M Sellars - Miranda

Ben dropped the phone back onto the cradle then looked over at Detective Shen and said, “Okay. All good.”

I saw Constance relax her posture, but she remained stationed between Detective Shen and me.

The woman gave Ben a brief look of confusion then said, “Was there a problem?”

“Just never saw ya’ before is all,” Ben replied. “Had to check your story.”

Constance added. “Mister Gant is still technically under federal protection for the time being.”

“Sorry,” Shen replied. “Like I said, I thought you were expecting me.”

“We were. Sorta. Just figured it’d be someone from the MCS.”

Shen raised her eyebrows and nodded. “It’s a little busy, as I’m sure you know.”

“Yeah. I can relate. It’s all good,” Ben told her. “Just bein’ cautious is all.”

“That’s okay, I understand,” she replied. After an uncomfortable pause she directed herself at me. “Umm… So now that that’s done, are you ready to give your statement, Mister Gant?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” I told her. I still wasn’t excited about the prospect of recounting the story yet again, but I also wanted to get it over with.

“Listen, Row,” Ben said. “I’ll catch up with ya’ a little later. L. T. needs me back downstairs.”

“No problem,” I replied.

“Rowan, do you think you’ll be okay with Detective Shen for a minute?” Constance asked.

“I don’t see why not,” I replied. The tickle was still taunting the back of my neck, but it seemed innocuous. “I mean it’s all pretty much over at this point anyway, right?”

“I guess it is,” she replied. Seeming far more relaxed than she had been just moments ago, she turned to Ben and said. “I’ll walk you out. I could use a bottle of water anyway.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “I could go for a coffee.”

“What about you, Detective Shen,” she asked. “Can I bring you anything?”

“No, I’m fine, but thank you.”

Constance nodded. “Okay then, I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Shen replied. “Get some air if you want. Mister Gant and I will be awhile, and I’ll be happy to stay with him until you get back.”

“Thanks,” Constance replied. “I know it’s just a formality at this point, but remember, nobody comes through that door without a badge or a hospital ID, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Good. I shouldn’t be long.”

Once they’d exited and the door was shut, Detective Shen came over to the side of the bed and looked down at me.

“Rough day, huh?” she asked.

“That’s one way to put it,” I replied.

“Well, I’ll try to make this as painless as possible,” she told me.

She turned and wandered over to the window wall and watched Ben and Constance as they disappeared around the corner. Then she purposely drew the curtain shut.

The phantom tickle brushed my neck once again then ran along my spine and spread out to my arms as well. The thud inside my head seemed to grow a little angrier too.

“Why’d you do that?” I asked.

She turned and came back to the bedside then smiled down at me. “I always prefer a little privacy when I do this sort of thing.”

“Then she told me that I was to blame for all of them,” I said.

Detective Shen stopped writing for a second and glanced at me. “All of them?”

“Yes,” I told her. “All of the victims. She was fixated on my wife for some reason. And, since I was keeping her from getting to Felicity… That’s my wife… Anyway, since I was an obstacle to her, she wanted me to know I was to blame for everyone she had killed.”

“I see,” she replied. “Is that your conclusion, or is it what she actually said?”

“I’m paraphrasing a bit,” I admitted.

“We really need to stick to the actual events,” she instructed. “Sort of a just-the-facts kind of thing, okay?”

I gave her a slight nod. My head was still pounding, and the tickle along my spine was trying hard to turn into a full-blown tingle. The edge having been chemically honed off my senses wasn’t making me happy at the moment. I could tell something wasn’t quite right, but I had no idea what it was.

I cast a furtive glance toward the door. Ben and Constance had only been gone for a few minutes, but it was starting to seem like hours. A small knot was working its way into my intestines, and I found myself trying to will Constance to walk back through the door right now.

Apparently, my glance wasn’t anywhere near as surreptitious as I wanted to believe. I suppose the fact that it had turned into a somewhat prolonged stare was to blame.

“I’m sorry if I make you uncomfortable for some reason, Mister Gant,” Detective Shen told me. “I’m sure Special Agent Mandalay will be back soon enough.”

I broke my stare away from the door and looked at her. I swallowed hard then gave my head a shake. “I’m sorry… It’s just…”

“I understand,” she replied. “Just relax. It’s been a rough day for all of us. But you don’t have to worry. You’re safe now.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“Okay,” she nudged. “You were telling me that Lisa Carlson had said you were responsible for ‘all of them.’”

“Yeah… Okay… Right… Just the facts,” I replied, nodding as I spoke. “So, as I recall she said something like, ‘You only have yourself to blame,’ then when I asked her for what, she said, ‘All of them.’ Then I said pretty much the same thing you just did, and she said, ‘Everyone who had to die because you kept me from her.’”

I didn’t really have any trouble remembering the conversation. It was still painfully clear in my mind. The biggest issue I faced was the on-the-fly sanitizing I had to do. As usual, I just automatically deleted references to ethereal visions and spirit possession wherever necessary. Fortunately, that didn’t Swiss cheese my recounting of this particular conversation as bad as it had some of the statements I had given in the past.

“Okay,” Shen nodded as she scribbled. “What happened next?”

A sharp lance of pain shot through my head, originating at the base of my skull and ricocheting off the inside of my forehead before clawing its way through the rest of my grey matter. At almost that same instant, a frantic knock sounded at the door. It immediately swung inward without pause, and a nurse barreled through the opening as if on a mission.

Upon hearing the initial sound, Shen had already turned away from me. Apparently, she was taking Mandalay’s instructions to heart because a split second after the door began to swing she was in motion. Shifting quickly, she took a pair of steps toward the nurse, effectively blocking any further ingress and placing herself between any potential threat and me.

“Excuse me, officer?” the nurse said, her voice filled with dire urgency.

“Detective,” Shen replied.

“Sorry, Detective,” the nurse shot back quickly, rushing past the apology and continuing with, “The woman from the FBI. Agent Mann, or something like that. She needs your help out in the lounge area right away.”

“Did she say why?” Shen asked.

The nurse shook her head while pointing out the doorway, a wave of what sounded like intense fear rippling through her voice. “No, but there is someone…” she stuttered. “And the tall policeman… He… Please… Something bad is happening out there, and she needs your help!”

“Dammit,” Detective Shen muttered then barked. “Let me see your ID.”

The nurse looked momentarily both impatient and nonplussed but then fingered a plastic card that was hanging around her neck on the end of an imprinted lanyard and held it up. The detective quickly peered at the hospital credentials then at the nurse’s face. Satisfied, she stepped around her while thrusting a finger back toward me and barking the order, “Stay with him. Don’t let anyone in.”