Reporting A Crime

[Existentially Odd]

Continued from \'Ere we come a wanderin\'

Wilson opened the door to the guardhouse for her companion and ushered him through first, walking in afterwards. By the time she\'d got in and closed it behind them, one of the guards on duty had found his feet and approached the service counter with a querying smile upon his face. "C\'n I \'elp you, sire?" he asked.

"I\'ve got this one, James," Wilson told him kindly as she stepped up beside Joely and placed her hand once more on the back of his elbow.

At the sight of her, the guards - including the one that leapt to her feet behind her desk in the room beyond the counter - saluted and shouted out an enthusiastic, "Evening, Ma\'am!"

She smiled vaguely at them, dismissing their attentive behaviour with an offhand, "Evening all, at ease," and looked at Joely. She was obviously concerned with how he was feeling - and if there would be any visible damage, now that they were in the light. Her green eyes scanned his countenance closely, looking for blood or bruises that might be readying themselves to come to the surface, but she didn\'t mention her astute perusal. "Would you like to speak here or come up to my office?" she asked quietly, not intending for her guards to overhear (an unlikely occurrence anyway, since both had already returned to their work).

[Malkavian Riddler]

Joely had begun to lick his lips every couple of minutes, feeling rather dry-mouthed the closer they got to the guardhouse.  As they walked inside the building, he was aware of what he\'d started doing and didn\'t want the Captain to see what his mother called \'a nasty habit\' so he was pressing his lips together to stop himself.

When the question was asked of him, he immediately had an answer.

"Your office, please," he said quietly, for the guards intimidated him and at least by now he was beginning to feel a little better about the Captain herself.  After his response came, he went back to lip licking before remembering himself and pressing them together tightly as he followed the Captain to where her office was situated.

[Existentially Odd]

With a sympathetic nod, she led him around the counter to a set of stairs in the corner. She travelled up them with familiar ease, not thinking to see that her charge was alright to negotiate them unaided; she was more intent on reaching the man she knew would be sitting in her office at this moment.

She passed another office area, dominated by a set of desks pushed together (front to front so that those sitting at them would be able to converse as they sat at them) and walked ahead to an open doorway that seemed to be watching the work area. A hall passed beside the room it led to, on the right hand side. Leaning into her office, Wilson smiled at Lieutenant Frederickson. He appeared to be daydreaming while rocking in her chair - an impressive feat, considering it was quite a luxuriously stuffed and covered high-backed bit of furniture, with stocky, splayed legs. The wood parts were intricately carved, giving it an austere aspect... that her number one was obviously not intimidated by in the least.

"Hello there," she grinned, laughing outright when all four legs met the floor with a sudden, loud thump and he looked at her in startlement. It only took a moment before the expression melted into one of sheepish pleasure. "Quiet night, then?" she purred.

Freddy - as he was generally known - got to his feet and sauntered around the desk towards her. "Well, it was... until now," he grinned. He looked somewhat surprised when she cleared her throat and stepped aside to reveal Joely trailing after her.  His grin changed as he blinked at the farmer, becoming more professional and impersonal - though he wasn\'t mean about it.

"Well, not for Joely, here.  He was robbed on the paths in the Outer.  Mind if I use the office to take his statement?"

"It\'s your office," he chuckled and sidled past her, nodding respectfully to Joe on his way to sitting at one of the desks in the Lieutenant\'s area.

Wilson walked in, grasped the doorknob and waited for her charge to enter before closing it behind him. She grabbed a wooden chair from beside a bookcase and smiled, gesturing for him to sit on it as she placed it in front of her desk. "Sorry about that," she murmured as she sat in her own chair and began hunting down fresh paper and her nib. It had been quite some time since she\'d taken a statement; mentally, she was trying to remember what all the details she needed to note, were.  Once she had everything she needed, she smiled up at him again.  "Okay, can you repeat your name for me?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

"Joely Durum," he said once he\'d settled into the chair she\'d set up for him and nervously rubbing sweaty palms into his pants one at a time.  He was still clutching his rolled up tunic with his coins in it and didn\'t want to drop them onto the Captain\'s floor.  It wouldn\'t do to crawl around on his hands and knees picking up his earnings at her feet.  Again.

