Bailey's eyes grow for a moment. Right. That story had been all over the true crime stories, all the casts and feeds. It had everything. The unhappy wife, rich and beautiful. The husband, clueless obsessed office man. The dangerous elven gigolo. It was a total cliche, the sort of racist garbage you usually found in the most lurid of the right-wing Imperial tabloids. But still... It was fun.

"Hello, Mr. Uchicha," Bailey straightens up, trying to look professional. Sound professional. How does one sound professional in this sort of situation? She tries to push her voice down, letting herself sound slightly more masculine and serious. Back straightening, trying to present a serious image.

"Konichiwa Ms ... Nightshade." Uchicha says with a stiff bow. "I am honored that you will consider aiding me in my plight. I find myself in a difficult situation where your unique talents and heritage may prove instrumental, that is, if you are willing to help."

Ugh. This guy was trying too hard. Imperials were always like this. Bailey forces herself to maintain her look and not roll her eyes.

"I think there's likely some sort of arrangement we can come to," Nightshade answers, laying an arm across the table. Trying to play the role of the badass runner babe. Project some confidence. "Tell me the details of the situation and we'll see what can be done."

Mindi settles in at the table while Yorinobo pauses, typical of a corp suit, always calculating the angles. Seemingly satisfied with your confident reply, he takes a seat and begins his tale.

Tell it to them straight
”My wife, Sakura, is dead. Murdered. There are no suspects.” he begins matter of factly, ”Her remains were found in our apartment, behind locked doors and layers of private security and wards against intrusion. There is no indication of a forced entry or a struggle. She has no enemies and my enemies are not the type to murder an innocent. The investigation has come to an unsatisfactory conclusion and I am seeking an agent to pick up where they have left off.”

"A grieving husband looking for closure." Mindi whispers, "Such a sad story."

Producing a datachip bearing the Securitech International logo, the businessman continues "This is the investigation report. The company has decided there is no profitable outcome in keeping it open. I am no investigator, but I am convinced that there may be avenues of inquiry that were not adequately explored."

Nightshade reaches across the table. She slides the datachip to herself with a single finger. She takes it in her hand, giving a squeeze. Trying to keep her straight face and cool demeanor. "What makes you believe that there are unexplored avenues?" she asks, an eyebrow lifted.

Yorinobo let’s out a long slow breath, somewhere between a sigh and a hiss, a wounded sound.  ”I believe the investigation culminated prematurely as a result of certain biases against my wife.” he says through gritted teeth. Clearly you have hit a nerve.  ”The investigation became fixated on unfounded rumor that Sakura had had certain indiscretions. To be clear, I have no cause to doubt her marital fidelity and I strongly believe that these disgusting allegations are an attempt to dishonor her memory and bring shame upon my house.” he continues, his voice rising enough to attract the attention of those seated nearby.  ”The investigation was either led by incompetent officers or their loyalties were bought off by my rivals. I will not allow this affront to go unanswered!”

He takes a long moment, concentrating on his breathing, taking control of his emotions. Very Zen.
This message was last updated by the GM at 03:22, Tue 08 Feb 2022.

"Thank you, Mister Yorinobo. I think that's enough information for me to take the case. I believe the only matter that remains for discussion is that of compensation," Nightshade says, trying to remain icy and serious. Even as she internally recoiled, the poor man. So sweet. In a different situation, she'd click her tongue and offer him a hug. But that was not the right thing for now. Right now, she needs to be a bit more mercenary. That's what people are after, right?

”Oh, we are agreed on the standard rates,” Mindi says casually holding up five fingers and giving you a pointed look while silently mouthing ‘five thousand’. ”Double if the matter is resolved to his exacting standards in the next two weeks.”

”With any reasonable expenses covered as well.” Yorinobo adds.

”Expenses…” Mindi agrees, letting the word hang in the salt spray air coming off Golden Gate Bay.

"Expenses," Bailey repeats, struggling to keep her persona up. She was not expecting him to volunteer anything like that. She clears her throat, returning to her lower, more professional tone. "Well. I'll be reviewing the case notes you've provided. I may need to reach out to you for more information. If that's so, my associate-" she nods toward Mindi- "Will reach out to you to schedule another face to face meeting. Until then, we'll keep this affair subtle."

”You understand my intentions completely.” Yorinobo replies with a satisfied nod. ”It would not be to my advantage to keep this matter in the public eye. That damned trid series has done quite enough damage already. If there is any more that I can provide to aid the investigation, please contact my office.” he says, leaving most of his tea and departing with a dignified bow.

