Notes: Hey readers! I just wanted to let you all know that I am currently re-writing Partners! I have gone over this story so many times and found some mistakes that I really want to fix. So, without further delay... here is chapter five!
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Transformers. Hasbro owns them. Not me.
Trigger warning: There is mention of past physical abuse and description of injuries from said abuse. If you are not comfortable with this, you can skip the section.
Important Terms:
Olecranon fracture - elbow fracture
Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Ugh, not now... An arm groped tiredly for the vibrating offender before fingers latched onto it. Lacey picked up the phone and drowsily read it. Unknown caller. She mentally wanted to scream at the person who would dare call her at such an ungodly hour but forced herself not to. Instead, she sat up on the love seat and rubbed her eyes. The inspector yawned and ran a hand through her tangled hair and answered the phone.
"Barton."
"Hey, it's Esposito. Good to hear that you're awake. I just got a call from the captain and apparently, the doc wants to show us all something. Can you be here in about thirty minutes?"
"Make it forty so I can at least take a shower," Lacey murmured. She heard Hector chuckle through the receiver.
"You got yourself a deal. I'll save you some coffee."
"Extra cream and sugar please."
"Got it."
And then, he hung up.
Lacey placed her phone on the coffee table and looked over to where Jethro lay sleeping. She reached over the love seat and began to scratch the dog behind his ears. The German Shepherd finally awoke, yawning and blinking up at his master. He licked her hand and nestled back into his plush dog bed. The inspector rolled her eyes and climbed out of the love-seat. She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"Lazy oaf," she muttered. Jethro lifted his head again and barked. The blonde rolled her eyes and stalked out of the living room. "I know! I know! I'll get your food after my shower!" She waved her hands above her head and made her way upstairs. She walked into her room and then straight into the bathroom.
Lacey finished her shower and dressed in dark jeans and a black tank top. She stood in front of her bathroom mirror, her blonde hair still damp and resting on her shoulders as she began to brush it out. When she walked back out again, she saw Jethro lying on her queen sized bed that was placed in the middle of the room. At the moment, the navy blue covers and gray pillows were in their proper place but if Jethro were to stay any longer they would be in a jumbled mess.
"Alright, off!" Lacey whistled and Jethro hopped off the bed, trotted out of the room and went down the stairs to the kitchen. The blonde inspector followed her dog down the stairs and into the kitchen where the German Shepherd sat waiting by his food bowl.
"You are incredibly spoiled, Jethro," Lacey muttered with a roll of her eyes.
She grabbed the bowl from the floor and walked over to the large bag of dog food that sat on the counter. She filled the bowl and laughed when she turned to see Jethro staring up at her with his "puppy eyes". She placed the bowl on the ground again and ruffled her dog's fur who began to scarf down his breakfast. The blonde opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a raw-hide bone for the large dog. Jethro lifted his head and reached out to take the bone but Lacey was quick to jerk her hand back.
"Oh no," she said. She gestured to the kibble-filled bowl. "Finish up your breakfast and this will be waiting for you."
She walked out of the kitchen and strode into the living room. She placed the bone on the table where she phone lay and tugged on her combat boots. The blonde inspector looked up when she heard a bark from the entry way to the living room. Jethro stood waiting patiently for his bone; his brown eyes locked onto hers. The young woman chuckled and tossed the raw-hide to the German Shepherd who caught it and walked over to his dog bed. He flopped on the plush bed and began to chew on the bone.
"I'll see you tonight, boy," Lacey said. Jethro paused chewing on the bone and got up on all fours. She knelt down to her dog's level who then licked her hand. "Wish me luck." she murmured as she patted the dog on the head. The German Shepherd barked several times before he nudged the woman's chin with his wet nose. She wiped her chin with the back of her hand and then got up to her feet.
She gathered up her phone and wallet that sat on the lamp stand. She grabbed her leather jacket, slipped it on and walked out of the front door. The blonde woman closed the door behind her and walked down the steps. She hailed a cab, climbed in, and waited as the cabbie drove her to the precinct where she paid for his services and headed into the building again. Lacey quickly made it through security and jogged to the elevators just as they were about to close. A hand stopped the elevator from closing where Lacey looked up thank the person but stopped when she saw Ian staring down at her.
"Fancy meetin' you here," he said with a grin.
