Participants:
| Scene Title | Village Bodega |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Just another day in the life of the cops of NYC. |
| Date | April 10, 2009 |
Greenwich Village
The taped off crime scene looks like almost any other crime scene in town — yellow tape, reporters being held back by uniforms, witnesses and gawkers hanging about. Though she doesn't take the detective's exam for another week or so, Elisabeth Harrison's been called to the scene because it's become a SCOUT case, unless or until they can rule out Evo activity. As she flashes her badge at the uniformed cop who tries to stop her, Liz ducks the tape and heads for where Rebecca Nakano is working over one of the two bodies on the ground outside the bodega. "Hey, Nakano… didn't know they ever let you outta the lab," she quips lightly as she squats down to look at the two. "Whatcha got?"
Rebecca is squatting down next to the two bodies as she looks them over. When Liz approaches she looks up through her glasses and offers a shrug. "Well, they weren't shot." She reaches down and gently pulls the collar of the sweatshirt away from one of the victim's neck. "There's some swelling here. Very similar to that of a snapped neck, but see the way this bulges out like this? It's almost like something inside his throat exploded, which snapped his neck forcing the trachea outwards all the way around the neck here." She releases the collar and stands. "I won't know too much more until we get them back to the coroner."
Raising an eyebrow, Elisabeth shakes her head. "So…. you're telling me it's definitely Evo," she says wryly. She studies the two bodies — they're kids, probably not more than late teens. One black, one white, both wearing jeans and hoodies. "Expensive watch," she comments, scooting around to look at the black teen's wrist. "High-dollar sneakers. No tears or smudges on either of their clothes. They're not homeless. Any ID on either of them?"
"I'm saying I'm about 85 percent sure that it's 'evo'." She stands and walks over to meet Liz. "They had wallets with cash in them. Quite a bit actually.." Rebecca pulls out her notepad. "We have Tylar Dixon, age 17 with over three hundred dollars of cash on his person, and Gadsen Cowser, age 16 with just under two hundred dollars in his wallet. And at the moment, I have no idea what to make of that."
There's a frown from Elisabeth on that one. "Two kid… with several hundred dollars apiece, no weapons, and good clothes… hold up a bodega in the Village that hasn't even opened for the day yet?" She glances at Rebecca. "Now… what doesn't fit this picture, you think?" she quips, the laundry list of what doesn't fit getting longer by the second. "Wait… Cowser? Like… West 75th or so address Cowser?" She pauses. "There any signs this was gang initiation or something? Tats or anything?"
"That would be the Cowser, yes. You know him?" Flipping close her nopepad, she tucks it back into her pocket. "None that we can see at the moment. Unless you want me to strip down these bodies here on the sidewalk with the crowd gathered around." she grins at that. Funny how Becca can talk about a naked dead body without a flinch, but the mention of a live male naked body would probably cause her to die by blushing. "But once we get them back to the morgue, we'll have more answers on this." She stops a patrol officer. "James, where did that package go that I handed you earlier?" "Oh, let me get it, Ms. Nakano." She turns to Liz as he returns with a bagged lunchbox. "I found this over on that trash can over there. It doesn't belong to the owner, and I'm almost certain it doesn't belong to any of these children." It's a typical workman's lunchbox, like you'd see carried by a construction or other type of labor worker.
"Hmmmm," Elisabeth says with grimace. "I know his parents," she tells Rebecca. "Reggie Cowser's a DoD contractor and his wife's… if I remember right, she's a divorce attorney. My folks occasionally socialized with them when I was in high school, they were practically just starting out. I think Gadsen was born…. my first year of college maybe? He was a late-in-life surprise for his folks, as I recall." She looks down at the handsome young black teen, and she looks sad. "This is gonna suck pretty damn hard," she sighs. Then she turns her attention to the lunchbox. "Anything useful in it? And do we have any indicators that either kid is Evo?"
Rebecca gives a shrug then wipes off her brow with her forearm and grins. "Unless you like PB & J, you're probably not going to find much else useful. Just want to see what sort of prints are on it." She doesn't make any comments on the handsomeness of the deceased. They're dead. Dead bodies. Not supposed to be attractive. "Negative on the evo status of the dead. I have a feeling our only evo involved here is the perp. "The owner might have some more answers for you, Liz." She points off towards the ambulance where they have the owner seated and checking for wounds. "Seems to be okay, but he's an older fella. They're taking every precaution."
