Acts of Violet(27)
“I’m glad you think so. Now, you were saying Violet’s dark sense of humor isn’t what really bothered you.”
“Right.” My eyes wander to the bookcase, which displays a vase of sunflowers beside three bronze swans. “I thought having a sister would mean I’d always have a built-in best friend. I don’t know if Violet ever saw it that way, because she treated me more like a built-in opponent. What really bothered me was her competitiveness. Not toward other people, just me. It’s like she had this mental tally of the ways I excelled over her and vice versa, and she’d list it at every opportunity. I was taller and had prettier eyes and hair, but she was more flexible and had cuter feet. Mom liked me better because I kept my room tidy, but Dad liked Violet better because she spent hours watching him and Uncle Slava play cards. I was better at checkers but she was better at Connect Four. It was ridiculous.”
“Sibling rivalry is not uncommon.”
Maybe that’s why I was adamant that Quinn remain an only child. “The thing is, I had no interest in competing. I can’t help what kind of hair or eyes I was born with, and if she wanted to win at checkers so badly, I’d let her. But that was no good—she wanted to draw me into battle and make me fight fair so that she could win fair. And when she couldn’t win in one area, she sought out a different way to top me. That’s probably why she took up magic.”
“How old were you at this point?”
“I don’t know, seven, eight?”
“Did things between you change when she began practicing magic?”
I shift in my seat. “I’m really holding you to the client confidentiality thing here.”
“As long as you are not a danger to yourself or others, anything you say stays between us.”
“Okay then. Here goes. I hate stage magic. Loathe it. Vehemently despise it.”
“Is this since your sister has gone missing?”
“No, I’ve never enjoyed it. Not even as a kid. I didn’t feel a sense of awe or wonder, I felt manipulated and frustrated when I couldn’t figure out how a trick was done. Because obviously there’s no such thing as real magic. When Uncle Slava taught Violet a few coin tricks, it was different, because she’d tell me how they were done, so I could relax and admire the artistry of, say, her making a quarter disappear and reappear. This was back when I was in second grade and she was in third…” I’ll need a few deep breaths for this next part. “She started getting in trouble with her teacher and being forced to stay after school. I’d wait for her so we could take the late bus together—we were latchkey kids, our parents never knew what time we got home. One day, she was taking longer than usual, and I was worried we’d miss the bus, so I went looking for her. She was in the bathroom, mummifying her legs in toilet paper.” Fuck. The tissues beckon. I grab one and dab at my wet cheeks. “I asked what she was doing and before she could answer, I saw spots of red seeping through the toilet paper on the back of her legs.” I blow my nose and reach for another tissue. “Violet looked guilt-stricken and swore she was trying not to be bad, but she couldn’t help sneaking a coin into class now and again. I didn’t know whether there were rules against teachers hitting children, but I knew it couldn’t be right to make a little girl bleed over a motherfucking quarter.” More tissues, more deep breaths. “She begged me not to tell our parents, but how could I keep something like that from them? I cried the whole way home and was still crying when Mom and Dad got home. It must’ve been a Friday, because the next time we were back in school, Violet had a sub and the other teacher never returned. I thought Violet would be grateful that I helped get rid of this monster.”
“She wasn’t?” Curiosity knits Renatta’s brow.
“She refused to talk about it. After that, she also refused to tell me how she did any of her tricks. I started hating magic even more then.”
* * *
Date: February 13, 2018, at 5:15 AM
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Vanishing Violet
* * *
Dear Mr. Frank,
I have some information about Violet Volk that I believe you will find compelling. Nothing I say will be off the record, but if we speak, I do urge you to be circumspect about what you share with your audience. There are safety matters to consider.
I cannot divulge my identity or relationship to Ms. Volk. You may refer to me as Checkmate.
If you choose to speak with me, once you indicate your agreement, I will set up a secure communication channel.
You may ask any questions during our conversation, but you may not respond to this email with anything except for “YES” if you wish to continue our correspondence. If you respond with anything other than those three letters, you will not hear from me again. If you take longer than forty-eight hours to respond, you will not hear from me again.
Sincerely yours,
?
* * *
Date: February 13, 2018, at 8:19 AM
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Vanishing Violet
* * *
YES
* * *
Date: February 13, 2018, at 9:04 AM