Page 62 of Devil May Lie
“It’s processing,” Madden said. “Tell the others, if you hear a rumor going around about the Butcher and the Docks, nip it in the bud. Use threats if you have to, I’m not playing around with this.”
“You mean about how he was wasted?”
Word traveled quickly. “Is that what they’re saying?”
Ledger let out a low whistle. “I knew that seemed out of character for Berga. But yeah. People are talking, but that’s all they’re saying. He had too much to drink and beat up both a Satellite and Retinue member.”
Not exactly accurate either but…Better than it could have been.
“Push that narrative,” Madden ordered.
“Whatever you say. Can I go now? There’s a hottie here waiting tables and I—”
Madden hung up and tossed his multi-slate onto the built-in shelf next to the bed, which doubled as an end table.
“You like him that much?” Bay asked a moment later.
He grunted. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“That’s not how psychology works.”
“But I am a criminal,” Madden forced a smirk, “and that is your specialty.”
“Name a single person who would dare report you for any crime,” Bay drawled before growing somber. “I thought for sure you were helping. You were the only new factor. No,” he thought it over, “actually, you still are helping. I heard Berga’s episode only lasted around ten minutes, is that true?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, “but the guy passed out from accidentally drugging himself, so that probably helped cut things short.”
“What was he doing just before that?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?”
“We were talking.”
“Talking?” Bay’s brow lifted. “Interesting.”
“You sound like him when you say stuff like that.”
“I have personal experience with detachment issues brought on by trauma,” Bay shared, but he was too caught up in his own head to seem to realize what he’d done. Or, maybe since Madden had gotten with his friend, he was trying to be closer for Berga’s benefit. Who knew. It didn’t much matter.
The only thing that did was getting to the bottom of this.
“I can’t be helpless the next time this happens,” Madden insisted. “You need to tell me everything you know. What’s the trigger?”
“A girl splitting her skull open from falling down the stairs was obvious,” Bay replied. “But…Perhaps someone got hurt in the crowd and he saw it?”
“Doesn’t he see injured people all the time?” He was the cause of most of those injuries, in fact.
“True.”
“So, you’re saying you don’t know what caused it this time?” Madden growled in frustration. “How often does it happen? Why haven’t I ever seen it before or heard any of the others talking about it?”
“Berga is fairly good at secluding himself away when he feels a delusion coming on,” Bay explained. “It’s easy enough for him since all he has to say is he’s working in his lab or studying.”
Right, no one would question that coming from the Butcher of the Brumal or a senior at Vail University.
“This is the second time he’s slipped up in front of you,” Bay said. “That’s never happened before. Even I haven’t seen him locked in psychosis since we were children. He insists on handling it all himself, but that can only last for so long without error. That’s why I’d hoped you could be good for him. Sometimes a drastic change is all it takes to shake something loose.”