Just my luck. With a huff, the inspector entered the elevator and stood beside Ian. He allowed the elevator doors to close and pressed the 4th-floor button. Lacey pressed her back against the elevator with her arms folded over her chest and eyes narrowed at Ian back. He slowly turned around and tilted his head towards her.
"Look, I wanna apologize for yesterday; I didn't mean to offend ya. So, you mind if we start over?" Ian said. He extended his hand for her to shake it. "Ian Winters, firearms specialist."
Lacey eyed it warily before she sighed and shook the man's large hand. "Lacey Barton," she greeted.
"So, how'd your first day go?" the man asked when they broke their handshake. "Was it what you expected?"
The inspector chuckled with a shake of her head. "I am not at liberty to say, Mr. Winters," she said with a smile. Ian frowned at this, confused. "I'm afraid that is 'classified' information." she finished, making air quotes around "classified". The elevator doors opened with a ding! Lacey strode out of the elevator, leaving Ian to stand there shaking his head and chuckling under his breath.
Oh yeah, Ian thought as the elevator doors closed. A smile formed on his lips. She's gonna fit right in.
When Lacey entered the bullpen, Hector was sitting at his desk with two cups of steaming coffee on it. He was working at his desk, typing furiously on the keyboard. The inspector smirked and plucked one of the cups from the desk, startling Hector. He let out a Hispanic curse, grumbling, "Warn a guy, will ya?" He glared up at the grinning blonde who took a sip of her coffee. She scowled at the cup and went straight to the break room to grab some extra packets of sugar and cream. When she returned, she popped the lid open, dumped both the sugar and cream into the black coffee, and then stirred it. Lacey took a sip of the coffee and smiled.
"If I remember correctly from your call this morning, I thought I asked for extra cream and sugar," Lacey said.
Hector snorted and shrugged. "I remember and I just chose to ignore it."
The blonde rolled her eyes and drank her coffee. "So, you said that the good doctor had something to us?" she asked as the Latino stood up from his desk.
Hector nodded and motioned for her to follow him. "Captain's already downstairs waitin' on us."
The inspector placed her mug on the desk again and jogged behind him. The two walked to the elevator doors again where they stepped inside and went down to the morgue. They trekked down the long hallway where they saw Orion standing outside waiting for them. Without any greetings exchanged, the three entered the morgue where they saw Ryan washing his hands at the sink.
"Before you ask Orion, I had her blood and urine tested and found her blood alcohol was 0.06%. According to the bartenders, the victim had a few drinks before she left the club," the medical examiner explained as Orion, Lacey, and Hector followed behind him to the victim's body. "And judging from her stomach contents, I would say that she had chicken parmesan with extra sauce," he said with a small smile.
Ryan picked up a glass jar that held what he pointed out as the victim's stomach contents. Hector swallowed hard and averted his eyes; he was starting to regret eating the breakfast burrito earlier. Lacey was thankful she did not have breakfast yet. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and remained calm.
His eyes narrowed and the smiled faded. He led them to the large x-ray illuminator and turned on the lights. They flickered a moment before the x-rays were brought to light.
"However, I found something else on the x-ray that piqued my interest," the doctor said.
"What did you find?" Lacey asked.
Ryan's expression changed from professional to personal; his tone turned serious. "I found a series of fractures; two fractured ribs, one on her left wrist, and finally an olecranon fracture," he replied. He gestured to the x-rays on the board, shook his head, and folded his arms over his chest. "All of these fractures are common in abuse victims."
"Abuse?" Orion glanced over to Lacey, after all, she was the one who managed to get extra information from Ward yesterday. "Could the boyfriend have done this?"
The blonde woman shook her head; she traced her fingers over the x-rays. "No, he cared for her too much," she replied. Lacey turned to the captain. "You saw how broken up he was when Esposito showed him the sketchpad; not exactly a reaction I would expect from an abusive boyfriend."
"He could've been lying to us," Hector said with a shrug. "Wouldn't be the first time a guy's done that."
Ryan was quick to take control of the conversation. "Ep! Ep! Ep! You didn't let me finish," he spoke, wagging a finger at the Latino. The three all turned their attention to the medical examiner. "There was also evidence that she suffered from a multitude of bruises and torn ligaments around her shoulders, clavicle, and forearm. The one to her forearm was the most recent, judging by its coloration. It wasn't until I brought her from the scene when they started to appear. Unfortunately, I couldn't pull prints; the bastard must've worn gloves." Ryan handed the young captain his full report. "I'm sorry, Orion."
