26.
~ Norman liked having Rebecca at the house. It was comforting to have such a confident person around him. A person not unlike Mother used to be. When Rebecca was around, things weren't so scary. She was fearsome enough to chase any ghost away.
"You have to get your license, Norman." she'd told him the next day. Norman was happy that she had found some clean clothes from the lost and found that fit her. Even though the dress was somewhat matronly looking. She cleaned up nice and looked almost pretty.
"There's no reason at all for you not to drive. You can't walk everywhere. I'll help you review for the test." she said matter of factly.
Norman liked that she was so smart and brisk about teaching him. He'd forgotten a lot of rules about driving while at PineView.
"Mother… said I couldn't drive." he told her nervously shrugging on his blazer and getting ready to walk into town.
"Nonsense." Rebecca huffed. "You need to drive. You're a small business owner. You can't walk everywhere. Now, you'll go to the DMV, pass your test with one of their cars. Then, you'll take your temporary license and buy a decent car at Jim's lot on third. If the price ends in $500 make an offer for $500 less if you pay in cash. He'll accept. Don't buy anything for less than four thousand."
"That's a lot of money." Norman had said nervously. He'd been thinking about the paint he wanted and groceries he needed to buy.
"We need a good car." Rebecca reminded him. "You'll make the right decision."
Norman felt his confidence shift. No one had ever said that to him. Never trusted him like this before. Rebecca refused to hold his hand or coddle him. She seemed to much him into the mouth of the volcano and said he'd be fine.
Oddly enough, he believed it.
He did as she commanded. He walked down to the DMV, passed his written and took the driving test in one of the instructors cars. He was given a paper license just as Rebecca said he would. Then he walked over to Jim's lot, and asked to speak to the owner and not one of the 'idiot sons' as Rebecca had told him half a dozen times to do.
Jim was a nice, older man. He tactfully suggested, as a business owner needing to make repairs to the motel, a truck would be more useful to Norman.
Norman had seen the sale price had ended with $500 and asked if he could have it for $500 less if he paid in cash. Jim agreed and Norman Bates was the proud owner of a used pick up for slightly less than four thousand.
Rebecca had been delighted and told Norman so.
"I never doubted it." she said as they ate dinner together.
"Tomorrow, I'll go to the store." Norman had said. "It'll be easier now."
"I'll help clean out the rooms. When the guest leave." she offered.
"You'll have to be careful." Norman had said. "You might be seen. Be recognized."
"I'll be carful. I'll wear a hat or something." she said.
It was nice. A good relationship. Rebecca slept in Dylan's old room and rarely ventured outside in the evenings in case she was spotted and someone recognized her. The town had changed though. A lot of people had moved out and new people had moved in Norman noticed. Still, she couldn't risk it.
So, Norman worked the office in the evenings, checking people in and still sending away disreputable trouble makers. Rebecca cleaned out the rooms in the mornings and afternoon when the parking lot was empty and there was a lull in activity. She was careful. Always making sure to duck into a room if a car came. Always keeping her red hair pinned back and if anyone tried to pursue her, she and Norman had devised a plan.
She'd also come up with a plan about money to.
"We don't know where the account goes to when people pay with a card." she said logically. "We need to make sure it goes to us. You'll go to the bank tomorrow. Set up an account in your name. Have someone come and place a new scanner in the office and then we can make sure we'll get paid."
Norman had felt a rush of pleasure at this. She was a smart lady. A smart lady who knew what to do and trusted him to do. Mother never would have trusted him like Rebecca did. He wondered if Mother would have liked Rebecca. But Mother never came around now that Rebecca was here. It was like she'd chased away the need for Mother like she chased away the fear of driving and being alone.
He liked Rebecca. Not like he liked Emma or Bradly or other nice girls. He didn't want to touch her or be in the same bed with her at night and have her touch him. He didn't feel funny when he looked at her either.
He liked Rebecca the same way he liked seeing predators on the nature channel. They were survivors and weren't afraid of anything. They hunted and took what they wanted and didn't apologize for being the villain of the story. Weren't sorry to be the bad guy and didn't think of themselves as the that way either.
Norman liked her because she didn't see things as they were, but what they could be if they worked at it. It was nice to have goals. To make plans. They had a lot of plans together.
~ "I'm hearing your concerns Mr. Romero." Sheriff Greene said over the phone. "But I'm failing to see how I should get involved."
Julian was sitting on Alex's lap, wide awake from his nap and happily waving a set of toy keys around. His fits wrapped tightly around them and his eyes looking greedily at the bright colors. Norma was taking a much needed nap in the apartment and she hadn't been joking that Julian's sleep schedule had become erratic with his teething.
