So remember when I was like 'wow I am really updating this fast aND I'M GONNA FINISH REBOOTING CROSSFIRE AND UPDATE THAT HELL YEAH'.
...
Well you can see how well that went.
I really don't have an excuse? Except that it just kept not happening and also holy finals batman that was not a fun experience. THE IMPORTANT PART is that I finally kicked my own ass into gear and did the thing whoop. Also this chapter is HELLA long oops.
Ever had that thing happen where you're like 'okay let's write the fic oh hi there headcanon what are you doing here. wait. wait no. i didn't give you permission to be in this fic. stop it. cease immediately. no. go away.'? Well that's sort of what happened here. I have like this massive headcanon of Javier as aromantic (for those of you who don't know, there's a lovely FAQ on aromanticaardvark dot tumblr dot com slash FAQ, run and check that out, you'll find yourself a more educated person for having done it). And so it would seem that in context of this fic, Javier is aro. I do not have a problem with this in the slightest. Sorry if you do. (not really. aro!javi fics for the win)
Behold the Ryan family being a bunch of Truly Terrible PeopleTM and I hope you enjoy this chapter in which I am a horrible person, there is a bunch of unrealistic police work, and Javier and Jenny are friends because why the hell not.
Please do leave me a review! They make me feel very happy and also go a long way to guilting me into updating the damn thing haha oops.
(remember to come say hi to me on tumblr, i'm frostlawyer! talk castle and fics with me! this author's note is so long i am so sorry)
god grew lonely
in the days before light
so he made himself an heir
and in the same breath
invented regret.
- tumblr user screwballdame
It was like he had stepped into some messed up, backwards parallel universe.
"No, that can't be right," Javier said vehemently, shaking his head. "It has to be some kind of mistake. His prints can't be on the weapon."
"Yet here they are," Lanie replied, sounding as unhappy with the situation as he did.
"Kevin didn't kill him."
"And nobody's saying he did," interrupted Kate in a placating voice. "We just need to talk to him. Figure out a reason why his prints were on that knife. I'm sure there's some sort of explanation that doesn't involve him killing his brother. There was a second set of prints on the knife as well, we're running those now."
While they waited, Lanie led the three of them over to the body on her table, ready to deliver the information she couldn't tell them while Brady, Quinlan, and Keelan had been standing right there. It was just as she had predicted at the scene: the two stab wounds wouldn't have necessarily been fatal if he had reached a hospital and gotten treatment fast enough. The gunshot wound to his chest had ended any chance of that, though, and he was dead almost instantly. Kind of odd, to both stab and shoot someone. It spoke to an impatient killer, one who had planned on using the knife and then found it to be too time consuming, foregoing it for the noisier method of shooting him. Estimated time of death was somewhere between eight and eleven the evening before the body was found. Construction going on very near the alley could easily have masked gunshots, and since it wasn't a residential area and they were on a rush to finish the job the work had gone on until midnight.
Lanie had just finished going over her preliminary report (she would know more once she had time to actually perform the autopsy) when the computer made a noise, telling her there was a match for their second set of fingerprints. Her expression foreshadowed anything but good news when she looked at the screen.
"What?" asked Javier, alarm heightening. "Who is it, Lanie?"
"It's... Uh," she hedged, looking more confused than anything. "Jenny."
"Jenny?" Rick sounded like he didn't believe her. Judging from their expressions, Javier and Kate didn't believe her either. She grabbed the screen and turned it towards the others. On it was displayed Jenny Ryan's smiling face, with her prints shown beside it.
A couple of weeks previously, Kevin had brought Jenny into the station to give her a sort of tour. She had hung out for a bit at his desk, and then they walked around with Javier, introducing her to the officers. They had shown her around, and finally scanned her fingerprints to show her how it worked. Jenny had been delighted. Working as a pediatric nurse North Mercy General Hospital, she had never had a chance to get an inside look at a police station before. And now, as a byproduct of that, her prints were in their system.
Apparently, they were also on one of their weapons.
