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In Need
Chapter Two
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It had been an hour since Sgt Getraer and Jon had left, and Ponch was still trying to guess the little girl's name. He kept saying different names but each time the girl would just shake her head, or scrunch her nose up at the name. Ponch was just about to guess another name when the door opened and an older woman with blond hair pulled up into a bun walked into the room. The woman was carrying a large bag, and she wore a grey dress. The little girl glanced up at the woman and shrunk back into the bed.
"Hello I'm Valentine Hale I spoke with a Sgt Getraer a couple hours ago, I'm from social services," The woman introduced.
"I'm Ponch. My partner and I were the ones who found her walking down the highway," Ponch replied, standing up and offer his free hand for the woman to shake.
Valentine shook Ponch's hand and glanced down at the little girl lying on the bed. She still had a tight grip on one of Ponch's arms and it didn't look like she was going to let go any time soon.
"Getraer said you think you might have a file on her?" Ponch exclaimed.
"Yes actually I do. Her names Penny West, she's been in foster care since she was five," Valentine answered.
"Well Penny, that's a pretty name, wonder why I didn't think of that," Ponch said, glancing down at Penny. Penny glanced up at him for a second before glancing down at her lap. Ponch sighed and turned back to Valentine.
"I haven't been able to get her to say a single thing since she woke up," Ponch confessed.
"Well I expected that, apparently she saw her parents killed in a fire when she was five and according to her file she hasn't spoken since then," Valentine explained.
Ponch shook his head and glanced back down at Penny. The girl had gone through so much in the time that she'd been alive and it upset him.
"What about her foster parents, were are they?" Ponch asked, once again turning back to the social worker.
"Well she's had a lot of foster parents over the years, each one had problems with the lack of communication. As of right now she's been staying with a couple, Mr. Nickson and his wife. I called them once I found her file, but I haven't been able to get through to them," Valentine answered.
"I'll call Sgt. Getraer and have him get an officer to their house," Ponch suggested. Valentine nodded her head and handed Ponch a piece of paper with an address and phone number on it.
"That's their address and number in case you want to try calling them," Valentine stated. Ponch nodded his head, and turned to Penny.
"Hey Penny, I need to go call Getraer and let him know what Miss Valentine told me. But in order to do that I need you to let go of my arm, and I promise you I'll be right back," Ponch stated.
Penny stared up at him for a minute before nodded her head, and slowly let go of his arm. Ponch quickly left the room, and made a quick call to the station. It only took him a minute to explain what Valentine had told him, and to give Sgt. Getraer the address. Sgt Getraer said he'd have Jon check out the foster parent's house, and then the two hung up. Ponch quickly made his way back to Penny's room. When he got back to the room Valentine was sitting on one side of the bed talking softly to Penny, but Penny had curled herself up into a ball as far away from the woman as the bed would allow. The second she saw Ponch, Penny reached her hand out to him and whimpered slightly. Ponch smiled slightly at the sight, and walked over to the girl and took her hand.
"Hey it's okay Miss Valentine is here to help," Ponch stated. Penny shook her head and buried her face in Ponch's arm.
"Looks like she's taken a shining to you," Valentine exclaimed, smiling. Ponch nodded his head, and glanced down at Penny. She was rubbing her eyes, and he saw a yawn escape her mouth.
"Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll be right here when you wake up," Ponch suggested, moving a piece of hair out of Penny's face. Penny nodded her head and laid back on the bed. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep.
"Sgt. Getraer said he was going to send my partner to Penny's foster parent's house, so we should know something pretty soon," Ponch stated.
While Ponch and Valentine talked about Penny, Jon pulled up outside the Nickson's house. The house was small, with only one floor, and all the lights in the house were off. Jon made his way up to the door, and was about to knock when he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Jon pulled his gun and slowly made his way into the house. All the furniture was turned over, and there was glass littering the floor. Jon made his way into the kitchen and paused as a horrible smell reached his nose, also making note of all the empty beer bottles strewn across the counter top. He made his way around the counter and stopped once again at what he saw. A woman was lying on the floor, a pool of blood around her.
Jon silently moved to the woman and checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one. He sighed, and hung his head for a second before moving through the rest of the house. It was empty and Jon holstered his gun, then made his way back to his bike so he could call it in. within twenty minutes several police cars, and a coroner arrived, along with Sgt. Getraer. Jon watched as officer's tapped off the house, and the coroner made his way inside. It was obvious to Jon that someone, most likely Mr. Nickson, had shot Ms. Nickson and Penny had seen it. Then whoever shot Ms. Nickson tried to kill Penny. It angered Jon beyond believe that someone could do something like this to a small child, to anyone really.
"Jon why don't you head to the hospital and let Ponch know what you found," Getraer suggested, noticing Jon's upset demeanor. Jon nodded his head, and climbed onto his motor cycle.
"And Jon… we're going to get whoever did this," Getraer stated.
Jon put his helmet on and drove off heading towards the hospital. When he got there he stopped by the cafeteria, and grabbed a thing of chocolate pudding for Penny, then headed to room 224. When he got to the room Ponch and Valentine were talking quietly, and Penny was sleeping silently in between them. Jon couldn't help but smile at the fact that even though she was asleep she still had a tight hold on Ponch's hand.
