Power of Suggestion
by Una Moonstar
Original ANs: I know, I know. I should be working on the fics I've already started, but this story wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. It's based on a Nancy Drew mystery I re-read recently. I know, I'm 27 and I still read Nancy Drew. Get over it. -grin- Anyway I decided to share it with you readers. And yes, Invalid Response chapter 9 is almost finished.
Disclaimer: Look, my family heritage is almost completely German. No Japanese ancestors in the bunch (that I know about anyway). That kind of leaves out the chance of my even being related to Naoko-sama, much less being her, whom I would have to be to claim to own Sailor Moon. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I also don't own Nancy Drew. That would be Carolyn Keene.
New ANs: I thought I could do an every-other kind of thing between this fic and Invalid Response. Anyone like a good mystery?
(fade out...)
(scene change...)
"What in the world?"
"Do you see what I see?"
"It can't be!"
"It's about time."
"Amy!" three voices chimed in unison.
"What?"
"You guys can stop gawking at me any time now."
The four girls standing in the doorway of the arcade blushed in embarrassment as the meatball-headed blonde they had been staring at turned around on the stool at the counter she had been sitting on. She smiled. "Can't a girl read without it being the end of the world?"
"When that girl is you, no," the girl with long black hair and dark violet eyes responded with a smirk.
"Raye! That's just mean!" the blonde at the counter said in a huff as she snapped the book she had been reading shut.
"Oh, come on, Serena. You have to admit that this isn't typical behavior for you." The tall brunette smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, her emerald green eyes sparkling.
"Lita has a point, you know. And it's not like you can use school as an excuse; it's summer vacation!" the slightly shorter blonde with sky-blue eyes concurred, adjusting the red bow that held part of her long tresses away from her face.
"You don't have to be going to school to read, Mina," the last girl said as she brushed a strand of her short blue hair out of her matching eyes.
"What Amy said," Serena declared with a sharp nod, her sapphire blues flinty. "Can we just get a booth now?"
"Sure! I'm starved!" Mina said, starting to traipse over to their usual corner booth. The others followed, Serena pausing briefly to pick up the small pile of books on the counter.
"What are you reading, Serena?" Amy asked curiously as the petite blonde slid in next to her.
Serena held up the book so her friends could see the title. "Darien's involved in a study for his Advanced Psychology class that he's taking over the summer, so I thought I'd read up on the subject so I'd understand what was happening with him."
"'Hypnotism for Beginners'," Amy read aloud. "What's this study all about?"
"Darien said it had to do with hypnotism and subliminal suggestion. I guess his professor has been doing studies like this for the last seven years. This time he's focusing on amnesia victims."
"Oh," the others murmured.
"So what do you girls look so serious for?"
"Andrew!" Lita cried, practically jumping out of her seat. "You scared me!"
"You should warn people when you're going to sneak up on them," Mina said, her right hand pressed to her chest.
The tall blond man chuckled as he stuck his hands into his apron pockets, his green eyes sparkling with mirth. "I'll remember that next time. Can I get you girls anything?"
"A refill of my root beer would be nice," Serena said with a smile.
"I'll have the same," Lita said.
"Me too," Amy added, her nose in one of the other books Serena had brought to the table.
"I think I'll have a strawberry shake," Mina said.
"Chocolate shake here," Raye added.
"Got it. Be right back," Andrew acknowledged and returned to the counter to get their drinks.
"Why are you taking such an interest in this study, Serena?" Raye asked curiously.
Serena blushed. "Well, you'll probably think I'm being silly or paranoid, but considering what's happened to him in the past, I want to make sure I understand what could happen to him now."
"You're worried he's going to be brainwashed again," Mina said, suddenly serious.
"Pretty much. So I figured if I knew how it all worked I'd know what someone might be capable of."
"Oh, Serena," Amy said gently, closing her book. "Hypnotism can't make people do anything against their will. It was the magic that made him act the way he did."
The petite blonde smiled. "I know. But I'll feel better if I know how this process works. Besides, I'll be able to talk to him about the study in depth. I like that idea."
"Oooo, you'll have to try it on me once you're done reading up on it!" Mina exclaimed.
"That would be fun!" Lita agreed. Raye shook her head.
"What could be fun?" a tall, ebony-haired man said as he stepped up to the girls' table and flashed the group a quirky grin.
