Chapter 8
"Hurry up, Corbett. We have to be at Michelle's by eight or I'll be late for work." Hoffman called.
Corbett came into the kitchen with her backpack. "Why do I have to stay with her for the night?"
"I already told you. I'm having some friends over tonight. Michelle said she can watch you."
"But I shouldn't have to go because your friends are coming over. You stay when my friends are here."
"I stay to make sure you and your friends don't hurt yourself."
"I make sure you can your friends don't hurt yourself." Corbett pleaded.
"Me and my friends are adults; we can take care of ourselves."
"I'm not going!" Corbett sat down in front of the door determined not to leave.
Hoffman kneeled down to her level. He had gotten used to her outbursts and knew the best way to get her to agree was by bargaining. "Well if you do go I'll let you have that sleepover you've been begging me about."
"Really?" Corbett asked. Hoffman nodded. Corbett opened the door and almost ran out. "All right. Come on, let's go Mark. You'll be late for work."
Amanda and Eric's apartment was in an endless state of silence. They had much to say to each other but they had to keep things secret. Eric couldn't tell Amanda about the case. She was the prime suspect but Eric's muffled sense of respect kept him from telling her anything until he was sure. Amanda's problems started to form once she took the job offering. She didn't have to jump through hoops but it was a dangerous situation because if Eric knew how she learned about the job he would probably kick her out. Eric left without saying a word. Amanda stayed home and waited. At ten in the morning Amanda's guest arrived. He knocked on the door then let himself in.
"Amanda I'm here."
Amanda walked out of the bedroom. She had dressed herself up for almost no reason. They weren't leaving the house and at most they would only be talking for half an hour. "Daniel!" The two shared a short hug then sat on the couch. "You've grown a little since I've last seen you and you have a goatee."
"I try not to be recognized." Daniel said modestly.
"Yeah. It's hard. I don't think people understand how hard it is to think about. But you have it easy, people are suing me. If you didn't tell me about the job at the tattoo parlor I probably wouldn't have a job."
"It was a favor between friends. I guess." It was hard avoiding the silence. Daniel and Amanda didn't really have a history together. They couldn't chat about good times of the past or the whereabouts of mutual friends. In the closest thing they had to a mutual friend in the house was Laura. After Laura was Eric.
Amanda looked out to the balcony. "Your father…"
"I don't want to talk about him. He'll come to me if he wants to talk."
Amanda chuckled. "You are definitely his son. He says the same thing every time someone brings you up. Why is it?"
"He's always been a cop never a father." Daniel answered firmly. "Like I told you he'd send the whole world to look for me so he can yell at me for disappearing. I don't want to put up with it."
"Daniel, he risked his life for you. He put himself through hell and you don't care. If he yells at you then you deserve it."
"I didn't come here for you to scold me. I'll take you to the parlor just don't mention him."
"Fine. Let's go." Amanda said.
The ride to the parlor gave Amanda and another chance to look at Daniel and what he had become. He wasn't a seventeen year old delinquent anymore. He had just passed his twentieth birthday and skipped college to go in the military but later substituted that option to police work. Daniel told Amanda he wasn't trying to follow his father's foot steps but the course of events just happened to take him in that direction. Becoming an officer was a daunting process for Daniel. With half the country aware of whom he was it was hard for recruiters to think he was capable of handling the job. He had to take a job in a grocery store until he was accepted.
Daniel's personality had changed too. Amanda was only aware of the rumors though but they seemed mostly true. Opposed to his out of control behavior Daniel was now calm and level headed. He used to be outspoken but was now withdrawn. There was only one thing about Daniel that hadn't changed. A small thing that only seemed apparent to Amanda. He was heartbroken. His family was torn apart and it was stuck that way. Before Eric was captured there may have been hope for them; there was a chance they would get back together. With Eric's new brooding attitude and Daniel's hatred it was impossible. Amanda didn't like to admit when she failed. Yet seeing Daniel and living with Eric only reminded her that she didn't make anything better. It was the only test that made her upset to associate with Jigsaw. When they arrived at the parlor Amanda told Daniel good bye and told him she was sorry for everything that she had done to him. He in turn told her that he wanted to get her back at first but then he told Amanda he knew vengeance wouldn't get him anywhere. The moment was like an echo of John's last lesson. Before driving off Daniel told Amanda, "I forgive you."
