V7S1- A Story Not Meant To Be Told- 40's Noir with a Twist

Chapter 2 Rules Or Right

Chapter Complete!!

Alec and Magnus go over the clues.

They hit an unexpected wall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Oh, this is definitely not gonna be a fun one...

He glanced over once more, eyes flickering from Magnus diligently snapping pictures over to the 'officers' standing by the tree, trying to tramp down the renewed swell of anger at Douglas's callous, obnoxious comments...and the not at all subtle insinuation regarding Magnus. Looking around he had to admit there's not really many other reasons someone would come out here.

The scene seems pretty cut and dry. Cause of death was a single gunshot to the chest, death was likely instantaneous. There's several liquor bottles strewn about and the victim was most definitely redressed after he was killed- there's no bullet hole in his shirt or jacket and the shirt itself is buttoned cockeyed, plus his belt isn't through the loops. The guy came here to hook up with someone and ended up getting murdered.

Damnit...

Cases with gay victims were always a minefield. Many shared Douglas and Brantley's attitudes- seeing these kinds of crimes against homosexuals as not only a near inevitability but in some way justified for being involved with such 'reckless, deviant' behavior. Depending on how closeted the victim was contacting those closest to them to get information became awkward and uncomfortable- outing someone was never pleasant and always made Alec feel kind of itchy.

He knew it was a necessity in order to find information and hopefully track down the killer but even so the idea of someone matter of factly blurting out your biggest secret to everyone you knew seemed outright cruel. He tried to be as tactful as possible but 'tact' only went so far.

And then there were the people who actually DID know, which sometimes was even more difficult than the ones totally in the dark. Some would be helpful but many still saw dragging their loved ones private life out into the public eye as a betrayal. Likewise if they have their own secrets- which...let's be honest, who doesn't- they'll usually clam up, being unwilling to put their own private lives, careers, families and everything else they've built on the line.

All of that tended to boil down to an aggravating, exhausting, tangled mess and a huge headache where by the end of the day you truly wondered if you were doing more harm than good.

He hated these kinds of cases in general but working something like this with Magnus was going to be downright nerve-wracking.

The man really was quite sharp, and surprisingly deep- though he tended to hide it behind the sensationalist personality and somewhat flamboyant mannerisms and dress. Actually he hid it so well that at times even Alec nearly forgot about it, so lost in the glittery trappings and huge persona that was so completely 'Magnus Bane'. Alec had never met anyone so unapologetically open about themselves.

In truth Alec envied that. He couldn't imagine being confident enough to be so brazen, so unapologetically out; to legitimately not give a damn what the rest of the world thought about your life or choices. He knows the man sees the looks, the dismissal, the at times outright hostility, but none of it seems to faze him, he just goes right on like they're nothing to him.