I've seen the photos, read the reports — they've done a very thorough job. But...something feels like it's missing. I'm going to go take a look before the forensic cleaners get there first.
[ Which isn't a lot of time, given this is being considered an "open-and-shut" case. ]
I'm already slightly skirting the rules doing this, but...I could skirt one more if you wanted to come along. If you're comfortable. No pressure.
[Simon loves the routine, especially now that it's been taken from him.]
You skirting rules? Nooo...
[He can't believe it. Not Harrow. At the offer to join him in his rule skirting, part of Simon wants to jump on it, get out and get right into the thick of things again. Then that little voice in his head says that would probably be a bad idea. What if he reacts badly? Panics being around him, his scent... what if Harrow does?
There's a clear pause as all of this goes through his head, but he does answer eventually.]
While breaking and entering on a crime scene sounds like a really romantic date idea, I think someone might notice and remember some weirdo with wings slipping in. You're more likely to get in without any trouble on your own.
[Whew. Good excuse. Not that it wasn't true. Not that he didn't want to go either, but... but yeah.]
Edited (fucking html lord almighty) 2022-10-07 09:20 (UTC)
[ Perish the thought of this man not following the rules!
That is a very significant pause, which Harrow expects. He knew there was a chance Simon wouldn't be ready, and that's fine. He doesn't want to rush him. ]
Right, right — I keep forgetting you have those.
[ He did actually forget to consider the wings. It's not something that's normally a problem, in his defense. But he'll pretend to believe it's all about the wings. ]
And here I was, about to take you out to dinner and a crime scene. What a shame.
I'm sure there will be plenty of crime scenes in the future.
[ Considering he nearly ate Simon alive, he really can't take it personally. If it means never hurting Simon again, Harrow will wait as long as he needs to. ]
...Actually, I think I have an idea. I'll call you back in about...half an hour.
[ He doesn't give Simon much of a chance to respond before hanging up the phone. A little over thirty minutes later, he'll get a video call. ]
[And he's gone. Simon squints at his phone and shakes his head. For now he'll keep going over those pictures, see if there's anything else maybe he's missed.
It'd undoubtedly be better if he'd had some time with the body in person, but we'll. Regardless, not 30 minutes later there's his phone going off again.
Video call...? Simon answers it back, holding his phone up so Harrow can see him too.]
[ Harrow gives Simon a proud little smile — look it's a great idea okay — before he turns the phone to show Simon the apartment he's standing in the middle of. It's in a bit of a state...almost as if it were a...gasp! Crime scene! ]
[Whoa... what a mess. Simon pulls his phone closer, as if that'll make it easier to see anything.]
Lucky you. Just got me in your pocket and can take me any where.
[Simon squints though.]
Messy... looks like there was an impressive scuffle.
[Not that he can see much yet, but... sure is a lack of blood. Those cuts that were meant to look like claws, if they had been there would be a lot of blood spray around the place.]
[ Just to make it easier, since he should really be hands free, Harrow slips his phone into his shirt's pocket. It's a secure enough fit that it shouldn't fall no matter how much he moves, while giving Simon a view of what he's seeing. ]
It certainly does, doesn't it? [ He walks through the apartment, observing the mess and the lack of splatter. There's a ruined, glass coffee table in the middle of the sitting area, broken as if someone fell onto it. There's blood here, but very little. ] This is where they found him. A neighbor noticed the door was wide open, apparently forcibly opened—
[ He backtracks to the front door. It's covered in long scratches, splintered a bit, but not actually broken. It all looks painstakingly staged. ]
["Laughed" dryly. It does obscure the view a little, but he can still see quite a lot.]
... so this guy was gouged open by fangs and claws, yet the only real blood is right where they found him? No one thought that was weird? There should be tons of splatter from the force it would have taken for something to make those wounds.
[And that door...]
I thought you said they did a thorough job, Harrow. Thorough job taking pictures and patting themselves on the back?
[ Harrow chuckles, stepping away from the door and back into the apartment, not wanting to linger too long where he could be seen. ]
Oh not thorough by our standards. [ He's back at the broken coffee table again. ] They started to go on about monsters and all the reasons the blood might have been drained or cleaned or — well, it was a lot.
