[ Finished Log | All the sins for which I am to blame... ]
Who: Shikamaru, Tenten
What: The one time they call Tenten in for questioning, she had nothing to do with it.
Where: Police Station, interrogation room
When: Friday, May 7th [ Way way backdated ]
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, really, they're kinda boring.
Shikamaru frowned when he looked into the interrogation room. The woman inside wasn't a suspect... yet... but there was something suspicious about her that the cop couldn't quite place. She had, vaguely though, been connected to the recent murder victim, a young woman who had spoken to the woman now sitting in the room before him.
He sighed. "Such a pain..." He didn't like questioning women. There was no way to tell how they would react. Granted, this woman had, quite calmly, agreed to come down to the station, so maybe there was a chance that Shikamaru wouldn't have to deal with anything too crazy. Glancing once more at the file on the homicide, he nodded and opened the door, keeping his expression neutral as he moved in and let the door shut on it's own behind him.
"My name is Nara Shikamaru." Introductions were necessary, especially considering she hadn't been arrested. This needed to seem like a simple questioning and not a full on interrogation. "Your name is Tenten?" he asked, frowning just slightly. How had they missed a last name?
Gently, her fingers tapped out a random rhythm against the metal tabletop, the sound echoing against the solid walls of the interrogation room. The feeling in her legs had long ago turned into a chilling numbness that generally came with sitting in one position for a long period of time. Particularly if a hard and uncomfortable chair were involved. Even shifting every few minutes did nothing to relieve her of the dull ache that started to form in her muscles. This was why Tenten preferred a more active role in the agency, one where she would be constantly on her feet and moving. On alert for anything that might go amiss. And if it happened to give her glances of select items that could easily sell for much more on the Black Market, all the better for it.
Not that she would have any connection to the artifact by the time it did turn up missing.
It would figure, she thought with a glance across the tiled floor -- three hundred and seventy perfectly squared tiles -- that the one time the authorities called her in for a crime, it was for something she held no part in. Typical. But calming as well. Because there would be no need to fake her innocence in this matter. Still, the young woman could not help but be mildly irritated over their timing. It was not often that Tenten would dwell on the past or things she could not change. But Sunday was Mother's Day. And she had preparations and rituals that needed her attention. So when the young man entered the room, Tenten allowed herself to give a soft sigh of relief and annoyance. Because after an hour of waiting, she was ready to get this over with.
Quirking a brow at the first question, she let the words glide out easily from her lips. "That's what the nametag says."
All right. Sarcasm. That was fine. Maybe it meant this would get over with quickly. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. We've had to check some things over." Slowly, Shikamaru took a seat, looking at the woman with an almost bored expression. "Tell me how you knew the victim?"
He wanted to start off simply. She wasn't necessarily a suspect, at least as far as evidence was concerned, but there were things that definitely raised suspicions when it came to this woman and the victim's convenient murder. He'd been studying this case for a while before they'd decided to bring Tenten in. Shikamaru was, if anything, fairly meticulous, and therefore, he'd wanted as much detail as possible before they even started making arrests. The last thing they needed was for the police to look even more foolish because of a false arrest.
"Of course," she responded, trying her best not to sigh at the thought like she wanted, "The security team is always the first to get called in for cases like this so it's not like I don't know how it's supposed to go."
Then again, Tenten had always been careful enough to not be on the suspecting team of security personnel in charge while the crime had been committed, be it theft, murder, or otherwise. The young woman was good at what she did, and paid accordingly for her extreme discretion. It was one of the main reasons Sasuke still kept her around, or so she liked to believe. And it was something she took pride in.
"Miss Choi hired my team to work security for a gallery showing scheduled to take place next week," the young woman replied, keeping things clear and concise so that nothing could be taken out of context. The last thing that Tenten needed was to be accused and arrested for something she actually had nothing to do with. "The past week has been spent setting up for it."
"Then you must have seen a lot of her. Did you notice any strange people following her? Anything out of the ordinary?" These were all standard questions. He was waiting for something... to see if anything might come out that he could use. He wasn't entirely sure if he actually suspected her of anything, but the fact that she had contact with her so much meant that the possibility was there. They had to be thorough with everyone who might have been involved.
