A/N: Wow, it's been WAY WAY too long! I feel like I need to have a "previously on Dexter" montage before the start of this episode. LOL I hope that this episode was worth the wait. Rest assure that the final episode will be shortly forthcoming.
All recognizable characters in this fic are property of Showtime. I claim ownership only to the story written and any characters not recognized (OC).
Season 8, Episode 11: Laced Decisions
"We are all destined for death. I am no stranger to this concept. But sometimes it even catches me off guard, when it's delivered swiftly and unexpected by another."
Dexter found himself standing on the peripheral of the chaos. It had erupted when Captain Tom Matthews had fallen to the ground unresponsive right outside of MMPD. Morgan had no recollection of how he got there. He was simply a voyeur; standing on the sidelines as medical personnel rushed the scene as they were screaming for others to back away. Dex held his breath. An EMT shook his head after checking Matthews for a pulse.
"Hannah's aconite is potent. I can't see any other explanation as to why Matthews would suddenly drop dead. It's my wife's kill. The reason she stopped by the station. This was her solution to the problem when I refused to act."
Morgan was frozen in place. It was like a silent movie that was playing on a big projector screen; what would be the clicking of the reel was his voice in the back of his head. It was when Angel approached him that Dexter was thrust back into reality.
"Tom's gone, Dex. I'm so sorry. I know how close he was to you and Debra since your dad passed." Batista croaked.
Dex gave a slight nod. He crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to take a deep breath. Dexter's memory flashed back to that night when he had arrived at the hospital and had been greeted with Deb running in his arms sobbing, telling him that their father was gone. It was that day that Morgan knew, for the first time, that he was now truly alone. Matthews' death stirred something inside of him; bringing those thoughts back to the surface of his consciousness after being buried for so long. Things had changed since Harry's death; a few people had come and gone in Dexter's life and learned his secret. But he found his soul mate in Hannah. She was the one person that he could share everything with. Unfortunately, it seemed that his wife was set in her determination to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to her happiness, regardless if Dex agreed with it or not.
Angel put his hand on Dexter's back before he spoke again. "You should go home. I wouldn't expect you to finish out the day after this."
"Thanks, Angel. You're right, I just want to go home to Hannah and the kids."
"I'm not lying to Batista. All I can think about is confronting Hannah with what she had done. With each person close to us that we eliminate, we risk drawing attention to ourselves. Why can't my wife see that?"
The past twenty-four hours were almost unbearable for Debra. She had heard about addicts having to go through withdrawal, but experiencing it herself was something else entirely. Her whole body throbbed. She had been shaking; Rocking back and forth for most of the night, praying for it all to go away. Nick had not left her side. He whispered to her frequently that the worst would all be over soon.
After what felt like forever, the pain had relented considerably. It was clear that Deb had gotten through the worst of it. The brief relief from the withdrawal pains had allowed Debra to scarf down a plate of food that Porter had fixed for her. He sat there across the table with the hint of a smile on his face.
"You're not eating?" she asked, feeling a bit awkward that he was just sitting there observing her eat.
"Already did before you woke up."
"I wasn't asleep. How the fuck could I sleep when my entire body was seizing out over not having any coke or Xanax? My head feels like it's been beaten with a two by four!" Deb remarked, throwing her fork into the plate.
Nick got to his feet and approached his girlfriend from behind. He began to rub her shoulders in a way of showing support for what she was going through. "Do you want to take some Tylenol for the headache?"
"No... It probably wouldn't even be that bad if my psychotic, selfish asshole brother wasn't blowing up my phone for the last hour. I haven't heard from him since he married that bitch and now all of a sudden he is desperate to talk to me."
"What do you think he wants? You think it's about the murder that you called in? Think Matthews talked to him about what you told him?"
"Fuck if I know. I couldn't give a shit about what he wants to talk to me about . It's always about
Dexter, no one else matters. He can hold his breath until I call him."
Nicholas let out a slight chuckle before removing his hands from her shoulders. He then took a seat right next to her before speaking: "At least you have family to talk to. There are some days I would give anything to talk to my parents again."
Debra lowered her eyes. Her thoughts drifting to her own parents, Harry and Doris Morgan. "I know the feeling. How old were you when they died?"
"Sixteen. They were coming home from some benefit dinner. Dad had indulged a little too much at the party and I guess he lost control of the car and hit a tree. I was told that they both died instantly on impact."
"That sucks, losing both of them like that. Never getting a chance to say goodbye. At least they left you well off. The only thing I got from my dad at the end was a lecture of how I needed to stay close with Dexter; that we were all each other had left in the world. You see how that turned out."
The sound of Deb's cell phone ringing prompted her to remove it from her back pocket as she commented, "It's probably Dexter again. Can't he take a hint?"
Glancing at the iPhone screen, she saw that it was, in fact, Angel Batista. Deb looked a bit surprised, but quickly accepted the call. "Angel?"
"Hey Deb, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I thought you'd want to know."
"What happened?" Morgan asked. Her brown eyes widened as she remembered the last time that Batista had called out of the blue was to tell her about Joey's suicide.
"It's Tom Matthews. He passed away today."
All the air was suddenly sucked from Deb's lungs.
"How? What happened?" She asked when she finally regained her wind.
"We think it was a heart attack. He was holding a press conference when it happened. Matthews was gone before the EMTs could arrive. I just thought you'd want to know because he was a family friend. I'm so sorry."
Porter could see the color draining from his girlfriend's face. It was clear that whatever she was being told over the phone was having a profound effect on her. "Deb, what's going on?"
