*Lovely Readers, not only is this the final Chapter of a 10-chapter multi update, it is bittersweet because it is the fiction finale of Prime Recognition.
If you have not done so, please read Chapters 12 – 20. Chapter 12 has a great recap of what has happened in our story previously. Chapter 20 revealed our killer.
I am sure we all want to see how the story ends so let us rejoin the suspense where we last left it. Thank you for reading. DimplesValntina
Prime Recognition – Chapter 21 (The Conclusion)
Of course, Lacey is unnerved that Scott has figured the accurate source of her illness. That cigar smell is starting to become more powerful by the second since Scott had her lower arm in his grasp and since that offensive cigar was in his other hand. However, Lacey tries to play it off.
She frowns and asks "What?"
Scott gazes at her closely as he repeats "I asked if you were getting rid of me because of this cigar. You always felt nauseous when you smelled this brand of cigar. Archie wouldn't smoke it around you. Instead, he would only smoke it on our 'guys-only' fishing or hiking trips. In fact, Archie and I were smoking it that night."
Lacey feigns ignorance. She states "What? I don't know what you are talking about. Look, Scott, my stomach doesn't feel well. I really need to go home and rest."
Lacey tries to free her arm from his grasp. She says (still in a calm voice) "Scott, please let go of my arm."
Scott does the opposite. He squeezes a tighter hold on Lacey's arm with that hand. Within the other hand he has the cigar. He takes an inhalation of that cigar and blows smoke deliberately towards her face. Lacey turns her head right before that smoke can reach her face fully.
Scott accuses "You're an awful liar, Lacey. Why did you turn your face away?"
Lacey voice rises to a higher level as she strongly claims "I don't want smoke in my face. I'm not a smoker."
She turns her face back to glare at Scott. She still struggles to pull her arm from him. She commands "Now, let me go!"
Scott blames himself. "Sh*t, I was so stupid…I was so stressed that I just naturally reached for the cigar in the pocket of my blazer. I didn't even think. I totally spaced it that you hate this scent."
Lacey tries to keep a level-head in this situation. If she can remain calm, maybe she can see a way to escape this situation when Scott drops his guard.
Lacey keeps up her façade. "I don't know what you are talking about, Scott. Let me go! What's gotten into you all of a sudden? You're acting crazy. This isn't like you."
Scott wrestles with Lacey's body to try to bring her closer to him. While he does have a strong hold on one of her arms with one of his hands, her other hand is free while Scott's own other hand his still-lit cigar held up high in the air.
Lacey holds her breath (to hold back the rise of bile and subsequent nausea). She tries to remember some of the defense moves she learned from Sarita's boyfriend, Cole. She can't think of anything because her mind is racing and she is frightened…just as she had been the night she and Archie were attacked. Suddenly, she remembers that Cole advised that sometimes a smaller person can use sudden movement to cause an attacker to lose their balance.
So, Lacey jerks Scott slightly towards her to throw his weight off-balance. As Scott's body slants towards her, she forcefully grabs the long cigar from him and uses it to burn him in the neck – for Scott had left vulnerable that part of his body. His neck had been the closest part of his body open to her (for Lacey to burn with the cigar) as Scott attempted to catch his balance and pull her body closer to his…in order to overpower and subdue her resistant, frantic actions.
At his surprised and angry yelp at her cigar attack, Scott bends away from her – in order to prevent another cigar burn to his neck as Lacey aims and connects again with the hot-end of the cigar. The second burn loosens his grip on her even more as Scott bends again – away from her - where he grasps his scorched neck as he yells out a pained "You, b*tch!"
Finally, Scott is in a position where Lacey can use a defense move. Lacey takes that opportunity to kick his knee at an odd angle. He yelps again in pain. Her arm is finally free as Scott loses his footing. As he is stumbling back, Lacey grabs the nearest item, a Tiffany lamp on a stand, one of Whitney's gifts to Archie, and hits Scott squarely in the head with the object.
Scott unloads a tirade of obscenities towards Lacey.
Their tussle, over the last few minutes, has led Lacey further away from the front door. So, now, the kitchen is her best route for escape. Lacey runs from the living room (eerily through the kitchen) with the intention of escaping out the back door which would lead to the beach. These are the similar movements as before – but this night, she isn't attacked in the kitchen – as she had been that night 8 months ago when Archie had been killed.
Lacey reaches the back door, wrenches it open, and races down the sandy beach – all actions just like before. The irony is not lost on Lacey. She hopes she can survive tonight – just as she did that night. Perhaps Adam is out there in his boat somewhere again or maybe someone else is near…
Lacey yells for help, but she forgot that several of her neighbors are out of town…there was a big boating tour going on. There is no sight of Adam's boat. Lacey sees someone. It is Charlie McBride. He is walking out from his storage shed which is located not many yards from his own boat, docked not far off the shoreline.
