This chapter is an entry for the 'Paranormal Bodies' contest by the Mystery and Paranormal profiles.

Prompt : Monday Blues (#2)

"Detective Kingston?"

My head snapped leftwards. I met the gaze of a middle-aged man, with several golden badges on his blue uniform. I recognized him as my senior and interviewer, Detective Juan.

"Morning." I greeted curtly, and return to this terrifically thick book.

His boots creaked soundly on the paneled floor, and his meaty palm gripped the edge of my desk firmly.

"My, Kingston, I don't know you love to explore this realm." He said lightly, referring to the title of this book.

I sighed tiredly. It has only been three hours since I started skimming pages and it had felt like decades.

"There's an incident, detective." I stated. "Have you heard?"

His brows rise in confusion, and I assumed he hasn't.

I slammed the book shut after slipping a bookmark into it, and stood up from my desk chair.

Gazing into Detective Juan's questioning eyes, I said, "Come on detective, follow me to the hospital."

"-----"

"There's got to be a mistake.." Detective Juan narrowed his gaze from me back to the corpse. "It's you!"

"Then who am I, sir?" I replied sarcastically.

"Then who's she?" He asked back, scratching his nape confusedly.

"That's what I'm looking for! The autopsies are working for anything they could use as a proof for her identity." I explained breathlessly.

"And?" He inquired.

God, he wasn't this talkative and aggravating back at the interviews!

"Look, sir, I'm as clueless as you are. I was the earliest to enter the station this morning, and just, when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it mindlessly, and there she was, lying on the doorstep. I thought she passed out, but she didn't response to-"

"Excuse me, detectives? May I have your attention?" Suddenly a man, wearing a mask and robe in greens stood right behind us. Both of us immediately faced him.

I remained silent, but lucky that Detective Juan's a bit more polite than I do.

"Yes?" He asked.

"The autopsy results are out. We sent a copy to your institution's email, and may it be helpful."

"It'll help." I smiled dimly at the medic man. "Thank you, um-"

"We'll see you later." Detective Juan cut me off, and dragged me back to the elevator.

"-----"

"The tattoo kiosk said she addressed herself as Lavina Bennett." Jogi informed us as he stared at the screen attentively. "An African-Spanish. 25. Lived at Madrid, Spain. Both parents have a mansion here, not far away."

"And she's supposed to not look like me. I mean, she's a diva-lookalike and I'm a nerd in an officer uniform." I murmured thoughtfully.

"Maybe you could check the mansion and her parents?" Detective Juan asked - or to be precise, commanded me.

"Ah, about that, sir, Noura and Sam had been sent by Detective Alistair." Jogi exclaimed.

"Okay then, so I'm free until they return?" I asked the two generations innocently.

I know although this seems irrational even for a bookworm like me, I'm dying to get a grip of that psychic book again. It must've explained something about what happened to Lavina Bennett.

And I'm going to prove it to these rational thinkers.

"Do whatever you want, kid." Detective Juan shrugged me off and slumped on the nearest couch.

I silently retreated across the room, with curiosity pricking my brain impatiently.

"-----"

The clock was yet to strike twelve. I'm all alone in this office, since the others are busying over public statements and joint investigations. They banned me from going out, since my face is on a corpse's, and I'm a 'unexperienced freshman'.

And probably to prevent conspiracy theories about zombies to resurface.

Anyway, I know I should've checked the table of contents earlier, but seeing those ant-sized words blurred my eyes instantly. At least the bold, humane-sized chapter titles on each pages are better.

Suddenly, Detective Juan and a few others barged into the room and sat on the available desk chairs. From the faces they make, I assume they felt nauseous right when they spot this magical book I borrowed from the town's library.

"Um, Viper?" Noura asked hesitantly.

"Viper Kingston here." I replied as my finger traced the next title.

"Good. So, we're here to tell you about the interrogation results." Sam announced. "Anyway, before we're getting started, Viper, know that we're also doing our best to clear your name from the society's death list." He smiled gently, and I replied it.

