Time for Genny Shaw to see what Gerald has to say for himself? Did he act alone?
Genny remembered how Karen had denied Gerald's claims regarding her suggesting that Jessica had started those insane rumors about him last December. Her explanation of meeting up by chance and sharing a few drinks while the suspect cried in his beer was considerably more plausible. When Genny followed up at the lab a few days later, no one knew what Gerald was talking about, so she had written off his story as BS from a cornered suspect.
She knew Aubrey was still a little suspicious, but after all the crap the profiler had pulled, it was understandable. It would in Karen's nature to shoot off her mouth about Jessica.
'Just happened to meet up for drinks and she comforted him over his bruised ego with understanding and no strings sex. Of course she lied. I should have known better. That bitch.'
Quickly composing herself, she pushed forward with her questioning. "I remember you mentioned this back when I arrested you the first time. However, when I talked to Karen, she denied it, saying she merely listened to you cry in your beer like a baby before you two hooked up. I also checked around the Jeffersonian and no one knew what you were talking about."
"She's a fucking liar. Of course you would believe that bitch over me, but I'm telling you that it was that Karen lady who told me about Jessica spreading all that crap about me. I remember all of it."
"If you want me to believe you, Gerald, I need details, starting with the first time you two met up and talked about these alleged rumors."
"A week before the Halloween Gala...Sunday, I think...yeah, Sunday, Karen met up with me at Franklin's Tavern-"
"Was it an accidental meeting or-"
"She found me on Twitter that morning...direct messaged me and said she had something important to discuss with me. I ignored it but then she sent me another message that afternoon, saying it was super important because it was about Jessica and my career. Even offered to buy me a drink...and hinted that perhaps I could get more out of the deal if I were so inclined, so I figured why not? She's an older chick, but she has some nice tits."
'So much for one thing led to another...' Genny thought to herself. "So, you met up at Franklin's…"
"Yeah. She told me that she had been at some birthday party for that Aubrey guy the night before and she'd overheard Jessica bragging about how she was going to go see Dr. Miller and say that I had sexually harassed her at the lab. She was gonna say I did a bunch of other shit, too, to get me fired from my internship."
Genny offered a sympathetic shrug. "Probably pissed you off, didn't it, Gerald?"
"Damn right it did. Karen told me that Jessica was her friend, but she didn't want me blindsided and she felt she owed it to me to tell what was going on behind my back."
"Was that the only reason she gave for selling out her friend?"
Gerald laughed. "Nope...I guess Karen surprised Aubrey on his birthday but her blew her off for that cunt Jessica. Man, that lady is so hot for him…"
"And…", Genny prodded.
"We drank for a while and bitched about that redheaded slut for a while. Then, I asked if that other idea was still good. She said it was, so I followed her back to her place for a couple hours. I left her around 1:30 in the morning."
"Didn't feel like spending the night?"
"No...why the fuck would I do that?" Gerald shook his head. "She was a fuck...a really, really good fuck...but just a fuck just the same. I had to be at work at 8:00 that morning and she said she had some 7:00 meeting at work with that Aubrey guy and had to pick up some breakfast first. I guess he called her up that day to arrange it and she figured it was to apologize for ignoring her all Saturday night."
"You said she found you on Twitter? Any evidence to back this up?"
"Check my phone. You'll find the conversation on there. Her username is ShrinkBitch."
'How appropriate. Well, she didn't cheat on Steve...and she told some of the truth so far.' Genny nodded. "Why didn't you mention all this when I interrogated you last month?"
"Because you just wanted to bust my balls over those bullshit charges and I didn't think it mattered. I'm going to get them tossed, you know. What that shrink lady did was entrapment."
"Cool your jets, Gerald." Genny made some notes on her tablet. "Alright, that's one meeting, but I know there's more, so out with it."
