Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster) (Completed)

RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Sparky had made a noise of pure bliss from above her toes after she massaged his belly. He groaned in happiness only once more before settling down, his head resting on his paws as he stared directly at the door.

She felt the bottle leave her fingers tips and for a moment she thought she broke it. But the calm tone of Joseph's voice convinced her otherwise. She cocked her head as she listened, like a child learning something interesting. Emile jumped when the cork popped and Sparky let out a little growl from under the table, her face flushed a little, but she waved her hand dismissively. "Just a bit jumpy." She muttered softly, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I've actually listened to programs on cannibals once, it was about certain groups that turned because of certain circumstances. This one I heard about was a soccer team that's plane crashed-- the worst part was some of them got fat!" She clicked her tongue at him, as the glass brushed her finger tips. "Makes you wonder if they ever craved human meat again." She shrugged, taking a small sip of the wine, not at all disturbed at their pleasant conversation about men eating man.

Emile was grateful he was helping him, in a way that didn't make her feel foolish or childish-- not adult woman wants to ask 'could you please hand me my silverware?' She unrolled the utensils and placed them back down, unrolling the long cloth napkin and resting it on her knees. "I think so." She raised her own glass slightly, hoping he'd move forward to her-- otherwise there may be a second disaster. "To the people from up north, and the people who eat other people, thank you for the conversation." She snickered.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Joseph brought his glass out to meet hers, the two of them clinking together. "And for the stories, told to uncomfortable waitresses everywhere," he said with a chuckle. He glanced briefly down at the table as he took a sip of wine, trying to work out if there was anything else he could or needed to do. She'd found her silverware, and he couldn't really nudge her plate around without threatening to accidentally dump it all in her lap. But it was also directly in front of her; for all he knew she might have already found it when she sought out the silverware or glass. Finally he decided to just wait. If she needed more help, he'd hopefully notice and figure out a way to give it to her without saying anything.

With Emile's needs met for the moment, Joseph took up his own silverware and napkin, draping it across his lap. "A lot of people do crazy things in strange circumstances," he said as he took up knife and fork, trying to continue the conversation without drawing notice to her nerves. "Or because they're drunk. I can't tell you how many times I've come across people doing so stupid, that even they can't believe they tried to do it once they've sobered up. Like the guy who tried to go up a zipline by strapping about a hundred model rocket engines to himself."

((Sorry, can't think of anything else.))
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

// That's fine! We should move them soon. //

Taking a bigger sip than one should have, Emile was glad to the warmth of the alcohol coat her throat. She grinned a little, trying to picture it. "That is... ridiculous. I mean, even drunk I wouldn't think I could do that!" She snickered at it, shaking her head. "Worst I've ever done was take off all my clothing and jump in a hot tub--"

She was cut off by the yelp from the waitress, skittish as ever, entering the room with their food. Her face went red as Emile tilted her head, her face also turning pick. She cleared her throat a little. "Why hello there." She managed, keeping her smile pulled down. The waitress said nothing as she placed the plates before the two, offering Joseph a nervous smile.

"Do you need and fresh pepper or fresh cheese?" She asked, leaning over the table. Emile couldn't see her, but she could smell her perfume, she cleared her throat a little.

"None for me, Joseph?" she offered the male across from her a smile as she picked up her fork and spoon, fiddling with them while she waited.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"No, thanks," Joseph said, returning the smile as the waitress practically bolted back into the kitchen. The rest of the meal was spent mostly in silence, except for the occasional murmur of appreciation for Franco's fine culinary artistry. Conversation resumed once the food was mostly gone but beyond an informal competition to see who could make the waitress more uncomfortable and a minor argument over the bill, caused by Joseph's steadfast refusal to let her pay for anything, their discussion remained light and inconsequential; just the thing after a trying day.

The drive to the station was similarly quiet, though mostly because of the half-crazed gunman in the back seat. Thankfully the lunatic remained quiet, motivated mostly by Sparky sitting in the back seat beside him with a look that suggested he would be more than happy to round off a wonderful meal with a nice mauling. The gunman was dropped off at the station, with Joseph promising to return and fill out the report as soon as he was able despite Davies' glare and Kinsman's not-at-all friendly smile, and Emile was at last driven to her home.


Sparky eagerly led Emile up her drive and to the front door, Joseph following several steps behind laden with the dog's food and supplies. "Where would you like me to put everything?" he asked Emile as she opened the front door, trying to keep his voice calm despite the sudden wave of nervousness. His mind ran back to earlier that day, trying to remember everything he'd touched and moved. He was fairly certain he'd put everything back where he found it, but he couldn't be completely sure. He wouldn't learn he'd made a mistake until Emile failed to find something she'd put down herself, and by then it would be too late.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

The meal was light, conversational, not awkward in the least, which was surprised her the most, she thought mildly as she was actually helped into the front seat of the car, thanking him gently after the reminder to watch her head. Emile didn't feel any safer with Sparky in the backseat with the man, than she would have if he was in the front seat, but trusted the Officer enough that she knew he wouldn't do this if he didn't have complete faith in both himself and the trained dog. Emile had waited in the car for Joseph when he took the gunman away, though she wasn't in there long before he returned, quickly removing them from the site. His hustle made her smile a little; once again feeling truly cared for like a victim should.

