There was only one reviewer last chapter, and that was Mandrakefunnyjuice. Plenty of things are happening in this chapter, with a potential new lead after the original suspect was killed. How will Gil get Warner to come into the station this time? And what role will the other officers play in helping him? And due to the request of a fan, one member of Gil's team will be threatened, and have their lives put in danger. Let us begin!
Namco owns Tales of Symphonia. AccessBlade owns Cameryn Lachance. Fenrir of the Shadows owns Azul Kharlan. No Pain No Gain owns Oni Sheikah. I own Cabalina Ashton and Robert Ross.
"Okay Gil, what do you want me to help you with this time?" Zelos asked as the staff sergeant led him into the unit conference room. Originally, Zelos was attending more talks by the military on their intelligence gathering techniques when Gil suddenly called. Claiming that this was urgent, Gil insisted that his friend came to the unit to help out. While Zelos tried to pry, Gil released few details, leaving Zelos quite flustered as he had to excuse himself early.
"We feel your testimonies from both the mall chase and last night may prove useful to us in pursuing a new lead," Gil replied, approaching the projector currently manned by Presea, "We want you to go through your words on those events once more before we show you something."
Zelos tilted his head at the Ozette native before grinning. Nearly a year ago, Presea still had an Exsphere on her collar, and Gil asked Zelos to recruit Regal and Altessa, a dwarf living in Tethe'alla, to help her out. "I see our pink-haired hunny is doing well without the Exsphere," Zelos commented, "Did you stay just to wait until I show up, so you can know me personally?"
Presea rolled her eyes at the overzealous redhead. She recalled him trying to flirt with her when the Exsphere was removed, and she didn't feel too happy about that. "No offence, but I won't give you an easy pass just because you're Gil's friend," she retorted, turning back to the machine, "So how do we want to start this exercise?" Presea asked Gil.
Gil opened two folders before him, which Presea recognized as one containing Zelos' testimonies from the past two meetings. "Starting with the mall chase, can you tell me specifically what you saw when you crashed into the public computer?" Gil suggested.
Zelos winced. Why was Gil asking for a rehash of the events? Sighing, Zelos glanced back at Gil with irritated eyes before giving the story once more. "I crashed into the computer desk to avoid the chase, and I saw a guy who looks kind of like me, except with a lousier fashion sense. I made sure he was alright before going to the exit," Zelos reported impatiently.
Gil didn't answer the question, opting to shuffle his notes around before turning back to Zelos. "How would you describe the man you ran into?" Gil asked, "Let's say you're introducing this man to one of your hunnies. What will you say to the girl to make her truly envision him?"
Zelos nearly fell out of his chair, staring at Gil with disbelieving eyes. And to think Zelos was used to Gil's craziness, given their common background as moles. Now Gil was asking Zelos if he would introduce that red-haired stranger to a girl! What was he thinking? "Gil, you can't be serious with that question, right? What are you trying to prove with that?" Zelos half-stuttered and half-bellowed, all the while waving his arms around in shock.
Gil lifted a hand to calm Zelos down. "Just do this for me very quickly," he stated coolly, "I know you have a meeting to get to and I don't want to waste too much of your time. Besides, it doesn't hurt that you can tell your ladies how you took part in an exciting chase, right?"
Zelos winced. "I wouldn't call it exciting, but it is memorable, I guess," he murmured, shaking his head a couple of times before continuing, "That guy is around my height, which is near six feet. He has shoulder-length red hair, similar to my style. I believe he wore…"
Zelos couldn't get another word off before Gil raised his hand to interrupt. "I have a clip of what you said you saw here," he pointed out, signalling to Presea to start to video, "This has the whole sequence of you running into the public computer station to when the guy left. I want you to pay close attention to the guy right after he left the station. Presea, if you please?"
Presea slowly rolled the tape, starting with when she and Azul first confronted Peter Cook at the main foyer. As the sequence played on, Gil flipped through his notes on Cook's death. There, Zelos claimed he saw a mysterious stranger marching through the alley before finding Cook being poisoned. "Can you describe your account of the alley death? What did the strange man look like as you followed him out the alley?" Gil asked.
Zelos glared at Gil, wondering if it was another one of his sick jokes. Was Gil going to give Zelos detention if Zelos missed even one detail? "Like I said before, the man had a hoodie on, so I couldn't see his face," Zelos explained through clenched teeth, "All I know is that he's about six feet tall and has strands of red hair sticking out from under the hood. Anything else?"
Gil's eyes slightly tilted at the screen before turning back to Zelos. "I made a rather interesting discovery based on your two testimonies," he remarked, flipping both pages around so Zelos could see, "If I'm not mistaken, in both cases you mentioned seeing a red-haired man standing around six feet tall. Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you?" Gil asked.
Zelos scratched his head. Now that Gil mentioned it, the two individuals he saw from the chase and the alley did seem similar. "Body-wise, I say they might be the same," Zelos added, "I can't see their faces, so I don't think that helps. But if you base on their body shapes alone, then it's possible those two might have been the same person. Is that one of your wanted men?"
Gil pointed to the screen, the sequence showing the very second that Zelos crashed into the computer desk. The threesome kept their eyes trained on the events, with Zelos hobbling off into the distance. But instead of stopping the tape, Gil asked Presea to keep going, asking Zelos to pay close attention to the red-haired man he crashed into. The strange individual stayed at the computer for a few more seconds before stepping away, turning his body around and giving the camera a great view of his backside. "Pause the tape right there," Gil instructed Presea. Turning to Zelos, he asked for the former military mole's input. "What do you think?"
