...So, this chapter turned out as a bit longer than planned...

I hope you'll enjoy it :)

Chapter thirty-seven

"If you don't mind me saying so, Inspector, professionalism is all well and good, but this is the country, and you're not dressed for it," the stationmaster said, looking him up and down. He looked to be in his early forties, and had black hair and mutton chops. Riza was currently over by the phone, calling the boys to let them know that they had reached their destination safely, and to hear that they were all doing well. "Take it from someone who knows, sir..." He pointed at his own uniform, a hint of misery in his eyes. "You should at least drop the suit jacket and swap those black trousers of yours for something a bit less stifling. T-shirts are also recommended."

Roy paused. T-shirts were out of the question because of his scars, that was for certain. Rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows too. He supposed he could take the beige, long-legged trousers that Nan had insisted that he'd bring for these sorts of temperatures. And looking at the roads surrounding them, he had to admit that his leather shoes didn't exactly seem to be a good idea either.

...Basically, Nan had looked after her Little Roy, and Roy was happy he hadn't had the heart to oppose her as she had made him pack his very seldom used, white plimsolls. They weren't exactly ideal, but they were definitely the better of the two available options.

"I think I'll listen to your advice, Stationmaster, I'll be right back."

And so Roy stepped out of the slightly unsanitary toilets that were available at the small train station about ten minutes later, meeting Riza, who seemed to have been given a similar piece of advice and acted on it too. She was now wearing a tight-fitting, light blue skirt that reached her knees and a white blouse tucked in under her skirt. She was wearing a pair of simple, white shoes, and generally looked a lot less like a vacationer than Roy did because her air of professionalism was still preserved.

And Roy could see the slightly darker shape underneath her buttoned up collar, meaning that she was still wearing her necklace. She smiled at him a bit teasingly. "We almost look like a couple of honeymooners, don't we?"

Roy chuckled a bit. Then he noticed the confused expression on the stationmaster's face, and so Roy decided to help him out. "We were engaged yesterday."

The man smiled and nodded understandingly, and Roy could tell that he was certainly a married man, even with his white gloves covering his ring. "I see, sir, congratulations to the two of you."

Roy nodded, smiling, noticing that the man looked like had been a permanent resident for a long time. "Thank you. I take this as you being familiar with the area?"

The man chuckled a bit. "I've lived here my whole life. Is there a particular place you're looking for?"

Roy nodded again. "More or less. I talked with Sergeant Reid yesterday, but he knew little about the area and its people as he was recently transferred. What with the rainstorm two years ago that flooded most of the archive room, asking the locals seems like the best bet."

He received a nod and a hum of understanding. "We're a small town, crime levels are about zero, and so there are only three officers working here full time. If something happens, then we just ask for a bit of assistance from the nearest towns, and at the worst, East City, but that has only happened three times in the past ten years. So what may I help you with?"

Roy was relieved. This man was obviously able to point them in the right direction on their first go. "Do you know if there are anybody who knew a man by the name of John Van Hohenheim? He went missing eight years ago."

The stationmaster frowned, obviously trying to remember. "He's the one that suddenly just left his partner and children without a word, isn't it?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, we would like to know more about him."

"Well, then I suppose you ought to go talk with the Rockbells. They were friends of the family until the Elrics moved away."

Roy felt a bit awkward at that particular piece of information. That would serve to make this a lot more personal than he would have liked. He had of course foreseen that that would quite possibly be the case, and he supposed that it would also help them earn some more trust and let them find more out about the boys and their mother. "I see, where would I find them?"

The stationmaster turned around and pointed towards one of the roads. "About a twenty minutes' walk up that path. You just turn up towards the yellow house when you see it. There's a large sign saying "Rockbell Automail" in front of it, so you can't really knock on the door of the wrong house. If you want to wait for a bit, however, then we could get you two a horse drawn cart if you don't want the walk."

Roy looked over at Riza, engaging in a silent conversation with their eyes. Then Roy looked back at the stationmaster, shaking his head, still smiling pleasantly. "Thank you, sir, but we'll be fine with the walk. It's better not to give them the impression of us having a time limit."

The man nodded. "I see, sir, then I hope you have a pleasant walk."

"Thank you for your help, Stationmaster, have a nice day," Roy said, smiling, Riza nodding with a smile of her own.

The stationmaster tipped his hat at them, but then he seemed to have an idea strike him. "One last thing, sir. If you don't know how long you'll be staying here, then checking in at the local inn might mean an unnecessary expense if you get the information that you need today. Why don't I just keep your luggage stored here at the station until you know whether or not you're going to spend the night in town? I lock the office door when I'm not in it, so it's not going to get stolen anytime soon." Then he chuckled. "And I'm not exactly in the mood to steal the possessions of two detectives."

Roy looked to Riza, receiving another nod and a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Riza said kindly, before taking Roy's suitcase, opening it, and taking out his gun and his sock puppet without a word and storing it in her handbag.

The rest of their conversation was understandably a bit awkward, but soon enough, Roy was walking up the road next to Riza. The two of them had decided against holding hands as it was still a good idea to keep an air of slightly intimidating professionalism.

"Thank you for showing him the sock puppet, Riza," Roy said, just a bit sarcastically. He had explained to the stationmaster that Roy had found that when interviewing children, they usually had a very much easier time trusting Roy when it was Constable Charlie Muffin who was asking the questions.

Riza smiled teasingly up at him. "We have no idea if we'll be talking to young children as well, it's better to just be prepared."

He sighed with fond exasperation. "I know."

"Then there's nothing else to say about it."

"I suppose not."

There were a few seconds of silence, before Riza spoke up again, her voice now worried and betraying her sadness. "If they ask about the boys, I think we ought to tell them the truth... When they were old friends of the family, then it's only fair that they should know."