Lacey had thought Charlie had a poker tournament this weekend. Her heart skips a beat. She is grateful to see him. She yells to him to please help her.
Charlie sees that she is being chased. He yells for Lacey to go to his boat to use the cb radio to signal for help. He yells that his cell phone is on there, too. He runs in the direction behind Lacey. She hears bodies collide as Charlie charges Scott with his own body to give Lacey time to make it to his boat. When Lacey nears Charlie's boat, she glances back towards the beach behind her. Scott and Charlie are fighting.
Lacey feels light-headed as she glances at the darkness of the water as she jumps upon the boat. However, she fights her shifted equilibrium (it is combined déjà vu' of her phobia of dark water and her fear at reliving so many parts of the night she was attacked…like entering this dreadful water and swimming towards help). Lacey forcefully reminds herself of the difference: This time, it is Charlie's boat – not Adam's boat – and you are not in that dark water; you are safely dry upon the boat.
With this mantra, she fights her fear and heads towards the part of the boat which has the communications equipment. She grabs the cb and tries the dials…there is a white noise…and a crackle of a signal going in and out.
She yells her distress call into the unit. She cries out "Anyone out there? Please help me. Hello, anyone out there?"
There is no response.
Charlie had said he had his cell phone on the boat, too. Where is the cell phone? As she searches frantically for the cell phone, she keeps her hand pressed down on the cb. She can't move far because she has her hand on the unit. Lacey glances back towards the beach. She couldn't see Charlie or Scott anywhere. She couldn't hear any struggle.
Lacey looks around. Where did they go? She hopes Charlie is able to keep Scott away until her distress call comes through. Then, she can go back and help Charlie battle Scott; it will be two against one.
She presses the buttons on the control again. She yells "Anyone out there? Please, someone, please help me. I need the police! Hello! Hello, anyone?"
Just then, Lacey hears the perpetual white noise clear and a voice answers back "Westchester County Marina Patrol here."
Lacey is relieved. She screams "Please help me! My name is Lacey Porter. I need the police. Someone is trying to kill me! I'm located at…"
Lacey's speech and connection to the Patrol officer is interrupted as Scott attacks Lacey and throws her into the water with his powerful body – forcing both of their bodies into the dark recesses. At first, Lacey is shocked Scott has so much energy left in him; she saw Charlie fighting Scott blow for blow. Scott is bigger, yes, but Charlie seemed to be evenly matched with Scott the last time she looked towards their way and could see them fighting. Once she had climbed into the boat, her focus had been on using the cb unit or Charlie's cell phone to call for help. Lacey hadn't been paying attention to hear if the fight was still happening...until it was too late.
Scott lifts her out of the water as if she is a ragdoll. She gasps and chokes as her mouth takes in both salt water and oxygen.
Lacey screams "Scott, don't do this!"
Since he is larger, he dunks her down and tries to keep her head below the water. She panics at being at the submerged in this "dark" water...perhaps her final grave. She fights to surface again. She succeeds. However, each are battling for leverage.
Lacey's eyes are tearing and her voice is weak as she pleads again "Scott, please don't!"
Scott pulls her hair to force her head back under water. Lacey realizes that his strategy is to continually dunk her in order to tire her...to tire her so thoroughly that eventually, she won't be able to fight the dunking - due to choking from the excess water taken into her mouth (and eventually her lungs) as well as due to the ongoing sharp removal of vital oxygen...when she is held under the water's surface. Lacey still fights back.
Even as she is struggling with Scott in the water, Lacey thinks "What happened to Charlie? Did Scott kill him? Would Scott kill her? Would he get away with murder again? Poor Whitney...she had been Scott's victim, too?"
All of these thoughts compounded in her head as a stronger fight response kicks in. She must exert all her strength in this moment. She can't think further ahead - only just that she must survive this attack. She must fight for justice for Archie and all the victims.
She connects a hard blow to Scott's ribcage. She is able to surface momentarily. However, she has been struggling in this fight for several minutes in the dark water. After getting dunked successively into the water and held down for terrifying moments, Lacey has these bouts of coughing up water she has swallowed. She can't yell for help even when her head rises above the water.
Each time, Lacey surfaces, Scott is dishing more punishment to her body. He is exerted, too but he is on an adrenaline rush.
Scott spits water out of his mouth as he says "I really didn't want to have to do anything to you, Lacey."
He catches his breath but he had a powerful grip on her. It doesn't matter. Lacey is too winded to fight. She is trying to stay alert and focused…all while taking in halted-spurts of oxygen between coughing up water.
She and Scott are caught in this odd brief cease-movement...a slight reprieve as he takes deep-winded breaths. Lacey is thankful that he has temporarily stopped punishing her. During this time, Scott ironically answers her earlier unvoiced questions.
