103

"I hope it's not too sweet." The woman pours us lemonade once we sat down with Devoe and his wife.

Barry takes a small sip, as do I, I let out a small hum, as Barry speaks "This is amazing."

"Just like my wife." Devoe admires, "Somehow she finds time to take care of me and still keep an immaculate household. And her three-cheese macaroni? Second to none! Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest man alive."

"I could say the same." Barry folds his hands together.

"I've been wondering who the lucky man was." The woman looks at me, her eyes darting to my ring, her accent thick, looking at Barry, "It's you, isn't it?"

"Yeah-" Barry says, his voice dangerously low, as if he was hesitant to give up information, "This is my fiancée."

"Anyway, back to what we came here for-" I sat up, "We would like to ask you a few questions."

"How can I help?" Clifford Devoe questions.

"The name Devoe came up in an investigation of ours-" I began.

The woman cuts me off, "Why him? Devoe's a common name."

"Yes, I'd wager at least 1,100 individuals give or take a few with that last name in the Central City area alone." Devoe spoke.

"The name's been identified for its connection to four separate criminal cases." I told him, keeping my posture straight.

"So you think my husband is a witness to these crimes?" The woman asks, looking at us.

"No, we'd like to eliminate him as a suspect." Barry informs her.

"You can't be serious." The woman stares at us.

"That's all right, Marlize." Devoe holds her hand, revealing her name, "Do go ahead."

"So, Professor, what brought you to Central City?" I grab my notepad and pen, ready to jot down whatever he was going to say.

"I grew up in South Africa." Devoe began, "After studying history and econometrics at the University of Johannesburg, I took a teaching position at Oxford. That's where we met."

Marlize hums. "He swept me off my feet and we have been together ever since."

"It did take a tenured offer from Central City University to lure me away from the Oxford faculty.That was four years ago." Devoe told us.

"Next question, do you know Ramsey Deacon?" I hand him a picture of Ramsey.

"No, should I?" Devoe looks at me after his eyes scanned the picture.

"What about Becky Sharpe?" Barry hands him a picture of Becky.

"No, I'm afraid not." Devoe shook his head.

"Ralph Dibny? Mina Chaytan?" Barry handed him the pictures.

"Mina Chaytan." Devoe stared at her picture, "Now, that name's familiar."

"Isn't this the Native American woman that left abruptly?" Marlize asked her husband, "You know, the anthropologist?"

"Yes, I remember." He nods, "I was so sad to see her go."

"So, you were colleagues." I nod, "Did she mention her work?"

"No, no, no." Devoe shook his head, "Mina was an animated woman. Then again, people like us who see education as a calling, we often are."

"That painting-" Barry points out, catching all of our attention, "Uh, it's beautiful."

"The samurai. They were formidable foes. They'd often make unstoppable enemies to their opponents. You wouldn't want to cross one." Devoe looks back at us. "The feudal history of medieval Japan is one of my areas of expertise."

"Then you must speak the language?" I look at him, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

"." Devoe spoke out in Japanese, catching me slightly off guard.

"He also speaks French, Italian, Mandarin, and several other languages." Marlize boasts.

"Here's the thing, here's the thing." Devoe points, "I love teaching. It gives me the opportunity to broaden perspectives. But you can't just inspire people to be better. You somehow need to change the way people think."

"Clifford!" Marlize stops him, "My husband is very passionate, but he also needs his rest. Is there anything else we can do to help?"

"No, we're good- thank you. If we have any more questions, we'll get in contact." I got up, as did Barry. Barry and I slowly walk towards the front door, Devoe calling out to us, "You know where to find me."

Barry and I leave the house, walking down the path and out the gates, Harry Wells running towards us, "Well? Is it him?"

-

"I don't know, Barry." Joe spoke, "This shy college professor who likes mac 'n' cheese doesn't exactly seem like a criminal mastermind to me."

"I mean, come on." Barry reasons, "It wouldn't be the first time somebody played nice and then turned out to be our bad guy. The Council of Wells gave us his name for a reason."

"Well- if that was an entire act it was a pretty damn good one. They had me convinced." I mutter, crossing my arms.

"He gave us one name out of- 1,100." Iris spoke.

"1,122 to be precise." Harry gets specific.

"He was off by 22." Barry says, "I mean, isn't that a little suspicious?"

"Not if he Googled himself." Cisco exclaims.

"I'm just saying there's something weird about this guy." Barry defends himself, "He likes samurai!"

"Who doesn't?" Cisco asks, "Have you seen "Zatoichi", or "The Blind Swordsman?" Best Criterion Collection. Great box set. Ever."

"Okay, guys." Barry began, "Think about this: If the Council's right, that means Devoe arranged for me to come out of the Speed Force exactly where he wanted. Even you couldn't do that."

"You have a point." Cisco nods.

"Okay, let's cover all our bases." Caitlin told us.

"Okay, Cisco, Harry, you guys want to see what kind of digital footprint you can get on this guy?" I point at them as they nod, leaving the cortex, "Caitlin, you've got friends at CCU, right? Let's see what kind of person we're dealing with."

"Will do." Caitlin smiles, leaving the cortex.

I point at Joe and Iris. "CCPD background check?"

"On it, sweet one." Joe says, as Iris shot me a smile, them leaving also, leaving Barry and I alone.

I walk over to Barry, placing my hands on his chest, "Now. are you all right?"

"Yeah, but thank you for asking." Barry wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.

"Hey-" I place my hands on his shoulders, "We make a pretty good team, ya know? I mean- Star Labs- CCPD- and even at home."

"We're a great duo." Barry pecks my lips.

"We're great coworkers." I shrug.

"Oh yeah?" Barry smiles down lightly at me, "I get to marry the coworker of my dreams a week from now."