Fenric stared at Jessamine, jaw going slack in bafflement. "There is not one part of that sentence which is correct," he murmured to himself. Louder, he said, "That reminds me. Longbranch, your going to have to tie up your hair at the crime scene. And Rabinowitz and Feiss, I want you shadowing the rest of us. Doctor, your expertise will be welcome, but no handling anything, all right?"
Dr Redmond is dead. Jacob didn't know what he should be feeling, was it anger, sadness, need for revenge? He didn't really know that guy, the name only reminded him of a time he wanted to forget. His mouth twitched when Feiss asked Humbert to stick his head out of the window. That mental picture, of his boss as an overgrown puppy, now that was a sight worth seeing. The music Jess put was slightly annoying, but not unbearable. Not his type of music, then again, Jacob wasn't really a man for music anyway.
Jessamine nodded and winked at Humbert while still singing along with Stevie. She took down the two braids framing her face and scooped up all of her thick, wavy hair, twirling it into a massive bun on top of her head. Then she started cracking her fingers in preparation for their mission. With each crack, rainbow sparks flew from her knuckles and bounced around the inside of the van. "Oh, oopsie daisies," Jessamine murmured, rolling down her window halfway. The sparkles flew out and spun into the air, floating away. "Just workin' out some kinks," she explained with a brief smile. Then she raised her arm and, in a dazzling flash, a light shield appeared on her forearm. She tapped it with one of her red-painted nails and it made a sound like someone tapping on glass. "Perfect," she said with a smug grin. With a wave, the shield flashed out of existence, leaving rainbow spots on her retinas.
"Okay, apart from Sugarplumb there." Ella started, gesturing to Jess while simultaneously fighting the urge to throw the woman out the car. "What are the rest of you capable of. I already know about Wolfy and Feiss, but I have no clue about the rest of you." She stated. "And please try to stop with the rainbows, its annoying me greatly."
Humbert eyed Jessamine. "Longbranch...? We're going to a crime scene, not a Sailor Moon convention. I don't expect any combat upon arrival."
"Well, I can... I am really strong. Really. Not boasting or anything, it's part of my ME. And I have this weird thing that I can heal quickly too, but only if I cover the wound with mud," Jacob said.
Jessamine just laughed at Ella and waved her hand in an "oh, you silly goat" way. She couldn't take anything Ella said personally. So far, the only mood Ella had displayed was disgruntled. Jessamine was beginning to think of her as a teenage little sister going through a phase. But if she pulled that gun out again, Jessamine might have to take her seriously, as in seriously take the gun from her because she obviously couldn't be trusted with it. Jessamine was still interested in helping her, but just like with Feiss, Ella had the potential to snap. A lot of people on our team don't seem to be good guys, Jessamine thought nervously, pulling her shawl a little more tightly around herself. When Humbert spoke, Jessamine smiled at him. "I already finished, Mr Boss Man," she told him. "And I know we're going to a crime scene, but nobody ever expects a fight. I'd rather be prepared than...well...the opposite of prepared." She unhooked her phone from the stereo system and started tapping away at the screen. "Okay, there's gotta be a better synonym for being unprepared on Google...hmmm, let's see...really? Unready? Didn't even know that was a word." Jessamine shrugged and put her phone away. "The more you know, I guess."
"The more you know," Feiss said, enjoying the way those words tasted. "Indeed." She prodded Humbert again. "By the way, I still haven't been issued my gun. I'm sure this was an oversight, yes?" She smiled at him. "My scathing wit can cut down any foe but sometimes a girl needs something a little more... how can I say this... straight-to-the-point. And, before you ask, YES, I know how to use one, as if that's even a question. Of course, I know how to use one."
"Longbranch, what I mean is," Fenric said, as the Wolf in him itched to start biting people, "the local police won't believe in magic. You cannot have a magical shield up when we're supposed to be presenting ourselves as a legitimate government agency. *You will not need it right now.* And Doctor, I'm sorry to say, you have not been cleared to be issued a weapon. Lord only knows why. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm of the impression that if you wanted to go on a killing spree, you wouldn't *need* a gun."
