Toronto, 1910, Later Tuesday Afternoon

[pocketpretzels]

Watts had been quiet on the carriage ride back to the station, lost in his thoughts regarding the lapel pin and what it could possibly mean. Finding the station house largely abandoned save for the desk sergeant, Watts shook his head as Steven went to sit and wait where he had previously.

"With me," he said instead, as he headed past the constables' desks and straight to Brackenreid's office.

Steven	Steven was surprised at the request but followed along behind Llewellyn. He held his hat awkwardly, not sure if he was meant to wear it or put it down somewhere.
Watts	Look, when you're carrying evidence in your pocket that points to someone you trust and respect being a murderer... well. Watts wanted to keep someone he knew he could trust close by. His own hat went to rest on the fire extinguisher as they passed it by, and Steven's he took and placed on top of the water cooler. "I would prefer not to be right about this," he told Steven. Not that he'd mentioned what this was.
Steven	Steven assumed Llewellyn didn't mean putting Steven's hat on the water cooler. "All right. What can I do?"
Watts	No, the water cooler was absolutely the correct place for a hat to go, and Watts had zero qualms about that. "Keep watch?" he said. "The Inspector was looking in to a man earlier today. Apparently, they've some history. That same man is the one whose body has just been taken to the morgue."
Steven	"Oh dear," Steven said. He stood near the door, keeping an eye out. "What are you hoping to find?"
Watts	"If I'm entirely honest, I don't know," Watts said, as he began to rifle through the Inspector's desk. "I have- evidence- that the Inspector may have been at the scene of the crime. I suppose I'm hoping to find proof that whatever reason he had to be there was a good one."
Steven	"I take it you mean before the crime happened?" Steven asked.
Watts	"Best case scenario, yes," Watts acknowledged. "The other option being he was involved somehow with the crime."
Steven	It took Steven a moment. "You mean that he killed him?"
Watts	"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of," Watts confirmed. Which likely explained the mood he'd been for the carriage ride back, one that could almost certainly be described as 'brooding'.
Steven	Steven had wondered. Though he'd chalked it up to Llewellyn's arm possibly hurting him. "Has he seemed like the type?" Of course to some people Marc didn't seem like the type.
Watts	"He's former military," Watts said. "Fought in the Afghan war. I know he's capable of killing, certainly." He opened the top drawer of the desk, pulling out a file that had clearly been hastily shoved in there.
Steven	"Mental to realize how long there's been war over there," Steven said. "Though maybe here will be different."
Watts	"Somehow I doubt that," Watts said. "Some things appear to be constant across realities." Like Imperialism! Watts opened the file to find the unmistakable- if years younger- face of Maurice Majors staring back at him. His stomach dropped as he read through the case file. Or more accurately, what he suspected was missing from the case file.
Steven	Steven caught the look on Llewellyn's face. "Something wrong?"
Brackenreid	Which of course was right when the Inspector came walking through the door. "What are you doing in my office?" he demanded, frowning first at Steven, then Watts, then back at Steven again.
Watts	"Learning more about you than I care to," Watts replied, disappointment evident in his tone. He really hadn't wanted to believe his Inspector capable of murder, and yet-
Brackenreid	"What are you talking about?" Brackenreid asked.
Watts	"You ignored evidence that would have exonerated a man who ended up hanged?" Watts said, glancing between the file and Brackenreid.
Brackenreid	Part of Brackenreid was annoyed with himself for having mentioned anything about his connection with Majors to Watts. Another part was honestly unsurprised that Watts had been able to piece together what he'd done, the man was a talented detective. "He was a murderer," Brackenreid said defensively. "If I hadn't done what I did, he would've gotten away scot free."
Watts	"Well, you broke the law to get a conviction," Watts pointed out.
Brackenreid	"And I've never lost a night's sleep over it," Brackenreid shot back. "Who knows how many lives would've been ruined if I hadn't sent him to prison?"
Watts	"You had him convicted under false pretenses, and now you've killed Mrs. Hart's father in order to protect your secret."
Brackenreid	"I did no such thing!" Brackenreid protested, clearly offended that Watts would think him a murderer.
Watts	"How do you explain this, then?" Watts demanded, digging the St. George's cross pin out from his pocket and showing it to the Inspector. "I found it near Maurice Majors's dead body."
Brackenreid	"I was there," Brackenreid admitted. "I confronted him. But I didn't kill him!" he insisted as he reached out to take the lapel pin.
Watts	Watts jerked it back out of the Inspector's reach, unconvinced. "He knew about this," he gestured back to the file, "And you had to stop him."
Brackenreid	"Be careful what you say next, son," Brackenreid warned Watts, stepping closer, right up into his space. "You may be on loan to the Americans, but I'm still your superior."
Watts	"So you expect me to keep your secret?" Watts scoffed.
Brackenreid	"I keep yours," Brackenreid said pointedly, blocking Watts's path.
Watts	"Are- are you threatening me?" Watts asked, the betrayal he felt written all over his face.
Steven	Steven certainly didn't like the idea of Llewellyn being threatened. But at the same time he could tell that emotions were getting ahead of anyone's rational thought. So he stepped forward, trying to get between the two of them - or at least enough between them that he could get them to move apart. "Right, I think cooler heads need to prevail here, yeah?" Steven said, looking from one to the other. "No one wants to do something they'll regret."
Brackenreid	"And just who the bloody hell do you think you are?" Brackenreid demanded. Telling him what to do in his own office in his own damned station house!
