In Lieu of Retrospection
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Rating: T
Spoiler: Six months after 2.22 (Red Letter)
A/N: Hey everyone. Thank you to all my kind and amazingly enthusiastic readers. I really appreciate all the feedback on this story. In this part, Chiisana Minako helped me with the Spanish translations and as always, Grace was an amazing editor. Thanks again to all the anonymous reviewers as well and Rach for the kickass prompt. You guys are wonderful!
xxx
Part VIII
"This better work," Lisbon hisses in warning, but Jane just smiles self-assuredly.
"It will, trust me."
Lisbon makes a sound of disapproval but walks through the door Jane holds open for her.
Mariel Espejo is a smaller, slightly shorter version of her older sister. Both women have dark eyes and dark hair, which they both wear pulled back into a twist. Mariel is also equally dark skinned, paying homage to her South American upbringing, while a thick golden cross peeks out from under her white shirt. The rosary is identical to the one Lisbon remembers Agata Espejo clutching during their first interview with the Creggs.
"Mariel, thank you for coming." Jane greets her, making it seem as if the woman had a choice.
"Hello Mr. Jane, it's nice to see you again." Mariel replies in broken English, but her smile is genuine and Lisbon doesn't need any further indication that this is yet another woman who has fallen for Patrick Jane's charm.
"Mariel, this is my colleague Agent Lisbon, and she'd like to clear up some things about the statement you gave yesterday regarding your sister."
Mariel nods but despite her consent, tenses visibly at the mention of her sister. Her hands find themselves clasped together on the table. Lisbon yearns to look over at Jane, just to gauge his reaction to the woman's obvious anxiety, but she stares straight ahead, focusing on the interview.
"Ms. Espejo, you said that your sister had been with you, at home on both Thursday and Friday night of last week, correct?"
"Yes."
"Well, we have evidence that two people entered the house on Thursday evening, using the alarm code to get in. The only people who know how know that code are Mr. and Mrs. Cregg, Mr. Cregg's Chief of Staff, Kyla Cregg, and your sister. We know one of the people entering that night was in fact Kyla Cregg, and we have reason to believe the other person was your sister."
"My sister?" Mariel looks alarmed for a moment, but replaces it quickly with indignation, hands clasped so tightly her knuckles turn white, a stark contrast to her naturally tanned skin. "She would not do that."
"Do what exactly?" Lisbon counters with a suspicious eye.
The two women stare at each other, until Lisbon relaxes a little, "Ms. Espejo, this is the time you tell us what you know. If we find that your sister is in any way responsible for the death of Kyla Cregg, you will be charged as an accessory to murder, do you understand that?"
For a moment, it seems like Lisbon's words really get to the older woman, as she contemplates, looking down at the table. Lisbon takes the second to glance over at Jane, who is staring ahead in concentration.
Lisbon's not sure what she's expecting but when Mariel looks up again, the resolve in her eye is evident.
"My sister was with me." Mariel says, and Lisbon immediately frowns. She really did not want to execute this plan of Jane's but now sees no other options.
Its obvious Mariel is covering for her sister, but without her admission, they have no proof. She scowls but gives Jane the imperceptible nod, permission to go ahead with their plan.
"Mariel, how much do you know about your boyfriend's citizenship status in the U.S.?"
Jane leans forward, resting his arm on the table as he speaks.
"Manny? What does he have to do with this?"
This time, the fear on the woman's face is palpable, and her hands reach up to her cross, fingers wrapping around it almost absentmindedly.
"Turns out he's not exactly a legal immigrant and well, we can't really overlook that kind of information once it falls into our hands." Jane explains, his calm demeanor a grave distinction from Mariel Espejo's frightful expression.
"What are you saying? Is he going to be deported? But he's a legal immigrant; I've seen his papers myself."
With every passing syllable, the woman's accent comes out more, words barely recognizable as she begins to visibly shake, and Lisbon feels her chest tightening at the sight. She almost wants to put a stop to it, find another way to connect Agata Espejo to the murder, but the knowledge that they've done everything they can keeps her composed.
"Meh, apparently his papers are not very legitimate. So look, Mariel. You have a choice here. Either you tell us the truth or Agent Lisbon is going to let the two agents sitting outside of your apartment building know that they can take Manuel into custody. It's up to you."
Lisbon feels almost as on edge as Mariel appears to be, praying the woman doesn't ask for a lawyer or pushes further into the matter. Otherwise their plan will be blown and Hightower will be pissed as hell.
As always with Jane's plans, everything is an illusion. Manuel Ruiz earned his citizenship three years ago, and there are no agents outside the Espejos' apartment waiting to arrest him. Of course, judging by her ashen face and panicked eyes, Mariel Espejo seems to believe every part of Jane's story.
