due South

By Holly Rixon

Chapter 2

Benton hot footed out the door of the squad room after Evelyn.

"Missing?" He asked catching up with her as she headed down the stairs. "What do you mean missing?" They reached the bottom of the stairs and Evelyn lead the way back to the front desk.

"I mean missing; vanished, disappeared, don't know where he is." She walked up to the officer at the desk. "Ya got a Mrs. Dobson here?" She asked him.

"Waiting room." He grunted not looking up from his computer screen. She turned to find Fraser standing in front of her, a horrified and worried look on his face. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Look, I'm sorry, I can't do this right now, okay." She looked back up at him and he noticed the sadness in he eyes. She gestured towards the waiting room door. "I got stuff I gotta sort out." She saw him retract slightly. He dropped his head and nodded.

"Of course." He said. "I understand. You must have a lot on your mind." He turned to leave.

"Frase." He froze. 'Frase' had been a version of his name that Ray had used. He had said it was more personal that Benton. He turned back to face her. "Look, erm, go...go wait by my desk. I'll fill ya in on what's goin' on." She gave him a small smile which he returned. Evelyn turned and pushed open the door to the waiting room. He watched as Evelyn approached an older woman and hugged her. A small child was sat on the chair next to he woman Benton assumed was Evelyn's mother. Evelyn bent down and gently poked the little girls' nose. The child giggled and dropped her book, held out her arms and Evelyn scooped her into a hug. He turned, allowing them their privacy, and walked back up the stairs.

"Fraser? Are you okay?" Benton looked up to see Francesca standing in front of him. "Did you hear about Ray?" He sat up and cleared his throat.

"Yes, I did." He ran the back of his thumb over his left eyebrow. "I don't know the full story yet. I'm waiting for Detective Kowal..." He stopped himself midflow. "The other Detective Kowalski."

"Evelyn." Fraser nodded. "Listen, Fraser, if you wanna talk, I'm here." He looked up at her. There was a look of genuine concern on her face.

"Thank you, kindly, Francesca." Benton flashed her a big smile. She grinned in return and walked back to her desk. Benton looked back down at his hands, his fingers twirling his Stetson. His mind was reeling. Ray, missing? Four days.

Ten minutes later, Evelyn reappeared. She had her left hand wrapped around her neck and her right in the pocket of her jeans. She stood and looked Benton for a moment before taking her seat at her desk. Fraser watched her, waiting. She ran a hand over her untidy hair before looking up at him. She let out a long sigh.

"It all starts with this guy called Strenfield. Oscar Strenfield. He's big in the criminal world. His favorite past time is dealin' weapons. Smuggling them in and out of the country for large amounts of cash. Then he turned pro. Started supplying big gun's to the big gangs. Now he's got a huge following, he's got more people in his pocket than a corrupt state senator. In the last couple of months there's been some particularly gruesome murders. The victims have been found with several limbs missing. This guy's sick and twisted does the dirty work himself. He's got his family in it now. Screwed up his younger brother. He's got a way of...persuading people. Either to buy his guns or to join his side. But he's slick. No one's ever been able to pin something on him. Everything points to him, but there's no concrete evidence. Then a couple of weeks ago two of his men came to the station and said they wanted out from Strenfield. Ray interviewed them and with their information he had enough to put Strenfield behind bars. Next day their both dead. A young guy came forward and said he'd seen Strenfield kill them personally. He was willing testify so Ray took a statement and they put him in witness protection. Ray was the only one who knew where he was. Strenfield found out and Ray went missing." She let out a sigh and sat back in her chair.

Fraser's brow furrowed for a moment. "How do you know that Ray is actually missing? Could he have gone away? He was always rather unpredictable."

"No." Evelyn shook her head. "No, he's defiantly missing."

"But how do you know?" Fraser pressed further.

"Because he didn't turn up to collect Annie." Benton frowned. "His daughter." Evelyn continued. There was a moments silence as Fraser stared at her.

"Daughter? Ray has a daughter?" He asked finally. "Who...I mean...where..."

"That was her downstairs. My mom's been helpin' me look after her." She saw a look of realisation dawn on Fraser's face.

