“I’ve sent DNA tests in for Kateri and Hans,” Klein tells her at lunchtime. “I’ll get young Richter to come by with a pediatrician and get a test from Tommy and give him a once-over too. He’s a really cute baby and he seems healthy enough but let’s get him checked out. I doubt she’s ever taken him to a doctor. I’ve spoken to all the legal powers that be and the public prosecutor has issued a warrant for us to keep Miss Cuckoo behind bars as long as we need to, until the tests prove things one way or the other. The tests take anywhere from five to seven days, and I’ve put a rush on things and when I told Kateri that it might take that long, she said that’s fine by her. She’s spent most of the time sleeping and hasn’t asked after her kid once. She’s a piece of work, I’ll tell you that. But no one down at the station knows who she is or should I say, who she’s claiming to be, so don’t worry about that.”
“You’ve had a busy morning,” Melusine says. “That sounds great. Felix and I will stay at Dieter’s until the tests are in. Better safe than sorry.”
They ring off and Melusine updates Felix, who visibly relaxes.
“He calls her Miss Cuckoo,” Melusine says, laughing.
“He’s right,” Felix says fervently. “Off her rocker. She is beautiful though, isn’t she?”
“Exquisite. Her skin’s flawless. She’s like Michelle Pfeiffer from twenty years ago. If she’s four years younger than Hans, she’s forty-three.”
“She’s so graceful too. Like a ballerina. But she’s got that weird look in her eye. Kind of freaky, and it ruins her beauty. She’s all lights on and no one’s home — a chandelier ready to blow.”
“Exactly. What I want to know is how she stays so clean while Tommy was so grimy. And they were staying in a bus station. And yet Kateri or whoever she is, floats in looking like she’s just spent the day at a spa.”
“Very odd. Do you think she is the psychic?”
“I’ve got no idea. The DNA will reveal all.”
Tommy chooses that moment to wake up from his afternoon nap and he wails and they both rush over to him.
“We need to go toy shopping,” Melusine says, and Felix grins.
“As soon as we close here, we’ll hit the mall. What fun!”
Meanwhile, content in her cell, the woman called Kateri Angelika lies half asleep. With someone else taking care of her baby, she can float back to the sanctuary of her private fantasy world and as soon as she lies down and closes her eyes, she is surrounded by the dreamy medieval world that she lives in and loves; a world in which she is feted by knights as she rides on horseback through a forest. It is always summertime in her world and there is the sound of laughter and the smell of a feast being prepared. She knows the feast is in her honour; she is being celebrated for her bravery and her beauty and she sits easily astride the big white horse while admirers line her path and curtsy and bow as she passes.
41.
DIETER AND MARTIN leave for their safari, dressed to the nines in khaki and white linen. And Melusine and Felix fall more in love with Tommy every day.
The pediatrician comes by and gives him a clean bill of health and he says Tommy’s one of the cutest babies he has seen. Tommy gurgles up at him throughout the exam, grinning and cooing. “He’s still got some cradle cap under this fine blonde hair and you can see he scratches his face with his sharp little nails. You might want to get him some mitts.”
He runs his finger down the strawberry birthmark on Tommy’s forehead. “This is a vascular birthmark, but don’t worry, it’ll fade by the time he’s about two years old. He’s got one on the back of his neck too.”
Tommy chortles with joy when the doctor picks him up and turns him over.
“He’s such a wonder,” Melusine smiles, “we just love him.”
“Easy to see why,” the doctor turns the baby onto his back and Tommy gazes at him. “He’s got a very interesting stare, doesn’t he?” He tickles Tommy’s tummy. “You look right at a person, don’t you Tommy?”
“Aren’t his eyes so beautiful?” Felix asks. “They’re most incredible blue and so big and wide-set. He’s gorgeous, just gorgeous!”
The pediatrician weighs Tommy and gives them some advice on what to feed him.
“Is he too fat?” Felix asks. “He does seem very big, especially since he’s only been having a bottle.”
