6.
Norma.
~ The boys cleared out early the next morning leaving Norma with an empty house. A house that seemed painfully hollow and haunted now that she was alone in it. She could hear the ticking of the mantle clock. The way the harsh fall winds beat against the windows.
She'd finished washing the dishes and started doing the laundry. She'd always been good about getting up early and doing little chores. As the boys grew older, she didn't have quite as much to do. Dylan, more or less, took care of himself. Aside from washing their clothes and forcing them to sit down for a family dinner, there wasn't much for her to do as far as taking care of them went.
She thought about going down to the motel office. Maybe start sorting trough the piles of old papers and junk. Just remembering how awful it had looked that night made her dismiss the whole idea. No. It was better to let her youngest son Norman do it. She and Dylan had agreed on that. Norman was fastidious and organized. He would easily sort through the mess without complaint and do a better job of it to.
If she or Dylan had decided to clean it, they could have thrown away important documents in a cleaning rage. How many times had her children cried when she thrown out one of their little toys or paper comic books?
So Norman would clean and organize the back office after school. That was his project. While Dylan and Norma took care of the rest of the motel. Problem with today was, there was nothing to do. She'd gotten an email saying her new shower curtains and mattresses were going to be late. She could start stripping the old carpets up, but she wasn't in the mood. It would no doubt be a disgusting job. Ripping up stained and rancid motel carpets.
She and Norman had agreed to let Dylan do that job.
The weather was turning ever colder and it looked like it would rain at any second. No, better to stay indoors, read a good book by the fire.
~ Norma Bates had never built a fire before and wasn't sure if the old fireplace in the living room was in working order. It was cold and damp and smelled funny. It would be about right if the whole house filled up with smoke if she tried to make it work. She was sure there was something to do with dampers, but she'd lived in the southern states all her life. A place devoid of the need for fireplaces. Even in the depths of winter.
Here in Oregon, the cold and wet seemed to linger. Nothing ever wanted to really dry out.
'Maybe I should call someone.' She thought feeling unsure of how to proceed. The fireplace looked ancient and menacing. She could feel a cold, heavy draft coming through it. Was that what was keeping the whole house cold? She tried to turn a large, Victorian style key built into it's side and it refused to budge.
"Shit." She hissed and the doorbell rang it's sorrowful, empty ring.
Romero.
~ Alex wasn't sure why he decided to come and see Norma Bates. He'd been put on leave for the rest of the week following Keith Summers' suicide. A normal protocol while internal investigations did what they had to do. He would still be paid while Shelby was suspended indefinitely without pay. A cruel position to put anyone in. Shelby wasn't fired, but he wasn't allowed to work or be paid. It was meant to force him to quit since he wasn't allowed to find full time work during the suspension.
Judge Wesley was confident that come Monday morning, everything would be fine.
"Just take the rest of the week off. Go fishing and don't worry." He'd said.
Still, Romero did worry. He worried all the time. Keith Summers' death was put in the paper and it just said he passed away in police custody. Nothing about the obvious suicide or headaches that would follow.
In the end, Romero came to the old motel because he wanted to explain to Norma Bates what had happened. Explain to her that she didn't have to worry about Keith Summers bothering her, or her sons again. He would make it sound like a heart attack or something. That was certainly believable. Anyone would think that before the truth.
He rang the bell once. Half hoping she wasn't at home. An older model Mercedes was down in the motel parking lot, but that could belong to anyone. Probably some fussy older lady who only drove it to the grocery store and church on Sundays. Still, when he saw it, he knew it was Norma's. He could easily picture her in such a car. Beautiful, classic and audacious. She belonged in nothing less.
'What are you thinking of?' He reprimanded himself. He shouldn't even be here. He should turn away and leave. She might tell him off for bothering her. Leaving his Sheriff's SUV in her driveway and having people talk.
The door locks turned and with a great force, the beautiful but weather front door opened to reveal an alarmed looking Norma Bates staring at him.
