Chapter 18: The Room of Liars

Trade City East Police Station, East Circle

He had been gazing at her for some time now before he turned back to look at the now empty spot where Sofianne stood. The constable guarding the door with him had all but disappeared in the few short moments he had used to look at the curious vampire woman inside, comforting her father.

'Eckhard, what are my chances of victory in a fight against her?' he asked out of curiosity.

<>

Jerome sighed as he looked down, for a few short moments a couple of days ago he was at the top of the world, now the world was showing him how wide it really was. He felt the door open and quickly whirled his head around to come face to face with a pale white vampire. Instinctively backing off he looked at her somewhat warily.

"Do you know how my brother died?" asked Lillian looking straight at him, despite her sharp gaze he managed to hold his ground thanks to Eckhard and his numbed emotions.

"He was burned to death," said Jerome, normally he would not be allowed to speak to a relative about an officer's manner of death, not until the official inquest had completed but she had a crushing sense of authority about her. "There was his arm found however?"

"So you didn't find a body?" she asked.

"We found what was left of it," he replied and she nodded and then turned back to her father who was peering off into his own great imagination.

"I never much liked you," she said suddenly causing Jerome to just blink in confusion. "I never liked my brother working for the police but my brother was adamant and my parents supported him."

"Ah…" said Jerome nodding, the awkwardness coming forth again. "Well it's a noble profession."

"You don't think so," she said, again the suddenness caught her off guard. "You don't consider this a noble profession, you've never considered this something worthy at all, to you this was a key you needed to unlock some locks."

He blinked again, was she reading his mind, no…impossible.

'Eckhard can vampires read minds?'

<>

It was true, he never treated policing with much pomp as he should have, nor was he particularly interested in the notion of justice, something which he was denied long ago. Then he realized with a start that she might not be talking about the current him at all, because this was the first time he had met her after all but she had seen this body and the old Jerome Hall and if that was the case, then the old Jerome Hall never really considered this something noble either. This lead to a whole host of new questions on the previous host of the body he was currently in. He managed a meek smile in front of her inquisitive look before he turned his head slightly to avoid her eyes. He was by no means a coward but he wasn't feeling particularly confrontational at this moment and she wasn't his enemy anyhow.

"I will find out who killed my brother," she said with steel in her voice, it did not however surprise Jerome as much as he thought it would, he fully expected her to hunt down the arsonist herself, perhaps if he followed her, he could get to that rat bastard. "When I do, I will end his miserable existence."

"By all means," Jerome said with a casual smile.

She looked at him for a couple more seconds, "You feel different from usual."

"You've only met me once," he retorted.

"That's true," she said. "Are you going to stop me?"

"From doing what?" he asked.

"I just told you I'll commit a crime," she said.

Jerome let out an exasperated sigh before looking directly at her, "Look, this arsonist has set fire to that building three times, six babies died, the casualty number just rose by one with your brother added into the mix, the Oceanic Isles don't have the death penalty but the talk going around is that it would be better off if that a*se was dead, by all means if you want to get vigilante justice on this man please do it, I don't particularly care if I get him or her in handcuffs or a bodybag and there are others that share my notion."

She let out a chuckle, her icy facade finally cracking for the first time since she met him.

"I really don't like you," she said looking at him directly in the eye.

"I haven't known you long enough so I can't say the feeling is mutual but if you come at me then be prepared for what I am going to do as well," he said, laying bare the threat.

They stared directly at each other with narrowed eyes before she finally broke eye contact, "If you did nothing to Leonard then you have nothing to fear from me."

At that Jerome let out a mirthless laugh, "Fear you…? Lady, there are very few things I'm afraid of and you don't count in that list, I'm not planning on putting you there and you won't end up there."

Her eyes narrowed even further as the chill she emanated got even colder, however Jerome stood his ground with grit, of this was the way to play then he knew the game as well. Finally she sighed as she relaxed her tense figure. He too relaxed as he put his hands in his pockets. He looked into the room again at the two people woefully unaware of how messed up their own family was. Their son had died and their daughter was a vampire, they would go to the grave not knowing this great secret, of that he was fairly sure. He whistled as he turned on his heel to walk away, he wasn't obligated to keep a look out over them anyhow, he wasn't ordered either. As he walked a fair few feet forward he stopped as he suddenly thought of something. He turned to look at Lillian again who stood in the corridor lost in thought.

"This is information you probably would already find out, or you already know," said Jerome snapping her out of her reverie. "There three suspects to this case and all signs point to one of them being the culprit, they're all here and they're upstairs prepping for interrogation or already being interrogated…if you want to make a move that is."

She looked past him again, thoughtfully as he simply stood there waiting for her answer. Then she finally nodded.

"Thank you for your information," she said. "But I don't plan on doing anything in the station if things go the way they should."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug, he was slightly disappointed, he really wanted to see how a vampire hunted.

