Part 11 – Again
Andy had been so close to getting out of the office at a reasonable hour. They had wrapped up the case from the week before, Meg's case. Meg has passed away two days prior, making it a murder, instead of an attempted one. Not to mention the charges they were hopefully going to get whoever did this to her for rape, kidnapping, and whatever else they were going to get him for.
Her funeral was going to be in a few days, the family wanted time to say goodbye, fly relatives in from out of state - she wasn't going anywhere. Andy took a look at the file on his desk - all he had to do was drop it off and then get into the elevator to go home. He'd be going to his place, since Sharon had called him earlier saying she was taking the kids up north for the weekend.
Andy was putting his coat on when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A small movement. He was the only one in the room and whatever this was immediately put him on edge. Smoothing his coat, putting his gun in his holster, he heard a small giggle.
Tilting his head, Andy listened harder. He heard the ruffle of clothes, a small gasp and then another round of small breathless giggles. Then it clicked. It was a child.
Andy rounded the corner of his desk, he knew that this kid found a small hiding spot on the other side of his desk. Andy took a look under his desk and saw the small sized feet with those light up shoes that every little kid, both boys and girls wanted.
Taking a knee, Andy took a look around the corner of his desk, matching the kids eyes. It was Ricky. Sharon's Ricky. The woman was probably in the lobby or the elevator or wherever she was having a heart attack.
"What's up kid?" Andy questioned.
All Ricky did was giggle, burying his face in his knees. Andy shook his head. Before he could say anything else, he heard the elevator bell and Andy straightened. Ricky's head snapped up at the sound of Sharon's voice and Andy winked at the kid, putting a hand to his lips. Ricky nodded.
"Ricky?" Sharon yelled. "Ricky where- Andy."
"Hey," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. Sharon had Emily by the hand. "What's up?"
"Have you seen Ricky?" she asked, her voice breathless. "We have to be on the road before it get's dark."
"No idea where the kid is," Andy shrugged, pointing his finger to the desk. He circled his finger.
"Andy," Sharon sighed. "I don't have time to –"
He pointed to the other side of his desk again and then pointed to his lips, like he did with Ricky. He pointed at her and circled his finger, silently telling her to go around, take the kid by surprise.
Andy reached for Emily as Sharon went and did what Andy suggested. Andy lifted Emily easily, put her on his hip and tapped her nose, making the girl laugh. Together, they watched Sharon sneak around the desk, crouching down behind Ricky.
"Boo," Sharon said quietly into her son's ear.
Ricky let out a gasp and shot forward, trying to get away. He ran into Andy's leg's and then when he backed up he went right into Sharon's waiting arms.
Her palm flat against his stomach and another hand under the boy's armpit, Sharon stood. The boy was wiggling out of her grasp, or attempting to anyway.
She twisted Ricky, holding him upside down. She wasn't going to be that way for long, the blood would rush to his head and give him a headache. Her arm was wrapped around his waist, tight against her front. She ducked as his legs flailed. He tried to bend himself out of her grasp, his legs shooting forward in the direction of Andy and Emily.
"Okay," Sharon said. "Now that I have both my children, we can leave."
"I'm afraid not, Captain," a voice from behind them said. It was a black and white officer, a female, a large stack of files in her hands. "Lieutenant Flynn, you have another body."
"And why am I needed?" Sharon asked, righting Ricky, settling him on his hip.
Together Sharon and Andy looked like a family, with both kids on their hips. Sharon's purse was still on her shoulder, Andy had his coat on – they both were leaving.
"Because the victim works for you," the officer said. "A Miss Willcrest."
Sharon straightened, her eyes immediately watering. She had given Beth the night off, she had given Beth the next few days off since both kids were going to be with her and Sharon didn't need her.
"Um," Sharon said. "Do you need me to-"
"Identify the body," the officer said. "Yes. If you'd like I can take your children to day care and you can go with Lieutenant Flynn to the scene?"
"Where is the scene?"
"Hollywood Hills," the officer said. "Near the Observatory."
Sharon bit her lip, pressed her lips to Ricky's head and nodded.
She had been silent through the entire ride. Emily and Ricky had initially been confused as to why they had gone to the office to pick up Andy, surprising him with an impromptu vacation and in turn went with the Officer to day care.
"Mommy has to work," Sharon said, her voice broken as she kissed both of her children's heads and offered their hands to the Officer.
