Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 11: Hot on the Trail of a Killer
San Francisco Police Department
Wyatt's Desk
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
2:25 pm
Wyatt's POV
I am looking up at the square clock for the hundredth time in the last five minutes. It is 2:25 pm. When will this day ever end? I have been fighting to stay awake. To distract myself, I have been tapping my desk with a pencil. I am supposed to be typing the police report for the Young case on the computer, but the words on the screen of the monitor are just blurring together and my head hurts. Every time, I nod off, a pair of green eyes framed by long eyelashes swims into the forefront of my consciousness. I can't stop thinking about her or dreaming about her. In last night's dream, we were walking barefoot along the shore of a beach, close enough to the ocean that the waves could lap around our ankles. The sky was tinged with pinks and reds and oranges. We were discussing something and she smiled up at me and I remember thinking that she has a beautiful smile and that it lights up her face.
Who is she? Why do I have these recurring dreams? Do they describe the future? Are they even real or are they just dreams?
I cannot believe that they are just dreams. I know that sounds crazy. Believe me, I would be the first person to admit myself to an asylum and spend an eternity in a strait jacket, but if there is anything that I have learned from magic it is to believe in my instincts and my instincts tell me not to discount the dreams as figments of my imagination. Even if they are figments of my imagination, the dreams seem so real. I can still feel the gritty sand particles between my toes and smell the salty sea air.
Besides, Mom always says that everything happens for a reason. So, what's the reason for the dreams?
Chris said that the woman is probably the girl who kissed me at P3. I remember telling him that I would marry that girl. Could it really be her?
Speaking of girls, wasn't I supposed to search the database for someone who might get abducted at Stacy's Dance School? What was her name? It was something with an E.
Then, I hear Chris call me through our bond.
He says, "Wy! Send a team to Gabriel Knox Elementary School. Laura, Aisling's mother, and Emily Blake's grandmother have been murdered. Emily, Aisling and I are not responsible. I tried to heal Laura and Emily's grandmother, but the Elders wouldn't let me and Uncle Harry said that there wasn't a Wizarding World cure. They died. Emily, Aisling and I will not be here at the murder scene. I will orb them to the Halliwell Manor."
According to the rules Wyatt cannot respond to an emergency unless someone calls the police upon discovering the body and saying that he has a bond with Chris will not only expose magic, but it will make him a laughingstock. So, Wyatt turns on the computer and searches for Emily Blake in the database. Her photograph pops up and next to it her private information such as her security number and number of misdemeanors she has committed.
"Hey! That's the mystery woman," Wyatt thinks as he studies the photograph of Emily.
Then, he notes that she has no misdemeanors on her record.
Gabriel Knox Elementary School
2081 Derby Lane
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
2:35 pm
The mad stampede of running students is over and the hallways are once again silent. Dr. Thompson, the school principal is walking through the halls in red high heels that clack in a staccato rhythm as she walks toward the bus loading dock. When she reaches the hallway between Mrs. Jones' classroom and Mrs. O'Keeffe's classroom, Mrs. Thompson sees the corpses, puts her hands on her cheeks and screams.
"Be calm, Susan" Dr. Thompson says to herself as she takes a deep breath after screaming and takes out her cell phone to call the police and report Mrs. Jones' and Mrs. O'Keeffe's deaths.
San Francisco Police Department
Captain Morris' Desk
San Francisco, Ca, USA
October 29, 2031
2:45 pm
Ring! Ring!
"Hi! You have reached the San Francisco Police Department. This is Captain Morris speaking," Captain Morris says when he picks up the telephone receiver.
"This is Dr. Thompson. I am the principal (headmistress) of Gabriel Knox Elementary School.I have just discovered the corpses of two of my teachers: Mrs. Jones and Mrs. O'Keeffe," Dr. Thompson says.
"Don't panic. A team of police officers are on their way," Captain Morris says and hangs up the telephone.
Who should I send on this mission? Captain Morris thinks as he taps on his chin.
Then, he approaches Wyatt who is at his desk searching for information about Emily Blake through the database at the police station.
"What are you doing, Halliwell?" Captain Morris asks when he sees the photograph of Emily Blake on Wyatt's computer screen.
"Family business, sir!" Wyatt replies.
