chapter FIFTY-EIGHT
I went over everything with Jerry again, this time while he took notes.
“You’re telling me Samuel has some kind of power to break people’s minds?”
“No, he can project images into someone’s mind, and they don’t know if it’s really happening or not. Whatever it was he showed Elizabeth was so horrible her mind snapped. I understand the feeling. Jonah almost broke me when he made me feel like I was consumed by fire.”
“I don’t believe it. Elena, please tell me the truth. If I think you’re obstructing justice with this cockamamie story, I’m going to have to have you arrested.”
I decided it was time to show him. I tried the light orb trick I used with Kevin. “Nice trick, but you could do that with a flashlight.”
“Search me. I don’t have a flashlight.”
He did. “I still don’t believe you. It could be some sort of optical illusion.”
I rolled up my sleeves and showed Jerry my scars.
His eyes widened. “What the hell happened to you?”
“These are only a few days old. I have the power to heal.”
“I haven’t seen you in three years. Those could be old.”
“Fine. Give me a knife.” I knew I shouldn’t do this after all the power I’d expended on Vittorio, but it was the only way.
“Excuse me?”
“Please, Jerry, I’m trying to make you believe me. Give me a knife. I’m not going to stab you. I’m on your side, remember?”
“I’m not so sure about that now that you’re making up stories.”
“I promise I’m not going to stab you.” Jerry reluctantly handed me a small pocketknife. I pushed up my sleeve and drew the knife across my arm, nice and deep.
Jerry drew in a sharp breath.
I called my power while he watched the wound heal in moments, mouth open. “Now do you believe me?” I let Jerry inspect my arm.
“I don’t see how it can be a trick. I guess I have to, but -” For once, Jerry was speechless.
I collapsed into a chair and let him recover. I understood why it was such a shock.
“What else can you do?” Jerry finally asked.
I explained about the electricity. He insisted I show him, so I did, as gently as I could, and for only a second. I then explained that I was still learning how to control it.
“Why are you telling me this?” Jerry’s eyes were wide.
“Nothing that has happened would make sense without it.”
“What about your boyfriend?”
Vittorio was in the next room so Jerry and I could have some privacy while we talked.
“What about him?”
“What can he do?”
“Does it matter right now, Jerry?”
“I guess not.” He paced. “Shit. What the hell am I going to tell my captain?”
“Are you going to arrest us?”
“No, but I do have to bring you both in for questioning. I believe you, but I don’t know what’s going to happen to you or Vittorio. I’ll do all I can to make sure you stay out of jail, but I can’t promise anything. I’m going to have to call in more manpower.”
“Can we try to get some rest until your backup gets here?”
“Why not?” Jerry waved his hand as if to dismiss me and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
I made a phone call of my own while Jerry was busy. “Courtney, I need you to meet me at the police station.” I gave her the address. “I should be there in about an hour. I’ll be busy for a while once I get there, but just wait for me, okay? There’s no place safer for you to be.” I didn’t want her to be alone at the hotel.
I’d fallen asleep, and was woken by the sound of police sirens some time later. Vittorio and I were handcuffed and put in the back of separate police cars and driven to the station. It was unsettling to be on this side of the law, but I was too tired to think about it very hard.
At the police station, I had to repeat my story on the record. Steve Ericson, a cop I didn’t know, conducted the interview while Jerry waited outside the interrogation room. It took even longer this time, as he was less inclined to believe me than Jerry. When I got to the part about my scars, I again asked for a knife.
“No way,” Steven said.
A knock sounded on the door. Officer Ericson opened it, and Jerry came in. “Let her do it.”
“No way,” he said again. “I don’t trust this wacko with a knife.”
“Steve, she’s telling the truth. I saw this myself. I’ll stand by just in case, but give her a chance.”
Steve made no move to do as Jerry told him, so Jerry gave me his knife again.
“You’re crazy, man!” Steve backed as far away from me as possible, never taking his eyes off me.
Again, I cut my arm and called my power to heal it. Steve’s eyes went wide as he tried to back even further away, into the wall if he could. “Alright, fine. I believe you; just knock that shit off.”
I had already called my power back to me.
“I need a coffee break, Jerry,” Steve said.
“Can I have some too?” I remembered how awful the coffee at the city station was, but anything was better than nothing.
The officers left, locking the door behind them. I may not be a suspect yet, but Steve wasn’t going to take any chances with me. I wondered how well Jerry knew him.
About fifteen minutes later, Steve returned with two cups of coffee, looking more calm than when he left. He finished the interview an hour later, and told me to wait there, again locking the door behind him. As if I could go anywhere. I was so weak I could barely sit upright.
Jerry returned a while later. “They finished questioning Vittorio, and have decided to let you both go.”
“Can I see him?”
Vittorio walked through the door. I ran to him and held him tight. It had only been a few hours since I last saw him, but I was still tired, my energy still depleted, and my power seemed to need Vittorio even more at times like these. “It’s okay; they believe us,” I whispered into his ear, inhaling the scent of his skin.
“Who’s the girl waiting in the lobby for you?” Jerry asked.
“Just a friend. I figured we’d need a ride home.” I was glad to hear Courtney was safe.
“Is she involved in any of this?”
“She doesn’t know a thing about it.” That much was true, at least for the moment. I wasn’t sure how much we were going to tell her.
“Alright, but you better not be hiding anything from me. I’ll call you when we need more information from you. And be careful,” Jerry said.
We decided it would be safe to go back to Vittorio’s since everyone except Neal was out of the picture for the time being.