Another Skull Another Face

[Nevena Rostova]

Nevena's Personal Office

January 10, 2019

3:00pm

 

You must have gone through a lot, little one.

 

It always made Nevena wonder how anyone could do so much harm to a child and cause so much damage that it would take someone days, weeks, or even months to figure out the facial features of a skull. This one in particular had been rather hard on Nevena. The parietal bone had been completely crushed in and it had taken Nevena several weeks to completely restructure the fragments she had been given. Her first guess was that it had been done by a tire iron, but within the first week or two she had changed her theory to a large wrench. Every now and again things and images like this current skull would give her the chills, but this time she was determined to stay focused. She was determined to keep her skill at the best level. She needed to bring this little girl home. Home to her parents so they could have closure. So the little girl could have closure.

 

Nevena carefully placed down the molding clay she had been holding gently in her hand and looked up at the clock hanging directly in front of her on the wall. An inaudible sigh escapes her lips and her eyes move back down to the partially finished skull on her desk.

 

I'll be back in a moment. You're making me work overtime, little one.

 

She stood up and made her way to the built in kitchen on the other side of the room, making herself a sandwich and some coffee. Nevena had a feeling that this afternoon and evening were going to be extremely long. Usually whenever she started to get deep into a case and in reconstructing a skull it always seemed to take up all of her time and all of her energy. It was like a feeling of urgency that she needed to complete the skull. She knew how much closure was an important concept. She had dealt and wished for the possibility for closure for a very long time. It was the least she could do to give it to other people.

 

There were times of course that she did hate her job. She hated seeing how easy it was to mistreat a person. How easy it was to break bones. How easy it was to destroy a family, a life, a love. Thoughts always came and went when she was working on a case and for the most part she kept them at bay. Kept them right on the edge of her mind. Sometimes she would get flashes and random images of the person's skull she was working on. At first she thought it was a fluke and that maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her, but after working on one particular and stressful case she realized that it was real.

 

I'm not ready to see what you have to show me just yet, little one. Give me some time.

 

Her empty plate and empty cup were placed into the nearby sink, leaving it there to be taken care of later in the evening or even the next day. She made her way back over to the skull and sat down ready to begin working on it once more.

 

The one thing you have to take into consideration when you have a sometimes uncontrollable gift is that even if you don't want something to happen it still will happen. It was one of those things that you just had to go with the flow. Nevena had learned that over the years things wouldn't always go as planned and the dead aren't always willing to stay silent. So dropping in on random flashes of images of a little girl being beaten over the head multiple times with a large wrench would make anyone's stomach queasy.

 

Nevena got up quickly and stepped away from the skull, keeping her eyes shut tight and waited for the horrible images to subside. After a minute her mind cleared and her eyes opened. She looked at the skull and it was almost as if for a moment she saw exactly what the little girl looked like. Blonde shoulder length hair. Blue eyes. High cheek bones. Slim nose. Small mouth. Almond shaped eyes.

 

Then in the next instant after a blink the image was gone and she was left looking at the same skull that she had been staring at for weeks.

 

Alright, little one. I see you.

[Keeley Saunders]

When working within law enforcement, there tended to be an increasing number of late meals. Lack of sleep came along with it as the many hours one worked meant little opportunity for proper rest. Some were perpetually grumpy as a result, and complained constantly about wanting more time off.

 

Others, such as Keeley, only sought more. Work was a welcome distraction and constant pleasure — as screwed up as it sounded. It gave her something to focus on other than the state of her son or the lack of people in her life. Loneliness was hard to combat when actually alone. She had never really been alone through her life. There’d always been family nearby. Now what remained of her family was far away; communication not happening nearly as often as she wished. Occasionally she tried to convince her brother Cameron to come to New York, but he was firmly set on remaining in Portland. Nothing would sway him. The only connections that kept her sane were Mason, who she didn’t get to see often, and the few work-related relationships she’d developed in her time here.

 

Nevena Rostova was one of those relationships.

