by Fuller, Levi
Kate watched the virtual replay. She had deliberately made the puppets humanoid but featureless, unable to suspend her emotions far enough to actually watch her loved ones put through the traumas.
It finished, and she looked up from her screen, her moment of satisfaction shattered as she realized that she was no longer alone in her office. When had her door opened? Why had the person not announced themselves? Then her mind caught up with her shock, and she bit back the urge to curse and laugh.
Landers.
Simon Landers had been watching her impassively through eyes so dark the pupils were not visible; his hair, just as dark and neatly cut, seemed to absorb the light. He moved slightly, at the exact moment she realized who he was, and smoothed the collar of his black dress shirt over his dark blue, woolen waistcoat, rising silently from the chair he had been sitting in, dark trousers falling down to cover bright socks, all hanging slightly loosely on his short thin frame. He really wasn’t much taller standing than he had been sitting.
“Mr. Landers,” Kate said, ignoring his knowing smile, as he took in her expression. “What are you doing here?”
Simon Landers’ smile became more pronounced, and he looked her over carefully, his eyes stopping a fraction of a second longer on her arm. Kate only needed a short glance down to realize she’d been scratching herself while watching the virtual replay, and thanks to her dermatographia, the marks, instead of fading, were rapidly swelling into bright red weals. She yanked her sweater sleeve down and gave him a demanding look.
Landers met her eyes levelly. “I’m here because I was invited.”
3
Kate pulled herself together. “So you got the message that I wanted to meet with you?”
“No. I am not here because you called the contact number I left.
“But then . . .”
“The future’s not all that hard to predict if you know what to look for in the present.”
Kate felt her mind go blank in confusion again. What the heck was he going on about? Why was he here, if not because of her call? She mentally chided herself as the answer came. Dr. Adams had been looking for him too.
“I see. Dr. Adams sent you to me?”
He glanced back and chuckled, irritating her further. Was the man mad? “Dr. Adams. She could always see more than most. More than her predecessor certainly, although she is not as good at compartmentalizing as you.”
Kate resisted the urge to walk around her desk and shake the small man, once again not sure why he was saying the things he was. Was he trying to add to his mystique by speaking in riddles? He didn’t look old enough to have known Dr. Adams’s predecessor well, but then again, he had been hired to look into her parents’ case twenty years ago. She shook her head, not spotting a single gray hair or crow’s foot. He must have been very young when he took on their case.
“Look, Mr. Landers, regardless of whose message you received, I am glad that you are here.”
“Are you? I was not expecting that, but perhaps the shadows know better than to avoid bright lights.”
Kate shut her eyes for a moment, wondering if this was some new nightmare. Her best lead to her parents’ cold case was a madman. She opened her eyes to find Landers still there, still watching her impassively through black eyes. She decided to keep things simple. “I believe you were hired by Mr. Ben Summers to investigate the death of his brother and sister-in-law twenty years ago?”
Landers held her gaze a moment, then dipped his head once.
“We have reopened that investigation and would like you to answer some questions.”
Landers tilted his head to the side, looking like a quizzical bird. “And what do you hope these answers will provide?”
Finally. A sensible reply. “I hope that you can help us discover the truth.”
“That is what your uncle hoped, though his faith did not remain. [NLS1]Most people don’t when the acceptance of one destroys another.”
Kate ground her teeth, but ignored the rambling. “Would you have time now?”
She waited as he watched her, his long finger tapping out a rhythm against his belt. She felt it best to get this over with, not simply because his words and unblinking gaze were making her feel ill at ease, but because she felt almost certain that if he left with a request to come back another day, he might, instead, vanish into the ether, and they’d never track him down again.
“For today, I will listen. If the path looks true, I will talk tomorrow.”
Kate stared, a few choice profanities on her tongue, as he smiled vaguely and walked from her office, turning unerringly towards the meeting room where they would usually go to play the virtual simulation. Had he been here before? Or had Adams mentioned the room as the place they’d meet?
Kate snatched up her phone, wondering why her heart was racing at a gallop. The man was unnerving and certainly annoying, but that was no reason to want to flee from him.
“Kyle,” she said, as soon as he answered. “I need you and Jack to get to the forensic building now.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“Landers is here.”
She heard a bang and a muffled curse and guessed Kyle had hit his knee on his desk, straightening too quickly in his chair. “Simon Landers? The private investigator you told us about?”
“The one and the same. I think. He’s a little weird. Look, just get here fast. I don’t trust him not to vanish.”
She put down the phone, snatched the USB with the file, and hurried after Landers, who was strolling along, his head swiveling, clearly taking note of every tiny detail his sharp eyes encountered.
Kate caught up, but stayed a pace behind, not wanting to walk beside him. She almost sighed audibly in relief as she spotted Dr. Adams coming towards them from the opposite direction.
“Dr. Summers. Are you ready . . .” Her voice trailed off as her eyes landed on the little man. Kate read the surprise there and felt a chill race through her. “Mr. Landers. I wasn’t aware you were coming in.”
