Everything We Are - Chapter 12
by Kadi
Rated: M
Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.
"I need you to tell me that you have more than just your Captain's word that our suspect took her child." Emma Rios announced her presence with that proclamation. She stood near Lieutenant Provenza's desk and her gaze swept the Murder Room. Being assigned to a Major Crimes case was not unheard of, but being requested by name, that was rare indeed. They usually asked for Hobbs, and she was sent over if the senior DDA was otherwise occupied. Emma walked over and dropped her bag in the empty chair near the Lieutenant's desk. "Before I go into an interview with this man, I need to know what kind of evidence we have? Other than an injured woman's statement."
Immediate annoyance, that was what Provenza felt when that woman was in his general vicinity. Just the sound of her voice could make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and his teeth clench. His eyes rolled toward her. "Besides the Captain's eye witness statement," he stated slowly, and a bit drolly, "we also have Dunn's prints in the house. They're on the front door and the baby gate he opened as he walked through the foyer."
"That's great, it's not evidence, what else?" Emma looked around the room, brows lifted.
"What do you mean," the Lieutenant asked carefully, "that it's not evidence? Of course it's evidence. We have the man's prints in the house!"
Emma sighed softly. She looked down at him and tried to keep a lid on her own impatience and annoyance when it came to these people. "I understand that, Lieutenant. But you have to look at this as a jury or a judge would. This suspect isn't just some guy off the street that walked into a nice lady's house and took her kid." Her hand found her hip and while she gestured with her other hand. "This man in your custody has a history with your Captain, with all of you. We have a potentially huge conflict of interest here." She held up her hand when she could see that all of them were about to protest. "The child taken belongs to your Captain. The father of that child, her husband, is another member of this team, and your partner," she pointed out to Provenza. "Then we have the suspect, who just happens to be the biological father of the young man who is your Captain's former ward, and as I recall it, quite close to many of you. This department has taken great pains to keep this young man safe, and if it is brought up, there could be issues with the fact that this man was... convinced... that he should sign away his parental rights to said young man. Mister Dunn and his lawyer could argue that he has been in that house for completely innocuous reasons, such as to visit his biological son. Look," she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not saying that I don't believe what happened. I do. I also believe that Mister Dunn deserves the maximum that I can get for him, but this isn't going to be easy."
"If it were easy," Sanchez stated quietly, "You wouldn't be here." He looked up at her through hooded eyes.
Tao had turned his chair toward them, and leaned forward, elbows braced against his knees. "We impounded his car. It's down in the print shed. We're pulling any signs that the Captain's son was in that car."
Sanchez drummed his fingers against his desk. "There was no child seat in his car, or in the motel room where he was found. If we find evidence Ian was in the car, we can pull the child seats from the Flynn home. Check them for his prints. They have three. One each in their cars, and Rusty has a third."
"We also have the gun," Provenza stated. "If he hasn't cleaned it yet, we may be able to pull DNA evidence." He leaned forward against his desk, fixing her with a hard stare. "The captain was struck so hard that not only was she concussed, but he left her bleeding on her kitchen floor."
"That takes care of the evidence," Rios pointed out. "Now we need to deal with the conflict of interest. He hasn't lawyered up yet, but once we does, it's going to become that much harder to make a deal, and believe me, we want to deal. The last thing we need is to go to trial and have a jury questioning his motives and whether or not this man was in anyway railroaded by this department. I'm not saying that I believe he was-" She was quick to add. "I saw the pictures. I know the history. The bigger question that should be asked is what this department thought it was doing keeping him out of jail to begin with, but I can argue that. The emotional stability of the child was called into question and it was determined that he was already facing one trial, had already been abandoned by one parent - twice, and was now facing the possibility of testifying against his biological father for assault. That I've got. No problem. The rest is... a little murkier."
"Then why don't you tell us how you want to proceed," Sanchez stated.
Emma's smile was slow, but calculating. "I can get this guy on aggravated kidnapping, and I get him for twenty-five to life. To do that, I need every one of you to recuse yourselves from this case. You got him, he's in custody, now go away." She held up a hand, because Sanchez at least was about to launch out of his chair on a tirade. "I get it, I do. These are you people. Which is exactly why I need all of you to step away from this. Or at least, give the appearance. You do not touch a single piece of evidence. We're transferring this case to your SIS division. They will handle it from here. Internal Affairs in conjunction with the District Attorney's office will overlook the remainder of the investigation and the deal process." She paused. "I already have Chief Taylor's approval. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that this isn't a negotiation."
