The Found Arcana - Chapter 11 [IC] Options

[Tecumseh]

Adeline is fairly tight-lipped about Ms. Potter's apartment, although at one point she does let it slip that astral signatures were found on the location, which helped explain how the intruder broke in.

That's as much as AM can get out of Adeline regarding the break-in. However, Adeline is more forthcoming about Howard Cannon's murder.

"They 'caught' the person who 'did' it," she says, adding some tipsy air quotes.

But Adeline thinks that something was odd?

"It doesn't add up," she says, shaking her head. She leans in to whisper conspiratorially.

"Cannon was out walking around, meeting and greeting voters. He saw a squatter woman - a bag lady - in the alleyway and, probably in a fit of public relations, went over to talk to her, express his concern, demonstrate his humanity, etc. And as he's bending over to talk her, she suddenly lunges out and STABS HIM!"

This last part is probably more boisterous than Adeline intended and earns her a glance from the ladies who are dining at the next table. She thrusts her hand forward suddenly to mime stabbing someone.

"Then she jumps up and runs off!" she adds, throwing her hands up in the air.

So what doesn't add up? Adeline drops her voice, her eyes darting right and left a little drunkenly.

"The knife that was used? A Cougar Fineblade!" She waves her hand airly. "Official explanation was that it was stolen." She gives a little "pah!" to express her doubt.

"And there was one witness who said that before she ran off, the woman whispered something in his ear, and then he whispered something back." Her eyes go wide.

But wasn't she caught?

"Oh, we caught someone, and convicted someone," Adeline says, giving AM a downward look over the top of her nose to convey her true opinion of the matter. "Goodness knows there are enough SINless around." She swirls her mimosa glass and then downs the last drops of it, finishing off her third.

[Gilga]

"SINless are easy victims. No lawyers. I shrug"

I let her speak and then summarize her story.

So a SINless bag lady recognized Cannon, whispered to him, and decided to murder him with a weapon that requires physical strength and skill to use effectively and is likely expensive enough to pawn for a meaningful sum for a squatter... I couldn't sell it as an explanation to a client, what am I missing?

I say sincerely I want to dig a little bit there, Adeline. I'd appreciate any reference or advice. I am not sure I'll find something more in a cold case. However, it is an interesting puzzle to solve. Could you point me at the witness or advise if they considered spirit possession or worse? Could they rule these things out? Not sure I could assense much after a murder. "

What if they do the same to Potter - I want to say, but leave it unsaid.

[Tecumseh]

"It's not a cold case," Adeline corrects. "It's a closed case.

"The lady they nabbed is up there in Hollywood."

She means Hollywood Correctional Facility, the biggest prison in Redmond. It’s notoriously overcrowded, especially after riots or mass raids, although some say that it’s still better than living in the Barrens.

"You can try to visit if you like, but you'll need to be on her visitor's list. Not sure how to manage that but Jawsey said you're the resourceful type.

"But, really..." She leans in and gives AM a look. "Will she actually know anything?"

She leans back.

"Covering up the black eye of losing a candidate was more important to the brass than digging too deeply. Want to talk to the eye witness? No problem: it was Corinne Potter."

[Gilga]

" Despite what I write to my mother, I am not a secretary..." I comment when Adeline mentions Jawsie saying I am resourceful. It is not a secret, but admitting to being a decker to a copper is a bit too much for me, considering how illegal these things are for me to practice. I don't want to lie to her, I try to form a relationship and she is a pleasant person.

I take a sip from my mimosa. I dread the alcohol making me say too much, but I have changed, and I have a lot more body mass right now, so perhaps I can stomach a drink. I tried that terrible Orc drink and survived - the Mimosa is much more pleasant. I comment at the mention of Potter - a bit surprised initially - but perhaps I should have seen it coming.Her again? Some of my neighbors are very opinionated about her." I pause and add , Though they mainly discuss her fashion choices. I roll my eyes in disapproval and wonder how horrible it would be for me to get such fame even if I dress a bit nicer nowadays when I don't feel the need to appear as unattractive as I possibly can.

