Aviva Time, Interrupted. ((Matt + Dawn))

[Aviva Jade Morgan]

((Aviva's house: beware, all muddy shoes! outside,bathroom, dining room, bedroom, kitchen, living room, home office))

Aviva was in the middle of a murder mystery double feature when she received the call. Tonight was yet another “Aviva Night” as she liked to call it. It was just her, a huge container full of low fat frozen yogurt, her big blanket, and her murder mystery movies. These two were two that she hadn’t seen before, so it would be even more fun sitting there trying to figure them out. Sure, it was Saturday night. Normal men and women Aviva’s age would be out partying, making the best of the fact that they didn’t have to attend work the very next day. Not Aviva though. She’d never been one for going out and partying. Well, she had, but not for a very long time. That was just not who she was. She didn’t like dealing with the bartenders and the definite alcoholics that were always trying to pick her up everywhere she went. Most single women who were quickly approaching the age of thirty were dying to get out there and make the best out of their youth before it was gone. Of course, they were always keeping their eye out for their “Mr. Right” or their “Knight in Shining Armor”. Aviva was the complete opposite. Marriage was optional in her eyes. She didn’t need it. In fact, she was sure that she’d be perfectly happy living her life just like this. Saving lives and throwing murderers in jail at work, and winding down and relaxing when she got home. It was a perfect, blissful life in her eyes. She didn’t need to deal with the drama that was relationships. She saw too many tired and frustrated wives go crazy and decide to knock off their husbands. How many times had she walked into a crime scene to find the typical dead husband and guilty looking wife? There were far too many than there should ever be. Aviva wasn’t going to be one of those people.

“It was the brother, obviously. He got pissed because his best man stole his wife, so he killed him. Are these guys even serious? It’s so obvious!” Aviva couldn’t help but exclaim aloud. “And of course, he’s going to try and frame the daughter.” Aviva scooped up another heaping spoon of mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt when she heard the buzzing of her cell phone where just like every day; she’d placed it on the counter. Aviva immediately got up from her large black couch and ran to the phone, the spoonful of frozen yogurt still poised in her mouth. She picked up the phone on its second ring and swallowed the huge lump of green ice cream before speaking. “Kragen? What’s the problem?” Aviva asked urgently, an uncomfortable and icy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She listened intently as Kragen spoke. Apparently, an old man had been murdered in his home, though cause of death hadn’t been determined. He had no idea how the guy was even killed, but he was holding some strange book written in some weird language.

“Sounds like a wi…” Aviva was about to say that the murder sounded like a wizard’s doing, but then she remembered Kragen wouldn’t exactly believe that explanation of the term. “…weirdo. I’ll be right there.” Aviva could practically hear Kragen’s proud smile. “Wonderful. Oh and Morgan, don’t forget to call Harper. I want him to get a good look at this as well.” He said, his voice dripping with pride for what he felt to be his two best detectives. Aviva rolled her eyes as she dressed. She didn’t have time for much, so she just grabbed the first things she saw. Less than five minutes later, Aviva was dressed in a too-tight pair of dark jeans and a red blouse. Of course, her signature long black coat hadn’t been forgotten either. As she hopped into her car, she pulled her cell phone out again and dialed Matthew Harper’s number. “Harper, we’ve got an issue. An old man was killed in his home. 1720 Garden Place. Be there and be there now.” Aviva said, pulling out of her driveway.

It didn’t take Aviva long to get herself to the crime scene. The old man lived in a large manor home by himself. He had been killed in his private library, with a book in his hands. Aviva walked past the other cops who were there to investigate and Aviva stepped over the body. The man was pale white, but every part of his body that was touching the large book was black as if it had been frostbitten. It was almost as if all the blood had been drained from his body. Aviva’s eyes landed finally on the man’s face. His eyes were frozen open in fear. Aviva’s mouth dropped. “Professor Bishop?” Aviva whispered, completely aghast. Professor Bishop was Aviva’s Ancient Runes teacher back at Hogwarts, and lo and behold, he was holding an Ancient Runes book. It was the first book every Ancient Runes student learned how to read. The muggle fairytale—Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Aviva turned around, and moments later, Matthew Harper appeared in the doorway. “Harper, there you are. Took you long enough. Do you know who this man is?” Aviva asked solemnly, glancing back at the murder victim.