"Darien!" Serena cried with glee as she forcibly scooted Amy over to make room for the latest arrival.
"It's good to see you too, Meatball Head," he said smirking.
She scowled for a moment then broke into giggles and patted the now empty space beside her.
"Take the seat your fiancé is offering so I can serve these drinks!" Andrew called from behind his best friend.
Darien quickly slipped beside Serena and kissed her briefly. "Sorry I didn't call earlier. I had to talk to Professor Davis and it took longer than I was expecting." He looked up in surprise as Andrew set a full coffee mug in front of him.
"You're lucky I saw you walk in," the blond man shrugged.
"Professor Davis is your psych teacher, right?" Raye asked.
Darien nodded as he took a drink of his coffee and Andrew sat next to Lita, who had made room for him.
"And he's running the study you're involved in?" Amy followed up.
He nodded again. "I guess Serena told you."
"Only just now," Lita said.
"It's no big deal I guess. I needed to do a study for the class I'm taking, and this one caught my eye. I've had the professor for a few other classes and I trust him. Believe me, that's the only reason I agreed to this at all. He promised he would be the only one working with me and everything would be confidential."
"What in the world are you talking about, Dare?"
"Did you forget somebody?" Darien asked Serena with a smile.
"He wasn't here when I was explaining to the girls. I might not have even said anything to them, except they caught me reading." The girls smirked.
The ebony-haired man shot her a quizzical look and grabbed one of the books in front of her. "You're reading books about hypnotism?" He looked the petite blonde next to him in the eye as he put the book back on top of the small pile. "Why?" he asked softly.
"I wanted to understand what was going to happen to you. I needed to be sure…" Serena trailed off, dropping her gaze to her lap.
"Oh, Serena," Darien murmured and took her into his arms. "I promise I'll never be turned against you again. I will not let it happen," he whispered in her ear. She squeezed him tightly in return.
"Ahem." The couple broke apart at the sound of Andrew clearing his throat. "You didn't answer my question."
"You're right. I didn't." Darien smirked.
Andrew leaned over the table and smacked his smirking friend upside the head. "Just talk." The girls giggled.
"Alright, alright," Darien said as he rubbed where he had been hit. "I volunteered to take part in a study Professor Davis is running where he's going to be using hypnotism and subliminal suggestion on amnesia victims, hoping to be able to bring back memories that have been lost. He's been doing studies about hypnotism in general for the past seven years or so, but this is the first time he's been able to get the funding for a focus on amnesia."
"Why? Sounds like a worthy project," Lita commented.
"The professor says it took this long to establish his 'research credentials.' He's actually increased the knowledge of how the brain works."
"I've read a couple of his books. They're quite good," Amy added. The other girls rolled their eyes.
Darien smiled. "I thought so too."
"So what's it like being hypnotized?" Andrew asked curiously.
Everyone turned an expecting look in the ebony-haired man's direction. He laughed. "I wouldn't know yet. This last week was spent collecting personal and medical information and conducting pre-study interviews. My two sessions were quite uneventful." He absent-mindedly squeezed Serena.
"So how much time is this study going to take?" Mina asked.
"In other words, how much whining of Serena's are we going to have to put up with on a weekly basis?" Raye said with a smirk. Serena gave the priestess a raspberry in response.
"The study lasts for the next twelve weeks. I'm scheduled for two hour-long subliminal suggestion sessions and one hour-long hypnotism session. That last one will be in Professor Davis' office."
"What about the subliminal sessions?" Amy asked.
"There's a special lab set up in the basement of the psych building."
"So that's what's been going on down there. I wondered what all the commotion was about," Andrew said.
"It's the first time the professor's used subliminal suggestion to such a degree, besides the two other studies that will be going on. He figured it would be best to have professional equipment brought in."
"Uh, Andrew? I'm not trying to get rid of you or anything, but shouldn't you be getting back to work?" Serena asked.
Andrew smirked. "Nope. I actually have off this weekend. I said I'd hang around for a while and help since I knew you guys were meeting here and I thought we could all go out and do something later. Liz and her friend Rachel are watching the place."
Serena giggled. "You sneak."
"That was about Liz's reaction."
"So what did you have in mind?" Darien asked.
"Couples night out. There are a few new movies on at the Complex and I figured we could pick one."
