*-*-*-*-*-*-*- MagnusBane:PsychicDetective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Chapter 10- The Same…Only Different…
The team tries to figure out why there are now two 'one of a kind' crossbows' and gets a bit more help…
Magnus tries to figure out Alec…(The crossbow is easy compared to that)
Notes
Hey! I am still here! Sorry for the delay, I keep getting distracted, apparently I am writing the last three chapters on shuffle.
Yesterday I finished chapter 12
Today I started this part, then I got sidetracked and accidently wrote the first part of chapter 11…
So, technically I only have about one full chapter left to write…it's just the part that is between the parts I have now…
Oops…
Anyway…here is the first part of chapter 10…
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-"Well…that does appear to be the crossbow…"
Magnus shook his head, glancing at the crossbow in the cabinet, right where it's supposed to be.
"Yes it does…" Astrid Lawery said, nodding faintly
He shifted, sitting their findings, still wrapped in Alexander's suit jacket, on the desk in front of the cabinet unwrapping it, rivaling a seemingly identical crossbow.
"Unfortunately, so does this…"
"I am afraid I don't understand" Mrs. Lawery said, confused gfv
"Edmund always said it was one of a kind, made especially for his family…was he mistaken?"
Magnus glanced around at the others before looking back at the two items.
"Hmm…"
The others gathered around, comparing the two.
"I do not think so…"Raphael said, leaning in, Magnus followed suit, tilting his head.
"So…you're thinking one is a copy?" Simon asked glancing over at his boyfriend.
Raphael nodded
"Yes…I agree darling…" Magnus supplied
The others leaned in curiously
"They seem identical…it's like one of those annoying 'find the difference' pictures…" Simon muttered
"Yeah…never really understood why that was supposed to be fun" Kevin supplied,
Simon huffed, nodding
"Oh they weren't that bad" Magnus added with a shrug.
Raphael quirked his eyebrow
"Of course they weren't for you…you could find all of them in under a minute"
"True…"
"How is that even possible?" Mrs. Lawery asked, shaking her head
"Hmm…well…it looks to be a near exact copy…the differences are almost indistinguishable" Magnus murmured, tilting his head
"Though, on the copy the carvings are not as deep…they have been accented with some kind of stain to make them more distinctive, and the small amount of gold inlay is burnished with a slightly different finish. In addition, the original has a few faint Knicks and scrapes. Other than that they are identical. Whoever made the duplicate knew what they were doing; there is amazing attention to detail.
It would've taken a great amount of work to pull this off, and there is no way it was created in a day or two…it had to have at least taken a week, possibly more.
When was the last time you saw it, before you discovered it missing?"
She paused, thinking…
"Umm…when I picked it up from the appraisers I believe…Oh, no, wait. Wednesday I saw it. I had to come in here to get a few of Edmunds papers…I wasn't specifically looking for it, but they were in the drawer right in front of the case, there is simply no way I wouldn't have noticed it missing. I am certain it was in there then."
Clary tilted her head, looking closer at the fake crossbow. She shook her head faintly.
"There's no way this was made in less than a week. The way the stain is in the carvings, I've used that technique before…it takes a few different layers, and you have to let each one dry completely. Each layer takes close to a day to dry. I can see at least three used here. If they were trying to make it as believable as possible the only way to do that would be to use stains made only with natural elements. Most of them have a very strong scent...it lingers for at least two weeks. It would smell kind of fruity and spicy.
It doesn't, so this is at least a month old." she finished, glancing at the others.
The others looked surprised, and vaguely impressed.
Well, most of them just looked vaguely impressed,
"Wow…" Izzy breathed shaking her head faintly in amazement
Clary smiled, shrugging, with a faint blush
"What?"
Izzy just shook her head again, giving a faint, slow smile, she leaned a bit closer,
"That's amazing"
"T-thank you" Clary said, sounding almost shy.
"So…you made something like this?"
She shrugged
"No, not like this, exactly. I have a few sculptures I've made using it, and use it sometimes to make elements for my jewelry; I have a workshop in the back of my shop for all that kind of stuff. "
"Yeah?"
Clary nodded, blushing prettily
"Do you think you can you teach me?"
"Umm…I can…but it takes kind of a long time to learn." She said apologetically.
