Nightmares Vs Magic

Calder was still passed out as Leon was checking on him in a patient room available only to the workers of Macabre House. 

"How could you leave her like that?" Laurence's muffled voice could be heard through the door as him and the other Siren were talking while waiting for Calder to wake up.

"I get that you were worried, but you left her with a stranger, who then left her with the actual perp." He said, keeping his volume down as he didn't want to start an argument, but he couldn't hold back his worry. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it all the way through, I just noticed Calder's spell was wearing off and had to go find him. It was never like him to just undo his fog without warning."

"That doesn't matter right now. You both were supposed to be bodyguards for the client, but you should also be looking over the young ones too. I shouldn't have to tell you what could've happened to Dove if she hadn't somehow led the stalker to you both."

"There was a trap, somehow designed for us. Something like that has never happened to any of us before."

Laurence could be heard letting out a frustrated groan.

"You both wouldn't have been caught in that trap if you had just stayed with her-" 

A curt set of three knocks could be heard from the door, right before Dove opened the door just enough to let herself in. 

"Don't scold them." She asked while looking at no one in particular, but her words were certainly for Laurence. 

"We were scattered all over the place anyway. Everyone was separated."

The room was white as expected of a clinic, and everything else was gentle shades of blue. The room she stepped foot into was meant for employees, away from the eyes and ears of visitors, as there was another room to enter before finding this one. 

There were rows of beds, all separated by baby blue curtains hung from the ceiling, with Calder lying down in one of them. He was sleeping and still in his clothes, but his shoes were taken off. He just wasn't tucked in fully. 

The curtains to his bed weren't closed, as were the curtains to the other unoccupied beds in the room. Both Laurence and the Siren stood by his bed side, talking.

"Everything went fine in the end, I wasn't hurt, they did their job in the end."

Laurence sighed, calming himself down as he carefully walked to Dove, looking at her face, neck, and hands. Checking for bruises or marks. The skin of her hands looked slightly chapped, stained red, and her ponytail was messy due to the guy having yanked on her hair whilst chasing her, as the green-haired Siren recalled. Her gloves were taken away to also be brought to the mirror room. 

"Don't think you're off the hook either. You're lucky you even ran into Callius to help you in time. And on that note, if you had suspicions about the guy, why didn't you just lead him to Claire's house, where you knew Annabelle and Bence would be?" He asked her gently but still firmly as he placed his hands on his hips, looking at her with furrowed brows. He was mad, but it was mostly out of worry and anxiety. 

"Admittedly..." Dove began, her eyes not meeting Laurence's, but her tone didn't sound like that of shame or regret for her choices. 

"I didn't think about that. I was more focused on getting us away from the public eye, if I didn't, something told me he'd just start acting dramatic to gain attention and put me on the spot. I ran to the area of the beach that I noticed was empty of people. Let the chaos unfold there."

"What chaos?"

She shrugged, looking away from them like a timid kid, fiddling with the texture of her fingers before lifting them up for them to see. Like she was just told by the police to put her hands up. 

There, stained on her knuckles and backs of her hands, Laurence could see that her hands weren't chapped, she had dried blood on them. It was a thin layer, smeared. 

"Leon didn't notice these when I came in."

Laurence looked puzzled, whilst Callius grew a satisfied, smug, smirk on his face. As if he had been waiting for that reveal.

"I put him to sleep when Dove led him over." Callius began, before then nodding his head to Dove, looking at her hands. "But she got him to lay down, with a bit of force."

Laurence was the only one not amused, and Dove lowered her hands, fearing to have simply made things worse somehow. Callius however, helped to fix this as he never brushed off Laurence's words. He leaned down a little near Dove's height.

"But it was pretty dangerous, and I am sorry for leaving you alone. Are you alright?"

Dove did not know what to say at first. Her mouth opened to speak, an instinct to respond with anything, but no words could come to mind. So, she let her mind wander back to the case, something easier to put her mind to.

"From the theories I gathered, I think you leaving my side was what helped the case end quicker."

