The World Needs More Grimm

Chapter 2

Unexpected Surprise

The date is Saturday February 15th 2020. It is approximately 8:30am.

Josh, Trubel, Irving & Davis are in HW NYCs SUV and on their way to Albany New York to the home of Robert, Jessica & Chloe Daniels.

The trip takes 3 hours. During that time, Irving keeps his tablet handy just in case they receive updates from Alisha Matthews. Trubel & Davis type up status reports on their own tablets to keep HW Portland updated on their progress.

Josh is driving, but since Trubel is in the back they don't speak much. Trubel is pre-occupied with details of the Daniels' murder by Oscar Torres, and Josh is concentrating on the road.

They finally approach the single-story, 2-bedroom home which has a free-standing garage. Josh parks in the driveway.

Josh turns to his partner. "Irving, why don't you and Davis check the perimeter outside, while Trubel & I go inside?"

"Sure. We'll meet you inside when we are done." Irving replies.

They all exit the vehicle. Irving & Davis both woge first, then go to the front of the house. After that they separate and check opposite ends of the perimeter.

Josh & Trubel approach the house. Josh continues on to the back of the house and walks up a few steps to the porch which has a back door. Trubel follows him.

Trubel faces Josh, and as his face lights up, he pulls out keys from his coat pocket. "I know for a fact they'll work." He smiles at her.

Trubel is extremely puzzled. "Really Josh?" She asks.

"The only living relative, next-of-kin to the Daniels' is my boss, John Sanders." Josh says, matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Alright. And he wouldn't change the locks. Got it." Trubel ponders a moment. "That's why he put you in charge Josh! I understand now."

Josh smiles as he opens the door. "Yes. After you Trubel."

Trubel, always cautious, pulls out her machete. "I don't take chances."

"Neither do I." Josh also pulls out his machete. Trubel looks at him, impressed.

They enter the house. Trubel checks the bedrooms and the bathroom. She returns to the living room as soon as she confirms they're empty. Josh is in the kitchen, looking out the window into the back yard to be sure they weren't followed or watched before Irving & Davis could cover the back. A moment later, he sees that Irving and Davis are nearby. He puts his machete away.

Trubel now approaches Josh in the kitchen. "Alright Josh, the inside of the house is secure." She puts her machete away.

"Great. It appears that nobody followed us either." Josh says as he gestures to the kitchen window.

"Alright. What about the garage?" Trubel asks.

"Irving knows to check that." Josh replies.

"Ok. To business then." Trubel prepares to exit the kitchen.

Josh is curious. "What are you looking for, anyway?"

She pauses and turns to look at him. "CLUES."

Josh nods. "Let me know how I can help."

Josh watches for a few minutes as Trubel quietly looks around the house for clues. Irving & Davis enter through the back door, woged, then retract.

"Perimeter is secure, including the garage." Irving announces.

Josh nods to Irving in acknowledgement. "Trubel is looking for clues."

Irving walks deeper into the living room. "I'll monitor the front door."

Davis turns around. "I'll watch the back."

A few minutes later, Trubel approaches Josh. "I'm really surprised that 2 Grimms didn't have a more secure home."

"Well, once Jessica Daniels got pregnant with Chloe, I guess she stopped working for HW. Actually, they both used to work for HW." He tells Trubel.

Trubel ponders, then sighs. "Family life lulled them into a false sense of security."

Josh looks at her. "Unfortunately."

Trubel turns around. "Alright. I'm going to look at the Daniels' bedroom again."

Trubel enters the bedroom. It's been cleaned up somewhat, but from the blood spatter on the walls it's clear that people died in this room. Josh enters, following her.

Josh gestures to an area of the floor. "So here was where the police found Robert Daniels body. Jessica was still in the bed. They believe she was attacked before Robert was."

Trubel ponders what Josh just said. "It makes sense to take out the female Grimm first."

