Love of a Raven

Chapter 24: Searching for Clues

"It's like I told the judge, I saw her body on the ground and went with a friend to find the nearest cop." The man who discovered the body first, Charles Allen Lechmere.

"Are you sure that's all?" Galvin prompts with a raised brow and his eyes giving off a knowing look. Though, none of which seem to have any effect on Lechmere.

"I'm sure. If we're done here, I would like to get back to sleep. I haven't slept a wink after seeing that woman on the ground." Lechmere affirms in a hard voice. One that has me fully alerted for anything that could instigate a fight to occur if Galvin hasn't already noticed.

"Right. . . Er, thank you anyway for your cooperation. I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you." Galvin apologizes as he puts away his notebook back into his coat pocket.

Galvin nods his head to the door, silently telling me to go on without him, while I lurch myself away from the wall I was leaning on the entire time he and Mr. Lechmere were talking. Galvin had managed to locate Lechmere after the inquest since he practically bolted out the door if it weren't for Galvin already sitting by the exit.

"This is getting ridiculous. Garrick, hypnotize the human to tell you everything that he knows because I can't take anymore of his bullshit." Damian orders in exasperation.

After Damian tipped me off about the victim's family being unhelpful in figuring out her murderer, he took it upon himself to accompany Galvin and me in talking with Mr. Lechmere which did not sit well with Galvin. But once Damian delivered his news to him, Galvin reluctantly agreed in permitting him to come along. Like me, Damian stood quietly by my side while Galvin interviewed Mr. Lechmere.

"Garrick, we're done here. Let's not-" Galvin starts before he was interrupted by a very annoyed demon.

"All it takes is a few seconds and that human is going to sing like a canary." Damian interjects, narrowing his eyes to a slight glare at Galvin.

"What the bloody hell is he talking about?! No, I don't care. Get out, get out of my flat now before I call the bloody Yard on you!" Mr. Lechmere shouts angrily and waves his arm toward the door.

Damian turns his head to me and yells, "Do it!"

I don't know what compelled me to listen to Damian, but I had Charles Allen Lechmere held against the wall with my face close to his so that he is forced to stare directly into my eyes while I summon my hypnotic powers. I know that it's working when Lechmere has ceased to push me away and gone completely still. His eyes become blank and widen slightly, enough for me to know that he's under my control.

"Tell us everything that happened that night. Do not leave a single detail out." I command calmly without breaking eye contact with him. If I so much as blink, the hypnosis will wear off and he would go back to yelling at us to leave.

"Are you actually listening to your friend right now?! I told you that we were leaving-" Galvin begins when he was once again interrupted.

"I left home like I usually did for my long walk to work at the slaughter house. I went down Buck's Row and I saw two people, but they were too far for me to see clearly. When I came closer, one of those people I saw was setting a large woman to the ground. And. . . I don't remember the rest. . . The next thing I know, a friend of mine who walks the same route as me was yelling that she's dead. . ." Lechmere recounts when his eyes take hold confusion in them.

"What do you mean you don't remember the rest?" I question, tilting my head a bit.

"I don't know. . . I just don't remember it. . ." Lechmere answers sullenly.

How can he not remember? I specifically instructed him to tell me everything that happened that night. He should have been able to tell me everything as though I was listening to a story. My power to hypnotize humans shouldn't be the problem because I have used it over the past three centuries when I feed from them. So, why isn't he telling me what happened after he saw the killer-