Malice Masterpieces 2

by K'Anne Meinel

  That night Alice went to her house in the valley for a work out. Her anger needed an outlet and she couldn’t be observed. She was annoyed with herself and the mistakes she had made in her observations the night before as well as how ‘untrained’ she felt her body was. She punished it that night, sweat rolled off her body by the time she was done kick boxing, shadow boxing, and target practicing. She didn’t stop until her body was nearly shaking from the workout. She sat under the shower a long time using up every drop of hot water from the tank as she thought about the little she had learned and observed.

  Kit was not due to go back to Dr. Dan’s until Tuesday and that gave Alice time to find out more about him and this Bonnie. She realized now that Bonnie had not been at Kathy’s funeral. For someone who was supposedly Kathy’s ‘best’ friend this made her wonder. There were a lot of unanswered questions and she was determined to have answers to them all. Who was this Dr. Dan and why had he targeted Kit, or had that been a happy accident with Kit needing therapy and the counselor at school recommending him. From the paperwork Alice had seen he was the Psychiatrist of choice and several students went to him. From what she had heard just that day, women liked him for his other work as well and she could tell Bonnie was an avid patient. But there was more here, that fax indicated it and if it wasn’t Kit he was victimizing, there were several students it could apply to, she had to find out which one and prevent him from whatever plan he had in regards to her ‘cherry’ her conscience alone wouldn’t allow him to fulfill it. She was sickened at the thought of how many suggestions he had planted in his patients over the year to get them to the state that someone like Bonnie was in. She wondered if Bonnie had been a plant to befriend Kathy and what exactly that could mean as well. The implications could have boggled a lesser mind but on Alice it instead sharpened her, made her analyze every nuance, everything that could have affected her life in the past few years, made her examine a lot of things she had ignored and might not have had she not had Kathy and the children in her life.

  That night the transcripts were more of the same, Dr. Dan must be taking some drug to keep himself so potent with Bonnie and another woman he seemed to enjoy humiliating. He allowed Bonnie to play as well and there was an obvious pecking order. What Alice read and listened to sickened her.

  “Hey Mom?” Kit stuck her head in the office as Alice was going over the transcripts on the computer. With one flick of a button the screens went blank and she smiled as she looked up at her daughter.

  “Hey, what are you doing up?” she asked surprised to see her up this late on a Friday night.

  “I couldn’t sleep and I saw the light was on in here, what are you working on?” she asked curious. Each of the children at one time or another had seen Alice’s computers with the stock ticker running across them or one of them dedicated to one stock or article.

  Alice smiled as she got up and stretched, “Awww a little of this a little of that,” she answered non-commitally. What was she supposed to say, I’m checking up on the predator who is trying to get you….

  “I can’t sleep,” Kit repeated and Alice looked at her a little more closely to see what else she was saying with that statement.

  “Want some hot chocolate? I was just about to go up and make some,” she put her arm around her daughter and led her up to the kitchen and away from the evidence she had been compiling.

  Kit got the milk from the refrigerator as Alice got down the hot chocolate maker. She had laughed at Kathy for purchasing one but had to admit it was a handy little gadget and the hot chocolate it made tasted foamier and delicious. She plugged it in and added the milk filling it to the line for two hot chocolate drinks and then adding sweetened cocoa. As it began to stir the concoction and heat it at the same time she looked up at Kit and said, “Anything the matter?”

  Kit immediately shook her head but something in her eyes told Alice that there was something….so she outwaited the girl, patiently attending to their beverages and offering a sympathetic ear. As she was pouring the now hot milk and chocolate into a couple of mugs she reached for the marshmallows and plopped in a few in each mug to cover the top and carried the mugs to the kitchen table that looked out windows to the Pacific Ocean, dark now they still were like big bug eyes to the world. Alice was proud of herself that this no longer bothered her; there was a time these windows would have had to have window treatments to close them off at night from anyone seeing into their home but since these looked out on the back yard she was comfortable sitting in front of them. “Come sit,” she indicated the chair kitty corner from her own and Kit joined her.