Kate only managed a small shrug, as Adams looked at her. The older woman had asked her to inform her if she managed to get a hold of Landers. Perhaps she was wondering why that hadn’t happened.
Landers smiled. “I am glad you got the post, Dr. Adams. Keeping someone who can deal with discomfort is a must.”
Kate waited for Adams’s expression to change to one of confusion at his greeting, but instead, the woman smiled and chuckled. “Yes. My predecessor didn’t quite match your demands.”
Landers glanced back at Kate, before smiling at Adams, just as Kate was hailed by Kyle and Jack. They must have left as soon as the call disconnected.
“I wasn’t wrong,” she heard Landers say behind her, as she turned to look at the two detectives. She turned back in time to see Adams, looking pale, turn towards the meeting room door and swipe her security card. The room, equipped with state-of-the-art technology for these kinds of 3D virtual simulations, was not usually accessible due to their cost, but Olsen had cleared this for their case.
Kate turned to Landers. “These are . . .”
“Detective Kyle Green, a hero to the people, despite his spotty record, and Detective Jack Carson, the hero, always forgotten in the other’s shadow, too emotionally driven to reach the heights that would pull him into the sunlight.”
Kate cast a furtive look at Kyle and Jack. Both were wearing nearly identical masks of surprise and irritation.
“And you’re Simon Landers,” Kyle said, determined not to fall behind. “Investigator for hire.”
Simon Landers shook his head. “Wrong.”
“You’re not Simon Landers?” Jack joined in.
“Oh, I am.”
Kate felt the urge to laugh as both men ground their teeth. Now that she wasn’t alone with Landers’ weirdness anymore, it seemed more amusing than frightening.
“Well, we’re all here; let’s get started,” Dr. Adams said, holding the door open and gesturing them in.
Kate noticed
the older woman still looked unnerved and decided that that was likely all part of Landers’s show. He was an investigator for hire, just as Kyle had said. She supposed he needed some way to stand out from the crowd. This was obviously it: vague claims, riddles, nonsensical speeches, and holding onto his aura of mystery, even when there was no point.
Landers gave them all a long look, before turning and entering the still-dark room. Kate shook her head and looked back at the guys.
“See?”
“I thought you said he was just a little weird,” Jack whispered, shaking his head, although the urge to laugh was clearly on his lips, making them twitch.
“Alright, maybe a lot would have been better,” she conceded.
Jack grinned, and she looked at Kyle, who was still watching the now shadow-shrouded little man, a frown on his lips.
“Don’t let him get to you. I’m certain this is just his showpiece, you know, to make you remember him next time you need a P.I.,” Kate said, shrugging and resisting the urge to shiver, sure that Landers’ eyes were on her.
“I hope so. I have little patience for charlatans or madmen,” Kyle said, finally looking at her.
Kate gave him a stern look, keeping her voice low. “You’d better keep it together. I don’t know what he knows, but I do know that my uncle wanted to tell me about it. He knows something, and if you let his little game goad you into anger, I’m worried he’ll leave before we either know what he knows or have enough to legally hold him.”
Kyle sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll do my best to hold my peace, but I make no other promises. If you are right, and there’s a murderer walking free, I’m not going to put up with riddles and nonsense, just because some detective come mercenary wants to play up his image.”
Kate nodded. “Neither will I, but, to get what we want, we’re going to have to be smarter than him.”
“Are you three planning on whispering out there all day, or can we actually get things moving?” Adams barked.
The men dipped their heads in apology and gestured for Kate to go first. She took the USB from her pocket and steeled herself for what was to come, knowing that any show of weakness of emotion would not help them figure things out.
4
Kate was glad that she was the one narrating the virtual simulations she’d created. It meant that she didn’t have to pay them careful attention, focusing instead on the people she was speaking to. At first, she had been paying more attention to Landers than the others, hoping his face might show some sign that he’d heard or seen something that linked in to a theory he, himself, had twenty years ago. However, now she found herself looking anywhere except at Landers because he seemed to be watching her with even greater intensity than she had been observing him. What was his problem? He had been asked to watch so that their questions would have a greater impact, his memory hopefully jogged by the overview that had preceded the simulation.
The simulation ended, and Kate shifted back to turn the dimmed lights back up to full.
“I noticed you made the figures bear no resemblance to the people they were meant to be representing,” Landers mused, as the lights flared brightly.
Kate took a moment to turn. “The point of the figures is to show their relation to each other and other objects around them, not to tell us things we already know for sure.”
“So the killer’s identity is known by all of you?”
Kate turned, trying to control her emotions.
“If that were true, then we’d have no need for you, or your crappy attitude,” Kyle said languidly, from beside Landers.
“Wrong again, Detective Green,” Landers said, not taking his eyes from Kate. “Tell me, Dr. Summers, why didn’t you give your mother a face?”
“Enough!” Jack said, bounding to his feet, hands in fists. “You are here to answer our questions, not ask your own.”
Landers didn’t give any sign that he had noticed the outburst. “Well, Dr. Summers?”
