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!
"This is weird" John said, folding the paper up and putting it in the inside pocket of his coat.
"I'll get Haywood, make sure it's all legal" Jones said and took off to find the DA. The little girl was still standing behind John's legs, looking out like a monkey in a cage. John turned around and picked her up. She was very light for being five years old.
"I'm going to take care of you for a little while, okay, Rosalind?" he told her. She looked around and then curled both of her arms around his neck. She nodded and her pig tails tickled his neck. He could feel little hot spots on his shoulder and figured she was crying, though he couldn't tell any other way. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, suddenly feeling very paternal.
"It's okay Rosalind, everything's going to be okay" he told her gently, hoping that would help her feel better. He really didn't know what else to say. He wasn't exactly the fathering type, and it wasn't like he'd had a great teacher at the practice of being one. Still, he would do the best he could, he would just have to do things logically. Bed time, nightly baths, school, breakfast, lunch and dinner...........shit, what had he gotten himself into? He had no idea how long he would have her, and in fact he might have her permenantly! Permenantly, he would have to get a new apartment. Of course, if it came down to that, he could put her up for adoption.....but when he looked back down at her tear streaked face when he sat her back down in the chair, he knew he could never do that. She had a little suitcase with her and a backpack too.
"Listen, you're going to have to stay in this room for a little while, okay? I can get you something to draw with, do you want to draw?" he asked.
"I have coloring books" she told him quietly. That was the most sound she'd made, other than the laugh, since she got there.
"Where, in your backpack?" he asked. She nodded solemnly. He wondered what had happened in her life that she was so serious and quiet. Still, it would be a blessing for today. He set her up with crayons and her coloring book and went back out to the main office, where everyone else was kind of milling around.
"What am I going to do with her all day?" he asked no one in particular.
"She'll just have to stay here. We've got work to do" Andy replied.
"But I can't just leave her alone" John objected.
"I'll be here detective" Irvin said, "I'll keep an eye on her"
"I'll call my babysitter" Connie offered, "Maybe she can take her for at least the rest of the week, until you find someone else or something"
"Yeah, yeah, that'd be great, thanks Connie"
"And she's about Theo's age, maybe she can get into his school with him" Andy suggested.
"Yeah, that'd be good. I appreciate it you guys" John said, just as a uniformed officer came in with a small cardboard box in his hands.
"Hey, I'm looking for Detective Clark" he said.
"Yeah, that's me" John said, taking the box from him.
"Some old lady left it downstairs for you. We checked it, it's just full of little kid stuff" the officer told him.
"Yeah, that's mine. Thanks" John told him and went to put the box in the back room with Rosalind.
Later
"Hey, we just got another one of those anonymous calls" Metaboy announced, hanging up his phone, "Says she knows something about the Kennedy murder, and she'll meet someone at Park's."
"We got it" Andy said, pulling his coat on.
"You'll watch her?" John asked Irvin as they went out the door, nodding at the Lieutenant's office where Rosalind was napping. Irvin nodded at him.
Park's was busy and Clark and Sipowitz had no idea who they were looking for.
"The girl you're looking for is just back there" a waitress told them, pointing to a quiet booth on the other side of the diner from where they'd found Kennedy just this morning. That booth was still blocked off, though the body had been removed. Clark and Sipowitz made their way over and slipped into the booth. The girl was a dead ringer for the DOA. Red hair, ivory, freckled skin, the green eyes John had expected.
"You the one that called about Mehgan Kennedy?" Andy asked.
"Yes" the girl said quietly, heavy Irish accent. John wondered where all of these Irish immigrants had come from all the sudden.
"Me name's Peg Callahan. I remember the wars between the Flarhety's and the Kennedys in Ireland. Those two family's have been fighting ever since Northern Ireland split off." She told them, glancing around to see if anyone was listening or watching, "Now me, I'm Protestant I am, but that don' mean I agree with all this killin'. So I called ye, to tell ye. At church on last Sunday, I 'eard Patrick Flarhety talkin' about Mehgan Kennedy. Tellin' one o' his friends about how her whole family were deathly allergic to onion and how he knew how he was gonna get her now."
"Will you testify to that?" John asked. They'd finnally gotten some conclusive evidence! The girl considered for a moment, nervous about the idea obviously.
"Aye, I will. You understand, Declan Kennedy, he'll be after Patrick now. Now, that Mehgan's dead. The whole Flarhety family will be dead if Patrick dies. And the Connely's they'll be after me if Patrick goes to jail and they know I'm the one what put him there"
"Connely? As in Bill Connely?" Andy asked.
