The police arrived shortly after he finally had the nerve to call them. Maddy watched from the back of the diner as they swarmed the scene, their flashing lights cutting through the darkness. He felt detached as if he were watching a scene from a movie, not his own life.

When the cops approached him for questioning, he had already chewed off most of the nails on his left hand, and he would have done the same thing to his right hand, if it hadn’t been wrapped in a cool, wet cloth, to soothe the burning sensation that hadn’t dissipated.

He did his best to dance around the truth. He avoided telling them anything Strange related, worried that one small word would cause him to suddenly throw up and then there would be more questions.

He refused to look at the body, which the cops took dozens of photos of as if Nanabo were on the cover of Vogue and not dead. A pit formed in his stomach and he thought of Carrie. It had been years since he thought of her and touching Nanabo must have weakened the spell if he was remembering her again.

He brought his thumbnail to his teeth. Besides forcing his trap shut, the spell also made him untraceable to other Strange Folk as anything other than human. It’s why his senses were so dull, but if the spell was weakened and other Strange Folk could smell him, then he was in danger. He gazed at the front door. Dee said she would come. He needed her to come.

"Hey there," A cop greeted with a wide smile, his tone was far too sweet. Maddy didn’t even see him approach, it made him jump. “I’m Officer, Xavier Hess. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Hi,” Maddy replied succinctly. His gaze teetering between the officer and the bell of the door, silently begging for it to jingle.

“What happened to your hand?” The cop asked stepping closer to him, gazing down at his cloth-wrapped hand and then back at him.

“I burned it,” Maddy tried to sound bored and tired, hoping it would be enough to avoid playing another round of twenty questions.

“Mind if I have a look?” The cop asked, his expression was thoughtful, but the noose around Maddy’s heart warned him otherwise.

He took a good look at the man in front of him. A silver name tag pinned to his chest read, X. Hess, shined against the bright diner lights. Earthy brown eyes that matched his curly hair were nearly leveled with Maddy’s, if not half an inch shorter. He had the right build for a cop, sturdy and lithe. Good for catching and fighting bad guys, Maddy thought.

The cop reached out his hand for Maddy to place his burned hand in, but he hesitated for two reasons. One: If he gave his hand over, the officer would see there were no marks, which would lead to more questions and possibly throwing up. And two: For the simple fact that he didn’t trust him. A quick twitch of his nose told Maddy that the cop smelled of crushed herbs and honey, he was the same Folk as Dee.

Witch.

"Witch." The word shot out of his mouth like a hard candy that was too sour and right into the face of the officer.

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Officer Hess gave the slightest head jerk, his eyes flickered in shock and then a wry smile, an indication he made a social faux pas in the company of humans. His cheeks became so hot he could have roasted marshmallows on them.

Thinking quickly, he looked over his shoulder to Doug for help. He texted his boss just after he’d phoned the cops and luckily for Maddy, Doug lived close enough to come back right away. Understanding his need for help flashed in Doug’s eyes and without saying another word, he left the cop he was talking to and walked over to him.

“You alright, son?” Doug asked, clamping a large hand on Maddy’s shoulder.

“I just want to go home,” He replied, sounding defeated from this evening’s events. He looked up at Doug for guidance and the simple gesture turned the gentle old man gritty and protective. The shift in mood also made the cop in front of them drop his hand and smile.

“Is there a problem here, officer?” Doug said, puffing out his already expanded chest and narrowing his gaze.

“No,” The officer replied with another smile that he didn’t quite commit to.

“And has my employee answered all of your questions this evening?” Doug continued.

Too many questions, Maddy thought. Like, did Mr. Nanabo seem off earlier in the day, or had he ever shown signs of confusion? These were the wrong questions. They should have been asking was someone after him or had he seemed worried about something. Of course, Maddy didn’t know the answers to this either, but it was almost as if they were trying to write off what happened as an old man having a senile moment. Which was not only far from the truth, but infuriated Maddy.

“My partner’s yes, but-” The Officer Hess began.

“Then maybe you should be consolidating with them instead,” Doug said, cutting off the cop and smirking when he saw the officer's jaw clench. “It’s nearly two in the morning, Maddy, here,” Doug squeezed his shoulder, “Worked a double shift on a day he didn’t have to come in, witnessed the death of a beloved customer, and I’m sure on top of all of this, he has class tomorrow. Don’t you, son?”

Maddy nodded at Doug and turned to the cop once more, trying to give off his best I’m just a tired human boy please let me go to sleep look.

"So, if it’s alright with you,” Doug cleared his throat, his gaze remaining stern toward Officer Hess. “I think it would be alright if we let him go home.”

The cop let out a heavy sigh, his defeat evident in his tone, as he spoke, "Yeah, for now, I guess."

"Good," Doug said succinctly with a nod. He turned back to the officer who had been asking him questions earlier and added over his shoulder, "Oh, and Maddy come and see me before you leave."

Not wanting to spend another minute with the cop, Maddy headed for the back office to grab his coat and go home, but pain seized him as the cop grabbed his injured hand and tossed the towel to the ground. Looking over his shoulder, Maddy dropped his jaw, a small gasp getting caught in his throat.

The cop cocked a brow at Maddy and smirked as he said, "Looks like a nasty burn." Maddy snapped his jaw shut and picked up the towel off the ground. He didn’t know what kind of game the cop was playing. Was he seeing the remnants of a broken spell or pointing out there was nothing there? When Maddy stood back up, the officer was holding a small note with a number and his name scribbled on it.

“If you need to talk to someone about what happened.” Officer Xavier paused as if trying to imply it was safe to discuss something Strange with him. “You can give me a call.”

“Or, I could just call nine-one-one again,” Maddy pinched his face together. He wasn’t sure what the laws were regarding discussing this stuff around humans, hell only a few hours ago just the very thought made him sick, but he knew either way he wasn’t going to sit down and have tea with this man about it.

Pissed off and not wanting to deal with the officer in front of him for another minute, he stalked out of the diner, without his coat and without saying goodbye to Doug.