Forging New Paths

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
Evelyn nodded her agreement with the plan, though she hadn't expected to stay for so long. "I'll go and check on the kids." She said idly, letting Garrett wander off to do dishes and thinking that it was probably best if she and Luca walked home anyway. It wasn't far, and she didn't particularly want either of their new acquaintances knowing exactly where she lived, less because she thought either of them were suspicious and more for plausible deniability if anyone came asking some day.

Luca made a soft, uncertain sound, eyes drifting away from the tv to look at Isaac, then back again as he considered. "I don't . . . think I know how," he said, more thoughtful than upset by the idea. He hadn't done anything he thought of as 'play' since he was little - but he had gone swimming, and there had been Anthony's circus. Did those count? "I would have to ask."

"Ask what?" Evelyn questioned as she came into the room, giving them a small smile as she sat in a chair nearby, legs primly crossed and posture straight as always. She was glad the two of them were relaxing together.

Luca blinked at her, for a moment surprised by her quick return, and that they weren't leaving the second she was back. "Isaac wants us to come back and play. . ."

She gave him a soft, considering hum, and finally shrugged. "That would be nice, some time." Perhaps they shouldn't make it a very regular thing, for Isaac's safety, but maybe once or twice a month it would be all right to visit. She would have to discuss it with Garrett, to see if he thought they posed any risk to Isaac and Mr. Emerald. There was still always the possibility hovering over them that the Lombardi's would try to get Luca back some day.
 
Isaac smiled gently and held Luca's hand. "Don't worry. I can teach you how! There's lots of ways to play. I used to play with cars, and legos, and action figures the most. Maybe Mr. Emerald has some we can use. Or we can make some! Sometimes I play with rocks and pretend those are action figures," he explained.

He glanced over and waved shyly when Evelyn returned. "Hi, again. I'd really like it if Luca and you all came to play sometimes. Luca's my best friend," he added, leaning against the boy a little closer.

Eventually, Mr. Emerald came into the room and held out a hand. "Isaac? Would you come with Garrett and I for a bit? We'd like to let the authorities know what happened to you, so we can get you some help."

Isaac paused for a moment to glance at Luca, but finally he slid off the couch and made his way over, gently taking Mr. Emerald's hand. ". . . Okay."

"Luca. Evelyn. It was wonderful to meet you both," Mr. Emerald said. "You're all welcome to come visit any time you like. Would you like to stay while we're all out, or will you be heading out as well?"
 
Luca blinked down at their hands, fingers curling loosely closed around Isaac's and feeling a little overwhelmed. Isaac was so small and weak. Luca had expected him to be afraid, as new people usually were upon seeing him - the fact that he had usually met them in a helmet and jacket that hid both his face and the shape of his body, with his keepers making sure his history was known, didn't truly occur to him then. It only felt strange, and warm, having someone so small and defenseless hold his hand and say they were best friends so quickly. Was it okay? Was it okay to let him stay so close, when Luca knew he could be dangerous to anything around him?

"I . . . like to make things," he managed quietly, uncertain if he remembered how to play with toys, but making some could be fun. Play was supposed to be fun, wasn't it?

Evelyn gave them a gentle smile, her heart both hurt and warmed by Isaac's quick attachment to Luca. "Don't worry. We'll see each other again." How could she not let them be together? Perhaps helping someone so young and traumatized would even help Luca work through some of his own childhood trauma.

Qhen the others came back into the room, she got smoothly to her feet, holding a hand out to Luca to draw him up as well, and gave her head a little shake. "It's very kind of you to offer your home, Mr. Emerald, but that's all right. We haven't had our walk today, so we're just going to walk home." It wasn't too horribly far, as long as they went slowly, and she knew Luca could use the exercise.

When he had to let go of Isaac's hand, Luca frowned, but gave the boy a little wave in hopes that he wouldn't feel sad. "Goodbye, Isaac."

"Garrett and Mr. Emerald are going to keep you safe," Evelyn assured as they moved towards the door. "Don't worry. We'll see you later, all right?"
 
Isaac beamed and nodded excitedly. "I bet you'd like Legos, then! They're little bricks you use to build stuff out of. And there's little guys and stuff. Hopefully I can find some." He wrapped his arms around Luca's briefly and smiled. "Or we could go out in the backyard and make stuff with mud!"

When it was finally time to leave, he waved back at Luca, smiling shyly. "I'll see you later," he announced. "Have a safe walk home." Then he turned and walked with Garrett and Mr. Emerald, gazing up at the pair with a mixture of nervous excitement and trust. Evelyn said they'd both keep him safe. And they seemed like they would, too. They were both so kind.

