Chapter 17: Suspecting and being suspected
It has been a long time since Dylan had seen the insides of a cell, only this time she felt no triumph. In her wild years as Helen, it was always exciting: crossing the line, being disobedient. She always got away, but this time she really was in trouble and the fear that she might seen these bars for the next years of her life made her skin crawl.
It has been good to see Natalie and Max, she told them what she had found, but it only increased the mystery. Dylan's head was buzzing heavy and she just could not figure this case out. She had no suspects, than Alex was almost killed, and this whole Anthony business was really freaking her out. Not to mention this other murder which seemed like the car assault not to be related at all to their case.
The angel paced up and down in her cell. She could not sleep, but she felt tired, more mentally than physically. By the time the lights were turned off, she lay on her back, her feet high against the bars listening to the others. It was depressing, but finally she drifted into a light sleep. Only to get waken by two uniforms that brought in a late night arrest. Dylan put her feet down and squared on her bench. This was going to be a long light judging from the racket the newly arrested girl made.
It woke up anybody else. After the light was put out again, the shouting and hissing continued until everyone got bored by it. The angel sighed. Where was this going to end? She changed her position folding her legs and leaning against the wall. The red head thought how this all had begun. Another break-in, that nearly got Alex caught and gave her the surprise of her life. They still had no clue how they knew they were coming.
Dylan told herself to think about what she knew. Fact was that none of the angels would have given away the information. Neither would Bosley or Charlie, who else knew? Anna, the target, who was most unlikely to give that away. Aurelie, who was very eager to point at the Agency and her. I told my boss, but her boss seemed to have very little control about her. Could they all have been so wrong about her?
She really seemed to want to protect Dr. Crushner, her trust in Charlie seemed to be strong and was most likely the result from Robert trusting his old friend. Dylan would not point at her just because she was mad at her now. Still the angel had to think about those four perfectly set holes in the wall and those big guns of hers. It reminded her of Madison, the former angel was also big on huge guns.
It did not fit together, she was not good at first impression, the red headed angel was good at jumping to wrong conclusions. Natalie and Anna liked her also, describing her as almost a bit too fanatic about her job. They could not be wrong all together about that. How was it possible that Aurelie was setting them up? What if she was not actually pointing her finger as Dylan, but really thought that the angel was in league with the assassin?
Where was he now, she hoped Anthony was not thinking she left Aurelie there on purpose. He must have been pretty surprised to see a black woman there instead of her pale appearance. Did he even had time to react. Did she just shoot him, as coldly as she confessed it? That was almost scary, a woman so passionate, that suddenly made everyone around her getting the shivers. With the power of sudden recognition she jumped up. In a comic a bright light bulb would have appeared over her head.
Aurelie really believed that those killer organisation was hired and considering that Anthony mentioned a successor to this job if he backed out, it must be the truth. Killing one assassin meant another was sent and if Aurelie killed enough, she would come again face to face with the one that killed her partner. It seemed to explain everything. The hateful look in her eyes thinking that she was teaming with Anthony, the over-protectiveness and the leak of information.
Had she not said that she was surprised how fast they found them again and again? Also Aurelie brought them on her track she was obviously not so reckless that she did not cared over their client and since she knew so well that they were in danger, she was always tense and on the look out. That was crazy, but people on revenge were always a little bit mad - especially those involved with cases of the Townsend Agency.
"Yeah", Dylan said loud. She was sure that this must be it, for it made perfect sense to the Angel. Obviously there was a good reason after all for Charlie choosing her, she just had to think first and act later. Luckily she still had her phone call. Since she had woken up everybody that had been asleep by now, she called loudly for the guard. Steps came into the cell tract and a light from a strong torch wandered through the corridors and hit her face.
"Just keep it quiet - will ya?", an annoyed police woman with a yellow chewing gum told her.
"I'd like to make my phone call", Dylan said with a calm voice, she did not want to upset the guard further.
She got only a weak laughter. "Now, just because I was not here when you were arrested, that does not mean I'm foolish enough to believe you did not already make it. Your lawyer was here, I saw you with him, you had your call." The uniformed woman went away.
