A new chapter after only two days and it is longer than the previous ones. I had vacation this week and so time to write again. Enjoy!

As always a Thank you to Senema, my beta, for her help and correcting two chapters in one week. Without her, this story wouldn't be as easy to read. All the remaining mistakes are my own.

Tell me how you find it. I adore comments, they keep me writing.

Chapter 28

Elijah exited the elevator where Lucifer, Maze, and Kol were already waiting for them.

"I hope there was no trouble with our prisoners last night, Kol?" Elijah asked calmly.

"All was quiet, Elijah", Kol replied, looking around searchingly. "Where is Davina?"

"She stayed at the hotel." Elijah shrugged. "She didn't want to watch, which I can understand."

Kol nodded thoughtfully. "Did she say if she preferred me joining her at the hotel?"

"No, she knows you want to stay here and she doesn't mind." Elijah could see the relief on Kol's face when he heard his answer.

Klaus smirked. "She also assured us that she supports all our actions. You've been a good influence on her, she's not as stuck up as she used to be."

"It's debatable as to who had a greater influence on whom", Freya said dryly.

Next, Elijah explained what he and his family had decided about how to deal with their prisoners.

Charlotte asked curiously. "Why not simply compel the werewolf to do your bidding?"

"Unfortunately, werewolves and witches are protected from this kind of persuasion", Klaus replied sullenly. "Our life would be much easier if this were different."

"Indeed", Rebekah murmured.

"Hm", said Charlotte thoughtfully. "Why are they immune?"

"I assume because they are the victims of a curse brought on by a witch, their physiology was altered in some way", Elijah replied with a shrug. "And we were created by a witch, our mother. Perhaps she even wanted it as a way to have still control over us; this kind of underhandedness would suit her all too well."

"Werewolves were created through a curse? How does it affect them?" Maze asked curiously.

"Yes, they were." Klaus then explained how werewolves came to be, what triggered it and why it was a curse for werewolves.

Charlotte looked disgusted. "My goodness, now I almost feel sorry for the werewolves."

"It's a hard lot", Klaus agreed, smiling warmly at her.

"And there's no way to break the curse?" Lucifer asked thoughtfully.

Freya shook her head. "Unfortunately no, by now it's too much a part of their nature. However, I have never attempted to undo the trigger of the curse."

"The death of a human", said Lucifer calmly. He frowned. "Wait a minute, it's triggered through a murder, right?

"No, any killing", Elijah answered sadly. "A potential werewolf crosses the road on a red light, the driver dodges, hits a wall and dies; the curse gets triggered. A man ambushes a woman, she defends herself against being mugged or raped and kills him in self-defence; the curse gets triggered. Any death triggers the curse as soon as the werewolf is in some way responsible for it."

Lucifer looked horrified. "But that's not fair."

Klaus smiled bitterly. "They are witches, most of them always go for maximum harm and they don't care if something isn't fair."

Freya nodded dejectedly. "Unfortunately Klaus is right. Too many witches are narrow minded, have a fascist mind-set and they think that they alone have the right to judge who deserves to exist. They don't understand live and let live and too many enjoy the suffering they cause but as long as they do it, it is justified because they are the so-called servants of nature." She scoffed. "Sometimes I think that witches are the true evil and not the werewolves or the vampires."

Charlotte pressed her lips together. "I see."

Her eyes were furious and Elijah suddenly had the sure feeling that Charlotte was planning something, although he didn't think it would be to their detriment.

"Night falls and the full moon rises, the werewolf will transform soon." Klaus looked outside. "We should begin."

With firm steps, Elijah walked towards the room with the prisoners and heard everyone following him. He opened the door and walked through it. All the prisoners seemed to tense as soon as they saw him.

Elijah ignored everyone but the werewolf and stood in front of him. "What is your name?"

The werewolf stared at him defiantly and it was clear he didn't want to give his name.

"Who made the anonymous call?" Elijah asked softly. "Was it you?"

The werewolf glared at him even more and still said nothing but Elijah could hear his treacherous heartbeat.

"I propose a deal. You'll help get the charges against me dropped and I'll let you live." Elijah eyed him carefully. He saw the flicker in the werewolf's eyes and knew he was considering his offer.

"Do I have your word?" the werewolf finally asked.

"Yes, I give you my word. It will be binding for my siblings too. You help me and you get to live. The only conditions are that you leave Los Angeles forever and never go to New Orleans either. However, if I ever see you again I will kill you on the spot. Does that sound fair?" Elijah smiled chillingly.

"Yes, it sounds fair." The werewolf pulled himself together. "I made the call on his orders." He nodded at Vincent.

"To lure the cops to the crime scene so I had to compel them, which would have rendered me unconscious." Elijah didn't make it sound like a question, he stated it as a fact.

"Yeah, he said you wouldn't kill cops unless you got cornered." The werewolf shrugged.

Elijah looked at Vincent and smiled slightly. "Did he give you the order to kill the human?"

