Blind Delusion

by Dorothy Phaire

  “This doesn’t belong to Jerome,” she said out loud to herself, “That’s Alonzo’s photo.”

  She picked up the license and examined the information printed on it. It listed Jerome Johnson’s name and address, a birth date that she knew was too late to be Alonzo’s date of birth, as well as a height and weight of 5’ 10,” 165 pounds. These vital statistics belonged to Jerome not Alonzo Woods. That’s when she realized the driver’s license had to be a fake.

  Odessa Dillon, Jerome’s supervisor had explained that an ID was required to identify the person taking the drug test. Now, Renee understood how Odessa and Alonzo falsified Jerome’s drug test results so that he would fail but she didn’t know why Odessa wanted to terminate him. Jerome didn’t start having problems at work until they reassigned him to her unit and he began reporting to her.

  Renee picked up the phone to call Deek but placed the receiver back. She didn’t want to leave a message about something this important. She figured he would not be able to get away from the interrogation in order to take her phone call. She’d have to wait for him to get there since he told her he couldn’t be reached during the meeting in the Assistant US Attorney’s office. Briefly, she considered contacting Detective Bradford but dismissed the idea as a waste of time. She didn’t trust him to follow-up on a new lead. Bradford wouldn’t prolong the Johnson investigation a minute longer even if it meant getting to the truth. He’d probably think the novelty license with Alonzo’s picture and Jerome’s information was just a practical joke. Perhaps, it was, but she wanted to find out why. She called UDS and requested that the receptionist on the evening shift page Alonzo. Perhaps, he was still there. When the receptionist finally came back to the phone, she told Renee that Alonzo Woods had left work for the day.

  Renee knew she was taking her role as consultant on the case too far. If either Deek or Bradford knew what she was thinking of doing, they’d remove her from the case for breaking one of their cardinal rules. But she had to do something. Brenda was being charged with a capital murder offense that Bradford believed had been executed with the aid of a co-conspirator. Renee had to pursue her hunch that Odessa Dillon was the one behind Jerome’s murder so Brenda could be vindicated. She shouldn’t have to spend the weekend in jail for a crime she didn’t commit.

  Renee thought back to Jerome’s funeral when Deek had questioned Alonzo. At that time Alonzo told them where he lived on 16th Street, SE in Capitol East. Renee figured she could get Alonzo to talk easier if they were alone. He would feel threatened if Deek were there. That’s the one thing Alonzo loved to do, talk to the ladies. She’d go see Alonzo and accept his offer to take her to that rib joint. There had to at least be a salad on the menu she could eat. Once on his own turf and relaxed, she’d break down Alonzo’s defenses and get a confession out of him. She ran down the stairs, picked up her camel-colored wool coat, and stuffed the fake driver’s license inside one of the pockets. With her coat draped over her arm, she opened her front door only to find Odessa Dillon standing on her porch about to ring the bell.

  “Mrs. Dillon? How did you get through the neighborhood security gates without the pass code?”

  “Hah, some security ya’ll got in this fancy place,” said Odessa and elbowed her way pass Renee to step inside. “All I did was wait for a resident to enter and piggy-backed behind him. Sugar, I coulda gone down the block and back before those dang gates would close.”

  A look of distress crossed Renee’s face when she recalled Deek telling her a few weeks ago to contact their security management firm and let them know the gate was defective. But with everything that had happened in the past several days, she had forgotten to call. Now here was this demented woman who she knew was at least partially responsible for Jerome’s murder, standing less than a foot away from her and blocking the exit.

  “What do you want, Mrs. Dillon? As you can see I’m on my way out,” Renee said in a curt tone.

  “You know very well what I want? You opened that envelope didn’t you? I can tell by the scared look on your face that you know. That’s too bad, Dr. Hayes. Just like Jerome, now you’ve given me no choice.”

  “Why did you kill him, or did Alonzo do it for you?” Renee asked, trying to appear calm while her heart pounded.

