The time I spend recounting the tragic events of last night are precious moments that would be better spent fighting the evil that has utterly destroyed a good man. My only hope is that there is some detail - some clue - that you will pick up on that may turn the tide in saving his soul from the diabolic entity that has violated his spiritual sovereignty. I for one am at a total and complete loss.

I in no way question the good doctor's faith or methods. He is far more knowledgeable in these matters than I. However, it must be said from the outset that our third attempt to 'cure' Jeff of his affliction was a complete and utter failure.

Dr. Phillips has explained the events of our first attempt to exorcise, what I believe to be, an evil entity inhabiting my close friend, Jeff. I will attempt to describe the third attempt - fully acknowledging that the lack of sleep has clouded my memory of the events. Dr. Phillips - please add any additional details that I fail to include.

Dr. Phillips began the process around 5pm. Jeff had been sedated since that morning in an effort to provide both Jeff and us a chance to rest and regain some semblance of strength. As Jeff regained consciousness, I was shocked at how lucid he was. He asked for water and food. He asked us the day and time. He expressed his gratitude at our efforts despite his confusion as to why the doctor was there in the first place. Afterall, he asked, hadn't we already been to the hospital? I was astounded at his amnesia. None of the previous two nights' events registered in his memory. He had no memory of it whatsoever.

Despite his state of mind, Dr. Phillips and I were determined to continue our efforts and Jeff trusted our judgement. He gave us his approval to carry on and we did.

Dr. Phillips laid his hands on Jeff and entered what appeared to be a deep meditative trance. I sat next to the bed with my weathered bible and silver crucifix in hand. The room was silent with the exception of Dr. Phillips' deep breathing. Jeff too, focused his breathing in an effort to aid the doctor in his efforts. I watched and waited for something to happen.

About an hour into the meditation, both Jeff and Dr. Phillips' breathing became shallow and erratic, yet both seemed to maintain their meditation. Moments later Jeff gasped for air and Dr. Phillips' stood up and stepped back from him. I don't know what the doctor experienced, but I could see fear in his eyes. Jeff's face contorted to the point of becoming unrecognizable. He spasmed and trembled. Then he rose out of his bed - literally rose above the surface of the bed. Then he slammed down onto the bed. This happened in quick succession six times.

Then Jeff opened his eyes and looked at the doctor. From my angle across the bed from the doctor, it seemed like my friend's eyes had rolled back. All I could see was white. When I reached towards Jeff, he swung his arm at me, knocking me backwards and causing me to trip over my chair. I dropped the bible and crucifix as I fell to the ground.

At this point, Dr. Phillips clapped his hands to his ears as if shielding them from some loud noise - I could hear nothing. Then the doctor collapsed to the ground. Luckily, I had a double dose of the sedative handy and I stabbed the syringe into Jeff's thigh. Within seconds, he was unconscious.

I quickly helped the doctor into an adjoining room where I laid him on a couch. He was exhausted and incoherent but his breathing had returned to normal and I felt as though he was safe.

When I was satisfied with the doctor's relative safety I returned to Jeff's room. When I entered, I felt a strange coldness to the room. And most troubling was the fact that my friend Jeff was gone! There was no way out of the room except the window, and that was closed as tight as it was before I left. Locked from the inside.

I searched the house, the yard and the out-buildings. Jeff was nowhere to be found. After two hours of searching the grounds of the property, I returned to the house to check on the doctor. By this point, he had regained his consciousness and his strength. We examined Jeff's room for clues and found nothing, save my bible - opened to the book of Matthew.

Neither the doctor nor I slept at all last night. I have been driving the local roads and visiting our normal haunts looking for Jeff and asking around if anyone has seen him. He's fairly well known in this part of town, so if he shows up, I'll know about it right quick. But needless to say, I am concerned that something terrible has happened to my friend. This is the most desperate situation I can remember over some ten odd years of chasing ghosts and beasts.

Tomorrow I will head back to the old barn where I believe this all began. God help me.

Eilonwy - it most certainly was Matthew's chapter 8. Is there significance to this passage? I admit, I am no scholar of the bible (or much else for that matter).

Dr. Phillips - thank you for your efforts. I hope that you will keep in touch - Jeff and I may still need your help - depending on what we find at the old farmhouse.

