bakerstreet | And trouble came walking in...

Entry tags:

[warning] violence

And trouble came walking in...

the film noir meme

-Post with your character and fandom, as well as any preferences.
-Go here and generate a random number between 1-10 for the setting
-If you want, you or the person tagging you can roll a number between 1-8 for relationship as well!
- You know what to do next, honey.

Possible settings:

1. Crime Scene: Dead body? Burglary? Whatever the crime, the area's been sectioned off for officers to investigate this nefarious deed, and you're getting front row seat.

2. Bar: There's always some hole-in-the-wall frequented by all sorts. The bartender keeps an eye out for trouble, and other things. Of course he keeps an ear to the ground, but it'll cost ya. Perhaps a cop or two will show up demanding answers, but no one ever takes that seriously.

3. Docks at Night: The breeze caressing your face, the sound of the water, the boats passing by...maybe you were called here, or maybe you just like the peace it brings.

4. Alleyway: There's only one way in and out of this little corridor, and what happens in it is up to you and the other character. Just watch for the shadows, if you can see through the fog.

5. Detective's Office: Not too clean, not too messy. Just perfect for the person that's needed to get this mystery cleared up.

6. Rooftop: The wind dramatically blowing about, it's the perfect place to get that person to come and meet you so you can tell them what you want. Or if you're evil, why not kill them up here? It'll be hard to escape you.

7. Dressing Room: For some reason, you're backstage after a performance, and you've gotten into one of these. The mirrors, the costumes, the flowers from fans and the various personal affects...all are present and will be your silent witnesses to whatever occurs.

8. Hideout: You've gotten to the antagonist's spot of choice. Is this a glitzy nightclub with a private room, or is this an abandoned warehouse where they-or you-carry out their plot? The choice is yours.

9. Nightclub: Someone's showcasing their talent tonight, and you may or may not care about it. But it's classic, dimly lit, and it's easy to hide in here.

10. Free choice

Possible relationships:

1. Friends: Maybe you're an unstoppable team, or perhaps your relationship is getting strained. But whatever the situation, you know this person, and you'd be there for them.

2. Coworkers/teammates/classmates: You might not be friends, but you know this person well enough to remember their name. And right now you're being thrown together for a reason.

3. Lovers: This is the one you wanted to stay with for now. Married, dating, or maybe an affair, but you two care about each other enough.

4. Enemies: Utter hatred flows through your veins when you hear this person's name. This is the one you want to take down, and you just might stop at nothing to achieve your goal.

5. Family: Perhaps it's a sibling you're meeting. Or your parent, or some form of relative. Remember that phrase "blood is thicker than water"? It just might apply here.

6. Mysterious Stranger: Someone's been eyeing you from across the room, or you've been eyeing them. Will you two speak, or shall they float out of your life? Do they hold information you seek, or do they want something from you?

7. Femme Fatale: You are or have encountered a mysterious and seductive woman, whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. Watch out, you might just get yourself into a real mess of trouble, hot stuff.

8. Free Choice
Originally from

easycompany, with minor modifications.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

Thanks. [ Stiles pauses, tapping a finger against their card. ] Keep it, you never know when knowing a couple of PIs can be useful. [ And they can always do with a couple more people in the government.

The clerk excuses herself, heading back to the cabinets towards the back to look up the information, slowly going through the index cards to locate the right folder. He watches as she goes, curiosity getting the better of him while he looks down towards the desk, with it's papers and typewriter.

Nothing interesting there, however willing the lady had been to bend the rules a little, she's still a stickler for confidentiality. ]

Not even a rough estimate? Though those cars aren't really the kind you get at a rental company.

[ Which makes the actual owner easier to track down if they're local. If they weren't, then it's going to take more footwork than they can fit in today. ]

((ooc: I've got upcoming exams in the next two weeks, so I going to be rather slow to reply.))

