Out of Time
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 10 (Persons of Interest)
Andre was already eighteen, so it wasn't necessary to have his parent at the location; but his father had already heard about him being taken into custody and called to let them know he was on his way.
With that, Jade could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was on edge, anxious to have the Senator coming in and unsure whether he would be a problem for them or not. Standing in the observation room and looking through the windshield, even Andre seemed to be struggling to maintain his cool.
He was reclined, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes glaring at the mirror. Jade ran her hands down her arms as though she could feel his cold gaze on her body. "He can't see you through there," Sam remarked as she stepped alongside her. Jade flinched and looked to her left at the blonde.
"I know, I can't help it. If even for a minute he thought Beck and I could be involved…" She didn't want anything to happen to Beck, and was fearful that Andre could try something on him. "I'm almost terrified of him now."
"I know, but don't let him have that power."
The door to the interrogation room swung open, causing Andre to jerk upright. Gary walked in alongside a tall man wearing a black suit and red tie. The man was bald and had a stubbly goatee, his chocolate brown eyes were soft and held a strange wisdom about them.
"Why are you here?" Andre said, his face turning to a slight sneer. "I had called Grandma. Shocked she called you." The man took a seat beside Andre, he folded his hands over one another on the table and closed his eyes. Gary sat across from them, shaking his head.
"Senator, thank you for coming in."
The man raised a hand and smiled politely. "Please, call me Jerome." Gary nodded and began jotting notes down on the notepad before him. Jerome looked to his son, concern glistening in his eyes. "Your grandma called me because there was no one else to call, she didn't want me to come out but I had to. Once I heard you were here." Andre rolled his eyes and sank in his chair as his father looked back to Gary. "He's not under arrest is he, officer? What is this about?"
"We found concerning information including a list of names associated with missing persons." Gary pushed Andre's notebook forward causing the boy to scoff and protest that the book wasn't his. Jerome carefully opened the book, furrowing his brow as he studied the names.
His lips sank and his eyes began to quiver. "What is this? Son, I know your handwriting anywhere." Andre growled and Jerome turned to him. "What are you getting yourself involved in?" Jerome's voice began to rise, laced with concern and quivering with anxiety. "I recognize some of these girls, people have contacted my office in regards to the LAPD not handling their cases. Why are you making a list?"
Jade raised an eyebrow and looked to Sam and Beck, their expressions contained their surprise and bemusement. "Is it just me or is the Senator completely shocked by his son?" Sam looked at her, her lip pulling back into her cheek.
"It's hard to tell, it could be for show. We don't know."
Jade started humming, reading the man's posture. He was leaning forward, shaking, his eyes wide. Even by the inflection in the man's voice, she wasn't sure the astonishment could be so well hidden. "Dad's taught me to read people pretty well, he seems genuinely shocked by this.
"Son, do you know anything about these girls?" The Senator waved his arm out and motioned to Gary. "Is there anything you can give to the police to help them? Are you trying to find these girls?" Andre's lips pulled back, revealing barred teeth.
"I don't know a goddamn thing."
"Not all of these girls are missing," Gary began while moving the pages in the book. Jade watched a somber expression come over Sam's face and furrowed her brow. "We found a few names of people whom your son has personal connection to." Jade's heart stopped as she pulled her gaze from Sam, she was already sensing and fearing what was to come. Gary pointed to a name and his eyes lifted up into Andre's. "Can you tell me why your friend's name appears in your notebook, Mr. Harris?"
Immediately Jade's stomach turned and she glanced back to Sam. "We found Tori's name in there," Sam whispered, "I didn't know how to bring it up to you exactly but it appears Andre's keeping tabs on her." Beck leaned towards Sam, his eyes widening and voice quickening.
"So it's like Ian told us before? She was sent to Hollywood Arts to be watched? Andre's involved?"
"We think that it extends to Mr. Sikowitz somehow, if you recall the conversation the two were having."
"Right." Beck fell back, heaving a heavy sigh. "Mr. Sikowitz seemed like he knew about the book."
"Gary wants to see if maybe Andre would implicate him. Jade's right, it does look like the Senator isn't fully aware of what his son's doing. His shock appears genuine…"
They didn't get much further with Andre because he wasn't talking; and while Jerome was urging him to cooperate with the police and help if he knew anything about any of the missing girls, Andre was flat out refusing.