She only tripped once on her way to the door, Sparky was over excited and pulled on the leash a little roughly, causing Emile to momentarily lose her balance, but easily caught it again, before unlocking the door. The woman let out a sigh of relief when she was inside, her shoulders slumping slightly, brushing her hair back off her face. "Home sweet home, warm and free from crazy people." She stopped to listen to Heller, pointing towards where she knew the kitchen was. "The kitchen if you don't mind. Then I can remember to feed him when I feed myself.. right in front of the pantry door; I don't keep anything in there anyways." She snickered a little, moving to where she was speaking of, gesturing a little.

Sparky on the other hand had taken off through the house once he was off his leash. His nails clicked on the hardwood and the sound of his sniffling could be heard echoing through the quiet house. Emile turned to where she could hear his steps-- a very familiar sound with Officer Heller. "Thank you Joseph, for both the free food and conversation... I haven't had one that didn't end in questions about Dennis in a month now. So, thank you again." She smiled warmly, reaching out to offer a hand in a light hand-shake. The physical contact offered like a small amount of trust would be-- timidly.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"Sure thing," Joseph answered as he took Sparky's stuff into the kitchen. The massive bag of dog food was set down in front of the pantry door, and after a moment's thought he went ahead and opened the bag as well, grabbing a small scoop from the box of supplies and tucking it inside the bag before rolling up the top to close it. The food and water bowls were set down next to the bag, and Sparky's squeaky placed beside them; it would help the dog realize that this was his food place. "The bag's already opened, and there's a scoop just inside it," he said as he straightened up, giving the bag a slight kick so that Emile would have an audible sign of where it was. "It takes about two scoops to fill his bowl, and the food and water bowls are just to the right of the bag," he continued, nudging them as well so the sound of the bowls scraping across the floor could be heard. "He'll let you know if he's short on water or something, and he knows to scratch at the front door if he needs to be let out to do his business."

He smiled slightly as he re-entered the living room, glad to see Emile so relaxed again. The trip back to the station had probably been for nerve-wracking for her to say the least, what with a man who had tried to kill her less than a yard away. Still, he was slightly surprised when she extended her hand out towards him. What with being responsible for dragging her to the horrible interview and having to nearly kill someone during an otherwise pleasant lunch, not to mention Heller's unfortunate appearance, he would not have blamed her had she been glad to see the back of him. But that didn't seem to be the case, thankfully, and so he reached out and gently took her hand in his own, shaking it lightly. "I was glad to do it, Miss Burns...Emile," he added after a moment. "I only wish there was more I could do to help."

There was silence for a moment before he withdrew his hand. "Well, I," he cleared his throat, "I should probably start heading back to the station. There's still a few things I need to take care of before I knock off for the night. I'm sure Sparky'll be fine, but give me or Morric a call if he starts acting up, or if there's anything else that you might need a hand with," he offered. And it was true, he did have work to do. Not only did the gunman need to be completely processed and books for trying to kill Emile, but the Lieutenant would probably want to ask the guy some questions about the Bogeygirl, if it wasn't already too late, and that would only spell problems for Emile.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile smiled softly while still within the living room, listening to Joseph knock things around in a way that made her believe he was looking out for her, but didn't wish to draw attention to her flaws. "Thank you Officer Heller." She nearly sang from the other room before he entered. Shaking his hand gently Emile brushed some hair over her shoulder with her free hand. "You've done plenty. I told you, you've saved me about four times already today." She smiled, letting his hand go with her own dropping and slapping her thigh gently. "If you could do more, you'd be bringing back the dead to life, and we know this is impossible."

Emile flushed slightly, embarrassed by her forgetfulness that he indeed had a job to do. She waved a hand dismissively, in front of her reddened face. "Yes yes of course! Sometimes I forget you've got other things to do in this city." She lead him to the front door, a formality she was comfortable providing. She found the door handle easily and opened the door for him with a little smile. "I will most defiantly call you if things start going hay-wire. You're number 3 on my speed dial." She laughed a little, as she let him leave.

"I'll see you later Officer Heller, thank you again."

The door clicked shut behind Joseph and Emile huffed a loud sigh, nearly falling against the door. The woman made her way to the kitchen where she opened one of the left over bottles of wine from a party Dennis and her had thrown about two months earlier. The wine was still good, and it was still chilled. Pouring herself a glass, she settled in the living room and turned on her TV, and soon Sparky joined her after doing his first round of the house.

This calm lasted for quite some time, about two hours, Emile had been dozing a little, and when she awoke fully she realized something in her home was making noise. When it clicked that Sparky was growling and barking she was frightened immediately, her first thought returning to the shooter earlier today. So, grabbing her phone the woman rushed towards the noise. "Sparky?" She called, he barked again, louder, as if being a beacon. She found him in formally the room she shared with Dennis-- she no longer slept there. Instead Emile had taken the guest bedroom down the hall for herself, feeling downright strange sleeping in her king sized bed alone. She found Sparky in the walk in closet that had been Dennis' growling at what Emile could only figure as the floor. She tried to calm the dog, but he would have none of it, so her fingers flew across the keypad of her cellphone, dialing her speed dial.