"There were four cars in the county that matched the make and description you gave me." [The woman slides a quarter-inch thick stack of papers towards them. Allison picks the stack up quickly, shuffling through them looking at names and information with hungry eyes. Four cars, four owners, four distinct possibilities, and a lot of work to be done. Allison pauses a moment, her eyes lingering on the pages, then looks to the woman behind the counter with a big smile.]

Thank you, ma'am. Greatly appreciated. [She gives Stiles a glance, the look on her face suggesting that she's pretty happy with their DMV outing. It's the kind of luck that gives her hope for how their trip to the hospital might turn out. Doesn't it always seem like when things are going your way they keep going your way? Sure, they have a lot of digging to do, but at least now they have shovels to dig with.

Allison starts walking out and to the car. She turns to Stiles.] What do you think? Some luck, huh? It's not every night that laying it on thick will get them to bend the rules.

[ Stiles looks over Allison's shoulders at the files, focusing on the names. One of them might just match their Jane Doe, if the hospital has managed to ID the victim off her personal effects. He doubts that there's been anyone to step forward to give a second confirmation.

He gives Allison a nod. They're done here, and this will help them make some decent headway on this case.

Making his own polite goodbyes to the clerk, he follows after Allison, twirling the keys around his fingers as they make their way back to the car. ]

Good thing that lady had a soft touch. [ He leans against the car, unlocking the doors. ] Guess we'll have to see how it holds up once we get to the morgue.

[ If they run into one of the nicer nurses... maybe if they time it for the beginning of a new shift, they'll be more willing to work with them. ]

Good thing. [ She echoes with a smile. Allison is well aware of how lucky they are. It seems that the business they’re in is at least partly luck. If it were all skill it would be a lot easier for both of them. ]

If we’re half as lucky at the morgue I’ll be satisfied. [ Allison slides into the passenger seat and closes the door behind her. ] Of course, it’ll take results to bring an actual smile to my face.

[ The drive isn’t overly long. Traffic has let up by this hour, though the streets aren’t exactly empty. By the time they have reached the morgue, Allison has flipped through the pages the woman at the DMV gave them and mostly committed the details to memory. Reading in the car is a necessity for the gig and no longer gives her motion sickness. ]

Ready? [ She smiles just a little bit at Stiles as the morgue building comes into view. ]

You going to take after your dad far the entirety of this case? [ At least in the face department. It's an image that makes him snicker.

Rather than go in through the front, he pulls into one of hospital offshoots. The place had needed space, new wings and buildings built onto the grounds to meet the growing demands of the city. The morgue, being what it is, was relegated towards the back, closer to the loading docks.

One good thing about that is there isn't much fighting for parking.

He turns off the engine, pensively looking up at the brick walls that made up the city's morgue. ]

Always. I just have a feeling it's going to get complicated.

[Allison smirks at the comment.] I choose to take that as a compliment.

[She only nods when Stiles mentions that he feels it's going to get complicated. She has the same feeling and when the two of them share the same gut instinct? It usually indicates that they're dead on.

Allison gets out of the car and walks into the building. The moment she steps inside she notices a slight decrease in temperature. She chalks it up to the cement floor and brick walls of the hallway they're in. Her steps echo eerily as the two of them walk towards the morgue.]

I don't get the willies easily, but this place is unnerving. I'd hate to have to show up to work here every day.

[They round a corner and come to a set of doors. Allison pushes them open and as they enter a woman in a uniform looks up at them.]

"Can I help you?" [She asks them. Allison responds by first smiling, always smiling. She's convinced it makes a difference when dealing with people.]

We're looking for someone who came in earlier from a car crash?

[ He hums, noncommittal. Better Chris than Victoria, Allison's mom, from the few times he's met her can be terrifying.

The bright florescent lights overhead cast a greenish glow over everything, and the smell of disinfectant lingers, sharp and cutting to the nose. ]

I'm with you there. [ Murmured. ] Not to mention how few colleagues you have to interact with.

[ Here, the hum of the fridges are audible, and he steps up beside Allison to see the woman. The name of the hospital is sewn into her sleeve at the shoulder, and her name tag reads 'L. Schyler'. ]

"We don't release that information out to the public," Schyler says, getting to her feet. "Not unless they're family, or have a valid reason."

