Starting a Fake Life
Author: Juliana Alves
Category: Major Crimes, Shandy, Romance, Angst, Drama, Humor, Fuffly
Warnings: Sex Description, Kidnapping
Classification: NC-17
Chapters: 13
Complete: [x] Yes [ ] No
Summary: That day a case was put on Brenda's desk: three homicides. The Deputy Sheriff started the investigation hoping that everything would be resolved quickly, but when the first trace of human trafficking linked to an agency, she realizes that not everything is as it seems. And Sharon and Andy going undercover as a couple to that agency…it was just a bonus.
Disclaimer: Some characters in this work belong to The Closer and Major Crimes series, both by James Duff, and from TNT. This work is not for profit, being only in the world of Fanfictions.
A/N: Hi guys, I'm baaaack...so- this story took a long time to come out, it was on my mind since last year and for months I couldn't move forward with the story. But luckily the block passed... YEAAAH... So updates will be once a week, I'll post every Thursday. Stay tuned. Hehehe
Hope you like it. Love you!
Chapter 1
Pope looked at the case at hand with ill omen, he knew was serious enough to go to Brenda, was definitely a case for Major Crimes, but he wasn't in the mood to turn this trump card over to the Deputy Chief. Pope was being selfish, he knew that, but after Brenda ran for Chief of Police it was like she was blatantly affronting him, and honestly, he didn't want her to be that successful.
However, Chief Pope was well aware that this would only get worse if he hid or turned the case over to another department. Sighing in defeat, he picked up the file and headed towards the 9th floor.
As soon as he got out of the elevator he ran into Captain Raydor and she didn't look happy, which was nothing new, Pope never saw that woman smile.
"Captain, I didn't expect to see you here". He tried to talk a little, who knows so she wouldn't tell a little about what she was planning with Brenda, since she was the one who recommended the Deputy Chief for the position he wanted.
"Solving some unfinished cases, Chief". She said quickly and entered the elevator without even looking at him a second time.
"God, what is going on with these women?" He grunted and nearly jumped out of his skin when Julio materialized beside him.
"What happened sir, are they all hating you?"
"More or less".
The Detective just smiled and went back to his desk, Pope thinking everyone was a little crazy, he hurried over to Brenda's office. As usual she looked like she was eating a chocolate while she was talking to someone on the phone.
"Yes, I will do it. Don't worry, I'll be fine". She smiled, but as soon as his eyes met hers, the blonde lost the joy she had and sighed. "Look, I have to go, my boss is right in front of me". With that she said goodbye and faced him. "What happened?"
"What do you mean? I could be visiting you".
"With that grieving face? I know you, Will". She spoke with a sarcastic snort. "You're hating me because I ran for Chief of Police and you don't want to see my face". She said it sincerely. "Which comes back to my question. What happened?"
"Am I that open?"
"No, but I know you". She emphasized again. "What do you have?"
"The third homicide in two weeks".
"Okay, and why is this case not with the homicide department?"
"The Commissioner is breathing down my neck for it to be resolved quickly, bodies were found in Griffith Park. The community is terrified". He sighed and decided to give it a whirl. "I need the best team now".
"Alright, Will". She sighed and took the file from him. "I take over from here".
The Chief opened his mouth to speak, but Brenda was already heading for the murder room and started delegating duties to her team, no longer needed there, Pope left.
Three preliminary autopsy reports, four reports of unsuccessful interviews with potential witnesses, and a few more cups of coffee later, Brenda was thinking about screaming a little.
Whoever started the investigation hadn't done a good job, the preliminary notes were confusing, the evidence didn't seem to exist and to make matters worse one of the Detectives who had signed on as the first on the scene was removed by Captain Raydor because of insubordination and accepting bribe. A mess from hell.
"What do we have so far?" Brenda sighed and closed her eyes wearily.
"Three victims found in Griffith Park, all women". Julius started. "No abuse of sexual violence, but all show signs of having recently given birth".
