Overture: Out of Towners

[Grey]

Thursday, September 3rd 2015, 12:08PM


It's a clear, chilly day. Sky like frozen lake, trees shivering in a breeze that'll likely be a hard wind by nightfall. And bring with it the clouds gathered to the east, no doubt. The townsfolk are subdued, the kids even moreso as school starts again. There's been no funeral for Abby yet.


The summer people have all but left, but a few city folk will either stick around or come up to see the leaves change. They're a little on edge, don't feel so welcome anymore.


Wilton Sheriff's Department


Sheriff Edmond is in his office, and you know better than to bother him. Staties are on their way, which is fine - you've worked with them once or twice before, and the Sheriff has no issue with them. But the Feds are also meant to show up today, and Jack Edmond's got a glower like a ragged mountainside; won't kill you if you don't try to climb it.


You're on lunch now, after spending the morning outside Doc Potters' where they're... they're keeping Abby on ice. Apparently one of the Feds is trained for autopsies. Afternoon shift'll have you on patrol, unless you're assigned to the visitors.


Approach To Wilton - MSP


You're about ten minutes out, now, on the road into Wilton.  Ten minutes, tops.  You'd've been here sooner but there was a minor mudslide aways back. Behind you is a black sedan because apparently some things never change. Will they have sunglasses, too? They caught up just after you shoved one big tree branch out of the road. 


You took a look at the crime scene about four days ago, when they hauled the body away. Plenty of prints, but it was a hiking trail, so that helps little. Some blood spatter, likely from the impact when the killer dropped her - the trail was in pretty frequent use, so you're confident she was murdered elsewhere. 


Sweeps of the forest to come, you expect, and a lot of questioning.


Approach To Wilton - FBI


There's a State Police car ahead of you. Which is good, because you were starting to wonder if you weren't just driving into a Halloween movie.


Wilton doesn't have the facilities for an autopsy, but apparently they're holding the body. Hopefully not in a meatlocker.


One of you is holding the file with all the reports thus far.

 

[Dwerth]

Frank Mosely
​

Frank curses lightly as he wraps his left hand with gauze and some hydrogen peroxide from the first aid kit in the cruiser. "Damn that tree branch.  I need to be more careful". Wincing, he ties off the gauze, tearing the material with his teeth.


Frank turns to the detective who is driving: "Lunch first, or shall we take a look at the kid?"


Mosely then neatly rolls the rest of the gauze tight, and places it back in the kit.

 

[Orikanyo]

James Green
​

 
​

James tapped the steering wheel, his fingers drumming to a tune playing on the radio. He almost didn't catch Frank's words as he drove, just mindlessly driving and waiting until they finally got to the small town. "Well, likely the feds will want at the body immediately, means we'll be in there to if anything to have somebody around so Jack won't blow a damn blood vessel. They got a report on the findings, still alot to look over yet. People to talk to, woods to scour. Typical small isolated town, most folk probably don't even think about leaving, much less anything going on in the outside world so likely we'll have to break through that shell if we want to get some words out of folks." James gave a few of his thoughts on the town and the situation. 


He did his research on the town abit beforehand, mud slide warning signs everywhere on the way in, woods all around. "Probably good hunting grounds around here. Could probably happen upon an old cabin or two in the woods." he commented on the wilderness around them, if woods meant anything, it was hidden treasures. Historical artifacts, old run down buildings just brimming with stories. The best finds would be things related to the old native people who lived around this area, those things are at best left marked on a map and not disturbed though, James wasn't to superstitious of a man but...


If he can get through his life without pissing off some great spirit of nature or the people who believe in it. That'd be for the best.


"What do you think about all this?"

 

[Dwerth]

Frank Mosely
​

Frank looks quietly out the window for a moment, gazing at something only he can see, gears churning over the situation.  What did he know about the death?  Not much as of yet, only that some poor girl met her Maker decades too soon.  That, and the fact that small towns hold secrets better than any bank could dream of holding bullion. 


Turning back to face the detective, Frank speaks: "For this to happen in such a small town, unless the case has solved itself by the time we get there, we are going to have a hell of a time finding the killer.  The way this looks to me, in Chicago this would have been a message, a statement.  And the recipient would have known who did it, and why.  In Maine?  People are the same everywhere, regardless of what they think of themselves.  The motives and means are different from place to place, but the monsters are the same."

