Her eyes straining against the lids covering them, Hannah Beck can see the entire scene. The moment of her husband's death replaying like a old record over and over in her mind. The worst hour of her life. She knows she hasn't anything else to live for. Russell was her rock. He was her companion. Her dream, her muse. Her everything. She moans softly, opening her eyes to see yet another officer sitting at the foot of her bed, "Another one." She whispers, smirking slightly to herself.
"How are you feeling, Mrs. Beck?" Michael Tao smiles to her, keeping his voice calm and soft as to not alarm her.
She hums, "Well, officer, how do I appear?"
"Point taken." He nods, "I'm Lieutenant Michael Tao of the LAPD Major Crimes division. Is there anything I can get you? Something to drink or eat?"
"A nice glass of gin." Hannah releases a breath she didn't know she was holding as she attempted to adjust her position, "Think they'll let me have that?" Her voice hoarse from the sedatives and pain medication running through her veins.
"With your medications, probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to ask." Mike smiles, making sure he is able to be seen via the cameras Buzz installed in the room. Since they had mirandized her the day before, it needed not to be uttered again and she didn't need to be made aware of the presence of the cameras either.
"Where is Rusty?" She swallows.
"He's safe. He's where he was before."
"With the Captain, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Hannah smiles sadly, "Good...I'd like for him to stay there. If that's okay..."
"I'm sure there will be no trouble ensuring his placement in Captain Raydor's home." Tao nods.
"I have nothing to live for anymore. I don't want to rot in some prison cell."
"You believe you'll be arrested?"
"Of course. You'll say I killed my husband. I'm sure the boy even told you I would." Hannah absently rubs her thumb against her forefinger in thought, "I wouldn't, but...I'm sure Rusty would throw me under the bus if he knew it meant he could be with the Captain."
"Actually, ma'am, Rusty is concerned for your wellbeing. Apparently, before his death, your husband informed him on the happenings before his birth. The reasons for the strained relationship between his mother and yourself, also the subsequent running away of his mother during her third trimester of pregnancy." He watches her closely, "Mrs. Beck, have you ever been formally diagnosed by a physician of any mental illness?"
She sighs heavily, going quiet for a moment, "Is that what this is all going to be about?"
"Well, it will tell us if you can be held accountable for your actions. If a preexisting mental illness is present during the time of the murder, Rusty has expressed his desire to see that you obtain treatment instead of going to prison on a long term basis." Tao nods slowly.
"He...He did that for me?"
He opens a folder in his hands, ruffling a paper and putting it in front of the small pile, "Yes. He thought highly of your husband, Russell, and he stated...and I quote, 'He wouldn't be mad, that just wasn't him. He loved her something crazy. I want to do what he would want done. Revenge is petty.' What I just read to you was an excerpt from the statement Rusty Beck made last night in our offices about the incident." He tilts his head to the side, watching the woman about his age.
Hannah brings a hand to her face, wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye, "Sharon's husband came to me. I...I didn't know who he was. Never met him, but...he showed me pictures of my daughter. Showed me that she was pregnant again."
"Her husband being..."
"His name was Bruce...Bruce Morgan."
Tao nods slowly, "And did this Bruce Morgan threaten you in any way?"
"Yes...in a way. He said his wife was running around on him, My Sharon. Said the baby probably wasn't his, but he wanted to raise it as his own. Said all the drugs when he was younger rendered him sterile." Hannah stares at the wall, her thoughts racing through her head, "He said the father was harassing them. I...I never forgave her for not putting Rusty's best interests first, but...she was still my daughter. I still wanted her to...be happy. I wanted her to prove me wrong."
"Okay, so Bruce Morgan knew the baby wasn't his, but wanted to protect his wife, your daughter?"
"Correct."
"Did she mention Rusty at all?"
"I didn't see her." Hannah shakes her head slightly, moaning from the pain, "I was only shown photographs."
"Was your husband alerted to this?" Tao leans forward slightly, closing the folders.
"I didn't want to get his hopes up. Bruce asked for money and...I thought maybe if I gave them enough, they'd let us have Rusty. Sharon would let us have Rusty again. I didn't know he was living with Captain Raydor or all the backstory with his mother." She shakes his head, wincing, "Lieutenant, could you get the nurse? I'm...I'd like something for pain."
"Of course, Mrs. Beck."