Debra couldn't reply to either of the men who were talking to her. She was lost in her thoughts. Her brain trying desperately to process what she had just been told. Her father's best friend, the man Harry had appointed to look after her and Dexter, was dead. Batista mentioning a heart attack was all she needed to come to the conclusion that Hannah McKay had struck again. There was too much of a coincidence of Deb telling Matthews about Dexter and Hannah, only for him to drop dead two days later of a heart attack. It was like Sal Price all over again. She knew that a tox screen post mortem would not prove that he was poisoned.
Deb was going to need to find the evidence; If there was even any to be found. This time, Hannah had Dexter to cover up her kills. Deb knew that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't try and bring McKay to justice.
Dexter stepped out of his Ford Escape in his driveway. He caught sight of little Harrison playing in the garden, which compelled him to enter his yard. The four year old looked up from his toys and smiled at the sight of his daddy coming toward him.
"Daddy, come play trucks with me!" Harrison exclaimed holding up one of his monster truck toys for his father to see.
Morgan saw that his wife was crouching amid a flower bed over by the greenhouse. Her beautiful blonde hair was pulled back in a loose updo. Dexter was ready to confront her and he didn't need his son to be privy to what was going to be said. "Maybe later, buddy. Why don't you take those monster trucks up onto the back deck where you've got your matchbox cars?"
"Okay." The child replied happily as he lifted his trucks and began to walk back toward the house.
Dex pressed on toward the greenhouse. He stopped once he was under the covered patio at the entrance of the nursery. His infant daughter, Lily, was sleeping soundly in the shade. Dexter instinctively smiled as he took a moment to peer down at his youngest child. He then reached down and gently brushed her fine blonde hair with his fingertips, causing her to stir slightly.
Hannah noticed him out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, bringing him into her full focus.
"Hey, you're home early."
Dex's eyebrows raised slightly as he simply gave a nod. He took a deep breath as he saw his wife stand and begin to make her way over to him.
She removed her gardening gloves and tossed them next to the pack 'n play on the patio floor. "I thought you were working late to make up your hours."
"So did I. Though I wasn't expecting Matthews to suddenly drop dead of a heart attack." Dex replied in a monotone voice. His eyes stayed focused on his wife in order to gauge her reaction to his words.
She sighed and swept a blonde strained of hair away from her face as her eyes darted away from her husband's confronting gaze. "Look, I know you wanted to hold off on killing him, but he was a real threat to us. He-"
Dexter's anger surged as he cut her off mid sentence: "I told you that I was handling it! This is like Sal Price all over again, and we both know how that ended!"
"Yeah, with you turning me in! They would have never gotten me for Price's murder if you didn't give your sister that pen!" Hannah hollered back causing the baby to begin to fuss. " Why do you have to bring up the past, Dexter?"
Dexter gave an exasperated sigh before he spoke back in a calmer voice. "My point is that this is the second person we've been in recent contact that has wound up dead. People notice that kind of a thing. And if they do a toxicology screen-"
"They aren't going to find anything. The amount I used was completely undetectable." She replied back while moving to tend to her crying infant.
"How did you do it?"
"The cigar you gave him. He had it unlit in his mouth when I came to see him. He put it on the desk when he stepped out to speak to his secretary, and I knew that was my opportunity."
"And where is the cigar now?"
Hannah shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, bringing her daughter close to her. She didn't seem at all concerned.
"You're acting like there isn't evidence of what you did out there for someone to find. I can't protect you and this family if you keep doing things to jeopardize us."
Mrs. Morgan sighed slightly, rocking the baby gently in her arms as she then replied in a soft voice: "I'm sorry. I know he was one of your father's friends, but he was a threat that had to be dealt with as a matter of our survival."
Dex breathed in deep and gave a subtle head shake. Before departing the garden, he took the final word: "Let me worry about our survival. Focus on just being a wife and mother like you said you wanted."
Hannah appeared to be put out by his final comment. Her eyes followed him as his words continued to resonate with her. She wondered if she could be content to let him have full reign of them evading the authorities while she only focused on her domestic duties. Hannah McKay had spent her entire life protecting herself by any means necessary. No matter how much she loved this man, she would never fully surrender to the idea that he had everything covered.
It was with much hesitation that Debra made her way to her former place of employment. There were so many memories attached to Miami Metro that it was making her new determination to stay clean almost impossible. The oh so familiar people and places really stirred up a lot of shit that doing blow and Xanax had helped her forget. Deb avoided the homicide division and went straight to the executive floor where Tom's office was located.
Debra startled Tom's secretary who looked to be deep in thought at her desk. The woman's eyes darted toward her and she quickly smiled politely, recognizing the former Lieutenant. "Oh, hi Deb, you scared me."
"Yeah, sorry, I'm surprised you're still here after..." Deb stopped short of speaking of Tom's fate.
"I'm just trying to tie up some loose ends. I needed to make up some hours. Tom was planning on working late tonight and had approved it. I'm so sorry about your loss. I know how close you and your brother were to him."
Debra sighed, folding her arms in front of her. The phrase "I'm sorry for your loss" was like the sound of a dental drill during a cavity fill. She wanted to scream, letting about a dozen of her favorite four letter words project from her mouth; but she didn't.
"Thanks." Deb muttered, "Umm, was Matthews acting any different today?"
"No, not that I noticed. It was a typical day. He was staying busy, people coming in and out of his office."
"Yeah, like who? Anyone out of the ordinary come to see him?"
"Your sister-in-law stopped by around lunch time."
Morgan physically cringed hearing Hannah McKay being referred to her as her sister-in-law. She quickly got over the label and inquired further, "Hannah? She was here to see Tom?"
"Yes, she even brought the new baby with her. The little one is so precious."
"Any idea why she was here?"
