Chapter 9
"DAD! SERIOUSLY! How did you know his name?"
Erin's hanging question followed Frank as he turned away and retreated to the safety of his window, unable to speak or face his children with the truth as he tried to come to grips with it. How could he have doubted Mary like that when it was his fault all along for failing to protect her?
"We're going for a secret indictment on Milner under the grand jury," his daughter continued. "No one else should know about this!"
"Dad?" she tried again before switching to Henry who was no help either at first. "GRANDPA!"
"Erin," Anthony started, further removed from the emotions in the room and recognizing that they had somehow stumbled into a hornet's nest of something very personal given the Commissioner's reaction. "I think this is like a whole zip code above my pay grade," he offered, feeling uncomfortable being present in the middle of the blue-blooded clan at the moment.
"It's a family thing. Maybe I should just wait outside."
"Yeah, you should definitely do that," Danny gritted, still coming up to speed with whatever was happening, but sensing from the general vibe it was something terrible and in no way did he want that shared with anyone not named Reagan at this point.
"Family thing?" Erin spun back to her father who had yet to make another comment after his initial outburst, but whose shoulders sagged in confirmation at those words. "What does he mean by that? What's going on here?" she demanded, blinders fully evident as her mind refused to follow the awful trail of breadcrumbs that were being laid out.
"Detective Abetemarco, I believe you're right," Abigail Baker interjected as she sought to clear the room for what she knew was going to be a very painful summit between the elder Reagans and the Commissioner's two oldest children. "If you'll come this way."
"NO!" Erin insisted, still feeling territorial after the numerous fights with her father over the past few weeks and not done with her defensive mode as she turned on his assistant. "She knows too, doesn't she? Then Anthony stays! This is the DA's case! You have no business interfering!"
"Sweetheart," Henry finally interrupted as he tried to run interference with tensions running as high as they were. "Your father does need to do this… trust me; it's important. We have to know the details," he begged and looked nervously at Danny, thinking how badly his volatile grandson might react to the news as well. They were definitely going to be walking a tightrope here as this Milner would be lucky to see the dawn of the next day once his actions were known given the tempers of the Reagan men in the room, himself included. "If this man did what we believe, then he needs to pay for it. Start at the beginning."
"Erin, we got nothing else on this guy, so maybe they have somethin' we can use," Anthony tried to reason, hoping she would give in and open up before he continued on without her permission, anyway. "So, six weeks ago, Maureen Saunders, that pushy investigative reporter at New York 1, came to us with a file as thick as two short stacks on this guy. Said she had proof he had been sexually assaulting women patients for decades. Wanted him put away and a guaranteed exclusive on the story. Only thing is after looking into it, we know the bastard did it, but we got no witnesses, and the statue of limitations has run out for everything but first degree. Most everything she could find happened twenty years or more ago, but she's threatening to turn on us and do some kinda exposé Friday on how we didn't do our jobs if this don't work."
"Statute," Erin softened just a hair and corrected on autopilot with a heavy sigh for what felt like the thousandth time in their relationship. "It's statute of limitations."
"That's what I said, ain't it?" he argued back again in his usual way. "Anyway, the DA kicked it down to Erin, and she's gonna take the hit if we can't pull it off."
"What proof does she have?" Frank finally muttered evenly without turning around.
"Maureen Saunders' mother died last year of triple negative breast cancer, so she had some screening done herself," Erin finally conceded and began to explain. "She planned to do a story on all those genetic test sites popping up that promise to tell you everything about your ancestry and health traits to see if they really lived up to the hype, especially the ones promoting cancer detection. So, she submitted her own samples to five of the top ones to compare, only she found out more than she bargained for… turns out her father wasn't who she thought it was."
"Yeah, imagine getting' that kinda news," Anthony unknowingly added with no idea he had driven a dagger further into Frank Reagan's heart and that same devastating information was about to be shared here. "Her old man denied it, and her mom was already gone. I'm telling you, this broad is like some kinda pit bull once she latches on to something, so she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She clicked on one of those leafs or links, or whatever the hell they are and came across two other women in the city that supposedly shared the same paternal DNA."