Roy let out a deep breath. "I think so too." He decided that they might as well discuss another matter that had been occupying his mind lately. "You know, Riza, we could afford to have Ed get automail if we find someone who would take it in instalments..."

Riza looked down at that. "Roy, you could afford it, not me... That's a large expenditure and we won't be able to split it equally between us... And I don't think it's a good idea even so..."

"Because Ed is still having a lot of trouble coping with the memories of that night... And the pain from the surgery and the rehabilitation process that follows it could prove to be far too much for him, no matter how strong he is. I don't doubt that he's capable of going through it, and it would serve to make him feel a lot less like a freak, as well as give him the possibility to get some of his independence back... But the road to that point is too hellish for my liking..."

"My grandfather has already told me that he's more than willing to chip in too if Ed decides that he wants it..."

Roy felt a lump in his stomach steadily building with each passing second, and he sighed heavily. "I think we should ask Ed what he thinks... Because it could also serve as something that helps him put their past behind him."

She took his right arm and hugged it to her, leaning into him, her voice little more than a whisper. "The worst part is that I think he's going to decide that he wants it."

Roy stopped walking and gave her a hug. "I think so too... And with the summer season coming up in less than two months from now, I've worked up about one and six weeks' worth of overtime that I can use to expand the three weeks of vacation that I get anyways... That means that both of us can stay with him during the worst of it, especially the surgery, and Nan would be more than happy to stay with him during the entire rehabilitation period..."

"And the reason that you're bringing it up now is that we could hear the opinion of people that are running an automail business and probably won't be focusing on the money rather than the sound advice."

"We both know that the longer we delay it, the harder it will be for Ed during the rehabilitation process. It's always easier when the nerves are more responsive the more recent the amputation. He'll be able to teach his nerves to listen with less difficulty."

Riza pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "Then I suppose we'll ask him when we get back home. It will give him some time to decide too."

Roy nodded and kissed her forehead before they began walking again.

He looked about for the next fifteen minutes, spotting a considerable amount of sheep. And cows. And a few goats and horses. Plus chickens. And a lot of pastures. There were also a large apple orchard and all in all it was a lot more rural than Roy was used to.

"You know, Roy, there's something relaxing about the scent of fresh air and cow dung at the same time..." Riza said, before snorting with laughter.

"Couldn't agree more, Dear."

"Of course, Darling... We're such a splendid team after all." Riza was obviously picking up on the Roy's joking display of formality.

"You're quite right, my Dear, quite right." They walked a bit further up the small hill that they were currently climbing, laughing lightly. Then they suddenly spotted the top of the large, yellow house. "I suppose we've reached our destination, Roy," Riza said, smiling, but it was a strained kind of smile. Roy understood it very well. They were about to deliver some heartbreaking news to a family of strangers. They had done so plenty of times, that was just a part of the job description, but none of them had then been delivering the news that they were in the process of adopting the sons of the recently deceased family friend.

Roy reached out and gently squeezed her hand in his, getting that little jolt in his stomach from the feeling of the ring on her finger.

And so they walked the final stretch up towards the house, finding that they had indeed reached their destination, judging from the large sign outside the house. There was also another sign next to it with a red cross symbolising that this was also some sort of clinic.

Roy knocked on the door and they were met by a series of barks from inside the house. "Den, back!" came a sharp voice obviously belonging to an elderly woman, and the barks ceased instantly. Five seconds later, the door was opened, and they found themselves looking down at a very small, old woman with a pipe and an interesting hairstyle. "Yes?"

Roy and Riza both pulled out their identification cards, Roy from his back pocket, Riza from the chest pocket of her blouse. "I'm DCI Roy Mustang and this is DS Riza Hawkeye, we were told to come here to talk with the Rockbells concerning an old case that has recently come up."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Is this about John?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

She stood back, opening the door for them even further. "Then I suppose you should come in. I'm Pinako Rockbell, by the way... John was an old drinking pal of mine. Why don't you two sit down at the living room table over there while I prepare some tea? Or do you prefer coffee?"

"Tea is more than enough, thank you, Mrs. Rockbell."

Riza nodded and smiled. "Thank you, tea sounds very nice."

The old woman grunted, puffing her pipe as she left the room, and Roy and Riza walked to the table that their host had referred to. As soon as they had sat down, Roy grabbed Riza's right hand under the table, gently stroking it with his thumb.

She looked up at him, her eyes revealing that torrent of emotions that she was nearly being overwhelmed by, but keeping under control underneath her professional facade. Roy sighed and hugged her to his side, before kissing her temple. "Should we just tell them right away?" Her hair still smelt clearly of her shampoo as she had washed it thoroughly last night before they left for the train, and it brought him even more of that excited comfort.

"I think that might just be best, yes."

Roy suddenly noticed a noticeboard on the wall to their left with a lot of pictures fastened to it with drawing pins. And if he wasn't much mistaken, it seemed that there was one with a couple of small, young, blonde children in front of a brunette. Roy couldn't help but let his curiosity take over, and he pointed to the noticeboard. "Riza, that wouldn't be...?"

They both got to their feet without a word and walked over, finding that it was indeed the three Elrics in between all the other pictures, many of them featuring a blonde girl smiling widely. It appeared that the house had a total of four residents. The photograph that instantly caught their attention, however, was the one with the three Elrics. Roy would guess that it had been taken very soon before they moved, and Trisha was sitting in the grass in a light purple dress and a white apron, hugging her boys, one in each arm.

"So Ed perfected his "I'm gonna kick you in the shin if you tell anyone"-look at age three?" Roy asked, earning a giggle from Riza, which was soon accompanied by a chuckle from Roy.

