Chapter 5: When you go to the police to try to find yourself

Alicia and Pagel continue their research into the Orange Day phenomena. Kris helps Q try to find their identity.

“You guys aren’t scientist, are you?” Theo said as soon as the trio were out of sight.

            Alicia smiled, embarrassed. “You figured that out on your own?” Alicia said lightly.

            Alicia stared at the ground. “No, we aren’t scientists,” Alicia continued. “Well, I am… I research radiology at the Institute. But what I mean to say is we are regular people just trying to figure out how our powers work.”

            “I don’t mind,” Theo responded after a bit of silence. “Because I want to control my power. You saw how dangerous it can be. If you and Paul can help me control my powers, then I don’t care if you lied to me.”

            “To be honest,” Alicia said. “Truly honest, I think Paul wants more from us.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “When I first talked to Paul, he mentioned forming a team,” Alicia answered. “He wants us to be a team of superheroes and stop criminals.”

            Theo shrugged. “That’s not so bad.”

            “What?” Alicia said surprised, looking up at him. “You would be okay with joining a superhero team? No planning, or anything?”

            “Yeah,” Theo replied. “If it helps people, I wouldn’t mind being a part of it.”

            Theo looked back at Alicia. “It’s something to feel like you’re a part of something bigger,” Theo commented.

            Alicia thought about it. Sense of belonging is a strong motivator; that kind of pressure is enough to drive people to change appearance, behavior, even mindsets. “Hmm,” She hummed.

            “What was that breakthrough you had at the lab?” Theo asked, changing topics.

            “How do you know about that?”

            “Kris mentioned it,” Theo said. “But we never got to talk about it.”

            “Oh,” Alicia responded. “Well, at the lab, I work with Dr. Pagel. He decided to look into the biological basis for powers, without the Institute’s permission or knowledge.”

            Theo nodded. “Go on.”

            “So, my theory of homeostasis didn’t work,” Alicia continued. “Dr. Pagel’s working theory, right now, is the switch gene. Radiation caused a gene, or genes, in our DNA to turn on, start creating proteins and more complex molecules that cause our powers.”

            “Alright,” Theo said. “That’s the theory, what’s the breakthrough?”

            “I guess, there isn’t one,” Alicia replied. “When I told Kris that, it was before we took a look at my genome. We had two samples, before I got my power and after. My genome did not have any noticeable changes. Then again, why should it? Genes that aren’t being used are still present in your DNA.”

“You need a way to sort out the working genes from the extraneous genes,” Theo commented.

“Yes,” Alicia said, startled. “How did you…?”

“I’m a nurse,” Theo finished. “I work with a pediatrician; we deal with a lot of genetic diseases. Some require DNA testing, but we’ve never done anything like what I’m suggesting. We usually look for mutations in genes.”

“Huh, mutations might be reasonable,” Alicia said. “Find a gene that doesn’t look like it is supposed to, but that would involve comparing my genome to all the possible haplotypes, which will be such a hassle...”

Theo shrugged. “Just a suggestion.”

             “No, it’s still good,” Alicia responded, before muttering, “It’s better than what I thought of.”

            Alicia made a mental note of his two solid suggestions: mutations and sorting active genes from inactive ones. They had reached the end of the trail. Theo and Alicia walked to the entrance together. Theo leaned on the opened gate. “So, any final words of wisdom?” He asked.

            “Keep your temper under control,” Alicia answered. “If you see your hands starting to glow, walk away from the situation, go to a bathroom or a secluded place and try to calm down. And, it’s best if no one knows about your powers.”

            “Then what about Paul’s sister?” Theo replied. “He told her.”

            “That was a special circumstance,” Alicia said. “If you wholly trust someone, tell them, but don’t tell everyone you know.”

            “Nothing good happens when people don’t understand who you are, or what you can do,” Alicia added.

            “Tell me about it,” Theo said knowingly.

            “Alright,” Theo continued, bobbing his head. “If you think it’s for the best, I won’t tell anyone.”

