Priority
"Hey." Thea nodded, letting her parents in the next morning.
"Morning." AJ smiled, "We brought coffees and muffins and donuts." She said, "I wanted to bring donuts but your dad said muffins and… we couldn't decide really-"
"Quite the dilemma." Thea nodded.
"How is she doing?" Punk asked.
"Well I made her oatmeal and she has been stirring it for about an hour now. She did shower this morning, though." Thea said as AJ nodded.
"Ok well if she wants to sit and stir her oatmeal all day then let her." AJ shook her head, walking on through to the kitchen as Punk looked at Thea.
"What?" Thea shook her head.
"Is she saying anything? Is she talking about it or… talking at all?" Punk asked.
"Not really. If she does talk it's to tell me off about something." Thea said, "But that's just Jude being Jude, I guess." Thea smiled as Punk nodded, hanging his jacket over the stairs, "I told Dominic just to go to work. No point in all of us hanging around."
"Yeah, of course." Punk understood.
"She said Sam came over last night. I must have been fast asleep cause I didn't hear." Thea said.
"What was Sam saying?" Punk asked.
"Jude never said. She just mentioned she came by to see her." Thea said as Punk nodded, walking through to the kitchen.
He walked in and saw Jude sitting at the kitchen table. Her hair was wet from her shower and she was in some clean sweats and one of Thea's hoodies. She looked very pale and tired, and she was indeed stirring her oatmeal around in the bowl.
"Babe, I brought some muffins and donuts if you'd rather that." AJ said, unpacking the muffins and donuts over by the counter. Her approach was to act as normal and calm as possible. She figured it might help Jude feel less alienated by everyone.
"It's 8am. I don't want a donut." Jude scoffed, "And Thea is trying to make me eat lumpy oatmeal which tastes bland because it's the one she's been giving to James." She shook her head.
"You see this abuse she's giving me." Thea said as AJ and Punk smiled.
"How about I make you your favourite? Pancakes and bacon?" Punk wondered as Jude looked up.
"Y-Yeah… yeah, ok." Jude nodded. It was the first time something basic sounded good to her. The past few days she hadn't been fussed about eating or doing much of anything, but starting her day off with a shower oddly made her feel a tiny bit better.
"Ok, then I need everyone to clear out of the kitchen." Punk said, "I need my space." He insisted.
"By all means." Jude nodded, standing up and leaving the kitchen.
Thea and AJ followed, leaving Punk in the kitchen to make breakfast.
"You know what I've realised?" Jude said, sitting down on the sofa in the corner, curling up with a blanket.
"What?" AJ asked, sitting down beside her whilst Thea picked up some of James' toys from the floor.
"Daytime TV is so so bad." Jude shook her head.
"Yeah I discovered that when I was on maternity leave." Thea said, "It sucks." She agreed.
"You look fresh. How are you sleeping?" AJ asked Jude who was flicking through the TV channels.
"I'm not." Jude said, "I'm not sleeping." She said as AJ sighed, placing her hand on Jude's arm softly, "Karen came around last night." She nodded. She knew she'd have to tell them at one point.
"How many pancakes am I doing?" Punk asked, coming into the living room.
"What did she say?" AJ asked Jude as Punk stood, looking over at Thea.
"Well she told me she had searched the house I came from that night." Jude said as Punk sat down on the arm of the chair, "It belongs to a man called Vincent Monroe." She nodded as Punk looked across at AJ who widened her eyes at him. The look she gave him was a 'don't open your mouth' look, so he obliged.
"Who the fuck is that?" Thea questioned.
"Never heard of the guy. He's in his late forties." Jude nodded, "But Karen asked around and his neighbours said he's been out of town for weeks visiting his mom so… they are treating him as suspect but they don't know for sure that it was him. They're finding out who else has access to the house as well as tracking Vincent down." She said.
"Did she show you a picture of him?" Thea asked.
"No, she didn't." Jude said, "But she found things in the house… my underwear." She nodded, "And pictures of me that were taken." She said. She wished she could have hired someone to tell her family all this information.
"Pictures of you?" AJ questioned.
"Whilst I was being attacked." Jude nodded as AJ sighed, looking down whilst Punk walked out of the room.
"Oh my God." Thea shook her head.
"I thought I wanted to see them but I realise I don't." Jude nodded, "Karen said they are locked in evidence and no one will ever see them. They're taking it pretty seriously actually." Jude knew for sure.
"Of course they are." AJ nodded, "They're gonna find the son of a bitch and he is going to prison for the rest of life." AJ said as Jude nodded.
"You should probably go make sure he isn't breaking things in there." Jude nodded to her mother as AJ sighed and nodded, kissing Jude's cheek and standing up, walking into the kitchen where Punk was standing.
"It's fucking him. It was him." Punk said.
"Shh." AJ said, closing the kitchen door over.
"The house still belongs to him which means he lives there." Punk spat, getting all the confirmation he needed.
"And why would he do something like this?" AJ questioned, "I'm sorry but I don't buy it." She said, "We knew Vincent. He wasn't like that. He was a good guy-"
"Well he's dead now-" Punk paused as he saw Jude walking into the kitchen slowly.
"You two know who this person is?" Jude questioned, standing at the door with Thea as AJ and Punk stood in silence, "Do you?!" She said louder.
"Yeah." Punk nodded, "Yeah, we knew him. I… I was arrested with him back when I went to prison the first time." He said, "He ran in the circle we were in-"
"Your drug circle?" Jude spat as Punk looked across at her, "So you two were buddies with the person who… who possibly did this to me?" She shook her head.
