A/N - Hey guys. Thank you for all the feedback. I finally have th ending and what I want to do with this story. And it was big enough to make me pause and smack myself in the head, wondering why I didn't see it before!
So, as always...
Read, enjoy and review
Chapter Twenty-Five – Best Served Cold
Olivia had never seen such a mess in her life. It seemed almost as if every single bit of blood had flowed from Cutler's body and onto the hard floor. Someone had beaten him and then gutted him, his blood arching all over the walls, showing where the action started and where it all ended, on the cold, hard floor.
"I thought he was on solitary confinement."
"He is. They caught him in the hour he is out of his cell."
"Do they know who did this?"
A slight chuckle made them turn. The Warden was standing just behind them, his arms crossed over his chest.
"You could offer these monsters all you could but I can guarantee you, that no one saw or heard anything."
"Any suspects?"
"No. But I know why they did it."
Now Olivia gave the Warden her full attention, turning to face him completely.
"Why?"
"Because of that writer. They trusted her. They told her things that their own lawyers would never know. They killed Cutler because they knew you suspected him having something to do with her being missing."
Olivia looked back at Cutler's body.
"How can you be sure it's not his partner shutting him up?"
The Warden sighed.
"You still harping on about that."
Olivia narrowed her eyes at the tall man.
"No longer impossible. In fact, we know who he is."
The Warden cocked his eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yes. So you see, it is completely possible that Cutler was killed to shut him up. After all, he was talking to us and doing a miserable job doing it."
"So who is it, this other man?"
"Jeremiah Brookes."
The Warden chuckled.
"Oh the urban legend of criminals. That guy gets whispered about around campfires."
"He's not an urban legend."
"So how do you plan to catch him? He hasn't been seen for a long time, most people think he is dead."
"I'm not most people."
"Yeah, I got that."
The Warden, arms still crossed firmly over his chest, moved away from them and disappearing around the hall. Olivia sighed and turned back to Cutler's body.
"Lay it on me Heather. What do you think? Inmates or Brookes trying to shut him up?"
Heather chewed on her lower lip.
"Judging by the violence, I'm going to say it was about anger. If someone was sent to kill Cutler, I would like to think it would be in a far more, efficient and easier way. This kind of violence took time. Someone was mad enough to risk getting caught."
"So it was the inmates?"
Heather nodded slightly.
"At a glance, I would say yes. If it was Jeremiah, it just adds another piece to the puzzle."
"How so?"
"Why now? Why like this? Cutler has been in prison for years, taking the fall for crimes he and Jeremiah performed together. Why would Jeremiah kill him? He had the perfect cover."
"Well, we need to find him."
"How?"
"I'm still thinking about that part. But as you said we know have a knowledge of where the scar is so that helps."
"Yeah, on his right hand. That should make pinpointing him slightly easier."
"But the question is – are we too late to save A.J?"
Olivia could ear Peter's foot falls as he gently rocked Etta to sleep, could even hear the faint softness of his voice. He was telling her that story again. The day after Etta was born, she was grizzling and refusing to settle. So Peter started telling her a story about a princess that defied her parents and became a great warrior. It soothed her and became her story. Olivia knew the words well, could recite the story from heart but she couldn't do it the way Peter could. It was Daddy's voice that did it. Olivia mouthed the words along as she checked over her plan. It wasn't going to be simple but it could work. But they needed the numbers. They needed at the very least half a dozen young, blonde women. The other obstacle was the fact that she had to pass it by Broyles first – and that was just the initial step. She sighed, slipping off her socks and curling her toes in the thick carpet. She heard Peter as he came down the stairs, pausing at the bottom step.
"Do you want a cup of tea?"
"That would be great. Thanks."
Olivia was still trying to calculate the exact numbers she would need when Peter came back with a small tea tray high with goodies. Peter smiled as she took a slice of lemon ginger cake.
"I like it when Rachel bakes."
Olivia smiled, licking a stray crumb off her thumb, glancing back at her notes.
"It is handy. Enjoy it while you can, because once this case is over, I offered Rach our babysitting services. Anything left will be gone with Ella."
Peter chewed his way through a large slice of lemon pie, silently reading over Olivia's notes.
"What's the problem?"
"It's not going to work."
"Why?"
"Because we need so many people and that is only if the other areas want to help. We need cars and we need guns."
"And you need to cover those areas?"
"Definitely."
"Cast a wider net?"
"So to speak."
"And Trigger?"
Olivia nodded slightly before sipping her tea.
"Agreed. So did Plush. They are going to work on Nixon and Leonard."
"How long?"
Olivia sighed.