She told them she loved them. God did she ever. She wanted to protect them. She wanted them close.
The tent for the command center had been set up. She could see the group of Detectives, Patrol and a few members from the ME office gathered underneath.
Andy had slipped his hand over hers, giving it a light squeeze before releasing it. She reached over and weaved her fingers in with hers, taking him by surprise. When he looked over she was teary eyed.
"You don't have to come out," Andy mentioned. "Stay here in the car and I'll just take you to the ME's when I'm done."
"No," she forced out. She shook her head and smiled sadly. "I need to see her."
He kissed her knuckles before releasing her hand and getting out of the car. It was a jogger's paradise, the road that they had driven up on. Sharon got out of the car and immediately began looking around for any points of escape that the victim or the suspect could have taken. It was one way up and one way down.
The dome of the Observatory could be seen easily; the entire building could be seen. In the setting sun, the observatory was rimmed in red. Sharon shook her head as she moved around the car, following Andy up.
The officers who weren't expecting her immediately bristled. They weren't all too pleased with her still over the last case she was part of – she had just concluded that one and a lot of these men had been subjected to an interview with her. Not all were helpful, but those who understood that she was just doing her job were more helpful.
She had been in an interview with the last officer when she had gotten the call that Meg had died. She didn't expect to deal with another body so soon. She definitely didn't expect it to be Beth of all people.
"Settle down boys," Andy snapped. "She's here, get over it."
The officers gave her a distasteful look and turned back to do whatever they had been doing before they showed up.
Andy pushed Sharon forward, a hand on her back to where the ME was bent over. A white sheet had been placed on the victim – he had to think of Beth as the victim in the case that it wasn't Beth.
He had met Beth a few times. Usually when he went to Sharon's place, it was longer after Beth had left. But if there was a day that he had off, from time to time he went to surprise Sharon, thus relieving Beth. She was a good kid from what he could tell. Good head on her shoulders, determined to finish out her undergraduate and get a good job.
Unfortunately that had been cut untimely short – the ME had pulled back the sheet and Sharon let out a gasp and then a strangled breath. She put a hand over her mouth and turned away. Andy nodded his head at the ME, who covered the body back up.
The ME waved over his partner, who had a gurney and Andy watched as they picked up Beth and put her onto the gurney, loading her into the back of the van.
"Lieutenant," an officer said. "The victim was found a few hours ago by a jogger. The ME ruled that she had been there for at least twelve hours."
"Any markings?" Andy questioned.
"Ligature marks around her wrists," the officer said, his eyes bouncing from Sharon, who was beginning to pale and Andy who was still smoothing his hand up and down Sharon's back. "Faint bruising around her neck. No other signs of trauma."
"Make sure this report ends up on my desk, will you?" Andy questions. "I'll go meet the ME at the Coroner's office."
The officer nodded and turned, walking away. Andy turned Sharon into him and took her by the elbow, walking her to the car.
Behind it, he pulled her to him and she shuddered. "You're not working this case."
Sharon nodded. She pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears.
"She was just-" Sharon forced out. "I saw her last night."
Andy nodded. "Don't say anything yet. I can't – I'm going to have to interview you Sharon."
"I know." She said. "I know what you have to do."
He put her in the car gently and drove to the Coroner's office. It would be there that he'd get the preliminary autopsy report, which he would hopefully get fairly quickly. Then he would take Sharon back to the precinct, let her check on her kids and then interview her.
It put him on edge as he took her through the murder room. There was a mixture of pleasure and worry.
"Your relationship to Beth Willcrest?" Andy asked, opening a pad of paper.
Regardless if she was on the clock now or later, this report would cross her desk – all of their reports did. She had to check them over to make sure nothing had been left out. If one of them had been called into a court as a witness, they went off their report. If their report was wrong, or missing information, the city could have their badge.
This one had to be done by the book. They all did, but this was going to be looked over with a fine toothcomb.
Every cop had a case that they took with him or her the length of their career. Sharon had been through a lot since she started and so had he, but this. This was personal and from the void look in Sharon's eyes, this was the case she was going to take with her forever.
The questions he asked her were to the point. She answered them, all of them. Including questions about whether or not Beth had a boy friend and if she had sex with said boyfriend. Sharon didn't know. He asked Sharon about her whereabouts the night before, the tentative timeline when Beth had been murdered pulled into question.