"It seemed like just a friendly visit. Hannah mentioned that she was bringing Dexter lunch and wanted to pop in and say hi to Captain Matthews. Why do you ask?" the secretary inquired, noticing that Deb seemed intent on finding out why Mrs. Morgan was there.
Debra completely ignored the secretary's question and rattled off more of her own: "So she was in his office? Was she in there long? Did Tom say anything to you after she left?"
"No, he didn't. And yes, Hannah and the baby were with Tom in his office. I'd say the visit was about fifteen minutes. But why-"
"I'm going to go look around his office for a minute." Morgan informed the assistant, cutting her off mid sentence. She pressed on into Matthews' office before the woman could question further.
Nothing looked out of the ordinary in Tom's office. Morgan crossed the room, moving to the open window that overlooked the Miami Metro Bay. She had always admired the view. Deb closed it, and took a seat at the desk. She sighed, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of the photograph next to a picture of his late wife, Maggie. It was a framed photo of Tom and Harry from their days on the force together. Debra couldn't believe they were both gone now.
Deb's soft, nostalgic focus was pierced by something pink in her peripheral view. Closer inspection revealed the small ribbon with three small words printed on it: 'IT'S A GIRL'. Debra's lips parted as she noticed what had been left in the glass tray on the desk. She knew immediately that she had found what she was looking for.
Dexter stood in his youngest child's dimly lit room. He held a bottle steadily to her mouth, rocking gently back and forth.
"It's the simple things; The soft, quiet nightfall, the sleepy cadence of my daughter's breath while her cloudy blue eyes peer up at me. Like a steady beacon of light guiding my ship into port through the dark waters of uncertainty and doubt."
"Daddy's going to take care of everything. I'll keep us safe, I promise." Dex breathed, his eyes focused intently on his youngest offspring.
Morgan was determined to protect his family, all of them. Rita had been a causality of his cat and mouse game with Arthur Mitchell that went on longer than it should have. His failure to react swiftly cost his son his birth mother. He would not allow the same fate to befall his little girl.
A shadow cast over his newborn's face, directing Dexter's attention to the source. His wife had been standing in the nursery doorway, watching him for a few moments before moving to approach him.
Hannah's voice met the silence with a gentle whisper: "I'm sorry."
Her words caused Dexter to sigh and look away from her gaze, refocusing his attention back to their child.
She pressed on, "I know you wanted to deal with Matthews your way, but I was scared. Scared he was going to take away everything that we've built together. I couldn't sit back and let that happen, not when I had the power to prevent it."
Dexter gave another airy breath full of frustration, and then replied, "Your method of prevention threatens to expose us. And if that happens, Hannah, everything will come crashing down, including this family we've built."
His words caused her eyes to close for a moment. The mere mention of the life she now had with Dexter Morgan being pulled from her grasp shook her to her core. When her eyes opened again, she fixed them on her baby, bringing her hand to the soft blonde locks to provide a loving touch.
Dexter continued, "We've got to be on the same page if we want to get through this. No more killing on your own, no more secrets between us."
She sighed and nodded in agreement. "Come to bed when you put Lily down."
It wasn't long after his wife departed that Morgan was able to place his sleeping infant in the nearby crib. His hands gripped the rail, as his eyes stared off into the dark space of the room.
Brian appeared on the other side of the crib. He playfully batted the plush pastel flowers hanging from the baby mobile.
Brian: "You say no more secrets, yet you're keeping a big ol' whopper from the Missus. What would Hannah say if she knew that Debra was behind those photos of Hollister and not Matthews?"
"I'm more worried about what Hannah would do. She would target Deb, regardless of the fact that we don't even know what she actually knows about the kill."
Brian: "She refuses to take your calls or answer your texts, why do you think that is?"
"She refuses to accept my marriage to Hannah-"
Brian: "It's more than that.."
Moser rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh before continuing in a stern voice:
Brian: "You know she was the one who took pictures of Hollister entering the motel room where you killed him. Matthews had no reason to be following Albert that night. She was there, Dexter. She knows everything and is probably the one who called it in before getting Tom involved."
His imaginary brother's words caused Dexter to spin around, bringing both of his hands together against his face.
"If Deb wanted to turn me in then she would have. She's always had an innate need to protect me. Unlike Matthews, she knows what I am. I just need to get her to talk to me. I can work this out with her. Hannah never has to know."
The next day, Dexter set off early. He had decided to stop by Deb's place before going into the station. His sister had ignored all of his messages since Matthew's demise. There would be no way she would be able to avoid him if he showed up on her doorstep. Unfortunately for him, when Dexter arrived, he saw that Deb's car was not there. A text from Miami Metro directing him to the Hollister home kept him from investigating further.
With his kit in tow, Dexter made his way through the front door of Albert Hollister's home. The place was being combed through by Miami Metro.
"Looks like the search warrant came through. The question is why was I called here? The blood spatter analyst is only needed if there's blood to be found."
Morgan navigated his way through the first floor of the house, heading toward where he knew Albert's study was located. Sure enough, it was this room that the homicide team had congregated. Batista quickly took notice of Dexter's presence and left the huddle.
"Socio, glad you're here."
"I see the search warrant came through." Dexter replied sitting his kit down next to the other forensic equipment.
"Yeah, but right before we had someone come forward. A woman claimed to have had an affair with Albert Hollister. She said hearing about his death on the news prompted her to come in to the station.
Claims he was a real freak, had a thing for pregnant ladies. She even said he set up a camera and filmed them having sex. Very bold move, especially for a guy with a wife at home."
"And so you figured that the search warrant that was requested could produce that video footage?"
Sergeant Angie Miller approached Dex and Angel, "Did you fill him in on the video clips we found on the flash drive?"
"He doesn't need to."
"Not yet, I was telling him about the person of interest who came forward."
