Chapter75 More Family Ties

The professor informs the group, "It took them a while to get back the toxicology report; that's why it took a little longer than they expected to get the final results of the autopsy." "Toxicology report? You mean she was poisoned?" "Yes; but, this wasn't your every day, run of the mill poisoning, Sheriff." "How so, Professor?" "Well, Sheriff; initially it appeared that Delilah had died from a sudden heart attack. They probably would have let it go at that if they didn't know the details behind her death; and, the reason why we were asking for the autopsy. Since they were aware that foul play's suspected, they decided to run more extensive testing; thus, a toxicology report was run. Care to guess what those results revealed, Sheriff?" "Professor, at this here point, I don't know what to think anymore; but, nothing really surprises me much either. So, what did your people find out?" "They found small traces of ricin in her system." "Ricin? What's that, Professor?" Martin inquires. "From what I hear, it's the choice poison in the terrorist circle," Deputy Hopkins remarks. Martin turns to the deputy. "Huh?" The professor explains, "That's true. Terrorists and political assassins find ricin to be quite an effective weapon in their arsenal. Probably because of its stealthness." "What do you mean, Professor?" Cindy asks. "A little ricin on a pin head, Ms. Lidestrom, is all that's required for a kill. And, here's its appeal…at least to the terrorist or assassin…when the target's pricked; they don't die right away. Death generally occurs several hours later, long after the initial exposure to the poison; giving the assailant more than ample time to place distance between themselves and the victim. And, here's the clincher; when the victim dies, they show signs of suffering from cardiac arrest…merely an ordinary, common heart attack. So, unless a toxicology report is run, there's no way of telling that the victim was poisoned. It's frighteningly amazing; don't you think?" "Actually, Professor; if you ask me, it's a down right yellow-bellied way to kill a man…or, in Ms. Delilah's case…a woman. Anyway, Professor; how would they go about getting this stuff? I mean, it ain't like they could go into a neighborhood drug store and buy it…so, where did they get it from?" "I honestly have no idea how they would go about acquiring ricin, Sheriff. I would think they'd have to have special connections to get their hands on it." "The Steinman's." Both the sheriff and deputy coincidently chide out in unison. The professor agrees, "Well; I would think between a United States Senator and the head director of a psychiatric facility, your assumption of them having the access and capability of obtaining ricin would be a sound bet to make." "Alrighty then; I reckon we can say that, unlike Delores' death…which looks like we're dealing with the supernatural in that instance…Ms. Delilah was definitely killed by actual living persons." Deputy Hopkins replies, "Well; used to be living persons. Remember, Lloyd; good old Jackie boy's killing off anyone who could turn around and point the finger at him." "True, Mike; but, unfortunately for now we've got no way of proving it. Everyone else involved with Ms. Delilah's killing is dead; so, unless we find Grotto, I don't think we'll ever be able to tie the ol' senator to Ms. Delilah's murder." "So, the bastard gets away with it…Damn it!" Deputy Hopkins pounds his fist on the door frame between the living and dining rooms. "Simmer down there, Mike; we'll get him sooner or later. It catches up with them in the end." "Yeah well, I'd like to be there when it catches up with him." "Me, too; Mike. Me, too." "Professor; what about the genealogy report results on Beth's family tree?" Cindy's curious. "Was I right about there being some sort of relation between Beth's family and these spirits?" Beth anxiously asks, "Yeah, Professor; what about the results? I'm not related to any of them; am I?" The professor removes his glasses, wipes them off; then, puts them back on and cups his hands behind the small of his back….pacing about ten feet away before turning around to face Beth…and, tells her, "Well, Beth, I know you're not going to like to hear this; but, I'm afraid you are." Beth clenches her shirt over her chest with one hand, and squeezes Martin's hand with the other. "Oh my God! No; it can't be! How?" "Phillip Steinman's first wife…Helene…maiden name was Hawthorne." Beth gasps, "Oh God…Hawthorne; that's Trish's last name!" "Yes, Beth; your cousin Patricia's family lineage is Hawthorne. Her great aunt Mildred was Helene's mother…Agatha's…sister. Your mother's Trish's mother's sister. I'll spare going into the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or