Page 315 of Wrong Pucking Player

“Payback?” Chief DeCosta mutters.

“You took what was precious to me. It’s time I took something precious from you,” she repeats the words slowly, while her gaze seems far away.

As though the events are happening before her very eyes.

“An anniversary is coming up,” she suddenly notes. “He said that. Anniversary… of… um…”

“His father’s death,” her mother declares.

“Is that true, Josephine?” Chief DeCosta inquires.

“It is.” She’s positive as she looks at her husband, “Right, honey?”

“Yes. His father had died today. He was killed on the ice when he tried to shoot Sofiya. He was gunned down to the point the ice broke beneath his feet, and he sank to the very bottom of the lake. It took days to retrieve his body afterward due to the intense snowstorm that arrived shortly after. Due to the scenario, we were told his body was never returned to the family.”

“So, placing Grandma Harvey on the ice and using the baby monitor to position it perfectly was all a setup,” Officer Melody declares. “Then he lured Kenzie out on the ice and must have been the culprit for the dart and shooting at the ice to make her drop in the waters like his dad had experienced.”

“But didn’t hit her with a single bullet,” Chief DeCosta notes. “Meaning he wanted her still alive.”

“That makes sense if Kenzie is but bait. He obviously has problems with Katherine, which is why he sought to actually kill her by slicing her wrists. However, for Kenzie, he hit her. Just enough to do damage, but not enough to make it so she’d be out for hours.”

“There was something else, though,” Xandra admits and looks like she’s deep in thought. “Something… I was forced to inhale. It smelled weird.”

“Chloroform to get her to pass out?” Officer Melody suggests.

“She wouldn’t have woken up as quickly,” her father emphasizes.

“That’s true,” Chief DeCosta notes.

“He forced me to smell it and kept repeating this set of words. Almost like hypnotism?” Xandra reveals and has everyone’s attention. “Frankie used to do magic shows as a side gig in Toronto. He wasn’t good at it, but hypnotism was his strong point. Some shows he could get away with it, but when one of his attempts almost risked his career, he asked if I could participate and help him out ‘cause he needed the money.”

“Could he have hypnotized Sofiya to forget Wyatt?” Josephine questions pleadingly to Chief DeCosta and Officer Melody.

“Honestly, it’s not an area we’re experts in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something he used against her,” Officer Melody admits. “It’s actually the reason why hypnotism is banned in many provinces in Canada and starting to be banned in the United States. An incident recently occurred where a man was hypnotized, and the magician told him to kill himself during the act. He almost did, but the magician snapped him out of it. However, an hour after the show, the volunteer guest was found dead after slicing his own throat in his car.”

She taps a few things on her iPad before she looks at Xandra.

“You said he did a lot of hypnotism on you for these shows?”

“Yes,” she replies. “For about six months? It was a gig that he did during the wintertime during the pandemic when it was difficult to get work but clubs that were open were desperate for entertainment. It stopped the following year cause the establishments that allowed him to run these shows closed down since he wasn’t paying them their share. They were supposed to go to court, but I’m not sure what happened.”

Officer Melody nods.

“I’ll have to do some research with my partner, but I believe if Kenzie’s memory loss is due to hypnotism, it can most certainly be reversed,” she reveals, which gives me a glimpse of hope. “Frankie most certainly knows this can be reversed as well. The hypnotism can be strong because Kenzie’s been a prime candidate for this mental hallucination for multiple sessions, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be broken. We can make some calls and potentially get someone from America who has extensive experience regarding this topic and bring them here to Canada in a few days. So, as of now, all we need to worry about is keeping an eye on Kenzie, just in case Frankie has other ideas.”

“So, you’re saying I actually know this Wyatt dude?” she asks. She looks apprehensive about it, but she’s not showing that venomous glare.

Officer Melody smiles before she moves around the bed so she’s on Xandra’s left side.

“Wyatt is very dear to you. Just like Armani. You vouched to protect both of them in the brief interactions you and I shared. I feel that if Frankie had to hypnotize you to forget him, that should prove he had a strong impact on your life over the years to make Frankie envious.”

“So, you think Frankie is jealous of Wyatt to the extent he hypnotized me, so I’d forget about him,” she summarizes and even rolls her eyes. “Desperate much?”

“Sometimes, it’s hard for men to let go of something they know was right for them,” Officer Melody whispers. “I believe Fernandez is the type to abuse those he cherishes until they’re out of his life. Then he realized how precious they were and wants them back. He couldn’t get you back because you were back with Cyrus Jr. He’s certainly mad about that.”

“And Armani,” she emphasizes. “Certainly, he knows I’m with Armani.”

“I believe he does, but Armani isn’t his target,” Officer Melody notes. “It’s a bit psychotic in thinking, but his mind is set solely on making Wyatt suffer, it seems. Armani isn’t a part of that equation, or he would have made a move to hurt him as well.”

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