2019.11.15 Bump in the Night II
| Bump in the Night part 2 | |
|---|---|
| IC Date | 11/15/2019 |
| IC Time | Afternoon |
| Players | SerenaC, Cole, Emma, Hannelore, Verlaine (ST) |
| Location | Various, Prospect CA |
| Prp/Tp | Continues in Bump in the Night III |
| Spheres | Mortal+, Sorcerer, Psychic |
As Emma conducts her research into this Jacob she remembers that the woman said his last name was Townshead. It doesn't take long for her digital sleuthing to dig up that he graduated from law school a few years ago and is now working at a small firm in Prospect, Levy and Dunham. Snooping around on his social media shows that he's just an associate there but there are plenty of posts showing him and the woman from before, though in a much healthier state. Her name was Sarah White and they were engaged it seems. Though he hasn't posted anything in the last two weeks.
Hannelore focuses on that necklace and she gets a clearer image of Jacob. Mid 20's, white, tall and rather handsome. He was dressed casually that night and there's the feelings again of pain and betrayal. Of love and sudden loss. Sarah was surprised by whatever happened that evening. She gets a brief glimpse of Sarah taking off her engagement ring and throwing it in Jacob's face in the park.
Cole goes back to the park and looks around for a bit for the dogs. He does find one, that doberman that had been growling at Serena. And surprisingly he actually manages to approach it and make nice with the animal. A few minutes of awkwardly trying to get a large dog into a car and then driving to the vet and you discover that it is indeed chipped. It belonged to one Sarah White.
Hannelore calls the number listed on Levy and Dunham's website and is greeted by a male voice with a rather upbeat tone. "Levy and Dunham. How may I direct your call?"
Hannelore says, "Yes, may I speak with Jacob Townshead please?"
"May I ask who's calling please?" The voice responds in the practiced pitch that comes from saying this exact line a hundred times a week.
Hannelore says, "This is Renee Jones."
Serena sits at the table and contemplates a question that's been bothering her while Hannelore is on the phone. "So what made Sarah throw the ring at Jacob?" she wonders aloud to Cole and Emma. "Was he cheating on her? Did she find out something about him? Maybe he's involved in something darker and she found out, and that is why he killed her? Not just mad that she broke up with him, but that she was now some kind of risk to him."
"One moment please." Hannelore is placed on hold while audio promoting the excellent work of Levy and Dunham plays. Perhaps to remind you why you called them in the first place. A minute later the line is picked up, another man's voice with a slick, professional attitude. "This is Jacob. How can I help you?"
Hannelore would say, "I'm sorry, I was holding for Mr. Dunham. Is he in?"
"I'm afraid that Mr. Dunham is a very busy man. But I can put you through to his voicemail." And then Hannelore is placed on hold again, and then promptly hangs up.
Hannelore hangs up the phone and confirms to the group, "He still works there. They put me through to him."
"Do you think it's important?" Cole asks. He's pacing, half listening to the phone call. "Maybe it is. I just want to put out there that it doesn't have to be anything much for a guy to get pissed and resort to violence. She breaks it off for whatever reason and he freaks out, grabs her by the neck and she's dead before he realizes what he has done. Or, maybe it's what you're saying and there is more to this." He looks up toward Hannelore, frowning. "How do you murder your fiance and just go back to work?"
Emma shakes her head at Serena's questions. "There's no telling what could have set him off." she then looks to Hannelore. "How did he sound? Like he was bothered at all?"
Hannelore says, "Slick. Professional. A bit of an asshole. But he is a lawyer, so...I might have tried to rattle him but I don't want to spook him"
Serena nods and shrugs, "Maybe it doesn't matter as to why he did it. But, I don't know, it helps me understand why it happened, I guess." She looks at Emma and asks, "Do we know who put in the missing person's report? Was it Jacob? Maybe he's a sociapath, and as doing everything he can think of to act like a normal person that did not just murder his fiance."
There was no indication who put in the missing person's report, but Emma did find some worried posts from Sarah's parents.
"Should we call the cops and ask about the investigation? They'll likely tell us to fuck off, but if you get the right detective they'll sometimes give you a bit. Especially if you pretend like you're an upset family member of friend." Cole asks, glancing around the group.
Hannelore says, "Or perhaps say we are calling in an anonymous tip? Although, we could have done that days ago and not been any more involved ourselves."
"I don't know. I only found that a report had been filed. Perhaps it was her parents? I came across some posts from them and they sounded worried about her." Emma turns her attention back to Serena as she speaks, then looks between Cole and Hannelore. "If you call and say you're a family member or friend, the cops just might ask you to come in and question you further about her and, possibly, Jacob."
"What was done with Sara's body?" Serena asks. "Not that it's really our fault, but we probably made a mess of things when we attacked and burned her animated corpse. But, is there any way we can point the cops in the direction of her body? At least, then they can find it and open a formal murder investigation. Hopefully it doesn't lead back to us, though. That'd be a cluster fuck of a situation. But, maybe we have an advantage in that we can point the cops towards Jacob."
Hannelore hrms, "That may be a problem. I believe the plan was to take it out to the desert and finish burning it. I don't know exactly where in the desert, but that was the last I heard about it."
