|
Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 10, 2011 13:28:16 GMT -8
Time: Day 4, Morning Weather: Cloudy Warnings: none? Characters: Emily Wyatt, George Woodman, Francis York Morgan, Clover Foster [Closed]
Emily tried to stifle a yawn as she navigated her Tough Chap past the Milk Barn on route to the crime scene in the Greenvale Forest Park. In the passenger seat sat a stern looking George Woodman who seemed less then pleased to be in the presence of Agent Francis York Morgan who was currently seated in the back seat. Emily frowned and sighed, it was obvious George was still butt hurt over losing control over the investigation to York yesterday.
She rubbed at her eyes and concentrated on her driving. She did not get enough sleep yet again because she stayed out way too late at SWERY 65 and to top it off she had that nightmare. She figured it was triggered by that unpleasant trip to the morgue and George's yelling yesterday. Emily was staring to think she would never get a decent night sleep as long as she was involved in this murder investigation.
The silence in the car was mighty uncomfortable and it made Emily very nervous. She glanced in the rear view mirror saw York picking at the bagel sandwich and sipping the coffee she made him this morning. So in an attempt to break the silence she brightly asked, "Agent York do you like the bagel sandwich and the coffee? I think I getting better at making the sandwiches, it's a pity you didn't want one this time around George!"
|
|
|
Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 10, 2011 14:18:15 GMT -8
"It's a bagel sandwich?" York said dubiously. "Oh, I mean, of course it is." To Zach, he said under his breath, "I'm sure its uncanny resemblance to a run-over squirrel is just coincidence..."
He settled back and watched through the window as Greenvale slipped silently by, the clouds from yesterday threatening to burst once once more into wet weather. After being dropped off at the hotel last night, he'd dreamt vividly of Michael Tillotson as a white Persian cat. The cat wore a black collar with silver letters inscribed upon the band: "THIS CAT BELONGS TO..." followed by a name that had disappeared upon waking.
In the dream, he had tried to light a cigarette, but it turned into a laser pointer. He'd aimed it at the ground and watched the cat chase the little red light around for a while, and then the red light became a red seed. A naked David Hasselhoff wandered by with puppies covering his extremities... Despite York's protests, the actor ate the red seed, said it tasted like cheesburger, and put the cat on his head... Then York had sat up in bed exclaiming, "THAT'S who he reminded me of!"
Zach hadn't offered any insight except to remark that if they ever saw Dr. Bradley Karrde Smith again, York should keep this revelation to himself. Also, the second half of the dream had probably been inspired more by the jalapeno poppers than anything relevant to the investigation.
"By the way, Emily, this coffee is fantastic," he said, holding up his styrofoam cup. "You should really have some yourself; you seem tired. Did you get enough rest last night?"
|
|
|
Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 10, 2011 14:36:48 GMT -8
Fortunately Emily did not hear York's comment about about her sandwich resembling a "run-over squirrel" and was ecstatic that he loved her coffee. She wish Todd was here to hear York's compliment. She would totally rub it in his face for the poison comments Todd made yesterday morning. But hey at least GEORGE was here...maybe he would be inclined to let her near the coffee machine now?
Emily sure hoped so.
Emily gave York a big smile, "Why thank you Agent York! I actually did have a a cup earlier but I fear it did little to wake me up this morning. You could say I haven't been able to get a decent nights sleep since we discovered Anna..."
When I close my eyes the big bad wolf will get me...
She trailed off not really wanting to go into the details as to why sleep had been alluding her as of late. Nightmares were the problems of a child not a woman in her 20's. It was embarrassing and she really didn't want to admit this problem in front of her boss either.
|
|
George Woodman
Junior Member
I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious nook and cranny!
Posts: 94
|
Post by George Woodman on Jan 10, 2011 16:37:22 GMT -8
George sat back in his seat with his arms crossed. He didn't feel like talking at all. He was still bitter about Agent Morgan taking control of the investigation. Knowing him, he'd probably end up doing some sort of Broadway Musical in front of the tree while wearing a thong bikini. At the very least, he'd spend as much time as possible doing everything but investigating.
