DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.
Chapter 4
"Did you look for somebody else, or did Andy automatically assume me due to past practices?" Croelick asked Sharon. "I am just trying to get you off of my list of suspects, that's all" Sharon said to him as she shifted in her chair and leaned forward. "Now, tell me Bill, who is Cora?" Sharon asked him. He figured that she didn't want to play along like Brenda did, she wasn't going to budge even once. "Okay Sharon, Cora's my girlfriend, or she was my girlfriend as we broke up" Croelick stated to her. Sharon looked over at Provenza who was still standing by the door. "Where were you two weeks ago?" Sharon asked him. "I was in Fresno" he said. "If you were in Fresno, then why did we find your fingerprints in a house that was burned down two weeks ago?" Provenza asked him. Croelick looked over at where the Lieutenant was standing and smiled. "Now, you are talking about the house that I sold to Cora, right?" Croelick said as he smiled at all of them.
"I'll just make this short and sweet so that you all can move on with your investigation" Croelick stated to Sharon, Andy, and Provenza. "Cora and I broke up a couple of months ago. She was, what do you call it, a control freak and took the break up pretty bad" Croelick started to say as Andy smirked at him. "A control freak, huh?" Andy said to Croelick. Croelick looked at Andy and then returned his focus to Sharon. "She kept talking about how her brother owed her all of this money and that every time she would ask him, he would always put her off" Croelick continued as he shifted again in his chair. "She asked me to get the money back for her but then when I refused, she went all crazy on me so I broke it off" he said as he rolled up his sleeves. "She took a knife to my arm, here and here" he said as he pointed them out.
"Did you get stitches for those wounds?" Andy asked as he gritted his teeth. "Yes, I went to the St. Agnes ER and got treated there" Croelick answered. "When was this?" Sharon asked him. "September 20th" Croelick answered her. "You can check if you want" he added and smiled. "Oh we will check, Bill" Sharon said to him. "Then what happened?" Sharon asked him. "I left and went back home to Fresno" Croelick said as he sat back and folded his hands on the table. "We will be right back, Bill" Sharon said as she stood up and Andy followed her along with Provenza out the door. "Take your time, Captain. I am enjoying the new place" Croelick said back to her and waved. Two patrol officers stood outside the conference room.
"I don't trust him" Andy said to the two of them as they went into electronics. "What is he doing Buzz?" Sharon asked Buzz who was sitting at the computer screen. "Nothing, he's just looking around but he's still sitting down" Buzz answered her. "For someone who hates the LAPD and sued the city he sure seems comfortable there" Provenza stated. "He needs our protection" Sharon said as her phone rang and she answered it. It was Mike calling her to tell her that they had an issue bringing Cora in. "What's the issue, Lieutenant?" Sharon asked him as she looked at Andy. "She ran but we caught her" Mike simply said. "Alright I want patrol to help you and I am sending Julio and Buzz there to conduct a search warrant. I want to know why she ran from us" Sharon said and then hung up her phone. Andy looked at her. "Meanwhile, I want to figure out if our guest is telling us the truth" Sharon said to Andy and Provenza.
Provenza called the hospital where Croelick said he went to and they were only able to say that they had treated him for knife cuts on his arms the day he said he went there. Andy looked up Cora's financials and discovered that she owed a lot of money. Andy showed that report to Sharon. "She probably burned the house down to collect the insurance money but that still doesn't explain the other houses though" Andy said to her as she looked over the report. "Let's go ask our guest what else he can tell us about Cora" Sharon said and Andy followed her to the conference room.
