. B O N E S . S H A T T E R . ;; Cryssie

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

"I'll wait here," She told him, clasping her hands behind her back.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo ran back to his room and pulled on some socks, then put on his shoes. Then he ushered her out the door.

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

Phoenix walked back outside and sighed, "Lead on."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo nodded and started down the street. Every step made his heart grow heavier. He didn't want to see it again. The chalk outline on the floor, the blood splatters. Whoever had done it had used a gun, rather than any mutant power. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

Phoenix followed and watched him with worry. She hated seeing Leo upset- it wasn't a good feeling.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

When they reached the crime scene--the woman's house--Leo led her inside after a quick word with the guards on site. The body was gone, but the evidence was still there. Blood, broken lamps, displaced objects. There had been a struggle.

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

Phoenix pressed her hand over her mouth as she looked around, "This is..terrible."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo looked over at her, suddenly realizing he might have made a big mistake. "Are you okay?" he asked. "We can leave."

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

She shook her head and looked at him, "It's okay...I can take this."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo studied her for a second longer, just to make sure she wasn't lying to him. "I'm not really a very good analyst of thing kind of thing, but I can have someone walk you through what happened," he said.

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

She nodded, "Okay, that sounds good. It'll help me understand this more."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo waved over one of their "detectives," who told Phoenix what had happened. The murderer had simply opened the door to the house, since most people didn't lock their doors in the Refuge. There had never been a need. He'd gone upstairs, tried to smother the woman in her sleep. She'd fought back, though, harder than the person had expected. A struggle had followed, first in the bedroom and then in the living room. Then he'd pulled out a gun and shot her.

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

"So we don't know if the attacker was a mutant or not?" Phoenix asked.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"No idea," the man said. "There's no evidence of someone using a power other than the victim, who could control wind."

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

"That's not good. It doesn't narrow out search at all," she frowned.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Not necessarily," Leo said. "It's possible the person didn't use their power because they realized doing so would single them out, but it's also possible that they're either human, or they don't have a power that would be useful in this situation. Or some that wouldn't show any evidence, like mine."

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

She nodded, "So how do we even narrow down suspects?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"I have a list of Refuge citizens. We'll start by eliminating the ones who have dangerous powers," he said. "It's the best we can do for now."

[нαℓƒ~мσση]

Phoenix nodded, "Yes, okay. That's a smart way to do it."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Leo's eyes went back to the outline on the floor where the body had been found. His jaw clenched. "I'll find them, if it's the last thing I do."