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Hope you'll like this chapter.
"You're telling me that an inmate was stabbed and somehow still managed to run away?" Amanda was sitting in the warden's office, not sure what to think, how could this have happened?
"We are looking into it detective, we have informed every law enforcement agency and I know we'll find her soon, I'm sure you've noticed the prime location…but this is not a supermax, it's a low security prison"
"I'd make up a better excuse for your boss" Amanda's snarky remark granted her a sneer from the warden.
"Thank you for the suggestion" he said.
"I'm only trying to understand, I've been told she's a model prisoner, getting time off for good behavior…"
"You're not wrong, Kate Caron was quiet, never got into any trouble" his features softened.
"So what happened yesterday?"
"She was found in the shower, no witnesses, no surveillance and no weapon"
"So you're not looking into it?" she tried to control herself, but she didn't like his attitude, the way he acted as if her being attacked was no big deal.
He looked at a file he had on the large desk and then moved it towards her "there are some pictures here, but she refused to talk yesterday"
Amanda read the short report written by the guards and the even shorted one from the doctor. The photos showed two stab wounds in her stomach.
"I'm gonna need a copy" she told him.
"No problem" he stood up "but why are the NYPD so interested in this? I thought you just wanted an interview with her"
"Yeah" Amanda didn't want to say too much. She still had to let her squad know about this development and see if they had any information for her.
The warden waited for her to give him more details but Amanda just pretended to read the report again. There wasn't much there, Kate Caron was found stabbed in the shower. The doctor's report mentioned that the wounds were shallow and that they were treatable in the infirmary. She was supposed to be back in her cell the next day. But she never got back there.
"I've already let captain Charles know about this" the warden said "so unless you have other questions…"
"What about her cellmate?" Amanda asked.
"Says she knows nothing, but we're putting some pressure on her"
"Pressure?" she raised her eyes at him "what about the cameras in the infirmary?"
"They give us nothing, but there are blind spots there" he replied.
"How would she know of them? Has she been there before?"
"No, and right now I can't answer your questions, but I promise to inform you of anything" he got a call and asked her to give him some privacy.
"Here's my card" she placed it on the desk "call me when you have something"
Even though the warden seemed relaxed the guards were clearly on edge. Amanda wondered if they were still trying to find her in the prison. No one was too thrilled to talk to her, and the few guards who stopped only told her to see the warden. They were clearly under pressure and she figured it would be best to let them do their job, even though someone failed at it. What was she supposed to think? Kate couldn't have just disappeared, specially if she was injured.
Amanda returned to her car and called Fin the moment she was on the road.
"How did it go?" he answered.
"It didn't" Amanda replied with a sigh "she has escaped or…taken…I have no idea"
"What do you mean?"
"When I got here today the warden informed me that she's disappeared, they think she ran away which I don't know…I saw pictured of the stab wounds, they look pretty shallow, but I don't know if she could have escape like that. I don't think this is a coincidence"
"I'm gonna ask Carisi to dig deeper in the perp's financial records, maybe he paid someone off"
"I've got a copy of the report, I'll send it to you from the station, maybe Warner could tell us something about the injuries" she glanced at the pages placed on the other seat.
"I'll talk to her" Fin said "but you really think he'd try to do something like that? It was supposed to be a simple interview"
"I don't know, this whole thing seems too strange, maybe she has something on the perp? He wouldn't try this if nothing happened there, but she dropped the charges and…" she sighed "beats me"
"I'll update Benson, send me the pics when you can and we'll see what Warner thinks"
"I'll call you when I'm at the station" Amanda ended the call and sighed again. She hasn't been expecting this kind of complication, she was supposed to talk to Kate, hear what she had to say, hopefully it could help the investigation back in New York. Now what? Should she stay here and try to find Kate or should she go back home and let this lead go. If things went according to plan she would have been in New York right now anyway and…
She would have never spent the night with Nick. A smile creptoverher lipsthinking about it, remembering how good it felt. It was almost like no time has passed, like they were never apart. His lips and fingers on her skin felt familiar, making her feel hot like he always did, distracting her from everything.
