Author's notes: Lyrics are "The Safest Place" by Leann Rimes. Rach- thanks!
Daytime I'm fine
Everything is back normal
Last night I thought that I would die
I had nightmares, I was so scared
Thank god that you were by my side
To hold me when I cried
Frisco glanced at his laptop. It was still working, so he was playing solitaire on a spare machine at the PVPD. He'd brought a fingerprint scanner with him on the off chance they might find something and now was running Vic 6's prints through the system. If he was an agent or was ever investigated by the WSB, his prints would come up. Over two hours the program had been searching and coming up with nothing, sucking up the CPU on his laptop, making it impossible to do anything else. Not that he actually felt like doing anything productive anyway.
After starting the search program, he looked at the forensics reports closer, eventually giving him a headache. Like the other two scenes, no prints were found, nothing left to identify the killer. Not one damn thing to lead to a suspect. Decomposition was minimal, meaning someone had taken care of the bodies and the scene was found shortly after the parts were dumped. Given the amount of blood pooled below him, Montoya had likely died there, possibly left hanging from that tree for days. But there was no pattern, only a weak common link between the victims. When his head started pounding, that was when he switched to Tetris, then when he bored of that, solitaire.
He looked up in time to see Jack Montgomery walk back to Anna's office. He closed his laptop and followed the other man. He had a few words for the district attorney. He'd given orders to the PVPD after he'd arrived the first night and he did not appreciate being undermined by some small town, egotistical, idiotic know-it-all who didn't agree with the Bureau's policies or presence.
Jack turned to leave when he realized Anna wasn't in her office. Frisco blocked the doorway, arms crossed and looking very hostile. When he spoke, his tone was no different. "First lesson of working with the WSB, Mr. Montgomery," he told the older man coldly, "when we tell you to not divulge information, you better keep your mouth shut. There are very good reasons we operate under secrecy and we are under no obligation to explain those reasons. By not obeying orders, you may have just compromised our case."
Jack's jaw set as he put his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Frisco stepped closer to him. "Then explain to me how Erica Kane knew about this case," he said, glaring at the DA. The look on Jack's face just confirmed what Erica had told Frisco the night before. "I don't care how close you two are, you do not reveal sensitive information to anyone not associated with this investigation, much less a civilian."
"Fine."
Frisco moved to the side to let him pass. "I'd better not hear about you discussing this with anyone but me or Anna again," he said as Jack walked by him, "or you will not live long enough to regret it. Is that understood, Mr. Montgomery?"
The implication was clear. "Understood," the older man answered, a hint of doubt in his voice.
Anna watched the scene in front of her as Jack and Frisco exited her office. The district attorney shot her a dirty look as he passed her. "What was that about?" she asked her former protégé, glancing back at the retreating lawyer.
Frisco shrugged dismissively. "Just taking care of business," he answered levelly.
The police chief raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Which was?"
"I was just warning him about divulging information to third parties."
She shook her head. "You didn't need to do that," she told him, walking past him and into her office.
"It's my job, Anna," he stressed, following her and closing the door behind him. "We don't know where this case is going yet and until we do, I don't want anyone knowing more they need to. Inside or outside the Bureau. I wasn't even supposed to let you see the files."
"A little secretive, don't you think?"
"The WSB, secretive?" he said, feigning shock. "Never..."
"Oh, I forgot," she said, rolling her eyes, "it's such an open and honest organization."
"Nothing but," he laughed, grinning broadly.
Anna sat on the edge of her desk. "I made some decisions," she told him.
"What kind of decisions?"
"My life. Where it's going." She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "I'm going back to Port Charles with you."
"Good," Frisco said, nodding his approval. "You've got a lot of old friends that will be very happy to finally see you in the flesh. And I think you could use the support right now."
"You're right," she admitted. "I should've gone back a long time ago."
"Whoa, what was that? Did you just say I'm right?" he asked in shock. "Did the great Anna Devane just admit she was wrong?"
"Oh, hush up!" she scolded. She pointed a finger at him. "Don't make me rethink this decision!" Frisco held his hands up in silent defeat. She sighed. "Anyways, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I've decided to rejoin the WSB. I talked to Sean this morning. You've got a new agent starting Monday."
He smiled. "We could definitely use you. We're hurting for talent and experience like yours."
"Well, I don't know about experience. I was out of the spy game for over a decade. I'm sure things have changed a lot since then."
"Not really. We just have cooler tools and the enemies have changed a bit. Nothing you won't pick up quickly, I'm sure." He hesitated for a moment. "What brought this on anyway? I thought you were happy here. Well, besides the thing with David..."
"It hasn't been all bad," she told him, smiling wistfully. "I've made some good friends in Pine Valley, but I think it's time to go home. Get back to my life."
"And the WSB is part of that?"
Anna thought for a moment before answering. "I think so. I don't have Robin to worry about, since she's grown up and own her own. Mac is the police commissioner and I'm not going take his job. The WSB is all I have left at the moment."
