How about our Beth episode, guys! I loved it! The reviews have been phenomenal. Special thanks to some of my best supporters, PenelopePants and An Amber Pen. But you ALL are awesome! Thank you for following this and reviewing. Love you all!
-A
Chapter Five:
It had been exactly one week since Beth paid $800 for Jake From State Farm.
And, in one week, that puppy (who looked like a full-grown small dog), had chewed her Michael Kors purse to shreds, chewed the heel off her favorite boots, and, had somehow managed to chew the baseboard to pieces in her bathroom.
The damned dog was chewing everything. But, he was so cute that Beth couldn't hate him. In fact, in the last 24 hours, his chewing had gotten progressively better, considering she'd bought him bones to chew. He was proving to be a loyal companion for Beth; he followed her everywhere she went, cuddled with her on the couch, and obeyed her when she told him "no". It'd taken him three days to become house trained, and Beth was proud of that. Chewing she could handle, dog poop she could not.
She hated leaving him alone, but she had to go to work. So today, she came to work before anyone else, and planned to try to leave early. News of Carol's wedding to Merle Dixon had startled everyone, but what stunned them more was that she was three months pregnant. Beth couldn't help but find it entertaining. After all, she was a twenty-three-year-old virgin, and here this woman was getting married because of a pregnancy.
"So, how is married life, Dr. Peletier—I mean—Dr. Dixon?" Beth teased, going over Caesar Martinez's blood samples.
"It'll be a week tomorrow. Merle moved in with us. I have to say, the girls love it." Carol chuckled, making some notes.
"Is it weird? Gettin' married again?" Beth asked.
"Nah, not really. I've been divorced from Ed about four years now, I guess. I knew all men weren't like he was. Merle is wonderful. I couldn't have married a better man." Carol said, beaming.
Beth smiled; she loved seeing Carol so happy. "I haven't met Merle yet, but he seems like a nice guy. Is he ready to be a dad?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, I think he is. He's adopting the girls, their dad died in prison two years ago. Merle already acts like they're his. The girls have loved him from day one, especially Mika. He's kinda getting a late start in life, but that's okay." Carol explained.
"Why? Take 'im a while to settle down?" Beth asked curiously.
"I guess you could say that. He's open about his past; he used to be a drug addict. Meth was his drug of choice, and he spent time in jail for it. It just about killed Daryl and their parents." Carol replied.
"Oh wow." Beth whispered, "What made him get clean?"
"He saw his mother dying of cancer. He couldn't take her seeing him like that. He knew if he wanted any kind of life, he'd had to make a change. So he did, and now he's successful, and he's happy." Carol said.
"How long has he been sober?" Beth asked.
"Six years. He got clean when his mom was first diagnosed." Carol replied.
"I've heard from his neighbor that he's quite the social butterfly." Beth chuckled, looking over a piece of paper.
"Gareth? Yeah. Merle's a talker. We lived in the same apartment complex as the Dixons, that's how we met. Merle always fixed the stuff that the girls broke." Carol laughed.
"I don't know how you did it, Carol. Three little girls all by yourself." Beth said.
"I had some help. My friend Tyreese, he was great with the girls. Him and his wife watched them whenever I had to work. Plus my parents were always a big help. Right after the divorce, it was my best friend, Lori. But, she passed a few years ago." Carol said softly.
"Lori? How many years ago was it?" Beth asked.
"Two-and-a-half." Carol replied.
"Lori Grimes?" Beth was making sure. Carol looked up.
"How did you know her?" Carol asked, surprised.
"She's my cousin. I watch Judith all the time." Beth replied.
"Such a small world." Carol laughed, "Judy is a hoot."
"Oh, you bet!" Beth exclaimed, "That child keeps me on my toes!"
Beth continued to go over Martinez's results, which had been released two months earlier, but Beth hadn't reviewed since they got them. Dr. Porter had been in charge of it, but somehow, it seemed, he'd passed over a vital bit of information.
"Uh, Carol, did you notice that he's got sedatives in his system?" Beth asked. Carol took a look at the notes, biting her bottom lip.
"No, Dr. Greene, this is new. He was sedated. This amount tells me he was drugged, enough to put him in a coma." Carol replied.
"Yeah, I doubt he'd willingly take mirtazipine, I mean, he might have severe insomnia, but that's not something that's easily prescribed unless you have something like night terrors." Beth said.
"Whoever killed him didn't want him waking up." Carol said. Beth nodded in agreement.
"Why didn't Porter mention this to Dixon and Grimes?" Carol asked.
"Overlooked it, maybe?" Beth suggested. Carol's jaw tensed; obviously she was not happy.
However, their anger regarding Dr. Porter would have to wait.
