"What about you? Any glass get ya?" " I think I'm okay just startled is all." She lied, blood was slowly staining the back of her pant's, but she hoped know one would notice. "I believe that it might have been a distraction, for what, I do not know, though I could always be wrong and the culprit carried much resentment for Mr. Stanfield and his associates, meaning he may have just wanted to take a few of them down if he could and ruin his funeral, a petty thing to do, but unfortunately people do things like this even if the recipient of their actions cannot react to it." "Not a distraction, but, a warning I think." Kubi said adding her two cents. "If the goal was to kill people, then the man would shoot people, right? It would have been much more effective then shooting lights and chandeliers, in the end he killed nobody when he could of killed many if he shot at the crowd in stead. I, think he simply wanted to make us afraid of him, But I am not afraid. He don't scare me." Kubi hopped over to stanfield, she bent over him barely holding her lunch, some how she managed. "I see many stage accidents, all bloody, this...not so bad. Come help me look for clue. I like Mister Stan fled, His soul no rest unless we help him." She motioned to them to come over. "perphaps something on his body will help us determine cause of death." She looked at the mans wounds, very, very carefully.
Teddy and Piper: Oddities and Courtesies She scrubbed a soiled sleeve across her bloodied lip, bringing attention to the dark bruise that was rapidly spreading across her right check bone. "I told you I had a bad feeling about this, but you wouldn't listen." Teddy winced when he saw the damage, he pulled a linen handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Piper. Unlike some of the others who were sporting cuts and abrasions, Piper looked like she had run afoul of a man's fist, a fist that carried a hell of a lot of rage. Temper clouded his usually logical brain as he steered her out of the carnage. He snagged his Bot out of the air and dialed 911. "There has been attack at the Stanfield Mansion. Get your asses over here, now! People are hurt." He roared. The line clicked off. Reaching the knot of people clustered in the middle of the room, Teddy cast a pain look at Richard Stanfield's battered remains, taking care to keep his rangy frame in between Piper and the body. "I've alerted the authorities. They should be here momentarily, but might I suggest we take this conversation else where, or at least get the ladies out of the room." His deep voice became ominous. "They don't need to see this." Knowing the layout of the house, he lead Piper out, making for nearest bathroom. He'd be damned if he emptied his pockets like a common school boy. The rage nearly choked him as he looked at Piper's battered face. Who had hit her? Why had they hit her? Having gained the relative safety of the blue and white porcelain tiled bathroom, Piper sank down on the edge of the claw footed tub and pressed her hands against her temples. Hysterics threatened. She shut her eyes in hopes of staving off the attack. Now was not the time to go to pieces. She focused on the only thing she could...The pain...The horrid stinging of her split lip and the aching of the blow to her cheek... Teddy took the handkerchief from her and stuck it under the gush of icy water. "Here." He said as he pressed the icy cloth against the cut. She flinched back, but held the cloth in place. The waves of anger were a palpable aura about him. "What happened back there, Pippa?" He asked, his gentle tone at odds with the wrath in his eyes.
Kubi didn't find anything out of the ordinary on the body. Well of course the way the body was in the fist place but she didn't see anything that wasn't reported reported. Though the most odd thing to point out were the massive stitches going up his body. They seemed to have some sort of teeth marks in them and going up in parallel with it on each side of the massive stitch. Whatever the teeth were they looked sharp certainly nothing capable of a normal person. It was extremely gruesome none the less. Whoever pulled off this crime was certainly not trying to be subtle.
Teddy: Deep End of the Ocean "What happened back there, Pippa?" He asked, his gentle tone at odds with the wrath in his eyes. Piper's expressive features were tight, her eyes dark with pain and fright. "Back down, Teddy. I need a few minutes. Find out what's going on with the others." Reluctantly he left her to her thoughts and slowly retraced his steps to the main salon. The others were grouped around the body, studying the wounds, including the circus girl. Morbidity obsession? Richard Stanfield had, for all intents and purposes, been shredded. The mortician had stitched his rents together as best they could, but it was still a disaster. Why was there this much overkill involved? What was hidden beneath all that damage? Shrewd brown eyes flicked over David and the detective. "We are all in this up to our necks now. You owe us a few answers. Where was Stanfield found, and by whom?"