Jessamine squinted her eyes slightly at Humbert, but kept her friendly smile fixed in place. Why does he think I would use magic in front of non-ME's? Obviously, I meant I would only use my powers if it was absolutely necessary. He acts like I haven't been a Level 5 Enchantress since I was seventeen. I've had my share of experience in the field. Does he think I'm a complete idiot? Trying not to let anyone see, she turned to look out the window and let her smile drop, hugging herself tighter. She was beginning to feel like the odd one out. Yes, this was a serious mission. Yes, lives were at stake. But why did they all have to be so boring and morbid? And why was Humbert treating her like a child? Did he not read anything about her before selecting her for this team? Does it matter, Jess? You're the Good Witch. The Enchantress. The Fairy Godmother. The Blue Fairy. No matter how they treat you, you will help them, because that's what you do. It's your only purpose in life. "I just have to hang in there til this is all over," Jessamine whispered to herself. Helping people and guiding them to their Happily Ever Afters always gave her a beautiful feeling, like she was radiating love and light from the core of her being. All she had to do was stick in there, put her personal feelings to the side, and it would all be worth it in the end...wouldn't it?
Jacob looked bck at Jess, feeling slightly sorry for her. She was a fire of life and energy, and they were the carbon dioxide, well maybe except for Feiss, who was a completely different type of fire. He wanted to say something, start a conversation. But he was never really good at the whole talking thing, and with three women in the back, that just made it all the more impossible. Then a horn blared, and he just about managed to save the group from a premature death. Okay, just focus on the road, Jacob.
"Can't drive... Can't touch things... can't shoot things... If I didn't know any better, I'd say you don't trust me, Mr. Wolf. Or perhaps you enjoy breaking hearts," Feiss said with a sigh. She nudged her glasses up and looked to Humbert with a rather sly grin on her face. "I suppose now I understand some of the things I saw about you. A wolf in a henhouse should be overjoyed... unless he doesn't like hens, hmmm."
Fenric regarded her, stonefaced, and said, "Hens or not, no one's getting plucked." *** Soon, the team arrived at the scene, a well-kept Victorian house in a nice neighborhood. There were police vehicles out front, and Humbert left the van to speak to the lead officer. Humbert's intimidating presence and glamoured credentials combined to convince the police detective to let Humbert's team take over. While everyone got properly gloved and bootied, Humbert got a preliminary report from the police. "Okay, people," he said to the team, "this is... going to be nasty." Humbert had been smelling it since leaving the van, but the others would surely be picking it up soon. Blood, dead flesh, human offal. The front room of the house, which also hosted Redmond's psychiatric offices, was very neat and very tidy, no overt signs of foul play, all very cozy in dark wood and warm autumn colors. Beneath the scent of death was the aroma of gingerbread. Deeper into the house lie Redmond's office. Here the autumnal decor was highlighted by the blood splashed all over walls and furniture around Redmond's desk. The doctor's body was in the process of being removed from the scene, everything having been photographed in situ. It was a process, though, as he wasn't all in one piece. (Okay, team, reactions and questions! Go!)
Jacob felt a moment of slight despresion when Humbert left the car. He struggled a bit with the gloves and boots, but was too shy to ask for help. Finally he managed to put everything on, jist as Humbert got back. When they walked out he stuck close to the older agent, feeling clumsy and out of place. What was wrong with my old job? The smell came to him first, blood and excrement mixed strangely with gingerbread. Then he saw the house, a nice, well decorated place, with wooden panels and covered with blood. In the corner he saw what seemed to be a leg. Jacob felt his last meal and two coffees rise up. He hoped that he wouldn't puke there. That would be quite unproffesional.
Ella sniffed the air twice, making sure she knew exactly what she was dealing with before she started moving. "Okay, so we have Hansel and Gretle or The Gingerbread Man, considering the smell." Afterwards she went over to examine the body, staring at it AMD trying to note down anything that looked strange, or any organs that were missing. By this time she started pinching the bridge of her nose. While she had grown a certain tolerance to such smells on the job, she would prefer that she hadn't.
*answer post* Based on what Ella could see, there weren't any glaring absences, but a full autopsy would give a proper inventory. The greater portion of Redmond's body was still seated at his desk. His left arm was a fe feet away, and a few fingers had been separated. His right hand likewise unattached. A cloth covered what was likely the good doctor's head, a distance away from the body. His natty brown waistcoat and cream-colored shirt had offered no protection from whatever had cleaved messily into his torso.
Feiss glided about the room with that same cheerful smile she’d worn all day, which now seemed dreadfully out of place. The smell didn’t bother her, except for the gingerbread part. She hadn’t had breakfast yet and it was making her rather hungry. So many bits and pieces. Doctor Redmond was everywhere. A little here, a little there. Feiss started at the satellite parts and worked her way toward the center mass. She inspected the severed arm closely, trying to determine if it was cut off or ripped free using brute force. She eventually got to the head, or at least what most assumed to be a head. Feiss reached for the cloth, but paused. Jacob was on the verge of being ill and she already knew there was a head under there. No reason to make things any messier. She could come back to it later, perhaps, when he wasn’t looking. The fact that she’d been told not to touch anything never crossed her mind. Feiss stood and took a step back, to get a full picture of the room in its entirety. She placed herself in front of the doctor’s desk, the epicenter of the carnage, and began slowly backing out, toward the door. “It is probably safe to assume he was killed in this position,” she said, to no one in particular. “But how did the attacker get in?” The office as crime scene suggested the killer might be a patient or someone with an appointment. That was worth looking into. But, first, Feiss began looking for any evidence of forced entry, so she could strike that possibility off the list. She also looked for signs of how long he’d been dead, to figure out if this had happened in the dead of night or during business hours the previous day. The smell suggested the corpse wasn’t fresh.
