Disclaimer: I don't own Body of Proof and intend no copyright infringement.
A/N: Folks, I'm terribly sorry but I'm a bit tired right now. Job and life wise things have been rather exhausting lately and I feel I need a little more time for myself. I'm thus putting this on hiatus for about a month and restrict my fanfiction activities to only one story I'm writing in another fandom.
The IP address that belonged to the person who had made the suspicious postings, had suggested the prank with the colored tongue and had sent the poisonous powder to Annabelle Stockton led them to a boy named Benny Jenkins. Sixteen years of age.
Damn it, another young life that would not get out of this ordeal unscathed.
Megan, looking out of the window while Tommy did the driving to the Jenkins' place, thought of the thread where playing a prank on the professor had been discussed. An overzealous DA could drag them all to court for aiding and abetting a murder.
These stupid kids! Why the hell didn't they stop and THINK for a minute? They had their whole life before them, all those opportunities, the things they could achieve, the experiences they could make… all tossed aside for a whiff of revenge, one brief moment of getting back at those they felt mistreated by…
No matter if the feeling was justified or not, the moment of triumph was nothing but a split second compared to the amount of quality lifetime they were throwing away.
"You look like you want to ask me something", Tommy said.
Almost startled, Megan turned around and studied his face. Damn, he could read her like a book.
He was right. She indeed wanted to ask him something. But the Jenkins' house was already coming into view at the end of the street, Adam was already waiting in front of it, Steven in his car.
Now wasn't the time.
Apparently Adam had picked Steven up again from somewhere. The two had a "just call, I'll come for you"-arrangement that basically sabotaged Megan's attempts to abandon her MI someplace from where he wouldn't find his way back to the ME's office.
Benny Jenkins was at home, so were his mother and stepfather. He had dark red hair, done in James Dean fashion, and wore a pair of those ugly earrings that overstretch the earlobe piercing. His were so big that a child's pinky would have easily fitted through. Apparently he didn't merely copy James Dean's hairstyle but also his Rebel Without A Cause attitude. He had a bit of a Juvie record to match it, too.
Again, as it had already happened so often in the course of this case, Megan thought of Lacey. She felt sorry for the boy. The next few minutes were not going to be pretty, judging from the information Adam had gathered about Benny and his family.
"From all we know", Tommy began, "your son had trouble dealing with the fact that he was the result of an infertility treatment procedure. It seems he had bottled up so much frustration that he devised a pretty devious plan to get back at the person he perceived as responsible for his anger and frustration." He gave the parents an overview on everything they had found out so far… the postings… the e-mails… the sending of the poison, pretending it was nothing but a harmless dyer…
For a while none of the three Jenkins said anything.
Interesting. Usually parents jump in with vehement declarations that their child just HAS to be innocent, that he or she CAN'T be responsible, that it was all a horrible mistake…
None of that from the Jenkins. The boy looked like he was brooding. The mother had lost all color. The expression on the stepfather's face was grim. He was the first one to speak up in the end.
"I'm sorry, honey", he told his wife, "but I've been telling you for quite some time there's something going on with the boy. We should have sent him off to military school the first time police brought him home… but you opted for the soft approach… now see where it got us… Murder…"
Benny made an angry snorting sound.
"Anything you'd like to tell us, Benny?", Tommy asked.
Megan glanced at Tommy with a surprised look. He was diverging from their plan. Tommy made a give him a minute gesture.
"I'm sick of your lies mom", the boy finally hissed. "If you really think I'm going let THIS sit on me…"
The mother made a sound between a sob and a shriek. Then she nodded.
"What is he talking about, honey?", the stepfather asked, slightly confused.
"I was not the result of fertility treatment done with frozen semen from my mom's deceased first husband", Benny said, apparently fighting for his composure. "I was the result of a one night stand mom had with my stepfather's brother shortly after she became widowed. Since the brothers hate each other, she thought she couldn't tell her new husband the truth, once they got close. She feared he'd start hating me, too. Well, not knowing didn't change much, did it?"
He stared at his stepfather with a look of outright hatred. "You used my computer and my online identity to make it look as if those postings, messages and that poison shit came from me, didn't you?"
The mother started crying.
"We knew your mother never was in fertility treatment at Professor Stuart's clinic", Tommy said. "That's what caught our attention. The parents of all the others involved in the discussion thread could be found on Professor Stuart's patients list. Yours weren't on it. But we discovered that your stepfather and the professor had been on a project together. Your stepfather later claimed the groundbreaking results of that project had been found by him alone, not by Milton Stuart. His accusations were declared unjustified by an inquiry panel… apparently a blow his ego couldn't take."
"OH MY GOD!" The mother buried her face in her hands. Benny was shaking his head, but he looked more resigned and bitter than shocked.
"You tried to kill two birds with one stone – get rid of your detested stepson and get back at the person you made responsible for the mediocrity of your career. The public tribute to Milton Stuart's life work was the stroke that broke the camel's back… you just had to do something and why not do away with your wife's brat in one go? You bastard." Megan was fighting the urge to slap his face… or worse.
As Tommy went to handcuff Mr. Jenkins, Benny got up, walked over to his mother and took her into his arms.
… … …
"What is it you wanted to ask me?", Megan said to Tommy as they exited the Jenkins ' house, repeating her earlier question.
Tommy hesitated a moment, then seemed to be making up his mind to go for it after all. "Do you sometimes regret having only one child?"
Megan raised her eyebrows.
"Lacey is fifteen now, almost grown up", Tommy shrugged a bit awkwardly. "And you said yourself you missed a lot of her childhood. Did you ever think of, I don't know, doing it again, having another child, raising it with more peace and quiet…?"
"Making up for what I did wrong the first time around?", Megan asked tersely.
"No… NO!"
She could tell from his face he was being honest.
"It's just… Back when Lacey was small… You didn't have much time to enjoy… being a mother… having a child… do you regret that? With all the medical possibilities nowadays… it wouldn't be too late…" He let the sentence trail off.
Megan decided not to answer. Truth to be told, she didn't know what to say or where this was heading… was Tommy suggesting …something… Was he thinking about leaving a trace of his own genetic heritage in the world… with her…? Or was he genuinely wondering about her feelings regarding parenthood, especially now that the issue with her father was cleared up and she had the chance to start into a new life, without that old riddle hanging above her head.
They walked to Tommy's car in silence.
… … …
"Benny Jenkins' mom is pretty hot for her age", Adam mused as he and Steven, left behind again, headed for Adam's car.
Steven didn't reply.
Adam frowned. There was a heaviness to that silence, uncharacteristic for their usually light, carefree banter.
"I'm not really interested in women", the MI finally said.
Now Adam didn't reply.
"Okay with you?" Steven asked.
"Yeah. Yeah… no problem." Adam was lost in thought for the rest of the drive.
