The Memory Therapist - ONC 2020

Chapter Twelve

"Fuck!" Charles yells as he stands so abruptly that his chair falls over. 

His reaction is extreme. Not at all like the deliberate, collective detective I have come to know in the last few days. It's worrisome. Someone with this kind of explosive emotions could be more of a hindrance to my plan as opposed to a benefit.

"We proved that the murders are connected, Charles. That's huge." 

"Don't you get it? We lost the evidence." He's practically spitting at me, and I resist the urge to slap some sense into him. When someone is in this sort of rage, their reactions are even more unpredictable. The last thing I want is to be arrested for assaulting a police officer. That would definitely fuck things up - my DNA would be in the system and it would just be a matter of time until they matched me to something.  

Phil has approached my office, standing near the threshold from Charles' raised voice. His presence does nothing to make me feel safe, I know that Charles' could easily take us both in a fight. And right now, it's starting to feel like he's looking for a fight. 

"I'll keep searching for it. I can find it again," I reassure, despite knowing I won't keep searching and I won't find it. It's like talking to a child who has broken their favourite toy. I am the mother offering to glue it back together.  

He looks at me with such desperation and pain that I want to cringe at his open weakness. Doesn't he understand that being this open makes him the perfect target for manipulation? I guess it just makes my life easier. "And until then, what am I supposed to do? These psychos could be out there with their next victim!"  

But they aren't. They are in the same room as him. 

"We need to focus on what we can control -" 

"Saving people is what I can control." The anger is back again before I can even blink. 

"Exactly. We've proven the partnership theory - there are at least two killers. That's something we didn't have before." 

"It doesn't prove anything." I can almost see the dark cloud looming over him in his self-deprivation. Perhaps I was wrong the whole time and Phil really was the Alpha male, just hiding as a beta to avoid detection. 

"Not many people create memories for the dark web and are this meticulous to making sure that they aren't found out. The cases are almost identical, except for the brutality for Jacob. It's the same M/O. And you know how rare that is for two killers to be the exact same fucked-uppedness as another in the same city. It's a partnership, Charles. Focus on that." 

He glares at me. Whether it's because he doesn't like being told what to do, or he resents the fact that I won't sulk with him, I'm not sure. "Let's take a look at the crimes with this new theory -"

"Fine," he snaps as he storms out of the office, pushing past Phil. 

"Charming," Phil mutters by the door. "I can understand why he works alone now." When I don't respond he adds, "I don't like this. He's too volatile to control when he's like this." 

"Yes, Phil." I can't keep the annoyance out of my voice. I quickly check myself though - it would do no good to have both of them against me when it's critical that they both trust me. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting -" 

"Someone crazy to be the lead detective?" 

I laugh, though it's not that funny. "We do attract loonies, don't we?" He approaches me and pulls me into a hug. I have to fight every instinct to not tense up and push him away. 

"What do we do about him?" Phil asks, pulling away slightly. "Might not be good that we triggered this mood." 

"We couldn't let him get the memory. Besides, he'll come around. What I said was right, even if he won't accept it in his rage. We just have to wait until he comes back to his senses."