Log:Six String Murder

The Lady in White 2021/10/13 Carpenter Grimm Celia Naila Massri 

After vanishing from Equity, Grimm appears in her living room at home. The smile fades and she sighs as she feels she no longer has to keep up appearances for Connor's sake. But she's not really fit to see Jack right away. She finishes her drink of scotch and leaves it on the kitchen counter before texting Jack. << Back finally. I'd really like to see you if you're free.>> It feels like much longer than just a few days. She even has to check her phone. Has it been almost a week since the Archmage's spell kidnapped her and they set about trying to track down Vagabond and set things right?

Carpenter replies back, << I'm at home right now. Watching a movie to relax. Shane. >>

Gabrielle feels a bit of guilt at the idea of interrupting his relaxing night with her needs. But just watching a movie quietly may be enough to help her adjust. She can't stop thinking of Vagabond's tale of what happened to her Jack. << I'll be there in a little bit. I need a shower after being busy all day.>>

Carpenter replies back, << See you soon. Missed you. >>

Gabrielle smiles softly. << Missed you, too. A lot. I just want to stay with you for a week straight.>> That brigthens her spirits. She's quick to go run off to take a shower and freshen up. And once she's out of the shower, she checks for any bruises she maybe should conceal with a bit of magic.

It's about 40 minutes after her text before Gabrielle teleports into Jack's apartment. She's keyed in to his general location, but she ends up manifesting with her back to him. The positioning just wasn't quite so accurate.

The movie is just about over by the time Grimm arrives. The kid is yelling 'Come back, Shane!'

Jack smiles and stands up from where he was seated on the couch. "Hey there." He's dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Typical lounging-around-the-apartment clothing for him.

Gabrielle spins about as she hears him behind her. She smiles at him like she hasn't seen him in months and rushes over, practically jumping into his arms as she goes in to hug him. She feels weightless, floating in air as she hugs him. "Mmmm. I missed you so much." She's dressed in a long, off-the-shoulder tunic band tee and black leggings with her Doc Marten's. Lounging-wear once she takes off the boots.

Carpenter hugs her and smiles. "Is everything okay? I know you've been busy, but you seem...different than normal?"

Gabrielle nestles her head at his neck and sighs. "It...was rough. And sad. The villainous version of me turned out to be a victim whose mind got twisted by an artifact she was tricked into using. She was an older version of me who lost...everything and everyone she'd never known." She sniffs. "She was still carrying her Night Marshal's gun, even though he died several years ago." She squeezes him a bit tighter. "Like I said. It was sad," she says a little more hoarsely.

Carpenter hugs her back. "I'm sorry to hear it." He considers saying something else, but his training makes him realize that sometimes, people just need comfort.

Gabrielle sniffles again and lets out a breath. "I know it's not you. And she wasn't me. But I still felt sorry for her. If anything...I think she was the good version of me before she got tricked and corrupted." Giving another squeeze, she finally pulls back to gaze into his eyes. She smiles faintly. "I guess...at least now, the damage she did has been mostly reversed. She has a path to redeem herself. And maybe found someone else to open up to and start over with."

Carpenter nods and smiles faintly. "So...not all negative, at least. That's good."

Gabrielle nods softly. "Not all negative. Except...I think I hurt my friend's feelings in the end. I really put my foot in my mouth there," she sighs. "I'm sorry for blathering. I just want to enjoy time with you. What've you been up to?"

Carpenter smiles. "It's okay. I don't mind listening. I've been...well, mostly working. But in my down time, mostly watching movies or sports."

Gabrielle smiles back. "No moonlighting excitement?"

Carpenter smiles. "Well, there's been a bit of that too. But I was including that in 'work'. It's not downtime."

Gabrielle chuckles. "Unpaid work is still work. I'm glad I didn't miss too much stuff while I was gone, but I know you can handle yourself." Just being with him has lifted her spirits. "I'd be happy to spend some downtime with you. Whether it's watching movies or...other things," she smiles, making 'other things' sound lascivious.

Carpenter grins. "I'm sure...we can do a bit of both. Would you like something to drink to start with?"

Gabrielle's smile grows. "I would -love- something to drink. Whatever you've got. Unless you want me to conjure something special?"

