by Terri Marie
“Let’s just hope they clearly decide that Robert needs to be sent back up to Marquette.” Jacob said while putting his arm around Emma.
Tyler nodded and then turned around to head back to Renee’s room. He slowly opened the door and went inside. Brian was talking to her about the progress of the new songs he was playing on the guitar. He’d written the music but didn’t have lyrics yet. Tyler and Renee would sit and listen to him play them, in complete awe of the kid. If all he had to do all day long was to enjoy his family, while listening to Brian play his guitar, he’d be a happy man.
Before Tyler had a chance to speak, the doctor walked in and smiled at Renee. “I heard you were awake. How do you feel?”
“Better than I was. I don’t remember being brought here though.” Renee answered calmly. “I remember being at the courthouse and seeing my ex-husband, but after that everything’s a blank.”
“Renee, that’s because your mind shut down. You let yourself get too stressed, and you haven’t been taking care of yourself very well. Your blood tests show that your blood sugar was a little too low, and that you were dehydrated. Remember, you have to provide yourself with adequate nutrition, hydration, and rest, so your baby will stay healthy. I understand you’re under a lot of stress with the trial, but you’re going to have to find some better coping skills. I’m going to provide you with a phone number so you can talk to a therapist.” The doctor checked the monitor and her chart.
“I’ll make sure she’s taken care of Dr. Callaway.” Tyler was willing to take her to a remote island if necessary. He was never going to allow her to go through that again.
“Do you feel good enough to go home? You’re not feeling any cramps?” he asked.
“I had horrible pains when I ran out of the courtroom, but I’m not having any now. Were those contractions?” Renee asked with concern.
“Braxton Hicks contractions. We’ll be giving you information on those before you go as well. You and baby aren’t showing any signs of distress or premature labor. I can let you go home if you promise to take care of yourself and get plenty of rest.”
“I will,” said Renee. She sighed with relief.
“Call and make an appointment with your obstetrician in a week. Take care.”
Tyler and Renee thanked the doctor and then stared at each other. “Renee, we have to make sure you take better care of yourself. No more stress, and you’ll be eating three healthy meals a day…and then some.”
“When do we go back to court for sentencing?” she quickly inquired.
“When hell freezes over,” said Brian. “Erase Robert from your memories.”
Tyler was shocked by the kid’s response, but he couldn’t agree more. He watched Renee roll over on her side so that her back was facing him and Brian. They’d both do anything and everything to protect her, even if it resulted in her lashing out. Robert’s day of reckoning had finally come, but it just didn’t seem to be enough for Renee. He looked back at Brian and wondered if Robert’s punishment would ever be enough for her.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Renee couldn’t deny that she was happy Robert would be held accountable in a court of law for all of his crimes. But she felt that the greatest punishment would have been for him to see the group alive and well, knowing he’d lost in his pursuit of them. That moment was gone. He’d go to prison with the knowledge that his greatest defeat wasn’t witnessed by the very people he’d tried so hard to kill. Hopefully, the families of the other victims were able to be there throughout the duration.
She’d never felt so unsettled in her life. Unfinished business. Important business. For her, there still wasn’t any closure, and there wouldn’t be until she was face to face with him. Renee had to go and lose her mind and get carted away; now that moment of closure was long gone. She needed him to see her victory. There was no way for any of that to happen now…or was there?
The nurse came in and handed her some papers to sign, then her IV and leads were disconnected and she was told that she was free to go. Their expressions of happiness did nothing to disguise the worry on Tyler and Brian’s faces. Perhaps they knew her as well as she knew herself.
“I’m going to go bring the car around. I’ll see you downstairs, Baby.” Tyler kissed her forehead before walking out of the room.
When he was gone, Brian stood in front of her. “Renee, I was serious when I told you to make Robert go away in your mind. It’s not healthy for you, and it’s not good for the baby, either. He was convicted and he’ll spend the rest of his life behind prison walls, but it seems like you’re still so angry. Tell me what you’re thinking?”
