Chapter 6
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Lou Ransone entered the police station in Williams Arizona and spoke politely with the police chief. He was initially greeted with some suspicion but soon managed to make the chief see that he was not there to argue jurisdiction but was a willing ally in the prosecution of Howard Han for whatever charges he was guilty of in either state to make sure nothing got missed between the two different court systems.
"I'm not here to throw my weight around, Howard Han is wanted on Assault and Battery Charges and for fleeing the state after the crime but my victim would agree that any child endangerment and neglect charges pertaining to his niece definitely trump his trauma," he said.
"So what are you here for?" the Chief asked.
"To arrest him on behalf of the state of California penal code if he's granted bail here in Arizona and to make sure the minor child is placed appropriately. She has family in Los Angeles who can provide a safe and loving home until her mother is located. In fact, her uncle is a registered foster parent in the state of California and willing to do whatever he needs to do to be registered in Arizona as well if that is what it takes to prevent his niece from going to strangers," Lou said.
"Why didn't he take the child before Han left on this journey?"
"He was literally in surgery at the time Han left his home with the child, having a zygomatic fracture repaired after being battered by Howard Han. The mother was actually witnessed leaving the child for Han before she went missing so he had custody. His friends tried to persuade Han to leave the child in their care but he refused," Lou replied.
"That must have been one hell of a punch! Are you sure his desire to take charge of Han's daughter isn't motivated by revenge?" the Chief asked.
"From what I've heard from colleagues Evan Buckley doesn't have a vengeful bone in his body. They say he has the personality of a golden retriever. He's one of the most decorated Firefighters in the LAFD and a genuine goddamn hero," Lou replied. "He's currently focussed on the fact that Jee-Yun Buckley Han is his sister's child and it's his responsibility and privilege to look after her until his sister is well enough to be a full-time mom."
"You know the man?" the Chief asked.
"Only slightly, through various crime scenes accidents and natural disasters we've worked together. The man has a Carnegie medal for his actions while on medical leave during the Tsunami several years ago, and a reputation for taking extreme risks to save lives, and his whole team took the time to tell me that the children of every member of his team and every child they've rescued from a claw machine adores him," Lou replied. "In fact, he has offered to drop the charges against Howard Han in return for the child returning to LA to be placed with appropriate carers if it's the only way to stop Han from leaving with the child in the car for hours on end again. The offer isn't selfishly motivated, he's willing to withdraw the charges even if Han chooses not to let Buck have access to see the child as long as the child is well cared for and not spending hours every day in a car-seat."
"Why did Han batter him? If all his other co-workers think he's such a sweetheart?" the Chief asked.
"Han believed that Buckley knew where his sister had gone and was refusing to tell him. Buckley tried to talk Han out of chasing after her like this and out of taking his daughter with him," Lou replied.
"Why?" the Chief asked.
"I don't know why Han believed that Buck was lying to him, his other colleagues all admit that he can't lie to save himself, even to strangers," Lou replied.
"Why did Buckley try to talk Han out of following his sister? If she's missing isn't he as worried about her as Han is?" the Chief asked.
"More, in fact it was Evan Buckley, not Han that filed the missing persons report. Maddie Buckley is a domestic violence survivor whose husband tracked her down and tried to kill her after she left him, her brother was worried that having Han chase after her might trigger something from that. He believes that she's more likely to seek help if she doesn't feel pursued," Lou reported.
"I think that we should mention this offer to Howard Han," the chief said.
Lou looked shocked. "Buckley suffered a potentially career ending injury," he protested.
"Mentioning an offer is a long way from negotiating a plea bargain. We can always refuse to follow through but I want to see what the man does if given the opportunity to put his child above his own needs or desires," the chief explained.
"You seem sure he isn't going to agree?" Lou asked.
"He hasn't asked how his daughter is since he arrived here, hasn't asked about her at all except to ask when she'd be brought back here to him," the chief replied.
"Is he aware she was transported to hospital for treatment, or was he told it was just for observation?" Lou asked.
"He was told the first time he asked for her to be brought to him that she was being kept in hospital and treated for dehydration and extreme diaper rash. We should be lucky that the car seat came with a sunshield and that he likes to drive with the air conditioning blowing full in his face, or things could be a lot worse," the chief said sighing.
