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Magical Forensics Laboratory By muggle standards, perhaps the Forensics lab looks outdated and old. Antique even. But don't be fooled, this facility contains cutting edge magical equipment. The wooden workstations and chairs are all charmed to be impervious to magical contamination. There are areas set aside for potion-related work, magical crime scene forensics, Muggle artefact adjustments, Counterfeit magic identification and restoration, and almost any other need that a magical lab technician or Auror in the Department may have. If you are part of the CMEC Analysis and Assessment team, you'll spend a lot of time working here, as will those who are part of the Bureau for the Confiscation of Illegally Modified Muggle Artefacts, and Aurors who have undergone Magical Forensics training. For anyone from another department who wishes to make use of the lab or its facilities, permission must be sought and granted by the Department head of Magical Law Enforcement, and co-signed by the Laboratory Supervisor who is part of the CMEC Division. At the far side of the lab is a door leading to the Department darkroom. This is a restricted area. Please do not enter when the light is on. You are Here |
Elinor opened the door to her lab. Heh-heh. Her lab. Teehee. She could smell faintly the mixture of chemicals that were stocked at the shelves. Lovely. She was alone for the moment. She walked down the center of the laboratory, running a few fingertips over the edge of one table. This place could do with a clean..., she thought with a slight frown. She carried in the bend of her left arm a bag that was filled with...assorted items. On her feet were a pair of flats, that went well with her jeans. She set down the bag on a desk in the very back that was never really used for anything. She decided to claim it. Claimclaim. After setting her bag down, she pulled a hairtie from her wrist and pulled her redbrown hair back into a ponytail as she crossed to one wall. Pulling a labcoat off it's hook, she slipped into it, but did not button it up. Not yet. She didn't want to get carried away. Pursing her lips again at the countertop, she withdrew her wand and began to remove the dirty specks from her lab tables. |
Benjamin went into the Detective lab and took a look around. "Ah, Elinor," he said as he noticed the supervisor was already in here. "I left a note on your desk... Me and," This rookie, "Ms. Smith, here, are going to be doing some heavy spell work. We could use the help." He looked behind him to see Julia coming in. "Be sure to close the door." |
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Elinor looked up from her maintenence work and smiled. Tucking her wand away quickly in a pocket of her labcoat, she crossed to him. "Mister Amsten...", she started, supressing a grin and extending a hand. "We've never had official purchance to meet, as I was relatively recently transferred from level four, but before I worked in the ministry, I, myself, was a detective at a private angency. I am SUCH a fan, sir," she said excitedly. "I've followed most of your cases with such interest, and now to be working in the same rooms with you? It is an honor..." It was. But nothing creepy here, nosir. She looked to the woman who had entered behind him and greeted her as well. Turning to the desk next to the door, she picked up a binder and a pen. "Do we have a case number or an evidence identification number?" Ben Amsten could use HER help. Wow. |
Julia returned the lady's smile. "Hello--" she paused, "--I'm Julia Smith." she smiled at her. "I'm a new employee here, in IUMO" she finished. Julia extended her hand to her and then said, "You must be, Miss Elinor?" She turned to Ben, "So, what do we do now?" she asked. |
The last thing Ben needs is an Ego boost. xD Quote:
"Oh!" Benjamin said, surprised. He didn't know his cases were famous. Especially in the wizarding world. His real detective work was as a muggle officer. But nevertheless, always an honor to meet a fan. "Well, then.... Thank you!" I suppose. And she was a former Private I. She should bring her Detective title into the office. No, no, then I wouldn't be 'The Detective.' Ben thought about the possibility of opening a Private Investigation Office. THAT might be fun. Ben took the file from Julia and handed it to Elinor. "Have a look at that." He then retrieved the key from his pocket. "We'll be picking apart this. Has no charms, and the only magical trace it has is environmental residue from being around wizards. We need to find out what this key goes to using only what it's touched and imprints on the key. Whatever this key goes to has where the missing cars, which you can see in the file, are." That was the basics. He hoped she got it. Quote:
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But he's so AWESOME! "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Julia," she greeted, giving her hand a firm shake. "Detective Amsten," she corrected herself happily as she took the case file, copying down the identification number in the log and filling in their names, then set it down to open the file. When he indicated the key, she looked up at it with interest as he spoke, before looking back down to the file. "Fascinating..." When she was finished looking over the file, she handed it back to the woman, assuming that Mister Amsten preferred NOT to be bothered with such things as taking care of the placement of the case file. PFFT. She approached an empty table and thought. "No charms... So spells on it. Perfect," she said, turning from the table to a shelf, on which was a videoscope, a muggle device, which Elinor lifted gingerly and set on the table. "We get to do this the old-fashioned way," she smiled, and after snapping on a pair of latex gloves, Just in case, she gestured to the key. "May I?" |
Julia watched as Ben prepared with the key kept on the table. Meanwhile Elinor came up with an old-fashioned way. "Older the better." she smiled at her. She took her wand out, ready for the action. If there was any! She turned to Ben, "Are you so sure there are no magical traces in it - -" she paused, "Detective?" she grinned. |
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A videoscope. Tapping his bottled glasses back to normal, Ben looked at Elinor with a look that said 'Um....' "I was just going to use magic to, you know, make everything much more easy and awesome, but that works, too." The Detective hoped there was more to the videoscope than that. Quote:
Older the better? Benjamin ignored that comment and flicked back his glasses to the green color. When a question was asked. ... "Yes..." Rookie... "I am sure." Benjamin let out a laugh and turned back to Elinor hoping they could begin. |
As Elinor picked up the key and flipped on the muggle device, she smiled. "Detective, you are welcome to use whatever methods you find necessary..." Placing the key on the stage, it's enhanced image showed up on the screen. She turned the key so that, in the light, one could see tiny ruts in it where it had been slid in and out of the lock many times. "...but I find this to be a pretty useful way of getting information.", she finished. "These long scratches here are the opening of the keyhole. These smaller ones are the inside of the lock." She grabbed a blank piece of parchment and a quill from the desk and, steadying her left hand, which held the key, began a sketch of the keyhole--or what she suppossed it to look like, based on the longer scratches. She slid the somewhat crude drawing aside to Benjamin. "There's your keyhole. Your key obviously goes to a door, according to the more complex scratches, rather than a box or a cabinet or something like that. But the key, itself is so simple in design, whatever it unlocks isn't trying to be that heavily guarded," she guessed, removing the key and switching off the device. Of course, she hadn't been in her detective work for a few years now, so she didn't want to sound like she really knew what she was doing, so she decided to play it safe by adding-- "But that's just me -- You, detective, are the man with the badge." |
Julia watched as Elinor sketched key-hole. Simple design? Nothing of significance? She felt uneasy about that. What if it was meant to be so? "Maybe the person wanted us to feel so? Think it wasn't anything of benefit?" Hm. |
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He observed his model. "You're right," he agreed. "We can eliminate anything more complicated. However," he turned to Julia, "We can't forget that this may be a multi-lock door. But for our purposes, all we need to figure out WHERE the lock is." Ben spun his model around with his wand to have it slowly rotate. Quote:
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Elinor watched carefully as Ben performed quite the trick, smiling mostly to herself. "Well, aren't we fancy? I suppose I'm just a little old-fashioned about these things." She preferred it that way. She was in her element that way. But now was not the time for that conversation. There was work to be done. She couldn't tell wether he was being sarcastic or not, but when he admitted she was right, she caounted that as a small personal victory. She let the two bounce ideas off each other-- after all, she was just the lab monkey-- and turned her attention to the key once more. Picking up a tiny pick-like tool with a sharp end, she carefully found one of the tiny ruts in the key and scraped it, ending up with a TINY bit of silver dust, which she immediately deposited into a vial. "I know I'm being old-fashioned again," she said half to herself as she crossed to a shelf with small bottles of chemicals. She picked one up and, removing the dropper, let several drops of a clear liquid envelop the scraping. Securing the vial, she gave it several shakes, then watched as the liquid turned purple. "...but the chemicals don't lie." She gestured to what every lab ought to have; A periodic table on the wall. "Red would indicate solid, blue would be a gas, and green would be a liquid. Purple would come from a mixture of red-- the silver solid of the key, and blue-- a gas or a vapor that was in the air at the time the key was inserted into the lock. The scratches act as a sort of environmental time-capsule, storing the gasses that were prominent in the air at the time." That last part was added in merely for the sake of having it said. Replacing the tiny bottle of chemicals and setting the vial aside, she crossed towards Ben. "Detective, I believe it's your turn to one-up me," she said playfully. It wasn't that she had done all she could do, she merely needed a few moments to think, and, raising her arms to fold them, she paced a few steps, slowly, and did just that. |
