Chapter 7

Tiffany Williams hummed happily as she ate her salad and trolled through the latest news on her tablet. She had another half hour left of her lunch break and was looking to see what was going on out in the world. A headline caught her eye and the fork froze on the way to her mouth. No. It couldn't be. Not after all this time!

Suspect arrested in eight year old murder of LAPD Detective Francis Boyle. Her hand trembled as she carefully placed the fork on the table and clicked on the article to open it. LAPD announced today that they have made an arrest in the eight year old murder of Detective Francis Boyle. While they would not reveal his name, they did confirm the suspect was another LAPD detective who had once been partnered with the murdered man. There was more but she didn't need to read it, she knew the story only too well. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized her life was over. They'd arrested Marty for Boyle's death and she couldn't let him take the fall.

She looked up when the door opened and a coworker entered. She felt her heart skip around in her chest the way it always did when he was near. She'd been in love with Doug pretty much since the first moment she'd met him, but had never let him know. Lately he'd seemed to be interested in her as more than a friend and she'd hoped that he might ask her out. That dream had burned to ash the moment she had laid eyes on the article. The tears spilled onto her cheeks and Doug rushed to her side. "Tiff? What's the matter? Are you okay?"

She could only shake her head no. He was going to hate her when this all came out. "I need to go to the police department. I need to go talk to Mr. Givens." she said brokenly.

"Police? Why?" Doug looked at the woman he'd only recently discovered he'd fallen in love with, worry about her beating a tattoo in his chest. "Come on, Tiff! You can tell me. There's nothing you can't tell me!"

"Yes, there is! There are things about me that you don't know. Things I'd hoped no one would ever have to know. Now I have no choice!" she hiccoughed out. She stood up and started for the door, Doug on her heels, not wanting to let her out of his sight when she was so upset. "Doug! I, I need to talk to Mr. Givens alone. Then I'm going down to the police department, alone."

"Like hell you are! There is no way you are in any shape to drive. If you really have to go, I'll take you. Mr. Givens will understand."

"I highly doubt it." she said softly. "Why would you want to go with me?"

"Come on Tiff, do you really not know by now? I, I care about you. A lot."

If he had said those words to her yesterday, it would have made her the happiest woman on the planet. Now, they hurt her, she'd been so close to getting everything she wanted. Marty Deeks was the reason why she'd even had the chance to get it. She sighed, Doug was going to find out anyway, why not let him take her, let her pretend for a while that things might turn out okay. She nodded and turned back to her task of finding her boss. When she approached his office, she could see him at his desk, his head bent down as he worked on some report. She knocked on his door. He looked up and smiled. Tiffany Warner was one of his best employees and he was going to surprise her with a promotion and raise at the end of the month.

"Tiffany! Come in, my dear, come in." As she came closer he saw the tears on her face and his smile fled. She closed the door behind her, Doug watching them with concern. He stood up and pulled a chair out for her. "Tiffany? What's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

"I'm going to have to quit Mr. Givens. I'm sorry but I have to leave right now and I won't be back."

"What? Why? You seemed so happy here!"

"I was, I am. It's a personal matter and not something I want to talk about right now." He'd find out soon enough and would be glad she was no longer working for him.

"Are you sure? Is there something I could help you with? Something that would mean you could stay here?"

"No, Mr. Givens, but thank you! No one is going to be able to help me with this." She stood up and walked to the door. Looking back she said "I want to thank you for the opportunity to work here. It's been wonderful and a large part of that was working for you." With that she turned back, opened the door and stepped through it, Paul Givens watching her walk away in confusion.

Doug looked in through the door and said "I'm taking some personal time Mr. Givens. I need to be sure she's okay."

Paul nodded in agreement. "Don't bother taking personal time Doug. Just take care of her and make sure she doesn't need for anything." Doug nodded back and followed Tiffany to her desk.

She pulled on her jacket and picked up her purse. "I need to stop by my place and pick up something before heading to the police." He just nodded and followed her out to her car. She wordlessly handed him the keys and got into the passenger seat. He got in and started the car. The drive to her place was made in silence. She was a million miles away and he didn't know how to reach her. He'd been to her place several times and remembered the way.

When they got there he asked "Do you want me to come in with you?"

"No. I won't be long. I just need to pick up one thing and I'll be right out again." She got out of the car and walked slowly into the building. He thought she walked like an old woman, like she had aged years in the last half hour. He wanted to be there for her, no matter what she thought she'd done. True to her word, she was back out in minutes. She got back into the car and said "Let's go. Wilshire precinct on West Venice." Doug pointed the car in that direction and she sat quietly, going over in her mind what she was going to say. They got there quicker than she'd hoped. Her life would end when she walked through the door. She sat in the car for a couple minutes, trying to work up the courage to go in. She opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. From behind her license she pulled out an old tattered business card. She ran a finger over it; she'd kept it but had hoped she'd never have to use it again. She turned it over and read the name written on the back. Sighing, she got out of the car and marched into the police station, Doug beside her all the way.

