A Victim of the Art

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   He's lying or at least deempathizing his relationship with Lauren. He also seems very arrogant and self assured. But as best Nik can tell, Thornton seems genuinely clueless as to who killed her and seems to be speaking the truth that he did not want her dead.

[HoneyDog]

Nik is beginning to get angry at Thornton's evasiveness. He steps up to him and looks him squarely in the eyes. He knows he's pushing it, but he figures he has nothing to lose.

"Listen to me very carefully. We know you didn't kill her, so we're not going to arrest you. But I will go back into that classroom and tell your students that you were fucking Lauren. Then I'm going to tell the Principal. And when I'm done telling him he has a sexual predator on his staff, I'm going to call your goddam wife. Do you understand me? I will see to it that you are ruined here. This is your last chance."

[Mr. Handy]

"I suggest you think carefully about your answer, Mr. Thornton," says Vanessa.

OOC,HUMINT roll (52% skill) about [b]Thornton[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa,A moment passes, thick with tension as both men stare each other down. But it's Thornton who looks away first. "[color=#0040FF]Fine[/color]," the teacher says with a sigh. "[color=#0040FF]Yes, we were involved. but Lauren came on to me. And she was a very persuasive girl, I never forced myself on her. I happen to believe in the maturity of my students. We both wanted it and I saw no reason to pretend otherwise. "I fail to see what this possibly could have to do with your case, however. Perhaps instead of badgering me you should try and find out who killed Lauren and the others? Surely that's a better use of your time. And mine, for that matter. "Now, I've been nothing bit cooperative with the both of you. I expect discretion. I'm a very well respected individual and I won't have that reputation ruined over some...misunderstanding[/color]." he sniffs.

[HoneyDog]

The man’s selfish attitude incenses Nik. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

“It matters, Thornton, because there must be a motive as to why she was killed. And there are some people, unlike you, who actually care about that. So you’re going to help us, whether you like it or not.”

Nik produces his badge and ID, and formally introduces himself and Marchand. “Now, you know exactly who we are. If you lie to us again, I’ll arrest you for obstruction of justice. And then the truth about you will come out. Understand?”

Without waiting for an answer, Nik continues. “We need to talk in private now. Dismiss your class. Do it now.”

To Marchand he says “We can use the classroom.”

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa nods. "Unless he'd rather we bring him down to the station," she says,

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa,"[color=#0040FF]No. That won't be necessary[/color]." The teacher says. [color=#0040FF]'I will of course offer you my full cooperation, should you have need of it[/color]." He heads into the room. A short time later, grateful students begin filling out. Several of them cast curious looks at the two agents, but none of them seem eager to look a gift horse in the mouth. Thornton emerges last, looking slightly annoyed. "[color=#0040FF]I hope you both understand this wrecks havoc with my teaching schedule. In any event, if there's nothing else I shall be on my way as well. Good day.[/color]." He attempts to move past them both down the hall. At last,t he agents can make their way into the empty classroom and have some privacy. What will there next move be? A clock on the wall says that school will be getting out in ten or so minutes. If they wanted to interrogate another student, now might be the time. [ooc]Are you both contacting Edmund to get him to meet up with you guys?[/ooc]

[HoneyDog]

Nik

OOC:   We haven't even got started on Thornton yet!

"Thornton! Where the fuck are you going? Get your ass back here" Nik shouts. He can't believe how arrogant this man is.

Closing the door of the classroom, Nik indicates Thornton to sit down.

"We own you now. I will fuck up your goddam selfish life if you don't cooperate. We have questions, and you will sit and answer every one of them until we're satisfied. If you don't, or if you give us anymore of your selfish whiny shit, we're going to the Principal's office and explaining your extra-curricular activities."

He calms down with an effort. "Was Lauren behaving any differently in the days leading up to her death?"

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa,His escape foiled, Thornton follows the agents into the classroom. He is clearly irritated by now. He takes a seat at his desk. The only other seats are the student desks, and he offers them to the agents. It's clearly his attempt to keep some control over the situation. "[color=#0040FF]The masculine posturing is not necessary, [i]Nik[/i][/color]." He says the man's name like it's mud. "[color=#0040FF]I've already assured you my cooperation. I could do without hearing about the consequences if I do not obey your every command. I well understand them by now[/color]. He thinks for a moment. [color=#0040FF]"As to your question, I can honestly say she was not. I like to think I knew Lauren well enough to know if she was hiding something from me, and she did not seem to be[/color]." Thornton hesitates before continuing. [color=#0040FF]"I suppose I should tell you that I was with her on the day of her death. She stayed after class for a study session[/color]." He leaves no doubt as to what this entailed. [color=#0040FF]"My wife was home the entire day, so we could not get away. This was the last time I saw her. She seemed happy. She did not even mention Chad[/color]." [color=#0040FF]"She did share with me that another student asked her out earlier that day, given Chad and she were rumored to be on the ropes. We shared a laugh about that. She turned Thomas down, of course. We spent about an hour together before she had to leave. We made plans to see each other that weekend, as my wife was out of town for a conference. But of course, fate intervened. And before you ask, I spent the night with my wife. We had dinner and went to the theater. I'm sure you could ask any number of patrons who would attest to my presence[/color]."

