I still clearly remembered the day I met Philip. I had gone to karaoke and Kim had told me she would bring one of her friends. This friend turned out to be Phillip. I instantly felt a connection between the two of us. The way he spoke to me with a soft, friendly voice. A voice I had never heard from a man before. When we sang 'teenage dirtbag' together. The way we stared into each other's eyes. Went to his place. Drank wine and danced to Mozart. Took it to the next level...

  I didn't see him for multiple months after this. He had disappeared completely. It was like he never existed and Kim refused to tell me anything. It was like the wind had made him completely disappear. After 4 months I had given up on ever seeing him again. It was obvious to both Kim and I that he didn't want to see me again. That was until I got a text message from an unknown number.

  Unknown number:

  Hey is this (redacted)

  That depends. Who is this?

  This is Philip. We met a few

  Months ago. At the karaoke

  Remember?

  Oh Philip, yes. It's been a while.

  How can I help you?

  I was hoping we could meet up?

  I really need to talk to you about

  Something.

  This can't be done over the phone?

  I'm pretty busy these days.

  I'm sorry but this is something I

  Have to say this in person.

  ...

  Fine. I have time to meet up this

  Thursday at the black café if that works

  A body...A dead person. I wanted to throw up. My throat felt sore, and my head was hurting. I had checked her pulse multiple times and she was very much dead. What was I supposed to do in this situation? I was sweating, yet I felt cold. It was like being in a sauna, someone was spraying ice cold water at me. I slapped myself.

  "Get your shit together. "I mumbled.

  I ran to get my phone and dialled 911.

  911 log 346: Call from one Claire Manshire regarding a dead body.

  Officer: This is 911. How may I help you?

  Claire: I uhm...I would like to report a murder...at...No in my apartment.

  Officer: A murder? You're sure this was a murder? Could've been a suicide or an accident of some kind.

  Claire: I know what a fucking murder looks like! You don't just stab yourself 8 times in the back!

  Officer: Please calm down, miss. Do you have any idea who the subject might be? Do they live in your apartment?

  Claire: ...

  Officer: I would like you to answer my questions please. Remember I am on your side.

  Claire: I have never seen this woman in my life. Could you please just hurry up and send an officer over? I don't like having a dead body laying in my apartment and no offense you are stressing me the fuck out.

  Officer: Someone will be over soon, don't worry. Please remain calm and do not touch the body or leave the apartment before you get the green light from our officer.

  End of call.

  I waited for what felt like ages. Walked back and forth in my apartment. Felt like throwing up every time I breathed, my stomach making sounds it had never made before. The officer I had talked to didn't seem to believe me (which was just great) so who knew how long I had to wait before someone actually showed up. Finally I heard someone come up the stairs to my apartment. I prayed it was the cops so I could get out of this mess. My throat was still sore and I was still sweating a river. I was less cold now though which was nice I guess but that was a small plus considering the situation.

  Thankfully it had been the cop. He was on the more heavy side (Not saying he was fat just...Heavy) and was wearing sunglasses.

  "So...Where is this supposed body?"

  He asked in a deep voice. I took a deep breath and pointed down. He was basically standing right on top of it, so I was surprised that he hadn't noticed. He followed my finger. I caught a glimpse of his eyes now that he was looking down and saw his eyes widen. Clearly he hadn't believed my story either which was just a great feeling. I bet him and his co-worker had laughed it off as a prank call. He went quiet, just staring at the body. I on the other hand looked at him. I was trying to read him. Guess his thought process. If only I could choose the life I was stalking like the rest of my family.

  "Shit..." He finally said.

  "Shit indeed. "I responded.

  There was really no other way to describe the situation. Well no other way that would be appropriate to say in front of an officer. The stench of the body had grown larger and was starting to fill the entire room. I thought The Dude had smelt bad. That was until I smelled the stench of a dead body slowly decaying on my now blood filled apartment.

  'I knew I shouldn't have gotten white carpets. Stupid Claire.' I thought to myself.

  The police were standing in front of my door. My son was holding my hand, his face covered in paint. It was Halloween so we were getting ready to go to the small town festival that my children so loved.

  "How can I help you officer?"

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  "It would be best if I could explain inside."