Carpenter shakes his head, "How about...we keep things a little more mundane tonight?" He smiles, and heads to the fridge. "Want wine? Or beer? I'm afraid those are your two options. Oh, and the wine is a Reisling."

Gabrielle smiles and watches his rear as he walks off to the kitchen. "I'll have the Reisling. That's really grown on me."

Carpenter nods, "Sounds good." He pours a couple of glasses of wine before coming back out to the living room. He offers her a glass and then takes a seat back down on the couch. "You know...the story you told me...made me think a bit. Do you want me to teach you to shoot? Or at least handle a pistol?"

Gabrielle sits down with him and kisses him on the cheek. "Thanks for the glass. Mundane sounds like what I need after all that use of power. Y'know. Get me centered and back down to earth," she smiles at him adoringly. She sips and looks interested at his suggestion. "Hmmm. You know, that sounds like a good idea. I've never handled a real gun before. After that kid Evan's suggestion of back up weapons, it may be good to know how to handle one in case I find myself powerless."

Carpenter nods. "Not that a regular standard-issue firearm will help against a meta. But you might want to consider the option. Adjustments can be made to firearms, after all. As I'm sure you've seen with my hardware."

"If I'm powerless, it would be better than nothing," Gabrielle says. "And they can still hurt some metas. The Judge proved that." She smiles at the mention of his hardware. "Yes. Your hardware's very impressive. Did you make those adjustments yourself?"

Carpenter shakes his head, "No, I had a friend help with that. Someone good with custom work. I can maintain the special pistols, but I can't really do it myself. That kind of thing requires a specialized shop."

Gabrielle leans gently against him as she starts winding down and relaxing. "Someone trustworthy with your secret?"

Carpenter nods. "The armor, I cobbled together myself. All of my gear was purchased from different sources. So, no way to get a single person who would know all of it." He shrugs, "The guy doesn't know the secret. I just told him I wanted it because I'm an old west buff, but wanted a modernized version."

Carpenter chuckles, "The custom work wasn't cheap, of course. Custom anything isn't cheap."

Gabrielle smiles and laughs softly. "You could call it an investment into the safety of the city."

Carpenter nods. "There are no markings on it that can be traced back to him, either. So, that would make it difficult to trace, even if someone got a hold of it."

"Mmmm. Of course. You know all the things to watch out for, after all," Gabrielle smiles. "The glider wings of yours are impressive. That and the climbing buildings was a major factor in my difficulty in coming to terms with the truth."

Carpenter chuckles. "The climbing stuff is just some modern cling grip gloves that some rock climbers used. Not the purists, of course."

Gabrielle laughs and brushes her hand over his chest. "Well, that certainly helps, but it takes a lot of muscle," she purrs. "And a lot of guts to jump off a building to test if you can fly," she chuckles. "It took me months...maybe a year to get used to flying."

Carpenter leans into her a little bit. "It just took some practice."

Gabrielle sips her wine and smiles, leaning in kind. "So how'd your first time go?"

Carpenter grins, "Fine. I was with an instructor out west. That's what prompted me to buy the wings for myself. You can rent them."

Gabrielle's eyes light up. "Really? Interesting. So what started as a vacation of adventure turned into inspiration. You're such a thrillseeker," she smiles, admiration and flirtation in her tone.

Carpenter smiles, "I'm not that much of a thrillseeker. Not really. But...I guess a bit."

Gabrielle nods and grins. "Mmm. A little bit," she agrees and leans to kiss his ear. "More than a little bit."

Carpenter smiles. "Alright...point taken. Certainly more than the average person."

Gabrielle smiles at that and sips her wine, finishing it and setting the glass down on the coffee table. On top of a coaster, no less. She might be becoming civilized. She reclines back on the sofa, nestling against him. "Maybe I'll have to plan a little adventure for our eventual vacation. So...how can I make being busy for the week up to you?"

Carpenter grins, "Just...being here does that, you know. You don't need to do something special." He puts an arm around Gabrielle, and he seems...pretty content.

Gabrielle smiles and snuggles in as she makes herself cozy, resting her head on his shoulder as her arm crosses over to hug him. She finally feels relaxes and content as well. "Mmmm, I know I don't -need- to. But I want to make sure you're taken care of. We could always break out the handcuffs later..." she says suggestively. Just as Carpenter's phone rings. Caller ID is Det. Harris.