 

A fellow living ally to the dead, Keeley found her company enjoyable. She also found her work admirable. In the days before Resonance there were always cold cases. In a post-Resonance world? That hadn’t changed. If anything that number had increased. Entire families had been lost without anyone to claim their remains; half of them without any explanation in terms of what had happened. And then there was the other lost souls: victim of pointless murders. Some part of Keeley had wondered if given the chaotic state of the world such things would diminish, or die out completely, except that’d quickly been proven a foolish hope. If anything the state of the world had made it easier to get away with violent crimes as it was harder to identify victims let alone find them. The databases were still a mess, the world not exactly perfect even almost 9 years later, but at least some of those souls had received justice. Perhaps even some peace as their remains were identified along with the cause of death, and in some cases even returned to their loved ones — some just in the figurative sense and some in the literal.

 

Keeley knew that Nevena was working on another cold case. This one only a couple years old now, but nonetheless just as important. She’d dug up what details could be found on the autopsy. The file was in her hand along with the report from the detective who’d been in charge of the case at the NYPD. Both files were fairly sad; thin with limited information much to Keeley’s annoyance.

 

Plum leather jacket was pulled tighter, and gray toboggan tugged down a little more on her head, as she slid from the taxi. Strap of her black messenger bag slid over neck to rest on opposite shoulder from where the bag rested against her other side. The files were tucked safely inside with the clasp locked, but nonetheless she kept the bag facing her. Finally she made her way inside and to Nevena’s office; a knock given on the door before stepping back to wait.

 

Bare hands wrung together then palms rubbed against the thighs of her jeans as she tried to get some warmth into them. A mental reminder made to remember to buy a new pair of gloves.

 

[ooc note: winged the case stuff some, but if anything needs adjusted feel free to nudge me in a PM and I'll change it.]

[Nevena Rostova]

Indeed it was always a weird moment when she would get images from whatever she was working on. In fact she didn't even really understand why it happened with the dead randomly. When with the living she had to have physical contact. Maybe the spirit of the dead boy/girl/man/woman was around her and maybe possibly touching her at that time. Somehow. Still she never understood it and probably never would. That fact she was content with as long as it gave her an insight to what the victim looked like and maybe how they were killed.

 

A few more moments passed of Nevena working on the skull, finding herself completely immursed in putting this little girl's face back together. Now that she had a somewhat clear picture in her head of what the little girl looked like it would make things go somewhat quicker and smoother. Another perk of her ability that she didn't understand.

 

Then there was a knock at her door. She put her tools down that she had been using, stood up, and took a step away to look at the skull a minute. Then tilted her head for another minute thinking about what she would need to do next, mentally telling herself not to forget what step she was at.

 

I'll be back, little one.

 

A quick turn and some strides to the door only took her a minute or two. She opened the door slowly and smiled at seeing her friend standing at her doorway. It had been nice making friends with Keeley. She was one of her favorite people to work with. She helped out with certain files that she needed to see. Although sometimes she would help out Keeley as well. Sometimes seeing sneak peeks into what happened would give her a glimpse at the killers face. Unfortunately that hadn't happened this time around.

 

[nevena]Hey there, stranger. Come on in,[/nevena] she said as she stepped to the side, opening the door a little more to let Keeley in. She closed the door after Keeley entered and moved her way back to the skull, sitting down on her stool.

 

[nevena]So. I got a few flashes from this little one and I've seen what she looks like and how she was killed, but I didn't get a glimpse of the killer. It should only take me a day or two longer to get a face for this one. Maybe as I work a little more she'll give me more images. I know getting a look at the killer will help out tons,[/nevena] she looked at Keeley and then back at the skull, wishing that she had seen some sort of clue.

 

It was sometimes hard to remember the flashes that she was given. It would happen so quickly that sometimes she even wouldn't catch good looks at the deceased. A soft sigh escapes her lips out of frustration. Being hard on herself was another one of her traits. Good and a bad thing to have.

[Keeley Saunders]

[keeley]You need some sleep.[/keeley]

 

There wasn’t any polite preamble to the statement. Just the statement itself accompanied by a disapproving look.

 

Keeley knew well what it was like to be taken hostage by a particular case. It happened in her work and in others, of course, such as the current situation with the ARMA operative. The man was practically lost to it, and as it was personal that made the hold even worse. With Nevena though, she knew that the woman was more determined to resolve this case as it was a child. That made everything harder especially when one could see what had happened.

 

Closing the door behind her, Keeley stepped inside the office and looked around. It wasn’t exactly a disaster zone, but it was messy enough to show that it could use a little cleaning. Already it showed signs that her friend was settling in to spend a lot of time here as she worked on this case. Possibly even sleep here.

