Chapter 24

A mouse could have sneezed and been heard in the deafening silence that had encompassed the room after Gunn's announcement that he knew who the woman was standing next to Angel. On one side of the room, Gunn stood, eagerly anticipating the next chapter of the extremely interesting case that had fallen into this lap. And on the other side of the room, Angel was kicking himself for being so stupid and careless. He was supposed to be protecting Buffy. Letting his FBI agent friend find out she was alive, and not dead as reported, didn't qualify as protecting. He just had to hope that Gunn gave him a chance to explain and plead his case before deciding to haul Buffy in because she was an accused murderer.

Next to Angel, Buffy was completely frozen. She knew the man was Angel's friend, the one he'd contacted to help her. Angel had told her that once his friend knew the whole story, he'd help her. But she was now petrified that he wouldn't believe her story. What if he took her away? What if he put her in jail? She didn't want to leave Angel. She didn't want to go to jail. Shrinking back further in fear, she curled against Angel's side.

Resigned, Angel rubbed at his forehead. He could lie and say Buffy was someone else, but Gunn was a smart guy. There was no way he would buy that, especially considering there were pictures of Buffy in the file he'd sent to Gunn. And judging by Gunn's words moments ago, his friend had his suspicions about Buffy's dead status. It seemed he had no choice now but to fill Gunn in on everything and hope Gunn believed him and kept Buffy's existence secret for now.

Turning to Buffy, he looked into her eyes and held her hand tightly. "He would have found out sooner or later," he told her softly. Her eyes held his, then darted to Gunn and back. Angel could tell she was worried about what would happen now. "I promise I'll do everything that I can to keep you safe." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before facing Gunn again.

"Well?" Gunn asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, this is Buffy," Angel answered after moment, sighing heavily.

Gunn got an 'I-thought-so' look on his face as his suspicions were confirmed. He waited expectantly for Angel to tell him more.

"Why don't we go downstairs and sit down?" suggested Angel. They'd be more comfortable down there, and it would give him some time to decide how to handle this. Gunn nodded and left the room, his footsteps on the stairs soon reaching Angel's ears. Now alone, Angel looked at Buffy again. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head no, still clinging to Angel's hand. "What if he doesn't believe us? What if he thinks I killed them? I don't want to go to jail, Angel!"

"You won't," Angel promised, hoping it was the truth. He was pretty sure Gunn would see the real truth behind what had happened to Buffy and her family, but he couldn't say that with one-hundred percent certainty. But one thing he was positive about, he would not let Buffy go to jail. He'd do whatever possible to protect her. "The only thing we can do right now is go down there and tell him everything. Once he knows the whole story, he'll see what I did, that you didn't hurt anybody, that you were the victim in all this. And when he knows that, he'll be able to help you." At least Angel hoped so.

Buffy still looked unsure, so Angel grasped her other hand, and held it in his, warming the cold, clammy skin. "I know you're scared, but talking to Gunn is the only way you may be able to ever put all of this behind you."

And that was the unfortunate reality of the situation, Buffy realized. If she wanted to have the truth come out, if she wanted to have a life again, she had to step out on a limb and put her future in the hands of someone else. She needed Gunn's help, his belief in her innocence, if she wanted to be free of her past. Everything hinged on his support.

Well, Buffy took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, she would just have to make sure he believed her. "I'm ready," she said to Angel.

He smiled and squeezed her hands. This wasn't easy for her, Angel knew, but he also knew she realized the importance of talking to Gunn. He'd seen the change in her eyes, from stark fear to acceptance to determination. Her courage awed him. She was prepared to face whatever was to come. And he would be right there by her side.

Within moments, both Angel and Buffy had joined Gunn down in the living room. Gunn was seated in one of the chairs so Angel led Buffy to the couch and sat down next to her. He could feel the tension in Buffy's body, but she was holding on. The best he could do for her now was to get everything out for Gunn to hear so they would know whether his friend believed them and could help.

