"Fringey…"
Summary: Sarah and her sisters see there's an even darker side to Dyad's little cloning-fest…
(Not sure about this one but while I await more details for "Nessun Dorma" I'll play round with this darker one and see how it goes.)
Disclaimer: No copywrite infringement intended.
Part VI…
Theme from "Barry Lyndon"…Stately, measured pace toward disastrous climax.
Police Station, Office of Detectives…
Harsh lights, exhausted faces…Clearly the group here has sat here for some time…Though currently such quiet as to hear the roll of a pencil across the table.
Grim-faced captain at table…Three rather uncomfortable victims of his repressed wrath…
"Ok." He waved for an aide to stop recording… "I would like only the officers concerned and the civilian to remain, please."
Several officers and the aide rose to leave.
Officer Deangelis eyeing Art, then "Beth"…Art giving sidelong glance to her.
The captain reached out arms and folded hands, resting elbows on the table…
"So, let me sum up and see if this is right. We have two identical women dead, both sisters and sisters of one of our own, at least one of whom was killed, shot through the head, by another, likewise identical sister who is currently on the loose, likely armed, and unquestionably a psycho. Our Ms. Childs, former detective in this department requesting reinstatement, was present at the murder of one sister and is convinced the supposed suicide of the other…Ms. Sarah Manning by name…Was caused by the same psychotic sister who later offed…Pardon my English…The remaining sister, Ms. Katja Obinger. Officer at the time Childs decided to withhold information and conceal evidence of the shooting of Ms. Obinger and her suspicions about the death of her other sister, Ms. Manning, for personal reasons. To further complicate matters, her partner decided to assist her in the withholding and concealment…"
"Sir?" "Beth" cut in, nervous tone… "I have to say again that Art had no part in any withholding of information and that I concealed no evidence…My sister Helena…"
"I will give my interpretation of these events, Ms. Childs, you will have a chance to comment and dispute afterward…"
"Yes, sir."
"No need to address me as sir. You are not one of my officers, Ms. Childs."
"Right."
"As I was saying…Her partner assisted her as did his new partner, Officer Deangelis. So we have withholding of information suggesting a suicide was in fact a murder and which withholding may have led to the murder of the second woman, Ms. Obinger…Withholding of information and concealment of evidence likewise following Ms. Obinger's death, a fugitive who is on the loose because of that withholding and concealment…And apparently three careers destroyed all in the name of family and friendship. If I weren't ready to puke I'd weep from the emotion." Red-faced glare, slowly calming.
"Ms. Childs, are you at all aware of the consequences and penalties that could stem from these acts?…To your comrades and former fellow officers as well as to you?" icy stare.
"I…Am…" "Beth", tensely calm.
"Do you have any idea as to the whereabouts of your supposed sister, Ms. Helena Psycho, again pardon my English…What is her last name, by the way?"
"I don't know…She was separated from us years ago…And no, no idea…Except that she is in the city and will, at some point try to contact me." she choked out…
"All right, then. You said you had something else to say. Dazzle me some more." The captain slumped back, hard stare at her.
"I did withhold information as to my sister Sarah's death…I only learned about her after Helena…Contacted me and told me she'd killed her and I found the report on the Jane Doe and saw a picture…You can see the video…" quick glance to Art.
"The video…Which your partner took from the train station and delivered only after viewing it with you…When you were no longer an officer."
"My resignation hadn't been processed when Art got…"
"Technicalities…I love them." Glare. "Offer me another one and you'll be sitting in a cell in twenty minutes…Which you should be doing in any case. Fine, video?" he eyed Art.
"This is footage of the train station the night Sarah Manning was killed…" Art indicated the image on laptop screen now running.
"That is Sarah Manning…" he pointed out Beth…
"Your spitting image…" the captain eyed "Beth" carefully… "Dresses nice, too."
"And here…" Art pointed to the recut image of Sarah eyeing Beth…Then running, apparently, at her…
"Jesus…" the captain stared. "Helena"/Sarah on video grabbing Beth's bag and hurrying off…
"And she tried to pass herself off as Sarah for a few days?"
"She's insane…She wanted to be each one of us, we think…" "Beth" noted.
"And what proof do you have that a) she is your sister, b) she is insane, c)…" he eyed her carefully. "You're not her…"
She blinked…
Hmmn…One contingency we didn't think of…
"We were born to a surrogate mother, sir…Uh, sorry…Captain." She pushed a picture and document to him. "She's made a statement that Helena and I were related…As was Sarah and Katja."
"Quads?" he eyed her.
"It's not uncommon with in vitro stuff, Captain…You've seen the Octomom, Kate and her eight and all that…" "Beth" shrugged. "My parents, the Childs, adopted me when we were born and the original parents had decided not to keep us…Other families took in Katja and Sarah and Helena…We weren't told about them, I only found out about Helena because she started writing me…" offers slip of paper, in Helena's handwriting.
"Helena was abandoned by her adoptive parents, placed in a convent…" "Beth" continued. "She apparently was abused there, I don't know…It worsened her mental condition, already schizophrenic or at least delusional. She became obsessed with locating her sisters after some of the nuns told her she was the devil's child or something…She blames us for her life, wants to steal our lives, I guess."
"Uh-huh…" the captain nodded, drumming fingers.
"Sir." Art cut in. "Even serials have families. Beth just happens to have the bad luck to be this one's."