"Please...Call me Hannah. I didn't kill my husband, Lieutenant. I love him." Tears return to the woman's eyes, both from the pain she feels and the sorrow of losing most of her family.
Tao watches her for a moment then presses her call button before walking out to the desk and talking to the nurse.
Sharon walks through the corridors of the office building, the familiar young man walking next to her. "Dress shirt, a nice pair of slacks. You look great, Rusty. I must say, though, it is completely unnecessary."
Rusty smirks, shrugging his shoulders, "You've always said that if you want to impress someone, dress nicely. People always judge books by their covers."
She nods slowly, "I'm fairly certain I've never said that."
"I've coined your lingo." He glances up at her, "You should Lieutenant Sykes impression. It's...kind of spot on."
Sharon smirks, stopping in the main area of the murder room, nodding when she finds it almost completely empty, "Well, that's either a very good thing or a bad thing." She sighs, turning to look at the white board. The woman moves closer, examining photographs of the crime scenes, "Your grandfather is deceased, Rusty?" She turns her head, looking at the young man.
Rusty tilts his head down, "I don't want to talk about it."
"This is what you didn't want to talk about?"
He feels some anger rising, "I'm back with you, aren't I? Flynn said you were a real mess while I was away. You wouldn't make it without me."
Sharon faces him, pointing to the picture, "That has nothing to do with this."
"I didn't see anything. I just heard stuff. That's all." Rusty shakes his head, unable to look at the board, "I told them everything I know...everything I saw. Can't you just read that?"
"I apologize." She sighs softly, gently laying a hand on his shoulder, "Rusty, I was not aware of your grandfather's demise. I can only express to you my deepest sympathy. He seemed like a good man."
"He was. He was going to bring me back to you. Helped me pack and everything." He smiles a little, "I think I looked like him a little. There were pictures of when they met and had mom and stuff. I...I'd like to have them, if it's possible."
"Absolutely." Sharon nods, "When this case is over, we will recover anything you-"
"Captain!" Sykes grins, running over to her boss, "You are not going to believe what Sanchez and I found."
She turns slowly, facing the young woman, "Why was I not made aware of the new developments the Beck case?"
Amy stares at the woman, a nervous expression crosses her face, "Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza thought it would be best if you weren't made aware and could focus not only on yourself, but on Rusty as well since you've got him back."
Sharon nods, "I assumed they had something to do with it," She smiles, "Okay. Tell me what you've found."
"We dusted the weapons room of the Beck home, where Hannah Beck keeps her collection, and found numerous fingerprints. Most of which not belonging to Hannah, Russell, or Rusty." She smirks, "There were obviously some weapons missing since she had them all displayed." Sykes rambles off quickly, "Some of the fingerprints we found match Bruce Morgan..also, a drug dealer who goes by the street name of Ratface." The young woman hands her a file with a photograph attached to the top with a brightly colored paper clip.
"Sounds nice, doesn't it?" Sanchez grins, taking a seat at his desk, but listening to the conversation, "My ex-girlfriends have called me nicer as we were breaking up..."
Sharon smirks in his direction, "Amy, find me places that this Ratface frequents. When you find those places, I want the two of you to bring him in."
He stands from his chair, "Captain, Ratface is not someone to take lightly. He will most likely have men at his disposal."
"Take some uniformed officers with you...and be careful, please." She sighs, motioning for Rusty to follow her to her office as she turns away from the officers, "Rusty, have you ever heard of this man before? You may have seen him while you were living with your mother?" She offers him the picture that was on top of the folder.
"Um...Yeah. Vince." Rusty nods, sitting in the large green chair opposite her desk once they enter her officer, "Mom bought from him a few times. I was told to call him Uncle Vince." He offers the picture back to her.
Sharon smiles, taking it from him, "So, he was close with your family?"
"Yeah...if Mom was high enough, they'd even...and I could hear them through the walls. Bruce wouldn't come home for days sometimes. He kind of let Vince do whatever he wanted anyway." He sighs, "Vince actually wasn't all that bad except for the drugs, he never took any though. He was nice to me. Made sure Mom had things."
"Okay." Sharon looks through the file, "He was imprisoned a few years ago...drug possession with intent to sell. Since he was incarcerated, we would have his DNA on file. Call this a hunch." She smirks, calling the lab. She references the various case files and tells them to run tests.
Provenza watches Morales, "So, you're telling me that you think Russell Beck may have killed himself."
