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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 27, 2008 2:20:37 GMT -5
Roland thought about this for a minute. "I'm rather more inclined to believe the latter," he said. "It's just a theory, but I can imagine Katie walking up to the scene, seeing something she shouldn't have, and getting killed for it. What other motivation would there be to kill a 15 year old girl? I think she saw the killer doing something here, and the person couldn't let her tell anyone. In addition, if her body was found here, they would surely investigate and find out what was going on here."
He looked over at the cave with a frown on his face. "I hate to say it, but I think we need to have a look inside."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 27, 2008 2:29:01 GMT -5
"I agree," Riley said simply. "We need to figure out what Katie knew that got her killed, if that is indeed the case. And hopefully, that will lead us to the killer."
She nodded, brushing her hands rather purposelessly on her robes. "Let's go in, then."
She wasn't worried what they would find, except the fear that maybe someone else had been killed and they didn't know yet. Otherwise, they could handle whatever it was.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 27, 2008 2:44:32 GMT -5
Even though he didn't particularly like Riley, his protective instincts kicked in. "I'll go first," he said, standing up and moving over to the mouth of the cave. "I'll let you know if it's safe to come in."
He didn't wait for her reply; he just lit his wand and started into the opening of the cave, ducking down to clear the low overhead of the cave.
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 27, 2008 2:56:06 GMT -5
Riley raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by his response. She half expected he'd want her to go in first, just on the off chance he might get rid of her.
She let him go first, but lit her wand and followed him. She could handle herself if the cave were dangerous, and what if he needed back up?
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 27, 2008 3:07:23 GMT -5
He was not surprised that she followed him, instead of waiting for him to give the word. He heard her movements behind him and shook his head. Turning his head to look at her, he flashed her a lopsided grin. "I thought I told you to wait," he remarked.
Shining his wand around the cave, he shrugged. "Not that it matters. There doesn't appear to be anything here." The cave didn't seem to stretch beyond the main chamber, and the cave walls seemed to be relatively smooth.
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 27, 2008 5:50:25 GMT -5
Riley would have bristled and probably cursed him for that remark, had that lopsided grin not been delievered with it. (Just because she thought these things didn't mean she would ever follow through).
She smirked back at him. "I would have thought you could have guessed that I don't take orders well."
She sighed when he reported that there was nothing there. "Okay. That leaves us with two options... the first is that the attacker removed it, so we should look for signs of anything having been tampered with, or we come back to them moving the body because of evidence. That still doesn't give us a motive."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 27, 2008 19:23:12 GMT -5
"Oh, I knew you weren't going to wait," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her. "I was actually surprised you didn't charge in ahead of me."
Roland quickly turned his attention back to the cave. He swept his lit wand in a slow motion around the cave, carefully scanning the area for any hint of a clue. "I'm still more inclined to believe the first option," he said after a few moments. "If the murderer has any intelligence at all, they would know that simply moving the body wasn't going to be enough to prevent people from looking around. It was always going to be obvious that the girl was killed in a different location than she was found. Sooner or later, someone would check these caves. A person who would kill a girl to protect a secret is someone who would be just paranoid enough to remove any evidence of that secret."
He sighed. "OK, I think we've found all we're going to find here. Let's go talk to Hagrid."
(Note: Er... Moody was going to take over Hagrid... but I guess I can do so temporarily...)
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 28, 2008 3:09:45 GMT -5
"You seemed so chivalrous when you told me to stay put, I couldn't bring myself not to at least let you in first." Besides, if something dangerous had been in here, she wanted him to get eaten first.
"You go ahead on out... I just want to make sure there was nothing we missed. There is obviously something important about this cave. Even if whatever was here is gone now, why *this* cave over the rest? That might give us some clue..."
Alas, there was nothing else to be found, and she sighed. "All right, let's go."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 28, 2008 3:58:55 GMT -5
Roland's lips quirked upward at her use of the word chivalrous. "Don't act so surprised," he said. "I can be a nice guy when I want to be."
He let it go at that, and when she began looking around the cave for one last look, he bent down and took a closer look at the cave floor. There was still nothing to be seen, so when she said she was ready to go, he stood up. "It is odd... there are larger caves in this area, that go deeper underground. This one really has nothing... I don't get it. Why this cave?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 28, 2008 4:13:40 GMT -5
"I don't know."
It was the second time Riley had said it today, and it was something she hated admitting. She was running through theories in her mind. Maybe Katie was just exploring, and just happened to be in front of this cave. What if the secret was about the attacker, and not something stowed in here? But that wouldn't explain why the body had been moved.
But Roland was right. This was a terrible cave to hide something in, so that theory didn't make sense either.