"Good" Izzy grinned, winking at her
She giggled faintly
"Uhh…so…about the fake crossbow?" Kevin asked timidly
They glanced over at him
"Sorry! I am just kinda lost here" he explained, with a slight blush
"Actually, I am too" Simon offered, shrugging
Kevin shot him a grateful smile
"Hmm…" Raphael began
"For someone to make a forgery that skilled they would have to know a great deal about it. They didn't just make one similar, they copied it nearly detail for detail…they would have had to study-"
"So…wait…" Jace interrupted,
Raphael raised his eyebrow, Jace moved a bit further over, only to realize that put him right next to Clary…Magnus could actually see him trying to weigh which one was the bigger threat.
Magnus had to hide a chuckle.
He glanced over, seeing if Alexander was trying to keep from laughing too, only to falter.
He glanced around, spotting him beside Mrs. Lawery, on the far side of the group…
That was odd…
Alexander had been pretty much by his side all day.
Perhaps it was something for the case? Maybe he spotted something. He moved casually, slipping over to that side, glancing around, but nothing sprung out.
He settled in near Alexander, catching his eye and giving him a faint smile.
He returned it, but something was off…
Magnus turned, refocusing on Jace, trying to ignore the sudden sinking feeling in his stomach.
"What were you going to say Jace?" he asked
He seemed to startle, still glancing between Raphael and Clary.
"Uhh…I-so…I don't get it"
"I'm shocked" Raphael said deadpan.
Magnus gave a light chuckle, still watching Alexander…
"What do you not get?" he asked
"That's a long list" Raphael muttered
Jace gave a faint glare
Kevin gave a slight cough…it almost managed to cover the laugh (Almost)
"Raph" Magnus admonished
It was entertaining, but he was rather losing the mood for it
Alexander hadn't really responded to any of it…and he just realized he had actually not said anything the entire ride to Mrs. Lawery's.
Something was definitely up.
He couldn't possibly imagine what though…everything was fine at the precinct…great in fact.
Alexander was happy, smiling, joking…almost flirty…
It was lovely…
What could have possibly upset him so much so quickly?
He really didn't know
He turned back to Raphael, raising his eyebrow
Raphael rolled his eyes, but shrugged,
"Fine, Jace, what, in this specific situation, is it that you 'don't get'?" he asked with a glaringly false interested smile.
Jace glared faintly, but nodded
"Well…okay, so she said the fake has to be at least a month old… if whoever took the real one had a replacement handy, why didn't they just leave it? Wouldn't that be the whole idea …and why the weird markings?" he shrugged
The others just exchanged perplexed looks and shrugs.
Magnus nodded consideringly
"That…is actually a very astute question"
He huffed faintly
"You don't have to sound so surprised" Jace muttered
Magnus glanced over at Alexander once more…
He huffed out an almost laugh, but Magnus could tell he wasn't really feeling it…
And was he further away again?
He tramped down a frown, putting on a mischievous smirk
It was fake but fairly convincing.
"Well…sorry darling, it is rather unprecedented" he said with a cheeky grin.
A few of the others chuckled, Raphael quirked his eyebrow slightly
Magnus shook his head near imperceptibly;
Of course Raph caught it…
He gave a faint nod, gaze suddenly sharper, scanning the group.
He turned to Mrs. Lawery
"So, you said up until you found the bow missing there was nothing out of the ordinary, correct?"
She nodded, still looking between the two bows, perplexed.
"Yes…everything was normal. We found it missing after dinner. We had the fundraiser the evening before. This was a smaller get together, the day would have been Edmunds birthday, it was somewhat akin to a memorial…
A few close family friends as well as some of Edmunds old work associates and a few of his associates from various charities as well as his beloved cultural and historical societies. It was a lovely evening; we had a drink before dinner out in the garden. A few of the guests were talking about the museum, and I happened to mention the bow was to be in a show there…
I had originally intended for it to be a surprise, but simply couldn't wait. The only one who knew was Mr. Owens, the appraiser. I swore him to secrecy, even his assistant, Mr. Vance didn't know.
They were all quite surprised as Edmund never would allow that…so worried that something would happen to it. I understood his apprehension but it had just brought him so much pride, I hated to think of it just locked up in here.
I thought if it was in a few of these perhaps people would know about it, and about him, his family. Maybe value their own family's heritage a bit more." She shrugged faintly
Magnus gave her a gentle smile
"That is lovely; he would have quite liked that sentiment"
She smiled
"I like to think so" she said softly
"I know so" Magnus said raising an eyebrow
"Psychic…remember?"
