Charcot's Genius

by M. C. Soutter

  Garrett shrugged as if it were just more nonsense, but Melissa stared him down, her strong eyes digging into him. Garrett tried to stare back, and he almost succeeded. Lea watched them carefully, enjoying the private wrestling match. It’s like watching lions in a courtship ritual, she thought.

  “All right,” Garrett said finally. “So Lea is the character expert around here. I’ll go talk to Mr. Good-Times Cop, then.”

  “No, I’ll do it,” Jason said, and started to walk away.

  Garrett grabbed him. “Easy, big man. This is my job.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because he left something out,” Lea said. “He’s good at this, somehow.”

  Garrett glanced at her. Then he smiled. “Okay, Miss Watchful. Yes. Carlisle’s antenna thing did… something. I think I’m sort of persuasive.”

  Jason looked skeptical. “How?”

  “What is this, science class? Do you know how you’re a tape recorder?”

  Melissa said something then. Very quietly. All three of them turned to her, but she seemed strangely embarrassed.

  “What?” Lea whispered. “Once more, Melissa?’

  “He smells good,” she said, louder this time. Her eyes were closed. “He smells incredible.”

  Jason shook his head. “I don’t smell anything.”

  Melissa opened her eyes and gave him an exasperated look. “So what?” Suddenly she sounded almost frantic. “It doesn’t matter what you can smell, your nose is nothing but a – ”

  She stopped. Took a breath, collected herself. When she spoke again, her voice was subdued. Apologetic. “You use Colgate toothpaste, Jason. And even though you brushed your teeth before coming to class, I can tell that you had a burger for dinner last night and cheerios for breakfast. Okay?”

  Jason put his hands up in surrender.

  “More importantly,” Melissa went on, “I can tell that Garrett smells better than the rest of us. I’m not even sure what the smell is, but it makes me want to rub my face against him. He smells like sex. He smells like good sex.”

  They stared at her without speaking. Lea noticed that she was breathing fast. The quiet stretched out, awkwardly.

  “Sorry,” Melissa said finally. “Didn’t mean to freak everyone out.”

  Garrett smiled. “Not at all. Nice to be appreciated.”

  “Oh, shut up.”

  Jason still looked uncomfortable. He glanced at Garrett. “I guess you’re elected.”

  “On my way.”

  Garrett was successful, as both Lea and Melissa had known he would be. The old, grumpy-looking cop lit up when Garrett started talking to him, and soon the two of them were walking past the blue barriers, all the way up to the building itself. The policeman even escorted Garrett inside.

  “Wow,” Jason said. “I wouldn’t have believed that it if I hadn’t seen it.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” said Melissa.

  “So the old cop is gay?”

  Lea shook her head. “He’s not.”

  “But you said Garrett smelled like sex.”

  Melissa shrugged. “It’s not just sex. He smells like authority. Like power. Safety, even.”

  Now it was Jason’s turn to be cynical. “Come on. How can someone smell like safety?”

  Melissa considered. “Smell is probably the wrong word. It’s more than that. It’s like an emotion, but coming through your nose.” She squinted at him. “You buying this?”

  “I don’t know, but I wish I smelled like that.”

  “You do,” Melissa said, glancing at Lea. “Just not as much. You’re a guy, so you have it. But Garrett has it a lot right now. It’s his thing. Like your memory.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Jason didn’t sound convinced.

  Garrett emerged from the building five minutes later. The friendly policeman was still with him, looking very pleased.

  “He wants to keep talking,” Lea said. “The cop, I mean.”

  Melissa watched, and she could see that Lea was right. Garrett was nodding, thanking the man, but he couldn’t get away. Finally he began gesturing to the blue barricade.

  “He’s telling him he should probably be standing guard,” Lea said.

  After another minute of cajoling, Garret managed to get free. He came back looking dejected.

  “You were right,” he said, nodding at Lea. “Carlisle’s deader than a post.” He sighed heavily.

  Lea frowned as she read his expression. “Oh, shit,” she said.

