Ch. 7: Kayla
Magenta led the team of officers to a small parlor and paused with her hand on the door. She had been silently fuming, something every one of the policemen could sense and now she turned to face them.
"If it wasn't the Master's order's, there would be no way I'd let you near Kayla nor any one of our guests. But since the Master is willing to show you that Kayla is here of own free will, it can't be avoided. But listen well, officers, upset her in any way and you will deal with me." Magenta pushed open the door and breezed away, clearly still angry. The five men watched her go and then entered the room. Inside, perched on a cushioned chair was Kayla Dalson. She was garbed in a green short-sleeved shirt and long black pants. Her feet were covered by white socks and black slip-ons and her shiny dark hair was held back from her face by a large green hairclip. Around her neck was a golden necklace with a large emerald right at the base of her throat. She looked lovely and healthy and not in the least bit relieved to see the policemen. Her hazel eyes settled on Rick with a hurt expression.
"Were you looking for me, Officer?" she asked softly, her tone heavy with disappointment.
"No. No, I was just taking pictures. I thought you looked familiar and I…" Rick let his voice trail off. Kayla was nodding by this point in obvious understanding.
"Ah, okay. And you think I was kidnapped by Frank, right?" She directed the question at Chief Beatcom, who blinked in surprise.
"Well, Kayla, I find it hard to believe that a girl with your home life would just up and leave." Kayla stiffened and she looked hurt.
"A girl with my home life? You mean rich and privileged? So, I guess you believe money buys you happiness, doesn't it?" She sounded hurt and Rick glanced back at the door, fearful that Magenta might come barreling in with a knife.
"No, Kayla. I just… never mind. But would you mind telling me just what happened to you this past year?"
"A fair enough request." Kayla smiled slightly. "A year ago, I was driving home from work. I took a shortcut through the woods and my car broke down. There was an old castle nearby and it was pretty well-known in the town where I lived. Fortunately, Frank and his servants happened to be staying there at the time with several guests. When I asked for assistance, Frank allowed me to stay the night; it had started to rain pretty heavily and he didn't want to just send me out into the storm, especially since no one was waiting for me at home." Kayla smiled at the memory.
"We had dinner together that night and Frank decided that I should take the week ff from work and stay long enough to attend a party he was hosting. He had Riff call my boss and I just know Dave was mad about that."
"Uh, yeah, I think you've been fired." Kayla shrugged.
"Oh, well. Dave was a bad boss anyway. But not that it matters; I loved being with Frank and the others so much that I didn't want to leave. Before I knew it, we had left Denton for Transylvania and I never looked back." Kayla didn't bother to mention that she meant Transylvania the galaxy and not the one in Europe.
"So you just left?" one of the officers asked.
"Yes, I did. You see, my family had long since grown apart so that even if my parents had been home, which they weren't, I doubt they would have noticed."
"Oh, they noticed."
"Only because Dave called. If he hadn't, they'd still be unaware that I was gone." Kayla's eyes had gone slightly misty and the five policemen were shocked to see that she was close to tears.
"Frank and the others may seem strange to you, but they have become more like family to me then my own parents and sisters. I am happy here and I won't be leaving anytime soon. Besides, I'm eighteen now, so my mom and dad have no legal authority over me. So if you don't mind, I am going to stay right here."
Silence descended in the room. The five officers exchanged slightly worried looks. Despite their best intentions, they had upset Kayla and Magenta would probably kill them for it. On top of that, Kayla had sounded totally sincere when she told her story; despite what they thought about the strange Dr. Frank N. Futer, it was hard to still think of him as a kidnapper when Kayla so passionately protested it. And she was correct; as a legal adult, the officers had no legal authority to remove her from the hotel.
"You sure about this, Kayla?" Chief Beatcom asked her.
"I am." He nodded.
"Alright. Sorry if we upset you. But if you ever need us, call." The Chief handed Kayla a card with his own personal number on it and Kayla took it. She titled her head slightly, then rose and walked over to a small table in the corner. She grabbed a pen and s lip of paper and wrote something down.
"This is my father's work number," she said, giving it to Chief Beatcom. "You'll have a better chance of reaching him at his job than at home. You can tell him that you found me, if you want, but I can promise you he won't care. Still, if it makes you feel better." Kayla gave a little shrug.
"Yeah, thanks. Take care of yourself, Kayla." The Chief opened the door. Two seconds later, the sound of furious high heels were heard and Magenta breezed into the room and came to stand next to Kayla, wrapping an arm protectively around her. She narrowed her mascara-heavy eyes at the five men.
"The Master is waiting for you," she informed them, contempt heavy in her voice. Everyone got the message and quickly left the room, Kayla's hazel eyes following them as they left.
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Frank was still standing in the hall when Chief Beatcom and his team returned. Riff was next to him, a clipboard in his hand.
"Hmmm, try increasing the dosage on Group 1, but give Group 2 a placebo. Ah, Officers." Frank looked up and grinned at the approaching men. "And did you find your talk with Kayla enlightening?"
"If by enlightening, you mean confirming what you said, then yes."
"Well, I did tell you so."
"Yeah, well…"
"But I am grateful that you're doing your jobs, gentlemen. Please do drop by anytime you wish, if you're ever in the mood for some fun." Frank grinned again and then nodded at Riff Raff. "Until we meet again, Officers."
"Yeah, bye." The five men followed the hunch-backed handyman as he led them out of the hotel and away from the company of Dr. Frank N. Furter.