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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The Pretender nor any of it’s characters is not mine. And I was inspired by a song by The Boss
AN: Thanks to an unnamed angel out there, my English improved big way!
Souls of the Departed Part
‘The Long Goodbye’
“Syd, I don’t like this.”
Broots felt a sense of doom hanging over their heads. They were on their flight back from Oregon. The lead was cold as always. That was nothing new or special. But what was different about this trip was that Miss Parker had not joined them.
Only once before had she willingly left the hunt solely in her brother’s hands. What was going on with her? He knew that she had a hard time coping with everything after Mister Parker’s ‘exit’. But whatever she was up to now, couldn’t be good. And he was worried.
“I know Broots, I know. I am worried myself. All Lyle had said was that she chose not to come along. I tried to call her about twenty times, but all I got was her voice-mail.”
“Yeah, I called her too. About…hmm…I guess twenty is a conservative estimation. Jeez, she’s gonna be pissed at all those calls!”
Sydney couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Miss Parker’s tirade at their consistent calls: it was none of their business; she could take care of herself, being a big girl and all. Her outward demeanour was always about trying not to show any emotion except anger at everyone around her. Towards Broots and himself she had let her guard down a little, but she still lashed out at them when in a bad mood.
“It isn’t going to be pretty, you know. Hell, even I would be quite angry at forty phone calls when I intentionally turned it off. And she is under so much stress. You know Syd, I once had this really creepy thought about how Miss P. on a roll could even frighten Freddy and Chucky, turning them into cuddly toys.”
Syd raised an eyebrow at his colleague, clearly not knowing what it was that the technician even meant.
“Syd, you’ve seen these horror movies, haven’t you? Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street and Chucky ….”
“I think I know what you mean, thank you Broots. But I am quite sure that Miss Parker would not be flattered with this idea of yours.”
“Ah, no I guess not.” Suddenly very frightened at the prospect of her finding out, Broots added in a plea-like voice, “You’re not going to tell her are you Syd?”
Lyle suddenly stood in the compartment door of the passenger area with an evil grin on his face.
“Relax Mr. Broots. I am sure our good doctor here would do anything to not let my dear sister know that you compared her to some ugly characters that are on a killing spree. But I am surprised…you of all people Mr. Broots!”
With that Lyle turned around and left for the second compartment again. He needed to make a few private phone calls. He had preparations to make.
“What is that supposed to mean, Syd? What is he saying? I only…”
“Broots, just forget it. You know how Lyle likes to get the better of all people. I am sure he was simply taunting you. I’m just wondering if he knows anything about Miss Parker.”
“I think that aside from Raines, Lyle is the last person she would tell anything at all, don’t you?”
“Under normal circumstances I’d say you’re right, but somehow I have the feeling he knows something. She did approach him the other day in the plane. I wonder what that was about.”
With that, both fell into pondering silence. Miss Parker’s behaviour in recent days was completely uncharacteristic. The Doctor suspected that the tragedy of her family had finally gotten to her, and he was worried.
The technician’s thoughts were going down a different lane. He remembered how and why Miss Parker had stayed back the last time. She had decided to leave the Centre and to move to Oregon with her then lover Thomas. He wondered if it could again be about a man. This made him feel quite uneasy. He still had a major crush on his boss. She had turned him down, and he could live with that, but the thought of her and another man…
Mentally slapping himself for his jealousy, he remembered how happy she had been with Thomas. So happy in fact, that she seemed even more beautiful than before. It was a time when she actually smiled often without apparent reason. And that smile was a memory he treasured.
Her eyes back then had even glowed. Her whole expression made his heart melt at the mere thought of it. Another man couldn’t be that bad if he succeeded in getting Miss Parker to smile that way again -- the sweetest smile on earth; the smile that launched wholesome fantasies in his infatuated heart. Another man could be a good thing.
*********************
It was already past six o’clock when they landed, so they parted at the airport and everyone drove to their respective homes.
Sydney briefly thought about taking a detour to check up on Miss Parker but dropped that idea. She would tell him in her time. Sooner than later he hoped, but there was nothing he could do about it. This remarkable woman had always done things her way, and mostly alone. At a young age she had been forced by circumstances to manage her difficulties alone. It had become a habit that she clearly could not break.
Jarod sometimes found the means to help her cope with things. Miss Parker frequently claimed that she never wanted any help from her childhood friend but nevertheless, accepted it reluctantly at the most difficult of times.
