Chapter Eight

Hook….

A Motel in New Jersey

He arrives at the third rate motel. It startles him when she appears out of nowhere, knocking on the window. He hits the button and unlocks the door. "I have," he says excitedly as she sits in the car.

Slamming the door, "No, not yet," she says. "Drive out of this parking lot and turn left, keep driving till I tell you not to and don't speak a word."

"Yeah sure," he says as he puts the car in gear. Fifteen minutes down the road, "Pull over here," she points. He turns the car into the parking lot of an old battered apartment building. "Park over there," she demands. He obeys.

"Give me your cell phone."

"Huh?"

"Your cell phone, give it to me."

Shrugging his shoulders, "Sure, here."

She takes his phone and then hands him a key, "Take this and go to apartment 3 B, I will meet you there." He hesitates, "Take it," she says commanding.

He enters the apartment; minutes later, she arrives, pointing a gun at him, "Strip."

"What?"

"Is there something wrong with your hearing today?"

"No."

"We've been through this before."

"I know," he says as he removes his jacket, "You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"Underwear also, believe me I've seen it before." He slowly removes his boxers, "Alright, get dressed," she sits on the old worn out couch. "What do you have to tell me?"

"There is talk going around that his stay at the hospital may have had to do with pills."

"I don't want to hear about rumors, I want facts. Is it a fact?"

"I can't say for sure, but there is one thing that I am certain about." Crossing his arms in a self-satisfied manner, "He's been suspended." Her smile is sinister and it makes him shiver, "You must really hate this guy, I mean what the hell did he do to you? Except his job," he sits down in the only chair in the room.

"Questions, you're asking me questions and making observations?" she stands. "You," she points at him. "Someone who is betraying one of his own to save his neck from financial ruin."

He awkwardly looks at her, "Sorry."

"Oh never mind that you fool, what was he suspended for?"

"I don't know but he, Ross and Eames where in a meeting and when he left Ross demanded his weapon, which means that he was suspended."

"What was her reaction?"

"Her reaction?" he asks surprisingly.

"Yes, what did she do?"

"She stayed in the Captains office until Ross returned, they had a few words and then she stormed out. Saying something like, you know he is having a hard time and you just kick him when he's down. My opinion..."

"I'm not interested..." she pauses. "What? Say it."

"To me, it looked like Ross was glad to be rid of him."

She sits back down on the couch, crossing her legs, "Things are working out exactly the way I knew they would." She says boastfully.

One Police Plaza

Monday Morning

Danni's phone rings, "Detective Matthews."

"Danni, its Alex. Is he there?"

"Yes Ma'am I understand."

"I'm in the elevator."

"That is fine, thank you for calling. I will talk with my associates about that, goodbye."

"Mark," Megan calls to him. "Has Alex arrived?"

"No not yet," he checks his watch. "She's probably running late with the baby and all."

"If I'm not here when she arrives, would you please give this to her," she hands him a folder, with four blank pieces of paper inside.

"Sure," he takes the folder and places it in the middle of his desk.

The elevator opens to the eleventh floor and Alex steps out, looking very upset. Megan notices her first, "Here she comes." Megan takes a step toward her, "Alex," she takes her by the arm, "Are you alright?"

Tom's lifts his head when he hears her name, he keeps his back to them, listening but not watching.

"It's been a….no I can't bring my problems to work." Opening her desk drawer, she dumps her bag inside. "I'm fine Megan, thanks for asking."

"Tom," his partner calls to him.

"Yeah Nate," he leans forward.

"You ready, if we leave now it will give us an hour to get to Long Island."

The two detectives walk side by side out of the squad room.

Later in the Week

1PP Cafeteria

Bobby had uncovered that Tom makes a habit of eating his lunch in a corner table most days between the hours of two and four. Alex, Megan and Danni have for the past three days been down in the cafeteria, patiently waiting for him. The three take a table close to but not too close to that table. It is three-fifteen when Tom Brown arrives, brown bag in hand. He nods to his colleague and they greet him with hellos.

"God, this tea tastes like shit," Alex exclaims.

"That's because it's not tea Alex," Megan comments. "It's coffee."

The women laugh. Alex sits back in the chair, "It feels good to laugh after my weekend from hell."

"Gees Alex, what happened?" Danni asks.

She opens a sugar packet, empting the contents in her coffee, "I finally convinced him, after my God I don't know how long, to go out for dinner on Friday." Stirring her coffee with a spoon, "We got Ashley, a friend of ours teenage daughter to watch Robby and we went out. We had a nice meal and we talked, like the old days. He was in a very good mood and he was calm, it was a good time," she sets down her coffee.

"Alex if you'd rather not tell us," Megan looks to Danni. "We'd understand, after all we are not that close and…….."

