Disclaimers: Nope, still don't own 'The Rookies.'
Summary: Jill remembers more of her past with Cleve as she gives her statement to the police.
Chapter 7
As he drove back toward the house after her appointment with Dr. Felton, Mr. Danko couldn't help but notice that Jill now seemed nervous and jumpy. As he drove, she kept constantly looking behind her as if she feared that they were being followed. "Are you all right?" He asked as he glanced at her.
"I guess that I'm just worried that he's out there somewhere."
"Jill, I want you to know that the house has an elaborate alarm system and I also have several guns. My son's not the only marksman in the family," he told her as she gave him a small smile. "Are you hungry?"
"No, but thank you."
When they got home, Jill immediately went out to the garden as Mrs. Danko looked at her husband. "I don't know what happened. She was like that when she came downstairs after her doctor's appointment."
"Maybe you should go talk to her," she suggested as he made a face. "Jonathan, she's married to our son. Like it or not, she's now family." She handed him two mugs of steaming tea. "You can take her one of these."
Jill was rocking the swing as Babette rested her head on her knee. "Marie thought you could use this," Mr. Danko said as he held out of the mugs. "I could go back and add a slug of whiskey to it, if you'd like."
"No, regular tea is fine," Jill reached for the mug as he sat down beside her. "Can I ask you a question? It's been on my mind since the first time that I ever dated Mike."
"You want to know why I sent him away," he guessed as Jill nodded. "Thinking back on it now, it wasn't one of my better ideas. Michael was precocious and he didn't exactly like to follow rules. Neither did his brother, for that matter, but Michael was the one who ended up paying the price."
"You couldn't have just disciplined him more?"
"I was a harsh disciplinarian, as were the nuns at the school that the children attended. None of that mattered to Michael. So, I came to the decision that if I couldn't control him, and the nuns couldn't control him, then military school was my last option. I don't think he's completely forgiven me."
"You sent him away from his family."
"As I told you a while back, I was angry when Michael turned down West Point. He was a fine army officer."
"Well, now he's a fine police officer," she smiled.
"I'm sure that he is. Can I ask you something now?" He asked as she slowly nodded. "Did you take drugs before you met my son?"
"At first I did. After a while, I just smoked a lot of grass and drank."
"What kind of drugs did you take?"
"I took Quaaludes and LSD. But, like I said, I stopped taking both of those after a while. My reality was so awful that I didn't need the drugs to enhance it."
"What about the grass and the drinking?"
"If grass was legal, I'd probably still be smoking it," she admitted as he gave her a look. "I was always on edge. It was the only thing that took the edge off. You can ask Mike. I'm not exactly a picnic to live with."
"I think we're all difficult at one time or another. You don't have the monopoly on that. Are you still worried that he's going to find you?" He asked, changing the subject.
"I think he's already trying," she said, repeating what her co-worker had told her.
"Are you sure that it's him?"
"I'm positive."
"When Michael calls you at lunchtime, you need to tell him so that he can tell his superior officer. I'm going to go back into the house, because you look like you want to be alone for a while," he said as he got up. Babette glanced up briefly before putting her head back on Jill's leg.
Jill stroked the dog's head as she thought about her conversation with her father-in-law. Except for Mike, that was probably the most honest she'd ever been with anybody about her past. She just hoped that he never asked her why she'd stopped taking 'Ludes and acid. She'd never even told Mike about those days.
Mike stopped by Ryker's office before he went to lunch. "Jill was asking me when the detectives wanted to talk to her," he said after he was allowed to enter the office.
"How is she doing?"
"She's still having a rough time, but I told her that she was probably going to have to give her statement soon. Are you going to be there when she's questioned?"
"I don't know. She's not going to be questioned, Danko. They just want her version of what happened. How is she handling the stay with your parents?"
"Well, she's not crazy about it, but she knows that she's safer there than she'd be in our apartment."
"I'll call Det. Reynolds and I'll let you know by the end of the day when he wants to see her."