A few moments of tense silence pass in which Jane watches the varying emotions on Mariel's face. She's expectedly ambivalent but still hesitant, so he nudges Lisbon on the shoulder.
"Lisbon, I think it's time you give Agent Cho and Van Pelt the go ahead to get into the apartment."
Lisbon glances hopefully to Mariel. She's not a good actress under duress and would prefer not to fake any phone calls, especially to agents who are still in the building, but the woman stays silent so Lisbon reaches for her Blackberry.
Just as she's about to punch in Cho's number, Mariel stops her, "wait!"
Her hand reaches out across the table.
Lisbon sighs in relief and puts her cell phone away.
Taking a deep breath and wrapping her slender fingers around her cross, she looks at the couple sitting across from her and says, "I'll tell you everything."
xxx
"That went well, and you were worried." Jane teases as soon as they walk out of the interrogation room.
"Let's just hope she doesn't decide to sue us when she finds out that her boyfriend is actually here legally." Lisbon counters, already walking to the direction of her office.
Jane opens his mouth to reply, but out of the corner of his eye sees Hightower approaching, her expression indecipherable.
"Agata Espejo is in interrogation room B, Agent Cho is waiting for you there. The Creggs showed up shortly after that, which is of course not ideal, but I had Van Pelt escort Mrs. Cregg into the kitchenette. Mr. Cregg is another story; he wants to speak with you, Agent Lisbon. I trust the conversation with Ms. Espejo went well?"
"Yes it did." Lisbon nods, changing direction. "We got what we needed. Rigsby is in there drafting an official statement."
"Very good," Hightower compliments, and Jane watches Lisbon thank her confidently, a far cry from the type of interaction they would have had even three months ago.
The trio stops at the interrogation room entrance, where Jeff Cregg is pacing back and forth in the hall, deep in thought. As soon as he sees them, he strides over determinedly, looking at Lisbon in particular.
"What is the meaning of this? Why is Agata being questioned?"
He has an air of confusion and turmoil about him, but beneath all that, Jane detects awareness. Jeff Cregg is not a stupid man, and if it were up to Jane he would tell him exactly why the housekeeper was brought in, but that's probably why he has the highest complaint list of any CBI employee.
"Mr. Cregg, if you would just accompany me and my supervisor into the room right here, you can be present while Mr. Jane and Agent Cho speak with Ms. Espejo. That will hopefully answer all your questions."
Lisbon's calm voice and concerned eyes appear to subdue Mr. Cregg enough for him to consent. Jane watches with admiration as Lisbon holds the door open for Cregg, and Hightower and gives him a look that warns him not to screw up.
Jane simply grins at her and walks into the interrogation room.
xxx
Agata Espejo's face lights up with recognition when Jane enters the room and despite not wanting to spare any pleasantries, Jane smiles briefly, before sliding into a stool besides Cho.
"I apologize if I interrupted anything, Agent Cho."
"You didn't." Cho replies stoically, staring at the woman across from him. Jane nods and glancing once over his shoulder, sliding his blazer off.
"I had a lovely conversation with your sister, Ms. Espejo. You two seem very close." He begins, while rolling up his sleeves.
He doesn't miss the flash of discomfort in the dark brown eyes watching him.
"You two grew up in a big family in Ecuador?" Jane continues, effectively creating an air of calm and nonchalance by not looking directly at the housekeeper.
Regardless, the woman remains very tense and guarded; her response is clipped and to the point.
"Yes, we did. I don't understand why you are asking me any of this? Why am I here, and what do you need Mariel for? She has work today. It's wrong to keep people out of work, Mr. Jane."
Jane finally looks her in the eye, an amused expression on his face as he presses his hand against his chest, "I'm sorry for any inconvenience I have personally caused you and your sister," He begins sardonically, "but you needn't worry, we've gotten everything we needed from Mariel. I'm certain she's on her way back to work as we speak."
There's a tense moment of silence in which Jane receives no comment from Agata, so he leans in closer, smiling knowingly at the dark haired woman, "You were the oldest, weren't you? Your mother probably died in child birth, so you were left to raise all your siblings. That's why you knew that Mariel would lie for you, because you were the one to teach her about loyalty, about sticking together."
Agata nearly recoils at his words, but she composes herself. Though her dark irises reflect indignation, years of practiced servility and respect will not allow her a more angry reaction.
"I don't have to listen to this. If you'll excuse me-…"
The chair screeches as she makes the move to stand up, but Cho immediately halts her.
"This is a murder investigation, Ms. Espejo. You may leave only when you have answered all our questions."
Agata pauses, glare oscillating between Jane and Cho, before she acquiesces and returns to her seat.
