Liv Moore is an alabaster badass (livmoore) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-01-19 15:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, leon orcot, olivia moore |
Who: Leon and Liv
What: Liv and Leon investigate a murder - it doesn't go as planned
When: Today!
Where: Suspect's house
Ratings/Warnings: Medium for violence and zombieism
Status: Complete
Sometimes, it was nice to get a nice, simple case, and this had ended up being pretty easy. It was a nice change after trying to catch an active serial killer for the last three months. Of course, it had taken a while to make a break in the case. If Liv hadn’t had her vision, Leon wouldn’t have known that their victim had been having an affair with a married man. But once they’d learned that, it was just the simple business of tracking the man down. Dollars to doughnuts, that was their murder. His victim had probably been preparing to tell his wife or something, and so he’d shut her up the first way that he thought of.
He pulled up in front of the house that his suspect lived in with his wife, and got out of the car. “This look like the place?” he asked Liv, not sure if she’d actually seen the house in her visions but hoping she had.
Liv was all about the simple case. Her life was crazy enough lately. Between being human and then turning back into a zombie, the serial murders, and Ravi, it had been an insane, complicated few months. This case seemed to be the classic scorned lover. Liv had a vision of the man threatening to kill the victim if she told his wife about the affair. She told Leon immediately and here they were.
“Yeah,” Liv confirmed. She hadn’t seen the house in her most current vision. But she had seen it in a previous one. Where the victim was banging the woman’s husband. Sex visions were awkward. At least she had been alone when she got that one. “Let’s go bust his ass.”
Leon grinned. It was nice having a partner that was as gung ho as bringing in criminals as he himself was. Not that Liv was officially his partner. Or even that he should be bringing her around to question people.
“We’re just asking questions today,” Leon said. He had timed it so they could come when the husband was out at work. There was no way Leon would come to apprehend a homicide suspect without another cop there backing him up, even if these domestic cases usually tended to be pretty low risk to the officers in question.
He stepped out of the car and adjusted his shoulder holster before he slipped a jacket on over it. No point in freaking out this poor woman by having his gun right out in the open. He hoped that they’d be able to get some information that they could actually use. She had never filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband, but from his experience guys didn’t go off and kill their lovers without some kind of forewarning.
He waited for Liv to exit the car too, then went to the door and knocked. After a moment, she answered the door.
“Mrs. Whitmore?” Leon asked, pulling out his badge. “I’m Detective Leon Orcot with the IPD, and this is Liv Moore. We just have some questions regarding an open case. Do you mind if we come in?”
The woman seemed shocked and a little nervous to see the police on her doorstep, but after a moment she swallowed and nodded. “Yes, yes, of course,” she said. “Please come in.”
Just questions. Well that was still busting the guy in a way. It was at least getting the evidence to bust him. Liv was satisfied with that for now. Had to do things the proper way. But whatever. To the house they went.
“Thanks!” Liv said cheerfully before walking into the house with Dan. They followed Mrs. Whitmore into the living room taking a seat on the couch.
“Would you like anything? Water? Tea?” The woman asked.
“No thanks,” Liv replied right away. She just wanted to get down to business. Get some answers for who killed poor Rachel Steele. “So,” she began ignoring the fact that Leon usually did the questioning. “Have you noticed anything off about your husband lately? Late nights, that sort of thing.”
“I’ll take some tea if you wouldn’t mind, Mrs. Whitmore,” Leon said. He’d learned over the years that people generally tended to be more forthcoming if you accepted their hospitality. He’d never been one much for tea, but given that he’d had it with D in nearly all of his dreams so far, he’d been developing a taste for it.
He shot Liv a look, but leaned back in his chair. She didn’t seem to be doing too bad of a job so far.
“Harold?” Mrs. Whitmore asked, stepping out of the living room and around a corner so she was out of view. “I can’t say I’ve noticed anything odd, though he has been working late the last few months. Can I ask what this is regarding?”
There was a reason she was out of view. She was reaching for the gun they kept in one of the kitchen drawers. Just in case she needed to use it.
“One of the people he was working late with,” Liv began, In fact it was the only person he was ‘working’ late with. “She’s dead.”
That was enough for Jill Whitmore. She knew where this was headed. She wasn’t taking any chances. Before they could find out anymore she popped out of the kitchen gun in hand, shooting at Liv.
The bullet got Liv in the shoulder. The second it hit her Liv changed, adrenalin flowing her eyes turned red, face had somewhat of a purple tint with her veins very pronounced. She couldn’t speak, only growl. Liv sprung up from the couch, lunging for the woman that had just attacked her.
