The Ice Scream Man

by Salmon, J. F.

  She wondered where it had come from and then wished she hadn’t. The vision of a teenage boy squatting in the centre of the path laughing with his trousers down flashed through her mind, then worse, a girl with her mini skirt strapped around her waist with black tights pulled to her ankles, laughing to her friends as she pushed out the excrement. Then the dog, this was much better. For good measure, she gave herself a good shake as if this would somehow remove any particles that may have landed in her hair or on her cloths. It took Helen a further couple of moments before she had found her breathing pattern again and had gotten back into her stride.

  A bird was fumbling along the ground on the edge of the path nearest the wall as Helen approached some ten meters back. She had just rounded the bend when at once the dancing, fluttery object caught her eye. She held her gaze as she approached with some caution, trying to figure out what it was or what danger it might represent. She slowed her pace; it was only when she was almost on top of it that she realised it was a bright yellow canary. The way it was moving, trying with great difficulty to get to its feet, looked as if it may have fallen out of a nest from above and injured itself in the fall.

  She stopped, crouched down over the little bird and removed her ear phones. The incessant chirping left her in no doubt that the bird was in great pain. Both its wings were badly broken. The delicate feathers of the wings were ruffled in all directions. Other than that it looked incredibly clean given the filth of the ground.

  “Ah, you poor baby, what in God’s name happened to you? Shushhh, don’t be afraid, little one.”

  With her elbows tucked in between her bent knees and precariously balancing on the balls of her feet, she judiciously cupped both her hands on either side of the small bird. The vet’s house was not far from here and if she could carefully scoop the bird up in her hands she could be there in twenty minutes and maybe save its life.

  Helen never saw it coming. The only giveaway was the faintest of shadows crossing over her as she hunched over the broken bird. Before she could comprehend what was happening, her upper body forced itself onto her bent legs, knocking the wind from her lungs with considerable force. It felt like a large weight had been dropped on her back from a height, squashing her forward in a crouched position. She was unable to move her arms from between her knees, and the path came crashing up, hitting her square in the face and crushing the yellow bird.

  Blood and broken teeth trailed the path as Helen Dooley’s lifeless body slid toward a small open gateway and into the wooded area of Brushy Park.

  15:

  “One for sorrow.

  “Helen for joy.”

  Eamon had met Helen Dooley for the first time three months previously. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her he knew without question she was the one. She became an instant obsession, stoking feelings within him that he thought he was incapable of possessing, feelings others might attribute to love. Love at first sight they would call it, but not for him. This young girl was not to be the love of his life but the origin of his being and it’s that which excited him. She must have felt the connection, too. He could tell by the series of come-get-me smiles she had thrown his way.

  Helen was in the waiting room of his dental practice with her mother, Kate. As it was Helen’s first visit to the clinic, she had filled out the Patient Information Form and handed it back to the receptionist. They waited a further twenty-five minutes before Helen’s name was called.

  “Do you want me to go in with you?” Kate asked as Helen got up from the blue plastic chair.

  “No need, Mum, I’ll be fine. You’d be more nervous than I am.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll be waiting for you right here.”

  “Don’t look so nervous, Mum; I’ll be fine.”

  Helen was escorted down the narrow corridor by a woman in a white dental uniform and into the surgery.

  “Doctor Masterson, this is Helen. It’s Helen’s first visit with us today,” Fiona said as she held the door open for Helen to walk inside.

  “Thank you, Fiona. Hello, Helen. Helen Dooley, is it?” Eamon said, studying the recently received file of her details in his hand.

  “Hi. Yes, that’s correct,” Helen replied in a low voice. She gave the room a quick scan as she spoke but was unsure of what to do next. She stood inside the door with her arms in front of her, fingers interlocked, waiting for further instruction.

  Eamon felt his senses tingle as the resonance of her voice pierced his eardrums. It was soft and sounded vulnerable, warm and likeable. Intrigued, he looked up from the file and at Helen.

  “Soooo—”

  Fiona asked Helen to sit in the dental chair.

  Eamon’s eyes widened, the pupils dilated more than they should have, his head tilted slightly to the side, and all without his permission. He looked like he was studying a rare piece of art. The first word out of his mouth was so drawn out and didn’t go anywhere that it appeared he had forgotten the words that came next. The stare too lasted longer than it should when greeting a patient for the first time.

  Standing in front of him was this intriguing young girl, still in her school uniform with a tartan blue-and-green skirt, the squares defined by red stitching, and a white shirt covered by a green V-neck jumper, white socks pulled up to the knee. The uniform was the only giveaway to her youth. Given the right attire and make-up she could easily have passed for twenty-something.

  The voice in his head was instantaneous and vigorous, rattling his skull as if a megaphone had just gone off between his ears.