Angel leaned forward and picked up the file of papers Gunn had brought, the one that contained the printouts of all the information Angel had faxed him. "There's a lot that's not in these papers," he started off by saying.

"Yeah," Gunn nodded. "I kinda got that feeling. So why don't you fill me in on the rest."

So Angel did. He relayed to Gunn every single thing he'd learned since he got involved with Buffy and her past. Starting from the beginning, he told of the ghost stories, what he'd seen, meeting Willow and Spike and all they'd told him. Then he moved on to realizing Buffy was alive and how they'd come to meet. From there, he explained all he'd learned from Buffy herself, and about his own research that led to the conclusion that Buffy had been set up.

All the while, Gunn listened stoically, taking in each and every word Angel said. Near the beginning, he'd pulled out a notepad and occasionally jotted down some notes for personal reference. He never interrupted once with questions, only listened.

Buffy remained silent as well, allowing Angel to tell the story of her life. It was strange, she thought, hearing about the things she'd been through being told in such a factual, detached monologue. She'd lived through it all, but hearing it told this way was just...odd. She had to admit it all sounded so fantastical, like a twisted Hollywood plot. Only, this hadn't come from some writer's mind. It had all happened. To her.

When Angel finished, Gunn set down his pen and thought for several long, drawn out seconds. Finally, he raised his eyes to Buffy. "Anything you want to add to all that?" he asked her.

The first words that came to mind were what Buffy said. "I didn't kill my family."

Gunn stared straight at her, saying nothing for a moment. Finally, he gave her a small smile. "I believe you."

Buffy's mouth dropped open in shock. He believed her? It was that simple? She'd thought he would question her, try to tear her story apart and call her a killer. But he wasn't doing anything like that. She had a sudden urge to throw herself on him and say thank you, but she was too frozen to do anything.

Instead, Angel voiced the same thoughts Buffy had. "You believe her, just like that?" Not that he wasn't grateful Gunn seemed to accept the whole story, but he couldn't help but be weary at such a quick announcement.

"Honestly, it was pretty clear from the information you sent me. None of the evidence adds up to what the cops here said it did, and I went over it all thoroughly." Gunn leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "They tried to say this was a crime of rage, Buffy's rage, and her instability. But the crime scene doesn't match that. It was all too pretty, too controlled. That's not normal."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. There should have been signs of struggle, but it was like they were laid out," Angel pondered aloud.

"Exactly. That reeks of a professional, not some girl gone crazy." Gunn winced and looked apologetically at Buffy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"It's okay," Buffy said softly, though she was a bit jarred from hearing his blunt words.

Gunn gave a short nod and went back to his conclusions. "Then there was the fact that not a trace of her blood was apparently found at the scene. That's unusual. If she'd been having some sort of episode and lashed out like that, she would have likely hurt herself accidentally and bled in the room, but only the victims' blood was found."

"I hadn't considered that," Angel mumbled.

"And the note," Gunn went on. "I'm not an expert, but I know a little, and to me it looks like it was written by someone who is left-handed. Only about ten-percent of the population are left-handed. Which are you, Buffy?"

"I, umm, I'm right-handed."

"That's what I figured," he said knowingly. "But all that is mostly circumstantial stuff. This is the kicker. There's a report in the police files that blows the whole thing wide open. I can't imagine how they managed to keep it under wraps."

"What report?" Angel asked sharply. If there was something that proved Buffy's innocence, he wanted to know.

"It's from the medical examiner, reports on the...," Gunn glanced at Buffy, "the umm, bodies. The ME did a tox screen which at first appears to be normal to a layman, but if you take a closer look, there was a chemical present in all three victims." Gunn was silent for a minute, allowing the news to sink in before he gave the final piece. "It was a little known drug that, in essence, knocks a person out."

"Good God!" Angel exclaimed, leaping off the couch. "That's how they did it!" He paced around the room, speaking more to himself than to either Buffy or Gunn. "They put the drug in the ice cream, and then when everyone was out, they snuck in and set up the perfect murder where Buffy would take the fall."