The phone rang, and Carol answered. Her face fell as soon as she answered the phone; Beth could tell it was something very serious. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew that it was a death. Her gut told her that this would be ugly, and as soon as Carol hung up the phone, Beth's suspicions were confirmed.
"We have another dead body. This time, it's an old warehouse out by the rail yard. Come on, Beth. We'll take Mamet with us this time." Carol said.
"Okay." Beth replied. Mamet was reluctant to go, not wanting to face Dixon, but they knew that he needed to collect DNA—and fast—and that this death may be connected to the murders of Martinez and Garrison.
However, when they arrived on the scene, it was clear—very clear—that this one would be personal for a lot of people. When Carol, Beth, and Mamet pulled up, Rick met them by the entrance outside of the tape. He motioned for the three to come over, and his face looked full of worry.
"This one is gonna be a bad one." Rick said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Why?" Beth asked.
"Daryl knew the victim. So did Michonne. So did I." Rick whispered.
"Who was it?" Carol asked. Rick's face fell; something told Beth that she knew the victim, too.
"Andrea Harrison." Rick sighed. Carol took a step back; so did Mamet.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Dr. Mamet muttered, "Andrea? I just talked to her two days ago."
"She's in there. This is not going to be easy. Daryl is not dealing with this well. None of them are." Rick said. Beth couldn't imagine that they were; Andrea had been a well known attorney in the city for a while, and she was Brian Heriot's campaign manager.
Now, she was dead, and Beth knew that this wasn't just a coincidence anymore. But then again, there weren't any coincidences in the morgue.
When Beth walked into the warehouse, the scene was grizzly. Andrea's body lay sprawled on the concrete floor, a puddle of blood matting her blonde hair. Beth noticed that the woman was beautiful, and that she'd been chained up somehow. Her wrists were raw, and that was a problem. She appeared to have several stab wounds, which made Beth cringe. Then, she saw Daryl, and her heart broke for him. Even though he and Andrea had broken up years ago, he still knew her, and she'd died in a brutal way.
"Daryl, I am so sorry." Beth whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. He snapped around, his face contorted into an angry, stoic glare.
"Go do your damn job, doc. I ain't here for a pity party." He growled. Taken aback, Beth went over to Andrea's body, and began to assess the damage.
"I've never seen anything like this." Beth whispered.
"Neither have I, Dr. Greene, and I've been doing this for fifteen years." Dr. Mamet replied.
"Is Dixon gonna be okay?" Beth asked. Dr. Mamet shrugged; trying to get his samples.
"I don't know, Dr. Greene. Would you be?" He asked. Beth nodded, and continued on with her work.
Dr. Mamet was already finishing his samples within minutes, and soon, Beth and Carol had bagged Andrea's body up and were carrying her to the morgue. The whole ride was silent, and everything seemed to be going in slow-motion for Beth. When they arrived and processed Andrea's body, Carol insisted everyone take the day off. Clearly, Carol was just as disturbed by the woman's sudden death as everyone else. So, Beth went home, going over her notes, and decided to take a much needed nap.
She ignored Gareth's texts, and Maggie's three calls. She'd let them both know that she'd had a rough day, and didn't feel like company.
So, when she was awakened two hours later by a loud banging on her front door, she was thoroughly surprised.
"DOC! OPEN YOUR DOOR! NOW!" Screamed Daryl. Beth didn't even have to guess anymore; he seemed to only pop up when she needed rest. She opened the door, and Daryl, Rick, Glenn, and another man all walked in.
"What can I do for you, guys?" Beth asked, slightly irritated but more concerned.
"Well, Bethy, my favorite sister-in law..." Glenn began.
"Short Round, I'm your only sister-in-law." Beth said, crossing her arms and giving Glenn a glare.
"You got a point." Glenn said, "Anyway, we uh, need your help with something. Since you're so connected to this whole investigation, we need to set up shop here in your apartment."
"Smooth, Rhee." Daryl muttered. Glenn rolled his eyes as Beth bit her lip.
"You want to have a bunch of cops hang out in my apartment? For what?" Beth asked, trying to clarify.
"Mainly, we need to set up surveillance. Your place is just across the hall from Brian Heriot's. We have reason to believe he could be connected with four murders here in the area." Rick explained, "And, we have reason to believe that he's connected to the murders of Andrea Harrison and Caesar Martinez."
Another man, who Beth didn't recognize, stepped forward.
"I'm Morgan Jones, US Marshall, I've been working on this case since the beginning. It seems that Brian Heriot isn't actually Brian Heriot. His real name is Philip Blake, and Philip Blake is wanted in the disappearance of three people in Savannah Georgia, and two people in Tybee Island. Ma'am, we believe your neighbor there is a serial killer. We just need to gather enough evidence to indict him." Morgan explained.
"Well, that escalated quickly." Beth said, "I have notes if you need them."