George looked over at Emily "I already had breakfast this morning Emily. Sometimes, I like to keep it down in my stomach." he responded, in a somewhat grumpy voice. "For one, we agree on something, Agent Morgan." he thought, grudgingly admitting that Morgan was right about Emily's cooking resembling roadkill more than actual food.
When Emily mention not being able to get a decent night's sleep, George turned to her. "Tell me about it. Every night since, I stay awake knowing there's a killer loose in Greenvale." he said, sounding a bit somber. "But this killer's can't hid for long. I'm going to catch this person with my own two hands." he then turned to Morgan in the back "You'll see, Agent Morgan."
|
|
|
Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 10, 2011 17:01:41 GMT -8
"I understand, Emily. When I was just starting out in the Bureau, some of my early cases made me wish sleep wasn't so necessary for the human body to function... The nightmares were awful! But if you can control the dream, you can learn to use it as an important investigative tool instead of letting it frighten you. There's books on the subject. You both should give it a try..."
York smirked as George turned to look at him. "Although it sounds like you have a slightly different sleeping problem, George. Literally catching the murderer with your bare hands sounds more like a day-dream than a dream."
Zach, George is quite gung-ho about this case. He looked so serious when he said it, too... I'm sure he meant well, even if his ideas are a bit impractical.
He sat up and looked through the windshield. "I think I see yellow police tape in the trees up ahead. I'm assuming that's your department's doing and not some teenage prank."
|
|
|
Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 10, 2011 19:49:18 GMT -8
Emily frowned and shot a glare in George's direction for his comment about keeping breakfast in his stomach. That was just mean, and something Todd would say. Steven only threw up once and that was a couple months ago! How long was everyone going to hold that against her! She even had one of her sandwiches this time around! Sure it didn't look pretty but she though it tasted okay.
Obviously George was still in a foul mood with her. That was fine by her as she was still quite mad at him for yesterday too.
So she ignored George's comment about not sleeping either and gave all her attention to York.
Dreams are investigation tools? Maybe there's a reason my nightmare intensifies every night?
"That's interesting Agent York, I'll have to look into that. I always thought dreams were utter nonsense!"
Emily pulled the her car into park and stepped out into the frigid air. The shock of how cold it was up here made her pull her coat tighter around her frame and stuff her hands in her pockets. November was awfully cold this year! She could already see her breath. She wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing soon.
She quickly walked around her car opened the back passenger door for York and then immediately headed down the forest path towards the crime scene without waiting for George. Sure it was childish but she didn't care! He was being a jerk!
Though if she was being truthful she just wanted to get the hell out of the forest. The quicker they got down to the scene the quicker they could leave. On her way down the path her hands shook and her legs felt like they would give out at any moment.
Usually during the day she was fine with being in the forest. The trees were beautiful and hiking the trails was a lot of fun. Plus watching all the birds and other wildlife was fun. It wasn't until darkness came did her nyctohylophobia rear it's ugly head and turn the once happy atmosphere into sinister. But with her nightmare still fresh in her mind her fight or flight instincts were on overdrive and begged her to get the fuck out of here.
Breathe in. Breathe out. It was a dream and it's sunny out. Nothing will get you here when Sheriff Butt-head and an FBI Special Agent are behind you. Calm down!
Her mantra helped little as she was still convinced she heard the that big wolf circling her now. She swore she could hear crunching leaves keeping pace with her. Emily knew he was just waiting for the right moment to strike!
When the large red tree where Anna's corpse was found came into view Emily stayed back. She was half afraid red vines would suddenly appear and string her up as they did in her dream. So she let Agent York and George pass her. She knew she was being silly but it didn't stop the tremors.
At least I can hide my hands in my jacket...I'll let York do his thing, I just pray it won't take too long
|
|
Clover
Junior Member
Eats red seeds for breakfast.
