Sorry this took so long. I actually wasn't entirely planning on Eibon's admission in the last chapter so I really had to put thought into how it would fit. Hopefully, you like this development.
There were two things in this world that Free loved above all else: puzzles, and sticking it to somebody who thought they were above everyone else. This rumble at the old farmhouse was starting to look like it was going to fulfill both especially after he got the call from Mifune to head on over, that the kid, Soul, had been insistent that he come right away. And what else was Free doing? Whatever was happening over there was sure as hell going to beat counting cows.
What he wasn't expecting was a new edition, a man older than himself and definitely better dressed. "Hello, Maka, Soul." He had decided to wear the hat today for the express purpose of tipping it. He rarely got the opportunity and he would be damned if he wasn't going to use it. "And you are?"
"Eibon," the man extended a hand.
"Is that a first name or last name, sir?" Free tried not to add in his usual facial features for these kinds of questions since the man didn't seem much amused by anything.
"Both," the man waved dismissively as he sat back down.
"I would have expected you resting today, Maka." Free saw Soul's frown tightened and he could tell that was an argument waiting to happen or, more likely, a morning's worth of lovers' quarrels that he didn't want to be privy to. "But I guess there are more important matters at hand since you requested my presence."
"I think things are getting a little more complicated, Sheriff Free." Maka motioned towards Eibon. "This is the client that we were talking about last night, the contract that Giriko and Arachne wanted. It turns out that he has concerns about them as well."
Free bit back a smile as the possible puzzle was starting to expand. "Well, then, Mr. Eibon, what is it you'd like to add?"
"Prior to Mr. Evans and Ms. Albarn, I employed Ms. Gorgon and Giriko. Giriko seemed to maintain a solely professional relationship but Ms. Gorgon had taken an active interest in my wife, who had been sick for some time." There was a pause that none dared to wade into especially as Eibon worked his jaw in order to etch the words from his teeth. "My wife had been under the care of a family doctor since the onset but as Ms. Gorgon's interest grew, so did the push to work with a different medical facility, one that she swore was a better avenue for a cure. I was happy to support any attempt to make my wife whole again."
Eibon's eyes moved to Maka only momentarily as he rewetted his lips. "For a time, she was improving, but I started to see a pattern that disagreements with me about the business, the expenses, et cetera, would come with a wavering in my wife's condition. I became even more uneasy as it seemed Ms. Gorgon was becoming my wife's caretaker during these trips to the medical facility. Eventually, without much warning, my wife's condition worsened dramatically and she was no longer able to be cared for at home but moved to the facility without my permission. Lawfully, my wife was still cognizant, so her care was her decision, but to cut me off seemed strange and unwarranted."
"When I questioned this, Giriko would give veiled threats that at that point I was unable to counter. They had my wife, so I was powerless. I made a rash decision and went to the facility demanding to see my wife. Ms. Gorgon was there and as she tried to put up her saintly facade I lost my temper and terminated our professional relationship. I thought I had won because she had no choice but to take me to my wife, who I removed from the facility and brought home." Eibon's hands slowly clenched into fists on top of the table. "She lasted a day at home before she passed away."
Free let his eyes scan the room before falling back on Eibon. "Well, sir, while that does sound fishy, I assume you had an autopsy upon her death and if there was foul play…"
"I did have an autopsy, but…" Eibon glared at him. "It seemed strange to me that the determination was almost immediate, with no mention of any medications, none whatsoever, in her system."
Free sucked his teeth thoughtfully. "Again, fishy, but-"
Eibon's eyes were burning, his fists trembling against the table. "And conveniently it was Giriko who delivered the results, not the coroner, no one that I would have actually expected to be involved with the process. With them, he explained an interesting principle that suspicion usually only ever falls on the husband, and if I were to become much more inquisitive then perhaps I would not like the results."
Free's eyebrows bobbed on his forehead. "That's quite a story, Mr. Eibon. Then why not just blackmail you into giving them the contract back?"
Eibon offered a short shake of his head. "I haven't been able to figure out that part of the equation. I assume it's because Ms. Gorgon perhaps thought there was no contest and she would be welcomed back. Or maybe she realized that I would most likely prefer my own end rather than working with her again."
Free's head started to bob in a slow nod. "This is… well, I have to say this is a pickle we've gotten ourselves into since I'm going to take a flying leap of thought here and assume that me getting involved is going to just put me in front of the firing squad, too."
"That means you're backing out?" Soul snapped.
"Hell no," Free laughed. "Just making sure we all know that this is probably going to be anything but pretty or easy for that matter."
"Nothing ever is," Soul grumbled.
"Well," Free took one more second to let a few laughs tumble from his lips. "Look, I was about to go over and see your man Giriko. Supposedly he's lucid enough today for a statement. You willing to come with me, Soul?"
"Me?" Soul narrowed his eyes.
Free finally let that smile that he'd been hiding shine. "I have a feeling if I'm going to put pressure on this guy it's going to be to my benefit to have you with me."
"I'm not sure I get what you mean." Soul let his eyes fall cautiously to Maka who didn't seem to offer any more understanding.
