Warrant For Arrest

"Hey." Dominic walked into the kitchen later that night where he saw Thea sitting at the table having a cigarette, "Thought we agreed none of that in the house." He said, taking the cigarette from her and putting it out on the ash tray as Thea rolled her eyes, "Is Jude still in the room?" He asked.

"No, she has gone to stay with Sean." Thea nodded, "Because she can't stand me anymore. And she won't go stay with my mom and dad because she looks like she wants to punch my dad in the face." She said.

"Ok… I go to work for one day and what do I miss?" Dominic asked as Thea sighed to herself, running her hands over her face and crying, "Hey." Dominic sighed, pulling a chair out beside her, "Hey, come here." He nodded, pulling her into him for a hug.

"I just did what I thought was right." Thea cried, drying her tears, pulling back from the hug as he looked at her.

"What happened? Why is she gone?" Dominic asked.

"We told her about… about Jeremy and what we did." Thea said as Dominic nodded, "And also, Karen had come to see her and told her the name of the guy whose house it belonged to, the house she came from that night… turns out my mom and dad know him from back in the day." She shook her head.

"Really?" Dominic shook his head.

"Yeah." Thea nodded, "Jude just lost her head with me and my dad. And I know we deserve it, we shouldn't have took matters into our own hands but… it's only because we care-"

"I know that." Dominic nodded, "And Jude knows that deep down. She's just… she's going through so much right now and I think she just wants her family to be around her and there for her without all the… worry and the drama." He said, "And… she's always worried about your dad and how he acts. The way he never thinks before he does things. Even when I just started dating you, when she was like fifteen, I remember her constantly worrying about him and his bad impulses." He said.

"That's just how he is." Thea sighed, "And she knows that. He'd do anything for us. To keep us safe." She said as Dominic nodded.

"This is different now. It's more serious. We're talking about someone who… raped her. She needs us to be there for her more than she needs her family out beating people up." Dominic said as Thea nodded.

"I know." Thea sighed, "I feel like now she just wants to do get away from us." She said, "Like we're making it worse for her."

"Just give her some space and she'll come around. You said it yourself, we can't imagine what she's going through. We just need to keep being there for her." Dominic nodded.

"Yeah." Thea sighed, "I guess it means that when Jeremy goes to the cops, he'll be able to identify if it's the guy whose house it belongs to… or if it was someone else just using the house." She said as Dominic nodded.

"They're getting closer." Dominic assured her as Thea nodded.

"Am I a bad sister?" Thea asked as Dominic shook his head immediately.

"No. How can you ask me that? You're the best sister." Dominic nodded, "This is just a difficult time right now for Jude." He said, hugging her tightly, "We all just feel a little hopeless."

"I just wish I had a normal family who… acted normal to things." Jude sighed, lying on the couch with Sean in his house.

"To be fair… I don't think anyone can act normal to something like this." Sean said, "Look, I'll be the first to say your family are insane. They are." He said, "But I also know they cared about you so much." He said as Jude sighed, "I mean I wished I had that many people in my life who… who would go to such crazy lengths to defend me and protect me." He said.

"You've not dealt with it all your life, though." Jude sighed.

"I know and I'm not condemning what they did. Hell, I'm a cop… I should be… I should be arresting them for it." Sean shook his head as Jude looked up at him, "But… I also can understand that they love you and they're hurting for you. Because I am too." He said as Jude sighed.

"That just makes me feel like a big burden to everyone." Jude said, "I don't wanna take the wind out of everyone's sails."

"You're not, but this has happened and the people who care about you are clearly upset. It's normal. Human reactions." Sean said.

"I'm just sick of my dad taking things into his own hands and being so confrontational all the time. He's been like that since I was little. I got bullied when I started school and I remember him having it out with one of the parents, right in the middle of the school yard, everyone was staring." Jude rolled her eyes, "This is a little bit different, I know, but you see my point."

"I think he's just a guy who loves his kids and his family. Would do anything for them." Sean said, "To make sure no one hurts them." He said, "So I can imagine that this happening to you is… one of his biggest nightmares. Probably worse than going to prison or worse than anything else he could have went through." Sean nodded.

He felt it was his duty to be neutral in the situation. To not encourage Jude to put down her family, but to also acknowledge that what her family did was definitely wrong.

"Ok, you can stop being the peacemaker right now." Jude nudged him as Sean smiled, kissing her head.

"Hey, you know I'm being honest with you." Sean said.

"Yeah, I know." Jude said, "I just want the police to do their job and my family to keep out of it." She said, "Surely right now I get to be the one who makes the call."

"You do." Sean agreed, "And believe me, Karen has everyone working round the clock on this. She's moved the investigation up to top priority."

"Well I appreciate that." Jude nodded, "I just really prefer the peace and quiet right now." She said as he nodded, caressing the back of her head as she lay up against him on the couch.

"Hey." AJ walked into her and Punk's bedroom where she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, "You ok?" She asked. She knew better than anyone that sometimes his reckless behaviour was just because he cared. She knew he loved the girls so much that protecting them wasn't just something he could switch off and on, or restrain from. She understood how his brain worked.

"Yeah, I guess." Punk nodded, "I just… I hate that she's mad. Especially when she needs us." He shook his head.

"She's going through a lot right now." AJ nodded, "She called me earlier. She said that she just wanted to be on her own for a little while. Without all the noise and the drama." She said.

