The Journal

Author Notes

Last time around I focused more into Eddie, Woody and Jordan, this time I expand the view.

This is set during the events on season 01 episode 15 (Acts of Mercy).

This is the second part of 'Love in the Boston PD' series. I have a last part planned ('Plotting Jordan') for this series; but if I think up any other storylines, I'll write more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Crossing Jordan or any of the characters. (If I did Winslow wouldn't have ever left).

Story

Doctor Jordan Cavanaugh greeted me while slapping on her latex gloves:

"Hey, Woody. How's it hanging?"

"Jordan Cavanaugh, it must be my lucky day."

My partner, Lieutenant Eddie Winslow, started to taunt Jordan (As he always does…):

"And it must be the retribution for double parking yesterday."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Winslow. Who's the deceased?"

"A Celia Brackett, 53 years young. No forced entry, no signs of struggle. I think she did this to herself."

"Who found her?"

"Housekeeper. Has her own key and has not stop crying."

"Jordan, do you think you could give us time of death?"

She moved the old woman's arm up and down:

"Uhm, probably sometime before midnight last night."

"Thank you."

She pointed to Mrs. Brackett's arm:

"Fresh needle puncture wounds on the arm. If she did this to herself, where's the needle?"

"I'll have my guys look through the trash."

"Don't bother, Woody."- Eddie took a deep breath. – "This was a murder."

"Winslow's right. There's some bruising over her top lip. There're some tears to the frenulum."

What?

"I'm sorry, what does that mean?"

Eddie and Jordan shared a look and turned to me:

"She was smothered."

Oh.

My partner and I were watching Jordan cut into the old woman.

"Looking a little green there, Woody."

Eddie sighed and his voice changed to that condescending tone used on children:

"Leave him alone, Jordan."

I like how he protects me.

"I can't believe you actually do this every day."

That weird guy, Nigel Townsend, walked in:

"Jordan! Sheriff, Deputy! I come bearing tox screens."

"It's about time."

"I'd gotten back to you sooner, but I was rehearsing."

"Uh hum. What are the results?"

Nigel looked a little surprised that Jordan didn't care:

"Don't you even want to know what I was rehearsing?"

"No."

I raised my hand:

"I do."

My lieutenant's (Where did that come from?) lips curled up and he said (Mostly to annoy Jordan, part of it to indulge me and part of it to satisfy his curiosity):

"What were you rehearsing, Nige?"

"Bug has been asked to do a show on the telly and I'm his sidekick."

"Hey, I've never met a TV star before." – We high five.

"And you still haven't met one."

Jordan tried to burst my bubble but my lieutenant (Still don't know where that came from…) stepped hard on her foot.

"Ow!" – They started glaring at each other while Nigel and I tried not to laugh.

"So, Nigel, how is your husband?"

"Ecstatic, of course. Wait. How did you know we're married?"

"Eddie told me you proposed to Bug and you two went to Vermont to make it official."

"Eddie, huh?"

I could feel myself blush. The pair had finished glaring at each other and Jordan asked:

"The tox screen?"

"Positive for metahexadine."

"So she was unconscious?"

"Out cold, with just a dash of potassium chloride."

My Eddie (If you can't fight it, embrace it.) wrote that down on his notebook.

I couldn't stop staring as his hand moved across the paper.

"Enough to kill her?"

"Not quite, her barbiturates levels were normal."

And there was the writing again!

"Oh, good work, boy wonder."

I snickered at Jordan's comment.

"Well, if there's nothing further, the stage is a harsh mistress."

Eddie coughed:

"And so is Bug."

Dr. Cavanaugh called out to Nigel:

"Actually, there is one thing. Can you look through the files find out how many cases of potassium chloride injection we've had in the last six months?"

"My feet are like wings!" – He said and left.

"That's strange."

"Theater folk are like that."

"More like 'morgue folk' are like that."

"Not him. And not me, Winslow. Her liver and spleen." – She held up one of the organs. I don't know which, I looked away pretty fast. – "Cancer."

"She was dying, Cavanaugh?"

"She only had a few weeks left."

"Are we sure she didn't kill herself?"

