Crossing Worlds (Minako2012 and Nekrosilisk88)

Officer Josef Meyer stood at the crime scene with a hot cup of coffee. Most of the other guys on the site had Starbucks siting around, but he new a nice little hole in the wall that had much better coffee, and at a better price to boot. This was the third killing in the last month that they hadn't been able to explain. He'd been down at the station when they'd gotten the call to head down into the Bronx and take a look at the body and see if it matched the pattern of the other two killings. Honestly the only reason he'd been called in was because he'd been the first responder on the first killing, and had good sharp pair of eyes.

The scene was a bloody mess and he put his coffee down outside the line before squatting down next to the coroner. The victim had been mauled to death, but by what hadn't been determined yet. The wounds looked like they'd been made with claws, but the spread and tearing didn't match any known animal. It had CSU and everyone else confused from Homicide on up. He still remember the first killing, he'd had the bad luck to be a couple blocks of when he heard the screaming and called it in.

By the time he got there the victim was already dead, and the perp was nowhere to be found. After he actually took a look at the body, he'd spent the next five minutes heaving a few yards down the alley so he didn't contaminate the scene. Which was how his backup had found him, not the most flattering image for certain, but then it was also his first homicide, and even the more senior detectives admitted it was pretty grisly even for a homicide.

Now here he was stuck on the case since he was the one who had the easiest time IDing the victims. They'd had two other suspected tie ins, but he saw a few inconsistencies with them that didn't line up, and because of that he'd gotten roped in. He was still just a Police officer, but for the time being he'd been attached to the Homicide Department until they figured out what was going on. The fact that the victims were mauled to death so quickly wasn't what was bothering him about the case though. It was that they were always found in the same position, almost like it was some kind of ritual.

He shoook his head and looked over at the coroner for an estimated time of death. The coroner just shook his head. “Based off of what I can get here I'd have to say it was some time in the past hour. I'll have to get her on the slab to confirm exactly when this happened.” he sighed and the lead detective motioned for everyone to clean it up. They'd gotten all the evidence from this site they were going to.

There were always crowds gathered around the edge of the yellow tape and this one was no different. It was as if the tape sent some kind of signal to the curious or just plain macabre. Lina Melrose was neither she was here on business not that any of the people here would be able to tell. The young woman barely stood out dressed in a long dark brown coat. She was of an average height with a trim athletic build honed from years of training. A nephilim by birth cursed with the mortality of a regular human she should have cut a more striking presence if not for the amulet every member of Brimstone was forced to wear it hid her Angelic aura from anyone that didn't possess the gift of sight. To them she was a 5ft 4 with average curves bright green eyes and long auburn hair which was fairly close to the truth.

"What do you smell Mark" She murmured knowing her partner could hear her.

Mark was her half Lycan half brother a much more imposing man even with his own amulet. An even six foot tall and built like a brick shithouse he was someone you didn't want to mess with. He was discreetly scenting the air his amber colored eyes taking in the scene.

"Too many people here I can't get a good whiff" He remarked silently "It wasn't human though...I can tell that much."

She let out a sigh this was the third murder and Brimstone had no clue what was behind the murders. The police department made it alot harder to investigate their human auras and scents clouding the scenes. Her superiors had trouble getting access to the bodies and it was a pain to hack the NYPD systems.

"What do you see Red?" He asked.

"Nothing...too many humans around..." She answered her lips barely moving "No aura...no soul...not even a spirit trace..."

Her eyes fell on one detective the only one without the Starbucks cup. Her mind clicked through the files she'd read and she remembered he was the first one to discover the first victim. He was the one she had to thank for making her job harder.

"Come on we won't find anything here" She said starting to walk away "What do you say to some coffee while we go over what we know eh?"

There were millions of Mythics out in the world that could do something like this with very little effort too. Brimstone had a hard enough time tracking the ones willing to attempt a legal merge with the human world. The rest were up to the hunters to track down and Lina and Mark were just one pair of hunters. Brimstone was worldwide with headquarters in all major cities. They were privately and federally funded but any records of them were kept tightly sealed.

As everyone was packing up, Josef took a last look around the scene. There was a dark alley off to the left, and for some reason his gut was nagging him about it. He looked back over his shoulder at the Detective in charge. He may have been slapped on this case cause he had good eyes, but he still hadn't made detective so he wasn't expecting anyone to trust his gut just yet. Still he had to check it out. Hell his gut was what led him to the area where he had found the first victim.

