The Tower

"My daughter is preparing her dissertation in the Romantic visual arts, Mr. Marlow. I don't find myself speaking down to her very often." He punctuated his response by thumping his cane lightly on the floor. Another thought grabbed him and he no longer looked offended. "In fact, my son is the intellectual unfortunate in the family," he confessed heavily. "He's a banker."

He settled into his chair. "Now in The Tempest we find a young man by the name of Ferdinand. This Ferdinand is washed up on the shore of an island, having survived a shipwreck. However, his father is nowhere to be found." A wistful look crossed the professor's eyes as he contemplated the pain of getting washed ashore without one's father. "This so-called 'poem' which you present is sung to Ferdinand by Ariel, who is a fairy."

Jade started slightly in his chair.

"No, no. A fairy as in a flying elf. A Tinkerbellesque fairy if you must."

"So it's a song about his dead father?"

The professor shook his head vehemently, as if allowing Jade's response to hang in the air uncontested, even for a moment, might validate it. "No no. His father is quite well. He washes ashore elsewhere."

"So if this… fairy is a fairy, then wouldn't it know that?"

"Precisely."

"Then why's it telling Ferdinand his father died?"

Dr. Lithemeir grinned, pleased by Jade's curiosity. "Perhaps because he represents Ferdinand's fantasy world. Ferdinand must allow himself a clean break from his paternal tie in order to properly mature and come to manhood." He smiled self-consciously. "That's the Cliff's Notes version, of course. Please don't quote me."

Interesting, Jade thought. Another image of a dead father. The father having to die in order for the son's development to progress. What there is in every little boy. The Oedipal complex again. Why was Allander so fixated on it? he wondered.

Jade wasn't so sure that Dr. Yung was right in his assessment; he had a feeling that Allander might direct his rage toward his real parents. It seemed more and more that he was pointing back in that direction. Getting ready to go home.

"That's why he's able to win the fair maiden in the end," the professor concluded.

"Either that or he used a really good line," Jade said.

"Several of them, in fact," Dr. Lithemeir replied. "He couldn't help but score with the Bard of Avon writing his verse for him."

Jade rose to leave.

"A rather suitable quotation from a man who submerged a large tower to effect his escape, don't you think, Mr. Marlow?" He looked at Jade with his head bent slightly and one eyebrow raised. You're not getting this at all, his look said.

"You know, Professor," Jade said. "I'm not as dumb as I look."

Lithemeir laughed. "Well, I suppose we should all be grateful for little miracles." He rose from his chair and crossed to a shelf of books. He ran his thumb over the top of them, finally pulling a dusty paperback from the row and tossing it to Jade. Glancing at the cover, Jade saw that it was a copy of The Tempest.

"The play's the nook, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the crook," Dr. Lithemeir said with a smile.

"I don't know if he has one, Professor," Jade said. He tossed the book back. "Don't really have time. I think I got the gist."

The professor's smile faded as he remembered that the situation was more than a game.

"Thank you for your time."

"It was a pleasure," Jade heard the professor say as he swept past Ms. Jennings's desk. Again, she nearly dropped her cup of coffee.

"We'll have to do cocktails sometime," he muttered over his shoulder.

Chapter 35

A L L A N D E R awoke with the first light of morning, feeling the coolness of the breeze across his face. He sat up. His first instinct was to spring to his feet, but he restrained himself. A feeling of unmitigated freedom washed through him like an orgasm, leaving his head humming and his fingers tingling. He had no reason to be anywhere except right where he was. Propping his head on his arm, he lay back again, listening to the breeze in the leaves and smelling the thickness of nature all around him.

Jade watched the rest of the tapes from Allander's trial, but they were not very helpful. Allander barely spoke at all, choosing to rely on the skills of the lawyer his parents had hired for him. He was too unstable to speak to the jury, Jade thought. Although it wasn't like Allander to play a peripheral role in his own show, it was a smart legal decision. He was capable of toning down his act when he knew it was good for him. Not that his silence had helped-he was convicted of the rape and kidnapping of a young girl. The kidnapping was what had landed him in federal prison; he was only eighteen years of age at the time.