Then they both sighed, obviously thinking the same thing as Riza gently ran her left index over Ed's right arm. "Their eyes are so different too..."

Roy couldn't help but pull out the picture that Maes had taken of the boys as they had driven home from the fair, one giant plush animal each in the seat next to them. Ed and Al were asleep, leaning against each other, both of them with contented, small smiles on their lips. It was similar to another picture on the noticeboard. Ed and Al were asleep in that same position in an armchair, Ed about three and Al two in this one too. They had a chequered red, green and yellow blanket draped over them.

...And there was just a bit of dark brown smeared around Ed's lips.

Roy chuckled. "I suppose this is where the love for brownies comes from..." He held his own picture up next to the one on the noticeboard.

"That's Ed and Al, isn't it?" came a male voice behind them, and Roy paused and turned around at the same time as Riza, looking at a stranger that had a surprised and intrigued expression on his features. He was obviously one of the four people living there, as he was easily recognisable from the other pictures.

Roy put down the picture and folded it back inside his wallet. "Yes, sorry, we're here in relation to an investigation. We wanted to know a bit more about John Van Hohenheim's disappearance and life before it. I'm DCI Roy Mustang, and this DS Riza Hawkeye."

The man suddenly froze, horror spreading across his face. "The boys are okay, right?"

Roy sighed. "I think we should sit down, and no, we're not investigating their murder."

The man was obviously smart enough to see that something was very wrong even so. "You avoided saying anything about how they're doing... Does that mean that Trisha...?"

Roy nodded sombrely. "Yes... About three months ago now."

The stranger looked down sadly. "I see... And Ed and Al? Do you know how they're doing?"

Roy suddenly understood that the man must not have caught much more than a glimpse of the picture, obviously fearing that it was only from a case file.

It was Riza that spoke up. "Actually, sir, Roy and me began the adoption process yesterday. I've been their foster mother for the past three weeks."

The man looked back up at that, surprise on his face once more, a bit of hopefulness mixed in with the grief. "They're not in town, are they?"

Roy shook his head. "No. Like I said, we're first and foremost here in relation to an investigation. Bringing them with us would mean that we we'd be disclosing classified information. They are currently being looked after by my grandmother and an old friend of mine."

"I see." Then he walked forwards, holding out his right hand. "Well, I ought to introduce myself, I'm Yuriy Rockbell, Pinako's my mother. It's nice to meet you."

And so they shook hands with him, before Yuriy awkwardly asked if it would be all right with them if he went and found his wife as she too was going to be interested in hearing about the Elrics.

The man had hardly had the time to leave before Pinako Rockbell spoke up from over by the kitchen door. "I thought you looked like this was a bit more personal than you two first let on." She was looking sad, intrigued, and a bit grumpy, but the latter seemed to be her default setting, rather than her immediate dislike of Roy and Riza's lack of initial information.

It was Riza who spoke. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Rockbell, but we were going to tell you as soon as we sat down. We figured that it wasn't exactly a very good idea to immediately spring the information on you as soon as you opened the door."

She sighed and nodded. "I suppose you're right... So does this mean that you're from East City?"

"Roy is, I grew up in Central and was only transferred to East City recently."

She looked at the ring on Riza's finger, and Roy could practically see the words "long-distance relationship" written above her head.

He sighed. "It's a long story... I think it's better if we do it when we're all sitting by the table."

She raised an eyebrow at them. "You hungry? We have some leftover chicken salad from yesterday. If you just came from the train, then a proper meal is recommended."

Roy looked at Riza to see what she was thinking. They had eaten a couple of Nan's sandwiches for breakfast, but that was also about four hours ago now. Roy would be lying if he said he wasn't peckish, and this visit wasn't exactly purely business either. "What do you say, Riza?"

She obviously read his look and turned back towards Pinako. "Thank you, Mrs. Rockbell, that's very kind of you."

The old woman puffed her pipe, obviously taking the pair of them in with a bit of a different view. "I suppose it's only fair when you're going to be speaking with us for more than an hour or so with these circumstances... If you don't mind, we'd very much like to hear a bit about Ed and Al. I delivered both boys, actually."

Roy had a very strong feeling that this would end in them keeping in contact with the Rockbells after their return to East City.

And so Roy nodded and thanked her as she left for the kitchen again. He looked to his fiancée, who looked back up at him, her eyes betraying that slight discomfort mixed with interest in hearing more about the boys, that Roy was feeling himself. "I think it's safe to say that this won't exactly be a textbook interview..." Roy said quietly. "And I believe that we're about to be evaluated."

She looked up at him, smiling slightly. "The Detective Chief Inspector is at work again, then?"

Roy sighed nonchalantly. "Drawing conclusions based on the available evidence is what I do best, Hon."

She looked at him teasingly. "That, and being bossed around by a five-foot tall octogenarian in ASL."

"A stubborn five-foot tall octogenarian who raised me since I was eight and who finds and climbs ladders to spy on my proposal through the window. ASL has nothing to do with it, because she's stubborn enough to not even need to use her voice."

Riza just looked at him fondly, obviously highly amused by his words.

He gave her a quick kiss, before whispering to her. "I think we should stop with the teasing before they return, otherwise it's a bit too insensitive of us."

She sighed, nodding. Being more or less equally morbid did have its benefits in private, but they were both very aware of what it was like with those around them.

...But the teasing also helped with the tension that being away from the boys in a place that concerned them so much brought. Because they both felt that little lump in their stomachs caused by the feeling that they were betraying the boys. And the fact that they kept defending what they were doing just made it even clearer, seeing as how it was mostly just to try to convince themselves rather fruitlessly.

