Reincarnation

By Cory Jenson

A brilliant but ruthless doctor successfully transplants the brain of a serial murderer into the body of a young homeless man. Thus begins a campaign of evil.

Meanwhile, elderly millionaires are disappearing.

A team of FBI agents investigating their disappearance discovers evidence of an unthinkable conspiracy.

They are now on the trail of the coldblooded surgeon, but will they be in time to save the young man held captive in the doctor’s offshore laboratory? Meanwhile, the reincarnated killer, in his new body, is stalking fresh prey.

Will they discover his current identity before he is able to claim another victim?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Oct 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889102496

Cory Jenson

Cory Jenson has always had a thirst for travel. His Air Force service and 30-year business career have taken him to 66 different countries. International travel, therefore, plays an integral part in his writing. He holds a BS in Business. His early years were spent in Seattle, Washington, where he met and married his wife, Edna. He now resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also the author of an earlier novel, Flight of Fear.

Book preview

Chapter One

The 25-foot Bertram cabin cruiser left the island a little before dawn. It idled its way through the moored boats in the marina. Only the ones that stayed here year-round had berths. Those that were not anchored were in various locations within the small bay. Even though, most of these had all-around lights to mark their location, there were always exceptions. The crew either didn’t care or just forgot to turn them on. It would be foolhardy to do other than a slow idle until they left the harbor.

Once the cruiser cleared the bay, it increased its speed to a comfortable ten knots. Slow enough, not to attract any attention. Even at its leisurely pace, it was out of sight of shore by the time the sun rose above the horizon and blanketed the Caribbean water with luminescence.

There were two men in the boat. One was tall with graying hair. The other was short and muscular with curly black hair. They constantly scanned the horizon in all directions. There was nothing in sight other than miles and miles of open water. Finally, the man at the wheel cut the engine and the vessel came to a stop wallowing in the short waves.

After a quick glance in all directions, the man with the black hair said, This should do.

Yeah, this is far enough out. Jaime, get the chum bucket, replied the gray-haired man.

Jaime went to the back of the boat and grabbed one of two buckets full of blood and animal pieces. He slowly walked along the side of the boat pouring the contents overboard turning the water pinkish.

Now, let’s see if that will do the trick, grunted Jaime as he returned to his seat and lit a cigarette.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Jaime grabbed the second bucket and poured it over the side. Come on, you bastards. It’s feeding time.

Finally, after a couple more minutes, they saw their first fin. It wasn’t long before there were three more fins circling the boat.

Time to get to work, said the gray-haired man, help me with the bag.

They both got up and hauled a long, heavy plastic bag from the low cabin in the front of the boat. It was obvious that it contained a human body. After laying it on the deck, Jaime unzipped it. As he reached the corpse’s head, he jerked back.

Jesus, what did they do to his head? He gasped. It looks like it’s been through a meat grinder.

I don’t know and don’t want to know, said the other man. The less we know, the better. Let’s get this over with.

Together, they lifted the bag to the edge of the boat and tipped the body over the side. As the corpse started to sink, the circling predators attacked it savagely. The melee attracted even more sharks and they began tearing pieces from the body and turning the water even redder.

Let’s get the hell out of here.

They zipped up the bag, folded it, and returned it to the cabin. Then they resumed their seats, restarted the engine and turned the boat back toward the marina.

When we get back to shore, we need to burn the bag.

Chapter Two

As the ball bounced off the backboard and through the net, Sean pumped his fist and shouted, That will be horse!

Don’t be so sure of that, replied Jason as he took aim.

Jason’s shot was close but bounced off the left side of the rim.

That’s one game apiece. Shall we play a tiebreaker? Sean asked.

Let’s take a break. It’s hot today.

It was mid-June, and the temperature was in the mid-80s.

The two boys picked up the ball and walked over to one of the benches in the shade.

Do you think it’s hotter in Florida than here? Jason asked.

I don’t know about hotter, but I bet it’s humid. I wonder if Fred lives on the beach where he can go swimming, said Sean.

Sean and Jason were best friends. They had both been at St. Anselm’s Home for Boys for over two years. St. Anselm’s was an orphanage located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania about 55 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Most of the boys at the home were from dysfunctional families, parents in prison or treatment centers. In many cases, the boys’ stays were temporary, less than a year. Sean and Jason, however, were different…they had no families.

