"Good morning, Ranger Salvatore, This is Chief Fell."
"Good morning, I take it you're calling me for a reason?" Damon asks, immediately sitting up in his motel room bed.
"Yep, Miss Barstow and her attorney brought in a laptop that she found in her brother's room. She was cleaning and noticed a loose floor board."
"Interesting... I wonder why he'd go to all that trouble to keep it hidden?"
"That, my friend is as they say the million dollar question..."
"I'll be down there as soon as I throw some clothes on. Thanks Chief," Damon ends the connection. After calling Kai to get ready, he jumps into the shower, forgoes shaving, grabs his hat and hurries outside where his cohort is already waiting at their rental car.
As soon as the vehicle stops, Damon flies out of his seat and into the Huntington Police station. "We're here to see Chief Fell," he tells the woman at the desk just as Kai steps beside him.
"He's expecting you," she smiles and tells them to go in.
There sitting on the man's huge oak desk is a laptop, the silver top scratched and the corners dented. When he raises it, the screen has a small crack in it. "It's in rough shape," the older man points out the obvious.
"Does Sloane happen to know the password?" Damon pushes the power button but nothing happens.
"No, she doesn't, that's the first thing I asked too," the white-haired man informs them.
"It needs to be charged at the very least," a frustrated look mars Damon's features.
"Yep...," Chief Fell meets Damon's stare.
"Do you have a cord that will fit?" Kai adds, looking at the decrepit computer.
"No, we don't. This is old, really old."
"Chief, can we take it to a forensic computer examiner? Do you know anyone?" Damon asks, flopping down in one of the chairs.
"Actually I know a very good one. Her name's Gia Russo, she's worth her weight in gold."
"Can we get her here or get this computer to her?"
"You're in luck, she grew up in this town, her mother is the lunch lady at one of the local elementary schools. I believe she's in town for the holiday weekend," Chief Fell picks up his phone and chats with someone. Kai and Damon are only privy to one side of the conversation but the man has a smile on his face when he hangs up.
"She'll be here as soon as she can."
"That's fantastic. Now we just need to do a photo lineup with Sloane Barstow, hopefully she'll recognize the man we suspect to be the one who wanted Katherine Mikaelson dead."
"And I have more good news for you. Chief Bennett in Ashland sent me a picture of the man. We also have one of Niklaus Mikaelson, found it in Virginia police database. Seems as a young man, he got into a little trouble while he was in college, nothing serious but enough to warrant a spot on it. We'll mix them with 8 other criminals so she'll have 10 pictures to look at."
"How soon can we get her here?"
"I'll call her attorney right now," he picks up his phone again. Turning his back to Damon and Kai, he talks to Mr. Lockwood, asking him to bring Sloane to the police station as soon as it can be arranged. Turning around, he clicks it off and tosses it on his desk. "They'll be here at 3 this afternoon, so you fellas don't have to hang around here."
"What is there do in Huntington for the next few hours?"
"Well, I'm glad you asked. Our little town actually has a lot to offer. You can have a visit at the Heritage Farm Museum and Village, We have an art museum and another one of radio and technology. There's Heritage Station and Ritter Park. There's a plethora of things for you to do."
Damon laughs, "Thanks Chief, we'll have to check some of those out. We'll see you this afternoon," Damon shakes his hand, followed by Kai and together the two visiting lawmen leave the station to kill some time...
"Thanks for asking me to help out, Caroline, it feels good to think about something else," Elena smiles and dishes out a bowl of hot soup to each person as they go through the line at the mission.
"I thought it would do you good. When we're done here, we're going to the mall to set up the angel tree. People can pick a child and buy them presents."
"I think that's a great idea. I think I'll choose one myself too."
"That's great, but you'll have your niece and nephew too."
"They're not going to be home for Christmas, they're staying in Virginia..." her voice trails off. The idea of them moving is weighing heavily on her mind. Despite the awkward moment with Nik, she doesn't want her family - Katherine's family gone.
"Did he say anything?" Caroline smiles when she gives a little boy a turkey sandwich to dunk in his soup.
"No, he's been very edgy if you will when I talk to him, like he's planning something but wants to keep it close to the vest."
"Since?" Caroline arches an eyebrow.
"He kissed me, it didn't mean anything and I told him no but he's been distant ever since. He wants a mother for his kids but I can't take Katherine's place... Maybe some woman can, he's attractive, kind, that roguish smile of his is what attracted Katherine in the first place but I don't feel that way about him."
"Understandable," she agrees and hands out the last sandwich. "Looks like we're done for the day. Let's help Bree clean up and then we can get out of here."
