Haley took a step back once she'd gotten Dusan's attention who'd looked to just been casually sitting in his car the entire time she was questioning the police officers. Instead of signaling for her to get in, he opened the door for her which was unexpected but no complaints from her about it. It was his car and she didn't want to do anything that would be considered offensive by Japan's standards by someone who is Japanese. She'd assumed him to be as his name didn't strike her of having a Western vibe to it. She could be wrong about that though but it was something to play around with guessing in her brain for later. She was going to do some research on this man in her private time to understand his line of work a little more and his take on handling investigations such as these.

Meanwhile, she'd gotten into the car and closed the door behind her, placing her bag with her camera and other items she used when working on a story in her lap. The dark-haired woman heaved a tired sigh. It shouldn't have felt exhausting to interview all the police officers but it did, leaving her feeling frustrated on top of that. But before she could say anything about it, Dusan pretty much began to speak up on why he made her talk to them in the first place. He told her that they were quick to write Mari's death off as a mugging gone wrong which made Haley raise a brow at that. Her face was full of confusion at being told this because it didn't make sense. This was clearly a murder so why treat it as if it's not?

"Mari was definitely murdered, not mugged. That's so suspicious to write her death off as if her life meant nothing to anybody," Haley said, leaning her head back in the seat, sighing heavily once again. "What the hell is this world coming to?" she mumbled, bringing her fingers to her temples to massage them. She continued to listen to Dusan speak more about the situation, describing how she was murdered, what was missing off of her body, and her being dumped with her body surfacing up to the docks. It didn't make sense for the police to ignore these important details that were in their face for them to say. In Haley's mind, they had to have been paid off by someone that cared enough about wanting to keep the truth behind Mari's murder a secret.

They want it to look as if she'd been attacked by a mugger and nothing more. But there was more. Haley knew it and Dusan knew it as well. None of this could be ignored. This wasn't fair to Mari or to her family that would have to make arrangements for her funeral so she can properly rest. Lowering her hand from her head, her gaze shifted in the man's direction as he'd asked about the officers' treatment of her when interviewed. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before. I'm just glad they weren't threatening to place me in a cell. I get the feeling that's because I'm working with you and you gave me a chance because I want to report the true story and not one that will just give everyone what they want to hear. There's obvious foul play at work here. No question about it."

Until now, Haley hadn't taken into account the refreshing feel of the AC blowing in the car and it helped her to relax as well as cool off from being out in the humid air trying to get some information about this entire situation. She hadn't even realized she'd begun to release a small amount of her own scent which would be a recognizable rosemary aroma. The woman had been clearly trying to relax since this was a highly stressful case. Dusan's own scent was recognizable as well considering they were in his car and it was all over everything. It took now for her to notice as she immediately looked away, her head facing toward the window to look out of it with her cheeks lightly rising in color. 'Focus Haley, don't get yourself distracted,' she told herself. There was too much to piece together with the involvement of those surrounding Mari's murder. With her death being written off so casually, she couldn't disagree with there being someone with pull behind it but not enough power to have the woman properly disposed of. This was the mistake that'd been made.

All there was left to do was to interview the people in Mari's life that she worked closely with. Someone had to know something. Haley was prepared for any one of them to be hostile when asked questions but that came with the territory of trying to get the information needed that was correct and not misleading that could derail everything. "We agree on that it seems. But yes, talking to Mari's coworkers is a start. Next would be her family which I get the feeling may sound a tad dysfunctional, but what else is new when it comes to family. It's only through marriage and murder you can choose your family." That sounded rather cynical but to do someone like this the way Mari had been killed was horrible. She may have wanted to give the family closure, however, it didn't mean they were technically out of the woods themselves. Everyone was a suspect until proven otherwise. At least they had somewhere to start.

As Dusan had began to pull the car out of parking after turning on the ignition, Haley had been asked to tell him about herself. Inquiring about her desire to be a journalist while obviously joking about her reasoning behind it being if she was nosy. Haley rolled her eyes. That was an expected conclusion to come to for anyone that had to work with a journalist or reporter but her own reasons were different from everyone else's. She breathed through her nose, steady looking out the window as she'd responded to his question. "I don't get any joy out of having to find out the truth to something if I believe there to be more than meets the eye. I've never presented myself as such. No, I was always one of those people that wanted to create stories with facts instead of lies. I don't why, but it bothers me to see when others under the same profession just blatantly tell false information to its public. That same information making those within it look back for the personal gain of the one who reports the story and it's just eaten up. I just thought that for once, I can be that one percent that reports the truth, whether or not anyone wants to hear it," she explained.