"What? Dove, it never would've mattered how long the case took so long as-" 

Another knock sounded from the door, interrupting Laurence who had his arms crossed, and before the person from outside could speak, Callius answered first. 

"You can come in Leon."

Dove watched in silent surprise as Callius' guess, which sounded more like a certain answer, was correct as soon as she saw the clinic doctor walk in. 

I've heard of people who learned how to tell someone's mood based on their footsteps, or who was walking down the stairs based on footsteps, but that was something else.

Leon entered the room with an expression calmer than the others, gently pushing up his glasses as he walked into the room. The door closed quietly behind him, but it didn't look like the wind did it, more like was commanded to, on account that you could hear firmly click shut. 

Leon quickly noticed the silence as he entered, Laurence pent up with frustration and worry, Callius with regret and worry, and Dove who was still keeping herself apathetic. 

"So." He began, cutting through the awkwardness with ease, like he had years of experience with breaking awkward atmospheres. 

He lifted up the clipboard he had, flipping it over for the others to see the X-rays and photographs of Calder's state when he was brought in and examined. 

"His ears were almost bleeding but thankfully, no permanent damage, just enough to mimic that of an extreme migraine. He'll be fine after some rest, just be prepared to give him a rundown of what happened after he passed out, alright? Or, did the devices also affect you as badly? You didn't give me a chance to check up on you." 

Callius raised his hands up and stepped back when Leon leaned in, trying to examine him from the surface. 

"I'm fine, it was a splitting headache for me, you should really check on the kid, but I'm fine. However, I can now add to the short list of weaknesses against Sirens now, Sonar... What did you say those devices were again?" He turned to Dove and asked. 

She hummed, taking out her phone again to pull up the page she was reading. 

"Sonar pest repellant, or ultrasonic pest repellers. Different models. While not as strong as military-grade sonars, they can be a nuisance when combined in large amounts. Some people don't recommend even humans using them for a long period, for even though the high-pitch noises normally can't be detected by human ears, they can be damaging after a prolonged period." She read out loud, before then remarking. 

"I only managed to find Callius and Calder when hearing a distant, high-pitch noise. That should emphasize how many there were gathered together."

Leon nodded, listening intently, and so did Laurence, pulling up his phone to research how many hertz an ultrasonic repeller could emit. 

"Ok, so we know that Calder was immobilized by these devices. We can assume that he couldn't pay attention and guard properly due to the trap, but that doesn't explain why Callius couldn't detect the perp. From what you explained to me, the perp seemed to appear just a moment after Callius left you alone."

"He was also wearing those devices on himself."

"Oh? You already strip-checked him?"

Callius visibly shivered when he thought back on how they found out. He shook his head.

"No. When Annabelle and that Nathaniel guy came to help, as soon as she saw the perp unconscious, she tried to wake him up by jumping on his chest. When I told her not to do that, she stepped on his pockets, we heard so many cracking noises." He said in a very disturbed tone, still trying to push back his shivers.

Laurence reeled back in surprise, shocked. 

Leon, not so much. 

"That did explain my emergency visit to the mirror room. But if that were the case, then I'm surprised she didn't do more damage."

"Either way, I'm not exactly sure how sounds would work for Sirens, but I'm guessing because of those devices on him, you and Calder weren't able to detect him?" Dove continued with an unsure tone, looking up at Callius.

I just feel the need to point out, I may be 5ft 7in. but being in a room with a vampire and two Sirens sure can make you feel short. If it weren't for Laurence being there and unconsciously giving me a reference for what the average human height is, I would think that I was just really short!

Callius nodded, bringing his thoughts away from the disturbing event brought on by the energetic half-fae.

"The neighborhood was filled with technology users and houses filled all sorts of equipment for sounds and such, so there were all sorts of noises. We were trying to sift through them for human noises only."

Laurence looked up with wide eyes, as he was both researching something on his phone whilst paying attention, a skill that was actually more difficult to execute than people might expect. Dove seemed to have the same epiphany as Laurence as she also blinked out of her train of thought. 