Darien looked down at the young woman in his arms. She nodded with a huge smile. He shrugged. "Count us in."
"I'll call Ken, but it should be fine. We were thinking about movies tonight anyway," Lita said.
"Chad and I are in. He needs a break anyway. That new assistant can be a handful." Raye rolled her eyes.
"Oooo, let me call Jamie! Lita, lend me your phone," Mina insisted, holding her hand out. The tall brunette handed the blonde her cell phone as she shook her head.
"What about you, Ames?" Serena asked, only Darien's arm over her shoulders keeping her from bouncing around in her seat.
The blue-haired girl sighed. "Greg won't be back from Germany until tomorrow night. My mom and I are supposed to meet him at the airport."
"Then let me escort you, my lady," Andrew said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Rita won't be coming home for a visit for another month and a half, so I'm dateless myself."
Amy smiled. "Sure. Sounds like fun."
"Oh, that's great! Come on over to Crown Arcade then. I'll be waiting," Mina said into the phone she held. "Love you too. See you in a bit. Bye!" She pressed end and handed the phone back to Lita, who proceeded to call her own boyfriend. "Jamie's in. He'll be here as soon as he can."
Raye smiled and pulled her own cell phone out of her purse. "Let's hope he's quicker than you." Mina stuck her tongue out at the dark-haired priestess.
"I'm going to go hang this apron up in the back. Won't take long." With that Andrew rose and went to the back room.
By the time he got back, Jamie and Ken were standing next to the corner booth and Raye was keeping close tabs on the door. "Everything set?" the blonde man asked.
"As soon as Chad gets here we can leave," Raye said, shooting another look toward the entrance.
Five minutes later, the shaggy-haired man scrambled into the arcade, and the group was off.
(fade out...)
(scene change...)
It was a bright, sunny Thursday afternoon when the figure of a Crown Arcade regular walked into said establishment on autopilot. It wasn't the blonde meatballs and streamers that caused the other customers to look at the young woman oddly; they were used to those. It wasn't the relatively sedate pace either; they had noticed her speed of entry drop as she grew older. No, it was the fact that one Serena Tsukino had her cute little nose in a book as she walked. Had it been her friend Amy Mizuno no one would have batted an eye. But this was the girl who had once jumped on top of the counter and announced to everyone in a twelve-mile radius that she hated school and everything connected with it.
The aforementioned blonde was oblivious to the shocked looks she was receiving, only looking up when she reached the counter. Marking her page, she shut her book and looked around for familiar faces. In the far corner in her group of friends' usual booth sat Andrew fidgeting with the straw in his vanilla shake as he stared out the window. Serena smiled and, leaving an order for a double chocolate shake with Liz who had popped out from the kitchen, strolled over to join her friend.
"Hey, Andrew," she said cheerfully as she slid in across from the blonde man. He jumped slightly and turned his attention to the new arrival. "What are you doing just sitting around? It's not like you."
Andrew smiled, his emerald green eyes lighting up. "Rita'll be home any time now. We're meeting here."
Serena grinned. "Ah, I see. Nerves. You know, I didn't think six weeks would go by so fast. Half our summer vacation is gone!"
"Yeah. Say, have you thought about a major yet?"
"I've been thinking, but I haven't decided yet." She sighed and looked up to see Liz standing at the edge of the table with a tray in her hand.
"Here, bro. Your food." She put a plate filled with a double cheeseburger and fries followed by a small dish of mayonnaise. "Sorry about the wait, Serena. I figured I'd bring everything at once."
"No problem," the petite blonde responded as Liz handed her the shake she ordered and Andrew salted his fries. "What's the mayo for?"
Andrew just grinned and dunked one of his fries in the bowl before eating it. Serena raised an eyebrow.
Liz laughed. "You've never seen him eat here before, have you?"
"No, he always demands we go somewhere else when Darien and I drag him out."
"This is what he always has. And he's a slob!" the redheaded waitress said playfully. Andrew just shrugged and kept eating. "Personally I think that's just gross."
Serena shrugged. "I don't know. Can't be too bad."
Andrew shot her a look and offered a French fry, his mouth full. The petite blonde took it, dunked it lightly in the thick white condiment, and popped it in her mouth. She smiled and nodded. "Not too bad. I wouldn't eat it this way all the time, but it's a tasty change of pace."
