“Officer, how may we help you?” Saundra said coolly and calmly. As the very nervous officer drew his sidearm and aimed it at her.

“You can keep your damn hands on the wheel…” he motioned at Victoria with the barrel of his weapon. ”and you can put your hands on the dash and get out of the car nice and slowly.” The officer said giving the women a nervous glance.

Victoria's hand eased up from beside her and onto the dashboard as ordered. “Officer I can’t open my door if my hands are on the steering wheel.” The older woman stated.

The officer seemed to ponder his predicament and then reached across to the microphone on his lapel. “I have suspect number one with an unknown Caucasian female in her late thirties early forties at the head of the driveway. Send Backup.”

“Thirties?” Saundra squeaked. “Well, we know which officer needs his eyes checked now don’t we.” As she glared at the officer.

“No talking.” The officer shouted.

“Tompkins.” They heard from the other side of the car. “Calm down I’ve got this side.” Victoria turned and looked she saw a younger man dressed in a suit with short dark hair. He was holding the but of his weapon but it was still holstered on his right side. “Miss first reach down and turn the car's ignition off.”

Saundra looked at the man nodded and complied, slowly. “Good, now I’m going to open the passenger side door and the young woman will get out slowly and lay down on the ground. Okay?” While she heard it as a questioning statement Victoria was fairly certain that she had just received an order. “Good, next reach out of the window and open the door slowly. The teenager heard the opposite door open and presumed that Saundra had exited. “Wonderful. Remain calm. “ He said before stepping up to Victoria and as the girl looked up at him he bent down as her wrist was seized and wrenched behind her back. There was a metallic clicking then she felt the bite of cold metal on her wrist. She didn’t have time before her other wrist was similarly secured. “And that Tompkins is how you arrest a murderer.”

“A what?” Victoria cried out as she was lifted bodily from the ground by the officer.

“Murderess I guess. Whatever you have the right to remain silent…” The officer started to read her, her Miranda Rights.

“Officer,” She heard Sunny call out from the other side of the car. “You are making a big mistake.” Victoria was befuddled and couldn’t help but agreeing more with the older woman.

Soon they found themselves seated in the back of squad cars headed to the precinct. “I bet you thought you were smarter than everyone else.” The handsome officer said to her through the grate that separated the front from the rear.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Victoria replied. “All I know is this is false arrest. I want a lawyer.” She replied dredging up a memory of a tv movie she only vaguely recalled watching. The advice she recalled from it; never answered any questions and ask for a lawyer.

“Did you do it because of the excitement? Or did you like the terror in their eyes.” Victoria gave the man her best eat shit and die look.

“Oh, we have got you.” The man crowed.

“Read my lips. I.. Want… a… lawyer.” Victoria replied inside she was seething and wanted to ask the man what he was talking about. She remembered the clothes from the morning her blouse she had left to soak in cold water the knife had been thrown in a bag in her closet. She tried to tune out the vexatious man and his taunts. What was going on? She thought to herself. All too soon they were pulling up in front of a two-story municipal building that had been built in the nineties. The door was opened and the teenager found herself escorted by the young man with a broad smile on his face. “Oh look the news is here. It’s going to be embarrassing for you.”

The teen was indeed scared and nervous and very embarrassed. “What will be embarrassing is when you realize you just ran a seventeen-year-old in front of a camera crew and then getting sued and finding they own you for the rest of your life.” The second officer she didn’t know guffawed but remained silent.

“Take her in the back.” The young plainclothes officer said.

X X X

“Your friend is talking to us telling us everything.” Officer handsome asshole was saying.

“Everything?” Victoria asked in surprise. Then shook her head. “I should hope so because I have no idea what you are talking about. I still want my lawyer by the way.”

“It’s Friday evening it might be a little hard to get a lawyer out here.” Chimed in an older officer in plain clothes. Victoria pegged him as the one playing the good cop, a fatherly figure to give her sage advice and help her out.

“Lawyer.” She replied.

“Fine. But while you wait to look at the evidence.” He said pulling copies of photos out from the file. There were pictures of what looked like her down the street from where she lived. Then in front of a house that looked familiar. There was a pool of blood with an outline near it. Finally, the knife she had taken that morning from the gnome. Victoria took in the scene before her and she realized that somehow they thought she was responsible for either a murder or an attempted murder. and they also thought she had the murder weapon. A flashing prompt caught her attention and she acknowledged t in the hopes that it might give her a clue as to what was going on.

Keep this up and you might be a great detective; Wisdom +.01

“A neighbor called it in. Missing pets for the past six or seven years we knew you’d eventually move on but now we have you.” The young officer said smugly.

Victoria knew the signs of a serial killer. Her father's favorite show was criminal minds. She found she was at a loss for words until she remembered something important. She looked at the officers. Sighed, smiled at them both. “Lawyer.”

X X X

They kept her in the interrogation room alternately asking questions or giving statements as to what they thought she had done, was planning on doing. It stopped when there was a knock on the door. The older man Hispanic, whom she found out was named Fuentes, opened the door. “Yeah?” She heard. Then a faint mumbled conversation could be heard. He stuck his head back in. “Her lawyers here.” He said deadpan then looked at the girl.

“What?” officer Charles said as he looked over angrily. “Tell him to fill out paperwork.”

“You tell him. It”s Osgood.”

“Shit.” He replied then glared at Victoria. “We got you dead to rights. It doesn’t matter if you have a fancy lawyer or not.” He turned and left her there looking up hopefully she watched as a big bear of a man entered the room over six feet tall he looked like he weighed around two hundred and fifty pounds. His beard was going to grey. He grunted when he saw her. “Saundra said I’d find you interesting.” He said as he shut the door firmly in front of the officer's faces. He marched over to her then sat in the chair his broad back blocking the view from the door.

“Uh, HI and you are?” She asked warily.

He smiled then “Cautious, good.” He raised one large hand off the table then palm up fingers bent in together he chanted and a bright ball of light formed.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “They think I tried to kill someone.” She said as she let the panic through finally.

He nodded. “Aye, they think you are a budding serial killer.”

“What do I do?” She pleaded,

“Tell the truth. Normally with the smart officers…” He started to say when the door was pushed open and Officers Charles barged in.”Which is not this officer.” He growled as he let the power he held bleed off and the light collapsed. “What is it?”

“The FBI is here.” He said gleefully. “I just wanted you and your client to know that.”

The man known as Osgood looked at the officer then gave him a frown. “Charles, you are a petty little shit. Get out of here.” When there was no more rise to his provocation, he left.

“Should I be worried?” The teen asked the man.

“Not if Its who I think it is. From what Saundra was able to tell me you don’t know what you should. I’m curious about that. But the FBI has a special department for people like us. And they are smart. We can wait and tell them whats going on.” He smiled at her. “In the meantime I’m Osgood. He said holding out his hand to her can you tell me what their case is? Then tell me about yourself.” The young woman returned his smile and then started to talk. For an outside observer, it would have looked like a peace conference between a chipmunk and a bear.