The Pregnancy Ship

Chapter 5: "It must be in the water!"

This is an A/U story

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they are fully James Duffs. I just love them so much and love to play with them.

Amy, and Julio walked into interview one. Emma sat there at the table, her hands folded, waiting patiently. Jack sat next to her his nose was wrinkled. As they got closer they realized why. She smelled strongly of sweat, and other farm smells. She wore a faded pink gingham dress, an apron and scuffed brown boots. Her hair was blonde, thick and curly reaching to her waist. Her eyes were blue gray and large. She had a small nose, and a bow of a mouth. "Hello Emma, my name is Detective Amy Sykes and this is Detective Julio Sanchez. Have you been Mirandized?"

"If you mean the paper that says I have the right to be silent, I signed it."

"Do you know why you are here?" Amy asked.

"My Pa and his wife are dead and you think I did it?"

"You are a person of interest, as is your sister. You called the woman your father's wife, not your mother?" Amy answered.

"No, my mother has been dead since I was seven."

"How?" asked Julio

"She died cause my little brother came early, because she wasn't supposed to have more children, but my father insisted they try for a boy. You can see how that worked out for him," she said bitterly.

"You didn't like your father much?" asked Amy.

"No. He had all that money, and he made us live like we were living in the late 18th century. We had to work all day and then do school work at night. How would you feel if you were raised like that?"

"I probably wouldn't like it. Did you hate him enough to kill him?" asked Julio.

"I hated him alright, and in time I would have run away, but it didn't work out that way. Neither Lizzie nor I could have killed him. We were all the way across town. We were all the way across town, seventy-five miles away!"

Amy asked, "Did you stay in town while you were working at the farmers market?"

"Yeah, we stayed at our grandmothers," said Emma.

"How did it happen that you were allowed off the farm to work at the farmers market? When up till then you were kept on the farm. What made him allow you that freedom?" Asked Julio.

"Well, someone was trying to sabotage him. There were problems at the bank. Someone was trying to embezzle money, and someone was stealing livestock at the ranch. All the ranch hands were busy watching the livestock, so there was no one from the ranch to sell the produce. We reminded him that if we didn't get the food to market it would rot and he'd lose all that money. He hated waste and when it came to money, he loved the almighty dollar."

"What about Abby?" Asked Amy.

"Are you kidding? She wouldn't lift a finger to that sort of work. Plus, her mother has been ill; she and her brother took turns caring for her. She had been away all summer during the weekends. She was feeling poorly this weekend, so she didn't go."

"I'm surprised he let you stay with your grandmother. Considering how close he kept you up till then," said Julio.

"We convinced him, it was a waste of gas, oil and time. Sometimes in the seventy-five miles between the market and our home the traffic could cause us to be a good two hours drive. Not to mention the forty minutes it takes to get from our place to the main road, which meant we had to leave early to miss traffic. The truck is old it burns oil. So we convinced him to let us stay, and come back on Monday morning."

"So you enjoyed your freedom?" Amy asked.

"Of course, wouldn't you? Course there wasn't much of it; it's a lot of work, to sell at the market. You have to load the produce and unload it. You have to arrange the produce to make it look good and somebody always has to keep their eyes open to people who like to try and steal an apple or something else without paying. You're constantly on your feet."

"Do you and your sister take breaks?"

"Sure."

"What do you do on your breaks?"

"Use the necessary, eat lunch, shop and visit with Will, my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend? Where did you meet him?" Amy asked.

"At the farmers market. He was buying produce for his boss for the restaurant he worked at, The Blue Goose. Lizzie was on her break, and it was just me. Usually we don't have much time for small talk, but he was a customer. So when he asked me my name, I told him. Then he asked if he could meet for lunch when it was my turn to take a break. So I did."

Julio asked, "Does Lizzie know?"

"About Will? No. At least I never told her."

"You're sisters and you don't share stuff like that?" Amy asked.

"We learned early on not to tell each other secrets. Pa would play one of us against the other. One time, I found a cigarette butt that hadn't been smoked all the way, and I smoked it behind the barn. I told Lizzie, and when the barn almost burned down, my pa asked Lizzie first if she knew anything. He threatened to beat her nine times till Sunday if she didn't tell the truth. She told him it was me that smoked it. So I got the beating instead. I was mad and told him about the puppies she was keeping in one of the outbuildings. He drowned them. She was heartbroken. I never would have told him if I'd thought he would do that. So we don't tell each other secrets anymore."