So Potter and Cannon were alone in Snohomish talking to squatters for the campaign, probably in the less secure part of town... No security, photographers, personal assistants, or even a driver, heh?
I wonder if they should have security, photographers, or personal assistants.
... and Potter benefits from this murder. I get why they wanted to close this investigation so soon - under normal circumstances, she might have been a suspect. Isn't it so? "

[Tecumseh]

"Oh, quite the opposite!" Adeline says.

"Cannon had a driver from the DPD. Dignitary Protection Division. Potter was acting as Cannon's personal assistant that day. No metahuman photographers, but there was a drone that captured everything. Public relations, remember? No sense in talking to squatters unless you're trying to score some points with the electorate. I think the idea was to draw some contrast with Nikola Taul and her shiny corporate richness. Probably the same reason why Cannon told his driver to stay behind: taking your bodyguard doesn't exactly make you look brave."

Adeline waves her mimosa glass airly. She goes to finish it off before belatedly realizing that it's empty.

"I should stop..." she says, putting the champagne flute down. She takes a bite of eggs, which she had momentarily forgotten about.

"So the driver saw it, Potter saw it, and the drone caught it all on camera. So, really, among all the homicides in Seattle, this was one of the better documented ones!"

She sips her glass of water but looks disappointed that it's not alcohol.

"Anyway, not gonna make that mistake again," she says and her tongue is definitely starting to slur a bit. "Two coppers escorting Potter now. And after the break-in yesterday she'll have astral escort too." She taps the side of her nose.

[Gilga]

I take a few more bites from the omelet and a few fresh vegetables while Adeline is talking. When I notice her glass empty, I automatically order her another go - perhaps inspired by Japanese etiquette to not leave anyone's glass empty. At least my take on that culture, but it shows good hospitality, and I don't want her to feel like we overdid it.

I order Adeline and myself another Mimosa, I have the Detox spell, so I can stop the buzz once it is no longer fun. "Oh wow, it is quite a story. I feel sorry for her already... " I sigh, and then look at my new glass, and take a sip, to enjoy the orangy taste and think for a brief moment. ... but if Potter is not a suspect, then what angel would you tackle? I say with a bit of flattery - but I am genuinely curious about her intuitions on this one considering her many years of experience in the field. If needed, I'll guide her answer by asking if there is anything obviously missing in the investigation report, or some actions that one could take. I am trying to get some opinionated advice as to how to look into Cannon's murder investigation because she has played some part in plenty of them.

[Tecumseh]

Adeline looks surprised to find her champagne glass filled again. She pushes it gingerly away, as if it might explode, or as if she might.

"What angle would I take?" she asks, her eyes wide. "No angle at all! I'd leave it alone!

"Look, the brass were embarrassed but were able to save face by locking someone up and throwing away the key. How do you think they'll respond to someone scratching at their story, trying to dig up dirt? Answer: poorly. I don't know anyone who wants to incur the wrath of Knight-Errant."

She rubs her eyes, which seem to be swimming a bit. Then she refocuses on AM.

"But let's say - theoretically, very theoretically - someone wanted to bring the killer to justice. Private justice, street justice.

"I'd bet money that this wasn't a random killing but an assassination. The knife, the skill to use it, the nimble escape. It all strikes me as a professional hit. Now trying to figure out who would hire such a person might be a needle-in-a-haystack prospect - politics being a cesspit - but finding the assassin might be possible.

"I'd start with the list of known shadow operatives in the city. There might be 6,000 of them, but usually only a fraction are comfortable with straight-up wetwork. So that might slim the list down to 600. Slim that down by training, expertise, modus operandi, etc. and maybe you get that list down to 60.

"Still a lot of work to detective narrow it down further - and dangerous work at that, given the subjects - but it would be a start!"

