Codename: Jumping Spider [Published]

Twelve

Jenn had ended the briefing as quickly as she could. She was starting to get worried about leaving Ray alone in the living area. As soon as the briefing ended, she left her partners and rushed out of the office, only to find Ray sitting on the couch, staring off into space. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that he was holding his cell phone in his hands. Damn it, she shouldn't have allowed him to leave the briefing.

"Ray, were you on the phone with someone just now?" Jenn asked in a wary tone.

Ray blinked a few times before turning to her. He seemed to be coming out of a daze. "Pardon?"

Jenn saw the look on his face. Alarmed, she stepped forward and held out her hand towards him. "Can I have your cell phone, please?"

Ray frowned in response, tightening his grip on the cell phone. "Why?"

"It's just for a moment," she said in an assuring tone. A subject under hypnosis was highly suggestible. If Ray had been speaking to the hypnotist just now, he might be still in a deep trance, which meant he would be easily convinced to give her the phone.

Ray hesitated, looking at his cell phone.

"Trust me, Ray." She moved closer to him. "Just let me have a look at the cell phone."

He took a long hard look at her, but he handed the cell phone over willingly. "What's wrong?"

She ignored his question and viewed his call history. There was a phone call from an unknown phone number about five minutes ago, and it lasted for less than a minute.

"Who was it that you were speaking with on the phone just now?" Jenn asked, keeping her voice as calm as she could manage.

"My mum," Ray replied with a hint of sadness. "She called from Milan, using her spare phone. I guess she lost her phone again."

Jenn silently heaved a sigh of relief. "Why did she call?"

"She was asking for my whereabouts. My mum called the house last night, but no one answered the phone. She called to tell me that she and Dad would be staying overseas for a little longer. I guess they've met up with some old friends again." He spoke in a wistful tone as he stared down at his intertwined hands.

"You miss them, don't you?" Jenn asked softly as she sat down beside him. Behind her, J. Lee went back into the office with Ben.

"I haven't seen them since a month ago. How can I not miss them?" Ray muttered, looking downcast. "The worst thing is that I had to lie to them about my whereabouts."

Jenn handed the cell phone back to him, and he held on to it tightly. Then she said, "I'm sorry that you have to endure all this. It's tough, I know."

He gave her a brief glance before lowering his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of your parents."

Jenn smiled solemnly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Toughen up, okay?" she said, squeezing his shoulder. "At least you know that they'll be back. That counts as something, doesn't it?" Then she gave him a light pat on his back as she stood up. She knew that he would need some space right now to clear his thoughts, so she sighed and went back into the office to join her partners.

~

In the afternoon, Jenn went to the local PD to meet up with Agent Turner and Agent Potts. She brought J. Lee along, fulfilling Agent Turner's wish. The introduction was brief, and they started their discussion right away.

Agent Turner went into detail about all the information he had managed to dig up yesterday. Agent Potts simply stood aside, letting his partner do all the talking. The few times that Jenn asked for his opinion on the suspects' statement, he answered as curtly as he could manage before shutting up again.