The Other Side
Part 2
By: ioanhoratio
AN: Bet you thought I wasn't going to make it tonight! (Yeah, me neither) But I managed to get this finished! Though be warned I have not at all edited this. There may be typos galore. Sorry. Hopefully the story is interesting enough…
Special thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Thank you laurzz, silenceeverything, JESSMARY25, webdlfan, Daisy1966, LindsayMesser, afrozenheart412, and rhymenocerous. You guys know how to boost a girl's confidence! I really wanted to respond to everyone but I also wanted to get this done and posted. Please don't think I don't appreciate each and every review!
All of New York City mourns today as the body of five year old Katelyn Murphy is released to her family today. Thousands have already paid their respects to the little girl whose life was taken so tragically, leaving flowers, stuffed toys, and posters outside the Murphy's Manhattan home. Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced today. Meanwhile, the man hunt continues for those responsible for this violent crime. Police report they are close to…
Danny flipped the TV off, no longer willing to listen to the report. A five minute story on the news was his daily reality. There was nothing forgiving about a dead child. The need to catch the killer mixed with his daily routine; it kept him up at night, pushed him to work hard, woke up with him in the morning. He had to force himself to stop. Mac would pull him off the case if he made it too personal, and if he kept pushing himself this way he knew his family would begin to suffer. He and Lindsay agreed once the body had been found that they both couldn't work the case. It was one thing for them both to be working to find a missing girl, but both of them couldn't immerse themselves in the search for a child rapist/murder. So Lindsay had chosen to step back on this one.
It was still early—earlier than Danny would have liked to be awake considering the hours he had put in recently—but the image of that little girl in the park, and knowing the culprit was still at large worked in his mind, keeping him from getting much rest.
"You really should try to go back to bed Danny," Lindsay told him as she entered the living room dressed and ready for work.
Danny shrugged. "Lucy'll be up soon any way."
"Yeah, but it won't kill her to play in her room for an hour," Lindsay suggested.
"Maybe…" he trailed off thoughtfully, "Hey, you think she was havin' a dream or somethin' last night?"
It was Lindsay's turn to shrug. "Maybe, or maybe we were picking up someone else's baby monitor. It's been known to happen."
Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, probably."
With that he stood from the couch and came around to Lindsay wrapping his arms around her tightly. She responded in kind. "You really need to get some good sleep Danny. You're gonna run yourself to the ground with this," she mumbled into his chest.
"I know," he sighed, "But every time I think about stepping back I keep seeing Mr. Murphy's face when he id'ed the body. His whole world just spun off its axis an' there is nothin' that is ever gonna make it right."
Lindsay didn't answer at first. It didn't seem right to even talk about. Finally she simply warned, "Just don't risk missing too much of your own daughter's life, ok Danny?"
She felt him nod.
They just stood there a moment longer, as long as they could before Lindsay finally had to untangle her limbs from his and dash off to work. With exchanges of kisses and 'I love yous' she was gone.
Danny meandered about the apartment for a few moments; the grey early morning light beginning to filter in. He let out a large yawn, feeling his eyes grow cottony. He moved towards his bedroom to lay back down when a thought came to him. Instead, he veered off and very carefully opened the door to his daughter's room. He stepped softly to her bed, and as gently as he could, laid himself down next to her. Lucy shifted slightly and Danny froze, but she again settled down to a deep slumber and he allowed himself to relax and close his eyes.
The next thing Danny knew he was peeling his eyes open and found himself alone in bed. He looked around the room, squinting in the light of the sun. He saw no sign of his daughter. His heart began to race in a moment of panic, until his mind registered the giggling he was hearing, and the voices carrying in from the hall. Apparently Lucy had figured out how to turn the TV on.
Danny pulled himself out of the bed, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he moved out of her bedroom. He paused at the thermostat, nudging the heat up, wondering why Lindsay would have turned it down then called, "Lucy, whatdya doin' babe? Ya know your not suppose ta turn on the TV by yourself."
He rounded the corner and found his daughter standing by the front door, the TV screen blank.
