Chapter three
Sheriff Swan had moved into the glass partitioned office and was scrutinising the scene photos from the file, conspicuously avoiding any that had the victim in. Hill watched her as she ran her fingers over the image of Jones' note, tracing the elaborate handwriting.
"I'm sorry," he said aloud. He had tried to keep his voice low but she still jumped. "I obviously didn't realise you were in a relationship. If I had I would have been-"
"Less of a dick?" she asked sharply.
"More tactful," he corrected. She snorted and her eyes fell back to the photos.
"I thought you were with Dad?" she asked avoiding making eye contact.
"I was with Sheriff Nolan," he said to the side of her face. "But he had to take a phone call."
"Oh yeah, sorry it's a nickname," she said risking a glance at him to see if he was buying her explanation. "He can be a bit overprotective sometimes."
"You sure like you're nicknames in this town," Hill commented.
"It's like everyone has two identities," she said rolling her eyes at herself.
"Speaking of, you gonna tell me who Jones really was?" he asked, congratulating himself on the segue.
"What?" She replied sharply.
"The short bearded guy I met at the dinner called him a pirate. Another of those nicknames was it? I guess he went around causing a lot of trouble," he elaborated. He watched as she forced herself to visibly relax before answering. Strange. What was she hiding and was it connected to what everyone in this town seemed to be hiding?
"He made some bad choices that's all," she answered.
"That's often code for, he had a temper and couldn't always control it," Hill pointed out.
She was immediately tense again and stared hard at the photos refusing to look at Hill in case her face gave something away, but her hesitation was already all the answer he needed.
"He was changing," she admitted. "He had changed. He was so different to when I first met him."
"You only started sleeping together recently then?" Hill asked. Her eyes shot up to his, the defiance and fury making them sharp, the tears only making them brighter. "Did he ever hurt you?" he continued pushing.
"He never-" she cut herself off with a significant pause. "It took me a long time to forgive him for his past," she restarted. "But I did. And he waited for me, he never forced me into anything. That meant more to me than anything else."
Emma shook her head at herself. Why was she spilling her guts to this guy? A bloody fed from outside Storybrooke as well, but something about the way he was talking about Killian, insinuating that he was nothing but a villain taking advantage of her, after everything he'd done to show her and himself that he was so much more than that. She couldn't listen to this stranger make assumptions and generalisations.
"I've never trusted anyone like I trust him," she finished. The look on his face said that her desperation had laid it on too thick.
"You're not the first woman I've heard give this sort of defence for a violent partner. You must know how-"
"He loved me," she snapped. "More than he should have," she added and then snapped her mouth shut, fed up with the lack of control of her emotions. What was Elsa's little phrase? Conceal don't feel. She pressed her lips tightly together and concentrated on pushing down her rolling emotions. Get rid of the fed first, then you can break down. She commanded herself.
"Did you love him?" he asked and just like that Emma felt her tenuous control slipping.
Love. In all her life she'd never heard the word used as much as everyone used it in this town. Like the word itself was some kind of talisman. She hadn't decided yet dammit. She thought she had more time. She thought... The lights flickered and popped. Emma jumped up mumbling something about the fuses and jogged out the room.
Agent Hill watched her leave and leaned back in his chair considering the sheriff. She clearly regretted her outburst and was worried about what he would do with the information. But their relationship and Jones' past wasn't a secret to the second sheriff and probably not the rest of the town. So why the desperate need to hide it from him?
She strode back into the office with her head high, obviously having taken a moment to compose herself. Sadly she wasn't the first cagey girlfriend he'd had to get information out of and he didn't see any need to play gently with her just because she was a fellow law enforcement officer.
"You think you could be related to why he died?" he asked as soon as she sat back down at her desk. She jerked like he'd hit her.
"I don't have any jealous exs hanging around, if that's what you mean," she said as she turned away dismissively. But he could smell blood in the water and wasn't going to start pulling punches.
"What about a vengeance killing? You're in a position of authority here. That can breed resentment. Anyone in town hate you enough for this?" He was surprised when she laughed.