"That I'm causing?" Punk figured.

"She didn't say that." AJ shook her head, "Look I bet she just doesn't want you to get caught up in it. She doesn't want any of us involved. The cops will find who did this and they'll go to prison and that'll be it. They'll get their punishment and Jude will learn how to heal and move on the best she can." She said.

"Seems like a pretty basic punishment for something so evil." Punk shook his head, "Trust me, I've seen the way rapists are treated in prison. Same as everybody else." He said, "No difference." He said, "I'd give all of them the death penalty."

"Well you can't. And that's something you need to come to terms with on your own." AJ said, "Believe me, I know it's horrible, but it is what it is. You're only making this worse for yourself if you can't accept how this is gonna play out. In no alternative world are you gonna get away with skinning this person alive. I know you want to. I do too. But it's not happening."

"She's my little girl, April." Punk looked up at her.

"Yeah, I know. She's mine too." AJ assured him, "And my heart is so broken for her right now, and maybe… it always will be, but… you're right, she's our little girl and we need to be there for her." She nodded as Punk ran his hands over his hair.

"What if it was him?" Punk shook his head.

"Look… it's in the cops hands now. Vincent was… he was a good guy back then but who knows-"

"I'm not talking about Vincent." Punk said honestly as AJ looked at him, "Him." He nodded as AJ looked across at him, shaking her head.

"Ok, Mister Monroe." Karen walked into the interrogation room as Vincent sat, having been arrested out of town and brought in for questioning.

"What the hell is this all about?" Vincent spat. A middle aged man, rough around the edges.

"I'll be in charge of questions." Karen said, sitting down at the table.

"Are the handcuffs necessary? I ain't done shit." Vincent shook his head defensively.

"On Christmas Eve night a twenty-one year old girl was raped in your house, Mister Monroe." Karen said.

"What?" Vincent shook his head.

"She was drugged at a bar, brought to your house, attacked in your bedroom and woke up in the morning to an empty house." Karen explained.

"What the hell are you talking about? I… I wasn't even here at Christmas. I've been at my mom's house the entire month." Vincent said as Karen looked at him, "You've got the wrong guy, lady."

"Maybe but we don't have the wrong house." Karen assured him, "Who else has access to your house?" She asked.

"What? No one. I live alone." Vincent said, "Who the hell is the girl? Is this my ex? Trina? Because she's a fucking liar-"

"Her name is Jude Brooks." Karen said as Vincent paused, "I found out today that you were arrested with her father years ago, when you were nineteen. Phillip Brooks, is it?"

"His kid?" Vincent questioned as Karen nodded.

"You wanna explain the connection there?" Karen asked.

"There's no connection. I haven't saw Brooks since… since we were arrested. He went to Cook County and I ended up in Stateville." Vincent said, "Shit… he was a good guy." He shook his head, "I haven't saw him since then."

"Mister Monroe someone else must have access to your house." Karen said, "Keys of some sort. Unless you left town and left your doors open." She shook her head with attitude.

"Well I recently had a guy staying with me. He just got out of prison and I… I owed his old man a favour from back in the day." Vincent said, "But he was only there for a couple weeks and then left. And then like I said I was out of town all month."

"So there's a chance this guy got access to some sort of keys whilst he was staying with you? That's a possibility?" Karen asked.

"Uh… maybe, yeah I guess he could have." Vincent shook his head, not realising this was going to be so serious.

"And can you tell me this person's name please?" Karen nodded.

"Mister Simons." Karen emerged into a different interviewing room where Jeremy had been brought back in for questioning.

"I told you everything that happened, I swear." Jeremy said as Karen nodded.

"I know." Karen said, sitting down at the table, "Just a few questions I want to ask you." She said.

"Ok." Jeremy said. The woman made him very nervous. She was very intimidating.

"What did the man say to you exactly when he approached you and Jude that night?" Karen asked.

"Uh… he said hi to Jude and… long time no see or something like that." Jeremy said, "That's when Jude kept saying she knew him."

"And then what did he say?" Karen asked.

"He said don't worry I'll get her home… or no, he said he'd take her to her sister's house." Jeremy nodded, "Yeah, he said he'd take her to her sister's house." He said, "And I… I believed him." Jeremy shook his head as Karen nodded.

"Ok." Karen nodded, "Did he mention anything else? Anyone's name?"

"He said Thea's name. He said I'll take her to her sister's house. I'll take her to Thea's. Something like that." Jeremy summarised.

"Ok." Karen said, "I've got a picture, if you could tell me if this is the man who approached you and Jude that night." She said, turning around the printed picture she'd recently printed off after her conversation with Vincent, "Is this him?" She showed him as Jeremy stared at the picture.

"Y-Yeah." Jeremy gulped, "Yeah, that's him." Jeremy nodded, "That's definitely him." He knew for sure.

"Ok." Karen nodded, standing up right away, "You're free to go."

"Wait, do you think that's who attacked her?" Jeremy asked as Karen walked out of the room, ignoring him.

"Chris." Karen walked into her private office.

"Yes?" Chris looked up.

"I want a warrant for the arrest of Jackson Morgan. He was released from prison last month after doing time for possession of a loaded weapon and the assault on Jude's sister Thea." Karen said, "Get on it, now."

"Ok." Chris stood up immediately.