[Matt Harper]

Matthew Harper was having quite the relaxing night. He had been at home in his house, watching some muggle sport on the television. Baseball, was it? No, that wasn’t on at this time of year. It didn’t matter, he had just left it on while he was cleaning up around his house. He wanted to make the place at least presentable in case the guys came over after drinks for a game of some sort. While it didn’t matter to him in the slightest what they thought of him, now that he was in homicide he wanted to give a better image of himself that he previously had. He cleaned up the last of the trash in the kitchen and grabbed his keys, patting his coat pocket to make sure his wand was where it needed to be. Matt pulled the door closed tightly behind him, locking it securely with his wand, something he did nightly instead of using his usual keys. It was simple spell that kept his house a bit more secure than most others. The best part about it was that he didn’t need to get his wand out to reverse it, nor to get back into his house. He could just pull his keys out and turn the key in the lock and the spell reversed. He had enchanted the key with a spell breaker, specifically for the locking spell. It was a clever little trick he had figured out on his own, and he was quite proud of it himself.

Matt got into his car and drove the few blocks down the street, looking for an accessible place to park. It was celebration night with the guys from the squad. Johnson had been promoted to Matt’s old spot, and Matt had been bumped up to homicide the week before. He and Aviva had flown through a handful of smaller cases already, Aviva taking the lead on most of them, leaving Matt with the paperwork and filing. But he didn’t completely mind, as long as he was in homicide. He felt he was slowly showing Aviva that he had a handle on this job, and that he had a good head on his shoulders. Pretty soon, he was sure there would be cases coming up where they’d both need to work hard and get things taken care of together. After about a week of putting up with her abuse (as the guys seemed to like to call it), they had all agreed it was due time for a night at the bar. It was just Matt, Johnson, and Jerome, an old friend from Hogwarts, who was in his house all seven years. They had quite a few memories together from school, and had met up again in the 409. They had gone to different academies for training, but had ended up at the same Precinct, under Captain Kragen. Kragen had been there since they had both started, and they had both started the same year. As Matt parked the car and locked it, he remembered some of the great wizarding memories from those early days. Laughing and carefree as a first year, messing around with spells on each other in their third years, and fifth year was the year he had decided to start buckling down and get his work done. As his years had ended, he had still made time for his friend, but they weren’t as close as the two likely could have been. That didn’t matter now though. Tonight was a night for celebrations.

Matt walked into the bar, eyes immediately scanning the room and seeing his two buddies at the nearby table in the back, with a waitress leaned over, taking their drink order. It looked like Johnson had noticed his presence, so Matt stuck one hand up in the air, signaling for him to order his usual. While the men didn’t go out each week to drink, they each had a usual drink they got whenever they went out for a night to drown an especially hard week away. Johnson nodded and looked at the waitress, asking her for another drink for his friend that was coming. She nodded and walked away, as Matt approached the table. “Get my usual?” Matt asked, knowing the answer already. “Of course, Harper. We both know what kind of drink you like. It’s a great night though, so I asked her for a double,” Johnson said smoothly. “Quite alright, what’s the use in having a regular drink if you’re celebrating? Might as well double it.” Matt slid into the booth at the table next to Jerome, across from Johnson. “Jerome, good to see you again. How’s it feel to have my old job? You definitely earned that one.” Jerome was glad to see Matt, he could tell by the smile on his face. “It’s a bit trying, but I know I can get the work done. You left that desk quite spick and span, how’d you ever get it that clean? And by the way, how’s Homicide treating you? I heard you got that partner-killer, Lativa or something? Isn’t that her name?” Jerome said it with kind of a drunkish laugh that made him realize that the two friends must have been there for a bit of time before Matt had been there.

Matt chuckled at Jerome’s comment as their drinks were delivered. He took a large sip of his drink, feeling the liquid burn the back of his throat. He gulped it down and cleared his throat a bit. “Man, it’s been a bit since I’ve had a double that strong. Good stuff though. Jer, I can’t give my cleaning secrets away. It’s just a technique Homicide detectives don’t give away. And her name is Aviva, Aviva Morgan. She’s brilliant, I’ll tell you that. It’s no wonder Kragen put us together. He knows how good I am, and he knows how good she is, so he must expect both of us to just get better with time.” He took another generous sip of his drink, feeling the sharp liquid burn against his mouth again. “So how are you guys? Getting hammered by cases at all?” Before the guys had a chance to answer, his phone rang. “Sorry, thought I left it in the car. Gotta have the work phone with me at all times. Looks like it’s Aviva. Hang on.” He answered it. “Yeah? Where is it? You’re on your way? Now?” But that was all he got out before Aviva hung up. She was already on her way to the crime scene. Matt closed the phone and shut his eyes briefly. So much for a good night out of celebrating. “Guys, looks like I’ve got another case. Old guy was just murdered in his home up in Garden Place. Aviva needs me there. Johnson, make sure Jer gets home in one piece. If I get done early enough I’ll give you a call and you guys can come over. Sorry about this.” He looked at the two guys apologetically, and grabbed his black jacket, walking briskly towards the door. He felt bad leaving them with the tab, but they knew him well enough to know he’d pay them back for the drink.

