-1Disclaimer: I only own the OC characters, no one else!
Author's note: Sorry about the length! I'll try and update soon. I've actually updated this copy, based on a recommendation from my ff pal, CYKO1003, who let me know the squiggles I was using to separate sections were not showing up! I apologize and hope this is better for all!
Chapter 20
Danny looked around the tiny bathroom for something - anything - he could use as a weapon. All he could find was a plunger and an extra roll of toilet paper. Finally, Danny admitted defeat - What am I gonna do? Plunge him to death? He sighed. "I'm comin' out now," he called through the door. Sudden moves were not a good idea in this situation.
He exited the bathroom to find the barrel of the gun leveled at him. "On the bed," his captor, Albert Brookes ordered. Danny complied, and was soon handcuffed - with his own cuffs - to the bed, a complicated wrought-iron affair. I gotta get out of this, he told himself.
For an asshole wife beater, Danny couldn't help but notice that the large, sweaty man looked scared and tired. He tried to play on the obvious. "You know you're not gettin' outta here. There's already a fleet outside."
The man's already stooped shoulders slumped more. "I don't need to get out of here. I just need to see my daughter."
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The daughter in question sat curled up in the corner of one of the interrogation rooms, Louisa Roberts, a child advocate from Social Services at her side.
"Sara, I know this is hard for you, but we need you to try and tell us what happened. If you let the detectives know everything, we might be able to save the officer your dad has inside and get your dad the help he needs."
Det. Don Flack willed the girl to speak, give them anything that could help them get Danny out of there. He knelt next to the girl. Sara Brookes was pale and frightened, her blond hair a tangled curtain across her face. "I know you're scared, sweetie, but we won't let your father hurt you, I promise. We'll make sure you're taken care of."
"My father would never hurt me!" Sara suddenly came alive, green eyes flaming with anger. "You guys are so stupid!"
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Lindsay arrived at the home where the man she loved was trapped with a madman. She exited her car, flashing her badge at the officers who tried to block her way. Numbly, she made her way over to where Mac and Stella stood. "Heard anything?"
Mac's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here, Lindsay? You should be back at the lab."
"There aren't any new cases, and Hawkes said he would hold down the fort - I think he feels responsible, and it makes him feel better to feel useful."
Stella put a gentle hand on her shoulder, a bit surprised at how Lindsay managed to hold herself together. "Brookes - the suspect in his wife's murder - says Danny's alive. He says he just wants to see his daughter."
Lindsay nodded. "Flack's talking to her now." Inside, she was churning. The man she loved was trapped in the house with a madman, and there was nothing she could do. Oh God, Danny. You have to stay safe. Please don't leave me.
"C'mon, Lindsay, there's a McDonald's across the street. Let's get some coffee." Stella steered the younger woman away.
They were a few feet away when Stella heard Lindsay's voice, barely audible, say, "It's all my fault."
"What? Lindsay, don't say that!"
"It was my case, but Mac sent Danny - he was worried about my fragile past and all. I should be there, Stella, not Danny."
"That's a load of crap, Lindsay. We're in this mess because some idiot offed his wife. Hold it together, sweetie, we'll get him out of there."
As they walked on, all Lindsay could see and feel was Danny - his eyes gleaming when she said I love you, his hands on her back, holding her close while they made love, his cocky smile when he joked around, the peaceful little boy's face he had when he was sleeping, the tears in his eyes when she accepted his proposal. Her Danny. He had to be okay.
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"I didn't mean to do it."
The low, defeated voice broke Danny out of his reverie. He had been thinking about Lindsay. About the life he had planned. About all the things he wanted to give her. Now this idiot was threatening to take it all away.
"I'm sure you didn't, and if you just give yourself up, they'll let you see your daughter."
"No one will believe me, no one ever believes me. I used to call the cops, but they always looked at me like some moron when I told them what happened. They just took one look at me, all 240 pounds, and Marcia - she was 120 pounds soaking wet. I guess I could understand."
Danny tried to process what he was talking about. "What are you talking about?"
"Marcia would go into these rages. The first time it happened it was because I left one of Sara's dirty diapers in her room, and it stunk up the house. She threw the mystery novel she was reading - hit me right in the eye. Another time, I asked if I could have scrambled eggs instead of fried, and she clocked me with the frying pan. I needed stitches, and tried to tell police what happened. They asked me if I was having an affair, and if she found out and that's why she hit me. I realized then it was a lost cause."
Holy crap … a battered husband? "So what happened today?"
"I guess I figured I could take whatever she gave to me, but not Sara …"
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Sara sobbed uncontrollably. "He tried to tell you, and you never listened!"
Roberts, put her arms around Sara. "I think Det. Flack will listen, Sara, why don't you tell him what happened?"
The young girl tried to control her sobs. "He thought I didn't know … he was so ashamed. He thought about leaving, but he was raised to believe marriage was forever, you know? Whoever said that didn't know the hell of my life."
Flack put a gentle hand on her arm. "Listen, Sara, we want your father to come out of this alive, and if there's anything you can tell us that can help, we will listen, and we will believe you."