  Melissa looked at them. “What?” she said. “What, what?”

  Garrett closed his eyes. He could feel another headache coming on. A bad one. “I looked everywhere,” he said. “I even had that cop show me an inventory of any items that were confiscated for fingerprinting. But it wasn’t there.”

  Jason cursed under his breath.

  Melissa shook her head. “No,” she said. “I can’t handle this for much longer.”

  “You’re going to have to,” Garrett said sadly. “Because that antenna thing is gone. Whoever killed Carlisle must have taken it.”

  4

  There was a sudden murmur in the crowd, and the four students stopped their conversation to watch. Several policemen were moving barriers aside. A group of EMT personnel came out of the building with a stretcher between them.

  There was a body bag on the stretcher.

  The EMT men hustled into a waiting ambulance while reporters’ cameras flashed around them like a fireworks display. “What’s the point of the ambulance?” Garrett said. “Isn’t he dead already?”

  “He’s been dead for hours,” Melissa said. Her voice was strange, and they turned to look at her.

  “Melissa!” Lea ran to put her arm around her friend’s waist, but Melissa’s knees had already buckled.

  “I’ll be okay in a second,” she said weakly. She leaned heavily on Lea’s arm and glanced towards the EMT men. “He’s in the truck now,” she said. “Those doors are shut tight. It’s not as bad anymore.”

  Jason stared at her. “You smelled him from all the way over here?”

  “As if I were lying next to him in the bag.”

  “How do you know he’s been dead for so long?”

  “The same way you’d know if meat in your refrigerator had gone bad a week ago. He was rotten.” She took a deep breath, and this seemed to steady her. “I can’t live like this. It’s too disgusting. Jason, do you remember if Carlisle said anything about this stuff wearing off? Just a little bit?”

  Jason shook his head. “He was very specific. ‘Previous trials have shown ongoing effectiveness. In all cases, secondary treatment is necessary for symptom reversal.’ ” He shrugged. “It sounds like we’re stuck like this until we get our hands on that T.V. antenna again.”

  Garrett looked sullen. “How come he gave you all the info?” he said.

  “Beats me.”

  “Because he knew,” Melissa said.

  “What?”

  “Carlisle knew that Jason would have a perfect memory. That’s why he told him everything.”

  Lea nodded. “We probably wouldn’t even have remembered Carlisle’s name without Jason here to remind us.”

  “Terrific,” Garrett said. “Did he tell you what to do in case he got killed in the meantime?”

  Jason didn’t look amused. “It didn’t come up.”

  “I really need that antenna thing,” Garrett said again.

  “We all do,” said Melissa.

  Garrett winced suddenly. He put one hand on his head. “Fuck.” He closed his eyes. “My headaches are coming back. I need that thing now.”

  “So do I,” Lea said, sounding piqued. “So does Jason. So does Melissa.”

  “So let’s go find it,” Melissa said.

  “And how are we going to do that?” Garrett asked. He was almost shouting now.

  Melissa smiled. She was the only one who didn’t look rattled. “You aren’t using your imagination,” she said.

  As soon as the ambulance pull
ed out of the parking lot, the crowd began to evaporate. Photographers unloaded their rolls of film, collapsed their tripods, and packed their cameras away. A few reporters tried again to get comments from officers on the scene, but their efforts were firmly rebuffed. Most of them headed for their cars, heads bent over notepads, scribbling madly. The four students from Carlisle’s psych 10A class made no move to leave. They were still waiting for Melissa to explain herself.

  “You think we can find the antenna?” Garrett said. “We’re not the cops. How do we even know where to start?”

  Melissa seemed not to hear the question. She turned to Lea. “Hey. Check out all the plainclothes cops. Who’s in charge?”

  Lea scanned the crowd of officers. She saw that several of them were dressed casually, rather than in the starchy blue uniforms of the beat police. They wore permanent frowns, and walked around in an endless rush, as if they were annoyed at something. Without uniforms or stripes to look at, it was impossible to tell who the highest ranking officer might be.

