M-13

To Track Down A Killer

Atticus' POV:

"So we have nothing?" I ask Jared, leaning back in my chair. "Seriously?! What happened when I was suspended?"

Jared shrugs. "We put her name in the search and in your first week of suspension, Avi and I spent hours searching through files, but she had nothing bad. Like, she was completely clean so there wasn't much on her."

I've been back for about a week, but I haven't gotten to sit down and reconnect with Jared much on our Mistacesemia issue. Of course, Darrel (who is sporting a beautiful bruise, courtesy of me) decided to assign me with a shit ton of extra work because he's salty as hell that he couldn't fire me.

Thankfully the superiors like me and decided that suspension was enough, as they like my commitment and I've met a few of them personally.

"How can she be clean?! She killed an innocent man, blew up an apartment building, and tried to murder Silas!" I look through the file that Jared has on her, but he's right; there's nothing. "What about brain scans? People with Mistacesemia need scans every few years, right?"

Jared nods, handing me another file, with Andrea Velazco's medical history.

Her scans show a completely normal, level headed person. Not only level headed, but she also is extremely smart and was not only an honors student, but she has a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

I read even deeper into the file about Andrea as a person, because nothing here shows that she would grow up to be a killer.

She was homeschooled but participated with the local Speech & Debate Team, and her parents were very supportive of her endeavors. She was offered a scholarship and graduated with her Master's at age twenty one and got out almost debt free because of how incredible her scholarships were.

She also worked with a personal trainer who helped her handle her powers and use them in self defense; something that is illegal in many states, but not where she's from.

"The only thing sticking out to me is the self defense training," I say, closing all of the files and stacking them up. "But even that wasn't a red flag. Her trainer always gave her the best marks and claimed she was composed and couldn't harm anyone. Plus, Mistacesemia self defense training isn't illegal in South Carolina, so that can't really be something we say is necessarily wrong."

Jared nods in agreement, pulling up a page on his computer. "I've been searching for her family, but no one died, nothing seems to be a trigger or launch point for her decision to murder people like her. In fact, most of her speeches were about the protection of people like her and she was a public activist."

"Until she went awol and decided to go against everything she apparently believed in," I comment, because it's true. "I just want to know why she snapped."

"I've tried to call her parents, but they never answer the phone," Jared tells me, pursing his lips. "They have a voicemail box set up, but no matter how many messages I left, they don't respond."

That is a bit strange, because if I had a child who took off and is now being broadcasted on the news as one of the most wanted and dangerous individuals, I'd help the police out. Not because I'd want to see my child in prison, but because if parents help the police force, we, well, myself and Jared at least, do what we can to bring the person in alive so that they are given a fair trial. We don't ever want to have to call the parents and tell them we killed their child.

"Has there been any sightings yet?"

"I would have told you," Jared tells me, and I know he would have, but I still want to hold out hope that we'll find her. "She has two sisters and I decided to wait until you got back to call them because I know you'd want to be involved, and I assume that if the parents didn't answer the sisters probably won't either."