50.
~ It was all a bad dream. All of it. It had to be.
Alex had expected to wake up and find himself in bed with Norma again. His wife alive and smiling at him with no makeup on. Her gentle teasing about being prince charming.
What had he even said to her that morning? That last morning together. He'd already forgotten. He tried hard to remember it. To remember what they had talked about. But the conversation seemed to slip out of his memory like he'd dreamed it. Trying to force the memory would only distort it. Make it not real.
They had wanted to make love that morning. He remembered that. Remembered he'd woken up first. That Norma had kicked him under the covers. They were kissing and… and Lulu cried for one of them.
Alex sat up in bed. He was in the cold and undecorated guest room Emma and Dylan had ready for them. They had wisely kept Lulu in their room. He'd taken something to help him sleep, but his body was too used to waking up early and he was wide awake in time for the sunrise.
~ That morning… with Lulu safely under Emma's protection, Dylan helped Alex field the interview with the detective who's name and face Alex instantly forgot.
It was normal for the police from another county to be brought in when a cop (or former cop) had a family member die unnaturally.
"We need to get your version of events right away." The detective said. "I know this is all still a shock. I'm very sorry. I also need to record all of this."
Alex nodded. He understood how this went.
The detective activated a small recorder, stated their own name, Alex's name, Dylan's name and what was happening.
"I need you to understand that we are investigating the death of Norma Romero as a homicide." The detective said in a calm and sympathetic voice.
"I…" Alex started to say, and looked at Dylan who nodded sadly. "I understand. Yes." Alex said clumsily.
"I need to know when was the last time you saw your wife. When you spoke to her. Even over the phone. We need to establish a timeline." The detective said.
"Umm." Alex had to think. "I took our daughter to… um… to Ellison county. The greenhouse there. To buy trees. Then we had an appointment at the daycare. I think, the last time I saw… I saw Norma was… I think nine that morning? Before I left."
"Nine?"
"No, TEN!" Alex corrected. "Ten. Norma had to get a.. um a dipper bag for her. For Lulu."
"Lulu?" The detective asked.
"Our daughter."
"Theresa Romero? The infant?" The detective asked.
Alex nodded.
"Yes." He said. He used to be a cop, how was he so bad at this now?
"Yes, her name is Teresa." Alex clarified.
"Did you call your wife at anytime?"
"I… I did when I got out of the apportionment at the daycare. Around five." Alex shrugged. "I called because I was tired and wanted to know if she wanted me to get drive through."
"What did she say?" The detective asked.
"Umm…" Alex blinked. What had Norma said? She didn't say anything. She hadn't picked up the phone. "She never picked up the phone." Alex said darkly.
"So you went to the greenhouse in Ellison county. Then to the daycare? Can anyone verify you were there?" The detective asked.
"I… I have recites from the greenhouse. I bought two trees. Large ones. Umm… Oh, Tonya Wilkie. She's the director of the daycare. I had an appointment with her at four. Norma and I are thinking about-"
Alex caught himself.
"We were, um… talking about putting Lulu in the spring class there." He said sadly.
He felt Dylan rest a hand on his shoulders.
"I see." The detective said. "Ms. Wilkie? She can corroborate this?"
"Yes." Alex nodded.
"After visiting the daycare, what happened?"
"I… I think I tried to call Norma about dinner. Got drive through. Um… the baby was getting cranky. I went home."
"What happened when you got home?" The detective asked.
"I… I put Lulu in her high chair. In the kitchen." Alex said remembering that moment with crystal clear perfection. "I was looking for Norma. Calling out for her."
"You came in through the kitchen? Through the backdoor?"
"Yes. We always do. Since the quarantine."
"Did you hear anyone else in the house?"
"I don't think so." Alex shook his head.
"Then what?" The detective asked.
"I found her." Alex said flatly. He remembered that better than anything. How Norma was cold. How her lips were cold. How she was already gone.
"Umm…" Alex said. "I think I called… umm… 911. I guess I did. The baby was crying."
The detective nodded.
"We have the 911 call." Came the flat response. "Did you hear or see anyone at the house that morning?"