There was little choice but to move on to the next person and that was Mr. Sikowitz. While they did make a tiny amount of progress with Andre, Sikowitz was more like a brick wall. The man was stubborn, uncouth and refused any knowledge of Andre's notebook or any of the girls in it. However, because of the drugs found in his possession, they could hold him for a while.
The next person to come in was Ian. For this, they hoped for an easier time. "The only problem we could have regarding him is the defense could use the stalker approach," Sam muttered, "We're not sure if he even reported being beaten by Trina. If he had, she could easily accuse him of stalking."
"He's nowhere near as creepy as Robbie," Jade remarked with a light scoff. "Granted, Robbie's not the one we just found with a list of girls."
"If nothing else be grateful, can you imagine how difficult it'd be asking him anything with his DA father sitting right there?"
"That does not sound like a fun time."
"Not at all." She leaned against the side wall, continuing to gaze out the window. Ian was hovering a bit over the table, his shoulders drooped and his head slightly bowed. He had his eyes closed, his brown hair while reminiscent of Beck's was waving its tips just before his eyes. "Should we stay back for him too?"
"I'm wondering the same," Beck replied, "Because I know he said he didn't trust anyone from Hollywood Arts. If Tori was really sent there to be 'watched', then…" Beck pursed his lips, his gaze grew heavy and he pulled his lips apart with a sigh. "Then he probably wouldn't be too keen on us, even though we got him to tell his tale to someone."
"It will be okay," Sam replied as she started for the door, "Gary and I know the questions to ask him." Jade nodded as a stillness filled the air. Beck swayed forward, sliding his hands out along the windowsill, his shoulders rose and swept in as his stern gaze peered through the glass.
Jade made her way beside him, sliding her left arm around his waist. He glanced to her with a soft smile as she placed her head onto his shoulder.
They watched as Sam joined Gary in the interrogation room. The girl took her seat and Ian sat upright, breathing in slow upon meeting her gaze. "This isn't an interrogation." Sam bent her right leg over her left knee and folded her hands on the top of her thigh. "We just want to hear your story, your version of events that happened." Ian nodded slowly, clearing his throat in the process.
"I understand. What do you want to know first?"
"You indicated you were fairly close to Tori Vega, and apparently you were friends with Courtney Van Cleef as well." Ian nodded. "How long did you know them?"
"Most of my life, we all met in grade school." Ian leaned back slowly, the corners of his lips curved into a slight smile. "I knew Tori first. She was always trading pokemon cards in the lunchroom." Jade raised her eyebrows and she heard Beck chuckle. "I was an avid pokemon trader too, so I wanted to see what cards she had." He unfolded his arms from his stomach and smiled, his hands pushed along his knees. "It must've been third or fourth grade, it feels like a lifetime ago now. Both of us loved playing video games at the time, and a popular one was Super Smash Bros."
"Did you play that together?"
"Oh, that and so much more." His eyes began to glaze over and he let out a laugh. "She was supposedly one of the best players in our grade levels, her favorite was Yoshi. I liked Link. So one day our grade had a tournament and we vowed to compete in that, winner would claim the title of best gamer in the grade!"
Beck gave Jade a look of amusement, which she returned. It was strange to hear this side of Tori, a side neither of them had known much. "I think I remember her playing DDR," Jade whispered, "Not much else." Beck snapped his fingers and motioned to the air.
"There's some karaoke games out there. Wonder if she ever did any of those?"
"Maybe." Realizing they were getting distracted, Jade immediately turned her attention back to Ian and the others.
"Tori and I met Courtney not long after the two of us met." Ian brought his right ankle over his left knee and folded his arms across his chest. "Forth grade science class, the teacher paired the three of us up for the science fair." His smile only grew to match the admiration in his eyes. "Man, she was the smartest of us, and I think she remained that way for as long as we've known each other."
Ian paused, his mouth hanging open as a tear rolled down his cheek. Slowly he closed his quivering lips and bowed his head. "Hard to believe she's gone. I wish every day that she were here."
"Have you spoken with Sinjin over the last year?" Sam was reclining, her eyes focused on Ian while her hand continued to stroke the notepad with her pen. Ian looked up and gave a brisk nod.