"Getting back to Will, how long have you known him?" Julio asked.

"Since last June."

"Does he know your father? Does he know where you live?" Amy asked.

"No. My pa wouldn't cotton to any boyfriend he didn't pick for me himself and yes, I told him where we lived weeks ago."

"Living dangerously, aren't you Emma?" Julio asked.

She shrugged, "Will wanted to know in case of an emergency."

"Did you and Will have any plans for when the farmers market, closed for the season?"

"We were going to run away and get married. We're having a baby."

"Really? How far along are you?" Amy asked.

"Eight weeks. I guess it happened the first time."

"Why wait? Why not run away before?"

"We wanted to find out what it was, if it was a boy we'd tell Pa. He wanted a boy so bad, I guess he'd overlook putting the cart before the horse without his permission."

"So getting back to your father. Who do you think hated him enough to kill him?"

"Just about anybody that knew him really. He was mean and very few people liked him, hell my grandmother would have liked to see him dead! She is the kindest sweetest lady, you'd ever want to meet!"

"Why would she..." Julio asked.

"Because he basically killed her daughter! The doctor said she shouldn't have any more children and he insisted they try for a boy."

"You said that earlier. How do you know this, you were only seven?" Amy asked.

"Granny told us."

Amy asked, "Would she be available for questioning?"

"She don't know anything, she's hard of hearing and she doesn't see well either. She hardly ever leaves her house, except to go shopping for food, which we help her with."

"Who helped her before you started at the farmers market?" Julio asked.

"A neighbor, who broke her foot, Mrs. Chaumley. She lives with her daughter now."

"Okay, back to the boyfriend. So what does this Will look like and when did you see him last?" Amy asked.

"He's tall, he's got wheat colored hair and blue eyes, kinda gangly. I saw him at breakfast Sunday. He left on a buying trip for the restaurant. Listen, I gotta use the necessary. Can I be excused?"

"Amy, let her use the ladies room then have her describe Will to the sketch artist. Tell Jack we'll be interviewing Lizzie next." Sharon said into the earpiece Amy was wearing in her ear.

Amy nodded, "come I'll show you the way."

In the electronics room, Andy and Sharon were sitting beside Buzz. Provenza and Mike Tao were standing, as was Andrea Hobbs the DDA. "So what did we learn from this interview, besides that Emma hated her father and had a good reason to. Also she's got a boyfriend, her father didn't know about," Sharon said.

"She's smart, good at manipulating," Andy said.

"That's true enough, but I don't think she did it. She's right about the traffic. On any given day it could take hours to get home from the farmers market to where they lived. There's no other way they could get there that wasn't an even longer route," said Andrea.

"Personally, I'm liking the boyfriend for this. You know what I always say it's always the boyfriend, it's always the boyfriend," Provenza said in a singsong voice.

"Well, we haven't spoken to Lizzie yet. We'll see if that turns out to be true," said Sharon. "Let's go Andy. " Andy helped her to stand slowly. The bracelets helped the nausea, but did nothing for the dizziness. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Andrea's face. She was pale. "Andrea are you alright? Why don't you sit down?"

She did gratefully, "I'm fine just a little under the weather. Nothing to worry about."

"Is it catching?" asked Provenza. "Shouldn't you be home? So you don't give it to somebody else." Provenza grumped.

"Trust me. This isn't something communicable," said Andrea.

Sharon looked at her friend, her eyebrows raised into her hairline. She searched her friends face for clues. Andrea caught her eye and mouthed, "We'll talk later," and indicated Sharon's and Andy's hands, which were together, their fingers intertwined. His other hand on her back Sharon nodded, mouthing, "See me before you leave." Andrea nodded.

Sharon dropped Andy's hand as they left the electronics room and walked to the executive bathroom. "I'll meet you at the door to interview two," she said.

He shook his head. "I'll wait for you here."

She shrugged, "suit yourself, " and closed the door. Sharon was out pretty quickly and they walked side by side to interview two.

