Jane Doe Chapter 8
Olivia was alarmed when she woke the next morning and saw Elliot beside her. It took her a moment to shake out of her daze enough to remember him knocking at her door and her hysterical outburst.
She shifted a bit, trying to free her foot from the painful tingle that overwhelmed it, and woke Elliot in the process. "Morning," He said, yawning and sitting up. His hair was rumpled, as well as his clothes from lying in an awkward position on Olivia's bed.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked her casually, as if it was totally normal waking up in his partner's bed. Olivia turned her back on him and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Fine," she said hoarsely. Olivia's cell phone blared loudly. They both jumped. Olivia practically leapt off the bed and ran to the phone, eager to get away from the peculiar situation she'd found herself in.
"Benson," She answered. "Hey, where's Elliot? We've been pounding on his door and calling his cell all morning."
Olivia turned and looked over at Elliot. "Oh, he came over early this morning, Munch. We were, uh, going over all the stuff that we found yesterday." Elliot raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as if to say, "Is it about me?"
Olivia nodded and turned away again. "Yeah. Uh huh. Okay John, we'll be right down." Olivia flipped her phone down and set it on the table. "Munch says they got a lead. We have to get down to the lobby and meet up with him and Fin."
Elliot nodded. "All right. See you down there." Within minutes, he was out the door. Olivia stood silent for a moment before shaking her head and sighing. This day couldn't get any stranger.
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However, Olivia could always be wrong about those things.
"We found a Ms. Fiona Burke, Ruben's younger sister, this morning. We called her up and she agreed to talk to us."
"How'd you find her?" Elliot asked. Fin and Munch looked at each other. "Don't even ask," Fin replied, rolling his eyes. "Great," Elliot mumbled.
After making a few calls to some cab companies, the four detectives got two cabs (learning from their previous mistakes) and followed one another out to a small suburb, where Fiona Burke lived.
"Ruben was a great person," Fiona said as she poured four coffee mugs full of steaming coffee, an offer that the tired detectives eagerly accepted. "He was a hard worker. And he loved his family."
"His family, meaning Yvonne and Katarina, correct?" Munch asked. Fiona nodded and fell silent. She looked up at Olivia and smiled. "You know, you really remind me of Kitty," she said softly.
Olivia gulped nervously. "Really?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Fiona smile widened a little and she nodded again. "You have her eyes. I remember she had really dark eyes and they always seemed kind of sad. I never figured out why. It was so sad when she died."
The room fell silent. Olivia looked down into her coffee mug and wished that she could disappear. "So, why are you investigating Ruben, anyway? I mean, you are with the NYPD, right? I heard you correctly?"
Fin nodded. "Yeah. We're tying up some loose ends in the investigation."
"If you don't mind me asking, what sort of loose ends?" Fiona asked curiously.
"We suspect that Katarina might still be alive," Olivia jumped in quickly, instantly regretting the words that came out of her mouth. Fin, Munch and Elliot all looked at her, surprised that she'd just blurted out the information like that.
*Oh please floor, just swallow me up and eat me for breakfast now,* She pleaded in her mind. She could feel a deep flush creeping across her cheeks.
"Katarina... she's still alive?" Fiona asked, sounding shocked and excited.
"We don't know for sure," Fin broke in quickly. "That's why we're here. We want to know how Ruben was killed."
Fiona sighed, the enthusiasm gone from her face. "It was terrible. Someone shot him in a street and left him for dead."
"Do you know if there was anyone who would've wanted Ruben dead? Did any red flags pop up with any of his friends at work?" Elliot asked.
Fiona thought for a moment. "Well, there was this one man. His name was Jimmy."
Elliot instantly whipped out his notepad and a pen. "Jimmy what?"
"Derkins."
"And what was going on with this Jimmy Derkins?" Munch asked as Elliot scribbled down the notes. Olivia just remained silent.
"He would come to Ruben's house early in the morning and harass him. Said he'd cheated him out of a promotion or something silly like that. But who knew with Jimmy, he was always drunk."
"Early in the morning, meaning what? Like, 3 or 4 AM?" Elliot asked, not looking up from his pad.
"Uh... yeah, about," Fiona answered, thinking for a moment and then nodding her head in confirmation. "Yvonne would call me in a panic, saying that Jimmy was back and she was afraid of what was going to happen."
"We went to TechLabs where your brother used to work, there was no Jimmy Derkins there," Fin said.
Fiona laughed lightly. "Well, of course not," She said. "Jimmy Derkins has been in a mental facility for over thirty years."
All four detectives, including the subdued Olivia, looked up at Fiona, suddenly interested. "A mental facility? What for?" Elliot asked.