  But not for Lea. She inclined her head at a lady standing near the edge of the crowd. The lady was wearing a dark gray blazer, neatly tailored. She wasn’t frowning like the others; she seemed perfectly calm.

  “Try that one,” Lea said.

  Jason looked at the woman and rolled his eyes. “I don’t think she’s even a cop.”

  Garrett nodded in agreement. “I doubt she’s in charge of anything. Isn’t she’s a professor or something?”

  Lea sighed. “Watch her a little bit.”

  They did. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The woman barely seemed interested in the scene before her. She looked as if she were waiting to be let back into the building.

  Garrett huffed. “How long do you want us to – ”

  “Shut up and watch.”

  As if on cue, one of the plainclothes cops walked over to the woman and spoke for a minute with her. She produced a pad from the inside pocket of her jacket and made some notes. Then she said something and pointed, as if giving instructions. The cop nodded and walked off.

  Melissa smiled. “What do you think, guys? Still think she’s a professor?”

  Garrett and Jason looked at the ground.

  Melissa grinned at Lea, who looked ready to burst with pride. “Okay, then,” Melissa said. “Garrett, you’re our point man. Soften her up and bring her over.”

  “Excuse me?” Garrett shook his head. “We’re not talking about some flatfoot this time. That lady could probably lock me up for tying my shoes wrong.”

  “You can’t handle it?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Melissa waved at him. “So get going.”

  Garrett took a deep breath, as if he were about to jump into a pool of very cold water. “Here we go,” he said quietly.

  “Now,” Melissa said, “as soon as he brings her back, I’m going to – ”

  “What if he can’t?” Jason asked.

  Melissa stopped and looked at him. Her eyes softened. “Try not to get distracted.”

  “What?” Jason said, sounding defensive. “I know he’s a sex God and everything…”

  “Jason, please – ” Lea began.

  “It’s just that he didn’t seem that sure of himself this time. That’s all.”

  Lea sighed. “Don’t be jealous about this.”

  “I am not jealous.”

  Melissa shook her head. “All right, enough.” She looked at the ground, then seemed to make a decision. She turned to Lea. “What did you think about Garrett at first? As a guy, I mean.”

  Lea was startled by the question. She bit her lip, remembering. “He was… good looking.” She glanced nervously at Jason. “But not… anything so special.”

  “Right,” Melissa said. “And now?”

  Lea reddened.

  “It’s okay,” Melissa said. “It’s only lust. You can admit it.”

  “Melissa!” Lea’s eyes went wide with embarrassment. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I don’t see how this helps with the jealousy.”

  Melissa shrugged. “It’s a smell. I’m feeling it too. Just answer the question.” She stared at Lea gravely, as if this were an interview. “So, once again: what do you think of Garrett?”

  Lea threw her arms up in resignation. “He’s attractive, okay? Is that enough?” She was careful not to make eye-contact with Jason. “It’s not his face, or his body, or… anything. It’s just…” She shook her head, looking defeated. “Actually, I don’t even know what it is.”

  Melissa nodded, as if this were exactly the response she had been looking for. “And do you like him?” She made her voice sound like an eight-year-old’s. “As in, more-than-a-friend?”

  Lea scowled at her. “No!”

  “And who do you like?”

  Lea said something very quietly. Too quietly to be heard.

  “What?”

  “You know,” Lea whispered, tilting her head almost imperceptibly in Jason’s direction.

  Melissa kept pressing. “Really? Even though Garrett’s all hot-to-trot and everything?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you.” Melissa glanced at Jason. “You feel better now?”

  Jason ran a hand through his hair. He tried to collect himself; to seem serious. But it was hard for him to hide his smile. “Yeah, okay,” he said finally.

  “No more juvenile comments about Garrett being a sex god?”

  “No.”

  “And you?” Melissa looked at Lea. “You’re going to survive the indignity of all this?”

  Lea nodded silently.

  “Good.” Melissa blew air through pursed lips like a weary parent. “As I was saying: when Garrett brings that lady back, I’ll try to get some information out of her. Lea, you’re on truth patrol.”