Alex shook his head.
"The recording. Yes or no, please."
"No." Alex said curtly. "I never saw anything or anyone strange at the house."
"The motel guests? Did your wife say she was afraid of any of them?" The detective asked.
"No." Alex said. "It's still early in the season… we didn't have that many guests."
"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your wife, Mr. Romero?" The detective asked.
"No." Alex said automatically and then saw Norman Bates flash violently through his mind.
"Umm… Norma has another son. He's grown now." He looked at Dylan who looked down at his own hands. "Norman was having some issues. During the quarantine. Typical stress. It was hard for a lot of young people."
"Yes it was." The detective nodded.
"Um, we, uh, placed Norman at Pine View." Alex explained. "Shortly after we got married."
"Was he having violent issues?" The detective asked.
"We… were worried he would become violent. Yes." Alex explained tactfully. "He had run away from home."
"Norman had been violent before." Dylan suddenly chimed in.
"The person speaking now is…" the detective nodded for Dylan to speak.
"Dylan Massett. I'm Norma's oldest son." Dylan explained.
The detective nodded for him to go on.
"Um, Norman had been violent. Mom said he'd pushed her down the stairs once." Dylan explained.
"What?" Alex snapped "When did that happen?"
"Before the quarantine." Dylan shrugged.
"Were the police ever called about all this?" The detective asked.
"Before Norma and I became involved…" Alex glared at Dylan. "I often responded to emergency calls to the motel and house myself."
"Emergencies such as?" The detective asked.
Alex had to remember. It had felt like decades ago.
"It was long before the quarantine. Long before we were together." He sighed. "She'd been worried about a former guest who sent her flowers. Nothing ever came of that. Um… my deputy, Zach Shelby, had tried to start a relationship with her. There's a large case file on him. At the station. He was shot and killed; by me. At the house. He'd been hiding a trafficked girl from China at the motel. Was holding Norma and her two sons hostage."
"You shot him?" The detective asked pointing a pen at Romero.
"Yes." Alex and Dylan said together.
"What else?"
"Someone dug Shelby up." Dylan said. "Norma found him in her bed."
The detective paused.
"And then?"
"There was an accident." Alex said carefully. A friend of Norman's, her father died. It was ruled an accident. But we had to take him in for questioning."
"And?"
"Miss. Blair Watson. Was murdered. About a year before the quarantine." Alex said. "Norman had seemed, very upset about it. He was her teacher. Norman's doctor at Pine View; a doctor Edwards believes she was sexually abusing him."
"We'll need your permission to obtain the records from Pine View."
"Fine." Alex said.
"Do you think he left Pine View and hurt your wife?" The detective asked.
"Norman, left Pine View almost three years ago." Alex said dryly. "You can see the security tapes. Norma and I haven't seen him since. He never called… we honestly don't know what happened to him. Never made contact. Not even to ask for money."
"She became estranged from her son?" The detective asked coldly.
"Norman chose to not call." Dylan clarified sharply.
"No attempt was made to find him?" The detective asked.
"No. We thought he would… run out of money and come home. I'd kept an alert out if he ever used his social security number to find a job or rent a car. Nothing. He just vanished." Alex shrugged.
"But you think he could have broke into your home and hurt your wife?" The detective asked.
Alex suddenly remembered.
"There are security cameras." He said eagerly. "On the front and back door. They would have caught anyone combining in."
"We've already explored that." The detective said somberly. "It seems they were inactive at the time of the incident. The ones by the house anyway."
Alex felt his body deflate.
"It seems your wife had a lot of… chaos swirling around her. At least before she married you. Why is that?" The detective asked Alex.
"I wouldn't call it chaos." Alex said. "Sometimes terrible things happen."
"Yes, they do." The detective said. "I think I have all I need for now. We will be in touch. You know to not leave the county, right?"
"He's staying with us. My wife, Emma." Dylan pipped up.
The detective nodded. Made a note and that was the end of the first round of questioning.