"The ice cream," Buffy whispered. Her eye-lids fluttered closed before she opened them and gazed at Angel through tear-filled eyes. "That night...I-I remember Mom bringing in ice cream. It was mint chocolate chip. We never had that kind. We always had the cookie dough, or plain vanilla. I remember Dawn asking who picked out the mint kind and Mom said she thought Dad had. But he didn't, did he"

"I don't think so," Gunn responded gently, he could see the young woman was completely thrown by this new information. "It looks like they drugged the ice cream and put it in your freezer. No one thinks much about mysterious food appearing in their fridge. So no one would have really thought it odd."

Buffy was still somewhat lost in her memories of that night. She tried to sort through it all, tried to remember anything she could have forgotten. Nothing came to her, though. Her memories were still the same. "We started eating the ice cream and watching the movies, and then it's like a big hole in my mind until Daddy found me in the closet, and even that I don't remember much of."

"That makes sense," Gunn said thoughtfully. "The drug works fairly quickly. You'd just be sitting there eating and having a good time and then you'd nod off. I have a question, though. How would someone know to drug ice cream, and to be at your house that night?"

Blinking, Buffy looked at Gunn, trying to understand what he wanted to know. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "It was a Friday night," she remembered. "We always had family night then. We'd watch movies together, and munch on ice cream and snacks."

"And other people knew this?" Gunn prodded.

"I...I think so. Probably. We'd done it for a few years. My father always made sure he didn't have to stay late at work and would be home on time...," she trailed off, her lips quivering as a new thought occurred to her.

Angel, too, came to the same conclusion. "And that Friday Giles was suddenly held up late at work."

Gunn tapped a finger on his notepad and considered the recent factual additions. "They would have needed somebody to discover the murders. If you'd all been home, who knows when someone would have come in looking for you." He thought some more. "So they managed to hold up Mr. Giles at work until the job was done, and then he came home to find it all."

Grabbing to ease the tension at the back of his neck, Angel found himself disgusted at the lengths these people had gone to destroy Buffy and her family. What kind of people were they? Obviously, not good ones. He glanced at Buffy to see how she was doing and saw that she was sitting perfectly still on the couch, a few tears trailing down her cheeks. Damn. He knew this was going to be too hard on her.

He stalked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of her. "We can take a break if you want."

Buffy released the breath she hadn't been aware had been caught in her throat. It wasn't easy to stay clinical about something like this that you'd lived through. Still, she knew she had to do it. She was tired of living the way she was. If she wanted to have a life, a real life, she needed to deal with the past. "No," she said, not as firmly as she'd hoped to. "I'm okay. We need to do this."

There was one question lingering in her mind, one thing she couldn't seem to stop wondering about. "Why didn't they just kill me? Why kill my family and leave me there?" She couldn't help but want to know the answer to that question. Wouldn't it have been the ultimate revenge to them if they just killed her?

"I can't say for sure," Gunn began. "But my guess is they wanted you to pay for accusing the police chief's son of rape and causing trouble. These kinds of people see themselves as all-powerful gods. You tried to take away some of that power and that just wasn't acceptable to them. If they'd killed you, you wouldn't have suffered. So they set you up for murder. They probably had been planning it for a while. From what you've told me, a lot of things happened to make you seem unstable. They could have been facilitating that to aid in their big plan. When they killed your family, they planned for you to take the fall and spend the rest of your life in jail or some state-run psych ward."

"But Giles threw a big monkey-wrench in their plan by hiding Buffy," Angel continued.

"Yeah, and made it seem like she'd killed herself. I can't imagine that Walker and his good buddy the mayor were too happy about that, but then again, they may have found it poetic that it seemed as though Buffy woke up from the drugged sleep, saw what happened, and decided to throw herself off the cliff," Gunn posed. The whole thing was disturbing, but in his years working in law enforcement, he'd seen some pretty ugly stuff.

