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Hitman revisited

Hitman revisited 61

Hitman revisited 61

Frankie: So, who am I going to marry?
Twyla: Sorry, no idea. I just saw you in a wedding dress, dancing with your father.
Frankie: Well, that's good news. I definitely want him to be there when it happens.
Twyla: Are you starting to believe it too?
Frankie: I said it's possible, and no matter how improbable I thought it would be, it seems that you met a real medium. - What's she like? I mean, when she's not telling you the future.
Twyla: Not what you'd expect. She's quite nice and very matter of fact. "This is what I do and whether you choose to believe or not doesn't make any difference." Also, very weird fashion sense, but I guess that's part of the business.
Frankie: You know, if she's so good, how come we hadn't heard of her?
Twyla: She said she mostly works for people who want results, not publicity. And she seems to be very picky, which isn't a surprise considering her prices.
Frankie: Expensive?
Twyla: Very. It's a good thing she didn't charge for the interview, just asked me to tone it down in the book. - It's so strange. She could make a fortune with her skills, but she doesn't want the publicity.
Frankie: I've always thought that being able to do something like that would mess with your head really bad.
Twyla: And publicity would make people queue at her door? You may have a point there. She wouldn't have a moment's peace.

Hitman revisited 62

Hitman revisited 62

Maria: I heard that you talked with Twyla.
Trinity: She's nice. Reminds me of a friend I had in the nursing school. So innocent and wide-eyed, but not nearly as gullible as you'd think.
Maria: Yes, she seemed quite intelligent. That book should be interesting.
Trinity: Do you think she's objective enough to write it? After all, it was her grandfather who was behind it all.
Maria: She said she's going to do her best to point out what is fact supported by evidence and what relies only on her grandfather's story. Even if he had no reason to lie in his statement, it is human nature to try to present yourself in the best possible light.

Hitman revisited 63

Hitman revisited 63

Maria: You know, she asked me why you're not a detective. Of course I didn't answer that, but I told her what the situation is like in general. - Have you reconsidered?
Trinity: The answer is still no. - I'm not going to lie, I have thought about it occasionally, but it's just... not me.
Maria: I understand, and I'm happy to have you as an officer. You're doing very good job.
Trinity: What I would like to know is how others know about it.
Maria: Who?
Trinity: Claudia asked me one day, if I really turned it down. She said she heard a rumor, but didn't know who started it.
Maria: You know how it is, there just aren't any secrets here. People find out sooner or later. Does it bother you?
Trinity: Not really, as long as they don't start questioning me about it. You'd think they'd be happy. One less competitor.
Maria: I suppose it's hard to hear that someone was offered it without even having to apply. That doesn't happen often. Turning down the offer is even more rare.

Hitman revisited 64

Hitman revisited 64

Mina: Looks like I've got a proper audience today.
John: These are all people related to the investigation. Winona is Warren's sister, Claudia and Steve are the local detectives, and Twyla you already know. I hope having so many people present isn't a problem.
Mina: As long as everybody keeps quiet and lets me concentrate, it should be fine.
John: Before we start, I want to make one thing absolutely clear. This is all entirely off the record. Anything that may come up will not be used in the investigation unless evidence supporting it can be found through conventional means of investigation.
Mina: What about Twyla's book?
Twyla: It really depends on what you can tell us. If it's interesting, I may write about this, including what John just said. He's just doing us a favor, because there's no harm in it.

Hitman revisited 65

Hitman revisited 65

Mina: So, this is the rifle. Oh my, I can tell even without touching that this one's bad. Let's see what else you can tell us. - Hmm... crosshairs, looking through a scope... Like shooting fish in a barrel... I wonder why the old man wants them dead... too bad it'll soon be all over...
Winona: You're lying!
Mina: I said keep quiet. I do not lie. I have no interest in the matter. Do you want to know or not? If not, you can leave the room.
Winona: I'll be quiet.
Mina: Thank you. Let's try again. - Dennis was snooping around again... I'd be the first suspect... Winona's a damn fool... - That's it. I can't get anything more out of it. What I can say for sure is that this rifle has been used for killing a lot of people.

Hitman revisited 66

Hitman revisited 66

Winona: He knew about me and Dennis?
Steve: Sounded to me like he was planning to fix the problem.
Winona: Fix...?
John: I must say I agree with Steve. I'd say he was thinking about killing Dennis.
Winona: Can't be...
Twyla: I'm sorry, Winona.
Winona: I guess I was just hoping against all odds...
Claudia: At least it's all over now. Just think of all the suffering that originated from that damn doctor. Ava was right to call him Doctor Frankenstein.

Hitman revisited 67

Hitman revisited 67

After the others have left:
John: Thanks for staying. We need to talk. It's about your father.
Winona: What about him? He's been declared dead already. He probably is.
John: I know, I've checked the case files. The thing is, there is some new information...
Winona: Have you found him?
John: No, unfortunately not. The new information is about what might have happened to him, but the problem is that the information came from Mina.
Winona: So it's entirely off the record? Like what she said today?
John: Exactly. You see, when I had Mina here to check the other weapons, she said the revolver showed her two men, an older one and a younger one. The younger man was pointing the gun at the older man, and the older man said, "You can't do this, Warren. Think of your mother."
Winona: No, it can't be...
John: Mina says she doesn't know how it ended, so it could be that it was just a heated argument and nothing more. - In normal circumstances, we'd reopen the case, but given the source of the information and the fact that Warren is dead...
Winona: Let it be. We don't need to know. They're both dead. Warren for sure and father... well, even if he is alive somewhere, he's as good as dead for us.

