The New Kid in Town ((13))

[qualapec]

Vala had spent the last five days trying to get a grasp on Felidae's layout. Most of her exploration had been done out of uniform, so as not to be immediately recognized as a member of Felidae's Finest. There would be time for that later, but now she had the opportunity to get her bearings before her face was known.

She was off-duty, instead wearing a blouse and skirt to be as inconspicuous as possible. On a whim, she'd decided to investigate the scene of the dock slayings.

And slayings was the appropriate term. Sliced and diced, butchered, minced...they all worked.

She'd wanted to check the site out for herself, see if there was anything there she couldn't gather from photos and that other cops might have missed. It might have been a longshot, but it was her best bet.

[Meadowlark]

Lady Griddlebone slipped out of The Fishbone, locking it up behind her. Her mind was still reeling from finding out who exactly had committed that horror down here within the last while. She still wasn't quite sure what to do about that. She thought she knew what her decision regarding him would be, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea yet.

Her feet took her toward the scene of the first crime, though she'd prefer just about anywhere else. Her red skirt brushed her calves, a jacket pulled on over her white blouse to cut the chill. She needed a breath of fresh air before she had to deal with any cat, especially anycat related in any way to the killings.

[qualapec]

Vala couldn't see anything odd. Other than the means by which they were killed, there didn't seem to be much odd about the site itself.

It was near the docks, so connections to the criminal underworld were most likely.

Vala looked from the site of the murder to the water, not far away. If they'd wanted to, they could have dumped the body in the water. She frowned and ran the heel of her boot around the fading outline of a streak of blood. That meant that it was either rushed, or they were sending a message.

She just didn't know. She hadn't talked to anyone on the FPD about it because she didn't know who she could trust yet.

[Meadowlark]

Milady hesitated when she realized where she was and that there was another cat there. She really ought to turn around and return to the Establishment. It was far to early to be out and about, in her opinion, but here she was anyway.

[qualapec]

Vala's ears perked and she turned just in time to catch sight of another cat watching her.

"Hello?" she asked, trying to keep authority or conflict out of her voice.

[Meadowlark]

Well, too late for turning back now. The white queen continued over, inclining her head in greeting. "Hello." She looked around, her gaze momentarily focusing on the bloodstain.

[qualapec]

"What happened here?" Vala asked with a faraway look, and it wasn't entirely for show- she honestly did not know what had happened there. "Those aren't just fish market stains."

[Meadowlark]

Milady arched an eyebrow, how had this cat not heard. "There was a murder here several nights ago."

[qualapec]

Vala gasped. "Oh my." She brought her eyes back to the bloodied ground, paws to mouth. "Did they catch him? Who...kills people like this anymore unless they're Jack the Ripper? How horrible."

[Meadowlark]

"No, they haven't caught him yet. I doubt we've got much to worry about though..." She spoke distantly, mostly careful of what she said. Best not to trust anycat in this town, but especially here.

[qualapec]

Vala raised an eyebrow, suddenly genuinely curious. "Aren't you afraid there's a killer on the loose?" She met the strange queen's eyes and continued, "And in a neighborhood like this?"

Who wouldn't be afraid of a killer unless they either knew or had strong inclinations about who the killer might be? Vala knew it was a long shot, but she knew that cats on the street saw things. Heard things. It was worth the try.

She started pacing around, circling the pale splatters. "Cats can't trust cats anymore. I grew up in a small town. There were a few accidents, a few deaths, a murder or two but...this-" she motioned to the long streaks "...it's just not the kind of thing you saw. In a city like this, we're afraid to make eye contact."

Of course, she'd seen plenty of it in Chicago- cats taken, killed, and hidden by crime syndicates in increasingly creative ways. She was still sad to think of the place she'd come from- the place of open skies and green plains like the sea. The city grime was in her blood now, she supposed, but things like this still bothered her for the sheer...brutality.

[Meadowlark]

Milady shook her head slightly. "You grow up in this area of the city you see your first body before age five. Death's a fact of life. If the killer knocks on my door I'll know it's my time, until then you live life. If this stops you from doing so, you won't make it in Felidae."

She paled slightly as she remembered this particular body though. "Of course, no cat deserves to die like this, but it's done. And neither of the bodies the papers mentioned were queens so I'd say it's likely crime related to begin with. I keep my paws clean and I should be fine."

[qualapec]

Vala suddenly felt far away. Her life had, for the most part, been fairly comfortable. Her father had been well off, and she'd had continuous work. She'd seen bodies when she was a child, too, but for the science of it- not the hovering question of whether or not she would be the next victim of the streets. This was the life she'd chosen for herself for a reason, but it was always difficult for her to hear of someone who felt helpless.

"Would you fight, though? If the killer knocked on your door, would you kill him if you could?" She didn't know why she asked it, it wasn't even relevant to the information she needed...but it seemed very important to Vala right then.

[Meadowlark]

Griddlebone shrugged in response. "Probably. I think any cat in their right mind would. After all, even if it's coming for us all, it doesn't mean we meet death willingly. But fate's a fickle Mistress so perhaps a better answer would be: if I was able to I would."

[qualapec]

Vala smiled. She liked that answer, she could relate. "I've known a few who didn't want to go down fighting. Never understood."

She held out her paw. "I'm Vala. I moved here recently."