Her Eyes

Chapter 23: TEARS

The next day Alex headed over to the motel office in search of the infamous duo. He stepped into the office to find Emma behind the desk.

            She had been messing with something and jumped when he entered the room. "Hi, Sheriff," she greeted, smiling.

"Hey, Emma," he replied gruffly, closing the door. "Is Norma around?" He approached the desk hoping this wouldn't be a long conversation.

She gave him a look. "I think she's up at the house."

"You seen Norman?" He looked behind her to see if there was anyone else in the office.

And here came the questions. "Is something going on?" She was always one to pry.

The sound of tires against the gravel distracted him. He looked out the window noticing Norma's car. "No, nothing's wrong." He watched her through the window.

"You know I'm a person with feelings and a brain. I'm getting sick of this. Why is everyone just completely ignoring me?" the young girl cried. Obviously something was bothering her—she was crying for help.

Alex looked at her aghast. He was never good with people, especially teenage girls. "Maybe you should take a break, get some fresh air." He quickly left the office, forgetting her and running up the steps after Norma. "Norma!"

She turned her face to view him, but continued walking. "Oh hey, Alex. What's up?"

"I was just wondering how Norman's doing?" he inquired trying to catch up to her.

She stopped for a moment as if she was surprised he cared or as if she was trying to form a good enough lie. He couldn't tell. "Ah, he's very sick. He's got a bad cold—fever, you know." She turned and continued on up the steps.

Was she running from him? "Oh I'm sorry to here that, but I'd like to talk to him. It's important." Was she hiding him? He continued to chase her up the steps.

"Well that's impossible right now...he's very contagious." She was desperate, he could tell, but part of him believed her.

"I don't mind." He sighed as he finally reached the porch steps.

She stopped in the middle of the steps. "Well what's so important that you need to speak to him?" She seemed exhausted—like she'd been crying or like she was about to cry.

"Did he mention the talk he and I had?" There was a bit of embarrassment in his voice. He didn't want her to think he's been threatening her son. He wanted her to trust him—to like him.

"No," she answered too quickly.

He didn't believe her. "Did he?" It wasn't like Norman not to tell his mother things.

"No." The heartbreak in her voice became more apparent with every breath she took. She looked at him with weary eyes.

He had to look away. He couldn't stare into her eyes and accuse her son of murder. "All right. Look there's no gentle way to put this." He knew that she was falling apart and that this would send her over the edge, but she needed to know. He wouldn't keep anything from her. "During Blair Watson's autopsy, two semen samples were found inside her. One was Kyle Miller's." He stopped and checked to make sure she was stable. "The other one belongs to Norman." She held her breath and swayed a bit. Alex reached out and grabbed her arm out of impulse. He thought she was going to faint.

She regained her strengthen a little as she continued on. "What do you mean? It's impossible." Denial was something she knew very well. It was a way for her to mask the truth.

"Norma, we ran his DNA after the Jimmy Brennan incident." It killed him to see her like this. "Norman had sex with Blair Watson very close to when she was murdered." She looked like she was about to burst into tears. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, but he wasn't sure how she'd react. "That's why I wanted to talk to him, Norma. I need to know what happened." He was getting desperate. He sighed and looked at the ground, letting go of her arm. "I want him to take a polygraph test."

She turned and walked up the rest of the steps to the door. "But why?"

He followed close behind. He couldn't let her leave. "I think that's obvious."

"But polygraphs aren't even admissible in court," she stressed. She would throw any and every argument at him to keep him away from Norman.

"Well regardless virtually every law enforcement and national security agency in the country uses them." She rolled her eyes. She didn't care. He hated when she got like this. "Look I'm not asking."

She stared at him for a moment before speaking. "Okay. He's sleeping. I don't want to wake him right now...he's very sick." She'd say anything to get him to leave. "He's not going anywhere. It can wait a bit. Please. Just let me at least talk to him first. Please, Alex."

She'd hit his soft spot. He loved when she called him Alex. And her tearful pleading wasn't helping much either. "He's not going anywhere, right?" He trusted her.

"No. I promise." She opened the door and stepped inside, cracking it a bit. "I promise."

"All right. I'll be back," he warned. He knew something was wrong. He wanted to protect her, but she was pushing him away.

"Okay. Bye." He watched as she shut the door, leaving him standing alone on the porch. He'd never get through to this woman. She put up a wall with him—she always did. And he didn't know if he had the strength to tear that wall down.