"So wait, you're saying that both Kevin and Jenny handled this knife? And then it was used in his brother's murder?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Lanie said, then sighed. She didn't like what this was doing to anyone involved. As far as she was concerned, life had been fine right up until Connor Ryan had crossed her table, and then it had all gone to shit. Her most recent breakup with Javier (and last breakup, due to a talk they'd had regarding the topic of the complicated world of him and dating, specifically the fact that he didn't particularly feel like it was something he needed or wanted to do, but that was a train of thought for another time) had ended amicably, and things around the station were running swimmingly. Kevin and Jenny were having a baby, Rick and Kate were engaged, and Javier (since stopping trying to make himself date) had been the happiest he'd been since she'd known him. She wasn't doing too bad herself, if the nice (and attractive) evidence clerk she was seeing was any indication.
The point was, for once in their lives, everything was going the way it should be. And then Connor Ryan had been murdered, and everything had been tossed on it's head, with a close friend right in the middle of it all. As she watched Javier, Kate, and Rick walk back out towards where they would have to break the news to Kevin, Lanie shook her head, glancing down at Connor. No, it hadn't started with him. Whatever was happening here had begun a week ago, with a mysterious lunch.
"What did you do to him?" she asked the dead man absently. She didn't expect a response.
…
When they reached the room in which the Ryans and a significantly harassed looking Kevin were waiting for them, Kate paused outside and turned to the other two, a serious expression on her face.
"Look, when we tell Ryan about this, I don't think it's a good idea to do it near them."
"Oh definitely," Rick agreed immediately. "We're not trying to get him killed here." He coughed, abashed, when he noticed the 'do you really think now is the time' look Javier was directing at him. "Sorry. Anyway, it's a good idea. We send them home and talk to him alone."
"I mean it also just might be a good idea to get them away from him for his sake," Javier said with no small amount of distrust aimed towards his partner's family. "I know Ryan. Just look at him, that's not the Ryan I know. This isn't good for him. Whatever went down here, it was bad."
With that in mind, they headed towards what remained of the Ryan family. There had been truth in Javier's words. It was evident in the way Kevin stood, listening to whatever his father was borderline shouting at him. The posture that had been drummed into him since he could walk was perfectly intact, shoulders back and spine straight, but everything else about the way he stood there screamed unease and a desire to flee. The sooner they intervened here, the better.
"...and if you think that excuses what you-"
"Pardon me," Javier said in a tone that was as icy as the furious man's eyes. He stepped around Brady, noting his aggressive, intimidating stance, and made a point of casually positioning himself so that Kevin was shielded behind his shoulder. "There's nothing else we can tell you at this point. I think it would be best for all of us if you and your family just left."
At that point Brady's anger was redirected from his surviving son to Javier, who stared right back at him, daring him to make some sort of challenge. Whatever was up with Kevin which was apparently preventing him from being able to stand up for himself, Javier didn't have the same problem. Brady could try and push him around all he wanted, but there was no ancient family history hanging over them, no childhood forcing his eyes to the floor and his mouth to stay tight shut.
"I won't be going anywhere, Mr..."
"Esposito. And it's Detective. I'm Detective Javier Esposito, your son's partner."
"My son is dead, Detective," Brady spat, squaring his shoulders and emphasizing the several inches he had on Javier. "And until you find out who murdered him, I am not going anywhere."
Sending a look from Kevin, still standing silent and stiff behind him, to Kate and Rick, hanging back by the door and letting him handle the situation, Javier shook his head shortly. "No I really think you should leave."
"I have a right to know what happened to him."
Before it could escalate any further, Rick stepped in. "Look, Mr. Ryan, I know this must be a very difficult time for you. But you've been here for a while, there's nothing more we can tell you at this time, and I'm sure your wife and daughter don't want to be standing around in a police station right now. Let's go down to this little coffee shop nearby, I know the people who run it. Give you folks a break and give the detectives time to work."
From the look he sent them once Brady, Quinlan, and Keelan were leaving the room, Javier, Kate, and Kevin could tell that he was just playing nice with them, the act covering up the fact that he was as disgusted with these people as the others were. As soon as the door closed behind him, Kate and Javier turned to face Kevin. The man's blue eyes were downcast and his hands, clenched into fists, displayed the occasional tremor.
"I hate this," Kevin burst out after a few seconds, knocking a chair across the room. He was breathing hard, face flushed. "I hate every single one of them." Neither of them had ever seen him this upset before.
