EIGHT
Leo orbed into a very modest apartment. He was careful to orb into a portion of the apartment that wasn't occupied. This was going to be tricky enough without startling the young woman half to death. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to approach her when she suddenly appeared in the doorway. The white cotton nightgown she wore made her appear even younger.
"Who are you?" she demanded fearfully, her eyes darting around the room in search of other intruders. "How did you get into my apartment?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Leo and I just need to ask you a couple of questions."
"What do you want?" said the young woman backing cautiously away. "There's money in my purse. It's not much but it's all I have. I don't have any jewelry or anything of value. But you can have whatever you want. Just don't hurt me."
"I'm not here to hurt you. I need your help. Believe me, I'm not a threat to you."
"What do you want?"
"You made some brownies for someone at the law firm where you work. He's having an… unusual reaction to them. I just need to know what you put in them, that's all."
"Br… brownies? Nothing. I, uh, I didn't put anything in them. They were just a mix I got at the store that's all."
"Look, you aren't in any trouble. I just need to know what you put in them that's all. Cole is acting very strange and the doctor needs to know what you put in them so she can treat him."
"Is Mr. Turner okay? He's very nice and I wouldn't want anything to happen to him."
"Then just tell me what you put in the brownies."
"I told you," she insisted vehemently. "I didn't put anything in them. They're just brownies. Honestly."
Leo just looked at the woman. In his sixty some years as a White Lighter he had learned a thing or two about human behavior. The woman was very nervous. And it was very apparent that she wasn't being totally honest with him. She was hiding something and seemed reluctant to be forthcoming with him.
"Give me your hand," he said holding out his hand.
"Why?"
"Well not because I'm the ghost of Christmas past," Leo quipped, immediately sorry for surrendering to the frustration of the evening when the girl's fear escalated obviously. " Look, I just want to show you something. You aren't in any danger, I assure you. Just give me your hand and this should all be over very quickly."
The woman looked at Leo for a minute. She was still very nervous and obviously didn't trust him completely. But she was also afraid of him. He didn't like that reaction but it might work to his advantage. Cautiously she reached out and took his hand.
"This is going to be a bit startling," said Leo as he began his orb. "Just remember you are in no danger. No one is going to hurt you."
As they orbed out of the apartment the woman had a look of abject terror on her face. But there wasn't much else Leo could do. She wasn't about to tell him anything. He only hoped that the girls could get her to be more compliant once he got them back to the manor.
Sherry was shaking as they orbed into the manor. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all stood by patiently as Leo completed the orb. Katrina seemed less interested in the orb than the others.
"Sherry," said Phoebe as soon as Leo completed his orb, "we need to know what you put in those brownies you gave Cole."
"Easy," said Leo. "I didn't have time to prepare her. She's a bit shaken up."
"Sherry," said Piper calmly, "I know how this must all look to you. But trust me we aren't going to hurt you. We don't really have time for a lot of explanations right now. We just need to know what you put in those brownies, that's all."
"Like I told him, I didn't put anything in them. They're just brownies. It was a mix I got at the store. There's nothing in them that should have hurt Mr. Turner."
"Sherry," said Phoebe, "we know you put something in those brownies. At least the one you had him eat. Look, it's very clear you're infatuated with him. I don't blame you. And if you put something in that brownie we don't blame you. We just need to know what you put in it, that's all."
"I didn't put anything in it, honestly. They're just brownies. Nothing that could hurt anyone."
"Okay, this is getting us nowhere," Katrina snapped. "Look, honey, you're obviously lying. Even these humans should be able to tell that. Now, just tell us what was in that brownie and you can go back home. No one will bother you and you won't have to worry about anyone finding out. Doctor/patient privilege and all that."
"What do you mean 'these humans'? Who are you people?"
"I'm a doctor," said Katrina. "I've been Belthazor's, I mean Cole's, personal physician for almost sixty years. So just tell me what was in the brownie and this will all be over."
"Sixty years? That's impossible. Neither you nor Mr. Turner are nearly that old."
Suddenly they all heard another explosion from upstairs. Apparently Cole was still using his energy balls to try and escape the prison Paige had put him in.
"Okay, look," said Katrina. "Time is running out. The long and short of it is that Cole is a demon and you've given him something that he's having an adverse reaction to. If I don't find out what it is soon there's no telling what's going to happen. So just tell me what you gave him and that will be that."
Sherry just looked at them with a look of total terror on her face sure that she had fallen in with a bunch of deranged lunatics.