I must be dreaming cause I don't believe in ghosts

[memento_corazon]

[Rosinante was late this morning, although Law knew why. He was picking up breakfast, he always offered to do it for them, and Law always put a little money in the heart shaped basket on Rosinante's desk to try to make up for it. Sometimes it got accepted, sometimes it ended up back on Law's desk, but the tradition of Rosinante bringing breakfast for them to work was a consistent.

It was one of many things that were constants for them. Rosinante got breakfast, Law looked over the early work that was set up for them, the files given that came from their superiors and he sorted out which ones he felt were needed to be dealt with first. Rosinante would skim through everything, he always did, the man was meticulous when it came to their cases. But Law usually had a good eye for what was important first.

Vintage dolls were going missing, and people spoke of seeing a 'centipede made of babies' in the distance. At the distance stated, this suggests a very large entity. And people are starting to feel compelled to purchase dolls and leave them out for this creature.

A cat in the next town had started supposedly speaking and telling fortunes in exchange for fish dinners. Everyone who feeds the cat has seen a rise in income, but feel unhealthily indebted to and will not risk not gifting it more food.

One vintage radio, Marine specific model, that tells the listener something dark they need to hear if put on the right station. The results have supposed driven nine people to suicide, no other information is had.

An apartment owner has sent specific information about a loud and repeating haunting. They've been aware of this haunting for years, a replay of a murder-suicide. However, the issue seems to be escalating and warping the apartment building.

Dozens of others are there, a house of VGGs, Victorian ghost girls, none of which ever actually are described in any way that matches children of that time period, all blond and blue eyed. Of course. Those are a dime a dozen, and hardly ever end with anything. This one though, one that slides out from the stack of ghosts and big foot and magic wells, says that the girl is beautiful, fragile looking, and the people who have encountered her feel like she's about to eat them the entire time. Law adds it to the four files above, on the top of the stack.

He's so caught up in his file hunting that he doesn't notice the sound of Rosinante's footsteps.]

Comments

[memento_corazon]

Maybe. Maybe not.

[Law doesn't trust people, they're usually wrong and full of lies. But in situations like this it's not particularly beneficial in his mind to write things off so quickly. Especially when more comments keep popping up, the town seems like it's about to rally against an enemy.

Too bad there's not an obvious one to be had.]

There's a major issue with the files. You said Dellion Conway, right? [There might be something more to this, or someone else died on the same day.] He specialized in communications, medical discharge due to debilitating injuries, no details further about what caused the injury. Got a couple of ribbons and awards during his service. [Law pauses.] Rosinante-ya, I think we have two on the same day.

[callada]

You're sure?

[Of course he's sure, but he has to ask anyway as he looks up from his food in surprise. It's still a coincidence, just a slightly more unusual one.]

I'm sure it happens sometimes. Lots of Marines, so some of them are bound to die on the same day, even in the same town.

[It's not staunch disbelief or anything, he just feels better playing devil's advocate a bit. Makes sure they have to have something really solid before they go spending the rest of the week following up in person.]

[memento_corazon]

I think so. I've got a totally different story. Let me see what else I can find.

[Law furrows his brows, the sound of typing speeding up. His first thought is that the man lied publicly, altered his information somehow to show himself as a better person. The locals truly seem to love him, so that's probably the case in point. But then he gets a name, and a very interesting comment.

Why is it always at forty? It's not fair that's still so young!]

I'm looking at a Cecil Marrins. [Two on the same day after all, then.] Someone made a comment asking why it always happens at forty. That's a little odd. [A lot of servicemen, former or current, go fast. It's a rough life, full of hard choices and responsibilities. Law keeps searching for more information though, and comes across a woman's list of the town's somewhat recent suicides.

Cecil Marrins-40
Dellion Conway-40
Issak White-40
George Sands-40
Mack Fisher-40
Laurence Roads-40
Beauregard 'Bo' Watanabe-40
Mary Church-40
Marigold Fisk-40
James Marple-40
Kathryn 'Kitty' Walker-40
Mallon Smithson-40

Dates and methods all come attached, some are noted as being declared suicides by the police, some are listed instead as accidental falls and drowning. The page has photocopied obituaries and as much information as possible for someone with only base access to records to get. Still, Law notes that it's made things easier on him.

Someone's an amateur sleuth and she's got her information in order.

And every one of them is a former Marine.] Rosinante-ya, I'm sending you a link. [It's easier for Rosinante to look on his own, after all.] Tell me what you think of this.

