tarnishedbadge | Police Station [For Cosette, Spencer and Lara]

Levi had given Joel the rest of the day to talk to Spencer, just as he said he would. After that he had called Cosette, Spencer and Lara and asked them to come down to the station. The reassurances of "no you're not in trouble" and "we just need to talk to you" or "I can let you know down at the station" were met with various degrees of acceptance. Honestly he would have preferred to conduct the interviews elsewhere but since he was letting them know they might be in danger he thought the security of the police station would be the best place for that.

Also, his relationship with Lara, whatever it was, complicated things slightly. He was fairly certain she wasn't the blonde mentioned in the note but he couldn't dismiss the possibility that it was. Levi wanted to make sure it didn't seem like any of the potential victims were getting preferential treatment.

So he had booked one of the conference rooms, which was a lot less formal than an interrogation room but more private than his desk, to speak with each of them. None of them were under any sort of suspicion but Levi needed to find out if any of them had seen something out of the ordinary lately and then warn them they might be in danger. The order of that was important but it was never fun. People always wanted to know why you were asking certain questions but contrary to what they thought, that didn't always help with the answers. You could always ask the questions again once they knew but you couldn't put that cat back in the bag once it was out.

Setting a water bottle in front of the empty seat across from him, Levi waited for his first interviewee to arrive.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

asharpertongue

Lara didn't much like the police station but Levi didn't sound like it was a request she could afford to ignore.

She walked into the station and smiled at the desk sergeant. "I'm here to see Detective Astor."

From:

tarnishedbadge

To be honest, there was a part of Levi that hoped his interview with Lara would go poorly. That part of him was the shittiest, most cowardly part of him that he hated, but it was there. Because if this didn't go well, if she was offended or upset that he was forced to do this by the book? Well that was that. It simplified a practically infinite set of complications he might face because of how he felt about Lara.

When she entered the room, shown in by the desk sergeant who closed the door when they left, he stood and gave her an apologetic smile. Part of him may have wanted this to go poorly but a bigger part didn't want Lara out of his life. Levi wasn't even sure what they had, really, but it was good.

"Thanks for coming," he said. "But I wouldn't have asked you to come down here if it wasn't important or necessary."

From:

asharpertongue

Lara smiled a little back at him. "Which is why I came."

She sat when he offered her a seat and watched him as he fiddled with the files in front of him. He was conflicted, she could see it written all over his face and in truth she could understand it. There was a reason that business and pleasure didn't mix.

From:

tarnishedbadge

Well, she was being as reasonable and cooperative and he'd hope anyone would be so it seemed like this wasn't a complete bust from the get go. He probably should have let his partner handle this except Levi wanted to prove to himself that he could do it. That and because it would feel like a weird betrayal if he didn't talk to her himself.

"Have you noticed anything or anyone odd or out of place the last couple of weeks?" he asked, deciding it was best just to jump right into the questions. "Perhaps a new regular at your bar or a face that keeps showing up wherever you're around?"

From:

asharpertongue

Lara considered that. There were a few new faces but they were mostly sirens coming out of the woodwork. And she couldn't exactly talk to Levi about them. That particular thought made her frown.

She shook it off and looked at him. "Not that I can think of. There are always new faces in the bar but none that stick out. We haven't had any new clients for Heart of Gold lately either."

From:

tarnishedbadge

"Have there been any threats against you or anyone close to you, even ones seem just a joke?"

Interviewing someone like Lara was actually a lot better than most of the people he talked to. She was smart and capable and wouldn't bullshit him. Still, he had to make sure, so Levi used his ability just enough to make sure her thoughts matched up with what she was saying. There was a flash of something like regret but he didn't push. It already turned his stomach to do as much as he had but more than one persons safety was at stake.

From:

asharpertongue

"No. I don't let anyone that makes threats on either me or my people go without making an issue of it." In truth she hadn't had a threat in months. The occasional tough to handle clients were soon soothed with money. She couldn't vouch for every one of her sirens though...that was trickier. "But I'll speak to them again. Make sure nothings come up in the last few weeks. If there's anything to tell, we'll come and see you."

From:

tarnishedbadge

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Levi said with a nod. He didn't imagine that anything would turn up but he was nothing, if not thorough. No one was going to get hurt during this because he failed to do his due diligence. Especially not Lara.