"Of course, someone on the other side of the fence might know who to talk to. Or maybe even put feelers out, expressing admiration for the work. The fastest way to find a killer? Try to hire them!"

She gives a look of surprise, perhaps at what she's said out loud. Her fingers reach for the mimosa glass and she takes a sip, as if that might drown out her uncorporate thoughts.

[Beta]

Tamarind spends part of the morning knitting an attempt at a Sherlock Holmes hat for Stitch, while doing some research. The knitting is not especially succesful, but then again Stitch's style sense is quirky at best, so maybe it would do? But her real focus on the research.

Although she doesn't know much about how political campaigns work, logically it seems that if they want volunteers they have to be somewhat public. And people who can run a campaign office or do some of the other specialized tasks sound almost like specialist contractors, not entirely unlike SIS in some ways, in that there will often enough be people who need those services but it often won't be repeat business. Which would suggest that they must have some degree of public profile, or nobody would know to hire them. So while she knits she runs searches on who is working for Potter in what roles, and what she can find out about them. If she is possibly going to go try and volunteer it seems like knowing something ahead of time would help.

As she is wrapping up that, an impulse strikes her and she looks up the key figures in the campaigns of the major candidates who lost in the first round. Seattle politics has to be a somewhat small world, and likely enough of them know each other and gossip. It may not be worth the time to talk to any of those folks unless they are running into dead ends with more direct investigations, but if there are any with likely links to people they know, or who seem particularly easy to approach, it might be worth investing a bit of effort to talk to them, so step one is to assemble some names, just to have options.

[Tecumseh]

Tamarind comes up with dozens of names and dozens of profiles. The question is what to do with them.

As for volunteering, the Potter campaign does accept volunteers. Tamarind finds the following requirements:

Age: You must be at least 16 years old to volunteer for a political campaign in the United States.

Background check: Potter's campaign requires volunteers to pass a background check.

Availability: You must be available to volunteer for a certain amount of time each week. Usually 4 hours/week is the minimum.

Commitment: You must be committed to supporting the Technocratic platform, and Ms. Potter specifically.

Citizenship: You must be a UCAS citizen to volunteer for a political campaign in the United Canadian and American States.

The last requirement is to avoid the influence of foreign, or megacorp, agents.

In her searching, Tamarind doesn't find any obvious red flags about Potter's campaign or her campaign staff. There was a lot of continuity between Cannon's campaign and Potter's. Since Potter had been Cannon's campaign manager, presumably she already knew a lot of the staff and the volunteers, and perhaps hired them herself. The biggest change that Potter made was to promote Aviv Castel to the position of Campaign Manager.

Aviv is maybe 10 or 12 years younger than Potter and also attended the University of Washington. She has held several campaign positions for Technocratic candidates ever since she graduated. She's been a Fundraising Testing Analyst, Digital Ads Strategist, Senior Matrix Strategist, Deputy of Grassroots Fundraising, and Donor Retention and Cultivation Director. She has two dogs, a Doberman Pinscher ("Dalia") and a German Shepherd ("Gavriel"). She often takes the dogs out running.

[Gilga]

“Private justice, you are intense, Adeline.” I say with a slightly more real smile and bigger than I would normally smile. Probably the alcohol. "I’ll keep that kind of vigilante justice to Patsy Walker. She would do it in an awesome way, and all the consequences would end in less than ninety minutes,” I say, and then imagine briefly how it would feel to martial arts to defeat a killer like in Marvel's trends. “Very hypothetically, if I were to obtain such information, I’d probably sell it. I can imagine a few players would be interested in such information for diverse reasons.” I say, and then let the conversation continue without much of an aim. Adeline is a good chat, and I don't have many friends; if I am paying a small fortune for a branch - I might as well enjoy the food and company.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had decided to do something entirely different: He went to the actual place of the murder and took a look around for any remaining tracks - both on the astral or for potential witnesses i.e. other squatters that might be able to give him a pointer to what the assassin looked like and where they went.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 10d6t5 2
Perception: 15d6t5 6
Etiquette: 6d6t5 2

[Tecumseh]

<<Sunday Morning - 11:11 - April 9, 2079 - Snohomish>>

The murder happened back in December. It is now April, and four months of Seattle winter have scrubbed away any physical traces of the murder.