"Did you miss me so soon?" Croelick said as they came back in and had a seat across from him. "Don't press your luck" Andy said back to Croelick. Croelick glared back at Andy but then looked at Sharon as she started to talk. "I think Cora tried to frame you Bill" Sharon said to him. "She knew about your history right? That you loved fire so much?" Sharon said. "What a better way of revenge then to frame a known arsonist for arson" Sharon continued as Croelick looked at her. Croelick didn't know what Sharon was trying to do. "My question is, how would she know how to start a fire in a home without getting the help or the knowledge of someone who has experience?" Sharon asked Croelick. He looked at her and then looked at Andy. "Did you tell her the best way of starting a fire is to use an incendiary agent?" Sharon asked him. "No, I didn't tell her" Croelick said and he started to get mad. "I had nothing to do with these fires at all" he insisted and pounded his fist on the table. Andy jumped up and Sharon placed her hand on his arm. "Okay, okay Bill, no one is accusing you of starting the fires" Sharon said as she tried to calm him down. She looked at Andy to make him calm down as well. Andy sat back down next to her. "Why don't you go talk to her, Sharon. I think I am done here anyways" Croelick stated to Sharon as he started to stand up.
Andy and Sharon both stood up. "Why did you come down here in the first place?" Sharon asked Croelick. "You could have just verified your whereabouts over the phone" she added. Croelick looked back at Sharon. He didn't have an answer for her. "It was nice meeting you Sharon. I hope we see each other soon" Croelick stated as he walked out. "So we are just going to let him walk out of here?" Andy said. "We don't have anything to hold him on" Sharon simply said. "What about stalking? Sitting outside the condo watching us walk in" Andy said to her. "A judge is not going to hold him on that alone" Sharon explained to Andy. "He'll be back" Sharon said as they left the conference room.
As Croelick was exiting towards the hallway, Mike and everyone else were heading inside with Cora in handcuffs. Julio and Amy were carrying evidence boxes from the search warrant. Croelick came back inside the Murder Room. "You need my help" Croelick said to Sharon as Mike placed Cora in an interview room. "I thought you were done, Bill?" Sharon said back to him as she stopped and stood by Andy. Andy was watching Croelick's every move when he re-entered the Murder Room. Croelick moved closer to Sharon, but Andy stepped in his way. Croelick smiled. Andy looked at him. "You need my help to convict her" Croelick stated to Sharon as he tried to look around Andy. "Is that so" Sharon said to Croelick.
Croelick found himself sitting in an interview room with a pad of paper in front of him on the table. Andy was sitting across from him. They were staring at each other. "Do you think this was a good thing, to just let Andy be in there alone with him?" Provenza asked Sharon who was sitting next to him in electronics. "Andy is not going to do anything, Lieutenant. Besides, if he truly is here to help then Croelick will behave himself" Sharon said to Provenza as she looked at the monitors. "Just like old times, huh Andy?" Croelick said to Andy as he picked up the pen and started to write down his statement. Andy just stared at him. "That's quite a woman you've got there too. She's very" Croelick said to him and smiled. Andy shifted forward in his chair. "I'd be careful what you say next" Andy said to him, pointing his finger at Croelick. Croelick just looked back at Andy, smiled and continued to write. Sharon's gaze drifted to the monitor with Cora inside the room now. Mike and Amy were interviewing her.
"So Cora, why did you run from us this morning?" Amy asked her as they sat across from her in the room. "I didn't know what you guys wanted, so I ran" Cora said to them. "Really? Cause all we wanted was to talk with you about your brother's murder and the recent house fires" Mike said to her. Cora just looked at them, not blinking. "You see here, it looks like you owed some money. So what we think is that you burned down the house you own to collect the insurance money, but that wasn't enough so you killed your brother too" Mike continued to speak to her. Cora shook her head. "No, that's not it at all" she said to them. "Cora, we found the evidence in your basement, the white phosphorus powder, the bloody crow bar you used to hit your brother, it all matches up" Amy said to Cora.
