Chapter 20

Ms Frasier’s apartment was spacious, but it felt cramped with so many people in it. Among all the Dragon House Leaders, Ms Frasier, and myself, we came up with a plan for taking down Garret and Mr Wulf said he would put a stop to the assassination attempts. There was some discussion as to how to make that happen, but that was all among the House Leaders.

While they talked about that issue, Ms. Frasier called the police on my behalf to report my latest encounter with Garret. Lt. Stanfield ended up on the phone with her and asked to meet us at her place. The House Leaders decided to leave before he arrived, and for a moment, I found out how comfortable Ms. Frasier’s apartment felt.

Lt. Stanfield didn’t come alone. Detective Hathaway arrived with him and she looked eager for this meeting, unlike Stanfield, who appeared solemn and stoic as always.

Ms. Frasier offered everyone drinks. I took a glass of tea. Lt. Stanfield accepted a cup of black coffee. Dt. Hathaway declined everything. Ms. Frasier got herself a cup of coffee too and the four of us sat at her dining table. Lt. Stanfield and Detective Hathaway sat on one side of Ms. Frasier’s table. Ms. Frasier and I sat on the other side.

Stanfield pulled out a small digital voice recorder. “Is it okay if I record this interview?” he asked. Ms. Frasier.

“Yes,” she said.

He nodded, activated the recorder, which lit up the little red LED on the side. He then recorded the date, time, location and those in attendance. Finally, he set it in the middle of the table. Before anyone else said anything, he said, “Ral, would you please tell us what happened earlier today, at the storage lot.”

I started from the point where Jerry was leading me into the storage area. I gave a full account, including how Jerry had been hurt and that I had healed him. I repeated what everyone said, including Jerry, Garret, and myself. I summed up with returning to the office

Then Stanfield’s partner, Detective Hathaway, asked, “Ral, did you actually see this person?”

“No,” I said.

“Then how do you know that Garret Fredrickson was the one communicating with you?” she asked.

“Don’t answer that,” Ms Frasier said. “Plenty of witnesses have helped identify another person simply by hearing their voice.”

Hathaway looked at the lawyer with a small smile. “True, but Ral didn’t hear this voice in the traditional sense. In fact, I would wager that the man he was with, Jerry, didn’t hear any voices other than Ral’s.”

“Then what’s your point in questioning Ral’s ability to identify this voice?” Ms. Frasier asked.

Hathaway looked at me. I could see the smugness in her aura. “Have you ever spoken to the owner of the voice in person?”

“No,” I said without hesitation.

“Have you ever heard him speak with his mouth?”

“Don’t answer that,” Ms. Frasier said. “If my client hasn’t spoken to the owner of the voice, then that would mean he hasn’t heard the owner speak with his own mouth.”

I remained quiet, but grew both angry and frustrated, not to mention scared. Hathaway had an agenda. I just didn’t want to put words to it ... yet.

Hathaway looked at Frasier. “If he’s never seen this person or heard his voice, then how does he know the voice in his head belongs to Garret Fredrickson?”

I glanced at Stanfield. His aura was stormy. He either didn’t like the questions she was asking, or he didn’t like that he couldn’t steer the investigation in a different direction. Of course, there was a third possible reason for his emotional state: he may be upset because Hathaway has him convinced that I’ve done something so as to no longer be trusted. I needed to find a way to help him understand that what I told them was the truth. But, how could I do that when everything I know and understand stems from my powers and I didn’t know how to share that other than verbally. Worse, Hathaway’s question made it sound like I was hearing voices of people that didn’t exist. I frowned at her. I knew it wasn’t my imagination. I didn’t hurt Jerry. I didn’t kill Bethany. And if she truly believed these things, then people would continue to die long after she wrongly imprisoned me.

I wanted to scream at her, but I knew - because Ms. Frasier had coached me - if I said anything too complex, it could be turned around and used against me. I did, however, have a question of my own. “If you don’t believe the voice belonged to Garret Fredrickson, then to whom do you believe to be the owner?”

