It took Vivian less than half an hour to drive down to Coney Island. "Where do you think he'll be?" she asked Amelia. She'd spent the entire ride gently rubbing the pressed penny key chain between her fingers.
"Let's start at West 10th Street, by the Cyclone." She said quietly. "We used to stop at a little place on the corner… Frank's I think. We'd get a couple of hot dogs and soda to share and we'd walk down and sit on the boardwalk. There was one bench off all by itself… we'd sit and talk… he'd tell me about Miami." Her voice trailed away as she looked out of the window.
"Miami?" Vivian asked gently, "Why Miami?"
"My mom was Cuban, so were Danny's parents. It's where they came in." Amelia said with a sad smile. "My mom had always promised to take me there, she never got the chance."
"I'm sorry." Vivian said as she parked the car. "Ok let's see if we can find him."
Amelia nodded and they got out of the car. She stopped and closed her eyes drawing in a deep breath of sea air. She smiled hearing the sounds of people on the roller coaster and the other rides nearby. She looked up and down the boardwalk. It was the same, but different all at once. "…this way…" She said to Vivian and turned walking away. Vivian followed her. "If he's following his memories… he should be… there!" she stopped and pointed to a lone bench with a very dejected Danny sitting on it.
Amelia looked at Vivian. "You go and talk to him." Vivian nodded. "I'll call Martin and wait here."
"I don't think I can." Amelia said quietly. The truth was she didn't know if she wouldn't hit him again. Her heart and her mind were at war with themselves and each other. She wanted to run and hug him hold on to him weeping for joy at finally finding him again, but had she found him? He wasn't her Danny anymore. He was Special Agent Danny Taylor. She didn't know this man.
"Do you want me to talk to him first?" Vivian asked her phone in her hand.
"Maybe that would be better… but what if he tries to run?" Amelia asked.
"I'll shoot him" Vivian said seriously. Amelia looked at her dumbfounded before she realized Vivian was joking and trying to get her to relax. "No I won't." Vivian smiled. "Wait here." She put her phone away and patted Amelia on the shoulder. "It will be ok." she said reassuringly.
Amelia nodded and hugging herself she watched Vivian walk over to where Danny sat. As she approached him from behind she could see him leaning forward his elbows on his knees his head down as he played his long fingers together. Lost in his own thoughts he didn't stir as she approached. She slowly sat down beside him. "Don't you think it's time you came home?" she whispered.
Startled from his reverie he looked at her. He looked ready to run again. She reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Danny, it's time to stop running." She looked deep into his eyes, his pain so apparent to her.
"How did you find me?" he asked her quietly, all of the smooth cockiness she was used to hearing gone without a trace. He gently but firmly extricated himself from her grasp. She smiled and let him go, knowing he'd bolt if she tried to hold on to him.
"I work for the FBI, remember?" Vivian smiled. "And I did have some help. Martin figured it out." She said softly. "He noticed your keychains."
"…my keychains?" Danny was confused.
"Both you and Miss Parker have a pressed penny from Coney Island on your keychain." She explained. "When he said he thought you'd taken the W train, she had a feeling you were coming here."
"I'm surprised he bothered to look… you know he spent last night with her…" Danny was getting agitated, "How could he?"
"How could he what? Not walk out on her when she needed someone to talk to… when she was afraid of slipping after being sober for ten years?" Vivian spoke to him clearly calmly and firmly. "You of all people know what that's like. He stayed with her because he knew you'd have wanted him to look after her… the way you used to… I thought you two were friends."
"Martin and I are friends." Danny said flatly. He couldn't articulate to her just what Martin meant to him. Amelia was a completely different matter. She may have been absent from his life, through no fault of her own, but she was forever in his thoughts and in his heart.
"I know, I meant you and Amelia." Vivian cocked her head at him. "Don't you want to talk to her? …to know for yourself that she's OK?" Vivian looked at her. "Her life is unraveling around her…"
"That's not my fault…" he shook his head.
"That's not the impression you gave Martin…" Vivian wasn't giving him an inch.