He yanks her by her upper arms and brings her close to his face. Lacey wheezes and coughs as she tries to breathe precious air. Yet, that precious oxygen is tainted by that nauseating Steinriche cigar stench which the odor still clings to Scott's breath (as he expels his breath her way trying to control his own breathing during this "break").
Scott jeers as he taunts "Any last words, Lacey? Don't...don't you want to know...know what happened that night? Don't you...want to hear my confession... before you die?" He says these words haltingly between breaths.
Lacey tries not to panic at his taunting. She opens her mouth to say something, but she keeps coughing up spittle and water. She strangles out a "Scott…"
Scott laughs at her distress. He jokes "Can't talk much, Lacey? No problem...ol' Scott here wants to bear his soul. H*ll...it might feel good...to unburden everything...you know. Where to start? Let's see…I was p*ssed off...that my wife was having an affair...with Jack Taylor. Oh, I see...you aren't surprised…so, you knew, too? Great, just great...as I suspected, I was...the laughing stock of the company."
Lacey tries to shake her head…even though she did know Whitney and Jack had been involved. Her wheezing is very audible.
Scott continues his tirade. Unlike Lacey, his voice and breathing are getting better (at a faster rate) during this little "break".
Scott explains "Whitney was cheating on me. No wonder, she never...found the 'right time' for us...to start having kids. So, I guess you could say I had...a lot of bitterness stored up. After Archie died...and his will was read, I saw my chance...to plant evidence on Whit…pointing to her as Archie's killer. Whit would go...to jail and I would inherit the money. Then, I...I could quit that sh*tty job at Envision."
Lacey's eyes widen in shock to Scott's planned agenda. She tries to remain passive as she plans her next move. Besides she is still wheezing. It is better to keep him talking.
She chokes out "What?"
Scott smirks and confides "Yeah, I hated that f*cking job. I told Whit to get a loan from her brother. But she...disobeyed my wishes. Said some sh*t about me getting a...reputable job from her brother. I was about to get fired...from my position where I was…as*holes…so what if I used cheaper product, submitted...high purchase orders, and pocketed the rest of the...money? How did Whitney think I afforded...the lifestyle we had? Anyway, I let her railroad me into that...that job working for her brother."
Lacey is mortified that she never suspected this behavior from Scott. The gravity of all he had done was almost too hard to comprehend. However, Lacey was in the crosshairs of becoming his next victim. So, she forces herself to speak. Maybe if she can keep Scott talking, he will loosen that forceful grip on her upper arms.
Her voice is a little stronger, but still hoarse, as she asks "What happened that night before I came?"
Scott looks at Lacey with a strange mix of awe and puzzlement. He murmurs "That night…"
He gives a single mirthless laugh. His voice isn't so affected now...he can speak without so many pauses for breath.
He continues "That night was a b*tch…any absolute f*cking nightmare! I had gone to Archie's office earlier to tell him his sister...was having an affair with Jack and that I needed him to make it stop. But Archie...didn't care about that. He asked 'didn't I have something else I needed to tell him?' I...pretended I didn't know what he was talking about. Archie told me that I could...pretend ignorance all that I wanted but that he...expected resignation papers as soon as possible. He then ordered me to leave…like I was some d*mn pest."
Scott adds "So, later that night, I decided that I would try to smooth things over…salvage what I could for myself. I drove to Archie's. I even brought the cigars (that we both liked) as a peace offering. We smoked...and I told him what I had done…said I was throwing myself at his mercy. Archie said I had done too much damage; he...couldn't save me. Well, since begging didn't help me, I threatened to blackmail him and Jack...about the cheating and that the publicity from that (as well as news of another partner who was a druggie) would become...an issue for their next remodel gig, which was part of the Mayor's big project. Yet, that son-of-a-b*tch refused to back down…he absolutely refused to listen. I got so mad that I hit him and we brawled. He had fists...but I had a knife. Then, that's when you walked in."
During Scott's speech, his hands had loosened slightly. Emboldened by her anger (when she heard his last words), Lacey jerks her arms and Scott's body is left unprotected again. This time, since her arms were still not yet free, she knees Scott in the groin. This time, he does let her arms go. He curses her with such foul language.
Lacey hauls back to throw a punch to his face. Yet, her aim isn't as forceful as she would have like (because her body is so tired from all the struggles she has had with Scott tonight and from his dunking her underwater several times). Scott is still hurt from her attacks and Lacey tries to swim the few feet for her to be able to stand in the shallow parts of the water and then run.
As she tries to initiate her plan, her left leg is yanked by Scott and he manages to jerk the back of her head by twisting her hair painfully in his fist.
He yells "B*tch, it's time you died!"
