“Fascinating.” The way he says it so softly under his breath makes me think he would like to cut me open and put me under a microscope. It gives me the creeps.
“They should be ready now.” I hook my thumb over my shoulder while keeping my eyes on him. He dips his head once in a nod, and I take it as my dismissal. I can feel his eyes on my back as I walk away from him. The hair on my nape tingles as if he may reach out and grab me, but it never happens.
Dad is standing next to his office door, while Belinda is still seated behind his desk. She rises as I approach. “Your dad said they would be ready for me soon,” she murmurs.
“We have a minute while they set up. Do you have any questions about the procedure?”
“Not really about the test itself, but will you be there?” She looks at my dad, even though I’m the one who asked the question.
Dad’s lips thin, and he shakes his head. “The best way to get this over with quickly and to avoid a trial is with me not being involved any further. I should have been protecting you from the beginning by making sure someone else questioned you and did all the follow-ups.” Dad darts his eyes over to me, but focuses back on Belinda.
“You may have broken protocol a few times, Pop, but nothing that would cause any issues with adjudicating this.” It’s not anI told you so, but he gets the message. “I’ll be there, and so will another agent I’ve worked with several times. You’ll be vulnerable to the seer, but no one else in the room will be privy to what he sees other than the recording device, and that would only be reviewable by court officials should there be a need.” I know she said she knows how a truth probe works, but people rarely grasp how intrusive it can be to be placed on one. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed one where the subject didn’t cry.
She nods, telling me she listened to what I had to say, but then she walks over to my dad and grabs his hands. “I know you were trying to shield me the entire time, and I lied to you. I’m sorry for that.” She lets go of his fingers long enough to wipe under her eye, then clasps his hand again. “I don’t ever want you to question if anything else that happened between us was a lie, because it wasn’t. Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for showing me what love should be.”
“Why are you talking like you’re not going to come back?” He reverses her grip so he’s the one holding onto her hands.
“I can’t stay here, Marty. William will come for me and bulldoze everything in his wake.” She shakes her head.
Dad’s brow furrows. “You think I can’t protect you?” he asks softly.
“No, I’m trying to protect you,” she tells him earnestly.
“That would be funny if I couldn’t see how serious you are. Bee, I don’t need protecting. I promise I can handle anything he throws at us, and it’s an us, babe, because I’m not letting you go that easily.”
Ambrose waves at me from down the hall. “We need to get going,” I say, interrupting their moment. Later, I can tell her that MBI is already investigating her husband and it’s only a matter of time before he gets picked up. Lewis doesn’t give up, and she has him in her sights.
Dad wraps his arms around her in a quick, tight hug, then stands back. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get done,” he states.
I guide her down the long hall to the interrogation room. Ambrose is waiting near the door, as is the female agent who accompanied AD Wuornos. The man himself is seated at the table, and the metal device near his hand is a cross between old magic and new. There are sigils and runes etched into the shiny surface, and a small LCD screen that is currently blank, but once Belinda sits down and the potion is administered, her brain waves will be displayed along with Wuornos’, so there’s verifiable proof they are connected. Inside the box is a recording device, but I have no idea how it works—only seers are privy to that information.
“Ms. Miller, have a seat,” Wuornos says.
Ambrose closes the door behind us, and the room feels so much smaller for it. I’m not nervous per se, but I’ve never known the person being probed. Being in the room with her feels invasive.
“I’m going to close the circle now and begin the test. Once it’s begun, I cannot stop it for any reason. Do you understand?”
Belinda nods and croaks out, “Yes.”
“Would you still like to go forward with the truth probe?” he asks in a routine way that seems habitual rather than having any true interest in the answer.
“Yes,” Belinda agrees with a little more certainty in her voice.
“If you would please, Bender.” Wuornos looks over at the female agent. She bends down and finishes the circle, encompassing the table that’s already been mostly chalked into the floor. I feel her magic bubble to life, and there’s a slight sour note behind it. She’s upset about something.
“Now then, if you can think of the day we’re all here to learn about, I won’t have to sort through your thoughts, and that will be much faster for all of us.”
“Okay.” Belinda adjusts in her seat.
Wuornos takes a small vial of purple liquid from his inner breast pocket. “Please drink the spell.” He hands it over to Belinda, who takes it with shaking fingers and uncorks the top. She hesitates with it near her lips for just a moment, and then she closes her eyes and tosses her head back, drinking the spell like a shot of strong liquor.
After swallowing, she returns the vial to Wuornos, who discards it on the table. “If you would, please.” He pushes a small pad, which is attached to the machine by a cord, toward Belinda. She places her palm over it, and the LCD screen blinks to life.
“And we begin,” Wuornos announces, placing his palm over a similar pad of his own.
The next thirty minutes pass with Wuornos and Belinda barely moving or speaking. If I didn’t know how this worked, I would assume something went wrong and they were both stuck in some sort of stasis.
Finally, without any warning, the seer lifts his hand off the reader and lets out an audible breath. Belinda blinks rapidly right after and wipes away the tears streaming down her face. They started within minutes of the test beginning and showed no signs of slowing throughout it.