I haven't forgotten about you. ;) Quote:
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Then Benjamin had a thought. "The wonderful thing about magic.... Is that it's magic. Elinor, would you do me a favor and smell that key?" |
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Ben's reaction came with mixed reviews. On one hand, she was slightly annoyed. On the other, she was slightly amused. But she listened to him as he spoke. Smell the key? She was slightly reluctant to smell evidence, especially since he'd mentioned that it had been in the suspect's shoe. Picking up the key and giving him an incredulous look, she held it close to her nose and took a very small sniff at first, then a deeper one. At first, she smelled nothing significant and shook her head. "Silver, rubber, oil from being handled...." But after a moment, she thought she smelled something more. She couldn't put her finger on it right away. "It's... something... A combustant. Some sort of oil, like kerosene or... Gasoline!" She turned quickly to Ben. "You're looking for a gas station! Probably one that's not real popular. Look around for a shed or something that's not real high-security...", she held out the key to him, satisfied with her conclusion. Of coure, he probably wasn't done, but she didn't mind, in the end. He was more polite than SOME PEOPLE she knew... She didn't know how that worked, but she wasn't going to argue. |
Esme pushed open the door to the lab, gesturing for Elinor to follow suit. They were just here to gather a bag of supplies that would be needed to gather evidence in the proper manner. Clear plastic bags, tools such as tweezers, evidence tags, etc. "There are some duffel type bags near the back, I believe..." She began. "They should be filled with the supplies we need, but we need to double check them to make sure. I don't want a poor retrieval of evidence or the improper tool to corrupt the admission of evidence in their eventual trials...." Her voice trailed off as she walked swiftly through the lab. |
Elinor, on a non-busy day, might have stopped to purse her lips at her colleague. Yeah, she was a little territorial about her lab. But now was not the time. There WAS no time, at least that was the impression Mister Bole gave, and hence, she was not inclined to act otherwise. "The duffel bags got moved," she said, breaking off from the woman to head for the other side of the room, pausing only to point to some low cabinets just next to where the lady was crossing. "They're tucked away in the cabinet labeled 'Scene Analysis And Collection'. All the essentials should be in there-- Gloves, collection bags, scene markers, I think there's some cameras...!," she had her back turned in her haste, facing a line of drawers. "But I haven't had to use them in so long, I can't remember exactly what's in 'em." She pocketed a few little things that might be needed into her grey skirt, even though she wasn't sure what she would be looking for. But she would know it when she saw it. There wouldn't be time to go back and get anything. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock... Ummm--- Elinor tried to think things out. Evidence, trail, a paper trail, paper, writing-- Ink. She crossed to a drawer and pulled out a couple of seemingly blank cards, to which were taped little vials of clear liquid. "I'm grabbing a few ink tests, too." Might as well tell the woman what she was taking. She kept them in one hand-- not wanting to keep them in her pocket-- and moved on to the next row of drawers, quickly scanning their labels for ideas on what might be needed. |
Esme came to a stop as Elinor indicated that the bags had been moved. Her steps moved across to the indicated cabinet and she bent low, swinging open the doors. A number of bags were stacked inside and she grabbed two, hefting them up onto her shoulders. Oof, heavy they were. She placed them onto a free space on the counter and opened each of them in turn. There appeared to be the basics in scene management and collection. A small camera sat in one of the side pockets and a larger one with detachable lens was also present. Latent print kit, goggles, light....It all appeared to be there, at least the basics. Esme glanced behind her as Elinor spoke, indicating the ink tests. "Good idea." She murmured. She looked around the lab, trying to figure out what else could be useful in their quest. They would have to hurry and get up to Level 9. |
As she scanned the drawers and cabinets, she neared the table where esme had been checking the bags and set down the items she couldn't store in her pocket. "Could you throw those in there, please?" Manners, always! The woman didn't want to waste time scanning the other half of the room, and simply began to think out loud, naming what she already knew they had. "Camera, evidence seals and tape, torches, print kit, tape measures, notebook, paper bags, plastic bags, gloves, hair coverings, rulers, tweezers, scalpels, scene markers, blood test supplies, thermometer, swabs, portkey negation kit, goggles, muggle audio recorders--" she fired off quickly before remembering one more thing to grab. The woman crossed quickly to a glass cabinet, pulling it open, and grabbing two seven-inch bottles of a greenish liquid. She smiled briefly at the thought of where she had purchased it and of the man who had sold it to her. But now was not the time for that. She crossed again and handed one of the bottles to miss Bass. "Bundimun secretion. Disinfectant," she nodded with a smile. "I think that covers it," she said, zipping up one of the bags and slinging it over her shoulder. "There's no way we can apparate into level nine, so we'll have to hurry. If there's already a team there, there is a chance evidence could be contaminated or destroyed. Especially if he's still there," she said, holding the door open for her. Elinor was probably just narrating what both of them knew, but she couldn't help it. She had few opportunities to do this, and wasn't going to keep her mouth shut unless she had to. |
Esme turned quickly and began to load the supplies into the bags. "Sure thing." She replied as her gaze quickly took in the items that Elinor had gathered. She nodded along as the name of several supplies were called out. Yes, yes, yes, it all was there. When she had first began her journey into the world of forensics, she was amazed at how many tools of the trade there were. And how difficult it was to use some of them. "Ah. Great idea." Esme accepted the disinfectant with a smile and packed it into the bag. "No problems there." The woman assured the other. "Let's go." She stepped out of the lab, hitching the bag onto her shoulder. "It certainly won't do to have contaminated evidence..." She only hoped that they weren't too late. |
Reporting! Looked like it was going to be a day in the lab. Elinor had been swamped with desk work as of late, so it had been a couple of days since she was able to set foot in her lab. Today, though, her place was clear. She fastened up her lab coat with ner name embroidered on the chest and opened up the lab. "Sweet Merlin's suspenders!" Elinor froze in the doorway. Her lab was a warzone. Beakers were left out-- used. Some of the lab equipment was mis-placed. There were papers strewn all over one workbench. Cabinets and drawers were left open. There were spills, too. She covered her mouth with one hand and scrambled for her wand with the other. The smell was strong, and she didn't want to take any chances... She gave her wand a sharp flick and the spilled potions vanished. She tucked it away for now... Her own lab was like some horrible crime scene. Elinor's eyes were wide and unblinking. She stepped forward carefully, not touching anything. Oh, the horror. Underneath the shock of what she had discovered, the lady was most definately angry. But first, the shock. How could anyone leave a lab like this? Had the ministry hired a bunch of schoolchildren? She picked up one overturned beaker that had the dried remnants of something in it. Taking in a quick breath, the woman hurled it to the floor, where it shattered, but the enchantment placed on it caused it to repair itself instantly. This was her lab-- her lab. Someone had the gall to come in and leave it like this. Elinor took a few more breaths before resigning herself to cleaning the mess. It was her lab-- which meant she was responsible. She pulled her wand back out and began by replacing the equipment. |
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The redhead was just passing by a door through which he had never been when he heard someone within shout. Almost instantly, his wand was out and his hand on the door knob. Taking a deep breath, he burst in wand up and ready. His eyes frantically searched the room before noticing a sole woman in the room, which seemed to be a mess. "Are... is there anyone else in here?" He asked in a steady, but firm tone. He needed to know that the area was secure before he lowered his wand. For all he knew this woman could have been attacked... or could be the one preparing to attack. So without waiting for an answer Benjy cast a revealing spell nonverbally just to make sure. Now to hear her side of the story... |
