Chapter Four: Fitz

I glance over at Sophie as we look through Arien's file. She laughs at my shocked expression when I learn that this victim's mother is still alive and healthy. Looking at the female Percipient, I ask, "Should we ask Mr. Wallace if we can visit her? We might be able to get some more facts about Arien."

Sophie looks at me. "I was thinking the same thing, but I don't if we'll be able to learn something. The mother-" She pauses and looks at the mother's name. "Who is Leila Leroy, most likely will be in too much grief."

I nod. "That's true. But what if we brought Laurel and Benen? They're the most compassionate out of the six of us."

Sophie nods in agreement. "Wait- when will we tell them?" Sophie asks suddenly.

My eyes widen when I realize that I didn't think of that. "Oh yeah," I say, leaning back. "Let's tell them today."

"And the Sovereigns?"

I groan. "I seriously don't think that they'd be the best to bring along," I begin. I then sigh reluctantly. "But we should probably tell them at the same time as Laurel and Benen. If they come, we'll try not to let them near the mother." I then grab the folder, closing it gently. I'm about to put it away when something catches my eye.

I frown. "Who's this?" I ask, opening the folder again.

Sophie furrows her eyebrows as she looks over my shoulder. "Fitton Galster..?" She narrows her eyes as she reads the label for him. "Boyfriend?!"

"What?!" I look to see if she's joking or not. She's not. My eyes blink in surprise as I say, "I'm guessing that this boyfriend's a suspect now?"

She nods. "Or maybe he tried to save her."

"Or he killed her."

...

The Sovereigns and Altruistics are already seated in the conference room when we arrive. Donovan raises an eyebrow at me and I glare at him. Shaking my head, I dust nonexistent dust off of my shirt before sitting down next to Sophie. The female Percipient and I exchange glances before staring at Mr. Wallace. He briefly nods, and I take the silence to address the issue at hand.

"Arien Leroy,"I say, surprising Sophie with my directness. "A forty-nine year old woman who was born in Oregon. She was killed in her home-" I pause, looking over the file again. "In her home in Seattle. Her father is dead due to old age, but her mother is still alive and well at the age of seventy-nine. She lives in Oregon now."

Benen and Laurel clap excitedly at the last part, earning smiles from Sophie and me and eye rolls from the Sovereigns.

"Other than her mother, it's said that she had a boyfriend by the name of Fitton Galster," Sophie adds in. "Who we think is a suspect."

"We?" Audrey asks.

She sighs in exasperation. "Fitz and I. Happy?"

"Very."

Rolling my eyes, I get back on topic. "But this is only a major assumption based on last time," I say, forcing myself to not clench my fists in anger at the memory of Laurel and Sophie tied up in those chairs. Benen and I exchange wary glances before turning back to the others.

Sophie looks at Mr. Wallace. "Could we see what her death photos are?" Sophie asks, ignoring Audrey when she chuckles, "Smooth." When the middle aged man nods, I open the folder to the first page.

Then I look up and wonder why someone would kill her. And why they did it so mercilessly.

Arien's body lies face up, then trickling blood now dried along her bloody skin. Little pieces of glass are noticeable on her forehead and around her head as if someone threw a small glass object at her head. I see a stool in the corner of the picture and come to the conclusion that something was thrown at her, hit her, and made her fall from her stool and onto her back.

I frown. But the glass shards don't seem to be the reason she died. Glancing over at Sophie, her expression tells me that she's thinking the same thing too.

And then I see it.

In her hand.

A small bottle with drops of green in it.

"What is that?" I ask, pointing to her clenched hand. I then notice the small pool of green below her fist. "It doesn't look like medicine- there's no prescription label on it."

"Well," Donovan huffs. He crosses his arms over his arms irritably. "Maybe she just removed the label, but it's still medicine. Overdose." He claps his hands together. "Done. I'm a genius."

I roll my eyes. "Let's wait until someone else admits that," I say, smirking when Donovan glares at me. I point to the bottle in her hand. "There's another possibility. Poison."

