Hazardous Times

[zephbutt]

Warren smiled as he looked across at Bluff. The fair skinned man with the cool Georgian accent. He seemed so out of place sometimes but then so much in control. He tasted the fine cold beverage and lavished the taste as Bluff finally replied. The older man couldn't help feel his lips quirk a bit and he attempted to hide it behind a handkerchief of silk. Then again he wasn't really trying to hide his amusement. He wondered what was the limit to make the younger man to be enraged and squirm. Warren would pay a lot of money to see that. The tan man leaned back and tilted his head at the other. "I know you to be a very thorough, which is why I enjoy working for you." he hummed as he pressed his lips together and kept one firm hand on his cane. "Though I also know for the news to report of a struggle of a recent murder with a video of your man screams sloppy. I wonder how much they will find this time." he hummed.

The Puerto Rican waited patiently and fiddled with his glass. "You know you're one of my favorite clients. You pay well and your jobs are always interesting." he hummed and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm always ready to take your calls since I am just a mere pawn to be played and nothing more." he said softly which was a lie. Warren played the game and the angles more then most and stirred up more bloodshed just to make more money off it. "It wasn't hard for me to move my schedule around for your needs." he told the other as he picked his glass up.

"So what service could I provide for you? You already know my rates and what I'm capable of." he told the other and drank down half of his champagne and then set the crystal back down. Already scoping out the size of the job. The Foxhound was always ready to make as much money as he could and Bluff was loaded. "But I have to ask since I'm genuinely curious. Why'd you get this lawyer bloke killed? Did he owe you money too?" he asked politely. Now Warren was scum but he knew better then to cross some people. He also love hoarding information. If not to sell then for his own morbid curiosity. Besides he already knew Bluff hired him. The informant knew of Harvey and his habits.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel was hard at work for the rest of the evening. His office was loaded down with the new files and paperwork to go through. Many of which he had to stop in the middle of once a witness came by. There he sat down with them and took down the time, what they saw, and questioned them for any detail they could remember. Even the smallest bit of information could be vital. Already he had seen two of the three witnesses. The first one was the elderly woman who had driven by the office. Saw the hit-man leave and was covered in blood. Though she claimed her eye sight wasn't any good Daniel still called for a sketch artist to sit down with her. Now they at least had a moment of time after the death happened. Once they get the autopsy report they could pinpoint how long Cowboy was there for when it came to questioning suspects alibi. While the older woman was with the other sketch artist he ordered some of the officers to do a block search and question the near by residence of any unusual activity. Then went back looking through the lawyers case files.

Many had to deal with fraudulent charges, and there were even some divorce papers. He wrote down everyone's names to send any able person to go by their residence to see where they were during the hours of the murder. It would help eliminate them and even possibly narrow down the suspects. He came across a lot of names even some well known. There was also an appointment book they needed to follow up that was kept on his PDA. Daniel might see through this one personally himself once he got a chance.

Soon the sketch artist came back with a drawn up sketch and Daniel took a good look at it and thanked the elderly woman as she was shown out. The sketch was good but nothing too knew. They at least had something to give to the reporters. The man was very Indian looking with his eyes and even slant nose under the bandanna. They would also include the estimated height and weight that they've gathered from previous cases and the surveillance. Daniel gave it to their secretary to fax it to the news station with the description and an offer to a thousand dollar reward on any relevant information. A bit of incentive to hopefully get some movement.

Then Daniel went back to pouring through the records. Once he was done with one box he sent it to forensics to be dusted for prints and then stored once they were processed. He was halfway through one box when his next witness came in. It was a young boy who was passing by when he heard the gunshots. He ran from the scene scared to do anything and only came forward cause he lived near by. The kid didn't have much to offer other then he saw a motorcycle parked near by in the alley. Seemed odd to him but he didn't stop to look at it. So he sat the kid down with some photo shots of all brands of motorcycles and spent two hours with him. The kid was nervous but Daniel did his best with him. He wasn't very good with kids. Sometimes he thought it was his stern face but he showed him pictures of his little girl and got him a soda and it seemed to help.

Though eventually he let the kid go, his mom was getting antsy and was starting to doubt what he saw. So he just gave him his card and told him to call in case he remembered or saw anything. They at least had it narrowed down to a model type and wrote it down in his notebook. It didn't help much but could be useful later. He sighed and finally was able to sit down for a moment to breath. Rubbing at his temple as a hunger headache hit him since he had been going without a break since he got the call. Time was essential and it was hard for him to even take this small breather when the desk in front of him was still piled with paperwork from the victims office.

 

[SurpySoup]

Taylor's day would proceed similar to Daniel's, once he gets back to the lab. He had to admit, there was more to look at than usual this time. It made things exciting. Even so early in the day, he knew he'd be busy... he'd have to send his roommate a message not to wait for him for dinner.

He had photos to analyze, security camera footage to go through, the items on the vic's person, finger prints from around the office, and his favorite... the blood data he collected from around the scene. So the lab team back at the office was in full swing, and one of the other members were performing the autopsy. Once they rule out the vic's DNA, it would make things a little easier. Or kill the trail completely, as it usually did.

