Wise to the Lies (Taggity Angelo)

In a city as heavily populated as Librium, many things can go unnoticed but not dead things. Especially dead things that repeat, it tended to catch suspicion and suspicious was contagious in a city of forced peace.

" Burnt. From the inside, out."

The investigator confirmed the obvious, rising up from his crouched position to light up a smoke. It was late, late enough to be consider early morning. The grey skies above hinted at the coming morning, and that only meant none of these officers were happy to be here. At their feet lay the charred remains of a body, stretched full length but without any signs of a struggle, nor reports of a fire. It was always the same.

" Eighth one this week."

The coroner quipped from behind the investigator as he approached. The investigator rolled his eyes, turning his back as the coroner moved in to get a better look at the body. Another officer approached the investigator. " Who found it?" The other officer jerked his head in direction of the elderly man seated on the curb with two other officers questioning him," Our mister James Stewart, on his way to work this time." to which the investigator sputtered," You gotta be shittin' me! " He eyed the elderly man suspiciously."Coincidence?" The officer wondered out loud to which the investigator grunted," No such thing."

The chief's truck would roll up on the scene, causing most of the groggy men to straighten up while they canvased the area for evidence. " Shit, what is he doing here." The investigator grumbled, flicking his cigarette away." This can't be good." The other officer muttered on the chief's approach. The chief was a larger man, and clearly by his stalking gait he was not happy to be here this early in the AM. " What have you got? " He asked, passing by the two men to have a brief look at the charred remains before turning to the investigator who shook his head," Same as all the rest. No signs of a struggle. No papers. Not much sir. " He admitted reluctantly.

" Oh, look what I found." The coroner suddenly broke the tension, lifting up a small white business card pinch between a set of tweezers. With a stupafied expression the coroner added," Huh, it's blank." While the three men approached he scrambled to tuck the card into a plastic bag and handed it over to them. The officers passed the card between each other quickly, " It sure is.." the lesser of the three concluded, to which the chief and investigator would shoot him a glare. " No doubt magically imbued. " The investigator would pull out a small device, scanning it over the blank card and the green light that flashed would confirm his suspicions.

" Well, its out of our hands now. The guards are coming. " The chief grunted, passing the card shortly after receiving it from the investigator. The investigator looked as if he might pounce the fat man," The fuck! This is my case Mr. leighey! " And the chief would turn to clap the man on the back in camaraderie," No choice man. I wasn't asked, I was told they were on their way. It leaked, apparently. Trust me, I'm not happy about this either."

By 'guard', the chief was referring to the Tarren guard, who would likely be unhappy with the local enforcement's lack of answers. No doubt Angelo James des Veren's phone would go off at the ungodly hour to give him the assignment. The phone would tell him where to go in order to start his investigation. The message came post haste...End this now.

---------------

Meanwhile, in the apartment building five floors from the crime scene Nicole stood nearby the window looking down on the officers. She had only recently begun to be so bold as to spy on them, mainly because it was mildly entertaining to watch them puzzle over the lack of evidence. She had even been so bold as to give a statement just the other day when a pair of officers showed up at her holdup at another crime scene. They believed her, but their scanners would tell them otherwise. Luckily, a man's mind is so easily swayed. In fact, most all of those investigating were under her influence, even the chief had been unknowingly leashed by her devilish intentions. As for the machine, not so easily swayed, so she took the damned thing from the officers, curious to figure out how it detected her.

Nicole knew the moment the Chief rolled up that the Tarren Guard was coming, he was pretty upset about it. At first it raised suspicions of her own, were they on to her? Had they detected a trace of her aura lingering in the depths of one of her victims? She strained to listen in on the coroner, but he was the only one of the group who had any sort of barrier towards her. All she could hear from the man was a constant stream of ' I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts..doodly do. There they are standing in a row bum bum bum..' over and over again. It was truly quite frustrating.

I didn't matter anyway, she wanted the Guards to come. They were notorious on the streets for putting an END to everything. Most people cowered at their mention, and since the local enforcement had been so easily infected Nicole wondered what the next step would be capable of. She scanned the men, curious to find an unrecognizable face or some sign that the Guard was already here. Not only was she on the watch, but she had left for this Guard a vital clue...her calling card. The magically imbued card lacked any trace of a signature and would only react to its assignment. So the fiend lay in wait, watching over the crime scene.

