Chapter 3
"Julia was right about one thing." Megan said. "We do have to handle Iris before she gets any bright ideas of her own. If Julia is serious about releasing Delia, then she should consider locking up Iris until she comes to her senses."
"I don't think that Julia will consider it."
"Well, so she knows that she is sitting on a time bomb, and will do nothing about it? And tells everyone that there is a time bomb... This does not sound like her.. Well, maybe we can convince her. Tell her that this is another case in which it does not pay to hope that things we sort themselves out. That's what we did with Yolanda, and see how it turned out... No, if Iris is a time bomb, she needs to be defused."
But we have no grounds to detain her.
"Well, we can give her a push, as we did the last time, didn't we? What was the rationale we used, that when she freaked out she did it in a time and place where she could do no harm? It should work here. Then Julia can release Delia, and strongly advice her to get out of town."
"And how can we push Iris?"
"Since her problem seems to be Violet, and she is unwilling to deal with it, maybe she should be made to face it, and have to run for help in dealing with it."
It was easier to watch out of it during the day. And yet she might not show herself because of it..
But he had to look. If there was a mermaid there, then he had to make sure of it... he had to see her to convince himself... he had...
If there was a mermaid at all.
But why should there not be? With all the other things that happened, why should a mermaid be more fantastic than the rest? Why couldn't it be real? And why did it matter so much to him that it be real?
It mattered.
He had begun to paint her, to capture her on canvas...
And the skill had come back rushing to him. He had not lost it. All that he had learned over the years, that was not just Charles's gift. He could learn, he could train himself, and he had done so. What Charles had given him was a set of subjects, and a style. But there were other subjects, other themes that were more meaningful to him. And style... Style did change for everyone. It was called evolving... His pictures would not be the Deale Atwaters that people were familiar with, but they would be Deale Atwaters' The hand and the eye were his, and would pain as his mind commanded...
And the mermaid had awakened that in him...
He wanted so much to see her again. It was important... probably the most important thing that he'd ever met. The one thing that truly mattered.
Much better than the silent accusation of Carolyn...
Roger was now an outpatient and taking pills to control himself. That should have reduced the tension around the house - he was quite relieved that Roger was not so willing to kill him now., but Carolyn seemed to blame him for something that he could not figure out what it was... And Edmund was polite to him, but no more...
It was when he thought of her, the mermaid, that none of it mattered.
If only he dared, he would take off his clothes and go swimming after her...
Violet was there. She did not need to see her, or hear her voice to know of her presence., to feel the weight of her accusing eyes.
It was not Sebastian this time. It was no illusion, no trickery. It was Violet.
"You let this happen to me." Violet was saying, deep in her mind.
"I did nothing" Iris protested. "It was you. You tried to kill me. Brant had to shoot you to save Tammy."
"You stole my child."
"You could not care for him properly."
"Peter is my son. Nothing can change that! Nothing!"
'He needed help. I gave it to him."
Was she angry at empty space? It was not Violet, nor really. It was just herself, wanting to much to see Violet again. Wanting for things to be all right once more. It was herself and no one else who created those imaginary dialogues in her mind.
But what if it was not?
The liquor cabinet was within easy reach. Ore or two glasses. Anything that could banish Violet for a while and help her sleep.
Only, when she woke up, it would be even worse.
"You did this to me, Iris."
"You did it to yourself. You made your choices. I did not."
"You did this."
"It was yourself. And Delia too."
"It was you, Iris. My own sister."
Iris shook her head. "It was yourself. It was Delia. You should not have believed Delia."
Violet's voice stilled for a few moments, and Iris' thoughts turned to Delia..
What right had Julia to set Delia free? What right Delia had to enjoy her freedom, when Violet was dead, and all because of her? Why should Delia be free at all?
She opened the silverware drawer. There was a sharp knife there, with a heavy , easy to hold, handle.
She picked it up, studied it.
Suppose she were to plunge it into Delia's black heart...
Maybe if she did that, Violet would leave her alone. Maybe if she did it, she and Peter could enjoy peace again.
"You seem worried." Roxanne commented to Derek
"It has nothing to do with you. You see, I am suddenly promoted to a very responsible position and I am not so sure that I like it. I am not sure at all that I can handle it. I suspect that I have been promoted to my level of incompetence."
"Level of incompetence? What's that?"
Derek explained the Peter Principle, making Roxanne laugh. "Did you think that you were at your level of incompetence when you became a vampire?"
"Of course I did. I found my way around it. But this is not something that you can find your way around. You are either responsible or irresponsible. I want to become responsible, but..."
"You'll make it. You have a good head on your shoulders."
"You think so?'
He was surprised as to how comfortable he was in her presence. He could actually look at her and not think of Sebastian at all. She had a way of making him feel good.
And she was surprised, too, as to how much she liked him. And how he could make her laugh. Of course, he was not Howard, but...
Megan had explained her plan to Julia to handle Iris. It was urgent that something be done, There was no time for excuses nor delay. It was simplicity itself.
"We can have Violet haunting her until she is close to a breakdown. Then you can treat her and allow her to come to terms with what happened to her sister. It will be controlled, so we know how far to push, and when to stop.
Julia was aghast. "Are you crazy? Do your realize what you can do to Iris:? To Peter?'
"No worse than what is already happening."
"You may damage her permanently."
"That's why I want you to be in control of it."
"I will not help you in any way. I will not countenance such a dangerous and unnecessary procedure on one of my patients, or former patients. And if I ever suspect you tried to do it, I will personally hammer a stake through your heart."
Megan sighed. "You do not understand, doctor."
"I understand well enough. And I am warning you. Keep away from Iris. Look, I know that you are resourceful and that you had saved the day for us before. But your are not trained in psychiatry. You have no idea how dangerous it is that your are proposing. You can't just play with someone's sanity."
"But if you help."
"No, the rules is always 'first do no harm' I will not do any harm to Iris, no matter what you promise me will happen."
Derek gave George his report.
"So, up to now there are no major problems in Egg City."
"Yes, up to now we are too busy to grate on each other's nerves, or to argue basic philosophies. We just agree on what is to be done for the moment."
"But you don't expect it to last."
"It won't. Howard does not like what I am doing. He tries to hide it, but I sense his disapproval. He does it find useful, if nothing else, to keep you happy and out of his hair, but he'd like to put a stop to it. He believes that the place should be self-sustaining, and a self-contained unit, that there is really no need to prepare anyone for the world outside."
"And of course, he'd be the one in charge. He and Frances."
"I think that he'd let me be in charge of a few things, too, if I were to abandon my pope dreams and go over to his side."
"He honestly believes that what he is doing is for the best." George mused "that's what makes it so hard."
"He does have valid objections, I'll grant him that. The program needs more safeguards. After all, what guarantee does he have that I am not luring those people into a life of crime outside?'
"Yes, I can see his point. What about Miss Drew? Does she still want to move there?"
"She has been promised to be in charge of Education, all to herself. She is finding it very hard to reject the offer."
"She might provide a counterweight to Howard, if we present the situation to her correctly. She is tough enough to make him back down if she chooses."
"Yes. And we get along fine, she and I. She says that I make her laugh, and that she has not laughed in years."
"Do you like her?'
"Yes."
