The Puppet Master Chapter 3

Detective Peppers toughest case

Chapter 3
June 9th The New Therapist

Penny sat stiffly in the chair, resisting the urge to cross her arms. She hated therapy. It wasn’t
that she didn’t believe in it, she did. She’d witnessed how much it had helped survivors, how it
had pulled people back from the edge. But when it came to herself? Talking about feelings
made her itchy. Vulnerable. And yet, here she was. More mandatory counseling after the
discovery of the surveillance devices in her home. Captain Rayburn’s orders.

The office was bright and inviting, a stark contrast to the turmoil swirling inside her. Soft, muted
colors adorned the walls, and large windows let in natural light that bathed the room in warmth.
A plush armchair sat opposite a sleek, modern couch, and the scent of chamomile wafted
through the air, calming her racing heart.

The woman across from her, Lisa Dunleavy, was nothing like Penny had expected. She wasn’t
old and clinical. She wasn’t cold or detached. She wasn’t Jackie. Lisa had a warmth to her, soft
brown eyes that sparkled with genuine interest, short auburn hair that framed her face, and an
energy that was calming, inviting. She didn’t carry a notepad or a clipboard, just a mug of tea
that she cradled between her fingers as if they had all the time in the world.

“So, Detective Peppers,” Lisa said, a small smile playing at her lips, “may I call you Penelope or
Penny?”

“Penny is fine.”

“First session with me. How are you feeling?”

Penny let out a dry chuckle. “About as thrilled as you’d expect.”

Lisa nodded, unbothered by Penny’s resistance. “That makes sense. Therapy isn’t always easy,
especially when it’s not something you sought out yourself.”

Penny studied her, skeptical. “Do you always start off this soft? Feels a little like a warm-up.”
Lisa grinned, her expression charming. “You’d prefer I get straight to the hard stuff?”

“I’d prefer to skip it altogether.”

Lisa didn’t flinch. “That’s fair. But let’s be real, Penny, you’ve been through a hell of a lot. You
wouldn’t be here if your boss didn’t think you needed to talk to someone. That tells me
something.”

Penny exhaled sharply, shifting in her chair. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“That you don’t have to do this alone,” Lisa said simply.

The words hit Penny harder than she expected. She’d spent so much time lately feeling alone,
even with Jackie. The cameras, the fear, the constant paranoia. And now, it felt even more like
the weight of everything was sitting squarely on her chest.

Lisa leaned forward slightly, her voice softer. “Look, I’m not here to force you into anything. This
is your space. But I do think you deserve to talk to someone who’s not in the middle of it all.”

Penny ran a hand over her face, feeling the heaviness of her thoughts. “I’m fine.”

Lisa tilted her head. “Are you?”

Penny opened her mouth to argue, but the words got stuck. Lisa let the silence stretch, giving
Penny space. And against her better judgment, Penny relented, just a little.
“I haven’t slept through the night in weeks,” Penny admitted, her voice lower now. “Every time I
close my eyes, I feel like someone’s watching me.”

Lisa nodded, no shock, no judgment, just quiet understanding. “That makes sense. You went
through something incredibly violating. It’s going to take time to feel safe again.”

Penny looked away, focusing on a painting hanging on the wall, a serene landscape that
seemed to mock her turmoil. “I just… I don’t know how to fix it.”

Lisa’s voice was steady. “You don’t have to fix it all at once, Penny. Healing isn’t a straight line.”

Penny swallowed, nodding slightly. She wasn’t sure if she fully believed that, but for the first
time in a long time, she felt like maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t completely alone in it.

A New Case, A New Partner

Penny barely had time to breathe after her session before she was sitting across from Special
Agent Mike Chen in the conference room at Ogunquit PD. The room was stark, filled with the
smell of stale coffee and the faint hum of fluorescent lights. Chen was all business, pressed suit,
clean-shaven, notebook open, already jotting something down before Penny even sat down. He
didn’t look up.


“Detective Peppers.”
Penny raised an eyebrow. “Agent Chen.”

Chen finally met her gaze. His dark brown eyes were sharp, assessing. “Your Captain wants
you to take a break from your previous case,” he stated. “That means you and I will be working
together on this case.”

Penny leaned back in her chair. “Seems that way.”

Chen slid a file across the table. “This case involves several missing high-level drug dealers.
We have reason to believe they’re connected to a Chinese organized crime syndicate operating
out of Portland.”

Penny flipped through the photos, five men, all known traffickers, gone without a trace. “Let me
guess,” Penny mused. “Nobody’s talking?”