Carpenter's ring tone is literally a simple sound clip of 'Dun, dun, DUN!', like an old movie. He sighs, looks at the phone, and he says, "It's Celia. I better take this. I'm sorry." He answers the phone, "Jack here. What's up, Celia?"

Gabrielle chuckles at the ring tone's timing, but then she realizes what it means. She nods and straigthens up so she's not leaning on him while he's dealing with work.

"Hey, just got a call from the precinct. It sounds like our revenge killer is back in town. A body was discovered and Landry wants us to head over to the crime scene," says Celia. It sounds like she's taking the stairs as she talks.

Carpenter sighs, "And here I thought I might have some time off. Alright...send me the address. I'll meet you there. I need to change."

"Yeah, so did I. I'm just heading to my car now. See you there, Partner. Hope you didn't just eat." Celia hangs up. A minute later, an address in the Artist Quarter is texted to him.

Gabrielle notes the sigh and follows it up with one of her own. "Duty calls?"

Carpenter sets the phone down, and he swears. "Well, Miss Grimm...up for coming along as a consultant?"

Gabrielle gently strokes his chest to soothe him as he swears. She offers him an understanding smile, managing a soft chuckle at being called Miss Grimm. "For you? Always," she says sweetly. "It wasn't exactly the way I was expecting to spend time with you after a long week," she teases.

Carpenter snorts, "Tell me about it. I'll be right back." He takes his glass of wine...and saran wraps it before putting it in the fridge. He then heads into the bedroom to change, coming back out a few minutes later, dressed basically like he usually does on the job.

Gabrielle is still seated on the couch, but when he steps out, she's magically changed her clothes already something more for work. Her leggings are now dark grey jeans, her tunic-tee is the same, and she's now wearing her leather jacket. There's a dusty lavender scarf wrapped around her neck for the cooler weather. She eyes him up and down and smiles seductively. "Looking good as always, Detective," she says, purring his title the way she always did, even before they shared having feelings for each other. She stands up now that he's ready.

Carpenter smiles. "Mmm....thank you. You're looking good as well there, doll." He chuckles quietly, and then says, "Care to do the honors to get us there? It's either that or we have to drive."

Gabrielle giggles softly at him calling her doll, striding over to him with a sway of her hips. "Sure. While sharing a ride with you is nice, this may save us some time so we can get back faster and make the most of what time we'll have left. Do you know what we're getting into?"

Carpenter shakes his head, "A revenge killer. I think it might be the ghostly woman? Celia did say that she 'hoped I haven't eaten'. So...might be gory."

Gabrielle sighs a little. "Well, I think that eliminates any sexy time when we get back," she says. "But I'll be happy just cuddling after." She steps over to his side and slides an arm around behind his back to prepare to take them. "Got the address so I know the general area we're going to?"

Carpenter nods, and he shows her the address. "We'll see how we're feeling later. More booze will likely be in order."

Gabrielle nods. "Well, I can get us stronger stuff if we need, or we can hit up a bar after and just shake off the case as best we can. It's not like we haven't been on a gruesome case together before," she comments as she reads the address. "Okay. Hang on." She has her serious game face on and darkness swirls up from the ground. It's a little cooler than the air in the apartment as it rises up around them with the sound of ominous whispers, causing Grimm's hair to flutter a little with a breeze before it swallows them and recedes. Now they're in a sidewalk in the Artist Quarter, about a block from the address. "Sorry. Close enough?" she smiles.

Carpenter nods, "Perfect, actually. We'll likely beat Celia there, even with walking a block. I'd like to wait for her to show up. I'll text her when we get there."

Gabrielle nods and slides her hand away from him. He's on the job now and she wants to keep things professional for his sake. "Thanks. Sounds good." They're in an industrial part of the Artist Quarter that was converted to a mix of commercial and residential. It's more gentrified here, so the former industrial buildings have been converted into more expensive condos. It's actually pretty swanky, with lots of fancy small gastropubs, bars, and boutiques. "Man, what happened to this place. It used to be a lot more....I dunno. Raw. Hidden dive bars and underground artist events," she laments as they start walking. The air is cool, but not cold. Mid to low 60's.