Riza would have been lying if she said that she was completely comfortable as they sat there with the three Rockbells. Understandably enough, they spent the time that they ate discussing the Elrics before they had left Resembool. Gruesome murders weren't a good topic of conversation when not speaking to a fellow detective, and sometimes not even then.

"When Trisha moved away with the boys, she decided that breaking off all contact would most likely be the best for her sons," Pinako said, sighing. "Ed and Al were understandably enough very upset about moving to the city, and they were too young to fully understand. Trisha put it off for a few months after John left, but when they still hadn't heard from him at all for three months, she decided that the money would be running out far too soon as she was unemployed. After all, Ed would have been starting school within three years and Al only the year after. And she didn't want to accept any money from the rest of the locals, even though almost everyone in town were willing to chip in. The Elrics were well-liked and people were very sad to hear that Trisha and the boys had just been abandoned like that. Almost everyone in town knew Trisha because she had grown up here and she was such a kind and likeable girl."

Pinako sighed again, taking a large sip of tea. "And Trisha was too stubborn to accept the money because she knew that she wouldn't be able to pay it back. And so, since she was already noticing just how smart those boys of hers were, she decided that moving to East City was the best thing to do. That way, the boys could get a good education and she could have a job where their flat was just above the shop. She accepted some money from us to pay for Ed and Al's education, but that was only because we convinced her that that was not as an act of charity, but because I used to be the closest thing they had to a grandmother. I wanted to do that for them at least to fulfil the role that I had been given. Yuriy and Sara said the same thing as their unofficial aunt and uncle."

Yuriy was the one to sigh this time. "Trisha decided that using Ed and Al's age to her advantage was a very effective method to make the move easier for them to bear. They had the opportunity to much more effectively cut off all ties to their old life, so that they wouldn't have the way that their father abandoned them weighing so heavily on the boys' shoulders. Basically, the less things they felt that the man had stolen from them, the easier their upbringing would be from that point on. Or we hoped so. So when Trisha decided to move, Sara and me bought their old house from her so that the sale could be done as quickly as possible. To most people, the value would be very reduced because of its location. It would have been hard to sell in general because the road up to the house isn't the best one. Plus it takes thirty minutes in both directions when walking to the centre of the town. All in all, should it rain and you needed to buy some groceries, then it wouldn't be ideal unless you're Resembool born and bred."

Sara smiled encouragingly at that. "However, to us it was perfect. It's only about seven minutes away from here and it gave us an opportunity to convert parts of this house into a clinic as we're both surgeons. As Rockbell Automail was already well-established, gaining support and notoriety was easy enough, and the area could finally have a high quality clinic instead of just a local doctor's office where Yuriy and me would have to come running every time there was an accident of such-and-such proportions. As we're also located in the middle of the stretch between the centre of the town and many of the more remote fields, we can also help out a lot more. Accidents in relation to heavy tools and the likes aren't too uncommon out here, and by being a lot closer, we have been able to save twenty people who would otherwise have died because we wouldn't have been there in time. Mum here shouldn't need to run out all on her own when she specialises in prosthetic limbs, and automail requires a lot of concentration, not to speak of when performing the surgery itself. This way everyone gained from it and Trisha sold the house for its real value, also because the house had been in the Elric family since it was built seventy years ago. After all, it's a beautiful and big home that has everything we need and then some."

Riza smiled and nodded at the same time as Roy did. She was sad to see that the boys had obviously lost such good people in order to make their loss a bit better. And they were right about how Ed and Al had obviously forgotten about the Rockbells, or at least mostly, seeing as how they had never mentioned them once. A part of that could also be that they had simply forgotten the Rockbells' names.

"So, were you engaged recently?" Sara asked, her eyes revealing that warmth that came with someone remembering and cherishing the time of their own engagement.

Riza felt heat rush to her cheeks slightly. "Yesterday morning."

Yuriy's eyebrows shot up, before he began smiling comradely. "That recently, huh? Well, congratulations."

Both Riza and Roy nodded, before Sara smiled at Riza specifically. "That is a very beautiful ring, Miss Hawkeye."

Riza couldn't help it. At the reminder, all she could think of was Roy's choice of words. And so she began laughing loudly, before holding her hand in front of her mouth to stifle the sound somewhat. "S-sorry... I just..." She broke down into giggles, leaving it to Roy to sort out.

"I may or may not have had my head elsewhere as it was very much an impromptu proposal... Because I kind of rushed off to Nan's and found the ring, and then borrowed Ed and Al's empty bedroom with Riza while the boys were in the kitchen, eating breakfast. And so I got down on one knee, had my brain shortcut completely as I held out the ring and told her "it's my Mum's,"" Roy explained, obviously more than just a bit awkward about yesterday's choice of words. "...And it didn't exactly help that Riza discovered before I did that my incredibly stubborn Nan, who refused to let me leave her flat without her in the car to immediately hear how it went, had found the ladder... So she was leaning against the window, still in her pyjamas, dressing gown and fluffy slippers, reading our lips as she is an expert at it after having been deaf for the past seventeen years."

There was silence in the room for two seconds, before Sara began giggling, Yuriy chuckled, and Pinako laughed slightly as well.

Roy chuckled nervously in turn, before sighing as the laughter died down. "Probably would have waited a bit, seeing as how we'd only actually been sweethearts for four whole days before... But we... Well, we're young, it was late... I suppose you catch my drift. Next morning, we realised that we were at the time where the chances are highest for Riza to become pregnant... And so we didn't want the boys to think that they were second best. And should there be a child, we didn't want the boys to even doubt for a second that we thought a child of our own was a better reason to get married than the two of them... Which is why we're adopting Ed and Al before we even know if there will be a third... Besides, we still have over ten months to sort things out."