Liz rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad as he is." With a wink and a smile she went back to work.
Serena polished off her shake as she waited for Andrew to finish eating. "So what are you and Rita going to do tonight?"
Andrew swallowed his last bite and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "She was hoping to make some quick rounds and then watch movies with me at my place. What are you up to? Any plans with Darien?"
She nodded. "I'm supposed to meet him after his subliminal session around five thirty and we were going to go to dinner. We were going to wing the rest of the evening." She sighed. "At least I hope that's how things turn out."
The blond man looked at her quizzically. "What makes you say that?"
"Over the last couple of weeks he's forgotten a bunch of dates. Well, not dates exactly, but times when we were going to meet and such. It's not like him."
"I'll say it isn't. Have you said anything to him?"
"Yeah, and I think it bothers him just as much as it does me. That's the only thing keeping my imagination in check. I do trust him, but I'm afraid of losing him."
"You won't. Everything will work out; he's probably just stressing himself over school as usual. How about Rita and I go with you to meet him?"
Serena smiled. "That would be great. I know Darien would love to see her."
"I would hope so; I missed him too."
The two friends seated at the table turned in surprise at the new voice. There stood Rita, a tall brunette with wavy hair that went just past her shoulders wearing a loose white dress shirt and khaki shorts. "Rita!" Andrew exclaimed, jumping up to take her in his arms.
"I missed you so much, sweetheart," Rita whispered as she returned the fierce embrace.
Serena just smiled as she watched the emotional reunion. The couple finally broke apart, and, after a passionate kiss, slid into the booth across from the petite blonde. "So when did you guys want to head over to the campus?"
The brunette shrugged. "Why don't we go now? I didn't order anything here, and we can go to the Union."
Serena's eyes sparkled. "Oooo, yeah. They have waffle cones. Let's go!" She winked playfully.
Andrew laughed as the two women stood and started for the door. "Should have known something like that would motivate Serena." He followed the ladies out.
(fade out...)
(scene change...)
Serena was just finishing her triple-scoop chocolate waffle cone and Rita and Andrew were on their second cups of coffee when a small, loud group of students walked into the Student Union and occupied a table nearby.
"Can you believe those two? Another argument that took up most of class!" a short, honey-blonde girl exclaimed as she tightened her long ponytail.
"No kidding!" a tall man with short brown hair concurred. "Those two are going to end up pounding each other one of these days!"
"Well, you have to admit, today was Jackson's fault," a girl with bright red hair said as she flipped it back over her shoulder.
"You have a point there, Tabitha. And it looked like Shields was trying to hold back," the man with short brown hair conceded. Serena, Rita, and Andrew perked up their ears at the sound of Darien's last name.
"But what can you do when someone continually berates you for having the audacity to hold a differing opinion," a shorter man with close cropped green hair said sarcastically. "I'm surprised Shields hasn't lost it yet. This makes, what? Three times this session?"
"Four," Tabitha corrected, rolling her eyes. "You missed the last showdown, Tom."
"What was that one about?"
"Jackson's lucky he didn't get himself pounded in the middle of the lecture hall," the brown-haired man said with a snicker.
"That doesn't surprise me, but what was the subject?"
"I think it was something about amnesia. Jackson said that he figured amnesia victims didn't really want to remember the memories that were lost, otherwise how could the loss be so selective."
"You know, he said it so maliciously and right at Shields, almost like he knew that would get his goat." The blonde girl said reflectively while Serena gasped and gripped the table.
"I think you may have something there, Sabrina," Jason said.
"So what did Shields say?" Tom asked curiously.
"He said how dare I make such a presumption, and that certainly didn't explain cases where there was injury to the brain involved," a new voice said from the side of the two tables, causing everyone at both tables to jump in surprise.
"Man, Jackson! You didn't have to scare us like that!"
"Why not, Jason? You think it's any more fair to talk about me behind my back?" the six-foot tall man with slicked back black hair said with a sneer.
"Look, Knight, it's not like anything we said isn't public knowledge. So can the attitude," Tabitha snapped.
"Besides, it's not like Shields is sitting with us," Tom added.
Jackson shot a look at the table Serena, Andrew, and Rita were sitting at, quietly fuming, Serena with difficulty. "Maybe not, but his friends and girlfriend are close enough," he said smirking and pointing.
