Disclaimer- I do not own Heavy Rain. If I did we'd definitely be enjoying the Chronicles in their entirety right about now. :(

The clue-finding joke comes from an old World of Darkness (of the tabletop RPG variety) game where a character was made with a specialty in Investigation. Usually you'll pick a focus or a technique, like forensics, but they picked 'Clue-finding' as theirs. Since that was a little abstract, it didn't end up taking them too far. The rest is history.


Part 11


Madison blinked once, then twice. Jayden was still there, her scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. Still looking caught, still tapping his fingers together in front of him.

Then his words sunk in. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He gestured towards their surroundings by twirling his wrist. "Small outdoor hotel just like the other one, pretty low-key. Mid to low price range, so it's probably more about convenience than comfort. Easy to get into, and easy to get out if necessary. And I wouldn't be surprised if you've already plotted a few choice exits."

"I have." She frowned and thought about shutting the door in his face. Only his expression kept her from doing it. "You need to talk and fast."

"Fine," he conceded, folding his arms. "I had a favor called in to see where you might've gone after finding the police at your apartment. I, uh...might've gone a bit overboard."

"Overboard? That bastard, or bastards went through what, my billing history? Recent purchases?"

He looked more and more displeased as she went on, and she did her best not to care. "A few, but just enough to find you here. I...panicked."

The word slipped out, and he pursed his lips immediately. She let go of the door and put both of her hands on her hips. "You are... I don't even...know what name to call you actually. I've gone down the list and want to pick at least five of them."

"...I'm sorry. I didn't come here to invade your privacy or impose myself on you."

"But you've already done one, and I haven't made up my mind on the other! What is your problem, Norman?"

The pale, shaky man in front of her shrugged once, letting his arms fall to his sides. He didn't even try to answer her question, not even to deflect it. He just stood there, waiting. Whether for her to lob more accusations, she wasn't sure, but as time crept on the answer slowly began to sink in.

"You really thought I was hurt, didn't you?" She watched as he turned away and placed a wavering hand on the railing lining the walkway. The amount of sympathy that earned made her chest hurt. "You idiot."

He chuckled, the sound coming more exhausted than amused. "Tell me about it. You should've seen me earlier when I was trying to finesse a room number out of the receptionist. That didn't go too well."

"I could've told you myself how that would go."

A breeze blew past them, and her arms flew up to cover herself. Jayden on the other hand, didn't respond to the drop in temperature for once. He just remained still, staring at nothing, tugging at her heartstrings in the worst way possible. It was a fight that she wasn't meant to win, and the longer she drew it out the more miserable the two of them would be.

"Come on." She grabbed his arm and gently pulled him inside. It was too damn cold, and there was no way she could muster the necessary anger to kick him out. Besides, he had once again chosen a time when she needed company the most, and she wasn't going to squander it.

Both locks were secured once the door was closed, and she breathed a little easier knowing that there was something between her and the world. It was like that before with Leyland, it was like that before when she first got back in town, and now was no exception. Well, aside from the federal agent examining the faded blue walls of her room with mild interest. She kept careful track of her brushes with the law, and Jayden was an exception of his own.

He stood awkwardly in the middle of her room until she gave him the go ahead to make himself comfortable. Like before he kept his coat on, but he did sit down in one of the chairs left by the window. The curtains kept the room carefully closed off to the outside world, and she peeked through them while he watched her over his shoulder.

"How bad is it?"

Turning back around to make himself comfortable, he sighed. "Blake's got the place trussed up, so by now everyone's probably picked the crime scene apart. Or at least tried to. Three cops were outside the entrance, so who knows how many were actually inside your apartment."

"Lovely." She let the curtains go and walked over to the bed, waiting for a second before falling face-first onto it. "Don't think they'd give it up without much of a fight either."

"Hmm?"

Madison rolled over onto her back. "I don't think I'm going to get that back without starting a small war. Blake's out for my blood anyway after running into him at the station. Smart move, I know."

Jayden covered his face with his hand and groaned. "And this is just the icing on the cake."

"Exactly." She raised herself up on her elbow and flicked away a nearby picture. "I knew they were going to try to find me at home after that, but I figured I'd be able to grab what I needed and run. Not come home to...you know."

He looked up and rested his chin on his hand. "You told me before that you weren't being followed."

"I wasn't. Not that I was aware of at least, and I'm starting to wonder what else I've conveniently missed lately."

"You've got to be honest with me."

