All acts of pleasure argi-7

by M. R. Sellars

  I hurried to follow, lagging several steps behind as she bolted out the automatic sliding doors and made a quick right onto the sidewalk. I didn’t manage to catch up to her until she finally came to a halt beneath the tinted Plexiglas smokers’ canopy forty or so yards from the entrance.

  “Okay, so what’s wrong?” I asked as I came beneath the overhang with her. “What happened? Is Felicity okay?”

  “For the moment,” she replied cryptically.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She didn’t answer me but instead set about lighting a cigarette before giving me a quick glance. After taking a healthy drag, she said, “Are you still smoking, Rowan?”

  “Do I need to be?”

  “Here,” she replied, offering me her cigarette case and lighter.

  I had actually been staying away from them since running out the day Felicity checked into this place. However, given Helen’s apparent level of agitation, I took one and lit it then handed the case and lighter back to her.

  “Now,” I said. “I don’t want to sound like an ass, but I asked you a question. Would you like to explain what you mean by ‘for the moment’? Is Felicity okay?”

  “I’m sorry, Rowan,” she replied. “That was unprofessional of me, and I shouldn’t have said it that way. Felicity is fine. She’s resting right now.”

  “Okay, there you go again.”

  “There I go again what?”

  “You just used three contractions, Helen,” I pointed out. “For anyone else, no big deal. When you do it, it sets off bells and buzzers all over the place.”

  “I never noticed.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “I apologize.”

  “Don’t apologize, just tell me what’s going on. You’re not acting like yourself, and on top of that you’re telling me Felicity is resting, and it’s after eleven in the morning. What the hell happened?”

  She regarded me quietly for a moment before replying. “Felicity experienced an episode with the spirit this morning.”

  “What?!” I yelped. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”

  “We did, but all we got was your voice mail.”

  “Voice mail? But that’s…” I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and immediately saw that it was switched off. Even so, I stabbed at the buttons with my thumb as if I could somehow change the fact that I had never turned it on this morning. Finally I muttered, “Dammit!”

  “We tried both your lines at home as well, but there was no answer,” she offered.

  “Yeah, I had a breakfast meeting with a client, so I left early,” I replied, waving my hand to dismiss the turn of the conversation. “But that’s not important. What happened? Please tell me no one got hurt.”

  “No one got hurt, fortunately,” she replied with a shake of her head. “We cannot be sure exactly when the episode started, however it could not have been too long before she was found. I was first alerted to it when the floor nurse went to check in on her and another patient because they had not come out for breakfast. She paged me as soon as she realized Felicity was not in her room.”

  “What do you mean she wasn’t in her room?” I knew my voice held more than just a hint of agitation, but I couldn’t help it.

  “She was not considered psychotic or a threat to anyone, Rowan, therefore she was not housed in a locked ward.”

  “You said ‘was’. I take it that has changed?”

  “Yes, I am afraid so.”

  “Yeah, okay, but obviously you found her. Right?”

  “Yes, we did, and fairly quickly. She was located down the hall in the other patient’s room. She had somehow managed to get her hands on a set of restraints and was strapping him to the bed with them. Rather gleefully I might add.”

  “Gods,” I mumbled, rubbing my forehead, and then I asked, “You mean he didn’t try to get away from her?”

  “No, he actually seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as she.”

  “I can guarantee you he wouldn’t have if it had gone much further.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “So then what happened?”

  “We removed her from the situation, and she was brought to my office.”

  “There’s more to it than that, Helen,” I pressed. “You’re too rattled, and that’s just not you. What else happened?”

  She finished her cigarette then immediately lit a fresh one from the pack. She offered me another, but I hadn’t sucked down the first one as fast as she, so I declined.

  “I think you are aware that excessive and unnecessary gore bothers me, yes?” she finally asked. “The truth is it makes me violently ill.”

  “I remember you mentioned that recently,” I said, giving her a nod. “As a matter of fact I recall being a bit surprised by that, what with you having the MD as well.”

  “Yes, well, you do not see me working in an emergency room, now do you?”

  “No, I don’t. So tell me, what happened? You said no one was hurt.”

  “No one was. However, Miranda and I had a long talk.”

  “So, the Lwa didn’t exit when you stopped her from tying up the other patient?”

  “No, not at all,” Helen replied, shaking her head emphatically. “ Miranda stayed around for quite awhile.”

  “She didn’t get violent?”

  “No. In fact, her comment to me was something on the order of, ‘I was wondering when you would show up’.”

  “As if she knew who you were?” I half asked, half stated.

  “Yes.”

  “The Lwa has access to Felicity’s memories, so in a way it makes sense. She knew where she was, and she knew someone would stop her.”

  “I think you are correct. She seemed far more interested in talking than anything else.”

  “So exactly what did you talk about?”

  “Whatever she wanted, unfortunately.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As you may guess, her favorite topic is torture, Rowan.”

  “Yeah, again I’m not surprised.”

  “Oh, I think perhaps you would be.”