once removed on someone's side terminology; but, simply put…you're all cousins. That being said; when Helene gave birth to Charles and Chelsea…they became your cousins as well." "Hold on there a minute, Professor;" Sheriff Faulkner brings up, "Charles and Chelsea weren't Helene's kids though. Her children died at birth; and, were switched. So, technically, there's no blood relation." "No; if they were switched, then there would be no blood relation. But, I don't believe they died birth." "Why's that, Professor?" "Because, Sheriff, I found no records indicating that there was another set of twins born that day in that hospital." "So…the Steinman's had those records destroyed?" "Possible; but, highly improbable. No; I believe that Charles and Chelsea were indeed Helene's own children…Beth's cousins." "And, that would explain the connection between Beth and Chelsea." Cindy agrees with the professor. "Beth and Chelsea, Ms Lidestrom?" The professor asks her, "What about Charles and Tommy; you don't think they have a connection with her?" "No, Professor, I don't." Cindy looks down; as she slowly rubs the palms of her hands together. "And, why's that, Ms. Lidestrom?" Cindy's momentarily silent, rubbing her palms; before she looks up and explains, "Because…just like our fake Mary…I don't think Charles and Tommy were ever here." Everyone's shocked by Cindy's statement. No one says a word; they just look back and forth at each other. Finally, Deputy Hopkins breaks the silence. "What are you talking about, Kiddo? If Mary, Charles and Tommy don't exist…and, if Chelsea's gone…who's left?" She answers, "Davey Howell." "Davey Howell?" "Yes." "Care to enlighten us, Ms. Lidestrom, on how you've come to this conclusion? I'm guessing you were able to find out about him today." "Just like I suspected; he was Mary's younger brother. That wasn't hard to prove; I found a copy of his birth certificate. He was four-years-old when the murders took place; finding this out was the easy part. The hard part was trying to figure out why he wasn't killed that night? I had no idea where to begin; but, that's when pure dumb luck intervened. It just so happens that the clerk who was working at records hall today was a very close friend of Estelle Howell's." The deputy asks, "How close?" "Close enough for Estelle to confide in her of her dark, little family secrets." "Which would be what, Ms. Cindy?" the sheriff asks. "For one; they used to keep him chained up in the attic." "Now, why in the tar nations would they go and do a plum loco thing like that?" "They were embarrassed of him…of his condition." "What condition was that, Ms. Lidestrom?" "Let's just say it required him being prescribed lithium, Professor." "Lithium, Ms. Lidestrom?" The professor takes off and cleans his glasses. "Yeah." "And, what's this lithium?" "Sheriff, lithium use to be prescribed for their schizophrenic patients." "Holy armadillo shit! Davey Howell was looney tunes, too…what's with all these kids in this area having mental problems? Is it something in the water yawl drink up here? Well, I reckon that would explain a lot about you, Mike." The sheriff quips while giving the deputy a friendly smile. The deputy retorts, "Yeah, that's it, Lloyd. And peyote explains you." "Do you two mind if I finish?" Cindy subtley scolds the playfully teasing pals; who gesture their intent on stopping. "Good…now where was I…right…so, anyway; Davey was locked up in the attic the night of the murder. The killer…like most everyone else…had no idea that the Howell's kept their son chained up in the attic; so, he never went after Davey that night." "Then, his parents' abuse of keeping him a prisoner in the attic actually wound up saving his life. Ain't that a kick in the pants?" Deputy Hopkins speculates. "Not really; Uncle Mike." Cindy continues, "It may have saved him from the killer that night; but, it wound up killing him in the end anyway." "How's that, Ms. Lidestrom?" "No one knew he was chained to one of the beams up there…so, the police never checked the attic." Cindy wipes the tears in her eyes away with her palms and sniffles as she continues, "They didn't find him until eight months later; when the house was finally put back on the market. The realty company was having the house cleared out when his decaying corpse was discovered…still chained to that fucking beam!" Silence momentarily befalls the living room; then, Professor Rhyies inquires… "Excuse me, Ms. Lidestrom…as tragic as that was…what does that have to do with your theory that Mary, Charles and Tommy aren't present?" "Davey Howell was a schizophrenic, Professor. I believe he's taking on the personas of his sister, Charles and Tommy. I also believe Chelsea was