[callada]

[It wouldn't be fair to say that his skepticism fully melts away. Anyone can make a list like this and have it be complete bullshit. But it will only take a few minutes of searching through hospital and town records to confirm birthdates and thus the ages of all these people. Does it happen on their birthdays, the moment they turn forty? Is it a series of convenient rounding errors? Is it, in fact, total bullshit?

He stares at the list for a quiet minute or so, then starts filing information requests with the city hall. Might as well. But as he types, he responds,]

I think we need to talk to whoever put together this list. See what she knows. Could be a time-saver. I'm verifying birthdates right now to make sure it isn't completely made up, but in the meantime, let's go ahead and pay her a visit.

[memento_corazon]

[Law was working on checking information before he even started on sending the link. He's not going to waste his partner's time if he can help it, and he'd rather send Rosinante only confirmed information. But considering the obituary links and careful dates, he figured that it was worth sharing.

But if it'll mean something in the end is another issue. And he thinks that Rosinante has the right idea here. A little visit can't hurt. And even if it's not helpful, they'll be in the town anyway. So it's not going to be a wasted day regardless.

Something will be gotten out of it.]

It's not like we have another serious case right now.

[callada]

Yeah, give me a minute.

[Which, despite the fact he's said it sort of flatly and is distracted with filing the last of the info requests he's working on, he flashes a smile over toward Law and then polishes off the last of his food.]

Just checking birthdates. They'll get back to us in a couple days, probably. You ready to head out?

[He asks as he stands, then trips backward over his own chair and tumbles to the office floor.]

[memento_corazon]

[That smile gets a bit of a grin in return from Law, just for a moment. Law isn't the most sociable of people, he's frankly someone who's words can bite and who's humor can run cruel. But Rosinante brings out the best in him, somehow. And over the course of their time working together, he's slowly warmed up.

And maybe, that's another reason they work so well together.

Law makes sure that he hasn't wasted any of his breakfast, eats the last couple of bites, and nods.]

Yeah, let me grab my coat. [Law sighs as Rosinante goes down, and grabs his laptop to take with him. That goes into his bag, with a couple of other items, and that's all he needs to get moving. Save for Rosinante righting himself, that is.] Do you want to drive separately? Or go together?

[callada]

[He picks himself up without too much trouble other than a wince as he rubs his hip which had hit the floor hardest. Ow. But then he rights the chair and dumps the takeout container in the trash. One laptop between the two of them is plenty, but he makes sure to grab other useful things - phone, wallet, keys - and stick them in his coat pockets.]

Together. Come on.

[No justification needed, really. He goes to get the door for the both of them so they can head for the parking lot.]

I'll drive if you have the directions ready.

[memento_corazon]

[The fact that Rosinante always gets up with relative ease and minimal fuss is somewhat amazing to Law. He was a doctor before an incident with the paranormal pushed him into this line of work, and he's seen far more people whine and complain over minimal injuries than he has people respond to what seems painful like Rosinante does. He just moves on. Law isn't sure if it's a good thing or not, but regardless it's something that's amazing to him.

Rosinante wants to carpool, so Law won't argue. He grabs the last of what he feels is needed for the trip, and heads out with his partner.] I've got it. It's not that far so we'll be fine, and the roads are pretty straightforward once we get closer. [He gets them up on his phone, and locks the office up before they make their way to the parking lot.] You think it's going to be anything worth the trouble this time? We've gotten a lot of boring cases lately.

[callada]

[What an odd question. He glances over at Law as he buttons up his coat and waits for Law to finish locking up.]

No way to know without finding out, right? Anyway, even if it's a bust, we'll have a road trip day. Good to get out.

[Not that he's perpetually some sunny optimist or anything. He takes the job plenty seriously, for what it is. But why not enjoy an opportunity to get out and see a new town? A boring case is one where nobody gets killed by the supernatural, and people are left to their mundane problems instead, and he can't say that's all bad either. A slight waste of time, but an acceptable one.

Once Law has caught up, he goes to unlock the car and buckle in with a smile and a shrug at his navigator as Law climbs in beside him.]

[memento_corazon]

[Rosinante seems so much less focused on proof and needing a show of reality than Law does, at least in Law's opinion. Sometimes Law thinks it's just a day job to Rosinante, and it very well might be. But to Law, who has experienced something that to him is life changing, he wants to see more. Needs to have evidence. He wants to believe that there's more than just the low rung cases they keep coming across.

Most of this is faked, he knows it. Or folklore. But sometimes Law thirsts for this, hungers for evidence, needs something more concrete than the few experiences he's had personally.]

It's still a paid day out on the road. Could be worse. [Once Law is settled in, he sets up the map for directions on his phone. It's a drive, sure, but not a long one. And there's probably somewhere to eat along the way if nothing else.] Take Barns road out to Farm Road A66. We'll be on that road a while.