He dunks Lacey back down into the water and never lets go of his painful grip in her hair. He even uses his other hand to hold her face down underneath the water. Lacey claws and kicks at the parts she can reach: his stomach, his thighs…she can't quite reach his arms enough to attack them…
There is a gun shot and Scott lets Lacey go…he is in pain. There is another shot. Scott's body hits the water.
Danny Desai is here. His shots had connected with Scott's body - as he had hoped from the distance where he had been. Danny is racing down the beach towards the two bodies floating in the water. Danny had seen Lacey and Scott fighting. However, he initially couldn't get a clear shot at Scott without possibly hitting Lacey. When Scott had gotten that final advantage and had grabbed Lacey's head and held her down, Danny had the opportunity he needed. His first shot was to injure - to force Scott to release Lacey. His second shot was to kill.
Lacey is floating – but with her face down in the water. Danny hopes he can make it to her in time. He runs as fast as he can.
As for Lacey…she is partially conscious but she can't move…she can't open her eyes. She feels a weightless sensation. She prepares to die. She is slightly delirious. She thinks she feels something pulling her body…it must the current pulling her down. She remembers that movie 'Final Destination' where the people (who originally escaped a horrific death once) still died later on in life; fate had demanded its righteous reward. It had earned death but had been cheated of those bodies. Lacey had thought the horror movie was just pure urban legend to the extreme. However, as she was surely dying now, she believed in that legend. Fate had deemed she die with her friend Regina that faithful day in that dark water, but Lacey had survived. Nonetheless, fate was here again to claim her as its rightful prize.
She had her final thoughts as she felt her body getting weaker. Now, will no one know the truth behind any of these deaths – Archie, Whitney, maybe Charlie…and now Lacey herself? Would Danny suspect? Would his suspicions be strong enough to find proof to bring Scott down or would Scott be too masterful in the cover-up? After all, he has escaped suspicion so far. Life was so unfair that Scott had won and she had failed Archie…"
Lacey felt pain in her ribs and chest area. It hurt so bad…maybe her body was losing that last bit of oxygen. She prayed she would pass out soon before she felt any worse suffering. Her ribs and chest ached. Her throat is trying to compress. She is experiencing jerks in her chest. Oh, God, this is it. Suddenly, she could take no more.
Lacey coughs…and coughs….coughs. She feels her body shift and she thinks someone is hitting her back lightly. Wait, that can't be right? Is she in the final stages of delirium before death?
There is a murmured sound. Her senses register a voice as Lacey jerks to alertness as she violently coughs and throws up water and other contents….
The voice says "Lacey, that's it…cough….you're okay."
Her chest is on fire as she gulps and struggles to take in air between the coughs. Her eyes are burning as she opens them. It takes a moment to open them fully her eye lids feel extremely heavy. Lacey's eyes are sluggish to focus…strangely at odds with the rest of her body which is feverishly trying to acclimate itself with the sudden change of oxygen and consciousness.
Lacey's eyes finally stabilize. She can't see much…other than a feet or so in front of her. She detects that her body is turned on its side and she is propped up at an angle a few inches above the sandy beach. Someone is holding her in that position with an arm supporting Lacey in the front and their other arm hitting her back lightly.
"You're okay, Lacey. You're safe. Just breathe, okay?" The voice says in calming tones. That voice is familiar.
She recognizes the voice as belonging to Danny. With a sound of part-cry/part-sigh of relief, Lacey tries to turn towards that voice. Tears flow as Danny prevents her from turning towards his face.
He keeps saying "Take it easy, Lacey. You are okay…just breathe as steady as you can. Help is on the way. I'm here. You're safe. You're alright. Just keep breathing…in and out..okay?"
He keeps repeating that. Even though she can't see him, Lacey focuses on following his directions of breathing steadily. She tries to concentrate on that. His voice and his touch are soothing to her body even though thoughts surface.
When did Danny get here? How? These questions formed in her brain but she could not force the words from her mouth. She could only issue a whimper as she coughed and tried to breathe. Danny continued to lightly pat her back and comfort her.
Lacey heard sirens. Soon, the EMTs were there with their medical equipment and officers were yelling out commands to each other. One EMT steadied Lacey in an upright sitting position as he administers the albuterol treatment in a nebulizing unit (to stop Lacey's body from wheezing). The EMT also wipes Lacey's face with a damp towel to remove any grime. Another technician checks her vitals. Afterwards, this technician takes another towel to smooth her hair back away from her face and places a blanket around her. Although her eyes still had a burning sensation, her vision is clearer. As her lungs welcome the nebulizer's treatment via these inhalations from its funneled tube, Lacey gazes at the scene before her.
Lacey sees Danny and hears him talking to the uniformed officers and some suited detectives – including Ken Williams. Danny's clothes are clinging to his body and his hair is molded his head and neck, but he walks determinedly as if he does not notice.