Mike nodded. “Correct. And no bodies have turned up. No ransom demands. Nothing. It’s like
they vanished.”

Penny frowned, scanning the reports. “Are we thinking retaliation from a rival group? A power
struggle?”

Mike’s jaw tightened. “That’s what we’re trying to determine. There’s been no word from inside
the organization, and that’s what concerns us.”

Penny looked up, the pieces starting to connect. “Because that means either someone is
cleaning house, or something bigger is about to go down.”

Chen nodded. “Exactly.”

Penny closed the file, meeting his gaze. “So, what’s our first move?”

Mike didn’t hesitate. “We talk to Paul ‘Lucky’ Zhang. He’s our best shot at getting an inside
lead.”

Penny smirked, a flicker of amusement breaking through her tension. “Lucky Zhang? Let me
guess, he’s not very lucky?”

Mike allowed the tiniest smirk. “Not lately.”

Penny tapped her fingers on the file, her mind racing. “Alright, Agent Chen. Let’s see what your
guy has to say.”

As they stood, Penny couldn’t help but notice how rigid Chen was, how he carried himself with
military precision. He was sharp, efficient, but also different from Tony, colder. This partnership
was going to be interesting.

As they drove to meet Zhang, Penny couldn’t shake the remnants of her earlier session. Lisa’s
calming presence lingered in her thoughts, a stark contrast to the tension building around her.
She glanced out the window, watching the scenery slip by, a blur of trees and storefronts, all
familiar yet foreign in her current state of mind.

“Are you alright?” Mike’s voice broke through her reverie.

Penny turned to him, momentarily caught off guard. “Yeah, just thinking about the case.”

“Good to hear,” he replied, his tone professional. “We need to stay focused.”

Penny nodded, forcing herself to concentrate. As they approached the meeting location, a small
café with a reputation for shady dealings, her heart raced. She had one foot in the world of
therapy and another in the gritty side of law enforcement, and the juxtaposition was dizzying.

“Remember,” Mike said as they parked, “Zhang is slippery. Stay sharp.”

“Got it,” she replied, steeling herself for the encounter.

Inside the café, the atmosphere was thick with tension, a stark contrast to the serenity Lisa had
created in her office. They found a table in the corner, and after a few moments, Paul “Lucky”
Zhang strolled in, his demeanor casual but his eyes scanning the room like a hawk.

“Detectives,” he greeted, sliding into the seat across from them. “What’s the urgency?”

Penny studied him, his slick hair, designer clothes, and the air of confidence that surrounded
him. “We’re looking into the recent disappearances in the trafficking world,” she said, cutting
straight to the point. “We believe they may be connected to your organization.”

Zhang leaned back, a smirk playing on his lips. “You think I have the answers?”

“You’re the best source we have,” Mike replied, his tone firm. “Help us, and it might save your
skin.”

Zhang’s eyes narrowed, assessing. “And if I don’t?”

Penny leaned forward, her voice steady. “Then you might find yourself in a position you can’t
talk your way out of.”

Zhang chuckled, but there was an edge to it. “Interesting choice of words, Detective. You think
you can intimidate me?”

Penny felt the weight of the moment. “I don’t need to intimidate you, Paul. I just need the truth.”

The tension hung in the air, thick and palpable. Penny exchanged a glance with Mike, both of
them aware of the tightrope they were walking. They needed Zhang’s cooperation, but he was a
slippery player in a dangerous game.

After a long pause, Zhang leaned in, his expression shifting. “Alright, I’ll bite. But you need to
understand something, trust is hard to come by in my world.”

Penny felt a thrill of anticipation mixed with anxiety. “What do you know?”

As Zhang began to speak, Penny couldn’t help but feel the familiar tug of unease in her gut. The
world she inhabited was filled with shadows, secrets, and danger, and she was right in the
middle of it.

That night, as Penny lay in bed, her mind drifted back to her session with Lisa. There was
something about the way the therapist had looked at her, as if she could see through the walls
Penny had built around her heart. The thought lingered, a flicker of hope amid the chaos. She
found herself looking forward to her next session, the idea of having someone to share her
burden with offering a small sense of comfort.

Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to reconcile the two worlds she was caught between,
the one filled with crime and danger, and the one where she could start healing. As sleep finally
began to creep in, Penny felt a thrill of anticipation mixed with anxiety at the thought of her next
therapy session with Lisa. She wondered what revelations might come, what truths she might
uncover about herself.

For the first time in a long while, she felt a glimmer of hope.