AN - Hello! I made it! Here's the sixth chapter and I hope you like it. Danny's on the case and not too much action, but I thought it should be a chapter for itself. Remember to leave a review. I hope you like it. Have a good night. /K.
Chapter SIX) Thursday, 2.00 pm, 54th precinct
"Sit tight, Mr. Watkins," Danny said as he exited the interrogation room and closed the door. Baez handed him a folder and he leafed through it.
"Chris Watkins' partner, Paul Ford, was just detained by a patrol unit. He should be here in ten minutes, if not less," she told him with a smile.
"Great," Danny determined. "Maybe we can get to the bottom of this and find out who hired them," he continued and looked over the screen shots from the surveillance cameras at Jamie's building. How stupid could the two of them be, when they decided to drag an unconscious man through the front entrance, he wondered and scoffed. When watching the video, he had almost laughed, if it wasn't for the pent up anger inside him. The bigger one, Chris Watkins, had been recognized only five minutes after the BOLO had been issued and picked up shortly after. He had been arrested a few times, so he was in the system and his partner Paul Ford had just caught.
"Where do you want him?" she asked as he handed her back the folder and put a hand on the door handle again.
"Put him in a chair next to my desk and then come get me with a legal pad fifteen minutes later. Make sure to walk him through here. I want to see Watkins's face when he sees his partner being dragged in for questioning. Maybe he'll start spilling his guts," Danny said and pushed the door open again.
"Sorry about that, Mr. Watkins," he apologized and closed the door.
"Hmm," the criminal only replied, looking down at his restricted hands.
"You see, my partner, she just told me that Paul Ford turned himself in and he's coming here to give his full confession in just a little time," Danny said as he took a seat in front of the man, who lifted his gaze.
"Whatever," the man retorted, looking Danny straight in the eyes. Danny shrugged and leaned back in the chair.
"You know, you seem like one of the smarter guys," Danny began and paused for effect. "I believe you know all about this, and who ever talks first get the better deal, right? Sign of cooperation and all," he continued, matter-of-factly. "See, the point is, you're going to prison, whether you talk or not, because we have plenty of evidence to put you away for years. The best part of it is we got you on tape. I can put whatever on you, right from breaking and entering to aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, home invasion, hindering an investigation, kidnapping and attacking a police officer," he said, raising his voice to the last few words. Watkins only looked past his shoulder, and his gaze shifted to the corner. "That's just a percentage of what I'll book you for, and then my sister, A.D.A. Reagan, will probably have some charges of her own, seeing as you've stalled an ongoing trial when you were tampering with her star witness, which just so happens to be our kid brother," Danny said, now leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table, his face changing. Watkins was silent for a while when his eyes found Danny's.
"Technically, it sounds like your brother was just … misplaced. And I've asked for my lawyer already. You can't talk to me anymore," he smirked and Danny leaned back with a smirk of his own.
"Right, but nothing stops me from thinking out loud," Danny replied. "And right now I'm wondering which one of you morons will get a deal.
"I'm not…" Chris Watkins began when his eyes focused on the door behind Danny. His eyes travelled from one side to another and searched through the window before returning to rest on Danny again, surprisingly calm. Danny had turned around and followed the man's gaze. Baez had been leading the way for two uniforms, each with a grasp on Paul Ford's arms.
"Now is your last chance to get out in front of this," Danny informed him and cocked his head to the side.
"Where's my lawyer?" he asked and Danny looked at his watch.
"Must be stuck in traffic," Danny only replied with a shrug and leaned back in the chair again. Watkins scoffed and looked through the window for a moment.
"Have you even called him? His office is just three blocks away," the man said and Danny raised his eyebrow as saying 'I don't care', challenging him. Watkins's smile tightened into a scowl and his hands tensed into fist. "Who's stalling now, huh? Shouldn't have let your brother take another breath," he sneered at Danny, whose face turned into a tight frown as he stood and leaned across the table.
"People like you are hired help. So who's paying you? Are you being paid enough to go to jail? Cause the question isn't 'if you go to jail'. It's 'for how long'," Danny said and sighed dramatically. His fingers itched, he just wanted to punch the man into next week, but he tightened his fist so it wouldn't happen. Erin had warned him, about the case being by the book. He wasn't going to make it a slippery slope for any of them.
"You can't do this… I want my lawyer," he said again and rattled the cuffs to make a point.
"And I want whoever hired you," Danny shot back at him, his voice suddenly raised. "Give me a name, and you'll get your lawyer," he said, hoping this last piece of negotiation would do the trick. Watkins glared at him and realized the detective was serious. He also realized he should never have agreed to do a cop, no matter the price.
"Woody," the big man sighed and shrugged. "That's all I got. We spoke on the phone once. Gave me a name and an address and what he wanted done," he said, suddenly deflated. Danny stood and glanced out the window where he caught a glimpse of his partner by the desk.
"First name or last name?" Danny asked as he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out Watkins's phone. Watkins shrugged when Danny scrolled through the phone.
"Don't know. The number should be in the log," he said and leaned back in the chair. Like Danny thought, not the smartest criminals.
"This one?" Danny asked and showed Watkins the screen. He nodded, recognizing the phone number. "Call him, tell him the police are asking questions and that you want more money if you have to stay quiet," Danny said.
"What if he doesn't believe me?" he asked, a flash of nervousness flickered in his eyes.
"You better make him believe it," Danny warned with an edge to his voice. He got to his feet when Watkins made the call and glanced out the window to the bullpen. Baez raised an eyebrow curiously and he gave her a single nod. The dial tone echoed in the room, the phone clicked three times and a voice spoke.
"Hello," a woman greeted and Watkins looked to Danny, confusion in his face.
"Who's this?" Danny spoke as he grabbed the phone.
"Adelaide Pembroke, Mr.," the woman replied. Her voice was young, trusting.
"I'm Detective Reagan. Is this your phone?" he asked and she hummed.
"No, it's a payphone. I just happened to walk by," she replied, her voice now more serious.
"All right, thank you," Danny said and ended the call, wondering. He would get the tech guys on it, but he was fairly certain about the call being diverted. He left the room with a confused Watkins and headed for his desk.