"Not a distraction, but, a warning I think." Kubi said adding her two cents. "If the goal was to kill people, then the man would shoot people, right? It would have been much more effective then shooting lights and chandeliers, in the end he killed nobody when he could of killed many if he shot at the crowd in stead. I, think he simply wanted to make us afraid of him, But I am not afraid. He don't scare me." Kubi hopped over to stanfield, she bent over him barely holding her lunch, some how she managed. I looked at the girl who had spoken. "Actually I believe that any deaths that might have occurred would have been icing on the cake, if his reason to do all of this was to ruin his funeral... he's done it, funeral completely ruined." I said, I walked over to the body and studied it. "Definitely not a human that did this, but a weapon could still do something like this." I thought. Shrewd brown eyes flicked over David and the detective. "We are all in this up to our necks now. You owe us a few answers. Where was Stanfield found, and by whom?" I looked at the man. "That... I do not know, I only know as much as everyone else, possibly even less, I hadn't been hired on by the police department to help with the case, so most details are foggy to me." I said.
Teddy: Pressing I looked at the other man. "That... I do not know, I only know as much as everyone else, possibly even less, I hadn't been hired on by the police department to help with the case, so most details are foggy to me." I said. Teddy brushed off the detective, his attention riveted on David. "You're family, both you and Lester are privy to the information." His expression was hard, uncompromising. "Either you can tell us, or I can ask Lester, who happens to be looking after your younger sister. I don't want to subject her to something like this, but we need to know."
David frowned remembering. "We never found out who found him......actually. All they know is they got a call from someone and next thing they know they are rushing my dad to the hospital but he was even before they loaded him into the back of the truck. Whoever made that call was long gone by the time they got there. "Police are still looking into it I've been told." "I was the first and only family member to see his body (until now at least) when they called us. Ruthie was to young to be exposed to that sort of thing, Lester was of course was going off the handle, my mother was in hysterics and Stella wasn't there. So that left me to identify and I did." He finished his face looking quite uncomfortable. He didn't do well when speaking of issues like this.
" I work with wild animals, wolf, lions, bears. This looks like the work of a predator a real beast. I think he may have either been killed by one or chewed upon by one afterward." Kubi stood up frowning. "Wolf maybe. But they seem to sharp and deep for even wolfs. Honestly I'm stumped." Kubi skipped over to David, she gave a short bow. "I know this is hard for you, but we most know. Where did they find your fathers body surely they told you?"
David nodded. "A few blocks from here on Peabody Street. It was raining that night to he was in the road when they found him." He responded
Piper: Facade Piper slid to her feet, her gait still wobbly as she made her way back to the others. She kept the damp cloth pressed against her lip, but her composure was back in place. David frowned remembering. "We never found out who found him......actually. All they know is they got a call from someone and next thing they know they are rushing my dad to the hospital but he was even before they loaded him into the back of the truck. Whoever made that call was long gone by the time they got there. "Police are still looking into it I've been told." "Where was he loaded onto the truck? Surely there is a record of that. Mr. Stanfield wasn't an insignificant nobody and people are always looking for handouts. Is it possible someone left a name?" Piper asked, her voice soft, muffled by the hanky and her split lip. Teddy made a shift as though to join her, but Piper shook her head. The professor stiffened, grinding his teeth in aggravation.
"Weird".... whispered The Valentine while checking the body. These teeth marks were something....however there was a certain contradiction with the way he died, or at least the way he heard Richard died. "David isn't it?..." asked the man feigning ignorance over the man's name "Tell me, what do the police records say about the way he was killed. I know he was opened, but what was the cause of death?"
