kitmerlot_1213 | Fic: Shadows of the Past (Reply)

Chapter 9

Excerpt from The Daily Planet, March 1920: "The Metropolis Almshouse and Hospital for the Insane currently houses over two hundred inmates. Hysterical housewives, depressed teenagers, and soldiers returning from the war are seen wandering the halls. The majority of the patients are the homeless poor with nowhere else to go, but there are a few who are genuinely insane."

*** Clark was surprised to see Lex open the door to Chloe’s house. He would have thought that Lex would have taken her directly to his mansion, and not stopped at her house first. His fist clenched as he tried to keep his rage under control. The sight of Lex’s face was not helping matters.

But then Chloe stepped into view. "Clark, what are you doing here?"

Chloe tried not to let her alarm show, but Clark didn’t look well. He skin was pale, his eyes looked glazed, and his hands were clenched.

She reached out a hand to touch his, trying to get his attention. The feel of her cool fingers brushing against his hand snapped him out of whatever stupor he had been in. Clark smiled bashfully at Chloe, glad to see that she still seemed to care for him.

Maybe he still had a chance of winning Chloe back. His smile faded slightly when he saw Lex rest his hand on Chloe’s back in a very possessive gesture.

Clark suddenly reached out a hand and pulled Chloe away from Lex. "I need to speak to Chloe. Alone."

Lex’s eyes narrowed dangerously and he took a step towards Clark. "Clark, it’s up to Chloe if she wants to talk to you or not, but know this. You touch her like that in front of me again, and I won’t be responsible for my actions."

Lex’s voice grew steelier with each word, but Clark didn’t pay attention to the warning. "What’s wrong Lex? Afraid I’ll convince Chloe to stop seeing you? Well, that’s exactly what I plan to do!"

Lex tried not to snort in disbelief at Clark’s gall, but Chloe beat him to it. She yanked her arm at of Clark’s grasp, and started shouting at him. "Clark, what the hell is your problem?"

Clark turned imploring eyes on Chloe. "Chloe, Lex is all wrong for you. You’ve seen how he is with women. He’ll just use you and throw you away!"

Lex’s jaw clenched, and he spoke ominously. "Clark, you have no idea what I feel for Chloe, or how she feels for me. I would never hurt her, and Chloe knows that."

Clark opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe silenced him with a look. "My relationship with Lex is none of your business, and I don’t owe you any type of explanation."

She was quiet for a moment and then looked up at him again. "Clark, why did you come to my house without calling first. Or did you?’

Chloe raised herself on her tiptoes, so she could look Clark in the eye. "You were at the Talon and saw Lex and I together. You’re the one who called my dad to tell him what you saw."

Clark nodded his head, not ashamed in the least. "I thought your dad would be able to talk some sense into you."

Chloe rolled her eyes, stunned that a teenager could be this much of a busybody. "Clark, I am only going to say this once, so try to absorb what I am about to say. Stay out of my life. I don’t need your protection, least of all from Lex!"

Clark looked like he was going to interrupt, but Chloe held up her hand to silence him. "I love him, and there is nothing you can do about it."

Chloe paused for a second, stunned that she just admitted out loud that she loved Lex. She snuck a quick look at him, and saw Lex grinning broadly at her, happiness clearly written all over his face.

Clark looked sick at Chloe’s admission, but his face turned even paler at her next question. "And where has this new found interest in my love life come from?"

Lex beat Clark to the punch, answering Chloe’s question with his own assumptions. "I’m sorry, Chloe, but I think his interest in you was renewed when Lana came back from Paris with Jason."

Clark gave Lex a furious glare, but he ducked his head down. Chloe closed her eyes briefly surprised that Clark still had the ability to hurt her. "So, Lana has a new boyfriend, and Clark wanted to see if Plan B was still an option."

Chloe shook her head in disgust. "Clark, get it through your thick skull that I’m over you. I’m with Lex now, and even if I wasn’t, I’d never be your second choice."

She took a deep brief before she spoke again. "I want you to leave my house. If you can’t accept my relationship with Lex, then you are not welcome here. Ever again. Are we clear?"

Clark looked from Lex to Chloe and back again. He lost both of the girls he loved to other guys. Why did this keep happening to him? He shook his head and walked out of the room.

Lex looked at Chloe, whose head was bowed. She was crying, and he cursed inwardly at Clark, for causing Chloe anymore pain.

