Chapter 7: Following the Investigation
The sterile room came into view as Edwina blinked away the dreary medicated fatigue. Everything around her was a blurred vision of clean shapes. The light hit her, and she closed her eyes again. She felt the weight of her body against the bed. Starting with her fingers she twitched the muscles to life, moving and stretching them one by one. She wiggled her toes beneath the sheets, counting each one making sure she could move them. Inch by inch she awoke her body, commanding her muscles to tense and shift, the tendons to tug and pull on her, for her blood to move. She opened her eyes again, allowing the blurred vision of the room to gradually come into focus.
This was a long-term stay room; she had been here a while. It was light out. The station beside her was full, so it must have been recently refilled. Edwina turned her head to glance around the room. A window spilled light over flowers that sat on a high table just beneath it. It must have been morning, and she was in an East facing room. Sets of gorgeous spring tulips sitting in tall vases made her smile for a brief second before her eyes landed on an ornate vase in the center. The ornate vase housed a bold elaborate arrangement of flowers called “Tearsies’ Lilly”, a white teardrop shaped flower with a red center. They are called “Tears” as they filter the living ink from the ground they grow in, the liquid bubbles out from the center and drips down the edges like black tears. They are also known as “Mourner’s Tears”, often planted on graves so they can continually cry for the dead.
“Dr. Sharp, you’re awake.” A nurse entered the room. “How are you feeling?”
“Fatigued.” Edwina shifted herself up and the nurse swiftly moved to help prop her up with some pillows. “How long have I been asleep?
“Eight days.”
“I see.”
The nurse moved to sit next to Edwina. She knew this nurse, though her name was misplaced for the moment. She did remember this nurse had a baby just a year ago. Edwina recalled she had visited the hospital the day they were throwing the nurse a small party before she went off for her leave. They offered Edwina cake. She politely refused.
“Bad business it was, the Benton boy doing what he had done. He worked for you for nearly a year, didn’t he? To have so much cruelty within oneself and no one even know.” The nurse adjusted herself and cleared her throat. Hesitation wrote on the woman’s face. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this Dr. Sharp, but Finn, the man who was with you when the men attacked, he didn’t make it. He died at the scene.”
That’s not what happened. Edwina sat and listened, but the words seemed surreal. She searched her mind for the truth she knew, but the thoughts kept on eluding her. She could see Finn, she knew he was a dealer at the card club, she knew they had exchanged glances and smiles, and he had asked her if she wanted to get a bite to eat at the diner, but then after that nothing. The memories fell behind a block of sorts, she knew they were there, she knew he meant more to her than a passing flirtation, but the core of her thoughts were hard to reach.
Then there were these other memories. She tugged on these threads that scattered through her mind and the memories would fill in her questions. Every thought of the event showed her false narration.
She was in the morgue, working alongside Finn. Then Benton arrived to collect the body, there five other men and Finn tried to protect her. She stabbed one of them with a scalpel and they overpowered her, holding her down and cutting into her with a knife. She remembered calling out as the men continued to beat Finn.
Edwina hit the end of the memory, but it was like pulling a fishing line out with no hook. The memory had no anchor.
“Dr. Sharp?” The nurse reached for Edwina’s hand, but she pulled it away and fixed her hair.
“Who is heading the investigation?”
“Oh, uhm, inspector Harold, we were to call him when you woke up for questioning.”
“How many visitors have I had?”
“Well, there was a Miss Layla, she came every day in the afternoon to read to you and watered your tulips. A Sam came by a few times, he played cards for a while. Then the DFE officer came by,” the nurse shifted, “at first it seemed like official business, but then he… well he came and held your hand and talked to you for a little while.”
“Who brought the lilies?” Edwina asked, her voice going cold.
“Oh, they are beautiful, aren’t they? A very handsome gentleman came by a few nights ago and dropped them off. A gentleman caller by the looks of it, he came in and kissed you on your forehead. He actually had you moved to this extended stay room, and said the view was the best. He was very right. Offered all the nurses on your shift extra pay to take good care—”
“Throw them out.”
The nurse gaped for a moment before standing up in a fluster, “I understand. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Call for Dr. Harris, please. Has Harold been informed that I am awake yet?”
“Dr. Harris is in surgery, he will be done in about an hour, I’ll send him right in when he is available. Yes, before I came in Sara went to make the call to inspector Harold.”
“Thank you, I would like to be left alone now.”
