Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 19 (Atop a Golden Throne)

Jade hurried into Sikowitz's downtown office with the cup in her hand. In her mind, she'd run the many ways this conversation could go, but she wasn't exactly certain how he would react. After all, she did go against his wishes in following up the lead on Lanie, so she hoped the cup containing whatever was inside of it would appease some of the anger he most certainly would have.

"Mr. Sikowitz, I've got something." She made her way into the office and saw him leaning over his desk. His elbows were bent and his hands were folded before his face.

His nostrils opened and his eyelids shut over his eyes. "You went to talk to Lanie after I explicitly told you not to." Her stomach gripped her heart and she froze to watch his eyelids slide open partially. How could he already have known? The irritation in his voice was heavy enough to crush her. "That is not a good way to go about your job."

"I'm sorry. How did you-"

"I needed you in the office half an hour ago, when you did not show, I contacted your boyfriend." Her shoulders fell and she glanced away momentarily, biting down on the inside of her lip. Sikowitz dropped his hands to the desk and leaned back, his voice steadily rising. "What were you thinking? We have no way of knowing whether or not Lanie is dangerous, and you are not a full or experienced enough investigator to deal with a suspect like this!"

Her eyes clenched shut and she attempted to push away the guilt crawling up her back. "I know you're upset, and I shouldn't have dealt with this alone. You're right."

"Damn right you shouldn't have." He stood up and walked around to the side of his desk. He crossed his arms and his eyebrows moved in like two cars crashing together. "She's already assumed dangerous and if something happens to you, I'm responsible. Do you understand? I am held liable for your safety." She bowed her head and said nothing, knowing there wasn't much she could say to diffuse him.

Of course she didn't think his anger was wrong, he had every right to be pissed. "Mr. Sikowitz, I-"

"Don't." He cut her off and she raised her head up. His mouth was shut and his jaw locked in place. His right fingers were tapping his left forearm, but his body appeared loose and relaxed. His shoulders rose and fell with a heavy breath, then his arms dropped to the sides.

He shook his head and spoke up with a calmer tone that soothed the anxiety within her. "It's just your first mistake, I know you were just trying to help and get things done in a timely manner." Her lips curved up slightly and she watched his eyebrows fall to a neutral position. "Next time I tell you not to do something, however, I trust that you will listen."

"Yes sir."

She was safe here, and that was important. It terrified her to think she had to tell him he may have been right, but as long as she were here, Lanie couldn't touch her.

Sikowitz sat on the corner of his desk and crossed his arms. The man's eyes fell to the mug in Jade's hands, and his brow started to furrow. "You said you found something. What do you have?"

"Well you're right about one thing, that woman's scary and she may very well be dangerous." Jade set the cup down on the desk and peered into the brown coffee. "She told me a lot-a lot of stuff that I don't think is accessible in court. She said I wasn't a threat to her, that she was responsible for putting Holly and her daughters with David…"

There was a profound silence that followed the statement and she glanced towards her mentor to see his reaction. His eyes were now positioned on the wall in front of him and his body tense. "Holy shit," he whispered, "Unless we can prove that, we have nothing." He brought his hand up to his chin and slid his fingers slowly through his beard. "Any reason she told you this?"

"I think she knew I was looking into things." Jade took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "'Poking around', she said. She thinks I'm just a nosy teenager and says that not only am I no threat, but it could be her word against mine if it came down to it." She glanced back to the cup and frowned. "Not only that, but she may have been trying to poison me. If I'm right, I'm willing to bet she's done it before, and probably has her own method of disposing victims…"

"What makes you think she was trying to do this?"

"She was insistent on me drinking this. There was a container, just a large jar with white powdery stuff that she wrote 'sugar' on. I don't think it's sugar." She looked up at him and her eyebrows rose to the top of her forehead. "Is there any way to test? I ran when her tea kettle went off-got spooked."

"I will send a sample to the labs downtown. If there's anything in there, we will know." There was a flicker of something new in his gaze, and while she didn't quite know what it was, it made her feel good. Perhaps it was pride, or maybe an acknowledgement that something went right.

"Did I do well?"

"If there's something in there, then yes." He smiled at her and reached over, patting her once on the shoulder. "If it's poison, then we have something to investigate. Not to mention, there has been at least one odd occurrence in her neighborhood over the last few years."

"What?"

"If I recall." He stood up and walked towards his office window to peer out. He stood there for a long time, and a profound look of curiosity spread across his face. "A couple years apart, there were two people that she was the last person to see alive. They showed up at her house, family friends, and they were found dead hours later."

