Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Advance Warning; things are changing in my life which might affect the update time of my stories; I will try to keep on schedule though with one update per week. Also, a special thanks to Paraddicted as always for the pre-read.
Mike let out a frustrated sigh.
As he continued to write up the search warrant for the foster agency, he once again became annoyed at the absurdity of it all.
He had recently found out that the second victim, Melissa Rogers, had actually run away from her foster family some time ago. When Mike called the agency to get all of her records, they had stonewalled him into having to get a court order; which he couldn't understand why. The victim was over eighteen and no longer a minor; thus her records should have been allowed to be used for the investigation. He suspected that something was up and maybe it had to do with the current case; or maybe nothing at all. Either way, his interest was caught and there was a chance that something could come out of his looking.
From what he knew, Spencer and Mona were on their way back with everything pertaining to Charles from the psychiatric prison. Toby had said that the girls were bringing quite a lot and it was assumed that they would be pulling another all-nighter to go through it all; the girls could only go through so much given the drive there and back. He had suggested that Mike go home and get some rest before coming back; which he had gone to do himself. Thus he was now alone in the office. Mike didn't want to go home though since he was still living with his parents in Rosewood; today was a family day with Aria over and he didn't want to see her.
What Mike really wanted was a chance to talk to talk Mona; alone if possible. He wanted to apologize to her for what happened and ask for her forgiveness; maybe even try to get a second chance with her. Unfortunately, she was ignoring him and wouldn't say anything unless it was relevant to the case at hand. That made him both angry and sad at the same time; wanting to throw something up against the wall. But he managed to keep his cool; using some tricks he had learned in the army. Now his plan was to just be patient and hope that Mona would talk to him sooner or later. Especially if this turned out to be a long case which was becoming apparent since they didn't have a whole lot of leads.
A part of him found it funny that Mona had been in town all this time; even if it had been only for a year.
"Let me guess; you never went home?" Toby asked as he stepped inside the office and found his partner at his desk. The senior detective was dressed in a new suit and looked a little fresher than before.
"I changed into my spare suit and cleaned up in the locker room; also took a slight nap as well," defended the younger man; trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He was almost done with the warrant request and would head out to get a judge's signature as soon as possible.
"I know you have issues with your family but you need to go home to let them know you are alright," chided Toby as he took his seat at his desk and booted up his computer.
"I texted mom earlier; told her that I would be at the office for a few days," stated Mike as he printed out his warrant and looked over at his partner with a bored look.
"Spencer has probably already told Aria about Mona so this might be the perfect time to talk to your sister," suggested the other officer casually. As a rule, he tried to stay out of Mike's personal affairs but couldn't resist the opportunity to advise the younger man.
"I'll strike you a deal; I will talk to Aria when Mona forgives me," said the partner sarcastically; earning a sigh from Toby and shaking his head.
"Whatever; they'll be here in a few minutes with the stuff, so we need to help them carry it all to the conference room. Tanner loaned it to us so we don't have to be cramped in here," stated the older man and Mike nodded as he went over the warrant to make sure it was ready to go.
"I would have been willing to go with them; maybe even me and Mona," Mike stated offhandedly, looking over at Toby.
"There is a time for personal stuff and a time for being professional; plus this was something that those two needed to do. If you get down to it, Charles harmed those two the most out of all of them," stated the senior officer adamantly.
"Alison would disagree; not to mention his other victims," stated Mike with a scoff. Unlike his partner, the younger man had no sympathy for Charles DiLaurentis given the massive amount of betrayal involved.
"Alison was only hit in the head and framed for murder; which could have been prevented if she had been truthful to everyone. As for his other victims, I agree though their secrets are also what did them in. If Jessica and Kenneth DiLaurentis hadn't sent their son away because he was different, then none of this would have happened," stated Toby with a trace of anger in his voice.
Even to this day, he was still angry with Alison's family for what happened and put all the blame on them. It was because of their secrets that led to the rise of Charles and his reign of terror for Spencer and the rest of the girls. Alison was also guilty of creating the monster that was Mona during high school; driving the short teen to becoming A and harassing the girls after years of bullying by the blond. A part of him knew his anger was slightly irrational and had kept his feelings in check when Spencer had Alison over. But the resentment was still there and would always be until he felt that Alison adequately made up for her past wrongs; which she had yet to do with anyone.