Carpenter shrugs, "There's still some of that, but...well, a lot of people liked the area. I'll take this kind of evolution as opposed to some other options." He smiles as he walks along with Grimm, "Thanks for coming along, by the way."

"Yeah, I mean better than crime. But it does price it out for the artists. Whoever the vic is, they did well for themselves, I guess," Gabrielle comments as they walk together. She looks to him and smiles back at him. Even though they're about to go to a murder scene. "Of course, but you don't have to thank me, Jack. I just like spending time with you." She shrugs. "Whether it's relaxing for the evening, going on a date, or accompanying you on a case involving a grizzly murder," she says with some dark humor.

Carpenter chuckles. "The prior two options are far better, admittedly." He shakes his head, "I wonder why Landry called us in on our time off. There are other detectives on duty right now.

"Definitely better. But I'm happy to be by your side even in the less pleasant situations," Gabrielle says softly. Find a girl who can do both? Gabrielle does a halfway decent job of keeping up with Jack even in cases involving murder and burnt bodies. "Did you do something to piss her off? Maybe she has a sixth sense of when you're about to enjoy yourself," she smirks. "Or maybe because you two were the last ones on this case? Or it's extra weird?"

Up ahead, the police have the squad cars parked in front of a condo complex. They're keeping a perimeter. CSI's van is already parked within the perimeter.

Carpenter nods. "I bet because it's still an open case, and in our hands." He walks up to the police line and shows his badge to them, "Detective Harris here yet?"

Grimm nods. "That's probably a good point." She stays near Jack's side so they know she's with him.

The officer nods to Carpenter. "Not yet, Detective." But speak of the devil, Carpenter can see Celia's car pulling up and she had a lead on him, and lives closer to this district.

Carpenter waits patiently for Celia to park and join them. "Hey there."

Celia walks over after ducking the police tape. "How'd you beat me?" she smirks. She's dressed in her work clothes, but her makeup and hair tells it's own tale. She must've been getting ready for a date when they got the call.

Carpenter smiles. "I...got some help getting here." He thumbs toward Grimm. "She's along to help consult."

Celia nods to Grimm. "This will probably be right up your alley, then, if this is our mystery killer again. Maybe you can sense something we can't."

Gabrielle nods politely to Celia. "I do have some ways of seeing things that others can't. I'll let you both know if there's anything weird or unusual." Other than herself.

Carpenter smiles. "Thanks. We didn't have much luck last time we ran into this killer, assuming it's the same person. Phasing through walls makes it difficult to chase someone."

Grimm nods. "I bet. That's difficult for anyone. I think I remember a little of the mention of this case, but are there any other details I need to know?" She plays a little dumb for legal (and other) reasons in front of Celia.

Carpenter picks up on why Grimm isn't relating a lot of details that she likely knows. He goes into a quick description of the prior killings, and the general theme. He then pauses, and says, "She does seem like she has an interest in an older pulp theme. We started to try to follow up on that, but it's too loose of a lead to get a real grasp on it."

Grimm nods. "Hmm. Doesn't sound familiar to me."

Celia sighs at the lead issues. "There's a few pulp metas in the city, but it's so niche, you'd think that'd narrow it down. Which makes us think it's a new player in town. Ready to go up?" she asks the last to Jack.

Carpenter nods. "All set. Let's head on in." He leads the way into the crime scene, heading upstairs.

It's a few flights up to the 4th (and top) floor. The interior is concrete; a leftover of its industrial origins, but the doors are residential style now. There's two cops standing watch outside one of the doors.

Carpenter takes a deep breath and nods to the two cops before he heads in. He knows he's still a bit 'on the outs' with the department after the internal affairs issue, so he doesn't try to make small talk.

It almost feels like the officer's eyes are on him once he's past them. Carpenter's crossed a line for some cops, and it definitely didn't do him any favors in the workplace. They step in through the entry way, past a kitchen on their left and straight ahead to a living room in this two bedroom condo. CSI is already here, and the police photographer is wrapping up taking pictures of the body sitting in a recliner chair. The back of the chair is facing the detectives, but they can see the top of the vic's short black hair, streaked with a bit of salt.

Grimm cringes before they've even laid eyes on the body. She can feel all the gruesome details.