Provenza scowled at her. This was not what he had in mind. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly. "They are trusting us to see this through. This guy stole their child, and you expect us to just let you hand it off to another division?"
"I do," she told him. "Which is why you asked for me. How much are your friends going to thank you when the man who stole their child gets off on a technicality?"
"She's right." Sanchez was staring at his desk. He didn't want to admit it, which is why the words almost stuck in his throat. He looked up at the others. "She's right, sir," he repeated. "If Dunn gets off, on some stupid technicality, because of us? How do we look the Captain and Lieutenant Flynn in the eye?" In his lap, his hands clenched into fists. "How do we look at Ian if we let the guy who took him away from his mom and left him all alone in a strange place gets to go free?" Julio stood up and reached for his jacket. "It's not going to be on me."
At his desk, Tao was nodding slowly. "She has a point. We're too close."
"I'm not leaving until he makes his deal," Provenza stated. He held up a hand, pointed at her. "I will recuse myself, but that doesn't mean I have to leave. I want this done right. Even if that means supervising it all myself."
"Why am I not surprised." Emma folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at him. "I accept. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an interview to conduct."
In the end, they all waited until a solution was reached. They had to hand it to Rios, she was a bulldog. Crowded around the monitors in the electronics room, they'd all watched. She managed to tie Daniel into so many knots that every time it looked as though he was about to ask for a lawyer, she confused him further. The SIS supervising officer, a Lieutenant Donaldson joined her, while Agent Howard stood near the door. It presented an imposing scene, both were tall men, and neither looked very pleasant.
The intimidation was subtle, however. Anyone watching the video of the interview could not state that they'd gone out of their way. Emma simply kept firing questions at him. While she worked, results came back on prints from his car. DNA from his gun would take longer, but the blood found on it was a type match to the Captain. Once she got him to admit to hitting her, he began to fold.
Daniel admitted to taking Ian. Tao and Provenza had to flank Sanchez to keep him in the electronics room when Dunn had said he didn't want that bitch ruining another young boy for his real parents. To abandoning him in Venice Beach, he'd gotten nervous after the Amber Alert was issued. He panicked, and besides, the kid wouldn't shut up. He kept crying for his mother.
He admitted to all of it, and then Emma went in for the kill. They got the pleasure of watching Dunn's face fall when she explained that Ian was the Captain's son. That she had remarried and she and her new husband had a child together, although unexpectedly, quite happily. Her almost cheerfulness at pointing out little boutiques where she had suggested the Captain could shop for maternity clothes was a bit disturbing, but not only to the team. Dunn was sinking further and further into his chair.
When she was finished, Dunn was asking for the twenty-five to life she had on the table. He didn't want to go to trial. He didn't want to risk it.
He took his deal. It was done. It was over. At least… this part of it.
Dunn was put back in holding, and the team finally left the station. It was late, the sun had already set by the time they left. Saturday was mostly gone, but they'd managed just over twenty-four hours from kidnapping to deal. They were proud of themselves for that. There was still a cloud hanging over them, however.
They each went home, because it was needed. Sleep would help, but there was something else which was needed. Something unnamed. Provenza considered that as he sent them off. Tao to his wife, Sanchez to his family, and Amy to…wherever she went when she wasn't at work. She didn't speak of her personal life much. The older Lieutenant went home and began thinking of how to put this team back together again.
He was just stepping into his house when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He knew that it was Flynn even before he took it out. "Shouldn't you be spending time with the wife and the mini-you," he said, by way of greeting.
"I have," Flynn said. "I will. Sharon just got off the phone with Taylor, she's taking Ian up for a bath." Andy had walked out onto the back deck to make this call. "So it's over," he stated.
"It is," he sighed as he dropped into his recliner. His body was tired, it ached all over. "He's going away for quite possibly the rest of his life. He'll serve at least fifteen before he comes up for any kind of parole consideration."
"Good," Andy said, somewhat darkly. He would have preferred another outcome, but he would take why he could get.
His partner sighed. "Yeah." He had to agree. This time, at least, the system had worked for them. "How are they," he asked, if a bit hesitantly. Asking about your best friend's kid was one thing, asking about the wife who also happened to be your boss… that got a little awkward.
