When I arrived downstairs, I saw Dirk had a look of utter bewonderment on his face.
"I-I-I-I have something to say, something important, I w-w-w-w want to apologize for what happened...what I did... I'm sorry. It was wrong, I see that now. I did bring you here against your will, I didn't ask, I just did what I wanted. You know I'm a stubborn man.
I just want to tell you how sorry I am.
Believe me, I am sorry...ugh I don't feel well at all, I don't think I'm making sense.
Oh fuck, I feel ill, sorry, excuse my language, I am not myself today. Am I making sense to you?"
He asked while placing his hand on his forehead as if he were blocking out the sun after a massive hang over.
"Yes you make perfect sense. Apology accepted". I had cruel edge to my voice which was not my intention.
"That is excellent to hear. Now um Mr. Van Roff called earlier this morning, he was wondering if you could come in today, apparently he wants you to start working at the studio. Would you be down for that today?"
"Yes I think I can do that.
Just give me 5 minutes and I'll be ready".
Even after I got dressed and headed into the car, we spoke very little, there was a cold unfamiliar silence, it was almost like sitting next to a stranger.
He was generally long winded and he rarely ever was silent. He was different and I don't think I liked it, yet I had to weigh out the possiblity that he could be much worse but what made me uneasy was the fact I knew exactly why he was acting like this.
The blood in the corner of his mouth told me everything.
However what was odd is there were no definable marks, no punctures, no redness, no scars, no indentation, there was nothing. There wasn't even a trace of blood on him either, Dirk was completely clean.
I was absolutely flabbergasted when I found out that be wasn't even going to follow me inside.
"Are you coming in?" I tried to make this as casual as possible.
"Um no, Van Roff I'm sure would prefer me to be out here anyways. I assume You know your way around, so there's really no need for me escort you inside. You're a big girl, you don't need to drag me around like the broken third wheel I am. Just go ahead and I'll be here when you're done."
I was really beginning to appreciate this self deprecating Dirk now.
When I finally entered Van Roff's office, I was taken aback even more to see a stranger sitting in one of the two chairs that were placed in front of Mansfield's Desk.
"Oh I'm so glad your here Miss Bently. There is someone I'd like to introduce to you, This is Sidney, Sidney Salazar, my lawyer.
I told you about him briefly the other day.
He's not only my lawyer he also happens to be a very good friend of mine."
The man had an ample smile, it was forever mischievous, broad and beaming but still it appeared too large for the rest of his face
He had kind sky blue eyes that twinkled like two diamonds, there were tiny crinkles on the edges and the strange yet exquisitely unique curvature that made him appear as if he was seriously contemplating taking a nap.
He had softly arched eyebrows, he had a tiny knob on the end of his long ski slope nose and his plentiful chestnut hair was piled high in a stack and combed over like a strange gothic pompadour that had failed.
It literally looked like he had tried to brush his hair back so he could put it up in a pony tail but instead he had just left it there and had sprayed a massive amount of hairspray to keep all of it in place.
He wore an expensive navy blue blazer with a red lined coat tails, a black waist coat and midnight blue pants with a silvery shimmer.
The man looked like he was from another era but that's not what was distracting, there were shadows under his eyes, his chin was a pale yellow, his cheekbones had harsh outlines of darkness, his overall color was completely off. The yellows and bruised blues blended with smudges of blackness made me wonder if he was preparing for the stage but then I realized that all those strange colors weren't make up, it was the actual natural tone of his skin.
He smelled of freshly dug earth, dust upon old abandoned cobwebs and the heavy scent of mothballs.
There was another smell, a smell I had only encountered in certain crime scenes I had helped my Uncle discover, it was the smell of long decayed bones.
"It is an absolute pleasure.
I've heard so much of your work, especially regarding your involvement with The Red Rum Manor case and from Mansfield has told me, I must say I'm very impressed. However it has come to my attention that there is a slight problem with your Uncle."
