|
Post by HungryHunter on Nov 23, 2018 4:56:35 GMT
“A bodyguard?” Morton turned to his father. “Yes. We’ve determined your mother was… poisoned. We required protection.” Elliott’s face struggled to remain composed, while both of his sons looked stunned. They turned to the new bodyguard, but he was already engaged with their sister. “I’m… I’m fine.” Aubrey lied, hugging her teddy bear close to her chest. “Madriel didn’t do it!” She yelled when he asked if she was good to her. Her lip wobbled again and she hid her face in her teddy bear. “She’s really nice to me. She’s a better mom than Nancy was.” She mumbled through her bear. Elliott’s expression twisted. Morton snorted. Lucian didn’t react in any way, like this wasn’t new information.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Nov 27, 2018 0:19:07 GMT
Gan frowned upon hearing the girl. Those words must have been tough on more than one in the room. The Musashi agent eased his expression as he set his hands on her tiny shoulders
"Do not worry child, I am here to protect, not to judge any of you"
Gan was simply stating the truth, he was hired to protect the family, and, as long as there wasn't solid proof on Madriel, she too was under his protection. Gan stepped down, signaling the HWIC agent he wouldn't be able to go any further than that. It was all him from that point onwards, Lucian and Morton were there, perhaps questioning both would be a good start.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Nov 27, 2018 23:46:12 GMT
When Gan turned to the young men, Lucian jumped, but Morton extended his hand. "Morton Botswright. I know you already had my name, but I might as well introduce myself." His grip was firm, his smile only faltering a little. Hammond watched from the back of the room, taking notes. Aubrey thought that they suspected Madriel, and in truth, Hammond did.
She had the greatest motive so far and the greatest means. When studying Hidden World law, fairy oaths were extensively covered. Madriel could likely leave at any time, but was bound by her word. However, she hadn't given her word not to kill anybody in order to get her freedom. It was classic fair folk logic. However, it was hardly open and shut. There were still other details. Aubrey could command the golem in a way others didn't seem to do, and Hammond didn't have anything on Lucian. Morton, on the other hand, he realized he did know.
"Terry, you remember a Morton Botswright? Yes, that one. You already had it ready? You're the best, hon. Yeah, the calamari rings are fine. I shouldn't be out too late." He hung up and handed Gan a note. "My apologies, I failed to put this together earlier, but I know him." He whispered. "That's what Gateway's willing to give us plus what I remember." He tapped the note and backed up.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 3, 2018 5:12:19 GMT
The note made Morton seem more suspicious, after all, who would know about a poison like that other than him or Madriel? at least, that's what his background suggested. Acing all the courses except for the ones in magic? why would he insist to be part of gateway if he lacked magical attitudes? He was an interesting individual.
Still, it wasn't Gan's job to be questioning him, the HWIC agent would do his work, while Gan would do his. Even if he had to protect them all, there were some that looked more suspicious than the rest, people who kill their family members aren't necessarily serial killers, they often have personal vendettas and commit those types of crimes once. even if everyone here is clean, there is always a first time.
Gan gave the note back as he whispered to the agent
"It'd be interesting to know more about his relationship with her mother...perhaps you can investigate a little bit on that?"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 8, 2018 9:09:50 GMT
“We don’t have anything on their personal lives. Just public records. I do have something on Lucian, however.” Hammond showed Gan his phone. The Botswrights weren’t celebrities proper, but they were rich enough that a good scandal could draw the attention of tabloids. What was depicted on the cover was a picture of the Botswrights. Lucian’s face was placed next to that of a well-dressed white man with blue hair, tilting his glasses down to stare right into the camera. “Is the second son of the Botswrights a bastard?” the cover asked. Other highlights included “Which of your favorite Hollywood celebrities are vampires?” and “Reptilians speak: “We’re tired of being misrepresented!””.