Morgan interjected, directing the focus back to what he was suppose to be there for, "So where's the blood?"
Batista adjusted his fedora slightly on his head before responding. "Masuka called out first thing this morning. He left a message on my cell. It was something about shellfish and a one legged stripper, I don't know. I deleted it, texted him to get back to work as soon as he can. A few officers are bagging and tagging some things. I just want someone to oversee them and figured you could handle that."
Dexter gave a quick nod and followed his coworkers further into the study where Hollister's laptop was on and displaying the numerous files from the hidden flash drive. Batista went on to explain what they were seeing:
"It didn't take us long to find his collection. This guy has ten folders alphabetized by female first names. Inside the folders are candid photos of each of the young ladies."
One of the officers scrolled through the various pictures in the first folder causing Sergeant Angie to comment, "This is stalker territory, these are taken without her knowing, coming out of a supermarket, getting out of her car at a bank. This guy was definitely obsessed with these women."
Angel went on to acknowledge the video file, "And here's the file of the woman who came forward. They made a video the night they were together, just like she told us. Es vergonzoso. Disgraceful, pendejo with a wife and kids at home while he's out screwing pregnant women."
It was when the officer clicked and played the video that Batista spoke up again, "Turn that shit off, we don't need to see it again. Of all the days Masuka decides to call out sick. Reviewing these files would be his wet dream. He lives for this shit."
Dexter decided it was the perfect opportunity to further push the guilty wife narrative, "If we were able to find this, how can we be sure Mrs. Hollister didn't also?"
"I could definitely see this as a motive for her wanting her husband gone. This takes infidelity to a whole new level." Miller replied folding her arms across her chest. "I mean, the only sample we found at the crime scene was a strand of her hair."
"Could the hair have been already on his clothes? She did live with him. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't have much of an alibi to vouch for her version of events. She said she pulled a late night at the office, came straight home around 8 PM to find the housekeeper watching her son." Batista explained, giving a summary of what Michelle Hollister had told him during her interview.
"We should interview the housekeeper, maybe she saw them arguing at some point. The vic was full of knife holes and had his throat slit, whoever killed him was clearly full of rage, it was overkill."
Lieutenant Batista let out a sigh and paused for a moment to press on with his opinion, "I don't know, I just didn't get that vibe when I interviewed her. This murder was premeditated, it had to be with all that plastic covering the motel room, and that knife set. This was not a spare of the moment kill. Whoever did this planned it out."
"Is it possible that it could be a jealous boyfriend or husband of one of these women on the flash drive?" Angie questioned, trying to look for other possibilities.
"Sure, anything is possible, but without any evidence to prove someone else other than Albert and his wife were in that motel room, we've got no grounds for any other theory. I've been trying to get a hold of Debra. Michelle claimed she hired her to follow her husband. I would have asked yesterday but it didn't seem right to ask when I had just told her about Matthews."
"If I can convince Deb to keep her silence, then Hannah and I can stay ahead of this. I need to make sure that the focus stays on Michelle Hollister."
Porter sat hunched over his large desk. He breathed in deep through is nostrils taking in a line of white. His eyelids fluttered before closing as he exhaled and fell back into his chair. Despite the fact that Debra had decided to swear off the stuff, didn't mean that he had. The sound of his office door opening, prompted him to move quickly and dispose of his stash of coke in his desk drawer. Deb entered the room with two cups of coffee.
Nick quickly wiped his nose and greeted her, "Hey babe, where have you been? I tried calling you."
Debra set one of the coffee cups in front of him before plopping down in one of the chairs on the other side of Porter's desk, "My phone's been dead since last night, just started charging it. I went to an independent lab this morning to test that cigar bud. I should be getting the results back sometime today."
"You're hoping it's going to come back positive for aconite, huh? I guess it's worth a shot. I mean, we don't know that it's what she used. Could have put it in his coffee for all we know." Nick commented raising the cup up in front of him to signal 'cheers'.
Debra's mouth parted, as she stared at him for a moment before replying, "That's not fucking funny. That murdering bitch killed Matthews, the same way she killed Sal Price and I'm going to prove it. I may not have definitive proof to nail her for Hollister but this shit is going to fucking stick."
"I guess we will see when the test comes back. Either way I think it's time we step our game up." Nick replied after taking a long sip of coffee.
The sound of Deb's cell phone ringing compelled her to remove it from her pocket. The display read
'Angel Batista'.
Dexter took the stairs to reach the Miami Metro executive floor. Upon returning to the station from the Hollister home, he had gone to that floor directly, completely bypassing homicide. With his hands in his pockets, he strolled down the hall and stopped at Matthews' office. Dex eyed the empty secretary desk.
"Things are quiet. No Matthews means no secretary perched outside his office. The top tier of Miami Metro are busy scrambling to find a successor. First Maria now Tom, the position doesn't hold a great track record."
Morgan thought for a moment that he might have to pick the lock on the office door, but it was unlocked. He slipped inside and immediately his eyes began to scan the room for what could be left of the cigar. He first checked the trashcan next to the desk. His hand sifting through numerous papers. Dexter's attention then shifted to the desk where he spotted the pink ribbon in the cigar ashtray.
"Pink ribbon, but no cigar. The only thing I can hope is that Matthews had done away with it before Hannah's aconite did away with him."
Descending down the staircase, Dexter made his way back to the homicide division. Upon his arrival, he was halted in his tracks. His brown eyes focused in on the sight that was once so familiar and normal, but now set him on edge. Debra was walking with Batista toward the interview room.
"Why is she here? Is Deb going to tell Miami Metro what she knows? Is this the day she's going to betray me? How much does she have on me? What has she seen? Batista may find out before I do and by then it will be too late for me."