"Well not right now at the moment, he isn't here today, he decided to stay out in the car.
He's probably gone by now other than I haven't had much of an issue with him today".
"Yes he might not be a threat to you today Miss Bentley but people like him tend to be trouble later, so that's what we are concerned about. Mansfield and myself would like to prevent any issues in the future.
60 percent is not a reasonable sum, especially for someone who isn't even your legal guardian. I've done some digging and there appears to be no guardianship records on file.
Mansfield also mentioned that Dirk Wastrum is some sort of fraud. Is that true?"
I looked up at Mansfield in a questioning manner, I gave him a look of uncertainty but he smiled and nodded to reassure me it was safe to speak.
"Yes it's true but he's not a fraud in everything he does, he is a brilliant inventor but that's about it."
"Yes he certainly is brilliant but not brilliant enough to hide his past from us. I took the liberty of doing some more digging, he was a Psychology Professor, apparently had his doctorate in Psychiatry yet he was fired after a sexual assault charge.
I don't know if you were aware of that but there was a whole court case over the issue.
The evidence was pretty substantial, very straightforward but on the last day of court, he never showed up, he just vanished, disappeared, that is a crime in itself. Anyhow you get the idea, Dirk Wastrum is a criminal, a criminal on the run.
I don't think it's wise for him to even be on the studio premises, those charges weren't even dropped, so it was smart of him to remain in the car."
"Indeed, he is not welcome here. The security will be on alert, he won't be prevented from entering those gates but if he pushes any buttons around here, he can consider himself permanently banned from the premises."
"Sexual assault charges are the least of our problem Manny, he's apparently had a court case 10 years back concerning Money Laundering."
"You mean he actually stole money? Was it true? I mean did they have adequate evidence for that?"
I ogled at this new information.
"Oh yes the evidence was more than adequate but yet again he did the ole disappearing act but this time he did so on the first day of the trial, so he was never fully charged but it still is on his records. Court cases are open to all the public for the most part, so naturally it wasn't hard to find."
"This is all very interesting but what has this to do with the work I'll be doing here at the studio?"
"The fake contract remember and the bit about keeping your Uncle out of the picture?
He needs to be kept in the dark for now, Splendor and if possible he needs to be kept far away from this production, this isn't just for the sake of my reputation or for the reputation of this studio, it is for you and your safety."
"Oh this is what it's all about, just for me and my safety?
You hardly know me. Why would you care for my safety?
I never said I was in any danger but then you two are being so serious and ominous about it.
I don't mean to sound ungrateful and I have no intention of being rude but Why is he here?
I understand he's your lawyer and your friend but the things I told you the other day were things I wanted to be kept private.
They weren't just confessions they were secrets and now he knows all about them apparently and I'm not alright with that."
"You are aware I'm still here".
Sidney leered lazily at me with a casual sort of contempt in his voice.
"Yes I am and now that I am addressing you as someone who is actually in the room, Why are you involved with this?
Now don't tell me it's because you're his lawyer or that because you're pals. I'm wondering exactly why my safety is a concern to you.
I don't know you, I've literally just met you today, so why help me?
What's the motive here?"
"He's a criminal, criminal activity happens to be a hobby of mine but you unfortunately have been the one that has had to suffer for his crimes, you are in fact innocent and the innocent should be protected at all costs."
"Yes that's all fine and dandy but you're a lawyer since when are lawyers all choked up about the injustice done to others".
Sidney let out a raspy and nasally laugh, it was short and loud but awkward and just a tad bit creepy, especially the way he flung his head back while he did so.
"Well you're right, you told me I'd take a liking to her and I do, I like her Manny, she's a sharp one, she's spirited, brutally honest and she has a dragon like wit. I respect a woman that speaks her mind. Look let's say I'm not exactly a lawyer, I'm what I'd like to call a Law Expert, I'm really the head of security here, I'll admit people fear me around here but without me there would be no security to speak of, so yes that's why I'm concerned for your safety
Forgive me for all this mystery ".
