Sorry! This is chapter 11. I posted the wrong chapter just a minute ago so please don't read it yet. It is out of order! Read this first then I will repost the next chapter. Duh...
Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I have tried to answer everyone but I am sure I have missed someone. If it was you, believe me, I appreciate your review and your opinions! As to all the guessing about who is behind all this, I think you will be surprised!
You Don't Know Me
Chapter 11
Come Together
Lisbon had returned to the CBI from the hospital on the heels of her team and had just called them all into a meeting when her phone rang. Seeing who was on the call display, she asked for privacy and took the call once everyone left her office.
Clearing her throat, Lisbon picked up the phone with trepidation and hoped her voice sounded authoritative… enough.
"Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon, how can I help you Captain Burney?"
"I am calling to apologize for the situation here today. I'm so sorry…" he began.
Lisbon immediately lost it. "Situation? You're calling the near fatal beating of one of my most valuable employees a situation?" Lisbon interrupted him in anger. "If beating an innocent man in police custody is a situation, I hate to think what a crime looks like!"
Captain Burney took a moment to let her rant. She was completely justified to be lashing out at him and he had to let her have her say. When Lisbon took a moment to compose herself, he began again.
"You're absolutely right Agent Lisbon. I should have called it what it was, an attack against a defenceless man in my jail, by one of my own men. I want you to know I have viewed the footage of the attack and Detective Hannigan has been arrested. How is Mr. Jane doing?" he asked, hoping to steer the conversation towards something less volatile.
"Mr. Jane is bruised, bleeding, in a great deal of pain and has a serious head injury. His short term memory of the attack is sketchy and he is unable to get out of bed as we speak. If Hannigan had not been stopped when he was, he would have killed Jane."
Dropping his attempts to be diplomatic, Burney let out a long sigh and spoke from the heart.
"Jeez Agent Lisbon, I really am so so sorry. Whether your man is innocent or guilty…"
"He's innocent!" she interjected.
"Innocent or guilty" he tried again "he did not deserve to be beaten today, and for that I offer my sincerest apology. I will deal with Carlson when this case is over. Please believe me Agent, no one wants to have this kind of thing happening in their precinct" he said truthfully.
Lisbon stood fidgeting with the phone while she calmed herself down. Captain Burney was a good man, well-liked and respected both by his own men and by other law enforcement agencies. Sighing deeply, she had to reset her approach and find out why he had really called.
"Ok. I'm listening Captain. Thank you for your condolences about Jane. Now what's the real reason you called?"
The Captain relaxed into his chair and could now start to make amends and move forward. "I have had a serious talk with Detective Carlson about a great many things. I requested and viewed the video footage of Mr. Jane's tasering yesterday at the CBI and I agree that it was unnecessary and unprovoked. I will be taking disciplinary action against all officers involved in that incident. I understand Mr. Jane claims he was kneed in the groin as well, but unfortunately it is hearsay and cannot be proven."
Lisbon clenched her jaw at this last statement, but knew it would boil down to Jane's word against the word of the SAC PD officers. She would have to let that attack slide.
"Go on Captain."
"I have informed Detective Carlson that from this moment on he will work closely with the CBI, sharing information concerning this particular kidnapping case."
Lisbon stood mute for a moment, temporarily shocked at the turn around in the attitude of the SAC PD. Did they really want to work as a team or was Burney scared to death about a lawsuit, which surely would not go well for he and his whole precinct. She had to think fast, he was waiting for a response. While it was good for Jane and her attempts to set him free, she couldn't imagine how her people could cooperate with Carlson and his men. A lot of anger and resentment would have to be swallowed, on both sides. Finding her voice, Lisbon decided to cautiously agree to his olive branch.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting that offer Captain. We have been looking into the girl's story and so far we have found inconsistencies. We will be glad to share what we know, as long as Carlson is willing to listen and share his information with us. We believe there was no kidnapping at all, just a very good setup to frame Mr. Jane for unknown reasons. The motive for accusing him is still a mystery to us and to Mr. Jane. We would like to know what Carlson has in the way of new evidence that convinces him that Jane is guilty."
"OK, fair enough. I have to ask Agent Lisbon... have you uncovered anything that leads you to believe his denial of guilt, other than the fact that he is friends with all of you?"
Feeling insulted by his insinuation that friendship would trump the law, Lisbon had to bite back a spiteful response. This whole episode was testing her patience like few other cases had.
"Captain Burney, if Mr. Jane is indeed guilty of kidnapping a young woman and tormenting her for almost 2 weeks, I will put the handcuffs on him myself and will pursue all avenues to prove his guilt. But in this case, he is innocent. I believe what he says and I believe with some digging, we will discover why he is being set up. The so-called victim has shown herself to be a liar and we can prove it."