[ Basically, they had every excuse. Every reason. An answer to every concern Harrow raised. He doesn't know enough about monsters yet, but no matter how much sense their explanations made with the added monster context, he couldn't ignore the blatant staging of the crime scene. But what does he know! He's just a newbie who talks too much! ]
The problem is, they're so keen to blame it on a monster, staged or not, when they should be looking for a human.
Blood drained... did you find any marks that would indicate that? I didn't see any in the pictures, but I wasn't exactly looking for it either.
[God, blood drained. What? Like a vampire? He wants to scoff, but he has WINGS so. Yeah.]
Look monster or not, someone is trying to cover up and stage this to look like what it isn't. Could be some monster trying to hide it's identity too. Who knows.
[A pause, then he remembers oh right-]
... think there's any knives in the kitchen that might match these wounds?
Around the neck, barely noticeable with all the bruising and lacerations. Still not convinced.
[ Harrow has done so much scoffing on his first day alone, much to the irritation of literally everyone. So many new variables to consider, new things to learn in order to adjust to this world. He won't lie though...it's interesting. ]
But you're right, someone went through a lot of trouble making this look like something it isn't. Of course, what do I know?
[ Yes, he's salty. But anyway, good idea, time to go look at some knives! Just have to step over some mess here and there — it's like someone panicked and tried to make everything look as unnecessarily messy as possible. Unless there was some grand scuffle that happened all over the apartment.]
...Whoever did this certainly didn't plan ahead. [ In the kitchen now, his gloves already on, he looks around, making sure to turn enough so Simon can get a decent view as well.
There's a knife block, but it's empty, so he opts to search some of the drawers, hoping one of them is going to hold something useful. While he's doing that... ] Good to be back, isn't it?
[Harrow has every right to be salty, a baby could tell this wasn't what it looked like.]
Bruising and lacerations around the neck... so then it's not a strangling? Made to look like a violent attack. Draining blood does seem pretty extra.
[The sound of gloves being put on is music to his ears.]
Someone is trying to frame a vampire and a werewolf all in one apparently.
[At the question though Simon smiles a little. He never was gone, at least, not for him. For Harrow though Simon has been gone for a while now back home, so to him this must be like the 'good ol' times'.]
Maybe a little. [That knife block being empty though does catch his attention.] Wanna bet they got rid of the knives after using them? Check the dumpster outside maybe?
no subject
You know the routine.
[ His assumption is correct, of course. ]
I've seen the photos, read the reports — they've done a very thorough job. But...something feels like it's missing. I'm going to go take a look before the forensic cleaners get there first.
[ Which isn't a lot of time, given this is being considered an "open-and-shut" case. ]
I'm already slightly skirting the rules doing this, but...I could skirt one more if you wanted to come along. If you're comfortable. No pressure.
no subject
You skirting rules? Nooo...
[He can't believe it. Not Harrow. At the offer to join him in his rule skirting, part of Simon wants to jump on it, get out and get right into the thick of things again. Then that little voice in his head says that would probably be a bad idea. What if he reacts badly? Panics being around him, his scent... what if Harrow does?
There's a clear pause as all of this goes through his head, but he does answer eventually.]
While breaking and entering on a crime scene sounds like a really romantic date idea, I think someone might notice and remember some weirdo with wings slipping in. You're more likely to get in without any trouble on your own.
[Whew. Good excuse. Not that it wasn't true. Not that he didn't want to go either, but... but yeah.]
no subject
That is a very significant pause, which Harrow expects. He knew there was a chance Simon wouldn't be ready, and that's fine. He doesn't want to rush him. ]
Right, right — I keep forgetting you have those.
[ He did actually forget to consider the wings. It's not something that's normally a problem, in his defense. But he'll pretend to believe it's all about the wings. ]
And here I was, about to take you out to dinner and a crime scene. What a shame.
no subject
[But Harrow takes it well, he figured he'd understand, but more he hopes he doesn't take it personally.]
Can I get a raincheck on that? Next time.
no subject
[ Considering he nearly ate Simon alive, he really can't take it personally. If it means never hurting Simon again, Harrow will wait as long as he needs to. ]
...Actually, I think I have an idea. I'll call you back in about...half an hour.