His four seated classmates turned to look at the three at the other table and gasped. "Oh, wow, we're sorry," Sabrina said contritely. The others nodded in agreement.
Andrew waved them off. "Don't worry about it. It's not you guys that have been bugging Darien." He turned a sharp gaze at Jackson.
Serena narrowed her eyes at the standing man. "You're helping out with Professor Davis' study, aren't you?"
One of Jackson's eyebrows became visible from under the dark sunglasses he wore. "And what of it?"
The meatball-headed blonde's sapphire blues grew wide and she sprung to her feet. "You… bastard!" Andrew and Rita looked at her in shock. "You knew! You knew and deliberately goaded him like that in front of everybody, where he wouldn't dare say anything personal! How could you?"
Jackson looked at his watch and started to walk away. "As entertaining as this has been, I have to be going or I'll be late for a certain four-thirty session." He turned back, lowered his glasses, winked at Serena, and continued on his way.
Andrew and Rita jumped up and held onto the petite blonde's arms, preventing her from chasing after the arrogant man. "Keep your cool, Serena," Andrew said through clenched teeth. "He's not worth the energy."
"Besides," Rita continued as she glared at the back of Jackson's black T-shirt, "Darien would never want you to do something like that."
At the sound of her fiancé's name, Serena quickly settled down. "You're right, Rita. Darien wouldn't want me to do anything like what I'd like to do."
Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Darien can take care of the situation."
"You know, I really am surprised Darien hasn't decked him yet. It's not like Jackson doesn't deserve it," Tabitha said.
Serena smiled serenely. "That's just not in Darien's nature. He doesn't really like confrontations. He'll defend his point of view, but he'd never take it to a physical level. He'd walk away first."
"Who's that girl talking to Jackson?" Andrew asked, pointing to the entryway, where Jackson stood talking to a young woman of medium height with shoulder-length violet hair and eyes wearing a white floral print sundress. Neither party looked very happy.
"Oh, that's Morgan DeMarco," Sabrina replied. "She transferred here from a school in Kyoto I think."
"Third year psych," Tom added. "She's only been here a semester, but she seems to be making a big impression on people."
"She certainly has the looks," Serena muttered.
With the lull in the conversation, Morgan's words could be heard at the tables. "But this is important, Jacks."
"I can't right now." Jackson's answer was short and curt.
"We have to talk," the violet-haired girl continued.
"Look, I have a session to get to. I don't want to be late. Call me later. I'm sure I can wait."
"I don't think it can," Morgan replied frostily.
"Whatever. It's up to you." With that, Jackson brushed by the woman and left the building.
"Why do I get the feeling that this Jackson Knight character isn't all that popular around here?" Andrew asked wryly.
"He definitely sets people on edge," Jason replied. "He's dedicated to his work though. He's been helping out Dr. Davis for two or three years now."
"Oh, wow, it's almost four-thirty," Tabitha said, looking at her watch. "We have to get a move on."
"Right," Tom concurred. "Don't let Jackson Knight spoil your day," he said to Serena, Rita, and Andrew. "The rest of us have learned to just blow him off."
"We won't," Serena said with a smile. "You guys have fun." She waved as the four of them left the Union.
"I just hope Jackson backs off when he gets to that lab," Andrew said after the other four students left.
Serena's eyes hardened a bit as she nodded in agreement.
(fade out...)
(scene change...)
An hour later, Serena, Andrew, and Rita stood in front of the psychology building enjoying a light breeze that took the edge off the heat of the day. The campus was practically deserted due to the lateness of the hour and the fact that it was the middle of the summer session. Serena was looking through the book she had been reading when she walked into the café earlier.
"What are you reading, Serena?" Rita asked.
"A book on hypnotism. I'm trying to understand as much as possible."
"I'm impressed," Andrew commented with a smile.
Serena stuck her tongue out at him while Rita laughed. As the petite blonde marked her page and closed the book, a gunshot rang out, seemingly from the building behind the trio. "That was a gun!" Serena cried. "Darien!"
The three of them rushed into the lobby-esque area of the building and paused to listen for any further indications of where the shot had come from. After a few minutes, steps were heard coming up from the basement. The trio tensed and the door leading to the basement steps flew open. They all gasped as Darien stumbled out, his midnight blue eyes blank and unseeing, his ebony tresses in mild disarray.