Danny paces in front of his team, points towards the lake, and explains the situation to the team.
He yells out "The attacker is Scott Julian. His body is presumably still in the water. He was trying to drown Lacey Porter. He is also wanted in connection with the murder of Archie Yates and the disappearance of Whitney Yates-Julian. He also attacked Charlie McBride this evening. I shot 2 slugs at Mr. Julian…one to the upper shoulder and then one to the chest – as soon as I had that clear shot. With that second shot, he was incapacitated so I rescued the victim. While I was performing CPR on Ms. Porter, I could no longer view Mr. Julian's body. I that know he was incapable of swimming away. That chest shot was the kill shot."
He adds "Some of us are going to be here for a while tonight. I want a search team to comb those waters – as safely as they can – tonight. If we can't find Scott Julian's body tonight, we will drag the lake tomorrow. Even though I feel that chest shot was fatal to him, I won't feel any satisfaction until I have confirmation of that corpse."
Danny looks in Lacey's direction and stops his speech…his adrenaline has crashed suddenly as he realizes that he was almost too late. He can hardly believe she is still here – wet, still transitioning from being frightened to feeling safe, but miraculously, she is still alive.
Ken Williams notices his partner's distraction and finishes barking out orders to the team.
Ken commands "Like Detective Desai said, we need confirmation. Let's get it. Davis, I want you to yellow-tape this section of the beach from this location all the way back to the Yates home. Jones and Evans, I want you canvas the edges of the shallow water there – starting at opposite sides of each other and extending outward - until the Dive Patrol arrives with their sonar equipment. Collins, I want you to be the visual eyes for Jones and Evans as they canvas. Send up some flares to help them give them more light. If you see any movement, let them know."
He clarifies "H*ll, let them know and then shoot whatever the d*mn thing that moved…"
Ken walks away and takes another officer with him as he gives some more orders to follow.
Danny makes his way to Lacey and the EMTs assisting her. Lacey is on her second nebulizing treatment. There had still been some wheezing detected after the first treatment mist was completed. Lacey was feeling better by each growing minute.
Danny gives her a closed-mouth smile. She tries to give one back – although this breathing funnel-tube only allows a slight movement of her mouth.
Lacey decides to disobey the EMTs for a moment to ask the question she most wants to know.
She opens her mouth to quickly ask "How did you know it was Scott?"
She then closes her mouth back around the breathing apparatus.
Danny gently chastises her "No fair. You are supposed to be breathing…not talking."
He smirks as he adds "However, I can understand your impatience to know how I arrived here."
Danny explains "I received a visit today from a private investigator. This was the P.I. that Archie had hired to investigate the fraud that the insurer, Mr. Linett, had stumbled upon. The P.I. hired an associate who had channels to search for any illegal connections like those seeking an art forger or moving stolen goods. That associate had given him a package of incriminating evidence (against Scott and his counterfeiting partners). This was the package that Archie was unable to meet to receive since he died prior to that meeting. The P.I. thought Whitney was trustworthy enough to give the package – based on his interactions with Archie."
When one EMT clears a space besides Lacey, Danny sits down. He turns towards Lacey and continues his story.
He states "The documentation (that the P.I. had given Whitney) had confirmed the fraud and that the fraud was connected to the company Scott had hired to store the artifacts - while the museum was being restored. Weeks after the P.I. gave the package to Whitney, he was curious to check to see if any arrests had been issued on Archie's case. When he tracked the development in Green Grove, he was shocked to discover Whitney was missing. Therefore, he contacted me. Thank God he kept a second set of documents – just in case. He brought the information to me directly."
He adds "I verified the package contents against the insurer's records. Sure enough, Mr. Linett's notes had Scott's signature as proof that Scott was the final party responsible for the transportation to and from the storage facility (as well as the guarding of the storage facility as well). Therefore, Scott could do all the illegal activity without any detection."
Danny realized that Lacey didn't know the extent of what started the fraud suspicions by Mr. Linett (since Lacey had not allowed the insurer to give her any details…she had insisted that he speak to the detectives over Archie's case). So, Danny explained the overall scheme in more detail. The package contents (that he received this morning) offered irrefutable proof.
Archie's P.I. had hired a technological genius who had acquired evidence (through his seedy connections) to trace Scott's full conspiracy regarding the artifacts. Like Danny had said a moment earlier, Scott managed the moving, storage, and retrieval of the pieces handled during this remodel process. Scott had some shifty partners who had been slyly stealing some of these museum's pieces – manufacturing fraudulent duplications to return to the storage facility. Meanwhile, other partners were selling the real artifacts on a particular South Asian Black Market…trading to even a secondary tier of overseas buyers. Thus, there would be no trail across international waters. No trail meant no repercussions. Everything consisted of cash transactions…and oversees accounts holding those transactions. Ken had reached out to some contacts and found evidence of steady deposits into Scott's bank account.
