[sheriff mcbride is two years into his position and has not endeared himself to many. case in point, it doesn't take much to learn that from the more chatty officers as they grab their coffee, despite felix's status as an outsider. they ask a few perfunctory questions about felix too because it's polite and he's new, but it's easy enough to turn the subject around, because sometimes people really only ask when they want to hear themselves talk, and felix is very good at listening for someone of his tax bracket. all it takes is a sidelong complaint about his industrious partner detective raskolnikov, which is the universal opener for the others to pitch in with complaints of their own, and there the floodgates open.
felix learns that sheriff mcbride has all the subtlety of a bludgeon. he learns that he owns a german shepherd named stanley, and that he treats his dog far better than he does people, which is a good sign of the kind of temperaments that rise high in the police force. he learns that progress has been small, encumbered as it is by the sheriff's disinterest. something that may change for the better now that the influential interests of the town are demanding results, and the appearance of two out of state detectives, representative of authorities larger than the town itself.
here felix makes a conciliatory shrug of his shoulders. heโs at the whims of his superiors much like the rest of them, and what else can they do but move forward despite these obstacles? the attempt at camaraderie is very transparent but felix is genial enough that they take it with good humor, just enough to entertain a few more questions about sarah and adam. everyone has good things to say about sarah, less about adam, though someone does say that he should get some credit for getting his life together at the scrapyard, barring the fact that he now no longer has a life to straighten out. it's depressing, and this is where felix feels something beyond playing his part. empathy from someone else on the run, which he immediately tries to squash down because the last thing he needs is to shorten that emotional distance between him and their victims --
he pivots to grace cathedral next. most of the townspeople attend the other, far more local church, sarah included. grace cathedral, felix learns, reserves its long-storied history and immaculate hall for the families that can trace their roots back to ancestors brazen enough to dig into the mountains and claim their mines, and also out-of-towners looking to have ridiculously expensive weddings. felix is not sure if any of that counts as a lead but then again he's not actually the investigator despite what the agency's very convenient badge says, and speaking of investigating how much longer is alexei going to be trapped in that office for?
it's almost uncanny how his question is immediately answered. an officer asks him a probing question about his long detective career, and felix is saved by alexei finally emerging from the den, looking less haggard than felix expected, but then again if six hours in a car with felix hadn't cracked him, then it stands to reason that sheriff mcbride would barely make a dent either. his expression is one of relief, even when alexei delivers the same six words in that precise, flat intonation, much to the amusement of the others.
felix clutches the cup in mock offense as he scrambles on after. outside, the afternoon sun seems to be debating an early turn-in -- clouds blanket most of the sky, casting the car and Alexei before him in almost-grim shadow.]
This is a bribe for the poor sap at the morgue who'll have to put up with -- [he thinks about saying 'you', pauses, and then generously corrects] -- us. And this is for you.
[he still has in his hand the plastic bag from sunshine haus marked with a smiley sun in bright orange, which he attempts to push into alexei's arms.]
I don't know your food allergies, so I just got you their special.
[a tuna melt on rye, which according to the very nice owner, was voted number one by the rostigebรคume police force for ten consecutive years, which felix took as assurance that it's the exact kind of sandwich an investigator type like alexei would probably eat. or maybe it's the exact kind of sandwich he would not eat, considering the long line of familial deaths these same police officers have not put together or solved.
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felix learns that sheriff mcbride has all the subtlety of a bludgeon. he learns that he owns a german shepherd named stanley, and that he treats his dog far better than he does people, which is a good sign of the kind of temperaments that rise high in the police force. he learns that progress has been small, encumbered as it is by the sheriff's disinterest. something that may change for the better now that the influential interests of the town are demanding results, and the appearance of two out of state detectives, representative of authorities larger than the town itself.
here felix makes a conciliatory shrug of his shoulders. heโs at the whims of his superiors much like the rest of them, and what else can they do but move forward despite these obstacles? the attempt at camaraderie is very transparent but felix is genial enough that they take it with good humor, just enough to entertain a few more questions about sarah and adam. everyone has good things to say about sarah, less about adam, though someone does say that he should get some credit for getting his life together at the scrapyard, barring the fact that he now no longer has a life to straighten out. it's depressing, and this is where felix feels something beyond playing his part. empathy from someone else on the run, which he immediately tries to squash down because the last thing he needs is to shorten that emotional distance between him and their victims --
he pivots to grace cathedral next. most of the townspeople attend the other, far more local church, sarah included. grace cathedral, felix learns, reserves its long-storied history and immaculate hall for the families that can trace their roots back to ancestors brazen enough to dig into the mountains and claim their mines, and also out-of-towners looking to have ridiculously expensive weddings. felix is not sure if any of that counts as a lead but then again he's not actually the investigator despite what the agency's very convenient badge says, and speaking of investigating how much longer is alexei going to be trapped in that office for?
it's almost uncanny how his question is immediately answered. an officer asks him a probing question about his long detective career, and felix is saved by alexei finally emerging from the den, looking less haggard than felix expected, but then again if six hours in a car with felix hadn't cracked him, then it stands to reason that sheriff mcbride would barely make a dent either. his expression is one of relief, even when alexei delivers the same six words in that precise, flat intonation, much to the amusement of the others.
felix clutches the cup in mock offense as he scrambles on after. outside, the afternoon sun seems to be debating an early turn-in -- clouds blanket most of the sky, casting the car and Alexei before him in almost-grim shadow.]
This is a bribe for the poor sap at the morgue who'll have to put up with -- [he thinks about saying 'you', pauses, and then generously corrects] -- us. And this is for you.
[he still has in his hand the plastic bag from sunshine haus marked with a smiley sun in bright orange, which he attempts to push into alexei's arms.]
I don't know your food allergies, so I just got you their special.
[a tuna melt on rye, which according to the very nice owner, was voted number one by the rostigebรคume police force for ten consecutive years, which felix took as assurance that it's the exact kind of sandwich an investigator type like alexei would probably eat. or maybe it's the exact kind of sandwich he would not eat, considering the long line of familial deaths these same police officers have not put together or solved.
felix looks at him expectantly all the same.]