Chronicles of Han: Preserving Creata: Part 1: Learning Curve
Chapter Twenty-Four

The Dungeon seemed a lot busier than yesterday. Some of the Detectives greeted Tucker, but they all avoided contact with me. It was an uncomfortable situation and I was relieved when we reached our office.

I looked at the files Tucker had sorted and stacked yesterday.

“It’s in order of importance,” he answered my unspoken question. “You did quite a chunk yesterday and if we get it right, we should finish everything by the end of the week.”

Considering it being two full working days, including today, I guess I did not do too bad yesterday.

Tucker came prepared with a box of dough cakes and some extra slabs of chocolate. Strong, sweet coffee seemed to help quite a bit as well against the constant fatigue I was experiencing.

It was already mid-morning and we had worked through quite a few files by the time Racewater trudged into our office. From his rumpled clothes, I presumed he did not get any sleep last night.

Good, now I did not feel so alone.

“I do not know how you did it, but we’ve been putting ants to shame following up on all your notes. So far, you have a hundred percent accuracy rate.

The other detectives both hate and love you at the same time. Their arrest numbers are skyrocketing, but I’m having them pulling double shifts to keep up. I’m off to bed now and will pick up more files this evening. Thanks guys.”

Tucker smiled at me.

As Racewater left, we returned to business.

Tucker had been timing my visions or ‘out’ periods and also monitored what triggers and responses I had.

I usually did not stay ‘out’ of it for more that thirty to sixty seconds physically, or real-time, as I came to see it. The vision-experience time varies from approximately ten minutes before the event to immediately after the person’s spirit left the body.

It was becoming easier to do this.

I was growing in professional detachment, but sometimes still messed up with the emotional, especially where children and women were concerned.

So far I mostly saw or experienced the event from the victim’s perspective. Sometimes I see the event as a black and white film without sound where certain evidence would ‘highlight’ itself.

I picked up the next file.

As I have been doing since yesterday, I quickly scanned through the basic information on the file and then went straight for the photographs.

Touching the photo, no expectant vision came.

I looked up.

My confusion must have shown clearly on my face.

Tucker was observing me closely with a frown on his forehead.

The man from the photo was actually standing behind Tucker – and he was speaking to me!

“I’ve decided to stick with my folder until I get someone who could actually help me,” the spirit told me.

I held up my hand, signalling Tucker not to interrupt. His face went from concern to understanding.

“You can see me, can’t you?” the spirit inquired.

Well, what do you tell a spirit?

Thank goodness Tucker understood.

“Yes, how can I help you?” I answered, thinking that this perceived one-sided conversation would definitely not be appreciated by others.

“By bringing my killer to justice,” the spirit emphasised this statement by pounding his ‘fist’ into his hand.

“Do you know who had killed you?” I enquired from the spirit.

“No, of course not! I was hit from behind, did you not read the coroner’s report?”

I started to dislike this entity.

“Do you have any suggestions as who it could have been that had killed you?”

“I had so many enemies. I could give you a list that would keep you busy the whole day with writing it down,” the spirit boasted.

“Any suggestions as to the worst enemies that would go onto the list?” I encouraged, trying to drag at least some clues out of him.

“Only about ten of them,” he replied.

“That’s not going to help much.”

I turned to Tucker. “Tuck, do you think we can have a look at this particular crime-scene?”

“That was unbelievably weird,” Tucker remarked before realizing that I had asked a question.

“Yes,” he responded, getting himself under control. “Hand me that file and I’ll drive you there straight away. I would also appreciate it if you could enlighten me as to what had been said in that one-sided conversation? You better not pull such a stunt in front of anyone else. They’ll surely put you in the loony bin.”

“I know,” I replied.

I filled him in on the missing part of the conversation on our way over to the address on the crime report.