"She may be a pit bull, but she's also brilliant," Erin corrected with admiration, even if she did not personally like this Saunders woman's methods, before listing some very familiar traits. "Top of her class at Stanford, doubled in law and journalism. Lead investigative reporter at a major metropolitan news station at only twenty-five. She's probably a better detective than anyone you have here in the NYPD."
"Yeah, right," Danny sniped, taking personal umbrage at that comment. "Well, maybe a few of us," he managed a dig at his DA counterpart.
"Watch it," Anthony growled back, but kept it clean considering they were currently standing in the big office at 1PP and the Commissioner seemed less than amused.
"Maureen managed to get in contact with the two others to compare notes. One was no help because her parents were killed in a car accident when she was only a few months old, and she was raised by a foster family. The other is named Vivian Reaves. Her mother is still alive, but she's ultra-religious and rejects the science. She claims she was never unfaithful to her husband and refused to cooperate."
"But they shared something… or someone in common," Danny assumed. "And this Saunders managed to figure out who it was, even after all those years."
"Her mother had the same OCD traits and kept detailed diaries of everything she did. They both visited the same doctor in Pinehurst the month before they got pregnant," Erin confirmed. "She found him, dug through his trash, got DNA and ran it herself to confirm."
"So, he's just like that fertility doctor, McCandless, that Baez and I took down a couple of months ago," her brother countered and proceeded to preen his own feathers. "Called himself the 'Baby Magician' or something like that and used his own juice in the petri dish for the IVF. Fathered a couple of dozen or more kids that way. Had the stones to throw himself picnics with the happy, desperate parents who never asked questions when little Johnny or Suzy didn't come out looking like daddy. Sick son of a bitch, but it happens," he shrugged, not finding anything remarkable about the case now.
"No, this is different," Erin insisted. "Milner isn't a fertility doctor… well, not really. He's a reproductive specialist, but women were only referred to him for advanced testing. He didn't actually do any of the fertility work himself."
"Except in some of these cases he obviously did all the work," Anthony noted crassly as that comment was finally enough to turn Frank Reagan around with fire in his eyes and bring him directly back into the conversation.
"And Matthew Bastien?" he demanded. "If you had all this, why was his DNA the only hit in our system?"
"Maybe because the great NYPD doesn't share its databases with the DA's office?" Erin bristled as that had been a recent bone of contention between the two with Frank having come out on top again.
"Erin, this is not the time for that," Henry continued to try to mediate, knowing now that his son would be forced to reveal their connection to this situation at any moment.
"She came to us. We were investigating this, not you! We ran Maureen's DNA against our files, and his name popped up. Anthony went for the interview and found out his mother, Ella Bastien, had visited a free clinic where Milner volunteered hours, but since her husband decided to run her over, it was just more circumstantial evidence we couldn't use. There was a suspicious fire there last year, and all their records were destroyed, anyway. Matthew was our only hope to get him for first degree anything because it's been less than five years since he was conceived, but that's up Friday. All Milner has to do is claim the sex with these women was consensual, and no one can prove otherwise. Like Anthony said, there are no witnesses to dispute it. I struck out with the judge today when I requested his patient files be released so we could do more testing and interviews but that was denied. As of right now, the case against him is in the toilet, and my job is going with it, so if you know anything…" she trailed off and challenged her father directly, having no idea what she was asking for. "I mean, obviously you do, or we wouldn't be here! We shared, now it's your turn! What are you looking at him for?"
"Yeah, c'mon, Dad," Danny urged, also still in the dark as to why his father had suspiciously remained mostly mute through this after his outburst. "What's this all about?"
"Pop," Frank finally broke as he knew the time was up and looked to his own for some sort of guidance. "I… I just can't say it," he admitted in a barely audible, rough rasp.
