Sara was fidgeting nervously from the moment they got into the car for the
drive to One Police Plaza. She wished there was some other solution,
something less invasive, les intrusive. Ian had only just begun to get a
sense of who he was and now he was going to have to bare his secret to the
world. At least he was dressed well, a sort of dress down dress to impress
and he looked incredible, not a hair out of place. At moments like this
she could see his upbringing, the way he reflected Irons in a sort of dark
mirror image. He seemed to be handling the strain better than she was.
The talk with his father seemed to have done him a lot of good, as
reluctant as she still was to admit it, give the man credit for anything.
She still didn't understand him, dead or alive nor did she care to. But
his little appearance had calmed her a bit. She would at lest try to be
more understanding of Ian's feelings for him.
She watched him drive, gloved hands confident on the wheel, eyes on the road as they made their way through the quiet streets of Sunday morning New York.
Ian focused on the road and tried to keep his mind on the task before him. Sara was nervous and he was having a little bit of difficulty blocking it out of his consciousness. He focused his mind on what he needed to do, the picture he wanted to present to those at the meeting. As always when faced with a situation he was unsure of his first thought was to fall back on familiar patterns, what would Irons do? How would he react to the situation? In this situation, he knew that his father's confidence and easy understanding of power and politics would be the keys to winning the day. He pulled his thoughts together, planning tactics as he drove, adding and discarding options like so much trash blowing along the side of the highway.
They pulled up to a parking meter just down the street from the building and exited the car, Ian grabbing the brief case and taking her hand. "Are you ready?" he asked, his concern clear on his face.
"Fine, and you?"
"I shall be. We will get through this." He leaned forward, carefully checking the street and gave her a reassuring kiss. As he leaned back to feed the parking meter, she watched the carefully neutral mask descend, his face becoming a study in cold control. It chilled her and calmed her at the same time. Knowing that he could pull this off in her mind was one thing, but seeing the change take place before her eyes was completely different. They moved together into the quiet building.
Ian and Sara moved through the almost deserted administrative offices on their way to their appointment with destiny. As they passed, they failed to notice a quiet figure sitting alone at a desk in the corner. They moved into the outer office, where Joe Siri was waiting for them. He ushered them quickly into the private sanctum of the Commissioner of Police.
The young man picked up the phone and dialed a number, waiting impatiently for the party on the other end. "Yes?'
"Sir, you wanted to know what Detective Pezzini was up to?"
"Yes, do you have information for me?"
"Yes, Sir, I was just catching up on some paperwork when I saw the detective going to the commissioner's office with Captain Siri of the one- one and another man I didn't recognize."
"Describe the other man. Was he tall with white hair?"
"No, Sir. This guy was tall, but he had long, dark hair and a beard. He was dressed mostly in black and carrying a briefcase."
"Nottingham. Damn. Do you have any idea what this meeting is supposed to be about?"
"No, there hasn't been a memo. The Commissioner and his deputy came in about half an hour ago and closed the door behind them."
"All right, stay where you are and let me know when they leave and whatever you can overhear. This situation is getting complicated. If Irons thinks that he is going to jam me up, then he better think again."
Sara and Ian walked into the outer office where Joe Siri awaited them. "Thanks for coming Joe, this is not going to be easy," she told him.
"No it's not, but you are a good cop with a good rep, I am sure you can get through this. Besides, Marie is waiting for you for dinner, if you don't get through this with a whole skin, I am the one who's going to have to explain it to her." His joking was reassuring; it was nice to know that he at least was not looking at her any differently.
"We do appreciate everything you have done for us, Sir," Ian added. "We will make every effort to comply with your wife's wishes." They laughed a little, lightening the tension, and putting off for a brief moment the task that lay in front of them.
"The Commissioner is in there already, so is his deputy, Bram Harvey. I don't think you have met him, Sara, but Commissioner O'Connor was in the academy with your dad and me. He's a good guy, will give you a fair hearing. Ready?"
"As ready as I'm getting," Sara said, a little edgy. Ian merely nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly before letting go. It would not do for them to walk in holding hands.
