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"I swear my eyes are about to melt out of my head," he said.
The early afternoon light streamed through the blinds, casting patterns of shadows across the piled financial records that littered their workspace. Empty takeout containers and crumpled napkins lay discarded among the paperwork, evidence of the long hours they'd spent poring over Juliette Reed's transactions.
The last couple of hours had consisted of meticulously sifting through every detail of Juliette's bank statements and online payments, cross-referencing them with known psychic service providers in the area. Ordinarily this would've been a fairly simple process, but what complicated matters was the fact that Juliette had made a number of payments to several shady businesses that used generic listings to mark their payments discreetly, making it far more difficult to figure out which payments were related to psychics.
Thus far, Sheila had managed to eliminate a number of payments as irrelevant, but she'd failed to discover anything useful.
"Anything?" she asked Finn, frustration creeping into her voice.
"Nothing yet," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. His chair creaked as he sat back. "I think it's time for a break."
"No," Sheila insisted, still scanning the pages in front of her. "We can't afford to waste any more time."
"Look, Sheila," Finn said gently. "You don't have to work yourself to death just because you're a rookie. We all need breaks sometimes."
As much as she wanted to argue, Sheila knew Finn was right. But before she could concede, her eyes caught on something in the sea of data. "Wait a second," she said, pointing to a line item on the screen. "Juliette made a payment to some online platform called Beyond the Ordinary. What's that?"
"You're the one with the keyboard."
Sheila typed the name into the search bar and clicked on the first result that appeared.
The mysterious website seemed to encompass the supernatural world, its dark background adorned with images of swirling constellations, tarot cards, and crystals. As Sheila scrolled through the site, she discovered that Beyond the Ordinary was a platform connecting people with various supernatural practitioners, from palm readers and psychics to mediums and aura cleansers.
"Looks like we might be onto something," she said, her fatigue momentarily forgotten. "This could be our link to the palm reader who spooked Juliette."
"Looks like she made a number of similar payments," Finn said, gesturing at a paper in front of him. "All to Beyond the Ordinary."
"Any names?" Sheila asked, trying to contain her excitement.
"Unfortunately not," Finn replied, disappointment evident in his voice. "The billing is completely anonymous. There's no way to know who she was actually paying for these services."
Sheila felt a wave of frustration wash over her. They were so close to finding a lead, yet it still seemed just out of reach. She clenched her fist, her fingernails digging into her palm. She wouldn't let this setback stop her; she couldn't. Juliette deserved justice, and Sheila was determined to find the truth.
"Maybe we can contact them directly," Sheila suggested, her gaze landing on a 'Contact Us' link at the bottom of the website. She clicked on it, revealing a telephone number. Without hesitation, she dialed the number, phone pressed against her ear as she waited impatiently for someone to pick up.
"Welcome to Beyond the Ordinary," an automated voice greeted her, its eerie tone sending a shiver down her spine. "Please listen carefully to the following options: for booking inquiries, press 1; for account assistance, press 2; for technical support, press 3; or press 0 to speak with a representative."
"Zero it is," Sheila muttered under her breath, navigating through the options, her finger jabbing at the button with impatience. After what felt like an eternity, the call finally connected her with a real person.
"Hello, this is Beyond the Ordinary. My name is Irene. How may I assist you today?" the woman on the other end asked, her voice friendly but guarded.
"Hi, Irene. My name is Officer Stone, and I'm looking for information about one of your clients, Juliette Reed," Sheila said, trying to keep her tone professional despite the urgency she felt. "We're investigating her recent death and are trying to find out who she was in contact with through your platform."
"Ah, I see," Irene replied, her voice taking on a more somber note. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that. Our clients' privacy is of utmost importance to us, and we cannot disclose any information without their consent."
"I understand the need to maintain confidentiality," Sheila said. "But we believe there may be a connection between Juliette's death and the services she received through your platform. We just need a name or any information that could lead us to the person she was in contact with."
There was a pause on the other end, and Sheila held her breath, hoping Irene would be willing to divulge something.
"I'm sorry, Officer Stone," Irene finally said. "But I cannot give out any information without a court order. However, I can assure you that we will cooperate fully if you do obtain one."
Sheila took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Listen, Irene, I get that you're trying to do your job. I really do. But we're dealing with a homicide case here. Two women have died, and we need to find out what happened to them. What if the person who killed them is still out there, hurting others? Surely you can understand the need to bring justice to her family and to prevent further harm."
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, and Sheila felt a flicker of hope ignite in her chest. "All we need to know," Sheila said, "is who Juliette Reed was seeing. That's all."
"And this won't come back to me?" Irene asked hesitantly. "I won't be talking about this in court or anything like that?"
"Absolutely not. All I need to know is who Juliette Reed met with—that's it."