She gave a warm smile and a somewhat grateful nod
"Thank you"
"Of course darling"
"What happened after that?" Alexander asked gently
Magnus realized it was the first thing he'd said, he glanced over at Alexander, catching his eye.
He gave a faint, grateful smile and a nod…
His eyes were soft for a moment, warm and something else, before he glanced away quickly, focusing back on Mrs. Lawery,
As he did Magnus caught a glimpse of something else in his eyes…
Just a split second, hardly perceptible…with anyone else it wouldn't even register…
But Magnus saw it…
It made his heart stutter…and not in the usual 'Alexander' way.
He looked sad, almost hopeless…
He didn't know what happened, but it needed to be fixed…
Alexander should never look like that…
Magnus took a deep breath, trying to focus, and not just say to hell with it, they had the crossbow, and a spare, call it a day, and focus everything he had on whatever had so upset his Alexander.
He shook his head
"So…after you told them?"
"Well, we came in for dinner; they were quite excited. Only a handful of them had got a chance to see the bow close up.
Mr. Owens and Ms. Fisher from the Heritage society couldn't stop talking about it. She went on about a few of Edmunds favorite stories …they had the entire history, though I believe many of the stories had been quite elaborated over the years…even in the time I've been hearing them. Ms. Douglas, the co-owner of Revolutiontech, joined them, adding her own memories of the stories.
They became quite caught up in it; Ms. Douglas finally asked if there was any way we could look at it later that evening.
Usually I wouldn't, but she really is a dear girl, and quite fascinated with the history of it. Edmund would talk her ear off about it…she and Mr. Owen began one upping each other, seeing who knew them best.
They partly wanted to see it to settle a bet, see who knew what mark was from what story.
I finally agreed, curious to see who would win. We decided to see it at the end of the evening, have our coffee, and let them continue comparing notes. We finally went in to see it about 10:30 the case was empty and those marks were everywhere." She shrugged
"So…you had a room full of people quite familiar with the bow. Three of them began competing over which knew the stories better…
You were going to have people who literally knew every scratch on it examining it, comparing everything…correct?" Raphael asked, tilting his head
They weren't just looking at it, it wasn't a casual viewing they were examining everything…
"They were comparing the scratches, the imperfections…" Magnus gasped, widening his eyes
Raphael nodded
Magnus shook his head, turning to address Mrs. Lawery
"I think I know why they didn't just switch the bows out…They already had …most likely soon after the appraisal…that was at the end of last month, correct?"
She nodded, eyes wide
"So, whoever took it?
He nodded
"Was one of your guests"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael-Raphael *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-"I simply cannot believe that…these people were our friends, I couldn't imagine any of them stealing the bow…" Mrs. Lawery said, wringing her hands.
Magnus sighed
"I understand that; they are your friends, your husband's friends…that would be quite difficult to accept.
However the existence of a duplicate crossbow, obviously made to not only imitate the original, but be a near indistinguishable copy, it is the only thing that fits."
He pauses, stepping closer, placing his hand sympathetically on her shoulder.
"I am sorry to have to tell you this, darling…but it truly is the only thing that makes sense."
She nods faintly, taking a deep breath.
Raphael watches the proceedings, taking everything in, but it's just not holding his focus…
Not now.
He saw the confusion in Magnus's expression earlier…
The fake, overly cheeky smirk…
Raphael has known that look since he was twelve years old…
It was the look Magnus had when he was trying to seem like everything was okay, when the only thing he was truly certain of is that it most definitely was not...
Instantly he's on high alert.
He shifts his gaze from Magnus and Mrs. Lawery over to where Alec is standing.
Several feet away from Magnus…
When did that happen?
They were good back at the precinct…annoyingly so
Alec hadn't really left Magnus's side since they woke up together. He half expected Magnus to suggest they needed to split up for some reason, just to get Alec alone for a bit.
It almost seemed like they were going to FINALLY figure out what every person who saw them together knew pretty much instantly…
They were completely gone over each other…
That wasn't thirty minutes ago…
What could have changed so much so quickly?
He shook his head, tuning back into the investigation.
"I really hate to think one of them would be responsible for this" Mrs. Lawery lamented, shaking her head.
"Well, at least one of them is. Now we need to figure out who." He interjected, in a less than compassionate manner.
Simon raised his eyebrow at his tone, but Raphael just shook his head faintly,
He was suddenly lacking the patience to deal with coddling the woman. Simon seemed to understand, he gave a sweet smile, stepping closer to Mrs. Lawery.
