Thread: Strange Town, Strange Folks (Chichi Cheetah & Sheena-Tiger)

Ty feigned being offended by being called too old , starting to laugh. Oh, this girl was a funny one! But her next words cut his laughter short and his smile disappeared as his lips tightened to a thin line. He glanced at her, discreetly - was she a human? Completely human ? He'd have to poke a few folks in town... But hearing that she liked Sanford put him at ease, a little, even though she wanted to leave as quickly as possible. It's a good place. Had family that died to protect it, forest fires and all a few times after Centralia caught on fire. Centralia, PA was a town not far from Sanford, perpetually covered in a heavy cloak of smoke as a coal mine beneath it burned away. It didn't just bring fires, though, he thought with a vague grimace. Kris shook her hand firmly, a smile on his face. Well, I'm glad someone can put a name to this poor sod. I already sent his dental xrays to try to get an identity that way. Think this is the first time the face wasn't completely mauled. He unlocked the locker with ring of keys hanging from his belt under his lab coat and opened it - swung open toward him, most of the cabinets seemed to open leftward - and gently pulled the table out, one hand under it to stabilize it slightly. Even through the sheet, it was apparent something was wrong with the middle area of the body. He was... found... ripped in two, the examiner said cautiously, fingers gripping the edge of the sheet, I have a colleague coming to help put him back to rights so he can have a proper funeral, if his widow wishes. I'm just glad she won't see him the way we found him. At her words about the skull, he visibly perked up - well, somehow, despite the fact he was already incredibly perky. Oh! You met another forensic sculptor? There aren't many of us on this side of the country. I'd love to show you. He set his folder down on a rolling table behind him and used both hands to slowly pull the sheet down. The victim's face, while visibly bruised and missing patches of skin from where he'd been abraded, was intact - clearly her client's missing husband. I just ... I can't figure out why he was here. None of the motels knew his face, none of the businesses knew him, Kris glanced at Ty near the door, and the man faintly shook his head, and Kris adjusted what else he was about to say, He's a total stranger to everyone here. What Kris wanted to say, if Emilia had been in the know about the surreal and the strange, was that a hunter's kit had been found torn asunder near the body - wooden stakes, silver bullets and knives, everything you needed to hunt a nonhuman had been in the bag. A bloodstained journal had been found nearby, but quite a few pages had been torn from it. Kris gently covered the victim's face with the sheet again after a few minutes and pushed him back into the cooler, shutting and locking its door as he picked up his folder and notated something in it with a pen from his pocket. If it's okay with you, I have some questions too- A light buzz distracted the man and a voice came over the speaker, Kris, can I come in? Ty said to come here. Kris bristled and rounded on Ty, I can't have this many people in my workspace! Ty shrugged, Figured our PI would have questions for this one. The more info we have, all of us, the faster we can figure this out. Kris groaned but shook his head, sitting at his other desk next to Ty and hitting a button on the other computer. Another buzz rang out and footsteps lightly clicked down the hall, the sound of a plastic bag rustling accompanying the steps, and the other private investigator stepped in, setting a large bag paper, with plastic outside down next to Kris and smiling sheepishly. Truce? The examiner peeked into the bag and relaxed a bit, pulling out a tin and opening it to sniff a label on the side read peppermint rose . Fine, fine. He had a smile on his face though it was apparently hard for Kris to stay mad at people for long, especially where his favorite tea was involved. The ginger-haired woman took out a hairtie and lifted her hands, starting to braid her long orange-red hair back to get it out of her way as her clear blue eyes fell on Emilia. You're the one Ty mentioned? she asked, twisting the hair tie around the end of her braid and letting it fall down against her shoulder. There was something unearthly about how beautiful this woman was - a supine grace, almost, in the way she crossed the room and offered her hand for Emilia to shake. Her nails were short and painted a pale, summery green. I'm Ariella Gottklein, but you can just call me Ari. I'm investigating the deaths as well. Our police department... is lacking, a little, she admitted, her other hand brushing some of her own hair out of her eyes that she'd missed. Small city, we're not used to this much... trouble, to put it plainly. Kris groaned, Not our fault there's been ten deaths in a month!