"Oh. I er, I thought she was yours." He admitted. Evelyn gave a small laugh.

"No, I'm not married." Fraser nodded.

"I can't believe Ray has a daughter. How old is she?"

"She turned two in April."

"April?" He asked. "If she was born in April..." He trailed off as he did the maths in his head. "Then she was conceived before I left. Who is the mother?"

"Ray's ex-wife, Stella."

"Of course. Then they got back together?" Evelyn didn't answer straight away. She looked down at her hands resting on the desk.

"No, not that I know of." She replied to her hands.

"Why is she not looking after Annie? I would have thought it more logical for Stella to care for her." His thought was met with silence. Evelyn's eye remained fixed on her hands.

"Not that you're not doing a good job...well, I haven't seen you with her...apart from downstairs...what I mean to say is...I'm sure you're great with her." He babbled. Evelyn looked up at him. His face was apologetic to the point that it could almost have been funny.

"Stella died in a car wreck seven months after Annie was born. That's how Ray found out he had a child."

"Stella didn't tell him she was pregnant?" Evelyn shook her head.

"Suddenly had he a baby to look after. It turned his world upside down, but he's a great father." Fraser let out a sigh and ran his hand over his hair. "It's a lot to take in, I know." Fraser sat quietly for a moment. Stella dead, Ray a father, Ray missing. "You okay?" Evelyn asked him.

"Yes." He nodded. "So how did you get on the case? As I understand it officers are not allowed to work on cases they have a link with."

"They're not. I got a transfer from New York. I specialize in missing persons cases." She paused. "I'm the best. I can solve a case in two weeks max. They let me in on the investigation."

"So are there any leads? What evidence do you have?" Benton asked.

"That's the thing. There is none. I know who's got him, I just can't prove it." Evelyn admitted.

"Strenfield?"

"Yeah. There's no trace of Ray at all. He's just vanished."

"Where was he last seen? Do you know his movements on that day?"

"He went to see a guy called Ryan Kash about four o'clock. He's a local police snitch. But from what I've read in Ray's notes I get the impression the police aren't the only people Kash has been snitching to." Evelyn stated. "Now, we know that Ray left Kash's apartment, he radioed the station from his car, and Francesca received the transmition. According to Frannie that was about five-fifteen. He was supposed to pick Annie from nursery at half past five, but he never showed. The nursery called station about six asking where Ray was. I got a call about nine to say that Ray had disappeared and social services had been called to look after Annie for the night. I got a flight the next day and transferred here." She finished.

"How's Annie reacted to all of this?" Asked Fraser.

"I told her Ray had gone on holiday. I didn't know what else to say. I mean how do ya tell a two year old her dad is missing and is most likely dead?" She asked him. "Anyway," she continued. "Um, we've been going over CCTV footage from shops around the area. Haven't found anything so far."

"Do you have any idea where he was last?" Benton asked her. "Maybe starting from there would give us an indication of where to look."

"His car was found in an alley next to Kash's apartment block. The driver's door was open so it looks like he was taken from the alley as he was getting into his car."

"Right after he spoke to Francesca." Fraser finished.

"Yep." They sat for a moment in silence as Fraser processed all of this information. Finally Evelyn stood. "I'm gonna get a coffee, ya want one?" She asked him.

"Coffee sounds good." Fraser said looking look at her. He stood and followed her down the corridor to the canteen. She pulled a hand full of coins from the pocket of her jeans and selected the right amount of money. She took the first cup from the machine and passed it to Fraser.

"So tell me about yourself." She said as she waited for the second cup to fill.

"About me?" He asked, staring at her, eyes wide.

"Yeah." She smiled. "I don't know anything about you, apart from the fact you worked with Ray for a couple of years."

"Oh, well, I first came to Chicago on the trail of my father's killers..."

"Yeah, I know that much." She interrupted. "You stayed here with the Canadian Consulate as Liaison Officer with the Chicago Police Department."

"That's correct. I arrested a fellow officer and after that I wasn't all that well liked back home." He admitted.

"You arrested one of your own?" She asked in amazement as she turned from the coffee machine and sat at one of the canteen tables.

