The Empty Reflection Beckons: The Stepping Stone Cycle, Episode 5

The Stepping Stone #5

by Gary Ballard

It’s been nearly two years since forensic psychologist Dr. Jack Carter’s wife, Sarah, disappeared along with his memory of the event. In that time, his friend and fellow psychologist Dr. Martin Dyer has treated the amnesia as Jack investigated Sarah’s disappearance. Recently, Jack has discovered that Martin knows much more about the supernatural occurrences Jack has experienced during the investigation. Before Martin can be questioned, he sends Jack to diagnose an elderly gentleman's mental state, sending Jack to a house in disrepair. Rather than an senile invalid, Jack finds a spry senior who serves tea that sends Jack into hallucinations before losing consciousness. When he wakes, he finds himself transported back over 100 years into the body of a grieving widower with a penchant for investigating strange serial murders that bear a striking resemblance to the murders Jack’s been investigating in his present. Set against the politically-charged New York City mayoral race of 1886, Jack and his host must solve the murder of a wealthy socialite’s wife before the anti-immigrant tensions of the campaign boil over into violent chaos.

94 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2019

About the author

I began writing things down at the age of eleven, and I haven't stopped since. I have written far too many things that have gone unpublished, from very terrible horror novels in my teens, to comics during my time at Belhaven College until finally settling on cyberpunk science fiction after graduation. I have released three novels in a cyberpunk series called The Bridge Chronicles. The Bridge Chronicles in turn is one slice of cohesive universe that began as a pen-and-paper roleplaying game.

I currently live with my beautiful wife and three very insane dogs in Mississippi, where I continue to write my novels.