1256/No good deed

No good deed
Date of Scene:	02 July 2017
Location:	Gotham
Synopsis:	Renee approaches Harry after finding his card on a murder scene, suspecting him of witholding evidence, or worse ...
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Renee Montoya, Karrin Murphy

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Harry Dresden has posed:
It's been less than an hour since Harry 'saved' Karrin from the clutches of Two-Face. Less than an hour since he found her stumbling down an alleyway, seemingly healed from her gunshot wound, but not entirely lucid. He brought her back to his apartment, and the one thing she said before she passed out was to let Renee know.

Who the hell is Renee?!

Harry leaves his apartment, locking the door and setting the wards before making his way to the parking lot and towards his trusty steed, the Blue Beetle (no relation to Ted). He looks at his notebook, "Renee Montoya. Guess the best place to start would be Karrin's office. This would be so much easier if I could use a computer...or even Karrin's phone."

Renee Montoya has posed:
    It's funny how the fate works. Renee had been on her way -to- Harry's. She knew the address. Karrin had it in her logbook in her office. And, Renee was a very thorough officer.
    She -also- knew that she'd found Harry's card, on a new murder victim. The woman had come into Harry about suspecting her son was up to something odd as he'd been missing for a few days, but hadn't followed through with anything yet. And, while Renee was very aware that Karrin often used Harry for her cases, she was also aware that Harry'd been brought in at least once, for witholding evidence.
    2 + 2 = 4. And, suspecting Harry Dresden, Wizard for Hire, knows something, her own beat up car pulls up in front of his rental with a whirring engine, and she parks it. The door is shut, hard, and sporting a suit, and loose tie, Detective Renee Montoya recognizes Harry from his picture. It'd be hard, not to. "Harry Dresden," she says, in a tone that Harry knows all too well. Karrin's used it multiple times. As have many of his friends.
    Harry is in trouble.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Pausing mid reach for the handle of the Beetle, Harry slowly turns his head to gaze upon the bearer of that voice. Not expecting trouble, Harry is sans coat, since Karrin is passed out inside using it as a blanket, sans staff, and sans rod because he just didn't expect to need them for this quick errand. He is just dressed in a pair of jeans, a button up shirt and a pair of sneakers, and a small bracelet adorned with little shields on his left wrist.

"Yes?" he says curiously. "My office hours are 10-5...oh wait. This isn't my office! Guess you can catch me there sometime, now if you don't mind...i'm in a hurry." He continues reaching forward to open the car door.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Not anymore," says Renee, quietly. "I'll give you the courtesy of hearing you out in your apartment because Murphy values your contributions. But, if you insist, we can do this back at the station and make it official. Either way, Dresden, we're doing it," she says, flatly. And before Harry can do much, she's got a hand on the door to that beetle.
    "Your choice."
    She watches his expression, then follows through after a beat with, "I'm Murphy's new partner, Renee Montoya. We'll be working together quite a bit, I imagine. So, let's not get this off on a bad foot, shall we?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry's eyes narrow a bit as Renee starts her little spiel, up and until the point that Renee mentions her name. Then his eyes open wider and his lips curl up into a grin, "Oh! Hey! I was just coming to try and find you at the station! I've got Karrin, she wanted me to come and find you. Come on!"

Harry, not thinking much about that just sounded, turns from the car and makes a move to head back towards the stairs to the basement apartment. "She's just down here. Come on."

Renee Montoya has posed:
    Renee, while not a seasoned detective - in fact, she's one of the youngest detectives ever in GCPD history, didn't get there by pulling people out of the hole they dig for themselves. Instead, she hands Harry the perverbial shovel, "Lead the way," is all she says, one hand dipping into her pocket briefly.
    Then, the spunky latina detective moves to follow Harry into his apartment, where he's apparently keeping Karrin.

Harry Dresden has posed:
With a wave of his hand, Harry disables the magical wards that protect his basement apartment and fumbles with the key for a moment before sticking the key into the lock and opening the heavy metal door by shoving against it with his shoulder, "Sorry. Door sticks. Demon attack."

Harry shoves the door all the way open, "Karrin?" he says lightly as he walks inside, "I found your partner."

He turns to Renee with a smile,, "Right this way, Detective."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Of course, Harry's basement apartment, full of mis-matched rugs, furniture, four legged beasts and various magical paraphernalia is not the most comforting place. ALmost no windows. Cold floors. A hidden trap door, the fireplace with mostly burned clothing in it right now. Something that suspiciously looks like a skull on the table, watching over the body on the couch.

