Recovery

Diagnosis Murder

Steve Sloan/Mark Sloan

Family/Hurt Comfort

Spoilers: Retribution Parts One and Two

The identity of the person hanging nearby the Sloan residence has been revealed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Diagnosis Murder and the characters. I only own my original characters and ideas.

A/N: This is my first Diagnosis Murder fanfiction story, please go easy on me!

A/N2: I apologize for the delay of this chapter! Writer's block and an occasionally uncooperative muse got in the way! A BILLION APOLOGIES!

Questions, Answers and more Questions

"Are you Carol Sloan?" the mysterious person asked.

"Yeah, I am," Carol replied. "Who are you?"

A woman with shoulder length auburn hair revealed herself. Carol could make heads or tails what this person wanted.

"I am Sergeant Tanis Archer with the LAPD," the woman responded showing her badge. "I work with your brother."

"Sergeant Archer, you still haven't told me what you want!" Carol was annoyed. "I had just gotten back from visiting my father in prison. Tomorrow, I plan to visit my brother in the hospital. It's been a rough time for my family and myself."

"How is Steve doing?"

"He's still recovering."

"What about your father? How is he coping?"

"He tries to put on a brave face, but I think he is scared about his possible execution."

"Ms. Sloan, is there a place we can talk without anyone listening? I just feel awkward discussing possible confidential matters around your father and brother's neighbors and the general beach going public. "

"I was just about to enter the house before you nearly scared me."

"I am sorry about that."

"Don't worry about that."

The two women entered the house and Carol closed the door. She offered to take Tanis' coat and purse and placed it on top of a bed in a spare guest room. When she rejoined her impromptu guest, Tanis was sitting on the couch looking at a photo album she had found. She scanned older and more recent photos.

"That was my parents' wedding," Carol said out of nowhere, scaring her guest.

"Ms. Sloan, you scared the crap out me!" Tanis shrieked.

"I guess we are even, now."

"Touché! What are we, children here?"

"I am sorry!"

"You are forgiven!"

"Would you like a cup of coffee or tea? I have regular and decaf coffee and some herbal teas."

"Yes, I would like some decaffeinated herbal tea; I've had too much regular coffee already. If I have another cup, I think I would jump all over the walls. Or the chief would plead with me to go home and sleep some of the caffeine off."

Carol laughed and went to the kitchen to heat up a pot of water and took two cups from one of the cabinets. She took out an herbal teabag from a box on the counter and placed it in one cup. She briefly debated between having coffee or tea, opting for green tea. When both teas were ready, Carol served them with a choice of honey, sugar and milk.

"Thank you," Tanis said after she received her cup of herbal tea.

"Could I offer something to eat?" Carol asked.

"No thank you, I am stuffed from having a big lunch. I just want to give my digestive system a rest."

"That's understandable!"

Carol settled herself at another end of the table with her cup of tea which she put a small amount of honey to give a slight sweetness.

"Sergeant Archer, what would you like to talk about?" Carol asked. "I mean, there was a reason you came here."

"First, you can call me Tanis," Archer responded. "It's a matter about your father."

"What about my dad?"

"First, I want to tell you I was only following the evidence."

"You were the arresting officer?"

"Unfortunately, I was!"

"Why did you suspect my father, a medical consultant with the LAPD, whose son is a homicide detective, in the first place?"

"First, you need to understand that I witnessed your brother getting shot at the restaurant before he was scheduled to testify against Gordon Ganza. He was rushed to the hospital where he had surgery to remove the bullets and repair any affected organs. He was in a coma for a few days. He was fighting for his life, Carol! Your father was in a state a mind while waiting for Steve to wake up and at the same time feared that he would die. He was hardly sleeping and that probably clouded his own judgment."

"Tanis, I get the point about that. However, that doesn't explain why my father ended up in death row."

"I was getting to that! Someone from Ganza's organization probably broke into this house and stole some items and unscrewed the knobs off a cabinet. Your father put back those with a screwdriver. I don't know when exactly, that same person returned or someone else came over to steal the screwdriver that had your father's fingerprints on it. They used it to stab a young woman named Spring Dano to death. Also, another member must've have posed as a delivery man to get Dr. Sloan's signature to forge it on an illegally obtained prescription pad. That was most likely to get two drugs to make a binary poison for Ganza."

"I am a nurse and pretty much familiar with binary poisons through my training. Personally, I haven't seen someone come to a hospital or a clinic that had been poisoned by that method."

"It was when I saw your father kneeling down next to Spring's body; I thought he was the murderer."

"Did you think for one moment that he could have tried to save her life?"

"She was way beyond help by then. However, you haven't heard the worst part!"

"How could this living nightmare get any worse than it already is! My brother nearly gets killed the day before he was supposed to testify against this Gordon Ganza guy. My father is sitting in death row for two homicides I am pretty sure he didn't commit. You can't tell me it doesn't get worse that these two situations."

"We have photos of your father embracing Spring and allegedly sleeping with her."

