I made the journey to the police station, alone and in a borrowed car, mine being riddled with bullet holes that I would have had a hard time explaining. I was in a rotten mood, probably due to exhaustion and stress. Add to that the fact that I hadn't seen anyone since I woke up, not even Jude, it didn't help my temper. I only found a white, impersonal envelope on the kitchen counter. It contained car keys and directions to find it. A real outcast!

When I thought about how they had treated me... What a fool I was! I thought as I hit the steering wheel. I had put myself in an impossible situation for them and I could only imagine that my life would never be the same again, and all this for what? For people who had voluntarily ignored my existence for nearly thirty years. I really must be a masochist!

My depressing ruminations were put aside when I arrived in view of the horrible building, which was really no better in the daylight. This time, I didn't bother to park away and went straight to the shabby little parking lot of the old dry cleaner. Once in front of the glass doors, I had a moment of hesitation that evaporated almost instantly knowing that I didn't really have a choice. I then took a long breath and went in, ready to play the role of a lifetime. Which was an understatement, because if Gabriel Worth didn't believe me, I was in big trouble. Plus, for some reason, I didn't think the metamorphic community would lift a single little finger to help me. Strange, isn't it?

The same pimpled young man was standing behind the counter. Didn't he ever sleep or what? I didn't have time to reach him that the inspector magically appeared and glared at me. Without even saying a word to me, he turned his back and stepped further into the police station with a raging step, while leaving the door open behind him. I took it as an invitation, or rather as an order to follow him, and so I did.

Resigned, I slowed down near the interrogation room, convinced that that was where he was waiting for me, but I was surprised to find no one there. So I continued on my way to his office. The people I met didn't give me a glance. They all seemed lobotomized, but I guess struggling to bring some semblance of order to a neighbourhood gangered by criminals had to have that effect on everyone in the long run. Everyone except the "super grumpy cop" who was waiting for me sitting behind his desk, a very unpleasant look stuck on his face.

I sat down and stared at my knees, my hands crossed in front of me. My first instinct was to look him in the eye, but I had to be careful not to provoke him. Playing the obedient and contrite little girls wouldn't kill me, but it definitely wasn't in my nature.

- 'Tell me what's stopping me from arresting you right now?' he said angrily, as I was still sensing a hint of astonishment.

I chose not to answer, for fear of making him angrier. So I kept staring at my feet, while squirming in my chair hoping that it would make things more credible.

- 'Why didn't you come yesterday? No... forget it', he interrupted himself, standing up while shaking his head, visibly upset, before leaning with both hands on the desk. 'You're not going to answer me anyway! What surprises me most is that you came back today, and that's the only reason you're in this office and not in a cell. Oh and also quit this little game with me!' he told me, looking me from head to toes with an annoyed expression. 'You're not the least bit sorry or terrified, so let's put our cards on the table and stop taking me for a fool!'

He hadn't raised his voice, but it would have had the same impact on me if he had screamed in my ears. His tone was heavy with anger and confusion as he kept his beautiful green eyes on me, which for the time being were not friendly. He was wrong about one thing: I was terrified. I have been since the beginning of this whole business, even if I refused to admit it.

Once again, I didn't let anything show, I lifted my head and stared straight into his eyes. Trying to bring out all the irony and weariness that this situation inspired in me, I dropped the mask and never mind my little act.

- 'I didn't come because I couldn't,' I simply explained to him. 'Believe me, it bothered me at least as much as you! Wasting time was the last thing I wanted. I still had the decency to let you know and I'm here now. So let's not lose any more time, shall we?'

My calm tone, but nevertheless provocative and slightly mocking, was not lost on him and I saw him clenching his teeth and fists while closing his eyes for a short while. That's right, count to ten!

- 'You're right, let's go,' he said with an attitude and a look that made me understand that we wouldn't leave it at that.

A little surprised by his sudden surrender, I followed him without thinking as he led me to the back of the building, where he pushed a heavy metal door, which he held me to let me through. We ended up in a clean and airy hangar that was obviously used as a garage, given the large number of police cars, unmarked or not, that were there. Still silent, he led me to one of them and opened it from a distance.

We got into one of the normalized vehicles. Once behind the wheel, he asked me which direction to take in a neutral voice, before starting the engine. I told him to head for the large protected forest bordering Charles' property. The heavy silence lasted throughout the whole journey, which seemed endless to me. I was careful to make him go around the manor largely and once at a safe distance, told him to park on a forest road before I hurried out of the car. That's it, we were at the most difficult part of the plan: finding the damn cave.

I tried to discreetly empty my mind, as I continued to move forward so that the inspector would not suspect anything. Despite the difficulty of the task, I felt reassured when the sounds, smells and especially the sensations began to become clearer. I detected a lot of animal " prints " in the area but I still had no idea how to find the place where we were four days ago with Jude.

Jude! The moment I thought of him, it was there, that unique warm air feeling, stronger and more present than ever. Jude's enigmatic and resigned little statement came back to me: "You won't have any problems, believe me, I can feel it".

A little disturbed by this sudden reminiscence, I concentrated again on Jude's trail and followed it, trying to walk slowly and hesitantly, as if I was looking for my way. A long and tedious exercise, especially since all my senses were pushing me to run towards my destination. Dragging around like that was exhausting and getting on my nerves! Not only on my own, obviously, because I felt, more than I heard, Worth's irritation and impatience as he stumbled behind me.

