Eric’s face burned, shifting from pale shock to red-hot embarrassment. He stared at Glasses, pleading now. “Dude, I’m just a regular guy. I like women—only women. Please, go bother someone else!”
“No chance,” Glasses fired back, bolder than ever. Maybe Eric’s last bailout had fueled this guy’s nerve. “Women? They’re a headache complicated, needy, and half the time they don’t even notice you. You like me, though, and I’m all in for you.”
Eric’s stomach churned. The guy winked, puckering his lips like some lovesick cartoon, and Eric fought the urge to gag. Someone had to stop this lunatic—he was seconds from losing his mind.
Just then, the detention center’s iron door groaned open, cutting through the tension. A young officer stepped in, his voice clipped and official. “Eric Vaughn, let’s go.”
Eric’s head snapped up, relief flooding him like cool water on a burn. Handcuffed or not, he didn’t care—this was his ticket out.
He practically bounced after the officer, grinning like a kid escaping a nightmare. Even a courtroom felt safer than another minute with that creep.
The officer led him to the interrogation room and left without a word. Someone new was handling this round.
Eric slumped into the suspect’s chair, for good reason, and eyed the officer across the table.
Jed, young and annoyingly handsome, flashed a grin that made Eric scowl. With his own average looks, Eric couldn’t stand anyone who outshone him.
“Heard you got bailed out a couple days ago,” Jed said, peeling off his cap and setting it aside. “What’d you do to land back here so quick?”
“I’m innocent!” Eric barked, his face darkening as he leaned forward, cuffs clinking.
Jed didn’t flinch, his tone steady and cool. “You killed Mr. Henry father with your own hands. Dozens of people saw it—there’s no wiggle room.”
“That’s garbage!” Eric exploded, thrashing against the restraints. “I’ll sue you for lying, slander, you hear me? The old man had a stroke out of nowhere, and the ambulance was a no-show. I stepped in to save him, he’d have been dead without me!” Sure, it hadn’t worked out. Something went sideways, and the old man didn’t make it. But Eric wasn’t to blame, not really.
Jed leaned back, his gaze hardening. “That’s exactly what makes you dangerous,” he said, voice low and firm. “You didn’t just fail—you turned a dying man’s last breath into a joke and your call for going to prison, it’s like you’re a monster.”
Eric stared, chest heaving. A monster? No. He was a dictoru caught in a curse he couldn’t break. But as Jed’s words sank in, the room felt smaller, the air heavier. Maybe the mountain’s luck had run dry—and all he had left was regret.
Eric Vaughn’s voice cracked as he fought to defend himself, desperation spilling out with every word.
“I’ve been framed! I didn’t kill that old man—I swear it! Someone’s pinning this on me, and I don’t know why!” His mind raced, replaying the bizarre moment when the old man’s face suddenly erupted in blood, his body crumpling to the ground without warning.
It happened in a flash, too fast to process, too strange to explain. None of it added up, and the confusion gnawed at him like a hungry dog.
Jed, the interrogator, let out a sharp, icy snort. “It’s not about what you say, Eric—it’s about what the evidence screams.” He shoved his chair back with a screech, rising to his feet with a slow, deliberate menace.
“Let me ask you something, pal: how do you manage to leave a trail of bodies every time you play doctor? Most people couldn’t pull that off even if they tried—and trust me, they wouldn’t want to.”
Eric’s temper flared, his face flushing as anger surged through him. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Jed, wild and furious.
“I’ve been framed! Someone else took out the Kleinberg family head—not me! And that old man? His death was a freak accident—I don’t even know how it happened! One second he was fine, the next he was gone!” His voice boomed, raw and ragged, echoing off the cold walls of the interrogation room.
Jed smirked, shaking his head like he’d heard it all before. “Excuses, huh? I watched your little livestream on the Road—you know, the one where you were ‘saving’ people? Bowing and kneeling, twirling those acupuncture needles like some kind of circus act. It was painfully obvious you didn’t have a clue what you were doing. I’ve never seen anyone botch things up that badly—and so publicly, too.”
Eric froze for a split second, then exploded again, his voice shaking with defiance. “Okay, fine—yes, the two people I treated died! But I didn’t mean to hurt them! I was trying to help—I swear!” His words tumbled out, frantic and human, laced with a desperation that begged to be believed.
Jed shrugged, unimpressed. “Really? I don’t buy it. Too many con artists out there these days, and you fit the bill.”
“I’m not a scammer!” Eric shot back, his voice rising. “I trained as an acupuncturist—I know what I’m doing!”
“Oh, sure,” Jed fired back with a mocking grin. “And I trained with wizards in the mountains. Tell me another one.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Really?”
“Yes, really!”
“I don’t believe you.”
Eric was on the verge of losing it completely. His fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, and he imagined storming down to the police station’s front desk to file a complaint about this smug, infuriating cop.
How could they let someone this dense interrogate him? Were they scraping the bottom of the barrel for officers now?
Jed shifted gears, leaning back in his chair. “Last time you were here, I heard you wouldn’t stop yelling for Sera to come see you. What’s your deal with her? You know her or something?”
Eric’s head snapped up, his frustration melting into sudden hope. “Sera? You know Sera?” His eyes lit up, wide and pleading. “Please, you’ve got to tell me where she is! She’s in danger—the guy who killed her grandfather could be right beside her right now!”
Bang! Jed slammed his fist on the table, making Eric jump. “Who do you think you are, huh? You don’t get to make demands here.”