Aiden, page 14
“So, really no security in a place like this,” Aiden noted, with a quick glance at Mountain, who frowned.
“No, not at all,” Toby said. “Should there be?”
Aiden just shrugged. “Hard for me to say yet,” he murmured. “It’s really close to everything, isn’t it?”
“It is. The residents often walk around town together. They go shopping together,” she said, “or, at least, they go out in groups of two, three, or four.”
“Right. So they have overseers, like the matron you mentioned, like a den mother?” Aiden asked.
“Yes,” Toby confirmed, smiling at him.
“So the kids must really love it.”
“Most of them aren’t kids anymore, but, yes, that’s exactly how they feel about it. I’m sure they have a lot more freedom—their space away from family—that can be both good and bad.”
Aiden didn’t say much as they walked deeper inside, and she headed toward the main common room. As she looked around, a couple people stood nearby, talking. One lifted a hand and waved at her with a big smile. She waved back immediately. She walked over to the boy who had waved at her. “Any idea where Michelle is?”
“In room,” he said, his voice husky and slightly off. “She’s in her room.”
“Good,” Toby said. “We’ll go find her there.” Everybody watched as they left.
“Kind of an odd feel to the place,” Aiden noted.
“Well, it has always been pretty friendly to me,” Toby stated, “so I don’t know about off. Just feels very much like I am in another home. I’ve seen her in a couple different ones. I know that this one has been the happiest of them.”
“Right,” Aiden noted.
As they got to Michelle’s room on the second floor, Toby knocked, and there was no answer. She frowned. “I wonder if she’s sleeping.” She poked her head gently around the door and whispered, “Michelle, you awake?” They heard some movement inside. She looked back at the guys and said, “Just give me a minute.” She walked inside and closed the door. Aiden and Mountain stood here in the hallway, watching as a few other people came and went.
Mountain whispered to Aiden, “I’m probably scaring some people here. I’ll go take a sweep around outside, maybe a block or two away. I’ll meet up with you guys later.” And he disappeared.
Now that Aiden was alone, still nobody stopped and asked him what he was doing, until another young man stopped and smiled at him.
“Michelle is nice,” he said, motioning at the door to her room.
“Is she?” Aiden asked, with a quiet smile. “She’s happy here, isn’t she?”
The young man immediately nodded. “Yes, very happy. She doesn’t want to leave,” he stated, and his face suddenly got really serious, as if he thought that’s why Aiden was here.
“We’re not here to take her away,” Aiden said immediately. “We’re just visiting Michelle.”
The other man’s face cleared, and he nodded. “Good. She’s happy here.” And, with that, he went down the hallway a little bit but kept looking back at Aiden.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” Aiden asked the young man, before he’d gotten too far away.
He just shook his head. “No, she’s happy here.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that she’s happy here.” Yet Aiden still had that sense that the young man wanted to say something more. Aiden just didn’t know how to get him to open up. And why should he talk to him when obviously other people were all around who he could talk to who he knew better?
When the man returned to him, Aiden just waited and smiled. “Do you spend much time with her?”
He immediately nodded. “We help each other,” he noted.
“In what way?” Aiden asked.
The other man shrugged. “We play games. We exercise,” he said, and, with a proud smile, lifted up his T-shirt to show the muscles and the biceps bulging underneath.
“Wow,” Aiden said, seriously impressed. “That’s awesome.”
The other man smiled. “Yeah, it’s really good,” he said, with that sense of almost childlike accomplishment, and yet this guy was an adult.
Aiden nodded. “It’s not easy to make those kinds of gains at a gym.”
“Not easy.” The other man nodded. “I work hard.”
“I’m sure you do, and you should be proud of your progress,” Aiden added.
At that moment, an adult wearing a name tag walked down the hallway, saw Aiden, and frowned. “Hey,” she called out.
Aiden held up a hand and motioned at the door in front of them. “I came with Toby to visit Michelle.”
The worry on the woman’s face cleared. “Is Toby in there?”
He nodded. “I gather Michelle isn’t up yet.”
“She’s not having very good days,” the woman explained. “I’m Ann, by the way. I’m one of the adults around this place,” she explained.
At that, the young man shook his head. “I’m an adult.”
“Yes, you are,” she stated. She looked over at Aiden. “Michelle has not been having it easy these past few days.”
“Because of her brother’s death presumably.”
“We’ll see how Michelle is when she comes out today.”
The door opened, and Toby stepped out, a smile on her face, which slowly disappeared when she saw Ann. “Hey, Ann.” She motioned at Aiden. “He’s with me.”
“Good,” she said. “How is Michelle?”
“I would ask you that,” Toby told Ann. “She doesn’t look like she’s handling life very well right now.”
“No,” the den mother said. “I did mention it to the psychologist, who was here a few days ago,” she shared. “But nobody is really sure how much of it is related to her brother’s death.”
“She’s not doing very well,” Toby stated. “I am quite concerned about her mental state.”
Just then, the door opened, and Michelle stepped out into the hallway. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she’d been crying a lot. As soon as she saw Aiden, she immediately stepped closer to Toby. Michelle had her arms wrapped around her chest, as if protecting herself, guarding herself from something.
