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Post by Paige Owen on May 3, 2009 23:13:16 GMT -5
Paige had managed to get permission to spend a little time in the Ministry, asking some questions and gathering statements for her story on the death of Roland Ferrera. Of course, the permission was given grudgingly by Angelique St. Clare, and only because she'd threatened to charge them with interfering with the freedom of the press. Still, as she walked around the Ministry offices, she saw a number of people look up at her resentfully. Honestly, she wasn't trying to hurt anyone, she just wanted her readers to know what was going on in the case. It was her job, after all. And she didn't intend to stop anyone else from doing their job. She just wanted to be able to report something to the puiblic. Why was that wrong?
Her first stop was in the MLE office, where she hoped to find Sean Leviner. He had been enormously helpful to her in the past, and she hoped he could give her a little information now, just to get started.
She stepped into the office, her clipboard and quill in hand for taking notes. Unlike some of her colleagues, she did not approve of the Quick Quotes Quills. She wanted to write the story on her own, using notes and working in the privacy of her own desk. That was the way it was supposed to be done.
She asked a woman near the front of the office where she could find Sean Leviner, and was given directions to his desk. Feeling rather confident, she strode to the back of the room towards Sean's desk.
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 4, 2009 10:16:55 GMT -5
Sean had actually just come back in from doing another sweep of the warehouse, looking for any kind of remains at all. There was nothing, which lead Sean to believe that Roland had, indeed, been in the center of the explosion, and there was just nothing left to find. How was he supposed to tell that to his family, or his partner for that matter? What kind of closure could they get from that?
He had a headache and was resting his head in his hand as he wrote out some notes. He'd need to go back to St. Mungo's later and check with Lydia to see if they had identified the body yet. They'd already tested Riley's wand, so they knew the body was of one of her attackers. Maybe knowing who attacked their son would bring the Ferrera's some kind of closure.
Sitting back, he noticed Paige coming towards him, and he actually smiled a little. "I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen you sooner, Ms. Owen."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 4, 2009 22:35:23 GMT -5
Paige gave him a slight smile. "I tried contacting you yesterday, but I wasn't allowed inside the Ministry. It took me a little time to convince the Minister that it was in everyone's best interest that I be allowed inside to ask a few questions."
He had a chair opposite his desk, and she pulled it a little closer and sat down, crossing her long legs in front of her. Paige never wore robes, preferring to dress in muggle-style skirts or tight-fitting pants. She had been a dancer, after all, and she loved to show off her long dancer's legs. It was almost a subconscious act at this point.
Taking out her clipboard and a self-inking quill, she sat poised to take notes. "I spoke with St. Mungo's yesterday about the body, and I know it wasn't Roland's. I was wondering if you had any theories about who it might be?"
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 5, 2009 0:09:05 GMT -5
Sean smiled and shook his head. "Well, let's get straight to the point, shall we?" He was slightly amused... or tried to be. Roland's case was actually weighing quite heavily on his shoulders, and it was beginning to show in his young eyes. For whatever reason, he was taking this case seriously and rather personally.
"I can't give you a name, Paige. We don't even know where to begin guessing the identity of the man, but the staff at St Mungos doing what they can to find out for me."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 5, 2009 17:30:27 GMT -5
Paige smiled slightly. "Sorry, Sean. I don't mean to be abrupt with you... it's just... you look stressed. I can tell this case is wearing on you and I wanted to get my questions out before you lost patience and threw me out." She shrugged. "But maybe you wouldn't do that. I'm just sort of getting used to that kind of thing."
She was disappointed at the lack of information, but she nodded. "Any idea what could have happened to Roland's body?"
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 6, 2009 19:34:30 GMT -5
"I'm not going to throw you out, Paige. You helped me, now I help you. That was the deal, wasn't it?" Besides, he was sort of growing fond of her, as a friend, and he didn't mind seeing her.
He sat back in his chair and sighed. "I can't identify the body for you, but we suspect we know the story behind it. I can't tell you what happened to Ferrera's body, because it's... tragic, and we haven't told the family yet. I want to help you, but we're not allowed to say anything to anyone before we tell the family. You just have to ask the right questions that I can answer."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 8, 2009 23:25:20 GMT -5
Paige was beginning to understand. If he was thinking what she was thinking, then yes... it was truly tragic. To think that someone so strong and handsome and vital could just be... gone... It was pretty horrific. And having to tell his family would probably be one of the worst jobs she could imagine.
