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Author's Chapter Notes:
Undying thanks to my beta, myfeetshowit

Buffy and Spike deal with the ramifications of his injury while outside in the real world...
Chapter 26 ~ Investigation, Interrogation, Insinuation

Constable Granger paced as he watched Mr. Giles head to his office. He opened his cell phone and signaled to Kinsey as he keyed in the number for local information. While he waited for the operator, he told Kinsey to get the crime scene tape up across the whole back of the building. The operator answered and he asked for the number of Dr. Leah Graham. He repeated it and Kinsey, ever the faithful servant, pulled out his notepad and wrote it down. Before Granger made the call, he said, “Kinsey, find the girl’s room and seal it too. Then conduct a search of the building. Report any findings to me.”

“Aye, cap’n,” Kinsey said and went to do as he was told.

Granger waited for Dr. Graham to come to the phone and considered this the luckiest day of his life...of his retirement, anyway. A case of this magnitude dropped in his lap? He grinned as he realized he wasn’t destined to fade into obscurity after all.

“Dr. Graham? This is Jim Granger, Chief Constable at the New Academy for Exceptional Girls. I’m afraid there’s been a tragedy here at the school. You’re needed immediately. Yes, ma'am, you're needed here as Medical Examiner.”

The doctor assured him she would be there as soon as she could. She had just seen a patient and wasn’t far. Granger thanked her and called the local police. They treated him like shite until they heard what he had to say. All hell broke loose and then they put him on hold. The minutes ticked by and his blood pressure shot up. He retired after twenty-five honorable years with the London police force and these small town amateurs treated him as if he was a nobody. The locals finally came back on the line.

“Granger?”

“Yeah, I’m here! I been here! You got one hell of a nerve keepin’ me hangin’ like that!” Granger roared.

The desk sergeant roared in return, “Shut your gob and do what I tell ya!”

Granger thought his head would explode. He started to speak when the sergeant interrupted him.

“Don’t open yer stupid mouth. Just secure the scene. A...hold on a minute...a Detective Inspector David Arthur and his team will be there in a little over an hour. Don’t touch anythin’...Don’t talk to nobody. D’ye understand?”

Granger grunted. He never had a chance to say aye or nay before the sergeant hung up. Securing the crime scene turned out to be a chore. Granger saw Mike Casey, a reporter from The Picayune, the local paper. Casey told Granger he was at Police Headquarters when Granger’s call came in an he headed right over. Within minutes, the school was overrun with local cops, reporters and photographers. The number seemed to grow exponentially with the broadcast of the crime over the police band radio.
~~~
DI Arthur and Sergeant Caruthers ran into a traffic jam as they neared the school. DI Arthur was a patient man, but after five minutes said, “Enough! Put the damn cupcake on top of the car and let’s get moving.”

Caruthers happily obliged. They arrived at the school amidst a chaotic scene involving shouting, waving of press passes and credentials. Caruthers meant to deliver his superior directly to the scene by driving directly into the crowd with his hand laying on the horn. One of the guards, intent on stopping the commotion and possibly making an arrest, had a brief conversation with Caruthers. Somewhat embarrassed, the officer stepped back and waved them through. The crowd roared their resentment.

Stepping out of the car, DI Arthur had a private word with Caruthers and then made his way to the crime scene. Caruthers walked over to the officer and explained he needed to make a brief statement. The officer called the crowd to order and Caruthers introduced himself and explained that the press would be briefed shortly.

With the tact of one who had done this sort of thing frequently Caruthers said, “We understand your interest and the urgency of deadlines, ladies and gentlemen, but the case has been turned over to Scotland Yard. It is imperative the crime scene remains undisturbed until Detective Inspector Arthur can observe the scene for himself. He begs your indulgence for a short while longer.” Caruthers knew Arthur had occasion to make use of the press and preferred a congenial relationship.
~~~
Constable Granger approached the DI, made to introduce himself, and was warned off by Caruthers. Granger was insulted and was about to say so. Detective Inspector or not, he had no right to be rude to brothers in arms. Caruthers read his intentions and explained that it was the DI’s practice to review a scene with his own eyes before hearing any particulars and there was no slight intended. Constable Granger huffed, muttered something about the DI being a cheeky bastard, and turned away. Caruthers smiled. He had seen this scene played out many times before and the reaction of the locals never varied.

