Riza checked her watch. One o'clock am. The others were in their own beds, fast asleep. She, on the other hand, hadn't been able to sleep. Her mind was preoccupied with the horrors she'd seen yesterday afternoon. Checking her gun and then the strap pocket of bullets that she always had were on her person, she stepped out the door. She could think of only one thing to do and that was head back to the crime scene to study, to find out anything else she could.
The streets were dark and deserted as she ducked under the police tape, walking over to where they'd investigated earlier. A gust of wind blew as she hunched down. She tugged the thick, black jacket higher up over her neck. It wasn't freezing but it was chilly. Her eyes narrowed suddenly and she barely even moved as she pulled the gun at her hip from its holster and spun on one knee and aimed.
Roy didn't as much as blink. He hadn't planned on sneaking up on her. As if he could do that. He was, however, surprised to see her here. He stood there in the cold, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat and watched as she put her gun away. "You shouldn't be out here."
"You should?"
It wasn't that he'd made a sound and alerted her to his presence. It was years old instinct that had let her know. That instinct was hard to kill.
He shrugged and went down beside her, studying where the body had been. Neither of them should be here. "What if that had been the killer instead of me?" He knew she could take care of herself but not everyone was invincible.
"His kneecaps would have holes in them by now." She sighed softly. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to come back. When there wouldn't be a lot of people around."
"Guess we had the same idea."
She pulled out a pair of white latex gloves and ran one of the plastic fingers through the blood. "Look real close, Sir. I'm not sure if you noticed this earlier. You didn't mention it. The victim was dead before he brought her here. She was probably dead a few days before…Her blood is congealed. If he had killed her right here her blood wouldn't be like that. The only thing I can think of, he had to have brought her here after…"
"After killing her." He finished grimly. Some parts—clues, perhaps—were coming together. "He kills them and then brings them to the place he wants to leave them. Some place where he knows someone will find them. Why? The attention? Sick bastard."
His hands balled into fists. The bastard probably enjoyed committing these heinous acts.
She stripped off the gloves. "That's my theory, Sir. We don't know for sure, of course. He could be using Alchemy to stop the flow of blood after he kills them. That could explain your Alchemy theory…What other reason could there be for all the blood here?"
Roy inhaled, frustrated. "I didn't think of that. If he was to kill them before bringing them here, letting them stay in just one place for days then the blood would stop flowing within just a couple of hours, not days. I don't see how that's possible. Even with Alchemy." That was the problem with Alchemy, he knew. There were so many things you could do, so many things you didn't know.
"We're all open to suggestions. What if he uses Alchemy to gather the blood and then uses it. Let's say, splatters it?" That didn't really make any sense but they were at a loss. She glanced up; saw the look on his face. "He can't get away with it forever."
She stood up and motioned towards the far left wall. "There's more. The police missed it but I expected that much. You see this?" She was careful not to touch the wall itself, but traced something along the wall, inches from touching. "It's blood but it's too far away from where the body was found." Another dead end.
"If Alchemy is involved, he could have made a door in the wall. That's my hunch." Roy didn't like where this was going. He'd expected things to get easier, not harder. If anything, the case was getting more complicated.
"We could possibly test—"
He cut her off, cupping his hand over her mouth and pushing her back words till her back came against the wall. "Shh." He wasn't looking at her; his gaze was on the road outside of the alley. She didn't fight him though; her senses were on the alert. She nodded.
"Someone's coming." He whispered. Or in their case, walking by.
Riza grew still and listened intently. She could hear the faint footsteps echoing on the walkway. An old man walked by, not even glancing in their direction. She sighed as Roy removed his hand.
They already had enough attention from the town and they didn't need anymore. People were wondering why the Military was involved in a simple murder case.
He shrugged at her unspoken question and the unhidden annoyance in her gaze. "I didn't have the time to waste to tell you to be quiet." His voice was low and on alert in the case that there may be in passer-byers. "Ready to go?"
"Not really."
"Me either." Roy sat down, leaning against the wall, knowing they should go back but ignoring the impulse. It wouldn't hurt to stay for a little while.
"Does it bother you?"
He glanced up. "The murders? Yes, they bother me. A great deal." Any murder that involved Alchemy bothered him.
"Not the murders." Riza didn't know why she brought it up but she did. "Your eye." She still felt that it was her fault, the cause of his loss. Roy, of course, considered it nothing. The loss of his eye was nothing compared to the disaster that could have ended with his life.
"No." He murmured. "I'm used to it." He glanced up at her, knowing what she was thinking. The look on her face, for once, wasn't hidden. "Riza, if it wasn't for you, it would bother me even less. I'd be dead."
She nodded; the images clear in her head as if it had been yesterday. "I remember when I saw you lying there. I thought I'd been too late." She'd thought he was dead.
"Nice to know you don't want me dead. Besides, you know I'm not that easy to kill." He fingered the strap of the eye patch, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I can honestly say there is one good thing about this. It adds to my good looks."
She chuckled. Roy—same as ever. "Hughes would have been proud of you." I'm proud of you.
Riza rarely laughed and he was sure that Black Hayate was the only one who saw it daily. "You should smile more, Riza. It does wonders."
A sweet warmth swept through her at the compliment and she couldn't help it. She smiled again.
He stood up then. "I feel damn lucky that you didn't pull your gun on me That night." He didn't have to clarify what "that night" meant. She knew. The night he'd called her beautiful. Havoc was still wondering who it had been.
"You were lucky." Her voice was soft, almost teasing. He was the only man she couldn't imagine herself shooting. If the time ever came where he was an enemy, she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to…
"Come on. We need to be getting back." Riza was, as always, leading the way for him. That, she wouldn't change. He might not like it but she protected him.
