Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I think you will all be happy after you found out the reason! ;) To the guest reviewer who requested more Golly, well, I apologise that there will not be any in this chapter, but you will see bits and pieces in the next one; and you will positively love the chapter after these two! I have plans you see. This chapter is a must in the story... if I passed this one and the next one to get to the Golly, well the story wouldn't make a bit of sense at all. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, so without further ado... here you go!
The distant wail of an ambulance echoing through the trees as Dov stood by the lapping water of the lake beside a worn, pitiful cabin. He took a deep breath as the falling rain streamed down his face. 'It's over,' he thought to himself as he stared at the dark water in front of him. His mind playing the past couple of hours over and over causing a migraine to form.
"Come on, Dov," a voice whispered by him as a small hand wrapped around his arm. The officer turned to look at his girlfriend with a small sigh escaping. "You are going to catch a cold standing out here by yourself. Steve and the rest of the crew can finish up here," Chloe said as she pulled slightly on his arm. A small smile graced her lips, though it did not reach her eyes. "Technically we shouldn't be here anymore. Chris is our friend and it could seem as though we may tamper with evidence..." she rolled her eyes. "At least that is what the higher-ups are saying."
"Why did he come with them?" Dov asked, still rooted to the spot Chloe had found him standing a few moments before. "I mean, I know we found out he was drugged, but why did he become addicted to that shit in the first place? He has seen how those people act... we have brought in our share of dopers, did he think he was immune because he was a police officer? And why did he have to get involved with this drug dealer?"
"I don't know," she replied softly as she wrapped her arm more securely around his elbow. Chloe leaned into him and sighed. "Maybe the stress of the job... mix that in with stress from home, finding out that Christian wasn't his..." she ran her hand through her hair to keep the dripping water from her locks out of her face. "All of that mixing together would make anyone do something crazy."
"This is Chris we are talking about, Chloe," Dov huffed out. "Not some sort of teenager with an emotional depth of a teaspoon. He should have been able to sort all of this out without resorting taking drugs. We all have a past that isn't pristine, that doesn't mean we can't overcome it all and not fall into the depths of despair that would cause us to think we had to drown our sorrows into something like this!" He pointed at the cabin beside them. "He could have talked to anyone of us. We were all there when Christian went missing. I know he still holds Andy and Nick partially responsible with Christian's abduction, but he could have talked to me. To Gail. To anyone!" He threw his hands in the air and let out another huff. "He didn't have to go through this alone. All he had to do was just say something and we would have helped him in any way we could. He didn't have to resort to this."
"Did you ever ask him?" Chloe asked softly, almost too softly for Dov to hear, but heard it he did and the question felt like a slap in the face.
He ran his hand through his soaked hair, causing the hair to stick out in several directions. "I didn't realise something was wrong at the time," he whispered as he stared out at the water. Its lapping waves rolled softly against the tips of his boots and he stared, amazed that he had been this close to the shore.
"Maybe he thought he couldn't come to us," Chloe responded softly. "None of us knew that something was wrong. I don't think anyone really knows what is going on with a friend until it is too late. I guess that is why we are here now."
They stared out over the water a few more moments before the snapping of rocks under footfalls cause them to turn around. Walking towards them with slowed steps, Traci wrapped her blazer around her tighter as she took a deep breath. "You know you two can go home now, right?" She stepped closer to the couple and gazed at them. "We have the warrant and Chris is being taken to the hospital to help with his withdrawals..." she paused to wet her lips as she looked away from them to stare out over the water. "Steve is going to see him after we finish up here to see if Diaz knows what happened before we got here and if maybe one of them told him why this all happened in the first place." Traci glanced back at the open ambulance door near the cabin. The medics inside the abode took their time to bring their last patient out. A patient who would never make a healthy recovery and walk out of the hospital.
"Did she say why she killed her brother?" Chloe asked softly as she watched the gurney roll out of the door. A white sheet covering the occupant from head to toe.
"No," the detective answered as the doors to the vehicle closed with finality and the EMTs left the back of the ambulance to take their case to the morgue. "Steve hopes that maybe Chris heard what was going on between the two siblings. Maybe he can shed some light onto the situation."
"She didn't look too out of it when we arrived," Dov stated as he watched the ambulance slowly leave down the road. Its lights never turning on as its rear lights blinked out of view when the driver turned around a corner. He thought back to when he and Chloe first arrived at the cabin, his nerves running a gambit as he had opened the door and walked quickly towards Steve and handed the blond man the warrant.
A shot rang out, disturbing the silence of the rainy twilight. The two men glanced at each other, the warrant forgotten between them. "Shit," Steve muttered as he snatched his pistol out of its holster and charged up the steps to the front of the house.
He stopped by the door and leaned against the wall beside it. The detective glanced at the crew of officers that had surrounded the cabin to begin with and placed his hand up in the air, telling them to hold position. He leaned towards the door and tried to listen for anything else that might indicate something, anything about the fates of the occupants inside. Steve's mind swirlling with thoughts of a dead officer encased in the home.