She approached the front desk and said "Excuse me? I'd like to speak with Lt. Bates."

The officer behind the desk looked up, taking in the distraught young woman standing in front of her, her boyfriend hovering in the background. "Do you have an appointment ma'am?"

"No, but I need to see him. Right away."

"Let me check to see if he's in the building. Can I tell him what this is in regards to?"

"Yes, the Francis Boyle murder."

The man's eyebrows went up. Everyone knew they'd arrested another cop for that murder. He dialed the number to Bates office and the man answered. "Bates."

"Lt. Bates, I have a woman here asking to see you. She says it's about the Francis Boyle murder." He listened for a second and then put his hand over the receiver. "Can I get your name?"

"Tiffany Warner."

He repeated the name into the phone and then said "I'll send her right up." He hung up the phone and said "He'll see you. Take the elevators to the tenth floor. He's in office 1017."

"Thank you." Tiffany turned and looked at Doug. "You can wait here. In fact, you can go home if you'd like. I doubt I will be leaving this building with you."

"Nope. You're not getting rid of me that easy. I'm here to support you and I'm not letting you out of my sight."

She opened her mouth to argue with him but then shrugged and turned towards the elevator bank. She pushed the button and noticed that her hand was steady. She had resigned herself to this and was starting to realize that this had been hanging over her for years, coloring her every decision. It would be a relief to get it out in the open. The elevator doors opened and they entered. Doug pushed 10 and then reached down to take her hand. It was ice cold. He squeezed it to let her know he was there. The doors opened and they exited, heading towards the office that held her fate.

They both stood outside the door to 1017. Neither moving to knock, feeling frozen in time and space. Doug with uncertainty, Tiffany trying to enjoy her last moments of freedom. She finally reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She turned the knob and entered the room, taking in the older man behind the desk. He looked gruff and she inconsequentially thought that she really didn't like his mustache.

"Lt. Bates?"

"Yes. Ms. Warner?"

"Yes."

"Please be seated. What can I do for you?" Tiffany and Doug both moved forward and sat facing him.

"I'm here to confess to the murder of Francis Boyle. You've arrested the wrong person."

Bates stared at the young woman in front of him. She would have been, what, 13, 14 when Boyle was killed? There was no way she had done it. "Ms. Warner. I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish today but we have the murderer behind bars. The evidence all points to him."

Tiffany reached into her bag and pulled out a leather wallet, placing it on the desk between them. Bates scowled at it and reached out to take it. He opened it and found himself staring at the face of Frank Boyle. It was his LAPD badge. They had never found it at the scene. He looked up at her again and then looked at the man beside her. He was as stunned as Bates was. "Where did you get this?"

"I took it from the room after I shot that bastard to death. I pulled the trigger again and again until there were no bullets left in the gun and then I pulled it some more. I wiped it down and left. I'm not really sure why I took it or why I kept it but now I'm glad I did. Marty didn't kill Boyle, I did."

"How do you know Deeks?"

"I was a working girl. I look younger than I am and some of the johns liked that. Boyle was one of them. He would get high, get one of us into a motel and then get off on beating us. One day he came by with Marty in tow. He got a little rough and Marty pulled him away from me. Boyle then hit him, several times. Marty shoved him away and yelled at him to go cool off. After Boyle walked away, Marty was kind to me. He told me I shouldn't be out there. That I could do better than selling myself to jerks like Boyle and then he gave me his card. He said he used to be a Public Defender and he knew people who could help me. People who would find me someplace to live, help me get my GED, help me find a job, get me some training if that's what I wanted." She stopped to take a breath. She refused to look at Doug; sure he was now looking at her in disgust.

"My name back then was Julie Sanders. Marty helped me to change it legally after I got my GED. I ran away from home when I was 16. My stepfather decided marrying my mother gave him certain rights to me as well. If I didn't cooperate he'd beat me. I tried to tell my mother but she wouldn't believe me. Once I was on the streets, it wasn't long before I ended up in the life. I had no skills and nowhere to go. I didn't believe Marty; I thought he had ulterior motives. At that point in my life, I pretty much didn't trust anyone. I took the card to shut him up and walked away. I looked back, once, to find him staring after me sadly. I almost went back to him. I've wished every day since then, that I had. Things would have turned out differently."

Bates had an odd look on his face, one that Tiffany couldn't decipher. She had no idea that it was guilt. The man was just now figuring out that Deeks had been telling the truth and that he hadn't stood by him. He remembered John Quinn and how the man had tried to frame him for being Fisk's mole in LAPD. Deeks had been undercover within the LAPD, something that Bates now realized that he'd never really forgiven him for. Not only for lying to him but for the fact that he'd fooled him. He'd been a skilled interrogator in the army during Desert Storm. He should have been able to see through Deeks's lies but he hadn't.