"Sounds good," Elena puts the ladle to her lips and drinks the last swallow of soup before picking up the pot to carry it into the facility's kitchen. After doing the dishes, they put everything away, then two friends grab their coats and head for the mall to take care of the next order of business.
"Gia, it's good to see you, come in," Chief Fell extends his arm for her to have a seat.
"It's good to see you too, my mom sends her regards," Gia shakes his hand then looks at the two other men in the room.
"I'd like to introduce you to Ranger Damon Salvatore and Detective Kai Parker. They're here about a murder in Galveston, they believe the man who pulled the trigger was Markos Barstow. To make a long story short, we have his laptop and are hoping you'll be able to garner some useful information from it," the man points to it on his desktop.
"I guess my first question would be - what kind of information are you expecting to find or should I rephrase that, hoping to find?"
"Our victim was a young mother of twins. We haven't completely written off her husband yet, however we're quite interested in her former lover, a Richmond surgeon, name's Wesley Maxfield. In the best case scenario, we're hoping you may find some correspondence between the two of them? If there isn't any," Damon shrugs his shoulders, "We'll have to go back to square one."
"We need to fill out the chain of evidence paperwork, I'll have to take the computer back to my lab in Quantico. I'll stop and pick it up tomorrow on my way home."
"That would be great Gia," Chief Fell smiles at her.
"Here's my card," Damon hands it to her. "If you find anything, I'm available any time day or night."
"This is important to you?" she looks at him.
"It is, the young woman was found by her sister, her 18 month old babies were covered in her blood so yeah, it is important to put whoever arranged her murder away for a long time."
"That's so sad, I'll do what I can, I can't promise I'll find anything but I'll use every tool I have available in my arsenal to get that computer to tell its story."
"Thank you Miss Russo," Damon stands when she does to shake her hand as does Kai.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Chief, we'll fill out the paperwork then I'll head back to Charleston and get to work."
"We appreciate that, Gia, I'll see you tomorrow," he shows her out while Damon and Kai share a look before sitting back down and wait for the clock to strike 3...
Finally the moment has arrived. Sloane Barstow is sitting in the interrogation room with her attorney, Tripp Cooke beside her. Chief Fell meticulously lays out the 10 photos on the table in front of her. Damon and Kai stay out of the room because Tobias didn't want anything - their presence namely - to influence her decision, like facial mannerisms when she picks up the pictures. Of course Damon argued that both he and Kai are the utmost in professionalism and can keep a straight face but in the end, he acquiesced to the Chief's wishes.
He's pacing back and forth in the man's office, frequently looking at either his watch or the wall clock. In the end, he steals a cigarette off his desk and goes outside to smoke it. Kai appears a few minutes later, sitting down on the steps beside Damon.
"Nerve wracking isn't it?"
"It really is, we should be in there," he kicks a loose stone in frustration.
"We should but every place does things differently, I'm sure it's nothing on you, Damon."
"Yeah I know, the Chief's a good man, it's just... " he takes a long drag from the cigarette.
"Since when do you smoke?" Kai snatches it from his fingers and takes a puff of his own.
"I don't really, only when I'm especially anxious like right now," Damon swipes it back, takes another drag then stomps it out as he blows smoke rings from his lips. Before he can say another word, he hears their names.
"The Chief wants you to come inside," the desk lady waves her arms for them to follow. "You know where they are," she points to interrogation room 1.
"Thanks," Damon nods and the two men open the door, meeting the Chief Fell's eyes as they enter.
Looking at Sloane Barstow, the middle-aged appearing man says to her, "Will you show Ranger Salvatore the man you saw talking to your brother that day?"
She nods, picks up the photo and hands it to Damon.
Damon's holding his breath and meets her eyes. "Are you absolutely sure this is the man?" His heart is pounding like a jackhammer inside his chest as he waits for her confirmation.
"Yes, I'm absolutely positive this is the man I saw with Markos."
Dr. Wesley Maxfield.
"Nik, how are the kids?" Elena asks, stretching her legs out on the coffee table.
"We're good, Elena. Mom and dad are spoiling the babies... We're going to take them to get a picture with Santa Claus tomorrow. I'll be sure to get one for you."
"That would be great, Nik. I miss them, the house seems kind of empty."
"I should tell you, Elena, I'm looking to transfer back here, nothing's set in stone yet but I'm going to start putting things in order there... If we do move, you can come here too whenever you'd like, I want you to have a relationship with them but I don't know if I want to go back there."