As Danny and Ken had already learned, the Insurer had performed the periodic inspections and had noted some imperfections in some of the artifacts (aka the now-replica pieces). When the insurer had compared pictures and other documents, he had determined some fraud was at hand. That was why Archie had sought the P.I. to find out who was behind the fraud.
As for how Danny arrived at the beach tonight, he had seen in the paper that Whitney's search party was being held at Archie's home. After Danny got his confirmation, Danny had wanted to make sure Lacey was safe. He tried calling Lacey, but he received no answer. He decided to drive to Archie's. He called in backup to meet him at that location – as a precautionary measure.
When he arrived at Archie's home, he saw Scott's car. When he got no answer to the ringing doorbell, he felt that something was wrong. He broke the lock and burst through the door. Danny saw proof of the struggle in the living room and saw the kitchen door was open to the outdoors. As he ran up the beach, he discovered Charlie's figure on the beach. He checked Charlie's pulse…he was alive.
Danny had heard Scott's voice and then saw him dunking Lacey underwater over and over again. Danny ran as fast as he could. Scott, in his rage, couldn't hear Danny's approach. He shot Scott twice (1st to incapacitate him to free Lacey and then the kill shot to the chest). Afterwards, Danny saw she was floating face down, dragged her to the beach, and performed CPR.
Lacey's second nebulizing treatment is done and she is no longer wheezing. She tries to relay what Scott told her just before he was killed.
Lacey's voice is still weak. She begins "Scott told me…"
Danny stops her. He says "Tomorrow…you can make your official statement tomorrow. Your throat must be aching. You need to save your voice."
Lacey can't be silent without saying something overwhelmingly important.
She manages a 'thank you.'
Her eyes are watering with tears. She whispers another choked "Thank you."
Danny hugs her. He is aware the female EMT is asking to check Danny over. She wants to know…is he hurt? Danny doesn't answer…he can't…he is too choked up with emotion. He doesn't release Lacey. He just holds her…and cries. He hasn't cried since the day his father died.
Chief Brogan arrives to survey the scene. He insists that both Danny and Lacey be taken to the Emergency Room (at Greater Green Grove Hospital and Rehabilitation Center) to be examined for injuries.
At the E.R., Lacey sees a familiar face. It is Nurse Tony. The funny and very caring nurse who had attended to her needs during her prior stay in the hospital. He is assisting the E.R. nurses, who are short-staffed tonight.
Nurse Tony recognizes her and approaches Lacey's gurney. He is alarmed when he sees Lacey's bruises and still damp head. As he takes her vitals and notes her temperatures, he demands "Sleeping Beauty, what happened to you this time? Whatever it is you are doing to keep showing up here, you've gotta to stop. Who are you hanging around that attracts all this trouble?"
Danny, on the next gurney, interjects "We caught the person. He won't be harming her anymore. I made sure of that."
At that next moment, Danny's own nurse arrives to check his vitals.
After he turns away from Danny, Nurse Tony's eyes were glowing with approval as he mouthed "wow" to Lacey. He murmurs low to Lacey "Sleeping Beauty, just where is it that you are hanging…that a person can meet someone like that?"
Lacey smirks. She says softly "Nurse Tony, I wouldn't wish anyone to have to go through what I did…in order to meet someone like that."
No truer words had been spoken; yet, Lacey is very thankful Danny is in her life.
The next day…
Scott's body is found the next morning by the sonar equipment and divers.
Later that afternoon, Lacey recounts to Danny and Ken why she went there to Archie's…that fateful night when he was murdered. Lacey had seen Whitney's car; knew that Archie was very vulnerable to his sister since their parents were deceased. She knew that Archie and Whitney had not seen eye-to-eye over the Jack situation. Lacey suspected the two had started their affair again. So, Lacey ventured over to Archie's to lend moral support and be a buffer if the siblings started arguing. That's why she was there at the scene of the crime. When she entered Archie's home (via her key), she noticed that there was cigar smoke in the air. This meant that Scott was there at Archie's – not Whitney.
Last night, when she smelled Scott's cigar at Archie's home, Lacey recalled those missing pieces (of that night) with vivid clarity. In addition, she recounts what Scott told her during their fight...his reason behind killing Archie. She gives that official statement to the police while Sarita is by her side.
The next few weeks go by rather quickly. The news media hounds Lacey for her side of the fascinating story. Lacey declines; the whole experience is too raw and she feels exhausted by the coverage. However, the ever-protective Sarita buffers Lacey from all the intrusions (via some clever legal maneuvers).
Sarita and Cole are happy that Lacey is safe. Sarita still insists on spending a few nights with Lacey at the guesthouse. Lacey allows it, but soon Sarita sees that her sleepovers aren't needed. Lacey has an additional person watching over her: Danny Desai has taken a habit of stopping by to visit a couple hours each night with Lacey. Sometimes he brings food or else a movie – depending upon what time he stops.
