Carmilla sat in the back of the sedan with Laura leaning into her side, her injured leg on the seat as she flipped through her notes for their meeting with an occasional look out the window at the stopped traffic around them.
"Stop," Carmilla chuckled.
"What?"
"You can't be any more prepared than you already are," she said as she took the papers from Laura's hands and put them aside. "Just relax a little, okay?"
"I'll relax when this is over," Laura commented as she ran her hands through her hair.
"Deanna? Or this meeting?"
"Deanna," Laura replied. "I'm going to let Rick run the meeting and then fill them in on any details I think they need to know." Laura took her phone from her pocket when it started ringing. "Speak of the devil," she joked as she answered Rick's call and put him on speaker. "What's up?"
"We're moving the meeting to the Convention Centre," he replied.
"Why?" Carmilla asked.
"We've got more than a dozen reporters sitting outside our office," he supplied.
"We'll need to talk to them eventually," Laura pointed out.
"True," Rick accepted. "But I'd rather it happen later than sooner."
"How about after the meeting? Say around noon?" Carmilla suggested. "Are you at the Convention Centre now?"
"I am," he answered. "Just waiting to talk to someone about our rental."
"Ask them if they've got a good spot for an impromptu Press Conference, preferably somewhere they're able to get face shots of the reporters." Laura tapped her chin with a finger as she visualized the Convention Centre. "Maybe at the exit that leads to the plaza with the Olympic Cauldron?"
"I'll ask but how do you expect to get reporters here in less than two hours?"
"Leave that to me," Laura deflected. "How're we doing on that list?"
"We were able to arrest or detain all twenty-seven," he answered.
"But I thought there were thirty-two?" Carmilla questioned.
"I have to go," Rick replied instead. "I'll text you the details once I have them."
"We'll come in the same way we did last time?" Steven asked from the front seat.
"Yes, unless I text you otherwise," Rick responded and hung up before they could ask anything else.
"What about the other five?" Carmilla asked Laura.
"Two are in this car, one is watching our backs," Laura listed as she thumbed through the contacts on her phone. "We just spoke to the fourth and the fifth is missing and/or presumed dead."
"Who're you texting?"
"Tyler and Perry."
"Why Perry?"
"Because she can get a news camera there," Laura replied as she texted and then swore under her breath when her phone rang. "Tyler? What's up?"
"I was just pulling up to your office, what's going on?"
"We're having an impromptu Press Conference at the Convention Centre around noon, think you can get everyone there?" Laura supplied.
"Shouldn't be a problem," he assured her.
"Hold on a second," Laura said as she covered her phone's mouthpiece. "Give me the list," she said to Carmilla who quickly found it and handed it to her. She flipped through it until she got to the journalists on the list. "I'm going to text you a few names, let me know which ones you recognize and I'll have you identify them during the Press Conference."
"And how am I supposed to do that without anyone noticing?"
"Stand behind each one and nod?" Laura suggested.
"Okay, fine," he accepted.
"How did you know we were heading to the office?" Carmilla asked.
"I got a text from another reporter," he explained. "But she didn't tell me how she found out."
"I'll text you the details when I have them, say something to everyone else around eleven thirty," Laura instructed. "Thanks, Tyler," she said before ending the call and checking for a text from Perry. "Cool, we'll have at least two cameras there."
"And that's good news?"
"It is," Laura smiled. "The sooner Deidre hears the good news the better."
"What good news?" Steven asked.
"Did you text Betty to let her know where we're headed?" Laura deflected.
"I did," he replied, this time with an edge. "You didn't answer my question."
"I'm resigning," Laura stated and braced herself for his reaction.
"Now?" he chided. "When we're so close to the end?"
"I never wanted to be a cop," she confided. "You know that."
"So why did you?" he questioned.
"Because, at the time, I thought it was the best way to protect Carm, my family, and myself," she admitted. "But that's obviously not the case anymore."
"Only because you're stubborn and reckless," he countered.
"What?" she snapped as she sat up and forward so she could see him better. "I should have let you approach the car after I was already responsible for Betty miscarrying?"
"That wasn't your fault," he reminded her, though his tone had taken on a sad note.
"Maybe," she conceded. "But she wouldn't have been in danger if I hadn't sent her into it." She ran her hands through her hair and leaned back into Carmilla's side. "I'm tired of putting my friends in danger."
"But we're still going to be watching your stubborn ass, so how does your resigning make life any safer for us?" he argued.
"Because my resigning might just bring all this to an end a lot sooner," Laura replied. "Look, you've trusted me this long, right?" He met her eyes in the rear-view mirror and nodded. "All I'm asking is that you trust that we do have a plan."
"I'd trust you a lot more if I knew what that plan is," he replied neutrally.
"I'm not not telling you because I don't trust you," she reminded him. "But the only way this works is if the only two people who know everything are me and Carm." She sat up again, reached over the seat and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just trying to protect you both." She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Please, let me?" She leaned back into Carmilla's side. "Damn this traffic," she sighed.
