Agrafena Mittove
A thousand thoughts were circling in Fena's mind, none of them plesant.
"You're not hurt, are you?" She asked lowly, snatching the napkin near the girl's elbow to gently grip the her face and wipe away the dark tracks from her makeup. The biker had slipped into big sister mode, not being able to help herself around the girl that was most likely the same age as Zoia. Fena could see light tremors running through the girl's hands and lifted a steadying hand to keep the hot coco from sloshing and burning the already scared girl. "Careful now." She murmured, voice lightly chiding even while her expression stayed pinched. "No sense in burning yourself."
Fena gave a stiff smile when the girl introduced herself, approving of the comforting arm that Kennedy had slipped around the teen. her thoughts turned a bit darker though, now that this girl, Diane, was calmed down some. She'd seen a man hurt in the alley way? Was he dead, or did he need help? Just getting ready to get up and go check, Fena paused, looking out the front window of the bar. She could see a police standing near the side of the building, next to where she knew there was an alley way. The blue haired sorceress guessed the man that'd run out of The Bar had gone to check on what Diane had seen and he'd already called the police. Fena pursed her lips, turning back to the shaken teen with worry coursing through her. Here came the hard part.
"Diane?" She started, using the girl's name to get her full attention. "Now, I don't know what you saw, but I do see police out there." She stared into her eyes, keeping her expression smooth and tone neutral so as not to set the teen into hysterics again. "I'm guessing they're going to want to ask you a couple questions. I'm willing, and I'm sure Kennedy is, to go out with you to talk to them. You will need to talk to them though, alright?" The smile was gentle and her voice as encouraging as she could manage. It would be easier on Diane if the girl agreed to go and be questioned, but she would most likely be forced to talk about it one way or another.
Tildy Garnuckle
A nod met the chief's answer, thoughts already swarming through Tildy's mind as she considered their next step. All that was interrupted though when Alex stepped away from her. She lifted her head, watching the dark haired woman start gathering her coat and preparing to head straight over there. The blonde's lips thinned, the hand she'd lifted in comfort to Alex curling into a half fist at her side, hidden under the long sleeve of her cloak. This wasn't good, Alex shouldn't be working the murder case of her long time partner. That in itself was just asking for trouble. Morgan would be emotionally compromised, she would miss things, mess things up. Let feelings dictate her thoughts. Tildy's small button nose was already scrunched up at the idea of the mess Alex would make of things.
She stayed silent while the chief tried to convince her partner to back down and let her take the lead. Tildy kept an impassive expression at the small and unintentional barb at her competency for the job, shaking her head slightly with a sigh. She wasn't so new she wouldn't know what to do, and just because she didn't know Luis personally, didn't mean she didn't feel anything about his death. She may not like other people much, but she did respect the other declivities and cops that worked at the precinct. They did the same thing she did, they went out every day and put their lives on the line. They went out to help others and make the world a better place. They understood the risk and did it anyways because they were stubborn like that. Just because she didn't know him personally didn't mean Tildy didn't feel. For heaven's sake, that could have been her laying in that alley way! It was always startling and worrying when a cop dropped dead.
The small woman sighed when Alex finally agreed to give her lead on the case, nodding to the chief and padding over to where her new and only partner was standing. She lifted her hand again, resting it on a stiff shoulder, tilting her head back enough to meet dark brown eyes with her own stormy blue from under the cloak's hood. She simply kept the eye contact for a second before breathing out a sigh.
"He'll get the justice he deserves Alex. We'll both make sure of that." She stated simply, keeping the eye contact for a few seconds more before dropping it and walking past her partner and out the door.
Tildy pulled her hood forward more as she stepped into the street, sharp eyes already picking out the police officer standing next to what she assumed was the alley way that housed their crime scene. She could see people staring at the officer from inside the restaurant, the big open windows showing far too much to the public. Tildy tisked to herself, they would draw a crowd. Were already drawing a crowd based on the people slowly gathering near where the officer was standing. They needed to get this area corded off as soon as possible to keep people from destroying any possible evidence. It also wouldn't do to have Alex upset by the local news station and journalists taking pictures of her dead partner to spread all over the newspapers.
Drawing closer to the officer and growing crowd, blue eyes picked out a man huddled on the ground next to the alleyway. He had his head turned to the side, seeming to be avoiding the eyes of the curious onlookers with a somewhat shameful expression twisting his features. The detective huffed through her nose, rolling eyes hidden by her hood. She was close enough that she could start her magic. A slender hand disappearing into her cloak for a moment before she pulled it back out, letting the sleeve cover what she was holding.
Pointing her glow maple wand at the ground, Tildy began muttering quietly to herself, eyes sharp as she pulled the idea of nothingness into the forefront of her mind. She started right next to The Bar, walking a semi circle around the mouth of the alleyway until she met the wall of the building next to the restaurant. She did this three times, holding the idea of nothingness strong in her mind while focusing on the picture of the police, Alex, and the witness in with that nothingness. Finishing her final circle back against the wall of the bar where she had started. She watched the spell take effect from there, the few in the crowd who hadn't been as interested wandering off now that they really couldn't see anything. There were a few who stayed though, able to see through the magic that was spread so thin. Those were the ones that would be bothersome. They were interested enough in what was going on that the spell really didn't effect them, and they wouldn't be going away anytime soon. The small blonde shook her head slightly to herself, having done what she could. Blue eyes found the man curled on the ground and the officer once more.
Now it was time to get to work.