"Hello? Officer Heller? I.. I'm sorry to bother you, but Sparky is freaking out and I don't know why. I can't get him to stop either..."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"It was my pleasure, Miss Burns. Have a good night," Joseph said with a smile as he stepped out of her home, giving her a final nod of farewell before descending down the small steps and heading out to his car, giving the habitual angry glare towards the small crowd of onlookers and lunatics. Normally they were just part of the scenery, but today he was forced to look at them differently. Were any of them willing to kill? After a few moments he sighed, stepping into his squad car and starting to head back to the station. Something needed to be done, as soon as he figured out what.

Once back at the station, Joseph finally had the time to file his report about the incident at the restaurant, covering up all mention of Heller's unusually verbose threats. The gunman himself had apparently been raving about having seen the devil, but his words were soon dismissed by the interrogators as nothing but signs of madness. A good thing too; Heller didn't want to think that he had been made by someone so pathetic as that schlub. Unfortunately, writing the report proved to be the most pleasant part of the evening; Lieutenant Kinsman was ever so interested to learn exactly why their little Bogeygirl had chosen today to be attacked, and why this lunatic thought that her death was what the Bogeyman wanted. With the gunman still in official questioning and soon to be dragged off to holding, that left Heller to question.


Heller was just starting to wonder how long the forced association with this man was going to go on when his phone rang. Mentally praising any deity who cared to listen, Heller held up a finger in front of Kinsman to bring him to silence and flipped the phone open. "Heller." He started slightly when Emile's voice came through, especially when she mentioned the trouble Sparky was causing. In any other situation he would have said that sometimes dogs just barked at nothing, but this was a trained K-9. If he was barking, then he'd found something. "One second," Joseph told her, briefly lowering the phone to look at Kinsman. "Sorry sir, I'm afraid I have to take this." Without waiting for permission, or a refusal of said permission, he quickly turned and left the lieutenant's office, breathing slight sigh of relief once he was clear.

After a brief look around to be sure that the conversation would stay relatively private, he rose the phone again. "What do you mean he's freaking out?" Once Emile had described the dog's behavior he was silent again for a moment; that was bad. He couldn't just head over there, not with Kinsman probably about to drag him back into his office at any moment, but he couldn't just leave the two of them in that situation when it could be over an hour before he could get there. "Alright, I want you to say his name, snap twice, then say Find. He'll start scratching at whatever he's smelling, probably just a dead mouse in the walls or something. After a moment snap your fingers again; that's the command to fall back, and he should calm down," Joseph explained, hoping that it was just a dead mouse.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile whimpered a little over the phone, Sparky's erratic barking loud over her speaker. She followed the commands Joseph gave her, only having trouble with the snapping-- she wasn't very good. Sparky stopped for a moment, as if confused as to why she knew his commands, but did as ordered anyways. He began to nose against a black briefcase in the closet, and Emile tried to grasp it as Sparky started to scratch at the expensive leather casing. "Found it." She grunted as she hauled it away from the dog, snapping her fingers after a few unsuccessful times. "I think it's one of Dennis' old brief cases..." She said, her voice small as she could be heard falling onto her read to look at it.

What Joseph did not know was Sparky was walking in circles around Emile, sniffing at the case and growling slightly-- a warning. The red-headed woman easily popped open the case, offhandedly telling Joseph that Dennis had given her the code he used once, and she merely remembered it. When the case opened Emile let out a cough, waving a hand in front of her face. "Jesus!" She swore, another dainty cough leaving her, "It reeks!"

The woman fell silent over the line for a long moment as she dug through it. Her over sensitive finger tips brushing baggies that had familiar feelings to them. "They're... dime baggies... the ones that drug dealers use. That smell is... is weed." Her voice was drowned out of a second as she shifted the phone against her shoulder. "Why did he had a brief case of drugs in the closet? I... wait." There were more sounds of shuffling. "There are more things in here.. bigger baggies and what feels like wax-papers..."

Another whimper left the woman. "I don't understand..."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Well, what the hell do you think it means, you dumb bitch? Heller thought with a laugh, one that he very nearly managed to force out of Joseph's lips. Sounds like old Dennis liked to flavor his meat before ripping off a piece; probably easier to get it up and in when- Shut the fuck up, Joseph snarled. This was not the time, not when everything was suddenly at risk. He'd tried so hard to protect Emile, to keep her from ever learning the truth about what had happened. And now it might all fall apart because of a friendly dog. "I'm sure it's nothing," Joseph finally managed to say, quickly trying to think of an excuse that actually made sense. "Maybe it's just some evidence for a case he hadn't dropped off yet, or..." Even he knew the words sounded hollow; if those bags held what both of them suspected they did, then there was no reasonable explanation. "Look," he said after another moment. "I'm going to get out of here as soon as I can and come over, figure out what's going on. There is an explanation, I'm sure of it," he tried to reassure her. He was about to say more when the door behind him suddenly opened, Kinsman looking out with a pointed expression. "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I'll take care of everything as soon as I can, alright?"

"Who was that?" Kinsman asked as Joseph hung up.

He turned to look back at the Lieutenant, internal debate raging over what he was supposed to tell him. Heller won. "Personal business, and not really any of yours," he said coolly as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. "You've taken my statement, you know exactly what happened, and you know exactly how Miss Burns reacted. Unless you intend to try and convince yourself that hired a man to try and kill her to cover something up," he continued, his voice just shy of mocking, "then I don't think there's anything left for me to say. Sir," he added, belatedly.

