Chapter 63
Shelby and Alex walks into the office after their drive to the doctor and takes a seat in their chairs joining the rest of their team. Caleb looks up at her briefly making eye contact and nodding his head mouthing thank you to the brunette when he saw his wife come in behind her. "Ladies." Simon greeted on his way out and they all mumbled their responses to him. Sometimes he can be a pain but he's actually a nice guy. "Guys can we all meet for lunch please?" Shelby asked softly looking at the three faces. "Sure thing." Nimah. "I need comfort food the sweeter the better so I won't say no." Natalie responded and the rest of them looks at her strongly. "What? Quade and I had another intense moment of failure last night. So we're not on speaking terms." She dismissed. "You had an argument." Alex laughed. "That is very blunt of you to point it out like that. I was putting it mildly." Natalie answered returning her attention to the computer screen.
After a while Simon, Alex, Shelby and Caleb gets emails from Maranda, asking them to come up to her office. "What did you do?" Natalie asked in a small girl voice. Alex shrugged but was worried because Maranda never really emailed them she usually called them the boardroom. The four of them headed up the stairs towards her office. "Come in." Maranda said when they stood in the doorway and made their way into her office one by one. "The police called, they're at a scene in a neighborhood and need backup. And Shelby and Alex since you two were late this morning can I ask you to join the guys on this?" Maranda asked and the two women nodded their heads.
Shelby avoided any eye contact with Caleb and made her way downstairs to get into the vans. Caleb stopped Alex on the stairs. "How did it go with Shelby? Did she tell you what's wrong?" Caleb asked. "She's fine, you don't need to worry about it blondie. She'll talk to you later." Alex smiled reassuring at him but he wouldn't have it. "No Alex of course I worry. She didn't eat last night or this morning. And, on top of all of that I heard her heave this morning." Caleb exclaimed trying to keep his voice down. "Alex, she's bulimic isn't she. Oh my word. Okay I need to do something, I mean I tell her she's beautiful every day and I love her just the way she is why would she do this to herself." Caleb said hands flying trying to make sense of it all. Alex had to stifle a laugh seeing how paranoid he was right now. "Caleb. Shelby is fine. She'll talk to you tonight Come on, get your head in the game tiger." Alex slaps him on the shoulder and motions for him to walk toward the door. They walk out towards the FBI vans to head to the scene.
On the open patch of grass next to the off white apartments, the scene people were crowding, while police had their hands full trying to get the people to stay behind the yellow tape. People were yelling back and forth pointing fingers trying to get their voices heard but it was blocked out by the large amounts of people who yelled. " What happened?" Shelby asked one of the officers, they all flashed their badges and walked under the yellow tape. There was a white cloth draped over someone on the ground and another teenage boy standing at one of the police cars with blood stained hands and blood spatters on his light blue t shirt, handcuffed.
"According to bystanders two boys 17 and 15 were fighting. The 17 year old were stabbed a number of times times and he bled out." The officer explained. None of them knew how to react to any of this and stood there in silence. "Any identity on both of the boys?" Alex asked and the officer shook his head. "No one wants to talk not even the bystanders much less the 15 year old. He won't even give us his name." The officer said looking back at the teenager. He led them over to the deceased body and lifted the cover so they can see him. Alex felt her heart grow heavy, she looked up to see Shelby still standing frozen in the same spot not moving. "Look, I know the FBI don't usually deal with this kind of thing but we need all the help we can get right now. Can you at least just try to get him to come around and give a statement or at least a name for himself and his friend." The officer pleaded. "We'll see what we can do." Simon said and led the teenager to the FBI vans. No one talked and they drove back to the office in silence.
Maranda never mentioned it would be anything like this. They walked around the back and head into one of the interrogation rooms. Caleb and Simon went upstairs to inform her on what happened. Alex took a seat opposite him looking him in the eye. "Can I at least get your name?" Alex asked the teenager but he looked at her shaking his head. Alex sighed looking at him but he was staring into the table. "Okay, do you want to talk to me? If not I can leave and get someone else to come in." She suggest hopefully but he still didn't respond. "Right, I'll leave you alone then. If you're ready to talk let me know." Alex said standing up leaving the room.
Alex joined the other three upstairs in Maranda's office. "Did he talk yet?" Maranda asked and Alex nodded her head. "He just sits there staring at the table." She informed. "He wouldn't even give us his name or his friends'. And until then we have nothing to work with since we can't even contact family members." Simon said. "Forensics showed up at the scene and took some pictures of the deceased. I'll make a few calls and see what they've came up with. The weirdest thing is that not even the people who saw it happen would say something." Shelby said shaking her head. "Keep trying to get him to come around." Maranda dismissed the four of them and they walked back to their office. Alex took a quick glance in the direction of Ryan's office but he was busy on the phone writing things down.
"When are you telling Caleb?" Alex asked Shelby in the hallway before they take the turn into the office. "Not sure yet." Shelby shrugged. "Oh and for the record, he thinks you're bulimic, since you haven't eaten last night or this morning and he heard you heave." Alex informed her friend. "What?" Shelby smiled amused and Alex put her hands up going into the office.