"We could act as media. Might be better. Or maybe that's just a dead end." Cole leans back. His face that was very bruised just the day before seems entirely healed now. That's weird. "I was saying yesterday, Serena, that I'm worried the cops will make a mess of things. What are the chances our lawyer boy really gets the law thrown at him if the case isn't rock solid? I guess we could always try, but I don't have much faith in the police and courts."
Emma's brow furrows as Serena refers to Sarah as an animated corpse As she listens then, she takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I can't believe I'm even going to suggest this but you could follow him. We know where he works. Go there, call him from outside saying you know something about Sarah and then see what he does afterwards. If it works on television, then why not?"
Hannelore sips her fresh coffee as she listens to everyone debate their next steps, "I agree with Cole. When a person goes missing, or is murdered, the first person they would suspect is the boyfriend or fiance. He should already be under investigation unless they are incompetent or he is well connected."
The news that Sarah's body has been completely reduced to ash somewhere in the desert makes Serena's heart sink, and turns her stomach. "...jesus..." she mutters, looking pale and upset. "So we basically served as Jacob's cleaning crew. Great." She listens to Emma, nodding at her idea. "That's not a bad idea. See if he goes to where he originally hid the body? Would that be helpful? Or, we could be less threatening and instead just... befriend him. Seduce him. I bet I could get invited to his home. Maybe there is something there. Or, I can keep him out on a date long enough that one of you could... sneak in to his home and find out what's on his computer or find any evidence in his house. Perhaps we do both? Start with the seduction, end with the threats?"
"He just strangled a woman and walked back into his life without a second glance, Serena. Going anywhere with him might get you killed. Going to his home is especially dangerous. I'm not sure he's the type who kills everyone he meets, but he's at least capable of doing it." Cole looks worried, though somewhere in that expression is the truth that it's not a terrible idea. How better to get closer to the man than that? "We need to figure out what our end goal is. Get him into jail? I think he deserves worse, but it has to be at least that much."
Hannelore reaches up and strokes the divot in her throat. "Or perhaps plant evidence. He killed her with his bare hands. Without a murder weapon or a body, any evidence would be circumstantial at best. But perhaps if we planted her necklace in his apartment and gave the police something to find." She looks to Cole, "Perhaps the dogs could lead the police to the park at least. Since that is where they were found. Give them a place she was last seen." Then she adds the greater question, "We have to decide how far we are willing to go? Are we willing to murder a murdere?"
Emma looks at Serena likes she's out of her mind and yet, there's something in her expression that says that same thought had crossed her mind. "I think we're all somehow in agreement that he needs to be brought to justice but, yeah..." her gaze shifts back to Hannelore. "Or what if he saw someone wearing the necklace instead?"
"No," Serena says. "We're not going to murder someone. He needs to be brought to justice. I'm fine with planting evidence. He's rich, right? His car probably has GPS tracker? Or his phone? We steal one or the other and bring it to the desert, to Sarah's body. We plant the necklace. We get the cops to where he killed Sarah and left her body. There has to be some physical evidence left behind. His hair? Some DNA? Along with hers, too. But I don't want him to just disappear, too. He needs to be brought to justice. Her family deserves that much, at least." She looks at Cole, grateful for his concern. "I'm willing to take that much of a risk. It's the least I can do. I did stick her body with a metal pole, after all. I feel obligated to do something, now." She looks at Emma, intrigued by the idea of someone wearing the necklace. "Ooh, that's... dark." She obviously likes the idea, though. "So, maybe start attacking flies with honey first. I'll see if I can have him take me out on a date while the rest of you try and dig up dirt on him at his house or office or something? Then, if that turns up nothing, one of us can get a rise out of him with the necklace. But, once he knows we know something, then he'll start taking action to work against us. For now, keeping hidden is a good advantage for us."
"At least let me shadow the date?" Cole says. "I can't deny it's a good idea - but like you said earlier, we don't know what this guy is into. It could have just been rage at his fiance dumping him that got out of hand, or he might be something much worse. I can keep out of the way but make sure things don't go ugly. Emma and Hannelore can poke around his place and set up anything that needs done?" He looks around the group to see what everyone thinks.
Hannelore nods, "Yes, the date should be shadowed and I would prefer to get inside of his apartments. I may be able to pick up on other energies that might help. I wouldn't have Serena wear the necklace though. It isn't so unique that he might notice it is the same, and it would serve us better planted where the police could find it in his apartment."
Emma purses her lips thoughtfully, only half-hearing what Serena and Cole say next but she does focus in on Hannelore's words. "Before doing that, perhaps we should check out where Sarah was living first. See if there's anything there that could indicate why she would break off the engagement. From what I found, they weren't living together. She was still living on campus."
Hannelore says, "Smart. And maybe we find something else worth planting in his apartment."
"So is that the plan?" Serena asks. "Check out Sarah's apartment first. Then Cole and I go on a date with Jacob while Hannelore and Emma check out his apartment."
"Seems like a good set of next steps. Just - everyone be careful. Especially poking around in those apartments. Cops trace something back to the pair of you and I don't trust them not to lay it all at your feet instead of Strangle Hands." This is Cole's final wisdom.
Sarah lived in the on campus apartments rather than in the dormitory. Anyone who's lived on campus would recognize these apartments, they're usually designed as a central kitchen/living room with bathrooms and bedrooms divided into suites. She's on the second floor of building J. J203. Emma's pretty sure that Sarah has a roommate named Lindsey.