Matt jumped in the car and sped off, wondering what the case could be. Some old guy killed in his house. It sounded like a simple enough homicide. What had Aviva meant by “we’ve got an issue”? Maybe there had been magic used. All would be answered in seconds. He put the blue light up on the roof and sped faster, flicking the siren on for a few of the lights he needed to get through. He pulled in fast to the scene, seeing that people had lined the yellow caution tape where the scene was taped off, and threw the car into reverse, parking it near Aviva’s vehicle. He made sure not to get any dirt on her car, for fear that she’d freak. He didn’t need her in any worse of a mood than she likely already was. She had likely been home, after all it was a Saturday night. Matt dove underneath the caution tape, flashing his badge at the suits lining the area. “Homicide. Where’s Aviva Morgan?” he asked one of the cops at the front. “Up further into the house, sir,” the man said quickly. “Thank you, and don’t call me sir. That’s a term for old men.” It was a harsh reality, but it was also a matter of respect. He took the stairs two at a time, reaching the body and Aviva, kneeling down to inspect the head of the dead. “Sorry,” he said to her accusation. “I was out with some friends from precinct.” She asked him if he knew who the man was. As soon as he looked at the face, he knew. “Bishop, isn’t it? What’s this book he’s got? Isn’t that…” he stopped, knowing he couldn’t finish his sentence out loud. He looked at Aviva, and he could tell by the look on her face that he was exactly who they both thought he was, and the book was indeed an Ancient Runes fairytale textbook, from Hogwarts, the school they both grew up in. “Well this is interesting.” He grabbed an evidence bag and put the book into it, making sure to pick it up gingerly and with his gloved hand. He zipped the bag up and walked around the body, so he was closer to Aviva. “Why is it all dark like that? And what happened to his hands? It’s like he’s clutching that book for dear life. This is a dark item, isn’t it?” he said, whispering so Aviva was the only one who could hear him. “I haven’t dealt much with this type of thing. Have you? How do we deal with this?” Matt couldn’t place exactly what to do, but he knew it wouldn’t be easy to solve a wizard case in a precinct full of muggles. He looked at Aviva, waiting for answers to this odd case.

[dawn]

A musty smell filled Dawn's nose as she crossed her right leg over her left knee. She lifted a cup and saucer from her lap to her lips and took a sip of tea from the elegant porcelain cup. Beside her was a large marble fireplace, obviously it used for the Floo network, but on this particular night it was being used to keep the living space warm. A real fire was lit, to keep visitors away, and the conversation Dawn was having with the owner of the house private. The living space Dawn was seated in was a vintage, traditional room dressed in long draperies reaching the ceiling and touching the floor. A large gold chandler hung above the room with twinkling flames at the candle's ends. Large, tight leather back chairs sat near the fire. Dawn was occupying one while the man across from her occupied one half of an elegantly printed couch.

Dawn's eyes shifted softly from the fire to a small oval table in front of her that separated her and the older man. Leaning forward she placed her saucer and cup next to the tea set, placed in the center of the table. Sitting up, she turned to the man with a placid look on her face. And as Dawn made eye contact the man spoke up. "Thank you dear, for your help tonight." His voice was deep and hardened yet sincere. His bushy salt and pepper beard shook stiffly as he spoke. "I knew I could count on you to follow through." Dawn replied with a velvety tone and a grin. "Of course. I wouldn't have come so quickly if it was anyone else. You know that. You've been a friend of the family so long. The least I could do was help you out." She nodded softly as she kept eye contact with the man. He nodded back with a smile as he tapped his knee and broke eye contact to look at the fire. "Indeed, I do know. And I thank you again. But I do have one last favor." He began as Dawn narrowed her eyes slightly at the statement. "Excuse me?" she questioned as she placed one hand over another on her lap. The man returned his gaze back to Dawn and her now ridged posture. "I know tonight was a lot for you. I know it wasn't something you usually do but I would like one last favor."

