DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.
Chapter 10
The Murder Room seemed to be busy later that morning. The team was officially working on the dumpster fire now. Everyone seemed to be focusing on the new lead, a woman who had been a sort of pen pal to Croelick when he was on Death Row. "Okay everyone, what do we have so far" Sharon said to her team as she approached everyone gathered at the Murder Board. "Okay, her name is Missy Braxton, she's 35 years old. She resides in Inglewood in an apartment there" Amy said to Sharon and the rest of the team. Amy placed her picture up on the board. "According to her landlord, she lives be herself, ma'am" Julio added to the discussion. "What does she do for a living?" Sharon asked them. "She works as a waitress part time at the Regal Eagle" Mike said. "She also works for a housekeeping company part time" Mike added as he read part of the report.
"So when did she first start writing to Croelick?" Andy asked the group. "Uh, looks like the letters started around the time he was sentenced to Death Row, sir" Julio said to Andy as he looked through the papers he had on his desk. "How many letters are we talking about here?" Provenza asked. "Five" Julio said to him. "Only five? That doesn't constitute anything" Provenza said. "A week, sir. And she wrote him all the way up to a month before he gets released" Julio added. "So, Croelick had a nut job sending him letters while he was in jail. That's nothing new. So why would this Missy person set a fire in a dumpster where the Captain and I reside at?" Andy stated to the group. "We don't know if she was the one, but her fingerprints were awfully close to the center of that dumpster" Mike said to Andy. "So what's the connection here?" Sharon said as she looked at the Murder Board.
"Croelick got released from jail years ago, why all of a sudden does Missy pop up?" Sharon asked her team as she turned around and looked at them. "I don't know Captain" Mike said to her. Andy's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller id on the phone, didn't recognize it but saw it was a local number so he answered it. "Lieutenant Flynn" he said to the other person on the line. "Hello Lieutenant Flynn this is Mrs. Gottardo, the Principal at St. Anne's School" the other person said. "Oh, hello, how can I help you?" Andy said back to the Principal as he moved away from the group. "It's about Matthew" the Principal said to him. "Is he okay?" he said and that got the attention of Sharon who followed Andy over to his desk. "He says he's not feeling good. The teacher sent him to see the school nurse" the Principal explained. Andy nodded and then covered the phone with his hand. "It's Matthew's school, they say he isn't feeling good" Andy explained to Sharon. "What's wrong with him?" Sharon asked Andy. "The nurse said that Matthew said his stomach hurt him" the Principal said. "Okay Mrs. Gottardo, either myself or my wife will come pick him up. Thank you for calling" Andy said and hung up his phone. He looked at Sharon.
Sharon glanced at her watch. It was almost lunch time so they could both go to pick up Matthew, however Sharon didn't know if he should come back to the office with them or if one of them should stay home with him. Andy walked up to her and placed his hand on her arm. "I can go pick him up and bring him back here for the rest of the day" Andy said to her. "I'll go with you" Sharon said to Andy and then walked back to the rest of the group. "Change of plans, let's break for lunch now. Andy and I have to go over to Matthew's school and pick him up. We will be back" Sharon said to Provenza. "Is the kid okay?" Provenza asked her. "The school nurse says he has a stomach ache" Sharon said as he rejoined Andy and went into her office to get her purse. Sharon then exited the office followed by Andy, who looked over at Provenza and nodded. Andy met up with Sharon by the elevator and they rode down to the car.
"Did the Principal say anything else over the phone?" Sharon inquired as she got into their car. "No, just that the nurse said Matthew had a stomach ache and the Principal called us" Andy said as he got in and started the car. He then drove them over to the school. "I know you don't want to talk about the case now, but I do think it is a little strange that a woman who had sent letters to Croelick while he was in jail, all of a sudden pops up with her fingerprints on the dumpster that had caught fire the other night" Andy said as they stopped at a red light. "It is odd, Andy" Sharon said as she looked out the window. The light turned green and the cars proceeded to go. They arrived in front of Matthew's school ten minutes later and they both walked up to the front entrance and hit the buzzer by the front door. The front door buzzed and Andy opened it for Sharon as she walked through. They went towards the front office where they spoke to the secretary. "Hi, we are here to pick up Matthew Gomez" Sharon said to the lady.