Zelos squeezed his eyes, trying to get a better look. While the angle and lighting were quite different than those from the alley, he could see the similarities between the two individuals in their respective situations. "This guy does look a lot like the other guy I saw in the alley," he commented, "Are you saying they're the same guy? This guy that I ran into in the mall is some type of psycho murderer going around killing who knows how many people?"
"Why don't we show you one more tape before we decide on that?" Gil proposed, pulling out the tape from the martial arts dojo camera for Presea. The petite officer quickly made the switch and forwarded the nearly colourless video to the area of interest. "I want you to watch the person coming into the area and shining a flashlight around," Gil advised.
Zelos focused on the screen once more, watching the mysterious figure navigate through the shadows. Presea adjusted the brightness and contrast on her panel, making the distinction between the individual and the background clearer. "Hey, this guy has red hair too!" Zelos exclaimed, pointing at the screen, "In fact, I say he looks a lot like the guy I saw in the alley."
Gil signalled Presea to pause the tape once more. "Are you certain that the three people you just saw are the same person?" Gil asked. Even the ventilation fan quieted down as two sets of eyes anticipated the final judgment. "Zelos, I want you to analyze carefully with your years of military and undercover work. Can you reasonably say those three are one and the same?"
Zelos thought long and hard, trying to shield the two sets of piercing eyes on him. While he had experience in observing people, he was never in a situation where he could possibly solve a case with one line of testimony. Was he certain of his training, and would this help Gil get on the right path in his investigation? "I can't say with absolute certainty they are, but I will say there's a better than three-quarters chance they are," the Meltokio native concluded reluctantly. His voice was almost shaky and his body near a slouch. If Gil leaned closer, he might have seen beads of sweat developing on Zelos' temples, glistening off his peach skin.
Nonetheless, Gil scribbled down the important detail in big bold letters. "That's one point we will have to confront Frank Warner about if we can get him in here," he informed Presea, "And knowing how much difficulty Cabalina had in squeezing info out of that guy last time, I say it's going to be a challenge. Until then, we have to do what we can."
Thanking Zelos once more, he escorted his friend out the conference room. The two men barely got a couple of steps into the unit when Gil noticed a familiar sight. His former colleague, now member of the Archives Department, was paying them a visit again. "Ethics commissioner aside, does anyone of you want me to get you lunch?" Robert Ross asked in his flamboyant voice, "If you want to make orders, tell me now and I'll get the food for you. You can just pay me back later, when I have the grub delivered here. Anyone interested?"
Gil quickly escorted Zelos out before turning back to Robert. The appearance of an Archives Department officer gave Gil an idea, and he figured to scout out what was going on before things got out of hand. "So Bob, last time you were here, you commented on the IT guys having to do a quality control run of your system. How's that coming so far?" Gil asked.
Robert turned to Gil and greeted him with his trademark grin. "Everything is running smoothly now, Sarge," he reported, shoving his hands into his pants pocket, "Right now we can search for anybody living in Iselia who have records with the government. We also harmonized some storage systems with other cities as well, meaning we can cross-reference with police forces over there, assuming the suspect lived outside Iselia before. Pretty good, huh?"
Gil nodded with a smile. "So what info is required before you can search someone up?" Gil queried, "Do you just type in a person's name and all their important info pop up?"
Robert shook his head. "To prevent the police from snooping into people's personal lives, our unit is not allowed to search for people without some info to begin with," Robert explained, "You must obtain info from a proper interrogation, or some type of the person's government record must have been already available, whether it's a criminal record or changes to name or Social Security. If not, then you can't just do a blind search. Do you have someone in mind?"
Gil bit his lower lip, frustrated at the limited information he had on the suspect. Added to that was the ethics commissioner still hounding their unit, with Noishe taking him to Major Crimes just to let them work in peace! Still, Gil was adamant that they tried out this longshot. "I'll get you the information you want by tomorrow afternoon, Bob," he guaranteed.
Before Robert could react, Gil barked out orders in the unit. "Azul, contact all renovators at the university. Find out if they know Warner's warehouse address. Oni, visit the hotel from Cook's death. Ask them what happened before and during the blackout. Cabalina, go through your last interrogation with Warner. We have a lot of ambiguities to clear up, after what Zelos just told me. Cameryn, have you contacted Warner again?" Gil asked the strawberry blonde.
The bespectacled secretary gave Gil a helpless look. "I tried to convince him once more, but he won't budge," Cameryn reported, "I don't think he wants to come in at all. He told me it's either we do it his way, or we won't get his evidence. I think we're out of options here."
Gil cursed under his breath. He glanced around the unit, realizing everyone would be busy until tomorrow afternoon. Much as he hated to send a non-active member to the task, it might just be Cameryn who had to meet Warner. "If you don't mind, then I want you to go to the mall tomorrow afternoon," Gil requested, "Besides, Warner might feel more comfortable talking to someone who isn't an active investigator, given how little faith he has in the police."
Just then, Robert placed a hand on Gil's shoulder, wondering if Gil still wanted him around. Gil turned to the unit once more and his eyes landed on one person. "Bob, you said at the beginning that you were an expert in pranking rookies, right?" he asked, his lips curling up in a sly smile, "What if for tomorrow's mission, while Cameryn is gone, I let you prank a guy?"
Robert cocked an eyebrow, not sure what Gil was trying to do. Yet Gil remained coy, telling Robert to go get lunch for everyone else before turning back into the conference room. Presea was still putting tapes away when Gil approached her for the most important task. "I think it's time we find out if Pirate King and Frank Warner are the same person," he offered, "How about we visit Jade Curtiss again, and see what he can come up with?"
