Thank you all for the great reviews. I hope you like this chapter. Has a little of everybody in it. The first time I posted this it did not pop up on my sister's email so I don't know if it went out. So I am reposting it. sorry if you got it twice. Happy reading.
"So, is that everything?" Donald Jameson asked, looking up from the pages of notes he had carefully taken.
"Yea, as far as I know, yea." John answered looking down at his hands. Across the table his lawyer and father looked at each other.
"Okay, from the interrogation notes you stated that you were with friends during the time of the murder eating dinner. That you might have gone to the bathroom for a couple of minutes but that was all." Jameson read back. "They have already questioned one of those friends. It says here that you had gotten up to go to the bathroom but that you were back within a few minutes." The lawyer looked up as John let out the breath he did not know he was holding. "You got lucky there. If the other two people with you say the same thing then we will have things a little easier. However they still have enough evidence against you that we are not going to be able to get you out of here soon."
"So what do we do now?" John's father asked.
"Well I am sure that Jack Evanston had more than one enemy. Now I get to work to find out who really did it."
He took a moment to read some more of his notes before looking up. "Do you know of any girlfriends Jack might have had? Any girl he might have hurt besides your friend?"
John shook his head in denial.
"That's okay. I'll find out. In the meantime keep your spirits up. I'll be in contact as soon as I get word of the bail hearing."
After thanking the lawyer John sat back down and raised his eyes to face his father. Unable to think of something to say that would make his father understand he remained silent.
Tony Cena looked hard at his oldest child. "I supported you. When you went to college I supported your choice of degrees. When you moved to California I supported you. When you gave up everything to join the WWE I supported you. In the face of your mothers loud objections I have supported you. And this is how you repay me? By keeping the most important part of your life a secret, by refusing my help, and by not trusting me?"
He paused to rub a hand over his face. "I don't know what hurts me the most. That you kept all this from your family or that when you needed money to save a child, my grandchild, you went looking else where for the money."
"Don't" The older man said when John opened his mouth to speak. "Nothing you could say is going to help the situation. When I get home I am going to have to tell your mother what happened. Do you know what her response is going to be? She is going to want to raise our grand daughter. And don't think that she won't take you to court as an unfit parent and win."
'NO' John mouthed, unable to vocalize the word.
"Now I am only going to say this to you one more time. I have supported you so far and I am going to support you in raising your daughter. Your mother won't go behind me on this matter. But while you are in here I want you to think about what a family is and what that word means to you. Because right now you have a piss poor definition. And that's not something I'm proud of as a parent." Having said his piece Tony pushed away from the table and walked out of the room.
John stared at the wall of the small room in despair for a long time after his father had left.
One hour after Randy had confessed that he was still making the payment Paul walked through the door of the small apartment.
"Have a good walk?" Dave inquired form the kitchen where he was cleaning.
"Just had to think some things through." Paul called back, stepping over Journey, who was on the floor folding small clothes and packing them in a new suitcase. Taking a seat in a chair next to where Randy was sprawled watching TV he thought about telling them his plan. Deciding it would only bring their hopes up when it failed, Paul picked up the phone and dialed the number for information. Answering the voice prompts he was directed to the Boston Police department.
"Boston PD, how can I help you?" A perky voice asked.
"I want to report a crime." Paul answered. Randy looked over in surprise.
"Is it an emergency?" The voice asked.
"Not yet." Paul replied.
"What is your address?" Once Paul had rattled off the street name she asked him to hold while she transferred him to that precinct.
"What type of crime occurred?" A new voice asked.
"Blackmail and possible child abuse." Paul answered.
Journey came to stand next to him. "Paul what are you doing?" She hissed.
"This is Detective Jackson. Can you tell me what's going on?" Asked a third voice.
"We are being blackmailed. The final payment is in the morning. The pay off is for five million dollars, which I believe is a felony." Paul answered, ignoring the look Dave threw him as he came back in the room.
"Is this a joke?" The detective asked.