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"There better not be. If I get my hands on the person who did this, Mister Ferguson will have to fire us both," she said frustratedly. This was really ridiculous. The woman didn't want to have to leave the laboratory locked all the time, but if this is how it was treated behind her back... She took another moment to pick up a few vials before taking in a breath. "Excuse me, please... The lab was left in the most apalling state, and... Can I do something for you, Mister...?" She left out the end of her inquiry to prompt him to supply his name. If they were going to be coworkers, a name was an important thing to know. |
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"Mr. Doherty, Benjamin Doherty, new hit wizard. But you can call me Benjy." He said replying with a slight nod of his head. "I was just checking to make sure nothing... nobody was being attacked in here because I heard a yell." That was the truth... and at the moment he was wishing that he had just kept going to his desk. "Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am? Help you clean up in here?" He asked before he started straightening out several beakers on a table. |
He's sweet XD And Elinor is fiesty... Quote:
Of course, the perpetraitors did not leave a name. She smiled at him. "That's very kind of you, Mister Doherty, but I can't take you away from your duties to get help with mine. Although, if you have nothing to do, I would pass on a good word to your superiors," she added. One would think with all the money the ministry had to throw at a food court, they could hire an assistant... ...But, then again, when it came to things like this, Elinor did not play well with others. |
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A smirk crossed the redhead's face as Ms. Danvers told him that it wasn't necessary to stay and help clean up. "Oh I am sure that my duties can wait for now. It shouldn't take long to clean up in here. Unless you are against using magic to help." He couldn't be sure that she would be willing to just use magic to clean up the mess, let alone whether magic was even allowed to clean up the room. Either way, he had time to spare and would be willing to help out where needed. |
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Her eyes swept the room once more. "Well, I certainly appreciate it... Magic is fine in here, to an extent. You see, these vials and the stages on the equipment have to be physically sterilized before any spellwork can be done. But that I can do on my own..." She approached the drawers that had been pulled out. "These drawers' labels are pretty self-explanitory. Dishes, slides and vials in this one... swabs, wipes, and sprays this one... so on," she gestured. "If you would be so kind as to just get it all back where it goes, that would be most helpful. Afterwards, would you remove the labels, please? I know this lab like the back of my hand... This way, anyone wanting anything will have to come to me to find it," she muttered bitterly. It was a shame she would have to do that, but if it's what she had to do to keep people from destroying her lab-- she would do it. She drew her wand and levitated the rest of the beakers onto one table, beginning to inspect and sort them according to what kind of cleaning needed to be done. "So, you're the new hit wizard, hm? That's very interesting. Before I came to the ministry, I was a private investigator. What made you want to go into that line of work?" Sometimes small talk was the best kind. Unlike some of the other new employees, Elinor was starting to like Benjy. She didn't mind the idle conversation. |
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Still waving his wand and sorting some of the glassware, the redhead glanced over at the beakers that Elinor was sorting. "Yep... the new bait." He mumbled, smirking somewhat. "Well... I used to work for a magical police force in Luxembourg right after college but I wanted to be closer to home so I decided to move back here to London and try to get a job here in the ministry." Probably not the exact answer she was expecting but that was his story. "What about you? Why a lab tech?" It was a pretty large change from a private investigator. |
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She listened to his story, turning to face him briefly as she pulled a pair of disposable gloves out of an adjacent drawer. It seemed it was her turn as she began to clean the beakers under steaming hot water from one of the sinks. "Well... I suppose I'd had my fill of it for a while... It was a dangerous job... A lot of risk involved. I went to a Forensics college and thought I should put it to good use. I'm still helping catch the bad guys... Just in a different way," she explained. "I like being the one in chage when it comes to evidence. It kind of makes me feel like I did back then... I guess it's hard to explain," she said as she crossed to one wall and grabbed a container full of some greenish liquid. All the beakers were stacked into the sink. She stopped the running water and poured half of the bottle into the sink. Even though there was a loud hisssss and a small cloud of vapor, the woman didn't flinch. She just leaned back a little and waved away the cloud as she sealed the bottle again. "I was never great with math, but science was a natural. It takes that, plus intuition and patience to do what I do. I wanted this job because I knew I could do it right," she concluded, turning her back briefly on the sink to face him. |
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Benjy slowed his sorting as he listened to Elinor's story. Every once in a while a flask or dish of some sort would float through the air headed towards a specific drawer. Risk was a good reason to leave a job like that. Benjy knew that eventually this job that he had would be too risky but for now it worked. As the last vial flew into it's rightful place, the redhead spun around to face her. "Well... you certainly have the skills for it." He said smirking. "Just out of curiosity... what was it that you poured down that sink?" While he waited for an answer, he flicked his wand and held out his hand to catch all of the labels as he took them off of the drawers. Walking over towards her, he reached out to hand her the labels. "I believe we are done cleaning for now." Benjy holstered his wand before turning and heading towards the door. As he reached the knob, he stopped and spun around to face her one last time. "Lunch...today, around noon?" He asked grinning. |
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She took the labels from him and stuffed them into one of the pockets of her coat. "Thank you so much for your help." She was taken aback by his sudden offer. It took her a second to think about it, but it was a harmless enough gesture. She nodded after a few second. "I think I can do that. You just find me at my desk, and I'll acompany you down there. Thank you." Perhaps the new employees weren't so bad after all... Perhaps. |
NEW timeline <33 all you lab rats who ish investigating :3 Was it OKAY for him to lead the way to the lab? Hmmm Miss Dirigible Plum Head? He wasn't touching any of HER stuff right now. Well, unless she felt as though the floor belong to her... WHAT ABOUT THE DOOR KNOB?! Was that something he shouldn't touch either?! Well...TOO BAD! Aron was not only gonna TOUCH the door knob thing...he was gonna OPEN it! So, there Aron stood holding the door open for the ladies to go on in first and, well, tell him what to do. He should probably start getting used to that, women telling him what to do. He was going to be married soon. |
Esme paused for a moment as the man who had previously introduced himself to Elinor as a Mr. Hawthorne stopped and opened the door, stepping aside to let them by first. A gentleman. Imagine that. With a fleeting smile, she stepped past him and murmured a quick thank you before entering the lab. Her home. It was always exciting to start a new assignment, and this one sounded like quite a doozy, to be honest. More of a challenge. Esme always liked that about her work. "Orb or locket, first?" She asked aloud. |
Mah PEEPS! D: Dis gonn' be gooood.... "Thank you very much," Elinor said to MISTER ASHBURY-HAWTHORNE DOUGHNUT EATER. Hmph. Setting the bags down on the closest table, she snatched her lab coat off the rack, the one that had her name and position nicely stitched to the side. She buttoned and belted it expertly, gesturing to the other white coats on the rack. "If you'd like, you're welcome to them," she said as she fastened her hair back with the hair tie she kept in one of the pockets. She breifly bent over the side-table next to the door, where the log was. She jotted down her name, as well as her two assistants for the day, as well as the orb and locket. Then she dropped the pen and turned from it. The lady picked up the bags again and moved to one of the tables near the middle of the room. The first thing she wanted to do was get them out of those bags. She looked to Esme. "The locket first, I think. That orb, I'm sure, will require much more attention and time." At her waist was a drawer, which she tugged open. From inside, she pulled out a pair of clear gloves. She also tossed a pair to Esme and MISTER TOUCH EVERYTHING. Er-- Aron. Speaking of whom... "Would you like to take the pictures of the evidence?", she asked as she carefully laid out the locket, extending the chain. She crossed to a cabinet and pulled out the camera that they used for her insisted careful documentation and handed it to him. She laid out a right-angle ruler next to it and stepped to the side. As she carefully picked out the broken pieces of the orb, she looked at them with interest. As she set them down, she looked to her coworkers. "So what exactly do we know about this orb?" ooc: I'm waiting for a PM back from our department head-- That's why she hasn't jumped into the analysis... |