"Just make sure that it doesn't interfere with real police work. Where is the police report I asked you to complete, concerning the Young case?" Captain Morris asks.
"Right here," Wyatt says as he hands a printed document to Captain Morris.
Captain Morris skims over the document to make sure there are no blank lines and shakes his head.
I will have to read this document more closely, but the document appears to be complete. How does Halliwell complete a task, while looking like he is staring off into space and daydreaming again? Maybe I should send him on this case. It will certainly give him a change of pace, Captain Morris thinks.
Aloud Captain Morris says to Wyatt, "Lieutenant, a murder has occurred at Gabriel Knox Elementary School. Go investigate it."
"Yes, sir!" Wyatt says as he prints out the information he discovered about Emily Blake and stuffs it into a briefcase that he carries for show to hide the fact that he orbs all important documents to his desk in his bedroom at the Halliwell Manor.
Next, he grabs his jacket and exits the police station's glass doors. Then, he climbs into the passenger seat of a police car next to Captain Morris and they drive away to the murder site with the sirens blaring.
Gabriel Knox Elementary School
2081 Derby Lane
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
3:00 pm
When Wyatt and Captain Morris reach the elementary school, Dr. Thompson meets them at the door.
"Right this way, gentlemen," Dr. Thompson says as she leads them through a maze of hallways.
As they walk, Wyatt and Captain Morris admire the students' work that is proudly displayed on bulletin boards next to each classroom door.
After a while, Dr. Thompson stops and points to Mrs. Jones' and Mrs. O'Keeffe's corpses on the linoleum floor. The bodies are still. The arms are pushed down so that the fingertips reach the corpses' thighs. Furthermore, the eyes are closed and the lips are pushed together to form a smile. The legs and feet are also together.
Wyatt and Captain Morris walk around the bodies, but nothing seems to be the problem except for the dart in Mrs. Jones' and Mrs. O'Keeffe's throats and the unnatural position of the bodies as though Mrs. Jones and Mrs. O'Keefe didn't bother to fight their attacker or attackers and instead, died in their sleep.
"Find anything useful?" Dr. Thompson asks.
"The darts stuck in the corpses' throats and their unnatural positions are the only irregularities. Whoever our murderer is, he or she wasn't very smart. He or she left a calling card. The fingerprints on the darts should lead us to the murderer. No murderer is that foolish unless he or she was surprised by the footsteps of someone heading their way such as a student returning to a classroom after using the restroom," Captain Morris says.
Or Chris' orbs, Wyatt thinks as he remembers Chris' message through their bond.
"So, what will you do now?" Dr. Thompson asks.
Instead of answering, Captain Morris pulls the darts out of the corpses' throats, places the darts in an evidence bag and seals the bag. Next, he calls the coroner who prods the bodies with various probes and concludes that the time of death is 2:22 pm.
"How many people have walked through this hallway?" Wyatt asks Dr. Thompson.
"The students either trampled over the bodies or walked around them. The teachers are in their classrooms grading their students' papers or they are writing their lesson plan for tomorrow's class," Dr. Thompson replies.
"Should we allow the press to get wind of this story?" Captain Morris asks.
"No, we do not want to tarnish our reputation of being a safe school," Dr. Thompson replies.
"Dr. Thompson, the students are bound to tell their parents about the murders and the parents will start pulling their children out of this school," Wyatt says.
"We could hold an assembly and tell the students not to discuss the murders with their parents, assuming that any of them noticed the bodies," Dr. Thompson says.
"That just gives the students another reason to tell their parents about the murders, but I do like the idea of gathering everyone together," Wyatt says.
"Please excuse us, Dr. Thompson," Captain Morris says as he pulls Wyatt aside.
"Hold on, Halliwell!" What are you planning?" Captain Morris shouts in a low voice at Wyatt.
"We could gather the students and parents together. Next, I could take each person to a classroom, where Uncle Harry is waiting for him or her. Then, I could ask him or her what he or she saw. If he or she saw too much, Uncle Harry can obliviate him or her," Wyatt replies.
"It sounds like a good idea," Captain Morris says.
Then, they approach Dr. Thompson.
"Please assemble the students and parents together for a meeting on Tuesday night. Thank you for your time, Dr. Thompson," Captain Morris says.
"You are welcome," Dr. Thompson says as she shakes hands with Captain Morris and Wyatt and leaves, presumably to return to her office since the buses have already left.
