Home V: Obsession -- 8/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Well, yeah, but how likely --" Lori broke off. "You're right. I'll be careful."
"That's all I want to be sure of," Clark said. "I'm going to talk to Arnie about giving you something a little less obvious than a wrist talker to signal for help, just in case anything happens."
Lori frowned. "Do you really think it's that dangerous?"
"I don't know," Clark said, "and I don't want to have to find out."
**********
And now, Part 8:
It was early afternoon. Lori had finished a convoluted interview with the aspiring Senator Bradford, in which the politician had utilized every trick in the politician's playbook to avoid answering the difficult questions Lori asked. At last, she had clicked off her recorder and looked the man squarely in the eye.
"Mr. Bradford," she said, "let me say something off the record. I've asked you the same question three times, and so far I've gotten a tangent about the current Federal safety regulations, one about the instability of the monetary system, and third, a dissertation about the political wrangling over the jobs bill working its way through the House. I didn't ask about any of those. If you can't give me a straight answer, I'm going to print this interview in its entirety, and point out to the readers exactly how you've dodged my main question each time I asked it. Then they can make up their own minds about whether you can be trusted with a seat in the Senate. Personally, I wouldn't give a politician who can't give a straight answer to a simple question the time of day."
The man had stared at her for a second, then raised a respectful eyebrow. "You don't mince words, do you Ms. Lyons?"
"No," she said. "Not when it involves my job -- which, among other things, is that of watchdog for the citizens. It's my job to keep the governing class honest. Now, do you think you can give me a straight answer, or am I wasting my time?"
The man laughed dryly. "You win."
"All right, let's try again." Lori clicked her recorder back on. "Congressman Bradford, I realize this is a very controversial topic, but what is your stand on the illegal trade in bootlegged organs grown in unsanctioned laboratories, and how would Senator Bradford deal with the high cost of replacement organs that would result if these labs are closed down?"
Clark hadn't said a word. He'd watched and listened to the interview and she'd seen his lips twitch once or twice, but he didn't interrupt. When they walked out the door, headed for their groundcar, Lori glanced at him with her eyebrows raised. "What was so funny?"
"Nothing," he said. "When I see you in attack mode, I get deja vu, that's all."
"Like what?"
"Oh, facing down the Congressman. Lois didn't like people who thought they could fool her, and she didn't trust lawyers. She didn't even cut President Garner much slack -- even when we saved his Presidency from John Doe. She thought most politicians were basically con men."
"Well, so do I," Lori said, reasonably. "I guess that kind of makes sense. You know, you made a remark the other night that you promised to explain, though, and you never did."
"Oh?" her husband said innocently. "Which remark was that?"
"When you were saying that Mom reminds you of Lois's mother, and I wondered if *I* could come back, could other people. You said you'd explain, but you haven't yet."
"We haven't had much time," Clark pointed out. "Still, it's not complicated -- at least I don't think it is. I told you Lois and I met a time traveler. His name was HG Wells."
"The *writer*?"
"Yep." Clark nodded. "His book 'The Time Machine' may have been fiction, but the concept wasn't. Anyway, he traveled in time, back and forth from the past to the future, and he also met a time traveler from the far future who had a device that allowed him to track people's souls, for want of a better word, through time. He tracked mine, and discovered that wherever mine was, yours was also there, always together. Lois and I went back through time twice with his soul-transfer machine, and wound up in the bodies of former versions of our selves. I told you a little about that. The thing we also discovered while we were doing that was that a lot of our friends were also tied to us somehow. Jim Olsen was there, Perry White, my mom and dad -- and probably plenty of others that we didn't have time to discover. There was also one man who was an antagonist of ours, an enemy time traveler from the future named Tempus, who apparently was destined to be our opponent in at least some of the time periods. I haven't met him in a long time, but that doesn't mean anything. Anyhow, the gist of it is, other souls also return. It's actually possible that your mom was Ellen Lane, but if your dad was Sam Lane, then he's learned a lot since then."
"What do you mean?"
"Sam was a philanderer. He cheated on Ellen and left his family to go it alone. Of course there's no rule that I know of that says she had to meet Sam in her future lives."
