ALL NOVEL 111. The Man In Black (Tess)
"Hey Rosa?" I quietly asked our receptionist. "Who was that guy? He didn't seem like one of Bev's usual clients."
I'd just seen a tall serious-looking man in a dark suit and wearing dark sunglasses follow my boss into her office and close the door behind them. The guy pulled up into our parking lot in a big black pick-up truck then came into the waiting room acting equal parts like he owned the place and like he was suspicious of everyone around him.
On its own that might not have been too unusual, some folks were a bit on edge when they visited a therapist for the first time. What made this situation stand out was Bev had just started her lunch break when the stranger arrived, so I knew he didn't have an appointment scheduled. And normally Bev wouldn't have dropped everything to see some random walk-in like that. As far as I could tell he didn't even fill out any of the standard paperwork, he just exchanged some words with Rosa then with Beverly before she disappeared into her office with him.
Unfortunately Rosa was still acting awkward or uneasy around me. She grimaced and hesitated at first like maybe she wasn't going to answer my question, but after a second or two she seemed to change her mind.
She responded just as quietly "I think he's from the government? His name's Mr. Sinclair."
"I'm pretty sure he's here about the miracle stuff. Sorry Tess," she added with another grimace.
My stomach lurched but I sighed, "Thanks Rosa. I guess I'll go wait in my office. I assume he's going to want to see me when he's done with Bev."
She just nodded quietly, while I turned and shuffled back into my office then slumped down in my chair. Since Hannah's email last week I'd started to think everything was going to be ok. Things weren't quite back to normal yet, but Bev scheduled a staff meeting for this afternoon and I was optimistic that meant everything would be ok when we started work tomorrow morning.
Finding out someone from the government had come to talk with my boss felt like having the rug pulled out from under me. I was positive I'd be out of work by the end of the day, maybe my career would be over too.
I ended up just waiting quietly for about twenty minutes, before I finally heard Bev's office door open. I couldn't hear what was said if anything, but it was only a few moments before the guy appeared at my door. He knocked once on the doorframe then asked, "Theresa Fuller?"
With him standing in the doorway I had a much better view of him, and everything about him screamed cop. He was well over six feet tall, probably six-four. He wore his dark hair in a short buzz cut, and his facial hair was neatly shaved except for a small black moustache. He wore a black business suit that seemed perfectly tailored to fit him, along with a white shirt and a black tie. His shoulders were broad and he seemed muscular and fit. He was still wearing dark sunglasses which almost felt cliché to me, but definitely added to the 'cop' vibe.
"Yeah that's me," I sighed. "Are you here to talk, or to arrest me?"
He didn't answer, he just came into my office then closed the door behind him. I watched as he moved across the room to sit down in the chair to the side rather than the sofa that was across from me.
Once he was seated he introduced himself, "My name is Adrian Sinclair. I'm here to discuss the events of Friday August twelfth."
I started to respond then caught myself. Despite the suit and the shades and the 'cop' vibes he hadn't actually said he was with the police, or any other kind of government agency. And he obviously hadn't mentioned any of that to Rosa either, since she referred to him as 'mister' rather than 'detective' or 'inspector'. She didn't even seem sure he was from the government.
So I responded, "If this is some sort of investigation I'm going to need to see some identification. And regardless, I won't violate any patient confidentiality without a court order."
My guest looked a little annoyed or impatient as he reached into one of his jacket pockets. He pulled out a thin leather wallet and opened it, showing me an official-looking plastic card. It had the Ministry of Health logo on the corner, Mr. Sinclair's picture in black and white on the side, and the text indicated he was a special investigator.
On the one hand the card looked real, it looked as official as my own drivers license or health card. On the other hand I'd never heard of MoH special investigators before, and while the card seemed to be identification it definitely wasn't a badge.
He tucked it away in his jacket pocket while I was still thinking that over, then stated again "I'm here to talk to you about the events of August twelfth. You saw a client named Hannah Greer, and performed a so-called miracle for her, in front of her mother. Then you summoned a so-called goddess in front of your client, her mother, your boss, and one of your coworkers."
For a government investigator that gave off strong 'cop' vibes I was a little surprised he was using Hannah's new name and pronouns. I knew her ID and documentation would have been updated thanks to Amy's magic, but for some reason I assumed a cop type would automatically deadname and misgender her.
I put that thought aside for now and shrugged, "I won't confirm or deny anything regarding my clientele, including their names. But it sounds like you already know what happened, so what do you want from me?"
Mr. Sinclair asked, "What is your relationship with the so-called goddess? And what is her name?"
For a moment I wondered if he was asking about me and Amy being girlfriends, but before I said anything along those lines I realized he wouldn't have any idea about that. And the more I thought about the questions the less sense they made. If he was actually here about me violating psychotherapy regulations then he'd be questioning me about my techniques, or my interactions with my clients. Leading with questions about the supernatural felt out of place.
Then it hit me. Both Amy and Raven said that being a cleric would potentially expose me to other supernaturals. I knew Hannah had been talking online about what I did for her, so it wasn't hard to imagine someone might see that and come to look into the supernatural side of things.
The only thing I couldn't be sure of was if this guy really worked for the government or not. He might be a legitimate government investigator, using his day-job as cover to look into supernatural stuff.
With that in mind I decided to tell him the truth. For now.
I finally answered, "My goddess's name is Amethyst, and I am her cleric."
"How did you first encounter this Amethyst?" he asked next.
"My family's worshipped her for at least eight generations," I replied. "I first learned about her thanks to my grandmother."
Mr. Sinclair frowned, "Why would she perform a miracle to help a trans girl who'd never heard of her until immediately before the miracle?"
