Awkward!

[call_me_rat]

The beach isn't a popular place for the homeless, at least during off season. There's not enough people or places to get good handouts. They're slowly moving that way though. There's rumors the police will be setting up a curfew, and the murders have everyone nervous. There's unlikely to be a mass migration, most of the homeless will just look for

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[sarah_branigan]

As luck would have it, Sarah enters the yard with a couple of small plants she intends on putting in her garden. She looks surprised to see Markus, especially with someone else, but happy as well. She'd been worried about his well-being (even more so) since the killings started.

"Hi, Markus." She sets down her plants. "Who's your friend?"

[call_me_rat]

"Err, oh, Hi Sarah." This is the cue for Rat to look just about as flustered as she's ever seen him. "Er, this is Willie. Look, I ran into John this morning, and he said you guys were worried about me, and also that I should come down here and..." He shakes his head. "I don't know, more forcefully offer myself as an assistant to the Doc..."

Willie squints up the beach at nothing in particular, then at last turns to Rat with a slight frown. "Charlie coming along to this gig?" His voice is guttural and husky, perfectly suited to jazz, and he looks to be in his mid to late sixties. Grizzled grey-white curly hair stands out against his dark skin. His eyes are hard to read, but there's something unfocused about his gaze.

[sarah_branigan]

Sarah laughs softly. "You're always welcome, Rat. With company, even." More seriously, she adds, "We were worried about you. And it's about time you and Daniel talked, as well. We could really use your help, especially now."

She smiles gently at Willie. She recognizes that unfocused look. "Hi, Willie, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Sarah. Would you two like to come in for something to drink? Or a snack, maybe?"

[call_me_rat]

The question from Willie makes Rat wince, and he rubs at his face. He's looking very tired and just a bit stressed, but he answers, "I'm fine." To his friend he answers, "Charlie'll be along later..." He looks between Sarah and Willie, but her introduction doesn't seem to have registered. "This is Sarah. I've gotta talk to her boyfriend, maybe you could practice on the porch or something? Sarah bakes good stuff..."