She sat up straight. "I am. I've never caught anyone intentionally following me back to my place or anywhere else during this case-"

"And before that?"

Madison slouched forward, turning her eyes elsewhere. "I already answered that, but there were a few people who did try to tail me. They didn't get far."

"But were they the only ones?" Jayden asked, watching her closely.

She turned back to him. "No, but none of it ever amounted to anything. I had a woman claim that her husband was leaving her for me, then try to strangle me across the table at a signing. I had a man talk about wanting to give me a better 'adversary' to deal with, then vanish into thin air. Other reporters have had weirder stories, but it was all just part of the job. People hear about you, hear about what you're doing, then trail off as they lose interest. That's how it was, and nothing ever felt off until now. Honestly that's what's bothering me."

He pressed a finger against his lips in thought, while Madison slowly dug her nails into her hands. "Did you learn anything at the press conference?"

"What? Um, Perry actually didn't give us a lot to work with. I had a feeling that he was reaching a bit, but all he did was mention a possible link between one of the corporations and their suspect, but as far as I know of they haven't officially named a suspect for their mastermind."

She got up and walked over to the desk on the other side of the room just to move around. Going over the events that led to this had made her jittery again, and with no real way to burn it off this would have to do. Jayden stayed where he was, but had leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees.

"So what's the next step?"

"One, I need to get Blake off of my back. Two, I need to get into my apartment." she stated, ticking off both goals. "I'm the only one who would be able to tell them if anything was moved or taken. I'm also the last person that Alyssa might have seen before being kidnapped."

"And you want to strike a deal with Blake?" Jayden asked, raising an eyebrow. "I could go through the entire National Geographic's publication of issues with that idea, but go on."

"I can give them information. Nothing I have incriminates me, and I haven't done anything wrong. What I have could help them find her, or at least open up a few more options on their end."

"True. It does make things a bit easier when you're not helping a suspected criminal escape questioning." She shot him a dirty look and he smirked. "No offense meant, Ms. Paige. You weren't the only one who was courting some serious jail time, but you do have to keep in mind a few things when dealing with Blake. For starters, I don't even think he counts reporters in the same tier as he would a normal person. You're closer to invertebrates, which already starts you off on unequal footing. Then, if he does by some miracle decide to work with you, you need to make sure that he never suspects that you're hiding something from him."

That's going to be the problem. "Sounds easy enough. I think with what I have I can point them in the right direction."

"And that would be...?"

"The former employees. I probably won't be able to cover my ass if they ask them if I've been there, but of the three, I've only visited Lucille Carey. Alyssa's missing, and Steven's too high-profile to visit traditionally." Madison tilted her head to the side. "Though, I did consider jumping over his fence..."

Jayden steepled his hands together and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, that's an interesting angle. The employees, not the fence jumping. What if it makes them go into hiding?"

"Then you might as well stamp guilty on their foreheads. At least until they're willing to give up anything to keep their reputations intact."

"And if that doesn't work?" he asked, continuing to play devil's advocate.

"It'll at least get the cops out of the way long enough for us to find her ourselves."

"Well, I'm sure that between my expertise and your excellent clue-finding abilities we'll be just fine." Madison laughed, but he shook his head. "I'm trying to be serious here, but maybe I should've chosen my words better. You've got a lot of good groundwork. We just need to follow up on what seem like the best leads, and I'm thinking the car's one of them."

"Me too, actually. I was trying to see what was up with the plate, but got...interrupted."

"And you already know how sorry I am about that. But, the same 'bastard' that found you, is now looking into both the car and the plate. I've also managed to narrow down a few places that could've sold the car, so all we need to do is check them out and see what turns up."

"But the plate remains a bust?"

"Yeah." He didn't seem too pleased about that, and she wasn't either. "Do you think he could've custom-made it himself?"

"Maybe, but he wouldn't be able to get far. All it would take is one curious cop to check that against other registered custom plates."

She pushed herself off of the desk and walked over to the bed. "Sure, but that cop would have to call it in, right? Your curious cop might not be as curious if Mr. Big Spender flashes some green their way."

"Which would give him pretty much the lay of the town. Do you just deliberately pick the most complicated and convoluted cases to get involved in?"

"It's a giant mess, but it's my giant mess. Yours too if you want it." she replied, gesturing to him after gesturing to herself.

It was strange, but even as subdued as he was being, she could tell that this had caught his interest and caught it bad. The more she was around him, the more she could tell that he hated not having something to mentally chew on or solve.

