Under the Cover of Darkness

Question Time

Detective Inspector Carter held in his hand a plastic cup of lukewarm coffee while standing looking through the two-way mirror into the interrogation room. There, sat a young woman staring back at him, at her own reflection, knowing she was being watched.

DI Carter, sipped the brown liquid not once taking his eyes off her, he and his colleague had just brought in for questioning.

They got a call about an hour ago, the manager of the women's hostel had telephoned the police to report a mass disturbance on the premises.

The police were totally unprepared by what they saw upon arrival. In every room and hallway, were multiple victims all with terminal lacerations. An array of knives and hatchets lay scattered upon the floor.

Just a single woman had survived. She was found paddling in the pools of blood, swinging her arms and giggling. As the only witness to the crime, she was brought in for questioning.

The door to the observation room opened and in walked DI Chapman. Carter didn't look around, instead he remained fixed on their subject.

"She can see me!" he said. "Most people look at the mirror trying to workout where we are. But she is staring at me like the two-way doesn't exist."

Chapman stood beside his colleague. He watched as the woman's eyes darted his way.

"She knows I'm here too!"

DI Chris Chapman threw a brown folder down on the desk. "She's got form."

"What for mass murder?" enquired Carter.

"No, for GBH at Rampton Secure Hospital."

"Grievous Bodily Harm?"

"Well, that's what they charged her with, although it was never proven."

DI Carter saw there was an envelope in the folder marked 'Eyes Only' "What's this?"

Chapman laughed, "Apparently some quack from the Psychic Cognitive Behaviour Unit got involved. His report reads that our subject displayed all the hallmark symptoms of the Medusa Effect."

"Medusa! The woman of legend who could turn those who looked at her into stone!"

"Except," said Chapman. "She can 'will' people to kill themselves just by looking at them."

Carter let the report fall to the table. "Great! We have a morgue full of bodies, a crazy lady we can't pin anything on and you want me to believe in Ghostbusters!"

Chapman shrugged his shoulders and turned back towards the window. The young woman was now pressing her nose hard up against the glass. "There is a whole lot of crazy going on inside that head."

The armed Woman Police Officer that was in the room with the woman, tried to bring her back to the chair.

Still looking at the two detectives, the young woman now pointed at the WPO then locked her gaze on her guard. The WPO stopped advancing as if she just hit an invisible wall.

The two detectives watched has the WPO tried to fight the urge of raising her firearm towards her head.

Carter and Chapman banged on the the glass trying to distract both woman and WPO. The WPO shook as unwillingly she squeezed the trigger. The two detectives bolted out of the door as a single shot rang out.