Mysterious Disappearances

It was as dark as it ever got in a city like Boston. The sky was overcast, the moon peeking here and there, but the stars were lost entirely to the light pollution of the city itself. A residential district, the homes all older manor homes spaced apart as only the old lots had a tendancy to do. The district was nice enough, though there were other sections of the city that had faired the centuries much better. This one was more 'upper middle class' than the exeedingly fancy areas.

On the street, a red Jeep wrangler was parked, standing out a bit, sure, but nothing spectacularly irregular. Besides, it was dark - most of those living here were asleep. It also happens to be wearing a license plate from Nebraska at the moment in case someone WAS nosing about this late.

The home was a colonial much like the others on this block, but it was different - as each of these tended to be - somewhat smaller. It actually used to be the guest house for a much larger manor home - on ethat had burned down sixty years previously. It was not fire that had caused it to be silent now, however. The couple who lived here had gone missing. The cops had not been called in yet. Why? Because the couple who lived here were often gone.

Why was Rese here?

The husband was a Hunter. And he and his wife were /missing/. They were part of the network her grandparents ran, and them vanishing off the map was enough to worry them.

Moving silently through the house, Rese has the good sense to have gloves on, a small pinlight providing her just enough light to move by. Jeans, a tanktop with a button down thrown over it, and work boots, but she still managed to move quietly, frowning faintly to herself as she took in the immediate details ofthe home.

Despite his general dislike of Hunter attitudes, Danny doesn't tend to dislike them as people. Unless they /are/ generally unlikeable people (which is often enough). That was not the case with this particular couple, however, who would make it a point to visit his shop whenever they were in town. Yeah, he remains guarded around Hunters as a rule, but many do good things, and he wants them to keep doing good things. So when such a pair suddenly disappear from the game completely... well that's a mystery worth investigating. So, here he is, in a completely different room than Rese, having broken into the house in a completely different manner, but doing precisely the same thing. The man is wearing a thin t-shirt beneath his cargo jacket, and a loose pair of jeans so his movement isn't hindered. Right now he's in the process of investigating the pair's bedroom, gloves on, checking the windows for sulphur.

When looking into such things, it's not only demons that do the grabbing. There are ALL sorts of things that go bump in the night, and usually they have fangs or teeth or something else equally as nasty. In this case, no sulphur is present, but there IS a distinct chill to the area. Colder than the spring night indicates it really should be.

The master bedroom is up on the second floor at the back of the house, and the phoenix had to slip through their backyard (with eight foot tall privacy fence, landscaped yard, gazebo, and even a fountain). Upon first glance, one might assume everything is where it should be in the room. It doesn't appear that they have any bags missing, there are no gaps in their closet or any of the drawers. In fact, there's a basket of folded laundry waiting on a chair. He would note that the end stands were purhcased at his store, antiques with hidden compartments (and inside, he would find weapons that would be readily accessible... just in case).

Downstairs, a soft creak of an interior door opening....

Thankfully, Danny is nothing short of athletic, so climbing and clambering are very much in his skill set. Even the stealth and larceny bits aren't trouble; that usually begins when it comes to defending himself in creative ways that won't kill people. Or that involve incinerating them, which he staunchly dislikes. So when he hears said creak, the man immediately flattens against an interior wall - knowing full well that such sounds are hardly coincidence when investigating something like this. This is when he pulls out his EMF reader, hooks in a small earbud so it doen't gurgle excessively and echo through the house like a million bouncing pong balls, and flips the thing on.

The sound was /downstairs/. But again, that means nothing. And he whips out the EMF? Such a shock, isn't it, when the needle begins to bob, sohwing that, indeed, there has been activity of a ghostly nature in the house. In the house, not necessarily in this room, however. The needle moves just a bit. Oh damn! His ear buds must not have worked! There's that soft screech and gurgle...

No. It was distant. Softly muffled. Downstairs?

