The Dire Choice (Otherworld Series #7)

Chapter 6- Shaw

Shaw sipped the cup of coffee as he quietly stared at the nun in front of him.

The courtyard was full of screaming children, running children, crying children and playing children. Shaw had never in his life been around so many children, even in his own golden childhood, had he not seen these many kids. The humans seriously needed birth control. 

Sister Cynthia D'souza sat before him. She had aged well. Her hair, formerly brown, was now white, she was still pleasantly plum, with a healthy flush in her cheeks. Her eyes still a bit innocent. Not that old though, her hair had whitened prematurely. Naturally, it would around so many gross children.

Or maybe because of the fear.

She was very scared. Even right now, as she sat before him, she stank of fear. She had, ever since he'd shown her his badge. His Detective ID.

She knew why he had come, but she still played dumb.

The nun held a rosary in her hand as she sat nervously before him. So, he asked her again.

"Tell me about the girl."

She looked away, "I do not know which girl you speak of."

A lie, again. Shaw sighed and place his cup on the table, before opening his briefcase and removing the newspaper clipping he'd placed in an evidence baggie.

"This one. Please refresh you're memory."

She didn't look surprised. Only panicked. Which only made him feel that he was right about her lying part. A traumatic event for a mortal who hasn't been introduced to Otherworld, she would easily forget it. And overall, devoted Catholics were really quick to point out oddities and deem them as 'Devils'. The nuns probably hadn't been kind to poor Bethany.

"Tell me, sister Cynthia. You know this girl. She has been missing from her home for the past seven years. Her brother has recently inherited and has continued the search for her."

At the word 'inherited' the nun perked up. He knew exactly why she had. If he was disgusted by the sudden greedy look in her eye, he didn't show it. Shaw had learned how to control his expressions a long time ago.

The not-so-innocent nun pretended to look at the picture of Bethany again and nodded. He saw right through her act, and it was a rather unpolished act. The nun wasn't a very good actress.

Money made people speak, it seemed that it was only fair that it even made people remember.

"Do you recognize her?"

She cleared her throat. "Bethany. We had found her floating in the nearby river. A few days old maybe. I don't remember so well....She was a very sweet and quiet child...that was until that one incident."

Shaw raised his eyebrows, he too, pretended to be surprised by the confession, when in secret, he had already read the Nun's witness confession from a few years ago, in which she had said the exact same words when asked about Bethany's background. It was like a line she had learned and kept in her head for years.

"Can you recount that incident?"

"One night while the children were asleep, the rest of the nuns and I were on routine checks to each respective doem room, Dorm number 4 was my assigned room, when I went in to check, I found all the children asleep except for Betha-"

"Let me guess, she was looking out of the window at the moon and then turned towards you slowly and erupted fur and teeth?" He straightened in his seat and leaned ahead, his stance threatening.