Regina Dawson's Casebook. Client: Van Linden, M.

[skybright]

Grimalkin Investigations, Inc.
Case #: V-4769
Client: Van Linden, Miriam (Dr.)

Reason for Hire: Suspicion of foul play
Case Type: Recon/Information Gathering
Missing Person/Mark/Suspect: Tiernan, Nicholas (financier, philanthropist, activist)
Salary: None contracted


Preliminary Notes:
I've just contracted with Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Miriam Van Linden to investigate -- of all people -- Nicholas Tiernan. She's got reason to believe that Tiernan's mixed up with an unidentified murder victim the cops pulled out of the East river last week. I've got reason to believe she's telling the truth -- she's a mutant, with the power to read the last memories of the dead she comes into contact with. (Seems like she got into either the best line of work she could have, or the worst).

She says that Tiernan (who she's deduced is a mutant of some kind, which I tend to agree with) killed the girl -- though there's not a mark of foul play on her. She needs proof if she wants to go to the Cops. I've agreed to nothing more specific than rooting out some dirt on Tiernan, if I can.

Truth be told, even that tends to scare me. Tiernan's no lightweight: he's rich and he's secretive, and the fact that he's managed to keep almost totally out of the public eye suggests a lot of muscle to back up his private nature. That, and (according to Dr. Van Linden) he can kill folks without touching them. It's enough to put a more sensible person than I am off the scent.

But I didn't get into this business for the comfort and security. Doc Van Linden doesn't strike me as the hysterical type; I believe her when she says Tiernan's a murderer. And even if we're both wrong, he's still rich enough to be on my list of people who probably need taken down a few pegs. I'll just do my best at doing that, while still stepping light on this case.

Not that that's ever worked real well for me before.

I'll start investigating Tiernan by poking around the underground. I know of a few of his henchmen (should this be "henchpersons" nowadays?) who lurk in some of the mutant social spots around Manhattan. In particular there's Ferret Stubbs, a greasy little English type who's usally soaking up gin at Lusus Naturae. Stubbs works for Tiernan, though I'm not sure doing exactly what. He's usually three sheets to the wind and he's not terribly bright; might be he could tell me a little useful information about Tiernan if I push him around the right way. Hopefully, I can avoid getting my wrist broke by his mountain of snarling feral associate while I'm about it.

[skybright]

Investigation Report, Day 1

Things I have learned today:

#1. Do not order a "nocturne" at Lusus.
#2. Never go anywhere without extra painkillers tucked in your coat pocket.
#3. Never go etc. etc. without extra ammunition tucked in your coat pocket.
#4. Watch out for the big hairy guys.

Aside from a killer blow to the shoulder that is going to be causing me some hurt for the next three days or so, I did manage to pick up some useful information over the past twelve hours.

First, I've managed to connect several people to Tiernan's operation: Pink's at least marginally involved with and aware of the shady side of things (thus the aforementioned nocturne) and George isn't the lower-echelon lackey I took him for -- I'd say he's closer to a personal spy. That's good to know, and it's definitely gonna color any intelligence (oh, the irony of the word!) that I take from him henceforth.

I also met a kid -- Joey, or "Ricochet" (someday I'm gonna write a book about the nicknames we pick up) -- who reminds me a lot of me, about fifteen years ago. He works as an errand boy for Tiernan (though he can hold his own in a scrap a lot better than most package boys I've met). And he knows more about Tiernan's op. than he wanted me to catch on to tonight, though whether that was for his protection or mine is more than I can say. Get the feeling I'll be seeing more of Ricochet. He strikes me as too nice a kid to be working for a dirty guy like Tiernan.

And Tiernan's dirty, all right. Anybody with their own underground HQ who treats kidnapping as part of the regular order of business isn't walking on the light side of the Force. Plus, innocent people (or even marginally unguilty people) don't want to know what the NYPD is up to. Ever.

So now I'm ostensibly "working" for Tiernan; I get the feeling I'm currently on a sort of "we-may-or-may-not-kill-her-later" probation. I'm not sure whether the prospect of working for Tiernan or the prospect of getting rubbed out for crossing him bothers me more. After our cozy little face-to-face meeting, I'm very willing to say without reservation that he is not a nice man.

I'm gonna hold off on contacting Dr. VanLinden; at this point I don't have anything concrete enough to bother her with. Like Jack used to say, "If the client wanted to know, they'd be doing their own snooping."

Right now my priorities on this case involve snooping out some relatively minor info down at the Piers, possibly doing some casual poking around into Tiernan's background, and sleeping off the pains I've accumulated over the past twelve hours. In nowhere near that order.


RD