"Yeah, I visit him from time to time. He's really quiet these days, says it's cause the house is so quiet and he's going insane. I believe him…"
"It can't be easy to lose one's sibling."
"He's lost everything." Ian leaned forward, his fingertips came together before his face and his eyes clenched shut. "Their parents died in a crash, their only grandparent passed away just a few months before Courtney went missing." Ian's voice started to crack. "At least once a month Sinjin talks about wanting to give up" Jade put her hand to her chest, feeling her heart start to drop as she watched Ian slide his hand through his hair. " I don't know how many times I can talk him down before I can't anymore…"
Sam's gaze dropped to the notepad and she slowly set her pen across it. "It isn't easy to be in that position, Ian." He lifted his gaze to her, his eyebrows quivering. "I know, because I have a friend like that too. He was doing well until his sister decided to move to Italy. It was a difficulty decision to come down here myself, because I know he thinks he's alone; but he's not. He has our friend, Freddie, to help him when he needs someone to talk to." Sam tensed and her eyes started to glisten. "Even still, it's hard to be there…seeing someone in so much pain and not knowing if there's anything at all you can do for them."
"Enough to make you go crazy, I imagine."
"Very much. People like us, we need someone to talk to just as much as they do. I know that." Ian's smile faded a bit and his head started to bob for a second. "I'm sure I could recommend a grief counselor if you would like…"
"I think that would be good." Ian exhaled and shook his head. "There's so much I've been holding on to, I don't even know where to start."
"Let's start with Courtney."
"Okay."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"Her eighteenth birthday." Ian's shoulders dropped and he let out a heavy sigh. "Sinjin had put together a film to celebrate her becoming an adult. I think she just wanted to work on a science project she wanted to submit to her choice college." Ian laughed with pride. "She was accepted to Stanford. Sinjin was so proud of her. We all were."
"All?"
"Yeah, she still had contact with Tori of course." Jade's mouth dropped. She leaned closer to the glass, placing her left hand against it. "I did loosely, but I guess I was a bit of a coward…" Ian's forehead creased and he fell silent for several seconds before starting to pale. "I wonder if it was my fault she went missing?"
"What do you mean?"
"I could never tell Tori what happened that day." Ian started to shake. "I didn't want to upset her, I didn't know how she'd react. I didn't even know what I knew. I told Courtney, though." Jade cupped her hand over her mouth and Beck's eyebrow rose.
"Why would you tell her?"
"Because she was concerned. Before she went missing, around Christmastime she cornered me, demanding to know why I wasn't talking to Tori anymore and why it seemed like that part of the friendship was over." Tears welled up in his eyes and he started his teeth. "I-I told her that I'd seen something in Mr. Vega's office that scared me and that I wound up asking Trina about it, and I told her what Trina did to me and how she threatened me. I begged her not to tell Tori about it, and Courtney said she understood…"
"What makes you think that had anything to do with her disappearance?"
"Because a week or two before she disappeared, she told me she'd been digging around. That's why she transferred to Hollywood Arts, to try to figure things out."
Sam closed her eyes as Ian dropped his head into his hands and began to tremble. "I'm sure it's not your fault, Ian. You couldn't have known what would happen, no one could have."
"I-I can't lose both my best friends. I just can't." Ian raised his head, fresh tears were streaking down his face and his fingers were curling. "I don't know what's going on, all I know is I'm scared for Tori. I-I want her to know she didn't do anything wrong, it's not her fault that I seemed to disappear when she left for that school. I never stopped caring for her, I want her to know that."
Sam breathed in as Gary handed Ian some tissues. "Take a moment." Ian wiped the tears from his face and leaned back into his chair. His gaze drifted off to the door where it lingered for some time as he struggled to regain his breathing. "Now, what exactly happened with Tori? What happened with the family?"
Ian was silent for some time, his shoulders had fallen and he continued to stare off at the door. There was a deeper pain in his eyes as his chest expanded and sank. "Tori and I…Beck was right." Beck jerked his head back and huffed out in surprise. "We were talking about maybe dating, but we were nervous. The feelings were there, the attraction was there, but we didn't know if maybe we'd end up making Courtney feel like a third wheel or something…"
"Did the two of you ever actually get romantic with each other?"