She thought they'd grab a bite to eat and catch up a little. But being alone with him, in this completely different environment, when there were no complications caused by their job. Only two people spending time together, and they made the best of that time. Not only in bed, the time they'd spent together making breakfast, having a normal conversation. She wanted to see him again.
Maybe she should call Nick, he did ask for an update about the case so letting him know what's going on would only be the polite thing to do. Not only that, maybe he'd have something to contribute, an idea. Even though they had often butted heads, disagreeing over cases, she always knew she could trust him. He was a good detective and maybe he'd think of something.
Amanda dialed Nick's number, somehow it felt like hearing his voice would make things easier, make them clear.
"Hi" he answered after a couple of rings.
"Hey" Amanda realized she was right about the feeling better hearing his voice part "I thought you'd want to hear the plot twist"
"You talked to her?" he asked.
"I did not" she replied "she's gone, disappeared"
"She escaped?" Nick sounded surprised "I thought she was injured, what happened?"
"I have no idea Nick, I got no answers from the warden, they are still looking into it…but I asked my self the same thing, how could she escaped with her injuries, unless someone else escaped her…"
Nick smiled to himself, it seemed like a pretty big problem but at least Amanda still had her sense of humor.
"I'm on my way to the station, I'll send Fin some photos"
"For Warner?"
"Yeah" she said "so now I don't know what's going on and what, or if it has anything to do with our case"
"You told me you got the call about her being attacked when that other detective and you were driving to the prison, the timing does seem strange"
"I know, there's something going on but I just have no idea what"
"What are you going to do now? I'm sure they have people on the case"
"I hope so, I already had to postpone my flight so I'd have time to send the pics to Fin, but I don't want to just wait"
"Maybe until you hear something you could talk to the detective who took her statement"
Amanda thought about it for a moment, Nick was right, if she couldn't talk to Kate about the dropped charges, the next best thing would be to have a conversation with the person who handled the case.
"That's a good point, I'll do it, thank you" she took a breath, wanting to say something else "if I'm already here, you want to have lunch together? I'm buying"
"I'd love to, but today I have plans to eat lunch a little later" he said.
"That's fine" Amanda tried to mask her disappointment, what was she expecting, for him to sit alone and do nothing?
"You know what" he interrupted her thoughts "if you feel like it you can join me, if you don't mind sharing me with a special someone"
"I heard the news" captain Charles welcomed her when she walked into the station "that's one hell of a complication"
"I know, the warden told anything? He wasn't keen on sharing much with me" she followed him to his office "I'm not sure he even cares about it"
"The guy's retiring in a few weeks so maybe he doesn't care, but I made sure we'll stay in the loop"
"He promised to keep me updated but I'm gonna see if I can find anything to help my case anyway" she let him know "I'm gonna send a few photos to my partner to check them out"
"Of course, wouldn't want this trip to be a waste of time, I'll show you to a computer you can use and if you need anything do not hesitate"
"I appreciate the help captain" she stood up "hopefully I'll be out of your hair soon"
Amanda sent the photos to Fin and he promised to show them to Warner as soon as possible. She also let him know she was going to talk to detective Mona Flynn, she was the lead detective on the sexual assault case. Amanda didn't mention Nick was the one who suggested that, not because she didn't want him to get credit for the idea but because she preferred not to hear a mocking remark from Fin.
Thank god for GPS. Amanda had never been in LA before and had to do a lot of driving. It took her almost an hour to get to the other precinct and it would have probably taken much more time without it.
"Detective Flynn?" Amanda approached the woman's desk.
"Yeah?" she raised her eyes at her "can I help you?"
"I'm detective Rollins from special victims unit in New York, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about a case you worked on a year ago"
Mona leaned back in the old chair and looked at Amanda with questioning eyes "a year ago? I'm so swamped you'd be lucky if I remember anything I worked on a month ago"
"I get that" Amanda sat down in front of her "it's pretty much the same in my squad, crazy"
"But I guess it's a big deal if you came all the way here to talk to me"
"The guy who assaulted her is being charged for rape in New York, but he's a rich kid who's gotten himself a lawyer who plays dirty…we just want to make sure he doesn't get away"
Mona nodded "what's the name?"
