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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 19, 2011 18:36:05 GMT -5
He wished it would all just end. The torment, the pain, the horrible memories. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing her face. Faith. And the baby. Gone. The two men who killed them, dead. He'd never even had the chance to ask them why. Why had they done it? Why Faith, why the baby?
Sometimes she came to him, she spoke to him in cryptic words and phrases that made no sense at all. Other times, he just heard the baby crying and was helpless to do anything about it.
Life in Azkaban had become an endless torture for Zane, a horrific living hell where the past and the present mixed together in a nightmarish reality. He didn't know what was real, what was a dream, and what was a memory anymore. Sometimes he thought he had been the one to kill Faith and the baby. Other times, he was sure he hadn't killed anyone. He was going mad, little by little, and he didn't even have it in him to care anymore. He just wanted it all to end. He had long sing given up hoping that they'd find him innocent and let him go... so he just kept waiting for death. That was the only thing he had left to hope for. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd get to be with Faith again.
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 21, 2011 11:04:00 GMT -5
To Roman's luck, he was able to get a visit with Zane fairly easily. He was just able to sweet talk to the woman to allow him an audience with the man that Walter wanted out of Azkaban. He read through Zane's file again before his meeting to refresh a little bit of information so he would know which questions he should go with. For now, Roman was going to play the role of a lawyer. The fake credentials were easy enough to come up with to say that he was still working on the case and there were a few wrinkles in it that just didn't make sense.
Roman was pretty good at his job and he took pride in that. He walked into Azkaban with his head held up as he passed a few dementors. His shoes made their usual noise as he walked and his cloak billowed behind him. The expression on his face said that he was there for an important reason and he walked up to a woman at a desk and told her that he was there to see Zane Manning in one of the visiting room. She checked through a few papers and then nodded. A man appeared beside Roman and told him to follow him.
Following the man, Roman arrived in the visiting room. He had requested that no one bother them while they were in the room. He promised them that he could handle himself if anything were to happen. There would be a wizard outside the door, but they did come to an agreement about no one else in the room. The door opened and Roman walked in, sitting down the file he carried in his hand on the table.
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 21, 2011 23:27:11 GMT -5
Zane wasn't expecting any visitors. He didn't often get visitors; even his lawyers had all but given up on him. He was ready to claim guilt for not only the murders of those two men, but for his wife and son as well. He wasn't sure he'd done any of it, and he was pretty sure he hadn't killed Faith and Billy, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. He just wanted it all to end, and if accepting the blame for all of it was enough for them to convict him, he'd do it, just to make it all stop.
So when one of the few human guards of Azkaban came to his cell and told him he had a visitor, Zane wasn't sure what to expect. He almost refused to come, but ultimately, any time he could get out of that cell and away from the dementors was worth it.
He followed the guard, who was nibbling on a chocolate bar to fortify himself against the effects of the dementors, down the winding corridor and into a brightly-lit, nicely furnished visiting room. The light hurt his eyes and he blinked for a few moments before he was able to focus on the man at the table.
"I don't know you," he mumbled when he finally got a look at the guy. "You probably want someone else."
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 22, 2011 0:52:35 GMT -5
As Roman waited for Zane, he stood by his chair with his hands behind his back. This man better realize how important he was, because after all, Roman was missing his 'tea time' for this. As the man entered the room, Roman took a glance at him. He heard the mumbling and then looked to the human guard to leave them.
Once the door shut behind Zane, Roman smiled. "No," he started in his Scottish accent. "You're just the man I'm looking for Zane Manning." He knew that Zane was probably curious as to why he was there. "Let's just say that your current lawyers were doing you no good whatsoever, so you have someone who is more interested in your case as someone similar to a new lawyer."
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 22, 2011 23:19:51 GMT -5
It was true; Zane's lawyers weren't helping at all. But then, he wasn't giving them a lot to work with, either. He'd given up, even before the lawyers had. He had no idea who this man was or how he had got involved, but he was past the point of caring. On the other hand, however, this little respite from the horrors of his cell was too tempting to resist. Away from the dementors, his head was already a little clearer.
"OK, whatever," he mumbled and sank into the chair across from the man. "So, who are you and how can you help me? Don't suppose you brought any chocolate, did you?"
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 24, 2011 10:24:06 GMT -5
"Roman Lennox, at your service," he replied with a short bow. Reaching into his robe pocket, he pulled out chocolate. "I figured I should come prepared," he said placing the chocolate on the table and sliding it to Zane. When Roman knew the mission he was going on, he was always prepared. If he didn't have a certain item he needed, he could get what he needed in short amount of time.
"I take it that you want to get out of here," Roman started. "Well, I plan on getting you out, but I need your cooperation. Think you can handle that?"
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 25, 2011 0:11:19 GMT -5
Zane grabbed the chocolate bar from the table and tore into it urgently, as if he were dying of starvation, and this would save his life. And in a way, it might do just that.
After two bites, he could already feel the warmth spreading like a wave through his body. It was like the fog was being lifted from his head, from his veins, and his bones. He had eaten half of the bar before he finally looked up at the man on the other side of the table, his eyes now clear.
"Thanks," he said simply, taking a few clearing breaths.
Now he was able to think about the rest of what the man had said. He didn't know why this stranger wanted to help him get out of here, but if it was between getting out of here and getting the dementor's kiss... or worse, just staying here forever, going insane little by little... yeah, he was going to choose getting out.
"What kind of cooperation?" he asked suspiciously.
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 25, 2011 13:25:53 GMT -5
Watching the man tear into the chocolate confirmed Roman's thoughts that this man wanted to get out. Who would really want to stay in Azkaban? Today was Zane's lucky day.
"Just the sort of cooperation required to answer a few questions. I have been able to pull a few strings and keep your case open. You see, your case is a very interesting one and you know you can't always believe everything you read. I believe you're an innocent man Zane. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, don't you think so?" Roman raised an eyebrow.
"I'm here to help you and provide as much assistance to your case as I can. I just need to know that you are willing to work with me."
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 25, 2011 22:11:29 GMT -5
This stranger had more faith in Zane than he had in himself. Zane may not have remembered what happened that night, but he was pretty sure he had done it. He wanted to kill those men. He hadn't meant to do it before he got a confession out of them... some explanation of why they would kill an innocent woman and baby. But the thought of killing them, the desperate need to spill their blood and watch them die had certainly been in his mind. He just couldn't figure out why he couldn't remember it. The last thing he had remembered was that phrase... and then waking up covered in their blood. He must have done it, right?
"I don't remember what happened," he said. "I went to that house to force a confession out of those guys, that's all. I didn't intend to kill them. I wanted them to confess, and then I was gonna call the MLE. But then I blacked out... Do you really think I'm innocent?"
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 25, 2011 22:27:54 GMT -5
"Of course I think you're innocent," Roman said. It was going to be a bit difficult to have the evidence pointing elsewhere, but Roman could handle it. "Are you sure that maybe it might have been self-defense? Or are you sure that there wasn't someone else actually there that killed those men and framed you for it? Maybe that's why you blacked out. If there was another person there, that could explain a lot."
Roman knew that he was going to have to get Zane thinking that maybe he didn't do it. "You might have very well been set up Mr. Manning, and I'm here to try to figure that out. If you attempt to remember as much as you can, that means more time away from those dementors, and the closer you can get to freedom."
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 26, 2011 23:45:47 GMT -5
"I guess it's possible..." Zane said, still skeptical. He'd actually wondered the same thing plenty of times. After all, he had intended to bring them to justice, not kill them? And why would he kill them and not remember any of it? And what did that phrase have to do with it?
"Who do you think would want to set me up? And why? Or do you think I was just a patsy, and was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Do you think... maybe the real killer was also the same person who killed my wife and boy?"
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Post by Roman Lennox on Oct 30, 2011 20:50:18 GMT -5
"That's the million dollar question, isn't it," Roman said with his eyebrows raised. "We're going to attempt to figure that out." Of course, Roman knew what happened, but he could direct the blame in someone else's direction in order to get Zane out free.
"I don't think that you were just a patsy, I think there might be something else going on. There is always more than meets the eye. The killer could very well be dead, but then if the killer is dead and someone set you up, that could mean that there's someone else behind it."
Roman rested his arms on the table and leaned forward a little bit. "Is there anything at all that you can recall that you saw as you entered the house?"
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Post by Zane Manning on Oct 30, 2011 22:21:00 GMT -5
Zane really didn't remember much about that night, for a lot of reasons. Not only had it been several years now (Zane wasn't even sure how many anymore), but being in Azkaban had left his brain feeling like Swiss cheese--moldy and full of holes. There were days when he didn't even remember his own name. There were other days where he had weird flashes of memories that couldn't have possibly ever happened. At least he didn't think they had. They featured people he didn't know and yet they were so familiar. These flashes were strange and fleeting, gone before he could identify any of it.
"The house... I don't think the men actually lived there. They were squatters, I think... The house was dark and there was hardly any furniture. Just a fold-out table and a couple of chairs. And sleeping bags."
