Chapter Five

Andy scratched her head slowly "I thought I was the weird one in this situation, I mean I'm dead." she pointed at both of them "But you see dead people."

"Alright" Daniel shook his head slowly, trying to make sense of all this. "Let's face this later, I can't figure this weirdness out and solve your murder at the same time. Jaimie, why aren't you freaking out?"

"I don't know. It's either real or we're all insane. Either way there's no point freaking out" Jaimie shrugged "Can I do my homework here?"

"How are you only sixteen and this clever" Daniel ruffled his daughter's hair.

"Cause Mum was a genius" Jaimie said, swatting his hand away and fixing her hair.

"Fair" Daniel nodded "You can do your work in my office, get yourself a cuppa in the kitchen first and I'll get you food when you're hungry"

"Okay. Love you" Jaimie grabbed her bag and kissed her father on the cheek "Bye Casper" Jaimie waved at Andy before closing the door behind her.

"That's not my name!" Andy yelled after her and turned to Daniel arms wide in exasperation "Where did you get her?! She's completely unphased"

Daniel just shrugged "She's a smart kid" and returned his attention to the haphazard casenotes that had yet to be sorted.

He grabbed a few photos and stuck them up on the board next to the others. Daniel then started on the handwritten notes, making sure to group those notes related to each murder underneath them. Andy sat on the desk, her legs swinging as she watched him. Daniel didn't speak for forty minutes as he sifted through the information.

"Are we just not talking about it?" Andy murmured, her eyes flicking back and forth between the crime scene photos. Her's had the most blood. She kicked out at the chair and it wobbled violently.

"You ok?" Daniel turned around, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"No, I'm dead." Andy snapped back at him, her arms crossed and staring intently at the board.

Daniel sighed deeply "Alright" Daniel sat against the desk next to her. "What is it? One teenager is enough in my life thank you. What's wrong?"

"No really, I'm dead" Andy's shoulders slumped "Look at it like. Those lot could be asleep" she pointed to the photos of the first three victims. Andy turned back to the photo of herself, lying sprawled across the forest floor, blood pooling beneath her. "But look at me, I've been eviscerated"

"Good point" Daniel hopped to his feet and grabbed the chalk, writing up the victims names on the board. Underneath Andy's name he wrote violence and turned quickly to face Andy. "Right what else?"

"What do you mean what else?" Andy looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Differences Andy" Daniel exclaimed

"What's different between you and the three last year"

"I don't know, you're the Detective!"

"Come on Andy, humour me" Daniel held a hand out to her "You want to know why, lets try find out"

"Okay. I'm a girl" She shrugged.

"Good, give me another one!" Daniel turned swiftly writing female underneath Andy's photo.

"I'm younger. By like five years"

"Younger. Wait so did you actually know any of the victims last year?" Daniel mused, scratching his chin.

"No. Well I guess I kind of knew Jonathan, he was an assistant coach for the summer hockey tournament in my final year of school. I only knew him to see though, players weren't to socialise with coaches. That would have been weird" Andy walked over to the board and poked his photo. In the photo Jonathan had his navy coaching jacket on and a cap. Found lying down on the benches in the college stadium, Jonathan was mistaken for a resting athlete for several hours before his death was actually reported to police. "They were all in places with other people around. I was the only one in a remote place" She turned back to face Daniel. Daniel was glancing back and forth between the four photos rapidly.

"So" he began, writing on the board as he spoke "Three last year, all poison."

"Hold on they were poisoned??" Andy gaped and swiftly turned back to the table "They didn't report that did they?"

"They may have. I'm not sure, I know the markings were never reported. Thats why the chief pulled me in, fresh eyes on a mishandled case. Good for P.R" Daniel ran a hand through his hair, smearing chalk dust through it. His concentration firmly on the case information before him, Daniel didn't notice Andy walking through him. She stopped at the desk with the letter.

"Poison and number codes, who is this, a spy?" for a ghost, Andy looked genuinely fearful.

"Doubtful" Daniel scoffed, flicking the nub of chalk that remained in the bin "Although considering the arrest they made last year, that could have been their theory."

"I haven't seen any other letters though. So why now?"

"Why you, is what I'm thinking. If it is the same killer, why kill you." Daniel walked over and looked over her shoulder at the letter. Turning back to the board Sawyer had been using earlier he started matching up the numbers to possible letters.

"What are you doing?" Andy stared over at him, confused. She was still standing by the desk as Daniel wrote. 

"I'm just seeing if this works." Daniel murmured, barely audible over the scrape of the chalk. 

"Seeing if what works though? That clearly makes no sense." Andy walked up behind him, Daniel had attempted solving the cipher. BACBBCDD was written up underneath the first series of numbers. 

"You're right. That is complete nonsense" Daniel took a step back and shivered violently as he stepped into Andy. Andy wrenched herself forwards and glared over her shoulder at the shocked Detective.  

"Don't do that! I wasn't expecting it, that was weird" Andy growled,  wrapping her arms around herself in comfort as she shook slightly. 

"Sorry" Daniel apologised, rubbing his hands in a similar comfort gesture. He too was shivering but more violently and noticeable than Andy. "Are you alright?" Daniel continued, his teeth chattering slightly as he spoke. 

"Yeah I'm fine, just memories that I don't recognise going through my head" Andy turned to him, her anger having dissipated. "Are you ok?" She took a tentative step toward the paling Detective. 

Daniel stepped back and half sat on the desk, using it for support as his legs began to shake. "A little confused and I feel a bit like a used battery" He rubbed his forehead with one hand. The other gripping the desk as hard as he could. 

"You should sit down, I'll get you tea or something" Andy told him, kicking the chair so it moved a few inches closer to him. 

"And how are you going to do that" Daniel sniped, lowering himself gingerly into the chair. He held his head in his hands, the room beginning to spin. 

"Don't worry about it. I'll  be back in a minute" Andy strode to the door and walked through. 

Daniel having no idea where Andy was with her silent footfalls continued to talk for a few minutes. "Thanks anyway, not sure what happened to me though. Did you get an energy boost or something?.... Andy? Right, you left. Cool" sighing at his own exasperation Daniel returned what concentration he had to the case. Staring at the floor between his interlaced fingers the detective mulled over the facts he knew, trying to piece variables together. He jumped when the door opened with a bang.