“He’s fine,” the doctor says. “The weight will fall off him once he starts moving around, don’t worry about it. I want to show you some exercises that you need to do with him to start him sitting on his own. Make sure you give him lots of time on his tummy, so he can start working on his crawling.”
He shows them.
“I’ll probably have to come back,” the doctor says. “I need to get Klein to ask the mother if he’s had any of his shots.”
“My guess is not,” Felix says, darkly. “She’s really off the planet.”
“That’s what Klein said. Anyway, I’ll ask him to ask her and we’ll take it from there. Okay, you handsome boy, that’s nearly it for the day and generally, you’re in very fine shape. But now, I’m very sorry I’m going to have to take a little blood and this is going to hurt a bit.”
He pricks the underside of Tommy’s tiny little foot and both Melusine and Felix wince and Tommy lets out a wail.
“Sorry little guy,” the doctor says and Melusine grabs the baby up and a minute later Tommy’s grinning again.
The doctor says goodbye and Melusine and Felix examine Tommy’s foot.
“Surely there’s a more humane way to take blood from a baby?” Felix is indignant and Melusine agrees.
“I’ll make him some of his favourite avocado and banana mix,” Melusine says while Felix cuddles him.
A couple of days later, Klein calls Melusine.
“The pediatrician will have to come back,” he says, “Kateri said, when I could get her to focus, that Tommy hasn’t had any of his shots yet.”
“No surprises there,” Melusine says and Klein agrees.
“There’s no word on the DNA yet,” he says, “but I’m getting a psych evaluation done this afternoon. I’ll phone you tomorrow and let you know the results.”
Melusine thanks him, hangs up the phone and updates Felix.
Then she emails Gunther.
That woman is shocking! She shouldn’t be allowed to call herself a mother. She doesn’t even ask about Tommy! Oh Gunther … I’m really worried about what will happen to him. He’s the most special boy, I wish you could meet him, you’d see he’s no ordinary baby. What if she disappears with him? I couldn’t bear that.
She signs off, knowing that Gunther is not too happy about this unexpected turn of events and she wonders if a time will come when she will have to choose between the baby and the man. And if she does, she already knows who she will choose.
42.
“I WANT YOU TO TELL ME, on a scale of one to five, how true a statement is for you,” the state psychiatrist tells Kateri who looks bored. “Five means it’s very accurate while one means it’s very inaccurate. Three means you are in the middle.”
Kateri flicks a speck of dust off the sofa. It is time for her evaluation at the psychiatrist’s office and she is irritated by the interruption to her rest. She studies the rows of books on the shelves and the ornaments from far-distant lands. Her mind wanders; she is lying on an embroidered rug in the shade of a cool tree with the soothing sound of a nearby waterfall and a woman is stroking her hair and everything is peaceful and lovely…
“Kateri? I need you to concentrate please.” The psychiatrist has the audacity to snap his fingers in front of her face and she looks at him, implacable.
“Focus, please, on what I’m asking you. I want you to answer honestly, remember there’s no right or wrong, just answer as quickly as you can.”
Kateri sighs. The sooner she gets this over with, the sooner she will be left alone again.
“Fine, I’m concentrating.”
“I prefer to do things alone. On a scale of one to five, ho
w accurate is that for you?”
“The most accurate.”
“I have difficulty making decisions without excessive advice and reassurance of others.”
She shakes her head. “That one’s stupid. I make all my own decisions by myself.”
“I strongly dislike being around people who don’t appreciate or care for me.”
She is baffled. “Everybody cares about me. Everybody loves me. They love me too much. That one’s stupid too.”
“I have magical thinking or odd beliefs.”
“There’s nothing odd about my beliefs. What do you mean by magical? People fall under my spell all the time, I can’t help that, I wish they didn’t. How many more of these stupid questions do you have?”
“There are forty,” the psychiatrist says and Kateri sighs again.
“Well then, let’s get this over with.”
43.
“THE STATE PSYCHIATRIST says she suffers from schizoid personality disorder,” Klein tells Melusine.