Maybe Jarod had some idea what this was about. The psychiatrist hoped he would hear from his former protégée soon.
**********************
Sydney sat at his breakfast table glancing into his coffee cup, not really seeing anything. He didn’t sleep well -- too much was on his mind, particularly Lyle’s smug behaviour throughout the previous day. The doctor expected him to be good-natured about Miss Parker not coming along. Her brother wanted to win this game after all. But somehow he also expected Lyle to make side remarks, some cruel comments at her expense. He didn’t. Curious.
His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Finally, he thought, Miss Parker would be on the other end and yell at him to get his ‘carcass’ moving.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, long time no see.”
“Jarod, it’s good to hear from you. Though at an unexpected hour I must say.”
“There are different time zones on our planet, Sydney. But that’s another story. I just wanted to say hello and then I wanted to ask you something. Something about a friend.”
Sydney immediately knew who that friend was. So he simply said “Yes?”
“Sydney, do you know what Miss Parker was up to after Montreal? I…I couldn’t help but notice that something was different, so I’m wondering if there is anything going on that I should know “
“Well, all I know is that we followed your lead to Oregon yesterday, but Miss Parker chose to stay back. What that means? Your guess would be as good as mine.”
“Oregon? Sydney I didn’t send you any leads after Montreal. Miss Parker stayed back? What the hell is going on? You know, she was not at home tonight! Where is she?”
“Jarod, I don’t usually pry into her private life. I don’t know were she was tonight. Maybe she met someone.” He said that rather calmly, but it was very upsetting.
Jarod didn’t take Sydney’s last comment very well, though he had to confess, for a short moment he had come to a similar conclusion. But, thinking through it, he had abandoned that idea. No it was not a man. He voiced that much to his former mentor.
“No Syd. From what I know, Miss Parker is the kind of woman who would take a man to her home, not go with him some place.”
“I don’t know Jarod. After what happened with Thomas…well, in any case, I don’t feel particularly comfortable talking about her private endeavours like that.”
“Me neither Syd, me neither.”
He said that with all honesty, not realizing that what he really hated was the thought of her in the arms of another man -- a man he didn’t know about -- than the actual fact of talking with Sydney about it.
“You go to the Centre, try to find her from your side. I’ll do the same from mine. I need to know. If this has got something to do with her search for her mother, it concerns me too.”
This was another lie he was unaware of. The search for their mothers’ connection was far from his mind at that very moment. But it sounded like a reasonable excuse for Sydney as much as for himself.
*****************
Her usual time to come in was eight thirty.
It was just after 9 o’clock and Sydney’s first destination was her office. Right in front of her door, the doctor ran into Broots.
“Good morning Broots. Is she in?”
“Morning. I don’t know. I just came in too. But Cindy at reception couldn’t tell me if she’d already arrived.”
Sydney knocked lightly and opened the door only to find a very empty room -- no sign of the regular occupant. Nothing was on her desk and nothing was on the glass table in the back of the room. Sydney could not tell if she had even been there the day before.
Only one thing to do. The psychiatrist took a seat, picked up the phone and called her cell. Again, only voice-mail. He dialled again, this time trying her home number. He could hardly believe what happened then. Instead of her angry ‘what’ or her demand to leave a message, he heard the voice of her brother. “Lyle here.”
Sydney almost dropped the phone. “Lyle?”
“Sydney, what can I do for you? I’ll be in the office in an hour or two. Have to do some things first.”
“Lyle, what are you doing on Miss Parker’s phone? What are you doing at her home?” The most horrible scenarios came to his mind. At this very moment Sydney knew he would be ready and willing to kill Lyle if he had done anything to her.
“I am just taking stock of what is mine, Syd. I wanted to tell you later, but I guess you won’t be willing to wait.”
“You are absolutely right, Lyle.”
“Apparently my sister decided to come up with a Houdini act. Must have lost all her marbles, I guess. Maybe had a breakdown or whatever it is women are having when feeling a little under pressure…not able to handle the stress.”
“Where is she?” Sydney’s Belgian accent came through very thickly now. That only happened when he was feeling uncertain or angry.
“I’m telling you: I don’t know. All I know is, that I came home last night and found a letter pinned to my fridge. All she wrote was that she’s gone, she’s had enough. And in, what I guess was a very weak moment for her, she decided to leave me her house. Then again, it was OUR mother’s house.”