            “Thank you,” Alicia said, awkwardly. “For trusting us. I promise that things can only get better from here.”

            “Don’t jinx us,” Theo said, smiling. “Good night, Alicia.”

            “Good night,” Alicia replied, smiling. “I hope your ideas works.”

            Theo nodded and rolled his shoulders off the gate, turning to walk down the street. Alicia turned the other way and left.

+++++

            Kris opened her apartment door and lurched inside, hurrying through the front room and hall. She didn’t bother to turn on the lights. Q followed more slowly, watching as Kris took off her hoodie and threw it on the couch. Kris disappeared into her bedroom. Q stopped at her doorway.

            Kris flopped onto her bed and slipped under her covers. Kris glanced at Q. “What?” She said instantly defensive. “Either go away or join me.”

            Q crossed her arms, confused by the offer. “Since when is ‘join me’ part of your vocabulary?” Q joked. “Usually, it’s just go away.”

            “I haven’t been able to sleep since I found out I killed a man,” Kris admitted. “I do believe that your presence would be comforting.”

            Q thought about it, rocking on her feet. “Fine,” She answered. “But only because, you’re desperate enough to ask.”

            Q walked to her room, taking a moment to put on pajamas. She went back to Kris, carefully stepping to the opposite side of the bed. Q got under the covers and rolled onto her side, facing Kris. “What do want me to do?”

            Kris might have been blushing, but Q couldn’t tell because of how dark it was. “Nothing,” She whispered. “Just lie there, go to sleep, and try to stay on your side. I hate to kill you on accident.”

            “What? That’s it?” Q said. “You ask me to get in your bed just to lie here.”

            “To hear your breathing, and feel your weight on the bed, is comforting enough,” Kris responded, turning over to face away from Q. “It tells me that someone is there. That I’m not alone.”

            Q sighed and shifted, trying to get more comfortable. “Good night,” She mumbled before drifting off.

            When Q woke, she recalled a warm embrace she used to wake up to. Similar to the one she woke up in right now. Q opened her eyes to see Kris’s face a half-foot away from hers. She felt that their legs were tangled, and her hands were resting on Kris’s waist. One of Kris's hands was on Q’s cheek, her fingers in Q’s hair except for her thumb, which was touching Q’s temple. Q cringed as the hand twitched. “Kris?” Q whispered. “I think I just remembered something.”

            Kris’s brow wrinkled, but she didn’t open her eyes. “What?” She croaked.

            “I remember waking up in the morning and being held by someone.”

            “Man or woman?”

            Q closed her eyes, wracking for a better recollection of the memory, the sensation. Kris’s hand was cold against her skin, but she knew she had felt a warm embrace before. “I don’t know.”

            Kris sighed, tucking her chin closer to her chest. “That’s a shame.”

            “But now we know something new about you,” Kris continued. “You were in a relationship.”

            “If I was in a relationship, then that person might have put out a missing person’s report,” Q reasoned.

            “It’s possible, we could check with the police station, the one closest to where you were found.”

            Kris shifted her shoulders and hips as if they ached. “But I have work, soon.”

            Kris opened her eyes, flinching and jerking her hand back. “Gah,” Kris said before laughing it off. “Oh, it’s not every day I wake up cuddling myself.”

            Q held a hand up for inspection. It was pale like Kris’s, with sharp yellow nails. “Oops, sorry,” Q said, laughing. “I must have done that while I was asleep.”

Kris rolled out of bed, looking down at her bedraggled clothing. She went to her dresser, pulling out a new set of clothes. “I’m going to take a shower,” Kris said.

“Okay,” Q replied, closing her eyes. “I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up when you get home.”

“You can’t lie in bed all day,” Kris called, disappearing into the hall.

“Kris, that’s what you were going to do all yesterday!” Q snapped back.

Kris didn’t reply, choosing instead to turn on the shower. Q snuggled further under the covers with a smile on her face.