Sean’s world had been torn apart when he was fourteen. His parents had been killed in a car accident coming home from a late dinner. His only living relative was a grandmother with Alzheimer’s who lived in a care home in Baltimore. He had felt alone and desperate when he first came to St. Anselm’s. Back home in Fredericksburg, he had been popular and had lots of friends. When he arrived at the Boys Home, he was assigned to a room with two older boys. They were from very different backgrounds than him. One was a gangster ‘wannabe’ named Tony who took pleasure in bullying younger boys. He constantly teased Sean calling him a ‘sissy’ and a ‘paddy’.

Sean’s life at St. Anselm’s took a turn for the better with the arrival of a 16-year-old boy named Fred. Fred was from Dayton, Ohio, and like Sean, had no immediate family. A few days after Fred’s arrival, during a scratch game of basketball in the courtyard, Sean had the dubious job of guarding Tony. Although, much smaller, he was quicker than Tony and stole the ball from him several times. Tony became frustrated and kicked Sean after pushing him down. Fred came to his rescue and told Tony to back off. Tony then turned on Fred and shoved him. Although smaller than Tony, Fred stood his ground and shoved him back. The shoving turned into a fist fight and, after the headmaster broke up the struggle, both boys were restricted to their rooms for a day.

The next time Sean saw Fred, he thanked him for his help. Fred laughed it off with, I don’t like bullies. Over the next few weeks, Sean sought Fred out whenever he could. Fred didn’t appear to mind and over time, seemed to adopt Sean as a younger brother.

Things got even better for Sean when Tony’s mother was released from the treatment center she had been at for a year and Tony left to live with her. Fred asked permission and was assigned to the same room as Sean. A couple of months later, the third boy in the room also left and was replaced by a new boy named Jason.

Jason came from a background similar to Sean’s. His parents were both dead. His father had been killed in a shipyard accident several years earlier and his mother had just recently died of an aneurysm. He had a baby sister, but she was adopted shortly after his mother’s death. Jason was fifteen and no one wanted to adopt a boy his age. With no close relatives to take him, he was sent to St. Anselm’s. It didn’t take long for him and Sean to become close friends. They both looked up to Fred who became a ‘big brother’ to the two younger boys.

Shortly after Fred’s 17th birthday, he was told that there was a wealthy family who wanted to adopt him. Fred said that he didn’t want to be adopted, but Paul Williams, the headmaster at St. Anselm’s, told him that it was a wonderful opportunity for him. He said that his new family was a rich, older couple who had no children of their own. They wanted to do something meaningful with their money before they died. They would provide him with a home and pay his way through college. He could even keep his real last name. Mr. Williams said that he could fly out to meet them and, if he didn’t like the arrangement, he could return. If he was satisfied with the situation, on the other hand, the officials at St. Anselm’s would send his clothes and belongings to his new home. Fred reluctantly agreed to fly to their home in Florida and meet them.

Fred assured Sean and Jason that he would be back. He had only agreed to fly to Florida and meet his prospective new family to satisfy the headmaster. Weeks passed, however, without Fred’s return. Fred’s clothes and meager belongings were boxed up and taken away. When the two boys asked Mr. Williams about Fred, they were told that he had decided to stay with his new family. The headmaster agreed to let them write letters to Fred. He wouldn’t give them Fred’s new address but would ensure the letters got to him. Sean and Jason wrote several letters, but never received replies.

Chapter Three

St. Anselm’s Home for Boys had been founded in 1895 by Father Patrick O’Shea, a Benedictine priest. Its charter was to instruct and foster young boys with nowhere else to go. Father O’Shea died in 1923, and for most of the 1900s, it was run by other priests. In 1987, however, Peter Williams, a secular headmaster, was hired to manage the orphanage. For over two decades, he efficiently ran the institution with compassion. He always claimed that it was the most fulfilling and important job he had ever held. When Peter died in 2010, his son Paul assumed the position of headmaster.

Peter Williams, although not a priest, had been deeply religious and compassionate. That was why he had been chosen to manage St. Anselm’s. His wife, Elena, died one year before he came to St. Anselm’s leaving him a five-year-old son, Paul. He accepted the position because he felt that it would provide him with an ideal situation for raising Paul while giving purpose to his own life. His role as headmaster also provided him with both food and lodging. He was, therefore, able to put aside money each month toward Paul’s eventual college tuition.

