Colby gazed back in alarm at the gasping sound in the backseat. Even if her eyes had been open momentarily, they were now shut tightly; her body continually pulled against the seat belt. He unbuckled his own seat belt and carefully climbed over the seat, while David finally found a spot to pull in--which happened to be a empty parking lot of a school, before he stepped out and flung open the door to help. "Charlee, it's Colby, open your eyes if you hear me." Both waited for response, as Colby grunted and released her seat belt and David help steady her. Finally they both felt a gasp as Charlee sat up, relieved. She gazed up at both of them, still trying to catch her breath.
"Please don't let him hurt me." As she shook her head and trembled, Colby had lifted her out of the car and was holding her tightly. "Please." She whimpered, her voice growing softer.
"Nobody is going to hurt you." David soothed, taking a step forward and sat on the edge of the car floor, just a few feet from them. Sniffling, she sat back in her seat.
"He had a gun." She confirmed their suspicions, even if they knew the suspect had one, why didn't he shoot her too? "I...I...slammed the door, but he was still there."
"Charlee if you know who killed your mommy, you could be helping us a lot right now." Colby chimed in, already making a mental to have the area surrounding the back door and stairs to be checked again. And any information she had could fill in a bigger picture. "Did you get a good look at him?"
She nodded, tight-lipped. Even if she was still mad at her father, it was hard to announce to the world--especially in this kind of situation, that it was her father. "I can't." Bowing her head, she buried her head into her hands. In one instance she wondered how much time had gone by, and with uncertainty she wondered what would happen next...and if these people could help her and if she could help them.
--
After lunch, Larry returned her back to the office. During that time they had together, addressed more fears, when they should announce the engagement, as well as that they were expecting; a house, and what was going to happen next. It wasn't all set in stone yet but it was out in the open. The puzzle pieces were slowly being fit into place, one by one. As for the engagement they both agreed that Wednesday would be the best time to announce when everybody was together for the Eppe's dinner. That way everything would be clear and out in the open.
"Hey Don." Megan looked around, the office was a little more filled than when she had been in here earlier this morning, but there were still two people missing. "I thought David and Colby would have already been here with Charlee."
"Yeah, well I was just thinking the same thing." He looked at his watch. "Colby called just about five minutes before we found out that the bullet in Andrea Lucas' head is from a 22. caliber." She gazed at her own watch and sat down in her chair. "How was your lunch?"
"It went pretty good--if you count talking about an engagement, a kid and a house." She summed up the conversation up, all in a nutshell.
Raising his eyebrow, and letting out a low whistle, it was easy to get the point that she was making. That was a lot to think about, and to take on all at the same time. "But the point is that you talked about it and--"
"And we're planning to announce it all on Wednesday. It will definitely clear the air, which will also explain my decision for leaving the Bureau."
Don's expression fell slightly for a moment. That was one matter that he had been thinking about the last few days. "It makes perfect sense now."
The elevator opened, revealing David and Colby. "Exactly my point. I was already sure that before I announced anything that it wouldn't be kept for long." Scratching her head, she kept one eye on Colby, David and then Charlee as they got closer. "Granger is already highly suspicious."
She shot him a conspicuous smirk as David, Colby and Charlee rounded the corner. it was a different setting than she what she had been imagining; Charlee was still hanging on tightly, with her arms around Colby's neck. He in turn granted her with a don't ask kind of look and went on introducing her and Don. "Charlee, this is Don.. And this," he turned to the side so she could see him. "Is Megan. You talked to her on the phone earlier."
"Hi Charlee." Don spoke up with a friendly grin. She glanced over at Megan with a hesitant glance as if she was asking who exactly he was.
Megan gestured over to Don. "Hi. You going to help my mommy?" She asked him, climbing down and standing.
"You bet I am. You have my word that we're going to do everything we can to help." Charlee nodded firmly, then gazed back over at Megan as she stepped forward. And for a moment Charlee observed in amazement at Megan's form. Her beautiful green eyes were captivating, and she was so tall; definitely beautiful.
"Come on Charlee. I'll show you were the snacks are and our really cool couch where we sit." Megan prompted, bringing Charlee out of her gaze.
"I love snacks." The little girl perked up, her little voice suddenly filled with light as she followed Megan into the break room, which left David, Don and Colby to talk about the case.
Don pointed towards Charlee's retreating form, turning the screen monitor where the information was in view. "Get any information from the neighbor that could help us out?" Turning the screen towards them, he sat back in his chair. "Megan and I were narrowing down suspects when you came in with Charlee." All three of them read the information. "With what we have narrowed the search to at least five remaining suspects that match the motive to our crime--because there are no suspects with the last name of Lucas, Megan and I have already checked that out."
"So if Andrea and Charlee aren't who they say they are we need to try to find out who they are and what he was going for." David paused momentarily, recollecting information. "In the car Charlee did mention that she didn't want the man coming after her and that he had a gun."
"She also mentioned that she had slammed the door, which probably stopped the person from coming after her after her mother had been shot." Colby chimed in, leaning against the side of the desk.
"That would explain the broken sliding door, and glass all over at the crime scene." Don added into the conversation as they bounced off motives. Most always something this way came to mind; sparked an idea that would lead them further, because right now what they had wasn't enough to go on.
--
Charlee happily munched on her snack, momentarily forgetting why she was sitting here. Every few minutes she would take a few bites and look up at Megan, kicking her feet back and forth softly as she sat on the couch, while Megan waited patiently, gave her time. Actually it was sad really, to have to open the wound--and not often did the team involve children. Usually what they saw were adults, and saw the children in the background, innocently playing; usually not knowing yet that their father, uncle, or mother had committed a crime or was deceased. Usually it was the children who knew last about the offense... not first hand.
Dusting the crumbs off of her hands, Charlee sat back and let out a satisfied sigh. The quiet atmosphere itself brought back the thought of the situation, but once again it dissipated as a pair of piercing green eyes observed her; and those piercing eyes to Charlee were still just as dazzling as the moment that she had walked into the unfamiliar building. Kicking her small feet a couple more times in a nervous measure, she took a deep breath, catching Megan's attention in the process, and decided with an exhale to breaking the silence.
"It's bad" Charlee mumbled, possibly to no one in particular and looked up at the ceiling, almost afraid of what she would see in Megan's expression. Besides the death of her mother, things hadn't quite sunk in. Mainly she went back and forth from shock to numbness, and right now she was blocking it out. "Isn't it?" Her voice was suddenly so small, no longer confident.
Megan set her cup down on the counter; the opposite of euphoria was settling in. Charlee's expression fell, yet held a level of anticipation as she scooted over to make room for Megan to sit beside her. "Some times things are out of our hands and there is no longer anything that we can do to make it better . No band aid will cover what has been taken from us, and no patch can keep us from seeing the good and the bad."