The city of Librium stretched interminably in all directions as he coasted down, a streak of black wings trailing the fiery white glow of his aerial flames. The site was easy to spot from above-- the gathered policemen conspicuous dark dots against the pavement. "I can't believe they woke me up this early for something like this," he muttered into the dull roar of wind, youthful face set into a grimace as it usually was when the sunlight was absent. He banked left, and made another sweep of the area-- scanning for those who seemed a little too interested in the crime scene. Unfortunately, from two hundred feet up, there was little obviously unusual activity save for the officers below.

Angelo descended into a glide quickly at the edge of the street, ceasing the burn of his wing flames and spreading them completely to slow him down as much as possible. One hundred and fifty. He began to position himself. One hundred. He shifted his right leg sightly forward. Seventy five. The familiar truck of the chief began moving down the street, coming to a stop at the crime scene. Angelo shifted into a more upright position, the buildings at the side of the street racing past. Twenty five. With a sudden movement he arched up and flapped his wings hard and released a flash of flame from the inner surface. It slowed him down dramatically. Just as quickly, he folded his wings and dropped, right foot contacting the surface, followed by his left. Momentum kept him going into a running landing, the slapping noise of his boots against the street echoing against the houses.

Angelo slowed, then came to a halt to straighten his tie. The charcoal suit and scarlet vest and tie remained mostly untouched, even through that flurry of motion. It was actually a practical secret-- obnoxious amounts of starching kept them stiff and difficult to muss. With that done, he set off towards the scene. Almost immediately, he flicked out his identification as a field agent with the Terran Guard, sidestepping the incoming police sergeant without a word. "Field Agent Angelo des Veren." He said it matter of factly, baritone reverberating in the air as he preemptively issued his one and only introduction. "This is unacceptable, gentlemen, and while I have enormous respect for what you men do in the service of the people, you are ill equipped to handle this.. situation," he added, glancing in the direction of the charred corpse. The odor of incinerated human flesh hung about the area like an unwelcome portal to the depths of the other world.

Angelo slipped a smoke from his front pocket, the cigarette slightly crumpled from its stay in the place of honor near his heart. His thin, long fingers brought it to his lips. The index finger of his right hand remained at the tip for just a moment. "The Guard are taking over this investigation, effective five minutes ago. Coroner-- can you identify how long ago this poor soul was turned into a charcoal briquette?" As he spoke, the cigarette moved up and down in his parsed lips. AJ closed his right eye for a second then, letting the warmth flow to his fingertip. A swift 'pop' and a plume of flame issued from the end of the cigarette, punctuating his sentence. He took a smooth drag of smoke into his lungs, savoring it for a moment before he exhaled. "They left a calling card this time? I'd like to take a look at it." His hand opened to receive the plastic bag.

AJ was quite sure the police would appreciate his involvement only about as far as they could throw him. However, the fact remained that even if they could corner the extremely dangerous individual he was now tasked with eliminating, it was unlikely that they would be able to defeat them without significant casualties. He took a glance back at the body, burned through and through. Normal flames would burn from the outside in. They were dealing with a magical being of definite power and skill, and whomever they were seemed to be getting cocky. Angelo's fingers closed around the plastic bag containing the card. He could feel the magical aura to it. IT would need to be analyzed, and the contents discovered.

The officers would watch Angelo's approach, the investigator turning to curse under his breath at the sight of Angelo's fiery decent." Shiiiiiit." He grumbled, crossing his arms as he came back into position next to the other men. Not all of the officers were upset to see Angelo, in fact the chief appeared fairly impressed while one of the scavenging officers in the field started to clap but stopped immediately when others turned to glare at him. Angelo's introduction would go over well, but what followed would cause the officer with the investigator to wrinkle his nose," And that's my cue to go.." He ventured off.

The chief nodded to AJ respectfully," Chief DeNoon, this is investigator Sharp who has been working on the case all week. He'll assist you with whatever you need now." The investigator would nod, holding out the plastic baggy with the blank card in it for Aneglo to take." It's blank, but it's better then nothing." He would watch as Aneglo surveyed the scene, ready to answer any of his questions." This is the eighth one this week. Every body up until now has been blank. Who ever is responsible wanted us to find this."

When AJ took the card he would feel a small surge in the magical aura, as if the card was waiting for him to come. A black border would start to appear around the edges and lacy font would begin to scroll across the middle of the card.

A blue house is made of blue bricks.

A yellow house is made of yellow bricks.

