HEAD GAMES
Chapter Nine
Viki hurried down the corridor of Llanview Hospital with Kevin following closely behind. She’d not spoken a word to him in the car on the way over. Her anger at him was so great that she feared saying something she would regret.
She saw Bo talking to Larry at the nurse’s station and rushed over to them.
“How is he?” she questioned nervously.
“He’s got pneumonia. I think we’ve caught it in time. He’s also suffering from exposure and a bit of dehydration and lack of nourishment. He should be okay, in time. But I’ve ordered some strong antibiotics and moved him to I.C.U.”
“Can I see him?” Viki pleaded.
It had been over a year since she’d laid eyes on her brother, and she longed to make sure he was whole. She still harbored great guilt for letting him leave, even after he’d admitted he heard voices. But her pride and her pain got in the way of her stopping him. It was one of her biggest regrets to date.
“Sure,” Larry agreed. “But just for a minute. He’s sleeping, and I don’t want him disturbed. He needs rest.”
She smiled weakly, then made her way to the elevator with Bo and Kevin. Bo started to explain the day’s events, but Viki held her hand up in protest. The Commissioner understood. Her first priority was her brother. Everything else could wait.
Gingerly, she entered Todd’s room. She was stunned by his appearance. Amongst the tubes and wires he looked pale and small. And so very still. The constant beeping and whirring of the medical equipment droned out a hypnotic rhythm that was unsettling.
Viki made her way to his bedside. She hesitated to touch him; she was almost afraid he’d break. With a shaking hand, she reached out to stroke his hair comfortingly. She was disturbed by the fact that he did not stir.
A nurse came in to check his vitals and told them they needed to leave. Todd was in no shape for visitors. Viki leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She whispered a quiet promise to return, then left. She wiped the salty tears from her face as the door closed behind her.
*****
Bo explained what had transpired earlier at the house on the outskirts of town. Both Viki and Kevin were shocked to hear that their cousin seemed to be behind the recent string of crimes. The three of them headed for the police station where Powell awaited. They all wanted answers, but to different questions.
*****
Viki and Kevin were allowed to see Powell briefly before Bo began his interrogation. They found him nervously pacing the interrogation room. He appeared to be pleased to see them, but somehow his smile failed to reach his eyes. Instead a wild look flickered behind them.
Viki tried to make pleasantries, but Powell would have none of that. He began by saying, “I’m being framed by Todd.”
She and Kevin looked at each other dubiously.
“What? You don’t believe me?” Powell questioned. He continued to fidget, never staying still for more than a second or two.
“It’s the truth,” he continued. “Todd set this whole thing up to make me look like the bad guy.”
“What did Todd do?” Kevin inquired.
“He did all those bad things. He’s the one who shot RJ and broke into Nora’s office. He’s the one who burned your office, Viki. Not me,” Powell ranted.
“What reason would he have to do all those things, Powell?” Viki asked calmly.
“Todd wants to destroy me. Isn’t it obvious? He wants to finish the job he started in college.”
“I don’t believe you, Powell. I think that it was you who set Todd up,” she asserted.
Powell seethed with anger. He ran his hands repeatedly through his hair, a move eerily reminiscent of Todd. Then he began to laugh. A cold, terrifying laugh.
“Well, I guess I’m not the actor I used to be,” he chuckled.
“Why, Powell?” Kevin asked him. “Why would you do something like this when you had your whole life ahead of you? Why must you continue to live in the past? Why can’t you move on?”
“My whole life ahead of me? You have got to be kidding, Cousin. I have no life. My life was over the minute I met Todd Manning. He sucked my soul from me,” Powell raged. “He poisoned me!”
“You made your own decisions, Powell. Todd could not have forced you to do anything that you truly did not want to do,” Viki stated. “Why can’t you leave him alone?”
“Retribution,” he answered quietly.
Kevin scoffed as Viki rubbed her temples in an attempt to assuage the pounding headache the night had brought on.
“I couldn’t stand the idea that Todd was roaming around freely while I was locked up in an institution. Where’s the justice in that? Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that he’s my cousin, too. How dare he think of himself as a Lord? I couldn’t have him sullying our name like that. Not that bastard!” Powell fumed.
“I think I’ve heard enough,” Viki said softly to Kevin.
As they turned to leave, Powell blocked their exit.
“No, Viki. You haven’t heard everything. Apparently, you don’t care as much about your baby brother as you claim. He really wasn’t that hard to find, you know. You could have found him, if you’d wanted,” Powell taunted. “Do you want to guess where I found him? Do you? Guess.”
“I’m in no mood for these games,” she admitted.
“I discovered where he went after he left Llanview. He headed for New York, then immediately went to Chicago. No surprise there, huh? Daddy’s old mansion had been torn down. It took a little while to find where he’d gone from there, but my leg work paid off. I found him,” Powell laughed, “in a homeless shelter.”
Viki gasped in shock.
“Ironic, isn’t it? Toddy, with all his millions, winding up in a homeless shelter. It wasn’t hard to convince him I wanted to help him. He was so gullible. I guess he was in need of a friend. Only he found me instead. I’ve had him in the basement for about a month. I planned everything so well. My plan was perfect,” he gloated.
“If it was so perfect, how did you end up in here?” Kevin chided.
“Shut up!” he screamed. “It doesn’t matter, you know. I’ll never go to jail for this. I’ll just go back to the institution and be out in another few years. I can wait. I’ll have my chance at Todd again. We’re connected, he and I. I’ll have my revenge eventually.”