"Uh-huh…And this department had the bad luck to have her. So this 'Helena' communicated all this to you and you did nothing? You didn't contact the police or social services…Or the local psych ward?"
"I only learned about her very recently, captain." "Beth" sighed. "Unfortunately she'd been tracing Katja and followed her here. Katja was ill and looking for bone marrow donors…She found out about us and Helena followed her. She only contacted me just after she'd killed B…Sarah…"
"And decided to spice up the family reunion with her own little spatter-fest?"
"That's about the size of it."
"Proof of her mental instability?"
"Not much…These short notes she sent me…" "Beth" pushed the notes across… "My birth mother's testimony based on a conversation with a senior nun at the Ukrainian convent where she'd tracked Helena to. The fact that she shot my sister in front of me and tried to kill me."
"On your say-so…Given you didn't report her immediately, I'd say it's fair to say your sanity should be in question, Ms. Childs."
"The bullet dug out of my sister's brain is real enough. And it didn't come from my gun."
"There is a report of a woman meeting Helena's description committing several violent crimes in Europe." Art noted quickly. "In Austria and France."
"What, more sisters there?" the captain stared.
"She…Was probably trying to steal enough to follow Katja here." "Beth" noted.
"And reached her goal, it seems…"
"I suppose…" nod.
"Which all comes back to why didn't you report this woman, knowing how dangerous she was?"
"I didn't know she existed until a few days after Sarah died…Katja was killed while I was still trying to find out who had contacted me claiming Sarah's death wasn't suicide. And that she was another sister I'd never heard of before. It wasn't till I saw her kill Katja that I realized she was the killer and insane…"
"This story is so insane I'm actually inclined to believe some of it. I'm sorry about your sisters, Beth." The captain noted quietly. "But it can't excuse this. By your own admission you protected a murderer who is now loose and I'm not convinced that evidence was not concealed."
She eyed Art nervously…
"Sir, she didn't…" Art began…The captain cutting him off with a grim look, sharp wave of hand.
"However…" sigh… "This department is facing destruction…Two current officers, and one resigned, my finest, are up to their necks in this. Now I can either hold my nose and let the acting officers try to apprehend this woman and try to minimize the damage or I can prefer charges against you all right now or I can kick the bucket upstairs where you unquestionably will be grilled and fried to a deep, crispy crunch. And even if I hold said nose, there is no guarantee this department can be saved from a major scandal."
"But…If we must go down, at your hands…At least we should try to take this suspect with us. All right…Art, Angela…You will pursue the case of our suspect, sister Helena…With the help of Officer Childs who by my authority and her own desire is hereby reinstated pending investigation. She will be on restricted duty and in your charge. Naturally, should she attempt in any way to succor or assist the suspect or hinder the investigation she will be placed under arrest immediately. This temporary return to limited duty status is no guarantee of a return to full duty and is contingent on the outcome of the said investigation and the opinions of the officers in charge as to the conduct of Officer Childs. Welcome home, Beth." He eyed her. "Since we're all likely to wind up on the dole or in prison we may as well give this our best shot until the front office gets enough to start foaming at the mouth. Get me something to throw to them."
"Thanks, sir." She nodded.
"You'll want this…" he opened a drawer and pulled out her badge… "But no gun."
"Right." She scooped up the badge.
"Don't ever try to come to me with horseshit like this again." He noted grimly. "And get that video cleaned up…The break is a sore thumb."
She eyed him…Glance to Art who gave a semi-shrug…
"And as for question #3?" the captain eyed her, then Art.
"I'm sorry, sir. You'll have to take Art's word for it." She sighed…Glance to Art who nodded.
"I'll have that inscribed on his tombstone." The captain nodded.
Felix's…
"God…" he sighed, pouring white wine to various glasses… "Released from that American Siberia that is Minnesota…" shaking head.
"It's a neat place, Felix." Cosima, slight frown.
"For those of your hearty, genetically adapted physique I'm sure it's a Paradise…But for those of us mere humans…"
"Felix…" Donnie frowned, taking glass.
"No offense intended to the Uberfemensch…" Felix put up a hand.
"None taken…." Allison, airily…Wave of hand.
"And how does it feel to know the ole noggin is just perfectly normal and fully functional, with no parts from Taiwan or China?" Felix asked her, handing glass.
"God…" she closed her eyes and opening, hugged Donnie with her free hand…Ooops…Sorry…Spilling a bit of wine… "It's like being reborn…Freed from prison…Sprung from Harkness Clinic…My ole rehab…" she explained to Felix.
"The brain in Allisain falls mainly in the plain...Yes!" she sang, happily. Swinging Donnie about…
"I never doubted it…Though maybe a little better than plain…" Donnie agreed, equally content.
"I will take plain for computer-enhanced any freaking day of the week, my love." She kissed him. Stopping with sudden frown…
"But it means they deliberately did that to those girls…It wasn't an unfortunate and unavoidable clone side effect, it was deliberate."
"It still might have been an accident…" Cosima noted, a little wistfully. "The anacephaly, at least…Not the mad killer, criminal stuff. They might have just taken advantage of…" she paused…
"No way to float this well, huh?" she eyed the others.
"No, sis." Allison shook her head. "And as a very wise man I love once said not too long ago… 'This guy has to die'. Him and his shop of horrors has to go." She patted Donnie's arm.
"Yes, indeed. Death is the equation…But, turning to pleasanter thoughts, for the sake of our God-given souls as Mrs. S. would say…Did you have Leroy's number, Cos?" Felix eyed Cosima…