We finally reached the meadow surrounding the cliff where we had found the cave, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was here. I understood better his newfound confidence in my abilities all of a sudden! He knew that I would pick up his scent without any problem and that I would instinctively follow his trail. In that case, why not tell me last night? None of this made any sense at all.

I didn't see him, but I felt him very close. He was probably watching me in his animal form, which I still knew nothing about. On the other hand, he did not really encourage confessions or intimate questions. Even if I had dared to ask him, he certainly wouldn't have answered me!

Fortunately, Inspector Worth took my immobility for hesitation and thought I had lost myself again.

- 'So, how much longer are you going to make us go in circles? Why did you bring me here?' he asked suspiciously, his hand dangerously close to his weapon.

He must think I had ambushed him! I thought to myself, feeling the stress and tension rising between us as his gaze frequently returned to the corner of the forest where I assumed Jude was. Was the inspector hiding something from me? Discreetly, I tried to determine his " print ", but I felt nothing special, except the smell of his after-shave and the one that belonged only to him, but that I could not have described precisely.

- 'No, it is there, behind these plants,' I hastened to tell him to allay his fears. 'I remember having to push them aside to get out.'

He gave me a more than sceptical look and pulled out his weapon.

- 'Go ahead. Strangely enough, I don't trust you.'

I said nothing, just spread the branches and enter the cavity, before moving to the side to let him through. I looked mechanically at the corner where we had discovered Martha's body, but there was nothing left to suggest that there had been a body there. Suddenly, a wave of anxiety gripped my heart. As if in slow motion, I turned a little and became aware of what my brain had understood the moment I entered.

Martha's body was in almost perfect alignment with the only area without vegetation at the top left of the entrance. The bullet I was holding in my hand suddenly seemed heavy and burning. That's probably how Martha died. Once convinced that she was safe, she must have transformed herself again and it was at that very moment that the killer struck, firing one or even several tampered bullets with a long-range weapon. All he had to do was wait patiently for her to bleed to death. Once dead, he came to collect the bullets so they wouldn't be found, hence the cuts on Martha's body. Oh, my God! My realization was so sudden that my hand began to shake. I thus dropped the bullet which fell on the loose ground without making a sound.

Fortunately for me, because it was at that very moment that Worth entered, a flashlight in his hand dazzling me briefly as he pointed the beam into my eyes. I had to move. If he found the ball right at my feet, he might wonder. So I walked away from the entrance and let him come forward inside.

- 'How did you manage to find this place?' the inspector asked, lighting up the different corners of the cave.

- 'At the tone of your voice, I see that you still don't trust me,' I said with a sad little smile, matching my state of mind.

- 'Would you, in my place?' he asked, staring at me with a sharp look, the lamp still pointing in my direction. 'This place is almost impossible to find and perfect for an ambush or to hide a body.'

- 'You have no idea,' I thoughtlessly whispered, still disturbed by my discovery of Martha's death.

I knew the moment the words crossed my lips that I had made a huge mistake.

- 'What did you say?' he gently breathed incredulously while calmly pointing his weapon at me, without even making the luminous brush shudder from his lamp.

- 'Hey, just calm down!' I said, raising my hands as a sign of appeasement. 'I only meant that because that's where I ran away from,' I explained clumsily. 'I think I'm lucky to be alive.'

As I heard myself, I realized that Cassie was probably already dead and that, somewhere deep inside me, I knew it a long time ago. I just hadn't realized it yet... not completely anyway. I don't know if it was the sadness or resignation he saw in my eyes that convinced him, but he lowered his weapon.

- 'We are going to find your friend,' he told me.

How could he have guessed what was going through my head? His voice, both sweet and confident, reassured me, because I knew he would do anything to find her, alive or not.

- 'I trust you.'

At my words, he relaxed and put his weapon away, before starting to explore the cave in more detail. He started on the opposite side where the bullet was located. When he reached the place where the tunnel started, he emitted a slight whistle.

- 'That's how you escaped?'

I understood from the tone of his voice that it was not a question but a statement. He had crouched down and, with his head through the opening, was watching something carefully. I approached him cautiously, and took a brief look to see what interested him so much, but couldn't do it with him there.

Oh my God, that passage was really that small! The air suddenly became as heavy as lead and I began to struggle to breathe properly. Before I could move back towards the entrance and its reassuring low light, Inspector Worth pulled away and turned back towards me.

He approached me while pinning me with his questioning green eyes, and, before I could anticipate his movement, dropped his flashlight and grabbed both my wrists with an iron fist. Slowly, he started to move my left sleeve up to my elbow and dropped his gaze to examine my arm. I saw him frown, visibly disturbed by the low light. Carefully, he then grabbed both my wrists with one hand and lowered himself, dragging me down with him, to grab the damn flashlight.

Suddenly coming back to my senses, I tried to free myself and get up with a single movement but only managed to end up sitting on the floor, my arms still trapped in his right hand. Finally, he focused the beam on my arm and pushed a little strangled sound.

- ' " The right one has taken most of the blow...", right?' He said to me in a tone that was both questioning and resigned. 'When are you going to finally tell me the truth?'

He suddenly dropped me and walked a few steps away from me. Achieving the amazing feat of looking angry, wounded and lost all at once.

- 'Can you explain to me how injuries, so serious and so numerous that they have caused you to lose at least a litre of blood, can already be at this stage of healing in just three days? And most importantly, how can you still be alive?'

I looked down at my arms, then at the entrance of the tunnel and saw what had caught his eye. Traces of blood in large quantities. Indeed, it was a good question to which I would have to find a plausible answer if I wanted to get out of this unfortunate situation.