"You know, I was thinking," Carmilla started pensively; "I wonder how much it would cost to get a helipad built in the water in front of the house?"
"Interesting topic change," Laura chuckled as she texted Tyler the names from the list. "I'd be less worried about the cost and more about the permits we'd need." She looked back over her shoulder to meet Carmilla's eyes. "If you're serious though, I could ask Laf to look into it."
"Wouldn't that be more Perry's department?"
"Normally, yes," she shrugged. "But she's got an acting gig and is a little busy." She sighed. "I only texted her about the news cameras because they're her contact." She looked back out the window. "What made you think of it?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she joked. "We've been sitting in traffic longer than it would have taken us to fly over."
"True," Laura agreed as she read Tyler's response. "Good, he recognizes all the names."
"We can't detain them at the Press Conference," Carmilla pointed out.
"No, but they can be followed from the Convention Centre and arrested/detained shortly after," she elaborated. "No, we officially start with all the moles at Karnstein Industries." She flipped to the right page and handed it back to Carmilla.
"But that," Carmilla chuckled, "that's all but three people left on the board."
"I realize that," Laura shook her head. "The plan Rick came up with is this; you send out a memo tonight announcing a mandatory meeting for tomorrow. That should get almost everyone in the same place. We bring a small contingent of uniformed police officers with us and take everyone at the same time. Meanwhile, there will be similar groups all over the city rounding up everyone else."
"Where are the going to put everyone?" Steven questioned.
"Um, actually," Laura rubbed the back of her neck; it seemed every other day there was something she'd forgotten to tell Carmilla; "the old gym downtown for starters."
"But Bob sold it for the down payment on the new gym," Carmilla replied.
"He did," she smiled, "to your father, as it turns out."
"Why would Dad buy it though?"
"He's been buying up a lot of old buildings the last few years," Laura shrugged. "I only just found out and I have no idea why."
"Just one of the many questions I have for my dad tomorrow," Carmilla sighed. "We're meeting him where again?"
"At the apartment we rented for him downtown," Laura supplied.
"Good," Carmilla replied with a nod of her head; "I don't want him anywhere near our house or the gym."
The traffic finely thinned out as they reached the other side of the Second Narrows bridge and they pulled into the Convention Centre's loading bays about twenty minutes later where they were greeted by Rick and another, somewhat distinguished, older man.
"Laura, Carmilla, I'd like you to meet Garth," Rick greeted. "He's the MOD for the day."
"MOD?" Carmilla questioned as she shook his hand.
"Manager on duty," he supplied as he shook Laura's hand. "And I think your idea of doing your Press Conference at Thurlow Entrance will work splendidly." He motioned them inside. "I've had a word with our base operator and he said he should be able to get good face shots of everyone if you're at the top of the stairs and they're at the bottom. Would you like to see the location?"
Laura looked at her watch and then at Rick.
"Do we have time before everyone else arrives?" she asked Rick.
"They're on their way," he supplied. "We should have a few minutes."
"I can ask the guard at West Access to give me a call when they arrive," Garth offered.
"Thank you," Laura answered. "And yes, we'd like to see the space."
They followed Garth into the elevator and then all the way around the first floor to the entrance they'd discussed.
"Carm?"
"Yeah?"
"Go stand at the bottom and see if you can hear me without a microphone?" she requested. Once Carmilla was in place she started, her voice a little louder than usual; "Good afternoon ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between."
"I can hear you fine but that might change once we have a few people down here," Carmilla supplied.
"So, a microphone and podium?" Garth suggested.
"Microphone, yes. Podium, no," Laura replied. "I don't plan on standing if I don't have to."
"Copy that," Garth replied with a smile. "You wanted to do this at noon?"
"Or thereabouts," Laura answered and looked at Carmilla. "Can you take me just outside the doors?" Carmilla nodded and pushed her back the way they came, down the ramp and outside. "Just to the edge of the stairs, please." She waited until Carmilla had again complied and looked to Garth. "Would it be okay if we pull up few police cars? Two at the bottom of the stairs and one blocking the top of the ramp?"
"It's a fire lane but it shouldn't be a problem as long as the car on the ramp is ready to move at a moments notice," he answered. "Is there anything else?"
"I don't want to let anyone inside until we're ready to start and I don't want anyone going past this point," she instructed.
"Just a moment," he said with a hand up. "Go ahead," he said into his radio's microphone's, "Ten-four. Have a patroller bring them up to two-oh-one, we'll be there shortly." He looked back at Laura. "The rest of your party is just pulling in." He motioned them inside. "Did you want chairs for the reporters?"
"No," Carmilla laughed, "since they're a big part of why my life has sucked the last few years, they can stand."
"Copy that," Garth chuckled as he led them into an elevator. "The meeting room we have for you is already set up for an event tomorrow, but should work for what you have in mind."