  They sat silently sipping at the hot concoction. Alice jumped up startling Kit and said, “Too hot! Want an ice cube?”

  Kit laughed and nodded, hot chocolate was great but this was too hot!

  When they both had a cube melting in their chocolate they shared a smile and Kit got brave enough to ask, “Alice, how did you know you loved my mom?” Kit watched as Alice’s face actually altered to an almost dreamy state for an instant before coming back to its pretty but cold normal state.

  Alice smiled at the question; it was typical of a child to ask and despite Kit’s physical maturity she was still a child. She shrugged but answered, “I just knew, when your Mom called and was in trouble I remembered how much fun she was in college.” She had remembered that but it had taken a moment to remember who exactly Kathy had been when she recalled her from college or rather her sister’s college days. “She grew on me when you both came to visit and I just knew,” she finished lamely, there were something’s she just couldn’t explain to a child. Keeping it simple was always a good idea.

  “What was the trouble she was in I don’t really remember,” Kit asked her eyes squinting as she tried to remember and concentrate.

  Alice’s smile faltered only slightly as she remembered the trouble they were in, much more than Kit had realized at the time or Kathy for that matter. She had taken care of it even if neither knew of her participation in it. There was no need for them to know either. “Yes,” she answered cautiously, “Some man was after her, wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she felt the need to get away, it’s why I offered you a trip down to my place.”

  Kit’s eyes shone brightly for a moment remembering what had last happened at Alice’s ‘place’ before she swallowed and nodded. “I remember mom sitting me down and telling me that sometimes women love other women and she had fallen in love with you. I never for a minute doubted her.”

  Alice looked affectionately at the girl who looked so like her dead wife and smiled again. She considered her her daughter now and didn’t differentiate her from her other son and daughter. Kit was her daughter and no one else’s and no one was going to hurt her if Alice had anything to do with it. She thought of Dr. Dan and her eyes began to turn yellow.

  Kit continued rambling a while reminiscing about Kathy and Alice sat and listened. She had her own memories of course and hearing the teen’s version of things was interesting. Suddenly she focused in on what Kit had just asked. “Sorry, what did you ask?”

  Kit squirmed and repeated herself bravely, “Could we have a dog?”

  Alice blinked as she considered a dog? She thought about what a mess a dog could make and what damage. And then she thought about all the other factors in this child’s and her other children’s lives and how this could affect them in a positive way. “Well,” she mused not giving away what she was thinking, “That’s a lot of responsibility,” she began but Kit interrupted.

  “I’m old enough to be responsible,” she insisted.

  Alice nodded as she considered, “Yes you are, but what about during the day when you are at school, and then there is sports and Dr. Dan,” she rapidly thought, this might be a way to eliminate him from their lives.

  “Couldn’t Nan,” Kit began and then stopped at the look on Alice’s face, “….yeah, I know, she has other duties,” she realized. “Well, we could kennel it while I’m at school and when we get home we
can take care of it.”

  Alice smiled inwardly, the child was working it out herself and she had already decided it might be an excellent idea. It might solve a few of the ‘problems’ that had come up or potentially could. “What about cleaning up after it, now I know you would do it but what about Sean, he might be too young?”

  Kit realized immediately that Alice hadn’t said an outright NO and her heart soared, “I’ll help him but what about when I’m at soccer or baseball?” she worried.

  Alice was still grinning inside, “I suppose we could figure it out, what kind of dog were you thinking of?”

  This led to a whole other conversation and they had fun talking about the relative merits of different kind of dogs. Alice walked Kit up to her room and tucked her into bed, as much as a fourteen year old teen would allow her to. She left her with a smile on her face and a promise to listen to all the arguments about the dog that the teen had as she would research it.

