[post] mortem Chapter Four: Fact or Fiction

[ashleyleigh]

“This doesn’t look like any ancient language I’ve studied,” Vanessa said as she looked over what Chuck scribbled all over the walls of Phil’s basement. “It might even be gibberish.”

She snapped photos as with her digital camera as she continued to talk.

“I’m going to take these back to my place and do a little research,” she said. “Maybe there are some clues here.”

She then asked, “Have you asked Chuck about it? He might know what it means. He did write it.”

When she didn’t get an answer from Phil, she turned to face him and asked, “Well, have you asked him?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

“Put your fangs away all right," she said. "Max asked me to come."

“But I don’t like you,” Phil said.

“Well, unfortunately I unlike you am not a vampire so I don’t need to be invited in,” Vanessa said.

“You can be thrown out,” Phil said.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Your hate for me is getting tired.”

“Is it not warranted?” he asked.

“Just because I come from the family I come from doesn’t automatically make me the devil’s spawn,” Vanessa said. “Why does Max get a break and I don’t?”

“You still associate with people who have tried to kill me on more than one occasion,” Phil said. “Max on the other hand has rightfully cut them out of his life.”

She sighed and said, “It’s complicated.”

“I’ve got time,” Phil said.

Vanessa said, “I don’t have to explain myself to a vampire.”

“Then maybe you should stop associating with one.”

“Maybe I should,” she said before leaving the room.

________________________________________

When she arrived in the kitchen, Max stood as far away from Chuck as he could while still being in the same room. Chuck didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy guzzling down mug after mug of blood.

“I need to look at the scribbles with him,” she said.

“I don’t care,” Max said with a shrug.

“I do,” Chuck said. “Who’s she?”

“I’m Vanessa,” she said. “Max’s sister.”

“She’s adopted,” Max explained when he saw the confused look on Chuck’s face.

“Is she like an expert on crazy shit or something?” Chuck asked.

“Something like that,” she said. “I’m a witch.”

“Do you have a broom?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t fly,” she said. “No pointy hat either. Not my style.”

“What about him?” Chuck asked. “What’s his deal?”

“I don’t have a deal,” Max snapped.

“So you’re telling me you hang out with vampires and witches and there’s nothing special about you?” he asked. “Well isn’t that boring.”

“I’ll show you boring,” Max said, stepping towards Chuck with his fists clenched.

“Max, I need to talk to you,” Vanessa said, ushering him out of the kitchen and into the nearest bathroom.

“I wasn’t going to do anything to him,” Max said.

“Like last night?” Vanessa asked. “Chuck still had a bruise on his face when I got here at two, which is saying something considering how fast vamps heal.”

“He deserved that foot to the face,” Max snapped. “He bit me. No one bites me.”

“Whatever he did, you need to calm down,” Vanessa said. “You cannot lose control of your emotions right now.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“Max…”

He sighed and said, “I just need some fresh air okay. I'll be fine.”

“Then do that,” Vanessa said. “I’ll stay with Chuck.”

“You have to go to work.”

“It’s my shop, I can go in whenever I want,” she said. “Go.”

With a sigh, Max left the bathroom.

When Vanessa walked back into the kitchen soon after, he was already out the door.

She said to Chuck, “So, let’s see if you’re crazy.”

________________________________________

At Delia’s apartment, Ray walked in as she prepared a Sunday morning pancake breakfast.

“So many carbs, but I don’t even care,” Ray said.

“I think you’re probably the only person on earth still on a low carb diet,” Delia commented.

“Hey, some fads have their merits,” he said as he checked out his own muscles.

“Something is seriously wrong with you.”

“Well, something’s wrong with you if you think I can eat all those,” Ray said.

“We have a guest,” Delia said.

“Excuse me?” Ray asked with raised eyebrows.

“Jamie called me at 1 AM, drunk,” she said. “Somehow he’d wandered to the cemetery and he needed a ride home.”

“But if his mother saw him like that, she would’ve flipped, so you brought him here,” Ray said.

“I think you’ve forgotten how Marie Henderson rolls,” she said. “She probably wouldn’t have noticed.”

