Straight Jacket Justice

By Lothar Tuppan

A Police Captain is thrust into a nightmarish labyrinth of twisted realities inside a sinister asylum, where his darkest sins are laid bare by the enigmatic Dr. Vanessa Lancaster and her unsettling patient.

Police Captain Gavin Partridge ran through the darkened hallways of the Port Merrye Sanitarium for the Criminally Insane, wondering. Wondering how he got there (the last thing he remembered was drinking a big tumbler of vodka as he started to wind down from the day), wondering where any medical staff were (the lights were dim and red, and the only people he saw were clearly violently disturbed and deformed inmates), and wondering why he was being chased by a fairly large man wearing a light-blue patient gown in a faceless white mask (who seemed to be moving more like an animal than as a human). Wondering, ultimately, why (which is always the most important of questions).

How does it feel to be on the receiving end of a hunt Gavin?

Gavin was pretty sure that the voice in his head was coming from his pursuer. He tried to run faster when he felt the man’s arms and knees land hard on his back, causing him to land on his face, and slide a good yard or two, before suddenly realizing the crazy person was no longer on him.

“This has to be a dream.” Gavin said as he got up, pain radiating through his face and arms.

Suddenly, Gavin was grabbed from behind and thrown effortlessly into the wall at the dead end of the hallway.

How does it feel to be on the receiving end of a beating Gavin?

Gavin looked up and saw fury in the eyes behind the faceless pallid mask. He held his hands up, trying to ward off what was obviously going to happen.

“Please,” Gavin whimpered. “I’m a cop. You gotta stop or…”

Or what Captain Partridge? The figure walked towards him, flexing his hands. You’ll arrest me copper?

“Cut his eyelids off so he can’t close his eyes to the horror Steven!” said a middle-aged female patient whose mouth opened vertically, and held three long tongues (all of which were licking, perversely, towards Gavin).

That’s not a bad idea Naomi. The soundless voice of the man in the pallid mask (who’s name must be Steven) said as he looked toward her. Wait, he said sniffing the air. Did you just piss yourself Gavin? What a big strong man you are after all. You’re nothing but an ant.

“As if this place didn’t smell enough like piss and shit!” Naomi laughed.

The surprisingly delicate (yet iron strong) hands of Steven grabbed Gavin by his shirt and lifted him to his feet.

Not a dream Gavin. At least, not exactly what you mean by a dream. Not even a nightmare. If this was a nightmare you would have woken up when you pissed yourself. He held Gavin off his feet, with one arm, while he opened a locked door into one of the asylum cells, the type of dirty, horrifying cell that hasn’t been used in Behavioral Health Hospitals for decades.

Here, let me show you what I mean. He threw Gavin into the cell and slammed the door shut.

Gavin’s ears were filled with the familiar sounds of his precinct’s police station. He got up off his hands and knees and looked around before rushing to the front desk.

“Smith, thank God you’re here!” Gavin exclaimed louder than he intended. “You gotta help me! I’m being chased by some lunatic who’s hopped up on PCP or something!”

Officer Smith, placed his hand calmly, but clearly, on the butt of his firearm and said, “Calm down sir, and tell me what the problem is. You say you are being chased?” Smith looked outside the open doors of the precinct and didn’t see anyone.

“Smith, what are you talking about, stop playing around and get Johnson and Sugarman out here for backup.” Gavin was starting to get pissed and other officers were now paying attention.

“Sir,” Smith again said calmly but firmly. “I don’t know who you are, or how you know the names of those officers, but you need to calm down and back away from the desk or we’re going to have to restrain you.”

“Goddamn it Smith! I’m Captain Partridge, YOUR Captain! Now stop this shit before—”

Partridge hit the floor convulsing as multiple tasers hit him at the same time.

“Who’s this nutjob Smith?” said a fat blond cop as he pulled the trigger of his taser a second time causing Gavin to convulse again.

“I have no idea Sugarman,” said Smith. “Do you know him Johnson?”

“Nope,” said a cop who looked like he could be a Hollywood actor. “He’s no police Captain, that’s for sure.”

Smith came over to Gavin’s prone form, leaned down, and spoke directly in his face. “Did you just piss yourself? Look, you aren’t a cop. You’re a piece of shit. Our Captain is Captain Dooley and he’s the fucking salt of the earth. You, on the other hand, are clearly a wife beater, a child abuser, and completely without morals. If you somehow managed to become a cop, you’d end up dirty before your first rookie year was out.”

