Chapter 11

Early June 2004.

"I don't get it," Samantha Spade mused out loud as she negotiated the heavy midtown traffic. "Why would someone like Annette Hooper, young, intelligent, her whole life ahead of her, why throw it away on Karl Woodward and drugs?"

There was no reply from the passenger seat and Sam looked over at Martin who was staring out the window, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

"Martin"

He jumped slightly and looked over at her, "Sorry, I was, um, thinking, what were you saying?" He coughed again, clearing his throat, trying to gather his thoughts away from 20 years previously and onto the case.

"I SAID; why would Annette Hooper throw everything away on drugs?"

Martin shook his head slightly, trying to clear his foggy mind. "Well, that women for you….." he ventured, purposefully teasing the blond agent. She merely shot him a scalding look which he couldn't help smiling at.

"Seriously though, I don't really know" Martin continued. "Maybe she thought she was in love with him, I mean she is 28 in a class of 20 year olds and according to her classmates she was a bit of a loner, maybe she found it hard to mix and Karl picked up on that."

"Preyed on it you mean." Sam commented, pulling into a vacant parking space on 71st.

As they got out of the car she too noticed how pale Martin was. "You really should go see a doctor later on" she said as they made their way towards Karl Woodward's building "I've seen milk cartons with more color."

Martin smiled and nodded, he was about to say that he would, but never got the change for at that exact moment a young man with a gun in his left hand came bursting through the steps of the apartment block the two agents had been about to enter and went tearing down the street!

Their reaction was instinctive, both agents turned and whipped out their guns. Martin yelled "FBI! Freeze!"

The man halted, started to run again, but then obviously thought better of it and, dropping the gun on the ground in front of him he raised his hands about his head. "Stay still" Martin ordered as he walked up to the man, picking up the gun carefully and putting it in his jacket pocket.

A black and white pulled up alongside them and two police officers emerged. Martin handed the man over to their custody before following Sam inside the apartment block; he found her waiting on him outside Karl Woodward's apartment door which was ajar.

On three they entered, guns pointed. The apartment however was in total silence, except for the sound of water trickling. Martin followed the sound into the bathroom, where he found a man lying face down on the bathroom floor in an ever increasing pool of blood. He turned the man over, and felt for a pulse, but the man was obviously dead. Karl Woodward.

"Well, it doesn't look like he is going to be much help to us now." Sam commented, standing at the bathroom door. "I'll call it in."

"And I'll have a look around the late Mr Woodward's apartment." Martin stood up and reached into this pocket for the gloves which all agents carried with them for that purpose.

An hour later Martin joined Vivian who was looking through the two way mirror into interrogation room two. The man Martin and Sam had arrested was sitting across from Jack and Danny, his expression blank, neutral, showing no emotion.

"So what's this guy saying?" Martin asked as he studied the figure sitting on the other side of the glass.

"His name is Jack Crenshaw. And he's not saying much, Just that he didn't do it." Vivian motioned to the two way mirror. "That's the only thing he will say. Danny's tried coaxing him, Jack got angry, nothing. Did you find anything in Karl Woodward's apartment?"

"Some traces of cocaine, and signs that he'd been dealing it, possibly from the apartment." Martin replied. "We also found women's clothing in the bedroom and in the laundry basket, looks like Annette moved in."

"So do you think that's what this is about?" Viv asked. "Maybe Woodward owed somebody money? It doesn't help us find Annette."

"Maybe it does." Sam entered the room, an open file in her hand. "Annette Hooper was arrested 11 years ago in Boise, Idaho for possession of Marijuana. She got off with a fine, but the guy she was arrested with was…" She paused.

"Jack Crenshaw." Vivian supplied.

"Bingo" Sam handed the files over to Martin. "I think we need to talk to Jack and Danny."

Just then, Martins phone rang. He handed the paper's over to Vivian before answering. "Hello?"

There was silence at the other end.

Instantly alert, Martin motioned to the others before walking out into the corridor. "Hello, who is this?" he asked again.

There was silence again before the phone clicked.

"Dammit!" Martin punched the wall nearest him in sheer frustration. It was him, he knew it. He'd gotten his phone number somehow. "Dammit, dammit" he repeated to himself, softly this time.

"Hey, who rained on your parade?" Danny Taylor was walking up the corridor towards him.

"Ah… nothing" he mumbled.

"Let me guess, girl trouble? Some poor cheerleader fallen for the Fitzgerald charm only to be left sittin' on the sideline, right?" Danny teased.

Martin fell into step with the dark haired agent, clearing the lump that formed in his throat before attempting a smile. "Yeah, something like that."

"Yeah well Crenshaw's just given us a lead to Annette." Danny continued, not failing to notice Martin's even more ashen countenance.

"It seems that they lost contact after the trial 11 years ago and met up just 3 months ago, he saw that Annette was in a bad way. She told him that Woodward had gotten her back on drugs; cocaine, even heroine and how they were bribing the professor for money. She also said that Woodward was beating her."

"Which is why he went over there with the gun." Martin ventured.

"So he says. He also said that he wasn't going to kill the guy, just scare him, but when he got there, Woodward was dead"

"And Annette was gone." Martin looked at Danny. "Does that mean that……"

"That Annette Hooper is the main suspect in the murder of Karl Woodward." Danny finished the sentence for him; the expression on his face was grim. "Seems so. If he was beating her…maybe she didn't know any other way out…" his voice trailed off. "In any case, Crenshaw thinks she might have gone to her aunts house, so that's where we're going now."

Martin nodded. They were heading out the main door of the FBI headquarters when his phone rang again. He blanched visibly and could feel his stomach flipping. Danny looked at him curiously. "you answering that?" he asked.

Martin opened the phone and surveyed the number, Unknown. He cancelled the call, his hand far from steady.

"You ok man?" Danny stopped and caught Martin by the arm, only to have it shaken away almost violently.

"I'm fine, why does everyone keep asking that, its just a bug or something, ok ill sleep it off later."

Danny put up his two hands in defense. "Okay, cool, I was just askin."

"Yeah…thanks……lets find Annette first, huh"? Martin looked over at Danny, silently willing him not to press it any further.

"Sure" Danny sat into the passanger seat of Martin's dark grey sedan. 'But I'm not letting this drop' he thought silently to himself.