"How long would it take to get a Wi-Fi connection set up?" Laura inquired.
"You should be able to connect to the Cafe's Wi-Fi from here," he answered as he led them inside a glass-walled meeting room. "Will this do?"
"It's perfect, thank you," Laura replied as she eyed the table set up in the middle of the room, a dozen chairs around it.
"If I can help with anything," he continued as he handed her a business card; "please don't hesitate..."
"Thank you, Mr.," Laura looked down at the card; "Heslop, but that should be it."
"Please, call me Garth," he replied with a smile.
Laura waited until he'd left and looked at Rick.
"Are we ready to move on the rest of the people on the list?" He nodded. "Other than the meeting at Karnstein Industries, is there any reason we can't do this today?"
"What's the rush?" he questioned.
"She has to know we have the list," Carmilla commented. "The longer we wait on bringing everyone in the better the chance that more will be compromised or go missing."
"So," Laura continued; "can we do this today? Say, starting just after noon?"
"You want to announce something at the Press Conference?" he speculated.
"Maybe," she smiled but it was quickly replaced by a frown as her bosses were led in by the back door.
"Here," Rick said in an undertone as he passed her a padded envelope and a thumb drive.
"What's this?" she asked him, holding up the thumb drive.
"I had an interesting chat with your friend LaFontaine when I took her…"
"Them," Carmilla interrupted.
"Sorry, still getting used to the pronouns," he apologized with a shake of his head. "Anyway, I was telling them about the noise distortion from Deanna's visit last week and they said they might be able to clean it up enough to figure out what they were saying."
"Well, it's worth a try, I suppose," Laura replied as she put the envelope and thumb drive into her briefcase.
"Care to tell me what Vegas PD sent you?" he asked.
"Later," she deflected. "You tell them our plan for today and I'll fill them in on the rest," she instructed as she took a micro recorder from her briefcase and placed it on the table.
"For the benefit of our guest," Rick said and gave Carmilla a nod. "Ms. Karnstein, I'd like you to meet Chief Constable Andrew Peters, Deputy Chief Constable Henry Chung and last, but certainly not least, Superintendent Meredith Fraser."
"Would you care to explain the recorder Detective?" the Deputy Chief asked.
"Just easier than taking notes," she replied nonchalantly. "Detective Graham? If you'd like to get us started?"
Laura pulled a pad and pen from her briefcase before closing it and putting it aside.
"Thought you weren't taking notes?" Carmilla whispered.
"This is so I can note anything Rick doesn't tell them that they should know," Laura whispered back.
"If everyone's ready?" Rick asked and then began. "As you know a house a few blocks from the Karnstein estate went up in flames on Sunday night. What you may not know, and shouldn't know as the information has been kept on a strictly need to know basis, is that house was Deanna Karnstein's own private clinic." Her bosses shared a look. "We discovered the house about a week ago when Carmilla's Orthopedic Surgeon received an email offering him nearly new medical equipment at a reduced cost." He glanced at Laura and Carmilla. "We took Laura there when she broke her leg."
"Why wouldn't you take her to a regular hospital?" the Superintendent asked.
"Because the last time I had surgery in a regular hospital someone messed with the results of my blood tests," Laura supplied.
"It was more a matter of Laura's safety than anything else," added Rick. "May I continue?" he inquired of their three bosses and received their nod. "While Laura was in surgery Ms. Karnstein had a look around and discovered a notebook containing a list of names. This notebook, in fact," he said as he took the bagged notebook from his briefcase and Laura handed three copies of the sorted list to them. "And the lists Detective Hollis just gave you are the same as the notebook, only sorted and with as much information as we could find on each."
"Does this have something to do with the twenty-seven police officers we detained yesterday?" inquired the Deputy Chief.
"It has everything to do with it," Rick affirmed.
"And how do we know this list is real?" asked the Superintendent.
"Because when I barely mentioned the list and the number of police officers on it, I had a gun pulled on me in my own home," Laura informed them. "Besides which, do you really want to take the chance that the list is a fake?" When they didn't answer, she prodded; "Deanna Karnstein has been incarcerated for weeks and yet there have been several more attempts on my life, how would you like to explain that?"
"Someone else is after you?" speculated the Chief.
"We can discuss that once you've given Detective Graham authorization to proceed," Laura again deflected.
"I'm not sure I understand the urgency," the Chief commented. "Where exactly do you plan to put all these people?"
"The estate?" Carmilla suggested and turned to Laura. "What?" she prodded. "We could put at least thirty or forty people there, fairly comfortably, with everything they need."
Laura regarded her a moment and then turned to Rick.
"Have we done a full sweep for explosives and/or surveillance equipment?" she asked him.
"We have," he replied. "However, we did the same at the clinic and…"
"It went up in flames anyway," Laura finished for him with a shake of her head before turning back to Carmilla. "We can't risk it."