It was a few hours later before Garrett texted Evelyn. <I've got good news. Would you and Luca like us to call? We're back at Mr. Emerald's house now,> he added.

If Evelyn said yes, Garrett called her on Anthony's phone. "So, first things first - "

"Hi, Luca!" Isaac's voice called happily.

Garrett laughed and ruffled his hair. "You little scoundrel. First things first, Evelyn, I've got your phone back. I can swing by and drop it off later if you like."
 
Legos. Luca thought he had played with them when he was little. It had been fun, making his own little buildings or cars. He wasn't sure he remembered how to build those things anymore, but he would try. Isaac seemed to like them a lot, enough to pull a small smile from Luca, so he was sure it would be fun.

Isaac was such a good, polite child, Evelyn thought with some sadness as they parted ways and turned to head home. It wasn't fair when anyone's loved ones were taken from them too soon, but it felt especially awful when it was to someone so unworthy of it. Thinking of scared, traumatized children, she decided, finally, to use their walk to talk to Luca about speaking with the therapist she had found him. He didn't like the idea of speaking at length, she knew, but with Garrett's friend that they had met who spoke so positively of it, and with the promise that it was meant to help him feel less bad, eventually he gave a sort of agreement, or at least didn't protest the idea. It would only be a couple of days until his first appointment. She should have spoken to him sooner.

Later, when they were home and settled in with Luca drawing and Evelyn going through her backlogged work inbox, they were glad to receive Garrett's text. It would be good to hear good news, especially about their new little friend.

"You've got us both," Evelyn answered, putting the phone on speaker so Luca could hear and smiling at Isaac's immediate call.

"Hello," Luca said softly back when Evelyn moved the phone a bit closer to him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at hearing the boy call to him.

"Ah, what a relief." She said with a little sigh, though she was sure that wasn't his only good news or he wouldn't have hyped it up. "I'm sure Anthony will appreciate getting his back. How did your visit to the station go?"
 
Garrett smiled warmly and leaned back in the chair he'd sat in, crossing one leg over. "Quite well. Some of the questions were difficult for Isaac to discuss, but he did his best and the police were more than willing to let him stay with Mr. Emerald. They even got a lawyer on the phone to write up a temporary adoption agreement."

He took a breath. "You see, we were unable to locate - or contact - any of Isaac's other family, if there were any others. So the adoption agreement says Mr. Emerald will have temporary custody over Isaac for thirty days. If none of his family members come to claim him before that time, the adoption will be permanent."

"And I'll get to sleep in a bed!" Isaac added happily. "Luca, when do you and Evelyn want to come over? Tomorrow?" Clearly, just having a stable home, food, and rest was enough to turn Isaac's personality fully around.
 
"Hmm, how interesting." Evelyn murmured quietly, deep in thought as Garrett spoke and doing her best not to make comparisons. She'd yet to have any luck locating Luca's family - but then, there was a part of her that didn't want to try very hard at it. If she found them, she could discover that they truly didn't want him back, or else run the risk of never seeing him again if they decided to take him in. Even though she knew it wasn't fair to him and she would have to try harder sooner or later, but neither option seemed favorable.

"Well, thats good that the adoption process worked out, at least." She said finally, smiling a little as Isaac spoke up. "Perhaps not tomorrow. We'll let you settle in a little and come see you later in the week, all right?" She didn't want to give him a definitive answer until she had thought it over some more, but didn't want to say no either.

"We can build with Legos?" Luca asked, curious and seeming pleased by Isaac's joy. He was happy that Isaac got to stay with Mr. Emerald. The boy seemed to like it there.

"We'll go and pick some up for you later on." Isaac would need some toys after all, along with clothes and bedding and many other things. It wouldn't hurt to bring him a few treats.
 
Isaac laughed again and shook his head. "I don't have any legos. But we can build with rocks and dirt and pretend they're legos!" he told Luca cheerfully. He wasn't too upset by the fact they wouldn't come over tomorrow; Mr. Emerald had promised to bake a cake with him to welcome him home, and he was very excited to help with that. "I'll see you all later, then, okay? Just call Mr. Emerald when you're coming over. I don't have a phone!"

Garrett laughed. "Mr. Emerald, is it all right if I share your phone number so Luca and Evelyn can use it?"

"Oh, certainly! Certainly," the older man replied.

"Thank you," Garrett told him, and he gave Evelyn the number. "Now, it seems as though Mr. Emerald can take things from here. Luca? Evelyn? Shall I come by your house so we can debrief the case together? It's not nearly as exciting as the case itself, but maybe you'd enjoy it anyway."
 
