Theo Garrett’s coworkers knew something like this might happen.
That’s what four of them said in exclusive interviews withThe Washington Heraldthe day after he was charged — in absentia — with a brazen attempt to kill Peter Blackwell and Beatrix Harper after the latter chose Wizard Blackwell over him. All spoke on the condition that they not be named because of the sensitive nature of their jobs at the Pentagram.
“He’s fixated on that woman,” said one of the men who worked in Wizard Garrett’s unit. “He seemed to think she was the only one he could count on to lovehimas opposed to his status as a wizard. But for [expletive] sake, when someone refuses to marry you, that’s a pretty clear sign they don’t love you.”
“He’s not used to skirts saying no to him,” another former colleague said. “Kind of drove him ’round the bend.”
A wizard who worked with Wizard Garrett for six years put it more bluntly: “Something is very wrong with him.”
March 15, 2021
Father of accused ‘Romeo & Juliet’ attacker left with bitter memories
By Ron Sawyer
New Orleans Beestaff writer
Theo Garrett never visited his parents in the four years they lived in a cozy house a few miles outside New Orleans. He never called. When his mother died last June, he didn’t come to her funeral.
Now his father is left with terrible clues — in police and news reports — about the man his estranged son has become.
She woke in the dark and lay in her bed for a few more moments, savoring the thought that she would never again have to sleep in it—alone—while an invisible camera recorded her every toss and turn. She’d spent her last night in this house. Fourteen or so hours from now, she could slip into Peter’s bed without fear of condemnation.
She considered that for a pleasant thirty seconds, her imagination fueled by all the things they’d done dreamside, when reality hit. They didn’t want children, they absolutely could not afford an accident, and their only way to guarantee none was to forgo what she had long thought was the sole form of sexual relations. Now she knew other methods of giving and receiving pleasure, but such a restriction … She groaned and rolled out of bed, a final offering for the cameras.Oh, how she missed dreamside.
But she’d talked herself into a better mood by the end of breakfast. If she could go back in time and tell her month-ago self that Peter would soon break free of his coma, share his life with her and sleep with her but just not in this one specific way—and wasn’t thatrotten—well, she’d get roundly told off by herself.
By the end of the day, they would be married. He was alive, he loved her and that was more than enough. She kept these thoughts in mind as she packed her lunch, put on her nicest dress and pinned up her hair, until she was positively giddy.
He arrived to take her to work with a smile every bit as wide as hers. “Ready?”
It was a question with two meanings, and she answered both. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
“I have the rings,” he murmured on the way to his car.
“Did the jeweler recognize you?”
He chuckled. “Nope. I put on a hat, tucked my hair under my coat and turned up the collar.”
In the car, he pulled a book from the back seat and handed it to her. “Before we go, take a look at something.”
Why he wanted her to seeGreenhouse Gardensbecame clear when he opened the front cover and she saw the piece of paper tucked inside.
Her breath caught.
I, Peter Blackwell, relinquish any so-called coverture rights over Beatrix Harper once we are married. I will not prevent her from working if she so chooses or dictate anything about such employment. I will consult with her on any matter involving our finances. I will take no significant actions involving our property without her consent. In short, I acknowledge her as an adult with equal standing and commit to treating her as such, regardless of ridiculous laws to the contrary.
She stared at it, the memory of their past contracts—the terrible Vows—making this one all the more striking.
He cleared his throat. “Is it ... all right?”
“Yes,” she whispered. She knew she couldn’t say much, in case the car was bugged, so she simply added,“Yes.”
He leaned in, signing and dating it.
“You know I trust you,” she said as he pulled down the driveway, hoping he would understand she meanteven without it.
He nodded. “I know. But some things just cry out to be said.”