"Well Charles was a nut and I am glad he is gone; though for all we know, there could be a whole slew of fans ready to continue his work," Mike said, standing up to fax the warrant to the State Justice Department. Due to recent reforms within the State, it became easier for warrants to be filed and approved.
"Charles was sick; like Mona was a long time ago," Toby countered, giving his partner a disapproving look. Even though he had been in the army, Mike still displayed some adolescent qualities.
"Mona was bullied and your girlfriend let Alison do it; she became sick because of that," refuted the other officer, making a point.
"Spencer has a lot of regrets in her life; not connecting with her parents better is one of them especially with the death of her father. Don't think she doesn't look back and regret how certain people were treated; though Spencer can be too stubborn to admit it. Right now we need to catch this killer and maybe things will work out after that," said the older man; hoping that was the case since it could allow for some reconciliation.
While he doubted that Alison and Mona could ever be in the same room together, he hoped that some grievances could be buried at long last.
"Anyways, I was thinking that we might be barking up the wrong tree on a possible Dollhouse location. When Charles set up his original location, he did it off the grid in an abandoned missile silo that no one knew about. So it's likely that we shouldn't be looking at renovated buildings that are registered but look at places that have been abandoned," suggested Mike, giving his partner his full attention.
"You know, I didn't think of that and should have considered given how we found the original Dollhouse in the middle of nowhere; assuming that it is a recreation," admitted Toby, giving the younger man a thoughtful smile.
"The problem is though that we'll have to go through the State Records on possible locations which will take a long time; not to mention military installations that are off the books," stated Mike with a grim face. Given how large Pennsylvania was, there was a lot of territory to search given their small team.
"Mona might be able to help with that. Given her clearance, she will likely have unlimited access to the information we need," Toby said, hoping that Mona would be willing to help in that regard.
"Can I go to her about it?" asked the younger man, hoping he could use it as his chance to have a whole conversation with her. It would be a step up even if it was work related.
"Sure; it is your idea so try to work with her on it since she could help in the search parameters," answered his partner.
"Thank you; I need to go file this so I'll be back," Mike said and he then left the office with a satisfied smile on his face. Toby went back to his computer to see if there was anything new through his email.
After a few minutes, the door opened and Spencer appeared; slightly disheveled and her clothing a bit dusty.
"We're back; Mona's with the car and we can use your help bringing up the boxes," stated the FBI Agent, huffing and seemingly tired. Toby nodded and followed her out of his office to the elevator.
"How was it; being with her and going to the prison?" he asked her once they were alone in the elevator. There was little activity in the place currently though Tanner was in the office at the end of the hall; working on her usual mountain of paperwork.
"It was fine; Mona has a house in the residential part of the city though most of her stuff is still unpacked. Apparently she is more of a workaholic than any of us including Mike," answered the woman as she yawned, tired from all the driving.
"Did you find anything that we can use for the case?" inquired the young man as the elevator continued to travel downwards to the parking garage. According to her texts, Spencer and Mona had looked a little bit at Charles's things before heading back.
"A little; seems my brother had quite the fan club," informed Spencer with a somewhat glare and still reeling from all the mail he had received while incarcerated.
"People like him usually do; anyone stand out?" Toby asked as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Spencer had parked in the loading zone and close to where the elevators were; Mona was waiting at the car.
"A few names, Mona has the list; though there are more letters that we didn't get a chance to get to. Charles also kept a journal and there are several volumes that we need to read; wasn't going to get into my brother's insane musings and then drive," said the young woman dryly as she and Toby each took a box out of the trunk. The entire backseat was filled as well and it would take several trips.
"Well Mike had several ideas that need to be checked up on; would you be willing to help him Mona?" Toby asked the shorter woman as all three carried a box to the elevator.
"Fine," was all she simply said and while he wished it had been a little more polite, it was better than a no from the young woman. The two met Mike in the hallway and he headed back to the car while the other three continued on to the conference room. It was another twenty minutes before all the boxes were brought up.
"I can't believe that there is so much stuff that this guy had," remarked Mike as the last box was set down. There had to be at least twelve boxes full of files, writings, and other personal effects of the late Charles DiLaurentis.