“I’m just tired, Brian. Everything’s fine.” She gave him a weak smile, but it was evident that he wasn’t buying it.
“It’s over with, Renee. You won, we won…there’s nothing more that can be done.” Brian took her hands in his.
“I just wish he could have known we were there to witness his verdict. I feel like the most important thing happened, and we weren’t there.” Renee averted her eyes.
“Listen to me. The most important thing is that you and the baby are fine. We all are.” Brian bent over to make her look at him.
“You’re right. We should get downstairs so Tyler doesn’t have to wait.” Renee picked up her paperwork and headed out the door. Brian quickly stopped her.
“Wait for the wheelchair, Renee. You don’t need to be walking so far right now.” He pushed the call light and soon, transport arrived.
Renee grudgingly sat in the wheelchair. She wanted to object more than anything, but there was no way she had the energy to make the long walk. While she was being pushed down to the main hospital entrance, she thought back to the night when she, Brian, and Jacob, could have died. But they didn’t, and even though Robert knew they’d survived, it still wasn’t enough. Renee probably should do like everyone else and put this behind her, but there was no hope of that happening. Every wave of emotion, which was easily prompted by memories of her ex-husband, hospitals, news reports of shootings…seemed to eat through her veins like acid. Renee was filled with a vengeance she’d never imagined herself capable of feeling. Wiping Robert off the face of the earth would be the ultimate answer for protecting all the people she loved, but that wasn’t going to happen either. Now all they could do was to rely on the law; the very people that Robert had played with like toys.
On the drive home, Renee stared out the window from the front passenger seat. She rubbed her pregnant stomach and felt the little flutter that she loved. This wasn’t exactly how she had planned to announce the newest member of the Montclair family, but hopefully the baby would bring them all some joy…something good to look forward to instead of impending court dates.
“We’re almost home, Love. I want you to rest when we get there. Are you hungry?” Tyler’s voice was still filled with worry.
Renee shook her head in response. She was glad they had decided not to keep her overnight. She needed to think in a quiet environment, without the loud hospital equipment bleeping and a bunch of staff running around. Her directions from Tyler and the doctor had been clear: “Eat better, avoid stress, and get plenty of rest.” All three of those would definitely help in clearing her mind. Then she could come up with a way to get to Robert.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
“Preston!” yelled Skinny Ass at the guard station.
Robert was almost asleep and he was looking forward to having sweet dreams of earning enough money to pay someone to pick off his Dumb Ex. He sat up and stared.
“Get up. You have an interview…” Skinny Ass laughed at him. “I’m sure it’s not for a job.”
Robert walked to the steel door and turned around. He was still stuck at the damn jail and it was pissing him off. He was cuffed and shackled, before he was shoved into a room, where a bald man was sitting.
“What do you want?!” demanded Robert. The man was wearing the cheapest suit he’d ever seen. He laughed.
“I’m Dr. Bradford, a ps
ychiatrist hired by Mr. Knowles to evaluate you. We need to find out what kind of treatment would be best for you.”
Robert stared at Cheap Suit, ignoring the stupid smile on his face. “You must not make very much money.” He laughed harder.
“Don’t start any shit,” warned Skinny Ass.
Robert sat in the chair and waited patiently while Cheap Suit pulled out a bunch of papers.
“Robert, I’m going to be asking you a series of questions. I want you to answer them as best as you can. The first one is this: If someone said to you ‘Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,’ what would that mean to you?”
“It means that I’m the Blind Easter Bunny. Next question.” Robert couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
“What about ‘You should look at a glass as half-full instead of half-empty?’ Cheap Suit began writing down Robert’s answers.
“It means the carton of gross milk they give me, isn’t even enough to fill the bottom of a glass!” Robert was getting very impatient. Cheap Suit looked at him like he was ignorant, and Robert could care less.
“Who’s the president, Robert?”
“Gold ole Abe. Give me that axe he used to cut down the cherry tree so I can chop your skull open!” Robert yelled.