"Oh." Lori was silent for several minutes, thinking that over. "Well, isn't it possible that some of the things you learn in one life carry over to the next? Otherwise, what would be the point?"
"That's a thought," Clark said. "Ronnie said herself that there's a lot that science can't explain -- like why you remembered certain specific things from your life as Lois. There must be some carryover." He shrugged. "Anyway, that's the story."
"So do you think some of the others have come back?"
Clark shrugged again. "It's possible. There's no way to know for sure, though. There tends to be some physical resemblance, although it's not exact. You look a *lot* like Lois, but you're a little shorter than she was."
"My dad says his Great-grandmother Lucy was named Lane," Lori said. "Do you think there's any connection?"
"I heard that," Clark said. "It's possible. Lois's sister was named Lucy. She married and had three children, all of them daughters."
"Wow," Lori said. "I learn something surprising from you every day. Now I'm going to be wondering which of my friends I knew in a previous lifetime. I don't suppose I'll ever know."
"Probably not. Aaron might be Jimmy Olsen, for instance. He looks a lot like him, which isn't surprising since he's Jimmy's great grandson as well as mine. But he also runs a computer firm, and made a fortune from it. Jimmy was the office computer guru, so it's an interesting coincidence. I always went to my mom and dad for advice when I ran into a knotty problem, and I sort of instinctively go to Rhonda and Mason now. It wouldn't be impossible, I guess. I'd kind of like to think they are. And of course John reminds me a lot of Perry White, even if they don't look much alike. John has hair, for one thing, but he also kind of treats you like his protegee, which was how Perry thought of Lois. Or Perry could be a copy boy who will turn up in the office five years down the road. I don't know of any way to tell."
"Still, it would be nice to know," Lori said. "I don't suppose you have any way of contacting your friend, Mr. Wells. Would he know?"
Her husband made a face. "You don't want to," he said. "Take it from me. Whenever Herb showed up, trouble followed. It wasn't his fault, but it happened all the same."
"Still, meeting a time traveler would be incredible," Lori said. "Traveling in time? You could go back and see the great historical events. It would be a journalist's dream."
"Well," Clark said, "I haven't seen Herb in nearly a hundred years. He wouldn't have any way of knowing that I'm still alive in this time period. I made certain that there was no record of that anywhere, so unless someone spills the information somewhere down the line, he'll never know."
"I suppose," Lori said. "Everyone I know always assumed new superheroes take the place of the old ones, but they don't. It's not something you want to advertise." She smiled at him. "Maybe someday I'll get to meet your Mr. Wells, but right now we've got other things to keep us occupied."
"Like tracking down a killer," Clark agreed. He opened the door of the Jeep for her. "I guess we should go over to the gym and talk to people."
"That seems like the best next step," Lori said.
"Well, I cant think of anything else right now," Clark said. "I'd like to know who left work at about the same time she did."
"It might not be someone who was working at the same time," Lori pointed out. "Maybe it was someone who works a different shift, or who had the day off."
"Let's just find out what we can," Clark said. "We'll figure out the different possibilities later."
"Yeah," Lori said. "I just get angry at how this person has killed five perfectly innocent women whose only crime that we know of was that they were acquainted with the same guy."
"That might be all there is behind it," Clark said. "Jealousy is a pretty powerful motive for murder."
"I get the feeling," Lori said, "that you've already formed a few ideas about why someone might be targeting Connor's female friends."
"Sort of," he said as he started the motor. "It's pretty obvious that the women who were targeted were potential girlfriends, or there was a rumor that they were. Or at the very least," he amended, "there was reason for an outside observer, especially someone who was already jealous and suspicious, to think they were potential girlfriends. Don't tell me you didn't see that."
"Well ... yes," Lori admitted. "I was trying to keep my options open, though. So, you think we're looking for a woman with a crush on Connor?"
"Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time a guy had a crush on another guy, though. It happens all the time."
"True," Lori said. "Connor doesn't swing that way, but I guess that doesn't really mean anything. I'd think, though, that a man wouldn't need to stun his victims first."