"Mrs. Lawery, I wish there was another option, but this is really the only one that makes sense, at least right now. Maybe when we get more information there will be a better explanation.
The only way we will be able to know for sure is to follow the evidence…" he shrugged apologetically
Mrs. Lawery gave a faint nod,
"Yes, I suppose you are right dear…how can I help?"
Simon gave her a brilliant smile
"Thank you so much ma'am."
Raphael breathed a sigh of relief, as always grateful to have Simon. His impatience and abruptness could have really set them back here; it would not do to have the client upset or defensive. That would only drag this out even more.
He really couldn't have that…
The sooner they got whatever the hell this idiocy was solved, the sooner he could figure out what was wrong with his friends.
May as well speed this up a bit…
He shifted closer,
"That would be greatly appreciated." He reached over taking Mrs. Lawery's hand lightly, putting on his most apologetic, charming smile
"I apologize for sounding so harsh, that was in no way directed at you. I just find this entire thing so distasteful. Bad enough stealing from a friend, but to steal an engaging, altruistic widow's late husband's most cherished possession, a piece of his family history no less… it is just sickening." He sighed, shaking his head, squeezing her hand gently, giving a somewhat sheepish smile
"I truly did not intend to snap at you madam…please accept my apology" he said hopefully
She made a slight almost giggle, blushing faintly
"Oh…umm…t-that's quite alright. Thank you for your concern."
He gave a relieved sigh, glancing inconspicuously around the group.
Simon was smirking, rolling his eyes faintly
Kevin and Izzy were trying to keep from laughing, both looking vaguely impressed
Jace looked thoroughly confused…so, his usual expression…
Alec had a faint smile, but it didn't reach his eyes…
Yeah something was clearly up…
Magnus appeared to be politely paying attention to the case and Mrs. Lawery, but Raphael could see all his focus was on Alec.
Okay, they needed to move this along…
"Thank you again…now can you tell us about your guest that evening?"
She nodded, still blushing slightly
"Well…we had ten, including myself; Mrs. Reynolds and her husband Sam, Ms. Douglas and her Wife, Laura, Mr. Owens and his partner, Tyler, Mr. Vance, Ms. Fisher, and Mr. Lockheart, and myself…of course."
Magnus tilted his head.
"Hmm…I do believe we can eliminate Mr. Owens, as well as Ms. Douglas and Ms. Fisher…they were the ones who began the thing, if one of them were the forger they would not have continued the discussion."
"Also, they would have known to include the scratches and other marks of ware" Simon interjected
Raphael gave him a pleased, somewhat proud smile,
Magnus tilted his head, considering
"Well…whoever made the duplicate put in extensive detail…enough to recreate it perfectly, but were not familiar enough with it as to include the flaws. That would rule out anyone who had spent a great deal of time listening to Edmunds anecdotes.
That should help narrow it down …" Magnus offered
She thought for a moment shrugging.
"Well, Sarah Reynolds would know the stories probably better than any of the others. She and Edmund had been friends all their lives. Their families were friends. I know she would never do this…and she had heard the stories, not only from Edmund, but from his family as well, there is no way she would have missed those."
Simon nodded encouragingly.
"That is really good. So that gets us down to five…what about the others? Were any of the others overly interested in the bow?"
She sighed faintly
"I really cannot believe any of them would do something like this-"
"I know, it must be unbelievably heard. But we have to look at all of them." Magnus offered
"Try to distance yourself, think of it objectively…just tell me about the others, and how they were that evening."
She gave a faint nod
"Hmm…well…Honestly with the exception of Sarah's husband, the others four guests really only seemed politely interested.
Sarah's husband, Gavin, is a history professor at Santa Barbra University. He was quite fascinated with the bow, but he did seem quite eager to get a chance to examine the bow close up, he didn't even want to wait till after dinner.
Laura, Ms. Douglas's wife, really didn't have much interest in it, and honestly, she's an elementary school teacher, I couldn't see her stealing a candy bar, much less a priceless ancient weapon.
The same with Tyler Summers, David Owens's partner. He is quite polite, but I think he finds the topic rather boring. After the first half hour of their competition he was alternating between politely chatting with Mr. Vance and subtly messing around on his phone.
Mr. Vance, Quentin, is David's assistant. He's been working with him for a few years. He is quite charming and very helpful, we've had quite a few dealings with Mr. Owens and Quentin is always quite friendly and pleasant.