"So wouldn't it be a suicide?" Sophie asks. She stares into my eyes before realization hits her like a truck. Her eyes wide, she gasps as she turns to look at the screen again. "Unless someone was there watching her try to kill herself."

Laurel's eyes widen. "She killed herself..? That's so sad!"

I shake my head. I turn to Sophie as she explains, "If she succeeded in suicide, then that wouldn't explain why there are glass shards cutting into her forehead. I doubt that she could've put them in such a random order."

I nod. "And if it were suicide, then she would've drank the poison without leaving anything behind," I remind everyone, pointing to the small puddle of green around her fist."

"And that means that whoever was with her on that day is the killer!" we both finish simultaneously. The Sovereigns stare at us in confusion, causing us to look away from each other with a faint pink on our cheeks.

"Are you sure she died from poison?" Donovan asks, raising an eyebrow at us. "I'm pretty sure that if both of you two were in a room together, she'd be in the same problem." Audrey laughs at his and gags at the "romance", making both of us blush even more.

Shaking my head, I cover my head. Groaning, I say, "But that can now just be anyone. It could be Fitton Galster..."

"Or a crazy ex," Donovan adds.

"That may be," Mr. Wallace says, confirming Donovan's response. "Fitton had a former girlfriend who was arrested on assaulting Arien numerous times."

"Her name?" I ask, gesturing for him to continue.

'Isabella Devon. Age 45."

"So she's younger?" I ask, not believing it when he nods. Shaking my head, I look to the others for any more suggestions that'll make it more complicated.

"Oh- what about peer pressure?" Laurel pipes up.

"She's 49," Audrey practically groans in annoyance. Rolling her eyes, she asks, "What about his parents? Maybe they didn't like her."

"Oh, I assure you that his parents loved her," Mr. Wallace interjects, causing all of us to look at him with a confused expression.

Sophie groans. "There are so many possibilities! How will we know who's the most suspicious..?"

I shrug my shoulders. "How about the person who was the closest to her? Then that means that she trusted someone to watch her kill herself, but was killed by that person instead."

"Fitton Galster," Sophie immediately says. Both of us force ourselves not to call the middle aged man out when he tenses at the name. The female Percipient shrugs as well. "Or maybe someone who hated her. Jealousy? Loathing?"

I sigh, "Crazy ex."

Audrey scoffs. "Don't forget about Jacob. He could still be involved."

At that wretched name, the Altruistics, Sophie, and I tense up evidently. Both girls pale as their eyes widen. Benen and I clench our fists tightly to keep ourselves from exploding in anger. It's still been over a year, but I don't think anyone can forget what happened. Especially Sophie and Laurel.

I press my lips together tightly. As if I didn't hear that last statement, I ask, "So what do we do now? We need more information since we only have about two suspects. We can't decide yet."

Laurel shrugs. "Then just ask the mother."

Everything just becomes dead silent as we stare at her. As we stare at her like she's crazy, she looks at us like we don't know English. "You heard me," she says, eyeing every one of us.

"B- but her daughter just died!" Sophie exclaims. "Do you think that she'll be able to answer questions from teenagers who are getting involved with murders unrelated with them whatsoever?" I can tell that secretly, she's hoping to see the mother as well.

Laurel shrugs again. "That's why Benen and I can comfort her as you two ask questions." I nod, knowing where this conversation will end."

"And she's old..!" Audrey sneers, wrinkling her in disgust.

Donovan rolls his eyes at her. "But she is 79 years old," he begins, rubbing his neck in awkwardness.

Laurel merely shakes her head. "So? What's your point? It's not like she's 200 or something." Unfortunately, I have to agree with that point.

We then look to Mr. Wallace for his answer. His silence just makes the anticipation even worse as it feeds into the tension that was already there. Finally, he sighs. "Go get ready. Bring some extra clothes if necessary."

And we all rush out of the conference room to pack.