Posts: 81
|
Post by Clover on Jan 10, 2011 20:13:35 GMT -8
Clover had parked her bicycle for awhile now, and had hidden it behind some bushes, away from the tree of Anna, hoping it not to be seen by anyone around. She had been observing the scene from afar, she saw a huge red tree in the center, assumed that was the tree where they found Anna,or that was she heard in town. "How interesting." whispered to herself. For some reason Clover was fascinated by the scene, she wanted to get closer, look in detail, step on that floor. Although she knew she should not. She moved in a little more, leaving the place where she was hiding. Suddenly she could hear an engine sound. She jumped back to the hiding place, behind some trees. From there she could see the scene perfectly.
Observed as the police woman got off the car, and she could also see the FBI guy and the sheriff of Greenvale.
Accidently Clover stteped over some leaves,making a crunch sound. She hoped nobody heard them.
|
|
George Woodman
Junior Member
I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious nook and cranny!
Posts: 94
|
Post by George Woodman on Jan 12, 2011 12:28:51 GMT -8
George rolled his eyes at Morgan's suggestion that dreams could be used as an investigation tool. "Right, if that was the case, I should start hiring kids who fall asleep in class all the time to join the force. That would be the day" he thought. “It was a figure of speech, Agent Morgan. I thought you city folks would be familiar with them” he replied.
He lounged back in his seat and remained quiet for the majority of the trip. There was no real reason for him to talk, now that Emily was pissed at him and he was pissed at Morgan. He wasn’t really in the mood for talking anyways.
When the car finally parked in front of the path, George got out with the rest of them. He had rolled his eyes again at Morgan’s comment. “Contrary to what you may think, Agent Morgan, our Department is very capable of handling police procedure” he had responded. He could feel the cool autumn air against his jacket, causing him to zip it up. Emily had seemed to be in such a rush to get to the crime scene that she didn’t wait for Morgan or George. He appreciated the enthusiasm and headed forward.
Along the way, he noticed several odd things. One was an extra set of footprints, still fresh in the trail next to Emily’s. ”Hmm, someone else was here? he wondered. He didn’t remember seeing these the day they first taped up the crime scene. Could someone have come to tamper with the evidence? ”Hopefully, that’s the case. That would make it easier to pin the crime on someone.” he thought.
He also could hear another set of footsteps apart from his own, Emily’s or Morgan’s. He looked around to see where the source of the sound was. However, all he saw was more woods. ”Could this be the mysterious crime scene defiler?” he wondered.
When the group arrived at the tree, he saw that not much had changed, aside from the lack of Anna on the tree. He was disappointed that there were no major changes. He turned to Morgan. “Well, here it is, the crime scene. I don’t know what you are expecting to find, but do feel free to look around.” George threw in Morgan’s direction. “Personally, I’ve seen enough of this tree to last me a lifetime. Even now I still get nightmares looking at it.” He added.
"This is the scene of the crime Morgan, I'll make sure of that..."
|
|
|
Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 12, 2011 19:09:58 GMT -8
"Profiling is a lot like editing together a movie in one's head," York said as Emily came up behind him, their footsteps crunching in the fallen leaves. She had her hands in her pockets even though it wasn't too cold out, and George was behaving like a tourist guide. York put his coffee and sandwich on a nearby log and stood staring up at the tree where Anna Graham had been found.
"For example, I am mentally picturing Anna as she appeared in the crime scene photos you sent... Cut out her image, overlay her on top of this peaceful forest meadow, and you have some basis for reconstructing the rest of the film. How she got here, where the killer went afterward... Profiling isn't exactly like writing a Hollywood screenplay, but you could say it's like being in the editing room after all the footage has been shot. Now it's our job to piece it together..."
<Someone's watching us.>
"I know, Zach, but we can't let ourselves be distracted," York whispered, staring at the ground. "If they're important to the case, they'll show themselves sooner or later... And if it's the killer, returning to the scene of the crime with police wandering about... Well, they're probably dumb enough that we'll catch up to them pretty quickly."
<...It's not the killer. But I have an idea of how to deal with them. In the meantime, you're right. We should concentrate...>
The most immediately apparent clues that something had gone amiss here were the footprints, half-smudged out by the rain, leading up to the tree... Several prints. Those of the killer... A woman in high-heeled shoes... and someone else. Someone who had been here recently, maybe even in the last few days. York prowled about the tree, eyes on the ground and fingers to his temple.