"Yes, sir," Mike said as he left the office.
Mr. Danko answered the phone when Mike called shortly after 12. "Jill was upset when we left the hospital, but I'll let her explain to you why that is."
"Is she okay now?"
"She's out in the garden, but she seems to be okay. We had a chat."
"About what?" Mike asked suspiciously.
"Different things. She was quite the hippy, wasn't she?"
"Pop, what're you asking her?"
"She actually told me that she'd smoke marijuana if it was legal," Mr. Danko said indignantly.
"I know, but you know what? So would I. Can I please talk to Jill?"
Mr. Danko went out and called Jill to the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, baby," Mike smiled at the sound of her voice. "Pop said that you were upset. What's going on?"
"Mike, I think Bobby Sanchez has been calling the hospital looking for me. Mary Lou told me that a man has been calling the hospital five and six times a day since I've been off. It has to be Sanchez."
"Okay, let me talk to Ryker to see what he wants to do. Has anybody said anything to him?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. But Mike, what if somebody does?"
"It'll be okay. I'll talk to Ryker. I understand that Pop's been asking you the tough questions."
"It's okay, Mike. He hasn't asked me anything that I'm not willing to answer. Although I'm sure that he's now convinced that I'm a drug addict."
"Don't worry about it. I'll see you when I get home. I love you."
"I love you, too."
He got off of the phone just as Terry and Willie entered the precinct. "Mike, we were just going to go to lunch," Terry said. "Do you want to join us?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute. I have to talk to Lt. Ryker first," he said as he walked toward the Watch Commander's office.
"What was that all about?" Willie asked as Terry shrugged.
"Come on, let's go to the break room," Terry headed for the stairs as his partner followed him.
In his office, Lt. Ryker listened as Mike repeated what Jill had told him over the phone. "Has anybody seen Sanchez at the hospital?"
"I don't think so."
"I'll assign patrol units to sit outside of your parents' house until he's caught," he picked up the phone. "Older, when you see Gillis and Webster, tell them that I want to see them in my office."
"Sir, they're in the break room getting ready to eat lunch," Mike interjected.
"Then, I'll go and talk to them," Ryker left his office as Mike followed him.
Terry and Willie were in the process of eating lunch when Mike and Lt. Ryker entered the break room. They looked at Mike as both men sat at the table. "Jill was told by a co-worker this morning that someone has been calling the hospital several times a day looking for her. We have reason to believe that person is Roberto Sanchez. So, until Sanchez is caught, I want your unit, and two additional units pulling shifts outside of Danko's parents' house."
"Yes, sir," Terry said as Willie nodded.
"I'll set up a schedule. Come and see me when you get off duty."
"So, how has Jill been?" Terry asked after Ryker left the room.
"So-so," Mike waved his hand from side to side. "She doesn't sleep much, and when she does sleep, she has nightmares. I think having you guys nearby will help a lot."
"I'm not so sure about that," Willie pointed out. "She doesn't always seem too keen on having us around."
"Well, right now she wants to feel safe. You guys will help her feel safe. I have to get back out on patrol," Mike smiled as he got to his feet.
When Mike got home from work, Jill was lying in the swing reading a book with Babette curled up at her feet. He said something to the dog, which jumped down and went underneath the swing. "Your father has a great library," she sat up as he drew her close and kissed her.
"I talked to Ryker about . . . the Bobby Sanchez thing. He's assigned units to sit watch until he's caught. Willie and Terry are going to pull the first shift this evening."
"What if he follows them, Mike?"
"Baby, he's not going to follow them. You're going to be okay."
"Mike, if I'd known that Ryker was going to put people out in front of the house, I wouldn't have said anything! Now, because of me, everybody's going to be in danger!"
"No," he took her hands.
"None of this would've happened if I hadn't come out of hiding!"
"Sweetie, what're you talking about? You didn't come out of hiding. The police found you hiding in the bathtub."
"That was after," she pulled away from him and fled toward the house.