The astral is a slightly different matter. Bobby isn't exactly sure where the murder took place, as the news reports were not specific enough, although they led him to the general vicinity. It's a Rating D neighborhood that's mostly low-end businesses like restaurants, laundromats, strip malls and the like.

Once he there, Bobby's able to gravitate toward the darkest background count. There's an unpleasant patch (rating 2) that was probably worse a few months ago but has started to fade. The spot is in an alleyway visible from the street. Tall brick walls form each side of the alley, which also has several Dumpsters overflowing with refuse. Perhaps in the winter the weather conditions act like a natural refrigerator, but here on a warm spring morning the scent is pungent. Bobby might be grateful that his eyes are his improved senses, instead of of his nose.

Bobby's keen senses detect the presence of squatters deeper in the alley. (Bobby notes that the alleyway goes through and is not a dead end.) The squatters are wary of him and are trying to hide. They're not running, nor confrontational, but they look quite skittish. An astral peek suggests that Bobby's presence is antagonizing them.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby looked around, and decided that he needed some force multiplier here. He went to the nearest donut shop and invested in a very large box and six paper cups of piping hot soycaf.

With that bounty, he moved back into the alley:

"Hey, here's the deal: I've got hot soycaf and some damn fine pastries. Also, I've got some questions. If I get answers to the latter, you can have the former."

He placed the box on a box, took out a donut with sprinkles and bit into the still warm baked good with every sign of enjoyment.

[Tecumseh]

There's some rustling as the squatters start to pay attention to the commotion.

Bobby counts five or six of them. (There are six, but the last one - a large ork - is either sleeping or passed out.) They are generally malnourished and in poor health, as one might expect. Their auras are not pleasant to look at.

An older human female seems to be the spokesperson, or at least the one least afraid to talk.

"Soykaf!" she spits dismissively. "Where were you three months ago? It's spring now! We're not cold anymore.

"We need proper nutrition, not sweeteners." There's a rumbling among the other squatters at this, although it's difficult to tell if it means they agree or if, no, they actually would like some high fructose corn syrup.

"Yer one of these rich types that think the likes of us can be bought off for a pittance. Ask your questions and I'll tell you how much they cost."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby shrugged:
"Calories are calories. Damn tasty ones at that. But if you want, I'll come back with a basket of apples. I prefer them myself. Just a bit harder to come by."

He clapped his hands to get rid of the powdered sugar.

"But fair enough. Did anyone of you witness the assassination of the mayoral candidate four months ago? If not, do you know anyone who did?"

[Tecumseh]

"Calories are not calories," the woman retorts, evidently passionate about the subject. "Get out of here with your simple carbohydrates." She waves dismissively.

The woman's eyes harden when Bobby mentions the subject.

"Mm, murder. Expensive information, that." Of course, who knows what her definition of 'expensive' is.

She considers Bobby closely.

"Didn't see the murder. But saw the murderer."

Her aura suggests she's telling the truth.

"Burritos. Two for each us, one for now, one for later," she says. "Plus the apples. One for each. And a jar of peanut butter. Leave the soykaf and donuts."

Some quick math suggests that this is about ¥100-120 of food, which breaks down to about ¥20 each. There's a Stuffer Shack just a few blocks away.

[Jack_Spade]

"You drive a hard bargain - that's better food than I usually get."
Bobby didn't have to lie, considering what he tended to forage when out in animal form.

"Alright, I'll be back in 15 minutes."

Bobby did buy the requested items and put some hygiene articles and some flats on top, to even his expenses out to a total of 200 Nuyen.

When he got back, he put the box with it's bounty on the ground between himself and the group.

"Ok, spill, what do you know and how do you know it?"