"Well, Karen was right, because Jessica fucking railroaded me after the Halloween Gala and got me suspended for three weeks. Then the bitch wouldn't take me up on my offer to drop the charges I was going to file for grand theft auto if we became friends with benefits...what's the big deal about fucking me once? She fucked all those other guys...and she was boffing that Aubrey guy. I mean...he's a skinny asshole, what the hell?"
'Does he know any other word besides 'fuck'?" Genny hid her smile. "You mean besides him scaring you to the point where you peed your pants, Gerald, in front of all those attendees at the Gala because you were being nasty to his date?"
"That was bullshit-"
"Moving on, tell me about the next time you two talked."
Gerald scratched his chin as he tried to remember. "It was the day after Thanksgiving, but I didn't speak to her. Karen came to my father's office in Vienna-."
"Your father was working on a holiday weekend?"
"It was Friday. Why not?", Gerald asked. "Not everyone takes that weekend off, and Dad gives...or rather, he gave people who worked that day a bonus. Do you want to hear this or not?"
"Pardon me, Gerald.", Genny said with sarcasm. "Please continue."
Gerald sat up straight. "Like I was saying, Dad told me that she came to his office. She didn't have an appointment, but once she said she needed to talk to him about me, he was cool with it. She told him that Jessica had told everyone at the Jeffersonian about how I couldn't get it up and that I was a fag."
"She said that you were homosexual and also impotent?", Genny responded, not liking the slurs her suspect had used. "Any other meetings? Full disclosure now, you hear me?"
"Yeah. So a few days after that, like the day after those guys got shot before they killed that guy...how the fuck does that happen, by the way-"
"Answer me, Gerald, or I tell the US Attorney that you're uncooperative. She may be less friendly about criminal charges-"
He puffed out an exasperated sigh. "Okay...fine. Karen met up with my dad...I don't know where or how...and said that while Jessica's asshole boyfriend and that Booth guy were in surgery, Jessica told everyone in the waiting room about how I liked to be pissed on during sex and that it was her who left those Depends in the locker room on my first day back...that bitch."
'From what Wendell said, no one knew who left the undergarments in the locker room, although it made Gerald a laughingstock there.', Genny thought. 'It could've been anyone who went to the Gala…'
"Then that bitch bragged about how she started those rumors that I was gay and that I couldn't get it up to get back at me. Jessica has been out to get me for months. Remember how I fucked her and she framed me afterwards because I wouldn't help her make Aubrey jealous. I've told you about that, remember, but you said I was a liar."
"We've already proved that you lied about hooking up with Jessica, Gerald, so let's not go there, shall we?" Genny tapped her pen on the table. "So, to summarize, Karen met up with you or your father three times to inform you that Jessica was saying stuff about you to make you look bad. All of that is what pushed you to vandalize Jessica's Jeep, her locker, her apartment…"
"My client is not admitting guilt to any of that." The lawyer pushed her glasses up her nose. "He's merely telling you what someone said about him."
"You blew me off before, but you can't now, can you?", Gerald snarled.
Genny began laughing, leaving Gerald and his lawyer perplexed. "What the fuck are you laughing about?", the suspect growled. "That bitch was spreading lies about me…"
"I'm laughing at you, Gerald." Genny laughed again. "You're the most gullible person I've ever encountered, and I've seen a lot of them since I've become a Special Agent."
"Cut that out!", Gerald fumed.
"Sorry…" Genny coughed and calmed down. "It's just...you took Karen at her word all those months ago, but she lied to you, you idiot. I was there that night at the hospital. Jessica never said any of that about you."
"No….Karen told me…"
"Dr. Delfs lied to you, shithead...for her own personal reasons. She played your ass like a fiddle. Essentially, you did most of the dirty work for her in trying to get rid of Jessica. God, you're a stupid son of a bitch." Genny grinned as she picked up a piece of paper. "You're just the fall guy…"
'No one makes a fool of me! I'm taking that bitch with me…' Gerald was filled with rage as he realized the situation. "No, I'm not. She knew I was going to make Jessica pay…that Karen lady was in on it the entire time..."