"Firefighter Evan Buckley has offered to drop the assault charges against you if you agree that dragging Jee-Yun across the country for days or weeks on end isn't in her best interest and allow her to be properly cared for while you search for Maddie Buckley, if that's what you intend on doing. If you were just running from the law he's happy for you to return to LA but he does not believe that you're in the right headspace to have sole custody of an infant," the chief of police offered.
"I'm not giving that traitor my daughter. He's trying to stop me from saving Maddie. He's her brother, he's supposed to want what's best for her, not be trying to steal her baby," Chim yelled.
"Perhaps he doesn't think that the man who battered Maddie's brother and neglected her child is what's best for his sister," the chief said mildly.
He doesn't know her like I do. He hasn't been there through the tough time she's been going through," Chimney ranted.
"Firefighter Buckley didn't say that you had to give him temporary custody of the child, just that you need to let someone look after her while you tear across the country on this wild goose chase, your friend Paramedic Wilson and her wife are registered foster parents, they'd be more than willing and capable of looking after Jee the way Maddie would want her looked after," the chief pointed out.
"No, I need Jee with me when I find Maddie! We need to convince Maddie that she's a good mother and I can't do that without Jee," Chimney said.
"How are you going to prove to Maddie that she's a good mother by neglecting and endangering her child? You've only been travelling since last evening and already Jee-Yun is in the hospital," the chief asked, wondering whether he should order a 72 hour psych hold and evaluation for this man.
"Maddie loves Jee, she will understand that running away from her isn't necessary when she see's her again," Chimney insisted.
"So to make this perfectly clear, you are turning down Firefighter Evan Buckley's offer to drop the assault charges so you can continue to drag a six month old baby on an ill-conceived trip across the country against her doctor's recommendations, looking for a woman you have no idea where she went or if she wants you to look for her?" The chief asked.
"Buckley can go fuck himself," Chimney declared.
"So if you retain custody of the minor child Jee-Yun Buckley Han, you intend to spend twelve hours a day or more driving around searching for Maddie Buckley with the infant in her car seat? Knowing that it will harm her physical, social and possibly intellectual development?" the chief clarified.
"What do you mean if I retain custody. I'm not taking Buck's offer. I refuse to give him my kid just because he isn't capable of forming a stable relationship and having one of his own!" Chimney demanded.
"Your daughter is currently in hospital being treated for dehydration and extreme diaper rash caused by your neglect. Child protective services are investigating whether it's in the best interests of the child to go into foster care until her mother can be located," the chief replied.
"That's rubbish, of course Jee should come with me. I will reunite her with her mother. Maddie's just confused about the accident. Jee is perfectly safe in her care," Chimney said.
"Tell me about the accident?" the Chief asked casually, hiding his sudden interest in the answer.
"During the blackout Maddie was bathing Jee to cool her down and she slipped under the water for a minute, Maddie took her straight to the Emergency Department and had her checked out, she was fine," Chimney said.
"I didn't experience the blackout. How long was it in LA?" the chief asked.
"Four days. The longest four days I've spent at work in my life," Chimney replied.
"Was Maddie alone with Jee-Yun for the entire blackout? Was there nobody who could have come and helped her out with the baby so she could get some rest?" the chief asked.
"She didn't want help, she wanted to look after Jee herself," Chimney replied.
"So did the diaper rash start while Maddie was looking after Jee-Yun during the blackout?" the chief asked.
"No of course not, Maddie took excellent care of Jee, always," Chimney replied.
"So the rash started in your care after Maddie Buckley had left?" the chief asked leadingly.
"Yeah, Jee was fine when Maddie had her. She's a great mother, Jee and I just need to convince her of that," Chimney answered, seemingly unaware of what he was admitting to.
"I think that it's very unlikely that child protection will release Jee-Yun to your care, since you're so casually admitting to neglecting her over the past week and planning to continue that neglect," the chief informed him.
"But I need Jee to help convince Maddie to come home," Chimney stated, as if that would alter the CPS decision.
"And the state of Arizona has a duty of care to make sure that all the children in CPS care are not being abused," the chief countered. "You could always find Maddie Buckley and bring her back to Arizona to accept custody herself."
"So Jee would stay here if they won't give her back to me?" Chimney asked.
"We're not in the habit of transporting foster children across state lines," the chief commented.
"That's good. Then that arsehole Buck can't get his hands on her," Chimney said.
"But your daughter would be among strangers, possibly in a group home situation if we couldn't find a foster family willing to take in a traumatised child her age," the chief pointed out.
"Jee needs to be with her mother," Chimney stated.
The chief merely nodded and went to leave the room.