And then there is that body. Karrin Murphy looks suspiciously well, just dead to the world asleep. She's in nothing but a long teeshirt, having half pushed Harry's duster off of her in her rest. Her blonde hair is greasy and clinging to her features, but her frame is perhaps even MORE muscular than when she went missing. And not, you know... Shot? No bandages. NOTHING, her arm and chest look perfectly normal. She's also so dead asleep that she doesn't wake up to Dresden's call. Hell, the collapsed, slightly uncomfortable looking way she's stretched across the couch? Maybe she's drugged. Who knows.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    Renee closes the door behind her, quietly. But, purposefully. It'll hold Harry up if he needs to make a run for it. Her eyes slide over the apartment, assessing it, briefly eyeing the creepy skull for a few moments before her eyes move along and then settle on the half-naked, barely covered, dead-to-the-world Karrin Murphy. She's not pale. And, after watching her some, Renee can see the slow rise-and-fall of the other woman's chest. Karrin isn't dead.
    Renee's eyes move to Harry, then. "So, you've been keeping her here."
    Renee doesn't give Dresden a chance to respond, instead, pulling out two evidence bags. The first she presses into his hand, "Care to explain why I also found this, in Jasmine Harris' apartment? She was found dead last night. Her heart was missing."
    The other two evidence bags are held out. One, holding a rubber-cement impression of inhuman, and certainly not normal canine or feline clawmarks, the second holding a plaster version of a huge, clawed footprint. Not animal. At least, no regular animal on earth. Maybe something else, entirely.
    "So," presses Renee, "You're holding a missing dective which the department has been going -crazy- to find in your apartment unclothed, and passed out - and you seem to be involved in a string of unsolved murders that seemed to be tied to a recent string of missing persons, and possibly Murphy. Jasmine Harris was the fourth."
    She eyes Harry. Much like Karrin does, when Karrin is upset. "Start explaining. Now."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry's smile slowly changes into a scowl as Renne starts talking, and that scowl only worsens as she continues to speak. When she is finally done, Harry spits out, "Hell's bells lady, I JUST found her, less than an hour ago. Did you miss the part 5 minutes ago where I said I was on my way to come and find you? Well, let me say it again. I. WAS. JUST. COMING. TO. FIND. YOU. Karrin wanted to come here, she didn't want to go to the hospital. And you know as well as I that Two-Face took her, it was all over the gad damned news."

The bag is pressed into his hand and he glances down at it, brow furrowed in a quizzical expression, "I have no idea who...What was the name? Is. People come into my office and take a card all the time...ok maybe not /all/ the time, but there are any number of ways she might have had one." He shoves it back at her.

The other two bags are glanced at, his eyes squinting slightly as he examines the claw marks and footprint. "Where did you find these? These look like they could be demonic in origin." he says as he reaches out to try and take the plaster cast. "Or Lupe Garou...god help us it it is another one of those. Barely survived the last one. Tell me that these murders aren't only happening on the 3 days of the full moon."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
And Karrin, for all her tough guy, put together attitude, is dead to the world with sleep right now. However, a mountain of a puppy dog, who had been flubbed on the floor right next to her in a guardian sort of manner, now raises his big fluffy head in Renee's direction. He doesn't exactly growl, but he does stand up, putting his dark and ridiclously fluffy body directly between Karrin and Renee. The dog could almost be a full grown medium sized dog now, but from the dinner plate size of his paws, he's probably still a young pup. And he's trying to figure out just what to do about Renee, but he doesn't seem all that happy about it. Harry didn't sound happy. Mouse wasn't happy.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Yes. That's what you said," Renee agrees, with the tone of someone who doubts that Harry is being entirely truthful about his motives for being so eager. "And yes. We all know Two-Face abducted her." That, at least, Harry seems to have going for him. Likely if the kidnapper had been unknown, Dresden would already be in cuffs. But then, Montoya is about as protective of Murphy as Dresden is. And probably just as stubborn as Murphy by the way she's acting.
    "They're exactly one week apart. All at night." Renee moves over to Karrin, to check the other woman's pulse, find out of it's erratic, or not. If she's been drugged, or not. The dog is noted, but otherwise ignored as if she doesn't intimidate easily. Probably a perfect partner, for Karrin.
    "So, tell me why you didn't phone the precint when you found her. You have a -missing- officer, half naked, and dead asleep in your apartment. Who had a bullet in her chest three days ago. And, doesn't now."
    She adds, then, "Dresden, I know you've held out on Murphy before. Quite a few times. I know she's arrested you for witholding evidence before, too. I hope we're not playing that game, right now."
    Montoya pauses, "Why don't you tell me how she came to be here. We'll start there. Then we'll move to the murders."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden says, "Mouse. Down." Harry says to the dog, "She is just doing her job...even though she is barking totally up the wrong tree."

