Super

The Failed Intervention

Chapter 19: The Failed Intervention

"What are you doing here?" Ashley asked looking at me through the holo board. Her reaction wasn't all that unexpected. But did she really think I would just obey and not come in today? Fat chance.

"I know your planning something and I'm not getting left out again." I sneezed and Ashley sighed. "Don't deny it I know you've learned something. What did you find out from the report?" She pulled up the autopsy report and gave me the short version.

"Darius Cole was killed by a stab wound that punctured his chest cavity subsequently destroying his heart." Ashley motioned me over and I reluctantly looked at the autopsy photos. "The pathologist assisting during the autopsy was unable match the wound to a murder weapon. And the poison unfortunately deteriorated the area in and around the wound so they couldn't make a mold of what the weapon could have been."

"But we know, right? It's got to be the tail."

"That's most likely the answer. Does the wound look similar to what you saw before?" I thought back to my first stake out with Telex.

"Yeah I think so, I didn't really stop to take a closer look." Ashley gave me a flat look. "Give me a break. The building was on fire, falling apart, and Telex was trapped under a beam. I didn't have time to look at a dead guy." She sighed and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "But at least we know more about She-Devil, maybe it will help us figure out where she is." I sat down across from her and began rubbing my temples. But how would we do it? I doubt She-Devil just walked around leaking poison all the time.

"I already know."

"What?" I froze and met her gaze. She leaned back in her chair and gave me one of her rare smiles.

"I know where Dolly is."

"How?"

"An analysis was run on Cole's clothes and the most prominent substances found were human feces and brick dust."

"Did you just say feces, like, as in poop?"

"Yes." She said calmly.

"So when he died he was covered in poop?" I clarify.

"Not covered but there was definitely more than trace amounts. His shoes were apparently caked in it."

"This tells us..." I led, but Ashley merely leaned back in her chair. "Come on, no more teaching moments just tell me."

"The old sewer system."

"What we use?"

"Yes."

"That can't be right, when I first started using the mini train thing you told me that the sewers were clean. They wouldn't have been used in decades so....wait that....waste doesn't just disappear does it?"

"No." She smiled and I glared at her. She lied to me to get me into the sewers. Point taken, I should have known that sewer poop doesn't just disappear but damn it, she's a lot more conniving than I give her credit for.

"Okay, so we know Cole spent some time in the sewers so you think that's where Dolly is hiding out? That could explain why we haven't seen her yet. Or it could mean that Cole just liked the sewers. I mean if she was down here with us wouldn't we know?" I leaned back in my chair. "I mean we have a huge track leading straight here, it would be hard for her to miss."

"You forget that I went through a lot of trouble to camouflage it." She explained indignantly.

"Oh." We sat there in silence for a moment the two of us thinking. "So, what now?" I finally asked.