Page 126 of The Whispering Night
[Jeremiah doesn’t respond. His head tips back and he watches Winnie for several seconds, his fingers tapping on the notepad.]
[2:14]
Winnie: What? What does that expression mean? My dadwasdefected. He’s on your fancy list.
Jeremiah: Yes, when he moved to Hemlock Falls he was on that list. But… here. There was a reason we suspected him four years ago. Now that I know you’re no longer a threat—
Winnie: I wasnevera threat.
Jeremiah:—then perhaps this might be of interest to you.
[Jeremiah withdraws a manila envelope from his back pocket. It has been curved in half to fit, and now he smooths it out.]
[2:47]
Jeremiah: These are files from the night your father disappeared. Your mother caught him in your house, but she wasn’t able to give us a full picture—yes,yes. I now know there was this circling-words spell on her that jumbled what she said. Still, my Lambdas and I did have another witness that night.
[Winnie yanks the envelope to her and tears out pages. It is a printed interrogation as well as a photograph of Grayson Friday, wet and bruised. Winnie quickly skims the pages.]
[3:27]
Jeremiah: You will see that Grayson Friday and Jenna Thursday had a plan to leave town, but it failed. Grayson didn’t understand the full extent of the plan, only that your father, Bryant, was helping Jenna execute it. He said he saw Bryant that night, during the second trial, and your father was doing magic. A hiding spell that fell away when he reached Grayson.
The Whisperer was also chasing your father at that time, and he and Grayson were able to use a stolen Tuesday Hummer to reach the dam bridge—much as you did on early Wednesday morning. However, Grayson said that while he was able to escape from the Hummer, he didn’t fully understand what was happening with your father.He believed your father was likely dead. We… suspected otherwise.
This is, of course, classified information, Ms. Wednesday. So please do not share.
[Winnie rolls her eyes. Then sets down the pages and photograph so she can study them on the table.]
[4:32]
Winnie: You thought my dad did magic and killed Jenna, right? That’s what Ms. Morgan told me. [She looks at Jeremiah.]
Jeremiah: It was our working theory at the time.
Winnie: Well, your working theory was stupid.
[Jeremiah’s chest expands. He takes another sip of his coffee, visibly trying to control his temper. Then he carefully nods.]
[4:51]
Jeremiah: Yes, Winnie. It was not a good theory. In our defense, we were working with incomplete information—and the network of Dianas were incredibly good at covering their tracks.
They still are. But thanks to your, erm…continuedefforts, I suspect we will make great progress in uncovering that network moving forward. The international Luminaries have offered substantial aid, and while our networks have always worked closely together, now that you have thwarted what would have been the worst disaster in all of Luminaries history—
Winnie: Is that a “thank you”?
Jeremiah:—there is an increased effort to fund and coordinate Diana hunting around the globe.
Winnie: [shaking her head] Well, don’t go overboard. We do need the Dianas, remember? That’s sort of the whole point of what I just went through.
Jeremiah: Yes, you’ve said that before. [He flips to an earlier page in his notebook and reads.] I believe you told Mario Monday, quote: It’s all about ecological balance, Mario. We need each other to keep the system in check. End quote. Does that sound accurate?
[Winnie nods.]
Jeremiah: And that will be taken into consideration, Ms. Wednesday. I can assure you Monday scientists like Mario will be heavily focused on researching this new revelation.
[Winnie grunts, a sound that isn’t impressed. Jeremiah’s face tightens in return.]
