by M. Z. Kelly
Eva sipped her wine, then set the glass down. “Have either of you ever heard of the term folie à deux?”
“I worked a case once where the term came into play,” I said. “It’s a mental disorder in which two people share a delusional belief system.”
“I believe the term fits perfectly with what we know about Anne and Alexander Parker.” Her gaze moved off for an instant, then came back. “I think it’s also relevant that Anne chose the name ‘The Realm’ for her school. It might just fit with her belief that she’s royalty.”
“It would also explain some of the photographs we saw in her cottage, and her elaborate dress.” I decided to give voice to the other thing I’d been thinking. “Could Anne Parker be living out some kind of macabre fairy tale?”
“Maybe,” Eva said. She exhaled and brushed a hand through her dark hair. “All I know for sure is that she’s the key to this case.”
The conversation shifted and we chatted about our lives and past assignments for a few minutes. Olivia then yawned and said, “I don’t know about you two, but I can use all the beauty sleep I can get. I’m going to call it a night.”
I started to join her when Eva asked me to stay behind for a couple minutes. After Olivia was gone, she said, “I wanted to talk to you about Joe.”
I smiled, unsure where the conversation was headed. “He’s definitely one of a kind.”
“I know you two are close. Joe and I had dinner recently, and there were some...” She smiled. “...I guess you could say there were some sparks between us. I just don’t want to get in the middle of anything.”
I finished my wine. “You aren’t. The truth is, I think you came along at exactly the right time.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I’ve been in what you might call a bit of a vulnerable state recently because of some past relationships that didn’t work out. Joe came along, and...” I set my empty glass down. “Before meeting you, he said he wanted us to be more than just friends. I was wavering, even considered getting involved, but now I realize that would have been a mistake.”
“Why is that?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Joe’s a great guy. It’s just that with both of us being in law enforcement, it wouldn’t have been a good fit.” I reached over and touched her hand. “I hope it works out for you.”
She smiled. “Thanks, but...to tell you the truth, I’ve had similar reservations. I think the jury’s still out on our relationship.”
I smiled and rose. “For what it’s worth, you have my blessing.”
***
The taskforce reconvened at nine the next morning, with John Greer updating everyone on our case. “We found the car the Parkers stole from the elderly couple in a parking garage in Norfolk. There’s little doubt they changed cars there and left the area. We’ve had some reports they’ve been spotted in different jurisdictions, but nothing’s panned out.”
The conference room door opened, and we were surprised to see Emma Collins enter the room. Despite yesterday’s ordeal, she seemed confident and in control as Greer greeted her.
“I’ve asked Agent Collins to address this gathering about what transpired yesterday,” Greer said. “After we’re finished with the debriefings, she and Lauren will again be relocated. I might also mention that we’ve determined that her status and living situation was compromised by one of our administrative staff assigned to the relocation program. That information subsequently appeared in an Internet blog, and we can only assume the Parkers picked it up from there.”
Greer turned the meeting over to Agent Collins, and we learned about how she determined her daughter’s location.
“Lauren and I are very close. Over the years, since I’m in law enforcement, we’ve had discussions about how she should handle things if she was ever abducted. Yesterday, she followed the protocol we put in place by activating a miniature transponder that sent me her GPS coordinates.”
“Why didn’t you contact the agency after finding out her location?” Joe asked.
“Given that our identities and living circumstances had been compromised, I frankly didn’t want to take the chance the information wouldn’t remain confidential. My daughter’s life was at stake, and nothing is more important to me.”
Joe nodded. “Understood.”
Greer spoke up. “Since yesterday’s activities, we’ve learned that the house where Agent Collins’ daughter was held captive was an unoccupied vacation rental property that had been broken into. It’s likely the Parkers had surveilled the property prior to the abduction.”
After a sip of water, Collins took over again. “The reason I wanted to be here today is to convey some information that was given to my daughter during her captivity. Anne and Alexander Parker made some statements that were rather bizarre, but are likely germane to eventually finding them.”
Collins referred to her notes as she continued. “Yesterday, Alexander asked my daughter if she thought she could take their power and assume control for his father. When Lauren said she didn’t understand what he meant, Anne told her that her son was talking about The Realm. She went on to say something about the children were supposed to use the Light and protect her, but they’d been taken away.”
Eva spoke up. “I had a discussion with Detectives Sexton and Quest last night. We believe Anne Parker is living out a delusional fantasy, and her son is part of her psychosis.” Eva went on to explain about folie à deux. “It’s likely that Alexander spent his entire childhood being controlled and manipulated by his mother into believing an elaborate fantasy.”
Collins agreed with her and continued. “My daughter also said that Anne became angry with her at one point, accusing her of sleeping with her husband. When Lauren said she had no idea what she was talking about, Anne accused her of lying and told her son that he had sent her, meaning Lauren, and probably referencing her husband. Alexander then made statements about killing his father. Anne responded by saying that her husband had been transformed into the beast.”
Joe then took a couple minutes, updating everyone on what he’d learned about the murder of Albert Burke and the baby stolen from the hospital. “We believe Anne took the child and raised him as her son, just like she later went on to abduct several other children for her school.”
