They Fight Crime. (Thoma - Jess)

[Thoma Hirako]

"He's a white collar criminal. He embezzled a lot of money," Thoma explained, "I stole from him as a result of his money. But...he was always rather unstable, so to speak. He killed before when he had to."

[Jessica Jane]

Jess took a moment to digest this information. On its own, it wasn't enough to go on. But... she reminded herself that being roundabout tended to have better results than a straightforward accusation. Maybe that tactic would help her out once more.

"Mhm... He wouldn't, by any chance, be wanted for anything right now?" As she spoke, Jess' mind began running. How could they track this guy down?

[Thoma Hirako]

"The embezzlement," he said, "But that's it; he's gone off the radar, and he's beyond my skills, somehow. I was hoping he might have gone to the streets, or something.

"I really doubt someone like him would go far from his former empire." That's what Thoma was counting on, that he would still be here, close.

[Jessica Jane]

Jess turned those tidbits over in her mind. While she didn't quite agree with Thoma's methodology, the situation was gray enough that she couldn't reject him outright. She could help him find an embezzler, the rest... well... that was up to him.

She gave her verdict: "It... might be possible to find him, but I can't promise anything. Does he have any family, any friends, anyone he's close to? If so... then we might be able to find him through them."

[Thoma Hirako]

"SPD tried that already," he said told her, not trying to berate her with his tone of voice, "That's standard to look into from the start. He's completely gone; that's the problem."

[Jessica Jane]

"... Then you're probably up a very large creek." Her finger tapping increased. She contemplated things a bit and then proceeded again. "What about hobbies? Addictions? Business? I need to know everything about him; anything that could tie him to the grid at large."

[Thoma Hirako]

"He's an odd man," Thoma explained, "He's clean; no drugs, nothing like that, yet he had no problems with murder, as long as he didn't taint himself in another way. We figure he has most of his money from his embezzlement keeping him going; so he has no need for money, making that a dead end. I was really hoping you might have just heard something on the street," he explained to her, "That was the best bet I had."

Their food was set down for them.

[Jessica Jane]

By now, Jess wasn't even surprised at that revelation. She traded in her finger-drumming for food picking as she began toying with her meal via fork. Her brow knit in concentration as she thought about how to go about this.

"If that's the case, then you're really out of luck. I just breezed into town myself, and not being involved in the criminal scene, I generally keep away from that type of stuff. So... yeah... I... really don't know what to tell you." Taking a bite right now would send the wrong kind of message, so she refused to dig in just yet. "... Let me think a moment... How did she die?"

[Thoma Hirako]

He ignored his food, pushing the plate a bit to his side to open up the spot in front of himself. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the table, "I don't know how she died," he said, "I never saw her body, and the reports don't indicate anything amiss. That could be fabricated; there could be something, but I don't have that information.

"I just know that she couldn't have died naturally; there's no way that someone as healthy as her could have. Not without more information on her death certificate; it's just a vague "Natural Causes" that was written. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm being kept in the dark, and don't know where to go to clear it up; not that they would clear it up."

[Jessica Jane]

"Talk about a brick wall..."

At this point, hunger overrode any caution that she might have had. Jess took a bite of her salad and then had to fight not to scarf the whole thing down. It had been ages since she'd last had anything half this good. She forced herself to chew for a few seconds before swallowing. This was going to be savored.

"... I think that's going to have to be the first thing we do, is find out how, exactly, she died. If we knew that, then we might be able to trace your guy through his purchases for the murder... It's not much... but it'd be a start. Bottom line: we've got to get more information."

[Thoma Hirako]

"That's about what I figured," Thoma told her, "Yuka's death is where it all starts."

He drew his plate back in front of himself, "Then I guess it's my responsibility at this point to deal with. You can stay as long as you'd like, but you don't need to help me anymore. You've been help enough helping me to get on this train of thought. Thank you."

[Jessica Jane]

"Yeah, 'bout that." Jess spoke around another bite of salad. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but not every cop is honest. If her death was a murder and if it was covered up, then the police had to be in on it. If you start sniffing around... that's not going to go well for you. Especially if you've got a record on you.

"So the way I look at it, the least I can do in return for your hospitality is to watch your back a for a few days. I can't stay forever, but I can help you past the initial launch of the investigation, if you want. Dunno how much help I'll be, but I can be an extra set of eyes, at least."

Even with all of her willpower at play, she was still eating faster than she would have liked. But that aside, she did want Thoma to be careful. If this conversation was any indication, he was going to need someone around to play the foil to his impulsiveness. Might as well be her for the moment.

[Thoma Hirako]

He smiled and had to nod in agreement, "You make a compelling point. I could do it all on my own - I'm very careful and attentive - but it might be easier with your eyes aiding me. If this is police corruption or something of that sort, then this would be a bit tricky to get through, to find the answers to. That's for sure, because we don't know where to begin.

"It could easily begin at the officers who filed the report; who wrote it. Or, it could be one of their higher ups ordering them to write those specific details to keep it hidden. Or someone could have tampered with it later on. Regardless, the writers of the report are where we should begin, Laura."

He pushed his plate towards her, having ordered the same thing, "If you want," he offered.

[Jessica Jane]

"Mmmm... Thanks." Jess nodded to Thoma. She wasn't fully sure if she would or should eat a second plate-- overeating very well could make her sick later. But it was nice to have the option.

"Yeah, that's a start. But you'll need some way to lean on him... and some way to deal with the fallout. If he doctored the report, then he's on the take and could alert your man. If he didn't then he might tip off the higher up and get you in trouble..." She trailed off as she contemplated her own points. "... If only we could bug him, somehow..."

[Thoma Hirako]

"I can handle placing a bug," Thoma told her, "As for the rest, if he's on the take from Makoto, I don't know why it would matter. I'd think Makoto would want it to still be viewed as a murder, just to get at me. It almost has to be a higher up in the force, at which point it gets...complicated, with my limited leash and all."