Summary: A serial killer case strikes close to home for the Cascade PD.
Investigating an attack on one of their own, leads Jim and Blair to a
suspect who was involved in a murder thirty years before...as the victim.
A/N: This is VERY AU...it's a Cross-over with "Forever Knight" and the (R)ole (P)laying (G)ame "Vampire, the Masquerade". The vampire characters of Brandon, Aaron, Cassie and Heinrich are original characters created by players in the RPG I play in. Nick Knight is from the show "Forever Knight". You don't really need to be familiar with the game to understand the story, but you do have to be familiar with "Forever Knight" and the vampire genre in general to understand some of the references. I've provided some definitions from the RPG at the end of the story (chapter 12). For anyone who *might* be familiar with the White Wolf system, YES, I 'bent' some rules a little to fit into my story parameters...it's called 'creative license'! Alyssa and Loden are from the module--Chicago by Night.
**This story has an "R" rating for very strong language and violence--you have been warned!!
**Usual disclaimers apply!!! Don't own the Sentinel, Forever Knight or the RPG!!!
AARON'S MUSE
A. Hornsby
MONDAY 11:30am
SIMON BANK'S OFFICE
"So far, the *only* thing that connects the two victim's together, in any way, is the club over on Eighth Street...called the *Underground*. Now the first victim, Andy Chapman, got a job about a month ago as lead guitarist in the band that is currently playing there, called...'Aaron's Muse'. The lead singer is a Cassandra LaFay. Seems to be her band." Detective James Ellison reported to his Captain, as he tossed out a few black and white publicity photos of a pale young woman.
"Has the first victim, Chapman, remembered anything about his abductor, why or where he was taken, or how he escaped?" Captain Bank's asked, reaching for the photo's.
"Nothing. He could only remember being approached at closing time by a shadowy figure, being engulfed in this overwhelming feeling of euphoria and pain, then coming to in the hospital, with no visible wounds, but with *very serious* blood loss and absolutely no memories of the four days he was missing. He was found last week, near sun up, wandering aimlessly in the park." Jim answered grimly.
"So all we have to go on is these men's taste in music?" Simon commented, looking over the photos. The young woman appeared to be in her late twenties, with wild hair and full lips, and dark, piercing eyes that seemed to bore into your soul. "What do we have on this singer, 'Aaron's Muse'...?"
Sitting quietly up to this point, Sandburg piped in enthusiastically. "She was the lead singer in an alternative rock band called 'Serenade', they had quite a few hits and even a few albums but never toured much. Stayed pretty much in the Chicago area, in a bar called The Torch. About 2 years ago, they all suddenly dropped out of sight, *completely*. Not even their manager could be found. Cassie...uh, 'Aaron's Muse' now, resurfaced about a year ago, alone, playing in small clubs up and down the West Coast........"
Simon arched an eyebrow at Sandburg's breathless monologue. "And you would know all this because..."
"I have *all* her albums and even saw her and her band once when I was in Chicago."
"Now since we didn't have any leads with the victim's themselves and the club owner checks out I played a hunch and spent the morning cross checking Ms. LaFays' tour schedule with missing persons reports and murders while she was in each city." Jim said, taking back control of the conversation from his excitable partner. "Seems that trouble follows this young lady everywhere she goes. All in all, over the last ten months, and including our two victims, seven young men have disappeared and reappeared under similar mysterious circumstances and five others, almost six, if you count the incident this weekend, have been found murdered. In *all* thirteen instances the victims had either been band members or were seen at the club where the band played. I've requested copies of the investigator's reports...should be getting replies late this afternoon or tomorrow."
"Could this be an jealous ex-band member trying to thwart her comeback for being left out of the loop?" Simon suggested. "Or even some over zealous fan trying to get her attention?"
"It's one hell of a way to get attention; killing and kidnapping people." Jim said, shaking his head.
"I agree with Jim, I mean, these people may not your normal mainstream music fans; now if we were investigating suicides, yeah, maybe, but murder........kidnapping, I don't buy it." Blair explained while pacing around the room. "And as far as a comeback goes, she doesn't appear to be actively seeking one. She *only* plays small clubs. It's been rumored that she's turned down touring offers and a few record deals. She won't sing anything *but* the songs from her old band. That doesn't seem like someone who is interested in a solo career. The band members themselves would share equally in album royalties, and all the members had big enough fan followings to go solo."
"Where *do* you get this stuff Sandburg?" Simon sighed.
"Internet. *Everything* is on the Internet." Blair grinned. "As a matter of fact I pulled this up and copied it. It's a picture of her original band."
Simon took the offered photo and gave it a quick look before passing it to Jim, who studied the picture intently for a moment, before grabbing up both victim files. "We may just have found a connection between our victims and this singer."