He looks to Renee, remaining where he is as Renee moves to go check on Karrin, keeping his arms loosely at his side, "Uh, maybe because...as I have said, but will say once again for the cheap seats...I just found her. I don't have a cell phone, I barely have a working phone here at the apartment. I was coming to find you. Hell, until Karrin told me she had a new partner about 15 minutes ago, before she passed out, I didn't even know you existed. Couldn't exactly flash up the bat signal for you know, could I? Fuck, where is Rawlins or Stallings when you need them."

Harry shakes his head and starts to move towards the kitchen, probably to get a Coke. "I cast a tracking spell about an hour ago to track down Karrin. And as I was going down an alley to find where she was, I found her running down the alley I was heading down. After calming her down, I wrapped her in my coat and I brought her here. She made the decision to come here and not the hospital. Made sure she was comfortable, then left to come and find you." he pauses, "I don't know what Two-Face did to her, but she was mentioning pills. Some sort of treatment that healed her shoulder up. As for her being half naeked, well, she is better dressed now than when I found her. She was in some playboy bunny type thing, the remains of which you will find in the fire. Karrin threw it in there. The only thing I am withholding from you right now, Detective, is my ire at this bullshit.""

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin's pulse is somewhat thready, but steady. Her skin is cool and clammy, touched with dried salt of a heavy sweat which seems to have passed. She still doesn't really stir from the couch which is hellishly inconvenient because she could probably clear all this up, but eventually one can be terrified into pure exhaustion and the need for a deep, healing sort of sleep.

Mouse gives a little sound that isn't exactly a growl, but is on the edge of a worried whimper, as if he was asking Harry 'Are you sure?' and his doggy head cocks a bit to the side. Then, ever so slowly, Renee's wrist of the hand that was touching Karrin gets a huuuuge doggie lick and a wet nose. He's being awful gentle, but he might actually be trying to reassure the woman? Surely a dog is not so smart.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Let's get one thing straight, Dresden. I should be bringing you into the station, right now. And I should be calling the precint. And a bus, for Murphy. I haven't. Yet. Carmichael already would have. So you can be thankful that I'm here, and not him." Renee gives Harry a pointed look. "And I've been looking for her, against the direction of the chief the last week. Which is how I came upon those. THe first was missed in the initial investigation." A nod, to the rubber-cement impression. "And I find her here. It's suspicious, to say the least."
    Her hand is nosed by Mouse, and she reluctantly, but obligingly scratchs the huge head of the dog. She doesn't say anything more, but Harry can probably already discern she's going to verify the informationw with Murphy, when the woman wakes.
    "The third murder, where I found those clawmarks, the victim was drained of blood," she tells Harry. "The fourth was missing her heart. All have been female victims. One week apart. The first two may not be related. But each victim has died in a different manner."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry remains quiet for a few moments as he reaches into the icebox, one that uses real ice, and retrieves himself a Coke. He shuts the icebox and pauses for a moment before saying, perhaps through clenched teeth, "Can I get you anything, detective?"

He pops open the Coke, taking a swig as he turns to look back at Renee, "So, sounds to me that the only reason you aren't arresting me at the moment is because you would be just as much trouble with your boss as I am with you. Got it." Harry lets a little smirk form on his face, leaning against the counter and shaking his head, "Hell, I can't help but respect that, Detective. Though I expect that if you did arrest me, Karrin might not be to happy about that herself. Well, either that, or she would end up laughing at me." He sighs, "Karrin being here isn't really all that much of a surprise, if you know us. Despite the past you keep bringing up, Karrin and I...we're friends."