 

[Vaneheart]

Trent Malloy
​

Trent was fidgety and restless with nervous excitement as he sat in a corner booth at Louise's Diner, waiting for his lunch order.  Truth be told, he wasn't all that hungry, but it gave him something to do, and he felt that he would probably be hungry later.  His mind was racing.  Not that many hours ago, he was almost literally playing bodyguard.  He hadn't actually seen the body directly, or been near it, but he was still told to keep people with unnecessary business from prying around at Doc Potters until the others arrived.  That wasn't the only unusual thing about this morning.  He thought, Not only are the state police on their way, but also the FBI.  Federal Agents, in Wilton.  Damn.  He let out a deep breath as his fingers drummed the tabletop.  Federal Agents.  The concept both excited and somewhat frightened him.  Trent had worked a little with the State Police, but never anyone from the Federal Government.  He felt that these were the kind of people that could, with only a word, have a man locked up and sent to Gitmo for any number of perceived crimes, true or not, or were the types that would burn your town to the ground fighting a cult.  Like that thing in Texas.  Modern day Inquisition.  All the moonshiners and meth-makers in Wilton have probably ran for the hills scared shitless as soon as the word got out.  Still, he felt that it would be one hell of an experience if he got a chance to work with Federal Agents, although he wished that it were under better circumstances.  If they'll even have me, he thought dejectedly.  With my record, I'll probably be on traffic duty until this whole thing is resolved.  I'm not exactly Columbo, not even Sam Spade, and certainly not a Phillip Marlowe.  Trent had been off of desk duty for less than a week.  He felt a little powerless as he considered that there were far better investigators in the small department than himself. Like Jane.  She would be a good fit for this detail.  Even so, he still wanted in on this case, not just for a chance to maybe redeem himself to Sheriff Edmond and the department, but because this case had hit him close to home.  He genuinely wanted justice, and wanted to contribute to the cause, any way he could.

Trent looked at his hands momentarily, and considered playing around on his phone, then thought better of it.  He also considered going outside for a moment to smoke, but he was worried that they might miss or forget his order if he left.  He reflected again on the situation, and found himself a bit powerless as events played out in his mind, and his thoughts strayed to dark places.  Abigail isn't that much older than Kaylene.  Hell, if Kaylene had lived here, and grown up here, they might have even been friends.  They definitely would have attended the same schools.  It could have just as easily been her on the slab in Doc Potters, or missing out in the woods.  He sighed.  He felt that this whole affair, with murder, missing people, and Federal Agents, was going to change his little town of Wilton forever.  After today, things will never be the same again.

He looked down at his empty coffee mug and frowned, then looked around the diner.  "Where's my lunch?  Must be moving slow today," he said out loud.

 

[Lenasaurus]

Eddie shuffles the folder back open, thumbing across the pages.  "I'm going to guess that the entire town is out of its mind right now." He rubs his eyes and shifts a little in the passenger seat, wishing he could stretch properly.   "Two people missing, one child's body, and a stranger who had a nervous breakdown?   ...and now us and the State are going to swoop down like avenging angels and make things even more confusing, yeah?"  He's been staring at that license plate for miles now, fiddling with the sunglasses hanging off his collar.  His tie is still undone, and top button open, while they've got the chance to be comfortable.  The last time, interdepartmental interaction was one of the easier parts.  He's pretty sure they aren't as welcomed in Wilton as they were for the bomb threat.

 

[Alexandra]

Diane


Call her moonchild/Dancing in the shallows of a river/Lovely moonchild/Dreaming in the shadow of the willow/



"That's one way of putting it," she responds, turning the music down enough for conversation.


"I don't like any of this. The information is so thin, we don't really know what we're walking into. The missing six-year-old is what I'm really trying to wrap my head around; she's been gone for five days. Why weren't we called in sooner?"