Michelle never seemed to note the young man standing with Aiden. Maybe Aiden’s presence was enough to distract her.
“It’s okay, Michelle,” Toby said, putting an arm around Michelle’s shoulders. “This is Aiden, the friend I told you about.”
She looked at Aiden with an intense scrutiny, and then, as if seeming to accept Toby at her word, Michelle nodded. “He friend.”
“Yes, he’s a friend,” Toby reiterated.
At that, Michelle wiped her nose on her sleeve, like a two-year-old, and smiled at Aiden. “Hi.”
He gave her the gentlest of smiles and replied, “Hi, Michelle. Nice to meet you.”
She studied him for a long moment. “You know my brother?”
He shook his head. “No, I did not.”
And then she said, “Good.” And, with that, she turned to Toby. “Can we go eat?”
“Yes, absolutely.” She turned and looked at Ann, who still stood with them. “Has she had any food lately?”
Ann immediately shook her head. “She didn’t show up for breakfast.” She looked at Michelle and said, “Stick to cereal or toast, okay?”
Michelle nodded and headed to the kitchen, and everybody else had to keep up.
He grabbed Toby’s hand. “How is she?”
“Not good,” she said. “I think she’s been crying nonstop.”
“And do we know why?”
“No, we don’t, and it could take a while to figure it out.” She sighed heavily. “Some days are good, and then some days aren’t good.”
At that, the young man—who had stuck with them as a group—said, “No good days now.”
“And why isn’t she having good days now?” Toby asked him, carefully studying his features, as if that would tell her something. Toby asked the young man, “Is it because of her brother?”
The man nodded. “Bad man,” he said, “very bad man.”
“Yes, he was,” Toby agreed immediately, “but he’s dead.”
The young man nodded. “Yes, dead, … dead. And that’s a good thing.”
She didn’t want to reiterate that point, so she stayed quiet. She asked him, “When did Michelle eat last?”
Michelle turned to Toby, a cross look on her face. “I ate dinner.”
“Good,” Toby said in a bright tone. “I’m glad you’re eating, even though you’re upset.”
“I like eating,” Michelle stated. “I don’t like my brother.” And such pain filled her voice that Aiden could hardly hold back his wince.
What kind of an asshole would torment somebody like this? And yet he knew it wasn’t just about Michelle’s brother. Unfortunately people abused innocent people all the time. Just broke his heart though. As they headed into the kitchen, he stayed slightly back and behind. The young man stayed behind too. As Aiden leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest, he noted with a twinge of amusement as the young man did the same thing. Aiden caught the young man studying Aiden, and he gave a nod of approval. Almost instinctively the young man straightened his shoulders. “What’s your name?” Aiden asked.
“Rick,” he replied.
“Good. So, Rick, are you a good friend of Michelle’s?”
Rick nodded. “I help her lots. I’m strong. I can do things.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Aiden said. “What kind of things?” he asked in a hesitant voice.
At that moment, an argument erupted between Michelle and Ann. “I don’t want that cereal,” she argued, staring at Ann in horror. “I want my cereal.”
“We’re out, remember?” Ann said. “You were responsible for putting it on the shopping list. It didn’t go on the list, and it didn’t get picked up.”
Aiden knew a crisis was about to happen. He looked over at Toby to see her trying to figure out a way to handle it. He nudged her gently. “Are we allowed to take her out?”
She nodded and stepped forward. “And how about we take her, get her outside for a little bit, maybe head down to the pancake place?”
At that, Michelle turned and looked at her in hope. “I have no cereal,” she stated.
“And you know why,” Ann said in a firm voice.
“Maybe we can resolve this problem just because we’re here now, today,” Toby said gently. “We need coffee and maybe some lunch.”
“Lunch,” Michelle agreed, nodding her head. “Let’s go for lunch.” She looked back and asked, “Rick come too?”
And that was a first apparently because Toby asked her, “You want Rick to come for lunch?”
She nodded. “Rick my friend,” she said proudly.
Toby turned toward Rick, standing there beside Aiden, both of them in identical poses, and her lips twitched. She looked at Aiden and asked, “Are you okay with that?”
He immediately nodded. “Sure, why not?” he said, and they all walked back to the vehicle, with the two of them chattering away on a million things that seemed completely unrelated to what was going on. Aiden quickly sent a text to Mountain, updating him. Mountain sent a reply that he’d find his own way back home.
As the four of them got in the vehicle, Aiden looked over at Toby. “Any progress?”
She shook her head. “No, but any mention is likely to set her off.”
“Right,” he said, realizing just how much that could be an issue if they were heading to a restaurant.
Toby shrugged. “You know there are good days and bad days.”
“And is this a good day or a bad day?”
She smiled. “You know what? I’m tempted to say it’s a bad day, but I’m not sure—compared to what I’m hearing from the others. Seems maybe it’s a good day because her other days have been so rough.”
“And that would be tough if she didn’t understand that he’s gone. That alone might help.”
“It might help a lot,” Toby agreed, “but somehow I have to get that through to her.”
Aiden nodded, not sure how to work it either.