  I felt a shiver go up my spine, as fear overtook my body. This was the exact same thing the cops had asked my mom when my dad had gotten arrested. I nodded and the cop came in and hung his hat next to our jackets. I smiled at my kids.

  "Children, why don't you go play in your room, while mommy speaks with the nice man?"

  The officer shot my children a friendly smile, who looked at him with curious eyes. Finally they ran upstairs to their room. I took a deep breath and once again turned to the officer.

  "Can I get you anything, officer?"

  "No, that's fine. And please do call me John. I hate this formality thing. Let's get down to business shall we?"

  We sat down at the table. The officer must've noticed how nervous I was. He gave my hand a small squeeze and smiled softly at me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few seconds. When I opened them I mustered up a smile and hinted that he could continue with a small nod.

  "You're not in trouble. I'm just here to talk to you about your husband?"

  "Philip? What do you want with Philip?"

  "There's no easy way to say this, but your husband assaulted a high schooler and fled when the police arrived."

  No...No that wasn't possible. He would never. Not my Philip.

  "If possible I would like you to follow me to the station to give a proper statement about your husband."

  I was sitting in the back of the police car when I had another vision. They had taken me in for quote on quote questioning while the body was being removed from my apartment (Not that I minded). The car had a faint smell of mint, which could probably be explained by the fact that the guy in front of me had consumed at least 5 pieces of mint flavoured gum since we left my apartment. I was sitting in the back seat, my hands tied together.

  "Are you listening?" He asked me. Seems like he was trying to talk while I had a vision. I simply shrugged. I had no idea what he had been talking about.

  "Jesus Christ. Kids these days." He muttered, swallowing the gum he had been chewing.

  'Well excuse me officer but I just saw a girl die in my apartment' I thought to myself, rolling my eyes in a silent protest.

  "When you arrive you'll be questioned in a private room. This is a serious crime so we expect you to be honest with us ok?"

  "Yeah fine. I have nothing to hide anyways."

  That was a half lie, but either the officer didn't care or he didn't notice. Either worked.

  ...

  I was in a private room at the police station. No one was there which sucked. A one way mirror was placed to the left of me. I was sitting on a hard wooden chair. Meanwhile I was tied to a small metal rod mounted to the table. I had gotten a small plastic cup of water ('That way you can't hurt anyone' they had told me) and now I was just waiting for whoever was going to question me.

  10 minutes.

  20 minutes.

  30 minutes.

  It took 45 minutes for the officer to arrive. She was wearing a brown coat going down to her knees. She had black, short hair and small almond coloured eyes. She was wearing a police Badge right over her breast. She took off the coat, revealing the red T-shirt she had under. She took a seat across from me and placed down a cup of coffee.

  "Hello. My name is Mei Cavilot." She said with a smile. "You must be Claire if I'm not mistaken."

  "Last I checked, that was indeed my name." I said sarcastically. Maybe not the smartest move but she did make me wait 45 whole minutes before showing up.

  "No need to be so hostile. I'm sorry for the wait but I had a few other things to take care of. Now I have a few questions regarding the murder. This will be over quickly if you simply state the truth." She said in a fake, sweet voice. I knew a fake voice when I heard one. Took a liar to know one after all.

  "I would like to establish a few rules if you're ok with that"?

  "Yeah sure." I said looking away from her, trying not to be too awkward.

  "Great! Rule one: I can tell if you're lying so don't even Bother. Rule 2: you only talk when you are asked to talk. You're the one being questioned, not the other way around. Rule 3: You will refer to me as either detective Cavilot or miss Cavilot. Understood?" She said, her voice now stern and commanding. A part of me found it impressive just how quickly she had taken control of the entire room. I didn't know what to say but she must've taken that as a sign to continue speaking.

  "Have you identified the Victim yet?" I asked. I was curious about if they knew anything about her. Mei simply shook her head.

  "First of all rule 2." She said with an overly serious voice. I rolled my eyes. Guess she really was serious about her 'rules'.

  "I had actually hoped that you could help identify her." she said, making me look at her once again.

  "I uhm."

  "So then" She stopped me before I could even say anything. "Do you have any idea of why the woman chose your door out of every door in the apartment? You live on the third floor. Not exactly the optimal place to go after getting stabbed."