"It's alright, Oni. I'll just get a ride home with Lloyd and Colette," Genis assured his student over his cellphone. He was originally going to do more mana practice with Oni today, with Lloyd and Colette joining them on the field located jointly behind their schools. They were gathered and ready when the blond half-elf called, claiming there were new leads in their case and had to stay late. The session was thus called off, leaving the threesome all by their lonesome.
"Well, at least they're making progress," Colette commented, grabbing her backpack from the ground. The two boys near her did the same, slinging the bags over their shoulders and headed for the parking lot. "Now the work Lloyd put in won't be wasted," she pointed out.
Lloyd smiled, clicking the unlock button on his key chain. Lloyd's MINI Cooper let out a couple of whoops, allowing the three to climb into the small car. Genis went into the back while Colette took the passenger seat. "I guess Dad had some people look at the transcripts and email system of the website?" Lloyd supposed, scratching his head, "He left a message on my cell saying he wants to look through the website tonight. It was regarding some emails being sent by users, and I have to help him search them up using the admin options."
The drive home was a relatively quiet one, giving all three some time to think about how this case affected them. Lloyd was hit the hardest, having to deal with these users on his website, with one of them thought to be the primary suspect. When that operation went south, it left Lloyd angry and bitter, claiming the ethics commissioner blindsided everyone. Now, with Cook being yet another casualty, things were getting complicated quickly. Had it not been for Colette and his other friends, Lloyd would have probably gone crazy just thinking about who's who.
For Colette, her biggest worry was keeping her boyfriend in check. Lloyd was at a time of his life where things had to go almost perfectly. He almost turned it around completely, going from lazy slacker who was disinterested in school to potential entrance into university. It didn't hurt that their love blossomed along as well, but it reached another testing point with this case. Colette tried to be supportive of Lloyd throughout, but she could see how much it grated on him. It must have killed Lloyd inside that even after all that work, they were no closer to finding the killer. Until then, Colette was content to keep being the supportive girlfriend she always was.
"First stop is the Sage household. Genis, better get your stuff ready," Lloyd announced from the driver's seat. Unlike the two older teens, Genis was not directly involved in the case, but was affected nonetheless. He made a new friend in Oni, and shared with the rookie officer the skills of mana manipulation. While Oni did not reveal too much about the case, Genis did hear bits and pieces from Raine, who had been interrogated by the officers. While Genis had not shown any signs of stress from the case, it was evident that the events still weighed in his mind.
"Thank you, Lloyd. I was too busy focusing on my belly button to notice," Genis replied, his shirt still up and a finger inside his navel as the car turned into the block, "On the topic of belly buttons, did you know that the community spring dance is taking place this Friday, which also happens to be my birthday? I think it's the first time that's happened!"
"Oh, that's right! We still have to get you presents!" Colette exclaimed, turning to Lloyd, "Do you think we can still make it to the dance? Or will your dad's investigation keep you late?"
Lloyd winced. If there was one thing he was afraid of, it was the case's unpredictability. Gil was exhausting all options just to get more clues right now, and it wasn't working out as effectively as he hoped for. "The dance starts at seven p.m. and lasts for three hours, right? If we show up no later than eight, I think we can still deliver our present to Genis, as well as get some dancing in. What do you say?" Lloyd proposed, asking his passengers for input.
"Well, as long as you can make it, I'll be happy," Genis responded, only stopping his jabs into the depression on his gut when the car pulled up onto his driveway. "Hey, doesn't that look like your dad?" Genis stated to Lloyd, pointing at a man standing at the front door, "It looks like he's talking to Raine. What do you think is going on?"
Lloyd and Colette both noticed the situation, with Lloyd popping the car into park and hurrying out. Colette and Genis soon followed, approaching the man who was now furiously scribbling down some notes. "Dad, what happened?" Lloyd asked.
The man in the leather jacket turned. "Hi, Lloyd," Gil greeted his son, "I'm just asking Raine to confirm some details regarding a new lead. Apparently, she told a couple of my officers what she saw at the university, and it's starting to match the new evidence."
Raine nodded and smiled. "Your father took the advice Frank gave him, using the very line that I always used when I get stuck in research," Raine declared, reciting the comment about going back to search for clues within the original hypothesis, "It only shows that archaeological and criminal investigations are two parts of the same piece. Lloyd, as the son of a police staff sergeant, you should pay attention to this!" Raine concluded, pounding a fist into her palm.
Lloyd shivered at the remark, not wanting Raine to rant about the importance of history again. "Here's your little brother," Lloyd muttered, giving way for Genis to march in, "Colette and I will be at the dance, and that's a promise. We'll see you Friday night, okay?"
Lloyd and Colette strolled back to the MINI Cooper while Gil followed them out. "You know, the new lead got me thinking of a new plan. We found out that Pirate King spoke to you on the chat room that day, and he was using a mall computer, given the IP address and how he got caught on security tapes," Gil pointed out, "We also have some ideas on similarities on the clothing of each deceased, as they seem to wear a similar style. What if there is some pattern to this killer that we haven't picked up on so far? Is that a way to predict a future kill?"
"Are there killers who even kill with such a pattern?" Lloyd asked, getting back into his car. He leaned his head out the driver's window, looking up at Gil who stood before him with his hands in his pockets, "It's a bit improbable that things like physical appearance or clothing can trigger a killing spree. But since the killer does like attention to detail, I guess it's still likely."