Blushing lightly at the memory of how they\'d met, his gaze wandered over the small office, taking in all the details from it.  He was surprised by it, yet didn\'t really know what he\'d been expecting.  He watched as the Captain made scratches upon the paper that was a recording of his words.  He had no idea how to read or write, so was once again intimidated by the woman before him, who had obvious status and education.

He gave her an uncomfortable smile when she looked his way again, fidgeting.

[Existentially Odd]

She had the grace not to ask him to spell it, realising that he probably wouldn\'t be able to - for if he was, then he would have done so already, in her experience. Asking him to repeat it was enough; she was able to guess at spellings. She busied herself filling out his occupation and place of residence based on what he\'d already shared, then the time and placement of the attack.  She looked up when she arrived at the \'particulars of the incident\' section.

"Alright Joely; I need you to tell me what happened in as much detail as you possibly can," she informed him gently, dipping her pen in the inkpot before offering him a reassuring smile. "I gather you were walking towards the front gates from the markets... ?" she prompted, to kick start his speech. Since she\'d met his eyes, she could see that he looked... nervous.  She hoped she wouldn\'t have to stray off the topic to counsel him, for she was keen to see that he was settled in a comfortable inn room - on her pleasure - within the hour.

[Malkavian Riddler]

"I\'d headed for the main gates on my own, but I must\'ve headed the wrong way  because I thought I was closer to the gates," he explained sheepishly.  "I... don\'t know what happened really.  I was on the ground before I knew I was off my feet and a blade held to my throat."

He paused here, remembering the cold steel and how confused and frightened he\'d been as it had pressed against his adam\'s apple.  He continued, though quieter.

"A woman, was atop me."  He flushed with embarrassment about how such a thing sounded, his eyes dropping from the captain in front of him to the edge of her desk.  "She said some mocking things before moving away to count what she\'d stole, not too far from where I lay."

He paused again, wondering what the captain would think of his next statement.  The pause grew to a pregnant silence.

[Existentially Odd]

Wilson noted Joely\'s initial comments in shorthand, finding them unnecessary as far as details went, but good background knowledge. When he mentioned the blade to his throat, she took more time writing his words, but found them too vague. She began to get an inkling as to why the story was being given shorthand when the woman was mentioned; she looked up just as his gaze slid away, the blush on his cheeks telling her the rest. The fact that such a strapping young man had been thrown onto his back by a woman no doubt had him feeling less than manly; it was such an outdated notion that Wilson often bristled at the mention of a woman\'s inferiority - especially physically - but the farmer\'s distress was not so insulting. He was an honest man, humiliated without warning and she could see that he was troubled by it.

"Can you tell me where you think she came from? Many a citizen has been ambushed when passing an alley - reportedly by a dark-haired woman, in fact - could she have been lying in wait there, do you suppose?" she asked as kindly as she could. She didn\'t want to give the man the impression that she was humouring him, for she spoke the truth; he wasn\'t the first that this woman had attacked. There was, however, only one other who had been able to locate where she\'d originated from... the \'many citizens\' was a slight exaggeration, to make him feel better.

[Malkavian Riddler]

He nodded at her prompts.  "Yes, I was passing the mouth of an alley.  Likely too close," he said in a tone that berated himself.  Not only ashamed of being bettered by a small woman in combat, he was also ashamed at his ignorant decisions made up to that moment.  He\'d been careless and he\'d paid a high price for it.  "She had dark hair," he agreed.

He glanced up at the Captain, respect in his eyes for her.  He obviously didn\'t have an issue with her as a female in authority, and would expect in combat to come second to her, for she was a trained guard.