 

[keeley]You should go home and sleep tonight. The skull will wait.[/keeley]

 

The suggestion was given though she doubted it’d be taken. The bag strap was removed from her neck, left to dangle toward the ground as Keeley clutched the bag part in hand and began to undo the locked clasp.

 

[keeley]I got you the autopsy file and the case file from the NYPD.[/keeley] A frown made brows dip in and down as she sighed, adding in obvious irritation, [keeley]There wasn’t a lot. The case had no real leads. Nobody saw who dumped the body. . . or if they did, they weren’t talking. And the autopsy was thorough, but there wasn’t a lot to work with by the time it was found.[/keeley]

 

That was why Nevena was having to reconstruct the face. Nobody knew what the small child had looked like due to the damage and decomposition.

 

The files labeled ‘Poughkeepsie Polly’ were placed upon the desk. Some unknown victims weren’t always titled Jane or John Doe. This was one of those cases. The second name was chosen by the officer who’d discovered by the body — likely due to sentiment — while the first signified the place in New York City she’d been found.

 

[keeley]Coroner estimated her to be around 3 years or 36 months. She had ash-blonde hair. Blunt head trauma though couldn’t determine what had been used.[/keeley]

 

She didn’t think that the latter detail would be needed if she’d seen gotten glimpses, but it was habit to give the information.

 

Keeley had never found it easy working on child victims especially given having a child of her own. It made things a lot more difficult. Bag was placed down on one of the end tables in the room and then seat taken. A tired groan given as she relaxed into the soft chair. Toboggan pulled off head and dropped into lap before she ran her fingers through messy hair.

[Nevena Rostova]

☽ "You need some sleep."

 

The disapproving look that she recieved from Keeley was well noted. It wasn't that Nevena didn't know that she needed sleep it was just that she knew if she went to sleep then it would only take away time from getting the little girl home. It wouldn't take a genius to guess that the little girls parents were probably in a state of shock. She didn't even know who the girl belonged to. Hell, in a way it felt like the little girl belonged to her.

 

[nevena]I will... eventually,[/nevena] she said the words hesitantly, knowing instantly that they would get a back lash.

 

"The skull will wait."

 

And there it was. She smiled at Keeley and the way that her friend almost always had a maternal instinct about her. It helped Nevena out in a way that she did make sure she ate enough, or slept enough, or got out of the office or her apartment enough. She was extremely grateful to have Keeley as a friend and a collegue. Nevena decided that she would return home tonight. She did need the rest. Maybe then it would refresh her enough that she could get another glimpse at the little one.

 

[nevena]Alright. I suppose you have a valid point. I'll make sure I make it home either later tonight... or tomorrow morning,[/nevena] she said. She did have a tendancy to sometimes procrastinate, but that was just her personality. The only thing she didn't procrastinate was bringing home children to their families.

 

☽ "I got you the autopsy file and the case file from the NYPD."

 

The files finally came and she couldn't be more happy. A small inkling also had been nagging at her that there probably wouldn't be much to go on from the file, but that didn't stop Nevena from hoping that there would be a hair, nail, or any damn fiber that they could have used to catch the son of a bitch who could do such a terrible thing to a young child. She picked up the files and began to skim through them for a moment. Just as expected there really wasn't much to go on.

 

How disappointing...

 

[nevena]He used a large wrench...[/nevena] she looked up at Keeley as she paused for a split second. [nevena]Saw it and before you get too excited. No I didn't see the man's face. If I had I would have been crazy with excitement,[/nevena] she said the last words with an upset tone. If only she had seen his face. It would be so easy for her to draw the monster.

 

Her eyes followed Keeley as she sat down and then smiled after obviously seeing how tired Keeley was as well. Working on cold cases or even active cases could drain you dry. They had a way of sucking the very life out of you. The constant need of finding crazy psycho killers and bringing them to justice was one hell of a motivation booster. [nevena]I really don't think I'm the only one who should be getting some sleep. How much have you had in the past few days,[/nevena] she asked the question as she placed the file back down on her desk.

 

[nevena]What we really need besides sleep is a night out.... I can't even remember the last time I had some fun,[/nevena] she paused for a second. [nevena]Maybe after I finish this little one's face...[/nevena] She couldn't help but constantly think of finishing the little girls face. It was a constant need.