  Lea grinned. “Got it.”

  “And Jason – look at me, please, not Lea – I need you to remember everything this lady cop says. And I mean everything.”

  Jason nodded. “It’s not like I have a choice. I remember everything anyone says.” He tipped his head back, as if the weight of so many memories was throwing him off balance. “I don’t discriminate.”

  Melissa seemed satisfied. She glanced in the direction of Hitchcock Medical Center. “Our charmer still has his stuff. Here he comes.”

  Garrett was walking toward them. The lady in the gray sports coat was following close behind. She looked delighted.

  “I see you’ve met our friend,” Melissa said.

  The woman smiled, but did not take her eyes off Garrett. “Mmmm,” she said, as if Garrett were a chunk of creamy chocolate in her mouth. “Yes, I have.”

  “Good. Then we can – ”

  But suddenly Melissa discovered that she could barely concentrate. Garrett’s odor had intensified noticeably in the last three minutes. Melissa stepped back a pace and took a little breath through her mouth. Her head cleared a bit, and this allowed her to refocus. She returned her attention to the detective. “Could I ask you a few questions about the murder?”

  The woman frowned. She looked offended by the question, as if such a request might actually be illegal. But then Garrett spoke up. “We don’t want to be a nuisance,” he said. “Detective Perth, I’m sure you need to attend to matters on the scene...” He began inching away from her.

  “No, no,” the woman said quickly. She took a step toward him, closing the gap between herself and the pheromone factory standing next to her. “Ask your questions,” she said.

  Melissa bit her lip to keep from smiling. Detective Perth had her own set of distinct smells – good perfume, wool fibers – and she smelled smart. But apparently brains didn’t matter when you were up against Garrett Lemke.

  “First of all,” said Melissa. “What time was Carlisle killed?”

  The detective responded without hesitation. “We won’t know for sure until we get the report back from the medical examiner,” she said, her eyes still locked on Garrett. “But the best guess right now is around three this morn
ing.”

  “And how was he killed?”

  “Blunt trauma to the head.”

  Lea made a coughing sound. Melissa glanced behind her, and Lea shook her head slowly.

  “I don’t think so,” Melissa said, turning back to the woman.

  There was a flash of annoyance in the detective’s eyes, but Garrett swooped in like a well-trained butler preventing a spill. “We’re doing a study,” he said smoothly. “For a class. I promise this isn’t going to show up in the papers. I would never do that, Detective Perth. Not to you.” He smiled warmly.

  “His face was ripped off,” the detective purred, as if she were delivering a come-on line. Garrett managed to hold his smile steady.

  “Who are your suspects so far?” Melissa asked.

  “Everyone. Disgruntled students, competing professors. He wasn’t a popular man.”

  “And what – ”

  Lea made her coughing sound again. Melissa turned around, and Lea mouthed a word silently: more.

  Melissa turned back. “Are there any specific suspects you’re planning to investigate?”

  The woman paused. She looked up at Garrett, then back at Melissa. She seemed torn. The question had touched something sensitive, and Detective Perth had reached some sort of balance point.

  Jason gave Garrett a nudge. Time to pour it on, champ.

  Garrett dropped his head briefly. He looked like someone going into meditation. Then he raised his eyes and stared at the woman in front of him. He stared at her with longing. With heat. As if she were the last woman on earth.

  Melissa took a quick step backwards, looking slightly unsteady on her feet. “God,” she said. “Jason, could you – ” She gave him a pointed look, and he moved quickly to the space where she had been standing.

  “You were saying about the suspects?” Jason prompted the detective.

  “Yes,” she said softly, her hesitation gone. She was now gazing at Garrett as if he were Adonis himself. “Here’s the list so far: Chris Hershel, a sophomore who failed Carlisle’s psych class last year. Martha Lynch, a junior who’s rumored to have had a brief relationship with Carlisle. And Jeff Gooding, whose tenure has apparently been derailed several times by Carlisle’s influence in the psych department.”