Cold to the Touch

Chapter Twenty-Two

(Nora's POV)

"So he's out here killing metas for revenge?" I asked, picking at the cardboard of the pizza box. It was empty. Dawn and I had finished all four pizza's while we researched Orlin. We hadn't even gotten through all of the files yet.

"Apparently they're the reason that his sister and brother-in-law died." Dawn said, heaving a large sigh. "Aunt Iris didn't put anything in here about how he was ever caught."

"How did his sister die?" I asked, laying my head on the table. It was just like Aunt Iris to leave out the important parts. She always said it was to make us work for it. It felt more like a win when we solved the rest of the puzzle by finding the clues to finish it on our own.

"A meta by the name of Vickie Bolen. She touched an ATM and made it into a bomb essentially." Dawn shrugged. "It says she never had control of her powers."

"So, Orlin obviously took it personally because his niece was then left without any parents." I nodded. "I mean, I get that. I really do. I would be devastated if someone in our family died, but I wouldn't become a vigilante over it."

"We're different people, Nora." Dawn said, looking up at me. "We have a different support system. We would be able to process it better. Get through it properly."

"He couldn't?" I asked, honestly curious.

"Apparently he and his sister grew out of touch. Their parents had been dead for a few years. He and his sister hadn't talked in years and then he gets a call that she's dead. The only family he had left. Then he had to take care of his niece." Dawn explained. "I'm not sure I wouldn't also seek revenge after something like that. Some woman got powers she couldn't control because of the explosion caused by Wells. Wells is dead, the next best thing is to take it out on the ones affected so that nobody else has to suffer."

"That being said, he's still human." I said, rolling my eyes. "How is he doing it?"

"He has a weapon of some sort. Aunt Iris just said that we need to be careful if we come in contact with it." Dawn said, squinting at the words on the screen. "It's what he uses to take the life force of his victims."

"Great. That's helpful." I groaned, sitting back in my seat. "How are we supposed to figure out what he's using?"

"We could call a detective." Dawn offered up.

"Papa Joe!" I said, jumping up from my seat. "I'll call him and see if he can tell me anything about the bodies."

"Great start." Dawn smiled, closing the laptop. "I think I'm going to call it a night."

"Don't you still have more files to get through?" I asked.

"I do, but I am exhausted." Dawn sighed. "A lot happened today, I used a lot of energy."