This entry is from the point of view of Erin “Stone Axe” O’Connor

When I changed, my world fell apart. The rules that i had played by for my entire life turned out be illusionary. The law, the thing I had the most faith in, turned out to be more imperfect than I could imagine. It took me months before I was truly ready to be back in the field. It delayed my rise to detective for a year at least, but it gave me a better appreciation for what it means to be a cop under personal duress. I think it made me a better Internal Affairs detective. It ironed out my greatest weakness. I can only help the change does the same thing for our new pups.

At 11:30 AM, Craig was ordered to “Standby to Keep the Peace” while child protective services does a review of a home. To “Standby to Keep the Peace” is to be present at an eviction, cps case or a peaceful protest. We never work for another agency, but we we present to keep them safe while they do their work. Standby. Keep Peace. It seems simple in practice, but it is emotionally trying. I can’t tell you the number of times it has led to me or another I.A. detective knocking on a cops door. When you see what some children have to endure to reach adulthood, you become amazed at how many survive. Unfortunately too many survive but are broken. These are our sociopaths, our psychopath and serial killers. Many people believe these individuals are just born, but please let me assure you that they are made. Made by people who like them suffered from child abuse or neglect.

When a cop sees this, sometimes they snap. They say things or do things which they wouldn’t normally do. They do something that gets them in trouble. For these cops, I seek leniency. Other times it embitters them to humanity, and it causes them to judge others by their racial or religious associations. It dehumanizes the individual, and it makes it easier to separate their own actions from theres. These cops I watch. These cops I hunt. It is why Heart Seer says I should have been a Iron Master. I see it as part of my duty as an Imnir. I will cull this weakness from the Newark Police Department.

According to Captain Williams, Craig Pearson and Irene Davis were just supposed to standby and watch as Arlington Williams did an inspection of the dwelling of Dina Fine. Dina Fine is a mother of two boys. Danny Fine, who was a witness to a case not long ago, and Damon Fine. All three live at 27 Parkview Terrace. Danny is 17, and he is only three months from turning 18. He has a record. Breaking and Entering, Vandalism, Petty Theft, Assault but he has been keeping his nose clean of trouble for the last two years, after he completed a stint in juvie. Difficult to do in the area which he lives. Damon is 7. A sweet kid by all accounts. Dina’s case file, I looked at it, it’s mostly neglect due to being a single mom. But there were some… instances of reported abuse they could never get the kids to corroborate. Dina is bipolar, but it was apparently untreated until just last year.

Arlington Behr, a tall thin man with dark brown skin and ashy patches on his joints was the CPS agent assigned to the case. He is a nice man. A true believer in what he is doing, and a defender of the system. I’ve always had a soft spot for him, and when I was a detective I always prayed he was the one called when CPS had to be brought in. He always smelt of wood smoke and brown sugar. He gave Pearson and Davis brief background on the case as they approached the house. I wasn’t there, but I can imagine he moved with that usual slow amble that frustrated so many cops. Truth is, its easier on his knees. He doesn’t like talking about it, but they bother him constantly. The three knocked. There was no response. So they entered.

Pearson caught Dina Fine running at them out of the corner of his eye. He also saw the children cowering in the corner, the older one bloodied. She lunged at Irene Davis with a blade, and she just barely dodge. Pearson attempted to grapple her, but she just barely managed to slip out. Davis pulled out her baton, but Pearson had the woman pinned before she could use it. In a blink. Just like that.

Davis brought Ms. Fine out to the car, while Pearson went on to do first aide on the younger brother. Danny had shielded his brother, and he got cut up. However it was Damon whose life was in danger. He had been stabbed in the gut by his mother. This is why good cops snap. Because of scenes like this. Pearson maintained control through. In the time it took for Kara and Colin to get to the scene, he had saved the boy’s life. The EMTs commended them in their report on the incident.

Collin and Kara did an initial search of the home, while Pearson was speaking with the EMT’s. The weapon was no where it would logically be. Kara went outside to speak Dina Fine, and to get Danny Fine’s statement. Danny remembered her name, and he reminded her of his role in the previous case. Danny tells her that the entire neighborhood has gotten worse since the death of Doc Halprin and Mrs. Green. He also states that his mother has been doing great lately, and that she is a good woman. He knows she is ill and does her best. Lately there has been food in the fridge, and the house has been clean. Kara told him that she didn’t think his mother would be home for a while, and that she would try to help get his brother released to him once he was 18. Danny informed her that it was only a few months away. She reassured him she would do what she could, and then she moved on.

Kara returned to the house, and then Collin went into the kitchen. Pearson watched the door while Collin pushed his senses into the shadow. He is instantly assaulted by a shadow filled with the sound of alarms. Large rumbling trucks chuck through the streets. There is a vague smell of decomposition and rot. The house looks… unclean in the shadow. The years of neglect still oblivious here. Gunshots echo continually, and there is just small motes of positive feelings floating around the room. Like emotion tinted fireflys of laughter, joy, peace and comfort. This home was not a safe haven, for the children or spirit whose remains were spread across the wall like blood. Collin, thinkly quickly, looked for the spirit of the scissors, and he spotted them walking across the lawn.

While this happened, Scythe showed up with Haverstraw. I find Haverstraw amusing. He is always chasing his next meal and his next woman. Spirits of lust and hunger find him from time to time for a meal, but his constant companion is a spirit of laziness that looks like a cat. Both gave the detectives and Pearson a hard time about losing the weapon. Haverstraw took some time to observe Collin being weird, and Scythe had difficulty pronouncing Pearson for some inexplicable reason. The two quickly looked through the room, and they found nothing. Kara sent Haverstraw outside to get rid of him, so that the other could talk.

Collin came back, and he explained what he saw. The pack deliberated for a few minutes before Haverstraw returned to let them know that Irene Davis has removed the scissors from the scene. The pack went outside. Kara approached Irene and she gently hinted that they knew she had them, and that she had to give them back. At first she was resistant, but once she was cornered she gave them up. Haverstraw agreed to keep his mouth shut in exchange for lunch.

The pack determined that the same spirit who had been responsible for the murder of Doc Halprin.