Joe knocked on the door, opening it as soon as he heard the request. The office was large, the commissioner sitting at his desk on one side, with the deputy standing beside him. Liam O'Connor was a big man about Joe's age, with a head full of fading red hair and the look of a stereotypical Irish police officer from an old movie. Sara ran through what she knew of the man, he was a cop's cop, worked his way up the ranks, discovering along the way that he had a real head for administration and a love for the job and those doing it. He was not politically naïve, although he preferred to do things in the open and was not necessarily the most patient man in the world. He would go to the wall defending his people, but was just as fast to turn on someone at the hint of wrongdoing. He wasn't a crusader, not really, just a man who wanted to get the job done and done right, and set out to do it the only way he knew how. Bram Harvey was an unknown to Sara; she had seen his face before but could not have put a name to it. He had a bit of the look of a politician, which made her twitchy, but so far the Witchblade had been silent, no hints of danger, so she put it down to her own natural distrust.
The two men moved to greet them and usher them towards the conference table and chairs that took up the other half of the large office.
"Commissioner O'Connor, Detective Pezzini," Joe started. The Commissioner reached out and shook her hand with a bit of a smile.
"Of course, we have met before, but it has been a while. I knew your father. good man, good cop."
"I try to live up to his example, Sir," she said a little uncomfortably. It was bad enough they had to do this, but bringing up her Dad somehow made her feel just a little worse. She said a silent prayer that wherever he was, he would understand.
"From what I have seen of your record, he would have been proud."
"Thank you." Please let us get on with this, she thought to herself, trying to calm down. The absolute last thing she needed right now was to blow everything by looking guilty.
"And this is Ian Nottingham," Joe continued smoothly. He knew Sara well enough to know that the sooner they got it over with the better it would be for her.
"Mr. Nottingham, I know who you are, although I don't believe we have ever been introduced. You work for Ken Irons, head of Security, if I am not mistaken."
"You have a remarkable memory, Sir. Yes, among my other duties," he acknowledged, taking the older man's hand. Deputy Harvey stood back a little and observed the group dynamic before coming forward to make his own greetings.
"Ok, now let's get down to business," he said, gesturing them to take seats as he pulled out his chair at the head of the table. Ian held out a chair for Sara before seating himself next to her on O'Connor's left side. Deputy Harvey and Joe placed themselves on the other side of the table. "Joe told me that you have gotten something important on the Vorschlag case. I assume that is why you are here, Mr. Nottingham, to protect the company's interest in this?"
"Among other things, Sir. I also have information and documents that will be vital in getting this situation settled," Ian answered calmly, taking his cue from years of watching his father work.
"And just what are." Harvey started, but the Commissioner cut him off.
"Just a minute, Bram, let them say what they have to say before you start the questions, ok?" The deputy nodded. Obviously this was part of their usual custom, everything said as if it had become a routine.
"Detective, do you have a suspect yet?"
"Yes Sir, I do."
"Then who is it, and why is he not in custody yet?" he asked sharply. She could see his features hardening before her eyes, the genial man transforming into hard-nosed investigator before her very eyes. She took a deep breath and squeezed Ian's hand under the table. Here we go.
"Kenneth Irons, Sir," she said, as calmly as she could muster. O'Connor's eyes widened and Deputy Harvey was gaping like a carp.
"You have proof of this?" he asked as he tried to regain control of his features.
"Yes, I do," she told him, still keeping her face completely neutral. She is doing well, Ian thought proudly. His confidence was starting to take a few cautious steps out of hiding.
"Then why is he not in custody? I have not heard anything from the DA's office about an arrest warrant or search warrants?"
"No sir, this is where it gets a little complicated."
"Complicated?" Harvey burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. "Complicated? You just said that one of the richest men in the city, hell in the world murdered two of his employees and you have the proof and it's complicated?" His face had gone from dead pale to heart attack red in the blink of an eye and Sara was starting to wonder if the day was not going to have another casualty before it was over. The commissioner waved him down again, although he was still looking a little pole axed himself.
"Ok, Detective, please explain this complication. Regardless of who he is, Mr. Irons is not getting away with murder in my city. Give me a good reason not to call the DA and have him draft an arrest warrant right now."