“You know, I should be offended by that, but it’s true,” Jamie said as he walked into the kitchen.

“I see someone finally pulled themselves off my bathroom floor,” Delia said. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” he replied as he shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a plate.

 “Well, my pancakes are known to help, so eat up,” Delia said. “We have a big day ahead of us.”

“What are you talking about?” Jamie asked.

“You asked for my help, you’re getting help,” she said. “Eat.”

Jamie looked to Ray for clarification, but he merely shrugged.

________________________________________

“So this is all from your book?” Vanessa asked a few hours later.

Chuck nodded and said, “In the next book, James’ wife Maggie gets kidnapped by this killer who sends him all these weird messages that he has to decode to find her.”

“And you don’t remember writing any of this?”

“Not a word,” he said with a shake of his head.

Vanessa looked at him, back at the writing and back at him. But she didn’t say anything.

“Okay, why does everyone look at me like that?” he asked.

“Like what?”

“It’s a shock and awe look, mixed with a little fear,” he replied. “Like when people go to a Sideshow.”

“I’m much more transparent than I thought.”

“I people watch a lot,” Chuck said with a shrug. “I’ve become very good at reading facial expressions.”

Vanessa said, “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“Now that we’ve taken that detour, can we get back to the part where you tell me what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t have much to tell you to be honest,” she answered. “We are all completely perplexed by you.”

“I’m the one who woke up dead and you’re perplexed?”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to wake up,” she said. “Not like this.”

________________________________________

 Meanwhile, Delia stood in the Henderson family kitchen. She was supposed to be putting away groceries, but instead she just stood there, taking it all in.

Framing the room like a director setting up a shot, Jamie commented, “Hasn’t changed a bit has it?”

She said, “Well, it hasn’t been that long since I’ve been here. It’s not like I was expecting everything to be different.”

“But you were expecting something to be different, right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Well, if you want to check out my room, that’s different,” Jamie said.

“That’s okay.”

“So, what’s next for the day?” Jamie asked. “I’ve already washed my clothes, cleaned your bathroom, gone grocery shopping and listened to two lectures from you about the dangers of binge drinking.”

“There’s one more thing actually,” she said. “I have a phone interview with a reporter from Entertainment Weekly tomorrow and it would be great if you’d be there.”

“Why do you want me there?”

“You’re Chuck’s brother,” Delia said. “Who knows him better than you?”

“Uh…you,” Jamie said. “Especially when it comes to his career.”

“So not true.”

“Why do you think he gave you his entire estate?” he inquired. “Not only are you a super smart lawyer, you were there with him every single day when he created James St. Cloud.”

“The character he named after you,” Delia pointed out.

“James’ wife Maggie basically is you!”

“I don’t…wait, James and Maggie got married?”

“Yeah, in the third book,” Jamie answered.

“You don’t happen to have that book around here somewhere do you?”

“Yeah, Mom keeps a copy of all his books in the living room.”

Wordlessly, Delia walked into the living room, grabbed the book off the shelf and sat down to read it.

“I’ll just be in my room,” Jamie said before shuffling off.

________________________________________

As the sun set, Vanessa finally emerged from the basement.

“I’ll keep this short,” she said as soon as she saw Phil. “Chuck knows everything we know and he’s surprisingly okay.”

“Well, I’m not,” Phil said. “No one said you could do that.”

“It’s fine,” she said.

“Yeah, for you,” Phil said. “You don’t have to be here when he decides to run off again.”

“Like most people, he’s much less hostile when he’s not being lied to,” she said. “He’s not going anywhere.”

“Whatever,” he said. “When’s Max coming back?”

“Tomorrow,” she answered. “Please don’t bother him unless it’s an emergency okay.”

“I don’t bother him,” Phil mumbled.

“Phil, you called him when Chuck started snoring loudly two days ago,” Vanessa said.

“He promised not to tell anyone about that.”

“He didn’t, Chuck did,” she said. “I know you’ve been around long enough to forget, but vampires kind of have amazing hearing.”

“Please just go away!”

“Fine, I’m gone,” she said.

When she reached the front door she quickly said, “By the way, I gave Chuck your laptop.”

She was out the door before he could respond.

