Gathered in the LAPD's SVU department (Battered wife was an SVU case), the four detectives and their captain looked through the window at Jake Ryan.
He wasn't sitting calmly, he was pacing, going crazy.
"How do we get him to talk?" One of the detectives, Julie Hartford said.
"He seems to have some degree of love for the wife...go in there, try and get him to talk. If he doesn't walk...we'll figure out where to go from there."Captain Lopez said.
--
"You're in some pretty hot water if your wife doesn't make it, Jake. You're already down up for attempted murder, add on murder and you'll be old and wrinkly when you get out. IF you don't die there." Julie said, followed by her partner, Greg walking in.
"Is Miley ok?" Jake asked, ignoring her threats.
"Isn't that sweet, Julie...he's asking if his murder attempt worked!" Greg said, sitting down.
"I didn't try to kill her! I'd never hurt her, I love her!" Jake said, slamming his fists on the table.
"Then how come she was thrown out a window? From your master bedroom, after she told you she was pregnant? I heard you weren't too happy to hear that?"
"Because that psychopath Charlie did it!" Jake shouted. "No matter what, even if she was pregnant, I'd NEVER try to hurt her in any way! I love her!"
"Sure, Ryan. Sure." Greg said.
Jake's eyes flashed, but he sneered, "I know my rights, I want a phone call."
Outside, Lopez sighed. Once he lawyered up this would get difficult. And this was Jake and Miley Ryan – World wide celebrities with lots of dough. They must have damn good lawyers.
Inside, Julie handed him a phone. "You have five minutes."
"Can I get some privacy?" Jake snapped.
"You make the call or we continue, Ryan. Don't get picky." Greg said.
Jake growled, but dialed. But he didn't call a lawyer like excpected.
"Hello?" Lily asked, picking up her phone. The detectives had put it on speaker, and so they all heard.
"Lily, it's me." Jake said.
"Jake? Are you ok, whats wrong?"
"Lily, it's Miley. Our psycho neighbor, her hurt her and she's at the hospital, and I don't know what's wrong with her, and they wont tell me. They...they think I tried to kill her Lily." He choked out.
Lily let out a string of profanities, before calling, "OLIVER, GET THE CAR KEYS," Before saying in to the phone, "What do you want us to do?"
"Go to the hospital, be with Miley. Call Robbie, get him there, they won't tell you anything but they have to tell him. Then dial 411 and get the number for the law offices of Gina Gregory. Tell them you're calling on my behalf, and I'm at the LAPD SVU department." Jake pleaded.
"Ok, we're on our way now. I'll call Robbie and then the lawyer." Lily said, and they heard a car door slam.
"Ok, Thank you, Lils."
"It's fine...She'll be ok, Jake. I know she will."
"I hope so." He said, crying. "I can't loose her Lily. BE careful,a dn thank you."
He hung up.
"How touching," Greg said. "Who is that?"
"Lily? Mine and Miley's friends since middle school. And I won't say another word till my lawyer gets here."
Julie and Greg sighed, but got up.
Out in the office, Lopez sighed. "He's just screwing himself. Who knows when Gregory will get here? Maybe the girl will just die. Then we can put him away for good."
--
Well they were trying to get Jake to fess up, CSU and TARU (Technology Assistance Response Unit) were all over the Ryan's house. Police were blocking off paparazzi and news stations.
"Search the place, turn it upside down, we have the warrants!" Lopez, who'd rushed back to the scene said. "There has to be something!"
He then got on his phone, and called Julie. "Tell him the wife died. I got word from the hospital that she hasn't...but maybe he'll fess up."
--
"Well Ryan, we know you want to wait for your lawyer, but we thought we'd tell you, the hospital called." Greg said, entering the room where Jake was.
"Is Miley ok?!" Jake said, standing.
"Let's just say we're adding murder to your charges."
Jake froze, his world crumbling. "W-what?" He whispered. "No...no she can't be dead!" He shouted, falling back in to the chair, his face in his hands, elbows on the table. He sobbed, "SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! NOT MILEY, I NEED HER!"
"Maybe, if you tell us what happened, we'll cut you a deal."
But Jake didn't hear them, too lost, to upset, to heartbroken to listen to anyone.
--
Back at the Ryan house, Ben, a TARU tech, was leading Lopez and others through the house. "If theres any hidden technology, this will find it.
It began beeping as they entered part of the crime scene: The master bedroom.
Ben held it up, and it went crazier.
Someone brought a chair over, and he stood. He reached up, and pulled something down.
"What's that?"
"A video camera...tiny, and wireless...it responds to a wireless signal, probably from a laptop. They don't have a wide range, the host must be close. I can scan it, and my computer will give the exact place via satellites and GPS."
His computer was brought to him, and he placed it on the high tech scanner.
Less then sixty seconds later, they got a location.
Ben looked up at them, shocked. "The host location is...the house of Charlie Canton."
--
The cop in question was downstairs, outside, holding off reporters, paparazzi and fans.
Lopez, TARU, and other cops headed next door.
Ben held up the signal, after picking the lock.
They found themselves upstairs, in the attic.
They looked around in shock.
His computer was in one corner, on a table beside more cameras and equipment. The entire rest of the room was different monitors, and different tapes.
And a shrine.
There were cardboard cut outs, and posters, starting form when Hannah was Hannah, and then they changed to Miley as the years progressed.
He had clothing items – ones that had gone missing from Hannah's dressing rooms, he had tissues, napkins, a cork board full of pictures taken with a high tech camera. Computer printouts, newspaper cut outs, concert tickets. Even a few tooth brushes.
And then there was a white board, with a fully thought out plan.
In the center, was pictures of Miley. Along the edges were notes – Jakes filming schedule, tidbits about Miley. A picture of Jake, with a word written across it in red.
Enemy.
Along the top of the white board, it said , in a messy scrawl, in all capital letters:
IF I CAN'T HAVE HER...NO ONE CAN.
Dundundun...will the cops be able to tell him it wasn't true and she's ok...or is she going ot die...Review to find out!!
-Jen