Fun
"Hi, I'm Phil Brooks. I'm with the Chicago PD." Punk introduced himself to the landlord of AJ's former address where she stayed with her mother.
"I'm Kevin." Kevin nodded, standing outside the apartment building after Punk asked to speak with him, "Look, whatever it is, I don't take responsibility for the vultures who stay in here, ok?" He made clear.
"Ok, that's… that's fine. It's not about that." Punk shook his head, "You used to have lady stay in your apartment. Teresa Mendez." Punk said, showing the picture to Kevin, "She lived there with her daughter April Mendez." He said, showing the picture of Teresa to him as he nodded slowly.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I remember her." Kevin nodded, spooked.
"Judging by the look on your face, you also know what happened to her." Punk said as Kevin nodded, "I just wanna ask you a couple questions about it."
"About the murder?" Kevin questioned, "That happened over ten years ago." He shook his head with confusion.
"Well we're looking into it again." Punk said briefly, "How long did Teresa stay here for until she died?" He asked.
"Uh… three years, I think. She was close to being evicted three times in the space she was there." Kevin nodded, "Looked like someone who was constantly moving around. Didn't have a lot of stuff, you know." He said as Punk nodded.
"So in those three years she stayed there, with her daughter, did anyone else go into that apartment? Did you see anyone with her?" Punk asked.
"No. No, she was always by herself. When she was murdered it was… it was a shock." Kevin nodded, "I deal with a lot of difficult people in this job but… she wasn't one of them." He said, "It was just her and her daughter."
"Not even like a… a boyfriend she might have had? A girl friend?" Kevin asked.
"No nothing." Kevin shook his head, "The only time we spoke in a length conversation was when she asked me if they could have a pet dog or car in the apartment. It was April's thirteenth birthday and she wanted to get her a dog or a cat." He nodded, "I… I said no." He said as Punk nodded, "But she was ok about it. She was a nice woman." He nodded to himself.
"Yeah, so I hear." Punk sighed to himself, "Here's the problem, though. She was brutally beaten up, and then her throat was cut." He said, "She had an enemy in someone, clearly." He shook his head, "And normally victims of murder know their killer. So it had to be someone she was in contact with leading up to the murder. And it's crazy that… no one ever saw her with anyone."
"She was a quiet woman. Loved her daughter. Would do anything for her." Kevin said, "Honest to God, I didn't see her with anyone." He shook his head.
"Did you ever… have any disputes with her?" Punk asked, "You said that you almost evicted her three times."
"Dude, come on." Kevin laughed a little, "Yeah, I'm a prick and I… I evict people who don't pay rent on time after three strikes but… I ain't never do something like that." He made clear as Punk looked across at him.
"So far we know she worked in a laundrette and a pizza place. Do you know any other previous jobs she had?" Punk asked.
"Uh… I'm sure when she first moved in here she was a cleaner for a daycare nearby." Kevin nodded.
"Ok." Punk nodded, "Ok, well… thanks for your time." He said.
"I've never seen her daughter ever again." Kevin shook his head, "Not even around town. She took off right away."
"Yeah… yeah, we know." Punk nodded, "Thanks for your time." He said, walking away from the apartment block and getting into his car.
"What I wanna know is… how does someone get murdered like that in the middle of the afternoon, with no one noticing?" Dean questioned, sitting at a diner later that night with Punk, empty coffee cups around the table alongside their paper work.
"I mean, this could easily have been more than one person." Punk nodded, looking back at the crime scene pictures.
"Was there any evidence of rape?" Dean asked as Punk shook his head.
"No, forensics said no evidence and the coroner said the same thing." Punk shook his head, "No sign of her place being robbed either. So it's not like it was a robbery gone wrong, or… a scumbag attempting to rape her." He said, "Someone walked into her home, beat her and then cut her throat. That's scary to think who is behind that." Punk looked across at Dean who nodded.
"Hey, boys." A blonde waitress walked over to their table, which was the only table being used in the quiet diner.
"Hey, Renee." Punk nodded to her as Dean just smiled.
