Bane of His Existence

Chapter Nine

On his way to the hospital to begin his investigation into the doctor's death, Gold attempted to call his partner numerous times and every time Rogers' phone went straight to voicemail, making the older detective nervous. His instinct was telling him something was wrong. So before driving to the crime scene, Weaver used a program on his phone to locate where Rogers might be, having installed the same program on his partner's without his knowledge in order to keep track of where he was at all times, provided the younger man kept his phone on him.

When he arrived at Rogers' tiny flat, Detective Weaver pounded on the door a few times before he finally pulled a card from his wallet and used it to wedge into the crack between the door and the apartment's entryway, then forced his way inside. Upon doing so, he was surprised to find his partner lying in his bed appearing to be asleep. Only Gold knew better than to trust his eyes. He immediately rushed over to try to bring Rogers around as he laid one hand over his neck and the other over his shoulder, then carefully shook him until Rogers groggily awoke.

The older man looked down on him with concern while he asked, "Rogers… are you alright?"

His partner struggled to clear his vision as he replied, "Weaver? What… what's going on? What are you...? What am I doing here at… my apartment?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Gold questioned while his partner struggled to stand and observe his surroundings. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's… after noon," Rogers answered as he looked down at the alarm clock on his nightstand bedside his bed, then immediately picked up the brace he always wore over his left arm that held his prosthetic hand and worked to pull it on as quickly as he could so they could head in. "I'm sorry. I must have overslept, but I don't recall coming home. I mean… I could have sworn I went into work this morning. In fact, I'm almost positive I had unless... unless I was so tired that I dreamt it."

Weaver watched the younger man finish and picked up the shirt lying out over the chair at the small time within the dining area to hand it to him, then responded, "Actually, I'm afraid you didn't dream it. I haven't been at the station at all yet today myself, but I spoke with a couple of the other men on my way over here to find out if anyone had seen you yet today. They all said you had been there since six o'clock this morning, until you left the precinct around nine with Eloise, who had come in again to see you. Think back, detective. Try to think harder. Do you remember going in at all?"

The dark haired detective lifted his hand to his head while he struggled to do as his partner asked and then replied, "I remember… having a question about a decision I made in regards to a young woman I was trying to help yesterday evening. Most people saw her as a lost cause because she was troubled, but something in me told me she's wasn't beyond help. I ended up releasing her after I had her arrested. However, a part of me felt wrong about it afterwards and so I was reading one of the law books from the precinct… for answers. I was there. And I remember taking a drink of coffee and feeling strange after I did. Dizzy. The feeling didn't last long though. That's it. That's all I can remember. I don't recall meeting with Eloise. The others must be mistaken."

"I guess only time will tell," Gold said quietly as Rogers finally took the shirt from him and pulled it on, then buttoned it up before pulling on his jacket as well. "Are you feeling up to working a case together? I'm afraid there's been a murder. Down at the hospital."

"Take the lead and I'll follow," Rogers answered.

It wasn't long before the two detectives arrived at the crime scene and when they walked in, one of the security officers on duty since seven that morning recognized the officer from before and stated, "Detective… welcome back. It's strange, I didn't see you leave this morning and yet here you are again. Or have you been here…"

Rogers suddenly interrupted, "I beg your pardon, but what do you mean… welcome back? I've never been here except possibly to visit friends or people in my past cases. Certainly not this morning."

"I don't understand," the man responded in confusion, looking at Detective Rogers strangely. "Unless you have an identical twin brother who's also a cop, you were here. A couple of hours ago in fact. You were here with a young woman to see one of the patients here, who by the way is also missing."

"Perhaps if you didn't step outside to take a smoke break when you did, you might have seen the detective leave and we might have known what happened to Doctor Sands," one of the other doctors, who had come on an hour after the murder occurred retorted curtly as she glared at the security guard, until she turned to look between the two detectives while they finally walked into Diana Levinson's room where the doctor's body continued to lie, his head still covered with the pillow used to suppress the sound of the gunshot that killed him, and then bent down to examine him. "In fact, if we didn't have just one doctor on all night long and if I wasn't late this morning coming in to relieve Samuel… That's his name. Samuel Sands."