He picked Gavin up with one hand, carried him to a holding cell, and threw him in.

“I have no idea who you are,” Smith said. “But I do know that you fucking disgust me.”

Smith slammed the door to the cell and suddenly Gavin was back in the darkened asylum cell.

Gavin cried for a few minutes before the door opened again with Steven standing in the doorway.

No more of that. Let’s wipe your chin. We can’t have you getting hysterical on us just yet. He stepped in and slapped Gavin hard in the face. Plenty of time for manic drooling later. Possibly even pennies on your eyes.

“Wh…why?!” Gavin screamed. “Why are you doing this?”

The rage-filled, bloodshot eyes of Steven peered at him for a long moment before the voice in Gavin’s head spoke.

Gavvy, Gavvy, Gavvy, Silly baby Gavvy. Steven sing-songed at the cop. The why is not something you are ignorant of. But you are too much of a delusional coward to see it.

Steven walked toward another door, dragging Gavin behind by his shirt collar. Let’s see if we can make things clearer to you.

They passed a man in a straight jacket, sitting on a metal folding chair in the hallway, the man’s lips were sewn together with thick leather strips and he bled slowly out of a puncture wound in his throat. Every few moments maggots would exit the wound.

“You should plant drugs on him so he’ll face really bad charges!” said the maggots as they fell on the floor. “He did that to us and we went away for a very long time!”

Gavin really wished he would wake up. This really did have to be a dream, didn’t it?

Another cell door opened and Gavin, again, found himself launched into the room, before hearing the door slam closed behind him.

Gavin felt like he woke up as he smelled the sweet fragrance of plumerias filling everything. He opened his eyes and realized he was in the bed of his honeymoon suite. He looked around the bungalow on a beach in Maui and felt relief wash over him.

“Just a dream,” he said. “I’m still on my honeymoon with Wanda.”

But of course, that couldn’t be right. Their honeymoon was over a decade ago. He looked around and saw his wife sitting in a chair, holding her knees tight to her chest.

“You’re going to do all of it.” Wanda said in a toneless voice.

“What are you talking about baby?” Gavin replied, hoping against hope something was going to start making sense.

“You’ve lied to me.” Wanda’s eyes were red from crying but dry. So very dry. She had run out of tears a long time ago. “You tried to make out like you were a big hero cop. Savior of civilization and law abiding citizens everywhere.”

“But,” her voice sounded like that of a desert, “It’s all delusion and lies. As soon as you can, you’ll beat me for whatever reason pisses you off.” She let her legs down again.

“As soon as you can, you’ll get me pregnant and then show no interest in me, but will fuck hookers you can blackmail instead.” Wanda stood up.

“As soon as you can, you’ll bully our son, making him feel insignificant so you don’t ever have to worry about a son overshadowing you in life. You’ll do your best to make sure he’s an even bigger loser than you are.” She started walking to the door.

“As soon as you can, you’ll go on the take and fill your secret bank account with dirty money.” She opened the door and looked back at Gavin.

“So, as soon as I can I’m going to get this tragedy of a marriage annulled. I want to forget you ever existed you piece of shit.” Wanda walked out the door, closed it behind her, and now Gavin realized that the plumerias smelled like piss.

Gavin closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was back in the asylum, staring at the man in the pallid mask again.

Are we closer yet Partridge in a pear tree? Steven cocked his head to the left. Are we close to the ‘why’ yet?

Gavin started blubbering, he couldn’t take much more of this but was unable to even beg.

Just one or two more doses of… reality… and you’ll understand.

Gavin felt the ground fall out from underneath him and he landed on a pile of hard plastic and die-cast metal toys.

“Fuck!” Gavin screamed as he stood up and stretched, pain shooting through his lower back. “You stupid idiot! I’ve told you over and over to put your goddamn toys away Todd!”

The 9 year old boy looked up with terror at his father and said, “I’m sorry daddy.”

Gavin started taking his belt off.

“I’m done telling you. I guess the only thing that is going to make you learn is action.”

As Gavin pulled his arm back to whip his son Todd did the last thing that Gavin would ever expect: he began to maniacally laugh.

Todd’s hand, suddenly much larger than it should be, grabbed Gavin by the neck and Gavin dropped the belt and his piss-soaked pants fell around his ankles.

Todd’s not here Mr. Partridge. You won’t be seeing him ever again.

Gavin saw that what he thought was Todd, was just a papier-mâché mask resting lightly over the pallid mask of his tormenter.