The Principal walked out of her office and greeted the two of them. She then walked with them to the nurse's office where Matthew was sitting on a bed. Andy walked in the room first and saw Matthew. "Hey, kiddo what's the matter?" Andy asked him as he gathered his backpack from Matthew. "My stomach hurts" Matthew said in a low and quiet voice. Andy led him outside to where Sharon was talking with the Principal. "Hi" Sharon said to Matthew. Matthew looked up at Sharon. "Hi" Matthew said to her. Sharon put her hand on his shoulder and walked with him. Andy was behind them and thanked the Principal for notifying them. They all left the school and headed towards the car. "Why does your stomach hurt?" Sharon asked Matthew. Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "Do you feel like throwing up?" Sharon asked as they reached the car and she opened the backseat door. "No" Matthew said quietly as he climbed into the backseat and put his seatbelt on. Sharon looked at Matthew and sighed. She closed the door and got in the car herself. Andy placed the backpack on the other side in the backseat and got in the driver's side. They headed back to their office.
When Andy pulled in the parking garage and parked the car, Sharon and Matthew got out and waited for Andy. He came around with Matthew's backpack and the three of them headed towards the elevators. Sharon looked down at Matthew who was right by her side. She thought that Matthew looked a little better than when they had picked him up. Andy, Sharon, and Matthew all stepped in the elevator and rode it up to their floor. Andy made sure that Sharon got Matthew settled in her office and then he turned to her. "I was going to go get something quick from the deli downstairs, what would you like?" Andy asked her. "I'm fine with a salad" Sharon said to him as she got Matthew to sit on the couch. Sharon then walked over to where Andy was standing by the doorway. "Could you get him something bland while you are there?" Sharon asked him as she smoothed his tie he was wearing. "Sure" Andy smiled at her and she smiled back.
Andy ran into Provenza as he was leaving the office. "Is the kid okay?" Provenza asked him. "He said his stomach hurts him. I'm heading downstairs to the deli to get something and bringing it back. They are in her office" Andy said Provenza as he made his way back to the elevators. The elevator door opened and Andy stepped inside. He was glad that he was the only one in it. It gave him time to think about everything. When the elevator reached the main floor, Andy stepped out and headed towards the deli outside the building. As he walked out of the door, he spotted Croelick leaning up against the PAB building, smoking a cigarette. He confronted him right there. "What are you doing here, Croelick" he said to him as he got right up as close as he could without touching him. "Hello Andy" Croelick said back to him. "Isn't it just a nice day?" he added and smiled. Andy grabbed his arm and led him to around the corner of the building.
"Why have you been following us?" Andy said to him as he let go of Croelick's arm. Croelick smoothed out his jacket and looked back at Andy. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and placed it on the ground to knock it out. "Have you found Missy yet?" Croelick said to him. "What do you know about her?" Andy said as he was starting to get angry. "She started the fire in your dumpster" Croelick said. Andy got up in his face. "How do you know about that?" he gritted his teeth. "I'm protecting your captain" Croelick said to him. This made Andy's blood boil. "What do you mean protecting her? That's my job" Andy said as he pushed Croelick up against the building. "Easy Andy, wouldn't want to upset your blood pressure now" Croelick said to him. Andy just stared at him. "You and I are going to have a little chat upstairs" Andy said to Croelick as he grabbed his arm and led him back into the building.
Andy pulled out his phone and dialed Julio's number. "Yes Lieutenant?" Julio answered his phone. "Julio, I need you to come downstairs in the lobby and meet me there" Andy said to him over the phone. "Yes sir" Julio said as he hung up. Minutes later, Julio met Andy in the lobby and saw him with Croelick. Julio rushed over to them. "He has information that will help us with our current investigation" Andy told Julio. He pulled Julio to the side. "I was on my way to the deli down the street when I ran into him outside. I'll take him upstairs, but I need you to run to the deli and pick up a salad for the captain and some chicken noodle soup for Matthew" Andy said to Julio. "Sure, sir. Did you want anything?" Julio said to Andy as he looked over at Croelick. "Get me a soup too" Andy said as he handed money over to Julio. Julio nodded and then walked out the door. This way Sharon and Matthew would get their food while Andy brought Croelick up to their floor.