When Isaac said he didn't have any legos, Evelyn only just barely bit her tongue against the urge to say she would bring him some, even if she had half a mind to do so. Was that what she was becoming now? Someone who spoiled other people every time she felt bad for them? She supposed there were worse things to be. Gift-giving was a sort of love language, wasn't it? Perhaps that absolved her.

"Like sandcastles," Luca agreed with a thoughtful little nod, trying to picture how one might do something like that with dirt. It was probably possible, wasn't it? "Goodbye, Isaac."

Evelyn smiled a little at his attempts at good manners even though she wasn't sure if Isaac had actually walked away from the phone, and just idly emailed the phone number to herself so she wouldn't forget to save it in her own phone later on.

"I'd like to hear about it all the same," she said, thinking that talking over the case itself might give her Insight a chance to pick up on something of importance but not wanting to talk about it out loud. "We can order in for dinner, if you'd like." The topic wasn't very nice, but once they were done talking about the case itself it would be nice to spend a little time together. Luca's first therapy appointment was coming up quickly, so they could at least discuss that before she had to let Garrett go back to Anthony and the others.
 
"Marvelous," Garrett replied with a smile. "I'll be right over." And once he'd said his farewells to Isaac and Mr. Emerald, he made his way over to Evelyn and Luca's house, strolling up in a relaxed manner towards the front door. Then he rang the doorbell and patiently waited.

Once it was open, he smiled and held out Evelyn's phone. "Hello. I've got a phone for someone here," he teased lightly.

He knew it was important to go over the case and information. But first things first - he had to make sure Evelyn and especially Luca were in a good mental place to do so. "How are you both feeling? Do either of you need a hug?" he asked gently. "I know that was . . . quite a lot to take in. Perhaps we should sit down and have a drink of water before going into the case, eh?" Then his eyes sparkled. "Oh - I made a pit stop on the way over here."

He whistled, and Watson came tearing into the house, meowing and running straight to Luca's arms.
 
"Drive safe," Evelyn responded, and let Luca say goodbye before they hung up. While Garrett traveled she went back to sorting through her inbox, marking requests as worth pursuing or to be set aside as reference for a later date rather than acted upon. When the doorbell rang she set her tablet aside to go and answer it, smiling a little to herself when Luca got up to follow a moment later, when usually he would stay seated and wait. Still, he hovered a little ways away from the door, just waiting.

"I'm sure I sound like a technology-dependent millennial right now," Evelyn said as she accepted her phone from Garrett, a small smile on her face, "but thank god this is back. Thank you for retrieving it for me. I'll trade you for Anthony's, and pass on the hug, thank you. Please, come in."

Luca shifted forward a little, anxious in not knowing if it was okay to butt in yet, but blinked in surprise as Garrett's special guest came darting in. "Watson!" He said, quite still but excited as he crouched down and let the cat climb up his body, nuzzling gently against Watson as he was headbutted in greeting. They hadn't been apart long but he'd missed his furry friend.
 
Last edited:
Garrett nodded and stifled a chuckle. "I don't blame you," he said at last, strolling into the house after passing Evelyn her phone. "In our line of work, a phone is very important. Any way to communicate and store evidence can be."

His gaze softened when he watched Luca and Watson cuddling, and he sighed happily and sat down on a nearby couch. "Ah. Glad to see you both still enjoy each other's company."

Watson purred louder and rubbed his head across Luca's cheek, shoulder, face - wherever he could reach, he put his scent to mark Luca as his family. Finally he settled down in Luca's arms with his eyes closed.

Eventually, Garrett crossed one leg over and nodded. "All right. Well, shall we get started going over the case details? Or would you both rather we took a bit to relax first? Luckily the case is fairly straightforward, so it shouldn't take long, but it is a bit of a heavy case."
 
Evelyn considered saying that there may also be some faint traces of evidence in her personal cell phone that would imply the existence of the actually illegal things she'd done in the past, but even though they were friends it didn't seem like the best thing to tell a detective. Plausible deniability and all that.

"And all of my pictures." She said, with a little frown at the thought. "I need to back them up again." She had been taking more recently, after all, of Luca, and Garrett, and Anthony, and all of them together. She didn't want to lose them.

Luca made a soft, pleased little hum as Watson rubbed all over him, just letting the cat do as he pleased and once Watson was settled getting to his feet to sit by Garrett on the couch. Sitting with his friends and with Watson cradled in both arms, he felt warm and happy, even though he had an inkling of unpleasant things coming his way. Was it about Isaac and his parents? Was that the 'case' they were talking about?