Very carefully, though his outward appearance of laziness did not change, he started to study her. He watched for the typical signs, the usual keys that gave a person more reason to become a suspect. Shikamaru knew, after several years on the job, what to pay attention to. Everyone had their tics. Part of the reason of keeping her here for as long as they had was because under stress, people were more likely to slip up. Also, being so on edge made certain... strange and suspicious facts stick out more.
"I reported to her hourly on the security proceedings, yes, and she checked in every now and then in between," Tenten replied matter-of-factly, "But other than that... we weren't exactly trying to become best friends or anything, you understand."
It was not that she held any sort of feeling against the woman, or for her, even. Things were simple and straight-forward in the security. Nothing but professional, and compiled of all levels of hectic stress. Anything beyond general courtesy and business politeness would have simply been too much and unnecessary. And she made sure that the officer knew that from the beginning to save them both from pointless questions.
"My concerns were on the artifacts themselves, not her," the young woman continued, "As for seeing someone talking to her, well... artists tend to be a bit... eccentric so you'll forgive me for asking that you clarify on who or what would be considered strange."
Shikamaru frowned a little. For a suspect, she was good. Then again, they really had very little reason to suspect her at all. He thought it was really more a matter of convenience that he'd been told to pick her up. "Excuse me for not being clear enough then. Did you see her with anyone who you would describe as suspicious? Someone who didn't appear to belong? Someone she maybe was arguing with?"
He had to keep the questions straight-forward and to the point. Though already he was slightly doubting that she really would have any reason to off the woman who'd hired her. Vaguely, he glanced at the clock, frowning a little. He really didn't want to keep her if she didn't know anything. Hell, he didn't want to stay if she didn't know anything. It was all too annoying for them to be running around in circles.
At that, Tenten gave a soft scoff and leaned forward just enough to rest an elbow against the tabletop. "Everyone looks suspicious in my business. I mean, who wouldn't want a chance to steal thousands of priceless paintings and artifacts? And since she's one of the people standing in the way of that..."
There was no further need to continue her train of thought, so she left it at that and allowed the sentence to fade into the possibilities. The interrogator seemed like a fairly intelligent man. He would be able to connect the dots to where her thoughts were trailing off towards. Meanwhile, her own were being processed at high speed. It was no great loss, to be sure. None of the displays and items had appeared to be missing, although a full account of their stock had yet to be completed. Even so, why kill only the coordinator when the guards would have proved to be bigger obstacles?
Taking this into consideration, the young woman passed a finger along the outer edge of her lower lip in thought. "I think it's more about the why than the who. But that's just me."
Giving a slight frown at the woman, Shikamaru nodded slowly. "We've been working on that too. It could be that she was involved in something other than art dealings. It could be someone was trying to move in on her job. There are many whys, you know. Which is the current reason for me asking someone who was around her more than most about suspicious activities you may have noticed." He paused, sitting up a little and scrutinizing Tenten with a much less lazy expression now.
"You seem like the kind of woman who doesn't simply watch the things assigned. You seem like you watch people a lot as well, for your job or not. Therefore, I felt that maybe your observances might be valuable. I hope that's all right."
Hearing his first theory, she could not help but quirk a curious brow. However, as far fetched as the scenario sounded, the young woman was quick to remind herself that worse things have happened for quite less. Of course, the young officer did not need to know that. Nor would he if Tenten had anything to say about it. "Killing is hardly a rational solution for wanting to take a person's job. And theft is out of the question, I think, since nothing was taken."
Then again, she reasoned, not everyone in the world was rational.
Her eyes darted up at his words, though, and she tried not to react like the accused. Because, indeed, there was the possibility that the art coordinator was not exactly who she said she was. Just as Tenten was not entirely the honorable and well-trained head of security she claimed to be. And there was a split second that the young woman considered the thought that, perhaps, he was fishing for more than just a suspect to try in this homicide. "As for the possibility of her being corrupted... people with something to hide wouldn't be careless enough to do their dealings out in the open, officer. Especially with how long she's been at this job. But you never know. This could've been her first -- and last -- attempt."