"But…"
"Call you-know-who and ask him if his properties are habitable," Laura cut her off. "Then call Dark and tell him to go buy as many sleeping bags, pillows, and disposable dishes as he can get his hands on."
"Fine," she accepted after they'd contemplated each other a moment. "I'll be right outside." She kissed her cheek. "Give me Garth's card, I want to see if I can't get out on that patio."
Carmilla took the card from Laura, left the meeting room and made her way over to the small patio and sighed when she found the doors locked.
"Something wrong?" Steven inquired.
"Here," she handed him the business card. "Give him a call and see if we can't get the patio unlocked?"
She walked over to a nearby couch once Steven had taken the card and fell down into it; she really had no desire to speak to her dad. She smiled; maybe she didn't have to. Carmilla pulled up another number instead and watched as a security guard unlocked the terrace while she waited for Mattie to answer.
"Good morning, Matska Belmonde speaking."
"Hey Mattie," Carmilla replied warmly.
"Well if it isn't my favorite little monster," Mattie replied fondly.
"You can drop the act, Mattie, I know who you really work for," she advised her. "I'm not angry and I'm not sure I even care."
"I don't…"
"Your client, the one who has been buying up old buildings downtown and financed all of my property purchases, I know who he is even if you don't," she cut her off as she made her way out to the sunshine and fresh air. "I hold nothing against you and the reason I'm calling you instead of him is that I'd rather talk to you, okay?"
"Okay…" Mattie replied slowly.
"Look, time is a factor, so please, let's just cut the crap, okay?"
"Um, sure…" Mattie was clearly wrong-footed. "What do you need?"
"I don't care what he's doing with the buildings downtown, I just need to know if there's enough space for about two hundred people," Carmilla explained.
"They're being renovated into low-cost housing," Mattie supplied. "Two are ready and there's another two that might be a little rough, but they're livable."
"Can you text me the addresses? And thanks for being straight with me," Carmilla sighed.
"I never liked lying to you," she admitted. "Can I ask who we'll be hosting?"
"You can ask," Carmilla chuckled. "But unfortunately I can't tell you."
"Fair enough," Mattie accepted. "I'll call our security teams and let them know to expect some company. Can I tell them when?"
"Starting after noon and then for a few hours," Carmilla guessed. "Thank you, Mattie." She ended the call and then turned to the doors when she heard a tapping. "What's going on?" she asked Laura as she helped her through the doors with her wheelchair.
"I gave them my resignation letter and they're 'discussing it'," Laura supplied. "You call your dad?"
"No, I decided to call Mattie instead," she replied to Laura's chuckle. "What's there to discuss?"
"I have no idea." Laura shook her head. "What did Mattie say?"
"That they're being renovated into low-cost housing, two are finished and there's another two that are rough but liveable."
"Good, call…" Laura trailed off as Rick joined them.
"They're ready for you to go back in," he told them. "What about the buildings?"
"They're good to go, I'll text you the addresses," Carmilla informed him. "Did they give you the go ahead?"
"They did," he smiled. "I'll hang out here and help with the reporters. Once they're in custody, we'll take the rest." He glanced at his watch. "I need to make some calls." He reached for Laura's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "It's going to be okay."
"It is?" Laura asked doubtfully.
"You might not like what they have to say, but it's for the best in the end," he replied vaguely.
"And you're not going to tell me?"
"Nope." He smiled. "Sucks being kept in the dark, doesn't it?"
"Whatever," Laura said with an edge as she looked at Carmilla. "C'mon let's get this over with."
Rick opened the doors for them while Carmilla pushed Laura back inside and into their meeting room.
"Text Dark, tell him to round everyone up and go shopping," Laura instructed in an undertone and then looked at her bosses. "So?"
"Why do you want to resign?" the Superintendent asked. "And does it have anything to do with this?" she asked, indicating Carmilla.
"Is this," Carmilla indicated her and Laura, "a problem?"
"Since, Ms. Karnstein, you are, on paper at any rate, employed by the Vancouver Police Department, no," she replied. "Now, care to explain?"
"I think I made my reasons evident in my letter," Laura stalled.
"You made your excuses clear," she differed. "However I fail to see a clear reason as to why you would choose now to resign."
"Fine," Laura sighed and rubbed her face. "The truth is; during the course of my investigation I've discovered I've always been a target and being a cop has only made that target neon freaking green."
"If that's true, why now?" her eldest boss pressed.
"You might as well tell them," Carmilla whispered.
"Text Dark?" Laura suggested and then looked back at her bosses. "Deanna Karnstein doesn't exist."
"Then who the hell do we have locked up?" the Deputy Chief joked.
"Deanna Karnstein, or rather, Morgan, is an alias," Laura explained despite the interruption. "My friend Laf has been doing some digging; a little over forty-five years ago, a Deanna Morgan was enrolled in Victoria High School."
