Some wild speculation regarding Declan Gage and how he came to disgrace.
CHAPTER 36
Alex hoped that Bobby was wrong, that the worst of this case might be over, but she was used to having her hopes dashed, especially with this case. At least Mark Caldwell forgot his request that Bobby lead his interviews. As far as Caldwell was concerned, Bobby was simply another in the long line of cops and agents who hung on his words. He even appeared to forget that Bobby was his victim. Bobby rarely took part in Caldwell's interviews. He'd done his job. He'd gotten Caldwell to betray Linley and reveal what he knew about his mentor's murders. Bobby dealt with most of the processing and tracking of the information Caldwell provided. He used it to trace and find more of Linley's victims and to add to the older man's profile. Within a week after Bobby's encounter with Caldwell, a dozen more victims were found, and articles found near the bodies meant that four of those bodies were quickly identified, and four sets of families and friends knew what had happened to their friends, sisters, daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and, in one case, mother.
In addition to keeping an eye on Bobby—which she regarded as her primary responsibility—Alex helped deal with the requests that flooded what the press came to call "The Sebastian Squad." Some days it seemed that every family of every missing person in the United States called to see if their loved one might be one of Sebastian's victims. There were reporters desperate for information on the case. One connected the Detective Goren on this case with the man who'd apparently gotten Mark Ford Brady to confess and reveal the bodies of many of his victims, and Bobby was the subject of many more requests for interviews. The Brass strongly suggested that Bobby respond to some of these requests, but Ross shielded him as best as he could. Bobby was more than happy to allow everyone else to deal with the press. His lack of ego endeared Bobby to the other investigators, although several clearly regarded him with suspicion because of his association with Declan Gage and the apparent ease with which he got Caldwell to talk.
George Huang became one of the few people Alex and Bobby trusted. Just after Bobby's confrontation with Caldwell, Huang helped Alex get Bobby home. The psychiatrist responded to Bobby's repeated apologies for being so much trouble with a gentle dismissal.
"I'd be more concerned if you didn't have some reaction to all of this," Huang said. "Are you in any pain?"
"I don't need anything," Bobby insisted.
"There are…"
"Please, Doctor…I don't need anything…"
Alex didn't share Bobby's opinion, especially after he spent a sleepless night wandering from one room of his home to another. After a night in which she got little sleep herself, Alex woke to the smell of coffee. She yawned, stretched, rose, and stumbled into the kitchen. Bobby sat at the table holding a large mug and staring at the wall.
"Good morning," Alex said carefully as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Morning," Bobby said softly. He was dressed in a cotton dress shirt with an untied tie around his neck. "I was just thinking that I really hate the color of that wall."
Alex sat across from him. She took a long drink of coffee. "Somehow, I don't think you spent the night worrying about the color of your kitchen."
"I…I'm sorry…I kept you up…"
"I wouldn't have slept well anyway," Alex said. "And I know I got more sleep than you did. You know…Dr. Huang said there are…"
"No," Bobby said sharply. He stood and walked away from her. "Sorry…" He stared into the sink. "I…I can't…I can't take the risk…"
"Bobby…You don't have to suffer…"
He drained the rest of his coffee. Alex saw his back muscles shake.
"I…I'm sorry," he said. "It's …It's hard…It…It's just hard. And it hurts…"
Alex started to stand.
"Do you have some clothes here?" Bobby asked.
"Yes…But…"
"Good…You can get a shower. We can return the car when we get to work…"
Alex stared at his back. "Bobby…You're not going in…"
"It'll be worse if I don't, Eames."
Those words became a manta over the next week. He made a few feeble attempts to get Alex to leave him for a few nights, but eventually simply accepted her presence. Accepting didn't mean that he always acknowledged her. But he acknowledged the existence of little beyond his work. Even at Major Case he rarely spoke beyond a genuine if mumbled "Thank you" to people or "I was just doing my job" in response to any words of praise.
"I don't know how to reach him," Alex said as she met George Huang for coffee in the One PP cafeteria one morning. "I think he wants me around. He doesn't fight me any more. A couple of days ago I got caught in a meeting. He could've left without me, but he waited. But I can't tell if he wants or needs me, or if he's just given up fighting me. Or if I'm just a habit."
"He doesn't say much in our sessions," Huang said. "But that happens. There are hills and valleys and plateaus. At least we don't seem to be in a valley. I can tell you that he values you. Very much."
Alex gnawed her lip. "I…I wish he'd just talk to me. Sometimes I catch him looking at me…Like he wants me to say something…Or he wants to say something to me…But he can't or won't…And it breaks my heart…"
"I know what you mean," Huang said. "He often seems about to say something in our sessions, but then he holds back…But we need to remember that this man had many demons long before this. That's he's at this point shows he's remarkably strong."