"You have no idea how ironic that would be," she said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hill spluttered. "Look, I can see the sort of connection you had. I'm here to find out who did this to him. To make sure they pay for it. Why don't you drop the evasive small town crap and let me help you? Don't you want to make whoever did this get justice?" She turned back to study him. He was surprised to see that although her eyes still shone with tears none had fallen. Heart of steel this sheriff.
"The villains don't always pay for their crimes in this town," she told him.
"Which villains in particular are we talking about?"
...
"Sheriff Nolan was Ok with not coming along?" Hill asked Swan as they walked down Main Street.
"No," she said. "But there's a lot of calls coming in and other crises that still need sorting out so he'll just have to cope."
That was a little bit harsh, Hill thought, the guy was obviously concerned about his colleague. He couldn't quite get a handle on the two sheriff's relationship, they were obviously friends but there was also something else. He'd think about it later, better to keep on task.
"So this Mr Gold and Captain Jones were enemies?" he asked as they approached the pawnshop.
"Is arch enemy too dramatic?" Swan asked. "They hate each other."
"What brought that on?" the agent asked. Swan stopped walking and heaved a big sigh before answering.
"Gold's first wife… ran off with Killian," she said. "Then Gold found them and...and she died. Killian blames Gold and they've fought ever since." Swan thought hard and then nodded to herself happy with the explanation.
"Was it his fault she died?"
"Yes," Emma said bluntly. Ok then, no trace of doubt there, Hill thought, frowning at the shop.
"It must be awkward for you?" he said.
"No, it was a long time ago. I didn't know her. And anyway Gold has remarried now and Killian…."
"Is in love with you," Hill finished for her. Swan gave him a scathing look. "You really shouldn't be on the investigating team," Hill pointed out, trying his best to sound sympathetic and not just argumentative. "You're too close to victim. You're bound to be emotional."
"Trust me when I say, you don't want to go up against Gold without me and you can also trust that I'll be much more trouble for you if you try to shut me out of the investigation," she stated firmly. Hill didn't doubt that.
"Ok," he agreed. "I get there's not much I can do to stop you. As long as it's noted that I think this is a bad idea. Also, you can trust me when I say, if I think you're crossing any lines or your judgement is compromised I'm going to step in."
He waited to see how she'd react. She still looked pale but all the distress he'd seen back at the Sheriff's Office had been replaced by a hard determination. She blew out a harsh breath, probably wishing he had never stepped foot in her town, and nodded at the pawnshop motioning for him go ahead of her.
…..
"Emma!"
The soft jingle of the shop's bell was drowned out by the cry of a woman with bouncy dark curls and a round pretty face who flew over to the sheriff the second they opened the door. She pulled up short at the last second stopping herself from giving the other woman a hug although she clearly wanted to.
"Emma, we just heard. I'm so sorry," she said earnestly.
"Where's Gold?" Swan asked stiffly in reply.
"I'm here Miss Swan," announced an oily voice. A suited man with limp grey hair appeared from the room at the back of the shop. He carried an ornate cane but walked without any sign of a limp. "And who have you brought with you?" He asked squinting at Hill. Hill felt his skin crawl as the pawnbroker's sharp gaze assessed him.
"Special Agent Jack Hill," he said introducing himself. "FBI." Gold and the young woman exchanged surprised glances while Swan stayed silent watching them intently.
"Emma, no," the woman exclaimed. "Rumple didn't have anything to do with what happened to Killian."
"I want to hear him say that," Emma replied, her hard exterior not cracking an inch.
"I didn't have anything to do with what happened to the worthless pirate," Gold replied. Hill felt Emma tense next to him and moved forward a step putting himself between her and Gold.
"Rumple," the dark haired woman admonished him and Hill guessed this was Belle, the new wife Swan had mentioned.
Sheriff Swan and Mr Gold had fallen into a staring match and Hill had the oddest impression that they were both legitimately trying to read the other's mind. Emma squinted at Gold, a small frown appearing on her face.
"Are you in the same clothes as yesterday?" she asked. "You're not looking your usual polished self. Has something happened to throw you off your game?"
"I'm sure you'd love that, but no. My disheveled appearance is merely because I spent all that time protecting my wife and my business from the riot outside. The local law enforcement was notably absent."