DDA Hobbs walked in to the electronics room and saw Sharon and Provenza sitting there watching the interviews. "DDA Hobbs, so nice of you to join us" Provenza said as she walked in. "I heard you might be needing a DA for your case here. What do you have so far?" Andrea said to them. "Well, we have our known arsonist, Bill Croelick, in interview room 1. And then we have Cora Richards, who looks like she will be confessing soon in interview room 2" Provenza said to her. "What is Bill Croelick doing here?" Andrea asked them. She had heard about him through the years but never had the chance to prosecute him. "He's Cora's ex-boyfriend and he said that we need his help to convict her" Sharon said to Andrea.
"I want a lawyer" Cora said to Mike and Amy as she sat in the room. She couldn't understand how they had connected the dots on everything so quickly. The room was starting to spin and things were starting to get out of her control. "Did you hear me? I want a lawyer" Cora yelled as she slammed her fist on the table. "Hey, you need to calm down now!" Mike stood up and pointed at her. "We will get you a lawyer" Amy said as they got up and left the room. Two patrol officers then entered the room to watch Cora.
Mike went back to his desk to call a defense lawyer for Cora while Amy headed towards electronics. "I think she's crazy, Captain" Amy said as she walked behind them and leaned against the table in the back. "She may be, Amy. But we still need a confession, which will have to wait until her lawyer gets here" Sharon said as she turned her attention to the monitor with Croelick and Andy on it. "Tell me something Andy, is she bossy in bed too?" Croelick said as he wrote down his statement. Andy was biting his lip throughout this. He promised Sharon that he would be professional when dealing with Croelick, but right now he was boiling. "Listen, you little shithead, I'm not here not talk about the Captain, so just write your damn statement so you can leave!" Andy said to Croelick. Croelick started laughing at Andy. "What's so funny?" Andy asked him. Croelick shook his head. "You've changed Andy. You have your little family now, well in addition to your other family, you know your daughter and your son, ex-wife and Sharon's children, don't forget them" Croelick said to him as he looked at Andy. "He's fixated on you and him, you know that Captain" Provenza said to Sharon as she stood up. "Yes, Lieutenant, I know" Sharon said as she made her way out the door.
Sharon opened the door to interview room 1 and she entered the room. Croelick looked up from his writing and greeted Sharon as she entered. "I knew you couldn't stay away from me" he said to her as she sat down next to Andy. "Are you almost done here Bill, I'd hate to keep you here longer than necessary" Sharon said to him. "It's always business with you, isn't it?" Croelick said back to her. "I was just catching up here with Andy, just like the good ole days" Croelick added and smiled at Andy. Andy just stared back at him. Sharon slipped her hand on Andy's thigh to calm him down. "There, all done" Croelick said as he handed the pad of paper to Sharon. Sharon read over his statement. "The DA may have to call you in to be a witness for this case" Sharon said to Croelick as he stood up. Andy and Sharon stood up as well. "Oh, I'm counting on that Sharon" he said as he winked to her and stepped out of the room. Andy followed him out of the room and towards the exit. When Croelick reached the hallway he turned around to see Andy right there. He made his way to the elevators and Andy was right behind him. "See you around Lieutenant!" Croelick said to Andy as he waved and stepped on the elevator. Andy took a deep breath and headed back in the Murder Room.
As the team waited for Cora's attorney to arrive, Sharon was in her office talking with Andrea. Sharon saw Andy walk back in to the room. She caught his eye as he walked by her office. "Here's his statement, unfortunately I think it is going to help your case on Cora" Sharon said as she handed the pad of paper to Andrea. Andrea looked it over and agreed with Sharon. "So, this may not be the last time we see Bill Croelick" Andrea said to Sharon as she looked back at her. Sharon just shook her head no. "Okay, I am going to prepare for Cora's lawyer, excuse me" Andrea said as she left Sharon's office.
Andy knocked on the trim of the doorway before he entered Sharon's office. Sharon looked over as he entered and sat down. He looked exhausted. "You don't know how many times I pictured myself punching Croelick in the face every time he spoke about you" Andy quietly said to Sharon. Sharon leaned on her desk. "I know it was difficult for you but I really appreciate how cool and calm you were, you didn't bite into his bait, as much as he wanted you to do" Sharon said quietly back to him as she looked at him and smiled. "I'd like to know how he knew about our kids" Andy said to her as she grabbed his right hand and held it in her hand.
