A/N: Long time no…update. Bleh. Too lazy. Another semi-long chapter so you might wanna sit down for this one cause it will take a while. Nothing really more to report other than the fact that this chapter and the next are like the two days of the episode Deja Past, so expect some quotes and such throughout. And it will also explain why Devan and Woody leave together at the end of the episode and what they actually do…
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Be crazy to think I ever will.
Thanks to my trusty reviewer (ya know who you are you evil Jordan/Woody shipper…) :) Still love ya, though.
Deception
Chapter 4: Déjà vu All Over Again
They stared at one another awkwardly, years of betrayal unravelling before them. The two were once in love and wanted to portray that in any way possible, except many challenges overcame them. In the end, he had given up and he buried his desires in another woman, whom he loved equally. His wife had found out about the affair and left immediately, erasing any trace of her existence…until nine months later her surrogate pregnancy shocked her and she looked for help anywhere she could find it. She went in search of her husband and found him successfully, however he had other plans…
Taking out the knife from his jacket he stabbed her without hesitation, the satisfaction of knowingly driving out evil from the world gleaming in his eyes hungrily…
"Hold it."
Jordan made a swirling motion with her fingers as she looked towards Devan and Woody, who were staring at each other and standing close together, Woody with a pretend knife in his hand, Devan's eyes portraying a sorrowful betrayal. They broke apart suddenly and looked expectantly towards Jordan.
"Where does Victoria come into this?" Jordan placed her hands on her hips.
Devan looked thoughtful. "Because I don't call Adam, I call Victoria," she effortlessly slipped into the character of Kathleen Moore and walked around the tree in the park.
Jordan nodded. "And I," she slipped into her role of Victoria Castlemaine, "agree willingly, telling Adam everything, that I'm going to meet with his ex-wife at the park at midnight."
Woody clasped his hands together. "I'm excited. This will be my chance at revenge. For nine months I had to live with the uncertainty of never knowing if my wife would return, and now I find out she had a baby through another couple without informing me. This is evil and I will erase it."
Nodding, Devan stepped out from behind the tree. "It's midnight and I'm waiting by this tree, where I told Victoria to meet me. I see her, but something's wrong. Someone else is with her. Someone I recognise. I immediately become unsettled and cause a scene, yelling at Victoria for betraying my wishes."
Jordan lifted a finger. "I say that I thought Adam should know the truth about that baby."
Jordan slipped an arm around Woody's waist coyly. Woody reached into his coat and pulled out once again the invisible knife. "I back Kathleen up against the tree but I don't trap her completely. She steps past me and tries to run, however Victoria grabs her…"
Jordan grabbed Devan's wrist as she tried to run.
"…and I plunge the knife deep into Kathleen's stomach, cleansing the evil."
Devan stepped out of the way as Jordan walked over to the tree. "And I find the baby in a pram. Adam thinks it best if we kill him too."
Woody nodded. "Great. That works."
Devan shook her head. "We've been working this case for four days and all we have is theory."
Woody shrugged. "Well, it is…good theory."
Jordan gestured to Devan. "Devan's right, it's only theory. We don't have anything concrete."
Devan nodded, agreeing. "We don't even know where Victoria is. How can we test these theories without any proof?"
Woody sighed and bowed his head. "Ok. I'll run an even thorough search on Victoria, but as far as proof goes, we don't really have anything without a body. In the meantime, I'll let you two get back to the morgue – I know you have a few cases to work on."
Woody smiled at both Jordan and Devan before walking away in search of his car; leaving the two Medical Examiner's to stare after him in the crisp morning breeze. Then they looked at each other and shrugged.
Jordan sighed. "I don't have anything to work on."
Devan nodded slowly. "Neither do I."
Garret paced inside of his office, his phone placed to his right ear. It was ringing on the other end…and it had been for sometime. Then her voicemail pierced through the monotonous ringing. Garret closed over his phone angrily, slamming it down on his desk. She wasn't returning his calls and he really needed her this time. Maybe if he requested a meeting with her…
Nigel suddenly appeared at the door. "Doctor M?"
Garret nodded. "What is it, Nigel?"
Nigel walked through into the office. "Just thought you should know that I'm checking out an old lady who died this morning in her house. Nothing horrific."
Garret rubbed his forehead, looking agitated. "Ok, Nigel. Jordan not back yet?"
Shaking his head, Nigel looked behind him. "Nope. Neither is Devan."
Nodding his appreciation, Garret gathered up a few files before gesturing for Nigel to leave before he did. Nigel obligingly did so and headed towards the recreation room where the phone was ringing. Garret walked out and began for the front desk when he was suddenly met with a singing Jordan bounding unawares out of the crypt…
"This is Hoyt."
Woody sat at his desk and filtered through the many files he had yet to hand in to his chief. He held up his phone to his ear while a voice spoke clearly on the other end. When the conversation ended, Woody dialled a number and Nigel answered.
"Nigel, get Garret onto this guy killed in a razor-wire fence. Tell him I'll meet him there."
And so the day deftly spun Woody into its web of murder mysteries.
