From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/19/2007 23:54:36

It's a coincidence that I'm here as well. I come to the beach to sit and look, and not to run. I don't particularly like to run on sand.

But since Harry's out there, maybe I should talk about the little teenage visitor I had the other day.

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/20/2007 12:34:27

This can't be good. What does Murphy want? And why isn't she in beach-appropriate attire?


I jog over. "Hey, Murph."

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/20/2007 20:46:44

"Hey Harry."

There's really no reason for him to be this damn tall. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I say casually, "I had an unusual sort of visitor to my office the other day."

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/20/2007 21:40:51

Forgive me for not being overly talkative, but I've just been running.

"Oh yeah?" Panting. I'll have air again in a minute.

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/21/2007 22:04:58

I can't help but grin. "Had a strange-looking teenager stop by with a tale of a large, strange-smelling, weird-walking stranger near her house. Mentioned the fact that I had a 'magician' on call."

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/21/2007 22:07:24

"Huh?"

Because most of that didn't make much sense, but that could be the lack of oxygen talking.

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/21/2007 22:09:38

"She thought the sighting might be related to our elevated violence levels lately."

I take my notebook out of my pocket. "She gave me an address." Reading it off the paper, I ask, "Ring any bells?"

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/21/2007 22:15:28

"You have a name on the strange-looking teen?"

I'm not thinking this is familiar, aside from the 'there's been lots of weird lately'.

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/21/2007 22:21:04

"Nope. She just came in, lounged on the chair in my office and said what she had to. When I asked her for more information, she split pretty fast."

I stick the pad back in my pocket. "I would think she's just a crank, except that cranks usually just leave anonymous calls. And at this point, most of my leads are so cold, I'll follow up on anything."

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/21/2007 22:25:03

"Which of our incidents do you think it's tied to? The body from the museum or the random demon appearances or our trip to the ACME fun house?"

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/21/2007 22:27:01

"Maybe the first two. She did mention more than one 'incident'. Though I would like to get my hands on whoever pulled that insane stunt on us."

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/21/2007 22:35:15

"Any more description on the girl?"

It might help me figure out what she's talking about - or, make my job easier when I go to look for her.

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/22/2007 20:39:29

"Multicolored dreadlocks, too few clothes over too much skin. Pretty." The dreadlocks are the real attention-getter.

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/22/2007 20:40:27

I groan and roll my eyes. "Sounds like Maeve. Careful around her."

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/22/2007 21:03:00

I fold my arms across my chest and look at him skeptically. "Ookay, who's Maeve and why, precisely, should I be careful around a teenage girl?"

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/22/2007 21:06:36

"First, she's not a teenaged girl. She's one of the fae. Which also answers why you should be careful around her."

I think I've explained this before.

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/22/2007 21:18:35

Oh, yeah. Grinning sheepishly, I say, "Have you got a scorecard so I can keep track of everyone?"

Even after all this time, this stuff still sometimes sounds insane. "Why do you think she came forward to give me this oh-so-helpful information?"

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/22/2007 21:37:09

More frowning. "Don't know. But take it with a grain of salt or you could end up on one hell of a wild goose chase."

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/22/2007 21:39:46

"Well...I'll let you know what I come up with, then."

I'm definitely suspicious, but I need to figure out what the heck is going on around here. Every trail has gone cold, and I don't like the thought of a killer wandering around my town.

Or demons, for that matter.

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/22/2007 21:47:52

"Sure. I'll admit that I haven't heard or seen much lately, but if Maeve's being straight with you, which I doubt, you might have a lead."

Then I have a thought. "You didn't promise her anything, did you?"

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/22/2007 21:49:09

"Nope. No promises. Hell, she barely gave me a chance to really see her, much less extract a promise from me."

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/22/2007 21:56:14

"Good. Don't make any deals with any of the fae. It's not like borrowing your neighbor's lawnmower and forgetting to return it. They're pretty strict about you keeping up your end of the bargain."

	From: lt_murphy_si	Date: 05/24/2007 21:04:44

"I'll keep that in mind."

Fairies. If my Dad were alive...

Well.

"Thanks, Harry. I'll head over there and see what I find out." At least I had a better idea of what I might be dealing with.

	From: wizard_dresden	Date: 05/25/2007 20:41:55

"Sure thing, Murph."