Orion nodded and sighed, frustrated. He was hoping that this case would be open and shut but at this rate, that idea was beginning to fade. With no fingerprints and no suspect, this case was only going downhill from there. The captain ran his fingers through his hair. Ryan slipped on a pair of latex gloves as Orion looked back to him.
"What about the wound on her neck? Do you know what could have caused it?"
"My best guess is a scalpel," Ryan answered, holding said instrument in his hand. He placed it on his tray of tools and then tilted the victim's head to the side to reveal the wound that was carved into her neck. "The wound itself wasn't deep but it had to be for the L to be prominent."
"Esposito, see if you can find any other open cases that match the circumstances of our murder," Orion ordered. "Have Underwood help you out as well. Call if anything turns up."
Hector gave his captain a quick nod and sent Lacey a grin who rolled her eyes in return. He strode out of the morgue with the doors falling behind him. Ryan rolled his eyes at the detective's antics and turned his attention to Orion who had his eyes cast down to the victim. The two stood in silence for some time before the morgue doors opened from behind them.
"Sir?" All eyes turned to the morgue's doors where Preston was standing. "The victim's parents just arrived and are waiting outside; they want to see her body," the detective said. Orion motioned for Lacey to follow him. Ryan quickly covered the victim with the pale sheet and took several steps back from the metal table.
The trio entered the hallway and saw a couple sitting on one of the benches outside of the morgue. Preston and Orion walked up to the parents who stared up the captain and detective with sad eyes. Lacey stayed close to the morgue's doors, simply watching her new commander and co-worker speak to the victim's parents. She did not hear much of their conversation but when Orion and the parents approached she was quick to step aside and allow the others into the morgue.
"Are you going to go in?" Preston asked from next to her.
Lacey shook her head. "No, not this time," she answered quietly. She folded her arms over her chest and swallowed. "I've always hated this part." Preston placed a solid hand on the woman's shoulder for comfort. She took in a deep breath as she watched from the other side as Ryan pulled back the sheet and revealed the victim.
The victim's mother burst into tears and threw herself into her husband's arms. She buried her face into his chest and began to sob loudly in his chest. Luckily, her sobs were muffled and could not be heard to those who lurked outside the morgue. Ryan covered the victim again and offered his condolences to the now grieving parents. The father nodded, his expression grim but still full of grief and sorrow. Orion spoke to them again and then led them out of the morgue where Lacey and Preston were waiting for them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan, why don't we go somewhere where we can talk in private?" Orion suggested.
The victim's father nodded. "Thank you, captain." he murmured.
That was the worst part of their jobs. Always telling someone that their loved ones were never coming home. It always made Lacey question as to why she decided to pursue a criminal justice profession. Because someone has to bring the sick bastard who did this to justice, the voice in the back of her head reminded her. She followed the victim's parents, Orion, and Preston to their private debriefing room. The captain beckoned for them to sit on the couch as he chose to stand until they sat down.
Lacey stood at the back of the room and watched as Orion began to whisper in Preston's ear. The detective immediately pulled back in surprise and sent his captain a questionable look. The blonde ignored the two and placed her focus on the parents. The father, a tall man with thinning gray hair was comforting his wife, a much shorter woman who had fading red hair, just like her daughter. The inspector did not even notice Preston slip out of the room, leaving her with the captain and the parents.
"Mrs. Monaghan, this is Detective Inspector Barton. She is also investigating your daughter's murder," Orion said. Lacey snapped out her trance and wordlessly approached the couple.
"I want to say that I am sorry for your loss," Lacey said. "We are going to do everything we can to find your daughter's killer."
"But that won't bring my little girl back." Mrs. Monaghan snapped bitterly. Lacey flinched at the tone of the woman's voice. Okay, that was expected. She sighed and shook her head. Orion opened his mouth to cut in but the inspector beat him to it.
"I know my words will not bring your daughter back, but you have my word, Mrs. Monaghan," the inspector stated, her eyes locked onto the teary ones across from her. "We will find her killer and bring him to justice."
The woman looked at her with reddening eyes but nodded reluctantly.
Orion chose that moment to intervene. "Now... could you tell us when you last contacted your daughter?" Blunt for any officer but this was the captain and Lacey could see there was no good treading lightly around this.