I chose not to say anything snide after that.
"Look Splendor, I'm sorry for revealing those things to him. I know you told these secrets to me in confidence but Sidney is the head of security and I trust him with my life. Honestly you won't find a more trustworthy soul out there, he keeps a lot of my secrets safe as well.
No one else will know, only Sidney and myself know of your secrets,I promise you
Whatever is spoken here, won't leave this office.
Anything outside this office will be purely confidential as well.
Really you can trust us Splendor" .
"Okay but I still don't know what the point is of you two telling me all of this about my uncle.
I mean I'm aware he's a horrible monster but money laundering and sexual assault charges, it all seems a bit much".
"It's hard to process isn't it?
It shocked me too and I've seen more blood and violence to last me a lifetime but still it shocks me that such evil can exist in this world."
Sidney had a strange inhuman silver gloss in his eyes as he said this.
"Is he really evil?
Sometimes I don't think he's all that bad but there are moments when I question his kindness.
What I'm afraid of is that I mean nothing to him. I think at times that he doesn't even love me yet then I question myself, I wonder maybe I'm the crazy one and he's the one that's sane."
"Oh you're far from crazy Splendor. I know about your certain gifts. I saw you speaking with the spirits of that house. They were very angry, there was smoke, fire, the smell of blood and electricity was rampant in the air, you just walked right up to that dark entity, you spoke to it. I don't even know what you said but whatever you spoke to it calmed the evil spirit.
You have a talent, you have a real gift and now you can use it , actually use it without guilt or shame."
"I had no idea you were there.
What else did you see?"
I had a horribly worried expression on my face at this point.
"Oh I wasn't following you around, I was merely with the film crew, I saw you wander the halls a couple of times, talking to yourself it seemed but I knew you were talking to the spirits of the house. You understood them and when you spoke they listened to you.
This is very valuable, the paranormal team, need that kind of ability, they need someone with your kind of insight and did I tell you the rest of the crew adores you?". He finished that off with a cheesy smile.
"Yes you did mention it but um did you think that maybe the fact I can speak to demons is not such a good thing? I understand evil spirits and I talk back to them...in their own language, don't you think that's a bit suspicious?"
"Why would I suspect you?"
"Perhaps suspicious isn't the right word, what I mean is demonic. Don't you find it a bit demonic that I communicate with evil spirits and other dark entities?"
"Oh should I bring out the fire and pitchforks Manny?
We might have a witch in our midst.
Oh before you know it Satan could take over the entire studio, talk about being shot to hell, we'll be ruined".
"Sidney you're a riot, No I don't see anything wrong with you communicating with spirits from the beyond. Do you have any idea
how many fakes walk into my office claiming they can do the same thing? It's so very rare to have someone who actually possesses the gift of clairvoyance.
So I find it to be absolutely refreshing. Tell me are you ever frightened by the voices you hear?"
"No, not anymore, I used to when I was a child but then I soon got used to them.
There was a time my uncle gave me pills to subdue them but they just made things worse.
I threw them away one day because of how much I hated them, I just tossed them down the toilet, I refused to take them, he was furious with me of course but I didn't care.
Then I was- I was- I was sent away for awhile, a great long while actually.
Have you ever heard of Morningside Mental Health?"
"The Clinic? You were sent to the clinic? That huge horrendous monolith on the top of the hill?
That's a horrible place, hell on earth if you ask me.
I've been there, I used to volunteer there and it was like something out of a horror movie.
Surely you've heard of this place Mansfield?"
"Surprisingly no, I haven't, this is in fact the first time hearing of it.
Was it really that terrible?"
His eyes were boyish and bright.
"Oh do you think I enjoyed falling asleep to the smell of blood and decaying flesh?
Do you think I loved hearing the terrible screams and manic laughter, threatening to bang down my door?
I didn't go there for vacation.
So yes it was just like Sidney said, it was hell on earth, it was a nightmare, sometimes at night I'll dream of it and I usually wake up screaming because of it."