"Relaxing can come after it's over," Evelyn decided with a little nod, settling into a chair with her phone in hand to idly inspect it for any signs of tampering. "Did the police know anything about what happened?" She couldn't imagine Garrett had gotten very far into investigating in such a short time. "I'd like to drop by the scene, if there's still things we need to discover. Presumably after so long the area has been released and cleaned."
 
Last edited:
"Ah, yes! Can't lose those," Garrett said fondly, smiling as he recalled the wholesome pictures Evelyn had been sending him of Luca - and the funny one with Luca holding a knife that had the caption "Pray for me."

He made himself more comfortable on the couch and patted Luca's shoulder gently. Then he pulled out a notebook and pen and began. "To start with, no. They had no idea a murder was even committed." He swallowed and took a breath. ". . . We did go to the site itself. Mr. Emerald distracted Isaac in the car while the rest of us investigated. Isaac's parents were invisible when they died, but - thanks to the smell, blood, and visible wounds, we did find them. Unfortunately we don't have a way to forcibly turn off the invisibility to properly identify them." He cleared his throat. "They gave me permission to return to the scene after, if I needed to. And if you'd like to go we can. Luca? If we go, would you like to wait in the car with Watson or come out with us?"
 
"I have most of them backed up," Evelyn reassured as they settled in, "but some of the newest ones I haven't." She didn't want to lose their memories before she could print them out and put them somewhere.

"Invisible…?" Evelyn's eyes were a little wide, and she sat with a thoughtful hand resting lightly against her chin. "No wonder no one knew. . . How is that possible." It wasn't really a question she expected an answer to, and after a pause she shook her head and moved on. "They've been collected and taken away, at least? You would think that ability in itself would be enough to identify them as his parents. . . I suppose I could swing by later on and see if I can get anything from the scene."

Luca blinked at Garrett for a moment when spoken to, surprised both by the story and by the question. He gave it some thought, considering for a few seconds before giving a little shrug. "I don't know. . . You can't see them." Strange that they were invisible even in death. Corpses he couldn't see wasn't a thing he had ever thought about. "But they smell bad."

It had been a long time since Isaac had been on his own, he thought. Even invisible, he imagined bodies always smelled like bodies. The smell of decay wasn't something he liked to remember. It was probably even worse without his helmet as a barrier. It was unpleasant, but he wasn't sure if it would make him feel the bad feelings now that he wasn't the one making the dead bodies, so he didn't know if he should hide in the car or come along.

Evelyn was frowning a little, both relieved and concerned by how easily he could speak of seeing or smelling dead bodies. She knew he had seen his fair share, over time, but she didn't know what it would do to him now. "Perhaps, to be safe. . . You can stay in the car for a little while."
 
Garrett nodded solemnly. "Yes. They've already been taken away, and a crime scene cleaner was already at the scene. I'm confident your skills will come in handy, Evelyn, but . . ." He pulled in a breath. "I don't know what sorts of information it may pull up. And while we do need to try and track down the murderer, there are other avenues we can try if you'd rather not use your Insight. We'd all understand."

Then he turned towards Luca and smiled gently. "If you get bored in the car or want to come out, we won't stop you, of course. And Watson can come with too. The crime scene is safe enough now with the murderer gone."

Watson rolled onto his stomach and began gently kneading Luca's legs, purring and keeping his eyes closed. He did like spending time with Anthony and the others, but Luca was absolutely his favorite person.
 
Evelyn frowned a little as she considered it, weighing the options. A cleaned crime scene wasn't one that would give new evidence, and the crime was old regardless, but there were a great many things about the scene she wouldn't want to see, if given the choice, she couldn't say Garrett was wrong about that. For now, she supposed, she would leave the investigation for those whose job it was to solve it, and only seek out gruesome images of murder for herself if she felt they weren't making any headway.

"Maybe nothing." She responded after a moment, knowing just how Insight could be a flood of information, or simply a drop of implication at a time. "Maybe too much. . . We should wait, then, perhaps. I don't mind coming with, if you're going, but I won't try very hard for now."

Luca looked down at Watson when he moved, scratching gently at the cat's back as paws kneaded at his legs. It made him feel better inside knowing that Watson liked to do it when he was happy and safe. "Okay. . . I'll stay with Watson." It would be okay to sit in the car and do nothing for a while. The windows were clear so it wouldn't be dark, and he would have Watson so he wouldn't be alone. That would be okay.

