Gyrus

Chapter Fourteen: Relevant Details

Detective Williams. The last person I ever expected to meet in Fortuna.

Yet, here he was, in a carton coloured trench, slacks and a white shirt, his service issue pistol and his steely grey eyes aimed at my chest. I had only met him once before, when he came to St. Andria to investigate Alyssa's disappearance and then we hadn't been very cordial towards one another. After all the official interviews were done and I hadn't been called, I'd thought I was in the clear. Then he came for me. He was waiting by the cafeteria after the evening meal where I had volunteered to help with the cleaning; I was tired of the slop they always served and after the cleaning was done they usually let me go through the pantry and whip up whatever I wanted. I had been really craving Chinese. I only crave my mother's home foods when I'm worried or depressed. He had asked some questions that had floored me and I had refused to answer them, which he took as an affirmation. He hadn't told anyone else what he had asked me, and I had always wondered why. 

"Quite a show you just put up." He said, bringing me back to the present. He was smiling, and the smile seemed genuine. "The last martial arts prodigy I had the pleasure of meeting was back when I was in the academy. He left me with a dislocated knee cap and his skill level was nowhere near yours. I hope you understand why I have to keep my pistol. Even the greatest prodigy can't do anything with a punctured lung. "

I snarled at him - I was that angry. What kind of policeman trains a gun at an unconscious teenage girl? I walked up to them and hoisted Zoe off the ground and onto my back, completely ignoring the gun that was trailing my every move. I seemed to be getting really good at ignoring adults with firearms. 

"I have an unconscious girl on my back Detective Williams; I obviously can't do anything to harm you now. Are you going to arrest me?"

The detective laughed. "No. Not yet. I want us to talk first, but not here." 

I tried to hide my surprise. He obviously considered me a threat so I had expected him to frog march us straight to the police precinct. We had passed it on the day we came to Fortuna, when the truck we'd hitched a lift with had chosen to follow all the side routes as opposed to the main one while he dropped off the other hitch hikers. I remembered seeing the police cars parked out the station covered with a light sheen of dust and wondering if they didn't have anyone to clean for them. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I nodded my consent and headed away from the cannery in the direction of the motel using a route I was sure would circumvent the station entirely. I made sure I didn't look back, even as I hoped that Norman would find more success than we had. 

It took us about fifty five minutes to walk back to the motel, slower than we would have been if Zoe wasn't on my back and faster than I'd have managed if people were still making their way to the cannery. Detective Williams walked beside me, casually mimicking my pace, his gun in the expansive pocket of his trench turned in my direction. I frowned at him. That was probably why they wore trench coats, so they could hide their guns while they harassed teenagers. The motel was deserted as always, neither Bob nor Clement were in sight. I whispered a small thank you to whatever celestial being was looking out for me. If we'd been seen the way we were now, with Norman absent, Zoe incapacitated and strange man as our new guest there was no way Bob wouldn't have come to investigate. I chanced a glance into the reception office and scoped the wall clock. It was about twelve minutes to eleven. It was slightly surreal, more had happened in the last three hours than had happened all week and we were still no closer to finding Alyssa or uncovering what was happening in Fortuna. I guided Williams away from the reception to our room adjacent.

"Allow me." He said, and retrieved a set of lock picking tools. He dropped to his knees and rifled through the many pins in the key ring, settling on two which he inserted into the key hole. He jimmied the pins around a bit and smiled when he was rewarded with a click. He turned the door handle and pushed in. I smiled internally, it had totally skipped my memory that our key was with Bob and Zoe had telekinetically jammed the lock so his key wouldn't open from the outside. Of course, she thought I didn't know. If Williams hadn't picked the lock without my consent, we would have never gotten in.