The Ghost

Chapter 5

We make it back to the Facility, and some men go to my apartment to rid of the bodies.

"How are you?" Keith asks as we sit at our desk.  Zander leans against the wall.

"I could ask you the same," I respond, resting my elbow on the desk and propping my chin in my hand.

"I asked you first," he says with a raised eyebrow.

I sigh. "Angry. No. Furious. I hide it well, do I not?"

He grins. "You do indeed."

"Your turn."

He sighs. "Pretty much furious. Perhaps even more so than you." 

I shrug. "That's plausible." I look at Zander, who's watching me, paying no heed to Keith. "What are your thoughts on the scene?"

Zander thinks about this for a moment.  "From the immaculate state of the home, it would seem that Jared knew his... attacker. One can only imagine why all the damage was in his room."

I look at Keith, and he looks at me. "You knew him better than I did. Was he...?"

"Easily seduced?" He's silent for a moment. "I wouldn't say so... But, he was still heartbroken about Mira..."

Zander frowns. "Mira?"

"Mira Winters. Jared's late fiance," I explain without looking from Keith. "So, his killer could have been a woman." I sit back in my chair, sighing.

"Well, I mean, did you look at the state of his bed?"

"Yes, but what about the destruction in places other than the bed?" I tilt my head in thought.

"Right..." Keith frowns.

A silence falls over us as we think this over.

"I suppose the damage isn't all of Jared's doing... Not all the blood has to belonging to him..." I muse aloud.

"True. His attacker could've barely escaped with his or her life."

"But the place was immaculate," Zander points out. "If some of the blood was theirs, there'd have been blood spatter showing their path out. Not to mention, if their wounds were severe, they would've been stumbling."

I think for a moment. "Well, they could have wrapped their injuries before leaving."

"As for the stumbling, they could have gone through the back, covering their tracks carefully," Keith adds.

"And that is why you two make a great team," Kirsten says from behind me.

All three of us look at her, startled.

Keith and I stand immediately. "Miss Lorraine," we say at the same time.

She laugh and waves her hand in dismissal. "Oh, drop the act. We're all friends here, and the door's closed."

Keith and I grin, sitting down again.

"What brings you into our office," I ask her.

"I came to  meet Mr. Corman, here. Also, you two are the only two people here that I can go to and have a conversation where you don't treat me as the higher rank that I am."

I grin. "Didn't I tell you all the attention would get annoying?" 

She stares. "The glamour is amazing. I'm just tired of people agreeing with my every word. Do you know how annoying that can get?"

I blink. "Yes, I do. Were you not listening those thousands of times that I came to you whining about the town men bending over backwards for me and following me around like lost puppies when I first arrived?"