Chapter Ten - Innocent
ADA Cabot and Captain Cragen were talking in his office the next morning.
"Tell me you've got something Captain," Cabot said.
"Dawn Summers identified the language our perp's writing on the victims," he replied. "She says her people in London should be able to identify the ritual he's following by sometime this morning."
"So working with Summers sisters has been helpful?" Cabot asked.
"According to Dr. Wong the information and insights they've provided about the perp's methods has been invaluable in narrowing the profile," Cragen replied. "And I don't think you're going to find too many people in New York that can translate a fifteen hundred year old dead language. Munch and Fin are about ready to erect a statue in honor of Buffy. She spotted stuff at the crime scenes we probably wouldn't have noticed until more bodies turned up."
"Have you been able to learn any more about their background?" Cabot asked.
"Well pretty much all the records from Sunnydale disappeared with the town," Cragen answered. "The only reason we got the hit on the case about the Deputy Mayor was because the killer turned herself in in LA and they had a copy of case file in their system. She's got a clean record in Cleveland. Dawn's lived in London for the last four years. I called the British Consul to try and get her record. They just said it was clean."
"What about the Foundation Buffy runs in Cleveland?"
"The Jenny Calendar Foundation. Not much I could find. It's a private group. Initial funding came from somewhere in England."
"Guardian Research?"
"No. Some private foundation based in England. When I asked, the British Consul said there was nothing there to find. I got the feeling somebody higher up the food chain in the British government told him to back off. Unless you want to start throwing around subpoenas we've hit a dead end."
Cabot looked out of the office at the Summers sisters talking with Benson and Wong. "They've worked with the FBI on cases that get classified by Homeland Security, the British government may be covering for them. Just what exactly are those two involved with?"
"All I know is they've been nothing but professional," Cragen said. "Other than Buffy nearly putting Elliot's arm through a desk they've been a pleasure to work with."
Cabot's head spun around, "She what?!?"
"Elliot got a little patronizing towards Buffy," Cragen explained. "She challenged him to an arm wrestling contest. She won."
"Elliot didn't throw it?"
"No," Cragen replied. "He told me a couple of hours later that he didn't think Dawn was joking when she told him afterwards that Buffy could have ripped his arm off."
Cabot looked out of the office again. "The blonde? She beat Elliot?"
"That woman is a lot stronger than she looks," Cragen said. "Don't underestimate her."
Tutuola came into the office, "Cap we got another victim. In the park."
"What do we know?" Cragen asked.
"Nothing yet," Tutuola replied.
"Grab Munch and Buffy and head out there," Cragen paused. "I'm coming with you on this one."
A short while later they arrived at the crime scene. As they approached the tape Cragen turned to Buffy, "Ms Summers."
"I know," she said. "Don't touch anything. Stand where I'm told to stand and just generally stay out of people's way. I'm just here as a consultant."
"Right."
They crossed under the tape and moved too a shallow area behind a grass covered hill. Munch looked startled.
"Hey Lennie, what are you doing here?"
"Call came to us first," Detective Briscoe replied. "We didn't figure out the victim was one of yours until we got here."
"Whose our victim?"
Lennie took a breath. "A girl looks to be about nine or ten."
Cragen shook his head. "Damn. Any idea who she is yet?"
"Clothes were left in a bag next to the body," Briscoe replied. "No ID. The name Amanda was stenciled on her shirt. My partner is already checking with missing persons. Looks like this bastard really worked her over."
"We need to see the body," Tutuola said.
"Over here," Biscoe ushered them down a path to where the ME was leaning over the body of a little girl.
Buffy tensed and then started looking around. She nodded her head pointed her finger. "Emily's body was that direction. She was pointing here."
"What?" Briscoe asked.
"Or perp points each victim in the direction where the next victim is found," Munch answered. "There's no fixed distance between them. And we haven't figured out the pattern. But each victim has been found on a straight line from where the previous one was pointing."
Munch and Briscoe moved towards the body to talk with the ME.