Haley raised her brow at that question. Merely because she'd been offered more than that to either leave someone alone or report the opposite information to paint a terrible person in better limelight, which was something she refused to do. She gave the man her undivided attention by turning he head to look him in the face as she spoke her answer. "No. Some things are more important than money. My rival Angelica Bartlett always called me a fool because of it but I'd rather be a fool than to sell my soul just for a quick buck. I don't think it's right to report false stories about people. This includes painting victims as the bad person or painting horrible people as the better person. Because I refused to do something like that, I've been turned down from being hired at many different reporting jobs. Thus, it's frustrating when you're left with the feeling that people would prefer to be lied to than to be told the truth when it's right in their faces."

She never once took money from anyone that offered it to her. She would preferred to get paid through having a regular reporting job but not if it meant that she had to conform to their ideals of reporting stories and not her own. It may have made her seem like a fool but not everyone was so easily bought off with money. The stories she attempted to report weren't high profiled enough to be dangerous but that didn't mean those people she tried to post stories on hadn't retaliated in other ways, like having her locked up to keep her quiet and out of the way. She may have gotten out of those situations without a scrape, but there was no guarantee it would be the same with this case. She didn't expect Dusan to believe her words but as long as Haley knew she was telling the truth, that was more important. The woman was used to people disbelieving her anyway. It wouldn't come as a surprise to her if he thought the same as many others have in the past.

That did come as a surprise to her that Dusan saw she was telling the truth. It was nice for someone to see that for a change. "Thank you for believing me. However, I'm used to gaining more enemies than friends. Being someone that prefers to report the truth doesn't gain you a lot of favors. It's not because I'm bad at my job but rather I refuse to use those skills to report what's untrue. Knowing that, it's possible that I've been blacklisted from a lot of jobs back home. I just felt coming to Japan ... it might be a little different..." That was partially true. She had another reason for being here but considering that piece of discovery had been proven to be fact a long time ago, she was now currently stuck within this country homeless with no way to return home. It hadn't been completely bad but that hadn't meant she liked sleeping in her car. It would be nice to sleep in a warn bed for once. She hadn't known that feeling in months.

Haley shrugged. "I honestly can't be sure. It's not as if anyone knows me here so it wouldn't make sense for me to be blacklisted from getting work. Though Japanese reporting is rather different than it is back home so maybe that's what's really holding me back. I am still new to this country and I know my attempt to learn the language is pretty broken but I do what I'm able. I also know that not everything needs to have a story written about it. There are ... some things that have to be kept in the dark but as long as those reasons for it won't cause trouble for someone else then it's a story I can live without having to tell." Her experiences in that department came from her years in school but the halls of such a place were filled with nothing but garbage gossip. She didn't miss it one bit. But there were peers of hers that were subjected to having horrible things printed about them and she was the only one to seek out the truth. As much as she wanted to tell their truth so everyone could know what they've been fed were lies her rival spewed out, it was the moment she learned that some people preferred the truth to stay in the dark. In the beginning, she didn't understand why people didn't want to say anything but eventually she did. Some felt better knowing there was someone out there that believed them and didn't judge them. Having that was more important to them than the whole world needing to know. It didn't happen as much outside of school once she attempted to work on her own but mentally, Haley kept it in mind for the future.

"Hrm. That's what I came here looking for. Seeking something different in the profession. The desire to report the facts within a story that isn't out to make someone look bad or cause mass panic for no reason. But I do understand that it's possible no news station wishes to hire me because I'm from the US. They would probably see me as a problem more than an asset." There were times Haley believed that her rival Angelica may have gotten wind of the idea that she'd came to Japan seeking some form of employment where the woman wasn't present to sabotage her. Yet possibly found out anyway and somehow did. However, she knew that would be very childish to think. Angelica may be vindictive enough to do something like that but not enough to where someone couldn't find work in a completely different country. No, her troubles in finding employment was merely because she was a Westerner and there's the off chance none of them wanted to take a risk in hiring her.

