Robert Bloch's Psycho

by Chet Williamson

  She went on to tell Dr. Reed about how she had found the office empty, and how the opera recording had been stopped after side five. “I found something else there,” she said quietly, then paused. “Dr. Reed, do you know if Norman Bates was ever inside Dr. Goldberg’s office?”

  Dr. Reed rubbed his chin for a moment, then said, “No, not that I know of. And I think I would know.”

  “Has Norman ever had … I don’t know how to put this … Have you ever given him free rein inside the building?”

  “Free rein? Do you mean have I ever let him wander about? On his own?”

  “Yes.”

  “Of course not, Marie. You know he’s always in the company of at least one attendant when he goes from one place to another, or on his walks for exercise.”

  “Is there any way he could have gotten into Dr. Goldberg’s office?”

  “Absolutely not.” Dr. Reed gave a short shake of his head. “That would be impossible.”

  “As impossible as his getting out of his cell at night?”

  Dr. Reed leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Nurse, exactly what are you getting at?”

  “Last night,” she said, “when I went in to look for Dr. Goldberg, I found something in his office. Something of Norman’s.”

  “Something of Norman’s?” Dr. Reed repeated, as if trying to fathom it.

  “This,” she said, reaching into her pocket and coming out with the piece of polished petrified wood. “I gave this to Norman as a good luck piece. It was on the floor under Dr. Goldberg’s desk.”

  Dr. Reed took the stone and turned it over carefully in his hand. “And you say you gave this to Norman.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

  “No, that’s all right. This is well within the limits of what patients may have. No sharp edges, too small to use as a weapon. A good luck piece, you say?”

  “Yes. It’s a long story.”

  “Well,” Dr. Reed said with a reassuring smile, “maybe you’d better tell me anyway.”

  So Marie told him about her father giving her the stone, and about how she had given it to Norman to help him feel braver. “I should have let you know,” she concluded.

  “Well, you probably should have, but no harm done.” He frowned. “And you found this in Dr. Goldberg’s office?”

  She nodded. “Dr. Berkowitz and I met with him at the end of the day. I don’t recall seeing it on the floor then, but I might not have noticed it.”

  He looked up at her. “So what are you thinking about all this?”

  Mouth still closed, she bit her lower lip before she spoke. “I’m thinking that there’s a possibility that Dr. Goldberg never ran away. That something might have happened to him, here, in the building.” She took a deep breath. “And that maybe Norman somehow had something to do with it.”

  Dr. Reed was silent for a long moment. “Wow,” he finally said. “That’s something that I’d rather not have heard.”

  “And that’s something that I’d rather not have had to say,” Marie said. “I think we both have a lot invested in Norman. Professionally and—”

  “And emotionally, yes,” Dr. Reed said. “I’ve bent over backwards to try and keep him from harm, and I know you have too … that day with Myron Gunn. That’s why the mere thought of Norman reverting to what he was before…” He shook his head, and his mouth became a hard line. “Have you mentioned this to anyone else?”

  “No. I thought I should discuss it with you first before I … before we let anyone else know about it. If that’s necessary.”

  “I’m glad you did. As for it being necessary,” Dr. Reed said, “I just don’t know.”

  Marie held out her hand for the stone. Dr. Reed took one last look at it, then handed it over to her. “There’s something else that concerns me,” she said. “And that’s the fact that everyone who’s disappeared has posed a threat in some way to Norman.”

  Dr. Reed thought for a moment. “I see what you mean. Norman was certainly relieved when Ronald Miller escaped.”

  “If he did escape.”

  Dr. Reed nodded slowly. “Yes. And Myron Gunn and Nurse Lindstrom—he wasn’t sorry to see them go either. As for Dr. Goldberg—”

  “He was anxious to try shock treatments on Norman,” Marie said. “And Norman was very upset about that.”

  “Exactly,” Dr. Reed intoned, then jerked up as though coming out of a trance. “But it’s just so … impossible, Marie. I mean, think about it—how in God’s name could Norman Bates get out of his locked room, dispatch people, then hide their bodies where no one could find them, and get back to his room, all without being seen?”

