Closing in on the end now! I'm excited but nervous for this to end bc I honestly don't know what I'll do with my time next. Most of my free time has been dedicated to this fic so I'm going to be looking for new ideas here soon. Hope y'all enjoy and buckle up cause this chapter is a long one!
Watching Ainsley back on the newscast is a welcome normal to Jessica's monotonous day. With Malcolm and Gil throwing themselves into investigating officers, she was put essentially on complete lockdown in Gil's apartment. With Dani and JT cycling as her watchers, they feel more comfortable leaving. It's irritating but the way Malcolm relaxes, knowing she's safe. She does it for him.
"The search for the Needle's Eye continues," Ainsley rattles off, eyes disconnected from the words. It's a tactic Jessica admired and feared when she was able to talk about such horrific things when not letting them in at all. Once on camera her face would clear, a determined one carrying over. "The officers in charge of the case are investigating a possible lead into Beverly Construction, where a body has been discovered. Police believe the man, identified to be Jason Carter, is one of the killers." Ainsley stops, suddenly getting a far off look. Jessica knows she's listening to someone in her ear. From the emotions that flash over her face in that split second she already knows what comes next. First is the bitter anger, then curiosity that blossoms into interest, all before she schools her face again. "Hold on a second, we have Dr. Martin Whitly, otherwise known as the surgeon dialing in. Dr. Whitly has provided insight into multiple investigations so it will be interesting to see what he makes of this new killer on the scene.""
Jessica braces herself for the impact that his voice will bring. It doesn't help. Not for what happens next.
"He's coming." The voice on the other end of the call sends ice down her spine. It's gruff, far from the animated speech of Martin. Ainsley's face pales on the screen. She knows just as well as Jessica who is on the other side of this call.
"Who is this?" She tries to ask in her best investigative tone but the tremor shakes. It's the first time she's even seen her phased. Jessica must have made some kind of noise, deep from the back of her throat because the door opens behind her.
"Mrs. Whitly?" Dani stops in the doorway, eyes falling on the television.
"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?"
"Is that?" A few more steps and Dani is beside the couch, her phone in her hand frantically texting.
"Who is this?" Ainsley asks again, firmer.
"Do you know where your son is?" Just like that the floor goes out from under her feet. The call ends abruptly with Ainsley staring at the camera in horror and fury. The blonde curls bounce when she snaps her head around to someone off screen and the channel cuts to commercials.
"Mrs. Whitly." Dani whispers, like she's ready approaching an active bomb. Jessica's heart thuds too quickly in her chest and they both jump when her phone begins ringing.
Claremont Psychiatric, the screen reads. Before Dani can make a move for it Jessica answers. She swallows, ready to do anything the person on the other line tells her. Anything to protect her son. He doesn't deserve to face what she had. He'd been through more than enough.
"Jessie." Martin's voice calls out from the line, tense and thin. He begins rattling but she can't hear him over the static filling her mind. All the words he spits out at rapid speed don't even reach her as she stares blankly at the TV. Only one thought comes to her, so lost among the white noise.
He sounds terrified.
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Dani clutches the wheel tight in her grip, eyes casting to Mrs. Whitly. The silence in the car is a far too familiar one. Picking up the Whitlys when something terrible happens to Malcolm seems like it's a part of her job description. Normally it's Ainsley who fills the quiet with the unending questions one would expect from a journalist.
This is heavy, oppressive. She can see Mrs. Whitly pulling the bag closer to her with every turn of the car.
She doesn't blame the anxiety. They're on their way to Claremont. The Surgeon made her own skin crawl the first time she met him. But Claremont employees were the last ones to see Malcolm, according to the calls. She needs to talk to Dr. Whitly, he could have seen something. If Malcolm was nervous before, had he known he was being followed, anything. She almost feels sorry for her watching dread turn her face pale.
But something doesn't feel right.