Devan paced around the lab impatiently. She had been told by Macy to wait around until this razor-wire guy was brought in but instead she was searching numerous databases for Victoria Castlemaine. While the computers searched meticulously Devan read through Adam Moore's file again, making sure she and Woody hadn't missed anything important the first time. So far there was nothing worth noting, just a few medical certificates for small heart scares but still Devan looked. There had to be some clue as to just what had taken place eleven days before, because it was just a mystery to her at present. Everything seemed so complicated and disarrayed, where the actual murders that had taken place that night should be as simple as tying shoelaces in reality. If only they had all the evidence they needed…
The computer bleeped and information immediately appeared on the monitor. Upon the information was an address…a mansion. Devan brought up a photo of the large house and viewed it in full, taking in the old Victorian style shell of it. It was absurdly like something out of Alice In Wonderland. Devan closed the picture and clicked on another page. There something caught her eye; Victoria Castlemaine was heir to a large estate.
Devan was soon interrupted by a knock on the open door. It was Bug.
"John Doe's in."
He knelt down on the pavement and began walking on all fours. Devan raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything, just followed him on the side and looked down at him.
"I should have popped him once in the foot when I had the chance," Woody ranted on, his eyes focused on the ground below him.
Devan brushed her hair behind her ears and folded and arms. "Not that I'm an expert but wouldn't that have been a 'violation' of some sort?"
Woody looked up indignantly. "Hey, the guy almost flattened me with his car. I believe that's a violation, too."
Devan walked forward slowly and noticed when Woody turned his look to her legs. "I don't think I've ever seen you this angry."
Still distracted, Woody alternated his gaze between the pavement and Devan's legs. "He slipped right through my fingers, Devan. Does not happen to me everyday. I want this guy. Bad."
"Your testosterone runneth over," Devan grinned. "It's kind of…cute."
Woody stopped and looked up with a frown. "Did you just flirt with me?"
Devan's eye narrowed. "I may have," she paused. "Accidentally."
Woody's gaze stared forward with slightly confused eyes while Devan began to walk in the opposite direction. "Oh."
Silence reigned for a few seconds between them until Devan leaned over a drain. "I think I can see it."
He looked up again, looking forward. "What? Us?"
"No," Devan said distantly. "This."
Crawling over to her, Woody stared into the drain as Devan pulled a diamond ring out with tweezers. It shined, even though dirt stained the edges of it.
Looking down from her leaning position at Woody, Devan smirked. "Marry me?"
Woody grinned and nodded, standing and brushing himself off. "Sure, why not. You only live once."
Devan smiled innocently. "What are you doing tonight?"
Woody, taken back by the question, leaned in closer to Devan. "Nothing, why?"
Leaning in closer as well Devan smirked. "Because we have a new lead in the Moore case. Victoria Castlemaine's mansion. We should check it out."
Disappointment etching itself clearly onto Woody's face, he took a step away from Devan. "Sure."
Devan smiled once again. "Great. I'll finish up and you can pick me up tonight at my apartment. How's eight?"
Woody took the ring Devan held out to him and put it in a plastic containment bag. "Eight's good."
"Good."
Nigel stared at the papers in front of him. A…bug? During the day Macy had gone over George Gray once and noted that there had been an alive bug buried deep within the skin in his left foot, and that in turn had caused a slight haemorrhaging and a clot that made Gray collapse. A minute later he had died from lack of circulation. That had been the cause of death all the while…and Nigel had been oblivious to it.
Lily walked slowly into the room, distracting Nigel. She smiled as he waved a welcome to her. "I've been talking to George Gray's family. They're upset and have agreed to pay for a funeral. And they're requesting the body as soon as possible."
Nigel countered Lily's friendly smile. "Something as simple as a bug caused this man to die. It's incredible, isn't it? And at exactly seven in the morning."
Lily laid a sympathetic hand upon Nigel's shoulder. "If there's one thing I've learned from this job it's that some things are unavoidable. This was obviously meant to happen to this man and at exactly that time of morning. Everything happens for a reason."
"Yeah," Nigel breathed. "Love, do you need these reports, 'cause I've finished with them."
Lily smiled and nodded appreciatively. "Yeah, thanks."
Before handing them over to the Grief Counsellor, Nigel took one final look at the papers. A bug, of all things…how could he have missed that?
Garret stared at the phone sitting on his desk. Still no reply from Walcott. She hadn't been returning his messages…and when he had managed to catch her briefly she skilfully turned the conversation another way…away from their relationship. He hadn't seen her in a while and that worried him…but he knew he had to persuade her to give Woody a court order for this guy's house. And the only way to do that was to call her.
Dialling the number he had reserved for her on his speed dial, Garret waited for her to answer. When she did he addressed her professionally.
"Listen, Renee, I really need you to give Woody that warrant. It's his only trail and Moore is the main suspect here, so could you bend the rules just this once?"
Her rough voiced sounded on the other end. "Garret, I have broken the rules more than once, but this I won't do. You don't have sufficient evidence claiming this man as the killer. If anything, he's as much a victim as the woman who was killed."
