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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 14:50:15 GMT -5
Riley let out a slow breath and looked at Roland, then nodded. "You're right. And he knows there's only so far we're actually allowed to push him. No one's being very forthcoming. I still think Black and Weaver know something."
She uncrossed her arms, knowing that she shouldn't let Rookwood get to her, but he really did. She imagined it wasn't just her, that he actually had quite an affinity for getting under people's skin.
"Where next, Roland?" she asked quietly.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 15:04:25 GMT -5
At times like this, Roland could almost pretend that they got along. For a moment, they actually were working together as a team, and he was surprised to realize that he actually kind of liked it. Not that he was about to admit that to her.
"Rookwood aside, I still think we're on the right track with this," he said. "I would like to talk to Wesley St. Clare. He obviously doesn't have any knowledge of Weaver, but he might have a bit of insight on Rookwood and the secrecy factor. We could also talk with Slughorn, if you wanted."
He let out a little chuckle as they began to walk. Looking sideways at her, he remarked, "By the way... I could practically hear you rolling your eyes at me in there. I know I was acting like a macho jerk.... I was only doing it because he made me nervous, too. You're not the only one."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 15:21:25 GMT -5
They were getting dead ends everywhere and it frustrated Riley, so when Roland said he had two more people that he wanted to talk to, she just nodded. "Yes, that sounds good to me. Although I don't know how much we'll get out of Slughorn, either. He won't want to upset the wrong people."
At least Westley St. Clare was nicer, and Riley could handle him.
At Roland's admission, she looked up at him, realizing how much taller than her he was. Half the time, she never noticed. It was just when they were closer than normal. "You know he gets a kick out of that power trip, too. And my God, you both were trying to out-manly the other. It was too much."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 15:46:41 GMT -5
Roland looked down at her, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Yeah, I know," he admitted. "I don't get intimidated easily, but when I do... well, I have to assert myself a little. It was stupid, but I wanted to try and at least get some measure of respect from the guy. I didn't like the way he was looking down at you and ignoring you completely. If he couldn't respect you, I wanted him to at least see me as a force to be reckoned with. I don't know how well I really did, but at least I didn't let him break me down."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 15:55:28 GMT -5
Riley quirked a smile and looked at him, suddenly piecing it together with the gentle tone he'd used when he asked if she was all right.
"Were you trying to protect me a little?" She asked, her smile getting wider. Quiet honestly, she was surprised that he hadn't tried to just feed her to the sharks. After her cruelty this morning, she couldn't have blamed him.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 16:06:04 GMT -5
Roland looked away from her, suddenly not quite able to meet her eyes. He couldn't quite explain why he had suddenly felt protective of her... but he had.
"A little," he confessed. "I have this thing... I don't like people who don't respect women. Whatever you might think of me, I do respect women. My mother taught me well. I didn't like him treating you like you didn't matter."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 16:23:26 GMT -5
Riley couldn't stop smiling. It was kind of cute, and made him seem like something of a little boy to her. Merlin, was it possible? A side of Roland that didn't frustrate her or make her angry?
"You know, Roland, you're making this so difficult on me." Her tone was already teasing him. "Just when I'm convinced that you're a complete barbarian, you go and show me you have a heart again. I hate when you make me like you."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 16:40:32 GMT -5
Roland couldn't help it. He smiled back at her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll try to be more of an arse. I wouldn't want you to get used to anything."
She was the most confusing person he'd ever known. Less than an hour ago, they'd been close to killing each other. And now they were laughing together. What was it about her that made him go through such dramatic mood swings?
She had a beautiful smile. He hadn't noticed that before. Had she smiled before? Or was she always too busy yelling at him?
He didn't allow himself to dwell on it. "Wesley's office is just down the hall from here," he said, breaking the spell.
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 16:53:44 GMT -5
Riley smiled, nodding. "Good. It would confuse me too much, this nice thing."
They walked a few more steps in silence before she said, "You know if it hadn't been in a business setting..." She trailed off, not really knowing why she felt like she needed to defend herself, but she did. "I mean, if we hadn't been trying to question him, I wouldn't have put up with it." She didn't let guys talk down to her. Roland got away with nothing, but she wanted to get what they could out of Roland, and that meant being quiet and dealing with it.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 17:09:01 GMT -5
Roland stopped walking and looked at her. "I know," he said. "You don't take any crap from me, why should you take it from him? You controlled yourself very well... but I'm not surprised. You have more self-control than I do. Look... don't worry about it, OK? It's over, and we survived. And no one went off on anyone else."
He almost reached out and touched her cheek, but quickly stuffed his hand in his pocket instead.
