They were out of leads regarding where to search for Pam’s body but that didn’t mean they were out of leads in general. Before, Alexis had hoped that by finding Pam’s body they could catch whoever had attacked her, but now that her ideas for that had failed she would have to approach the problem in the other direction.
If Alexis caught whoever attacked Pam, there was a good chance she could find wherever her body was.
But how the hell was Alexis supposed to catch someone that strong anyway? As much as Alexis liked mysteries, she wasn’t a professional detective. She didn’t have any resources or authority to investigate it. Not to mention, Alexis still had her job which she had done nothing for since clocking in this morning.
And how long would it take for her to find the attacker? Her previous ideas had been good because they would have solved the situation pretty much instantly. But trying to find the attacker meant a longer process of hunting down suspects, alibis, and doing some pretty intense research. All of which would need to be done covertly because there is no way Alexis would survive if her attacker set their sights on her.
She needed to think about this long term if she was gonna have any hope of success. And also she needed to ask herself if it was worth doing at all?
It was at this point the boost in confidence she felt when she was in her problem solving mode started to fade. When it did, it let her start processing her own feelings. It wasn’t that long ago (literally yesterday) that she had been convinced a powerful psychic was trying to kill her. What the hell have I been doing?
Sure right now she was choosing to help Pam, but would Alexis really want to spend all this time (and especially money) to help someone she didn’t even know? Not to mention the worst kind of person Alexis could imagine.
Pam was a powerful psychic who actively chose to self identify as evil. Just from what she had talked about last night, she clearly had no issues using those powers in a fight. By definition that meant she was not only willing to hurt people, but in her case probably has!
Forgiving Pam for a broken window, for a broken mirror, a few new holes in her, and now a few more dents in her car was one thing. Heck, most people would say it would be actively suicidal to pick a fight over it. Even forgetting the fact that Pam probably didn’t have access to money.
But how much could a person reasonably be expected to help? And it isn’t like Pam is all that thankful about the situation either!
Alexis came to the conclusion that she had done more than enough considering the situation.
So instead of brainstorming ways in which she could solve the identity of the attacker, Alexis decided to start brainstorming ways she could neatly sever ties without getting a floating lantern thrown at her head or even more holes in her wall.
Which was a very real threat, Alexis was certain that Pam probably didn’t love that she and Jen knew her real name and secret. More than likely only telling them to aid in her rescue.
But ignoring the threat of psychic harm, however, Alexis had another issue she needed to navigate: Jen.
The more that Alexis got to know Jen, the less Alexis felt like she understood her. She was free spirited, socially confident, attractive, and easy going. None of which were things Alexis would ever describe herself as. It made it baffling to Alexis that Jen chose to not just put the work into maintaining a friendship with Alexis, or even just put up with her numerous idiosyncrasies, but also that Jen was (as she would put it) ride or die for Alexis.
One of Alexis’s theories was that Jen still had feelings for Alexis she was suppressing. Though this theory opened up new questions of why she thought Alexis would be a quality partner. Especially after it was settled that they ‘didn’t click romantically’.
Alexis’s more likely theory was that Jen just easily felt pity for certain kinds of people. This may even inform many of Jen’s more radical political leanings. But if Alexis wanted to sever ties, this made Jen a potential liability. Jen and Pam clearly got along, and for whatever reason Jen seemed to hold no amount of fear or suspicion toward Pam.
If Alexis wanted to get out of this situation, she would need to suggest a course of action that would not draw any suspicion from Pam and looked like she was still trying to help to not alarm Jen. All the while giving Alexis the chance to put as much distance between her and Pam as possible.
The easiest suggestion would be to suggest Pam go to someone else making this situation their problem instead. And surely Pam never expected Alexis to personally solve her situation anyway. In all likelihood it sounded like she was desperate and Alexis was just the first person she recognized who had a talent that could protect her from Pam.
Even though I don’t want to use my talent to protect myself, I would just rather not be in danger!
In terms of people Alexis thought she could suggest Pam could go to, Alexis’s first thought was the police. But besides the fact that Chief Sobol had made it clear he hated the costume game, and would probably not be inclined to devote town resources to help a former supervillain, Pam had already established she wouldn’t be inclined to go to them anyway.
Alexis’s next thought had a bit more likelihood, which was the other members of Graveyard Bash.
Pam had gone out of her way to clarify that she was the ‘LEADER’ of Graveyard Bash, so why couldn’t she rely on one of her subordinates there to help her out?
This only had the one downside which was that even though Pam had chosen to divulge her personal and costumed identity, Alexis wondered if she would be willing to give out the phone number of one of her compatriots.
But then Alexis came up with a brilliant plan, which was rather than suggest a specific person, Alexis should just ask if there was anyone Pam thought could help her out.