"My name is Detective Tildy Garnuckle and this is Detective Morgan." The small woman started, speaking to the officer before glancing at the man huddled against the wall. She pulled her hood down so it was pooled around her shoulders with her wand stashed in her robes once more. She held her badge up for the officer to see before meeting his gaze. "I need you to call for backup, and don't forget to warn them about the cloaking spell." A glance to the crowd still trying to catch glimpses and Tildy narrowed her eyes. "I want that crowd gone, no statements to any reporters and no answers to any nosy onlookers." She lowered her voice. "We've lost a detective, they'll find out when we want them to." Finished, the blonde turned to the man huddled on the ground.
A glance over the man told her exactly how shaken he was, and a look back at the officer showed her exactly how difficult of a time he was having. Tildy didn't remember talking to him that day, one of the introductions she'd missed. His uniform looked pretty new and his lost expression made her sigh. A glance at his chest gave her a name: Gerald.
Tildy turned back to the man on the ground and paused for a second before settling on her haunches, crouching slightly off to the side to get on his level and to alleviate any further panic he might feel about being crowded against the wall. Bare toes peaked out from under the hem of her cloak. Tildy looked him over, eyes sharp and expression closed as she took in every detail she could. A sigh and her expression seemed to melt, warmth flooding her eyes and comfort radiating off her expression. She looked almost like a different person.
"Sir, I understand that you're shaken. Something horrible has happened here though and I need your help to figure out what." The blonde's head tilted to the side then, almost like a bird's would when examining a bug it was about to eat. Her comforting expression held. "I need you to tell Officer Gerald here what happened. Can you do that?" She asked with an encouraging grin, barely giving the man five seconds to respond and completely ignoring anything he said before she moved to leave. Standing, Tildy gave a cold nod to the officer and steeled herself before turning towards the alley way.
Time to see what she was working with.
The smell was the first thing that hit her. A moldy combination of wet and rotting that had evaporated into water and was drifting through the air from the vents in the alleyway. There were hints of felines in the area as well, the lovely scent of their urine making Tildy nearly flinch. The steam was light and barely noticeable, but it left the distinct feeling of dirty that an alleyway typically brought to mind. She could see the body now and stopped in her tracks, slipping her wand out once more and murmuring a quiet spell. Disappointment swept through her when her sweep for recent magic turned up blank. Looks like they couldn't narrow it down by the magic user. Dark blue eyes flicked around the shadows, cataloguing everything as she came to it and noting the lack of second exit to the alleyway. The other side was a dead end. She started with what was closest to her, eyes on the ground to see if there was enough dirt and grime they could get a shoe impression, her lips curling down when she found nothing but cobblestone.
Eyes roving up from the ground, she examined the trash bins huddled against the wall. There was a single trash bag dropped outside the bins, the weak light in the alleyway showing discarded bits that Tildy assumed were from the restaurant next to them. They looked like they were dropped in a hurry, someone having gained quite the shock from the body Tildy assumed. She didn't think the man the officer was now questioning was wearing a uniform, but she'd have to ask him anyways. Moving on, Tildy took a closer look at the bigger bins, dancing around the trash littering the ground until she was right next to one of the large ones. Hooking her knuckle under the corner of one of the lids and levering it up for a peak inside, she whispered a spell to herself. The tip of her wand shimmered to life with light and Tildy pointed it into the darkness of the bin while standing on her toes. She held a deep breath, doing a quick sweep with her eyes that only revealed more trash.
The lid dropped with a bang, Tildy looking over the cardboard box turned home that sat next to the piles of trash. A poke of her wand turned flashlight showed her a pair of shoes gnawed on by rats, clothes littered with holes from hungry moths, and some neater piles of rotten food. She wrinkled her nose at the food, wondering how anyone could eat anything that was past the expiry date. She also made a mental note to ask around about the person that obviously lived in the little box. Carefully stepping around a pile of what Tildy assumed to be cat excrement, the detective made her way towards the centerpiece in this mess. The body.
Even Tildy flinched as she looked over the dead man. It wasn't the first body she'd seen, but to have known the man before hand, even poorly.... It was still weird to see those features so still, almost as if they were paused in time. A deep breath, and the blonde continued with her work, if a bit stiffer than usual.
Lois was sprawled on his back like he'd fallen, there was no apparent smearing of blood or extra puddles that told her he'd been moved, so Tildy found it safe to assume that he'd been left as he fell. Casting her light forth over the body once she was close enough, the detective took in the details. The front of his navy blue polo dark and shining black with blood, more of the stuff pooling under him. He was wearing jeans and brown dress shoes with his ensemble, Tildy looking over the clothing for anything out of the ordinary and blowing a hair out of her eyes when she found nothing. Just cutting defensive wounds on his hands and more blood. She would have the forensics unit search his clothing for anything more. Standing, she took another glance around the alleyway, noting the blood spatter on the walls and the general dinginess of the place.
What a horrible way to die. What a horrible place.
"What do you think?" She asked, turning to Alex with a tilted head and unreadable expression. Tildy doused the light her wand produced and stashing it back in her robes before picking her way back to where her partner stood. She shook her head, not expecting a reply. A hand was placed on Detective Morgan's shoulder and Tildy let out a deep sigh. "I'll give you a few minutes alone before sending in forensics. I'm going to have them look everything over with a fine tooth comb. So far I don't see anything damming or even pointing a finger, Alex. We might be in for the long haul with this one." She finished, speaking without looking Alex in the face. Even for someone as cut off as her, she wasn't sure she could handle what expression the detective might be wearing. "I'll go talk to the officer to see what he's got and then I'll talk to the witness myself. Come get me when you're ready to send the team in." With that, Tildy squeezed Alex's shoulder once more and stepped away, giving her partner space to deal with her loss.
Exiting the alleyway the blonde made eye contact with Officer Gerald, arching a brow as if asking what he had learned.