Terry stands along the perimeter of the crime scene, arms folded in front of himself. Behind him a couple more uniforms manage the tape line, but Terry seems to have taken up managing the beat cops on scene. At the mention of the store owner he says, "if you'd like, I've got a uniform with him in the back room, keeping him company. And sane." He glances at the body, then turns back to Elisabeth and Rebecca, waiting to see what they want.
There is a ring of the little bell most stores seem to come standard with as Cassidy steps out, little notebook in hands, frowning over what she wrote. She glances up and spots the two women and angels her route of travel in their direction. "Hello, Ladies." She states blandly, nodding to Rebecca before focusing on Liz. "Okay.. here is what I got. Store owner swears up and down he didn't see a damn thing.." her brows drop in a frown. "He seems scared out of his wits… but.. I dunno. Seems a bit pissed about something too. I think he knows something, but I can't get anything right now." She motions over her shoulder at the store. "Lucky us he's got a camera. I got one of the other detectives getting the tapes. Gets hustled for protection money."
Glancing up as Terry speaks, Elisabeth smiles to note his presence. She didn't look closely at the uniforms out here when she got here. In truth, she'd been hoping it wouldn't be Evo-related, but well… such is. "Hey, Collins," she greets him. "Detective O'Shea headed that way," she replies mildly. "Since I'm technically not a detective, they prefer to have one on the case. And since she knows what she's doing and I know the city, I guess they thought this would work," she grins. And then she looks toward Cassidy as she approaches. "Speaking of the devil," she offers easily. "Protection from who? And by whom?"
As Rebecca listens to the others speaking, something catches her as 'not being right'. She begins to walk away from the others and towards the dumpster where the lunch pail was found. She lifts a finger and continues towards the trash can as she seems to be looking for something in particular. She kneels on the ground and places her cheek on the dirty pavement as she looks underneath the dumpster and reaches under with latex covered hands and pulls out a piece of plastic. She holds it near the edge so as not to smudge any prints. She stands and walks back over to the others as she digs a baggie from her pocket and slips it in. It appears to be a Blockbuster rental card for someone named "Jeromy Follon." "This was under the dumpster. No clue if it's related, but maybe prints will match those on the lunch box?"
Terry nods his head in response to Elisabeth, and says "Harrison." When Cassidy steps into the area he looks up, frowning, and then nods his head again. "Detective o'Shea," he says, nodding his head in greeting. He falls silent while Rebecca walks off, and then starts talking. When she draws attention to the lunch box, and then says, "we'll have it catalogued, and there's an ambulance on the way to take these two down to the coroner once you're done with them." He gestures towards the two bodies. "Other than that, Harrison, O'Shea, I'll be around if you need anything." He steps away to coordinate the other officers taking down evidence, taking pictures, and making sure that the press don't manage to make their way into the store. Crime scenes are a Detective's world. As the Uniform he's playing head Gopher and secretary.
"That's the big question." She glances down at the bodies frowning a bit. "Cause I'd like to talk to them." She glances out at the surrounding crowd noting the uniforms nearby, lifting a hand briefly in greeting to Terry. "Officer Collin." She glances at her notes before continuing to the other two. "Of course, the owner was more then happy not to tell me anything about the hustler, finding it convenient to go into a panic attack just then. There is a cop in there, so if he talks finally I'll get a ring." She gives Lis a lop-sided smile. "Wouldn't surprise me if an Evo is hustling people for protection money." She glances at the bodies again, but then Rebecca's movements grabs the detective's attention. Her brows lift high as she watches, looking rather impressed. And has the tone to match. "Seriously? Wow, okay.. Well, then good job."
Rebecca's odd movements draw Elisabeth's eye away from Collins and O'Shea, and she watches the forensics expert do her thing. It looks like magic to Liz, the way Becca just walks over and pulls out that card — look, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! "Christ, Nakano…" she mutters. "You oughtta be Irish, with that luck." She shakes her head and looks at O'Shea. "Mind if I take a run at the owner?" She tends to have a little bit of luck here and there getting people to talk. "We've got the names and addresses of the victims, we'll have to make notification when we leave here."