"Easy," Free shrugged. "It's exactly what you said last time we talked. Who'd think a Medusa enforcer would stand side by side with a cop? He sees that, knows that we work together, might knock his feet out from underneath him."
Soul was able to check the surprise, keeping his eyebrow just curled in mild interest. "I don't know where you got the idea that I-"
Free's whistle interrupted him, "Don't tell any tall-tales, Soul."
Maka's hand touched Soul's on her shoulder, letting one last look of love and reassurance pass between the two of them before looking at Free. "It's past tense, Sheriff Free. He isn't involved in that anymore."
"Ah," Free nodded, "Hence the normal life spiel. I get it. Either way, you and me looking buddy-buddy like information is passing between the two of us, and I think we can get a little further than I would on my own."
Soul nervously squeezed her shoulder before breaking his stare with Free. "Mr. Eibon, would you mind? I know you came a long way-"
"As long as Ms. Albarn releases you," Eibon raised his eyebrows with an amused twist to the corners of his smile.
Soul dropped his eyes to meet Maka's, finding her forehead wrinkled as her lips had come tightly together. "Maka…" He crouched next to her as the heat started to climb on his cheeks. "Look…"
"Together," Maka snapped. "That's how we do this but you're about to-"
"You really think you're in the right kind of shape to come with?" He let his fingers smooth from her shoulder down her arm. "Use your head."
She tried to put all her effort into a huffing sigh but found her teeth still worrying at her bottom lip. "I can't."
"Promise I'll behave," Soul whispered softly as his hand trailed into hers.
Maka smiled softly as she tangled their fingers together just for the moment, "You never do."
Soul was surprised by the absolute quiet in the car because some kind of interrogation had felt unavoidable as he slid into the passenger seat. No more thoughts passed between them and Soul only stole glances to see a carefree smile on Free's face. He honestly wasn't sure if the guy was insane or just not firing on enough cylinders to realize that this wasn't the wisest career choice. Either way, he had sworn that Medusa was the last time there would be blood on his hands and this was the closest he was going to get to keeping it.
The hospital definitely wasn't a sprawling establishment and Free didn't treat it as such. After they parked it was a whirlwind jaunt into the building that only required a flash of his badge to get down the corridors that Free seemed to know. He led Soul wordlessly up to the third floor of the main building, only slowing as they exited the stairwell. There were three uniformed police but split in color, two in the stereotypical deep blue as a frantic one in khaki that matched Free attempting to argue as he was barred from the door.
"Hey, Hero," Free barked down the hallway and the khaki officer shot his head to look with a grimace of pain. "What the hell are you doing outside of that room?"
"Boss!" Hero was looking between the new officers and Free, weighing the problems at hand. "Look, sir, they said they had business-"
"Bullshit," Free growled. "Hey, you two numbskulls, why are you barring my officer from his post?" As he reached the two officers he was already flicking at their uniforms. "Where the hell are your badge numbers? Who is your CO?"
"Sir, we've from the city police-" One of the men started.
"Which means you have jackshit for jurisdiction," Free complained as he ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me you didn't let anyone in this room?"
"Ms. Gorgon-"
Free's eyebrows instantly perked, "The lady herself has arrived?" Free shot an amused smile back at Soul. "Let's go give her a proper greeting." Without another word he pressed through the smaller men, leaving Hero floundering to follow as Soul shrugged and trailed behind. The two officers closed rank behind them and Soul made sure to catch a piece of wall as soon as he could, uninterested in getting a knife or anything else to the back.
Giriko was sitting up in the bed with various wires and bandages, none of which made Soul feel any better as they didn't stop the shit-eating grin from forming on Giriko's lips. Arachne was next to him, what looked like a comforting hand on Giriko's shoulder. "And there's the criminal now," Arachne cooed as she motioned at the blue-clad officers. "Boys, arrest this man immediately."
Free trailed her finger to Soul and let a hearty laugh tumble from his lips. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I seem to be a little confused. Mind telling me who you are and why you think one of my deputies deserves to be arrested?"
One of his deputies? Soul barely stopped himself from checking the room since Free obviously couldn't mean him.
"Arachne Gorgon," her forehead started to crinkle. "And that man used unnecessary force against my employee."
"Huh," Free popped out another laugh, "You mean, against your employee who was found torturing this man's girlfriend in their house that your employee broke into?"
"She let me in," Giriko wasn't ready to let go of his grin.
"As far as I know there's a consensual relationship going on between the girl in question and Giriko," Arachne stated matter-of-factly.
The anger was a torrent as Soul felt his fingernails digging into his palms. "You-"
Free shot out a hand in front of Soul, silencing him for the moment as he took his notebook out of his pocket. He flipped a few pages. "You mean the woman that you also assaulted on Monday? We've got three separate eyewitnesses stating that you were stalking her and grabbed her by the hair while she was walking home."
While Soul was ready to rip that smile off of Giriko's face, he was suddenly struck by the actual information at hand. Three eyewitnesses? And when did he get this info? Just a couple of hours and he's run down all the available information? Who is this guy? All that rage started to cool as he focused in on Free as he continued.
