To Have A Wandering Soul

Chapter 3

Caroline paced back and forth across the light carpet of her room.  Her thoughts were filled with the agonizing screams of people who were being hit with those volts of electricity.  She had made the decision to keep her information to herself, but then the screams began to fill her thoughts.

When she was fourteen her father had taken her to a small weekend auction because of her growing curiosity about Seba, one of the slaves had fallen on the stage and refused time and time again to stand. The guards had hit the man with electrically charged batons over and over again, each hit accompanied with a blood-curdling scream.  Caroline had flinched with each hit, eventually the screaming stopped and the guards dragged the either unconscious or dead man off of the stage.  The auction proceeded as though nothing had gone wrong.

Instances like this one had not been uncommon in the years before electric shock was outlawed.  Now it was apparent that the Yoski family had never stopped using it, in the year after the decision they had certainly been cautious, scarcely using the shock but they were obviously growing more and more confident.

“Are you going to do something with the photograph?” Adrian questioned his distressed mistress.

"I think I have to. I'm going to go to Mr. Yoski.  Today."

"Is that the best plan?"

"Its the only one I've got. Put that photo in a proper envelope, I need to change."

Caroline walked into the closet and put on a black pencil skirt, heels and a flowing white top.  She came back out and took the envelope from Adrian's hands. Gathering her purse, keys, and sunglasses she started for the door.

"Mistress," Adrian hesitated as she turned back to face him, "m-may I come with?"

Caroline glanced down, considering his question, it probably would not hurt, but could she risk the Yoskis hurting him because of her?

"You'll have to stay in the car."

"Okay," he agreed, following her out the door.

Thirty minutes passed in silence. Caroline was deathly afraid of what the Yoskis would say, but she couldn't just let it go. She parked in the lot outside the Yoski House and got out of the car, leaving her window rolled down.

"I'll be back soon."

Adrian watched her walk into the house, worry in his eyes.

Caroline made her way down the long path to the front door of the building, pushing it open with one hand and removing her sunglasses with the other.  She approached the front desk.

"Caroline Tonik, I need to see Mr. Yoski."

"Please have a seat."

Caroline sat, fiddling with the envelope in her hands until the woman called her up and led her up a flight of stairs to an office with Mr. Darren Yoski printed on the door. She knocked then entered. Darren Yoski was sitting at his desk, he was a small man, likely shorter even than Caroline, he didn’t appear all that frightening.  He had black hair that was slightly graying and short, his skin was starting to wrinkly but it was apparent that he had been slowly getting them removed for years.

“Miss Tonik! I’m very glad to see you; you’ve done an amazing job as a commercial photographer. I’m assuming you’re here about our more recent ads?”

“Thank you sir but no, that’s actually not why I’m here.”

“Have a seat then Caroline.  What can I do for you?”

“I-I just have a couple of questions.”

“Ask away,” Mr. Yoski smiled across the desk of her.