Habeus Corpus 3
Oct. 19th, 2005 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamsbardWell, see the reason this was delayed for so long was because of the band dialogue. Then I went "screw it, nobody'll care" and wrote the rest of the chapter.
“What do you mean Pete's dead?" Aric Sanders demanded, his eyes wide. "That's not possible. I just saw him at the cross country meet yesterday. We won,” he added hopelessly, like it meant something.
Stella nodded. “Can you tell us about him?” she asked. “His mother mentioned something about a girlfriend...”
The corner of Aric's mouth curled up in something almost a smile. “Yeah,” he said. “Ellora Eades. She’s a senior at one of the public schools in Queens. Plays trombone in the band there. We wouldn’t have met her normally; St. Aidan’s doesn’t play public schools, but we all marched in the same parade last year, for points, and we ended up running into the Midtown High band. Ellora and Pete hit it off like that. It was kind of funny, actually. Pete’s the last guy you’d expect to end up with a girlfriend.”
“Ellora Eades,” Stella said. She noted the name down, then glanced back up at Aric. “You said Peter played in the band?”
“We both do. Pete plays – played – oboe in concert, flute in marching. Double reeds don’t march,” he added. “I play trumpet.”
“Were you any good?”
Aric’s head lifted a little. “We went to state last year on an ensemble piece. I played trumpet, Pete played oboe, Ellora played ‘bone, Paul Eades – that’s Ellora’s twin brother – played French horn, and Gudrun Rosi played flute. Pete’s mom wanted him to play flute, and he did for a while, but then he switched when the other oboe graduated after our freshman year. He picked it up really fast, but Mrs. Osborn was really mad when she found out.”
“How well do you know Elaine Osborn?” Stella asked.
Aric shrugged. “She was kind of weird – a real control freak. Pete was dealing with it for a while, but after Ellora he got – kind of – I don’t know, rebellious. Not rebellious like a normal person, but he might as well have started staying out to two and coming home drunk and wasted in Mrs. Osborn’s eyes. She was really, really mad. She pretty much wanted to control his life, and Pete didn’t want her to.” He was quiet for a long moment. “He’s really dead, isn’t he?”
Stella paused a moment before answering. “We don’t know for sure,” she said finally. “We haven’t recovered the body yet, but all the evidence seems to point to Peter being our victim.”
“Jesus,” Aric said, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I can’t believe it. I can’t – he can’t be dead. Not Pete.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Stella said quietly. “You must have been good friends.”
He nodded. “Since daycare. Mrs. Osborn used to drop him off so she could go to her tea parties or whatever. My mom couldn’t take care of me.” He was quiet for a moment. “My dad was an FBI agent,” he said. “At the New York office. He died.”
“In the line of fire?”
“Yeah. They don’t know who – anyway, it was a drug bust, and it went bad. My mom has to work two jobs to keep me in school,” he confessed bitterly. “Pete doesn’t know. I mean, he does, he just – Christ, I don’t know.” His cheeks flushed slightly beneath his tan. “I shouldn’t say that, huh? What with being in a Catholic school and all. Pete would have gotten mad. He always got this funny look on his face whenever anyone swore…” He shook his head. “I can’t believe it,” he said again. “Pete was – Pete was cool. I mean, he was kind of a control freak – not the same way his mom was, but he always had to know what was going on, you know? And whenever we did group projects he’d have to be in charge, because he couldn’t stand being ordered around. I guess he got too much of that from his mom. I used to tease him because he never tried out for drum major – but he didn’t, you know, and he hated yelling, so he would have sucked at it. That’s pretty much the only thing he wasn’t perfect at – except for the whole social life thing, he didn’t have one of those. Not till Ellora.”
“Sounds familiar,” Stella muttered under her breath.
Aric glanced up from under impossibly long eyelashes. “Huh?”
“Nothing,” she said, capping her pen. “Thank you, Aric, that’s been a lot of help. If you think of anything – anything weird, or anything you think might be relevant - give me a call, okay? Here’s my card.”
He took it from her, glanced at it with shadowed eyes. “Will – will you tell me when you catch whoever killed him?”
Stella gave him a sad smile, and didn’t reply.
