14

Matt flew back to L.A. quickly. He took the frame and replaced the picture, but took all the evidence back with him. He knew now that Nikkos Sacan was behind everything. He was the only logical suspect, but he needed to know more. The evidence he found didn't make sense to him.

Once he got back to the penthouse he called the hospital. They told him C.J. was sleeping still. Apparently that doctor had given her a sedative. Matt was about to descend in the elevator, cursing the whole way down when instead of the elevator being empty, Seth Parkdale walked out with a folder.

"I've got something." He said as he walked past Matt. Matt turned and followed him to the couch. "Pull up that computer of yours."

Matt stopped and asked, "Wait a minute...what do you have...wait, is that her file?"

Seth handed it to him and said, "I had it the whole time. I'm head of the task force on the Italian syndicate, the Sacan branch in particular. I found this when I was going through the older files. Nikkos Sacan was Daniel Parsons' client when Parsons' was killed."

Matt took a deep breath and said, "I know all that. I even know that he is the one who killed Daniel. What I don't have a real clear handle on is why he killed him or why he's coming after C.J. now."

Seth then told him solemnly, "You better sit down before you read that."

Matt looked sharply at him and saw this look of dread and sympathy in Seth's expression. He nodded and carefully opened the folder. It became harder and harder to breathe as he read everything through. The Marshals were called in when C.J.'s father had been killed. According to the report C.J. had been in the home when he was killed and was the one to call police. She had spoken to a Det. Palpos only briefly. He had reported that she seemed halfway in a state of shock and halfway professional like a detective or lawyer herself. She hadn't really given many details but had said her father was shot by the man in one of the pictures they showed her, Nikkos Sacan. Then she and her mother both went missing. They were both discovered in an abandoned warehouse. The mother's body was almost unrecognizable and C.J. was found out of sight of the body, sleeping in a corner of the warehouse where she would easily be found. After this she refused to talk at all and would black out at the slightest mention of her mother or father. So they called in a professional psychiatrist and therapist who had her in some kind of writing therapy and worked to keep her name out of all papers and remove her entirely from even the same environment she had known growing up. They placed her with an ex green beret for extra protection.

The file did fill in some holes, but not nearly all of them. What it did, however, was confirm Matt's worst nightmare. C.J. had witnessed the deaths of both parents, he was sure, and had been kidnapped herself and held for 2 weeks. He rubbed his forehead as he thought through those two weeks. There were no notations about marks on her like the burn marks on her mother's body, but what if they had done other damage that had healed at that point or simply couldn't be seen.

Seth had gotten up without Matt's notice and poured two glasses of scotch. He took them back over to the couch where Matt was sitting silently trying to stop the tears form coming. He handed him a glass and said, "Here, I think we both could use a belt."

Matt took it and then said rather shakily, "Is this everything?"

Seth nodded and said, "Yeah, that's all we have. Now its your turn. I know you've been working on another angle here. What do you have?"

Matt nodded and then picked up the envelope he had just sat down to read Seth's, the one he was carrying with him to the hospital to go over. "Here, apparently Daniel Parsons put all this in a public locker in San Francisco before he died. C.J. had the key in an old lunchbox. When she was 13 Daddy found it and flew out to pick it all up and stored it in Texas in a specially made safe he kept in his room. I wish I understood why its so valuable."

Seth looked through everything with Matt as they sat it all on Baby. He told Matt, "These are the crime scene photos from the 1st ward massacre, the five men that were shot at point blank range after being tortured for two days. We've got a whole separate file on that case." He picked up the blood test report and said, "This is interesting though. The report on the massacre has 3 blood types and those correspond to the blood types of the victims. The only blood evidence was found on a wall opposite where the bodies were found in the alley, it matches Nikkos Sacan. It was the most damaging evidence in the case and what the prosecution lead off with in the trial. I have no idea what this is."

Matt asked, "What happened to the blood evidence?"

Seth answered shaking his head, "The defense filed a motion for it to be dismissed, claiming the area wasn't corded off by police and could easily have been planted. In fact, they actually filed to have the evidence stricken from the record which is a little extreme."

Matt then asked, "Why would that be extreme?"

Seth told him, "Well, because getting it thrown out should be enough, I mean...it couldn't be used by the state then. But, stricken from the record means they didn't want it published at all. I guess he just didn't want it used by anyone else. They could only tell blood type then, its not like they could match it to specific people."