"What did Martin tell you…" he was on his feet again.
"Danny, wait a minute." Vivian got up. She saw Amelia moving closer.
Danny was ranting to himself mainly. "He had no right… no right to tell her… I was supposed to…" he'd started to pace "Viv'…. You don't understand. She… won't… she won't understand…"
Amelia had come up to them. Danny was too preoccupied with his thoughts to see her. She got right up behind him he stopped short when he turned around and they were face to face again. "So explain it to me." Amelia said to him. She looked up into his face. He could see the anger and the pain in her eyes, it was mixed with sorrow and if he'd taken the time he'd have seen the love masked by all of the hurt and compounding it. "Explain to me, just who the hell you are… What happened to Danny… to my Danny… my friend… my…" she was shaking "What the hell did you do?" she hit him in the chest with both of her hands. "What did you do with my Danny?"
He'd grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her close to him. "Your Danny died… a long time ago." He said quietly. Vivian watched the affect his words had on Amelia. It was as if someone had turned out the lights on Broadway. Danny released her wrists and walked away. "I'm going home Viv" was all he said before walking back up the boardwalk. Vivian and Amelia watched him walk away. A lone figure, wearing his sorrow and regret like a cloak, he walked slowly; shoulders hunched his hands buried deep in his pockets his head down.
"Danny…" Amelia whispered brokenly. They both were broken, defeated and alone. Vivian looked from one to the other. She saw their pain, their suffering and at the same time the love that intensified both. If they would just open up instead of suffering in silence. She thought to herself.
"Are you ok?" Vivian asked Amelia. "Come on let me drive you home."
"No thank you…" Amelia looked at Vivian. She looked shell shocked. "I'd really rather just walk… I need some time… I need…" she shook her head. "I'll be ok. I'm going to walk for awhile." She turned and headed up the boardwalk in the opposite direction Danny had gone.
Vivian stood looking up and down the boardwalk. "What the hell just happened?" she asked herself. With a sigh she took out her phone and was about to dial Martin's number. She decided not to and let him sleep. Danny was going home. Amelia, well she was an adult and capable of making her own decisions. That thought didn't stop Vivian from worrying about her though.
Danny walked slowly back to the subway. You asshole! He kept thinking to himself. That's twice in 24 hours… you had the chance to fix things, to tell her how sorry you are… why do you keep hurting her? He walked blindly oblivious to his surroundings until he looked up grateful to be home.
He climbed the stairs to his apartment, each one was an effort. He was certain he had walked the length of Manhattan twice in the last two days. He started to strip before he had his door shut and locked. First a shower and then to bed… he thought to himself. He was so tired he could hardly stand as he turned the water on. If only his mind would stop turning.
He couldn't get Amelia out of his mind, her words echoing in his ears. Who the hell are you…What have you done with Danny …with my Danny? He remembered the look on her face when he'd grabbed her wrists, how could he have been so cruel when all he really wanted to do was hug her, hold her and tell her it was all a big mistake and everything would be alright. He remembered how she used to look at him. He remembered how she used to light up whenever she saw him. Then he remembered the look on her face on the boardwalk when he'd released her.
He leaned his head against the cold tile wall. Stop! He thought. Stop! Stop! He wanted the thoughts in his head to stop, the images to go away. He hit his head against the hard tiles. Thump, thump, thump. He stopped when he felt a trickle of blood run down his forehead. His hands up on the tiles he clawed at the wall, pounding on it with his fists. He heard the scream but didn't realize it was coming from him. Totally spent he sank slowly down into the tub. He drew his knees up and let the water beat down on him. There alone he put his hands over his head and allowed his tears to finally give way.
It was Amelia's turn to wander. She walked for hours. She walked nearly to the end of Manhattan Beach before she gave in and got a cab home. It was just after 3pm. She looked around her apartment and started to clean. It was therapy for her. She cleaned her kitchen and scrubbed the floors before turning on her bedroom. She stripped the bed and put on fresh linen.