[callada]

[Sure, a paid day, if that's what keeps Law motivated. Rosinante is just happy to go along with him. He hadn't been sure about this job when he'd taken it - his skepticism told him there couldn't be much out there that's truly supernatural, and if there was, nobody would believe the things they find. But he took it in order to solve those cases nobody else wanted to touch, to help people who otherwise would never get the help they needed. Some of it ends up being real crime, just not of the supernatural variety, and those ones are sometimes the most satisfying to solve, for the sake of the victims. People can be monsters, too.

But he lucked out in ending up with Law as his partner for this. He's a big part of why the job is so bearable on those frustrating days where the spirits in the trees are just two people sneaking out for an affair, or an old man trying to claim his own life insurance.]

Barns to A66. Got it. [Lotta long roads out here but hey, it's a nice day for a drive.] Want to put on some music? Whatever you want.

[memento_corazon]

[There really is something about working with Rosinante that makes things more pleasant for Law. The man is fascinating, clumsy but somehow a talented marksman. He's over the top, often silly, but he manages to be a frightening force when it's called for. Rosinante is a mess of traits and contrasting points, and somehow he's the only person that Law has really connected to since leaving home.

Or what was left of his home, anyway.

And maybe that's part of why he's so desperate to find some truth in all of the mess of rumors and lies. He knows how monstrous humans are, what evil they're capable of. So maybe there's a part of him that wants something bigger beyond the spectrum of human wickedness to blame for once.]

It won't be that long of a drive. [He's almost disappointed in that. Once he has the music on, a local variety station that shouldn't be too annoying, it's smooth sailing. The weather is lovely, the skies are blue, and he's off with his co-worker to investigate.

Law is surprisingly content.] Why did you get into this line of work, Rosinante-ya? [He hadn't realized until recently that he'd never asked.]

[callada]

[Far enough for music, though. And he knows this song! He'd sing along - actually, is about to do just that - but Law asks him a question instead.]

Always wanted to help the people who couldn't help themselves, you know? And supernatural, paranormal events and creatures are usually the definition of that. Especially when other people don't take it seriously. The investigation part is fun, too. It's like a puzzle.

[An extra-challenging puzzle with a lot of research and careful questioning. It sure does keep him engaged.]

How about you?

[memento_corazon]

[It's nothing exciting, but Law's tastes are usually universally disliked by people, and it's mainly just for a little background noise anyway.

Rosinante's answer suits him entirely. Law makes a soft snort, not quite a laugh, and he can't help but to smile. Of course he wants to help people, especially those not taken seriously when they're in need. Rosinante is so good, and Law endlessly admires him.

Then Law is a little more serious. He doesn't share this story often.]

When I was working as a doctor, a patient arrived at my parent's clinic dead after the ambulance driver got in a car accident on the way. He'd be drinking, and she was gone long before she made it to us. She was dead. There was no coming back from that. [Law can still remember her expression, angry and contorted.] We were just holding onto her for pick up at that point, we didn't even have a proper morgue. Just a room set aside for the purpose. But when I came into work again that evening, the door was open. And she was walking around.

[callada]

What? Wow.

[It's less of a shock than it might have been when he first started. But it's still fascinatingly weird, and he can see why Law was sucked in. Talk about a medical mystery.]

So what happened? How come she got back up?

[memento_corazon]

My dad and I trapped her in an empty room, and she just keep angrily saying strings. Over and over, she never said anything else the entire time she was awake. We couldn't figure out what she meant, she didn't have any strings on her, we couldn't find any connection. And when we failed to get what she wanted us to understand, she got nasty. [Law will never forget that day. Not once.] She broke out of the room by beating down the door when we went for help. We didn't know what to do with her, she was strong and didn't respond to sedation. She broke my dad's arm like a twig when we tried to restrain her. And while we were trying to get the police out to the clinic? She grabbed my sister from where she was sleeping next door.

[Law sighs, it seems like such a long winded story.] She marched her back to us. Held her hostage while screaming out strings. Like if we were scared of her, we'd be forced to get it. But before she could hurt her, the same people that hired me shot her in the head and gave us the chance to get Lami back. They burnt her out back. She kept moving until there was enough tissue destruction from the fire to keep her still. They classified her as an anomaly, there was no sign of any of the expected paranormal causes for reanimation. And when they took her remains back with them, she was still going on about the strings.

[He's found some uncomfortable connections to that since joining his workplace. The birdcage killer is still on the run, unable to be caught.] I couldn't really go back to small town doctor work after that.

[callada]

[The thrilled smile, worn in anticipation of a cool and exciting story, slips from Rosinante's face and he glances over at Law in concern and sympathy before setting his eyes back to the road ahead.]