Buffy looked back at the body. She knew the person doing this wasn't a demon. She knew that from moment she saw Emily's body. Demon kills and real magic always left a certain feeling behind. She turned and walked up to the top of the hill that screened the path from the street. It wasn't a demon that killed that little girl. But it was a monster. The Slayer hunted monsters.
When she reached the top of the hill she reached out with all of her senses. Her senses had improved since Sunnydale. Giles had always tried to teach her how to use them, but it was like a blind man trying to teach someone about color. Working with all the new Slayers, Buffy was discovering senses and talents the old Council didn't even know the Slayer possessed.
And now she used all of them. She knew it was a long shot. But sometimes men like this liked to watch the chaos their actions caused. They reveled in the power. She studied every detail around her. She examined every person in the small crowd that inevitably gathered around crime scenes. A few of them backed up. Sensing something dangerous. The couple that caught her eye had to look away. She hunted the monster that killed a child.
She didn't sense him. She kept looking. She turned around, towards the crime scene. She smelled the blood. She felt death. Her eyes took in every detail. She heard every word spoken. She continued the hunt.
Cragen watched Buffy turn away from the body and start walking up the hill. At first he thought it was because she was upset. She couldn't deal with it. Then he caught her eyes. He found himself taking a step back. He watched as she walked up the hill. He and Tutuola followed her. They both stopped a few feet away. Not daring to get closer.
They watched as she studied the crowd. Then she turned and began studying the crime scene.
Cragen looked over at Tutuola. "Fin, what you were saying earlier about going for your gun."
"Yea," he replied. "Only you're pretty sure she'll take it away and feed it to you."
"That's the feeling."
Buffy stopped moving and Cragen thought he saw her eyes narrow. She started walking back down the hill. The couple of officers in her path moved aside. Probably didn't even realize they were doing it Cragen thought. Cragen and Tutuola followed her. She walked to a spot about thirty feet from where the body was found. She took a couple of steps off the trail and motioned to them.
"This is where he came in from," she pointed to some footprints about five feet off the trail.
"They stop before the trail. How can you be so sure?" Cragen asked.
She pointed to a couple of straight marks running parallel on the ground. "He laid something out to walk on so you wouldn't find the footprints."
Cragen saw what she was pointing at and turned back to the crime scene. "Munch, get CSU over here. We found the perp's entry point."
Buffy started moving into the trees. Cragen was about to stop her but he noticed she was careful to stay clear of the footprints left by the perp. Fin was right. She moved through the scene like a pro. He followed her. She followed the prints. Careful not to disturb them. She moved through the underbrush with ease. Both Cragen and Tutuola were having a hard time matching her pace. Tutuola stopped him.
"Look here Cap," he pointed to a branch. Cragen could see some torn cloth snagged on the end. "Looks like our boy left behind some clothes."
"Have CSU bag it," Cragen said. He noticed that Buffy had stopped a few feet ahead to wait for them. He nodded at her and she continued forward with the two detectives following her. A couple of minutes later they emerged from the tree line onto a sidewalk.
Buffy looked up.
"Trees extend out into the street. Good cover," she nodded her head and began scanning the sidewalk. She walked a few feet to the curb and crouched down.
"Here Captain. Blood," she said. Cragen looked to where she was pointing and saw the faint outline of bloodstains on the edge of the curb.
"Fin, get CSU up here and cordon off the area," Cragen said.
"I'm on it."
He watched Tutuola start down the sidewalk to get CSU. After he disappeared around the corner Cragen turned back to Buffy. The feeling of danger was gone. Standing in front of him was a normal determined professional woman. Cragen now knew that was an act.
"Alright young lady," he said. "What the hell are you?"
She looked him straight in the eye.
"Believe me Captain. You really do not want to know."
Cragen studied her for a few seconds. She had probably just saved CSU hours of work. She and her sister had probably shaved days if not weeks off the investigation. Every background check run for the last three days had either come up negative or hit a brick wall. He came to a decision.
Cragen nodded his head. "You're an outside consultant who specializes in occult and ritual killings."