After he has left the restaurant, Mindi leans in and whispers ”They say the boyfriend did it. Flew into a jealous rage because she wouldn’t leave the rich old stick in the mud…”

The act is dropped almost the moment that Yorinobo is gone. "Yeah, I know, Mindi! I've seen the same tries you have!" she answers, in a tone that suggests she's very eager to discuss the scandalous details. The model practically bounces in her seat. "Oh my God! And that interview with his friend? About his dancing career??" Bailey can't help but tap her fingertips against the table.

"This is gonna be awesome! So... Um... I should like, probably read this stuff?"

"Dancing? That's not all he was doing at that nightclub." she says suggestively, "All signs point to a lover's tryst that ended badly. But how can the jilted husband accept that his innocent young wife was mixed up in a lusty affair with that sexy elf. And his friends. If you believe that trid, of course." she adds with hasty relish, delighting in the sordid details. "We'll need to give Yorinobo something to help bring closure. There must be some loose ends on the chip you can tie up so you can report back to him and bank a few thousand. The whispers in the shadows will help boost your career and open up some new contracts for you with bigger clients - both in the shadows and on the catwalk."

Collecting her things, she gestures toward the chip. "Shall I leave you to it, darling? Need anything of me before you get started?"

"Reading true crime case files? This one is so in my wheelhouse," Bailey says with a smirk. She pushes up from the table, practically skipping down the street toward the subway stop. She'd review the details back at her place and see what she can dig up. And no matter what, there would be some juicy details that would make for amazing gossip.

After a short BART ride back to your apartment, you settle in and begin to review the files.

Crime Scene:
Sakura's lifeless body was discovered in the penthouse suite master bedroom. Water had poured out of the large soaker tub, soaking the floor. It seems she was about to enjoy a relaxing bath. Her body is lightly bruised around the wrists, ankles and throat. There are ornate silver and black restraints on the floor of the bedroom and signs of a struggle.  Seems that the tabloids weren't exaggerating about everything...

Coroner's Report:
The coroner, Dr Hiroshi Wanatabe, was provided by Genoform Biotech. He concludes that the superficial wounds were insufficient to cause Sakura's death. He offers no commentary on the nature of the wounds, possibly out of deference for Yorinobo's standing in the company. The toxicology report indicates Bliss in Sakura's system, but Dr Wanatabe does not assess the dose would have been sufficient to cause death on its own. He has ruled cause of death a cardiac arrest. Heart failure.

Back to the Crime Scene:
Evidence of drug use is conspicuously absent from the penthouse bedroom.

The gigolo:
There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that Sakura was indeed carrying on an extramarital affair. Her PocSec and wristcomp contain a number of calls and cryptic messages, often at odd hours, from Kerall Soares, an elf who was tutoring Sakura in Sperethiel, Spanish and Portuguese. He is a native of Piracicaba, Amazonia. He was deported immediately after the death and was never questioned during the investigation.

The security guard's statement:
Genoform's contracted penthouse security guard is on duty at the penthouse at all hours. The guard on shift at the time of Sakura's death was Kenji Iwasaki. The middle aged rent-a-cop reports no visitors and no disturbances on the night of the murder. The investigating officer noted several inconsistencies in Iwasaki's statements, not least of which is the physical evidence that suggests someone else was present in the penthouse bedroom at some point and that there are signs of vigorous activity. Despite the noted inconsistencies, none of them appear to have been investigated in detail.

Security footage:
Now this is strange. Seemingly without any cause, a vase in the hallway shatters. Moments later a door slams in the bedroom.

Investigator's determination:
Genoform's contracted investigator, Hiroko Matsume concludes that the death is a result of misadventure. A combination of genetic fallibility, fatigue and recreational drug use.

Bailey sprawls out across her bed as the watches and listens to the recordings, reads the annotations, all attached to the files and reports. Her PocSec reading aloud as she paces around and makes a bowl of popcorn in the tiny microwave on the other side of her studio's single space. Kicking laundry out of the way to tumble back into bed. Occasionally flipping over to send a message to a friend or watch a bit of trid on some other grisly murder.

That movement was strange. A vase knocked over, and a door slamming on their own? Someone invisible? A spirit? Potentially. But the investigators should have noted something like that. Sent one of the corporation's security sorcerers through on a sweep for Essence trails. There didn't seem to be notes about it. And someone would have needed to clean up carefully to remove any signs of drug use. While stoned and their lover just died? Not likely. The doorman could have easily missed someone coming and going, especially if they didn't want to be noticed.

Maybe Yorinobo was on to something. Maybe there was more going on here. The first thing to do would be to eliminate the official story, though. Bailey starts to research Kerall Soares. Establishing an alibi for him would be the first step to seeing what else there was to look into.

It’s almost like Genofirm has never heard of Howling Coyote, the way they overlook magic it in the investigation. In her final report, Matsume makes cursory mention that the penthouse wards remained intact and therefore rules out magical activity as a factor in the case.  Yet the broken vase and slamming door seem reason enough to suspect something unseen in the penthouse. It’s too early to tell, but this is either incompetence or cover up.

