Coming Clean

Charlie and Dani ended up at a small diner not far from her house. For a while they just sat and ate. Both were glad that the case was solved and Noah had been safely returned to his parents. Charlie was contemplating his fruit bowl while Dani stared at her half empty coffee cup. Finally, Charlie got the nerve up to speak.

"Hey Reese," Charlie began. Dani looked up from her coffee.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"A couple days ago, you said you had questions for me," he said.

"You offering answers?" she asked. He nodded.

"Hollis….he killed the Sebolts," Charlie said.

"I figured that," she sighed.

"He was hired to do it…" he trailed off. Did he really want to tell her that her own father had hired Hollis to launder money and kill someone?

"So who set you up then?" Dani asked. Charlie stabbed a piece of cantaloupe with his fork and took a bite. He took his time chewing, truly contemplating what answer to give. He wasn't entirely sure that Jack Reese had set him up. But he knew he was involved and had been from the very beginning.

"Crews," Dani called, pulling back from his thoughts.

"I don't know who set me up…but I do know who hired Hollis," he answered.

"Ok. So…who?" Dani pressed.

"You're really not going to like the answer," Charlie said.

"I can take it," she told him. Charlie licked his lips.

"Your father," he said.

"My father…my father hired a man to kill a man and his wife and son?" Dani asked incredulously.

"Yes," Charlie answered shortly, taking another bite of melon.

"That's not all, Reese. He was involved in the Bank of LA shootout," Charlie continued.

"I know…he was with the SWAT team that took down the robbers," Dani said quickly.

"No Dani…that was set up too…didn't you ever wonder where that money went?" Charlie replied. Dani ran a hand over her face. This was insane. Her father had been in on setting up Crews…at least to some extent. And he'd had a hand in the Bank of LA shootout too?

"I never really thought about it," Dani finally muttered.

"Four months after the shootout, an anonymous donation was made in the amount of the money stolen…to the same charity your father donated to every year," Charlie told her.

"This…this is..I knew he could be a hard ass but this…I never thought…" she rambled, not making too much sense.

"We don't like to see the weaknesses in the people close to us," Charlie told her. Despite how confused she was, Dani couldn't stop herself from smiling at his Zen moment. It held some truth in it. She would never have believed her father capable of something like this before she met Charlie.

"So what are you going to do? I mean…are you going after him?" Dani pressed, having to take another gulp of coffee.

"Connie told me to let someone else handle it," Charlie said.

"You can't let this go. Not until you have all the answers," Dani said.

"He told me not to involve you," he added.

"I'm a big girl. I can get involved in whatever I want," she said with a smirk.

Your dad didn't set me up but I know he knows who did…and why. Plus, he knows wher Rachel is," Charlie began to rabmle.

"Rachel?" Dani asked. She waited for Charlie to finish chewing before answering.

"The little girl. I…I was holding her in my arms…somehow…somehow Hollis managed to adopt her," Charlie explained.

"How ironic. Being raised by the man who murdered her family," Dani said.

"She was so young…" Charlie sighed.

"I'll help you…find out what happened," Dani said.

"You don't have to Reese. It's going to get messy," Charlie protested. Secretly, he didn't mind if she wanted to help. It gave him a stronger case against her father.

"I'm fine with mess, Crews. And don't think I'm scared of my father. He was not a nice man when I was little. Some of this makes sense…explains things when I was growing up," Dani said.

"Thanks, Reese. I appreciate it," Charlie said. He meant it too. He knew that he could trust her with all of this. She'd helped him collar Hollis without asking for an explanation. He'd needed her and she had been there for him, plain and simple. That is what a good partner did. He knew he could count on her when he needed her most.

They fell silent again. Dani downed the rest of her coffee and Charlie finished his fruit. He tossed the garbage in the trash beside them before pulling on his jacket. Dani stood and put on her jacket as well. They didn't speak again until they were outside the diner heading for the car.

"Thanks," Dani said as they climbed into the vehicle. Charlie looked over her as she pulled the passenger side door closed.

"For what?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders and put on her seatbelt.

"For being you…taking the lead in the interrogation today," she muttered.

"And…for coming clean about your case. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to tell me," she added. Charlie just gave her that trademark little smirk of his. She shoved the keys into the ignition and started the car.

"You know…it wasn't that difficult. It was a lot harder not pushing your dad off the top of the building when you arrested Hollis," Charlie said, his tone completely serious.

"Don't joke like that," Dani said.

"I wasn't," Charlie assured her. She just shook her head.

"So…what do we start with?" Dani asked as they drove along.

"Start with for what?" Charlie asked, his gaze having drifted off to the passing scenery.

"The case…finding out who set you up," Dani answered. Charlie looked over at her.

"Tomorrow…we start tomorrow," he said. Dani nodded her head a couple of times as she pulled up to a stop sign.

"Ok then…bright and early," she agreed and pressed down on the accelerator.

-Fin-