Heart of Darkness

A short time later, Emma was taking her mother's mugshots at the station. "Please turn to the right," said Emma. Snow turned to her right. Snow and Emma both knew that if Emma didn't book Snow with all the evidence she had, Regina would have cause to fire her and bring someone in to railroad her. After she was done with the mug shots, Emma took Snow into the interrogation room. Snow was surprised to see Regina was in there. "Hello, Ms. Swan," said Regina.

"What is she doing here?" asked Snow.

"She asked to be here as a third party to make sure that I stay impartial," said Emma.

"I have nothing to hide," she said as she sat down, "Ask me anything."

Emma turned on a tape recorder, "The heart was found buried near the old Toll Bridge. It had been cut out by what appears to be a hunting knife. Have you ever been to that bridge before?"

"Yes, many times. It's where David and I liked to meet."

"Mr. Nolan."

"Yes."

"And, you met there… For what purpose?"

"We were having an affair. I'm not proud of what happened, and I'm sorry. But that doesn't change the fact that I did not kill Kathryn."

Emma took the jewelry box out of a cabinet and placed it on the table in front of Snow, "Have you ever seen this before?"

"Yes, it's my jewelry box. You gave it to me on my birthday 5 years ago."

"That's what we found the heart in."

"Well obviously someone stole it and put the heart in it. I didn't have anything to do with it. I'm innocent!"

"Ms. Swan, it's okay," said Regina, "I know what you're going through. I know what it's like to lose someone you love. It put me in a very dark place. Changed me. I can only imagine what losing David Nolan did to you."

Snow just glared at Regina.

"Can I speak to you in the hallway, please?" said Emma to Regina. Emma stopped the tape and She and Regina stepped out in the hallway, "I told you to leave the questioning to me."

"How do you know she didn't do it?" asked Regina, "If that box was stolen from her as she claims, don't you think there'd be signs of a break in? Well, you live with her – tell me. Has there been a break in? She is a woman who's had her heart broken, and that… That can make you do unspeakable things."

After what Regina said, Emma went back to the loft and started to search for signs of a break in. She checked the lock of the door and was checking the windows, when Henry came in, "Henry," said Emma, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

"I'm here to help," said Henry.

"That's why I'm searching the apartment. But you got to go home."

"Not going to happen."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Just stay out of the way."

"So, what are we looking for?"

"We're trying to see if maybe, someone broke in," said Emma, "We're looking for busted door jambs, broken glass, muddy boot prints. That kind of thing."

"So, you think someone's setting her up," said Henry.

"I'm pretty sure someone is..." said Emma, "And I've got a pretty good guess who it is."

"My mom."

"Exactly. She hates my mom. She was satisfied that me and Mom were out of town and were never going to find my dad. But, now me and Mom are here, and my parents are back together. And, as you know, from the book, she'll stop at nothing to keep them apart. But, unfortunately, 'she hates Snow White' won't hold up in a court."

They moved to Snow's bedroom area. Emma looked at the pictures on Snow's desk. They were mostly of Emma at different ages and there were a few of the two of them together. She smiled. Then she sighed, and she flopped down on the bed. Suddenly, the heat turned on with a loud noise. They looked for the source of the noise and found a heating vent on the floor. Emma took off the grate and put her hand inside, "Did you find something?" asked Henry. Then, Emma pulled out a hunting knife wrapped in a cloth.

A short time later Emma went back to the station and told Snow about what she found, "The heating vent?" said Snow, "Emma, I don't even know where the heating vent in my bedroom is."

"Well, someone did, and they put a hunting knife in there," said Emma, "I checked for signs of a break in, but there weren't any."

"So, you don't believe me."

"Of course, I believe you." said Emma, "But what I think doesn't matter. The evidence is piling up by the hour."

"Okay, what are you saying?" asked Snow.

"I'm saying, you should think about hiring a lawyer."

Just then, Gold walked in, "An excellent idea."

"Mr. Gold. What are you doing here?" asked Emma.

"Offering my legal services."

"You're a lawyer?"

"Ever wondered why I was so adept at contracts? I've been following the details of your case, Miss Swan, and I think you'd be well-advised to bring me on as your counsel."

"And why is that?" asked Snow.

"Well, because the Sheriff had me arrested for nearly beating a man to death, and I managed to persuade the judge to drop the charges."

"Asserting your influence isn't what's needed here," said Emma, "We need to find the truth."

"Exerting influence may be exactly what's needed here," said Gold.

"What's needed here, is for me to do my job," said Emma.

"Well, no one's stopping you. I'm only here to help."