"Actually, I think I've heard something like that before," Colette added. Both Irvings turned their eyes to the blond girl, who leaned her head on her right hand in thought. "My mom told me she has a friend working at the psychiatry department at the hospital. She heard him say there are psychological disorders where a person can feel or act a certain way if they see, hear, or even smell something that triggers some memory. Maybe that's what you're referring to?"
Gil scratched his chin. While he wouldn't call himself an expert in diseases of the mind, there were psychology analysts in the force that mentioned something similar. Maybe he could get in touch with one of these experts to further discuss this idea? "I'll call your mother tonight, Colette," he decided, "Hopefully she can bring me to see this expert. Until then, I have to finish some other investigative work. Lloyd, I'll see you at home later on." With that, Gil hustled into his Audi V8 and drove off, leaving the two teens confused in their wake.
Cameryn Lachance glanced at her watch multiple times, waiting for the mysterious man to show up. Cameryn was seated at a bench at the front foyer of a downtown mall, slowly sipping her coffee while her eyes darted around. Per the agreement with Gil, Cameryn was the one to meet up with Frank Warner. It wasn't something the secretary was looking forward to, as Warner's attitude towards her colleagues and superiors was far from positive. Cameryn had no idea what Gil had in mind when he suggested having a non-investigative staff meet Warner, and she wasn't too keen on finding out how Warner felt about her presence.
"Are you Miss Cameryn Lachance?" a deep male voice asked from behind her, nearly shocking Cameryn out of her seat. The bespectacled young woman whipped her head around to see a tall man wearing a workman's vest staring back at her. His head was slightly leaning in, letting some strands of his shoulder-length red head drape over and dangle on his torso. Cameryn couldn't put her finger on it, but this person's figure kept returning to her memories every time she thought about the mall incident, where she and Colette were sitting outside during the chase.
"I was told to meet with Cameryn Lachance, the secretary of the plainclothes team," Frank Warner continued, his tone slow but somewhat patronizing, "I have evidence to hand over to the team to confirm that I am not the suspect. Are you Miss Lachance?"
Cameryn nodded, trying to sit back up straight while signalling Warner to take a seat beside her. The renovator slowly eased onto the bench, pulling out several items from a manila envelope. "If you don't mind, I would like to take some time to explain these items to you," Warner stated, staring at Cameryn through cold, emotionless eyes. Even though the sun shone through the glass ceiling thirty feet above, Cameryn felt like she was in Flanoir.
Cameryn stayed silent, watching Warner give a short description of each item from the envelope. The first one was an appointment to the garage, which occurred nine days ago. This was in reaction to Warner's claim that his van broke down, which meant taking it into the shop for a fix. Warner compounded that with the report from the mechanic, outlining what had to be fixed and how much it cost, which pretty much covered Warner for the campsite incident.
Warner slid those documents back into the envelope before picking up another set, this time outlining his shifts with the renovation team at the University of Iselia. Again, they showed what equipment he helped deliver to them, what days he spent helping with the renovation work, and even what time his shifts ended. Again, it felt like the evidence, on its face, seemed to clear Warner of any wrongdoing. Cameryn hated to admit it, but it felt more and more like this was another dead end. And the more Warner explained, using that nonchalant tone of his, the more Cameryn felt like she was being humiliated.
"Now, I can also go into some detail on…Miss Lachance?" Warner called. Cameryn's shoulders were hunched, her eyes were downcast, and her front teeth gently nibbled on her lower lip. The smell of defeat reeked from the secretary as she slowly lifted back up, trying to eke out a smile. "Would you like more details?" Warner asked, his grin looking more like a smirk.
Cameryn shook her head. "I appreciate all this, Mr. Warner," she murmured, "If you can, please put them all into the envelope and I'll take them to the station with me." Inside Cameryn's mind, she still had the nagging feeling that Warner was still hiding something. But with little to work with, she wasn't sure how to approach the issue. "So I assume you were busy all weekend then, correct? I couldn't reach you by phone at all, and had to leave messages on your cell. Were you doing a lot of projects, so much so that you couldn't be reached?" she asked.
Warner didn't answer, merely placing the documents into the manila envelope before pushing it close. His large hand gripped the string and tied the envelope tightly, making sure there wasn't even the slightest crease before handing it to Cameryn. "You do realize that this is the same mall that the operation to flush out the killer took place, right?" the bespectacled secretary continued, gesturing her hand around, "Are you sure it's safe making the drop here, given what happened over the weekend? I won't be surprised if the real killer frequents here."
Just then, Warner froze. Cameryn felt icicles forming up her spine, staring back at a set of piercing eyes. The surroundings were a blur when Warner slowly licked his lips like a predator ready to devour his prey. "Miss Lachance, let me ask you a question," he suggested, stating out each word and syllable as slowly and clearly as possible, "What is your opinion of the police having to shut down a public area like this just to do some investigation?"
Cameryn felt like she just swallowed a blender, with the blades slicing away at the lining inside her stomach. Why was Warner suddenly so interested in police procedure? Didn't he say just the day before that he did not trust the police after the ethics commissioner's report? What trick was he pulling now? Taking deep breaths, Cameryn lifted her shaking hand to wipe her mouth. That only made it worse due to the cold perspiration from her palm being spread across her lips. "Well, it was unfortunate that the incident ended with that chase, but I'm sure every police operation has its reason," she stuttered, "I have full faith in my team and all other units…"
"You have faith in your team? How amusing," Warner interjected, snickering under his breath, "I must say that your faith in the police is quite remarkable, considering how incompetent they can be. Their inflexibility in doing things, always going by the book, never considering the needs of those around them, all these will only lead to more deaths." Cameryn's back stiffened when Warner leaned close once more, his eyes turning into arrows aimed at Cameryn's heart. "Tragedies have happened because of police operations, Miss Lachance. Don't forget that."
