The Little Girl
***Jamie and Anna are happily planning their wedding…and their future together. But then Jamie goes out on one of his most dreaded calls…***
***Based on the song Alyssa Lies…performed by Jason Michael Carroll…And the Lisa Steinberg case in 1987***
Scene: on patrol
"So, Reagan…how're the wedding plans comin'?" Renzulli asked.
Jamie rolled his eyes.
"I swear…I'm about ready to say 'the hell with it' and just run over to Atlantic City."
He had never dreamed planning a wedding could be so complicated. What with finding a place to hold the reception…a menu, place settings, a DJ, a cake…
He'd never actually gotten that far with Sydney.
"You wouldn't." Renzulli gasped in horror.
He was from the old school…and he truly believed that unless you stood before God in church…you weren't really married.
Jamie broke into a grin.
"Relax, Sarge. I wouldn't dream of depriving you of your chance to walk Anna down the aisle."
Renzulli breathed a sigh of relief. He really liked Jamie…it'd be a shame to have to hurt him.
"I know who I gotta ride with every day." Jamie said, as if he were reading Renzulli's mind.
The radio crackled to life.
"All units in the vicinity of 5862 E. Lexington…accident with injuries"
"That's about three blocks from here…" Jamie said as he hit the lights and the siren.
Renzulli radioed in that they were responding.
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Scene: the accident scene
They pulled up to a brownstone in a toney Greenwich Village neighborhood.
There was a man standing in the doorway…looking strangely collected.
"Upstairs…on the second floor…please…" he said as if he were inviting the officers in for coffee.
Jamie and Renzulli shot each other a quick look that said 'is this guy for real?' before running up the stairs.
The door to the apartment was open and a woman stood inside the door, just behind it actually. She looked tired and haggard…and Jamie would have been hard pressed to guess her age. She wore a loose fitting man's t-shirt…and no pants or shoes. The apartment was cold…so that seemed odd.
The woman held a small baby…again, it was impossible to guess it's age. The kid was dirty…and he…Jamie assumed it was a 'he' had huge, slightly sunken eyes. The baby was wearing only a diaper…and even from where he stood…Jamie could tell it was none too fresh.
There was another child too…a little girl…the only clue being pink panties…and no other clothes. The child was so thin you could count her ribs…and she was slightly blue from the cold.
Jamie and Renzulli waited for further instruction…these people were obviously not in any imminent danger…they didn't appear to be injured.
The man came in behind them, having taken his dear sweet time getting up the stairs.
"She's in the bathroom…" he said.
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Jamie ran toward the back of the apartment…and he found the bathroom.
There was no door…the room was stark white…and there were no towels or a bath mat or toilet paper, for that matter… absolutely nothing in the way of amenities.
And there was a little girl…lying in a ball on the cold tile. She was wearing a pair of ratty underpants…and she had a tank top on. She was barefoot and her hair was a mess of tangles around her face.
Jamie reached out to check for a pulse…he found one…it was faint…but he found it. He carefully turned the child onto her back and moved the rat's nest of tangles away from her face.
He gasped when he saw her…she was so gaunt…her cheeks were sunken in and he could count her ribs. There was a livid purple bruise on one side of her face…from her temple down her cheek and he noticed she had bruises all down the side that she had been lying on…a sign that she hadn't moved from the position he found her in.
"Sarge! Call a bus!" he yelled out.
He bent over her to check for respirations…he was barely getting anything…so he began mouth-to-mouth…and he prayed.
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Renzulli appeared in the doorway.
"EMS is in route…" he said.
He watched his partner fight to keep this tiny little girl alive…there was nothing he could do in there.
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Once EMS arrived on the scene Jamie gladly surrendered the little girl into their more capable hands.
In no time at all they had her collared and strapped to a backboard and were carrying her out the door.
Jamie went back to the front of the apartment where Renzulli was trying to get some information from who he assumed were the girl's parents.
The man…the father…was getting loud.
"I don't know what happened! All I know is I came home about an hour ago and she was lying on the floor."
"She's been lying there a lot more than an hour." Jamie said. "She had lividity marks on her right side. That means she's been in that same position for at least six to eight hours."
"What are you insinuating, Officer?!"
"I'm not insinuating anything…just trying to get the facts. We only want to help your daughter." Jamie replied…his blood beginning to boil.
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He looked around for the mother…and he found her in the kitchen…making a sandwich…like her daughter didn't just get carted out in an ambulance.
"Ma'am? I'm Officer Reagan. Can you stop what you're doing, please? I need to ask you some questions."
