Unintended Consequences

DISCLAIMER: White Collar belongs to Jeff Eastin and USA Network.

A/N: Wow. I have no idea where this week just went. I hope you enjoy the update, and please let me know what you think!

Chapter 4

Wednesday morning, 11 a.m.

Once Diana returned with the research Peter had requested, he was going to ask her to pull the blueprints of the building where the meeting was going to happen. He wanted to case the place, know the layout and all the entrances and exits in case something went wrong. Oh great, just great he thought now he was starting to sound like Neal; 'How to adequately case a building in 5 easy steps.' Seriously though, he realized he could use Neal's help to figure out if there was anything he was missing. He knew he was too close to the situation to be completely rational but he didn't want Hughes to pull him off the case; he was not about to let Rice take over. Frustrated, that Neal had taken a sick day when he really needed him, Peter put his head in his hands and allowed the memories he had hidden for so long overtake him.

30 plus years ago…

Peter pulled his backpack from his locker; glad the school day was finally over. He walked down the hallway and out the door to his usual meeting spot by the merry-go-round where he always met his little sister after school. They lived about 5 blocks from school so they always walked together. Peter waited several minutes, but Grace did not appear as usual. He was certain she would not have left without him because there was one particular dog on the way home that always frightened Grace. She always insisted on holding Peter's hand when they walked down that block and she would never attempt it herself; Peter was sure of it. He finally hopped off the merry-go-round and walked around the playground always keeping the merry-go-round in sight in case Grace showed up. He didn't see her anywhere on the playground. He spotted several of her friends, walked over and asked if they had seen her. Peter began to really worry when they told him they hadn't seen her. He was about to go back inside and make sure she wasn't in there when he heard her scream. He ran toward the back of the building where he thought the sound had come from. He rounded the corner and saw two boys much bigger than he was with their backs facing him. He briefly saw a flash of blue, remembering Grace had been wearing blue that morning. The bigger of the two bullies looked like he was gripping Grace's shirt in his pudgy hands and threatening her. Peter dropped his backpack on the ground and launched himself at the boy. The bully lost his grip on Grace's shirt and went rolling down the short slope entangled with Peter, fists and arms flying as they each tried to gain the upper hand. The other kid took off when he saw a teacher come running to break up the fight. Already aware of the other boy's status as a bully and troublemaker, the teacher pulled Peter off him and marched the bully down to the principal's office. Grace was still shaking after her ordeal. Peter gave her a hug to try and calm her down.

"Are you ok?"

"Indigo."

Grace sobbed, the trauma finally catching up to her.

"Indigo."

Grace was using one of the code words they had come up with last summer to guess what each other was feeling. Peter, always the investigator, would try to determine what Grace was feeling by the colors she named. She eventually wrote them down for him. Indigo represented being scared. She made up words to correspond with the colors of the rainbow because she loved rainbows. She loved the story of Noah and the Ark and the beautiful rainbow that was a sign that God promised never to flood the earth again. She loved hearing her mom read the story of how the animals came two by two and filled the ark so they would be saved from the flood. She was so enamored that when her father built a tree house for herself and Peter, she insisted on calling it their ark. She once asked Peter if the animals on the ark were brothers and sisters. Peter just laughed and told her to ask mom. Grace wasn't sure what was so funny, but her mom laughed as well.

"I'm sure they were male and female, but I don't know if they were brother and sister."

"I bet the girl animals all felt safe if they had a brother like Peter. I feel safe in my ark because Peter is there to protect me from danger. That's what a big brother is supposed to do, isn't it Mommy?"

"Yes, it is sweetheart. Peter will always protect you."

She drew both her children to her chest and hugged them tightly, praying they would always be safe.

Diana knocked on Peter's office door startling him out of his trip down memory lane, and it took a few seconds for him to look up and realize she was standing there.

"What did you find?"

"Frank bought a house in the middle of nowhere in rural Virginia. There hasn't been any indication that he or his wife have lived there since they purchased it. What's interesting is that the purchase price on this house is $287,500; the exact amount of the ransom. I'm guessing you know something or you wouldn't have asked me to check the mortgage records first. What do you know about this house?"

"I'm guessing the address is 6828 Frontier Lane?"

"How did you know that?"

"It's the house I grew up in."

Peter paused with a reflective look on his face and Diana didn't want to break the silence.