Hannelore would check around the outside of the apartment for sign of a spare key, and failing that would use the ol' hairpin lockpick.
It takes some work and Hannelore's a bit nervous at times that someone might walk by while she's fiddling with the lock but eventually the lock turns and the door opens. She and Emma are greeted with a kitchen that, while not filthy, could definitely stand to be cleaned and a living room with one too many wine boxes sitting out with just a single glass beside it. There are two doors that lead to opposite rooms. Presumably one is Lindsey's and one is Sarah's. J203B was Sarah's, which means the one on the right.
Hannelore is wearing her white gloves for now, so as not to leave any fingerprints on anything but also so as to not pick up the resonance of anything she doesn't WANT to pick up. Less confusion that way.
Cole is loitering and trying not to look too obvious about it. If anyone did try to come to the apartment while Hannelore and Emma were inside he'd work on intercepting and distracting. But, with the roommate at band, all will hopefully be clear until they're done.
Emma doesn't seem all that surprised by the wine boxes - it's college after all. "It would seem the roommate likes her wine. Or perhaps she actually misses Sarah?" she shrugs, looking around a moment before moving towards the other two doors and looking at the numbers. "This one," she says to Hannelore, stopping by the door on the right with J203B on it. "Care to open it since you're the one with the gloves?"
Hannelore obliges, opening the door, but glances back at the other room before she does, her eyes narrowing a moment in thought - suspicious mind that one. She enters the bedroom, stepping aside to let Emma in behind her and takes a moment to survey the room and get a feel for Sarah, who she was, and where she might most likely find something useful.
Moving further into the apartment on Sarah's side the door opens into her bedroom with an attached bathroom. There's a desk with several books laid out a bit haphazardly, her laptop open but the screen dark. Her bed isn't made either. There's a few articles of clothing tossed on the bed and laid out side by side. There's also a picture laying out on the desk that shows Sarah hugging someone on her right but the picture has been ripped in half. Emma finds the other half of the picture in the waste bin by the desk and as might be expected it was a picture of Sarah and Jacob. While Hannelore explores she also discovers a diary that has its last entry two weeks ago.
Emma walks in slowly after Hannelore, immediately looking around the room to take in the layout before heading towards the desk. She looks at the computer a moment before the picture gets her attention. "Well we definitely know there was trouble in paradise," she remarks, looking around the side of the desk and moving then to the waste bin, reaching in a moment later to pull out the other half of the photo.
Serena is the wheel-girl in this information heist. She'll remain with the car, out near the apartment parking lot. She did't bring her hyper-car for once - it's just not practical, and for too conspicuous for such covert activity. Instead, she brought everyone here in her slightly less conspicuous Cadillac Escalade.
Hannelore trades the diary for the picture to Emma to see if there is anything in there about why she broke up with Jacob. She takes the torn up picture and takes her glove off in order to use psychometry on the photo.
If the diary is locked, Emma will look about the desk to see if there's something she can use to break the lock open. Otherwise she'll open it and flip through it until she finds the last few entries.
Looking at the last entry of the diary clears up quite a few things. The last few lines are "He's cheating on me. He's BEEN cheating on me. I found the pictures on his phone. He can't deny it this time. I'm breaking it off for good tonight." Hannelore holds the picture in her hand and gets flashes of rage mixed with deep sadness. Confusion and uncertainty. Finally, a moment of decisiveness as a decision is made and *RIP*. Sarah is standing over her desk after ripping the picture in half, a look of determination on her face after coming to a difficult decision.
Emma reads the last diary entry silently at first and then out loud for Hannelore to hear. "That explains why she broke up with him." she looks then to the computer and will check if it's completely turned off or simply in a save mode.
The laptop isn't powered off. When Emma taps a key the screen comes to life but is asking for a PIN.
Hannelore takes a picture of the torn photo with her phone and puts it back where she found it. "How have they not arrested him yet? It seems so obvious. She wanted to break up with him. He was cheating on her." She walks over behind Emma and looks at the computer. "Try his name? Maybe we could find some clues to her password."
Emma stares at the computer screen as it lights up, muttering a soft curse as a PIN is required. "It's worth a shot but I don't want to lock it up either." she'll then type in 'Jacob' to see if that works.
Jacob does not work. It seems to be asking for a 4 number PIN rather than a standard password.
Emma shakes her head. "I'm not one to steal property but do you think we should just take this with us? I don't want to be here if the roommate comes back early."
Hannelore hrms and tugs on her bottom lip, "Probably a birthday or anniversary. Or just 1234." She picks up the diary and begins to thumb through it looking for references to a birthday (hers or jacobs) or an anniversary. "Perhaps, but then we have taken evidence. I don't think the police have even come here or they would have taken it. Something smells like fish."
It takes Hannelore quite a bit of flipping back and forth through the diary before she finds what she's looking for. There are few important dates that can be tried but eventually the month and year of when she and Jacob first met (1117) manages to open the laptop. However by this time they've stayed a little long, Cole and Serena can both see a woman wearing a marching band uniform carrying a trumpet case heading towards the apartment building.
"Time to move. We've got incoming." Cole says after hurrying to the door of the apartment and knocking on it to get the attention of the pair of sleuths inside. Then he moves back to a place where he can intercept the incoming woman if it comes to that.