There's a light blush that comes to Rebecca's cheek as she hadn't realized everyone was watching her. "I mean, I have no idea how long that had been there, but it couldn't hurt to check." She's always had this knack of telling when something is out of place or doesn't belong. It's not necessarily an ability, it's just the way her mind works. She eyes her forensics kit that she brought along. She does keep a mirror in there now. "I could try and see if I can look back and see if I can see what happened.." her voice is almost too low to hear, as she makes that offer. She would hate to try it and completely fail. She hasn't yet mastered her ability.
Cassidy gives a small bow and motions towards the door. "Have at it. I'm not gonna get my panties in a bunch over it." She lifts her pen and scribbles in her little notebook. "We need answers, so anyway they can be had I'm all for it. Want me along?" Giving a little shrug, she flips the thing shut and sighs. "Well, within reason." The offer from Rebecca gets a look of curiosity. "Your what?" Then it dawns on her. "Oooh. Your.. okay." Cassidy turns thoughtful as she considers it. "Never relied on something like that before. Still not exactly admissible in court, but it might point something else out that's obvious, but was missed." Eyes go to the bodies again as she asks, sounding a touch uncertain. "What does it do to you? I mean.. I'm kinda new to this side of the tracks. Is it taxing on you in anyway. I'd rather figure it out the old fashion way, if it's a… problem."
Elisabeth shrugs and smiles at the detective. "Sure," she replies. "If you want to, you're welcome." She heads that way, letting Cassidy and Rebecca talk, though. It's not like she requires an audience.
When she steps inside the bodega and heads for the back room, Elisabeth glances around the store. Nothing about it really catches her eye, but the owner does. "Mr. Hidalgo? I'm Liz Harrison. I'd like to ask you a few more questions."
"Well, it's hard to say. I mean " she walks over and pulls the hand mirror out of her kit, making sure to not look directly into reflection. " it doesn't always work. And I haven't quite figured out how to control the time element. But I do need to practice." she notes. She hasn't actually had a vision in quite some time. She walks over towards the bodies and looks towards the dumpster. "Basically, when I look into something reflective, I can see in the reflection something from the past that occurs in that same space, so I basically have to try and figure out where our perp was standing when he did his thing, then aim the mirror in that direction." Rebecca moves towards the dumpster then turns away from it. "I can only assume he was at the dumpster there. And as far as side effects, I do get a nasty headache, but I have some pills for it. I can try if you want."
Cassidy nods to Harrison and calls after her. "I'll be there shortly. Don't wait for me, just fill me in if you get something before I get in there. " She grins. "I'll trust ya." Attention is focused on Rebecca again, Cassidy watches her considering what the woman tells her. She eyes the mirror, arching a curious brow. Oh, the things she is learning today. Finally, after a long moment she gives a single firm nod of her head. "Do it. See if something stands out we can use to get some legitimate clues." She scans the crowd and the law enforcement. "And don't worry if it doesn't work." Said in a reassuring tone. "I don't even have a clue what I'm suppose to be able to do. So it could be worse." She holds up a finger and adds. "It is better to have tried and failed… well, you know the rest." She waves off the rest of the saying with her hand.
Terry raises an eyebrow when Rebecca mentions using her power, and then glances over towards the door that Elisabeth disappeared through. He tilts his head, and then says, "Detective," before turning towards her. "If you want, I can keep an eye on Ms. Nakano, and keep track of anything noteworthy that comes up. It might be better to have an extra set of eyes on the shop owner, in case something interesting happens." As he talks the sound of a siren comes from the street, marking the arrival of the ambulance.
Sitting down with Mr. Hidalgo, who seems to be in his mid-seventies, Elisabeth is gentle but firm with him. "~We know that you're paying protection money. Is what happened outside related to that? Were those boys the ones picking up the payment and you refused them?~" She knows that is likely NOT the case, but may as well give him an opening to start denying everything. The more he talks, the more likely he'll be to divulge anything.
"No!" he barks at her. "And you no go sayin those boys are in gang. They don't have nothing to do with this. I didn't see what happened to them. All I see is them on the ground when I go to sweep the stoop!"