Mike sat there for a couple of minutes before it hit him what she was telling him. "Oh my God," he whispered as he too ran into the house. His mother looked at him in surprise as he ran past her toward the stairs. When he entered the attic bedroom, Jill was nowhere to be seen. "Jill? Baby, where are you?"
He knew that she had to be hiding, but where? He tried to remember his conversation with her from the night before. She'd told him of some of the places where she'd hidden from Cleve. He went back downstairs to where his mother was looking over the dinner table. "Dinner will be ready in 45 minutes, Michael," she said as she looked up.
"Mother, have you seen Jill?"
"She's not still in the garden?"
"She was. I think I know where she is," he said as he went back outside. There was a small potting shed just outside of the patio. He saw that the door was slightly ajar. "Baby, it's okay. Can I come in?"
When he didn't get an answer, he opened the door and stepped into the dark interior. Jill was huddled in a corner with her head on her knees and her arms wrapped over her head. "How much did you see?" He asked as he sat down beside her and slipped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.
"I just wanted to stop him," her voice was muffled against her legs. "I just wanted to make them stop screaming. If they didn't shut up, he was going to find me."
"You came out of hiding?" He guessed as she lifted her head up and nodded.
"It was awful, Mike. I saw . . . Tina was lying in the driveway. I just saw her legs, but he walked over to her and . . . he fired the gun. Then he walked up to two people in the front yard and fired the gun. He shot all of them in the head, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Mike admitted.
"Mike, how many people did he kill? I heard a bunch of gunshots. I know that he either had more than one gun or he reloaded."
"He killed Tina, her two brothers, one of the brothers' friends, and a man and his wife who came from next door when they heard the gunshots. When did you go back into hiding?"
"After he shot one of the people in the yard, he turned toward the house. I got scared that he was going to see me, so I ran and hid. I don't remember too much after that."
Mike glanced at his watch. "We should go get dressed for dinner."
"I'm not hungry. Would it be all right if I just went upstairs to lie down?"
"Yeah, it's okay," he kissed her on top of her head. "Come on, I'll walk upstairs with you."
"I think that I should talk to the police tomorrow," she said as Mike led her into the house.
"How did it go with Dr. Felton?" He asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know," she smiled as they entered the house. "He said he thinks that my nightmares will go away when Sanchez is caught."
"Well, those nightmares will," he squeezed her hand as they walked up the stairs.
"One day the others might, too."
She lay on the bed as Mike took a shower and changed his clothes. "Are you sure that you don't want to join me?" He asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"No, I just want to rest for a while. It's been a stressful day," she smiled as he stroked her cheek.
"I'll bring up some tea when I finish dinner."
"I'd like that," she said as he leaned forward and kissed her.
"How's Jill?" His father asked when he came back downstairs.
"She's upset that Ryker's assigned officers to sit on the house," Mike sighed as he walked over and poured a glass of water.
"Michael, I was thinking," Mike looked at his father. "Maybe he doesn't have to."
"What're you talking about? You work and so do I. It isn't safe to leave three women alone in this house with Sanchez on the loose. He executed those people, Pop. One shot to the torso and a killing shot to the head. That's how he killed all of them."
"All I'm saying is I have a state-of-the-art alarm system installed in this house. You're an expert marksman . . . "
"I also work during the day," Mike repeated.
"What if you were to ask for time off? Just until this guy is caught? I'm sure that would make Jill feel a lot more secure."
"I don't know, Pop."
"Michael, I'm sure that the police presence would be better served somewhere else."
"Let me talk to Ryker."
Mike took a deep breath as he walked over to the phone and dialed. He knew that Ryker wasn't going to be pleased. "What do you mean; you want me to call off the patrol?" Ryker roared when Mike told him what he wanted to do.
"My father suggested that I ask for some time off. Sanchez wouldn't be expecting that and it'll make Jill feel safer."
"I don't like it, but okay," Ryker sighed. "Come see me in the morning and sign the paperwork to take some time off."
"Yes, sir."