"I think you'll have a much easier time questioning Wesley," he said. "I met him once... he's a nice guy."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 18:55:37 GMT -5
Riley was sort of impressed that he wasn't holding what had just happened against her. She was impressed and incredibly thankful.
She nodded. "Thank you," she said softly, and let it go. They were just outside St. Clare's office by now. The door was open, so she knocked once on the doorframe and stepped inside.
"Mr. St. Clare?"
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Post by Wesley St. Clare on Jan 28, 2009 21:44:19 GMT -5
Wesley was grading papers in his office when he heard voices outside his door. He looked up to see a man and a woman, both of whom looked vaguely familiar. "Yes?" he said. "How may I help you?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 28, 2009 21:52:05 GMT -5
Riley smiled, trying to friendly. "I'm Riley Neves, this is my partner Roland Ferrera. We're Aurors... and if you have a moment, we would like to ask you a couple of questions."
Roland had taken the lead in the last couple of questionings, so she though she would try to here, though she knew Roland would know more specifically what to ask.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 28, 2009 23:15:06 GMT -5
Roland shook hands with Wesley before they all moved over to the desk and sat down. He was content, for the time being, to let Riley take the lead, for at least a few minutes. He felt like she needed to get her confidence back just a little, after dealing with Rookwood. Thinking of the man and the disdainful look he'd given Riley still infuriated Roland, but, like Riley, he had to shake it off.
"We met a few years ago, when I was just starting in the Ministry. Your wife was my first partner, and I learned a lot from her," Roland said.
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Post by Wesley St. Clare on Jan 29, 2009 0:23:14 GMT -5
Wesley's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, right... I knew you looked familiar. Olivia spoke very highly of you... she said you had a lot of promise, as long as you were patient. It's good to see you again, Roland. And Riley. It's a pleasure to meet you, too. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have... would you care for some tea? I could make us a pot, if you like."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 29, 2009 0:31:43 GMT -5
What a radically drastic change from the last man they had questioned, Riley thought.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said, politely turning down the tea. She couldn't help but cast a glance at Roland when Wesley mentioned being patient, but it was almost teasing him.
"We were wondering first, if you knew anything regarding Katie's death that might be useful," she asked... a question that was simple and quick and could be answered while he was getting tea, if he was going to.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 29, 2009 10:46:16 GMT -5
Roland caught the glance from Riley and almost smiled. Yes, he would admit, patience was not one of his strong suits, as he had displayed with her far too many times already. He imagined later she would tease him over that remark.
Addressing Wesley, he nodded slightly. "Thank you, it's good of you to say. I liked Olivia a lot, I was sorry to hear about what happened to her."
He also declined the tea, and sat back to let Riley begin the questions.
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Post by Wesley St. Clare on Jan 29, 2009 10:59:08 GMT -5
Wesley gave a grateful smile in response to Roland's comment. Olivia had been respected and admired by many people in the Ministry, and he very often received comments and condolences from people who knew her. He still missed her, but it did make him feel a little closer to her to hear people speak so highly of her.
He quickly turned his attention back to Riley as she asked her question. His eyes grew sad. "Yes... Poor Katie. Such a sweet girl... She reminded me of Sabrina."
Actually, Katie had been nothing like Sabrina. But she was a young girl cruelly murdered for no reason, and that reminded him of what had happened to his older daughter.
"I didn't know Katie very well," he said. "But you might want to talk to my daughter, Natalie. She... she sees things."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jan 29, 2009 13:31:26 GMT -5
Riley nodded, making a mental note to talk to the girl... maybe that was a lead. She wouldn't discount a seer. "We will talk to her, thank you," Riley said. She was quiet for just a second, then leaned forward a bit.
"We're following a possible lead, Mr. St. Clare, that might involve Augustus Rookwood. I understand that you've dealt with him in the past regarding Olivia's murder." Her tone was apologetic for bringing it up, but she left it at that, leaving it open for him to tell them whatever came to mind.
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Post by Wesley St. Clare on Jan 29, 2009 13:56:42 GMT -5
Wesley gave a sad smile. "Well... he wasn't involved in Olivia's death as far as I could see. But... he did have connections with both Erasmus Craven and Greta Weiss. Craven killed Olivia, we know that now... But Greta tried to kill me. She thought she had, in fact. I fell backwards towards the Veil... but I didn't go through. I hid there in the department for a while, you know... I overheard a lot of what went on behind closed doors. And I will tell you this: Rookwood may put a good face out to the world, and he might not openly harm anyone, but he cannot be trusted. He knows just how far he can go and still appear respectable."
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