"Now you're full of shit, Gerald. Karen lied to you, but I don't believe for one minute that she was involved in your little...horror show today. That was all you."
"It was all her idea!", Gerald said desperately. "The bitch asked me to help her. It was all her, damn it."
"Really?" Genny sat back and crossed her arms. "Prove it."
"Okay…" Gerald thought quickly. "She told me when Jessica would be working because she was friends with everyone at the lab and knew her schedule. She also said she could fix things so I would get off with a slap on the wrist."
"Now I know you're full of it. Gerald, Karen has no access to the lab's schedules and she is not friends with the people at the Jeffersonian.", Genny replied with a chuckle. "Try again."
"She called me over to her apartment on the 30th...she suggested the Visine thing for Jessica. Karen said to just put it in her coffee and it would give her the shits. Jessica needed to be knocked off her high horse..."
"December 30th?'', Genny asked. When Gerald nodded, the agent held back a smile. "What time did you go to her apartment?"
"9:30...I got there about 9:30.", Gerald replied smugly. "She was horny, too...no panties on under her skirt. She wanted to ride me on her couch because she loves my big cock, but I was dating Ashley by then."
Genny burst out laughing again. "Hate to break it to you, but Karen wasn't looking to have sex with you that night."
"Yes, she was...she wanted to fuck me...she did it before..."
Genny played with her pen. "Well, then you either spoke to a Karen clone, or you just lied to me again."
He rose from his chair, slamming his fist on the table. "No, you need to listen to me, Agent. I said I was there. Quit challenging me or you'll regret it!"
"Don't threaten me, little boy.", Genny said quietly, glaring up at the man across from her. "Ms. Jergins, advise your client to mind his p's and q's, please."
"Gerald, shut your damn mouth!", the lawyer hissed as she pulled him back into this seat. "I can't help you when you have verbal diarrhea."
"Thank you, Janis." Genny smiled sweetly. "Karen couldn't have met with you on December 30th because she was attending an FBI dinner that night at the Willard. I know, because I was at the same dinner. Around 9:30 I had accepted an award and saw her in the audience. I remember the occasion well, because she was wearing the same dress as another agent's wife."
"No!"
"To think you almost killed six people...possibly seven, if Angela Montenegro miscarries...all based on stupid lies first told to you in a bar. You really are a dumbass."
Genny nodded her head towards the two way mirror. A few seconds later, Agents Haggarty and Thompson came into the room. "Let's tally up the charges, shall we? First, your attacks on Jessica and Dr. Wells, and since DCPD gave us jurisdiction over Ashley's case that's...three counts of attempted murder. Lacing the coffee with Visine is also considered assault, but Caroline Julian lives to put scum like you away, so she may also try charging with you with attempted murder as well for the security guards' poisonings. Angela Montenegro could've had worse injuries but we're looking at assault right now. Then there's calling in a bomb threat to a federal institution...oh stealing Ashley's badge...that's theft of government property…"
"You're reaching, Agent Shaw."
"I think not, Janis. He broke the light at the employee entrance and there was other property he destroyed at the Jeffersonian, so there's another charge of vandalism at the Jeffersonian, plus he violated his restraining order. Most of all, we can't forget the attempted sexual assault with special circumstances…"
"What?", Gerald bellowed as Jerry handcuffed him.
"You urinated on Jessica, Gerald, and then you tried to strangle her. Juries don't like things like that sort of thing...especially from cocky bastards like yourself who think they are above the law because of their status in society. Although you probably didn't feel very cocky when Jessica kicked you in the face." Genny scrutinized the man. "She really got you good, too. I think I still see the boot mark-"
"Agent Aubrey assaulted my client.", Janis said. "We plan to pursue assault charges."
"Go right on ahead...and we'll put out my statement and Agent Bower's, which will indicate that your client was resisting arrest, and that Agent Aubrey was defending himself when he was attacked while stopping your client from strangling a woman to death. Now that I think about it, assaulting a federal agent is another charge. I don't think you're getting out of jail until you're 80, Gerald."
