Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (17 page)

I didn’t like Richard, but this … why would
someone do this to him?

“
Do you understand now why we’re
needed, Jack? The police can’t stop this, and even if they could,
they still wouldn’t be able to make a difference. That’s assuming,
of course, that they could understand all of it in the first
place.” Paro had a grim expression, and he maintained it while he
shuffled through the files.

Jack nodded. “I get it, Paro. But I still don’t
see why you guys came after me.”

Paro sat up straighter in the booth and folded
his hands under his chin. “Richard wasn’t the first boy from your
class to be killed. There was another, earlier victim—yet still not
the first. His name was Jonathan Herbert.”

Jack leaned over and looked at the
file. ”But … but I thought he was just absent. You mean they
did this to him too? Why, Paro? He was a good guy. I swear it. He
never hurt anyone. This can’t be. No one would kill him for no
reason like that.”

Jack felt the loss deep in his heart. Jonathan
wasn’t a person Jack knew well, but it was still someone Jack knew.
Thinking back, Jonathan had wanted to be an astronomer. In science
class, he’d discuss the stars, even when the topic was biology. He
had hopes, dreams, and loving parents that wanted to see them
fulfilled. And now he was gone? He was no longer in this world? But
for what, Jack wondered. What made it so his life had to be taken
from him?

Jack forced his tears to a halt. “I still don’t
understand.”

Paro sighed. “When the first boy was murdered
from your class, we thought it had been a random killing because it
matched the M.O. We see now, of course, that it was random and that
we were correct. But at the time when the fire incident occurred,
we had a growing suspicion that it might be the killers taunting
us. We were sure of it when the second boy was murdered from the
same class so soon after the fire. But it wasn’t until now that we
realize the fire was just a coincidence. It was something that you
did to stop yourself from failing an assignment, which, by the way,
we’re going to need to have a word with you about. That is not
acceptable behavior, and it won’t be tolerated.”

Jack shook his head. “I see what you’re getting
at, but I didn’t do the fire-thing. Even if I’m a Psych like you
guys, it doesn’t matter—I wouldn’t do something like that. It’s too
dangerous, and someone could have gotten hurt.”

Paro nodded. “I believe you, which leads me to
my next point. It is very rare for Psychs to use their abilities on
accident, as we can almost always control them. Having spent just a
few hours with you, I’m now positive that you didn’t know what you
were doing. But that’s not a good thing. It makes you dangerous.
It’s for this reason, among several others, that you need to come
with us and get a handle on this stuff. We can’t have you walking
down the streets setting people on fire.”

Jack sighed. “But I don’t even remember doing
it, not even a little. Honest!”

“
Tell me, Jack,” Sarah said. She had
been quiet for a while. She looked at him with soft eyes, and Jack
felt a gentle presence brushing the corner of his mind.

“
What was going through your mind
yesterday morning? Don’t be alarmed—I’m just helping you to relax
and remember. I am not infiltrating your mind, simply stimulating
it. Many have told me that it helps them to relax and remember
things more clearly.”

She was right. Jack felt pressure and tension
release from his body.

“
I was cheating, and I was gonna get
caught. Oh, by the way, can you guys punish me for that too?
Because if so, then I wasn’t cheating, I was, umm … receiving
‘help’.”

Sarah chuckled. “Just keep going. What
next?”

“
Okay, so anyway, I remember that
much, but then something happened. I can’t describe it. It’s like,
umm, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s there but it’s not. My
stomach was hurting really bad, and … I don’t know! It’s like the
answer is there but it’s just too hard to remember.”

Sarah continued to stare at him with a warm,
tranquil expression. “As long as you’re thinking about it and
keeping it on the forefront of your mind, I may be able to access
it, this … memory of yours. Yes, I see it now. You were sitting in
your desk, and you started thinking to yourself. You were
thinking—”

Sarah shouted and turned away from Jack, nearly
leaping out of the booth, twitching and rubbing her face. She shook
her head furiously. Michael and Paro turned to her.

“
Sarah! What’s wrong?” Michael put
his hands on her shoulders. She was gripping her head with both
hands, shaking her head as if trying to clear it of confusion. She
turned to Paro, and her face reddened.

“
Stop right there, Sarah,” Paro
said. “I can see it on your face. You’re about to apologize. You
have nothing to be sorry for. You are learning at a very fast rate,
and these things don’t always work at first. You’ll be fine. It was
just a normal mental shock. Don’t beat yourself up every time you
make a mistake. You’re an excellent Telepath, and you know I mean
that.”

Sarah looked both ashamed and embarrassed. A
wrinkle formed under her lip as she met Jack’s eyes, and it
reminded him of the same apologetic look he gave people when he did
something wrong.

What in the hell was that
about?

A moment of silence settled on them. The
restaurant was empty, which was a shame because the food was
fabulous. Jack figured it was probably because of the early morning
hours. Most people wouldn’t come in for breakfast until at least
seven a.m.

The waitress returned a few moments later with
the same smile on her face as earlier. “Can I get you guys anything
else? Any refills, maybe some pie?”

“
We’re fine, thank you,” Paro
said.

He turned once again to face Jack. “So, where
were we? Ah yes, the fire. You see, Jack, we had every reason to
believe that—”

“
That was so rude, Paro!” Jack
pointed a finger at Paro and glared at him. He didn’t understand
why Paro returned a questioning look, because surely Paro knew what
he had done wrong. When Paro continued to look confused, Jack
moaned in frustration.