[Tecumseh]

The squatters do their best to look brave and to try to stand their ground, but Bobby can tell from their auras that they're really very skittish. They're doubtful when Bobby leaves and equally mistrustful until he produces the goods, along with the bonuses.

They slowly advance forth, as if they might be suddenly caught in a giant hidden net that will scoop them off the ground. They snatch the burritos and scatter in different directions to a safe distance.

"What do you mean, 'How do I know it?'" the old woman asks sourly. "The same way anyone knows anything: I seen it, I heard it."

While still tart, her mood improves little by little as she eats and drinks a bit. She flips a garbage can upside down to sit on it.

"She weren't from around here," she begins, shaking her head. "Not a squatter. Didn't know the lingo, the customs, the courtesies. Dressed like what the folks in the props department think a squatter would dress like. Not the least bit functional: not enough layers for December."

She looks Bobby straight in the eye. "But most of all... her skin was too smooth." She drags her dirty fingers over her own saggy face. "She was hydrated. Didn't have that sallow complexion from malnutrition. Oh, she put makeup on to look older and dirty, and might pass for such at a distance, but up close?" She shakes her head at the absurdity of it.

"You don't get women like that here in the gutters. They wind up in bunraku parlors, or in the harem of some gang leader.

"She was up to no good. Didn't know what, but when it happened... we all knew who it was."

But the old woman didn't witness the murder?

"No, but I saw her run by with blood on her hands and a wicked grin. Moved too fast. Life out here has a way of weighing down on you."

Did anyone tell this to the police?

"No," she shakes her head. "They never asked. We're not 'reliable witnesses'. They think we'll either tell them gibberish because they're cops, or tell them gibberish because we're all mentally ill. Plus we smell bad so they don't like talking to us none. Suits me fine."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby though for a moment: "Could you describe the assassin well enough for me to draw her face?
What nationality has she? Facial features? Some accent perhaps?
Did she have a place where she prefers to squat?

Also, where did she run to? Do you know anyone who saw her afterwards? Getting in a building or a car?
Anything of her she touched or held where I could conceivably find DNA of her?
I know it's a long shot, but sometimes you are in luck.

By the way: My name's Bobby. I work for a detective agency. My card is in the box. Tell your fellow squatmates I'm looking to talk with the assassin. Anyone want to talk with me, I'll be hanging out in the stuffershack the next few evenings. Don't be shy to spread the word around."

Bobby decided it was a lot easier to get found by an assassin instead of finding them. With any luck someone would turn up to silence him.

[Tecumseh]

The old woman thinks about it for a minute. Her rising blood sugar has improved her mood.

"Yes, I believe I could describer her," she nods.

"She didn't squat here long. She was just here a day in advance, maybe two at the most. She seemed to be getting the lay of the land, stumbling into everyone's personal space."

The other squatters grunt and nod at this.

"What did she touch? Lots of stuff, most of it bags of garbage that have since been carried off. I can show you where she knifed the man, but I don't know what you hope to find after four months.

"She ran off that way." The old woman points out the other end of they alley, the opposite end from where Howard Cannon was killed. "Moved so fast that as soon as she turned the corner, she was gone. Bit of a sprinter, she was. Didn't exactly chase her down, did I? Doubt I could have, not that I would after what she had just done to the man. I don't know where she went after that. She hasn't been back since."

The others nod and murmur. They agree that the assassin hasn't been back since then, as she clearly wasn't from around here in the first place.

[Thanee]

While Bobby is out looking for clues on the murder, Rachel wonders what she could do to help. She figures, since she wants to take a direct look at their target, it could be useful to know the surrounding area where the animal shelter is located. Maybe also Ms. Potter's jogging route, but first things first. Surely, there are plenty hiding places around the shelter, from where she could observe.

She takes a cab to a location about a block away from the animal shelter, where she can find some stores to shop (or rather pretend shopping), which she will do for a while, before taking a walk around the area.