  "I have no idea."

  She wrote in her notebook.

  "Alright. Do you know if she have any relations to someone you know? This could be Co-workers, friends or family."

  "I don't really have any friends, I more or less keep to myself at work and I haven't talked to my family in years."

  Her pencil once again found its way to the paper.

  "Finally. Have you ever seen this woman before?"

  "I have not."

  I was sitting in front of the officer in the small interrogation room. They had handed me a small cup of water and I was tied down.

  "Do you have any ideas of where your husband went?" Was the first thing they asked. I shook my head.

  "I haven't seen Philip in days. Two or three days if I had to guess. I didn't think much of it. It's not unusual for him to leave for a few days."

  "I see. Do you know why your husband would hurt a high schooler? Do you have any relation to the kid or his family?"

  I shook my head again.

  "I have no idea why Philip would do such a thing. We've had fights before but he has never been physically violent with me before. Not with anyone really. He's a good guy officer. Please you have to trust me" I cried.

  The officer added it to his notes.

  One blink

  Two blinks

  Three blinks

  With that I was back in the small room. A finger snapping in front of me.

  "You awake now?"

  I nodded slowly.

  "Great. Now you can explain why you lied to me." Mei said with a smile.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I believe you HAVE seen this woman before."

  "Are you slow?" I asked. "I already told you I haven't seen her before."

  "I'm not so sure. Your name is Claire Manshire correct? Unless you lied about your name when you first called in about a murder? Which could also get you into trouble, at best a fine, at worst jail time. And if I understand correctly, your family has the ability to see other people's lives." She said, pulling out a file with pictures of the women in my family. My mother, my aunt, my cousin...My sister. I felt as grossed out as when The Dude had first come up to me. Seeing my sister always made me feel sick. I felt the colour fade from my face and my palms cleanse together. Another clap from Mei. I looked up and coughed.

  "Yeah? Well I never had that ability." I said annoyed. She gave me a smile that sent shivers down my spine. Even if I didn't want to admit it out loud it was clear this woman was in control. She looked nice on the surface but her eyes didn't lie. Eyes never lied. I knew that from my family and from working at a bar for almost 5 years. She was a scientist and I was her test subject. She took out another folder. This time my own face was staring back at me. Well my face from a few years ago. I could tell because this person seemed to have their life somewhat together.

  "You're known for zoning out, seemingly at random. In fact I suspect it just happened. I believe that even if you don't have control over it, you do have the ability. Now this is of course just a hunch, so do feel free to correct me." She leaned back in her chair, making it look like she was floating. She took a long sip of her coffee, staring into my eyes.

  "Look Mei"

  "Miss or Detective Cavilot. Rule 1 if you recall."

  "Miss Detective Cavilot or whatever. Even if what you are saying is true, which it is not, why do you think it's specifically the victim I see through. It could be anyone." I said, trying to regain some control.

  "You lied to me when you told me that you hadn't seen the person before. You've most likely seen her when she looked in a mirror or some kind of reflective object. You were overall pretty convincing, however your eyes were twitching and there was a slight hesitation in your voice. So I'm asking once again," her smile disappearing as she once again leaned forward, inches from my face. "Have you seen this woman before?"

  She stared me down. She was good. Really good. Our eyes locked together, like Ying and Yang. None of us wanted to blink, wanted to show weakness. And then...I was slapped.

  "Do not play with me Claire. Know that I will get my answers, if you like it or not. So for the sake of both of us I suggest you start speaking now."

  I sighed, while I raised my hands in defeat. She had slapped me surprisingly hard and I was no stranger to getting slapped by drunk men.

  "Fine. She is the woman I see. But it's not like I would have any reason to kill her." I said looking down. I doubted that she would believe it. Right now I was the main Suspect. Hell I was the only Suspect. The only lead in this whole mess.

  "I believe that."

  "What?"

  "I don't think you killed her. I researched you quite a bit Claire. You don't seem like the type to just murder someone."

  "So why haven't you let me go yet?"

  "Well you are still the main Suspect as far as anyone else can tell. And the way I see it, there is only one way out of this."

  "And that is?"

  "Help me find the real murderer."