"Darien!" Serena cried, rushing to his side. He didn't appear to even register her presence.
Andrew's eyes narrowed as he sized up his friend. "Hey, Dare, you okay?" The dark-haired man never moved his gaze.
Tears began to fall from Serena's sapphire blues. "Darien, please!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and shook him.
Rita stepped over and placed a calming hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "It's not going to help right now, Serena. Look, why don't you and Andrew go check out the basement? I have a feeling that's where the shot probably came from. I'll take care of Darien here in the lobby." The taller brunette gently guided the dazed man to the padded seats along the right-hand wall.
"Come on, Serena. Let's go," Andrew said, gently leading her toward the basement stairs. "He's in good hands."
Serena nodded, the champion of justice in her coming to the fore. "Let's do this."
"I've been down here a couple of times since they built these special labs," Andrew said as the two blondes exited the stairwell. "The lab Darien usually has his sessions in is this way." He led the way, taking the first left and then right at the end of that hall, Serena keeping her eyes open for anything suspicious.
Finding nothing, she was drawn out of her examination of their surroundings by Andrew's sudden stop. "This is it," he said, pointing at a partially open door.
"Room fifty-two," Serena muttered under her breath as she gently pushed the door open the rest of the way.
The two of them stepped carefully into the small room. Serena immediately noticed a mirror that almost completely covered the right hand wall, a door taking up the remainder of the space. A desk with a comfortable-looking reclining chair sat in the middle of the room, facing the mirror.
"Oh, my! Andrew, look!" Serena cried, pointing.
A crumpled form lay in a pool of blood, partially hidden by the recliner. Andrew's face paled as he stepped forward for a closer look.
"Is it…" Serena trailed off as her blond companion knelt beside the prone form.
"It's Jackson," Andrew confirmed. "He's been shot!" Panic began to creep into his voice.
Serena's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Check his pulse! Maybe there's something we can do for him!"
Andrew held his breath and reached out his hand. He waited a moment then shook his head. "Nothing."
"Oh, gods," Serena breathed.
"What I don't get is how or why," Andrew pondered, shaking his head.
"That's what we're going to have to find out," Serena said with a firmness in her voice as she straightened, calling on her inner strength to get her through this. She was starting to think things through, and realized that if Darien had been alone with Jackson in this lab, he would be the prime suspect.
"Serena! I found a gun!" Andrew exclaimed, pointing at a revolver lying on the carpet near the foot of the recliner.
"Don't touch it!" Serena cried. "In fact, we better not touch anything. We don't want to disturb any evidence." Andrew's eyebrow rose. "I've been watching detective movies and mysteries lately," the young woman explained sheepishly.
The blond man smiled. "You're right, though." His brows furrowed. "Did you see a phone nearby? We should call the police and an ambulance."
"I think I saw one near the stairs."
Andrew nodded and headed for the door. As he passed his younger friend, he paused. "Are you going to be okay in here alone?"
She smiled gratefully. "I'll be okay. Go ahead." He nodded and continued on his way.
Once she was alone, Serena took a closer look at her surroundings, doing everything in her power to avoid looking at the fallen form behind the desk. It was a lab unlike any she had seen before from her visits to Amy and Darien in other areas of the campus. The small, windowless room was softly lit by track lighting and was painted a comforting shade of pale blue. The carpet was a light gray, except where the pool of blood had discolored it.
In the far left hand corner two small consoles met, each with a chair in front of it and a panel of a handful of dials and buttons, lights and switches. A pair of headphones appeared to be connected to one of the panels and now hung over the back of the recliner. Serena used the material of the skirt of her dark blue jumper to keep her fingerprints off the headphones as she held them to her ear. No sound came from them. If anything had been playing before the shot, it had been turned off since.
After replacing the headphones, Serena walked over to the door in the mirror-covered wall, flinching slightly as she noticed Darien's satchel leaning against the front of the desk on the floor. He had definitely been in this lab. The door was slightly ajar, so she gently pushed it open the rest of the way, again using her skirt to keep it fingerprint-free. She found an even smaller room, less than seven feet deep, revealing the mirror to actually be two-way glass, allowing an observer to watch the person sitting in the recliner without being seen him or herself. There was a console against the mirrored wall, with two desk chairs. Built into the console were a sophisticated-looking computer terminal, two cassette decks, a multiple CD changer, and a microphone. Several file cabinets stood against the far wall.