All that was left now was to make the ask. Pam could keep the lantern. And of course Alexis would explain the situation to whoever Pam needed her to.
Pam probably already knew someone who lived within
There were definitely tons of people who fit this criteria.
“I tried everything I could think of, but this is all just a little beyond me. Is there anyone you want us to reach out to?” Alexis typed. I am super glad that when I am writing instead of talking I don’t have to worry about sounding nervous.
Alexis hoped she wouldn’t immediately react violently, but thankfully in her previous bout of insanity induced by her love of problem solving, Alexis now knew that her condo was not that far from the border. Meaning she could always grab Jen and book it to her car and drive off. Replacing her stuff would be a chore, but that was what insurance was for.
She would just stay at a hotel or at Jen’s place till it blew over. Plus she already was used to working remotely.
The lantern floated over to the cheat sheet before eventually flashing back a response.
[“EVERYONE I NO”]
There was a pause.
[“IS IN MIDPORT BUT”]
There was another pause. When Pam had to communicate longer sentences, like last night, this tended to happen a lot. Alexis had gotten into the habit of waiting a bit to make sure Pam was done talking before asking a follow up question.
[“I CAN BOUNCE”]
Alexis spoke these statements outloud for Jen’s benefit, because even if Alexis was a coward at heart, she drew the line at lying to a friend. Plus she wasn’t fast enough on her feet to think of statements that would help Alexis get her way more than Pam’s own words.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“where will u sleep tho? and wat about ur killer?” Jen typed, “if u dont finish ur unfinished business u cant pass on!”
[“C”]
During the pause in the conversation while the lantern had floated back over to the cheat sheet to check something, Alexis had to forcibly sit on her own hands to keep herself from typing out a follow up question. This has to be a joke, because how can they both be so sure that Pam’s unfinished business has to do with her killer? Just because it was her last thought before she passed out?
There was no way to know for sure, but Alexis figured a majority of murder victims probably had some form of regret regarding the fact that they were being murdered. Why don’t all of them become ghosts? And how do they think a ghost even needs to finish their business before moving on. As many movies have ghosts just sticking around until someone exorcizes them.
It also did not make sense to Alexis why Pam would want to pass on. As she is now she can still live some kind of life. If she got the right accommodations, she could read books, message loved ones, maybe even find meaningful employment. She would just need a place to stay.
[“CAN CRASH OUTSIDE”]
“thats bs!” Jen typed, “y not just stay w/ lex until we figure out wat 2 do?”
Shit, no this is the opposite of what I want! How the hell am I supposed to get out of this?
Alexis couldn’t object without Jen insisting. Alexis would need to change tacts then. Maybe if she could get Jen alone she could convince her to let Pam fend for herself. Just then Alexis realized a course of action that could get her there.
“If it is just for a few days, I wouldn’t have an issue. Since you can’t go home, would you want us to grab some of your stuff?” Alexis typed.
This way Alexis had an excuse to get Jen alone and someplace that was clearly out of Pam’s range. And by agreeing she got to set the terms for how long Pam could stay without seeming rude.
[“C”]
Mission successful! Now all she would have to do is convince Jen they were both way in over their head. Which shouldn’t be hard to do, since they were both way in over their head.
[“WAS GONNA SAY NO”]
That would have been a way better out!
“at least this way u wont b alone” Jen typed, “and having a roof over ur head is important”
[“C”]
Alexis hated that Jen was making good points. It was gonna make it harder to argue that this wasn’t their problem. That was gonna be a problem for later.
“Okay,” Alexis typed, “for now start brainstorming a list of things you may want. I have to catch up on my work but we can go after five when I clock out.”
----------------------------------------
17:09. Tuesday, December 5th, 2023. Alexis’s Condo.
“And that is everything you want?” Alexis typed.
[“C”]
“Alright,” Alexis typed, “we will be back in a little bit. I’ll leave my phone here on the MorseMore App so you can practice. If we run into any issues I’ll text you so you can know what is going on.”
She wouldn’t be able to text back, but it would hopefully be a nice gesture.
Alexis and Jen hopped into the latter’s car. When they were inside and buckled up, and started on the way. Jen was driving so they threw on some music, some love song that Alexis had never heard of played over the radio. Alexis and Jen talked about music for a little bit.
Eventually, while Alexis was still working up the courage to have the conversation she wanted to have, Jen spoke up.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you saying Pam was allowed to stay for only a few days,” Jen said.
Caught off guard, Alexis struggled to not feel defensive.