"I... uh," he hesitated, wondering how to tell her of his next action.  "I went to tackle her away from my coins.  I was angry that she was not only stealing from me but also from my family."

He lowered his head, expecting to be lectured of the perils of taking matters into his own hands.

[Existentially Odd]

Having Joely\'s report corroborate previous evidence - as sketchy as it might be - lit a fire in Wilson\'s green eyes that was undeniable. She wrote triumphantly about him passing an alley and confirming the female had dark hair, waiting for him to elaborate on her other features... fruitlessly, it seemed. She frowned as he mentioned tackling the thief for coins. Although such details were relevant, he was skipping over the real items of importance, failing to set the scene correctly. She waved an impatient hand at the talk of his anger at his family\'s profits being lost, wanting to go back.

"Hold a moment, Joely," she said crisply, her expression intense as she waited for him to look up again. "Before we go on, I\'d like you to tell me in as much detail as possible what the woman looked like and what she wore.  Remember; everything you tell me will be helpful." Her nib was poised above the paper like a snake about to strike an oblivious mouse, her breathing bordering on fast, in her excitement.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Joely, not getting the lecture he expected, looked up at the Captain at her request with surprise, then wrung his tunic that held the roll of coins.

"Long dark hair, straight," he said.  "Tanned, like she\'s been outside a great deal."  After thinking about it a long moment, for the woman had been looking into his face while she mocked him before she\'d shown him mercy, he remembered the pools of her dark eyes, shining with triumph and intelligence.  "She\'s very pretty," he said after a moment, quietly.

He hoped the Captain didn\'t press him for more details, there was something in him that wanted to protect her for the mercy she\'d shown him.  He knew that mercy would not come from the captain of the guard, so perhaps it should come from him in the form of evasive detail.

[Existentially Odd]

Wilson wrote what extra she could, feeling her impatience growing as she only got minor details.  Taking a breath, she forced herself to remain calm, reminding herself that Joely had experienced something traumatic and that he wasn\'t able to process everything coherently.  He just needed some professional prompting.

With a smile, she did just that (as smoothly as she could manage).  "Now, Joely; you say she had long, straight hair - how long?  What style was she wearing it in?  If you were able to tell that her skin was tanned, you should be able to tell me exactly what shade of dark her hair was, too.  Brown or black?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

"It was long enough to be pulled back into a tail," Joely explained carefully.  It hadn\'t been in a tail but it was long enough to be so he was being honest.  His thoughts were in conflict, one consciousness screaming at him to not mislead the Captain of the Guard! and another reminding him that he\'d been shown half a mercy, it was only right to return the favour.  "In the light that was left, it looked black."

He hesitated for a moment before adding: "She wore a scarf over her face.  I couldn\'t tell if it was green or blue - it was more in between."  His gaze roamed the room for a similar colour but he failed to find a shade of turquoise that matched.

[Existentially Odd]

Disappointed to realise that a scarf was worn, Wilson frowned as she wrote that the hair was likely black and possibly past thieving shoulders, though worn pulled back... which still wasn\'t a lot to go on.  Especially since Joely neglected to say how far down the ponytail had reached.  That he wasn\'t certain about the scarf\'s colour made her doubt the question she asked next, but she couldn\'t avoid it.  She didn\'t bother looking up, busy noting that the scarf was probably green or blue - or a mix of the two - while she spoke.

"So I don\'t suppose you would be able to describe her eyes?  Their colour?  Their shape?  Her eyebrows?  Eyelashes?" she murmured, hoping against hope that he would be able to, and she\'d have a reason to keep writing - or even get an artist to make an impression based on his description.  They\'d done that before, when people were good at describing something they\'d seen.  She didn\'t get the feeling that the farmer sitting opposite her would turn out to be that sort of person, though.  "Her hair," she said as an afterthought, "was it perfectly straight or was there some curl in it anywhere? Perhaps some wave?"  She did look up then, with a frown.