He could barely breathe as Steven’s grip grew tighter on his throat. Steven dragged him through the hallway to a more official looking door. As they approached the door opened from within revealing a female doctor in a lab coat. She shone with a bright, beautiful light from within.

He’s almost ready Dr. Lancaster. Gavvy here’s hinges are rusted and just need a bit of oil to join us.

“That’s wonderful Steven,” she said in a warm and rich voice. “You’ve been a very good boy.”

Steven meeped shyly at the doctor as she ran her hand through his hair and gently over the cheeks of the pallid mask.

“Yes, you’ve done a wonderful thing tonight Steven. Justice will be meted out and the innocent can sleep soundly and safely after your work is finished.”

Steven’s hand shook as he timidly touched the hand that stroked the face that was more real than his flesh.

Then no time like the present. Steven climbed onto Gavin’s back, linking his arms under Gavin’s arms and his legs around Gavin’s thighs and sang, Hello Gavin, hear the song that we’re singin’ C’mon get crazy.

And Gavin, moving like an obscene puppet, controlled by his pallid puppeteer, walked stumblingly into the office.

Everything you’ve seen so far Gavvy, Steven whispered in his mind, has been real. True. But not exactly ‘factual’ if you get my meaning. What you are about to see is real, true, and absolutely historically factual.

Gavin knew that what was happening now was something from the past, something he was witnessing but not a part of. At least, not in the way he had been a part of the other horrors Steven had thrust him into.

It was the office of Doctor Lancaster. She sat at a desk offering coffee to Gavin’s wife Wanda while she looked nervous (terrified really).

“Please Mrs. Partridge,” Doctor Lancaster soothed. “Everything is going to be fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

“You don’t know him.” Wanda’s voice almost broke as she spoke. “He’s got connections everywhere. I can’t go to the authorities… I can’t even go to a hit man… he’d find out… he’d…”

Lancaster got up from her desk and did something she rarely did but this woman’s pain was something she knew all to well and protocol be damned—she walked to Wanda, knelt beside her and hugged her.

“Please Mrs. Partridge.” She looked Wanda in the eyes and said, “Please, call me Vanessa. And may I call you Wanda?”

Wanda cried silently and nodded.

“Wanda, you’ve not only been incredibly brave but you also have been incredibly cunning, intelligent, and resourceful. Not many people find their way to our door and not many who do have the courage to walk through it.”

Wanda sobbed.

“I had no where else to go. No cop will help me and no one… shady… will help me either. It’s too risky and I don’t have the money to make it worth anyone’s while.”

“Wanda, we don’t do it for the money. I already get a very good salary. We do it for other reasons. Other rewards.”

Dr. Vanessa Lancaster gently stroked Wanda Partridge’s cheek (not unlike how she stroked Steven’s).

“When me and my partner are done, you won’t have to worry about anything. Your husband won’t be able to touch you—literally or figuratively—and you and your boy Todd will be free from him.”

Dr. Lancaster smiled and stood up.

“You won’t even have to give up anything in your divorce. He’ll be a ward of the state for the rest of his tormented, miserable life.”

Wanda looked up.

“How… how can you do this?”

“Do you really want to know?” Dr. Lancaster looked Wanda directly in the eyes. “I’m willing to tell you but I want you to take a moment and really decide what is best for your own mental health.”

Wanda looked down at her hands which shook slightly between her knees. She was so close to falling into the fetal position and passing out.

After a few deep breaths Wanda spoke.

“I want to know. I’ve come this far into the darkness. Maybe I need to reach the bottom of the ninth circle before I can rise again?”

Dr. Lancaster smiled.

“A wonderful allusion Wanda. And one I completely agree with. My partner in this is also my patient. His name is Steven Russell. He is a very good boy who has certain… skills… that can be channeled with the right stimuli.”

“What do you mean?”

“Steven is a sweet little boy at heart. But there is something else inside… or maybe outside… of him (we still have more testing to do you see) that makes him more. A lot more.”

Dr. Lancaster saw that Wanda had no idea what she was talking about.

“Would you be open to meeting Steven? You’re perfectly safe.”

Wanda nodded cautiously.

Dr. Lancaster called for an orderly to bring Steven in.

After both Dr. Lancaster and Wanda finished their coffee the orderly knocked on the door.

“Dr. Lancaster, I’ve brought Steven.”

“Thank you Vince,” Dr. Lancaster said. “Please bring him in.”

The door opened and Vince, a wiry but savvy looking orderly, led a tall, well built, patient in.

