Satan's Vessel

4.

'Hungry, Kaitlyn?'

Kaitlyn looked up as a man entered the interrogation room. The door slammed shut behind him. He lifted the plastic bag he was holding with a smile. Kaitlyn's mouth watered at the smell of hot food. It was well after midday and she still hadn't eaten breakfast. Clasped under his other arm was a green manila folder.

He put the food on the table between them as he sat down, then pushed the folder to his right, keeping it out of the way. 'Mind if I join you?' He pulled his chair in closer. 'With all the excitement of the morning, I haven't had time to eat either.'

He was small but lean with blonde hair that hung over his ears. He wasn't wearing a uniform, dressed in trousers and a buttoned-down shirt. Was it supposed to make her feel more comfortable? When he met her eyes, she saw that they were blue. Just great. That'll make things easier. She shifted in her seat as he loosened his tie.

As he began laying out the food, burgers, hash browns, a cup of juice, a small apple pie, the door opened again. This time a much taller man entered, again with no uniform and carrying in three cups of coffee. Expressionlessly he put two of them down alongside the food, taking one for himself.

'It's just a plain white, I'm afraid,' the smaller man said. 'You do drink coffee, don't you?'

'Are you cops?' Kaitlyn asked.

'We're detectives,' the smaller man said. 'We've come all the way from Alabama to speak with you. Sorry we made you wait.'

Kaitlyn dropped her eyes to the table. All the way from home? No wonder she'd been waiting so long. She looked up, then down again. Why did he have to keep looking at her with those blue eyes of his? The tall officer took up position in the corner behind her as he sipped at his coffee. She glanced at the mirror, then looked back down at the table again.

'Go ahead. Eat,' the short officer said as he unwrapped his burger.

Kaitlyn obeyed. She was starving, and there was no reason not to, though she could feel him watching her every move.

'My name is David.' The name made her glance up briefly before she looked down again. 'And my partner here is Charlie. All we need is some information. What happened, Kaitlyn? We only wanted to talk with you. Why were you running? And I'm required to let you know that you have a right not to answer any questions.'

'Am I under arrest?'

'No. But I must remind you that any statements you make may be held against you. You have the right to legal representation too.'

She swallowed a mouthful of juice. 'I don't need a lawyer. I wasn't running from you.'

'Then who were you running from?'

She heard Charlie sipping at his coffee.

'Satan.'

Charlie stopped sipping. David paused mid-bite of his burger. The two officers looked at each other.

Kaitlyn had been thinking about what she would say on the lonely, terrifying drive in the van over. She'd also had plenty of time to think about it in the quietness of her holding cell—those many hours. There was no point in lying. She was terrible at it and they were trained to pick up on it anyway. She'd only make things worse for herself. As fantastic and unbelievable as it all was, she was no criminal and she had nothing to hide. They would either believe her or they would not.

'What do you mean, Satan?' David said, finishing his bite.

Kaitlyn avoided his gaze as she stared at her orange juice, watching as a bead of condensation trickled down the side. Queerly, it made her itch in strange places. 'Satan. The Deceiver. The Beast. Lucifer. Beelzebub. The Antichrist. Mephistopheles ...' She couldn't believe she remembered the last one. 'He has many names.'