Hannelore gives a curse under her breath. She so wanted to go snooping in the roommate's room. Oh well. "Bring the computer. You might as well. If the police haven't come looking for her here by now, they aren't going to. I don't like this."
"Bingo," Emma murmurs as the last combination finally works but then Cole's there, alerting them to the roommate's return. Without even thinking, Emma closes the laptop and yanks at the cord to unplug it from the wall. "We're taking that too," she nods to the diary Hannelore holds. "I think you're right in that something's not quite right."
Hannelore toddles after Emma as fast as her high heels can carry her.
Lindsey gets to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the second floor and then stops when she sees Cole standing in her way. She stares blankly for a bit, looking tired from practice. "Um.. excuse me." She says and tries to brush past him.
"Hey! You're Lindsey, right? You must be. I was just about to give up and leave. That's fantastic timing." Cole puts on a bright smile for the woman, making sure he steps into her path and tries to force some eye contact. "I've had the worst luck on this trip so far, so it's nice to actually have something go my way for once. My plane was delayed, I ended sleeping at an airpot - which is the absolute worst. My credit card got compromised so I didn't have any access to money and I forgot my phone charger. I actually had to bum a quarter and use a pay phone. Do you know they still have pay phones?"
Lindsey takes a step back and stares at Cole with suspicion as her eyes narrow. "How do you know my name?" She doesn't seem to care about anything else that he said. But this does give time for Emma and Hannelore to get out of the apartment.
And Emma will take advantage of that delay, tucking the laptop and cable under one arm as she casually makes her way back to the car, only quickening her steps once close enough that it wouldn't look too suspicious to anyone.
"You're Sarah's roommate, yeah? I just guessed - you're here and you're done up like you just came from band. I mean, I finally got myself settled in town and came over here to see if she was around, but nobody at the door and didn't get much from a phone call either. Maybe you can let her know I swung by when she's back? I'm only here a couple more days." Cole carries on.
Lindsey narrows her eyes when you mention Sarah's name, taking another step away from you. "Who the fuck are you? Are you threatening me? Do you know where she's at? Get the fuck out of here or I'm calling the cops!" She's starting to raise her voice which gets a guy who just parked his car to look up and over towards Cole and Lindsey. Well, that went swimmingly. Cole tries to keep the smile on his face, raising his hands and backing away. "I - just - sorry. I'll go. I'll go. I didn't mean any harm." Disengage!
Lindsey's voice gets louder as you back away but aren't actually gone yet. "LEAVE!" And then she's fishing her phone out of her pocket.
Cole turns and leaves, bringing his hoodie up when he turns away in case Lindsey decides to take pictures of him from the rear. At least he matches Jacob's description pretty well if she does call him in. That would likely confuse everyone even more.
Later, at Serena's apartment
Sitting down at Sarah's laptop and taking some time to search through it, Emma is able to dig up quite a bit of information about the woman. Most of her passwords were saved and so Emma has access to her email and other online platforms. She appears to be a busy student finishing her last year of school and moderately attentive in her classes. On her social media she's linked to Jacob and there are post showing rather happy moments in their lives and all signs point to her being rather excited for their wedding after she graduated. There's no signs or hints that he was abusive or there was some dark malice hidden under the surface.
Hannelore paints Emma's toenails purple while she searches through the laptop. "Anything identifying the identity of the other woman?"
Emma hmms softly as she sifts through the information on Sarah's computer, voicing her findings to everyone as she goes and giving Hannelore an occasional look as her toenails get painted. "So it would seem the only indication we have that Jacob was doing something wrong is in her physical journal, and even that only says he was cheating on her. There's really no mention of who that other woman could be."
Cole paces. "Maybe we're over thinking it. Maybe he just killed her in a rage and somehow paid off the cops to ignore - or not even look - all the evidence." He doesn't sound convinced.
Hannelore hrms. "It has come to my attention that sometimes there are forces that could make someone act against their nature. Perhaps he was compelled somehow?"
"I think we need to find out more about him; and find out who he was seeing behind his fiance's back. We need more information to make sense of this puzzle."
Emma eyes Hannelore skeptically. "You need to stop sniffing the fumes from that bottle," she says simply, shaking her head. She looks to Serena then and adds, "Well one option would be to talk to Sarah's roommate but that might not be a good idea so soon after..." her gaze drifts to Cole and then back to Serena, "Perhaps someone just needs to try and get Jacob's version."
"We've seen enough strangeness with this case already that I'm not going to set aside what Hannelore is saying, but really, I don't know how we could know. Or why anyone would compel him to commit murder." Cole taps his fingers on his leg. "Would be nice to know who the other woman was."
Hannelore looks up from her nail work and gives Emma a sly smile. "I don't know why it is so far fetched. Isn't seduction just another form of compulsion?"
"Or man," Serena mutters in response to Cole's statement. She listens to Hannelore's comment and considers the implications. She then reiterates, "We need more information. Let's see if we can find anything new at Jacob's office or apartment; and, if that reveals nothing, then maybe I can start digging at him a bit face to face."
"Mmm hmm," is the response Emma gives to Hannelore's words before her attention moves back to the computer and she starts to search again. A short laugh erupts before too long and she looks from the screen to Cole with some amusement. "It would seem you made a great impression on Sarah's roommate," she then reads what was written of their encounter. "Jacob seems like our best bet for information at this point."