+++++

“Hey, Soman,” Paul greeted on the phone. “Yeah, I know it’s early in the morning.”

Paul paced in the living area of his apartment. “Yeah, buddy I got a favor to ask you.”

“Sorry, you’re right,” Paul answered. “How’s Bree? Has she gone into labor yet?”

“No, no, silly me. She isn’t due for another month. But you never know, you could have a premie… Right, sorry.”

“I was calling to ask for a favor,” Paul repeated. “Maybe it would be better to talk to you in person… Don’t worry, it’s your specialty, making clothing.”

Paul stopped by the window, staring at the taped-over hole. “But it won’t be easy. Listen, I’ll come over to your boutique. Is Bree still working? Good, I’m going to need her help, too. I’ll be there in an hour, unless I need to schedule a meeting.”

            Paul smiled as Soman responded. “Great, see you soon.” Paul said. “Oh, and thank you.”

+++++

            Alicia walked into Callithump, smile ready to greet Kris. Her expression dropped when someone else was behind the counter, a guy with gauges. “Hello, miss,” The man said. “What can I get you?”

            “Hi! Uh, where’s Kris?” Alicia asked, approaching the counter.

            “You know Kris?” The man asked, before answering. “She called me twenty minutes ago, saying she slept in.”

            He leaned in conspiratorially. “I heard another woman in the background,” He added, wiggling his eyebrows. “So, I’m guessing she had someone stay over the night.”

            “Oh, that might have been Hazel,” Alicia commented.

            The door clanged shut. Alicia turned around to see a baggy-eyed Kris. “What about Hazel?” Kris asked.

            “Nothing,” Alicia replied immediately. “Your coworker heard her on the phone.”

            Kris gave the guy a withering glare. “Oliver,” Kris growled. “Are you spreading rumors about me?”

            “Just to your friend,” Oliver said in a defensive tone.

            Kris smirked. “Fine,” Kris responded. “But you gotta stop. You’re giving me a rep I can’t compare too.”

            Oliver shrugged. Kris faced Alicia. “What do you want to drink, double shot?”

            “Yes, and a caramel macchiato,” Alicia said. “Both to go.”

            “Oliver, do the caramel macchiato,” Kris instructed.

            Kris moved behind the counter, dropping her bag by the storage door and suiting up in an apron. She took a moment to replace her leather gloves with plastic, sanitary gloves. Kris prepared Alicia’s espresso while inquiring, “So, who’s the other coffee for?”

            Alicia pulled her wallet out of her purse. “I have a life outside of you and this team thing,” Alicia commented lightly.

            “Ouch,” Kris said, placing a hand over her heart. “That hurts, right here.”

            Alicia smirked at the antics. Oliver set the caramel macchiato in front of her and typed in the register. “But, you’re on board?” Kris asked, realizing what Alicia said. “With the team thing?”

            Alicia shrugged before handing Oliver the exact change. “Theo and I had a talk. It made me think about it all, and I agree with him.”

            Kris’s eyebrows rose as she handed Alicia her espresso. “Really?”

            “Really,” Alicia repeated, picking up the other coffee.

            Alicia stayed. “Are you going to tell me who the other coffee’s for?” Kris said.

“If you must know,” Alicia responded, a faint smile forming. “I started carpooling with a coworker. Her name is Nicki; she even works in my department.”

Kris’s face surprisingly became serious. “What?” Alicia said, taking in the troubled expression.

Kris gave Oliver a look, who raised his hands defensively and went to the storage room, taking Kris’s bag with him. “I need to talk to you about something,” Kris said quietly.

“Oh,” Alicia responded.

“Not here, not now,” Kris replied quickly. “You have work, I have work. But we need to talk soon. Because… Because I need help.”

            Alicia’s brows furrowed. “I have this problem that only you and your scientist boss-slash-guy can fix,” Kris continued.

