Chapter 64: Truth or Deer

Red Deer Rhos was certainly an easy person to read, though not enough to draw any concrete conclusions.

Tedd suspected he could have uncovered considerably more if he had used one of his Totem Arts, but that would have been excessive. Such techniques were reserved for circumstances serious enough to justify them.

Still, he admired the performance the young man displayed. That took real skill.

The agent raised his gaze toward the hospital parking area and brought two fingers thoughtfully against his chin, pondering Kay’s question.

"Not exactly. Saying someone is lying implies a degree of simplicity that isn’t present here. Almost everyone being interrogated conceals something, innocent people as well. Sometimes it’s relevant to the investigation, sometimes it’s embarrassing, sometimes they simply don’t trust the person asking questions"

He paused.

"Mr Red Deer is certainly hiding information from us, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the central events he described are fabricated"

Kay blew smoke away from him.

"He’s telling the truth while lying then?"

"The strongest lies are often built around truths because truth provides structure. His account broadly aligns with what we already know about Ranger Division 14’s final expedition, and more importantly, it aligns surprisingly well with the statement given by Leopard Cat Nimra"

Tedd lowered his hand and continued.

"There are inconsistencies however. The first being their description of Mountain Gorilla Taru. Mr. Red Deer portrays the Keeper as a flawed but ultimately heroic superior who sacrificed himself so his subordinates could escape. Miss Leopard Cat’s testimony is less flattering. According to her, the Keeper abandoned members of his Division during the initial attack, later attempted to use Mr. Red Deer as bait and behaved primarily in accordance with his own survival"

Kay frowned, looking at Tedd in confusion.

"Why protect Taru’s reputation? The man’s dead. Red Deer would have blamed everything on him and made his own story easier"

"If only it were that simple"

The two government agents crossed the parking area.

"Openly expressing hatred toward a deceased superior during an investigation into that superior’s death creates questions about motive. If he genuinely despised the Keeper, portraying him favorably is safer than giving investigators a reason to examine whether that hostility played some role in what happened"

That was what made this case even more interesting because right now, even Tedd was uncertain. Beside him, Kay smoked quietly for a couple of seconds before saying,

"I’m guessing the next inconsistency is their separation, right? Both of them have different recollections of what happened that day"

Tedd’s expression became more serious.

"Mr. Red Deer claims his memories became unreliable shortly after Taru’s death. According to him, he and Miss Leopard Cat were separated while attempting to escape the Wrath, and his next clear memory is waking somewhere within Elderwood’s lower ring. Miss Leopard Cat remembers more"

"She said he died"

"Not quite. She believes he died"

When they had interrogated the young lady, she was not in good enough mental condition to answer their questions well. But the little she did provide was enough to form a case around.

"According to Miss Leopard Cat, the Wrath caught them. Mr. Red Deer deliberately placed himself between her and the creature, creating an opportunity for her to escape. She fled, and the last time she saw him, he was facing the Wrath alone. Taking into account of the condition he was already in and the difference in strength between them, she reasonably assumed he couldn’t have survived"

With a last puff, Kay looked back toward the hospital building for a bit.

"So Red Hair sacrificed himself. After he just spent part of our interrogation telling us he’d never do something like that. Someone has to be lying"

The two finally reached a small black car. Tedd stopped beside the passenger door and waited for Kay who had fallen behind him.

As she slowly walked over, he thought about her words.

A person could lie about being heroic out of modesty, but Rhos didn’t just deny heroism, he constructed a consistent picture of him being someone driven primarily by self preservation.

He admitted cowardice, emphasized that his life came before those of his comrades and even framed his abandonment of Ranger service around fear.

Why did he do that?

Did he want them to underestimate him or something?

"People frequently misunderstand themselves"

Tedd mused.

"A man may sincerely believe he’ll run from danger until the moment someone else is placed in front of it. Conversely, someone who spends his entire life speaking about courage may discover that he possesses none when death finally looks him in the eye.

Mr. Red Deer insisting he values himself above everyone else doesn’t necessarily mean Miss Leopard Cat misunderstood what happened.

But by the way the young man reacted once her name came up, he could tell they had a complicated relationship.

Which raised the question.

’What happened between them?’

Kay tapped ash from her cigarette.

"Something must have happened between the point where Leopard Cat last saw him and the point where Red Deer reappeared inside Elderwood three months later. Whatever it is, he doesn’t want us finding out"

Tedd’s lips curled into a pleasant smile. He opened the passenger door for her, but she didn’t get in, instead she looked at him with a glare.

"You do this every time. You know I can open doors just as fine"

"I know"

That polite smile didn’t leave his face. Kay stared at him for another moment then her glare softened.

"Tch!"

She got inside the car. Before closing the door, Tedd added;

"Miss Loki, please don’t smoke inside the vehicle"

He shut the door without giving her the chance to complain. Walking around the front of the black car he stopped briefly at the driver’s side.

His attention was drawn to the hospital.

There were a lot of words he wanted to say at this moment but he would spend the entire morning standing here if he said them all.

So for now he’ll settle on one.

"We’ll be meeting again soon, Mr. Red Deer"

He climbed into the vehicle and started the engine. Kay had rolled down her window enough to stick her burning cigarette outside.

Tedd decided that was an acceptable compromise.

Moments later, the two government agents pulled away from the hospital, leaving Red Deer Rhos behind.