Chapter94 Avoiding the Truth

"Which is it Ms. Cindy; is Chelsea here, or not?" Sheriff Faulkner asks. "I believe she is." "So, then I reckon Tommy's lying to us again…about him being Jean- Louise?" "Maybe." Cindy folds her arms across her chest and starts pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. "Then again, maybe not." Sheriff Faulkner runs his hand through his hair as he blows out his mouth; then, shakes his head and replies, "Well ain't this a fine how do you do?" Deputy Hopkins teases, "A fine how do you do, Lloyd? I'm sorry, I lost my Hee-Haw to English translation dictionary; what exactly are you trying to say?" "I'm saying…Deputy…looks to me like we're in another Texas Okra pickle here. We don't know if that doll Ms. Annabeth has with her is Chelsea or Tommy…whether it's meant to protect her; or, trick us. What do you think, Professor?" The professor takes off his glasses and starts wiping them. "We are in a bit of a quandary here, Ms. Lidestrom. If it is Chelsea in the doll…and, she's come back to protect Anna…then, by all means, we should make sure Anna keeps it with her at all times. But, if it's Tommy…and, he's using that doll as a means to deceive us…then, we need to get it away from her as soon as possible. The problem remains…is it Chelsea in the doll; or, is it Tommy? Well, Ms. Lidestrom; any idea as to which one it is?" They wait for an answer; watching as she continues pacing in front of the fireplace. Finally, she responds. "It doesn't matter." "What do you mean it doesn't matter, Kiddo?" "It doesn't matter if it's Chelsea or Tommy in the doll, Uncle Mike; all that matters is that Chelsea's around somewhere watching over Anna, and protecting her." "You sure about that, Ms. Cindy?" The sheriff wonders. "What makes you so sure she's back? Shoot; how do we even know Chelsea was here to begin with? How can we be sure it wasn't Tommy yanking our chains all along?" "With all due respect, Sheriff Faulkner, I don't think it's necessary for us to go over this again; do you? Chelsea was Chelsea all along. And, I'm telling you; she's back. I know it. I can feel it." "What about the eighteenth, Kiddo? Mary…I mean, Tommy…whoever…said that nothing's changed. He says he's going on with his plans for that night; and, he's going to kill them. What are we going to do? How are we going to stop him? Can we stop him?" "I don't know about yawl," Sheriff Faulkner interjects, "but, I reckon it's about high time we get this family out of Dodge." "I have to go along with Wyatt Earp on this one, Kiddo; it's too risky to have them stay here any longer. We got Anna back now, so let's get them as far away from here as possible." "It doesn't work like that; the connection's already been made." "The connection, Ms. Cindy?" "They're family, Sheriff. Chelsea needs Beth and Anna to force Tommy to face her to resolve their issues. It doesn't matter where they go; location's irrelevant at this point. Remember what happened to Delores?" "What is it you're suggesting, Ms. Lidestrom?" "Professor, I'm not suggesting…I'm telling you Chelsea will be with them now wherever they go; always hoping that her distant cousins will help her find Tommy. And, with Chelsea gone, Tommy lives on …so, to speak. No; we have to make a stand here. It has to be resolved." "But how?" The sheriff asks. "The same way we've been planning to…get Tommy to face Chelsea." "And; just how pray tell are we going to achieve this, Ms. Lidestrom?" The professor starts cleaning his glasses again. Once again, Cindy remains silent; pacing back and forth in a state of meditative thought. They watch; awaiting an answer from her. Suddenly, Cindy recalls, "Sheriff; didn't Deputy Grotto tell you that they buried Chelsea …well, Tommy really…and Mary under the barn that night?" He nods. "Yup." "Then; it's possible that their remains are still buried there?" "I reckon it's possible." "What are you thinking, Kiddo?" The deputy asks his niece as he goes over to the fireplace and rests his arm on the mantle. She explains, "If we could find Tommy's remains…and show him them…it may force him to the realization that he wasn't killed by Chelsea when he was four; and, that he was the Woodland Falls serial killer…not Chelsea." The professor puts his glasses back on. "You don't believe he's aware of that already; Ms. Lidestrom?" "No; I don't believe so, Professor. But, if he does; then, he's trying to suppress his memories of those events. For some reason, Tommy's trying to convince himself that he was the victim that day at the cabin, when in actuality, it was Chelsea who was murdered by him. That's why he's trying to avoid contact with Chelsea; to avoid the truth." "Let me ask you this then, Ms. Lidestrom; do you still believe that somewhere deep down in his subconscious he still wants to be stopped…perhaps out of some sort of guilt slowly eating away at him all these years for his heinous deeds?" "I did before; but now, I don't think so. Right now, I think he's doing everything in his power to keep from confronting Chelsea. That's why he had to let Anna go." "But, I thought you said that some of his personalities…like his Helene Steinman persona …want him to be stopped. Now, you're changing up on us; Kiddo. Which is it; does, or doesn't he, want to be stopped?" "He doesn't, Uncle Mike. Sorry." "Now; hold on there a minute, Ms. Cindy." The sheriff looks up while rubbing the back of his neck with both hands; then, blows out an exasperated huff before looking back at her. "What about when he admitted as Helene Steinman that Chelsea was the only one who could stop him? I thought you said that was his way of making an attempt to help us stop him." Cindy openly admits, "I was wrong." "So, I reckon it wasn't a cry for help then?" "It was a mistake." "A mistake, Ms. Cindy?" "Yes; a mistake." "What do you mean, Kiddo?" "I don't think he wanted to tell us that. I think he was actually thinking that to himself when it slipped out." "And; what makes you think this, Ms. Lidestrom?" The professor asks as he removes his glasses once again to clean. "I've come to the conclusion that all of Tommy's personalities have one thing in common…they're all pathological liars. They've become so accustomed to lying over the years, that I don't think they're capable of telling the truth. When Tommy inadvertently blurted out that only Chelsea could stop him…it wasn't an admission…it was a blunder." "And, the music box?" The sheriff asks. "I think it's a very lovely, antique music box…and, that's about all it is." "How about when he took Anna? The upcoming eighteenth?" Deputy Hopkins places his thumbs behind his gun belt and sucks on his teeth. "You said it was Helene's plan to set up Tommy to face Chelsea. So, now it wasn't the plan? There was never any plan to set up Tommy?" "Not for Tommy…for us. Tommy wants us to think that Helene's bringing us there for him and Chelsea to have it out." "And, it's not?" "No, Uncle Mike, it's not. It's to lure the Lazinskis out there to be killed." "So; now what, Kiddo?" "We've got less than a week to get Tommy and Chelsea to confront each other; so, I still think our best bet is to try to find his remains." "And; how in the tar nations are we going to pull that off, Ms Cindy? Something's keeping us from entering the barn" "That's right, Sheriff…us…not Anna." "Now…do you really think Ms. Annabeth's going to want to go anywhere near that barn after what just happened, Ms. Cindy?" "Sure she will…after I explain it to her." "Explain what, Kiddo?" "That if she doesn't; she and her parents will be killed by Tommy."