The curse of the investigator. Don't I know it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having someone else to bounce ideas off of.

And as far as someones went, she had a profiler that wasn't too shabby at his job either. It was almost a win-win situation for the two of them, but he had to agree to it first. Something that she was sure wouldn't require too much convincing on his part, because he wouldn't have worked so hard to find her otherwise.

He did try to put in some extra effort into considering it, though, by clearing his throat and pretending to be deep in thought. She decided to take it a step further. "I mean, I've got what could be the best profiler around sitting right in front of me. I can't think of anything else he'd rather be doing right now."

Jayden snorted. "Might as well bat your eyes next, lady, because you're laying it on a bit thick."

"Only if you ask nicely." she said, doing it anyway. "Besides, I don't know how this turned into convincing you to work with me. You're the one who went snooping for my address to begin with. You should be begging me to work with you!"

"Would you?" he asked, looking serious again. "Let me work with you, that is?"

She stood in front of him, not sure how to react. "...Why wouldn't I?"

"That settles it then!" The excited look in his eyes was back and he quickly got to his feet. "I'm at your disposal."

That easy, huh? You'd think I'd given him a prize. "Okay, I'm one profiler richer. They definitely don't go over this in training. Now to decide what to do with you."

He held up a hand. "I've got a suggestion for that. I want to check out some of those dealerships until I get a call back about the plate."

"And I want to check in with Sa-er, one of my contacts. He's checking a few numbers that I've pulled from Alyssa's phone. Before I deal with Blake, though, I need to get those numbers so for now the apartment's going to have to wait."

"What else do you have?"

She grinned. "Now that's the magic question. Do you want the long version or the short one?"

"Your call. I don't have anywhere else I'd rather be." he replied, smiling back.


"We don't have anything on record about Alyssa Jameson personally approaching us for the installation."

"But you told me that you had someone at her house a few months back." Blake said, standing in front of the standing CEO of OKC Corporation. "I don't see your company making house calls to the competition unless there's a good reason for it. Oh wait, I mean former employees who now work for the competition. I think you can see why I'd be curious about a thing like that."

Susan Smith gave both Blake and Larry an apologetic look, something that actually seemed genuine. "Yes, I can. Mrs. Jameson was a very valuable employee to us, and the work she did to improve the security and management of information has yet to be beat by anyone else. The benefits that we offer are in some cases, for life, and she might have made a call for some routine maintenance on her systems."

Larry examined the pictures lining her office, doing his best to look distracted. One had her shaking hands with a few other executives, while another had her standing with a man and woman in front of the metal framework for what Blake assumed was the fountain in the lobby downstairs. None of the people looked familiar at first glance, but he did give Larry credit for having the right idea.

Cartwright cleared his throat. "You would have a record of that, right?"

"Yes, we would. I would have had that on hand had you let me know that you were coming by, but I'll get someone to tend to that right now."

Let you know? The sheer passive-aggressiveness of it all made him sneer. There was an advantage to keeping your suspects and their employers on their toes. If you announced your activities on a bullhorn then everyone and their damn grandmother would be able to track you down. They would also be able to carefully pick and choose what information to give, and he didn't want to give them a chance to do that. Not again after their first brush with this place.

She reached for the phone, watching Blake as she did so, but he only crossed his arms. As long as things kept on moving forward there was no reason for him to throw his weight around. He did, however, watch her closely as she put in the request and didn't let up until the phone was put back down.

"It shouldn't take long for them to get back to us."

"Good, but until then I've got a way we can pass the time. Why did Jameson decide to leave your company?"

"For...some employees there comes a point in time when they feel ready to move on." she told them, resting her arms on the desk in front of her. "Ten years is a long time, and as much as it we hated to see Alyssa go, we made sure that she left us on good terms."

"I'm sure that meant a lot when she was filling out the application to CompuLabs, and they weren't about to turn down an employee with first-hand knowledge of their rival's security system. I think I'd be upset if that's what my support earned. Wouldn't you, Cartwright?"

"I think I'd be through the roof."

Smith bristled at the idea, but didn't take the bait. Damn. "Our loyalty comes with a sense of respect. Once you leave our doors, your business ceases to be ours. In a business that values privacy, wouldn't we be hypocrites if we didn't allow our employees the same benefit?"

Blake really had to try hard not to chuckle at that. "You'd think that."