Carpenter steels himself as he walks further in to take a look at the body.

Coming around the recliner chair, they see a man in his late thirties in dark slacks and dark buttoned up shirt, though the burgundy tie has been loosened. And another type of tie has been tightened. There's a steel wire wrapped around his neck cutting deep into the skin, leaving the front of him awash with dried blood. The look on his face is one of horror with his eyes rolled up. The weird part of the garroted victim is it looks self-inflicted. The wire's ends have wooden handles. His right hand is gripping the right handle, and his left hand is gripping the wire itself, which has bit into the skin on his fingers.

CSI's Naila Massri is fishing around in her case for something when she looks up. "Oh, hello, detectives."

Carpenter nods and waves, "Hello, Naila. So...who is the victim?"

Naila holds out a wallet while wearing her latex gloves. "James Valcone, 37. Driver's license was issued in New Jersey."

Carpenter pulls on some gloves before he takes a hold of the wallet and looks through it. "Prior targets were typically criminals who got off. So...we dealing with something similar here?"

Reading over the name again, it rings a bell. Jimmy Valcone. Alleged hit man working allegedly for the Cangelosis, whose favored weapon of choice was a garrote wire for his victims. He was on trial not that long ago. The star witness was killed in a terrible "accident" before they could testify, and Valcone walked free. And once again, the Cangelosi family came out clean as a whistle, legally speaking.

Carpenter thinks about it, and he relates what he remembers to the others. "It...makes sense that he'd be forced to use his own method against himself, given the revenge motive of the killer, assuming it's the same person."

Naila nods. "That's some revenge." She stands up and draws a line over the wound with her finger, not making contact. "The victim cut down to the bone. If they hand't lost consciousness, they may have tried severing their own head. The wound pattern indicates the deeper it went, the more ragged the cuts went. I'm guessing it was more frantic by then?"

Gabrielle frowns, staring up and off at the window. "Something supernatural was here. Not evil, though. It's hard to place. It's not something I've encountered before."

Carpenter nods to Naila, "He might have realized he was already dead at that point, and wanted to end it quicker?"

Naila purses her lips in thought. "Maybe. But the way he gripped the wire here," she points to where it's wrapped around his fingers and bit deep into the flesh. "It's odd that he gripped it like that. In another situation, I'd say it was a defensive wound."

Carpenter nods. "So, what do you think that means, assuming he was mind controlled into doing it? Or do you think the mind control wore off at some point?"

Naila thinks on it. "If it wore off, he may have tried to let go and stop whatever was happening. He'd be in pain and panicking when trying to grab it again?"

Gabrielle looks over. "Sometimes with mind control, someone can remain aware of what they're doing, but physically unable to control themselves. It...could be he fought it. And then the killer just compelled them again and then continued." Gabrielle takes a breath and holds it as she tries to get into the killer's head. "The idea is to make them suffer. But once you cut the carotid artery, you bleed out quick and lose consciousness in...10 to 20 seconds depending on how oxygenated the brain is. Maybe the killer was aware of this and tried to make the victim rush to cause as much pain and horror as possible before he bled out?"

Carpenter nods again slowly, and has to look away from the body. "Okay. So...I think that we likely have the same killer. That seems pretty damn obvious. I can't imagine that we have two mind controlling vigilantes using the same method in town."

Celia nods. "Not many mind controlling vigilantes. In fact, as far as I know, that list is...zero."

Carpenter chuckles. "Well, clearly, that is now 'one'." He holds up a finger, as a way of counting.

Celia chuckles darkly. "Okay, right. One unidentifiable one so far."

Aside from Grimm's confirmation that this killer is supernatural and some notes about mind control, there's very little else left to do with the crime scene of the (alleged) hitman. CSI is wrapping up with evidence and Naila says she'll let the detectives know when reports are in. Carpenter and Grimm parted ways with Celia, who is walking to her car now.

Gabrielle takes a breath. "That was...something." She's silent a moment, then looks to Jack. "Where to now, Detective?"

Carpenter lets out a long breath. "Probably need a drink, honestly. Though...I didn't realize the suspect was actually supernatural in some way. That's new. Do you know anything else? Like...can you tell if she's a ghost?"