Josh ponders also. "Yeah, Chloe did say she heard her dad yelling and her mom didn't speak."

Trubel continues looking for clues.

Josh gets a curious look on his face as he turns to leave the room. "I'll be in Chloe's bedroom if you need me."

Trubel acknowledges what Josh just said. "Alright."

Josh enters Chloe's' bedroom. He briefly looks around but settles in on her closet. He opens the closet doors and stands there, deeply pondering.

Josh immediately FLASHBACKS to 4:32 pm on Thursday February 13th 2020 when he and Alisha Matthews first interviewed Chloe Daniels about her parents' murder.

It's been almost 72 hours since her parents' murder. The Police found her after she called 911; she told them she stayed safe by hiding in a section of her bedroom closet. They believe that's how she avoided being found by her parents' killers.

Josh and his team member Alisha Matthews have approached the front porch area of the Temporary Foster Home that Chloe was assigned to.

They are immediately escorted into the main playroom where Chloe is sitting on a chair, quiet and withdrawn.

Josh has already asked Alisha Matthews to take the lead in speaking with Chloe. Obvious girl talk. His idea is only to observe.

They both sit on chairs adjacent to where Chloe is sitting.

Matthews confidently speaks up. "Chloe, my name is Alisha. I'm very glad to meet you."

"Hi Chloe, my name is Josh. Thanks for letting us talk with you." Josh pauses, looking for common ground to talk about. "You know, our boss is John Sanders, your daddy's relative." He tells her.

Chloe suddenly becomes very sad. "Where is my daddy?" She asks, fighting back tears.

Matthews is surprised she would ask that. "The police told you what happened, didn't they?"

Tears begin to fall down Chloes' face. "Yeah-but I still want him."

Josh now lowers his voice. "We know this has been hard for you. We are so sorry sweetie."

Matthews knows she needs to take the lead. "We were really hoping that since you were home when the bad men came, maybe you could remember something about them."

Chloe now stares blankly at the floor. It's clear she wants to stop crying in front of them.

Josh thinks of something to say. "Chloe, anything might help us find them and put them in jail."

Matthews follows where Josh is going. "We know you already told the police your story. But it would really help us if you can tell it again from the beginning. Please."

Chloe sniffles a bit, then clears her throat. She looks at both of them. "Ok. I can try."

She gets up and grabs a nearby tissue. She wipes her eyes and nose with it.

The adults are impressed with how mature she is for her age.

Chloe sits back down. "The night the bad men came—I-I was sleeping, and a noise woke me up."

Josh ponders. "What was the noise? Voices? Banging? Something breaking?" He presses her for more details.

Chloe shakes her head. "No. It sounded like buzzing."

Matthews takes a guess. "Bees buzzing?" She asks.

Chloe ponders. "No, like electricity buzzing."

Josh is very curious. "Ok. Maybe like a cell phone? Something electronic?" He asks.

Chloe looks at him. "Yeah, I think so."

Matthews praises her. "Good memory. What happened next?" She asks.

Chloe continues. "Then I heard my daddy start yelling the safe word, so I would go hide. I remembered the safe word. So I crawled to my closet and stayed in there."

Josh praises her. "That was very smart of you."

"Did your mommy yell the safe word too?" Matthews curiously asks.

"No, I didn't hear my mommy say anything. Only my daddy yelled the safe word." Chloe tells them, somberly.

"You were really paying attention. You were a good girl for listening." Josh says.

Matthews jumps back in. "Yes. We are so proud of you. So what happened after you got into the closet? Could you still hear ok?" She asks.

Chloe ponders, remembering. "Yeah, but—I heard a lot then. I got really scared when I heard the bad men come into my room. They were looking for me."

Josh lowers his voice, realizing Chloe is traumatized from what happened. "What did you do so they wouldn't find you?" He asks.

Chloe almost whispers. "I didn't move, and my mommy taught me a long time ago how to breathe very quiet if I ever had to hide in the closet."