"I don't know; I had nothing to do with this part of the plan." The werewolf looked sincere. "At the briefing, before we knew who the victim was going to be, it was only said that he should be injured seriously enough to need your blood. After watching the argument, my colleague went outside to tell the witch that we found the perfect mark. As he came back he only told me that everything was going as planned." He shrugged. "I was honestly surprised by the human's death."

Elijah could hear from his heartbeat that he was telling the truth. Suddenly the werewolf grimaced. "Are you alright?"

"It begins", said the werewolf, choking. He didn't need to tell Elijah what he meant with his words.

Without saying a word, Charlotte stepped forward and placed her right hand on the spot where the heart was. Eyes closed, she tilted her head and Elijah felt the atmosphere in the room change. There was a smell of ozone and he felt static energy raising the hairs on his arms.

The werewolf visibly relaxed and stared at Charlotte in wonder and awe. "It has stopped; I no longer feel the urge to change."

Charlotte smiled. "You are now again what Elijah calls a potential werewolf."

"You mean I'll never have to change again when there's a full moon." The werewolf was at once in disbelief and hopeful.

"No, you don't. Take it as a little encouragement to help Elijah with his problem and put a little extra effort into it." Charlotte smiled cunningly at the werewolf and stepped back to the others.

The werewolf swallowed and looked at Elijah. "What should I tell the police?"

"That you witnessed the murder and were pressured into making that call. Say a man threatened your girlfriend or something like that and describe the witch." Elijah grinned maliciously at Vincent. "Otherwise you had nothing to do with it and that it took you a little time to find your courage and tell the truth. Describe the two men only roughly as it was too dark to see much more. I trust you have the ability to lie convincingly to the police?"

"I do not have a problem with that." The werewolf grinned.

"So we have a deal. Maze will now untie you and you'll go to the police at once. I realize you'll have to stay in Los Angeles for a while after that but as soon as the police allows it, you'll be leaving town." Elijah looked deadly serious.

The werewolf nodded uneasy. "No problem. What if the police want me to come back later to Los Angeles for some reason?"

"Then you can come back but as soon as your presence is no longer necessary, you'll leave Los Angeles again. Maze, please untie him!" Elijah watched as Maze untied the werewolf and he and the others cleared the way to the door. Just before the werewolf left the room, Elijah added. "I don't have to tell you what I will do to you if you break our deal, do I?"

The werewolf shook his head silently and hurried away.

"One problem less", Elijah murmured and stared at Sofya, who defiantly returned his gaze. "Rebekah, would you like to take over this part?"

"With pleasure", Rebekah purred.

Elijah saw how Sofya got wary immediately, which only spoke to her intelligence. It was unfortunate for her that she had of all things fallen in love with Marcellus, who only wanted to use her as he had used Rebekah. She would probably soon learn that he had never returned her feelings and hadn't hesitated a second to let her down and save his own skin.

xxxxx

Chloe was about to leave her desk to pick up Trixie from her babysitter when Dan came over with a man.

"Chloe, this is Sven Trenton. He claims he made the anonymous call in the Elijah Mikaelson case."

"Take him to the interrogation room, I'll be right there." Chloe called the babysitter and let her know she needed to babysit Trixie a bit longer. Luckily, she was used to helping out at such short notice.

As Chloe entered the interrogation room, she looked at Sven Trenton. His hands were on the table but he looked anxious and insecure. She sat down opposite him while Dan took his usual position by the door.

Chloe started the recorder. "Mr. Trenton, you are aware this conversation is being recorded? Do you have any objections?"

"Yes, I know, and no, I don't object," Trenton said softly but clearly.

"You seem anxious. Are you here voluntarily to make your testimony?" Chloe asked cautiously.

"Yes I am. I'm a little scared but I'm here to finally tell the truth", Trenton admitted.

"Good. You called the police anonymously to report a crime. What did you observe?" Chloe eyed him carefully.

Trenton took a deep breath. "I had been to LUX to amuse me this night and met a girl there. We danced and then went outside to get some fresh air and to." He shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, you know, make out a little. We were in a corner when I heard thuds, like fists hitting flesh. I got curious, looked cautiously around the corner and saw two men in dark clothing punching a third."

"But when you called, you said it was just one man in a silver-coloured suit", Chloe mentioned suspiciously. So far, the man hadn't said anything that clearly indicated that he actually witnessed the crime.

"You're right but I'll get to that later." Trenton swallowed. "Suddenly, one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed the third man in the stomach. I pulled out my phone to call 911 when I suddenly heard a loud male voice yelling 'Stop it'. This caused the two men to flee and then I saw a man in a silver-coloured suit rush to the injured man.

Before I could join him or call the police, I heard a gasp behind me and turned to see a man holding a gun to my acquaintance's temple. He ordered me to make the call, I wanted to make anyway but to change who had committed the crime. To say it was the one man who did it or he would shoot her."