"A few more days at least. Everyone who agrees will need to be taught the tricks. So, in total, a week."
"Shit."
"I hope that A.J will last."
Peter opened his mouth to comment but Olivia cut him off.
"I need your optimism."
Peter put his tea down and slipped his arm around her, pulling her into his side.
"She'll be fine. She'll drag you to that reunion in the end."
Olivia frowned.
"Me?"
"It's your reunion."
Olivia offered him a sweet smile.
"But your my husband. That means, where I go, you go."
Peter sighed.
"I have such terrible luck. You know, going out with my wife, who by the way is all dressed up, dancing and drinking the night away."
"Well, it's my idea of torture."
"You'll have fun."
Olivia sat back up, sipping her tea.
"But what if they don't remember me? Or worse still, remember something I don't?"
"Then we deal with it. It will be nice to have night out. It will be like prom all over again."
"I hated prom."
"But that was because I wasn't around."
"Good point."
"I'll even make it like a proper date."
"Oh so you're going to get me drunk and cop a feel?"
"That was part of it."
Olivia chuckled.
"Good to know."
She sighed and looked over her plan for the hundredth time.
"I'm really not sure about this. It's high risk."
"But also high gain. So go over it again for me. How are you preventing risk?"
"It will have to go through the big channels. Interviews, evaluations all of that."
"Experience?"
Olivia half shrugged.
"I don't think it's really required. We just need some talented people."
"Should be easy. What else?"
"Well we have Trigger helping out. We will have agents watching at all points and the agent in the field will not be alone."
"Are you tapping the agents?"
"Still not sure about that."
"You should call Nina Sharp. She might be able to help you with something from her vault of tricks."
Olivia finished her tea.
"Maybe."
The words she had written were starting to get a little blurry. She was tired. And running circles in her head was making it worse. She snuggled back up against Peter. He adjusted himself on the sofa, putting his arm around her and kissing the top of her head.
"I heard you telling Etta her story."
"She loves that thing."
"It's sweet. And it the best thing to make her sleep."
"It annoys Walter that he can't do it."
"Neither can I. It's just you. The very definition of a Daddy's girl."
Olivia sighed and let her eyes close.
"I think I might ask Rachel to take Etta for a couple of nights when this all goes down."
"She would be fine here."
Olivia shook her head.
"I want her well away. Plus Ella is dying for her to stay over again. She is determined that Etta will say her name first."
"Ok, whatever you want to do."
Olivia felt more and more relaxed as Peter played with her hair.
"We should get to bed. Big day tomorrow."
"I know."
Olivia sighed and sat back up, pushing herself off the sofa. She headed up the stairs while Peter checked the locks on the windows and doors. Olivia paused at Etta's nursery and slipped into the dark room. Etta was on her back, her tiny thumb in her mouth as she dreamed. Olivia leant forward and kissed her cheek.
"See you tomorrow Princess."
Olivia slipped from the room again and moved silently across the floor to her own. She stripped off her clothes quickly, pulling on shorts and a t-shirt before heading to the bathroom. She brushed teeth, paused to wash her face before heading to bed. It always took him this long to check everything. She suspected he always checked twice, every window and door in their large home. Despite the time, she had to admit it made her feel safer. Peter, now finished downstairs, started heading up. She snuggled under the covers as Peter checked the windows in their room. Job done, he started to undress. She shivered at the waft of cold air that followed him under the covers. He flicked off the lights and curled up behind her.
"Liv?"
Olivia turned over so she was facing Peter, keeping her eyes firmly closed.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What did you tell Heather?"
Olivia opened her eyes, Peter's face serious before her.
"Nothing you don't know."
"Then why keep it a secret?"
"It's not a secret. I thought you were just happy that I could talk to someone?"
"I am. I just wish it was me. I'm familiar with your demons, Liv. They don't scare me the way they scare you."
Olivia pushed away from him slightly.
"That's not the point Peter."
"Then what is?"
"Because it's easier to talk to someone I don't know. For some reason it feels so much safer."
"I didn't mean to upset you."
Peter captured her hand in his.
"I'm sorry."
Olivia sighed.
"I want you to understand something."
"Ok. What?"
Olivia shifted closer to him, their heads almost touching.
"I have never trusted someone as much as I trust you. I have never let someone in for so long, to let someone see me. Everything that made me who I am. It's not secrets. It's me dealing with something that only I can deal with. But I will tell you. I just need a little longer."
Peter pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I understand but I'm here, you know that right?"
"I know."
Peter kissed her gently before pulling her close again. Olivia sighed and felt sleep start to take her, her plans still reeling in her mind.