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Post by Roman Lennox on Nov 9, 2011 14:40:07 GMT -5
"Interesting," Roman said after Zane started. He pulled out a quill and started taking notes. "I'm only taking notes for my references to help get you out of here." He wanted to make sure that Zane knew everything (well, almost everything) he was doing.
"How exactly did you get to this place? Did you happen to follow them? Did they make any sort of contact with you at any time? Maybe you ran into them at some point in time?"
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Post by Zane Manning on Nov 9, 2011 23:43:06 GMT -5
"Let me think a minute..." Zane mumbled, rubbing his head. He took another bite of the chocolate, trying to chase away the constant headache that Azkaban had given him. "It seems like a lifetime ago..."
As the chocolate spread renewed warmth through his body, he could feel his mind slowly churning back to life. It felt like wading through quicksand, just trying to dig through the muddy memories he had left. He remembered... yes. It had been a chance encounter....
"I was trying to investigate my wife's murder," he began slowly. "I didn't think the Ministry was doing it fast enough. I followed a clue and hit a dead end, when I got this anonymous tip owled to me. I went to check it out and I found these two guys in Knockturn Alley... a nasty little hole in the wall called the Rusty Nail. One of them saw me and they took off. I chased them, but I lost them in Knockturn Alley. I went back to the pub... someone there told me where to find them. I... I don't remember the person who told me... I don't think I even saw his face."
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Post by Roman Lennox on Nov 20, 2011 15:17:30 GMT -5
"Someone sent you an owl," Roman repeated scribbling down a few other notes. He leaned back in his chair as Zane finished his story. "Well, my friend, this does sound like you were set up, does it not?" If Roman could get Zane to think that he didn't do it, then that would help him out a lot better.
"First of all, you were sent an anonymous owl, then someone who you didn't even see their face gave you another tip and continued to send you in the right direction." Clasping his hands together, Roman leaned forward. "That sounds like a set up to me. Did anyone know at all that you were investigating your wife's murder?"
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Post by Zane Manning on Nov 29, 2011 0:11:43 GMT -5
"Yeah.... I guess it does," Zane said. There was a note of surprise in his voice. It really did sound like he'd been set up. At the time, he hadn't thought anything of it... the anonymous owls and the helpful strangers with their faces hidden. He had been so desperate to get to the bottom of his wife's murder that he just hadn't stopped to think things through. He had just jumped right in, and hadn't bothered to consider the potential consequences.
"A lot of people knew. I posted notes all over the place... even put an ad into the Daily Prophet. Do... do you think my wife's murder was part of the set up, too? Why would anyone want to do this to me?"
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Post by Roman Lennox on Nov 29, 2011 13:35:51 GMT -5
Of course, Roman knew the answer to Zane's question. However, he could not tell Zane the real answer to that question. Goodness knew if he did he'd be in serious trouble. At the moment, Zane was heading in the direction Roman wanted him to go.
"Ah. Well, we have a wide range to go off of then. As for your wife's murder, it's hard to say. It could have been. If people knew who killed your wife and led you in their direction, it sort of sounds like a set up to me. I mean, how else would they have known where those men were staying? Or that those were the men that you were looking for?"
Roman was enjoying himself but he didn't let Zane see that. "Do you have any enemies whatsoever Mr. Manning? Or did your wife have any enemies?"
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Post by Zane Manning on Nov 30, 2011 22:08:55 GMT -5
"No... no," Zane said immediately. "Everyone loved Faith. No one would want to hurt her. Me... well, I might have made a few people angry. I was a dark creature catcher... I dealt with a lot of vampires. Maybe I killed one that was connected to someone important? I don't know... I didn't pay attention to that stuff."
He stopped and rubbed his head. His hair was too long and it was starting to annoy him. What he wouldn't give for a hot shower, a haircut, and a shave.
"I probably made a lot of people angry, actually. I had a temper... but I was managing it. At least, I was until Faith died."
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Post by Roman Lennox on Dec 4, 2011 10:53:17 GMT -5
"A dark creature catcher," Roman repeated. "Interesting." He made a little side note on a piece of parchment he had. Roman could have gone on asking about if Zane really knew Faith, and maybe she might have angered someone in the past, but he didn't want to get him going too much, not yet at least.
"It could have been that. I could look into it a little more and see what I can find, but something tells me that might not be it." Putting down his quill, Roman looked directly at Zane. "This temper of yours, has it always been there? Have you ever gone off on someone before that whole incident?"
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