“Of course.” The nurse went to the table and picked up the vase of lilies. She hesitated at the door. “Edwina, if you need help—”
“I don’t need any help. Just throw them out for me, please.” Edwina’s voice was soft, yet held a firmness to it that prompted the nurse to simply do as she asked and not to inquire any further.
Edwina shifted again in the bed, testing out more of her movement. Each muscle protested every slight upon her body. Her bones creaked into place. She tried to ignore the presence that had been sitting in the corner of the room. It thrummed in her ear, pushing into her mind making her ear buzz. The vision was still unclear, but she could see the shadow that lurked overbearingly in the corner of the room.
“Why are you…?” Edwina hissed as she went to ask the question, but the answer rushed into her mind. She knew instinctively that the creature in the corner was here because he was her prophet, and she was his threadbearer. They were bonded. The flood of questions and answers filled her, and she gripped her head. She stifled a shriek as she didn’t want to alarm anyone. The thoughts hit her like a train.
Benton was the killer, and Finn had died at his hands.
The Fabric was known to her, as was this entity. Who’s name was Tailuur.
He served Reeth and Tearsies. Now, so did she.
He had taken her heart and sewed it to him.
“Shut up!” Edwina growled. “These aren’t my thoughts.”
They are implanted memories.
“Why?” She thought, but nothing flooded in. Before every question was filled with an answer. Like trying to shovel slick mud out of a hole on a rainy day, everything kept filling into each hole. She knew they weren’t her thoughts. She pushed herself up, groaning against her own weight.
“You are weak, you need to rest.” The low humming tone came from deep in the recesses of her mind.
“I need to leave.”
“Why?”
“I have to leave before Harold gets back.” Edwina took a breath and planted her feet on the ground. Her legs wobbled as she put her weight on them, willing herself to stand up. Her hand shot forward and reached for the far wall slamming against it as she lost her footing. She expected to hear the entity speak again, but she didn’t hear anything. She shuffled towards the table of tulips and found a bag set beside it. Edwina smiled, knowing Layla must have brought her a change of clothes for when she woke up. The bag contained a small makeup kit, a bar of soap, a hairbrush, and sure enough there was a set of simple clothes for Edwina to wear.
“What shall this Harold do?” The harmonic voice grated on Edwina’s ears.
“He is going to perform an inkwell interrogation on me. Prod me for information about Benton and Finn. I don’t think that’s a good idea considering I am fighting false memories.” Edwina braced herself against a chair as she tugged on the collar of the hospital gown to pull it over her head. She felt a needle prick of pain threw her shoulder. The feeling made her legs falter beneath her and she fell into the chair. She breathed slowly, willing the strength to come back to her.
Edwina looked at her inkwell. Her Strength dipped far to its end, fading softly in and out to let her know she was dangerously teetering on terribly weak. Then it solidified. The faded marks turned back to a deep black as they rose slowly. She felt her body awaken, like the first sip of a coffee in the day, her blood began rushing, filling her with vitality. She rifled through the bag and pulled out her clothes, donning the simple grey dress. Edwina combed her hair and presented herself outwardly well.
The halls to the extended stay area of the hospital were quiet. It proved ample ability for the coroner to make her way out of her room and down the empty hall. The hospital was small, making it easy for Edwina to have memorized the layout upon her previous visits. She made her way into the stairwell and carefully treaded the stairs down. She reached another hall and headed towards a back door that led into an alley.
“There’s someone coming up.” Tailuur muttered from the echo in Edwina’s mind.
A hall cabinet became her hiding place as she pressed herself against the wall and held her breath. She stood in the corner, shrinking her body in the shadow of the cabinet. The anticipation making it hard to settle herself. The person walked in a rush, not noticing Edwina in their peripheral. The second it was clear Edwina scurried out the back door and sauntered her way downtown.
The prophet still followed her. She wanted to shed the thing like a dead weight. His presence as it moved itched her mind and rattled her ears with every shift in his body. She knew vaguely what he had done to her, but every time she tried to pull at the memory of exactly what had happened it glossed over like an ice-covered pond. She knew the water was there, she knew he had performed a ritual, and they were now bonded, but the actual event was as clear as a solid sheet of ice.
The alleys narrowed their shadows over the woman as the deep purple blueish clouds loomed overhead. The streets were dull grey, it mustn’t have rained in several days. Washers with their wide brooms scrubbed at the streets and pushed puddles of black water down the drainages. The black water rats left marks of their scavenging over the ground and the walls, in the refuse filled alleys. Edwina cut through a narrow alley, so tight the walls tugged at her dress as she shuffled sideways until she broke through to the other side.