Trenton glanced visibly contrite at the table before looking back at Chloe. "I could see that he was completely serious and would have carried out his threat, so I made the call. As soon as I had called, he let go of my acquaintance and ordered her to leave, which she did immediately. I never saw her again."

"Do you know her name?" Chloe asked who had been taking notes the whole time.

"No." Trenton blushed. "We hadn't gotten that far yet. At LUX it was too loud on the dance floor and outside we were busy with other things."

"I understand." Chloe smiled. "What happened next?"

"He ordered me to give him my wallet, which I did. He glanced at the ID with my name and address before handing it back to me. He told me that now he knew where I lived and if I ever thought of going to the police and change my statement, he would find me and kill me." Trenton looked serious at her. "I believed every word. Then he ordered me to leave, which I did.

I could hear sirens behind me, so I hid in another alcove down the alley. A little later I saw how you and he." Trenton turned to Dan before turning back to Chloe. "Walked past me with drawn guns. A little later I heard you shouting 'What's going on here?'. With all attention focused on the crime scene, I managed to slip away unnoticed by everyone."

"Why did you decide to come clear now?" Chloe asked thoughtfully. She believed Trenton now, he knew way too much about what had happened at the crime scene.

"I've spent the last few days in my apartment, scared out of my mind, waiting for the man to come and kill me." Trenton clenched his fists. "I don't like being afraid. I was going to leave town anyway, so I decided to go to the police."

"You're very brave." Chloe meant it. "What did the two men look like?"

"I can tell you their approximate height and build but I couldn't see their faces. First, they had their backs to me, and second, the crime scene was too dark for that", Trenton replied quietly.

That, too, was consistent with circumstances at the crime scene, Chloe knew. "What about the man who threatened you and your acquaintance? Can you describe him?"

"About thirty, maybe forty years old, dark-skinned, he was kind of intense and I thought he had crazy eyes", Trenton answered. "He wore expensive clothes; he was by no means a drug addict or a homeless person."

"If I put you in touch with our police artist, can you get us a mugshot?" Chloe asked excited.

"I think so, his face is burned quite a bit into my mind", Trenton said calmly.

"Very good. Dan, take him there while I prepare the statement. Mr. Trenton, you will have to sign it afterwards." Chloe eyed him, Trenton still looked uneasy.

"How long will it be before I can leave Los Angeles?" Trenton asked concerned.

"Just give Dan your phone number and as soon as you have found a new place to live, get in touch with me and pass the address on." Chloe took a business card from her pocket and gave it to Trenton. "My number is there."

"Thank you detective." Trenton got up and followed Dan.

Chloe considered informing Lucifer but it was better to wait until she had a signed statement.

Barely an hour later, Dan came back with Trenton with a very satisfied expression on his face and handed her a sketch that was more than well done. "He has a really good eye for details."

Chloe took one look at the drawing and had to agree with Dan. "Have a seat, Mr Trenton." As soon as he sat down, she pushed the statement across the table with a pen. "Please read carefully and if everything is correct, please sign."

Trenton took his time reading but finally picked up the pen and signed. "Can I go now?"

"You have his phone number?" Chloe looked at Dan, who immediately nodded. "If we find the man, you'll have to come back for identification, so don't travel too far."

"I'm hiding with a friend for the next few days where he can't find me," Trenton replied.

"Maybe we'll have him by then." Chloe smiled at Trenton. "Thanks a lot for your help. You saved an innocent man from prison."

"It has his own rewards." Trenton grinned, stood up and left the interrogation room.

Dan sat down in the chair Trenton had vacated. "With this testimony the case is solved and Elijah Mikaelson's innocence proven."

"Yes, I will sent the testimony to Judge Cosby, who will arrange the further steps." Chloe looked thoughtful. "I think it might be best if we go strictly by the book."

"So you won't inform Lucifer", Dan stated.

"No." Chloe smiled slightly. "I must confess the last few days have been very peaceful while Lucifer was busy with Elijah and his family."

"Yes, I could get used to this peace." Dan grinned.

"I'm afraid this is only temporary." Chloe chuckled and stood up. She had a case to close and could then spend the rest of the evening with her daughter. And tomorrow she would open a new case, she had to find a man because she was sure that he was the mastermind behind this whole affair.

xxxxx

Dan looked contentedly after his ex-wife. It looked like the Mikaelsons would be leaving Los Angeles soon and he couldn't wait for it to happen. In short, it looked like peace would soon return to Los Angeles.

He just hoped this witness was genuine and not some poor fellow the Mikaelsons had compelled to incriminate an innocent man.

However, he also knew that vampires, unlike witches, rarely involved bystanders in their intrigues or murder plots. The description was just too good and too detailed; this was the description of an actual person.

Whether Trenton actually witnessed the crime or not, there was nothing Dan could do about it anyway. He could only hope that when they found the man and brought him to justice he would be the guilty one.