"Aye, Bill be his cousin. Poor, slow witted thing. Declan, he's Mehgan's younger brother, and he be the last in that line. If he were to die, the whole war would shift and be between the Connely's and the O'Hara's, the Kennedy's cousins." Callahan told them, "The whole idea is ridiculous, aye, but that's how things go there. You get a couple familys of hot heads and death be tollin' on everybody's door"
"All right. Why don't you come into the station with us, you can write this all down as a formal testimony" Andy suggested, getting up. Callahan looked around, not sure if she should comply.
"Come one, no one's going to hurt you with us" John urged her. She nodded and followed them out to the car.
"McDowell, this is Peg Callahan, she's got a testimony about the Kennedy case" Andy called and Connie came and collected the girl.
"McDowell? Are ye Irish?" she asked.
"My family is" Connie answered, taking her into the room Rosalind had previously occupied. John poked his head in the Liuetenant's office.
" Irvin, where's Rosalind?" he asked.
"Oh, she went to the restroom" Irvin answered.
"We heard anything from Bill Connely?" Andy asked him.
"Nope, sorry" Haywood walked in just then.
"Hey, Clark, I heard you had a little problem" she said.
"Ah, not really a problem" John said pulling the legal papers out of his pocket and handing them over, "I just want to make sure this is legal" Haywood glanced over the paper.
"Rodriguez has a daughter?" she asked, looking up.
"Apparently" Andy said and John handed her the birth certificate that had been left too. Haywood looked over that too.
"It looks legal to me. It can be contested of course, but it seems pretty sound to me" She handed everything back to John, "Of course family court isn't exactly my forte either"
"I just wanted a little reassurance before I took her home" John told her.
"She's here, now?" Haywood asked, surprised.
"Yeah, she's in the bathroom." John told her, just as the door opened and Rosalind came out. Her eyes were still huge and her hair was sticking out at odd angles, like she'd just gotten out of bed, which she probably had.
"Rosalind, come here" He called to her and she scuttled across the room.
"This is Valerie" he introduced her.
"Hi, there" Haywood smiled down at her. Rosalind hid behind John.
"She's shy, huh?" Haywood said, "Well look, if you need anything else just let me know okay?" She smiled at them all again and left. Connie and Callahan emerged from the back room and Callahan left.
"What did Haywood say?" Connie asked John.
"She said it was legal" he told her and led Rosalind back to the Lieutenant's office.
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!
"This is weird" John said, folding the paper up and putting it in the inside pocket of his coat.
"I'll get Haywood, make sure it's all legal" Jones said and took off to find the DA. The little girl was still standing behind John's legs, looking out like a monkey in a cage. John turned around and picked her up. She was very light for being five years old.
"I'm going to take care of you for a little while, okay, Rosalind?" he told her. She looked around and then curled both of her arms around his neck. She nodded and her pig tails tickled his neck. He could feel little hot spots on his shoulder and figured she was crying, though he couldn't tell any other way. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, suddenly feeling very paternal.
"It's okay Rosalind, everything's going to be okay" he told her gently, hoping that would help her feel better. He really didn't know what else to say. He wasn't exactly the fathering type, and it wasn't like he'd had a great teacher at the practice of being one. Still, he would do the best he could, he would just have to do things logically. Bed time, nightly baths, school, breakfast, lunch and dinner...........shit, what had he gotten himself into? He had no idea how long he would have her, and in fact he might have her permenantly! Permenantly, he would have to get a new apartment. Of course, if it came down to that, he could put her up for adoption.....but when he looked back down at her tear streaked face when he sat her back down in the chair, he knew he could never do that. She had a little suitcase with her and a backpack too.
"Listen, you're going to have to stay in this room for a little while, okay? I can get you something to draw with, do you want to draw?" he asked.
"I have coloring books" she told him quietly. That was the most sound she'd made, other than the laugh, since she got there.
"Where, in your backpack?" he asked. She nodded solemnly. He wondered what had happened in her life that she was so serious and quiet. Still, it would be a blessing for today. He set her up with crayons and her coloring book and went back out to the main office, where everyone else was kind of milling around.
"What am I going to do with her all day?" he asked no one in particular.
"She'll just have to stay here. We've got work to do" Andy replied.
"But I can't just leave her alone" John objected.
"I'll be here detective" Irvin said, "I'll keep an eye on her"
"I'll call my babysitter" Connie offered, "Maybe she can take her for at least the rest of the week, until you find someone else or something"
"Yeah, yeah, that'd be great, thanks Connie"
"And she's about Theo's age, maybe she can get into his school with him" Andy suggested.
"Yeah, that'd be good. I appreciate it you guys" John said, just as a uniformed officer came in with a small cardboard box in his hands.