A red house is made of red bricks.

What would a green house be made of?

" Whoah! Whoah! You got something Angelo!" The investigator would call out, just in case he failed to notice it right away. The Chief would also move to crowd around AJ to see what showed up.

"Oh wow..Guys..Hey!"

The coroners voice would call out faintly from the distance. It may have been overlooked at first, but the coroner was no longer squatting next to the body by the time AJ showed up with his question about the remains. He was not visibly in sight, but several yards from the body the coroner would stumble out from an open doorway to the left and opposite the building Nicole was lurking in. In fact, Nicole stood still conveniently watching the men scurrying about from her window view above. Like some of the others, she too was impressed by Aneglo's arrival but the sight of his wings made her blood boil. Immediately she assumed him to be enlightened, how could he not be celestial with those wings? But she could not confirm it and nor was she willing to lift her aura masks to find out anything. Not now. Besides, they had just found the main event.

The coroner quickly approached, and he would walk right past the investigator towards AJ as if the man no longer existed. The investigator would turn to watch the coroner, clearly insulted but not willing to call him out on it as he headed towards the open doorway. Inside the small storage place was clearly meant for yard supplies, instead there was a dirty mattress on the floor that had seen years of abuse, and new clothes strewn about. What made the storage space more disturbing was the smears of blood on the wall, complete with full handprints. Someone had put up a fight. The corner would lock eyes with AJ once he drew close," Work alone on this one, fiend." His words escaped in a gruff tone and would sound more like an insult and that was how the man wanted it to sound. It would be up to Angelo to decipher the message, or he could just take it personally. Either way, he knew the rest of the officers were infected by the fiend and had no other way around it." Six hours, maximum. The body was still smoking when the witness found it." The coroner would go to get more bags from his truck in order to collect the evidence he had just found.

Meanwhile the Chief would notice the blood trail leading to the new scene and immediately start scolding the surrounding officers who were supposed to be on the look for such evidence," What the..How the hell could you ALL miss this? Go. The lot of you..Get out of here. This is why we can't accomplish anything..Oy!" He pointed from one officer to the next, dismissing most of them for their negligence before throwing his hands into the air in disgust. That left the witness, James Stewart, the officer questioning him, the coroner, the investigator, and himself to assist Angelo with the crime scene.

When the coroner returned he would hand out plastic gloves to AJ and the investigator. After getting the gloves on the investigator would begin sifting through the random clothes laying about, digging into pockets until he found an ID. " Thomas Ankels. 43. Lives in upper Librium." He called out, moving to hand over the ID to AJ. There would also be a small coin purse amongst the ladies clothes, inside there an ID for an Elizabeth Roe who lived in lower Librium - otherwise known as the slums. The investigator would pull out the same device he had used earlier to scan the blank card, holding out his hand to take Thomas' ID back and tuck it into a slot on the device. A screen lit up, pulling up another picture of Thomas and a rap sheet." We got a hit. It seems Tom was a busy. Rape, two counts and assault. Burglary and drug possession. He just recently got out." The investigator turned to look over his shoulder at the charred remains," Is that Thomas or Elizabeth? " He pulled out the ID and raised his hand to take the other ID for a scan, but it would come up with nothing. " She's clean."

The coroner turned when he heard the investigator," All victims have been male, and judging by the size of him I can conclude he might be Thomas. I'll have labs done as soon as I get back. I can tell you.." He was looking at another device that lit up before him." The DNA from the blood on the walls matches Mr. Ankels. " He shook his head, turning back to continue collecting stuff on the walls. " Ouch. " The investigator spoke up, grimacing as he looked at the bloody mess. Meanwhile, outside the room the chief would demand to know where his search dog was. That would be Nicole's cue to go, but she had one more thing to be done.

The card, where ever it might have ended up, its magical aura would suddenly flare again. The riddle faded away, the lacy words replaced with a date - two days from today - at 6pm. Followed up by the riddle again. This would continue to repeat as long as AJ had the card, as soon as he handed it off to anyone the magic would dissipate. Apparently, it would be up to AJ to figure out the riddle in order to figure out where the meeting would be. Nicole turned away from the window, collecting her coat and things as she headed out for the roof.

