bakerstreet | back to my home, sweet home

[It's just a mess, not the end of the world. And it's certainly not the first mess that Rosinante's made in public. They've been lucky today, the last place wasn't so friendly about the accident that happened. Tyki's also made a point of not going back there.] Want another? I've got business to discuss, but it can wait for a little longer.

Yeah, get us a table?

[He'll only be a second. This time he makes sure to request they leave space for cream. Someone even offers to pour it for him, which is - concerning, that they think he needs the help, actually, but kind.

Once he has his drink he goes to rejoin Tyki, and makes a mental note to not drink the coffee just yet. Give it a few minutes. A quick snap of his fingers ensures their conversation will stay at the table only. When Tyki has business, sometimes it's not the kind he really wants broadcasted around an entire cafe.]

So, what do you have?

Got it.

[Tyki finds a quiet, out of the way little spot towards the back of the cafe. It's just out of the way enough that prying eyes won't be an issue, and goodness knows they never have to worry about eavesdroppers. That's beyond convenient, those powers saved their lives back when they battled the hamsters. And in every case they've gotten since partnering in private investigation of the paranormal and bizarre it's come in more than handy.

Tyki nods in greeting when Rosinante sits down, pleased to get down to things. And he takes a drink of his coffee, blinks at the sweetness, and then pushes his phone to Rosinante. A folder is already on the screen, ready to be looked at.] Mass murders. Which usually doesn't fit our preferences, but this is interesting. [The bodies are all arranged like statues, some with missing limbs, some without their heads, one has massive wings attached to her back. All of them have a paleness that is eerie, all in some state of undress, draped in cloth instead of clothes, and they show no signs of rot or decay.] They don't rot. There's no obtainable time of death, or obvious cause of death.

Hm.

[He sips his drink carefully as he swipes from photo to photo. They're interesting. Almost artistic, sculptural and he has to remind himself that these are bodies. He's not a fan of the grotesque or anything but it's surreal enough that picturing them as living, breathing people takes a concrete second.]

Well, I sure have a lot of questions. How did you find out about this? When were they found?

[And a lot of details that they'll probably need to go check out in person, unfortunately. With a frown, he slides Tyki his phone back.]

[It's easy to forget that these are corpses. Tyki has looked over so many of the pictures, studying them, and they make him question a lot. It's a lot of work too, the killer had to be able to arrange them carefully and preserve them through whatever method he or she uses, and that method is absolutely foreign to the coroners.

It just reeks of the paranormal to Tyki.] My contact Walker sent me those, he's the white haired brat that works for the church on and off. He's the one that got us the information on the homunculus attempts last year. When his supervisors turn a blind eye, he gives the information to me. [He shakes his head, that situation was a mess. Far easier to deal with than the hamsters, but entirely gory and unnecessary in his mind.] About two hours north of here, in a sleepy little town that has one thing about it that ever made it onto the map. [He takes another drink, it's not so bad this time but damn he's not ordering this one again.] It has an abandoned statuary that used to be of no small acclaim. A fantasy in marble, that's what they said about it.

[Ah, yes, Walker. That's right, the name is familiar. He's turned out to be a helpful guy.

The description of the town sure is telling, and he huffs an almost-laugh.]

You don't say. Well, that's no coincidence, but it could be a very inspired copycat. How old is the statuary?

[And who made them? Is this the first time this has been seen? Have people gone missing before? What sort of creatures or processes can petrify flesh into marble? Lots of background research to do on this one, unless Tyki's been sitting on this for a while and reading up before deciding to act on it.]

As expected, hmm? [It's always a little town, isn't it? He's never had a serious case with Rosinante that actually ended up in the big city. It's always a creepy little place with once beautiful buildings, decay, and dark secrets. It never fails.] The statuary is nearly a hundred and fifty years old, although it's been closed to the public for a decade due to vandalism and waning visitors. The repairs were bleeding money. It just wasn't feasible to keep it open.

[Tyki checks his phone to look at Allen's notes again. Walker really does help, but his handwriting is horrible. He squints, and finally deciphers his friend and relative's scribble.] It's White Stone village. That's the place we're looking at. They've got a temp morgue set up, the village's one funeral home couldn't handle the amount of bodies. They have almost no police presence or support. And absolutely no missing people.

Edited 2019-05-04 06:13 (UTC)

[Ah, here come the details, good. Yep, a creepy town with a condemned statuary and no police force all sounds about right. A hundred and fifty years isn't even that old, and there will be people in town who will know some of the real details if it's only been closed ten years. Probably plenty of kids who have broken in on dares or to go get stoned, too, who might have stories, though the reliability of those might be questionable. But it's funny, the sort of things that fill in the gaps sometimes.

But wait, what? That last part catches him off-guard and his eyes widen at Tyki, eyebrows arching beneath his long bangs.]

No missing people? And your contact's sure those were bodies and not just very lifelike statues?

[Hey, it's possible, he's seen some convincing marble carvings before. No missing people means they're being imported under the noses of the townsfolk and that's just as impressive and equally as horrifying as the bodies themselves.]

When do you want to head over there?

