AN: To all of my awesome readers: thank you for all your support and encouragement in this fandom, not just for this particular story but for all the others I've posted. It's always a pleasure posting my work here.

To my fellow writer/reader "Mounty Swiss" : Hope you feel better soon :-)

Merci beaucoup to my dedicated beta who has just been fantastic.

Enjoy :-)

Tanith

ACT 3 Part 1

Residence of Mike Stone

A late lunch at the Stone residence was prepared by the Lieutenant who insisted that his daughter remain rested after her release from the hospital. The two of them sat at the dining table engaged in conversation, most of which revolved around Jeannie's studies. Mike was torn between seeking more information from Jeannie about the night she was attacked and allowing her time to open up on her own. After cleaning the dishes, Mike found Jeannie had dozed off on the sofa. He recalled she had mentioned she was feeling a little drowsy from the pain killers she took for her headache. With a warm smile, Mike draped a light blanket over her sleeping form and decided to take a nap himself. Leaning forward, he gave Jeannie a kiss on her forehead then retired to his room.

A knock on the door woke Jeannie from her troubled slumber on the sofa. She slowly opened her eyes. A second round of knocking, louder than the first, jolted her to a sitting position and images of the masked attacker on her doorstep came back. Get a grip! Shaking her head to clear it, Jeannie pushed the blanket aside then swung her legs off the sofa. "Coming!" She called out. Maybe it's Steve. She marvelled at how this thought somehow chased away all the frightening images and made her feel safe. She peered through the curtains and saw to her confusion and slight disappointment that her visitor was not Steve. The man standing on her doorstep was a little younger than her father and dressed in a navy blue suit. His dark brown hair was neatly combed back and he carried an intense look in his eyes. Suspecting the stranger was someone from the San Francisco Police Department, Jeannie unlocked the door and opened it a fraction of an inch, all the while holding onto the edge in case she read the man wrongly.

"Jeannie Stone?" The man inquired as he pulled out his badge case. "Inspector Jeff Hartman. I need to ask you some questions about an assault that took place here a couple of nights ago."

"Please, come in," Jeannie replied, welcoming the Inspector into the house. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nice place you have here," Hartman commented as he took in his surroundings. "Do you stay with your father often?"

"Usually when I'm on school break I come down to keep him company. Can I get you some coffee?" Jeannie led Hartman to the living room and gestured for him to take a seat.

"No thank you, but feel free to make yourself one."

Rubbing the back of his neck to relieve the stiffness, Mike trudged down the stairs toward the sound of voices coming from the living room. Doesn't sound like Steve. He made a mental note as he listened in on the voices though he couldn't quite make out the words.

While Jeannie sat on the edge of the sofa cupping her mug of coffee, Inspector Hartman was perched on the recliner with his notebook opened and a pen in his hand. Every now and then he would jot down notes as Jeannie answered his questions to the best of her ability. Although the actual attack was nothing more than a vague memory, she found that images of the perpetrators were growing in clarity or at least details of their costumes became more vivid.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Jeannie looked up and saw her father standing at the entrance of the hallway. "No, of course not. This is Inspector Hartman. He's taking down my statement."

"Please call me Jeff. You must be Mike." Hartman stood up and shook Mike's hand.

"Got it in one."

"Steve meant to come with me but something urgent came up," Hartman explained.

Mike simply nodded and was saved from an awkward moment of piggy-in-the-middle when the telephone rang. Excusing himself, Mike left his daughter with the Inspector to answer the phone.

"Now, where were we?" Hartman asked rhetorically as he scanned through his notes then sat down once more. "You mentioned in your most recent report that one of the men had a tattoo?"

"Yes, the one who jumped out and grabbed me."

"Can you describe it again."

"It was a bird. A black crow on the inner part of his arm."

Hartman stopped writing notes and became somewhat fixated with the notebook. He knew his son, Troy had a tattoo that matched the one described and what was even more damning was the fact that it was positioned in the exact same part of his arm as Jeannie Stone's attacker.