Sydney had put the conversation on speakers so Broots could listen in. The technician, unable to stand any longer simply went down. Luckily for him, he was standing in front of her couch. Otherwise, his behind would have made painful contact with the floor.
This was not happening, this wasn’t real. He’d wake up in a second and then he’d be able to breathe again.
“I’ll tell you the rest later Sydney. Raines doesn’t know yet and I want you and Broots to be with me when I tell him. I am sure he’ll have a few questions for you. And so do I.”
“We don’t know anything. This is crazy. She hasn’t spoken to us in days Lyle. It must be one big misunderstanding. I am sure of that.”
“At first I had suspected something like a mean prank. We both know how much she LIKES to harass me. But trust me Sydney, I checked the house very thoroughly, and she would never leave it like that just to get to me.”
“What do you mean ‘like that’?”
“I said I’d tell you later. Suffice it to say that she took all the pictures and most of her clothes. But everything else, all her things, all her private stuff is still here. She would never want me to see them if she hadn’t really decided to leave for good.”
With that Lyle hung up and Sydney could only agree with his last comment. He was even slightly surprised at Lyle’s ability to read her.
The thing that still eluded him though was that, if everything Lyle said was real, and Miss Parker had finally left the Centre, why, why in God’s name would she leave a message? And at Lyle’s place too. And why would she leave him, of all people, the house she loved so much? This just did not add up.
Why didn’t she come to him? At least leave the message for HIM to find? He sure was a lot closer to her than her brother ever could be. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The most logical explanation was that either Raines or Lyle or both of them, were behind all this. And he’d be damned if he let them get away with it.
He glanced over at Broots, who still had this incredulous look on his face; a look that he was sure was mirrored in his own face, when his cell phone rang. “Sydney here”
“What did you find out? Where was she?”
“Jarod.” Sydney exhaled slowly, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. How was he going to say this? “I…We…we don’t know where she is, Jarod. She disappeared and …”
“Disappeared? What? And? Sydney tell me!”
“Lyle just told us that she wrote a note to him, telling him she would leave the Centre for good. He also claims that she left the house for him to live in.”
“No, no, Sydney, no! Lyle is behind this! I am sure this is all some crazy plan to get rid of her! I will find out, and then -- then there will be no mercy, no sparing his life. I promise Sydney, I’ll find her.”
******************
Miss Parker was gone and the Pretender still could not tell what had happened. It almost drove him insane. He could not find a single clue, no hint that Lyle had been involved in any of this.
Lyle had given the note to Sydney, and the doctor scanned and mailed it to Jarod. It WAS her handwriting, which did not mean she wrote it willingly. But the facts were adding up.
There was the fact that Lyle had been in Oregon that day, the fact that she had talked to him shortly before, and the fact that her secret bank account -- the account Jarod was very sure no one else knew about -- was cleared.
And the final truth came about when, four days later, Sydney received a letter mailed to his home. It was a single page, again with her handwriting.
“Syd, I am sorry I left like that. But I thought you’d approve of my choice. I’ll be fine, trust me. Tell Broots and Angelo I said ‘hi’, and maybe you can look after my baby brother once in a while. He could use someone to take care of him. For all it’s worth, you did your best with Jarod, and monkey-boy turned out quite alright. Just don’t tell him I said so! Maybe he was the lucky one after all. Like I told you before, he had YOU. Good luck and goodbye.”
That she had signed it with her first name was the actual hint that she had written the note voluntarily. A picture was attached to the sheet of paper with a clip. It was the image of Miss Parker’s mother, where she held her baby daughter in her arms. It was her favourite.
On the same day Broots found a small package on his front porch. It contained her square ring -- the ring she never took off. The small note attached only said “For Debbie to remember a friend.” Nothing else.
For all his traits, Broots was not a man to cry easily, but he shed silent tears that evening. He had lost his best friend without the chance of ever telling her so. All that was left for him now was to send a prayer to a God he had never really believed in; a prayer that she was somewhere out there, safe and finally happy.
*****************
It was late at night in Virginia. Jarod stayed at a cheap hotel in Alexandria. This was as far as he got. He sat in the dark and felt more than miserable. He had accepted her disappearance, but felt so empty at the moment.
