A/N: Please see disclaimer in Chapter 1.
Chapter 13: Blank
"Where are we with the girl?"
"Cop school. Nothing to worry about. Psych eval says she's adjusted."
"Her father?"
Silence.
"Deal with him."
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That night, Rick draws another line connecting the Dunlops' to Raglan in thick, bright red, and he shudders. It's almost as bad as his books.
Except… this isn't fiction, however badly he might want it to be.
He's had a bad feeling all night. It's bothered him so much, he asks Jim and Kate to stay, but the two of them refuse, saying something about needing to make their house home again.
Absentmindedly, he sits at the edge of his desk, his hands tapping a beat on the wood.
"Richard, what are you doing still up?"
He looks up. "Oh, Mother. Nothing. I just couldn't sleep."
But she hasn't heard a word. "My word, Richard, what is this?"
"My… murder board?" He hastily tries to take it down, but his mother is quicker than he gives her credit for.
"Richard!"
He cringes.
"Y-you think Jerry and Anne's deaths have to do with Johanna?" She looks ill; Rick moves to help her, but she waves him off, swaying a bit as she steadies herself. "And…Detective Raglan?"
"Mother…"
"No, Richard," she warns him. "Tell me. Don't hold anything back."
He starts, haltingly, describing piece by piece how he's put the puzzle together. His mother's face goes whiter, and whiter; Rick wonders if she was going to have a heart attack then and there. But all she does is take the scotch from his desk, and pours herself a glass, nodding at him to continue.
So he does. "...and that's what I have so far," Rick admits. "There are a few gaping holes here and there, but I think those holes will be filled as soon as I get my hands on Johanna's files - probably one of her latest cases."
"Richard…" Martha takes a gulp of the scotch, and shakes her head, speechless.
No words are necessary, yet Rick feels the need to fill the empty space, to fill it with the most tangible thing he can think of, and yet, the overwhelming task before them - the sheer immensity of the danger they're confronting - their family is confronting - reduces him to a single word, one said with a tone of finality. "Yeah."
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"Jerry Dunlop…" Martha trails off. "I don't know what there is to tell you."
"Why don't you start at the beginning," Rick says gently, pouring himself a liberal cup of scotch. "You know I don't keep track of your friends all that well, but I don't think I'd heard of Jerry and - Anne, was it? – until just recently."
"Well, Jerry was a friend of Jim's and I met Anne at the theatre," replies Martha thoughtfully. "Certainly, Jim said to me the other day he hadn't seen Jerry in years and it was too bad Jerry and Anne missed Johanna like they did."
"What do you mean?"
"Jerry and Anne have just moved back from D.C." Rick jots that quickly into his notebook, and looks at his mother for her to continue. "It was all very sudden, Anne confided to me. Their children are all still in the D.C. area, and she's never cared to come back to New York."
"So why come back, then?"
"I'm not sure," Martha replies. "Though it might have to do with Jerry's work."
Under "The Dunlops", Rick's written: move? His hand pauses just before he dots the last question mark. "What did Jerry do for a living?" Rick asks, his voice nonchalant, though his heart is racing.
"Oh, why… he was working in a senator's office." Martha swirls her close to empty glass. "At least, I'm sure it was a senator. I'm not entirely sure. You know my thoughts on politics. Anyway, he was here doing research in preparation for the upcoming election."
"Hmm…" Rick mumbles in reply, and jots that down on the board. "I don't see how that's connected, but all right. We'll leave that up there for now."
"Oh, Richard, what have we gotten ourselves into?" asks Martha quietly. "Do Jim and Katie know about all of this?"
"Jim thinks there's corruption all the way to the top," Rick grins, though it doesn't reach his eyes. "Though I don't know how far up it goes. All we have so far, really, are murders of people we care about, Johanna's cases – which we haven't seen yet, and one awfully suspicious Detective John Raglan. Jim and I both agree there's fishy clean through, and my gut is telling me there's still a lot we're missing. But yeah, if Jim's involved… I told him we'd be with him every step of the way." He pauses, vulnerable for a moment. "We are, right?"
"Of course," Martha says with quiet resolve. "They're family. We do what's right by our family."
Xxxxxxxx
He awakens groggily on his couch, his phone incessantly buzzing next to him. He clears his throat before picking it up. "Hello?"
"Hi Rick, this is Sophia," he hears on the other end. "I hope I didn't wake you up."
He bolts upright, and runs his free hand through his hair. "Oh no, of course not." At 6 a.m., yes. "What can I do for you, Sophia?"
"Just calling to let you know your paperwork's gone through and you're clear to come in," she says with a chuckle. "With a civilian pass, of course."
"Of course," Rick repeats absentmindedly. "Wait. I can come in?"
She laughs. It's a full, rich sound that fills Rick from the bottom up. "Yes, Rick. Today, even – we're not doing anything particularly exciting, though."
Rick can't hold back a gleeful laugh. "Are you kidding! I am so coming!"
"Great," comes the reply warmly. "I'll send a car. See you soon."
"Yep." He snaps his phone shut, and jumps off his couch, fist pumping. "Oh, yeah! Who's the man, who's the man!"
He runs to his mother's room. "Mother!"
"What on earth, Richard…" His mother pushes her sleep mask off her face, and looks at him blearily.
"Listen, Mother," he says excitedly. "I need you to watch Alexis today. I'm off to do research!"
"All right, all right," she waves her hand at him tiredly, still squinting. "I'll take her to the park with Jim. You go have fun, kiddo."
"Oh, yes, it'll be fun," Rick laughs semi-maniacally, rubbing his hands together. "I'm spending the day with Sophia. What more could I ask for?"
"Oh, well…" Martha sighs. "Let me know sometime today if you're coming home tonight."
"Ha-ha, Mother," Rick replies. "Nothing of the sort."
"Mhm," Martha hums. "Whatever, kiddo!"
Rick shuts her door firmly to make a point (though what that point is he doesn't know). Fifteen minutes later, he's out the door and downstairs, just in time as a black sedan pulls up in front of his building.
The door swings open, Sophia's face peeking at him from the dark. "Rick, get in."
"Hello to you too, Sophia," he grins as he steps into sedan and closing the door. The car leaves as quietly and smoothly as it came. "How are you?"
"Not too poorly this morning," Sophia smiles back, her eyes twinkling at him. "Ready?"
A/N: Look who's back! Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy... ironically, with writing. I spent the last year reporting in Asia, and boy, work ethic + crazy job to begin with = no life. Let me know what you think; next chapter is already being worked on, so it should be out, oh, in a week. Maybe sooner. And yes, I'm well aware that Rick appears bipolar in this chapter. I'll get to that soon :) Until next time, CN