Would looking into the crash for an anonymous party be a valid reason? [ Not that they were hired by anyone but themselves, but there's no way Schyler would know that. ] We're running an investigation parallel to the local cops, which is why we want to see the body.

[ Schyler gives both of them a look and suddenly Allison knows that she's going to be a tough nut to crack. She shares the briefest of glances with Stiles and hangs on the moment, waiting for the woman's answer to his question. Schyler lets out an almost exasperated sigh and shakes her head. ]

"You know that I shouldn't be doing this..."

[ A smile tugs at the corners of Allison's mouth. This is pretty close to getting results, after all. They're getting this woman to budge. That's something. ]

We appreciate it, ma'am. [Allison adds quickly, just to make sure the woman doesn't think she's being taken for granted. Schyler shoots her a look and walks over to a grey cabinet. ]

"If we have anything it would be filed in here already. What are the details of the crash?"

[ In return, he drops his shoulders, sweeping his jacket back as he rests his hands against his hips. The motion draws the technician's eyes, to the lack of a holster on his belt, or under his arm.

Whether that in any way influenced Schyler's decision, he doesn't know. But he knows that she takes her job seriously, which limited how they could proceed. ]

The file should be for a Jane Doe, from a crash near Cambridge and Sixth. It wasn't that long ago - it was close to five when it happened.

[ At Jane Doe, Schyler opens the top drawer, rifling through the files to pull out a thin cream colored folder, laying it down on the table. ]

"There won't be much."

Doesn't matter, we still appreciate it. [ A beat. ] If you need to take a bathroom break for ten minutes or so, we won't tell.

[ He smiles, stepping aside to leave a wider path back through the hall.

Schyler leaves the cream folder on the table, only pausing to give a reminder that the pages are ordered specifically before she steps out.

Stiles is stepping forwards as soon as the door swings shut behind her, eager to see what's inside the file. As Schyler had said, there isn't much. A basic description of the body, the personal effects and some other details of the scene she'd been found at.

What has him cursing is that there wasn't a purse or wallet listed among the items that had been sent along to the hospital. ]

[ Allison watches as Schyler leaves the room, just waiting for her to shut the door before she can pounce on the file. As soon as she's gone, Allison is beside Stiles, eagerly reading each line at a breakneck pace. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot that can be of much use to their case. That smile she'd been looking forward to flashing at her partner is noticeably absent from her face. ]

Dammit.

[ Then she pauses, putting her finger to a description of an item that was sent to the hospital. ]

Wait a second...

[ Allison taps her finger to the brief phrase. A gold chain with a love knot emblem that has two gems on it. ]

That sounds familiar. I think I know a jeweler that makes bracelets like those exclusively. It's a long shot. There could be other jewelers out there making them, but it's a possibility, right? Maybe someone at that business will know who our Jane Doe is.

Huh. [ He tilts his head. ] You'll be more familiar with that than I would. [ He gets jewellery, but he's better with the more common brands, and chasing after fakes. There are only so many decent places for good stage jewellery after all. ]

Since it's custom, they will have tracked the order - there has to be some sort of number on the bracelet ... [ He trails off to peer back at the door, no sign of Schyler yet, they'll have time to rifle through the woman's effects.

They'll be nearby, locked away for security. ]

No day ever feels right without a little B&E.

[Allison gives Stiles a sly smile at his comment about B&E. This is one part of her job that she really enjoys. She pulls a bobby pin from her hair and bends it a bit.]

How long do you think 'til she gets back?

[She walks over to the locker where the items will be kept and goes to work with her makeshift lock pick. It takes a minute, but she gets it open. A grin spreads across her face at the sudden success.]

Here it is.

[She pulls a tissue from her pocket and grabs the bracelet, a delicate thing, with the tissue.]

I guess this is the best lead we have right now.

[Allison shuts the locker door and locks it, stepping away in case Schyler returns faster than expected.]

