Here is what I hope is the first of two chapters today as I will be unable to post anything tomorrow.
Eric climbed from the Hummer and stood waiting for his reluctant passenger to exit the vehicle, the retired detective was sweating profusely in the sweltering Miami heat. Looking around Eric spotted Frank and walked over to him, "What have we got?" he asked as his eyes swept the scene before him.
"Like I said, Delko. Neighbours called it in when the alarm was triggered, it's been wailing ever since."
"Did the neighbours see anyone enter the premises?" he knew it was a longshot but asked anyway.
Frank shook his head, "People keep themselves to themselves around here, probably why Horatio likes it here so much."
Despite the grim situation Eric couldn't help but smile at Frank's comment, for an intensely private person like Horatio it was the perfect neighbourhood. "Has anyone been inside yet?"
"Just the patrol officers who picked up the call, they've done a sweep of the house. It's clean," Frank's attention turned to the balding man standing beside Eric, "Who's your friend?"
"Andy Sipowicz, an old partner of Horatio's from NYPD." Eric replied, his eyes never leaving the house.
Frank held a hand out to the grumpy detective, "Good to meet you." he grunted.
Andy reluctantly held his hand out and shook the other man's, unnerved at how similar the tall Texan was to himself, not in height but in personality and attitude. "Can't say it's a pleasure. Nothing personal," he added at Frank's withering look.
Frank shook his head and walked away, muttering to himself. "You coming in, Delko?" he barked as he stalked towards the house.
Collecting his case he followed Frank into Horatio's home, the alarm was still shrieking, he silenced it by punching in the number. Horatio had given him a spare key and the code to his security system on the off-chance that anything happened to him. Eric felt his heart sink as it occurred to him that his worst fears were playing out in front of him and he was powerless to do anything about it. The first thing that hit him was the rancid smell, following his nose he walked into the lounge, his eyes widened as he took the scene in. "What the hell….." he trailed off as he placed his kit down and walked to the far wall, written in what looked like blood was the word 'traitor'. Taking a sample of the red substance he tested it, he turned to Frank. "It's not human blood. An animal of some kind but I won't know until we get it back to the lab."
Frank nodded but his eyes were fixed on the coffee table in the middle of the room, "I think I know where that smell is coming from."
Eric followed Frank's finger, nailed to the table was the rotting carcass of a dead rat. He was no medical examiner but the rodent appeared to have been dead for at least a few days, maggots already beginning to take up residence in their new surroundings. "Who would do this?" he asked out loud, not expecting anyone to answer.
"It's a Malucci trademark," Andy suddenly felt awkward as all eyes in the room fell on him, "When someone grasses on them this is the first thing they get treated to."
Eric wasn't sure he wanted to know but he couldn't stop himself from asking, "What happens next?"
He lifted his eyes momentarily to the younger man before returning them to the coffee table and hiking his pants up, "Trust me, kid. You don't want to know." He had spent the last eighteen years believing his old partner was a dirty cop but now seeds of doubt were beginning to take root in his mind. Whatever John had done he had certainly managed to get on the wrong side of the Malucci's but he was still convinced that he had gone rogue. The more he learnt about his partner the less sure he became about knowing what was truth and what was fiction.
Flashback. New York 1994:
The news of John's arrest had travelled around the precinct like wildfire and Andy suddenly felt the eyes of the whole station boring through him, trying to see if he was as bent as his partner.
He had walked from the locker room in a state of shock, his mind unable to process the fact that John had been caught in possession of a large amount of cocaine. As far as he knew his partner had always been anti-drugs and took a dim view of anyone who was stupid enough to get involved in them. Slowly the pieces started to fall into place, the last few months suddenly making sense.
Since his attack John had become distant and edgy, constantly distracted, seemingly always looking over his shoulder. He put it down to the trauma of the incident and told himself that John would be fine in a month or two. The opposite was true as his partner became more withdrawn, his moods becoming increasingly erratic. John was not a man to lose his temper easily but Andy could see how he balled his fists or clenched his jaw with alarming frequency these days, he looked like a man on the edge.
Acknowledging emotions and being all touchy-feely had never been Andy's strong suit and now he felt guilty for not paying more attention to his partner. John was a private man, not one to air his dirty linen in public and so Andy kept his nose out of whatever was happening in his life. Over the past few weeks he had seen a noticeable difference in his partner's appearance, the dark circles under his eyes and the unshaven stubble on his face were so unlike his well-groomed friend. He put it down to the fact that John was probably having woman trouble, he had a heart of gold but he sure knew how to pick the high-maintenance ladies.
He couldn't stand the looks that were being thrown at him, standing up he pulled his suit jacket from the back of his chair and made his way downstairs. He frowned at the looks the uniformed officers were giving him sensing the word had travelled down here too. Clearing his throat he loosened his tie a little and walked over to the desk sargent, "Is Kelly still in holding?"
Checking his clipboard the sargent nodded, "Cell number five."
The walk to the cells seemed to take forever, evening was fast approaching and Andy knew that the cells would only get more cramped and louder as the night wore on. His feet clicked as he walked along the corridor towards his partner's cell, ignoring the taunts of the other prisoners.
He found John sitting with his feet up on one of the stiff and narrow beds in the cell, knees to his chest and with his arms resting on top of them. The younger man looked at him before returning his gaze to the bed. "What the hell is going on, John?"
The red head kept his gaze averted, head hanging before he finally spoke. "I'm sorry Andy, I never meant for you to find ou.t"
He walked closer to the cell as if trying to see what had caused John to become corrupt, "Tell me this is all some sort of mistake."
"I wish I could, Andy. I'm so sorry." He hung his head in shame, it was too painful to look at his partner and see the betrayal in his eyes.
"No, this isn't you. I refuse to believe it."
"Please, just leave it. I got greedy and now I'm paying the price," he looked at his partner with such sad eyes that it almost broke Andy's heart.
"Why? Why did you do it?" He could feel his anger building as he was unable to comprehend what had changed in his friend.
"Believe me, Andy. It's better that you don't know," he hung his head in shame once more, willing the tears not to fall from his eyes.
"What about Robin and Lori? Did you ever think of them before you stuck your hand in the sweet jar?" Andy's voice rose as his frustration increased.
"If only you knew," thought the other man silently. "They're nothing to do with this Andy and neither are you so why don't you back off and leave me alone?" He hated being so cold with his partner but it was the only way he would be able to keep him safe, to get Andy involved in this mess would only place all of them in even more danger. "All you ever did was drag me down anyway, I'm much better off not being lumbered with a liability like you. They pay me well, I don't need to be stuck working in a squad room full of pricks like you anymore. The badge means nothing to me." He couldn't believe the words were actually coming out of his own mouth but like a dam bursting its banks once he started he found himself powerless to stop.
Bristling at John's tone he huffed and hiked his trousers over his large stomach again, "Fine, if that's the way you want it. Don't expect me to be at your bail hearing tomorrow. I hope you rot in here." He took one more disgusted look at the man he had thought of as family before walking away.
Only when Andy had left did John allow the tears to fall from his eyes.