Leon saw Whitmore’s gun come out as if it was in slow motion. “Liv!” he screamed. He had started diving from the chair, reaching for the gun under his jacket, but he wasn’t fast enough. His knee had just hit the floor, fingers had barely closed around the butt of the gun when he heard the gunshot, watched the impact of it hit Liv, watched the blood…
Where was the blood? And what the hell was going on with Liv’s face. Stunned, he froze in place. Whitmore’s scream a split second later shook him from his daze. He finished drawing his gun and pointed it at Mrs. Whitmore. Then at Liv. Then back again. What the fuck was going on?!?
“Both of you freeze!” he barked, the strength of his voice filling the room. “Drop your goddamn weapon!”
During the time that Leon was frozen and Liv tackled Mrs. Whitmore, the gun went off again, this time getting Liv in the stomach. It did nothing to stop Liv though. In fact, it only increased her adrenalin. She tackled the woman all the way to the floor, hitting her in the face.
She heard a familiar voice but it didn’t register at first. But somewhere, in the back of Liv’s zombie mind, she recognized Leon, realized what she was doing.
Deep breath, Liv.
Her hands stopped first. She sat there, on top of Mrs. Whitmore continuing to focus solely on her breathing. It took less than a minute before Liv’s face returned to it’s normal state. “Got her,” she offered to Leon, sheepishly.
Leon winced at the second gunshot, an icy stab of fear for Liv again, but once again, it didn’t even seem to phase her. And then she was back to normal, and giving Leon a sheepish look that was completely at odds with the monstrous face he’d seen just seconds before.
He took a couple of steps closer to them, keeping his gun trained on the two women. He wasn’t sure if he was aiming for Liv or for Whitmore, but if either one of them tried something it wouldn’t take him long to adjust his aim. Once he reached the fallen gun, he slid it out of Whitmore’s reach, and then took a couple of steps back.
“Get off her,” he barked at Liv, indicating with his gun that she should back away from the both of them.
Liv wasn’t used to Leon being so angry like that, at least not with her. It was a little shocking. But what could she really expect after what happened. What she had just done.
“Don’t let her get away,” Liv said lifting her hands like a perp, and backing away from the both of them.
“‘Don’t let her get away,’” Leon echoed, grumbling, then added sharply “Who the hell do you think the cop is here?”
Leon’s only movement was to keep his gun trained on Liv as she backed away, wondering how he’d put the cuffs on the still-terrified Whitmore. He couldn’t very well put the cuffs on Whitmore if he kept his gun on Liv. There was a part of him, the same part that was genuinely terrified of horror movies and yet still watched them more than any other genre of movie, that told him that, under no circumstances, should put his weapon away after seeing what he’d just seen.
The feeling passed after a moment. He had been working alongside Liv for nearly two years now, and she didn’t seem terribly surprised by the fact that she’d just turned into a monster after being shot. Twice. Which probably meant that if she had wanted to attack him, she might have done it by now. Unless she attacked people for discovering her secret.
He shook his head, and then holstered his gun, then closed the distance to Whitmore, pulling his cuffs off his belt as he went. She had started to get up, but he slammed her into the ground and pressed a knee into the small of her back, ignoring her cry of shock. “Jill Whitmore, you’re under arrest in connection with the murder of Rachel Steele, and for firing at a police officer,” he said as he placed her in cuffs. Not that Liv was technically a police officer.
He hauled Whitmore roughly to her feet, and then pointed at Liv. “Don’t you move,” he demanded, and went to lock Whitmore in the back of the cruiser.
Of course the way Leon was looking at her hurt, even worse was the fact that he seemed hesitant to take his gun off her. She knew she was a monster. There was a reason she kept it a secret. And Leon’s reaction was just further proof of that. But still, didn’t Leon know her? Know who she was deep down? A good person. One who didn’t like or want to hurt people. Even in full on zombie mode she knew enough not to attack Leon, a few months ago she knew enough not to hurt Dan. Leon wasn’t in any danger around her.
Liv did as Leon told. Well, sort of. She remained in the house, in the room, but she did move. Taking a seat on the couch as she waited for Leon to return.
Leon shoved Whitmore into the backseat of the car, and then violently slammed the door behind her. Then, he leaned against the car and lit a cigarette, ostensibly to calm down. He glared at the patch of grass in front of him, trying to make sense of what he’d seen. While it was possible Jill Whitmore had just been trying to cover up for her husband, it seemed more likely that she’d been responsible for the murder of Steele. He didn’t waste much thought on that. Liv was the real question. He’d heard of vampires on the Net, but he hadn’t seen any fangs. Some sort of demon? A weird, personality switching, psychic demon that wanted her food to be as hot as the fires of the hell she came from?