"Hi." He said as she looked at him curiously. Her eyes narrowing as though she suspected him of something. It was the exact look any parent would give a troublesome child they didn't trust.
"Do you know anything about fireplaces, Sheriff?" She asked.
Norma.
~ "The dampener was open." Romero explained turning the flu handle on and off again with effort. "That's why it was so cold in here."
He'd been to the shed and come back with tools and WD40 to work.
"I'm not used to fireplaces." Norma said looking worriedly at him.
Romero made a grunting noise, and the was a gust of sharp, stale air that came through the fireplace.
"I bet this thing hasn't been used in ten years." He mused. "Maybe twenty."
"How do I... I don't know, shut it off?" Norma asked. "I can't have you come over here each time I want to make a fire."
She didn't miss it then. The smile that alighted his face. The idea he would be at her beck and call was funny to him.
"I've loosened it up." He explained her. "Move it now."
She turned the large brass key and heard the archaic sounds of metal scraping. Air flowing and then stopping.
"Should it be inspected?" She asked.
"Let's make a small faire and see what happens." Romero offered.
~ Norma left him alone to make the fire and experiment with it. Unconcerned with why he'd even come by. Maybe that was how it was in small towns. The local Sheriff just stopped by to bother you for no reason. She had some homemade blueberry rolls left over from breakfast. Norman and Dylan didn't deserve her good cooking most days. Her oldest seemed happy just to eat cereal and her youngest would soon start to reject being spoiled by his mother.
"Sheriff Romero? Do you want coffee or tea?" She called out.
"You can all me Alex." He called back and she heard something thud to the floor that sounded like a metal fireplace poker.
"I'm not on the clock today. So you can just call me Alex. Coffee please." His voice carrying easily through to the kitchen as though they were normal people and this was a house they shared together.
Norma nodded and started the percolator. She'd never had a cheap instant coffee maker in her life and refused to have one now.
"I have some breakfast rolls, do you like blueberry?" She asked wandering back into the living room and seeing a cheerful little fire starting to brew in the fireplace. Alex had built a little temple of sticks and old newspapers; enough to see where the smoke and air would go.
"I think you'll be okay." He mused straining his neck to see if the smoke was safely leaving the right way.
"Don't lean so close to the fire!" She chastised and slapped at him to move away. She couldn't help it. She was too much of a mother to not scold a grown man who wasn't related to her.
Alex Romero looked at her curiously and she felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry." She said. "But don't get too close to the fire."
He nodded and she turned away from him. Her face flushing hot with embarrassment. She realized belatedly that he wasn't in uniform. His leather coat was still the same, but he was wearing jeans and a normal shirt. He'd come to see her off the clock. Why?
No time to think about that, her coffee was already popping and smelling good. She was sure Romero would finish off the last of the baked goods her boys didn't want.
Ungrateful things.
And she was starting to feel awkward putting him to work like that before he even had a chance to explain why he'd come.
She put everything on an old wooden tea tray and brought it out into the living room. The fire was starting to grow now that it had fuel and proper oxygen to feed it.
"Alex, thank you so much." she said realizing her voice had become softer at the sight of the working fireplace. Something that made the entire room seem much more cheerful and finally habitable. "It's supposed to rain today and I really wanted a fire going."
She saw him smile slightly as he took a coffee cup from her.
"Well, I didn't come by here just to fix things, Mrs. Bates." He said looking slightly pleased with himself.
"Call me Norma. I don't go by Mrs. Bates." She corrected him quickly. "Sit down." She waved to the large sofa.
"I need to talk to you about Keith Summers." He said carefully sipping the coffee he took black and looking impressed by the taste.
"What about him? He make bail or something?" She asked.
"He passed away yesterday." Alex explained in a detached voice. "He was in police custody, and he passed away."
Norma looked back at him feeling stunned. That man he arrested was dead? What had happened?
"I..." Norma started to say and couldn't think of anything to say.
"I came by because I wanted you to hear it from me first." Alex said swiftly. "The papers haven't really covered it yet until the investigation is over."