            “But you have to go,” Kris added. “You got Nicki waiting in the car-”

            “Come on,” Alicia interrupted. “You can’t say stuff like that and not tell me. Now, I’m going to be stuck thinking about what’s wrong with you all day.”

            Kris thought about something, her eyes moving around the room. When they met Alicia’s eyes, Kris answered, “I have something I promised to do with Q right after work, but, we could go to the Institute and discuss this afterward. Maybe around four?”

            Alicia grimaced, but conceded with a nod, “Alright. You want Dr. Pagel to be there for this?”

            “Yes,” Kris said.

            “Fine,” Alicia responded. “We can talk, but…”

            Alicia smiled. “It better be worth the wait.”

            Alicia turned and left, using her back to open the door. Kris waved goodbye to her receding back. Alicia approached her small electric car on the right side. Nicki opened her door and took the caramel macchiato from Alicia. Alicia went to the driver’s side and got in the car. She shifted the gear into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.

            “Thanks for the coffee and the ride,” Nicki said.

            She sipped her drink and watched as Alicia drove down Stark Street. “It’s no problem,” Alicia said slowly with a single nod.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “Oh,” Alicia responded, blinking and looking at Nicki. “It’s nothing,” She smiled. “My friend mentioned something interesting.”

            “Your friend works at Callithump?” Nicki said, enthusiastically. “That’d be my dream job, if only it paid better.”

            “I know, me too,” Alicia replied. “Then again, I love my job at Institute. Radiology is a true passion of mine.”

            Alicia and Nicki laughed. “I do enjoy science, though,” Alicia said. “Are you and Dr. Lawrence working on the same thing we are?”

            Alicia switched on her turn signal before turning onto a different street. “I would assume so,” Nicki answered. “Radiation’s effect on living things, trying to explain what happened on Orange Day.”

            “Yeah, same here,” Alicia said.

            Alicia pulled into the parking lot of the Institute and in a parking spot. “Are you working on plants still?” Nicki asked as Alicia shut off her car.

            Nicki got out of the car, trying to shut the door softly after. Alicia did, too, fixated on what Nicki said. “Yeah, we’re still working on plants,” Alicia said. “What are you working on now?”

            Nicki walked around the car, so they could walk into the Institute together. Alicia set a quick pace, feeling like she was falling behind in more ways than one. “Lab mice,” Nicki commented.

            As they approached the front door, Alicia asked, “How’s that going?”

            “Good,” Nicki said with a decisive nod. “The mice aren’t dying at least. They seem to be absorbing then emitting the radiation without any sign of radiation sickness.”

            The front door whooshed open before they stepped in. They went to the front desk to sign in and then headed for the radiology wing. “Dr. Pagel and I actually checked some people with a Geiger counter, “Alicia admitted. “And it’s not just mice emitting radiation.”

            “Seriously?” Nicki responded. “I guess the nuclear fallout is affecting the entire human population.”

            “Some humans are responding differently,” Alicia muttered.

            Nicki nodded, her eyes cloudy. “I know what you mean,” She replied. “Weird stuff has been happening since Orange Day.”

            “I wish somebody could explain that,” She continued.

            Alicia stopped by her lab, Nicki hesitantly staying beside her for the moment. “But, so it goes,” Nicki said with a smile. “I’ll see you later, Alicia.”

            “Yeah,” Alicia said, smiling. “You, too.”

            Nicki kept walking down the hall as Alicia entered her lab. Pagel was already there, pulling on his hair while staring at her genome sequence on a screen. “I’ve racked my brain about this,” He told her in place of a greeting. “But I can’t figure out how to find the differences.”

            “I have a teammate that seemed to have a good idea,” Alicia commented. “If we can figure out how to apply it.”

            Alicia set her coffee on a counter far from where Pagel was working and walked over to him. “Alright, what is it?” Pagel asked impatiently.

            “Well, what if we could separate genes from which ones are switched on and which are switched off?”

            “I would be impressed at the mind who could concoct a system to sort the two,” Pagel responded, his hand tapping on the counter.