It felt almost schizophrenic. Some part of him was happy for her. She had left. She now could live the life she deserved. He was pretty sure the Centre would not find her -- she was so much better than them. He wasn’t even sure if he could find her.
Another part of him felt like his heart had been ripped out. She had left without saying goodbye. Broots and Sydney both got their goodbyes but he didn’t. He was jealous. He wanted something to remember her by too. Something more than just the memories.
Memories were not enough. Out of nowhere he remembered a movie that he once saw. “We always have Paris,” the woman had said. Against all odds he had to smile. What would she have said? “We always have the Centre?” Probably not.
He now knew how the man -- Rick was his name -- felt when left behind on the tarmac. Rick had opted for a drink at that moment. Maybe he should get himself a bottle of something mind-numbing too.
And then he remembered the song on the car radio, while driving over the bridge from Washington into Alexandria. And he remembered every word of it, and how the tears he had fought for so long finally ran down his face.
Well I came by your house the other day
Your mother said you went away
She said there was nothing that I could have done
There was nothing nobody could say
Me and you we’ve known each other ever since we were sixteen
I wished I would have known
I wished I could have called you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean.
When they were children at the Centre, they were friends. And they shared the pain that they both hid from the outside world. Jarod knew that there wasn’t anybody who could ever understand him the way she did.
He had the unreasonable hope that wherever she was, she’d hear that song too, and it would strike her as much as it had struck him. That somehow she would understand and that she would take the words of the singer for his.
Maybe you’ll be out there on that road somewhere
In some bus or train travelling along
In some motel room there’ll be a radio playing
And you’ll hear me sing this song
Well if you do you’ll know I’m thinking of you
And all the miles in between
And I’m just calling one last time
Not to change your mind
But just to say I miss you baby
Good luck goodbye
Bobby Jean
Again wiping off the tears, he told himself to get a grip. With her gone, the danger of getting caught was almost zero. Lyle was nothing compared to her.
He still had a family to look for. He could look for her too, though for the moment he thought better of it. No. The next day he would contact his father and reunite with him and his brother. The brother was actually his clone, but in order to regain some resemblance of ‘normalcy’ the boy was regarded as his younger brother named Joshua.
It had been a long time; too long since he had seen them. He could always decide to look for her later. Now he needed some family.
AN: Thanks to an unnamed angel out there, my English improved big way!
Souls of the Departed Part
‘The Long Goodbye’
“Syd, I don’t like this.”
Broots felt a sense of doom hanging over their heads. They were on their flight back from Oregon. The lead was cold as always. That was nothing new or special. But what was different about this trip was that Miss Parker had not joined them.
Only once before had she willingly left the hunt solely in her brother’s hands. What was going on with her? He knew that she had a hard time coping with everything after Mister Parker’s ‘exit’. But whatever she was up to now, couldn’t be good. And he was worried.
“I know Broots, I know. I am worried myself. All Lyle had said was that she chose not to come along. I tried to call her about twenty times, but all I got was her voice-mail.”
“Yeah, I called her too. About…hmm…I guess twenty is a conservative estimation. Jeez, she’s gonna be pissed at all those calls!”
Sydney couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Miss Parker’s tirade at their consistent calls: it was none of their business; she could take care of herself, being a big girl and all. Her outward demeanour was always about trying not to show any emotion except anger at everyone around her. Towards Broots and himself she had let her guard down a little, but she still lashed out at them when in a bad mood.
“It isn’t going to be pretty, you know. Hell, even I would be quite angry at forty phone calls when I intentionally turned it off. And she is under so much stress. You know Syd, I once had this really creepy thought about how Miss P. on a roll could even frighten Freddy and Chucky, turning them into cuddly toys.”
Syd raised an eyebrow at his colleague, clearly not knowing what it was that the technician even meant.
“Syd, you’ve seen these horror movies, haven’t you? Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street and Chucky ….”
“I think I know what you mean, thank you Broots. But I am quite sure that Miss Parker would not be flattered with this idea of yours.”
“Ah, no I guess not.” Suddenly very frightened at the prospect of her finding out, Broots added in a plea-like voice, “You’re not going to tell her are you Syd?”
Lyle suddenly stood in the compartment door of the passenger area with an evil grin on his face.
“Relax Mr. Broots. I am sure our good doctor here would do anything to not let my dear sister know that you compared her to some ugly characters that are on a killing spree. But I am surprised…you of all people Mr. Broots!”