He was fussy one second, and an angle the next.
Alex had offered to take him for the day he was once again amazed at his wife for handling the riggers of a small baby. How could such a small creature control their lives so much? When he was single, just a couple of years ago in fact, he never would have thought this would be his life.
Julian looked up at his father and grinned happily. Norma's mischievous face mirrored in their son. Alex felt his heart soften a little. He would do it all over again. If given the chance. He would do it all over again. Only sooner.
"My step-son. Norman Bates." Alex said. He would never get used to another member of law enforcement calling him anything other than 'sheriff' and it felt odd to be talking to the woman who had taken his job. She seemed overly polite and yet rude at the same time.
"Has broken no laws. Not even a speeding ticket." Sheriff Greene rebuffed.
Alex sighed. The lie detector test had been off record and the questioning around Jimmy Brennan's death had been ruled an accident. Norman had still been a teenager when he entered PineView.
"He's been at a private care facility for the past year and a half." Alex explained. "My other step-son and I were just made aware of his release a few weeks ago. We just want to know if he's been back at the motel."
"As a matter of fact, he has." Sheriff Greene said smugly. A certain tartness in her voice that said she didn't care for Alex Romero at all. Perhaps she'd heard all the rumors about him and formed an opinion.
Alex caught his breath.
"It seems he fired the former manager there." Green said. "A very good thing since the man was doing a very poor job of running the business if you want the truth. The entire place was becoming an eye sore. I was having to send units out there at least once a week. Complaints. City even wanted to buy it just so they could demolish it."
Alex sat up a little straiter. The city had wanted to buy the Sea Fairer Motel before Norma had bought it to. All so they could tear it down. It had been an eye sore then to. A real one, before she'd cleaned it up. It broke Alex's heart to think Norma's motel had been so abused without her vigilance.
"It's only been a few weeks," Greene went on. "But he's turned away the real trouble makers. Even started cleaning up the place. I've driven by there, Introduced myself to him."
"You've spoken with him?" Alex practically barked.
"Wouldn't have been much of an introduction if I hadn't." Greene said tartly. "He seemed very nice. Very well mannered young man. Plans to repaint the motel soon. Asked if it was okay to call if some of the more problematic guests try and come back. He didn't want to say the word hookers but that's what he was implying. I told him he could call my office anytime. He said he didn't want to bother me and he'd only call if it was a real emergency. He was really a very nice young man."
Alex could picture Norman, just as Greene was describing him, in his head. The heavy politeness, the inability to be confronted with talks of a sexual nature. He was sure all of it played very well with Sheriff Greene. It always played well with women.
"His mother…" Alex said.
"Yeas, he asked if I knew where she'd moved to. If I knew where you'd taken her. He said he'd like to call her. If I could find a number for her. Told him I'd at least try." Greene said.
Alex could tell by the tone in her voice that Greene definitely hated him. Norman had charmed this woman. Charmed her as he did most woman into believing he was just an innocent young man who wouldn't hurt a fly. Who missed his mother and the 'Evil Sheriff Alex Romero' had stolen her away.
"Norma and I are divorced. We're not together anymore." Alex said shifting the baby onto his other knee. He and Dylan had decided this would be their story should anyone from White Pine Bay ask. It was better if people believed Alex was alone. If they thought he had no wife, no child attached to him. It was better if no one knew where Norma was and if no one knew about Julian at all.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where she is. I thought she'd move back to White Pine Bay, but…" he let the sentence fall away and Julian looked at his father suspiciously.
'I want mommy, old man.' the baby seemed to say. 'She's the best.'
"Sorry to hear that. I'll tell Norman. Maybe his brother knows. He mentioned he's trying to get in touch with his brother to." Greene said.
"Dylan." Alex said automatically.
"Dylan. Yes." Green agreed. "Look, Alex. Norman Bates, in my opinion, is just a nice young man who's trying to get his life back in order. Trying to make a go of his mother's old business that she abandoned after she abandoned him. He's breaking no laws by running the motel in her absence. So far he's been an upstanding member of this town. Even joined the local small business owner society. He's fine. Unless you find contact information about his mother, please don't call my office again."
Alex was about to argue when he heard the phone click off and Julian started to cry.
~ "What do you mean there's nothing we can do?" Dylan demanded. "We have to do something. What if he comes after you or mom? After Julian?"
"I told that Sheriff I had divorced your mother and didn't know where she was. She won't even know about Julian." Alex sighed.
"Birth records." Dylan insisted. "Employment records."
