Rosalind
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no money, no sue, please? AN: I will warn you now that there is very little story to this. It's basically just an idea I thought I'd spin during the off season. Each chapter is really just more like an impression of a dream than of a real story. Another apology, a name this time. I couldn't catch it, and couldn't find it, so Dr. Devlin's first name is now Allison. If anyone can correct me, please feel free. I'll keep you updated as we move along. Hope you enjoy!
John felt like he was just sitting around, waiting for something to come their way. He'd been sitting at his desk, starting the paperwork, for maybe ten minutes.
"Hey, the workup on Kennedy just came in. She died of a violent allergic reaction" Rita told them, hanging up her phone.
"An allergic reaction, to what?" Andy asked.
"Onion" Rita answered.
"Onion? That's wierd" Connie said.
"So does that mean it wasn't a homicide?" John voiced the question they were all asking themselves.
"Not necesarily" Andy replied, "Remember that phone call. And someone who knew about the allergy could've used that knowledge, laced her food or drink with onion powder or something"
"Hey" Jones's deep voice greeted them as he walked in, Metaboy behind him.
"Where've you two been?" Andy asked.
"We were down at the hospital, talkin to the doc's about the Lieutenant" Metaboy answered.
"How is he?" Connie asked, concern linging her face.
"He's doin okay. They got his lung workin' again, but they said they weren't too sure about how long they could keep him breathin on his own" he answered, wishing he had better news to impart.
"What about this allergy thing?" Andy switched his attention back to the case, "You think Flarhety might've known about it?"
"Only one way to find out" John answered. He found himself back at Connely's door again not long after.
"You're back. Patrick hasn't come here. He hasn't come here, no" the timid young man told them.
"We just want to ask you another couple questions" John said, "You said Patrick didn't like Mehgan. Do you know why?"
"His brother. Patrick said her brother had killed his brother because his brother had killed her father. He said.....he said Mehgan killed his other brother but I don't know about any of that. Mehgan......I don't think Mehgan could kill anyone" Connely looked at the floor while he spoke.
"We've got a clan war on our hands" Andy whispered.
"Bill, hey, Bill" Connely looked up at John, "How well did Patrick know Mehgan?"
"Patrick know Mehgan? Oh, he hated Mehgan. Yes, yes he hated her" John rolled his eyes.
"We're not going to get anything from him" he said to Andy.
"Massamino?"
"Yeah. Hey, hey Bill. You still got that card I gave you?" Connely pulled the card out.
"You remember to call us if you hear from Patrick, all right?" Connely nodded vigorously. Clark and Sipowitz headed to the clinic they'd left the dead girl's friend at. The adminstrator led them to her.
"Detectives!" she said when she saw them, "Did you find something out?"
"Yeah. Uh, Mehgan was killed by an allergic reaction to onions" Andy told her.
"Onions? Yes, she was deathly allergic to them. Her whole family was" Massamino said, starting to tear up again, "We couldn't even have any in the house"
"Listen, I'm sorry to put you through more of this, but we've got some more questions" John said, "We talked to Patrick Flarhety's room mate, and he said something about a history between the two. Something about one of Patrick's brother's killing her father and then her brother killing his brother and so on"
"Yes. They fought in the war in Ireland. The Flarhety's, they're Protestants from Northern Ireland, Mehgan's family were Catholic. One of the Flarhety's, Liam, killed Mehgan's father because he was a high member of some terrorist organization, or something. Then Mehgan's brother Kyle killed Liam for revenge, but Michael Flarhety just killed Kyle, and then William, Mehgan's other brother, killed Michael, and Patrick's been after Mehgan ever since. Mehgan moved here to get away from him. We didn't know he was living downstairs until just the other day!" She burst into tears again.
"So, there's a good chance Flarhety knew about Mehgan's allergy to onions, if her whole family was allergic" Andy said. All Massamino could do was nodded as she blew her nose into a klenex.
"All right, thanks. We'll let you know when we get it all figured out" John told her and they headed out again. They left and went back to the prisinct.
"What did you find out?" Rita asked when they walked in.