Hannelore sits back to consider her work, but her mind is thinking on the problem. "Getting into his home will be easier than risking getting into his work. So... we can lure him out with Serena, or we can try and get inside his home while he is at work. Can we tell if he lives alone?"
"I'm sure Serena will have better luck distracting him than I did with the roommate. One way or another we'll keep him clear of the place while you and Emma poke around. Maybe it's best to just wait until he's working and have Serena and I on standby. If he leaves the office for any reason we can swoop in and keep him busy. Or she can." Cole doesn't have the same assets.
Emma wiggles the toes Hannelore had been working on as she looks thoughtfully at Cole. "So Hannelore and I stake out his apartment and wait for him to leave for work, while you and Serena stake out his workplace to make sure he arrives and stays put long enough for us to get clear. That does kind of sound like a decent plan."
Cole nods. "I think that's what we have to do next. We need to know why the cops don't have him in jail already. We found enough evidence with very little effort to show that they should be hard on his tail. Why hadn't they taken the computer or the diary? How is it that Jacob is still happily going to his day job knowing he strangled his fiance a couple weeks ago. We're missing a piece."
Hannelore says, "Especially considering that a missing person's report has been filed."
Emma nods once, closing the laptop. "I will agree that something doesn't quite seem right. I just hope his apartment doesn't have some kind of state-of-the-art security system or surveillance. That will make things tank real quick."
Going in the middle of the day has the advantage of meaning that Jacob is at work at Levy and Dunham, but it also means the gang is operating during daylight hours. You arrive at his home and it is a proper house on the edge where urban starts to become suburban. There's a backyard even and the community looks nice, if a bit sanitized. There is a front door but the tripwire triggered laser cannons, if they exist, aren't currently visible.
Hannelore says, "Did anyone bring any binoculars?"
"I don't think we need any binoculars right now," Emma says to Hannelore as she approaches the house. She'll look around to see if there's anything around the door that could pass as a possible security camera and then search around looking for that spare key people tend to leave lying around somewhere.
<font color=purpleHannelore also checks to make sure he doesn't have one of those camera doorbells.
Cole is tucked nearby in a spot where he can watch the office along with Serena. "I'm tempted to go inside and see if we can talk to him. But, my last attempt at acting went pretty badly and we likely wouldn't get much from him without entirely blowing our cover."
There doesn't seem to be any cameras outside of his house but there is a little sticker on one of the windows that says 'This house protected by R&B Security'. So there might be an alarm system inside the house.
Hannelore says, "Were you able to find a spare key or am I taking out the hairpins?"
Emma leans to try and look in through one of the windows, letting out a low whistle as she spots the sticker. "Well...he definitely has some kind of security system set up with R&B Security." she shakes her head then as she walks back to Hannelore. "No, no key that I could find."
Serena nods to Cole as they sit in a non-conspicuous rental and watch Jacob's office. "I don't want to show that hand just yet," Serena says, feeling like a PI on a stakeout, even though she's not sure this is what PI's do. "If he's guilty of anything, and thinks we suspect anything, then he'll start burning any evidence we might be able to find. At least, that's what I'd do if someone were looking into my illegal activities." She has illegal activities?
That ... doesn't actually surprise Cole. "So far he has seemed pretty cavalier about all the evidence. That's what worries me more than anything. If he's guilty why is he just fapping about? I know enough about being guilty of crimes to know that no one acts that cool unless they know they're in the clear."
Hannelore goes to work trying to pick the lock on the front door. It's kind of brazen in a way considering how exposed you are but do people actually pay attention to their neighbors anymore? After about a minute of work the lock clicks and the door is presumably ready to be opened.
Hannelore looks to Emma and straightens her glasses. "I'll go first but be ready to run if the alarm goes off."
Serena shrugs as she says, "I just think we don't know enough. Let's just try and find out what he's done, and what he knows." She continues to watch the people coming and going from the office building, but is starting to get bored. "Shoulda brought some pot or something. Stakeouts suuuuuck ass."
"I'd say we could fool around, but I think we'd likely miss sighting him if we got distracted." Cole says, sighing and leaning back into the seat of the car to keep watch. He digs out his phone to wait for any updates coming in from the field team. _How is it going?_ He texts.
As Hannelore works on the lock, Emma will stand behind her, arm extended to make it look like she's knocking on the door in case anyone might see them lurking around. "If there is an alarm. Some people have been known to keep those stickers on their windows as a deterrent."
When Hannelore opens the door there's suddenly.. nothing. No beeping or alarm sounds. The house only has one story to it and the door opens up into a fairly large living room that has some obvious signs of wealth from the quality of the furniture to the expensive TV and other electronics.
Hannelore's fingers begin to twitch when the alarm doesn't go off. She checks to make sure there isn't some kind of silent alarm. "Let's check the bedroom and see if he has an office."
Emma purses her lips thoughtfully as she steps in behind Hannelore, checking the walls on either side of the door to make sure there really is no alarm keypad to indicate a system is in place. "Perhaps we should split up - you take the bedroom and I'll see if there's an office. We need to cover as much of this place as we can in as little time as possible...just in case."
Hannelore nods in agreement and hurries to the bedroom, trying to keep from being distracted. She heads into the bedroom scans the obvious places and then begins to look through dresser drawers, closets and under the bed.
Emma will goes off in search of a room that looks like it would serve as an office or actually be an office, taking a quick moment to text Cole back with 'We're in. Searching.'