"Erin, Daniel," Henry searched for some way to start a conversation that would end with them knowing that this man had assaulted their mother in this same manner and their youngest brother shared more with Maureen Saunders than a similar elite academic record. "Those patient files," he started gently, although the tone of their father's voice already had them on edge. "Your mother's name would be listed on one of them," he revealed in a final shock that sent their blood running cold.
"WHAT?!" Erin gasped at both men, never expecting them to reveal anything of the sort, and she felt the breath leave her body as she collapsed on the couch.
"BUT HOW?… How would you know that? AND WHY?!"
"You said this was an old case!" Danny huffed, as he too felt lightheaded, but stubbornly refused to go down without a fight. "Not that it was about Mom!" he railed back, remaining upright for just another few seconds. "And why would she have gone to see him, anyway?… OH GOD!" he added after the final ball dropped, just as he eventually did next to his sister. His sharp detective brain went into overdrive and suddenly realized all of this wasn't just about Mary or what might have happened back when, but a brother he had recently admitted to his grandfather was not like them… one he had yet to make amends with because of that and perhaps never would now.
"IT'S JAMIE, RIGHT?! The goddamn blood tests we did this week when he got hurt! Because I…" he trailed off in sudden guilt over that hostage call as his own role in this sorted mess was exposed. "That's how you knew! You said there was a hit on Matthew Bastien's paternal profile that raised questions, but nothing about this!"
"Yes, because I didn't know. I thought your mother…" Frank uttered, and that was all he managed for a long time as the anger he'd held for Mary turned into grief, and he returned to his desk to put his head in his hands, showing more emotion than that typically stiff-upper-lipped mustache had ever managed in front of anyone before in this office. "God help me, I'm so sorry… I never thought it would turn into this."
"How could you send me out looking for this bastard, and not tell me?!" his oldest son continued to berate without imagining his mother's fidelity had even been in question.
"Jamie?" Erin cried as she tried to play catch up. "You mean he's…"
"He's your brother, as much as he's ever been," Henry assured, openly stressing that point to everyone. "You have to remember that."
"But he's not my biological son," Frank confirmed, his heartbreak over that reality further evident on top of his guilt over ever doubting his wife. "The typing they did that night… when you told Dr. Patricelli that Mom and Jamie were both AB… an O like me can't father another that way. Elaine put it together and came to me in private."
"So, you knew since Sunday, and didn't tell us? This is because of me?" his daughter continued as the tears started to roll and guilt began to sink in at being an instrument in bringing this ugly secret to life, not to mention virtually abandoning her little brother at the hospital for most of the past week as this case had consumed nearly every waking moment. All that and through some cruel twist of fate she still had been unable to bring Milner to any justice—now that was personal on so many levels.
"I can't believe this is happening! Have you told him yet? Is he okay?"
"No, I've been waiting for… there just hasn't been…" Frank wavered before admitting shamefully. "I haven't been able to find the words yet."
"So, that means this Milner guy, he did that to Mom too, right?!" Danny refocused as he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud either and the initial shock quickly turned to anger before he looked for a place to direct it. "And she never knew? How is that even possible?"
"We went to see him before Jamie was conceived," his father explained while leaving out most of the more hurtful details regarding that period which had only been revealed to Henry. "We were trying for a little while to have another baby, and it wasn't working. Your mom's regular doctor sent her for some kind of test at the hospital. Milner worked there. The first time we both met him in his office, the second time was at St. Vic's for the procedure and she went in alone. The nurse came out afterward and said they had given your mom a mild sedative, but that everything was fine. I stayed in the waiting room while he… I DIDN'T KNOW!" he defended, growing more distraught while imagining what had been done to his incapacitated wife in those moments. "Your mother was pregnant soon after, and we never knew anything like this had happened!"
"Until now," Henry concluded sadly, "And there's still one of us who doesn't."
"Dear, God," Abigail muttered, unable to stay staunchly professional at the moment. "And there's nothing else you can do to indict this man?" she questioned a still-stunned Erin and her likewise uncharacteristically speechless partner.