"More coffee?" Renee asked as Punk nodded, sliding his mug over whilst looking at different papers, meanwhile Dean was watching Renee with a smile.
"Me too." Dean nodded, extending his mug over as Renee filled it up.
"Can I get you guys any food? Eddie made apple pie and there's still some leftover." Renee explained.
"I'm ok, thanks." Punk nodded to her politely.
"Uh… yeah, sure." Dean smiled as Punk looked over.
"Whipped cream?" Renee asked him as Dean looked up at her, gulping.
"Yes, he'll have whipped cream." Punk nodded.
"Ok." Renee smiled, walking away over to the counter as Dean watched her.
"Dude, maybe you should ask her out?" Punk suggested.
"Huh?" Dean turned to him, lost in a trance for a second.
"You've only been eating everything she offers you for two years now. Ask her out." Punk nodded.
"No… no, I-I can't date." Dean shook his head.
"Why can't you?" Punk asked, "You clearly like her."
"Back to the case." Dean ordered as Punk smiled a little, "There was no sign of forced entry which means what? She could have been waiting on whoever it was coming?" Dean thought.
"Or she just didn't lock her door since it was two in the afternoon. And whoever it was just walked into her apartment uninvited." Punk said.
"You know what would really help?" Dean looked at Punk.
"Not gonna happen." Punk shook his head.
"Just talk to her. It doesn't have to seem like we're investigating it. Just ask her about her family and where they are and she might… she might end up telling you some things." Dean said.
"She's not gonna tell me anything unless she wants to. So until then, we're looking into this without her." He made clear, "Ok?"
"It'd literally save us so much time." Dean shook his head, "Maybe there's a reason she's hid herself in a mental hospital for so long, because she knows shit-"
"Hey, she doesn't wanna be there, believe me. None of them do." Punk said, "But for some of them it's… it's the only safe place they have. You know that some of them… their parents dropped them off and they haven't ever come back to visit?" He asked as Dean looked across at him, "You have no idea."
"And you do?" Dean asked.
"I know them more than you." Punk said, "I'm not risking upsetting April for this."
"You really do like her, don't you?" Dean nodded, "I've never seen you like this about a girl." He said as Punk shook his head.
"I-I don't like her." Punk shook his head, lying. "I just want to help her, even if she doesn't want my help." He said.
"You think she trusts you?" Dean asked.
"I don't think she trusts anyone." Punk shook his head.
"Well, I don't particularly blame her for that." Dean said.
"Here's your apple pie." Renee smiled, walking over and sitting a huge slice of apple pie down beside Dean with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
"Damn, I need a shovel for that." Dean laughed a little as Renee smiled.
"Tell me how it is." Renee nodded, walking away as Dean smiled, to himself, turning and noticing Punk was smiling at him.
"Go on, tell us how it tastes." Punk teased.
"Shut up." Dean rolled his eyes as Punk chuckled.
"Am I doing this right?" Punk questioned the next morning, sitting at the table in the sitting room trying to make a bracelet with a piece of thread and some beads.
"Let me see." Tracy leaned over and looked at what he was doing, "Yes, that's right." She nodded.
"You making that for April?" Sady smiled, still wearing her Hawks jersey.
"No." Punk shook his head as they all looked at him, smiling a little, "What? I'm not." He insisted.
"Guess who's back?" Jessie walked down the ward and into the sitting room, twirling her way over to the table.
"Hey." Tracy laughed a little, "Thought you were dead." She said coldly.
"Not yet." Jessie nodded positively, pulling out a stool and sitting around the table.
"How you feeling?" Punk asked her.
"Like dog shit." Jessie smiled, "What about you, babe?" She patted his arm as Punk shook his head.
"I'm fine." Punk nodded as Jessie nodded.
"Well that's good." Jessie said, shuffling the playing cards in her hand.
"How do I know when to stop adding beads?" Punk asked anyone who'd answer him.
"When you run out of thread, dummy." Pauline shook her head as Punk nodded.
"Go on. We know you're desperate to ask." Tracy looked across at Punk, "Where's April?" She mocked as Punk shook his head, "She's got an appointment with Lynch." Tracy told him as Punk nodded slowly.