Then, with Wyatt's help, Captain Morris stacks one corpse on top of the other corpse in the back seat of the police car. Afterwards, they drive away to the laboratory to deliver the darts in the evidence bag. Then, they visit the city morgue to drop off the bodies.
Halliwell Manor
1329 Prescott Street
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
5:15 pm
Emily slowly opens her green eyes and sees a wooden ceiling fan above her head.
Where am I? Emily thinks.
So, she decides to investigate.
She moves her arms and hands and discovers that she is lying on something soft. Next, she wiggles her toes to see if they are all there and functioning properly. Then, she kicks off the blankets in an effort to get up and walk, but her legs feel like jelly and a searing pain that feels like many knives piercing her skin shoots up through her legs when she tries to walk. So, she plops back down onto the bed and pulls up the covers.
Meanwhile, Chris and Aisling are busy preparing chicken noodle soup for Emily in the kitchen or rather, Aisling sits on a bar stool and watches Chris boil water for the noodles in a pot and add a pinch of salt to the water. When the water boils, he adds the noodles and waits for them to cook. After the noodles are cooked, he places a colander in the kitchen sink, dumps the noodles into the colander and lets the noodles drain. While the noodles are draining, he chops skinless and boneless breast pieces of chicken into little cubes and sautés them in a frying pan until they turn brown. Next, he drizzles a little bit of vegetable oil into a second pot. Then, he chops red onions, celery and carrots, drops them into the pot with the warm oil in it and waits for the vegetables to cook. While he waits for the vegetables to cook, he minces some garlic and adds the garlic to the cooked vegetables. He also adds the chicken pieces from the frying pan and the drained noodles from the colander to the cooked vegetables. Then, he pours some wine over the vegetables and chicken. He also sprinkles salt and chops and adds some chives to the soup. Afterwards, he adds some chicken broth and waits for the mixture to bubble.
"Is the soup done, yet?" Aisling asks Chris.
"Almost done," Chris says as he ladles the soup into a bowl and places the bowl on a silver breakfast tray.
He also places a glass of water and a vial of headache relief potion that he learned how to brew from a copy of Moste Potente Potions that Harry had given to him for his birthday nine years ago to the right of the bowl of chicken noodle soup.
"Now everything is done," Chris says as he hands Aisling the silver tray and they both go upstairs to Chris' bedroom to check on Emily.
When Aisling and Chris enter Chris' bedroom, Emily is sitting up in the bed with her legs dangling over the right edge of the bed.
Aisling places the tray on the end table on the left side of the bed and sits on the bed next to Emily. Next, she wraps Emily's arm around her shoulder and pulls her up.
"Chris, Love! Take Emily's other arm," Aisling says.
Chris complies and with Chris' help, Aisling guides Emily to the restroom. Next, Chris stands outside the restroom door, while Emily uses the restroom with Aisling's help. After Emily uses the restroom, Aisling and Chris support Emily as they walk down the staircase and through the conservatory and hall to the family room. Then, Chris and Aisling push Emily onto the sofa. Afterwards, Chris hands the television remote to Emily and sits next to her, while Aisling goes back to Chris' bedroom, picks up the silver tray, walks back down the stairs to the family room and places the tray on the table in front of Emily.
Then, as Emily takes a sip of the chicken noodle soup, Wyatt enters the Halliwell Manor and shouts, "Chris!"
"I am in the family room, Wy!" Chris shouts back.
"Hi, future sister-in-law!" Wyatt says to Aisling when he enters the family room.
Then, he turns toward Emily who is still sitting on the sofa and asks, "Who are you?"
Has he forgotten that kiss already? Emily thinks as she looks up into Wyatt's blue eyes and touches her lips with the middle and index fingers of her right hand where Wyatt had kissed her last month at P3 after she kissed him as part of her bet with Amanda.
"Wy, meet Emily Blake and Emily, meet my older brother, Wyatt," Chris says.
"It is nice to meet you, Emily," Wyatt says as he approaches Emily and holds out his hand.
Emily shakes his hand and says, "It is nice to meet you, too, Wyatt."
Now that we have met, the dreams might stop, Emily and Wyatt think simultaneously as Emily takes another sip of the chicken noodle soup and Wyatt plops down into the chair next to the sofa.