Summary: The team's investigation into a fifteen year old murder suspect leaves more questions than answers. Nothing is ever what it seems, and the search for the truth may not be an easy road to travel.
Disclaimer: I don't own NUMB3RS, it's characters, it's rights, anything like that. I don't own anything, I don't claim to own anything, and I'm not making money off this so please don't sue.
A/N: Ok, well I sorta just got something in my head and started writing. I really don't have a specific plan for this story yet, I just started typing and I'm just letting the story develop itself. Hope you enjoy!
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Chapter 1
Don stood there, arms crossed, watching her through the glass. She was sitting there, slouching slightly, remarkably calm considering the situation, hands handcuffed behind her back, not looking at anything in particular, only occasionally glancing up if she heard something outside the room. Her clothes were still covered in blood, but it didn't seem to bother her. She couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen, but her sober expression made her seem mature beyond her years.
Their search for a suspect in their most recent case had led them to this girl. Agents searching the area where their suspect had last been seen had heard a commotion near one of the buildings and upon investigation found her kneeling over a man in the alleyway who was losing a lot of blood quickly, he died on the way to the hospital, and they were still waiting for an ID on him. She'd tried to run when the agents announced themselves, but back-up had caught up with her a few blocks away. She still had yet to say anything to anyone.
Megan had tried for almost an hour to get her to talk, but the girl didn't say a word, she barely showed any emotion or had any reactions at all. They still didn't know who she was, or anything about her for that matter. The lab was running her prints, so hopefully they'd be able to get a hit in AFIS, and then maybe they'd be able to figure out who she was and what had happened in that alleyway.
"Hey," Megan greeted softly, walking in.
"Hey," Don replied mechanically, not looking away from the girl sitting in the interrogation room.
"I still can't figure it out," she admitted. Don nodded in agreement.
"We get a hit on her prints yet?" he asked.
"Not yet, but they're still working on it."
Don frowned slightly, before sighing. "I'm gonna try talking to her," he said, starting to walk out.
"You think you can get her to talk?" Megan questioned, slightly doubtful.
Don chuckled hollowly. "Probably not, but it's better than standing around waiting," he countered. She smirked and shrugged, not being able to argue that point.
0
When Don entered the interrogation room, the girl looked up at him. They continued watching each other as he sat down across from her. After a few moments of silence, she finally looked away, her dirty brown hair falling into her face. But looking into her eyes Don saw something. He didn't see an emotionless killer, he'd caught a glimpse into a haunted human being. He'd seen the pain she was obviously trying to hide. She was just a scared kid, Don realized.
"What's your name?" he asked gently, trying not to push her, just wanting to get her to say something, anything.
She didn't answer. She didn't even look at him.
Don sighed and tried again. "How old are you?"
Still she didn't respond.
Don watched her for a second before deciding to try a different approach.
"OK, if you don't wanna answer the easy questions, how 'bout we move on to the bigger ones…like, what were you doing in that alleyway?" he inquired bluntly.
She didn't answer, but Don noticed her tense slightly.
"He died, you know, the guy in the alleyway," he mentioned. "Who was he?" he questioned. No response. "Did you kill him?" Don pressed.
The girl still didn't look at him. In fact, she didn't move at all. Don waited for a reply, but the only sound in the room was their breathing. Neither one of them showed any signs of breaking the silence, it was as if they were having a battle of wills.
Finally, Don broke the silence by asking, in a softer tone, "You have any family?"
Instead of looking at him, she actually made a point to look away.
"Is that a yes or a no?" Don asked, noticing her reaction.
She finally glanced up at him, but didn't hold eye contact.
Don bit his lips for a second before asking, "Isn't anyone going to be wondering where you are?"
For a second, Don could've swore she looked like she want to laugh, though her expression seemed to be a mix between her wanting to find that question humorous and the stoicism written on her face.
"No," she finally answered quietly, barely above a whisper.
"Why not?" he asked softly.
She didn't answer, instead looking away again.
Don frowned slightly, watching her for a minute before asking, "You realize how much trouble you're in, don't you?"
It was a second before she sighed quietly and nodded, staring at the table.
He cocked his head sideways slightly, regarding the girl sitting across the table from him carefully. "So why don't you just tell us what happened so we can help you?" he suggested gently.
She looked as if she wanted to say something, Don could see the internal struggle going on behind her jade eyes, but she seemed to decide against it.
