Chapter 25: Red Handed

Emma, Buffy and David sat in Emma's office at the station as Emma handed David a mug of tea.

"Thank you," David said. "I hope Kathryn's somewhere warm, not out in the cold."

"David. I think you need to start worrying about yourself a little bit more here," said Emma. "Your wife is missing. You are in love with another woman. There's this … Unexplained phone call."

David sighed. "I know, I know. I just … I can't explain why it says that. I didn't do anything to my wife."

Emma glanced over at Buffy and then looked back at Emma. "I'm pretty good at spotting a liar. And, honestly, liars have better material. Now, go home."

"I can go?" asked David.

"We don't even know if there was a crime yet," said Buffy. "So, get some sleep."

"Thank you," David said as he stood up to leave.

"And, David?" said Emma. "Maybe … Get a lawyer."

Later Dawn and Mary Margaret ran to catch up with Buffy and Emma on the street.

"Is he okay? David?" asked Mary Margaret.

Emma nodded. "Oh, yeah. He's a little shaken up, but he's headed home. He's fine."

"Any word from Kathryn?" asked Dawn as she glanced at her sister.

Buffy sighed, "Sorry, Dawnie. Nothing new."

"Did you check with Boston again?" asked Mary Margaret.

Emma shook her head. "She's not there, Mary Margaret."

"So, we have no idea what happened to her?" asked Mary Margaret.

"All we know," said Buffy, "is that she found out about you and David, Mary Margaret."

"And she gave you a well-deserved slap, and then disappeared," added Emma.

"Well-deserved?" asked Dawn. "Do you really believe that?" The question was more directed at her sister than Emma. But it was Emma that answered.

"No," said Emma. "We're just trying to prepare Mary Margaret for what everyone else is going to think." She looked squarely at Mary Margaret. "You two are going to look bad until we figure the truth out."

"You mean David?" asked Mary Margaret. "Th—That people are going to think in order to … Be free with me …"

"Some are," said Emma. "And, he's not doing himself any favors. So, if there's anything you could think of to pin down his whereabouts that night—"

"He wasn't with me," said Mary Margaret. "We really are through."

They come upon Ruby and Dr. Whale, who are standing at a bus stop.

"Sorry," said Ruby. "No, don't need a ride."

"It's awfully cold out here," Dr. Whale said.

Ruby smiled. "I'm fine – really."

"I can carry your bag," Dr. Whale said as he moved to pick up her bag. "Where are you headed?"

"Dr. Whale?" Mary Margaret said getting Dr. Whale's attention.

"Mary Margaret, Buffy, Emma. Hello there," said Dr. Whale as he greeted them.

"Hey," said Mary Margaret.

"I was just having a talk with Ruby here. But, I should, um…" Dr. Whale said.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you should," she said.

"Yeah…" Dr. Whale said as he turned and walked off.

"Was he bothering you?" asked Buffy.

"The day I can't handle a lech is the day I leave town," said Ruby as she picked up her bag. "Which this is, I guess."

"You're leaving?" asked Emma.

Ruby nodded. "I had a fight with Granny. Quit my job."

"You quit?" Mary Margaret asked. "Where you going?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. Away," she said.

"Yeah, well, buses out of town don't really happen," said Emma. "And, you might want a destination first."

"Hey, if you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with me," offered Buffy. "We got like six bedrooms and only use three of them. Come on."

Later at police station, Dawn is searching the internet for a job for Ruby, who is sitting next to her and Henry. "Want to be a bike messenger?" asked Dawn.

"Bike messenger?" asked Ruby.

Dawn nodded. "That's about taking things to people in a little basket," she said as the phone rang.

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. Yeah, see, I'm not so great at bike riding."

"How about taking things on foot, to people, in a little basket?" suggested Henry.

Ruby sighed. "I'm not so sure that's a real job," she said as the phone rang again. "Why do the phones keep doing that?"

"The non-emergency calls go to a machine when Emma and Buffy are busy," said Dawn as the phone rang again.

Ruby reached over picking up the phone. "Sheriff's station. How can I help you? Mmhmm. I'll get them to return. Thank you, too." Just as she hung up the phone rang again and again she answered it. "Sheriff's station. Hey, Miss Ginger. Uh, no, that's not a prowler. That's Archie's dog–Pongo. Throw him a vanilla wafer. He'll quiet down. Did you still want to talk to Emma or Buffy? Great. Glad I could help."