"It's somewhat believable since he served at least a few years before killing himself," Mona said as she sat down and was slightly winded. Though she had done field work in the past that had been physical, it had been a while and she was out of shape.
"Well I was just glad that they made sure he was really gone this time given how he faked his death the first time," Toby stated dryly, remembering how Charles used his fake death to get around Rosewood without detection.
"Jason went to great lengths to make sure; even Alison hired a second company to help," informed the taller woman as she sat down at the table.
The conference room was pretty large with a single table in the center of the room; a black metal type with matching chairs. The carpet was a dark brown and the walls were a white plaster that didn't seem to go with the room; more for cheapness than for show. There were overhead lights which were many but had multiple light switches to adjust the illumination in the room. In the back of the conference room was a large flat screen mounted on the wall with a computer set up not too far way; allowing for presentations on multiple subjects. There was a room like this on every floor and they were rarely used; which allowed the group to use the room for their own purposes.
"They weren't the only ones; I have friends inside various Agencies that had followed the progress just to be sure," admitted Mona sheepishly; earning startled glances from her companions. Truth be told, it didn't really surprise them given that Mona had technically suffered the most because of Charles DiLaurentis.
"So I am waiting for a judge to approve my warrant for Ms. Rogers foster records and then I plan to get them tomorrow," Mike informed his partner while the other two began opening the boxes to organize who would go through what.
"Do you think something is there that could be relevant to the case?" Toby inquired as he grabbed one box and taking the lid off. Inside were some medical records as well as some private journals.
"I'm not sure; the fact that they are stonewalling me tells me that there might be something there. Also, it gives us a timeline on her movements leading up to her death. We still don't know if she was simply grabbed off the street or had been harassed by A until her abduction," stated the younger man and Spencer nodded in agreement, impressed by his reasoning.
"Okay; would you mind going with him?" the older officer said to Mona, ignoring the surprised look coming from his partner. Mona gave Toby a slightly annoyed look but nodded; much to both men's relief.
While Mona and Spencer went to get cleaned up in the restroom as well as bring back something to eat, the other two went through the boxes. As Toby poured over the various medical records, he was reminded on how Charles was connected to his mother's death as well as the fact that Jessica DiLaurentis covered it up. It had always angered him that what happened to his mother had been lost in all the drama of what happened back then; basically an after note in all the news articles on the subject. That was another reason why he hated that family so much; their inability to take responsibility for their actions. At least Jason made an effort to apologize though it was a little too late; which Toby still appreciated.
Mike was reading one of the journals when the women returned with some snacks; mostly from the vending machines. There was talk for more takeout food to be brought in but he just ignored them while he read; fascinated with what he was reading. Even though Mike hated Charles with a passion, he had somewhat felt sorry for the guy. To be sent away to Radley at a young age and basically cut out of the family was heartbreaking; especially since it wasn't his fault that he had been mentally ill. As someone who had problems himself when he was younger he could sympathize, though Charles had taken it to the next level dramatically. It was interesting to read that the deceased often raged about the injustice he was feeling on one page and then sound remorseful on another.
That is when he caught it and had to share with the rest of the group.
"Are you sure Charles didn't have any visitors?" Mike asked Spencer, suddenly looking up from what he was reading.
"The only record of someone visiting Charles was Jason; no one else," answered the FBI Agent, curious to what the young man was getting at.
"Well from what I am reading here, he had a regular female visitor," stated the younger police officer which earned him astounded looks from the other assembled.
"Are you sure?" asked Spencer, both confused and surprised at the same time. The visitor logs had appeared on the up and up given that this wasn't Radley.
"Yeah; take a look at this," Mike said, handing the journal over to Spencer, who took it to read the passage he had found. Sure enough, there was entire page devoted to some weekly visitor that her brother had before his death.
"How could that have been missed by the prison?" the FBI Agent asked, completely perplexed on what she was reading.
"I think we should check the prison's system; there is a chance that it was hacked in order to change the logs," Mona said, wishing that she had run a check when she had been there. The NSA Agent wasn't looking forward to heading back there since it would be problematic to gain access.
"I'll go with you and bring the paperwork needed to gain permission since the officials there might stonewall us," Mike said with a little firmness in order to prevent Mona from resisting given that it would just be the two of them alone for most of the day. She nodded but had a sour look on her face.
After all, they now had an actual lead.
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