The Renfield Syndrome by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 13

The coroner soon arrived, and after making a brief examination, pronounced Claire dead. He was particularly struck by the distended veins in her hands, arms, and neck. Upon touching them, they seemed quite firm, as though filled with rubber. Ordinarily, he would be present at the autopsy, and this case was no exception. As Caspian stood by, the coroner assisted the paramedics in placing Claire’s body in a heavy grey body bag and, lifting it by its canvas handles, placed her on the stretcher. The coroner sat on the couch next to Caspian as his mother’s body was being rolled out to the ambulance. “What’s your name?” he asked. Caspian went to great lengths to act upset when in fact he was elated that his mother would no longer torture him.

“Caspian,” he replied.

He sat with wide eyes as though in shock as the coroner tried to console him.

“I can’t tell you that everything’s going to be okay,” he continued. “But I can say that someday you’ll feel better.”

Caspian simply nodded his head. It wasn’t that he was short on words but that he didn’t want to risk being discovered feigning grief and thus raising suspicions.

Shortly the police walked in, and with them was a social worker. Caspian was still seventeen, and according to state law, a minor could not be left to their own devices. Although he believed he could live just fine on his own, he was still subject to the law, and the social worker, having found a suitable home, asked him to pack some clothes. The rest of his possessions would be transported later. After two hours of travel, Caspian found himself living with a middle-aged couple. Reuben and Dorothy Abernathy lived a quiet life in the countryside of the southern Adirondacks of upstate New York. Within only a few miles of Gloversville, they raised chickens and tended to a small flock of geese. They had no children and were excited to have him as part of their small family. They had thought about keeping cows for their milk, but as it was only the two of them, they decided against it. And at their age they would never be able to keep up with the responsibilities.

Reuben was born and raised in the city of Albany. After receiving his education, he decided that life in the city had become overwhelming, and he left to work at Saint Thomas Leather in Gloversville, where he rose up through the ranks to the board of directors. Although he was happy with his position and was certainly pleased with the money, Reuben felt himself being called to a quieter life. But somewhere during the course of his career, he met Dorothy. Although she came from a rather checkered past regarding her romantic life, Reuben managed to put that aside, and during the following autumn, they were married in Myers Park. The gazebo was a thing of beauty and was adorned by the carpet of red, yellow, and green leaves nature had rolled out across the dying grass. The ceremony was brief, with few family members to witness the event and fewer friends. Neither bride nor groom was known for a wide circle of friends, and Dorothy’s parents had passed on some years ago, as had Reuben’s. It wasn’t that Reuben didn’t trust her, but as a precaution, one of the reasons he moved out into ‘cow country’ was that Dorothy might not be tempted to stray back into her old ways.

As the new bride, Dorothy was raised in West Nyack, just north of Yonkers. She moved to Watervliet in order to pursue a career in dentistry. But the stress of such a demanding field of study proved to be too much for her, and after her second semester she was asked to leave the program. Devastated by such a life-altering failure, she chose to work in a factory with the understanding that a paycheck is a paycheck. At the same time, the depression she experienced led her into some unusual behavior, including a dramatic increase in sexual behavior. She understood that something was wrong, but the pleasure of seeing one man after another was too much to resist. It took the fire of Rueben’s lectures to tame her, as he repeatedly issued ultimatums that she change her ways or he would go out in search of an ‘honest woman.’ Eventually, she relented, and entering therapy, began treatment with antidepressants. This seemed to be what she needed, and the effect changed her life, achieving focus, a more positive approach to life and a more controlled libido. But somewhere under the surface was the occasional urge to seek pleasure elsewhere, but as much as she cared for Reuben, she would, instead, purge herself of this energy through exercise, and it seemed to help. Now a married woman, she developed a strong respect not only for Reuben but also for the life they shared. Yet, there was one thing missing: Dorothy could not bear children. So when the opportunity to take in a troubled young man arose, they were happy to make room for him. Although they were not religious, they thought it was important to celebrate the holidays, hoping to offer Caspian some stability. In addition to Christmas, they were both especially drawn to Halloween with decorations and scary stories, and even though Caspian was in his teens the couple saw nothing wrong with observing a few of the holiday’s traditions. However, as he was a teenager, they would not be taking him ‘trick or treating’; he was simply too old for such things.

Caspian kept largely to himself, spending a great deal of time sitting on a stump in the backyard. At first, the chickens and geese fled when he entered, but after a time they learned to trust him and carefully approached as he handed out dried corn. The experience of being trusted was new for him. As he had never trusted anyone, Caspian found it difficult to believe that anything could trust him, especially after committing the calculated murder of his mother. He still believed she had it coming, and under the same circumstances he would do it again.