Emma and Buffy overheard Ruby on the phone as they walked into the office.

"How's it going, you three?" Buffy asked.

"Great. Except I can't do anything," said Ruby.

Emma smiled. "I'm sure that's not true. Buffy and I just saw you on the phone. That was good."

"That?" Ruby said, skeptical. "That's nothing."

Buffy shook her head. "No. No, it isn't." She looked to Emma who nodded at the unspoken thought. "Emma and I actually have some money in the budget if you want to help out around here."

Ruby smiled. "Yes! Thank you! Yes. Um, I could answer phones and help out. Um, is there anything else that you two need done? Organize files, cleaning up? Please – I want to be useful."

"Buffy and I are swamped with the Kathryn Nolan thing. If you maybe want to grab us lunch, we would never say no to a grilled cheese," said Emma.

Done," Ruby said. "You want anything, Dawn?"

"I'm not really that hungry. I ate at the school," said Dawn. She had been volunteering in Mary Margaret's class that day.

Ruby nodded as she headed for the door passing Mary Margaret. "Hey! Lunch, Mary Margaret? I'm getting for everyone."

Mary Margaret shook her head. "Uh, no. I'm not hungry," she said as Ruby left. "David's in the woods. There's something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It's like… It's like he was a different person."

Later Emma, Buffy and Henry are at the station. Dawn had left not long after Ruby had to run some errands. "Okay, kid," Emma said to Henry a few minutes later as she and Buffy prepared to leave. "Don't mean to kick you out, but Buffy and I got to go see if David's in some kind of trouble out there."

"It's okay. I'm supposed to meet my mom," Henry said as he locked his book in one of the desk drawers. "There."

"Nice," Buffy said with a smile.

"You know, you can let Ruby do more. She's Little Red Riding Hood," said Henry as Buffy nodded.

"With the little basket?" Emma asked. "Yeah, she seems like a badass."

Henry nodded as he looked at Buffy who nodded, motioning for him to continue. "She is. She just doesn't remember how cool she is or what she's capable of. But it's true," he said as he left, passing Ruby on her way in. "Hey, Ruby."

Hey, Henry," said Ruby. "Got your grilled cheese."

"Thank you," said Emma as she handed one to Buffy. "You all right?"

Ruby nodded. "I guess. I mean, this is something I know how to do. So, yay."

Okay, let's pack these back up, and we can eat it in the car," said Buffy. "Emma and I need to do a little wilderness search, and we need your help."

"I'm pretty sure I'm just going to screw it up," Ruby said. "I mean, I'll screw it up with flair, but…"

Emma shook her head. "No, you won't. Come on – you can do this."

Thirty minutes later Buffy, Emma and Ruby were searching for David in the woods. "This place is massive," said Ruby. "How are we supposed to find one guy?"

"Hey, shh," Emma said. "We might be able to hear him."

"It's massive," said Ruby.

"We're following the path because there are boot prints, so just stay close," Emma said.

"I shouldn't even be here. I'm just going to screw everything up. Oh, wait," Ruby said as she suddently stopped walking, causing Emma and Buffy to bump into her.

"Ruby?" Buffy said.

"I hear him," said Ruby.

Buffy stretched out with her Slayer hearing and she could definitely hear David.

"Really?" Emma asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, really. I hear him or … something. I … I know where he is. Don't you?" she said as she took off through the woods.

"No. What are you doing?" Emma said as she and Buffy followed Ruby.

"He's over here!" Ruby said.

"Ruby! Ruby?" Emma shouted as she momentarily lost sight of the woman. Then she and Buffy come upon Ruby standing over a bleeding and unconscious David. She kneels next to him, and tries to shake him awake. "David? Oh, god. Come on! David, come on! Wake up! David, wake up!"

"Emma?" David said as he came awake. "What? Buffy? Ruby?"

"Do you remember where you are?" Buffy asked.

David shook his head. "No, I … What the hell? I was … I was in your office. Did you bring me here?"

"You don't remember anything since you were in our office? Last night?" asked Emma as she glanced at Buffy.

David shook his head. "No, I don't."

