Crime Scene, Baltimore, Sunday Morning

[bitten_notshy]

It was a rather dreadful day. A gray mist fell from the sky as the last remnants of overnight rain, and a chill wind whipped through the air.

As these were the only circumstances under which Sebastien de Ulloa saw daylight, he was determined to be grateful for it. The unhappy work that brought him and his temporary companion out would not wait for the sun to set.

He stood back for a moment, assessing the scene. The badly abused corpse of a young man laid just outside the door, and blood and a thick white substance both spattered the marble stairs. A city patrolman still paced about self-importantly. If Sebastien's sense of the case was correct, he was waiting for some superior.

Tony Foster	Tony spotted the body and instinctively averted his eyes. "It's not a real vacation if you don't see the local corpses," he muttered.
Don Sebastien de Ulloa	Under the circumstances, Sebastien couldn't quite smile. But there was a distinct crinkle around his eyes when he answered. "They do have a way of following one. Tell me -- is your stomach sensitive?" This was not a case for one as young as Tony; Sebastien would have felt about having brought the young man along if he hadn't been so certain bringing Jack would be worse.
Tony Foster	Tony shook his head. "I've seen bodies before." He ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath - he was upwind of the body - and turned back to see what had happened to the boy.
Sebastien de Ulloa	The corpse was almost too battered for one to believe a human could be so brutal -- Sebastien would wager on something demonic. The skull was cracked, and the spine appeared torn out. "Careful," he warned, with a nod to the pacing officer. He was little more than a boy, and younger officers were often the twitchiest about 'amateurs' like himself.
Tony Foster	Tony grimaced at the sight of the body. "Demon?" he guessed. He ordered his stomach to behave and crouched to get a better look at the wounds, careful not to touch anything. "Not anything I'm familiar with. Something, ah, local, maybe?" He frowned at the other substance splattered on the stairs. "Is that candle wax?"
Sebastien de Ulloa	"It is, and fresh," Sebastien said, still hanging back a step. "Look -- except wax, blood and mud, the steps are clean." "If it wasn't magical, it was a beast. But it's hard to imagine a beast so large in the city would have struck so neatly."
Tony Foster	Tony nodded. "It would've left a trail. There's no other victims, right? And he doesn't look, uh," he waved a hand at the body, while looking to the side, "eaten."
Sebastien de Ulloa	"The rest of his family is missing," Sebastien stated, and glanced over at Tony. "Jack says you're a wizard...?"
Tony Foster	Tony nodded. "Do you want me to see if magic's been used here?" He'd been working on a spell that would show him where magical energy had been used recently.
Sebastien de Ulloa	"Please, and quickly," Sebastien said. The boy wasn't exactly licensed; he'd have to trust in his sense of discretion.
Tony Foster	Tony brought up his right hand, forefinger and thumb forming a circle. He muttered the phrase he'd memorized - phonetically, as he didn't know the language it was written in. As far as he knew, it wasn't a language that anyone on Earth knew. The air inside the circle shimmered and took on a bluish tint. He peered through the makeshift lens at the crime scene, looking for signs of magic.
Detective Crown Investigator Abigail Irene Garrett	Which was when a familiar voice spoke from behind Tony. "You know," she said as she stepped carefully towards them, her blue carpetbag swinging against one thigh, "you would do well to be a little more careful using that sort of ability out where anyone could see." Abby Irene surveyed the scene, her eyes closing briefly as she said a quick prayer for the victim. Or perhaps for those still living; it was hard to tell. "I, on the other hand, am well aware that arresting you would cause more trouble than it's worth. Good day, Tony. Who is your... friend?"
Sebastien de Ulloa	"No one of importance," Sebastien said from a spot near Abby Irene's elbow, and bowed his head in greeting. "Sebastien de Ulloa. I see Mr. Foster has already made your acquaintance, Lady Abigail?" Jack had mentioned she was at the school; finding her in person, and in her element, was more a pleasure than a surprise.
Tony 'Busted' Foster	Tony, startled, lost his concentration. The blue shimmer disappeared with a crack of static electricity. He shook his hand. "Hi, Professor," he said.
Detective Crown Investigator Abigail Irene Garrett	She raised an eyebrow at the noise and gave him what she hoped was a warm, encouraging smile. In the face of such carnage, she wasn't sure how well it might have worked. "You say that as if I don't know the name, Senor de Ulloa." She didn't actually ask him not to insult her intelligence, but that faint edge was there in her tone. "And I prefer Abigail Irene if you must. Detective Crown Investigator Garrett is more suitable for the moment." Her attention expanded to both of them. "I'm sorry I can't be more cordial, Tony, but business is at hand. Any observations, either of you?" If they'd done work, best she take advantage of it and see what else she could find instead of wasting time.
Sebastien de Ulloa	"Detective Crown Investigator Garrett, then," Sebastien repeated, tone on the verge of mocking the title while remaining, technically, perfectly correct. English titles were absurd. "I apologize. As for introducing myself, I did not wish to presume you'd taken note of an amateur. Though so lovely a lady must by all means call me Sebastien." He moved toward the steps to answer her real question. "Look at the candlewax."
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	She nodded, pulling her wand into one hand for a better look at things. Abigail Irene had already surveyed the rest of the scene, spoken to a couple of the officers. "Interesting, is it not? Other than all this mess, my Mary couldn't have done a better job." Though her friend and servant was starting to feel the wear of time as much as she did. "The wax is certainly no older than a day." Then she ignored him while she started in with her salts and her ritual to find out what she could.
