…And this is why Naoto prefers to work alone. Genius or not, does this Matt really need to be playing a video game while working on a case? They aren’t the only ones in the room, and even if the messy office is big enough that Naoto thinks – desperately hopes – that the music shouldn’t carry too far, they shouldn’t be imposing any more than they need to. They have been asked to help, not hinder.
She opens her mouth to say something, but after a moment of clenched fists and barely suppressed irritation, Naoto closes it, instead moving over to take the file and look through it herself.
Luckily, the many months spent tuning out Yosuke’s incessant chatter have made it easy to ignore the soft music coming from the device in Matt’s hands. Naoto takes her time looking through the information, allowing the details of the case to sink in.
Matt could stand to learn a little bit of patience. His game can keep him busy while he waits.
“It would appear some of the victims were blackmailed,” Naoto says after several minutes of not-quite-silence. “Online. Three of them, though there are only transcripts for two…” She trails off, flipping back through the file. “…No. One was blackmailed, one is presumed blackmailed – they were unable to gain access to the conversation, though living relatives implied as much – and the third was… Coerced. It appears they thought they were meeting a potential lover, not a killer. They do not know if the other victims were contacted prior to their deaths.”
She stares at the file. “Something very deliberate, then. There must be something connecting the victims.”
🎮 — He seems perfectly willing to wait, at least, when he’s got something to distract him. Still, his chair rolls absently back and forth (drawing attention to the rather work-inappropriate combat boots he’s got one) as Naoto reads. Maybe he’s impatient, but it seems more likely that he’s just impatient. Somewhere during her explanation, his attention shifts to her, though the game still plays quietly in his hands.
Actually, he seems to be playing the game while looking through his goggles at her, one eyebrow raised. “A potential lover? Like the kind you get in those sketchy ads, or was it a long-term, online-relationship-type deal?” He’s still rolling his chair. “If the criminal is the type to play out an extended relationship, then we’re dealing with someone a lot different than an opportunistic porn bot.” Roll, roll. “So they started with confirmed blackmail, then blackmail that could only be claimed by the relatives, to a love-meet of dubious intentions...?”
It seems that Matt is done with the whole eye contact thing, because he turns his attention back to the game. “Doesn’t that sound like the culprit is evolving their strategy, rather than outright changing it? Maybe the blackmail deal was a close call, so they learned to cover their tracks when pursuing the next victim. But the family still figured it out, only they couldn’t prove it, so the culprit abandoned blackmail altogether and decided to lure their victims in a different way...?”
That seems to be enough thinking for Matt. Whatever’s left of his attention span seems to disintegrate into the stale air of their cluttered office. “So, do they want me to find those records? Those sketchy platforms usually delete the conversations pretty fast, but there are ways around that. Or did they meet in an MMO? Blog site?”
areudirty
izzy806
ellievsbear
dailybridgerton
prguitarman