She sat on the edge of the desk and folded her hands in her lap. Her chest began to ache with a sudden onset of heaviness and pain. The deaths did sound suspicious, but she wasn't certain anything could be proven.

Sikowitz locked his wrists together behind his back and exhaled slowly. "Both times, they were in a car crash, the coroner couldn't find anything so their deaths were labeled accidental."

"Accidental?"

"One drove off a bridge, the other into a lake. Both of them appeared to have had a heart attack." He brought his hand up to his neck and ran it beneath the ends of his hair. "There was a third person, more closely related to the judge. Her mother. The woman had some kind of epileptic seizure and died on her kitchen floor."

"That's suspicious?"

"It is when the woman has never had a seizure in her life and is one of the healthiest, most fit elderly women alive." She gasped out and brought her hand up to her mouth. "I do not know what toxicology reports came back, or if the victims were truly poisoned-the poison is one of the undetectable kinds..."

He turned his head and met her stunned gaze with a frown. "If we can manage to pin a crime, any crime on her, then we can get somewhere. Still she's powerful, and has herself on a pedestal we may not be able to knock her from. This one…could get away from us."

The man fell quiet and Jade dropped her eyes to the floor, disheartened. She was aware he wasn't giving up, but for the first time she felt more confident than her own mentor was.

She glanced hastily at the cup and felt her heart beginning to swell with certainty. They could get Lanie, they had to. "No," she whispered. He raised an eyebrow and Jade lifted her head. "We can get her, and I know why-I know how. There's only one person she's terrified of, and for good reason, because she's the only person with more power that has history with her."

"Denise Harris?"

"Yes!" She answered with urgency and jumped up. "And I got Andre to get her to talk to me. I was going to talk to her after this." Sikowitz smirked and swept his hand towards the door.

"Then what are you waiting for? Interview that woman and see what she can do."

"She's a senator. She's got a senate assembly coming up, and if she can convince two thirds of the senate-she can have Lanie knocked off her golden throne." She smirked at the man and he chuckled in response. Granted, for that to happen, there had to be enough misconduct. There were two other methods for removing a judge, but regardless, Lanie may not wish to deal with all the attention. "If we're lucky, just the threat of removal might force Lanie to resign."

"Well. I don't know anything about this, you'll just have to discuss with Ms. Harris."

"Gladly."

It would be easier to remove a police commissioner, as then all a senator would have to do was press the state's governor, or even police chief, to fire the person. In which case, Jade wanted to try and talk to Denise about stripping both Rebecca and Lanie of their power.

It did pain her to think about having to talk some state senator into firing her boyfriend's mother, but Beck had already told her he would stand behind whatever decision this investigation led to-even if it meant his mother was in the crosshairs.

In about an hour, she was at Andre's place. It was a drab and boring apartment, and the air was thick with smoke from the cigarette his grandmother smoked. Fortunately, the woman was asleep, and Andre had already informed Jade that his mother was visiting-and for this moment.

She was in a brown recliner, and staring down at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs. "You're the investigator?" She jerked upright and turned to look around the back of the chair.

Standing at the doorway was a short, averaged sized woman with a straight, sharp face. Her dark hair was up in a bun, and her brown eyes seemed as though they could pierce through hardened cement.

Jade had never seen this woman before, and she certainly had an intimidating air about her that forced Jade into a stuttering trance for a few seconds.

Denise strode forward, her back straight and her head upright in a proud position. Her words were hot and like arrows aiming to embed themselves into any target. There was no question in Jade's mind that Denise had won, and held, her senatorial seat because of her voice and words.

She had seen the election debates before. Denise was a woman to be feared-the first black woman elected to the senatorial seat in the state of California, and how quickly she gained the vote against the prior incumbent.

She could be one of two things: The greatest ally, or the most vehement enemy. Much of California rallied behind her because when she promised to do something, she got it done, and fast.

"I don't have much time to talk, but I'm happy to discuss whatever it is that you wish to discuss." Denise pulled up a chair from the dining table and sat down before Jade. Her already slanted eyes narrowed further, her nostrils spread slowly, and her thin lips seemed to part. "Andre said this was about Holly Richardson? She was a dear friend of mine."

"Richardson?"

"Yes." Denise leaned back and kept eye contact with her. "I don't know why he says Vega, that woman never married David, she was married to Gary. I should know, I was her Maid of Honor, and she was mine." Jade's eyes widened and her jaw fell ajar.