"Hey Ponch," Jon exclaimed, moving towards the bed.
"Hey Jon, this is Valentine Hale the social worker," Ponch introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Jon replied, shaking Valentine's hand.
"Is that chocolate pudding?" Ponch asked, pointing at the pudding in Jon's hand.
"Yes, and it's for Penny," Jon answered, setting the pudding on the stand next to the bed.
"So did you talk with Mr. or Ms. Nickson?" Valentine asked. Jon shook his head, a frown making its way to his face.
"When I got there the door was open slightly, when I checked the house I found Ms. Nickson dead in the kitchen," Jon explained. Valentine gasped, her eyes going wide, and Ponch ground his teeth a scowl forming on his face.
"What about Mr. Nickson?" Ponch asked.
"He wasn't there," Jon answered.
Jon grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. Ponch glanced down at Penny. She looked so peaceful just lying there in the bed. Ponch couldn't understand how so many bad things could happen to such an innocent little girl.
"What's going to happen to Penny now?" Ponch asked.
"Well once the doctor says it's okay for her to leave the hospital she'll go to a new foster home… that is if I can find one that will take her," Valentine answered, shaking her head.
"So she'll pry just be bounced from house to house," Ponch stated, glancing up at the woman. Valentine sighed and nodded her head.
"More than likely. Most foster parents aren't equipped to deal with someone like Penny. She witnessed her parent's death at a young age and hasn't spoken a word since then, and now after this I'm afraid she may never speak. And most people don't want to deal with a troubled kid, they'd rather take care of a kid who smiles all the time and talks to them. I would take her in but the fact is with my job I travel to much, and wouldn't be home even to take care of her," valentine replied. Ponch frowned and Jon shook his head.
"The kids been through a lot, I just wish there was something we could do to help her," Jon muttered. Penny shifted in the bed, her eyes fluttering open.
"Hey look whose awake," Ponch murmured. A small smile made it's way onto her face.
"And look what we have for you," Jon exclaimed, grabbing the pudding and holding it out to her.
She glanced up at it then at Jon, then slowly reached out and took the cup and spoon from him. She'd just taken a bite of the pudding when the door opened and an older man with short curly brown hair walked into the room. He wore a suit, and a badge could be seen clipped to his belt.
"Hello I'm Detective Fusco. I'm the one that's going to be investigating the murder of Mrs. Nickson," The man introduced.
"I'm Jon Baker, and that's my partner Ponch. We're the one's that found Penny on the freeway. That's Valentine Hale, Penny's social worker," Jon stated, standing up and shaking the man's hand.
"Well I'd like to ask Penny a few questions about what happened, do you think she'd be up to it?" Fusco asked. Penny shrunk behind Ponch's hand again, and Jon, Ponch, and Valentine all shared a look.
"Well that's going to be a bit tough. She doesn't talk, she hasn't spoken a word since she was five," Valentine explained. Fusco sighed, and pulled out a piece of paper.
"Well I would at least like to get confirmation that Mr. Nickson is the one who shot both Penny and Mrs. Nickson. I have a picture of Mr. Nickson right here," Fusco stated, handing the paper over to Jon.
The picture on the paper was from a copy of the mans drivers license. It showed a man in his thirties with dark black hair and green eyes, with a small scar just above his left eye. Jon handed the paper over to Ponch.
"Penny, I'm going to show you a picture and I just want you to nod your head yes if the man in the picture is the person that shot you, okay?" Ponch said, glancing down at Penny.
Penny nodded her head, and Ponch turned the paper so that she could see the picture. Her eyes went wide in fear and she nodded her head, tightening her hold on Ponch's hand. Fusco sighed again.
"Well I've got a BOLO out on Mr. Nickson and his car already. He drives a green Volkswagen, and it has a dent on both the front passenger door and the bumper," Fusco advised.
"We'll keep an eye out for him," Ponch replied. Fusco nodded his head, took one last look at the small girl hiding behind Ponch's arm, and left.
"I should get back out there, I was only supposed to stop in to tell you about Mrs. Nickson," Jon stated.
"I should pry go with you, I'm sure Getraer wouldn't really mind me sitting here with Penny, but I'm not exactly of the clock yet," Ponch added. Penny shook her head at this.
"Hey don't worry I'll be back after work, and until I get back I'm sure Ms. Hale wouldn't mind staying here with you. I'll only be gone a few hours okay," Ponch said.
Penny glanced up at him with sad eyes and reluctantly let go of his arm. Ponch nodded at Valentine, gave Penny one last bright smile, and then he and Jon left.
"Penny I know how much you like to draw, so I took the liberty of bringing you a sketch pad and a pencil, I even have some crayons for you," Valentine exclaimed, pulling the items out of her bag.
She set the items down on the bed, and Penny immediately picked them up. She opened the sketch pad up to the first blank page and slowly started to draw. Valentine sat back and watched the little girl draw, wondering just how she was going to be able to help this poor girl...
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AN: I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I don't know, I like it but at the same time I don't :( Well review and let me know what you think of the chapter. Oh and Detective Fusco is from Homicide division obviously. Once it was found that MRS. Nickson was murdered the case was handed over to Homicide division and Detective Fusco was assigned to the case. And Brownie Points for anyone who can tell me what character from what show I based Fusco off of ;)