"You could stay here, you know," he replied softly.
"I know. I don't want to, not after David and the baby." Frisco opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I've thought a lot about this, Frisco. I'm not running away, this is really what I want."
He wanted to argue that statement with her, but thought better of it and just smiled instead. "Glad to have you back."
"I'm glad to be back," Anna said, matching his smile. "I'm kind of excited about it, actually. I finally get to see you in action. Sean keeps bragging about how good you are."
"Well, I don't know about that..."
She gasped in shock. "Did the great Frisco Jones just turn down an opportunity to brag? This is a first."
Frisco rolled his eyes. "I'm going back to work."
"I know I've been out of the WSB for awhile, but I don't think Tetris counts as work," she teased him as he went back to his computers.
~*~
Frisco was so in need of a break. He had gone back to pouring over the files, convinced he was missing something. There had to be something they had overlooked. There had to be. Nobody was this good. He jumped slightly at the ringing of his cell phone, startling him. Digging through evidence he'd already been through a hundred times was proving to be an exercise in futility anyway.
"Yeah," he answered distractedly.
"Do you realize the Nurse's Ball is in just over a week?"
He sighed. With everything he had to do, he'd forgotten he'd promised both Lucy and Skye that he would sing. It was the last thing on his mind at the moment. "I haven't even thought about it, Skye."
"We're supposed to be performing, remember?"
"I'm aware of that, Skye."
"When was the last time we rehearsed?"
"What are you getting at?"
He could almost hear her irritation coming through the phone. "When are you going to be back, Frisco?"
"In a day or so," he answered tiredly. "We'll rehearse as soon as I get back, I promise."
"I'm going to hold you to that," she said, not sounding entirely convinced. "Oh, and I can't be your date."
Great, just great. He was going to end up going alone... "Why not? You're just going to ditch me on our big night?"
"Hardly," she scoffed. "Daddy asked me to go with AJ. He couldn't find a date."
"Why is that my problem?" Frisco whined. "It's not my fault your brother isn't date material."
"Oh, quit acting like a baby. I arranged another date for you."
"Gee thanks," he replied sarcastically. "Who'd you have to bribe?"
"I asked Alexis," Skye told him. "Thought you wouldn't mind spending the evening with her. Especially since Felicia is going with Ned..."
He rolled his eyes, chuckling. Trust Skye Chandler to use any opportunity to further one of her schemes. "Thanks, Skye."
"No problem. Worked out kind of nice, actually. Wifey will get to see you with both of us."
"Yeah, but I have to watch her with Ned."
"But she has to spend the evening in the company of the Quartermaines," she told him, not hiding her amusement. "Plus Edward and Ned have been going on and on about this company out in California that's been trying to raid ELQ. She'll get to listen to that all night."
"What company?" he asked curiously.
"Don't remember exactly. They're out of San Francisco and the CEO's name is Jones. I remember thinking of you when it came up the first time."
What were the odds, he thought. "Was it Paul Jones? Alameda Enterprises?"
"Yeah, that's it. You know it?" she asked, surprised.
Frisco snickered. "Paul's my cousin. Alameda Enterprises is our family's company. Tony and I own a third of it."
"You have to be kidding me!" Skye exclaimed. "That's one of the biggest corporations in the country."
"It used to be just a pharmaceutical company, real big into research," he told her. "My grandfather started it, then when he finally retired, my uncle took over. He died a few years ago. Paul's corporate raider tendencies went wild when he got control of the company."
"I never knew that," Skye said, in a tone Frisco recognized. She was thinking of what she could do with that information. "No wonder you kept telling me you didn't need Adam's money. You've got more money than the Chandlers or the Quartermaines."
The money meant nothing to him, never had. It couldn't make up for the family he'd lost when his mother died. He'd learned very early not to depend on anyone other than himself, that he could survive on his own. That much he'd proven time and time again since he was fifteen. To hell with his father's money. "That had more to do with my own life. I had a nice salary, even nicer with hazard pay, and very few expenses. The only time I've touched my trust fund was for Maxie's heart transplant. I didn't want Adam's money any more than I wanted my father's."
"I wonder what Adam, Edward and Ned would say if they knew that it was your family trying to take over."
"Why would Adam care?" he asked in confusion.
"Rumor has it that Chandler Enterprises is next on Alameda's list," she told him. "Ned asked me to set something up with Adam to fight them. He figures if they band together, both companies might survive this intact."
That sounded like information he, as the competition, shouldn't know. Then again, what the hell did he know about business? "Uh, would this conversation be considered insider trading?" he asked uncertainly.
"No," she chuckled. "Industrial espionage, maybe. That is, if you intend on telling your cousin."
"Hey, espionage! Finally, something in the family business that I can do!" Frisco said cheerily.
"I'm sure your father would be proud."
"Fucking ecstatic, actually," he said with a humorless laugh. "He always said I had no direction or ambition. Don't think the old man would approve of my career choice."