Always the gentleman, Andy opened the door for Sharon. She went in and was hit by the smell of sweat from Lizzie. She pressed her lips together and swallowed the bile that threatened to rise up. Apparently the bracelets didn't help with sudden onslaughts of foul air. Jack watched her closely from his spot next to, but not too near Lizzie.

Noticing Sharon's discomfort, Andy started the interview. "Lizzie, my name is Lieutenant Flynn and this is Captain Sharon Raydor. Have you been Mirandized?"

"That thing about remaining silent? Yeah, but my sister and I we couldn't a done it. We were seventy-five miles away."

"Tell me what you were doing all weekend?" Andy asked.

"Well, we left home Thursday evening, after dinner. We went to Granny's. We wanted an early start the next morning."

"You do that every weekend?" Andy asked. "Seventy-five miles is pretty far away to travel."

"Yes, but it's the one closest to my grandmother and has the most people buying for restaurants and stuff. The market starts on Friday morning, and you gotta find a good place to set up. Then you gotta unload the produce and arrange it to look it's best. So we start getting ready about 5:30 in the morning."

"When do you take breaks and what do you do on your breaks?" Sharon asked.

"Around ten, I go use the necessary, then I eat..."

Sharon asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, his name is Ronnie."

"What does he do, for work?" Andy asked.

"He works at the restaurant the Blue Goose. He's their produce manager. That's how we met. He was buying produce for the restaurant."

"Where was Emma?" Sharon asked.

"Granny was sick that day and Emma took her some soup. We meet at different places. He brings food from the restaurant and we have a picnic."

Sharon, Andy and Jack exchanged surprised looks with each other. "What does Ronnie look like?" Sharon asked.

"He's tall, real tall, he has blue eyes and light brown blondish hair, kinda wheat colored. He has a dimple in his chin and on each cheek. He's real pretty to look at. Um, I mean handsome."

Lizzie was very pretty too. She had golden blonde hair, which she wore in short braids with long curly tails. She had blue eyes the color of violets. She reminded Sharon of Elly Mae Clampet. There were dimples in her cheeks. She wore a faded blue and white gingham blouse, with denim overalls. One strap was fastened the other hung down her back and a button was missing.

Sharon's mother's heart and her olfactory senses wanted to clean her up and find better clothes for both girls.

"Um Lizzie, have you been intimate with Ronnie?"

"Yes, um matter fact, we're gonna have a young'un."

"You're pregnant?"

"Yep, eight weeks."

"Have you told Ronnie yet? Is he happy?"

"Actually he told me. I thought I was feeling poorly cause of the heat. He bought a test and it was positive. He's happy."

Sharon asked, "When did you last see him?"

"Day before yesterday at lunch. He's on buying trip for the restaurant."

"I've been going over your father's financials, and he was an extremely wealthy man. Did you want that money enough to kill him for it did you hate him?" Andy asked.

"I suppose I wanted the money I felt I was due, but killing is a sin. I wouldn't want to kill anyone least ways not my pa. He made me mad a lot, hurt me when he beat me, but he was my pa," Lizzie said sadly.

"Have you ever heard the rhyme? Lizzie Borden took an axe gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty one."

" I did. It's a hateful thing to say..."

"Where and when did you hear it the first time?"

"I guess I heard it would the other day, for the first time."

"Just the other day? Which day? What were the circumstances? "

"Emma was on break I was trying to serve the customers. A kid around my age asked me my name, I told him my name was Lizzie. I was serving another customer at the time. He started waving his arms and singing that terrible rhyme. His arm came down and knocked my glasses off. I stepped forward and tried to catch them, and I stepped on them instead."

"Are you aware that you have almost the same name as a young woman from Massachusetts who was arrested but not convicted for killing her parents? In fact your whole family has similar names to the family in Massachusetts. They got nineteen whacks with an ax for the mother, and eleven for the father." Lizzie shuddered.

"That's awful creepy!"

"Yes, it is."

Andy asked, "Where is your family from?"

"Back east somewhere I was real young when we moved and we don't talk about it much."

"Did you notice anybody around the house that you didn't recognize?"

"Always somebody coming around wanting to talk Pa into a business deal they wanted to start. Pa would say no then he'd use their idea to start up his own business with a twist so they couldn't scream that he cheated them."