After having brushed off her skirt Edwina pressed her ear against an alleyway door and listened for a moment before softly knocking. She waited to the count of ten and knocked again in a pattern of three and the door burst open revealing a young woman. Her youthful face stretched into a smile, and she grasped Edwina, pulling her into a hug, the coroner sucked in her hesitations and loosened her tension.
“Winnie!” The young woman, Cordelia, squeezed harder than Edwina was comfortable with. She inhaled a sniffle before letting the coroner go. “Last I heard you were still in the hospital.”
“Is Harold around?” Edwina asked in rushed tones.
“No, he said he was following up on a case. Come, come in.” Cordelia ushered Edwina inside the inspector’s office.
Cordelia was the inspector’s student apprentice. She had been studying criminal law for years and moved into an apprenticeship. The young woman unfortunately got stuck with an inspector who preferred to use her as a glorified secretary with a prestigious law degree. Cordelia pulled a chair in for Edwina and sat her down. The young woman’s smile overtook her face with crooked teeth. Soft mousy hair pinned back in a secure style. She always wore the practicality of wide pants that hung the illusion of a dress, they had a row of buttons all down the front of each leg that reached to the floor, and a pragmatic cotton blouse.
“I need the file, Cordelia.” Edwina’s matter-of-fact tone muted Cordelia’s smile.
“Winnie, how bad is this?” Cordelia asked.
“Very bad, Harold pinned a murder on the Wiles boy that he didn’t do.”
“Harold was taken off the case before he got to investigate. The report was written by another office.”
“Who?”
“The DFE office, officer Warden Shaw. Since the body that was taken had an illegal Voile augmentation on it the case became his jurisdiction.”
“Wait, if Warden took over the investigation why was Harold alerted immediately when I woke up?” Edwina’s face twisted into confusion.
“He’s been hiding things from me. I think he suspects I’ve been feeding you information.” Cordelia deflated in her chair. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do that to yourself Cordelia. Harold has been doing this for a long time and he’s no slouch. Just because he’s infuriating doesn't mean he’s an idiot. He was bound to catch on sooner or later.”
“Are you well Edwina?” Cordelia’s tone turned to concern. “I’m so sorry to hear about Finn, I know you two were close.”
Edwina prodded at the emotions she should be feeling about Finn, but she slipped off of them. Frustration grew within her as she tried to grab the feelings, the ones she knew were there, but every one of them fell through her fingers. She felt nothing. The emotions that should be there for someone in mourning eluded her, caught in the webs that had invaded her mind, locking away parts of her. She didn’t feel right. Her body wasn’t whole and her mind was shattered.
“Thank you, Cordelia.” Edwina stood up, the motion prompting the young woman to also stand. She put the chair back exactly where it had been taken from.
“Oh, you also told me to tell you if that name ever came through on the train logs. It did, a few days ago. I didn’t see what hotel they were staying at though. Seems they just vanished after getting off the train.” Cordelia said.
“Thank you, let me know if you see it show up anywhere else, and anything else regarding the investigation.” Edwina prompted the young woman to make eye contact with her. “Cordelia don’t put yourself in danger. Not for me, not for anyone.”
The woman’s youth stared back at Edwina with bright green doe eyes. She swallowed softly. “I understand.”
Edwina left back out the alley door and heard it lock behind her. She touched at the memories of Finn again. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes trying to bring forward something, anything. The first time he bought her flowers, the late-night conversations, the last time they made love. It was murky and any thought that began to solidify ripped itself away from her before she could truly reminisce.
The entity came face to face with her as she turned to go back down the thin alleyway. His visage was clearer now, the imposing figure looming overhead. His skin was a charcoal color, sucking in all light and color into a void of absence. His eyes featured a soft colorless gaze, carved into an emotionless face.
“I want nothing to do with you.”
“I know.” He said simply, no sympathy or empathy lining the echoing hum of his voice.
“You may leave then.”
“Neither you, nor I have a choice in the matter.”
“Just stay out of my way.” Edwina pushed past him, finding she partially phased through the being. The space he occupied felt like walking through a frigid winter. His void bit at her skin so uncomfortably it made her stifle a hiss. Her skin painted with goosebumps she pushed on through the alley towards Warden’s office.
