So not all that much happens on Frank's end... as for Danny's investigation: can anyone say ex machina? My story, though, so I'm allowing it.
Danny's interview took up a lot more than I thought it would. I only covered about a third of what I had planned for this chapter but the rest is coming!
Enjoy
Chapter 5- The Investigation Continues
Frank found the office belonging to the building's super and introduced himself and, while he did not disclose the exact nature of his reason for being there, he did impart to the man the urgency of the situation.
"I need a list of all current tenants' names and a list of employees who currently work here," he informed the man, "and I'd like to be able to skip the warrant. Time is of the essence here."
The super, more than a little intimidated by the impressive figure of New York City's Police Commissioner standing in his office, nodded his assent.
"Of course," the man said, getting up from his desk.
Frank thanked him and waited, watching as the man worked to pull all the information together for him.
While he waited, his mind drifted. He couldn't help but think about Jamie.
His stomach knotted painfully as he remembered the image of his son from the photograph.
More than anything, he longed for a way to jump ahead of all this charade. Although he would never give up on his son, Frank knew better than to believe that Jorrien intended for either Reagan to live past the end of the "game."
What he needed was a way to get ahead of Jorrien. Hopefully, either Frank himself or Danny could find or figure out a way to do just that.
In the meantime, Frank stood with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, his stoicism not betraying any of his turmoil.
All he could do right now was wait.
Danny Reagan, unlike his father, was speeding down the road, narrowly avoiding collision on a couple of occasions.
He was on his way to visit the only witness that had ever existed for any of Jorrien's murders.
At the time, the woman had only been a little girl. She hadn't been able to provide Frank or any of the other officers at the time with much information. All that had been written in the report was that she had seen the victim be killed but she had been of no help to the investigators.
Danny had called his father when he first headed out to the witness's current address.
"She was scared back then, too scared to talk," Frank had told him, "and if she did encounter Jorrien, chances are she still is."
"Yeah, but maybe now that she's all grown up she'll be willin' ta help us," Danny said.
"Do whatever you can to encourage to talk to you, Danny," his father commanded gently, "Just remember, she's not a suspect you're interrogating."
"I know that, Dad," Danny replied, his irritation breaking through at his father's comment.
"I know you know. I also know you have a tendency to get overly emotional sometimes. Especially when it comes to your family."
"The only person who's going to be in danger from me is Jorrien when we catch him," Danny rebutted.
"You'll have to get in line," Frank muttered, somewhat under his breath.
"Second in line," Danny claimed his spot.
"Call me back if she tells you anything," Frank told him.
"You got it," Danny responded, ending the call.
Thankfully, it wasn't much longer before he arrived at the address. Getting out of the car, he walked to the front door and rang the bell.
When no one came to the door, he knocked loudly, announcing,
"Police, anybody home?"
He heard the sounds of the door being unlocked and it opened to reveal a short woman with brown hair.
"McKenzie Adams?" he inquired.
"Yes," the woman answered with an air of uncertainty, "Can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Detective Danny Reagan. I'm currently investigating the kidnapping of a police officer. I have reason to believe you might know something about that. Mind answering a few questions?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," McKenzie replied, "I don't know anything about a kidnapping."
"But you might know something about the man responsible. When you were seven, you said you witnessed a murder that took place just down the street from your apartment. Do you remember the name Victor Jorrien?"
The woman's eyes widened in horror.
"No, no I can't help you. Please go away," she said, attempting to close the door. Danny put his hand up, pleading with her.
"Please, ma'am, I know it's somethin' you don't want to talk about, but we don't have a whole lot of leads. Anything you can give me could be worth a lot. Please."
McKenzie looked him the eyes for a few moments while Danny held his breath. She relaxed her position, opening the door wider.
"Alright," she said, pushing strands of her hair behind her ear, "come in. But I don't know how much help I can be."
"Thank you," Danny said, accepting her invitation and crossing the threshold.
She offered him a cup of coffee, which he denied respectfully. McKenzie poured herself one and joined him in her living room, where they sat to talk.
"What do you remember about that night, McKenzie?" Danny asked her in a soft tone.
She was quiet for a moment and then spoke,
"I was outside playing with my brothers. Our ball rolled down the sidewalk. I wasn't supposed to, but I ran to go get it. When I was walking back, I heard a man shout in the alley. I was curious, so I went to go see what was going on," she paused, swallowing nervously, the memories as fresh as the night they were created.
"I saw two men; one was on his knees. He looked horrible, with cuts all over his face. He was crying, but I couldn't figure out why. And then the other man, he pulled out something that shined. It was a knife and he… he…"
She began to tear up as she remembered what Jorrien had done to the other man.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, McKenzie," Danny said, leaning forward to hold her hand. "It's okay."
"I'm sorry," she said.
"No need to be sorry," Danny told her, "that's a hard thing to see, especially for a kid."
She nodded but didn't say anything else.
"Is that all you remember?" Danny asked.
She didn't respond right away. Danny noticed her bite her lip and look away, out the window.
"That's all," she finally said quietly.
Danny found he didn't quite believe her.
"Are you sure?" he pressed, using a gentle tone.
She nodded, biting her lip again.
"McKenzie, there's a cop who has been taken by the same man you saw murder another person that night. Are you absolutely positive that that's all you can tell me? A life is at stake, McKenzie."
"No, I can't tell you anything else," she said, looking him in the eye, but there was a fear there that made Danny press on.
"That cop that's been taken," he told her slowly, "he's my kid brother. I think you might know somethin' that could help me find him. Please, McKenzie. Anything at all."
She looked at him, tears once again in her eyes. She was shaking, nervous and afraid.
"He said he'd kill me," she whispered. Danny leaned forward.
"I can make sure you're protected," he told her, hope and nervous energy balling up in the pit of his stomach. "Just tell me what you can."
She was still crying as she spoke again,
"He saw me. After he k-killed him, he looked up and saw me. I froze. I was so scared. He ran up to me and grabbed my arm. I thought he would kill me, too. H-He pulled out a gun. I started crying and he told me to be quiet. He took out a bullet from the gun and put it in my hand. He told me that if I told anybody about him, he would come back and give me another one… in my head. Then he left."
She got up before Danny could respond and headed to a chest by the front door.
"I wanted to get rid of it," she told him as she took out a small, wooden box, "but for some reason, I just couldn't. I think… maybe I was afraid if I did, he would come back. Like it would jinx me or something."
She pulled out a bullet and held it out to Danny, who pulled out one of his latex gloves, which he used to wrap around the bullet.
"That's great, McKenzie, you did good. Do you happen to remember if he was wearing gloves when he handed you this?"
She shook her head.
"No, I don't really remember. I don't think he was, though."
"Alright, thank you so much. Come with me back to the station? I can get you hooked up with a protection detail just in case."
She agreed and gathered her purse.
They left the house and headed to Danny's precinct. On the way, Danny pulled out his phone. He had some calls to make.