• ❝ we can’t go to the cops with all this information. ❞
• ❝ if we go to the cops they’re going to think we had something to do with it.  ❞
• ❝ this is a lot of information, we can’t just hide it from the cops. people are dying. ❞
• ❝ ahh, it’s just you… and, your infamous murder board. ❞
• ❝ i wish had a single clue as to what you do over there at that murder board. ❞
• ❝ so what did you find? any new leads? ❞
• ❝ it’s a long shot but i think i might have found something. ❞
• ❝ so, you think this is the person doing all these killings? ❞
• ❝ look, i just have a bad feeling about this person to not look into it, at least. ❞
• ❝ well, so far you’ve been right, so let’s hear what you’ve got. ❞
• ❝ the only thing we’re missing now is a motive. ❞
• ❝ what’s wrong with you? you can’t go around accusing innocent people! ❞
• ❝ okay, say i’m wrong, but i know i’m right about this.  ❞
• ❝ you did all that and came up with nothing at all? ❞
• ❝ i don’t think we’re ever going to track this killer down. ❞
• ❝ this person, or thing even, whatever, is really good at what they do. ❞
• ❝ we’re breaking laws to track this killer down now? ❞
• ❝ i’m just saying, go back through the file and look closer. ❞
• ❝ maybe we were right all along but overlooked something. something small. ❞
• ❝ okay, so we meet back here at night and find what’s in that cabinet. ❞
• ❝ we’re in too deep to give up now. we’re close, i can feel it. ❞
• ❝ let’s split up, meet back here in ten. ❞
• ❝ how come every time something goes down, you arrive late? ❞
• ❝ okay, so this is the killer, now how do we catch them? ❞
• ❝ not exactly what we’re expecting to find but we definitely need to call the cops. ❞
• ❝ we can’t do this all on our own anymore, we have to go to the police. ❞
• ❝ i think we may have just found the killer’s next target. ❞
• ❝ there’s a place i found out about, i think we should check it out. ❞
• ❝ the only surviving victim is hospitalized and unable to actually speak about it.  ❞
• ❝ all we keep coming up with our dead ends, maybe we should just give up. ❞
• ❝ you think that i’m the one doing all these killings? ❞
• ❝ tell me again why you think this killer is after me of all people? ❞
• ❝ if we don’t do something now, more bodies are just going to keep piling up. ❞
• ❝ so, we’ve narrowed it down to these two people now. ❞
• ❝ look, i get your concerned and scared, i am too, but let the police handle it. ❞
• ❝ if we can hack into the system, we can find out everyone who got this text. ❞
• ❝ no, no. i think this killer is someone close to us, maybe closer than we think. ❞
• ❝ i don’t know if i can continue doing this. ❞
• ❝ we need to get everyone together and come up with a plan. ❞
• ❝ if this plan doesn’t work, we go straight into plan b. ❞
• ❝ i think we should really start making a plan c, maybe even plan d. ❞
• ❝ this plan officially sucks and is getting us nowhere. we’re sitting ducks. ❞
• ❝ i think i might have found a pattern within these killings. ❞
• ❝ all the killings happened in the place, around the same time. ❞
• ❝ wow, you all are almost better than the cops. ❞
• ❝ it’s like a jigsaw puzzle, there’s too many missing pieces. ❞
• ❝ my suspicion is usually always right, even more so than my gut.  ❞
• ❝ we’re doing this tonight and if we’re lucky, we’ll catch the killer. finally. ❞

Frank Sinatra in Suddenly (1954)

Miss Emily was doing her best to avoid looking at Vincent, that is until he stood up.  She first expected he was making his leave, that hope was dashed when she looked up and saw him waiting patiently to join him. She stumbled up and adjusted her clothes, wrapping her coat around herself as she crossed her arms.  

“I c-can fight. I promise you, I’m not as weak as you think… I just don’t like to fight is all. I-I’d rather find a peaceful solution.”  Emily could indeed throw a mean punch, however the sight of bloodshed made her sick, and violence horrified her.  She normally did all she could to avoid getting herself stuck in a fight, but this job wasn’t forgiving of that mentality.

She followed close to Vincent, knowing he could easily hunt her down if she made a run for it.  Why even try, if she didn’t get this situation straightened out, then there was no way he’d ever allow her help willingly.  It was a pain, but she needed to get this sorted. 

Her eyes stared at the ground as Vincent continued at trying to interrogate her.  She knew there were ways to make people believe Reapers in a quick fashion, but most involved bodily harm to ones self that made Emily uncomfortable.  Never had she shot herself to show a charge her immortality, but she feared she might have to do something extreme for Vincent.  That or hope that showing her face to him would be enough, and that he wouldn’t just call her a freak. 