With that Lyle turned around and left for the second compartment again. He needed to make a few private phone calls. He had preparations to make.
“What is that supposed to mean, Syd? What is he saying? I only…”
“Broots, just forget it. You know how Lyle likes to get the better of all people. I am sure he was simply taunting you. I’m just wondering if he knows anything about Miss Parker.”
“I think that aside from Raines, Lyle is the last person she would tell anything at all, don’t you?”
“Under normal circumstances I’d say you’re right, but somehow I have the feeling he knows something. She did approach him the other day in the plane. I wonder what that was about.”
With that, both fell into pondering silence. Miss Parker’s behaviour in recent days was completely uncharacteristic. The Doctor suspected that the tragedy of her family had finally gotten to her, and he was worried.
The technician’s thoughts were going down a different lane. He remembered how and why Miss Parker had stayed back the last time. She had decided to leave the Centre and to move to Oregon with her then lover Thomas. He wondered if it could again be about a man. This made him feel quite uneasy. He still had a major crush on his boss. She had turned him down, and he could live with that, but the thought of her and another man…
Mentally slapping himself for his jealousy, he remembered how happy she had been with Thomas. So happy in fact, that she seemed even more beautiful than before. It was a time when she actually smiled often without apparent reason. And that smile was a memory he treasured.
Her eyes back then had even glowed. Her whole expression made his heart melt at the mere thought of it. Another man couldn’t be that bad if he succeeded in getting Miss Parker to smile that way again -- the sweetest smile on earth; the smile that launched wholesome fantasies in his infatuated heart. Another man could be a good thing.
*********************
It was already past six o’clock when they landed, so they parted at the airport and everyone drove to their respective homes.
Sydney briefly thought about taking a detour to check up on Miss Parker but dropped that idea. She would tell him in her time. Sooner than later he hoped, but there was nothing he could do about it. This remarkable woman had always done things her way, and mostly alone. At a young age she had been forced by circumstances to manage her difficulties alone. It had become a habit that she clearly could not break.
Jarod sometimes found the means to help her cope with things. Miss Parker frequently claimed that she never wanted any help from her childhood friend but nevertheless, accepted it reluctantly at the most difficult of times.
Maybe Jarod had some idea what this was about. The psychiatrist hoped he would hear from his former protégée soon.
**********************
Sydney sat at his breakfast table glancing into his coffee cup, not really seeing anything. He didn’t sleep well -- too much was on his mind, particularly Lyle’s smug behaviour throughout the previous day. The doctor expected him to be good-natured about Miss Parker not coming along. Her brother wanted to win this game after all. But somehow he also expected Lyle to make side remarks, some cruel comments at her expense. He didn’t. Curious.
His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Finally, he thought, Miss Parker would be on the other end and yell at him to get his ‘carcass’ moving.
“This is Sydney.”
“Sydney, long time no see.”
“Jarod, it’s good to hear from you. Though at an unexpected hour I must say.”
“There are different time zones on our planet, Sydney. But that’s another story. I just wanted to say hello and then I wanted to ask you something. Something about a friend.”
Sydney immediately knew who that friend was. So he simply said “Yes?”
“Sydney, do you know what Miss Parker was up to after Montreal? I…I couldn’t help but notice that something was different, so I’m wondering if there is anything going on that I should know “
“Well, all I know is that we followed your lead to Oregon yesterday, but Miss Parker chose to stay back. What that means? Your guess would be as good as mine.”
“Oregon? Sydney I didn’t send you any leads after Montreal. Miss Parker stayed back? What the hell is going on? You know, she was not at home tonight! Where is she?”
“Jarod, I don’t usually pry into her private life. I don’t know were she was tonight. Maybe she met someone.” He said that rather calmly, but it was very upsetting.
Jarod didn’t take Sydney’s last comment very well, though he had to confess, for a short moment he had come to a similar conclusion. But, thinking through it, he had abandoned that idea. No it was not a man. He voiced that much to his former mentor.
“No Syd. From what I know, Miss Parker is the kind of woman who would take a man to her home, not go with him some place.”
“I don’t know Jarod. After what happened with Thomas…well, in any case, I don’t feel particularly comfortable talking about her private endeavours like that.”
“Me neither Syd, me neither.”
He said that with all honesty, not realizing that what he really hated was the thought of her in the arms of another man -- a man he didn’t know about -- than the actual fact of talking with Sydney about it.