"Means we've got premeditation, which can be corroborated by the secretary who you threatened for this young woman's address." Free didn't pause as he flipped to the next page in his notes. "So you held a woman against her will, inflicted grave bodily harm with a lethal weapon, all without showing any intention of letting her go in any safe way. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, boys," Free raised his eyes from the text and motioned his notebook at the two officers that were covering the doorway who had been eyeing Soul, "but I'm pretty sure the charge for that is aggravated kidnapping, right?"
The two uniformed men were silent, eyes darting between Arachne's sour face, Free's growing delight, and Soul's resting apathy. Always the helper, Hero piped up, "That sounds about right, sir."
"Thanks, Hero," Free gritted through his smile. "And care to tell me what the usual jail time for that is?"
Hero was bouncing to be of use, a bright smile on his face. "Well, sir, up to 20 years if you're going to charge him with second degree but first degree could be up to 100 years."
Soul tried to hide the pleasure from his face as he watched those numbers bounce around Giriko's skull.
"And to be honest, in a tiny town like this where they're worried about the bad influence of the city wrecking their utopia, our DA is usually gung-ho to make sure that the charges are the harshest possible, you know, to dissuade anyone from trying anything similar." Free flipped another page in his notebook. "And, hell, I hope you don't mind me saying, Soul, but that girlfriend of yours is just amazingly beautiful girl, really charming, and I know as soon as she walks up to the stand and has to describe how some animal poked her full of…" He checked his notes, "... damn near thirty holes, all of which required stitches, there's not going to be a dry-eye between the judge or the jury."
All the color and humor had drained from the other side of the room.
"So, boys, I'm going to give you a firm suggestion that you go ahead and fuck off if you think you're arresting anyone today. I've already filed charges on Giriko here and anything else is out of your jurisdiction and your depth." Free flashed the two officers a pleasant smile before turning his attention to Arachne. "And I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Ms. Gorgon, since unless you've got your law degree and are acting as Giriko's attorney, he's technically in custody, which means no visitors. Hero, walk them out."
That was a petrifying statement, Hero's spine shooting straight as his hands trembled to motion the rabble out. Arachne barely acknowledged the order as she crossed to Free's space, her face hovering close to his. "You don't have any idea what you're doing."
"I sure do," Free laughed. "And I'd appreciate it a whole lot if you'd stay easy to get a hold of, Ms. Gorgon. Because after we're done with your little lackey here you've got some questions to answer." The temptation to give her a cute little tap on the nose was almost too much to bear and Free found himself jamming his hands in his pockets to keep from the dangerous amusement.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Arachne hissed.
"Sheriff Free, now get out." It was obvious that this wasn't the usual for her as she seethed behind tight lips. As Free made no new motions, Arachne jerked past him, her feet stomping in fury across the tile floor. The officers followed close behind her as Hero brought up the rear and closed the door. "Now, I know you're a smart guy, Giriko, and I'm going to be shit out of luck asking you questions because I bet you want a lawyer present."
Giriko nodded as he held onto a thin visage of his original smirk.
"But, really, all I wanted to do today was make sure you know exactly what I'm about." Free removed his hands from his pockets but left his notebook behind as he cracked his knuckles. "That hundred years? That's no joke. I look forward to sitting in the back of that courtroom with my feet up as they put you away for the rest of your natural life."
Giriko sucked his teeth in reply.
"Of course, I expect you and your boss there to put up a fight, but I can promise you that I'm not exactly one to back down." Free glanced over his shoulder at Soul and he was struck by the smile that still stretched across Free's face. "Is there anything you'd like to add, Soul, before we go?"
Soul licked his lips, a million explosive possibilities dancing across his tongue. Instead, he bit each one down as he focused his eyes on Free. "It's not worth it. No matter what I say the outcome is going to be the same since there's no way he's not paying for what he did to Maka." Soul made sure to turn quickly, unable to stomach either face as he tried to hold onto the forced calm.
"What if I've got something to say?" Each word from Giriko's mouth trickled with delight.
"Be my guest," Free brought his smile back to the man but put a firm hand on Soul's arm, keeping him in place.
"I should have made it fifty."
The air eked from Soul's throat as he turned and Free's hand ripped away from his bicep.
"Soul-" Free started.
"And when I ripped her shirt down the front-"
"You're just giving us more evidence, Giriko." And while Free could probably appreciate any extra fodder for the courtroom he saw the darkness taking over Soul's face, the irrational hate that was clouding what he saw as a sensible man.
"She liked it," Giriko hissed, "She moaned when I reached in her shirt and-"
I should fucking kill you, rip you to fucking pieces and strewn it on Arachne's lawn because how dare you… A second warble of air left his throat and Soul felt his hold on reality faltering, the need to eviscerate and to make Giriko bleed sending his blood rushing to his galloping heart. While it was Stein's voice in his head it was also hers echoing behind, use your head, not your heart. He wants you to react, he wants you to look bad, make this your fault. Finally, he thought about Maka, letting the need to get back to her, to make sure that she wasn't left alone with those thoughts tonight because he was in the tank for swinging a punch. Soul forced his eyes to Free's. "I'd like to go home."