  “I tried to give Jerome another chance to come back to work but he wanted to sue me for sexual harassment instead. He was gonna betray me so I had to eliminate him. My only mistake was getting that idiot Alonzo Woods to be my hitman. Damn, how could I have been so stupid!” she cursed herself aloud, “I shoulda taken care of Jerome Johnson myself instead of relying on a moron to be able to follow simple orders. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Now, hand over that fake driver’s license,” Odessa demanded and held out her hand.

  “I can’t. It’s evidence.”

  Renee clutched her overcoat and ran up the stairs as Odessa followed. If she could just get to her bedroom and lock the door, she might have time to call 911. Just as Renee made it to the door and was about to slam it shut, Odessa’s large hand grabbed her wrist and held it tightly. Odessa held her from behind and twisted her arm. The coat fell to the floor. She sensed Odessa’s hot, panting breath at the back of her neck.

  “Now, I’ll ask you again—nicely. Where’s that ID, Sugar?”

  “In my coat pocket,” said Renee, gasping out of breath from the sprint up the stairs.

  Odessa released Renee and reached into her handbag then pulled out a stun gun. She pointed its neon blue bolts of electrical probes menacingly at Renee while stooping down to pick up the coat. She searched each pocket and yanked the fake ID out then tossed the coat across the floor.

  “Good. Now, all I gotta do is take care of you. Let’s go,” she said and shoved Renee forward.

  “Go where?” She was trying to stall for time in the hopes that Deek would soon get there.

  “For a ride. You don’t think I’m stupid enough to whack you in here, do you? I know just the deserted place to dump your body where nobody’ll find you for a long, long time, if ever,” said Odessa with a lurid smile. “After a few days, the flies and maggots’ll get a buffet feast off your rottin’ corpse. Now walk, Sistah. My car’s conveniently right out front.”

  Odessa held Renee around the waist from behind and clutched the stun gun in her free hand as she nudged her victim from the bedroom into the hallway. Suddenly, Renee whipped around and pinched Odessa in her plump upper thigh as hard as she could.

  “Ouch! Damnit, bitch!” she hollered and released her hold on Renee long enough to rub her bruised inner thigh.

  Renee dashed downstairs and bumped into a marble pedestal, knocking over a baroque statuette that crashed to pieces on the foyer floor. She ran out the door with Odessa chasing behind her. Renee was in better physical shape than Odessa and she seemed to be making ground as Odessa struggled to catch up. She headed for her neighbor’s estate and prayed someone would be home to let her in. She yelled for help but the street was deserted and no one responded. Suddenly, she tripped over a loose tree branch and bruised her leg. Odessa was now right up on her. Renee didn’t get much farther before Odessa’s strong arm wrapped itself around her neck and pulled her backward. Then Odessa shot her with the stun gun. Renee stumbled forward from the electrical zap and immediately felt disoriented. Her vision turned blurry. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Still she tried to will herself to remain conscious. Renee fought to resist the numbing effects of the stun gun but now she didn’t have the strength to release herself from Odessa’s grip after being stunned. Her feet dragged behind as Odessa hauled Renee’s temporarily incapacitated body towards the car. Odessa looked around briefly before shoving Renee into the passenger’s seat.

  As if coming out of a trance, Renee began to stir from her listless, incoherent stupor. She didn’t know how much time had elapsed. It was dusk and a slate-gray fog had drifted low to the ground. She glan
ced out the car window for a street name or some familiar landmark as Odessa drove along a narrow winding road. Moments later, her abductor turned into an empty graveled lot and climbed out the car then pulled Renee to her feet.

  The temperature had dropped to a biting cold wind. Without a coat, Renee folded her arms around her body to keep warm. She stumbled over her feet when Odessa propelled her forward and stared out to study her surroundings through blurry eyes. An enclave of decaying buildings dwelled amidst a vast, open track of sloping landscape interspersed with densely populated evergreens and wild undergrowth. Trees had begun to shed their needles from the onset of winter. Renee jumped when a gray squirrel dashed in front of her and scampered across the tall brown grass.

  “Where are we?” asked Renee.