[Cearlan]

Edmund Rue

"Sorry, forgive my poor manners ma'am, my name is Scott, and we are not ruling anything out at this time, so we are naturally covering all the bases. I'm sure you understand that I cannot discuss the details of an on-going case. You say she was well loved, was there anyone in particular that you know of that she may have had a special relationship with? As for who did it,, well like I say we cannot discuss the case."

[HoneyDog]

Nik leans forward at the mention of the name.

"Thomas? You mean Thomas Dengler? Did Lauren describe his reaction to being turned down?"

[Silver Priest]

Edmund,"[color=#0040FF]I understand[/color]." The older woman nods. "[color=#0040FF]It's just a stressful time for all of us, here. Many of my students knew all of the victims. I did as well. And with a killer still out there, it's hard to go on as if things are normal. "I'm afraid I don't know who, if anyone Lauren was dating. I try to keep out of my students personal lives[/color]." Hernandez seems to want to help, but Edmund gets the impression she knows very little. "[color=#0040FF]Oh, Lauren was dating Chad[/color]," came a voice from an eavesdropping student. "[color=#0040FF]Simon! Get back to your work!" "Sorry. He just wanted to know, though."[/color] A stern stare convinced the student to return to his project, and Ms.Hernandez smiled apologetically. "[color=#0040FF]There's only one Chad I know, a Chad Jordan. He's a...spirited young man. You might want to talk to him[/color]." Edmund though knows that Nik had already spoken with him, but he could always try to interview the guy and get a fresh take. Or he could continue to interview the teacher, or go and meet up with the others.

Nik and Vanassa,"[color=#0040FF]Yes, him. He's in one of my earlier classes. He's a good student. Quiet, a bit sensitive. I've never had problems with him. "Lauren mentioned he asked her right at her locker in the middle of school. Apparently he wrote a poem for her. Quite brave of him. All Lauren said was that she laughed and turned him down and he kind of slunk away[/color]." Thornton adjusts his glasses. "[color=#0040FF]Agents, far be it from me to discourage you from harassing someone other than me, but I don't think Dengler could have been involved. From the murder reports I've read, these crimes were brutal beyond recognition. I find it hard to believe someone like Thomas could have committed them[/color]."

[Mr. Handy]

Vanessa opts to stand rather than sit in one of the student desks, maintaining a height advantage. "At what time did you last see Lauren on the day of her death?" she asks.

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa,"[color=#0040FF]We were together for about an hour, so she left around 4 in the afternoon. That was the last time I saw her[/color]." Lauren was abducted from her home around eleven that night, though her body was not found until early the next day.

[HoneyDog]

Nik is barely listening, a thousand thoughts running through his head.

“I don’t have any more questions for him” he tells Marchand. “We need to discuss this with Rue.”

[Mr. Handy]

"That's all for now, Mr. Thornton," says Vanessa. "If we have any further questions for you, we'll find you."

[Silver Priest]

Nik and Vanessa,"[color=#0040FF]Of that, Ms. Marchand, I have no doubt. See yourselves out[/color]."

All

As Edmund continues to speak with Ms. Hernandez, he is surprised by the entrance of the other two agents. Both seem to wish to speak with him, and if he follows them they can soon find some space in private to talk.

[HoneyDog]

"Let's use Hatvan's office " says Nik.

Once inside, he begins to tell Rue what they learned. "Thornton admitted he was seeing Lauren. But the thing is, he said that on the day she died, Lauren was asked out by another student, who she knocked back, and maybe not too gently. It was Thomas Dengler. He has to be the guy. He got a detention from Hatvan and later that day she was killed. Did Moretti's clinic say anything about them having a problem?"

[Mr. Handy]

"We need to find out what class Dengler is in right now," says Vanessa. "The principal should be able to help us there. We should be able to catch Dengler before he leaves."

[Silver Priest]

Alas, no sooner does Vanessa say this then the final bell for the day rings. Students can immediately be heard filling the halls. If the agents want any hope of catching Dengler before he makes it out of school, they'll need to act fast. The agents do know that there is an intercom system in the main office. Perhaps if they went there and convinced the secretary to let them use it, they'd be able to summon Dengler before he leaves. But the halls are crowded, and every second will count.

OOC:   I did say this is coming, so I don't feel too guilty. Let's have a luck roll from the next person who posts, presuming they want to proceed with the plan above.