"All bodies had signs of strangulation, the preliminary autopsy report stated this was the cause of death". Andy continued. "Two of the victims were not found in the databases, suggesting that they didn't have criminal records, or because of their ethnic characteristics, they may have entered the country illegally".
"The third victim was Chloe Beauchamp, a 21-year-old Frenchwoman who was on a one-year exchange at UCLA. Previous detectives didn't have time to call or start investigating her life in France". Tao spoke pointing to the messy papers.
"However, she was reported missing two weeks ago". Provenza looked at his notebook. "Then there must be someone worried".
"And who was it that missed her?" The Deputy Chief wanted to know anxiously. Maybe she still had some clue.
"It says here that a John Doe made the call".
"This can only be a joke". She moaned in frustration. "We need to call UCLA, someone there probably knew her".
"I do it, Chief". Tao picked up the phone and started the call that would be even more frustrating.
"Okay, so we need to start all over again". The blonde rubbed her eyes wearily. "Julio and Gabriel, I need you to go back to the crime scene. We're three days late, but maybe there's still something there- a witness, who knows? Then talk to Morales". The two Detectives nodded and left the room.
"Andy, I need you to investigate Chloe from the moment she entered the US until her last appearance". Brenda felt a little more excited now. "Lieutenant Provenza, try to find out from immigration if there are any reports of immigrants with the description of these two Jane Does".
Two hours later everyone had new leads, new answers and more questions, which wasn't surprising to Brenda, it seemed like all her cases were more complicated than any other department.
"What did you guys find?" Brenda asked.
"We went back to the crime scene, but we didn't find much. The location was far from the trail so we have no witnesses; We went to the Homicide department, but none of them found anything strange during the roll call". Gabriel huffed angrily, it was clear the two departments weren't very warm to each other. "As the last victim was found three days ago, Mackenzie stated that Dr. Morales hadn't turned over any files. So, we went there as agreed".
"Dr. Morales turned over all the files, ma'am. And he seemed happy that we took on the case". Julio continued with a mocking smile. "Like the preliminary files, the three victims showed signs of strangulation, which was the cause of death. Dr. Morales reported that the three appeared to be a little malnourished, but the toxicology test shows high levels of some vitamins such as folic acid, iron and calcium. He believes they were all ingested, probably because of the pregnancy".
"Okay, but they were pregnant, that would be normal, wouldn't it?" Andy questioned as he turned his attention to Julio.
"Dr. Morales, don't believe that". Gabriel spoke and started reading his notebook. "He claims that the nutrients they ingested were totally focused on pregnancy".
"Just for the babies?" Provenza pointed.
"Exactly, and that's not even the worst". Gabriel said.
"What you mean?"
"The first two victims were between 23 and 28 years old, and according to the scars on their abdomens, Dr. Morales believes they went through at least 3 or 4 pregnancies. And there may have been more if the birth was natural. And that for each of the victims".
Provenza stared at Andy and the two Lieutenants sighed, this sounded a lot like an old case of theirs and that wasn't good, as this case had never been solved.
"God! And how did no one find out about their identities? Someone has to know where these kids are". Brenda spoke irritably.
"Chief, this could be even worse". Gabriel spoke and walked over to the whiteboard where Brenda had placed what few clues they had on the victims. And under each of the names he put a number. "On the heels of every victim were these numbers, we don't know what it's for or if it really has any meaning".
"What the hell..." Brenda stared at the numbers in complete confusion.
"Chief, Chloe's guardian is being escorted now". Tao spoke as he hung up the phone and turned his attention to another piece of the puzzle.
Shortly after, a man walked into the murder room with a little scared eye, he looked as young as the victims and Brenda waited for him to lead them to some clue.
"Hello Mr. Rushman, I'm Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. Thank you so much for coming". She starts and held out her hand, sighing in relief at having read his name on Tao's papers.