Burney's curiosity was certainly peaked now. "You believe she lied to Carlson when she came in with her story of being abducted?"
"Absolutely. At that time and since. She's quite the little actress. Too many things just don't add up. I look forward to getting this case closed as soon as possible. Oh, and we also believe she is working with an accomplice, a man who may be the one calling the shots. If we can get a full name or photo of him we might be able to bring him in."
"I look forward to reading Carlson's reports Agent Lisbon. He'll be contacting you soon."
"Ok. Thank you for calling Captain. Goodbye."
Lisbon set down the phone and took a moment to consider everything Burney had said. Her team wouldn't like this news. The hard feelings between the CBI and SAC PD went 'way back, and this new case only exacerbated their mutual distrust. She waved her team back in. This news was going to change everything. As they were coming back into her office the phone rang again. Seeing 'St. Marks Hospital" on the call display, Lisbon feared the worst and picked up the receiver with concern evident on her face. What if Jane had become sicker? Lapsed once again into unconsciousness?
"Hello?" she said with worry.
"About time you got off the phone Lisbon!" said Jane cheerfully.
Smiling in relief, she relaxed and sat down. "Jane! I just saw you. What's so important all of a sudden?"
"Pajamas. My best navy blue pajamas to be exact. Mr. Costa was just here and my arraignment will most likely happen tomorrow morning if he can persuade the Judge to allow me to appear via video-conferencing. It's all very high tech Lisbon!" he smirked.
"And the pajamas?" she asked, eliciting a look of confusion on the faces of her team, who couldn't help but overhear.
"Well I can't appear in court in this flimsy hospital gown Lisbon. Gives away too many secrets!" he grinned, tugging down on it to cover his bits and pieces as he spoke. "I need my best navy blue pajamas to appear on camera. Could someone pick them up from my motel room and drop them off here tonight or first thing in the morning?"
"Well we don't want too much revealed in court Jane, so someone will find them and get them over to you. Oh, by the way, Captain Burney of the SAC PD has instructed Detective Carlson to work with us and share any and all information his people uncover about the kidnapping. We have to share what we have too" she said, knowing he wouldn't like that bit of information. The look of shock and consternation on Cho's face was equalled by the looks of disgust on Van Pelt's and Rigsby's. They didn't like this news one bit.
"Are you sure we want to do that Lisbon?"
"Jane, we have no choice. And bottom line, if we can all work together and put aside any ill will between us and the SAC PD, we just might get you out of this mess faster." She couldn't see Jane, but she knew he was shaking his head in frustration. Working with Carlson would take the patience of a saint. Jane decided he would make sure to avoid the man altogether, or else he might have to hypnotize him into believing he had itching powder in his underwear.
Exhaling a long breath, Jane bit his tongue and let it go. No use arguing against something he was powerless to change.
"OK. If it gets me off this charge and Carol and her partner arrested, it will be worth it. See you later Lisbon" he said softly, then hung up.
"Bye Jane" she echoed and rang off. Looking up, she saw the hardened faces of her three best people.
"Boss, how can we work with Carlson and his people after what he did to Jane?" demanded Van Pelt, her righteous indignation flushing her cheeks a bright crimson.
Putting her hands up to appease her, Lisbon tried to calm them all down. "I know it will be hard, and we don't have to like it, but Captain Burney wants us to resolve our issues and get to the bottom of this mess. Carlson is Burney's problem now. We have lodged a formal complaint against Carlson and the SAC PD. But for now we need to figure out how to get the charges against Jane dropped."
Van Pelt's shoulders sagged and she nodded. "OK Boss. So what do we do now?"
"Now we find Boyd. We know Carol called him and we need to catch the two of them together if that is possible. I spoke to Jane this afternoon and he told me to set a trap. What he meant by that is, well… who knows. So we will set a trap and find Boyd. There is a tiny chance that Boyd will try to meet up with Carol, either at Jim Johansson's house or at some other location. We will have to watch the house to see if Boyd makes contact. If Carol goes out, someone will tail her. Sooner or later one of them will screw up and we will catch them both. We can set up a schedule for surveillance 'round the clock."
"I can take first watch" volunteered Van Pelt.
"I can go next, then I gotta go home to Ben" said Rigsby.
"I'll take the graveyard shift" said Cho, happy to take a short nap early in the night.
"Thanks guys. Let's hope Boyd is stupid enough to visit Carol. We'll nab him and bring him in for questioning. I want to bring Carol in tomorrow. She's had enough time to forget what she told Carlson and we can let Cho turn her inside out in the interrogation room. See if she sticks to her story or caves in" smiled Lisbon.