"And that's my cue to go.." Angelo watched unapologetically as the officer that said those words appeared to recuse himself and leave. Otherwise, his reception was better than what he suspected would occur upon arrival. His blue-gray gaze was level, and did not waver from the chief's even as he took another quick drag of smoke. Chief DeNoon, this is investigator Sharp who has been working on the case all week. He'll assist you with whatever you need now. AJ blew out a steady stream of gossamer vapor, and his thin fingers plucked the cigarette from his mouth. "Thank you kindly, Chief. I appreciate the cooperation, especially when this incident woke us all up at such an inconvenient hour," he offered cordially, the merest hint of sincerity underlying his sonorous tones. "Thanks, Sharp. I hope you're prepared to live up to your name," he said softly, accepting the proffered card between his left middle and index fingers.

So we're already down one man, Angelo noted, a subtle glance flicking at the back of the retreating officer before it returned to those assembled. "It's blank, but it's better then nothing." Angelo nodded-- even if it were the most unremarkable scrap of paper that ever existed on the face of Terra, it was still a clue. "Damn right it's better than nothing. The killer's sending a message by leaving it, and we're going to figure out what it is." He gave a characteristic smirk, eyes bright and sharp at the notion of taking the serial killer down hard. His orders had been simple, but the message of "ending it" carried with it the implied addition of "with extreme prejudice." Fortunately, he had yet to find a being that a fifteen thousand degree burst of magical napalm wouldn't erase from the surface of the planet. In this case, it would be poetic justice, if it came down to it.

The faint magical "tug" in his hand interrupted his thoughts on that, drawing his attention to the card as the riddle appeared and scrolled across the surface in a manner not dissimilar to the advertisements of old. "I noticed," he added, speedreading the words and then returning the card to the investigator as a show of courtesy. The words, much to his surprise, vanished as the plastic bag left his hand. "Shit," he swore softly, bringing his half consumed cigarette back to his lips for another breath. The tip flared as the proverbial gears in his head accelerated. It responds to me. Whether it does so only to magical beings remains to be seen, but it seems likely that this killer had a particular recipient in mind, Angelo thought, glancing around at the buildings around them as an uneasy feeling set in.

"A red house, red bricks. A blue house, blue bricks. A yellow house, yellow bricks," he repeated, in no particular order. "Green house.. green bricks? No, that'd be too simplistic. Wait. Green house. Greenhouse! Greenhouses are made of glass." Angelo muttered quietly, running it through his head again and again to double check his answer. "Oh wow..Guys..Hey!" It was then that the voice of the coroner became noticed, and Angelo looked away from the crowd and to the man drawing their attention. He raised an eyebrow as the ME walked right past Sharp and came to him instead. "Let's go take a look then." He was unprepared for the man to gruffly instruct him to work alone. "I'm not a fiend," Angelo replied, eyes narrowing at the implication. He dropped the cigarette and crushed it beneath his feet.

Angelo walked past the man, careful not to step on the blood trail and contaminate the scene any further. Cripes sake, what else have the police missed? It was an aggravating conundrum. He didn't really want to find out. "Six hours. Where's that witness? I'd like to see that statement when the officer is done collecting it, and hold him, I'm going to conduct my own interview after we check this out." He commanded, a touch of steel slipping into his baritone. The scent that greeted them was the unmistakable iron of (mostly) fresh human blood. By now, it barely fazed him. Somewhere, Angelo recognized that his inability to summon disgust at it was worthy of attention, but he thoroughly repressed the notion anyway. Now wasn't the time to wonder if his vocation was beginning to harden him into a mere tool of peace, not a human being.

Angelo could hear the police chief scolding his officers like naughty schoolchildren that performed a prank. This was far more serious-- they failed to pick up on evidence that might prove absolutely critical in finding the killer. His first comment upon entering the room itself was "Blood." The observation was most definitely stating the obvious, but it led into his next line of thought. "There's a lot of blood here, but the victim was cooked to death. Did you pick up any corresponding wounds on the body?" Angelo asked, sliding on the new pair of gloves and moving beside the coroner. The man's words from earlier came back. AJ leaned a little to his left, lips barely moving as he whispered a question. "What do you really think did this?" No matter how he rolled the man's prior statement over in his head, it made little sense. Investigators worked in teams. He was not a [/i[fiend.[/i] The coroner exuded the air of quiet competence, and AJ was relatively assured that such a man would not make two off-base lines of logic appear. In addition, Angelo didn't remember seeing the man react negatively to his arrival, which lent some credence to there being a deeper meaning to his words.