After several minutes, when the DI was content with his first perusal of the scene, he turned to Granger and extended his hand. “Detective Inspector David Arthur. I expect you must be Constable Granger. Thank you for securing the crime scene. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

Granger took his hand in a firm handshake and though gob smacked at the inspector’s gracious greeting answered only, “It was my job, sir.”
~~
The Inspector was a patient and cautious man. Some of his colleagues found it tedious. They would survey a scene for themselves but mostly they relied on the observations of the other officers at the scene. They listened to their comments and observations, arrived at their conclusions using the collective information gathered, and did well with that approach.

The department used statistics as the ultimate measure of success. Obviously, in Homicide, the time it takes to solve a crime and whether or not they make the charges stick were the most important measures. Cases overturned quickly were impressive to the department and the public alike; however, speed in solving a case often rested on assumptions and hearsay and could not withstand the scrupulous investigation needed to bring in a conviction. Consequently, what seemed like a successful arrest could fizzle and die from lack of supporting evidence. The good thing was that the fizzle was rarely as visible as the original arrest. The release of the innocent wasn't nearly as newsworthy. Those stories most often were relegated to page six.

Detective Inspector Arthur rarely made an arrest until two or even three weeks after a murder made the front page. The department, the press and the public were bored by then. The fact that he had a nearly perfect conviction rate didn’t impress anyone but the small staff that worked directly with him. They understood that the care they took in their investigations resulted in not only the satisfaction of a job well done. They were also security in the knowledge that they would never have to do it all over again when a conviction was overturned. Others in the department took pleasure in teasing Arthur’s team for being too slow but team had the last laugh.

The first order of business would be for DI Arthur to just stand at a scene and make quiet comments as he made observations. It was Caruthers job to write down whatever Arthur said. They would stand in one place at a scene until the inspector was content that he’d seen all that he could see and then they would move to observe the scene from another angle and do the same thing.

Other detectives commonly relied on the police photographer to capture all the nuances of a crime scene. Arthur wasn’t stupid; crime scene photos were an integral part of his investigation but more to have evidence to prove what he already observed. He relied on only one police photographer, Tommy Martin. It was often a fight to get him on his team but he would settle for none other. When Caruthers got the call to clear Tommy at the gate, DI Arthur was content.
~~~
The quiet peace of the cool late autumn morning was an incongruous backdrop when DI Arthur set eyes on Chastity Baker. The sun had been up for a few hours but never reached the back of the building until afternoon. Dew still glistened on the crushed shrubs and plants surrounding the broken body of the girl but there were no dewdrops on her body. DI Arthur stood and surveyed the scene. He understood he was going to investigate a murder or a suicide. This was no suicide. He gazed at the girl and saw the brutally beaten face of a child and the slaughtered body of a blossoming woman. She lay on her back; her eyes open staring back at him. For all the times he looked into the eyes of the dead, he never got used to it. He was glad of that. If it ever became routine and stopped affecting him, he would know it was time to quit. He looked into her vacant eyes and thought; I need to see what you saw.

She had curly blond hair and an angelic face. Today, her skin was the grayish blue color of death, a few hours dead and bloodless. She wore only a blood stained pajama top. In some of the wounds, the blood was deep red and pooled.

Arthur looked at the position of the body and then walked over to the wall and looked at the body again. Her body was ten to fifteen feet from the building. A jumper would have landed five or six feet closer to the building. Then he walked back to the body and glanced up at the broken window on the third floor of the building. The center of the glass was broken through but glass remained around the perimeter of the frame. He told Caruthers to be sure to get accurate measurements of the relationships of the body to the building. There were no footprints around the body and the only shrubs that were disturbed were the ones on which her body lay. Drops of blood and broken glass twinkled around the body.

Kinsey led the interested parties to the room where they believed the assault took place. Sergeant Caruthers stayed behind to instruct Granger to contact the head of the school to inform him that the Detective Inspector will be going to his office as soon as he finishes his review of the crime scene. Then Caruthers double-timed to catch up to his superior.
~~~
Tudor Hall was a modern stone building, cold. No doubt, it was an addition to the estate to provide efficient space for servants and staff. There was a center hall with doors to offices and classrooms on either side on the first floor. Kinsey explained that all the floors were identical, even the basement. There were communal bathrooms and a shower room on each floor except the first floor, which housed the estate administrator’s offices when it was a privately held property.