"It would not do him any good sir."
"I hope you are not telling me he has fled the jurisdiction?"
"In a manner of speaking sir," she said, her voice flat and calm. "Kenneth Irons is dead."
The room went dead silent, a brief shocked calm before the storm that they both knew would follow. Before the reality set in. Sara was sure of one thing, that there was no other way to do it. There was no way that she could have said it that would not have had exactly this result. She looked at the surprised faces, the blank expressions, as their minds tried to take in the reality, the ramifications of that one statement.
"What the."
"Holy sh." Speech was starting to return, brains processing, turning over again. She sat still with Ian by her side, their hands linked together as they waited for the fallout to begin. Commissioner O'Connor started to speak but then stopped again, looking thoughtful and obviously trying to get his feelings into a better order. He had know Kenneth Irons, at least socially, the shock all the greater for it. Harvey was obviously seeing the politics of the situation; he kept opening his mouth and then closing it, shaking his head. He looked for all the world like some kind of over excited carp with his red face, bulging eyes, and gapping mouth.
she thought to Ian a little irreverently, her stress level long past overload, only able to look at the situation through cynical eyes at this point.
I He responded clinically.
The Commissioner finally regained control of himself and waved his deputy back into his chair. "Frankly this is all a little hard to take in. It is hard enough to believe that Kenneth Irons went off the deep end and killed two of his own employees. He is known to be a ruthless man, but he is far from stupid, and the coincidence of his death."
"Perhaps we had best explain further?" Ian responded mildly. It was time to take control, he knew that and the best way to do that was to push forward.
"Perhaps you had better," O'Connor said a little more calmly.
"And while you are at it, maybe you could explain your presence here, in light of what we have heard, I would like to know how a body guard knows so much about Irons' affairs, and can stand here and represent those interests to us." Harvey put his two cents in belligerently. Obviously he had spent to much time playing the bad cop to his boss's good cop.
"Because I was not just Mr. Irons' bodyguard, or even just his head of security?" Ian said raising an eyebrow in a gesture so reminiscent of Irons that the other man immediately backed down a bit and waited. "I was, and in fact still am, Kenneth Irons' son."
The second bombshell was calmer in its way, probably because there was no more energy for shock and surprise. Sara gave Joe an apologetic look and the expression on his face told her that she was going to have some serious explaining to do to him later. Harvey looked suspicious and started to say something but was waved down tiredly by his boss. The shock had been replaced with look of incredible weariness.
"There were rumors.I assume that you have some kind of proof?" O'Connor asked. Ian nodded and pulled out his brief case. He found the file he wanted in the interior and handed it to the older man. The commissioner took it and found a copy of the paternity test results that Immo had run for Irons years ago against this very possibility. Ian smiled a little, his father had never been known to leave anything to chance, even this.
"I am afraid that there is no birth certificate at the moment, but in addition to the blood test results you will find the doctor's copy of his records as well as depositions from him and several others present at the time."
"And your birth certificate?" he asked, although he did not really see the need for it. There was more than enough evidence in the file. He knew it was the truth from the moment the words were out, something about his moves, his mannerisms that was reminiscent of Irons in a way that could not be faked.
"I believe that my father paid to have it removed from the state records office, he was incredible cautious about personal information. There is supposed to be a copy in the house but I am afraid that I have not had time to make a thorough search." The commissioner nodded but Harvey was obviously having trouble accepting it.
"Sir, we can't just take the word of any guy off the street, those paper could be forged. I suggest."
"Enough Bram. I knew the man, believe me when I tell you that I have no doubts that Mr. Nottingham is telling the truth. But that still doesn't explain the rest of it."
"Would you allow me to continue then?" Ian asked, a touch more softly than before. The commissioner nodded. Taking a deep breath, Ian began.
"You asked why someone like my father would suddenly kill two of his employees in a rage? I am afraid that it is not that simple. In the last few days before the incident, I was not in the house often. If I had been, perhaps things would have turned out differently."
"May I ask why?" The question from the commissioner was almost gentle, respect for a man who had just lost his father.