"He blended in perfectly, he not only disguised himself as one of the residents, but also his sounds, as if knowing that would help him blend in. The more disturbing part is how his sound disguise would never have worked on humans. He knew that people with a special type of hearing were looking for him." Dove said first, putting everything together.

"He knew he was being searched for, and he knew it would be Sirens." Laurence commented next, knitting his brows together in a new type of concern.

"You and Calder didn't get discovered when checking on the Selkie pods, did you?"

"No, we made sure there was no one around, and even if we were being followed, the path we went on would've been too complicated for any ignorant visitors to navigate."

Leon listened keenly as they all gathered and discussed their observations, and his eyes glinted in reaction when he heard Dove speak up once more. 

"The fact that he knew about being hunted and how to navigate under a Siren's radar doesn't make sense, as he's not haunted."

"Hmm? How did you figure that out?" Leon asked her, smiling curiously. 

"When we were first getting away from the groups of people and any possible eyes. I first tried to lead him to a spot where I could see a nightmare being perched. Big spider-looking one with multiple faces for eyes, just crawling underneath the deck of a tall bridge that we were passing under. The one that is used to get to the higher cliffs nearby the beach. Perfect murder spot." She said casually while in thought. 

Leon raised an eyebrow, his attention piqued.

"I led him under there first, and then I looked up. He looked right in the direction of the thing, and it stared back at him, but he didn't react, because he didn't see anything. He asked me what I was looking at instead."

"Still, it's possible he was lying. I've known many humans who first react with denial and stick strongly with it to cope with seeing the horrors." Callius said as he went to sit at the edge of his friend's bed, getting more into the discussion. 

Dove shrugged.

"Maybe he did, but I don't know why he would have, since I even asked him if he could see what I was seeing. He was acting anxious, unless that was only because he was convinced that the nightmare would attack as soon as he acknowledged it?" She put a finger under her chin in thinking.  

"I believe, if you're so unsure about him being haunted, then that must mean you have another theory?" Laurence asked her. 

She looked over her shoulder up at him. He nodded. 

"Go on, if you'd like, we'll take any theory just to be sure of all possibilities."

"Well, if he's not haunted but was very knowledgeable about supernatural beings like Sirens, and knew that we were trying to find him, then someone must have told him about the supernatural. No, less that someone informed him, and more that someone was guiding him. But, that is honestly just a guess for now."

"No, no, now that you mention it, it does sound plausible."

Laurence frowned, not towards her, but to the idea, until his brain then clicked, and he began to list the clues before Dove even had to. 

"The burner phone, the devices, the ability to have traveled to that spot and disguise himself, not to mention all of his meticulous choices until now. Ultrasonic pest repellants can vary in prices but multiple..." He said, hissing in thought as he quickly did the math in his head.

Dove quickly began researching, remembering the brands of each one and pulling up their prices.

"The models were three X-PEST rodent repellants, buried in the sand, average prices for each of them would be around $60 each. And then we found thirty-six models of an ultrasonic cordless version that were around the size of an adult hand, made for the outdoors and..." She searched for the image in her gallery to look at the brand name of the smaller devices, before then searching them up. 

"Capable of also repelling animals. Average prices could be rounded to around $40 each."

"So, either the perp or his guide spent around $1,620, possibly more when you add in the cost of a burner phone which would typically cost between $10 to $50 for a flip phone. This guy had a touchscreen burner phone, those can range from around $100 to $300, his was an old model, so we can assume $150 at best based on the size. So that's a possible $1,770 that was spent on this crime, not even adding in the gas and other supplies the guy used."

I had to take a second as I blinked up in surprise at him, for he nearly reminded me of my parents who tried to "help" me with my first algebra homework in 5th grade once. The only difference was that Laurence was speaking calmly the entire time. 

"Ideas like these don't come from any typical criminal, but more like that of a spy with a benefactor." Dove finished for him. 

