Infinite Evolution: The Strongest Demon Hunter is a Vengeful Wraith?-Chapter 47—Demon hunt [7]

A couple of minutes later Noah left the precinct, walking the woman’s body to a coffee shop for donuts before leaving her body in the store to return to his.

Hopefully the hypersensitive Keeper inside didn’t notice.

After that he waited an hour for Madeleine to leave the station. She slumped into her chair with a tired groan.

"Hank sensed you entering your body," she informed him. "I said I’d track down the signal but he didn’t let me leave. Then all the officers talked to me before I left, they were interested in my school stuff."

Noah was glad to have his mind separated from hers. There was no point in spoiling her naivety with his cynical thoughts.

"Well, sorry about that but we have bigger problems," Noah muttered.

Madeleine leaned closer. "What did you find in Tammy’s file?"

Noah didn’t even know how to start explaining this. Mostly because he doubted it; no matter how damning the evidence was.

"They think Gladis killed her daughter and hid the body."

For a moment, Madeleine just stared at him frozen. Then she reclined back looking down, shaking her head.

"That’s not possible," she whispered. She turned to Noah, shaking her head vigorously. "That’s just impossible. You saw Gladis, she was destroyed by Tammy’s disappearance."

Noah scratched his head. "They have evidence. Dirt in Gladis’ toenails, footage of her returning to the house that night."

"But there is no footage of her leaving the house?" Madeleine guessed, reading Noah’s conflicted face.

"There wasn’t any DNA either," Noah said, covering his eyes and sighing. "The neighbour’s camera was conveniently out that night. They didn’t have enough evidence to arrest Gladis and bigger cases cropped up so they left it."

Madeleine’s eyes regained some light. "So what’s their prevailing theory on why they think Gladis did it?"

"They think she’s crazy," Noah said with a chuckle. "They think her husband’s death and the severe psychosis her neighbour reported her having drove the murder."

Madeleine laughed. "Bullshit."

"It’s a solid theory, and with the evidence that she left the house—"

"It’s bullshit," Madeleine asserted. "Her psychosis was caused by something supernatural, she might have just..."

Noah turned once her voice faded, her amber eyes dulled with realization.

"She might have been possessed," Noah completed, "Then whatever possessed her killed her daughter with her own hands and hid the body. I checked the news from three months ago, they all ran the footage and narrative. Everyone thinks she did it."

Madeleine turned away from him, cupping her face. Noah once again wondered how to comfort her.

But the feeling once again felt fake. The same hollowness he felt when faced with Gladis’ despair. It felt inhuman, but it was how he had grown up.

As an enforcer, and even a child, he stuffed his emotions away to survive and eventually forgot where he kept them.

He sighed, patting Madeleine on the shoulder. "Don’t worry, I have a lead, one more witness. One more thing to check. If I’m wrong I’ll possess Gladis and try to search for her memories of that night."

The car roared to life and Noah drove them out of the parking lot in silence. Madeleine, the source of conversation in the car, had grown quiet.

She just stared at the passing cars on the freeway, not even bothering to complain about how fast Noah was driving.

After a long moment of silence, she asked, "I’m the lamest demon hunter you’ve ever met."

Noah bit back his first answer, choosing his words carefully. "You’re the only demon hunter I’ve ever met."

She didn’t even smile, her amber eyes were wet with unshed tears. "I’m too soft. Everyone says so; just one missing kid and her mom and I’m blubbering."

"Who said that?" Noah asked.

"Just forget it," Madeleine replied, turning to look out the window.

The silence of the drive reigned once again, tormenting Noah with its completeness. He had never felt compelled to speak before, not once in his life.

"I won’t pretend to understand what’s going through your mind right now," Noah said begrudgingly. "But who you are isn’t something to be ashamed of. I think it’s something to be envied."

Once the words settled and the silence returned, Noah felt more comfortable. He said what was on his mind, now they had to focus on the murder case in front of them.

The address of the witness was a house a bit close to Midland Beach, which he was familiar with. The house was isolated between breaks in the city, cloaked by trees and a sandy floor.

Noah parked and got out without a word, Madeleine close behind. They walked over the sandy ground to the empty building among the trees.

The windows were boarded up, the blue paint of the house chipping, and the front door was just open.

There was something eerie about this place, but for some reason it didn’t set off his sense of danger. The dissonance between his sight and gut made him pause.

Someone walked out of the house tentatively. A short, scrawny man with a receding hairline and glasses, wearing a pink beach shirt and blue shorts.

"Um... can I help you?" the man asked.

Noah swallowed, getting a hold of himself. "Mr Lin? I’m Noah, I’m an investigative journalist. This is Mads, my assistant."

They both shook hands with the man, smiling faintly.

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Is this about that little girl that disappeared? I swear I’ve done so many interviews on that."

"Unfortunately," Noah said with a hearty laugh. "But I promise we won’t take too much of your time."

Lin nodded, guiding them towards a beach table beside his house, under an umbrella to protect them from the day’s harsh heat.

"Oh thank heavens," Noah muttered, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Living out here must have you sweating like crazy."

Lin shrugged. "My dad left it to me, and there aren’t many jobs out there that can pay for an apartment in the city, so here I am."

Lin gestured around the sandy land and trees. Noah glanced around tentatively, then he turned back to Lin.

"How long have you been out here?"

"Two years at most," Lin answered mechanically, pulling out a couple of drinks and handing them out.

Madeleine looked down at the drink. "I don’t know if I want to—"

"Oh come on," Lin whined, giving her a cheeky grin. "You’re not going to be young and beautiful forever. Drink while you still can; hangovers feel life-threatening these days."

Noah watched the entire exchange quietly. "So you were the one that caught footage of Mrs. Gladis that fateful night. What can you tell me that you haven’t told the other losers that interviewed you?"