Andy sigh was heavy. He looked toward the sky. Not for the first time he wished he could see the stars. Instead, all he saw was a glowing darkness, an odd shade of gray. "I think Ian will be okay. He's young. He'll bounce back."
Provenza put his feet up and frowned as he toed off his shoes. "You don't think she will?" He sounded surprised. Flynn had always been the Captain's biggest cheerleader, almost from the day she joined their division.
"I just don't know," Andy admitted quietly. "I'm not even sure that she knows the answer to that yet." He shook his head and leaned against the railing at the far side of the deck. "When she's with us, she's fine. It's when she's alone, or it's just her and Ian that it seems… I don't know what the hell to call it. She's rattled. You know how she is with the kids. We see this kind of thing everyday, you know? We don't expect to go through it. Rusty hasn't spoken to her about any of this yet, and I think that might be part of it. He's dealing, you know, so I think he'll be ready to sit down with her soon. I just…" He sighed again. "Hell."
"It's rare we get them back," Provenza reminded him. "Start with that. Work from there. Other than that…" He didn't know what he could say. He remembered how the Captain was with Rusty throughout the entire Weller ordeal, especially at the end. He could imagine what she was going through now. "Keep her talking," he said. "She does better when she's talking about it," that he remembered too. If she was allowed to linger too long, then she would begin to withdraw. While Rusty was with him, while they had looked for Weller, they'd kept her working. It had helped. She wouldn't be back in the office for at least another week, he knew. At least. She would have to be cleared medically, and then the department psychologist would get his hands on her. Hell, the shrink would get his hands on both of them before they could come back. Provenza wouldn't be the least surprised if the entire squad ended up going in front of Behavioral services.
"I'm trying not to crowd her," Andy told him. "She doesn't like it when I hover. It's a fine line with Sharon."
"I can imagine." Provenza rolled his eyes. "You're the one that had to marry her. You couldn't just pay your child support like all the other midlife crisis dads on the planet?"
"Louie." Andy's teeth clenched. "Not now, okay?"
"Fine." He shook his head. "You actually love her, well don't say I didn't warn you. Yeeh gods, man."
Andy closed his eyes. "Yeah, I love her. I'm always going to love her. There's never going to be a day that I don't love her, so can we just, get beyond that finally? I'm worried about my wife."
"Alright, alright." He heard the frustration and figured poking at him about it wasn't wise right now after all. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Flynn. Nothing rattles the Raydor for long. She'll bounce back and be just as annoying to deal with as she always is. Helping yet?"
"Not really," Andy sighed. "But thanks for the attempt. I think it helped just knowing that, you know, this thing with Dunn is wrapped up. He can't come back and try again. Ian slept with us last night, and this afternoon. He's needing to be close by too, but it's felt like… I don't know. If we take our eyes off him for a minute he'll be gone again."
"Not going to happen. The deadbeat is locked up and he's not getting out anytime soon," Provenza settled back in his recliner. "Now, listen to me. The kid isn't going anywhere. He's there, and he's safe. That's what matters, let the rest work itself out… and Andy, by god, go to a meeting."
"Went this morning," he smiled, but it was concern he heard, the genuine kind. "I'll probably go sometime tomorrow too, or Monday. I'm having a hard time being away from them," he said. "I don't want to take my eyes off either of them."
"God you are pathetic," Provenza growled, but with a smile. "We need to get you back to work, and soon. Go kick in a few doors, throw a few suspects around, or I'm going to have to take your man card for good," he teased.
Andy chuckled. "I think Sharon already has it."
"Figures," he grunted in reply.
"Yeah." Andy watched the light in the upstairs bathroom. "Look, you sound pretty beat. I'm going to go. I'll call you tomorrow or something, you can fill me in on all the details. I want the play by play of how Rios stuck it to that son of a bitch."
"I'll let you watch the interview," He promised. "Yeah, go… do something pathetic like kiss the wife. I'm going to sleep."
A devious grin spread across his face. "I'm going to go do a lot more than that with the wife, I think," Andy said. "Later, partner."
Provenza ended the call with a shudder. "Disgusting." He tossed his phone onto the table beside his chair and wriggled down in it. "Pathetic." He chuckled quietly anyway and closed his eyes. It was rare when they got cases with happy endings. He'd take it, and maybe later when he wasn't so tired, he'd think of a way to help alleviate his partner's worries about his wife. After all, what were friends for?