Hill thought disheveled was something of an overstatement, but he could admit the man's suit was creased and rumpled in a way that would fit with having been worn for a while. His tie was only loosely tied around his throat as if he had been tugging on it and his hair had started falling in his face. He wouldn't have thought much of it if Swan hadn't mentioned it though.
"But that was yesterday," Swan pointed out challengingly and interestingly, from Hill's point of view, didn't bother to defend the Sheriff Office's actions with the looters.
Belle was looking back and forth between her husband and the sheriff in confusion. She moved closer to Gold and slipped her arm around his. He reluctantly stopped glaring at Sheriff Swan and smiled down at Belle. Hill was surprised to feel his muscles relax, he hadn't even realised he'd been tensing, subconsciously ready for an attack. Who was this guy?
"Emma," Belle said her earnest tone never fading. "I get that Rumple would be the first you'd think of, but I promise we've been here the whole time. We haven't even have time to go home yet because we were unpacking things for the shop."
"Unpacking?" Hill asked.
"We were finally going to go on our honeymoon," Belle smiled. "I've never been out of Storybrooke. Rumple was going to show me the world."
"I'm sensing a but coming," Hill said.
"We can't go anymore, something came up," Belle said conscious that she'd given a vague answer. Hill looked at Gold and felt his muscles tensing again as he saw the older man's hand was clenched so tightly around his cane his knuckles were white. Although his face looked nonchalant, the man was seething with rage.
"That must be a big disappointment," Hill said carefully. "What happened?"
"Not that it is any of your business," Gold replied. "But certain criteria had to be met for us to be able to leave and at the last minute we were let down."
"One of your deals not work out for you?" Swan asked not hiding her sarcasm. Gold mouth twitched up into a snarl but he pulled his anger under control and answered in a careful monotone.
"Something like that," he said.
"So, just so we can all say we asked officially," Hill said trying to diffuse the room's tension. "You are each others' alibis? There wasn't a point where you weren't together?"
"I was asleep for most of yesterday," Belle admitted. "But Rumple sealed us in the shop to keep us safe from the…." she glanced at Hill.
"Looters?" he supplied. She frowned and gave Swan a significant glance but nodded.
"The looters,' she agreed unconvincingly. "When I woke up the shop hadn't been touched and Rumple was right here with me."
"I didn't leave her side, I wouldn't risk her safety and the only way to leave the shop would have involved breaking the seals and then I would have been caught up in the Shattered Sight and you know that didn't happen," Gold said.
The look on Emma's face clearly stated she wasn't buying it, but they were getting nowhere fast so Hill was about to suggest they leave when Gold smiled. It wasn't a, thank god they're finally leaving, relieved smile or the sweet smile reserved for his wife, it was a smile of malicious victory. Hill did a double take but the smile had disappeared and Gold had gone back to looking as bored with their presence as possible. Hill knew he hadn't imagined it though.
"Let's go," he said to Sheriff Swan giving her a tiny push so she'd move ahead of him. He dragged in a deep breath as soon as the door shut behind him. The air in the shop had been heavy and given him goosebumps. It was relief to breath fresh air again.
"So, not awkward at all then," he said, once he'd shaken off the feeling. Swan gave him a dirty look, but she must have started feeling the strain because it was only half the power of the last one she'd given him. "You believe them?" he asked.
"Belle wouldn't lie," Swan said "But Gold did it. Even if he was only involved indirectly. He knows what happened."
"He's not giving anything away," Hill sighed.
"He didn't have to. I know he was lying. He was too smug and that comment about Killian being worthless…." The sheriff frowned deeply as she thought it over. Hill had a matching frown but it was directed at the sheriff rather than the creepy pawnbroker's words. It had seemed like a pretty standard insult to him.
"Wasn't that just a jab at you?" he suggested.
"No, there was something more to it. I know it," she said firmly.
"Well Sheriff, until we can prove it, you have any other suspects?"
….
"Are you seriously going to accuse your Mayor of murder with no evidence? You're obviously not worried about being re-elected," Hill scoffed as they walked through Storybrooke's town hall to the Mayor's office.