“It’s possible that Anne, in her delusional state, believes she and Albert were married, and that he’s still alive and plans to come for her and Alexander,” Olivia said. “She’s also convinced her son of that. Alexander probably sees his father as a threat to his relationship with his mother and plans to kill him.”
“That all might be true,” Joe said, “but none of it brings us any closer to knowing why Alex the Asshole has been taking women and killing them all these years.”
“It’s possible that Anne believes they’re somehow a threat to her,” Eva said. “In ordering her son to kill them, she’s symbolically preserving her relationship with him and readying him for the day when the man who abandoned them both will return.”
Collins agreed. “Lauren told me that Anne considers her son’s killing spree his artwork. If what we’re speculating is true, it means his art is death, orchestrated by his mother, to preserve her delusional power.”
The room was silent as the impact of what we thought we now understood settled in. I spoke up. “This means that Anne will continue to order her son to kill. It’s the only way she can continue their shared psychosis and belief there will eventually be a day of reckoning when his father returns.”
Eva agreed. “I think what we’re witnessing is Anne Parker’s private reign of terror. It originates in her mind from a magical place she calls The Realm. When Anne’s husband returns, it will mark her personal form of Armageddon.”
FORTY-NINE
We spent the next day chasing down leads that went nowhere. Late in the day, and with nothing breaking, John Greer decided to send everyone home until something further developed. Olivia and I caught the red-eye special again, along wi
th Joe Dawson, who was flying home to Phoenix. After boarding the flight, Olivia excused herself to try to get some sleep. That left Joe and me alone in the main cabin.
After some discussion about our case, Joe gave me some good news. “The authorities in Brazil think they’re closing in on the Rylands. We’ve got several teams down there working with them. I’ll fill you in when I get something more.”
“And Pearl?”
He shook his head. “Nothing, so far, but we find the Rylands and we might find Pearl.”
I felt the tension in my neck and shoulders and kneaded my muscles. “I guess at this point I have to take whatever good news I can get.”
He regarded me for a long moment. “You okay, Buttercup?”
I yawned and excused myself. “Sorry. It’s nothing that about fourteen hours of sleep wouldn’t cure.” I decided to turn the tables. “And you?”
He shrugged. “Just another day of chasing evildoers.”
I laughed. “You sound like Batman.”
He smiled. “I’ll let you call me the Caped Crusader if it makes you happy.”
“It’s a deal.” Maybe it was exhaustion on my part, but I decided to share some of last night’s conversation I’d had with Eva. After briefly telling him that she wanted to clear the air with me, I added, “I think she genuinely cares for you and was concerned because of our friendship.”
“That sounds like her. She’s pretty straight up.” His eyes were fixed on me. “You sure there wasn’t something else?”
“As in?”
He shrugged. “You know how women are.”
I laughed. “How are we?”
He started to squirm and seemed lost for words. He finally said, “Never mind.”
I thought about continuing to needle him, but decided to let it go. Seeing Joe uncomfortable was a first for me, and I decided to let him off the hook. “I think I’ll find a quiet spot and get some shuteye.”
I started to leave when he said, “I’m sorry.”
“About what?”
“Us. The way things turned out.”
I smiled. “I think things turned out the way they were meant to be. Goodnight, Joe.”
After landing in Los Angeles just after eight in the morning and walking through the terminal, Olivia called Lieutenant Byrd and explained our circumstances. When she ended the call, she said, “Maybe our new lieutenant isn’t so bad, after all. He gave us the day off to rest and said he would see us in the morning.”
“Anything new with the Novak case?”
“Both Welch and Ford made bail. The lieutenant said the assigned DA wants to meet with us in the morning.”
“I wonder what that’s about.”
“Not sure, but I hope he’s not going to say our case is on thin ice.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“You’re having second thoughts?”
“Maybe. It just seems like Welch’s motive for killing the man she was in love with is suspect.”
Olivia saw that her shuttle was waiting. “I guess we pick things up in the morning. See you then.”
***
I got home a little after nine in the morning and found a man with a video camera in my living room, along with Dr. Doris, Nana, and Uncle Fred. As Bernie and my friends came over to greet me, I asked what was going on.
“Tex got himself that software upgrade for Dr. Doris,” Natalie explained. “The love birds and Dr. D are being interviewed by Jon Drexel for his YouTube channel. The segment is called ‘T-Rex Sex’. It’s all about old-timers that have prehistoric sex.”
“Drexel is the guy with the microphone who looks like Goofy,” Mo explained.
While he didn’t exactly look like the cartoon character, there was something about the interviewer’s nose and ears that did bear a slight resemblance to the Disney creation.
“Tell our audience what it’s like having sex at your age,” Drexel asked Nana and Fred.
Nana looked at her companion. “You want me to tell the truth?”
“Of course. The whole world needs to know that I’m still a stud.”
Nana laughed, exposing her oversized dentures. She said to the interviewer, “I’m afraid Fred has gone from stud to dud.”
