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She’d known the case would end in tears the moment she’d read the name off the urgent dispatch.
The tears were not the widow’s. The »
The tears were not the widow’s. The »
« woman sits in the drawing room looking more inconvenienced than bereaved. The Sheriff offers her condolences and leaves; the officers »
« will keep an eye on her. The whereabouts had already been checked; if there was foul play, the widow had not dealt the hand in »
« person.
She walks back through the grand entrance hall, and up to where the man had been found. It was grand, indeed—almost rivaling »
She walks back through the grand entrance hall, and up to where the man had been found. It was grand, indeed—almost rivaling »
« the Estate, but without even close to the means to afford it. Not even with the salary and connections being a Councilman brought.
But »
But »
« she’d known that for a long time.
“So?”
Curt, clipped question at the medic knelt beside the body.
“So?”
Curt, clipped question at the medic knelt beside the body.
She nods. The stretcher bearers do their job. She doesn’t look. She’d seen enough of the man for a lifetime.
The sex was obvious even »
The sex was obvious even »
« without the medic’s report. A rut, a weak heart, the woman dashing off to avoid answering questions she might not want to even ask »
« herself.
The details are etched in her mind like so many grotesque carvings. She files them deep.
It’d be simple enough to leave it at »
The details are etched in her mind like so many grotesque carvings. She files them deep.
It’d be simple enough to leave it at »
« that. Just, even. He’d never afforded others consideration.
And that’s why she can’t leave it alone. Too many will be smiling at the »
And that’s why she can’t leave it alone. Too many will be smiling at the »
« still-fresh ink in their hands come morning.
Caitlyn leans on the railing. The warm shade of wood can’t hide the lifelessness that had settled in this house long before this night. »
« The widow, below, escorted away to the comfort of family in troubled times.
Like a cat from a saucer.
The Sheriff nods at the woman, »
Like a cat from a saucer.
The Sheriff nods at the woman, »
« solemn. Courtesy costs nothing. She watches the door close before turning back to the bedroom.
The delicate mechanism clicks softly. »
The delicate mechanism clicks softly. »
« Her vision spins, becomes crimson, bloodied like the corpse wasn’t.
There. The window.
There. The window.
She delays. Circles, as though unaware of the quarry, drinking in the scene bathed in blood. Faint traces stand out in flashes of »
« lightning. Disorientation like a storm pouring down on her, mocking her, daring her to withstand it instead of seeking shelter.
But »
But »
« she’d seen it.
Tap. The mechanism whirrs. The soft click is a thunderclap. The clouds part, and she is blinded, staggering. The room »
Tap. The mechanism whirrs. The soft click is a thunderclap. The clouds part, and she is blinded, staggering. The room »
« solidifies around her. She breathes in. Out.
She goes to the window. She collects the few strands of thick, soft, short, white hair in »
She goes to the window. She collects the few strands of thick, soft, short, white hair in »
« her gloved hand like caring for a baby bird.
She frowns.
She frowns.
The window spills no more secrets. Piltovian to the core. The room is the silent. More talkative than the usual witness.
It takes her a »
It takes her a »
« while to walk down to the Academy. Slivers of pale, cold morning light reach down to the streets, then flit away, afraid of what they »
« might find. They needn’t be. Steam and smoke billow from the very ground, thicker with every exhalation. The beast is waking. Those who »
« dared to ride it into the night are shaken off, staggering as they spill out into the streets.
Her destination towers above her. The »
Her destination towers above her. The »
« Tower, the needle thrust through the city to jut into the skies in stone and steel, never to be turned back, never to pierce through the »
« streets and sew the city back together.
They all turn to stare when she intrudes their sacred halls.
They all turn to stare when she intrudes their sacred halls.
The sun glares down at the city, uncaring. Its simmering heat has driven off the steam and fog, chased it into corners and dark alleys »
« where it bides its time with the vermin.
Those she passes in the light of day look the part. Fancy, respectable, promptly going about »
Those she passes in the light of day look the part. Fancy, respectable, promptly going about »
« their business. But she knows their darkness will come to play soon enough. Night always comes.
She, too, is only grasping in the dark. »
She, too, is only grasping in the dark. »
« Animal, maybe. Maybe not. Answers would take days, or weeks. Too long. It’s always too long.