Matthews smiles at her. "Good job. I'm sure that saved you. What happened next?" She asks.

Chloe ponders again. "They finally left after a long time. I think my daddy told the bad men that I wasn't home."

Josh finally understands. "So that's why they didn't look for you in the closet. Because of what your daddy told them."

Chloe can't help but let out a sigh of relief. "After they left I called 911 like my mommy taught me when I was 4."

Matthews lights up. "What a smart girl you are!"

Josh responds with a slight smile. "Yes, very smart."

Matthews wants to ask her another question. "Could you see them from inside your closet when they were in your room?"

Chloe looks at her. "Uh-huh. There were 2 of them. One man had a flashlight."

"Do you remember anything about how the bad men looked like?" Matthews asks.

Josh knows a 6 year-old needs specifics. "Short, Tall, Fat, Thin, Dark skin, Light skin?" He asks, matter-of-factly.

Chloe now looks at Josh. "Short—shorter than you."

Josh smiles, realizing just how intelligent she is. "Alright. What else?" He asks.

Chloe continues. "Not Fat. Not too skinny."

Matthews gets an idea. "Maybe muscular? Big Muscles?" She asks.

Chloe lights up. "Yes, big muscles. Strong."

Josh wants to continue on. "Alright Chloe. What else can you remember about them?" He asks.

Chloe ponders again. "They had skin color like me and you." She now points to Josh.

Josh is surprised she could see skin color in the dark, then realizes the intruders' flashlight revealed it. "Ok. Did they have any tattoos on their skin you could see?" He asks.

Chloe's face looks focused as details now pour out. "No. But they had swords in their hands. Like they were going to fight dragons."

Matthews is surprised. "Swords? Like the one Port-Josh has?" She asks, pointing at Josh.

Josh quickly stands, pulls out his machete and shows her from a safe distance.

Chloe looks intently. "No, they were different."

Josh puts away his machete. He is alarmed. He pulls out his cell phone. "I think I might know what you mean Chloe." He pulls up Grimm Reaper sword pictures on his phone and shows them to her. "Did they look like this?" He asks.

Chloe looks at the pictures on Josh's' phone. "Yes-Yes! That's the swords the bad men had."

Matthews is taken aback. She lowers her voice. "Porter?!" She stares at Josh, wide-eyed.

Josh looks at her and mouths one word so Chloe doesn't hear it spoken. REAPERS.

Matthews whispers. "OMG."

Josh turns and smiles at Chloe. "Chloe, you've been so very helpful. What a brave little girl you are. I think you deserve a hug." He turns and looks at Matthews. "What do you think?" He asks.

Before Matthews can say anything, Chloe has jumped up, hugs Josh and doesn't let go.

Matthews can't help but laugh. "I think she REALLY likes you!"

Josh is floored. He hadn't anticipated Chloe suddenly bonding with him. He shyly hugs her back. "Hey—if there's anything you need, we'll make sure your foster parents have our number, ok?"

Chloe finally pulls away. "Ok."

Matthews speaks up. "Don't be afraid to have them call us or John Sanders—for anything."

Chloe looks back at Josh. "I want you to come on my birthday."

Josh is surprised—again. "Sure. When is it?" He asks.

Chloe deeply ponders. "Ummm-I don't know. But mommy told me it's very soon, and I turn 7!"

Matthews smiles at her. "We can look it up honey. Don't worry."

Josh now stands up. "We will see you then Chloe. On your birthday."

Matthews stands up as well. "Yes. We will."

Josh looks at her intently. "Thanks again sweetie. We have to go now. You be good."

Chloe puts on a brave face. "I will. Bye."

Josh & Matthews stop for a moment to give the Foster Mom a note with all their contact info on it and leave the same way they came in via the front porch.

While getting into the SUV, Matthews makes an interesting observation. "She must like older men. Way. Older. Men."

