Father to Son*
It is odd how one life affects another - often at the most unexpected moments. Sometimes it is with a consequence of no more than "ships passing in the night," sometimes it is the collision of the "Titanic" and the iceberg. So it was with the life and death of Maj. Robert Boyle... ripples and eddies cast down the stream of time from "Father to Son."
DAY 1 - A disturbing case has arisen. I am certain it will be a difficult one for our young colleague, Nick Boyle, and not an easy one for myself. I know that I shall be caught between being Nick's precept, mentor, and friend and his perceptions of me as his father's friend. I am on eggshells here.
Nick arrived back at Angel Island late this evening. He was shaken, and yet, I sensed, excited. He had taken a short-cut and had been forced from the road by a burst of oncoming light. While inspecting his flattened tire, he heard cries from a nearby house. Through a boarded window, he saw one man pinion another into a chair and place a glowing hand upon his chest. The victim then shrivelled away and both men vanished. From his description, I believe the house was the one where Maj. Boyle was murdered a dozen years ago. Although he did not say, I sense that Nick recognised the victim as his father.
Maj. Boyle was a member of this Legacy House, in some ways my teacher, and most certainly my friend, but I had never been aware, nor had my "Sight" shown me, that the man I had known as a tough, brave soldier had also been an abusive drunkard who had beat his wife and sons. His bizarre death remained unsolved. Nick, then only fifteen, had not been told the specifics. Although I suspect that Nick saw a "replay" of his father's murder, I do not wish to press him into an inopportune discussion. I must reacquaint myself with the facts of the case.
DAY 2 - As I anticipated, Nick came to me this morning - last night it had, indeed, been his father the house. Robert Boyle asked his son for help. We discussed his military funeral and the circumstances that had kept the casket closed - life had been sucked from the Major's body, leaving an empty shell. I tried to convince Nick of the need to investigate his experience - it is unfinished Legacy business. He is reluctant - the emotional wounds are still too raw.
DAY 3 - Now that the wound is open it will not be stanched. Last night Nick's dreams turned to the nightmare of his childhood, then evolved into the nightmare of the present - a vision of his father's desiccated corpse.
He returned to the house to face his private demon. Nick angrily asked, "What do you want from me?" A physical manifestation of Robert Boyle grasped his son, shook him, and demanded, "Free me!"
Mr. Boyle is a very steadfast young man - brave and earthy, but also angry and bitter. He described the incident to Rachel and myself this morning. Rachel, ever the caring psychiatrist, gently tried to learn more and to bolster his confidence. It was wiser that she make the effort. My friendship with his father might deepen the wounds. Does he wonder if I covered for Robert or even condoned his behaviour? How could he not? If I press, will he suspect my motives? Does he believe that I cared more for his father than I do for him? How can words convince him otherwise? Will my own emotions affect his? I must tread carefully, with as much detachment as I can muster - when in doubt, subdue the emotions, for they can flush all sorts of nasty things from the sewer of our subconscious.
This is something that Nick must face - alone, for only he can face it. Murdered souls often remain on this side to resolve their own death. Can it be that this is the first time Nick has come within his father's grasp? I urged him as firmly as I dared to return to talk to his father. Nick said that Maj. Boyle didn't talk, he ordered - that he didn't have one good memory of the man. Anguish poured from my young friend's soul.
This evening a new actor entered the play - Brian Krenshaw, a Legacy forensic specialist. Brian's father, Jason, occasionally partnered Maj. Boyle. I had known Jason and may have heard mention of a son born out of wedlock. I confess that I've been caught off guard. Mr. Krenshaw explained that, upon reading my report to London, he had flown directly from Rome, without London's knowledge. He believes that the Major may reveal his killer and was disappointed at Nick's absence.
DAY 4 - Nick missed Mr. Krenshaw's arrival last night. As I knew he would, he returned to the house. Again the Major appeared. He said that when he had died something had been taken from him. That was why he was stuck in that place and yet, somehow, he had watched own funeral and had seen his angry son shed not one tear. Again he pleaded for help, then vanished.
This morning, I introduced Brian to Nick, who was in a slightly sarcastic mood. Brian was cordial and interested in whether the Major had told his son anything. Nick snapped, "Oh, yeah... regular family reunion." Brian tolerated the bitterness unusually well. He believes that the same man murdered both their fathers.
This afternoon, I found Nick in his room, sifting through his memento box. From what I saw it contains dog tags, a pocket knife, a letter, and a photo of the funeral. As we talked and looked at the photo, the pieces fell into place. I had sensed his father's presence at the cemetery that day. Nick recounted what the Major had said about being at his own funeral. During the "replay" of the murder, Nick had seen a light pass between the two men. "The life was sucked right out of my father into the other guy," Nick said. That had given Robert's soul a temporary link to the killer; he had seen through the killer's eyes. Nick realised that the murderer had been at the funeral, and could be in that very photo.
Later, I found a wider view taken at the cemetery that day. I tried to convince Nick to speak to his father again - not just to resolve the case, but for his own sake. Nick hesitated, but returned to the house, as I knew he would. His sense of duty, so like his father's, drove him back without additional pressure from me.