======

Alice looked up when Harvey arrived. She smiled, though today he seemed different than usual. His energies weren't quite what she'd experienced from him before. She wasn't one to pry, but couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. She still smiled politely, nodding to the man's simple statement.

"Oh, yes. I have your shirt at the counter. It's already taken care of, so you just come with the other things and we'll handle those too," she replied.

Her phone chimed from the counter, and she looked over curiously. In a fluid step, she was scooping it back into her hand and looking at the I.D.

"Dr. Paraskevopoulos? Was there something else you needed? Your patient's already here for the shirt and a few other items." She couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why the good doctor was calling her for a second time. This seemed most unusual to her, but she'd never turn away a change. They always lead to the most interesting possibilities.

As she spoke on the phone, she couldn't help but watch Harvey with her eyes as he moved about the store, getting the other items he needed. He was careful. Injury? That might explain the change in his aura. Pain had an effect on things like that, for sure. Though while she considered these options, her attention still flitted around the conversation with Dr. Roxie.

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

James forced his smile to remain in place and he folded his hands in his lap as Warren tried poorly to hide his amusement. He never did like people to be amused by him but James wasn't about to let Warren see that mask crack. "I'll admit that the situation was sloppy but it wasn't my employee's fault. I never would have hired Harvey if he was green. He isn't new to this, so they shouldn't find too much. I should really let the two of you meet I think you'd like him" The Georgian's smile widened at the subtle threat he directed Warren's way, it was an empty one but it was there none the less.

His pale brows rose at Warren's next sentences. No one had ever acknowledged, let alone seemed aware of, their place as a pawn to James. Save for Harvey but James suspected that was due to the man's absolute indifference towards living coupled with his lack of drive to kill himself. Green eyes narrowed in response when the other man finished speaking. James didn't believe him for a minute. "Well I'm flattered that it was easy for you to drop everything for me." 'Like the dog you are.' He couldn't help the mean spirited thought that had followed his own words and waited quietly for the waiters that re-entered to serve them their food and leave again before answering Warren's curious, and invasive, question.

"I haven't had anyone killed by my own money in a while. I've actually only employed our dear Cowboy's services only once for my own personal gain. No the person that requested the lawyer's death was a client who heard rumours about my "additional services" through one of your agents I believe, I'm not entirely sure. A rich newly widowed woman, who was married to an up and coming politician. The man killed himself sadly, after having his name horribly slandered. A bit dramatic if you ask me, I think I heard about the incident in the news." James paused in his explanation and took a bite of the eggs benedict he had ordered. "Anyway," he dabbed at the corners of his mouth and resumed speaking after swallowing. "A little known fact, allegedly the source of the slander was the politician's good friend, a lawyer. You can see where this is going." James motioned waving boredly, taking another bite of his food.

He focused his attention back to Warren. "Now we get to why I need you so desperately, Mr. Alpha" Smirking at the implications in his words, James propped his head up on his hand. "That lawyer knew Harvey was coming. That's why the job was sloppy, our target knew and tried to defend himself. I need you to find out how he knew we were coming. If I'm being sabotaged I need to know from where and why."

 

[zephbutt]

Warren listened even as their food was delivered. Giving the other his full attention. He ate after Bluff took a few bites. He nodded as he chewed some of his egg. "Give me a list of names and I'll do some background checks and phone history. I can probably even see if your lawyer was warned through email or text too. If I can find how he was warned I can trace that back." He told the other as he was set into business mode. Doing more thinking then actually eating.

Warren remembered the suicide in the news. It was played off as a tragedy and stress from the politicians job. He would backtrack to his own worker to see if they had any info from the wife who hired Bluff. "Do you have any known enemies for me to look into as well. Any competitiors or past lovers?" He asked the other with a playful smile.

This job was going to need a lot of detail use of his resources. So he took out a pen and paper to write down his figures and slide it across the table. "That will be my charge. I'll start as soon as the first payment is deposited in my swiss account." He told the other as he took a bite of sausage. It was expensive and overprices but Warren knew he was worth every penny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel had lined up and gone through every detail possible. At the moment he had the lawyer's pda hooked up into the system for any deleted messages or calls. There were a lot. Especially between a recently passed politician. Daniel cross referenced the name to a file where he found a scandal written inside.

There was motivation to kill but the guy was dead. He would have to investigate that lead further. He was lucky that the lawyer did his messages through text and kept track of every client. He closed his case file and put the PDA back in it's ziplock bag. Daniel put all of the items back in storage. Locked away safely. He then went and to the forensics side with two cups of coffee. He needed to check and see how their process was going give him an idea at the length it could go and what to start with first.

Then he'd start to go and conversate with a lot of people. It was going to be a long day and night for him but the warm coffee was going to help him push through some of it.

