the little deathwatch
who: mina and open(can be a large group scene for cops and others)
where: the bodies site
when: noonish
Mina was standing inside the treeline, though she was visible from the street. The rain falling down onto her umbrella was loud in her ears, even beneath the trees. Though really, when the wind kicked up, it just meant it fell harder for a few seconds as the trees shook the rain free. Or, as much of it that hadn't frozen yet. She was calf deep in snow as well, gazing down at the bodies that were so perfectly frozen beneath their coating of ice. She didn't want people disturbing the scene, of course, and the Bedlam officials had wanted her to attempt to identify the corpses, just in case the rumors already floating about were correct.
Identification of people encased in ice was rather easier said than done, however. The ice was clear as glass in some places, but cloudy and obfuscated in others. Add on top of that that the rain hadn't stopped, and they kept getting even more ice accumulating on them....well. The authorities were going to have to do something. Like stick them in a warm room to melt before anyone could actually tell who the human icicles were.
Still, she was staying there with them, being their little deathwatch guardian, so the scene wasn't terribly disturbed by the time the police decided to arrive. Finding a fallen log to lay a blanket over, she sat, keeping her umbrella up as she remained with the frozen corpses.
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The rumors were all it took to draw Alyson to the scene. With an abundance of blankets tucked in her arms (three to be exact, because she'd always been told three was a lucky number), she waded through the snow in her far-too-large boots and thick winter coat.
Spotting Mina wasn't hard -- the one living thing among a sea of the nonliving. Even the trees were dead, Alyson noted with slight sadness. Nonetheless, she flashed Mina a smile as she approached her, and greeted her as though they were anywhere else but here, "Good afternoon, Auntie Mina. May I have a seat?"
The two extra blankets she was carrying were for the corpses. She had little concern for disturbing a crime scene, and all the more concern for what must be a group of incredibly cold people, dead or not.
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Mina looked up and was unsurprised to see Alyson. She might have been surprised to see any other members of her family, but Alyson, not so much. She smiled, and scooted over a bit to make room for the girl. "Good afternoon." she greeted. "And of course." she said, patting the blanket next to her. "Are you here to say hello? Or are you here to help me watch over the departed?" she asked, thinking either option, or even perhaps some third that she hadn't thought of were all possible.
.
"I brought them blankets," Alyson explained as if the bodies were not bodies but still living, breathing beings, though she took a seat beside Mina and kept the blankets folded in her lap. "I will watch them with you, though. Are they doing any tricks?"
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"Tricks?" Mina asked, arching a brow. "No. They're just departed." she said. "I don't believe they'll be needing any blankets. I tried to see if I recognized any of them but the ice is too thick. I suppose I'll need to wait until they've thawed, and the police bring me in to identify them. If they do that. They may not, I suppose. I would imagine they'll assume they're from Bedlam, however. I'm not so certain they are, honestly. They could be from anywhere, and just happened by here when their ill fate caught up to them." Not that she knew what their fate was either. It wasn't as if they had frozen axes embedded in their chests or anything. So far as she'd seen, there wasn't anything clearly present as the cause of death. She'd most certainly looked for that sort of thing.
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"Nonsense," Alyson protested. "Dead or alive, everyone needs blankets in the cold. Although, they haven't asked, so I suppose I'll just keep my lap warm." The blankets were doing a good job at that, after all.
"The police are lazy, very lazy." Her commentary was unwarranted, but there were a pile of bodies and the only two people there were them, sitting on a log. "What if someone wanted to steal them? I guess that's why you're here, though. To save them from grave robbers and the like."
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"That was my intention, yes. Just in case anyone came back to try and get their hands on evidence, or move them, or get rid of them." Mina confirmed. Though then she vaguely wondered to herself what she might do if someone had come to do that, if they had a weapon or somesuch. That was likely something she should have thought through slightly better than she had. It definitely shouldn't only be occurring now. But, no one had come back in hours, so perhaps they weren't going to.
"I wouldn't necessarily say they're lazy, sweetheart." Mina said. "I imagine they have quite a lot going on. It's a big city and all, lots of crime and other things to attend to for the living. The dead, I imagine, can wait." They didn't have any pressing enagements to get to, after all.
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Alyson found herself wondering the same thing. Chances were, anyone coming to discard evidence wouldn't be 'polite' enough to let them walk away unharmed. It didn't phase the seventeen-year-old, though, and she stared blankly at the snow for a moment before wrapping one of her blankets over her shoulders like a shawl to try and get warmer. She still had ice in her hair from the walk over.
"Perhaps," she agreed, though she would have argued that the dead could very well have had engagements of their own. If they were frozen, maybe their souls were as well, and that was preventing them of lavish ballroom dances with deities and angels.