"Hello, you can call me Francis". The young man replied hesitantly, he looked surprised and confused. "What am I doing here?"
Brenda intended to take him to the interrogation room, but he looked so nervous that she preferred to talk right there. Instructing him to sit down, she settled into Julio's chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Buzz turning on a camera.
"Don't worry Francis, you're not in trouble". She started. "We just need you to answer a few questions".
"Okay". He spoke and ran his sweaty hands down his jeans.
"According to UCLA records you were Chloe Beauchamp's tutor, am I right?"
"Yes, I-I needed some credits and one of my teachers told me that would help".
"Very well, you seem like an intelligent and hardworking young man". The blonde praised and saw Francis calm down. "But tell me a little about Chloe, why did you decide to tutor her?"
"Well... I was born in France and my parents moved here when I was 10, I know what it's like to be a foreigner here." He shrugged.
"You don't look so old; how come you don't have an accent?" asked Julius.
"My mother is American, so I learned both languages".
"So, you became friends with Chloe quickly?"
"Actually, she was quite reclusive. Never talking about her life in France, or why she chose UCLA as an exchange, her grades could get her all the way to Harvard". He stated a little impressed. "But she never said why she chose Los Angeles. Oh... and she would talk about a friend sometimes".
"Do you remember her name?"
"I don't remember well, I think that was Louise or Lucile, I don't know".
"Alright". Brenda reassured him. "When did you last see her?"
"Two weeks ago". He sighed. "She didn't come to our meeting, she needed to do an essay about the French Revolution and how that influenced literature and cinema".
Everyone looked at each other a little confused, they didn't expect them to have a class on literature while trying to find a homicide.
"Oh... I see, so she never showed up?" With Francis' refusal, the Deputy Chief saw the opportunity to reach her objective. "Did you make the call to 911?"
"Yeah". He looked embarrassed.
"Why didn't you identify yourself?" Andy questioned.
"I thought she would be upset if she found out I was the one who made the call".
"But why? You were just worried".
"Is that..." Fear was visible on the young man's face, he was hiding something important.
"You can say, I promise it won't be a problem".
"Okay, just... can I have some water?"
Buzz hurried to the kitchen and came back quickly with two bottles of water, Francis drank it with a little shaky hand and took a deep breath before facing Brenda.
"Chloe was pregnant". He started. "She told me the second time we met, she wasn't very happy as that wasn't a planned pregnancy." He explained quickly. "She needed money, the obstetric appointments were very expensive and she seemed a little desperate".
Francis looked very uncomfortable as he related this. But he seemed to make the decision to go ahead with his story.
"She didn't like feeling vulnerable and I was worried that if she found out I was the one who called 911 she would walk away".
"You look very worried. You were just a tutor, right? Like a teacher?" Andy commented.
"At first, yes, but then we became friends. After I realized that she needed some money I decided to help. I work at a buffet some weekends, which doesn't interfere with my classes and is extra money, so I suggested she do this. I talked to my boss and she agreed". He explained a little puzzled. "It was around this time that she met a lady. The woman was the organizer of a very fancy party, they chatted for a while and after that Chloe didn't come back to work at the buffet".
"What do you think happened?" Provenza wanted to know, it was always at those times that the most important clues appeared.
"Chloe actually told me a little bit about what happened. This lady approached her because she realized she was pregnant, and in between conversations Chloe said she was a single mother or something. She offered to help and Chloe just agreed".
"This is really weird". Julio spoke.
"That's what I thought, but Chloe never told me why she trusted this woman". Francis then shifted uneasily as if he had been shocked. "She gives me goosebumps".
"Why?" Gabriel asked suspiciously.
"She seems too friendly, too eager to help. I attended two events she organized and all those people..."
"What do you mean?"
"She works at an adoption agency, I don't know much about it except that the people who attend this event have a lot of money". Francis commented with a small frown. "They're all older, you know? As if this was their last chance to be parents. That's why I got a little suspicious when she wanted to help Chloe".