"Of course," Kinsman muttered, studying Heller for a moment. He hadn't known the soft-spoken officer had even that much aggression in him. "Except you never did fully explain what you and Burns were doing in that restaurant in the first place. Or why she deliberately stalled the officer assigned to take her home until you could arrive."

"Seems she doesn't like most of the other officers. Can't imagine how she gained that impression," Heller shot back, despite Joseph's protests.

"So it would seem," Kinsman said quietly. "I think we're finished, Officer Heller," he said after a moment, the annoying little half-smile hovering on his face.


Between dealing with Kinsman, the last of the paperwork that absolutely had to be completed, and creating excuses for the handful of people who asked where he was off to in such a hurry it was nearly twenty minutes later before Joseph finally screeched to a halt in Emile's driveway, hurrying up the path to ring the doorbell. "Miss Burns?" he called out. "It's me."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"Alright..." She said in a small voice, curled up on the closet floor. She could feel Sparky moving around her, nudging her body with his own as if to say 'why are you sad? I did what I'm supposed to. Do you still love me?' The woman was slightly stunned at the moment though. There was no way this could be evidence from a case-- a lawyer wouldn't take that home with him, that was risky. She knew from the small of the brief case that it was filled with drugs; the smell of pot burned her nostrils. So, for a long while she just sat on the floor, letting Sparky worry, his cold, wet nose poking her cheek.

Finally the woman got it together a little and rose up, patting Sparky's head gently. She left the case of drugs where it was-- open and on the floor. With her finger prints now littering both the drugs and the actual case. Emile was aware of this as she settled back down on her couch, tucking her feet under her body and wrapping her arms around herself. Sparky's nails clicked on the floors as he came to sit near her, knowing she was upset, the dog stayed off the couch. Emile was half listening to the TV playing in front of her when Joseph arrived, she had changed it from her usual news channel to the cooking channel. The overly happy woman was going on about how to make your mashed potatoes the perfect consistency with some helpful tricks.

The doorbell rang and Emile jumped a little, and Sparky jumped to his feet at the noise. She patted his head quickly though, so not to allow him to attack Joseph by mistake. "I'm coming." She said, her voice calm where as her mind was not. She opened the door for him and waved him inside. She swallowed hard before waving towards the stairs. "I uh... left the case on the floor."

Emile took the lead through the house, knowing Joseph would follow her. Sparky was at her heels too. "Do you think maybe this is all a mistake? Maybe it's not Dennis's case, could it have been a mix-up?" She tilted her head slightly as she asked her questions, her hand gripping the railing tightly enough that her knuckles were turning white. When she reached the top of the stairs she went to the door of her old bed room, but did not step inside. "Here."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Joseph removed his hat as he entered the house, setting it aside on a small table by the door as he followed Emile towards the stairs. Sparky whimpered a little when he saw him approach, still not really understanding why Emile and now Joseph seemed to be so upset. He gave the dog a comforting pat on the head, trying to calm him as Joseph said "I'm sure that's it, just some sort of misunderstanding." Of course it wasn't a misunderstanding, Heller laughed. It was his briefcase, his code that unlocked it, and his party favors inside it. Trying his best to ignore Heller's enjoyment of the situation, Joseph continued. "It might even just be a leftover smell from whoever he bought the case from," he suggested, yet every possible explanation and excuse just sounded more and more fake to him.

When they reached the bedroom's door Joseph stood outside for a moment, putting a comforting hand on Emile's shoulder. "It'll be alright," he told her in a calm voice before he walked into the bedroom, a frown on his face as he approached the closet. Sparky started to follow, only to be stopped by a quick command and was left sitting beside Emile. The briefcase was lying open on the floor, several bags littering the floor while even more were still packed tightly within the briefcase. Any chance of it just being Dennis' private 'bad day' stash or some leftovers from wilder days in his youth was quickly eliminated. There was just too much of it, and pot was only the start. Larger bags of white powder, probably coke, wax bags of what must be heroin, several small vials tucked into the pocket in the lid of the case that could have been anything...It was like a drug lord's sampler pack, and more than enough to increase the charge to dealing instead of possession. Joseph's duty was to report the stash and bring it directly to the attention of Kinsman.

Duty could go fuck itself. The few stray bags were quickly collected and tossed back into the case; thankfully none of them had broken open so there was no trace left save for a lingering smell in the air that would fade soon enough. "Here," Joseph with said a touch of relief in his voice, the lie coming easily. "There's an id tag sewn into the lining of the case, Marshall Cooper," he explained, naming another one of the lawyers that had worked at Dennis' firm. "If they accidentally switched briefcases the day before..." he hesitated, not particularly wanting to state it aloud. "Then afterward, there would have been too many complications for Marshall to just come and retrieve it." It sounded plausible enough, and relied on something Emile was unable to verify; not bad for a spur of the moment lie. "I doubt Dennis even knew about it."