"This is all very interesting, but…"
"Please, I am going somewhere with this," Laura cut the Chief off. "We have reason to believe that Deanna Karnstein is not one person, but two." She smiled at their looks of surprise. "Identical twins by the names of Deidre and Lilita Ann Morgan who had a younger sister, Lena, who was killed while in police custody."
"How, exactly, do you come by this information?" the Chief asked.
"Unfortunately I can not reveal my source as their life depends on their anonymity…"
"Are you, perhaps, being a little overdramatic?" chided the Chief.
"No," Laura replied simply. "May I continue?" They glanced at each other and then back to her and nodded. "Everything that has happened in the last thirty, or so, years has been retribution for their sister Lena's death, beginning with the death of Carmen and Bill Karnstein and continuing with the subsequent abuse of their children."
"So, what you're saying is that Deanna is actually a set of twins and one of them is still running around killing people?" the Superintendent summarized and continued when Laura nodded. "And what does this have to do with your resignation?"
"I'll get to that," Laura assured them. "We have reason to believe that, until a few years ago, the Morgan twins were living as one person, both so they could commit their crimes while still having an airtight alibi and maintain their appearance. We believe, however, that all changed the night Carmilla ran away."
"I have a hard time believing that any amount of plastic surgery could fix what I did to her that night," Carmilla provided when they looked her way.
"And do you have a suspect?" the Deputy Chief asked.
"We do," Laura replied simply.
"So let's get her!" the Chief exclaimed.
"It isn't that simple," Laura countered. "If she finds out we're looking for her, she'll disappear and then Lilita can blame her missing twin for all her heinous acts and create just enough doubt to get away scot-free." Laura shook her head. "Or we arrest her, they blame each other, and both get off."
"So what do you suggest?" the Superintendent asked.
"We let her come to us," Laura answered.
"And you think that's likely?" asked the Deputy Chief.
"During the Press Conference I'm going to announce that anyone who cooperates will be given amnesty for any crimes committed on Deanna's behalf," revealed Laura. "However, any crimes committed of their own free will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." She cocked her head. "That might be enough for her to come forward, however, I believe she would be more inclined to surrender to a former Detective than a current one." Her bosses exchanged a look. "And she might be more willing to cooperate if we offer her a reduced sentence, preferably in another province."
"We don't have the authority to offer anyone any of what you're suggesting," the Chief lectured.
"I realize that," Laura replied. "I am, however, hoping that it might make today's arrests and detentions a little less complicated."
"Shit," Carmilla hissed as her phone rang; "I need to take this," she informed them as she stood and then answered the call as she left. "Hey, Babe, what's up?"
"How exactly am I supposed to pay for all this?" Dark asked.
"With the credit card I gave you," she replied.
"Do I have enough of a limit?"
"There's no limit on the card," she admitted.
"Seriously?! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want you to know and I wanted you to use it only for emergencies," she explained.
"If you thought I'd abuse it, why not have a limit?" he asked with an edge.
"Because I pay you more than enough to live on, but in case of an emergency I didn't want to have to worry about you not having the money to pay for it." She sighed. "Dark, I do trust you, but I know you don't trust yourself."
"Alright," he accepted. "Laf and Perry are making some calls to round everything up while I go pick up Danny to go shopping."
"Okay, I'll text you the addresses," she said and then noticed Laura coming to join her. "Okay Hun, I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sure."
"Dark?"
"Yeah?"
"Love you."
"Love you too, Midget," he replied fondly.
She slipped her phone back in her pocket and looked at Laura.
"Why are you back out here?"
"Cause they're deciding whether they like my plan or not," she sighed. "I need to use the bathroom, can you help me?"
"Of course," Carmilla replied with a smile and kissed the top of her head before pushing her to the closest washroom.
She helped Laura out of the wheelchair and then helped her sit while she held her skirt out of the way.
"Want me to…"
"No," Laura chuckled, "I'm going to need help getting back up." She studied her a moment. "Everything okay with Dark?"
"He's a little upset I didn't tell him that the credit card I gave him doesn't have a limit." She shrugged. "He'll get over it."
"Why give him a limitless card and not tell him?"
"Because, although I know he wouldn't consciously set out to abuse it, it's easy to lose track of and I know him and I know he'd beat himself up about it." She helped Laura stand and then helped her over to sink to wash her hands. "It's not that I think he'd spend so much he'd bleed me dry, but that he'd spend enough to feel guilty about it."
"I can see that," Laura replied as Carmilla aided her back into her wheelchair. "C'mon, they should have a decision by now."
They returned to the meeting room and awaited Laura's bosses' answer.
"I'm sorry, Detective, we can't let you resign right now…"
"Why the hell not?!" Laura blurted.
"We've lost almost thirty people since yesterday," Superintendent Fraser pointed out. "We simply can't afford to lose an officer with your skills at this time." She held up her hand as Laura went to interrupt again. "However, that being said, we see the wisdom in your plan." She passed Laura her resignation letter. "If you still feel that way once this over, you're more than welcome to re-submit that."