"There's some incredibly simple piece to this puzzle that we're missing. Let's talk to Hagrid. Maybe Aragog can shed some light on it for us."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 28, 2008 19:15:34 GMT -5
Roland's mind was turning as well. On the way out of the cave, he paused and stared up at the curtain of spiderwebs that blocked the entranceway. It had an insulating effect, blocking out some of the light from coming into the cave. The openness of the cave also had its benefits. It was not good for hiding objects, as he had originally surmised. But there was ample space for multiple people to fit inside.
"OK... what if this cave was being used as a meeting space?" he said. "Maybe it's more about hiding some kind of illicit activity. Like maybe death eaters were using this as a meeting location. It's just a thought... but if Katie overheard something... they wouldn't have hesitated to kill her to keep her quiet."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 28, 2008 20:24:54 GMT -5
Riley wasn't dismissing the idea, but it didn't seem to be foolproof either. "But if you're right about them surely knowing we would trace her back to the caves, why would they move her body? It would be easy enough to just leave her and find a new meeting place. They had to have needed *time.*" She shook her head.
"Time for what, though... they needed us distracted to give them time before we came here."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 28, 2008 22:52:39 GMT -5
Roland let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know," he said. "You know, maybe we're just overthinking it. Maybe the killer just panicked and moved the body without even thinking about it." He ran his hand through his hair. "Right now, all we have is speculation and we're just going to make ourselves crazy trying to come up with ideas. Let's just try to deal with what we've got... which is nothing."
He left the cave and started walking towards Hagrid's hut. "Let's just hope Hagrid can find out something from Aragog."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 28, 2008 23:05:21 GMT -5
"You read my mind," Riley replied softly, having just considered the possibility that there was no logic behind moving the body.
She wanted to think that through as well, though. "If that's the case, the death wasn't premeditated. No one followed Katie here with the intent to kill her. That's something to work with."
She nodded him forward, however, wanting to speak with Hagrid already. She wanted to squeeze in all the staff members today, if they could manage it.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 28, 2008 23:27:59 GMT -5
He cracked a smile. "I'll try not to do it again," he remarked, looking over his shoulder at her.
He kept walking, and soon they could see the clearing up ahead, where Hagrid's hut was.
"The thing is, if this wasn't premeditated, and was just a result of the killer panicking... that means he or she is likely to be a bit edgy, and more likely to slip up. That's pretty much our only advantage right now."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 28, 2008 23:39:22 GMT -5
"Yes, but we need to keep an eye on the collected ones, as well. On the outside chance that it was a death eater that killed her... they would have gotten themselves well under control by now."
She sighed, and gave Roland a look. "The theories help. It gives us places to look, at least."
She continued past him and was the first to Hagrid's door, so she knocked.
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Post by hagrid on Dec 29, 2008 0:00:28 GMT -5
Rubeus Hagrid had just set a pot of water on the fire to make tea, when he heard the knock on the door. "Hang on!" he called. He wiped his hands on his baggy, oversized robes, then moved over to the door, flinging it open wide. "Wha' can I do fer yeh?" he asked.
He looked at them a moment, then his eyes widened in recognition. "Roland Ferrera!" he said. "And Riley Neves... What're you two doin' back 'ere?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 29, 2008 0:08:02 GMT -5
Riley smiled warmly, her features softening when he greeted them.
"Hello, Hagrid. I wondered if you would remember us." He has recognized Roland first, and wondered if he had made it down to this hut more often than Riley did. In fact, she never actually came here, and just knew Hagrid from class. A class she had done very well in.
"We're here on behalf of the Auror's office, actually. We'd like to ask you a few questions... and a favor, perhaps. Do you have a moment?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 29, 2008 0:15:34 GMT -5
Roland smiled. It was almost a full smile. "Hello, Hagrid," he said. During his days at Hogwarts, Roland had indeed spent a lot of time talking with Hagrid. The gamekeeper's love of strange and magical creatures had fascinated Roland when he was younger, and he had even considered for a time working with dragons. But the pull of the family tradition had proven too strong for him to resist.
"Yes, actually, we're investigating Katie's murder," he said. "Do you mind if we come in for a bit?"
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Post by hagrid on Dec 29, 2008 0:20:40 GMT -5
Hagrid moved over to give both of them a big bear hug. "It's goo' ter see yeh ag'in, Roland," he said. "Yer brother an' sister stop by an' see me once in a while. Good kids."
At the mention of Katie, Hagrid's jovial expression sobered. He nodded and ushered them into the cabin. "Yeh, o' course," he said. "Come on in. I was jes' makin' a pot o' tea. Would yeh like some? It's a might cold out there."
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