  His own voice in his head interjected, switching down the volume on the Megaphone. Calm the fuck down, get a grip on yourself. His senses were hopping like a flock of vultures over a dead carcass. It was proving difficult to concentrate and contain the flurry of emotion that was erupting within him.

  “Sorry,” Eamon said, “just a moment, little bit of a headache going on here.” Eamon placed his free hand up to his forehead, tilted his head down toward the floor and closed his eyes. He squinted, pressed his thumb and forefinger into each eye socket and gave them a gentle rub.

  The sudden loss of self-control, no matter how small, especially in front of Fiona, his dental assistant, perturbed him. It was moments like this that could lead to his demise when things became serious. His mind was already playing out what could so easily be a ramification of his actions: “Well, Officer. There was just one thing. It’s probably nothing, but it was the way Dr Masterson looked at her when she entered the room. It was just a little weird when I think about it now. It was as if he was lost for words and went into some sort of trance-like state as soon as he looked up at her from her file. And yes, in answer to your question, I think he could have killed her.”

  Eamon’s thoughts intensified. Was I really that obvious? Did you notice, Fiona? If you did then it’s too late, it’s already buried in your subconscious, lying dormant, until the time comes when you knew then that something was not quite right. I hope for both our sakes, Fiona, you didn’t notice. Just like that, things can get very messy and complicated. You’re a fine dental nurse. It would be a shame to lose you now after all these years. This is the moment of truth.

  Eamon took his hand away from his head and opened his eyes. “All better now; maybe I need glasses, the writing on these forms seem to be getting smaller. No matter.” He glanced in Helen and Fiona’s direction and smiled, half expecting them to be standing motionless in front of him with their mouths wide open, thinking, What the fuck? Then things could get complicated. He wasn’t going to forsake Helen, now that he’d seen her, no fucking way, and if Fiona spotted something untoward she could later use against him, then so be it, he’d figure something out. It had taken way too long to find her, for her to
find him, even if it was largely by chance.

 

  Helen was indeed looking at him, but seemed oblivious to his hankering. It was more out of concern for her troubled tooth than any discomfort from the look Eamon had just given her. She held Eamon’s gaze and her mouth formed an awkward smile put on to demonstrate she was in discomfort.

 

  Fiona had been too busy to notice anything unusual about Eamon’s behaviour. He didn’t even think she had heard him complain of a headache, otherwise she would have said something. Fiona fancied him, he knew it. From the moment she introduced Helen, she was occupied gathering up the dental chart and pen and ensuring the dental instruments were in place, ready for the oral check-up. The check-up was routine for every new patient.

  Eamon shook the paranoid thoughts from his mind and carried on with playing the lovable dental surgeon. He addressed Helen again with more composure. “So, Helen, I can see you are in some discomfort. What seems to be the problem?”

  “Well, I have a toothache with one of my back teeth.” She placed her index finger to the left side of her mouth to point out the offending tooth. “It’s the second one from the back on the bottom and now it’s become more of a constant pain.”

  “Okay, we’ll take a look at that in a moment and see if we can get it sorted for you. If you would just like to take a seat here, we can have a good look.” He gestured toward the dental chair.

  Helen didn’t look nervous with the prospect of having her teeth and gums poked with sharp foreign objects. She was more interested in getting the problem of her tooth sorted than any fear of being at the dentist.

  “Just pop yourself on there,” Fiona said, tapping the seat.

  Helen manoeuvred herself onto the chair and when she was sitting comfortably Fiona placed the dental gown over her chest and handed her a pair of orange-tinted glasses to put on.

  Eamon took a new pair of latex gloves out of the box on the counter and put them on. “So this is your first visit with us?” he asked, making polite conversation. He usually did this while getting ready, and before attacking the mouth cavity.

  “Yes, we only moved to Carrigwood about eight months ago. We used to live in Brookdale on the north side of the city, a bit far to go back there.”

  Eamon reclined the dental chair. Her skirt moved up her leg, exposing the firm contours of her thigh. Helen, ignorant to his wandering eye, shifted slightly and innocently pulled the skirt back down above the knee. Eamon manoeuvred the lamp into position.

  “Nice place, Brookdale. I used to go to a school not too far from there, some interesting memories of that place.” Eamon paused for a moment. Helen did not respond. “Okay, we are going to go around each of your teeth and have a little look. We will take an x-ray as well and then see what we can do about that tooth of yours.” He placed the mask up over his mouth and nose. “Open wide for me, please, Helen, this won’t hurt a bit.”

  He knew his imminent encounter with Helen was going to be a thrilling one, showcasing his arrival onto the world stage. He had waited well over half his life for her. The girl with the green jewel was an appetiser in comparison to what he was going to do with Helen. That was nothing more than an impromptu opportunity that had presented itself, too good to pass up. It didn’t even make the papers. She probably liked it, kept it as one of her dirty little secrets. This one was going to make the papers when they found out what happened, every one of them, all the other stories would be fighting for space by the time he finished with her. She fit the profile to exert the maximum social impact he was looking for. Helen ticked all the boxes.