Mistakes happened, after all, though she was hard pressed to believe the coordinator could make such a mistake if that were her intentions. From their brief conversations, she had struck Tenten as being intelligent and well-educated. Organized and thorough. Certainly, she was meticulous about details while probing Tenten about security precautions. "I didn't see anyone I would view as suspicious, but my eyes can't be everywhere at once and like I said before, except for when she would check in and ask about proceedings, we were not exactly the best of friends. But... if there were anything to find, it'd be on the security tapes we set up around the displays."
Shikamaru gave a sigh. He didn't think he was really going to get much more from this woman. Damn. "Does your crew have security tapes?" Probably not, if they didn't work there. He'd have to contact the owners of the building, but it was worth checking out.
"And thank you for your time. We appreciate the help you've given us, and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused you," he added, sounding almost bored with the clearly recited words. His brain was already thinking of what he was going to do now. And that was a pain in the ass.
"There are cameras set up around the perimeter of the area, yes, but they're not ours," she replied easily to his inquiry, taking a moment of thought to double check her memory before answering,"They were already a few working security cameras at the venue."
It was a strange concept to her at first, not needed to bring in their own set of security cameras for the venue. But then again, there was very little that Tenten knew or was told of the building where the exhibit would be held. Only that it was within the coordinator's given budget and that she had been assured that the system was reliable. And Tenten was not paid to ask questions outside of her job. Or to pry. Still, that did not mean that she wouldn't or hadn't. But there was no reason for the officer to know that. "They gave us access to them though. We'll be happy to hand over to you if you'd like."
They would, of course, after Tenten searched through them thoroughly for clues, herself.
"I'm actually surprised you hadn't asked for them sooner," the young woman added, almost as an afterthought, "I expected more... a lot more."
Shikamaru frowned just a little, her words potentially holding a bit of bite against the police, or perhaps, him. "Well, we would very much appreciate you handing over everything you have that would help the case."
He stood, offering his hand to the woman. "And I think you're free to go otherwise." They had nothing to hold her on, which meant he had to look elsewhere. That would be frustrating, but he would just have to work a little harder to get the job done.
Which meant that they could keep everything that wasn't detrimental to the investigation, the young woman mentally considered. Like possible footage of Tenten talking with a man in a suit that was not part of her security unit; was not even part of her company. At least not the legit one. That is, if there had there been one during the entirety of her assignment there with the the gallery showing. Outsiders were not necessary, never were. And the young woman tended to work alone on such matters, orchestrating and organizing the plan meticulously, down to the very last detail so that it could be executed to perfection. Because the less people involved in her dealings, the less chances there were of getting caught.
But she never started the planning process until well after her job was done so that when the artifacts and items were finally taken, suspicion would fall on others. And her plans never involved killing other people. They never needed to. So who could have done it instead?
"I'll be sure to get that footage to you right away, detective," Tenten said calmly, taking his larger hand within her own, "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"No need to apologize," Shikamaru said with a shrug. "Do you need me to show you out, or can you find your way on your own?" he asked, moving to open the door for her. It was an offer out of courtesy and nothing more. He doubted she was the type of woman to need someone to show her out.
Though she knew and understood that a select other women would consider the gesture to be somewhat offensive, Tenten chose to believe it to be nothing more than a moment of polite courtesy. Believing someone to be so helpless and incapable of opening their own doors and having manners were two different matters. And besides, the young woman could not afford to draw more attention than necessary to herself, suspect or not. As much as she was one, she needed to play the part of innocent bystander as well.
"Unless the hall changed while you were grilling me with questions, I think I'll be fine," she said with a warm smile. And with a nod of thanks for holding open the door for her, Tenten called calmly over her shoulder as she continued down the hall towards the front desk and the exit, "Good luck on your investigation, Officer Nara."
The light persona remained all the way through the station and down the street until she was a few blocks away. And then the cheerful demeanor disappeared, replaced by a more serious disposition. Because by then, the young woman's mind was already turning the information over and over in her mind, formulating a plan to find and deal with the real culprit. Because no one -- no one -- treaded across her territory and placed her dealings at risk without there being consequences.
