Bad to Worse

"What the hell are you talking about?" Punk shook his head, "She was just giving her statement."

"She must have told them it was her." Dominic said.

"Hey, what's going on?" AJ came downstairs whilst Jude came out from the kitchen.

Punk looked over at Dominic, who he could see was panicking and terrified.

"You gotta tell them." Dominic shook his head. They couldn't keep up the lie, not anymore.

"Tell us what?" Jude shook her head.

"Phil, what is going on?" AJ asked sternly as Punk ran his hands through his hair.

"Ok." Punk nodded, "It was Thea." He said, "She killed Jackson. She did it." Punk said as AJ looked at Punk.

"W-What?" Jude shook her head, "H-How? I thought…" She looked over at Dominic.

"What are you talking about?" AJ shook her head.

"When I got back home that night, he was already dead on the kitchen floor." Dominic said as AJ placed her hands over her face.

"And… and what you lied for her?" AJ snapped at Dominic, "Why wouldn't you tell the truth? Now it looks like she's hiding something-"

"April." Punk shook his head.

"It was still self-defence, right?" AJ nodded, "She was still protecting herself-"

"April." Punk said as AJ looked at him, "Jackson never put his hands on her. She… she stabbed him once she found out it was him who… attacked Jude." He said, "I don't know if being a rapist allows anyone to kill you and get away with it." He said truthfully.

"He was a dangerous person, she was still defending herself. She should have told the cops that. No one had to tell any lies!" AJ said angrily.

"She was a mess." Dominic said, "She could barely say anything that night. And it looked better if I had come in and had no choice but to protect her. I didn't want her to get into trouble." He said.

"Well how is that working out for you right now?" AJ spat.

"April, this isn't his fault." Punk made clear.

"She really killed him?" Jude questioned as they turned to her.

"Look, she's in custody right now. I think she'll get out but I don't know what they can charge her with, if they'll charge her…" Dominic panicked, "I don't know what to do."

"Ask Phil. That's sort of his department." AJ said angrily.

"Yeah, ok, April why don't you just go calm down?" Punk batted back as AJ glared at him.

"My daughter is not spending a night in jail." AJ made clear.

"They won't keep her in." Punk said.

"I can't believe she killed him." Jude wandered away in a daze, heading back through to the kitchen, in shock. Something about it felt different than hearing it was Dominic who had killed Jackson. This was her sister, and she could never have imagined her in this type of situation.

"What do I do? Do I call a lawyer?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah, I got a lawyer I can call." Punk nodded, "I'll come with you to the station." He said as Dominic nodded.

"April, can you keep an eye on James?" Dominic asked as AJ nodded, taking the carrier from Dominic where James was asleep in.

"Call me when you find out anything." AJ looked at Punk who nodded, "And God, whatever you do just get her out of there." She shook her head, watching as they quickly left the house.

"Hey, Karen! What the hell is going on?" Punk asked, running after Karen in the police station to catch up with her after he and Dominic arrived, "Why have you arrested Thea?"

"Mister Brooks, please do not chase after me like that." Karen said as Punk put his hands up in defence, "And also don't take me for a fool. You and I both know what happened that night Jackson showed up at Thea's house."

"Karen, please. You know what kind of person Jackson was. Ok? You're front and centre with this. Don't you think Thea was terrified? He was threatening her, telling her he'd come back and do it again if he wanted to." Punk said.

"Believe me, I know what kind of evil he was and I don't feel one ounce of sadness that he is out of this world." Karen said, "But your daughter not only murdered someone, but lied about it."

"Murder? Is that what we're calling it?" Punk questioned, "Murder is when you plan to kill someone and you go out your way to do it-"

"Mister Brooks are you educating me on the law right now?" Karen folded her arms.

"No, I'm…" Punk paused, making sure he said the right things, "I'm just saying… Thea wasn't in the right mind when she… did what she did. You have to see that." Punk said.

"I do see it." Karen nodded, "I see a girl who wanted to protect her sisters, who wanted to protect herself."

"Right. Exactly." Punk nodded, "Isn't there any way around this? Can't she be released and let it off?"