There's a rather DISTINCT look of displeasure what plants itself on Danny's face when he thinks he fumbled up his little earbud trick. But, then the noise wasn't exactly right, and it was too far away. Hrm. Okay then, time to explore some more, since death didn't burst through the door. Thus, peeling himself from the wall, he carefully pads his way out of the bedroom and into what is likely a hallway, taking care to move ever-so-slowly and cautiously towards that sound, whilst keeping an eye on his EMF needle.

Down the stairs, the sound of a second EMF gets louder. It's still not too loud - he only heard it because of how quiet the house was and he was going to notice any sound within it. Following it, takes him to a den in the back. The wife - Julianne - worked as a columnist, and this was her office so she could 'work from home' (or on the road with her husband).

It is still dark, some light filtering in through the windows from the surroundin city, the shadows thick. And there in the den, back turned, a figure.

With an EMF.

It takes all of two seconds for that figure ti spin about, ponytail flipping about to her shoulder, a gun in one hand, EMF still in the other. Afterall, it's too dark to make out any features yet, and the woman has no idea who is here with her. Only that someone was creeping up on her. Even that was more FEELING rather than having heard anything specific.

And she takes two steps back as she does. Very purposefully.

Oh, hello. Now who could that b--GUN. Fuck. "Whoa," says Danny, lifting up his hands, including the EMF reader, once he's maybe two steps into the room. "Hello, not a ghost." Quite the observation, though is he talking about her or himself? Likely both! But, given the moment of standoff and a chance for the eyes to adjust, Danny finally adds: "Rese?" Hands are still up, however. No shooting, please, thanks.

"... Danny?" Talk about confused! The gun stays right where it is for a moment longer. "I thought you weren't a hunter," she says ever so carefully. The gun EMF is the one that is switched off and tucked in at the small of her back. Her pinlight reappears, shining over the man to confirm 1) he's corporeal and 2) that it's actually Danny. Only THEN does the gun go back to the shoulder holster (hidden under the button down as she's wearing that with the buttons /un/ done). "What are you doing here?" Should also be noted by the light of the pinlight, she's standing inside a salt circle to do said interrogation.

"I'm not," says Danny, lowering his hands, and blocking the rays of that light with his free palm. "'Hunter,' has a load of associations that don't apply to me. Like stalking prey with the intent to kill." The EMF reader is used to point towards her gun as if to say 'like you.' "Can you please put the light away?" Provided she at least removes the beam from his face, he explains further: "I'm investigating the disappearance of two good customers. I check in on all my regulars from time to time, and I haven't heard anything from them for a few days despite their plans to be in town for awhile. I always assume the worst when Hunters fall off the grid."

There's a bit of a nod, and the pinlight is dropped to shine on the floor at his feet rather than up at his face. She frowns faintly, studying his shadowy form before giving a small nod. "They were supposed to come over for brunch today," Rese says carefully. "When they didn't show, didn't answer their phones, Nan got worried." Explanation as to why SHE is here.

"You know, for someone who's not a Hunter," she starts, but trails off with a small shake of her head. "Nevermind," she breathes, looking away and about the room. "Hadnt' seen any sulphur. No forced entry that I could find." Besides her own. "Then I saw this." She taps her toe to the ground just inside the circle. "Figured..." A shrug. "Spook. Usually how this works." The light skitters along the ground to rest on a container from which the salt apparently came from, tumbled on its side not far away.

"The best way to learn is to experience the field," explains Danny, bending down to touch the salt circle, and bringing a little to his mouth. Trial by fire. Hrm. Clearly, he accepts her explanation unconditionally. "Your Nan is a very sweet lady," he says, somewhat distracted (but still sincere!) as he steps over towards the toppled container, sweeping his EMF reader around as he goes. Sniff. Turning, he adds: "Ghost doesn't really explain the lack of bodies, unless they were dragged somewhere, and the lack of sulphur implies no demons." He gestures to the floor with his reader. "Any blood?"

"Like I said, I just found it," Rese points out softly. "I haven't found any blood spatters yet." She turns away, letting her light slide over the immediate area before she steps out. "And as I said, no indication of a fight in any of the rooms I've been in. But I haven't been here that long yet." She gives herself a shake, moving over to the desk itself. The light plays over the stacks of paper upon it, frowning faintly to herself. She still doesn't touch anything yet, though. "And even if they were /dragged/... if they had been in the circle, that wouldn't have happened. Shouldn't have happened," she corrects herself. "After the things I've seen over the past several months, I'm not trusting anthing to the definite."