[It's such a cliche, but one that almost always pans out. The darkest secrets are usually kept in the most cheerful places, and little towns with low populations and lots of parades and celebrations seem too safe for most people to think of anything bad happening there. But then it happens, again and again. And in a way, Tyki's glad it keeps happening in those kind of places. It's far harder to keep the situation under control and deal with it when they have to fight off large groups and keep an eye out for people in power who don't have a clue about how to deal with the paranormal.

Tyki works on his coffee while Rosinante asks his questions. And Tyki thought the same thing at first himself. They look too pristine. Too perfect.] They're corpses. The skin is hardened and altered somehow, but they have all the expected organs underneath. And so far all of them are unidentified.

[When Rosinante as when he wants to head over, Tyki finishes his coffee off in one go. He doesn't want to waste it, but he certainly is done with it.] As soon as you can clear some time up for yourself. I know you've got someone at home, I don't have to worry about saying goodbye to anyone.

[Wow. Grotesque doesn't quite fully describe it. But if organs have been preserved then it's pretty conclusive those are corpses - for even the most dedicated sculptor couldn't possibly have carved a statue from the inside out in that kind of accurate detail.]

That's one hell of a mystery. All right. I can get everything squared away tonight, and we can head out tomorrow, early. Leaving something like this alone for too long is a good way to end up with more statues.

[Tyki has seen something close to them, anatomical models of the highest detail, but even they're meant for lifelike traits. Not to look like statues. And they're not full of real organs, just beautifully detailed models thereof. So in the end, this is one of the most interesting and terrible cases that he's ever gotten the privilege of investigating.]

Then tomorrow morning it is. I'll make sure our supplies are ready tonight. Should we bring anything special? [Besides ammo and cigarettes for days, explosives, and small animal bait and poison. He always brings those things now.]

A backhoe?

[The joke isn't completely deadpan - he lets it sit for just a second, then grins. Look, if they have to move a hefty series of human statues, it's not a bad idea. Second suggestion would be their mystery concretionist's kryptonite, but there's no saying what that might actually be just yet.]

Hopefully we'll be able to scout it out first without running into trouble so we know what we're dealing with. A couple of those little all-weather cameras and a laptop to watch from wouldn't hurt in case we don't get an immediate easy lead.

I don't think even I can manage that. But I'll see what I can figure out tonight.

[It's hilarious, but honestly not a terrible idea. And if the village has any sort of resources for one, maybe they can borrow it for a while. Tyki has no qualms about a little theft if it's for the greater good, and in this situation, it'd certainly qualify for that standard.] That's easy enough. I'd rather not get too deep into this without having some ideas of our enemy first. [Tyki stands up.] Give me a minute. I'm desperate for a coffee that doesn't taste like the sugar sludge from the bottom of a gas station latte machine. Do you want anything while I'm up?

[Sounds good, then. He drains the rest of his coffee and nudges the mug across the table in Tyki's direction.]

Get me a refill?

[He asks with the hint of a smirk. This seems like a two-coffee kind of day, especially since while he's playing it off casually right now, he's not looking forward to telling Law he'll be gone for a little while. They always worry about each other when they're apart and this time it might really be warranted. What if he gets turned into a statue?]

Of course. [Tyki picks the cup up, and heads to get Rosinante his refill. This time he picks a much tamer concoction, making sure to ask how sweet it is before buying it. And it turns out, a person can get a whole host of flavors that are appealing without having to feel like they're going to overdose on sugars. And once he pays and while he waits, he gets a text from Allen that is both helpful and bad news.

Tyki! The chief of police has agreed to cooperate. He says you can use an office in the police station, you're almost official this time.

They found two more bodies, though. And this time, they weren't inside of the statuary. They were both placed outside of the gates, the time of discovery was about an hour ago.

Good luck.

Tyki sighs, and stares at the attached picture. Two beautiful women, skin pale and features calm and expressionless, both with arms removed and wings spread towards the statuary gates. More deaths, more bodies snuck in somehow, if they were identified as local Allen would have noted it.

Shit.

He heads back to the table, and sets Rosinante's coffee down in front of him.] Just got a text from my contact. Do you want the good news, or the less pleasant information first?

Hm. Good, first. Other way around always ends up coming across as a lame attempt to soften the blow.

[If there is one. He did just say "less pleasant", not "completely awful" so there's still a wide range of possibilities. He reaches for the cup and this time hesitates to have a drink because hey, wow, that's hot! And he's capable of learning from his mistakes on rare occasions.]

Ooh, changing things up are we? You're always good for that. [Tyki takes a drink, and then sits down.

Also, good for you Rosinante. Nice to see some hesitance. Especially when Tyki is sitting right across in the splatter zone.] So we're actually going to have an office this time. A room at the police station is going to be reserved for us to use during the investigation. We're going to be allowed and involved.

The station here? What, are we getting contracted out, now? How are we being "involved" when we're the ones running this investigation?

[He's not actually sure if this is good news or not. The little town has no police, they decide to step in, and then suddenly the local police forces want to help so they can take credit? He's absolutely not averse to working with local law enforcement when it makes sense but isn't this out of their jurisdiction?

If they're really being genuine - and generous - then that's great, but having worked alongside the law and military in a few forms now, pardon him if he's a little skeptical of their motives.]

back to my home, sweet home

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Non-graphic descriptions of death and mutilation

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