She barely looked up…
"I have to make my husband's lunch…it's nearly an hour late. Then I have to start dinner…"
She was worrying about dinner…Jamie thought incredulously. Unbelievable…
"Ma'am? Please…I need to know what happened to your daughter."
The woman didn't look up from her task…neatly trimming the crust from the bread. Then she reached into a drawer and took out a set of measuring spoons…and started measuring mayonnaise and mustard to spread on the de-crusted bread.
"I don't know…my husband didn't tell me."
"Were you here all day?" Jamie asked.
"Of course. It's laundry day."
What laundry? She obviously wasn't washing for herself or the children.
Jamie looked over at the two children…in a port-a-crib by the window.
"Ma'am…your daughter's been on the floor all this time?"
"I guess so. My husband told me not to go in there."
Suddenly, the husband came barging into the kitchen.
"What are you doing in here?" he demanded of Jamie.
"Trying to question your wife, Sir."
"Well, don't bother! She doesn't know anything!" he said.
Then he turned to the woman.
"How long does it take to make a goddamn sandwich?"
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CSU techs arrived…as well as three other patrol units.
They were awaiting DCFS…there was obviously something very wrong…and now Jamie was certain the two remaining children were in danger of ending up like the little girl.
Jamie and Renzulli went downstairs to get some air and hopefully speak to child services when they arrived.
Jamie's thoughts were racing. And his stomach churning.
That little girl couldn't have been more than five…the age of Anna's students. And who was she…her own parents had never even called her by name.
This poor child was obviously abused and neglected…as were the other kids in the house…and even though he wasn't supposed to jump to any conclusions…Jamie liked the father for this. And the mother…she looked to be the poster child for battered woman's syndrome.
He took a deep breath of fresh air…but it didn't help. He hurriedly descended the front steps and emptied the contents of his stomach into the trash can sitting beside the stoop.
"Go home, Jamie." Renzulli said.
Jamie looked up…embarrassed to be caught in a moment of weakness.
"No…Sarge…I'll be fine…"
"Go home…you're sick. You just threw up. Go home…be with Anna…and just…get better." Renzulli told him pointedly.
Sarge gave Jamie a long look…
Jamie nodded in defeat…and trudged off to the radio car.
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Scene: Jamie and Anna's apartment
Anna had just gotten home.
What a day…the school was getting ready for the Spring Arts Festival. She was rehearsing with the swing choir every day…and helping with the fifth and sixth grade girls honor choir. And she had to get the literary journals her book clubs were putting together to the printer…not to mention get her kindergarteners' artwork put up in the hallway outside her classroom.
Thank God Jamie had a couple days off and would be able to help her.
Just thinking of him made her smile…her kids loved it when "Officer Jamie" came to visit…as he did often. At least once a week…he was there dropping something off and he'd take a few minutes with each child to compliment them on their work…or help them sound out a word…or gently correct them when they printed a letter 'b' backwards.
She would just take a few minutes to relax…then she would start getting dinner together. Jamie should be home in an hour or so.
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She heard a key in the lock…and she looked up to see Jamie come in the front door.
He was still wearing his uniform…
Anna hurried over to him.
"Jamie? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Something had to be wrong…either he was sick…or hurt…or his shoulder was bothering him…
He pulled Anna into his arms and crushed her to him.
He was shaking…and she held him tight.
"Jamie…Jamie…what is it? You're scaring me…"
She gently led him over to the couch and guided him to sit.
"Jamie?"
He looked up at her…he had tears in his eyes.
"How can someone be so cruel?" he asked. "How can someone hurt a child?
"What happened, Honey?"
Just seeing him so upset…Anna felt the tears well up in her own eyes.
Slowly…haltingly…he told her everything…the call…the apartment…the obvious abuse that poor child had suffered.
By the time he finished they were both sobbing.
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Scene: Anna and Jamie's apartment
When he woke up after a fitful night's sleep…the first thing Jamie did was call St. Victor's Hospital.
The little girl…Rachel Rothschild…was in a coma.
She had a fractured skull…and a massive subdural hematoma. She had been rushed into surgery almost immediately to relieve the pressure on her brain…but the doctors feared it was too late. There was no higher brain activity that they could detect…and they had to wait another twenty-four hours to do another EEG.
Jamie hung up the phone…and sank down into a chair.
How he wanted to be the one to slap his handcuffs on the man who did this to her.
He called Renzulli to tell him what he'd found out.
And Renzulli filled Jamie in on what happened after he'd gone home.