Never long enough. [ That's his professional opinion, and he stands by it. He keeps an eye on the door while Allison works the locks, alternating his attention between that, and the drawers near the desk and going through their contents.

Spare pens, binder clips... another personnel's access card, he's tempted to pocket it, but that will be missed. There's a lot of the the usual clutter that builds up, so he's not too worried about putting everything back exactly as it was.

He flashes a smile at Allison. Perfect.

A noise down the hall, tells them Schyler is making her way back, and he takes the time to put the file back together, looking at it one last time for anything they can use. ]

Body's in freezer 37. If we want to see it before we go.

[ Allison nods. It'll be good to get a firsthand look at the body. That always beats a written description. She makes her way over to the freezers. She's far from squeamish, looking at dead bodies just doesn't get to her anymore. Looking to Stiles, she nods to the door of the freezer.]

You ready?

[She barely waits for an answer before she opens the door. Pulling on the end of the metal support their Jane Doe is laying on, Allison slides the body partially into open view. The smell of chemicals preserving the corpse is intense and Allison puts a hand to her nose. The woman is in her prime, probably her early thirties or late twenties, and as far as Allison can see she doesn't have any tattoos or scars. She does, however, have a birthmark that looks a little like a lima bean on her collarbone. It's valuable information Allison will remember for later.

Allison looks up from the body to Stiles to see if he notices any pertinent details. They can't have much longer before Schyler returns from her break.]

What do you see?

[ Stiles nods, taking a deeper breath before the freezer door opens. He helps to pull out the metal table, folding off the sheet to reveal the corpse.

Breathing shallowly, he looks around to find a box of disposable gloves, turning the woman to see what marks there are. The body has some cuts and holds from the tubing used to pump embalming fluid through the body, the neat incisions paler than they would be had they been inflicted while she was alive.

Where he would expect to find a head injury from the crash, there's nothing. No lacerations, no trace of blood, just pale unblemished skin. He continues to go over the body, there's some bruising over her ribs, and a careful touch tells him that they've been broken. ]

She might have bled out before they tried to stage that crash.

[ He quickly pulls off his gloves, balling them up and tossing them in the trash. ]

Her ribs were badly broken, and I can't see anything else that could have killed her. It definitely wasn't the crash.

[Allison purses her lips slightly and shakes her head. Of course it couldn't be as simple as a car crash. It never is. At least they're on their way to figuring out who their Jane Doe is.]

Someone thought they were pretty clever masking her death like that.

[She slides the body back into place, closing the door behind it.]

I like a good challenge now and then, but it would have been nice if this had been a cut and dry car crash.

[Allison sighs, her head snapping up as Schyler opens the door and walks back into the room. She smiles at the woman, acting like nothing is amiss.]

Why, though? That they went to such lengths to stage it could be important. Do you think they're trying to get someone's attention?

[ He can think of several easier methods of making this seem like something it isn't. Without the discrepancies.

Stiles looks sharply over towards Schyler when she walks in. Stepping over towards the table and straightening up the papers she'd given them, and handing her the file. ]

Thanks for letting us see these.

[ Schyler barely lets out a grunt of recognition, nodding at the two gumshoes and getting back to her own work. Allison is careful not to say anything in the woman's presence. She nods for Stiles to follow her down the hall back to the car. Once they're back in the hallway and out of earshot she speaks in a softer tone of voice.]

Maybe. Or our Jane Doe is more important than we think. I'm not really sure right now. Maybe the jeweler can tell us.

[She lets out a heavy exhale. Even with the custom bracelet they don't have a whole lot to go on. They've worked with less before, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Allison waits by the car door for Stiles.]

What do you think? Is your gut telling you anything?

[Stiles is a pretty brilliant PI. His gut instincts are second to none. Allison is always willing to listen to what he has to say.]

[ Stiles makes sure to keep the door from slamming behind them, the tension that always builds up when he's at a hospital, any hospital bleeding from him the farther they get.

