Major Crimes Mysteries

The Family McCoy

Chapter 30

Sharon sat in her office anticipating her next move in regard to the Phillip Stroh shooting case. She would periodically glance up to watch the team scurrying around to finish up the paperwork needed for keeping Tristan Roberts behind bars for the rest of his life. Andrea had let her know of the plan to seek the death penalty. Sharon could never figure out why California even wasted time seeking the death penalty since the last person even executed in California was in 2006.

As Sharon was mindlessly looking at a report Leo had asked her to complete, there was a light tap on the door. "Come in" Sharon told the knocker. Andy slowly opened the door and stepped in.

"Provenza wanted me to let you know that the Roberts' file is done. Andrea and Rusty are on their way over to review it and take it back with them." Andy told her.

Almost on command, Rusty and Andrea walked into the murder room. Sharon waved and smiled to both of them and they waved back. Sharon suddenly turned back to Andy and blurted out "Andy, I know!"

"You know what, Sharon?" Andy asked her.

"I know it wasn't the Lieutenant who shot Phillip Stroh. I know it was Rusty. None of the FID measurements match up." Sharon responded.

Andy with a look of concern on his face sat down in the chair in front of her desk. They had done this numerous times before but normally it was done to whisper romantic comments to her. Today was not that day.

"Sharon, what are you saying?" Andy asked her again.

Slowly, Sharon took a deep breath in and out. "I know that Rusty killed Phillip Stroh and that you, Ricky, Rusty and Louie all concocted a plan to cover it up while I was in the hospital." Sharon told him again. "All of the measurements FID took that night confirm what I found." Sharon continued. "Why would you do that, Andy? With everything I have worked for. Everything that is important to me. Why would you do that? I think this is where my nightmares stem from. I have known for a long time but looking into it confirmed it."

Andy knew they had been caught. He knew his wife was that smart and intuitive. He wasn't even going to tell her she was wrong. It would have been fruitless.

"Sharon, do you remember the day we went to Dr. Kinney's office? You asked me to take care of the kids if anything happened to you. That is what I was doing, Sharon. I was protecting our son." Andy responded.

"By breaking the law?" Sharon asked him. "I never would have asked you to break the law, Andy. Please don't put this back on me."

"Sharon, I want you to look at your second in command." Andy told her. When Sharon didn't do it, he repeated his command with a bit more force. "Look at him, Sharon." She finally turned her head and looked at him.

"If it wasn't for Rusty, Louie Provenza would have been another victim of Phillip Stroh. That is how close he was to being killed by him. Rusty saw the situation that was happening and killed Stroh before it could happen. Simple as that." Andy responded.

"Then that should have been told to FID, Andy. Not withheld." Sharon retorted. "You and Louie broke the law by not telling them that. Rusty would have been protected. It would have been a justified shooting and instead, you took the law into your own hands."

"In today's climate, particularly Los Angeles', are you willing to risk that Sharon? Rusty is no murderer. That kid has a really bright future ahead of him because of you and Provenza. I want you to look at that kid, Sharon. Are you willing to risk that he may be accused of doing a vigilante act because he never should have been on the yacht? Are you willing to put his future in jeopardy at the hands of jurors who may or may not have an agenda? I can tell you, I'm not." Andy told her with starting to become angry at her.

Sharon sat stone-faced looking at him. Andy softened his tone. "Listen, sweetheart. I know what you went through as lead of FID. I know all of us were tough on you and you had to create a tough exterior. But sometimes being so rigid can hurt you in the long run. Life isn't black and white, Sharon. If it was, you and I wouldn't be married. Nor would we have ever dated. If it was, you would never have been allowed to foster Rusty and then adopt him. This is one of those cases, Babe. I love that kid as though I have known him all his life. I love that kid because I consider him an offshoot of you. He is a good kid, Sharon. He is a good kid who has fought long and hard to change his life from what Sharon Beck forced him into. You want to slap a murder charge on him for murdering a dirt bag who was ready to kill Provenza and had been tormenting this kid since the days of Brenda Leigh Johnson just for principles? Are you serious, Sharon? Look at that murder board, Sharon." Sharon turned her head to look at Amy taking down the pictures of the McCoy family and Tristan Roberts. "Those people are dead because Eleanora Parkey was so rigid with her daughter in expectations for her future and the Rebecca McCoy couldn't stand up for herself. Rusty stood up for himself and protected the man that he considers his father and you want to slap him with a murder charge. Think about it." With that, Andy lightly rapped his knuckles on Sharon's desk and stood up to walk out the door. He gave her a softened glance while leaving but turned his head and left the office without saying another word.

Sharon sat there for what felt like an eternity. When she looked at the clock on her computer, only fifteen minutes had passed. She looked at the team and saw Provenza and Rusty staring at her.

Suddenly her phone ringing brought her back to reality. "Commander Raydor" she answered.

"Hello Commander. This is Sergeant Villings from the jail, Ma'am. My CO asked that I give you a call." Came the voice on the line.

"What can I do for you, Sargeant?" Sharon asked him.

"Ma'am, I wanted to let you know that Tristan Roberts was found hanging in his jail cell today." Villings told her.

Sharon sat up in her chair. "What?" she almost yelled into the phone. "How? Why? He was proud of his crime." She told the person on the other line.

"That explains a lot, Ma'am." Villings responded. "When we found him in his cell, he had written on the wall in his own blood "My work here is done. Goodbye" Just letting you know, Ma'am. You have a great day and look at it this way, Ma'am. No trial." With that, Villings hung up the phone.

After several minutes, Sharon, shaken by the phone call from Sergeant Villings, looked around her office and her eyes fell to Phillip Stroh's file on her desk. Anger flared up in Sharon that she had not felt for a long time. Stroh had been dead for years, yet he still controlled her life. The others were done with him. They had moved on. She was done with it. She reflected back to Andy's words to her. She picked up the file and slammed it back into the FID box and dialed a number on her cellphone.

"Hello, this is Commander Raydor-Flynn. The file of Phillip Stroh is ready for pick up in my office. Can you please let Lieutenant Camacho know he was correct, but thanks for letting me put my mind to rest? Have a great day." With that, Sharon took a deep breath in and out, stood up straight and walked up to her team.

Andy recognized the difference in Sharon right away. In front of the rest of the team, she stood beside her husband and put her arms around his waist. Andy not caring who was around them, bent down to give his wife a kiss on the top of her head. He finally had his wife back. After three very long years, he finally had the woman that he knew he couldn't imagine not having in his life back and it was the second happiest day of his life.