Who: Jacob Mitchell & Skylar Morrison When: Monday afternoon Where: The Morrison household
Skylar was home alone for once. Gwen was out doing some Slayer-ly duties that she couldn't really get around, Ami was out shopping for some new clothes, and Pat was out on some band thing that couldn't be gotten around without him for some reason. So, Skylar sat on the living room sofa, reading a book with her cat Artemis sitting in her lap. Luckily, it was daylight outside, so she felt relatively safe for the time being.
Some time later, Skylar's doorbell rang.
Skylar put her book aside and walked up to the door. After taking a peep through the peephole, she opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked.
Jacob turned at the sound of the door opening. Adjusting his glasses before pulling out his badge and ID, "Ms. Morrison?" He held out his badge for her to clearly see, "I'm Detective Mitchell with the LAPD, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions regarding Iris and Patrick McConnell?"
Skylar froze for a second. Why on earth was he questioning her? "Yes, of course," she said after a second. "Come in," she said, standing back from the door to let him inside. With the sun out and bright, she hoped that she could at least assume that he wasn't a vampire.
Jacob walked into a house still decked out in Christmas decorations. He had to smile at that and commented, "You have a nice home, Ms. Morrison."
"Thank you. I try," she said, shutting the door behind him. "Can I get you something to drink? Why don't you have a seat?"
"Oh, thank you." He adjusted his glasses again, observing the interior, "Just water, please." He smiled, taking a seat across from the sofa.
She walked into the kitchen, coming back a minute or so later with two chilled water bottles. She handed one to him as she sat down across from him. "So, what can I do for you?"
He took the bottle just as he started to explain, "First of all, I'd like to extend my condolences and second, Detective Hunt approached me regarding the case." He paused to uncap the water bottle and take a sip, "I'd also like to say that I'm aware of the ... unique circumstances of this case." He pointedly stared back at Skylar as he said the last.
"Thank you," she said, sort of wondering why he was approached about this case. "Unique? Would you care to explain that?" Who knew what he really meant by such a thing?
"Based on the photo's in the case file, and the nature of the wound inflicted on Mrs. McConnell, a vampire was the one who killed her." A small smile curved his lips, "... But you already knew that, didn't you, Ms. Morrison." Jacob stated, not questioned.
Her eyes widened at the mention of a vampire, and Skylar couldn't help but feel a little afraid. Is this how they approached Iris, in some way? "What if I said I did? What would you think then?"
"Well, I would think why would a vampire choose someone like Iris, who has no direct connection to the Slayers be killed?" At this, Jacob pulled out the photo of the note that had been found on the body, "Ms. Morrison, please let me assure you that I'm not here to do you, or your loved ones, harm. I am here to gather facts in the hopes of solving this case and helping you. Besides ..." He glanced at the photo, "Christina is rather worried about Molly, I'd like to help as much as I can."
She couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. "I don't know why they picked Iris. Pat is a very close friend of both Skylar and I, so maybe that has something to do with it." Well, closer than friends, but she didn't need to mention that. She looked over the note that had been included. "I'm not sure who did this, but whomever did it was obviously looking to start trouble. How can I help you?"
Jacob pulled out his tiny notebook and a pen, "To eliminate you as a suspect, I need to know where you were the evening of December 17th."
"My friend Ami came in, actually. She is visiting for the holidays," Skylar said. While she wasn't exactly thrilled to be using her future daughter as an alibi, it was what she had. "She's out shopping right now, but she'll be back in a little while. Gwen actually called me just after...well, they found her. I was the one who talked to Pat."
As Skylar spoke, Jacob jotted down notes, "Good, I'll need to speak to Ami to corraborate(sp?) your story." Looking up while adjusting his glasses again, he said, "Ms. Morrison, I know this will be difficult, but is there anything, anything at all that you found odd just be fore Iris' death? Was there anything out of the ordinary that you or Mr. McConnell noticed?"
"I think I remember Gwen mentioning something about a new vampire gang in town, but that's about it. No one mentioned anything in particular to me," Skylar said. It was so strange to her to be talking about this with someone who wasn't in their inner circle, but she wanted Iris's killer(s) found just as much as anyone else did.
Jacob paused to think a moment. Vampire gang ... The coincidence didn't sit well with him. He'd have to talk to Gwen about this gang. "When and where can I contact Gwen? I have a few questions about this gang she mentioned to you."
"Well, right now she's training with her Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." Which who's house they also found Skylar, but she just assumed that the detective knew that. "She'll be back shortly as well, though."
"Hmm ..." The detective closed his notebook briefly to take a sip of water and think again. After a while he asked, "Do you mind if I stay until Ami and Gwen get back? If not, I can leave my card and they can contact me."
"You can, but it might be a while before they do." Skylar smiled at him a little. "They didn't exactly leave specific times that they would be back around. I can give them your card if you are in a bit of a hurry. I'll make sure they call you."
"Yeah ..." Jacob glanced at his watch, "I was hoping to speak to Mr. McConnell this evening." Putting his notebook away into the inner pocket of his jacket, he pulled out two business cards with the precinct address and his phone number, "Have them call this number when they get back so we can schedule a meeting." He stood, holding them out to Skylar.
She took the cards. "I'll make sure that they get them," she said, putting them into her jeans pocket. "Is there anything else?"
"If you think of anything else, don't hesitate to call. You can also contact Christina Lowell, as well. She has my number." Jacob offered his hand in farewell, "Thank you for your time, Ms. Morrison, I apologize for any inconvience I caused."
"I will." She stood up and shook his hand. "It's no inconvenience at all. I just wish that I could be more help to you."
Jacob let out short laugh, "Believe me, Ms. Morrison, you've been very helpful." Putting his pen away, the detective let himself out.