“Hey detective, I'll meet you back at the station, I need to get another cup of coffee.” He waited until the senior officer nodded and then stepped past the yellow tape and into the alley. He pulled his Maglite off his belt and swept it around. On about the third pass, he noticed something odd. There was a small point on the ground where it was just black. Kneeling down he found a small flake of something. He wasn't sure what though. He put on a pair of gloves and picked it up to take a better look. Whatever this was, it wasn't just black, it was so dark it didn't seem to be reflecting any light at all.

He pocketed the curious object and made his way down to the coffee shop. As he walked in, the lady behind the counter flashed him with a smile. “Back again officer?”

He nodded and smiled back. “Yeah, need another cup of coffee please. It's going to be a long night.” He then pulled up a chair and leaned back while waiting for the black ambrosia to arrive.

"Do you really think Lycan are smart enough...I mean...the way the body is arranged" She asked Mark.

"Come on redbull...don't insult me" He whined "Its not nice."

"I've seen you go furry" She remarked poking his nose.

She stopped a violent shiver coursing down her spine making her look around her hands shaking. Something had happened but she jad no clue what it was. She looked back toward the crime scene and Mark looked back as well worried.

"Lina...you okay?" He asked his voice serious.

"Y-yeah...just a weird feeling..." She breathed.

He put an arm around her shoulder and they walked into the coffee shop. She grabbed a table while he went to grab them some coffee. Lina knew it something was off something that they had missed and it was out there as well as the things killing people. She ran a shaking hand through her hair before the door opened and she looked up the cop from the crime scene walking in.

"So Redbull..." She looked at Mark grateful when he pressed the warm cup into her hand "Have you considered Ghouls...smart...and pretty nasty..."

"Shhh...keep it down" She hissed "We are surrounded by Mundanes yanno..."

He quickly shut his mouth and sat down his eyes falling on the detective before turning to Lina.

"Sorry...forgot..." He said softly "But seriously...Ghouls are capable of this..."

"And they require a Lich to gather them together" She told him "Lone Ghouls aren't found outside Graveyards...you know that as well as I do"

He sighed taking a swig of his coffee and she sipped hers both deep in thought and she found her eyes drawn to the detective. There was something about him that put her on edge. As she watched him her eyes flashed silver for a split second easilly mistaken for a trick of the light to anyone that noticed.

Josef sat at the table waiting for his coffee. There were a few people around, but it was mostly a quiet. He could see the couple in the back having a heated discussion about something. Damned if he knew what, either way it wasn't really his concern, at least until she started staring at him. He thought he saw her eyes change color briefly, but was distracted by his coffee arriving. When he looked back she was still looking at him, but her eyes were normal.

He took a sip of his coffee and pulled out an evidence bag, and then the strange flake. Setting the bag down he took another sip of his coffee as he looked at the strange object. It seemed innocuous enough at a glance, but something in his gut told him it was important. Opening the evidence bag he dropped it in and sealed before he started marking down the information.

He wondered what everyone's reaction down at the station would be. Probably nothing good. He was already getting on some people's nerves being assigned to the case despite not having made detective yet. Still he had a job to do and he meant to do it regardless of what others thought of him. He'd make detective eventually, but with only three years on the force under his belt he knew he still had a ways to go. Hopefully this case helped out a bit, but he wasn't holding his breath on that. He was more concerned about finding the killer so they didn't get away with another murder.

She had turned back to Mark not seeing him take the object out of his pocket but Mark noticed and his eyes narrowed before he looked her. Lina's natural aura seemed to diminish for a second before the object was plaved in the bag that wasn't a good sign. There weren't many things that could affect a Nephilim's natural aura even fewer that were that small.

"Mark...I just got a weird feeling" She said softky putting a hand to her forehead "Like a cold hand on my spine".

"I bet you did" He told her "Look over there."

He nodded in Josef's direction and she glanced over noticing the strange object it wasn't instantly familiar to her but she could do her research. It wasn't anything good Nephilim had a sense for dark objects and this thing was literally dark.

"Think we should tell Kindrell?" He asked her.

"No...we were assigned to this" She told him "We won't say anything until we need to."

He looked at her worried she wasn't exactly weak but she liked to pretend her Angelic blood made her invincible when he'd seen her near death more times than he wanted to count. If there was an object that'd effect Angels they needed a team without a Nephilim on this case. It was her call though he wouldn't shirk his responsibility to protect her for anything.

"It could be demonic" He said "Or perhaps Fallen...I've never seen one...but I hear Angel wings get charred to black when they Fall..."