 

[Orikanyo]

James Green


"True enough. just a matter of seeing what breed of monster this is. A vengeful one? One with a head full of ideals? A deluded schizophrenic who thinks it's the only way to get the voices out of his head... Or maybe somebody caught a case of cabin fever out here... Worst type i think is one who digs up old grudges, deeming them worthy enough to kill over." James sighed and shook his head. "Whatever this turns out to be. We'll be the ones to see this to the end. It's our job and duty, to serve and protect. If these people are still out there. it's our job to find them and bring the one responsible for this to justice. This town is a sleepy one, this is probably the most of anything it's seen in awhile... Community would be rather tight knit." James thought about that for a moment, before adding.


"Or at least know each other well enough to see another person disappear. These disappearances must've rattled alot of people, and now the young woman Abigail turns up dead. the other two cases, Emily and Tony, both went missing by the lake... the Abigail girl turned up by the lake as well." James started to think on this abit more... Was the lake key to this? 


"These places are rich in history, when we get around we should investigate that lake more, it's history, if this has happened before, any significance it has. After we take a look at the poor girl of course... I haven't heard about the state the body was in. The guy who did find her, we should speak to him if we can as well. A gentle conversation, get what we can out of him, I heard hes rattled quite bad." James felt... good when he talked out what their objectives are, the lake connection was strong enough to warrant investigation. 


"...What do you think the feds will look like?"


@Dwerth

 

[Dwerth]

Frank Mosely
​

"None of those are the worst type.  The worst type is the true sociopath, the one who kills because it amuses him to see his victims suffer.  And it isn't the ones who he kills who he watches suffer.  The vilest monster will kill to watch his true victims suffer - the family of the one who he killed.  That family will never see their girl get married, have children of her own.  That is the monster most vile." Frank takes another drink out of the thermos tumbler properly stained with navy coffee.


"I agree that we should take a close look at the lake.  And across it as well - sound carries real well over still waters.  And feds will be feds.  Swooping down like some guardian angel to get the credit for solving the case, while we get dirty.  Just thinking of them makes me get a bit...snarky."

 

[Lenasaurus]

Eddie


"Denial?  People are more self-sufficient out here, they know their woods and their kids and their own trouble-makers, right?  So they figure it is one of the usual suspects - and I'll bet the locals have been running in circles, non-stop, for all five of those days, combing over what they thought this was going to be - and then they finally called us because it still isn't what the problem usually would have been."  He shakes his head and closes the file again, slapping it dismissively against the dashboard.  Maybe there'll be more answers the next time he opens it.  . 

 

[Alexandra]

Diane


She makes a noise of assent, and shifts down a gear as they approach a curve. The idea of three different law enforcement groups working the same case is almost enough to send her into a cold sweat; situations like this could devolve into dick-waving contests that stop a person from doing their goddamn job.


"I'm hoping it's denial; it'll be a lot easier to deal with than some kind of misplaced pride. I don't want to have to walk on eggshells the entire time we're here."

 

[Lenasaurus]

"Denial is good," Eddie agreed non-comittally as the Ford downshifted to better eat up the asphalt as it pursued the state troopers with confidence.  "But four days of it?"


Eddie turned and looked out the passenger window as treeline lightened and roadsigns advised that the next exit was, in fact, Wilton, Maine.


"I'd rather deal with eggshells than that kind of crazy. We'd might as well not be here at all if the police are so strung out they can 't tell the difference between us being 'competition' and part of the problem." He muttered at the glass, before using the reflection to button his collar and straighten his tie.

 

[CoyoteGhost]

Jane walked into Louise's, her expression serious and ever so slightly grim. The line was slow moving today and it gave her plenty of time to think over the up coming case. Which was something she wasn't sure she wanted to consider. Dead kids. Missing kids. She suppressed a shudder. Even if it was...unpleasant, she knew she still needed to think about it. She needed to get ready in case she was called upon for this case. Her hands flexed and worry creased her brow. 


Jane snapped out of her internal monologue when she was called out. "You planning on ordering something?" asked the kid behind the counter, looking somewhat annoyed that Jane had stood there silent for longer than expected.  She straightened up and looked the kid in the eye and gave him her order, wondering if she ought to glare at him for getting snippy with her, but decided to let it go. It didn't much matter at the moment. She took her ticket and looked around for somewhere to sit and spied Trent who already had a booth. While she wasn't terribly close to the man, it'd be good to be around someone who was in a similar situation as her. Hell, maybe they could even bitch about the high and mighty feds and Staties coming in to take over a case they knew nothing about. Of course, Jane and Trent knew nothing either, but that wasn't exactly the point.


