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Talia
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Andrea sat across from me and looked scared. There were only the chairs that were surrounding the desk, so she was sitting in the one for visitors and I was sitting in Dr. Long's chair. Rudy stood near the door, and Lex stood behind me.
“Andrea, I know what happened to you. So, I don't really need the full details. What I want to know from you is if you had ever seen the man that attacked you. Did you know him from somewhere else?” She wasn't looking at me though, she was looking at Lex where he stood behind me.
“Don't worry, Andrea. I am the only one that can hear you. They can't see you or hear you. That may sound sad in a way, but you don't have to worry about them hearing what you say.”
“O..OK.” She looked a little more relaxed when I said that. “W..well, I..I uhm, I think that I saw him once before. I hadn't met him, but I remember seeing him. He was at a bar that I was at last night. He was staring at me, but he seemed to get angry when I was dancing with Ashlynn. Oh, w..well, I guess that was two nights ago now. B..but that was the night that Ashlynn asked me out. I went to school with her, the same high school class, and I liked her a lot. We never came together then, but we were now. I was happy that she asked me out.”
.....
“OK, so he stalked you in advance. Did he say anything to you when you saw him the other night?” I needed to know this, if there was anything that would lead us to capturing him or the others then that would be great.
“He didn't call out to me directly, but he yelled at us. I think he said something along the lines of getting out of there because we were polluting his air. I thought that he meant he didn't like that we were lesbians, but, uhm, I think he meant that we weren't human. H..he called me a witch. That isn't true, though.”
“I know. You're a Fae. I am part Fae as well. My aunt is Queen Gloriana.”
“You know Queen Gloriana?” She looked a lot more at ease when I said that.
“Yes. I do. Now, is Ashlynn Fae as well, or is she something else?”
“No. She's a selkie. She moved here when her family found out that there were sympathetic humans and merfolk living here. That was why my family moved here. I am a Fae, but I am descended from Water Fae.”
“I can appreciate that. I am descended from Prince Valerian.” I was not trying to name drop here, just to get her to trust me.
“Prince Valerian is a wonderful man. He is powerful and kind.” She looked like she was in awe. “I..I don't know much else than that. I saw the man at the beach and he did something to hypnotize me. Th..then he attacked me. He cut things into my body, he raped me, and then he ripped my heart out. It was awful.” She was sobbing again. There was no stopping that.
“Can you tell me what the man looked like, Andrea? I couldn't see his face in the vision that the gods sent to me.”
“You saw it?” She looked appalled.
“I am sorry, but yes. It was sent to me as a nightmare. I am sorry that I couldn't stop it from happening.”
“That is fine. You weren't really there.” She was so forgiving that I couldn't believe it. She deserved happiness, not this sad end to her life. “I did see his face. And I saw it at the bar as well. I can describe it to you.”
“That would be good, Andrea, thank you.” I smiled at her. “Let me find something to draw with.”
I felt bad rummaging around Dr. Long's office, but I had no choice. I needed a pen and paper. The pen was easy to find, it was sitting in the holder near the lamp on his desk. The paper was a little more difficult. Most everything that I came across was some sort of document that had something written on it already. I couldn't use that because I didn't know what was important and what wasn't. I was about to give up when I thought about something. I don't know why it took me so long to realize this.
Dr. Long had a printer behind his desk. In the printer there was a tray of paper. I could just borrow a few sheets from there. It was that simple. So simple in fact, that I felt stupid for it taking me so long to realize it.
“Alright Andrea, I have what I need. I am sorry that it took me so long.” She just nodded at me and didn't say anything. “I am going to ask you some questions about the man, and you can tell me about him, alright. Just picture him in your mind and remember everything that you can. The main focus here is his face. Any scars, his hair color, eye color, facial hair, all of it. Do you think that you can do that?”
“Mmhmm.” She nodded and hummed her agreement. “I can do that. By the way, you are really young looking for a cop.” She smiled a little, almost like she was halfway flirting.
“I am not a cop. I am here with my parents as they investigate. I was brought in because I can talk to souls like you.”
“Oh. Who are your parents? And what is your name? I..I think that it would be easier to talk if I knew who I was talking to.”
“My parents are Trinity and Reece Gray.”
“Th..the king and queen of the shifters and magic users? That is your family? No wonder you said that you were related to Queen Gloriana. Everyone knows who they are.” She was definitely in awe.
“It is just who they are to the world. To me, they are just my mom and dad. And me, by the way, I am Talia.”
“You are Princess Talia!?” She was even more in awe. “All of the Fae know that you are already selected to take over the underworld. No wonder you can see souls.” I didn't know that I was a celebrity to these people. It was kind of odd. In a way, I didn't think that it was possible for them to know me at all. Not aside from those that had met me directly.
“Yes, I am Princess Talia. But for now, I want to focus on you, Andrea. You and your memories. What color of hair did this man have? How was it cut?”
“O..oh, yes, back to that.” She was easily distracted, and I needed to make her focus. “The man had black hair. It was short, just about an inch and a half long maybe. It was long enough to be styled but not so long that it would hang down and cover his eyes when it wasn't styled.”
“That is good.” I nodded at her. “How about his eyes? What color and shape were they?”
“Th..they were hazel, I think. Something with green and brown mixed. They weren't remarkable. Just normal eyes. I can't really describe the shape. Oval, that is all that I can say.”
“Alright. What about his nose, can you describe it?”
I continued to walk Andrea through the description. It was long and tedious, and I was sure that the others would be done before we were. Still, I wasn't going to show frustration or annoyance of any kind. Andrea didn't deserve that. She was coping with this the best that she could.
In the end, I had an image that looked like someone that might be the killer. He looked like an average Caucasian male, nothing out of the ordinary. No visible tattoos, no scars, nothing distinguishable at all. He was just a normal looking person.
“Why is it that he doesn't look like a monster?” I whispered to Lex after sending Andrea to the underworld with Lucifer.
“I do not know, Talia. It would help if the evil truly were marked by their sins. Then we would be able to find them easier.” He seemed to agree with me.
“You've got that right.” I rose to my feet and looked at the door to the morgue. “We've got to give this sketch to my parents. And tell them to go to the bar that she was at. Maybe that girl Ashlynn and their friends saw the man as well. And, hopefully, that bar had security cameras. Then we can get an actual image of this man out there for people to see. And that will be one step closer to ending this whole ordeal.”
“You did well, Talia.” Lex congratulated me. “I am happy that the girl had you here to help her. There is no other person in the world that can do what you do.”
“If you are trying to tell me to stay strong and not let things get to me, you're wasting your time.” I laughed at him. “I know what this case is like, and I begged to be included in it. I am not going to bail on them now just because I saw the murder before it happened. If anything, that is just going to make me more determined to stop these people.” That was the truth, and Lex needed to know it. He seemed to be digesting those words as he escorted me back to the others. I hoped he would help me next time, if there was another dream that is.
