IC - 15 - The Station Out of Hours - Everyone

[Silver Priest]

Spot Hidden 25%,[dice]0[/dice]

As almost always, Simon is in his own head.

[Mephistophilis]

Jocelyn,Glancing down the street [b]Jocelyn[/b] sees a figure walking towards the house. She's not completely certain but he does look an awful lot like the [b]Reverend Balfour[/b].

Kris,Creeping closer to the window [b]Kris[/b] can hear a voice coming from the front room, it is a female voice, [color=#0000FF]'...so worried, [b]John[/b]'s at the end of his tether, we're both frantic...oh Miranda, I don't know what I would do if someone hurt our... ...service... ...be back soon...'[/color] As he reaches the house [b]Kris[/b] peers in but steps back in alarm as he sees [b]Sarah Balfour[/b] stood right in front of the glass. He ducks behind the wall in alarm, unsure whether she has seen him.'

Simon,[b]Simon[/b] sits in the car twiddling his thumbs, musing on the Book of the Passover Angel.

[Philulhu]

Unsure as to whether he had been seen, Kris straightened up and tapped lightly on the front door. Not necessarily loud enough to be heard, but enough to say he had knocked. He stood quietly on the doorstep, ears straining to hear more of the conversation, glancing around to see if any of the neighbours were looking out.

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn takes out her phone and calls Kris's phone. "I see what looks like Reverend Balfour coming down the street," she says, presuming he answers. "He's heading toward the house."

[Silver Priest]

Simon looks up, silently questioning if they should take the opportunity to speak with the man.

[Mephistophilis]

No one comes to the door. Kris can make out a little more of the conversation, '...have to make other plans... ...go ahead as arranged...'

Then his phone rings.

[Philulhu]

Kris listened to Jocelyn and said a brief ”Thanks” before turning to wait for Balfour to arrive.

[Mephistophilis]

Jocelyn and Simon watch Balfour turn up the driveway and walk towards the front door.

As he draws nearer Balfour recognises Kris and raises his hand, 'Thank you for returning my car detective, I apologise for earlier, I was not feeling myself.' He smiles weakly, 'I have just conducted my evening service and I am revived with the strength of the Lord.'

[Philulhu]

”You’re welcome, Mr Balfour,” replied Kris politely. He handed the preacher his car keys and turned as it to leave, but then turned back.

“Actually, might I have a word with yourself and Mrs Balfour? Just a line of enquiry that has come up.”

[Mephistophilis]

Balfour furrows his brow, 'Of course detective, please come inside.' He gestures back to Jocelyn's car, 'Your colleagues are welcome to join us.'

OOC,Kris has gone all Columbo

[Philulhu]

OOC,You spotted the reference! ;)

Kris walked down the drive and beckoned Jocelyn and Simon to join him. “I thought we might talk to Balfour, see if we can’t get anything out of him.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, good idea," says Jocelyn, getting out of the car and following him inside.

[Silver Priest]

Simon also gets out, preparing himself to meet with the Balfour's. "I think I'm going to confide in him that I've read his book. Not his book, mind, but Lewiston's copy. Perhaps I can delicately bring up what was going on in his mind while he was writing it."

[Philulhu]

”Be my guest,” said Kris. ”Let’s see if we can get him rattled and see what he let’s slip.”

[Mephistophilis]

Balfour leads them inside. Behind an anonymous green front door is a narrow wood floored hallway. At the far end they can just about make out a modern kitchen but Balfour leads them through a door on the right into the front room. Sitting on a brown leather settee is Sarah Balfour. They gesture to Kris and his companions to sit on the matching sofa in the bay window while Balfour fetches a chair from the kitchen for the third person.

The room is conservatively decorated, wallpaper in an unexciting floral design, a tasteful cross on one wall, a mirror on another, and various photographs, lots of Regina, some group photos of what look like church outings, and one that shows a young John Balfour in what is presumably a Kenyan village. There is a white fitted bookshelf against one wall with a Bible and a number of other bound books that could be hymnals or similar. There are also a number of what look like textbooks and a few paperback novels. In one corner is a brown teddy bear.

Mrs Balfour sits on the edge of the settee glancing anxiously between the investigators while Mr Balfour leans back in the chair and places the tips of his fingers together. 'How can we help you detective? Have you found any leads to our dearest Regina?'

[Philulhu]

”We have some promising leads which we are actively following,” said Kris smoothly. “And I feel we are getting closer to find out where Regina has been taken.” He sat forward on the settee. ‘Did you know, Mr Balfour that solving crime is like solving a jigsaw puzzle? It’s a case of finding the pieces, seeing how they fit together. Sometimes you can’t work out how the pieces are related, so you have to try them against other pieces and see how they fit. Do you understand?”

‘In some ways, I guess it is like how you interpret the Bible. Over the years, there have been many different interpretations of your God’s will, have they not? People take his message and turn it in different ways so that it fits the puzzle of their particular beliefs...”

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn observes the Balfours to see their reaction.

OOC,Psychology roll (55% skill) about the [b]Balfours[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

"We've found a few clues," Simon agrees. "I'll leave it to the good detective, but rest assured we feel we are closing in.

"One thing I can disclose is that Mr. Lewiston-- that is,Mr. Newman-- had a copy of your religious text that he seemed to read through obsessively. Hard to know his exact motives at the moment, but if gave us a place to start from. I've actually been able to read through your work myself, and found it rather fascinating. I'd like to ask you some questions concerning your creed, but will focus on helping get Reginia home first before bombarding you with them."
He's hoping to impress Balfour, as there is nothing a zealot loves more than a chance to convert people-- and with so little time before he believed the end was to come, he might take the opportunity and let something slip.

[Mephistophilis]

John Balfour smiles at Kris's report that they are getting closer to finding Regina. His wife seems overcome with emotion and puts her hand to her mouth, grasping her husband's hand, 'Oh John!' she says.

In response to Kris's jigsaw analogy the Reverend Balfour furrows his brow and looks disapproving, 'I prefer to think of it more like a lock, when you find the key of the correct shape the tumblers turn in unison and everything clicks into place. That is, there is the truth, and there is that which is not the truth, I know that my faith is the truth, it is the key that unlocks the mysteries of God.'

Turning his attention to Simon he says 'I presume you are referring to The Book of the Passover Angel, it is indeed the core creed of our church, in addition to the Bible of course. But you are right, as much as I might like to espouse the mysteries of the Passover Angel we... you need to focus on finding Regina, that is all that matters.'

He pauses for a moment and addresses Kris again, leaning forward in the chair and fixing him with an intense gaze, 'Tell me about this Lewiston, he's the real identity of Zac Newman I understand, do you have any idea of his motive? And what about his accomplice, do you have any leads as to her identity?'

Jocelyn,Both John and Sarah Balfour seem relieved to hear that they are getting closer to finding Regina. John Balfour seems a little pleased with himself in his answers to Kris and Simon, Jocelyn gets the sense that Balfour firmly believes in his creed but also feels a little superior to those that don't, she's seen this before dealing with other extremists. He seems very interested in finding out about Lewiston

[Philulhu]

”He was a member of your church, was he not?” countered Kris. “Did you know him well? When did he join?”