  “That bad?” I asked. “I mean I know what she did to Wentworth and Hobbes and that was…well, she…”

  “Yes, that bad,” she replied, saving me from my attempt to relay the harshness without actually giving her a description. “ Miranda spent the better part of two hours regaling me with extremely graphic details about what she had done to several of her victims. Details that, I dare say, would turn the stomach of a horror movie fanatic.”

  “Okay, so that’s what has you so nonplussed.”

  “Yes, she is actually a very eloquent speaker with an excellent command of the language. She paints intricate pictures with words, Rowan. They just are not very pretty to the rest of us.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “I doubt it,” she huffed as she visibly shuddered. She was obviously still dealing with the imagery in her own head. “Of course, it did not help that the more violent or cruel the story she was telling, the more her eyes would light up. She was literally becoming aroused by reliving the horrors she had exacted upon those men. And, to make matters worse, she found my level of disgust amusing.”

  “Yeah, again I’m not surprised.” I gave her a quick nod. “She really got to you, didn’t she?”

  “Yes. I hate to admit it, but yes. She did.”

  “That’s not an easy task.”

  “I used to think so, but now I am not so sure.”

  “Well, remember Helen, you weren’t just dealing with a disturbed individual. You were dealing with an incorporeal entity. They don’t necessarily respond to the type of finesse you shrinks use.”

  “Perhaps you are correct, however, I would almost suspect that she has a background in psychology herself. She was quite adept at that ‘finesse we shrinks use’. Unfortunately, it does not make this any less embarrassing for me.”

  “Anyone else know how you were affected?”

  “No, not that I
am aware.”

  “Then it stays between us. The whole patient-doctor confidentiality thing.”

  “I would say thank you if I did not suspect you were making a joke.”

  “Maybe just a little one,” I replied. “So, anyway, do you believe me about the Lwa now?”

  “I have never doubted you on that point, Rowan.” She shook her head to punctuate the statement. “Another doctor, however, would most likely diagnose Felicity with an unidentified psychosis and more than likely, Disassociative Identity Disorder. To be truthful, if I did not know the things that I do, I would be inclined to agree with such an assessment.”

  “Then it’s a good thing you’re her doctor.”

  “That statement is more accurate than you know, Rowan. If the latent details she was giving me were accurate, what I listened to would easily qualify as a confession to several premeditated murders. It is a very good thing she did not do this while in police custody.”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled, thinking exactly the same thing. “Okay, so then what? If she’s resting now then Miranda must be gone.”

  “Yes, she is. She simply stopped speaking mid-sentence and a moment later Felicity was in her place. As soon as she realized what had happened, she began to cry hysterically and beg for you. I was left with no choice but to sedate her.”

  “But, she’s okay?”

  “Physically, she is fine. Emotionally, however, any progress we have made in the past few days is a complete wash.”

  I remained quiet, considering what she had just said.

  Before I could form any sort of comment, she suddenly offered up a new subject. “I have not spoken to Benjamin lately. Do you know if they have had any luck locating the half-sister?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet. Last I heard they were still sifting through the paperwork Maggie handed over, looking for leads.”

  “Well, they need to find her very soon. The last two episodes have taken a severe toll on Felicity. She is very strong willed, but she is beginning to break down.”

  “I agree that they need to find her, Helen,” I replied. “But my worry is that even if they do, this isn’t going to stop. The Lwa has obviously formed a bond with Felicity as well as Miranda, or whatever her name really is.”

  “How do you propose to address that?”

  “Figure out who the Lwa is, and go at it from an ethereal angle.”

  “How will you find her?”

  “I’ve been working on it with an expert on Voodoo. She’s a college professor out of Baton Rouge who’s written some fairly definitive books on the subject. She has some ideas.”

  “Anything promising?”

  “Some, but nothing solid just yet. She’s been running down some leads for me. In fact, I’m expecting a call from her today. The big problem is we’re chasing after someone who’s already dead. Sounds like it shouldn’t be a big deal, but when you don’t know who the dead person is, or even when they died, it gets a little tricky.”

  Helen lit her third fresh cigarette and again offered me another. This time I took it. Once she had taken a long drag and slowly exhaled the smoke, she turned her face to me. Her expression was hard and serious, which made the next words to come from her mouth even more of a contrast against her normally proper exterior.

  “I would suggest that you chase faster, Rowan. This Miranda is a sick fucking bitch, and I do not like her.”

  CHAPTER 33:

  “Hey there,” I said, my voice soft.

  The hard sound of a deadbolt snapping shut followed my words as the door behind me was locked. I had been warned that it would happen, as it was standard procedure for this section of the hospital. That didn’t make the sound any less jarring. Of course, the entire feel of this floor was oppressive to begin with, so my nerves were feeling more than just a bit raw and exposed. Not to mention that since I wasn’t hospital staff, I was violating policy by being in the room, but Helen had given the okay. Still, it all added up, and the sharp finality of the noise actually made me flinch.

