"Good morning, Senator. Mrs. Rhodes." Malenko met the couple at the door to his office. "Thank you for coming. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Brandi smiled as her husband shook Malenko's hand. "Not for me, thank you."

When Cody shook his head, Malenko nodded to assistant who returned the nod and reached for the receiver of her phone. The Chief of Police closed his office door and motioned them to chairs opposite his desk. As he sat behind his desk, he motioned to a small box sitting on the corner of his desk.

"We obtained a search warrant for your brother's safety deposit box," Malenko explained. "As you anticipated, it held various documents and paperwork. Passport. Photos. Will. Financial information. I personally identified each item and listed it. You have my assurance that I didn't read whatever information included in those documents." He tapped a folder on his desk. "What was not found was the award he received that you mentioned."

Cody frowned. "The one for Journalistic Excellence?"

Malenko nodded. "Neither was it found when we thoroughly searched his home." He folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "What I'm about to state is going to be very hard to hear. If either of you need a break, just let me know." He nodded his head towards a door on the far side of the room. "That's my personal ante-chamber. You can stay in there until you want to either leave or hear more."

Brandi squeezed her husband's hand as Cody jerked his head in a nod.

Malenko took a deep breath. "That award was the weapon used to murder your brother. The autopsy revealed he suffered one blow to the head causing blunt force trauma. Our theory is that it was removed when your brother's body was removed from the house."

Cody gulped and glanced away. "It wasn't found with his body."

"No," Malenko confirmed. "I doubt we'll ever find it." He paused for a few moments until Cody looked at him again and nodded. "A thorough search of your brother's home revealed that was the scene of the murder. We obtained forensic evidence identifying the murderer."

"Who?" Cody fiercely demanded.

"I'm making a statement this afternoon publicly identifying the man in the hope that we'll get some tips from the public," Malenko admitted. "His name is Terry Gerin from Detroit. And there hasn't been a trace of him since your brother's murder."

Cody swore under his breath as Brandi leaned back in her chair.

"Your brother was working on a story," Malenko continued. "Gerin was sent by someone to warn him off."

"And Dustin said no," Brandi softly guessed.

Malenko silently nodded.

"That was Dustin," Cody harshly grunted. "He wouldn't bend an inch."

"If he was only sent to warn Dustin, why…"

Malenko held up a hand to stop Brandi. "That's something I can't get into. Even though we can't find any trace of Gerin since Mr. Rhodes' murder, it doesn't mean this is an inactive case."

Cody studied Malenko for a moment. "You think someone killed Gerin to keep him quiet?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. It's what can be proved," Malenko calmly replied.

"How do you know all this?" Brandi asked.

Malenko hesitated. "Mr. Rhodes was dictating information on his laptop and automatically saving it to a flash drive when he was interrupted by Gerin."

Brandi's dark eyes widened. "You mean, Dustin…"

"My brother recorded his own murder," Cody groaned.

Malenko nodded. "And what happened after that."

Brandi softly spoke. "The killer never touched his laptop."

Malenko nodded. "The laptop, according to the original report, was still on. But the lid was almost closed. For reasons I can't go into, Mr. Rhodes' body had to be quickly removed and the crime scene cleaned up."

"There was more than one man involved," Cody guessed. He wasn't surprised when Malenko didn't reply. "And the original investigators obviously thought the laptop wasn't even turned on."

Again, Malenko remained silent.

"The original investigators never checked the laptoip!" Cody angrily snarled. He glared at Malenko. "What's going to happen with them?"

"The two investigators have been suspended and ordered not to come near any police station or speak with anyone about this unless it's part of the investigation," Malenko calmly explained. "Internal Affairs is looking into not only your brother's case but others that these two have investigated."

"No disrespect, but how impartial is an investigation when you investigate one of your own?" Cody demanded.

"I believe there are pieces of legislation in the State Legislature regarding that very question," Malenko pointed out.

The two men stared at each other for several seconds before Cody slowly nodded.

"The Captain of Internal Affairs is heading up this investigation," Malenko continued. "He feels the same as I do about officers who don't perform their duty properly."

Brandi squeezed Cody's arm. "We understand your position, Chief Malenko. You and the officers you assigned have done more to resolve this case than any previous officer. And we're grateful for your efforts."

Cody slowly relaxed. "I apologize for any inference of a possible cover-up."

Malenko nodded. "No offense taken. There's a lot I can't say, but I understand your position." He indicated the box on his desk. "These items have been determined to not to be considered evidence in this case. So, I'm releasing them to you."

"You said you were issuing a statement later today." Cody took a deep breath. "Do you need us there as well?"

"That's up to you," Malenko gently replied. "If you wish to be there and make a statement, I have no objection. As long as you don't reveal anything more than what I will state or have stated here."

Cody nodded. "I don't think I want to make a statement. But I…we would like to be there." He glanced at Brandi who nodded as well.

"It will be at 1:30pm," Malenko explained. "If you'd like to meet me back here at 1pm, we can go over my statement." He hesitated, then continued. "There's one more issue I'd like to discuss."

Cody was surprised when Malenko's dark eyes flickered away for a few seconds. Obviously, the Chief of Police was uncomfortable about what he was about to say.

"The original senior detective on your brother's case has asked to speak with you and offer his apologies for what occurred," Malenko finally spoke.

"No!" Cody exploded.

"Cody, hear Chief Malenko out," Brandi softly urged.

Cody angrily looked at his wife who unflinchingly met his glare until he took a deep breath. He silently nodded.

"The choice is yours," Malenko continued. "I'm simply passing on his request."