It looks like Jacob owns a dog, a couple of dogs actually. There are bowls in the kitchen floor but they're both empty. There is a half full bag of kibble as well. Come to think of it, the dog that Cole and Serena checked out was owned by Sarah but the address on the chip was this address. Animals aren't allowed in campus apartments. Both of the ladies notice that in passing as they move for their respective rooms. Searching in the bedroom reveals a rather tidy room with every drawer filled with neatly folded clothing. The level of cleanliness is rather meticulous. There's a nightstand with a box of condoms that's mostly empty and a search through the closet reveals a hidden box with black coveralls that are stained in places with what looks like blood.
In the office there is a bookshelf filled with legal reference materials and dictionaries but what really stands out is the pads of paper laying about on the desk, on the floor, on the shelving. Someone has been drawing strange symbols and line art that is scratched through and drawn over again and again. It feels frenetic and messy.
Hannelore sloooowly sits the box down on the ground and takes out her phone. She takes a picture of the stained coveralls and send it to the group text chain.
It's bad when Cole is bored, but he can't do too much damage given his current position. He does decide to call the police station though, just to ask which detective he'd speak to if he had information regarding this missing person case. Never hurts to have that information.
Emma is still carrying her phone when she enters the office and takes a few pictures, at different angles, from the doorway before heading inside. On seeing the various pads of paper, she'll take pictures of each one, getting a good shot of the first page and then subsequent shots of at least 2-3 pages after it. She'll then try the drawers to the desk, checking each one or at least any that aren't locked.
While Hannelore waits for the group chain to respond to her pic or for Emma to come searching for her, she looks through Jacob's clothes and privately passes judgement on his fashion tastes.
Cole calls the Prospect Police Department, at least their main line, and is put on hold rather quickly. While he's waiting for the somewhat tired sounding officer to get back to him he sees Jacob exit the building of Levy and Dunham and start heading towards his vehicle.
Emma finds the drawers unlocked and they are each filled to the brim with crumpled up pieces of paper from yellow, legal sized notepads. If she checks the pages they are all like the other scribbled pages laying around except drawn over so many times as to make any discernable pattern nearly impossible to.. discern.
Hannelore, this man wears functional suits with no real flair of excitement to them. Want to visit a department store and ask 'make me ready for your average business meeting with a white shirt and a black tie'? This is how you get this man's wardrobe.
Emma pulls three of those crumpled pages out and smoothes them out on the desk. Instead of taking a picture as she did with the pads, she tucks her phone in a back pocket and proceeds to stack and fold those pages neatly and as small as she can get them before going off in search of Hannelore.
Hannelore sighs and calls out, "This boy is SOOO BOOOOORING. No personality whatsoever. I think he must be a sociopath. Everything is perfectly neat and orderly. He even put the bloody murder clothes in a hatbox!"
Serena sees her moment and gets out of the car! She quickly hurries over to Jacob and begins chatting him up in that way only Serena can, rather obviously flirting. It looks like Jacob is at least a somewhat interested and distracted for now from heading to his vehicle.
Cole makes sure the pair are very much engaged before he slips out of the car and moves around to take his own position. First to ensure nothing goes sideways with the man and Serena. And if he gives up on Serena and decides to go to his car still? Well, Cole will have to do something to keep the delay going. He sends a text. "Mr. Chokey is out of his office. He seems interested in Serena, but you two many have to fly soon."
Emma reaches the bedroom in time to hear Hannelore talking about bloody murder clothes. "Seriously?" obviously she hadn't looked at the text yet. "Well I found some weird shit in the office." she holds up the folded pages briefly. "Let's check the other rooms and then see if this house possibly has a basement. Though, that could be asking for trouble."
Hannelore says, "Or a garage. We might find the tools he used to originally bury her." Hannelore also puts the murder box back where she got it from since they don't want to take evidence
Emma rolls her eyes at the vibration of the phone in her pocket and pulls it out. "Jacob is on the move so we need to move." she shoves the phone and the pages into her pocket and looks at Hannelore." Do you want inside or the garage?"
Jacob seems to be done with his conversation with Serena rather quickly, brushing past her after a few more moments of chatter as he resumes his path to his vehicle.
There is a garage attached to the house and and a cursory search of it from Emma reveals a fairly normal garage. There is a shovel in here but it's been cleaned since it's last use. Though one might ask one kind of maniac cleans a shovel. There are other tools in here that could be murder tools or simply home improvement items. Really depends on how you want to use that handsaw.
Hannelore doesn't see any cameras inside the house. Perhaps odd considering his apparent wealth and the expensive items in the home.
Emma pulls her phone back out, being careful not to pull those folded pages out as well, and snaps pictures of the shovel and all the tools she finds before heading back inside to check on Hannelore.
If Hannelore doesn't spot a basement or anything else out unusual she will be ready to go as soon as Emma gets back. "No doubt in my mind he killed her with no remorse. Now we just have to decide what we are willing to do about it."
Fortunately Emma and Hannelore are miles away from Jacob's office. They'll have no trouble leaving before he gets back, assuming Cole doesn't murder him in the parking lot.
-Sometime later back at Serena's place-
Hannelore says, "So by show of hands, Who thinks we should kill Jacob?" Hannelore has her hand raised already as she looks from Serena to Emma. She assumes Cole will agree with her.