Fiona paused as if deciding whether she should talk or not. "Well, Ruben called the police every time that Jimmy would come around. Finally, he got a restraining order, afraid for Yvonne and Katarina, but it didn't do any good. Jimmy just kept coming around." Fiona closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The cops got at least five complaints about him breaking his restraining order, but every time they went to arrest him, they couldn't find him. The last time Jimmy showed up, Ruben followed him home in his car. Jimmy went to this little shack just outside of the city, and Ruben called the police from there."
"And what happened next?" Munch asked.
"The police showed up and arrested him."
Elliot, Fin, Munch and Olivia exchanged glances. "So, what does that have to do with him going to a mental hospital?" Fin asked.
Fiona looked up at them, her eyes dark and almost frightened. "Inside the shack, there were pictures," She started slowly. "Hundreds of pictures that he took of Ruben, Yvonne and Kitty at random times. They realized that Jimmy had been stalking them. So they took him to a shrink, who pronounced him insane. They sent him to a mental facility." She gulped nervously. "I hear that he kept having outbursts, going crazy, saying that he was going to kill Ruben. So, they decided that he was a danger to society and chose to keep him forever."
The room fell silent for what felt like an eternity. Fin, Elliot and Munch all looked over to Olivia, who's face was pale. She was shaking slightly.
"One more thing, Ms. Burke," Elliot asked quietly. "Do you know what hospital Jimmy Derkins is living at?"
Fiona nodded. "Howell Mountain Hospital. On the other side of the city. I moved as far away from there as I could."
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The four walked out of Fiona Burke's house and began walking down the street, deciding to walk off their jitters for a moment. It was all too creepy.
"That was too creepy," Munch said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Elliot and Fin nodded, not saying a word. Elliot glanced at Olivia who was still looking pale. But there was something new on her face. A look of terror.
"Liv? What is it?" Elliot asked, touching her arm and stopping dead on the sidewalk. Munch and Fin also stopped.
"I remember him," She said softly, looking up at her co-workers. "I remember Jimmy Derkins. I was afraid of him because he was always hanging around the house. He had this crazy look in his eyes. Mom would never allow me to play outside alone because of him."
Olivia turned her eyes to Elliot. They looked plain sad instead of afraid. "I guess that means it's true," She said, deadpan. "I really am Katarina Montgomery."
Elliot sighed and put a hand on her back. Fin rubbed her shoulder and Munch just gave her a sad smile. Wiping away a tear, Olivia leaned on Elliot for support, suddenly feeling weak. The four walked in silence, not able to erase the memory of what had been said from their minds.
Olivia was alarmed when she woke the next morning and saw Elliot beside her. It took her a moment to shake out of her daze enough to remember him knocking at her door and her hysterical outburst.
She shifted a bit, trying to free her foot from the painful tingle that overwhelmed it, and woke Elliot in the process. "Morning," He said, yawning and sitting up. His hair was rumpled, as well as his clothes from lying in an awkward position on Olivia's bed.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked her casually, as if it was totally normal waking up in his partner's bed. Olivia turned her back on him and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Fine," she said hoarsely. Olivia's cell phone blared loudly. They both jumped. Olivia practically leapt off the bed and ran to the phone, eager to get away from the peculiar situation she'd found herself in.
"Benson," She answered. "Hey, where's Elliot? We've been pounding on his door and calling his cell all morning."
Olivia turned and looked over at Elliot. "Oh, he came over early this morning, Munch. We were, uh, going over all the stuff that we found yesterday." Elliot raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as if to say, "Is it about me?"
Olivia nodded and turned away again. "Yeah. Uh huh. Okay John, we'll be right down." Olivia flipped her phone down and set it on the table. "Munch says they got a lead. We have to get down to the lobby and meet up with him and Fin."
Elliot nodded. "All right. See you down there." Within minutes, he was out the door. Olivia stood silent for a moment before shaking her head and sighing. This day couldn't get any stranger.
*********************************************************************
However, Olivia could always be wrong about those things.
"We found a Ms. Fiona Burke, Ruben's younger sister, this morning. We called her up and she agreed to talk to us."
"How'd you find her?" Elliot asked. Fin and Munch looked at each other. "Don't even ask," Fin replied, rolling his eyes. "Great," Elliot mumbled.
After making a few calls to some cab companies, the four detectives got two cabs (learning from their previous mistakes) and followed one another out to a small suburb, where Fiona Burke lived.
"Ruben was a great person," Fiona said as she poured four coffee mugs full of steaming coffee, an offer that the tired detectives eagerly accepted. "He was a hard worker. And he loved his family."
"His family, meaning Yvonne and Katarina, correct?" Munch asked. Fiona nodded and fell silent. She looked up at Olivia and smiled. "You know, you really remind me of Kitty," she said softly.
Olivia gulped nervously. "Really?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Fiona smile widened a little and she nodded again. "You have her eyes. I remember she had really dark eyes and they always seemed kind of sad. I never figured out why. It was so sad when she died."
