IC: The Runaway [Jacob Vrees]

[Captain Impossible]

"Was he interested in astronomy?" Dutch asks. "How long did you know Michael?" The detective makes a mental note to look at this telescope, assuming it wasn't in evidence. Whatever the man was looking at, it was important to his state of mind. Dutch remembers what the man said to him.

[Kadael]

"I think that's what he called it--astronomy." Judith sounds out the word with a deliberate carefulness. "He had a book he wrote stuff down in, about stars and all. Sometimes he let me look through his telescope and he'd show me all kinds of things." A small, wistful smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Saturn was his favorite planet. I never knew there was anything else out there, so far away."

She clears her throat and sits up a little straighter. "I think he must have moved in earlier last year, but I've only really known him since Christmas."

[Captain Impossible]

"Well, I think that's enough questions for now, Miss Taylor," Dutch says as he gets up. The detective makes his way to the door. "If you remember anything else, even if it seems irrelevant, don't hesitate to contact me." He gives Judith one of his cards, before making his way to the door. He decides to stop in at the apartment where Michael first lost it. If nothing else, the notebook will be of interest to the doctors.

[Kadael]

"Okay." Judith nods as she takes the card. "I... I hope I did good, sir. Maybe you should talk to my brother Marcus too--he wasn't there last night, he sneaks out sometimes, but he's a paper boy, so he sees a lot of things around the city."

She stands up and turns towards the kitchenette, then stops and looks over her shoulder at him. "And, well... good luck, sir. I mean that."

As Dutch is leaving the apartment, he sees that the door to Apartment 5 is open, and the corridor now smells faintly of ammonia.

Then he hears a voice coming from Apartment 5--so quiet he shouldn't be able to hear it from here, but somehow it reaches his ears:

"I think it's time you run along, little scholar boy." It's dismissive. Mocking. Threatening? It's hard to tell, but Dutch shivers involuntarily nonetheless.

[Captain Impossible]

Hearing the words, Dutch instinctively unholsters his pistol. It seems silly. Even if the man behind the voice is threatening, most people would have to be crazy to try something against a police detective, particularly one of his size. Still, something unknown but familiar sends a chill down the detective's spine. Dutch slowly peers around the corner, trying to get an idea of what's occurring in the apartment.

OOC:   Roll Listen/Spot Hidden.

[Kadael]

As Dutch approaches, he sees Peter Walton--one of the witnesses--quickly back out of the apartment and then rush down the stairs. Terror and nausea are both plain on his face.

From his point around the corner, there's not a whole lot to see. Michael Farr's apartment is a shabby little studio, sparsely furnished and devoid of personality. That said, maybe most of that is due to the earlier search by the authorities, and the two men working on cleaning up the mess. They wear white overalls and have handkerchiefs tied around their faces. One, a blond man, is scrubbing the wide, blood-splattered window. The other is brown-haired and is removing the ruined wallpaper. The only thing of any real note is a telescope, pointing up at the window.

It's much easier to hear the remark made by the blond man. "Think you scared him, Rich," he chuckles.

Rich shrugs and scoffs. "Damn passersby. If they want to poke around a scene like this, they better be willing to hear the juicy details."

Neither of them sound at all like the voice Dutch heard making threats. And he can't hear anyone else who might be lurking around.

[Captain Impossible]

Dutch walks into the room after reholstering his pistol. Getting awfully jumpy, he thinks to himself. Still, the man from the university seemed like he was in a hurry to leave. The detective considers pursuing him, but decides to take a look at the apartment while there's a chance to find something. Entering the place, he says, "Who's the pencil neck?" to the cleaning men as he makes his way to the telescope to write down the coordinates. Afterwards, Vrees will begin to search the apartment in the hope of finding something that might have been missed.

[Kadael]

"No idea," says the blond man, barely turning his head towards Dutch. "Came in and started asking nosy questions, didn't stick around once we gave him answers."

Dutch writes down the telescope coordinates as Rich grunts. "What'd he want with this old tenant anyway? He can't live around here. He was dressed too nice."

"No idea," says the blond man again.

Despite his search of the apartment, Dutch doesn't find the book Judith mentioned. He does find a picture frame in the bottom drawer of Michael's dresser. It holds a photograph of a young couple in wedding attire, smiling blissfully at the camera. A closer look makes it clear that the man in the picture is Michael, but a bit younger and with his eyes intact. The woman is no one he recognizes, and this apartment is obviously unsuitable for a married couple.

[Captain Impossible]

Dutch quickly pockets the photo and looks around. Looking at the two men briefly, Dutch decides to head down the stairs to see if he can catch up to the the man who fled the scene.

[Kadael]

The two men either don't notice or don't care what Dutch does. Given their attitudes, it might be safe to assume the latter.

Dutch,Please move to the following thread: [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=224&t=3186&p=156441#p156441]In Crumbling Pages[/url] Do not read any posts above the one you have been linked to.