"I figured as much, and I know that you need to do what you think is right but I'll miss you all," Elena runs her fingers the her hair and pushes it off her forehead.
"You could relocate too..."
"No, Nik, I can't, my home is here. You are coming back though aren't you, to get your things?"
"Yes, we'll be back after New Year's, long enough to get everything packed up and to say goodbye to you Jenna and Ric if everything works out of course."
She hears crying in the background. "You better go take care of them. I'll talk to you soon," she clicks off the device and lays it down on the cushion beside her. Laying her head back, Elena lets her eyes fall closed, it's been a long day and she's tired and soon sleep pulls her into unconsciousness.
As the passengers begin to disembark, Damon and Kai stand and wait their turn to slide into the center aisle so they too can exit the airplane. Their flight time was about 3 hours but they gained an hour, traveling from eastern standard time into the central time zone.
Damon's anxious to see Elena, more than anything, he wants to take her in his arms and kiss her fiercely. He's missed her but his thoughts are also on the case, they have a link between Katherine's killer and her ex lover but they need more or Wes will walk free. Fortunately and unfortunately, depending on perspective, Lady Justice sometimes moves very slowly.
Unconsciously, his fingers tap a measured cadence on the back of one of the seats when finally one of the other passengers lets he and Kai into the aisle and soon they're in the terminal, walking in a quick pace to catch a cab back to headquarters. His thoughts drift to Gia Russo, she may be the one to make or break their case - so much hinges on whether she finds any correspondence, something that might proove a more sinister link between the haughty Dr. Maxfield and Markos Barstow.
His gut instinct's telling him that Maxfield is the instigator of the murder scheme, he remembers how the man knew she was murdered in Galveston, he couldn't have known that unless... But he also knows that DA won't bring charges until they have enough evidence to prove their case. The worst possible outcome would be acquittal, they only have one shot at this due to the *double jeopardy standard.
"Did you see the Bigfoot lumbering down the sidewalk?"
"Yeah." It takes Damon a couple seconds to look up. "Bigfoot?"
"You were a million miles away," Kai laughs, quirking a brow in the manner of John Belushi.
"I was thinking of all the ways Maxfield might walk free the rest of his life and that young woman is dead," Damon sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"We're gonna get him, Damon. It may take longer than we want, one day at a time..."
Damon nods, steps out of the cab and tosses the driver a few bills. After saying goodbye to Kai, he goes direclty to his car, pounds the center counsel, turns the key and drives with singular purpose...
Damon pulls alongside the curb when he reaches her place. He turns off the car and looks to his right, his breath catches in his throat when her silhouette appears in the window. Even that sends shivers up his spine. Taking a breath, he gets out of his car, trots up her sidewalk and rings the bell. His heart starts to thrum wildly when the porch light comes on and the door opens.
There she is. He doesn't even know why he's nervous...
"Damon you're here?" she steps out and looks around, as if she thinks he's not alone.
"I hope you don't mind, I wanted to see you."
The corners of her mouth begin to lift and she steps back, silently inviting him inside.
She shuts the door, "I'm glad you came. I'm not going to ask you about your work, I don't want to put you in that position, one where you might think this," she motions back and forth between them with her index finger, "is only about her. It's not, I promise."
He looks at her for a moment and the next she feels his mouth on her forehead, her temple and her cheekbone. As her eyes close, his lips brush hers, so gentle it's almost like a whisper. They come back and press again, soft, warm and wet. Her hands are moving, sliding up his arms to his shoulders.
Then they're pulling tighter, pressing closer, his mouth on hers, and there it is again. That fire that burns inside her - the one that only Damon has ever made Her feel. She wants more of him, more of this. He picks her up, carries her to the couch and lays her down before covering her body with his. Hers thrills at the feeling of his weight. His mouth is against her neck and Damon moans against her skin. His fingers tug on her nightgown, exposing her shoulder and the top of her breast.
"Damon," she whispers, reaching up to touch his hair, to pull him closer.
"Elena," he breathes, and his mouth finds hers again, this time urgent and full of desire, and she lets him consume her...
I don't know how many of you are football fans but Adam Vinatieri - he played for the Patriots and now is with the Indianapolis Colts - his mother was the lunch lady at my kids elementary school. Chief Fell mentioning Gia's mom made me think of that. :)
A basic purpose of the Double Jeopardy Clause is to protect a defendant "against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction." It is "settled" that "no man can be twice lawfully punished for the same offense."
Chapter title: 'I Want You To Want Me' by Cheap Trick.
We hope you all have a wonderful day given our circumstances. Thank you for everything. Take care, love you all.