Hathaway sat back, shaking her head. “You don’t get to ask me questions.”

Ms. Frasier and I shared a look. We both knew that Hathaway didn’t want to answer that question.

Stanfield spoke up. “I believe that’s enough for now.” Then he reached over and turned off the recorder. He gave Hathaway a glance and then looked at me. “I do have a request.”

I nodded. “It never hurts to ask.”

He nodded too and said, “The coroner asked for your help with Bethany Corvin’s remains.”

Ms. Frasier leaned on the table. “What kind of help?”

Stanfield shook his head. “I don’t know. He tried to explain it to me, but all the technical jargon went right over my head.”

Ms. Frasier then gave Hathaway a sideways glance. “Well, if my client is currently under investigation for Ms. Corvin’s death, it would seem to be in his best interest to avoid any association with the investigation.”

I cocked an eyebrow. I was curious. “How am I supposed to help the coroner if you didn’t understand what he wanted?”

He sighed. “Yeah, I thought that might be your response.” Then he pulled out his phone. “Let me call him and let him talk to you.”

Ms. Frasier gave me a warning look. She didn’t like this, mostly because she didn’t understand what was going on anymore than I did.

A woman answered, “Coroner’s office.”

“Hey, Sandra, it’s Stanfield.”

“Well, hey, Lt. Stanfield,” she said with a purr. “Are we still on for Friday night?”

He glanced around the table. “Now’s not the time, Sandra. I need to talk to Daniel.”

“Okay,” she said softly. “He’s been getting anxious waitin’ for you and this other guy, ... Ral?”

Stanfield looked at me. “Yeah, he’s here with me.”

“I’ll let him know,” she said and the line went to music.

Hathaway looked disgusted, along with her aura. She obviously didn’t believe that I should be allowed to know everything they knew. I understood her reasoning. I just didn’t like the idea of being her primary suspect.

Ms. Frasier bumped me with her elbow. When I looked at her, she gave me a meaningful look. I understood: I wasn’t supposed to say anything unless she approved.

The music on Stanfield’s phone stopped and then another voice, this one a man’s, said, “Stanfield, where are you?”

“I’m currently at a residence with Ral and his lawyer.”

“Ah, I understand. Ral, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” I said automatically. Then I glanced at Ms. Frasier and she stared daggers at me.

“I understand why you have a lawyer,” Daniel said, “But I need your help with something. The remains the police brought back match Bethany’s DNA profile, but I cannot figure out what was done to her. In layman’s terms, this goo is parallel to ash after a fire. There have been molecular changes made to her flesh that resulted in this mess. I was hoping you might be able to offer some insight.”

Ms. Frasier placed her hand on my arm, stopping me from saying anything. I then leaned over to her and said, “I have no idea what was done or how.”

She nodded and I said the same thing aloud.

“I was hoping for more, but when you don’t know something, there is no other answer to give,” Daniel said. He didn’t sound disappointed either, simply accepting the information for what it was and quickly moving on. “I do have some information both you, your lawyer, and the detectives need to hear.”

Several hands shot out toward the phone, but Stanfield had been holding it and he simply pulled it toward his chest in defense. He turned off the speaker and put the phone to his ear. “Tell me,” he said and then listened. He looked at me while listening and I could see his aura settle down. “Okay. I understand.” Then he held out the phone, turned the speaker back on and said, “Now, Daniel, tell everyone else what you just told me.”

“Okay ... Well, while testing the remains to confirm they belonged to Ms. Corvin, we found a second DNA profile. We ran it in our system and came up with only one name: Garret Fredrickson, a former Army Ranger who was dishonorably discharged for violence about eight years ago. Of all the evidence recovered at the scene, no other DNA profiles came back. As far as I’m concerned, Ral had nothing to do with this.”