perpetual anticipation is good for the soul but it's bad for the heart

[maxxx]

Comments

[slavophile]

Right, cover. Well, hopefully, the daughter doesn't read page six?

( Covers usually come with anonimity. )

You think we can get away with, I know, everyone tells me I look like that guy.

[positiveinfluence]

Maybe? But if we need to, I could take the interview with you in my ear.

[That way William can still contribute but they don't have to worry about him drawing too much attention as Oliver Queen's son.]

Most of it is just going to be routine questions.

[slavophile]

You'd be like my asset.

( Something fun to roleplay another time. )

Your call. You're the seasoned hunter, I'm just the boyfriend tag-a-long.

[positiveinfluence]

We're partners. It means we play to our strengths.

[Not in the romantic way, but in the practical, professional way. If they're going to do this, they'll do it together.]

So maybe that means doing the interview together or maybe it doesn't. But we'll figure it out. Right now, we need to figure out who the ghost is. Do we know anything about the first of the deaths?

[slavophile]

( It's hot, either way. He flips through pages. )

The... first death happened when the haunted house first opened five years ago.

[positiveinfluence]

Do we have a name for that dead person?

[That's going to be their best place to start until they can actually lay eyes on the spirit.]

[slavophile]

Martha Delacourt.

( Easy enough to find. )

[positiveinfluence]

Does it say how she died? Natural causes or murder?

[Sometimes things happen in haunted houses. If they can rule out murder then there has to be another reason why she's sticking around and why she's targeting these names.]

[slavophile]

Wait, you mean the first first death. Not the first -- ( He's catching up. ) Martha's was the first after-death, AH - After Haunting, the first death, the original, was Raymond Berry. And, he shot himself.

( He squints. )

It says he shot himself anyway. I'm guessing there's a possibility he did not shoot himself.

[positiveinfluence]

Suicides don't usually leave ghosts behind.

[They don't usually have unfinished business. So yeah, Coop's opinion is that someone probably faked it to get away with murder.]

Getting away with murder on the other hand? That leaves a ghost almost every time.

[slavophile]

But, none of the victims were shot. At least, not in the ME or the autopsy reports.

( Is there a reason the MO would differ? )

[positiveinfluence]

Ah - method of death does not always equal their own method of killing. It generally depends on the type of spirit. While some will inflict how they died onto their victims, some are constrained by the type of the spirit they become.

[A beat.]

Take ghost ships for example. Always trigger a bunch of dry-land drownings. But I've heard of spirts that were actually killed on the water, but by other means than a ship going down and still becoming a ghost ship and drowning their victims. I think what will give us more clues as to what's going down is trying to figure out the motive, which I think will tie back to our repeating last names.

[slavophile]

Okay, so, in this case, this spirit is scaring people to death.

( Not shooting them. )

People who have recurring last names in the same order.

[positiveinfluence]

Willing to bet that someones with those last names were involved in his not-death. And they were probably involved in the man's life, so if we can talk to the right people, maybe we'll find some answers.

[Fingers crossed.]

[slavophile]

People who are still around five years later. Probably probable.

( And if not, they have phones, right? )

[positiveinfluence]

[More or less.]

So let's make a list, and I'll see if I can get into the haunted house to see if there's any other evidence we can find.

[slavophile]

( He's sure they'll find answers, the sins of the father, etc. But at least they have a plan.

For William's part, he does some online legwork, can he match the last names of the victims to last names involved with the original victim. His natural (1) taps his desktop tower's power accidentally and his computer shuts off before he's able to do anything.

Whoops. After a fifteen minute reboot, he tries again: (21) to find any good information. )

[positiveinfluence]

[It doesn't take much to find those names in adjacent to his victim. It's unclear if they're business partners or simply friends, but men with the three last names in rotation were seen with the victim prior to his death.

And it's possible that they were there the night of his death, though it's hard to tell.]

[slavophile]

( And do they have relatives that are still alive and in the area? )

[positiveinfluence]

[They do in fact. Some of them children are still in town, or other extended family.]

[slavophile]

I have addresses. Every family has ties to the community and still should be around. Do you want to start with Fairfax, Hallahan, Wright or... Murphy?

( All seem like leads so they must be leads. )

[positiveinfluence]

Do you want to divide and conquer or take it on together?

[He's good either way, so long as they get some answers.]

[slavophile]

Right, we didn't establish -- the recognizability of it all. Let's try one together. I'd love to see you in your natural habitat.

( And maybe they won't recognize William, or be too distracted by him. That will probably determine if they conquer separately next. )

[positiveinfluence]

Alright. The lets start with the next of kin for the latest victim.

[The fresh body is usually the best place to start.]

I'll drive.

[He needs all his fake FBI stuff.]

[slavophile]

( He gathers his bag and any previously discussed essentials, including his FBI best (less flashy then his society suits and less sleek than his corporate).

After changing, driving, and parking, he gives his boyfriend a clear direction, because he still has his training wheels on. )

You run point.