He fell silent, watching Emile carefully; the entire endeavor depended upon on whether or not she was able to accept that story, able to maintain her faith that Dennis Kohr was the perfect man, an illusion that Joseph was finding more and more difficult to maintain.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile was comforted by his hand when it had touched her, her expression tilting into a sad smile momentarily before he entered the room and Sparky took up his spot next to her. She waited in silence for him to do his complete search of the case, nervously wringing her hands. Her slim fingers playing with the expensive bands on her hand. Although Joseph had told her everything was going to be alright, she was having a hard time believing it. Already her faith was shaken from earlier that day with Kinsman, then the gunmen and now the drugs. Even though the second really had nothing to do with Dennis directly, it could be correlated once she was in the mind set. She swallowed down hard as she listened to him shuffle around the room, taking a hesitant step inside, automatically feeling wrong in that room.

Although blind Emile had always had an easy time knowing when people were trying to trick her. But this time, she ignored the feeling in her gut to go with the easy answer. "Oh... I guess that could be.. what happened.." She sounded unconvinced though, her personal struggle not was two-sided as Heller's was.

She was silent for another moment before speaking up, one side of her inner argument had won: "He would get angry sometimes, he never hurt me or anything, he just got... antsy, and tense, and angry. He would freak out about things and I never knew what I did to provoke it." She wiggled her socked feet against the cold floor, "I thought maybe it was just stress... but with all of this." Clearing her throat again, she made a face before turning her head up to Joseph. "How many officers think he was guilty of something-- like Kinsman said?"
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Joseph was silent for a few moments, trying to work out how to answer her question. Probably not as many as he thought; a lot of people were just sucking up to the new boss by agreeing with whatever he decided was the truth. But enough people were starting to wonder if there was any truth to the accusations. "No one who met Dennis thinks he was a bad man," he finally answered, ignoring Heller's snorts of derisive laughter. "And the others are just desperate for some kind of explanation, a lead that they haven't considered. They want it to be true, so that they'll have something to investigate again. But that doesn't make it right."

He briefly searched through the rest of the briefcase, on the off chance there was something even worse than drugs hidden away within it, but there didn't seem to be anything beyond a few syringes. Finally he placed everything back inside and shut the case, sliding the locks into place and quickly noting the code before spinning the dials of the locks. Emile didn't seem to be completely buying the story about it being another man's case; he needed to get this case out of here, get her thinking about something else before she drove herself crazy or came to a dreadfully correct conclusion. "I can just take the case down to the precinct, get it processed. I'm sure they'll be able to track down its real owner in no time." He was silent for another moment before he continued; this was going to be a tricky bit. "If you get interviewed again tomorrow, don't bring up the case. Kinsman will take it as an admission of guilt. And if he brings it up, then just tell him it must belong to someone else. If he has anything to work with, he'll use it as an excuse to have people come in and tear this place apart."

"But I can get it processed quickly, deal with it before he even knows that there was a problem," he added quickly, his voice taking on a comforting tone. "I'll take care of this, Emile. You don't have to worry about anything."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile nodded her head slowly, accepting his answer for now. She continued to stand awkwardly in her old bedroom, shifting from foot to foot, Sparky's warmth radiating against her leg. Her head snapped up as he spoke again, her brows knotting as he spoke to her, it felt shifty to her, but she didn't want people in her home. So she relaxed a bit. "I can do that." She nodded a little, before she began to spin her engagement ring, "I feel bad though, I almost feel like I'm lying to the police... I mean, I want the man who did this caught, and I want Dennis's name to be cleared-- hell! I just want to have a proper funeral for him." Only a small bit of hysteria touched her voice, before she quickly stomped on it and wrapped her arms around her own torso, a shudder passing through her.

"I am going to worry." She finally muttered after a little silence, "What if you get caught? Won't you get burned for this?" Her expression tilted into sadness, "I don't want you to get hurt trying to protect me from Kinsman, Joseph."

After her slightly sappy moment, Emile began to furiously spin her engagement ring. She took the steps out of her old bedroom, and her shoulders relaxed some, her back was straighter, and she just seemed more comfortable in general. She waited for Joseph to be behind her before she began to descend the stairs, "Do you need anything before you leave? I feel like a terrible host, I didn't even offer you a drink." Emile tried hard not to let her emotions show this time around. Though, she was concentrating on that so hard she tripped on the last step, catching her balance with the opposite wall, a vulgar swear leaving her delicate lips.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"It's not lying," Joseph emphasized, and technically it wasn't. Lying was a deliberate falsehood to trick the gullible. This was merely a misdirection to deceive the annoyingly persistent. "Just don't be the one to bring it up. You don't know anything about it, and you don't want to give Kinsman anything he can use to make it look like you do," he started to explain, only to fall silent at the sound of the hysteria and terror trying to force its way out of her. He hesitated for a moment before approaching, laying an arm across her shoulders and hugging her gently, gently enough that she would be able to pull away if the contact made her uncomfortable. "It's alright. I'm not doing anything wrong, and neither are you." Both of those were lies, but his voice held nothing but sincerity. "And I can handle Kinsman. Nothing's going to happen to me, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you either." He held her for another moment before he fell back, recovering the case and taking it downstairs with him.

Sparky slipped down the stairs before her, trying to avoid being in the way as they slowly descended. "No, thank you," he responded to her offer, hesitating a moment before continuing. "I know this must be hard; are you sure you're going to be alright here by yourself? I could call some of your friends to keep you company or-" Suddenly she stumbled, and before he thought about what he was doing he had quickly reached out an arm to take a hold of hers, helping to steady her as she regained her balance. Aw, isn't that nice, Heller murmured, just like the night we met. Oh, shit. Rationally he knew that it was ridiculous, that there was no way she could possibly connect the person who had caught her on that night with the person helping her right now, but irrationality had already convinced itself that the game was up.

