Conspiracy
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: I'm going to bed late...therefore waking up late...so you're getting the morning chapter now. Here you go.
Chapter 5 (Making the Case)
Beck followed Jade into Sikowitz's room, mulling over what he was calling an obsession with the Vega family. Sikowitz was already busy with paperwork on his desk, so Jade wanted to leave before they bothered him.
"Would you please tell her to stop snooping around Tori's family? She's got this insane idea that you said it was okay." Sikowitz turned his eyes up, then straightened himself in his chair. The scarf around his neck swayed gently with the movement, and the collar of his shirt was pushed down by his beard.
"You didn't hear the way Mr. Vega talked last night," Jade declared. She hurried in front of Beck and faced him. She spread her arms out and looked up to his eyes. "He clearly lied about meeting Mrs. Vega, he threatened Trina, and-"
"You're looking for problems that aren't there, Jade." Beck's arms rose from his sides and crossed over his chest. His eyes slanted and his eyebrows pushed up the skin between them. "I've been in that house too, remember? Nothing seems off about Mr. Vega to me-if anything, it's his wife that seems a little off."
"Are you blind or just trying to ignore the obvious?" She closed her fists tight and she sucked in a heavy breath through the slits between her teeth.
"Robbie agrees with me! He sees absolutely nothing wrong."
Jade's mouth fell open and her head jerked back. How could Robbie agree to something like that? The boy was right there with her last night. "If he's saying that, then he's lying."
"Robbie doesn't lie about shit, Jade. I've never seen him lie about anything." She turned away from him and he looked to Sikowitz, bouncing his hand up in the air. "Sikowitz?"
It was a stretch to say Robbie didn't lie about anything, but she could understand Beck's defense of the guy. The strangest thing about Robbie was the puppet he carried around everywhere. "Sikowitz, Beck is being an asshole. He's being a blind and ignorant asshole." Beck raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" If he really cared about Tori, with how much he seemed to defend the girl, then he would want to see what was going on. All this was showing Jade was she didn't know whether or not to trust him. It was even worse considering most of his actions were pushed by his parents, and his own mother had once been close friends with David.
"Maybe Beck isn't the problem, Sikowitz. Maybe it's his mother."
"Jade!"
"Relax, both of you." Sikowitz stood up and walked around his desk. She felt her angry blood rushing to her face and kept her attention away from Beck. Right now she wanted to throw him off a bridge, but she was willing to give her boyfriend the benefit of the doubt.
She lowered her heightened and tense shoulders and tightened her lips. Sikowitz took a seat on the edge of his desk and crossed his legs. He closed his hands together and set them on his knees while twisting to face her. "Jade. Slow down and tell me what you've discovered."
"Okay." Jade looked at Beck and frowned when his eyes started to roll. "Both daughters express discontent when someone gets close to their family, they seem afraid of something."
She studied the plaque on the wall behind him, able to read it more closely. Shock pulsed through her body when she added up the years of service as a private detective and the types of work he had done, one of which included undercover private investigations.
His service never ended-which meant he was still a private investigator. Could this be a reason Sikowitz seemed so interested in what she was doing? Could it be the reason he was encouraging her on investigations?
A nervous sweat formed at her forehead and she quickly ran the back of her hand over her brow to wipe the sweat away. "I um, hold on." She cleared her throat to erase the stammer and watched Sikowitz's mouth spread into what she could only assume was a knowing smile. "Okay, so, I talked to my dad. I don't know how accurate it is, but he said that from what he remembers, Mr. Vega was single fifteen years ago-when he last saw the man."
"Curious." Sikowitz scratched his beard and leaned back slowly. "Could the man have married a woman who already had two girls, though?"
"I didn't think about that."
"You should consider every avenue."
"Well the way Dad spoke, he seemed to imply that not only was Mr. Vega an unappealing person-Mrs. Vega was entirely out of his league. He appeared to suggest that Gary Richardson was closer to being more appropriate of a match for the woman."
"Have you looked into Mr. Richardson at all?"
"No. I thought maybe he was just friends with Mr. Vega, and maybe someone who was having an affair with Mrs. Vega." The affair claim still seemed to be a stretch. Holly was almost never out of the house. "However, that may not be plausible. She's rarely out of the house. I think Mr. Vega might have an ironclad grip on the women, but I don't know why. I don't know what's going on there."
Beck stepped forward and swept his hand through the air, raising his voice at Sikowitz. "You're encouraging her?" Jade winced and Sikowitz turned his head to the man. "We barely know this family. It isn't our place to mess with them. If there's something wrong, then the proper authorities need to deal with it!"
Jade leaned sideways and crossed her arms. Beck continued his ranting, but she ignored him. It was hard not having him support her in this, but she wouldn't force him to support something he didn't agree with. "Besides, if something's wrong, then why wouldn't Tori or even Trina speak up?"
"Fear is a complex emotion." Sikowitz's still-calm voice drew Jade's attention. He met Beck's gaze and turned his lips up into a tiny smile. When he spoke, it felt like the energy in the room shifted to relax and calm Jade's anxious nerves. "You see Beck, when you've grown up knowing a monster but knowing you can't challenge the monster-for who is going to believe you when you tell them about a monster-then you will learn to give up and quit fighting."
Sikowitz closed his eyes and parted his lips to let out a slow exhale. "Depending on the type of evil that holds you, there are a number of things that can keep somebody from calling out for help." His eyelids shifted open partially and Jade straightened her posture when his gaze fell on her. "You said both girls seemed afraid of something. Any idea what?"