“Does that mean she’s schizophrenic?” Melusine asks, also worried about what that might mean for Tommy, in a number of ways.
“No. I asked him the same question and apparently with this disorder, the person doesn’t have hallucinations, delusions or a complete disconnection from reality. His report says, and I quote: ‘With this illness, the person is aloof and detached, they avoid social activities that involve intimacy with other people and they don’t want any kind of close relationships, not even with family members.’ Which would explain what she said about needing to leave her family because they loved her too much.”
“It would also explain her weird lack of details about things,” Melusine says. “She just lives in her own head. But Herr Kommissar Klein, this isn’t good for Tommy, if she is in fact his mother.”
“Melusine,” he says, “may I please ask that you call me Jürgen. And no, it’s not good for the boy. Let’s see what the tests reveal. They’ll take another four to five days. And then, if she isn’t his mother, we’ll have to take it from there. The psychiatrist also said she’s very secretive and most likely spends a lot of time in a fantasy world in which she is the heroine. Apparently her condition’s quite rare and most schizoids operate well socially while remaining emotionally withdrawn. Kateri’s a rather extreme case.”
“Jürgen,” Melusine tries out the name. “What’s the prognosis for getting her help?”
She can almost hear Jürgen shaking his head on the other end of the phone line. “The psychiatrist said she’s one of the most inaccessible people he’s ever worked with. She’s narcissistic, and feels very superior to the rest of us. She also has no real grasp of the consequences of any of her actions. Everything comes second to her living in her own little world. All we can do now is wait for DNA.”
“I can’t bear to think of Tommy having to live with this woman, I just can’t. Thank you for letting me know, Jürgen. Talk to you soon.”
“Was that the sexy policeman?” Felix asks when she hangs up the phone. “Have you noticed how he looks at you? Knowing you, you haven’t.”
Melusine looks up in surprise. “You think he’s sexy? Really? I suppose he is.”
Felix laughs. “You suppose? Oh, come on. He’s so not my type but even I can see it.”
“He’s very manly,” Melusine admits, and she surprises herself by blushing. “He’s most likely married though. He just strikes me as a married man.”
“He isn’t wearing a ring…”
“Which means nothing these days. Most men don’t like wearing rings. Funnily though, Hans still wears his. Probably doesn’t notice it’s there and when he does, he’ll sell it for booze.”
“I just think you and Mr. Detective would make an interesting couple.”
“And I think we have other things on our minds.” Melusine ends the conversation and she considers telling Felix about Gunther but something stops her. He has always been her own private secret, her quiet joy. Prior to Kateri’s arrival, their correspondence had, increasingly, hinted at getting together, he had even said he would come to Germany, but now that feels like a remote dream to Melusine, with little chance of coming true.
Gunther does not hide how he feels about Tommy particularly when she tells him she hopes to be a part of the baby’s life.
You’ve had your time parenting. Why on earth would you even want that? I don’t understand.
I guess I’ve fallen in love with the little guy, she writes back, and it’s true, she’s besotted. I’d be willing to keep Kateri around even if she isn’t Kateri, just to be near Tommy.
That woman sounds dangerous, he immediately fires back. You wouldn’t be able to trust her. You’d come home one day and all your possessions would be gone, and her and Tommy too. She’s not to be trusted.
She knows what he says is true, and now, with Jürgen Klein’s words ringing in her ears, she feels even more anxious about how things will turn out.
Thinking about her relationship with Gunther and the inevitable change it faces makes her sad and she turns her thoughts to Felix’s love-life instead.
“You’re the one who should be thinking about finding love,” she scolds, as she’s done before. “You’re so young, too young to be alone.”
“I’m perfectly happy being alone,” Felix says calmly. “Happier than I have ever been. I don’t need the complications of love. Anyway, where there’s sex, there’s rarely love, not the lasting kind anyway. No, I’m quite fine.” She changes the subject. “When are they going to start working on your book? Feels like they’re taking forever.”