"Precisely." The doctor smiles to him, "The burn marks on his hands show a pulling motion rather than a pushing away. Allow me to demonstrate." Morales hands Flynn the gun, being held in a large ziplock bag, "After examining Hannah Beck's wounds in the hospital, I believe she was trying to kill herself and instead of allowing her to do so, the victim quickly took hold of the barrel and pulled it toward himself. I believe his death was accidental, manslaughter at most." He shows how he believes Russell pulled the gun toward himself, the cause for most of his face missing.
Flynn shakes his head, "Damn it."
"There's no way he was defending himself?" Provenza tries.
"I don't believe so. If that were the case, he'd have slight burn marks on this portion of his hands as opposed to this portion." Morales motions on the dead body's hand, showing the detectives what he was referring to.
"Hannah Beck is innocent." Flynn places the weapon back onto the table, then runs his hand through his hair, "She's still crazy."
"Tao called me, said she's as cool as a cucumber and clear headed as well now. She's schizophrenic and had not had any medications in her system for a long time now. Thought she was better years ago." Provenza nods.
"A common mistake made by patients of mental illness. The believe they feel better and can stop taking medications. It isn't a cold, it doesn't just go away. Schizophrenics are notorious for it." Morales offers, "On the other hand, it would explain her actions in more ways than one."
"Now what?" Flynn looks to his friend.
"Let's see what Sykes and Sanchez have and maybe we'll have some answers." Provenza nods.
"There's no need, I already sent them out for a drug dealer named Ratface." Sharon Raydor stands at the door of the morgue, arms folded.
"Welcome back." Morales smiles brightly.
"Thank you, Doctor." She nods, "Anything from Russell Beck?"
"We've ruled out Hannah Beck. His death was accidental." Flynn nods, "So...Ratface?"
"Come up to my office, Lieutenants. We will speak more about it there." Sharon grins to the medical examiner, "Dr. Morales, a pleasure as always." She turns on her heel.
"Likewise." Morales calls out to her, watching the officers follow her out.
"Ratface?" Provenza follows closely.
"Had relations with Sharon Beck. Waiting for test results. We have Bruce Morgan's fingerprints inside Hannah Beck's weapon room. I've sent Sykes and Sanchez to apprehend this Ratface." She smirks, "I think we're close." Raydor glances to her phone, taking it from the pocket of her skirt, she answers it, listening to the other end. She smirks, "Ratface is the biological father of Sharon Beck's fetus."
"You come back for...what...How long have you even been here for?" The shorter man looks to her.
"Twenty minutes." Sharon answers honestly, folding her arms as she walks.
"Twenty minutes and you've essentially already solved this case."
"Seems that way." She nods, stepping off the elevator, she returns to her office.
"That woman is unbelievable." Provenza shakes his head, walking with his friend.
Hours pass and the offices become a standstill until a boisterous Asian man is ushered into an interview room. They allow the man to settle for a good twenty minutes before Captain Sharon Raydor and Lieutenant Andy Flynn enter the room together.
Raydor offers the man a closed mouth smile as she enters the room, allowing Flynn to speak first.
Flynn nods to the man, "Mr. Chen, I am Lieutenant Andy Flynn and this is Captain Sharon Raydor. We just want to ask you a few questions."
"I didn't do anything. Your men hustled me." Chen remains calm, as does his tone.
"Lieutenant, could you remove Mr. Chen's restraints, please?" Raydor nods, watching the man, "Mr. Chen-"
"Please, call me Vince." He smirks, folding his hands on the table once Flynn releases them. His face scarred with three deep cuts across the surface, it is obvious this is how he probably got his nickname. "So, can I call you Sharon?"
"I'd rather you didn't." She shakes her head, looking him in the eye, "The people who work for you gave my people quite a hard time."
Vince nods, leaning back in his chair, "They're sworn to protect me. So, that's what they did."
Sharon nods, "I understand." She nods to Flynn when he returns to his seat.
"Mr. Chen, does this woman look familiar to you?" Flynn slides a picture of Sharon Beck across the table.
"Sure. That's Shar. She had a kid, was getting ready for another. Her and Bruce were looking forward to it. Tried to change their life around and shit." Vince nods, "Heard she died though. It sucks."
"Now, Vince, we know you were the father of the baby she was carrying and we have your fingerprints inside the home of her mother." Raydor nods, "So, what can you tell me about the last time you saw her?"
"What I can tell you and what I'm willing to tell you are two different things."