"How can people do things like this? How can they get away with it?" Buffy wanted to know, her hands shaking. She wanted to ask why her, but she already knew the answer to that. She'd accused Cameron of rape, and for that, they believed she needed to pay. Her entire life, and her family's life, had been ruined because of what had happened with Cameron. If only she hadn't gone to the swim meet that day...

"Power and money can often get people whatever they want," Gunn answered, his voice tired. It was a common finding in his work. "Chief Walker and Mayor Wilkins go back a long way, and between them, they've got a lot of money and a lot of power. Push the right buttons, offer the right dollar amount, and people tend to do whatever they want. They got the rape pushed aside and then did everything they could to tear you down. With the murders, well if they've got the right people under their thumb, and I'm guessing they do from what I've seen, it would only take a few well-placed pushes to keep information from being found out, like what's on those autopsy reports."

Dropping down onto the couch, Angel put and arm around Buffy, hoping to offer her whatever comfort possibly. "You hear about shit like this, but you never think that it really happens in real life."

"The world can be a pretty ugly place," Gunn commiserated. "It's just that most times, the average person doesn't know about it."

Beside Angel, Buffy was doing her best to keep her emotions below the surface. She didn't quite know what she was feeling. There was one part of her that was chilled to the bone over the details of what had happened the night of her family's murders. Gunn had spoken so clinically about that night, and she knew that was just part of his job, but it still cut deep. To hear about how they'd been murdered, well, it was difficult not to curl herself into a ball and cry. Her mind flashed back to finding herself sitting on the couch while the movie credits rolled, and then the horrifying moments when she saw her Mom, brother and sister laid out like a nightmarish painting. A shudder worked through her over the images of blood and blindly staring eyes that were forever etched in her mind. She pushed the mental pictures away, unable to face them. She didn't think she ever would be.

Alongside the gut-wrenching sadness over her memories of that night was an almost equal feeling of guilt and responsibility. This had all happened because of her, because of what had happened with Cameron. If she'd done something, anything, different, none of this would have happened. If she'd just gone straight to helping Spike in the library instead of going to the swim meet, if she'd not gone with Cam while there, if she'd not named him as her attacker, her family would still be alive. If. If. If. So many things she could have done differently to keep her family safe. But she hadn't, and they had been killed because of her. Was that why her father kept her locked away? Did he blame her, as he should?

"Buffy?"

The calling of her name jarred her from her descent into self-recriminations, but her thoughts were still swirling. She couldn't get away from the fact that she'd brought so much pain to the people she loved most.

"Are you okay?" someone asked her. She wasn't sure who, the voice sounded too far away.

"This is all my fault," she mumbled, barely heard to the two who were staring at her, concern in their eyes. Buffy blinked, her eyes focusing on Angel as he slipped off the couch to kneel in front of her. "They would still be alive if it weren't for me."

"No, Buffy, none of this was your fault," Angel said, reaching up to gently touch her face, to keep her from turning her eyes away from his. "You didn't ask for what Cameron Walker did to you, or for what happened after. Cameron, the police, the mayor, and practically everyone in this town are to blame for what they did to you. They killed your family. There's nothing you could have done to stop it."

"But I was the one who started it," she cried, no longer able to keep her tears held inside.

"No, you didn't. Cameron started it. He raped you, attacked you. He's the one to blame, him and his family and friends," Angel stated vehemently, all the while wishing he could do something to ease her pain. There wasn't anything he could do, though. Buffy would forever live with the hurt and the what-ifs of what had happened to her.

"I miss them, Angel," she weeped, allowing herself to curl into Angel's arms as he held them out to her. "I miss my Mom, and Dawn, and Owen. Why did they have to die?"

Angel didn't have an answer to that, however much he wished that he did. So instead he held Buffy in his arms, soothing her with his touch and simple words of comfort. It was all he could do, at least for now. He would hold her as she cried, help her to expunge some of pain that she still held inside.

With a quick look at Gunn, Angel scooped Buffy up and stood. She couldn't handle anymore talk today about the past. There was only so much a person could handle. He'd take her upstairs and settle her into her bed before finishing up with Gunn. Then he would try to figure out a way to take her mind off things, if only for a little while.