[ He doesn't give Simon much of a chance to respond before hanging up the phone. A little over thirty minutes later, he'll get a video call. ]
no subject
[And he's gone. Simon squints at his phone and shakes his head. For now he'll keep going over those pictures, see if there's anything else maybe he's missed.
It'd undoubtedly be better if he'd had some time with the body in person, but we'll. Regardless, not 30 minutes later there's his phone going off again.
Video call...? Simon answers it back, holding his phone up so Harrow can see him too.]
Where are you...?
no subject
I figured since you can't physically be here...
no subject
Lucky you. Just got me in your pocket and can take me any where.
[Simon squints though.]
Messy... looks like there was an impressive scuffle.
[Not that he can see much yet, but... sure is a lack of blood. Those cuts that were meant to look like claws, if they had been there would be a lot of blood spray around the place.]
no subject
[ Just to make it easier, since he should really be hands free, Harrow slips his phone into his shirt's pocket. It's a secure enough fit that it shouldn't fall no matter how much he moves, while giving Simon a view of what he's seeing. ]
It certainly does, doesn't it? [ He walks through the apartment, observing the mess and the lack of splatter. There's a ruined, glass coffee table in the middle of the sitting area, broken as if someone fell onto it. There's blood here, but very little. ] This is where they found him. A neighbor noticed the door was wide open, apparently forcibly opened—
[ He backtracks to the front door. It's covered in long scratches, splintered a bit, but not actually broken. It all looks painstakingly staged. ]
no subject
["Laughed" dryly. It does obscure the view a little, but he can still see quite a lot.]
... so this guy was gouged open by fangs and claws, yet the only real blood is right where they found him? No one thought that was weird? There should be tons of splatter from the force it would have taken for something to make those wounds.
[And that door...]
I thought you said they did a thorough job, Harrow. Thorough job taking pictures and patting themselves on the back?
no subject
Oh not thorough by our standards. [ He's back at the broken coffee table again. ] They started to go on about monsters and all the reasons the blood might have been drained or cleaned or — well, it was a lot.
[ Basically, they had every excuse. Every reason. An answer to every concern Harrow raised. He doesn't know enough about monsters yet, but no matter how much sense their explanations made with the added monster context, he couldn't ignore the blatant staging of the crime scene. But what does he know! He's just a newbie who talks too much! ]
The problem is, they're so keen to blame it on a monster, staged or not, when they should be looking for a human.
no subject
[God, blood drained. What? Like a vampire? He wants to scoff, but he has WINGS so. Yeah.]
Look monster or not, someone is trying to cover up and stage this to look like what it isn't. Could be some monster trying to hide it's identity too. Who knows.
[A pause, then he remembers oh right-]
... think there's any knives in the kitchen that might match these wounds?
no subject
[ Harrow has done so much scoffing on his first day alone, much to the irritation of literally everyone. So many new variables to consider, new things to learn in order to adjust to this world. He won't lie though...it's interesting. ]
But you're right, someone went through a lot of trouble making this look like something it isn't. Of course, what do I know?
[ Yes, he's salty. But anyway, good idea, time to go look at some knives! Just have to step over some mess here and there — it's like someone panicked and tried to make everything look as unnecessarily messy as possible. Unless there was some grand scuffle that happened all over the apartment.]
...Whoever did this certainly didn't plan ahead. [ In the kitchen now, his gloves already on, he looks around, making sure to turn enough so Simon can get a decent view as well.
There's a knife block, but it's empty, so he opts to search some of the drawers, hoping one of them is going to hold something useful. While he's doing that... ] Good to be back, isn't it?
no subject
Bruising and lacerations around the neck... so then it's not a strangling? Made to look like a violent attack. Draining blood does seem pretty extra.
[The sound of gloves being put on is music to his ears.]
Someone is trying to frame a vampire and a werewolf all in one apparently.
[At the question though Simon smiles a little. He never was gone, at least, not for him. For Harrow though Simon has been gone for a while now back home, so to him this must be like the 'good ol' times'.]
Maybe a little. [That knife block being empty though does catch his attention.] Wanna bet they got rid of the knives after using them? Check the dumpster outside maybe?