Breathing out slowly, his muscles taunt as he gripped the pistol tightly in his hands. Steve turned quickly and kicked at the door in front of him, causing it to splinter open. His movement caused the other officers to rush towards the house in a flurry of movement. Dov, nearly too wrapped up in the motion orchestrated by Steve's singular action, struggled with his own weapon and followed, slipping slightly on the wet ground.
Dov made it to the cabin after all the other officers had entered. He tried to push his way through towards the back of the cabin, where the shot had came from, but was stopped when a hand gripped his shoulder. "You can't go back there," Traci said softly as she stared pointedly at his weapon and then to his holster.
"Dammit, why not Traci? Chris could be hurt!"
"And that is the reason why," she replied as she took a deep breath. "You are too invested in this case Dov. First Gail was in trouble, now Chris. Both of your roommates have been affected by this case, so I have to make sure that you are not anywhere near the back of this place; otherwise the higher-ups may think you could tamper with evidence."
Dov scoffed as he shoved his weapon into its holster. "As if I would do such a thing as that! I am an officer of the law. I can separate my personal and work lives easily."
Traci stared at him unimpressed as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Like you were able to separate work and home life when Chloe was injured?"
"That's not fair, Traci and you know it!" He ran his hands through his hair and huffed. Licking his lips he glanced back towards the back of the cabin. "Fuck! Okay, I'll wait outside, but I'm not leaving until I know for a fact that Chris is okay."
"I never expected anything different from you Dov," Traci said as she patted his arm. "Just make sure you don't touch anything. I don't want to have to explain anything to Superintendent Peck." She leaned closer to Dov. "She scares the shit out of me," she whispered in his ear. "But don't tell Steve I said that."
Dov watched the detective walk towards the back of the building and let out a breath that he didn't realise he had been holding in. He plodded towards the front door, mindful that he didn't touch the handle. 'Don't want Traci to have to explain that one,' he thought as he started down the stairs to his patrol car. A small smile fell onto his lips when he spotted Chloe's look of concern.
"I thought you would have been bringing out Chris."
"Well, Traci informed me that I couldn't be anywhere near him..." he rolled his eyes. "I'm too invested in this case now."
Chloe shrugged her shoulders, "Makes sense since you are best friends and roommates. Did she say you have to leave? After all, we did do what we were sent to do... the warrant was brought over, though they did not really need it."
"No, she didn't say we had to leave, just that I couldn't touch anything or do anything to help my friend." He kicked at a rock in the middle of the dirt path that led to the cabin. "I don't even know if he is okay."
"Well, you didn't have anyone trailing after you, so I guess that can be considered a good thing."
"What do you mean?" He asked as he leaned against the hood of the car and stared at the front of the building.
"Well, think about it..." she sat beside him. "If there was something wrong with Chris, I believe Steve or Traci would have sent someone out to tell you as soon as they found out. Considering that we are out here by ourselves, that can only be a good thing. Did she happen to mention what happened?"
"No, I think I got in the cabin before she did. Traci found me inside the living-room and
basically turned me out. I don't think she had gotten the whole story yet, but..." he paused as he watched the door open fully and three people headed out onto the porch. Standing up from his perch on the hood, Dov cocked his head to the side to try to catch a look at the shorter person in between the two hulking police officers from Beaverton. "Hey... doesn't that look like Anna Schlenz?"
"I think you're right and isn't that blood on her shirt?" Chloe asked as she moved closer to the cabin. "Dov..."
"Hey Dov," Traci said as she moved closer to the couple.
"Yeah Trace?"
"I was just telling you that Steve just texted me that he wanted to head on over to the hospital to talk to Chris. The doctor's have already looked him over and said that he is okay enough for us to ask him a few questions, so we are about to head on out of here; you two might want to do the same."
"What's going to happen to Anna?" Chloe asked as she ran her hand over Dov's arm.
"They are going to transport her to our precinct. She was wanted by us and since her victim was part of our original investigation, Beaverton is glad to hand her over to us... for now." Traci said as she placed her phone back on its holster. "I'll see you two tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Dov said as he started walking towards the patrol car. "When can we see Chris? I know we want to visit him and I'm more than certain the rest of the gang would want to know he is okay."
"I'll run it by Oliver after Steve and I come back from taking his statement. Steve has already called Gail, so she knows, but I don't think everyone else has been told," She opened the door to Steve's car. "I'll give you a call when I find out from Oliver."
"Okay," Dov called out, but Traci had already closed the door to the vehicle. He lowered himself to the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. Taking a deep breath, he started the car and waited until Chloe put her seat-belt on before travelling down the path to the main road.
They travel in silence as they pass the small town heading home. "What happened back there?" Chloe asked, breaking the suffocating quiet.
"Back where?"
"By the lake. You were really quiet for awhile," she replied as she turned to stare at Epstein. "At first I thought you were taking everything in that Traci was saying, but in the end, you hadn't heard a thing. And you had this far off look," she smiled as she ran her hand over his. "It was kinda cute, but also really creepy."
"I was just thinking about this whole mess," he answered with a sigh. "I can't wait to finally get this case closed... all this senseless bloodshed and suffering. I just want to know did the ends justify the means?"
"Does it ever?"