 

[Rivix]

She tapped the side of her phone quickly and was pleased to hear Alice pick up. Her tone had changed from a moment ago to something a bit more cheery, "Hello Alice! I can already tell today is going to be a long day and I was wondering if you wanted to de-stress after our shifts end?" She nervously glanced to her patient room filling slowly, but surely.

"I am thinking Final Fantasy as a drinking game to it's dialogue." Her cheer spread at the mentioning of two of the very few joys in her life, JRPGs and drinking. She rather liked Alice's quirky nature, but she also enjoyed Alice as a companion, since both of them lost a family member who was close to them.

"Actually, there is a restaurant downtown that could be interesting to check out too. I'll let you pick, if you agree of course, but I'll need an answer quick."

 

[SurpySoup]

The shopkeep blinked at the doctor's quick answer. She didn't quite know what to do. It was unexpected and she was put on the spot. Her eyes wandered, following Harvey as he moved through the store, as though looking for her answers in the back of his head.

"How about we go to the restaurant first?" She suggested, "And then we can see if we have the energy for anything else."

That seemed like the best idea. It didn't rule out either activity. Her gaze shifted to the clock on the wall. Hours from now, of course. But it would be something to look forward to.

"I'll stop by your office once I finish closing up the shop this evening," she chimed, smiling. "Sound good?"

======

Taylor rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing as he sat back in his office chair. He was scribbling notes down, things he'd learned from the evidence. There was just one last thing they were waiting to process, and that was the blood from the scene. The autopsy was underway, and he'd be waiting for the results of that, too.

He looked up, blinking, when he saw someone enter the lab. Detective Daniel. Carrying cups of coffee.

"Detective. Can I help you with something?" Taylor asked, standing to intercept the man before anyone else had a chance to. "We were going to send all of our findings to you once it's all complete... Feeling impatient, or did you miss me that much?"

He chuckled, though his gaze did drift to the coffee cups curiously. The blond looked back up at Daniel, still smiling. He wouldn't pry more than that.

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

A pair of brown cargo pants and a couple of tank tops, one of which was a soft pink color that said Juicy across the front, made up his haul and he headed back towards the front of the store careful not bump into any shelving on the way. He paused and stared briefly at the boxes of incense upon a counter and grabbed one. Thanks to a recommendation from Alice a while back Harvey found that he rather liked the smell of "Fae Dreams" or whatever the name on the box said. In hindsight he probably wasn't supposed to be burning incense in his hotel room but he was renting out a room that allowed smoking so it counted, kind of.

Harvey placed his haul on the counter and waited for Alice to finish her call peeking into the bag she had placed upon it for him earlier that morning. Cats, he liked cats. He caught some of the conversation Alice was having with the town doctor and raised a thick brow curiously, deciding shortly after that it was none of his business, moving his gaze to examine the crystal's lined up under the glass display case he leaned on. He considered what he was going to do after he was done here. Pick up the prescription and then hopefully a comatose state for the rest of the day. He thought about the bottle of liquor in his mini fridge (Harvey couldn't remember what kind it was but what did that matter) and wondered how well the medicine would pair with it. Surely a little bit wouldn't hurt.

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

Laughter left James's throat bubbling like the champagne in Warren's glass, his aggravation forgotten. "Oh honey, if we're going to get into my past lovers, oh you'll be here all night writing them down. You and I both have things to do and I fear that may take a little too long." He lets his laughs die into soft chuckles as he took the paper slid across to him. "Ya prices have gone up Mr. Warren, lucky for you, you're worth every cent for now." He sat the paper to the side and reached into his suit jacket to retrieve his cellphone from the inner pocket.

"I would start with our dear widow if I were you, not that I'm trying to tell you how to do your job or anything." His thumb flicked over his phone screen a few more time and he slid the phone back inside his jacket. He moved his merry gaze back up to the man across from him. "The money's just been transferred into your account. As for me, I do have a rival or two but none that know about my side business endeavors. I usually handle all of the info pertaining to Harvey's work so my secretary shouldn't know anything either but you never know." James thought briefly, head tipped slightly backwards with his fingers tapping his chin, and shrugged after a moment. "That's really all I got for you."

James pushed away from the table and stood setting the napkin he had lain in his lap next to his finished plate. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. Oh and Mr. Warren?" James paused at the door and smiled over his shoulder at him. "Please do see if you can also find out all the information the police have on this case. I'll reward ya handsomely, with a bonus, if you do."