"We had a disagreement. He found my.devotion for a certain member of the police force inappropriate," he said almost questioningly, as if he were searching for the right word.
"Something to hide?" Harvey broke in, still trying to figure out how to play this. The revelations of the day had left him confused. He had never handled a situation so potentially explosive and he was still trying to get his bearings. Ian turned cold eyes onto the man, his face gone completely still.
"Doesn't everyone?" he questioned sharply. "Certainly no more than you do yourself, Deputy Harvey." Ian held his eyes until the other man looked away. "Kenneth Irons was a hard man in many ways. He was not kind. He felt such personal concerns would distract me from my duty to him. He was perhaps right," he acknowledged. "We disagreed and I felt it best to spend some time, sort a few things out for myself."
"So you were not present the night of the meeting?"
"I have already said as much to Detective Woo," he responded calmly.
"Yes, and we should trust what you say to your girlfriend's partner? I am still a little confused as to why Detective Pezzini was given the case in the first place, and why she did not have herself removed," Harvey said, sweeping his gaze to include both Sara and Joe.
"Detective Pezzini has a spotless record and." Joe started as Sara's temper began to rise. She started to open her mouth but the commissioner interfered.
"I would like to hear this as well, Detective."
"Sir, Irons' security was incredibly tight, and Vorschlag is kind of like a closed system. I figured that I had an advantage that another investigator would not have. At the time, neither of us knew that Irons' was actually involved himself. We were looking for something that happened after the meeting, who knew it happened during?"
"During the meeting?" the attention of all parties was suddenly focused on Sara.
"Detective, is there anything else that you need to tell us that is going to involve a sudden shock? I would like to know whether to have a doctor on stand by?" the commissioner said. There was a sarcastic edge to his voice, and Ian knew they had pushed things about as far as they could. It was time to finish this quickly, before they lost their advantage.
"She is correct, I have statements here," Ian said, as he reached once again into his briefcase. "From the other attendees at the meeting." He passed the papers over to the commissioner before continuing. It was time to take control. "When I returned to the house, he was acting oddly, out of control, he then collapsed. His personal physician was called but he did not regain consciousness. Doctor Immo ran tests but," Ian shook his head, lowering his eyes briefly, as if to keep control. "He found an undiscovered cerebral anomaly, something that must have happened after his last physical. Immo tried to treat him but I am afraid it was ineffective."
"And you have evidence of all of this?" Harvey asked. This was turning into a nightmare; there was no way that this would turn out well. The political and economic ramifications alone were enough to make for some serious headaches. Ian nodded and pulled out several files.
"Here are my father's medical records, both before and after the.incident. Also his death certificate signed by Dr. Immo, and the doctor's explanation of the condition in layman's terms." He turned the papers over to the commissioner.
"And he never recovered consciousness?"
"He only spoke to me once after that," Ian said honestly. "I was distracted, I only found out about the connection to the murders while I was trying to handle the reorganization, it appears that the directors were a little.reluctant to talk to me about it." "Then how did the bodies get out of the house? And what happened to the murder weapon?" Harvey asked, still trying to sort it all out.
"I have initiated an internal investigation, I can only imagine that the weapon involved was an artifact from my father's collection which is at present unaccounted for." Ian was holding up well, answering the questions calmly, as if he were just discussing the weather. After all the practice and all the stress, Sara was amazed. She felt like the weak link here. Ian had insisted that he be the one to give them any information that would involve lying. He did not want her put her in any worse position than necessary. They continued to wrangle, looking through the evidence and trying to make the situation into anything but a nightmare. After over an hour of talking they were all wrung out and on edge.
"The only thing to do is close the case," the commissioner said finally. "It would be in the best interest of all of us if the media did not get their hands on this." Ian met his eyes and nodded.
"Yes, sir, the political ramifications, not to mention the economic problems if something happens." Harvey started, before realizing that he was only running over old ground again. "But what about the media attention already focused on the case? I mean it can't just go away, Merano has already made a fuss over it."