Denise crossed her arms and tilted her head to the left. "What did she do that requires investigation? She is a good woman with a good head on her shoulders and cares for her family. Is she being accused of a crime?"

"No. Not at all." Jade grabbed the manila folder on her end table and cleared her throat. "On the contrary, we think she's a victim of a crime. She and her two daughters." The woman's eyes opened wide and her mouth opened further as a gasp flew in through her lips. "I was hoping for your assistance as well. You may be able to help us solve this. The suspects of the crime are shielded, protected by their power, but you can help bring that power down…"

"I'm sorry, did you say Holly was a victim?" Denise curled her hands over her knees, gripping them so firmly that her knuckles seemed to darken. "Is she okay? Is Gary alright? Are their children okay?"

"I can't say much, but her daughters are in a safe place for the time being. Gary has not had access to his family for at least ten years. He's the one who hired my boss, a private investigator."

"Gary hired a-" Denise groaned softly and brought her hand up to her forehead. "God, if he had to go so far to hire a P.I., then he's desperate. It can only mean he doesn't trust his fellow officers to investigate something-what is going on?" She dropped her hand and furrowed her brow. "Who are the suspects?"

Jade was affected deeply by the urgent tone and commanding sense in the question. It was best not to beat around the bush, but to be as direct as possible, even though it would spare Denise any comfort to be had by easing into this.

"Lanie Shapiro and Rebecca Oliver." The woman froze, her muscles tensed and the skin around her eyes and mouth folded while her nose crinkled.

"Those two?" Her voice had grown deeper, and venom dripped from her lips. "Of course they would be involved. Rebecca's police commander now, correct? It would explain why Gary feels he has to go to a private investigator instead of the police…and Lanie." Jade flinched as the woman started to growl and shudder with rage. "You know of their involvement?"

"Off record, Lanie told me herself she was responsible. We can prove it, we can even investigate, but there's a bunch of corners we have to go around to get anything on her."

"Leave it to me then. That bitch doesn't deserve the pedestal she's on." Denise stood up and shot a glare at Jade. She began to feel uncomfortable, and somewhat frightened by this lady. Whatever hatred this woman had ran deep, and Jade was nearly afraid to try and utilize Denise's ability to put Rebecca and Lanie in their place.

It would take some time, but hopefully, not much. If Denise could indeed strip both of their power, it left them open to be investigated without them using whatever privilege or power they could use to silence investigation.

"Is there a lot of bad blood between the three of you?"

"A lot?" Denise stopped, then laughed. The laughter bellowed and shook the foundation of the home, giving the impression that the house may tumble on Jade. "Holly and I were part of this close knit friendship with Rebecca and Lanie back in high school, but Lanie? That bitch? She got everything she ever wanted and more by using whatever feminine wiles she had-not to mention, she had the power to control the student body. She was a cheerleader, half the school worshipped her."

"How does a good person get caught up with someone like that, Ms. Harris?"

"She didn't start out that way, no one starts out that way. It was some time after we met her that she changed-something just went off in that little platinum head of hers." Denise snapped her fingers and brought them up to her jawline. "As for David, we all saw how much that man pined for Holly, and how jealous he was of Gary. He wanted what Gary had, and he wanted Holly-so Lanie and Rebecca took pity on him. Lanie called him a loser, said he was just pathetic and miserable, and the only reason she slept around with him was out of pity. That's why I said it was impossible that Holly would ever be with David-even if she were separated from Gary, she was more well-rounded than that. She didn't want someone who was depressive, weak-minded, and didn't know what they wanted-she wanted a man who was confident and strong."

Jade curled her fingers over the folder and closed her eyes. There was still a little that would be okay to tell her, and that was the crime itself. "We believe that Lanie, Rebecca, and David may be part of a conspiracy to kidnap and hold hostage Holly and her two daughters."

Denise's eyebrows slammed down in the middle of her forehead, meeting together as her eyes opened wide. The corner of her mouth lifted into a snarl, and her hands slid to her waist. "Then what my son says makes sense. What about Gary? The last I saw that man at his wedding, he was higher promoted than David was."

"The promotions were granted through Rebecca, and through Lanie's uncle-former assistant police chief." There was solid proof of that, as Sikowitz had already found evidence pertaining to such a deed. This evidence could actually be presented against Rebecca, and could very well help bring her down a notch for corruption. "Gary was demoted, no reason was given, and police records indicate it was a back-door kind of deal."