"It makes sense...but...that just adds one more Mythic..." She sighed.

Josef looked up and saw the woman looking mildly exasperated. He finished his coffee, and stood up, placing the evidence bag and it's contents in his inside jacket pocket. It may not have been his place to interfere, but the two of them had been staring at him earlier. If nothing else he could at least make sure everything was alright with the two of them. He picked up his cap and walked over.

“Evening ma'am, everything alright here?” His voice was a rich tenor, and was strong but quiet. Generally the type of voice that for some reason you just feel compelled to listen to. He smiled softly trying not to seem imposing and just look helpful. Honestly if she told him to shove off he wasn't going to be surprised. He'd gotten used to some of the treatment you get as an officer, especially around the ghettos.

"Yeah...when the list includes all clawed Mythics...its not fun adding more" Mark said softly.

"Fallen don't have claws...do they?" She asked "I mean I've seen artwork and photographs they have normal hands..."

"Thats only when they aren't attacking...haven't you read anything redbull" He told.

"More than you fluffy" She shot back.

Mark glanced at Josef noticing his approach before focusing back on Lina taking a drink of his coffee.

"Stuff the Mythic talk" Mark muttered behind his coffee "Mundane approaching."

"You're the..." She looked at Josef when he spoke up "Yes everything is alright."

She glanced at his pocket another chill ran up her spine and she wanted to have a look at that object in his pocket but she couldn't make a scene. They had to appear like a regular pair of humans when they weren't on the job.

"Why do you ask?" Mark asked giving him a friendly smile.

Mark could be imposing when he wanted to he but right now he was all friendliness and charm. He could charm the pants off of anyone and with most women that was quite literal. His exploits were rather legendary though Lina knew half of them were lies. She took another drink of her coffee trying to dispel the chill that object seemed to set on her.

He'd gotten a couple fragments of what they were saying sounded like either occult or some kind of fantasy talk, most likely the latter, he wasn't going to make an issue out of it. If they weren't doing anything illegal it wasn't his concern. He turned to Mark as he spoke.

“Nothing in particular, your lady friend looked a bit exasperated about something. Figure I'd see if it was anything I could help with. Honestly she looks a bit cold at moment.” He was wearing his heavy jacket still to stave off the chill of New York's evenings. “Depending on where you're heading after this, I could give you lift in the squad car on my way back to the station. I'm parked a couple of blocks up the street though.”


He rolled his shoulders it had been a long night and he was a bit on the stiff side. What he really needed was to to get some sleep, but that wasn't going to happen for at least a few more hours.

"I'm fine...I'm looking for a new house...house hunting is always frustrating" She said with a light smile.

He'd notice the lack of material about houses and such but she figured he'd just take that reason and go with it. Mundanes usually preferred not to notice things they weren't interested in. When he suggested the lift she looked at Mark who smiled.

"Well I don't need one" He said "Redbull why don't you take him up on it?"

She almost shot him a dirty look but merely turned and gave Josef a polite smile.

"I'd probably be going too far out of your way" She said "But thank you."

She was going to head back to Brimstone which would be well within his way but she wasn't planning to let a Mundane near Headquarters.

"Come on sis" He said standing up "We can meet up at Derek's later."

He walked out of the door before she could protest and she had to plaster a fake smile on her face.

Josef stood there silently smiling. He'd just had about three different red flags go off on this situation. Not that anyone nearby would be able to tell looking at him. He had a hell of a poker face, and it had won him more than one game against the guys in the back of the squad room. House hunting, but no evidence of it, fairly minor, easy to pass off. But with the way her “brother” up and left her with him, a major red flag in itself, it made the way they were talking fishy.

“So, will you be needing a ride then miss?” He looked over his shoulder at the door where the man had just taken off. “Or is your brother waiting for you outside?” Either way they'd been committed to his memory. There was something fishy going on with them, but it would have to wait. For right now, the murders had to take priority. And while they were certainly suspicious, he didn't think they were involved in the murders.

She glared at her brother who seemed to be chuckling as he walked down the sidewalk before turning to Josef.

"Look you seem like a nice guy..." She started to say "Whats with the tone? You don't think he's my brother?"

She regarded him not quite sure what to think of him but she knew her brother wanted her to try and retrieve that object. It was a bad idea the guy was a Mundane and a cop to boot she couldn't just pick his pocket and if that thing was a danger to Nephilim it could well kill her before she got it out of his pocket.

"I'll be needing a ride it looks like" She said with a sigh "You gonna go by St. Mary's Church..."