Trouble was, he still didn't know exactly where that meaning was, if it existed. Is he telling me that he doesn't trust the others? If so, then why? Incompetency would be an answer, particularly given their most recent gaffe with missing the new stash of evidence, but that didn't explain the other part of the comment. Occam's razor would perhaps have provided some assistance, but AJ was more focused on another point of interest that appeared as the coroner began going through the clothes. There were two sets of clothes. Where was the woman? "Ankels was a bad guy," Angelo said, nodding at Sharp's notation of the lengthy rap sheet. "Was he looking for trouble? Sharp! See if there's a pattern between victims and rap sheets," he ordered, glancing back at the other id before he passed it on to the investigator for a scan as well. "Ankels has two rape counts, he just got out of prison, and rates of recidivism don't seem to be getting any lower. Can we get an official address on Roe, as well? The victims are all male. Similar characteristics. Who do we know that might have a grudge on men?" He was thinking out loud at that point.

The coroner then confirmed that the blood belonged to the male. "So he was shredded, then charred. Alright. I can work with what we have here." Angelo stood to his proper height and then went to retrieve the card. He wanted to be absolutely sure of the riddle. The Coroner's odd words were getting to him, he figured, but it was better to err on the side of caution than it was to risk screwing up and letting the killer get away for any lack of precautions. Much to his enduring surprise, the script changed. Two days, at six pm. Forty eight hours to figure out how to deal with someone that killed so eight so easily in a week's space. This was going to get darker before it got any better.

"Green house.. green bricks? No, that'd be too simplistic. Wait. Green house. Greenhouse! Greenhouses are made of glass."

Detective Sharp would snap his fingers after a moments thought,"La Estancia Glass Chapel." The declaration might have come off as a little suspicious, if not for the coroner's interruption. The Detective would have claimed it was all a hunch anyway, but unbeknownst to even himself the idea had been planted long before the card was even found. The glass chapel was unique and a recent donation to the city from the Church of the Divine Collective. It would be the only structure of its kind, aside from an actual greenhouse which would be impossible to pin-point which one. It had to be the Chapel.

Inside the storage space the coroner would look from his device to AJ, shrugging at his question regarding wounds to the charred body," It's hard to say by the looks of him. I'll let you know once I get a better look, but I can tell you none of the other bodies showed any signs of tearing or cuts before succumbing to combustion. " With that said the coroner would turn, inspecting more of the blood splatter while Detective Sharp continued to pick through the clothes carefully. "What do you really think did this?" The guard's question would catch him by surprise, or at least one would think so when he flinched to the side to cast a quick look over his shoulder at the Detective before focusing back on his work as if it didn't matter. " Fiends. " He whispered,"Not here though." He added hastily.

" What's not here?" Sharp spoke up from where he still squat next to the clothes, clearly he had finished pilfering through them and had turned his attention to the two men opposite him. That, or he had been listening all along and that would seem somewhat plausible by the skeptical expression he wore upon his gruff face. The coroner would turn to face the detective," My pen. It's not here." He covered gracefully, patting his shirt pocket with his free hand. " Oh, here, let me remedy that." The detective pulled forth a pen and the coroner would take it without another word until he ran the two IDs discovered in the abandoned clothes.

"Ankels was a bad guy." The Detective would scoff at that," No doubt." He agreed. "Was he looking for trouble? Sharp! See if there's a pattern between victims and rap sheets," And immediately the Detective would start to work," On it." He began scanning through his device as Angelo elaborated further. It wouldn't take him long, in fact he looked through just a few files before lowering the device," I should've known.." The detective was clearly astonished, but more so suspicious. It just wasn't possible for him to overlook such a clue, but there was no time to think on it. The detective swallowed his wounded pride," All of them have a rap. Rapists, dealers, killers..The whole lot of 'em. Most of 'em dabbled in a little of everything." He confirmed.

" Elizabeth Roe, 1523 Indiana Ave. Lower Librium, no doubt its a stretch that she will be there, but I'll have an officer go check it out to be sure. " The detective followed along with AJ's line of thinking, trying not to stress the earlier missing facts. With that said he would turn and walk out to radio an officer over to the last known address of Elizabeth Roe.

