Cold Cases, Chapter 7
Emily and Ryan walked back into the lab, the former feeling much better since eating, and the latter relieved at Emily's return to normality.
Ryan thought of himself as Emily's big brother; it was almost instinctual for him to be a little over-protective.
He glanced over at her. She was nearly skipping; her energy and her drive regained. She looked refreshed.
He smiled turning back to his thoughts. Come to think of it, she had another over-protective big brother. And Eric Delko was not one to be trifled with.
He said goodbye to Emily and went to the Trace lab, hoping to get caught up on any details of his case he had missed.
Emily ducked into the Trace lab and looked at the results.
'Michael', whose last name she discovered was Putnam, had been brought in on DUI charges two days ago.
She smiled as she looked at his last known address. Time to go talk to him.
She pulled up to the dingy looking house and sat for a minute, contemplating how she was going to deal with this Michael.
As far as she knew, he had killed four women. All she needed was his DNA to prove it.
She sighed. She was so close. She had police backup; she was going in with protection. She had a warrant.
So why did something feel wrong?
She sighed and got out of the car. She looked over at Tripp, who offered an encouraging nod. She drew her gun and followed Tripp and the other Uniformed Officers to the Door
Tripp Pounded on the door. "Putnam! Miami-Dade police! Open up!"
The door opened and the very same man that she had seen in Mrs. Mendell's photographs was staring at her.
He was surprisingly well dressed, in a blue button up shirt and jeans. His blonde hair was slightly longer than the photograph, but he still had those cold grey eyes. They were icy, emotionless. Slightly unnerving.
"Put your hands in the air where I can see them," Tripp growled, his eyes icing over in disgust.
"Michael Putnam you are under arrest for the murder of…" A police officer began. But to Emily the words faded to silence as she watched Michael.
He gave her a smile and raised his hands.
Kinda creepy. Emily thought.
He seemed rather willing as he was led to the car in cuffs.
"I was hoping it would be you who would interview me," Michael said as she entered the room.
Emily raised her eyebrows as she set down the box of evidence from his booking. The guy had been packing some stuff in his jacket. She sat in the chair and looked back at him.
"I didn't think you could hope. Emotion doesn't seem to fit you Mr. Putnam."
He smiled at her. "Forget the formalities, Emily. Call me Michael."
She narrowed her eyes. "How do you know my name?"
"I know everything about you," he said, still wearing that creepy smile. "As soon as I heard you were reopening my case, I decided to do a little digging. The only reason I went with you willingly is because I knew you were a worthy opponent. The first investigating officer on my case, Camille Blake, was an idiot. She had no idea what she was doing. You on the other hand, I have to commend."
"Why did you kill them?" She said, sliding the pictures of the four victims towards the criminal. She tried to pretend she wasn't shaken by his behavior.
"Have you ever seen an unhappy marriage? I counseled these couples and by the end they seemed happy, but I knew it was just an act. A typical suburban family must seem, well, typical. It was obviously a front. However, they had taken vows. Marriage vows. The only way they could part with their spouses with honor was death. So I helped them."
"You actually believed killing these women was helping them? Mr. Putnam I have interviewed the spouses of these poor women, and they have all said that they were happy thanks to you!"
Michael's eyes remained as emotionless as ever. Emily suppressed a shiver.
"Are you parents happy, Emily?" Michael said, leaning forward. "Because if they aren't, I would be glad to help."
Emily stared at him, wide-eyed. It took all her self-control not to run out of the room. She gathered up her files trying desperately to avoid eye contact with a still smiling Michael.
She managed to make it to the layout room without freaking out completely. She put the box of evidence down, noting her hands were shaking.
She sank weakly into the nearest chair and put her hand on her forehead, trying to ignore her churning stomach.
He was watching me. He was watching my family.
Ryan knocked on the door. "Hey, Emy. You okay?"
Emily brushed past him, holding her hand over her mouth.
She barely made her way to the bathroom before she lost her lunch.
Ryan ran after her, coming to quick stop outside the women's bathroom. He glared at the sign on the door.
He was worried about Emily. He carefully knocked on the door.
Emily leaned over the toilet; heaving up the remains of the sandwich Ryan had bought her for lunch.
She leaned against the wall and moaned, holding her stomach.
She heard Ryan's voice and a knock at the door.
"Emily! Emy, are you okay?"
She got up slowly and washed her face.
"I swear to God I will come in there if you don't come out now!" Ryan yelled.
Emily stumbled over to the door. She opened it.
"What?" She said softly.
He raised his eyebrows. "You want to talk about it?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Ryan steered her to the locker room, checking to make sure no one else was in there. "What happened?" He asked sitting her down carefully.
Emily sucked in a breath. "He was watching…me…" She sniffed as tears began to run down her face.
Ryan pulled her to him and rocked her back and forth.
"He's in jail, right?" He said softly.
"Yes," she choked.
"So he can't hurt you." He soothed.
She pulled back and looked at him fearfully.
"I…It's n…not just…m…m…me," she choked. "My…my family."
Ryan looked at her in shock. "He threatened your family?"
She nodded. "I can't do this Ryan. I'm putting them in danger. What if I lost them?"
Ryan put his arm around her gently. "That is a fear I deal with every day, and I'm sure everybody else does too. Its part of the dangers of what we do, but that doesn't mean we can stop doing it. We are the reason that more people don't suffer because of criminals like the man who threatened you."
Emily nodded. "Thanks Ry."
"That's what big bothers are for," he said, hugging her tightly.
He released her and they stood.
"Horatio invited everyone over to his house tonight for some games and dinner. You coming?" Ryan asked.
Emily grinned. "Just so I can beat your ass."