1 × 1 with L U C I F E R + taikunfoo

[L U C I F E R]

Rik's mind drifted bit it came crashing back to reality as the music came on. He must have visibly jolted as he stared at the radio. He wasn't a fan of country music but at this moment he was greatly thankful for the earthy twang of the guitar and rolling sylabyls of the male singer.

Once they'd pulled up behind their car, Rik swiftly unbuckled himself and got out. He approached the car and touched his good hand against it. "Hi darling." He said softly as he ran his hand against the car, checking for any damage. Once he was satisfied he went to check her arsenal but found her locked. He gave Eric a quizzical look as he came up the steps behind him.

"Did you move my car when I was gone?" He asked.

[taikunfoo]

Eric paused and turned to face Rik. "Yep, I did, had to move her out of the way for some of the police cars that wanted to swing by yesterday to work on their investigation." He paused, thinking over the notes in Rik's journal about his tools and weapons, realizing that his car was likely where they were stowed. "I..uh, didn't look or mess around with what was inside the car, I just started her up, moved her back, and locked her." He said, giving Rik a small smile before walking into his house and getting his mother, sitting her down on the living room couch while explaining to her that the agent who had been staying with them had a few questions that may seem strange but it would be helpful to his investigation into the barn burnings.

[L U C I F E R]

Rik seemed to visibly relax and he followed Eric into the house. He kicked off his boots and his socked feet padded softly over the floor as he made his way to the couch. He sat down opposite Eric's mother in a large armchair. He sank into the material and looked across a coffee table at her.

"What can you tell me about the Jenkins Estate?" He asked, referring to the large sum of land owned by the Jenkins that was now being portions off and burnt.

"Or just anything about the Jenkins family." He said formally, leaning forward and leaning his good arm onto his corresponding knee as he gave her a soft, welcoming look.

It had taken Rik years to master such a professional yet warming look. He had copied the gentle looms of doctors and mashed it together with his rough encounters with police interrogators.

[taikunfoo]

Eric's mother glanced between Rik and Eric, who nodded reassuringly.
"Well, the Jenkins family has been here since they settled the land, back in the... seventeen or eighteen hundreds. That land has been in their family for the whole time, although parcels of it have been sold off to other local families over the past hundred years- family got smaller so there wasn't as many folks to work the land. Mrs. Jenkins, bless her soul, loved that place. She grew up there and was buried there, like so much of the rest of her family. Mr. Jenkins wound up marrying her straight out of high school- the two were so sweet together, but after her death he couldn't bear to stay there, not without her in the house, so he sold the property to the Castillo family." She paused for a moment, thinking, before continuing. "After that he moved away to live with one of their sons." Eric looked up at the mention of the Castillo family. "Hey, didn't we sell most of our farm to them as well?" He asked, thinking of the large new family that had recently moved into town from South America- was it Ecuador? Peru? Colombia? He couldn't quite remember where they were from, but they were a nice lot and he'd been over to their place a few times to hang out with one of their sons in high school.

[L U C I F E R]

Rik listened to Eric's mother with careful intent. He began subconsciously rubbing up and down his burnt arm, picking at the places were the large amount of bandaging overlapped. He nodded very now and then bit his mind kept trying to drift away to the barn fire again. He shuddered at the thought and his arm stung at the memory. He shook his head in time to hear about the new family.

"May I just ask, what are the family like? Any specific...defining feature?" He asked, not quite sure how to word it.

He'd dealt with ghosts taking out families or their property but if these people were from a place such as Columbia, there was a high chance of them being of colour. Was this a racist ghost or just a coincidence. She had mentioned they'd been on the land since they first settled - and this was a very closed of town.

[taikunfoo]

Eric's mother tiled her head, and then her face flushed slightly. "Well, the whole family is hard working with that much land to grow crops on. I think most of the kids are almost done with high school now that I think about it. And, well," she paused, glancing between Rik and Eric. "They're Mexicans." She said, and Eric sighed. "No mom, they're from South America, not Central America. Hispanic, remember?" He said, and his mother's face reddened slightly. "Well, of course." She said, straightening up and shifting slightly, and Eric couldn't tell if she was frustrated or embarrassed by his correction. "They're really nice folks, I went to high school with their oldest son about...four or so years ago." He said, tilting his head in thought. "Back then they had just moved into town and were trying to buy a farm, but no one was selling to them, and they were living above the bar in a small apartment. One of the older folks in town sold to them and they had a nice place to live and a chunk of land to work. They must be doing something right by being able to save up enough money so fast in order to keep buying up the farms around here." He observed, thinking.

[L U C I F E R]

Rik nodded as he pondered the whole idea. He slowly licked his lips and nodded. "And how were the people of the town...feelong about their purchases?" He asked slowly, trying to keep it sounding as Federal as possible whole still getting the information he needed.

The Hunter was quiet as he listened.

(Sorry it's short)

[taikunfoo]

(No worries! Another heads up- I got one last test on Tuesday before finals in May, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to reply a bit quicker after that and before finals )

Eric's mother tilted her head, remembering the events surrounding the various purchases of land. "Well, at first folks weren't pleased with someone coming in and snatching all of their hard work that had gone into their farms. We're pretty proud, and it took us a while to realize that they were actually buying up land that needed to be sold. Folks died or moved away, and the kids." She paused and looked at Eric. "They ain't coming back after they get themselves an education off at college. When the parents get too old to farm, that's it." She said sadly. "It took me a while to realize it, but the Castillos are doing good in this town, giving folks enough money to pay their bills or pack up and move off. The town is dying, and their family is giving folks a way out." She said quietly.

[L U C I F E R]

Rik nodded. He could definetly see the potential for a vengeful spirit here. If all the people who hadn't agreed with it had died or moved away, that meant there could be a few peed of ghosts surrounding this town and that family.

"What about the Jenkins then? Are they still here or have they passed away or moved?" He asked, pressing for clues that could narrow down on who's bones they need to burn.

[taikunfoo]

Eric's mother shook her head. "Mrs. Jenkins passed away a while ago, and Mr. Jenkins went to live with one of his sons in the city. He called us at the town hall once during bingo- he really misses it here. Seems he just can't get used to the hustle of city life-it's one thing to visit for a few days but it's another thing to live there. Sure, as kids we all thought the cities were something special, going an hour and a half in someone's rusty chevelle just to go to the dances, but times have changed. Cities aren't like that anymore, and we aren't as young as we were." She said, a somewhat reflective look coming over her face.