She finds him quivering on the floor of his office, making absolutely pathetic noises while fumbling with the needling pushed into his elbow. She sighs and walks over to him, high heels clacking menacingly against the dirty linoleum, almost sounding judgemental. She kneels down beside him and appraises him with a fierce eye.
"Oh, Martin," she whispers, stroking his bare head. The venom is clear in her voice, and he whimpers even more. "You're such a fool. What would you do if someone found you like this?" She purses her lips and reaches over to pluck the needle from his blood vessel, quickly and painfully, and he lets out a little cry.
"Pl- please," he whimpers, curling himself into a ball. Margaret 'tsk's at him, rising to her feet. She sets the drug paraphernalia on his desk, examining the other contents. Patient files are scattered around, pill bottles are broken open and their contents spilled across the surface and on the floor, and little unmarked bottles of liquid are seated with careful precision. She picks one up, swirls the contents around and sets it back down with a neutral expression. "Please, Margaret, please give it to me.." He reaches pathetically for the desk, hand eventually clasping loosely on the judge's skirt, and she slaps it away.
"Martin, be quiet," she says. "Grow a spine. You're a grown man, aren't you? A member of a chosen family. You should at least have the power to resist temptation. What is God going to think of you if you act like this?" Martin whimpers, dragging himself into a sitting position and leaning against his desk.
"Margaret, I-" He's cut off by Margaret grabbing his collar and yanking him to his feet, accompanied by a little shriek that's half surprised and half pain as she drops him unceremoniously onto the desk. He whimpers, body numb and feeling utterly useless.
"Are you going to give me an excuse, Martin? Aren't you better than that?" she asks as she's cleaning up his desk, sorting pages into mixed-up patient files and gathering similar pills together. He swallows heavily as she picks up the little glass bottle of milky white substance again. "Now, Martin, why don't you tell me who sold you this and I'll forget that I saw you with this?"
Martin whimpers against the desk, turning his face away from Margaret. He doesn't want to admit anything, knows he'll get punished for it- but knows at the same time that he'll get punished worse if he doesn't.
"I- I got it from S-Silent Hill," he stutters, shivering as Margaret runs her well-manicured fingernails down the back of his neck as though preparing to strangle him. He doesn't doubt it. "From Dr. Kaufmann."
Shepherd's Glen is a sacred place, located on the far end of Toluca Lake. Long ago, the town's founders had broken away from the town of Silent Hill and formed their own town; it has thrived ever since. However, every fifty years, the continued families of the town founders were to sacrifice their children as an offering to their God; the God of the Order, to whom they still swore their faith, to avoid a gruesome destruction. Otherwise she would believe they'd abandoned her. No one is quite sure what would happen if the families died out, and so they always encourage the heirs to have many children to ensure this doesn't happen.
Margaret Holloway and Martin Fitch are both due to sacrifice their children in several year's time, along with Sam Bartlett and Adam Shepherd. For all of them- although it is always up for debate with Margaret, as no one has ever seen her shed a single tear over the idea- it is a hard thing to cope with. Each of them has their own way; Adam has his hunting, Sam has his liquor. Martin has his drugs.
The reason Shepherd's Glen had originally separated from Silent Hill was because of a division of faith, in which the founders and their followers interpreted the sacred writings of the Order much differently. It is not unheard of, however, for people from the two towns to mingle. Martin has been reliant on Dr. Michael Kaufmann ever since he found out that he is meant to sacrifice one of his own children; the sweet embrace of liquid PTV, injected directly into his veins, makes it just a bit better. It eases his pain and chases away the bad thoughts that make him want to carve himself open, offer himself up to God in place of his child. And God would never want a sinner, a soiled soul like his. Kaufmann offers him an escape, at a high price; both the cost of the drugs and the potential cost of associating with someone from Silent Hill. He assumes Kaufman faces a similar risk; he works directly for the leader of the Order, after all.
Margaret and Adam both already have children; Margaret had given birth to little Elle and Lillian, Adam's wife, had given birth to little Alex. Alex is the child to be sacrificed; Margaret has decided to wait for her second child. Now only he and Sam have to have children; neither of them are married or seeing anyone, so this is a little difficult. But they knew that, some way, they would have to procreate.
The entire situation is a great deal of stress on Martin, but now his only release is about to be ended by Margaret. After all, a member of one of the chosen families of Shepherd's Glen could never associate with someone of the Order, the group their ancestors had abandoned so long ago. It is considered an insult to their traditions and to God.