The strawberry blonde's jaw fluttered a few times, all the while Warner gently eased the envelope into Cameryn's hands. Cameryn's eyes flickered and blinked involuntarily as the tall man slowly lifted himself off the bench, those knife-like eyes never leaving their target. The stare-down continued for a few more seconds, before Warner slowly turned his body and moved away from the bench. "Have a good day, Miss Lachance," he called with his back towards her, "I parked my van on the other side of the mall, so that's where I'll be heading off to."
Yet, before Cameryn could even react, a loud crack resembling glass shattering sliced through the front foyer of the mall. Even the shoppers on the opposite side of the foyer shot their heads up. Cameryn slid out of her seat, her eyes landing right on Warner once more. "Mr. Warner, are you alright?" she called, hustling towards the redhead.
Warner didn't answer, but his eyes were peeled for the second balcony above him. He was right below where the ledge was, craning his neck to get a view of the people above him. Cameryn's eyes lifted up and down like a spring before landing at Warner's feet, where the culprit of the noise was found. A flower pot was shattered before the renovator, missing Warner by only inches. Had it been any closer, the case's latest witness would have been a dead man.
The shattered flower pot did nothing to break the ice surrounding Warner and the officer now with him. Instead, the renovator found himself facing a set of eyes as cold as his own. "It looks like you do have something to do with this case after all," Gil observed in a low tone.
Now it was Warner trying to avoid Gil's stare, behaving similar to what Cameryn was like when he confronted her. "I don't know what you mean, Sergeant," the redhead murmured, shifting his weight left and right while keeping his hands buried in his pants pockets. After the pot crashing down, Cameryn wasted no time calling for help. She immediately grabbed the nearest mall security guard, who told Warner to stay in place while they checked him for any injuries. In addition to that, Cameryn also called Gil, who came down to the mall within minutes. Knowing how important Warner was to the case, sergeant and secretary took no chances at all.
"Dare you deny it?" Gil continued, those laser eyes shooting through Warner's soul, "You met Cameryn at the same spot the police chase started over the weekend. We did manage to arrest a guy, only to have him killed not even a day after releasing him. Now you have the guts to show up here to hand evidence to Cameryn? Pretty bold, if I say so myself," Gil commented.
Just then, Cameryn trotted over with the security guard, who completed a report for Gil. "If the police want to handle this, then it's all yours, Sergeant Irving," the guard explained, pointing out certain details of interest to Gil. The goateed staff sergeant skimmed through the report thoughtfully while ignoring Warner, making the renovator literally squirm in his shoes.
After an awkward minute or so, Gil turned to thank the security guard, who made his way back into the mall. Alternating his eyes between Cameryn and Warner, Gil stated his proposition. "It's apparent that someone may be targeting you, Mr. Warner. Of all the people in the mall, why did you almost get nailed with a flower pot and no one else? Since there aren't usually pots on the second floor of that size, it's very likely we have a hit going on here," Gil described, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, "Can it be in retaliation for your cooperation with our case?"
It was like someone approached Warner with a flash camera, causing the stoic man to blink rapidly and his head twitching a few times. Gil tilted his head just in time to see the mall lights' reflection against some perspiration now forming on Warner's temples. Knowing there was an issue to be pressed, Gil decided to pursue further. "I know you mentioned to Cameryn that you have no faith in the police, and the chase certainly didn't make you feel better," Gil stated, "But with the killings going on around the city, and the last person who aided in our investigation also dead, it may be in our best interests to put you in protective custody."
"Protective custody? What on earth does that mean?" Warner sputtered, now lifting a hand to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, "I am a renovator, so I'll have to travel all over the city for projects. I can't afford to have my mobility be limited. You do realize that, right?"
"I do indeed," Gil replied, sagely nodding his head. From beside him, Cameryn could tell Gil was in a groove now, so typical of whenever Gil entered the "crazy mode" that he showed to uncooperative individuals. Slightly smirking, this was redemption for the strawberry blonde, who was intimidated by Warner earlier. How did it feel now to be on the receiving end of some nutty tactics courtesy of one of Iselia's craziest individuals? "But given our job is to protect the public, shouldn't you at least consider our offer?" Gil asked, his eyebrows alternating their lifting.
Warner remained silent, which only lent more ammunition to Gil. "It only adds to the concerns when you were attacked shortly after cooperating with us, so it's likely that the killer was trying to eliminate all leads. Knowing how accurate this killer is and how easy they make these sophisticated kills look, I think it may be in your best interests to accept," Gil informed the redhead, "It's also our way of apologizing to you for losing faith in our system. If you want to see our sincerity in striving to improve, this is a perfect opportunity to do it." It was like the entire world went still as Gil tilted his head at Warner, whose head nearly shrank into his shirt.
Gil tilted his head at Cameryn, who gave her input on this as well. "I saw how close that pot came to hitting you, and if the killer is outside the mall right now, I doubt you can leave here alive," the bespectacled young woman suggested, her tone filled with worry and alarm, "I'm not trying to scare you, Mr. Warner, but I am seriously concerned for your safety. You saw how the ethics commissioner ripped us apart, so what do you think will happen if you end up dead?"