Lacey's primary care physician, Dr. Goodin, performs neurological tests to ascertain her memory is back. She is back for a few moments in the hospital with Nurse Tony during this testing.
Tony asks why Sleeping Beauty just can't give up the 'damsel in distress' act – does it work? If so, he needs to try it…especially if handsome Princes like Detective Desai are the result of it.
Her therapist, Dr. Tarmann, recommends for Lacey to take therapy sessions still – due to the new traumatic stress of Scott's latest attack and due to the return of her repressed memories. Dr. Goodin agrees upon this recommendation.
Danny and Ken find evidence that leads them to Whitney's body. Scott had killed her and placed her body in a body bag. He disposed the body in a lake in upstate New York. Due to the currents and the flooding of a dam nearby, the waters had surged until the body bag emerged in shallow water. Some hiker found the body bag washed upon the shore. Lacey gives Whitney a proper burial – one of the finest seen…just how Whitney would have wanted. Her final resting place is now besides Archie's.
Now, Lacey has all of Archie's share in the firm. Lacey's ensures, with Tyler's help, that the last project that Archie was working on for the firm, gets finalized and dedicated to Archie in memory. Jack agrees to that. He feels sorry for his part in Whitney's marriage debacle and feels responsible for her death.
Detectives Desai and Williams receive commendations for the solving of 2 murder cases and for the arrests of those involved in the museum fraud.
Sarita receives accolades at her job, even though this was a personal case (defending Lacey) and one in which she performed in her own spare time. However, she received the praise from her superiors because this media exposure gave the firm unexpected exposure. Moreover, she is invited on several news panel discussions regarding the case. She turns the media coverage down, but she notices an uptake in the amount of clients she has received lately.
She even gets offered a book deal; she is considering it – if Lacey is okay with that. She even gets Lacey to consider co-authoring it from the victim's point of view. They can even dedicate the proceeds to a charity that Archie would have approved (like the ones who were the other beneficiaries in his will).
Transition of seasons…
Lacey goes back to work fulltime at Envision Restoration & Design. Jack eventually hires another architect. The partners in the firm are now Jack, Tyler, and Lacey.
Once Archie and Whitney's cases are closed, Danny and Lacey do get that re-introduction. They start as friends and that closeness blossoms into a relationship.
Many months after she and Danny are an established couple, Lacey decides to sell both Archie's house and the adjacent guesthouse where she stays. She says the house represents the last chapter of that traumatic time of her life. She knows Archie would be proud of her progress the past year and a half.
Archie would have understood that it was now time for Lacey to relinquish some things and move towards others. Besides, she wants to begin a new chapter of her life with Danny in a place that is new to both of them – a structure they can turn into a home together. However, as she enters a new phase of her life, she does take a piece of Archie with her: his beautiful sailboat in a bottle…the one that Archie placed as his first décor item for this home.
It was the one that she had helped him acquire as his first 'grown-up' piece of art. It was his favorite possession. It was the perfect memento of him. Accordingly, the item would be her and Danny's 'something old' and 'something blue' for their wedding.
***Lovely Readers, thank you for reading Prime Recognition. I appreciate your continued support.
I snuck that wedding bit in on ya, didn't I? Danny and Lacey had been dating for several months and had known each other a year and a half. Sure, she was a suspect for part of that time, but as Danny delved more into the murder investigation, he had constant encounters with her and learned extensively about Lacey during this time. Likewise, Lacey discovered a lot about Danny during this case and I am sure he opened up more after he was free to pursue Lacey in his personal life.
As you may recall, that art installation of the sailboat was mentioned in that first bonding of Lacey and Danny (in Sarita's kitchen) as they sat talking while they worked pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. Remember, Lacey said this piece was her fondest remembrance of Archie. Danny had connected to Lacey and told her that his dad's Porsche was his fondest memory of his deceased dad (and that Detective Williams had helped him to restore that vehicle). So, I thought Archie's art piece would be perfect to accompany Lacey and Danny into the future.
As you saw, I brought back Nurse Tony for a little comic relief in our quite emotional chapter.
I hope I was able to keep the mystery of the killer until the last two chapters of the story. I tried to keep the suspense – although I may have left a clue unknowingly to reveal it earlier. LOL
This was one of the stories in which I knew right away (as soon as I started writing) about how everything would end (Blurred Visuals is the other one). With both of those stories, I knew the exact sequence of scenes that would end the fictions. However, I had not written much detail – only did some notes on what the external environment was, who would be in those final scenes, and how the resolution would be.