“The possible father’s name is Brandon Kikkert. He’s been an executive on Vorpals’ board, as well as a few other big companies. It looks like he was a friend of the family, but they had a falling out a couple years ago, not long after Lucian was born.” Hammond had to admit he saw the resemblance. “This makes everybody a potential suspect.” He murmured with irritation.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 9, 2018 5:56:35 GMT
*So that's what was going on with the blue hair huh? not good.*
If everyone was suddenly a suspect, interrogation wouldn't quite cut it, at least it wouldn't unless the agent was willing to put some serious hours into it, finding a contradiction or two. For Gan it simply meant the killer was amongst their clients, and that's never good news. He felt like searching the rooms and other places inside the real estate, but leaving the family alone was unacceptable, he had a hunch this murder was just the beginning...after all, the way the tea was poisoned meant Nancy could have been collateral damage for all they knew. Maybe they were after the head of the family after all? things were uncertain at this point.
"This surely complicates things...what will you do now, Mr.Rosenberger?"
Gan still felt pensive about the rest of the place, there could be clues lying around...if the poisoned tea appeared, the rest of it could do so as well, the killer was quite probably not a pro, but rather, some self-righteous fool.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 13, 2018 20:57:30 GMT
Hammond had to think carefully. His instinct was to split up the suspects and interrogate each separately, but the bodyguard would want them all together to guard them more easily. At this point, it might just be easier to arrest all of them and take them to HQ, but that was hardly ideal. Any of them could resist arrest, and if more than one had cooperated, things could get really dangerous. Hammond especially didn’t want to fight the fairy. Hammond looked at the young teens and felt his heart melt. He couldn’t put them through that without any evidence.
“We continue the investigation. Morgan, we have a few questions for you.” Hammond faced the eldest son, notebook out and pen at the ready. “Alright. I just want to say it wasn’t Lucian. He’s the one who said to call a doctor first.” He offered immediately. Lucian looked at his older brother with appreciation. “When?” Ludomir spoke up and Hammond spun in his chair. He had nearly forgotten the doctor was there. “When? Uh… maybe about 10? Maybe closer to midnight.” Morgan shrugged.
“If you are correct, then that is not exonerating. By that time, the poison would have done irreparable damage.” Ludomir was looking at Hammond, making sure he wrote that down. Lucian went from relief to tears. He tried to stay silent, but he began to shudder and gasp. Mogran glared at the doctor, hugging his brother tight. Ludomir sighed and looked away. “I just wanted you to know the facts. I cast no judgements here.” He covered his eyes with his broad-brimmed hat and settled against the wall. "It could have also been last-minute regrets." Hammond whispered to Gan. "Or... hitting the wrong target."
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 22, 2018 1:42:07 GMT
"Be mindful of your words, doctor" Gan said as he looked at Ludomir with a stern face, as if to shut him up in the spot. splitting the family any further wouldn't get them closer to the truth. If the doctor wanted to state something he could very well do it in private. There was something about this family that they couldn't keep their feelings to themselves...
Gan listened to Hammond's words, but there was something he immediately noticed: Morgan had shifted the attention to his little brother, might not have been on purpose, but he deflected the questioning.
"Let's just go back to speaking with Mr. Morton, I'm sure there's more he can tell you"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 22, 2018 22:05:33 GMT
Ludomir dropped his gaze when reprimanded by Gan. “I’m sorry. You’re correct.” He rubbed his eyes, trying to work the sleep out of them. He hadn’t rested in 28 hours at this point. And at this rate, it would be another several hours before he got the chance. “Alright, Morton. Can we speak alone for just a second?” Hammond handed Gan a note and stood, waving the Botswright heir over to the other side of the room. It would do as a compromise between getting them alone and keeping them safe. “So, as you would expect, I have some questions. First, do you and all your siblings have good relationships with your parents? Please be honest. I can bring charges if you aren’t.” He asked.
Morton sighed. “To be honest, none of us really do. Aubrey likes Madriel more than she ever liked them. Lucian gets along with mom, but, well, you know…” “Does your father mistreat Lucian?” “Not openly, he just… gets very standoffish with him.” Morton glanced over at his father, leaning on the wall by the kitchen. He looked more exhausted than Ludomir even, dark skin paled by misery. “I heard them fighting over him sometimes. I’m sure Lucian heard it too.” Morton’s face twisted up. Hammond couldn’t quite place the emotion, but it pained him to see it.