There were marble stairways in the north and south wings of the building. As they climbed, Arthur told Caruthers to oversee a search of the whole building. Kinsey spoke up, said that he had checked all the rooms, and found nothing amiss. The inspector smiled and lowered his head and thought, ‘Oh, Lord, deliver me from helpful local police.’ He sighed and told Kinsey he appreciated his efforts but he preferred his own team did the search. Then, in keeping with his wish to keep things amicable with this small constabulary, he added, “I’d appreciate it if you would accompany them, Officer Kinsey. Your knowledge of the grounds and of the school will be invaluable.”

Caruthers choked back a snort. Sometimes the inspector could overdo things a bit.

There was an officer posted at the victim’s door. Crime scene tape blocked entry. Kinsey reached to tear it down and the inspector stayed his hand and then stepped in front of him to study the room before entering. “First impressions, Mr. Kinsey, first impressions can sometimes solve a crime.”

Sergeant Caruthers flipped his notebook and read aloud the information they had on the girl. “Chastity Catherine Baker, 14 years old. Born Lisdoonvarna, Clare, 13 December 1991. Both parents and two siblings killed in MVA, June 1995, Manchester. Only surviving relatives, maternal grandmother suffered a heart attack and died on receiving news of the accident. The girl was then placed in county care,” he finished, flipping his notebook to the current page. “Evidently she was quite a handful. There’s a long list of foster homes she lived in before coming here in May of this year. That’s it, sir”

“We’ll be wanting to talk to those families, Sergeant,” the inspector said, “You’ll get that going, won’t you?”

“That I will, sir,” answered Caruthers.

“Right then,” the inspector said with an air of authority, “We may be able to assume that what we see before us represents all that is left of Chastity Baker. Since May, this place has been everything to her, her home, her family, her friends, and her life.” After a deep sigh, he tore back the tape and entered the room.
~~~
Giles managed to get away at lunch for a brief visit to the cottage. It was important that Spike and Buffy be told about the crime. He was pleased to learn that Xander had already broken the news. He had dreaded it all morning. He knew Spike would be full of guilt because this young girl died while they were busy saving him. How do you convince a vampire that his being had as much worth as the girl's? An absurd concept, but he was beginning to understand Spike’s peculiar brand of morality. Then, of course, Buffy would feel the guilt too. After all, she put the safety of her vampire above all others. Xander? Xander was something else altogether. Although Spike died to save humankind, and although he seemed to have made peace with the vampire, learning that an innocent girl died while they were saving the dead thing. For Xander, this would be a real crisis of conscience.

Buffy had taken the contents of the afternoon basket and provided a luncheon spread for the group. It was as if she was sure they would have visitors. Giles was amused at her domesticity. There was tension in the air though. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The lovers had undoubtedly endured another night of misery, but it seemed they came through it, hanging on to one another, as any lovers should. He was sure they would share their troubles eventually. For now, he would settle for seeing them safe. Giles was pleased that Leah Graham had made seeing Spike a priority. He feared that having separated herself from the Council, she would not be willing to have anything to do with vampires. His fears were allayed when both Buffy and Spike spoke highly of her. Still, he sensed something more was going on. Of course, with everything else that was going on, Giles didn’t need to know that the situation was anything but fine. Giles didn’t need to know that they had maybe twenty-four hours of peace before Spike got “peckish.”
~~~
Back at the office, Adele helped him set up meetings with the staff and then the students. Far better, they learn about the incident from him than a rumor mill. It gave him the opportunity to develop a plan with the teaching staff for handling the girls’ questions. He knew that each question would only generate more questions. They would just have to handle each one as they came up.

Because the school was still quite new, their enrollment was about half capacity. This allowed the students the luxury of having private rooms even though each dormitory room could accommodate at least two students. Some rooms could accommodate as many as four. Because Tudor Hall was a crime scene, all students housed there relocated to Hanover House where two or three girls would share a room. The move would provide safety in numbers and the school would be able to provide twenty-four hour guards. For the most part the students were cooperative. They were so shaken by the loss of one of their own that there was relatively little grumbling about the inconvenience of it all.

