Chapter 13: Conspiracy Theory

After paying for our food, Whisper got us back to the hotel within ten minutes.

Having parked in the parking garage, neither of us saw the mass of police cars out front. I wanted to bypass any spectacle going on. When we entered the lobby, the hotel staff had apparently put lookouts for my entrance. One young man immediately approached. He looked like he was a mix of curious, anxious and scared.

"Mr. Setton. The ... uh ... the detective is in here." He turned and led us to the rooms where I had talked to the FBI agents not very long ago.

There were two detectives and three uniformed police in the room. One of the detectives and two of the uniforms left after I was escorted in. Whisper waited outside the room.

The detective that remained was a couple of inches shorter than me. His hair and eyes were dark, and I could tell he was sharp. He didn't look more than thirty five, but I could have been wrong. He had on a suit but lacked the cliché trench coat. The officer was a woman. Why I was surprised, I didn't know. She looked sturdy in her uniform, with the wide, heavy utility belt and gun at her side. Her medium brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun that left her face completely open. She wore no makeup, which I didn't think it was allowed when she was in uniform anyway. There just wasn't anything attractive about her except her eyes. They were bright green and momentarily reminded me of Erin's.

The detective approached me. "Mr. Setton, I'm Detective Arneson and this is Officer Jones."

The detective's name caught me off guard, because it was the same as the Lady of House Isaacs. I was expecting to deal with completely normal humans for this. If he was a Mind Magi, my alibi could be shot full of holes.

The detective shook my hand and a gold mark appeared at the corner of his mouth. It was a small vertical line, just like what Dr. Holzer's looked like before I shared my ability to heal with him. The detective would know if I was lying.

I did my best to relax. "The hotel staff called. I understand something happened in my room?"

"Yes, we're not entirely sure what happened. All we know is one of the hotel staff went up to do her rounds of cleaning and found the door of your room not only wide open, but partially broken off of its hinges."

I listened patiently. As long as he didn't ask too many questions, I would be okay.

"The staff sent up their normal security people because the cleaning lady refused to go in. They, in turn, called us."

I nodded, remaining relatively calm. I started to ask what he had found but stopped myself. It would be better to let him ask me questions and go from there. The less I said, the less they would have to hold against me.

"When we arrived, we didn't find anything wrong, but we're going over the entire suite and looking for prints. Did you have anything of value in your room?"

I shook my head. "Just my laptop, but I sent that with an associate of mine when she left for the airport."

The detective stared at me. "I see. Okay then. Well, we're going to need to take your prints. For purposes of elimination only, of course."

"Of course," I mimicked smiling nervously.

Officer Jones set an ink pad and a sheet of paper on the table. I went over to her and let her take my prints. I knew no one else had them and I had never been in trouble with the law, so there was no problem cooperating.

She handed me a paper towel and I started wiping off the excess ink. The detective said, "The hotel has provided us with a copy of your cell phone number. As soon as we have gone through the room and collected all of the information we need from there, we will contact you to let you know where you can pick up your stuff."

I wasn't too surprised by that.

"Thank you Mr. Setton," said the detective as he and the officer left.

Whisper came in looking collected. I wasn't sure if she was masking her real emotions or not, but I wasn't going to stay around long enough for anyone else to notice. I led the way back out to the lobby and went straight for the parking garage. Whisper followed me in silence.

We got to her car and I stopped. Both of us were finally breathing again.

"That went better than expected, but he didn't mention the men or the woman," I said. Then I looked Whisper in the eyes. "Did you know they wouldn't find anything?"

She shook her head. "If I knew who it was that attacked you, I might have been able to figure it out."

"Yeah, but he made it sound like they were gone when he arrived."

Whisper nodded, somewhat enthusiastically. "Even better. It was a break in while you were out. Now there's nothing at all to worry about."

"Yes there is. Those guys are still out there. I was hoping the police would have them in custody. I'm also curious what was done with the woman's body..."

I looked up and was glad we were whispering because I saw the detective come out of the hotel. He looked around, spotted us and began walking our way.

Whisper noticed where he was looking and turned. She waited with me for the detective.

"I'm glad you haven't left yet Mr. Setton. I have one more question to ask, but uh ... can we talk privately?"

The detective glanced at Whisper. I wasn't sure what he wanted, but his glance told me it was a Mind Magi issue.

"I'll be right back," I said to Whisper and went with the Detective.

She went around and got into her car, giving us more privacy.

The detective did a slight bow of the head. "Lord Setton," he said even more quietly, "I have to apologize for what happened earlier."

"Apologize? For what?" I asked without acknowledging his bow.

"The fact that someone broke into your room."

I wanted to laugh in relief but I kept myself in check. I must have looked un-phased by his apology because he said quickly. "I know you have important things to be tending to but I thought you should know: there seems to be something happening. Something involving the other House Leaders."

He stood there staring at me. Finally I asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Normally the other House Leaders leave the city once the meeting is over. Some might stay for a meal, but otherwise they return to their own areas. Today though, none of them have left."

"That's no reason for a conspiracy."

"I know, it looks like just a coincidence, but I also know that my niece, Lady Arneson's daughter, went missing just last night. I feel there is a connection between that and this sudden need for the House Leaders to all stay in town."