Don took a deep breath and put his forearms on the table, leaning on them for support. "How are we supposed to help you if you don't talk to us?" he challenged quietly.
The internal struggle was back, written on her face. It seemed like she was torn between wanting to actually talk or maybe just have a sarcastic remark and not saying anything at all. Not saying anything won out, and she looked away again.
Don sighed, but before he could say anything else there was a knock on the window. He looked over and saw Megan waving him over.
He looked back at the girl and said, "I'll be right back."
0
"What's up?" he asked curiously after he shut the door to the interrogation room.
"The ADA just called, wants to know why we haven't turned over the case to LAPD," Megan informed him.
"Because we're not done with our investigation, that's why," Don retorted.
Megan nodded. "That's what I told him, but he's on his way over anyway."
"What's so special about this case?" he wondered aloud.
She shrugged. "Good question. I think maybe a lot of the store owners and residents in the area might be putting some pressure on them to get this resolved quickly."
Don rolled his eyes. "Great," he muttered. Megan nodded in agreement.
"So…you got her to say something at least," she pointed out, changing the subject.
He shrugged slightly. "Yeah, one word," he retorted.
"Well, it's something. And she did nod too, so maybe she'll start responding to questions if you keep at it," Megan replied.
"Yeah, maybe," Don mumbled, looking back at the girl sitting in the interrogation room.
Megan watched him for a second. "What's bugging you?" she questioned.
"She's just a kid, a scared kid," he answered, with a look mixed between puzzled and concerned covering his features.
She sighed, looking at the girl as well. "Yeah, she is," Megan agreed.
"If she'd just talk to us," Don muttered exasperatedly.
Megan paused a second before saying, "I think it's a little more complicated than that."
"What do you mean?" Don inquired.
"I think she really is just a scared kid. I think she's probably afraid to talk," she elaborated. "She probably doesn't trust people in authority, so she's probably scared to talk to us."
Don furrowed his eyebrows, it made sense. It would explain why she seemed to struggle with wanting to say something, but something was holding her back.
"I wonder what happened to her," he mused.
Megan looked sideways at him for a second then shrugged. "It's hard to tell. There could be a lot of things that could have made her wary of authority figures."
A minute later, David came over with a middle-aged man in a suit.
"Guys, this is ADA Robertson," he introduced.
"Don Eppes, this is Megan Reeves," Don greeted, shaking the man's hand.
"Ah yes, Agent Reeves and I spoke on the phone," Robertson replied.
"So what can I do for you Mr. Robertson?" Don questioned bluntly.
Robertson sighed. "Well, as I told Agent Reeves on the phone, I'm curious as to why you have not handed over this case to LAPD. If I'm not mistaken, this isn't a case that requires the FBI," he replied coolly.
David and Megan glanced at each other, while Don just stared at Robertson.
"Well, considering our guys are the ones who ran across it –" Don started, but Robertson cut him off.
"Yes, and we thank your men for that. However, I still don't see why you haven't handed it over to LAPD."
"Because we still haven't determined if it is related to our case or not, and until we do this is still our case," Don replied firmly.
Robertson stood there for a minute, staring at Don incredulously. Finally, he looked away, and happened to see the girl in the interrogation room.
"Is that the suspect your men apprehended trying to flee from the scene?" he questioned, intrigued.
"Yes."
"Could I have a minute with her?" Robertson asked politely, though he sounded a little eager.
"No," Don answered.
Robertson turned to Don with a look of arrogance. "Excuse me?" he asked coolly, in a low tone.
"I said no," Don replied calmly.
"And why not?" Robertson shot back.
"Because she hasn't been charged with anything yet, so you have no reason to go in there," Don answered simply, still retaining his calm demeanor even though Robertson's temper was obviously bubbling under the surface waiting to blow.
"And why has she not been charged with anything yet?" Roberson questioned patiently, though his tone was strained.
"Because we're not done with our investigation."
Don and Robertson had another stare off, neither going to give in.
Finally, Robertson huffed, "Fine. But we're not through here."
"I expect not," Don muttered under his breath as Robertson stormed off toward the elevators.
"Hey guys," Colby said, coming over holding a file. "The lab got a hit off our mystery girl's prints."
"Oh yeah, so who is she?" Don asked as Megan took the file from Colby and started reading over it.