Jim laid out the pictures of the two victims on the table and put the picture of the band beside them. "Look at victim one, Chapman." he said, pointing to a picture of a curly haired, red head. "Now look at this band member."
"Quite a similarity there." Simon mused.
"That band member is Aaron, he was the primary songwriter for the band. He called Cassie his 'muse' and wouldn't write for anyone but her and would become *very upset* if she sang any song he didn't write." Blair explained.
"Now she calls herself 'Aaron's Muse'—maybe *they* had a falling out. Maybe *he's* the one stalking her? Maybe he's got new material for her to try out?"
"But that wouldn't make sense, captain." Blair countered. "Why would she call herself '*Aaron's* Muse' if she wasn't willing to sing his new stuff, too?"
"And that might be an explanation if all the victims bore a similarity only to Aaron; but, look at this band member, who does he remind you of?" interrupted Jim grimly, pointing to a young, dark-haired, clean shaven man holding a guitar.
Simon looked at the picture then at Jim, eyebrows raised. "Damn."
"*That* was Cassie's boyfriend, Brandon." Blair supplied.
"Was there ever any 'tension' between the boyfriend and the songwriter for her attentions?" Simon asked, peering over at Sandburg.
"Haven't seen anything on any of the fan sites to indicate that there was, but I can check around some more." Blair answered.
"We need to get pictures of the other eleven victims and cross check them with this band picture..." Jim started.
"Jim, that is an awfully thin lead. Kidnapping, killing...because they 'look like' band members," Simon interrupted.
"It's all we've got, Simon, we are at a dead end here," Jim shot back. "I've come up with nothing on this one so far."
"Has this singer ever been questioned in any of this?" Simon asked.
"Several times and only briefly. She never stays in town long enough for a thorough investigation and there has never been any real evidence to link her to anything." Jim explained, scanning the report in his hand. "We're having some difficultly in tracking her down for questioning. We tried at the club this morning but it was locked up tight so we'll try again this evening."
A knock at the door halted their conversation. Rhonda popped her head in. "Simon, Henri called. Brian is conscious now."
"Thank god. How is he?" Simon asked.
"Henri said he's a bit dazed and very confused, but the doctor said he should make a full recovery." Rhonda reported.
"Lets get over there and talk to him. Maybe he can give us something."" Simon directed, grabbing for his coat.
Jim nodded, turning to gather up the pictures scattered across the conference table. His features grim, as he placed the latest victims picture—one, Detective Brian Rafe—on the top of the stack before closing the file.
TBA
A/N: This is VERY AU...it's a Cross-over with "Forever Knight" and the (R)ole (P)laying (G)ame "Vampire, the Masquerade". The vampire characters of Brandon, Aaron, Cassie and Heinrich are original characters created by players in the RPG I play in. Nick Knight is from the show "Forever Knight". You don't really need to be familiar with the game to understand the story, but you do have to be familiar with "Forever Knight" and the vampire genre in general to understand some of the references. I've provided some definitions from the RPG at the end of the story (chapter 12). For anyone who *might* be familiar with the White Wolf system, YES, I 'bent' some rules a little to fit into my story parameters...it's called 'creative license'! Alyssa and Loden are from the module--Chicago by Night.
**This story has an "R" rating for very strong language and violence--you have been warned!!
**Usual disclaimers apply!!! Don't own the Sentinel, Forever Knight or the RPG!!!
AARON'S MUSE
A. Hornsby
MONDAY 11:30am
SIMON BANK'S OFFICE
"So far, the *only* thing that connects the two victim's together, in any way, is the club over on Eighth Street...called the *Underground*. Now the first victim, Andy Chapman, got a job about a month ago as lead guitarist in the band that is currently playing there, called...'Aaron's Muse'. The lead singer is a Cassandra LaFay. Seems to be her band." Detective James Ellison reported to his Captain, as he tossed out a few black and white publicity photos of a pale young woman.
"Has the first victim, Chapman, remembered anything about his abductor, why or where he was taken, or how he escaped?" Captain Bank's asked, reaching for the photo's.
"Nothing. He could only remember being approached at closing time by a shadowy figure, being engulfed in this overwhelming feeling of euphoria and pain, then coming to in the hospital, with no visible wounds, but with *very serious* blood loss and absolutely no memories of the four days he was missing. He was found last week, near sun up, wandering aimlessly in the park." Jim answered grimly.
"So all we have to go on is these men's taste in music?" Simon commented, looking over the photos. The young woman appeared to be in her late twenties, with wild hair and full lips, and dark, piercing eyes that seemed to bore into your soul. "What do we have on this singer, 'Aaron's Muse'...?"