"Investigation?" Norma echoed.
"Anytime someone dies in police custody there has to be an investigation." Alex explained.
"Is that why you're off the clock right now? Are you in trouble because of this?" She asked.
Alex refused to make eye contact.
"No. I'm not in any trouble." He said and she felt that might be a lie. "It's policy to allow internal investigations... to investigate and since I was directly involved with the arrest, I was given the rest of the week off. They've suspended the arresting deputy. He... No I'm not in trouble."
Norma nodded and they sat in silence for a few moments. The fire crackling happily and the room starting to flood with heat.
"I don't want you to get into any trouble because of me. I know you pulled strings to get all that... junk cleared away from the motel." She said feeling guilty somehow.
"I didn't pull any strings." Alex said confidently. "You know how many fines Keith has paid because of that junk? He's practically paid the county to haul it away already."
She knew he was lying then. He was trying too hard to look innocent. Dylan was the same way.
"Well, all the same." She said. "Thank you. And thank you for fixing the fireplace. I probably would have burned the house down if you hadn't come by."
"Where are the boys?" He asked suddenly curious as to why the house felt so silent.
"Norman is at school. Dylan is God only knows where." Norma sighed. "He says he wants to investigate the other motel in town. I'm still waiting for the rest of my deliveries to get here. Who knows when the new mattresses will be in. They keep giving me delays and different shipping dates."
"Want me to call them?" Alex offered.
"No!" Norma threw up her hands in mock annoyance. "No, I don't want you to bully the customer service people into doing their jobs."
"Because sometimes they don't respond as fast to a woman." Alex told her.
"That... is... not true." Norma stammered for lack of an argument. The idea that her order was being delayed was because she was a woman was outrageous; and perhaps true. Stranger things happen.
"I can talk to them. I'm a cop. I think they can sense it over the phone." He said helpfully.
"I'll have Dylan talk to them if it comes to that." She sighed. "You've done more than enough with the fireplace."
He seemed to take this as a cue to leave and stood. She hadn't meant he needed to leave. Not at all. The house seemed better with him in it. Safer and more manageable somehow. She didn't have to nag anyone or worry since he'd come in. It felt like... almost as if he'd helped her carry something very heavy; and things were just a little bit easier now.
"I just wanted to let you know what happened to Keith. In case you hear talk around town." He said. "You'll be renaming the motel, right?" He asked suddenly. "No sense in keeping the old name."
"Dylan wanted to name it 'The Family Inn'." Norma explained walking him to the door. "But We're going to call it 'Bates Motel'."
"Good name." Alex nodded.
"Well..." Norma said in a shaky voice. "My late husband passed away. He left us with enough money to buy this house and the motel. It... I mean it only seems right to name it after him."
'That's right, Norma. Let him think you truly loved Sam and are naming the motel after him. It'll look better if anyone investigates.' She thought bitterly. If she had it her way, she would go by her maiden name once more and say she was an old maid. But she cold never be Norma Calhoun again.
Romero nodded and looked amused at the idea of 'Bates Motel'.
"Simple." He said at last. "It's a nice tribute."
"A tribute." She said quickly. "Yes. Exactly. A tribute to Sam."
"He died six months ago you said?" Alex asked.
"Yes." Norma nodded quickly. "Accident at home."
'Shut up, Norma.' She scolded herself.
"Oh." Alex frowned at her. "What kind of accident?"
"I just remembered... I have errands to run in town." She said taking the half empty coffee mug from him. "Thanks again for fixing the fireplace. I appreciate it."
She was rushing him out the door. His presence here in the house suddenly feeling incredibly close and bothersome. What if Dylan came home and saw the Sheriff's SUV parked in the parking lot?
"Norma-" Alex was saying when they reached the threshold of her front door.
She was filled with a sudden manic energy to get him away from the house and motel. She'd already said too much about Sam and now he was getting suspicious.
"I'm sorry." She said with a polite smile before shutting the door.
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