She walked over to the man. "Hey, mind if I join you?" she asked, keeping her tone even as she slid into the booth with her fellow officer. "Hell of a day, isn't it?" she said with a sigh as she settled in to wait for a good while. Louise's never really moved above a glacial speed when it came to orders.

 

[Vaneheart]

Trent Malloy
​

Trent looked up from his hands and smiled at Jane.  "Go right ahead," he replied.  Truth be told, he felt glad to have some company, especially someone he could share his thoughts on the case with.  He suddenly wished that restaurants still allowed smoking. 

He briefly looked down at his empty coffee cup, wished that it was magically full, sighed, then looked at Jane.  He liked Jane.  While they had only worked a few cases together in his brief two years with the department, he knew that she was dependable and level-headed, with keen insight, and an intolerance for drama and bullshit.  She wasn't a wuss either.  He had also noted on more than one occasion, that she was quite nice to look at.

"Yeah, it's turning out to be one hell of a day."  Without waiting for a reply, Trent continued.  "So someone in this department, maybe even one of us, is going to be babysitting some Feds."  He grinned a little. "I doubt any of them have set foot outside a big city much.  This case will probably involve a lot of woods, trails, and mountains, which will be rough on a pair of desk-jockeys."  He briefly pictured a pair of accountant-looking types wearing suits, trying to hike up a trail into the woods.  It looked absurd.  He leaned back and crossed his arms.  "So I suppose our little department won't be totally useless to them.  Still..."  He frowned as he leaned forward, and said in a low tone, so his words wouldn't carry far, "I don't like this at all.  Abigail's body didn't show up for a good four months after she had been missing.  Now Emily Fontenot is missing out by the lake, and we have just as little to go on as before."  He sighed.  "I know Sheriff Edmond thinks that Tony Dagneau is our main suspect, that he is behind it somehow, but I don't know.  It just doesn't feel right.  This whole thing just doesn't feel right."  He thought, Two from a lake, one from her home, and now a body four months later.  Where had Abby been this whole time?  Was there a place out there, maybe a meth shack or cabin out there that we hadn't found?  Somewhere we just hadn't thought to check?  We are missing something big here.  He felt frustrated, which was in turn replaced by a feeling of self doubt, and the mental picture of Kaylene laying dead on the side of a trail filled his mind.

He quickly changed the subject, but kept the tone low.  "Two, possibly three disappearances, resulting in one body so far, and now State P.D. and the F.B.I.  That's a lot of drama for Wilton.  Wasn't the last major disappearance around here back in like...sixty three?" 

 

[Grey]

Police cruiser passes by the diner where Trent and Jane can see it go. Followed shortly by a black sedan - looks like a lady driving.



Frank & James


You pull up to the sheriff's office, which is part pre-fab and part former hunting goods store. 


There's a mousy little guy in uniform out front who might as well have 'yokel' tattooed across his forehead, waving and grinning.


"Well hey, Officers," he beams, "Deputy Scranton atcha service. D'you have a pleasant ride out here?"



Diane & Eddie


You arrive just behind the police - they're already getting out of their car, greeted by a local who looks all of two years out of highschool and never out of home. 

 

[Orikanyo]

James Green


"Well, the town ain't burning down, that a good start." james commented as they finally reached the town, the conversation was an enlightening as it was slightly tense, he was glad that they kept to their thoughts for abit before finally coming upon the town. Time to think, time to plan, the plan is what they needed to get down before the day was done. They had a few bullet points to look at already, that much was scheduled as they had already talked about it, but were the feds up to speed on this? Did they have the thoughts he did? 


But now it was time to go greet the welcoming committee, kid looked cheerful as hell for a guy who was likely investigating a murder not to long ago. In truth, he reminded james of a dog who just wanted to say hi to the new people that visits the house. "Good to meet you Deputy Scranton, I'm detective James Black, this is my partner Officer Frank Mosley. The ride in was fine, though a large tree branch seemed to have fallen into the road. We moved it out of the way awhile back so thats no further issue." James took a moment to look around the town before glancing back at the car behind their cruiser. If there was anyone within that vehicle, it'd be the federal agents. 