Robert wondered if Cheap Suit would enjoy his song. He began to sing it loudly. “Twelve Freaks, sitting in a row…No wait. I wanna change it. One Cheap Doctor sitting in the chair, asking me questions when I don’t really care, go tell the judge, he can go to hell, and when you see my ex-wife, she’s gonna die…Yes, I like that one much better.”
“You want to kill your ex-wife?” Cheap Suit began writing even more quickly.
“Do you hate ants?” Robert laughed at The Tool.
“Do you feel like anyone is out to get you, Robert?” Cheap Suit’s expression was looking more serious.
“Aliens. They come here in my sleep and put things in my head with instruments. Dental instruments.” Robert wanted to laugh extra hard, but he leaned forward, keeping his expression as serious as possible.
“Do you see these aliens?”
“Yes. Every night. They talk to me, too. They say ‘Robert kill Renee. Kill the psychiatrist.” Robert had to fight like hell not to lose it.
“What do they look like, Robert?”
“They’re green like snot. Big bulging eyes like Skinny Ass over here. About twelve of them come into my cell. Twelve!”
Cheap Suit grilled him for an hour. When he was being shoved back to his cell, he began singing his new song again. “Twelve Freaks, sitting in a row…” Once he got to his cage, he was shoved extra hard.
Skinny Ass gave him a dirty look when he slammed the door. “Let me guess, Preston. You’re trying to get your ass thrown in a psychiatric ward instead of the prison. I’m documenting everything that points to your sanity. You’re a low-life killer, but you aren’t crazy. Nice try though, you piece of scum.”
Psychiatric ward, thought Robert as a smile stretched across his face.
Chapter 8
Vincent cringed when he saw William Furrow’s name appear on the display as his phone rang. Maybe it was because he already knew what the call would be about.
“William, how are you?” The expression on Vincent’s face didn’t match his tone of voice.
“Pretty good. I wanted to update you on Preston. Knowles is using a psychiatrist by the name of Bradford; a scared little mouse of a man. I’ve had to cross examine this guy a few times. Anyways, I have a copy of the report from his interview of Robert. His diagnosis is Paranoid Schizophrenic.”
“Are you kidding me?!” Vincent was absolutely dumbfounded.
“His fees are pretty cheap, and that’s the only reason I believe he gets hired to work in the court system. He’s misdiagnosed every case that he’s consulted on. But don’t worry over it, Vincent. We’re sending Dr. Lucy Atkins to evaluate him.”
“I’m not trying to sound sexist, but he’s pretty intimidating.” Vincent could just imagine Robert scaring the hell out of her.
“She doesn’t scare, and her balls are bigger than the both of ours. Trust me, Lucy’s the real deal. She’s gone against every killer who’s tried to play the insanity card. Those who really do need help, she makes sure they get it. But when someone is pulling symptoms out of their ass, well she takes care of that as well.” Furrow laughed as if he was recalling fond memories.
“When will she see Robert?” Vincent was afraid it’d be too late to do anything about this killer faking a mental illness.
“She’ll be at the jail in four days. I think her appointment to interview the bastard is at 9am, but I’ll get confirmation on that, Vin, don’t worry about this stunt he’s trying to pull. We aren’t going to let it happen.”
Vincent thanked Furrow before hanging up. He wished he could feel the same confidence that the prosecutor felt, but Robert’s manipulative abilities weren’t anything to sneeze at. Sitting at his desk, he looked at the clock and realized he was just postponing the inevitable. Piling more stress onto Tyler’s plate wasn’t exactly what he was shooting for. He hesitated for another minute, before dialing his oldest brother.
“Vin, is everything okay?” asked Tyler in a quiet voice.
“How’s Renee?” Vincent was still worried about her and the baby.
“She’s sleeping. Give me a second to get downstairs.” He could hear Tyler making his way down the stairs and then into another room where he closed the door. “It’s okay now.”
“I wanted to know if you, Sean, and Jacob, could all meet me in my office now. If not, we can come to your house. I just don’t want to be overheard.” Vincent had no intentions of discussing Robert, or anything having to do with the creep, within earshot of Renee.