“I have to get out of here,” Viki panicked as she darted for the door. Kevin quickly followed.
Once outside the room she broke down in tears. Tears of fear. Tears of guilt. Tears of remorse. Kevin held her as she sobbed against his chest.
“He won’t get to Todd again, Mom. Don’t worry,” he said comfortingly.
He looked through the blinds of the interrogation room at Powell, who was smirking just like Todd. A chill ran down Kevin’s spine.
HEAD GAMES
Viki paced the short hallway outside of Todd’s ICU room to work the kinks out of her back. She’d been there all night, checking in on her brother when allowed. He had improved throughout the night; his fever had broken, and he was breathing easier. But he had not yet awakened.
She decided to slip away to get yet another cup of coffee. Turning the corner, she saw Larry Wolek making his rounds.
“Larry, are you going to check in on Todd now?” she inquired.
“Yes, I’m headed that way. I’ll let you know how he’s doing.”
He walked past her, then turned back. “Have you been here all night, Viki?” he asked with a furrowed brow.
“I know what you’re going to say. I just need to make sure he’s going to be alright. Don’t worry about me,” she answered.
“You’re not going to do Todd any good if you get sick yourself.”
She smiled wearily. “I’ll be fine. But thank you for your concern.”
He disappeared into Todd’s room. Viki resumed her pacing. As time passed, she grew more anxious. “What’s taking so long?” she whispered to herself. Her mind began to imagine different complications, each scenario worse than the one before. She was about to go in to see for herself, when Larry opened the door.
“Guess who’s awake?” he asked with a wink.
Gratefully, she rushed to her brother’s side. Although he was obviously groggy and still ill, his eyes were open. He watched as she made her way to his side.
“I’m so glad to see you awake, sweetheart,” she intoned quietly.
She reached out to brush a stray lock of long hair from his face. He flinched away from her touch without changing his blank expression.
Viki smiled bravely at him, even though his rebuff hurt her. She rambled on for a few minutes about how worried she had been about him and how sorry she was that she had let him leave Llanview. All the while Todd never gave any indication that he either knew or understood her.
Larry came back in to remind her that Todd needed rest. She said her good-byes and leaned in to give him a kiss on his forehead. Again he pulled away from her. Disheartened, she left his side and joined his doctor out in the hallway.
“How is he?” she asked.
“He’s improving. The antibiotic is working well. He’s stronger. He should make a full recovery in no time,” Larry stated.
“How about mentally? He didn’t seem to recognize me,” she said with concern.
“I don’t know about his mental state. Would you like me to call one of the staff psychologists in to see him? He seems to have been through quite a traumatic experience.”
“Yes, please. I’ve been worried about him since he left town,” Viki declared. “How soon can someone come?”
“Let’s see how well he’s doing this afternoon. If he continues to improve, I’ll see if someone can see him then. In the meantime, you need to go home and get some rest. Todd’s out of the woods now.”
She hesitated, looking briefly at her brother’s room.
“Doctor’s orders,” Larry announced in a mockingly stern tone.
She smiled, then relented. Reluctantly, she turned away from the ICU room and headed for the elevators.
*****
Viki jerked awake. She hadn’t intended to fall asleep, just rest. She wondered how long she’d slept as she reached for the phone that had awakened her. She was immediately alert when she recognized Larry’s voice on the other end of the line. He was calling to update her on Todd’s progress and to tell her that Dr. Evans had agreed to see him at 4:00. She had just enough time to change and look in on her brother before the psychiatrist got there. Quickly, she sprinted into action.
*****
Todd’s vital signs had steadily improved. Viki was sitting by his bed, chatting to him about Starr, Jessica, and events of the past year; she asked him where he’d been and what he’d done since he had left. But he ignored all attempts to draw him into conversation. His blank expression remained unchanged.
Dr. Evans knocked, then entered. He was a tall man with short brown hair that was graying at the temples. He wore wire-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his generously proportioned nose. A large man, he was dressed rather casually, at least for a doctor, in baggy khaki slacks and a pullover sweater. He extended his hand toward Viki.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Franklin Evans, staff psychologist here at LH.” His voice was soothing and reassuring.
“I’m Viki Carpenter,” she stated, shaking his hand. “I’m Todd’s sister.”
“And you must be Todd,” he said with a grin as he turned toward the bed.
Todd looked up at the big man but did not change his expression. Dr. Evans pursed his lips together, then looked at Viki.
“I’d like to talk to Todd alone.”
“Of course,” she agreed. “I’ll be waiting outside, sweetheart. I’m not leaving,” she assured her brother before exiting the room.
She tried to make herself comfortable on the vinyl chairs in the hall. From the previous night’s experience, she already knew that was an impossibility. She fidgeted restlessly. She tried to organize her purse and balance her checkbook for the hundredth time since she’d been there the night before. Nothing worked to take her mind off her brother.
It bothered her immensely that he had not yet spoken. She wondered if he had some kind of brain damage. Why did he never change the look on his face? Why the blank stare? Did he even remember who she was? What exactly had Powell done to him? And what had happened to him before Powell had found him? Had he really found Todd in a homeless shelter? A million questions swirled through her mind.
Finally, Dr. Evans emerged from the room. He wore a grim look on his face. She braced herself for the worst.
“We need to talk, Mrs. Carpenter,” he began. “Something’s just not right.”
