Circuit City

Chapter 12

When he didn't reply, I continued. "He had apparently been brought in by an officer just a few minutes before you and I met and the man is currently undergoing an autopsy because his death was deemed, by both the police officer and the doctor, as very unnatural."

"M-hm, it was."

Him admitting it so freely threw me off guard and for a moment my entire accusatory speech was forgotten.

"It was you who brought him in?" I didn't bother to hear his answer, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it is nothing that you should concern yourself with, " he countered, his mind clearly absent from the subject of conversation as he continued to rustle papers on the other side of the line.

"But I'm under witness protection!" I burst out while throwing my arms out in frustration. "Shouldn't I be informed about the events to be safe?"

"You should be safe if you'd simply stick to the regulations we've given you."

"I don't feel very safe, seeing as another murdered person has been brought to my hospital!" I argued back, "Do you know how it feels to know that the victim is in the same facility as me? It is like a constant reminder that the criminal is still at work!"

"Mh-m," he mumured quietly in the background.

"The killer could be anywhere right now- oh my god," I stopped my pacing in my living room as the thought hit me. "He could even be a staff member of the hospital! Or perhaps the mailman?"

"Perhaps." A deep thud of a lid, or perhaps a cupboard, being closed was heard through the line along with other white noise. 

"Tell me." I swirled around, as if he'd been standing right behind me instead of miles away, with my index finger held up high. "Where did you find the body?"

"Afraid I... can't."

"Why, it will probably appear in the news soon enough anyway!" I argued desperately, "You've already combed the area, what harm would it do if you'd just tell me? I need to know in order to avoid him!"

A long, slow release of breath was heard on the other line and after a small pause, he replied, "We work our hardest to make our citizens feel safe by diligently gathering and analyzing information about current events around the city. Our data will be kept within the bounds of Domerion's law enforcement agencies until its reliability is confirmed."

I blinked. "What?"

In the same, cold tone he'd initially used when he had picked up the phone, he continued, "This will be an undisclosed matter for an indefinite time onwards and I'll have to ask for your patience and silence until the investigation has... developed far enough to allow the participation of linked individuals."

"You can't be serious-

"Also, that phone in your hand..." he trailed off.

My ears perked up and I cast a glance downwards at the small object in my hand. "Yes, what about it?"

"The calls you make to me through it are to be restricted to only situations where you, your personal belongings or dear ones are in acute danger, which none of you are at the moment. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I thought you said I could call and text whoever I wanted when-."

"To me" he emphasized, making me raise an eyebrow, "Immediate danger."

"Alright." I rolled my eyes. "Calm your enthusiasm, I get it. No more phone calls then. "

"Good day ma'am," he curtly said before the line turned completely silent. I stared at the screen of the phone, which now only showed the time and date in comparison to five minutes ago when it showed the call ID of the tightlipped cop. My hand tightened around the small device.

"And the award of the worst police officer goes to Ehren What's-his-face" I concluded, "for being the biggest douche of the century."

Dumping the phone on our small corner sofa I threw myself next to it as well, not caring how much ruckus I made. I was home alone anyways.

"Arrogant jerk!" I muttered, my voice raising a notch with irritation, "He can't even report something this important to me and then he expects me to trust him and put my life in his hands?!"

Grabbing one of the furry pillows around me I smacked the phone hard and watched it bounce off of the beige sofa and fall onto the ground. Instant regret replaced my fury and I picked it up to examine it. Hopefully, it hadn't received a scratch from the impact.

"Sorry. You don't bear the fault for him," I mumbled stupidly to the flat device and wiped it's screen gingerly. "You at least do your job. But I really don't like your previous owner, he is seriously one of the rudest person's I've ever met."

As if it were agreeing with me, the small screen lit up quietly, only to turn itself off again. A small snort escaped me and I shook my head.

Was I having a conversation with a phone? An inanimate and immovable object?

Reluctantly, I got up from my nest of blankets and lumbered to the bathroom to make a half-hearted attempt to erase the dark circles under my eyes with concealer before having to head to the hospital. 

It has been way too long since I updated, which I know is not good but I have so many ideas and plans for this story so I've been trying to tie  all loose ends before continuing any further with the writing. Not much happened in this chapter but don't loose faith! Next chapter will be a ...bit more eventfull!