Play@YSDC

You are more than happy to jump back in the cars and head for your next destination: the address of Leticia de la Luz's house. It's not a long drive, just a handful of kilometers towards a poorer, more working-class neighborhood. There you find an anonymous and rather modest three-storey building. It is clearly aging, just as its inhabitants, as you keep watch for some minutes and see several elderly people walking in and out. Your best guess is that there are about six or seven apartments on each floor, for a total of around twenty. There does not appear to be any kind of surveillance - legal or not - and in general, nothing dangerous that you can see.

"Some of us may want to stay on watch outside," says Holly, "just in case anyone shows up here. I'd like to be one of the ones who goes in and talks to her, if she's there. She may be more open to talking to another woman - though she may also appreciate a handsome man. It also helps that I know a little about music, and that I know what makes people tick."

Cameron:

"I'll walk you up to her apartment door, make sure you get inside okay. Just in case."

Cam winks, "I ain't much of a looker, and I'm better at talkin' to folks who ain't feelin' very conversational. So if it's safe inside, I'll come back outside an' keep an eye out for trouble."

As he steps out of the car, Cam takes a last look at the surroundings.

Sense Trouble,[dice]0[/dice] Hmm, oh well.

"Looks clear."

Professor Cornwall
"If you don't mind, I'd like to join you in Leticia's flat. Maybe I can poke around while you make small talk."

Ian Morin

"Well, I gotta say... I'm more than a little shaky after all this, but being an artist maybe she'll like to talk to a journalist. I'd like to go upstairs."

Holly, Ian, Jonathan and Cam head for the building. A quick search reveals that Leticia's apartment is number 18, on the third floor. You reach the door and knock a first time, then a second time after about half a minute. From inside, there's no answer.

Cameron:

"Kind of what we expected. Stand back."

Cam draws his astra and then tries the door handle.

Holly steps to the side so that the wall is between her and whoever might be in there, reaching under her skirt and gripping her pistol. "It's probably locked, but that's worth a try," she says. "If it won't open, I'm sure the lock can be picked."

The door opens without offering resistance. After exchanging a quick nod with the others, Cam rushes in, quickly scouting the apartment, which turns out to be empty. What's immediately clear is that the place has been gone through - not exactly ransacked, as there's plenty of things left - but dug through here and there. Drawers are empty, a picture is missing from an array of family photos hung on one wall, the contents of the bedroom closet are spread across the floor.

The only sign of damage to the apartment involves a couple of photographs hung on a wall. These two photos have been smashed and gouged, right through the glass. In both cases, a young Latina woman, the subject of the photography, has been disfigured. Her face has been gouged across the mouth, as if trying to behead her above the mandible.

Evidence Collection,A hurried packing happened here, not robbery. Some valuables are missing, like jewelry and probably a record player (there's a stand for one and lots of records around, but no record player), but other stuff, like an expensive camera and a fancy watch, worth a few dozen bucks each, have been left behind.

Photography,You pick up a photo album sitting on a shelf. Similar damage has been inflicted on all the photos of that same young woman, with scars across the mouth and eyes. Some photos inside the album have been torn, folded and slashed, but all are sitting neatly where they should be. Handwritten notations on two of the photos label them as “Quinceañera, 1930” and “Oaxaca, 1935”, but all the other photos of the young woman are unlabeled. This is strange, both for this era and for this album, as most other photos are labeled (for example, "Abuelita, 1929” and "Papa, 1931”).

Ian Morin

"What a mess..." Ian looks around, trying to understand what happened. ""Well, it looks like they left in a hurry, but... what's with the photos? Somebody took his sweet time to deface this girl in all of them.

"Maybe Brooks did this," says Holly. "Whoever hated her this much probably loved her first."

Christopher Fontanta

Christopher starts to regret his choice to act as 'look-out', he's still on edge from the dreadful encounter back at Brooks' apartment. Visions of those vile mutated birds keep appearing in his minds eye. Startled by the smallest glimpse of movement causing the nervous Professor to be constantly on edge. Eyeing the sky and nearby trees, fearing that those birds would some how appear, their foul burbling cries forewarning of another attack as they swoop down.

Christoper tries to shake off the feeling, a little ashamed that those birds have him so badly affected. Trying to stop his mind from wandering Christopher walks back and forth along the side-walk but never more than a few dozen paces from the safety of the car.

OOC:   Sense Trouble [dice]0[/dice]

Everything seems in order outside the building, as far as Christopher and Huang Yan can tell.

Professor Cornwall
Jonathan picks up a picture of the young latina. "Anybody recognize this girl? Looks like Leticia left in a bit of hurry."
The Professor pockets the picture and walks around the apartment looking for clues.
"If there's no one here, perhaps we should vacate the premises."

"You're right," says Holly. "If there was anything worth finding, whoever tossed the place probably already found it."