‘Yes, but that doesn’t necessarily imply a connection.’
‘No. Of course not.’
‘Interesting coincidence though.’ Courtney looked down at the carton of Crystal Mana pill bottles which were still sitting on the ground where Jesse had left them. Right beside his body, in fact. ‘Merle Shepherd is licensed to use Suggestion. It looks like the idea was to basically tell you to swallow a lot of pills. You’d be dead and I’d have another overdose case. This time, it would seem like you were supplying to people in the Flight Club, and that you were trying to throw us off by implicating Michelle Yamasaki.’
‘Do you think you’ll be able to get who’s behind this now?’
Courtney sighed. ‘I don’t know. It depends on whether we can get that guy to talk. He’s on the line for attempted murder. That might be enough leverage to move him.’
‘If you’re having trouble,’ Nava said, ‘I could talk to him.’
‘I’d like him alive after the interrogation.’
‘I can do that.’ Pause. ‘Does he have to be able to walk?’
~~~
Nava was running a little low on sleep. So was Melissa, though she was doing a little better than Nava having not woken up because of a nightmare before she was woken up by people trying to kill her. Neither of them was entirely awake, and they were contemplating skipping lunch to take a nap.
That was probably why Nava did not spot Darius Miller until he was already in Melissa’s face. He was a tall, slim man, though not lacking in muscle. His features were mostly derived from northern European stock, tending to a heavier, more rugged type of good looks. He had a strong jawline, a cleft in his chin, a nose with a pronounced bridge, and thin lips. His eyes were a darker shade of blue and his hair was black and kept short. He had paler skin than many humans these days, but there was a slight tan overlaying the white. His height gave him an effective advantage when he wanted to be intimidating. And, right now, he was going for intimidation.
‘Melissa Connelly,’ he said as he loomed, ‘I will not stand for this outrageous accusation against my clansman.’
‘Wh– Darius Miller? What–’ Melissa shrank somewhat under the sudden onslaught of words and physical presence. Behind her, Rochester began fiddling with his ketcom. ‘What are you t-talking about?’
‘I’m told that you claim Merle Shepherd broke into your apartment last night in order to execute some ridiculous plot involving Crystal Mana. You will withdraw your claim or–’
Nava stepped between them. She had to look up at Darius, just as Melissa did. She said nothing. Her expression did not change. Darius took a step back, a look of shock registering on his face.
‘Nava Ward,’ Darius said after a second. ‘This is none of your–’
‘I put Merle Shepherd in the hospital,’ Nava said. ‘Further, I am the principal witness to the activities of Merle Shepherd and Jesse Audley, not Mel. If you’re going to threaten anyone, you should threaten me. I should add that it won’t do you any good, but you’re welcome to try. Especially while you’re being recorded.’
Possibly for the first time ever, Darius noticed Rochester and, in particular, Rochester’s ketcom which was being held in a position which clearly indicated that the entire scene was being recorded for posterity. Darius’s teeth ground together and he leaned down, possibly trying to lean over Nava to get closer to Melissa. ‘I’ll be bringing this up at the council meeting this afternoon. I will not have a trio of support stream cowards ruin my… I mean my clan’s reputation.’ Turning on his heel, he marched away.
‘W-well,’ Melissa said, ‘I d-don’t need that n-nap now.’
‘Wait until the adrenaline wears off,’ Nava said. ‘Chess, did you get all that?’
Rochester was busy checking his recording. ‘To be honest, I missed a little of his threat, but I think there’s enough there to count. Plus, he might have lowered his voice, but I got what he said at the end perfectly.’
Nava nodded and started on her way to the refectory; they were blocking traffic out of the classroom at it was. ‘We’ll give Suki a copy when we meet her.’
‘I can send a copy to Courtney. Those were not the actions of an innocent man.’
‘Maybe. Let Suki send the data to Courtney, if she wants to. There’s no point in giving Courtney the opportunity to accuse you of faking evidence.’
‘That seems a little harsh,’ Melissa said.
‘I’m sleep deprived. I’m not feeling much like being nice.’
~~~
‘Currently,’ Courtney began, ‘Merle Shepherd is in a critical condition in the campus medical facility. He sustained a head injury after falling from the third storey of Melissa Connelly’s apartment block.’ It was evening and the student council was meeting to go over the latest events in the Crystal Mana saga. Courtney had just started giving her report, but they had already been presented with clear evidence of some discontent regarding what had happened.
‘After being pushed from the third storey!’ Darius more or less yelled. He was not a happy man.
Courtney largely ignored him. ‘Evidence at the scene suggests that Merle Shepherd and Jesse Audley planned to plant evidence suggesting that Melissa Connelly was a Crystal Mana supplier.’
‘Entirely circumstantial evidence!’
‘I expect analysis to uncover that the drug they had with them is of the same batch as that found with Brynn Hermanson and Siegmar Tate.’
‘Circumstantial! I demand–’
‘Shut up, Darius.’ Mitsuko spoke relatively softly, but her tone suggested that she might start shouting very soon if Darius kept going. ‘We’ll discuss your demands later. In private.’
‘But, President, this entire situation is–’
‘Later, Darius. Captain, please continue.’
‘We do have evidence linking Jesse Audley to the drugs,’ Courtney said. ‘His fingerprints are on the carton. We also have clear evidence of his tampering with the apartment’s lock. I got Donovan Ilbert to return to Brynn Hermanson’s apartment and check the lock there. Sure enough, he found partial prints matching Jesse inside the lock. That connects him and Merle Shepherd to
