Re: That Creepy One with the Skin

[Cedahlia]

Bobby pulled off once everyone was sat in the car and had their seat belts on.

"Oh it's no problem, Jake was my only friend for the longest time. He was nice to me when I was the new kid at school." Hikari said honestly. Jake had been really sweet and she'd needed it.

[Cedahlia]

"That sounds like Jake," Nuala said with a smile. "He is such a sweetie. I was sorry when his family moved away but if he was able to make a friend for you then I won't feel so bad about it anymore." She sent a message to Beckie to let her know that they'd be dropping Hikari off and that they were following some leads. Good progress was being made and she was positive that Zack hadn't been the one to kill his girlfriend.

[Cedahlia]

"Oh thanks, I guess." Hikari said, not really knowing how else to respond to that. She didn't know how to people very well.

Drake just laughed. He didn't say anything else. Hikari had to learn on her own.

[Cedahlia]

"I'm sorry, I meant to say this yesterday but with everything I totally forgot. I love your jacket. You pull off the leather look way better than I was ever able to," Nuala said. Which was a genuine compliment. She loved the badass leather jacket and distressed jeans look but it didn't fit her at all.

[Cedahlia]

"Oh it's Drake's old one. They're super expensive." Hikari said which meant they didn't have the money to buy her clothes a lot of the time. Bra's had been long forgotten in this family. "But thank you, I think you could though."

[Cedahlia]

"Oh I tried but it really didn't work well at all," Nuala said with a laugh. "Family hand me downs can be pretty awesome though. This dress used to belong to my mother. I always like to wear something of hers. It helps me feel connected."

[Cedahlia]

"It's really pretty I like it. What happened to your mum?" Hikari asked, she didn't often get to talk to older girls. Or girls her own age.

[Cedahlia]

"Oh there's a fire at her dance studio. Something malfunctioned with the doors and she wasn't able to get out. I was very little when it happened," Nuala answered. She figured that Hikari didn't get to have very many friends. But the girl was so sweet. She wanted to make a friend of her. Hikari seemed like she was surrounded by boys all the time. Girls needed other girls.

[Cedahlia]

"My mum died in a fire when I was a baby too." Hikari said, meaning she knew how it felt. It was hard to not have a girl role model.

[Cedahlia]

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that," Nuala replied sincerely. "It's tough not having a mom around for all the important girl things. Dads just don't get it, right? I know my dad doesn't. He tries but he has a hard time connecting with me sometimes. But my Dad's ancient. So I guess I have to cut him some slack there."

[Cedahlia]

"At least your dad tries." Hikari said, because that was more than she had. Their dad wasn't ever around. "I ain't seen nothing but mines back since I was small."

"Hikari, you know it's difficult." Drake said, their story went beyond just that.

"Mmhm." Hikari said full of sass.

"Okay," Bobby said and pulled over before the kids got into a fight. "Text me every hour so I know where you are and everything, okay kid?"

"Okay, Bobby." Hikari said and got her stuff together. "Thanks for the talk, Nuala."

[Cedahlia]

"You're welcome, Hikari," Nuala said with a smile. She wondered what the story was with their dad though. Hikari was clearly not a fan of hers. But Drake had leaped to his defense right away. It made her curious but she wasn't sure it would be okay for her to ask. So she just stayed quiet.

[Cedahlia]

"See you later." Hikari said and climbed out of the car and shut the door. She was happy to bound up the steps and hang out with Jake.

Drake slunk in his seat. He could tell that Nuala was curious and he wasn't comfortable in front of Bobby.

"So the crime scene isn't far from here. Few minutes." Bobby said, changing the subject quickly.

[Cedahlia]

"Do you know who it was?" Nuala asked. She could tell from Drake's body language that he was not open to talking. Which was fine. She went with the change in subject easily. She hated that someone else had gotten hurt. No, killed. But maybe this time someone saw something. Or maybe she could figure things out. Her gifts were limited but they might come in handy.

[Cedahlia]

Bobby gave her the name of some girl in the area. "She's been living with her boyfriend for around three years and they've never had a domestic disturbance or a problem. That's all I know right now."

[Cedahlia]

Nuala sighed. She rolled down the window of the car just a crack and manipulated the wind outside. Once they pulled up she was able to send the light breeze into the house through the open window and use it to get a sense of what was inside. "It's the same setup," she said unhappily. "The girl is tied to a chair."

[Cedahlia]

"So it's definitely our shapeshifter." Drake said as he climbed out of the car and got the door for Nuala. He could be nice like that.

"Yes." Bobby said as he got out and waited for Nuala. He locked the doors and then went into the house.

"You should stay out here... Maybe see if the neighbours saw anything?" Drake said, a princess didn't need to see what was in there. Not in the flesh. Pictures was one thing.

[Cedahlia]

Nuala looked towards the house. She could smell the scent of the girl's blood. The wind carried it to her. "That's a good idea," she said. "I'll see what I can find from them and around the house." She took a capture sphere from her purse and set loose a little bird. It flew off to look around the area surrounding the house.

[Cedahlia]

"I'll come with you," Drake said he didn't need to go in there yet. Bobby would know better than him anyway. He'd learn later.

[Cedahlia]

"Okay," Nuala said, happy for the company. Plus he looked all official. She did not. Granted, most citizens knew what their future queen looked like. But they might not recognize her as easily in casual dress since in the capital she was always dressed like a princess. "Shall we start with them?" she asked of the people standing outside watching the police.

[Cedahlia]

"They seem a good a choice as any." Drake said, he walked over to them confidently. "Hello, my name is trainee special agent Drake Winchester," he said and flashed them his badge. "This is princess Nuala. We want to ask you some questions."

"Oh, okay. S-sure." the lady stuttered and looked at her husband.

[Cedahlia]

The husband looked at Drake. He seemed pretty young but he also looked official as well. On his own, he might have questioned Drake, but the young princess was easily recognizable once she'd been announced.

"We're so sorry to bother you but we could use your help," Nuala said sweetly.

"What questions do you have for us?" he asked, a little confused.

[Cedahlia]

"I'm sure you've heard what happened in there." Drake said getting straight to the point. "Were you home when the incident happened?" He said and got his notebook out.

"Yes. We generally stay home in the evenings." the old lady replied. They were too old to be doing young people stuff.

"Do you know the residents well?" Drake asked.

"Yes they're a lovely couple, aren't they honey? They never get into any trouble, they're not noisy or anything."

[Cedahlia]

"Never heard a thing from them that was fighting or anger," the older husband agreed with his wife. "But we heard what the police were saying happened. I can't believe it. He was such a nice man. Didn't seem the type at all to do that to his girl."

Nuala looked at Drake then. This was more than likely their shifter. But how to prove it?

[Cedahlia]

"Did you see anything odd last night?" Drake asked and when the old lady bit her lip he raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am, this is no time to feel guilty over being a busy neighbour. It's actually going to help."

"Well it was William's poker night with the boys, so he went out as usually. Only not two minutes after he left, he came walking back down the road as if he forgot something. He never comes back until after the games, you see. And what's even weirder is..." She paused and bit her lip.

"go on... "

"He did come back after the game. Around 10.30 and not a speck of blood on him. I wouldn't believe it of him in any life time, but something is odd. You saw it too, didn't you?" She said to her husband.

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