"There's a pretty deep family feud. There's a real good chance Flarhety knew all about Kennedy's allergy to onion" Andy replied.
"And he's after her for revenge. Her brother killed his brother, who killed her brother, who killed his brother, cause he killed her father. Did I get it right?"
"Sounds about it" Andy said.
"Sounds ridiculous" Jones commented.
"Excuse me?" They all turned. An elderly woman, late seventies or early eighties, was standing just outside the gate. She was frail looking and spoke with a shaky voice.
"Can I help you ma'am?" Connie asked, getting up.
"Yes, Miss, I'm looking for Tony Rodriguez. I was told he worked here" She looked around the room hopefully. Connie looked down, seeming a little choked up. Andy got up.
"I'm sorry ma'am. Lieutenant Rodriguez isn't here" he told her.
"Can you please tell me where he is? It is very important that I see him right now" she said.
"Why's that ma'am?" John asked.
"I have to give him his daughter" she replied, and it was only then that the squad noticed the little girl hiding behind the woman's skirts. She was about five, and she had thin dark brown, almost black hair that was pulled up into pigtails. She wore a little blue jumper over a green shirt and hugged a rag doll in one arm. She was definately hispanic, but beyond that there was no definate evidance that she was even related to the Lieutenant.
"The Leiutenant doesn't have any children" Andy said, taking the lead. He let the woman past the gate though, and she pulled the little girl with her. She looked up at John with big, terrified, eyes. He hunkered down so he was almost at eye level with her.
"Hello" he said gently, "Why don't you come with me? Do you want a soda?" The little girl looked up at the old woman who nodded at her.
"She doesn't speak much" the woman said, but she pushed the girl towards John and he led her to the back room and set her up with a soda at the table while the rest of the squad talked to the elderly lady outside.
"Why don't you start with your name" Andy instructed her, "And why you think that little girl is Lieutenant Rodriguez's daughter"
"My name is Mildred Collins. Her name is Rosalind Rodriquez. Her mother's name was Rose Velaquez, she was my next door neighbor in California. I watched Rosalind every week day for two hours, when her day time babysitter can't watch her, but Rose wasn't off work yet. About a month ago, Rose found out she had advanced breast cancer. She asked me to watch Rosalind if anything happened to her. The poor woman. She always worked so hard to take care of her little girl, but it never seemed to be enough. She died two weeks ago." Mrs. Collins took a hankerchief out and wiped at her eyes.
"You came here all the way from California?" Connie asked.
"Oh yes. Well, you know, I would keep Rosalind, but I just don't have the energy anymore, or the money, I'm afraid. I thought the girl would be much better off with her father" she answered.
"And why do you think that's the Lieutenant?" Andy asked.
"Why because that's who Rose told me the father was! She was my neighbor for six years, ever since before Rosalind was born you know. She told me that some years ago she and Mr. Rodriguez had had a relationship, you know, but that it had been a short thing, the sort young people today seem to have often enough. Still, Rose was not one of those loose women, I know that. Why she never even saw a man after Rosalind was born. Well, I suppose a child would frighten most men off, but Rose was such a sweet, lovely young lady!"
"Ma'am" Andy stopped her before she could go off on some sort of tangent, "Is there any other proof you have other than what the girl's mother told you?"
"Well, his name is right there on her birth certificate" she told him, reaching into her bag and pulling out that document, handing it to Andy. He passed it to Connie. There was "Tony Rodriguez" printed plain as day in the line that said "father".
"I have legal custody, of course, Rose put it in her will, poor girl. And really I do just love Rosalind, I do, but I'm just not the person to take care of her. But the people I talked to said I could take her to her father" Mrs. Collins looked from one to the other of them.
"So you see, I really must speak to Mr. Rodriguez"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible" Andy told her, "He was shot two days ago. He's in the hospital in critical condition"
"Oh, dear." Mrs. Collins said, "Oh, dear indeed. I had hoped to see him right away. You know my flight back home leaves in two hours, and I simply must take it. I haven't the money to get another ticket." They all heard a little girl's laughter from inside the room. John joined them in the hall. He'd been listening to their conversation while talking to the little girl. They all felt like they needed to help the poor thing, given the evidence that she really was the Lieutenant's daughter. They all felt like they owed something to him, especially now. But none of them knew quite what to do.