~ Norma's funeral had felt unreal. The air was too hot and claustrophobic in the tiny red wood chapel by the cemetery. There were lovely pink flower sprays beside a shinny pink coffin that Emma had picked out. The pictures that adorned a small alter were of Norma and Alex at the Lights of Winter last year, of Norma holding a newborn Lulu and various pictures of her with Dylan, Emma and Norman.
Alex remembered, only at the funeral, how Norma had complained about a missing framed picture of her and Norman. The silver frame one the high boy. How her sweater was missing as well. The blue one. How had he forgotten that? His memories all felt hidden and strange now. Like they had happened years ago instead of days.
A lot of Norma's friends came to pay their respects. Madelene Loomis openly crying while her husband looked embarrassed to be there.
The only person who wasn't at the funeral, that had lost the most with Norma's death, was Lulu. Ms. Wilkie, the daycare director, had called Alex and practically demanded Lulu come to the daycare while, in her words: "All this mess is sorted out."
Lulu played happily with the other children that day, while her parents house was turned upside down by police in an effort to find clues as to who had done this to her mother.
Maybe Lulu should have been at the service, but Alex, along with Dylan and Emma, had all agreed it might be too upsetting for her. Not the sight of the coffin, but the other people there. Maybe it would have been better to have a small service for the immediate family only: but Norma had made a lot of friends since the pandemic ended. She had enjoyed a very nice social circle of younger mothers and small business owners alike.
The undertaker, a somber man and his son, had asked Alex to confirm that it was indeed Norma Romero in the pink casket before the service began. Emma had volunteered and Dylan looked too upset to do much more than stare into space.
In the end, it had been Alex who had been the last person to see her before the casket was closed and she was left alone in the dark.
Forever.
She was buried in a periwinkle blue dress. Something more suited for evening wear maybe. Lulu's well loved pink unicorn was folded neatly into her hands.
She looked peaceful; as though she'd fallen asleep in a blue evening dress while holding Lulu's favorite toy. The savage strangulation marks on her neck were covered by makeup and her hair was neatly styled with a flattering curl. A style she never had time for since the baby was born.
It had been awful for Alex to close the casket. To shut her away. To know he would never see her again. He still couldn't remember what they had talked about that last morning. What they had talked about the evening before.
He had a million questions for her. He didn't know the passwords for half the digital subscriptions they had. Apparently Norma had some organic food service delivered to the house every week, and he had no idea about it.
Not to mention the trees were delivered and planted without her approval on where she wanted them.
He didn't know if Lulu had allergies. If she had all her baby teeth. She was already having trouble with going to the bathroom with all the stress. Her bedwetting and accidents at night coming back now that Norma wasn't there. Never mind the child's cries for her mother that no one could fill.
Even with Dylan and Emma there for him, Alex felt alone. He couldn't raise their daughter by himself. He could hardly take care of himself without Norma to make sure his clothes were cleaned and meals were prepared. He hardly knew how to pay the bills now without her passwords. Norma took care of all that. She took care of everything.
For a long time, Alex stood by her coffin. Alone in the small viewing room. He hadn't wanted his wife to have an open casket funeral. Not with all the curious people wanting to see the murdered wife of the former Sheriff Romero.
"I'm so sorry I count't protect you." He whispered. He hadn't been able to feel her since she left him. Not feel her light and her presence.
Something came over him there, alone with her. A warmth coming over his body.
"I… Lulu misses you. Everyday, she asked where you are. Dylan and Emma are helping. Helping all the time." He said honestly. He could feel her. As though she was listening.
"Um… I don't know if I can do any of this without you." He admitted. "You made it look easy."
He laughed at that. A playful memory of how she did everything for them and he never fully realized how much she actually did, till she was gone.
"You wanted that iron fence." He suddenly remembered and smiled. "You wanted that iron fence around the house. That, that was one of the last things we talked about. I… remember now."
It felt easier then. Like he had finally found something he'd been looking for. The memory of the two of them talking in bed that morning. That last morning. How she smelled like soap and shampoo. They had talked about buying trees and fixing up the house some more. A normal conversation. She'd kissed him good bye, and smiled at him. She'd been happy. It was a good memory.
I've been doing this story for a YEAR now.