[ooc; Haha, I had to do it xP Note, the Chapel is a link. ]

Four Hours later
Downtown Libruim, Police Department
Interrogation Room 1

James Stewart was an elderly man who had clearly worked hard his entirely life. It showed through his haggard apparence and that heavy slump of his shoulders, as if his balding head was just too much for him to hold up any longer. He wore a green jumpsuit with Stewart cheaply drawn onto his right breast. The 53 year old man had no history up until after the war, which screamed war-criminal but there was truly no way to prove it. He had paid for his crimes, whatever they had been, and therefore had been granted a clean slate. Said so in his file, but nothing in regards to who - what - when - where - why. Since the war ended records showed he worked as a waste collector for upper Librium. He had no official priors and appeared to live a straight and clean life now. Even now he showed no signs of nerves, instead he sat calmly drinking the black coffee given to him as he waited in the blank concrete room for questioning.

Next door sat Elizabeth Roe. Big surprise, she really was home. Roe too had the appearance of a hardened life written all over her. What should have been a woman in her prime, the 24 year old woman looked twice her age. The skin under her eyes sagged and was black, her thinning brown hair was all over the place, and her clothes hung from her bony frame. She had slumped forward, head resting on the table in front of her. Elizabeth had been a sobbing wreck when the officer brought her in, but had since calmed down and may have even fallen asleep face down on the table. Due to her clean record, her story was little bit harder to piece together. She worked for the local market, doing exactly what for the slum market was unclear. Roe lived with a 5 others who helped her pay the bills and apparently had an pretty secure alibi for her whereabouts last night. Then again, why was her ID there?

Detective Sharp paced outside the rooms, clearly anxious to get in and unhappy with waiting on AJ although he would never admit to it. The Chief disappeared the moment they all arrived at the Police Department, finding other things to occupy himself and the Officer who had originally taken Stewart's statement had handed over a copy to Angelo. It was pretty simple.. James Stewart left for work at 4am, as he always did. He didn't take any detours, the same route everyday. He didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, but what alerted him was the smell and smoke. He got close enough to see, than raced home to call the proper authorities. He returned to the scene for questioning because he felt it was his 'civic duty'. The cop had even added the quotation marks in the note. He had never put up any fight during questioning. Seemed calm and truthful, but since it was the fifth body he had discovered even James was beginning to doubt his own innocence in this.

Angelo smiled to himself as Sharp provided a logical answer, improving ever slightly the esteem in which the Terran Guardsman held him in. Of course, his repeated gaffes thus far made this improvement almost negligible in the long run. "I'll check it out later on my way back to the office," he said, providing an approving nod. "Killer chooses a chapel. Chapel is holy ground. There's a message here, a deliberate method for that choice." His mind made the leap to the automatic worst case scenario. "Holy ground, and the killer burns the victims to a crisp. Chances are someone may be a target there. This bastard left us a calling card, now they want us to catch them near to or in the act. The situation is escalating," he remarked, furrowing his brows. Looks like the Guard was notified at the right time, AJ thought, adding it seems likely that these guys would end up dead if I brought them along.

His eyes shifted from the Inspector to the coroner, observing the details of how he spoke and the minute shifts of facial expression. AJ could not quite place his thoughts on the man now. "It's hard to say by the looks of him. I'll let you know once I get a better look, but I can tell you none of the other bodies showed any signs of tearing or cuts before succumbing to combustion." Angelo sighed softly, his left hand coming up so his index and thumb could pinch the bridge of his nose. Admittedly, the ME's sphinxlike demeanor and middling answer to his question did little to inspire confidence. Of course, that impression quickly faded as the man directly, if subtly so, answered his whispered inquiry. AJ managed to keep his own face still and about as readable as a scrawled pencil message on a napkin innundated with sherry. He gave a slight, quick nod and again, the gears in his head kicked into high gear. A fiend. That explains the choice of a church. What's the vendetta, though? There's still a piece of the puzzle I'm missing here. A major one.

Sharp's sudden intrusion caused Angelo to turn away and check his watch, as if he was about to make a comment on how much time they'd already spent at this crime scene when there was someone incredibly dangerous to take down running free. He listened to the short exchange between the two men while his right hand slipped into the front pocket of his suit to withdraw the thin, black leather notepad he always walked with. The simple fountain pen his father presented him with all those years ago was locked in an equally unobtrusive loop of fabric at the right of the pad. He flipped the notepad open with one hand and uncapped the pen by tugging down on the main body with the other. Green ink met stiff white paper, and his sharp, angular cursive hand flowed across the surface. He took shorthand notes, of the scene, the previous crimes, and most importantly, the riddle and potential location of the answer. AJ's memory was above average, especially for written words, and he trusted it to carry him through the investigation.