"In the meantime," the Deputy Chief continued, "as far as the general public and the rest of the department are concerned, you quit, and you can announce as much during the Press Conference."
"You'll continue to work undercover until this is over…"
"So exactly what she's been doing this whole time?" chuckled Carmilla.
"Essentially," the Chief confirmed. "Can I ask what this Lena woman was arrested for?"
"Although it was consensual, or as consensual as a sexual encounter between a fifteen-year-old and a twenty-year-old can be, she was arrested for the statutory rape of my mother," supplied Carmilla. "In the time since Deanna has punished everyone they thought was responsible for her death."
"But why target your father's family then? Surely they had nothing to do with it," questioned the Deputy Chief.
Carmilla and Laura shared a look.
"We don't know," Laura admitted with a shrug. "Isn't hundreds of millions of dollars enough of a reason?"
"I suppose," the Deputy Chief agreed.
"Before we go," the Superintendent started carefully; "can you tell us any more about what happened on Sunday?"
"There's not much more to tell you than what I'm sure Rick already has," replied Laura. "When Steven and I got there, we could tell someone was in the driver's seat but not who. I approached on my own, broke the driver's side window and found a male with his face missing. I realized yesterday that it was the man's face all over the window and that was why the back passenger side window was rolled down."
"Why stage it to look like a suicide if your dad was already dead? Why blow up the car?" the Deputy Chief asked.
"I suspect it was staged that way so that, to the casual civilian observer, it looked like a suicide and they probably wouldn't want to get close enough to a dead body to notice the back window. I mean, think about it; you're a civilian are you going to a) investigate closer or b) call the cops?" Laura reasoned. "As for the car blowing up?" She shrugged. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Destroy the evidence?" Superintendent Fraser speculated.
"Just like everything else she's burned to the ground," supplied Carmilla.
"Allegedly," corrected the Chief.
"Right," Laura chuckled, "'Allegedly'." She shook her head. "How many times before we call it a pattern? Hmm?" When they didn't answer she continued. "Carm's Jeep and her other vehicles, Will's hideaway, Danny's house, Carm's plane and Nancy. Need more?"
"No," answered the Deputy Chief. "So when do you think your father was killed?"
"I don't know," Laura divulged.
"Why did you run away from the car?" questioned the Chief.
"I got a text message telling me to run." She tilted her head from side to side. "Seemed prudent to take the text's advice."
"Who sent you the message?" the Deputy Chief inquired.
"It was from an unknown number," Laura replied and glanced at her watch. "If there's nothing else, I'd like a few minutes to prepare for the Press Conference."
"No," the Chief answered. "I believe we're done for the moment." He stood and held his hand out to Laura. "Thank you, Detective Hollis, for all your hard work," he praised as he shook her hand.
"Should we stay?" asked Superintendent Fraser as she shook Laura's hand next.
"No," Laura replied as she shook the Deputy Chief's hand. "If you're there they might ask you questions you don't have the answers for."
"Is there more we should know?" the Superintendent asked.
"Not at this time," dodged Laura.
"To quote you; 'why the hell not'?" joked the Chief.
"Because, although your names didn't appear on the list, it doesn't mean the list is complete," Laura suggested. "I have no reason to suspect any of you but that's not to say you might say something to someone who shouldn't know." She shook her head as they seemed reluctant to accept her explanation. "Look, this only works if they don't know how much we know."
"Before you officially resign, Detective, we expect a full explanation. Understood?" the Superintendent asked.
"Understood," Laura replied with a nod. "Do you know how to get back to the loading bays from here?" They shook their heads. "Call Garth and ask him for an escort?" she directed Carmilla.
Carmilla took out her phone, called Garth and requested an escort for Laura's bosses, a security guard arriving a few minutes later. She sat back down next to Laura and rubbed her neck.
"Can they do that? Not let you resign?" she asked.
"No." Laura rubbed her face. "Not legally, at any rate." She took her phone out and texted Tyler who called her almost immediately. "Hey," she greeted after placing him on speaker.
"We're all here, what's the plan?" he asked.
"We're going to detain you too," she informed him.
"But I…"
"I know you haven't done anything wrong," she rushed to assure him. "But the other five on the list have. They might not talk to you, but they'll likely talk amongst themselves and perhaps more freely than they would in front of someone else."
"Fine," he sighed. "You owe me for this one."
"Get us some good intel and I just might give you a bonus big enough to take a really nice vacation when this over," Carmilla offered.
"Fine," he sighed. "Can you get someone to take care of my cat?"
"Will do," Laura replied with a light laugh. "Hopefully it won't be more than a few days, a couple of weeks at most."
"Weeks?" he groaned.
"I just don't know at this point," Laura confided. "But don't worry, you and your fellow detainees will be well taken care of."