"Have you guys seen this?" Nimah asked as she looked at the article on her newsfeed. "Yep, we just got back from the scene." Alex said looking over Nimah's shoulder as she read the short article. "They give a surname, Thompson." Shelby said hopeful. "Yeah and we still don't know which one of the two it is." Alex answered. "My mother's maiden name was Thompson." Natalie said also joining to read the article. "But I saw the guy you brought in at the back on my way to the bathroom and he doesn't look familiar. Plus if it was the one who died my phone would've been ringing nonstop." Natalie turned back in her chair and continued working. "Well thank you for getting my hopes up Natalie." Alex slouched down in her chair. "They're teens, why would they do something like that?" Natalie thought out loud. "For all the times I've wanted to kill the three of you." Nimah responds nonchalantly. Shelby crumpled up a piece of paper throwing it at Nimah but she caught it laughing.
Shelby contacted the news station, who issued out the article to see if they have any more information available. But they said that was all they had. Another dead end. Also, according to them most of it is speculation they aren't even certain of their facts of what actually happened and why. "Great. Just great." Shelby slammed down the phone. "Let's go eat." She announced when all of them looked at her weirdly after what she just did.
"I need comfort food, the sweeter the better." Natalie said and they all settled on chocolate cake and smoothies. In the cafeteria the lady behind the counter smiled when she saw her four regular customers. "I haven't seen the four of you in some time." She smiled looking at them. "Well, since we're loyal customers do we get free food?" Shelby asked. "My dear this is still the FBI headquarters not Google." She laughed and took their orders. "Why would you need cake at lunch?" Nimah asked. "Because, Quade and I had another intense moment of failure last night." Natalie started taking a bite of cake. "So you argued?" Shelby asked confused. "I was putting it mildly, why do you guys always have to be so blunt about things. Enough about me, why are we summoned to this meeting Mrs Haas?" Natalie asked the blond.
"Yeah, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Nimah asked looking at her. "I'm kinda pregnant." Shelby blurted out softly. "Shell you either are or you're not. There's no kinda in this scenario." Alex laughed. "Blondie knocked you up?" Natalie smiled looking at her friend. "Give that man a Bells." Nimah laughed and stood up to hug Shelby, after which Natalie followed. Shelby's face were red and she tried to get them to lower their voices but they wouldn't. "Guys please keep this on the down low, I'm only telling Caleb about it tonight." She asked and they all nodded. "Of course we can keep a secret." Nimah said smiling. "A friend for Phoebe. When are you and Ryan going for number two Alex?" Natalie ask leaning over to scoop up a piece of Alex's cake. "Phoebe is two months old. Another baby is the last thing on our minds right now." Alex dismissed.
After lunch Alex went back into the interrogation room to see if the teen has changed his mind. When she entered he was laying with his head on the table. "You ready to talk yet?" She asked but he shook his head. "Okay. Let's try it this way. My name is Alex. Can I get yours?" She asked trying to make eye contact. He lifted his head off the table looking at her. "Zack. Zack Thompson." He said lowering his gaze again.
"Nice to meet you Zack. How old are you?" She smiled trying to get the teen to open up to her. "fifteen." He whispered. "Okay. I have a few questions for you. I have to bring one of my superiors in with me. It's protocol, do you mind?" Alex asked. The teen shrugged. "I'm not going to kill you if that's what you're afraid of." He said softly looking up at Alex. "No, that is not why." Alex said taking a seat opposite him. "Look at me, Zack. I just need you to tell us what happened okay?" The teen nodded and Alex went upstairs to get Maranda but she was busy and told Alex to brief Ryan on the case and take him into the room with her.
On their way back Ryan listened intently to what Alex had told him in a nutshell about the case. Ryan opened the door and allowed her to walk in while he followed. "Zack, this is Ryan. He's going to ask you some questions okay?" He looked up and acknowledged the other person in the room. "Hi Zack, nice to meet you. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about what happened today?" Ryan asked taking a seat opposite the teen on the chair where Alex sat a few minutes earlier. She stood in the corner of the room leaning her head against the wall.
"I didn't mean to kill him. I swear. I only wanted him to admit what he did." Zack rambled even before Ryan asked him anything. "What did he do?" The older man asked him. "He raped my sister!" Zack cried. In the corner Alex cringed when she heard that. "How old is your sister?" Ryan inquired. "Eight. She's only eight." Zack whispered and Ryan dropped his pen on the table balling his fist and he heard Alex inhale sharply. Ryan took a deep breath composing himself before continuing. "Start from the beginning, how do you know this guy?" The special agent asked. "He lives in the apartment opposite us. His mother has been looking after my sister since she was a baby. She goes to their house after school and I usually go get her once my school is out. And then she stays with me until our mom gets back from work." Tears rolled down Zack's face as he relived the events of the day. "Keenan's mom went out to the store and asked him to keep an eye on her. Keenan dropped out of school and smokes weed. I went over to go get her, his mom told me we have to get her to a hospital. I didn't know why but she kept on crying, even after we left their place. I asked her what happened, and she told me." Zack sniffed taking a deep breath while Ryan made notes. "We can take a break if you want to." Ryan suggested but Zack shook his head. "No, we can continue." Zack answered. "I phoned my mom and she came home, and took my sister to the hospital. That's when I took the knife and walked back to their apartment. His mom wasn't at home either, she went to the police station to report it. I told him I had something I wanted to show him, and waited for him on the grass. I asked him why he did it and he denied it the first time. I asked him again and he smiled saying he'll do it again."