Nothing screams "were important" like a black car, may as well just paint it on the side of the car. Then again, a big group like that wouldn't be doing something if it didn't work so perhaps he should withhold judgement. 


For now atleast. 


He waited for Frank to go ahead his his introduction as James gave the black car a expectant look, waiting to them to get out and make themselves known. They had been following James' bumper for long enough, may as well see who it actually was. 

 

[Dwerth]

Frank Mosely
​

With a tip of his wide brimmed patrol hat, Frank began to shake the deputy's hand: "Deputy Scranton, good to meet you.  The ride out was better than some I have had, true enough.  I hate to rush, but how is the town handling this?  Has there been any other information gleaned while we were en route?  Time, well, time is of the essence at this point."


The Feds were here.  Already.  Stinking glory hounds.

 

[Lenasaurus]

Eddie


"Oh boy."


An ambiguous comment if ever there was one, once Diane applied pressure to the brakes and the car rolled to a halt, but it was the comment Eddie chose to make.


The Baltimore native was only vaguely aware that he's switched on that careful awareness that separated saints and hustlers from common folk.  Even before they were opening the car doors, he was looking at the crowd of unknown peers through his sunglasses, trying to get a feel for the audience, even while his face relaxed into the innocent, boyish handsomeness it had always relied on.


Definitely a tough crowd.


To start, Eddie clambered out quietly-enough and indulged in bending at the knees for one brief moment before straightening.  He smiled, an eyebrow lifting playfully over the lens of one of his sunglasses at the gaggle of other departments giving him the stink-eye.  Raised a hand in greeting.  His other hand kept their case file tucked against his breast.


"Hello officers," he greeted generally with a bob of his head before looking over at Frank and James. "I hope you didn't feel like we were tailing you that whole time." He added to the pair apologetically, before stepping away from the sinister black sedan.


The nice thing about Baltimore was that it was distinct from New York or Boston or San Francisco - you didn't develop the same kind of urbanity in your accent. Bal'm're had its 'hun's for the ladies and delicious goddamn crabcakes, hard-as-hell sports teams and it was your first real look at The South after the Acela Corridor ended, which meant when he relaxed and let the words flow, he could sound just enough like a good ol' boy to fit right in anywhere.


He wasn't going to put that to the test yet, but there was a hint of it here as he extended his hand to the sherrif's welcoming committee, locals first and then the state troops after.  "Agent Eddie Scoleri," and that was easy enough, 'Scoh-lair-ee' just as you please, "Good to meet y'all." And only God knew how that 'y'all' got in there, but soft and honest and salt of the earth, there it was with all respect and genuine good intention.


He's had tougher crowds. These guys were going to have to decide he and Diane were more than a pair of stuffed suits as quickly as possible if they were going to get things done.

 

[CoyoteGhost]

Jane Fisher
​

Jane nodded, her expression unreadable. "Yeah, '63 or thereabouts. Lot of commotion around that time too," she replied, her eyes tracking the police car and a black van. "Speaking of the commotion, looks like it's just arrived," she observed, tilting her head to indicate the passing cars. "Figure they'll mind if we change our orders to-go?" asked Jane, already beginning to stand up. She didn't seem to enjoy the idea of leaving the either the feds or the Staties in town alone. "I wanna see what the Feds look like. It'll be my first time workin' with em. I could even skip lunch for that," she said, glancing at Trent. "Game to show around a couple of these official types?" asked Jane, holding her hand out to pull Trent up.

 

[Vaneheart]

Trent Malloy
​

Trent glanced in the direction she indicated, finally noticing the passing cars.  He looked back and grinned up at Jane.  "Sure thing.  I'm game to show them around.  Can't let the others have all the fun."  He took her offered hand and pulled himself up, then steadied his dark brown Stetson hat on his head.  "Thanks.  I'll go pay up, grab my order, and meet you at the station.  See ya there!"  Trent pulled a ten dollar bill out of his pocket, right as his lunch was placed on the counter.  He briefly glanced at his wristwatch.  That's convenient.  Only took twenty-five minutes.  He quickly scooped up the lunch, left the ten dollar bill on the counter, and went out to his truck to head to the Sheriff's Department.