"He never expressed concerns that Buck would mistreat Jee-Yun," Lou pointed out.
"No and it's clear from that conversation and what you said, that Buckley is the only one of the two of them with Jee's best interests in mind. Han wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he tried suggesting that Buckley wasn't capable of looking after the child after admitting that he would continue to mistreat the child. How many miles down the road would he have got if we hadn't pulling him over for traffic violations when we did before someone found a dead or dying infant in that car," the chief said sadly. "I'm tempted to hand that child over to Evan Buckley just to spite that man, but I'm not sure it's the right call."
"It would be better than leaving a mixed race child in the care of strangers. At least with Buck, he'd involve Han's brother and the Lees and she'd grow up enmeshed in both cultures until her mother is found, and he has the training to be a foster parent. In fact, he's done three or four times the amount of training that California actually require," Lou pointed out. "Hen and Karen Wilson would also be a great choice, Karen's mixed race herself as is their son, they're both Caucasian and African American so she'd understand the issues if not the culture."
"You're talking as if the placement would be permanent. Do you know something that I don't?" the chief asked.
"Maddie Buckley was suffering from PPD, and as far as we can find out she wasn't receiving adequate treatment for it. Missing persons are looking for her but as you know if she hasn't checked into a hospital somewhere there's no guarantee they'll find her alive. I hope that if they find her, she's in an inpatient treatment program because that's what she needs, but if she is, she isn't using her insurance, I'm not sure how she could pay for it privately and there's historical evidence that she disdains therapy. So there's no guarantee what state she will be in or if she will be capable of caring for the child," Lou said seriously.
"So we are potentially looking for a long term care situation for the child," the chief nodded.
"Han caused a first responder a potentially career ending injury, he deserves to do serious jail time for that, and
for the neglect of his child, Lou said pointedly.
"We're just waiting for CPS to deliver their findings, believe me after the lack of remorse he's displayed in the interview and his intention to reoffend, he will be charged and probably convicted. I know you want to take him back to Los Angeles to stand trial for the felony battery but in my mind possession is nine tenths of the law and he'll be charged here first," the chief said expecting a fight.
"Oh I'd be quite happy for him to be charged here and then extradited to California for trial, or to serve his time here and then be extradited to serve time for the battery causing serious bodily harm," Lou said blithely.
"The only part of your investigations I would like input on is the traffic offences he's been charged with in Arizona. We noted a similar pattern of infringements when we were following his journey from LA to the California/Arizona border and I think that it's important that the judge be fully aware of the danger he put his daughter and all the other road users that day in. There's also a notation in his file of a traffic accident several years ago. He didn't cause the actual accident but he also could have avoided it if he wasn't 20 mile an hour over the speed limit. He wasn't charged at the time because the investigators couldn't prove he caused any of the major injuries other than his own though he may have exacerbated some of them but he certainly made the accident bigger than it needed to be, which delayed assistance getting to the victims. The record was kept to be able to prove a pattern of behaviour if a similar incident occurred. There was a note in the file that he'd walked out of the fire station in a temper just before the accident," Lou said handing over an official copy of the file to assist with prosecuting the current traffic offences. It wouldn't make much difference but proof of a pattern of dangerous driving meant the judge would take the current infringements more seriously.
That's one of the reasons we had the highway patrol checking cameras along his route and noting the traffic violations he could be charged with or fined for and there were quite a few before he reached the state line. Potentially enough for a prison term on their own when taken together.
"I've sent out requests to do the same," the chief confirmed. "But I'm wondering whether Han needs a psych evaluation before we charge him. He doesn't seem to be aware that he's done anything wrong and even after turning down the offer to drop the assault charges he honestly expected us to give his daughter back and happily watch him drive off with her."
"PPD can affect men as well, and his girlfriend leaving could have caused him to snap, it was his ex-girlfriend turning down his proposal that caused the anger that led to the original traffic accident, and Buck said he was surprised Chim didn't need psych clearance after that or after Maddie's ex-husband trying to murder him even though they both happened while he was off duty," Lou said thoughtfully.
"I'll call and arrange it, if nothing else it will allow us more time to get everything in order to charge him and any defence attorney worth their fees would demand one, by pre-empting it we get to choose a psychiatrist he that will stand up well to cross examination," the chief said, picking up the phone.
"How is Buck?" Hen asked.
"Feeling better, he's still staying with me for the moment," Eddie replied.