In the midst of the chaos, the once beautiful Stanfield visiting room was in ruins. The crimson carpet lay in tattered shreds as the chandelier glass pierced through. Statues and rare items were demolished, not even the most skilled craftsman could piece them back together. What was once priceless had lost value in but a mere two minutes, but all had been left where they fell. Or had they? If one were to be near a Miss Stella Stanfield before the attack they would notice a precious item missing indeed. ------ Stella's blue eyes blinked rapidly while her mind processed what had happened. Gun shots, those had been gun shots. She must've lost her step during the brief moment of darkness. With clenched teeth, Stella brought herself to a standing position. Dizziness threatened as she squinted, focusing on the numerous people gathered in a circle. Her steps were light as she walked; droplets of blood streaming down her arm. "What's...going on?" Stella asked when she approached. She caught the curious sight of tense faces before her eyes landed on the condition of her father's body, for the first time. With a shriek, Stella stumbled backwards falling again on her rump. Bringing her trembling knees slowly to her chest, panic overwhelmed her. "Oh God...no..."
David searched his brain. "When I say truck I mean like a hospital truck you know an ambulance and but there was no name left. I swear." He turned to The Valentine. "Chainsaw wound to the stomach and unidentified bite marks around the same area. Cause of death was basically combination of bleeding out, mutilated organs and what not. I can't remember everything." David sighed he didn't mind the questions but he was getting a little overwhelmed.
"Is that so..." replied The Valentine He the continued, this time asking to Joe the detective "So, if the body was opened by something like a chainsaw, why are the bite marks there?... It was really necessary to add them?. What do you think?" asked with a serious tone
"How much blood was found at the scene, David?" Roland asked. "If he was killed in the place he was found, then all the blood he lost would be in that spot. But if there wasn't very much blood on the street, then that means he was killed elsewhere. If we can find that elsewhere...it might lead us to his killer." Roland heard a shriek. He turned to see Stella hugging her legs, her eyes wide in terror as she stared at her father's horrible remains. He knelt in front of her, blocking the view of her father's body. Roland took her hands in his, comfortingly. He didn't know what to say so he just squeezed her hands trying to offer whatever comfort he could.
Lincoln “Who brings a gun to a funeral!?” He flinched as she screeched at him, women were crazy sometimes. "Calm down! You wanna get me arrested?" he asked in a hushed tone. He flicked his wrist, and the little two shot pistol vanished up his sleeve. There was a spring loaded brace on his right forearm that held the little gun, all he had to do was flick his wrist and flex the muscle on his forearm and it would drop the gun down into his palm. A convenient little safety measure indeed. "It's just a little something I carry around, just in case..." he said with a reassuring smile. "Man like me has enemies. No need to go broadcasting this though," he said. "It's only a two shot, no way that I was the one who shot this place up. Just, I'd appreciate if you could keep that quiet," he said, then turned toward the group surrounding the dead man. Walking over he said, "For god's sake! Put the man back in his coffin! This is no time to be poking at his corpse! Did anyone see who fired the shots? Anything at all?" Lincoln exclaimed. He also glanced over the trophy wall. "Are any of your valuables missing? It could have been a distraction to make off with something," he asked, directing the question to the Stanfields.
"How much blood was found at the scene, David?" Roland asked. "If he was killed in the place he was found, then all the blood he lost would be in that spot. But if there wasn't very much blood on the street, then that means he was killed elsewhere. If we can find that elsewhere...it might lead us to his killer." "There is another option" interrupted The Valentine... "That he was opened after being killed" said. "A body dies, then its blood coagulates, becoming a thick substance. Hence not too much blood would had been spilled if he were to be open after being killed." finished. Of course himself doubted this, but he still contributed with it.