"Who do you think killed them?"

Just about anybody that knew him. I imagine. My step mother too; she was a vicious gossip."

"What about your young man?"

"For what reason, would he have to kill Pa? If I got the money, I'd share it with him."

"If you got the money, if being the operative word. What if Ronnie killed your father so that your father couldn't change his will?" Sharon asked.

"Ronnie wouldn't do that. He wouldn't! Um, I need to use the necessary."

"Okay, but afterward I need you to describe your young man to a sketch artist."

"So that you can find him and accuse him of murdering my pa?" No, thank you."

"Lizzie if you interfere in a police investigation by withholding, the information we ask of you. You can be sent to jail. Tell her, Jack."

"Lizzie you need to describe him to the sketch artist. After all, if they find him he could have an alibi. But if he doesn't, if he did it, he's not caught because of you. You could go to jail for obstruction of justice. Believe me jail is no place for a pregnant girl."

"Alright, I'll describe him."

"Okay, I'll send him in. This officer will take you to the facilities," she indicated the uniform standing against the wall. A young brunette, named Jamie Pruitt.

"Now what Sharon?"

"I have to go speak with Amy, she said as she started to turn towards the door too quickly. A wave of dizziness hit her and she grabbed for Andy's arm for support. Once the dizziness passed and she felt stable again she whispered to Andy to go find Amy and ask her to meet her in the conference room adjacent to her office. Effectively getting him away from Jack.

"ShaRon, is there anything wrong?" Jack asked.

Sharon carefully turned towards Jack to answer him. "No Jack, there is nothing wrong that another six months won't cure. Good day, Jack and by the way I appreciate your cooperation during the interviews."

"Wait a minute, Sharon. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"What would that be Jack?"

"That you're pregnant? You're a bit long in the tooth, for that aren't you?"

"You would be correct about my being pregnant, but apparently my age has not gotten in the way of my fertility. You always did call me fertile myrtle," she said sardonically.

"Yeah, I remember, but of all the people you could hook up with, did it have to be him?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes Andy and I are together, and we are expecting. We are, if somewhat surprised. We are happy about it."

"You divorced me, to be with that clown? He's no better than I am, he's a drunk just like me!"

"Excuse me, Jack, but of the two of you, you're the only clown I see. Unlike you, Andy has been in recovery consistently for twenty years. He works every day for his sobriety. He works every day to reconnect with his children. You have NEVER been able to say that Jack. Now excuse me, and I'll thank you to not involve yourself in my personal business again. Oh and by the way, my detective Amy Sykes will be going shopping for some clean clothes, and toiletries for the girls. They will be staying at a hotel, different rooms, and different floors. The bill will be sent to you or your firm."

"Send it to me, I'll submit it to the firm they'll bill the estate! I'm all for some fresh air." Sharon turned slowly trying to limit her dizzy spells to a bare minimum. She walked to the door. "Sharon take care of yourself, be happy, you deserve it." Jack said, ducking his head.

Sharon turned, surprised. "Thank you Jack," she opened the door. Andy was outside about to knock. Sharon raised her eyebrows and he put his hand down.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, is Amy..."

"In the conference room. The girls are back in their interview rooms with sketch artists."

Suddenly Provenza appeared. "Captain, Flynn, um Patrice and I would like you to join us for dinner, my treat. She'll be here around 6:00."

"That's in fifteen minutes," Sharon said.

"I should be done with Amy by then. We'd love to, right, Andy?"

Andy was looking at his partner with a shocked look on his face. Had Louie Provenza just offered to pay for dinner, for all four of them? Sharon looked up at Andy; she leaned over and bumped shoulders with him. "Andy? We'd love to, wouldn't we?"

"Ye..yeah! Su..sure! Dinner sounds great! Where are we eating?"

"Don't know yet, I thought we'd let the girls decide."

Sharon decided to take being called a "girl," as a complement and let it go. "Thank you. Lieutenant, is Andrea..."

"In your office. I got her some raspberry tea and some crackers. For while she's waiting on you."

"Thank you. The two of you wrap things up with the sketch artists; compare the final copies for similarities. If it's the same person, put an APB out on him. Whoever brings him in can put him in holding overnight. We'll interview him tomorrow. I'm pretty much fried, so we'll have dinner, and not too late a night?"

