Lunch Discussion

JP with Lumina and Corinth

Leaving the university, Corinth drove down the street and headed off towards the direction of the Halliwell Estate. There was a little mom and pop restaurant on the way that he'd stop at so they could get some food before braving whatever might be in the house that has gotten everyone so riled up over. Lesson by Pimps of Joytime pumped through the speakers as he drove through the city, windows down with his seat leaned back. Looking over at her, he was glad she chided him on his cigarette in the hall. He could tell she was nervous? Anxious? about being partnered up with him, but she was a Templar and he needed a partner that wasn't afraid to speak up even if it means getting yelled at for it. He needed a partner with bite. She was getting there.

Whipping the car into the parking lot of the Cozy Corner Bistro, Corinth parked close to the front door. The lunch rush was over, so parking wasn't much of a hassle this time of day. Getting out, he walked towards the door and waited for Lumina to follow. The smell of food hit them as soon as the door opened and Corinth knew he picked a winner. He was exceptionally good at three things: using pistols, pissing people off, and picking good places to eat.

Moving to an empty booth, he waited for Lumina to sit down before taking his seat. He removed his hat and laid it in the seat next to him, doing the same with his sunglasses. Rubbing his eyes with his hands, he leaned forward on the table and looked over at Lumina. Before he could say anything, an older waitress came over and introduced herself as Gloria. She probably wasn't much older than Corinth and handed them a menu each, going over the specials as she did.

"Chicken fried steak? Sounds like a winner to me." He handed the menu back to Gloria and ordered a soda to go with his meal. "One ticket." He waited for Lumina to order and watched as Gloria walked away to make sure she was out of earshot. If anyone overheard, they would most likely think the couple was talking nonsense or discussing a movie. Still, for Lumina's sake, he kept his voice lower than normal.

"Let's talk about the obvious; the house. What do we know about it? It is, or was, owned by three witches supposedly. The place is abandoned and has been for sometime. If that is true, and the place is abandoned, the odds that there would be anything of importance in the house is slim. However, there is the possibility that there could be something hidden, much like Kramer's notebook."

Gloria came back with their drinks and set them on the table. When she left again, he shifted in his seat to take some of the stress off his back. "Now let's assume we get their five steps behind whoever we're following. What then? Do they know to even go to the house? We found a puzzle, maybe they did too. Let's assume the worst and say they made it to the house. If we're following Dragon's, they are going to be thorough. The Illuminati, I don't know. They'd probably buy the house and then take their time combing through it."

He sat back in his seat and shook his head. "And where does the Mothman fit into all of this? A creature that foreshadows doom, three murders, three witch sisters, a dead sister...math ain't mathing here." Taking a sip of his drink, he asked, "so what did you find out?"

Corinth listened to all that Lumina had found and about halfway through her telling, their food came. As he ate, he continued listening to her. There was a lot of history packed into one family and this made him think that this was some type of old generational magic. Magic that slowly compounds itself through generation after generation. Unlike most things that would get thinner and more diluted over time, this type of magic got stronger, more potent. And witches with power was never a good thing.

"Oh yeah, ley lines. I had a hunch when we started looking into this house. Had Dalia contact the team in Maps and Contracts. Had them do a scan of all known ley lines running through San Francisco. There's two. Guess where they cross?" He shook his head. "Yeah, either under the house or pretty damn close."

He paused to let everything sink in for the both of them. Once finished with his food, he ordered a slice of whatever the pie of the day was from Gloria when she returned once again. "Make it two. If she doesn't eat it, I will." He gave the waitress a wink and she headed off back to the kitchen.

"If the house is as powerful as we think it is, do the ley lines boost it's power or are they the cause and what is their purpose? Just to fuel the witches powers?" He shook his head slowly. "No...ley lines are more powerful than that. I mean, yes, that could be one purpose, but I doubt that was their only purpose."

He slumped a little in the booth and began to think. There were too many questions and not enough answers. They needed to get ahead of the investigation, but at the rate they were going, all their leads could could dry up.

"Have anything else you want to talk about? I need to give my brain a rest at least until I finish the pie when it gets here."