"...While I'm at it, Emily, George... Why don't you tell me what conclusions your department has already drawn? I'm sure even among the inexperienced, there must be some opinions flying around. You can start with the statements you took from the witnesses who found the body. What were their names? The Bingham twins?"
|
|
|
Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 12, 2011 22:53:42 GMT -8
Emily was surprised to hear that George was just as affected as she was after working the crime scene. That made her feel a little better about her current queasiness. If the "best of the best" of Greenvale's finest was spooked it's not surprising a lowly Sheriff Deputy like herself was losing sleep.
Still her heart hammered like a jackhammer. She had to get out of here soon or she might faint, and if that happened she would be so embarrassed! With a renewed vigor to calm down Emily concentrated on Agent York's smooth voice as he explained his profiling process. The even tone and the gentleness of his voice helped slow her pulse just a bit.
But she could still hear the rustle of leaves behind her. The wolf must realized she was here in his domain. He was prowling now. She knew it, she could feel it.
It's just a dream! It is probably just squirrels or some other friendly woodland creature! You need to calm down before you give yourself a heart attack in front of York and George!
Emily caught a flash of blonde hair in her peripheral vision. Was that Anna's restless spirit? No. Emily mentally rolled her eyes, now she was just being melodramatic.
York had asked her a direct question so she hesitantly answered unsure of her voice at that very moment.
In a trembling voice Emily began, "It's-it's 'Ingram' Agent York. Jim Green, the Greenvale forest keeper...we passed his cabin on the way, and his grandchildren Isaach and Isaiah Ingram age six fo-found..Anna."
God why won't her voice stop shaking! She clenched her fists in her coat pockets and nails bit into her palms, almost hard enough to draw blood. This sudden pain helped a bit to distract her from the fear that was currently tying her stomach into knots.
Her tongue darted out to wet her chapped lips, she wished she brought some water to take care of her parched throat. "They were taking their usual daily walk around the forest park when the twins spotted her in that tree. Poor Jim, he was quite upset the little guys had witnessed such a display he was convinced they would need some sort of long term therapy."
"However when I spoke with them they seemed fine...exuberant even. The just gushed to me about how pretty Anna was in her red dress, described how her golden hair had shined in the sunlight and that all the animals had come out to play with her. They had said she had become a 'Fairy of the Forest'.... a 'Goddess' and that she was so happy and even gave them a bright smile."
Emily sighed and gave a sad shake of her head, "I don't think their minds could handle what they truly saw Agent York. You saw the crime scene photos and it wasn't pretty. Anna's naked corpse was practically split in two and crucified onto that-that tree with wire." She said this last bit with disgust and glared at the tree like it was the one responsible.
"It was so-so awful!" A small trembling hand came out of her pocket and Emily angrily brushed her hair back. "Sure there was a red sheet I guess could have been construed to be a dress but-" Emily stopped herself mid-sentence. Her hand immediately returned to the safety of her coat pocket. There was no need to describe grisly scene, York saw the photos. There was no need to relive it!
"But I'm glad, very glad they found a way to cope with it."
I just wish I could do the same.
Emily frowned and took a deep breath before she continued. She hated that her voice still quavered but she pressed on because she wanted to give York all the facts he needed for his profile. "As of right now the Greenvale Sheriff Department is working on the theory that Anna was lured to her death by someone she knew. I have a suspicion she fell into the wrong crowd, maybe drug related? I don't know for sure and I can't understand why anyone would do such a horrible thing to such a sweet, innocent and beautiful girl like Anna."
Now that she was done she could only solemnly stare at the crimson tree, forever Anna's Tree...now, as if held all the answers they were seeking for this heinous crime.
|
|
Clover
Junior Member
Eats red seeds for breakfast.