  He had already gathered a substantial amount of factual information about her, courtesy of the Patient Information Form Kate had completed in the waiting room. He had her address, date of birth (she looked a lot older than sixteen), and her home phone number. They were well-to-do and that was important, at least for the first time.

  Helen’s uniform told him she went to: St. Ann’s school for girls. It was the same school he had driven past countless times on his way to work, always keeping an eye on the students as they got off the buses and out of their parents’ expensive cars, and those who gathered outside the school gates before the bell. He would have remembered seeing Helen.

  The school had a fine reputation. It was situated in a good area of the city and was renowned for producing future Track & Field stars. Her physique and the shape of her thighs suggested that physical activity played a big part in her life. She undoubtedly came from a noble background, loved by her parents and friends alike. She had model good looks, articulate and polite, confident but not cocky, coasting through life as if she didn’t have a care in the world (other than her tooth), her future comfort mapped out with the financial and moral support of her parents.

  He noticed she had braces removed and even with them, Eamon could not imagine her ever bullied at school, not the way he had been. Nor could he imagine her being a bully. Helen was perfect. Such perfection would always attract attention. People would want to know her, to be seen with her in the hope that some of what she had would rub off on them, to be popular by association. From what he observed of her personality and general demeanour, it was hard not to see her as anything else but a socially popular person. This was the Big Kahuna of all the boxes to be ticked, and that box got a big fat one. By the end of the dental visit he would also learn that she was an only child, another box ticked on the social impact scale.

  Her pain and anguish would be felt right across the country, even by those who did not know her. How can such bad things happen to such a beautiful and innocent young girl? That would be the question on everyone’s lips. Her misfortune would create a media circus, the likes of which the country had never seen. It might even go global. Helen was indeed the perfect vessel to announce his arrival onto the world stage.

  More information was needed about Helen, preferably without the bother of having to periodically stalk her to see what she was getting up to. It was going to require getting her back in the surgery for a second time. A little more of the small chat and he would have the vital clues about her daily or weekly routine, when she would be at her most vulnerable. But that wasn’t going to happen now, given that half her mouth was numb and she would have difficulty talking for the next couple of hours. Besides, asking such prying questions without good reason would just be plain odd. Fiona might think he was perving. It would have already crossed her mind had she been paying more attention.

  The check-up revealed she required a filling in the problematic tooth, which Eamon duly carried out. Other than that, the rest of her teeth were in good order, too good, and thanks to the braces they were in near perfect alignment.

  Helen was back on her feet, touching the side of her jaw and moving it from side to side. Eamon’s mind was racing to find good reason to get her back into the surgery when the computer signalled a single beep that the x-ray had been downloaded. It was apparent that Helen’s appearance mattered to someone in the family, if not Helen, then most likely her mother, who would have taken the decision to subject her daughter to wearing braces for a couple of years. Vanity was something he could probably use to his advantage and the x-ray could provide the answer.

  “Is anyone with Helen?” Eamon asked Fiona.

  “Her mother is waiting outside.”

  “Okay good, would you just take Helen to her and explain to them the dental care procedures. I will have a look at the x-ray and you can bring them both back in when you’re ready.”

  “Yes, sure. Helen, if you would just like to come with me.”

  As soon as the door closed Eamon was on the computer looking at the x-ray of Helen’s teeth. It was good news. The wisdom teeth were clearly visible in the x-ray. Of particular interest to Eamon was the two loca
ted on the lower jaw. These were growing in the direction of the second molars and if left untreated would eventually become impacted. They could safely be left alone for another number of years but what good would that do? It would not be unusual for a dentist to recommend removing wisdom teeth at such an early stage, especially for someone who had had her teeth straightened.

  It was now up to Eamon to convince Helen and her mother that they should be extracted, sooner rather than later. It was easy to make it sound like a necessity rather than a preventative measure. The sooner he got Helen back in the chair, the sooner he could probe deeper. Then he would find out she was training for an upcoming marathon. He knew well by then that she ran early in the mornings, including Saturdays and Sundays down by a park. Eamon gave himself three months to prepare and it would do no harm to start running before work.

  Helen Dooley was indeed a very lucky lady.

  16:

  “Little Red Riding Dooley.”

  There was no sense of self, no memories, no thoughts, no dreams, and no feeling. There was no recollection of the run she had begun an hour ago, or of her mum waving her off from the front door in her dressing gown. There was no remembrance of the love she felt for her family and friends, and the beautiful Collie she had lovingly named Tina, after Tina Turner. Nothing inside her reminded her that today was Saturday and it was her seventeenth birthday, that it was a day to be filled with lots of gifts, laughs, and good food shared with her family and closest friends. Nothing to suggest that this day was her day, Helen’s day. A day she had looked forward to months in advance.