________________________________________

When Delia arrived home that night, it was almost as if she was in a trance. She sat down at her desk just like usual, but when she turned on her computer to do some work, she didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t even sure exactly how she got there.

She’d polished off Chuck’s third novel, White Knight, in a three hour marathon sitting at the Henderson house, and ever since she hadn’t felt like herself. Something just felt wrong.

Suddenly, her fingers flew over the keyboard as she did a Google search, trying to find any interviews Chuck gave about he book, about Maggie. There were so many, but most were filled with the same questions and answers as the last. Finally she found an article written by the book editor of the local newspaper that seemed a bit more insightful. She read:

Perhaps what sets Mr. Henderson’s novels apart from the many other mystery novels on the market is the characters. He has a gift for crafting characters you care about. The main character James St. Cloud is funny, engaging and very real. He spent most of the first book hungover, and when he got his man despite not being at the top of his game, he vows never to do so again before taking a well deserved nap. In his car.

But arguably the breakout character is James’ wife Maggie. At first she seemed just like all the women who breezed in and out of the books, not in it for the long haul. But the uptight doctor turned out to be a scene stealer with her witty monologues, lovingly called Maggie Rants by fans, and won over both the main character and readers. When asked about the character, Henderson said, “I never planned for Maggie to stick around very long, but she’s just so much fun to write for, I had to keep her. I don’t even have to think about her dialogue. Somehow I just know what she would say in any circumstance. She is the perfect foil for James too. She’s incredibly ambitious and overachieving while he really only became a PI because he happened to be good at it. I think if she wanted, she could be a much better PI than him. She can do anything really. She’s amazing.”

The article went on, but Delia couldn’t read anymore. She had to get away from her computer, so she ran into her bedroom and huddled in the corner. And there for the first time since Chuck died, she cried.

Fictional characters were living the life she wanted, and she couldn’t even ask Chuck why he couldn’t bring himself to love her as much as he seemed to love Maggie St. Cloud.

________________________________________

The next morning, the sound of a ringing phone pulled Delia out of bed.

When she saw the time, barely five-thirty, she almost turned right back around and went back to bed. But the words on the caller ID, Stern and Lockwood Assoc., moved her to answer.

“Hello?”

Her boss Craig Klinsky, said, “We got another call from Simone Barclay.”

“Oh, come on!” Delia exclaimed. “I went last time!”

Simone Barclay was the daughter of Simon Barclay, owner of Meditech pharmaceuticals. She liked to think of herself as a socialite, but no one else seemed to care. Every once in awhile she did make the tabloids, usually in the background of photos of actual famous people. When she got her own photo taken, it was usually for a mug shot. She got in trouble so often, her father kept Stern and Lockwood on permanent retainer.

“Delia, she asked for you,” Craig said. “She likes you.”

“I don’t know why,” she said. “I can’t stand her ass.”

“Just go over there, and get some billable hours okay,” he said. “I’m sure her neighbors called the cops again with some ridiculous complaint.”

“Fine I’ll go, but I’m coming into work an hour late,” she said.

“Deal.”

________________________________________

As soon as Delia arrived at the Barclay home, she knew what happened was much bigger than a complaint from Simone’s nosy neighbors. The house always stuck out, it was the biggest house for blocks, but with all the police cars pulled up out front, it stuck out in a bad way.

When she approached the door, a police officer blocked her path until she introduced herself as Simone's lawyer. She was escorted right inside and up to Simone's bedroom. She kept asking the officer questions, but she wouldn't answer any of them. She wouldn't even tell Delia her name.

As soon as Simone saw Delia, she started talking, shrieking really. Her hands gestured frantically and she could barely contain body shaking sobs.

"Delia, you have to fix this!" she exclaimed. "They think I killed Jack!"

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Delia said. “What happened?”

Simone opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Delia sent the police officer out of the room with one look.

Simone then explained, “I woke up with this terrible headache, so I went to the bathroom to get some…aspirin. And I found Jack on the floor!”

“How’d you get all scratched up?” Delia asked.

“I have no idea,” Simone answered. “I told the cops that, but no one believes me!”

“What else did you tell the police?” she asked.