Matt shook his head and said, "This blood test was to match two samples, but gives us nothing on who the two donors were. Here..." he pulled out the notes on the yellow note pad paper, "it says that it came from some event the law firm had, but that's about it. Why did he think this was 'most significant'?"

Seth said, "I don't know. Look, why don't we get C.J. to look at this. I know you said she doesn't remember much, but maybe seeing the handwriting will spark something, she..." Matt looked down about to shed more tears and Seth caught that. He asked, "Where is C.J.?"

Matt rubbed his hands together and then got up with his glass and headed to be the bar to get more scotch. Seth followed him and Matt told him with his back still to Seth after gulping it down, "She's in the hospital."

Seth sat down slowly beside Matt and asked, "Is she gonna be alright? What happened?"

Matt took another drink and then slowly told Seth everything. Anger started to rise in Seth. This lowlife he had been tracking had gotten away with so much so far. He just kept shaking his head when Matt concluded with, "I told them not to drug her. I have to go down there and find out what the hell is going on." He slammed the glass down and started for the elevator.

Seth caught up with him and took his shoulder, "Look, you can't drive now..." Matt tried to shake him loose, but he kept talking, "I can give you a ride. Let me, alright? I want to work with you on this. No one in the past has been able to bring this family down, between the two of us, I know we can change that." Matt seemed to relent a little so Seth sealed the deal with, "The last thing C.J. needs right now is to hear her husband was pulled over for DWI or worse, has been in an accident."

Matt reluctantly agreed with him and the two left. He had decided to take Seth up on his offer. They agreed to share all information and work together until Nikkos Sacan was taken down once and for all.

Seth told him on the drive over, "Nikkos has always been able to hide behind his Daddy. According to our files, he wasn't even an asset to him at first. He had other sons that impressed him more and they all hate him. What Nikkos did was terrify any enemy into giving up territory to the Sacans. He's been brutal and if you ask me, he's crazy. The thing is, he was a loose cannon. The only reason his Daddy put him in that position was his ability to expand the business, even if it was reckless."

Matt nodded, "I suppose without his Daddy, he'd be nothing. That was then though, this is now. Surely he doesn't need him that much anymore."

Seth answered, "Actually he does. Thing is, every time we get close to him, or anyone else does for that matter, he takes off. Most of the money he's made for the syndicate, he doesn't have access to. It goes into the family pot sorta speak. He can only use what he needs. Don't get me wrong, he's got quite a house in the hills another one in Tuscany, and three or four in other countries, some without extradition agreements. So he is living the lifestyle, but..."

Matt then added, "But, if he did go down for murder...he could lose it all."

Seth then answered as they pulled into the hospital parking lot, now after dark, "He would, for how long? Well, that's anybody's guess. The family takes care of their own, even when they screw up. The brothers hate him, but he's still their brother. Daddy would be mad for a while, but would then probably get over it. It'd never be the same for him though." He shifted and then looked at Matt directly, "If you do take him down, the whole Sacan family could come after you and C.J. We could protect you..."

Matt stopped him there, "No, I can protect her and I'm not worried about me. If I have to I can have her so far underground no one will ever find her until this is over. I'll do whatever it takes, for however long it takes to free her from this. One man is not going to take our lives away from us."

Seth nodded and then told him, "Alright, but until then, we are partners, right?" He stuck out his hand and Matt shook it. He then drove off as Matt went inside.

Rounding the corner he ran into Sydney, "I need to have a word with you." He took him almost roughly by the arm. Sydney just looked down and followed, remaining calm the whole time, but smelling the alcohol on Matt's breath. "I thought I was clear that I didn't want anyone drugging her," he said as they got to the door of his guest room.

Sydney motioned for the two to go inside and they did, "I only gave her a light sedative and I had a perfectly good reason for doing so."

Matt asked, "What reason was that?" He was angry and scared at the same time.

Sydney took a deep breath and then told him, "I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, you need to get some rest yourself." Matt was about to object but Sydney said, "Don't make me get you a sedative."

Matt looked taken back, "You can't do that..." he started to say.

Sydney answered, "Why not? Because you've been drinking?" Matt was about to say something back but was interrupted again, "I understand you are under a lot of stress. In fact I really do need to talk to you one on one about C.J. and a little talk the two of us had this afternoon, but now is not the time. You need rest. I need rest. C.J. definitely needs rest. So, until morning..." He then calmly walked out.

