"I beg your pardon?" Prue asked totally mystified.
"You three aren't the only ones with a secret," Todd said. "I want to show you something. But you have to promise not to overreact. It's bound to be a bit unnerving especially at first. Please, just let me explain before you do anything."
"Okay," said Piper. "Just don't try anything funny."
"That would depend on your definition of the word funny," Todd said.
He stood up and moved to the entryway. He looked at the girls for a moment, and then he suddenly changed. Instead of the human they had been talking to, he now stood nearly seven feet tall. His skin was a deep blue with what looked like bright green markings. His eyes were cat like and he was totally bald.
Instinctively, the three girls stood up and took defensive positions in the living room. It explained a great deal. Inspector Todd was a demon. And from the looks of it, he must be a very powerful demon. Almost as quickly, Todd returned to his human form.
"Yes, I'm a demon," Todd said. "And if I had wanted to kill you, I've had more than ample opportunity to do so. But as I said, that's not what I'm here for."
"What kind of trick is this?" demanded Prue.
"It's no trick, I assure you," Todd said, returning to the living room. "Let me see if I can explain. You see, in the underworld there is a hierarchy of sorts. The stronger demons rule the weaker ones. Mostly through fear and intimidation. It is the nature of demons. I'm what you might call middle management. I'm hardly near the top of the hierarchy but I'm certainly a long way from the lower levels. I've enjoyed a great deal of power and freedom. And I've enjoyed it for a very long time."
"What does that have to do with us?" asked Piper.
"You see," said Todd, "I made the mistake of failing in an assignment given to me. A failure that some more powerful demons found unacceptable. So, as very often happens with those who fail their masters, I was ordered terminated."
"They wanted to kill you," Phoebe said.
"Exactly," Todd replied. "Now, as I'm sure you can imagine, I wasn't real thrilled with this idea. So I ran. Well, more accurately, I killed the demons sent to kill me and escaped. For the past nine years I've hidden among humans posing as one of them. I don't dare use my powers for fear they might discover me. But I've spent those nine years looking over my shoulder. Wondering which of the humans I meet each day might be bounty hunters sent to finish me."
"Okay, I'll ask again," said Prue. "What does that have to do with us?"
"You can make me mortal," Todd said. "I must admit I hadn't thought of it before I discovered the file Trudeau was keeping on you. But it's the perfect solution. Without my powers I'm nothing more than another human. There won't be anything for the bounty hunters to latch onto. I'll blend in with the human population as if I were one of them."
"It's some kind of trick," Piper said.
"It's no trick," Todd said. "As a demon, I'm immortal. I don't suffer the passage of time as you do. But I'm also living in constant fear that anyone I meet might be a demonic bounty hunter come to finish me. I find I don't like living that way. I can't go back. Demons are notorious at never forgiving.
"So I have a choice to make. Go on living as I have for the last nine years, knowing that some day the bounty hunters will eventually catch up with me. Or become a mortal. Give up my existence as a demon and live whatever life I have left in peace. And you're the only witches powerful enough to do that for me."
Prue looked at Todd. He seemed sincere. And he was right. He knew enough about them to cause them a great deal of trouble. He could expose their secret to the entire world. It would only be a matter of time before every demon in the underworld would converge on their doorstep to destroy them.
"And if we say no?" Prue asked Todd.
"Then I won't do a thing," Todd said. "But you can be sure if I figured it out, someone else is bound to sooner or later. Everything I have on you is in that briefcase. It's yours. No strings attached. I didn't make any copies. Call it a good faith offering.
"But if you agree to help me, I'll call my friend at the FBI and have him clear up a few loose ends. Loose ends that the local police couldn't take care of. When he's done, all that anyone might be left with are suspicions. Suspicions without any proof."
"I find it just a little hard to believe that a demon would choose to help people," said Prue. "Your kind isn't really known for their altruistic attitudes."
"There's nothing altruistic about it," Todd said. "I chose to masquerade as a policeman for the simple fact that it's completely opposite of what demons do. The ones hunting me would be expecting me to go the other way. You might say I'm hiding in plain sight. No one would expect a demon under a death sentence to be hiding among the enemy."
"That kind of makes sense," Phoebe said.
"Maybe," said Prue. "But we need to talk this over. You can't expect us to just say yes on the spot."
"Take as much time as you want," Todd said, pulling a card out of his coat. He handed the card to Prue. "When you've made your decision, give me a call."
Prue took the card and Todd turned and left the manor. He left his briefcase and all the information he had collected on the sisters sitting in the living room.