"Off the record," she said, setting down her quill, "You don't think there's anything left of him, do you? That he was destroyed?"
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 9, 2009 0:09:31 GMT -5
"Off the record," Sean repeated, giving her a pointed, almost stern look. "It is very important that this doesn't get back to the family, Paige. If you can promise me that, then I swear you'll be the first person I tell after them. Even before the Auror Department." Really, he just had the Ferrera's best interests at heart.
"But no... we don't believe there are any remains to be found. We believe he was destroyed in the initial explosion."
It was terrible... how was he supposed to tell the family that they couldn't even bury their son?
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Post by Paige Owen on May 9, 2009 0:16:39 GMT -5
Paige felt a horrible, sick feeling in her stomach. Hearing it confirmed... well, it was pretty upsetting. She couldn't imagine how it would be for his family. Even though Paige wasn't close to her family, she knew that Roland had been.
She nodded slowly and held up her hand. "I won't say anything until you give me the word," she said. "I'm not heartless."
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 9, 2009 0:56:41 GMT -5
Sean nodded. "I know you're not heartless, Paige." He sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. He could feel that familiar headache coming on... the one he got before he had a vision, and he was fighting this one. They weren't helping right now, and he knew he wasn't close enough to anything of Roland's right now to have one of him. Because that would have been helpful.
"Any other questions I can try to answer for you, Paige? I want to help. Really, I do."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 10, 2009 20:29:02 GMT -5
Paige gave him a smile. He really was a decent guy, one of the good ones. It seemed she was running into a lot of those lately, and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. But at least with Sean, she could keep things on a professional level. "And I appreciate it, really. I'm still a little new at this, and I'm starting to learn how much people don't like reporters. I'm just doing my job, just like anyone else."
Picking up her clipboard and quill once again, she switched back into professional mode. "Has there been any determination as to the cause of the explosion?"
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 11, 2009 17:49:32 GMT -5
"No, reporters tend to be pushy and hard to work with. You're the only one I've trusted with 'off the record' comments, anyway." He hoped she didn't break that trust, and sighed a little. He really was not looking forward to going to the family.
"We have a couple theories," he said with a slight nod. "There were fireworks at the time of his death set pretty near to the warehouse. It's possible that stray sparks made it into the building. His partner thinks that he may have been hit with a flame spell... she thinks she remembers seeing flames, but can't be positive. Those are the two that seem the most plausible right now."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 11, 2009 22:08:16 GMT -5
Paige nodded and jotted down a few notes. "I remember the firemen at the scene telling me the fireworks theory. The muggles are pretty convinced that's what happened. But then, they don't know the whole story."
A thought occurred to her, and she frowned deeply. It was kind of a horrible thought. "If... if it's the second thing, and he was on fire prior to the explosion, then... essentially, he was the cause of the explosion. Which would certainly explain why there was nothing left of him."
She felt nauseous just thiniking about it, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "I hope... for his sake... he was at least unconscious when it happened..."
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Post by Sean Leviner on May 12, 2009 13:50:16 GMT -5
"It's likely that he was dead before the explosion even started. We've talked to his partner, and she seems to remember more now that the shock has worn off... I can't blame her for that. She didn't see it, but she thinks she remembers hearing what curses were thrown at Mr. Ferrera... namely the Killing Curse and the Flame spell. Assuming both hit him, he would have never even known there was explosion."
Sean sighed and leaned forward. "But you remember, Paige, what the firemen said about the cold..."
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Post by Paige Owen on May 13, 2009 0:33:21 GMT -5
It should have been a relief to hear that he was probably dead before the explosion hit, but even still, it was awful. Paige couldn't imagine how his family would feel. Inexplicably, she found herself wanting to visit Chloe, just to check that her sister was OK. It didn't even make sense.
She pushed that thought from her mind as Sean mentioned cold spot the firemen had found. Nodding slowly, she said, "Yes... I remember. Any idea what it means?"
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