  “I guess it won’t hurt none to tell you now, Sugar,” answered Odessa with a crooked half-smile, “since we’re completely isolated here and it’s about to become your burial grounds.”

  “We’re at the National Park Seminary. As you can see it’s got a heap of land and a whole mess of condemned buildings plopped up on it and not a soul in sight,” said Odessa, waving her arm as a pointer. “Since it’s been designated a historic site these old buildings won’t be demolished any time soon. That means by the time somebody comes digging through here, the only thing left of you will be your bones.”

  Renee saw a highway in the distance but there was no way to get to it. “Are we still in the city?” she asked, trying to get her bearings in the hope of escape.

  “No, Darlin’ we’re in Forest Glen, Maryland, in the suburbs, just outside Washington, D. C. I came upon this place last year when I had to go out to UDS’s Maryland branch office. Since I’m a bit of a history buff, I did some research on it.”

  Renee recalled seeing the folder about the Seminary in Odessa’s office. She figured if she could keep the woman talking, it might buy her more time. “So what did you find out?” asked Renee, feigning interest.

  “Some of these buildings have been here since the late 1800’s. The Seminary used to be a finishing school for well-off young ladies,” Odessa explained, “But during World War II, the Army took possession of it to provide more bed space for patients. It’s gone to pot over the years ‘cause it costs too dang much to maintain. Other than its historical value, the Glen, as they call it, has basically been left unattended with no practical use. So, Darlin’ nobody’s gonna come looking for you out here.”

  As they walked through the dilapidated grounds, Renee gazed at the mishmash architecture representing Victorian-styled mansions, colonials, Swiss chalets, a blue-framed Dutch windmill, and even a Japanese pagoda—all in varying degrees of deterioration. Wildflowers added color around bronzed boxwoods and freeze damaged shrubs. Renee realized there was no use reasoning with Odessa. She’d already killed once. She had to catch her off guard and overpower her. Getting her to talk about the Seminary buildings seemed to distract her. With Renee’s prodding questions, Odessa pointed out features and explained their significance.

  Renee walked carefully along a tree-framed cliff and felt a surge of dizziness whenever she looked down. They approached a rickety boardwalk that was nothing but a wooden plank and rail. A ravine of greenish-gray water that ultimately funneled into Rock Creek swirled below. Renee stopped dead in her tracks. She feared Odessa planned to throw her over the bridge.

  As if reading her victim’s mind, Odessa sneered, “That’s right, Dr. Hayes, by the time you hit the bottom of that 80 foot drop, the rocks should crush your skull so you’ll be killed instantly and won’t feel a thing. That’s not a bad way to go, is it Sugar?” Odessa smiled wickedly, “I try to be humane. I’m sure Jerome was already dead from the smoke before he felt any fire.”

  Renee spotted a large piece of splintered wood next to her foot. She knew she had to act now. She bent down to pick up the log and flailed it at Odessa—missing her head by only a fraction. Odessa grasped her wrist and seized the log, tossing it to the ground. She pulled Renee’s wrist back hard and twisted it. Renee screamed in pain and stumbled forward. Then Odessa backhanded her with hard knuckles. Renee clumped to the wet ground and felt drips of blood seep from her nose.

  The left brow of Odessa’s badly plucked, arched eyebrows lifted in surprise. “That wasn’t too smart, Sugar. You’ve made me mad. Now, instead of a painless death, you’ll feel it. March,” she yelled and poked a fist in Renee’s back.

  “Where are you taking me?” she pleaded.

  Odessa refused to answer. Instead she shoved her victim forward down a winding path lined with thicket and trees. Just up ahead, a rundown castle sat like a fortress amidst a stretch of shrubbery and juniper trees. Their branches extended towards the moss-covered castle walls like claws. Renee stopped walking and asked Odessa about the lofty structure made of blotchy-gray stone.

  “That’s the Beta Castle. It used to serve as a sorority house for the girls. And at one time there was even a drawbridge. But I don’t see how this history lesson’s gonna help you none, Doll.”