Finally, after what appeared to be an eternity, Warner gave in. "But you have to promise me that I get the mobility I requested," he reminded Gil and Cameryn, the lighting seeping in through the foyer's glass ceiling dancing across his face, "I don't mind the police watching over me, but if it even affects my livelihood the slightest bit, then I'll call it off."
Gil lifted his hands in assurance. "I guarantee that the officer watching over you will not interfere with your work at all. They're just there to watch over you, making sure no suspicious individual start stalking you, dropping stuff at you from above. How did that song go? Flower pots keep falling on my head…" Gil sang, snapping his fingers and swinging his body around. From beside him, Cameryn could only gawk with her jaw nearly hitting the ground.
Shaking her head a couple of times, Cameryn cleared her throat loudly, shaking her superior out of his wildness and back to the issue at hand. "To ensure everything is done right, we have to get some type of government-issued identification for our staff at Protection Services to register you," Cameryn described, "Do you have your driver's license with you?"
Warner hesitated the whole way, from reaching into his pocket to pulling the license out of his wallet. During the whole time, Gil watched silently from beside Cameryn, who copied down the important details. The information could be used for other purposes, and he had one in mind already. "Once Protection Services approves of this, we will contact you immediately," she concluded, handing the identification back to Warner.
Warner merely grunted, not even bothering to thank the secretary. Shoving the license into his wallet, he hurried away from the twosome. Gil made sure Warner was out of sight before asking Cameryn for the information. "You got all the important details, right?" he asked, "Date of birth, height, weight, all that stuff? You didn't miss anything out?"
Cameryn shook her head, to which Gil responded by yanking out his own notebook from his jacket's inside pocket. Turning to a fresh page, he clicked his pen and transcribed over all the information Cameryn gathered. "You can feel free to hand that to Protection Services now," Gil announced, flamboyantly handing back the sheet to Cameryn, "I have a phone call to make, so I won't go back to the station yet. Are you okay with taking the bus, or do you prefer a ride?"
Cameryn fumed at Gil's subtle dig at her. "If Iselia has a subway built, I won't be in this situation," she ranted, shoving the note into her pocket. Tugging on her coat once more, she pivoted around and headed out the front entrance, going straight to the bus station located past the parking lot. It left Gil standing in the foyer shrugging and grinning helplessly.
Once he made sure no one was looking, Gil headed in the direction of the security office, all the while yanking out his cellphone. He quickly dialled for a familiar number, pressed the phone to his ear and waited for it to connect. "Hi, Bob?" he greeted the man on the other end, waving his badge at security, "Are you at your unit? I have the information you want, and I can get them to you within an hour. Can you search up the individual for me by tomorrow morning?"
"Okay, Regal. Tell me about the history behind the Loni-Kyle," Gil requested, speaking into his laptop monitor. Thursday morning brought a bit more peace and quiet for Gil's team, who now had new leads instead of visits from the ethics commissioner. Even though they were still far from cracking the case, morale was a lot higher than the past couple of days. Now, Gil had a whole new situation to deal with, one that would involve the Lezareno Company president.
"The Loni-Kyle is the brainchild of Stahn Aileron and his wife Rutee," Regal explained through their teleconference. Using Skype, Gil was able to set up this meeting, with a time that was suitable for both men. While it was morning in Iselia, it was night in Altamira. Luckily, Regal chose not to go to bed yet, just to give Gil his important leads. "Stahn and Rutee had the idea that styles worn in the past should be re-imagined, making them suitable for our time. They marketed this to certain clothing lines, and many started selling their clothes a few years back."
Gil nodded, scribbling down some details in his notebook. "But apparently, you said they weren't too popular for a couple of years, right? It wasn't until Lezareno conglomerated with the Ailerons' company did the style take off?" he asked, thinking back to the book signing event weeks back. He recalled Regal pointing to a store named Destiny's, which supposedly had this style on sale. Was this the original company that accepted the idea proposed by Stahn and Rutee?
"We did, and that's why Destiny's was able to increase the clothing's sales," Regal replied, showing Gil a couple of pictures on the screen, "Stahn and Rutee named the clothing after their two children, Loni and Kyle. They even took pictures of the two wearing them, and apparently they really liked those clothes. See what I mean?"
Gil squinted at the screen, getting a look at the two boys. The shorter one seemed like he was about sixteen, had unruly blond hair, and sharp blue eyes. The taller one, however, was the polar opposite of his younger sibling. He seemed more like he was in his mid-twenties, had silver hair in almost a buzzcut, and relaxed grey eyes. "I would have never guessed they're brothers. They look nothing alike!" Gil commented, "Any reason behind the difference in appearances?"
Regal chuckled. "Loni isn't really Kyle's older brother," he answered, pulling the photo to his left while pointing with his right index finger, "Loni was adopted by the Ailerons shortly after Kyle was born. Rutee was in her mid-twenties when she gave birth to Kyle, but after that she and Stahn adopted Loni, who is eight years older than Kyle. Since they're not related by blood, it explains why Loni and Kyle look so different even though they're siblings."
Gil nodded at the extra trivia. Getting back to the topic, he then asked Regal what stores had the Loni-Kyle brand on sale at the beginning. "Destiny's is one of them, but are they the only one? And how many cities across the world have them on sale?" Gil queried.
