Raven Nevermourn Ep. 008: SIGILante

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"I hope I didn't make you drive me so far out of your way Granny."

"It's fine Sweetie! It was nice getting out of the country a...spell." The old woman smiled at Gwen Alonzo as she crossed a bridge into Boston. "I couldn't let you walk all the way, especially dressed like that. Some pervert might have taken advantage of you. It's crazy out there these days."

"Oh how well I know." Another snarl from the truck bed cage made Gwen react with a shiver of fear. "Ummm? What kind of cat is...Sabastian?"

"Black Panther."

"Seriously? A tame one?"

"He's a big pussycat. Toss him a beef jerky he's purring up a storm."

"Is it legal to...keep a big cat? I mean it might be breaking a law taking him into Boston city limits. I don't want you to get pulled over and getting Sabastian confiscated."

"That's sweet of you Dear. I'm not worried I'll just perform a Jedi Mind Trick. You did not see that pussy." She laughed.

"Hilarious! You have a great sense of humor Granny."

"Star Wars fan! I had such a crush on Alec Guinness! He was the soul of that movie. A force to reckon with, am I right?"

"May the Force be with him!" Gwen smirked.

"With me now! Special place in my...heart that Grey haired old Fart!"

"You know...you can actually let me off on the outskirts. I'll call my sister and have her come get me. She or my daughter."

"Daughter you say?"

"Yes, she's 20 now."

"I have a daughter too. Pain in my ash..."

"Ash?" Gwen swallowed thinking of Brandon's ashes.

"Ass...did I say ash?"

"You did. How old is your daughter?"

"54! Had her when I was 18! The granddaughters are the worst! Especially Jezzie...trouble with a capital T for terror!"

"Awww! I bet you love your granddaughter regardless."

"Naaaa! Evil bitch!"

"Come on...she can't be that bad."

"Devil's daughter I say."

"Ouch!"

"Ehhh? She has her moments...now that she's lost everything pretty much she's finding out what it's like. Told her we all go through bad with the good. No angel that's for sure. What about your youngster? She an angel?"

"Spoiled rotten! Her Father just passed away and left her all his money. I didn't get a dime."

"Really Gwen?" Hector spoke up, "You're complaining after divorcing me for another man?"

"Right here Buddy! Don't make me put up my dukes. Golden gloves remember?" Brandon chuckled, "Not afraid to punch your only light out."

"You okay over there Missy?" Granny leered noting Gwen seem distant as if talking to herself without words.

"Fine! Indigestion is all."

"Tums in the glove box!"

"I'll be fine."

"Buns in the oven?" Granny laughed.

"Excuse me?"

"You're glowin' Sweetie! Usually it's a sign you're in the family way."

"I'm too old to have another baby. Let alone two."

"Never too old! Who put that brand on ya?"

"Brand...on?" She mimicked Granny then spoke in thought, "BrandOn? Does she...know? She said ash earlier...am I just reading into things?"

"Those funky bands on your wrists...grey and white. Significance?"

"Oh! My daughter's idea is all." Gwen shows them off as if bangles, twisting her wrists about. "Tattoos!"

"I used to have one on my back. Had it removed when my baby turned 18. What's she do? Goes and gets one just like mine out of spite. Told ya my kid was a lil' demon."

"Let me out up here please!" Gwen grew uncomfortable. Too much of the devil talk was spooking her.

"Corner of Havenue and Helena?"

"What?" Gwen spotted the street signs and bulged her eyes. "I never noticed those before now."

"We all end up at a crossroads Sweetie!" Granny pulls the truck over and puts it in park. Watching Gwen unfasten her seatbelt and open her door the old woman toots her horn. "Be safe out there Gwennie! Keep your eyes open, never know when those perverts might corner ya."

"Thanks for the ride."

"Welcome! Take care of those road bumps."

"Road bumps?" She winces as Granny points at Gwen's belly. "I AM NOT PREGNANT!"

"If ya say so. Nice meetin' ya Mommy!"

"Oh for God's sake!" Climbing down Gwen took off walking briskly. Hearing the big cat Sabastian growl she hoofed it even faster. Halfway down the block she turned to look back and found the big truck long gone. "How did she? She didn't drive by me. Traffic would never let her make a U-turn. Boys are we going crazy?"

"No crazier than we already are." Hector replied.

"Did I knock you up?" Brandon asked.

"NO! DAMMIT!"

Waving down a taxi now that she was back in Boston Gwen climbed in and told the female driver her address. The driver with her back to her simply said, "Buckle up Sweetie! It's the law!"

"What did you say?"

"Seatbelt!"

"Oh! Right! Jittery, sorry!"

Pulling away just as she buckled up the cab braked hard. "Fucking cats! Black one at that. If you're the suspicious type." The driver spoke with a grumbly tone.