Dawn sat unchanged for at least a minute. Her eyes locked on the man's across from her as she studied his breathing, blinking, and heart rate. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer, right? "You have been a friend of my Grandfather's for years. Even after his death you have still remained faithful in keeping our secret under-wraps." Dawn paused for a moment as she turned her head slightly to the left in a matter of fact motion. "However, in the middle of the night I receive an Owl from you. I have not heard from you since my father's funeral. And Yet, I have the courteous to come all the way from Edinburgh to London to do your bidding for you on my own. That in itself is quite rare for me to do, whenever I pay people to do it for me. And you wait till I relax afterward to ask for another favor? Do you not have the same courtesy my family has shown you for years to be completely upfront with me form the beginning?" Dawn's voice was stern, however it did not raise as she spoke to her Grandfather's past colleague. "I have respected you since I walked through your door three hours ago. I have not asked questions on why you needed it so urgently and for my delivery. But that was my final effort for tonight. Goodnight sir." Dawn spoke as she uncrossed her legs and stood up from her chair. She crossed the dim lit room as Zachary, her associate who had accompanied her on her late night trip, stepped out of the shadows with her long black jacket. "Thank you." She noted as she took it from him, and put it on. As she left the residence of Charles Xavier Fessler, she heard him apologizing to Zachary behind her.

Walking down the lit stone path to her car, she took a breath and focused on her drive home now. Dawn pulled out a cell phone from her pocket. She was currently at a residence in muggle London. She had to drive a car, use money, and use a cell phone instead of an owl out in the open. She separated herself from her work as she walked away from the house. Looking at the cell phone she pressed a few buttons and held the small silver phone up to her ear. She took out her keys from her pocket and fumbled for the right key. A familiar voice picked up at the other end, it was Cole. "Hello Love.... Yes, I am done for tonight. However, I most likely wont be back until sunrise. I have to drive back." She commented as she unlocked the drivers side door of her black mustang. "I know. And I will. I'll keep you posted, Cole." She smiled softly as she spoke and sat down in the seat and closed the door behind her. "I love you too. Bye." She closed the phone after her goodbye and put the keys in the ignition. The engine erupted from under the hood as she changed gears and sped down the driveway.

Driving in silence, Dawn tried to sort out her thoughts. She was completely involved in her work, and hated it. She was a McGrogan but she was also Dawn. She wasn't her Grandfather, nor was she her father. She wished she would be treated as an individual instead of her ancestors in another body. She wasn't a fan of Charles Fessler, and hadn't been for years. However, she had to try her hardest to keep certain people near her right now. On top of her family business, she wanted to find out who killed her father. And she was going to stop at nothing, and no one was going to stand in her way when it came to her finding out the truth. Blood would surely be shed, and she wouldn't second guess it once it happened.

Driving down the same road she drove earlier that night to get to Charles' home, she noted a few houses that resided in the area. On top of all of her stresses and determinations, she couldn't help but recall all of the addresses she passed. Ever since she was younger her father made her memorize all of the pure blood residences and the history of the family. In Hogwarts, Dawn was known for knowing every nook and cranny of a family, and when and with whom did their blood become dirty with. Even to this day, Dawn keeps up to date with where people move as well. With Dawn's job she needs to know what areas are safe and which aren't. As she turned down the windy road, she knew an old Professor of hers lived up ahead, Professor Bishop. He was an Ancient Runes teacher at Hogwarts that was also close with her father. She hadn't paid him a visit in a long time, but she was sure he still lived in the same house he had owned for decades. His mansion laid closer to the main road, Dawn remembered from her drive out a few hours ago.

As she made the last turn before his house, red, blue, and white lights caught her eyes. Slowing down, she watched the police officer ahead of her motion for her to come through with caution. Pressing the button to her window, she drove under 5mph and looked at the house. It was completely lit up and filled with people. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a body bag being wheeled out from the front doors of the mansion. There, Professor Bishop laid on the stretcher with a black book in his hands at his chest. It was as if the workers for the coroners office had no respect for the dead. They pushed him down to the street with the bag still open. Dawn's car came to a stop as a police officer approached her car. "Is there something I can help you with, miss?" The officer spoke as he shined a light into Dawn's car. With her eyes still narrowed she focused on the book. Frustration fell over her as she broke her gaze from the book, and looked at the officer. "Maybe if you moved that bloody light out of my eyes I could actually see the road and drive." She shot stubbornly as she put her window back up and sped off from the scene. Dawn's foot held the gas pedel as if it was a 100lb weight. She knew that book wasn't just any old Ancient Runes book, only she would see that directly off the bat. A specifc clasp was on the front of it. Something Dawn had worked with for weeks to get unlocked, and those muggle officers would never know, never understand what thebook truly was. It was a dark magic item.