It was now Regal's turn to flip through some pages, looking through a set of old notes. "I know there are branches in most cities in Sylvarant, but not in Tethe'alla," he stated, his eyes going back and forth on his sheet, "You know there's a branch in Iselia, in that downtown mall where you were signing books. There are a couple of branches in Palmacosta, although I'm not surprised, given that's the biggest Sylvaranti city. I see some in Asgard, in Hima, in Luin…"
"Wait, did you just say Luin?" Gil interrupted. Regal glanced up in time to see Gil grab another set of notes, pages literally covering the computer screen. The aquamarine-haired man could only cock an eyebrow as Gil pulled out a couple of pages with great difficulty, jabbing at a part before announcing, "From the mall chase, the two users were flaming each other, and one of them mentioned a ship sinking in Luin a couple of years ago. And you just said Loni-Kyle shirts were on sale in Luin during that time. What if they have something to do with each other?"
Now Regal was really stumped. Why was Gil throwing two topics that seemed like they had nothing to do with each other together? "Gil, I don't mean to be rude, and I certainly don't want to tell you how to do your job, but this doesn't seem right. How does a Luin shipwreck have anything to do with where Loni-Kyle shirts are being sold?" Regal questioned sceptically.
"The million dollar question, isn't it? It seems almost too remote, but there is a way to put them together," Gil explained, waving several documents in a row at the webcam, "All the people who died in the recent murders have blond hair, and they all wore Loni-Kyle shirts at the time of death. Even the user named Death Angel, who was our main suspect so far, met a similar fate under similar circumstances. You claim Luin has these clothes on sale, and a Luin shipwreck was mentioned by Pirate King, who was also in the mall during our chase. Can you see the stars aligning, Regal? Can you see where this is heading? Why don't you tell me about Luin's store?"
Regal took a deep breath, still unsure Gil's farfetched idea. Yet he wasn't a detective, so who was he to comment on Gil's investigation? Turning back to his notes, he gave Gil the full story. "The one in charge of marketing it before conglomeration was Rutee's own brother, a man named Leon Magnus. Both Stahn and Rutee work within his company. He was the one who I met with in our conglomeration efforts, whereby his company will be a subsidiary of Lezareno," Regal described, "I promised him I would take good care of his products, and in turn he agreed to do marketing for some of Lezareno's products as well. It was only then that the Loni-Kyle shirts managed to make a comeback. Otherwise, they were in the wilderness for years."
"So it was Leon's idea to have a branch selling the Loni-Kyle clothing in Luin, and at that time there was only one store," Gil murmured, his attention split between the Skype screen on his monitor and his papers, "You wouldn't know anything about that shipwreck that Pirate King mentioned, do you? Or is that outside your jurisdiction?"
Regal shook his head. "I'm only good when it comes to corporate and commercial stuff, not history about human disasters," he informed Gil apologetically, "I'll be more than happy to help you if you can narrow that down. But for now, all I can tell you is that Leon did open a branch in Luin, and it was most likely in business during the time of the shipwreck."
Just then, the phone on Gil's desk rang, snapping the staff sergeant's attention away from Regal. The Lezareno president looked on in silence for a few minutes, watching Gil speak discreetly into his mouthpiece. Regal wasn't sure what topic Gil was discussing, but it sure got him excited. Once Gil hung up, Regal asked the goateed man on the issue. "New lead?"
Gil nodded in excitement, the grin on his face now spreading from ear to ear. "I have to go now, Regal," he stated, organizing his pages once more, "My colleague from Archives found me some useful information, so I have another Skype teleconference to attend. I might as well bid you good night then. Take care, Regal. Don't go too crazy with your bunny pyjamas."
"What? Did Zelos tell you about that?" Regal demanded. One of Regal's secrets was that he wore pyjamas with bunny rabbits on them when he slept, something quite unusual when one considered the physique and status of the man. Zelos Wilder once saw Regal in said pyjamas, and knowing the redhead's big mouth, Regal knew it was a matter of time before all their friends knew about it. "Hey, don't make fun of my PJ's, you got that, Gil?" Regal warned.
Gil kept the grin on, waving his hand at the webcam before clicking the button to end their transmission. Once he shut his laptop down, he grabbed his notes and hurried to the unit conference room. Robert Ross was about to bring his own laptop in for another important call, one that he promised Gil would not want to miss for the world.
"Sarge, I got the new lead for you," Robert greeted Gil, trying to prevent his laptop and a handful of documents from falling out his arms. Sensing Robert in trouble, Gil got out of his seat in his unit's conference room and helped the heavyset man out, grabbing several files and moved them onto the large table. "Thank you, but I still have to set up the laptop," Robert noted.
Gil took a seat at the table once more, waiting for Robert to plug the laptop into the large projector. Yesterday, after Frank Warner had a close call with a flower pot, Gil managed to get some personal information out of their suspect. While the original intent was to get Warner to go into protective custody, Gil was more convinced that something else could be done with this new knowledge. "Bet you had fun with Oni at the mall. That was some aim with the flower pot!"
Robert glanced up with a wide grin on his face. Wagging a finger, he complimented Gil's willingness to allow the pranking. "Didn't I tell you that all rookies should be my jurisdiction?" Robert replied, "I told him if he didn't do what I said, I was going to tell his girlfriend how our young mage had a field day with a certain body part he loved to flaunt. He was hesitant at first, but when I told him that the Sages live close to me, he had no choice but to surrender. Seriously, thanks for informing me about Genis, or else it would have never worked."
"Well, he told me he was training with Genis, and when I called him he sounded like he was being tortured. There's only one way that Genis tortures people, so I knew what buttons to push," Gil described, thinking back to the talk he had with Raine two days ago, "Other than that, Lloyd and I went over all the emails Pirate King wrote to Peter Cook, and we're sending that to SIU for analysis. Hopefully that will back up whatever you have. So how did you get your lead?"