Occasionally, she makes use of her divination spells to take a look into some more remote corners. Maybe there is a good spot, ideally somewhere higher up, where she could linger for a while and not be seen from the street.

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

Analyze Device (Pad and Pencil) F3+3 reagents: 18d6t5 6
Resist Drain: 11d6t5 5
No drain

Object resistance: 6d6t5 1

+5 bonus to drawing

Artisan drawing: 13d6t5 6

Bobby nodded and produced an old school pencil and pad and began drawing - he usually created armor designs that way, but drawing a face was nothing else than designing a mask.
A bit of magic gave him also the ability to wield the implements as if they were extensions of his own body.

[Tecumseh]

Raven finds no lack off good spots to observe the animal shelter. It's in the parking lot of a strip mall that's no more than 30 meters away. If she could get onto the roof of the drug store that's across the parking lot, she'll have an elevated view of the surrounding area. If she doesn't want to be that exposed then it would also be easy just to be sitting in a car parked in the parking lot. There is plenty of traffic in and out, so blending in shouldn't be an issue.

There are also no lack of decent places to jog. There are some parks nearby, plus a trail that follows along the Snohomish River that's just a kilometer or two away. But the most likely spot would be a park just to the north of Potter's apartment building.

Raven sees an old dwarven woman walking a dog. She looks lonely, and like the type of person who would be familiar with the pulse of the neighborhood.

~~~

Bobby finds that the hardest part of being a forensic artist isn't the actual drawing - which his magical assist - but rather the language that's used to describe different features.

It's a frustrating process with a lot of back and forth that requires a good deal of patience. It takes a couple hours before Bobby produces a sketch that passes the approval of the old lady, who goes by Agnes. She grows a bit more testy as time goes on, but seems committed to the process.

"Gives us a bad name, folks like that," she explains. "Dressing up like one of us, then committing a crime like that. Makes the public think we're all knife-wielding psychos. Just gives the police an excuse to crack our skulls and kick our teeth in."

The end result is a woman's face who is probably in her thirties (although she tried to make herself look older with makeup). The suspect is reasonably attractive, which was a point of suspicion among the squatters. They didn't see the woman's ears, but her rounded facial features suggest a human instead of an elf. Her precise skin tone is harder to pin down because of the makeup, but it was on the lighter end of the scale. Her hair was dark brunette or black, but if she was disguising herself with makeup then it's also possible she was wearing a wig. It's not impossible the suspect was using a nanopaste disguise, but those only last 24 hours and Agnes is confident that the woman looked the same over a longer span than that.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby thanked Agnes, making sure to take pauses and bring some more supplies to the little squatter community.
When he was finished, he sent an image of the drawing to his colleagues.

"Alright, thank you for your help. Would you be open for some jobs, if they come about in the future? First would be to spread the word that I'm hanging around here, looking for the killer. Maybe I can draw out someone who wants to shut me up."

In total, Bobby spend 400 Nuyen on the squatters, chalking it up as necessary expenses and then wandered down the alley, trying to imagine where he in the shoes of an assassin would have gone if he couldn't just change shape. All along he kept his eyes open for cameras that might have caught something. He knew that KE seldomly bothered requesting private or corporate camera data - too much red tape and legal costs for the notorious peny pinching corporate organization. Arresting someone unrelated was much cheaper and got the same success bonus.

[ Spoiler ]

Not sure what skill to use, but tracking sounds reasonable
Tracking: 11d6t5 6

[Tecumseh]

The squatters appreciate the additional spending. They seem to be open to the concept of working together in the future, although none of them have commlinks. They do think he's nuts for announcing himself as someone who is searching for the killer.

Once that's done, Bobby exits the alley onto a street... and about a hundred directions someone could have gone.

He looks around for cameras. Given that it's a low-end commercial district there are some, but it's not blanket coverage like it would be in an AAA neighborhood.

He finds two candidates: one that's closer and has a better view of the mouth of the alley but looks hardwired, and the other that's farther away but looks wireless.