“
You answered for all of us! I
wanted some more milk and pie, and I bet we’re all thinking to
ourselves about how much of a jerk you are. Isn’t that right,
guys?”

Melissa elbowed Jack on the shoulder. “Jack,
cut it out! We’re having a serious discussion. No one here agrees
with you—Michael, stop nodding or I’ll hit you too. You
would
agree with him, damn Telekinetics—now, can we please
get back to the important stuff?”

“
Thank you, Melissa. And Jack,
interrupt me again, and I’ll show you why people used to call me a
devil. Do-not-test-me.”

Jack shuddered at the menace in Paro’s eyes,
but refused to look away. That pecan pie looked amazing, and it was
Paro’s fault that Jack didn’t get to have any. Stupid
Paro!

“
Now, as for why we thought you were
linked after the second killing. Michael, do you want to explain?
It was your idea, after all. One which I still think might be
partially correct.”

Michael gave a sitting bow, much to the
annoyance of all but Jack.

“
So, Jack, I was thinking, right?
The killings changed after the fire that these fellas over here are
tryin’ta blame on ya, even though you probably didn’t do
it.”

Melissa squeezed her hands into fists, but
luckily, Sarah reached over and patted her on the shoulder, calming
her down. Michael simply tipped the cowboy hat he wore, hanging
just off the top of his thick, blond-hair.

“
So as far as I reckoned, let’s say
you know a guy that does the same old thing every time, right? And
he keeps on doing it and doing it, and then one day, it just
changes completely after something else big happens. I was
thinking—”

Jack inhaled as he filled with understanding.
Now here was a man who made perfect sense. “That I had been
recruited,” Jack said, “even if I wasn’t involved to begin with!
Wow, everything about what you guys are doing makes sense now. Man,
you and I are smart, Michael. I’m surprised you haven’t already
solved this thing on your own.”

Melissa made a sound that half resembled a
moan. “I could cry right now, Paro. Michael alone was bad enough.
Now he has an apprentice.”

Paro nodded his head in agreement.

“
So then Paro, if you guys know I
didn’t do it on purpose, then I get why you want to take me in and
what not, so I don’t do it again. But what still doesn’t make sense
is what I can do to help with the killings?”

“
Two things,” Paro said. “One, the
killers—from what Melissa told us on the way here they were
determined to capture you at any cost. They feel some sort of
connection to you or something. I don’t understand just yet. We
believe that if we set you out into the open, they’ll come back
looking to grab you.”

“
And two,” he continued. “The
recruitment theory is still our best lead. Even if they didn’t
recruit you, we have every reason to believe that they recruited
someone
. At first, the killings were done telekinetically,
like how you started that fire—and get that smug look off your
face. If you try to deny it once more, I will throw you out of a
window—but back to what I was saying. The most recent killings were
done using chemical manipulation. And I see the confusion on your
face. Don’t worry—we’ll explain that side of things later. For now,
just understand that the fire was caused by friction, which means
only a Kinetic could have done it. Thus, we know you’re not
involved with them. But you may be able to lead us to whoever
is.”

Jack thought for a moment about Richard and
then about Jonathan. What was Jack’s life worth if he allowed these
killings to continue while he had some way of stopping them? Jack
didn’t care about the danger to his own life. What had to be done
was as simple as tying a knot. Actually, sometimes that could be
kind of hard too, he realized.

He laughed. “Paro, I don’t really understand
most of what you just said, but if I can lead you to the guys who
did it, I’d be happy to. Just not on Sundays, because True Blood is
starting up again.” Jack narrowed his eyes. “After what they have
done, I’d do anything to see them caught.”

For the first time since late last night when
they had met, Jack saw Paro smile. “Good man.”

The sound of a loud and whiny hum caused Jack
to look over his shoulders. He jumped up in the booth and tried to
nudge Melissa out of the way.

 “
You guys were serious? I get
to go in an actual helicopter? This is amazing, wow! Is it just
gonna like, land right outside?”

Melissa laughed. “You better believe it, Jack.
We get to do a lot of things most people can’t.”

Michael and Sarah looked at each other and
grinned.

“
Wait, guys, can I fly it? I can use
my Psychicho-sis-ness or whatever to control it, so I’ll make sure
we don’t all die.”

It was yet another in a day full of slaps, as
Melissa playfully tapped him on the back of the head. “Literally
over my dead body.”

Astounding didn’t begin to describe it. The
sensation Jack felt as the helicopter descended to land in the wide
parking lot was a cross between excitement and wonder.

Small glass bottles, dirt, and empty
potato-chip bags were sent flying as a gust of wind hit the six of
them. The helicopter touched down on the lot outside of the
Golden Pearl
. Jack attempted to charge into it like a dog
fetching a bone, but Melissa grabbed the back of his shirt, halting
him in place.

“
Are you an idiot, Jack? Wait until
the propeller stops spinning or you’ll be cut in two halves.” Jack
ignored her.

Stupid Melissa, not knowing what she’s
talking about. How could a propeller cut me in half? That only
happens in the movies.

“
Window Seat!” Jack called out,
ignoring the sighs of frustration around him. As soon as the pilot
opened the side-door, the blue-suited man was forced to leap out of
the way. Jack took a nose dive into the aircraft. This was a dream
of his, one of many. He always wanted to ride in a helicopter,
almost as badly as he wanted Buffy to return for another
season.