"This gives me the idea that he might just also be a guy born with a silver spoon, got bored, and has been following the orders of a cultist." Callius nonchalantly commented.

Both Laurence and Dove hummed at the thought, almost agreeing.

"I have met some rich kids who would get easily manipulated."

"It wouldn't be new honestly."

Leon clapped once and softly to regain their attention. All heads turned to him, and he gestured for Callius to get up from the bed, before then urging everyone except Dove out of the room. 

"Well, as much as I enjoy watching you wear your thinking caps, I think it's best that Elliott get some silence right now. You two should go interrogate the suspect as he should be wide awake now." 

Leon then turned to look down at Dove who did not move as soon as he waved his hand in front of her, signaling for her to stay.

"As for you, I think it's time to get that blood off your hands. I allowed you to keep wearing them so you could have your fun but now they have to be thoroughly washed. We don't know how dirty that man's blood is." He gently scolded her, then pointed in the direction of where the restrooms were.

"Oh. Wait a moment." Laurence suddenly said he turned back around, hands in his pockets. 

"Dove, do you want to listen in on the interrogation like last time?"

She paused, looking to Laurence who was waiting for her answer patiently, then to Callius who shrugged, and then up to Leon who simply gave her that usual smile which was much gentler and more approachable than Annabelle's.

"Yes, if that's alright."

"Of course it's alright, it's the safest way for you to learn." He said as he walked back to her, pulling a device out of his pocket that looked similar to a walky-talky. 

"When the interrogation starts, this will blink a little red light, press this red button to begin listening in on the conversation, and press it again whenever the interrogation has ended, or if you don't want to listen anymore. I'll be recording everything on my phone so don't worry if you miss anything or don't want to listen anymore. You won't be able to say anything through this device either, it only works one way." He shrugged as he held the device, showing her how to use it.

Dove tilted her head and frowned while looking at it, wondering about its functions but decided not to ask. Before she could reach to take it, Leon put his hand in-between them and pointed to her knuckled still covered in blood.

"Go wash your hands first." 

She fully gave in this time and headed to the restrooms. 

Leon turned to Laurence, who didn't hide that he also forgot there was still blood on Dove's knuckles. 

"I know Adan likes to design weapons, but he wouldn't want these particular devices to have any blood on them. Go on, head up the fourth floor, the walk up will give her plenty of time to wash her hands before the interrogation starts. I won't let her miss anything."

...

In the mirror room, the reflective table was littered with just a few of the devices the culprit had used for the Siren trap. Most of them were broken, some due to Dove breaking them in a hurry upon finding the Sirens, and a couple because Annabelle unknowingly broke them. Bence had dug deeper and found the smaller ones, having pulled all of them out and put into his suitcase. Some of those were also on the table. 

There were also the spiked gloves that Bence had given to Dove for protection, and the proof that they were used is still stained on the spikes. The burner phone was in a bag, and finally the culprit was sitting oddly calm in the chair, hands cuffed behind him, and so he sat leaning back. His nose, neck and cheek had patches of bandages on them, likely the parts that were just bleeding a while ago.

Laurence calmly sat across from him, the walky-talky device on the table between them, and his phone under the table, recording everything. 

"So, can you give us a name to call you by?" He began politely, simply because he was a patient man. 

"I was planning to say Ashton Williams as part of a backup plan, but my real name is Henry Strawford." He said at first in an uncaring drawl, not paying attention until he finished the full sentence, and his brows knitted together in unsure confusion. 

Laurence resisted his muscles into making him smirk as he kept looking down at the report on his laptop that Dove typed out for him. 

"Strawford it is then."

"Wait, I didn't want to say that-" He pulled against his cuffs suddenly.

"You are suspected of having been stalking this woman's house, and to also be in contact with a higher figure that has been giving you information on her and more. I'd like more info on that."

Strawford grew from calm and collected to a slow panic.

"For starters, there are claims that you were first seen around this woman in a downtown part of the city, miles away from the beach community where she lived. It is then assumed that you then made your way to her house. How and why?"

