The three of them stared at Tom. It had been the first three words he'd spoken, and the last ones they expected to come out of his mouth.
Doug was the first to break the long silence. "Tommy, you can't possibly consider doing this," he said, a little hurt that his friend would betray him after receiving such a defense.
Tom just stared his partner in the eye. Fuller, however, wasn't going to buy it. "Hanson, you don't owe this man anything!" He turned to Weckerly and screamed, "Get the hell out of my office! You came here to insult my officers and then guilt them into-"
Tom stood suddenly, commanding the attention of the room. "Captain, I said I'd do it. Not because of anything he said while he's been here, or anything that happened in the past, but because he's right. Noreen and I...Well, we knew each other. She was the one who confided the trust in me to save her brother, and even though I couldn't do that, I think she was the only one that didn't hold me responsible. Maybe her trust with me wasn't ruined then. Maybe I AM the only one who can help her, and if that's the case, then I am going to do everything possible to make sure she gets it."
Doug had never heard Tom be so assertive with a case. Then again, none had really been as personal as this one, except maybe the one with Kenny himself, or that time at the club with his old girlfriend. Neither had been the source of an actual case, one just a side note, the other a mission partaken on his own time.
Fuller had been thinking similar thoughts, except this time, the safety of his officer was in mind. He too had noticed the same headstrong attitude that he had seen a year ago, when he had denied Hanson the opportunity to find out more about Weckerly and his son's imprisonment. He felt strongly against letting Hanson take the case, but at the same time, he knew that if he didn't allow him to, then the officer would take matters into his own hands. That was the thing about Hanson. When he made his mind about something, it would take nothing short of dying to keep him from accomplishing it. Few knew it about him save Fuller and Penhall. Fuller wasn't even sure Tom knew it about himself.
After a long while of everyone just staring at each other, and the Captain furrowing his brows in thought, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, Hanson. If it's something you really want to do...Please, you two give me a minute alone with Mr. Weckerly."
Tom waited for the older McQuaid to fall in behind him, who was silent from trying to peice together what had just happened, and they exited the office together.
Fuller stood and walked around the desk, and before Weckerly could comprehend what was about to happen, he was thrown up against the file cabinet, held off of the ground by two powerful arms. The Captain's strength was unexpected, hidden underneath his uniform but now painfully evident to Weckerly. The look on the face in front of him was murderous. "I understand you lost a son, Mr. Weckerly, and really, you do have our sympathy." Fuller leaned forward until he was no more than an inch away and whispered, "But if you end up turning whatever happens back onto my officer again, I will personally see to it that you will be locked up for life. Because if there is anything I hate more than murderers that are caught, it's someone who can think they can hide something from the law. I have a good bit of dirt on you, Mr. Weckerly, and if my officer has to suffer the same way he did before, than I will make sure you suffer twice as much. Is that clear?" The uncanny calm of his voice sent chills down Weckerly's spine, and it was a moment before he could nod his head in conformation.
"Good," Fuller said and let the man drop. He walked back over to his desk and grabbed a packet of papers. "I need you to fill these out and sign them. Information, where your daughter was last seen, where you think she is, all that good stuff. Then you'll need to sign this," he handed him a separate sheet of paper, a waver form of sorts. Weckerly looked at it and chuckled. "You want me to sign something that clearly says I can't hold you responsible? That's ridiculous!"
"Sign it nonetheless, or you can forget ever seeing your daughter again, because we won't help you." Fuller walked around his desk and sat. "If there is nothing else you need at the moment, I suggest you get working on signing those forms, Mr. Weckerly. There is a room you can use just outside. Get one of the workers to show you to it." And with that, he pushed Mr. Weckerly's presence out of his mind, ignoring him and completely oblivious to him as he moved out of the room and into the busy chapel.
So far, so good. If he could keep Hanson on the case until Noreen was found, in whatever condition, then they could drop the case and be safe from any law suits, as well as Weckerly's guilt trip. Fuller figured he had scared him enough to keep him off of Hanson, who at the moment was scaring both his partner and captain with his sudden change in emotion. He'd have to talk to Hanson privately before they started their search. He rubbed the bridge of nose with his thumb and forefinger. Why was being a police officer so hard, and why did people like Weckerly have to make it harder?