A Midnight Mind

Chapter 29: Riding in Cars with Girls

After spending some time apologizing to Kara for jumping to conclusions about Pryce, and also thanking her for her help, Ethan said goodbye to her and Neil and left the house. He still felt bad for what he did to Neil, but he knew he didn't have the time to wallow over it.

As soon as he left the house, he texted to Violet.

tell me you have something.

I've got a lead on a possible twenty on the perp, detective.

what?

Sorry, I thought we were trying to sound like TV cops.

Ethan rolled his eyes, trying not to grin. This was no laughing matter. People were getting hurt. His friends were getting hurt. And if he didn't stop Westbrook, it would keep happening, every single night.

Violet sent another text.

Yeah, I think I know where to find him. One of those nut job sites mentioned he was admitted to a hospital in the city. I have a cousin that works there, so I got him to look up a record on Westbrook. He was admitted there a couple months ago, but went comatose.

So he was projecting himself into latents' houses and killing them and he wasn't even conscious? Ethan could hardly believe it, but Violet had no reason to lie. He wrote back.

is he still there?

No. He was moved to a relative's house for care, rather than occupying a hospital bed.

Ethan cursed. He just wanted to end this.

can you get the address?

My cousin might be able to... But I'd have to convince him to give it to me somehow.

tell him you need to interview the guy for the school paper

it'll help you with your journalism portfolio

or something like that?

You act like I'm a good liar. Frankly, I'm offended, Murdock. Wounded, even.

Buuuut fine, I'll give it a whirl. :P

just text me the address and i'll meet you there

Heart pumping, Ethan made for the nearest bus stop and looked up a route that would take him into the city, assuming that was where Westbrook was staying. He was so close to finding the dream man, but if Westbrook was a vegetable, how would they get any information out of him? Ethan could think of some ideas, but none of them made him feel better about the meeting. He wasn't sure if he should be afraid of the violent rogue projection or if he, Ethan, was the monster for hunting down a comatose old man. None of this made any sense. He felt sick, dizzy. When was the last time he had a good night's sleep?