“I’m not lying, but I figured you’d react like that.”  Her voice was plain and cold now, she was tired and cornered, Vincent’s words were emotionally draining.  She figured there was no way around things, she’d have to just explain thing plainly and hope for the best, “I’ll explain it when we’re someplace private.  Either then you’ll believe me, or you’ll just throw me out.”  She sounded almost sad as she spoke, the evening was turning out terribly. 

When the finally did reach Vincent’s office, Emily was tensing up again.  Something about how this man kept using sweet names with her made everything in her ache as she waited for him to guide her inside.  Her mind was a blur as she followed him, thinking about the possible words of disgust he might use with her instead.  She felt her heart beating quicker and she tried to just focus on the floor. 

The woman shifted uncomfortably as Vincent mentioned her eyes, she caught the shine of his sharp fangs and it made her shudder.  She was trying her best to not look him in the eyes now.  It was easy to catch on that he was becoming annoyed with her, and she didn’t know what to do about it.  She felt cornered, and almost like there wasn’t enough air in he room.  Her gloved hands gripped the coffee cup as they started to tremble, “I’m nothing from this place… I-it’s…”  she stopped herself from saying the hated phrase once more, “I just don’t know how to say it without… Pr-Pr… Problems. It’d b-be easier if I knew it didn’t sound crazy…”

She kept her eyes on the coffee, watching the vapor rise from it as she moved the cup slowly in her hands, never once attempting to sip it.  Even pretending she could drink it would most likely involve showing some of her face.  She squeaked out an, “I’m sorry.”  as Vincent pointed out how hard she was making this.  Her lack of experience was blindingly obvious, and it was getting harder for her to think coherently as the man became more and more irritated. 

When Vincent reacted how he did to her offer, she started to shudder and tense up.  Even with his voice at a near whisper, it felt like he might as well be yelling at her.  She didn’t know how much of mistake she had made when she had spoken, and now she felt like she’d just stepped on a rattlesnake. 

“I-I can’t do that.. I’m.. S… Sorr-sorry. Th-there’s limits, rules…”  She sputtered out her words, the static in her voice was far more obvious now.  It was so hard for her to concentrate, the venom in his words made her feel sick.  Emily searched her mind for anyway to diffuse this situation she’d caused, other than mumbling more apologies like a child being reprimanded.  She was used to shutting down in situations like these, it was usually the safest option to go silent, but she didn’t have that privilege right now, it’d only worsen things.

“S-sir. I didn’t mean to upse-upset you. It… I only want to help, but there’s a limit to what I can do. I’m o-only meant to watch and make sure things run smoothly. P-please, if we go somewhere m-more private, it will be easier to explain.”  Her eyes twitched as she shivered, deciding to relent, “W-when I say I’m not from here, I mean… Not from this dimension.”  Her words were as strange sounding as ever, but she was trying her best to whisper,  “I don’t have any choices in this job. I’m sorry I’ve upset you, I-I never meant to.” Vincent could see how his words, his tone had made the woman seem almost fearful of him.  As if she expected him to slap her or shout.

Emily tensed at Charlie’s questioning, but stayed silent, relieved he didn’t push her to get something more complex. She hated people wasting the effort on her, the delicious smells drove her nuts.

“W-well. I’m. It’s about timelines, I’ll be honest, it’s not normal, I’m not either. I trust that you understand things in this world are odd. My job is to make sure things happen as they should. Not in a bad way! Ju-just watch and intervene if needed. I don’t just need strengths, b-but I can.. Fight.” She already felt awkward, believing he might understand felt like a mistake already. She sounded very unsure of her actual ability to fight.

She stared into her coffee, warming her hands but never drinking it. For a moment she looked to the ceiling, unsure about what a ‘patsy’ was for a moment, never hearing it said outside of novels. She shook her head, “No, no, w-well I-I” she nervously shifted “No, th-this is just normal. I h-hAve strengths. It’s just… I-it’s hard to explain, but they just… Treat me like a joke. I try to avoid this job.”

Her eyes stared out the windows, not wanting to meet Vincent’s gaze, “Its not dirt against you, you can think of me as a friend, I suppose. I… Only want to help.” She spoke clearly for once, finally the detective could hear a clear emotion in her 'voice,’ sadness. It wasn’t her full job, but she figured she’d tell him in increments, and sweeten the sound of it. She truly did only want to help him, it would be nice to be around someone that didn’t treat her like dirt, “I want to help with you new… condition.”