“You’re the one who volunteered at my place without asking me,” Alexis said, trying to stay calm, “I have the right not to want people in my home, and it isn’t even technically my house”
“Omg Lex,” Jen responded, “don’t pretend your mom wouldn’t be cool with it. When I was worried about getting evicted she was the first one to say that I can crash at your place.”
Alexis should have figured that reasoning wouldn’t work on Jen.
“Yeah,” Alexis said “but you don’t make holes in the wall.”
“She can’t help it!” Jen exclaimed, “Seriously, I know you can be a bit anti-psychic, but that’s just victim blaming.”
“See, this is exactly why I hate this ‘psychic rights’ nonsense! I am not unreasonable for not wanting to be around people who can kill me any more than what is required of me.”
“If you really feel that way, why not just quit your job!” Jen yelled. Certainly wouldn’t have met Pam if I had!
“I’m not gonna quit…” Alexis said, “Lots of people have jobs they hate. And I get paid good money.”
“People who work for drug companies that overcharge on insulin probs say the same thing…” Jen said.
“Yeah,” Alexis said, “and you don’t see them quitting. And I definitely hate my job a lot less than they do.”
“Whatevs…” Jen said.
There was a long pause in the conversation. They passed by a sign that welcomed them to Fair Hollow.
“So what? If I awakened a talent like Pam’s tomorrow you would stop hanging out with me? You wouldn’t let me crash at your place if I needed it?” Jen asked.
“That’s not gonna happen Jen,” Alexis answered.
“It could!” Jen responded, “I’m within the right age!”
“No, I mean that I wouldn’t stop being friends with you!” Alexis shouted back, “I… care about you too much…”
“Then that is worse,” Jen said.
“How?” Alexis asked.
“It means that the real reason you don’t wanna help Pam’s because you just don’t care enough,” Jen said.
“Yeah, and why should I care?” Alexis responded, “I don’t know her. I met her once before this, and the second time I met her she accidentally threw a car part at me. And if my talent hadn’t stopped it then I may have died right there in the parking lot.
“Then because I didn’t die, she broke into my house and pretty sure she snuck into my bathroom too while I was in the shower. That is literal serial killer behavior!”
Not to mention she has been pretty rude.
“You aren’t seeing this from her perspective at all!” Jen interjected, “She was probably pretty desperate. She is stuck in a town she fully doesn’t live in with no one to turn to with a talent that can hurt people if she isn’t careful. She was right to reach out to you.”
“So what?” Alexis asked, “I got a power that I didn’t ask for and that means I have to start using it to help people? That is literally the argument military recruiters and the police use to get psychics to enlist.”
“You are so stubborn! I don’t just mean your talent! I meant because you can probably figure out who killed her!” Jen said.
“How? Literally how?” Alexis asked, “I am not a PI, I don’t even run the investigations for the TAC. You tell me how I am supposed to find out who attacked her.” Alexis had to hold back from tacking on that they also didn’t know if Pam was dead, it would seem too much like a nitpick. Though the leaving point unaddressed ate at her.
“Alexis you have been working on this for like a day and you came up with two plans that almost immediately would have solved part of it,” Jen said.
“Wasn’t like they worked though,” Alexis responded.
“Fine, I’ll pull over, and you can look me straight into my eyes and tell me that you didn’t have another idea we could try. Heck,” Jen said, “I bet in the time you were finishing up your work you thought of at least two.”
She had actually thought of three. One was to get a list of people in the costume game because they would all be potential suspects. Another was to reach out to an expert on how talents interact with each other to determine what kind may have been used against Pam. And the third was to check for other missing persons in the area to see if this was a one off or part of a pattern. Oh and even though their headquarters is out of range, Pam can probably search the warehouse she used to work at for any clues. Since they may be involved.
“You were just thinking of more,” Jen asked, “weren't you Lex.”
“I can’t help it!” Alexis admitted, “And how did you even know?”
“You just get a look on your face,” Jen said. They pulled into the parking lot and started to head into the building
“Aabria from work just told me the same thing yesterday…” Alexis said.
“Lex,” Jen said, "that is just proving my point that you are good at this kind of thing.”
“I still don’t have any authority to investigate this,” Alexis said.
“P sure this is the first murder in history where we can actually ask the victim,” Jen responded. The building was unlocked like Pam said it would be, and they walked up the stairs to the third floor.
“Please stop implying this is a murder, it is really bothering me. And besides,” Alexis said, “I didn't mean the approval of the victim. I meant that I don’t have legal standing to investigate. Suspects aren’t gonna let me ask them questions, and if I find the attacker I won’t exactly have the ability to arrest them.”
“Lex, if anyone can figure that out it's you,” Jen said.
“I am glad that you feel that way, but I just don’t know.”
Eventually they had to stop talking because when they reached Pam’s apartment, there were two cops knocking at the door.