"Might I make a suggestion?" Ian said with a cold smile. The thought of revenge on the man who had made this all possible was too much to resist. All eyes turned to him. Sara gave him a confused look. This was not part of the plan, what was he thinking? "Perhaps we could replace it in the news, information of a long term investigation in the commissioners office regarding information pedaling by a member of staff? A news conference perhaps, complete with an indictment?" The simple brilliance of the plan struck all in the room as the commissioner began to laugh.
She watched him drive, gloved hands confident on the wheel, eyes on the road as they made their way through the quiet streets of Sunday morning New York.
Ian focused on the road and tried to keep his mind on the task before him. Sara was nervous and he was having a little bit of difficulty blocking it out of his consciousness. He focused his mind on what he needed to do, the picture he wanted to present to those at the meeting. As always when faced with a situation he was unsure of his first thought was to fall back on familiar patterns, what would Irons do? How would he react to the situation? In this situation, he knew that his father's confidence and easy understanding of power and politics would be the keys to winning the day. He pulled his thoughts together, planning tactics as he drove, adding and discarding options like so much trash blowing along the side of the highway.
They pulled up to a parking meter just down the street from the building and exited the car, Ian grabbing the brief case and taking her hand. "Are you ready?" he asked, his concern clear on his face.
"Fine, and you?"
"I shall be. We will get through this." He leaned forward, carefully checking the street and gave her a reassuring kiss. As he leaned back to feed the parking meter, she watched the carefully neutral mask descend, his face becoming a study in cold control. It chilled her and calmed her at the same time. Knowing that he could pull this off in her mind was one thing, but seeing the change take place before her eyes was completely different. They moved together into the quiet building.
Ian and Sara moved through the almost deserted administrative offices on their way to their appointment with destiny. As they passed, they failed to notice a quiet figure sitting alone at a desk in the corner. They moved into the outer office, where Joe Siri was waiting for them. He ushered them quickly into the private sanctum of the Commissioner of Police.
The young man picked up the phone and dialed a number, waiting impatiently for the party on the other end. "Yes?'
"Sir, you wanted to know what Detective Pezzini was up to?"
"Yes, do you have information for me?"
"Yes, Sir, I was just catching up on some paperwork when I saw the detective going to the commissioner's office with Captain Siri of the one- one and another man I didn't recognize."
"Describe the other man. Was he tall with white hair?"
"No, Sir. This guy was tall, but he had long, dark hair and a beard. He was dressed mostly in black and carrying a briefcase."
"Nottingham. Damn. Do you have any idea what this meeting is supposed to be about?"
"No, there hasn't been a memo. The Commissioner and his deputy came in about half an hour ago and closed the door behind them."
"All right, stay where you are and let me know when they leave and whatever you can overhear. This situation is getting complicated. If Irons thinks that he is going to jam me up, then he better think again."
Sara and Ian walked into the outer office where Joe Siri awaited them. "Thanks for coming Joe, this is not going to be easy," she told him.
"No it's not, but you are a good cop with a good rep, I am sure you can get through this. Besides, Marie is waiting for you for dinner, if you don't get through this with a whole skin, I am the one who's going to have to explain it to her." His joking was reassuring; it was nice to know that he at least was not looking at her any differently.
"We do appreciate everything you have done for us, Sir," Ian added. "We will make every effort to comply with your wife's wishes." They laughed a little, lightening the tension, and putting off for a brief moment the task that lay in front of them.
"The Commissioner is in there already, so is his deputy, Bram Harvey. I don't think you have met him, Sara, but Commissioner O'Connor was in the academy with your dad and me. He's a good guy, will give you a fair hearing. Ready?"
"As ready as I'm getting," Sara said, a little edgy. Ian merely nodded and squeezed her hand reassuringly before letting go. It would not do for them to walk in holding hands.
