The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 10: The Drawings

Sifting through some of the belongings from the shack, Bentley soon came to realise that it was empty for the most part. It didn't look at all like a home, even though the Garrison records said that Kogane had been living there for a long duration of his studies at the Garrison. There wasn't anything that even remotely resembled sentimentality; there wasn't even a single knick knack on the side to suggest the person who lived there once upon a time had a life. The shack had been long since abandoned so it was clear that Kogane and the others hadn't been there for an extended period of time after their disappearances.

After stripping the kitchen (they used the word to describe the area but really it was only a couple of metres in length and a metre in width with one oven and one side with a kettle on it), Bentley headed towards the small living space. It consisted of a sofa and a coffee table that was covered in a layer of paper that had different drawings and notes scrawled over it. The sofa itself was torn and stained as if someone had just picked it up off the street.

Bentley pulled open a draw beside the sofa but the contents didn't seem significant at first. There was a lone notebook with some pens around it, seeming innocent enough. Bentley's initial thought was that it could have been one of Kogane's books for school or potentially even a diary. It was only once Bentley pulled the notebook open that he realised how vital it could be for the investigation.

Inside of it were drawings. Drawings of Lance McClain.

The artist was good enough that each image was easily identifiable to be McClain. The drawings often featured the exact same cocky grin that was present in Lance's Garrison record and his eyes were full of so much life that it could only be the confident student.

"Come look at this," Bentley gestured to the other officer who was helping him search the shack. They walked up to his side and their jaw dropped open at the sight. "Do you think these were drawn by Kogane?"

"This shack did belong to Kogane so I'd say it was likely..." They took the book from Bentley, flipping the page over to reveal more drawings. It looked like Kogane had been observing McClain from afar, drawing him like impromptu photos. All the sketches were beautiful but so detailed that it could easily have been considered creepy. When Bentley reached for his file and pulled out the Garrison record's picture of McClain and held it up against one of the sketches, they looked the exact same, down to the miniscule freckles that formed constellations across McClain's cheeks. "Poor kid... Kogane must have been watching him for a while... who knows what he did to him."

Bentley looked up from his file to nod. "I think we just found our next piece of evidence. I wonder how McClain is going to react to it. It might trigger some memories that could help."

"We can only hope," Bentley's partner sifted through the drawings further, eyes drinking in each picture. "Do you think it's an obsession kind of thing?"

"Maybe..."

-

A few weeks passed before Lance saw the police again. When they did show up, it was the same guy but his stare was much harsher and serious that time; so much so that Lance subconsciously sunk back in his seat. Once they were past the pointless greetings and everyone in the room was holding a mug of hot tea made to their own likings, the policeman got talking.

"We have found further evidence," He explained. Lance hated the way that his blinks were infrequent and it looked like he didn't care about Lance's mental state at all. He was just glaring straight ahead of him. "It is vital that you now make a statement."

"I don't want to talk to you!" Lance didn't mean to yell but, somehow, his voice came out louder than he had planned it to. He had his arms folded and refused to meet eyes with the policeman's glare, instead choosing to look at his own lap. His bottom lip had jutted out a small amount which almost made him look like a pouting child.