Dylan frowned in disbelief: "He was already on his way, I had not even the chance to grab the phone, so fast he arrived here! Heh."
The woman went on, telling her that she should shut up and wait till morning, since protesting only caused the other cell inhabitants to yell at her, the angel remained silent. Maybe it had time, for Aurelie was most certainly carefully watched, since she told the others what she did to Anthony. Natalie might even come to the same conclusion. So the angel tried to get some sleep and eventually succeeded - very late during the night.
Dylan passed breakfast in the morning and yearned for ten o'clock, when the hearing for her bail, was scheduled. It was long before then, as Natalie rushed into the station, pale as only a pregnant woman could be that had been forced up too early in the morning. Luckily Detective Thompsen let her see Dylan. In a separated room they sat on a table and familiar locking police officer stood beside them.
"What is it?", Dylan said worried and added frowning. "You look - awful."
"I got up early", Natalie replied, she did not wanted her friend to know what was really going on and hopefully this state would pass soon. She run her hand about her still flat stomach. She could not wait to actually feel the new life she was creating moving in there.
"Dylan, Dr. Sattler was killed in her hotel suite, with a rapier. No trace, no pictures on any of the security cameras - obviously a professional hit."
Then she turned over to Japanese: "It looks like Anthony, did you talk about her?"
The police officer looked very displeased and watched them with great concern. The moment he put his hand on his weapon Nat realised where she had seen the guy before. It was the police officer at the Alan Caulfield crime scene.
The red head shook her head: "I did not had the chance. All I did was telling him … and not that specific, that I did not wanted him to kill Anna."
"I am beginning to get the feeling it is really him and that he wants to help you. The police did not knew we were suspecting her, but they found an address-book with a lot of interesting phone-numbers."
Dylan smiled, so that was what Nat had done in the morning, hacking into the police database. "Do they prove Anna's story?"
Nat nodded: "I think so…"
"Heh, would you stop that", the nervous looking police officer told them.
"Do we make you nervous?", Dylan said again in English.
"Don't I know you?", he asked seeing her face as she turned to him.
Natalie tipped her with her boots and taking a closer look the red headed angel also remembered the officer. "No, I'm just here by accident." He might be cute, but very annoying at this moment, so she just ignored him. Turning to Nat she said: "I think you might wanna have a closer look at our barracuda - it could be rotten."
The blonde angel frowned: "You think so?"
Dylan nodded: "Don't say anything yet, I'd like to investigate myself in that matter."
"Ok, I see whether I can find out more, about those numbers", Nat rose up. "We talk later - alone!"
Then she gave one of her dazzling smiles at the officer, who stood there like an idiot, and head for the door. She winked at her friend and left.
The red head spent another ninety minutes in her cell, before Hamilton Templar, her lawyer appeared and they headed towards the bail hearing. The judge was a very unkind man and Dylan felt very uneasy as the bail was set. Almost like she was a real criminal. They could not really mean to put half a million dollar on her. It was nothing to Charles Townsend, but it was a deep cut for the credibility of the agency.
Natalie had waited for her in the hall and together they went to the hospital, but since time was short the angel used the opportunity to fill her in on what had happened in the meantime.
"As I returned to the database to see whether the all numbers had been filed, I had a huge CIA security block on the area", the blonde sounded totally excited about that. "If they are on it, it must mean that they found leads that Dr. Sattler has indeed made contacts to sell her stuff."
"So if Dr. Crushner comes in, they might get an official warrant to search directly in the facilities", Dylan followed her partner.
"As soon as we informed them about that. Charlie called me and said he put his word out that there is a witness and once we are sure that they are looking for the same thing", Nat said a bit uneasy.
"You think, if Anthony is indeed her killer, they might think I ordered this killing as well, if they get the connection", the red head sighed. "This might not be our only problem. If Aurelie is really the mole, there might already been an other guy on Anna's track. Think of it, by killing Anthony, Dr. Sattler was in need of another killer. He might already be on the look out."
Natalie shook her head: "I can't imagine Aurelie would do this, she wants to protect Anna, she is really concerned about her."
"Maybe there is a good reason for her concern", Dylan shrugged. "After his I go and check on something, but doesn't it seem strange, that the assassins are so hot on her track? No matter how quickly she got rid of them?"