She met his bright blue eyes, and seemed to find something there to comfort her. "All my life, my mother belittled my dad, saying he was stupid, didn't deserve her. She always accused him of looking at other women, doing things wrong. She'd even smack him for forgetting to put his towel in the hamper. She threw things at him, kicked him, pushed him out of bed. He never fought back, could never hit a woman. I always thought she was going to kill him …"
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"…I always thought she was going to kill me. But she left Sara alone, and as long as that happened, I could deal with it." Brookes sat across the room from Danny in a chair next to the window.
"That changed?" Danny kept questioning Brookes in a soft voice, doing anything he could to keep the man talking and his mind off his gun.
"My wife hated other women. She was jealous. Thought I was worthless, that I didn't deserve her. But at the same time, she didn't want me looking at anyone else. She didn't even want a daughter, said she would end up being an ungrateful bitch, whoring around behind our backs. But she let Sara be - I think it was because Sara kept to herself. Then, this week, the UPS guy came. Marcia was always flirting with him. Said I better be careful, or he'd take her away from this dump."
Brookes was silent for a minute, and Danny decided to press him. "What happened then?"
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"This guy - our UPS guy - came over with a package - more QVC stuff for my mom, I think. I French braided my hair, and came out to show Daddy. He always thought my hair looked pretty that way," Sara paused and took a deep breath, as if she were steadying herself. "The UPS guy - Rick - smiled at me and told me I looked pretty with my hair like that. My mom turned around and stared at me. I knew I was in trouble. She hated when people noticed me, she'd smack me or pull my hair when dad wasn't around."
"It's okay, Sara, keep going," Flack gently urged her on.
"Anyway, the guy left, and my mom went ballistic. Screamed at me that I tried to look good and 'entice him,' whatever that means. She said I was a slut, trying to catch everyone's eye. But I'm not! I don't do that!"
"We know that, Sara." Louisa tightened her arm around the girl's quivering shoulders.
"Anyway, she grabbed my hair - by the braid - and started pulling on it, ripping it out. She kept saying she was going to cut it. She grabbed her sewing scissors and was dragging me by the hair, trying to cut it. Then Daddy came in. He told her to stop, and she started screaming at him. She said he loved me more than her, that we were probably …" Sara's voice caught. Louisa started to say something, but the girl held up her hand.
"I just need to say it once and then I'm never saying it again. She said my dad was probably sleeping with me. It's not true! My dad never did anything like that! He told her to shut up - he was mad. She went to cut my hair again, and suddenly he told her to stop again, except this time, he had a gun. He told her he was leaving with me, that he'd had enough. Then she went at him with the scissors. They were fighting and I went and hid in the closet. Next thing you know, I heard a shot. Then my mom screamed, You shot me! I'll kill you!' Then there was another shot, and I think that's when my mom fell. I kept waiting for my dad to come …"
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"I couldn't face Sara," Brookes said, tears flowing freely. "I was going to take off, but I heard the sirens. I went back into the basement through the back and hid behind some boxes. I thought I would have a chance to talk to her, you know? But you took her away. I didn't mean to kill Marcia, it was an accident. But I couldn't let her hurt Sara."
Danny leaned toward Brookes. "Hey Albert? That's horrible, and I understand what you did, but you gotta end this. If you do, I promise you can see your daughter, okay? You just need to let me call my boss on my cell phone, and I'll arrange it, okay?
The man looked at Danny. "Promise?" Danny nodded. Brookes cried a bit more - "I'm so sorry."
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Stella watched Lindsay with concern. She was sitting on the ground against her car, fiddling with the necklace that held her engagement ring. "Mac? I think you need to talk to her."
Mac glanced at Lindsay. "We're all concerned about Danny, we're a team, Stella. I need to focus on Danny."
"Trust me on this, ok? You need to talk to her."
He recognized the steel in his friend's eyes and nodded. "Okay."
Lindsay didn't even hear Mac's footsteps. She was busy saying every prayer she could think of to bring Danny out of that house alive. "Lindsay?" Mac's voice startled her. "Are you all right."
She looked at him, eyes swimming with tears. She looked back at the necklace, carefully sliding the ring off the chain and handing it to Mac. Confused, he looked at it, noting the lovely antique etching and stone. "It's beautiful, Lindsay," he said, not sure what else to say.
"It was his grandmother's. His grandfather bought it in Italy."
Mac started to ask who she was talking about, then looked into her eyes, finally putting two and two together. "Oh Lindsay, you and Danny … Engaged?
Tears spilled over her cheeks. "We've been dating over six months. We didn't want to tell you at first because we wanted to make sure it was going to last. Then we got engaged, and we decided to wait until after your review - Danny says you're always grumpy. And now - now it might be too late."
Mac put aside his shock and gently pulled the sobbing girl into his arms. "It's okay, sweetheart. Danny's smart and he's tough. He'll be okay."
A few minutes later, Mac was still holding Lindsay when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked down and saw Danny's number. Lindsay noticed it, too. "Hello? Danny? Slow down." Mac listened as Danny filled him in on the back story. "Okay, Danny, I'll see what I can do." He clicked off and looked at Lindsay. "We're getting him out of there, Lindsay, I promise."
TBC