Riza reached out to take Roy's right hand in her left, feeling him instantly squeeze it back gently where they were resting on the table. She looked at the sad and surprised faces of their hosts. "I caught my husband cheating on me two months ago... I quickly moved out and seeing that Will clearly had no interest in me after that point, I decided to move on completely and take the Sergeant's exam and then I applied for the opened spot as Roy's work partner."

"And I found her application frankly overwhelming and even phoned her previous boss in Central to double-check that she hadn't cheated on her examination. I quickly learnt that there was indeed nothing wrong about her application. And so I decided that she seemed to be a very perfect partner, not only because of her skill, which was reason enough in itself, but because most of the applicants were either the same age as myself or older. I've had a hard time finding work partners before because they tend to dislike me being younger than themselves and therefore have trouble following my orders. Many think that they don't need to take me too seriously because I'm so young, also because they feel like I'm the one that should be learning from them, and not the other way around. A fair few also believe I cheated myself to the position of both DI and now DCI. But it has honestly just been hard work, a good reputation case-solving-wise, even if many tend to dismiss that, and a mentor whose opinion of me was very high and who therefore put in a recommendation that allowed me equal footing when I applied for my promotions. I have to say that I am still surprised that they chose me, but I suppose part of it could have something to do with how well I know the area and that I am clearly a hard worker - not that I'm trying to brag or anything of the sort, though, so please don't misunderstand me. Mostly, though, I think that my mentor from day one at the station had the most to say in the matter."

Riza squeezed his hand again, smiling a bit exasperatedly. "And who just happens to be a tad manipulative, seeing as how he obviously knew that Roy would choose me before Roy did... Because as it turned out, and that was without our knowledge, Roy's mentor just happened to be my grandfather."

"...And none of us had a clue that the other even existed until Riza applied for the spot as my partner."

"...Which again is why I'm Ed and Al's foster mother. Only a few days before my transfer, a woman from Social Services phoned me and asked for a meeting... Will and I had been registered as a foster home for nine months, although we never had any foster children coming to live with us during that time... And so she was willing to make an exception as my name was still in the system and I was considered a very suitable foster mother under those particular circumstances."

The plates in front of them had been emptied, and the faces of those in front of them were sombre and just a bit worried and expectant at the same time. Pinako sighed heavily. "Trisha was murdered, wasn't she?"

They knew that most of the story wasn't classified information, and these people obviously still cared a lot about all three Elrics. Barry's name had been all over the news and most people knew exactly what had happened, although the Elrics' names hadn't been disclosed, nor their pictures. "She got married to a butcher by the name of Barry Anderson three years ago, and about three months ago, the man came home and had earlier that afternoon obviously snapped..." Roy began, and the three people in front of them paled considerably. "I received a call over the radio as I was the nearest officer at the time. The possibility of it being a prank call was high, but I checked it out of course... I got out of the car and was immediately met by a scream. And so I ran inside and found Trisha Elric having been murdered and a pair of terrified boys with their stepfather approaching them... And the scream I had heard had been because Ed's entire right arm had been chopped off..."

Pinako dropped her pipe as all three Rockbells went white as a sheet and Sara covered her mouth with a horrified gasp.

Riza spoke up. "We apologise for having this be the update on your old friends after eight years of silence."

Sara had a few tears going down her cheeks. "So that's why you wouldn't tell us about them as we ate... What... What happened to them afterwards?" she asked quietly.

"They were moved between three separate foster homes because none of their foster families had seemed to connect with the boys. The foster parents weren't good with handling the phantom limb pain, and having someone call themselves their parents in any form only worked as a cause for further withdrawal and frustration from the boys. And so there was a chain of foster homes deciding that the boys' needs required expertise that they didn't have, and so it was best that they were moved somewhere else." Riza could sense the repressed irritation that was shining through Roy's entire being as she spoke, but that was only because she knew him.

"Those idiots..." Yuriy said, obviously angry about it himself. "That was bound to make things ten times worse..." He looked hopefully over at Roy and Riza. "But things are better now, right?"

"Yes," Riza began. "It's why they asked me to take them in. They were highly distrustful of any sort of male figure, and like I said, Ed's missing arm had been a problem for the other foster homes because they didn't have any experience with children in that situation. They figured that I could relate because I had recently had a husband of my own very much having broken my trust. As a police officer, I also have a lot more experience with victims of various crimes, and they therefore hoped that it would serve as something that would help me guide the boys through their grieving process while also not being bothered by Ed's missing limb."

"I see their logic..." Yuriy said, obviously not too pleased even so. "And is it working? After just three weeks, I wouldn't expect them to take too much to DCI Mustang...?"

Roy sighed. "I think it would have taken a much longer time if it hadn't been for the fact that I was the one who saved their lives that night... When Riza told me that she had become their foster mother and I learnt of what had happened to them, I took an interest in helping her with Ed and Al... Then Ed broke his arm less than a week after she took them in because of some unfortunate jumping on the couch in the flat while we were at work... That helped Ed build up just a bit of trust as he needed to accept at least Riza's help..." He pulled the photo back out of his wallet, sliding it across the table to let them look at it. "That's after we took them to the East City Spring Fair. My friend from IA insisted on us doing something fun because the office was too boring. After all, we couldn't leave the boys alone at Riza's flat when Ed needed help and we weren't going to force his little brother to become his carer. So we built up trust little by little, and Ed allowed me to hug him after I gave him a rather stern talking to. He kept jumping down Riza's throat because he saw everything that could be taken wrong as a sign that she didn't care. I set him straight and the result was some rather fierce protectiveness regarding their foster mother... And in the meantime, I became "Old Fart" because I'm old for a horse."