*
She met up with Mac at the entrance to the school. He had a decidedly frustrated expression on his face and was staring at the class of pictures on the wall like he’d find Pete Osborn’s body there. He glanced up as Stella came to a stop by him.
“Get anything good?” she asked.
“Nothing we didn’t know already,” he said. “Straight-A student, star athlete, musician, never got in trouble. Perfect kid.”
“He had a girlfriend,” Stella said.
Mac turned toward her, raising his eyebrows. “Elaine Osborn did say something along those lines, didn’t she?”
Stella nodded. “Ellora Eades. She goes to Midtown High – we used to play them in basketball.”
“Did you win?”
“You bet your ass, Mac.” Stella quirked a slight smile. “I played point guard. The refs kept kicking me off the court for some reason. Claimed I was tackling people.”
“Were you?”
“They were in my way and inertia kept me moving forward,” she said serenely.
“Did it.”
“Mac, you make it sound like you think I was breaking rules or something.”
His voice was almost deadpan as he said, “Because of course you’d never do anything like that.”
“But of course.” Stella cocked her head to one side. “You play any sports in high school?”
“I ran cross country,” Mac said. “Swam on the swim team, too – backstroke, mostly. Some breaststroke, but mostly backstroke.”
“Any good?”
“I won a few medals,” he said after a moment.
“No team sports, huh?”
“My parents didn’t approve.”
Stella bit her lip. His parents. Of course. She was surprised Evelyn and Hamilton Taylor had let him do that much. “You think we should talk to Ellora Eades?”
Mac nodded, tearing his gaze away from the graduate photos. “Queens?”
“Yeah,” Stella nodded. “Queens. Home sweet home.”
“What do you mean Pete's dead?" Aric Sanders demanded, his eyes wide. "That's not possible. I just saw him at the cross country meet yesterday. We won,” he added hopelessly, like it meant something.
Stella nodded. “Can you tell us about him?” she asked. “His mother mentioned something about a girlfriend...”
The corner of Aric's mouth curled up in something almost a smile. “Yeah,” he said. “Ellora Eades. She’s a senior at one of the public schools in Queens. Plays trombone in the band there. We wouldn’t have met her normally; St. Aidan’s doesn’t play public schools, but we all marched in the same parade last year, for points, and we ended up running into the Midtown High band. Ellora and Pete hit it off like that. It was kind of funny, actually. Pete’s the last guy you’d expect to end up with a girlfriend.”
“Ellora Eades,” Stella said. She noted the name down, then glanced back up at Aric. “You said Peter played in the band?”
“We both do. Pete plays – played – oboe in concert, flute in marching. Double reeds don’t march,” he added. “I play trumpet.”
“Were you any good?”
Aric’s head lifted a little. “We went to state last year on an ensemble piece. I played trumpet, Pete played oboe, Ellora played ‘bone, Paul Eades – that’s Ellora’s twin brother – played French horn, and Gudrun Rosi played flute. Pete’s mom wanted him to play flute, and he did for a while, but then he switched when the other oboe graduated after our freshman year. He picked it up really fast, but Mrs. Osborn was really mad when she found out.”
“How well do you know Elaine Osborn?” Stella asked.
Aric shrugged. “She was kind of weird – a real control freak. Pete was dealing with it for a while, but after Ellora he got – kind of – I don’t know, rebellious. Not rebellious like a normal person, but he might as well have started staying out to two and coming home drunk and wasted in Mrs. Osborn’s eyes. She was really, really mad. She pretty much wanted to control his life, and Pete didn’t want her to.” He was quiet for a long moment. “He’s really dead, isn’t he?”
Stella paused a moment before answering. “We don’t know for sure,” she said finally. “We haven’t recovered the body yet, but all the evidence seems to point to Peter being our victim.”
“Jesus,” Aric said, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I can’t believe it. I can’t – he can’t be dead. Not Pete.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Stella said quietly. “You must have been good friends.”
He nodded. “Since daycare. Mrs. Osborn used to drop him off so she could go to her tea parties or whatever. My mom couldn’t take care of me.” He was quiet for a moment. “My dad was an FBI agent,” he said. “At the New York office. He died.”