 

[zephbutt]

Daniel saw that there was only Taylor at the office. He glanced over to see if he was really the only one but their wasn't anyone else in the lab. He wondered if their division was just as wide spread as their department. With the cups of coffee in tow he placed one down for Taylor and sipped on the extra one himself. It wasn't black like he liked his own coffee since he didn't think anyone liked it. It was safe to put in two sugars and some creamer. "I was just checking up on on any progress. I'm going to go and visit some suspects and any details could help." he explained the to other. Daniel gave the other an apologetic smile knowing that it was short notice and that the forensics took time. Yet what time was what they needed. There never seemed enough time. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything. I know you'd send any findings by but I just had to swing by and make sure there weren't anything recently developed." he told the other as he went and sipped at the sweetened coffee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren continued to eat his food slowly as Bluff spoke. He smirked at that and looked back down at his plate. "Well we definitely don't have the time for that at all but if any names come to mind you have my number." he reminded the other as he chewed on a piece of fruit from his plate. Warren's sharp eyes would follow every movement the other made and was happy to know that the price was accepted. Their wasn't a good starting pointing but he tilted his head at the mention of the widow and nodded. "I'll go see her and find out if she made her lips slip." he told the other and thought about a plan of action for her. At the mention of a bonus Warren he felt a smile crack across his face. An easy added extra that was so easy to accomplish he wouldn't even have to break a sweat.

"Anything I get I'll send it directly to you." he promised the other as he finished off his glass. "The police force isn't as well locked up with their information as they like to think." he said grinning knowing full well he would get enjoyment from screwing with them. "Anything else you'd like from me?" he asked the other and fluttered his lashes at the other male. Very delicately he wiped at his lips with the napkin and smiled at the Georgian man.

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

"Nothing that would be appropriate for me to ask you for over a meal, let alone this early in the day." James offered a wink to Warren over his shoulder and turned leaving the room and let the door swing shut behind him. James headed towards the entrance pausing when the nervous host asked if he had enjoyed his meal. "Oh the meal was fine darlin, though my julep was a little lackin in the mint department." He smirked when the host began to stutter apologies and left with a dismissive wave of his hand, commenting for the meal to be placed on his tab on the way out.

The chauffeur stood waiting holding the back door open and James offered the man a smile before sliding in to his car, not bothering with the privacy screen this go round. His hand sought his phone again and James sent a quick text to his pretty little assistant. 'I had to leave early for a surprise meeting. I'm on my way back to the office to grab you now for the rest of the ones I have today, The schedule's already been updated to reflect this.' How long had Michael been employed for him now? Two years, he believed. James knew he had hired the man shortly after Harvey came into his employment and he was consistently impressed with Michael's professionalism even in the face of unique situations. It was why he had lasted so long as an assistant to James, that and the fact that James's had yet to convince the man to sleep with him, but he was working on that.

Legs crossed James turned his head to gaze out the window of the back seat as a thought occurred to him. The lawyer had called him around two weeks ago and a week before the widow had hired Harvey through Bluff. The dead man had called to be set up with some "company" for a banquet and James had obliged. It wasn't anything major, one call most likely buried under many others (what with the man's profession) that had nothing to due with his murder, but James couldn't help the amusement that bubbled in him at the irony of the situation. He glanced over as the car parked and the chauffeur got out of the car to wait for Michael after they arrived at the garage to Bluff Industries and mentally noted to have his assistant call Harvey at some point and tell him that James needed to speak with him. The irritation at the situation briefly resurfaced as he thought of Harvey and James thinned his lips, he needed another drink.

 

[colorfulcheshire]

Michael woke to the sound of his calendar app singing a cheery but obnoxious series of notification chimes, the sporadic notes too loud where he had accidentally left his phone on his bed near his face. Opening his eyes to his curtained-dimmed room, he rubbed at his face for a few moments before rolling over to grab his phone, pulling the dimmed, but still-too-bright, light close so that he could read without grabbing his glasses, wherever they had gotten to. James' hadn't said anything about potential changes when he dismissed the younger man the night before, but this wasn't anything Michael wasn't used to, which is exactly why he had set the sounds on his calendar to something grating that would catch his attention, whether conscious or not.

Huh. There were over five updates to Bluff's schedule, and opening the app, he saw it was because a later appointment had been moved up to just now, a time slot that had been free the night before when he passed out. Glancing over the other updates to familiarize himself with the changes, he was curious, but not too concerned about the changes. If he had been needed earlier, James would have called him to request his assistance, even on short notice. Besides, the appointment going on now was with Mr. Warren, who James often preferred to visit alone, and who asked too many questions, casual but prodding, of the quiet assistant whenever Michael was present for their meetings. Michael supposed it was the man's job, but it was his own job to not divulge anything James' wouldn't want him to.

Still, the next available time-slot had an appointment prepared, so it would probably be in his best interest to prepare for the day. Pushing himself up from bed, he found that even in his half-awake state, he had had enough mind to set his glasses on the night stand. Untangling himself from his blankets, he turned off his TV, which had returned to the Netflix menu during his sleep, and got up to start his day with a shower and coffee. He was halfway through breakfast when he received James' text, reading it over once before checking the schedule again just to make sure his mental map of the day was accurate. "[Thank you. I've made note of the updates. Is there anything that I should be aware of regarding the changes?]" He was certain that his employer would tell him what he needed during the car ride, but he liked having an idea of what he was getting himself into whenever plans changed. Finishing his breakfast, he dumped his dishes in the sink to be dealt with later and returned to his room to change into something suitable for the day, navy slacks with a matching blazer over a light pink button-up.