The moment she had stable footing he jerked his hand away as though he'd been burned, carefully watching her for any sign that she had recognized...anything. It's ridiculous, he told himself. It can't possibly end like this. But it might, Heller whispered, and I'll bet if she learned the truth right now it just might break her completely. Wouldn't that be fun?
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile nodded slowly, accepting that she shouldn't bring it up first. "I won't." She muttered softly, before feeling something strange lay across her shoulders. Momentarily she froze up, before realizing she was getting a hug. The woman took a deep breath before curling against him in momentary weakness, her shoulders tucked in submissively, her arms still around her own body. She had placed her head against his chest for the moments he held her, before he pulled back. Emile realized then how much she missed human contact, but didn't allow it to show on her face. "Thank you Joseph... so long as we're not doing anything wrong." She spoke softly, almost timid after the strange contact.

Emile was listening when she had tripped, her one hand moving out to brace herself against the wall the other hand was going to follow, but instead that arm was caught by the officer descending behind her. She quickly regained her balance though, and tilted her head, throwing a timid smile over her shoulder at him; oblivious to the things running through his head. "Thanks again, I need to get this railing put all the way to the bottom..." She trailed off a little, his silence and the way he had pulled away only vaguely curious. The woman shrugged it off though, and shook her head.

"I'm alright... I think. I mean, I don't really have any friends around here who could come watch over me-- and all my family is gone." She shrugged again, brushing her fingers through her strawberry blond locks. "I'll also try to stop bugging you so much, must be irritating getting calls from me so often.." A little blush touched her face as she said this, leading him towards the foyer and living room area. The TV was still on, the overly happy cooking woman was now replaced with a cheesy knife infomercial, it was going on about how the knife could cut through a shoe.
She placed her hands on the back of her couch as she walked past- perhaps a bit unsteady.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Joseph stifled a sigh of relief when Emile merely tilted her head in confusion and curiosity; she hadn't noticed anything. Of course she wouldn't have, the very notion was ridiculous, but that knowledge hadn't stopped him from being terrified that she would scream in sudden recognition and try to run, which would mean that he would have to let Heller clean up his mess. And Heller only knew one way to make sure that witnesses and unpunished criminals never bothered anyone again. Joseph wasn't sure he'd be able to stand aside while that happened, which would have meant that their fragile truce would be broken. That would have ended badly. Very badly.

"No, really, it's no trouble at all. I'd rather get calls from you than anyone else at the station," he started to say, noticing too late how it sounded. Well, Joseph thought to himself as he watched her nearly stumble upon the couch, I've already humiliated myself, might as well. "I...um..." Joseph cleared his throat, trying to sound casual despite the raging sociopath in his head and the unexplained fear suddenly twisting his stomach. "I don't have anything else to do tonight, other than getting rid of the case. I could always," he hesitated, "Ahem...I mean, I'd feel bad if I just left you here by yourself after all of this, and I could just sit in my car outside or something, make sure none of the reporters outside tries anything, and that way you wouldn't have to call me if..." he was babbling now, and realized it just in time to shut himself up.

"I'm sorry," he apologized after a moment, glad that she couldn't see the red embarrassment creeping across his face. "I didn't mean-" he cut himself off before any more stupidity could escape. There was an incredibly awkward silence before he spoke again, starting to move towards the front door. "I'll just run this over to the station, then," he said firmly, trying to convince himself more than Emile. he laid his hand on the doorknob, briefly glancing back towards her but not quite daring to approach. "If there's anything else, anything, just give me a call and I'll take care of it. Honestly, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." He hesitated on the edge of saying more, but finally fell silent.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile was going to say something before he began to speak, and courteous as always, she closed her lips to let him speak. A little smile touched her lips after his first well-meant statement. The smile only grew as he continued to talk, and she kept trying to cut him off politely to say something, but was continuously defeated. "Joseph." She finally cut in, a small laugh on her lips as she moved towards him. She found him easily, his voice had given her a fairly good location. She touched his arm lightly as she got close, tilting her body to properly be facing him, a smile on her lips. "Don't be sorry, it's very kind of you to offer.. and actually.." Now she was embarrassed, a little flood of warmth coming to her cheeks. "It would be very nice if you came back after you were done-- this house is large. And quiet. It would be nice to know someone else I can trust is in here with me."

Her smile was sincere as she continued to grasp his arm lightly. "No need to sit in your car like a creeper, I'll leave the door unlocked for you-- or I'll be around to answer it. I'll set up a bed for you and everything." She chuckled warmly, patting his arm before moving back to the safety of the couch, pressing her back against it and laying her hands on it as well. "I'll wait here for you to return." She nodded, still smiling a little bit too widely.

"Would the guest bedroom be fine for you?" She continued, not perturbed by the fact she was asking a man she only had begun to know recently to stay at her home with her. "I'll get fresh linens..." She began to mutter to herself happily. Before she stopped, chuckling. "I'll see-- talk to you later." Emile corrected herself. After he left she shut the door tightly with a little sigh. Before giddily leaving to get his room set up-- too stubborn to let him defect to the couch. She -guessed- she could sleep in her old bedroom, knowing that would be very strange for him.