Steven	"Someone interested in protecting the innocent or bringing justice to those who hurt them," Steven said. He hated that he had to mention Khonshu even broadly, but it seemed the quickest way to redirect the conversation. Certainly before Marc, who was watching via a reflection in a window now, could take over because someone had been rude to Steven. "And I don't think quarreling amongst ourselves is doing either, is it?"
Brackenreid	That was an incredibly vague answer there, and Brackenreid was clearly unimpressed as he shot back: "I think you'll find there were no innocents here, son."
Steven	"So what are you hoping to accomplish by being cross with one another?" Steven replied. "Because I can assure you so far it's done bugger all for whatever case either of you is meaning to solve." Steven was, of course, on Llewellyn's side but he hoped by couching things in terms of the two of them it might defuse some of the tension.
Watts	"He's killed a man!" Watts insisted. And also just threatened to out Watts himself as homosexual, which- well, he'd been contemplating for some time making his move from Toronto to Fandom permanent, so it wouldn't affect his career or his livelihood, but- the fact that this threat was coming from someone he'd put so much trust in... that stung.
Brackenreid	"And I've told you already, I did not." Whether it was Steven's words or just the time to rethink the threat he'd blurted out in a fit of desperate anger, though, Brackenreid had visibly cooled. "You want the truth about Maurice Majors?" he looked Watts dead in the eyes. "I'll tell you." A sidelong glance at Steven. "He shouldn't be here."
Watts	"He stays," Watts insisted.
Brackenreid	"Now you're giving me orders, are you?" Brackenreid asked with a sigh. Maybe it was the guilt over the threat he made, but he gestured for both Watts and Steven to sit, as he went over and poured all three of them a glass of scotch. "If I'm going to have this conversation, it might as well be over a drink."
Watts	Watts slumped down into a seat, still scowling, but he held out his good arm for the offered drink.
Steven	Steven sat as well, glad that emotions didn't seem to be running as high as they'd been moments earlier. He waited until Brackenreid's back was turned before giving Llewellyn a quick sympathetic look to remind him he wasn't alone.
Brackenreid	The Inspector slid the third glass over towards Steven, still not sure what to make of Watts's new 'friend'. "All right," he said, after a sip from his own glass. "Maurice Majors was a known associate of a man named Walter Milton. Now he was a piece of work. I knew him to be responsible for the death of two working girls, but I couldn't prove it."
Watts	"And I doubt anyone cared much about their deaths," Watts realised, because that was usually how these things went.
Brackenreid	"No, they did not," the Inspector confirmed. "But I did. I had a friendship with them." At Watts's raised eyebrow, Brackenreid shook his head. "And no, not like that. Anyway," he continued. "I caught a break. An associate of Milton's was killed. I found evidence that put Milton at the scene of the murder. So I brought him in and charged him."
Watts	"And how did this become a problem for Mr. Majors?" Watts wondered.
Brackenreid	"Majors produced a sworn statement that says he was with Milton at the time of the murder," Brackenreid said. "I destroyed it."
Watts	"But... Milton did kill his associate?" Watts asked, wondering if perhaps he'd jumped to a conclusion regarding the man's innocence a bit too quickly.
Brackenreid	"No, he did not," Brackenreid replied. Seeing Watts's look of dismay, he continued: "But he did kill the two women. Majors pleaded for Milton's innocence. Accused me of all manner of things."
Watts	"Some of them true," Watts pointed out. "But no-one believed him," he realised, resigned.
Brackenreid	"No one would take the word of a black man over that of an honest copper," Brackenreid confirmed.
Watts	"And you were the 'honest copper'?" Watts asked, voice heavy with sarcasm.
Brackenreid	"And an Englisman to boot," Brackenreid nodded. "Fair play, and all that."
Steven	Steven grimaced at hearing that. Then again, even for his own time he was more advanced than most when it came to understanding that the British Empire brought with it a great deal of overreach it should never have had in the affairs of other people. Even so... "I can appreciate that justice doesn't always follow the law," Steven said, giving a glance towards Llewellyn since he knew why Steven felt that way. "Though of course I'm not sworn to uphold it. We can't do anything to change what's already happened. Seems to me the part that needs focusing on is what we have to solve now. A murder, yeah? One where the murderer is still mucking about, maybe looking to kill more people?"
Brackenreid	Brackenreid was just going to shake his head at this 'we' business, because really now, why this 'friend' of Watts's was involved in a police investigation in the first place...
Watts	"Two murderers," Watts pointed out. "As we've yet to figure out who hired the sniper."
Brackenreid	"Ah," Brackenreid pointed at Watts. "I've got an update for you on that one, lad. It's Frank Rhodes behind all that business with the sniper."
Watts	"That... does explain a few things," Watts admitted with a grimace as he downed the rest of his scotch. And a look towards Steven that said he'd fill him in later on why that was. "We ought to go," he said, standing up and gesturing for Steven to do the same. "Mrs. Hart is likely finished with her examination of the body." He was willing to drop the idea that Brackenreid might be responsible for the man's death, but he wasn't quite ready to actually apologise for making the accusation.
Steven	"Right." Steven scrambled to get his things, briefly forgetting that while he had his satchel, his hat was still on top of the water cooler. He hesitated at the door before leaving, and said to Brackenreid, "Er - nice meeting you. Finally. Normally hear very good things about you."
Brackenreid	Brackenreid winced a bit at the 'normally' as Steven and Watts left. "Suppose I deserved that," he muttered to himself.

[ooc: NFI, NFB due to distance. Comments welcome. Bent, folded, spindled and mutilated from S15E24 of Murdoch Mysteries, Close Encounters and a liberal sprinkling of S16E02 Sometimes They Come Back Part II with the assistance of the delightfully clever hasaknightjob.]