"I know," Alex said. She wondered, not for the first time, how much Bobby had told Dr. Huang about his life.
"He hasn't told me everything…I know that," Huang said. "And I'm not pumping you for information. "His mother, his brother, his father…Throw in Declan Gage…" Huang paused.
"It's ok," Alex said. "Mentioning Gage's name won't freak me out. He made me very angry, for what he did to Bobby and to his daughter. Sometimes I think I'm angrier at Gage for what he did to Jo than I am at her for what she did to me. Bobby…Bobby's not doing this to save Gage's reputation, is he?"
"It may be a factor," Huang said. "It's one of the things he's actually been willing to talk about. I don't think it's a huge reason, if it's a reason at all. I think the main reason he feels he has to do everything on this case is because he wants to help the families and…" Huang hesitated.
"What?" Alex leaned forward.
"As…a sort of penance…Retribution," Huang said. "I think Detective Goren feels responsible for Caldwell…Even somehow for Linley…"
Alex sighed. "I don't know how anyone could logically think that…But it doesn't surprise me with Bobby."
"If I could," Huang said. "I'd keep him away from Linley. Caldwell was relatively easy to manipulate. Linley is a very different case. But with Detective Goren's insistence on speaking with him, Linley's refusal to talk with anyone else, and the desire to find as many of Sebastian's victims as possible…"
"I know," Alex said. "You know, there are moments when I'm angrier with the FBI and the Brass than anyone…"
Huang smiled sadly. "There are moments I'm not fond of them either."
Alex sensed a change in the cafeteria's atmosphere. She thought she heard whispers and saw several people look towards the entrance. She turned and saw Bobby standing just inside the door and surveying the room. He looked excited and apprehensive.
"He's got news," Alex told Huang, who'd also seen Bobby. "And he thinks it isn't going to make me happy."
Bobby saw them and started to walk towards them. Alex and Huang saw that half of the people in the cafeteria tried to hide their interest in Bobby, while the other half didn't even make the attempt. Alex fought against the desire to rip out their eyeballs, or at least scream at them to leave Bobby alone. She knew Bobby was aware of their scrutiny; she could see that he was trying to make himself as small as possible and move as quickly as he could. She wished she hadn't selected a table so far away from the entrance.
A movement off to Bobby's right caught Alex's eye. She'd noticed the woman when she entered the cafeteria. Even as preoccupied as she was with Bobby, Alex still possessed the skills of a great detective, and it was instinctive for her to scan every room she entered for potential dangers. This instinct had become sharper since her kidnapping and all that had happened to Bobby. This woman became a blip on Alex's radar because she didn't seem to fit with others in the cafeteria. She was dressed expensively and tastefully, to expensively to be a detective or ADA or public defender, but too tastefully to be a private attorney. She didn't have the authority of a judge or politician. What she looked like, Alex realized as she walked closer to Bobby, was a mother. A grieving mother. Alex jumped from her seat, but the woman had already reached Bobby, who turned to her as his radar picked up her presence.
"Excuse me," Alex heard the woman say. "Are you Detective Goren?"
Alex saw the fear in Bobby's eyes, and knew that he recognized what this woman was.
"Yes, Ma'am. Can I help you?"
"My name is Carol Findlay. My daughter is…Was…Martha Findlay."
The cafeteria was unnaturally quiet. Alex knew that even the most casual followers of the Sebastian case would recognize the name of Martha Findlay. She disappeared on the day she was to graduate with honors from college and hours after Declan Gage told a press conference that he knew who Sebastian was and that the killer would be in custody in a matter of days. Unfortunately, as Bobby later told Alex, Gage was fixated on the wrong man, a brilliant but socially withdrawn and inept young man (Bobby said that it appeared he may have had Asperger's Syndrome). Gage took the young man's lack of responses to questions as proof of his guilt rather than a sign of his condition. The young man's name was released, and the press descended on him and his family like a pack of ravenous hyenas. The day after his mother was sent to a hospital after several neighbors attacked her car, the young man hung himself. The day his body was discovered, the police received photos of Martha Findlay being tortured. Her body hadn't been found until a few weeks ago, when her remains were discovered as a result of Bobby's efforts.
Alex desperately tried to reach Bobby, but obstacles choked the cafeteria floor. She was afraid for Bobby. At the time of her disappearance, the Findlay family was horribly and justly upset with the police and the FBI. Her father told one reporter that he'd kill Declan Gage if he ever met him. There hadn't been a response from the family beyond the claiming of Martha's remain, and Alex could only see very bad things resulting from Carol Findlay's confronting Bobby Goren. She watched in agonizingly slow motion as the older woman approached him. Bobby stood stiffly at attention.