            “Could we reverse produce DNA from proteins produced by the body?”

            “Possibly, but millions of variations of protein are made by simply switching one amino acid on a chain,” Pagel answered. “And we don’t know if your powers produce a protein, or a series of proteins, that we can test this on. We also don’t have protein samples from before Orange Day.”

            “What about looking for mutations?”

            Pagel’s face contorted in thought, his tapping increasing in tempo. “We could do a karyotype,” He said.

            Alicia felt like hitting something, frustrated by her lapse in memory. “Isn’t there a kind of karyotype that shows where rRNA is working?”

            Pagel struck his forehead with an open palm. “Yes, you silver-stain it,” Pagel replied. “A silver-stained karyotype can show you where rRNA is at the chromosomes.”

            “And rRNA is partly responsible for protein synthesis,” Alicia supplied.

            “Exactly,” Pagel said. “We can’t exactly karyotype your old DNA, but we can do one now and rule out common genes with…”

            “Another female, who doesn’t have powers?” Alicia suggested.

            Pagel nodded. “That could work. We will need blood samples from both of you. Who do you have in mind for the other female?”

            “Nicki,” Alicia said before Pagel made a face. “She is the curious type; we don’t have to explain it to her, but describe it as looking for mutations in chromosomes due to exposure to nuclear radiation.”

            “However, that means she would want to check in and see the results,” Pagel countered.

            “And we can tell her her results. Show her the karyotype and, hopefully, tell her that her DNA hasn’t been mutated.”

            “Alright, you’ll have to go get her permission and bring her here, so we can extract some blood and send it to the lab.”

            “That reminds me,” Alicia commented suddenly. “One of my friends is going to be stopping by later today, around four. She has some serious matter to discuss with the both of us.”

            Pagel leaned on the counter, seemingly exhausted. “She has powers?” He asked.

            “Yes, flight,” Alicia answered. “She might also bring Q, who’s a shape shifter.”

            “Exciting,” Pagel said in a tone that was the opposite.

            “Sir, I thought you would be more… eager,” Alicia responded. “You’re having two supernatural people show up to your lab. You can ask them questions, take their DNA, CT scan them…”

 “Yes, I wish I had more time to prepare,” Pagel said. “And that we didn’t have to ask Miss Shah.”

            Alicia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Not your rivalry thing again.”

            Pagel shook his head. “If you ask Miss Shah for blood, George is going to stick his nose in, and discover our whole operation. I can’t tell you how many times he’s done that before.”

            Alicia nodded emphatically while rolling her eyes again. “Your graduate entrance research on radiation effect on mutating clovers, your work in graduate school under the Curie, your work here…” Alicia listed dryly.

            “Ha, ha,” Pagel replied. “You think I’m paranoid, but some is seriously wrong with Dr. Lawrence and how he conducts himself.”

            “Nicki did mention that they had already moved onto lab mice in the same experiments we are conducting,” Alicia commented.

            Feeling vindicated, he quickly replied, “See? He has no care for ethics.”  

            “Alright then, I’ll find somebody else’s blood,” She said defensively.

            “Sure, go find any woman here willing to give blood to our research,” He said, walking to the land line phone. “Explain as much as you want. When you find someone, bring her back here and I’ll take a sample of the both of you and send it to the lab.”

Alicia went to the door, hearing Pagel mumble behind her as he picked up the phone receiver, “I have some preparing to do.”

+++++

            “There it is!” Q exclaimed, pointing at a stone façade of a large brick building.

            It was the Police Bureau in downtown Kattegat. The Bureau was only five blocks from where Paul found Q. Kris and Q had backtracked to the closest Callithump, which was on the same street as the Bureau. Taking this as a good sign, they decided to go to the Bureau.

“Yeah,” Kris responded, hands in her hoodie pockets. “The police station isn’t nothing to get excited about.”

“Sorry,” Q said with a sheepish smile. “But this could actually lead to some answers. More than hints and impression, but concrete evidence.”