It was a cover but most Mundanes thought it was a real church which worked perfectly as the front of Brimstone headquarters. She stood up wondering of he'd downright refuse to give her the ride.

Josef ran a hand through his hair a little chagrined. Good as his poker face was, he wasn’t as great about controlling his vocal inflections. He hadn't meant anything by it, but with his instincts, when something was amiss in a situation, he'd regard everything with suspicion until he knew what the truth was.

“It's nothing sorry, just my mouth getting ahead of my brain.” An honest enough statement even it wasn't telling her the whole truth. He knew they were hiding something, but he wasn't sure what. When she told him she was heading to St Mary's he nodded. “Yeah it's a slight bit of a detour, but I can stop there.”

He walked over to the door and held it open for her. Once she stepped out, he followed, donning his cap and leaving the store. “I'm officer Josef Meyer by the way.”

"Uh huh" She said with a shrug.

She didn't believe him but she just wanted to to get this ride over with. As he held the door open she walked outside putting her hands into her pockets. It was cold as shit outside the cafe and she regretted not wearing a thicker cost but she'd be fine.

"Lina" She said "Mind if I call you Josef? Officer Meyer sounds a bit too stuffy."

She walked with him her eyes flicking from side to side trying to pay attention to her surroundings. Her hand rested on the compact blade she kept hidden in her pocket. She walked with her back straight and her muscles were taught as if she expected someone to run out of an Alley after her.

"So why did you feel the need to come up to my brother and I" She asked him.

Josef laughed a little. He usually didn't insist on formality unless he was doing his job. He preferred to have people be relaxed around him if at all possible. It generally made them easier to talk to, and more willing to cooperate.

“Josef's fine, or Joe if you want. I go by that at the station a lot since the guys have a hard time remembering that the j makes a y sound in Hebrew.” He saw her tension and shook his head. “You can relax. I don't think anyone around here would be stupid enough to assault someone being escorted by an officer in uniform. Anyway Like I said, you looked exasperated, nad I thought maybe I could help. The chief doesn't entirely agree with me, but I think if we just play the part of good Samaritan every once in a while, it helps our relationship with the people of the city.”

As they walked by the crime scene, he couldn't help looking over at the yellow tape. These murders were going to eat at him until he figured out what was going on. He shok his head again, his expression suddenly serious and continued on to the car. Once there, he unlocked the doors and opened the passenger door for her. She wasn't a suspect so there really wasn't any reason to put her in the back. After she was seated, he closed the door and walked around to the driver's side and sat down picking up the mike to report in.

“Oscar 24 to dispatch.”

“Dispatch we copy.”

“I'm on my way back to the station. I'll be stopping by St Mary's on the way to drop a young lady off over.”

“Copy that Oscar 24, Detective Franks would like to talk to you when you get back.”

“Roger. I'll see him soon as I get back.”

He looked back over to Lina and smiled. “So ready to go?”

"I don't have much trouble remembering hebrew letters Josef" She said.

It was true there was one thing about being part of Brimstone she had to know many different languages Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin were among the most popular. They came across scrolls and artifacts that needed translation though she could never get Cuniform her father told her languages common among Angels would always be easier for her.

"Wow...Good Samaritan...thats an old story...not many people even know about it" She said "Much less live by it."

As they passed by the crime scene she glanced over to see if she could find anything new but nothing it was completely tainted by human involvement. She held in the urge to sigh in frustration she hated dealing with humans all they did was make her job harder.

"You must not be human...no man in the 21st Century is this polite" She said climbing into the car.

She listened to him talk to the dispatcher commiting his handle to memory might be useful if she heard something over her police scanner.

"Ready as I can be" She said with a light smile.

She leaned back in the seat thinking about the case they were both working on it just from different sides and it made her wonder he wasn't a detective but he did have a knack for noticing things no one else did. Then again thats what the half breeds were for too they all had special skills that aided them in fights or during casesm Her brother had a sharp nose and keen hearing and she could detect demonic influence and see soul remnants. If they could just get to a scene first maybe they could finally get a break in the damn case.

"I've never been in the front seat of a squad car before" She remarked "Its comfy."

Josef chuckled a little when she said that most people didn't remember that story. There wasn't a year went by that he didn't hear about a sermon from some of friends down at the station regarding it. He'd ended up looking it up last year, and decided that the message was more important than the source and took it to heart. And technically speaking, Jesus was a Jew and was preaching from the values of the old testament so there was nothing wrong with that.

