Monster Like You

Chapter 23

I didn't park at my parents' house until about eleven in the evening. It was a hectic day, and I couldn't have come earlier, even if I wanted to. And there was no point in breaking down without finding out everything that was possible.

The fact that three corpses were found in Nathaniel's apartment, and he himself disappeared, became known even before I arrived at the office. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the headquarters, I was sent to Gervase for an urgent meeting. Kiaran, Rea, and even Sincere were already waiting in his office, which was understandable, given the situation and his position. Only Elsdon was missing. But, of course, I portrayed a complete misunderstanding of what was happening.

Gervase first asked if Nathaniel had contacted me this morning. I was ready for such a question, so I was able to portray surprise and alarm quite naturally, as it seemed to me. At the same time, I myself tried to follow the faces of my colleagues. And at the same time I wondered why Elsdon wasn't there. Is he just busy, or does Gervase still consider him the main suspect?

Then everything started spinning. The Civil Law Enforcement Corps quite easily agreed to hand over the investigation to us, although at first glance no abuse of magic was visible. They were sympathetic to the fact that our employee was involved. Or maybe they just had enough to do. Anyway, the investigation became ours, they only helped.

I took a bag of food from the passenger seat, which I bought at a cafe on the way, having prudently paid in cash. In case Gervase didn't believe me. The security service could easily check the expenses on the bank card and dinner for two would arouse suspicion. When paying in cash, there is no fear that the size and composition of the order will become known.

Getting out of the car, I looked at the house. It looked like it had for the last few months: empty. No lights in the windows, no TV or radio noise. No trace of presence. For a moment I was afraid that Nathaniel hadn't come here for some reason or hadn't arrived, but with an effort of will I managed to suppress my panic. If I were him, I wouldn't be making my presence known either.

It wasn't until I got up on the porch that I realized I didn't have the keys. I looked around, hoping that the few neighbors were too busy with evening chores and no one would see me knocking on the door of an empty house, instead of opening it myself. People here were overly vigilant due to the lack of an eventful life.

However, it's already dark, so maybe no one will see what I'm doing: knocking or opening myself.

My worries were in vain: as soon as I approached the door, the lock clicked softly, and it opened a crack. Nathaniel was obviously waiting for me.

I walked in and hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to turn on the light.

"Turn it on," said a quiet voice. "If you stay in the dark, it will look unnatural."

I nodded and flipped the switch. The light came on in the hallway, and I finally saw Nathaniel, who was trying to stay in the back of the room, away from the windows.

He looked nervous. What is clear: he spent the whole day in four walls without any information about what was happening. It always made him nervous, we all noticed it back when he lived in the Crops' storage.

"Did you find out anything?" Nathaniel asked without saying hello.

"Not much," I admitted, walking into the kitchen. "I brought food. Are you hungry?"

"No," he answered quickly, but immediately corrected himself: "Yes. What have you learned?"

I turned on the TV, turned up the volume and began to take trays and boxes of food out of the bag, telling them as I went: