Page 29 of Once Silenced

Riley’s gaze flickered to Ann Marie, registering the same perplexity that mirrored her own.He hadn’t even tried to sound like a grieving spouse.The room, with its chaos of academic debris and neglect, seemed a physical manifestation of Levon Warren’s unsettling calm.

“Mr.Warren,” Riley said, stepping closer to him.“Can you tell us more about what you mean?You seem...prepared for this news.”

Warren’s eyes ignited with a feverish intensity, the kind that hinted at long nights wrestling with demons both real and imagined.

“Oh, I’ve been prepared for years,” he asserted, his tone that of an instructor.“You see, I warned Patricia.I told her what would happen if she continued to rise in the ranks of VEEM.But she wouldn’t listen.”

Riley absorbed this revelation, wondering what Patricia Warren might have been involved with that warranted such a dire warning.

“VEEM,” Warren spat out the acronym like a curse, distaste marking deep lines into his already weather-worn face.“I suppose you don’t know the truth about the so-called Virginia Educators for Excellence in Mathematics.A front for sinister forces that have been pulling strings for decades.”

The assertion struck Riley as ludicrous, yet chillingly possible—a blend of conspiracy theory and potential lead.Her mind raced through the profiles of secret societies and covert operations she’d studied over the years.

“Pulling strings?”she echoed.“Mr.Warren, are you suggesting that VEEM had something to do with your wife’s death?”

The laugh that erupted from Warren was devoid of humor, a bitter sound that resonated through the cluttered room.

“Suggesting?”he echoed, a sardonic edge sharpening his tone.“I’m telling you outright.VEEM’s hierarchy eliminated her.”His eyes, sharp and unyielding, met Riley’s with an intensity that bordered on fanaticism.“It’s all part of their grand design, a mathematical equation of power and control that spans centuries.”

Riley exchanged a glance with Ann Marie, whose eyebrows were raised in silent question.If what Warren said held any shred of truth, they were dealing with something far more complex than a simple murder case.But it seemed too far-fetched to even imagine.

Levon Warren launched into an elaborate explanation, speaking of complex mathematical formulas, his voice growing more animated with each sentence.According to him, these equations were keys that unlocked patterns predicting historical events, assassinations, and global conspiracies.

“Look here,” Warren gestured wildly toward a sprawling whiteboard, its surface a chaotic mesh of numbers and symbols.“You see this?This formula predicts the fall of political regimes, the exact dates of market crashes!”

Riley listened with a growing sense of unease.The man’s fervor was strong, his belief in his theories unshakable.Patricia’s murder was not just a random act of violence in his eyes but a carefully calculated move woven into a vast tapestry of conspiracy.Not being a mathematician herself, she felt eerily helpless against this onslaught of irrationality.

“Patricia...she figured out too much,” he continued, his hands trembling.“She was about to expose them, so they silenced her.”

Then Ann Marie spoke up cheerfully, eyes wide with an innocent expression, “Mr.Warren, we understand you once applied to join VEEM yourself.Can you tell us about that?”

Warren’s face darkened.

“Yes, I tried.Once or twice, in hopes of infiltrating their ranks and blowing the whole thing up.But it was futile.”His words were bitter, tinged with the venom of long-held grudges.“They recognized me as a threat, you see.They knew I was onto them, that I could expose their machinations.So they rigged the system against me.”

As Warren continued his diatribe, Riley watched him closely.The feverish light in his eyes grew brighter, igniting with his convictions.She found herself struck by the stark contrast between this man and the brilliant mathematician he must once have been—and perhaps still was.But lost now in a labyrinth of paranoia and delusion, this man was likely a shell of his former self, haunted by specters of betrayal and revenge.She felt a pang of something akin to sorrow for him.How cruelly the mind could turn on itself, warping despair into such consuming madness.

“Mr.Warren,” she said gently, her voice modulating to a tone she reserved for the most delicate of revelations, “I’d like you to tell us about your membership in a different organization.The Cipher Society.”

Levon Warren’s transformation was almost theatrical.The agitation that had been etched into his features smoothed away as if brushed by an invisible hand.His spine straightened, his eyes cleared, and a subtle, dignified pride swelled within him.“Yes,” he began with a newfound steadiness, “I’m a high-ranking ‘constant’ in the Cipher Society.”

Riley observed him with keen interest, her mind meticulously filing away each fluctuation in his mood and mannerisms.She remembered that in math, “constant” referred to a value or number that does not change, regardless of the circumstances.

Warren carried on, his voice laced with a respect that teetered on the edge of worship.“At the very top, we have The Prime,” he began, “Then come us Constants, there are six of us.Following us are the Variables and then the Equations.At the bottom, you’ll find the Null Set.”

As Warren spoke, Riley could almost see this life unraveling, revealing a man once celebrated for his intellect, now buried within layers of secrecy and esoteric beliefs.It was like watching a building in the throes of demolition, the once-proud structure collapsing into rubble.

“We’re the true seekers of knowledge,” Warren asserted, leaning forward in his chair as if sharing the most profound of secrets.His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “The ones who can see through the veil of lies that VEEM and their ilk have draped over the world.”

Riley listened intently, her gaze never wavering from his animated face.She recognized this look—the glint of someone who believed they held the key to unlocking the world’s mysteries.It was a look she’d seen in the eyes of others: the obsessed, the driven, the lost.

Warren’s next words caught her off guard, “And I can help you.I can bring the full force of the Society’s resources to bear on this investigation.”He leaned even closer, his excitement palpable.“We have methods, tools that your FBI could only dream of.Together, we could crack this case wide open.”

Her voice was steady as she addressed Levon Warren, her words weaving through the dense air of the cluttered living room.

“Mr.Warren, while we appreciate your offer, we need to conduct this investigation through official channels.We can’t involve outside organizations, no matter how...resourceful they might be.”

Warren’s reaction came like a thunderclap, shattering the tense stillness that had settled over the room.His face, previously illuminated by a sense of self-importance, now twisted into a snarl of indignation.The air seemed to vibrate with his anger as he bellowed accusations, “Of course!I should have known!You’re not here to solve Patricia’s murder at all, are you?You’re just like the rest of them, puppets of the system!”

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