Morgan felt himself taking steps forward further into the station, slowly walking toward where his sister had disappeared with Angel.
Batista gave his old friend a warm smile as she looked away from his gaze and ran her hand through her hair.
"Thanks for coming in, Deb. I know you must be mourning Tom's death. I won't keep you long, I just have a few questions for you regarding this case we are working on."
"I know, you told me that on the phone." Deb quickly replied placing her hands on the table in front of her. She sounded a bit impatient and preoccupied.
She had been taken aback that Angel had not just asked her questions on the phone but had requested her to drop by the station to give a more formal interview. Her mind immediately thought of the camera in the corner of the room that was no doubt capturing everything: not just her words, but her nonverbal behavior as well. Shifty eyes, her posture. She knew all of this as the former Lieutenant of Homicide. Back when she was sitting on the other side of the table and enjoying seeing her interviewer sweat it out. Could Batista see that too?
"Michelle Hollister told us in her first interview that she hired you to follow her husband and prove that he was cheating on her. To make a long story short, her husband ended up with several knife holes and a slit throat in a seedy motel. Only evidence we have is a single blonde strand of hair that belongs to Michelle."
"And you know for sure that that blonde hair is the wife's?" Deb quickly retorted without even thinking.
Angel eyebrows furrowed, lips parting slightly before he responded, "What do you mean? We had it analyzed. Who else could it have been?"
Debra sat back in the chair and folded her arms. She looked away from her former coworker's inquisitive gaze. This was the perfect opportunity for her to blow the lid off of Dexter and Hannah. She still had the copies of Albert arriving at the motel. She could prove that she was there. What would be hard to explain is why she had not come forward with the information until now.
"I don't know, I'm just wondering. Michelle Hollister didn't seem like the type to kill her husband. She just wanted to know the truth of what he was up to." Deb finally replied in an exhale.
"So you followed him?"
"Yeah."
"See anything unusual? Anything that could say he pissed off the wrong boyfriend or husband?"
Deb shook her head and replied, "No, he was a pretty boring tail. I followed him around Miami; Typical cheating scumbag."
"How long were you following him? It would really help us out if you could give us an account of his whereabouts during that time period. All notes, and pictures you took. It would help us establish a timeline of his movement."
Debra instinctively bit her bottom lip when she heard Batista's request. Her eyes darted down to her hands that she had put in her lap.
"You okay, Deb? What's wrong? You seem like something's bothering you. Do you know something about this case?"
Debra could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest. She felt like she was right on the edge, the cusp of spilling it all to her co-worker and friend. She hated lying to him and if she just opened her mouth and said it, it could all be over. She could finish her quest to take down Hannah with the help of Miami Metro. But what would that do to Dexter?
She was suddenly startled as the sound of the door opened. She turned and saw her brother standing in the doorway. Dex's arrival was abrupt and had caused the interview to come to a halt. It had been the first time she had laid eyes on her brother in months.
He spoke out quickly, "Is this really necessary right now, Angel? We've all been through a lot with what happened to Tom."
Deb's eyes widened. Fuck he was good. Playing the role of the concerned brother to perfection. But she knew better. This wasn't about his concern for her but more of a concern for saving his and Hannah's own asses.
"Of course, we can talk more later when Deb feels up to it."
Batista's words caused Dexter to move further forward into the room. When Morgan approached his sister, she immediately got to her feet. Dex went to place a hand on her shoulder but she quickly shrugged it off and retreated from the room. Debra did not stop as she walked through the department. Dexter followed after her. She must have sensed he was behind her as she decided to take the stairs as to not halt her stride. The sound of her brother's voice echoed through the stairwell but she had no intention of stopping. It wasn't until she reached the parking lot that Dexter caught up with her.
"Deb, wait! I need to talk to you!" He called out as he saw her reach her car.
His words caused her to scoff, she spun around to finally face him, "You want to talk to me now? Funny how I haven't heard from you in almost a fucking year and now you just have to talk to me!"
"I know it's been a while. Matthews' death caught us all off guard and if anything it was a wake-up call that we should be trying to patch things up."
"Heart attack, right?" Deb sneered, "She killed Tom. Dad's best friend. How the fuck are you okay with that?"
Dexter breathed in deep and let out a long exhale. He said nothing. His reaction elicited a forced laugh from Debra. She proceeded to get in her BMW, slamming the door shut behind her. Before he was able to attempt her to stay, she started the engine and sped off.
Dex stood there. His eyes following the BMW until it was out of sight. The interaction between them had happened so fast that he had not been prepared to effectively intervene. His mind was a sea of questions. What did she know? What didn't she know? The voice of his brother pierced his thoughts:
Brian: "That is one crazy bitch. One that you have absolutely no control over and is completely unpredictable. This is going to get very messy, Dexter. You have to act now."
Brian was now standing along side his brother. He too was gazing off in the distance where Debra's car was last in view.
"What could she have told Batista if I hadn't interrupted? I know Deb, she talks a big game but at the end of the day she is loyal to family. I've got to get her back in the fold. It's the only option."
Dexter removed his cellphone from his back pocket as he was going to make an attempt to call her.
Brian: "Is it? What if it's too late for that?"
His brother's words caused him to turn his attention away from his phone. He looked directly into his brother's eyes, the same eyes that were staring right back at him. And then he broke the gaze, retreating back toward the office building.
Debra's vision was blurry. She struggled to see the road ahead, but she managed. Her eyes bombarded with tears that she could do nothing to hold back. Reeling from the encounter with her brother, a flood of emotions pouring out all at once: anger, sadness, disgust. All of which began to make her seriously question the importance of her sobriety. Alcohol, Xanax, and cocaine, they had been her circle of friends ever since her family had turned their back on her. Family meaning Dexter, as Harrison was just a child along for the ride; an innocent caught in the fucked up life that his father had created for him. She struggled for a moment, attempting to call the one person who she had left.