They suddenly received a grumpy look from Pinako instead of the smile that they had been hoping for. They had of course known that the information could be taken both ways. "So what makes it okay for both of you to leave them to go to a town twelve hours away? Leaving them with a deaf, elderly woman that they hardly know isn't exactly encouraging for us to hear."

"They're both fluent in ASL and they have taken to her a lot. They were the ones to suggest it, Riza was originally supposed to stay back with them while I travelled here on my own. However, they're still selfless to a fault and they were adamant that we need to do our job when people are being killed. And because they are so stubborn, refusing wasn't really an option, also because they would just feel guilty in case it slows down the investigation." Then Roy sighed, and Riza could tell that he was about to divulge some of his own past. "And Ed trusts Nan to take care of him because she has a lot of experience with taking care of a kid with both arms out of commission... I got caught in an explosion when I was eight. I had a beam fall over me and it broke my arms rather thoroughly, as well as some of my ribs and so I couldn't use my arms for a few months. It's also how Nan lost her hearing."

The three Rockbells looked at him, and then down at the picture, obviously not entirely sure as to what to say.

And so Roy seemed to decide to finish his summary. "And so now Ed and Al has taken to us, especially as we also told them yesterday that if Riza does become pregnant from what happened, and it's a girl, we'll be naming her Trisha..."

There was a pause, and then Pinako spoke up, her voice sad. "Then it appears that they're getting a good home that they obviously need..."

"We hope that it will be so... Ed has already made it very clear that we'll be getting a non-negotiable labradoodle... And he seems to have made it his mission in life to be kind and then make us uncomfortable... Me especially..."

They looked back up at them. "What do you mean?" Yuriy asked, but there was a small smile lurking in the corner of his mouth. He was obviously not surprised.

"Take yesterday... First thing he did as we reached the office was to suddenly sprint ahead of us, kick the door open as he ran inside and made a loud proclamation based on Riza's and my own names... consisting of "your boss is horny, so I'm gonna be a Pegasus.""

The Rockbells looked at them in surprise, before all three of them burst out laughing.

Once the plates were removed and the table was cleaned, they were served another round of tea, this time accompanied by some chocolate scones. Roy noticed Riza pulling out a notebook and pencil as it was obviously clear that it was time to hear about the the Van Hohenheim twins.

"Where would you like me to start, Mustang?" Pinako asked, just as Roy took a sip of his tea. It was very clear that they had earned the trust of their hosts, which would help a lot. Roy would even go as far as saying that they had formed a kind of friendship.

"When did you first meet John Van Hohenheim?"

"At a local tavern about eighteen years ago now. He had a fondness for the same brand of whisky as myself... Ended up having a bit of a drinking competition, one which I won... And so he was the one who ended up paying. He was thirty at the time. We kept talking a bit, but I didn't really learn much about him... He wasn't one for speaking about his past, but he began opening up some once he became smitten by Trisha two years later and his brain went elsewhere."

Roy felt like she was obviously taking a jab at himself and his own actions, but Roy was back in work mode. Which meant that he kept himself professional as his mind took in everything around him. Every single mannerism, facial feature, the expressions on the two younger Rockbells next to Pinako...

And Riza was obviously doing the exact same thing.

"And what did he tell you, Mrs. Rockbell?" Roy asked calmly, a slight hint of pleasantness so as to not seem threatening.

The old woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Somebody's obviously back at work now..."

"This is what I do for a living. You could say that my mind's in work mode. So please answer my question," there was no impatience in his voice of course.

She let out another puff of smoke, thinking back to what happened. "...Well, he showed up in Resembool about a week before I first met him after a dispute with his twin. Apparently they had parted ways after some sort of argument concerning an old guru of theirs. However, Kent, his brother as you know, was their guru's favourite pupil. Meaning that said guru had told them some occult theories on how to achieve immortality. John had decided to draw the line at that point. Initially, their guru had been an excellent chemist as well as having an unspecified job. They had been staying with their guru - John never said whether it was a man or a woman - for their entire lives up till then. However, once the occult theories came into being, Kent decided to start a cult anonymously funded by the unknown guru." She sighed. "I suppose you're already able to tell that John was intoxicated when he spoke about it? He kept waving off any questions about names, saying that they weren't "portant"... Guess that's a clue about his level of coherency at the time. Only said "Guru was", "Guru said", "Guru meant", and so it went on."

Roy nodded, feeling slightly irked by the fact that the names were not to be obtained when they might very well be some of the most important things they could learn about the case. "I see... What else can you remember?"

"Well, when the occult theories started, John decided that he wasn't exactly in the mood to keep studying under "Guru". Apparently his main issue was that "Guru" also believed that the soul was key to achieving said immortality... And that "Guru" was trying to make a Philosopher's Stone out of all things. When that, surprisingly enough, proved fruitless, "Guru" returned to trying to teach "Guru's" soul to become immortal, and apparently "Guru's" ideas were horrible beyond words and he therefore refused to divulge any information about them. Soon after that, he passed out and never spoke of it again."

Roy looked at her as her expression softened slightly. "Sorry that I don't really know much else about the matter, Mustang."

Roy shook his head. "Don't worry, Mrs. Rockbell, that is a far more detailed story than what we were expecting." Fact was that Father Kent had only said that he was using his soul to achieve immortality... and that he learnt it after falling down a staircase as it had "made him see the truth" once he woke up from the ensuing coma. Roy had, quite understandably, thought that that was rather self-explanatory as to how the cult had come into being. "Could you tell us how his relationship to the Elrics was?"