"It's the same thing we had before," Anthony thought about it for a while and shook his head when he finally spoke. "The guy's like some kind of freakin' Houdini when it comes to getting' out from under this. No one can testify it wasn't consensual… not that I ever would think that about Mrs. Reagan!" he assured as mortally offended stares hit him like lasers from every single angle of the room.
"MY MOTHER WOULD NEVER!" Danny started to defend before he realized that his father could not have possibly connected the dots with the so-called doctor before this. "But you didn't know that, didn't you?" he challenged. "And you actually thought Mom cheated on you! That's why you looked like hell all week! How could you?"
"Your father didn't know what to think," Henry stepped in and cut his emotional grandson off. "He's been doing his best to try to figure this out, that's why he brought you in to help. If it had been Linda and one of your boys, tell me it wouldn't have been the same for you! There's no way he could have imagined this! No one would!"
"Okay, maybe for like a half a second," Danny paused and acknowledged before reacting as Henry feared. "But you don't have to worry about indicting him, Erin, BECAUSE THE SON OF A BITCH IS TOAST!" he declared and jumped to his feet, fully committed to carrying through on that threat. "Just tell me where I can find him!"
"Sit down, Daniel," his grandfather continued to try and defuse that familiar temper. "You do realize what you just said out loud in front of a room full of detectives, a prosecutor, and two NYPD Police Commissioners?!"
"Anyone here that wouldn't help me get rid of the body, raise your hand!" the frustrated son growled with a challenging glare around the room before continuing when there were no takers. "Besides, didn't you hear him, ADA Reagan? You have a witness now!"
"Even if the Commissioner testified, he wasn't in the room so can't refute it beyond a reasonable doubt either. I'm so sorry, sir," Abigail apologized, knowing that reasoning just added to his remorse over the matter.
"She's right," Erin acknowledged. "It's too big a gamble for no gain. Even if we got an indictment, a trial judge would never allow in evidence of prior bad acts from that long ago that couldn't be substantiated, anyway."
"So, what? Are you just going to give up? Stop trying to follow all the rules! Sometimes you're just as bad as the kid!" Danny paused, instantly regretting that comparison given the circumstances.
"And that might open up another can of worms, especially with a reporter in the mix," Henry inserted as he had the knowledge they did not about their parent's so-called rough patch. A savvy defense attorney, as this Milner would no doubt hire, would surely ask about the state of the Reagan's marriage at that point in time and use it against them. The last thing his son or anyone else needed was for that to come out in open court and throw more shade on Mary.
"Trust me, somehow Maureen Saunders would know and run the fact that she's Jamie's half-sister up the flagpole the very second she found out. Imagine what that would do to him," Erin worried with more than a little hint of jealousy of her own evident now at the thought of sharing her little brother with that woman in any such way. "All we would be doing is announcing to the world what happened to Mom and Jamie," she argued back. "No one knows about him now… and he can keep it that way if he wants. He's getting married soon, and he doesn't deserve this!"
"Listen, just buy some time and put Dad on the stand, anyway!" Danny insisted stubbornly, the ends justifying the means in his mind. There was no way Milner was going to get away with this no matter what they had to do. "You said the grand jury is secret. They'll true bill this guy in a New York minute if the PC says so! Anyone else would use that to get an indictment! Then you can find something else to charge him with."
"It doesn't work that way, Danny!" his sister shot back.
"It does where I come from, Erin!" he returned.
"And look where that got us!" she sniped. "The rules never apply to you, do they? None of this would be happening if you hadn't jumped into Jamie's scene in the first place! Why don't you consider his feelings for once? Do you really want to put him through the press ringer for a ten percent shot at a six-month sentence? Because I guarantee you best case scenario it gets knocked all the way down to a sexual misconduct charge and Milner would be out in 90 days or less with good behavior, anyway!"
"It's better than nothing!" he fumed back. "The bastard's still doing this, isn't he? He had another kid just a few years ago. Someone has to stop him!"
"It's not better for Jamie! We can't do that to him! There's barely enough right now to get Milner's license yanked if I take it to the medical ethics board, but not criminally. If someone else could corroborate it, then maybe, but Dad just said there wasn't anyone!"