  Two circular wings topped with steep-pitched roofs buttressed each end and towered above the castle’s central structure. Small leaded windows exposed faint bursts of light but wooden planks boarded all the larger windows. At that moment, Renee knew her best defense would be to flee. If she could outrun Odessa, which shouldn’t be too difficult, she might hide in the castle long enough for someone to find her. Maybe not the best plan but the only one she came up with. She figured Odessa didn’t have a real gun because if she did, she would have used it by now. And she had probably exhausted all the electrical currents in her stun gun.

  Suddenly, Renee took off towards the castle. Odessa chased after her. Renee leaped across a broken step obscured by shrubs as Odessa struggled to keep up with her. However, Odessa tumbled backwards on the broken step and cried out. Renee pushed through the dense ticket and trees without looking back. A heap of plywood blocked the entrance to the castle. Renee lifted armfuls and threw them aside. She realized it was dangerous to go inside the castle because of the rotten flooring and loose steps but she ran inside the main salon anyway to get away from Odessa.

  She stumbled around in the dark openness, stepping carefully on loose floorboards and dirt flooring. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed the scattered columns, the asymmetrical design of the building’s interior, and the grotto-type rooms. She needed a place to hide, quick. Renee turned around when she heard a distinct sound behind her. Odessa’s shadow stood at the doorway. After a few moments getting used to the darkness, Odessa came towards her.

  “So, there you are,” said Odessa in a matter-of-fact tone and standing only a few feet away.

  Renee inched backwards away from her and bumped against an iron grate with wrought-iron bars. The grate rested loosely against a crumbled, wood-burning furnace. Odessa pushed Renee aside and removed the old iron grate, revealing an ash pit and a 3-foot high pass-through.

  Odessa smiled triumphantly and volunteered another history lesson. “At one time, this pass-through served as an access tunnel for supplying wood logs and kindling to the furnace. Now, it’ll serve as your tomb. Don’t worry, Dr. Hayes, you should be comfortable in there,” Odessa belted out a psychotic-sounding laugh.

  “Mrs. Dillon … Odessa, please don’t do this,” Renee begged, “You’ve already taken one life and you won’t get away with it for long. It’s only a matter of time before Alonzo talks to someone. That’s how he is and you know it. With two capital murder offenses against you, you’ll definitely face the death penalty.”

  “Save your breath, Dr. Hayes. Don’t worry ‘bout little ol’ me. You’re facing the death penalty right now, Darlin’.”

  Being much bigger and stronger, Odessa shoved Renee face first towards the dark hole. She braced her fall on the bed of ashes that felt like soft cement and could offer no resistance to Odessa’s forceful attack. A 6-foot black snak
e slithered out in front of Renee, obviously not welcoming intruders to its ash pit home. Renee reared back and screamed while jutting backwards from the hole and in the process kicked Odessa in the knee. In a split second, Renee picked up a rusted shovel that she noticed next to the wall. She managed to hold Odessa at bay only momentarily.

  Odessa lunged towards Renee palms up. Renee grabbed Odessa’s first two fingers and bent them back all the way until she heard her knuckles crack and saw Odessa’s distorted look of pain. But Odessa broke free and chased Renee up a split-level staircase. The long staircase led to a narrow landing then continued upward to a balcony. After a struggle, Odessa overpowered her again. She grasped Renee by the arm and twisted it behind her back. Odessa hammered her prey into the balcony. Renee’s torso leaned forward over the balcony and the blood rushed straight to her head. She felt her knees buckle and the room seemed to float around her. The balcony ledge jammed against her chest and knocked the wind out of her. She struggled to breathe.

  Odessa’s laughter echoed throughout the castle’s high, vaulted ceilings. She bent down to clutch one of Renee’s ankles and propelled her forward even more. Renee used her one free hand to grip the railing to prevent herself from tumbling over but felt her sweaty palm slipping. She looked at the floor below and estimated a 30-foot drop from the balcony. She knew if the fall didn’t kill her, she’d be seriously injured. For once in her life, she had something to live for, a man who truly loved her and a precious baby who needed a mother. She prayed to God to save her. It couldn’t end like this.