Garret sighed impatiently. "I'm getting tired of your vendetta against me and my morgue, Renee."
Renee scoffed on the other end. "Excuse me, Garret. I'm being professional. You want this guy then you have to tell Detective Hoyt to give me something to work with."
"Fine, I'll do that."
With that, Garret slammed his phone down, cutting off the District Attorney.
"I'll do that."
"Is this really the plan; breaking and entering?"
Woody paced nervously outside of Victoria Castlemaine's large mansion, while Devan masterfully picked the lock. They had originally tried the doorbell, then the windows. And now, all they had left was the lock. Devan had come prepared, all right.
"Yep," she flashed Woody a small smile before hearing the satisfying 'click' of the lock. "We're in."
She turned the doorknob while Woody hung behind her, flashing on his torch. Devan stepped into the house and immediately she was hit with a mixture of must and tobacco. The tobacco was far from fresh and Devan guessed it was about three days old. Someone had been here since the murder. Devan flicked on her torch as well and walked in one direction, while Woody took the other.
"What exactly are we looking for, Devan?"
"Firstly, a light switch wouldn't hurt," Devan muttered distantly.
Woody flashed his light over the walls, searching for a small switch. "I don't see any…"
Suddenly, lights flickered above them and a bright glow filled the mansion. They were in a hallway, completely surrounded by old paintings of Englishmen and hound dogs hunting for their foxes. There was one especially old painting of The Last Supper.
Devan gave Woody a look before gesturing to the painting. "Looks like Victoria is religious as well. No clash of interests as far as she and Adam Moore go."
Woody nodded. "Which leads me to wonder why she would have an affair. That goes against everything in religion…"
"Maybe they didn't think it was necessarily wrong," Devan interrupted, walking up the stylish staircase.
Woody followed her with a short sigh. "If they read the Bible it's pretty hard to miss the chapter that says 'don't have any affairs'!"
Devan gave him another sarcastic look. "Subtle, Woody, subtle."
Woody quickly slipped his flashlight into the large pocket of his coat before turning the corner Devan had. "I like to think of it as blunt."
She didn't reply to that, only gave a small confused look. "If he loved his wife, then why did he have an affair?"
Woody gave her a long look. "Because he didn't love her," he whispered distantly.
Devan shivered as she wondered what, or who, he was talking about. She entered a room suddenly, switching on the light as she did so. "Ok…I'm assuming Victoria is a photographer…"
The colour of the light was a reddish blue and Woody had to squint to look into it. "Or she just likes pretty lights."
Picking up several photos and after glancing at them, Devan noticed something strange. "She's pregnant."
Woody stopped in his tracks and walked over to Devan. He took the photos from her and looked carefully at them. "She is."
There were several other photos of a middle-aged brunette, all of which were profiled so as to emphasise her pregnancy. There was no date but on the bottom in very small print was a name: Arthur Cutsberg. Devan pointed this out to Woody, who frowned at it.
"The photographer, maybe?"
Woody stared at the fine print. "Maybe." He then dug around in the small pile of photos gathered on the desk in front of him and sorted through them. He then came across an address…Arthur Cutsberg's address to be precise. It was printed sideways in Victoria's opened diary, with a telephone number attached to it conveniently.
Devan looked to where Woody pointed, and smirked. "Too easy."
Woody folded the diary and placed it inside of his jacket, slipping it into his pocket. He took a few of the photos as well. "We'll go first thing tomorrow, but it's late. And I'm tired."
Devan looked confused. "But it's only twelve."
Woody nodded and retreated out of the room, flicking off the light as he left, leaving Devan in darkness. "Yeah, and I'm tired."
Devan sighed reluctantly. "Fine. First thing tomorrow, then." She then looked thoughtful before following Woody out into the large hall. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
Woody sighed heavily. "Relaxing."
Devan nodded while giving the hall one final look. "Ok." She walked out of the door, following Woody into the driveway where his car was parked. "You want to do something?"
Woody stopped in his tracks. Turned to face Devan. Raised one hand in confusion. "Such as…?"
Devan shrugged and brushed passed him strategically, teasing him. "I don't know…relax."
He stared at the way she never looked back when she said that. She just kept on walking towards his car, her flashlight illuminating suddenly when she reached the passenger's side. He found himself liking the way she took control of situations…and of him. She knew she had him right where she wanted him…and so did Woody. He could see the way she planned things in her mind before saying them…and she made it sound so casual when it came out. He could see that was her greatest strength…but he also knew what her greatest weakness was.
Woody realised Devan was in his car already and waiting on him…for more than just one reason. He opened his door and sidled into the leather-covered seat. "Something would be good to do tomorrow night."
She looked at his grin. He thought he was so smart. "Pick me up at eight," she paused for a moment. "From the morgue."
His grin grew as he started the car. "It's a date."
She tried desperately not to shiver at the word, but Devan couldn't help it. It was what she wanted…but it reminded her so plainly of him. Some memories would never fade…
A/N: Dun dun dun...wonder who he is...