Kevin Ryan was a quiet, gentle sort of person. He liked to play video games with his best friend, and watch movies, and have long talks with his wife. And he never, ever held a grudge. Getting in a fight with Kevin was like getting in a fight with a golden retriever. He'd be mad at you for roughly three minutes and then an hour later would have to be reminded that an argument had even taken place.
Now here he was, faced with something he thought he had gotten away from for good, and he was angry. At Connor (however irrationally) for being killed, at whoever had killed him for starting the whole ball rolling, at his family for suddenly showing up in his life after fifteen years... at himself, for freezing in the face of Brady's fury.
"God damn it." His voice was muffled, having sat down and dropped his head into his hands. This whole thing was spinning wildly out of control. "Why is this happening..."
Javier exchanged a worried look with Kate, then walked over to where Kevin was sitting cautiously, almost positive what he was about to ask would make the situation worse, but finding the question unavoidable. He leaned back, bracing his hands against the table behind him, considering how best to approach this.
"Hey, you doin alright?" The tired look he got from Kevin was enough of an answer. "Right. Anyway, bro, I really hate to have to ask this, but where were you yesterday, between eight and eleven?"
Kevin's head jerked up and he looked at Javier, shocked. "Me? Javi, you think I did this?"
"Of course I don't," Javier backpedaled. "But Kevin, we... We found your prints on the knife." Kate put the evidence bag she had brought up from autopsy (kept carefully out of sight of the Ryans) on the table.
"Lanie ran the prints from the knife," she said. "We found yours, and Jenny's. Nobody here actually thinks you would kill someone, okay?" Kate waited for him to look at her before going on, wanting him to see the sincerity in her face. "We don't think you did it. We just need to ask, because when we do find the real killer, that is the first thing the defense attorney is gonna go for. Why were your prints on the knife?"
After a few moments of silence, looking from Kate to Javier and then back down at his own hands, Kevin spoke in a weary voice. "There's, uh, there's a knife missing from our kitchen set. Jenny's aunt got it for us for a wedding present. I don't know what happened to it. Could be that one. And, I... I don't have an alibi."
Taken aback, Javier frowned at him. "What?"
"I was out. On a bridge by the river. I go there to think sometimes. I must've been there for... God, for hours. Nobody was with me. Nobody saw me there. I can't prove it."
"Okay," Javier said slowly. "Here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna sit tight here for a bit, while we try and narrow down some real suspects. Okay?" Kevin didn't answer, gaze once again downcast, only looking up when his best friend tapped his shoulder. "Okay?"
"Yeah," he huffed out, shaking his head and standing up. "Yeah, okay."
…
"I'm sorry, I'm not following," Jenny said slowly, sitting down on her couch, looking at Javier in utter confusion. "My husband's brother, a brother I didn't even know existed, has been murdered, and you think he did it?" As soon as he could, Javier had left to let her know what was going on, and to check about her prints, on the knife as well as Kevin's.
"Not for a second, Jenny. You know him. I know him." Javier sat down next to her. "We're going to sort this out at the station, and prove it wasn't Kevin. He's gonna be fine."
The blonde woman sighed and shook her head, aware of the implication behind 'he's gonna be fine'. It meant that right now he wasn't.
"Look, Jenny, I..." Javier trailed off, uncomfortable with the way he had to take this conversation. "The knife set. Can I see it?"
"Right, yeah, of course." She stood slowly, one hand on her stomach. They walked into the kitchen together and Jenny pulled out the knife block and showed it to him. "I didn't really worry about the missing one... I thought one of us must have misplaced it, hell I thought you could have misplaced it, in one of you and Kev's misguided attempts to help me make dinner."
"I really hate to have to ask this, but where were you yesterday? Between about eight and eleven? I'm so sorry but I've gotta ask."
Jenny smiled at him faintly. "I understand. I was here, off work, watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. The servers log that stuff, I think? Our account or something? And I called tech support a couple of times." She was silent for a little while before turning to him with a troubled expression. "What are they like? His family."
The man looked at her evenly for a moment before walking back into the living room and dropping onto the couch. Jenny followed him, apprehension rising in her chest.
"I think I get now why nobody's ever met them."
"That bad?" she asked, worry increasing when Javier nodded.