"I doubt your brother is going to research too heavily into this." Alex groaned. Julian had finally gone to sleep and was napping in the little swing in the office. His face was sweet and peaceful and Alex thought he looked a little like his own mother just then.
"He never struck me as being too tech savvy. Norma isn't on social media and Warren only has me on the books as an employee." he said.
"That's smart." Dylan said.
"Greene said Norman was looking for you." Alex warned.
"Let him. Norman isn't going to leave White Pine Bay now that he's there. He can't even drive." Dylan snapped. "Have you told mom?"
"No. We're not going to tell her either. It was asking a lot to have her leave Norman in PineView and move to Seattle to start over. She did it because of Julian. Because we had to protect him. I'm sure she's managed to convince herself over time that Norman's all better now. That she's forgotten what he was really like." Alex said.
"What if he is better?" Dylan asked.
"Murders don't change." Alex said. "Your brother killed innocent women and we both know it. He's back at that motel where innocent people check in everyday."
~ Alex let himself back into the apartment where he found Norma looking much more well rested. Since the birth of their son, her figure had blossomed wildly. She'd expanded generously in hips and breasts to the point other women would envy.
Norma hated it though. Hated she couldn't fit into her normal clothes and that her body seemed to have betrayed her somehow. For Alex, it was interesting to see his wife's body look so shockingly young and different. As though he'd married a prim, matronly dressed woman, and ended up with a playboy playmate. Not that he would complain about such a mix up. He was in no hurry for her curves to go away.
"There's my handsome boy." she smiled widely and moved, shark like, to Julian. She quickly lifted their son up, the baby happily kicking his fat little legs at seeing his mother again.
"How was he today?" she asked Alex once she had him nestled contentedly to her shoulder. Julian looked hungry and ready to be fussy again if he wasn't fed soon.
"Fine." Alex said honestly. He closed the door and made sure to lock it. For the first time ever, bolting the door shut.
"He took a nap and sat up for a long time." Alex assured her.
"Laid on his back to stretch?" Norma asked.
Alex nodded.
"Put him on his blanket with that… thing with the noise." he made and odd swirling motion with his hand because he couldn't think of the name.
"Good. I appreciate it. I needed the rest." she sighed. "I swear, I don't know how I did it last time. I had Norman and Dylan was a toddler and into everything. I bet I was on edge the whole time Norman was teething."
Alex smiled and pretended to be interested before he casually asked.
"Norma, you remember the security cameras we installed at the motel?"
She had been looking over Julian, making sure he was still in one piece when she looked back at Alex questioningly.
"Of course." she said.
"You still have the passcode? The user name?" he asked. "I think Dylan wanted them."
"Dylan has them." she told him bluntly. "When we hired the new manager, I wrote them down and gave it to him."
"Right." Alex said.
"The passcode is our anniversary, Sheriff." she reminded him tersely and managed to put the squirming Julian into his carrier so he could have his bottle.
Alex could have kicked himself for not remembering.
"That's right." he smiled. "I knew that." he said.
"Although I think the new manager might have changed it." Norma mused. "When we first moved, I kept trying to log on and it said the passcode had changed. It makes sense if the guy who's taking care of the place needed to be the one in control of the cameras."
"Yeah." Alex sighed. If Greene was right the manager hadn't wanted anyone watching him from those cameras.
"Why do you ask?" Norma turned to him.
"Dylan is in Maine." Alex said smoothly. He hoped it didn't sound like a lie. Norma could ferret out a lie quicker than he could.
She gave Julian a bottle she had ready for him and the baby scowled at him.
'Watch it, old man.' he seemed to say.
"Oh?" Norma asked.
"Yeah, he asked me to drive up to the motel. Do the check up." Alex shrugged and hoped he looked casual.
Norma looked back at him. Her eyes like x-rays.
"We should go with you." she said.
"No." Alex said quickly. "It will go faster if I go alone."
"I haven't seen the house in so long." she admitted. "I keep feeling like I left something behind."
"I can get it for you." Alex promised quickly.
"I'm not sure what it is." she mused. "Maybe we should just sell the place. Put the money in a college fund for Julian. It's not making any money and it's a pain for Dylan. He's got so much going on right now."
"I can't ask you to do that." Alex said. "It was your home."
"This is my home." she said easily. She watched Julian greedily slurp down his dinner. "We're having pasta tonight." she told him brightly. We can talk more about it after we put him to bed."
"Okay." Alex nodded.
Julian looked sleepy and that look of an angry old man that had been on his face since the day his was born was back.
'Don't screw it up, old man.' his son seemed to say.