"I might as well do the laundry" she said to herself before gathering it together and carrying it down to the laundry room. Her apartment building was fairly secure so she never worried about going down into the laundry room on her own. She put her dirty linen into a machine and was sorting out her next load when she thought she heard something behind her. She looked but she didn't see anything. Putting it down to frayed nerves she went back to her laundry. Just as she was reaching for the basket he grabbed her and spun her around. Startled she screamed and lashed out at him.
He was a young light skinned black man his baggy clothes hiding a strong and muscular body. He slapped her hard across the face before grabbing her hair and flicking a knife open. He held it to her throat "Shut up, don't scream and listen good…" he said menacingly. "You're old man is causing more trouble than he knows…"
Amelia was as angry as she was frightened. "What did you do to my father…" she spat before she could stop herself. He slapped her hard with the back of his hand. She felt the blade brushing by her face, she tasted blood.
"I said shut up bitch!" he dragged the blade of the knife along her chin. "Call off the cops. Tell them Daddy's called and gone on vacation, we don't need them snooping around no more… and if you don'ts… well I'll be back with some of my boys and we's gonna have us some fun." Amelia didn't dare move as he clicked the knife shut and he released her. She thought he was just going to let her go and leave but in a split second he spun back and punched her hard. She went down her hands clutching out for the washing machine. "Just so you know I'm not playin' wit you." He kicked her savagely and left her lying on the floor.
She heard him leave but she was afraid to get up. She lay there clutching her ribs and trying to catch her breath. After nearly ten minutes had passed without hearing a sound she clawed her way up and stood holding onto the washing machine. Her laundry forgotten she found her keys and went slowly out of the laundry room to the stairs. Every step was an effort. She cursed every stair as she climbed them. She thought she'd never reach her apartment.
She stopped and wanted to be physically ill when she got to her door to find it had been kicked in. She cautiously pushed the door and listened. There was no sound. She crept in and grabbed her handbag before hurrying out. She rummaged around in her bag to find her phone. She scrolled through her numbers until she found Martin's cell phone and dialed the number.
It rang four times before she heard him say "Fitzgerald" with a muffled yawn.
"Martin… it's me, Amelia… I need your help… I've just been attacked…" she had to sit down on the steps to catch her breath.
"What… Amelia where are you?" She could hear he was instantly awake. "What's happened… where's Danny?"
"I don't know… he went home from the boardwalk… it all went so wrong… I came home… I was doing laundry" she was struggling to keep calm and the pain in her ribs was making it hard to talk. "He came out of no where… he said I was to call off the investigation… Martin he said he'd be back…"
"Right I'm calling in the team…"
"No! You can't… please, he said… to call off the police…"
"Amelia listen to me…" he could hear her sobbing. "Mia… listen to me I'm on my way to you right now… do you hear me?"
"Martin… hurry he'd kicked in my apartment door… there's no where safe…"
"Mia, stay on the phone with me." She heard him dressing himself as he tried to get her to tell him as much as she could remember. "Mia I'm not far away now." He was talking as he drove, she could hear him yelling at people to get out of the way. "Can you get down stairs?"
"I can…" she pulled her self up by the banister and leaning heavily on it she limped back down the stairs. "I'm down in the lobby."
"Ok good Mia, you're doing great, I'm just pulling up." He hung up as he slammed the car into park. Running up to the door his stomach lurched as he saw her pushing the door open. "I've got you." He pulled the door open and caught her easily in his arms. "Come on." He helped her to his car and sat her gently in the passenger seat as he dialed Vivian's number.
"Viv, it's me. We've got a problem." He quickly told her what was happening the entire time Mia was protesting that they were supposed to call off the investigation.
"I'll be right there along with the forensics unit. How badly is she hurt?"
"He's knocked her around a few times and kicked her too. I'll drive her over to Bellevue as soon as the scene is secured." Martin was looking at Amelia in his car. He gave her his handkerchief before stepping back and asking very quietly about Danny.
"He went home." Vivian said. "It didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I'll fill you in later."