"You're the detective who found my baby," Mrs. Findlay said.
"There…There were a lot of people," Bobby said softly. "They all found her."
"That's not what the press says," Mrs. Findlay replied. "That's not what my contacts…And I have some good ones…Say…"
Bobby shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "There…There are a lot of people involved in this investigation, Ma'am. All of them had a great deal to do with finding your daughter. They're good people and deserve more credit. I…I just happen to be more visible."
"I have trouble believing that," Mrs. Findlay said. "Those…Those things…They had you? They hurt you?"
Bobby nodded slowly.
"You know what Martha suffered…"
"Yes…"
"Please don't," Alex thought. "Please don't make him tell you…"
"Thank you," Mrs. Findlay said. "Thank you for letting us know what happened and bringing her back. Thank you." She trembled, and Bobby gently touched her arm.
"Mrs. Findlay…I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for what happened to Martha. I'm sorry…For all of the mistakes…I'm sorry it took so long for you to find out what happened to her. I…I wish I could've…Could've helped more."
Mrs. Findlay studied him for several moments. "You've done a great deal, Detective," she finally said. "And in five minutes you've shown me more kindness than some people have shown me in five years. Thank you." She turned and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving a stunned audience.
Bobby, clutching his leather binder, stood silently for several seconds. He looked in Alex's direction, and seemed to remember why he'd ventured to the cafeteria in search of her. He walked toward Alex and Huang as the sound of utensils clanging and voices chattering started. Alex knew he only pretended to ignore the stares that followed him.
"I'm going to get some more coffee," Huang said. "Can I get you a cup, Detective?"
"Uh…Yes…Please…Thank you," Bobby said.
"Are you all right?" Huang asked as he stood.
Bobby sighed. "Just another emotional storm. I think I'm getting used to them."
Alex sat across from Bobby as Huang left. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you want to go somewhere more private?"
"I'm fine," Bobby said in resignation. "The news of this is probably all over the building by now."
"How did she get in here?" Alex wondered.
Bobby shrugged. "She had a visitor's badge…The cafeteria isn't restricted…I wonder how long she's been waiting for me to show up…What some of these families go through…They deserve…"
Captain Ross burst through the door. He saw Bobby and Alex and rushed to them.
"See," Bobby said to Alex. "I told you."
"Detective…Are you all right?" Ross asked.
"I think," Bobby mused. "I'm going to start carrying a large sign or wearing a shirt that says how I am. I'm fine, Sir," he said in response to Ross' exasperated look. "She wasn't any danger."
Dr. Huang appeared behind Ross. "She wanted to thank Detective Goren."
Bobby reddened slightly as he took his coffee from Huang.
"Of course," Huang said as he sat down. "Detective Goren told her that a great many other people deserved the credit for finding her daughter's body…"
Ross, considerably relieved, sat. "Of course he did." He looked at Bobby with a combination of frustration and admiration.
"I…I'm sorry," Bobby said. "I…I did what I thought was right…"
"Detective," Ross said patiently. "You did the right thing. We should be protecting you from this sort of thing."
"You shouldn't have to protect me…I should be able to take care of myself," Bobby murmured.
"Bobby…" Alex leaned forward. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You've been through a lot. No one minds helping you. Remember…We get to take care of you…Now…What was it that you were so excited about that you had to come down here to tell us about it?"
"Oh…Right…" Bobby unzipped his binder. "And you're all here…This morning…I realized something about Linley…I should've caught it a long time ago…Surprised no one else caught it…"
"I'm not," Huang said. "You catch most things before anyone else."
Bobby reddened again. "Well…After looking at the transcripts of the interviews with Caldwell…And…And I remembered when they had me…"
No one could look Bobby in the eyes.
"Linley…According to Caldwell, he told Caldwell what to do with Marian Brewster. Linley never touched her…And the only DNA we found on her body was Caldwell's. And…And…" Bobby took a deep breath. "What I remember…Linley didn't…He told Caldwell what to do…How to…To torture me…But he didn't actively participate much…And…And I think we…I…can use it against him."
Alex bit her tongue, but Huang spoke.
"Detective…Are you sure you're ready to deal with Linley?"
"Look," Bobby said calmly and sensibly. "I seem to be the only person he'll talk to. And there are a lot of families out there like the Findlays. They deserve to know what happened. There may be innocent men in jail for some of Linley's victims. I have to do this."
"All right," Ross said. "Tell us about how we can get Linley…"
END CHAPTER 36