"He bought the house I grew up in. Why? All these years she didn't want anything to do with me. Why now? What triggered this? Does it even matter?"

"I don't know, Peter, this isn't making any sense to me."

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking out loud. I don't know why, but I think I know who the kidnapper is."

##

Wednesday afternoon, 3 p.m.

Mozzie was on his way back to June's mansion Wednesday afternoon hiding a wrapped package in his knapsack to alleviate his conscience. He assumed Neal had been up all night painting and wouldn't want to be disturbed very early. As Mozzie approached the mansion, he spotted Frank just outside the door talking on his cell phone. Mozzie scurried out of view and crept closer until he felt safely hidden behind a tree. He could only hear parts of the conversation, but didn't dare to get any closer.

"Flowers…painting…delivery…Burke's wife…evidence of forgery…stolen property…Burke will cooperate…his sister…revenge is sweet."

Frank laughed, hung up the phone and knocked on the door. It didn't take long for Mozzie to realize both the Suit and Mrs. Suit were in serious trouble. Mozzie didn't like the setup to begin with and he was beginning to realize that something was not right here. He didn't buy Frank's story, but he was worried about how to discuss it with Neal. He would most likely dismiss whatever Mozzie said as his usual paranoia. Mozzie was convinced Neal would need the package more than ever, but he had to get it to him without Frank seeing. Mozzie mulled over the pieces of Frank's phone conversation in his mind. Something was being delivered to Mrs. Suit; something that would be evidence of a forgery. What would that have to do with stolen property? It sounded like Frank planned to get revenge on someone and was arranging to have "evidence" delivered. Judging by the proximity of the words "delivery" and "Burke's wife" Mozzie was assuming that whatever evidence Frank had would likely be delivered to Mrs. Suit. Mozzie couldn't imagine any reason why Frank would have a vendetta against Mrs. Suit, so Mozzie assumed it would have to be either the Suit, Neal, or both. The reference to the Suit's sister had Mozzie confused. He had done quite a bit of research on him when Neal was being pursued, and he had never come across any records of her. Unlike Neal, Mozzie still had grave reservations about trusting suits, and this case only strengthened his case. The Suit was hiding information and obviously had been for years. If only he had a name to research maybe he could fill in some of the blanks. Mozzie continued to ponder until he finally decided he had stalled long enough. He didn't want to arrive too soon to make Frank suspicious that he had overheard his phone call. He climbed the stairs, knocked and waited for June or the housekeeper to answer.

##

Wednesday afternoon, 3 p.m.

Elle had come home early after a meeting with a client. She didn't have any pressing events, so she had decided to work from home for what was left of the afternoon. She had just made herself a chef salad and set it on the table when the door rang. Satch beat her to the door and started barking. Elle realized it must not be someone Satch was familiar with and cautiously opened the door. She came face to face with a delivery man holding a large bouquet of flowers in one hand.

"I have a delivery for Peter & Elizabeth Burke."

"I'm Elizabeth Burke."

"Please sign here for proof of delivery."

Elle accepted the electronic device the delivery guy handed her and signed her name. He then clipped it back on his belt and handed her the huge bouquet he had been carrying.
"There's one more item."

Elle walked into the dining room, set the flowers on the table and then turned around and saw that the delivery guy was holding a big black package with a wide gold bow on it. She walked back toward the door to accept the package from him. She thanked him and he turned around to leave. As he was walking down the steps, she saw a white van parked on the street listing the business name as Freddie's Flowers. She had never heard of them, which she thought was strange since she worked with florists on a regular basis. She set the package by the mantle deciding to wait to open it until Peter came home and went to inspect the flowers. The little note tucked in the flowers read, "You don't know what you have until it's gone." Elle wasn't sure what to make of the note. She didn't know if it was sincere or some kind of threat; the lack of signature was unsettling. She wasn't aware of any reason someone would want to send them flowers and a package. She rummaged through her purse for her cell phone and dialed Peter. She let it ring until she got his voicemail.

"You've reached Peter Burke. Leave a message at the beep."

"Hey honey, some flowers and a big package were just delivered. The flowers have a strange message. The note says "You don't know what you have until it's gone." I'm not sure what that means, but it doesn't sound good and it's not signed. Is there something I should know? Give me a call when you have a chance. I won't open it until you get home. I love you. Bye!"