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Mina put her arm around her niece, and kept her eyes on the frozen corpsicles. "Enough about the dead. I'd like to hear about you. How have you been lately? What's been going on in your life?" she asked, genuinely curious about what the girl had been up to. Alyson was quite the colorful personality, one Mina enjoyed very much, and she was quite sure that Alyson could come up with an interesting tale or two to share. It would help pass the time, and she just liked hearing what she could come up with. Often, she thought Alyson should write some of these things down. Perhaps pen some short stories.
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Always happy to create the elaborate tale ), Alyson grinned as she debated which she would tell first. "I've been well," she began. "I went to a carnival," there had been no carnival in the city, but she was inclined to believe differently, "with Rabbit the Second. I tried to play some of the games, but the carnies treated it like a casino. Impossible, the house always won."
She paused, trying to decide what came next. "Rabbit the Second is scared of heights, but I managed to get him on the Ferris Wheel. Twice!" She beamed up at her aunt. "Have you been doing well, too? I would hope so."
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"Twice? Has he been cured of his phobia then?" Mina asked, smiling. Really, there probably could have been a carnival in town and she wouldn't have known. Mina wasn't exactly up with current events. Her world was very centered on the asylum, and therefore little things like the happenings in the city were less important to her than what was going on inside those stone walls. He sense of time wasn't always spot on either.
"And those carnival games are all designed not to let you win. Did you get anything as a keepsake from it? Or do you need something that will remind you of your time there?" she asked. Mina may go get the girl a toy to commemorate her imaginary trip to the carnival.
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"He says he has not been," Alyson frowned, wrinkling her nose as she remembered the 'conversation'. "I told him it was very sweet to do it for me, but he told me to stuff it." Her eyes lit up again though as she explained, "I distracted the carnies long enough that Rabbit the Second managed to sneak into the game booth and retrieve something for me."
She spread her hands to indicate size: "It was a pink dolphin, about this big. I think the rats stole it, though, because now it's missing."
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"Well that's a bit rude." Mina said. "I hope you gave him a good talking to." She was aware somewhere in the back of her mind that Alyson was far too old to be having imaginary teaparties and the equivellent with imaginary friends, or, real pets but pets who 'spoke' to her, but at the same time, she dealt with people of that nature every day. Like the man who only answered to the name 'Susan' and dressed as a woman, and yet refused to shave, and had the long, scraggly beard. Among others, of course, the mad surrounded her all the time. Alyson's 'quirks' were fairly tame, considering. She humored it quite well. "Sorry to hear your keepsake has gone missing." she added. "I hope you find it eventually."
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"Oh, I most certainly did," Alyson assured Mina. She'd attempted to send Rabbit the Second to bed without dinner, but that plan fell through because she felt guilty. For all she knew, he could starve to death in one night. She'd made up for it by giving him a little extra. He hadn't seemed phased either way.
"As do I," Alyson replied with a wistful sigh. "I'm sure it will. The rats never keep things for long." She smiled at Mina then, head tilted to the side. "Have you had any adventures lately? I imagine so, if you're babysitting bodies like this."
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"Oh, this was something that generally just fell into my lap." Mina said. "A woman was out walking her dog, and she came running to my door when she discovered them." she said. "I sent her to the police station, and then came out here to watch over the bodies. But really, so far as adventures go, this is the most exciting thing that's happened recently. Other than that I've just been working, going about my life. Nothing nearly so exciting as going to the carnival and having rats steal things from me." she said with a warm smile.
Alyson returned the smile,
Alyson returned the smile, though hers was more aloof than warm. "Well, I'm sure if you asked the rats, they'd be glad to steal things from you. They're sneaky like that. They enjoy the challenge."
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"Well, if I went and did that, I'm sure it would distract them from whatever important things they had going on. Besides which, if I'm not interesting enough for them to pick me out in the first place, I would feel like I was merely an afterthought for them. So, I suppose I shall have to wait until either I'm interesting enough, or something else happens to keep me on my toes." Mina said. Such as having a bunch of bodies show up practically on her doorstep. Or at the very least, her back yard.
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Alyson's favorite people were always those who indulged her in conversations about what she'd always deemed important. "Rats are fairly boring creatures," she told Mina. "They live for trickery, I believe, but that's fairly simple-minded." She was more fond of mice, who could on the occasion be friendlier. They were also smaller and less threatening than rats. "So perhaps it's not that you're uninteresting. They must just think you're too difficult to trick."
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"Since they live for trickery, wouldn't that make them not boring, by definition?" Mina asked, smiling a little, amused. "I would think that would make them rather clever, and unpredictable." she assessed. Most of the rats she dealt with were in the asylum, and they were generally problems. Though sometimes they were problems because some patients liked to take small furry things apart with their bare hands, and that was always just a touch gruesome. Painting the walls with headless rats was also occasioanlly a passtime there which always made her vaguely ill. "It's possible that they feel that way about me. I have been told that I'm difficult to put one over on."