"It was very clever what you did, asking Mariel to be your alibi for both Thursday and Friday nights. You couldn't have known for sure that we figured out that Kyla came home Thursday night, but it's always best to be prepared. Your father taught you that, didn't he? Though I'd imagine he'd been referring to the summer droughts, not covering up a murder."
The previous flash of fear in the woman's eye now seems to take over her entire demeanor. Her shoulders slump slightly of their own accord and her hands find themselves wringing together under pressure.
Jane notes the remarkable similarities between the two sisters, although it's clear Agata has more composure than her younger sibling. She opens her mouth to say something, no doubt a denial of some sort, but Jane stops her.
"There's no point in lying to us, Agata. Mariel told us everything."
The moment her finger curls around her cross, Jane knows that she will talk. A definite sign of guilt, the gesture should have tipped him off the first time he noticed it during their initial interview with the Creggs. He'd been so focused on Jeff Cregg's strange behavior that he'd merely catalogued the observation, returning to it much later.
Now it gives him a familiar sense of assurance.
"She could not have told you everything because she knows nothing." Agata Espejo explains calmly, although the disappointment and indignation she feels for her sister seeps through her composure.
"Are you implying that there's something you know that she doesn't?" Cho asks in his usually stoic voice, which catches the housekeeper off guard, eyes flickering in alarm between the two men. Jane smiles inwardly.
Leave it to Cho and his stonewalled expression to break down the suspect. Though she's trying to remain poised and polite, Agata Espejo seems completely lost now, definitely uncertain. Jane takes advantage of that.
"We know you did it, Agata. You were the only one of the four people who had access to the house whose alibi we cannot confirm. You had your sister lie for you, hoping that we would divert all our attention to Mr. and Mrs. Cregg as possible suspects. The only thing I don't understand is why. You obviously did not plan to do it, so what happened that made you angry enough to kill Kyla? Did she strike you first? Perhaps it was self defense? Because if it was, we can work something out, you don't need to-…"
"No!" Agata exclaims, showing the first overt signs of distress as she interrupts Jane.
The tears glossing her vision seem to signify that she's overwhelmed by his rapid questioning.
"It wasn't Kyla's fault."
"Then what happened, Ms. Espejo?" Cho asks politely, but with a certain air of detachment.
Agata Espejo glances down at the table for a moment, and when she meets Jane's stare, her eyes are ablaze with anger, "I raised her since she was just a baby. She had everything, and she runs away, why? Because her daddy wasn't really hers?"
Slowly Jane glances over at Cho, only to see the same flicker of surprise in his expression. Briefly, he wonders what Cregg must be thinking as he watches this unravel.
"What?" Agata asks loudly, her accent seeping into her words. "You think I didn't know? I've been with the family for almost seventeen years now. I keep what I see to myself, but I see it, I am not ignorant. How do you think I feel when I raise a child and she turn her back on her family like that? How do you think?"
Her eyes shine with unshed tears as the question lingers in the air, unanswered. She's looking at them, but Jane doubts she actually sees anything in front of her.
He hates this part of interrogations. People are always at their most interesting when they're hiding something, not when their emotions are on display. He would leave now if it weren't for his natural curiosity. He wants to know what provoked this seemingly good-natured, well-mannered woman to kill.
"Did Kyla tell you why she ran away when you saw her?" Jane probes and after only a moment of hesitation, Agata nods.
"I'd forgotten my scarf when I left at around 8 pm on Thursday. When I got back to the house, everything was fine, but when I was leaving, I heard a noise upstairs. I knew Mr. and Mrs. Cregg were long gone, so I went up and there she was. Mi hermosa niñita…I missed her so much. I wanted to stay and talk, but she said she was in a hurry. She said she would have time to talk the next day, gave me address of that club. She begged me not to tell her parents. I thought it would be okay, I thought she came back for good, but when I went to that club, saw her perform those disgusting dances, and with men? I wonder she really gave up her education, opportunity, her parents for thees? She was acting like a whore, and all I wanted was to speak to her, ask her to come home."
"She didn't plan to come home, did she?" Cho asks as soon as Agata pauses.
Large rivulets of tears run down her cheeks, but despite his discomfort, Jane can't look away, can't leave the room. He's slowly piecing together what happened and refuses to move.
"She say her parents betray her, say she doesn't want to live a lie. I became very angry. Tell her she doesn't know what she's losing. I know Mr. Cregg, he loved that girl more than anything, even though she was not his. I could not handle my anger. She tell me to leave, tell me that if I told her parents where she went, she would make up lies and get me fired."
"That made you snap, her being very ungrateful like that?" Cho, who is seemingly unaffected by the woman's tearful confession, presses further.
