Chapter 4: Betty
They sat across the street from the looming, ominous gates of Dentonvale's grouds in Oliver's beat-up tan Plymouth, waiting. They weren't exactly sure what they were waiting for, but their eyes had remained glued to the same spot for the past hour, nothing changing outside aside from the weather. Betty reached into her purse to grab another cigarette, probably her sixth since they had parked the car. She noticed her pack was down to only a few now, but she lit it anyways and took a long drag, exhaling slowly. Oliver, who took far longer to finish his cigarettes and was still savoring his second one, had his perched in between his lips as he filed through the papers in his lap.
"So.. what are we waiting for, exactly?" She inquired, smoke filling the space between them as she took another puff.
Oliver removed the cigarette from his lips and balanced it between his fingers. "Betty, they've had me assigned to this damn case for what feels like a century now. This place has been under investigation for years and if I knew exactly what would help break our case against them, I'd let you know."
Betty had just recently gotten involved with Oliver after her split with Ralph. She was looking for an older man, hoping for more maturity, and met Oliver Wright while working for the Denton Dossier. He was a private investigator she had interviewed after he cracked the case against Farley Flavors, a local-made-famous fast-food chain tycoon that had been smuggling money illegally, as well as other things, for half a decade. Police had been on his tail for years but he was too clever, always finding a way to evade them. It was Oliver's groundbreaking evidence against him that had finally got them the warrant for his arrest. Oliver was witty and intelligent, and let's face it, a hell of a lot better than Ralph, inside and outside of the bedroom.
She leaned back in her seat, taking another drag. "Well, what should we even be looking for? Just looks like a shitty old castle to me."
Oliver thumbed through the paperwork, handing over three polaroid pictures of the same couple in white uniforms. They man was tall, bald with big, round framed glasses and the woman strikingly pretty with red curls pulled neatly into an up-do. "Cosmo and Nation McKinley" was scribbled underneath them. The last picture, though blurry, depicted the two locked in a tight embrace. Betty looked closer. Were they kissing?
"They're two siblings under what we believe to be the pseudonym "Cosmo and Nation McKinley". They claim to be doctors from Europe specializing in psychology, but no one can track down their exact orgin." He explained, reading through what she now knew were case files. "You search their names, nothin' comes up. Precisely why we believe they're using fake names."
"So what's the big deal with a fake name?"
Oliver chuckled. "Remember that Farley Flavors? He was a huge donor to them and their institution. Practically funded their entire hospital here." He wagged his cigarette at her. "But here's the thing... mental hospitals are starting to become a thing of the past. More families are opted to keep their loved ones outta them and seek care elsewhere after that big exposure documentary was released about the abuse that goes on in these facilities. Mental institutions around the country are going bankrupt and shutting down... raises some suspicions as to why Farley would so heavily fund this place when they're a dying breed."
She nodded along, putting the pieces of what he was explaining together in her mind. "So it looks suspicious. All this money coming in from a criminal background.."
"And look at this," he handed her a newspaper clipping, a large black and white photo donning the front. In it stood Farley Flavors himself, recognizable with his infamous scar, and the McKinley's, smiling widely at the camera with their arms around each other, right in front of the very gates they now were watching. "DENTONVALE MENTAL INSITUTION: GRAND OPENING" the headline read in bold print. "He couldn't smuggle all that money by himself... he had partners."
Betty took one last drag and flicked her cigarette out the window, fully indulged now. "I'm in."
Nation
It couldn't be argued that everything felt eerier once the sun went down. After residing and working in that building for years, she still couldn't help but feel slight unease everytime the lights went out and the usually noisy halls went quiet like the dead. Nation and Cosmo had their own private quarters in the same wing of the castle the nurses stayed, their bedroom tucked as far away from the patients as possible in the tallest tower, completely re-modeled for their comfort.
Nation was already changed into her silk nightgown and tucked into bed reading when Cosmo entered the room. He did a routine sweep of the hospital every night with Ansalong, making sure each patient was in their proper bunk and accomidated for. He locked the door behind him and crossed over to the bed, sinking into the mattress beside her and sighing. He reached for one of her hands and held it between his, stroking it gently.
"How was your nightly check-up?" Nation asked, eyes remaining fixed on the text in her book.
Cosmo let out an annoyed groan and removed his glasses, tossing them onto the bed. "Frank is still giving me absolute hell for locking him back up in solitary, as if stabbing another patient for a second time was just something that was going to be overlooked." He looked at her with tired eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He practically threw a fit when I checked his bunk and confiscated his mascara." Nation chuckled at this.
"He calls himself a prince but he's more-so a drama queen if anything. How was Mr. Majors doing?"
"According to Ansalong, he actually spoke to someone at dinner." He laughed, "Had us all convinced he was a mute, turns out all it would take was his fiancee to leave the building for us to get a peep out of him."
Cosmo kissed the top of her hand a few times before hauling himself off the bed, making his way towards the bathroom attached to their room. "I don't understand why she wouldn't sign the papers if she was so keen on getting him in here." He yelled back to her over the sound of the water running.
"Who knows. Perhaps she feels guilty and is getting cold feet?" She offered, setting her book down beside her. "They're both very odd, as it seems."
The water stopped and he walked back into the room, drying his face with a towel. "She said she just needed one more night to sleep on it and she would return tomorrow." He leaned down and kissed the top of Nation's head. "Odd, indeed."
Janet
The house felt empty without Brad. By the time Janet finally returned home night had fallen and the house was painfully silent. She spent what felt like an eternity sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the engagment ring in her hand. Her emotions were getting the best of her, and with no Brad to talk to, and no desire to speak with her parents, she took the phone off the reciever and dialed an old friend, hoping she could seek some advice.
The line rang a few times before it picked up and Janet swore she could hear laughter on the other end, followed by a giggling voice telling someone to hush. "Hello?"
"Betty? Hiya, it's Janet. I know it's late, I was just calling to see if you had a minute." She twisted the cord nervously between her fingers.
"No, Janet, it's okay. What's going on, honey?"
The two women went way back to their time at Denton High School. Brad had been the best man at Betty and Ralph, another pair of Denton High sweethearts', wedding. Janet had caught the bouqet and Brad surprised her and proposed after the ceremony. This was before he had gotten bad. Betty and Ralph seperated a year ago after three years of marriage and one affair. Ralph, who was employed with Janet at DTV Studios, had been sleeping with the new receptionist, a pretty blonde named Macy Struthers. When Betty found out she broke all the picture frames in the house, threw all of Ralph's clothes into the garabage and hurled a lamp at him when he tried to beg for her back. She filed for divorce the same week. Janet comforted her through the entire thing. She was hoping Betty could return the favor.
"Well, you know how Brad hasn't been doing too well lately?" Janet could hear Betty muttering to someone on the other end, followed by the sound of a male voice. Who could she possibly be with at this hour? "My parents suggested it might be best for him to be in some professional care, so we had him admitted to Dentonvale and-"
"Dentonvale, you said?" She cut her off suddenly, the male voice in the background going silent. "When did you do this?"
"I just dropped him off today-"
"Shit, Janet, I gotta go. I'll call you back as soon as I can." The line went dead and Janet stood alone once again in her kitchen, accompanied only by silence.