“If there’s anything at all,” Kris muttered, walking up the steps to the double doors.

            Q hopped up the steps and entered the building via the door held open by Kris. She hurried to the front desk, which was hidden behind a wall of glass. It had a woman working in civilian clothes. “Hello, officer,” Q chirped happily.

            The woman turned in her seat, looking away from her computer and to Q. Q was surprised to see her eyes were a distinct purple. “It’s detective,” The woman said, somewhat sharply before softening her tone. “Junior, which is why I’m working here instead of on cases.” The woman stopped and smiled politely. “How may I help you?”

            Q seemed a bit put out by her response. Kris appeared by Q’s side to ask the detective, “Yes, hello, we’re here to see missing person reports for the past week.”

            “I’m sorry,” The detective responded. “That’s not possible.”

            Kris crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed. “Yes, it is,” Kris said. “They’re public documents, which means I, a citizen, have a right to see them.”

            The detective interlocked her fingers on the desk. “I’m sorry, Miss,” The detective said. “But policy implementation does not reflect reality. I’m sorry, but this bureau cannot meet your expectations.”

            “I expected to walk in,” Kris started, irritation tainting her voice. “Find an attractive and helpful detective who would lead me to the files I’m looking for. That’s it. And let’s just say you’re one of the two.”

            “She certainly could be more helpful,” Q mumbled as her eyes flickered between Kris, the detective, and her surroundings.

            The detective laughed. She leaned closer the glass. “I’ll let you in on a secret,” The detective said. “You need to fill out a form to request a public document, then I can give you a copy of the missing person reports.”

            Kris let out an inaudible sigh of relief and smiled, glancing at the detective’s name tag. “Thank you, Detective Kidman” She replied before asking, “Where can I get this form?”

            “It’s online,” Kidman answered. “I can print you one, or several right now, if you want. But I have to warn you, it costs about ten dollars for a single report.”

            Kris made a face. “So, I can’t afford all the missing person reports,” Kris commented. She smiled at the detective. “Would you please tell me how many reports have been filed in the last week.”

            The detective stood up with an indulgent sigh. “Sure,” Kidman said. “Any other parameters, age, gender, race?”

            Kris looked at Q who shrugged. “No,” Kris answered slowly. “No, no other parameters.”

            “You want to tell me what this is about?” She asked lightly, her hands moving to her hips.

            “Well, there was this person I saw the other day,” Kris said unsure. “Who seemed to be in a dire situation, maybe someone who was on drugs or a runaway, maybe both. I don’t know, but I’d love to check if a report has been filed for this person. The problem is I can’t describe what they look like because it’s been a while, but I might be able to recognize them.”

            Kidman thought about it. “This could be useful information in an active missing person case,” Kidman said. “You wouldn’t need to fill out a form, if you can be used as a witness.”

            Kris perked up. “Alright, so how do I do that?”

            “I’ll get pictures of the missing person cases from the last week, like you asked, and show them to you. If you recognize one, we can get more information from you about said person and add it to the report.”

            “Okay, yeah, let’s do that,” Kris said, nodding.

            Kidman nodded and got up from the desk, walking to the door beside the glass to lead them to another room. “I’ll take you to my desk,” Kidman said, opening the door.

            She took them through another room, one full of officers and desks and people talking, then a hallway to a small room with a few detectives. “Kidman,” A man said. “You’re supposed to be at the front desk.”

            There were two men, one sitting behind a desk and another who may have been pacing in front of the desk until they walked in. The man sitting looked grouchy with a scruffy mustache, while the other seemed to be a nervous, narrow guy. “I know, but I have a potential witness,” Kidman responded to the one standing. “Could you cover for me, for five minutes?”

            The man looked conflicted, glancing at the other behind the desk. He raised his bushy eyebrows back at the man. Adjusting his glasses, the pacer hesitated. “Please Wu,” Kidman begged.

            “Fine,” Wu said as he left the room. “But you owe me one.”