"I wish we had another option, but that's likely where we're at right now. Clearly the police are not involved and I don't think if we drop this on them they're suddenly going to take interest." Cole looks from face to face. "There is no denying he did it at this point. Motive. The bloody clothes. The undead body of his fiance telling us."
Emma shakes her head. "That's just...crazy. Would you really want to go to kill if evidence is left behind that connects us to that? And what if the attempt were to fail?" she pulls the phone and folded pages out of her pocket. "I found these in a desc in his office. I'm not sure what to make of them. Seem kind of alien to me." she unfolds the pages and holds them out for anyone to take. She'll then text the pictures she took from the pads of paper to everyone since she really didn't do that before.
Serena opens the door to her apartment and looks around to make sure her temp-roomie isn't home. She weaves everyone in and is about to say something when Hannelore asks her very direct question. "What?! No one is murdering anybody. Let's sit down and... talk about what we know. She goes to the bar and starts taking out glasses and fixings to mix up old fashioned's. She shakes enough to make four, mixing and shaking as everyone talks.
Hannelore sets aside her purse and goes over to Serena's bar and starts to pour people drinks. Talk of murder demands alcohol. She hands Serena a glass and says, "We know he strangled his fiance after she found out he was cheating on her. We found blood clothes hidden in a box in his closet and-" Her phones dings and she pulls it out to skim through the pictures. "He obviously has something mental going on." She takes a sip of her own drink and looks closely at the pictures.
"Could be a setup," Emma offers, looking between the three as she moves to find a place to sit. "That's always a possibility. I mean, who doesn't have it in for a lawyer?"
"What are our other avenues? You don't have to work too hard to convince me not to kill a guy. But if that's what it takes, that's what it takes." Cole says, shifting his eyes to Serena. "I'm afraid that going to the cops will just tip him off and then we'll never get close to him. Do we go to an outside agency in hope that they'll really investigate and not be paid off? I'd love to know how he has avoided attention from the law, but clearly he has - despite hiding the murder clothes in his closet." He looks over toward Emma - "The dead woman told us it was him. Someone set it up with an undead creature to lie for them?" It's possible. Just seems like a lot.
Serena takes her glass and sips from it as she listens to the others talk. She'll hand out drinks to anyone else who wants one. "Well, either we decide outright murder is wrong, and don't kill him. Or we decide murder is ok, and then who are we to judge Jacob? And while I am wealthy, I don't think it will keep me out of prison if we just murder some guy." She nods to Emma and says, "It could be a setup. Someone could have murdered the Sarah and then is trying to pin it on Jacob. I doubt that, but we can't rule it out at this point. And what are our other avenues?" she motions to Cole. "When I was talking to him, he seemed very confident and persuasive. Maybe the cops did talk to him, but he had either an alibi, or convinced them he couldn't have killed her. Maybe he said he caught her cheating on him, and then she eloped with her lover. Not saying I buy that, just saying he might have woven some kind of convincing story. So... options. We keep an eye on him; we record what he does, who he sees. Maybe if he is a sociopath or some kind of serial killer, he will want to do this again. Maybe we can catch him in the act and stop it, then we have the evidence we need to bring to the cops. He digs his own grave. And we don't have to kill anybody. Because I don't want to kill anybody."
Serena and Hannelore unfortunately can't make heads or tails of the scribblings. For Emma, alien is definitely the right word, there is some significance here but it's difficult to say what. Cole.. you don't recognize these symbols at all, they don't seem to be linked to sorcery in anyway, but mixed in with the drawings are symbols that repeat over and over again. Something is on Jacob's mind.
Emma takes the drink from Serena and immediately takes a long sip from it as she looks back at the pictures on her phone, setting it aside after a few moments with a sigh. "Watching, or recording him, seem to be the safer paths to go. Either he's a creature of habit or he's not."
Hannelore leans against the back of the couch, "So ultimately, we are going to the police then. Because otherwise our options are to what? Scare him into confessing?"
"And we won't get thrown in prison for watching and recording him," Serena adds to Emma's comment. "And yes, we take what we find and go to the police. If we get something good enough, then they can't ignore it. Bribery will only go so far." Serena thinks some more and then says, "We could always encourage his habit a little," she says. "I could go on a date with him. Maybe suggest a walk in the park after dinner - I can make sure the dinner is near the same park. And... I frequently higher my bodyguards to keep a discreet watch on me when I'm dating someone for the first time, right? So if he makes a move on me, then Cole can step in." She looks at Emma and Hannelore and says, "And you two can be witnesses to the attack. You were on a date of your own, and saw it all. Right? We subdue him and hand it all over to the police. If they realize he tried to attack me, they might suspect he killed his fiance, too. Especially if I have to make up some stuff about what he said during the attack." Serena might be a little nuts, but she's obviously thrilled by the idea of entrapping a sociopathic murderer. She takes a long drink from her glass.
Emma continues to sip at her drink as the others talk, brow furrowing as she seems to get lost in thought for a short while. "But those symbols that just seem to repeat over and over. Do you think it's some kind of code? It's definitely not just doodling." she seems to think on that some more before blinking and looking between Serena and Hannelore. It takes her a moment but she finally adds, "Well yes, taking him to or near the scene of the crime could very well trigger something in him."