And all she has is a hunch. One that makes »
And all she has is a hunch. One that makes »
« her doubt the coroner more than the envelopes she sees.
Who wanted him dead? Who didn’t.
No… who wanted him dead enough to go through »
Who wanted him dead? Who didn’t.
No… who wanted him dead enough to go through »
« all this trouble? /That/ is the question. Those she knew about would leave him in an alley. A robbery gone wrong. A fight over a slight. »
« Maybe even a suspect. A confession everybody would know was false, and everybody would play along.
But the ones she knew about were not »
But the ones she knew about were not »
« the only ones. That she knows. And precious little more.
She rounds a corner into the civic square. The Station soars high into the »
She rounds a corner into the civic square. The Station soars high into the »
« skies, the all-seeing power of law made manifest. Its shadow falls on her.
She knew the woman is trouble the moment she walks in through her door. All in black. Velvet and lace. A veil, and not an inch of »
« modesty.
Crimson lips against pale skin spill the story of a brother too proud to admit his failing health, too ambitious, perhaps, to »
Crimson lips against pale skin spill the story of a brother too proud to admit his failing health, too ambitious, perhaps, to »
« let it jeopardize his campaign. A request to keep those details from the press, that’s why she’s here. Leave the people with a better »
« memory, even if he does not deserve it. A dab of the eyes. Not too much.
She’s impressed. Maybe it’s the sister herself, maybe »
She’s impressed. Maybe it’s the sister herself, maybe »
« someone’s fed the sob story to her. It doesn’t matter.
Someone is scrambling.
Someone is scrambling.
A trail of cigarette smoke lingers in the air, the only proof the woman had ever set foot to her office. Not the stale stench of a»
«habitual smoker, but the delicately acrid, unset whiff of someone whose cigarette holder comes out to make a statement. Or a point.
This»
This»
«was not a warning to step away. It was a parting kiss, placed in the hopes of sending her away thinking she'd been graced instead of»
«dismissed.
The deeper she'd dig, the harder they would come.
She had entertained the thought of skipping the Chamber of Commerce Ball.»
The deeper she'd dig, the harder they would come.
She had entertained the thought of skipping the Chamber of Commerce Ball.»
«The social event of the spring, the tabloids called it. Shrieked for the last month. The cream of Piltover all gathered. The nobility, the»
«industry, the civic leaders.
Lions, sharks, and hyenas in a wading pool of corruption.
Lions, sharks, and hyenas in a wading pool of corruption.
The carriage pulls to the entrance. The slow halt makes the thick velvet drapes swing. The only thing that does. Not even the slightest»
«breeze gives relief from the sweltering heat that’s settled on the city like a lazy dragon.
She waits. For all its progress, the gods of»
She waits. For all its progress, the gods of»
«Piltover—old, old money and the decaying corpse of the aristocracy that ruled these lands—are anything but. A lady does not arrive»
«alone.
Her mask is on long before the door opens.
Sometimes, over time, they catch her scent, the lions and sharks and hyenas. Nothing a»
Her mask is on long before the door opens.
Sometimes, over time, they catch her scent, the lions and sharks and hyenas. Nothing a»
«ball like this couldn’t fix. Daddy’s girl. The dazzling socialite just competent enough to have her position. The mascot. They lose»
«interest, look for bigger fish. They forget.
Jayce is resplendent. He never fails her. Never fails to show up to a party, at least.
She»
Jayce is resplendent. He never fails her. Never fails to show up to a party, at least.
She»
«takes his hand, and steps out into the roaring sea of lights flashing like the monstrous storms that never truly wash this town of its»
«filth.
Escorted inside through the reporters and those of the populace who enjoy seeing the creme congregate to celebrate its unsurpassed»
«excellence by the man so very much in his element, Caitlyn disposes of her feather-light silken cape and spends a short moment before a»
«mirror to ensure she exudes just the right sort of confidence. Not doe-eyed, not vacuous, not foolish… but just so. A socialite with a»
«cutting wit, exclusive, extensive education, and a charming manner to complement the lineage and connections that would have risen her to»
«such success.
Arm in arm they enter the grand ballroom, together for just long enough for everyone to surely see them before with a»
Arm in arm they enter the grand ballroom, together for just long enough for everyone to surely see them before with a»
«whispered thank-you she lets the man go, and dives into the ocean of those she calls friends, and those few who she thinks of as friends.
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