[Malkavian Riddler]

"Straight," Joely replied without hesitation.  After a moment\'s pause, he answered the prior questions about her eyes.

"Her eyes are dark, with long lashes. Pretty." He cringed inwardly, it was the second time he\'d commented on her beauty he knew. He hoped the captain wouldn\'t pick up on that. Hurriely, he spoke again, hoping to divert attention.

"After she fought my tackle off, she threw half of my coins onto the ground for me to collect. That was where you came in," he told her, as though this part of the story was one she hadn\'t figured for herself.

[Existentially Odd]

Sensing that she would have better luck attempting to milk a chicken, Wilson detailed the thief\'s eyes as dark, long-lashed and pretty without pressing Joely for any more.

Because that\'s such a completely original description.  By Talon, I\'m surprised to hear \'pretty\' again!  Hrmph.

She wasn\'t quite sure why it angered her so; this notion that the thief was attractive.  It just seemed... unfair.  Was it not reasonable to assume that a woman in a powerful position - as Lam honestly suspected this wily creature to be - didn\'t deserve beauty to feather her arsenal?  Surely skill and power had it covered.  Beauty to boot seemed irrationally wrong to Wilson and she wished she hadn\'t heard her described thus before.  It only stoked her burning resentment.

It took a moment for her to swallow her burgeoning antipathy and process his words.  She blinked in accompaniment to her frown as she regarded him once more.  "Half your coins?  For you?  What do you mean?" she asked, nib suspended and forgotten as she tried to puzzle his words into making sense.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Joely realised by the Captain\'s reaction that he wasn\'t wrong to think that mercy had been shown.  It was an unusual event that had transpired between the thief and himself.  He didn\'t know what to make of it, but now that the Captain was asking about something Joely wanted to talk about, words poured forth from his mouth like a fisherman unveiling his net-catch after a good day.

"After I tackled her and she fought me with ease, so that I was no longer a threat, she asked for my name and knew I\'d given her a false one.  I thought she would be angry but she counted what she\'d taken from me and then tossed the rest in my direction, telling me to hurry or less merciful thieves might cross my path."  His eyes shone with excitement now that he\'d got over his initial fear and shyness.  "It was mercy, wasn\'t it?  She\'d felt guilty from stealing from me, didn\'t she?  There\'s hope for her."

And here was the reason said out loud why Joely was dragging his feet on the thiefs description.  Perhaps Wilson would see it in his face or hear it in his tone.  It depended on how well she could read Joely\'s personality type.

[Existentially Odd]

"Mercy?  Hope for her?" Wilson repeatedly hollowly, face screwed up as if she\'d just taken a sample from the sourest lemon in a box.  The thought of a thief showing mercy certainly left a bitter stain upon her soul - why would this woman have done such a thing?  It made no sense.  It also implied that she was not - as Lam had suspected - likely to be the head of an organisation dedicated to thieving (as was the current theory, based on past calculated, perfectly-executed simultaneous crimes committed within the keep\'s walls - implying corroboration and something grand afoot, like a clan of thieves).  No-one in charge of a prestigious endeavour - whether it be King of the Castle, head of the stables or primary chimney sweep - would permit the work they loved to be presented in anything but a sterling light; and a dominant thief would never concede anything.

"Don\'t fool yourself into thinking such things, she\'s still a thief; I don\'t know what reason there might have been for leaving you with half your earnings, but I doubt mercy had a lot to do with it.  Perhaps she had a paticularly lucrative day and didn\'t want to tempt Talon\'s wrath too greatly; perhaps she has family on a farm and was feeling particularly homesick; perhaps she just thought you were handsome and worthy of a tip.  I suppose..." Wilson broke off, her gaze sliding over her interviewee\'s shoulder thoughtfully, "that it could just be a trick.  So that you wouldn\'t speak up about being robbed.  A way of convincing people who seek no trouble, to avoid it further."