"If you don't want to listen to him, I do," Brandi quietly spoke. When Cody glared at her again, she squeezed his hand. "I loved Dustin, too, you know. And I want to know why they didn't investigate more thoroughly."

Cody closed his eyes briefly then nodded. "I can't promise to accept an apology, and I'll try very hard not to say anything. Brandi can do the talking."

"Fair enough." Malenko picked up the phone and quietly spoke into it. Then he stood when the door quietly opened. He planned to position himself between Noble and Cody in case the State Senator couldn't hold his temper.

Brandi also stood and walked to stand between her sitting husband and the man who quietly closed the office door behind him.

"This is Detective James Noble. Detective, this is Brandi Rhodes who has agreed to speak with you."

Jamie nodded his head. "Ma'am…Mrs. Rhodes." He took a deep breath and forced his head up to meet her eyes. "I was the senior investigator on Mr. Rhodes' case. Our investigation was mishandled from the beginning. I recognize that now. My partner…I agreed to let him take the lead on the investigation. That doesn't relieve me of the responsibility for making sure the investigation was handled properly and professionally. I failed in that responsibility, and I failed Mr. Rhodes and your family."

"Why?" Brandi quietly asked. "That's all I want to know. Why?"

Jamie took a deep breath. "My partner…" He took a deep breath. "He wasn't a rookie, but he'd never ran an investigation. He seemed ready, and I would supervise him. There…there was a personal crisis…in my family. I'm not offering that as an excuse, Ma'am. But it's a fact. And I allowed that personal issue to take my focus away from what I should've been doing."

"What was this "personal crisis" that was more important than investigating what happened to my brother?" Cody hissed.

Jamie glanced at Malenko who remained expressionless.

"My wife had been raped," Jamie whispered. "She refused to report it or allow me to report it. I shouldn't have been working as we went through that, but…" He took a deep breath. "I made poor choices and bad decisions. And your brother's case suffered for that. And I apologize."

"How is she now?" Brandi asked, noticing the surprise on Malenko's face.

"Better, Ma'am," Jamie almost whispered. "Thank you for asking."

Cody slowly got to his feet, aware of Malenko closely watching him.

"I can't accept your apology." Cody finally faced Jamie. "You're right about the poor choices and bad decisions you made. And you didn't carry out your responsibilities." He threaded his fingers through Brandi's. "And you didn't have to come here and explain…or apologize." He glanced at his wife. "But as a man who loves his wife more than anything else in this world, I can understand where you head was at during that time. I can't get past the fact you should've made better decisions."

"Yes, sir," Jamie nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"I think that's all, Detective," Malenko ordered. "Go home."

"Yes, sir."

Brandi sighed when the door closed behind the disgraced detective. "Poor man."

Cody glared at her and started to speak.

Malenko didn't want to witness an argument between the two of them and quickly spoke. "We'll meet back here at 1pm if that's convenient." He was relieved when both Cody and Brandi silently nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Even if Randy hadn't seen a picture of Jack Moxley, he would've recognized him as the father of Jon Moxley. Mox had gotten his hair and eye coloring from his mother, but his features were that of Jack Moxley.

"Looks like a tough customer," Sheamus muttered under his breath.

Randy raised an eyebrow at the approving tone in Sheamus' voice. Then he stepped forward. "Jack Moxley?"

"Who wants to know?" Jack growled, automatically sizing up both men.

"Someone who wants to employ you," Randy retorted.

"I ain't for sale," Jack shot back.

"Not a matter of being for sale, fella," Sheamus smiled. "It's a matter of offering you a job and paying you what you're worth for it."

"How much?" Jack asked. "And what's the job?"

"We'll set you up in a nice apartment and pay all the expenses," Randy offered. "Plus, you'll get two grand a month to spend as you want as long as you stay clean and sober."

"And we'll get you some decent clothing," Sheamus added. He grinned at Randy. "I know someone who gets all his clothing tailored."

Randy inwardly winced knowing that Cesaro's clothes were never off-the-rack. Still, Hunter had said to spend whatever was needed.

"And the job?" Jack asked.

Randy coldly smiled. "You're going home. To Davenport."

"Davenport? What the hell is in Davenport?" Jack grunted.

"You son."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And now, with news from Chief Malenko's afternoon press conference and statement, we go to Wade Barrett and a special Barrett Report. Wade?"

"Thanks, Charli." Wade face the camera with a slight smile. "Today, Chief Malenko made a statement regarding the recent discovery of the body of Dustin Rhodes, former editor of the Davenport Daily. Police are seeking public assistance as to the whereabouts of one Terry Gerin of Detroit, Michigan. Street name of Rhyno." He paused while a mug shot of Rhyno flashed onto the screen.

"According to Chief Malenko, evidence has been recovered that identifies Gerin as the murderer of Mr. Rhodes." Wade turned slightly to face the second camera. "While Chief Malenko refused to answer questions whether Gerin is the only one responsible for Mr. Rhodes' murder or regarding possible motives, he assured everyone the case is open and being aggressively pursued. Chief Malenko was accompanied by Senator Cody Rhodes and his wife, Brandi. Senator Rhodes is the younger half-brother of the late Dustin Rhodes. Both of them declined to make a statement."

Wade faced the first camera again. "Viewers will recall that Mr. Rhodes was originally considered to be a missing person until his body was recently discovered buried under the concrete in the basement of the Rollins Deli. Anyone with information regarding Terry Gerin is requested to call the Davenport P.D. or the Crimestoppers Hotline. I'll continue to follow this story and report the facts. Back to you, Charli."