"He might," Clark pointed out. "He might want to make sure that they don't yell for help. Remember David Merrick?"
"How could I forget?" Lori shuddered slightly. "You're right. We can't rule out anyone yet. I'm going to want to do a background on everybody who works at the gym -- but does it occur to you that whoever it is might not be working there. He -- or she -- might just be keeping track of Connor without actually working around him."
"I'd thought of that, but it's a place to start. If it isn't somebody working near him, it's somebody who knows a lot about his life, and he said last night that there's nobody who has been constantly around him since he left school except the people he's worked with. He's changed apartments twice, his parents live in Argentina, and his only sister is actually in Timbuktu."
"You're kidding. "
"Nope, I asked him. She lives there with her husband and three kids. Whoever we're looking for probably has fairly close contact with him -- enough to know what women he's currently associating with, but not close enough to realize that the rumors about Connor and the woman in his last apartment house were just that -- rumors. That's why I think it may be a co-worker."
Lori nodded thoughtfully. "It makes sense. I guess that's where we start, anyway. Don't you think Velma might be thinking along the same lines, too? Since Connor has an alibi for two of the murders, she's got to be thinking there's someone else involved."
"Probably. She's not going to tell us what they're doing, though. The most we're going to get out of her is what she's already told us -- he's a person of interest, and they haven't arrested him yet because there's no direct evidence linking him to the case."
"Yeah." Lori frowned. "I've always been told that a killer always leaves something behind -- blood, hair -- something. They evidently haven't found anything."
"We don't know that they haven't," Clark said, "but whatever it is, they must not have any way to tie it to the real killer. If this person has never been arrested for anything else there wouldn't be any records, you know."
"True. So whoever it is has probably never been arrested for any other crime. That covers a lot of people."
"Yeah," Clark said. "But that's never stopped us before."
"We'll just have to narrow it down," Lori said.
Clark nodded, then lifted his head. "Uh oh." He glanced around and pulled to the side of the street. "I have to go."
"All right." Lori reflected that it seemed as if the emergencies always came at the most inconvenient times -- but then there really weren't any convenient times for an emergency. "Be careful."
"I'll be fine. Why don't you go on to the gym ... but please *be careful*."
"I will," Lori said. "Go."
He opened the door and stepped out. An instant later he had vanished, and Lori heard a sonic boom split the air. Superman was on his way.
**********
The Hobs Fitness Center was moderately busy when Lori walked in the door. Connor wasn't in evidence, but Deirdre Monitor was behind the receptionist's counter wearing sweats and a pair of tennis shoes. She smiled when she saw Lori. "Ms. Lyons! What can I do for you?"
"Hi," Lori said, smiling at her in a friendly way. "Clark and I are going to do a series of articles on the gym and our maternal fitness class, you know. I wondered if it would be all right if I talked to you and some of the instructors about it, and got a better idea of what running a fitness center entails." She glanced around at the sweating patrons of the establishment. "I hope I didn't come at a bad time."
"Oh no, of course not," Deirdre said. "Connor left standing orders that you or Mr. Kent were to be allowed free access at any time the gym was open. He's really working to get this place off the ground."
"I gathered that," Lori said. "Clark had a meeting at City Hall, so I'm here to do the job for both of us."
"Your husband looks like the kind of guy who knows his way around a gym," Deirdre remarked. "Nice build."
"I think so," Lori agreed. "Clark's an athletic guy. He used to play footfall before I met him."
"He kind of looks like a football player," Deirdre said. "Did he ever think of turning pro?"
"Clark's a journalist through and through," Lori said. "There was never a question of what he wanted to do with his life, and he's very good at what he does."
"I've seen his articles," Deirdre said. "I hope you won't be offended, but how long is your current contract?"
Lori patted her rounded middle. "It's lifetime," she said.
Deirdre's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled a little wryly. "It figures. All the good-looking, successful guys are either taken or gay. You're lucky."
"Barry isn't exactly repulsive," Lori pointed out. "He seems to like you a lot."
