“Carter?” Richard called out. The young man lying in the infirmary bed looked up weakly. “I just learned your name,” Richard explained. “I don’t have to call you Racer X anymore.”

“Yeah,” the youth laughed. “I’m retiring that nickname. I think I’ll just use my real name from now on.”

Richard stood by the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“A lot better,” he assured. “They’re slowly getting the drugs out of my system, and collecting them for evidence.” He looked up and down his form, and snickered. “My entire body is a crime scene!”

“I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through,” Richard said softly, seating himself in a nearby chair.

“Me either,” Carter assured. “But I’m slowly getting my memory back. Although I almost wish I wasn’t.” Carter fixed Richard with a firm look. “Either way, I have you to thank for freeing me from that living hell. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“That’s OK,” Richard assured. “I’m just happy to do a good deed.” Besides, the youth might turn out to have rich parents too. Hopefully they would express their gratitude by showering him with money.

He relaxed his head on his pillow. “I just have glimpses so far; I was in a psychedelic haze the whole time. I remember doing physical labor for her, being locked in the closet for long stretches at a time, participating in her protests, and…being her love slave.”

“Ouch,” Richard winced.

“Yeah. It was like an endless series of one-night-stands, done without love. And I learned, firsthand, the most disturbing aspect of being raped – someone you hate is making you feel good. Even through all the confusion, I knew I was being forced to do something I didn’t want to do.”

“How did you break out of it?” Richard asked. “You suddenly started fighting Kelly, but I don’t know why.”

“That was your doing!” Carter cheered. “Ripping off the mask was the best thing you could have done for me! Placing that thing over my head was part of her hypnotic suggestion; ‘with this mask, I thee wed, until death do us part’. That was one of the first things I could remember, and then the rest of the memories started trickling out.”

“Glad I could help!” Richard chirped.

Carter smiled. “If it hadn’t been for that one oddly idiosyncratic detail, I might still be under her control. Thank goodness she had a flair for the theatrical.”

“Indeed,” Richard concurred. “Do you remember following me in the park? And near the cave?”

“I do!” Carter informed. “But I wasn’t following you; I was fetching ingredients for Kelly. Stuff she needed, as it turned out, to maintain my zombie state. The park has a patch of angel-trumpet flowers; she referred to it as ‘our special place’ and charged me with protecting it at all costs. But it was the source of the zombie cucumber that was part of her concoction. And I don’t remember seeing you at any cave, though I remember getting chased off by a lizard as big as an alligator.” He looked at Richard, his brow furrowing. “So you had something to do with that?”

“It was a monitor lizard,” Richard informed. “A personal guardian, brought by my…hiking buddy.”

Carter laughed. “Hey, no hard feelings! It was fine by me! I hated going into that cave. Even in my stupor, I got really claustrophobic, but I couldn’t resist her commands. That stupid glowing fungus was also probably used against me, huh?”

“Actually,” Richard clarified, “from what I know, it’s part of her healing salve. Works really well, too. She patched me up one night after I got hurt.”

Carter shrugged. “Glad she did something positive with all that stuff.”

“It’s a shame she won’t be able to use it where she’s going,” Richard lamented. “She’s not likely to get a chance to do that in the prison infirmary.”

Carter looked up suddenly. “So she’s definitely going to jail?”

“The last I heard,” Richard related, “her lawyer is still arguing up a storm. No decisions have been made yet.”

Carter winced. “Rich people and their damn lawyers.” He sighed and put his hand to his forehead. “It’s really nice to be able to think for myself again, even though now I remember what a crappy person I’ve been.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Richard lamented. “Want to talk about it?”

“Sure,” Carter chimed, “though I’m not really thrilled about it.”

He cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m basically a low-born hood, never really good at anything. After high school, I ended up getting a job with my uncle, restoring vintage automobiles. Most of the money I made went towards restitution, for all the thefts I’d committed as a teen…many against my own neighbors. I did the heavy work no one else wanted to do, like raw metalworking. So one day, we get a real antique to restore, a ’40s roadster of some kind. The owner shows up to look at the progress, and brings his daughter. I finish some welding and look up, and she’s just standing there, staring at me longingly. I could almost smell her getting wet from ten feet away!”

“I did not need to know that,” Richard cringed.

Carter shrugged. “It’s my nature. Anyway, I figured I could do with some spoiled-rotten princess panties in my life, so I turned on the charm, and next thing I knew, we were together! It was pretty cool having a rich girlfriend. Though one time, when I was alone with her dad, he gave me a dirty look and said she would tire of me quickly.” He shrugged. “He was right; she said she loved me, but wanted to change every last little thing about me. And when I couldn’t do that, she’d get mad.” He looked Richard in the eye. “What’s up with that, anyway?”

“I never understood it either,” Richard commiserated. “It’s like having a cute face is more important than being a good person.”

Carter laughed. “It’d be easier to start with a nice dork, and give him a makeover, wouldn’t you think?”

“Better keep that to yourself,” Richard snickered. “Otherwise, the Star Trek convention would empty out. Paramount would nail you to the wall.”

“Let them!” he boasted. “What more could possibly happen to me, anyway? She even started criticizing the way I cracked my knuckles; earlier, she told me she thought it was sexy. Finally, she said she was ready to break up with me.”

“But she didn’t?” Richard asked.

“I figured I had nothing to lose, so I offer her a romantic evening, and she accepts. Grudgingly, maybe, but still. So I show up with an elegant car, and pick her up; once we get into the light, she suddenly notices it’s her father’s car, the one we were restoring. She freaks out, but I just laugh and floor it! She’s scared witless, and screaming at me. You won’t believe what happened next. Not thirty seconds later, the police spot us, and give chase. And thirty seconds after that, who should drive by going the other direction but her father! He of course recognizes his own car. The police corner us a minute later; they have radios, after all.”

“Harsh,” Richard commiserated. “But you have to admit, you deserved it.”

Carter grimaced. “I deserved something, but not what I got! So her father shows up soon afterwards. I tried to claim I was just taking it for a test drive; the creep said it’s more like I want to take Kelly for a test drive in the back seat. Really! I’m no angel, but who says that in front of his own daughter?”

Richard’s only response was to look nauseous. Carter continued. “In the end, no charges are filed, and I have to pay for any damage I caused, with my own money, so now there’s even more restitution. She breaks up with me on the spot, of course.”

“But it didn’t end there,” Richard prompted.

“What can I say? I missed my princess. Or her money. I forget. So I come to her window one night, pleading with her to come back to me. Here’s a pro tip for you: security at that place is a joke. They’ll only see you if you come up the driveway. Anyway, she actually comes out to meet me! But as I move in to hug her, she suddenly sprays me in the face with something. I thought it was pepper spray, but it definitely wasn’t. I just remember feeling completely helpless, and then…I don’t remember anything. Just lots of vague glimpses. Then you tore off my mask and I started to get my mind back.”

“And no one came looking for you?”

Carter looked down sullenly. “Apparently not. But I was such a troublemaker to begin with, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were glad I wasn’t around. Apparently the police have found them, but I haven’t heard anything else. I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t look forward to me coming back.”

“I can see that,” Richard agreed. He noticed the medical examiner trying to get his attention. “Looks like I have to go,” he announced. “But you’re in good hands here. I’ve known Dr. Wilson for a long time.”

“Yeah, he’s done a lot to help me. Take care, detective.”

Richard nodded and met with the medical examiner. “Everything OK?”

“His vitals are fluctuating,” Fito informed. “He needs to rest. I’m surprised he went as long as he did.”

Richard put his palms up. “Sorry about that! I’ll leave him be.”