What: The one time they call Tenten in for questioning, she had nothing to do with it.
Where: Police Station, interrogation room
When: Friday, May 7th [ Way way backdated ]
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, really, they're kinda boring.
Shikamaru frowned when he looked into the interrogation room. The woman inside wasn't a suspect... yet... but there was something suspicious about her that the cop couldn't quite place. She had, vaguely though, been connected to the recent murder victim, a young woman who had spoken to the woman now sitting in the room before him.
He sighed. "Such a pain..." He didn't like questioning women. There was no way to tell how they would react. Granted, this woman had, quite calmly, agreed to come down to the station, so maybe there was a chance that Shikamaru wouldn't have to deal with anything too crazy. Glancing once more at the file on the homicide, he nodded and opened the door, keeping his expression neutral as he moved in and let the door shut on it's own behind him.
"My name is Nara Shikamaru." Introductions were necessary, especially considering she hadn't been arrested. This needed to seem like a simple questioning and not a full on interrogation. "Your name is Tenten?" he asked, frowning just slightly. How had they missed a last name?
Gently, her fingers tapped out a random rhythm against the metal tabletop, the sound echoing against the solid walls of the interrogation room. The feeling in her legs had long ago turned into a chilling numbness that generally came with sitting in one position for a long period of time. Particularly if a hard and uncomfortable chair were involved. Even shifting every few minutes did nothing to relieve her of the dull ache that started to form in her muscles. This was why Tenten preferred a more active role in the agency, one where she would be constantly on her feet and moving. On alert for anything that might go amiss. And if it happened to give her glances of select items that could easily sell for much more on the Black Market, all the better for it.
Not that she would have any connection to the artifact by the time it did turn up missing.
It would figure, she thought with a glance across the tiled floor -- three hundred and seventy perfectly squared tiles -- that the one time the authorities called her in for a crime, it was for something she held no part in. Typical. But calming as well. Because there would be no need to fake her innocence in this matter. Still, the young woman could not help but be mildly irritated over their timing. It was not often that Tenten would dwell on the past or things she could not change. But Sunday was Mother's Day. And she had preparations and rituals that needed her attention. So when the young man entered the room, Tenten allowed herself to give a soft sigh of relief and annoyance. Because after an hour of waiting, she was ready to get this over with.
Quirking a brow at the first question, she let the words glide out easily from her lips. "That's what the nametag says."
All right. Sarcasm. That was fine. Maybe it meant this would get over with quickly. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. We've had to check some things over." Slowly, Shikamaru took a seat, looking at the woman with an almost bored expression. "Tell me how you knew the victim?"
He wanted to start off simply. She wasn't necessarily a suspect, at least as far as evidence was concerned, but there were things that definitely raised suspicions when it came to this woman and the victim's convenient murder. He'd been studying this case for a while before they'd decided to bring Tenten in. Shikamaru was, if anything, fairly meticulous, and therefore, he'd wanted as much detail as possible before they even started making arrests. The last thing they needed was for the police to look even more foolish because of a false arrest.
"Of course," she responded, trying her best not to sigh at the thought like she wanted, "The security team is always the first to get called in for cases like this so it's not like I don't know how it's supposed to go."
Then again, Tenten had always been careful enough to not be on the suspecting team of security personnel in charge while the crime had been committed, be it theft, murder, or otherwise. The young woman was good at what she did, and paid accordingly for her extreme discretion. It was one of the main reasons Sasuke still kept her around, or so she liked to believe. And it was something she took pride in.
"Miss Choi hired my team to work security for a gallery showing scheduled to take place next week," the young woman replied, keeping things clear and concise so that nothing could be taken out of context. The last thing that Tenten needed was to be accused and arrested for something she actually had nothing to do with. "The past week has been spent setting up for it."
"Then you must have seen a lot of her. Did you notice any strange people following her? Anything out of the ordinary?" These were all standard questions. He was waiting for something... to see if anything might come out that he could use. He wasn't entirely sure if he actually suspected her of anything, but the fact that she had contact with her so much meant that the possibility was there. They had to be thorough with everyone who might have been involved.