[Aviva Jade Morgan]

Aviva couldn’t keep up her attitude while there was such a crisis at hand. It wasn’t often that Aviva’s muggle cases mixed in with the magical ones. Sure it happened on occasion and Aviva dealt with the issue accordingly. She’d always dealt with them with Darwin, who was absolutely fascinated by Aviva’s magical world. He’d look at a dead body cursed with the killing curse and he’d give her that same look that was a mixture of fascination and sadness. ”This would be one of those types of cases then, wouldn’t it? Well, take me over. I haven’t seen them in ages. Darwin would always say. At first, Darwin being Aviva’s partner had been an issue not only with the personality clash but with the issue of magic as well. At that time, there was much more going on in the magical world. What with the rise and fall of the Dark Lord, there was always a random muggle killing that Aviva would have to hand over to the Ministry. Eventually, Darwin figured out what Aviva was up to. It didn’t take him long at all, actually. Aviva talked to the Ministry before confirming his suspicions, and they concluded that it would be a good idea to let him know. He eventually proved very useful to them anyway. But this was the first magic related cases she’d seen since Darwin and it was actually one of the worst.

Aviva looked up at Harper, who was just a few inches taller than Aviva was. She simply nodded solemnly. “I think the book is cursed. Think of it like a virus. As soon as he touched it, the virus began to spread. He must have died before it could spread completely…only his hands and wrists are black. Whatever you do, don’t touch the book.” Aviva whispered quickly under her breath as the team of police officers and investigators walked around, inspecting the scene of the crime. She asked him if he knew who the man was. As soon as he looked at the face, he knew. Aviva barely heard Harper’s question about the cursed book in his hands. “It’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Beginners level Ancient Runes.” Aviva said dutifully as the body was wheeled out. She followed Matt and the crew of police officers as they carried the body off. They were now standing right in front of the large home the Professor had occupied. She glared at the bored and tired looking officers who were haphazardly carrying the body off.

“You be careful with him. I’m sure his family won’t be happy to go to the funeral to find their loved one in pieces.” Aviva said with a stone cold glare. She stole one last glance at the body of Professor Bishop as he was wheeled out. She hated for someone as kind and sweet as Professor Bishop was to have to die in a way that was so brutal. She hadn’t noticed Harper gingerly remove the book from the man’s hands, as she was too busy noticing something else. “Harper, look.” Aviva said; her eyes focused on the expensive looking black Mustang and the young blonde woman that occupied it. It was not hard to see her facial expression with the bright light the officer was shining in her face. Her eyes were focused on the book in the victim’s hands, her eyes full with the fire of recognition. Aviva’s trained eyes observed the seemingly angry young woman as she drove off. She made a mental note of the license plate. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out who the occupant of the car was.

“There’s a witch I know in forensics. She’ll write it off as a poison case and we’ll go about it from there. As for the perp, I have a feeling that woman might know what exactly we’re dealing with here.” Aviva said in her professional voice. This tone was always very formal, sometimes rushed, and very monotone. She showed no emotion as she watched Professor Bishop’s crippled corpse being dragged off into the ambulance. Her eyes shifted to the press that were slowly beginning to gather at the scene and grabbed the keys from her pocket. She didn’t know nor did she care what time it was. Aviva had learned to live without sleep. Sleep was optional now, as was a personal life. If Matthew Harper hadn’t learned this already, he would begin to learn this now. “Come on Harper. We’re going on a Mustang hunt. Follow me in your car.” Aviva said as she walked toward her car, ignoring the press. She put her keys into the ignition and drove off. Aviva had already informed Kragen via text message (a surprisingly useful muggle invention) of the lead, asking him to put the Mustang’s license plate into the system. Aviva’s phone buzzed in the empty seat next to her and Aviva read the message on the screen. Aviva sped just a bit faster, not bothering to make sure Harper was keeping up. It looked like tonight would be a long one—they were headed to Edinburgh.

