"And now we come to the hard part." Danny sighed. "About Lawson… You have to understand, Amos had lost his entire family. On top of what he was going through, learning a new world, learning to cope with what he had become, he was mourning them. And as he was mourning, he began to gather a new family. Me, Wendy and Frank, Beverly. And Doc Lawson. But while we – me Wendy, Frank, and Beverly were more like brothers and sisters, or cousins Doc Lawson had become a substitute father… After all, he could straightway tell Amos that some of his ideas stank… and took no crap from him. Yes, he never forgot the fear in his presence but when he heard nonsense, he had to comment on it. And Amos did not like to contradict him… and that's why he hid what he had done with Clark… He was afraid of Lawson's disapproval..."
"And that's why the show hurts him so much."
Heather sighed. It was not only Amos that was hurt. The presence of that hypodermic filled with poison tore at her… But it had not been one hypodermic… there have been several...
-0-
"You have to prepare your cocktail, Miss Mattox" Whitby told her insolently. She would squirm, complain but of course, she would do it.
"Who?" She managed to ask.
"Number 221. The doc has no more use for him, and the doc needs the bed for his next project"
"And the family…?"
"Glad not to have to worry about him, nor pay for his stay here."
So it was… So it had been.
-0-
There is a lesson there, Heather thought. "You think that you can cross the line few times… not serious stuff. You are just elated that you got results and got away with it… but you didn't. You had accomplices, helpers, that got power over you that way. You kept saying to yourself that it was only minor stuff… that you could stop… that there were lines you would not cross…
And then one day you had to fill hypodermics with poison, because George Midler knew how many times she had crossed the line. how many times he had helped and encouraged her to cross the line.
And so she did… Not once… Oh not. In the show it was only once and she had regretted it, and groaned and moaned…
But in reality, she only groaned and moaned once… after that…. It was the first time that it costs…
And to see Dinah so remorseful for accidentally poisoning Beverly, who had survived it… well, she felt like laughing…
She thought that Dinah had come upon the same discovery as she did… That you cannot just dip your toe in illegality and remain unscathed. That the first time it was for a good cause… and the second time also…but not so much. And the minor offenses became greater…
At least Dinah had her family to rescue her... even if the price was being a dutiful daughter or pretend to be… She, Heather, had to find a way to escape on her own… And she thought that Amos could be the means for it…
-0-
Amos remembered leaving his home not to feed – Clark had unwittingly provided that, but to wonder who or what he was…
Lawson must not know… he kept saying to himself… Just to see the look in Danny's eyes…Fear, disgust…
He wanted to live as best he could… but his body betrayed him so much and so often…
"Amos… my friend…"
He turned and saw Genevieve. "Genevieve is this you?"
"Yes. Kisasi has sought a punishment fitting for me. To see what happens to the Benchley's and to try to save them… and to fail more often than not…but every now and then to raise my hopes, he allows me to succeed."
"And how he punished me…"
"I know what he has done… and what you have to do."
"Genevieve, my love… I saw your eyes… I saw the fear and revulsion in them… And I saw it in Danny's eyes too… And if I saw it in Lawson's too.:
"I was afraid. I did not understand. But Amos all the times you did it, you were protecting someone else…someone who needed protection. Me. Wendy and Frank, Danny…You are a good friend… and… and I loved you… I love you still."
-0-
Leonore stepped out into town. She was free… She did not have to stay tied to an imaginary corpse… She could do what she wanted, go where she wanted…
She saw the travel agency and stepped in. She would go out into the world… away from the house that had become her jail
Paying no attention to the comments she picked up a leaflet that promised a Caribbean cruise.