The note Hammond left Gan instructed him to ask Lucian about his relationship with his parents, just like Hammond was doing with Morton.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 23, 2018 6:09:19 GMT
"For your own safety, nobody moves from here. I'm sure you all understand what will happen if you do" Gan stated in a far more aggressive tone than when he arrived, he eased his tone as he spoke to the kid.
"Lucian, have a word with me for a second"
Gan did not leave much of a choice this time, he walked towards the exit of the mansion making sure the kid complied. As soon as they got outside, Gan finally felt like speaking with him.
"Sorry for all this, I took you away so that you wouldn't have the pressure of your family when speaking. I won't lie right now: I need you to be a man and act like one, can you do that?"
Gan was clearly not as kind with the boy as he had been with Audrey. When the Musashi agent was around his age, he had already killed several men and had been with more than a couple of women. If he pulled through before that, the kid would pull through this.
"Do you get along with Mr. Elliot? what do you think of him, honestly."
After he listened to his answer, Gan would inquire about the mother as well
"What about Mrs. Nancy? She didn't get along with Aubrey apparently, is that the same for you?"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 27, 2018 1:49:41 GMT
Lucian was blinking back tears when Gan isolated him. He normally looked his age, but now he seemed to shrink in on himself, becoming small and weak. There was a long pause between Gan’s question and any response as Lucian breathed deep. When he was more steadied, he gripped his arm, staring at the floor. “...whenever they fought about me, Mom said I was his. I would never have hurt her. I wouldn’t even hurt him! I would never anybody in my family!” He protested, balled up fists looking very small next to the bodyguard’s rough hands. There was another deep, shuddering breath and he closed his eyes.
“My parents were never good at hiding their opinions. I was Mom’s favorite. Dad… was always distant with all of us. He spent the most time with Aubrey, but, well, that’s because he didn’t spend time with us at all. Morton isn’t good at magic, and I’m… well, I’m not his. It’s an open secret.” Lucian’s eyes had gone from teary to dull. Only the occasional sniffle and shudder was breaking the fact that he was still utterly horrified.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 27, 2018 7:38:37 GMT
"It's ok kid, none of that is your fault. If it makes you feel better, my parents were murdered right before me when I was 10"
Uncomfortable silence was made as he ended that sentence, it was already causing him a headache.
"...let's just go back, I'm sure your family is anxious enough already"
As they walked back to the house Gan reflected on how bad he was at handling children, if only Osechi or Soon were here, they could do the babysitting for him. Whatever happened after that, The god of war was sure he was done speaking with kids, Hammond was actually leaving the worst parts to him.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 28, 2018 5:50:26 GMT
“Only a few more questions. Where do you work?” Hammond asked. “Ah… nowhere currently.” “Really? Your father must have connections.” “Connections I’m not going to use. I can make my own way.” “Oh, I can get behind that. I know what it’s like to not rely on your parents.” Hammond didn’t bring up Morton living with his father, but Morton seemed to pick up that he was thinking about it himself.
“I’m aware of the hypocrisy. Especially when everything I own was bought with his money. Including two of the cars in the garage.” Morton rubbed the back of his head. “But I have skills. My parents overestimated the importance of magic.” “Well I wish you luck. That’s all for now.” Hammond nodded and lead him back to the table with his siblings, pulling Gan aside and quickly exchanging information with him.
“I can’t totally rule out any of them. The one with the least means is Aubrey, but Madriel could provide them easily enough. Presumably anyway. You said Ghost Dust was rare, right?” Hammond glanced at Ludomir, pulling him into the conversation. “Extremely. I had difficulty even recognizing it, which I suppose was the point. There aren’t many reasons to use a poison that rare.” Ludomir adjusted his hat so he could see his companions, making Hammond nervously fiddle with his own. “So I take it we’re dealing with something expensive?” He asked, still adjusting his scalp-topper.