Her suspicions are confirmed the second her ringtone blares again. To Mrs. Whitly's credit, she doesn't immediately reach for her phone to answer it again. Rather, she looks to Dani after she reads the number holding it to her.
It's marked as unknown, but in their area. It could just be a spam caller, but something tells Dani the Whitly's don't really have that problem. When you have enough money you can make the small nuisances of life disappear.
"Put it on speaker." She tells Jessica, only diverting her eyes from the road for a second to make sure she understands. "We're tracking the calls on both your phone and Ainsley's. Keep him talking. If we can get a location pinned on him, we'll be able to find Malcolm." She nods, swallowing.
The line crackles to life with a monotonous threat. "8640 Westshire Avenue. Come alone." The call ends and Dani can see Mrs. Whitly's hands shaking. Her mind flashes to Malcolm and she switches lanes. Abandoning the path to Claremont she speeds up towards the address. Westshire Avenue is a line of mostly abandoned warehouses, they've gotten calls there more than a few times. It doesn't make her feel good about Malcolm's chances. It's remote. Quiet.
And the way Mrs. Whitly holds herself sitting a little too straight, she knows exactly where they're going too. Her eyes fall to her lap, her hands white knuckled on the bag again. She recognizes the grip, having seen it too many times in suspects weighing their chances.
"What's in the purse?" Dani asks slowly. She dreads the question but the way that she guards it, being extra careful that it doesn't tip or shuffle. She knows. Out the corner of her eye she watches her flinch. She feigns innocence, not well. "How'd you get it?" She thinks for a moment, and the realization settles. "Malcolm." It makes sense. They know she has a registered firearm. Malcolm would have grabbed it the night he and Edrisa went to pack her things. Extra protection. He wouldn't take the chance if something went wrong with her or JT. That's why he was more willing to leave back to the precinct without taking her with them. Knowing that she can protect herself would put him at ease.
He should have told them.
She pulls the car over turning to her. "What are you doing?"
"Give me the gun." Dani holds a hand out but Jessica's cover her purse. She tilts her head with a sigh. "Please. It doesn't have to be like this."
"Doesn't it." She straightens, a furious look shining in the dim light. "He took my son. Malcolm had nothing to do with this."
"Neither did you."
"But it had all to do with Martin." She shakes her head not meeting her gaze. Dani knows she's blinking away the tears. "I should have gotten it over with when I had the chance." Dani's head tilts, eyes widening for a split second. It was a small confession but one that set off so many alarms in her head. She almost asks what she means by that when she remembers.
The surgeon had been stabbed, supposedly by the woman across from her to protect an innocent's life.
Looking at her now, Dani knows that isn't what happened.
"I could turn this car around. Take you back to the station." She threatens.
"You won't." The woman's voice wavers with uncertainty. "Malcolm, he's your friend. You won't take that risk." Dani runs her tongue along the back of her teeth, setting her jaw with determination. They are running out of time. "If Gil hadn't seen the news, if he didn't know. You're telling me you wouldn't run in as soon as you got there to save my son?"
She can't answer that. Not truthfully, at least. She has, a dozen times, run after Malcolm. Running the numbers in her head. Calculating every single risk to grab his ass after he's rushed in. She's seen his anger, his panic, the desperation unfurling at every scene.
A needle full of poison, his hands pressed on a landmine, an axe raised high above his head with a wild look. Ready to do whatever it took.
Staring at the woman across from her it pains Dani to know she ever thought he got that from his dad. Not when Jessica's eyes shine with the same bitterness towards the world who has kicked them a few times too many. Her voice draws, a deep rumble in her chest. "I've been married to a serial killer, dated another who stabbed maybe the only person who gave a damn about my children, I've pushed my daughter into a window to stop her from being hit by an axe. I've done everything in my power to protect them."
"Will this protect him?" She sucks in a breath. "His dad is already a killer, Ainsley's self defense plea almost ripped him apart and this? He will blame himself."
"He can't."