"He was responsible for my father's murder." Fraser replied as he sat opposite her.

"A mountie? God, I thought all mounites were perfect!" She exclaimed.

"That's a common misconception." Fraser replied, shaking his head. "I know I'm certainly not perfect." Evelyn smiled.

"So is that why you didn't go back home after. You were kind of an outcast."

"Yes. So I transferred here and began working at the Canadian Consulate as Liaison Officer. I became the unofficial partner of a detective called Ray Vecchio."

"What do you mean unofficial partner?" Asked Evelyn.

"Well, I wasn't under the employ of the Chicago Police Department, so technically I didn't work here." Evelyn let out a small snigger. "But Ray and I always seemed to stumble on new cases together." Fraser explained.

"So you kinda became a cling on?" She asked. Fraser laughed.

"Indeed. Ray Vecchio and I worked together for over two years. We became very good friends. Although saying that, he did shoot me in the back once." Fraser added as an afterthought.

"He shot you in the back?" Evelyn asked in disbelief.

"Oh, it was completely unintentional. He was aiming for someone else."

"Who?"

"A woman." He said after a brief pause. Victoria Metcalf's revenge still played on his mind some nights. "She was attempting to escape." His eyes had dropped to the table where his hands sat holding tight onto his coffee cup.

"Judging by the look on your face it's not something you wanna talk about." Evelyn stated. Fraser looked up at her slowly.

"No." He said, shaking his head slightly.

"So after he shot you, we're you still good friends?" She asked, steering clear of the previous subject.

"Oh, yes."

"So, did he leave or did you shoot him back?" Evelyn joked. Benton laughed with her.

"No, he went undercover with the mob. He bore a great resemblance to an Amando Langoustini. That's where you brother came in. To protect Ray Vecchio's cover there needed to still be a Ray Vecchio, and your brother was brought into the be undercover as Ray Vecchio whilst the real Ray Vecchio was undercover."

"Wasn't that a bit confusing? I mean you worked with the original Ray for a couple of years then you suddenly had to act like my brother was Vecchio."

"Well it did help that your brother preferred to be called by his middle name rather than his first." Fraser admitted.

"What was he like to work with?" Asked Evelyn. Fraser thought for a moment. Working with Ray Kowalski had been completely different to working with Ray Vecchio.

"Unpredictable." He voiced. "Moody, aggressive, extremely committed, but through all that he's a good officer. He took a bullet for me on our first day of working together, granted he was wearing a bullet proof vest, but he still jumped in between."

Evelyn smiled and looked to the ceiling. Hearing these stories about her brother was comforting. It helped her to believe that he was strong enough to survive.

"So what made you leave?" Evelyn asked. "Why'd ya go back north?"

"I was homesick. One of our last cases took us to the Yukon. I wanted to go home." He admitted. "Plus I was offered a promotion. It was a great opportunity, so I took it. Originally the posting was only for a year, but being back home, it made me want to stay."

"You like being cold?"

"I like snow, if that's what you mean."

"Me, I live for the sun." Evelyn laughed. "I can't stand being cold." Fraser shifted in his seat.

"Well, with the right equipment and knowledge of basic survival skills, you could keep perfectly warm, even in the coldest of weather." Benton explained.

"Are you always like that?" She asked him.

"Like what?"

"So particular." She said. Fraser still looked blank.

"I'm not sure what you mean." He said. Before she could answer there was a call of her name from the corridor.

"Evelyn?" Detective Hewie appeared around the corner. "Evelyn, you might wanna..." He paused as he spotted Fraser sat opposite her. "Hey, Fraser, how's it hanging?" He stepped forward and shook Benton's hand as he stood up.

"How's what hanging?" He asked blankly. Evelyn raised a hand to her mouth to cover a snigger.

"Never mind." Hewie said. He turned to Evelyn. "Me and Dewie found something on the CCTV tapes that you might wanna see." He said as he backed his way out into the corridor.

"Thanks, Jack, I'll be there in a minute." Evelyn said. Hewie turned and disappeared down the corridor. Evelyn drained the remains of the coffee from her cup and tossed into the nearby trash can. She turned to Fraser. "Let's go see what they got."