She sighed at that. "He began dating Trisha soon after she turned nineteen. He had had a thing for her for two years, but never made any sort of move. He said he was too old for her, but one day she simply came out of nowhere, smiling, grabbing his hand and kissing his cheek. A year later, she became pregnant with Ed. All that time he seemed a mixture of happy and worried. John always seemed like he didn't want to have any pictures taken of him. In fact, he wasn't on a single one. And he appeared to be too ashamed of his past to want to tell anyone about it. Too ashamed to want to exist here, in a way. It's probably why he never married Trisha. About a week before he disappeared, he said something about how he should never have settled down here. How he did something horrible by staying and that it was against his better judgement... However, that too was something that was soon followed by sleeping with the table in the tavern as a pillow... It had me worried, but for the following week, he acted as if nothing was wrong. Then, one morning, while Trisha was in the shower, he packed his suitcase and left without a word. He was found sleeping in the animal car three stops from here, paid the fine and disappeared without a trace after that."

Yuriy sighed. "Trisha was heartbroken. She had been worried about John for about a month, saying that he was shutting himself more and more off from her and the boys. She tried to reach out to him, but he wouldn't say anything. When Mom told Trisha that John had regretted staying here, she was even more broken up about it."

The phone suddenly began ringing, and Sara got to her feet. "I'll take it." Her eyes were full of sadness, worry, betrayal and just a bit of anger as she walked over to take the call.

Pinako let out a deep breath, smoke spreading around her mouth as a result. "So no, we don't really know much more than that. His relationship to his brother was obviously strained, and, although it is only guesswork on my part, I think John felt like he was running away by staying here. My best bet is that he was going to face up to his demons and his guru so as to try to get some peace of mind. The longer he stayed, the more he seemed to think that he didn't deserve neither Trisha nor the boys."

Roy finished his tea, giving him some time to mull the information over in his mind. The blow to the head would explain how Father Kent never seemed to think that his delusional theories were nothing but his own. He put the cup back down, getting a feeling that at least some of his theories were being confirmed. If John went missing just as he was about to find his brother, then the two separate cases might very well be related.

But at least this was turning out not to be a fruitless visit. Because of the flood two years ago, they had been prepared for it to just be a red herring that left more frustration in its wake. Of course, it could still just be a red herring and John Van Hohenheim was drinking whisky in some remote cabin near Briggs.

"Well, that information could turn out to be a big help. Thank you, Mrs. Rockbell." It seemed that keeping their luggage in the stationmaster's office had been a good call. They would be able to take the night train at a quarter past ten this evening, seeing as how they still had a lot of time to walk around and interview the locals, and would then be back with the boys soon enough.

Sara returned then, looking worried, and Roy got a bad feeling. "Mister Mustang, the stationmaster called, hoping that you were still here. Apparently there's been a rockslide that is blocking both the train tracks and the main road between here and East City. It's about five hours away."

Roy swore inwardly before he looked up at Sara Rockbell hopefully. "How soon are they expecting for the road and the train tracks to be cleared?"

She gave them an encouraging smile. "It's only a smaller rockslide, thankfully, so they expect to have the tracks cleared in a few days. The morning train to East City two days from now should be running on schedule."

Roy could tell where this was going without them needing to say anything else, but telling them so would also be very impolite.

And so came the very predictable offer as Yuriy leant forwards a bit, smiling at them. "Why don't you stay with us while you wait? We have a spare bedroom where you can actually get some good night's sleep. There's a field behind the inn where there are a lot of sheep grazing. And they had lambs not too long ago and all of them have bells around their necks."

Roy paused. He had a nasty feeling that he'd be running through town, screaming, at three in the morning. Especially when the locals thought so too.

"We don't mind," Sara said kindly, she too smiling. "It could also give you a feel of what it was like to live there. Maybe you could even pick up on something that we didn't because we're not exactly investigators."

Yuriy frowned, however, obviously seeing the main issue with Riza and Roy taking them up on their offer. "But I suppose that that would be considered highly unprofessional when we could potentially be suspects in case it was foul play."

Riza placed a hand on Roy's arm. "We'll need to make a few phone calls at the very least."

Yuriy and Sara both nodded, giving her an encouraging smile, while Pinako took her pipe out of her mouth, smiling a bit. "Of course, you just borrow the phone, there's a second one in the workshop upstairs so that you can get some privacy. It's through that door over there." She then pointed her pipe at an open door that obviously led to a hallway. "The stairs are to the right through there and from then it's the third door on the left."

Riza stood up and nodded, smiling. "Thank you, Mrs. Rockbell."

"No worries, Miss Hawkeye. Take whatever time you need."

Riza nodded and put her notebook and pencil back inside her bag before leaving the room.

Yuriy suddenly looked at the clock on the wall, his eyebrows rising. "Oh, we should probably warn you that Winry-"

He was cut off by a series of barks right before the front door was opened and a blonde girl in a pink dress came inside, a small school bag on her shoulders. She was easily recognisable as the girl from the pictures on the wall. She was smiling widely, instantly greeting the dog that was placing both of its front paws on her shoulders. "Hi, Den!" She looked around the room, pausing as her eyes fell upon Roy.

"Winry, this is Detective Chief Inspector Mustang, he's looking into John's disappearance," Sara explained kindly. "His partner, Detective Sergeant Hawkeye, is borrowing the phone upstairs. They might be staying with us for a couple of days."

Winry's eyes widened. "Oh, hi... I'm Winry Rockbell..." She looked at the dog, Den obviously understanding that he should get down again, seeing as how he did just that two seconds later.

Roy stood up and extended his right hand. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Rockbell."

She took his hand, obviously a bit nervous about it. "You too, Mister Mustang."

