Disclaimer: Everything familiar belongs to JE.

Warning: Adult Situations

Chapter 20: Sunday, August 21st, 2200-0100

Crime Scene

Prentiss POV

The call came into to MDPD at 2130 from a tripped silent alarm at another house near the Martine residence. The cops went in silent, with no lights or sirens, but it still took almost forty-five minutes to get there. There was a major soccer game at the Dolphin's stadium, taking a lot of the police force away from patrols. However, Rangeman managed to get there before us, about fifteen minutes before us. Unfortunately, we were all too late.

On the positive side, Rangeman managed to get one of the assailants. On the other hand, he seems to be a low-level operative, hired to get into the house and to be the lookout. I don't think he knows much. The fix Hector and Santos worked on ensured that Rangeman got the alert, but the deactivation alert didn't register until about twenty minutes later. I watch as Santos arrives with Hector. Both men have anger radiating off them.

About ten minutes later, Manoso shows up with Ms. Plum. I still don't understand what is going on between those two, but she seems good for him. Once his men see him, they straighten as a show of respect. They approach him, appearing to report what they know. He nods, dismissing them before walking towards me. I watch as Ms. Plum stays with the men a moment longer, thanking them before joining Manoso.

"Agent, I'm sorry we weren't able to fix the glitch better. I promise Hector and Santos will fix it better. What did you learn?"

He's taking responsibility for the alarm failing, responsibility for this family losing their lives.

"The Goodwin's are the victims. Winston and Amelia, forty-five and forty-three respectively, with a seven-year-old daughter Emma and a five-year-old son Thomas. Winston is a Senior Accounts Executive at the same firm that Ron worked for, while his wife, Amelia, was a stay at home mom. Once again, the unsubs sexually assaulted Amelia before they shot her and Winston execution style. They slit Emma's throat, same as Joselyn and RJ. The cut Thomas' throat as well, but not deep enough. He was still alive when your men arrived, and thanks to Brown's field dressing, he's still alive at the same hospital as your daughter."

I see Ms. Plum's reaction when I said the boy was alive. It seems like she wants to go and see the child.

"My men told me they saw three men leaving in a dark colored SUV, which isn't much help. They said the license plate bulb was out and they had a cover, so it was impossible to see any information for a partial." Ranger states.

"Yes, they told us the same. I must say, I'm impressed with your company's response time and professionalism. Your men wouldn't let any of the plainclothes officers or my team in the house until they verified our credentials."

"I'm sorry for that inconvenience, but we take our client's privacy seriously."

"No, no reason to be sorry. I can't tell you how many times I walked onto a compromised scene because too many people were allowed to traipse all over it before the lead detectives arrived. I appreciate efficiency and attention to detail."

"Does the boy have any family in the area?" Ms. Plum asked.

"We haven't been able to determine that yet. According to our initial search, both Winston and Amelia are only children, both sets of parents are deceased. Until we can access their Will, Children's Protective Services will take custody of the boy."

"So, what will happen to him?" She follows up.

"If his parents didn't name a guardian, he will go into foster care. While he is in the hospital, a court-appointed attorney and social worker will make all medical decisions in his best interest. They won't be concerned with guardianship until it's time for his release from the hospital."

"Carlos, maybe we can have Julie talk to him tomorrow if he's awake. Having gone through the same trauma, she might be a comfort to him."

"I'll ask Julie what she wants to do, but that's a good idea, Babe. Maybe I can have Dr. Serena see him as well."

"Dr. Serena?" I ask Manoso.

"Dr. Serena Belliveau is a child psychologist leading the research on trauma and PTSD in children at the University of Miami. She worked with Julie after her kidnapping, helping her to accept what happened and deal with killing a man. Julie asked to meet with her again as a result of what happened."

"I think that would be wonderful for that boy. A five-year-old shouldn't have to deal with the death of his family."

"Do you know how they gained entrance to the house?"

"It seems they entered through the garage. The panel shows some signs of tampering, so either they have a different guy on the alarm, or your update threw them for a loop."

Ranger told me, "The system here was installed within the last three months. The case for the system is more durable and harder to break. From our analysis, they bypassed things the same way as they did at the Martine house. However, the fix was supposed to send us any information on a breach within sixty seconds, but we didn't receive notification for twenty minutes. Either they picked up on the fix, which I doubt, because Hector is that good, or I have a traitor within my company."

Ranger said the last statement with malice and the deepest sense of betrayal. "Santos and Hector, along with Marco, the head of the Miami office, will try to circumvent the patch while looking into the men who are working here. Babe, starting tomorrow I need you to run searches on all my Miami employees, starting with the most recent hires and working back."

"Okay, Carlos, whatever you need. Will Silvio or Hector set me up with a computer?"

"Hector. Right now, I trust no one from Miami. I'm going to ask Manny and Woody to come down to give Lester and Hector a hand. They will oversee updating the program without anyone in the Miami office knowing. Home base will be the house, so I'm sorry we're going to have a lot of company. Manny and Woody will share the maid's quarters. Javier will stay at Rangeman. Most likely, he'll be going home either tomorrow or the day after. The first-floor bedroom will be their main workspace. You can use my office. My baby sister Mariela is coming over to spend time with Julie when you are busy helping me. She'll take the room next to Julie's room."

"Wow, that was quick. You got it all planned out." Ms. Plum says.

"Babe." He replies. She shakes her head and smiles. "Agent, you have my card. Feel free to drop by to see any information we obtain. I suggest you discuss your case out in the open air, as there must be an accomplice inside MDPD."

Shit, I didn't think of that, but now that Manoso mentions it, it makes sense. The cops went in silent, and so did Rangeman, but the lookout spotted Rangeman. That means that they must know when the cops are coming and the ETA, so they can clear out in time. The police band is too much of a risk, as a car could be in the vicinity. When we get back to MDPD, my team needs to find out where the responding officers were when they got the call for the other crime scenes.

"We may take you up on that offer. Anything you discover, please let us know."

"Thank you, Agent. Goodnight."

I watch as Manoso and Ms. Plum head back to his car, a Lamborghini, mind you. I glance at the card that Manoso place in my hand, finding the address to his home.

"What did Manoso have to say?" Rossi asks me.

"He apologized for not fixing the system good enough to get here sooner. He thinks one of his men may be part of the team, and asked Ms. Plum to start researching them tomorrow. He's calling in more men from Trenton, and moving his operation to his home, instead of his building. He doesn't trust his Miami men right now."

"Everything that I've observed from that man is in line with Alvez's assessment and the General's report on him and Santos. I don't understand why those two detectives in Trenton have such a problem with him. I still don't understand why those two detectives are flying down tomorrow morning. I'm going to ask Garcia to get as much information as she can on Detectives Gaspick and Morelli." Rossi replies.

"David, if I go with my gut, Manoso is a good man, and with his help, we'll catch these guys. Do we have everything we need?"

"Yes. Let's get some shut-eye so we can start fresh in the morning."

I gather my team to head back to the hotel. The morning will arrive quick enough. I inform JJ and Tara that they will head straight to the hospital tomorrow to re-interview Julie Martine, and if he's awake, Thomas Goodwin.