"Well, this is interesting. I'll have to keep this little tidbit in mind," she said in her scheming tone.
"Wait for the worst possible moment, then spring it on Adam and the Quartermaines that their companies are about to be partly mine?"
"Exactly!"
Frisco shook his head. After the conversation he'd had with Adam the previous night, it would be worth it just to see the look on Adam's when he found out. "When Paul takes ELQ over, you want a job? I can hook you up..."
"I'd love that! Whatever did I do to deserve you, Frisco?"
"I don't know, torture small children in another life?" he teased.
Frisco watched as a man, a woman and two kids entered the room and spoke to Derek. The detective pointed towards him and the beautiful woman approached his desk. He immediately recognized her as Maria Santos Grey, the woman who'd found the bodies. He'd left several messages for her, wanting to interrogate her, but they had basically been playing phone tag his few days in Pine Valley. "Skye, I have to get back to work now. I'll give you a call when I get back," he said and quickly hung up. He watched Maria walk towards him, noticing the tightness of her shirt... God, he needed to get laid, he groaned to himself. He really should've taken Erica's offer last night.
"Frisco Jones?" she asked as she reached his desk, holding a white paper package.
He stood and extended his hand. "You must be Maria," he replied, smiling.
She returned his smile, shaking his hand. "I apologize for not coming by sooner. Things have been busy at work."
"I understand completely," he said. "My brother is a doctor. I think he's on call as nearly much as I am."
"What's his specialty?"
"Tony's a neurologist," Frisco answered.
"Tony Jones from Port Charles General Hospital?" she asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. "He's your brother?"
"You know him?" he replied in disbelief.
"I met him at a conference a few years ago." Maria rolled her eyes embarrassedly. "Well, I guess it was more than a few," she added with a chuckle. "Doesn't seem that long ago."
"I know what you mean," he chuckled. "Time just seems fly by, doesn't it?"
"That it does." She hesitated. "Um, you said you wanted to question me about..." She trailed off, looking decidedly sick.
"Yes, why don't we go someplace private." He checked his laptop, but the program was still searching. Damn it, if he couldn't use the laptop, he'd have to dig out the digital recorder he hated with a passion. "Give me a second," he said, looking around for his briefcase. He found it under the desk, and luckily didn't have to search for the recorder, which had been in the first pocket he looked in. He grabbed it, a pad of paper, his pen, and the file. He led Maria into one of the interrogation rooms.
She sat down at the table nervously. She placed the paper package on the table in front her. Her fingers ran lightly over the tissue paper protectively, yet warily.
Frisco eyed the package curiously. "Do you mind if I record this?" he asked, getting back to business.
"No, go ahead," she answered, her voice a bit on the shaky side.
Her tension was obvious. He'd been through this a thousand times. As a suspect, as a witness, and as an investigator, he was just used to the routine, he guessed. Probably terrifying for something who'd never been interrogated before. "You okay?" he asked her with concern.
"Yeah," she said, giving him an uneasy smile. "I'm fine."
"Alright. Just take a deep breath. This won't be too bad, I promise," he replied, trying to reassure her. He started the recorder. "Why don't you tell me how you came across the scene," he suggested.
"Well, Edmund, my husband, and I were out riding, taking one of the trails through the woods. I stopped to pick up some flowers and saw the... the..." she stammered, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath before continuing. "The body parts were scattered all over from what I could see. I rushed back to where Edmund was and we rode back. We called Anna as soon as we got back to the house."
He jotted a couple notes to himself, but if that was all she knew, he wasn't going to be writing much. "You didn't go out into the clearing?"
She shuddered. "No. Just seeing it was bad enough."
"Did you come across anything before you got to the clearing to indicate what was there?"
"No, there wasn't anything I noticed. I don't know if Anna or Derek found anything like that."
"Did you or your husband see anyone suspicious around that day? Anyone lurking in places they shouldn't?"
"I didn't, but I was at the hospital most of the day," she answered, a tad calmer than before. "Edmund never said anything about anyone suspicious. If he'd seen someone, I'm sure he would've said something."
Frisco thought for a moment, racking his brain for anything else he might need to know, but nothing sprang to mind. "I think that's all I need then," he said, looking back over his notes.
Maria looked down at the package under her hands. "There is one more thing." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I didn't say anything to Anna that night because I thought the flowers I was picking up were from Edmund. They were leading to the clearing, so I thought maybe he had a surprise for me. We've been through a rough time with my memory loss and he's been doing things like that lately. I didn't really think much about it, but last night, he asked where the flowers came from. They weren't from him. I don't know where they came from."
He sat back in the chair, suddenly getting a very bad feeling about what she'd brought with her. "Were they just wildflowers?" he asked cautiously, but in his gut, he already knew the answer.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
Maria moved the package to the middle of the table and opened the tissue paper. As Frisco saw the flowers she'd brought, his heart jumped in his throat and all the color drained from his face. "Oh no," he breathed.
Sitting in the tissue were orchids.