[Matt Harper]

Matt was taken aback as he stood next to Aviva, listening as she explained how to handle this certain kind of case. While he had seen his fair share of cases, there hadn’t been any magic involved on the regular beat, and this technically was one of his first cases where magic had been used and he was involved. For once, he was glad that he wasn’t alone with something this serious. Usually he could handle himself pretty well under pressure and serious situations, but dealing with dark items and magic he didn’t understand, that was a whole new monster he didn’t want to deal with alone. Aviva mentioned not to touch the book, a little late now because he had already bagged it as evidence. “Well it’s a good thing I had gloves on then, isn’t it? Should have warned me of that beforehand. Otherwise we could have had some serious problems here, more than this guy being gone.” He didn’t want to sound rude, and he made it a point to give Aviva a look that said it was okay. He followed protocol to a T for the most part with everything, and that included wearing gloves to handle evidence. Besides, he didn’t want any of the dark oozing blackness getting on his hands for fear of what it could do to him. Aviva answered his question about the book, realizing that this was indeed a much deeper and darker case than anything he had been a part of before. “Beginners A.R., huh. Why not another level? Maybe there’s a reason he had the beginners level book?” Matt was wondering out loud and kept his voice down, but he wouldn’t have minded if Aviva talked about it with him.

It was hard to talk out loud about the magic issues or classes from Hogwarts in front of the muggle police officers. Matt and Aviva had no problem talking about it together, but with the other officers around they had to keep most of their discussion to themselves, otherwise things could get even uglier. The two detectives walked out with the officers that were wheeling the body out, and they weren’t doing a good job of it. Aviva glared at them and corrected them on their job, making sure they knew how serious this case was, even if it felt like just every other case to them. Clearly, this wasn’t the average case for Matt or Aviva. Matt found himself barely able to even look at the partially mutilated hands of the professor without feeling like he was somehow responsible. While the Professor had been dead when they had reached the scene, who knew what kind of power the book he held in this plastic bag contained. Disguised as a children’s textbook, it had been quite the silent killer for Professor Bishop, and he would do all that he could to figure out what had happened. He was glad Aviva was keen on some of these issues, and he couldn’t have asked for a better partner at the time. Aviva looked at him and then looked at the street, noticing something, so it looked like she wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. He decided not to repeat his open-ended question, and was glad that he didn’t because Aviva told him to keep an eye on the black Mustang that was driving off into the distance all of a sudden. “Huh. Wonder what that was all about. Maybe that lazy cop down at the road was giving her a hard time?” Matt said simply, not completely satisfied with his own deduction.

Aviva had connections, and boy was Matt glad of it. Without her, he would be stuck, unable to do anything about this odd case. She mentioned about her friend in forensics, and then she moved on quickly to assessing how they would follow and find the woman who had just driven away from the scene. “Whatever you say, partner. Might be a dead end, but we should probably exhaust all leads, right? So let’s go.” Matt said his words with a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t want to give her an excuse to have any more of an attitude than she likely already had, so he chose his words carefully and watched what he said. It was more of a strategy than anything. They separated, getting in their respective cars. Matt revved up the engine and quickly got in line behind Aviva and sped up to catch up with her, since she had apparently already contacted Kragen and he had given her the address they needed. He didn’t know exactly where they were headed, but he trusted Aviva enough to follow her into the dark and that she would lead him to where they needed to be. Besides, it was late and while he was tired, getting calls at this hour were normal. In homicide you’re always on duty. So much for more drinks with the guys. It was work time.

Matt easily kept up with his partner as they sped through the city, only slowing down enough to make a turn into Edinburgh. This must be where the woman lived, somewhere in Edinburgh. They went down some back roads and after a while ended up at a large, dark house. There were lights on inside, signaling the person was home, and they both pulled up in front of the house, getting out of their cars and closing the doors quietly. The black mustang was parked in the driveway. Matt met up with Aviva at the driveway and they walked up the stairs to the door quickly. “Now, no bashing the door in or anything, alright Morgan? Just stay calm.” He smiled at her, implying that it was a joke and that she should laugh, even if he knew that Aviva wasn’t the type to laugh and joke on the job. Matt had tucked his wand away in case this woman wasn’t a witch. He couldn’t be too careful. “I guess I’ll just follow your lead again? I’m sure I can come up with a few questions to ask Mustang girl.” They reached the door and he knocked loudly on it, awaiting the woman to come to the door. He heard shuffling from inside and waited with Aviva as the door unlatched from the inside.