As the thought occurred to her and she mused out loud, a few connections were made about the way Joely had been speaking. Reluctantly, hesitantly... not always making eye contact with her.  Her eyes widened as she looked swiftly back at him.  Although she\'d pursued her own route to drawing the conclusion that he had mixed emotions about reporting this crime, it had finally dawned on her that perhaps Joely wasn\'t as confused or lacking the ability to take note of circumstances as she\'d been crediting him for.  Maybe it wasn\'t the thief who\'d shown mercy, but the man sitting opposite her.  Could she trust any of what he\'d told her, if that was the case?  Her mouth opened, but she couldn\'t quite fathom a way to broach the subject without directly accusing him - and she was loathe to admit to being duped so thoroughly - so she simply gaped at him, her green eyes and flabbergasted expression doing the job for her.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Joely\'s cheeks blushed furiously, giving him away, though his eyes were downcast at her last suggestion so he hadn\'t seen the connection being made in the captain\'s face.  He found himself staring at the roll of material in which his coins were rolled at the hem of his tunic.  Had she paid him off to keep silent?  Was that why she\'d done that?  As the Captain had said, there was always a reason why actions were made.

"She had exotic eyes," he admitted finally, after struggling with himself, ashamed for not speaking up further.  "Pinched upward, and even though it was dark, I could still see her skin was tan - a little more than mine."

He looked up now and found himself shrinking beneath the Captain\'s accusing stare.  He dropped his gaze again, unable to look the woman in the eye, now fearful that he would spend the night in a cell instead of in a tavern room, because he\'d tried to mislead her.  "I... sorry," he stammered.  "I\'m remembering more clearly now."

[Existentially Odd]

"I see," Wilson hissed sarcastically, amending her notes before she chose to speak again.  She supposed he could be trusted to tell the truth after a fashion - he was simply too foolish to see the extent to which he\'d been victimised that night.  \'Remembering things more clearly\' her horse\'s ass!  He\'d believed the woman had taken pity on him, so he\'d been attempting to do the same.  Like a bee to a flower had she drawn him under her spell.  Men; stupid enough to favour the exotic, dangerous wench over those that sought to help, how damnedly typical!

By the time she\'d finished scribbling, she was thinking a bit more clearly.  "Alright then, tell me about her clothing and then run through everything she said," she instructed icily, not quite accusing him of telling a lie about the scarf - but hinting that now would be the time to change his story about that too, if it was necessary.  "I suppose it will help if you tell me what actions were being performed while she spoke; exactly what she was doing to you."

[Malkavian Riddler]

"I..." he began, but instead of making more excuses he thought really hard about what he could remember, though everything had been rapid and blurry.

"It happened quickly," he told her, not sure if he\'d said that already, but deciding it would be best to go over it again.  "I was on my back as though my feet had been swept out from beneath me, and she was above me.  All I can remember about that was her knee on my chest, a blade at my throat and her eyes above her scarf."  He frowned.  "Straight black hair.  Dark eyes, maybe brown, but that\'s my best guess in the dark.  She was mocking me, and that lended to my anger along with seeing my earnings in her hand."  He shook his head.  "I... can\'t recall what it was exactly she said."

He looked up now, a guilty expression on his face.  "I did run at her, and that got me nothing but a winding.  She threw the coins at me after that.  I don\'t remember what she was wearing, but I don\'t think it was womanly."

His gaze dropped to the Captain\'s uniform and he lowered his eyes with a cringe, wondering if he would now be facing the woman\'s wrath for misleading her in the first place.  Would he be spending his night in an innkeep room or in a dungeon cell?

"Sorry," he said again, softly, resigned and ashamed of himself.

[Existentially Odd]

She wrote studiously, until everything he\'d said was on paper.  Reviewing it afterwards - not responding to his apology, nor refusing it - she realised what one thing had struck her while she took notes.  Perhaps there was still something unique to be salvaged from his bad luck; she could only hope.

