1Excuse Me While I Try to Breathe

Chapter 14 (wow, that's awesome) of my story. It focuses on Arielle's stepfather finally being found. (YAY! Some of you are no doubt thinking that.) Still contains spoilers from "On The Job."

Here goes.

"Arielle," Mac said, catching up to her.

She turned. "Yeah? What's up? You look relieved."

"I am. We, uh, we found your stepfather."

Her eyes widened. "You did? Where... where is he?"

"He's in custody now, in the waiting room for questioning."

"I want to speak to him."

Mac looked uncomfortable. "Arielle, are you sure that's a good idea? It's been ten years, he could deny the whole thing after giving in his identity..."

"It's okay." She took a breath. "He's my problem. I can handle him."

The man was brought into the questioning room and sat down in a chair. He stared across it, at the young woman who sat at the other end. That dark hair. Her hazel eyes, staring his down with intense silence. He could practically feel the anger surging from her body.

He knew exactly who this was.

"It's been a long time, has it not?"

She spoke slowly, in a deeper, more womanly voice than the high fourteen-year old one he had heard screaming at him years before. He nodded. "Ten years, I think," he said.

"You haven't changed."

"You noticed. You certainly have."

His eyes roamed, and Arielle felt dirtier than a sewer system. "Don't even think of trying anything," she said to him.

He smirked. He knew he was bothering her. "So what did you bring me here for?"

That snide, sly bastard. "You know what. Or have you caught amnesia ten years later?"

"You've got to be kidding me. You knew what I was going to do. You wanted it to happen."

She folded her hands on the table and stared level to his eyes. "Does saying 'no' imply that a girl wants something other than for you to get off of her?"

"Don't play innocent. You told me just before that you hated your mother, and you wanted her to suffer."

"I never said that." She shook with anger. "I love my mother, I still do, and I want to find her."

"Bull. You'll never find her."

She sat back, overcome with shock. What did that mean?

"It means what you're thinking, bitch. That's right. Your dear old mama is dead."

WHAT! Her mind screamed. But all she could do was sit silently, as the words numbed her from the inside out.

"H-how?"

"How do you think? Drug overdose," he said. "She couldn't keep her hands off of it."

"You bastard, you know that's not how she died," she said despite herself. "You killed her, didn't you?"

"I told you, she died of an OD. You'll find it in her system. Pure heroin. One hit, you're gone."

"You gave it to her then."

His eyes glinted. "Maybe I did, so what? You're not going to find shit on me."

"So..." she whispered. "So you damage me. You kill my mother. What else are you going to do?"

"I didn't damage you."

"Oh, really? Do you know I can't have children now? Thanks to you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Thanks to me?"

"Yeah. You know exactly what you did to me." She stood. "And now you tear my family apart, you hurt the one person who mattered in my youth-"

"Oh, yeah, really sorry to hear it, princess," he said loftily. "I ruined your life, you poor, poor thing-"

"All right, that's enough," Flack said, coming into the room. "If you were a little smarter, you'd realize you were being taped and watched, smart-ass. You're under arrest for the rape of Arielle Williamson, and the murder of Rose Williamson."

"What? I told you, you got nothing on me!" he exclaimed, as he was handcuffed.

"We found heroin in your apartment. And there's blood on your carpet. Talk about helter-skelter cleanup- you bagged Rose's body after you beat her and made her OD, and then you forgot to wipe up the mess left over. Real smart."

Mike tutted as he was led away, and smirked at Arielle. "Really, I don't know why you're doing this. I'm just going to go free. I know my rights."

"Oh, please," Arielle said. "I'll make sure I'm the first on the witness stand against you."

When the room was emptied, she sighed and placed her head in her hands. This was all going to be over soon... just give it time...

"You all right?" Flack asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. "I'm fine." She turned and faced him. "I'm just so... relieved, almost... he's finally going to jail where he belongs. But..."

"But what?"

"It's just... he just said my mother was dead, like... it was no big deal to him..."

She took a deep breath and bowed her head. "He wanted her to die."

"Of course he did. He's evil. Believe me, when he said that I wanted to kick his ass so badly... but it's not worth sweating over now. Save it for the trial."

She looked up. The trial... it would take all of her concentration... but then Flack's lips closed over hers, and she forgot about all else. Except Danny's case.