Then, in November, I had inspiration for Prime Recognition – through which I completely wrote the climax and ending to the story. However, I then had to go back to where I actually was (at that present time in the story) and continue writing to flesh out the story to get to that climax and ending I already had written. I did this all while trying to not reveal any clues of who the real killer was, plant red herrings of logical other suspects, incorporate Dacey becoming closer to each other, and expressing Lacey's recovery as she kept remembering fragments of details leading up to that night she and Archie were attacked.
Also, I had to create a way for both Whitney and Lacey to receive messages "from Archie" that he had left with others to deliver – just in case he did not live to reveal all that he knew. Now, of course, Archie didn't plan to die, but he wanted a contingency plan "just in case" he was unable to tell someone all that he had discovered. I wrote this by thinking Archie would have felt Whitney would be emotional and might want to confront the killer on what she learned – since she had direct ties to the killer. Conversely, Archie knew that Lacey wouldn't be swayed with the information she would be given and she would take that information directly to the police. Thus, Lacey would be the assurance that the evidence would become public knowledge – if Archie was not able to deliver that knowledge himself.
Yes, Archie knew who the fraud perpetrator was; he just didn't have the concrete proof yet. Archie was trying to secure all the solid information he could to make sure that person could be prosecuted by law and extracted from his family's life. Yet, he was soooo close via the P.I. and the insurer; if only, Archie had survived and been able to meet Rico. Rico had the remaining proof Archie had needed.
With all this in mind, I wanted Whitney to learn her information from Travis, the Private Investigator, and for her to receive the package containing damaging evidence that someone would want to keep silent (and kill for). On the other hand, I wanted Lacey to have the other piece of the puzzle – she would be contacted by the Insurer (Mr. Linett). The insurer would substantiate why the investigator was used and make a connection back to Envision and this particular museum project – as the source of what led to Archie's death.
Speaking of Archie's death…when Archie was confronted in his house that evening, he didn't think he would die. He fought with the full effort of saving himself and Lacey – until he was caught unawares by that knife. Even with the stabbing injury, Archie used all his strength to save Lacey. As he lay dying, his final thoughts were a prayer that Lacey would escape and survive. We the readers can take comfort that Archie's spirit is at peace now that justice was achieved for himself (and subsequently for Whitney) and that no one else's life was taken.
I am sure you caught a few "Easter Eggs" I planted within this multi-chapter update. One "egg" was an Avan one that was a paraphrase of a magazine interview quote where Avan said a lot of conversation happens about his hair with people telling him his hair is too long and to cut it versus those who say for him to just do whatever he wants to do with it. I incorporated some of that in this fiction during the conversation between Danny and Lacey when she compliments him that he inherited hair from his mother and in turn, he reveals more about his hair, his introvert behavior and his family dynamics.
Another "egg" was the re-introduction exchange between Danny and Lacey as they wanted to start things anew in the future – pretend as if they had never met and could have an introduction again to each other. This was a nod to ending of the Twisted tv Homecoming episode. Also, an "egg" was the "Easy-Peasey" comment that Danny makes. This was a nod to the Cambio Twisted interview where Avan said that love scenes are easy-peasey if the two people are comfortable with each other. I may have planted other Twisted/actor quote surprises in the multi-update, but my brain is too tired to recall (lol)…
This is my first completed "big" fan fic. I have other shorter chapter fic completions within this fandom; however, this is my first fic over 4 chapters that I have finished. So, I feel a big accomplishment doing that. Even though most of us were very disappointed with the tv show in its final stages, I do thank the train-wreck of 1B for making me so mad that I wanted to write a better ending for Danny and Lacey…and more diverse stories than what we saw on tv for those characters.
Oh, my non-Twisted related "nod" is to Mr. Quentin Tarantino (and other screenwriters/directors) who employ a particular unique style of storytelling I love. This is where the movie begins with a revelation occurring in "present time" for a character…and then backtracking the story to several events of the character's past – which take you the viewer on a journey towards the current-day again (all while providing the answer to the mystery that started the story). That was why I crafted this story the precise way that I started in Chapter 1 (Lacey's memory triggered by a cigar smell in present day) and the way I ended my final chapters "echoing" elements of Chapter 1's beginning but telling the rest of what happened to Lacey (and the killer) after Lacey recognized the cigar smell. I was trying to recreate the essence of that storytelling element in a movie.
The English translation of a French quote (of Whitney's) in Chapter 19 is a "nod" to Simon from the Simon & Kim & The Rendezvous. Simon, the French-American, always is saying that quote on their relationship advice show.
Again, THANK YOU for taking the time to read Prime Recognition.
P.S. I do have updates started for The Beautiful Ones, Blurred Visuals, and After the Burn. By the next weekend, one of them will be updated; the following weekend will be another update, etc. My goal is to have my ongoing fan fics completed by the end of June.
As always, thank you for your continued support of all the Dacey fan fic writers! DimplesValntina