After he got done talking to dispatch, he started to reach for the shifter before catching himself and just starting the car. His own vehicle was an old manual, and getting used to driving the automatics took a little bit. He shifted into reverse and pulled out, and then started of towards the free way to get back to Manhattan.

“Yeah they are pretty comfortable. We have to sit in these things for a good 8-12 hours everyday, so we look at comfort as part of the functionality. I guess you don't have many guys opening doors for you? That kinda thing is honestly just ingrained into me thanks to Grandma Goldie and Aunt Miriam.” He smiled as he remembered the two elderly women. “I tell you those two-”

He was cut off by the 2-Way chiming in as he got into line for the on ramp going south. “Dispatch to all units. Homicide in New Rochelle, possible Reaper killing. Any nearby units please respond.”

Josef swore. The last thing he needed was a second one of those murders tonight. He grabbed the mike a keyed in getting the location so he could go do an ID. He looked over at Lina and sighed as turned on his lights and siren.

“Sorry gotta go take care of this. Hopefully it won't take too long.” Once the path was cleared, he pulled a 180 and jumped onto the nearest on ramp heading for New Rochelle. It was already a long night, and it was just getting longer.

She noticed him try to shift gears it was a benign thing to notice but she had a tendency to notice things noone else would.

"You're the first guy to open the door for me" She said "Its rather nice."

She leaned back relaxing in the seat she didn't mind mundane company once in awhile though it always made her careful about the things she says. It was then that she heard the dispatcher listening closely to the location and forcing herself not to roll her eyes at the name. Reaper killing sounded so cliche but she didn't say anything ir wasn't a good idea to criticize when she wasn't trying to stand out.

"You have a job to do I can wait..." She said aloud.

She might have the chance to scan the scene before it was contaminated by people.

Mark was already at the scene sniffing around he'd picked up a scent but he had no idea what it belonged to. He could feel something watching him but anytime he looked for it he couldn't find it. This whole scene seemed strange but he was careful not to touch anything or get near the body. He took a small object out of his pocket it was a scope for detecting demonic energies and consisted of a series of crystals that would glow in various colors depending on the demon.

Josef wasn't the first one to get there, but he wasn't too far behind the NRPD. As he got closer to the site, he turned off the siren before parking right behind one the NRPD officers. Technically this was outside of his jurisdiction, but given what was going on he didn't think anyone going to complain too much. They were lucky that this hadn't hit the news yet, though he wasn't holding his breath out on that for too much longer. After a month peopl were beginning to notice. If they didn't get something soon they might have a real problem with the public on their hands.

He stepped out of the car, and pulled his badge for easier identification. He may have had his shield on his jacket, but the badge was harder to fake. He walked up to the Sergeant who was present and showed his badge.

“Officer Josef Meyer, NYPD, Manhattan Precinct, sir.” He saluted while he flashed his badge. “I've been assigned to Reaper case, primarily for the purpose of identifying the MO to ensure it's actually the Reaper and not a copycat.” He broke his salute and waited for the Sergeant to clear him going onto the scene.

The Sergeant\looked at him sternely. “What qualifications do you have that they stuck you on this kid?”

Josef just smiled. “A sharp pair of eyes, and I was the first one to see one of the bodies.” He listened while the sergeant radioed in to verify who he was before letting him on to the scene.

He took one look at the body and hung his head. It was definitely another match. The position was the same, and he could tell the wounds by this point this was the fourth corpse he'd seen with those marks, and there was no mistaking them. He pulled out his flashlight and swung the light around looking for another one of those black flecks. He had a hunch they were related to the case, but no proof.

There wasn't one in the immediate vicinity, but the first fleck he'd found hadn't been either. He saw a nearby alleye, and shined his light down it. Briefly he though he saw a point where it was just dark. He walked over to the alley and started scanning it. Sure enough, there it was, another fleck. He hollered for one of the other officer's to come over with an evidence marker. This was definitely starting to look like a traceable lead if they could find out what it was.

Mark was in the Alley having hidden when the cops showed up but he hadn't noticed the fleck until Josef shined his flashlight over it. Silently swearing he wouldn't be able to snag it he'd have to get one of his contacts to smuggle one out.

Lina didn't stay in the car instead she climbed out of the car and looked over the scene trying to get a read on any residual spirit energy. It was too late the cops had stamped all over everything but then she noticed Mark's spirit leading the alley Josef was currently investigating.

"Oh brother" She muttered "You have to be kidding me..."

