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[Considering how infrequently Knuckles had made network posts this entire year, seeing him in another one so soon after his first was a little odd. The fact that he looked royally pissed wasn't too good of an indication either. He was in his apartment and the TV could be heard in the backround. Some news station.]

I dunno how many folks knew her, but a student got killed a couple weeks ago. Her name was Charlise, though mostly people called her Kitty. She was a Drifblim, and a member of Lash's Pokemon team. She was a collossal pain in the ass sometimes, but she was still a friend of mine.

It was on the news the other night. No names were mentioned but I went to the Police station in town and checked. I also got a good description of the guy who did it. And how it happened.

So, this is kinda a cautionary tale for Ghost types. If you get killed while you're in Human form, apparently it's for keeps even if you're TECHNICALLY already dead. Least, that's how it looks.

I dunno what's goin' on so far as a funeral or whatever. Was just her Birthday a little while ago too....

[That last part was a bitter sounding mumble.]

[And the public feed ends.]

Caim. You need to think real hard about how to answer this question. Did you kill my friend? Because a tall, dark haired swordsman is the described culprit. You just get back into town and someone winds up dead... Can't blame a guy for wondering.

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... Yeah, whatever...

[ Evve ticked an eyebrow up as the little orb above the Chao's head turned into a heart as it nuzzled into her chest. She wouldn't bother to ask since it seemed self-explanatory, but she hoped it didn't think it was coming home with her. ]

Did she tell anyone else? [ She looked at Knuckles. ] Did you tell anyone she told you? [ She looked pretty damn serious now, so something was on her mind. ]

I don't know if she told anyone else - I mean, her team mate Clover was here at the time and they seemed pretty tight. But I never said anything to anyone, no.

Why you askin'?

[ Evve wasn't entirely positive which way to go with this. Her cynicism was luring her to suspect the worst of the one she was speaking to now, but she liked to believe she was perceptive and he was safe to discuss this with.

But... no. No, she was jumping to conclusions. She had to calm down and be logical about this process. ]

I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself.

[ She gave a short exhale, speaking low but honestly. ]

Even I seem to be susceptible to seeking connections where they might not exist.

And what connection would that be? Because if you're seeing an option for something we woughta be lookin' into? Better we do it and be wrong than not do it and be right.

I suppose that's true. That would be a logical approach, wouldn't it?

[ She almost looked ashamed of herself. ]

You just expressed to me that you believe these drugs are tied into her death, right? In what way do you believe that?

Couple things. Firstly, her system was full of 'em - now, they make you drowsy and prone to falling asleep. She was way away from school so she didn't take them here. She took them out there in the city - probably close to where they found her under the bridge. She's done that before. Scored and then taken too many and been unable to go anyplace...

[He frowned deeply, hands clenching and unclenching as he spoke.]

She already got taken to hospital for it. No big secret - people around here knew about it. Maybe whoever killed her didn't WANT another episode like that, because if it happened twice? People're gonna be asking way more questions but if she's dead, not only can she not answer those questions? But folks are gonna concentrate on a murder more than the drugs and where she got them and where they come from.

[ Evve curled her index finger 'round her chin. She seemed to be thinking about something, as it took her quite a number of seconds to finally respond to him. ]

I still have to wonder...

Allow me to throw a wrench in that for a moment: Why take such an enormous risk killing a drug addict who isn't exactly a tolerable Pokemon in the first place? [ She held a hand up in her defense. ] Generally speaking. If everyone knew of Charlise's addiction, her winding up in the hospital for it a second time would come as no surprise. Perhaps if multiple people fell victim to the addiction to a point we had multiple cases of repeat hospitalization being reported, then that would prove more suspect than one addict, but by that theory, the culprit would be more inclined to kill every single addict that became hospitalized. Obviously, that wouldn't work and, strictly speaking, it's just poor for business.

If anything, this murder proved to be more of an advertisement to the problem than anything. Rather than isolating Charlise's issues, it's been broadcasted alongside her murder all across the city.

That said, I can only come up with two possible conclusions. Either: A) This murder is not related to the drugs at all, as it would cause too much press around the situation as equally as it could veil it, or B) [ Evve's voice grew low here. She looked horribly displeased with this conclusion, nose wrinkled and eyes cast downward. It was suggesting she believed this to be the most likely for some reason or another. ] It is drug-related, and Charlise was targeted for a far more specific reason than sucking one too many lollipops. And if we assume you and I are the only one's she talked to about it more openly as far as where they were coming from...

[ She paused. ] Do you see where I'm going?

Option A... I guess it's a possibility. Might just be some damn sick opportunist taking on an inebriated girl in a dark underpass...

[The thought had obviously occurred to him. It just didn't sit right, though. He couldn't get past the involvement of an invested second party. Not that he'd use that term.]

As for option B... You think it was her dealer or something? I guess I'm not following.

[ Evve swallowed back her doubts silently. Was now or never, really, if she was going to take a leap of faith on something. ]

That's exactly what I think. As I said before, just having any little detail exposed is bad for business, and I'm sure we can both agree how shallow people can be in terms of money.