His attention returned to the room at large when he closed the rectangle of leather, and it was fortunately in time to respond to Sharp's surprise. He smirked, the first definitive expression of his "hunter's" personality since the instand his boots landed on the ground. "All of them have a rap. Rapists, dealers, killers..The whole lot of 'em. Most of 'em dabbled in a little of everything." So the theory was confirmed. Fiends. They're bad news, so why is one killing exclusively criminals? It's possible that their nature allows them to be easily lured, but, the innocent would cause more chaos with their deaths. I can't exactly say I'm sorry that these bastards warrant my pity, though. AJ shook his head briefly, trying to get those thoughts out of his head. "I'll be by the station in three hours, maybe four. Bring Roe, if she's still alive. Stewart too. We're going to put them both in the hot seat and see what a little grilling gets us." With that, he slipped the notepad back into his pocket and followed Sharp out. Angelo spread his wings once he hit the street, and a superheated burst of air from a flap of his wings shot the Guard into the skies. He had a church to visit.

-Four Hours Later-

"Sharp. I'm late, I apologize", he said, entering the hallway. "That said, take Roe and find out why her wallet was at a crime scene. I read the notes one of your officers sent over about her, but the presence of her clothes at the spot where a man was slashed and then set on fire rubs me the wrong way." His demeanor as he approached the inspector was calm, but under the surface he was beginning to feel more and more pressed for time. "Your suggestion about the church seems to work out. IT's made of glass, relatively new, and it sounds like the killer might make a play there. So I'm trusting you to get something conclusive out of her. If you can, I'll put in a nice word with the chief for you." Angelo smiled, almost friendly whilst he dangled the juicy carrot in front of the investigator. In truth, he expected very little. However, the warning of the Coroner still held some water, and AJ wanted to interview the man by himself.

Without waiting for a response-- and partially because he felt like the man would merely accept the opportunity, Angelo opened the door to the interrogation room wherein James Stewart currently occupied a chair. He closed the door behind him with the edge of a wing. "So, James. This is the fifth one you've found. Five bodies of eight. There'll be more, unless we can take this killer down. You know the procedure, you've been through it four times before now, at least. First question. Why do you keep discovering these bodies? What makes you so special?"

" Gotchya. " Detective sharp would agree with Angelo, it seemed too big of a coincidence to him as well that the woman's clothes and ID were there." I'll see what I can get for ya. " He pointed to AJ, nodding his head before he disappeared into the room with Elizabeth Roe.

"So, James. This is the fifth one you've found. Five bodies of eight. There'll be more, unless we can take this killer down. You know the procedure, you've been through it four times before now, at least. First question. Why do you keep discovering these bodies? What makes you so special?" The man straightened up in his seat, setting down his half empty cup of coffee. " Like I told the officer this morning, and I've told you all a couple dozen times. I don't know. Wrong place, wrong time I'suppose. I don't like it. Should I be under some kind of witness protection?? " He paused to collect his thoughts then continued,"Look, I'm just a concerned citizen doing my duty by reporting this shit. Why don't you tell me something for a change? What are YOU going to do about it?"

Angelo snorted, shaking his head as he sat down across from the old man. Fixing him with a stony gaze, AJ reached into his front pocket and withdrew the notepad. His fingers deftly flipped open the leather cover and flicked through the pages until he came to the one that concerned the current situation. Namely, everything of importance that the police file could say about Stewart. "Once, maybe. Twice? Still could be coincidental. Three, four and five indicate a pattern, James. A pattern of your involvement." Angelo kept his tone matter of fact, though the subtle smirk to his face gave the impression that he was accusing the old man of something. Let's shake this situation up and we'll see what comes out of this.

"Now why would we need to place you into witness protection?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as if this were an entirely outlandish suggestion. "As you say it, it's merely coincidental that you were the one who discovered these bodies," AJ remarked casually, emphasizing the word coincidental with just a touch of flair. If the old man was going to sit there and deny the fact that the odds of such occurring five times within the space of a week were astronomical, then Angelo would allow him to. However, by the same token, the Terran Guardsman had no such qualms about hanging the man with his own denials.