"Hey, I'm looking for Detective Clark" he said.
"Yeah, that's me" John said, taking the box from him.
"Some old lady left it downstairs for you. We checked it, it's just full of little kid stuff" the officer told him.
"Yeah, that's mine. Thanks" John told him and went to put the box in the back room with Rosalind.
Later
"Hey, we just got another one of those anonymous calls" Metaboy announced, hanging up his phone, "Says she knows something about the Kennedy murder, and she'll meet someone at Park's."
"We got it" Andy said, pulling his coat on.
"You'll watch her?" John asked Irvin as they went out the door, nodding at the Lieutenant's office where Rosalind was napping. Irvin nodded at him.
Park's was busy and Clark and Sipowitz had no idea who they were looking for.
"The girl you're looking for is just back there" a waitress told them, pointing to a quiet booth on the other side of the diner from where they'd found Kennedy just this morning. That booth was still blocked off, though the body had been removed. Clark and Sipowitz made their way over and slipped into the booth. The girl was a dead ringer for the DOA. Red hair, ivory, freckled skin, the green eyes John had expected.
"You the one that called about Mehgan Kennedy?" Andy asked.
"Yes" the girl said quietly, heavy Irish accent. John wondered where all of these Irish immigrants had come from all the sudden.
"Me name's Peg Callahan. I remember the wars between the Flarhety's and the Kennedys in Ireland. Those two family's have been fighting ever since Northern Ireland split off." She told them, glancing around to see if anyone was listening or watching, "Now me, I'm Protestant I am, but that don' mean I agree with all this killin'. So I called ye, to tell ye. At church on last Sunday, I 'eard Patrick Flarhety talkin' about Mehgan Kennedy. Tellin' one o' his friends about how her whole family were deathly allergic to onion and how he knew how he was gonna get her now."
"Will you testify to that?" John asked. They'd finnally gotten some conclusive evidence! The girl considered for a moment, nervous about the idea obviously.
"Aye, I will. You understand, Declan Kennedy, he'll be after Patrick now. Now, that Mehgan's dead. The whole Flarhety family will be dead if Patrick dies. And the Connely's they'll be after me if Patrick goes to jail and they know I'm the one what put him there"
"Connely? As in Bill Connely?" Andy asked.
"Aye, Bill be his cousin. Poor, slow witted thing. Declan, he's Mehgan's younger brother, and he be the last in that line. If he were to die, the whole war would shift and be between the Connely's and the O'Hara's, the Kennedy's cousins." Callahan told them, "The whole idea is ridiculous, aye, but that's how things go there. You get a couple familys of hot heads and death be tollin' on everybody's door"
"All right. Why don't you come into the station with us, you can write this all down as a formal testimony" Andy suggested, getting up. Callahan looked around, not sure if she should comply.
"Come one, no one's going to hurt you with us" John urged her. She nodded and followed them out to the car.
"McDowell, this is Peg Callahan, she's got a testimony about the Kennedy case" Andy called and Connie came and collected the girl.
"McDowell? Are ye Irish?" she asked.
"My family is" Connie answered, taking her into the room Rosalind had previously occupied. John poked his head in the Liuetenant's office.
" Irvin, where's Rosalind?" he asked.
"Oh, she went to the restroom" Irvin answered.
"We heard anything from Bill Connely?" Andy asked him.
"Nope, sorry" Haywood walked in just then.
"Hey, Clark, I heard you had a little problem" she said.
"Ah, not really a problem" John said pulling the legal papers out of his pocket and handing them over, "I just want to make sure this is legal" Haywood glanced over the paper.
"Rodriguez has a daughter?" she asked, looking up.
"Apparently" Andy said and John handed her the birth certificate that had been left too. Haywood looked over that too.
"It looks legal to me. It can be contested of course, but it seems pretty sound to me" She handed everything back to John, "Of course family court isn't exactly my forte either"
"I just wanted a little reassurance before I took her home" John told her.
"She's here, now?" Haywood asked, surprised.
"Yeah, she's in the bathroom." John told her, just as the door opened and Rosalind came out. Her eyes were still huge and her hair was sticking out at odd angles, like she'd just gotten out of bed, which she probably had.
"Rosalind, come here" He called to her and she scuttled across the room.
"This is Valerie" he introduced her.
"Hi, there" Haywood smiled down at her. Rosalind hid behind John.
"She's shy, huh?" Haywood said, "Well look, if you need anything else just let me know okay?" She smiled at them all again and left. Connie and Callahan emerged from the back room and Callahan left.
"What did Haywood say?" Connie asked John.
"She said it was legal" he told her and led Rosalind back to the Lieutenant's office.