Andy grabbed Croelick again by the arm and led him towards the elevators. "You know, I can walk on my own" Croelick said to Andy. "Yeah, well I don't trust you. And right now you are with me" Andy said to him as they both stepped in the elevator. Another person tried to get in the car as well with them. Andy stopped them from entering. "Wait for another one" he told them and the doors closed. Croelick was standing on one side of the elevator as Andy kept looking at him. The doors opened and Andy took Croelick out of the elevator and proceeded to the Murder Room. Croelick walked in first followed by Andy. Sharon was still in her office with Matthew when she saw Andy walk in with Croelick. She glanced over at Matthew who was sitting on the couch reading a book. She stood up and walked to her office door. "I'll be right back, okay Matthew?" she said to him. Matthew looked up at her. "Okay" he said.
Sharon walked out of her office and closed the door behind her. She glanced over at Andy as the two of them made their way through the office. "I ran into him downstairs" Andy said to Sharon and Sharon nodded. "Amy, can you show Mr. Croelick the interview room please" Sharon said to Amy and Amy led Croelick down the hallway to the room. Mike also followed them. Sharon then turned her attention to Andy. She had her hands on her hips and the look that she was giving Andy at the moment told Andy that she was not pleased. "Look, I started to go to the deli when I saw him standing outside and I went over to him and" Andy started saying to her. "And what? He just willingly came up here with you?" Sharon said to Andy. Andy gave Sharon a look. He really couldn't believe she wanted to argue with him. "He has information. He knows about Missy. Told me that she was the one who started the fire in the dumpster" Andy said back to her. Sharon went to say something but Provenza interrupted her. "Wait a minute Flynn, Croelick told you that Missy, here, started that fire in the dumpster of the condo?" Provenza said as he looked at Andy and then at Sharon. Sharon glanced back at her office and walked towards it. She saw Matthew was still reading a book on the couch. She then looked back at both Andy and Provenza. "Alright, let's hear what Croelick has to say" she told them as she walked down the hallway.
Provenza followed her and Andy was behind both of them. He grabbed Sharon's hand and she stopped and turned around, looking at him. "I want you staying with Matthew" she said to him quietly. She didn't want Andy in the room when they interviewed Croelick, too much animosity between the two. Andy looked back at her with a hurtful look. "He's sick, one of us needs to stay with him" she said to him. She then walked with Provenza and headed into the interview room. Andy turned around and headed towards Sharon's office. Julio arrived with the food that Andy asked him to get. "Here you are sir" Julio said to Andy as he handed the bag to him. "Thanks" Andy said. "Where's everyone?" Julio asked. "The Captain and Provenza are interviewing Croelick right now" Andy said with a disappointed voice as he unloaded the bag. "She's protecting you, sir" Julio said back to him and then headed to electronics to observe the interview.
"I'm not the one that needs protecting" Andy muttered to himself as he opened Sharon's office door and brought Matthew his soup. He then placed Sharon's salad and his soup in the mini fridge in her office. "Hey kiddo, are you still feeling bad?" Andy said as he sat across from Matthew. "No, I'm feeling better" Matthew said back to him. Andy needed to see this interview with Croelick and he hated that Sharon was handling him. He didn't need to be handled he thought to himself. "Do you want some soup?" Andy asked Matthew. Matthew took a little bit of soup and ate it. "Want to tell me what happened at school this morning?" Andy asked him. "One of the kids in class made fun of me" he told Andy. "I'm sorry buddy, what did they say to you?" Andy said to Matthew. "They called me a weirdo and I didn't want to complete what the teacher told us to do" Matthew confessed to Andy. He felt better letting him know. "Did you tell your teacher?" Andy asked. Matthew shook his head no. Andy sighed as he knew he was going to have to discuss this on top of everything else with Sharon when this whole ordeal was over.
Meanwhile, Sharon and Provenza were sitting across from Croelick now. "Hello Sharon, it's nice to see you again" Croelick said to her. "Enough with the pleasantries, Croelick. Lieutenant Flynn said you have some information for us" Sharon said to him. "I told you last time, please call me Bill" Croelick said back to her. "Where is Andy? Did you put a leash on him, Sharon?" Croelick said to her. "Alright Croelick, what information do you have for us" Provenza said to him. Croelick stared at Sharon and then looked at Provenza. "I'm assuming you ran fingerprints on the dumpster fire in your building from a couple nights ago" Croelick said to Sharon. Sharon swallowed before she answered. "What do you know about that fire?" Sharon asked him. "I heard about it, the middle of the night, smoke detectors going off throughout the building waking people up, you come out with your new family and wait outside while the fire department puts the fire out" he said back to her. Croelick describing that night gave Sharon chills. Croelick stared at her and smiled. "Where is Andy anyways?" Croelick asked them.
TBC