Chapter XVII

Interrogation

She watched as they waded through the charred remains of her life. The fire had started in the living room and had quickly spread. The accelerant had been alcohol based. Her apartment was lost, as was most of the fourth floor. The rest of the building had heavy smoke and water damage; no one had come out unscathed. One hadn't made it out at all. Russell Yalsing, thirty-year-old father of two, and resident of Apartment 4A had died trying to escape the flames.

Greg was trying to lift prints from the outside of the door, which had remained mostly intact. The doorknob was their biggest help. Sara knew, in her very soul, whose they would find there. They would find Laura's. This was her work; she knew it like she knew her own name.

Tamales Bay, California

1976

They watched as the Conner's Family Bed and Breakfast burnt. The orange was like a vivid flag against the dark night sky. Laura smirked at it. "See that Sara. You can draw all the pretty pictures you want. That's how the real world works though. That's how it goes in business. You cut the competitors out before they even have a chance to screw you." The gas can at Laura's feet was empty and the bottle of Rum in her hands was full. "Come on, let's get inside." She patted Sara's head in a gesture that could have almost been mistaken as one of love. Sara followed her, but cast one last glance over at the fire. From here, almost a quarter of a mile away, it looked almost pretty. She knew better. Her Mom had shown her how painful fire could be. Fire was bad. The Conners had a baby and a puppy…she hoped the bad fire didn't burn them.

Janet placed her arm around her shoulders, "Come on, Sara, you don't need to be here."

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They found Laura Sidle at a bar two blocks from Sara's destroyed apartment. Two hours after that, they matched her fingerprints to those Greg had recovered from the door. Thirty minutes later, Joel Frohike, a Black Jack Dealer and Sara's neighbor, gave his statement. He'd let Laura in. The young man was devastated.

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Jim Brass stood outside the interrogation room, looking in at the woman who sat at the table. The resemblance she had to Sara Sidle, her daughter, was uncanny. There was something in her face, though; a cruel-hearted pride that he'd never seen on Sara's. This woman was not only guilty of the crime, she was proud of the fact.

Another woman, Captain Janet Burgundy of the SFPD, stood with him, ready to enter the room. "Let me go in there with you, Laura and I know each other." He nodded. The redhead was worked up, her gray eyes were stormy and her fists were balled up so tightly that the knuckles were white. It went against every regulation in the book, but he opened the interrogation room door for her and let her go in first.

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Laura looked up when the door opened. She'd been hoping to see Sara. To her great disappointment there was only a fat cop and some redhead. "Well, I'm going to ruin your day. I-Want-A-Lawyer." Laura had been running from and dealing with the cops her entire life; she could size them up well enough.

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Catherine, Sofia and Sara all stood in the observation room. Sara was pale, and a little shaky, and for that both women would have happily throttled Laura Sidle. They watched silently, not knowing what to do, but wanting to be there just in case something needed to be done.

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Jim Brass jumped right in. "We found your finger prints on the front door of Sara Sidle's apartment. The one that you burnt down." Laura lifted an eyebrow. "I said I wanted a Lawyer, I won't answer anything without a lawyer present." Brass nodded, "I know, and I'm not asking any questions. I'm just telling a little story." He opened one of the files in front of him. "You've got a rap sheet longer than my arm here, Ms. Sidle. Possession with intent to sell, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and that's just before you were twenty." Laura crossed her arms over her chest and Brass continued. "What really gets me, though… what really punches my buttons are the child abuse charges." He opened another file. "Burns, broken bones, malnutrition, and that's just your son, Sean Sidle." He folded his hands and glared at her. "Now, your daughter…" She cut him off. "Yes, Sara, are you fucking my daughter?"

Jim Brass hit his feet. "WHAT KIND OF A SICK…"

He was cut off by a hand on his forearm, "Same old Laura. Same lines, same song and dance. Your petty attempts aren't going to help you. They didn't then and they won't now. You're looking at Murder, Laura, again. There was a man in that building you torched and he died. There won't be any sympathy to keep you off of death row this time."

Laura smiled; she actually smiled. "I knew you looked familiar. You're that cop-bitch who wanted me to sign all those papers. Red, Brown, one of those color names…

California Women's Correctional Facility

March 1988

"Detective Burgundy, Janet Burgundy. I'm here to talk to you about your daughter, Sara." Pictures didn't do Laura Sidle justice. She looked like an older Sara, the close resemblance of a murderess and the girl she thought of as her daughter was chilling. She sat down across from Laura and they stared at each other, gauging the other for weaknesses and intent.

Clad in a vibrant, almost blinding orange jumpsuit, Laura scoffed. "Is she dead?" Janet shook her head, "No. No, she's fine. Would you like to see a picture?" Laura snorted a laugh, "I remember what the brat looks like. Since she isn't dead, what's this about? You're taking up my valuable time. I could be staring at one of three walls or even a cement and razor wire fence right about now."