If Charlise was revealing dealers, how soon before she said something she wasn't supposed to? I think that's why she was killed. But that leaves us with one assumption.

[ She poked at the little heart hovering above the Chao's head still as she spoke, fixated on the way it jiggled. ]

If we assume she only told me and you what she knew, and neither of us told anyone else, then that would leave the two of us as suspects and/or accomplices to the dealer's doings.

Oh geeze - I see whatcha mean.

[That was a terrible thought - That someone might suspect either one of them of this or that they were somehow complicit? He shook his head. Unacceptable.]

Which means we have to work even harder to figure this mess out.

There's another... problem.

[ For a woman who normally spoke so clearly, voice unwavering, she was shaken now. ]

I feel I've made a grave mistake...

....don't like the sound of that. What'd you do?

[Her tone really had changed - must be something serious.]

When Charlise told me what she did, I began to document my findings. I wrote everything down... Everything.

[ The Chao she was holding was looking at her rather curiously. It didn't seem too comfortable with her hands anymore, but that was because they grew cold. She finally released it when it began to squirm away.

She didn't want to say it, but if someone had seen those papers... Had seen her file - ! ]

PLEASE tell me you're still in posession of what you wrote down.

[If anyone connected to this in a bad way saw that someone was onto them, they could become a target. It was a very real threat.]

No! As soon as I realized it was Charlise that had been killed, I shredded the documents immediately. The rest is committed to memory, but...

[ She slapped both her cheeks with her palms to try and get her rattled emotions together, no matter how discreet they were being. A deep breath later and she continued, back to a steady speech pattern. ]

But I will be realistic - It doesn't mean someone couldn't have seen them prior to that.

Edited 2012-12-25 00:48 (UTC)

OK... OK. At least it doesn't exist anymore.

You got a cellphone?

[ That was an odd question, but Evve gave her answer by pulling it from her back pocket. She held it out to him before adding more to her statement. ]

I kept those documents locked in the truancy office. Unless someone broke in, though, it doesn't leave very many eyes that could've seen those notes. [ And there's only two sets she can think of, one of which belongs to a mouthy mole, and the other... well, he seemed angry enough at the world and everyone around him. Was it possible? ]

We should exchange numbers. You feel like anything's going on, anyone's followin' you, you wind up by yourself out in the city, you gimme a call.

[He pulled out his own cellphone.]

Pays to take precautions.

[ She withdraws her phone. ] Oh. [ Well... she's not quite used to that. Not really the exchanging-number type. She gets to the appropriate screen in order to add him to her contacts. ]

I agree.

[ She's silent for a few heartbeats. ]

Tell me: what do you know about the other active truancy officer named Shadow the Hedgehog? You've been here for some time, right? You must know something.

[He did the same, getting to his contact menu and entering her number and giving her his.]

Shadow? I actually know more about him right now than he does. He's from my world, but earlier along in our timeline. I ain't gonna go into his... history too much because it's not really my place. But what I CAN tell you is he's actually a pretty good guy. He's gonna rub you the wrong way but... he's a hero. A real hero. He just has trouble being around people.

[ 'Timeline'? She'd have to ask about that later. It sounded like a conversation she wasn't willing to have right now. Just numbers would do.

The information leaves her somewhere between disappointed and relieved, however. ]

So he isn't the type that would be involved with our dealers... [ She sighed, frustrated. ] He's the only other one I can imagine would have had access to my files before I destroyed them. That doesn't leave a very good taste in my mouth, you understand.

I see. No, don't worry - If he saw them, then the knowledge is safe. I can understand why you'd get an impression from him that he might be dangerous, but he's not the kind of person to be involved in a murder. If anything, he's going to work to help keep people safe.

[ She supposed his position and pressure on her to actually do her job could attest to that, however - ]

Forgive me if I reserve judgment until I see it with my own eyes. [ She wouldn't trust him until then. They may need to talk again. ] Even if he isn't running around murdering people, if he inadvertently revealed what he read - well, assuming he read my notes, of course - then we need to know to whom and when.

Heh - getting him to say more than three words to most people is a pain in the ass. He won't have said anything, I'd bet you lunch.

[Still. It was best not to take any risks.]

I'll ask him. I've known him a while so he's probably more likely to tell me.

Fair enough. However, I'll be joining you for his questioning. [ Her cold tone seemed to be loosening up now, as if the possibility of Charlise's death being her fault might be less plausible than she thought. Truthfully, she did not expect to garner a result from anything Shadow may have to say, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to. If any of this was connected to her mistake... ]

I like seeing him rattled anyway. [ She smiled a little. That Chao from before seemed interested in her again now that she was looking brighter. ]

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monotreme_101 - 2012-12-30 00:09 (UTC) - Expand

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idowhatilike - 2013-01-02 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

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Evve reads a lot of crime novels, okay, she's secretly dumb as a brick

Knuckles' brick level I.Q. is less than a secret. But he likes movies about bounty hunters.

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