"Nick?" She sobbed as soon as the call picked up passed the ring.
"Babe? What is it? Are you hurt? What happened?"
Debra devolved into sobbing nonsense that was impossible to understand. It prompted Porter to ask her to repeat herself, this time speaking clearer.
Deb tried her best to reign in her emotions long enough to be coherent, "Fucking Dexter...He acted like he gave a shit and wanted to fix our relationship, but he doesn't give a fuck! I want to use so fucking bad right now..."
"Shh, hey, hey, it's going to be okay. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere."
"I know, I know..." Debra cried sniffling back her congestion.
"This may just be the opportunity we needed. Your brother is trying to bring you back in his circle. Closer to him, and closer to Hannah. We can use that to our advantage. Come back to my office. Your results from the cigar butt arrived while you were gone. Your long shot paid off in spades. We've got some planning to do."
His words caused Deb's mouth to pull taut. She smiled through her tears. Finally that bitch was going to get what was coming to her and this time, there would be nothing for Dexter to do to stop it.
Miami Metro was buzzing with activity throughout the midday. Batista and Angie were combing through the personal effects from the Hollister home that had been confiscated for further examination. Amid the many items was a photograph that had caught Angel's eye that Sergeant Miller had not noticed. He reached out and took the photo, bringing it closer to him to study it. It was a photo of little Jay Hollister's soccer team. The four year old child of Albert and Michelle. It was one of the children in the team photo that Angel recognized immediately.
"Is that Harrison?" He asked aloud.
"Who?" Angie asked as she moved to look at the photo that Batista was studying.
"Dexter's son. That's him. He and Albert's kid must have been on the same soccer team."
"Looks like it's from this year. "Angie added, pointing to the year at the bottom of the picture.
Batista glanced in the direction of the forensic unit of the homicide division. "Did we make note of what preschool that Jay Hollister attends?"
"I think so. I don't remember the name his mother mentioned, but I didn't think it relevant. I'm sure it's in my notes."
"Our Lady of the Gulf?" Batista asked turning back to look at Angie.
"Yes! That was it. Damn, good memory."
"That's the same preschool that Harrison goes to. What would the odds be that they are in the same class?" Angel asked as he began walking to the back of the homicide division.
"He could be, Dexter's son is around the same age, isn't he? I would think Dexter would have mentioned if he knew the victim. It's possible he doesn't even know that his son goes to school with this kid." Miller replied following after the Lieutenant.
Angel peeked in through the window of the door leading to Dexter's small lab room. He turned back to where Masuka was sitting at his station.
"Hey, where's Dexter?"
"He took off a little while ago. I guess he figured I could cover since I left him holding his dick this morning. I'm pretty sure he already got his spatter reports done. Kiss ass. Why what's up?"
Angie replied before Batista was able, "We just found out that Hollister's kid was on the same soccer team as Harrison Morgan, and may have even been in the same preschool class."
Vince looked to be in thought for a moment before he replied, "Huh, well I'm pretty sure Dexter would have said something if he knew. His wife threw that lame kids' birthday party and had the whole class over."
"True, Hannah can probably give us a list of who she invited. If Michelle and Albert were there, we can question the other parents. See if they saw anything unusual with their interaction." Batista added.
"Yeah, maybe Hollister was hitting on a pregnant milf. I know I would have. Huhuhuhuhuh."
Evening was approaching when Debra's BMW slowed to a stop in front of the Morgan residence. She cut her engine and let out a exasperated sigh. There was no way she was looking forward to being in the same room as her sister-in-law. She questioned if she was ready. Being around Dexter was one thing, but adding that murdering bitch into the mix was a whole other story. But she had to do this. There was no other way.
She emerged from her car. As Deb approached the house, her eyes caught sight of her nephew. He was playing with his toys in the front sun room. Debra's lips parted as she got closer to the glass paneled door while continuing to peer in at her nephew. He had gotten so big since the last time she had seen him. Tapping on the glass got the child's attention. When he looked up at her, she waved. A smile formed on Harrison's face as he got to his feet to let her in.
"Hi Aunt Deb, come to see my baby sister?" Harrison questioned after he opened the door allowing Debra to enter to sun room.
The front door to the rest of the house was closed so Debra knew she could speak freely and not be heard by Dexter nor Hannah. "Hey buddy, God I missed you."
She bent over and pulled the child into a hug. She was relieved to notice that he seemed normal and well cared for. The months she had spent away from him made her question how he would fair under Hannah's care.
"Missed you too, come on, I'll show you the baby."
Harrison broke the hug. Deb allowed him to take her by the hand and lead the way into the house. Upon entering the home, Deb took a quick glance around the living room, no one was there.
"Are you by yourself?" She asked as he lead her toward the nursery.
"No, Mommy and Daddy are in the back yard."
The four year old pulled his aunt into the nursery. Her eyes scanned all of the flowers that decorated the walls. No doubt this was all Hannah's doing as it was certainly not Dexter's handy work. Debra's attention fell to the circular crib that sat in the middle of the room; the focal point of Hannah's painted wonderland.
"Here she is, baby Lily." Harrison announced pointing his finger into the crib between the bars.
Debra was half expecting Rosemary's baby to be laying in there. The spawn of Hannah McKay was as precious as she was delicate. A thin layer of blonde hair covered her head. The newborn stirred slightly when Harrison reached into the crib and touched her hand softly. Such innocence had sprung from such evil.
"Mommy, look, Aunt Deb's here!" Harrison called out causing Debra to spin around in place.