She turned to him and with a smile explained, "I not watching TV Daddy, I pwaying a game."
Danny lowered his eyebrows in confusion. He could have sworn he heard other voices. He frantically glanced at the lock on the door, but calmed when he saw it was still securely in place. "Lucy, are you sure you weren't watchin' TV? You don't have to lie to Daddy. I won't be mad. We just hafta make sure you know not to do it again."
Lucy shook her head, her blue eyes wide. "I not wying Daddy. I was pwaying."
Danny didn't know how to respond. Lucy never really lied to them. "Ok, baby girl. I'm sorry. Daddy made a mistake."
"Dat's ok Daddy, jus' try better nets time," the child answered, repeating a phrase she had heard often in her life.
Danny hid his smirk, but promised, "I will. Whadya doin' by the door? Come back over here and play ok?"
Lucy glanced up at the door, and hesitated before finally answering, "O-tay."
The two moved about the apartment preparing for the day; breakfast, teeth brushed, clean clothes, and a quick call into to Lindsay to say good morning.
"Come 'ere Lucy girl an' let me fix your hair," Danny advised from the master bath some time later.
Lucy scrambled off their bed—where she had been playing with Danny's iPod—and hopped over to him. "Daddy tan you put my hair in two bwaids pwease?"
Danny eyed her short blond hair warily. "Sorry baby girl, Daddy's not too good in the braid department. That's Mommy's thing. But I can do two piggie tails if ya want."
Lucy nodded her head. "That's a great idea."
As Danny set about brushing her hair he made faces at her in the mirror making Lucy laugh.
"Daddy?" she asked as he was clipping a small bow above each pig tail.
"Yeah Luce?"
"I can't wait to play with my new friend."
"That's good," Danny exclaimed, pleased to know his daughter had a play mate. It was every parents fear that their child was going to be rejected by other children. He remembered the feelings of uncertainty as he and Lindsay stood outside of Lucy's preschool door and watched her through the window. They had literally cheered and high-fived each other when they saw another little girl come over to Lucy and start playing with her. Now she had several kids she liked to play with and was even still making new friends. "Let's get a move on so we aren't late to school."
After grabbing bags, lunches, and jackets, the pair stepped out of the apartment building into the cool air. Hand in hand they walked to the subway and made the short trip to her school.
"Is Mommy's gonna tome get me from school today?" Lucy asked as they approached the building.
"That's right," Danny assured her.
"Are you going to be home tonight?" Lucy pressed as they entered the building.
Danny sighed. "I'm gonna try really hard sweet heart."
"That's good Daddy. You can chase away the bad man," Lucy declared.
Danny stopped short, tugging Lucy to stop as well.
"What's that Lucy? What bad man?" Danny asked kneeling down to her, ignoring the moving of the other children and parents.
"Tate says there's a bad man here," Lucy admitted.
"Who's Tate?" Danny demanded, surprised by the turn in the conversation.
"No, Tate, Daddy, my new friend."
"She says there's a bad man here? At school?" he pushed, his concern growing.
Lucy, growing tired of the questioning, huffed, "No Daddy, at home."
"There's a bad man at home?" Danny tried to clarify. Lucy just shook her head.
"Baby girl, I'm not followin' you. Can you introduce me to your friend? Is she in your class?"
"No silly," Lucy teased, "She isn't in my school. She's in my home."
"You mean she lives in our apartment building?"
Lucy nodded her head emphatically.
"Alright, we'll talk more about it later. We gotta get you in class, but Lucy I don't want you talkin' to any men in our building without Mommy or Daddy with you. Ok?"
Lucy agreed the dashed passed the rows and rows of paper leaves towards her class leaving Danny to scramble after her.
He soon had her situated in her class room and with a hug and kiss he left her. There was a great deal Danny wanted to know about this new friend and about this bad man but it was clear now was not the time. He made a mental note to talk to Lindsay about it as soon as he saw her.
