Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 18 (Ice Queen)

Robbie's mother was yet another surprise for Jade; the woman looked like a goddess. She was fairly tall and had gold flaxen hair that flowed slightly past her jawline in thickened spirals.

Her eyes were a crystal blue, and her ruby red lips had a peculiar shine that Jade pondered was due to the venom she so often spout throughout her life. She wore a white dress with some type of animal fur that swept around her shoulders and upper back. The dress itself fell to the woman's ankles, and had the same fur trim at the bottom. Its tips partially concealed the glass heels on her feet.

Atop the stairs of her home she stood, her left hand gripped the iron rail of the white spiral staircase, and her right hand held a long cigarette in between her forefingers. The woman's cheeks were shallow, and her waistline was incredibly thin, to the point Jade had to wonder whether the woman had an illness or something else that was making her so thin.

"Does she eat? I know Robbie said once his mother was vegan, but even vegans don't get that skinny." She furrowed her brow and looked towards Robbie. He was the one who answered the door for her, and he was still looking at her as though she were from a distant planet.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

She ignored his question and looked around at her surroundings. The home was nowhere near as bright or beautiful as Rebecca's house, but it didn't look like a psychotic monster lived here. "Those are only for movies, I suppose."

The carpet was a beige shag carpeting, and the walls were made of oak hardwood. There were few windows to let the light in, and what windows there were had been cloaked by tan-colored satin curtains. What light there was had been created by the ambient, amber glow of lamps and the ceiling fan's light.

Even the sofa was a beige color, which took her back to a fun statement she read somewhere so long ago that claimed beige was the color of choice for evil.

"Just visiting."

"You never visit," Robbie hissed under his breath. Did he not want his mother to hear him? His eyes were wide and frantic, and the corners of his mouth were framed by two long lines. "Go home. I don't know what you're doing here."

"You know I don't listen to you, Robbie."

"I'll call Beck!"

"He knows I'm here." Robbie's shoulders fell and he threw his hands up with a frustrated grunt.

She wanted to meet Lanie, to see her in person and get a feel for this woman. She needed to see what made her tick, or at the very least, figure out what went on in this person's mind.

Still, the venomous glare she was receiving was both disconcerting and frightening. Lanie's narrow eyes seemed they might close if they narrowed any further. "This is your friend?" Lanie descended one step and wiggled her nose as Robbie looked up at her. "Don't be so hasty to run off a good friend, Robert."

He bowed his head in defeat. "Yes mother." Jade raised an eyebrow and watched him walk away. As she looked up, she scanned the walls for family portraits, or anything that might shed some light on their family background.

The walls were bare.

After hearing the recorder, Sikowitz didn't want Jade to go after Lanie-at least not on her own or until they had enough on the woman. She wasn't afraid of this woman, though she was more nervous now than she had been before.

"Funny, Robbie. You don't look a thing like your mother." Her eyes slid carefully onto Robbie and her eyes narrowed. "You look more like your father." She heard him gasp and looked delightedly at the woman on the steps.

The right corner of Lanie's mouth opened to reveal her teeth, while her forehead tensed and the skin around her nose tightened. This look remained for two seconds, then reverted back to a feigned smile. "Robert, go play with your toys." Robbie started to protest, but grew silent when his mother's disapproving glare fell to him. "Now, Robbie."

"Yes mother."

Jade raised an eyebrow and watched him saunter off. Her stomach began to twist and a lump swelled in her throat as Lanie descended the steps with a slow gait. Her eyes never left Jade, they seemed to study her as though waiting for her to do something.

"I don't know why, but I know you've been poking around. The question I have for you is: Why?" Her eyes widened and Lanie perched her right elbow in the palm of her left hand to reach up and tap her fingertip on her jaw. "Why is a fifteen year old girl asking questions where she has no business being? Is there something you hope to gain from it? Blackmail, perhaps?"

"I wouldn't say that."

Lanie circled her like a shark, sliding her finger down to her chin and stopping behind her. Her hot breath hit Jade's neck, and her skin burned at the touch. "Would you like a cup of tea? Anything for my boy's friends."

"No thank you. I'm more of a coffee drinker."

"That's fine." Lanie moved her cigarette to her lips, then made her way to the kitchen doorway. "I'll make myself a cup of tea then."

Jade followed after her. "When you say I'm 'poking around', what do you mean?" Lanie's hand fell and she leaned her head back, laughing out.

"Oh you know what I mean. People have been talking, they tell me you're asking a lot of questions about me and about what I've done in the past." Jade glanced at the silver tea kettle seated on a burner. She took a deep breath and held it in as she listened to the woman speak.

"You? You're not entirely important to me, so I have no worries about you. Ask what you will, and I will give an answer. I suppose if you must know, yes Robbie has a different father. Why would that be of any importance?"

"I…" She found herself mesmerized by the teapot, a sudden and strange fascination. Then, she was entranced as well by the velvet tone of Lanie's voice, it was as though this woman could talk herself in and out of any situation.

"Oh but I do insist on you having something to drink. I could make you some coffee. It would not take long, as I have a Keurig machine, you see." She glanced to the countertop beside the woman. Sure enough, there was a Keurig maker ready to go, and beside it was a stand with an assortment of flavors. "Since I have guests who do drink coffee, I find this is the quickest way to deal with them."

"Oh. I um, I appreciate that." She ran her hand along her neck and groaned inwardly as a sudden tension spread over her chest. "You know, I could go for some. Maybe just something simple? Vanilla?"

Lanie curled her lips into a smile and reached for the flavor cups. "Certainly." Jade's attention returned to the kettle on the stove and her lips separated, releasing a shaky breath. The air in the room had grown frigid, and she was struggling to breathe while the pounding in her chest intensified.