Dr. Lancaster pulled a chair over close to hers and said, “Steven, please sit.”

“Okey dokey Doctor Vanessa.”

Steven shuffled shyly to the chair and sat down.

“Thank you Vince, that will be all.”

“Yes Doctor,” Vince said turning toward the door. “Will you need me to take him back to his room or is this a… special visit?”

“It will indeed be a ‘special’ visit.”

“Understood doctor.”

Vince closed the door behind him.

Steven looked meekly at Wanda and back down to the ground again.

“Steven,” Dr. Lancaster explained. “Wanda here has a problem.”

“I don’t like problems Dr. Vanessa. They make people sad.”

“Yes they do Steven.”

Dr. Lancaster looked at Steven for a few moments.

“Steven, when you look at Wanda what do you see?”

Steven blushed.

“I see a really pretty lady. One who wants the world to stop screaming at her. One who loves her son and just wants people to love her.”

“Why do you think she’s pretty Steven?”

Steven looked at Wanda without the shyness.

“Because she’s good. She wants her boy to be more than what I am. She wants to protect. She’s willing to be hurt for those that she doesn’t want to see hurt. She’s pretty.”

Dr. Lancaster looked at Wanda who’s mouth had dropped open.

“Mr. Russell here,” Vanessa explained, “is very astute. He also has other abilities and skills. I’m not able to explain them to you in as much detail as you might desire, but I can assure you that we will be successful and you and Todd will not have to worry about Captain Gavin Partridge ever again.”

Wanda took in the surreal scene she had chosen to find herself in and stood up.

“Thank you doctor. Would it be alright if I thanked Steven with a hug?”

Dr. Lancaster smiled.

“Steven, would it be alright if Mrs. Partridge thanked you?”

Steven blushed deeply.

“I would like that very much Dr. Vanessa.”

Wanda walked toward this possibly very psychotic individual and, without thinking too much about it, gave him a deep and gentle hug.

“Thank you for helping me and my son Steven.” Wanda whispered.

Vanessa Lancaster looked at her patient and her client, closed her eyes to banish any sentimentality that threatened to derail what was needed, and stood up.

“Wanda, we’ll be in touch tomorrow. By then this particular problem will be resolved.”

She walked the soon to be ex-Mrs. Partridge to the door and hugged her lightly.

Wanda looked at them both and said, “Thank you both.” And with that, she turned and left the sanitarium.

“So, Steven. Are you going to be able to do this?”

“I don’t like putting the mask on Dr. Vanessa.”

“I know Steven.”

“It makes me grow up. I wanna be a little boy.”

“I know Steven.”

“But,” he paused and thought deeply. “She is a pretty lady and her boy deserves to live a good life.”

Dr. Lancaster stood up and walked to a large wooden cabinet, almost an old armoire, opened it and pulled out a box. On the box was a curious yellow sigil of some kind. She opened the box and pulled out a featureless, white, mask.

“Are you willing to put on the mask Steven?”

“Yes Doctor. I’m a good boy.”

Dr. Lancaster lightly kissed Steven on the lips and handed him the mask.

As Steven put on the mask, Gavin felt the scene implode into his brain as he screamed. And screamed. And screamed… screamed for his sanity falling away from his mind and soul.

oOo

“I’m so sorry to have to give you this diagnosis Mrs. Partridge” said a seemingly sorrowful Dr. Lancaster.

“It’s alright Doctor,” said a seemingly distraught Wanda Partridge. “I’m just glad poor Gavin will get the help he needs.”

She paused, looking in the padded cell where Gavin Partridge was ranting, screaming gibberish while trying to break out of his straight jacket. “You don’t think he’ll ever be cured?”

“Only of his incontinence. As for his mental problems, I’m sorry to say that it is extremely unlikely,” said Dr. Lancaster. “Cases like this are very… unfortunate.”

“Well, I guess little Todd and I will just have to get on with our lives then.”

“Yes. I’m not a lawyer, although I can recommend some very good ones that specialize in this area, but soon I would recommend divorcing Officer Partridge so you can move on. He’s a ward of the state now, so you won’t have to worry about any moneys or anything like that.”

Wanda hugged the doctor and said, “Thank you doctor. For everything.”

“I’m sorry for your loss Mrs. Partridge.” Dr. Lancaster said with a slight smile on her face.

Wanda said softly, “And please thank Steven for me.”

“I will.” Dr. Lancaster whispered back.

Wanda Partridge walked out of the Port Merrye Sanitarium for the Criminally Insane feeling lighter than she had in years.