"Can't wait!" said Cho enthusiastically.
"One other thing. Van Pelt, can you put a tap on Carol's cellphone? We need to know if she calls Boyd or he tries to contact her."
"I'll try, but it depends on if it is a burner phone. If it is, I can't trace her calls Boss."
Lisbon nodded, knowing that it was a long shot, but still might work.
"Ok, thanks everyone. Check in regularly for updates" said Lisbon. The next 24 hours could prove to be very interesting indeed.
Carol fidgeted with nerves knowing that her brother would be home soon. He usually got home before the babysitter and had a beer while he wound down from a stressful day. She had spent the last little while sitting in the sun trying to calm herself. Good thing Boyd left when he did.
The front door slammed shut and Jim came in, dumping his briefcase and laptop off on the hall table.
"Anybody home?" he called, looking for his troubled sister. She appeared in the kitchen with a beer in her hand.
"Here ya go" she said, trying to keep him out of the kitchen for as long as possible.
"Thanks kid" he smiled. How he wished his sister was so sweet all the time. Maybe this kidnapping had changed her, knocked some of the hardness out of her he mused, as he took a long slug of the cool beer. She looked towards the TV and wandered into the living room, not wanting to talk to her brother if she could avoid it. Watching her go he sighed and turned towards the staircase. Once he got out of his suit and took a shower he would feel much better. Then the kids and his lovely wife Sara would be home. They would brighten his day with friendship and love in a way that Carol was incapable of.
He made his way up the stairs and walked down the hall past the kids bedrooms. Loosening his tie he walked into the master bedroom and shut the blinds. No good giving the neighbours a scare when he emerged from the shower. He threw his tie on the bed and shuffled out of his shoes. The rest of his clothes landed mostly on the bed and then he turned his attention to adjusting the temperature of the shower. After a refreshing rinse off he towelled himself dry and wandered back into the bedroom. Downstairs he could hear the excited voices of his kids as the babysitter said her goodbyes for the day. They ran up the stairs to find their favourite toys and then bolted downstairs again to jabber about their day to a completely disinterested Carol. Jim was sad that Carol could not find any joy in the company of his kids. He found something new and wonderful every day to smile at when his kids explained the world to him in their own unique ways. Carol just tuned them out.
He stood at the side of the bed towelling his hair dry and surveyed the bed in a distracted sort of way. It didn't look quite right. He rarely had time in the morning to make the bed and anyway, Sara preferred to do it herself, leaving it nice and crisp, with the pillows just so against the headboard. He looked at the cover a little more closely and it definitely had not been made up by his wife. He sat down and ran his hand over the surface of the cover, absentmindedly trying to decide who had mussed it up. Would Carol lie down in their bed for a nap instead of her own? Why would she do such an odd thing? His hand smoothed out the cloth of the cover until it hit a wet patch.
"What the hell?" he muttered. He fingered the material and brought his hand up to his nose, fearing what the substance might be.
"Beer?" he said out loud. Beer was spilled on his bed? "What the hell!" he said to the empty room. Carol had been drinking his beer on his bed and just spilled it without an apology? He got dressed and went downstairs to confront her when his wife come in the front door.
"Hi Sweetie!" she smiled when she saw him. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned to look into the living room, eyeing Carol as she slumped down into the sofa cushions. Dammit, he didn't want to have a fight today.
"Hi yourself" he said softly, glad Sara was home again. His wife went upstairs to get changed and he headed for the kitchen, to put away his beer bottle under the sink. As he bent down his eye spotted the damage to the edge of the counter. A large gouge was dug into the edge and a chunk of the arbourite was missing. 'Goddammit Carol!' he thought. Just a couple of days at the house and she was already damaging it due to carelessness. He stared at her and thought about calling her out right now, but thought better of it. The house was peaceful for the moment, his kids happy and relaxed, watching TV with their Aunt. No, he would wait to talk to her after the kids went to bed. He wanted to hear Carol explain the messed up bed, soaked with beer, and the damaged kitchen counter.
Sara strolled into the kitchen and saw the storm cloud on Jim's face. He silently pointed to the gouge, knowing she would be furious. She reacted with anger and started to call out to Carol.
"Shhh...I'll deal with it later, after the kids are asleep" he told her as she demanded an explanation. She looked at her sister-in-law and bit back her invective. Fine. Jim could deal with that miserable girl. She began to make supper, slamming the pots and pans around a little more enthusiastically than normal. Supper tonight was going to be very tense.