“For as much as it took to poison that tea, you could buy a car. A nice car, not a crappy old Iron Curtain disaster. Although it’s possible to make yourself for cheaper if you know the techniques and have access to the ingredients. Most of them can be found in the Sidhe, the fairy realm, and the rest are easy enough to find on the black market for a lot cheaper than the finished product. This doesn’t necessarily implicate Madriel or Aubrey. I talked with her and apparently one of the doors in this house leads right there. They wouldn’t even have to go themselves. Durward would be perfectly capable of gathering the ingredients himself.” Ludomir eyed the golem, standing all stringy-limbed in the corner. “Shame we can’t question him.” Hammond sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Do you have anything to say, Gan? Cause if not, we’re talking to Elliot.”
|
|
|
Post by othus on Dec 28, 2018 7:04:30 GMT
"well yes, that information actually helps, why are we ignoring that?" Gan said slightly frustrated, he then added in case they did not notice:
"If it's rare or expensive it can narrow down the number of suspects. either some big money is missing, or we have someone with the knowledge to make Ghost Dust, that's just two or three of the suspects at best"
Gan whispered the next to Hammond, nobody should really listen to it
"I don't care so much whether Lucian or Audrey had something to do in all this, even if they are guilty, this required some serious help, either monetary or of knowledge and connections, if we get the adult, I'm sure the HWIC will make him talk. In the meantime, let's keep investigating"
After that statement, he finally upped his voice to move on with the investigation
"Well, time to speak with Mr. Elliot, let's not waste any more time"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 29, 2018 4:56:35 GMT
“I would have provided this information earlier, but I had to check my internal banks for the information and my sources for the price on the market.” Ludomir apologized. “Sources?” Hammond narrowed his eyes at the good doctor. “Sometimes I need things that are not readily available in the US market for my research. I assure you, I have committed no crimes.” There was the ghost of a smile on his face, as if he found the HWIC agent’s reaction quaint. “I didn’t buy anything where it was illegal. I simply travelled to other countries or regions without such laws and made my purchases there.” He explained.
“I really don’t like that any better.” Hammond groaned. “You don’t have to, but it certainly saves the time you would otherwise waste investigating me. You can still do so, but please wait for us to be done here.” Ludomir seemed unshakable. “Alright, but I want to know one thing. If I do look into that, will I find out you bought ghost dust?” “Yes, once. I bought a small amount in 1990 from a dealer in Queen Maeve’s lands in the Sidhe. I sought to find a treatment. You can read the paper I wrote with Karen B. Nichols and Friedrich H. Habicht in the December issue of the Hidden World Journal of Disease and Medicine of that year.” The doctor pulled all of it off in an instant, without a moment’s hesitation.
That was no guarantee of truthfulness, but if he made all of that up, he was a hell of a liar. “Very well. I will ask Terry to research that, but for now, we should be talking to Elliot.” Hammond broke away from Ludomir and approached the head of the family. Even worn down by the day’s events, Elliot was still a proud man. He looked like an injured lion, waiting ready for the next move of the hunter who stung him. Whether that Hunter was Hammond or the murderer would wait to be seen. “Mr. Botswright. Let’s talk.” Hammond said and Elliot nodded, not moving his eyes from Hammond’s.
“What do you know?” He asked. “I’m the one who asks questions here. First would be, if I looked at your bank records, what would I see?” Hammond’s face didn’t twitch. “...Durward, fetch my bank statements.” The golem snapped into attention, scurrying off to find the paper trail Hammond demanded. “I doubt this will help. I make many large deposits and withdraws.” He said as Durward returned with a stack of papers to set in front of Hammond. They were meticulously marked with notes based on what they were for. Hammond began scanning the pages and Elliot turned to Gan.