Rebecca sits cross legged on the ground, facing towards the bodies and holds up the mirror. She has her eyes closed at first, very familiar with the way this feels now. Slowly her eyes open, and almost immediately her grip on the handle of the mirror intensifies. She brings up a second hand to steady the shaking handmirror.
At first she sees something unrelated to anything being investigated. There are footsteps walking by at the angle she's looking. She tilts the mirror to look a little higher. Some frustration sets in when she realizes this is not this morning, when suddenly the scene seems to skip forward when the same two boys that are dead are standing by the dumpster. The owner approaches and the two begin to harrass him for money. The boys begin to rough him up, when suddenly they clutch their throats and fall backwards, where they lie now. Quickly, she shifts the mirror only to see a hooded figure disappear around the corner. Try as she might, she cannot rewind the scene to get a better look at him, when the vision ends and her grip loosens on the mirror.
One hand goes to her head as the pounding starts, as she slowly sets the mirror down. She relays what she's seen to Cassidy and adds that the back of the hoodie had the logo for the Cincinnati Bengals on it.
Cassidy glances towards Terry and frowns a bit, but not at his offer.. Something else, but she can't put her finger on it. She shakes her head as if clearing it and motions him over. "Come on down, Mr. Eager Beaver. I could definitely use the help. I want to hear what the shop owner has to say." She gives Rebecca a reassuring smile and a nod. "You got this." She starts to turn and head into the store when she notices the change in Rebecca so she pauses. She quickly scans the area, especially the crown. "Officer Collins.. on second thought. " She says carefully, lowering her voice as she moves to stand near him. "Get some of your guys to move through the crowd and see if they find anyone with the hoodie matching that description."
As the description of the death is told, Terry frowns and looks down at the two bodies. He nods his head at Cassidy, and then calls out, "Gribbin, get in here." A young officer with a round face jogs from the perimeter, and Terry relays who he is supposed to be looking for. "Have a couple officers search through the crowd for someone matching that description. Observe and report, rather than apprehend the individual, if he's found. He is to be considered armed and dangerous. Be careful." With that, he turns back to Rebecca, and says, "how does it work? Do you see the scene as if you were watching it through the mirror? If so, perhaps we could reposition you, and see if we can get a face."
Inside the store, it's taking Elisabeth some major work to get Mr. Hidalgo, who is a lifelong New Yorker and canny as all hell, to actually give her anything. What she gets is essentially the same story Rebecca sees, though he's able to provide several additional details. After promising him that she's going to get to the bottom of it, he offers several other store owners in the area dealing with the same kids. When she comes back out and joins Cassidy, Rebecca, and Terry, she says quietly, "Well… he tried to tell me the kids weren't part of it, but he finally gave in and said he figured the kids were in it for kicks or something. He's seen about six different teens, they always travel in pairs to pick up the money. It's small change — couple hundred a week usually — which is why he thought it was kicks for rich kids. The first time he turned them away, the second time they came back and they brought a masked person who literally torched his inventory. After that, he decided a couple hundred bucks a week was worth staying out of trouble. He doesn't know who they work for or where they're based, though."
Without standing, Rebecca reaches for her kit and fumbles around until she finds her pills. Just over the counter migraine stuff, but she pops the top and takes three without water. It takes a few moments for Collins' words to sink in and she shakes her head. "Can't so soon afterwards. Headache." she continues to just sit there for the time being, fingers moving into her brunette locks as she uses her fingertips to massage her scalp.
"Good man." Cassidy says with a nod, even as she eyes watch the crowd. She gives Terry an amused look, but then moves carefully to where Rebecca mentioned the suspect being. Her movements are slow as she looks for anything that might stand out. She crouches here and there, quite a feet in heeled pumps to be sure. "Right over here?" She questions glancing at the woman. Her search temporarily forgotten as Liz walks out of the store. "Well?" She moves back so she can hear what she has to say. "Torch? So we're dealing with more then one Evo then?" She sounds thoughtful. Then she looks out at the crowd yet again. "I must be feeling paranoid.. Ever get that feeling your being watched?" She sighs and rubs her forehead. "Okay.. So, we know we're dealing with one.. possibly more Evolved. Teens.. thought I wouldn't be surprised if at least one isn't older." She glances down at Rebecca and moves to briefly grip her shoulder if allowed. "Great job, thank you for doing that."