"She's not a ghost. Or a vampire or anything like that. It's...something different. Familiar in a way. It's...like smelling something for the first time, where you don't quite know what it is," Gabrielle confirms, looking around to see what bars are in the area. There's a few. There's one called Bar Bohemian, and another called The Mermaid that looks like a tiki inspired bar. "Any of these, or some of bar we're used to? I need some time to think on what I sensed there. It felt...like there was enchantment involved."

Carpenter shrugs, "I'm good with any of these...or heading home, for that matter. But we should give you some time to think about the case, either way."

"I think I need something stronger than the Reisling," Gabrielle smiles faintly. "Let's go with Bar Bohemian. I'll think on if anything else comes to mind. They weren't using spells, either. So not a mage, wizard, or witch. What is it...?" she frowns. "It felt...old."

Carpenter tilts his head. "Fae?"

Grimm thinks about that as they walk over to the bar. The interior is brick-walled with wooden rafters, and has some room at the bar as well as tables. "Definitely not fae," she rubs her chin. She snaps her fingers. "You know what it reminds me of? Someone using an old artifact."

Carpenter nods. "Okay...so that makes some sense, I guess." He leads the way over to a table. "So...perhaps this...person, stumbled across an artifact. Something that allows the woman to lash out at those she feels got away with things. But...perhaps there's a spirit involved, too? One with a mind of its own?"

"Maybe. What can you tell me about your encounter with them?" Grimm asks as they make their way up to the bar. "Scotch? Whiskey?" she asks Jack.

Carpenter chuckles quietly as they end up heading to the bar instead of a table. "Let's go with bourbon this time." He thinks about it. "The encounter was short. She managed to escape, but...I seem to remember we managed to shoot her? I think she's not desolid all the time."

Grimm orders two bourbons and looks to Jack. "Hmmm. Maybe this artifact allows her to do that? I could try and research some artifacts that may have ghostly properties. I wonder...if this vengeful streak is from her, or the artifact. Artifacts can sometimes hold sway over people." As she well learned from Arkikar's circlet. The bourbons are served and Grimm taps her cred chip and picks up her glass. "Shall we head for that table you were eyeing?"

Carpenter nods. "Celia did shoot her. There was...something else, now that I think about it." He pulls out his PDA to check. "So, we were staking the place out. And we spotted her phasing in. We headed in and confronted her, and she...basically mind controlled him to try to throw himself out the window." He takes the drink...and leads back toward the table. Once there, he takes a seat and continues. "He said, 'I gotta pay for what I done', and he tried to throw himself out. I stopped him. Celia took a shot at the Lady when she was trying to escape. And...she reported that the woman's cloak moved to block the bullet, but only got it partially, and she was still hit."

Carpenter says, "But she did turn transparent and fled after that."

Carpenter says, "So...the mind control pushes guilt?"

Grimm follows close to Jack as they walk to the table, shoulder-to-shoulder. Close enough that she lightly brushes against him lightly. She takes a seat across from him. "The cloak moved?" her eyes light up a little. "That's...weird. My bet? That's the enchanted item. As for the mind control..hmm. Could be? I'll check that in my research. It maybe enhances guilt, or forces someone to feel it. With mind control, it's easier to...nuture a feeling or thought that's already there. It's much harder to make someone do something to harm themselves." She sips her drink.

Carpenter nods. "Well, she clearly did THAT. Multiple times. But the guy we saw clearly felt guilty. He confessed at the time. Not that it would stick, since it was coerced. But still...he did."

Grimm nods and thinks on that. "Yeah. It would mean that power of compulsion is pretty strong." She sighs and sips her drink. "Well...it seems she's stuck to a pattern. Which means we can trap her."

Carpenter nods. "We kind of predicted the last one, based on the person getting off on a technicality. But this new person...well, they weren't local. Nothing to predict. Nothing to grab onto.

Grimm holds up a finger. "Right...but were they let off a case out of town? Or...had they been in town a while? We know this vengeful ghost operates in Colonial Bay at least. So...next person who gets let off by someone like Franzetti, we either stake out or put into ...what, protective custody? And wait for this lady in white to show up to attempt their twisted sense of justice, and boom! Trap!"

Carpenter nods. "Worth a shot. It...mostly worked once, at least."