"Her name's Kate Caron"
"Kate Caron" she typed it "I see she recanted her statement, doesn't say why, you tried talking to her?"
"I would have" Amanda crossed her arms "she was arrested for assault a while after dropping the charges, I drove to the prison to talk to her but she has escaped"
"Seriously?" Mona chuckled.
"I thought I'd see if you remember anything, like why she recanted, I read the file but thought that maybe you'd have something to add"
"I'm afraid I can't remember but I always leave my notes in the file so if we bring it from storage…" she scratched her nose a bit "maybe that's gonna be helpful"
"It's better than nothing" Amanda nodded.
"Let's go then, storage is two stories down" Mona got up "she really assaulted someone?"
"A woman and the detective who tried to break up the fight" the two woman walked to the elevator.
They were able to find the folder pretty fast and detective Flynn went through the pages inside "there they are" she took out a notepad and placed the file on a shelf.
The two of them looked at the notes "sorry about my handwriting" Mona apologized "I should have been a doctor"
"I've seen worse" Amanda smiled.
"Most of this is what's in the report…" she flipped the pages "this is what I wrote when she came here to change her story…looks like I didn't believe her, says here she was hiding something, not really giving a real reason…said she was dropping it because it …" she flipped another page, reaching the last one "wasn't worth pursuing"
"Rollins, I need to see you in my office" Patton called.
Amanda's been trying to work hard, prove herself. She knew very well some people were convinced she used her looks to get ahead. She tried to ignore those rumors, with people who were supposed to care about her believing she'd end up failing, why concentrate on anyone outside of her family circle?
Patton's door was always closed, so were his blinds, you could never see what was going on inside. But he left it open for Amanda, smiling and gesturing her to shut it behind her.
"How can I help you chief?" she moved closer.
"I'm afraid I have some upsetting news" he got up and sat on the edge of his desk "I got a call from a friend about your sister…Kim?" she nodded "she was arrested"
"Oh…" Amanda wasn't sure whether she was surprised or not, Kim promised she wasn't using, not skipping her meds and taking care of herself.
"I've taken the liberty to look into it and I see that it's not the first time she's gotten herself into this kind of trouble" he gave her what was meant to be a concerned smile but Amanda got a creepy vibe of it "I know that things must have been not easy for you…" he stood up "with your father and mother…"
"It's ok chief" she took a step back "she didn't appreciate this fake concern or whatever it was.
"I understand how hard it is to deal with these things" he was slowly moving towards her until he was standing close, way too close. But Amanda felt like her feet were nailed to the floor and she couldn't move.
"You've been doing a great job, working your ass off" it almost felt like his hand was moving to that body part and she wanted to vanish "but it's hard when family gets in the way…when everybody knows your private business…your sister has gotten herself into a lot of trouble"
"I'll handle that" she tried to control her voice, it was a bit shaky.
"You don't have to, not alone" he smiled "I would love to help you with that"
Amanda slightly opened her mouth, not sure what to say, he wasn't done talking and she was sure a 'thank you' wouldn't be the right response.
"I can talk to my friend, make sure she's let go with a warning, give her another chance…but…" she could feel his bad breath on her skin "I'm gonna need something in return"
Amanda walked out of the station and got inside the car. Did he make her drop the charges? Is that why she changed her story? He could have offered Kate money, threatened her. But was her disappearance his doing? Why would he do something so dangerous, so complicated if the case was closed?
Amanda called Fin but he had no news, Warner has been busy with an autopsy to have a proper look at the photos.
All she could do was wait, Fin told her she should stay there for a few more hours, they were almost done with rechecking all the financial info and hopefully that would give them a clear image of this involvement.