"However did you survive such a place?"
Mansfield looked at me incredulously although I could tell Sidney was dying to ask the same question.
"There was a kind old man there that would come talk to me, he'd speak to me in the rec room and eventually it got to the point where he visited me everyday.
He wasn't even that old, he was only fifty something, extremely tall, a tight suit, the kind a mortician would wear, he had gravelly sort of voice and he had a long grim face, he kind reminded me of the grim reaper in a way but he was kind to me and most importantly he was my friend. I asked about him cause I thought he worked there but then I saw his face on one of the walls, it was one of those black and white photos, you know from the horse and buggy days, I realized then and there that I had been talking to a ghost.
He was the owner of the clinic, he put his money into it, he was even a doctor that worked there at one time but if that hospital was built in 1911, I had a feeling he wasn't alive anymore.
The hospital was named after him even, still I suppose having a ghost as a friend is better than not having any friends at all yet he seemed so real, he was solid, I touched him, I felt his pulse and saw him breathe like any normal person would, so that's why it shook me up so much".
"Perhaps he wasn't a ghost but an angel, an angel sent to protect you and keep you company."
"There is another possibility, Jebadiah Morningside disappeared in the mid 1930's, they never found his body, no trace of blood, no struggle, he just vanished, so there may be a possibility that he's still out there, that is if you believe in alternate dimensions, anyway it's just a theory."
"Well alternate realities obviously do exist, where else would dark entities come from?
If there is such a thing as ancient aliens how else would they have gotten here? So I suppose anything is possible, Sidney".
"Alternate realities and alternate dimensions do indeed exist. There are other realms and other worlds outside our own.
I know for a fact that they exist, Morningside spoke of them, the other voices they've spoken of them as well, so many voices confirmed it but then again maybe I'm just crazy".
"No one thinks you're crazy, Splendor. The things you see and hear are real, you aren't making them up, they exist and just because no one else out there can see them, just because no one can hear them, that doesn't mean you are crazy. What's crazy is that you were punished for simply being who you are, you were punished for these gifts, you were punished for these abilities not because of ghosts, spirits or demons it was because of their ignorance and their fear of what is beyond, the fear of change, the unknown and the fear of those that are different. People like you have the power to change the world, while the people like your uncle will eventually become powerless and obsolete.
Your uncle is weak and he is blind, he'll never reach his full potential because he has no potential, he instead used yours to better himself, he has used you to create his empire, you gave him his wealth and his influence but just you wait, you'll see his perfect picket fenced empire crumble down on top of him, the moment you step back from him.
The moment you withdraw he'll lose his power.
If you join us you'll get to see that, you'll also probably be a multi millionaire but besides that you'll get to be free, free from all the micromanaging of your uncle. It will be fun, you can be creative, you'll get to be a part of the team, live your dream of becoming a paranormal investigator".
"Well I suppose that would be...fun but I thought they weren't the real deal"
"Is that what your uncle told you?
They are the real deal why else would I be backing them up with millions of dollars a year?"
"For entertainment value".
"Well we do our share of creative licencing, we do sometimes hire a few actors here and there, we do have a script we follow but very loosely, the team tends to like being theatrical, we do a lot of editing, I mean paranormal investigating isn't always that exciting, we have to make it entertaining but there's no special effects involved, lighting yes, sound enhancement definitely but there's no magic tricks involved, it's all very authentic but you know, nobody gets tired of a good old ghost story, so yes we give them a show but these are real people doing real jobs and they also work for my company. It sounds deceptive but I know of studios that fake it till they make it, there is nothing fake here I can assure you".
"Alright, I already said I'd work here, I don't need to be convinced anymore."
"Well I think that settles it then".
Sidney spoke almost indifferently.
"Welcome to Frolock Studios".
Mansfield smiled in a way that made my heart feel like it had been touched by sunlight for the first time.
I had a feeling I was really going to like it here.