TANSTAV part 23

Chapter 6 part 4

After her bout of hysteria had subsided, I got Calla to eat some soup.  Because I was feeling kind of hungry again, I ate some too.  We sat at the kitchen table, munching in silence.  Then I noticed that Calla was watching me eat, eyebrows furrowed.

“What is it, kid?  Expecting me to be slurping it up like a savage jungle beast?”

“No.  I-I just noticed that you’re left-handed, like me.”

“Actually, I’m ambidextrous.”  I demonstrated by effortlessly switching the spoon to my right hand.  “But Xen’s left-handed.”

“Who’s Xen?”

“My...friend.  She’ll show up at some point.”  I continued, “Getting back to what I was saying, many monsters are left-handed.  It’s no big deal to us.  It’s probably part of the reason why humans used to think it was such a taboo, and sinful thing; primeval memories associated the two.”

Calla murmured, “I see,” and inhaled a noodle so fast it flipped her on the nose as it went in.  She managed a small smile at that.

When we finished, she went back to bed; and, finally admitting defeat, I did too.  When I awoke, it was 7 in the morning.  Normally, I would have gone to work now; however, Ishida had said that Calla was to be in my care.  And, since she was forbidden to leave this apartment, I was unsure if that meant that I had to stay here too.  Reluctantly, I called him to find out the exact details of her incarceration.

After about 3 rings, his voice came grumpily through the receiver.

"What is it, Wormwood?"

"Since the girl has to stay here, do I have to too?"

"Huh?  What- Oh.  Yes.  Yes, until further notice, you are temporarily relieved from working with us.  Only go out if you can get someone to replace you."

Silently, I punched the air.

"Thanks, Chief."

"My pleasure," he said dryly.  "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

"Oh, wait!  I forgot to add: I got her set up with a psychiatrist.  Dr. Higgins.  Does she have to stay here for those too?"

"...I'll send a message to Dr. Higgins to make it a house call," he sighed.  And with that, he hung up.

For three weeks, I spent most of my time in my apartment.  Xen came over as often as possible, in order to help look after her, and every other day, Higgins came for the therapy session.  I don't know the exact nature of his treatment, since I usually took those times to go to the station or work on the case, but I do know that soon Calla was looking a lot better.  The bruises faded, and having healthy meals made her look less cadaverous.  Xen went out shopping for her, and bought her some new clothes, which fit her frame a great deal better.  Furthermore, she responded well to the therapy.  I think Higgins might have cheated a little, using some kind of spell to calm her nerves, but if it did the trick, I was okay with it.  Within two and a half weeks, Calla's serious brown eyes began to lose that haunted look.  Not completely, but to an acceptable degree.  A few times, I even made her smile.  A small, timid one, but a smile nonetheless.

However, while she may have been improving, my case was going nowhere fast.  I watched the tape, and it showed zilch.  At 8:30 am of that day, Jessup was still in his cell, lying on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling.  The list of enemies brought no clues whatsoever, since they all had alibis, and were not known for having any motive for kidnapping that I could find.  I brought the magic samples down to the station, and a mage (not Fleming, thankfully) found out that the one outside the senator's house and the one in the elevator had both been used for teleportation.  The one in the cell had been a hypnotism spell.  That certainly made things suspicious, but it wasn't really concrete evidence.  We still couldn't find out who the fragments had come from, and I was sure Jessup wasn't gonna talk.  It was possible to use a spell to force the truth from him, but it had the side-effect of shattering the person's mind.  As delightful as that would be, it was also highly illegal.  Dang it.

Anyway, the three weeks were soon up.  Calla went to the police, made her statement, and the case was officially recorded and filed.  Since she was a legal adult, and had no known relatives and nowhere to go, I took her back home with me.  Well, that’s not the only reason.  Our laws have a special clause called the Mercy Clause, installed by President William “Billy” Bones back when he was in office, regarding people who kill in self-defense.  If they have true remorse for their actions (we have ways of confirming that), and it’s clear that they hadn't planned to kill the person beforehand, they can avoid time in prison if they can instead be put in the custody of a trusted relative, or the equivalent, to make sure they don’t get into trouble again.  As there was no one to fulfill this role, to her knowledge (her mother had left when she was eleven, and she didn't know where she was, and the judge and Ishida preferred to just get this over with, rather than spend time looking for her), I stepped in as her non-official guardian.

Now that she was no longer under house arrest, Calla was allowed to go stay at Xen's place while I went to work.  With a small sigh, I headed for the office.  It was a Monday, so of course my spirits were already rather low (not to mention it being April, the cruelest month), without the added weight of having no information regarding the senator.  I slumped at my desk, and doodled furiously on my legal pad.  Suddenly, I heard a knock at my (newly repaired) door.

"Come in," I called.

The door opened, and in came that freaky zealot I'd met in the street!

As soon as we saw each other, I could tell she recognized me.  She flushed to the roots of her hair, and for a moment looked as if she were about to beat a hasty retreat.  But after a moment, she composed herself, and entered.  I, however, was slower to adapt, and gasped "You!" in a strangled tone.

Standing straight at attention, Freaky Zealot Girl said calmly, "Mr. Wormwood, I have a case for you."

I rolled my eyes.  Why else would she be here?  However, I decided not to comment.  Remembering my manners, I said, "Please take a seat, Miss..."

"Greenbriar.  Morgan Greenbriar."

Without further ado, Miss Greenbriar sat down in the chair across from me, and said, "I need your help.  One of the people I have been caring for at my center has vanished without a trace, and I would like you to find him."

I must admit, my eyes popped slightly.  Two people missing within three weeks of each other, in the same city?  That sounded too close to be a coincidence.