He ran his hand soothingly up her back, and Chloe collapsed into him, burying her head into his chest. He vowed that as long as he was still breathing, he would never let anyone hurt Chloe again.

*** "

Daniel had a brother in a mental institution? That wasn’t in any of the papers."

Chloe was impressed by the sheer amount of documents that Lex had managed to uncover about the Todd’s when they lived in Metropolis.

It had taken them over an hour to sift through all the papers, but one fact leaped out at Chloe. Daniel’s brother had been confined to a mental hospital.

Lex nodded, "Don’t forget that Daniel’s father was a very powerful man, and he probably paid people off to keep it quiet. And, just as a historical side note, it was actually more of an almshouse."

Chloe paused in consideration at his words. "So, most of the people who lived there were poor and not mentally unwell. Well, the Todd’s weren’t poor, so I’m willing to bet that Daniel’s brother was insane. What do we know about him?"

"Apparently, Daniel’s brother was injured in the war, and he was never quite right after that."

Chloe’s eyes narrowed in concentration. "What exactly happened to him to make him ‘not quite right’?"

Lex read directly from the file in his hand. "In 1918, Owen Todd was injured at the second battle of the Marne. He was in a hospital in France for a year, when Mr. Todd senior cut through all of the government red tape and was able to get his son back into this country."

Chloe listened intently to what Lex found. "Okay, Mr. Todd senior gets Owen back into this country. Was he admitted into the Almshouse immediately?"

Lex shook his head. "No, he lived in Metropolis for about six months, and then he visited some friends in Gotham for about another six months. Then he visited his brother in Smallville."

Warning bells started going off in Chloe’s head. "That would mean that Owen came to Smallville in the middle of the year 1920. That was around the time that Megan started writing about nightmares, and the feeling of being watched. And more importantly, that was the time that she started feeling afraid for her and Emma."

Lex nodded thoughtfully. "That does seem to be a coincidence doesn’t it? I think are best bet would be to see if we can find anyone who actually knew them. Surely, someone’s great aunt might remember the Todd family."

Chloe hesitated for just a minute. "I didn’t want to have to do this, but Mrs. Fordman might have some information that can help us."

Lex knew that Chloe didn’t want to cause Mrs. Fordman any grief, but he didn’t see the harm in asking about a crime that happened over eighty years ago.

"We’ll call her and ask is we can talk to her tomorrow. Agreed?" Chloe smiled her acceptance at Lex’s plan, hoping that soon the identity of Megan and Emma’s killer would be revealed, and they could rest in peace.

*** "

The patient has grown increasingly restless, and violent. Nothing will keep him calm. We are forced to put him in his straight jacket. Even with those precautions, I think he still gets out at night…"

Chapter 10

Excerpt from The Gotham Gazette, November 1919. "The mutilated body of yet another young woman was found in the park. The victim died from multiple stab wounds. That would make this the fourth woman killed in such a grisly manner. The police haven’t discovered any new leads in the bizarre string of murders…

" ***

Chloe was usually never at a loss for words. She could talk her way in and out of most situations by using a combination of intelligence, intuition and charm.

Granted, many of the predicaments that she got herself into while on the trail of a story were of the dangerous variety, so she learned how to talk in circles. She knew how to cleverly stall for time so that the police could arrive and arrest the bad guys.

And when all else failed, she never underestimated the power of a cleavage-baring shirt.

She glanced over at Lex, and she could see that he was equally stunned by what Mrs. Fordman had just said.

It would seem that even with his intelligence, and vast array of apropos quotes and anecdotes that he could whip out to fit any occasion from a kidnapping to a concussion, that this turn of events seemed to have left him tongue-tied.

They both stared at Mrs. Fordman who looked impassively back at them. She didn’t fidget or appear ill at ease in the least. She waited patiently for them to get past their surprise, and tried not to smile too derisively.

She decided to give them another minute to absorb the fact that she knew that they had both been dreaming about the Todd family, and then she’d turn the hose on them.

Mrs. Fordman knew that sooner or later she’d have to explain what she knew about the curse, but she’d never imagined that she would know the couple involved.

Whitney had never been particularly friendly with either Chloe or Lex, but they both had tried to help when Whitney’s dad had been sick, and Mrs. Fordman never forgot a kindness.

Perhaps that was why she was so apprehensive to tell this couple what was in store for them.