"Well, there's no point indulging conjecture," says Danny, rubbing his forehead with the back of a hand. His full attention is on the EMF reader now. "Let's find a lead, and then we can go from there. "I'll do a full sweep of the upstairs again, can you take the downstairs? Let's meet back in this room in ten minutes. The safety word is..." Now he breaks out his own utility flashlight, leaning forward to whisper something in Rese's ear: "Barnacle." And he leans away again. "In case something tries to pose as either of us." Now, to investigate!

Why.... hello. Her attention bowed over the desk itself, she suddenly stills as she feels the heat of his body so close. Okay, and /maybe/ a little shiver as he speaks against her ear, but... damn. Wait, did he say 'barnacle'?? Her brows come together, her head snapping after him as she grins. How can she not? "Aye-aye, Captain," she drawls, even giving him a jaunty little salute. As he makes for the stairs, she turns her attention elsewhere. Her own EMF comes out once more, and she begins to go over the other rooms on this lower level.

For Danny as he makes his way upstairs once more, he'll find a two guest rooms - neither of them used, and what he might suspect is the husband's 'work' room. There are a number of locks along the exterior of it, the door itself reinforced. Oddly enough, it was left open. There's a devil's trap just inside the door, and no windows to be seen (so whoever enters will be forced to walk over the glyphs. Every Hunter has their armory, afterall, and this bust be those of the Vales.  A work table is set in the center, and upon it an open book - apparently research for his next job.  But everything is left in mid-task as if he were called away.

It may be true that Danny's voice gets a bit low and gravelly when he whispers, but his thoughts are completely on the job. Really! Anyways, he shoots Rese's salute a short, thin-lipped smile before he slips away. There's humor in there somewhere! Regardless, up the stairs he goes, making good time. Each of those guest rooms recieves a good looking-over, but it's the 'work' room that unsurprisingly grips Danny's immediate attention. Thankfully the traps have no effect on the Phoenix, because getting stuck right now would be veeeery awkward. He does note them, however, glancing at the markings of each and noting the worksmanship as he makes a complete circuit of the room with the EMF reader. One more glance around, and then to the open book.

There's a map by the book - Idaho - and a number of areas marked on said map. Sitings. Newspaper clippings, a laptop nearby (asleep at the moment). The book itself is about Native American lore, and the mythology surrounding many of the tribes from the same region. Granted, for Hunters, 'lore' and 'mythology' takes on a different meaning altogether, doesn't it? Also to note, there are locks on the /inside/ of as well. This room was designed to be a sort of panic room for the Hunters living here. And doesn't look like any of the logs are broken, none of the sigils smudged.

From below, he can hear the low beeps of the EMF, only there on the fringe of his consciousness. While Danny is hardly well-read on every possible supernatural subject, he does have an amazingly well-rounded knowledge of most subjects, including Native American lore. Does he recognize this particular variety? Well, he's not reading into too much. He has less than ten minutes to gather information and make a report. Glancing over his shoulder at the inside locks again, he frowns, and moves over to wake up the laptop and see what the last bit of research on /it/ was.

It would seem a type of shapeshifter was being researched. Coyotes, only of the 'mischievious spirit' variety. When the laptop is woken up, it has more information, more articles, of people going missing. All the locals seem to be around that spot in Idaho. It looks like the start of research for a hunt, just like any Hunter would do. Granted, this seems to be the initial work. Yes, Danny would know there ARE such things. The missing people in Idaho - is that attributed to such spirits? Maybe. Maybe not. There's just not enough data to tell.