"I need to tell someone, I wouldn't know how to tell my family this, they'd, and especially my Dad would hit the ceiling." She takes a long cleansing breath, "After dinner we heard the sound of a baseball game on the TV in the bar. We decided to sit at the bar, have a drink and watch the game." She picks up her coffee cup. "The Yankees were losing, why? I don't know with all the money those guys make they should win every game. Anyway, after we ordered our second drink this man at the end of the bar started yelling at the TV. Racial slurs, voicing his so-called coaching skills, it was getting annoying." Taking a sip of coffee, she winks at Danni, she nods.

"Before I could say anything Bobby was at the end of the bar. He tapped the guy on the shoulder and asked him nicely, at first, if he would please lower his voice. The man ignored the suggestion and spoke even louder and made more obnoxious comments at the set."

Rubbing her forehead, "This time Bobby grabbed him by his arm and pulled him off the stool. I thought he was going to tell him to assume the position, boy was I wrong, that wasn't his idea, at all. He pushed him toward the door. The guy stumbled and then after he got up he took a swing at Bobby."

"Let me guess," Danni says. "Bobby hit him."

"Oh yes, the guy went down hard. Now either the guy was so drunk he didn't feel anything or he's just plain stupid. Does he stay down? No, he got up and tried to take another swing at Bobby, once again missing. Now by this time I called the police and decided to get in the middle of this." She points to her eye. "You can't see it but an elbow hit my eye."

"Who hit you?"

"Not sure Danni, but this is what happens when you get in between a drunken man and a very angry one." She lightly touches her eye. "We could hear the sirens but that didn't deter him, at all. The door opens and the cops show up, one uniform escorts the drunk outside while I was speaking to the other one. I turned to ask Bobby a question…" she pauses. "He was gone."

Megan and Danni sit back in their chairs, Megan asks, "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. I have no idea who he was with, if he was with anyone. He walks in the house on," she pauses, leaning forward. "Sunday afternoon. Experience from the job tells me that he didn't know either."

"Alex I'm sorry," Danni says.

Megan pats her hand, "Me too."

"Thanks, thanks guys I really appreciate that."

Danni places her hand on Alex's shoulder, "There's more to this story, isn't there?"

Alex looks up as she nods her head, "Yes, when he came home he looked like he was run over by a truck. At first, I thought to myself, wait until he is sober and looks like a human being before you talk to him. But, I was so angry I couldn't wait. I confronted him, asking where and who he was with."

"Do you think he….I don't think he would…."

"Me either," Danni chimes in.

"I doubt that too," Alex says. "But it crossed my mind, fleetingly but it did."

She removes her sweater, placing it on the back of the chair; she takes a quick peek at Tom. His back is to them but he is sitting erect. She turns back to face her friends, "Before I could get in more than a sentence he started to go off on me, ranting about me not trusting him. That I wasn't making an effort to understand what he was going through. I finally was able to get a word in and I told him yes you are right. I don't understand what you are going through, because you won't tell me. For a second I thought that he was actually listening to me and I blurted out that he needs desperately to get professional help. He said the only help that he needed now was a drink. I tried again to be discreet and sensible. I said that, that is not going to help. He stared at me as he poured the whiskey. I made a move to grab the bottle and missed. With an obstinate look on his face, he drank the whiskey." She rubs her eyes, Danni hands her a tissue.

"Thanks," she wipes her eyes, "I threw my hands up in the air and I….I told him that I couldn't take this anymore, he was unstable and becoming paranoid. I said you've lost it Bobby." Wiping her nose with the tissue, "No matter what I say or do, you are not listening….I….I told him to leave." Megan and Danni gasp. "I…I didn't want him around us until he got some help."

"Oh my God, Alex."

Alex flashes a smile, at Danni. "He had a look of anger on his face that I never thought I would ever see and it scared the hell out of me. He still had the whiskey bottle in his hand, he threw across the room."

Placing her elbows on the table she rubs her temples. "The sound of the bottle hitting the wall got Robby's attention and he came running into the room, from the den. Bobby reached down and picked up another bottle. I called Robby's name and he stopped. I thought that maybe seeing Robby would snap him back into reality. It did….but it didn't he dropped the bottle on the floor, grabbed his jacket and walked out of the house."

"Have you heard from him?"

Shaking her head, "No, I'm worried about him but I can't live with him. His excessive drinking and the fits of anger, they've gotten worse since he got out of the hospital and now that he is out of work, he doesn't have anything to focus on but obsessing over that woman."

"He'll call," Danni says. "I think I know him well enough, he's a good guy and once he realizes what has happened, he'll call."

"Don't get me wrong I want him to call but I can't….I don't want him back until I know for sure that he has gotten some help, some serious help."

Alex's cell phone rings, flipping it open she checks the number, shaking her head, "Eames."

"Alex it me, I'm your sister."

"Hey Laurie," she says somberly, winking at her colleagues.

"Have you been able to do it yet?"

"Yes," she looks up as she notices Tom pass.

"Did he fall for it?"

She hesitates until he is out of the room, "Yes he heard every word, and he just left."

Later that Evening

He sits at his PC, checking his emails every half hour there are none, from her.

TBC

A/N: FYI, part six of this series is already in progress. It is titled 'Safe From Evil', co-written with Chlark4, it's her first story.