Hannah Morgan was standing in the doorway. The two women stared at one another for a few seconds before Hannah spoke out to her adoptive son, "Harrison, go play with your toys in the sun room while Aunt Deb and I talk."
"Okay." He said, leaving the room.
"What are you doing here?" Hannah quickly questioned the moment she heard the front door close shut, cutting Harrison off from what was happening in the house. She folded her arms in front of her.
"That's none of your fucking business. I'm here to see Dexter and Harrison." Deb sneered.
"My family, my business." Hannah retorted in a calm voice that was full of confidence.
"Fine, let's talk about your business. Like how you poisoned Tom Matthews because you figured he was onto you. You're not going to get away with that."
Hannah rolled her eyes, she bent over the crib to cover her daughter with a light blanket. "You really are obsessed with me, aren't you? The minute someone drops dead you immediately assume I had something to do with it. You have no proof."
"Wanna bet?" Deb answered back with a raise of an eyebrow. She smiled wide.
Hannah's eyes narrowed. She thought for a minute as she pursed her lips together slightly before responding, "You have nothing. This is just one of your pitiful attempts to get Dexter back into your life. The fact is that he doesn't need you." Hannah explained with a smirk on her face as she went on, "The Morgan family portrait really doesn't have any place for a drugged out pretend sister. He and Harrison don't even miss you."
Her words caused Debra to shake with fury. Her hand grabbed hold of the crib rail, as it was all she could do to ground herself, keeping her composure. "I wonder if they will miss you when you're spending the rest of your life in prison? I found Matthews' cigar. It's going to erase you from this family."
Hannah's self assured smirk immediately faded when she heard the mention of the cigar that she had laced with aconite to kill Tom. She blinked a few times before responding, "I'm never going to prison.
Dexter wouldn't let that happen, he took care of Price's pen and he can do the same with the cigar. Matthews investigation died with him."
"See that's where you're wrong. You thought Tom was the one on to you but it was me. I'm the one who saw Albert Hollister enter that motel room. I'm the one who found your Wayne Randall killing reenactment that my brother helped you plan. I called it in." Debra said moving forward towards Hannah.
Mrs. Morgan moved away from Debra's advances to the other side of the crib. The look on her face told the story and she was not at all comfortable with what she was hearing. She replied with venom through grit teeth as she leaned over the crib, "What makes you think that was my kill? When Dexter finds out it was you-"
"I'm pretty sure he already knows. Dexter has been trying to talk to me ever since Hollister's wife told Miami Metro that I was assigned to follow Albert. I just saw him today when I was at the station for questioning. I guess he didn't tell you. Wonder how many more secrets he's keeping from you?"
Hannah's mouth fell open. Tears began to glisten in her blue eyes. She quickly blinked a few times, trying to keep her reaction at bay. She was gobsmacked; completely caught of guard by Debra's admission. Her focus shifted to Dexter who entered the nursery. Deb noticed the change in Hannah's attention and she too looked in her brother's direction.
Dexter felt like he was front and center. Both his sister and wife staring at him with their arms crossed. He had no idea how long the heated argument had been going on before he had arrived. He was just glad that his son had come to tell him that him that Aunt Deb was with mom in the nursery.
"What's going on?" He asked, piercing the awkward silence.
It was Hannah who spoke up first, "She came into our home and threatened our family."
"No, I threatened you. Believe me when I say that you will pay for the motel murder and poisoning Tom."
Dexter moved forward towards his sister, "Deb, you don't know what you're talking about. I know what you think you saw in the motel-"
"I know exactly what I saw, and it was a fucking homage of her spree killing days with Wayne Randall. And now I have evidence of what she did to Tom. She's done."
His sister's threat drew Dexter closer. His face inches away from hers as he muttered aloud, "Leave it alone, Deb. Please. You need to back off."
"Don't ask me to do that. You know what's right, Dad taught you the code. You said the code was there to keep you alive, not Hannah. And it's not even just about you anymore, Dexter; think about Harrison. Do you really want him exposed to all of this?" Debra asked on the verge of tears.
It was when Harrison was brought up that Hannah inserted herself into the conversation, "Harrison is not exposed to anything but a loving home! I will protect my children until my last breathe and I will take out whoever I need to!"
"Yeah, and I will do whatever it takes to protect my nephew from you!" Deb replied back with the same intensity.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Dexter hollered separating the two females. Lily Anne began to cry, which diverted Hannah's attention away from Debra and to the newborn.
The small lull that Dex had created provided him with the opportunity to speak on in a calmer voice, "Deb, promise me that you will stay out of this. There is too much at stake here and I don't need you getting caught up in it."
Debra folded her arms in front of her in defiance. Her brown eyes were burning a hole through her brother. If she could have set him on fire with her stare, she would have. She spoke with an intensity, her voice quivering with anger, "Too late, I'm already balls fucking deep in this. I've compromised everything that defines me for you. I can't do it anymore, Dex, I won't."
Tears were streaming down his sister's face. Dexter's lips parted, he wanted to say something back but no words escaped. Deb recognized that he was at a loss for words and took it as her cue to make her exit.
Dexter had wanted to follow his sister but didn't. He felt frozen in place. His mind racing to play catch up with what had just transpired. The front door slamming shut caused Hannah to break the silence. She was swaying back and forth, holding her infant daughter close as her blue eyes pierced through her husband.
"You lied to me! You let me think that Matthews was the one behind the photos. You knew it was Deb and kept that from me!"
"I thought I could get it in under control without having to worry you. How you handled Matthews proved to me that you would have just flown off the handle and done something to put us in jeopardy."
"You said no secrets between us! You're putting her before me: your wife, the mother of your child!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are! You knew she had evidence that could hurt this family yet you kept it from me! You know what we have to do and you can't face it! You need to decide what's important to you, Dexter! Me and the kids or your pretend sister, Debra! You can't have both!"