            Kidman focused on the man behind the desk. He stared back with blank, black eyes. “Griffin, can you watch them? I need to get some records.”

            “Sure,” Griffin responded, standing up.

            Kidman turned and left, while Griffin politely asked the ladies to take a seat. He moved two chairs in front of his desk and gestured for them to sit. He returned to his seat and the pair waited for several minutes, staring at things in the room, Griffin, each other, anything to pass the time. Eventually, Kidman reappeared, holding folders. “Griffin, if you don’t mind,” Kidman said, gesturing to the door.

            Griffin crossed his brawny arms. “You can interrogate a witness in front of me, can’t you?” He replied.

            “Yes, sir, it’s fine,” Kidman said, her face suggesting otherwise.

            Kidman leaned on his desk, facing the pair. “I’m going to show you a series of images, if you recognize the person, tell me and we can talk about that individual further.”

            Kris nodded. Kidman took out the first photo and showed it to Kris. It was a man with tattoos on his chest and shoulders exposed by his wife beater. Q shook her head immediately. Kris agreed. “No, I don’t recognize him.”

            Kidman moved on. The next image was a small kid with fluffy blonde hair. Q and Kris shook their heads. The next image was a teenage girl with a septum piercing. Q and Kris looked at each other, trying to decide if piercings disappeared when Q transformed; Q nodded subtly, recalling switching from Kris to Hazel who has earring piercings. “No, we haven’t seen her,” Kris said.

            “What was that?” Kidman asked, her eyes narrowing.

            “This?” Kris asked, gesturing between Q and herself. “That was a silent discussion about that atrocious piercing.”

            Kidman persisted, asking, “You are sure you haven’t seen this girl?”

            “Yes, I am sure,” Kris answered. “How many photos are left?”

            “Two,” Kidman answered, showing them another picture.

            It was another man, this time with dark tan skin, wearing a pink collared shirt. “That kind of looks like Paul,” Q commented.

            “But, don’t worry,” Kris said to Kidman when her eyebrow quirked. “We saw Paul just yesterday. He’s fine; this isn’t Paul. I don’t know this guy.”

            Kidman nodded, and showed them a middle-aged woman. Q sat up suddenly. “I know her!”

            “You do?” Kidman asked.

            Kris seemed just as surprised. “Yeah, I remember walking past her on the street,” Q answered. “Little less than a week ago. It wasn’t far from here, maybe the corner of Stark and Second Avenue.”

            Kidman pulled out a notebook and wrote that down. Kris was thrown; she was unsure if Q was lying or if this woman actually looked familiar to her. “What’s your name?” Kidman asked. “For the report.”

 “Hazel Levigne,” Q answered quickly.

Kidman nodded and wrote it at the top. “What did she look like? What direction was she heading?”

Kris stared at Q’s face, who ignored her, choosing instead to add more details to her story. “She looked well, wearing some makeup and relatively nice clothing; it wasn’t like she spent a night or two on the street,” Q said. “She was crossing the street on Second Avenue, heading to the port area.”

“Was she with anyone? Was she being followed?” Kidman continued. “Did she seem emotionally distressed in any way?”

            Q shook her head. “No, she wasn’t with anyone. I don’t think she was being followed, but she was walking in a crowd of people, so it’s possible. And no, she didn’t seem sad or paranoid; she looked stoic.”

            Kidman nodded, writing away. “Am I missing anything, Griffin?” Kidman asked her coworker.

He shook his head. “Is there anything else you would like to put on the record?” Griffin inquired.

Q shook her head. “Can I get a copy of that missing person’s report?” Kris said.

“Sure, you got fill out a form, though,” Griffin answered.

Kidman smiled, maybe amused to hear what she had already said earlier. “I can take you back to the front desk, and help you through the form,” She offered as she walked to the door.

“Yes, please,” Kris responded, standing up.

Q and Kris walked out of the room, following Junior Detective Kidman to the front desk. It would be another half hour before they would get the paper.