Cora's defense lawyer showed up at the office within thirty minutes of being called. Andrea and Sharon sat in the interview room. "Hello Cora, I am Captain Flynn, this is Deputy District Attorney Hobbs" Sharon said as sat down. "Why don't you tell us what happened two nights ago?" Sharon asked her. "I was at my home, and my brother was over there, we were talking and then there was smoke coming from inside the house. Jordan went over to see where the smoke was coming from and he told me to get out of the house" Cora said to them. Sharon and Andrea both looked at each other. "Chris, if your client doesn't start telling the truth, I will have no other options for charging her" Andrea said to Cora's lawyer. Her lawyer and Cora conferred with each other as Sharon and Andrea watched them.
Cora then looked at Sharon but didn't say anything. "I have a signed witness statement that implicates your client" Andrea said to her lawyer. "Cora, you knew what you were doing, right?" Sharon said to Cora as she sat across from her in the room. Cora just looked at Sharon. "You knew what you were doing when you set fire to those houses" Sharon continued. "I needed the money" Cora said quietly. "What about your brother?" Sharon asked hesitantly. "He owed me money and kept blowing me off, so when I confronted him about how much he owed me, we fought, and I hit him over the head with a crow bar. I didn't mean to kill him" Cora said. "You asked your boyfriend to collect the money from him first, right. But then what happened?" Sharon asked her. "He refused, so I cut him with a knife" Cora said.
Andrea offered a deal for Cora and her lawyer to take. Cora's lawyer looked it over and did not agree to the terms. "Come on Chris, you do not want to take this to a jury, you will lose then" Andrea said to her lawyer. "Your witness is a known arsonist, I'll take my chances with a jury" Cora's lawyer told Andrea. "Plus, he was a bad influence on her when they were dating" he added. "So you're saying because she was Bill Croelick's girlfriend, he influenced her to start fires and kill her brother?" Andrea inquired. "I'll take my chances with an insanity defense" her lawyer told Andrea. "We are done here so arrest my client so that we can move forward" he said as he stood up. Andrea and Sharon both stood up. "Cora Richards, you are under arrest for the murder of your brother Jordan Richards and the arson fires" Sharon said to Cora as two patrol officers entered the room and placed Cora in handcuffs. They escorted her out of the room and her lawyer along with Andrea followed her to booking.
Andy was waiting for Sharon outside of the interview room. Julio was taking lunch orders for the team. Both Andy and Sharon ordered salads and then Sharon went back in her office. "How did Croelick know about our children?" she asked herself as she sat down behind her desk. It had turned out to be a long day as she glanced at the clock and saw the time. 2:35 was the time now and Sharon was glad that they had solved this case in time to enjoy the weekend, possibly. Her team was not on call this weekend, which was a good thing that Chief Howard did. He had changed the schedule since he had given them the arson case to solve. And as soon as everyone finished up their reports, she was going to send them all home. She was looking forward to the weekend because Nicole was going to set up something for her family to meet Matthew. She wanted Matthew to be able to fit in and hoped he would enjoy playing with children around his own age.
Andy knocked on the door and entered with their salads. He placed them down at her desk and pulled up a chair to start eating his salad. "If you want I can go pick up Matthew at school this afternoon" Andy said to her. She looked at him, not touching her salad yet. "I'd like to do that" Sharon said to him. He nodded and continued to eat his salad. "Then I will hit a meeting and then pick up Moxie and head home" Andy said to Sharon. Sharon nodded and started to eat her salad. Andy noticed that she barely touched her salad. "What's wrong?" Andy asked her. "How did he know about our kids, Andy?" Sharon asked him. He looked back at her. "I don't know" Andy said as he shrugged his shoulders. He now looked at her with concern. "Hey, he's not going to do anything to the kids, okay?" Andy said reassuring her. She nodded at him but was still concerned about it.
