The Unfolding 9

Risa smiled weakly, Katy had been the only person in the entire village, besides Meisie, who had tried to help her out and to be kind to her. “I’ll do whatever I can. I might not be able to keep her out of jail completely, since she never tried to stop the others from killing people, but maybe we can ask the judge to let extenuating circumstances prevail. And in any case, we can visit her too, if she has to go to jail.’ Meisie nodded, seeming happy enough with that. She reached out to squeeze Risa’s hand. ‘That’s good. I’m fine with testifying against them, then.’ ‘Very good. ‘Risa exhaled, feeling a little relieved. She squeezed Meisie’s hand as well, her smile gaining a little strength. ‘Then let’s sleep now. You’ll probably need some energy whatever might happen tomorrow.’ ‘You’re right.’ Meisie rested her head against Risa’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She seemed to have fallen asleep within minutes, so Risa switched off the small lamp on her nightstand and went to sleep as well. In the next morning, they got up early. Risa had figured that it would her colleagues from the police station some time to actually head to the village and arrest its inhabitants, so it was better to get the procedures for that started sooner rather than later. Meisie mostly remained silent while they were having breakfast, and during their bus ride to the police station. Risa assumed that she was maybe thinking of what to say during her interrogation later, so she decided to let Meisie have some time to herself. And then, they arrived at the police station. Meisie stared at the building for a moment, then she tried to put on a brave smile. ‘Let’s go inside, then.’ ‘Think of it this way.’ Risa tried to turn Meisie’s nervousness into excitement instead. ‘You’ve never been inside a police station before, Right? And especially not one with modern equipment. So isn’t this exciting?’ Meisie hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded, her eyes sparkling a little when she thought of all the new things she might get to see and learn about now. Risa smiled and patter Meisie’s back, nodding in satisfaction as she led the way inside. She was greeted by her colleagues cheerfully, one of them laughing when he saw her with Meisie. ‘So you not only survived your trip to that mysterious village, but you also got to bring home a cute girlfriend? I’m so jealous ….!’ Both Risa and Meisie blushed brightly, and the Detective shook her head quickly. ‘Hey, Aino, please don’t say that! She …she’s not my girlfriend.’