"Actually, Beth, we need to set up an observation point, that'd be more helpful. We really, really need to set up surveillance in your apartment." Rick repeated, emphasizing on the 'really'.
"My apartment? Sure, I guess. Just hide some cameras, we can get some audio recording stuff. I dunno how y'all will do this, though." Beth said.
"That's the part we need to talk to you about, Beth." Glenn said, "We need an officer here, undercover, so that they can observe our buddy across the hall. We need to keep tabs on him as much as we can."
"So?" Beth asked.
"We need an undercover officer to stay here with you. All the time. Like a roommate." Rick emphasized.
"Okay, okay. Got any of those?" Beth asked, slightly aggravated.
"Yes, actually, we do. Daryl Dixon will be your new roommate for the time being." Rick told her as quickly as he possibly could. Beth's eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open; she let out an audible, surprised gasp.
"What's the matter?" Morgan asked Rick. Glenn and Rick chuckled slightly, as Daryl rolled his eyes.
"Beth thinks that Daryl is an asshole casserole, and Daryl thinks Beth is in middle school. It's a darned good sitcom, sir." Glenn replied. Morgan stifled a laugh, and then looked straight at Beth.
"Ma'am, doctor, it's important that you cooperate. He may be on to you, ya know. You could be his next victim. If he's our guy, and we're almost certain that he is, then he'll kill anyone that could expose his dirty little secret. You need to watch your back. Dixon here is a good undercover officer, we've used him before. Now, he'll be moving his things in this afternoon. Any questions?" Morgan asked.
"How long?" Beth groaned.
"Only long enough for him to get the evidence he needs." Morgan replied.
"Well, doc, looks like you and I will be getting to know each other." Daryl teased. Beth stuck out her tongue.
"You guys couldn't get anyone else? Rick? Glenn? Michonne? What about you, marshal? You seriously couldn't find any other officer?" Beth asked.
"Dixon volunteered. Said none of the other creeps were qualified." Rick explained, his voice monotone.
"I hate all of you, just so you know. I should poison you with antifreeze laced jello." Beth said, only half-joking.
"C'mon, it's not that bad. You can tell the Heriots that he's your new boyfriend." Morgan suggested.
"They've already met my boyfriend, and he is not living with me." Beth huffed.
"Cousin? Guy friend that you friend-zoned? I don't care! Make somethin' up!" Morgan replied.
"Fine!" Beth grumbled, "But I swear, if any one of you make him stay longer than he needs, I will kill you. And you, Dixon, don't think I won't throw your happy butt on the street." Beth hissed.
"Yes, doc, ya got my word." Daryl said, rolling his eyes. Beth hoped, for her sake, that they could get what they needed and leave soon, and that Daryl wouldn't be creeping around her apartment for longer than he had to. Beth knew this would just be a bad idea; she could feel it. And, on top of that, she knew Gareth wouldn't be happy about this arrangement, either.
Daryl had returned just an hour later with all the things he would need. He opened the door—without knocking this time—and walked right in, and Beth could already feel her blood pressure rising.
"You sleep in the guest room. Throw your stuff in there." Beth said. Jake carefully trailed behind Beth, growling at Daryl as he unpacked his things.
"Jus' so ya know, I ain't happy 'bout this arrangement, neither." Daryl huffed, "Left my dad to 'is own devices. I reckon he'll damn near burn down the apartment."
"Yes. Because that's totally like having a near stranger in your home." Beth replied sarcastically.
"Ain't you just a ray of sunshine?" Daryl mumbled. Beth groaned, walking to the living room to text Gareth.
Boy, have I got a story for you. Beth sent.
Really? Does it relate to the bad day? Gareth asked.
It IS the bad day. My bad day is currently sitting in my guest bedroom consuming an entire bag of pork rinds. Beth replied.
Maybe I should come over? I'd love to see you anyway. Gareth sent. Beth smiled widely, he could be very sweet.
Sure. I'd love that. :) Beth sent.
Alright. I'm on my way, Bethy. I'll see you soon. Gareth replied. Beth anxiously awaited Gareth's arrival, and turned on the television to distract herself. However, a loud crash pulled her attention to the end of the hall.
"Dammit! Dog!" Beth heard Daryl hiss.
"Don't you touch my dog, Daryl Dixon!" Beth growled. She stood in the doorway of the guest room and saw Daryl in a stare-down with Jake, who was currently head-first in the bag of pork rinds that had belonged to Daryl.
"What's going on here?" Beth asked.
"I gave 'im an inch an' he took a mile. Ate all my snacks." Daryl grumbled. Beth rolled her eyes.