Joe knocked on the door, opening it as soon as he heard the request. The office was large, the commissioner sitting at his desk on one side, with the deputy standing beside him. Liam O'Connor was a big man about Joe's age, with a head full of fading red hair and the look of a stereotypical Irish police officer from an old movie. Sara ran through what she knew of the man, he was a cop's cop, worked his way up the ranks, discovering along the way that he had a real head for administration and a love for the job and those doing it. He was not politically naïve, although he preferred to do things in the open and was not necessarily the most patient man in the world. He would go to the wall defending his people, but was just as fast to turn on someone at the hint of wrongdoing. He wasn't a crusader, not really, just a man who wanted to get the job done and done right, and set out to do it the only way he knew how. Bram Harvey was an unknown to Sara; she had seen his face before but could not have put a name to it. He had a bit of the look of a politician, which made her twitchy, but so far the Witchblade had been silent, no hints of danger, so she put it down to her own natural distrust.
The two men moved to greet them and usher them towards the conference table and chairs that took up the other half of the large office.
"Commissioner O'Connor, Detective Pezzini," Joe started. The Commissioner reached out and shook her hand with a bit of a smile.
"Of course, we have met before, but it has been a while. I knew your father. good man, good cop."
"I try to live up to his example, Sir," she said a little uncomfortably. It was bad enough they had to do this, but bringing up her Dad somehow made her feel just a little worse. She said a silent prayer that wherever he was, he would understand.
"From what I have seen of your record, he would have been proud."
"Thank you." Please let us get on with this, she thought to herself, trying to calm down. The absolute last thing she needed right now was to blow everything by looking guilty.
"And this is Ian Nottingham," Joe continued smoothly. He knew Sara well enough to know that the sooner they got it over with the better it would be for her.
"Mr. Nottingham, I know who you are, although I don't believe we have ever been introduced. You work for Ken Irons, head of Security, if I am not mistaken."
"You have a remarkable memory, Sir. Yes, among my other duties," he acknowledged, taking the older man's hand. Deputy Harvey stood back a little and observed the group dynamic before coming forward to make his own greetings.
"Ok, now let's get down to business," he said, gesturing them to take seats as he pulled out his chair at the head of the table. Ian held out a chair for Sara before seating himself next to her on O'Connor's left side. Deputy Harvey and Joe placed themselves on the other side of the table. "Joe told me that you have gotten something important on the Vorschlag case. I assume that is why you are here, Mr. Nottingham, to protect the company's interest in this?"
"Among other things, Sir. I also have information and documents that will be vital in getting this situation settled," Ian answered calmly, taking his cue from years of watching his father work.
"And just what are." Harvey started, but the Commissioner cut him off.
"Just a minute, Bram, let them say what they have to say before you start the questions, ok?" The deputy nodded. Obviously this was part of their usual custom, everything said as if it had become a routine.
"Detective, do you have a suspect yet?"
"Yes Sir, I do."
"Then who is it, and why is he not in custody yet?" he asked sharply. She could see his features hardening before her eyes, the genial man transforming into hard-nosed investigator before her very eyes. She took a deep breath and squeezed Ian's hand under the table. Here we go.
"Kenneth Irons, Sir," she said, as calmly as she could muster. O'Connor's eyes widened and Deputy Harvey was gaping like a carp.
"You have proof of this?" he asked as he tried to regain control of his features.
"Yes, I do," she told him, still keeping her face completely neutral. She is doing well, Ian thought proudly. His confidence was starting to take a few cautious steps out of hiding.
"Then why is he not in custody? I have not heard anything from the DA's office about an arrest warrant or search warrants?"
"No sir, this is where it gets a little complicated."
"Complicated?" Harvey burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. "Complicated? You just said that one of the richest men in the city, hell in the world murdered two of his employees and you have the proof and it's complicated?" His face had gone from dead pale to heart attack red in the blink of an eye and Sara was starting to wonder if the day was not going to have another casualty before it was over. The commissioner waved him down again, although he was still looking a little pole axed himself.
"Ok, Detective, please explain this complication. Regardless of who he is, Mr. Irons is not getting away with murder in my city. Give me a good reason not to call the DA and have him draft an arrest warrant right now."
"It would not do him any good sir."
"I hope you are not telling me he has fled the jurisdiction?"
"In a manner of speaking sir," she said, her voice flat and calm. "Kenneth Irons is dead."