"I assure you this is not a joking matter." Paul answered grimly.
Journey made to disconnect the phone. Dave reached out and grabbed right before her hand could make contact. Giving her a stern look he silenced her objections.
The detective was silent for a couple of minutes. "What is being used to blackmail you that is worth five million dollars?" He finally asked.
"If we don't pay a child is going to be seriously injured." Paul explained.
"And when is this supposed to happen?" The detective asked sharply.
"In the morning." He answered. By this time Nikki had turned off her computer and was following the conversation intently.
"My partner and I would like to came over and get some more information. Can I get your address and a phone number where I can reach you?"
Paul gave the requested information and hung up the phone.
"I really hope you have an explanation because if that little girl is hurt because of what you just did I am going to come after you and you will regret it." Randy threatened in a deadly voice.
"Paying the money is not going to solve any of our problems." Paul retorted.
"And getting her hurt is?" Randy exclaimed, jumping off the couch with his fists clenched. Nikki huddled in her chair with wide eyes while Journey struggled to break Dave's hold.
"Everybody calm down." The big man yelled, giving the girl in his arms a little shake. "He never said he wasn't going to make the payment. We just need to explore all the options."
"Whatever" Randy muttered, turning on his heel and storming into a bedroom. Sending everyone a scathing look Nikki jumped up to follow.
Journey jerked free of Dave and stormed into the kitchen, where she began slamming pots and pans around. Paul and Dave, ignoring the noise, began discussing their game plan.
One hour later, after a dinner consumed in strained silence, Paul got up to answer the knock on the door.
Five minutes later, introductions finished, Detective Jackson got down to business.
"Can I get a basic synopsis of how this all started?"
Paul mentioned for Nikki to start.
"Monica Evanston has custody of a child that my brother believes to be his. They are in the middle of a custody battle that is to be settled on Tuesday. For the length of their custody battle Monica has been demanding money, using Arianna's safety as a bargaining chip.
"How many payments have been made?" The detective asked, scribbling furiously.
"About twenty for one to two thousand each." Nikki supplied.
"Why hasn't he reported this before now?" The stern looking partner asked.
"He has. Nobody believed him because there was no proof. He even called DHS. He missed a payment and Monica broke Ari's arm. They wouldn't do anything." Journey cried out.
"So what made her jump from a thousand dollars to five million all the sudden? That's a lot of money." Jackson asked.
"The custody hearing is Tuesday. Monica said herself that John would get custody. So this is her last chance to make any money." Nikki explained.
"So where's the father now?" Detective Jackson asked looking around the room.
Paul cleared his throat before answering. "John was arrested this afternoon as a suspect in the murder of Monica's brother Jack."
Detective Jackson shook his head and gave a short laugh. His partner glared at the room. "So what are we doing here then?" He asked.
"We still have to make the payment or Arianna is going to get seriously hurt. If that isn't a crime I don't know what is." Randy sneered. Dave threw him a look to keep his mouth shut.
"And what do you expect us to do?" Detective Jackson asked.
Paul narrowed his eyes. "Monica has threatened that little girl's life. Now either you put her in protective custody until the hearing on Tuesday or you set up some kind of sting to catch Monica in the act when we pay her tomorrow."
"We don't have to do anything. Frankly I think we are wasting our time here." The smaller man snarled, getting up and heading for the door.
Paul jumped up from is chair and got in the man's face. "If you don't do something I will use all the power available to me, which is considerable, to make your life miserable. That means your chief, the mayor, and the governor. If I have to I will use the media to paint your precinct with the blackest brush I can." Paul threatened.
"How about I just arrest you and we get this all over right now." The cop said, reaching for his cuffs.
"Eric, the man is just asking for help. I would be acting the same way if I was in his situation. Why don't you go back to the station and I will finish up here." Detective Jackson told his partner. Once the other man had slammed out the door he turned back to the group. "Without more to go on I don't think I can pull her out of that house. But there is nothing to stop me from going with you tomorrow. If this Monica harms the child in any way then I will be able to immediately take the child into custody. And if I happen to see a crime committed, such as a lady demanding money for a child, well then the arrests can be made."