Emma had stopped answering his questions after he'd made a massive deal about how unsuitable her car was for police work. The only acknowledgment she'd made of his presence since then had been holding a door open for him, but that was only because it would have been childish to let it hit him in the face. She saw Regina's name painted on her glass office door and was about to speed up to it when Agent Hill made a quick grab for her sleeve. She jerked back pulling her arm away from him her eyes blazing with anger.
"OK, Ok," he said holding his hands up in surrender. "Look before you go in there let's just talk about this. Please?" Emma didn't say anything. "If you don't explain to me why we're here, I'll be forced to call Sheriff Nolan and suggest you're too upset to investigate."
Who did this guy think he was kidding? Emma pulled a face as she studied him. He actually looked sincere. She had no idea what this crazy town must look like to him. Her Dad had mentioned that he had already been asking about curses and ice walls. Damage control on this was going to be ridiculous. It was probably better to give him something rather than have him running around asking everyone in town.
"Regina hasn't always been as stable as she is now. In the past she…." Emma faltered, how the hell was she supposed to explain this without Regina or herself coming out sounding like a crazy person?
"She what?" Hill demanded.
"Yes, Miss Swan what?" a clipped angry voice asked them.
"Regina," Emma said apologetically as she saw the queen standing at her office door. She opened her mouth to apologise or explain but her words stuck in her throat.
"You have some nerve," Regina snarled. "What did you think, that I killed the pirate just to spite you? I don't get love in my life so of course I'll take away everyone else's. After all your talk of friendship and putting the past behind us. You never really saw me as an ally."
"We just have a few questions for you Madam, that's all." Emma heard Hill say next to her. Regina turned her glare on him and Hill actually gulped.
"I don't have to dignify any of your questions with a response," she growled and slammed the door in their faces.
"Well, that was-" Hill started.
"My fault," Emma sighed.
"Yeah I know," Hill said. "But I get the impression there's more between you than just you assuming she's a murderer."
Emma groaned loudly. She so did not have the time or energy for this. Of course she didn't really think Regina had hurt Hook. She just needed to keep moving and the Evil Queen was the next villain on her list. It's not like Regina didn't have a motive considering everything with Robin and Marian and how the whole situation was kind of Emma's fault. She shouldn't have let Hill get her out of Gold's. She didn't even need her super power to know he had been lying through his teeth. He'd done something to Killian and she was going to find out what it was.
"Mom?"
Emma's train of thought halted in it's tracks, her mind solely focused on how sad Henry's voice sounded when he called her name.
"Henry," she gasped when she saw him at Regina's door. She didn't even care why he was there, she was just relieved to see him, she practically ran to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug.
"I can't believe he's gone," Henry mumbled into her coat.
"No, I can't either," she whispered back.
She felt like her heart was breaking all over again. She knew Henry had got on well with Hook and seeing him so upset was bringing everything into horrible sharp focus again.
"It's ok Mom you can come in," Henry added, pulling away and opening the office door so they could go through. Regina was stood on the other side looking contrite but still annoyed.
"I'm sorry Emma," she said and she meant it.
"I'm sorry too Regina," Emma said her voice trembling slightly. "You're right I should never have even considered that about you. I know you wouldn't have hurt Killian. I just don't know where to turn."
"Well I guess I can admit that I would have considered me too if I was in your place, you know, considering." She waved her hands at the office in a way that encompassed Storybrooke too. They shared a consolatory smile. "Although," the queen continued. "I can think of one place I'd have looked for answers first."
"He's just as slippery as ever. I know Gold was involved but Belle's giving him an alibi," Emma said.
"An alibi," Regina scoffed. "Like that means anything."
"That's an interesting thing to say," Hill said from the doorway where he'd been listening.
"Mayor Mills, this is Special Agent Hill," Emma introduced. "He's the agent the FBI sent to investigate." Regina gave Emma a look that Emma returned with one of her own.
"Why is the FBI interested?" Regina asked.
"Well a dead body with no ID turns up floating in an unregistered boat in American water, we get interested," he said. Regina narrowed her eyes at him, not impressed by his attitude. "Then there's how he died."