Across town at the Summers/Lehane mansion, Dawn stood at the window looking out the window at Regina's house. She had to tell Buffy and Faith soon. She couldn't explain it but something was going to happen soon, she was sure of it.

Across town Buffy, Emma and David were at the hospital, where David was being treated by Dr. Whale. "Well, he's bruised, scratched up, a little dehydrated. What'd you expect," said Dr. Whale.

"He's got a cut on his head," said Emma.

Dr. Whale nodded. "It's superficial. I can refer him to Dr. Hopper for a mental health eval, but, it's my opinion, that whatever caused this blackout, is the same phenomenon we observed when he came out of his coma. Moving around, acting out, not remembering it later."

Buffy nodded as she looked at David. "We will figure it out."

David sighed. "It's so strange. I can't even believe it happened."

"How functional could he be during one of these episodes?" asked Emma. "I mean, he talked to someone."

"Well, people in similar states, even under sleep medication, do all sorts of things. Cooking, talking, driving a car," said Dr. Whale.

"You want to know if I could've made that call," said David as he looked at Emma and Buffy. "Or more. You … You want to know if I could've … What, kidnapped her? Killed her?"

Dr. Whale shook his head. "Now, take it easy there. No one's saying you did anything bad, David."

"No, but it would explain why it didn't seem like I was lying. I wouldn't know," said David as Regina stormed into the room.

"Stop talking, David," Regina said. "What are you two doing here? Why doesn't this man have a lawyer present? Have you even read him his rights?"

"No, because he's not under arrest. We're just talking," Buffy said.

Regina nodded. "Right. Just talking."

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"Mayor Mills is still Mr. Nolan's emergency contact," said Dr. Whale.

"You have to be kidding me," said Emma.

"I thought that changed to Kathryn?" asked David.

Regina nodded. "Well, Kathryn's currently unavailable. Some people haven't found her yet. Stop trying to place blame and just find her."

"There's a whole lot of Maine to search, Regina," Emma said.

"Well, you two covered this room," said Regina. "I suggest you branch out."

At the Summers/Lehane mansion Dawn heard the doorbell ring as she walked into the foyer and opened it to find August. "Hello, Dawn," he said.

"August," said Dawn, "Right?"

August nodded. "Yes, but you also know me by another name."

Dawn nodded as she motioned for August to enter, "Pinocchio."

"Correct," said August as they walked into the living room. "I assume you know why I am here."

Dawn nodded. "Everything is coming together isn't it?"

"Yes," said August. "Emma will be coming to her destiny soon. But so will you."

Dawn sighed. "I figured I had to tell Faith and Buffy about Regina."

August nodded. "Yes, you will be the catalyst that brings your family back together. Much as Henry is the bridge between Emma and Henry. You are the bridge between Elizabeth and Faith. You know who will side with whom."

"Buffy will side with Snow. Faith with Regina," said Dawn with certainty. "And I will be in the middle."

"It will be a long road," said August. "A lot of things will come out in the open. And they will need you to help them get past it if you are to truly ever be a family."

At the animal shelter Mary Margaret and David were talking. "David, it's going to be okay," Mary Margaret said.

David sighed. "Really? How do you know that? Because, I honestly can't say anything about my actions anymore."

"Well, there has to be an explanation," Mary Margaret said as she sighed.

David nodded. "You're right. But the problem is, I don't think it's a good one," he said as Emma and Buffy walked in through the door. "What is it? Did you find her?"

We found a box," Buffy said.

"Wait … Wait … What does that mean?" said David.

Emma sighed. "We think it … We think that she …"

"What?" David asked.

"There was a human heart inside it," said Buffy.

"Oh, my god," Mary Margaret said as

"No," David said as he broke down in tears. "No."

"We're going to send it out for some tests, but there aren't any other missing people," said Emma.

"Maybe you should go," said Mary Margaret.

Buffy shook her head. "There's more."

"What?" David asked.

"There were fingerprints inside the lid of the box," said Emma. "I ran them through the records of everyone in town, and there was a match."

"Arrest me," said David, sure that it was him.

"No. David!" Mary Margaret said.

"Arrest me, Buffy, Emma. Do it!" said David.

Buffy shook her head. "David, the fingerprints weren't yours."

"What?" David asked.

Emma sighed. "They were Mary Margaret's."