Jacob saw Ella enter, and immediately take in the scene, examining the body as a proffesional, well, except for the pinching nose part he supposed. Feiss would have seemed to know what she was doing, if not for the mad smile on her face, and the fact she kept on speaking to herself. That woman just gave him the creeps. "Is there anything you need me to do?" he asked Humbert. Hopefully that will take his mind the growing sensation of vomit in his stomach.
*answer post* Feiss would have seen that the arm had been severed by a sharp implement, but not neatly. The edges were ragged, suggesting the edge still required force to do the job. The fingers and hand bore similar signs. Neither the door to the office nor the front door showed signs of forced entry. Feiss could have surmised that the body had been there for the better part of a day, which would be confirmed by the coroner. *** Fenric looked over at Jacob and felt bad for the kid. Talk about being thrown in the deep end on your first day... "Agent Rabinowitz, perhaps you could accompany either Agent Longbranch or Schmidt and speak to the neighbors?" As team leader, he felt he should take personal charge of the former clerk, but he needed to apply his nose to the scene.
Jacob nodded, swallowing hard. He actually would have preferred to stick to Humbert, but he did as he was told. He went over to Ella, "Boss says I should accompany you. That we should ask around the neighbors."
Ella turned to him slowly, not quite frowning but certainly close. "These are the things you do not say around me: I wish, if only, there has to be a way or any other sentence to that affect, am I clear?" She asked, before starting to walk outside, wanting to get this over and done with as quickly as possible.
Jacob was taken aback. What was that about? I didn't say any of these words. And yeah, we may be just co-workers, doesn't mean you have to be a complete bitch. "Alright, miss," he said, before following her outside.
"What a lovely couple," Feiss commented with a cheerful smile as Jacob and Ella passed. But the moment they were gone, her smile melted away and she turned her full attention to the crime scene with a seriousness none of the team had seen before. She didn't like not knowing things and there were a lot of things in this room that remained a mystery to her. It was as if the Narrative wasn't revealing anything. Well, to Hell with the Narrative. She could figure this out without the devil's gift helping her along. I'm smart enough on my own, she thought. "No forced entry I can see," she whispered as she moved from the doorway and toward the desk once more, lightly tapping her index finger on her cheek. "Estimated time of death: yesterday, midday. If the coroner can do better, I owe him a biscuit." She stared at the body for a few quiet seconds, before adding, "dismemberment... hmmm, I wonder..." Feiss put her hands up as if blocking an attack. She stood like that for quite some time, adjusting positions, as if trying to emulate Doctor Redmond's final moments. "Lost an arm... a hand... some fingers... his head. A real hack job, one might say. When you've an axe, everyone's a tree, I suppose." She put her hands down and turned to face Fenric. "Darling, what Type was the good doctor? And do you, by any chance, know how he stores his appointments? Digitally or in a ledger?"
"He was a Clever Fox," Fenric replied. "Level 3, I think. His personal records might be stored electronically, but anything related to MEs would have been written longhand. It's too easy for the Narrative to change digital information."
Jessamine had been pretty quiet since they had arrived on the scene. She walked around like a psychic, holding her hands out over objects to see if she could feel any magical emanations. Sometimes she could, ya know, if there were any leftover traces. So far, she couldn't feel anything. That's when she heard Mr Boss order Jacob to team up with her or Ella. Jessamine saw that he chose Ella over her. Eye-roll. He was obviously not a good judge of character. Ella was not a people person and neither was Jacob. Jessamine was the logical choice, she was friendly and knew how to make people trust her. She was a Fairy Godmother, for fucks sake! But Jacob probably just picked Ella because she wasn't as chatty Jessamine. "Where's your professionalism?" Jessamine demanded (as she skipped over to Jacob like a little girl). "You picked the devil over me, the white witch? You really need to learn to put your personal feeling aside and think more clearly. No offense, Ella, but you don't exactly seem like you like...well, anyone." Jessamine looked around at the surrounding houses. "So, which one are we going to?" she asked, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