She didn't want to go back to the precinct or to the hotel. Nick said he'd pick her up for lunch so she called him and let him know where she'll be waiting. Her heart sank a little when he said special someone, but of course Nick would never have spent the night with her if he had that kind of a special someone. He was referring to Zara.
The girl was smiling brightly and waved happily at Amanda, who greeted her with the same gesture before getting into the car.
"Hey Amanda" Zara looked at her "how are you doing?"
"I'm great hon" it's been such a long time since she last saw her "you look so grown up"
"See dad!" Zara moved closer to him "even Amanda says I'm a grown up"
Amanda felt bad about saying something, Nick was always sensitive to Zara getting older. Who could blame him, with everything they'd witnessed and with him being far away.
"That's not what she said and you're not even ten yet" Nick countered and started the engine "you are not going to that movie Zara"
"But dad!" she turned her attention to Amanda, hoping she could get the detective to side with her and convince her father to change his mind "Amanda, he thinks I can't go to a PG-13 movie, all my friends are going and I want to go with them"
"Zara, don't drag Amanda into this" he looked at her through the mirror "she's our guest"
"But I'm right, right?" Zara ignored Nick's request and kept on looking at Amanda, who really wasn't sure what to say. She thought the girl would threaten asking her mother's permission, but Zara wasn't a spiteful girl and she respected her father a lot, listening to him. Amanda thought it was sweet, their relationship was solid and it was very hard for him to be away from her.
"I'm glad you're going with us" Zara said "dad and I eat at this awesome diner, it's our tradition"
"That's great" Amanda smiled at her.
"And then dad drives me to my choir practice, I love singing"
Nick parked the car and Zara jumped out. Nick exchanged a smile with Amanda and Zara opened the door for them.
"Here's our booth" Amanda walked after her "sit next to me"
The waitress came by and smiled at them "hey guys, the usual?" she asked and looked at Amanda.
"You like burgers, right?" Zara checked with Amanda "yes" she told the waitress when Amanda nodded.
"You have the same thing every time?" Amanda looked at Nick.
"That's the tradition" he explained "I pick Zara up from school and we eat burgers here before I drive her to choir practice"
"Sounds like fun" Zara nodded in agreement.
The waitress came back with their drinks "the food will be right out"
Zara thanked her and took a sip of her ice tea "tomorrow I go to a dance class, and I take piano lessons too"
"Wow, that's a lot…" Zara nodded again.
"It's fun…and I want to be a singer" she looked at her father "dad says you have to work hard for that"
"Sure sounds like your dad" Amanda smiled at him.
"There's you food" the waitress came back, holding their plates "enjoy"
"These are really good" Nick told her before taking a bite "that's why this place is a part of our tradition"
Amanda tasted her burger and gave him the thumbs up. Her phone buzzed, she got a text message and wondered if it was something from Fin. But she smiled at the picture which was sent to her.
"Work?" Nick asked, knowing this wouldn't have been her response it that was the case, but he didn't want to ask who sent her a text that elicited such a wide grin.
"No" she shook her head and showed the picture to Zara.
"That's so cute!" the girl took the phone from Amanda to have a better look "is he yours?"
"That's Frannie" Amanda pointed at her dog "and that's Buster, he's my neighbor's puppy"
"She's watching Frannie while you're here?" Nick asked.
"Yeah" she took the phone back, not wanting Zara to accidentally, or not accidentally go through the pictures she had there, many of them were of crime scenes or evidence.
"I always wanted a dog" Zara said "but mom doesn't want one…and Jeffery's allergic" Nick's reaction to the name gave her a hint on who he was but Zara elaborated anyway "he's mom's boyfriend"
"Oh" Amanda nodded.
"He's nice" Zara took another bite and continued talking with her mouth full "daddy doesn't have a girlfriend"
Amanda tried not to look straight into Nick's eyes, she wasn't sure why she was avoiding him, it probably had something to do with the smile she's been trying to hide.
"Do you like singing Amanda?" Zara was done chewing and saved them from what felt a bit awkward.