Devon Lockheart worked with Edmund and Chris, oh, that's Ms. Fisher, at Revloutiontech. He was one of the first people they hired and a dear friend. He listened to Edmunds stories, but was nowhere near as involved in them as Chris. I think he just listened more to be polite…"
She shook her head
"That is all of them…as I said, I really couldn't see any of them doing this."
"Hmm…I can see why, none of them really sound like the type" Izzy murmured
Kevin nodded
"And that was everyone at the house?"
"Well…that was all the guests. We had dinner catered from Armando's, and I had a few staff members…
Do you think it may be one of them?" She asked hopefully
Raphael shook his head faintly
"I am sorry ma'am, but I really don't believe so. Whoever created the copy did exceptional work, and had amazing attention to detail. I suppose it would be possible that someone disguised themselves as a server or staff member in an attempt to gain access, but they would have had to do it more than once. And going to see the Bow was a spur of the moment idea, they couldn't have planned for that."
Her face fell slightly
"Oh…that is true. So it was one of my guests."
He nodded faintly.
"So…who could it be?"
They all exchanged slightly unsure looks…none of them really seemed the type.
"Huh…" Magnus muttered,
Everyone turned to him
"What is it?" Alec asked, seemingly finally joining in with the investigation.
Raphael realized it was the only about the second thing he'd said since they arrived.
They really needed to get this settled so he could figure out what the hell that was all about.
"Mr. Vance wasn't interested in seeing the bow? That seems peculiar…"
Raphael nodded faintly
"It really is. He was Owens's assistant, you said for years…I'd assume he would be extremely interested…
Tell me, how did he react when you mentioned the bow was to be in the show?"
She shrugged, thinking
"I don't know. He seemed surprised, but they all where. He asked when it would be."
"Hmm…and how about when you said they could see the bow that night?"
She thought for a moment.
"H-he was surprised, totally shocked."
"And…did he leave the group at any time?" Magnus pressed
She nodded, eyes wide
"Well…yes, now that you mention it, he did. He had a call from his boyfriend, he stepped away for a moment to take it, seemed they were having a bit of a tiff and didn't want to bring down the dinner."
"So…this Vance guy, does he, by chance have any kind of issues with his hands?" Clary asked seemingly at random
Mrs. Lawery quirked an eyebrow
"Yes, actually he does. He had a small accident at the beginning of this year. It wasn't too serious, but he ended up spraining his wrist and breaking two fingers. They are mostly healed, but still give him trouble from time to time.
Why?"
Clary smirked, glancing over at Magnus
He gave an impressed, proud smile before turning back to Mrs. Lawery
"We have reason to believe whoever created the Marks in the room had an issue with their dexterity, explaining the sloppiness of them"
Izzy gasped
"Mrs. Lawery, this Vance…he wouldn't be a kinda tall blond guy, with blue eyes, would he?"
She tilted her head, curiously
"Umm…no. He's about average height, with dark brown hair and eyes…"
"Oh…" Izzy said, slumping faintly
Huh…they really seemed to be onto something, but this 'Vance' guy seemed the polar opposite of the man from the house.
It had to be the right house, they found the crossbow there…
So it couldn't have just been a mistake…
That just didn't make sense…
Well…unless…
"What about his boyfriend?"
She thought for a moment, shaking her head faintly
"I am not sure…I haven't met him. They don't really run in the same circles, he's something or other with movies I believe…"
"He's an actor?" Jace asked, quirking his eyebrow
She shook her head
"No…not acting-"
"In the props department?" Alec ventured
She nodded
Magnus gave him a warm, impressed smile, nodding
Alec blushed, smiling…but it seemed to falter, it wasn't false, but it was covering or contradicting some other emotions.
He could tell Magnus caught it too, his smile dimmed, turning back to Mrs. Lawery
"Yes! That's it…do you think he created the fake?"
"It would stand to reason. Do you know if they live together?"
She nodded quickly
"Yes they do. They moved in together last year, I remember him telling me."
"Okay, we just need to fin-"
"2124 Maplewood drive… it's about a twenty minute drive from here" Raphael interrupted
The others nodded, already moving towards the door
He turned to Mrs. Lawery,
"Thank you for your help ma'am. As soon as we know for sure we will let you know." He assured giving her a reassuring smile before turning and striding out the door with the rest of the group.