"You're thinking that my father, who has been widowed for a few years, could have picked up a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, slept with her and eventually stabbed her to death with a screwdriver. This story gets weirder and sicker by the second."

"When your father testified in his own defense, he saw those photos the prosecutor provided and recognized only one or two of the photos as the man with Spring. Somebody must have pretended to be Dr. Sloan in the photos while sleeping with Ms. Dano."

Almost immediately, there was an eerie silence between the two women. Even though it was a brief period of quiet, it seemed like an eternity.

"This whole thing about your father's alleged guilt in all this just bothers me." Tanis broke that eerie and awkward silence. "It's something that gnaws at my conscience everyday and sometimes my sleep is affected. I had told you before that I was only following the evidence. I am pretty sure that you contact Steve from time to time."

Carol calmly nodded, but in her head and gut, she knew where the conversation was headed.

"Following the evidence is sometimes like going down a rabbit hole," Tanis continued. "It can lead you down some pretty shocking scenarios. At times, your mind can play some mean tricks on your perception."

"Have you told the chief about your concerns?" Carol asked.

"He doesn't even know I have them. I would like to have Steve's input before I speak to our boss."

"Did you have any chance of visiting him?"

"Not since your father was convicted of two murders."

"Why? I am sure he would like his colleagues to visit him and get updates about his condition and progress."

"I am not sure if Steve would appreciate a visit from the one colleague who put your father into this ordeal."

"Tanis, I am sure that my brother understands that you were just doing your job. Like you told me that following the evidence is like going down that rabbit hole. I know that you were just following it and that led to a conclusion that is gnawing at your conscience. I could go with you if you'd like."

"Carol, that is a kind offer, but I want to see him when I feel ready. I don't think I want something thrown at me in anger and disgust."

"Just think it over."

"Okay."

There was brief pause as the two women finished sipping there teas. They stared at each other wondering who was going to break this silence.

"Carol, I have a totally unrelated question to ask," Tanis spoke.

"I am not sure if I have the answer," Carol replied with some suspicion. "Go ahead and asked."

"For a few months, there has been a story going around the police department about a cop's sister who punched a woman who was arrested for murder. Some of my colleagues don't believe that occurred and it's considered the department's version of some urban legend. A member of the chief's task force thought it was her sister that did it. Nobody's certain."

"It was me! I was living in Barstow at the time. I had left my abusive bastard husband Bruce and got a job at a clinic in Portland, Oregon. I decided to pay my father and brother a visit since I hadn't seen daddy in eight years and Steve in six. Bruce's colleagues were running a scheme under their boss' nose. My husband filmed them and attempted to blackmail them. He opened a bank account under my name and hid a videotape in a safe deposit box. Some of his colleagues first pursued him and one of them killed him. Then, they ransacked our rental and finally my father and Steve's home. Two Neanderthals attacked my brother and put him in the hospital with a few broken ribs. When I visited him; these goons kidnapped me, took me back here, rummaged through my suitcase for the key to the box. There was a woman, named Andrea Rivers – a receptionist at Bruce's workplace, who drove me to my bank at Barstow. After retrieving the videotape my late Neanderthal husband hid in deposit box, she pulled her gun on me and confessed to killing Bruce. Unbeknownst to me, Steve had released himself from the hospital against medical advice. He appeared just in the nick of time. After she was cuffed, I got out of the car, belted her and sarcastically wished her a 'Merry Christmas'. Dad was there and told me Steve somehow knew where I was taken."

"Wow, I found out the truth behind this legend. I would like to tell members of my Task Force the source of it. That is, unless you don't want me to divulge this interesting eye-opener."

"I think I will leave that up to you."

"There's something that I would like to know from that story. Who was the one who taught you how to throw a punch? Was it Steve or your father? If I had to venture a wild guess, I think it could possibly your mother."

"Actually, it was Steve. I think since the day I was born, he felt I was his responsibility. He would take care of school and neighborhood bullies and rescue me out of some pretty scary or awkward situations while we were growing up. After our mother died, I felt that Steve was becoming more of a parent than a brother. It was like dealing with two fathers when our father was enough. I ran away with Bruce to Las Vegas where we got married."

Tanis looked at her watch and started to get up from her seat. Carol got up a few seconds later, but only to clear the table. Tanis helped Carol wash the cups, spoons and anything else that needed to be washed and put them in either the cabinet or the drawers.

"Carol, I have to get going," Tanis said. "It has been nice meeting you and I apologize for scaring you before."

"Don't worry about it!" Carol replied. "And it's a pleasure meeting one of Steve's colleagues."

The two women embraced as if they were long lost college roommates or sorority sisters. They released each and Tanis took a piece of paper and handed it Carol.

"This is my card with my contact information," Tanis explained. "You can call me if you need someone to talk to."

"Thank you," Carol smiled.

A few moments later, Tanis left and Carol was all alone in the house. She locked the doors and prepared something to eat. She sat on the couch and watched television for about an hour or two. When she went to bed, she debated between first visiting her father in prison or her brother at the hospital. She fell asleep before she could make her decision that could wait until morning.

TBC (Soon, I hope!)