The Investigation | Mikael

Chapter Fifteen

 "Finn. Come on, Finn, wake up." 

 I opened my eyes. Marcel was standing over my bed, gently shaking me to wake me up. 

 "Marcel." I quickly sat up. "What are you doing in here?" 

 "Well, your front door was unlocked, so I figured you were home. When I came in here, you were passed out and your clothes are thrown everywhere. I didn't think you were this messy." 

 "Um, I'm not usually." I grabbed my clothes and quickly started getting dressed. "So, what's up? What are you doing here?" 

 "I just wanted to check up on you, see how you're doing." I saw him glance around my bedroom. "Has someone been here with you?" 

 I paused. "Why would you ask that?" 

 "Well, given the way I found you, since there's nothing wrong with you, I kind of came to that conclusion. And when you were at Rousseau's this morning, you said you'd spent the night with someone. Was this mysterious guy of yours here today?" 

 "Yeah." I sighed. "It, um...it hasn't been anything too serious so far. I think I would like to be more serious with him, and it seems like he might want something like that, too." 

 "Oh." Marcel nodded. "Well, it's nice to hear, and I'm glad you found somebody to keep you company, even though it looks like he isn't inspiring any good cleaning habits. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." 

 Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pick up my notebook, which was open to the page with my notes about Mikael's children.

 "Have you been looking into the Mikaelson siblings?" he asked. "Can you even decipher your own handwriting when you write this fast?" 

 "With some work, yes." I snatched the notebook from him. "I've been curious about the rest of the Mikaelson family, and I was trying to get a feel of each one's personality. I thought it would be an interesting thing to look into." 

 "Yeah, I guess I can see why it would be. Why don't you come with me? I want to take you back to the Mikaelson compound. Get your shoes on. I'll be downstairs." 

 I was interested to find out why he wanted to bring me back there, so I pulled on my shoes and grabbed my jacket and hurried to meet him at the front door. 

 It was nighttime, which meant I had been in with Mikael all day. He must have left while I was sleeping, maybe even snuck out when he heard Marcel come to look for me. I wondered where he was now, and when I would see him again. 

 Then I glanced at Marcel and felt a enormous guilt. I told him I would Mikael for him. Mikael had found me, many times, and I hadn't told Marcel one bit of truth this entire time. What would he do to me if he found out my mystery lover was actually the man he'd hired me to find for him? 

 "I know you must be disappointed with me so far," I said to him. "I've found you nothing. I'm sorry."

 Marcel sighed. "Don't be, Finn. I get it; a case like this isn't an easy one. Have you been going out hunting by yourself every night?" I nodded. "All right. Well, I think we need to find someone to keep an eye on you when you do. I know it's something you're too comfortable with, but it might be necessary to help keep you safe." 

 I nodded again. "Okay. It would be nice to have something else to keep me occupied, too. If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to dealing with other cases while working on this one. I have no problem working on more than one case at once. It might be easier for me." 

 "Well, I don't see how that would be," he said, "But if that's what you really want, then okay. I should have known this wasn't something that could be done with so quickly." 

 When we arrived at the compound, I followed Marcel to that same brick wall I knew Klaus was around. Examining it, I discovered a small hole in the cement. Through it, I could see him, Klaus himself. He was desiccated from a lack of blood, his eyes closed and his skin gray. 

 "Is this really the best way?" I asked. It was a rather general question, and I was interested in how he would respond to it. 

 "For him? Yes. He's gonna have to stay in there," said Marcel. "I don't want him to wake up again, but there's a chance I might need him for something someday. That's why he's in there." 

 I don't know what he was going to say next, because he suddenly stood straight and was straining to listen to something. Then he was out the door. I rapidly followed him. 

 In the alleyway next to the compound, two vampires were lying dead, their throats torn open and hearts ripped out. 

 "It must have been Mikael," Marcel said. "Finn, go home now. I have to handle this." 

 I backed out of the alleyway and began to walk away from the compound, but I wasn't heading for home just yet.