It was a quick trek back to Clive's desk, only taking a detour to get a cup of coffee. He took a sip of the liquid, paled to a near milky white from the generous helpings of cream and sugar that were added, and grimaced at the hint of coffee flavor. Dirty bean water, he thought sourly. Upon arriving at his desk, he lowered himself into his chair and took a second look at the various reports on his desk. The fingerprint scans he initiated earlier that night were completed. It turned up basically empty, as any matches had a very low probability of being correct. It would at least add new fingerprints in case they come across a repeat incident in the future.
Clive took a moment to pause and ponder the fingerprint findings. If there were no findings then the people involved would not have been the typical grunt who already had a history with crime. These were either people brand new to crime, or people too good to have ever been caught before. Why leave fingerprints behind then, if they were so good?
The detective moved on, raising the forensic report about the ash samples again. Unlike before, when he was still half-asleep and probably delirious, he took his time while rereading the report. "Measurable traces suggest raw material source is wood from an aged tree with no prior heat history or artificial treatment." After another pause, Clive turned and typed away at his computer. First, he gathered a list of lumberjacks in the Johto region. Then, he expanded the list further, as he requested information on the largest consumers of lumber. This included shops that sold firewood, charcoal makers, paper mills, fabricators, furniture dealers, and more. It would be impossible to review records of every inventory transaction for each of these companies, but Clive knew that in a few days time he would likely be able to narrow the list down. He put the word out to park rangers and property owners to be on the lookout for missing trees, in case Avarice decided to gather their own supplies.
When it was all said and done, Clive paid another visit to the forensics labs and put in another request for a round of tests with the remaining ash samples. He was also told that if he had suspicions on a source of the wood, if he could provide samples it would make it easier to pinpoint the specific species of tree the ashes were produced out of. With a promise to keep that in mind, Clive left the lab staff to their work so he could return to other matters.
He reread for the third, fourth, and fifth time, Yulia's report of her interview of Sierra. It was probably about time they approached her again, he thought. Who is her lawyer? he wondered. If it was someone who had a good relationship with the justice system, Clive could imagine they would strike up a deal to lessen her sentence if she complied and forfeited useful information. It would be a gamble for the GRPD though. There's not a whole lot of evidence suggesting that Sierra herself would know a lot of information. If anything she was just someone following orders, turned criminal by Avarice just like any grunt. Her crimes were also very clear, and it was arguable that she was definitely involved with the near-lethal maiming of Jean. Letting her off lightly would not look good to the public, the Chief, Natasha, Jean, or really anyone, if the information she had to offer did not help them.
Clive could not leave it up to chance. He began to review everything they had known about Sierra. Her previous tenure at the Goldenrod Gym, her supposed and unexplained abduction, her involvement with the terrorist attack, and... the statements from that strange girl that day. She had said Sierra's capture was imperative to her master's plan. Why would Phoenix need Sierra captured? Also, who exactly was that girl? She had powers of her own, it seemed, without necessitating the help from Pokemon to teleport. So confident in this ability that even in Yulia's apartment, she simply teleported herself to her position without taking so much as a step to move around, evidenced by her footprints. Sierra seemed to know who this girl was, and presumably her power also, since she sought after her help during the arrest. Maybe striking a deal with Sierra would be worth it if they had more information about the girl, in addition to Avarice's plans.
He decided he would broach the topic with Yulia, since he had left her in charge of interrogating Sierra before. It may have been time for him to take the wheel next time they talked to her, and possibly her lawyer.
When he did eventually find her, she was looking more ragged than he had been. He blinked his baggy eyes before furrowing his brows, giving Yulia a quick glance over. "You alright?" he questioned flatly.
After giving Yulia time to discuss or explain away her apparent exhaustion, Clive brought up the topic of Sierra and his earlier thoughts on the way things would likely go. He deliberately pointed out what he knew about the strange psychic girl, and his hope that identifying who or what she was might help them cripple part of Avarice's toolset. That would only be a bonus, if Sierra could explain anything in regards to Phoenix's plans.
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