She was, however, stunned that Chloe hadn’t heard any of the old ghost stories. She couldn’t believe that no one ever told Chloe anything about the abandoned, rundown old house near the cream corn factory.

At one point in time or another, every child in Smallville was dared to go up to the old Todd house and touch the door.

But then again, Chloe or Lex weren’t originally from Smallville, so they hadn’t heard any of the tales.

She watched carefully as Chloe and Lex looked at each other, and back to her. They were full of questions and she knew this was going to take awhile.

She stood up, and walked to one of her bookshelves. She pulled out an old family album, and handed it to Chloe, saying, "You’ll find some pictures of Daniel and his family. I have a lot to tell you, so I’m going to put some tea on."

With that, Mrs. Fordman left the room and Chloe and Lex were once again alone together. They shared another look and then started to turn the pages of the photo album. Neither one wanted to speculate on what Mrs. Fordman had to tell them, so they focused on the album.

There were quite a few pictures of Daniel and Megan, and then later on, Emma. Chloe couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes at the sight of the little girl, sitting on her mother’s lap.

Lex felt Chloe shudder at his side and he glanced at her. Wordlessly, he handed her his handkerchief, and she smiled at him through her tears.

He was overwhelmed by the sadness he saw in her normally bright hazel eyes, so he pulled her closer to him, and whispered, "We’ll find out who killed them. Chloe. I promise."

Chloe tried not to sniffle to loudly, and she nodded her head. She couldn’t ignore the guilt that weighed on her for unknowingly bringing this terror into her and Lex’s lives, but she knew that if they could solve this mystery, she could save their lives and their sanity.

The answers to who killed Megan and Emma would be found in Smallville. Chloe couldn’t tell for sure how she knew this, she just did.

And Mrs. Fordman admission turned out to be a bit of a shock. Chloe and Lex had both been taken aback when Mrs. Fordman revealed knowing about their shared dreams. Maybe she could help them figure out how to put the spirits to rest.

Just then, Mrs. Fordman walked back into her sitting room, carrying a tray with three teacups and saucers, a pitcher of milk and cookies.

Lex jumped to his feet and took the tray from her, and he set it down on the coffee table in front of Chloe. Mrs. Fordman picked up the cup and saucer closest to her, and started to ask Chloe what she wanted in her tea, when Chloe abruptly spoke. "Mrs. Fordman, who is this?"

Mrs. Fordman blinked in surprise. "Chloe, honey, that’s Daniel and Megan. I thought you knew what they looked like."

Chloe tried not to roll her eyes impatiently. "No, not them, but rather, the man standing behind them."

Lex and Mrs. Fordman both leaned forward to look at the picture that Chloe was pointing to. "You see, that man there. He’s in the background of at least ten pictures. And in all ten pictures, he seems to be staring at Megan."

Lex took the album from Chloe, and stared in at the man, recognition written all over his face. "I’ve seen him before. The man was in my dreams, but he seemed more connected to Daniel, than to Megan."

Before Chloe could answer, Mrs. Fordman interrupted. "I know that you’ve both been having dreams about the deaths of Megan and Emma, but I hadn’t realized that you were starting to recognize the other people alive back then. This does change things. Perhaps there is some hope, after all."

Mrs. Fordman looked at their stricken faces and she felt badly at what she had to tell the young couple.

"But there is a much more frightening obstacle that you have to get past. The dreams are just the beginning of the nightmare. I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but your lives, and in particular Chloe’s, are in grave peril."

Chloe felt the color drain from her face, and she fought to keep her hysteria under wraps. The last thing she or Lex needed was for her to start unraveling.

She took several deep breaths, and clutched at Lex’s hand, clinging to the strength she felt in his strong grip. Gradually, the panic started to ease up, and Chloe could start to think clearly again.

Okay, her and Lex’s lives were in danger. It certainly wasn’t the first time, and, if they continued to live in Smallville, it wouldn’t be the last. They could face this, whatever it was, and defeat it.

She looked down at the hand that was clasped to hers, and raised her eyes to meet Lex’s clear blue-gray ones. She could see that he was worried, but he seemed just as determined as she was.

She turned to Mrs. Fordman and said, "Tell us what you know."

***

"How could I have underestimated the situation so badly? I had Owen placed in that Almshouse for his own good, as well as for the people around him. And now the doctors tell me that he has escaped, and is heading for Smallville. I hope I can stop him in time.." Chapters 11, 12 and 13