"I'll beat this…"
"Sure...oh, and if Oliver Wells dies? One of those attempted murder charges becomes capital murder. Premeditation could push it to the death penalty." Picking up the file and papers, Genny glared at the man before her, flanked by the other agents. "See you in court, asshole."
The ASAC walked back into her office and sat behind her desk. She studied Gerald Maxwell's file and not getting anywhere, stood up and stared out the window, thinking about Karen's involvement.
It wasn't hard to believe that Karen had used Gerald's ego against him in order to incite him to violence. The hard part was going to be proving it. The profiler had been able to steer suspicion away from herself the first time, but it would be the last.
'Karen technically didn't lie…but her ass is mine.' Genny mused. 'I need to talk to her before Gerald's lawyer does.'
oooooooooo
At the house, Aubrey filled Skinner's bowl with wet food before setting it down. Skinner ate a few bites but then stopped to watch the front door. Knowing why the cat had stopped eating, he sighed before bending down to pet the orange tabby.
"I know...your Aunt Jessica is usually here so you can sit on her lap while we watch a movie on Sunday nights, but...a bad man hurt her, so she's in the hospital tonight. I'm going to spend the night with her, but we'll be home soon, Buddy...no later than Tuesday, I promise."
The agent grabbed her tablet from upstairs as well as her phone charger in case she needed it. After searching one of her drawers in the dresser they shared, he found her favorite MSU pajamas. On the floor, he saw her fuzzy slippers and put them in the travel bag he was preparing for her, along with a change of clothes to come home in. After grabbing her toothbrush and other bathroom essentials, Aubrey came out into the master suite.
"Do I have everything?" Looking around, he grimaced as he noticed the crumpled sheets on the bed. "Shit...I didn't make the bed. Jess asked me to before she left this morning…"
He hadn't seen the point in it in the past, but when a certain spunky redhead came into his life, things changed. After a while, he'd gotten into the habit of making the bed as he realized it did make things look neater.
It was also harder for Skinner to hide under the covers and surprise them like he did last week. Jessica had pushed her boyfriend down on the bed half naked in the throes of passion and they'd barely missed the tabby, who'd been napping under the blanket. After the initial shock, the two laughed before they went back to the crazy monkey sex they planned to have.
'That was great, lustful, earth shattering fucking...I love it when Jessica's aggressive.' Aubrey thought. 'I love just about everything about her.'
He looked down at the bed again, remembering two nights ago. Their lovemaking that night was also earth shattering, physical, and quite passionate. But it was also comforting, beautiful and their favorite way to express their love for the other.
After they'd made love that night, she worried about Karen and the upcoming trial, but he'd put her at ease...then he got her to fool around in the kitchen. Who would've thought that almost 48 hours later, instead of home watching a low budget science fiction movie with him and the cat, she would be hospitalized after an attempted rape...that she'd almost been murdered?
What would've happened if he hadn't gotten to Limbo when he did? From what the ER doctor had told him, Jessica was about three minutes away from possible death before he'd ripped Gerald off her.
As he contemplated the what ifs, a tear fell from his eye. Wiping it away, he felt two more fall. Frustrated at his emotion, Aubrey wiped them away before a couple more fell. Then, finally, he let himself break down.
'I was supposed to protect her...but he got to her anyway...and almost took five other lives as well. I want to kill him. I'm going to find out why he did this...the real reason...and when I do...if Karen or anyone else was involved...so help me they will all pay…'
He continued to cry until he felt someone head butting him. Turning to his right, Skinner stood next to him, gazing at his man. Chuckling, Aubrey pet his cat.
"Jess is right...you always know when you're needed, Buddy. I promise she's coming home soon."
Looking at the clock, he saw it was 5:30 and wiped his eyes. "Okay, Aubrey...get your shit together. Your girlfriend needs you to man up...and she wants some chicken noodle soup from the diner tonight."
