Chapter Seventy-Seven: Carol's POV
She held her hand there, finger trembling slightly, pointing straight at me across the narrow space of the interrogation room.
The black-haired girl nodded frantically, both hands gripping Caitlin's arm tightly.
"It was her," she whispered.
"She brought us there. I remember that face. I remember."
I opened my mouth, but at first no sound came out, just a breath caught in my throat.
My fingers gripped the edge of the metal table, and the two officers' gazes swept back and forth over me.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I'd found them.
I'd been trapped in that warehouse too, just like them, mind clear but body out of control.
Now they were looking at me as if I was the one who'd thrown them into hell.
"That's not true," I finally managed, my voice dry and rough.
"I didn't bring anyone there. I was controlled too. Don't you remember? We were all together, in that warehouse."
Caitlin took a step forward, and the tall female officer quickly raised her hand to stop her.
"You're lying," Caitlin said through gritted teeth.
"You're the only one who knew where we were. You're the only one who could have—" She stopped abruptly, shaking her head violently, blonde hair whipping to the side.
"I believed you when you found us, and now I discover you might be the one who put us there in the first place?"
The male officer cleared his throat. "Miss Valodin, we need you to stay here for a while. Some things don't add up in this case."
He exchanged a glance with the female officer. "Given the nature of the allegations and certain... discrepancies in the victims' statements, we've decided to transfer this case to the Seattle Peace Council."
The Peace Council. My heart sank.
This meant they knew, or at least suspected, this wasn't an ordinary kidnapping case.
It meant someone had already confirmed supernatural involvement. That blonde vampire had left traces when she controlled them, something detectable.
Anger cut through the fear, rising from my chest, hot and bitter. Of course there would be traces.
She'd manipulated four people across half the city. But those traces wouldn't point to her. They'd only point to me.
The door opened again. A man walked in, tall and lean, dark hair streaked with silver.
His gaze was sharp, clearly someone who'd seen the unseen things in the supernatural world.
He wore a gray suit, good quality but understated.
The two officers unconsciously straightened their posture, saying nothing, but their deference was written in their bodies.
I knew this was a Council investigator.
"Carol Valodin?" he asked me, though the question was unnecessary since everyone in the room knew who I was.
"I'm Avery Blackwood, senior investigator with the North American Peace Council. I'm taking over this case."
He glanced at Caitlin and the other girl, then back at me.
"Officers, could you give us the room? I need to conduct some preliminary assessments."
They left quickly, taking Caitlin and the girl with them.
Once the door closed, it was just me and Avery Blackwood. He sat down, unhurriedly pulling out a tablet and stylus.
"What do you remember about that day?" he finally spoke, eyes not leaving the tablet. "Tell me what happened, starting from when you first noticed something was wrong."
I swallowed, trying to steady my voice.
"I have a blank period in my mind," I said.
"When I came to, I was already standing in that warehouse district. My body was moving on its own, I couldn't control it. Then I found them."
"What about the blonde woman?" Avery asked, looking down as he wrote something on the tablet.
"I only remember what she looked like. Blonde, dark coat. I don't know her." I was careful not to mention Maurice's name.
"Interesting," he murmured, making a note on the tablet. "Are you certain you didn't cause this? Perhaps you were practicing mental suggestion on those students and it got out of control?"
The question hit like a slap.
"No," I said angrily.
He raised an eyebrow.
"I'm telling the truth. It was someone else who did this to all of us."
He nodded slowly, pulling out a small device from his jacket that I'd never seen before, looking like a smartphone crossed with a medical scanner.
"I need to run a standard psychic resonance scan on you," he said matter-of-factly. "It's non-invasive. You just need to stay still for about thirty seconds."
I didn't have much choice, so I sat there.
He passed the device over me, lights flickering across the screen, then it beeped.
He frowned at the readout.
"Well," he said slowly, "this is... unusual."
"What is?" I asked.
"You have psychic control abilities," he said, his voice carrying a note of surprise, and my blood ran cold.
"Rather strong ones, actually. The signature matches the residual traces we detected at the warehouse perfectly. Same wavelength, same neural pattern." He paused, staring at me.
"What doesn't make sense is that your reading isn't werewolf or vampire. No scent markers, no metabolic indicators. From this data alone, you're human."
My mouth had gone dry. "I don't understand," I managed to force out. "What does this mean?"
"It means," Avery set the scanner lightly on the table.
"You possess psychic abilities consistent with higher-order supernatural species, but your physiological characteristics aren't in our database. This raises many interesting questions about what you are."
He leaned back in his chair. "Your guardian is Simon Volkov, correct? The Alpha of the Valodin pack?"
"Yes."
"Before we can proceed, we must contact your legal guardian."
"I'm twenty years old," I said quickly. "I'm not a minor."
"But you're listed as a dependent under Mr. Volkov's protection," Avery's tone left no room for negotiation. "We need his authorization for certain aspects of the investigation. He has the right to be present during questioning."
No. The word screamed in my mind, loud and desperate. Simon.
They were going to call Simon. He should be recovering from his injuries, dealing with pack politics and the Andreas family threat, not worrying about me being caught up in a Peace Council investigation.
And that kiss. Something had changed between us after that, but I hadn't figured out how to face him yet.
I wasn't ready to look into his eyes and see if he was disappointed, or worse, what if he cared?
"No," I blurted out. "No, you don't need to contact anyone."
Avery's expression didn't change, but his gaze sharpened. "Miss Valodin, this is regulation."
My mind raced. Not Simon.
Leon would report to Simon immediately, and so would Samuel.
Anyone in the Valodin pack would pass the message along within minutes, and then Simon would show up here, and I'd have to look into his eyes.
"Maurice St. Claire," I heard myself say. "He's my academic advisor at Seattle University. He can... he can sign for me."