Evelyn offered him a small smile, proud of his progress and his desire to be good - though that in itself stemmed from behavioral issues that would take a long time to work through. "Thank you for being patient. We won't be too long." She would look around to see if any details jumped out at her without trying very hard to use her Insight, and if anything came to her without effort she would simply let it, attempting to let it go as she did all the things it gave her that she didn't wish to know. It was her own personal burden, and if she could use it to help someone in need she would.
 
Last edited:
The detective folded his arms behind his back and nodded. "I'd love having your company along, Evelyn. Thank you. And thank you, Luca, for your flexibility." He straightened his shoulders and headed to the door. "I'll go get the car started up. Whenever you three are ready, you can all meet me out there."

And with that, he strolled outside and started the engine of his car. Then he rolled the windows down, just in case Evelyn or Luca still felt a bit nervous about being in a car. He was confident that Watson being in the car would at least help Luca relax a bit more, but he wasn't sure about Evelyn. It was worth a try.

Once the trio got buckled into the car and Watson settled on Luca's lap, Garrett made his way to the crime scene. The police were already there examining the makeshift chalk outlines.

Evelyn would already be able to feel a heaviness hanging in the air. And depending what objects in the surroundings she chose to walk by, her Insight might give her different information. There was a tall dumpster up against a wall, a scattered group of papers held down by a brick, and an old backpack thrown carelessly by the side of the road.
 
"All right," Evelyn said as Garrett got to his feet, getting up to tidy up Luca's drawing supplies while he went to get the car started. "We'll be out in just a few."

While she cleaned up and set Luca's things aside on the coffee table where he could retrieve them later on, she sent him to get his shoes and jacket, letting Watson trail along at his feet until they were all ready to go. While he was gone she spent her time getting her own shoes, and reflecting on how much she hated having to actually psyche herself up to get into a car. She couldn't hesitate, not wanting Luca to find reason to be wary, himself, and the irrational flutter of anxiety in her chest was something she wished she could stomp out of existence. Self control had always been one of her greatest assets. Reactions that slipped through her careful grasp always made her frustrated.

With Watson in his arms and his two protectors with him, as well as a clear view of the entire back seat, Luca wasn't very worried in the car. It felt strange, still, finding out they were less safe than he had started to think they were, but it had only happened once and he liked having the windows cracked open to make a breeze as they drove. It wasn't so bad, having to wait in the car while they looked around, though at the sight of police he slumped down a little further in his seat, as if guilty or trying not to be seen.

"We'll be just outside and won't go far," Evelyn reassured as she unbuckled, reaching back to give his knee a gentle pat. "We'll keep the windows open, but if you need anything it's okay to get out. Just make sure Watson doesn't run off, okay?"

Luca only nodded, holding Watson a little tighter as if the cat would ever leave his side, and settled in to wait.

With a careful breath and soft sigh, Evelyn got out of the car, leaving her parasol behind with him so as not to draw attention to herself. She tried to just observe, not focusing on any particular thing and doing her best to keep the actual murder out of her thoughts, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling, knowing what had transpired only weeks ago. There were brief, drifting notions from the area around them, thankfully more about raccoons, stray cats, and average foot traffic than anything heinous just yet. For now, she hoped it would stay that way, and kept her eyes firmly away from the outlines of bodies no longer present.

"I'll let you talk to them." She said almost dismissively as she turned to look elsewhere, an uncharacteristic cold edge to her voice. She had no trouble with police and did appreciate the work they did, but she didn't appreciate how much information they could try to gather from a person and had no desire to speak with them. If she had her way she would get her information only through Garrett and not have to converse at all.
 
Garrett was a bit taken aback at the strange chill in Evelyn's voice. He'd almost never heard her talk that way. Had her Insight picked something up? Or maybe being near the police made her nervous? But he would ask her later. There was no reason to put her on the spot. He nodded and patted her shoulder, very briefly muting her powers. "Sure thing. I'll be over by them discussing things. Feel free to come get me or call me over if you need anything."

And with that, he strolled over to the police. There were two officers on duty; Kowalski, a pudgier man with slightly balding dark brown hair, and Tenant, a tall man with an angular jaw and cheek bones and deep set eyes. Garrett knew them both well.

"Detective Shiver," Kowalski greeted, tipping his hat with a smile. "You've got a tail or two on you."

"Hm? Oh. Yes. Not to worry, they're here to help on my account," Garrett promised. "What do we know so far?"

"Well . . . we know the lad's parents were stabbed to death," Kowalski said quietly. "But we didn't find the knife, unfortunately. We did get some shoe prints, though."

"That's a start."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back