We must to, so my abusive parents won't enjoy laughing all day for my riddance.

"Thanks, you don't know how grateful I am to have you guys helping me."

"So, Lavina's parents told us that she stayed at a friend's home last night. The friend's identity remains unknown, and the other detectives are tracking her now. They didn't believe that the corpse was her, until we showed them the unicorn tattoo on her wrist."

"Unicorn, eh?" I sneered. "Typical childhood dreamers."

"Which is, correct." Noura smiled enthusiastically. "We looked into her room, and it was pink. Really pink. Silhouettes of princesses lined up her wallpapers,"

"O-kay?" Detective Juan chuckled awkwardly. "Geez, this is weird."

"Yeah, I know right?" Noura laughed sheepishly as she looked at the room photographs again. "And her mom said that Lavina somehow believed in myths and - uh, you know, those kind of things."

"You mean magic and paranormal stuffs?" I asked, excitement suddenly bubbling in my veins.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Excellent. Thanks fellas." I clapped my hands excitedly, and turned my chair, back to the book.

So far, I'm walking on the right track!

"What's this?" Sam flipped the other half of the book to see the book's cover. "'Guides to Magic and Paranormal Activities'? Viper, you're okay?"

"Hush, I'm working." I snapped fiercely. "Page 662, sleeping potion - no. 663, pixie dust - heck, do they even exist?" I mumbled to myself, suddenly reminiscing about Neverland.

"Well, go ahead Viper, find something useful there." Detective Juan drawled. "Me and these two lads will look somewhere else."

A lump of uncertainty formed in my throat at his words. Was it a threat? Or his underestimation towards me?

I swallowed nervously.

"Yes." I murmured as they exit through the creaking door.

Yesterday I vowed that I won't disappoint anyone, and today's the day to prove it.

"-----"

Chapter 475 : How to Make a Doppelgänger

I jumped on my feet when I finally find those words. A wide grin appeared on my face. I carefully trace the explanations on the page, and wiped my shady eyes.

Only can be performed by highly experienced physics.

I quickly scrambled my drawer for a paper and a pen, and scribbled down the words.

The most important element is the willingness of the 'victim'.

I scribbled that down too. Adding the possibility that Lavina had agreed willingly in all this, and that the 'friend' she visited last night is primarily suspected as the psychic.

Both the 'victim' and the 'performer' must deeply memorize the target's preferred physical looks.

My whole body shuddered. So all this time, either one of them has stalked me? Both anger and anxiety clouded my thoughts.

However, this act is forbidden in the 20th century, since the number of expert psychics are running low, and this act itself costs a lot of energy from both sides. Even the victims almost certainly end up in death.

Energy loss, huh? Served whoever did this right.

The punishment for whoever trespassed this law is severe.

And to my surprise, the lower page afterwards has been neatly torn. It has the tutorials. The part I just read was only the beginning of the chapter.

Taking a photograph of the page with my polaroid, I slammed the book shut afterwards.

Shit, apparently the psychic was the one tearing it away! But how could they enter the library's prohibited section?

Time to ask for the borrowers list from the librarians.

I strode towards the main room upstairs, where meetings are held and briefings are done by the seniors. I entered the glass-covered room without knocking.

I was in for a great shock when I discovered that the constantly crowded room was completely empty. Only the sound of the whistling wind was heard in the room.

Wait - whistling wind? Aren't the windows always locked?

I glanced around warily, and with careful steps I approached the whiteboard of Lavina's case, where photos involved in this case were affixed. Under them are messy scribbles. Hesitantly, I put the polaroid there and stuck it with the cellophane tape nearby.

I was yet to back out as fast as I can when I heard an eerily threatening and faint woman's voice, whispering a greeting I always heard back home.

"She was a warning, darling." She hissed afterwards, venomously.

I didn't think this thing would ensue to me.

"-----"

"Tell me, what are your goals in joining us?"

"I aim to be the society's keeper, sir, to prevent them from having nightmares everyday in their lives-like I used to have, back home."