Edwina felt the anger that had been boiling inside come out as she slammed open the door to the DFE office. Her frustrations had mounted as the incessant hum of that being continued to tear at her mind. She felt something extra was there, her vision seeing a filter of images over one another. Cracks in the façade of her world peeking through and revealing a rot beneath its mask. She felt Tailuur’s every step and occasionally other movements around her. The black water rats scurrying at the edges of her mind and burrowing in. It grated on her and she felt like she was losing control. She composed herself as Warden jumped up and fell out of his chair at the sight of her.
“Dr. Sharp.” He stumbled and stood, meeting her at the door. He pulled her in by the hand—which she quickly relieved herself from his grasp—and shut and locked the door behind her. “What are you doing here? You need to get back to the hospital. Sit down.”
“I am well enough.” She snapped, refusing to sit in the chair, he tried to shove underneath her. “How dare you. How dare you blame Benton for something he didn’t do. That day may be fuzzy in my mind, but I know full well that boy had nothing to do with it.”
“He attacked you earlier that day.”
“He didn’t touch me.”
“But Harold’s report—”
“Harold is a liar with a vendetta against Benton’s grandfather. They served together in the military and Agustus Wiles ended Harold’s advancement in ranks.” Edwina shoved the chair away. “He’s been itching for a reason to ruin the boy and you handed it to him on a silver platter.”
“The boy was on drugs; he attacked you with a scalpel.” Warden tried to reason.
“What?” Edwina moved to the desk and began indiscriminately rifling through papers. “I was the one that threatened him with the scalpel. Is that really what the file says? And he wasn’t just on drugs, he was on Shreds.”
“Shreds?” Warden rushed to save his mental filing system from Edwina’s wrath. “Why would anyone take Shreds?”
“Exactly, why would anyone take Shreds. Unless they were coerced and in over their heads with a much more dangerous shark. Now that shark is free to roam the waters unchecked since the poor boy has been hung for their crimes.”
“Benton is still missing. You were the last one to have seen him.”
Edwina thought for a moment. Her puzzled thoughts written on her face. Warden stood by and just stared in silence as the woman’s presence engulfed the room. Edwina slowly lowered herself into Warden’s office chair as she felt a wave of dizziness make her eyes lose focus and tinge in her mind. She saw the fading visions dominate her mind before fading back into the office room.
Warden’s cramped office had a large cabinet against the back wall stacked with files and papers reaching up to the ceiling. Leatherbound books scattered among them with gold foil printing their titles. The volumes consisted of a mix of law and Fabrication studies. More papers and books lined the other two walls and the wall facing the street had a small window with two dead plants in the sill. The wall around the window had small pieces of artwork framed and mounted, ranging from oil paintings, to watercolors, and small charcoal sketches. Edwina shook away the fatigue that tempted her lids to shut.
“You really need to go to the hospital.” Warden urged. He rounded her as though he was trying to tame a wild animal.
“I feel well enough.”
“That’s because of this.” Warden knelt down in front of Edwina and brushed her shoulder. She wanted to pull away but a certain sincerity in the soft touch kept her still. His fingers felt along the back of her shoulder before he pulled out a single silver thread. An electric tinge raced through her arm that felt like she shocked herself on a doorknob.
“What is that?”
“It’s the connection to your prophet.” Warden gently grabbed her arm and began unbuttoning her sleeve. Edwina tugged her arm away and proceeded to undo the buttons herself revealing her inkwell.
“I need you think of more. Think about your inkwell, there will be a feeling that there is more to it than there normally is.” Warden said. He got the hint from before and didn’t try to touch her arm again as she steadied her inkwell upright and focused on the sigils.
The black ink in her arm coiled and spread, spawning more information. Without touching her, Warden pointed out a single black line that connected to her main health line and a few other vitality markers before converging and tracing up her arm towards her shoulder.
“This thread is connected to Tailuur right now. This is a small connection, there can be twenty in total. Through these connections you can share power and vitality between you. The reason a prophet bonds with a threadbearer is because only you can walk around freely here, in the Material. He’s stuck on the other side. His only connection to this world, to banish things like what attacked you, is through you.” Warden’s voice softened into a cadence that almost felt like a lullaby. “The threadbearer transformation is taxing. I rested for five weeks. You shouldn’t be walking right now. This amount of vitality drain from your prophet will become too much for him eventually.”
“I’m… I’m hurting him?” Through a listless glare Edwina asked. Warden nodded faintly. The coroner leaned forward in the chair. “Good.”
A snap sounded in Edwina’s ear and the connection slipped through her veins leaving her, causing her to double forward unconscious.