Endless Days (Max)

[Alecsander]

The room was quiet, dim. In one corner a large frame lounged on the only chair, deep green eyes hooded, staring a hole through the door. Alex waited, dissecting every tiny scrap of information he had so far. Elle had burst into the Ministry with a human heart. Alex's lip curled as he recalled the look of perverted glee on Rollins' face when the identity of the victim had been discovered, a twisted smirk that he had swiftly turned upon Alex as a look of disgust. A mid-level hitwizard, he'd somehow been able to finagle himself as head of the investigation.

Elle had been released, Alex shown into the interrogation room. Who was the victim? They hadn't informed him, only the Commissioner firmly insisting had gotten him to go quietly. And wait.

And wait. There was a lot of waiting. He'd eventually settled into the darkest corner of the room, staring towards the door. He wasn't going to pace or otherwise give them any satisfaction. Rollins would get his jollies off playing dictator or whatever, bossing around the head auror, but this wouldn't last long. He'd be released. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back non-chalantly as the door freaked open.

[Max Kameren]

This was all highly against regulation. Auror Kameren should never have seen the other side of his own interrogation table. He should have been immediately surrendered to the Objective Reciprocity Unit, sent to a neighboring district so no one within the London precinct – his own colleagues – had control over him. This case should have been handed off. Elle Callahan’s case should never have been this close to Kameren to begin with.

Argus Crabbe was firmly of the mind that no pen should be dipped in the company ink, especially in the life-or-death game of Magical Law Enforcement. It was what had driven him to resent the previous Kameren Head Auror so: always putting himself in deeply personal predicaments. Alecsander Kameren had never been that way which was how Argus had slowly grown comfortable with him over the years. But apparently when he did slip, the fall was going to be significantly harder.

Argus ignored whatever showboating drivel was currently pouring out of Rollins’ mouth as they crossed into the threshold of the Auror offices. He also ignored the craning necks and lingering stares of the auror staff, shifting and curious about what was about to happen to their resolute leader. This seemed off for Auror Kameren, this wasn’t like him. But the rot of mental illness had been in his family for centuries. Perhaps he was simply a late-bloomer.

In any case, the only agents with authority over the Head Auror were the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, the Wizengamot, and the Minister herself. Argus, unfortunately, was the first in that line of command. He twisted the knob of the interrogation room’s door roughly, sliding in quickly so as to keep Rollins from slinking in behind him.

When his eyes adjusted to the dimmer surroundings he took in Rollins’ prisoner, arms folded neatly in patient wait. The steady green gaze brought him back decades, dressing the man down as a Junior and his Mentor moreso. Argus sighed. Somehow he was already tired.

“Kameren.” The greeting was terse, restrained. Usual for Crabbe. He took his seat across from the Head Auror at the interrogation table, still clutching the files for the case close to his chest. “I’m sure you’re curious why you’re here. Have you been briefed on the victim?”

Argus laid the file out to reveal the name across the front: Sheila Brooks, written in the cumbersome scrawl of Auror Evans. Her file with Law Enforcement was relatively new, but her history with both Alex Kameren and St. Mungo’s went back years. “Your ex-lover’s heart, delivered to your current companion only weeks after she physically attacked you in these very halls.” A busy grey brow tweaked upward as he watched Kameren for any tell. “I’m sure you understand our precaution.”

[Alecsander]

Alex's eyes flicked a little in surprise as Crabbe entered. Really he'd been expecting Rollins to come sauntering in, but he was cautious with Crabbe also. Their history could be called sordid, though they had become less and less antagonistic towards each other with time.

“Kameren.” The greeting was terse, restrained. Usual for Crabbe. He took his seat across from the Head Auror at the interrogation table, still clutching the files for the case close to his chest. “I’m sure you’re curious why you’re here. Have you been briefed on the victim? Your ex-lover’s heart, delivered to your current companion only weeks after she physically attacked you in these very halls.” A busy grey brow tweaked upward as he watched Kameren for any tell. “I’m sure you understand our precaution.”

He cast a critical eye over the bare folder in front of him, reading what little there was upside down with practised ease. "Once you found out her name, Rollins stuffed me in here." His voice was calm and low, no nervousness to bring out his stutter. "Once again, the rumor mill proves wrong. We went on one date, nearly a year ago." His eyes met Crabbe's firmly. He hated having his personal life dragged not only out in the open like this, but through the mud as well. He wondered how Elle was handling it. He hoped she was doing ok while he was in the interrogation.

"Dinner. Nothing more. The woman exudes crazy. It wasn't an issue until Elle returned." He stopped, waiting. Why was he still in here?