20 Minutes laterAs they pulled up the street things begin to look familiar, resembling some of the as of yet indiscernible photos between the precinct and the club.
A dented light post, a mailbox with a bit of graffiti, a house with way too many lawn gnomes, it seemed they were heading in the right direction.
They park on the street, right in front of the address. Raphael had driven his car, Simon, Izzy and Clary riding with him. Magnus followed with Alec, Kevin and Jace.
As he climbs out of the car something catches his eye
"Hey, didn't the blond guy say something about a cranky cat lady in a blue house across the street?" he asked, turning to Izzy.
She nodded, following his gaze across the street, seeing a slightly faded blue house with three cats sitting in the picture window.
"This is beginning to look familiar…I think we may be at the right place" Magnus said, slipping up next to them.
"Yeah, I really don't think there are too many of those topiaries around" Simon said, gesturing to the weird fish/bird topiary thing in the yard next door
"At least I hope not, that thing is kinda creepy looking…why would you pick something like that?" he asked, shaking his head
Kevin laughed slightly, nodding
They made their way up the walk, flashes of the night before slipping back.
This was definitely the place…he remembered this walk, them slipping up to the house, picking the lock on the window…
"Guys, this is the place…"
Alec nodded faintly, moving to the front of the group, knocking abruptly at the door.
There was no answer…
He tried louder, they listened but heard nothing.
Alec reached forward, cautiously trying the doorknob…
It was unlocked.
He pushed it open cautiously,
"Hello, Detective Lightwood, SBPD, is anyone here?" he called
They listened, glancing around
Simon shook his head
"Maybe they r-"
A sudden thundering, frantic knocking startled them, making the entire group jump
"HELLO! Is someone there? I'm in here, help!" A faintly muffled voice shouted,
They rushed through the house into the kitchen, zeroing in on what appeared to be the basement door.
"Hey! Is someone out there?" the voice called hopefully
The group exchanged guilty glances
"Yeah, I'm Detective Lightwood with the SPBD, just a sec…we'll get you out" Alec said apologetically
Izzy shrugged
Alec shook his head,
She couldn't really be held accountable for what she did while drugged…and the guy didn't seem hurt, just annoyed…
"Let's just find the key so we can get h-"
While he was talking Raphael slipped forward, pulling a small lock pick from his pocket, slipping it in, deftly popping the lock.
Alec raised his eyebrow
Raphael just shrugged, smirking faintly
"Magnus teach you that?"
"Nope…"
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not"
He raised his eyebrow, before just nodding
"Okay then…" he muttered, reaching over to open the door.
The man practically tumbled out of the door
"Oh thank god!" he exclaimed, shaking his head
"Some crazy people broke in a-…" he trailed off looking over the group, eyes wide, backing away faintly
"Oh my god! It's you; you came back…you were lying about being a cop w-"
Alec shook his head, holding his hands up placatingly
"Sir…it's okay, I wasn't lying, I'm a detective with the SBPD" he gestured over to Simon
"So is he, and he" pointing at Kevin, "Is an officer there at well" Kevin's eyes went wide, seemingly at a loss as to what to do, he settled on a faintly awkward wave.
"Hey"
Raphael had to hide a faint chuckle, shaking his head.
The blond man looked unconvinced, looking over the rest of the group…
"And the rest of you?"
They all exchange somewhat confused looks before shrugging
"Well, I'm an actor, Jace Wayland" Jace offered with a cocky smirk…
The man gave a blank look, shaking his head
"Never heard of you"
The smirk disappeared.
Raphael gave a slight bark of laughter
The man turned to him, curiously, quickly glancing over him, than a bit slower, more appreciative
He tried to keep the eyeroll internal…
They had locked the man in a basement for nearly an entire day after all…
"I'm a pharmaceutical rep" he shrugged
"Psychic detective" Magnus supplied with a grin
"Umm…and I'm the medical examiner for the SBPD…sorry about the whole knocking you out thing…it was a reflex." Izzy supplied sheepishly
The guy looked totally lost; he glanced at Clary, the last member of the group
"And you?"
"Oh! I'm a Wiccan, I own an occult shop down town" she said with a bright smile and cheery wave.
He glanced over them once more, than back to the basement…clearly wondering if he was safer in there…
Raphael could empathize…
He stepped forward giving a charmingly apologetic smile,
"I realize how peculiar this seems, Mr.…?"