"You think she informs Dr. Sattler secretly and hopes she got more assassins on her track, so she can kill them?", Natalie said a bit confused.
"Don't you remember, she told us her partner got killed by one of them - I bet she hopes that that guy makes an appearance", she shrugged. "All I need is a bit background data. Like when the other killers appeared and how she got rid of them. We need this solved before we can let Anna make contact with the CIA."
"I hate to say it, but you might have a point", Natalie said remembering how often the people she had trusted were actually stabbing them in the back. She was good at making people opening up to her or get them into conversations, but she seemed to lack the ability to see what is behind their daily masks. Like with Madison - Natalie had adored her and then she turned out to be the most psychotic angel ever. "As you mentioned it before, I tried to talk to her, but she was quite unapproachable. She said she did the world a favour and that I is not right that everyone is treating her like a criminal."
"I'm sure you did your best", Dylan tried to settle her down, the blonde angel smiled and pulled left onto the parking lot of the hospital.
"You know we could use the internet café on the first floor, next to the gift shop", Nat said stopping the car.
"Good idea", Dylan said feeling suddenly very strange seeing the hospital and thinking of a plastered, helpless Alex lying in one of these dreadful white beds. "I hope she gets better soon."
"We all do, I guess Alex would be plain thankful if she could talk again", Natalie told her. "Right now she is writing down, but it she can't do it that often - and it is dreadful to read - she has to use her wrong hand."
Dylan opened her door. She remembered her injuries quite well, also it had not to do anything with her, for neither Seamus or Anthony had been involved she still felt guilty about it. It was like they were always there for her, but when they needed her, she was somewhere else.
Silently Dylan let Nat lead the way to Alex room. As the red head say her fellow angel it was every bit as bad as she had pictured it. But then she saw Alex eyes lightening up as she saw them. "Hi, Alex - I'm sorry I had not the chance to visit you sooner - Hi, Mr. Munday."
"Dylan, Natalie, so nice to visit again or well…", Alex father stopped in mid-speech.
They sat down by her bed and told her about the turn in the case and that they most likely had the chance to focus on the woman behind the wheel very soon. Then the Asian Angel signalled for the writing block and with an indeed hard to read claw she began to write a message. "My toe itches. The large - left."
Dylan laughed as she read it: "I'm right on it. Be glad it is not you leg, that be a problem."
"That itches, too", Alex wrote, but added a smile that looked rather strange with the crinkled lines. "So good to see you - they would not tell me what you did." The pencil fell out of her grasp, but nonetheless Dylan began to explain her about going after Seamus and ending up with the Thin Man. She only left out that the police that she was in league with Anthony.
Then a doctor came to check on Alex, they wanted to take a closer look on her knee, so Dylan and Nat said goodbye to Alex and her father, who insisted to stay and wait for Jason, who was overdue taking his place beside her.
"Oh my, I had no idea it was this worse", Dylan said sadly.
"What do you mean?", Nat said surprised, the doctor said she will be alright.
"Physically - maybe, but I saw it in her eyes, she looked so scared, she tried to hide it, but I know that look."
"You think she is sort of traumatised?", now the blonde angel was really worried.
Dylan shrugged her shoulders: "I'm not the expert, but … thinking that a car drove over her - on purpose, nearly breaking every bone in her body - who wouldn't? You now let's go to work, I don't want to think about it now."
"Good idea", Nat agreed.
They got each a terminal in the café and started to browse the search engines for newspaper reports on the incidents when Aurelie had killed the assassins. Both looked from time to time at each other, as if checking for the other to be there, but the worked silently. At least until Natalie found an article.
"Dylan, I got one", she looked through it. "Oh oh, Shoot with deadly force - the attacker was maimed with a large calibre one shot in the head one in the heart - it rants on about too aggressive police behaviour, but it was without a doubt Aurelie. Also her identity was kept secret, but the description and time…"
"Print it out, we need to confront her with it", Dylan said. "Let's see if we can find more on the other one, he wait, Max is contacting me …" She was about to say something about how practical pre-installed messengers were, but then she gasped in shock as she read what he had written.
"Dylan what is it?" Natalie wanted to know.