Posts: 81
|
Post by Clover on Jan 13, 2011 13:31:30 GMT -8
When the police arrived in front of the tree of Anna, Clover hid completely, resting her back against the trunk of the tree where she was hiding. She stared straight ahead, staring into the forest. Clover began to get nervous. She was afraid to peek too much and be seen, they might discover her If she did spend to much time peeking. And what would happend if they discovered her? ''Well, in that case I could invent an excuse ...'' If she wasn't nervous enough to look like that she was lying. Clover was good at lying, but not in front of some people, the police for example. She would get more nervous than usuall, perhaps because they were agents of the law? Absurd, but she could not help it.
Slowly, trying not to make noise again, turned back and came back to watch the three people again. It seemed they were talking, but from there she could not hear anything.They were moving their mouth, but no sound would come from them. ''What a pity.'' Clover decided to get a little closer.
Crouching, walked into the bushes that were a little below from her current location. Still could not quite understand everything, especially ... the FBI agent, he spoke quite soft at times.
Suddenly she realized there was something equally interesting apart from that scenario. A few yards away, on the floor, there was a fur ball what seemed a dead squirrel. Clover's eyes shined with excitement, another nice squirrel skin for the collection. ''Damn ...'' It was enough far away, and exposed, so that she could get caught in the act. Clover was tempted to go for the squirrel, but could not let her to be seen that easy.
|
|
George Woodman
Junior Member
I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious nook and cranny!
Posts: 94
|
Post by George Woodman on Jan 14, 2011 10:53:26 GMT -8
George was starting at Morgan blankly while he gave his explanation of criminal profiling. "Editing a film? Writing a screenplay? Am I speaking to an actual FBI Agent or some doped up actor who thinks he is one?" George wondered, trying to follow along.
He had also noticed his odd habit of pausing after a conversation and staring off to the side. George had seen the made do it several times before, but he could have sworn his lips were moving, almost like he was talking to someone. He couldn’t hear what the man was saying, but it definitely looked like he was saying something. ”An imaginary friend? Why am I not surprised?” George wondered.
However, it was time for eyes forward. Morgan had challenged him again. He scowled when Morgan said inexperienced. "I've probably spent more years in law enforcement than you, buddy." he thought. After Morgan had said, Bingham, George stepped in to correct him. "Ingram Twins" he said.
"And you call us inexperienced, when you can't even get names right." he thought to himself.
He allowed Emily to give what conclusions she heard from Isaach and Isaiah. Even as a cop, Emily still couldn't talk about it without giving off telltale signs of her discomfort. The boys, on the other hand, treated it like a fairy tale, where Anna had ascended into the Forest to become a Goddess. He thought for a bit about the consequences of his actions: Emily, the woman he loved so dearly that he would give and do anything or her, was reduced to a quivering scared mess at the sight of the body, and two young boys had an image burnt into their minds that, once they got older, would take on a new, darker meaner. He almost felt guilt for his actions, but the darker side of him chimed in to save him. "All of these were acceptable losses. Power takes sacrifice, after all." he thought.
After Emily was done, George stared in. "I envy those two, Isaach and Isaiah. Sometimes, I wish that she really did end up as a Goddess of the Forest, instead of the target of some sick person's twisted desires." he exclaimed. He showed some discomfort in his words, though was not a shaking mess like Emily.
"From what I've been able to gather from the crime scene, it appeared like some sort of ritual occurred here. The way her body was hung against the tree indicates this. However, I believe that she was killed before she was hung against the tree. From the way she was hung, it would have been difficult for the killer to do what he or she did from the ground. So the killer drugged her up, sliced her open, crucified her against the tree and...I don't want to know what the killer did afterwords." he said, ended on a note of disgust.
"I also formed another conclusion. A couple days ago, the killer came back for something, perhaps trying to remove a key piece of evidence from the scene. There was an extra pair of footprints on the ground when we came in. They looked less that a few days old. However, I could not identify them."
|
|
|
Post by Francis York Morgan on Jan 15, 2011 12:29:03 GMT -8
"Thank you, Emily. George, one can be both a Forest Goddess and a murder victim," York said, squinting at something on the ground a few yards away. "The two labels are not mutually exclusive. In some unfortunate circumstances, such as that of Anna Graham, one must attain the latter condition before the former."
