Grim Realities: Part 2

I sit down at my desk and flip open the file to find the victim's personal details. The first thing on my to do list was to find out as much about Micheal Blake as I could. Switching on my computer I'm met with my least favourite screen saver.

"Oh you have to be kidding me!" I exclaim as I read the PC's message of "Windows is preparing your PC for updates. Please do not turn off the computer." 

What did I tell you. Monday-est Tuesday ever. While I wait for Windows to be done with it's precious updates, I study the crime scene photos in more detail. Admittedly I avoid looking at the gaping hole where Mr Blake's heart use to be, instead choosing to focus on the other details that I can see. The grass around the body is battered, chunks of the earth exposed and churned up. At least he put up a good fight. His right shoe is off to one side.

"Jesus Christ, what are you do here so early?!" Remarks Franchesca 'Chess' Simons, making me leap out of my skin. I hadn't heard her come in, which was an achievement on her part, considering she was wearing her favourite pair of New Rock four inch stiletto heels.

"Noisy neighbors. Thought since I was awake I might as well come into work."

"Oh. It's the Milton family right? Yeah last night was the 10 anniversary of old Benjamin Milton's death, so I'm not surprised they kept you up." I stop going through the pages in front of me, so that I can turn to look at my friend.

"What in world are you talking about?" I stare at Chess in confusion.

"The Milton's are banshees. We cry when a family member dies, or on the anniversary of their death."
Chess explains, while getting things out of her bag like it's no big deal. I momentarily snap out of absorbing this information to catch the box of breakfast bars that she launches at my head and also because two things occur to me.

"Hang on a minute, you knew my neighbors were banshees and didn't tell me either? Am I the only one that wasn't informed of this detail? Also, what do you mean 'We cry...'" Annnd now I'm back in the world of confusion.

"Well I assumed that you already knew what they were, and by 'We' I mean that I was a banshee before I died and became a Harbinger. The Milton's were friends of my parents."

I sit staring agape at Chess in all her goth glory, unsure of how to react to all of this information. Chess stows her bag under her desk before throwing herself into her office chair and putting her feet up on the corner of the desk, legs crossed at the ankles.

"Nice goldfish impression Tayla" she adds, her black painted lips pulling up into a smirk before she takes a bite of the chocolate croissant retrieved from the plastic tray she had brought in.

Chess holds the tray out to me offering the remaining croissant. I take it. I tear a bite off with my teeth. With my mouth full of the most wonderful tasting pastry I say "I so need a cup of coffee." Although it came out sounding more like "I woe mead a wup of wovvy" Chess nodded in agreement, shifting her feet back to the floor as she licked melted chocolate from her fingertips. Together we get up and move to the Kitchen area, Chess gets the coffee maker going while I, still munching on the croissant, get our mugs from the cupboard; Chess's reading "Death Before Decaf " and "I can't Adult today " on mine.

As I finish up my pastry and lick the chocolate from my fingers, Chess checks her black lipstick in the gleaming surface of the coffee maker and once satisfied that no smudging has occurred, pours our coffees. "Guess I should go see if the Boss has any new cases for me."

"No need" I tell her "We are partnering up. Death gave me one of Duke's cases this morning, it's a murder, and you get to help me solve it."

"Get you girl!" She tells me, grinning from ear to ear.

I like this she understands this is a big deal for me. I've been a harbinger for a little over a year and so far have only worked on small cases, like overseeing divorces, mediating disagreements with the Werewolf pack, and arranging permits for the local witch covens. Before becoming a harbinger I had been human and worked at the Salem Public Library as a librarian, so naturally I had no idea (like the rest of humanity) that the supernatural world existed. This last year has been an adjustment period, a slow introduction to a new world was the way D put it. I started working at Grim realities two weeks after I died, and it was Chess that took me under her wing to teach me about this weird new world that I was to be a part off. She has since become my best friend. I'm glad she is working my first big case with me.

We sit back down, Chess scooting her chair over to my desk so that I can explain the case to her.

"So we don't know much," I begin, passing her a duplicate file that Death had left on my desk marked with a post-it-note reading "For Chess" I continue my explanation "But we do know that two nights ago Micheal Blake, a local Werewolf, was found murdered in Gallows Hill Park, his heart had been removed. It's taken us this long to get the case due to internal pack issues, but John Oakland managed to convince them all we should take the case. Oakland has also said that we are welcome to go and look round Mr. Blake's home to see if it gives us any clues."

Throughout my brief explanation, a vast array of expressions, had crossed Chess's face finally setting into a slight frown that I had come to recognize as her concentration face.

"So we basically have nothing to go on?" she states, her frown deepening. She starts to sift through the photos in the file.

"Basically." matter of fact, that was me. My computer chooses that moment to chime at me, "Finally! Stupid updates." I exclaim, making Chess chuckle. "I was going to look up Micheal Blake to see what I could find out about him from the Veils Database but -"

"Updates" Chess and I say together. 

"Okay, so why don't you research our vic like you planned, and I'll - Is the body with Nico?" I nod, "Then I'll call Nico Veil side, and see if he can tell us if he has read anything from the body."

"It's a plan" I agree and we both set to our respective tasks.

Nico is a Necromancer, and stays on the other side of the Veil that separates the human world from the supernatural one. Humans are unaware of the Veil and the world that lies beyond it. There are weak spots were you can cross from one world to the other, such as the court room at the top of our building, and the club Nine Circles for example. These spots are also why human believe in ghosts. The veil is so thin in some places you can see things on the other side. Nico is the supernatural equal to a coroner, and the one that we send our dead to. As a Necromancer he can read the dead as it were and tell us things that no human coroner could ever discover. Unfortunately he won't be able to tell us who the killer is. God forbid things were ever that easy.