Page 3 of Psychic Obsession
Because while they wanted Frode's input, his saying something didn't make it stick in court.All he had were words, and no one could trust a lunatic like Frode Bakke.If they could've broken into his brain to see what he saw, then maybe it would've helped, but the few times he'd been asked to come to court to talk about his part in the investigation, everything he'd said had been dismissed.
"Am I free to go?"
"Let me drive you home."Hjalmar flipped the folder shut.Frode wanted to snarl at him, but he was in no shape to drive.He never was after having touched something, which was why he'd taken a cab here."We'll grab lunch on the way.You need to eat."
Frode wanted to protest, wanted to bark at him to mind his own fucking business, but he did need to eat.The tremors and the floatiness in his mind wouldn't go away before he'd eaten and gotten some rest.
They moved toward the door, and Frode steeled himself.He didn't want to go out there, didn't want to go to Hjalmar's desk where people would talk to them.The sneers weren't as obvious when Hjalmar was by his side, but it only made him feel worse.They were all deceiving Hjalmar.Fuckers.Pretended to be friendly, then, when Hjalmar wasn't around, they'd turn into schoolyard bullies.
Frode could handle bullies.He wasn't a scared kid anymore, and he'd come to realize, in many cases, they acted as they did because they feared him.Plus, he'd learned how to be rude.
He hated cops.All kinds of them--didn't matter if they were officers, detectives, agents, and whatever the correct term for the brass was.Most of them were small-dicked insecure excuses of men.They flashed their badges and believed it made them superior to everyone else.Pathetic.
And sometimes they needed to be told.
He ran a gloved hand through his hair.No longer sweat-slicked, but grimy.He needed a shower despite having showered before he got here.
"Ready?"Hjalmar waited with his hand on the door handle, and Frode had to force down the urge to push him out of the way and throw the door open simply to get it over with.
"Yeah."He tugged at his gloves to make sure they were in place--they always were.
* * * *
Nikolai Nesterova stared at the living room with the blood-soaked rug, and the woman sprawled on top of it.There was blood splatter on the walls.
"Wow, we need to ask Dexter to come look at this."
Nikolai gave Isaac Elmore, the fellow homicide detective he'd been paired with, an unimpressed look.
"What?"Isaac widened his eyes."There is a lot of splatter.I'm sure he could've given us some insight."
Nikolai held in a sigh."We have a forensic team, a real one."He stared at Isaac, something most found intimidating, but it had no effect whatsoever on Isaac."And you do realize Dexter is a fictional character, right?He doesn't analyze blood splatter for real."
"You're such a killjoy, Nesterova."
Nikolai gave him the kind of smirk his ex-fiancé had called cruel and gestured around."You're not having fun?There is so much happiness in this room."Fuck, he needed a drink.
"I'll go talk to the neighbors."Isaac stalked out of the apartment.
Nikolai had moved back to Berg three months ago.
He'd promised himself he would never come back here.Ever.His family had been here for three generations, him being the third.His grandfather had immigrated from the Soviet Union when he'd been in his twenties.He'd met a lovely Soviet woman, married her, and had five children.One of them had been his father, who in his turn had found a lovely Soviet woman, and together they'd had three children--Dimitri, Natalya, and lastly Nikolai.
Only Nikolai came out queer, so he was no longer welcome in the family.They'd never said he needed to leave town, but it had been heavily implied.
He hadn't spoken with anyone from the Nesterova clan for over fifteen years, and he'd fully intended to change his last name when he and Julian got married.
Only Julian didn't want to get married anymore.
He swallowed a sigh and looked around as the forensic team put out number tags and took photos before bagging everything.
One of the crime scene investigators walked over to Nikolai and gave him a nod."You're new."
"No.Transferred here three months ago."
A slight frown stole over the man's face."Huh, I feel like I should've known.We'll wrap up here."He stepped out of the way as the body bag containing the woman was moved out of the room."I'll send you what we find, and I think the body will go to Zachary Mallon."
"Who?"Nikolai hadn't heard the name before; he didn't think, at least.