DCFS had taken the other two children…the girl…Ariel was three and a half…and the boy, Jordan was fifteen months.
Jamie would have guessed they were both a lot younger…they were so tiny.
He was shocked to find out that Rachel was almost seven.
But Renzulli was still talking…
"And the father…he blew a gasket when they took the kids. Started screaming about how he was a lawyer and his constitutional rights were being violated…what the hell about the kids' rights?"
"I don't remember anything from Constitutional Law about the right to beat your kid to death…" Jamie said.
Now he wished he hadn't gone home…he'd have ripped this guy apart…
On second thought…maybe it was better he hadn't.
He wanted this guy…he wanted him in jail…and he wanted to be the one to lock the door and throw the key in the East River.
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Scene: The Reagan house
Dinner was subdued.
The story about the little girl was all over the news…
In the middle of the meal Danny's phone went off…
"Reagan…" he said, with a mouth full of chicken. "I'll be right there."
He ended the call and pushed his chair back.
Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"The little girl…" Danny said. "They took her off life support an hour ago. Now it's officially a homicide."
Linda and Anna both made the Sign of the Cross.
Jamie looked up at his brother.
"Are you gonna go scoop up the father?"
"Yeah…"
"Can I ride with you?" he asked.
"Absolutely." Danny agreed.
Jamie leaned over and kissed Anna.
"I'll be home later. I love you."
"I love you too…" she answered.
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Scene: an interrogation room
"You have no right to hold me here! I'm an attorney! I know my rights!" Gabe Rothschild thundered as he pounded his fist on the table.
Jamie looked at Danny…Danny looked at Jamie…and they both rolled their eyes in exasperation.
"You've been fully advised of your rights, Mr. Rothschild." Jamie said. "And I have yet to hear you actually invoke them…"
"Look…" Danny interrupted. "My brother here…he graduated from Harvard law…me…I'm just a cop…I don't get into all the big five dollar words. So sit your ass down…and let's try this again."
Danny leaned over the table and glared into Rothschild's beady little eyes.
"We know your daughter was layin' on the bathroom floor for at least twelve to fourteen hours. We know you were there for at least part of that time…and we know your wife was there the whole time. We know she never left the apartment 'cause it's thirty degrees out and she apparently doesn't own any pants…or shoes! So will you please tell me…how did Rachel end up in the bathroom?"
"Kids go to the bathroom in the night…she must have fallen…and bumped her head."
"And you didn't go to check on her? You didn't notice her laying there when you went to the bathroom yourself?" Jamie asked.
"I didn't hear anything…and I use the master bathroom. That one is for my wife and the children." Rothschild answered.
"You have to pass that bathroom to get to the front of the apartment…and there's no damn door!" Jamie yelled.
"There's no door?" Danny asked.
"No…and no toilet paper either…" Jamie said. "But that's a whole other conversation. You expect me to believe that you walked down the hall to the front of your apartment…past the bathroom with no door…and didn't happen to notice your six year old daughter lying motionless on the cold hard floor in nothing but her underwear?"
Rothschild sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
And Danny lost it.
"Answer my brother's question you sonofabitch!"
But Rothschild looked smug.
"I want a lawyer." He said.
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Scene: Jamie and Anna's apartment
He walked in the door and hung his coat on the rack.
And when he turned around Anna was standing there with a glass of Scotch on the rocks.
"You read my mind…" Jamie said gratefully as he took the glass from her hand.
He put his arm around her shoulders and they made their way to the couch.
"So…what happened?" Anna asked.
Jamie leaned back and took a sip of his drink.
"We have enough to hold him…but that jackass had an answer for everything…right up till he asked for a lawyer."
"So what next? Do you have enough to actually charge him?"
"Right now…prob'ly not. If we can get the wife to flip on him…"
"But you said she was like a zombie…what are the chances she'll speak out against him?"
Jamie took another drink.
"Slim to none. Hopefully Danny'll find something concrete. We stopped at Dad's…he's gonna temporarily assign me to Major Case…so Danny and I are gonna work together on this."
"Wow…that's amazing." Anna said.
"What's really amazing was it was Danny's idea."
Anna shrugged.
"Jamie you're good at what you do…and you're gonna be an awesome detective. Look at what you did with Simon Cavish or whatever his name is last year. He'd still be running loose if it weren't for you."
Jamie drained the last of his Scotch. And he set the glass on the coffee table before he took Anna in his arms.
Her faith in him made him feel like he could move mountains.
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Scene: Major Case
"Danny…I think we got him." Jamie said quietly.