It also seems as if it wasn't something that he had DONE anything about yet. Especialy as one of the screens on the computer is GoogleMaps (yes, even Hunters use GoogleMaps) to track the best route out there. Interesting, Danny concludes, but unlikely the cause of their disappearance. Sudden disappearances aren't exactly out of the norm for trickster spirits, but so far to the East? He'd certainly need some more evidence to convince them of that. Regardless, time is running out, so for the moment he exits the work room, and proceeds to sweep the rest of the upstairs before heading back down the stairs. Very mysterious. "Find anything?" he will ask of Rese, once they see each other again.

There is nothing else upstairs. A storage room (It's designed to look like 'junk' but actually has things packed neatly for a quick escape if it is so neede so they dont' have to stort through personal belongings to get out), but otherwise, nothing up there.

Rese returns to the agreed upon room only a few minutes after Danny makes his way downstairs, and she's frowning faintly. "The back door was unlocked. And there is food that was left out on the counter. We know they were eating with us /today/, so might have been... I don't know, yesterday? Maybe longer." She gives a small shake of her head. "Stronger EMF readings in the kitchen, though, but nothing there /now/." She even clicks off her little light. "You?".

Danny is still frowning faintly, and shakes his head. "Found the armory-slash-workroom. Research was left out. Looks like they were planning on investigating a possible trickster spirit, but way out in Idaho. Very inlikely it's related to this." He, too, clicks off his flashlight. "I think the answer isn't what they were doing or where they were going. My suggestion would be to trace their steps back a few months and look for anything suspicious. So if you want to grab anything, now's the time to do it. I think you'll want to clean out the armory before the authorities find it. And if you don't mind, I'm going to take all their research and comb through it at the shop."

Both brows arch high, and she hesitates a moment before nodding. "I might even suggest we talk to the neighbors. In the morning? If..." she pauses, arching both brows as she gives him a crooked smile. "If you're up for a second date there, big guy," she drawls out with a wink as she steps back from him. "I'll do a full clean up," she says with a sigh, her smile faltering. "I wish I could say to the contrary, but I've done this sort of thing before." Afterall, it's precisely what her 'grandparents' did when her family was killed. Sort of necessary to have people to clean up after vanished or killed Hunters. "I'll call Granps and we'll get it done tonight."

"It's probably better if you and your Nan ask the questions as concerned friends," says Danny, stowing his EMF reader and glancing up at the woman with a raised brow. What? Date? Oh. "I tend to stick out a bit," he concludes, running a few fingers through his hair. "It's still weird to most people with the concerned wacko occult shopkeeper comes around asking about his customers. The'll probably think I want to sacrifice them in a blood ritual or something. And I may just, after getting That Look so many times." There's something of a sly smile, and then he pats his thighs. "Okay, I need to go collect their stuff. Why don't you and your Nan stop by tomorrow after you're done?"

"... I don't get to whip out my federal agent costume while in Boston." It's as if it's really just sinking in that she LIVES in this city, so it might not be the best idea to pretend to be law enforcement when she isn't leaving down immediately. "Damnit." Grumble. "I love my fed costumes," she grumbles faintly as she withdraws her phone. "I'll talk to Nan, though," she says with a sigh and a bob of her head. "She's usually pretty good about all of that. But go ahead and get the things you are needing. I only ask that you let us look over the stuff at some point." She pauses, looking up at him. "I'm trusting you on this, Danny. Because Nan trusts you. Please don't make me regret it." A pause, half a beat. "Because if that old woman starts ripping into me, it's /your/ ass I'm throwing under the bus," she warns, pointing her phone at him before giving him a smile. "Now go. We're not law officials, but I now how you're uncomfortable around Hunters." See? Considerate.

It looks like there's something Danny wants to say in response to Rese's final comment, what with his brow furrowing a little, but for the moment he decides otherwise. "You see why I don't really want to start asking people questions," he says. They might remember him in connection to something supernatural, aaaand that's not really safe. For him. "No threats are necessary," he then adds, heading towards the door. "We're both concerned, and we're working on this together" - however much he hates saying that - "so I'll share whatever I find. And tell your Nan she still owes me cookies from the other day I helped her out. I haven't forgotten." He wants his cookies, yo. Apparently Rese is going to have to ask Nan what that's all about, as Danny's clearly not saying. And off he goes!