"And you know all this how?"
"I work as a waiter, we are invisible". He rolled his eyes. "We heard things, not to mention that those couples seemed to participate in some sort of ranking".
"So, it was a competition?"
"Yeah. The ones I had contact with were rich, but the rich of the rich? They were in another room". The young man approached Brenda as if it were a secret. "That's where things happened, we weren't allowed in there. Judith herself pushed the cart".
"What was in the cart?" Tao asked as he jotted down the entire conversation.
"Drinks, some snacks, but enough for a small group. I couldn't watch or anything like that, but only a few couples went in there and there was always a security guard standing at the door". He huffed and rolled his eyes. "A rude one, always rude to girls".
"You seem very protective." Andy observed.
"I have three sisters, all younger than me, and to imagine anything happening to them... I just try to be respectful". He shrugged and everyone there could see that the young man had a good heart.
"So, you think Judith contacted Chloe out of interest?" Tao asked as he looked at the notebook.
"Maybe?" Francis looked as intrigued as they were. "I don't know what this woman does, but we always joked that she stole babies to keep the agency going".
Provenza stared at Andy and the two Lieutenants shifted uneasily, Brenda exchanged a quick glance with her team and Francis' eyes widened in terror.
"Oh God... is Chloe okay? I thought she had returned to France, she left a message and I thought..."
"What?" Brenda stared at him dumbfounded. "What do you mean you have a message from her?"
"Why didn't you tell us you'd contacted her?"
Francis looked completely unsure now, he didn't know what to do and tried not to panic. Brenda was staring at him with a frown on her face, she wasn't too happy right now.
"I haven't contacted her. Whenever I called it was disconnected. But then I got a message three days ago". He whispered and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I couldn't answer it right away, but she left it on voicemail".
Andy, Buzz and Gabriel, who were furthest away from them, approached. The case was taking a strange turn now and they needed all the details because three days ago the girl was being killed.
With trembling fingers and afraid of being arrested by God knows what, Francis pressed play on the cell phone and the young woman's soft voice came out of the device.
'Hi Francis, sorry for not saying goodbye'. She started, but you could hear a sniff. 'Guess who is already here with me? I- I didn't mean to bother you, but we're fine and I realized I want Lila with me, so we're heading home. I'll take your advice and I told Henry he's a father now'. A small tearful laugh followed and then a noise seemed to startle her. 'I need to go now, thank you so much for being my friend, I love you'.
The line went silent, as did everyone there, this was even more confusing. What happened between that moment and the time of the murder? And what was that noise? How did she consider this young man her friend, but she was missing for two weeks?
So many questions just to confuse them even more, Brenda had several theories now, not just a passionate homicide, but possible a baby trafficking? It wouldn't be the first time, of course, but not with so many possible clues in that direction.
Sighing, Brenda knew she should tell him the bad news, the poor guy didn't deserve to be left in the dark. And he could be an ally if they are sincere now.
"Francis, I'm sorry to inform..." She started.
"No..." He knew where this was going and was completely devastated. "Please".
"Chloe's body was found three days ago..." Brenda tried to finish even as her eyes watered. "...at Griffith Park. I'm very sorry".
"Oh my God..." Francis whispered as tears streamed from his eyes. "But what about the baby? Lila? How- did you find her?"
"Unfortunately, not". Tao spoke.
"It was her, it was Judith, she did this". He screamed and jumped out of his chair.
Julio and Gabriel were the first to act, both trying to calm the boy and comfort him. Brenda realized then that maybe Francis was in love with Chloe, but unfortunately that crush wouldn't happen. With a sigh she closed her eyes and began to compose herself, this was always difficult to report someone's death.
"Chief?" Andy started. "What do we do now?"
"We'll investigate Judith and her agency, something tells me we just bumped into a wasp nest".
Brenda couldn't be more right.
To be Continue...