Terry just nods in response to Rebecca, and then turns his attention towards Elisabeth. He sighs, and then shakes his head, before looking out towards the crowd. He tilts his head for a moment, and a cool breeze blows through the room, and then the room returns to normal temperature. He glances over at Elisabeth, and then says "sounds like the kids and the mask weren't on the same side as our perp here, though." With that, he falls silent, and goes back to listening.
Elisabeth shakes her head. "No… not Evo-torched, O'Shea. Just regular torched. Like they lit some of his stock on fire with a lighter and gasoline. To make their point that they weren't fooling around. They've been shaking down about a dozen businesses for the past couple of months." She nods to Terry. "I think you're right, Collins. Today's the first time there's been trouble — he wasn't unlocking the door fast enough, and they put their hands on him. He was getting ready for a beatdown and suddenly they were the ones on the ground. He hasn't got a clue what happened, by the time he opened his eyes, there was no one there. He figured he'd get blamed, but the Evo test kit clears him — he's a normal. So were the two kids on the ground. If it weren't for the fact that Nakano thinks an Evo is what killed them, I'd say this was just a case for the regular squads." She considers. "In truth, the ring of kids shaking down business owners still does sound to me like something for the regular squads to handle. The only part of this that really interests me is this particular murder."
It takes a few minutes but the meds begin to kick in and Rebecca slowly pushes herself to her feet. "The one who did this — I believe — saved the owner." She's not justifying the deaths, just explaining them as best she can, while her head pounds away. She continues to rub her temples some, hoping to relieve the pressure that way.
"Right." Cassidy says softly to Terry. Giving Lis her attention she nods. "Okay. Gotcha. That's a relief at least. One is enough." She goes quiet rubbing the back of her neck with a hand, eyes on the ground. "Okay.. so I say.. just in case." She glances up at Lis. "Maybe question these owners that Mr Hidalgo mentioned. Maybe nothing, can't hurt though. But maybe there is a disgruntled owner.. or someone effected by this ring of kids." She purses her lips. "Or it could just be a viglante, making the job that much harder."
Terry nods his head to Elisabeth, and then Cassidy in turn, and listens quietly, arms folded in front of himself. "Why have we ruled this shopkeep out as being involved?" he wonders. "He was paying protection money to these children that trashed his store. Maybe he decided he'd had enough, and that a one time payment was better than letting them take his money. Hell, maybe another group came along and is fighting for territory. Maybe we should keep Hidalgo handy to ask a few more questions."
Elisabeth looks between Terry and Cassidy. "Frankly? I'd rule him out anyway, based sheerly on the fact that he couldn't POSSIBLY have exploded the dead kids' throats from the inside — even without what Nakano says she saw, he's just tested negative on the Evo tests. So…. meanwhile, while it's possible he could be paying someone to pull this, and that can't be ruled out, he is for the moment not a suspect. And since he owns the joint and has run it for 50 years, I sincerely doubt he's going anywhere," she comments mildly, her tone non-confrontational but certain.
There is a chain of custody involved and she doesn't normally get it until it gets delivered to the lab, but since she's here, she signs for the card and the lunch box which gets loaded. "I'll let you know when I have any answers." She says, mostly to Cassidy as the one in charge here. Rebecca slips into the passenger seat of the forensics' van, saying her goodbyes and her assistant drives her from the scene.
Cassidy motions at Liz with her head as she says to Terry. "I'm kinda with her on this one. But…" She waves her notebook a bit and tucks it inside her trench. ".. I think I'll talk to some of these owners see if anything stands out." She lifts a hand in farewell. "Thanks, for that and for what you did. I'll watch for the report." She glances over as the men with the body bags arrive. "Officer Collins… you have this alright?" She asks glancing at him and archign a brow. "I'm gonna go ahead and get started on the questioning."
Terry nods his head, and then shrugs. "You're the detective," he says with a grin, and then looks out at the border of the crime scene again. "I'll make sure all this stuff is ready for you guys as quick as possible. Good bye." With that he falls silent, and turns away from the group, busying himself with securing and cataloguing the crime scene, occasionally with the help of the other officers. The ambulance, however, doesn't immediately get access to the bodies.
 <date>: previous log |
 <date>: next log |