“You go to the Centre, try to find her from your side. I’ll do the same from mine. I need to know. If this has got something to do with her search for her mother, it concerns me too.”
This was another lie he was unaware of. The search for their mothers’ connection was far from his mind at that very moment. But it sounded like a reasonable excuse for Sydney as much as for himself.
*****************
Her usual time to come in was eight thirty.
It was just after 9 o’clock and Sydney’s first destination was her office. Right in front of her door, the doctor ran into Broots.
“Good morning Broots. Is she in?”
“Morning. I don’t know. I just came in too. But Cindy at reception couldn’t tell me if she’d already arrived.”
Sydney knocked lightly and opened the door only to find a very empty room -- no sign of the regular occupant. Nothing was on her desk and nothing was on the glass table in the back of the room. Sydney could not tell if she had even been there the day before.
Only one thing to do. The psychiatrist took a seat, picked up the phone and called her cell. Again, only voice-mail. He dialled again, this time trying her home number. He could hardly believe what happened then. Instead of her angry ‘what’ or her demand to leave a message, he heard the voice of her brother. “Lyle here.”
Sydney almost dropped the phone. “Lyle?”
“Sydney, what can I do for you? I’ll be in the office in an hour or two. Have to do some things first.”
“Lyle, what are you doing on Miss Parker’s phone? What are you doing at her home?” The most horrible scenarios came to his mind. At this very moment Sydney knew he would be ready and willing to kill Lyle if he had done anything to her.
“I am just taking stock of what is mine, Syd. I wanted to tell you later, but I guess you won’t be willing to wait.”
“You are absolutely right, Lyle.”
“Apparently my sister decided to come up with a Houdini act. Must have lost all her marbles, I guess. Maybe had a breakdown or whatever it is women are having when feeling a little under pressure…not able to handle the stress.”
“Where is she?” Sydney’s Belgian accent came through very thickly now. That only happened when he was feeling uncertain or angry.
“I’m telling you: I don’t know. All I know is, that I came home last night and found a letter pinned to my fridge. All she wrote was that she’s gone, she’s had enough. And in, what I guess was a very weak moment for her, she decided to leave me her house. Then again, it was OUR mother’s house.”
Sydney had put the conversation on speakers so Broots could listen in. The technician, unable to stand any longer simply went down. Luckily for him, he was standing in front of her couch. Otherwise, his behind would have made painful contact with the floor.
This was not happening, this wasn’t real. He’d wake up in a second and then he’d be able to breathe again.
“I’ll tell you the rest later Sydney. Raines doesn’t know yet and I want you and Broots to be with me when I tell him. I am sure he’ll have a few questions for you. And so do I.”
“We don’t know anything. This is crazy. She hasn’t spoken to us in days Lyle. It must be one big misunderstanding. I am sure of that.”
“At first I had suspected something like a mean prank. We both know how much she LIKES to harass me. But trust me Sydney, I checked the house very thoroughly, and she would never leave it like that just to get to me.”
“What do you mean ‘like that’?”
“I said I’d tell you later. Suffice it to say that she took all the pictures and most of her clothes. But everything else, all her things, all her private stuff is still here. She would never want me to see them if she hadn’t really decided to leave for good.”
With that Lyle hung up and Sydney could only agree with his last comment. He was even slightly surprised at Lyle’s ability to read her.
The thing that still eluded him though was that, if everything Lyle said was real, and Miss Parker had finally left the Centre, why, why in God’s name would she leave a message? And at Lyle’s place too. And why would she leave him, of all people, the house she loved so much? This just did not add up.
Why didn’t she come to him? At least leave the message for HIM to find? He sure was a lot closer to her than her brother ever could be. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The most logical explanation was that either Raines or Lyle or both of them, were behind all this. And he’d be damned if he let them get away with it.
He glanced over at Broots, who still had this incredulous look on his face; a look that he was sure was mirrored in his own face, when his cell phone rang. “Sydney here”
“What did you find out? Where was she?”
“Jarod.” Sydney exhaled slowly, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. How was he going to say this? “I…We…we don’t know where she is, Jarod. She disappeared and …”
“Disappeared? What? And? Sydney tell me!”
“Lyle just told us that she wrote a note to him, telling him she would leave the Centre for good. He also claims that she left the house for him to live in.”