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"I guess it does," Alyson pondered. "That would make the most sense. Why trick someone who won't be tricked? Although, that could be a challenge, and therefore far more rewarding." As much as Alyson spoke of rats, her home didn't have any. At least, none that were real, but to her, what she saw was fact. Rats weren't the only not-quite-real animals that she came across, but it was impossible to tell the difference when they both looked and sounded real.
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"Perhaps they're really just biding their time with me, waiting to finally wind up pulling a prank on me, only it'll be a grand one when it's finished. Anything that grand would of course take a lot of time and effort." Mina said, as if this were a reasonable conversation. She never did treat Alyson as if she were batty. She did glance around again, however, even if it wasn't for rats. It was for policemen, since they were meant to be around at some point. Even if she'd said earlier that they possibly had better things to do at the moment, this was a probably multiple homicide. That should take some form of a priority.
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This was a waste of Jakob's time, no doubt about it. Granted, with Sam on stress leave, his case load had shrank quickly, but this? This wasn't even a homicide, the possibility that it was seemed miniscule. Still, most of the open cases in his department had been handed off to other detectives recently, and his affairs for the ensuing raids seemed largely in order. So when he'd gotten the call, it wasn't like Jakob had many excuses to draw on to say no.
Still, he was doubting foul play here. With how close the asylum was, it was entirely possible that a few of the local nuts had slipped past the guards. And once they got beyond their secure surroundings, with this weather? With no medications? Getting turned around and being felled by exposure seemed entirely likely. But that wasn't going to stop Jakob from doing his job, which at the moment included sending a pair of patrolmen off to check the surroundings, then moving towards the bodies themselves. His coat was tossed open as he approached Mina and Alyson, flashing the badge clipped on his belt. "Eidolon P.D., ladies," he greeted, "I'll have to ask you to give the deceased a bit more room."
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With their conversation on rats interrupted, Alyson looked up at the new addition to the scene. Perhaps the police weren't so lazy after all, just late to the party. Why anyone would want to be late to a party like this was beyond her, though. She smiled up at him, tugging her blanket tighter around her shoulders. "They have plenty of room," she informed him. "They haven't complained, though they might start once you and your men start tugging them around."
She glanced beyond him and motioned to one of the closer bodies. "He, in particular, ask that you be careful."
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Mina smiled at the officer as he approached, and she stood. "Officer." she greeted politely, extending her hand to shake. "My name is Mina Walker, I work at Bedlam. I came as soon as we were informed that the deceased were here, and I've been making an attempt to keep the scene as untouched as possible." she said. "I would also like to say that while I can't be positive at current, I don't believe any of these people were ours." she said. "However if you need me to try and help identify people when they are less...frozen, I'd be happy to help." her tone was pleasant if soft, though that was how she usually sounded. She didn't make excuses for her niece, though. "This is my niece, Alyson. She just arrived." she added, just so it didn't appear that the girl had been there all day or anything. That would be improper, but she'd just gotten there.
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"Ms. Walker?" Jakob asked with plain surprise, fishing out his notepad from within his coat, "My apologies, miss. Would you mind aswering a few questions, if you had a moment?" Curious indeed; he didn't know any Walkers wworking the asylum, that was the sort of fact that the family would normally flaunt for positive press.
"Your niece is no trouble, of course," he assured Mina with a pleasant-enough smile for a man attending to frozen bodies. Was Alyson a patient? The younger woman certainly had an air about her that would suggest it. "And if this isn't the best moment, I'd be happy to speak when you have the time."
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"Of course, It's no trouble at all." Mina said, giving that polite smile again. "Anything you require." she added, wanting to be as helpful as possible. They were standing over several dead people, and that was a shame. If she could aid in anything, she'd be happy to. Mina liked being helpful. "And any time, really. If you'd like some more time we can get out of your way for now, or I could talk now. I do live just that way." she said, pointing to the small path that led towards her home on Bedlam's grounds. "If you wanted to take care of things here, then meet us there, I could get tea going."
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"Tea sounds nice," Alyson spoke up, though her eyes were back on the bodies. "It's a pity they can't join us." She would have pointed out that one of them preferred coffee, but it seemed pointless as they wouldn't be joining them. She herself was looking forward to sitting by a fire, something the bodies would never be able to do again. "I can start the tea if you need to speak to Mina alone, Officer. She'll be more help than me."
