. “Yes, I made her aware of the circumstances. But it seems as though she has made her decision, and she insists on seeing him.”

Chapter 3
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    FIRST MEETING
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    Alister looked out the window in his room, past the steel bars and into a wilted rose garden. Two decrepit cement benches were wrapped with dead ivy, which circumscribed the garden. The surrounding grass was brown. The outlying forest had succumbed to disease; trees that remained upright were bare of bark and hadn’t produced leaves in years, and fallen timber had rotted to shells. All wildlife had long ago abandoned the once lush woodland.
    Two gentle taps at the door diverted his attention. Although the small window on the door had been covered