“No, no, Sydney, no! Lyle is behind this! I am sure this is all some crazy plan to get rid of her! I will find out, and then -- then there will be no mercy, no sparing his life. I promise Sydney, I’ll find her.”
******************
Miss Parker was gone and the Pretender still could not tell what had happened. It almost drove him insane. He could not find a single clue, no hint that Lyle had been involved in any of this.
Lyle had given the note to Sydney, and the doctor scanned and mailed it to Jarod. It WAS her handwriting, which did not mean she wrote it willingly. But the facts were adding up.
There was the fact that Lyle had been in Oregon that day, the fact that she had talked to him shortly before, and the fact that her secret bank account -- the account Jarod was very sure no one else knew about -- was cleared.
And the final truth came about when, four days later, Sydney received a letter mailed to his home. It was a single page, again with her handwriting.
“Syd, I am sorry I left like that. But I thought you’d approve of my choice. I’ll be fine, trust me. Tell Broots and Angelo I said ‘hi’, and maybe you can look after my baby brother once in a while. He could use someone to take care of him. For all it’s worth, you did your best with Jarod, and monkey-boy turned out quite alright. Just don’t tell him I said so! Maybe he was the lucky one after all. Like I told you before, he had YOU. Good luck and goodbye.”
That she had signed it with her first name was the actual hint that she had written the note voluntarily. A picture was attached to the sheet of paper with a clip. It was the image of Miss Parker’s mother, where she held her baby daughter in her arms. It was her favourite.
On the same day Broots found a small package on his front porch. It contained her square ring -- the ring she never took off. The small note attached only said “For Debbie to remember a friend.” Nothing else.
For all his traits, Broots was not a man to cry easily, but he shed silent tears that evening. He had lost his best friend without the chance of ever telling her so. All that was left for him now was to send a prayer to a God he had never really believed in; a prayer that she was somewhere out there, safe and finally happy.
*****************
It was late at night in Virginia. Jarod stayed at a cheap hotel in Alexandria. This was as far as he got. He sat in the dark and felt more than miserable. He had accepted her disappearance, but felt so empty at the moment.
It felt almost schizophrenic. Some part of him was happy for her. She had left. She now could live the life she deserved. He was pretty sure the Centre would not find her -- she was so much better than them. He wasn’t even sure if he could find her.
Another part of him felt like his heart had been ripped out. She had left without saying goodbye. Broots and Sydney both got their goodbyes but he didn’t. He was jealous. He wanted something to remember her by too. Something more than just the memories.
Memories were not enough. Out of nowhere he remembered a movie that he once saw. “We always have Paris,” the woman had said. Against all odds he had to smile. What would she have said? “We always have the Centre?” Probably not.
He now knew how the man -- Rick was his name -- felt when left behind on the tarmac. Rick had opted for a drink at that moment. Maybe he should get himself a bottle of something mind-numbing too.
And then he remembered the song on the car radio, while driving over the bridge from Washington into Alexandria. And he remembered every word of it, and how the tears he had fought for so long finally ran down his face.
Well I came by your house the other day
Your mother said you went away
She said there was nothing that I could have done
There was nothing nobody could say
Me and you we’ve known each other ever since we were sixteen
I wished I would have known
I wished I could have called you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean.
When they were children at the Centre, they were friends. And they shared the pain that they both hid from the outside world. Jarod knew that there wasn’t anybody who could ever understand him the way she did.
He had the unreasonable hope that wherever she was, she’d hear that song too, and it would strike her as much as it had struck him. That somehow she would understand and that she would take the words of the singer for his.
Maybe you’ll be out there on that road somewhere
In some bus or train travelling along
In some motel room there’ll be a radio playing
And you’ll hear me sing this song
Well if you do you’ll know I’m thinking of you
And all the miles in between
And I’m just calling one last time
Not to change your mind
But just to say I miss you baby
Good luck goodbye
Bobby Jean
Again wiping off the tears, he told himself to get a grip. With her gone, the danger of getting caught was almost zero. Lyle was nothing compared to her.
He still had a family to look for. He could look for her too, though for the moment he thought better of it. No. The next day he would contact his father and reunite with him and his brother. The brother was actually his clone, but in order to regain some resemblance of ‘normalcy’ the boy was regarded as his younger brother named Joshua.
It had been a long time; too long since he had seen them. He could always decide to look for her later. Now he needed some family.