"Why young man! You've made her laugh! Why, in all the time I've babysat her, I've never heard her laugh so!" Mrs. Collins exclaimed. John looked at her.
"She's a cute kid. I think she likes me" he told her.
"Look, Mrs. Collins, can you give us a moment?" Andy said and they all moved away.
"What do you guys think?" he asked.
"Well, it's obvious that Mrs. Collins wants to leave her with one of us" Rita said, "And I'd love to take her but.....I'm not the mothering type" She looked at Connie, who exchanged a look with Andy.
"I'd love to take her, really, but we just don't have the room" she said and Andy nodded his agreement.
"Well, I do" John said. Everybody looked at him.
"Really?" Rita said sarcastically. She'd been in John's apartment. There was barely room to walk. Where was he going to put a little girl?
"Sure. My couch folds out, and she seems to like me" The rest of the squad exchanged looks, not sure John Clark was the best man to take a five year old girl, even for just a couple weeks or so until Lt. Rodriguez got out of the hospital. But no one else was really qualified either, it seemed, so no one objected. They turned around to let Mrs. Collins know, but she was gone.
"What the hell?" Andy said looking around for the old woman, but she was gone. They all crowded into the room where Rosalind still sat at the table with her soda. She looked at them with a frightened look on her face and then suddenly got out of her chair and went to stand behind John's legs. There was a legal looking paper sitting on the table.
"It's a custody paper" Jones announced in a surprised voice after looking it over, "And it's got your name on it Clark"
"What?" John took the paper from Jones and looked it over. He was listed as the legal custodian of Rosalind Isabella Rodriquez until such a time that her father, Tony Rodriguez, could take custody, or if that was not possible, Clark was to keep her permenantely. He looked down at the little girl, who was looking up at him like he was her savior, or, even scarier, her father.
"Well, John," Andy said, clapping him on his back, "Looks like you got her"
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no money, no sue, please? AN: I will warn you now that there is very little story to this. It's basically just an idea I thought I'd spin during the off season. Each chapter is really just more like an impression of a dream than of a real story. Another apology, a name this time. I couldn't catch it, and couldn't find it, so Dr. Devlin's first name is now Allison. If anyone can correct me, please feel free. I'll keep you updated as we move along. Hope you enjoy!
John felt like he was just sitting around, waiting for something to come their way. He'd been sitting at his desk, starting the paperwork, for maybe ten minutes.
"Hey, the workup on Kennedy just came in. She died of a violent allergic reaction" Rita told them, hanging up her phone.
"An allergic reaction, to what?" Andy asked.
"Onion" Rita answered.
"Onion? That's wierd" Connie said.
"So does that mean it wasn't a homicide?" John voiced the question they were all asking themselves.
"Not necesarily" Andy replied, "Remember that phone call. And someone who knew about the allergy could've used that knowledge, laced her food or drink with onion powder or something"
"Hey" Jones's deep voice greeted them as he walked in, Metaboy behind him.
"Where've you two been?" Andy asked.
"We were down at the hospital, talkin to the doc's about the Lieutenant" Metaboy answered.
"How is he?" Connie asked, concern linging her face.
"He's doin okay. They got his lung workin' again, but they said they weren't too sure about how long they could keep him breathin on his own" he answered, wishing he had better news to impart.
"What about this allergy thing?" Andy switched his attention back to the case, "You think Flarhety might've known about it?"
"Only one way to find out" John answered. He found himself back at Connely's door again not long after.
"You're back. Patrick hasn't come here. He hasn't come here, no" the timid young man told them.
"We just want to ask you another couple questions" John said, "You said Patrick didn't like Mehgan. Do you know why?"
"His brother. Patrick said her brother had killed his brother because his brother had killed her father. He said.....he said Mehgan killed his other brother but I don't know about any of that. Mehgan......I don't think Mehgan could kill anyone" Connely looked at the floor while he spoke.