Dex took a deep breath and exhaled. He said his love's name as he moved to approach her. Hannah immediately moved away from him like a magnet that was repelling from another.
She spoke again with confidence, "I want you to leave. Pack a bag, and just go. I feel like I can't even trust you anymore."
Dexter instinctively shook his head, "It doesn't have to be that way. I will talk to Deb, figure something out."
"There's only one way out of this, Dexter. You're obviously too weak to do what has to be done. I'm not." She retorted with sincerity. She was proving to him that she was the stronger of the two and had what it took to protect her family at any cost.
Mrs. Morgan stormed out of the nursery leaving Dexter alone with her words still echoing in his mind. It was becoming clear what had just been set into motion. It had all happened so fast and he had no control of any of it. His eyes quickly darted to the other side of the room where his father was now standing.
Harry: "Are you finally seeing Hannah for what she truly is? She's a ruthless killer, Dexter. She made it clear that your sister is her next target. Deep down inside, you knew it would always come to this."
Dexter's eyes darted back and forth as he breathed in a jagged breath. He leaned against the rail of the crib, bracing himself as he contemplated what his father was telling him.
"I need to find out what Deb has on Hannah. If I can do something to stop-"
Harry: "It's too late for that! Hannah is a poison; one that spreads quickly and kills without the slightest hesitation! She's got to be stopped!"
"And if I can't?"
Harry: "Then just take Harrison and Debra and just go! Go somewhere where Hannah can't find you! At least then your sister will be safe!"
Dexter's eyes closed. He felt like he was completely out of control; so many pieces to the puzzle that he just couldn't see. Harry was right, he did have to do something, quickly.
Another late night for the homicide division of Miami Metro. Lieutenant Angel Batista sat hunched over his desk, working his way through a sea of paperwork. So much of his job now was made up of pushing paper. It had not been what he had in mind when he signed up for a career in law enforcement. But it was just part job of the job that he loved. Hell, it was all he had since he barely ever saw his daughter.
Angel had attempted to call Dexter after discovering that Harrison attended the same preschool as Harrison, but had only gotten his voicemail. A part of him felt guilty bothering the Morgan family in the wake of Tom Matthews' death.
Batista looked up from his papers when Angie Miller popped her head into his office.
"You need to come look at this." She said with a sense of urgency in her voice.
Angel rose from his seat and followed Sergeant Miller to where a number of officers had gathered around a laptop.
Angie explained, "We had one of our IT specialists run a scan on Albert Hollister's flash drive to look for any deleted files. They found one."
Batista peered at the screen where he saw a file entitled, 'Hannah'. One of the agents clicked on the folder and revealed candid photographs, including the ones taken at Harrison's birthday party.
Angel's eyes widened, his mouth fell open in shock as he spoke out, "Oh dios mío! Hannah Morgan."
Debra had barely said anything upon returning to Nick's penthouse. She sat next to him on the sofa, watching him devour a carton of Chinese food. He had offered her some but she refused. Who the hell could eat at a time like this? Her mind was still fixated on what she had done.
After leaving the Morgan residence, she had stopped by her house to store her evidence and to take a quick shower. The warm water may have cleansed her body, but it had done nothing for her mind. She knew she was doing the right thing, but it was still eating away at her.
The sound of her phone vibrating beckoned her attention. A text from Dexter. Her eyes scanned the white writing as it displayed on her blue screen:
'Hannah is out of control. Worried about you and Harrison. Please call me."
The text message lit a fire inside of Debra. She quickly sat up straight and navigated through her phone to call her brother. Nicholas took notice of her change in demeanor and asked her what was up. She ignored his inquiry and rang her brother.
"Dexter, what's going on?"
"Hannah kicked me out of the house. She's furious at me for not telling her that you were the one who gave Matthews those photos. She's going to come after you, Deb. You were right, she's dangerous. I took Harrison and just left."
"Fucking A, get as far away from her as possible. I'm not home right now but I can meet you at my place!"
"Okay, hurry, Harrison and I will be waiting."
Debra ended the call and immediately got to her feet. Porter had watched what just transpired and he wanted answers. "What the hell is going on, Deb?"
"I'm meeting my brother at my place. We're going to stop that murdering bitch."
"I'm coming with you." Nick quickly replied getting up off the couch.
"No, I'm fine. Dexter and I can handle this."
Deb traveled to her to beach house as fast as she was able. When she arrived she saw that her brother's Ford Escape was already parked out in front. Inside she found him sitting on her couch. She immediately closed the distance between him. Dexter stood just in time to receive a hug. He sighed feeling his sister's grip tighten around him.
Debra had missed this. She felt like she finally had her brother back. He had finally seen the truth about Hannah McKay. In that moment she knew that this was going to work out. She no longer had to worry about what she had done or said. Her brother was back, free from the spell of the blonde femme fatale.
"Where's Harrison?" She asked upon releasing her brother from the hug.
"He's in your bedroom. He feel asleep on the ride over here."
Debra dropped her purse on the counter and made her way in the direction of her bedroom. She had not only missed having her brother in her life, but missing out on so much time with her nephew had been difficult. She wanted to peek in at him, to watch him slumber.
Nothing could have prepared Debra for what she saw when she crossed the threshold of her bedroom. The room was dimly lit. Her bed along with the rest of her room had been draped in clear plastic. Her photographs of Albert Hollister as well as all of the other research she had collected against Dexter and Hannah were sitting on her nightstand. A set of kill tools sprawled out on her bed. This wasn't real, it had to be a nightmare.
Debra had no time to react. A piercing sting in her neck sent a shock wave through the rest of her body. Her world faded to black.