She fumbled for an answer and thought back to the tension of the night before. The words David spoke to his daughter chilled her bones and haunted her even now. "Trina said 'what can he do, he's already done the worst'." Beck's eyebrows rose up and Sikowitz started to hum. "Mr. Vega said he would 'do it again' if she hadn't learned her lesson the first time. Trina's demeanor changed completely after that, and she ran upstairs-Tori followed her and came back some time later, but Trina stayed upstairs the rest of the night."
Beck's brow furrowed and he turned to Jade. "You're saying that Mr. Vega would do something so terrible to his daughter? A commander of the police, even, that's-"
"Not so farfetched," Sikowitz interrupted, "And it would appear that Miss West feels the daughter made the implication. Meanwhile…" Sikowitz extended his hand to the door, his long scarf hung over his arm, seeming to drop off with the sudden movement. "I'd like for you to leave, Mr. Oliver."
"But-"
"Please." Though it was a silent request, Jade caught the commanding strength in the man's tone. Beck nodded and left without further word. Sikowitz dropped his arm and sighed heavily. "It is unfortunate, but don't hold it against him Jade." She pursed her lips and bowed her head.
"I thought he would be more supportive of me."
"You cannot make a person see what they don't want to see." She tucked her hair over her ear and looked over her shoulder, holding her breath as she studied the closing door. "He has chosen to become friends with them, but he does not wish to believe there is something wrong with them. Do you want there to be something wrong?"
"No."
"Exactly. But of course, you want to be an investigator and therefore must acknowledge facts that point to something you don't want to accept. You're forced to accept the truth, he isn't, and that's where the line is muddied." She frowned and shook her head.
"I think I understand." She wouldn't push Beck into something he didn't want, no matter how hard it was. "He doesn't think Mr. Vega's dangerous, but that man…there's something very dangerous about him. I just don't know what…"
Regardless, she didn't know what to do after that. Once she found the truth, if she did, then what could be done? "It isn't like I'm a legitimate investigator. Even if I found anything, I…I couldn't do anything about it." Her shoulders fell and frustration welled up in her eyes, forcing a moisture to appear. "There's something not right about Mr. Vega, and even if I knew what it was." She stopped herself and clenched her fists tight as saliva sparked at the corners of her mouth. Her brow furrowed and she looked to Sikowitz for answers. "Tell me what to do."
Sikowitz curled his lips in a smile and raised his eyebrows up. "Do you want to be an investigator, Jade? Is that something you see yourself doing?"
"Of course." She didn't have to think about that for long. Her eyes darted to the certificate frame and her grip loosened. "You're not really a teacher. Are you?" Sikowitz's eyebrow rose and he turned partially to glance at what she was seeing. He chuckled once and turned back.
"Oh I am, but not how you think of me." She looked back at him curiously. "I do teach theater and acting, but it's not my main job. I am an adjunct, my full time job is as an investigator." It made sense, the only class he taught was her class, with Tori, Beck and the others, and when he was in charge of a production it was only on Fridays. "The plaque you see there is my way of advertising my services to students or their parents."
"I get it." She wiggled her nose and dropped her gaze for a moment. Sikowitz leaned back, pressing his hands on the desk for stabilization.
"Jade, if you're serious about being an investigator, I have a spot for an apprenticeship." Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "You would have to report findings to me, and let me process. If there is something going on with the Vega family, I will be able to deal with it…"
"You mean-"
"I would also like for you to see something." He pushed himself up and walked back around his desk. Her fingers trembled and she found herself leaning forward to try and see what he was doing. Sikowitz opened a drawer and pulled out a manila folder. When he opened it, she spotted a newspaper article on the top. "Here. It might help you a little bit."
"What is it?" She took the paper and held it carefully, not wanting it to tear. The article was dated nearly four years ago and had a startling headline: Police Captain's daughter contacts police against father.
Jade read the article aloud, struggling to read as the paper shook in her trembling grip. "Eleven year old Victoria Vega called the police Monday night, claiming that her father was dangerous and threatening to hurt her mother. She had run away from home and called the police from a nearby gas station. When she was returned to the house, Captain Vega was questioned. The police left, satisfied that this was just a childish prank. Rather than fine the child, Captain Vega said he would discipline her as he saw fit."
She nearly dropped the article and looked up from it as Sikowitz took it from her. "So as you can see, Miss West. There is clearly something going on in that family, and if you wish to pursue it, I am happy to take you on as my apprentice. I could teach you a thing or two."
He didn't need to ask twice, she wanted this job. It would be a great way to learn, and it would certainly help with college credit. "I will." She was curious why he had the news article, but part of her didn't care. Most likely, it was at least one of the cases he'd either worked or was planning on working.
As for the article, it now told her something more that she'd been questioning. "Tori said Trina was hurt once because of her actions, and she wasn't going to let it happen again…" Jade motioned to the article and her heart leapt up. "Could this be it? Tori called the cops on her dad and ran away, and because of it, Trina took the punishment?"
"That is concerning, but remember that we don't know what happened-or if anything did. We would need proof that something happened, and you have nothing."
"Then I'll keep looking."
So, what are you thinking at this point? That article, what do you think about it? Do you think it has something to do with what happened to the Vega women? Sikowitz is still an active Private Investigator (I've written him like my Judicial instructor, Judge Brotherton-teaches a class but is still a sitting judge), do you suppose there's more to him than meets the eye? Let's think about why someone would hire a private investigator, they work with the police but they work separate from the police-who do you go to when you're not sure who in the police to trust? I wonder if he's working the case that Jade is, although if he is-who hired him? Maybe that's too much speculation for one night? What are your thoughts throughout this chapter, hm?