It was after lunch by the time he caught up with her. She had spent the morning at a scene downtown and he and Hawkes had jumped straight into reporting to Mac their findings from the previous night's reconstruction. The markings on Katelyn Murphy's wrist indicated she had been tired up, but they weren't typical rope burns or hand cuff imprints. Hawkes had gone through every bit of the evidence they had and he was finally able to determine that the black ribbon used in Katelyn's hair had been the same piece of fabric that had been used to tie up her hands. Not only was she found wearing a black ribbon but she had also been redressed in a blue dress with a white apron and white tights.
"Yo, Montana," he called out after seeing her exit the elevator.
"Hey," she greeted with a smile. "Did Lucy get off to school alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, hey listen, has Lucy told you anything about her new friend?"
Lindsay frowned at him. "You mean Tate?"
"Yeah."
"Not really, I assume they met at school, but other than that…" Lindsay trailed off allowing Danny a chance to jump in.
"Lucy said they didn't meet at school, but that Tate lives in our apartment building."
Lindsay's frown deepened. "I didn't know she'd met anyone new in our building."
"I didn't either, and this Tate girl told Lucy there was a bad man livin' in our building."
"What?" Lindsay asked, her eyes growing big.
Danny just nodded with a 'that's what I thought' look on his face. "I'm probably over reactin' here, but with the whole Murphy case right now I'm a little on edge."
Lindsay reached out a hand to rest against Danny's arm and gave him an understanding squeeze. "It's ok Danny. I'll talk to Lucy tonight. I'm sure it's just Lucy misunderstanding or maybe this other little girl is just trying to scare Lucy. I'll get to the bottom of it, ok?"
Danny again nodded. "Sorry we've got a fly-by meeting here. I gotta run. Flack an' I are trackin' down the person we believe made the clothes are vic was found in."
"Be safe," she warned him.
"You know me," he answered with a grin as he jogged off.
"That's my point!" she called after him. Knowing she had only a few hours left before needing to go pick up her daughter, Lindsay headed quickly to the lab to begin cataloguing the evidence from her crime scene. She set a goal to get it all marked for processing before the end of her shift as a result she left the lab a little later then she had hoped and wound up stuck sitting in a long pick up line at Lucy's school. Which meant they got to the grocery story later than planned, pushing dinner back, and before Lindsay knew it bath time was done and Lucy in her pajamas.
As Lindsay was tucking in her daughter she remembered the conversation she and Danny had had at the lab.
"Hey Lucy, Daddy told me that your new friend lives in our building."
"Yes Momma," Lucy answered with a yawn.
"Do you know what floor she lives on?"
"No, I saw her in the…uh…hallway."
"You mean where the elevator and the stairs are?" Lindsay asked.
"Uh huh," Lucy confirmed, "she's out there betause she gets stared of the bad man."
Lindsay didn't like where this was going. "Lucy, do you know who the bad man is?"
Lucy blinked up at her but just shook her head.
"Is there anything you can think to tell Mommy about your new friend or about this bad man?"
Lucy thought for a moment. "I don't fink so Mommy. Tate is sad and twies sometimes, but she…she…she jus' wants me to pway wif her." Lucy gave a big yawn and rubbed her eyes.
"Alright baby girl we'll talk more about it in the morning." Lindsay grabbed a book and began reading and as expect Lucy dropped off before Lindsay was halfway done. She kissed her daughter's head and tucked her in tight.
After a quick call from Danny verifying he'd be home in a few hours, Lindsay then began her night time routine but as she carried a load of dirty laundry through the house her eyes was caught by the front door. It was unlocked. Lindsay's forehead knotted together as she wracked her memory. She couldn't remember if she had locked it. She moved to it quickly, flipping the knob so the lock would engage.
She continued to the laundry room and loaded the washer. As she stepped into the kitchen she felt a wave of cold air creep around her. She froze, listening intently, hearing what sounded like whispers. Her chest felt constricted and Lindsay had to force air in and out of her lungs. She tiptoed quietly into the living room and wished desperately she had her gun.
The front door was open.
End Part 2
Thanks for reading! Next part to be posted soon!