Chapter 11
Lunch proceeded at a decent pace, with everybody in a bright mood, although the overarching problem remained that Toby was trying to figure out.
At one point, Rick mentioned Moscow. “Bad man gone. He won’t hurt you no more.” Almost immediately Michelle nodded and reached over and held his hand.
Toby had no idea how relationships were handled in homes for special needs individuals like this. Were they on birth control? Were they told about the birds and the bees? Toby was not sure she wanted to get into all that. Not sure she could, due to HIPAA and other privacy laws. However, it was obvious that the two of them were very close. She’d have to talk to Ann about it, yet she didn’t want to cause any more upset for her sister-in-law’s peace and happiness. Toby faced Michelle. “And you do understand Moscow’s gone, right?”
She nodded. “He won’t hurt me anymore.”
“No. That’s quite true,” Toby agreed. Pancakes were delivered all around, and Michelle and Rick dove in as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks.
Toby noted the surprise on Aiden’s face. She smiled. “It’s really normal,” she noted. He just closed his mouth and didn’t say anything, and she appreciated that. He seemed to understand very well that there was a time to talk and a time not to. She’d always found dealing with Michelle to be one of judging moods more than timing. When Toby considered the issue of Moscow’s death, she wondered if it was important who told the two or not, and then realized it really didn’t matter, as long as Michelle understood.
At that point Michelle patted Toby’s hand and added, “He won’t hurt you anymore either.”
Startled, Toby replied, “That’s right. I didn’t realize you knew that he’d hurt me.”
Michelle nodded. “He hurts everyone.”
“Unfortunately that’s probably quite true,” Toby admitted.
“It’s just very sad. Very sad,” her sister-in-law replied, but such cheerfulness filled her voice that it seemed to Toby as if there wasn’t any real recognition of what sad meant.
When her sister-in-law finished all her pancakes on her plate, Toby asked, “Now how do you feel?”
“Better, not so hungry.” She looked over at Rick. “Rick is feeling better too.”
“Good,” Toby stated. “How come you guys had such a big appetite?”
“Exercise,” Michelle said immediately.
“Right. You guys working out?” Toby asked.
Michelle nodded. “He’s teaching me self-defense.” That brought the conversation to a complete close.
Toby took in a slow breath. “We’re back to the fact that your brother is dead,” she murmured. “Remember?”
“I know,” Michelle confirmed. “I know.” Then she leaned forward and whispered, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, so you’re the only one we can tell.”
“Tell me what?” Toby asked.
Her sister-in-law leaned closer, looked at Rick, who had a big grin on his face, and she whispered, “We killed him.”
The blood in Toby’s veins froze.
Aiden didn’t know how either of them got out of the restaurant and got their two charges back to the home while maintaining any kind of sanity. Every time they tried to ask them questions, both of them buttoned up, as if they had some major secrets still left to share. For all of Toby’s attempts, she couldn’t get anything out of them either. When they finally walked back to the vehicle after delivering the couple to their group home, Aiden and Toby just sat there.
Toby whispered, “Dear God.”
“I know,” he agreed. “I’ve been thinking about the consequences of all that.”
She stared at him and whispered, “Oh my God.”
He nodded. “Let’s go home.” They slowly drove back to her place, even though it was not very far.
“Before we go home,” Toby suggested, “let’s go back to where Moscow’s body was found.”
Aiden shook his head. “I don’t even think we need to physically go there. We need to bring it up on a map.”
She nodded. “That Dumpster’s not very far away from them at the home, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” he confirmed. “Depending on the route they took, based on a map, if they went all the way around the block, the Dumpster would be a couple blocks away. However, if this young man—who’s been working out and has put on a fair bit of muscle—had cut across the home’s backyard, they could have made the trip shorter. Rick may have lifted Moscow’s body up and over the fence around the home. So it wouldn’t have been hard to dump Moscow into the Dumpster on the other side.”
“That’s all they had to do, isn’t it? Go out the back door, out the back alley, and that is the one and only Dumpster on the next street over. And Michelle had talked about the garbage earlier,” Toby noted. “I just didn’t make any kind of nefarious connection.”
“Are you saying that we believe this could have happened?” Aiden asked her, as he pulled up in front of her place.
She got out and walked around the vehicle to stand beside him. “I can’t even begin to imagine, except for the fact that I know how traumatized Michelle was.”
As they got into her house, Mountain looked up at them and immediately frowned. “Okay, so something has happened.”
Toby plunked herself down on the nearest chair. “Something has definitely happened, but the ramifications are horrific.” And she told her cousin what the couple had said at lunch.
Mountain whistled. “Good God. And do you really think she and Rick did this?”
“I don’t know,” Toby replied, bewildered. “Is it possible? Absolutely. Did Michelle have a motive? Absolutely. Would she have done it cognitively, understanding what she did? She certainly would have understood that she was getting rid of a threat or trying to stop him. Would she have understood the consequences? No, of course not.” Toby shook her head. “But, I mean, what am I supposed to do with this information?”
Mountain stated, “First off, this is a theory, unless you have any proof—other than Michelle’s statement?”
