February 3, 2008 

Outside the Magic Shop

    They noted that the offices nearby, A-1 Travel and Allstate Insurance, were still in operation, though not open at that hour.  They went to the Silver Diner to plan.  They considered how to get the occupants of the magic shop out of it so they could look around.  Options ranged from starting a fire to an annoying alarm clock in the office next door that continuously went off.    They opted for a number of wind up alarm clocks from Walmart.  They returned to DC so Walter could make his appointment with Devon.  

    Walter’s Client

    At 10:00 PM, George and Susan Miles came to Walter’s office with their androgynous 12 year old Goth son, Devon.  Walter gave them his induction form.  The parents were in their early thirties.  There was no history of mental disease.  They were paying cash, as did most of his patients.  They were seeing Walter on the recommendation of Warden Beatty, who happened to live next door.  

    It seemed that Devon was having problems at home and school, exhibiting destructive behavior when alone, starting about a year ago.  Susan suggested it might be his girlfriend, Tiffany.  He claims that he is not responsible and the things break by themselves whenever he gets mad.  Walter asked if they had seen anyone else.  The parents replied that the school counselor told them to medicate him.

    After the introductions, Walter sent the parents to the diner so he could work with the boy.  He asked Walter what he thought was happening.  Devon said that he liked being alone becasue he didnt get picked on.  Sometimes when he was alone, he blacked out and when he woke up everything was wrecked.  He thought that the football team was knocking him out and playing pranks on him trying to get him expelled.

    It had started about a year ago when he played a prank on the football team.  He spiked their sunscreen and they all turned pink for a while.  The football players were the focus of his issues.  They acted like they owned the school.  And Tiffany used to date one.  She was not really dating Devon, she just hung around with him.  She liked him because he was funny.  Walter determined that he thought he was telling the truth, though Devon seemed to gloss over when it happened at home.  It never happened anywhere else.  Devon said it was becasue he didn’t get mad anywhere else.  The parents returned after an hour and Walter said he believed Devon’s condition was treatable.  They made an appointment for 5:00 PM the following week.

    About 10 minutes later, while Walter was writing his notes, something dropped through his mail slot.  Inside the envelope was a paper bearing symbol that was familiar, but he could not place it.  

    February 4, 2008 

    At the Diner

    The other waitress, Joanne was still missing, so Zoe was working.  Ely and Kyna were speaking furtively in their usual booth.  Walter read the paper over his tea and croissant at the counter.  Kyna asked Zoe if she had anything personal of Joanne’s that she could work with.  Zoe he took her to the lockers in the back, but Kyna could not open it.  Zoe called Joanne’s contact number, but she did not answer and Zoe left a message.  She realized that he phone did not ring enough times and was shut off.  They elected to cut off the lock, see what was there, and then check out her residence, though Grandma would not be pleased.

    They asked Ely to use bolt cutters on the lock.  Inside, they found very little, but there was a hairbrush and some birth control pills.  Kyna took the hairbrush.  The animated debate in the back room caught Walter’s attention.  He alerted them that the people in the dining room could hear them.  Then Ely returned with a new lock.  They locked the locker again and gave Zoe the keys.  Then they went to Joanne’s home.

    At Joanne’s House

    Joanne lived near Huntington, which was about ten miles away from the diner.  The house was a duplex.  Zoe knew that her family had lived in that area for a long time, and Joanne had inherited the house from her grandmother.  Walter could hear movement inside.  There were two things, possibly dogs.  Kyna went around the back while Ely tried the doorbell.  The backyard was well maintained and there was a locked garden shed.  One of the rear windows was broken.

    Zoe looked for a hidden key, but did not find anything.  Ely passed through the shed wall, but it was dark inside, so he did not know if it was safe to materialize, and he returned.  He examined the mail in the mailbox.  It did not seem to be unusual.  There was 2-3 days worth there.

    Kyna entered through the broken window and opened the rear door.  Zoe, Ely and Walter entered through the door.  Kyna noted a rotting smell and followed it to a rotting body that was being gnawed on by the cats.  Zoe was sickeneed.  It was Joanne.  The head and legs were fine, but the torso was opened up.  There was a lot of blood.  Kyna determined that it was probably a were-attack, but the cats had made a mess of the scene.  It was also pretty clear that the death had not occured in the hosue.  Ely uncovered large, canid prints that someone attempted to conceal.  There was also evidence of knife wounds in addition to claw marks.

    Zoe asked Walter to shift into cat form to communicate with the cats.  The cats scattered when he transformed.  He examined the room but did not notice anything.  He changed back to human form.  Zoe noted that the house had been over-cleaned.  Walter noticed a ring of keys near the rear door.  Kyna used them to open the shed.  There were tools inside.

    Kyna reasoned that if she had birth control, there must be a boyfriend, but no one recalled ever seeing Joanne speaking about or with anyone.  The locker at work was an odd place to leave the the pills, unless she had intended to return to work before going home. 

    They considered calling the police, or the Wardens, or the dragon.  All three semed to lead to Walter being blamed for it to close the case as a shapeshifter or a black man.  Their best course was to solve the crime.

    Kyna opened her third eye and determined that Joanne’s soul was still anchored to her body, but not by a spell.  She also determined that the scene had been psychically cleansed by a spell.  Zoe found her purse behind the hiding cats.   Inside were a wallet, cosmetics, and a cell phone.

    Walter urged the group to leave.  Zoe insisted on taking the cats, but could not find a cat carrier.  Kyna put them to sleep and Zoe carried them out, along with the purse and cell phone.  They covered the body with kitty litter to hide the smell and left the scene.  

    The Group

    • Zoe Kallas – waitress at grandparents’ diner in Arlington; journalism graduate looking for a real journalism job. (Changling who has no clue, mother was fey of Summer Court)
    • Ely Vantide – debt collector – all kinds of debt. (Emissary of Power for a Dragon)
    • Kyna Quinlan – wizard of Irish descent. New to the White Council. Muscle for Ely.
    • Walter Ballard – were-leopard and therapist to the Supernatural.