 

[Alexandra]

Diane Cooper


She busies herself in the glove compartment for a moment or two longer than necessary, giving Eddie time to exit the car first.

They only need to like one of us.

She punctuates her partner greeting the Sheriff with the car door, and goes to join him, nodding at the group assembled.
"Agent Diane Cooper," she says, extending a hand as introductions start.

 

[Grey]

"Aw jeez," Deputy Scranton frowns briefly, "old Jerry should've cleaned off any dee-tri-tus on the road this mornin'!"


But he grins again as he shakes James' hand, "sure is a pleasure to meet you though, Officer Black, Officer Mosely." 


He opens his mouth as if to continue when Eddie strides up, returns the handshake with a distinctly awestruck expression.


"Welcome to Wilton, Agent Scoleri- Oh, and you too A-agent Cooper. Deputy Bobby Scranton at your service."


He shuffles his feet, seemingly nervous at the growing crowd.  The relief is palpable when he sees Jane and Trent. 


"Why hey there, Trent! Jane! Come to meet our helpin' hands?" he beams. 

 

[Vaneheart]

Trent Malloy
​

Trent had just stepped out of his old red and white '86 Ford truck when Bobby called over to him.  He briefly considered bringing his lunch, but figured it would look bad if he did, and just left it on the passenger's seat as he shut the door.  He quickly straightened up his deputy uniform (being sure to brush off any crumbs), steadied his dark brown Stetson hat, then checked his old revolver to make sure it was still securely snapped in his side holster.  He tried to approach the group in what he thought was a confident manner, although inwardly he was quite intimidated by the assembled collective of experienced law enforcement professionals before him.  Nevertheless, he attempted to get a casual read on them as he got closer.  The two State Police officers seemed regular enough to Trent, both hard men in a thankless job, although one of them looked like he could be nearing retirement, and the other one was quite young in comparison.  Maybe an up and coming rookie paired with a vet?.  The Feds were a bit different.  He had never met an F.B.I. agent before.  He wasn't quite sure what he had expected, and had previously pictured lawyers, computer scientists, or accountants.  The first guy seemed pretty friendly, in a "I want to sell you this used car" sort of way, which was a surprise to Trent.  The woman he was with seemed like quite the ice-cold professional.  Trent couldn't read her at all.  They're like Mulder and Scully.  We must be in serious trouble.

He felt nervous.  Ok Trent, get ahold of yourself.  These aren't MCRD D.I.'s or the Taliban.  Try not to look like an asshole.  He attempted to stand in a confident manner, chin up, shoulders back, and gave Bobby a brief nod, then looked at the assembled group.  "Hi.  I'm Deputy Trent Malloy."  He tried to sound friendly, then grinned, and said "I'm glad to see that Bobby here hasn't scared you all off yet.  Welcome to Wilton, the best town in Aroostook County."

 

[Lenasaurus]

Eddie


Helping hands? Eddie sort of liked that.


"Takes more than a friendly face to scare us off.  It's a pleasure, gentlemen." Eddie tugged off his sunglasses in a very hurried way, as though trying not to make a big deal that he's had them on in the first place. Trent was anxious as all hell, and Eddie was glad he hadn't pushed harder or the two might have butted heads as they tried to make good impressions on each other.  He gave the man an appreciative smile and glanced over at his partner. "It looked like a nice place coming in. I had nothing to do from the passenger side but watch, but it looks like a good place already, tree branch or not."


He noticed Jane - as the more senior of the locals and the one due the most respect to put the natives at ease, showing her respect would help  assure Trent they weren't here to do spooky fed things.


"Ma'am." He nodded respectfully to Jane as they all acknowledged each other.  "We're looking forward to working with you all."

 

[Dwerth]

Frank Mosely
​

"Good day agents.  Getting out of the office for a change?"


Frank then turns back towards the local deputies, doing his best to ignore the agents, specifically the pretentious ice queen.


"Deputy Fisher, Deputy Malloy," Frank says as he shakes their hands in turn. "Good to meet you."
Speaking directly to Deputy Malloy "And Louise makes the best meatloaf in the state too.  You missed a couple crumbs."