"We've got a clan war on our hands" Andy whispered.
"Bill, hey, Bill" Connely looked up at John, "How well did Patrick know Mehgan?"
"Patrick know Mehgan? Oh, he hated Mehgan. Yes, yes he hated her" John rolled his eyes.
"We're not going to get anything from him" he said to Andy.
"Massamino?"
"Yeah. Hey, hey Bill. You still got that card I gave you?" Connely pulled the card out.
"You remember to call us if you hear from Patrick, all right?" Connely nodded vigorously. Clark and Sipowitz headed to the clinic they'd left the dead girl's friend at. The adminstrator led them to her.
"Detectives!" she said when she saw them, "Did you find something out?"
"Yeah. Uh, Mehgan was killed by an allergic reaction to onions" Andy told her.
"Onions? Yes, she was deathly allergic to them. Her whole family was" Massamino said, starting to tear up again, "We couldn't even have any in the house"
"Listen, I'm sorry to put you through more of this, but we've got some more questions" John said, "We talked to Patrick Flarhety's room mate, and he said something about a history between the two. Something about one of Patrick's brother's killing her father and then her brother killing his brother and so on"
"Yes. They fought in the war in Ireland. The Flarhety's, they're Protestants from Northern Ireland, Mehgan's family were Catholic. One of the Flarhety's, Liam, killed Mehgan's father because he was a high member of some terrorist organization, or something. Then Mehgan's brother Kyle killed Liam for revenge, but Michael Flarhety just killed Kyle, and then William, Mehgan's other brother, killed Michael, and Patrick's been after Mehgan ever since. Mehgan moved here to get away from him. We didn't know he was living downstairs until just the other day!" She burst into tears again.
"So, there's a good chance Flarhety knew about Mehgan's allergy to onions, if her whole family was allergic" Andy said. All Massamino could do was nodded as she blew her nose into a klenex.
"All right, thanks. We'll let you know when we get it all figured out" John told her and they headed out again. They left and went back to the prisinct.
"What did you find out?" Rita asked when they walked in.
"There's a pretty deep family feud. There's a real good chance Flarhety knew all about Kennedy's allergy to onion" Andy replied.
"And he's after her for revenge. Her brother killed his brother, who killed her brother, who killed his brother, cause he killed her father. Did I get it right?"
"Sounds about it" Andy said.
"Sounds ridiculous" Jones commented.
"Excuse me?" They all turned. An elderly woman, late seventies or early eighties, was standing just outside the gate. She was frail looking and spoke with a shaky voice.
"Can I help you ma'am?" Connie asked, getting up.
"Yes, Miss, I'm looking for Tony Rodriguez. I was told he worked here" She looked around the room hopefully. Connie looked down, seeming a little choked up. Andy got up.
"I'm sorry ma'am. Lieutenant Rodriguez isn't here" he told her.
"Can you please tell me where he is? It is very important that I see him right now" she said.
"Why's that ma'am?" John asked.
"I have to give him his daughter" she replied, and it was only then that the squad noticed the little girl hiding behind the woman's skirts. She was about five, and she had thin dark brown, almost black hair that was pulled up into pigtails. She wore a little blue jumper over a green shirt and hugged a rag doll in one arm. She was definately hispanic, but beyond that there was no definate evidance that she was even related to the Lieutenant.
"The Leiutenant doesn't have any children" Andy said, taking the lead. He let the woman past the gate though, and she pulled the little girl with her. She looked up at John with big, terrified, eyes. He hunkered down so he was almost at eye level with her.
"Hello" he said gently, "Why don't you come with me? Do you want a soda?" The little girl looked up at the old woman who nodded at her.
"She doesn't speak much" the woman said, but she pushed the girl towards John and he led her to the back room and set her up with a soda at the table while the rest of the squad talked to the elderly lady outside.