Sitting quietly up to this point, Sandburg piped in enthusiastically. "She was the lead singer in an alternative rock band called 'Serenade', they had quite a few hits and even a few albums but never toured much. Stayed pretty much in the Chicago area, in a bar called The Torch. About 2 years ago, they all suddenly dropped out of sight, *completely*. Not even their manager could be found. Cassie...uh, 'Aaron's Muse' now, resurfaced about a year ago, alone, playing in small clubs up and down the West Coast........"
Simon arched an eyebrow at Sandburg's breathless monologue. "And you would know all this because..."
"I have *all* her albums and even saw her and her band once when I was in Chicago."
"Now since we didn't have any leads with the victim's themselves and the club owner checks out I played a hunch and spent the morning cross checking Ms. LaFays' tour schedule with missing persons reports and murders while she was in each city." Jim said, taking back control of the conversation from his excitable partner. "Seems that trouble follows this young lady everywhere she goes. All in all, over the last ten months, and including our two victims, seven young men have disappeared and reappeared under similar mysterious circumstances and five others, almost six, if you count the incident this weekend, have been found murdered. In *all* thirteen instances the victims had either been band members or were seen at the club where the band played. I've requested copies of the investigator's reports...should be getting replies late this afternoon or tomorrow."
"Could this be an jealous ex-band member trying to thwart her comeback for being left out of the loop?" Simon suggested. "Or even some over zealous fan trying to get her attention?"
"It's one hell of a way to get attention; killing and kidnapping people." Jim said, shaking his head.
"I agree with Jim, I mean, these people may not your normal mainstream music fans; now if we were investigating suicides, yeah, maybe, but murder........kidnapping, I don't buy it." Blair explained while pacing around the room. "And as far as a comeback goes, she doesn't appear to be actively seeking one. She *only* plays small clubs. It's been rumored that she's turned down touring offers and a few record deals. She won't sing anything *but* the songs from her old band. That doesn't seem like someone who is interested in a solo career. The band members themselves would share equally in album royalties, and all the members had big enough fan followings to go solo."
"Where *do* you get this stuff Sandburg?" Simon sighed.
"Internet. *Everything* is on the Internet." Blair grinned. "As a matter of fact I pulled this up and copied it. It's a picture of her original band."
Simon took the offered photo and gave it a quick look before passing it to Jim, who studied the picture intently for a moment, before grabbing up both victim files. "We may just have found a connection between our victims and this singer."
Jim laid out the pictures of the two victims on the table and put the picture of the band beside them. "Look at victim one, Chapman." he said, pointing to a picture of a curly haired, red head. "Now look at this band member."
"Quite a similarity there." Simon mused.
"That band member is Aaron, he was the primary songwriter for the band. He called Cassie his 'muse' and wouldn't write for anyone but her and would become *very upset* if she sang any song he didn't write." Blair explained.
"Now she calls herself 'Aaron's Muse'—maybe *they* had a falling out. Maybe *he's* the one stalking her? Maybe he's got new material for her to try out?"
"But that wouldn't make sense, captain." Blair countered. "Why would she call herself '*Aaron's* Muse' if she wasn't willing to sing his new stuff, too?"
"And that might be an explanation if all the victims bore a similarity only to Aaron; but, look at this band member, who does he remind you of?" interrupted Jim grimly, pointing to a young, dark-haired, clean shaven man holding a guitar.
Simon looked at the picture then at Jim, eyebrows raised. "Damn."
"*That* was Cassie's boyfriend, Brandon." Blair supplied.
"Was there ever any 'tension' between the boyfriend and the songwriter for her attentions?" Simon asked, peering over at Sandburg.
"Haven't seen anything on any of the fan sites to indicate that there was, but I can check around some more." Blair answered.
"We need to get pictures of the other eleven victims and cross check them with this band picture..." Jim started.
"Jim, that is an awfully thin lead. Kidnapping, killing...because they 'look like' band members," Simon interrupted.
"It's all we've got, Simon, we are at a dead end here," Jim shot back. "I've come up with nothing on this one so far."
"Has this singer ever been questioned in any of this?" Simon asked.
"Several times and only briefly. She never stays in town long enough for a thorough investigation and there has never been any real evidence to link her to anything." Jim explained, scanning the report in his hand. "We're having some difficultly in tracking her down for questioning. We tried at the club this morning but it was locked up tight so we'll try again this evening."
A knock at the door halted their conversation. Rhonda popped her head in. "Simon, Henri called. Brian is conscious now."
"Thank god. How is he?" Simon asked.
"Henri said he's a bit dazed and very confused, but the doctor said he should make a full recovery." Rhonda reported.
"Lets get over there and talk to him. Maybe he can give us something."" Simon directed, grabbing for his coat.
Jim nodded, turning to gather up the pictures scattered across the conference table. His features grim, as he placed the latest victims picture—one, Detective Brian Rafe—on the top of the stack before closing the file.
TBA