He walked off with a skip in his steps, he had found himself somewhat of an ally, perhaps now finally he could find the sack of sh*t that was copying him and killing people of left and right. Lillian Blake's links to the Mezzanotte could help him immensely and considering the fact that she was a vampire would be an even greater help, he did however need to be vary lest she turned on him. He now also needed to find out more about Jerome Hall from what Lillian had said and Eckhard could only dig up the bare minimum of it which was of no help whatsoever. He chose the stairs, walking upstairs, ignoring the greetings he received whilst he walked.

***

East Circle Police Station, Interrogation Rooms

Roy Sharpe stood in the corridor outside the viewing room smoking a cigarette with a sour look on his face. He saw Jerome Hall walking up and quickly punched the cigarette into a wall, putting it out and then stuffed it inside his pocket before greeting the constable he hated.

"Anything new?" Jerome asked and Roy shook his head.

"It started around five minutes ago," said Roy. "But nothing we don't already know."

Jerome nodded before pushing his way into the viewing room where Robert sat along with two others. Roy followed behind him with a sigh and as soon as Jerome entered the other two, both women, turned to look at him at first curiously and then with surprise. They both looked at Robert who waved them down.

"It's fine, despite being a senior constable he's in on this case," said Robert and Jerome's eyes twitched at the way Deacon described as a mere 'senior constable'.

They both nodded and turned around, both woman stood at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of their apparel and apparent personalities. One was professionally dressed with her hair pulled back, wearing makeup with a clear distinction of knowing exactly how to use it to enhance her features. The other looked to be as sloppy as one could be, sitting next to the controls in front of the viewing screen. She had cup noodles in one hand a can of coke sat next to her on the panels. She wore a large coat and her hair was long and all over the place. She had dark bags under her eyes and it seemed she hadn't gotten sleep in some time now.

"Come in constable Hall," said Robert with a smile, one that promptly disappeared as Jerome targeted him with a withering glare, they were by no means friends or anything remotely closer than enemies at this point, he was still vary of both Robert and Roy.

Robert then proceeded to cough and looked at Roy who immediately stepped forward with a nod.

"Constable Hall," said Roy garnering Jerome's attention as Roy turned to the two women. "These are our technical and psychological experts, Dr. Melissa Ardent and Joanna Cho."

Jerome nodded at the both of them as they greeted him back. He then proceeded to look at the clipboard wielded by Dr. Melissa Ardent and his eyes twitched. They were supposed to be interrogation notes but all they contained at present were the suspects' names, age, gender and of all things, their jobs. All of these were self-evident, well all except perhaps the age which he couldn't understand how that factored into the account of things.

"You've gotten nothing solid have you?" he asked turning to look at the screen and Robert mumbled his annoyance as well.

On the first screen sat a slightly aged man, Dr. Maddox Crane, the second screen housed a man in his mid-thirties with what Jerome could only describe as luscious blonde locks of hair and a clean shaven face, this was Dr. Fletcher Hawthorne and from the man he could sense a certain playfulness and lax attitude. The third housed a woman, Dr. Anisha Maria, black hair, average looks and a somewhat authoritative figure, she looked easily forgettable.

"Dr. Crane and Dr. Hawthorne make each other's alibis," said Roy with a sigh. "Dr. Maria has none whatsoever, we've questioned her to get out her location during the crime and we've got nothing and there was no evidence reported which connects her to the crime."

Dr. Melissa Ardent noted down some more things on the clipboard but this time he proceeded to ignore it as he turned towards the doctor.

"Do you have anything?" he asked.

Dr. Ardent looked at him in surprise as if it was the first time she had been asked such a question. He quickly shot both Robert and Roy a look as they too seemed somewhat eager to hear Dr. Ardent's profiling.

She looked at all three of them and then at the clipboard before taking a deep breath, she then started speaking, "Dr. Maddox Crane displays little to no traits of psychopathy, he doesn't seem to have an arsonist's profile but he is lying about his alibi for Dr. Fletcher Hawthorne, Hawthorne too is lying about his alibi and he has some psychopathic traits but that I assume comes from his nature as somewhat of a playboy, Dr. Anisha Maria, that woman is suspicious, she is either a complete psychopath or a really empathetic and compassionate human being, I can't really decide between the two, right now it's a toss up."

"So there's a high chance it could Dr. Anisha Maria?" Jerome asked.

Dr. Ardent nodded, "Right now, it's a possibility, one that is a shade more real than either Dr. Crane or Dr. Hawthorne."

"Still, a woman?" asked Robert.

Dr. Ardent turned on him instantly, "You don't believe a woman can do this?"

Robert instantly realized the territory he stepped into and quickly backed off, "I do believe it but Dr. Maria…she looks so-."

He couldn't find the right word for it and so Jerome let out a yawn and finished his sentence. "Forgettable?"

"Something like that," said Robert.

Jerome then noticed Hawthorne shifting around a little uncomfortably as interrogators barraged him with questions, it was something that Dr. Ardent seemed to notice as well as she reached over for the mic on the panel which connected with the interrogator's ear pieces.