She stopped herself and looked down at the folder with vacant eyes. Many thoughts were circulating through her, but there was one thing she was most curious about. "Ms. Harris?" She looked up with a slight smile. "The way you talk about Holly, you were close. How close? How long did you know her?"

Denise dropped her hands with a sigh and started to smile. "She and I actually knew each other all our lives. Our parents were family friends, close despite the times, and that closeness actually helped strengthen a friendship between us kids."

The tale was an inspiring one, and uplifting for her to hear. Now she only hoped that Denise could help her former friend. Denise chuckled sadly and ran her hand over her forehead. "It's been so long since I've really spoken to her, and I've always wondered why. I think…when I lost my husband and my babies, I just about disconnected from the world."

"They…died in a fire, right?"

"Yes." Her chest tightened and she pressed her lips firmly together as Denise's voice grew morose. "New Orleans police were certain that I left a pot on the stove by mistake, but I didn't. I have OCD, I would never forget to turn off a stove, much less leave a pot of food on to burn. "It was Lanie, I know it was her-she followed me to New Orleans and even threatened me."

"Why would she want to hurt your family? Why would she want to hurt Holly's family?"

"Because we screwed everything for her." Denise's arms folded over and she pat her forearm slowly while glancing out a nearby window. "Everything she'd ever done, all the crimes and people she hurt, we paid back. All the sleeping around, all the scheming, we made the reparations. We told people in charge, we told her family-because she was screwing them out of their money too. In turn, they disowned her. She lost a scholarship and got kicked out of school-"

"What?" Jade's head jerked back and she was struck hard by a wave of confusion. "How is she a judge if she got kicked out of school?" Denise raised her hand up and shook her head.

"She got accepted into another, smaller school, and as far as I know she fucked her way to the top. I know this because I had correspondence from her, mocking letters and emails saying she was getting everything she wanted just by sleeping with bosses and teachers, bribing and blackmailing people…and now she sits on her little throne that she got through means she didn't deserve."

She was shocked: Denise knew Lanie was corrupt. "H-How long did you know? Why did you do nothing?" Denise frowned and her forehead folded, creating two long lines across the front.

"Because in every single correspondence she gave, she threatened me, threatened Holly too. She always said if I did anything, she would hurt her somehow. I just…never realized she already had. Those letters, they're the reason I told Andre I didn't want him being friends with young Beck or Robbie, you understand."

"I think I do."

"Anyway." Denise cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "I need to catch a flight. I will bring up Lanie's corruption at the assembly and will push for them to remove her. I will also be speaking with the governor and police chief in regards to Rebecca-if there is anything to be done about those two, I will have it done." Denise scoffed and turned away. "Whatever immunity they think they have from criminal investigations…consider it revoked. Tell your boss, if he finds any evidence linking them to criminal activity, he will be allowed to investigate and arrest."

"I…will." She was astonished, but thrilled. This was a remarkable step in the right direction, but even still, it could bring more trouble than results if they weren't careful. They had to find evidence of something, and fast, because the moment the two women were taken down, they might be able to strike as a snake backed into a corner.

"In the meantime, I understand my son wishes to remain friendly with you and Beck-I will allow it because I know that you two are good people. However, as I am flying out, he will be joining me. I will not have him put at risk because of investigations on Lanie or Rebecca."

"I understand."

A small price to pay for justice. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Andre. Even though he was serving as support for Beck during all of this, it would be better for him to be safe rather than in the line of fire.

Still, if Denise came through, not only would it be a fantastic turn of events-but Holly may very well appreciate having one of her former best friends going out of their way to help her and her family.

I need your input on something: Tori and Trina, they have some crucial growth moments that pertain to their character and certain plot events, while at the same time it is away from the investigation story. How do you think I should go about this? Do you want to see them in their perspective, or perhaps have Jade hear letters of how they're doing from Holly? We know also that the investigation may very well be wrapped up before the girls return.

Now with that said, tell me your thoughts of the chapter. It looks like they've made some serious bounds in this: There's suspicious activity in Lanie's background regarding that poison and a few "accidents", and Denise has apparently pledged her support. Do you think this is a good sign? With the girls safe, though, it means Holly is the one in the most danger-but at the same time we have to remember that Holly may be descending into madness. With her daughters safe, there's nothing holding her back from taking out her anger on David-or even Lanie should she ever learn entirely that Lanie was the one responsible. The investigators may be on a time crunch, do you think they can do it before more blood is spilled?