Alex walked out of the room and slammed the door closed behind her sitting in the corner of the staircase out of sight. "Is she okay?" Zack asked looking at Ryan. Ryan nodded his head. "I'll go check on her once we're done." Ryan suggested. After he said that I just lost it. I stabbed him until he didn't move anymore, and left him there. Sat down on the steps and waited for the police to show up to come get me." Zack concluded with tear stained cheeks. "She wasn't lying, I've never seen her this upset." Zack said again and Ryan nodded. "I trust you. Zack, do you know what's going to happen to you now?" Ryan asked the teen. "I guess I'll probably go to jail now, they'll charge me with murder and I'll rot in jail. I just wanted to scare him I don't know what came over me." He said softly. "The court will most probably decide on that, but you're gonna have to do time in a juvenile detention center. I'm sorry about what happened to your sister and that it had to end like this." Ryan said standing up touching the boy's shoulder before leaving.
He went out looking for his wife but he didn't find her. "Have you guys seen Alex?" Ryan asked her friends downstairs in the office. "She was questioning that kid." Shelby said. Ryan nodded he didn't feel like saying she left and now he doesn't know where in the building she might be. He handed the notes and the audio tape to Maranda, told her about Alex leaving in the middle of the questioning, then called her cell but she didn't pick up, so he left a message. Alex got up from where she was sitting under the staircase and went to the bathroom. She saw Ryan's name show up on the screen a number of times but didn't want to answer. On her way out she saw Maranda walking towards the front door. "Alex are you okay? What's going on?" She asked looking at the agent. "I'm sorry to ask you this but can I go home an hour earlier? I know I came in late this morning also but I wouldn't ask you if I didn't…" She couldn't finish her sentence because Maranda interrupted. "Go on. Ryan told me." She nodded and Alex dashed into the office grabbing her handbag, ignoring the questioning stares on everyone's faces and got in the car. Ryan was still calling and yet she still didn't pick up.
She drove to the day care to get her child. Marci was busy changing her diaper when Alex entered. "Hi, you're early." She smiled but worry soon overtook her smiling expression. "Alex are you okay?" Marci asked concerned. "Had a rough day at work. I'll be fine." Alex dismissed and held her hands out to receive her daughter. "She was quite calm, slept about half an hour longer than usual, but everything else was normal." Marci explained as she packed Phoebe's diapers, wipes and bum cream back into her bag that she used to change her a few moments earlier. "All right then little miss. Say bye to Miss Marci." Alex said as she accepted the bag, greeted the care giver and walked outside. Putting the baby in the car seat and then drove home.
Alex laid Phoebe down in the nursery putting the baby monitor on the counter as she made a chicken pie. She remembered Ryan has been calling her and texted him quickly saying she's at home. After the pie was done she bathed and fed Phoebe laying her down upstairs. She checked the clock, Ryan would be home in an hour so she took a quick shower hoping she'd feel better afterwards. She went back and sat on the couch hugging her legs as her head rested on her knees and tears rolled down her eyes. She heard Ryan pull up outside.
Ryan saw her small frame sitting on the couch and walked over to sit opposite her. He rubbed his hands down her legs and she lifted her head slightly. "I'm sorry for walking out. I shouldn't have done that." Alex whispered. "It's okay. I understand." He said. "How do you do it?" Alex asked wiping her eyes looking at her husband. "Do what?" Ryan looked at her uncertain. "Do these things and you make it seem so easy. As if it doesn't affect you, or you don't bring your work baggage home with you?" She questioned and Ryan gave her a small smile. "Sometimes, in this line of work, things work for the better and the bad guys are caught. But then you get days like today where it feels like I haven't done enough to ensure the people's safety out there. And yes, I do take a lot of things that happen on the job home with me most nights, but it hasn't broken me yet." Ryan said moving closer to her and she set her feet down on the ground while Ryan takes her hands in his. "Because I get to come home to my family and being with you and Phoebe makes me realize why I do what I do. I'll give my life to make sure the two of you are safe." He said looking her in the eye. Leaning forward to kiss her forehead after which Alex hugs his waist. "I love you so much." She whispered smelling his cologne. "I love you too, sweetheart." Ryan replied holding her tighter.
Hey guys! I'm sorry for this gory case we had going here all this is fictional I apologize if I've offended any one reading this, it was not my intention. I don't know how the laws work or how these type of things gets handled I wrote this based on the research I found on the internet. I wanted to have Alex and Ryan work on an emotional case together. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. Lovies-S.