Once downstairs in the lobby, the secretary greeted him with a pleasant smile and friendly small talk, which Michael nodded along to in all the right places before excusing himself once she noted Mr. Bluff's car pulling into the garage on the cameras at her desk. Once in the garage, Michael offered a friendly nod and smile to chauffeur and then to James' as he approached. "How was your appointment, Mr. Bluff? I hope the change in schedule hasn't interfered too drastically with your plans for the day."

 

[SurpySoup]

Alice hummed, smiling brightly as her call ended. She set her phone down off to the side and her gaze settled on Harvey and the items he'd brought to the counter.

"Oh, good! I see you're enjoying the incense. It really helps, doesn't it? Opens your mind, clears your space..." she sighed, drifting off as her hands automatically began ringing up his purchase. "You should try some other scents some time. See if there are any that connect with you better. I like subtle scents. Lavender, things like that."

She stopped as the cash register chimed and all of the items now sat in bags. The total was displayed on the little screen, and she watched him expectantly.

"Maybe some soft music, too. I've always found that meditation and gentle tunes help accelerate the healing process." Even though she didn't know what kind of injury it was, she could tell he was hurt. Why else would he have visited the doctor so early before her office hours? She knew better than to pry, though. "Classical, perhaps. Or woodwind ensembles."

=======

Taylor accepted the other coffee and sipped at it thoughtfully. He wasn't alone in the office. Everyone else was just busy. He watched Daniel for a moment, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm waiting on a few results. They're doing the autopsy right now, and the blood we found at the scene is all being I.D.'d. I was compiling my findings when you'd come by. It's all pretty standard stuff. No prints besides the lawyer's... no biological signs besides the lawyer's..." he puffed out a breath. "I'd really hoped that with the fight, there would have been -something-."

He frowned into his coffee, then shrugged. "Well. We're doing the best we can. I'll send you a text when the results come in, if you'd like." He looked at his watch and then began to move back toward his little office. "I'd better get back. They should be coming up with something pretty soon. Good luck talking to suspects."

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

"What the hell is a woodwind?" Harvey asked eyebrow raised. The fingers that were rifling through his wallet paused briefly as he stared at the younger women before him. He wondered if it was obvious that he had been hurt or if Alice was just an observant person. He settled on observant, from what he could gather about the shopkeeper she seemed very empathic to the world around her so it made sense that she would notice something a bit off with one of her regulars. Hands resumed their task and Harvey withdrew the money he owed Alice setting it in her waiting hand quickly.

"The incense is nice. I'll try a new one whenever this runs out." He grabbed the bags from the counter and paused glancing at her, hesitating a moment. "I'll try out the stuff you mentioned." he lied shifting his weight to his good side. Meditation wasn't in his list of interest, unless meditating involved a cigarillo and a shot of hard liquor. "Thanks." he grunted towards her and quickly headed towards the door. Harvey exited the building without giving Alice a chance to respond to his departure and swung onto his bike. He had one stop left. Starting his bike Harvey departed towards the pharmacy intent on getting there and done quickly, the faster he got this over with the faster he could blackout in a self induced coma for a few hours.

 

[zephbutt]

Warren wave off James taking a mental note of their conversation and starting a few text messages to begin the process. Get his people working. Get someone on board to infiltrating the police departments system. It made it so easy to get their info with their shitty firewall and since they upload all their data there. He could then just email all of it directly to James. He hummed a bit as he worked and his glass refilled by a waiter. The plates taken away and table cleared except for his glass. Warren made a few calls too to see what rumors were circulating around the lawyers death. To see if there were any witnesses and if he could bribe them to call in false leads. Get those pigs running around into dead ends. Give him time to change some of the information or enough to make it cold. Then there was the person who tipped of the lawyer. That was going to be hard to find... especially if the police were involved too. He had to do this and avoid them from sniffing him out.

Once Warren had finished his calls and texts he stood up on his leg and used his cane to support himself. Casually he glanced down and saw the half drunk glass on the table and then slowly eyed the restaurant. Busy high class. Once James had left they had all but ignored Warren unless he demanded for them. He smirked and pushed the crystal champagne glass on the floor and broke it. Then with a smug smile looked as if it was an accident and shrugged. He limped his way out of the restaurant where his car was pulled around and got in. He had a few errands to run but he was definitely going to be visiting the widow today. If he could coerce her to keep her mouth shut or send her out of country. The police really shouldn't know about her dealings with James but he didn't want to risk her saying his name.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel nodded at Taylor's words and shrugged. "I know sometimes being in the lab things can be distracting. I'm going to head out and interrogate some suspects now." he told the other and rubbed the back of his neck. "Pkease text me or even call me." he told the other and gave him a wave. Then went to leave the station and get in one of the unmarked squad cars. He'd visit the lawyers wife and family first. Ask them some questions since your first instinct would be to believe the attacker came from a family member. Though this was a hired job one of them could have still done it. For money, revenge, or even hate. There were many reason to fuel someone to kill. This once likely had to do with money though. At least that wouldn't have surprised Daniel if it were the case since the lawyer had a lot of hands in money pots.

