THE
MIND ALTERING
ADVENTURE

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bobbie is in pain. Never before, not in her entire life has she felt such a deep, aching pain in her heart. Wiping tears away from her face, she comes to the door of the diner, and, seeing the police tape over it, brushes it aside and uses the key that Ruby gave her years ago. She looks around, only dimly aware that it is empty, a mere shell of what was usually a hub of activity. Was it only a couple of days ago that she had been talking with Ruby about Tony? And then, everything had happened. Bobbie closes her eyes, and looks towards the stairs down which Carly had run that day. If only I'd known, Bobbie thinks. Things would have been different.

A sob escapes her aching throat, and she heads unerringly upstairs to the room in which her daughter had stayed. "My daughter," Bobbie cries, as she opens the door. "Caroline, Carly, why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you tell me? I'd have loved you but how could you know that? You thought we wanted a bone marrow donor for Lulu, that we only needed you...and you tried to help, even if you didn't tell me."

Bobbie picks up a hairbrush from the dresser, seeing a few stray blonde hairs, then looks at the few meager clothes in the closet. "Oh, baby," Bobbie cries again, knowing her own love of clothes. Taking the sweater she'd seen Carly wear several times, she hugs it closely, and sits down on the bed, rocking back and forth, remembering the pain in Carly's eyes, the brief confession from her dying lips. "Oh, baby, we were so alike, and I couldn't see it. Like that time you were in my room you were playing dress-up, and I was too blind, too jealous to see. Oh, hon, if I live forever, I'll never forgive myself for what I've been, for the way I failed you and Tony."

Taking a deep breath, she continues. "I'll do the only thing I can for you I'll keep your secret from Tony. It's not much, but I know that you loved him, that he loved you. And I won't let our secret tarnish what he felt for you. Oh, Caroline, Carly," but words fail Bobbie, and she buries her face in her hands as she sobs for what had happened, and for what might have been.

As she cries out her pain, she doesn't hear the stealthy sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, or the sound of someone entering the room on rubber soled shoes. Only at the last moment is she aware that she's not alone, and by then, it's too late.

"You?" she gasps as something is held over her face, rendering her nearly unconscious, unable to stop what is to come. Dimly, she watches as a familiar figure taps several pills into a gloved hand, then forces them into her mouth. Unable to protest, she nearly gags as she swallows them, but the deed is done. Unable to help herself, she falls back onto the bed, clutching Carly's sweater to her, her only comfort as she is pulled down into the waiting darkness. Hmmmmmm





"That damned Lucy is about to drive me nuts," Felicia complains to Tom as he enters her apartment. Tom is slightly jumpy, but Felicia rattles on. "Thanks for the kiwi-lime juice. Anyhow, would you believe that she was here only yesterday saying something about looking for Bobbie? Like I'd believe that?? She and Bobbie only tolerate each other! She's looking for Kevin, and we both knew it. I wonder why she'd look here?? Surely she knows that the PCPD have a round the clock watch on the brownstone. Kevin couldn't get in or out of here if his life depended on it!"

"Uh, Right," Tom says, "Have a kiwi-lime?"

"Not right now," Felicia says. "Listen I've got this great idea for how to get Lucy out of the way for a while."

"Yeah?" Tom asks. That would make his life easier. "What's your idea?"

"We invite her here for a seance."

"What?"

"A seance." Felicia grins. "Look, neither of us believe that she has so much as a shred of psychic ability, right?"

"Right."

"So, we ask her to come here and pretend to have visions of Kevin in Europe, or somewhere else. Anywhere else. We make her believe that he's out of the country, and she'll follow him! It's easy. You know how fast she went to San Antonio to find Damian."

"And she found him," Tom reminded her. Truth was, he'd be more than glad to have Lucy out of the way for a while.

"That was pure luck. Anyway, we send her off for a much needed vacation."

"You think it'll work?"

"It'll work," Felicia promises him. "Now, let me call her, and I'll set up the details. I learned a few tricks from Sean and Mac back when we were gas-lighting Ryan."

"No kidding?"

"Trust me," Felicia grins as she picks up the phone. Entering the numbers, she says, "Lucy? Felicia. Fine, thanks. You? Look. I know that you were looking for Kevin yesterday. No problem what I was thinking was that you seemed to think that he was here, so why don't you come over and we'll have a ..a seance. No, I'm not making fun of you. You found Damian, didn't you? And we both know that I'll feel safer when Kevin is found. Make it tonight around eight. Okay, I'll be waiting. No, just you and me. Okay, see you later."

Hanging up the phone, Felicia laughs. "Sorry you can't be here," she tells Tom, but I'll tell you all about it."

"I thought I was going to get in on the act."

"I think Lucy will be more comfortable if it's just us girls."

At that, Tom nods. "Okay, I have some paperwork to catch up on."

"I'll call you after she leaves." Hmmmmmm





"Mac, more complications," Garcia announces as he enters the office where Mac is lost in thought.

Mac's face was drawn, and he looks up. "We don't need more complications. We've got two unsolved murders, Kevin is missing, and the press is having a field day with this." Mac sighs, and says, "Okay, Garcia, what is it?"

"I just got the autopsy report, and it seems that Carly Roberts, or whoever she was, was about three months pregnant."

At that, Mac looks up. "I thought that Tony said that he had only slept with her for about a week."

"That's what he said," Garcia agrees. "So, either he was lying, or Carly had something going with someone else."

"She's been here since May, I think," Mac says, looking at the papers on the victim. That means that unless she left town, she got pregnant after she got here."

"So you think that the pregnancy might have been a motive?"

"Doubtful, but who knows? She might have been using this as leverage against someone."

"I'll get whatever blood work I can on the fetus, so maybe we can identify the father at some point. Might be important."

"And I'll talk to Tony," Mac says. "Maybe he didn't know that he wasn't her one and only."

Garcia meets his eyes. "You think that is a motive? Jealousy?"

"It's happened, but good grief, Garcia. I've known Tony for years, and no way would I believe that he'd kill anybody. Especially a woman. He's just too nice."

"Would you rather I questioned him?"

"No," Mac tells him, as he stands up. "I'll go see him. This has been very hard on him. He looked like death warmed over earlier." Before he can leave the office, the telephone rings, and he picks it up. "Scorpio what?? How long ago? ..My God! Okay, I'll be right over."

Hanging up the phone, Mac turns to Garcia who was wondering what was going on. "Talk about more complications. Bobbie has just been taken to GH where she's being treated for a drug overdose. Seems she tried to kill herself a few hours ago over in Carly's room."

"Prognosis?"

"Too soon to tell. Tony found her when he went to Carly's room."

Garcia shakes his head, and mutters, "Poor devil." Hmmmmmmm





Stay tuned!! Will the pills that Bobbie was forced to take be the end? Does this look like a suicide, or will Mac be suspicious? Will it appear that Tony tried to kill his wife in his lover's room? How long until Jason's connection to Carly is discovered? Will Felicia be successful in her attempt to gaslight Lucy? Hmmmmmmm






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