Josh gets into the drivers' seat and starts up the vehicle. "Too young for me Matthews." He states factually.

Matthews comes back quickly. "Aww, you're going to break that little girls' heart. Shame on you." She jokes.

Josh responds matter-of-factly. "She'll get over it."

Josh drives them away in their SUV.

The Flashback ends.

Josh is still deeply pondering when Trubel enters the room and stands next to him. She sees the look on his face. "What are you thinking Josh?" She asks.

Josh looks at her. "You know Trubel, one thing that Chloe told me when Matthews & I talked with her about that night still bothers me."

Trubel is intrigued. "And that is?" She asks.

"She said a sound like electricity buzzing woke her up." Josh pauses a moment. "Before her dad started yelling."

"Ok. And—you haven't been able to figure out what caused that sound, correct?" Trubel responds.

Josh nods. "After we talked about it, she agreed with us that it was probably something electronic."

"Well—If I put myself into the mind of a 6-year-old, what electronic device COULD make a sound like that?" Trubel asks.

Josh starts to think—deeply. "An unusual sound, something she never heard before?"

Trubel starts thinking deeply also. "Right? It could've been something the Reapers brought."

Josh remembers the details specifically. "I don't think so. She heard it before the Reapers entered her room. So—if it was something they had, she wouldn't have woken up from it."

Trubel ponders. "You're right. It would have to be something here, already in the house."

Josh agrees. "Yes-and, if it was loud enough to wake her up, it would have to be close to her bed." They look at each other and in a split second, both walk over to her bed and start to examine it, on opposite ends from one another.

Josh & Trubel silently examine Chloe's bedroom. They check everything close to the bed, under it, the windows, dresser. Trubel settles in on the large picture over Chloe's' bed. She looks at it close up. Then she touches an area and realizes it's slightly raised in a section. She examines it to reveal a dime-size area that has glass or plastic covering it. She attempts to remove the entire picture from the wall, but it won't budge a fraction of an inch. It appears to be solidly attached to the wall.

Trubel is excited. "Josh there's something here. In this picture."

Josh looks at it close up. "Yes. It's circular." He then walks back and faces it straight on, about 5 feet away. "Trubel, I think it might be a hidden camera."

Trubel looks right at him. "I was thinking that too."

Josh looks at the entire wall that the picture is hanging from. "Yeah, but—where is it? Behind the wall? I know personally just how strong you are." He laughs nervously.

Josh immediately FLASHBACKS to the day when he and Trubel first met in 2014. They both exit his dads' 1992 Volvo Station Wagon. As he approaches the abandoned gas station where his dad is inside, Trubel rushes him and pins him to the outside wall.

"Are you Wesen?" Trubel forcefully demands while holding him by the shirt collar and lifting him off the ground.

"What?" Josh replies, totally blown away by her strength.

"If you're Wesen and you try anything I swear to God I'll kill you!" Trubel stares him right in the face.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about! Let me go!" Josh yells.

The Flashback ends.

"I'm really surprised that you can't even budge that picture." He smiles at her.

Trubel smiles back briefly. Then she walks completely around the wall to look at the other side. "Look Josh, this wall is shared with the Daniels' bedroom."

"Yes, it is." He walks around and into the hallway.

Trubel follows Josh. They remain in the hallway, silent for about a minute, while they check the structure of the wall that both bedrooms share.

Trubel continues on into the Daniels bedroom. She focuses in on a smaller picture. She does the same thing she did in Chloe's' room, and shortly after discovers a similar raised area in the picture. She's confident she'll be able to remove this picture, but the same thing happens—it is so firmly attached to the wall she can't budge it. Josh enters from the hallway.

"Josh I found the same exact circular area in this picture!" She tells him excitedly.

Josh examines the area carefully. "Yep. Same glass or plastic covering it." He scratches his head. "But where—is the access to it? Breaking down the wall doesn't make sense to me."