He went on: "The question is, who facilitated this spiritual transformation? What exactly were the perpetrator's so-called twisted desires, his purpose? There's no doubt that she was killed somewhere else, prior to the relocation of the body... As for what happened afterward, I think we can see the evidence of that right here... Which answers a few of my questions."
He turned and pointed at two rounded indentations in the grass before the tree. "See this? He knelt here, for a reason other than simple perversion... He was assuming a prayerful position. In this day and age, ritual slaughter is not as uncommon a practice as you might think, and the concept of religious ceremony has a certain appeal to the modern serial killer. If what the twins said is accurate, then our unsub must have had a similar idea in mind... To transform poor dead Anna's corpse from a mutilated, defiled object into one of worship. Which begs another question..."
York stooped and picked something off the ground, twirled it between his fingertips. It looked like a broken heel from a woman's red stiletto shoe. Then he gestured with it at the scattered footprints, those freshly imprinted from a few days ago and not yet completely rubbed out by new rainfall.
"...Who are all these other people? These newer footprints are undoubtedly those of an adult male, but since the killer's footprints have all but been erased by the rain, they could very well be those of someone returning to the scene of the crime. Perhaps he came back to make a new offering, but it doesn't explain why he ran away so quickly. Look how confused the tracks become, spread further apart as they move away from the tree... It's not polite to run out of a church, or any other place of worship. Inconsistent behavior with the killer's profile. Still, as George suggested, it's very possible they went to reclaim whatever Anna had been holding in her hand and were interrupted by some... other disturbance. They certainly didn't seem to care much about the police tape you've strewn everywhere.
"As for Miss Stiletto Heels... She could very well be another accomplice, or the next potential victim, or both. Zach, this place seems to be getting an awful lot of activity recently."
|
|
|
Post by Emily Wyatt on Jan 15, 2011 13:05:34 GMT -8
Emily's eyes followed York as he peered around the area. The killer worshiped Anna after her death? It didn't make sense to her, of course neither did the motivations for the killing.
She was in the middle of pondering what sort of occult religion would revolved around praying next to a crucified corpse when she spotted York stop to pick an object off the ground. Curious, Emily stepped forward and peered over his shoulder. It looked like a bright red heel from a stiletto? How did the Greenvale CSI team miss that? York literally found it within a couple steps of the tree.
Emily was mortified that the department gloss over such a large piece of evidence! Plus the state of the crime scene was embarrassing as well. The Greenvale Sheriff's department sure was sloppy!
They should have posted officers here in shifts until York's arrival to help keep the integrity of the scene. Instead, the Agent comes to find that the killer may have returned, vandalized the scene and taken evidence all while the department sat on their asses waiting for his arrival.
UGH!
With a blush Emily inquired, "York, is that a heel from a shoe in your hand?"
|
|
George Woodman
Junior Member
I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious nook and cranny!
Posts: 94
|
Post by George Woodman on Jan 15, 2011 17:58:00 GMT -8
"Well, if you want to put it that way..." George responded. "I never said they were, Agent Morgan!" he thought bitterly.
Morgan's analysis of what had occurred hit a bit too close to home for George. Though he hadn't figured out why, he knew that he had indeed knelt before the dead body of Anna. "I had to, Agent Morgan. You...you wouldn't understand." he thought. His face yet again showed no hints in his discomfort of Morgan's analysis. He'd have to keep an eye on this man.
He also found another piece of evidence: a broken stiletto heel.
"What? Let me see that." George exclaimed, taking the heel from Morgan. "This...how could the CSI Team have missed this? Either we have another person that came later or there are SOME people who are getting a pay cut." George said, giving the heel to Emily.
"Nonetheless, even if it is inconsistent with the killer profile, that doesn't mean it isn't the killer. Perhaps whoever this "Miss Stiletto Heel" is was working with the third set of footprints, but then something happened that made them both run off. Either they got into an argument or something like that."
"In either case, this gives me a better list of options to assign blame..."
|
|