It has been a long time since Dylan had seen the insides of a cell, only this time she felt no triumph. In her wild years as Helen, it was always exciting: crossing the line, being disobedient. She always got away, but this time she really was in trouble and the fear that she might seen these bars for the next years of her life made her skin crawl.
It has been good to see Natalie and Max, she told them what she had found, but it only increased the mystery. Dylan's head was buzzing heavy and she just could not figure this case out. She had no suspects, than Alex was almost killed, and this whole Anthony business was really freaking her out. Not to mention this other murder which seemed like the car assault not to be related at all to their case.
The angel paced up and down in her cell. She could not sleep, but she felt tired, more mentally than physically. By the time the lights were turned off, she lay on her back, her feet high against the bars listening to the others. It was depressing, but finally she drifted into a light sleep. Only to get waken by two uniforms that brought in a late night arrest. Dylan put her feet down and squared on her bench. This was going to be a long light judging from the racket the newly arrested girl made.
It woke up anybody else. After the light was put out again, the shouting and hissing continued until everyone got bored by it. The angel sighed. Where was this going to end? She changed her position folding her legs and leaning against the wall. The red head thought how this all had begun. Another break-in, that nearly got Alex caught and gave her the surprise of her life. They still had no clue how they knew they were coming.
Dylan told herself to think about what she knew. Fact was that none of the angels would have given away the information. Neither would Bosley or Charlie, who else knew? Anna, the target, who was most unlikely to give that away. Aurelie, who was very eager to point at the Agency and her. I told my boss, but her boss seemed to have very little control about her. Could they all have been so wrong about her?
She really seemed to want to protect Dr. Crushner, her trust in Charlie seemed to be strong and was most likely the result from Robert trusting his old friend. Dylan would not point at her just because she was mad at her now. Still the angel had to think about those four perfectly set holes in the wall and those big guns of hers. It reminded her of Madison, the former angel was also big on huge guns.
It did not fit together, she was not good at first impression, the red headed angel was good at jumping to wrong conclusions. Natalie and Anna liked her also, describing her as almost a bit too fanatic about her job. They could not be wrong all together about that. How was it possible that Aurelie was setting them up? What if she was not actually pointing her finger as Dylan, but really thought that the angel was in league with the assassin?
Where was he now, she hoped Anthony was not thinking she left Aurelie there on purpose. He must have been pretty surprised to see a black woman there instead of her pale appearance. Did he even had time to react. Did she just shoot him, as coldly as she confessed it? That was almost scary, a woman so passionate, that suddenly made everyone around her getting the shivers. With the power of sudden recognition she jumped up. In a comic a bright light bulb would have appeared over her head.
Aurelie really believed that those killer organisation was hired and considering that Anthony mentioned a successor to this job if he backed out, it must be the truth. Killing one assassin meant another was sent and if Aurelie killed enough, she would come again face to face with the one that killed her partner. It seemed to explain everything. The hateful look in her eyes thinking that she was teaming with Anthony, the over-protectiveness and the leak of information.
Had she not said that she was surprised how fast they found them again and again? Also Aurelie brought them on her track she was obviously not so reckless that she did not cared over their client and since she knew so well that they were in danger, she was always tense and on the look out. That was crazy, but people on revenge were always a little bit mad - especially those involved with cases of the Townsend Agency.
"Yeah", Dylan said loud. She was sure that this must be it, for it made perfect sense to the Angel. Obviously there was a good reason after all for Charlie choosing her, she just had to think first and act later. Luckily she still had her phone call. Since she had woken up everybody that had been asleep by now, she called loudly for the guard. Steps came into the cell tract and a light from a strong torch wandered through the corridors and hit her face.
"Just keep it quiet - will ya?", an annoyed police woman with a yellow chewing gum told her.
"I'd like to make my phone call", Dylan said with a calm voice, she did not want to upset the guard further.
She got only a weak laughter. "Now, just because I was not here when you were arrested, that does not mean I'm foolish enough to believe you did not already make it. Your lawyer was here, I saw you with him, you had your call." The uniformed woman went away.
Dylan frowned in disbelief: "He was already on his way, I had not even the chance to grab the phone, so fast he arrived here! Heh."