  The next day Sean and even Emily got into the conversation as they both realized their older sister was campaigning for a dog. Sean was a little clearer on his part in the dog’s life but all Emily could get out was that she wanted ‘soft’ and ‘fluffy’. Then Alice pointed out the relative merits of adopting an older dog versus one that was a puppy. She also asked Mrs. Fernandez her opinion and it seemed as though Kit had already discussed it with the housekeeper because she was all for the idea. Nan said she would help where she could but it would be the kid’s responsibility and not hers. Alice was liking how this was coming together actually and when Kit began to say she would give up her sports and other activities and by this Alice was certain she meant Dr. Dan she had to voice her own objections to her daughter’s sacrifice.

  “No, you will not give up your extra-curricular activities. Sports are non-negotiable but if you want to stop seeing Dr. Dan we can discuss that, as to going over to friends’ houses and things, you are not changing your entire life for a dog!” and Alice’s word was law but inwardly she was thrilled that Kit didn’t argue.

  The kids were very excited and poured over websites and ordered catalogs about food, collars, combs, and care. Kit read to her siblings and Alice and Alice found herself promising on Sunday to take them to the pound to ‘just’ look and see what was there.

  Piling the three kids in the Pathfinder Alice found herself smiling a lot that day at their enthusiasm and excitement. She cautioned them that she wasn’t going to let ‘just any dog’ come into their home and that no meant no if she said it. It didn’t faze them though; they were just excited about the idea and the promise of getting a dog. Alice hadn’t said an outright no to the idea and while she was still weighing the pros and cons in her own mind she was pretty certain she would allow the varmint into their lives. The promises that the children had made regarding its care though she had to wait and see on, she knew once the dog was a fact and not a novelty anymore that their enthusiasm would wane and she wanted to be sure the dog was taken care of, not by Mrs. Fernandez and not by Nan, and certainly not completely by Alice although she too had ideas of walking with it along the bluffs and down to the beach with or without the children. She found herself liking this idea more and more.

  The pound was loud; it was depressing at least to Alice who knew a lot of these dogs would be put down in the overcrowding that existed in Los Angeles area shelters, it also smelled slightly despite the attempts by employees to clean up after all the animals. They saw the cats and Alice had to remind the kids of why they were there with their imploring faces and arguments, they saw rabbits and even a pet iguana up for adoption, Alice shook her head at all of these. Finally they got to the dogs, they saw row after row of the caged dogs. Some looking at them sadly and meekly up at them as they looked through the cages, Alice had a firm grip on Emily’s hand as she couldn’t seem to resist putting her hand through the cages time and again to pet the animals even after being told not to. Some of the dogs constantly barked, others shook from fear and the unfamiliarity of the cage, still others were enthusiastically campaigning to be adopted by being happy to greet everyone, anyone. Sean and Kit discussed the relative merits of a small dog over a large dog and the dogs that fit each child’s scenario of what they should have. Again, Emily just said ‘fluffy’ as though that solved all of their problems. Alice had visions of floating hair and had cautioned them away from certain breeds known for their shedding. She told them the work involved in brushing out those coats and how some dogs just hated to be brushed while others loved the attention.

  There were too many to choose just one though and arguments between the children decided the day for Alice. They left without adopting a dog at all because the kids couldn’t decide or agree on what they wanted.

  “What do you think about buying from a pet shop?” Kit asked hopefully and Sean nearly shouted from the back seat, “Yeah lets!”

  Alice shook her head, “Do you know that there are puppy mills for that sort of thing?” which led to the whole discussion of what a puppy mill was and Alice tried not to be too graphic for the kids but Kit got a lot more than the younger ones. They decided that a ‘rescued’ dog or a getting one from a breeder was so much better.

  The kids sat in front of the computer discussing dogs and looking at the various breeds, excited by their outing as they all contributed their wants and desires. Alice watched the news listening with a half an ear and realized when Emily wandered away from the computer to play. She was tired and Alice scooped her up to sit on the back patio and rock her gently to sleep as the older ones chatted all about dogs.

