The Devil's Elixir

30

Tess felt restless as she stood by the door to Alex’s room and watched him play with his figurines on the floor by his bed.

They’d already been down to the breakfast buffet, and they were now back in the suite, waiting for Jules, who was on her way. Alex had spent most of the day before indoors, and Tess felt they ought to take him out for some much-needed distraction. Jules had suggested they take him to Balboa Park, which was nearby. There was plenty there to keep him entertained: one of the world’s greatest zoos, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, and a whole lot more. The idea had excited Alex who had, predictably, chosen the zoo.

Tess couldn’t wait to get him there. She was hoping the animals and the shows would take his mind off what had happened and help him find his smile again, even if it was just for a little while.

A smile that bringing up the drawing probably wouldn’t inspire. Tess couldn’t get the damn thing off her mind, and she felt bad for obsessing about it. She couldn’t help it. And as she turned away, her gaze drifted across to the small dining table by the windows and a bunch of drawings Alex had done the day before.

She had an idea. One she knew she ought to resist, but couldn’t.

She went into her bedroom and retrieved the drawing she’d brought back from Michelle’s house, then went back into the living room and chose two of the new drawings from the table. She then slid the older one under the two new ones and joined Alex in his room.

She sat on the bed close to him and held up the drawings.

“These are great, Alex. I love them. You did these with Jules, right?”

He nodded but didn’t look up, his attention lasered on the alien battle he was orchestrating.

She looked at the first drawing. It showed a jelly-bean-shaped figure and a big marine creature, either a dolphin or a whale. SeaWorld, obviously. The figure had brown hair and was holding a small stick figure, similar to the drawing she was curious about.

“Is that you and the dolphin at SeaWorld?”

Alex didn’t respond.

“Alex, tell me—is this you and one of the dolphins?”

This time, Alex flicked a quick, disinterested glance at the drawing, then he shook his head.

Tess felt deflated. “It’s not you?”

Alex shook his head again. Then, without looking at her, he said, “It’s not a dolphin. It’s Shamu.”

She felt a twinge of excitement. “Ah, so it’s you and a whale.”

He nodded.

The next drawing showed Alex with his take on leaping dolphins. He was still lost in his fantasy world, and Tess was finding it hard to engage him. She felt guilty about trying to draw him out of it, especially given what she was about to foist on him. But she also felt she had to do it. The little curio-demon was insisting on it.

“Alex, I found another drawing at your house yesterday and I wanted to ask you about it. Can I ask you about it?”

He didn’t answer.

“It’s this one,” she pressed on, holding it out.

“It’s one of yours, isn’t it, Alex? I mean, that’s you, right? With Ben in your hand?”

This time, he glanced furtively at it. Tess was ready for it, studying his face, trying to read his reaction when he saw it.

The unease flashed through the instant he looked over.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself.

“So if this is you, who’s that with you?” She pointed at the mystery figure.

Alex didn’t reply.

“Alex, who is that? I’d really like to know.”

He didn’t turn.

“Alex?”

Nothing.

Tess decided she had to try something else. “Alex, tell me something. Did your mommy ever ask you about it, too?”

This time, she got a reaction. A slow, hesitant nod.

“So what did you tell her?”

Grudgingly, without looking at Tess, he said, “We talked about it a little.”

“And what did you talk about?”

“Mommy also wanted to know who it was.”

“So what did you tell her?”

“I said I don’t know.”

He seemed to be telling the truth.

“That’s all you told your mommy? That you don’t know?”

“Yes,” he insisted, softly. “That’s what I told them.”

Them. Not her.

“ ‘Them’? Who else did you talk to about the drawing, Alex?”

He didn’t answer.

“Alex? You said you told your mommy and someone else that you didn’t know. Who was it? Who else did you talk to about it?”

He hesitated, then he said, “Dean.”

Tess felt the back of her neck sizzle. “Who’s Dean, Alex?”

Alex frowned, then he said, “Mommy’s friend.”

Tess felt lost. Reilly had told her about Tom, but nothing about a Dean. “Where did you see Dean, Alex?”

“At his office. He has a fish tank. He let me feed the fish.”

Tess was floundering.

“Why was Mommy asking you about this drawing, Alex? What’s special about it?”

“Nothing.”

Tess’s mind was shooting off in all kinds of directions, none of them clear. She decided to revert to her original question one last time and pointed at the jelly-bean figure with the toy in its hand. “But that’s you, right?”

Alex slid a sideways glance at the drawing and, reluctantly, nodded.

“Okay, so . . . who’s that?” she insisted softly, pointing at the other one. “Tell me what you told Dean, Alex. I’d really like to know. Who is that?”

Alex didn’t reply at first, and without looking at her, he said, “No one.”

Tess could see that he was holding back. She could also see that he was scared to tell her who he’d drawn.

Which confirmed what she’d suspected. This was important.

The question was, who was Dean and why did Michelle take Alex to see him?

She didn’t want to press Alex any harder, already feeling bad about what she’d asked. But she didn’t know who else to ask. She didn’t know who Michelle’s friends were, if she had any family she was close to, and even if she did, she didn’t know if Michelle would have talked about it with them.

There was only one place for her to start finding out.

“Alex, what school do you go to?”