“In the line of fire?”
“Yeah. They don’t know who – anyway, it was a drug bust, and it went bad. My mom has to work two jobs to keep me in school,” he confessed bitterly. “Pete doesn’t know. I mean, he does, he just – Christ, I don’t know.” His cheeks flushed slightly beneath his tan. “I shouldn’t say that, huh? What with being in a Catholic school and all. Pete would have gotten mad. He always got this funny look on his face whenever anyone swore…” He shook his head. “I can’t believe it,” he said again. “Pete was – Pete was cool. I mean, he was kind of a control freak – not the same way his mom was, but he always had to know what was going on, you know? And whenever we did group projects he’d have to be in charge, because he couldn’t stand being ordered around. I guess he got too much of that from his mom. I used to tease him because he never tried out for drum major – but he didn’t, you know, and he hated yelling, so he would have sucked at it. That’s pretty much the only thing he wasn’t perfect at – except for the whole social life thing, he didn’t have one of those. Not till Ellora.”
“Sounds familiar,” Stella muttered under her breath.
Aric glanced up from under impossibly long eyelashes. “Huh?”
“Nothing,” she said, capping her pen. “Thank you, Aric, that’s been a lot of help. If you think of anything – anything weird, or anything you think might be relevant - give me a call, okay? Here’s my card.”
He took it from her, glanced at it with shadowed eyes. “Will – will you tell me when you catch whoever killed him?”
Stella gave him a sad smile, and didn’t reply.
*
She met up with Mac at the entrance to the school. He had a decidedly frustrated expression on his face and was staring at the class of pictures on the wall like he’d find Pete Osborn’s body there. He glanced up as Stella came to a stop by him.
“Get anything good?” she asked.
“Nothing we didn’t know already,” he said. “Straight-A student, star athlete, musician, never got in trouble. Perfect kid.”
“He had a girlfriend,” Stella said.
Mac turned toward her, raising his eyebrows. “Elaine Osborn did say something along those lines, didn’t she?”
Stella nodded. “Ellora Eades. She goes to Midtown High – we used to play them in basketball.”
“Did you win?”
“You bet your ass, Mac.” Stella quirked a slight smile. “I played point guard. The refs kept kicking me off the court for some reason. Claimed I was tackling people.”
“Were you?”
“They were in my way and inertia kept me moving forward,” she said serenely.
“Did it.”
“Mac, you make it sound like you think I was breaking rules or something.”
His voice was almost deadpan as he said, “Because of course you’d never do anything like that.”
“But of course.” Stella cocked her head to one side. “You play any sports in high school?”
“I ran cross country,” Mac said. “Swam on the swim team, too – backstroke, mostly. Some breaststroke, but mostly backstroke.”
“Any good?”
“I won a few medals,” he said after a moment.
“No team sports, huh?”
“My parents didn’t approve.”
Stella bit her lip. His parents. Of course. She was surprised Evelyn and Hamilton Taylor had let him do that much. “You think we should talk to Ellora Eades?”
Mac nodded, tearing his gaze away from the graduate photos. “Queens?”
“Yeah,” Stella nodded. “Queens. Home sweet home.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-20 06:36 pm (UTC)You make the reader so glad that Mac has Stella in his life. Without her he would just be pulled under with all the deamons that plaque him. But she wont let him be pulled under she will fight for him even if he will not fight for himself.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-21 12:13 am (UTC)Mac is extremely lucky he has Stella in his life. Without her, he would be lost - maybe insane, maybe a toy of his parents. *shakes head* It's a scary thought.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-20 10:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-21 12:33 am (UTC)I have no subtlety at all.The parallels between Peter and Mac are all too clear; they can both see it and it's tearing them apart.And of course Mac's parents wouldn't let him play contact sports; like Stella, I'm surprised they let him do cross-country and swimming.
So am I. Well, they're neither of them team sports; he wouldn't be "contaminated." And...uh...they were probably sick of having him in the house. "Don't you have friends or something, dear? Your father's having guests over." "Mother, I -" "Go out and play with your little friends."
Stella totally played basketball. Probably with Aiden, during the interdepartmental basketball games. Aiden probably went out for football.