  “I have no idea. But then I wonder about this…” She held up the stone. “How did it get into Dr. Goldberg’s office? How did Dr. Goldberg leave his office without me seeing him? And how likely is it that four people, all of whom posed a threat to Norman Bates in some way, would simply disappear over a period of several weeks?”

  Dr. Reed seemed to consider what Marie had implied, then said, “That’s not beyond the realm of the possible. There are reasons: escape, elopement, and flight. But that Norman Bates could have … killed them all is impossible.” He sighed. “Look, let’s keep this between ourselves for now. I’ll talk to Norman—today. I’ll ask him about the stone. Maybe Dr. Goldberg took it away from him, or maybe there’s another way it got into that office, I don’t know. But I’ll find out. In the meantime, I don’t want any crazy rumors flying around. Norman has enough to deal with inside his head as it is, okay?”

  “I won’t say a word,” Marie said, slipping the stone into her uniform pocket. Dr. Reed thanked her for sharing her thoughts, and she left the office.

  When she was gone, Dr. Reed slumped back in his chair and rubbed his temples hard with the heels of his hands. “Oh, Jesus Christ. Norman, Norman…,” he whispered. “What have you done?”

  * * *

  Dr. Reed visited Norman Bates in his room shortly before dinnertime. Norman smiled when he saw him. “Dr. Reed,” he said, “I’m so glad to see you. Something happened today, something really good, I think.”

  Norman was surprised to see Dr. Reed frown. “Are you talking about Dr. Goldberg, Norman? About what happened to Dr. Goldberg?”

  “Oh!” Norman said. The thought made him feel guilty. “Oh, no, not that! I mean, I don’t really know what happened, but I hope it was nothing bad, honestly.”

  “You’re not at all relieved about what happened? So you won’t have to undergo shock therapy?”

  “Well, I guess that part of it, yes, that’s … that’s a good thing for me. But I don’t want anything bad to have happened to Dr. Goldberg. You believe that, don’t you?”

  Dr. Reed sat on the stool. “Yes, Norman. I believe that. Now. Tell me what happened today that you thought was so good. I’d like to hear it.”

  Norman excitedly told him about getting upset because he thought he had heard Mother, and about his outburst. He was almost pleased to see Dr. Reed’s look of concern. But then he told him about how he had talked to the two attendants. “I talked to them just like I talk to you,” he said, “or to Robert, and they looked surprised—it was great! So that’s why I said I didn’t feel happy about Dr. Goldberg, because I think I could have talked to him too.”

  “That’s fine, Norman, fine,” Dr. Reed said. “I’m very glad that happened and that you discovered that you were strong enough to engage with those men. That’s excellent, and I hope it continues. However, there’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.”

  Dr. Reed didn’t seem as happy as Norman had hoped he’d be. He looked almost sad, and Norman wondered why. “Okay,” he said. “Do you want me to lie down?”

  “No, not yet. I have a question for you.” He paused. “Nurse Marie gave you a good luck piece, didn’t she?”

  “Y … yes. How did you know that?”

  “She told me. Do you still have it?”

  “No. I don’t.”

&n
bsp; Dr. Reed’s face got very serious then, and Norman felt almost scared. “Where is it, then, Norman?”

  “I … I gave it to Robert.” Dr. Reed raised his eyebrows as if he were surprised. “Last time I saw him.”

  “You gave the stone to Robert?” It seemed to Norman that Dr. Reed was having trouble understanding something that seemed quite simple to Norman.

  “Yes. For luck. You see, we were talking about luck, and he was telling me that he thought he needed some, so I gave it to him. Why? Did I do wrong?”

  “No, Norman. At least … I don’t think so.”

  “Did Robert … do something?” Norman felt his heart beating faster. “I told you before … I was worried about Robert, that he might be … oh, God. Did you, did you find the stone somewhere?”

  “I didn’t. Nurse Marie did. In Dr. Goldberg’s office last night. After he … disappeared.” Dr. Reed pursed his lips. “Norman, do you have any idea how it might have gotten there?”