Wow. No, I guess not. I'm glad it wasn't worse for all of you.

[It must have been utterly terrifying. But it makes sense that Law would pursue a career like this one after a brush with it in his personal life. He's such a practical, logical guy and those don't usually take up work with the supernatural, he thinks.]

How long ago was that?

[memento_corazon]

It was four years ago. It's over for them. The clinic was closed for a while, but it's safe and unaffected. So things went back to normal.

[Without him, however. Once the hunger for more of the paranormal, more proof, and more answers took root within him he was doomed as far as hospital work went. Thankfully, Lami followed in the family footsteps, his parents have plenty of help there.]

Normal enough, anyway.

[callada]

[He nods, holding that thought while he pays attention to the road. Traffic is light out here, thankfully, which gives him time to put more of his mind over to thinking about the conversation when he doesn't have to do things like stop at this intersection briefly.

Normal enough is the right description - anyone whose lives are touched by the paranormal are never going to see things quite the same way once they realize there's more to the world than what they had been led to believe.]

So your family - how much do they know now about what you do?

[memento_corazon]

Officially? Nothing. I don't give them a lot of details, either. It's risky. But they know the basics of what I do, and that I have a good partner who helps keep me safe. And that's good enough for them.

[Law isn't sure that he could enjoy this job as much without Rosinante. It can be frustrating, frightening, and sometimes depressing. But having Rosinante with him honestly helps make even the rough days bearable. And there are usually more rough and frustrating days than productive and fulfilling.]

In the records, the ones left from who worked the department before us, there were logs about a couple of things that would attach to people that spoke about them. We haven't come across anything like that, but I don't want to risk dragging something home to my parents and sister. And whoever else is in the clinic with them.

[callada]

Smart. I'm glad they're content with that, too. Makes it easier that they're so understanding.

[Presumably. But Law speaks of them fondly, and not with the exasperation of someone who is constantly being harassed about his job and coworker, so he can only assume good things.

Ahead lies their destination, judging by the sign. Farm Road 66 - there sure aren't many houses out here, so one of these in the next several minutes will be it.]

You want to take the lead on this when we get there?

[Rosinante is happy to do so instead, if Law would rather stand back and play foul-tempered not-quite-bad-cop. But maybe the guy has ideas brewing already.]

[memento_corazon]

I don't mind talking to her. It shouldn't be a problem. We're just doing a quick interview. [Law pauses. Should be is nice, but it doesn't always work out as it should.] But we're had a lot of easy situations become problems. [Conspiracy theorists can be erratic, even when they think someone is on their side.

Law makes a couple notes in his phone, and then gets back to taking in the countryside as they travel.

Something really hits him as they go further down the road, closer to the town in question. He can't put his finger on it at first, it's a hard to pin down what's pulling his attention. But then it hits, after Rosinante makes a turn.

It's perfect out here. There's no old tractors, no rotting barns, no abandoned buildings, none of the usual rough rusty piled up scrap that usually hits an area like this. It looks like it was taken right out of a country homemaking magazine, down to the little white flowers in the tall grass.

It's nothing that odd on it's own. But usually small low income rural areas tend to not be this meticulously maintained. And entirely clean looking for the great outdoors.] Hey, Rosinante-ya? When did you last see an animal? [He might have just missed something. But in the past, he's seen that areas that seem too good to be true usually are.]

[callada]

Dunno. Can't say I was looking for them.

[He's looking now, though. Out here on this farm road, shouldn't there be cows, sheep, horses? Birds on the telephone wires? He slows down a little, partly because they're close and partly because Law has good intuition and now he's really looking.

He hits the brakes and stares when they come alongside a field of corn, and every single plant is the same height, and every flower on the stalks are at the same stage of growth. With the breeze ruffling through the leaves he can't say for sure that the plants themselves are identical, but they're uncomfortably similar. It's at this point also that the radio station he'd had on low in the background fades out to static as if they've lost the signal.]

What was the house number again?

[Got to be one of these next few, he can only imagine, as he gives the car some gas and they get moving forward again.]

[memento_corazon]

[Law doesn't like this. He doesn't notice the radio at first, he's too busy keeping an eye out for any sign of bird or insect even. But there's nothing. No sounds of an animal's calls, no buzzing or flying, and nothing is scarier to him in their line of work than when wildlife abandons an area.

It's a sign that even nature knows something bad is here.

He shakes his head, and checks his phone again for the address when Rosinante asks. And that's when he notices the radio.] 667. [He messes with the radio a bit, changing the stations. But there's nothing but static on any of the channels, so he just shuts it off.]