Serena couldn't think of what all this equipment could be used for, although she was sure Amy or Darien could explain it, and couldn't remember Darien mentioning anything. And what, if anything, did it have to do with the murder of Jackson Knight?
The muffled sound of hurried footsteps managed to barely reach Serena's ears, so she stepped back into the main laboratory and double-checked that her brief examination hadn't disturbed anything. Soon after, Andrew came back with a woman dressed in a campus security uniform.
"An ambulance is on its way," Andrew said as he stepped over to Serena and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. The two blondes watched as the lady checked Jackson's pulse.
"He's dead, alright," she concurred sadly, looking at the two students soberly. "Are you two okay? Finding a body can be disturbing."
"I'm fine," Andrew assured the officer. "I'm a fourth year med student." The uniformed lady turned her gaze to the meatball-headed blonde.
"I'll be okay," Serena said with a gentle smile.
"As long as you two are sure."
Serena nodded. "My fiancé is up in the lobby and he was really out of it before we came down here. Would it be okay if we went and checked up on him?"
"Alright. Just don't go too far. The police and I are going to need to get statements from both of you."
The two blondes agreed and hurried back to the lobby, where they found Rita gazing sympathetically at Darien, who sat with his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. Serena rushed over and sat next to the crestfallen man, her arms encircling him. Darien wordlessly leaned into the embrace, his head falling on her shoulder, and his arms going around her waist.
"He started muttering soon after the two of you left," Rita said as Andrew and Serena focused on her. "He talked about music. He said, 'The music… the music stopped… and he fell down.'"
"It wouldn't surprise me if he was talking about Jackson Knight. We found his body in the lab," Andrew said, subdued.
Rita gasped and swallowed hard. "He went on a little later to say, 'The song… the song is the same… always the same. The song is the same.'"
Andrew looked bewildered while Serena gently squeezed Darien. "That's just weird," the blond man said, shaking his head.
"Maybe Darien saw something," Rita offered.
Andrew shrugged while Serena bit her lower lip. She wasn't completely sure seeing something accounted for the state Darien was in, especially considering everything he had already gone through with a clear head. The petite blonde turned her head and nuzzled her fiancé's dark hair just above his ear. "Darien? It's Serena." His arms squeezed slightly. She smiled. "Do you think you can tell me if you remember anything that happened in the lab?"
Serena could feel Darien's lips moving against her shoulder as he rolled his head back and forth, but no words could be heard. Andrew stepped closer and checked his friend's pulse and eyes with the smaller blonde's help. "He's suffering from a mild form of shock as far as I can tell. Keep holding him; that's as warm as we'll be able to keep him for now." Serena nodded as Darien's movements stopped.
The coherent trio looked out the large windows to either side of the thick oak double doors and saw another campus security car and two Tokyo police cars pull up outside the building. An ambulance was right behind them. A small crowd was beginning to gather, and one of the members of campus security moved to keep them from entering the building.
Three uniformed police officers burst into the lobby accompanied by a middle-aged man with short, dirty brown hair wearing a wrinkled, white, short-sleeved shirt, slightly loose black tie, and a pair of crumpled black slacks. Also with them was a wiry black man about five foot nine inches tall and wearing a campus security uniform with gold braid on the cap and shoulder. Serena's eyes widened at the sight of him.
"That's Captain Steve McMahon," Andrew whispered into the younger blonde's ear, "the new head of campus security." They watched the group head for the basement stairs. "He used to be in the United States Navy as a helicopter pilot from what I've heard."
The sound of the officers rushing in had caused Darien to sit straight upright, his arms still loosely around Serena's waist. He then watched as a medic team from the ambulance followed the officers down to the labs. As he watched the official crowd pass by, his midnight blues clouded in confusion. "What… what's going on?" he finally asked.
The other three looked at each other uncomfortably. Was it possible Darien truly didn't know what had happened? Serena didn't know what to say. If he was in shock, hearing about Jackson Knight's death would not be a good thing.
Serena took her eyes away from Darien's form as Captain McMahon and the rumpled man returned from the basement and approached the quartet.