"Not unless she smothered herself with a pillow while unconscious after taking a sedative."

Eddie elbowed her.

Lily Lebowsky, the administrator opened the door:

"Jordan? There's a Daniel Brackett here to see you. I put him in the conference room."

She smiled at me, I smiled back.

Lily closed the door pretty quickly when she saw my Eddie glaring at her.

I wonder why he did that.

"That's her son."

"So, I guess you two want to speak to him by yourselves."

"We kinda spoke to him back at the house. Maybe you could get something out of him, one on one."

Jordan looked shocked and turned to my partner:

"You alright with that, Eddie?"

"Just go, Cavanaugh." – She left and he turned to me, his gaze noticeably softening. – "Woody, I'm going to help Nigel with the reports, you can head back to the precinct, see if Trace has something for us."

"'Kay. Bye, Eddie."

"Bye, Woody."

So here I am.

Just sitting around.

I need some coffee.

I get up and go to the break room. The break room is small. Well, bigger than Macy's office but smaller than mine and Eddie's. There's a round table, a fridge and some cupboards.

And, done.

I sip it. It really needs sugar.

Damn! I dropped my spoon. And of course it would roll under the fridge. (Huh. I guess Eddie's rubbing off on me.)

I sat down on the floor and tried to get it back. I found a leather-bound book instead.

"No name." – I flicked it through it. – "It's a diary."

I wonder whose it is.

I was back at the M.E.'s office, reading while waiting for my Eddie, ahem, I mean, Jordan.

"Watcha reading, Woody?"

"Some guy's journal."

"Who?"

"Doesn't say."

"Then how do you know it's a guy?"

"No woman has this-" – I showed her what I was holding. – "for a hand writing."

She smiled and left, as I kept reading.

Oh my God.

"Jordan!" – I yelled. – "Your father is in here."

The M.E. was by my side in less time than it takes for Nige to make Bug blush:

"What?"

"Yeah, here: 'Today I got partnered with Max Cavanaugh. The guy is a legend on the force. Granted, he isn't young anymore, but this is a case where experience trumps running. If anything I can chase down the suspects.' Pretty neat, huh?"

"Where did you find that?"

"At the precinct."

"Huh. If there's anything else about my father, tell me. Now come on, your boyfriend headed over to the precinct to meet you."

I placed the journal inside my coat's pocket.

"Right. Forgot to tell him I was coming here." – Then what she'd said hit me. – "He's not my boyfriend!"

I wish.

"Then why are you blushing?"

I hate you, Jordan Cavanaugh.

Me, Jordan and Eddie were walking towards the precinct and she was telling us the meeting she'd had with Celia Brackett's doctor.

"Doctor Gramble told you? As in he confessed?"

"I wouldn't call it a confession; that guy is an arrogant son of a bitch."

"What was his motive? Mercy?"

She scoffed at me:

"Who cares? He killed her!"

"The D.A. cares, Jordan. They're not too keen on prosecuting well known doctors for mercy killings."

"What? I don't believe this! So, now it's PC to set murderers free?"

"You're the one that said she had only a couple of days to live."

Eddie finally got into the conversation:

"But no one has the right to take them away."

Jordan and I halted and just stared at my Lieutenant, who continued:

"I know I never agree with Jordan, mostly out of principle, but I'm siding with her this time." – His voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. – "I'm sorry, Woody."

I was going to keep arguing with Jordan, but Eddie's voice sounded so hurt, it completely disarmed me.

I froze.

I saw Daniel Brackett approach us, complaining that we were letting a murderer walk free and whatnot. I couldn't move or talk.

It was my partner shaking me that brought me back from shock:

"Are you okay, Woody?"

"Yeah." – I paused. – "How did it go with Nigel?"

"I didn't have much luck. But he and Bug are still searching."

We (Me and Eddie) were talking while we waited for a new lead.

"He didn't!"

"Yeah, he did."

"I can't believe Max tried to set you up with Jordan!"

"I still have the photo we took. The date was great, it was back when we were actually civil to each other. But Jordan isn't exactly what I'm looking for."