That she could agree with. It seemed as though the orb would be the most telling. Her right hand shot up and she caught the gloves easily, hiding the smirk as Elinor addressed Aron. It seemed as though she might still be just a little..peeved at what he had done. She chuckled quietly, and then spoke. "Camera's over there." She indicated with a nod of her head, her curls falling forward over one shoulder. As the question was posed, Esme shook her head once. "Hang on a sec." She worked her way through the lab until she reached her bag. Pulling it open, she removed the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. She had just so happened to pick it up at Flourish & Blotts this morning after purchasing a book that she had been itching to get her hands on. "Says here De Talone, now former owner of Tomes and Scrolls Bookshop in Hogsmeade, was apparently using the orb as a medium to freeze students; using it as a way to steal time to keep her young." She studied the picture of the woman. "The locket is a younger version of herself; found in one of the Divination classes." She looked up from the paper. "So...we've got an item that was used to freeze students; so....a basic freezing spell, though this one seems to have lasted longer than a regular freezing spell. And how was it activated? Simply by touch?" |
Poking head in. Melissa had quietly followed Aron and the lady who had identified herself as the Lab Technician, into what seemed like the lab. As they entered, she followed behind them and managed to squeeze in before the door closed on her. She looked all around her. This was the first time that she was inside an MLE lab and was very impressed. Making her way to the Aron and the other two staff, she smiled and asked,"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt but may I help too?." and hoped that she wouldn't get chewed out for following them. |
Oh so NOW he was allowed to TOUCH things was he? Aron would have snatched the camera like the 5-year-old sapling he felt like, be he refrained. He didn't want to look like a shrivelfig or anything of that sort. "Certainly," he said calmly as he took the camera from her and began to take pictures of the locket from every angle possible, opening it up carefully with his gloved hands and taking pictures of the inside as well. "We got an records on the date that is in this locket?" he asked as he snapped a few more photos. Or was that asking to TOUCH too much stuff? Hmmm? And then conversation moved to the orb. "Didn't the Prophet say something about time? I don't think that comes with a standard freezing spell...what sort of magic could do something like that? Something similar to the sand in timeturners?" Were they going to have to take apart a timeturner? Were those things still around? "I think everyone just touched it...skin contact seemed to do it." |
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"Alright, now what is it, really?" She asked, gesturing to the paper as she turned for a drawer behind her. "Can I assume that we know something that's not in the paper?" Elinor pulled out a few thin sheets of what looked like clear tape, as well as some white tiles. She set them aside. "Except for the fact that your basic freezing spell doesn't steal time... And, yes, it seems to be the case. Everyone who came in contact with it... So... Does that then mean that since this Time Bandit is without this orb and this locket... Can we assume that she is aging again?" Quote:
"I think we can agree that searching the orb for fingerprints is pointless. We don't even know how many people handled it. That locket, however..." She waited for Aron to finish with the camera before starting to examine it. Quote:
She watched and nodded as he talked about the orb. He was asking precisely the right questions... But, of course, Elinor wasn't going to say that. "But, then again, Time Turners don't steal time. They just reverse it's direction for a moment, like rewinding a record. But hold that thought," she nodded. For now, the locket. She leaned in, turning the metal over carefully with a pair of tweezers. "This rust makes fingerprints impossible to take... but," she said with a sly smile as she popped it open again. "Whomever placed... the picture inside..." she said as she carefully removed it. She held the photograph paper sideways, up to the light. The woman smiled widely. "Left two wonderful pairs of fingerprints on either side." She lowered the picture onto one of the squares of transparent plastic, placing another one on top of it. Instead of contaminating the evidence with powder, she would have to use her wand. So, drawing it from her pocket, she ran the tip up and down the plastic until a black fingerprint was evident. Stripping the plastic from the picture, she sealed it to one of the white squares, so it was very easy to see. Then she flipped the picture and did the same thing to the back. Two fingerprints ought to be one more than they needed. "Looks like a thumbprint and an index finger... But it's been a while," she said, sliding the tiles away for her colleagues to examine for themselves. "If those are Talone's, our luck is excellent. If not... Well, it's something," she said optimistically, turning her attention back to the necklace. |
Esme gave a pause as she mulled over Elinor and Aron's words. "Depends. How much 'time' did she steal away and how long before the effects wear off and she begins to age? And how quickly does she begin to age? Is it dependent on how many people she's stolen from? Eventually, her real age will begin to show, but it might be anywhere from hours to days. We'd have to find out the mechanism behind the entire process to understand what she may look like now. Age progression may help...." She paused again. "Is the locket of any importance as far as stealing time? Or is it just sentimental to De Talone?" She questioned. To her, it seemed more sentimental than anything. Watching in interest, Esme slipped on her gloves after tying her hair up in a loose bun. "That would fit the method of someone placing a photo in a locket. The thumb and index finger would be the most prevalent." She leaned closer and nodded once. Looked like it to her. She then turned her gaze to the locket itself and carefully picked it up. There appeared to be a date on the left side when it was open. "1753." She murmured. "Long time ago." |
"I say until we find her we can't really assume anything," Aron said with a shrug. Was he supposed to take pictures of the orb shards now? Might as well, right? They were all on the table and stuff so click away he went with the camera a few times before lowering the lens and setting it back down on the table. "Anyone else find it kind of weird that De Talone kept a picture of herself in her own...erm...locket?" Anyone? Or was it just him. He thought his features and everything were perfect, but he wouldn't go walking around with a picture of himself in a locket. Then again...he wouldn't try to steal time from people to keep himself young. Who knew what this firebush was up to. He raised an eyebrow when DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING woman mentioned that timeturners didn't steal time. Eeer...right, he hadn't said that they did and was simply stating that there could be similar properties. After all, this woman was turning time around on herself...but right, locket. They were talking about the locket. Aron sort of just sat back as the photograph was removed, snapping another picture of the now empty frame of the gold object and setting the camera back down. "Not long enough for De Talone apparently," he said in an off the cuff sort of manner. |
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"Well," she sighed, taking a moment to straighten up. "It wouldn't surprise me if it did, however, you're probably correct... I think a student found this out of her posession, so it's unlikely." The woman moved over towards the shattered pieces of the orb, indicating that the locket was now up for inspection by anyone else who desired to TOUCH IT, cough-cough... Quote:
As she carefully picked up a shard of the orb, she focused on the smeared and smudged remnants of oily fingerprints all over it. But here and there WAS a discernable fingerprint. She sighed quietly. One by one, she picked up each shard, searched it for intact fingerprints, then removed them, until she had several white tiles lined up, each with a black fingerprint on it. "Some of these might be duplicates... You can have a look, but after I show them to Mister Ferguson, they'll go down to records to see if we can find matches for them. Might help us identify more witnesses." She looked down at the orb, or what was left of it. It seemed to be just an ordinary glass ball. How, then, was it able to steal time? She lowered her face down to the level of the table. "Mind boggling, isn't it? To consider that perhaps time is not percieved as a single line. She said she took minutes away from people's lives as she used this device. But time, itself, did not stop or shorten. Instead, that would mean that time is nothing but smaller lines all strung together... And all she did was take snippets away from each line..." Was she making any sense? It made sense to her. As her face was level with the shards, she noticed how the miniscule specs of dust on the table had been pushed away from them my millimeters. "It's been charmed," she said, straightening. Elinor picked up her wand again and held it close to one of the pieces, murmuring an incantation. The tip of her wand glowed faintly. "It's been charmed," she said again. "What charm on earth could--could allow the caster to steal time from anyone who has touched it?" |