  Norman swallowed hard. “No. I don’t. I really don’t. It’s like you said before when I … I brought this up, Dr. Reed: there’s no way Robert could have gotten into the building, no way he could have done what … what I was afraid he was maybe doing.”

  “Then how did that stone get into Dr. Goldberg’s office, Norman?”

  Norman had no answer.

  “Robert is going to be visiting this evening, Norman. Perhaps you could ask him.”

  Norman thought it through. “I could. But … well, what if you asked him, Dr. Reed?”

  “I think he’d open up to you more readily than he would to me, Norman. There’s probably a simple explanation—maybe he dropped it and Dr. Goldberg picked it up, something that simple. But we won’t know until you ask him. Tell me,” he went on, “have you mentioned anything about Robert to Nurse Marie?”

  Norman shook his head. “No. Not to anyone.”

  “All right. Well, depending on certain things, we may have to tell her about him. But I’d like you to leave that to me. She’s very curious, very concerned about having found this stone, as am I. I wouldn’t like to see your relationship with Robert endangered. I think it’s been quite good for you. But we have to know certain things so we can be confident that nothing bad has happened, you understand?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do.” Norman paused. “Dr. Reed, has Nurse Marie told anyone else about this?”

  “No, don’t worry, she hasn’t. And she won’t, at least until you and Robert and I figure out exactly how that stone got in that office. But we will, and I’m sure there will be a logical explanation, all right?” Norman nodded, though he didn’t feel at all confident. “Good. Well then, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s have you lie back and relax, and we’ll begin our session…”

  * * *

  That evening Nurse Marie brought Norman his dinner. Norman thought she seemed less friendly and more cautious in his presence, and she glanced back frequently at Ben the attendant, who was standing in the doorway.

  She didn’t say much beyond what was necessary while Norman ate his dinner. He thought she might talk about Dr. Goldberg’s disappearance, or even about finding the stone in his office, but she didn’t mention it at all. She smiled down at him several times when he looked up at her, but her smiles looked strange and forced to Norman. Once she asked him if he’d had a good day, and he said he did, but he didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t ask him to.

  The longer the silence grew, the more annoyed Norman got. Nurse Marie was acting as if he, Norman, were somehow responsible for what had happened. Didn’t she know him better than that? He wondered what she might have told Ben, who stood so close to her.

  Dr. Reed had said she hadn’t told anyone else, but Norman wondered. Over the last few weeks, Norman could tell that Nurse Marie and Ben had been a lot friendlier to each other than they had been before. He wondered how far it had gone, if they had slept together.

  He chewed his meat loaf and pictured the scene in spite of himself. It excited him, thinking of Nurse Marie and Ben in bed together naked, and him doing … what to her?

  But he knew what. Doing what Norman had wanted to do to that girl, to Mary Crane, before Mother had—

  “Norman?”

  He tensed, thinking at first that the voice was Mother’s, but it was only Nurse Marie’s. Norman realized that his thoughts had made him stop eating, and that he had turned the spoon in his hand, and was holding it in his fist like a weapon.

  He turned it back between his fingers, dipped it into the peas and carrots, and quickly brought it to his mouth so he wouldn’t have to say anything. He looked at Nurse Marie, chewed with his mouth closed, and grinned. She smiled back, but he thought she looked scared.

  Scared of him? Could she actually believe that he would want to hurt her? She, along with Dr. Reed and Robert, were his only friends. She had even stood up for him against Myron Gunn. But now … now she seemed to think that he was dangerous, all because of finding that damn piece of petrified wood. And that stupid little rock had made her think that he was a murderer or kidnapper or both.

  But it wasn’t him, he knew that—if it was anybody, it was Robert, but Norman couldn’t say that, could he? He couldn’t betray Robert, that was something he would never do, not his brother, who had made him feel human again, who had only wanted to protect him, had told him not to worry, had said he’d never let anyone hurt Norman, even if he had to …

  No. No no no. He couldn’t go there, he couldn’t think that. There had to be an answer, an explanation. If only Nurse Marie hadn’t poked around in there and found that stone … no one else would have known what it was, or would have given it a second thought, but she had to be so nosy. And now he was in trouble for something he’d never done, and Robert was in trouble for something that he maybe did or didn’t do, Norman wasn’t sure, couldn’t tell, didn’t want to know, all because Nurse Marie couldn’t keep her goddamned snooping nose out of what really wasn’t her business—

  There was a sharp crack, and Norman realized that he had snapped the plastic spoon in two in his hands. Dazed, he looked up at Nurse Marie, who was looking at him with wide eyes. She moved toward Ben, who stepped toward her and put his arm around her. He had lost his smile.

  “I’m … sorry,” Norman said softly. He looked down and saw that the broken piece of plastic had dug into the base of his left index finger, making it bleed. Ben reached out and Norman let him take the two broken pieces of the spoon.

  “I’ll get a bandage,” Nurse Marie said. He heard her footsteps moving down the hall, and Ben stood, arms crossed, in the doorway looking down at him. Within a minute, Nurse Marie was back with a first-aid kit. She took Norman’s hand in hers, first cleaning his small wound with alcohol, then putting an adhesive bandage on it. She didn’t look at his face while she worked, though he looked at hers. It seemed pale and tense.

  “There now,” she said when she finished. “You should be fine.” She forced a smile, but again he saw how artificial it was. He felt sad and angry at the same time. “Would you like to finish your dinner?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No, thanks,” he said softly. She took his tray, and then she and Ben were gone, the door locked behind them.

  In spite of his concerns and fears, Norman wanted to see Robert again desperately. He needed to see someone who wasn’t afraid of him, and who wouldn’t treat him as if he might, just might, be a monster.

  He sat there trembling in the silence, and then, very softly, he heard it …

  Norman.

  Oh, God, no. Please …

  Norman, listen to me.

  No! Go away, Mother! You’re not there—you were never there!

  I was and I am. You listen to me, boy. A mother cares about her son, no matter how badly he treats her. And you’ve treated me very badly, Norman.

  Mother …

  You pushed me way down inside you, Norman. Why, I could hardly even breathe down there. But I could hear. And see. I could see what a fool you’ve been.
And I wanted to help you, but you wouldn’t let me. I wanted to show you the mistakes you’ve made.

  Stop it, Mother!

  I just want to help you, Norman.

  I don’t want your help! Just go away, Mother! You say you can hear me? Then hear that! Go away! Go away!

  “Go away!” Before he realized it, he had shouted it aloud, and slapped his hand over his mouth, praying no one had heard in the hall.

  It would be all right. People shouted all the time, quick, sharp outbursts that made you jump, and then nothing.

  Norman tensed, listening, but he heard no more. Mother was quiet.

  No. Mother wasn’t there. She had never been there. He had to remember that. It was all in his mind. He had created her, but he could also drive her away, push her way down inside, like she had said.

  No! Like he had said. In his mind was where she lived, and he had decided she was dead and silent. He just had to remember that. Mother was dead. She couldn’t help him. And he didn’t want her help. He didn’t need it.

  All he needed was his brother. All he needed was Robert.

  17

  Robert came to visit that evening, and Dr. Reed opened the door for him as usual. When Norman and Robert were alone together and the door was closed, Norman told him about Nurse Marie finding the stone on the floor of Dr. Goldberg’s office the night he vanished.

  “It worried her, Robert,” Norman went on. “She thinks I dropped it there or something, and she doesn’t know about you. I didn’t want to tell her that I gave you the stone, because then she might think that you … well, you know.”

  “What?” Robert said. “That I dropped it there when I was making Dr. Goldberg disappear?”

  “Maybe. I think she believes I had something to do with it.”

  “And we know that’s not possible.”

  “Well … no, it’s not.”

  Robert nodded. “And who has the lovely Nurse Marie told about this?”

  “Just Dr. Reed so far.”

  “He didn’t mention it to me.”

  “No. We decided that I would.” Norman tried to smile. “So I did.”