"But he will. He will think about every single thing he could've done differently. To stop you from losing a part of yourself. Gil too."
"He has Ainsley, Gil, Edrisa, his team. He will be fine."
"But he needs you." Dani's throat constricts emotion threatening to betray her. "He needs his mom." That must get to her because her face begins to twitch. Her anger falls away to what truly lies beneath the surface, fear and grief. She lets go of the bag and Dani reaches inside securing the firearm.
The silence lapses again as they start back down the road. It's different, less foreboding and more solemn. It takes a few minutes before Jessica speaks. "How do you get past this?" She casts a quick look over but she's staring out the window, eyes not seeing the scenery flying past them. "You've seen dozens of horrors. The gruesome things we do to each other. How do you do it?"
Her hands grip the wheel tighter. "You don't. Every case takes something. Some take more than others but they all do. I've tried shutting it down, leaving everything at work. But it doesn't help."
"No kidding." She laughs bitterly.
"You have people. They push you past it." Jessica looks to her, eyebrows furrowed. "Going at it alone, it's too much. When you have people that care for you," She sighs. "Well, it's easier to do it when you're doing it for someone else."
"I did." Her voice is thick, Dani looks away pretending not to see the tear that slides down her cheek. "I got out for them."
A few more beats pass. She taps an even rhythm as she realizes they're creeping closer to their destination. She should text Gil. "Find something that grounds you."
"What does that even mean?" She swipes at her face looking away again. She needs to calm her down before she makes the connection herself.
"You pick something that keeps you here. And when everything feels like too much you think of that."
"Like what?"
"A person, a memory-"
"A dream?"
"Yeah, I guess that could work." Her eyes focus on the street signs, watching carefully for her next turn. "You find what you're looking for, it stops. It keeps you from falling into your emotions. It's a lot harder to be angry when you're thinking about it."
"And this is a memory for you? Isn't it a little counterintuitive to move forwards when looking back?"
"Aren't we all looking back?"
"No." Dani's eyes jump to her, clearly having struck a nerve. She curses herself in realization. Her happiness was also her greatest downfall. The person she loved was her ruin. No wonder she doesn't want to look back on that. "You said a dream, you mind if I ask?"
"The first night when I was taken. I dreamt of Christmas, this year. Having my family all together. No cases, no Martin lingering in our minds. Gil put on music and we danced." She sighs, shaking her head. "Truth be told, I don't remember the last time I danced. It felt…"
"Like healing."
Her eyes shine with tears, her voice barely a whisper. "I suppose so."
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The turn into the warehouse brings the foreboding feeling back tenfold. Jessica's anxiety settles in her stomach because they have no idea what they will find inside. Honestly, they don't even truly know if he's the only one left. There could be another partner. Malcolm could be hurt, he might need an ambulance.
Dani's face firms when she looks at her phone. She knows what that look means in a second.
She can't call for backup. They're alone on this.
She parks the car gathering all she needs. "Stay here." It's more of a command than anything as she steps out. "I'm going to look for a payphone. He had to have used one to call you." She disappears in the other direction, only her shadow from the overhead lights showing where she went from Jessica's limited view.
Her eyes fall back on the door. The metal looms before her and she knows in her gut that this isn't a trick. Her son is inside, alone and scared. God, he could be hurt and bleeding for all she knows. She wishes for only a moment that she didn't give the gun over, that she could just end this without feeling the slightest bit of remorse.
She could still end this.
Her head whips back to where Dani went. It wouldn't take long for her to find something to call Gil. She had to move quickly and quietly. She climbs from the car, the detective's voice still ringing in her mind. He needs you. She's absolutely certain this isn't what she meant but she's right regardless.
The metal door slides noisily and she knows she's lost. The second she steps in she could be killed. But she pictures her little boy, slumped from being stabbed with his hand held close to his chest having smashed it to save her and his sister. The smell of blood and dirt from the memory washes over her harshly.
She pushes herself inside.