Past Tense

Gene Ralston wakes from a nightmare in which he fights a man in a sand quarry, falls, and suffocates as sand piles over him. The image unsettles him and lingers into the morning as he begins his day. The dream foreshadows danger and a mind struggling to separate memory from fiction.

A new neighbor named Tory Bass moves into the house across the street. She introduces herself with a skittish manner and expresses a chilling sense that someone may have been murdered. Gene becomes curious about the newcomer and what she knows.

In their first talk, Tory admits she was involved with a man who is a police officer. She also remains wary, convinced that danger surrounds her. The confession deepens the sense that a case may be closer than Gene realizes.

Gene hosts dinner for his partner Larry Talbert and his wife Emily. They discuss his growing ambitions as a writer, while Gene's thoughts keep drifting toward Tory. The social setting masks a growing tension between reality and desire.

The next day Gene goes to Tory's house and they share an immediate attraction. They make love on her living room floor, and the boundary between real life and fantasy begins to blur. Gene feels a pull toward Tory that unsettles his sense of normalcy.

A delivery man brings roses from Tory with a note inviting Gene to come over after dark. He goes to Tory's house expecting a romantic encounter, but the evening instead hints at danger and secrecy. The invitation marks a turning point in their fragile connection.

Gene arrives at the scene to find Tory murdered. Larry leads the murder investigation and orders Gene off the case because of his involvement with the victim. The case becomes personal for Gene and raises questions about motive and memory.

Ignoring the orders, Gene begins his own inquiry into Tory's death. He notices inconsistencies, including the absence of a distinctive cut on her hand, which was expected from what he remembers. His digging pulls him deeper into a web of misremembered facts and hidden pasts.

Emily attempts to seduce Gene, adding pressure and confusion as he pursues the truth. When he returns to the house where he met Tory, he finds a different woman living there, as if Tory never existed. The reality around Gene continues to shift in unsettling ways.

Gene consults Dr. Bert James, the department psychiatrist, who admits he does not fully understand what Gene is experiencing. He warns that memory distortions can blur the line between fact and fiction. The doctor provides a clinical perspective on Gene's ordeal.

As Gene continues the novel, he uncovers that the Tory he knows is connected to a previous homicide under a different name, a fact Larry already knew. The boundaries between memory, fiction, and evidence start to crumble. The investigation takes a sharper turn toward a hidden truth.

Larry escorts Gene to a hospital and he realizes he has been dreaming while in a coma. He awakens after thirteen months, discovering his oxygen had been cut off while he lay buried in a sand pit. The narrative reveals that much of what he experienced was a reconstruction of memory.

Tory surfaces again, waiting for Gene to emerge from the coma. She hints that there is more to the murder case than what Gene and Larry had revealed before the accident. She remains a living clue guiding him toward the truth.

Gene begins to rearrange clues that his subconscious produced while he was unconscious. He uses the mix of memory, dream, and reality to inch toward a coherent solution. The process brings him closer to a final understanding of the case.