“Brian’s here and can keep an eye on her for a little while. I can’t be gone too long, though. It’s getting late.”
“Sean and Jacob are here in the building. I’ll call them over, but we’ll wait until you arrive to get started.” Vincent hung up the phone and called his secretary, asking her to contact his two other brothers. He could have called the twins directly, but they would have hammered him with five hundred questions first. They weren’t very patient when it came to waiting for answers. But then again, patience had never been an abundant virtue of the Montclairs.
“Tell me you have food, Vinnie. I’m starving,” announced Sean as he came through the door, followed closely by Jacob.
“Didn’t you grab something to eat after we left the hospital?” Vincent suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten either. Without waiting for a reply, he called his secretary to order three extra-large, supreme pizzas.
“No olives,” announced Sean.
“And no anchovies. Get some of those breadsticks.” Jacob directed.
Vincent looked at his brothers and rolled his eyes. “Elissa, could you please order us breadsticks too, and on the pizzas, ask them to hold the olives and anchovies. Don’t forget to order whatever you and the boys would like to have for dinner. I’m horrible at guessing.” He listened to her shy laugh. She was the sweetest woman in the world. Her husband was an idiot for walking out on her. After the first interview with Elissa, Vincent had hired her immediately.
“Wait, Vin. You know that green peppers give me heartburn…” mentioned Sean.
“Pick them off,” replied Jacob and Vincent at the same time.
A few minutes later, Tyler walked in and sat down. “I’m starving, Vinnie. Got any food?” They all began to laugh.
Vincent thought it’d be best to wait until their stomachs were full to bring up such a foul topic. Montclair tempers always rose more slowly when they weren’t hungry. Even though his brothers kept asking him a hundred questions, Vincent just kept repeating himself. “Eat first, then we’ll talk.” When they were finished, he took the leftover pizza, which he’d known there’d be a lot of, and brought it out to Elissa. He never ordered food without getting something extra for her and her children. Vincent knew how hard it was b
eing a single parent from watching Tyler for all those years.
When he walked back into his office, he closed the door and then pulled up a chair to be close to his brothers.
“You waited until after we ate, so it can’t be good news,” began Tyler. “That’s an old wives tale, Vinnie. I bet we get pissed off anyways.”
They all laughed in agreement, but Vincent knew that Tyler was dead on. “As I told you earlier, Robert’s attorney thinks he needs to be psychologically evaluated before sentencing. That way he’ll go to a psychiatric facility instead of the prison. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a prison, but he’ll have a few more comforts.”
“When does this take place?” spat Sean.
“He had his first evaluation today. The defense’s psychiatrist diagnosed Robert as being a Paranoid Schizophrenic. We all know that’s bullshit. That’s why Furrow is having a psychiatrist, named Dr. Lucy Atkins, interview him in four days.” Vincent looked at the disbelief and shock on his brother’s faces.
“He’ll chew her up and spit her out,” mumbled Jacob to Sean.
Vincent shook his head. “I had the same first response, but Furrow has assured me that she’s ‘our guy’ if you will. We have to trust him.” Vincent wasn’t so sure if he was a believer in the abilities of this woman either.
“Does she even know the depths this creep will go to? At least tell us we’ll be allowed to go with her, Vinnie.” Sean said as he got up and looked out the window.
“If we were allowed in the room during the interviews, I’d already have our seats reserved, but legally, we can’t have anything to do with it. All we can do is wait for a judgment on his mental status. What we know is one thing. What Robert is capable of making them believe, is another.”
Tyler leaned over and looked Vincent in the eyes. “I’m not saying a thing about this to Renee. She’s already stressing over us missing the verdict. This means you can’t say anything to Emma, Jacob.”
“Wait a minute, Ty,” began Vincent. “This is going to be all over the news and in the papers. Are you sure it’s a good idea to keep Renee in the dark? I think she’ll find out regardless, and then she’ll be really pissed.” He watched Tyler sliding into deep thought. Vincent couldn’t imagine being in his shoes right now…not even a little.