"Thea will have to stand before a judge. It's out of my hands-"

"You're kidding me, right?" Punk said, "He was a rapist. Who the hell is mad about what she did? I'm glad she did it. I know you are too-"

"You need to calm down or you'll be joining her." Karen made clear, "I know he was a rapist, but a life was still taken at the hands of your daughter. With a good criminal defence lawyer, she should avoid prison time-"

"Oh my God." Punk placed his hands at the back of his head in disbelief, "I can't believe this."

"Mister Brooks I am sorry for what your family have gone through these past few weeks, but this is still my job, and just because I agree with you doesn't mean I can let Thea go and dismiss the whole thing. I don't have power to do that." Karen said as Punk sighed to himself.

"She doesn't deserve this." Punk shook his head, "Just say it was me. Say it was me, I did it. And I'll go to court if that's what it takes-"

"You are speaking to a police detective right now, may I remind you." Karen nodded, "There will be no saying it's you. Thea did this. She's admitted it and she will be trialled on it."

"Yeah well a jury is gonna fucking laugh at this, because it's a joke. It's one big joke." Punk nodded.

"Thea will make bail, and with a good lawyer I don't see her doing any prison time at all." Karen said.

"A good lawyer? I don't know good lawyers. Lawyers don't like me and my family." Punk made clear as Karen looked at him and sighed.

"Here." Karen walked over to the front desk at the station, grabbing a pen and some paper and writing down a number, "This is a number for one of the best criminal defence lawyers in the city. I guarantee Thea will be fine if she has her representing her." Karen nodded, handing him the number.

"You really can't do anything about this?" Punk realised as Karen shook her head.

"No, I can't." Karen said, "I wish I could." She nodded, "And if it helps, I will testify in any way I can to help Thea." She said, "I have a little sister too. I get it." She understood as Punk sighed to himself.

"Can I see her right now?" Punk asked as Karen shook her head.

"Go call her. Her name is Hilary Benson." Karen pointed to the lawyers number, "If you're quick enough, Thea will get out tonight on bail." She nodded as Punk sighed to himself.

"Ok." Punk nodded, watching as Karen walked away, noticing Hamilton standing over at the coffee machine, "Hey!" Punk yelled as Hamilton turned around.

"Uh… before you start, I did everything I could." Hamilton said, "But I can't change the facts. It's out of my hands."

"Yeah, so I keep hearing." Punk said, "She was just protecting herself and… and her sisters. Her family. Why should she be punished for that? One less rapist in the world, I'd say she did us all a favour."

"Politics, right?" Hamilton nodded, "She'll get off on bail and… I doubt she'll do time."

"You don't understand. She is not going to prison for this." Punk made clear. It was a world he knew all too well, and he would die before seeing any of his children go to that place.

"I doubt she will." Hamilton nodded, "But this is what I mean when I say that sometimes we can't do anything about it. Sometimes it's out of our hands." He shook his head, walking away.

Punk took a deep breath, leaning against the front desk as he looked at the number on the piece of paper. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He desperately wanted to trade places with his daughter. He knew how terrifying this process and holding cells were.

"Hey, did you talk to her?" Dominic ran over to Punk, "Did you speak to Karen? Can she go?"

"No, they're not letting her go." Punk shook his head, "I have a number for a lawyer."

"W-What?" Dominic shook his head, not believing it, "She's getting out, though? And… and we'll figure it out, right?" He said, "They can just say it was self-defence and it'll be taken care of, right?"

"Let's just call this lawyer." Punk nodded to him, trying to stay calm as he saw Dominic's face dropping by the second, "We'll get her out of there tonight." He nodded, but it wasn't so much this part he was concerned about.

Meanwhile Thea was in the stations holding cells, sitting on one of the benches, leaning her head against the wall as she looked around at the other people in amongst her.

She watched in awe as the man across from her continued to bang his head against the wall back and forth, clearly out of his mind. She shook her head and closed her eyes, hoping and praying this wasn't as bad as she believed it to be.

She had no choice but to tell the truth. She couldn't hide it from Karen. She knew the experienced detective could already sense it was her who had done it.

In that moment, sitting in the jail with other troubled and deviant people, she still didn't regret what she did, and she wondered if that made her arrest fair. But then she thought about her son and her husband, and what this meant for their future, and suddenly she was terrified.