Still later he would go to other places, some of the people in his address book and clients that he was supposed to be meeting. Maybe arranged the lawyer to be killed of for some legal reason. Not as strong as the money lead but still a possibility. Then there was the recent dead politician. Daniel would visit his wife to see what her husbands relationship was with the lawyer. That seemed like a possible lead as well. Yet it seemed also like another dead end. Either way he had to explore every possibility
.

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

James offered a smile in the direction of Michael when he crawled into the car, eyes crinkling pleasantly. "Why hello there darlin." His legs uncrossed and James turned his body towards his assistant as the car started. "Oh it was. . . pleasant, enough." James answered with a vague wave of his hand as he thought of the meeting with Warren that had just ended. Pleasant was a decent enough description for the last half of the interaction, the first half of the meeting James had fantasized briefly about having the man beaten with his own cane but it had improved.

His gaze returned to Michael as he pulled himself from his thoughts. "Oh, my day has been completely turned around but I'll live, I believe, especially now that I have you helping me, but I do thank you for the concern." James considered the next meeting that they were headed to and realized that he was unsure of where exactly they were going. He pulled his schedule up and glanced it on his tablet, a frown marring his self perceived perfect features briefly.

The appointment scheduled next on his list was his accountant and James almost groaned in aggravation. That man was a dreadful visit if only because of how painfully dull James found him to be. Droning on and on for what seemed like hours as he told James concerns and information that in truth, despite it being James's money, James had deemed unnecessary for himself to know. Why else had he hired the man after all if not for him to have to be troubled with keeping the finances straight? He at the very least knew for a fact that he did not hire the man to pester him about how something he intended to invest money in would be unethical and other such nonsense, forcing James to have to humor the idiot with a smile.

He returned the table to his briefcase and glanced over at Michael as he remembered Harvey. "Oh hon, do go ahead and call Mr. Hazzard and let him know that I'll need to seem him later in the day, some time this evening most likely." James inspected his nails, pausing to flick some dirt from underneath them. "The useless lug is most likely unconscious already so just leave a voicemail for him, he'll get it."

 

[colorfulcheshire]

Michael nodded, a small polite, but understanding smile offered with the gesture. From the vague answer his boss had given him, it seemed Warren was as pushy as ever, probably digging for information that James didn't want to give, which was fair, considering the delicate situation the business man had himself in. James didn't like loose ends, and even if he was useful, Warren was certainly what Michael would call a loose end. Still, his boss seemed to be in a pleasant enough mood, so Michael saw no need to worry.

He made note of James' frown, and wondered briefly if the man had even noticed that he had scheduled is financial meeting directly after a visit with Warren, or if it was something that simply couldn't be helped on such a short notice. Still, it was early enough in the day that there could be a turn-around, and as long as he took minutes during the meetings, James was free to let his mind wander should he want.

"Oh?" Well that was a surprise. Michael hadn't expected another meeting with Harvey so soon, not with the disdain Bluff held for the hired man, but he wondered if perhaps that was the cause for the schedule change, as it certainly wasn't on the schedule the night before. "Yes sir, I'll leave a message; would you prefer the meeting before or after dinner?" He certainly wasn't going to schedule the man for a dinner appointment, not with Hazzard's complete disregard for proper attire. Not only did Michael shudder at the thought of dining with someone in hand-me-down rags in an upscale restaurant, but he didn't want to find out just how vindictive James would be toward the one who scheduled him to do just that. Even should he dine at home, Michael was well aware of the drop in James' mood whenever he met with the stoic man.

Even as he spoke, he had his phone's browser open, searching for any new articles pertaining to the man in question. Ah, yes, here it was, a story about his most recent job. The murder was attributed to the ridiculous alias the police had taken to using (really, though, it was fitting, as it was just as ridiculous as the hat he donned), but that wasn't uncommon, so unless there was suddenly another job for him, Michael wasn't sure why Bluff would want to speak to him so soon. Oh? 'Signs of a struggle.' Could that be the case? Michael had briefly heard of a time before when Harvey had grown sloppy, something that James had apparently taken care of quite quickly, whatever it was, so maybe this was something similar? He closed the private browser, making note to read the article in detail later should he need, and pulled up his contacts and the one simply labeled with a cigarette emoji. He first sent a text, simply saying that he was needed at the time indicated, and then made a quick phone call, leaving an equally vague voice mail saying the same and with instructions to delete both when he was done. Michael didn't enjoy feeling so paranoid, but should anything ever happen, he certainly didn't want to be the first link to the mass-killer. Even if the police couldn't convict him, he's certain his boss would take care of him. James didn't like loose ends, after all.