"Alan…umm…Alan Jaden." He answered, blushing faintly
"S-so…why did a detective, a medical examiner, and a psychic break into my home and steal a crossbow?"
"Why did you have a stolen crossbow in your house?" Raphael countered raising his eyebrow,
"What?" he asked, shocked, frantically shaking his head
"It wasn't stolen, I made it…you all stole it"
Magnus shook his head
"No…you made a duplicate, the one we retrieved from here was the original"
His eyes went wide, still shaking his head faintly
"No it wasn't! Why would I have a stolen crossbow? And why did you break into my house…and knock me out?" he demanded, becoming rather agitated
The man was jumpy…it'd be so easy to scare him…but that wouldn't really get the results they needed…
Plus…you know
Basement…
Raphael slid closer, placing his hand on Alan's arm, squeezing faintly
"That was completely unintended and quite unfortunate; I admit. I am afraid last night the four of us were rather inebriated, thanks to a short sited, egotistical imbecile…and his hippy stoner friend"
"Hey!" Jace interjected
"What?" Raphael snapped, raising his eyebrow, daring him to contradict him
He faltered, stepping back a bit, shaking his head
"N-nothing"
"That's what I thought" he smiled sharply, before turning back to Alan…who looked somewhere between nervous and impressed.
"Anyways…As I said we were not in our right minds. Before we were dosed with whatever it was, we had been working a case trying to recover the stolen crossbow. I fear in our state we got rather carried away.
But you must understand; it's not just any case.
It was stolen from a dear family friend. It belonged to her late husband; it was his most cherished possession, passed down through the generations. She was absolutely beside herself with worry over this, and not in the best health. We truly feared this might land the poor dear in the hospital.
When we realized it was here, we had to try to retrieve it, and, in our altered states things just got rather out of hand. I do hope you won't hold it against us?"
He nodded slightly, blushing, leaning slightly closer,
"Oh, no…it's okay, well, not okay, but that at least almost makes sense…is she alright?" he asked, genuinely concerned…
Hmm…interesting…
Raphael smiled, giving a faint nod
"Yes, though quite confused…"
"Yeah…I am too." Alan muttered, shaking his head
"You said the crossbow you got from my house was the original…you're sure of that?"
"Yes, positive"
"I'm sorry, I don't know h-" he froze, eyes going wide,
He gave a faint, disbelieving laugh, scoffing
"Oh ,I can't believe this! That conniving, manipulative jackass!"
"You mean Quentin Vance?" Magnus asked
He nodded animatedly
"Yes! He asked me to make it…brought pictures of the original."
He paused shaking his head
"I swear, I had no idea it was for anything like this…he just so admired it and thought this was the next best thing. I was flattered, thinking that he was actually taking an interest in my work. He seemed to like it, but asked why I left off the scratches and such…I didn't know why he was so caught up on them. I got annoyed at him and just told him never mind, setting it in the closet by the back door, as far as I knew it's been there ever since"
"Umm…Why isn't he here now?" Simon asked curiously
"Oh, we had a huge fight Friday night, he was snippy and agitated for the last couple days and wouldn't tell me why…I finally had enough and told him if he was going to be like that he could find somewhere else to stay until he figured out whatever he had to figure out. I changed the locks that night."
"When did you make the copy?" Alec inquired
"Umm…at the end of last month. Why?"
"We believe he switched it out with the original not long after that. The evening it was stolen, there was a get together at the widows home. A few experts were in attendance and going to examine the bow.
He knew they would be able to tell it wasn't the original. He panicked and staged a robbery. He took it back to the house and was going to switch it back with the original, but you had your argument and he couldn't get back in to make the switch. By then Mrs. Lawery had us investigating. He decided to just return the copy and hope she bought it."
"So basically, he tricked me into being an accomplice in a forgery, then used a gift I made for him to try to swindle some poor old widow out of her husband's treasured family heirloom?" Alan asked, rubbing his forhead.
"That appears to be the case" Magnus said apologetically
He sighed faintly, before giving a determined nod,
"Tell me what you need…"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-What an absurd case!
Magnus knew they'd had some odd ones, but really this one was easily the craziest…
Okay, so at least in the top five…
But still…
An appraisers apprentice got it in his head that he could trick his props designer boyfriend into making duplicates of rare, extremely valuable items, switching the copies out for the originals.