"No Captain, not too late." Sharon nodded, put her hands together and bowed ever so slightly and walked to the ladies room and then over to the conference room.

Amy sat at the conference table. "Captain?"

"Did you get anymore out of the girls?"

"Well, I asked their pardon but I was wondering when was the last time they'd bathed? They both looked kind of sheepish and said they'd bathed the night before, but their grandma didn't have AC or it was broken and then when they work in the heat all day. They sweat a lot. Their pa didn't give them much spending money, for clothes and such, and he insisted they wore long sleeves for modesty's sake. Washing clothes every day wasn't convenient. They wash clothes on Monday, which is today, and were on their third day wearing of the same clothes. All of their outfits are dirty they each have four outfits...so."

"That's what I figured. Do they not wear deodorant?"

"All their toiletries come from the dollar store. They have to divide their spending money and use some for their breaks, and toiletries but they buy the cheap dollar store brands and they don't work. Especially now, with the hormones from the pregnancies."

"You talked to them separately?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, we're going to put them in a hotel, different rooms different floors. I want you and a female uniform to get their measurements and preferences. The two of you go shopping for appropriate clothing for them, nightgowns, seasonally appropriate and day clothes. Shoes that fit, as well, also toiletries, high end. Something that really works! I don't think I can spend another day like today. These bracelets work for normal pregnancy nausea, but not for very strong odors."

"I know what you mean, I was having trouble too."

"Amy, are you...pregnant too?"

"Well, I'm not sure. If I am, it's really just maybe a month. I'm kinda not sure how I feel about it because; I'm not really there yet with Coop. We used a condom but it must have been compromised and we didn't know it. My career is going just the way I want it too, and I'm afraid a baby would really screw it up!"

"Amy, if you're waiting for the perfect time, I can guarantee that there is never a perfect time for a pregnancy, for a career person. If you wait for that time it may never come and pretty soon you may realize you've missed the boat. It's your choice, of course but I believe that babies are God's way of saying the human-race is still worthwhile. Remember we make plans, and God laughs. He certainly must be in my case."

"And mine," said Andrea. "Forgive me I went to get a drink from your water cooler. Sharon, and the door was slightly ajar, I accidentally overheard. In my case, I was putting off having children because of my career, and then my husband and I had a pregnancy scare. It turned out not to be, but my doctor convinced Paul and I to have our eggs and sperm frozen just in case we decided to have a child later in life. Then last year, Paul had prostate cancer and was rendered incapable of fathering children. We had forgotten about the frozen eggs and sperm, until my doctor reminded us. She reminded us that we should use them. So we did, the first time it didn't take, but this last time it took in spades."

Sharon squealed, "OMG! Andrea, you're pregnant too?" she hugged her friend.

Andrea nodded, "Triplets! All three eggs were fertilized."

"We're going to be pregnant together!" Sharon smiled through her tears.

"Sharon, do you mind if I board this pregnancy ship too?" Asked Patrice, Provenza's stately beautiful, African American girlfriend from the doorway.

Sharon smiled and stood up to go to Patrice. She hugged her and Patrice hugged her back. "Yes, of course you may!

Patrice how did this happen to you?"

"Let's just say, antibiotics and birth control don't mix well, they cancel each other out. A detail I forgot until it was too late. Then, I decided that I was too old to worry about the morning after pill." Patrice said sheepishly. "By the way, don't tell Louie I already told you, please. We're supposed to drop this bomb together, but I overheard your conversation, and I couldn't resist."

"Oh girls," Sharon started her low throaty giggle, that sounded like it was coming from her toes.

"I can't believe we're all going to be pregnant together! I was so worried that I'd be the only woman in my age group pregnant, so Andy offered to wear a pregnancy prosthesis so we could share the experience together. After I recovered from the hilarity of that mental picture, I told him it wouldn't work here. He said he'd still like to try it at home. Now, I'm going to have more company than I ever dreamed of. I know we didn't plan this, but we have our own little club here. It's so unbelievable almost to the point of being improbable, that we all got pregnant at the same time!"

"Yeah, well I'm beginning to believe it must be in the water!" quipped Amy.