I looked at Valentine. "I believe that the wounds were either caused by nearby stray dogs after he was attacked, or perhaps a weapon, the better question is, if it was something like a chainsaw, why did no one hear it, nor Mr. Stanfield, this discrepancy can only be explained with two different trains of logic, the first is that he was killed somewhere else, a place where no one could hear him, then they dropped him off at Peabody street, or the weapon wasn't a chainsaw, but something smaller, something that wouldn't make that much noise but would still be destructive or cause wounds such as that, the reason no one heard Mr. Stanfield was because he was gagged, incapacitated, or perhaps already dead at the time and the wounds inflicted afterwards, that would be the only way that I could see no one hearing the chainsaw nor Mr. Stanfield if the murder indeed took place on that street." I said.
Eddie Cartwright Eddie saw as his friend tumbled over looking terrified. "Stella!" he yelled in compassion. He walked over to her abruptly and immediately helped her off of her caboose. Lifting her up with one palm, he helped her stand. The sight of Mr.Stanfield's body was still a sight that shook him. Eventually after caring to Stella he looked over to the Detective and asked, "I agree with the Detective, we may need some records, cause of death records. We need something to go off of, something that can help us find that bastards who did this. The entire room is beat, and it is a disrespect to the Stanfield family and Mr.Stanfield himself." Eddie glanced over at the body of Mr.Stanfield and read it, scanned it for anything. Besides the obvious, he looked at the marks everyone had spoke of quite swiftly. "Maybe they attacked him with dogs and cut him up. I doubt a chainsaw would just leave holes like that, and to have a small weapon and puncture him multiple times, seems like a waste of time. Unless, they really hated the guy." he said after walking closer to the Valentine, hoping not for Stella to hear. "As for a motive, it is quite obvious, anyone in this Apple could have done it. Anyone in Chicago had a reason to have contempt or jealousy in the man." he said aloud. "But for someone to appear and disappear just like that either had to be quick as a whistle, or it is one of us in this room." He turned to Lincoln and stated, "About the distraction, I doubt it. Who would want a trophy and if they wanted something big, they would have to search for it, meaning they would still be in the house. Are they willing to take that risk?"
Piper: Empathy "Oh God...no..." Piper heard the shriek and saw another young woman drop to the floor. Her cousin, the elusive Stella. Piper's normally smooth gait was still a little unsteady as she approached the hysterical young woman. Kneeling, she pulled a clean handkerchief and offered it to Stella. "I think you need this more than I do." Bright grey eyes flicked over to Stella's twin, who seemed to be struggling to keep up with all the questions. She had heard enough about the Stanfields to know that David was a wiz with Bots. She glanced down at the little device in her pocket. It might be possible.
Lincoln was on to something as he examined the trophy wall an item was indeed missing. David was responded to Roland's question. "No he was killed where he was found as far as I know." David went silent as he wasn't being asked anymore questions.
"So you're not totally sure in the end" replie The Valentine. He then produced a cigarette from within his clothes.. "Anyone has fire?" asked the man. "I'll tell you what I think. He was killed by the bites, however they're too unnatural to be made by an animal, is possible the usage of something that mimicked the bites somehow. They wanted his blood out of his body. After he died out of enough bleeding, he was tore open, either there or in another place. No blood was spilled of course." He then scratched his head "David testimony is too vague, seems that he isn't sure about the location of the body"
"I already said he was found on Peabody street." David defended against the Valentine. He then looked thoughtful. "Who are you anyway?"
"Yes... but what is exactly in Peabody street?" She walked curiously over to the mahogany bookcase, gazing at all the trophies and thick tomes. "Perhaps a kennel? A butchers? We simple don't have all the factors to adequately solve the equation."
Eddie Cartwright "I'll tell you what I think. He was killed by the bites, however they're too unnatural to be made by an animal, is possible the usage of something that mimicked the bites somehow. They wanted his blood out of his body. After he died out of enough bleeding, he was tore open, either there or in another place. No blood was spilled of course." Eddie looked at the Valentine and asked, "Is it possible they made holes big enough with multiple bear traps, and let him bleed out? I know of no other weapon that can mimic animal bites, as such." He said tipping his hat over his eyes a bit as he picked up the body of Mr.Stanfield and out it back in the casket. After doing such, he almost vomited in his mouth, yet he left the casket open for further inspection.