Ian's gaze dropped and he smiled briskly. "I mean, we started holding hands and stuff." He cleared his throat and looked back to Sam. "That night, when everything went to shit, we were talking about making it official finally. Actually, we'd been talking to Courtney on the phone and she was freaking out, telling us she was waiting for it to happen." He let out a mournful chuckle and leaned forward, holding his stomach tight. "But things just went wrong from there."
"What happened?"
"Tori wanted to play some video game that her dad had, but it was in his office. So, I offered to go get it." He looked away for a moment, his voice thickening. "Mr. Vega wasn't there, but Tori said it was on the shelf above his desk." The boy seemed to freeze, a look of confusion coming over him. "There was a file on his desk, I saw it when I was reaching for the game, and I saw Tori's name."
"Okay."
"That's when I read that they were planning to send her to Hollywood Arts where she could be observed." He narrowed his eyes and scoffed, a hurried breath escaped his lips. "I didn't know what that meant. It said something about her mother, her actual mother or some shit, having like strong genetics or something? I don't know, it was weird, creepy. They'd been using the woman for something, and they wanted to replace her with Tori whenever she turned eighteen. I didn't know what that meant."
"Okay….take a breath."
Ian breathed in deep and slow, he moved his hands to the surface of the table and his eyes closed over. "I knew Tori didn't know anything of it, she would have said something. I felt like there was something bad, but I didn't know. I wondered about asking Tori, but I didn't want to upset her, so I asked the next best person I thought."
"And that was Trina?"
"Yes. Her sister." Ian curled his left hand over his right wrist and he peered down to his fingers. "At first she proceeded to laugh at me, saying I was just being stupid and imagining things. Then when I said I was going to ask Tori, she told me not to." His forehead creased and his muscles started to tense. "I said I wasn't going to hide anything from her, that I knew from what I read there was something really wrong."
"What happened then?"
"Trina dragged me outside." His breath quickened and he turned his head, clenching his eyes shut. "She struck me several times in the stomach, slammed my head against the wall of the house and held me under the pool in the back for several seconds at a time." Jade turned away, her stomach tightening as she imagined the horrid scene unfolding. "She said if I tried to talk, if I said anything at all she would murder me, kill my family. If I so much as looked at Tori, she would do all these things."
It was hard to picture Trina doing these things, and as much as she wanted to, Jade just couldn't shake the image.
"But that's not all. Those friends of hers?" Jade felt Beck tense and looked to his unwavering gaze on Ian. "I've tried to watch over her, tried to make sure nothing was going to happen to her at the fucking school. I'd watch them…Andre, that kid with the puppet, the redhead. They always seemed weird to me. The other two?"
"You've met them."
"Yeah, believe it or not, they seemed the most oblivious to anything going on." Jade flinched, her mouth fell open and she watched Beck's head drop. "Whenever they were out of earshot, I'd hear the other three talking like they needed to keep the other two away somehow. Most recently, I'm pretty certain Andre said he was going to find a way to make sure Beck and Jade were focused on anything other than Tori."
Jade's eyes widened and her legs began to grow weak. Anger flashed in Beck's eyes and his hands started to ball into fists. There was no doubt what this meant to them.
The three were definitely connected; but now the trick was finding out just how deep they'd gone down the rabbit hole and if any of them could be saved. Though for Jade, she now needed to make sure Beck wasn't going to do anything rash.
Then her thoughts were on other things as well, things she wondered on the danger of. If there was a way she could bring Ian and Tori back together, she knew it would be good for them. At the same time, dangerous, especially if Trina were still watching like a hawk. Aside from Trina, it was clear Andre and the others were watching too.
No, something drastic would be needed to get Tori away from prying eyes. Something dangerous and foolish. Beck might not approve, Sam likely wouldn't approve; but Tori had far too many eyes on her right now and the solution may rest somewhere in the midst of Italy.
Well we've learned a hell of a lot here. Seems like Andre's father may possibly be of help. Ian's gone through some trauma, very clearly. And what is Jade thinking now? What could she be up to? Who do we know that's in Italy right about now? Jade's a master of deception, so what could she be plotting that she might not want to tell Beck or Sam at the moment...