AJ again raised an eyebrow, this time he let a dark chuckle slip. "I'm going to hunt down this threat to peace. And then, I'm going to kill them." He said it without batting an eyelash, a straight face rendering him a sphinx-like creature observing his prey. "I'll try to capture them, but.. I have little faith that I'll be able to do that without risking the lives of Librium's finest. And so, If I get a shot, that fiend is dead." Angelo let the word slip deliberately, dropping it to see if it provoked any response. If it didn't, he felt pretty sure that it would be a wiser idea to swap places with Sharp, and try the same strategy again. His blue gray eyes flashed in the light as he stared down the witness. "Well?"

"Now why would we need to place you into witness protection?"

" I duno." He shrugged, realizing that he heading down the wrong train of thought. " Because I'm obviously being set up by this creep. It knows where I live and work. I'm scared I'll be next!" He countered quickly. "As you say it, it's merely coincidental that you were the one who discovered these bodies," And james would sink back into his seat as he pushed a rough hand through his hair," It is, why don't you believe me?"

Hearing what Aneglo would do about this killer seemed to put the old man at some ease, but the moment he called the fiend out the man's eyes would widen. His jaw went slack, realizing just how close this man really was to catching onto the truth." I..I.." Suddenly the man leaned in across the table," You know about her?" He whispered, his eyes shifting about in a panic." Like you're really on to it? The fiend hasn't got to you yet? " His continued to whisper, as if the walls could hear him. " Because you wont get her. No. She'll eat you like she ate my babies.." Trembling hands produced a crumpled picture of a young family. A beautiful blonde wife and three darling little girls all beamed for the camera with a Mr.Stewart standing proud and looking nothing like the man he had become. The old man would kiss the picture, fighting back tears but was it for his loss? Or the fact that there might finally be justice for it? " Trust no one." He breathed in warning." If you look out for only yourself..You'll find the fiend. Burn her..." He whispered, jerking back abruptly when the door to the interrogation room burst open.

Sharp appeared in the open doorway." The coroner's here with some interesting results." He announced, his gaze flicking from Angelo to James Stewart." Got anything worth saying Mr. Stewart?" He quipped when he noticed the reddened face of the old man.

"I dunno?" Angelo repeated, challenging the man's increasingly contradictory behavior. First you want to, then you don't want to explain. What's in your head, old man? "Because I'm obviously being set up by this creep. It knows where I live and work. I'm scared I'll be next!" AJ snorted derisively, glancing down at his notepad as if to verify something. His eyes flicked to the old man's, and he smirked. "You're being set up. That means there's something to be gained for that creep. If they can place charred corpses along your path so easily, there's no reason you should be alive if they wanted you dead," Angelo noted sharply, letting that point sink in before he leaned forward to stare down the witness.

"I don't believe you because you know something. I know you know something. You know that I know that you know something, and you're trying to hide it well." AJ watched with satisfaction as his gamble paid off, and the man reacted like deer in the proverbial headlights of a runaway train. "I do," AJ bluffed, aiming to find out more while the getting was good. "She can't burn me," he replied, the subtle confidence of a professional Guardsman setting in. For effect, he extended his right hand to the side, parallel to the ground. "Watch this," AJ commanded, the warm flood of magic spreading from his core down to the tips of his fingers. A scarlet, wild flame bloomed at the edge of his shoulder blade and shot down his arm, engulfing his entire limb in crackling flames. The light of dancing flame flickered across He snapped his fingers. The fire went out with a sudden whoosh. "There's an old adage about fighting fire with fire. The Terran Guard take that one to heart."

He looked at the picture, and the man's words hit home. "What does she want from you? This is personal, but you've yet to tell me why." He was about to continue pressing the man for answers when Stewart kissed the picture and the half avian fell silent. Some things he still believed were sacred. Angelo's eyes hardened at his warning. "If you look out for only yourself.. You'll find the fiend. Burn her..." Field Agent des Veren smirked wickedly as James told him to look out for himself. "I always do," he replied. "To a crisp," he added in response, rising from his seat just as the door to the interrogation room slammed open.

"The coroner? Damn skippy. I'm interested in seeing whether my theory worked out the way I thought it would," AJ said, moving past the inspector as if he were merely a messenger. "The guy's not giving up anything good. We might want to look into his financial records, see if he's been receiving any suspicious income for the last eight months. Handle it, Sharp," he commanded. "I'm going to meet the coroner and I'll pass on the information later." AJ was aware his actions were more than a little obvious as a snub, but he wasn't having Sharp spying on the conversation with the ME any more than absolutely necessary.