Upstairs, Jill was watching Mike talking with his two best friends. Undoubtedly they were discussing her. Watching them, she remembered that other house and watching things out of the attic window, much as she was now. The attic was the one place in the house where Cleve would never look for her. There were rats in the attic, and Cleve was scared of rats, which Jill always found sort of amusing. She'd sit in the attic and watch the area around the pool, as Cleve and his cronies got wasted. She'd sit up there as long as she could, but eventually he'd get tired of her hiding, and would threaten her until she reappeared.
She jumped when she heard a light tapping on the door. "Jill, I brought you some tea," Mrs. Danko said from behind the closed door.
"Come in," she called out as her mother-in-law entered the room carrying a tray holding a silver tea pot and two china cups.
"Michael said that he was going to bring you some tea, but he's out front talking to his friends. He said that you were upset."
"I'll be okay. I just didn't think that . . . man would try to find me. I'm scared that he's going to find me here."
"And you worry that he's going to hurt the rest of us?"
"Yes," she whispered as Mrs. Danko poured tea for both of them and handed a cup to Jill.
"My sister told me that the family of a girl that she went to school with was hiding a Jewish family in their cellar. When my sister told my mother what she had learned, my mother told her to never repeat what she'd learned to anybody."
"Why?" Jill asked as Mike entered the room.
"Because knowing that someone was hiding Jews was the same as hiding them yourself," Mike explained as his mother nodded. "If the SS found out that my aunt knew, then my grandmother and my aunts could be taken away, too."
"I was always afraid," Jill looked at Mike as he nodded in understanding. "But, I could never imagine being afraid like that."
"It was like that for everybody in France during World War II. There was no food, and there was always the fear of the SS and the Gestapo. Like I said, my mother was never the same after the war ended. She never trusted again. She always worried that there'd never be enough food. But, you have to believe that you are safe here. Michael would never let anyone hurt you and neither would his father."
"Mama, why don't you let me talk to Jill? I'll bring the tea service down in a little while," he kissed his mother on the cheek as she reluctantly left the room. He waited until he'd heard her footsteps descend on the stairs before kneeling in front of Jill. "Baby, he's not going to get near you. I promise that he'll have to go through me before I let that happen."
"Mike, he had two guns and I don't know how many rounds of ammunition when he shot Tina and the others. How are you going to stop him?"
"Baby, have I ever let anyone hurt you?" His eyes reflected the hurt that he felt at her distrust of him. He'd die before he ever let anyone hurt her. He didn't know how he could convince her of that.
"Can we go back out to the garden and sit in the swing?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, we can do that," he smiled as he took her hand and led her out of the room.
A few minutes later, she contentedly settled into the hollow of Mike's shoulder as he slowly rocked the swing in the fading light of the day. "Ryker called off the patrol," he told her as she looked at him in surprise. "He's going to give me some time off. That way, I can be here with you, mother, and Jean."
"Are you sure that you aren't going to stay here to make sure your mother doesn't tell me any stories about you?" She asked as he grinned and rolled his eyes.
"Like that's going to stop her."
The next morning, Jill brushed her teeth while Mike was in the shower. She then went and climbed back under the covers as she waited for him to come out of the bathroom. She was nervous about going and talking to Ryker, but she knew that the longer she put it off, the harder it was going to be. As with the previous several nights, she'd slept poorly, waking up frequently from nightmares.
"Why are you still in bed?" Mike asked, walking out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. "You need to get up and get dressed."
"Do we have time?" Propping herself up on one elbow, she motioned him toward her with her free hand.
"Well, technically we don't, but we can make time," he smiled, covering her body with his own as she pulled the towel off of him.
A short while later, Jill was clutching Mike's hand tightly in hers as they walked into the precinct. Lt. Ryker spotted them as he came out of his office. "Good morning, Mrs. Danko," he greeted her.
"Good morning," she forced a smile as she took a deep breath.
"Come on, I'll walk with you upstairs. This shouldn't take very long, and then I'll make sure that you get a ride back to your in-laws house."