"Okay." She smirks, "And if I were willing to make you an offer for what you know, would that change?"
"Depends on what the deal is." Ratface nods.
"See, that isn't how this works, you tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I'm willing to offer."
"Then no." He shakes his head.
"There is a kid out there who just lost a mother. He will never have her back and you're being an asshole about a deal?" Flynn stands, anger covering his face.
"Lieutenant, if Mr. Chen doesn't want to work with us, there's nothing we can do about it." Raydor pats her fellow officer's arm.
"Wait...Rusty's out there?" Chen motions to the door, when he receives a nod from the Captain, he sighs, "I got into this business when I was fifteen. It made ends meet and helped my mother. The...The guys I worked for at the time, had many enemies. They killed my mother and three sisters to teach my bosses a lesson." He motions to the seat, "I'll tell you what I know if you give me immunity-"
"Hell no." Flynn glares.
"Wait a fucking minute." Ratface returns the look to the man, "And I'll tell you what I know about the people I work for. I'll help you out."
Raydor places her hand to her ear, Taylor's voice filling her earpiece. "This is going to open the drug smuggling ring wide open. Take it." She nods, not speaking a word of what she was just told, "Vince, you have my word."
"Now, they'll come after me when this is over, but-"
"There's something called the Johnson Rule that says we can order police protection to anyone even if they don't want it if we think their life may be at risk." She sighs.
"Listen, I can keep an ear to the streets for you. Give me any kind of protection and my cover will be blown." Chen nods.
"So, you're asking for a death sentence..." Flynn watches the man in front of them.
"Whatever happens, happens."
Raydor watches him, understanding his sense of duty, "Okay." She nods.
"Bruce wasn't too happy. He always hated her. Strung her along for...Shit...I don't even know. He found out she was knocked up. Then he remembered some story Sharon had told him about her mother offering to buy her kid when she was knocked up with Rusty." Vinnie nods, "So we went to her parents place and talked to the crazy bitch. She gave him five grand. Said there would be more when he brought her the baby and even more if he brought her Rusty too. Then he told her some shit story about some guys trying to hurt Sharon and crazy gave him even more, but I believed that one too." He laughs a little, "Then he turned it around. He was pissed off. Suddenly cared that Sharon was stepping out on him. Paid me to drive, saying the guy would follow Sharon. I believed it at the time."
"So, you drove what type of car?" Flynn takes a deep breath.
"A black Mitsu Gallant." He nods.
"Please continue, Vince." Raydor nods, offering a smile.
"Yeah, so...We waited. He said she was getting checked. He pretended he was happy about it after Sharon wanted to keep it. Fooled her, fooled me. I didn't..." Vince swallows, "I kind of loved her. I've seen her type before. I wanted her to be happy for a change. That wasn't going to happen with Bruce." He nods, "So, we waited, and she came out of the doctor's office. He shot the hell out of her and dropped the gun. I didn't know that's what he was going to do. Ya gotta believe me."
The woman tilts her head to the side, "Actually, Mr. Chen, everything you said matches up. I'll have the papers with the terms of our agreement drafted up for you to sign." She stands, "Vince, you did a great thing today."
"May as well do one good thing in your life." Ratface nods, "I want Bruce Morgan to pay. Not only for Sharon, but for Rusty and my kid too."
Flynn holds the door for the Captain, closing it behind them, "Love conquers all?"
"She's still dead, but...something like that." Raydor sighs, "I'm going to go write up those papers. Bruce Morgan is dead to rights." She returns to her office, noticing Rusty still sitting in the seat.
"Well?" Rusty picks his head up.
"I can't really talk to you about an ongoing police investigation-"
"I know that look. You've already solved it."
She laughs softly, "Am I that transparent?"
He nods, "Was it Bruce?"
"Yeah." Sharon answers honestly, taking a moment from her computer and folding her hands in front of her, looking at him, "Are you okay?"
Rusty smiles a little, "Knowing he's going away, yeah. What about my grandmother?"
"She's sick. She'll get help, but she didn't kill your grandfather. That's been ruled an accident."
"Good...I think." He leans back in the chair, "Aside from people dying and stuff...it's been a good day."
"Aside from people dying?" She watches him.
"Yeah." Rusty sheepishly smiles, "I mean...I'm back home with you. That's the greatest thing I could ever ask for."
"Back where you belong." Sharon touches her chest, inferring her heart. Everything would be just fine.