I12DT - A Tableau for Sammy

[Narrator]

The address Sam was given is in a boring, almost cliched suburb of London. Of course right now that's hard to imagine because one of the houses is roped off with police-tape and several police vehicles are parked in front of the house, including a forensics truck. The air is thick with the uncomfortableness of the average police officers at the scene. Inspector Baker (presumably) is standing outside, waiting.

[Samantha McManus]

For the occasion, the headmistress arrived not in her personal car, but in one of the official fleet for school matters. Dressed formally, she got out and made way to talk to the investigators.

[Narrator]

"Ah, thank you for coming, Miss McManus. I know this is awkward, but formalities, you'll understand... Where were you last night between 6 and 10 pm?"

[Samantha McManus]

"On campus. I've brought our security logs, if you need them."

[Narrator]

"That'd be appreciated though I'm sure it won't be necessary. I just have to ask."

[Samantha McManus]

"The University is always willing to cooperate."

[Narrator]

"It's less the university, more -- well you'll see." he says and leads her into the house. "How good is your stomach?" he asks as he leads her up the stairs.

[Samantha McManus]

"How's it the Yanks say it? This isn't my first rodeo," she said as she followed.

[Narrator]

"Right... Anyway, the parents reported this in late last night we found signs of forced entry on the backdoor. And then this..." he says as they walk up to a door that has

To:
Samantha
McManus

scratched into the wood.

[Samantha McManus]

"...surprisingly formal."

[Narrator]

"RIght." he jsut says and props the door open for Sam. He doesn't seem too eager to go inside himself.

Inside is your typical teenager room. Except for the dead teenager sitting propped up on the bed. One hand lieing palm up on her leg almost as if inviting Sam into the room. The other hand is somehow fixed up and held up to her face. At least at first glance when stepping into the room. After another step or two it becomes obvious that the hand is holding the girls face up like a mask, hiding the bloody mess where it was cut from her skull.

[Samantha McManus]

Her eyes widened and she blanched briefly at this particular mutilation. True to her word though, she kept her composure.

"I either know of the person involved in this, or this is a copycat."

"And she's not the sort to inspire copycats."

[Narrator]

"I don't envy you. What can you tell me about this then? Because the lab guys were surprisingly unhelpful beyond telling me that this was done post-mortem and that she died from strangulation."

[Samantha McManus]

"Her given name is Mary Bell. We hauled her in after she targeted several individuals on campus, and quite rightly put her into high-security institutional care."

"She escaped, under circumstances I'm not sure I understand even now. Some time later she turned herself in, but we now have indications the individual we had in custody has been conditioned to only think she was the culprit."

"The part that matters to you is that she fancies herself the muse of tragedy. That's what this... calling card..." she said, clearly not comfortable with the euphemism she had to use "...seems to be indicating."

[Narrator]

"Well this is pretty tragic alright. What does this have to do with you?" he says, writing things down on a small notepad.

[Samantha McManus]

"There's... a fixation involved. I originally encountered her when I was much younger."

[Narrator]

"Looks like you got lucky. So aside from a name, who are we looking for? Anything that'd help us catch her?"

[Samantha McManus]

"If anything, this is out of character for her. She usually takes her time. I've several related cases that I've reason to suspect were her. This isn't her usual taste, or method. The only connection is the particular imagery."

[Narrator]

"Alright. Then can you tell me why the lab monkeys tell me they found tissue under her fingernails but they couldn't run any DNA profile on it?"

This would sound vaguely familiar to Sam. Where had she heard that before. Someone at Muir? Right, when Mel had seemingly turned herself in they were unable to get consistent fingerprints or DNA from her as well.

[Samantha McManus]

"That matches how we found the individual who was convinced she was Mary Bell."

[Narrator]

"And that person is still where you left her?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Muir Island. We have lab reports available, and can do further testing."

[Narrator]

"Great. Make sure to pass anything you find along. Maybe this is one of those serial killer things? She's upset that you're crediting someone else for her 'work' who only thinks she's her? And this is her telling you?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I have to help but think she's the one that did it to that poor woman in the first place. If someone isn't who she needs them to be, she tends to rectify that."

"And she tends not to do something this blatant, which means that yes, this was meant to be discovered. If addressing it to me wasn't evidence enough."

[Narrator]

"Well I managed to gather that much." he says. To be fair, he's not upset about a mutant stepping into the investigation and more about anybody acting like they're smarter than Scotland Yard. The scene in the room might also have worn him down just a little bit.

[Samantha McManus]

"I'm not meaning to be insulting, Inspector. I've just been dealing with this woman for years. She ran a high-level criminal operation out of London and Madripoor in addition to her... appetites."

"In spite of the personal nature of this, if your people want to lead the investigation you can expect my full cooperation. My people will not make a move without your say-so."

[Narrator]

"We'd certainly appreciate if you could send us whatever you have on her though it seems we have nothing beyond circumstantial evidence right now."

[Samantha McManus]

"If I'm able to uncover anything more, you'll be the first to know. I fully understand that parts of this are rather baffling. I may need to contact some more unconventional specialists, though we'll work the case from the end of Muir to avoid interfering."

[Narrator]

How gracious of you.

"You do that." he nods. "Thank you for coming out here and shedding some light on this."