"Maybe a little bit, but I've never been in a choir like you"
"Amanda has a nice voice" Nick didn't specify how he knew that, he wasn't going to mention hearing her in the shower more than once, she could carry a tune.
"That's cool" Zara took the last bite "can we have dessert?"
"Sure, you want a chocolate cake?" Zara looked at Amanda, making sure she was fine with that choice.
"I love chocolate" Amanda nodded and Nick ordered one when the waitress came by.
They enjoyed the cake and returned to the car, Zara thanked Amanda for joining them and gave her a hug before taking her seat.
"Her stop's closer" Nick said "so I hope you don't mind if I drive her first"
"Not at all" she smiled and sat down.
"Have fun Zara" Nick walked out of the car and gave her a kiss "te adoro"
"I will dad, bye" she smiled and hugged him "bye Amanda"
Amanda waved at her and waited for Nick to get back inside.
"She's a busy kid" she said once he closed the door.
"Yeah" he nodded "sometimes it feels like I need to call her secretary and schedule an appointment, it was never like that when I was her age. She loves it and that's what important but still…I just don't want her to miss out on being a kid, you know what I mean?" she smiled at him and Nick wondered about Amanda's childhood. He remembered a story Kim told him, about Amanda threatening a guy with a squirrel gun when she was nine, she probably wouldn't mind missing out on that.
"She seems really happy" Amanda said "so you're doing something right"
Nick chuckled and drove away.
"You know I owe you" Nick gave her a questioning look "I said lunch would be on me and you still paid"
"I don't think Zara would have allowed that, you were our guest"
"You two are so polite" she laughed.
"Thank you" he smiled.
"I still have to wait for Fin to call so if you've got nowhere to be maybe we could…walk around for a bit"
"Sure, that'd be great"
"Just until you're hungry, so I could buy you something" she said.
"That sounds like a threat" he smiled.
He stopped not too far from where she was parked but they walked to the opposite direction, they were in no hurry, there was no destination, just strolling together down the street.
"So you pick her up from school often?" Amanda asked.
"Sometimes, today's kind of our thing…"
"Your tradition"
"Yeah…" they turned to a quieter street "I get to see her…not enough but…" he shrugged, knowing it would be enough only if she lived with him.
"Maybe you should get her that puppy, then she'll want to visit more" she offered with a smile.
"Like a bribe, ha?" Nick chuckled "I thought about it, but I don't think that's a good idea…I'm sure Maria won't like it"
"For Jeffery's sake?" she regretted bringing him up but it was too late now.
"He's actually a decent guy" it sounded like Nick really meant it "I know it sounds weird coming from me, and we're not friends, and I'd rather spend more time with her than he does, but that's how it is so...he's alright"
They sat down on a bench, their knees touching. He looked at that tiny connection and remembered Zara saying he didn't have a girlfriend. She was right, he hasn't even been on a single date since he moved here. Did he want one? Did he want that to be Amanda?
What were they doing?
She smiled at him and in that moment it felt like she was so far away. He yearned to kiss her, to caress her soft skin, but he was afraid he wouldn't reach it with his fingers. She was there, but only for now, just for a few minutes, few seconds, even days wouldn't be enough.
Nick stood up and Amanda did the same "we should head back" he said, looking away.
She could feel something has changed, but what? A mere second ago everything felt so comfortable and now it was the exact opposite.
"Nick?" she wasn't sure what to say.
"I…" he looked straight into her eyes, almost hypnotized by the color "I don't know how to say this" he looked away for a second "I want to ask you to come back to my place, talk to you, make love to you, wake up next to you…"
That sounded like a good idea to Amanda, but the way he pronounced the words…she knew there was a but coming.
"But you will go back to New York, tomorrow if not today…your future is back there, you will be a great sergeant, I'm sure of that. But my life's here and if I do what I want, and offer you to go back home with me…you will leave. Because you must leave…I'm just gonna end up missing you so much more than I already am, thinking about everything that could have been…so as much as I want…" that word didn't even begin to describe his need "we'll always be friends but I think we should say goodbye now"
I can't take the thought of us parting like that again he thought.