Chapter62 The Dementia Dilemma

In the morning, Beth and Martin are given the latest information; which doesn't seem to surprise Beth much. "So, then Chelsea never killed Tommy…he killed her." Martin's a little more skeptical. "But; how can a four-year-old maliciously kill someone with a hammer in cold blood like that?" "Well, Martin," the professor replies, "violent tendencies don't seem to discriminate against any category; in this case, age wasn't a factor." Sheriff Faulkner puts down his cup of coffee and raises the issue, "Well, I reckon this will bring us back to square one. Who was the killer; Charles or Tommy?" "Don't forget about Chelsea." Cindy's staring out the back screen door. The others are stunned to hear Cindy implicate Chelsea…at this point; they thought Chelsea had somehow been exonerated. The professor removes his glasses for another one of his ritual cleanings. "Chelsea, Ms. Lidestrom?" "Yes." Cindy replies, still looking out the door. "But, I thought you believed we're dealing with Chelsea and the killer?" "Actually, Professor; I was kind of reconsidering our initial one sprit theory again." "Now hold on, Ms. Cindy; wouldn't that theory been proven wrong when you saw Mary, Tommy and Charles together the other night? Professor; I thought you said that these…personas I believe you referred to them as?" The professor nods; and, the sheriff continues. "I thought they wouldn't be seen together, because they're not supposed to cross paths; or something like that?" "That's correct…in most cases…but, this is far from being a common case. There's an extreme amount of interaction going on between these personas…providing we're correct in our assumption about this being a case of schizophrenia." "And; what if it goes beyond normal schizophrenia, Professor?" Cindy wonders. "How so, Ms. Lidestrom?" "What if whoever's spirit it is was suffering from some form of dementia? Then, the so called rules usually followed by the typical schizophrenic wouldn't apply here; because the individual would be so far gone that they'd have very little…if any…grip on reality." "A most interesting…and, very frightening thought, Ms. Lidestrom. And, if you're correct; then, this would make it even more difficult for us to resolve?" "Why's that, Professor?" Sheriff Faulkner asks. "Because, if this individual suffers from dementia…and, has no touch with reality…then, everything they've been telling and showing us can be totally false…a paranoiac delusion created in this individual's mind. And, what could make the situation even more problematic, is that each individual persona may be suffering from dementia themselves; but, then again, one or more of them may not be inflicted at all." The sheriff runs his hand through his hair back down to behind his neck as he looks down at the table shaking his head. "So then, what yawl saying is that this spirit's totally looney tunes?" "Excuse me," Beth interrupts with a low, sulking voice, "but; what about Anna? What's going to happen to my baby? Where is she? How are we going to get her back?" Beth starts crying; and, Martin goes over and puts his arms around her. She burrows her face into his shoulder and continues sobbing. Cindy, who still remains looking out the back door, tells her, "I think Anna's still here." Beth pops her head up from Martin's shoulder and instantaneously stops sobbing; wiping her eyes and cheeks while asking Cindy, "What do you mean she's still here, Cindy? Where is she?" "I think it's sort of like the case with Delilah's body. Somehow, she's being hidden; kept in some sort of limbo." "But, where?" Beth's starting to feel a little hope for the first time since Anna's disappearance. "Oh; I'm guessing maybe the barn." Cindy says. "The barn? But, the barn was destroyed; Ms. Cindy." The sheriff responds. "Yeah; well it's back up again." The others get up from the table and rush to Cindy; then, they walk out onto the back porch and stare. The barn, once again, is standing. Later that afternoon, Deputy Hopkins arrives at the Lazinski place; and, when he looks out back and sees the barn, he quips, "Hey, Lloyd; if we ever decide to have a barn or shed built, maybe we should look into the company that manufactured this one. After all, this is the second time it rebuilt itself."