Chapter Fourteen
I had done my due diligence on Shadow before our first date.
Google didn’t provide much information, aside from him being a reclusive billionaire and owner of the Tremaine estate along with his sister Calisto. I did manage to dig out an obituary for both his parents; the circumstances of their deaths were unknown.
On the pixelated screen, he seemed like any other rich and powerful businessman—boring.
In person however, Shadow was an enigma.
Curious to learn more about this mystery man, I scanned through the contents of the envelope that Lucien gave me.
It was a full transcript of a session between Shadow and a psychiatrist.
I was intrigued.
“This is wrong,” I muttered to myself. “I should respect his privacy.” I continued reading it anyway.
From the files of Dr. Frederick Rosenburg, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Morality, Moral City.
Subject: Shadow Tremaine. Age thirteen, suffering from severe posttraumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Rosenburg: Hello Shadow. How have you been?
Shadow: Fine.
Dr. Rosenburg: How have classes been at the Academy?
Shadow: Good.
Dr. Rosenburg: No troubles with the other students?
(silence)
Dr. Rosenburg: Your headmaster contacted me the other day telling me that you’ve been in several fights recently. Do you want to talk about them?
(silence)
Dr. Rosenburg: Okay, we don’t have to. Is there anything you want to discuss? It’s been a while since our last meeting and I’m sure there must be a lot of things on your mind.
(silence)
Dr. Rosenburg: How has your sister been doing?
Shadow: Good.
Dr. Rosenburg: She’s been doing well in her classes it seems. I’m also hearing that she’s making quite a lot of friends. Are you happy for her?
Shadow: I guess so.
Dr. Rosenburg: Wouldn’t you like to make some friends yourself? Some people you can talk to and play with?
Shadow: I have no time for friends.
Dr. Rosenburg: Of course you do Shadow. You should be out playing sports, reading books, going to movies.
Shadow: A waste of time.
Dr. Rosenburg: What would you rather be doing?
Shadow: Finding the person who murdered my parents and setting them on fire.
Dr. Rosenburg: And why would you rather be doing that?
Shadow: Because they deserve to die.
Dr. Rosenburg: The anniversary of your parent’s death is coming up in a few days. That day must be hard for both you and your sister.
(silence)
Dr. Rosenburg: Are you upset that your parent’s killer hasn’t been caught yet?
Shadow: No.
Dr. Rosenburg: Why not?
Shadow: Because I want to find the killer myself and cut off the hands he used to kill my mom and dad. And then I’m going to tie him to a chair, pour gasoline over him, and set him on fire. If the cops catch him, they’ll throw him in prison where he’ll grow old and die. He’ll never get what he deserves.
Dr. Rosenburg: Revenge won’t bring your parents back Shadow. You understand that, don’t you?
Shadow: Yes doctor. I know my parents are gone. I also know that if this killer is dead too, he’ll never be able to murder someone else’s parents again.
Dr. Rosenburg: Does it make you sad thinking of hurting someone else instead of enjoying what life has to offer?
Shadow: Life has nothing to offer me.
Dr. Rosenburg: Life has plenty to offer you Shadow. Can you close your eyes Shadow, just for a moment?
Shadow: Why?
Dr. Rosenburg: Trust me.
Shadow: I don’t trust anyone.
Dr. Rosenburg: I’m your friend Shadow. You can trust me.
Shadow: Would you still be my friend if you weren’t getting paid a thousand bucks every time we meet?
Dr. Rosenburg: Please. Close your eyes.
Shadow: Fine.
Dr. Rosenburg: Good. Now I want you to picture yourself standing on the top of a green, grassy hill. There’s a gentle breeze blowing as the warmth of the sun’s rays shines down on your skin. Far off in the distance is a beautiful blue ocean, the sounds of water bringing you both peace and tranquility. As you stand there, I want you to picture the fresh smells of—
Shadow: This is a bunch of crap.
Dr. Rosenburg: You were doing so well.
Shadow: No, I wasn’t. What you don’t realize is that every time I close my eyes, the only thing I can picture are my parents, lying on the floor, blood draining from my father’s open neck and the multiple holes in my mom’s body. Their blood mixed together looks like red, rusted paint. Their eyes are both open. They look terrified. I always thought my father was never afraid of anything, but the truth is, my father was afraid of dying. I saw it on his face.
Dr. Rosenburg: Are you afraid of dying Shadow?
Shadow: I’m afraid of dying before I catch the fucker that ruined my life.
Dr. Rosenburg: Your life isn’t ruined. Just look at your sister. She’s doing very well for herself. I want you to use her as both inspiration and means of support.
Shadow: My sister never saw my parent’s bodies. I was the one who discovered them. But I’m glad it happened that way, and that Calisto doesn’t know the horrors surrounding their death. Did you know the cops said that my dad was stabbed in the throat first and as he was dying, the killer tried sawing off his head with the knife? That was why my dad’s head was tilted back at such a weird angle.
Dr. Rosenburg: The police should never have told you such a thing.
Shadow: I’m a Tremaine, doctor. If I want information on something, I’ll find a way to get it.
Dr. Rosenburg: Perhaps we should increase the frequency of our sessions.
Shadow: Why? So you can double the money you earn? I don’t think so.
Dr. Rosenburg: Shadow, I’m here to help you. I want you to get better.
Shadow: I don’t want to get better. I want to stay angry so when I find this guy, I can torture him. I want him to suffer and I want him to burn.
Dr. Rosenburg: Violence will solve nothing. Let’s revisit your past week at the Academy. Your headmaster said you beat up one of your classmates the other day.
Shadow: He said something about my mother.
Dr. Rosenburg: And hitting him was the first thing you decided to do?
Shadow: No. Telling him to shut up was the first thing I decided to do. When he refused, I decided to kick his ass.
Dr. Rosenburg: And what did that solve?
Shadow: He stopped talking about my mom on account of his broken jaw. . I’m also pretty sure he won’t do it again.
Dr. Rosenburg: It looks like we have a lot of work to do still over the coming months.
Shadow: No, we don’t. This is our last session.
Dr. Rosenburg: Only your guardian can make—
Shadow: I always liked puppets, doctor, because you could make them dance and move whenever you wanted them to.
Dr. Rosenburg: I don’t understand.
Shadow: My guardian agrees with me. This session is finished now and forever. Please, enjoy the BMW that’s waiting for you out on the driveway.
End Transcript.
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Holy shit.
I was stunned. No wonder Shadow was brooding all the time. I thought of the way he described the torture of Julia’s killer, almost like he wished he had participated. After picking my jaw off the park ground, I rushed home and looked up any information regarding the murders of Tristan and Sienna Tremaine.
There was no mention of it anywhere. It was like that part of their history was erased from the archives of the Internet.
As I sat there staring at the transcript while trying to digest the information from it, my cell phone rang.
It was Abraham.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you Ms. Valencia,” he said cheerfully.
“I wasn’t doing anything important,” I lied. Snooping into Shadow’s life was very important. “I’m just sitting around reading slutty books.”
“Well, I won’t bother you too long then. Shadow has requested that for your next date, you pack three nights worth of clothes and also suggests they be garments that you don’t mind sweating into.”
“What?”
“I’m only the messenger,” Abraham said. “And perhaps you should bring a couple of those slutty books as well. It’s about a sixteen hour flight time to the destination of your next date.”
“You’re kidding right? Where are we going?”
“That my dear, is a surprise,” Abraham said before adding, “Just make sure you have all your hepatitis shots.”
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