  Portia came outside when she finished packing up the last of her things, she was leaving after a meeting in the morning and she had been delighted and surprised at the way Alice had distracted the kids. Their enthusiasm over the new addition was addictive and she was thrilled to hear them. She saw Alice rocking there with Emily and was surprised at how content the child was in Alice’s arms and how maternal the petite blonde actually looked, she was also surprised to see how exactly the child looked like Alice and wondered how that was possible with Kathy as the mother? She was sure Kathy had said she was the biological mother? It made her wonder though as she saw the mini-Alice lying contentedly in Alice’s arms. Surely she had misunderstood Kathy but with her lawyer mind she knew she hadn’t, still it made her wonder, even if she couldn’t or wouldn’t ask. She sat there talking quietly so as not to wake the toddler.

  “What are you going to do about,” her eyes took in Kit in the house and Alice knew what she was referring to.

  “Already have the wheels in motion on that and she is already distracted, I think you caught it before anything happened, at least I hope that is the case,” Alice said quietly over the little girls head that was curled into her neck her arm slung across her chest and around the other side of her neck. It was an endearing habit of the little girl and Alice relished these moments alone with her tiny girl.

  Portia had every reason to believe that Alice would handle the situation but she was still concerned. She realized though in all the years that she had known Alice she really knew very little about her other than what others had told her about her. First Connie and her worries about her cold sister, her lifestyle or lack thereof as far as anyone knew, then in later years what Kathy had told her that totally contradicted what was known about Alice. From Kathy they heard that she was warm and caring and very loving. Kathy had raved at the presents, the trips, and the life Alice had given her but most of all at the love. Portia had to believe that Alice would take care of Kit because of that love and seeing her with the little girl curled up on her lap and Alice gently petting her arm and back to keep her asleep and content she realized this cold woman was indeed capable of love.

  Later Alice checked her transcripts and was alarmed at what she heard and saw. Dr. Dan was a thoroughly disgusting man, using his position to take advantage of women as Alice saw it. She was only glad that Kit was momentarily distracted by the promise of a dog and concentrating on that. She kne
w though Kit might mention him or receive a call since apparently they did ‘communicate’ that way, even to the extent of sharing emails that Alice read before allowing them to come into Kit’s mailbox or leave. She checked everything to keep her daughter safe from the man not viewing it as an invasion of privacy but rather a defense against this man.

  She needn’t have worried though as Tuesday loomed because Dan called her to say he couldn’t make Kit’s normal appointment, he had been called out of town and would be gone all week but then Alice already knew the possibility of that from the phone call he had received. Alice breathed a sigh of relief but also took advantage of his absence to more thoroughly check his house and files. The things she found had her bristling; he had not just Kit in ‘training’ but several women and children. In fact several ‘pupils’ had been carefully schooled and sent on their way, ‘sold’ to their owner’s in various parts of the country or the world, they were careful to wait until the teens they were training were of legal age though and the adults, well they willingly submitted to their masters after their brainwashing. She copied paperwork she found and left his home on several occasions with file folders full. She was always careful to leave no sign of her presence in the house, putting everything back where she found it. She realized this person who had received the faxes was actually calling all the shots and not only Dan but Bonnie had been ‘called home’ for a conference. She removed the listening devices she had stashed around both homes and the transceiver and left a biodegradable model in a planter he had in his living room which apparently was pervert central as she thought of it and what had gone on in this room and on these couches, the bedroom was child’s play in comparison from the pictures she had and copied. She also left bugs on his phones but they had a limited lifetime and she wasn’t sure how long he would be gone or if she would need what she would hear from them with all the other evidence he had left behind. She wondered if his ‘master’ realized the extensive files that ‘Dr. Dan’ had been keeping on all his ‘patients’ or ‘clients’ she was certain this trail of evidence was an oversight.