"I'm going to have a word with Mr. Luke Prescott." Sheriff Louise announced, heading towards the hall where Luke Prescott was seated, still somewhat dazed after giving his statement to the police.
"Mr. Prescott, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Louise walked over and sat across from Luke Prescott, "Just a few things."
"Whatever you need to know, I already told the officers. But go ahead, Sheriff Louise. Don't worry about my current state," Luke Prescott grunted, still upset and struggling to regain his composure.
Sheriff Louise nodded and asked, "Do you know a Mr. Jason?"
"Yes, I knew of him before. He's an odd one, but we're not close. I was introduced to him by my friend Joseph. He was the one who told me about the damn thing at the bottom of the pool." Luke Prescott huffed.
"No, Mr. Prescott, that is a victim, not a damn thing." Louise corrected him sternly. "Just answer my questions, understood?" She fixed him with a piercing gaze.
"Alright, proceed," Luke Prescott shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing for her to continue.
"Why would he know there was a body buried here?"
"Who knows? Why don't you ask him directly?" Luke Prescott shrugged again. "He said to call him once I dug it up. If you want, I can call him right now, or I can give you his number!"
"Call him." Sheriff Louise nodded.
Luke Prescott reluctantly pulled out his phone to call Jason, but just as he did, voices could be heard from outside. Someone was trying to get in, but the officers were holding them back. There was a heated exchange going on.
"We're guests of Luke Prescott. Why aren't you letting us in, and... Hey, Luke!" Someone outside was calling for Luke Prescott.
Luke Prescott glanced outside and then turned to Louise, "They're here."
Sheriff Louise stood up and walked out, just as Joseph was arguing with Deputy Sheriff Patton. The deputy had stopped him and was trying to explain something. Behind him was a young Chinese man.
"Patton—leave this to me." Sheriff Louise took over, gesturing for Patton to step aside. "Go get that damn body removed and hand over the autopsy report to those damn FBI jerks."
Patton nodded and walked away. Luke Prescott followed, listening to Louise's orders and couldn't help but scowl. "Damn body," huh? Figures only the sheriff could say something like that.
"Joseph, nice to see you!" Sheriff Louise reached out to shake hands with Joseph, then turned her attention to Jason, who was standing behind Joseph. She took a step forward and extended her hand, "Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Jason. I've been looking forward to our meeting, though... I have a few questions for you."
"Sheriff Louise, we just came for a visit... right, Luke?" Joseph started.
Luke Prescott shrugged and gave an apologetic look, "Joseph, I'm sorry. The police have taken over. I apologize... but I can still pay Mr. Jason. I can pay half, since the rest is..." He just glanced at Sheriff Louise.
Luke Prescott's backtracking left Joseph speechless. He frowned at Luke, "What are you talking about? Luke, you promised otherwise. We agreed on double..."
"No, no, no more double. Even the normal price, I can only give you half, because... we only finished half of the job, and the police took over the rest. I'm sorry, buddy. I couldn't say no when the foreman called the cops. They had to handle it."
Luke Prescott's words were firm and made sense. Joseph was frustrated, but before he could say anything else, Jason grabbed his arm and shook his head. He then extended his hand, "So, where's the half of the payment? Give it to me, and we'll consider this matter closed."
Luke Prescott casually shrugged his shoulders, then took out his checkbook from his suit pocket, wrote a check, and handed it over. Joseph took the check and frowned, "Hey, Luke, this isn't what we agreed on. Two thousand dollars isn't even half. It should be at least five thousand."
"No, no, buddy, I spent at least five thousand just hiring workers. And I still need to hire people for the next part. That's going to cost money. This is... the best I can do. I'm really... sorry." Luke Prescott spread his hands, looking genuinely sorry.
"Damn you, Luke. You're really... disgusting!" Joseph looked helplessly at Jason.
"No, no, Joseph, I saw this coming!" Jason just laughed, then took the cashier's check, turned to Louise and said, "Sorry, I just had a little private matter with Mr. Prescott. Now... what should we do? Do we stay here, or follow you to the police station?"
Sheriff Louise pursed her lips and said, "Right here will do. I want to know how you knew there was a body at the bottom of the pool." With that, she stared intently into Jason's eyes as if trying to see whether he was telling the truth or a lie.
Jason merely smiled and said, "Mr. Prescott probably didn't tell you about my profession, did he? Why he asked me to come over, right Mr. Prescott?" Jason turned his head slightly to glance at the somewhat uncomfortable Luke Prescott.
Sheriff Louise turned her gaze back to Luke Prescott. "Okay, Sheriff Louise," Luke Prescott admitted with some discomfort, "I admit that there's one detail I haven't mentioned. Actually, as you've just seen, I gave him a check, but it was only part of a deal… he's a spiritualist, brought in to deal with something I couldn't fathom."
"Well then... I'm going to need a detailed explanation." Louise glared at Luke Prescott and demanded, "A very detailed explanation."
Luke Prescott then explained his predicament, how he had ended up hiring Jason, and the advice Jason had given him. Finally, he spread his hands and said, "That's the whole story, I've told you everything."
"You better have!" Sheriff Louise snorted. Turning to Jason, she said, "Alright, it's your turn now, Mr. Spiritualist. Don't tell me you saw the spirit of this woman or something. I won't believe that, unless you give me a reason to. Otherwise, I'll give you a reason – to arrest you."
Facing Louise's threat, Jason merely shrugged and shook his head, "I am a spiritualist, indeed. If you choose not to believe, there's nothing I can do. The fact remains!"
Sheriff Louise seemed dissatisfied, staring at Jason and warning, "I am giving you another chance."
"Yes, I am involved in spiritualist related work. All I did was accurately predict this bizarre supernatural occurrence... that's all," Jason also spread his hands, showing his helplessness.
Joseph nodded quickly and added, "Yes, Sheriff, that's the truth."
Sheriff Louise couldn't help but shake her head, then turned to Luke Prescott, "You're sure you sought him out willingly for this? Or because he's a spiritualist?"
"No, he was recommended to me by Joseph. I had no idea what he did before, I only knew that the townspeople spoke of him having peculiar habits, like... like those strange forest keepers in 'The Cabin in the Woods'," Luke Prescott chuckled.
"Hey, Luke, what are you talking about?!" Joseph blurted out, "Do you even know what you're saying? Damn it, Luke, you have to tell the truth."
"Alright, Mr. Jason, I'm going to take you to the police station now," Sheriff Louise announced, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Jason remained unfazed, addressing Louise, "I'm sorry, but if I am removed, Mr. Prescott might find himself in danger..."
Luke Prescott simply shrugged, spreading his hands at Sheriff Louise, indicating he didn't care.