Chapter eight

Riza woke up with Alphonse snuggled up to her, sleeping soundly. Her neck was stiff, as was her back from sitting the whole night long, but she also felt happy in a way she hadn't done before. She looked over at her alarm clock, it said half past seven. She had overslept, but she'd make it work if she skipped breakfast. Riza hugged Al tighter and then carefully lifted him up into her arms and carried him into the bedroom. She lay him down on the bed and pulled the duvet over him before she gently stroked the top of his head.

Riza turned around to find Edward definitely feigning sleep and figured that he knew where his brother had been tonight.

"Have a nice day, Edward," she whispered to him, earning a grunt.

Well, it's a lot better than "fuck off."

She went to the bathroom and showered, letting her mind wander a bit in the glory of the hot water running down her cold arms.

It was such a nice thing that Alphonse was opening up to her already. It made her happy to know that the young boy was already trusting her enough to let her hug him. It was definitely worth whatever aches and pains she'd be experiencing through the day.

And so she was still smiling as she sat herself inside the car and greeted her boss.

"You're looking chipper today, did something happen?" Mustang asked her.

"Yes, sir, Alphonse reached out to me yesterday and I was allowed to hug him."

The man gave her a smile. It made him look a lot more attractive.

Although she certainly didn't need any more of that at the moment. She wasn't a stupid girl any more.

"That's very good to hear. I've been worried about those boys."

"Sir, if it's okay with you, I'd like to ask you a few questions about that case. It would help me understand what the boys went through better." Riza had been waiting to ask about this until they had sort of eased a bit more into their roles of boss and subordinate.

"Of course, what do you want to know?"

"Well, Alphonse told me yesterday that Barry had said he'd come after them to finish the job. Do you know exactly what those words were?"

"'One day I'm gonna get out and then I'll cut you boys up into little, tiny pieces. It's not your fault, I just wanna hear you scream.'"

Riza froze a bit at the way he said it. It was obvious that the words had stuck with the man even after such a long time. No wonder Al was as scared as he was. To hear your stepfather say that must be terrifying, especially when you know that he means it. Riza felt a strong urge to give the boys a big hug the minute she got home, but she doubted they would let her.

"I see, sir. I read from the file that you interviewed him after the arrest, did he mention why he did it in the first place?" Riza knew that she was soon crossing a line. The case had obviously affected the man, and Riza didn't blame him. Still, she needed to know this to help the boys.

"He did it because apparently cutting up meat wasn't enough for him any more. He laughed all the way through the interview. What that man did is unforgivable and he just laughed. He wanted to kill his own stepsons just so he could see how it looked. You can't even try to understand a man like that." Mustang's voice was cold and firm, but he hadn't cut off the conversation. "You should know that Alphonse was stuck sitting there next to his brother's arm for ten minutes before the ambulance came." He sighed heavily. "All that time, Barry kept talking about how he would like to chop them up. He went step by step through how he would have finished Edward off. Alphonse was in shock by the time the paramedics were able to help him."

Riza felt a lump form in her stomach.

"I thought they were fine. I tried to follow them up and even recommended a foster home. I had no idea what happened to them after that. I'm sorry."

Riza suddenly realised that the man was actually blaming himself for this. "Sir? It wasn't your responsibility. You couldn't have known how things would turn out. You already followed the case further than most people would have done."

"Still, I could have done more."

Riza didn't say anything, the discussion was obviously over and she did not want to make him angry by pressing him on something that was clearly personal.

"Sir? We've got an identity based on the fingerprints," Havoc began. "Solaris Bailey, twenty-eight. No known relatives. She was raised at Dante's Orphanage after her parents died soon after she was born. She was arrested a few years ago for the murder of some occultist by the name of Cornello, but was quickly released after a friend provided the police in Liore with an alibi. She is currently sharing a small flat downtown with a Miss Lyra Rial."

Havoc handed him a note with the address and soon enough Roy was sitting in the car together with Hawkeye and they were on their way through town.

Roy sighed. He knew he had spoken a bit sharper than he should have earlier, and Hawkeye had said very little ever since. What had happened to the Elrics was kind of a sore subject with Roy because of how disturbing the case had turned out to be. Learning of how the kids had barely received any help in the last two months made him feel like he had failed them. Roy had seen a fair few grisly murders, but having sat in that hallway that had practically reeked with iron because of all the blood while the boy's arm had just lain there and having known that it would have been treated as evidence and then become garbage while its eleven-year-old owner had been screaming in pain... Roy had never felt so useless in his life as he had back then. He'd had no words of comfort to offer them. No way to have made any of it better. All the while that bloody limb had just been lying there as it had oozed with the red liquid. And the youngest of the boys had just been shaking and crying and staring at his brother while Roy had tried to have blocked out the sounds of Barry Anderson's rants about killing them. Yet Roy had had trouble even looking at the boy in front of him because no ten-year-old had been supposed to have had the left side of their face and upper body sprayed with blood in that way.

Roy should have made sure that they were okay. He should have done more for them. He may have saved their lives, but that was only in his job description. It was the least he could have done in that situation.

And then he had just left them to pick themselves up on their own.

"Sergeant, if you ever need some help with those boys, don't hesitate to call me, day or night, you get me?" Roy said after sitting in silence for at least ten minutes.

Hawkeye seemed surprised, but then she smiled weakly and gratefully. It made her look very pretty indeed. "Thank you, sir, I'll remember that."

They reached the desired building after five more minutes and after six sets of stairs, they reached the flat and knocked on the door three times.

The door was opened by a young woman who looked curiously up at them. "Yes?"

"Are you Lyra Rial? I'm Detective Chief Inspector Mustang and this is Detective Sergeant Hawkeye."

"Yes, is this about Solaris? Is she in trouble?" The woman looked curiously up at them.

"Miss Rial, may we come in for a bit?" Hawkeye asked softly.

She stepped back and gestured for the living room couch. Roy sat down next to Hawkeye and Miss Rial sat down in a comfy chair opposite them. "What's happened to her? Is she hurt?"

"Miss Rial, we regret to inform you that Miss Bailey was found dead yesterday," Roy said.

The girl became rather stony-faced. "I see. How did it happen?" She really didn't seem to be too affected.

"She was stabbed. We were wondering if you know if she had any enemies or people who would wish her harm?"

"No. You should ask at the church. She went there often enough."

"What church is that?"

"The Church of Eternity. It's led by a man usually just referred to as 'Father', although 'Father Kent' has also been used. She's been there often this last year. Apparently it's all about teaching your soul how to become immortal."

"Do you know anything about that church, sir?" Riza asked curiously once they were back in the car. They had bought a cup of coffee each from a stall by the road. By the sound of it, it was basically a large underground church that was all about spiritual realisation.

"A bit. Apparently they have about two hundred members here in East. The ones who join are pretty fanatical about the teachings and have been trying different methods of achieving immortality. It's popped up on a few minor cases like break-ins and … well, there was a rather odd incident with a man who was trying to 'achieve his soul's potential' through skinny-dipping in the fountain in the main park."

Riza nearly choked on her coffee.

"Sounds … interesting, sir. This 'Father' seems highly enlightened…"

"Indeed."