Chapter 30 Chapter 30: Things Not Adding Up

Chapter 30 Chapter 30: Things Not Adding Up
Sebastian Silverow's POV:

"That seems a bit strange, don't you think?" Chief Miller asked me as he furrowed his brows as well. "How is it that her blood panel came back with nothing that would be used to identify her?"

"That's precisely what I was trying to figure out as well," I said, turning back around to face him this time as my elbows were resting on the armrests of my chair as my fingertips were pressed together. "The only way that you could do that was if he were to..."

"Completely erase that particular information from the system," Chief Miller said, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"But who would do such a thing?" I asked as the situation involving the young woman became more and more questionable by each passing moment. "I mean, if you think about it, who would even have the ability to do something like that? And why?"

I began to rub my forehead with one hand as I tried to contemplate all of this information. I didn't think it was possible for someone to go into the DNA database and completely erase a profile.

"Does that mean that they would have to go into the DNA database and erase a complete profile?" I asked as I pressed my fingertips to the point of my temple on the side of my head. "How else could... Someone do something like that?"

"To make matters even more absurd," Chief Miller cut in at that moment. "This particular individual states that the woman they are looking for is abusive."

"You want to run that by me again?" I asked as I started to scratch the top of my head.

I watched as Chief Miller inhaled, about to say something, when I spoke up first.

"Hang on a moment," I said, taking a brief pause as I began to rub both my temples at the same time, trying to process everything that I had just heard. "Let me get this straight. You are telling me that today, at some point in time, while I was heading here, you had a visitor come to your office at the station, and this particular individual said that they are looking for a woman who's an abuser? Not a victim?"

"Correct," Chief Miller responded as he nodded at me.

"Tell me where that makes sense," I said, leaning forward again and interlocking my fingers. I placed my arms on the front edge of my desk. "Did they give a description of the particular woman they're looking for? And why are they even looking for this particular supposed abuser? Wouldn't they just want to report a possible situation as such? Instead of going out and looking for somebody who's done something like this?"

"You're more than welcome to look at the case file," Chief Miller said as he pointed to my computer on the opposite side of my desk.

I furrowed my brows as I again began to rub my forehead, trying to piece together how this was going to make sense. I then lightly started to shake my head back and forth as I looked back at Chief Miller.

"Okay, tell me this," I said, leaning back slightly and rocking my chair back and forth to the side. "Do you happen to know the individual who came into the office?"

"Yes, I know exactly who this is," Chief Miller said, to which I widened my eyes. I have to admit I was somewhat shocked that he actually knew this particular individual. "Honestly, you know them just as well as I do."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, leaning forward as I was trying to figure this out. "You're telling me that I know the person who came into your office looking for a woman who's a supposed abuser?"

"Correct," Chief Miller said again.

My eyes went wide as I lightly shook my head back and forth from side to side, still trying to figure this out.

"Okay, first tell me this," I said as I leaned over to one side in my chair. "Do the descriptions of the woman they're looking for match the woman who I have downstairs in my kitchen?"

"From everything that I can tell, it seems to be her," Chief Miller said in that moment.

I began rubbing my forehead again, as none of this made any sense.

"So let me make sure that I completely understand you before I ask my next question," I said as I pressed harder into my temple and leaned to one side in my chair. "The visitor who came to see you... I know. I know this particular individual as you said." Chief Miller nodded in agreement so far. "All right. And they described the woman who was starved and... tortured for all intents and purposes to a T?"

"You're right so far," Chief Miller said, again agreeing with me that I was on the right track.

"This is one thing I don't quite understand," I said, leaning and this time placing both my elbows on the front edge of my desk as I interlocked my fingers, instead of laying them there off the edge of my desk as I had done so before. "Tell me, Chief, how... The woman... I know you saw her condition."

Chief Miller again nodded in agreement as he leaned forward, his fingers interlocked, waiting for me to piece everything together as he waited patiently as I ran the stuff over in my mind.

"Let me just ask you this," I said, completely dumbfounded by all of this so far. "Does she look like an abuser to you!?"

"Not in the slightest," Chief Miller responded.

"That I'm not exactly sure how this particular individual, one who you said that I know and that you know was well, says that she is an abuser and that she's the one that they are looking for?" I asked, still having a hard time wrapping my mind around that last bit.

"Precisely," Chief Miller responded as he leaned back in his chair this time. "I had a lot more time to process this than you. I don't think this is something I really wanted to discuss over the phone, as conversations can be tracked, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I completely understand that last part," I told him as I leaned back and exhaled at the same time. "All right. You got me over a barrel. Who's the visitor?"

It was at that precise moment that Chief Miller actually chuckled to himself and lightly shook his head. In that moment, he broke eye contact with me for the first time, looking down briefly before looking back up after he was finished chuckling.

"This particular individual runs SWAT in the central part of the city," Chief Miller said, completely taking the breath out of me.

"The older guy?" I questioned as I turned to look away, fighting to recall his name.

I didn't work closely with that department, but I had seen him from time to time whenever our cases got intertwined.

"Akuma?" I asked with intensity.

I was still trying to wrap my mind around all of this.