The Mind Virus

Chapter 11 - Part 4

The man was still standing on the side of the overpass when Jim pulled up with the Camry. It hadn't taken him long to get there. At this time of night, there was no one around, so he could navigate the roads quickly and easily. He must have been the first person to drive up the overpass since the man had gotten there. He had looked over, rather startled, as Jim's headlights bathed him in light. Putting on his hazard lights, he stepped out of the car.

"Hey there, buddy. How you doing?" Jim said in the best facsimile of an empathetic person he could muster.

"Just go away, man. You don't need to see this," the man said with tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat.

"Just relax. What's your name?"

"Arnold."

"Hi Arnold. I'm Jim. I'm with the police." It wasn't a total lie.

"Do the police make you wear sunglasses at night?"

Jim wasn't impressed with the man's snark, but he saw a thin smile form on his lips, and he figured that meant progress. "Full moon tonight. Far too bright for me."

The man chuckled. "So who called you in?"

"No one did. I was driving by."

"Figures. No surprise that no one would care. No one ever cares about me."

"That's not true. No one called it in because no one's around. You picked a pretty quiet time for this. And I'm sure people care about you."

Arnold scoffed.

"I care about you," Jim continued.

"No, you're just doing your job, man."

"Actually, I'm off-duty." Technically true, Jim told himself.

"Yeah, but you're still, like, a cop, so it doesn't –"

"Look, what are you doing here?" Jim interrupted.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah, it is, but why? Whatever you've got going on, I'm sure it can be worked out."

"You say that because you don't know, man."

"Well then enlighten me."

"You wanna know? Fine, I'll tell you. Twenty-two years of marriage, man. Twenty-two years of marriage and suddenly she wants a divorce."

"That's pretty rough. I'm sorry to hear that, but you can't just give in now. Things will change, but you can make a new life. Don't be so firmly tethered to what you're used to." Jim didn't feel like he was particularly good at playing armchair psychologist, but as long as he was talking, the man wasn't jumping. Hopefully if he stalled him long enough, Arnold would get bored of the idea and go home.

"It's not just that. I've been down for years, man. Like, depression or something."

"Have you seen a doctor about it?"

"No. What's the point? They'll just pump me full of drugs."

"Is that so bad? I mean, is it worse than ending it all?" Jim was doing his best, but he couldn't help but notice a few things as he spoke with Arnold. The man didn't match the profile of the other suicide victims. He was older than they were. Married for twenty-two years probably put him in his forties or fifties. He looked it too. Also, he'd said that he had been feeling "down for years," in his own words. All the other victims seemed to get massive mood changes in the weeks before their eventual suicide. He also didn't know what to make of the divorce. That was a concrete reason for the man's decision to end his life, albeit not a very good one. None of the other victims had any such major event in their lives, or if they did, they never told anyone about it.

"Look, man, you wouldn't understand," Arnold said, defeated.

"Have you had anything to drink, Arnold? I don't want to be rude, but the closer I get, the more I can smell it on you." Alcohol – none of the toxicology reports on the other victims mentioned anything about drugs or alcohol.

"Yeah, so what?"

"So don't you think this is a bit of a rash decision to make while drunk?"

Arnold only stared at him through red eyes.

"Why don't you get a good night's sleep," Jim continued, "sober up, and then think about this again with a fresh mind?"

The man was stepping back from the edge of the overpass now. Wow, that was easy, Jim thought to himself. Maybe that was yet another clue. None of the others could be saved by a few words. This wasn't going very well for the investigation. In spite of possibly saving this man's life, Jim was almost regretting not following Miller to wherever he was going. There was one last thing he needed to check.

"I don't suppose you have any connection to Cedar Grove State University?"

"Uh, no. Why do you ask?" The man was now standing in front of the Camry, safely away from the ledge.

"No reason. Do you want a ride home?"

"I'd love that," the man said, with what for the first time looked like a truly genuine smile.