"About three days ago," the father said. He was the one who speak as his wife wiped her eyes in order to compose herself. "Jill told us that she sent us an invitation for the university's art gallery; said that her portfolio was going to be displayed this year."
"Do you still have the invitation?" Lacey asked.
"We just got it yesterday," Mrs. Monaghan said. "The gallery was in two weeks." She then dug into her purse and pulled out a blue and white envelope. She handed it to the inspector who then began to examine the invitation.
You are cordially invited to attend Jillian May Monaghan's art portfolio debut at the Boston Art Gallery - The Hidden Art Gallery on July 2, 2016, at 3:30 pm. Appetizers and refreshments will be provided.
"Did your daughter sound different to you when you spoke? Was she upset about anything? Or agitated?" Orion questioned.
The parents shook their heads. "No, she sounded fine. She was excited when we said that we could fly in and visit. She said she couldn't wait to see us and show us her portfolio," Mr. Monaghan said.
Lacey was quick to take a further interest in that statement. "Have you visited her before?"
Mrs. Monaghan nodded, confused by the question. "Well, yes. But most times, Jill would come out and visit us."
"Have you been to her apartment?" she pressed.
"Uhm, no. We stayed a hotel most times," the woman replied. Mrs. Monaghan then turned on the defensive. "Why is that important?"
The captain took that as his queue to step in. "Because for an art student she had a very expensive looking apartment," Orion replied as he steepled his fingers together. "One that someone her age could not possibly afford on a low-income job such a barista at Starbucks."
Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan were confused; they were not sure whether or not they were being interrogated themselves. They knew that their daughter worked as a barista. According to Jillian, it was one of the few jobs available at the time. The two exchanged glances with one another and stumbled to find their words. Lacey and Orion watched as the couple was able to compose themselves. It wasn't until Mrs. Monaghan spoke up and tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Are you suggesting that our daughter was working as a prostitute?" she asked.
"No," Orion said gruffly. "However, there is evidence that gives us reason to believe that she was working as an escort. We found her closet was full of expensive clothes and there was a duffel bag with stacks of cash in it."
"That... that can't be," Mr. Monaghan stammered. "Our little girl would never do something like that. Jill was a good girl. She never did drugs or alcohol in high school. She couldn't have done something like this..." The woman next to him looked ready to faint at even the slightest possibility.
Orion nodded in understanding. "It is possible that she may not have had a choice in the matter, I'm afraid. But at the moment, it is just speculation. We do have reasons to believe that either one of her clients or her pimp may have been paying for her apartment but we have no leads on who it could potentially be."
"Did you know if your daughter was dating anyone? Or mentioned that she was interested in anyone?" Lacey asked.
Mr. Monaghan shook his head. "No, and if she was she didn't tell me," he said. He then looked to his wife. "Rachel? Did she say anything to you?"
The woman shook her head as well. "No, she didn't say anything about a boyfriend. But sometimes when I would call, I could hear a man's voice in the background," Mrs. Monaghan explained. "I just assumed it was a friend of hers."
"Does the name Darren Ward sound familiar to either of you?" Orion asked.
Again, both parents shook their heads, leaving Lacey and Orion at a dead end. The parents didn't know about their daughter's relationship with an ex-con. At this point, they were not sure of where to go from here. The two exchanged glances while Mrs. Monaghan exhaled deeply and leaned against her husband, seeking his comfort. Orion sighed softly and then leaned forward his chair, his eyes looking to Mrs. Monaghan.
"Again, I am sorry for your loss. From what we have been told by her friends and co-workers, she was a bright girl. Very talented in the arts and loved you both very much," the captain said. Lacey watched silently as Mrs. Monaghan reached out and grabbed Orion's hand. Her dark brown eyes bore into his, as several tears slipped down her face.
"Have you ever lost a child, Captain Paxton?" she whispered.
Orion was taken back by the question. Unsure, he swallowed and said, "No. I haven't."
"Then you have no idea what we are going through," she said. "If you will excuse us, we have to make arrangements to bury our daughter." The woman stood up and stalked out of the room with her husband chasing after her.
The two remaining in the room sat in silence for some time. No one spoke but simply stared down at the invitation on the coffee table. Lacey glanced over at Orion who was now running a hand through his hair.
"So, what's our next move, captain?"
The captain sighed and got to his feet, a new sense of determination pumping in his veins.
"We find out who killed Jillian Monaghan."
Author's Note: Feel free to leave a review or two! I can't wait to hear from you guys!