"Ok Viv, NYPD are just getting here. I'll speak to you soon." He hung up and spoke to the two officers who'd arrived. They nodded and went to take up their posts to await the arrival of Vivian and the crime scene unit. "OK Mia, I'm taking you to the hospital now." He said gently and helped her with her seatbelt. She was holding his handkerchief to her nose she nodded and winced as he snapped the belt in place.
He drove her to the hospital parking in front of the ER. "Hey can you grab a wheelchair?" he called to a young guy in scrubs smoking a cigarette as he hurried around his car to help Amelia out.
"You can't park there." The guy said as he ground out his cigarette. "It's for police cars."
"I'm FBI." Martin flashed his badge impatiently, "Now how about that wheelchair?"
"Oh sorry dude, be right back." He turned and jogged inside seeing Martin help Amelia out of the car. Her face was bruised and starting to swell, she clutched at her ribs as Martin supported her.
"Easy does it…" he said as he gently held her against him. "Here you go," he helped her into the wheelchair the orderly brought back and they wheeled her inside. The orderly looked quizzically at Martin's own bruised chin but kept his mouth shut.
"I hate hospitals." Amelia said softly.
"I'm not too crazy about them myself." Martin muttered. The orderly took them to the triage desk in the main ER. As usual, it was crowded with people with varying complaints, illnesses and injuries.
"Right first do you have insurance?" An overworked and underpaid nurse asked Amelia. She nodded and pulled her insurance card out of her wallet. "Ok great" the nurse took it, "so what happened?" Amelia tried to explain. She was still having a hard time catching her breath. "Oh well, we're going to have to notify the police" the nurse said turning a suspicious eye on Martin.
Amelia bristled at the way the nurse was looking at Martin. The bruise from where Danny hit him was still quite evident. The nurse was sizing Martin up. Amelia was sure she was thinking he'd done this to her and she was covering for him. "He's the FBI agent working on my … on the case" Amelia put her hand up to point to Martin.
He showed the nurse his ID, "I'm Special Agent Fitzgerald, NYPD is aware of the incident, but this is part of an ongoing federal investigation."
"Oh right well… let's get you taken care of then." She nodded to Amelia. "Bill!" she called to the orderly who'd brought them the wheelchair. "Take her to T3." She said to him, "You can wait in chairs" she said to Martin and pointed to the waiting area.
Martin could sense Amelia's fear at being separated from him, "I'm sorry but Miss Parker is now in protective custody. She goes no where without me."
"Oh why didn't you say so? Take them over to PS2 then Bill" she made an amendment on Amelia's chart and on the computer. "It's a single room, the cop's prefer it." She said to Martin. He thanked her and followed Bill. They waited outside while she put on a hospital gown and then helped her onto the gurney.
"The doc will be right in." Bill said as he left them.
"Thanks," Martin said as he stood close by the side of the gurney. Amelia was shifting around trying to find a comfortable position. "Easy," he turned his attention to her as she settled half on her side. "Are you up to telling me about it again?" he asked gently. "I know… I know you've told me once but I was driving and trying to keep you talking to me…" he gave her a shy smile "But now, I need to write it down and take a formal statement. Ok?" she nodded at him. "Just take your time."
"Do you want to know what happened with Danny?" she asked him. He tried to look into her eyes, the right one was swelling shut from where she'd been punched, but the fear, the pain and turmoil of the last few days was as clear as day in them.
"We can talk about him later." He said and pulled a rolling stool over to sit beside her. She sighed and nodded and slowly went through it all again. Martin took notes and stopped her from time to time asking her questions. Her lip was starting to swell and she was having trouble speaking without pain. "Ok Mia, that should do for now." He closed his notebook. She was smiling at him. "What is it?" he asked.
"You're calling me Mia now. Only Danny and my mom ever called me that…" she gingerly wiped away the fresh tears.
"Oh I'm sorry." Martin said worried he'd offended her.
"Don't be." She reached out and put her hand on his. "I miss it" she said softly. Martin smiled and looked down at her slim graceful fingers and her subtle manicure. They sat quietly until the doctor came in.