Psychotic Maniac

Chapter 41

"I know the feeling," she said, wearing a similar expression. "I met Edward back when he was a teenager years ago at the same fundraiser party that happened last night. He was uncomfortable, small talk, clipped response and calculative and I knew he needed a listener. I gave him a card but he called me years later. The first time I talked, it was all about his father. The second time he talked, I recognized he was the missing shard of the mirror his father was made of."

"So Mr. Blake is..."

"A textbook psychopath," she confirmed. "But not Edward."

"You just mentioned genetic."

Mrs. Jones's face scrunched in confusion. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Miss. Sergeant," she said, crossing her legs. The sudden change in intonation filled the room with coldness when she spoke. "Theodore Blake is not the biological father of Edward Blake."

Estella felt like someone had thrown a bucket full of ice water on her face. "Fucking shit. Oh god." she ran her fingers on her temple. "Holy shit. I guess their bitter relationship makes sense."

"Yes," she said, unaffected. "Edward has issues with both of his parents. Actually three of his parents. His dead mother. His biological father and his on-paper father."

"He lost his mother at a very young age," she added, the obvious.

"Yeah," Mrs Jones said. "While Edward was paraded around by Theodore, his mother was the only one he was close and comfortable to. He hoped his mother would make his father stop but she died. His life became more mechanical than it already was."

Estella took a moment to process that. "He never talked to me about her," she said. "Do you know who is his real father?"

"No. Edward didn't tell me that. It was something I found out when I was trying to locate you."

"I still don't get why I'm here." Estella took another sip of her coffee. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"I wanted to let you know about him. That's all. Despite Edward seeming to have feelings for you, it's no brainer you won't get hurt." Mrs jones said, setting aside her cup. "He's losing control of himself, his last ray of hope and people around them may end up being collateral damage. Especially you."

"He did hurt me," Estella said as the pain stung her deeply. "In ways I never imagined he would."

"So how was your relationship with him?" Mrs Jones enquired.

She stifled a laugh. A mocking and unpleasant one. "Perfect. Too perfect. He was everything I wanted him to be. He was there for me when I was dealing with my father's loss. He was understanding, patient, and just so caring." she again ran her fingers into her hair. "I don't know if any of that was even real."

"I believe it was real." Mrs jones answered with an affirmative tone. "The last session he attended with me was about you actually. He said things that made me rethink my diagnosis. You see, Miss Sergeant, I misdiagnosed Edward based on his stepfather." She unclipped her binder, turning page after page until she stopped and spread the pages out.

The pages were handwritten mostly, a picture of young Theodore clipped on the side, a newspaper cutting.

Mrs. Jones tapped the pages. "These notes belonged to my boss I used to intern. Theodore was younger when he spiraled, showed violence, and was court-ordered to take therapy under my boss. As an intern, I was canvassing through her stuff when I found it. My interest was piqued and I began researching. My boss kept all of these for years and I made copies of these before I got my own office. The last few mentions are about Theodore having a son. My boss went ahead and participated in an educational tour of Edward's elementary school where she interviewed some of his classmates who told her that that Edward showed signs of abnormalities. He skipped school and was angry and violent toward others. He stole things, and had a deep fascination with fires and sharp objects." She stopped for a second, gearing up. "You could say that's how I planned on finding out more."