"I keep an extra stash in the cabinet. Help yourself. Jake, komne!" Beth exclaimed. Jake dropped the bag and ran over to her, wagging his tail profusely. Beth decided that since Daryl and Gareth would both be there, she would cook dinner to ease the tension. She knew explaining to her boyfriend that a homicide cop would be hiding out in her apartment wouldn't be easy, but by George, she was going to try.
So, Beth walked into the kitchen, plugging in her iPod to the docking station on the counter. One of her favorite rap songs came on, and she began to dance along to the beat, and sing along with the words.
Now I done grew up
Round some people living their life in bottles
Granddaddy had the golden flask
Back stroke every day in Chicago
Some people like the way it feels
Some people wanna kill their sorrows
Some people wanna fit in with the popular
That was my problem
I was in the dark room
Loud tunes, looking to make a vow soon
That I'm a get fucked up, fillin' up my cup
I see the crowd mood
Changing by the minute and the record on repeat
Took a sip, then another sip, then somebody said to me
Why you babysittin' only two or three shots
Ima show you how to turn it up a knotch
First you get a pool full of liquor then you dive in
"Hey! That's an interesting music choice." Beth heard Gareth say. She jumped about a mile in the air, nearly dropping her spoon.
"Oh! Gareth! I didn't hear ya come in." Beth said. Gareth walked over to her, a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine in hand.
"I hope moscato is okay. It's always a bad day cure for me." Gareth chuckled, "The flowers just seemed like they belonged in your apartment."
"Well, they're beautiful." Beth said, "And I've got the perfect vase for them."
"So, what's been up today?" Gareth asked. Before Beth could explain Daryl's residence in her apartment, the detective himself came strolling down the hall, Jake following close behind him. Beth bit her lip anxiously; she knew this would not end well at all.
"Professor, fancy seein' your here this evenin'." Daryl nodded, grabbing a beer from the cooler next to the table.
"Very fancy, detective. Beth, why is this man in your apartment?" Gareth asked, obviously flabbergasted.
"Yeah, about that...Okay, so, we're in the middle of a huge investigation, and well, Daryl is being forced to stay with me. For the time being, at least. Definitely not by my choice." Beth explained, groaning.
"Oh, okay." Gareth said.
"Relax, Turner. Ain't nothin' goin' on. Obviously she's fawnin' all over you. I'm just here to catch a killer." Daryl explained.
"Yeah, this is a lot to take in." Gareth admitted.
Beth put her arms around him kissing his cheek. "Gareth, just trust me, okay? As soon as he's got all the evidence he needs, he's outta here. You're my boyfriend, Gareth. Just trust me."
"I do, Beth. It's just...Weird. Part of me worries about you, whether or not you're safe, ya know?" Gareth asked.
"You're sweet to worry." Beth said. She finished cooking dinner, and the three ate in relative silence. Gareth insisted he needed to get home early to grade papers, while Beth began to clean up. Surprisingly, Daryl walked over to stand at the sink next to her, grabbing a towel to help dry the dishes.
"Thanks, Daryl." Beth whispered.
"No problem. You cooked, figured I might as well help ya clean up." Daryl replied.
"It's not that I don't like you here, I just know Gareth doesn't like it." Beth confessed, washing a plate. Daryl took it from her to dry, shrugging.
"If he don't trust you, he ain't worth keepin'. Jus' 'member that. You're not an idiot, you made it through med school." Daryl told her.
"Yeah, true." Beth chuckled, washing another pot.
"Why don't ya jus' run this crap through the dishwasher?" Daryl asked.
"Dishwasher's broken. Maintenance said they fixed it, but they didn't really." Beth shrugged.
"Hell, Greene, I'll fix it for ya. It ain't hard." Daryl said.
"Really?" Beth asked. Daryl nodded.
"I'll just bring my tools tomorrow, an' I'll fix it. It'll run good as new. Promise." Daryl said.
"Thanks, Daryl." Beth said, smiling.
"Don't mention it." Daryl said. After the two finished the dishes, Beth got a shower, deciding to hop into bed early. There were still no texts from Gareth; so she figured he was still angry or upset or whatever the heck he was feeling. Still, Beth needed him to trust her. As Jake curled up on the end of the bed with her, Beth smiled. She hoped that they'd be able to get enough evidence on Brian Heriot soon, that way they could actually arrest him and bring him to justice. And, she also hoped that she and Daryl would be able to adjust to each other. Beth fell asleep easily. She was relatively comfortable, and had been been asleep for several hours when her phone started ringing violently on her night stand. She didn't even bother with the caller ID; she was too groggy for that.
"Hello?" Beth asked.
"Beth?" The voice on the other end of the phone wasn't one she recognized.
"Yeah. It's Beth." Beth replied.
"This is Detective Michonne Benjamin. Your sister and her husband have been kidnapped, we believe by a drug cartel." Michonne explained.
And in that moment, Beth felt as if her entire world came to a screeching halt.