Every vein in her body pulsed with adrenaline, preparing her for what, she didn't know. Sikowitz's word of warning played replayed multiple times in her mind.

"Do not go questioning Lanie by yourself, we do not know how dangerous she is, and you do not have the experience of questioning somebody like this. She may not see you as a threat, but she's unpredictable."

Jade saw the sunlight glint off the small metal blade hidden inside the Keurig cup holder. It was such a simple mechanism, designed to poke a hole into the flavor cups and distribute water.

As Lanie brought down the lid, and the blade sliced into the lid of the cup, Jade was certain she felt a prickling sensation at her neck. "Would you care for some sugar, my dear?" Lanie reached into her cabinet and grabbed a large, but clear cylinder container. Inside was a large amount of white substance, and on the tube were words written in black marker: Sugar for coffee.

"Um sure. I don't use a lot of sugar though, so maybe just a spoonful."

"Gladly." It was strange to see sugar out of its regular store container, but there might be a legit reason for it. She had known some people who would buy sugar from the store and pour it into jars, so maybe this wasn't any different.

Still, she could not shake this feeling of horror that was crawling up her spine like a dark and venomous spider, waiting for the opportunity to sink its teeth into her. Something wasn't right.

"David tells me the girls have gone on a few trips of their own. It's so nice to see his children having some time to themselves. Lord knows they're always so busy."

"Yes. You care about them?"

"Not really. Nor do I truly care for David any longer." Lanie grabbed the tube of sugar and peered at the cup seated beneath the dispenser of coffee. "Certainly you understand how exhausting it is to be in the company of a loser like that."

"A-what?"

"He's always been a pathetic little boy. His son takes after him." The words crushed Jade's heart and she brought her hand up to her chest, then held back on her startled gasp. "Rebecca and I tried to help him out in college, but he had a good friend always living the good life. Did I care? No, but I felt such pity."

"You're saying Robbie is his son?"

"Born from a bout of pity sex. Sure I still sleep with him today, but only because he doesn't want to sleep with Holly. It 'doesn't feel right', even though that's what the loser wished for, family. So I pity him still today..." Lanie's eyes grew dull and her lips stretched into a straight line. "David wanted a daughter anyway, not a son. He also wanted a woman that wasn't me." Lanie reached for the cup, now full of coffee, and started to smile. "So I did. I gave him what he wanted, it was just a matter of convincing a former friend of mine."

"'Convincing'?"

"Yes, yes, but of course…she wasn't going to go along with it. She already had the perfect life, the perfect family." Jade's eyes widened and she took a careful step back. The woman may be handing a confession to her, but it couldn't truthfully be used. Not to mention, Lanie must feel secure about divulging this information-either that or she truly felt Jade was no threat whatsoever.

Or the sugar that Lanie was now dispensing into Jade's coffee wasn't truly sugar. Her body stopped in place, and she was now paralyzed. Unable to move, she studied Lanie closely. Lanie still stood strong and confident, and without a care in the world.

"Rebecca and I felt such grief for the man. We allowed him some leniency and even promotions, to give him the life that matched his fantasy. My uncle wasn't so eager, but he came around-I always can convince someone to see things my way."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm not worried about what you know." The air in Jade's lungs depleted and her temperature rose to deadly levels as Lanie carried the mug towards her. "Why should I concern myself with a fifteen year old little girl sticking her nose into business that isn't hers? I'm a judge, one of the best in this state…there's nothing that you could say to anybody that could make me sweat."

Jade grabbed the mug, watching her hand as though she were watching a movie on the screen. "I don't like to sweat either. I don't mind sweat so much, but I don't like sweating."

Lanie dropped her hands to her waist and Jade slowly brought the mug towards her trembling lips. So long as Lanie didn't know she worked for a private investigator, she could let the woman talk.

"David seemed certain that you had something to do with his daughters getting to go on that trip. It's funny, but I had my doubts."

"Oh." Jade closed her eyes and breathed in the warm aroma of coffee. It delighted her, but bore as well a slight sour stench that made her feel a tad queasy. "What are you worried about then?"

"Nothing. I'm worried about nothing. Just drink your coffee." Her eyes dropped to the hot, bubbling liquid, and her eyebrows pulled together to push up a wrinkle.

It was one thing that she didn't trust the drink enough, but it was another that there was an entire container of 'sugar' in the cabinet. She couldn't assume that it wasn't sugar, when it very likely was.

In that instant, the tea kettle erupted, sending its violent scream through the kitchen and stabbing Jade's ears. She jerked back, nearly dropping the cup, but spilling a great portion of coffee out onto the floor.

"Watch it!" Lanie screeched and looked down at her outfit. "This is a new outfit." Jade stared at the woman for a second before acknowledging the rush of adrenaline and fear in her veins, and bolting out the door.

When she reached her car, she realized she still had the cup of coffee in her hand. There was still a good amount, at least half of the drink remained. She set it down shakily in the cup holder, then started up the engine.

"Sikowitz is going to be pissed, but at least we have something to test…" She didn't want to think that Robbie's mother may have tried to poison her, and it could very well just be sugar, but the fact that there was an entire jar of this substance seemed to imply that this had not been the first time Lanie had done this.

"We have something, something that if it doesn't come out as sugar…" She took a deep breath and looked at the house just in time to see a curtain shuffling in the front window. "You'd better hope I'm not as much of a threat as you think."

Somewhat dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than David. Even Sikowitz told her to stay back. What do you think about the sugar? Is that just sugar, or something else? If it is something else, then this is the closest to the edge that Jade has gotten so far, but she's still teetering it. What are your thoughts on Robbie at this point, as well? Looks like Lanie doesn't care for even her own son. She's the true puppetmaster-an irony if you think about it. I can't help but to wonder why Robbie keeps Rex around.