“While he peruses my family’s finances, do you have any other way to make me feel like a criminal you want to get out of the way?” Elliot still had a touch of haughtiness in his voice and face, soured when Hammond popped back up from his records. “Uh, yeah, one quick question, can I also see your children's grades? Whatever you have.” He asked sheepishly. “Durward, find the grades of the children.” Elliot grumbled and the Golem made another ridiculous ostrich-run for the door.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Jan 2, 2019 8:24:00 GMT
The conversation was making sense, it was obvious the money wouldn't be easily traced, Still, if you gave the HWIC some time, they were bound to trace every penny of it.
The Musashi agent looked at Elliot's expressions as he was questioned, he seemed bothered by the whole ordeal, despite it being normal procedure. If he was innocent, he had nothing to fear really, the only thing that Gan quite didn't get were the grades of the kids, why did he want those? even if they were stellar, making ghost dust out of the raw materials seemed like the task of an expert. Hopefully, the grades would make it even more clear Audrey and Lucian weren't guilty, but with things like this, anything could happen.
"What are you looking for?" Gan asked in a discrete tone to the HWIC agent.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 3, 2019 7:04:56 GMT
Hammond leafed through the various transactional statements, not looking away to take the grades. Patterns were quickly emerging. Most of the cash withdrawals were marked as being for Morton, but no single recent payment seemed to add up to the sort of total Ludomir suggested for Ghost Dust. $6,000 for car payments, $4,000 for clothing, multiple other purchases just in the last few months. Expensive tastes. The other two had relatively little, but with a caveat. They had their own savings accounts with their own minor withdrawals over time. “I’ll know when I’m seeing it. I think I’m onto something.” Hammond kept looking at the bank statements, leaving the grades in the hands of Gan. He handed over his phone at the same time with the grades of Elliot all the way through college, supposedly recently dredged up by Terry.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Jan 4, 2019 0:56:47 GMT
It seemed Morton had the knowledge, motivations, and means to make it happen, even if the bank amounts did not match the cost of a fully processed ghost dust, he could easily make it with separate ingredients.
Despite Elliot also having just as much means to make it, he didn't seem to display any sort of motivations for doing it, poisoning a tea batch and then not drinking would immediately put him on the spot, that was too naive, even for someone who isn't a murderer.
Aubrey was quite out there, she didn't like her mother, and her golem was the one to deliver the tea, but would she really be willing to kill both of her parents? maybe she wanted to free Madriel from her oath, but still, being such a rare poison there was no way she could have made it, not with her knowledge, those grades of hers were nothing special after all. After some consideration, Gan just refrained from making any assumptions, he simply threw a statement in the air
"I'm sure this leaves some people out of the equation, mostly the kids I'm thinking...anything good on your side?"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 5, 2019 7:42:19 GMT
Hammond took up the graded papers that Gan had looked through, holding up a finger to ask for time. When he was done, he put them down and stood. “Gan, could you come with me?” Hammond stood and waved for the bodyguard to follow. They passed Madriel, entering the kitchen. Hammond stooped, opening the cabinets under the sink and rummaging through.
“Yep… yep… definitely.” He placed various boxes and bottles on the counter. Cleaning chemicals, rat poison, a dozen deadly things. “All of these could kill somebody, used right. But the killer sprang for something expensive, obvious, and traceable. That’s weird. And I don’t think it was a practical choice.” Hammond looked back out at the living room, especially suspicious now that he had thought of this. The last piece was coming into place for him.
|
|
|
Post by othus on Jan 5, 2019 9:27:38 GMT
"Using the Dust points towards only a couple of people here, the thing that bothers me the most is that if the killer was sure the poison would be traced, then it couldn't have possibly been Morton, not if he wanted to keep his freedom...at least two mages of high tier needed to remain after all this. Besides, he wasn't stellar at alchemy, something necessary to make the poison."
In Gan's mind, it all added up, Elliot avoiding the poisoning was one thing, but him having all the required skills to make it plus his terrible relationship with his son just made it all point towards him...If Gan was wrong, nothing would happen anyway, Hammond probably had an even better insight into all this, if Gan's logic was flawed, Hammond would be one to notice in the end.
|
|