Sebastien de Ulloa	Sebastien was unconcerned about being ignored, though he shot a glance to Tony encouraging him to watch the senior sorcerer. He waited until she seemed mostly finished before observing, "What intrigues me, Crown Investigator, is the swiftness of the attack. Have you eliminated a human agency?"
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	She couldn't help the unladylike snort. "Garrett," she told him, as 'crown investigator' seemed a bit long for an extended conversation. "And I've not ruled out anything," she said as she tucked her things back into a pocket and straightened up. "But I admit my suspicions involve sorcery. The only other alternative is some sort of beast, which would mean we should expect further attacks."
Sebastien de Ulloa	"Garrett," he repeated. "And I mean no disrespect in asking if you've thought of the more unpleasant possibilities ... were-thing." He touched his fingers to his lips thoughtfully. "Wampyr. Summoned demon, improperly bound."
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"What would you consider the more pleasant possibilities, Don Sebastien?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Anything that can do this, be it man or not, is anything but pleasant."
Sebastien de Ulloa	"Tear a man's spine out of his body? Undoubtedly," Sebastien observed. "I take your point, Garrett. And I admit, I am still exceedingly curious about the candlewax."
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"As am I," though her eyes shifted over to Tony. "Is he here with Mr. Priest?" she asked in a low voice, meant only for Sebastien.
Sebastien de Ulloa	"He is," Sebastien agreed, matching her in volume. "Jack's having a bit of a time of it. I think he was hoping for an escape in the form of a quiet weekend with Mr. Foster and I." His tone was wry. The escape had not happened.
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"No one was exactly expecting something of this caliber," she said, her lips pursing. "Or was there something else." She assumed there was, as she couldn't quite imagine the good Don being wryly amused about something like this.
Sebastien de Ulloa	"He has a sister. In Baltimore, that is. I knew he had them, but we both assumed them lost long ago and far away." The wryness shifted a bit, revealing true concern. He finally stopped inspecting the wax to look up at Abigail Irene. "The week seems to have been an odd one at school -- I can't convince either boy to tell me much about it -- so while the sister is good news, it may be that one straw too many."
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"I see. Traveling the colonies?" she asked curiously. She had learned many things about Jack, of course, but the details of his true origins she had never been made aware. "And I suppose that place does seem to specialize in oddity, but it can be trying. Is there, by any chance, something I might do?"
Sebastien de Ulloa	"Something like that," Sebastien said. He generally felt it was Jack's job to tell people about his background. If he'd chosen not to enlighten his teachers, that was his own affair. On the other hand -- and Sebastien found there was more than one hand in almost any situation -- the DCI was positioned to assist them both, in a way Sebastien wasn't. "To be plain about it, Jack was indentured as a child," he said bluntly. "Rebecca is a maid now, and it sounds as though her position may not be long for this world. If genes run true, I suspect one could do much worse than hiring her if you know of anyone who needs a servant."
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	There was a moment's pause before-- "You know," she said quietly, "I've been considering changing my location. After all, I can serve the Crown from one colony or another as I please." She could make sure she could. "I might need a girl to start up a household here for me. Make the necessary purchases, clean out whatever house I decide upon, that sort of thing. She'd be kept on afterward, as Mary isn't getting any younger."
Sebastien de Ulloa	"I never would have thought you'd leave New Amsterdam, Detective," Sebastien said respectfully. "I thought Baltimore was -- I think the expression is 'a backwater.' The town would hold your interest?" "But I'll pass the offer along to Rebecca."
DCI Garrett	"I have my reasons," she said, just a touch stiffly. ...they had more to do with a rather miffed ex-boyfriend than anything that could be called 'professional', but all the same.
Sebastien de Ulloa	"As do I. I shouldn't presume," Sebastien said, with a bow of his head that didn't completely hide the laughter in his eyes. He suspected he had a sense what her reasons might be, but his own were not entirely noble. "And thank you for the offer. Ought we to call Tony in to discuss the evidence?"
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"I don't need to have 'amateurs' involved," she told him with a somewhat flat look, "and certainly not one who'd be doing something I should, by all rights, have him arrested for." But let it never be said she couldn't be practical. Or somewhat sentimental. "But I'll have to thank him for the offer all the same. He's a good young man."
Sebastien de Ulloa	"They both are," Sebastien said. "And I take your point. Though -- if you'll indulge one 'amateur' -- I would rather like to go inside." He wrapped his handkerchief around the doorknob. "Shall we proceed without young Mr. Foster?"
DCI Abigail Irene Garrett	"Probably for the best," she agreed before closing her bag and once more settling it beside her. "There's work to do."

[OOC: Continues from here. Threeway-preplay tango directed by bitten_notshy, brandyforapples, and wantstodirect. Basic situation and some dialogue stolen from "Wax" by Elizabeth Bear. Sixth verse, same as the first, but a whole lot louder and a whole lot worse. NFI, NFB. OOC = AOK. And you people should not let Ahdari code unsupervised.]