"Okay," he replied and then hung up.
Laura quickly updated Rick by text and then turned to Carmilla and handed her her phone.
"I don't want to be disturbed while I'm giving my statement," she explained.
"You ready for this?"
"Not really," she admitted. "But it has to be done."
Carmilla looked at Laura's phone when it vibrated.
"Rick answered; 'okay, we're ready to go, they're all waiting outside the doors'," she read.
"C'mon," Laura sighed, "let's get this over with."
Carmilla pushed Laura from the meeting room to the elevator and then to the top of the stairs where Rick was waiting for them.
"Think we've got enough uniforms?" she joked to Rick.
"Better safe than sorry," he reasoned.
"True," she accepted. "Alright, let them in. And Rick?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll read off their names, arrest them right away?"
"Consider it done."
Carmilla moved Laura to the edge of the stairs, Garth meeting them there with a microphone.
"Stay behind me?" she asked Carmilla.
"Sure, but why?"
"In case something goes sideways and I need you to get me out of here ASAP," Laura explained. "And, you know, it's nice to know you're there," she added with a blush.
"You've had my back all this time, 'bout time I did the same, no?" joked Carmilla.
Laura scanned the crowd as they entered, please when she noted two news cameras and a couple of radio stations.
"Good afternoon," she greeted. "Can everyone hear me?" There was a chorus of 'yeses' from the crowd. She looked at the news cameras and radio stations. "Are you guys live?" she asked and received their nods. "Okay, before we begin I'd like to ask the following people to present themselves to the officers near the doors."
Carmilla was distracted by Laura's phone vibrating as she read off the names and walked a few feet away to check her message.
"Douglas Adams has requested a visit with D on Monday, please advise," read the text from JP.
"Shit," Carmilla hissed as she texted him back; they'd already talked about her going to see Deanna, she hadn't, however, expected it to be so soon. "Get Carmilla permission to see her Friday," she texted back.
"Why?" he texted back.
"Because I want her to have the weekend to stew over it before she sees Mr. Adams," she answered.
"I'll text the details when I have them."
As she walked back over to Laura she hoped that Laura wouldn't be upset with her decision.
"Now," Laura continued, having waited for Carmilla to return, "you are probably wondering why five of your colleagues are being detained. On Sunday we came into possession of a list detailing all of Deanna Karnstein's known associates, collaborators and potential targets. Today the Vancouver Police Department in conjunction with agencies across B.C., and a few across the country, will be arresting and/or detaining all of these individuals. I speak now to anyone who fears they may be on this list; while we can not guarantee you leniency and/or a dismissal of charges for crimes committed on Deanna Karnstein's behalf, we can promise you safety from her." She took a deep breath and let that sink in. "However, should you cooperate with today's arrest or detention and/or give evidence that contributes to her conviction, I will personally see that it is taken into consideration.
"Our next order of business," she continued after a short pause, "as of about a half hour ago, I am no longer a Detective with the Vancouver Police Department and Detective Rick Graham will be taking over as lead investigator of the Deanna Karnstein task force."
"Then how the hell are you in any position to be making promises?" someone shouted.
"That is a very good question," Laura stalled as she came up with an answer. "My girlfriend and I have been asked to serve as consultants until Deanna Karnstein is convicted." She looked around. "Any questions?"
"Is it true your father committed suicide on Sunday?" a man near the front asked.
"While I can't go into detail on an ongoing investigation, I can tell you that my father did not commit suicide on Sunday, nor was he killed by the explosion that destroyed all the evidence. From my own quick assessment, I would speculate that he was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head two to three days before he was discovered." She looked around and suppressed a smile when no one had any more questions. "Thank you all for your time."
Several hours later Laura sat in Carmilla's office at the apartment staring at her crime board. More specifically, she was staring at one index card with the question; 'Why the Karnsteins?'. She'd stretched the truth on some of the answers she'd given her bosses, but she'd been completely honest when she said she didn't know why the Karnsteins were targeted. Was it as straightforward as money?
"It can't be that simple, can it?" she sighed.
"What can't be that simple?" LaFontaine asked as they entered the room.
"Any luck?" she questioned as she turned to face them.
"Yes and no," they replied as they sat in one of the armchairs. "I've got you audio but they're not speaking any known language." They tilted their head from side to side. "The only time you can understand them is when the guard is in the room and your dad's name."
"Damn," Laura sighed. "Any luck with the phone?"
"I haven't touched it yet," they replied. "You said the one on Sunday blew up in your hand?"
"Not quite," Laura corrected. "I got a text warning me, it started to smoke and then, kind of, disintegrated before it hit the ground."
"And that's why I haven't touched it yet," they confided. "I'm going to run some tests, make sure I don't blow off a hand."
"Fair enough," Laura chuckled.
"What's up with the cast?"