[Max Kameren]

“I’m sure you understand our precaution.” Argus watched on as Kameren inspected the file, a bushy brow raising on his otherwise stony face. This felt too familiar. Running in an endless swirl of personal and professional. Kamerens: they were more trouble than their worth.

"Once you found out her name, Rollins stuffed me in here." His voice was calm and low, no nervousness to bring out his stutter.

Stuffed? Argus cocked his head curiously; was that what the Head Auror thought of the Ministry’s painstakingly crafted protocol? Did he deserve some kind of special treatment due to his tenure within the Ministry? No man was above the law. “No, he apprehended a person of interest for questioning. Surely you understand.”

"Once again, the rumor mill proves wrong. We went on one date, nearly a year ago."

“Nonetheless you are thus far the connecting thread between these two victims, Alecsander.” Crabbe stood his proverbial ground in the wake of his subordinate’s piercing stare.

The duration of Alex’s relationship with the woman was irrelevant: she was a nuisance to him. They’d found evidence she was stalking him. There was an incident at the Ministry between Kameren, Brooks and Callahan only briefly before Callahan had received her heart in a gift at the Kameren Estate. It would be far from the first ghost to haunt those halls, after all. Kameren had to see their questions were valid.

"Dinner. Nothing more. The woman exudes crazy. It wasn't an issue until Elle returned." He stopped, waiting. Why was he still in here?

“Yes, Ms. Callahan returned. You two reunited, upsetting the mentally unstable woman who was following you at the time. Not long later, her heart was given to your companion in an anonymous gift at your notoriously guarded Estate.” Crabbe sighed, pulling a small quill out of the chest pocket of his robes and opening another file to blank parchment paper.

“You must understand, Alecsander. At present all signs are pointing to you. If you have nothing to do with this, if you’re being set up as you appear to be claiming, help me understand. Walk me through your day. If you’re claiming these signs pointing to you are inaccurate, then help point us in the right direction.”

[Alecsander]

“No, he apprehended a person of interest for questioning. Surely you understand.”

He was already tired of this conversation. Since Sheila's attempt at murdering Elle, rumors had flown. Farther than he thought, apparently. "Once again, the rumor mill proves wrong. We went on one date, nearly a year ago."

“Nonetheless you are thus far the connecting thread between these two victims, Alecsander.” Crabbe stood his proverbial ground in the wake of his subordinate’s piercing stare.

“Yes, Ms. Callahan returned. You two reunited, upsetting the mentally unstable woman who was following you at the time. Not long later, her heart was given to your companion in an anonymous gift at your notoriously guarded Estate.”

Quarterly budget meetings being what they were, this morning's outburst would be the talk of the ministry for years, probably. Alex sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He wanted the be home, with Elle, not stuck in interrogation going over every minute detail of his day. As far as he could tell they hadn't even figured out how long she had been dead, much less brought forth any other evidence. Not that he felt any particular sorrow at her demise.

“You must understand, Alecsander. At present all signs are pointing to you. If you have nothing to do with this, if you’re being set up as you appear to be claiming, help me understand. Walk me through your day. If you’re claiming these signs pointing to you are inaccurate, then help point us in the right direction.”

"Do you even know how long ago she died?" He inquired, just as Rollins burst through the doors.

"Argus! You need to see this, we found something-- the man kept babbling as he herded the older man from the room, practically vibrating in his intensity.

[Max Kameren]

“If you’re claiming these signs pointing to you are inaccurate, then help point us in the right direction.” It was a real request. Merlin knew Argus hoped Kameren was innocent. It would reflect poorly on the department he’d painstakingly built over decades if his Head Auror was involved in something this sinister.

"Do you even know how long ago she died?"

“Unfortunately the body has yet to be – “

"Argus! You need to see this, we found something—“ Rollins poked his unspeakably large and still-ballooning head into the interrogation room with an unprofessional outburst.

Argus could feel a vein throbbing in his temple at the intrusion, but nonetheless pushed himself up from the table to follow the Hitwizard out into the hall. “Excuse me, Kameren…”

.. .. .. .. ..

Morning, December 4th.

It had been a long night.

Warrants had been requested, contested, denied, re-worked, re-submitted, and eventually approved. The Kameren Estate was a particularly difficult residence to attempt to breach, and required hours of spellcrafting to remove wards and allow hitwizards unfamiliar to the Kameren family onto the premises. Once the Estate was breached there was the trouble of the castle’s size in itself. Alecsander Kameren’s ancestral home was a labyrinth of unsavory family history, the likes of which made it difficult for Law Enforcement to discern what was and wasn’t possible evidence for their case.