“Exactly what I told you.”

“Do not tell them anything else without me there, understand?”

Simone nodded.

“Now be honest with me Simone, did you take any drugs last night?”

She sighed and answered, “Just a little E, a few lines of coke and some random pills Jack had. I don’t even know what they were.”

Delia mumbled, “For once the fact that you’ll put almost anything in your mouth may be our saving grace.”

“What?”

“Nothing Simone.”

In the bathroom, Max stood over the recently deceased Jack.

 “They just call me whenever someone gets bitten now don’t they?” he asked. “Who do they think I am, Animal Control?”

The medical examiner shrugged and answered, “I guess the chief wanted to play it safe.”

“The sun’s out and no one’s burst into flames, so I’m going home,” Max said.

“Then who’s going to be lead detective?” the medical examiner asked. “And wouldn’t it be nice to solve one case where the culprit isn’t someone or something that goes bump in the night?”

“Damn it Roman, why do you have to make sense?” Max asked with a sigh.

“You’re having one of those days aren’t you?” Roman asked.

“One of those weeks,” Max said before shuffling out of the room.

When he saw Delia standing with Simone in the bedroom, he stopped in his tracks. But Delia didn’t even seem fazed.

“Officer, I’m Ms. Barclay’s lawyer Delia Chastain,” she said. “Is she a suspect in this case or not?”

“Well…I…we haven’t decided that yet,” Max responded. “We have to take her statement, go over the evidence.”

“Well, let’s get that statement now please,” Delia said. “I think you've left my client waiting long enough.”

“We will move at whatever pace we need to,” Max said. “You might want to take a seat.”

As he walked away he said, “And it’s Detective.”

________________________________________

After a long day at work, Marie Henderson arrived home to find Jamie in his room painting.

“Haven’t seen you do that in awhile!” she shouted so he could hear her over the music emanating from his headphones.

Jamie turned down the music, but didn’t turn to face her as he said with a shrug, “Uh, yeah.”

Marie asked, “Did you buy all the groceries in the fridge?”

“No, Delia did,” he answered.

“Delia was here? Delia Chastain?”

“Do you know anyone else named Delia?”

“No, I suppose I don’t,” Marie said. “Tell her thank you for me.”

“Will do,” Jamie said. “Now I really have to get back to my painting.”

“What are you painting?”

“Just something I saw the other night,” he replied. “’Bye Mom.”

With a sigh, she left the room.

________________________________________

By the time Delia got finished with Simone, she was hours late for work. So late she had to postpone the phone interview. Not that she was particularly looking forward to it anyway. She needed to work on her case.

But as soon as everyone in the office heard about her case, it was partner making material and was already over the news, everyone kept pestering her to recommend them for second chair. By the time she left work for the day she’d been offered six dinners, given two muffin baskets and even been offered sex in exchange for the job.

As soon as she got home she put on her favorite robe and got ready for a bubble bath. When her phone rang, she contemplated not answering it, but did anyway.

“Delia, it’s Simone.”

She said, “What is it?” but she really wanted to say, “Oh lord. What did you do now woman!”

“I was just standing here by the pool and all of a sudden I got so sad,” Simone said.

What she could be doing by the pool in what Delia was sure was not an outfit appropriate for spring, Delia did not know. Frankly, she didn’t know why Simone called and what she was going on about.

“Jack used to love to hang out by the pool,” she continued. “Jack loved a lot of things.”

“Don’t mean to interrupt, but I was doing something when you called,” Delia said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just…how am I supposed to do this?”

“Do what?”

“How am I supposed to keep living my life when Jack’s life is over and everyone thinks I did it?” Simone asked. “In one day I just lost everything.”

Delia said, “You didn’t lose everything.”

“It feels like it,” she said. “I know I sound like a stupid girl. It’s not like we dated for very long. But losing him, losing love, it’s so painful sometimes I can’t take it.”

“I wish I could fix it, but I can’t.”

“I know you can’t. I just needed to tell someone that, and you’re the only person who’s taking my calls right now.”

“Well I'm glad I could help,” Delia said. “Talk to you later Simone.”

With a sigh, she hung up the phone.