Chapter89 Tommy's Crew

"That fucking little bastard; I swear if he weren't already dead I'd kill him myself!" "Calm down, Hon." Martin places his hands on the back of his wife's shoulders and gently rubs them; then asks, "Can we really be sure it's Tommy?" "Actually, after hearing what my Uncle Mike found out, Martin; it all makes perfect sense now." "How's that, Ms. Lidestrom?" The professor wonders. "Well, to begin with, Professor; despite all the variations of the stories we've heard, Ruby's mother's version of the events are corroborated by all the written records and articles that we've come across. The only person who we couldn't find any record of was Tommy…and, again; why we didn't find any about him was just corroborated by Ruby's account…that his records were destroyed as part of the cover up. Then, when he was showing me what happened the night of September 18, 1961; he knew exactly what was going to occur. He cringed every time Mary smacked the killer in the head with the shovel…and, of course; he stopped it all before the mask was removed and I could see that it was a man…and not Chelsea…who was the killer. And, Beth; when Tommy's head was bleeding in the room that afternoon…it wasn't because he was hit with a hammer…it was from being hit with the shovel." Martin's still leery, "But, what about all those other ghosts you guys had contact with; how could you be sure it's Tommy, and not one of them?" "Because, they're all Tommy;" Cindy replies, "all of them but Chelsea…she's a separate entity. She's looking for Tommy; that's why he's using all these different personas…to throw her off." "And; what makes you certain that Chelsea isn't just another one of Tommy's personas, Ms. Lidestrom?" Professor Rhyies points out to her, "After all; if we can trust the validity of Ms. Vanderkiln's rendition of the events as you so strongly seem to believe …and, since she told your uncle that Chelsea was one of his most frequently used personas…then, how can you be so certain that the apparition claiming to be Chelsea is in fact her, and not Tommy?" Cindy replies, "Because of the bad man." "The bad man?" Professor Rhyies asks with a puzzled expression on his face. "Yes, the bad man. Tommy wanted us to believe that the bad man…or the Woodland Falls serial killer…was Charles. Charles died when he was three; so, he couldn't be the killer." "But, according to Ruby's account, Tommy supposedly believed he was Chelsea when he was the killer; right?" Martin asks. "Yeah." "So; if Tommy's behind this, why didn't he try to make us think that it was Chelsea?" "That's exactly my point, Martin." Martin's lost. "What?" "Tommy couldn't portray Chelsea as being the serial killer; because, Chelsea's spirit was already present." She continues, "He killed her when she was seven; and, that's why we were seeing her spirit at that age. The cabin by the lake was one of her last memories; that's why she made those references about the lake. She always came from the woods; probably because she was wandering from Miller's Lake. Chelsea's Chelsea, guys; Tommy's everyone else." "So; what do we do now, Cindy?" Beth asks anxiously. "Now that we know Tommy's behind all this, how do we stop him? How do we get Anna back?" Cindy's silent for a moment before answering, "We don't." Beth's becomes highly upset. "What do you mean; we don't? We have to get Anna back! You promised you'd help me get my baby back! What the fuck, Cindy?!" Cindy grabs Beth's upper arms and shakes her to get her attention. Beth, stop it! Listen to me; we can't stop Tommy! And, we can't get Anna back…not by ourselves, anyway. Chelsea has to deal with Tommy. They need to resolve their issues themselves. What we have to do is get them together. Chelsea's the only one who could stop him; and, deep down in what's left of his psyche, he wants her to." "What makes you say that, Ms. Lidestrom?" Professor Rhyies asks as he wipes his lenses. "Because, he already told us only Chelsea could stop him when he was Helene." "Then, you reckon that's why she…or he…left us the music box, Ms. Cindy; to get Chelsea back here to stop him?" "Maybe; or maybe it's just another one of his rouses to throw us off." "Wait a minute, Kiddo." Deputy Hopkins is confused. "You just said that Tommy wants to be stopped; that's why he had Helene tell us that Chelsea's the only one who'd be able to stop him. Now, you're telling us that he's still playing tricks on us to keep us from contacting Chelsea?" "Pretty much." The deputy rubs the back of his neck with his hand as he asks his niece, "Okay, I'll bite; why? If he wants this to stop, why doesn't he just stop it himself; or, at least let us bring in Chelsea without interfering?" "Because, Tommy doesn't want to be stopped." The deputy folds his left arm across his chest as he bends his right arm up to grab the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger; applying an equalizing force of pressure to his now throbbing forehead. He moves both hands together in front of his mouth…positioned as if he were praying…and rests them on his lips, as he forcefully exhales. The baffled deputy asks his niece, "Kiddo, please make up your mind; will you? Does, or doesn't, he want to be stopped?" "If I may." The professor attempts to explain, "I believe what Ms. Lidestrom's saying is that the ‘Tommy' persona doesn't want to be stopped; however, some of his underlying personas…in this case, we'll say ‘Helene'…wants him stopped. So, in essence; while ‘Helene' attempts to help us try to stop him; ‘Tommy' will do whatever he has to do to keep us from stopping him." "What in the tar nations?" The sheriff runs his hand through his hair. "So, what you're telling us, Professor, is that the ‘Tommy' part of Tommy wants to keep doing what he's doing; but, the ‘Helene' part of him wants to stop him?" "Correct." "But; he's the same person…ain't he?" "Yes and no. Tommy Steinman may have been physically only one individual; but, psychologically speaking, he was multiple persons." "I suppose…but; is it possible for him to want to stop himself while wanting not to stop himself at the same time?" "It's very possible, Sheriff. Tommy Steinman's a text book case of a paranoid schizophrenic. Actually, I take that back. To be totally honest with you; he's probably the most extreme case that I've ever encountered…among the living, or the dead. Each of his personalities seems to have its own agenda. While some may coincide with another, others appear to conflict greatly; causing them to constantly battle each other. And, he does this under the impression that these are actual other individuals interacting with him; when in truth, he's the only there." "So, how do you reckon we deal with this whacko, Professor?" "Like Ms. Lidestrom said before, Sheriff Faulkner; we have to find Chelsea, and let her handle her brother."