Very carefully, though his outward appearance of laziness did not change, he started to study her. He watched for the typical signs, the usual keys that gave a person more reason to become a suspect. Shikamaru knew, after several years on the job, what to pay attention to. Everyone had their tics. Part of the reason of keeping her here for as long as they had was because under stress, people were more likely to slip up. Also, being so on edge made certain... strange and suspicious facts stick out more.
"I reported to her hourly on the security proceedings, yes, and she checked in every now and then in between," Tenten replied matter-of-factly, "But other than that... we weren't exactly trying to become best friends or anything, you understand."
It was not that she held any sort of feeling against the woman, or for her, even. Things were simple and straight-forward in the security. Nothing but professional, and compiled of all levels of hectic stress. Anything beyond general courtesy and business politeness would have simply been too much and unnecessary. And she made sure that the officer knew that from the beginning to save them both from pointless questions.
"My concerns were on the artifacts themselves, not her," the young woman continued, "As for seeing someone talking to her, well... artists tend to be a bit... eccentric so you'll forgive me for asking that you clarify on who or what would be considered strange."
Shikamaru frowned a little. For a suspect, she was good. Then again, they really had very little reason to suspect her at all. He thought it was really more a matter of convenience that he'd been told to pick her up. "Excuse me for not being clear enough then. Did you see her with anyone who you would describe as suspicious? Someone who didn't appear to belong? Someone she maybe was arguing with?"
He had to keep the questions straight-forward and to the point. Though already he was slightly doubting that she really would have any reason to off the woman who'd hired her. Vaguely, he glanced at the clock, frowning a little. He really didn't want to keep her if she didn't know anything. Hell, he didn't want to stay if she didn't know anything. It was all too annoying for them to be running around in circles.
At that, Tenten gave a soft scoff and leaned forward just enough to rest an elbow against the tabletop. "Everyone looks suspicious in my business. I mean, who wouldn't want a chance to steal thousands of priceless paintings and artifacts? And since she's one of the people standing in the way of that..."
There was no further need to continue her train of thought, so she left it at that and allowed the sentence to fade into the possibilities. The interrogator seemed like a fairly intelligent man. He would be able to connect the dots to where her thoughts were trailing off towards. Meanwhile, her own were being processed at high speed. It was no great loss, to be sure. None of the displays and items had appeared to be missing, although a full account of their stock had yet to be completed. Even so, why kill only the coordinator when the guards would have proved to be bigger obstacles?
Taking this into consideration, the young woman passed a finger along the outer edge of her lower lip in thought. "I think it's more about the why than the who. But that's just me."
Giving a slight frown at the woman, Shikamaru nodded slowly. "We've been working on that too. It could be that she was involved in something other than art dealings. It could be someone was trying to move in on her job. There are many whys, you know. Which is the current reason for me asking someone who was around her more than most about suspicious activities you may have noticed." He paused, sitting up a little and scrutinizing Tenten with a much less lazy expression now.
"You seem like the kind of woman who doesn't simply watch the things assigned. You seem like you watch people a lot as well, for your job or not. Therefore, I felt that maybe your observances might be valuable. I hope that's all right."
Hearing his first theory, she could not help but quirk a curious brow. However, as far fetched as the scenario sounded, the young woman was quick to remind herself that worse things have happened for quite less. Of course, the young officer did not need to know that. Nor would he if Tenten had anything to say about it. "Killing is hardly a rational solution for wanting to take a person's job. And theft is out of the question, I think, since nothing was taken."
Then again, she reasoned, not everyone in the world was rational.
Her eyes darted up at his words, though, and she tried not to react like the accused. Because, indeed, there was the possibility that the art coordinator was not exactly who she said she was. Just as Tenten was not entirely the honorable and well-trained head of security she claimed to be. And there was a split second that the young woman considered the thought that, perhaps, he was fishing for more than just a suspect to try in this homicide. "As for the possibility of her being corrupted... people with something to hide wouldn't be careless enough to do their dealings out in the open, officer. Especially with how long she's been at this job. But you never know. This could've been her first -- and last -- attempt."