While Rogers nervously lifted the pillow to look at the entry wound, Detective Weaver turned his head and looked up at the woman standing above him as he asked, "Are you the only doctor presently here, Doctor…"

She quickly replied, "Doctor Tess. Emilie Tess. And for now, yes. I'm the only one on staff. We've been short staffed here in the psych ward for awhile now. We have one doctor on over nights and at least four throughout the day. Unfortunately, today of all days, one of the other doctors supposed to be here now, called out sick. I'm on my own until two o'clock."

"Have you had the chance to look at the surveillance footage yet?" Rogers questioned when he stood and looked around the room until he caught sight of the camera facing the room on the wall just above the door.

"Actually, no," the security officer answered as Gold also stood up beside his partner and examined the camera. "We've been too busy since I called the murder in. The police who called you two in… even a few members of the press, somehow beat you here. They're already claiming it was Diana Levinson who murdered the doctor just after you left, with the other young woman you were with I guess. Without any evidence of course. It makes sense I suppose. She killed a man before. It's what got her arrested and sent here in the first place. Emilie and I have been dealing with too much to even think about the footage from the camera. It looks like that's your job."

Weaver stood as well and then responded, "Thank you, officer. If you would, show us to the office and then leave us alone to examine the footage ourselves."

A few minutes later, the two detectives were sitting alone in the security office as Weaver hit play and together they began to watch the footage from around the time of Doctor Sands' death. However, when the moment came, Rogers slowly rose to his feet again while he watched himself on the screen in horror as he pulled his gun from his holster and suddenly struck the doctor across the side of his head, then saw Sands fall to the ground unconscious leaving behind a large gash.

Gold glanced up at his partner with worry, then refocused on the remaining footage until it finished with Rogers angrily dragging both Eloise and Diana, who stood together terrified in the corner of the room until the younger detective stood again after shooting the doctor, out of the room.

Rogers stared at the screen in shock even after the older detective finally froze the surveillance video, then he stood in front of him while he pulled his keys from his pants' pocket and quickly shoved them into his partner's hand as he spoke sternly saying, "Listen to me very carefully, Rogers. I want you to take my car and leave here right now. Drive to my apartment and wait for me there."

"I can't just run from this," the younger man uttered angrily out of fear as he looked at Weaver strangely until he stumbled back and collapsed in the chair behind him, overwhelmed by what he had just seen, then scoffed. "I appreciate that you think I could be innocent, though I don't understand why. I can't remember much of anything from this morning, the security guard out there said I was here around the time of the doctor's murder with Eloise, and this footage shows I was. The evidence is against me. I just… I don't get why I would kill a man I didn't know. And what about Eloise? And Diana? Where are they? God, Weaver… what the devil have I done?"

"I'm not sure how to explain right now how it is I know you didn't do this, but I assure you that I do believe you're innocent," Gold replied quietly as he pulled the younger man back to his feet and held him tightly by his shoulders to keep Rogers looking at him instead of at the screen. "Remember what I told you on our first day of working together, detective? I told you that I saw in you, a moral code. I caught a glimpse of it that day, but I've seen it in you ever since. And I know you would never murder anyone, nor kidnap two women. Especially when one of them is the very woman you fought so hard to find when she had been taken by someone else. Don't worry about this footage. I will take it with me to have it analyzed by someone I trust in order to determine how it was doctored to make it look like you did all of this. In the meantime, I want you to do like I said before word of this footage or other rumors spread that might try to make you appear guilty to anyone else. I'm afraid I can't guarantee that kind of protection for you when I don't understand yet what it is we're up against here. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Rogers nodded and then answered, "Aye. I do trust you. But hide? If I really didn't do this, I should help you to clear my name, not act as though I'm guilty of these things."

Weaver smiled at him as he was impressed by his partner's drive to face the dangers head on, then he somberly responded, "Not when I suspect that all of this is part of a bigger plan meant to break you. Not just emotionally, but physically as well. I can't explain why. But I am trying to protect you. And having you hide in a place where only I know where you are, is the best option we have for now. Keep your phone on and answer only my calls. I'll be in touch."

Finally, Rogers nodded and left the surveillance office with Weaver's keys in hand while the older detective watched him walk past the guard and through the doctors, reporters, and officers there until he was gone. Gold then went back to the equipment they watched the video with and quickly pulled the footage to take with him in order to do as he told Rogers he would in the hope that he could figure out how it was doctored and who had done it, all the while believing it was somehow Gothel and the two newly awakened witches within her coven who were responsible for framing his partner.