The woman went on, telling her that she should shut up and wait till morning, since protesting only caused the other cell inhabitants to yell at her, the angel remained silent. Maybe it had time, for Aurelie was most certainly carefully watched, since she told the others what she did to Anthony. Natalie might even come to the same conclusion. So the angel tried to get some sleep and eventually succeeded - very late during the night.
Dylan passed breakfast in the morning and yearned for ten o'clock, when the hearing for her bail, was scheduled. It was long before then, as Natalie rushed into the station, pale as only a pregnant woman could be that had been forced up too early in the morning. Luckily Detective Thompsen let her see Dylan. In a separated room they sat on a table and familiar locking police officer stood beside them.
"What is it?", Dylan said worried and added frowning. "You look - awful."
"I got up early", Natalie replied, she did not wanted her friend to know what was really going on and hopefully this state would pass soon. She run her hand about her still flat stomach. She could not wait to actually feel the new life she was creating moving in there.
"Dylan, Dr. Sattler was killed in her hotel suite, with a rapier. No trace, no pictures on any of the security cameras - obviously a professional hit."
Then she turned over to Japanese: "It looks like Anthony, did you talk about her?"
The police officer looked very displeased and watched them with great concern. The moment he put his hand on his weapon Nat realised where she had seen the guy before. It was the police officer at the Alan Caulfield crime scene.
The red head shook her head: "I did not had the chance. All I did was telling him … and not that specific, that I did not wanted him to kill Anna."
"I am beginning to get the feeling it is really him and that he wants to help you. The police did not knew we were suspecting her, but they found an address-book with a lot of interesting phone-numbers."
Dylan smiled, so that was what Nat had done in the morning, hacking into the police database. "Do they prove Anna's story?"
Nat nodded: "I think so…"
"Heh, would you stop that", the nervous looking police officer told them.
"Do we make you nervous?", Dylan said again in English.
"Don't I know you?", he asked seeing her face as she turned to him.
Natalie tipped her with her boots and taking a closer look the red headed angel also remembered the officer. "No, I'm just here by accident." He might be cute, but very annoying at this moment, so she just ignored him. Turning to Nat she said: "I think you might wanna have a closer look at our barracuda - it could be rotten."
The blonde angel frowned: "You think so?"
Dylan nodded: "Don't say anything yet, I'd like to investigate myself in that matter."
"Ok, I see whether I can find out more, about those numbers", Nat rose up. "We talk later - alone!"
Then she gave one of her dazzling smiles at the officer, who stood there like an idiot, and head for the door. She winked at her friend and left.
The red head spent another ninety minutes in her cell, before Hamilton Templar, her lawyer appeared and they headed towards the bail hearing. The judge was a very unkind man and Dylan felt very uneasy as the bail was set. Almost like she was a real criminal. They could not really mean to put half a million dollar on her. It was nothing to Charles Townsend, but it was a deep cut for the credibility of the agency.
Natalie had waited for her in the hall and together they went to the hospital, but since time was short the angel used the opportunity to fill her in on what had happened in the meantime.
"As I returned to the database to see whether the all numbers had been filed, I had a huge CIA security block on the area", the blonde sounded totally excited about that. "If they are on it, it must mean that they found leads that Dr. Sattler has indeed made contacts to sell her stuff."
"So if Dr. Crushner comes in, they might get an official warrant to search directly in the facilities", Dylan followed her partner.
"As soon as we informed them about that. Charlie called me and said he put his word out that there is a witness and once we are sure that they are looking for the same thing", Nat said a bit uneasy.
"You think, if Anthony is indeed her killer, they might think I ordered this killing as well, if they get the connection", the red head sighed. "This might not be our only problem. If Aurelie is really the mole, there might already been an other guy on Anna's track. Think of it, by killing Anthony, Dr. Sattler was in need of another killer. He might already be on the look out."
Natalie shook her head: "I can't imagine Aurelie would do this, she wants to protect Anna, she is really concerned about her."
"Maybe there is a good reason for her concern", Dylan shrugged. "After his I go and check on something, but doesn't it seem strange, that the assassins are so hot on her track? No matter how quickly she got rid of them?"