Thankfully this was just the trial run…but he was already working on the next before the whole investigation started. He'd asked Alan if he could make copies of a 13th century dagger and a few other items…
He had the pictures of the items, Alan readily turned them over…simply telling them that he'd be happy to testify, and help with anything else
Of course, he said this while blatantly staring at Raphael, but still…helpful
He actually was able to fill in a bit of the blanks. When they'd mentioned the markings he seemed to clam up a bit…
Turns out he in fact knew all about the '08 break in, apparently Edmund had told the story to Mr. Owens, swearing him to secrecy.
Which he took very seriously…
When he was sober.
It seems on one occasion he'd mentioned it to Vance, who had, in turn, told it to Alan.
He was really quite hesitant about talking about it; he actually thought what Edmund had done was pretty impressive, and didn't want to disparage the deceased mans good name, or cause any legal trouble for the widow.
Once they'd assured him that no ill will would befall her (As the statute of limitations on the case had long passed and the items were actually returned to people they should have belonged to in the first place) he had finally confirmed what they already knew.
It didn't take Vance an hour to totally break, confessing to everything.
It seems he had heard a great deal about the crossbow. When Astrid had brought it in to be appraised Mr. Owens had mentioned how attached Edmund was to it, telling him over the years he had had offers pushing a hundred thousand, but Edmund would never part with it.
Vance hatched his plan, duping his boyfriend into making the copy, the day after the original was returned he went over and switched them out.
He thought he was in the clear. He was in negotiations with several buyers…he was holding onto it to see just how high the bidding would go.
Than at the party, when he realized they were going to see the bow, that everyone there would know it was a fake…he panicked, taking the bow, hurriedly making the marks as best he could from what he remembered, hoping it would be enough to throw investigators off…
It didn't work and the jackass was now unemployed (Mr. Owen fired him on the spot), single (Alan simply told them when they found him to tell him he was a miserable bastard and his stuff would be out on the lawn) and, homeless.
Thankfully, he'd have 3-8 years to figure all that out.
At least they had it settled…
Well, the whole crossbow problem…
Now there was the whole 'Alexander' problem…
He has an inkling of a feeling the crossbow was the easy part.
They were back at the precinct, as they were technically not on an official case, the paperwork was a bit tricky but they were finally getting it all sorted out…as well as the closure of the '08 case.
It was quite a lot…
Kevin had left not long after their arrival; almost bouncing he was so giddy at being included in the group, eager to tell some of his friends from his old precinct.
The others had long since gone…Raphael had given Izzy, Clary and Jace a ride back to Jace's to retrieve Izzy's car, before looping back for Simon.
Magnus was worried he'd question him, knowing he noticed the change in Alexander, but he'd just gave Magnus a reassuring smile, before starting to subtly get the other's out without tipping them off.
Magnus smiled softly…
Raphael may be a lot of things, but he truly was the best friend Magnus had ever had.
He glanced up just as Alec is leaving Luke's office, giving him a bright smile.
He slows slightly, a flicker of something that makes Magnus's heart hurt flashed across his expression, but is gone as quick as it appeared.
Magnus tries to keep his smile from falling,
"Hey Magnus…I thought you were done over an hour ago?" he asked curiously, glancing around.
He nodded
"I was, but as I was your ride here I couldn't very well just leave you stranded."
He smiled softly
"You didn't have to do that…I could have just called for a ride"
"Nonsense! I was already here, and it wasn't any trouble. Besides, situation reversed you would do the same…do not even try to tell me otherwise." He finished, with a cheeky smirk.
Alec gave a faint laugh, nodding
"Yeah, that's true…thanks"
"Of course, sweetheart. Come along now, it's been a long day…" he finished with a warm smile, slipping his arm around Alexander's, beginning towards the door.
He felt Alexander slip a bit closer, sighing softly, nodding
"You are right about that."
Magnus shrugged
"Of course, my darling detective, I'm always right…you know that"
He chuckled faintly, but it didn't sound quite right.
Magnus squeezed his arm a bit, leaning into his side faintly.
Alexander seemed to stiffen up, a bit, standing straighter (And further away)
Magnus pretended he didn't notice
"Besides…I'd have to go over anyways to bring over all your bedding that is still at the apartment. Judging by the living room it is pretty much every bedding item you own."
He gave a faint laugh…
Once again it wasn't quite right…
Once again, Magnus pretended it didn't hurt...
_End Of Chapter Notes_
Okay…now it's done…
Sorry for the kind of downer ending…remember we are getting there…
Hope you all like it…
O54O
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