SPOILER!!: Elinor Melissa quickly took the pair of gloves that the Lab Tech had handed over to her. She was glad that she allowed to assist them. Quickly fitting her fingers into the gloves, she pushed her hands in to the gloves and once they were on, she walked over to the log and wrote her name down in it before the others who were examining the evidence. It was really stunning that someone had actually stolen time for the students in school. Thank goodness it hadn't been permanent. Melissa listened intently allowing the others to discuss their findings. Things were getting really bizarre. But then the Lab Tech, Elinor, yes that was her name, said something that really surprized Melissa. The locket had been charmed to steal time. She couldn't help but frown. Something that could steal time was dangerous. Something that could steal time. Why did it seem familiar to her? |
Aron's look of She wouldn't have been the first witch or wizard to lose their mind thanks to magic. He was sort of looking at the ladies in the room for an answer to this one. Sure, he would love to his rugged and handsome appearance...but not if it meant an eternity of being along. "You think she was...waiting for someone?" Like the owner of this locket? Merlin woman were confusing. "I'm actually wondering what that thing is made out of..." Aron said with a raised eyebrow at the orb. "Break it down to its elements and components as it were. Never seen one of them glass orbs be able to hold that sort of charm before." |
Elinor merely nodded as Aron bounced ideas off the other two. She was too busy getting an idea. She picked up one of the pieces and held it up to the light, looking carefully along one of the cracks. "I don't want anyone using any kind of magic on these, alright? No levitation, no nothing..." She picked up one of the pieces adjacent to it and pushed them together where they met before they broke. She thought very carefully, then turned from the pieces and made a little path around the lab. She grabbed a box of sticky tack and a jar of vanishing serum before returning to the table. "No wands..." she said quietly to herself as she took the sticky substance and quickly began to squish it in the palms of her hands. Usually, the substance was used to hold things together for a short amount of time. She was going to experiment today... She worked at the clay-like material until it was almost like pudding. She then grabbed a long swab and, after passing the tack into the jar, began to vigorously mix it. "And now..." She crossed to where a few of her own mixtures were sitting. She found a sealing solution she had formed, designed to magically cover any small opening. She tested a small splash in the jar to make sure it would not react badly. Then she poured a healthy amount in and began to mix. The solution easily bonded with the thick glue to form a watery texture. The woman held the jar up to the light for a second, pretty much forgetting about explaining what she was doing. She picked up the first piece again. The lab tech ran the swab quickly over the edge of the crack and placed the other piece together. She watched carefully as the hairline crack faded away. Holding her other hand carefully under it, she gently shook the one big piece, testing it. But it was solid. The woman beamed, very proud of herself. Shifting her weight, she continued stirring and swiping, piecing the orb back together bit by tiny bit, praying that there wasn't a TIIIIIIIIINNYYYYYYY piece somewhere... Carefully, but quickly, the woman worked, sealing together the cracks. After a while, she had formed the sphere back together. She held it carefully in her gloved hand. Elinor had managed to put the sphere back together without using a single spell... ...take that. |
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Esme cocked her head to one side as she studied the locket, musing over the idea of it being of sentimental value. It was found out of her possession...."Any idea how long it had been out of her possession? Long enough that she realized that it was gone? If so, any strong attempts to get it back?" Quote:
"Maybe a form of Accio?" She ventured a guess. She nodded towards Aaron. "Perhaps she was waiting for someone, but the question would be who? And why so long? Was it someone who was young and she was waiting for them to grow up? If so, who could be that important to her?" While she was speaking, Elinor was working at placing the pieces of orb back together. It took a while, but finally she held the finished product in the palm of her hand. She studied it briefly, wondering why an orb to hold such magic? "Any significance to the orb itself, I wonder....like....why charm an orb?" And then she thought of something else. "Silly question here, but....wasn't that orb destroyed for a reason? Like...so as not to be placed back in its original form? How do we know that the charm won't still be active?" |
hehe because technically Elinor can't yell at her superior. ;) At least the paperwork on this case was more interesting than usual. Dorian had stayed at his desk as his CMECers had vanished into the laboratory, going over the newspaper and any other information available on the case while everyone else in the office had started discussing interviews and trips to Hogwarts. It was action. Not as much action as had happened during the cult incident, and he wasn't anywhere close to camping out in the office for a week for this case, but it was something. And knowing that Aron was having to listen to Elinor for a while had given him the peace of mind to contemplate other details of the case while drinking his ubiquitous cup of espresso. I hate to say only a woman, but I can't say I know of many men who would do something like this, he thought, leaning back in his chair. Until he decided that perhaps checking on the progress with the evidence would help clarify his thoughts beyond someone being vain enough to not want to get old. Anyone who would steal time from children obviously didn't care who they victimized. It was likely de Talone had stolen time from those she loved as well, and any detail might help them catch her and stop her from doing the same to other innocents. And he knocked on the doorframe of the lab as Ms. Bass questioned the orb itself. "Curiosity," he said, leaning against the doorframe so as not to disturb anything even though he could still see what was going on. "Especially at Hogwarts. People have Remembralls, simple toys... Seeing a mysterious orb roaming around school would get my attention if I'd been there and a student," he added. "Plus, we don't know that the orb was destroyed in order to stay that way forever. Destroying the orb broke whatever charm was placed over the victims, and I assume that we can be fairly certain that broke it for good." Besides, de Talone wouldn't have abandoned something she could use again. The locket was incidental, but she'd used the orb and abandoned it. Not to mention he trusted Elinor to have kept protocol so as not to risk their safety. |
Like any other woman on a mission, Emily strode into the forensics lab, eyes adjusting to the strange light inside, and the odd looking instruments... It did look rather cool. Perhaps one day... she'd ask to play with them a bit, or just observe. Either way, COOL. "Erm... hello?" she called out, eyes distracted by the shiny's. "Any results yet for the de Talone case?" ... Cause she needed them. Asap. |
And now back to work. Her brief break and talk with Jax had certainly been nice, and refreshing to boot. Now she felt geared up to begin working again. First off...to check the lab to see if anyone had made headway with the results from the zombie infestation. She strode down the hall and rounded the corner just as she noticed the door to the lab swing shut. Oh good, perhaps one of the techs were in there and could help her. "Excuse me..." Esme began, and then stopped, recognizing the person immediately. "Emily! It's been a while! What brings you here?" |
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Chop chop... what was this? A toy store? ... She'd heard the footsteps before she heard the voice... but it was all very familiar. "Esme," she greeted, hearing the woman's voice from behind her. Turning, she offered her colleague a smile. "I'm just after some info on de Talone, we're prepping for her interrogation tomorrow." And any info, any leverage, any understanding, would help them crack her and get what they needed. "How've you been?" |
Melissa is still here xD Melissa watched as another lady joined the group of people already in the lab room. Except for Aron and Esme, she really didn't know anyone else there. So she kept quiet and observed what everyone was doing. 'The de Talone case? That's the one where the kids were in frozen stasis and when they were revived the couldn't remember what was going on. That was when Alyssa was still in Hogwarts.' Melissa thought to herself. She was really glad that her daughter had not been infected. Shaking her head, she listened as the newcomer told Esme that they were about to start interrogating the woman. 'What I would love to be a fly on the interrogation wall right now.' she thought to herself. She was definitely interested to know what that woman did with all that time she had stolen from the children. |