"Amethyst is the goddess of trans and queer people," I answered. Then I commented, "None of your questions seem to be health-related. What's this really about?"
He ignored my question, and the next thing he asked actually left me stumped. "On August third you had a session with a teenage girl named Cassandra Underwood. That was nine days before the miracle. You saw her again on Wednesday August seventeenth, five days after the miracle. What is her connection to the so-called goddess Amethyst?"
For the next couple seconds my mind was spinning as I tried to figure out what this guy was getting at. The only connection I could think of was I knew Cass was some kind of supernatural, and she'd been referred to me by Raven. I couldn't think of any way for this guy to know that though, unless he knew about Raven or he was somehow monitoring Cass.
Then it hit me. I still didn't know exactly what Cass was, but I knew she was some kind of rare or unique supernatural hybrid. Maybe this wasn't about me at all, maybe the guy was investigating Cass for some reason. If he'd been watching her that would explain how he knew she was coming here. In that case the miracle I helped grant Hannah was a coincidence, and he was trying to figure out if Cass was involved in that or not.
If I was right then this had nothing to do with the Ministry of Health and this guy was just using that as a cover to intimidate me and my boss.
"I can't answer that question," I finally responded. "I told you I won't discuss my clients without a court order, and that includes even confirming whether or not the person you mentioned is a client."
The guy frowned again, and I was slightly annoyed that I couldn't see his eyes. I knew that was the point of him wearing the dark sunglasses indoors, it was partially an intimidation thing and partially to make it harder for people to know what he was looking at.
"You know I've already spoken with your boss, Miss Fuller?" he asked.
"Yeah I know that," I replied calmly. "And I know she wouldn't violate confidentiality rules either."
He frowned again, and I got the feeling he was getting angry or frustrated that I wasn't meekly giving in to his demands.
After a second or two I decided to try and call his bluff. I did my best to act calm and brave as I said, "I've never actually heard of Ministry of Health special investigators, but if that's a real thing and this is a real Health Ministry investigation then I'm sure you can get a court order granting you access to my client files. Otherwise I'm going to have to assume this is some sort of supernatural nonsense. So either drop the pretence and get to the point Adrian, or go get a court order if you really want me to violate my clients' confidentiality."
The frown on Mr. Sinclair's face got a little deeper as he sat back in his chair and seemed to stare at me for a few seconds.
He finally pointed out, "Your boss believes that you are under investigation, and if I have to come back here with a court order I can assure you that will be the end of your career. So if I were you Miss Fuller, I'd be a little more concerned about answering my questions and less worried about why I'm asking them."
Hearing that, I was positive this guy had nothing to do with the government. That didn't mean he couldn't get me fired or ruin my career though. There was only one other thing I could think of that might make the guy back down.
I tried to remain calm as I replied, "Perhaps I should remind you Mr. Sinclair, nine days ago I summoned my goddess here into this office. I don't think she'd take kindly to finding out someone was threatening her cleric."
He watched me for a couple more seconds then finally stated, "All I want to know is whether or not Cassandra Underwood is connected to your goddess. And if so, what's the connection. Answer that and I'll clear things up with your boss and be on my way."
That left me thinking my earlier speculation was right, he was probably more interested in Cass than me and Amy. The only reason I was being dragged into it was because of the coincidence of having her as a client while performing a miracle for another client. I still didn't trust the guy, but I figured if this would get rid of him I may as well just answer the question.
"Fine," I told him. "I'm not aware of any connection between Cassandra Underwood and my goddess Amethyst. As far as I know they've never met, never even heard of each other. There's no reason for Amethyst to be involved with some random teenage girl."
Mr. Sinclair kept his expression neutral, I had no idea if my answer was what he hoped to hear or if it disappointed him.
Either way he got to his feet as he stated, "Thank you Miss Fuller. I'll let your boss know that the investigation is being dropped and you're off the hook."
"A word of advice though," he added as he paused at my office door. "Performing magic or miracles in front or on members of the public is never a good idea. It will only get you into more trouble, and the next time an agent comes to see you they may not be as patient or understanding as I've been."
With that he stepped out of my office, then closed the door behind him leaving me alone at my desk. And I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just been interviewed by a legitimate Man in Black.
Fortunately after that strange experience the rest of my afternoon was very mundane and almost boring. The only highlight turned out to be the staff meeting, where Bev let me know that the investigation was officially dropped. She'd also been in contact with Mrs. Greer and received confirmation that Hannah's parents would not be filing any sort of complaint. And finally the best news, I was off probation and able to start accepting new clients again.
"I hope we can all put this unusual incident behind us," Bev added. "I'd like for my clinic to return to 'business as usual' Tess. Unfortunately that means I'm going to have to ask you not to perform any more magic or miracles here."
She went on to remind me of the new rules she came up with last week, basically I wasn't allowed to mention or discuss goddesses or miracles with any underage clients. I could mention that stuff to patients who were over the age of eighteen, but I was not allowed to perform any miracles on the premises. That was disappointing, but I understood her reasoning. At least we managed to avoid another argument on the subject anyways.
When I finally got home Monday evening I was eager to tell Amy about my encounter with the Man in Black, but she was on the phone when I arrived so I had to wait a bit.
"All right May," my girlfriend nodded to herself. "That's nine o'clock your time right? So four in the afternoon for me."
"Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow," she added after a brief pause. Then she disconnected the call and set her phone down as she greeted me with a smile, "Hello love! How was your day?"
"Hi cutie," I replied as I got us both some wine.
I joined her on the sofa then smiled, "You're not going to believe the craziness I had to deal with this afternoon..."