The next morning C.J. awoke to find herself in that same stupid room. She rolled her eyes and the young nurse walked over and asked her if she needed anything. When C.J. told her she needed to go to the bathroom, the nurse went with her.

All of this just made C.J. feel more and more defeated. Something had happened, but she didn't know what. All she felt was the overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Getting back in bed she just sat and stared at the wall, occasionally looking back down at her bandaged wrists.

A doctor came in to look at the bandage and then ordered it to be redressed. The nurse did that and C.J. still refused to say anything. She didn't answer any questions, including when the doctor asked her if she was in any pain. 'What a question,' she thought to herself.

Matt came in shortly afterward. The nurse had just finished and had gone back to sitting in a chair in the room. It had taken him hours to get to sleep, all he had done, it seemed like was tossed and turned. He'd debriefed with Brad and Greg before they changed shifts and neither had anything to report. Now he watched her stare into space. He only stood there for a second before asking the nurse for a minute alone.

She nodded to him and left with her untouched tray from breakfast. "Hey," he said softly as he sat down beside her on the bed trying to face her.

As C.J. closed her eyes for a second tears fell from both eyes. She didn't even reach up to brush them away, she just kept facing the wall. "What did you want?" she asked softly.

Matt blinked several times and then asked, "I wanted to see you. I missed you so much yesterday...I...I love you C.J."

C.J. nodded, closing her eyes again as more tears fell. She wasn't crying outright, she just felt the tears fall. She told him, "I love you and I missed you too. You left me."

Matt blinked. He didn't understand. Softly he put a hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him. She kept her eyes down and the look on her face tore at him. He softly rubbed her back with one hand and with the other wiped the tears from her eyes. Slowly he pulled her to him to hold her. She didn't really move much but sort of fell into his chest. She wasn't crying and he didn't know what to do really so he just held her tightly in his arms.

He pulled her back again and put both hands on her face so she had to look at him, still being as gentle as possible. He very softly told her, "I only went back to the house outside Houston. I didn't leave you, I'm never leaving you."

Brushing the hair out of her face he lightly kissed her on the lips the way he had done almost their whole lives. She seemed to find her voice and asked, "Why do you go to Texas?"

Matt was confused, surely she knew why he went there. He was about to ask when the nurse stuck her head in and said, "Mr. Houston, you have a phone call."

He looked up and said, "Ah...yeah...I'll be right there." Matt looked back at C.J. who had gone back to staring at the wall and told her, "I'll be right back and I'll explain everything." He rubbed her arms and then got up.

Once he walked out of the room he encountered Sydney, "You don't really have a phone call. I saw you two talking and I thought it would be best if you and I talked privately before I see C.J. this morning."

Matt told him, "I think it would be best. You and I need to clear the air and get a few things straight."

The two men entered Sydney's office. Sydney offered him a cup of coffee. Matt refused so Sydney made himself one and then said while stirring the cup, "Mr. Houston I want you to know that my giving C.J. that sedative yesterday was in her best interests..."

Before he could explain Matt interrupted, "I thought I made it very clear that I didn't want anyone drugging her. This isn't a typical case, I..."

Sydney interrupted this time, "I know its not, its actually going to be more difficult than I first imagined."

Matt stopped and then asked as if the wind had just been knocked out of him, "What do you mean?" He had felt so confident that putting her in this hospital was the best thing and this doctor had seemed so sure before that he could help her, but what if he had learned something yesterday to make him doubt that. All these fears were racing around in Matt's brain.

Sydney motioned for him to sit down as he did. He explained, "Listen, let me ask you something...does you case have anything to do with Italy? Or anyone from Italy?"

Matt looked dumbfounded. How could he know? He was sure Sydney wasn't going to put her under again after he left yesterday morning. This was either very good, in that C.J. was making progress or very bad in that Sacan could have this doctor working for him. Matt had to tread carefully here so he asked, "I'm not sure yet. Why do you ask?"

Sydney then got up and picked up the dog tags off his desk and handed them to Matt. He told him, "Because of the way C.J. reacted to these." Matt studied them for a second recognizing an engraving that looked exactly like the doodle on Daniel Parsons' notes. Sydney continued, "Yesterday C.J. and I went for a little walk outside in the courtyard. It gave us a chance to talk about something other than why she's here."

