Chapter 3
Rogue and Remy walked back to the office Jean worked in. They walked up to the receptionist and flashed their badges. It only took a few minutes to get in to see Jean. Jean was a beautiful woman with long red hair that she wore pulled back in a ponytail. Her green eyes were warm and made everyone feel welcome. As they were seated Jean said, "This is about Grace Benton isn't it?"
The cops looked confused for a second before Jean tapped the side of her head. "I'm a telepath and a telekinetic. You were projecting your thoughts so it was no problem for me to pick them up."
"Den you must know dat we have a few questions we are hopin' dat you can answer for us. The first on is whether you knew dat Grace a mutant."
"Yes, I knew that she was a mutant. When we first met at the annual Christmas party the office throws I noticed that she looked like she was in pain. Then I caught some of her thoughts and noticed that she was having problems controlling her telepathy and the voices were driving her nuts."
"Ah can relate to that," Rogue muttered under her breath. Remy caught it though and turned to glimpse at his partner before deciding to question her about it later.
"I taught her how to control her telepathy so that she wouldn't have to hear all the thoughts at the office. She wasn't too thrilled about being a mutant and since her powers weren't very strong she asked me not to tell anyone. I agreed although I see no reason to be embarrassed about being a mutant." Jean then turned to Rogue and said, "If you are having some problems with your powers I know a guy who could help you with the voices in your head."
Rogue looked surprised for a moment before asking suspiciously, "Why do you say that? Were you trying to read mah mind?"
Jean smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to pry but you were projecting your emotions and even though I can block out most voices some slip through. I wasn't trying to pry I just thought that Professor Xavier could help to block the voices so that you wouldn't have to hear them anymore."
Rogue studied Jean for a moment. "Do ya really think that the Professor could help me?"
Jean nodded her head and then handed Rogue a card with a phone number and address on it. "If you want to talk to him just call this number. He is willing to help anybody who needs it. I even sent Grace there for a little while to make sure that my help would be enough in case her powers grew again."
Remy thought for a moment and then asked, "Have you been following the case in the papers?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Did you know any of de other victims?"
"No I did not. I know that they were all mutants but that is all that I know about them."
"How did you know dat dey were mutants? Dat wasn't published in de newspaper."
Jean looked surprised for a second and then replied, "Professor Xavier said that he had known them. He had helped them all control their gifts."
Remy looked surprised and said, "Why didn't de professor come to the police wit dat information?"
"He didn't think that it would have anything to do with the case. You are not suggesting that the professor is murdering the poor girls do you? He's been in a wheelchair for about 10 years now. He was in an accident why in the service and lost the use of his legs from it. He couldn't have possibly had anything to do with the killings."
"I wasn't trying to imply dat de professor was de murderer but it would have been nice to know dat dere was a connection between all de girls."
Remy and Rogue stood up to leave. "Tank you for your time. Dis has been most informing. I have just one more question before we go. Did you notice anybody hanging around Grace more den usual or did she mention she tought dat she was being followed?"
Jean just shook her head and then stood up to shake their hands. "I'm glad that I could be of some help. If you go talk to the professor I am sure that he will be willing to help if he thinks that it will catch this creep."
Rogue and Remy shook her hand and then left the building. They had to talk to Logan about what they had learned. He had decided to get personally involved in this case since it seemed it was getting ugly.
When they got back to the office they gathered all their paperwork and headed to Logan's office. As they handed him the papers they told him what they had learned from their interviews with Jean and Scott Summers. Logan listened with interest and then took a look at the pictures of the crime scenes and the autopsy report. When he came to the part where it looked like the suspects had been mauled by a giant cat he stopped for a moment and thought. Something about the giant cat part was bothering him. He figured it would come to him later as he looked over the rest of the reports. He glanced up at Rogue and Remy standing before his desk. "This could take a while. While I am looking at all these why don't you go check out this Charles Xavier." The two nodded and the turned and left.
Rogue looked at Remy as they left the office. "Do you think that the Professor will be able to tell us something that will help us with the case?"
"Remy's not sure chere. We'll just have to wait and see."
As the two walked out of the station and towards their patrol car a guy with long blond, shaggy hair bumped into Rogue. "Sorry" was all the guy said before walking on. Rogue glared at the guy before turning to Remy and saying "jerk." Remy just glanced over his shoulder at the man and was trying to figure out where he had seen the guy before. He was sure that the guy had been outside with the media and bystanders at each of the crime scenes. He shook his head and thought that he would check it out later. There were a lot of weirdoes in the world and some of them were attracted to murder scenes.
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While Rogue and Gambit were heading to Xavier's house Logan was trying to figure out what was so familiar about the claw marks on the victims. He sat and thought about it for about three hours knowing that he knew the answer but still not knowing what it was. He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the door to his office open or the knock that had preceded it. His old partner who had retired and opened a detective agency after his sister was killed walked into the office. He cleared his throat and was surprised when Logan jumped. Looking up he glared at the big black man that stood in front of him. "What's the big idea sneaking up on a man like that? You trying to give me a heart attack?"