Paul grew up in the orphanage alongside the other boys. As he grew up, he learned to use his position as the son of the headmaster. Other boys would curry favor with him hoping he could influence his father when they needed something. His natural intelligence along with his filial leverage gave him a rather exalted impression of his own importance. He grew up believing he was superior to other boys. He was, in fact, endowed with well above average intelligence and was a very accomplished student. His high scores on the SAT test along with his excellent grades garnered him an academic scholarship to Harvard University.

Paul’s academic scholarship paid for his tuition and books at Harvard. His father’s financial assistance provided him with lodging, food and spending money. He was, therefore, able to live an active social life at school. His roommate, Franz Becker, was another gifted student who was majoring in pre-medicine.

Franz was a foreign exchange student from a wealthy German family. His father was the CEO of a large pharmaceutical firm in Stuttgart. His stipend from his parents allowed him to also live a busy social life. With money to spend and time to spend it, Franz and Paul attended a lot of parties and other events together. They both worked hard at their studies, but their weekends were a different matter. As soon as classes were over on Friday, they would head to the beach or the nightlife of Boston or New York. They had few friends other than each other. Their superior attitude put other student off, but that was ok with them because they didn’t need other friends.

When they both graduated, Paul with a BS in Business and Franz with a BS in Pre-Med, they finally parted ways. Paul remained at Harvard to pursue an MBA and Franz went to Johns Hopkins University to become a doctor specializing in transplants.

When Paul graduated from the prestigious Harvard Business School with an MBA, he landed a consulting job at the distinguished firm Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Virginia. His first three years at Booz Allen were moderately successful. In his final year there, however, he became involved in an unethical scheme to bilk money from a large client. When his ill-advised plan was uncovered, he was fired. Fortunately, for him, Booz Allen didn’t want the bad publicity, so they swept the crime under the rug. Instead of exposing his criminal activity, they documented his firing as due to gross incompetence. Now, with few other options open to him, he reached out to his father at St. Anselm’s.

The prodigal son’s return to the Boys Home was greeted with skepticism by his father, but Paul worked hard to ingratiate himself with Peter and his staff. He worked long hours and kept his nose clean. After a few months, the past was laid to rest. In May of 2010, when his father died of cancer, Paul was the natural choice to take over.

Paul had always enjoyed gambling and frequently played poker while in college and at Booz Allen. During his time working for his father, he had stifled his urge to gamble. Now that he was on his own again, however, he started making short trips to Atlantic City to play Blackjack and other games. At first, he played for small stakes; ten-dollar and twenty-five-dollar tables. With moderate success, however, he started raising his bets. Before long, he was wagering hundred-dollar and occasionally even thousand-dollar bets.

Paul began to lose thousands each trip. Thousands turned into tens of thousands. He kept telling himself that he had to quit, but the lure of action and the lavish casino lifestyle was just too much for him. Casinos comped him rooms, meals and special events. His host or the casino manager would always come by sometime during his stay, welcome him back and ask if they could do anything to make his stay more enjoyable. They even provided women on a couple occasions.

Unfortunately, Paul’s bank account could not support his streak of losing. He had received over one hundred thousand dollars from his father’s life insurance, but that didn’t last more than six months. He began to embezzle money from the St. Anselm’s account. He was clever and could hide these thefts for a while, but eventually he had run the account dry. He then began to borrow money, using the Boys Home assets as collateral. After a year and a half of losing, with no way to pay back the money, he was desperate.

Paul’s salvation came in the form of Franz Becker, his old roommate. In October of 2012, he attended an alumni dinner at Harvard University. He was pleasantly surprised when he spotted his old friend there. Once they started chatting, it seemed like old times. After the dinner, they retired to a local bar they had frequented during their earlier days as students. A few drinks later, an inebriated Paul told Franz of his financial woes. Franz was sympathetic and suggested he might be able to help Paul find a solution. At the end of the evening, as they parted ways, Franz suggested that they meet for dinner in Baltimore in a couple weeks.

Chapter Four

Franz Becker had graduated magna cum laude from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He stayed in Baltimore and