"Why don't you start with your name" Andy instructed her, "And why you think that little girl is Lieutenant Rodriguez's daughter"
"My name is Mildred Collins. Her name is Rosalind Rodriquez. Her mother's name was Rose Velaquez, she was my next door neighbor in California. I watched Rosalind every week day for two hours, when her day time babysitter can't watch her, but Rose wasn't off work yet. About a month ago, Rose found out she had advanced breast cancer. She asked me to watch Rosalind if anything happened to her. The poor woman. She always worked so hard to take care of her little girl, but it never seemed to be enough. She died two weeks ago." Mrs. Collins took a hankerchief out and wiped at her eyes.
"You came here all the way from California?" Connie asked.
"Oh yes. Well, you know, I would keep Rosalind, but I just don't have the energy anymore, or the money, I'm afraid. I thought the girl would be much better off with her father" she answered.
"And why do you think that's the Lieutenant?" Andy asked.
"Why because that's who Rose told me the father was! She was my neighbor for six years, ever since before Rosalind was born you know. She told me that some years ago she and Mr. Rodriguez had had a relationship, you know, but that it had been a short thing, the sort young people today seem to have often enough. Still, Rose was not one of those loose women, I know that. Why she never even saw a man after Rosalind was born. Well, I suppose a child would frighten most men off, but Rose was such a sweet, lovely young lady!"
"Ma'am" Andy stopped her before she could go off on some sort of tangent, "Is there any other proof you have other than what the girl's mother told you?"
"Well, his name is right there on her birth certificate" she told him, reaching into her bag and pulling out that document, handing it to Andy. He passed it to Connie. There was "Tony Rodriguez" printed plain as day in the line that said "father".
"I have legal custody, of course, Rose put it in her will, poor girl. And really I do just love Rosalind, I do, but I'm just not the person to take care of her. But the people I talked to said I could take her to her father" Mrs. Collins looked from one to the other of them.
"So you see, I really must speak to Mr. Rodriguez"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible" Andy told her, "He was shot two days ago. He's in the hospital in critical condition"
"Oh, dear." Mrs. Collins said, "Oh, dear indeed. I had hoped to see him right away. You know my flight back home leaves in two hours, and I simply must take it. I haven't the money to get another ticket." They all heard a little girl's laughter from inside the room. John joined them in the hall. He'd been listening to their conversation while talking to the little girl. They all felt like they needed to help the poor thing, given the evidence that she really was the Lieutenant's daughter. They all felt like they owed something to him, especially now. But none of them knew quite what to do.
"Why young man! You've made her laugh! Why, in all the time I've babysat her, I've never heard her laugh so!" Mrs. Collins exclaimed. John looked at her.
"She's a cute kid. I think she likes me" he told her.
"Look, Mrs. Collins, can you give us a moment?" Andy said and they all moved away.
"What do you guys think?" he asked.
"Well, it's obvious that Mrs. Collins wants to leave her with one of us" Rita said, "And I'd love to take her but.....I'm not the mothering type" She looked at Connie, who exchanged a look with Andy.
"I'd love to take her, really, but we just don't have the room" she said and Andy nodded his agreement.
"Well, I do" John said. Everybody looked at him.
"Really?" Rita said sarcastically. She'd been in John's apartment. There was barely room to walk. Where was he going to put a little girl?
"Sure. My couch folds out, and she seems to like me" The rest of the squad exchanged looks, not sure John Clark was the best man to take a five year old girl, even for just a couple weeks or so until Lt. Rodriguez got out of the hospital. But no one else was really qualified either, it seemed, so no one objected. They turned around to let Mrs. Collins know, but she was gone.
"What the hell?" Andy said looking around for the old woman, but she was gone. They all crowded into the room where Rosalind still sat at the table with her soda. She looked at them with a frightened look on her face and then suddenly got out of her chair and went to stand behind John's legs. There was a legal looking paper sitting on the table.
"It's a custody paper" Jones announced in a surprised voice after looking it over, "And it's got your name on it Clark"
"What?" John took the paper from Jones and looked it over. He was listed as the legal custodian of Rosalind Isabella Rodriquez until such a time that her father, Tony Rodriguez, could take custody, or if that was not possible, Clark was to keep her permenantely. He looked down at the little girl, who was looking up at him like he was her savior, or, even scarier, her father.
"Well, John," Andy said, clapping him on his back, "Looks like you got her"