 

[Tarot]

[bg=#BFBFBF]

Ｊ ｏ ａ ｎ - Ａ ｎ ｄ ｒ ｅ ａ ｓ​

"I'm Joan Andres live at the crime scene where a body was found this morning. The victim was a local lawyer with high profile clients who was slaughtered this morning by the notorious Cowboy for Hire. Police were notified by the lawyer's secretary, Tina Flynn, came into his office this morning. The event had taken place right off of fourth avenue and was estimated at four thirty am. Police say there were signs of struggle. I will bring you more information as this case develops. I'm Joan Andres with channel seven news. Have a good day." When the camera was taken down Joan looked at her camera man and then to the building that was lined with yellow caution tape.

"How many more times is this man going to strike before they catch him." She asked Aaron before sighing. From her criminal justice classes and her time with the news station she knew that things didn't work like CSI or the other crime dramas on television but he had struck over twenty times. There were some killers that did get away with things, for example the Zodiac killer. More often than not, people tended to make mistake or miscalculate things so she was hoping that would happen soon.

"Let's go grab something to eat before we head back to the station."







[/bg]

 

[HolyFudgeBars]

The bed creaked underneath his weight as Harvey turned onto his back in the darkness of his motel room. With the curtains shut as tightly as possible the only light in the room was a digital clock that had never been reset after a power outage a few months back on the end table next to his head. His eyes stared hard at the red "12:00" violently flashing next to his beside table. The bed groaned it's protest a second time as Harvey righted himself on the mattress, wincing in the stale darkness as the stitches on his side flared in protest to the movements. His large hand ran through thick tangled locks, flinching a bit when he hit a small knot in his hair.

He felt like absolute shit.

Swinging his legs off the bed Harvey reached towards the end table, fingers quickly turning on the lamp he leaned away from the light abruptly flooding from the shade. An alert flashed itself over the screen on his phone that sat in between the lamp and the clock, charging, and he ignored it as he made his way towards the mini fridge across the room the microwave sat atop. The phone seemed to sense his feigned ignorance and vibrated out a reminder as he dug through the fridge his hand gripping around the neck of a bottle Southern Comfort.

The slight burn the liquid caused as he drank from the bottle was a relief for Harvey and he greedily swallowed down another mouthful enjoying the burn. The liquor found it's way to the corner of the desk as Harvey sat it down and he crossed into the bathroom taking a moment to relive himself as he thought the day's earlier events over. Getting stitched up was an annoyance, the thrift shop was fine but he would have still preferred to avoid it. getting the prescription went well enough but even still. As far as he was concerned the day had been pretty horrible but at the very least couldn't get much worse. Washing his hands after finishing Harvey finally made his way towards his phone, grabbing the bottle off the desk on the way, and sat on the edge of the creaky bed. Rough thumb moving across the glass, he unlocked his phone scowling when he realized who the missed call and voice mail were from. James's lackey.

A sting of low curses let Harvey's lips as he stood letting the voicemail play while he dressed, hand swiping a pair of fairly clean boxers from the ground followed by the shorts he was wearing earlier. Michael's prim and proper voice filtered through the phone's speaker, filling the room while he listened, and he tugged one of his plainer tank tops on, the message confirming what he already suspected. James wanted to see him.

The hotel room was locked up shortly after and he placed his straw hat upon his head as he climbed onto his bike. He glanced at his phone and noted the time, five the the evening, as he glanced in the direction of the sun starting to move towards the horizon. He sent a brief text to Michael merely stating that he would be there by six and started his bike, pulling into onto the road and heading towards Vegas.

 

[SurpySoup]

Taylor sighed, flopping back in his office chair. He rubbed his eyes in frustration and tossed the piece of paper in his hand onto the desk. He groaned as the eye rubbing turned into full on face scrubbing, then leaned forward to snatch his phone off the desk. His fingers of one hand moved quickly to unlock the phone and punch the speed dial for Detective Daniel, while the other continued to comically pull and rub at his face.

He wasn't expecting the other to pick up, figured he was busy with interviews. This was pretty important, though. Even if it wasn't the information he wanted to give. The phone rang through and voicemail kicked in. He'd just leave a message.

"Daniel? It's Taylor. The blood sample came back," he paused for a sigh as he picked the paper up. "There was a sample from the crime scene that didn't belong to the lawyer. We have an unknown at the scene, and my guess it's the suspect's."

He rubbed his eyes again, then concluded the call. 'That's all I have, there were no hits in the database, call me back, blahblahblah...' and he hung up and dropped the phone back on the desk. He yawned for a second, his eyes flitting up to the large clock on the wall. It was about time for him to go home. One more hour.

=====

Alice hummed as she stepped out the front door of her little shop. Her keys jingled loudly, not because she had a lot of keys, but because of the keychains she had. There seemed to be bells attached to the two keys she had. The door was locked with the noisy keys, and she turned to begin the walk home.

Her attention shifted as she heard a motorcycle to roaring by, and looked up in time to see Harvey heading out of town. She shrugged and continued to walk. Hopefully he was still taking it easy with that injury. It was none of her business, though. She had plans, anyway!

Her home was a few blocks down from the store, a quaint two bedroom her grandma had left her. She used the other key to unlock that door, and then slipped inside. She inhaled deeply once she was in her home space, and out of habit, began lighting a few scented candles as she made her way to ths bathroom. Time to freshen up and head out to the restaurant. Hopefully she'd get there in time. It'd be embarrassing to keep Roxie waiting.