Fred glared at her. “What are you talking about, old woman?” He looked at Drexel. “You gotta take into account what I have to work with.” He scowled at Nana. “And believe me, it’s not much.”
Nana laughed. “He’s just jealous that I look and feel half his age.”
From my viewpoint, the jury was still out on the results of Nana’s recent plastic surgery, including the Botox treatments that had made her face look paralyzed. Fred was apparently also unimpressed with the results.
“You look like a rag doll that’s been dipped in water and wrung out,” Fred grumbled. He looked at Dr. Doris. “What’s your take on this?”
Dr. Doris’s software upgrade made her voice sound almost human—think Amazon’s Alexa, with a low battery. “I’d say that you’re both so far over the hill, you’re about to roll down the other side.”
“What?” Fred and Nana said, simultaneously. Nana looked at Tex. “I thought this robot was a sex-expert, not a stand-up comic.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I demonstrate my humor while sitting down,” Doris said, before Tex could respond. “Given your ages, I suggest you both do the same, before someone digs a hole and throws you in.”
What followed can only be described as the first ever robot-human three-way, as Nana took a swing at Dr. Doris and clipped her on the chin. Doris went down, then Nana and Fred jumped on her and began pummeling her.
“Stop!” Tex screamed. “You’ll destroy her circuit boards! I reprogrammed Doris and upgraded her sense of humor.”
“Keep going,” Drexel said, as the scrum continued. “This is great for my ratings.”
I looked at my friends. “I know it’s still morning, but it must be five o’clock somewhere.”
Natalie snapped her fingers. “Mimosas all ‘round, Otto, and make ‘em strong.”
“Right away,” Otto said. He cut his eyes to me. “Good morning, Madam.”
I said hello, then inwardly groaned, realizing I’d forgotten all about asking Molly if she’d had any luck finding Otto’s ex. I excused myself for a moment and called the station. When I got Molly on the line, I explained things and asked about Clara.
“Actually, I did come up with something,” Molly said. “There’s a reason I wasn’t able to find Clara before.”
I held my breath. “Don’t tell me she’s dead?”
“No, but Clara is now Clark.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She had her name legally changed a couple of years ago, after she had some gender reassignment surgery.”
“You’re absolutely sure about this?”
“I can send you Clark’s picture, if you’d like. He’s actually quite nice looking.”
I exhaled. “Sure, why not? I’ve got to somehow find a way to explain this to Otto.”
After ending the call, I decided to wait on telling Otto about Clara, or Clark, when I saw him carrying the drinks over to the atrium. I joined my friends, finding my mimosa delicious and refreshing.
“You musta had a rough few days,” Mo said, “comin’ home like this and needin’ to hit the bottle.” My heavyset friend wore a pink wig this morning, with a matching spandex full body suit.
“We heard the Angel and his nutty-buddy mama got away,” Natalie added.
“I’m afraid so, but I think it’s only a matter of time until they resurface.”
Mo smacked her lips. “Maybe he’ll come back here. I did a little street snoopin’ and found out he liked ‘em young and dumb—girls that had just hit the streets.”
I took another sip of my mimosa, then said, “I guess that doesn’t surprise me. That’s pretty much the way he operates.” I moved the conversation along by asking them about Jimmy.
“Myrna’s ‘bout ready to give
up on findin’ him,” Natalie said. “She’s runnin’ the show at the PI biz now, so Mo and me are gettin’ more work.”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Leo since I’ve been gone, but I’ll find out if he’s heard anything tomorrow.”
“No hurry,” Mo said. “The truth is, life’s a lot easier with Jimmy gone.”
“That might be the case, but if something happened to him, we need to get to the bottom of it. What about Lucky Scarfo? The last I heard, you said Myrna had assigned a couple of PI’s to find him.”
“Actually, the assigned PI’s are me and Mo,” Natalie said. “We think Lucky’s hangin’ out in a penthouse apartment over in Bel Air. We’re gonna go by and lean on him tonight, find out what he knows ‘bout Jimmy. Hey, maybe you can tag along.”
The last thing I wanted to do was see a mobster who had a reputation for violence, but I didn’t want my friends getting in over their heads. “I’ve been up all night and need some sleep, so we’ll see.”
“You gonna work the Novak case again, now that you’re back in town?” Mo asked. “We heard his business manager and the director are out on bail.”
I nodded. “We’re supposed to meet with the DA assigned to the case tomorrow.”
“Mo thinks you got it all wrong,” Natalie said. “We also heard Welch was doin’ the wick dip with the director.”
Mo was studying her wig in a hand mirror as I asked her, “What are your thoughts about the case?”
She put the mirror down. “I heard Novak had a thing goin’ on with that Garfield guy who managed his business affairs, in addition to playin’ the field. I think the killer’s out there somewhere, hidin’ out and laughin’ at you guys. You gotta keep diggin’.”
“Would you care for something more?” Otto asked, poking his head into the room. “Perhaps some bagels and cream cheese?”
Natalie declined. “I gotta watch me booty for our upcomin’ lip sync war.”
Mo and I also turned down Otto’s offer. After our butler left, I asked my friends, “Is Fred still planning to perform with us?”