Fortunately inquires into Soares pay off pretty quickly. It helps that he is continuing to advertise himself as a language tutor and that it pays to be accessible if you want to be hired. His host doesn’t say anything about him being deported however, and lists a local LTG contact number.

Check the situation
22:40, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Bailey, rolled 9 using 2d6.  Check the Situation Weak success

Ask me one thing about Soares and I’ll either answer the question outright or dodge the question and tell you two things of interest.

Bailey starts to reach out, saying she's looking for a tutor. For... Portuguese. That was plausible. But including a high angle pic oh herself, lips parted, low slung top. The sort of student every teacher is hoping shows up.

OOC: Hmmm... This guy speaks a lot of languages for someone who is actually mostly seducing housewives. How legit is he as a language tutor?

You get a quick reply to your message, his voice a rich baritone in barely accented English, "It is not difficult for me to take on new students right now. I could perhaps find the time to meet with you, if weekly would work well for you? Would you be willing to meet?"

His command of the language, tone and accent all seem educated and professional. His on screen image is handsome, though older than you expected for a wife seducing Lothario, into his early fifties at least, it is hard to tell with elves and the myriad ways that modern technology helps prevent signs of aging.

Very plausible that he could be both a tutor and have seduced a lonely wife like Sakura.

Seems like those rumors of deportation were greatly exaggerated, do you set up a meet?

Regardless if you do or you don't, you have some time to pursue other leads.
-dig up info on the investigator?
-question the security guard?
-or the coroner?
-check out the apartment?
-get your hands on Sakura's things?
-something else?

OOC: Yes, going to schedule a meet. In the meanwhile, Bailey wants to investigate the investigator. The quickest way to get the client happy to to poke holes that might get the investigation reopened by someone who is... Actually good at investigating.

Citation Needed 22:57, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Bailey, rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  Weak success … ask me one thing about the investigator.

Or…

Edge bump Strong success … tell me one thing about the investigator and I’ll tell you two more.

Sure, let's go for the Edge Bump. Why not!

Hiroko Matsume likes the idea that he's she's doing justice. He She wants to be a real detective, solving real mysteries. Not sweeping stuff up for his her bosses. That sort of thing gets under his her skin. Unfortunately for Genoform, they occasionally need a real detective in the rotation.

Edit: Hiroko is female.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:34, Wed 23 Feb 2022.

Edge 2/3

Stumbling across a couple of Hiroko’s past investigation reports, you can’t help but wonder about Genoform’s internal security. The nightwatchman seemed lazy in an unremarkable ‘salaried security employee holding down a cushy job’ kind of way, so you didn’t think all that much of it. Now, finding investigation reports in public access files you’re having serious doubts about Genoform’s ability to keep their house in order.

Reading an older report, you’re taken aback by the sharp contrasts. Hiroko’s investigation is detailed and thorough. She includes detailed consultation with an arcane investigator and ensures all digital evidence is verified by a security minded decker to ensure that it has not been tampered with.

It's definitely striking. How was Yorinobo even able to get this material? Is certainly suggested something was not right. Maybe, maybe, it was time to reach out to the investigator? It felt like a risky move. Play it wrong and it could raise the corp's hackles. Play it right, and maybe she'd get some real knowledge from a real detective.

Bailey reached out to Hiroko, hoping to set up a meet. Somewhere private.

>> FF Sunday afternoon, Land’s End Park

The surf crashes constantly on the rocks beneath Cliff House. It’s a beautiful mid-afternoon vista with the garish billboards and glass spires of the ‘plex in stark relief to the power of the Pacific. It’s also a natural white noise generator that makes it all but impossible to eavesdrop on the conversation that you’re about to have with the petite Japanese woman seated on an iron park bench. The collar of her long coat pulled up against the wind covers most of her face, dark glasses hide the rest.

”This meeting would not endear me to my employer.” she says without waiting for your introduction. Curt and businesslike, ”But I will not accept my professionalism being called into question. What is it you have discovered about the Uchicha case that you wish to discuss?”

Bailey is dressed almost identically to the detective, but the two give extremely different impressions. Bailey's long coat and dark sunglasses make her look glamorous. Like a celebrity or model trying not to be recognized but secretly hoping someone will. Which was, technically, true. But a play at mystery, rather than the real thing. She takes a seat on the other side of the iron bench.

"Well, I was just reviewing some of the public access files. Did you know a bunch of the files are public access?" Bailey asks, rhetorically, a subtle dig at the quality of the security. Hopefully enough to make the detective want to prove her skills. "And I was just noticing that there was not magical analysis of the area done. And it just seemed, to me, like there were some potential suggestions that an intruder using magic fits a lot of the patterns...?"