She had missed the hustle of entertainment.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"Oh," Joseph said in slight surprise, already feeling even stupider now that his mindless babble proved to be completely unnecessary. "Alright then," he added in a brighter voice, a smile starting to creep across his face. "You don't have to do that, I can just sleep on the couch," he tried to insist, quickly overridden by her sudden enthusiasm. "I'll be back in a bit then," he finally said, trying to keep his voice calm and under control. Normally he could convey whichever emotion he liked whenever he needed to, but his normal levels of control were becoming worse and worse the more time he spent with her. Had he fully realized that, he might even have been concerned about it.

After driving for a few minutes Heller glanced over at the case, lying in the passenger seat of his car. Such an annoying little thing. There was nothing in or on the case that tied him to Kohr or Kohr's murder, and there was really no problem with just turning it in. It was would he should do, because then there was no way that it could come back to bite him in the ass. But Joseph was already whining in the back of his mind, that if the police knew about the case then they would connect it to Kohr and start investigating him, then they would come up with the kids, and then Emile- This was where Heller finally managed to shut him up. It looked as though he would need to dispose of the case just so that his 'brother' could protect his little bitch from learning she was marrying a pedophile. Dealing with Joseph's bullshit was becoming very aggravating.

Disposing of the case turned out to be easy; being a cop meant that, among other things, you learned where crooks dropped stuff off when it needed to disappear. For something small like this, that was a rundown district of downtown where a large portion of the city's homeless stayed in the empty buildings while the city council worked through the miles of red tape needed to actually tear them down. A lot of those homeless also scavenged out of the local dumpsters and trash cans, so anything that was thrown away here would likely end up in a bum's hands sooner or later. Disposing of a briefcase full of drugs became as simple as tossing it into one of the dumpsters; someone would find it and dig it out, the drugs would get snorted, smoked, or injected, and the briefcase would probably end up getting used as a bedpan. And if a police officer happened to see a homeless guy with a relatively new-looking briefcase, he wouldn't give a damn. So Charlie the Bum got a new shitbox. Good for him.

After dumping the case and driving around for a little while to make it seem as if he'd spent enough time at the station to get it processed, Joseph finally pulled back into Emile's driveway about an hour after he left. After a few deep breaths he got out of the car and approached the front door, knocking gently upon it and calling out "It's me, Ms. Burns," before quietly pushing the door open. For all he knew, she had already fallen asleep after an exhausting day.
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emily nearly laughed when she heard the smile in Joseph's voice, but she held it back for his sake. She nodded her thanks to him and closed the door after him firmly.

Scuttling around like a young girl getting ready for a date was not really very productive, she found out as she continued to trip over Sparky when she decided to do something else instead of finish her first task. Finally, she made a plan. First, she stripped the guest bedroom bed down and threw all the sheets into the laundry bin she'd been keeping in there. She then got out new linens and got the bed made-- a little shabbily, but it would suffice for it's purpose. She laid out the pillows as well as she could, snagging her favorite and throwing it into her old room, doing her best to not even step inside. Emile had no idea that the sheets she'd thrown on the bed did not match, at all. The pillow cases were even to very different colors of brown. Even if she had known, she wouldn't have cared much. She was just happy to have some one over.

From there, she moved to get herself ready. She shed the clothes from earlier and quickly changed into something much more comfortable, but still flattering. A pair of tight fitting 'yoga' pants and a sleek chemise was what she went with. She pulled a knit sweater over her shoulders and called it good. Emile made her way downstairs and settled into the couch, closing her eyes and listening to the TV. She had gotten herself a glass of wine on her way over, sipping it slowly as she listened to the cooking channel still.

A second glass of wine was gone by the time Joseph was at her door again. She grinned as the door squeaked open, turning in the couch to face him. "Hello Officer Heller!" She cheered from her spot on the couch. Her lips were twisted into a smile, her small body swaying slightly. She was slightly tipsy. "Everything went well I hope?" She asked, her face following her words, she showed her emotions in expressions when she had alcohol in her apparently. "Beat any more bad men up?" Emile was getting to her feet as she spoke then, coming to meet him.

"Would you like a glass of wine? I know it's red, but I have a bottle of white if that is what you prefer."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"Red's fine, thank you," Joseph said with a smile, removing his hat and setting in on a small table by the door as he shut it behind him. The smile became a brief frown as he studied her, her motions slightly wobbly and erratic as she stood. She also seemed far more animated; her every motion and expression seemed to be exaggerated from the norm. His eyes fell on the wine glass in her hand; there had been a half-finished glass of wine on the coffee table when he had arrived earlier tonight. And that had been about an hour ago, so if she had eventually gone back to the wine and kept going...She wasn't drunk though; he knew when someone was drunk. At worst she was just starting to feel it, but there was no real harm in that. He'd just be sure to keep an eye on her, although for all he knew getting hammered was exactly what she needed right now.

"Everything went fine," he told her, maintaining the smile even as he once more began to spin the endless webs of deception that comprised his life. "There were still plenty of prints on the case; once we eliminated mine and yours there was only a few of Dennis' on the handle and someone else's over the rest of it. Enough to say that Dennis held it at least once, but it belonged to whoever left the unidentified prints. Soon as we get a sample of Marshall Cooper's prints we can confirm that the drugs were his too," he explained. It covered everything that needed to be covered, and there was no need for her to ask any follow up questions of anyone other than him. Nice and clean. "And I didn't have to beat anyone up, thankfully, though I did glare at a few reporters hovering around the precinct. Oh, and Franco had stopped by the station to give his report, he sends his best," he continued to lie, the details lending credence to the web.