The room went dead silent, a brief shocked calm before the storm that they both knew would follow. Before the reality set in. Sara was sure of one thing, that there was no other way to do it. There was no way that she could have said it that would not have had exactly this result. She looked at the surprised faces, the blank expressions, as their minds tried to take in the reality, the ramifications of that one statement.
"What the."
"Holy sh." Speech was starting to return, brains processing, turning over again. She sat still with Ian by her side, their hands linked together as they waited for the fallout to begin. Commissioner O'Connor started to speak but then stopped again, looking thoughtful and obviously trying to get his feelings into a better order. He had know Kenneth Irons, at least socially, the shock all the greater for it. Harvey was obviously seeing the politics of the situation; he kept opening his mouth and then closing it, shaking his head. He looked for all the world like some kind of over excited carp with his red face, bulging eyes, and gapping mouth.
she thought to Ian a little irreverently, her stress level long past overload, only able to look at the situation through cynical eyes at this point.
I He responded clinically.
The Commissioner finally regained control of himself and waved his deputy back into his chair. "Frankly this is all a little hard to take in. It is hard enough to believe that Kenneth Irons went off the deep end and killed two of his own employees. He is known to be a ruthless man, but he is far from stupid, and the coincidence of his death."
"Perhaps we had best explain further?" Ian responded mildly. It was time to take control, he knew that and the best way to do that was to push forward.
"Perhaps you had better," O'Connor said a little more calmly.
"And while you are at it, maybe you could explain your presence here, in light of what we have heard, I would like to know how a body guard knows so much about Irons' affairs, and can stand here and represent those interests to us." Harvey put his two cents in belligerently. Obviously he had spent to much time playing the bad cop to his boss's good cop.
"Because I was not just Mr. Irons' bodyguard, or even just his head of security?" Ian said raising an eyebrow in a gesture so reminiscent of Irons that the other man immediately backed down a bit and waited. "I was, and in fact still am, Kenneth Irons' son."
The second bombshell was calmer in its way, probably because there was no more energy for shock and surprise. Sara gave Joe an apologetic look and the expression on his face told her that she was going to have some serious explaining to do to him later. Harvey looked suspicious and started to say something but was waved down tiredly by his boss. The shock had been replaced with look of incredible weariness.
"There were rumors.I assume that you have some kind of proof?" O'Connor asked. Ian nodded and pulled out his brief case. He found the file he wanted in the interior and handed it to the older man. The commissioner took it and found a copy of the paternity test results that Immo had run for Irons years ago against this very possibility. Ian smiled a little, his father had never been known to leave anything to chance, even this.
"I am afraid that there is no birth certificate at the moment, but in addition to the blood test results you will find the doctor's copy of his records as well as depositions from him and several others present at the time."
"And your birth certificate?" he asked, although he did not really see the need for it. There was more than enough evidence in the file. He knew it was the truth from the moment the words were out, something about his moves, his mannerisms that was reminiscent of Irons in a way that could not be faked.
"I believe that my father paid to have it removed from the state records office, he was incredible cautious about personal information. There is supposed to be a copy in the house but I am afraid that I have not had time to make a thorough search." The commissioner nodded but Harvey was obviously having trouble accepting it.
"Sir, we can't just take the word of any guy off the street, those paper could be forged. I suggest."
"Enough Bram. I knew the man, believe me when I tell you that I have no doubts that Mr. Nottingham is telling the truth. But that still doesn't explain the rest of it."
"Would you allow me to continue then?" Ian asked, a touch more softly than before. The commissioner nodded. Taking a deep breath, Ian began.
"You asked why someone like my father would suddenly kill two of his employees in a rage? I am afraid that it is not that simple. In the last few days before the incident, I was not in the house often. If I had been, perhaps things would have turned out differently."
"May I ask why?" The question from the commissioner was almost gentle, respect for a man who had just lost his father.
"We had a disagreement. He found my.devotion for a certain member of the police force inappropriate," he said almost questioningly, as if he were searching for the right word.
"Something to hide?" Harvey broke in, still trying to figure out how to play this. The revelations of the day had left him confused. He had never handled a situation so potentially explosive and he was still trying to get his bearings. Ian turned cold eyes onto the man, his face gone completely still.