"Yeah, I agree." She paces & ponders. "Ok, let's think about this for a minute. The Daniels' had-have secret cameras or a camera behind the wall."

"Yes, sounds logical so far." Josh replies.

"They had them installed as a just-in-case of intruders, which is exactly what happened on February 10th." Trubel continues.

"Alright. But for some reason, John Sanders was never told about them." Josh points out.

"Maybe—he wasn't told about them before, but it might be revealed later somehow? Maybe in their will?" She stops pacing.

Josh starts thinking deeply. "Perhaps." He pauses a moment. "Ok, thinking more about the cameras—" He hesitates. Finally he looks right at her. "Logistics."

Trubel is deeply thinking also. "How were they—are they activated? They wouldn't be constantly running, filming. They would have to turn on at just the right time."

"Exactly. When the intruders first entered, Robert Daniels couldn't reach over and flip a switch." He begins deeply pondering, with an intense look on his face. "Or could he?" Josh almost whispers.

Trubel is puzzled. She doesn't follow his thinking this time. "What? You have that look again Josh."

Josh's' eyes light up as he looks at her. "You know, in the Police Report I read that they found a small remote control on his side of the bed, under the covers. They assumed it was for the television, or the other electronics in the bedroom."

Trubel excitedly comes to the same conclusion Josh did. "Really? It was probably a remote control to activate the cameras!"

"Yes. And there is a detailed description of it in the report." Josh walks into the living room and approaches the back door.

Trubel follows him. "Josh wait! Where are you going?"

Josh turns around briefly. "To look up the Police Report on Irving's tablet." He explains.

Josh goes to the SUV, sits in the driver's seat and removes the tablet from Irving's' backpack.

He takes a minute to pull up the police report. In the meantime, Trubel has entered the SUV and sits in the passenger seat. Josh politely moves the tablet closer to Trubel so they both can look at it together.

They review the detailed description of the remote found on Robert Daniels side of the bed.

"Too bad they didn't take pictures of it." Trubel comments.

"Well, they didn't think it was important at the time I'm sure." Josh responds.

Trubel grabs the door handle and prepares to exit the vehicle. "Alright then. It didn't end up in police evidence, so let's see if we can find it."

They exit the vehicle and re-enter the house the same way via the back door.

As they enter the living room, Josh's' cell phone rings. It's Alisha Matthews.

Josh turns and looks at her. "Trubel please excuse me for a moment."

"Alright." Trubel turns and heads back to the Daniels' bedroom.

Josh answers his phone. "Matthews! What have you got?"

Matthews is excited to deliver good news. "Porter, we found video footage of Oscar Torres paying the Reapers. It was only 5 days before the Daniels' murder."

"Really? Did he fly overseas?" Josh asks.

"No. He actually met and paid them in Boston." Matthews replies.

Josh is impressed. "Wow. Great work ladies."

"Facial recognition software has a 99.799% probability the man paying off 2 other men is Oscar Torres." Matthews informs him.

"Fantastic! Did you find the identity of the other two?" Josh is hopeful.

Matthews sighs. "Unfortunately, no. Their faces are not visible enough to run the software."

"Too bad." Josh pauses. "Any other connections with associates?"

"No, but we are still checking. We did find the Toyota Camry however." She tells him excitedly.

Josh is very curious. "Really? Where?" He asks.

"It was abandoned on the side of the road in an isolated area 7 miles away from the Daniels' home." She reads details from her computer screen.

Josh ponders. "Do we have any idea when?" He asks.

Matthews reads factually from her computer. "Highway Patrol has documented their first encounter with it the morning of February 11th."

Josh is disappointed. "I see. Apparently, he abandoned it that night."

"It appears so. Oh, By the way, I got that information you wanted on your girlfriend, Chloe Daniels." Matthews teases him.

Josh stifles a laugh. "She can only dream Matthews. What is it?" He asks.

"I just confirmed it with her foster parents. Mark your calendar for her birthday party. They are having it 4 days early, on Saturday April 25th." She reads from her notepad.