She certainly hadn't expected to see Emily in the lab, but it was no matter at all. It was just good to see the woman, even if she was here on official business. "I've been fairly well, thank you. Working for 3 days straight without so much as a break, but I finally managed to sneak away for a bit." She replied with a conspiratorial wink. "And yourself? No doubt just as busy?" The woman took a few steps into the lab and began scanning the tables. "The de Talone investigation? I thought that was momentarily on hold because of the zombie infestation? I'll try to find what information they do have, but I"m not sure how much I'll be able to give you. The infestation came at a bit of a bad time...." Esme worked her way towards the fling cabinets, not seeing anything on her cursory glance of the countertops. She pulled open the drawers one by one, pulling out a folder here and there. "Looks like this is what we have. Listing of evidence, mostly, from the locket and orb that was found, and that of which was found in her Hogsmeade shop. Also seems to have a listing of observations regarding the charming of the orb and also some copies of the letter found in one of the shop's books written to de Talone by an LM who apparently has ties to the States. And a bit of information from the secret lab that was found underneath the shop...quite accidentally." |
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Tagging along with Esme, and steering clear of the fruit loop, Emily listened attentively. It was a shame all the excitement had happened after they'd left... "Wonderful, this is exactly what we need," she replied, glancing over the documents. "Mind if I take those off your hands?" |
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Melissa still recalled how she fast she consumed what she had on her plate. She was like a human vacuum cleaner. Now she was here to get a report on the evidence that Esme and the others had collected back at Hogsmeade. Her ears perked up when Esme mentioned about the de Talone lady having some correspondence with someone in the States. Melissa was from the States. Her interest peaked, Melissa quietly moved closer to hear what they were saying to each other. |
It did not fail to register in Esme's mind that Emily seemed to be a bit uncomfortable around Melissa. She said nothing, however, simply nodding towards Melissa to show that she knew she was there. "I agree completely, which is why I was concerned when the de Talone case was put on hold. I can understand wanting everyone to focus their energies on such a major case, especially since it had/has the potential to affect anyone working here. I'm just glad to see that things are starting to move again on the de Talone investigation." Good. She had been a little concerned that there wouldn't be enough. Of course, there was still work to be done, but this would make for a nice start. "Great. And no, you can. You'll just have to fill out an evidence chain of custody form, just so that we can keep track of where the evidence goes." Esme walked over to the next table and removed several pieces of paper. "I'll fill out the evidence and such. You'll just need to sign here....and here." She indicated the two spots on each form, setting them on the countertop, and then motioning Melissa to come over. She wasn't sure if the woman had handled the forms before, but this was as good a time as any to show her. |
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If she didn't value her professionalism she'd hex the witch in the butt, it's they way she learnt her lesson, and this one seemed to have missed that phase of her life. Nodding, Emily dragged the papers toward her. "Of course..." withdrawing her own slimline self-inking quill from her pocket. "Do you know how they're going with the zombie case?..." she hadn't been following it's progress much, beyond paper pushing she was barely involved in that one. |
"Emily....this is Melissa, one of our recently hired forensic techs." It was about bloody time that she introduced the two, considering that Emily didn't look all too pleased to see the woman there. "Melissa, this is Emily, one of the many Aurors of the department." She watched as the woman signed the custody form, making certain that all proper blanks were filled out. It would be her head if the forms were not filled correctly. Any little thing the defense could grab at to claim negligence and potentially get the case tossed out happened often, and she knew it would happen with such a big case such as this one. That's why everything was by the book. "Just collecting and gathering samples from the food court and running it against the controls. And collecting DNA samples from the infected. We're just mainly trying to pinpoint how this all got started." |
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'Auror huh? O_o no wonder she didn't get infected. The bugs must have seen her and run the other way.' Melissa thought to herself. Being married to an Auror and having a son who was training to be one, she knew how serious they took their jobs. 'I'd better try to stay out of her way while she's on the job...and not eating.' Melissa made a note to herself. |
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"Yeah.. er .. hi," she replied with a brief nod. "You uh... enjoying MLE?" The face was familiar from the orientation, but she obviously hadn't cared too much at the time to remember the woman's name. Melissa. Emily only hoped she was a good seed and a quick learner... cause she'd hate to have this same experience in the future. Ew. The food court. She ATE there. And DRANK there. And SAT and LAY there... Merlin. "So... this... infection... is it fast acting??" she asked, wondering if maybe she was an incubator for the germs just biding their time to attack. BAH! A little fire whiskey would cure it, surely. Kept her as strong as a dragon. Cause she was THAT epic. At least she didn't drool... picking up hot stuffs would be a challenge if she did. |
SPOILER!!: Emily "The MLE? I love it there. Esme was nice enough to let me help her. I miss doing that part of the job, collecting samples and evidence. But I know that I've still got a lot to learn."Melissa told the Auror. Then she listened as Emily realized what Melissa had thought a few minutes ago. 'Yep...you may be a walking bug bomb. Hopefully not though.' Melissa thought to herself. She would have assured Emily that all she needed to do was give a blood or saliva sample. They could test her blood to determine whether she was infected with any of those nasty bugs, but she decided to remain silent and let Esme, the more seasoned tech lab person, answer the Auror's question. |
Hot stuffs....hahahahaha Yes...that went as well as could be expected. Smothering a smile, Esme watched as Emily finished filling out the forms while idle chit-chat was going on between Emily and Melissa. When Emily made mention of the infection, Esme looked up slowly, turning a critical eye towards the woman. Hmm. "I suppose, like anything else, it depends on the person, but the court has been closed down for a while now for the collection of specimens and no one is allowed any food or drink from the area. If you haven't begun to show any sort of abnormal symptoms, you should be okay. Of course, we could always take a swab sample for DNA to make certain, but if you haven't started drooling or walking around in a daze, I'd say you're zombie free." She finished the last part with a grin. "I hope that evidence helps." She continued with a gesture towards the stack of papers from the filing cabinet. "I"m sure with your interrogation techniques, that de Talone will crack under the pressure and spill everything." |
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Now... back to ignoring her. The woman wasn't giving her any valuable info, so she could leave her be, though... they rarely did. No drooling, check, no dazed walking, check. If anything, since the zombification of staff, she had become more animated and much less drooly. WIN. "I think I'm fine then," she mused, grinning broadly. Though, the thought crossed her mind that perhaps fruit loop was a zombie. Heh. Ok, bad mental joke... still... it WAS amusing. "I'm sure it will, thanks again," she replied after dotting her last i and crossing her last t. She did let out a small snort of derision though. HER interrogation skills. "I doubt I'm that good... this lady's ancient..." and experience almost always counted for something. Either way, Jax and Wes would no doubt be taking the lead on this one. "... but your confidence is appreciated." |
Esme shared Emily's smile as she proclaimed herself okay. "Good. We certainly couldn't have you walking around as a zombie and trying to grab other employees." She replied, finding that she rather didn't like the idea at all. What if other Aurors had been affected? She honestly didn't know who had been hit and who hadn't. They had been quarantined and it hadn't been her assignment to collect any samples from them, so she was clueless on that front. Slightly startled as Emily seemed to doubt her words, Esme nodded slowly following the words of appreciation. "You're welcome. Just let me know when you need to check the evidence back in. I should be around, but if not, just send a message." Perhaps Emily had a point though. The woman had been around for a while, but how hardened of a 'criminal' she was...was still up for guesses. "Good luck." |
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Ew.. ugh.. Emily was still mildly off-put by her thoughts when she heard Esme mention something about letting her know when she wanted to check the evidence back in... or something. "Sure, not a problem." Common sense would prevail. Checking the time quickly on her watch, she figured she's ought to move along and Esme's last words spurred her on. "Thanks, we'll need it..." to an extent, or at least, she would. "I'll see you soon," she promised, and with that she bowed her head and headed back toward the auror office... there was work to be done. |