"I'll wait for you down here," Mike kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she gave him a small smile before following Lt. Ryker upstairs to a small room where they were met by a third man.
"Det. Reynolds, this is Mrs. Danko. Mrs. Danko, this is Det. Reynolds. He's the lead investigator on the Sanchez case. Would you like some coffee before we get started?"
"No, but could I have some water?"
"Certainly. Please have a seat."
"Mrs. Danko, I'm going to tape record our conversation. It's for your protection as well as our own. Is that all right?" The detective asked as Jill nodded. "From this point forward, please verbalize your responses." The detective entered all of the pertinent information into the recorder before turning his attention back to Jill. "How long did you know Christina Sanchez?"
"A few months. We met at work."
"And, where do you work?"
"I'm a nurse at Memorial Hospital."
"When did you learn that Mrs. Sanchez was allegedly being abused by her husband?"
"I don't remember. I noticed bruises on her, and eventually she told me that she was being hit by him."
"What did you do when you found out about her abuse?"
"I told her that she needed to leave. I asked Mike . . . "
"Who is Mike?"
"My husband."
"Her husband is one of my officers," Ryker explained as Reynolds nodded and made notes.
"Go ahead. You said that you told Mike about her situation. What did he tell you?"
"He told me that she shouldn't leave unless she had a plan to get out. He was afraid that her husband would kill her if he found out that she was leaving."
"And, you relayed this information to Mrs. Sanchez?"
"Yes."
"Did she come up with a plan?"
"She made arrangements to stay with a cousin. That's where she was going . . . when everything happened."
"What time did you arrive at Mrs. Sanchez' house that morning?"
"It was around eight o'clock."
"How long were you there when Mr. Sanchez arrived on the scene?"
"I don't know," Jill admitted as her hands began to shake violently.
"Mrs. Danko, do you need a few minutes?" Ryker asked in a gentle voice.
"No," she shook her head.
"How did you know that it was Mr. Sanchez who committed this crime?" Det. Reynolds asked.
"After I heard the first shot, I tried to find a way out of the house. I saw him through the front window."
"What was he doing when you saw him?" Det. Reynolds asked.
Jill took a deep breath as she put her hands over her ears. After about two minutes, she put her hands down and looked across the table at Det. Reynolds as huge tears ran down her face. "He was . . . he was standing over Tina. She was lying by her car. I think . . . she wasn't moving, so I think that she was already dead. He was standing over her and . . . he shot her again in the head. He then walked to the middle of the front yard. There was a man lying in the front yard . . . and he shot him in the head, too. That was when I ran back to the bedroom and got into the tub. I thought he'd seen me through the window."
"Mrs. Danko, I just have a couple of more questions. Do you remember how many shots you heard once you went into hiding?"
"I don't remember anything after I got into the tub. Before that, I think there was eight, maybe 10 gunshots. Can I please go home now?"
"I'll return you to your husband," Lt. Ryker said as he led her out of the room.
"Lieutenant, are you ever going to find him?" She asked as they went down the stairs.
"Believe me, we've got every available officer out there looking for him. We're going to find him," he assured her.
Mike looked up when he saw Jill approaching with Lt. Ryker. "Hi, baby," he kissed her when she walked over to him.
"Danko, come and sign your paperwork to take leave," Ryker said,
"I'll be right back," Mike smiled at Jill. "Sit here and wait for me."
Moments later, Roberto Sanchez sat up straighter in the front seat of the car he'd borrowed from his friend Reuben. He'd parked in the precinct parking lot earlier that morning with the intention of following Danko when he left for home. He smiled when he saw his target walking down the steps with her old man. Keeping a safe distance behind the patrol car, he followed them, stopping down the street from the elder Danko's residence, watching as Danko and his old lady entered the house and closed the door behind them.
Sanchez smiled as he drove past the house, noting the house number as he did. Now all he had to do was hope that the phone number was listed in the phone book. Then, his campaign of terror could really begin.