"Dr. Hawthorne seems ready to break, keep pushing him," said Dr. Ardent with a gleam in her eyes. "Especially on that alibi…that's false."

Robert too leaned forward on his chair as Jerome and Roy approached the screens. The interrogator was asking a variety of questions, turning each question on its head, asking it repeatedly, rapid firing at him and as each moment passed by Dr. Hawthorne became more and more uncomfortable until finally he reached over for the glass of water and took a sip. It was then that the entire tension collapsed as much to everyone's shock Dr. Crane confessed.

***

Interrogation Room 1, Dr. Maddox Crane

Dr. Crane gulped as he looked at the interrogator directly in front of him and then the one that sat to his side, to his other side was a mirror which he assumed was one way. From the corner of the room, up on high, a camera was monitoring his every movement and to his side in front of one of the interrogators, on top of the metal table was a bottle and a plastic cup of water. He reached his hand out and fumbled and then toppled the glass over as he wiped his forehead, though no sweat could be seen. He had been sitting in the room for around ten minutes he assumed, maybe a little more but this room created a severely claustrophobic and toxic environment for him. The questions and stern authority the two interrogators wielded in here was not helping him either. He wrinkled face contorted as he gulped.

"Fine…" he gasped out as he fumbled for the bottle of water, unscrewed the lid and poured some into his mouth, it spilled out of his mouth and over the front of his shirt as well.

He placed the water bottle down and sat upright in his chair, keeping form before looking at the interrogator directly in front of him and avoiding all peripheral contact.

"I wasn't was with Fletch-Dr.Hawthorne," said Dr. Crane. "Dr. Hawthorne is having an affair and I was covering for him."

The interrogator in front of him slapped the table in glee, making him jump and then gulp.

"Why didn't you say this earlier?" he asked with a smug smile and Dr. Crane just frantically shook his head.

"This means you don't have an alibi," he continued. "Dr. Hawthorne might have one, his mistress but what about you?"

"I…I have one as well," he said with another panicked gulp.

"Oh, do tell," said the interrogator with a raised eyebrow.

He reached for the water again and took another gulp before turning to face the interrogator again.

"I was discussing the possibility of euthanasia with a recent patient," he said and then wiped his forehead again.

"Euthanasia?" asked the interrogator. "This patient wanted you to kill him…or her?"

Dr. Crane nodded, "Yes, we were discussing about this, it's not something I wanted to reveal either so when Dr. Hawthorne asked I said I would create a fake alibi for him as well."

The interrogator let out a small laugh, "You're both suspects, if you'd stuck to this alibi, you both could be branded as accomplices in three arson cases plus seven murders."

Dr. Crane turned pale white at those, "I…I…I didn-didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," said the interrogator shaking his head. "You spent the better part of your life pursuing your medical degree, your common sense flies out the window to be with someone else."

"I-I-," Dr. Crane started but the interrogator held up a hand.

"Why did you want to hide that you were discussing euthanasia with a patient?" asked the interrogator. "It's not exactly illegal in the Oceanic Isles."

Dr. Crane shook his head, "It isn't, if you're old and you have nothing else left to live for, or you have and incurable terminal disease and you feel you're about to die and a doctor agrees but what if it's a somewhat healthy patient?"

"Oh…how healthy?" the interrogator asked, this line of questioning seemed to surprise his partner as well, as he looked at them both curiously, unfolding his hands and leaning forward.

"It was a domestic violence case," said Dr. Crane. "The woman seemed half deceased psychologically, she had just wanted kill herself when she came to see me and asked about euthanasia as a possible alternative for her."

"That…" the interrogator leaned back in his chair frowning. "That does seem illegal."

"Precisely why I didn't wish to tell you," said Dr. Crane adjusting his tie now with an almost obsessive meticulousness.

"You have divulged your alibi," said the interrogator. "You are now compelled to also reveal the name so that we can check."

"Do you really have to?" he asked with a somewhat pleading look. "She isn't all that well and she also has a child."

"Unfortunately in order to confirm your alibi, it is a must," said the interrogator.

"Fine," said Dr. Crane with a sigh. "The woman's name is Reyhana Rostami and her child is a boy called Haitham Rostami, they are both at East City Hospital and they haven't been discharged yet."

***

Police Station, East Circle, Viewing Room

Jerome stood their mulling over Dr. Crane's confession and new alibi and wondering where he had heard those names before and then his eyes widened.

"Oh…bloody hell," he said causing everyone in the room to look at him.

He quickly pushed forward to the microphone.

"Ask Crane if those two are related to a Navid Rostami?" he said.

He watched as the interrogator asked the question, receiving a vague answer in that he didn't know but there was nothing on the guardian page of the documentation that Reyhana Rostami filled out but Jerome was fairly sure that this alibi was those two, Haitham, that's a name he would not forget because of its uniqueness. If that was the case then he turned his eyes to Dr. Anisha Maria, had he found his arsonist?