"I'm Lieutenant Bryan Alexander, homicide, Tokyo PD," the middle-aged man said as he pulled out a slightly tattered notebook from his back pants pocket. "I understand you two found the body," he said, gesturing at Andrew and Serena with his pen.
"Body?" Darien asked, a wild, frightened look forming in his eyes. "What body? Is someone dead?" His arms tightened around Serena's waist out of reflex while his gaze darted to each of the people surrounding him.
Captain McMahon reached out and patted the panicked man on the shoulder. "Calm down, son. Everything will be okay."
Serena followed up the words with a tender squeeze. "Shh, Darien. He's right. Everything will be okay." Her soft words seemed to do the trick, for Darien relaxed slightly, although the wild look was still in his eyes.
The lieutenant returned his focus to Andrew and Serena. "As I was saying, you two found the body?" The two blondes nodded. "Are you both students here?"
"Yes. I'm Andrew Furuhata, and this is Serena Tsukino."
"And these other two?"
"Darien Shields and my girlfriend Rita Blake."
"Students?"
"Darien is, but Rita's just visiting for the week from Germany."
"Okay." Lieutenant Alexander paused as he finished writing in his notebook. "Now I just want to get all the facts straight. What were you all doing here?"
"They were here to meet me," Darien said, his usual mask almost completely back in place.
The lieutenant raised an eyebrow at the unexpected source of information. "Alright then. Where were you when the shooting happened?"
Serena was the only one who caught the brief flash of panic in Darien's eyes before he responded. "I… guess I was in the lab." Confusion was breaking through his stoic exterior.
"You guess? What is that supposed to mean? Either you were or you weren't!" Alexander exploded. "So did you see anything? Who shot this guy… uh, what's his name again?" He turned an expectant look to Captain McMahon.
"Jackson Knight," the dark-skinned man supplied calmly.
"Yeah, that's it, Jackson. So who shot him? Was it you?"
The bluntness of the question shocked Andrew, Rita, and Serena. Their jaws dropped, and Serena's eyes hardened. If this was how Lieutenant Alexander conducted an investigation, no one was very impressed.
"No, no, of course I didn't kill him," Darien protested, squeezing Serena unconsciously. "At least… I don't think I did…" He trailed off, confusion and frustration fighting for dominance on his features.
Alexander let out an explosive breath, annoyed. "Great. It's going to be one of those nights. The four of you are going to have to come down to the station with me. We're going to have to ask you some questions."
(fade out...)
(scene change...)
"This is taking forever," Serena complained, sinking even further into the hard plastic chair she was seated on. Andrew held Rita a little closer as they both looked at the meatball-headed blonde with sympathy.
It was almost ten o'clock that night, and the three of them had been questioned extensively. Now they waited with varying degrees of patience on the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the front room of the police station for Darien to finish being interrogated. Several officers were busy at desks around the room, despite the late hour.
"They've been questioning Darien for almost three hours now. I hope they aren't being too hard on him," Rita commented softly.
Andrew and Serena rolled their eyes, remembering Lieutenant Alexander's disposition on campus earlier. Serena had been thinking things through all night, and although she didn't like it, she had reluctantly concluded the police had a reason to question Darien so thoroughly. She knew he'd never kill anyone, but the evidence seemed to point to him.
Just then, Darien stepped out from a hallway branching off the front room accompanied by Lieutenant Alexander and a uniformed officer. Serena's heart clenched at the sight of her beloved's confused, dejected expression. He never even lifted his midnight blue gaze from the floor.
"Can we all go now?" Serena asked hopefully, dreading the answer, as the trio of new arrivals approached.
Alexander cleared his throat awkwardly before answering. "Well, you three can go. We don't have any further questions for you."
"And Darien?" Rita asked anxiously.
"I'm afraid Mr. Shields won't be joining you."
"What are you talking about?" Andrew asked angrily, jumping to his feet. "What's the problem?"
The lieutenant flashed the blonde man an irritated look. "Look, Shields' fingerprints are all over the gun," Serena gasped at this, "he had motive, and he had opportunity."
Serena held her breath as tears filled her eyes. She knew what was coming next, knew it wasn't good, and tried to brace herself for it.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," Alexander went on emotionlessly, "but I've placed Darien Shields under arrest for the murder of Jackson Knight."