Bishop smiled at Logan then replied, "I couldn't give you a heart attack if I tried. Your healing factor would make sure that you were alright." He looked at the pictures thrown across Logan's desk. "Can I take a look at these?" Logan shrugged and gave him the papers. Bishop stared at them for a moment and then said, "These look familiar to that case we worked together about 10 years ago."
"The Sabertooth case?" Bishop nodded and Logan's eyes widened when he figured out what was going on. "He's at it again. He got away 10 years ago but I will be damned if I let him get away again." Logan growled and shot his claws out of the back of his hand. I need to call the detectives working on this case and get them back here as soon as they talk to the professor. Maybe the professor can give us some idea as to where to find this creep before he kills again." He got on the phone and told Jubilee to get Remy or Rogue on the phone ASAP.
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Meanwhile, at the Xavier Institute Rogue and Remy were being shown into the professor's office by his assistant Ororo Monroe. Remy grinned at the African American woman with blue eyes and long, flowing white hair. "Stormy! Long time no see. What have you been up to petite?"
Storm hugged her old friend while saying, "Don't call me Stormy! I've been doing alright. How is work going?"
"Work is going fine." Remy was about to continue the conversation when his beeper went off. "Excuse moi cheres. Remy has to go call the chief."
As Remy walked off to make his phone call Rogue asked Storm, "How do you know the swamp rat?"
Storm perked an eyebrow as she answered. "Swamp rat? You mean Remy?" At Rogue's nod she smiled. "We met down in New Orleans when Remy was about 13 or 14. His family helped me when I was in some trouble. We've staying in contact ever since and gotten together whenever we could. I didn't know that he was living up here though. His dad never told me he had moved and Remy had stopped contacting me. I wish I knew what happened to make Remy leave home. He loves New Orleans more then anything and I can't imagine him leaving unless something major had happened."
Just then Remy walked back up to the two. "De chief knows who de killer is so our line of questioning has just changed. I would love to catch up Stormy but we really need to talk to de professor now." Ororo nodded and lead them to the office.
When the entered the office they were awed by all the antiques in the room. All the furniture looked like it was from the Colonial age and was made out of dark mahogany wood. The professor rolled towards them and extended his hand. "Welcome to my home officers. How can I help you today?" The man that sat before them in the wheelchair radiated power. He looked like he used to stand about 6'2". He had sharp blue eyes and a bald head that looked like you could see your reflection in it if you got close enough. Xavier smiled at Rogue as if he knew what she was thinking. She looked startled before Xavier replied, "Many people seem to think that I have a shiny head, although you are the first one not to compare me to Jean-Luc Picard right away." The man smiled to show her that he was not offended by her thoughts before she thought to ask how he knew what she was thinking. Once again he answered her unspoken question. "I am a telepath and while I do not make a habit out of reading people's minds it is hard to ignore thoughts that are directed straight at you."
While this conversation was amusing to Remy he just wanted to get the questioning out of the way so that he could get out there and try to find the guy killing women. "Professor we were told dat you knew each of de victims. Would you mind explaining how you knew dem?"
"Each of the victims were mutants as I am sure you have figured out. They all came to me at some point to get help with their mutations."
Remy wrote down what the professor said before asking, "Who had access to de records dat you keep on each of your patients?"
"The only person who has regular to the files besides me is Storm who you met on the way in. Nobody else has access to the files but I must say that they are not very secure. We have never really needed to keep them under lock and key since mutants are common knowledge and there is nothing in the files that would be hurtful to the person in question. The only information I keep in the records is their name, phone number, powers, and any problems that I helped them with."
Remy nodded while thinking about the information the professor had just told them. "Tank you for you help professor. If we have anymore questions we will give you a call." The professor nodded and shook hands with each as they left. On the way out the door Ororo and Remy exchanged phone numbers and a promise to get together and catch up after work. When they got back to the office they spent the rest of the day with Logan going over the previous case that involved Sabertooth and ways that they could find out how they could find him. When Logan realized that it was getting late he told the two to go home and they would pick up where they left off in the morning.
Rogue decided that she would head over to Joe's place to get his mail and make sure everything was alright at the apartment. When she got there she thought that it was odd that there was no mail in the box and then realized that Joe might have had the mail held at the post office until he got back. She went upstairs to check out the apartment and straighten anything up that Joe might not have gotten to before he left. As she entered the apartment she was surprised to Joe with a girl she had never seen before in a very compromising position. Too shocked to speak Rogue just slammed the door and ran out of the building and didn't stop running until she was inside her own apartment.
This was a quick update. Don't expect them to come this regularly. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Next chapter has more ROMY!