The room fell silent. Olivia looked down into her coffee mug and wished that she could disappear. "So, why are you investigating Ruben, anyway? I mean, you are with the NYPD, right? I heard you correctly?"
Fin nodded. "Yeah. We're tying up some loose ends in the investigation."
"If you don't mind me asking, what sort of loose ends?" Fiona asked curiously.
"We suspect that Katarina might still be alive," Olivia jumped in quickly, instantly regretting the words that came out of her mouth. Fin, Munch and Elliot all looked at her, surprised that she'd just blurted out the information like that.
*Oh please floor, just swallow me up and eat me for breakfast now,* She pleaded in her mind. She could feel a deep flush creeping across her cheeks.
"Katarina... she's still alive?" Fiona asked, sounding shocked and excited.
"We don't know for sure," Fin broke in quickly. "That's why we're here. We want to know how Ruben was killed."
Fiona sighed, the enthusiasm gone from her face. "It was terrible. Someone shot him in a street and left him for dead."
"Do you know if there was anyone who would've wanted Ruben dead? Did any red flags pop up with any of his friends at work?" Elliot asked.
Fiona thought for a moment. "Well, there was this one man. His name was Jimmy."
Elliot instantly whipped out his notepad and a pen. "Jimmy what?"
"Derkins."
"And what was going on with this Jimmy Derkins?" Munch asked as Elliot scribbled down the notes. Olivia just remained silent.
"He would come to Ruben's house early in the morning and harass him. Said he'd cheated him out of a promotion or something silly like that. But who knew with Jimmy, he was always drunk."
"Early in the morning, meaning what? Like, 3 or 4 AM?" Elliot asked, not looking up from his pad.
"Uh... yeah, about," Fiona answered, thinking for a moment and then nodding her head in confirmation. "Yvonne would call me in a panic, saying that Jimmy was back and she was afraid of what was going to happen."
"We went to TechLabs where your brother used to work, there was no Jimmy Derkins there," Fin said.
Fiona laughed lightly. "Well, of course not," She said. "Jimmy Derkins has been in a mental facility for over thirty years."
All four detectives, including the subdued Olivia, looked up at Fiona, suddenly interested. "A mental facility? What for?" Elliot asked.
Fiona paused as if deciding whether she should talk or not. "Well, Ruben called the police every time that Jimmy would come around. Finally, he got a restraining order, afraid for Yvonne and Katarina, but it didn't do any good. Jimmy just kept coming around." Fiona closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The cops got at least five complaints about him breaking his restraining order, but every time they went to arrest him, they couldn't find him. The last time Jimmy showed up, Ruben followed him home in his car. Jimmy went to this little shack just outside of the city, and Ruben called the police from there."
"And what happened next?" Munch asked.
"The police showed up and arrested him."
Elliot, Fin, Munch and Olivia exchanged glances. "So, what does that have to do with him going to a mental hospital?" Fin asked.
Fiona looked up at them, her eyes dark and almost frightened. "Inside the shack, there were pictures," She started slowly. "Hundreds of pictures that he took of Ruben, Yvonne and Kitty at random times. They realized that Jimmy had been stalking them. So they took him to a shrink, who pronounced him insane. They sent him to a mental facility." She gulped nervously. "I hear that he kept having outbursts, going crazy, saying that he was going to kill Ruben. So, they decided that he was a danger to society and chose to keep him forever."
The room fell silent for what felt like an eternity. Fin, Elliot and Munch all looked over to Olivia, who's face was pale. She was shaking slightly.
"One more thing, Ms. Burke," Elliot asked quietly. "Do you know what hospital Jimmy Derkins is living at?"
Fiona nodded. "Howell Mountain Hospital. On the other side of the city. I moved as far away from there as I could."
*********************************************************************************
The four walked out of Fiona Burke's house and began walking down the street, deciding to walk off their jitters for a moment. It was all too creepy.
"That was too creepy," Munch said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Elliot and Fin nodded, not saying a word. Elliot glanced at Olivia who was still looking pale. But there was something new on her face. A look of terror.
"Liv? What is it?" Elliot asked, touching her arm and stopping dead on the sidewalk. Munch and Fin also stopped.
"I remember him," She said softly, looking up at her co-workers. "I remember Jimmy Derkins. I was afraid of him because he was always hanging around the house. He had this crazy look in his eyes. Mom would never allow me to play outside alone because of him."
Olivia turned her eyes to Elliot. They looked plain sad instead of afraid. "I guess that means it's true," She said, deadpan. "I really am Katarina Montgomery."
Elliot sighed and put a hand on her back. Fin rubbed her shoulder and Munch just gave her a sad smile. Wiping away a tear, Olivia leaned on Elliot for support, suddenly feeling weak. The four walked in silence, not able to erase the memory of what had been said from their minds.
