Faceless Instincts

Mr. Wembley's Den

I woke up late the next day. The previous day had been exhausting, I had come back home stressing about who it might have been with Dorian.

I cooked myself a lazy meal and studied my notes thoroughly. My first study extraction was that Dorian was dealing with some sort of trauma that was rooted in different sections of his life. There was nothing specific or just one thing, but little things happening at different time gaps that formed a single big problem. However to give this a concrete base I needed to know more about his life in detail.

So, the next day I was studying my notes again when my phone chimed with a text from Mr Wembley, " Meet me in my office at 1 PM today" it read.

My eyes snapped at the clock and it was already 11:33, I almost splashed on my coffee. I needed to hurry up, so I  went into my room and grabbed whatever I could to wear, and shower as fast as I could I finished dressing up.

I grabbed my laptop and keys and locked the door, I tried to drive as fast as the law allowed me to and reached Mr Wembley's office just five minutes early.

I knocked on the door but got no response, I waited for a minute and knocked again to no avail. I stood there for a while and tried calling him but the call was busy. I pushed at the door narrowly and peeped in. I saw Mr Wembley standing by the window, his ear glued to his phone, he glanced in my direction and beckoned me in, I made my way into his office and took a seat near the fireplace The weather was exceptionally cold today and the white clouds looked dense, after all, it was the start of December.

"How are you today?" He asked taking a seat across from me. He wasn't his pleasant self today, instead he seemed gravely serious.

"I am good, how are you?" I inquired.

"I have been better, but in the last few days stress has been taking a toll on me." He said.  I noticed he was rubbing his finger and thumb together, something he did while speaking things that he only spoke to receive a certain reaction.

I nodded my head very slowly, "I didn't know that, I thought things were fine with you." I tried not to give away anything.

"Were, yes." He looked at me through his glasses, "I have been having some complicated cases that are all."

I looked at him with uncertainty, I didn't know if he was trying to pull out a piece of information, get a reaction or simply hint at something, "I can understand, some cases can get tricky."

He unexpectedly got up, took the stoker and started stoking the wood in the fireplace, "Tell me about your case." He said in a deep voice.

I stayed quiet for a second not sure how to answer, "about the guy who broke into your office" he clarified looking over his shoulder.

"Oh, you mean Dorian" before I could even say the next word, his face snapped towards me.

"what did you say?" His eyes were concerned and a scowl spread on his face

"You mean Dorian?"  I repeated

"Dorian?" Lines of concern and confusion formed on his forehead and the corner of his eyes.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

He was looking at me like he has seen a ghost, and then he snapped out of it, "nothing, I... I think I had a patient named Dorian as well, you must have met him."

His words brought back a memory and something clicked, "Ah yes, now I remember that middle-aged man named Dorian, that's where I have known it from."

"What do you mean?" He asked in his deep voice.

"Yesterday when Dorian told me his name, I had this very strong feeling that I knew him from somewhere, or at least I knew a person with the same name, but I wasn't sure about when and who. Now I remember, this patient we had while I was still working with you."