By the time Angel had deposited Buffy on the guest bed, she had already fallen into an exhausted, tear-stained slumber. He pulled the covers around her and then picked up Shadow, who was staring up at him, and set her down next to Buffy. The kitten promptly curled up next to her, but kept her eyes open, as if assigning herself Buffy's guardian. Angel patted the kitten lightly, then made himself go back downstairs to where Gunn was waiting.

His friend was standing in the foyer when Angel returned. "Is she okay?" he asked Angel.

"Not really. I don't know how she managed to survive this long with the load she's got on her shoulders," Angel sighed sadly, his eyes drifting to the stairs, towards Buffy.

"She's a strong woman, Angel. If she's made it this far, she'll make it the rest of the way." Gunn laid a hand on Angel's shoulder, offering support. "Listen, I'm going to have to bring in a team to investigate this."

The statement didn't come as a complete surprise to Angel, but still it made him cringe. The more people that know, the more danger Buffy would be in. There were no guarantees that others in the FBI would see things as he did, as Gunn apparently did. "I suppose that's necessary?"

"I don't have a choice. This is big. If we have any hope of bringing in those responsible, it's going to require a full scale investigation, not just me confirming you're suspicions," Gunn affirmed.

"What if they want to take Buffy in. She is a suspected murder," Angel pointed out.

"They'll see the truth, just as I did," Gunn retorted. "Trust me, Angel. I'll do whatever I can to make sure Buffy's safe. I can tell she means a lot to you." And wouldn't that be an interesting thing to tell Fred, he thought silently.

"I just don't want to see her hurt anymore."

"I can't make promises. I wish I could, but I'll do whatever I can to make this as easy as possible on her," Gunn assured his friend.

"What happens now?" Angel asked, prying his thoughts away from Buffy, who he hoped was still asleep upstairs.

"I'm headed back to LA. Hopefully, I can gather the team that is already investigating Wilkins today." Gunn mentally made a list of what he'd have to do once back in his office. "I'm going to make copies of everything you gave me and then give them to the team. I'll be able to judge their reactions better that way before I tell them the rest."

"I won't let her be taken to jail," Angel swore, deadly serious.

"It won't come to that. They'll see she's a victim." Gunn prayed he wasn't lying.

"You'll call me after you talk to them?"

"First thing," promised Gunn, looking down at his watch. "I better get going."

Angel walked Gunn out and followed him to his car. He was silent as Gunn placed his bag on the back seat and opened the driver's side door. Angel's mind was once again on Buffy, on what he could do to ease some of her torment. There had to be something that would take her away from all this for a short while.

As Angel stared out at the lurching waves of the ocean, an idea began to form in his mind. He rolled the details around, trying out the possibilities. It would probably work, and it would likely be good for both of them. So he turned to Gunn as his friend pulled on his seat belt and started the car.

"Listen, I'd like to do something," Angel began, then relayed his idea to Gunn.

After listening to Angel's plan, Gunn considered it for a moment. "I can't say it's a great idea, strictly from a situational standpoint, but I can't see the harm."

"Good. She really needs this." Angel's eyes flicked to his house. Yes, she really did need it.

"Just be careful," Gunn ordered. "These people are bad to the core, Angel. They'll do whatever necessary to save their asses. So watch your back."

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes opened," Angel promised.

The two said their good-byes and Angel watched as the car rolled down the driveway and then out of sight. He knew Gunn would do whatever he could to see that justice was done, but Angel couldn't help worrying that something might go wrong. Buffy had already been failed by the system once. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that it could happen again. He had to believe, though, that the cards were stacked on Buffy's side this time. The outside help would be unbiased and see the truth. He hoped.

For now, he couldn't do anything else. It was time to focus on what he wanted to do for Buffy tomorrow. Pulling out his cell phone, Angel dialed and waited while it rang. After two rings, the call was answered.

"Willow, I need a favor," he requested.

TBC