Such a shame too because the woman was willing to prove she could do her job well without causing problems that would paint herself or the station she worked for in a bad light. That wasn't going to be easy no matter how much she begged for work though. She was surprised Dusan asked had she had luck finding work. The answer to that question was obvious considering she wouldn't be still sleeping in her car if she were employed somewhere but she wouldn't take that annoyance out on him. It wasn't his fault she was homeless. "I have work history just not here in Japan. I've gotten turned down for a lot of jobs merely because they don't want to take a chance in hiring me because where I came from. Not that they don't have people that work there from the US, I think it's merely just me. I don't have the face of a journalist to them. Unfortunately, some jobs are just like that. It sucks but it's not that different from back home. If helping you with this case works out, maybe I can get a job somewhere. As long as I can do some good anywhere that will accept me, I'd be happy with it," Haley said with a shrug.

She was used to getting rejection after rejection when it came to landing jobs in her field. But she still continued to push forward in hopes it would change. There was a job out there somewhere for her where she could be of use that would allow her to work the way she prefers to and not being told to that involves writing false stories. People already didn't trust journalists enough as it is. Haley didn't want to be added to that stigma.

"If I didn't like guns I probably would've considered the idea of working in law enforcement but I don't. They make me highly uncomfortable. Besides, I prefer to tell stories that need to be told and by people that want those stories to be known." Haley wasn't surprised to hear that her skills would be much more useful to another line of work but similar to Dusan, if it became the case where she had to take a job she'd rather not do, she'd prefer to be a consultant with the required set it skills that could help with a case rather than being an in field agent. The thought of that frightened her. Technically, she was a tad frightened being allowed to work on this murder case. She appreciated the opportunity sure, but she was human just like everyone else. The woman did fear that things would take a turn for the worst if she ended up getting too close.

It was too soon to tell if things would. She hoped they could figure out who the killer was sooner so she wouldn't feel as on edge as she did right now. That could possibly be told in her scent as it'd been released but she tried her best to repress it to avoid causing Dusan to change his mind about allowing her to tag along. It didn't help though to know he'd looked her up and came to find out that she didn't have a place to live here in Tokyo. Sure, he had came up with ideas as to where she may be temporarily staying but only one of those had been correct. Which she felt completely embarrassed by. She began to twiddle her fingers, her cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment at her situation. Haley didn't doubt he'd understand but that didn't make it easier to have to explain. "I don't know anyone here in Japan. I ... came on my own so I don't have anywhere to live except for ... my car..."

"That's a relief to know. I'd prefer to be of help where I don't require to need to carry a weapon. Besides, I'd never used a gun anyway and someone might end up getting shot in the leg on accident if I tried to fire one," Haley admitted with a sweat drop as she light scratched the side of her cheek sheepishly. As humorous as that may have sounded, she was being truthful. She'd never used a gun before, let alone had a need to carry one on her person. Sure she's gotten into some scrapes that ended up with her being held overnight in a cell but nothing that turned out violent, thank god. Haley would rather avoid any kind of confrontation but with the line of work she was so desperately working hard to get in, confrontation was expected.

It did make her feel a little better hearing Dusan tell her that to be a consultant, there wouldn't be a need for her to have a weapon just to help out the local police in order to help find out information related to an investigation in the events they were blocked from having access to something that's being deliberately hidden from them or interview specific suspects. Consultants usually could help in that department. "That's comforting since that's the line of work you're doing and you're allowing me to help. Most people turn away reporters so again, I am appreciated to this opportunity."

After all, Dusan could've said no but that didn't mean it would stop her from trying to uncover the truth. It felt safer being allowed to be a part of the investigation without having to sneak around and do it. She may not earn any money from doing this but that was fine for Haley. As long as Mari's killer had been brought to justice for her murder, that's what mattered more than money. It would be nice if she didn't have to live in her car but that's a bridge to cross when an opportunity presented itself. Such as now when Dusan had asked her how did she feel about the idea of rooming with someone. This question caught her by surprise, causing her to turn and look at him and blink a few times. "I uh ... that's a sudden question out of no where," she stated honestly as she fixed her glasses up on her face. "I have no problem with the idea of having a roommate but as long as I have my space so I'm not invading theirs, then I'm good," she told him, giving the man a thumbs up.