"Worse. The moment they walk in the door the daughter – that's Kev's sister – just tears into him. Said something about him finally turning up, and being surprised he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere. And his dad... I about hauled off and decked the guy. I definitely wanted to. Couldn't go two minutes without yelling, mostly at Kevin. I got the feeling that the farther away from Kevin we could get him, the better."
"And his mother?" Jenny felt ill. She'd known it wasn't going to be good, considering that none of the Ryans had even been at their wedding, but from the way Javier talked about them, her husband's family was worse than she had anticipated. Suddenly, all she wanted was to be at the station with Kevin.
"She didn't really talk much, but she didn't seem upset by how her husband and daughter talked to her son, so. I don't know."
As Javier stood, readying himself to leave and head back to the 12th, Jenny stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"I'm coming with you," she said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "From what you said, it sounds like Kevin needs everyone he can get in his corner right now. And I'm not about to sit home watching Netflix while he's there dealing with this. Alright?" Again, there was no room for any answer but the one he gave. Javier handed her his coat, once again sending a mental thanks to whatever higher power might be listening that his partner had met Jenny. She had become a dear friend in recent years, and knowing Kevin had someone like that around was great. The two of them deserved each other.
"Let's see if we can get there before they get back from coffee."
…
At the station, Kate Beckett was working on setting up the board that Javier had started. She had their timeline – or what they knew of it so far – mapped out, and what details of Connor Ryan's life she had managed to glean from reading news reports on him.
Connor was set up to inherit the Ryan family empire upon the retirement or death of his parents. The company, Ryan Global Inc., was a very well known, influential, wealthy mobile phone software company. She didn't really understand the business side of it, but it looked like he stood to gain a lot by taking over the company. He was young, good looking, and rich. It seemed like he had everything going for him. The only thing that really stood out was a few small articles on public squabbles he'd had with his fiancee, a woman named Riley Macke, an heiress.
Macke's photo went up on the board immediately after Kate found and printed it. A fiancee Connor had been fighting with made a much better explanation than Kevin, who apparently hadn't even seen his family in fifteen years. At least it did to her. Whatever had happened with Kevin and his family, there wasn't a thing aside from irrefutable hard proof that could convince her he was a killer. She had just finished writing and was capping the dry erase marker when Captain Gates walked over.
"How's the case coming?" the woman asked, shooting a look over at Kevin, pacing in the break room.
"Sir we... We found something you should probably know about," Kate said as Rick rejoined her.
"I left the Ryans at the coffee shop, they'll be here in a bit," he muttered to her under his breath before straightening and standing at her side, both of them facing Gates.
"Well? What did you find?"
"Um, Detective Ryan's fingerprints. They're on the knife that was used to stab Connor Ryan." Kate kept a close eye on Gates's face, waiting for a reaction. "Turns out there's one just like it missing from a set at his house."
"And do you think he did it?"
They'd been ready for the question, and yet both jumped on the defensive as soon as it came.
"No. No! Of course not."
"This is Kevin Ryan we're talking about here do you really think he could kill someone in cold blood?"
"Sir he's-"
"Enough, you two," interrupted Gates. "I'm not saying arrest the man. I'm not saying he did it. What I am saying is prove he didn't do it. Keep me updated." As she walked away, Kate and Rick exchanged a look.
"Rick, he doesn't have an alibi."
"I know. But we'll figure it all out. We have to."
Jenny and Javier made it back a few minutes before Brady, Quinlan, and Keelan did. Before she headed to the break room to be with Kevin, Jenny turned to Javier.
"Whatever you have to do, Javi. Just prove he didn't do this."
"I'm gonna. Don't worry about that. I'll take care of the case. You take care of Kevin."
Javier nodded and as she walked away his attention was diverted by the entrance of Brady, Quinlan, and Keelan Ryan. He sighed, a knot of anger already tightening in him. Kate touched his arm to get his attention.
"Why don't you interview Keelan. I don't think it's a good idea to put you in a room with Brady Ryan."
He had to agree with her on that one. Brady and Quinlan were escorted to an interview room by Kate and Rick before either of them had time to spot Kevin and Jenny. Javier turned to the woman left, standing there with her arms folded and the hint of a smirk on her face.
"So, cop boy, are we gonna do this interview thing or what?"
"Right this way."
He got the feeling that this wasn't going to go well at all.
