Codename: Jumping Spider [Published]

Eighteen

The next morning, Ben woke up with a start and saw Ray sitting at the corner of the bed, already awake. Ray was staring out the window, hugging his knees tightly to his chest. He seemed to be in deep thought, as his eyes were unmoving, as if fixated on a distant object, and his expression was blank.

Last night, when he filled Ray in about the case, the hypnosis, Ray seemed more than stunned to hear that he was under the influence of hypnosis for over three years. Perhaps his mind was still on the whole hypnosis thing, Ben guessed.

"Why are you up so early today?" Ben mumbled groggily, sitting up too.

Ray didn't seem to hear Ben; he just remained silent and stared ahead. Ben blinked sleepily and moved closer to Ray. He gave Ray a nudge on his shoulder, calling his name. Ray jumped, startled by the sudden contact. He quickly snapped his head around, looking alarmed.

When he saw Ben behind him, his tensed expression relaxed into a friendly smile. "Oh, you're awake," he said, changing his position so that his body was facing Ben.

"What were you thinking about?" Ben asked, stretching his body lazily as he let out a yawn.

Ray raised his eyebrows. "Oh, it's nothing," he muttered, waving a hand in dismissal. "Just some random musings. That's all."

"You worried about tonight?" Ben asked, seeing straight through Ray's lie.

Ray gave him a surprised look. "Yeah," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Ben muttered, getting off the bed. "You'll be staying here during the party. No harm will come to you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Ray mumbled, frowning to himself. "It's Jenn that I'm worried about."

Ben's eyebrows rose at the mention of her name. "Mind explaining that?" he said over his shoulder, walking into the bathroom to wash up.

"Well," Ray said, raising his voice slightly so that Ben could hear him from inside the bathroom, "I don't know about now, but Jenn used to trust Nick very much. She sees him differently than how the others see him." He paused for a moment before going on. "Tom, Isabella, Paul, James, and I think that Nick is someone who is extremely sensitive in his personal relationships – and he was totally obsessed with Jules."

Ben's ears pricked at the mention of Jules. Nick was obsessed with his ex? Huh, Catherine had never said anything about that to him. He kept his expression curious, hiding a look of surprise from Ray.

"As for Jenn, she sees him as someone who is socially challenged and an introvert. She's kind of a natural when it comes to socialising and communicating her thoughts, so she pities him for his lack of ability to express himself effectively. She also made it quite clear that she thought that he was a softie with everyone. With Jules being her best friend and everything, she thought that they were the perfect couple and that Jules brought out the best in him." Ray smiled wryly at his own words. "I suppose that's why she never put her guard up with Nick, why she trusted him so much."

So she used to have a misconception about Nick. That explains a lot, Ben thought. That was why she didn't suspect Nick at all about the murders. She thought that he wasn't capable of doing such a thing. But things had changed now. Last night he observed the way she handled the discussion, and he was extremely sure that Catherine was back on track.

"You know what?" Ben said as he leisurely walked out of the bathroom. "I think that Jenn can handle him now. She's no longer stuck on her previous impressions of her past associates here."

"You think so?" Ray asked, meeting his eyes.

"Of course." Ben replied. He stood by the bed, smirking. "She's one of the top agents in the NSSS."