Did I say there? Melissa is still confused about the here & there part xD Melissa watched the interaction between Esme and Emily. She wondered whether Emily was convinced that she wasn't infected...or worse yet...a carrier. Emily did seem to salivate a lot while she 'enjoyed' eating her food, but that wasn't the same as drooling... or was it? Melissa shuddered at the image of Emily eating while drooling at the same time. That image made her tummy turn. Thank goodness she didn't have to worry about being infected herself. Now that she knew the signs, she could tell that she was in control of her faculties and she was definitely not drooling and walking into walls. Melissa watched as Emily signed out the evidence before leaving the lab. Her hand was raised partly to wave goodbye to her but when Emily left without acknowledging her, she quickly moved that hand to her head to brush her fingers through her hair not wanting to look stupid. Melissa cleared her throat and asked,"Is there anything I can do while I'm here, Esme? Or do you want me to go back down and collect more sample evidence?" |
Esme waved goodbye as Emily bowed her head and walked off. "See you later...." She trailed off, turning to glance at the rest of the lab and then back at Melissa. "No, I think we're okay for right now. Should be ready to get those samples from the dessert bar and return them here after we finish. Hopefully we can find an answer...." She paused, pulling a few petri dishes and other supplies to restock her bag. She had to admit, however, that she felt a tugging to know what was going on with the de Talone case. Of course, they had the evidence part, but everything else was being handled by the Aurors or other MLE employees. "Let's go." She spoke, offering up a friendly smile. |
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Technically, this wasn't any of Roxanne's business as this wasn't even her department anymore. But, Wes had helped her out of her little bind, sort of, so she sort felt like she owed him this. So, it was with this thought in mind that she snuck into the lab on level two and pulled out the teacup that had been retrieved from De Talone's shop. Once she had the bag containing that in front of her, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic, then slipped on a pair of elastic gloves. That done, she pulled a microscope closer to her. "Now, where do they keep the microscope slides......?" They were a rather important and basic part of a lab, so they had to be around somewhere. But where? |
Totally needed double post; besides it's almost two months *shrugs* She had planned on starting her maternity leave early, but that had gone out the window when that way-too-nasty-to-be-real lawyer had shown up and derailed her plans to test the tea. But now that he was gone, she was free to do just that. So, she hauled her nine months pregnant rear back up here and to the lab. The nasty lawyer had done her one service, though (besides acting as a rather refreshing punching bag). The last time she'd been up here, she had forgotten the paperwork that she needed to fill out as she ran her tests. This time, though, she hadn't. Before Roxanne got started, she read through the page and filled out what she could, just to make sure of the information needed. When she got to the bottom, she was reminded of something else she needed. Anyone not belonging to the CMEC had to have a witness who was. Okay, there was no way. Huh uh. Nope. Especially since there was only essentially one person left in that divison since Aron's promotion (whom she really needed to find and congratulate). And it wasn't really a good idea for them to be in a room alone together. Not since her new favorite pastime was riling him up. Not to mention her suspicions of why, exactly she was able to rile him so easily. She could just fake a name later or something. She pulled her hair back and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves. And now that she knew where the microscope slides were, this would be a piece of cake. She opened the bag containing the teacup and pulled out some of the leaves with a freshly Scourgify-ed pair of tweezers, placed them on the top of the slide, added a small drop of water from a dropper, covered it with the slide cover and placed it in the appropriate place on the microscope. Then, focusing the lens, she got to work. |
*pokes at things with wide eyes* Derek... awkwardly made his way to the level 2 lab. That felt weird and... awkward. He was totally not at home there. It was a lab, of course, and it was a nice one, but... it was still weird. Slowly making his way towards the Potions area, the 27 year-old pulled out some vials from his pocket and stared at the counter for a few seconds before organizing the things he would use. ...Awkward. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder every now and then. He wouldn't get in trouble or anything, because he was supposed to be working there, but... still. Argh, that felt horrible. Derek just wanted his lab back. Whatever. He would have to work with what they had now. So that was what he did. Getting his own ingredient kit he had brought from home - a much richer and more complete kit than your regular Potions kit, for that matter - Derek started testing the pinkish drool from that fiendish creature that had destroyed his lab. |
Something is amiss in the laboratory. There is equipment strewn over the benches, and some seem to have fallen to the floor. In addition to this, it appears there has been a scuffle as some of the chairs are knocked over. Has the lab been searched? While nothing of significance is missing, something has certainly left an impression. |
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After a few days of deskwork, Elinor was back on the schedule to work in the lab. The laboratory director pulled her hair back into a ponytail, as per her own rules, and opened the door, wondering if any of her assistants had come in early. Something had come in early. Elinor froze in the doorway, her eyes wide and transfixed on the utterly dismal state her lab was in. She didn't make a sound, but the woman sort of went rigid for a long minute, her heart pounding away in her chest at the alarming scene. There was no way one of her fellow workers left it this way, for they all knew how controlling (to put it frankly) she was about her lab. Once in a long while, an employee from another department would come in, unaware of Elinor's rules and concerns, and leave a mess. But this... Something had happened here. This was not unlike what seemed to be happening all over the Ministry. Only, now, her own lab was a crime scene, as it were. Elinor carefully stepped over and around anything that looked like it had been disturbed, trying to get to where she kept her tweezers and such, fully intending to see what the perpetrators had left behind. |
Assuming that Stonewall and Odessa were following him, they were not babies he needed to check all the time anyway, Josh walked into the laboratory and for a moment, he was taken aback by what he was seeing. He looked around suspiciously as he walked towards the officer lady there. What had happened in there? It looked like a herd of wild horses ran though the place. He cleared his throat to make the laboratory lady aware of his presence. ''Well...'' he looked around one more time then looked back at the woman ''Bad day at work?'' |
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Elinor had found a set of glasses she had a small light attached to, a pair of tweezers, print tape, and some small baggies off hand and began with the overturned benches. She searched the floor with gloved fingers, hoping to find some kind of dirt or residue that would not normally have been there. She checked for hairs and prints, but thus far found nothing. By the time she had moved to looking at the half-open cabinets, she heard the door to the lab open and whipped her head around. She may have seemed to glare at a man she wasn't sure she recognized, but it was partially the slight distortion of the glasses and partially the bubbling frustration of the state of her lab. She reached up and took off the glasses before standing. "And it's barely started," she commented, eying him and the employees with him (unintentionally, of course.) "What can I do for you?" |
Jory followed Joshua towards the forensic lab. He was wondering if should have worn gloves or something before picking up the receipt because he was obviously compromising the evidence. But then again none of the others had been wearing gloves when they were touching those pamphlets. So maybe it wasn't a big deal? Plus they could always take his fingerprints and eliminate it from the paper. Jory stopped short in shock eyeing the mess that laid before him, Joshua and Aspen. Someone had been searching for something in particular, perhaps? |
Aspen perused the contents of the wallet she'd "borrowed" as they walked to the Forensics lab. Apparently she was to learn protocol, but mostly she was just "learning" to "follow Josh around". Which was fine. At least she wasn't bored. But her laugh (again) was probably out of place when she finally looked up from the wallet to note the mess of the lab. Lulz. "What was it that Brown just said about Security?" Gigglesnort. Anywho. Don't mind this Odessa. Just gonna PERUSE the corners a bit. |
Yes, obviously bad day at work. Since the laboratory lady seemed to be unhappy with the mess, Josh supposed she did not burst into the place with anger and unleashed it into the room. Well...actually, it looked like someone searched for something and searched everywhere for it. Then it took some time for them to find what they want. Merlin...and what were security people doing again? Josh took his dark brown eyes from the mess in the room and looked back at the woman when she asked how she could help. "We have this evidence. A receipt and we need it analysed for...the fingerprints on it. Stonewall...'' he indicated at one of the YATIs with his head. "...has the receipt and only he touched it so far. So you need to eliminate his finger prints...please." The YATIL turned to the young man then. "Stonewall, the receipt." Give it to the laboratory lady. He was about to comment more on the receipt just when Aspen Odessa spoke. Josh turned and looked at her. Well...what she was holding in her hands looked very familiar to him. But they had things to do now, he would talk to her about it later. He stared at her for a bit then let out a snort as well. "Well...i seriously started to wonder what the ministry pays to the security people for." |