"You think she informs Dr. Sattler secretly and hopes she got more assassins on her track, so she can kill them?", Natalie said a bit confused.
"Don't you remember, she told us her partner got killed by one of them - I bet she hopes that that guy makes an appearance", she shrugged. "All I need is a bit background data. Like when the other killers appeared and how she got rid of them. We need this solved before we can let Anna make contact with the CIA."
"I hate to say it, but you might have a point", Natalie said remembering how often the people she had trusted were actually stabbing them in the back. She was good at making people opening up to her or get them into conversations, but she seemed to lack the ability to see what is behind their daily masks. Like with Madison - Natalie had adored her and then she turned out to be the most psychotic angel ever. "As you mentioned it before, I tried to talk to her, but she was quite unapproachable. She said she did the world a favour and that I is not right that everyone is treating her like a criminal."
"I'm sure you did your best", Dylan tried to settle her down, the blonde angel smiled and pulled left onto the parking lot of the hospital.
"You know we could use the internet café on the first floor, next to the gift shop", Nat said stopping the car.
"Good idea", Dylan said feeling suddenly very strange seeing the hospital and thinking of a plastered, helpless Alex lying in one of these dreadful white beds. "I hope she gets better soon."
"We all do, I guess Alex would be plain thankful if she could talk again", Natalie told her. "Right now she is writing down, but it she can't do it that often - and it is dreadful to read - she has to use her wrong hand."
Dylan opened her door. She remembered her injuries quite well, also it had not to do anything with her, for neither Seamus or Anthony had been involved she still felt guilty about it. It was like they were always there for her, but when they needed her, she was somewhere else.
Silently Dylan let Nat lead the way to Alex room. As the red head say her fellow angel it was every bit as bad as she had pictured it. But then she saw Alex eyes lightening up as she saw them. "Hi, Alex - I'm sorry I had not the chance to visit you sooner - Hi, Mr. Munday."
"Dylan, Natalie, so nice to visit again or well…", Alex father stopped in mid-speech.
They sat down by her bed and told her about the turn in the case and that they most likely had the chance to focus on the woman behind the wheel very soon. Then the Asian Angel signalled for the writing block and with an indeed hard to read claw she began to write a message. "My toe itches. The large - left."
Dylan laughed as she read it: "I'm right on it. Be glad it is not you leg, that be a problem."
"That itches, too", Alex wrote, but added a smile that looked rather strange with the crinkled lines. "So good to see you - they would not tell me what you did." The pencil fell out of her grasp, but nonetheless Dylan began to explain her about going after Seamus and ending up with the Thin Man. She only left out that the police that she was in league with Anthony.
Then a doctor came to check on Alex, they wanted to take a closer look on her knee, so Dylan and Nat said goodbye to Alex and her father, who insisted to stay and wait for Jason, who was overdue taking his place beside her.
"Oh my, I had no idea it was this worse", Dylan said sadly.
"What do you mean?", Nat said surprised, the doctor said she will be alright.
"Physically - maybe, but I saw it in her eyes, she looked so scared, she tried to hide it, but I know that look."
"You think she is sort of traumatised?", now the blonde angel was really worried.
Dylan shrugged her shoulders: "I'm not the expert, but … thinking that a car drove over her - on purpose, nearly breaking every bone in her body - who wouldn't? You now let's go to work, I don't want to think about it now."
"Good idea", Nat agreed.
They got each a terminal in the café and started to browse the search engines for newspaper reports on the incidents when Aurelie had killed the assassins. Both looked from time to time at each other, as if checking for the other to be there, but the worked silently. At least until Natalie found an article.
"Dylan, I got one", she looked through it. "Oh oh, Shoot with deadly force - the attacker was maimed with a large calibre one shot in the head one in the heart - it rants on about too aggressive police behaviour, but it was without a doubt Aurelie. Also her identity was kept secret, but the description and time…"
"Print it out, we need to confront her with it", Dylan said. "Let's see if we can find more on the other one, he wait, Max is contacting me …" She was about to say something about how practical pre-installed messengers were, but then she gasped in shock as she read what he had written.
"Dylan what is it?" Natalie wanted to know.