"How he died?" Emma asked in surprise.
She realised she hadn't asked. She had taken enough time coming to grips with the fact he was dead, let alone going into the details. Her Dad must have hidden that part of Hill's file from her. She looked at the FBI agent imploringly, silently begging him not to say it out loud. The whole thing was still amorphous and unreal, but the more she found out the more it hit home. Killian was dead. Dead. He was never coming back.
"That's the thing," Hill went on breezily, oblivious to Emma's inner turmoil. "Someone removed his heart." Hill was completely focused on Regina's reactions and had forgotten the victim's girlfriend and a young boy was in the room. "He's only had the initial CT scan so far but externally there wasn't any obvious trauma. Best guess the coroner had was that it was removed surgically somehow, though they didn't know of a technique that would leave no incisions. We'll know more after the formal post mortem, unless you have any ideas about that?"
He looked at them all and winced internally at the expressions on everyone's faces, especially Swan's son. He was getting written up and sent to communication and compassion training again for sure. Then something very odd happened, the boy got almost excited and turned to Emma grabbing her arm to get her attention.
"Someone took his heart? That must be why he left town," he said. "They made him and then when he was outside town there wasn't any ma-"
"There wasn't anything stopping him," The Mayor cut in. "What with what was going on in town. So, he took the opportunity and killed himself."
"No," Henry complained. "Killian wouldn't do that. He never gives up. You know that Mom."
"Maybe we didn't know him as well as we thought," Regina said gently but the boy shook his head.
"Wait," Hill interrupted. "Are you suggesting he removed his own-" his phone started ringing loudly in his pocket and he excused himself, walking to the other side of the room to answer it.
"Mom are you OK? Mom?" Henry called out to Emma when he realised she was just staring into space.
In fact she hadn't heard anything since the words post mortem had been said out loud. Hill really wasn't any good at tact. Didn't they teach the FBI communication skills anymore? She couldn't shake the image of Killian laid out lifeless on a cold steel table. A warm hand slipped into hers and she jumped.
"Mom," Henry said again softly. She looked down and saw her look of anguish reflected in his tear filled eyes. She tugged him to her and they hugged gently. Neither one capable of thinking of anything to say.
"Come sit down. I'll make us something hot to drink," Regina commanded bluntly but without any bite in her tone. A loud curse had them all turning to look back towards their FBI addition and were in time to see his expression drop into disbelief.
"What do you mean?" he demanded into the phone. "No, No! I assure you Sir, I have no idea how…. In all fairness I've been in the middle of nowhere the last…. Right….Do you want me to…..No. I understand. Yes Sir." They watched as he hung up and tucked the phone back into his pocket before running both hands through his hair pushing it up and back revealing his forehead and a strange jagged scar than ran along the hairline above his left eye.
"What is it?" Emma asked.
"Er...I'm not sure how to tell you this," he admitted as he joined them. "The body. Er, Captain Jones is missing. Presumed stolen."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah I don't know. I've never heard of anything like this happening before," he said his arrogant FBI persona slipping for the first time since Emma had met him.
"How did you get that scar on your forehead?" Regina asked.
"Sorry?" Hill asked, unable to keep up with the sudden change in the conversation.
"That scar, how did you get it?" she repeated.
"Got it when I was a kid. I don't remember it. They think I got hit by a car. I was found by the side of the road with no memory of how I got there," he answered.
"Oh," Regina said noncommittally. "Well I'll go make us those drinks, you look like you could use one too Agent Hill."
If Emma had been paying attention she would have recognised the expression of anxiety and guilt on Regina's face, but she wasn't. Regina used preparing the drinks to brush off her concern and stamp her guilt deep down where it wouldn't show. When she carried the tray back to them there wasn't a hint of anything being wrong beyond finding out what had happened to Hook and she was going to make sure it stayed that way.
…...
Author's Note: Thank you for reading, how'd you think it's going? Should I have left it languishing on my hard drive? Please leave me a review and let me know, I really appreciate all your comments. Considering how long I abandoned this for it's been surprisingly easy to finish off so it shouldn't be too much longer for an update. Thanks again for reading.