Eric had a place where he could think uninterrupted. Like everything there were pros and cons. The main pro was its isolated and controlled environment. Special clearance was needed to get in and it was soundproof. Eric didn't have to worry about anyone coming in and interrupting his thoughts. The main downside was the place was a cell in the isolation ward for out of control suspects. Eric stumbled upon it while looking for the interrogation rooms his first year on the force. He took a wrong turn and found the hallway with 4 padded rooms. There were two-way mirrors on all of them so they could be observed. Almost like zoo animals in Eric's opinion. The section was long out of use because the department wasn't obligated to hold mentally unstable criminals. Eric got permission from the police commissioner to hold the key to one of the rooms and he was allowed to stay in the room from then on. Whenever life got to hectic he would go in his isolation room to rest.
The area was largely unchanged when Eric went back there. He was told some Jigsaw suspects were held there but not in his room. He saw why when he got there. It became a standing memorial to him. There were flowers and balloons inside and his named was on a plaque that dressed up the door. Eric was flattered by it. He didn't know anyone expect for maybe Rigg and Kerry would bother doing anything for him. He walked over to the bed. It was the same as he remembered. A thin mattress that managed to be hard as stone with knots of cotton in it adorned a shaky metal bed frame. Eric lay back on the bed. He pressed his hand against the wall. The padding was made of the same material of the bed. It didn't real soften the blows if someone was to run in to the wall but it did prevent any damage from being taken.
Eric wasn't a profound thinker in daily life. He was impulsive about everything and figured he could deal with the consequences later. In his thinking room however he was very structured. His thoughts followed a process. First he would evaluate his current situation. He was living with a serial killer. His son abandoned him. Kerry was gone. Rigg was distant. The person closest to him was his archenemy. Then he compared it to his previous situation. He lived alone. He only saw Daniel occasionally. Kerry was trying to force him back in police work. Rigg stuck by him and didn't give up helping him. Amanda was elsewhere. Lastly he would take the best from both to create an ideal situation. There lied the main problem. In his previous life he had his friends and family with him but they were all pulling away except Rigg. Now everyone except Amanda had left him. He had a chance to make his life all over again. Rebirth just like Jigsaw wanted.
It was frustrating to him. The only answer was that the sick old killer's ideas were right. He wouldn't accept it and screamed. He screamed so loud he that he was sure someone would here even through the soundproof walls. He didn't stop until his face was red and he felt dizzy. Then he hit the walls. Again he broke barriers plowing through the plush and making firm contact with the rough wall. He kept hitting the walls as they closed in on him. Eric panicked when he opened his eyes and saw a dimly lit room. A deathly stench creeped through the walls. A shallow bowl was in the corner licked clean of whatever culinary disaster was in it. Eric could only think of his losses as his mind raced. Then he fell to the ground. A team of officers surrounded him as his past horror faded back to the isolation ward of the department.
After a few hours of drug induced rest Eric left for home. He was groggy and weak. He was in doubt that he could drive but only thought about going home. Before walking out he crossed paths with Hoffman. "Hey, Eric. I heard what happened. You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. I'll be heading home." Eric said.
"Okay. Take it easy."
Eric took two steps back then wheeled around. "The case. Did the results come in yet?"
"I think you should rest first. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Eric scoffed then grinned in his own misfortune. "It's her, isn't? It's Amanda. Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her. She just took advantage of me! Don't worry. I'll arrest her. I'll make sure she gets put in jail and stays there. Just goes to show I shouldn't trust people. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Eric, wait a minute. Eric!" Hoffman tried to stop him but Eric was just too angry to notice.
The next day a celebration was being thrown at the Kramer Memorial Housing Project's base of operations. The team was celebrating the purchase of all of John's old residential properties. The purchase completed half of the project granted most of the house would be subjected to maintenance and code checks but it was better than starting from scratch. A mini-reunion was also in place as most of John's friends gathered around to talk about John and his accomplishments. Stories came from as far back as when John was in college. Art always knew John as serious man who was overprotective of Jill. However as stories would tell he wasn't always that way. Most people knew him as an eccentric and jolly man. It was the thought of having a family made John more serious.
Art stayed by the refreshment table sometimes walking around but always ending up at the table. He felt like an outsider. For years he thought he knew John better than anyone but he realized that he didn't know him much at all. Even though Art worked close with John they never went much into his personal life. Most of what he knew of John came from Jill. Art listened to Jill as she told stories to the crowd. Her stories had John as a man in his own world and she was his connection to the rest of the world. She finished by saying that even when John was completely out of his mind she didn't give up hope that he would someday return to normal. A round of applause followed then Jill worked her way back to meet with Art.