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"Mr. Stonewall?" Assuming that was his last name and not an unusual first name-- "Would you mind pressing your fingertip to the inside of this?" She handed him one of the fingerprint strips she had picked up, briefly touching the two strips that were meant to be pulled apart to reveal the sticky tape underneath. She turned on one of her bright work lights and held the receipt under the magnifying glass with her gloved hands. "How old is this?" she asked, before thinking to actually look at the date printed on the paper. "I only ask because the chemicals in the ink and paper can interfere with the oils on the skin." Oh, goody. A chance for Elinor to show her smarts to new acquaintances. That did lighten her mood a bit. |
sorrrry for the lateness >_< Right. The receipt. Jory promptly handed it over, holding on to one of the edges. "I haven't touched the middle just the edges.'' He knew the lab lady would need to take his prints so when she gave him the okay, he stepped forward and did as she instructed. Jory pressed his fingertips on the inside of the strip before handing it back to the woman. |
... fingerprinting was something that actually did interest Aspen. She'd done it a few times herself, but hadn't ever had formal training like THIS lab had. So.... one could say she was nearby. Watching. Not in the way, not forcing her opinion on anyone. No, she was nearby, OBSERVING and casually pocketing things from the ransacked lab. They'd never notice it missing. |
Josh watched as Jory gave his fingerprints to the laboratory woman. Good boy, he was not creating any problems very unlike some certain YATI lady. Mentioning her, he supposed it would be good to keep and eye on her, just to make sure if she was watching closely. They were supposed to get familiar with the progress, were not they? So, Odessa had to watch the laboratory woman instead of...well... Josh raised an eyebrow as he though she took something. He cleared his throat loudly as he eyed the young woman briefly. It was a warning for her. Josh was not sure if she really had taken something but the warning was for her to put it back if she had and if she had not, it was a warning to tell her to keep her eyes on the progress of analysing the fingerprints that was about to begin. Anyway, the laboratory woman asked something. "It has a date on it yet we actually don't know how long it had been in where we found it. The holding cell is not among the most sterilised places so stuff from the environment might have messed it up too. Still, it can work, right? Some dust and dirt should not be trouble some enough to make it difficult to get a few fingerprints" |
I am ashamed of my lateness! I was unawares! Elinor nodded when he said he hadn't touched it that much, and again to thank him when she took the strip from him. She set it and the receipt down before crossing to a shelf lined with various jars, selecting one without hardly taking the time to notice it. She didn't need to. "The only problem with taking fingerprints from this is the kind of paper used to print receipts. It's not like normal paper, you notice. Still... This should be easy," she said as she pulled a brush out of the drawer in front of her station. She then unscrewed the jar, which contained lots of fine black powder, and dipped the ti of the brush into it, shaking off excess. "Depending on how old it is," she added, as she began to dust the paper lightly, swiftly covering the receipt with a fine grey sand. A few defined blotches showed up as the powder clung to the remnants of the finger prints. Elinor held the clear strip under the magnifying glass to get a look at the employee's print before closely looking at the receipt and holding it up in front. "The edges, you say..." she muttered, holding the strip up before carefully pressing it to the paper. When she peeled it off, she had a distinct match of the employee's print, darkened by the powder that stuck. "The full fingerprints are all smudges here, but I think I can..." She trailed off as she pulled out a couple more of those strips and pressed them, individually, to each of the partial fingerprints. Then she lined them up, one of top of the others. Of course, it wasn't perfect. She would need to hold them under one of her microscopes before she could align them. Elinor turned to the adjacent table and began lining up the "slides" under one of the microscopes she had there. "I'll probably be doing this all day, considering the state of my lab," she commented. Once these people were gone, she was going to go back to looking for evidence. And she was going to strangle whomever the perpetrators were. At least, that's what she told herself. |
Yes, Jory had noticed the receipt's texture was different from regular paper. But this lady should be able to omit his fingerprints, right? She said it would be easy. He watched in fascination as she did her work. "Yes, just the edges,'' Jory repeated. Thankfully he had the good sense to do that. All day she said next? So they should leave her alone then? He glanced at Josh before casting his eyes around at the Lab. What really happened to it? |
The lab worker suddenly stopped bending over her microscope, straightened her shoulders, and clasped one hand over her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose in a telltale sign of frustration. "What am I doing?" she muttered, perhaps with a choice word mumbled in there somewhere, it wasn't very clear. The lab worker heaved a sigh, trying to take a moment to herself, but obviously too aggravated to center herself. I'm sorry," she said, turning back to the receipt and grabbing hold of the bush again. "I'm not thinking terribly clear." Perhaps it wasn't just the state of her lab, but that was certainly the icing on the cake of stressful thoughts currently sitting in her mind. Elinor flipped the receipt over, dusted the back of it, then applied two more of the sticky strips to fingerprints appearing in the middle. Clear, complete fingerprints. "Looks like a middle and a ring finger," she said as she applied the other side of the strips so that the clear fingerprints left could not be destroyed or tampered. Elinor took out a blank manilla folder from the filing cabinet in the corner and a pen, looking briefly at her guests. "Can I have your names again? Meanwhile, she scribbled in the date and the... "Case number-- I didn't ask for a case number?" Elinor covered her face again and sighed before returning her hand to the paper, prepared to write whatever was supplied for her on the blank form inside the folder. She could not wait for this day to be over. Or this month. Or whatever span of time it would take. It seemed she was long overdue for a vacation. But she didn't even have the time to think about it, so... there you have it. |
"You two watch closely" Josh told the YATIs as the laboratory lady started to work on the receipt. Josh could not wait to get the results and identify who had been holding that piece of paper, well, of course except Jory. The state of the lab, which the lady had been complaining about, surely was a cause that made the progress of analysing the receipt take much more time. She had all the right to complain about it and Josh did not blame her. He would have been really...annoyed...if someone dared to put his working place into such a state. His dark brown eyes watched the woman carefully. She seemed to be dealing with the job well...until her words told him that she apparently had a hard time focusing. He glanced at the YATIs, Jory and Aspen, then turned back to the lady and put a hand on her shoulder. He did not know if she would consider this inappropriate yet Josh hoped she would understand that he had no purpose other than reassuring her about...things. "Our names." he said "I am Joshua Carter, Auror and the YATIs are Mister Jory Stonewall whose fingerprints you have and..." he glanced at Aspen before turning back to the laboratory lady "...Ms Aspen Odessa. And no, you did not ask for a case number and i am not sure if we have one anyway." and reassuring about things right."I don't know who has been messing with the ministry and, of course, your laboratory included. I can see that you really are troubled about this, Ms...." he did not know his name "...but if you can help me with this case, i promise i would do my best to find who did this to your working place and turn his face into a worse mess than this place is" |
Oh, Jory was watching closely all right. This was all very much fascinating but was something wrong with the lady? She seemed...distracted. Was that the right word? He watched as she used more of the sticky strips and retrieved two perfect fingerprints. Jory didn't know why because he had seen his dad do this once before but he was impressed. "Well done,'' he said thinking aloud. When he realised what he said, he smiled sheepishly. The lab lady probably did this a million times before. So, they just needed to do a comparison now. As Josh introduced Aspen and him, Jory gave the woman another grin. Hai there, Lab lady! Nice to meet you! Oh and yes, he'd be more than pleased to help Josh find out who did this to the lab. |
Aspen HAD been watching, but................... what was there to see really? This woman had ONE JOB and was all flustered. "I think she did it." Aspen pointed out. All the signs of guilt WERE there. Or maybe this was getting boring and Aspen was going to make it interesting again. "I think we need her fingerprints." |
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