Then he contacted Willow. Before the schools opened, she collaborated with the Covens to provide otherworldly protection, so he called on her to contact them to check that none of their spells were breached. Then he added a special request. He explained that he was certain everyone on campus could expect to be interviewed. While he did not want anyone to lie, he needed to be certain that the true nature of the school remain secret. Willow understood perfectly and assured him they could come up with something. She promised to call as soon as they had some ideas. He was not comfortable with the use of magicks to manipulate thought. It never turned out well. Still, desperate times call for desperate measures.

As Giles watched the afternoon sun casting its last rays on the buildings across the expansive lawn in front of the Main Hall, Giles sipped at the brandy he’d needed all day and finally allowed himself. What a day it had been! Since leaving Granger with the body, he hadn’t stopped doing what he could to contain this disaster. Weighing heavily was his guilt that despite this horrific tragedy, he was still able to “take care of business.”

He spent the day fielding calls from the other members of the Council. It mortified him to think that this happened on his watch. In his position as head of the Council, if this happened at one of the other schools, heads would roll. Now it would be his head rolling.

Giles looked out his window at the NEWS trucks with their satellite dishes raised in the air. They were broadcasting about his quiet little world and it infuriated him. They would take this terrible event and turn it into a media fiasco with only the smallest percentage of truth. Night was falling but at Tudor Hall, floodlights were turning night into day. He poured another brandy. Giles pressed his intercom.

“Mrs. Reed, would you come in please?”

Adele saw no need to answer, just rose from her desk, and went to Mr. Giles office. “Sir?”
Giles knew he would have to meet with reporters eventually. “Ah Adele, I think it would be wise for me to have a press conference first thing tomorrow morning. Will you make the arrangements please?”

Mrs. Reed raised her eyes and put her hand to her chest, “Oh, thank God.” Giles started at her reaction.

“Oh, Mr. Giles,” Adele said, her face twisted with worry, “the telly in the break room has been running reports all day. They are saying ‘the Headmaster was not available for comment’…well, of course, that’s what I’ve told them. You’ve been working non-stop.” She took a deep breath. Giles could see how upset she was. “But their tone suggests you have something to hide.” What she didn’t realize was that it was true.

~~~

Giles thoughts turned to the mid-morning visit from the Inspector from Scotland Yard, a meeting he would likely never forget. He had just hung up from speaking to Lydia Chalmers, still a pompous self-righteous bitch. He was completely unsettled after the conversation and jumped when the intercom rang out with Adele’s voice advising him that the inspector had come to call. He needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts.

Adele explained to the Inspector that Mr. Giles was in a telephone conference with a member of the school’s Board of Directors and in light of the circumstances, she begged his indulgence in waiting until the call was over. DI Arthur was nothing if not accommodating, and leaned against the wall to wait. She offered him a seat and he politely refused. When she noted the light go out on Mr. Giles extension, she used the intercom to alert him to the Inspector’s visit.

Mr. Giles voice boomed over the intercom. “Thank you, Mrs. Reed. Please tell the Inspector that I’m just finishing up on a call and will be with him in a moment.” The inspector had seen the light go out the same time that Adele did. As he heard, Mr. Giles comment his eyes met Mrs. Reed’s.

Giles cleared his desk of everything except Chastity Baker’s file. He stood and straightened his tie and jacket, cleared his throat and walked to the door. Opening it, he said, “Won’t you please come in, Inspector…..?”

“Arthur. Detective Inspector David Arthur,” he said, offering his hand. “Thank you for making time to see me. I’m sure you have a very full plate today.” He could see the headmaster looked frazzled and his interview would go much better if he could put him at ease. Mr. Giles would be more likely to be forthcoming with someone who didn't present himself as an adversary.

“Yes,” Giles sighed, “very full indeed.” He took the inspector’s hand in a hearty handshake. Giles learned many years ago that a man is judged by the strength of his handshake. He hoped his gave the inspector the right impression. “Please, won’t you take a seat,” he said as he rounded his desk and settled in his chair. “This is a nightmare. How can I help?”

“Actually, Mr. Giles, meeting with you is largely a formality at this time. You and your secretary have been most helpful. At your direction, she has provided lists of all your employees and students and is arranging for my officers to meet with them. We need an accounting of everyone’s whereabouts at the time of the crime, and in order to plot out the sequence of events, we’re going to ask everyone to account for their time all day yesterday.”

Giles appeared a bit ruffled. “All day? That seems a bit much. The staff is working and the students are in class. Simple enough, I should think.”

“So it would seem. Please trust me sir, daily life is never simple when you see it plotted out. We will create a spreadsheet that will tell us who was where, when and with whom, how long they were there and what they were doing. You’ll be surprised what kinds of things help people in their recollections. Sometimes the smallest detail can make the difference in finding the culprit. This method is particularly useful in a controlled setting such as yours.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand. What makes us so special?”

“Really? Being an educator and all, I’d have thought you would see the advantages right off.” He paused for effect…. Your campus is closed. There is nothing to muck up the investigation. Everything we need to solve the crime is here. It may take some digging, but we’ll ferret it out,” he finished, meeting Giles gaze with a serene smile.

Giles was stunned. “Are you suggesting that…that this is…what?…an inside job?” His voice raising steadily as he asked.

Arthur was just a little surprised at the vehemence of Giles’ response but revealed nothing in his expression or tone as he replied, “Well, it has to be, doesn’t it?” He turned and walked to the door. Just as he was about to leave, he turned back and said, “You know, of course, we’ll need your time accounted for too, Mr. Giles.” He smiled and exited, saying, “Good day.”
~~~
Giles felt his heart rate pick up and his face flush as he recalled the smug attitude of that insolent man. He tossed back the brandy. He wanted more. Bloody hell, he needed more, but he didn’t dare. He saw the hoard of reporters lurking about the front of the building. He knew there was no escaping them when he chose to leave. All he needed was to have one of them smell the alcohol or for him to be a bit tipsy. What a grand headline that would make.