"Doesn't everyone?" he questioned sharply. "Certainly no more than you do yourself, Deputy Harvey." Ian held his eyes until the other man looked away. "Kenneth Irons was a hard man in many ways. He was not kind. He felt such personal concerns would distract me from my duty to him. He was perhaps right," he acknowledged. "We disagreed and I felt it best to spend some time, sort a few things out for myself."
"So you were not present the night of the meeting?"
"I have already said as much to Detective Woo," he responded calmly.
"Yes, and we should trust what you say to your girlfriend's partner? I am still a little confused as to why Detective Pezzini was given the case in the first place, and why she did not have herself removed," Harvey said, sweeping his gaze to include both Sara and Joe.
"Detective Pezzini has a spotless record and." Joe started as Sara's temper began to rise. She started to open her mouth but the commissioner interfered.
"I would like to hear this as well, Detective."
"Sir, Irons' security was incredibly tight, and Vorschlag is kind of like a closed system. I figured that I had an advantage that another investigator would not have. At the time, neither of us knew that Irons' was actually involved himself. We were looking for something that happened after the meeting, who knew it happened during?"
"During the meeting?" the attention of all parties was suddenly focused on Sara.
"Detective, is there anything else that you need to tell us that is going to involve a sudden shock? I would like to know whether to have a doctor on stand by?" the commissioner said. There was a sarcastic edge to his voice, and Ian knew they had pushed things about as far as they could. It was time to finish this quickly, before they lost their advantage.
"She is correct, I have statements here," Ian said, as he reached once again into his briefcase. "From the other attendees at the meeting." He passed the papers over to the commissioner before continuing. It was time to take control. "When I returned to the house, he was acting oddly, out of control, he then collapsed. His personal physician was called but he did not regain consciousness. Doctor Immo ran tests but," Ian shook his head, lowering his eyes briefly, as if to keep control. "He found an undiscovered cerebral anomaly, something that must have happened after his last physical. Immo tried to treat him but I am afraid it was ineffective."
"And you have evidence of all of this?" Harvey asked. This was turning into a nightmare; there was no way that this would turn out well. The political and economic ramifications alone were enough to make for some serious headaches. Ian nodded and pulled out several files.
"Here are my father's medical records, both before and after the.incident. Also his death certificate signed by Dr. Immo, and the doctor's explanation of the condition in layman's terms." He turned the papers over to the commissioner.
"And he never recovered consciousness?"
"He only spoke to me once after that," Ian said honestly. "I was distracted, I only found out about the connection to the murders while I was trying to handle the reorganization, it appears that the directors were a little.reluctant to talk to me about it." "Then how did the bodies get out of the house? And what happened to the murder weapon?" Harvey asked, still trying to sort it all out.
"I have initiated an internal investigation, I can only imagine that the weapon involved was an artifact from my father's collection which is at present unaccounted for." Ian was holding up well, answering the questions calmly, as if he were just discussing the weather. After all the practice and all the stress, Sara was amazed. She felt like the weak link here. Ian had insisted that he be the one to give them any information that would involve lying. He did not want her put her in any worse position than necessary. They continued to wrangle, looking through the evidence and trying to make the situation into anything but a nightmare. After over an hour of talking they were all wrung out and on edge.
"The only thing to do is close the case," the commissioner said finally. "It would be in the best interest of all of us if the media did not get their hands on this." Ian met his eyes and nodded.
"Yes, sir, the political ramifications, not to mention the economic problems if something happens." Harvey started, before realizing that he was only running over old ground again. "But what about the media attention already focused on the case? I mean it can't just go away, Merano has already made a fuss over it."
"Might I make a suggestion?" Ian said with a cold smile. The thought of revenge on the man who had made this all possible was too much to resist. All eyes turned to him. Sara gave him a confused look. This was not part of the plan, what was he thinking? "Perhaps we could replace it in the news, information of a long term investigation in the commissioners office regarding information pedaling by a member of staff? A news conference perhaps, complete with an indictment?" The simple brilliance of the plan struck all in the room as the commissioner began to laugh.