Interest piqued, Danny got up from his desk and came around to the desk Jamie was using.
"I'm all ears, Kid."
Jamie had been studying Rachel's autopsy photos for the past hour…looking for any indentifying marks they could use to nail her father to the nearest tree.
"Look at this subdermal bruising pattern here…" Jamie said as he held up a photo.
There was a perfect left hand gripping Rachel's right shoulder.
"We can certainly match this hand print for size if nothing else…and maybe the crime lab can raise even more details…compounded with the rest of the circumstantial evidence we have…it might be enough even if Erin can't flip the mother."
Danny reached for his phone.
"Erin? We may have something here…"
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Scene: the court house
Jamie paced nervously in the hall outside the court room waiting for Erin to call him to testify before the Grand Jury.
And hopefully they would bring charges against Gabe Rothschild.
All they really had was the subdermal bruising…that had been a match as far as size…but they couldn't raise enough detail to get actual prints.
So it was all gonna come down to Jamie and Renzulli's testimony as the first officers on the scene.
There was already a huge public outcry…everyone wanted to know how this poor child had slipped through the cracks. Why hadn't the school reported something…why hadn't her doctor noticed anything?
Somebody…a lot of somebodies actually…had really dropped the ball on this.
The door opened.
"Officer Jamison Reagan?" the bailiff called out.
"Right here…" Jamie answered, as he strode to the door.
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Scene: Anna's classroom…right after school
Jamie walked into the classroom. And Anna was on a step stool trying to hang paper butterflies from the ceiling.
"Here…why don't you let me do that?" he said.
Anna turned around.
Jamie caught her around her slender waist and lifted her down in one fluid motion.
"How did it go?" she asked anxiously.
"Second degree-murder…." He said.
Anna hugged him tight.
"We'll get it too…" Jamie said. "If we can just convince the mother to testify. Danny and I are gonna take another run at it tomorrow…and Erin's gonna offer her a deal."
"They deserve to rot in hell together…" Anna said, her brown eyes flashing with anger.
"You're preaching to the choir…"Jamie said. "But the most she's guilty of is negligence…a savvy lawyer will argue that Rothschild had her brain-washed…and all it takes is one bleeding-heart on the jury and she walks. Best to get her on our side now…and let God sort out the rest later."
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Scene: an interrogation room
"My client has nothing to say…" Mrs. Rothschild's attorney stated the minute they sat down.
"Then why did you bother to come down here, Hildy?" Erin asked.
"To listen…Ms. Reagan. To hear what you're offering…"
Erin opened her briefcase.
"It's pretty cut and dry. In exchange for her testimony against Mr. Rothschild, the people agree not to prosecute her alongside the bastard."
"My husband didn't hurt Rachel." Mrs. Rothschild said.
"No…he didn't hurt her." Danny spat out. "He killed her. He beat her then left her to die on a cold bathroom floor!"
Jamie quietly opened up the folder he was holding.
He laid a photo down on the table.
It showed Rachel sitting at her desk in school…looking sad and far away.
"This is your daughter, Mrs. Rothschild…she was six years old…my fiancée teaches kindergarten…and I'm in her classroom every week. And I've never seen a child look this sad and broken…and alone."
Mrs. Rothschild ran her fingertips over the photograph…and a tear ran down her cheek.
Jamie laid another photo down…one of the least innocuous photos from Rachel's autopsy.
"This is your daughter, Mrs. Rothschild. She'll never have a chance to grow up…to go to a prom, or graduate from high school…to go to college…to fall in love and get married. To have babies of her own. She can't tell us what happened to her, Mrs. Rothschild…neither can Ariel or Jordan. You're the only one who can speak for your daughter." He told her.
Erin picked up where he left off.
"You carried Rachel in your body, Mrs. Rothschild. You gave birth to her and held her in your arms. You fed her and raised her…I'm a mother too…and if someone so much as laid a finger on my daughter…there's no way on God's green earth I'd sit by and let him get away with it."
Mrs. Rothschild turned her head…her tears flowing freely.
Jamie took the photos and put them back in the file.
Then he poured the woman a glass of water…and handed her a box of tissue.
"You need to do the right thing here, Mrs. Rothschild. You have to know in your heart of hearts that what happened to Rachel is wrong…it's unnatural. You still have two other children…you need help right now…but there's a chance you could still be a mother to Ariel and Jordan."
"Okay…" the woman whispered. "Okay…"
Jamie breathed a sigh of relief.
They were gonna nail the bastard. Gabe Rothschild was never gonna breath fresh air again.