"I was at home with my children," Sharon said. "I was packing. We were going up north on a vacation."
"You weren't running because you killed someone?" Andy questioned.
In a flash he saw the pain in her eyes. Being accused of killing her babysitter was one thing, but to actually hear him say it – that was – she shook her head. She knew he had to ask the questions, especially since she was one of the last people to see Beth before she died.
Sharon cleared her throat and shook her head again.
"No," Sharon said. "I recently wrapped up a case of my own and had a few days off. I was going to take advantage of that with my family."
"Ms. Willcrest didn't have a boyfriend?"
"Not that I know of, no." Sharon said, clasping her hands in front of her.
"She never mentioned anything of that nature to you?"
"No," Sharon repeated. "She was a student. Most of her time was there or with my children."
"And she spent most of her time, if not all of her time with your children, is that correct?"
"That is," Sharon said.
Andy closed his notebook and stood. "Thank you Mrs. Raydor."
The titled was a slip up. He didn't even realize he had said it until after he had left the room. Cursing under his breath, he tossed his notebook on his desk and dropped down into the chair, leaning back.
"Her whole life in front of her and she ends up in a ditch on the side of a mountain," Andy's partner said. "Shame."
"Yeah," Andy agreed. "Did you get anything off the evidence?"
"Her clothes had been ripped," His partner said. "We went through her apartment, address provided by the Captain and everything seemed to be in order."
"Seemed to be?"
"I mean there was a couple of things shifted around on her vanity," the cop shrugged. "But if the girl was having sex and things got a little rough…"
Andy shook his head as his partner trailed off. He knew what the implications meant. Things on her vanity and or bedside table were meant to be off.
"I've got something for you Flynn," one of the ME's came through. He was out of breath.
"What did you do, run from the office Blake?" Andy questioned.
"Your victim was raped," Blake said, wasting no time, providing Andy pictures of things he'd rather have kept unseen. "Multiple times."
There was something when it came to Sharon that Andy had a keen ability to pick up on. He knew when she was near. He could feel her.
Andy looked over his shoulder at the door that led to the room where he had left Sharon – she was standing in the door listening. She knew he would come and tell her – she knew what the rules were. Families could not help investigate. Families could not and should not be involved. She wasn't family to the victim but she was pretty damn close.
"With multiple objects," Blake had continued on.
"What?" Andy said, the information getting his attention.
"Post mortem too," the ME said. "No fluids, no hairs, no DNA from our suspect, but we found metal shavings and splinters of wood."
Andy cursed under his breath and tossed the report on his desk. He looked up at Sharon again only to find her gone.
Andy stood and buttoned his jacket, picking up the files and putting them under his arm.
"I'm going to find the Captain," Andy announced. "And I'm taking these with me. Call me if we have anything else. Go over her personal effects if there were any. Find out if she went to a bar, find out if she had any friends that might have seen her last night. Just find me something."
"What're you going to do with the Captain?"
"Find out if our victim had any friends," Andy pointed. "Go. Now."
The young cop nodded and disappeared.
Andy loaded the elevator, the files belonging to Beth heavy in his hands. The weight of the world, the weight of her case, finding her killer rested on his shoulders.
He hit the floor that Day Care was on.
He wanted to take her home. He wanted to tuck the kids in and pretend that nothing had happened. For the sake of the kids they had to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Not until they for sure knew what happened to their babysitter.
He wanted to take care of Sharon. He wanted to make her dinner, run her a bath, give her an unopened bottle of wine and let her go to town. He'd be sober to take care of the kids if need be.
When he crawled into bed next to a very spent Sharon Raydor, his mind drifted back to Beth. A woman who would never be able to marry. She'd never break the heart of a man who wanted nothing but happiness for her. She'd never have all the things she deserved. She would never spend the rest of her life in utter happiness.
The only thing he, Andy Flynn could promise Sharon was that he would spend the rest of his life making her happy. That, yes forever was a long time, and he would stop at nothing to make sure she knew how he felt for the rest of their lives. He didn't want to let this happen again. He couldn't afford it.
This was the case to make or break her and he just prayed she wouldn't walk away. From him or from the job.
There had to be a silver lining somewhere. They just had to go out and find it again.
This was a rough one for me to wrap my mind around. There are two chapters left until the end of this. I should have them posted fairly soon.
Thank you all for the reviews, for the reads. Please don't stop now! I love reading your reactions.