He sits in his office, staring at the wasted PTV smashed against his window. Margaret had told him it is a sin to rely on such things and that it really would be better if he just got rid of it, and so she had done it for him. He can feel himself starting to shake, having gone four full days without the drug. He wonders when Margaret is going to make her move. The wait is almost as painful as he's sure the punishment will be.
Margaret sits in her office, looking over her work. She may be the unofficial leader of the chosen families, but she also has her real job, too. Not that there's a lot of work to do as the judge in Shepherd's Glen; almost everything is to do with divorce or land disputes or custody battles. Even though the old ways are not taught anymore, other than to those who must carry on the four chosen families, there is still an inherent fear in the people of the wrath of God. Today, she's just killing time while waiting for a guest.
She hears footsteps coming down the long hall leading to her office, and she looks up from her work as someone knocks, hesitantly and almost nervously. "Come in." she says in a stern, business-like voice.
The man in her doorway is immaculately dressed and carrying a leather briefcase; he looks more like a businessman than a doctor. He gives her his best diplomatic smile, bowing his head to her a little as he steps into the room. "Judge Holloway," he greets, as though speaking to an old business acquaintance. "So good to see you. Now, ah- about the reason I'm here."
She gives him a similarly diplomatic smile, picking up her papers and tapping them to level them out. She then sets them aside, ever so delicately so as to not disturb the fact that they're all perfectly equal.
"Mr.. excuse me, Dr. Kaufmann, I presume," she says, folding her hands on top of the desk. "I'd like to talk to you about Dr. Fitch. The two of you know each other." It isn't phrased as a question, it's a statement. Her forwardness makes Kaufmann drop his carefully crafted smile for only a split second.
"..yes," he follows, although he knows no response is needed. He wishes to keep some control of the situation. "He's your town's main health care professional, isn't he? I remember that he came to Alchemilla once."
Margaret gives him a 'let's be serious' look, pursing her lips in an almost amused way. "Dr. Kaufmann, I would just like to make it clear that I don't approve of the Order's actions, but I'm very content to leave them be as long as they do the same for us," she explains, as though speaking to a child. Kaufmann swallows heavily, not sure whether to be embarrassed or frightened. Margaret Holloway holds a fierce presence. "But as soon as members of the Order start to get involved in my town, I'm afraid I have to intervene. I'm sure you understand."
"Well, yes, but I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," he replies. His composure is mostly maintained. For now. "I would never involve myself in the affairs of Shepherd's Glen." She rises to her feet and walks around the front of her desk, her high heels clicking menacingly against the tile.
"Now, Michael, we both know that's not true," she coos, leaning back against the wood and crossing her ankles. "Martin's told me something entirely different. And, of course, I found this." She reaches behind her and opens one of the desk drawers, pulling out a little brown bottle with opaque white liquid. She shakes it, pops off the top and holds it under her nose. "It smells like bottled incense. But I'm sure you don't know anything about that. Meaning you won't care if I just.. pour it out." She goes to tip the bottle and spill it's contents, and Kaufmann jumps towards her, intent on grabbing it from her hands. Immediately he realizes his mistake and corrects himself, but it's too late. She tilts the bottle back up, putting the stopper back in it with a satisfied grin. The doctor rights himself, adjusts his tie and clears his throat.
"..Judge Holloway, I've come a long way from Silent Hill to meet with you today," he says, patting down his suit. His fiddling with his clothes betrays a sense of nervousness. "If all you're going to do is accuse me of things, I'm going to- regrettably- have to leave."
"Dr. Kaufmann, I'm not stupid. After Martin told me you had sold him these drugs, I did some digging. There are some people living here who used to live in Silent Hill, you know. They told me that you're the manufacturer and head dealer of PTV," she explains, setting the little bottle back on her desk. "Now, I simply can't afford to have one of my chosen addicted to a drug produced and sold by the Order. Stop selling to Martin Fitch or I will have to take drastic measures."
The doctor is left speechless by the accusations and threats. His mouth flaps uselessly, his eyes blink quickly. "You- if you do anything to me, the entire Order will destroy this little town of yours, never mind the wrath of God. I'm very important to the Resurrection. Without me, the whole thing falls apart." Margaret smiles at him.
"And if Dahlia Gillespie knew that a source of her precious cult's income was coming from Shepherd's Glen's chosen? How 'important to the Resurrection' would you be then?" she asks. Kaufmann visibly shakes with distress and anger. She plucks the bottle from the table, talks forward, and folds it into his hand. "Take your drugs and go back to Silent Hill. I never want to see you, your underlings or any of your products in my town again. I hope we have an understanding." She smiles, and he continues to shake. He swallows heavily and, without another word, turns on his heel and walks away.
Margaret sighs and returns to her desk. Her job is never done.