"Everything alright here?" he asked, real concern in his voice even as he tried to shift the subject away from what he'd just been up to. The more he talked the more likely it became that a few of the details would begin to add up to an unfortunate answer, so he needed an excuse to talk about something, anything else. "I hope you didn't go to too much trouble; it's really no problem for me to just crash on the couch or something."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

"Good!" She grinned as she scuttled over to her kitchen. She was dragging her feet as she walked, knowing that if she lifted her feet too much she may upset her balance, and that would end poorly. Her tiny toes poked out from the bottom of her pants as she moved around the kitchen connected to the room. She listened, nodding when she should and smiling at the details. She had to rise to her toes and stretch for the wine glasses, her hand tapping the wood shelf before finding them with a soft 'aha!'. She poured the wine easily, a skill she had never needed her eyes for.

Returning to Joseph she handed him the glass, clinking her's to his with a small smile. "That was nice of him." Emile concluded after taking her sip, eyes fluttering closed as she truly tasted the wine. Drinking wine without sight was something she now believed everyone should do-- it made it much more rich and you could pick out each berry or spice used. She smacked her lips in appreciation before the conversation turned to her.

"Everything's been fine. I think Sparky thinks I'm mad at him, though. But that's nothing a good belly rubbing won't fix." She chuckled softly, obviously the alcohol was enough of a bandage to slap over her wound for the moment. "No trouble at all! I set you up in the guest bedroom-- it's what it's for, right? No, no. You stopped a guy from killing me today, it would feel wrong to set you down on a couch and call it good." She patted his arm before she moved back to her couch, settling in the corner by the arm rest, her legs bent to tuck her toes under her rear.

"Make yourself comfortable."
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Joseph returned the smile, taking a small sip of the wine as she drank. It was good, but wine wasn't really his thing, and he'd prefer to keep his wits about him. Not only because of the potentially incriminating turns the conversation might take, but also for Emile's sake. He hadn't missed the shuffling, near-stumbling walk of hers as she went into the kitchen, another sign that she had already hit the wine a bit harder than strictly necessary. Someone in the room needed to be sober Joseph decided, and he took another sip to prevent Heller's sudden hysterical laughter from bursting out of him. Oh yes, because we're the perfect guardians for a drunk girl. One who actually looks pretty good once you get her in some tight pants, Heller started, only to be forced into silence. Regardless of what his other half thought, Joseph fully intended to simply nurse the one glass for as long as he could and stay well away from thoughts like that. Serial killers didn't last very long if they made a habit of getting drunk and social.

After a few moments of indecision he finally sat down on the other end of the couch, the glass of wine briefly set down on the coffee table. "Are you sure? I would hate to think I'm imposing on you," he started to protest, only to laugh slightly as a nose poked itself into the room. "Speak of the furry devil," he said with a slight laugh, Sparky half-emerging with the vaguely chastised look of a dog who didn't quite understand what the problem was, or even if there still was one, but was sorry about it anyway. "Come on in Sparky, pretty sure it's all clear," he chuckled. The K-9's ears perked up as he heard Joseph, wandering into the room to lay his head in Emile's lap and, unaware she was immune to this particular tactic, look up at her with as adorable a look as he could muster. "I think he's sorry," Joseph said with obviously mock seriousness in his tone. "Should we forgive him?"
 
RE: The Killer and The Victim (I_Am_Nobody x CyanideDisaster)

Emile tilted her head as she heard the quickly becoming familiar sound of nails clicking against her flooring. Her head followed the direction the dog went, a little smile on her lips from the alcohol n her system. "No no. You aren't imposing at all-- I mean, after what you did for me today, this is a small favor. Plus, I invited you." She smiled warmly at him, then back to Sparky. She clicked her tongue softly, mocking his serious tone with her own as the head rested on her lap. Her free hand rested on his head, brushing through the silky strands of fur, her nails skritching at the junction of his ear. "I think I can forgive him. He's so cute I bet." Emile snickered a little.

She cleared her throat after a moment, tilting her head towards Joseph across her couch from her. "What colour is he?" She asked softly, almost shyly. "I imagine he's a golden lab-- bright yellow fur, big brown watery eyes, floppy ears." Her face held a note of sadness as she continued to scratch at his head. Sparky settled his rear onto the floor, closing his eyes and leaning against Emile's hands as she did magic for him. "I wasn't always blind, you probably know this because of my file, right? I got hit by some drunk kids one night and lost my sight that way. I still remember what most colours... look like. I mean, I can think of them and remember, 'oh hey, that's red'."

She made a little noise in her throat after taking another generous sip of her wine. "I don't remember what I look like. I can... almost remember what I looked like in pictures that are frozen into my memory." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Sorry. I'm rambling a bit--" She tapped a nail against the side of the wine glass. "I should lay off the wine, jeeze. My skin is on fire." She raised her hand from Sparky's head to place the back of her hand against her cheek. And her skin was burning like a fever caused by the alcohol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom