Read Chapter 6
Now, Chapter 7
Grayson sat patiently across from Caleb. He rhythmically tapped his pen on the wooden desk. It was loud enough to be heard but not felt as annoying. He had used this type of mild hypnotic technique on a few of his patients and the minute he heard about the death of Caleb's mother, he got the idea to try it here.
"Talk to me, Caleb," he muttered soothingly, his voice even and steady.
Tap...Tap...Tap...
Caleb's lips trembled as he looked to down and to the side.
"Dad died when I was about 4 or 5. My mother freaked when she had no money and me to feed. She picked the first jackass who paid her a few compliments and knocked her up. A gorilla named Malcom Bramwell. Even when I was that young I could tell there was something off about him. He would fly off the handle on a dime over some stupid shit and then the next minute it was like he won the lottery. It was a minute by minute thing with him, you know."
Caleb looked up in Grayson's direction but not at him. His eyes glazed from the memories.
"Zach was alright as a kid. My step-dad used to call him his joy. Me?" Caleb made a moue and shrugged. "He ignored me. I wasn't his blood boy joy. Mama put up with him because he was making good money and we were dry and warm and had food, which was what mattered to her. Then Malcolm really started to change." Caleb slowly sat back, his brows furrowed. "Up, down, up, down, like a seesaw. Crazy, sad, happy, fun, crying. When Mina was born he was happy but he wanted another boy. Like he needed a spare or something for his legacy. Mama told him no, she was done. He beat her to a pulp. Beat up Zach and me for good measure. Mina was still a baby so she was spared, I guess.
"Jobs were shaky and since he was always spending on his family and my mother never even questioned it, he lost his job and we...we were back to hand-to-mouth." Caleb shook his head slowly, blinking slowly. "With just me, that was one thing. Now, there were three of us kids. My mother pushed him to get a job, reminding him that his children were hungry. She'd push and push. His favorite line was, 'You think I'm not looking, Marie?' or 'You keep telling me I can't hold down a job, Marie.' He had this crackling sound his voice would make when he got mad like a clock ticking. That's when we knew he was about to blow. He'd beat her and say crazy stuff like 'Look at me. I like it when you look at me like that.'
"I begged Mama to leave him but she just kept telling me we had no place else to go. I was about twelve or thirteen when my Dad's brother got back in touch. I was so desperate, I begged him to help us. My Dad's family never liked my mother but as I was his brother's only kid, he took me in. Just me. That was his deal and I saw my way out. Malcolm was fine with it because all I was to him was a reminder of my mother's past life. He wanted me out of sight and his family all to himself."
"So you were forced to leave your mother and siblings behind to save your own life." Grayson remarked softly.
Caleb nodded. "My Uncle saw me like Malcolm saw Zach and Mina. Blood family. Thicker than water and he didn't want his brother's kid to be all bruised and beaten up. So he took me in. Living with him was like he wasn't there. He was a janitor. Worked nights, slept days. Got good pay for it. I barely saw him and after a while I realized we were alright. I was calm and he was just absent. I learned to fend for myself. I'd call Mama almost every day when I knew Malcolm wasn't home. He'd taken up the ponies and some days he'd hit. Others?..." Caleb shrugged. "She begged me to come back home I told her I was alright. I didn't want to hurt her feelings because I was actually pretty happy away from her. I agreed to a visit, though. Hopped on the bus on Friday after school. Felt like I was going someplace for the weekend. Not home."
"When I showed up, Malcolm was all happy and touchy with me, like he missed me. Mom said he'd had a good day with the ponies. He gave me some money and showered my mom with presents. Money was like water to him."
"Zach, he was on me like glue. He begged me to stay. I couldn't and as much as I wanted to take him with me, I knew my uncle would never accept him. I had to tell him no. I would visit as much as I could. We could talk often but no, I couldn't take him with me." Caleb looked way. "I think that was when he started hating me a little..."
"Did you keep your promise to Zach? To talk to him and just keep in touch."
Tap...Tap...Tap...
"We talked off and on. That's how I found out that Malcolm went for milk one day and never came back." Caleb shook his head smirking. "Mina started acting up and Malcolm, he just couldn't handle it I guess. That girl was sick in the head. She wouldn't talk, just stare at people, into space. Rock herself back and forth. I saw it when I visited. I was in the academy and got some time off. Mama was struggling. I helped out as much as I could. I even begged my uncle to throw in some money. He did. Some. The doc told her Mina needed special care in a sanitarium. She hadn't even hit her double digits yet and Mom wasn't about to leave her kid in some loony bin with strangers."
"So she leaned on Zach to help. He was barely making it in school. Had to find a job. By the time I graduated, Zach was doing alright in school but Mina was getting worse. Tantrums were knock down fights. It was a warzone."
"All that stress on your brother," Grayson sympathized. "Your mother, you, it couldn't have been easy even though you were far away from all of it."
Tap...Tap...Tap...
"At that point I was able to get a little place of my own somewhere. It felt good to have something of my own and I just...I wanted to keep it that way. Just for me. Despite everything Zach was able to get into local college through some military program that paid for some classes. He'd met some girl named Jessie, that really hooked him. When that didn't work out he met another one not long after and she seemed good. Things were looking good for him. He seemed alright and normal. Then out of the blue, I get a call that Zach was in the hospital. Turns out he had a stroke. My little kid brother had a stroke."
Something in Grayson's mind clicked. In spite of that, he had to focus on Caleb, who was still holding on and doing well under this excuse.
"Were you able to go see him? What about your mother?"
"All my life," he started through clenched teeth. "I had to look out for myself. Hardly anyone...I was finally good and then that. I went back home and tried to be there for him. I looked at him and he was just so broken and weak. I left after two weeks. I sent my Mama what money I could to help and never went back home again. I just couldn't anymore."
"Not everybody can handle that sight, Caleb. What you felt was understandable." Grayson did his best to keep Caleb focused and calm. "You were trying to protect yourself and there's nothing wrong with that."
Tap...Tap...Tap
"So how did you and Zach meet up again?"
"About three years ago. I heard a knock on my door and there he was. He looked good, much better than when he was sick. He needed a place to stay and Mama, she asked me to keep an eye on him. Steer him in a good direction."
"You were being a good son taking your brother in after everything."
Tap...Tap...Tap...
"I just wanted to do good by Mama. I needed to...I wanted to feel like I'd been there for her. I told him as long as he could pull his weight, help out, it was cool. For a while, it was fine but I started seeing things. Physically, he was fine. His head, it was messed up though. He'd forget how to do things, simple things. He'd just get mad and talk to himself. Like hold a conversation...in a weird voice."
"Did you ask him about it?" Grayson inquired.
"He said the docs told him that he would have episodes and that the meds would help him deal with them but they would never go away."
"That must have hurt. To see your brother like that so young."
"Yeah, it did. What's worse is that he told me the girl he was with left him. He would see her every day at the hospital but then one day, she just stopped coming. When he got better, he tried to get back together with her but it didn't work. He'd treated her like shit and he just wanted her back. He found out from her mother that she had moved to Miami. As he was here, he was hoping to have a chance but he needed to prove to her that he was different now. He figured with the little military training he had, he could find a way to get on the force. He's tried in Braddock but he said that the cops there had some vendetta against him. He started talking crazy, about how some cops gave him dirty looks and stuff. Some of the time when he got that look, I'd swear I was talking to Malcolm."
"So what did he do here? Was he able to get into the academy?"
"He got some security guard job that had him working odd hours but making good money. He said he was saving up for school so I thought things were fine. I put in a good word with a few people so that when he was ready, he'd have an easier time working the academy. We talked, exchanged stories. We were like real brothers, you know."
Caleb was quiet and Grayson sensed he was coming up on that critical piece. It was essential that he guided Caleb through this minefield of imagery or he would wind up with nothing. His tapping remained steady.
"What happened, Caleb? What changed everything?"
Caleb fidgeted in his seat, his body fighting the memory.
"It's alright, Caleb. You can tell me. You're safe."
Tap...Tap...Tap...
"Seven months ago, we got a call. Mina had...bashed..." Caleb swallowed hard as he continued the story. "Nobody knew until they smelled the stench coming from the house. She had been in the house with the body for days. Zach,... it was like he took Mina's side. Like he understood why it happened. I didn't get it. Knew I never would." Caleb shook his head slowly "He went to see her. I couldn't stand to think about her much less look at her. He begged me to sit with her, talk with her. I told him no. Not just no but hell no. I knew that if I did, I'd do to her what she did to Mama. His lunatic sister was the reason my mother was dead and I wanted her locked away to rot. I did what I needed to do. I paid for a nice funeral and when it was over, I just left. When he got back, Zach was just...different. He got crazier and we had it out. I told him to get out and he refused so I got my gun..."
"You drew your gun on your own brother?"
Caleb's eyes widened. "He went nuts. I told him to leave. He didn't believe me. It wasn't until I cocked my gun that he knew I was serious. He grabbed a few things and went. I found out he was staying with some girl near Vizcaya and then found some place around there."
Caleb was quiet.
Grayson saw his opportunity and took it.
"When did you find out Zach was the Magic City Serial?"