The intercom buzzed announcing the arrival of his last appointment of the day. “Send her in, Adele. Thank you.”

Giles came around his desk to take the hand of his visitor. He’d forgotten how very lovely she was…quite a pleasant turn to his day. He led her to a chair and returned to his own. “It’s good to see you again, Leah,” he said.

“And I, you, Rupert. Thank you for staying to see me. I’m sure your hours are usually long over by now but I did have patients to see and couldn’t reschedule on such short notice.”

“I understand perfectly. I’m guessing you’re here to discuss Spike and…the other matter, am I correct?” he inquired.

Leah looked surprised. “Oh, well…yes, I suppose I could give you an update on that too, but I’m really here in my capacity as Medical Examiner.”

“I’m sorry, did you say Medical Examiner?” Giles said as he removed his glasses and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket.

“Yes. You didn’t know?”

“No! I called you as the school’s doctor. You are the Medical Examiner? Doesn’t this present a conflict of interest?”

Dr. Graham lowered her head and sighed. “I don’t know…I don’t care…ah…of course I care. It’s just that I’m in a unique position to understand all the implications of my findings. Honestly Rupert, I don’t want to be involved with Council business anymore, but I can’t ignore what I know to be true, can I?”

Uninvited, Giles poured a brandy and handed it to her. “Perhaps if you started from the beginning…”

She took the brandy gratefully, “Quite right,” and after a deep swallow, continued, “I know that you saw the body, so you must know that Miss Baker’s death was not an accident and most definitely not a suicide.” She looked to him for a reply.

He nodded but said nothing.

“The multiple stab wounds do not account for the amount of blood loss,” she said.

Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise and retook his seat.

“I expected that upon autopsy I would learn that there had been extensive internal injuries and I would find blood filling the abdomen.” Her glance was telling. “I did not.” She went on, “It is true that the broken neck is the cause of death, but there was significant blood loss prior to that.”

Giles postulated, “Yes, of course, …the stab wounds…”

“Were post-mortem,” the silence was ominous. “So I started looking for another reason for the blood loss…. I found fang marks in the groin almost obliterated by one of the slash wounds. Mr. Giles, this was a vampire attack.”

“Good Lord.”
~~~





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