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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 15:42:11 GMT -5
Angelique nodded. She herself was barely holding on to control. She had rather liked Roland, and there had been a tiny part of her that had hoped that this would prove to be a mistake. But it was seeming rather unlikely.
"I'm not going to tell you it's going to be OK," Angelique said. "But I'm here for you." She looked around and spotted a trash can not far away. "If you're going to be sick, let's get you over there," she said.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 15:52:22 GMT -5
Riley just nodded and went to the trash can. She didn't wait for Angelique, though she suspected the woman would follow her.
She coughed a couple of time, and then threw up. There was nothing in her stomach to get rid of, but imaging that body... Roland... She threw up again, and then just stayed still. It hurt too much, knowing he wasn't coming back, and maybe if she had fought harder, she could have saved him.
"I want to give them my story, and then tell his family, so that I can go home, Angelique," she said, her voice desperate as she looked over to the two MLE officers.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 16:02:29 GMT -5
Angelique nodded. "Of course. I understand. We'll just wait a minute for them to finish talking to the muggle authorities, then you can tell them your story. They don't even really need full details yet... but we haven't even told them his name."
She should have. And yet, she couldn't quite bring herself to say it. It was all too upsetting.
There was one thing that bothered her, however. "Riley... you said you killed one of the attackers. It's odd that they haven't found his body... can you show me where that was?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 16:07:19 GMT -5
Riley rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't remember exactly where."
Merlin, it physically hurt... it hurt so much, a gripping pain in her chest to realize he was gone. She didn't know how much longer she could keep herself together.
"But he wasn't inside. He wouldn't have been burnt, and he was right out in the open," she said, gesturing vaguely towards the area where the trucks were. "The other two probably took him."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 16:23:21 GMT -5
"Maybe," Angelique said, but there was a tinge of doubt in her voice. Like everyone else, she really wanted to hold out hope that Roland wasn't really dead. "It just seems unlikely that death eaters would bother to pick up the body of their fallen comrade. They're not known for their loyalty."
She sighed again. "I honestly can't imagine what you're going through right now, but I have a lot of questions for you. Why don't we just have you give them a statement? I... well, it's traditional for the last person to see him alive should go to tell the family, but I can do it alone, if you don't think you can handle it."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 16:31:10 GMT -5
Riley just wanted to get it all over with. She knew she'd have to answer all of Angelique's questions, and tomorrow, when London woke up, she'd have more questions to answer. But she couldn't really look ahead into the future right now. She was lost and barely holding it together as it was.
"No, I should tell them. They'll want to know that he wasn't in any pain, and that he died like a hero... and I'm the only one that can tell them that. But please come with me. I'll tell them, but I can't face them alone. And I need to tell Lina. She's going to blame herself." Just like Riley was now blaming herself.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 18:41:04 GMT -5
Nodding to his brother, he turned back to the police officer. "Now, this case is ours. That's just the way it is, don't question it." Daniel looked sternly at the man. "So, leave the body with us. We'll have a team come in and take care of it. Just all of you go home and finish spending the New Year with your families." The officer looked like he was going to question Daniel, but he called off his men and they started to leave.
Turning away, he ran a hand over his face and sighed. It was going to be a very long morning. He started to walk back where Angelique was, bypassing the brunette reporter. He didn't have time to talk to anyone else.
Daniel reached Riley and stopped in front of her. "I'm going to need you to tell me what happened," he said. There was sorrow in his voice and he hated to make her re-live what happened, but this was business.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 18:47:51 GMT -5
Riley looked up as one of the officers joined them, and she nodded. "I know."
She looked at Angelique, and the carefully repeated her story, making sure to mention the Death Eater that was killed and now missing. It all came out in one, ragged breath, and she didn't even know that she would make it all of the way through.
When she was finished, she met his eyes. "Can I... can I go now?"
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 18:57:54 GMT -5
Daniel listened carefully and made a mental note of everything she said. He could tell that there was something there and that made his jaw clench. He was going to work twice as hard as he could.
"Yes. Of course you can go," said Daniel. "And thank you. Just get some rest, okay?" He gave her a faint friendly smile.
He looked to Angelique after Riley was gone. "The muggles are leaving. They think we're having a team come in. Anyway, Sean is checking out the body. If you would, could you identify the body for us? I didn't want the other woman to get upset again."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 19:05:04 GMT -5
Riley started to walk away, but realized that they were still talking to Angelique. She didn't trust herself to leave alone, or go to his family... so she walked back to the building the apparated to, and slid down the wall, hugging her legs to her body.