Making sure he had a change of clothes for himself and everything Jessica might need, Aubrey zipped the bag and pet Skinner. "I'll be back in the morning, buddy. I gave you extra food, but don't eat it all tonight."
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Genny read through her notes and contemplated what she knew. It seemed both the profiler and the suspect had a grudge against Jessica, both unfounded.
In regards to Gerald, she'd rejected his overtures for two years until she asked him to be her date for a wedding, only because Jessica found out Aubrey was going with Karen. From what the redhead had told her, Gerald had groped her on the dance floor and then was a drunken ass because she'd rejected him sexually. He then was a dick to her when she told him off on their second date and Aubrey stood up for her when he happened to see them arguing.
Gerald didn't like the fact that Jessica had dated and had casual relationships with other guys at the museum while always turning him down. However, she was unattached at the time, and she didn't owe Gerald Maxwell anything.
'Why is it so hard for some men to understand that sex is not owed to them...pigs.'
Then there was Karen. The profiler had developed a crush on Aubrey immediately, but in his own words, she was also cloying, and she soon got on his nerves. He couldn't handle being around her for long periods of time. He was also oblivious to the older woman's feelings for him as he was wrapped up in his burgeoning relationship with Jessica.
Yes, Jessica had broken up with Aubrey, but Karen didn't have a right to claim the man as hers just because she'd spent time with him. James Aubrey was a person with real feelings, not a prize to be won at the county fair. It was obvious to anyone that the Major Crimes SAC's heart was solely with the redheaded intern, not with Karen Delfs and that the feeling was mutual on Jessica's end, even after the break up.
Well, obvious to everyone except the profiler...or else Karen did know and manipulated the situation to her favor in an attempt to get Aubrey to date her. In Genny's opinion, it was a little bit of both.
'Karen and Gerald seem to share the trait of having an extreme self of entitlement. Yikes!'
She was serious when she'd told Gerald during the interrogation that he was full of it when he insinuated Karen was his partner in his crimes. The ASAC felt secure that even at her worst, Karen Delfs would never deliberately solicit an assault on Jessica.
However, the woman's anger over Aubrey reconciling with Jessica hadn't dissipated, even after three months. Being with Steve had tempered it a bit. However, Karen's newfound sense of acceptance for Jessica was only temporary as her issues with the graduate student were never really settled. Genny couldn't understand how a grown woman could be so brilliant at her job but be so blind to the truth...that Aubrey had always loved Jessica and Jessica had always loved Aubrey. The two of them getting back together had been inevitable.
If Karen was half as possessive with that Agent Thomas from the BRIU as she was with Steve and Aubrey, she felt sorry for the young agent/profiler.
As much as Genny wanted to blow off Gerald's accusations, there was too many details and frankly, it was too incredible to be made up. While she didn't buy the part about Karen being a co-conspirator, she still had to follow the lead. That was her job...and that's what she would do.
Apparently, Karen had thought if she told just enough truth last month, her scheme would be forgotten and she would get away with everything. That was a grave mistake on the her end.
Looking up a phone number, Genny wrote it down. Grabbing a key from her desk, she walked down the hall to Aubrey's office, unlocked the door, and went inside.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
At John's apartment, the door unlocked and the agent stormed in, followed by an irate Karen. Locking the door, he tossed his keys in a bowl and turned to the older woman.
"Christ, Karen…she's an agent from the Baltimore office. I worked with her on a case with last month, that's all! I'm not sleeping with her!"
The profiler turned to her current lover. Once again, she acknowledged that their fling was winding down, but she wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. "Well, she obviously wants to fuck you! I saw her staring at your junk! I'm tired of you letting women think you're available."
"My God...Lainey has a boyfriend. She wasn't flirting with me. You're fucking paranoid, you know that? I can't even take a dump without you thinking I'm with another woman. I'm sick of it, Karen."