"We were nineteen then. I haven't seen him since then. Both of us haven't." Punk said.
"But there's a chance it might not be him, right?" AJ said, "I mean… Jeremy will go to the police and he'll be able to identify if it was Vincent that came up to you that night-"
"Jeremy?" Jude shook her head, "What does he have to do with this?" She questioned, looking at her family who suddenly had nothing to say, "Ok, what the hell is going on?" She shook her head.
"Ok… ok, sit down." AJ nodded.
"No, I'll stand." Jude said, backing away, leaning over by the fridge as she looked at the three of them, "Why are you bringing up Jeremy?"
"Ok well…" Thea began, "That night, Jeremy left with Kirsty to go home with him-"
"She told me." Jude nodded. She knew that much.
"Ok, well… he wound up going back to the bar you were at. To find Kirsty's purse or something." Thea explained, "He saw you coming out of the bar and you were… falling over the place, could barely walk." She said, "He came over and he helped you with your jacket and was gonna walk you home to his place, so you could crash there for the night."
"I don't remember any of this." Jude whispered to herself.
"When he was walking you down the street, a guy came over and said he would get you home safe, that he would bring you here." Thea said, "And apparently you… you recognised him." She said as Jude looked across at her, "And so… Jeremy left you with him." She nodded as Jude looked at the three of them.
"How do you know this?" Jude asked suspiciously, tears in her eyes but not pouring out.
"We… thought it was him who did it so we went and spoke to him." Thea said.
"Who the hell is we?" Jude spat.
"Me, dad and Dean." Thea said, "He's a little… beaten up but he's gonna go to the cops. This is good because then he can identify if it was this Vincent guy or not who… took you away that night." Thea said.
"What do you mean beaten up?" Jude questioned, looking directly at Punk.
"Why are you looking at me?" Punk questioned.
"Why do you think?" Jude spat.
"Jude, this isn't his fault." Thea defended, "I was the one who thought it was him. I put it in everyone's head." She said, "You remember when we had that fight over me asking Sean for an address?"
"Yes." Jude said.
"Well it wasn't for an old friend. It was for Jeremy. I thought he was creepy and I thought he was stalking you and… had a weird thing for you." Thea said, "So I thought it had to have been him who did this." She said as Jude looked down at the ground, "So we went to his house and… dad beat him up a little but we got the truth out from him eventually-"
"Who do you think you are?" Jude spat as AJ placed her hand over her forehead. She saw this coming.
"We're just trying to find out who did this." Punk said.
"You are not the police!" Jude yelled, "That is their job to find who did this and to put the pieces together. Not us." She said, "You will never learn." She looked at Punk, "Seriously… you have always been the same since I've been little." She said, "This bullshit do it yourself mentality drives me insane." She said, "None of you have anything to do with this. I don't need you lot setting up your own private investigation." She said angrily.
"Jude, I'm sorry." Punk nodded.
"We're just trying to help." Thea said.
"Then be there for me!" Jude yelled, "God, that's where you all were the other day? When the house was empty?" She realised.
"Your mom wasn't anywhere near it." Punk made clear.
"Yeah well that doesn't surprise me, dad. Since she has actual brain cells." Jude said as Punk nodded to himself, "And you." She looked at Thea, "You've always been a liar."
"Jude…" Thea shook her head.
"No, you have. I used to think it was just the drugs or the alcohol but… it's just you. You're just a liar." Jude nodded.
"We just want whoever did this to you to pay." Thea said.
"Then let the police find them." Jude spat, "Stop taking matters into your own hands. This happened to me. Me." She emphasised.
"We're sorry." Punk shook his head.
"Yeah well you were sorry when you went to prison for eight years too." Jude said, leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs as Punk sighed to himself, running his hands over his face.
"She'll come round." AJ assured them, "Just give her the space." She said as Punk sat down at the table, sighing to himself whilst Thea dried her tears. They were all just acting out of love for Jude. Doing what they all individually felt they needed to do.
"Ok, Mister Simons." Karen walked back into the investigation room where Jeremy was sitting after telling them everything that happened the night of Jude's attack, "I need you to possibly identify someone for me." She said, sitting back down at the table.
"Ok." Jeremy nodded. He had told the truth about everything that happened that night. His beating from Punk had scared him into it.
"Was this the man who approached you whilst you were walking with Jude?" Karen held up a picture, "The man who you let take a drugged, almost unconscious young girl from you without so much as a question?" She said bitterly as Jeremy gulped.
"No, that's not him." Jeremy confirmed as Karen was holding up a picture of Vincent, "No, he was younger. Older than Jude but not as old as that guy is." He nodded to the picture.
"Ok." Karen nodded.
"Jude kept mumbling that she knew him. She knew who he was. I swear that's the only reason I left her with him." Jeremy said, "I never thought anything bad was going to happen to her. I swear." Jeremy said as Karen looked at him and nodded.
"Ok." Karen said simply, "You're free to go Mister Simons." Karen said, "We will be in touch." She made clear.
"Am I in trouble?" Jeremy questioned.
"We'll be in touch." Karen repeated simply, "You're free to go." She nodded as Jeremy stood up and left the room.
She collected up the folders in front of her as one of the uniformed officers working with her came into the room, "How'd it go?" The man, Chris, asked.
"I don't think Vincent is our guy. Still… get him back in Chicago, I want to speak with him." Karen stood up from the table, "And I want his investigation moved up to high-profile priority." Karen nodded.
"Yes, boss." Chris nodded.