here looking for Tommy for some reason; but, wasn't able to find him, because he never was here…it was Davey, pretending to be Tommy, all along." "Ms. Lidestrom," the professor begins wiping his glasses again, "I could accept your theory as far as Mary is concerned; however, if Davey Howell was a prisoner for all those years in the attic, how would he be able to add the Steinman children as personas in his mind if he never had contact with them? It just doesn't seem feasible to me. Does it to you?" "When you put it like that…no." Cindy goes on to explain, "But, here's the thing, Professor; Davey may not have had any contact with them while alive…but, I believe it's very well possible he did after his death." The professor stops wiping his glasses. "Meaning?" "Meaning; the killer was a Steinman…which one I'm not exactly sure yet. I do know that whoever the killer was; they were killed here. Taking into consideration the intensity of horrific violence taken place that night, there's no doubt in my mind that there had to been some sort of psychokinetic impression left behind for Davey to pick up on when he passed. There are dozens of documented cases of paranormal residual phenomena in places where tragic events have occurred…some lasting for centuries." "Pardon me, Ms. Cindy;" the sheriff inquires, "but, just what in the tar nations are you talking about now…paranormal residual phenomena?" Cindy laughs, "I'm sorry, Sheriff. Basically; when there's an extreme act of violence…or, highly emotional traumatic experience undertaken at the time of death…sometimes the parting spirits leave a residual impression behind…sort of like a recording of that event…which, under the right circumstances, can be played over and over again. And, this is what I think happened in Davey's case. I believe that after he died in the attic; his spirit was able to watch, and eventually assimilate, their personas as his own." "Wait a minute, Kiddo." Deputy Hopkins takes a breath before continuing. "If this residual impression that you're talking about is only a recording; how could he become not just the killer, but, his brother as well?" There's a brief pause on her part before answering. "I don't know, Uncle Mike. Maybe these things just work differently; on a more complex level in the spirit world." The professor finishes wiping his glasses. "That's quite an interesting hypothesis of yours, Ms. Lidestrom. And, quite bit of a stretch; wouldn't you say?" "Maybe." Cindy shrugs her shoulders. "But, right now, that's what I feel's happening." "But; how could that be, Cindy?" Beth gets up from the couch and walks over to her. "I thought you said they took Anna to re-create the night of the murder because Charles is angry Mary stopped him, and wants to vindicate himself; and, that Tommy was going to decide how the events would unfold. So, what are you saying now; that there's not going to be a re-creation of that night? So; then why did he take Anna?" Cindy looks around the room, noticing how the others are looking at her; and, realizes what she's telling them now contradicts everything she had led them to believe before. But, she also believes that she's absolutely correct this time. "No, Beth; there's still going to be a re-creation of that night. There still needs to be vindication…but, it's going to be Davey's vindication; not Charles'." "What do you mean, Kiddo?" "I think Davey's trying to change the fact that they never found him that night; and, because of that, he had what was probably a very slow and painful death. Think about it guys; a four-year-old child left alone in an attic for all that time, having no contact with anyone after his family's killed. No food. No water. Chained up like an animal…suffering…until he died." "What about Mary, Cindy;" Beth sobs, "why didn't she let them know her brother was up there?" "I don't know, Beth." Cindy wipes the tears from her eyes. "But, I guess we'll find out as soon as we figure out what roles Charles, Tommy and Chelsea have in this. At this point; the only thing I think we could do is sit tight and wait for Vivian Steinman to fill us in Thursday." "Kiddo, I hate to burst your bubble; but, what makes you think she'll be able to help? After all, she's a Steinman; do you honestly believe she's going to tell us the truth about what's been going on with her family? What makes you so sure she won't lie to us like the others?" "Because she voluntarily came to us, Uncle Mike; we approached everyone else." "So; that's why you believe she's going to tell us the truth?" "No; I believe she's going to tell us the truth, Uncle Mike, because at this point I have no choice but to believe that. That's the only way we're going to end this…the only way we can get Anna back."