Robert finished plugging in the wire and turned on his laptop, crossing his arms as he waited for it to boot. "When you got Warner's full name and birthdate, it was like hitting the jackpot," Robert exclaimed, "As I told you before, the police can't do a random search, because that violates privacy. But since Warner gave you information somewhat voluntarily," Robert stated, his fingers doing an air quote at somewhat, "I can access the database. It turns out our renovator friend is not from Iselia. Instead, he's born in Luin, and still has records in that city."
Gil's eyes grew larger than plates. Why were so many things going through Luin? Waving his hand at Robert, he beckoned the heavyset man to continue elaborating. "I found out all records of Warner in Luin went by a different name. It appears he moved to Iselia and immediately applied for a legal name change," Robert added, gesturing his hands in excitement.
Gil bit his lower lip. Flipping through some files, he tried to compare the incident he had in mind with reality. "Lloyd told me that Pirate King mentioned a shipwreck off the coast of Luin two years ago," Gil pointed out, his finger pecking at the line in question, "Was Frank Warner, or whoever he used to be at that time, living in Luin then?"
Robert nodded, facing the login screen of his laptop. "Warner didn't move here until April of that year, and the shipwreck was in March. It'll be two years ago next week, if I recall correctly," Robert answered, typing in his password, "I won't be surprised if our suspect knew about it, or somehow had that incident affect him so much that he had to mention it."
Gil remained silent, too shocked at the details to comment. Robert clicked some keys on his laptop, making a new application show up on the big screen. "Since I grew up in Luin, having moved there while I was in elementary school, I still have some connections that I can call for help. Can you believe that my mother actually gave me some advice for this case?" Robert stated with a chuckle, much to the surprise of Gil, "I was in the office until well past five o'clock yesterday, but people in Luin were almost in bed, if not downright asleep. I had to wake my mom up to ask her about this shipwreck, you know."
Gil shook his head while chuckling slightly. "I think she probably wasn't too pleased," he responded, leaning back slightly on his chair. He missed this type of banter with his former colleague, and given the stress-filled days of the past week, it was probably for his own good. "If I remember correctly, you told me your mother was friends with Oni's girlfriend's mother. So are they colleagues at work or something? What do they both do for a living?" Gil asked.
Robert smiled. "Oni's girlfriend is named Elyria Hanyo. Both my mother and her mother are high school teachers, with Mrs. Hanyo teaching English literature and my mother teaching math," he stated, logging himself into the Skype application, "My mom told me she recalled the shipwreck because it was spring break, and some of the students in her class went sailing that year. One of those students was on a boat that witnessed the sinking, and his boat nearly went down too. He ended up suffering some facial injuries, and missed a couple of weeks of school."
Gil winced at Robert's description. He recalled how it felt to be injured, given he was shot in the leg while undercover. Being placed in a cast, and later on a brace, did him no favours, and only after months of physiotherapy did he get back in good shape. "Speaking of which, how did physiotherapy on your hands go? Is it still coming along?" Gil asked, pointing at Robert.
Robert nodded, thanking his former superior for caring. "The doctors say they'll never be at full strength, but at least I can grip and pull heavier things now," he reported, squeezing and relaxing his two hands, "Anyway, my mom tends to give out her email at the end of the year, so any student still wanting to keep in touch with her may. This guy and a few of his buddies are among those still writing to her, and she gave me his email address. I emailed him last night, asking if I could get him to do a teleconference. Lo and behold, he agreed to it. We decided on this time because it's morning here, but afternoon in Luin, which is when he's relatively free."
Robert clicked on the name on Skype, followed by the Video Call button. The usual calling chime echoed off the speakers as they waited for the call to connect. "I looked into the sunken ship this morning, accessing that via the cross-reference database with Luin. Guess who the ship's registered owner was? A guy named Aifread Van Eltia," Robert declared, dimming the front lights for the Skype call. The Archives officer now spoke from the darkness, calling out to the goateed man in the light. "You know how he's connected to Warner?" Robert asked.
Before Gil could guess, the Skype call was answered. From the large screen at the front, a young man appeared. He looked about eighteen years old, had unruly silver hair, shorter than Genis' hair but in a lighter shade. He had on a white leather jacket, and dark motorcycle gloves were adorned on his hands. The most striking mark was a scar on the right side of his face, with a horizontal cut above his eyebrow and a vertical one on his cheek. "So are you Mrs. Ross' son?" he asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and impatience, "What questions do you have for me?"
Robert extended the connection wire, pulling the laptop down to the table. Plopping into a chair to Gil's right, he focused the laptop webcam on them. "I'm Robert, and this is Sergeant Gil Irving," he introduced the goateed man to the teen, "We just want to ask a few questions regarding the shipwreck you saw a couple years back. Can you tell us your name first?"
The teen nodded. "My name is Senel," he stated in a clear voice, "Senel Coolidge."
Wow. Lots of other Tales characters got involved here. Stahn Aileron, Rutee Katrea, Loni and Kyle Dunamis, and Leon Magnus from Tales of Destiny 1 and 2 all got mentioned, and Senel Coolidge from Tales of Legendia makes a cameo appearance at the end. I know Senel's face has a tattoo, not a scar, but I felt a scar better suits my purposes for having him here. What help will Senel offer in the investigation? How is Frank Warner linked to Aifread? And what connections do these events have to the killings and Gil's novel? Read on next time to find out!