Josh couldn't hear her clearly this time. "WHAT? Say again?" He asks, confused.

"Her actual birthday is Wednesday April 29th and she'll be in school that day. So they are moving it up 4 days and having her party on Saturday April 25th." Matthews tells him matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Josh asks, shocked.

"Yes Porter. I told Chloe we would look it up, remember? Her date of birth is April 29, 2013." Matthews reminds him.

Josh lowers his voice. "Matthews, do me a favor please?" He asks.

"Yes Porter?" She asks, curious.

"Don't mention this to Theresa Rubel." Josh tells her firmly.

Matthews is very surprised. "Why? I don't understand."

Josh sighs. "They share the same Birthday. Trubel and Chloe Daniels. Exactly 20 years apart."

Matthews lowers her voice now. "I see. Alright Porter. I won't say a word."

Josh's' voice changes. "I appreciate it."

"I told the Foster Mom that, provided we weren't on another case, we'd be there, you know. As we promised Chloe." Matthews says matter-of-factly.

Josh ponders. "Yes. Well Matthews, at least one of us should go. What time?" He asks.

"11am." She replies.

"Ok. Since I'm not there, can you put it on the calendar for me?" He asks.

"Sure." Matthews responds.

Josh tries to lighten the mood. "Thanks for the info Matthews. Was there something else?"

"That's it for now. And yes, I'll call you Porter if we find out anything else." She replies.

"Alright Matthews." Josh hangs up.

Josh walks back towards the bedroom only to meet Trubel in the hallway, smiling widely, holding the small remote out to show him.

"Trubel, you found it! Where?" Josh asks.

"Down on the floor, in between the bed and the night stand. I think it fell off after they cleaned up." Trubel tells him.

"Awesome! Have you tried it yet?" He looks at her curiously.

She shakes her head. "Not yet. I was trying to figure out what some of these buttons do first."

Josh ponders, then looks right at the remote. "Let's try it in Chloe's bedroom."

"Alright Josh." Trubel responds.

They both enter Chloe's' bedroom and go near the picture. Trubel then points the remote and pushes a button that she thinks is power. Nothing happens at first, but 10 seconds later they hear it. An obvious, electronic sound like buzzing, whirring, something powering up. It lasts approximately 40 seconds.

They look at each other amazed.

Josh is very excited. "I'm so glad you found that!" He tells her.

Trubel smiles. "Me too."

"What a smart kid. Chloe described perfectly what it sounded like." He ponders while looking at the buttons. "I would try one at a time."

Trubel hesitates. "I hope one of these isn't DELETE."

Josh looks at the remote buttons intently. "I don't think any of them are."

Trubel sighs. "Alright Josh. Which one would you pick first?" She asks, with a curious look on her face.

Josh points. "My Grimm instinct tells me-that one." Before Trubel can respond, he aims the remote in the direction of the picture and pushes the button.

Suddenly, a noise comes from the Daniels bedroom that sounds like wood and metal making contact. Josh & Trubel run into the room just in time to see the small picture moving up and away from the wall to reveal a secret compartment. Inside the compartment is a high-end video camera system that clearly is connected to Chloe's bedroom, the Daniels bedroom and surprisingly, the hallway. Josh & Trubel can hardly contain their excitement at the find.

Trubel smiles widely. "Josh, remind me to ALWAYS trust your Grimm instinct."

Josh smiles back. "Thanks Trubel."

"Alright. Let's get to work." Trubel says as she approaches the camera system.

Josh & Trubel carefully remove the camera from its location. Then they instruct Irving & Davis to briefly clean up. Afterwards Trubel presses the same button Josh did and the section of wall closes, so that the room appears the same as when they arrived.

They load everything into the back of the SUV, making sure they have the remote control. Then all 4 enter The SUV and Josh drives them away and back to HW NYC.

END OF CHAPTER 2