"Jamie Sanderfauld," Megan read. "Fifteen years old. She's been in foster care since she was two. A couple stints in juvie, nothing major, several misdemeanors, and a couple resisting arrest charges." Megan paused for a second.
"What is it?" David questioned.
"She's been in about twenty different foster homes since she was six, looks like the longest she ever stayed in one was about seven weeks," she replied dejectedly.
"Wow, that's a lot of moving around," Colby muttered.
"Yeah," Megan agreed, then looked up at Don. "That probably explains why she has trouble trusting authority figures, she's never had anyone she could really count on. It looks like she's had three different social workers."
"Shouldn't someone notice she's missing by now?" Colby asked bluntly.
Megan looked back at the file, and sighed. "She ran away from her last home almost three months ago." She shook her head. "The system's not perfect, there are so many kids and not enough workers to keep track of them all. She's just one of the many that's fallen through the cracks," she said sadly, looking back at the girl sitting the interrogation room. "I'll go call her social worker," she sighed, heading over to her desk.
"Just doesn't seem right," Colby commented, glancing at the girl.
"I agree with you there," David said.
Don looked over at David. "Hey, have we gotten an ID on our vic yet?" he questioned.
"Not yet," he answered. "We're running fingerprints and DNA, but so far nothing. The lab said it could take a while."
Don nodded contemplatively. "Why don't you guys go canvas the area, see if anyone recognizes him."
David and Colby nodded and left. Don stood there for a minute, thinking over everything, trying to figure it all out. Megan came over and broke him out of his preoccupation.
"Well, the social worker says she won't be able to make it till tomorrow," she informed him. "She said just hold her until everything gets sorted out."
Don huffed dryly. "So basically, stick her in a cell until she gets charged with murder or the social worker has time to find a place to put her."
Megan nodded gloomily. "Pretty much."
Don just shook his head. Neither of them were too happy with those options.
0
Just like last time, she looked up at Don when he entered the interrogation room. But this time, instead of watching him as he sat down across from her, she looked away.
"Who was the guy?" she asked quietly, not looking up at Don.
"What guy?" he replied patiently, trying to see if she'd look at him.
She glanced up, but wouldn't look him in the eyes. "The guy in the suit you all were talking to," she answered in the same, barely audible, voice.
"That was the ADA, wanting to know why we hadn't turned over the case to LAPD yet," Don told her truthfully.
She was still refusing to look at him, but asked, "Why haven't you?"
"Because we still don't know what happened, and until we do it's still our case," he answered. She was glancing down again, but Don was pretty sure he could see that she was thinking about everything. "Think you could help us out, tell us what happened?" he asked slowly, leaning on the table.
She didn't respond. Nor did she make any other movement other than breathing.
Don sighed as he watched the girl across from him. "Look Jamie," he started gently, noticing her glance up at her name. "It's like I said before, we can't help you if you don't talk to us."
Jamie held eye contact for a moment before looking away again. Don could see in her eyes that she still wasn't going to say anything soon.
"We talked to your social worker," he mentioned. She didn't say anything, but Don noticed her tense up. "She's not gonna be able to come by to talk to us until tomorrow."
He could see the internal struggle on her face again, but instead of deciding against saying something, Jamie asked quietly in a dejected tone, "So…what happens now?"
Don bit his lips for a second, watching her attentively, before sighing and saying, "Well, until we figure something else out, you'll be at the Juvenile Detention Center."
Jamie nodded slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction. She looked up when Megan entered the room, but looked away again a second later. Megan and Don shared a look, but said nothing aloud.
"Megan's gonna go with you," Don told Jamie. "She's gonna make sure everything goes OK, and get your clothes to take to the lab so they can examine all the blood."
She didn't respond, but she didn't put up a struggle when Megan said, "Let's go" either. Instead, Jamie just stood up and went with Megan willingly.
Don watched them until they got on the elevator, and then went back to work, hoping to find something to make this entire situation seem less confusing.
A/N: Well, hope you liked this first chapter! I'm working on the next one already, so hopefully it'll be up soon. This semester has just been crazy busy so I haven't had a lot of time to write, or update my other stories either. Things should calm down after the holidays though, so if you're waiting for me to update one of my other stories, I am trying, but I've just been too busy. Anyway, hope you like this story so far, reviews are greatly appreciated!