"I was told to. I was told by a guy on the phone about a woman he thought I might like, even sent me a picture using the phone. He planted me in the downtown area and to dress like the locals there to blend in, then after I saw her, a guy in a car picked me up and brought me to her neighborhood." Strawford said against his wishes, his mouth moved beyond his instincts. 

Laurence went back to reading the report, already used to the reactions of the person tied to the chair beginning to frantically look around, pulling at their restraints and asking questions of why they were saying what they didn't want to say. It was still a little funny even after so many interrogations, however, he couldn't hide his frown when the man confirmed Dove's theory, which would soon make things more complicated.

"What were your intentions? It was reported that you had broken into her house multiple times, even when she wasn't in the house, and there was no evidence found that you stole anything, much less took pictures."

"I liked her, she was easy on the eyes, I just knew I had to be patient. The guy on the phone told me to wait and be careful. Still, I would break into her house because the phone guy told me it was fine. I would try to find something to steal each time I broke in cause' I needed money, but every time I stepped inside, something would make me want to leave. I kept getting scared." He said, before rapidly blinking and attempting to correct himself.

"Not scared! Just,,, on edge! I kept getting weird shivers and an instinct to get out!" 

Laurence typed and clicked on his laptop, highlighting Annie William's name in yellow, and writing a quick note next to her name on a separate document where he was taking notes. 

"If you were in need of money, then how did you manage to obtain all of these devices on the table? Much less have an idea of exactly where to place them."

He shrugged, this time not needing a spell to speak the truth.

"The phone guy sent me some money, told me exactly what to buy, and where to put them. I had no clue what for, but he said I could keep whatever was left over, which was a lot. So, I didn't question it."

Laurence looked up, interest piqued and was about to ask about the specific amount of money Strawford received, along with a possible receipt so that he could redo the numbers in his head but decided to stay on topic. 

"So, the phone guy gave you specific instructions for the trap you set up, but didn't tell you the purpose of it. Did he tell you anything about why he wanted you to follow this woman? Anything else at all? Even information about the phone guy or the driver?"

Strawford shrugged again, but this time a smug smirk tugged on his lips, for he soon realized Laurence had questions that the guy genuinely didn't have any answers for, truth spell or not. 

"Nothing else. The driver was just some taxi guy doing his job. The phone guy just sent this phone randomly to my doorstep, and asked if I wanted to make some money, see some hot girls, and sneak into a place that hosted parties every night."

Laurence bit his tongue to keep from visibly gritting his teeth, before then thinking of another question. 

"Did you give him any reports about everything you did? Any instructions he gave you about everything?"

Strawford's smirk left his face as he began speaking against his will again. He frowned like he just lost a betting game. 

"Yeah. Every time I broke into that woman's house and tried to look around, he'd ask me what was stopping me. When I bought these things and made that circle trap with the snare, he'd ask if I made it big enough to trap a person, and to make sure I wore some on myself, 'Just in case' he said. He'd also repeatedly ask me what I was seeing, and to tell him about anything and everything I saw that looked horrifying or weird. It got annoying but I never questioned him."

"What do you know about the entire location? What you saw and such."

"When he told me the location of where he wanted me to set the trap, he asked me to try to walk around the hill or to explore past the gate that said 'No Trespassing'. When I told him that I physically couldn't, he asked if something was physically blocking me, and I told him about everything that was keeping me from going further to the other side."

Laurence was near speechless as he frantically typed something on his laptop, notes that were highlighted in red. He sighed as he sat back in his chair, combing back his hair before he stood up. It was like he wanted to pace the room but had no time to, for this new information brought about an urgent worry.

He picked the burner phone, and took it out of the Ziploc bag, asking Strawford, who was still pulling and his cuffs and pushing from his chair, how to unlock the phone. 

He looked smug again, looking up in full confidence at the detective.

"Even if I tell you how to unlock it, there's no point. It won't ever turn on again. The phone guy told me exactly how to get it to stop working."