"Good to know." Punk said as he heard them all giggling. Clearly they were assuming things about he and April. Or… she was telling them things. He didn't know. Nor did he mind the playfulness.
"I'm so bored in here." Jessie sighed, giving up already on her solo card game after putting one card down, wheeling back on the chair with wheels as Punk watched her.
"Where were you anyway?" Punk asked her.
"Sleeping for four days." Jessie shook her head, taking a pen and pressing it against the inside of her arm to play out what happened.
"Well maybe if you took your morning pills." Tracy hummed.
"Oh, don't pretend you've never done it." Jessie shook her head.
"Why wouldn't you take your pills? Don't they help you?" He asked as Jessie laughed a little.
"Yeah, they help me feel like a zombie." Jessie nodded, wheeling herself up and down the ward, "Trace, come push me." She said as Tracy stood up, standing at the back of the chair Jessie was sitting on.
"Tuck your legs up." Tracy said.
"Oh, yeah. Safety first." Jessie said sarcastically, tucking her legs up to her chest, sitting on the chair with wheels as Tracy ran down the ward with her, pushing her head as Jessie went flying down the ward on the chair, tipping over when she reached the nurses station, which was empty luckily.
"I don't think I've ever got that far before." Jessie said excitedly, getting up from the floor and wheeling the chair back down the ward to the sitting room.
"You guys do this all the time?" Punk asked Sady who nodded.
"Yeah, sometimes we race too." Sady said.
"My turn." Tracy swapped with Jessie, sitting on the chair as Jessie ran up the ward and pushed her as she went whizzing down on the chair, falling over at the end just as AJ came back into the ward.
"Hey, your spinning without me?" AJ asked with disappointment, walking back into the ward as Tracy got up from the ground, wheeling the chair back to the sitting room as AJ followed.
"Let's race." Sady decided, wheeling her chair over to Jessie's.
"I want on." AJ said, sitting on top of Tracy on their chair.
"I can't push you both. Look at my stick arms." Jessie said.
"Who do we know who has big muscles?" Tracy whispered in AJ's ear as AJ slapped her across the face, causing Tracy to chuckle.
"Phil, push them." Jessie said as Punk looked over, "I'll push Sady."
"Uh… I don't know." Punk shook his head.
"Pussy!" AJ yelled as Punk rolled his eyes.
"Fine." Punk shook his head, leaving the table and walking over to the chair.
"You have to let them go by the second bedroom door." Jessie told him as Punk nodded.
"Ok, I think I got it." Punk nodded.
"One." Jessie smirked, "Two… three!" She exclaimed, running down the ward with Sady in her chair whilst Punk pushed AJ and Tracy, letting them go as they went rolling down the ward much faster than Sady, way past the nurses station and falling over at the main door.
"Oh my God." Tracy chuckled as AJ got to her feet.
"Get back on." AJ told Tracy who got back on the chair, letting AJ push her back down the ward as Punk chuckled.
"I want Phil to push me next." Sady exclaimed, running over to Punk, taking Tracy's place in the seat.
"I'm in." Jessie sat in the other one.
"I'll push you." AJ told her with a smile whilst the other girls crowded around watching.
"One…" Punk looked at AJ.
"Two three!" AJ exclaimed quickly, running down the ward and pushing Jessie away on the chair as Punk pushed Sady, watching the chairs go firing down the ward with them on it.
"Me next." Pauline said.
The chairs returned back to the starting positions in the sitting room.
"We'll go on with you." AJ said, taking Tracy's hand.
"I can't push all three of you." Punk chuckled.
"Sure you can." AJ said, sitting down on Pauline whilst Tracy sat on top of AJ, whilst Jessie and Chloe sat on the other chair being pushed by Sady.
"One." Sady turned to Punk, "Two… three!" She exclaimed, running down the ward and pushing the chairs, letting go at the second bedroom door as the chairs went rolling down the ward, causing Punk to chuckle as they all fell off at the end, laughing with one another which was just infectious to everyone else.