Janet scowled. "I'm Sara's foster mother, and if you didn't realize it, she'll be turning eighteen soon." Laura shrugged, "So she won't be your problem anymore, still doesn't answer my question. Why are you here, bothering me?" Janet pulled a small stack of papers from her briefcase and slid them across the table. Laura was shacked and handcuffed, but there was enough give in to her restraints for her to grab them with her bony and shaky hands. "Adoption? I don't follow."

Janet shook her head, "No, you wouldn't, would you? Sara's turning eighteen soon and I want to adopt her before then. I want to adopt your daughter and the only thing that's stopping me is you." She slid a ballpoint pen across the table. "Please, let me take her. Let me give her a family. You're her mother; surely you want her to have a good life."

Laura took the pen and twirled it between her fingers. "Yes, I'm her mother. I gave birth to the girl and raised her. Taught her right from wrong and all that good shit. I'm her mother. You aren't." She fixed Janet with a cold gaze. "Which brings me to a question. Why would a grown woman, a cop, want to adopt a girl who's near grown? What's in it for you, Detective?"

Janet felt the fiery licks of her temper kick up. "I love Sara, that's enough for me."

Laura smirked. "So that's it, huh? Oh, no, trust me I understand. Sara is a good looking girl." She held up her hands, "Now far-be-it-from me to judge, I've found considerable comfort in the arms of the fairer sex the last few years…but aren't you a little old for my daughter? Unless you're into that creepy pedophile shit. Is that it, Detective? Does my daughter turn you on? Do you fuck her every night and send her off to school every morning?

Janet hit her feet and the only thing that kept her from striking the woman in front of her was the guard that they'd placed there. He caught her fist as she'd pulled it back to punch. "That's enough!" He banged on the wall, "JERRY, GET SIDLE OUTTA HERE! TAKE HER TO A FUCKING SOLITARY!"

They dragged Laura out of the small room. She smiled at Janet on the way out. "I'll fucking die before I sign those papers, bitch. Sara is a Sidle, she's mine."

"It's been a few years, Laura, but you haven't changed. You're still hurting Sara, even now." The woman grinned, "Sara is a big girl and she doesn't need you to protect her." She smiled, "That still pisses you off, doesn't it? That I wouldn't sign those papers. I asked one of the girls in the Law Library about it, you know. You wanted me to sign away my Parental Rights. You wanted to adopt her, and slap 'Burgundy' after Sara's name. She'd be your little achievement. Your shining star on the lists of do-goods."

Through gritted teeth, Janet spoke, "She's not 'my achievement' she's her own person, her own savior. With or without my name she is my daughter and she is a better person than you could ever dream of being. I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore, Laura. I'll get you put in the deepest darkest hole in prison and you'll never ever get out this time." Laura chuckled, "Oh yes, yes, sure. I'm not as dumb as I used to be, Burgundy. Twenty-two years on the inside has given me an edge. I'll beat this shit, no problem. You've got nothing. A fingerprint. A mother's fingerprint on her daughter's apartment door." She put on what was probably supposed to be an innocent face. "I was just trying to reconnect with my daughter. My Sara. After all these years I thought we could be mother and daughter again…and she…" She smiled, "I'll have that jury eating out of the palm of my hand."

Brass shook his head; "We've got an eyewitness that places you at the scene at the time of the fire." Laura shrugged, and quickly switched tactics.

"Is Sara watching? I bet she is. Behind that mirror, right there." She shifted her gaze and stared at the mirror that Sara, Sofia and Catherine were, indeed, behind. "I bet she's been listening to this whole thing. I bet she's crying like a baby and holding on tight to someone. That Texan or maybe the Black-Boy, or maybe one of those dykes." Laura smirked again. "How does it feel, Sara? To know that it's your fault. It's your fault that man died in the fire, just like it's your fault Tommy is dead. The worst part is, though, it's all in you. You came from me, Sara. How long will it be 'till you hurt one of your friends? How long will it be before you take that gun and kill someone?"

The next poisonous statement was cut off. It was stopped by Janet Burgundy's fist slamming into Laura Sidle's face. "You bitch!" Brass was trying to pull her back, but she lashed out, and kicked Laura in the ribs.

Laura looked up from the floor and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. "Police brutality! That was police brutality." Jim Brass, one hand firmly pushing Janet out the door, turned to look at her. "All I saw was a mother, protecting her daughter. Besides, this is Nevada. A California badge isn't worth the tin if it's not stamped on here." He closed the door, and hit the button under the edge of the table, cutting off sound to the Observation Room. He bent down and spoke to Laura.

The others couldn't tell what he'd said, but they saw Laura's reaction to it. The woman was pale and for the first time since they arrested her, she looked truly scared.

Author's Note(s):

No animals were harmed in the making of 'Skeletons' The Conners' puppy grew up big and strong and had many puppies of her own, the family that adopted her after the tragedy named her Dee.

Let's get a big group 'Aaaw' for Janet, and then a victory-dance, because she finally got to knock Laura around.

What did Brass say? Wouldn't you like to know.