Mistakes happened, after all, though she was hard pressed to believe the coordinator could make such a mistake if that were her intentions. From their brief conversations, she had struck Tenten as being intelligent and well-educated. Organized and thorough. Certainly, she was meticulous about details while probing Tenten about security precautions. "I didn't see anyone I would view as suspicious, but my eyes can't be everywhere at once and like I said before, except for when she would check in and ask about proceedings, we were not exactly the best of friends. But... if there were anything to find, it'd be on the security tapes we set up around the displays."
Shikamaru gave a sigh. He didn't think he was really going to get much more from this woman. Damn. "Does your crew have security tapes?" Probably not, if they didn't work there. He'd have to contact the owners of the building, but it was worth checking out.
"And thank you for your time. We appreciate the help you've given us, and apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused you," he added, sounding almost bored with the clearly recited words. His brain was already thinking of what he was going to do now. And that was a pain in the ass.
"There are cameras set up around the perimeter of the area, yes, but they're not ours," she replied easily to his inquiry, taking a moment of thought to double check her memory before answering,"They were already a few working security cameras at the venue."
It was a strange concept to her at first, not needed to bring in their own set of security cameras for the venue. But then again, there was very little that Tenten knew or was told of the building where the exhibit would be held. Only that it was within the coordinator's given budget and that she had been assured that the system was reliable. And Tenten was not paid to ask questions outside of her job. Or to pry. Still, that did not mean that she wouldn't or hadn't. But there was no reason for the officer to know that. "They gave us access to them though. We'll be happy to hand over to you if you'd like."
They would, of course, after Tenten searched through them thoroughly for clues, herself.
"I'm actually surprised you hadn't asked for them sooner," the young woman added, almost as an afterthought, "I expected more... a lot more."
Shikamaru frowned just a little, her words potentially holding a bit of bite against the police, or perhaps, him. "Well, we would very much appreciate you handing over everything you have that would help the case."
He stood, offering his hand to the woman. "And I think you're free to go otherwise." They had nothing to hold her on, which meant he had to look elsewhere. That would be frustrating, but he would just have to work a little harder to get the job done.
Which meant that they could keep everything that wasn't detrimental to the investigation, the young woman mentally considered. Like possible footage of Tenten talking with a man in a suit that was not part of her security unit; was not even part of her company. At least not the legit one. That is, if there had there been one during the entirety of her assignment there with the the gallery showing. Outsiders were not necessary, never were. And the young woman tended to work alone on such matters, orchestrating and organizing the plan meticulously, down to the very last detail so that it could be executed to perfection. Because the less people involved in her dealings, the less chances there were of getting caught.
But she never started the planning process until well after her job was done so that when the artifacts and items were finally taken, suspicion would fall on others. And her plans never involved killing other people. They never needed to. So who could have done it instead?
"I'll be sure to get that footage to you right away, detective," Tenten said calmly, taking his larger hand within her own, "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"No need to apologize," Shikamaru said with a shrug. "Do you need me to show you out, or can you find your way on your own?" he asked, moving to open the door for her. It was an offer out of courtesy and nothing more. He doubted she was the type of woman to need someone to show her out.
Though she knew and understood that a select other women would consider the gesture to be somewhat offensive, Tenten chose to believe it to be nothing more than a moment of polite courtesy. Believing someone to be so helpless and incapable of opening their own doors and having manners were two different matters. And besides, the young woman could not afford to draw more attention than necessary to herself, suspect or not. As much as she was one, she needed to play the part of innocent bystander as well.
"Unless the hall changed while you were grilling me with questions, I think I'll be fine," she said with a warm smile. And with a nod of thanks for holding open the door for her, Tenten called calmly over her shoulder as she continued down the hall towards the front desk and the exit, "Good luck on your investigation, Officer Nara."
The light persona remained all the way through the station and down the street until she was a few blocks away. And then the cheerful demeanor disappeared, replaced by a more serious disposition. Because by then, the young woman's mind was already turning the information over and over in her mind, formulating a plan to find and deal with the real culprit. Because no one -- no one -- treaded across her territory and placed her dealings at risk without there being consequences.