"So, since we solved this case, before the weekend, and I heard Chief Howard put another division on call for this weekend, why don't we start the moving process to the new house?" Andy said, hoping that by changing the topic, it would relieve Sharon's concern. Sharon smiled at him. He was excited to move in to the new house, and so was Sharon. "We could start doing that, we need to order a new bedroom set for Matthew's room among other things" Sharon said to him. "We can just move the little things for now, and save the big move for later" Andy said to her. "Well, your daughter also wants to meet Matthew this weekend, she was going to set something up" Sharon added to the conversation. "We could do both, the moving could be in the morning and then we would have the afternoon and evening free for the get together" Andy said. "I'll let her know" Sharon said as she placed her fork down on her desk. "You're not hungry?" Andy asked her. "No" Sharon sighed as she looked over some papers on her desk.
She was still bothered by Croelick, he could tell. Hell, he was too if he was being honest. That guy always knew how to push his buttons. "I followed Croelick out when he left before" Andy confessed to Sharon as she looked back at him. "That's where I went" he added as she looked at him trying to figure out what he was talking about but then realized when he had done this. "You didn't do anything to him when he left, did you?" Sharon asked him as she raised her eyebrows. "No, although I really wanted to" Andy sighed as he sat back in the chair.
The team had submitted their reports to Sharon one by one and Andy was the last one to submit his report to her. He was having a difficult time writing his report about Croelick. "Ye gods Flynn, are you almost done over there? Some of us would like to go home today!" Provenza said to Andy from across the room. "Yes, I'm done old man, there are you happy now?" Andy said as he stood up and walked over to the printer to pick up his report. Walking back to his desk, he deposited some coins into Provenza's jar. "Alright, let's go everyone!" Provenza said as he stood up from his chair and put his suit jacket on. He looked over at his friend who was standing by his desk staring into Sharon's office. He could tell something was bothering Andy. "Are you coming Lieutenant?" Julio asked as everyone was walking out. "Uh, you go ahead, enjoy your weekend" Provenza said as he walked over to join Andy.
"Hey, Flynn, everything okay?" Provenza asked Andy as he walked up to him. Andy looked over at his friend who had a concerned look on his face now. "Yeah" Andy said and then looked down at his shoes. "Is your heart okay?" Provenza said in a low and quiet voice to not alert the Captain. Andy looked back at him. "Yes, it's fine" Andy said to him. Provenza looked back at him, hoping his friend was telling him the truth. "I'm good, really, okay?" Andy said. "Okay" Provenza said to him and then started to walk out. "Have a good weekend" he said to Andy and waved as he exited the office.
Andy walked in to Sharon's office. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her as he handed his report to her. "Yes, thank you" Sharon said as she filed his report away. He held her purse for her as she put on her jacket and then handed it back to her. "Thank you" she whispered to him. "You're welcome" he whispered back to her and they left the office together. Andy was silent in the elevator as they rode down to the parking garage. He walked her to her car and waited for her to unlock it before leaning in and giving her a passionate kiss on her lips. "I love you" he said to her as they pulled apart. He could never say those words to her enough and she never got tired of hearing them from him. "I'll see you at home" she said to him as she touched his cheek with her hand. He nodded and she stepped in her car and drove to Matthew's school.
Andy walked to his car and got in and started to drive to his meeting. There were a lot of things on his mind. Sharon, of course. Croelick and how much he hated dealing with him. And the desire to have a drink. The last one had never been so strong before in Andy's mind for a long time. When Andy arrived at his meeting, he went inside the church and sat towards the front. One of the members was setting up the chairs and getting things ready. Andy sat there twisting his sobriety ring around his finger. His sponsor showed up and sat down next to Andy. "Rough day?" he said to Andy. "You could say that" Andy said to him. The meeting started ten minutes later.
TBC