Kate’s fury peaked, then she caught sight of her reflection—calm, controlled. She had no time to be surprised that her anger wasn’t showing on her face as her mouth opened, voicing a sudden realization. “Oh, I understand now. How much did he offer you?”
“Who?” Jack and Kyle said in unison, as Landers’ lips twitched in an almost smile.
“Olsen.”
“Dr. Summers, I urge you not to say anything you may regret,” Dr. Adams said, apparently deciding now was the time to intervene.
“He met with Olsen here, the day Kyle was arrested,” Kate continued, shifting her eyes from herself to the people gathered. “Or are you going to deny it?”
“I thought you had noticed me.”
Kate ground her teeth. “And he asked you to what? Rattle my cage until I broke?”
Landers gave her an appraising look. “He certainly doesn’t seem to like you, but luckily for you, I’m not the sort that can be bought.”
Kyle guffawed in disbelief. “By your job definition alone, that is a lie.”
Landers didn’t spare him a glance. “I am not trying to rattle you on Olsen’s request, Dr. Summers. I am trying to determine what the truth is.”
Kate took a deep breath as Jack hissed. “Wait. You are saying that Olsen did try and bribe you into causing Kate to have an emotional breakdown?”
“He lacks professionalism, but he’ll be needed, as is, soon enough. No one else would be able to do it.”
Kate huffed out her breath, feeling the control over her calm waver. “So what is the point of your question? To understand my feelings? Yes, this is hard. My family is all dead, but I want to find out why more than I need to mourn them. I know how hard a cold case is to solve, so the faster I work, the higher the chances of us catching the killer. I can, and will, mourn them later when they have their justice.”
Landers smiled and looked away. “Very sincere.”
Kate glanced at the others. Kyle was looking at Landers in annoyance, Jack was watching her in sympathy, and Adams had a frown and a crease between her brows.
“Is that enough?” she asked, looking back at Landers, who was watching her again.
“I believe so.”
Kate gave a jerky nod. “Well, alright then. Does anyone have questions about the simulation?”
“Do you know what caused the marks left by the killer?” Kyle asked, detective mode coming back to him easily.
“Not yet. I’ve got people on it, running the digital casts through various options.” Here she glanced at Adams, who seemed to snap out of some dark thought.
“They’ve narrowed the field, but nothing certain yet, by their last report,” she confirmed.
“What about stats on the killer?” Jack asked, still casting the odd glare at Landers.
Kate shrugged. “Hard to say before we’re more certain of the weapon. But the simulation shows my current theory.”
“A killer roughly the same height and build as your mother,” Landers said, tilting his head to the side.
“Yes,” Kate bit out, trying to ignore the hidden innuendo in his words. Was he still going to play to the original case label, accepting her mother as the killer?
“Do you know anyone who might have fit that description?”
“No.”
“You created a simulation for Ben and Mae too, right?” Dr. Adams asked, eyes on Landers for some reason.
“I did,” Kate said, turning to her.
“Play it. Let’s see if any similarities we spot match what you spotted.”
Kate nodded, dimmed the lights again, and hit play on the second simulation. It was interesting watching the difference in the playing out of this one. Kyle, Jack, and Adams were all familiar with this case, obviously, having worked it from the start, unlike the previous one, where all they had were case notes and files left behind by others. They each had a look on their face of immense concentration, as if trying to fit what they already knew into this discovery so that it would answer questions, rather than posing new ones.
Landers, too, was having a different reaction. In the first, he had barely seemed to watch the simulation, looking more at Kate. In this one, he seemed to be watching with avid interest but would shut his eyes for a few seconds every so often.
Kate didn’t let any of them throw her off track, going through this simulation as she had the first.
“As you have seen,” Kate said in conclusion, turning the lights back up, “although the killer seems to have become stronger and taller, the same marks were left on all four victims, three marks on the left ankle, three on the right, and the same number pattern on the shoulder blades, three on the left, three on the right. The marks are also the same for each victim.”
“So you think the killer from twenty years ago returned now to kill off the last of your relatives?” Landers asked.
Kate nodded. “The cases are too similar not to have made me consider the same killer.”
“Consider is one thing. This,” he gestured at the now silent projector, “is no longer considering. It is knowing.”
“These marks were something that was never published after the fire that took my parents. The head of forensics then didn’t even find the marks themselves, or at least, they didn’t bother to record them.”
“Then how do you know they are there?”
“Because I found and recorded them,” Dr. Adams interjected. “Back then, I mean.”
Landers glanced her way and then smiled. “I see.”
“The point is that they are there and they are the same,” Kate plowed on, when Landers opened his mouth again.
“Then the killer must have a motive that affects both sets of victims. Other than yourself, was there anything they had in common?”
Now everyone was watching Landers. His tone had suggested that he was asking a question he already knew the answer to.
“That will be the next step for the detectives,” Kate said, trying to remain calm and not rise to anger again.
“And you?”
She felt her eyes narrow.
“There are a lot of small finds to go through still,” Dr. Adams replied.