Disclaimer: not mine. Wish it was.
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Viv had been standing there for a while, watching Jack through the two-way mirror.
She couldn't help wondering what was going through his head.
They had witnesses who said that Jack had seen his wife twice since she left him but he claimed it wasn't true.
Somebody was lying.
But who?
Jack sat completely still, apart from the index finger of his right hand, which he drummed incessantly on the table.
Viv walked in, closing the door behind her.
Jack lifted his head to look at her. They held eye contact, an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air.
His knowledge of law enforcement and the ability he had to read Viv told him what was coming.
She had done this a hundred times before but it took her a while to find the words this time.
She swallowed the lump in her throat before she spoke.
"Jack Malone, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Maria Malone."
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"If Jack really killed Maria," said Martin. "Why would he be so insistent that we stay on the case?"
"Maybe," said Danny. "Because he thought that we wouldn't suspect him. Or he thought we would turn a blind eye. He's seen us do it before."
"Yeah, but never for something this big. Plus he would know what we'd be looking for. He would have done a better job of covering his tracks."
"But he didn't. We have 2 witnesses, a videotape and blood evidence."
Martin sighed. He was getting frustrated.
Was the only one who still had faith in Jack?
Viv came back into the office and sat at the table. She wasn't tired but all she wanted to do was go home to bed.
"Martin, I need you to do me a favor," she said. Even as she spoke, she still wasn't sure that this was a good idea. But Jack was still her friend and she figured, no matter what he may have done, she owed it to him to grant his request.
Martin nodded and left the table.
"Hey, Jack," he said as he opened the door. "You ready?"
"Yeah." It was strangely comforting to be called 'Jack' again.
Jack followed him out of the room and back to his office.
"I erm…I can leave you alone in here, but I have to wait right outside the door." Martin felt bad about the way he was treating Jack. But, whatever his personal feelings, he was dealing with a suspect under arrest.
"Okay," said Jack as he sat down. He wasn't particularly bothered that Martin would be outside. He was just thankful that Viv was letting him do this.
He picked up the phone and dialled. He could see Martin outside the door looking very uncomfortable. Maria's sister answered after 5 rings.
"Hi, it's Jack. Can you put Hannah on, please?"
He was nervous as he waited for his daughter to come to the phone.
"Daddy?" she said.
"Hey Hannah."
"When are you coming home?"
"I don't know. I'm still at the office." Technically he wasn't lying.
"Have you found Mommy, yet?"
"No, not yet. Listen, okay. I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Daddy."
"Remember that. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Is Kate there?"
"She's asleep."
"When she wakes up, tell her 'Daddy loves her'. I gotta go now, Hannah. Don't forget what I said."
"I won't."
"Look after your sister. Bye."
"Bye, Daddy."
He put the phone down and Martin took him back to the interrogation room.
Once inside, Jack sat and cried.
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Samantha was on the balcony, staring out at the city.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, listening to the sounds of the traffic below.
She didn't notice Martin had come out until he spoke.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking."
"About Jack?"
"Yeah." She was quiet for a moment. "We never meant for it to happen you know. The affair. It just sort of…did."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me."
"I know. But I wanted somebody to know that. And that I feel bad that it happened."
"Okay."
"Martin, do you think he did it?"
"No, I don't. Do you?"
"No. But how can we prove it?"
"I honestly don't know."
They both fell silent. Samantha had a feeling he was going to ask about the affair and she couldn't face questions about that right now.
"Anyway," she said. "It's cold out here. You coming back in?"
"In a minute."
Samantha went back to her desk and began looking through the case-file, trying to find something they could use to prove Jack's innocence, when her phone rang.
"Agent Spade."
"There's a woman down here at reception who just asked to speak to you. It sounds pretty important."
"I'll be right down."
As she travelled down in the elevator, Sam tried to pull herself together, tried to put all thoughts of Jack out of her head.
Once she was in the lobby, she put on the best fake smile she could manage and walked over to the reception desk.
"Hi. Who is it that wants to talk to me?" she said.
"She's in the waiting area, Agent Spade," the receptionist said, smiling.
Sam turned round. The waiting area was empty.
She turned back to the receptionist.
"There's nobody there," she said, confused.
"She was there a moment ago."
Samantha pulled out her cell-phone and dialled Martin's extension.
"Agent Fitzgerald."
"Martin, it's Samantha."
"Where are you?"
"At reception. A woman asked to talk to me but she's not here anymore. I thought she might have come up there."
"Nobody's been up here."
"Okay. I'll wait down here a bit longer. See if she shows up."
Before Martin had a chance to say anything else, he heard Samantha scream.
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A/N Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been suffering from writers block! Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up quicker. But, in the meantime, review this one. Please. Reviews make me happy!