Matt looked up at him and asked, "What did she tell you? Did she remember something?"

Sydney told him, "Actually I did a lot of the talking. Once I realized that she didn't remember our session that morning and failed to follow my last command, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. However, I need her to be relaxed. Stress is only going to work against us. So I let her guide the conversation. When she asked I recalled to her the memory of your birthday party. That led to a discussion of a unit I worked with in the Korean War."

Matt asked as Sydney took another drink of coffee, "You served in Korea?"

Sydney nodded and put his cup down, "Yes I did. I worked in the same capacity I do now, helping soldiers wounded psychologically by the war. In one of those units, the commander had a horse named Sophie, the kindest most gentle animal I've ever seen."

Matt chuckled for just a second with a sad smile and said, "Yeah, sounds like the exact opposite of our Sophie."

Sydney smiled and explained further, "That led me to telling her about that mobile army hospital. I brought her in here to show her a picture of them. She spotted those and her whole demeanor changed. I noticed the body language first, but then it went way beyond that. It resembled everything you described in your initial report to us. She even complained of a headache. I gave her that sedative telling her it was an aspirin just to be on the safe side."

Matt asked, "I thought that's what those nurses were for. Aren't they in there just to make sure she doesn't do anything?"

Sydney chuckled a little and said, "Yes they are, but Mr. Houston...I read the whole file. Little nurse Amy doesn't stand a chance against your wife if she was really determined to do something. Amy is only 5 foot tall and weighs 100 pounds soaking wet. You wife has a black belt."

Matt smiled but then turned serious and said, "You really thought she was going to do something, didn't you?" The joking had just turned to terror for him.

Sydney nodded and told him, "I did, but Mr. Houston, she didn't. I made sure of that. Now tell me. What bothered you the most...the fact that she was given something to make her sleep or the idea that she knew she was given something?"

Matt didn't quite understand what he was asking. "What do you mean?"

Sydney then explained leaning forward, "What I mean is, were you concerned that we were giving her a drug or were you more worried about C.J. knowing we were drugging her. Being forced a sedative by injection can be scary and I would completely understand if that were your primary concern."

Matt nodded his head and then answered, "I understand why you did it and I apologize. I just know C.J. and this whole ordeal is bad enough without being admitted to mental hospital and then being forced a drug, I..." He closed his eyes.

Sydney patted his shoulder as he got up and said, "I know. Listen, she thought it was aspirin. She has no idea." He put the dog tags back and then asked, "Did these help your investigation at all?"

Matt then felt much more comfortable with Sydney and answered, "Yeah I think they do a little. It would help more if I knew what that symbol meant."

Sydney turned around and told him, "Its a replica of his tattoo, and C.J. asked me the exact same question."

Matt then asked, "Do you know what the tattoo stood for?"

Sydney told him, "It represented his family. If I remember correctly, he told me it was a family tradition. All boys were given that mark somewhere on their body to claim them as part of the family. I distinctly remember him being very proud to be a part of that northern Italian family."

Matt walked over to the desk and asked to see the dog tags again. "Nedici...is that the family name?"

Sydney answered, "Yes it was. Why? Is that important?"

Matt answered as the wheels turned in his head, "That may just be everything."

Sydney told him, "Speaking of everything, I need to know everything if I'm going to help C.J. What else have you learned? Were you able to get into that safe?"

Matt took a deep breath and decided to trust him. He told him, "Yes I was. I also have the U.S. Marshal's file on C.J. You might want to take a look at that. I have everything in my room."

Sydney then said, "Ok, how about I look that over while you go take a walk with C.J. yourself." He shook his head, "I watched her earlier this morning and then went to check on her when I saw you in there with her. Her demeanor hasn't changed any. I have a feeling we may need to take a day off and try the hypnosis tomorrow. Give her a good day to try to recover if she's doing what I think she's doing."

Matt asked, "What is it you think she's doing?"

Sydney answered, "I think she was given commands when she was first put under. I really think that when she gets close to remembering something about her parents' deaths, she was told to either to become ill or physically try to hurt herself." Matt looked at him with concern all over his face. Sydney then said, "Hey, its my job to worry about that, not yours. You go talk to C.J. and when I figure more out, I'll let you know."

Matt nodded and then left.