His father appeared to warn him of danger, but Nick lashed out. Had he listened, he might not have come home with a headache and bump on his head; someone, our killer, I suspect, assaulted him.
Later, Brian was upset that I had urged Nick to speak with his father. It was apparently irresponsible of me. I reminded that gentleman that I am precept here, while he is an observer. The decision was mine to make. He did get my point.
In the meantime, Alex has been at work on the photo. She has identified all present - including myself, Nick, and Mrs. Boyle - all except one man standing under a distant tree. She is certain that the computer will ultimately be able to enhance and ID this interloper.
Tempers flared tonight. Brian suggested that the murderer was a woman. Nick is positive that whatever his father might have been, he was not a womanizer. My own authority appears to have been undermined - London seems to have given control over certain aspects of the case to Mr. Krenshaw, who insists that all future contact with Robert Boyle be made in his presence. Nick is certain his father will not show himself.
DAY 5 - This morning Rachel found Nick on the terrace. He finally opened up. There was no need for me ask Rachel to reveal confidences. I knew the questions already, for they have also been mine about my own father. He wanted to know why his father made everything so hard? Why couldn't they talk? Why he had never heard, "Good job, son. You're going to be OK."
Finally, Nick admitted that he had written his father a letter in which he poured out his soul. At last, he made the ultimate confession for any man to make, "I wanted him to love me."
Later, Brian suggested that he and Nick make a foray to the house, without informing me. Brian's excuse was that I would go charging in and scare the killer off. Perhaps, perhaps not. He said that the killer would be there. How true.
All the while, Alex and the computer were at work - the image was clear. The man in the background bore a striking resemblance to the supposedly dead Jason Krenshaw, who, in turn, bore an impossible likeness to his son, Brian. Rachel's medical conclusion was that no child could so resemble its parent, unless they were one and the same person. We correctly speculated that Jason Krenshaw had made a pact with the Darkside and had found a fountain of youth - the theft of the life force of his victims. He had not come to San Francisco to investigate Maj. Boyle's murder, but to cover his crime. I knew I had to find Nick.
Nick had returned to the house. There, Brian confessed his identity and that he had murdered Nick's father because the Major had been unrelenting in his search for the murderer of his friend, Jason Krenshaw - such tragic irony. It had been his life or eternal life, "a no-brainer," Jason taunted. He asked Nick to join him and live, but Nick has his father's tenacity. They struggled; Krenshaw's "unnatural" strength held sway. By the time I arrived, he had begun to sap Nick's life force. Jason then turned on me. He forced me back into the chair where my friend and colleague, Robert Boyle, had died. With that glowing hand of his upon my chest, he began to consume my own life's energies. It was an agonizing and, in a way, an amazing sensation.
Fortunately, Nick recovered. Through the fog of semi-consciousness, I recall him striking Krenshaw, who stumbled and fell. Somehow, he impaled himself upon a piece of shattered wood - a table, I think. What strange ends we can meet. As he died, his body began to glow. Robert Boyle's spirit reappeared to reach toward his son and to gently thank him for his liberation. When I placed my hand on Nick's shoulder, I sensed that that "thank you" had lifted an enormous burden from my young friend's soul - and that it had freed my old friend's spirit as well. He could now find a peace he had never known in life.
~~~~~
Nick now has a peace of his own. He opened the letter from the memento box - his father's reply sent so long ago. The Major wrote that in his world survival and discipline were all - that trying to instill those in his son would be proof of his love. The tragedy is that Nick has wasted so many years in anger; Robert Boyle told his son exactly what he had needed and wanted to hear. He wrote, "I have never been proud of myself, but I have always been proud of you." He promised to talk when he returned from his investigation and ended the letter with "It's going to be OK. Love, your Dad."
Personal Note:
Nick's father told him that he had not born a monster, but that he had been raised to be one. Nick fears that, if he has children, he will become his father. Doubtless, he swears, as I myself do, that he will never be like his father. I wonder if Maj. Boyle once vowed the same. Yet it happened despite that - why?
Do we believe that in passing our own "life's lessons" to our sons, that we do all that is necessary to ensure their success and to prove our love? Was this what my own father thought? Will I ever be granted the gift of knowing? Or do we wish to see our own reflection in our sons - ourselves remade to live yet again? Do mothers do this to their daughters? I think not.
Jason Krenshaw had been afraid to "move on" to that realm where we all must go. Perhaps, the fear is there in each of us. Perhaps, some small part of ourselves would like to be Jason Krenshaw, regenerating himself again and again. I wonder how many Brians have existed through that stream of time.
Where once I pitied Nick... "pitied"... is that the right word?... Not really.... I now envy him. I envy him those few words:
"I have always been proud of you.... It's going to be OK. Love, your Dad."
Would I have ever heard them? It's all any son ever needs to hear... not life's greatest lesson, but life's greatest gift - the cornerstone of one's own destiny.
* This Season 3 Episode #48 was written by John Benjamin Martin & originally aired on 20 Feb. 1998 on Showtime. This synopsis appeared in Jigsaw, Issue No. 38.