"Interesting little crowd, isn't it?" Jill said.
Art nodded, "Yeah. I didn't know John was still a popular man. I mean for his engineering work. Most people think he's a killer."
"John is a tragic hero. The average civilian only knows him as a killer. The media painted every one of his actions as torture. His family, his friends, we know the whole story. We know he suffered as much as anyone else. We know he was a tortured man. But no one considers it." Tears welled up in Jill's eyes. She stopped short from crying instead taking a breath. "I know everything. I was informed of everything."
"Amanda told you?" Art asked.
"It doesn't matter who told me. What matters is that I know everything that can help your trial and everything that can hurt it. The problem is I still don't trust you."
Art took a sip from his drink. He grinned at Jill. "The trial isn't on my mind right now. If you demoralize my role in this project then you can just say I want the money I lost from my last try with this project. I don't need a housing project to remember John by. I already have something from him." Art ran his fingers across the scar that came from the middle of his cheek to his lip. The tear of the stitches didn't cause the scar but instead a surgery gone wrong caused it. The stitches in his lip left small perforation scars as well as an infection. An inexperienced resident had suggested surgery to remove it. The same resident tried to perform the improvised procedure accidentally ripping through the side of Art's cheek. Art had the right mind to argue a malpractice suit. Afterwards the resident wasn't heard from again. Even though the scar wasn't a direct result of John's actions it wouldn't have happened if he didn't get tested. "John wasn't entirely fond of me after what happened. I don't blame him."
Jill smiled back at Art. "You passed his test. You earned his forgiveness…and mine."
"Really?"
"I can't stay mad at you forever."
Art decided to shake hands. "The beginning to a beautiful friendship."
Jill jerked Art's arm lightheartedly. "Not if you start quoting movies again."
They smiled at each other again then went back to the crowd to hear the rest of the stories.
Hoffman's poker game went without incident so it was time to live up his end of the deal with Corbett. He spent most of the day out shopping with Corbett. When they returned home they started to set up for the party. First the living room furniture was rearranged. Hoffman tried moving the couch around until Corbett decided to leave it alone and put the coffee table in the spare room which was being remade into Corbett's bedroom. Afterwards they made snacks together then set them out. Right afterwards the guests started arriving.
The stream of kids and parents came in a group. They had carpooled using two separate cars. The overflow wasn't a result of more children, a relief to Hoffman, but instead the result of visiting parents. After the kids joined together and start to tear up the house the parents greeted him and praised him for his work on the Jigsaw case. Ironically the case had been buried in his mind. He was to busy taking care of Corbett to notice much about what was happening in the community. It then came back to him that he had helped in the cases making it only a little harder to handle them. After most of them headed back towards the car Hoffman noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Alison Gordon.
Alison was more composed than when they first met. She was one of the few surviving victims that had moved on. "Hello, Detective Hoffman."
"Mrs. Gordon. It's nice to see you again." Hoffman replied with a hand shake.
"It's nice to see you. Diana's the one with the purple sleeping bag. Right over there."
"There she is. I should keep notes of this. I wouldn't want to get confused." Hoffman replied.
"She shouldn't be too much trouble." Alison lowered her voice. "Do you mind if we talk privately for a second?"
"Sure." Hoffman led her out to the dining room. It was a very formal and traditional room despite it not being used much. "What would you like to talk about?"
Alison hesitated. "I remember you saying Corbett doesn't know what happened to her parents."
"I didn't have the heart to tell her."
"You should tell her even if you don't think you can. Diana was already confident that Lawrence was leaving us. If I had waited to tell her what happened she would have thought he left us. I know about Corbett's family. You shouldn't hold off on telling her or she'll have a hard time later."
"Thank you. I have someone looking into it. There are some things I want to know beforehand so I know how to talk to her."
Alison nodded. The vans outside started to honk their horns. "I should get going. You're doing a great job with Corbett. It's almost like Jigsaw didn't get to her one bit." She said her good-bye then left.
Hoffman watched the children play in the living room. Alison's words hung in the air. It's almost like Jigsaw didn't get to her… It wasn't true. Jigsaw did get to her. The nicer side of Jigsaw but it was him either way. Hoffman still hadn't decided whether or not to continue the legacy. He hoped that Amanda being arrested would change things. Maybe Amanda would give up and realize that it was over. But John's presence was still around. He was still watching. Waiting for the right time. The tapes never lied. The game had just begun.
