Page 91 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“All right… Then why can’t I find him anywhere since Mary’s murder?” Dara blinked a few times, as if she wasn’t aware of Daniel’s disappearance, either. “Have you seen him since the murder?”

“No, but… He must be somewhere. Working.”

“What’s he working as right now?”

“I… I don’t know.”

Zacharia stood. “Okay, Dara. If you remember anything else or your friend Daniel contacts you, please call me.” The second he turned away, Dara burst into tears.

In the end, Zacharia thought it would be very unkind to the lab assistant to deprive him of his meticulously acquired treasure before he was officially proven guilty. So, after making sure the room was still empty, he put the bag of stolen stuff back where he’d found it.

Then Zacharia dialled Miranda. “I’ve been wondering about something,” he said when she answered.

“What, Zacharia?”

“Scarves, lipstick, bracelets – I get. But how the hell does this dude manage to steal underwear?”

Miranda laughed. “You know, I’ve been wondering the same thing. After all, this is not something you just take off wherever. According to some, he lurks in the common bathrooms. Others think he can cast spells for taking off underwear.”

“Hmm. This is getting more and more interesting…”

“Honestly, I’ve decided to dismiss him. I don’t believe he really steals underwear, but he’s disturbing the rest of the staff with his behaviour,” Miranda said.

“Let him stay until I finish the investigation, all right? Imagine he’s the killer. We don’t want to enrage him further and have him murdering creatures left and right. The Tribunal’s questioning will be stressful enough.”

“Which reminds me, an agent came to see me today.”

“Already?” Zacharia winced.

“Yes… Let’s say they don’t have any issue with invading your personal space.”

He nodded, though she couldn’t see him. He needed to track down Mary and Dara’s friend before the Tribunal did, if he wanted him in good shape for questioning.

Lucky for Zacharia, a few hours later, he found him in the city with a bag full of cash, spare clothes, a fake human passport, and a one-way ticket to London. His name was indeed Daniel, and he was a British witcher who’d lived at the Hospital for the last fifteen years. The recent turn of events didn’t cast him – or his actions – in a good light.

He peed his pants the moment Zacharia showed up, and when he realised his trip to London was cancelled, he fainted, which further added to the aforementioned not-so-good light.

Zacharia hauled him to his SUV and returned him to an improvised questioning room on the second floor of the Hospital.

“I didn’t kill Mary!” Daniel yelled as soon as he regained consciousness in the only chair around.

“Then why are you running?” Zacharia asked.

“I didn’t run!”

“Passport, cash, plane ticket… Just a day after your friend’s death?”

“I know how it looks.” Daniel frowned. “But you don’t get it – I saw this coming!”

Zacharia observed his hair. The witcher must have sensed the disapproval in his gaze because he ran a nervous hand through his quiff.

“It’s always the boyfriend, right!?” He pointed a finger at himself. “I sensed I’d be your main suspect!”

“You and Mary had a romantic relationship?” Zacharia asked, masking his surprise. The roommate had been adamant there was no intimate connection between them.

“Of course! We loved each other! We were going to run away together!” A few tears streamed down his cheeks. To Zacharia, they seemed genuine, but what did he know?

“Were you in the East Wing on the fifth floor at the time of Mary’s murder?”

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