She just now realized how cold it was, or maybe it was just her. Once again, all she could do was wait.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 20:48:40 GMT -5
Angelique hesitated, but saw that Riley went back to the first building. Hopefully she would wait there for her. Turning back to Sean and Dan, she nodded. "I'll see if I can identify him," she said, her voice sounding utterly ravaged. And to think, just a little more than an hour ago, she had been sitting in her living room, sipping champagne and reading a romance novel.
"Take me to him."
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Post by Sean Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 20:58:45 GMT -5
Sean was with the body, after having made sure the muggle officers were gone. Frankly, there wasn't much of the body left to be identified, and he glanced up, looking for the other girl.
She wasn't coming. He had his reservations about Angelique even having to see, but it was part of her job.
He took a step back, allowing his brother and the Auror room. "There's nothing on him... no wand, no remnants of clothing."
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 21:07:19 GMT -5
Daniel led Angelique over to the body. He didn't really want her to see it either, but it was her job. He wished that he and Daniel could have just taken care of it themselves. However, after they finished Daniel was going to make sure that Angelique and the other girl left. There wasn't much else they could do. He and Sean would make sure the body got to the right place.
"We do appreciate you doing this," he said before they got to the body. After they reached Sean, Daniel took a glance down and a frown appeared. He hated that anyone had to go through that at all. He swallowed the huge lump that appeared in his throat. "Do you recognize him?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 21:11:46 GMT -5
Angelique took a shaky breath. This was not going to be easy. It was a lucky thing she had a strong stomach. She covered her mouth with her hand as she approached the body, but still, she nearly gagged. There was not much at all left... and what there was, she couldn't recognize.
"Oh, God..." she whispered.
Tears filled her eyes. There was no way she could be sure that this was Roland. But if it was, she hoped beyond all hope that he had been dead before this had happened to him.
"I don't know," she said, her voice shaking. "Body type looks to be similar... what's left... but I can't recogize much else. It really could be almost anyone."
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Post by Sean Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 21:15:48 GMT -5
Sean nodded and quickly guided Angelique away. He had assumed as much. "We're going to take care of this, I assure you. We'll take the body to St. Mungo's and try to identify it... and we'll let you know. Thank you for bringing us down here, and again, I am so sorry for your loss."
He glanced at Dan and took a deep breath. "Will you two be all right getting back?"
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 21:21:36 GMT -5
"Thank you Ms. St. Claire," he said. "We'll see what else we can find around here, alright? If we find anything of interest we'll let you know. Sean and I will be here until we've searched everything, I promise you that." Daniel looked at her reassuringly. "Why don't the two of you go on? Like I said, if we find anything of interest we'll let you know. Just rest, both of you alright?"
Looking to Sean, Daniel's eyes were almost glassy. "Ready to work?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 21:27:43 GMT -5
Angelique sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, we'll be fine."
The truth was, she was not fine. She had to go to the Ferreras' house to tell them that their eldest son was dead. Worse, there wasn't even a recognizable body to identify, to be sure that he was really gone. "Anything at all you can find, please let me know, and if you hear anything from St. Mungo's, contact me immediately. His name..." She sighed. "His name was Roland. Roland Ferrera."
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Post by Sean Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 21:36:03 GMT -5
"Roland Ferrera," Sean repeated. He'd heard of the Auror around the water cooler. His eyes widened a little and he nodded toward Riley. "Riley Neves?" He asked, and refrained from giving his brother a look. Everyone knew about Roland and Riley.
"We'll be in touch just as soon as possible. Please, take care tonight. Come on, Dan, let's get to it."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 21:42:50 GMT -5
Angelique nodded. "I'm honestly surprised she's still standing," she replied.
"Thank you both. I'm sure this is not how you would like to be spending your New Year's Eve. Just let me know as soon as you find anything at all."
She bit down on her lower lip. "I don't know who has it worse... you guys... or me. I'm off to tell his family. To tell you the truth, I think I'd rather switch places with you."
Shaking her head one last time, she turned and walked back to where Riley was. "Ready to go? she asked gently.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 21:49:56 GMT -5
Riley had been watching keenly... she knew what Angelique was doing, but she was far enough away that she hadn't seen what the body looked like. It was for the best. She honestly would have lost it, finally.
Even when Angelique came back, her eyes were glued to the body in the distance. "I should have stayed," she said. "I could have helped him." If she hadn't apparated when she did, though, she would have been dead instantly. There was no way to get to him. Unless she apparated into the warehouse...
She finally looked at Angelique. "What if he was still alive?"
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