"You would do this?" Randy asked incredulous.
"Yea, my ex is withholding custody of my kids. It would kill me if she started hurting them because I didn't pay child support. In fact I wouldn't put it past her." The detective answered.
"I want to make it plain for the start. If either one of those things happen and the child comes into custody she will remain a ward of the state until the custody hearing, if there still is going to be one. If however it looks like the charges are going to stick on her father then one of her relatives could ask for custody, such as a grandparent." He added.
Nikki nodded her understanding, knowing he was talking mainly to her.
After making final arrangements the detective left, leaving the five remaining people staring at each other.
"Randy, I didn't like how you talked to me earlier. I don't think it was justified." Paul started.
Randy cut him off with an angry wave of his hand. "I am not going to apologize. John trusted me to take care of his daughter. You did this without talking to anybody. And it was just plain luck that you got someone nice and is willing to help. It could have just as easily gone the other way. And I wasn't lying when I said I would come after you. I still might." Jaw clenched he braced himself for a fight.
Paul started to stand, intending to teach Randy a lesson in respect. Dave's quiet voice stopped him. "He's right Paul. They have been dealing with this longer than we have. We should have told them before acting."
"Well damn" Randy exclaimed. Everyone burst out laughing at the surprise on his face.
Texas, that night.
Delaney stared at her computer screen, hardly able to believe what she was reading. Getting up to shut her door she picked up her phone and quickly punched in a set of numbers.
"Aunt Mandy, hi. Can I talk to Shawn?" The young girl asked hurriedly.
"Delaney what's wrong? Are you in trouble?" Mandy asked, hearing something in the young girl's voice that she did not like.
"Not me." Laney answered. "I need to talk to Dad about something involving someone else and I need Shawn to help me."
"Laney honey, I am on the other line. Go ahead and talk." Shawn's voice came over the phone.
"Well I surfing the web, reading all the newest rumors about wrestling and I found something. I know that most of the time they are not very accurate but this came from a very good source. This site is pretty honest and if they get something wrong they always print retractions." Laney explained.
"What did it say?" Shawn asked patiently, not all that worried.
"That John Cena was arrested today in Boston for murder." Laney whispered.
There was silence on the other line. "Okay, let's not panic. I am going to call Randy. If anyone knows if it's true he will. If it is I will come over and talk to your dad. In the meantime, try and stay away form him."
Laney said goodbye and hung up the phone. Restless she paced around for a few minutes before sneaking down the stairs to spy on her father. She found him in the living room watching some bike show.
She was still sitting there fifteen minutes later when a knock sounded on the door. Jumping up she rushed for the door, calling to her dad that she would get it. Stepping through the open door Shawn gave her an absent minded pat before going to Mark.
"Are you going to spit it out or are you going to stand there all night?" Mark asked when Shawn had stood in front of him for several minutes.
"I have something to tell you. About John." Shawn stared hesitantly.
"Save your breath. I already know." Mark told him turning his attention back to the TV.
"How did you find out?" Mandy asked, coming up behind her boyfriend.
"I have had people looking out for him. I knew he was in some kind of trouble and I wanted to make sure he remained safe." Mark admitted.
"So what are we going to go about it? We can't just do nothing." Laney decided.
Mark looked hard at everyone in the room. "I am only going to tell you all once. John is no longer a part of this family. That means no talking to him, no helping him, no nothing. He did this himself. He can fix it himself."
"Nothing?" Laney asked devastated.
"Nothing. You understand that little girl?" Mark asked turning stern eyes on his daughter. Laney nodded tearfully.
"Surely he doesn't mean that." Mandy exclaimed, turning to Shawn for an explanation.
"Mark and John have had a closer relationship than the others. John has kept things from him and outright refused Mark's help. It hurts." Shawn explained as he pulled Mandy out of the room.