Rather than getting into the car right away, he leans over the hood of the car, hands spread out over the hood. ]

Neither of us recognized her, so she had money, or knew people who had it. The Jeweler can give us another name.

[ He's looking at that positively. There's a chance that what they get won't be true, but that tells them more. There aren't many reason to hide someone's identity: either there was an affair, or the person was connected to the criminal underground. ]

I want to start looking into the people from the DMV files. I don't think she owned the car herself, and it's not like four people is a lot to look into. There was a Harrison, right? Pretty sure I've heard that name before.

[ He's a visual person, likes to map out relationships and connections until there's barely any space left on their walls at the office. ]

[ Allison nods at his theory about money. If the girl was wearing custom jewelry, Stiles' theory is extremely plausible. Not just anyone goes around buying custom jewelry. It takes cash that the average joe just doesn't have. She suspects they'll find out more at the jeweler.]

There was a Harrison.

[ She nods. The name does sound familiar. You train your ears to pick up on familiar words and names. Allison has heard the surname dropped more than a few times as of late in certain circles. The family, while not the wealthiest in town, has money and influence. ]

A Harrison could be the kind of person who might afford to buy a custom bracelet for someone.

[ Allison shrugs. ]

It's just a possibility, though.

They're still considered new money, if I remember correctly. [ And he does remember correctly, there's always talk in the rumor mill about the well-to-do, all that posturing and jockeying for position throughout the city... hard to reach those heights without a couple skeletons in their closets.

And those skeletons are the kind that can get people killed. ]

Maybe they're going back to their roots, if the bracelet was one of theirs.

[ It's a good lead, and might just get them the break they need.

If they don't piss off the wrong people in the meantime. Of course, that's as good a clue as any that they're headed in the right direction. ]

It's entirely possible.

[ Allison nods, putting her hands on her hips. This is a good lead. Unfortunately, it seems like the closer they get to solving a case the deeper they get into dangerous territory. ]

We've got to watch our backs, Stiles. These are exactly the kind of people we don't want to tick off - the kind with any sort of influence at all.

[ It's in both of their nature, though, to not censor their behavior a whole lot. They're both capable of tact, but they're also both capable of sarcasm and acerbic wit. ]

There's only one way to find out about the bracelet, though.

[ She tilts her head to the side and shrugs. ]

[ He stills when Allison mentions being careful about how they go on, the last thing they want is either laid up in a hospital, or worse. But he knows they won't get anywhere without pushing.

Not this time.

Stiles scrubs a hand over his face before looking back at Allison. ]

We still gotta take the chance, Allison, if we want to get justice for that woman. But I can look into some arrangements.

[ Like find a alternate location they can duck into if things get too hot and they need to lie low for a few days without being found. ]

We take this too carefully, and they're going to slip right through our fingers. [ A breath. ] The place will still be open, right?

[ Though considering the time now, they might not make it before the shop closes. ]

(ooc: going to be traveling so will be afk for a few days! Did you finish your testing?)

[ Allison sighs. He has a point. Some risks are worth taking. There's nothing more satisfying than getting justice for people who can't get it for themselves. ]

You're right. [ She smirks and half-grumbles. ] As usual.

The jeweler's should still be open at this hour unless they've stepped out for whatever reason. If our good luck continues we should be able to catch them. Good luck and traffic permitting, I mean.

[ She stuffs her hands into her pockets and sighs. ]

We'd better get a move on, then, if we want any chance of talking to the guy.

[Ah, that's cool! Classes start for me Sunday night. Yes, I took my test! It was a placement test and my studying paid off!]

[ Stiles nods, unlocking the doors of the car. ]

The road's cleared up some by now, we'll have no trouble getting there. The shop's downtown, right? Near the high-end district but only just,

[ The fashion district tends to shift, when styles fall out of favor. Stiles knows where the shops are supposed to be, generally. But he's doesn't spend much time there to know them well.

And even if traffic was a problem, well, he drives with a lead foot every chance he gets. ]

(ooc: Congrats! Good to know that it went well!)

And trouble came walking in...

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Notifs are down for me right now.

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