"Have you seen this man at all?" He asked, taking Mark's picture out of the folder and sliding it across the table to her. "He may not look exactly like that, of course."

From:

asharpertongue

Lara took the photo and examined it. The face wasn't familiar. Maybe a few aspects were...the eyes held something she thought she might have seen before but that could have been coincidence.

"I don't recognise him. I might know his name though, if his face has changed a lot." She prompted.

From:

tarnishedbadge

Levi knew what she was getting at and was glad that it was past the point where revealing more information would affect the answers she gave him. If she was an actual suspect he would have kept her in the dark longer but thankfully she wasn't.

"His name is Mark Fuller and he has a history with Joel Baker. There have been some vague threats against Mr. Baker and those close to him."

From:

asharpertongue

She frowned and shook her head. "I know the name because I've heard it from Joel but I've never seen him. Joel doesn't talk about things like that very often." Looking over the photo again, she cocked her head and then raised her eyes to his. "There's more than what he told me, isn't there? He said it wasn't specific but a name and a face is pretty specific."

From:

tarnishedbadge

"There have been rather vague, but very real threats against Mr. Baker and persons unnamed," Levi said. It would have been nice if Lara had seen Mark around but he hadn't expected it. "But the threats do mention a 'little blonde girl' and while Mr. Baker doesn't think that means you, and I agree with him, we're not taking any chances."

If anyone were to describe Lara they probably wouldn't use the phrase 'little blonde girl', especially someone Mark's age. They had to entertain the possibility though that it wasn't Mark, possibly someone older who would view Lara like that.

From:

asharpertongue

She raised an eyebrow. "'Little blonde girl'..." There were a few blondes in town but none that she'd describe as 'little girl'. "Interesting way to describe someone. And I'm not sure I'm close enough to Joel to warrant being a target. Cosette, though...she might be."

From:

tarnishedbadge

"Like I said, I don't think it means you but I'm not willing to take the risk that there isn't that possibility," he said. Levi was almost certain that Cosette was the 'little blonde girl' and he would talk to her later. Truth be told he wanted to talk to Lara first because he considered her the best bet for having actually seen Mark.

"Fortunately Mr. Baker doesn't have a lot of people that he spends time with or considers himself close to, which cuts down on the number of targets. Like I told the others, if you go somewhere that isn't a public place try not to go alone. Even better if you have somewhere you can stay for a few days so that you're not alone. In the likely event that you and the others ignore that advice at the very least please have someone you check in with regularly for the next couple of days who will contact us if they don't hear from you."

From:

asharpertongue

"I have an amazing alarm system and Osha to guard me. I think i'll be alright." Not to mention the myriad wards and charms she'd had put all over the place. Lara nodded and frowned a little. "I wish I could have helped more."

From:

tarnishedbadge

Levi was a bit relieved that Lara already had such good protective measures. It made sense that someone with an escort business would understand the importance of security, at least when that person cared about them as much as he suspected Lara did.

"Just not making things up to seem important to the investigation is a big help," he told her. He wouldn't give her some trite answer like how she really had been a big help, she didn't need the reassurance and probably wouldn't appreciate it. "And if there's anything more you can do to help I'll be sure to let you know."

From:

asharpertongue

She smiled a little. "Please do. Joel is...very dear to me and if I or any of my people can do anything or provide any information or assistance, please don't hesitate." She meant it too. Joel was someone to be protected. She got up. "I'll be at Watersong most evenings. If not there then at home." She passed him a card with her personal cell number on it and had a brief moment of regret that this is the way she gave Levi her number before she schooled herself and shook it off.

From:

tarnishedbadge

Normally Levi would never let someone he was interviewing end the interview, at least not in a way that was so casual. It was a very bad idea that he was willing to break that rule for Lara, no matter how minor it was. He told himself that this would be the only time because next time he'd let someone else handle the interview.

"I'll be sure to contact you if I think of anything," he said, taking the card from her. At least now he had her cell number. Damn this was weird. "I- I'll probably call just to check up. As a paranoid and concerned friend. Like I will for Spencer. Well, maybe not exactly like I will for Spencer."