  Across the room, Felicity was sitting cross-legged in the center of the bed, her back to me. She was still clad in one of the pairs of flannel pajamas I’d packed for her days before.

  She didn’t reply.

  My wife’s original accommodations had seemed more like a small hotel room than something you would find at a hospital-sparse, but comfortable, furnished with a bed, dresser, some chairs and a small table. The bathroom was utilitarian but fairly spacious. She’d even had a television and large windows looking out onto a garden courtyard.

  This room, however, made that look like a plush suite. Her furnishings consisted of little more than the hospital bed upon which she was now perched and a basic, straight-backed chair in the far corner. Gone was everything else, with the exception of the view. Of course, we were several stories up, and the thick windows were sandwiching heavy-duty safety wire, ostensibly to prevent suicide attempts. At least the walls were a calming, pale blue instead of the stark white so often depicted in movies. Still, that was of little comfort.

  I stepped a little farther into the room and spoke a bit louder, “Knock knock.”

  “So, what do you think of the new place?” she asked. “I just moved in, so I haven’t had time to do much with it.”

  Her voice was flat, emotionless, with more than just her usual Celtic lilt accenting the words, probably because she was tired-a lingering effect of the sedative. Her attempt at humor was even cliche, which was just more evidence of that fact.

  I could easily detect a note of hoarseness that was most likely the result of her crying fit combined with the dozen or so hysterical screams I’d been told she’d treated them all to.

  After another long pause, she replied, “It happened again, Row. She came back.”

  “Yeah, I heard,” I replied, stepping in just a little further.

  “See? I told you it would be safer this way.”

  “Yes, you did, but I’m still not necessarily convinced.”

  “Well, you aren’t acting much like it then,” she remarked.

  “How so?”

  “You can come closer. She’s not here now, and I won’t be biting you.”

  “I didn’t think you would.”

  “And, so you’re standing all the way over there for what reason?”

  “I didn’t want to startle you.”

  “Aye, are you certain it’s not because you’re afraid of me?”

  I shifted my focus and realized she had been watching my reflection in the windowpane all along. I couldn’t help but crack a thin smile. That was just like my wife, always aware of her surroundings even if she didn’t appear to be.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head as I moved forward, skirting around the end of the bed and drawing closer to her. “Just giving you a little space is all.”

  After a thick pause, she looked up at me, her eyes tired and bloodshot. “I’ve had enough space for one day,” she said, her voice low. “I’d much prefer it if you would just hold me for a while.”

  She slowly unfolded her legs and scooted toward the edge of the bed. In a single fluid motion she slipped her arms around my waist as I wrapped my own about her shoulders and pulled her close, stroking her hair. She didn’t begin to cry, but then, I suppose she might not have had any tears left.

  We stood there for what seemed like several minutes, simply gripping one another tightly. No words came from either of us, as everything we had to say at that moment in time was communicated by the embrace.

  Finally, Felicity spoke. “Rowan, am I insane?”

  “No, honey,” I soothed. “You aren’t insane.”

  “You aren’t just saying that, are you?”

  “No, sweetheart, I’m not just saying that.”

  “Because you would. I know you.”

  “Yes, you’re right, I would. But, I’m not now.”

  “Make her stop.”

  “I’m trying.”

  Her grip on me finally loosened, and I guided her gen
tly back onto the bed before retrieving the chair from the corner and pulling it up in front of her.

  “So, do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “There’s really nothing to talk about. I don’t remember anything.”

  Before I could reply, the warbling tone of my cell began ramping upward. I ignored it.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Whoever it is can leave a message.”

  “What if it’s something important?”

  “You’re what’s important right now.”

  The insistent tone reached a climax then abruptly ended as the caller was shunted off to my voicemail.

  She looked down into my eyes with a sad expression then reached out and touched my face. “Aye, this isn’t working, Caorthann.”

  “What isn’t working, honey?”

  “This,” she murmured. “I think maybe you’re wrong. Maybe I am insane.”

  “No, you aren’t,” I countered, adding a mild insistence to my voice.

  “Then why is this happening to me?”

  “I don’t know, but you’ve seen it happen to me and I’m not insane. Neither are you.”

  “Says you.”

  “And Helen,” I offered. “This is magick gone awry and you know it.”

  “I’m beginning to wonder.”

  “I know you are, and believe me, I’ve been there, more times than I can count. But you were there for me every time, and I’m here for you now. We’ll get through this.”

  “Maybe it runs in the family.”

  “What?”

  “Insanity.”

  “Dammit, Felicity…” I mumbled as I screwed up my face and shook my head.

  My cell phone emitted a muffled chirp from my pocket to let me know I had a new voice message, but I continued to ignore it.

  “Well, my sister must be,” she whispered.

  I still hadn’t grown used to hearing her say “my sister” even though she had spoken the words several dozen times since Maggie had dropped the story in her lap. Even so, I had been under the impression she had taken it well. But now, I was beginning to wonder.