In all that time, their suspect sat in his interrogation room. Rollins had briefly entertained the idea of bringing in Kameren’s nephew to read his mind, an idea that made Crabbe nearly want to fire him for unprofessionalism on the spot. Though they’d found quite a lot at the Estate, the further along their case went the more Argus had the sinking feeling it was all too personal to bring to the Wizengamot.

A plea would be so much easier. With that in mind Crabbe stiffened his shoulders as he turned the knob to enter the interrogation room once more, sitting up straight as he took his seat across from Kameren despite the long hours taking their toll on him. Crabbe wasn’t used to heading up an investigation anymore. It wore on him.

In that mindset, he cut to the chase. “Do you have anything to tell me, Alecsander? What happened on November 30th at your Estate?”

[Alecsander]

Morag snorted, blowing a strand of hair from her face as she observed herself in the mirror. This whole thing was completely aggravating, but it needed to be done. As much as she disliked Alex Kameren, (and everything he was doing to take her son away from her!) she couldn't stand for him being accused of murder. She brushed the stray strand back, gathering it with the rest of her fiery red locks into a sleek bun. Whatever else he had done, she knew he was innocent of murder, and she couldn't have Jamie associated with a murderer. The rumors already flying, had been since Alex had filed with the courts. She couldn't get rid of the whispers about Alex and Jamie, but at least she could put a stop to the murder rumors before they spread.

She swiped her favorite dark red lipstick onto her lips, took one last look into the mirror, gathered up her papers, and disapparated. Apparating into being in front of the Ministry, she took the hidden elevator and strode towards the auror offices.

"Hello? I need to speak to who's in charge!" She demanded, sweeping in and grabbing a young woman barely out of her Hogwart's robes. "Its about Alex Kameren!"

[Alecsander]

He'd been in here more than a day. Back and forth, from the isolation cells in the basement to the interrogation room. Usually it was Rollins leering at him, asking questions and answering them himself, a few times Theo came to speak to him. He'd found the weight of Theo's gaze harder to bear than that of Angus. As the door creaked open he looked up from where he was leaning his chin on his hands to see it was Crabbe entering once again. He looked tired, almost as bad as Alex felt. He wasn't young anymore, but he stubbornly straightened up as Crabbe sat across from him.

In that mindset, he cut to the chase. “Do you have anything to tell me, Alecsander? What happened on November 30th at your Estate?”

He fought hard not to roll his eyes, as he had often done when Angus took that tone years ago. He sighed, interlacing his fingers as he leaned forward. "I woke up, went to work. Had a meeting about custody of my son. Went home and went to bed." He arched a brow at Argus, inquiring. "Is that when it happened? I assume that's why you're asking me."

[Max Kameren]

“Do you have anything to tell me, Alecsander? What happened on November 30th at your Estate?”

"I woke up, went to work. Had a meeting about custody of my son. Went home and went to bed."

“Damnit, Kameren! You know I need more than that.” The long hours and fatigue were wearing on Argus and he finally snapped back at his Head Auror’s indifference to their investigation. He understood how this worked. He understood the process, the details, and why it was important. Yet still he scoffed and rolled his eyes like a child. “A woman is dead. Her body was found strewn across your estate. You have a social connection to her. Take this seriously.”

"Is that when it happened? I assume that's why you're asking me."

Crabbe glared stoically up at Kameren. As if Rollins hadn’t been taunting him over the last few days with implications of his involvement? Crabbe didn’t have the time or patience to run in circles on details with Kameren. Ms. Brooks deserved better than the attitude Crabbe was receiving from Kameren now, ‘exuding crazy’ or not. “You say you didn’t do it? Provide me with an alibi. A detailed one. One I can verify.”

.. .. .. ..

"Hello? I need to speak to who's in charge!" She demanded, sweeping in and grabbing a young woman barely out of her Hogwart's robes. "Its about Alex Kameren!"

Who was this now?! Briar glanced over his shoulder down the hall to the interrogation rooms, shuffling awkwardly under the woman’s icy blue gaze. Was he allowed to even interact with this woman if she was related to his boss’s case? “I – uh – Rollins! This way…” Gently Briar nudged the woman along with an arm hovering over her shoulders to the Hitwizard offices.

Round brown eyes searched around for the familiar snub-nosed face of everyone’s least favorite hitwizard but he was nowhere to be found. Eventually Briar gave up, shrugging and throwing his hands in the air. “Rollins! Got a witness!”