He looks back toward the impressions, "Well...at least it isn't a Lupe Garou. Those things are nightmares. I can do some research, but it might take me some time to figure out what may have made those claws. Do you have anything else to go on besides the clawmarks, and the ritual type murders? What was taken from the first two victims?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The woman still doesn't wake. To be sleeping through touch and conversation? It probably means she desperately needs the rest. Mouse leans happily into the scritching of Renee's fingertips and shifts his body weight a bit more to lean against her legs. At least it seems she's being accepted as a part of the family by the fur face.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    "Chief thought I'd get too invested in the case. Carmichael is heading it up," Renee replies to Harry, moving to cover Karrin up a little more from the evil lecherous Harry Dresden. Or, maybe just because it's respectful. Having read through a lot of Karrin's files, and knowing her in brief passing, Renee feels like she has a sister in the force with the other woman. Two peas in a pod, so to speak. "When she's offiically back, I'm sure I'll get to know the both of you quite well. I got the impression this is going to be a long term assignment." She does not go into the personal details of how she got shoved into the department which is perhaps the least favorable for Detectives in the GCPD.
    "The first victim was shot in the head. It was revealed post autopsy that her hair had been cut, post mortem. Second victim was strangled to death. All of her fingernails had been cut down to the quick."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Do me a favor, while you are over there." Harry says to Renee as he looks to the skull on the table, "Toss that small blanket over the skull. Teach him that it isn't polite to be a lech. Bob, be glad Karrin didn't wake up or she would have smashed your skull in. Next time, you get locked up if I can't trust you."

Harry looks back to Renee, studying her carefully for a few moments before he sighs, "Likely you will, so I hope you have an open mind about things, Detective. Just remember Karrin trusts me. It took time, and we have been through some weird shit together in order to solidify our relationship, but there is trust. I hope, once Karrin can clear the air, that you and I can possibly develop a level of trust as well."

He looks to Karrin, concern on his face. "I think the reason she didn't want to go back to the hospital was because Two-Face already grabbed her from there. Since she escaped, he is likely looking for her. This is likely the safest place she could think of in her state." He shrugs, looking back to the evidence bags, "Hair, nails, blood and heart? Sounds ritualistic, though I have no idea what ritual."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The skull just slightly rattles around on the table, like it might be moving on it's own, and then lights flicker in the eyes. A voice seemingly out of no where echoes, from the skull, though it's mouth doesn't move: "Harry, you told me to watch her. I just thought, well... Maybe it'd be better if I watched her a little closer. You're the one that gave her that shirt. I'm just doing my job!" And then, no doubt, SOMEONE Is going to toss a blanket over him like an annoying bird. The lights get a bit more muffled, "No appreciation!" Before flickering out again.

Renee Montoya has posed:
    Renee looks at Harry oddly, when he talks about the skull having a personality, or needing a lesson. "We'll see," she tells Harry, somewhat briskly. "I've seen my share of weird shit." Like faceless men. Batwomen. Killer Croc. Clayface. Among others.
    "You don't mind if I stay, until Karrin wakes up, do you?" She's half-asking. Half-telling. And it's uncertain if she'd honor Harry's request if he told her he'd rather she not remain.
    Yet, as she's retrieving the blanket, the skull seems to speak, and Renee quickly tosses the blanket over it, "But," she says, warily, "That is the first talking skull I've seen." Her mouth sets, and she walks over to the kitchen to take one of the coke's Harry previously offered to her. "Thanks."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry lets out a nod, offering over the Coke to Renee as she approaches, "No problem. If that eases your feelings, you are welcome to stay. Hell, Karrin will likely be glad to see you when she wakes up. She is the one that told me to go find you." He rolls his shoulder in a shrug and then looks to the no covered skill on the table, "That's Bob. He is my research assistant. He can be a pain in my ass, but he is also invaluable in matters of things arcane. He's also a lech."

Harry sighs, pushing off the counter and heading over towards the skull, "He also needs to keep his mouth shut when we have company. Come on, Bob. Let's go have a little talk in the lab, and if you can be helpful maybe, just maybe, I won't tell Karrin you were leering at her." He glances back towards Renee as he moves to the trapdoor, flipping it open. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"But, Harry! There's TWO of them now! And they could probably both murder you with their thighs alone! This isn't fair, Harry! I never get out! I just want to loook...." And Bob's voice gets even MORE muffled by the blanket being wrapped around his skull. Letch indeed.

Meanwhile, on the couch, Karrin shift slightly. Still asleep, but a quiet, terrified little whimper escapes her throat. It's the most frightened sound either of them have ever heard from her, a core-deep terror just barely breaking the surface. She settles in a moment later, back to sleep, but something is very, very wrong deep down.