 

[zephbutt]

Daniel rubbed at his eyes as he pulled his car to a stop and leaned back in the seat a bit. He had interviewed a dozen people today. No leads onto the deaths. Even the lawyer's wife had nothing. She was so distraught it was not fake. He spent three hours just trying to talk to her but everytime a sob would escape her with every question. Apparently some photos of the murder had leaked and she had seen them. It wasn't uncommon. Some reporters could be blood thirsty. Not all.

The other interviews were colleges and other people he had business with. No one knew anything other then he recently got into some money. Had been spending at the casino's and buying expensive items. A new car, and some artwork for relatives. Nothing that a lawyer couldn't afford but not all at once. It made Daniel suspicious and he had questioned the wife on it. She knew nothing of how they got the money other then some strange dealings. Leaving late at night or receiving secret phone calls. After working her down she admitted that some of their wealth did come from blackmailing others. She just kept out of that loop not wanting to know where the money came from as long as she got what she wanted. The usually rich drama you could find at Las Vegas.

With the last of his list crossed off on his notepad he sat outside of his last lead. The wealthy politician that he had been directed to. He showed up on a lot of the Lawyer's call history and after some phone calls at the bank he discovered that their were some huge withdraws from the politician's bank account. He had been dead though, for at least a week. It was huge news but he wondered if there was something more to it. It was obvious that the politician had become the lawyer's newest payday.

Daniel stepped out of his squad car and went through the iron gate to the house. It was strangely quiet at the house. There were no cars parked outside and nothing lavishing dressing up the front He walked up to the door and knocked waiting patiently. Soon enough a tired older woman came and answer the door. Her hair was pulled back to the side and she had many stray grey hairs. "Hello ah... How can I help you?" she asked obviously nervous as she looked around to see if he was alone. Daniel glanced inside the house. No furniture, no paintings, and it was warm inside. The house looked like it had been stripped of anything valuable but yet the woman still stayed in this empty mansion... alone. "Yes I wanted to ask you a few questions about your husbands dealings with a certain lawyer. I won't take a moment of your time, I just need to get a few things straight.... May I come inside."

The woman looked panicked and bit her lip. Her eyes darting about. Her breathing quicken. Daniel could see the worry and it made him suspicious. "No-no I'm sorry sir I can't do anything to help you." She quickly said and moved to close the heavy wooden door. Daniel moved fast and pushed the door a bit. "That would be a shame! I wouldn't want to have to go and get an arrest warrant. Have about 10 squad cars fly down your street and disturb your neighbors." he said which made her hesitate. That was all he needed. Granted he didn't reaaaally have any information that would get him a warrant. Nothing substantial. She didn't know that. So with some reluctance the widow opened the door and Daniel stepped inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~

Warren was going to have a very busy week. He was already in the works of accessing the police data. As soon as it finished complying then it would be emailed straight to Bluff. Whatever they had in their system he had access to it. The great thing about digital technology. It was all stored in one place and sometimes the wrong people have the right way to access it. He loved that his codes still worked. Sometimes systems get updated but people could be stupid when it came to passwords. They hardly deviate from what they are familiar with and if it did change. There were almost to many ways to pick from to get it.

While he was at it he contacted one of his people that gave the widow Bluff's number. Cleared something, got more information. Turned out after her husband died she sold everything she could to pay off Bluff. Except the house, something about pride. The woman was more bent on revenge after she found her husbands suicide note. Explaining that he was being blackmailed because he was committing fraud to fun his own campaign. She never realized how expensive it was and he never told her that they were actually suffering for money. She had just spent and spent until there was nothing, while he paid off the damned lawyer with everything he could until there was nothing.

His girl wouldn't have given her the name for nothing but warned Warren. She might acted tough but she was weak. A tough jaw but a quivering lip. He knew he needed to see her but it would have to wait. Bluff needed info more and that was an easy job to get that information. He sat in his warehouse in his underwear as the computer pulled the data files. He scanned through some of it and whistled at all the crime scene photos. Maybe he could sell some to a reporter he knew too. What the hell. He took some of those photo's and went ahead to give the reporter a taste. Then came the big information. What the science geeks found. Warren let out a whistle as the samples came up and laughed. "Oh man that's rich." he muttered as he crushed a beer can in his hand and tossed it to the side. He sent the email to James. Putting in some smiley faces for good measure. He could sort through all those files and reports. Warren did his job of getting it.

With that done he'd go visit the politician's wife. Get her to keep her mouth shut or threaten to cut out her tongue. That sort of thing. Warren got dressed and grabbed his keys. He'd drive himself today since it wasn't too far away. Though what he had expected when he drove up was a pigs car parked right outside her door. Warren had a good laugh with that. Probably a good 10 minutes of his sides bursting. So as quick as he could he took out his phone and took a snapchat picture to send to his good buddy James.