"Well, quit acting like you're single, and we wouldn't be arguing about this." Karen jumped to her latest power play. "You keep it up and I'm out of here. Do you want to lose me?"
Before John could answer, Karen's phone rang. Seeing that it was Aubrey's office line, she immediately answered. "Hello, Aubrey? Do you need me for a case? I knew that ban was just temporary—"
"It's not Aubrey…it's Agent Shaw. You need to come down to the Hoover now."
"Does Aubrey know that you're in his office, Genevieve?" Karen asked snidely. "I don't think Aubrey would appreciate people going in and out of his workspace when he's not there."
"I have his spare key, Karen. I figured you would answer if I called on his phone."
"Not very mature, Genevieve. As for coming down to the Hoover, the answer is no. It's my day off, I have plans, and because of Jessica being a buttinsky, I'm now banned from Major Crimes unless Aubrey requests it. Now, come to Quantico tomorrow and we can talk about whatever has a burr in your butt. Goodbye."
"Dr. Delfs, you seem to misunderstand me. This is not a request, but an order. Be here in 30 minutes or I'll send an agent to bring you in. Don't test me. I'm not in the mood."
Karen stood straight at the other woman's tone. "I'll be there in 25." Hanging up her phone, she found her purse and coat. "I'm needed at the Hoover, John. We'll continue this later."
Ignoring the man's head shake, Karen quickly grabbed her coat and purse before storming out of the apartment. As she drove her vehicle through a cold and rainy Washington DC Sunday evening, her anger increasing the closer she got to her destination.
"First I'm humiliated on Friday, and now Shaw is ordering me down to the Hoover…on my day off? This better be good, Genevieve."
Thirty minutes later, Karen entered the Major Crimes bullpen and was surprised to see Steve and five more agents actively working. What surprised her even more was the dirty looks she was receiving from all of them.
Seeing her former lover standing by the duty roster, she walked up to him. "What's the matter with everyone, Steve? You all look like someone has died."
"No one died, Karen." Steve barely held his contempt in check. "We're just working a case."
"All of you? Must be something big. Now, Genevieve ordered me down here like some minion. Where is she so she can get her panties out of the wad she has them in?" Karen pulled up her purse on her shoulder and smirked. "I have a night of hot sex with John to look forward to when I get home."
"Special Agent Shaw is in her office.", Steve said brusquely, pointing towards the door. "Excuse me, I have to call Mitzi and tell her I'll be working late tonight."
"Keeps you on a short leash, doesn't she?", Karen muttered, not happy that her comment didn't get any sort of response. She saw the angry stares of the handful of agents who were working and shuddered before walking to Genny's office, where the agent was reading a file.
"I'm here, Genevieve. Now why the hell did you demand I come down here? This better be important. I was busy."
"Neutering your boy toy, probably.", Genny cracked before getting up and gathering some folders. "Come with me, Karen. We need to have a chat in the conference room."
Leading Karen down the hall, Shaw pushed the door open. "Sit there." Genny pointed to a chair facing away from the windows.
"What is going on here?", Karen asked in irritation.
Genny walked up to the taller woman, glaring at her intently. "Sit the hell down, Karen. I won't ask you again."
Surprised at the woman's ferocity, Karen sat down and watched as Genny opened one of the folders and started laying down photographs. Seeing what was pictured in some of them, her blood ran cold. "What the hell are these? Why are you showing them to me?"
Crossing her arms, Genny glared at the woman in front of her. "Take a good look at them Karen, because we're going to have a chat…a nice long one…and I'm going to do the best that I can to remain professional so I don't smack that holier than thou look off your fat face."
"Excuse me, that was uncalled for-"
"Oh, it's more than called for, Dr. Delfs. Now, you're going to answer my questions...fully...we'll stay here all night if we have to. Do you understand?" Seeing Karen's frightened nod, Genny continued. "Good. Now...let's talk about Gerald Maxwell."