"The dagger," she said suddenly, anger gone from her expression and voice non-committal as she looked up at him once more.  "Was there... anything interesting about it?  Markings?  Extra long blade?  Unusual colouring?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

He shook his head, then shrugged.  "I don\'t know, I was only aware of how sharp it was."

Eyes lifted to meet the Captain\'s face and she would see that tonight had impacted on him greatly.  His stare was one that obviously needed rest, his face drawn and his expression filled with tension and worry.

He looked more like an older boy than a young man.

[Existentially Odd]

She sighed, mulling over the information she had recorded, trying to find something within the words that she could pounce on, or turn into a decent lead but... there was nothing she was missing.  Not that she could tell at this moment - and not that she could define by looking into Joely\'s eyes, either.  He looked tired and she knew she was; for different reasons, it had been a long day for both of them.  And the sun had only been down an hour; perhaps they could make a better job of the night.

"How about we see about getting you that room and I buy you a drink, hmn?" she asked, glancing up at him as she replaced her pen and ink bottle, tidying the paper she\'d written on.  She left it on the desk, wanting Freddy to read over the recount and share his thoughts on the matter when she saw him next.  Also, she simply couldn\'t be bothered filing it at this point, and he would do her that favour.

Standing, she smoothed her clothing for something to do while she waited for him to agree or refuse.  She\'d offered the drink as a gesture of truce - to let him know that she held no grudge against his inability to add any information that would noticeably further her cause.  Also to show that she understood his willingness to have faith in a thief\'s mercy and be a little less willing to share everything; she trusted that he\'d rectified that impulse so... she wished to subtly communicate her approval.  She thought that The Scowling Boar Tavern would be a good place to settle their differences once and for all - and would provide him with a very comfortable bed at the city\'s expense.

[Malkavian Riddler]

Joely was floored by her offer, he looked up with an expression with nothing other than surprise cast upon it.  "Thank you, that would be an honour."  Wide eyed, the young farmer nodded, then looked down at his shirt.

"Is there a pouch or handkerchief that I might borrow or buy from the guard\'s resources?" he asked timidly.  He no longer wished to walk around with coins bunched up in his tunic, and was embarrassed at the prospect of going to an inn and drinking with one hand while his other clutched at his own shirt for reasons nobody save himself or the captain would understand.

[Existentially Odd]

"Ah, of course.  I\'ll be right back with one," she smiled and left the room.  She approached Freddy first.  He was aimlessly wiling away his time without an office by perching on the corner of a desk, one leg swinging slowly as he watched his fingers chase a few ants around its surface.  He was poking and prodding them, hemming the tiny insects off whenever they tried to get to the neat pile of crumbs he seemed to have dropped deliberately for picking up.  He was still idly chewing on whatever had been the main part of those morsels.

"Freddy," she began, her tone suggesting that she was approaching him with an offer or to beg a favour.  He looked casually up at her, not jumping to attention or shouting something obedient, merely raising an enquiring eyebrow, a suspicious smile lifting half of his mouth.  "Would you mind looking over the report I just took and seeing if there\'s anything in there that I could have missed?  Or anything at all helpful?" she asked, her manner that of a superior giving an easily-followed order, but her eyes dancing mischievously.  "And might I borrow your store room keys?"

Both of Freddy\'s eyebrows rose a notch.  "You\'re taking him into the store room?"

She gave him a withering look.  "No.  I\'m merely going to collect a money pouch for him to keep the remains of his earnings in, then we\'re going down to the \'Boar for a drink."  She held her hand out to take the key he\'d extracted from his pocket.  Unperturbed by her glare, he chuckled, telling her to have a good evening.  With a smile, she spun on her heel and headed for the room that lay down the hall a little - directly behind her office, in fact - intending to get a leather pouch and some coins to pay for Joely\'s room.  "I will," she assured him over her shoulder, her smug inflection certain to make him realise she was salting the wound of him having to work... while she \'played\'.

Had she looked back, she would have seen that Lieutenant Frederickson looked much less happy now.

Continued in \'Common Ground\'