"No one else was in the room at the time," Frank acknowledged as he wracked his brain for anything that might help. "It was a simple test that only required Milner, the nurse, and an x-ray tech to be present. I saw the tech walk out a few minutes before the nurse came to speak to me. I didn't think anything of it."
"Wait, about that," Anthony hesitated before pressing a little further. "The nurse… she just left your wife alone with him, right?"
"Yes, she came out and said Mary was taking a little longer than normal to wake up, but not to worry…" Frank latched onto that observation and looked up. "And then she never went back in the room! She stood at the desk for the next ten minutes!"
"Because she knew what was happening!" Henry surmised as he leaned forward, his own ire building now that it felt like they were on to something. "That makes her a damn accessory, doesn't it?"
"Maybe, but it still doesn't really help," Erin lamented. "We checked his employment records. He moved around a lot… at least eight different hospitals and clinics. There were no names in common."
"None in common, but Erin, most of those places only gave us first and last. We never checked socials!" Anthony remembered. "She coulda been married or used a middle initial or somethin'… it's worth another look!" he insisted. "What are the odds he found more than one stone-cold broad like that who would keep her mouth shut all these years? Dollars to donuts we get a hit! If he kept the same one for the Bastien case, and we can get her to roll by telling her there's a witness, then we still gotta shot at him! We have to hit this first thing in the morning!"
"Okay, but we need to keep the Reagan name out of it. I'd have to recuse myself if anyone found out. Maureen's gotta have someone on the payroll inside the court… she's always one step ahead of us."
"What if you find this nurse and she calls your bluff?" Danny demanded. "You don't have anything more on her than him. Erin, you're running out of time! She has to pay for what she did too! You gotta be prepared to go all in!"
"Not without Jamie's permission," Frank interrupted and shook his head, thinking about how hurt his youngest son was going to be to find out all this had been decided without him. "As much as I want this man to pay, this isn't right. Whatever happens, it's going to affect your brother the most, so he needs to at least be part of the conversation. I should have spoken to him sooner, but I wanted some answers first. I was almost prepared to explain an affair to him… but not this," he admitted. "This is much worse."
"You seriously think he won't want Erin to go after the people that did this to our mother?" Danny spat back incredulously as something that would have him ready to disown any of them.
"What the hell kind of Reagan would that make him then?"
"Daniel, that's not fair," Henry warned. "And I never want to hear you say that again! Jamie is every bit a Reagan as you are, and that's coming from me, one of the originals!"
"I think your brother is going to need some time to process it like I do. This is… it's just incredibly hard," Frank admitted in a complete understatement as his own heart was still in turmoil. "I know you feel that way too, but the two of you have some perspective now. I can't explain the emotions I've had… some of them were irrational. I was so angry with her at first and wasn't thinking straight. It's not fair to expect any less of him."
"So, what are you going to do, Francis?" Henry wondered, hoping that his son would make the right move in the direction of Kings County Hospital immediately after placing a call to Eddie to ask her to meet them there.
"Tomorrow morning, Pop," Frank answered, ducking that dreaded conversation for just a few more hours. "I promise I'll go there first thing, and I won't leave this time until we've talked, but I can't yet… I have to get my head on straight first beforehand. The rest of you, see if you can find this woman, but no one makes a move until then."
After a few more hours of strategizing at 1PP, it was with a heavy heart that Henry sat alone in the backseat of the Commissioner's SUV and watched as his son walked down to that familiar row of cemetery stones in the fading evening light. Frank Reagan stood there alone for a minute only to fall down on one knee in sorrow in front of his beloved Mary and beg for forgiveness and strength over what happened in the past and for what he was about to do.
Well, I doubt poor Frank will be getting much sleep again after this, but maybe he should have made that trip tonight, anyway. Unbeknownst to him, someone else has already cracked the patient list code and is planning on using that information to press Erin's hand in any way possible, including using a vulnerable brother to act as a message board. Just how will Jamie find out about what is really going on?