"Yeah, I know," Deirdre said. "I like him too. He's pushing for a six-month contract to see how we get along as a married couple. I don't know; I'm thinking about it."
"My sister went through seven of those before she found the right guy," Lori said. "Clark kind of introduced them, but she married Ryan for life and they have a baby boy. She's never been happier."
"That's what I'd like," Deirdre said, a little wistfully. "Oh well. Can I show you anything, or would you just like to wander around and observe?"
"I'd like to look around if you don't mind. Is it all right if I come back and ask questions later?"
"Sure." Deirdre glanced around as a pot-bellied older man and a thin older woman pushed open the doors. "May I help you?"
"We're thinking about signing up," the woman said. "Both of us need to get in better shape."
One glance at the man's face gave Lori the urge to giggle. It was obvious from his expression that the motivation was all on the woman's side, and that she'd dragged her reluctant spouse along against his wishes. Quickly, she turned away and walked toward the weight room. Paul Brown, wearing shorts and a T-shirt that showed off his muscular build to advantage was strolling around the room observing while several men and two women sweated and strained as they hoisted the heavy weights. Lori stood watching for several minutes and then crossed the room to him. "Hi," she said.
He glanced at her. "Ms. Lyons, right?"
She nodded. "I wanted to ask a few questions about the job you do," she began.
"Sure."
Primed by Clark, and her own research, she led into the interview with innocuous questions, graduating into more complicated ones. She was careful to keep the conversation casual, and let him digress a number of times into more technical language before bringing the subject back to the gym. When he finished describing his job, she nodded. "Interesting stuff," she said. "How did Connor manage to get you to join this venture?"
"I worked at the Metro Fitness Center," he explained. "Connor and I talked a lot about starting our own gym. He's the senior partner, but I own a few shares of this place. I loaned him some of my savings to sink into it, so I want it to succeed almost as much as he does."
Lori nodded. "I understand that. Well, I'm going to try to help with this series I'm doing. I imagine losing one of your instructors the other day was quite a shock."
"Yeah," he said. "Ginnie wasn't just an instructor, though, she was a good friend. I hope they find who did it, but I don't suppose there's much chance of that."
"You never know," Lori said. "Did she say anything about being worried about her safety or anything?"
Paul shook his head. "No. One of Ginnie's jobs was as an instructor in self defense here at the gym. We have a self-defense class every Monday and Wednesday night. The other nights she worked as an aerobics instructor. If it was a robbery attempt, it was a stupid one, because she didn't carry money or anything."
Lori shook her head. "It's a shame," she said. "This isn't the best of areas. I hope everyone else is taking precautions when they leave at night, now."
Paul nodded. "Connor told everyone to go in pairs, and today he hired a security guard to walk people to their cars if they leave after dark. It really shook him up."
"I'd think it would shake everyone up," Lori said. "Why did she leave alone, anyway? Wasn't there anyone here who could go with her?"
"She always did," Paul said. "We were closing up and everybody was leaving. She'd parked her car down the street, and it was only a little way. I told her to be careful, just because of the area, but she said she could take care of herself."
"You were here? Didn't anybody hear her scream or anything?"
Paul shook his head. "Apparently not. If somebody stunned her from behind, she might not have had the chance to scream."
"You could be right," Lori agreed. "Do you know who else was here? Since I'm following up on that story too, I'd like to interview them. I'm really not going for the ghoul-factor here," she added quickly at his instant frown. "I'd like to see the killer caught. Anyone willing to stun and knife a woman in a robbery attempt is somebody that we definitely want off the streets."
"That's for sure," Paul said. "I'd like to do a lot more than just get him off the streets, but it's not likely I'll have the chance. Deirdre was here at the time, and Connor, and Jim Peebles. He's a junior instructor and general clean-up guy. There were a couple of other people too, but I'm not really sure because I was in here most of the time. You'd probably have to have Deirdre check the schedule to find out for sure."
"Thanks, I'll do that," Lori said. "Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."
"No sweat," Paul said. He glanced across the room at a teenager heaving at one of the barbells. "Excuse me." He went quickly toward the aspiring bodybuilder. "You're going to hurt your back that way. Keep your back straight and lift with your legs ..."