Mark glanced out from behind a dumpster his face slightly canine to hide his identity in case the light shone on him. If it did his eyes would flash like any animals before he took off running easilly outrunning any detectives that came after him.

Lina tensed but relaxed Mark could take care of himself she on the otherhand wondered what he found but they could meet up much later. Instead she walked up to an officer outside the tape with a curious look on her face.

"You wouldn't be able to tell me what happened would you" She asked her eyes flashing a second.

She was using her powers to get a bit of information it would just loosen his tongue a bit. It didn't work on everyone but she would be fine with how the body was found and who found it.

As the other officer's were working on photographing and collecting the evidence present, he though eh caught some movement out of the corner of his eye down the alley. He started down the alley, his flashlight lighting the way. As he neared the dumpster, something bolted from it's cover. It was moving pretty quick, but whatever it was, it didn't want to be found. He was about ready to key it in when he noticed something. The person was wearing the same clothes as Lina's brother. He'd barely gotten a chance to look before the figure disappeared , but he was certain they were dressed the same.

He turned around and walked back to the alley. He may have been jumping to conclusions, but there was just something off about some of the things he'd seen tonight including the meeting with Lina and her brother. He walked up to the sergeant and smiled.

“If it's all good here sir, I need to take this young lady over to St. Mary's. I don't want to be crossing jurisdictional boundaries too much, but given the nature of the case...”

The sergeant smiled and nodded. “It's all good son. I'm glad you were able to get out here and get a positive ID on the MO so fast. You get home and have a good night's rest all right boy?”

“Will do after I check in down at the station sir.” He saluted and then started back towards Lina and his car, motioning for her to follow.

Mark had started on his way to St. Mary's and decided to hail a cab to get there rather than walk in the cold. He hoped that he hadn't been recognized he'd gotten too reckless. Though he had a scent even if it wasn't something he had ever smelled before that crossed off a good chunk of their list. He was glad for that it would be better if Lina could get a soul remnant reading.

~~~

Lina had gotten standard information but not who had made the call everything she was told she already knew about the other crimes. She noticed Josef going toward his car and she followed him running through everything in her mind. The placement of the body the wounds on the skin and the strange fleck she'd seen Josef with back at the cafe something was trying to click into place but she would be damned if she had any idea what it was.

"All these murders...its eerie as hell" She said giving a genuine looking tremble.

Josef started the car up and backed out, reporting in to the station that he was on his way. As they got closer to the free way, he looked over at the woman who was riding shotgun with him. All he had right now was a hunch, and it wasn't much of one, but he felt like it was a good place to start.

“Lina, I need to ask you something, and for the love of god please be honest with me. What do you know about what's going on with this case? I don't think you and your brother are involved in these killings, but I have a strong suspicion that you know more than you're letting on.”

It was the honest truth. All he had was suspicion. No hard proof, nothing he could even consider circumstantial, just his gut, and while it was usually right, there were moments where it was off, it was still aiming in the right direction usually, just not at the right target.

She looked over at him when he started to directly address her and tensed up as he asked her about the murders. He was right about them knowing more that they were letting on but how'd he guess. She was trying her best not make him suspicious but that wasn't always enough to put a stop to suspicions.

"What makes you ask that?" She asked him "Seems an odd question for a woman you just met today..."

She wanted to appear nonchalant but the serious look in her eyes suggested that it wasn't a joke question. If he had anything concrete to link them it would mean severe punishment for the two of them. Her hand instinctively closed on her compact blade but she wouldn't draw it or harm him especially not while they drove. Mark has been rather careless but it wasn't his fault they were racing against the cops to find this killer.

Josef merged onto the freeway driving down towards Manhattan. He saw her tense up out of the corner of his eye and knew he'd hit the nail on the head. He was hoping he could convince her to open up before they got to the exit, or he was going to be doing a lot of driving in the near future.

“For starters the way you just tensed up tells me I hit a little too close to home on something. Other than that, I caught a few fragments of that conversation you were having with your brother. Seemed like odd conversation for a coffee shop, but whatever. Lying about looking for a house though? That was a minor red flag, so was your brother seeming all to eager to leave you to get a ride with me. Finally I'm pretty sure that was him I saw tearing out of the alley right before we left.”

He looked over at her for a moment, he green eyes firm in his belief. It was obvious he'd found two and two, he was just getting the rest of the equation in place and waiting for her to confirm it as being correct. He looked back to the road checking the road signs so that he could take their exit if she was cooperating, or “miss” it if she wasn't.