He’d kill for a chair.

Not literally.

… Maybe literally.

His eyes slid to the chair, but he'd probably just have to get up again anyway.

“Or before,” he shrugged. “I’m looking for unusual skinning, chunks missing – not including wild animals. Bodies that were tampered with by tools.”

Aslan smiled, though it was forced. Crane was always so accommodating. That was going to get him killed one day, probably.

“No, no. I’ve time, I’ve time. Just point me the right way.”

Anywhere but home.

“Oh,” he said, offhandedly. “Completely unrelated – you’re Catholic, right?”

Elijah seemed deeply in thought and stood to go look through some files. "Not the decapitated ones but.. we've found some body parts with signs of cutting, as well as partial bones. They were buried just outside of town that a dog had dug up. They look fresh, and we've found a couple of other spots, I am not sure if it was currently being used by a killer or what. There's been no signs of it being used since though. " He frowned wondering if their digging up the area had alerted whoever was behind it.

"It looked like similar marks to animals used for butchering. But..' He scratched his cheek before finally gathering a few folders and putting them down before the detective and sat down. "Many others were too hard to tell, they'd been broken up and partially eaten by something."

He went back to digging into the files and looked over curiously. "Yeah? I go to St. Hilda's. Why? Don't tell me you're thinking of converting. You don't need that extra misery in your life." He said jokingly, glad they were alone.

Nisa and Priest in a room together was sounding more and more … right.

How unethical was it to rendezvous alone with a cannibal twice? Any more unethical than enabling his murderess sister time and time again?

Fuck it. He was going to die young anyway. Besides, he had to prove it first.

“I’d like a look if you still have the bones.”

Aslan finally took a seat, thumbing through the top file.

“Nah,” he laughed. “I keep an eye on the churches, though. Grave robbers and all. New priest in town?”

His eyes skimmed over a file, flipping through to see if he could find referenced photographs in it.

Elijah looked down at the papers as he pulled a few more out. "I will have to check evidence, they might have been buried since it happened. I will get back to you on that."

He looked over his shoulder towards Aslan before going back to the files, moving from one drawer to another. "Yeah? I suppose that is true, didn't realize it was something a detective had to worry about. Is there something you're looking for?"

The tall constable walked over and placed the files before him and looked at the man curiously. "Oh, Father Brennan. I met him briefly." An uncomfortable look came across his face from the embarrassment in the scene. "Seems like a nice enough priest, better than Kemble if you want my personal opinion."

There was a reason he and Nisa had lasted as long as they had in Whitby … and literally buried evidence was probably large part of it.

“Thank you, Crane.”

He thumbed through another file; flipped back and forth between an included photo with a bland face.

“Body snatchers,” Aslan noted offhandedly. “People don’t like having their loved ones stolen. It was worse in York, but you get enough for complaints here, too.”

Granted, he didn’t pay nearly as close attention to the churches as he implied.

His eyes flickered up when he got a name: Brennan. So there was a new priest in town, meaning … Aslan had probably just made one of his jobs very complicated. He managed not to laugh at Crane’s evaluation.

“Ah. How does he compare to Father Kemble?” he said evenly instead.

"Ah of course. I did a patrol once and caught some grave robbers when I worked in York." He said simply as he looked through the files. "You think that might be where some of these bodies came from? Destroying evidence?" It was far more likely they were murder victims, but then why was Aslan watching the church? Two different cases, perhaps...

He immediately coughed and covered his mouth looking away by the question. "Ah.. I don't.. try to speak ill of the priests. Kemble was.. fine.. Perfectly fine. But, he was not a friendly figure like this new one seems to be. To be fair, I only spoke to him for a moment. And I suppose there is no need for a priest to be friendly", or handsome." But, I think it helps get people to return to church more often. People don't like being reminded how they are sinners too harshly. This is just my opinion.."

Crane was probably the only person he had actual, regular conversations with. Even if it did orbit around crime as their shared sun.

“I’m not at liberty to go too deeply into it,” Aslan hedged, “but … I’m concerned about more sadistic crimes against humanity.”

Sharp eyes locked onto Crane when he coughed, though he let his gaze meander back to the file … keeping him in the corner of his eye.

“Relax,” Aslan laughed. “I’m Anglican.”

He had stopped flipping through the files, instead letting his eyes slowly skim the same few top lines that kept Crane’s face in better view.

“Friendly? How so?” he asked nonchalantly.

Elijah nodded and muttered a quick apology, he knew better. They both had things they couldn't talk about in detail for their jobs even though they used each other for tips and help when possible. "Wait, really? And it wasn't that Carrington that died?" He certainly knew they'd had some more murder that didn't match him, but most seemed rather common, nothing he'd seen was a sign of this. He moved to look over his shoulder at whatever piece caught his eye. It didn't look applicable so he went back to the cabinet to grab some more files and put them down.

Elijah's normally timid face split into a small grin and he nodded, "I can't help it. It's been deeply ingrained. The question had him shrug and he looked into the rows of papers as he thought it over. "He just.. you know seemed friendly. He thanked me for coming to bring something to Father Richards and that he'd heard about me. Seems like he cares about people more than Kemble had. Normally when I saw him it was because he needed a constable to help him stand up to someone who was bothering him." His eyes widened and he looked to Aslan , "Please don't repeat that.." He looked very ashamed for admitting it.

“I haven’t looked into Carrington’s case too closely,” at least not beyond the question of ‘was this more or less likely Nisa?’ “but I would estimate there’s about, say … half a dozen who kill for pleasure and leave clear signs of it in the area.”

Including Nisa.

Aslan shifted through the next pile, then slid two skimmed files up above the others without removing them to ‘bookmark’ them.

His gaze gradually slid over to Crane as he described Brennan. Was Crane a target, or was Brennan more the lust killer type? He’d seemed more lover than rapist, which would mean his criteria would probably encompass men with homosexual tendencies.

Aslan smirked and shook his head, holding up a hand.

“I respect the sacred Catholic art of secret-keeping. How long was Kemble there again?”

Elijah looked at him immediately and then frowned. He considered there were a lot, but to hear it was really disheartening. "That's.. not good at all... If you see anything that can help with the case, please don't keep it to yourself."

He walked over to look at the files he kept at the top. "You want some tea? Or for me to put any back?" He didn't want the man to feel over whelmed and he was grateful for the distraction from his paper work. The question had him shrug. "He was here for not even a year. He could come back, as long as there's another priest to keep an eye on us, he tends to go back where he came from and then they send him back when there is trouble. I think he helps them get more donations for the church." He said with a strain in his voice. "But this is just.. you know.. opinion..."