"Yes, yes it did." Agata replies, this time more composed, anger overpowering her sadness.
"She tell me to leave, to go away. She turned her back on me. Where I come from, if she did that, she be beaten unconscious for her show of disrespect."
"And you decided to teach her to respect her elders, didn't you?" Cho pushes, expression unmoving even as more tears leak out from Agata's dark eyes and she grips her cross again.
"I did not mean to." She says in panic, hoping to extract some empathy from the two men, "I was not thinking when I hit her. It was not like I wanted to her to die. I loved her, Mi bebé."
By the end of her explanation, Agata Espejo seems to have lost all her resolve, and although throughout the interrogation Jane did feel a smidgen of sympathy for her, the flash of Kyla Cregg's lifeless, youthful body sprawled unnaturally on the dirty ground jolts him awake. It reminds him that the woman in front of him committed a heinous crime, and there should be no sympathy spared for her.
"If you did not mean to," He leans forward again, though this time his blue eyes are devoid of mirth and his jaw is set, "then how come Kyla is dead?"
The question startles Agata enough for her to stare wide eyed and speechless at Jane. He holds her gaze for a long moment, but then unexpectedly stands up and grabs his blazer off the back of the chair.
"Nice speaking with you Agata. I wish you well." His voice is free of sarcasm, but there's no sincerity in it either. Instead, he nods at Cho and slips out of the interrogation room, taking a much-needed breath as he shuts the door behind him.
xxx
"There you are," Lisbon says by way of greeting as she slips into her office, shutting the door behind her. Jane opens one eye, smiling at her lazily from where he reclines on her couch.
"The Creggs wanted to thank you, and you mysteriously disappeared." She adds teasingly as she makes her way over to her desk, placing the Cregg case file on top of her organized mess.
"Meh, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. My man, Cho though."
Jane's voice trails off, and Lisbon chuckles under her breath, equally as impressed with her second in command as she is amused by Jane's misplaced modesty. This isn't the first time she's noticed Jane's shyness around victims' families, but she's never done more than tease him about it. However, as she starts to erase the white board, the relief and satisfaction she gets after they close a case gives her a certain confidence and she turns around, intent on asking him about it.
However, a knock on the door halts her.
Rigsby sticks his head in, eyes twinkling in anticipation, "Food's here, boss."
He doesn't notice Jane idling on her couch, and Lisbon nods, smiling at his enthusiasm.
"Thanks."
After they're alone again, the question seems almost inappropriate, so Lisbon merely places the eraser back near the now blank board and wipes her hands, turning to look at Jane who once again feigns sleep.
"So shall we?" She asks, gesturing towards the bullpen.
Jane opens his eyes, "hmm?"
"Case closed Chinese, it's probably your favorite. C'mon." She walks around her desk, expecting him to follow but he merely sits up from the couch, stretching lazily.
She's already at her door when he speaks. "Actually, I'm going to have to take a rain check."
"Oh."
Lisbon tries to hide her disappointment. It's nothing that really has to do with Jane, she tries to convince herself; it's just the fact that case closed meals are a team tradition and somehow it will feel less satisfying without everyone there. Sensing her displeasure, Jane walks up behind her, placing a rueful hand on her shoulder, which forces her to turn around.
When she does, Lisbon is caught off guard by the unwary softness in his dark blue eyes.
"I'm serious about the rain check." He says smoothly, a hint of a smile stretching his lips as he watches confusion and simultaneous relief swirl in her green gaze.
He doesn't want to disappoint her, and nothing would be more pleasing to him at the moment than sharing a meal with Lisbon and the team. However, with all these revelations turning over in his head, he knows he has to do this one thing before he finds a million reasons not to.
The warmth from his touch is a little inebriating and a little too dangerous, so Lisbon steps back, ducking her head away from him as she opens the door. The quietude is disrupted by the bustle outside, the real world infringing on their private moment, but Jane keeps his eyes on her retreating form.
He's still in the doorway of her office when Lisbon looks over her shoulder, a teasing smirk on her lips, "You better not get yourself into any trouble. I didn't have lunch today, so I might be too busy eating to bail you out of jail."
Jane laughs heartily before sidling up to her.
"I wouldn't dare dream of coming in between you and your Singapore noodles, Lisbon."
He whispers playfully in her ear before walking away. His warm breath seems to linger in the air around her, and Lisbon stands, gazing into the direction where Jane disappeared long after he's gone.
"You coming, boss?" Rigsby calls out to her from the bullpen, a takeout box and chopsticks already in his hands.
Lisbon nods, an amused smile on her face as she realizes with some measure of welcomed normalcy that with Rigsby's hearty appetite, soon there may not be any noodles left for her at all.
TBC...