  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
Rose Mary Black is the overarching antagonist of the Spenser novel "Crimson Joy". Black is the disturbed, abusive mother of serial killer Gordon Felton, upon whom she inflicted severe trauma that warped him into a hateful nobody intent on taking his rage out on other women.
History[]
Black was both an obsessive and careless matriarch in the house. In public, she tied to overcompensate for her lack of a reputation, acting like she knew and could do so much, trying also to weasel her way into Felton's social circles. Black was especially manipulative over Felton, obsessively trying to get his attention, then rejecting him, telling all his embarrassing secrets to people for being a part of gossip, and even hitting him when she wanted. Black worst of all repeatedly raped Felton, which Felton would never tell even to his therapist, Dr. Susan Silverman. Black's husband George was abusive, raping her when she he was drunk, but she took it out on Felton when, during one time he walked in on them both, she dragged him by his hair to lock him in a closet, when he had to pee. Black still had some hold on George, as he too harassed Felton when he dragged the boy to a brothel once, where a black prostitute molested him and then stole his pants, George remarking Black would hate them both for it.
Felton blamed his problem constantly on Black, from his failed relationships to his failed ambitions for police work. he still lived with Black, but couldn't put up with the rage he withheld, especially when seeing women of color across Boston reminded him of both Black and the sex worker that sexually abused him. Felton killed four different black women in home invasions, tying them up, shooting them in their wombs while raping them with the gun, and orgasming all over their apartments. He also taunted authorities by lying he was a cop in a letter, as well as antagonized Dr. Silverman by poisoning her fish. When copycat Raymond Washburn killed his wife and confessed to all the murders, Felton was nearly caught when leaving a rose in Silverman's apartment. After Silverman dropped Felton as a patient, which he reacted to with expected vulgar outrage, Spenser and police confronted Black and Felton at the apartment. In spite of Black trying to domineer Felton again, he insulted her by calling her "Blackie", a moniker she hated, and confessed to the murders. She insulted him back, ordered him to run, and hit him to make him. Felton stopped and was talked down from a suicide attempt to arrest him. It didn't matter, as when Felton was in his filthy jail cell, he flashed back to Black raping him, muttered "I never told, Mama", and hanged himself with his shirt. Black's fate is left unknown.