He looked me in the eyes as I blushed hard. Neither of us averted our gaze until the phone rang and he picked it up:

"Four other cases? And in all of those the doctor was Gramble? Meet you at his office." – He hung up, grabbed my jacket (which was on a rack) and threw it at me. – "Let's get moving."

Arriving at the office we saw Daniel Brackett watching a tape made by his mother informing him of her choice to die. He was clutching a handgun.

I raised my gun and was about to tell him to drop his when Eddie intervened:

"Let me." – His voice turned sad. – "Daniel? Let go of your gun."

"She… She wanted…"

He let the object fall to the floor.

Jordan and I got in Dr. Gramble's private office (while Eddie consoled Daniel), only to find him dead, hooked up to the same IV drip that killed his patients.

We arrested Daniel and Eddie took him down to processing while sending me to sleep on our office's couch.

I used my time to keep reading the journal.

I must've dozed off for a while because when I came to, the journal was on my desk and I had a sheet covering me.

"Okay, I have to finish this now."

I got off the couch and sat at my desk, on top of the journal there was an Irish bar matchbook and a note (Meeting Jordan here. Didn't want to wake you. You needed the sleep. Love, Eddie.).

Love?

Anyway.

I kept on reading the journal.

Oh. My. God.

I went to the bar, which it turned out to be Jordan's father's, and approached Jordan, Max and Eddie.

The latter must've presumed what I found out so he made himself scarce:

"Sleep well, Woody?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'm going to do the same. Bye, guys."

"You want something, kid?"

"A beer, please." – I turned to Jordan. – "Remember the leather journal?"

"Yeah, anything else?"

"I know whose it is."

"Well, who?"

"Eddie's." – She rolled her eyes. – "And you two have to hear this."

Max exhaled:

"Fine."

"Ready? ' Today a guy from Internal Affairs approached me. He wanted me to hand my partner to them in a silver platter. They wanted me to lie so he would lose his job. They had the nerve to bribe me. My answer was the same each time: NO.'"

"Did he give you that?"

"No. I found it hidden under the break room fridge." – I paused until I found the page I was looking for. – "Anyway. There's more. 'I heard through a couple of my CIs that Internal Affairs really wants Max out. As in either he retires or he gets a bullet as a gift. I think I may have to testify against him to save him.' And then the very next day: 'One of the CIs from yesterday said that IA already had a hit man in mind, so when they approached me with another offer, I had to say yes. I just hope he (and Jordan) can forgive me.' "

I closed the journal and smiled at them.

The next day Jordan talked to Gramble's wife, who said he had an inoperable brain tumor.

"Why would she offer that piece of information?"

"According to Jordan, the happy widow said it was so 'an innocent wouldn't go to prison'. I think she has something worse to hide."

"The only thing worse is she killing him."

"Well, she does have medical knowledge, she was a nurse. Let's go to his office, see if we missed something the first time around."

"Okay."

So there we were again. At the second crime scene. By that time, the widow was gone, no one knew where she was.

"Woody, did Jordan give you a list with the other victims?"

"Yeah, here." – I handed it to him. – "What are you doing?"

"Looking in his appointment book."

"He's not gonna write there '12:00 – Killing Patient', Eddie."

He rolled his eyes.

"Here. December 11th." – My lieutenant looked up from the ledger. – "He was out of town for a conference."

His phone started ringing so he handed me what he was holding before answering it:

"Winslow. Thanks, Tracy." – He closed his cell phone. – "Guess whose car they found?"

"Guess what I found?"

"More deaths when he was out of town?"

"You're no fun."

He winked at me:

"I think I am."

The widow was in an apartment, killing another patient. We arrested her and she confessed to all of the murders.

"My husband believed in what I was doing but he could never do it himself."

"Well then, you are under arrest for four more murders."

Back at our office I decided to return the journal to its rightful owner.

"I think this is yours."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell them?"

"At that time, it was too dangerous. And later they'd already labeled me a traitor, so why bother? They were safe and that's what mattered."

"That reminds me; Jordan wanted you to go to the bar again. I think they want to apologize."

"They have nothing to apologize for. It was my choice." – He lowered his voice. – "Just like this is."

He dropped his notebook when he stood up and kissed me.

Wow.