He gave her a kind smile as he released her hand as she seemed reluctant to do so in case she did something wrong. "You don't meet with a lot of cops, do you?"

She shook her head, blushing slightly.

Roy went with the casual approach and put his hands in his trouser pockets. "Well, if it helps, then I'm not exactly the stern, scary type, at least I hope so... In fact, back in East City, those that don't like me much like to call me "DCI Sock Puppet." But I can tell you, that Constable Charlie Muffin has helped me solve many a case because, contrary to many of my colleagues, I don't scare six-year-olds into complete silence because they think they'll get arrested."

Roy heard a snort of laughter from the Rockbells behind him, and even Winry smiled slightly. "Muffin?"

Roy nodded, still smiling. "Muffin indeed. I made him five years ago, and I liked the ring of it... I'll show you afterwards, Riza's got him in her handbag. That's my partner upstairs... And my fiancée."

"Oh, uh, congratulations, Mister Mustang." Then she looked at him awkwardly. "...Are you planning to talk to me with a sock puppet? ...Because I'm a bit old for that... I'm eleven."

Roy shook his head in a friendly manner. "I think I agree with that. And thank you." He wanted to keep some professional distance, at least until they knew if they would be staying with them for the next two days. If they weren't, then such friendly manners would be too unprofessional. If John Van Hohenheim was confirmed to have been spotted and fined in another village and the Superintendent approved their stay, then it would be all right. Of course, they would also double-check that the sheep did indeed have bells and were grazing outside the inn.

"Why don't you sit down with us, Winry?" Yuriy asked. "We were just about to make some more tea with the scones."

She looked at Roy, before turning to her father, still blushing slightly. "Could I have some milk instead? The walk from school was really warm."

Roy had to admit that he was caught off guard by the comment now that he had switched to off-duty mode, and Winry obviously noticed. "Did I say something wrong, Mister Mustang? Or are you or Miss Hawkeye allergic? If you are, then I could have something else..." She suddenly began babbling nervously so as to try to ease the tension. "We used to know someone who really hated milk with a passion and he'd even shout at us when we told him that he wouldn't grow tall if he didn't drink his milk... He moved to East City too, but that was eight years ago and he-" she explained quickly, but Roy decided to cut her off so as to embarrass her the least.

"I know him too, Miss Rockbell. Riza and me began the adoption process yesterday... Their mother died a few months ago, you see."

Winry's eyes widened considerably. "Trisha's dead? Is Ed and Al here? Are they okay?"

Roy sighed. "They're back in East City, being looked after by my Nan. And they're as okay as they can be." He wasn't entirely sure if Sara and Yuriy wanted to shield their daughter as the mental pictures were a lot more gruesome than an eleven-year-old child really needed to have.

"They were in an accident," Yuriy explained. "Trisha died and Ed needed to have his right arm amputated."

Winry's eyes were instantly filled with sadness. Then they suddenly had a tiny spark of excitement in between the sorrow. "Is he going to get automail? Because if he is, or you're just considering it, then we could give you some advice. I'll go get some examples and blueprints." She was obviously dead set on helping suddenly, not an uncommon reaction to such matters, and then she ran off downstairs.

Roy turned around to look at Pinako. "Does she help you in the workshop, perchance?"

"So... The sheep are here," Roy concluded as he met Riza inside the doctor's office. He was honestly shaken by the thought of having to spend the next couple of nights listening to all those "ba-hah-hah-has" and "burhs" and "Behs" and those infernal bells for the entire time they were supposed to be sleeping.

She held up a small file, giving him that look that meant she thought he was being adorable again. "And the files here confirm that Doctors Yuriy and Sara Rockbell were performing an appendicectomy at the time of the disappearance."

Roy sighed. Superintendent Grumman had said that if those two things were confirmed, then it should be all right. He also thought that them living in the house that John Van Hohenheim had done could help give them a further insight into his sudden disappearance. Also because the guest room had been the one that Trisha and John had used. Yuriy and Sara had told them that they hadn't really felt like it was right for them to sleep in that room right after they moved in. They had still been shaken by what had happened and they had also wished to replace the bed. Meaning that they had taken over the very seldom used guest bedroom instead, while Winry had taken over Ed and Al's. "Then I suppose we should fetch our luggage and start walking again. Honestly, I think we skipped a bullet, those sheep are going to give me nightmares even now."

Riza laughed softly and quietly as she replaced the file before she turned back around to face him. She placed her right hand on his cheek, gave him a chaste kiss, before taking his right hand in hers. "However, don't believe you're getting brownies for your trauma... We're changing our bad habits, after all. Now let's buy an apple each and a bottle of cold water."

Roy smiled. "Yes, Dear."

It was clear that should Ed want it, then the Rockbells were more than willing to perform the surgery. Even further, they were also willing to let them pay in instalments over a period of as much as two years.

...But if they took them up on their offer, then that would mean that when they told Ed and Al the truth of where they had been, their actions could be misinterpreted as betrayal instead.

"It will be okay, Roy... They're smart boys, they'll understand," Riza said softly, obviously thinking the same thing and reading his mind simultaneously.

Roy sighed. "So now we have another thirty minutes of walking with our luggage and a lot of people to interview... And then an unknown amount of walking to get to said people..."

Riza stroked his cheek with her thumb, looking amused. "In other words, you're missing your car?"

"I'm missing the fans."

She smiled at him teasingly, moving her hand to his hair. "You just need to cover up this black oven adorning your scalp. Let's find you a sun hat."

Roy stared at her in horror. "No..." Then he sighed, seeing her point. "Beige fedora? One that matches my trousers?"

She smiled at him, laughter in her eyes. "I think it's a good thing we left Maes Hughes behind in East City."