He was ready to begin round two when someone started knocking on the door behind them. Smith got to her feet to let them in, but the person on the other side pushed past the door like they were meant to be there. So, what Blake saw once the door had closed, threw him off only a little; one suit with slicked-back hair who barely made it up to Blake's shoulder.

"Sorry for barging in, Susan. Are you busy?"

It only took seconds for his temper to flare and Blake cracked his knuckles one at a time to keep it in check. "She is. Police business. Do you have a name and a reason for being here, because we were in the middle of something."

"Yes, actually." He straightened his tie and raised himself up another inch. It didn't do shit. "I'm Steven Blondt, and I currently work for CompuLabs as a security consultant. I'm also one of the employees that personally helped to fix the mess that was this company's security systems."

"You're throwing that around like you expect us to give you a medal for it. Unless the other employee happened to be Alyssa Jameson, then you can make your way back outside-"

"She was." Blake had hoped that his dismissal would get something out Blondt, but this was gold. "When I said that I was one of the employees that fixed the system, the other was her. She built the skeleton, and I took it from there. Why do you think she chose to move when she did? I didn't need anyone's help over at CompuLabs. I needed hers."

Glancing back at Smith to gauge her reaction, Blake noticed nothing but resignation. That was something strange to see from a working CEO when an ex-employee was in the room, but Blondt wasn't focused on her anymore. He was focused on them, and Blake wasn't going to back down.

"Then maybe we should be asking you about Alyssa Jameson. You worked together with her on the systems over at CompuLabs, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen her over the last week or so?"

"No."

"Maybe you could tell us why you're here then?"

"Of course. I had a meeting today with Susan to discuss the troubles both companies had faced over the last few weeks. As you could imagine, we had a lot to talk about, especially in the wake of Alyssa's disappearance. Her secretary mentioned visitors and the files she was looking up for them, so I decided to step in and make things a bit easier for everyone. You were wondering if Alyssa's residence had any cameras installed that would be on record here, am I right?"

Blake turned his head to the side, but did not break eye contact. "And?"

"The cameras were my idea." Blondt said, a smug smile stretching across his face. "In order to do my job properly, I had them installed in the house of every member of the security team."

Larry shuddered. "That sounds like an ethics violation waiting to happen."

Blake, however, didn't give a shit. "We need that footage. All of it."

Blondt opened his arms wide and gestured towards the door. "Follow me and you will."


Alyssa Jameson sat at her desk drinking her coffee while she looked over her paperwork. Minutes later she had moved to her living room to watch some television. Not too long after she went to the kitchen to eat lunch. Later she went back to her desk. The cycle repeated itself as Blondt went over the footage, some of it changing as she went in to work, or left on the weekends. The few nights she came home late stood out since she was asleep by nine or ten the rest of the week.

Those nights she didn't come back until midnight, and she usually spent more time at her computer following that. They couldn't follow up on the data checked at those times since they were still without her computer, but soon enough they'd have an idea where those things went. Larry tapped his foot nervously as the date of her disappearance came closer, and when a figure appeared off to the side of a tree outside of her house, Blake held up his hand.

"Pause it."

Blondt did, and the dark blot froze. The footage wasn't that blurry, but the dark clothes made it impossible to see anything distinguishing about the figure aside from a general height or weight. He gestured for Blondt to continue and the figure only stuck around for a few minutes more before walking away.

"I noticed that too." Steven said, stopping the footage when the figure showed up again a few days later. "They popped up twice over this time span, but Alyssa never saw them. They picked the same general time frame, and didn't approach the house or try to look in the windows."

The footage started up again once Blake gave the okay, and the next time the figure appeared was the day of the break in. "Did Alyssa have any enemies, or anyone who was taking an interest in her activities?"

"I could give you a list and it would easily touch the floor. Leaving this place could have killed her career, and I don't think I'll ever be able to repay her for doing it."

"Then why leave? It seems like she had a good thing going on, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for her to just leave it all behind."

The figure approached the door and picked at the lock, not caring that the lights were still on inside the house. They opened it within seconds, slipping inside, and all three of them looked over at the screen where Alyssa was sitting in her room, completely unaware. She got up and walked over past her bed, pausing to glance down her hallway. Black flickered on more than one screen, and she ran for the bathroom, unable to close the door behind her.

The mirror broke, cutting one or the the both of them, and Alyssa eventually crashed to the floor.

"That's a question better left for her, I suppose."