"Enough. Please go," said Snow.

"You heard her," said Emma.

"No, I was talking to you," said Snow."

"Excuse me?" asked Emma.

"Emma, he's right. I need help. And you need to do your job, or else I'm screwed. So, just please – do your job the best you can, and you'll prove me innocent. Until you do, I need some practical help."

"Trust me. This is in your mother's best interests," said Gold.

"I hope so," said Emma. Then she left.

When she was gone Snow looked at Gold and said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Let's just say, I'm invested in your future," said Gold

A little later, Emma was walking up the stairs to the loft, when She found Henry sitting on the steps, "I have proof," he said. He held up a ring of skeleton keys. She had seen them in Regina's office about a month or so prior when she and Sidney broke in to find evidence of her dealings with Gold. "This is how my mom got into your apartment. This is how she framed your mom."

"Did you steal these from her office?" asked Emma as she took the keys.

"Yeah. The book said they could open any door," said Henry, as he took the keys back.

"There's no way they'll even fit in the lock," said Emma.

"We have to try," Henry tried to open the door with multiple keys, but nothing happened.

Emma was dejected when each key that Henry tried didn't work. They got to the last key and he said, "Here... You try..." said Henry as he held up a key.

"Okay," said Emma as she took the keys from him and tried the key he picked out. Then, the door unlocked. Emma and Henry both smiled. But Emma's smile went away. She knew that the key wouldn't be admissible because Henry had taken it without a warrant.

That night, Snow was lying on her bed in her cell, when David walked in, "Snow," he said, as he stepped closer.

"David," said Snow, as she stood and walked to the bars.

"Emma said we could have a few minutes alone. I wanted to tell you, that I believe you… I know you didn't do this and I'll be by your side as much as I can."

Snow smiled, "Thank you… You don't know how much that means to me."

David smiled. He walked up to the bars and they kissed.

The next morning, Snow made her bed in her cell. When she tucked in the sheets, something fell out and clinked on the ground. She reached under the bed and pulled out a skeleton key. She walked over to the bars and found the hole. She tried to put the key in the lock and it went right in. She was even more surprised when the key turned. She pushed the door and it opened. She heard someone coming. So, she quickly closed the door and locked it, just as Emma came in with a takeout bag from Granny's and a cup of coffee. "Hey. Breakfast," said Emma, as she handed her mother the food.

"Thanks," said Snow, as she took it and sat on the bed.

"I know Gold doesn't want us to talk, but I thought you should hear this from me. The test results came back on the heart… And the DNA was a match for Kathryn. She's dead. I'm sorry – for a lot of things. But, now that we have proof of the death, we have enough evidence to move forward with a case against you. It's going to happen. You know I do believe you, right?"

"Yeah."

"All this evidence tells me one thing for certain... that you are being framed. And I think Regina's behind it. But, I don't have any proof that I can use in court."

Snow raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Henry broke into Regina's office and stole her set of skeleton keys. We tried them on our apartment door and one of them opened it. It must be how she got in the apartment, planted the knife and stole the box."

"Was it a key like this?" Snow showed Emma the key.

Emma's eyes went wide, "Let me see that," Snow stood and walked over to the bars. Emma took the key, "Where did you get that?"

"It was in my bedding," said Snow, "I tried it in my cell door and it opened."

"This is crazy... Why would she give you a key to try and escape?"

"My guess is that she figures at some point you'll prove that I'd didn't kill Kathryn. If I made a break for it, then you could get me on escape charges."

Emma was dumbfounded. She just stood there looking at the key in her hands. "Well, if Regina thinks I'm going to back down from this. She's got another thing coming."

Later that day, Emma went to Gold's pawn shop, "Mr. Gold," called Emma.

"Just taking inventory," said Gold, as he walked out of the back, "What can I do for you, Miss Swan? Any developments in the case I should be aware of?"

"Yes. Regina set her up."

"And this surprises you? Show me your evidence, and we'll get this over with immediately."

"Yeah, that's the thing. There isn't any. Anything that's court-worthy. But I know it now more than ever."

"So, why are you here, Ms. Swan? To spin conspiracy theories?"

"I need help."

"From me?"

"Every time I've gone up against Regina, I've lost," said Emma, "Except for once, when I became Sheriff. When you helped."

"As I recall, you don't exactly approve of my methods," said Mr. Gold

"I approve of your results. And this time, I have something more important than a job. I need to save my mom."

"And you're willing to go as far as it takes?"

"Farther."

"Now we're talking," said Gold, "Fear not, Miss Swan. Regina may be powerful, but something tells me you're more powerful than you know."