While Hannelore listens to Serena and Emma discuss she begins texting on her phone. She can only half listen to Serena's crazy idea so she just nods and uhhuh and mmhmms and "that sounds like a plan", supporting her even when it probably isn't the best idea to set yourself up as bait for a killer. Then her phone starts to ding like crazy as whoever she is texting starts to respond. "Shite!" Then she hurriedly powers off her cell phone and puts on a practices innocent face.
"I'm not sure how much I like you trying to get yourself attacked. Am I allowed to make him hurt a little bit if he assaults you?" Cole clearly thinks the lawyer should be getting at least a solid beating for what he has done, along with a long time in jail. "I don't really want to kill the guy. I just won't rest until *something* gets done to bring him down. We can continue to be patient and get enough proof that the cops can't deny it and hopefully the courts can't throw it out either." He blinks, looking over toward Hannelore. Then he leans over to look at the pattern on the paper. "Yeah, it's a repeating pattern. It's not nonsense. But I don't know what it is. Should we find someone who might?"
"I think setting him up may be our best option, risky as it may be," Serena says - though that's likely her thrill seeker personality showing through. "If we just wait and watch, somebody else could get hurt. At least I have some idea what he's capable of if I'm in his crosshairs. And if we don't show our hand, he'll have no idea I'm in the know." She nods to Cole and says, "You can beat the shit out of him if he does attack me. You're my bodyguard, after all. That's part of your job." She then looks at Hannelore, her brows lifting a bit as she asks, "What was that?"
Hannelore clears her throat and waves her hand airily. She looks like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I took the liberty of sending the symbols to a contact of mine. I can't tell you what specifically they SAY, but my contact did say that they are... BAD. Dark. Evil. Choose your adjective really. Whatever he is messing with, or whatever put these symbols in his head is... unrepentant, unquestionable evil."
Emma gives Hannelore a curious look, the corners of her mouth slowly curving into a grin as she listens to Serena and then looks at Cole. "Wait...you're her bodyguard?" she sounds rather amused by that but that amusement quickly fades at Hannelore's explanation. "Are you saying there's some kind of demonic entity involved here?" she doesn't completely by that but it's not like that sort of thing hasn't been played out in a movie or on tv.
"I've heard the same thing said about what I do." Cole says, considering what Hannelore is telling them. "But that means - right - what Emma said. Someone else might be pulling the strings. Though, they're strange actions still." He grins toward Emma and shrugs. "I wear a lot of different hats."
Serena listens to Hannelore, nodding at the new information. She takes the papers, if they are not being viewed by someone else, and has a closer look, but she can't make heads or tails of them. She sets the papers aside and says, "Cole is sorta my bodyguard? We're thinking about starting a sort of protection service, but we're really not there yet... but in the meantime, I pay him on a contract basis for security. And, hey, are you two an item now?" She motions between Emma and Hannelore with a knowing smile. "Because the toenail painting was super cute, and neither of you seemed to flinch when I mentioned you could be on a date together in a park as an excuse to be convenient witnesses to Jacob's bad life choices."
Hannelore seems to consider Emma's question seriously, "I'm not sure I would call it demonic. Maybe a better description would be 'opposed to creation'. In any case, there are some who would see those symbols and destroy the person who wrote them without regard, to ensure that they did not spread." She looks to Serena and then back to Emma. "I think I was distracted during that part, but I don't have a problem pretending to be Emma's lover. I've dated women before."
Emma arches a brow as she looks from Serena to Hannelore and back again. "I kind of interpreted that as like a girls' night out, but I'm fine going along with that. Just don't be sad when I break up with you." she gives Hannelore a wink and then returns back to the topic at hand. "So, knowing what these symbols could mean, are you sure you still want to poke the bear?"
"Now I want to know if there is someone else behind this. Is this guy playing with stuff he doesn't - or does - understand. If it's him, he needs to be stopped. Really stopped. But, if he's just a pawn..." Cole drifts off, running a hand over his face. He looks between Hannelore and Emma. "You two would make a great couple. Breaking into houses by day, lovers by night." He makes a heart with his fingers and aims it toward them.
"I love poking bears," Serena says, and then rethinks that. "Not literally. Bestiality ain't my kink /at all/, but figuratively speaking, I'm game for it." She looks back and forth between Hannelore and Emma and smiles a little before her attention goes to Cole. "I think we should just focus on Jacob. Maybe we find out who the wizard behind the curtain is. Maybe we don't. Any words of wisdom to talk me out of using myself as bait? I'd be fine switching places with you, but I don't think you're Jacob's type." She smiles as Cole's gives the two fictional lovers a heart sign. "And if you do break up, you can totes rebound off me. At the same time, even. That's be a weird kind of end-of-a-relationship recovery therapy, but I'm game to experiment."
Hannelore purses her lips and gives Cole and wry expression, "A regular Thelma and Louise, ja?" She turns her gaze on Serena, trying to get her goat. "I was going to seduce you the night of your moral crisis but you fell asleep after the bong so I just tucked you in and went home when I started getting snacky. But yes, we should focus on Jacob. That is the promise we made and the promise we should keep. Anything more than that I'm afraid would be too much for us."
Emma simply shakes her head with a grin. "Somehow I get the feeling you're not really wanting to be talked out of it," she directs to Serena. "The list of things that could go wrong are endless and you know that. If it's a risk you're willing to take, then who can stop you?"