“Arg!” he cried, kicking the wheel of the car (inside, Whitmore jumped). He butted out his cigarette on the sidewalk, and then stormed back into the house.
He looked at the wall where he had left her, and then found just fucking chilling out on the goddamn couch like it was just any other day of the week. “What the hell was that, Liv?” he yelled, throwing his arms out to the side.
Liv sat there, staring at him. The yelling almost made her jump. As for his question? How was she supposed to answer that? Her wounds were already healed, all that was left was holes in her clothing where the bullets went through. And then there was what she turned into. But if Leon wanted answers to those questions he was going to have to be a bit more specific. And calming the fuck down wouldn’t hurt either. He could at least quit yelling at her.
“I caught the woman who was shooting at us,” Liv replied because well it was what happened. “She probably killed Rachel too.”
“Yeah, thanks, I got that,” Leon snarled, savage in his sarcasm. “That’s not what I meant and you fucking know it. I just watched you get shot! I watched you get shot twice! Are you even okay? And then your face! What the fuck is up with your face?! What the hell are you?”
Still yelling. Not exactly making Liv feel comfortable to spill her secret. However, this was Leon. What other kind of reaction did she really expect from him? At least he didn’t shoot her. And honestly, it was time he knew the truth.
“I’m okay,” Liv replied answering his first question. “You might want to sit down,” she added. Knowing Leon, the guy might just pass out at her explanation.
Leon stared at her as if he could figured out whatever secrets she was holding just by the intensity of his gaze. Could there be an alternative motive for getting him to sit down?
No, that was stupid. He stomped toward the chair, and then sat down, crossing both his legs and his arms, the scowl not leaving his face. “Spill it.”
Liv had thought about how to tell Leon many times. Nothing seemed right. Part of why she had put it off. Well that and until recently he clearly didn’t believe in anything supernatural. But her getting shot and then going into full on zombie mode? This definitely wasn’t the way it was supposed to go.
“I’m not actually psychic. I have visions, but it’s not because of that. It’s because,” she paused taking a deep breath to work up the nerve. “I’m a zombie.” Liv purposely left off the part about the visions coming from the brains she ate. At least for now.
Leon blinked, sitting back in his chair. That wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. He didn’t believe it. “No you’re not,” he said, the heat in his voice replaced by disbelief. “Zombies don’t talk or solve crimes. They just shuffle around going ‘grr, arg’ and eating brains.” Leon had watched more than enough zombie movies to know that.
“That’s what I thought too.” It was honest, and Liv was doing her best to remain calm. Leon seemed to be calming down a bit too. “Until I started dreaming. Apparently there are different kinds.” Another pause. She didn’t really want to get into the business of her food, but Leon needed to know that she didn’t kill…. Except for that one time when Dan was in danger. “I don’t hurt anyone. I’m still the same Liv.”
Abruptly, Leon stood up again, and began to pace the living room. He had too much pent-up energy to just stay in place. And too much running through his head. “No way,” he said. “I don’t buy it. What kind of zombie gets drunk and goes on dates and doesn’t eat brains?” She was just telling him that because she knew he hated zombies, obviously. “Tell me the truth, Liv, or I swear to God…” He purposefully left the end of the threat linger. One, because threats were more threatening if they weren’t outright stated, and two, because he didn’t actually an ending in mind.
Liv stood up too. Not going towards Leon, she knew better. But now Liv was getting frustrated. “I am telling you the truth! I’m a zombie. Yes, I date,” she left out the part about no sex. Leon didn’t need information about her sex life. Especially not now. “But I also eat need brains to survive. Why would I lie?!”
“I don’t know,” Leon yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “You tell me!” And then, just as suddenly, the other things she said sunk in. She ate brains? But she had literally just said she didn’t eat people, and last time he checked, brains were the most peopley part of people.
Though she hadn’t said she didn’t eat people. She said she didn’t hurt people. But it’s not like you could eat someone’s brains without hurting someone. Unless they were already dead. Like at the morgue. He stopped midstep, the blood draining from his face.
He turned his head to Liv, staring at her as if for the first time. Could she really be a zombie? A bonafied, human-brain eating zombie? Who ate the poor victims that got wheeled into the city morgue?
He shook his head. No. He refused to believe it. Liv was lying, plain and simple. “Ha ha ha,” he laughed sarcastically. “Pull the other one, Liv. C’mon, we have a suspect waiting in the car.” He turned on his heel to head back outside. “You almost had me going for a minute there.”
Liv watched as Leon attempted to process the information and then he decided it was a joke. She couldn’t help but sigh. Oh well. She tried. There wasn’t much else she could do. Especially since he had seen it with his own eyes.
“Yeah, okay,” she replied following him out the door.