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

Chapter 3: Trust Is A Tricky Thing

ChapterComplete!*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I c-can't believe Gennie's gone..."

Alec nodded sympathetically, fidgeting slightly on the couch, never really sure what to do in these situations. Magnus swallowed, squeezing her shoulder, resting his hand on her's,

"I am so sorry for your loss Mrs. Dawson; I cannot imagine what you must be going through right now."

She sniffled, giving a slight nod, pushing her hair back, wiping at her eyes. Magnus reached in his pocket, retrieving a clean white handkerchief, holding it out to her. She swallowed, taking it, nodding gratefully. She dabbed at her eyes trying to collect herself, before beginning to hand it back. Magnus stopped her, shaking his head faintly,

"Keep it darling...do you need a glass of water or anything?"

She gave a slightly wet almost laugh,

"I t-think I'm supposed to ask you that."

Magnus gave a gentle shake of his head, squeezing her hand lightly,

"In this situation standard guest/hostess rules really do not apply. Is there anything you need?"

She swallowed, giving a slight shrug, tucking a few light brown curls behind her ear.

"I-I don't know...maybe water would be good...well...actually something quite a bit stronger would be better, but I should probably wait to start on that till you guys leave."

Magnus shrugged,

"Whatever you need, no one's here to judge...and given the circumstances I doubt there's anyone callous enough to blame you."

She nodded, giving a wane facsimile of a smile,

"Thank you, but I'll stick with the water."

Magnus nodded, beginning to get up. Alec quickly stood, waiving him off,

"It's okay, I'll get it."

Magnus nodded, settling back down, squeezing her hand once more, she swallowed, flashing a grateful look Alec's way, settling once more close to Magnus's side.

Alec couldn't deny he was a bit grateful for an opportunity to get up and actually do something, to genuinely be of help. He'd begun to feel rather useless setting quietly twiddling his thumbs while Magnus comforted the widow. Though at least he had an idea how the hell to do that, so he was way ahead of Alec there.

This was always the hardest part of any case, breaking the news to the family and loved ones. One positive here at least; either the woman was the best actress in the world or her reaction was authentic, meaning it was highly unlikely she had anything to do with it. She was utterly distraught when they'd broke the news of Eugene's death. The woman had very nearly collapsed, only thing keeping her up being Magnus's quick reflexes as he moved forward, catching her, holding her securely. It'd taken them nearly an hour to get her to calm down enough to talk without once again bursting into tears, the poor girl unable to do much but weep on Magnus's shoulder and clutch at his hand with a near white knuckle grip.