“The publisher says we should start working on the galleys soon. I’m getting excited. I wonder what suggestions they’ll make?”
“I love your book. I don’t think they’ll change anything.”
In the early days of their partnership, Felix had insisted that Melusine give her a copy and she had read it in a single sitting. “It’s going to be a bestseller, I’m telling you now.”
Melusine laughs. “Oh, I don’t think so. But after all this time, it will be nice to have it in print. We can have the launch party here at the café, what do you think?”
“This place won’t be big enough. Dieter will hire a hall or something. He wouldn’t miss an opportunity for a big celebration but watch, he’ll use it to launch our line of store goods too, we’ll end up working our asses off!”
“Quite right.” Melusine groans. “Good thing you mentioned that, I can mentally prepare. Ach, I shouldn’t complain, he’s a good and generous man.”
“We’re making him good money too,” Felix says and it’s true. “And he’s very proud of us. Martin says he tells all his friends about his famous arty café run by his Modern Art nude model, soon-to-be-author, pastry chef and his Bambi drag queen. That’s what he calls us!”
They both laugh.
“It’s all good,” Melusine says and she picks up Tommy. “But what will become of this little fellow? Oh Tommy, you gorgeous edible boy, what will happen to you?”
Tommy gurgles and grins and Jonas arrives at that point and takes Tommy from Melusine. “Mami, this little guy makes me want to have a dozen babies right now.”
“And what does Nika say about that?” Felix says, making him a latte.
“She says we have to wait. Any word on what’s happening with Mama Loony Tunes?”
Melusine tells him about the psych evaluation, and a worried frown crosses his face. “Hearing that makes me want to grab Tommy and run away,” he says.
“Don’t even joke about things like that, Jonas. I know, though. I’m worried too.”
“Speaking of worried, have you seen Papa lately?”
Melusine shakes her head. “No, actually not since the day in the park. We’ve been so busy with the café and Tommy that I quite forgot about him to be honest, which I know is awful. Why?”
Jonas shrugs. “He seems much worse. I couldn’t get him to make any sense at all today. The whole thing with Kateri really upset him. I asked
that guy Kristian, one of the group he hangs out with, if Papa’s been sleeping at all and he says not. The guys even sit right next to him, on either side of him, in the middle of the day and he falls asleep but then he wakes up screaming. Even they’re worried about him and that’s saying something. And he’s seeing her even when he’s awake. Apparently he stands there, screaming at the air in front of him.”
“I should stop by and see him,” Melusine says. “You know, apart from our Tommy here, this visit from Kateri has been very destructive.” She sighs.
They all look at each other, worried about the baby they fear they will lose, while Tommy gurgles and bats his toys with strong little fists.
44.
A WEEK LATER Melusine is drying her hands on a tea towel and chatting to Tommy, who is practicing sitting up all by himself when, to her surprise, Jürgen Klein walks in and a feeling of dread fills her heart.
“She’s going to take him back,” she whispers, her hand pressed against her mouth as if not letting the words out would stop the awfulness from coming true. “Oh Jürgen, I know it was stupid of me but I hoped things could stay like this, with Felix and me and Tommy.”
She cannot help it, tears well up in her eyes and she starts to cry, burying her face in the tea towel. Next thing, she is sobbing and Jürgen is holding her, talking frantically.
“Melu, listen to me, listen to me, she’s gone, she’s gone.”
She looks at him, her mouth agape. She blows her nose in the tea towel and he takes it from her gently and puts it where she won’t be tempted to use it to dry the cutlery.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that she’s really gone. She convinced one of the officers to let her go outside for some air. And now, since her disappearance, he admitted that he’d done it before but she always came back. He’s very red-faced, believe me. And this time she’s gone for good. She even left a note. Well, a kind of a note. She’s not very coherent. Here, I made a photocopy for you, the note’s been filed in evidence. I tell you, Melu, she’s a special kind of wingnut. By the way, she really is Tommy’s mother.”
A Glittering Chaos Page 28