Lori watched Paul Brown demonstrate the correct way to lift a heavy weight, then turned and went toward the main body of the gym. Here were the resistance machines where beginners built up muscular strength before they graduated to the free weights. As she watched, Marcella Evans entered, leading the couple who had been talking to Deirdre at the front desk. She began a tour of the room, demonstrating the various machines and giving a short description of the muscle groups that they were designed to affect. The thin woman listened closely, while the resigned expression on her middle-aged husband's face severely tried Lori's self control. Marcella proceeded to demonstrate the programming of one of the treadmills lining the south wall and Lori had to turn away to hide the grin that kept fighting its way to the surface. The poor guy was obviously being dragged kicking and screaming into a fitness program by his determined wife, who clearly thought she was doing it for his own good. It probably was a good idea, but the look of abject misery on his face was almost too much.
When the two had left, Lori crossed the room to where Marcella was checking the functioning of a machine designed to build strength in the deltoid group. The instructor glanced up as Lori approached. "May I help you?"
"I hope so," Lori said. "We met last night."
"Oh yes, Ms. Lyons. Connor isn't here at the moment ..."
"That's okay. I actually came to look around the gym and talk to some of the staff," Lori told her. "Connor told you I'm doing a series of articles on the gym and on the maternal fitness program. Hopefully it will give you some publicity and at the same time encourage other expectant mothers to keep their physical fitness level up during their pregnancy."
Marcella nodded. "It's nice of you to want to help us," she said. "Connor's put everything he has into this place. It's his dream."
"I know. If we're lucky this will raise interest in it," Lori said.
"I remember you said you were Connor's editor when you worked on the school paper," Marcella said. "He and I were phys ed majors at the same time. I graduated the same year he did."
"It must be kind of hard to get a job in a specialty like that," Lori remarked.
"Sometimes," Marcella said. "Lots of phys ed majors go into work at elementary schools to teach the rug rats something about physical fitness. Fortunately, one of my professors knew somebody who needed someone to help out at his gym. I also had credentials in teaching maternity fitness, so I was able to bring something useful to the interview that helped me get the job."
"Where did you work?" Lori asked.
"The Metro gym," Marcella said. "I was hired there at almost the same time as Connor. It was nice to have someone I knew there. Trying to go it alone in the city when you're just starting out is kind of a lonely business."
"Yeah, I know," Lori said.
"Where's your husband today?" Marcella asked.
"Oh, he had some interviews at City Hall, so I said I'd come over and do some of the background for the first article," Lori said. "Connor fixed it so I could wander around and watch even when I'm not in the class."
"I see," Marcella said. "Well, I sure hope your series boosts our membership. We're operating on a shoestring until we get enough people to make it a success. We all appreciate the effort you're making for us." She glanced at her watch. "I'm leaving in a few minutes. Look around all you like. Feel free to try some of the equipment if you want. Just be careful if you do."
"I think I'll wait until Clark is with me," Lori said. "He knows how to work this stuff."
Marcella smiled. "He looks like he works out pretty regularly. Maybe he should get a membership here."
"Maybe he should," Lori said. "I'll mention it to him."
Marcella departed, and Lori stood by the wall, watching the patrons of the gym working out on the machines. They varied from kids in their late teens to people in their sixties and seventies. Some were enthusiastic, some acted as if they were there because they'd been dragged in by other family members. After a time, she wandered back out to the reception area. Deirdre was nowhere to be seen, so Lori left quietly and headed for the Jeep.
By this time of the day, rush hour had been in progress for a couple of hours, and she figured she could expect to take at least an hour to make it to the Planet. She maneuvered her way through the stop and go traffic, wondering why, with all the advances in human civilization, and human technology, that Metropolis still had to endure the annoyance of rush hour every day. At last she concluded that Metropolis was simply a very large city, with a very high population density. Whenever a lot of people wanted to get somewhere at the same time, there were going to be traffic jams.
It was somewhere about halfway between the gym and the Daily Planet, that she realized that she was being followed.
************
tbc