"Inspector?" Jeannie said tentatively when an uncomfortable silence grew between them.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Miss. Stone?"

The sudden cold tone in the Inspector's voice made Jeannie feel nervous. "No."

"You mean to tell me that a good looking girl like yourself is not out looking for a date on her college break?" Jeff scoffed, finally looking into Jeannie's face.

"No, I…I don't know what you're trying to say but I'm not that type of girl," Jeannie replied quietly, hoping the Inspector would alter his line of questioning.

"I'm not trying to say anything. I'm just trying to find the truth. Frankly, I think you're hiding something. Something that maybe you don't want your father to know about. Do you have friends in San Francisco?"

Shocked at the how the interview was now becoming an interrogation but not knowing what to do, Jeannie proceeded to answer in a steady voice, "Yes. Karen Hayes and Susan Mason."

"When did you last see them?"

"A week ago. We went out to see a game of football. Karen's boyfriend was playing that night and she asked me to come along. Inspector, what does this have to do with what happened to me?"

"What did you do after the game?" Hartman pressed.

"We went out to dinner to celebrate with a couple of the guys. Then we went home. But I don't see how…"

Hartman cut Jeannie off and continued, "Did you drink?"

"A glass of Champagne."

"And you went straight home after dinner?"

"Yes, I told you that already!" Jeannie's agitation began to surface and while she felt ashamed for behaving like she had done something wrong, she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable being treated like she was the criminal instead of the victim.

"I see. Do you make it a habit going out with football players, Jeannie?"

"What are you talking about?" Jeannie gasped. She shot to her feet and crossed her arms tightly. "Look I went out with my friends who happen to be a girl and some guys who plays football but that doesn't mean it was more than just an innocent dinner. I don't see how this has anything to do with the investigation!"

"I'm not implying that anything happened between you and those guys you went out with so please, just calm down, young lady. But you've got to understand that there are a lot of girls your age and younger that think a good night out with the guys might not send the wrong signals, especially when it's late and drinks are involved. Those guys might think that it's okay to return these signals later on and that's when the trouble starts. Shall we continue?" Jeff motioned for Jeannie to return to her seat. A part of him felt sorry for what he was doing but a larger part of himself felt he needed to do whatever it took to protect his son, even if it meant discrediting the victim. To him, Troy had more to lose than Jeannie did and kids were just kids. It was Halloween and Troy was probably drunk or playing a stupid prank that ended badly. But did he deserve to go to jail?

"No, I have nothing more to say. Can you just please leave," Jeannie said in a small voice. She felt the heat rising to her face and the last thing she wanted was for her father to walk in and ask questions. He didn't need the added stress. She knew what had happened was already playing heavily on his mind.

"Alright, I think I have all that I need for now. I hope you do realize that it's my job to ask these types of questions, no matter how awkward they may be. It would be no different if your father or Steve were the ones who asked them," Hartman got to his feet and walked toward the front door.

Jeannie answered him with a cold look then followed him to the door.

"If you remember anything else, here's my number," Hartman handed Jeannie his card then left the Stone residence.

Closing the door behind the Inspector, Jeannie leaned her back against it and closed her eyes.

"Sweetheart, is everything okay? Where did Hartman go?" Mike called out from the hallway.

Swallowing back the tears, Jeannie took a deep breath then opened her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm just tired. Hartman said he got what he needed. Who was that on the phone?"

"That was Haseejian. He had a few important things to discuss about a case we were working on. Are you sure you're alright?" Mike crossed the space between him and Jeannie in a few strides and gently took her by the shoulders.

Jeannie refused to look into her father's eyes because she knew he would catch her lie and settled for leaning her head against his chest as he drew her into his arms and held her. Her mind was filled with so many confused thoughts and she had no idea what to do with them. While she knew in her heart that she was not at all like the image he drew of her, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and hurt by his words. How do I tell Mike? Do I tell him?