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"I'm afraid there is precious little I can do at the moment," Jakob said regrettably to Mina at first, "With the deceased in such poor conditions, any effort to determine their cause of death would have to wait. There are already patrolmen speaking to those who first found them, I believe." He sighed quietly, looking back over his shoulder to the other officers working the scene, taking statements, speaking to Bedlam staff. Was there a mystery here?
Mina had said she didn't believe the bodies to be patients, after all, so if they weren't? Then yes, there was a case to crack. But Jakob wasn't getting his hopes up yet, or even considering how morbid his hopes were that they would want a murder over accidental death. "Please, ladies," he said as he looked back to Alyson and Mina, "Let me see you to somewhere dry, and we can speak at length?" Of course, even if Alyson had said she'd be no use, you never knew what could be gleaned from the unbalanced. "And forgive me, senior detective Jakob Hollis, at your service."
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Mina smiled. "This way then." she indicated, starting to lead the way along the path back to her home. "A pleasure to meet you, Detective." she added, being sure to add the title in since she'd been uninformed before, and she didn't want to convey any disrespect. "Though I wish it were under less ghoulish circumstances." she added, glancing back over her shoulder at the man in question. She lit a hand on her niece's back, wanting to keep the girl close to her. It was a protective instinct, even if it wasn't necessarily directed anywhere. Nothing would harm them. Still, it was there.
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As a younger Walker, Alyson had always grown up feeling protected. She wasn't the socialite that the family had hoped she'd be, but she never felt threatened, even if she found herself in a situation where the feeling would have been justified. It helped, of course, that she was off-kilter enough to believe that nothing could go horribly wrong. Things that did go wrong were a 'fluke in the system' and wouldn't happen again.
She echoed her aunt, "It's nice to meet you, Detective Hollis." She smiled then and corrected, "Senior Detective Hollis." As they walked, she continued, "That's quite the title you have."
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"When working a crime scene like today's, it can be crucial to establish exactly whose word seals decisions, Ms. Walker," Jakob explained to Alyson as he followed after them, "Especially among multiple detectives. We are, I must confess, like schoolgirls arguing over gowns at times." He chuckled dryly, flipping the brim of his coat up to hold off a light chill that swept across the grounds.
"And while I must agree with your aunt that circumstances could be better? Your cooperation is appreciated, and it makes me wish that all meetings I had in my daily work could go so well." Mina's offer of tea sounded better and better by the moment, whether Jakob gleaned insight on this call or no. A chance to escape the misery of the outdoors? Well, he'd be worthy of a room in Bedlam if he passed it up.
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Mina gave a lightly amused smile over her shoulder at Jakob. "Depends what schoolgirls you know." she said. Then they were heading towards her home, which was about as old as the asylum itself. Stone walls, it looked what anyone would consider 'quaint'. The shutters, the trim and the roof were all done in dark red. The most other notable feature was the fact that the walls were covered with climbing roses, even if they were all dead at this time of year. In the summer it would be rather striking, but at current it looked more like dead cracks trying to eat the building alive, or drag it down to hell. If nothing else, the place certainly stood out.
Heading inside the small mud room, Mina took off her winter gear, letting everyone else do so as well. "Please remove your shoes." she said to Jakob, knowing Alyson knew to already. The place was very warm inside, and a fire was lit and going in the living room that the mudroom opened into. "If you'd like to make yourself comfortable, I'll put the kettle on." she said.
The decor of the place was all antique. Nothing bought within the last twenty years or so at the very latest was anywhere to be found. There were picture frames everywhere, all full of pictures of Walkers, and a lot of patients at Bedlam, often photographed with Mina with them. There was a portrait of her as a child hanging to one side of the fireplace, another portrait of a rather deformed young man on the other. Over the hearth was a painting of a single rose, incredibly detailed.
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"That does make sense," Alyson mused. She'd learned in her seventeen and a half years that anyone with power was likely to want more, and if not that, to exercise their power and have complete control over a situation. She wondered if the fact that Jakob was senior detective meant that he was one of the more ruthless, hungry of the detectives. Thus far, he'd done nothing to give off that impression -- perhaps the nice guy didn't always finish last? She smiled up at him as they walked. "Of course. I'll be of no help, but I'm always happy for an excuse to get free tea." Where there was tea, there would be snacks. That was what Alyson was truly looking forward to.
Once they were in Mina's house, Alyson took off her boots and set her armful of blankets down beside them. She doubted she'd need them with the fire going. She'd always liked the decor of Mina's home. It was something out of the ordinary and something with feeling. There were stories behind every piece of furniture, and Alyson was happy to rattle them off, as if she could speak not only to animals, but to inanimate objects as well.
After removing her coat, she scurried to stand in front of the fire. She had yet to take her gloves off. Her toes and fingers were always what stayed coldest, and she wasn't planning to expose them until she was sure they weren't blue.