Well, the situation with Jeff is resolved... mostly. This whole mess didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. What started as a 'simple' haunting investigation turned out to be much more insidious than that.

After recovering from almost 72 hours of sleep deprivation, I headed back to that damned barn on the Curtis Ranch. Whatever had happened out there since Jeff's appearance had already happened by the time I got there. I don't know if I'll ever know the truth, especially with Jeff in the condition he's in. Shit. Even if he could explain what transpired, would I be able to understand it?

Here's what I can say for certain... As I was driving up to the ranch house, I could already see that all hell had broken loose - quite literally perhaps. The barn had been reduced to a pile of cinders with the exception of a few old wooden beams that survived the blaze. Jeff's beat up Tercel was parked next to the house. I pulled up along his car and called out for Mr. Curtis. Then I called out for Jeff. No answer.

I decided to examine what remained of the barn while I waited for the Mr. Curtis to return. I grabbed a shovel from my truck and started poking around in the ashes a bit. There wasn't much left of the barn or its contents. By the looks of it, the fire had burned hot and fast and had probably been smoldering for the last day or so. Then I found it... a charred human skull a pile of bones. A bit later I found another set of remains, only smaller in size.

Now it's about this time that Jacob Hencrest and Dr. Boggs showed up at the farmhouse. When they pulled up, I showed them what I'd found. The bodies had been so badly burned, none of us could really tell how old they were or who they were. But with the absence of the Curtis family, we had our suspicions.

After some discussion, we decided to enter the house. We had to make sure that the family was safe, and for all we knew, they could have been hiding inside. Long story short, we ended up finding Mrs. Curtis locked in the root cellar and she was hysterical. She kept going on and on about her husband and daughter - how they'd been attacked by Jeff when they caught him dousing the barn with kerosene and how Jeff had locked her up in the cellar. The implication of her disjointed story was that Jeff was responsible for the corpses (Mr. Curtis and his daughter Delilah). I wasn't convinced. I'd known Jeff for over ten years and he'd never hurt an innocent person. Never.

To be on the safe side, Jacob, Boggs, and I searched the rest of the house looking for the missing Curtis' and Jeff. To my amazement, we found Jeff unconscious in Delilah's bed. We tried to wake him, but he was totally oblivious to our presence. Having some expertise in these matters, Dr. Boggs examined Jeff - if for nothing else, to determine if the entity that had possessed him was still present. Since that is not my bailiwick, I'll let Dr. Boggs describe his efforts (if he sees fit to do so).

Suffice it to say, when we were able to wake Jeff, he was totally incoherent and we couldn't get a word out of him. His eyes were open, but he wasn't there. His state was different from before. There was no anger about him. In fact in a strange way, it was almost like he was at peace. It seemed like some sort of coma, but again, I'm no doctor.

There was a brief argument between Jacob and myself regarding whether or not we should call the authorities. I'll admit that I was emotional and not thinking straight. In my mind, all we had was the accusation of a delirious old woman, scared out of her wits by what she interpreted as the murder of her husband and daughter by one of my closest friends. In my mind, there was no way that Jeff could have done these things that she said.

Jacob did a good job of talking some sense to me. Jacob, you were right and I apologize for my resistance. I was only trying to protect my friend.

An hour or so later, the county sheriff arrived with a crime scene investigation unit and they set to work collecting evidence from the scene of this bizarre crime. Of course to them it was pretty straight forward. Jeff was taken into custody. We were forced to give our accounts of the events that transpired - with some details omitted for obvious reasons.

Once a few of the neighbors arrived to care for Mrs. Curtis, and the sheriff's department were done with their questioning, we headed back to Tucson. The whole way back we followed the transport vehicle taking Jeff to the Tucson Psychiatric Institute where he would be evaluated over the next couple of weeks.

So this is where we're at. Jeff is in custody. The entity that had twisted Jeff to (apparent) murder is presumably gone, at least for the time being. Jacob and Boggs have left town and returned to wherever they'd come from. And I am left to wonder what really happened. And more importantly, would it happen again?

Whatever it was that twisted my friend, it is out there still. But I will find it and destroy it. I owe that to Jeff.