Hitman revisited 68

Hitman revisited 68

Venus: Hi, Gustav! The usual?
Gustav: The usual. You know me too well already.
Venus: You know, I heard something about a book about the hitman. Is that true?
Gustav: It is, the granddaughter of the guy who hired the hitman is going to write it.
Venus: Seriously? If my grandpa ever did something like that...
Gustav: It's never that simple. You can't know how you'd handle it, if you haven't been in that situation.
Venus: I suppose. I also suppose there's money in it.
Gustav: Of course. You can't profit from your own crimes, but crimes of your relatives can be a lucrative business. - That was a bit crude. She's actually a quite nice girl, and I think the book is her way of making sense of it all.

Hitman revisited 69

Hitman revisited 69

Steve: Any idea why John wanted Winona to stay?
Claudia: I think it's about her father. It seems that Mina knew something about him as well. Nothing to do with this case, though. Just another cold case. - Did you talk with Bob?
Steve: Yeah. He showed me the photo Harvey mentioned. I'd say Walter was Warren.
Claudia: Why would he work there using a different name?
Steve: Who knows? Maybe he didn't want to pay taxes. I checked Walter in every register I could think of and he doesn't exist. He just appeared, did the job for a while, and then disappeared. That's the problem with companies that pay with cash and are "flexible" with accounting.
Claudia: So there's no way of proving he was Warren.
Steve: I guess not. Still, it could explain the one missing piece.
Claudia: It could. Twyla's grandfather certainly was the sort of man who would use a limo service.
Steve: It's still a long step from "I'll be your driver today" to "I need to find someone to do some dirty work for me."
Claudia: You know, I wonder how many other names Warren used during his life. There's no way we're going to find out all about him, if that was his thing.

Hitman revisited 70

Hitman revisited 70

Gustav: So, how was your meeting with the crackpot?
Claudia: She's not a crackpot. I'd be a lot more at ease, if she was.
Gustav: You're taking her seriously?
Steve: No choice. There is no way in hell anyone can do what she does and be a swindler.
Gustav: Don't tell me she's going to be our next consultant.
Claudia: No fear. The Captain would have a heart attack, if she saw the bill for what Mina did today.
Gustav: Expensive?
Steve: John will have some serious story telling to do when he writes the expense claim.
Claudia: He said he hates loose ends more than anything, so he's ready to pay the bill himself, if necessary. Besides, Mina promised to give him a discount on the basis of "not being a jackass."
Steve: I bet that had something to do with how she was treated before when she offered to help.
Claudia: I wondered if she would remember me.

Hitman revisited 71

Hitman revisited 71

Ava: How's it going with the interviews?
Twyla: I'm done with the first round. Now I've got to arrange it all, and ask some further questions as I compile the full timeline. How's it going with the papers?
Ava: I'll have a summary of the first batch for you in a couple of days. Then you can tell me what parts you need me to translate in more detail. The medical stuff is a problem, though.
Twyla: I thought it might be. You're not a medical professional.
Ava: I can still I understand the basic ideas in my own language, I just don't have the vocabulary to explain it in English. So, I... did something.
Twyla: What?
Ava: I contacted Victor.
Twyla: The son? How did that go?
Ava: Better than expected. He agreed to help us on one condition.
Twyla: Let me guess. He wants us to keep him out of it.
Ava: Not a hard one to guess.
Twyla: I was going to do it anyway. He's got nothing to do with any of it. Even grandpa didn't want to cause any trouble for him.

Hitman revisited 72

Hitman revisited 72

Ava: I scanned the relevant papers and sent them to him. He'll call me once he's had time to look at them.
Twyla: It's very nice of him. He could have just said no.
Ava: I think it's not pure altruism. The government seized everything at the time, and he said there might be some unpublished papers of his father's studies he hasn't seen before.
Twyla: Do you think it's safe to give them to him?
Ava: He has turned his father's madness into legitimate study on how to help accident victims. I think he's the one person who should see them. I actually hope he finds something new in there.
Twyla: You know, if the government seized the papers, how do you have them?
Ava: I've got connections. It may not have been quite legal, but I got the papers and as I'm not planning on going back, it's not an issue.
Twyla: How bad is "not quite legal?" - I'm thinking of extradition here. Is it wise to make it public in the book that you've got those papers?
Ava: Don't worry. First, I think it would be too late to prosecute now, and second, even if it wasn't, there is no extradition treaty. And it's not like it was a treason or anything like that, just some papers that might be slightly embarrassing to the medical supervisory board that didn't do its job properly at the time. They should have known what he was up to, you know.

Hitman revisited 73

Hitman revisited 73

Ava: What's your teacher thinking about all this? Will you be getting any credit?
Twyla: I will. She's actually quite fascinated by it all.
Ava: I thought true crime was trash.
Twyla: She wasn't really aware of all that goes into it. I showed her the list of all the people that need to be interviewed and a photo of your study.
Ava: The abyss of paper? Is that all it took to make her change her mind?
Twyla: No. She had talked about my project with a friend of hers, who's a psychologist. Apparently he had told her that sometimes a public airing of the skeletons in the closet is what is needed for people to be able to move on. - Basically, he told her that this is what I need to do and that if she's supposed to be my teacher, she should help me.
Ava: A psychologist with clear advice on what to do. Now I have heard everything.

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