He'd been grateful to the detective and NCIS for not only uncovering Quinn as the real mole, but also for saving his life. However, the sting of the lies had never gone away. He'd spoken with Deeks's partner again later. She'd told him that Deeks had been convinced that Bates wasn't dirty. She told him about the look on her partner's face when they saw him put on the baseball hat and drive away from the meet Fisk was having with the Aryans. How he'd then thought that Bates really was the mole and how desperately disappointed he was, how he'd swallowed hard before pulling away to tail him. And yet, when they followed him to where he was supposed to meet Quinn, even then Deeks hadn't really believed. He'd figured out that Quinn was pitting the two of them against each other. Bates thought that, though he'd told Deeks that he was still one of his, things had changed between them that day. He wondered if the man would ever be able to forgive him.

Tiffany watched the silent man sitting across from her, wondering what was going on in his head. She was stunned when Doug reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked at him in surprise and saw there were tears on his face but no disgust. She took strength from that, turned back and continued.

"Two nights later, Boyle picked me up on Culver and took me to that motel. He was high as a kite and started to beat me. He'd done it before but this time it was different. He started talking about Marty and how he had no right to get between him and what was his. I thought he meant me. It wasn't until later that I found out Marty had reported Boyle for hurting a suspect with scalding hot coffee and for putting his gun in Marty's mouth when he'd protested. The beating was harder and went on longer than normal. I started to get really scared that he was going to kill me. His gun was just sitting there on the end table, next to the bed and I was able to get my hands on it. I didn't mean to kill him; I just wanted him to stop. He laughed and staggered at me, his fist raised, shouting that I'd never have the guts to shoot him. I just pulled the trigger and he fell back on the bed, blood started to stain his shirt. I think I was in shock. I kept pulling the trigger even once the gun was empty. The weird thing? In my nightmares, that's the sound that wakes me screaming. The click of the empty gun."

Doug spoke for the first time. "It was self-defense Tiffany. Why didn't you just tell the cops that?"

Tiffany laughed bitterly, feeling so much older than him. "I was a hooker, with a record, who'd just s ot a cop. Do you really think that anyone would believe me? I wiped down the gun, grabbed his badge off the end table and got out of there as quick as I could. I stayed in my room for three days after that, waiting for the cops to show up and arrest me. Needless to say, my pimp was less than happy with me. I still had this."

She held up the tattered business card and Doug took it from her and read out loud. "Detective Martin A. Deeks." He turned it over. "Lt. Roger Bates?"

Bates looked at the card in surprise. "How did my name get on the back? That's Deeks's handwriting."

"Yes. As I said, I had the card and I decided to take a chance and call him. If someone were looking for a hooker who'd shot a cop, well then, I wouldn't be that person anymore. He answered right away and was so pleased when I told him I'd thought about it and would like to take him up on his offer. He never let on until later that he was a suspect in the murder I'd committed. By the time I found out, he'd already been cleared. He came to get me. He was so upset when he saw all the bruises on my face and arms. He asked me who did it and I just said sometimes johns get a little out of control. He brought me to a shelter where he volunteered. The people there were wonderful. He put me in touch with a couple advocacy groups and they did everything he'd promised. I got my GED, I got some computer training and they helped me get a job. That job led to other jobs until I finally ended up at my current one. I was happy, I was fulfilled, and I was my own person again."

"He sounds like a great guy." Said Doug.

"He is. When I tried to thank him in the only way I knew how, he turned me down gently. He asked me to pay it forward. To help others I knew to get out of the life. And I did. I've gotten five other girls, over the last six years, into the same programs I went into. There were two others I tried to help but they couldn't deal with the changes and went back to the streets. The five I helped? I asked them for the same thing as Marty. To pay it forward. I've kept in touch with them and each has helped a couple girls themselves. One even helped a young man get out. When you think about it, the number of people Marty Deeks helped get a different life has grown exponentially, but it started with me. Not too long after I was out I showed Marty that I still had his card. By then he was doing undercover work. He took the card and wrote your name on the back. He told me to contact you if I needed something and I couldn't reach him. He told me I could trust you. That's why I came to you today."

Each word made Bates feel worse for not standing by his detective.

She sighed and said quietly "I've always suspected that he knew it was me that shot Boyle. It was well known that he liked to get high and beat on the girls. The bruises might have raised his suspicions but he never asked and I never volunteered. We've kept in touch over the years. He always wants to know how things are going in my life. He's like the big brother I never had. I never thought he would end up arrested for something I did. I couldn't let it go. So here I am. I've confessed. What do I need to do now?"

~,~,~,~

A/N – okay, now everyone knows what we already did, Deeks is innocent. I had hoped to get this done before Monday night but I think here is good enough. I will have a couple more chapters to tie everything up, but I doubt they will be up before then. My hands are starting to hurt from typing for three days straight. Plus my brain is fried. Although that may have been a fact for years prior to this story. LOL! Enjoy!

A/N 2 – thanks to yellowcallalilly for questioning why Bates behaved how he did. I added that whole section of the story based on her prompting.