Gwen should have just called her sister Rebecca.

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Detective Heather Choi sat at the surveillance room desk taking care of erasing incriminating footage of Coroner Keith Bryson from the cameras in the morgue. While viewing it in private first, her friend stepping out at her request she watched Keith act strangely, then strip naked to start masturbating. It was a horrible thing to watch but she could tell he wasn't himself. Eying the body of Cynthia Drewbeck on the autopsy table she noticed it appear as if her eyelids were pried open but nobody was over her corpse to do that. No way was she alive, nor having any bodily reactions after over 24 hours deceased.

The images of a woman blowing her a kiss in the cell photos made her tense, exploring every camera footage including the elevators she watched even herself leave the morgue. Thing is the elevator next to hers opened just as hers closed. Nobody exited the elevator but she did see the door to the morgue open by itself. They were not automatic doors.

"What is going on here? Who's vision did I see giving me a finger heart?"

Curiosity driven Heather looked up the footage in the main lobby at the time of the second elevator rising minutes later in hopes of seeing who might be leaving it. Discovering a woman stepping out of it with long blazing red hair and the hottest body she had ever scene Heather sat up from her slouch to take notice. "There you are! Lipstick style is what I remember from the reflection. She has to..." As if the woman knew she might be looking Heather saw her blow a kiss just like her first reflection on the eyeball of Cynthia Drewbeck. "It is her!"

Sharing the two hand heart symbol the woman shrugged one shoulder playfully and flashed her tits. Shaking those monsters Heather bulged her eyes. "How did security not see her? The front desk is right there." The redhead put her tits away beneath her camisole then pointed toward the exit door. Out of sight now Heather looked up the front entry cameras to see the woman walking toward the parking lot. Men, officers included were caught checking her out and slobbering all over themselves. "Fucktards!" At the time Heather was only looking badly at their reactions.

Parking lot cameras followed the woman until she arrived at a, "Red Ferrari? She must have money. Come on license plate, I can trace her name and address." As the woman drove away Heather paused the camera footage to grab a pen and paper. Magnifying the camera she got the plate number, "6Sex6? No way did the state push that plate through. Sex is a no go for all states." Frowning at it being a fake plate she let it go but made a copy of the footage to profile the woman later. "Okay bitch...just who are you?"

Deleting what was necessary of Keith to protect his job done Heather got up and relinquished the desk to her favor owed friend. Leaving the room she headed out the door toward her Jeep. "Gotta get back to the precinct. My partner's probably at work by now. I still need to check on the girls home and see if that Mallory knows where Raven Moore found housing. She shouldn't be that difficult to find. Wonder if Mallory had the girls transferred to safer housing during this investigation?"

Let's find out!

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Crowley Manson Home for Girls...

"Alright ladies? Single file now...take your bags to your seats with you." Mallory and her new assistant Silva Pemberton, recently called in from another home across the city guided the girls on to a pair of school buses. Single file the girls loaded up and found the field trip intriguing. Raven Moore's closest friends clustered in a number of seats toward the back were giggling and care free. It was nice just getting away for a short while.

Roll call confirmed Mallory let Silva supervise their bus while she rode with the second one with the youngest young girls as a Motherly figure. Door closed Silva took a seat behind the bus driver, a lank middle aged man with a constant grin.

"Ready to go when you are Driver." Silva leaned over the Driver's shoulder. Silva a meek nerdy looking fellow then looked back at the young women. "Remain seated ladies! Perfect behavior please!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Excuse me?" Silva turned back to face the Driver. Looking up at his visor mirror he noted the Driver wearing dark sunglasses.

"Buckle up...it's the lawn."

"Lawn?"

Hitting the gas the Driver tore out leaving the other bus behind and ran over the curb. Rough jostling sent the girls screaming and fighting to hang on. Across Crowley Manson's vast well kept grounds the bus weaved about traveling through shrubbery as the Driver laughed.

"Hang on to your Barbies...I'll hang on to the wire!"

"Stop the bus this instant!" Silva stood up and reached for the Driver. Hitting the brakes in a deafening squeal sent Silva head first into the windshield, blood streaking the window. Dropping to the floor and down into the short stair well Silva lay crumpled with a broken neck.

"Themz the brakes!" The Driver chuckled then hit the gas proceeding on.

The persistent cries of the girls went silent as the windows grew dark as if tinted. Realizing they could not hear one another the girls huddled together and cried.

"Big babies!"

Glasses lowered revealing oily black eyes...Noigel was in the house!

"Anyone want to visit Raven?"

He was having the time of his...life?

Afterlife?

Lifeafter?

"SUGAR in the tank Ladies! How sweet I am!"

He was on schedule at least!