"Doc accidentally broke the bone in half when he was inserting the rod." She shrugged. "I can live with the cast but the bed rest and wheelchair?" She chuckled. "That I could do without." She shook her head. "I think he's worried about gravity and the bone being broken clean through."
"How is your leg feeling?"
"Better than it has since I got hurt," Laura confided. "The dull constant ache is gone. The incisions are a little itchy and sore, but that's about all." She regarded LaFontaine a moment. "What is it?"
"You shouldn't need the cast," they stated. "Even if the mesh only filled the hole, you shouldn't have needed a cast or wheelchair."
"Maybe he's just being overly cautious?"
"Maybe…" they trailed off as Danny and Carmilla joined them.
"Hey, Pup," Carmilla greeted before going over and kissing her briefly. "Everything okay?"
"Got a call from Rick about an hour ago," she supplied. "He said the arrests and detentions are going smoothly."
"Me and Dark just dropped off the last of the supplies," Danny added. "We were able to round up almost enough stuff."
"That's good," Laura answered.
"How many were we short?" asked Carmilla.
"We got a hundred and ninety sleeping bags, we were good on the rest," Danny replied.
"That's okay then," Carmilla said, surprising Danny. "I over-estimated how many we'd need."
"How about you Laf? Any luck?" Carmilla questioned.
"Laura can fill you in," they replied as they stood. "I'm going to start working on the cell phone. Call you if I find anything?" Laura nodded. "Okay, later guys."
Carmilla turned to Danny as the redhead took a seat.
"There was something you wanted to talk to us about?"
"Yeah, um," Danny stammered as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Would it be okay if Steph comes to the party on Saturday?" Laura and Carmilla exchanged a look. "It's just, I mentioned it, and she's a huge UFC fan, and…"
"You already invited her?" Carmilla guessed.
"I told her I had to ask you first," Danny clarified.
"Can you promise she won't fangirl or bug my friends?" Carmilla questioned.
"I'll make sure she doesn't," Danny offered.
"You really like this girl, don't you?" Laura asked, Danny's blush was answer enough. "How old is she?"
"Eighteen, nineteen in a few months," she supplied. "So, can she?"
"Sure," Carmilla replied.
"Thanks," Danny beamed.
"We're going to head back to the house, you coming?" Carmilla asked.
"I, um…"
"Was there something else?" asked Laura.
"Yeah, actually," Danny stammered. "I was thinking," she took a deep breath. "Maybe I should move out."
"We made things awkward, didn't we?" speculated Carmilla.
"No, well, maybe a little," Danny replied. "But it's not just that, it's your first home, you deserve a little privacy." She shrugged. "You shouldn't have to worry about someone walking in on you."
"You can stay here," Carmilla offered. "The guest bedroom is basically yours, even if you didn't sleep there much," she teased.
"What about my stuff?"
"Grab what you need and we can put the rest back in storage or you can leave it where it is until you need it?" suggested Laura.
"Don't think I don't appreciate everything you've done, but…"
"Danny," Carmilla soothed and went to place a hand on Danny's shoulder, "first and foremost, you're our friend…"
"...and we want you to be happy," Laura finished.
"Okay?" Carmilla prodded.
"Okay," accepted Danny. "And thanks."
"You coming back with us?" Carmilla asked.
"Yeah," Danny smiled. "I, uh, was going to make us dinner, you know, as a thanks?"
"Sounds good," Carmilla smiled. "Unnecessary, but good."
"I'll meet you guys downstairs?" They nodded. "Okay."
Carmilla went to take a seat on the edge of her desk nearest to Laura.
"You were amazing today," she praised. "I was impressed with your Vegas Press Conference, but today?" she shook her head. "I was sitting there during the meeting, watching you play these people who've been doing this as long as you've been alive, and all I can think is; 'Wow, she chose me'." She smiled. "I fell in love with you when I thought you were a nineteen-year-old journalism student who had 'watched a lot of MMA'." She shook her and chuckled. "I don't know if I've said this to you, and if I haven't I apologize because I should have, I love you, Laura. Not because of everything you've done to help me or despite it." She smiled and knelt beside her. "So maybe the girl I fell in love with doesn't exist." Laura looked down until Carmilla lifted her chin with a finger. "But you," she put her hand over Laura's heart, "the you in here?" She smiled. "That you I fall in love with all over again every single day." She kissed her softly. "That you, is the you I want to spend the rest of my life with."
A/N: I know the term 'midget' is offensive to some, but it really is my best friend's term of endearment for me. You might remember that I mentioned Carm and Dark's friendship is based on the one I have with my best friend. No guesses on the subtle nod to the web series in every chapter? If there are no guesses before chapter fifteen, I'll let you in on the secret. Last, follow me on Twitter at devlinmma for updates and the occasional sneak peek! Fun fact; I got the Twitter account long before I'd even heard of fanfiction, let alone started writing it. Please folks, feedback is always welcome and encouraged. Until next time Creampuffs!