"Is that because he needs physical care or because he doesn't want to face his apartment?" Ravi asked.
"A little of both, hopefully he'll feel better after the locks are changed, though it probably also helps that he knows Chimney's been arrested and held on remand in Arizona and can't come bursting in again?" Eddie tells Hen, Bobby, and Ravi.
"You don't think that that's Chimney's business who he wants to be told about his arrest?" Bobby said disapprovingly.
"You all knew Buck was in the hospital after being punched by Chim, and there was a warrant out for his arrest for battery, so what's private about it," Eddie countered.
"Alleged battery until he's convicted," Hen corrected.
"Are you calling Buck a fucking liar?" Eddie turned on her.
"No, but legally you could be charged with defamation if you go around telling people that Chim assaulted Buck and he gets found innocent," Hen reminded him.
"Okay, from what the detective told Buck last night, Chimney has been arrested and charged with alleged assault and battery, alleged dangerous driving and alleged child endangerment and alleged child neglect," Eddie said using sarcastic finger quotes for each 'alleged'.
Hen paled, "Is Jee-Yun going to be okay? Who is looking after her?"
"She's in the hospital, being treated for 'alleged' dehydration and sores on her butt, apparently Chim 'allegedly' didn't take time to stop and feed or change her. CPS are going to make a custody decision when she's ready to be released," Eddie replied.
"Will they let her come back to California? We'd happily take her if they insist she stays in registered foster care," Hen said.
"Thanks for offering Hen, Buck is also a registered foster parent, but they might not give her to him until he's fully recovered," Eddie tells them.
"When did he do the training?" Hen asked frowning at the fact she hadn't known.
"Over the last few months since he broke up with Taylor. He's also been looking for a more suitable place to live so he could take in a wider age range of children," Eddie said.
"That's good! At least he was already looking and has a good reason for moving, he isn't just letting the memory of what Chimney did drive him out of his home," Bobby said.
"Speaking of Chimney, even when he gets out of prison, neither Buck nor I could ever trust him to have our backs, we can't work with him, whether he's convicted or not," Eddie said to Bobby bluntly.
Bobby frowns but nods, "It's not going to be an issue, the Brass have already said they're not going to leave them at the same station or on the same shift, it will be Buck's decision which of them transfer if Chimney manages to keep his job at all."
"I know what he did to Buck was horrible, but they can't sack him for something he did off duty that had nothing to do with their relationship as co-workers," Hen protested.
"You're saying that you could work with him again, trust him to have your back even if he's furious at you if you're given custody of Jee-Yun and he only has supervised visitation?" Eddie asked bluntly.
"Why wouldn't he have custody of Jee if he's acquitted?" Hen asked.
"Because there may be a difference between CPS failing to prove felony child neglect well enough for a prison sentence and being able to prove he isn't an appropriate guardian for a child, and you know it," Eddie replied, irritated at her wilful blindness when it came to her best friend.
"It's going to be the child endangerment charges that prevent him from keeping his job. There are clauses in his employment contract that prevent him from remaining a firefighter if he's convicted whether they take into account that the person he allegedly battered is a fellow firefighter or not. The same clauses that are in all of our contracts," Bobby said, looking at Hen sternly.
"I can't believe you all encouraged Chimney to go on this insane goose chase for Maddie in the first place," Buck snapped at his team.
"We encouraged him to leave Jee with one of us, he seemed desperate to have her with him. None of us could have predicted that he would neglect her needs like this," Hen argued rationally.
"So once again my sister is on the run from a man capable of physical violence and you thought it was a good idea to encourage him to go after her?" Buck asked scathingly. "I'm glad her colleagues at the hospital had more sense than you all do. If they'd sent Doug after her the way you sent Chimney, none of you would have even met her, she would have died before she got all the way to LA."
"That's different Buck, Chimney isn't abusive or wanting to kill her for leaving, he just wants to bring her home," Bobby said.
And most of her colleagues in Boston were mandated first responders so it stands to reason they would have reported the abuse or at least spoken to her about it and encouraged her to leave him earlier if they knew about it," Buck said.
"Not necessarily Buck, Maddie was a grown adult, there wasn't a child involved."
"And what happens if he finds her and she refused to come home and wants nothing to do with him. Do you think that the man who assaulted me because he didn't believe I don't know where she went is going to take no for an answer and calmly ask her to contact him when she's ready and well enough to work out custody arrangements?" Buck asked in disbelief.
"Buck, we encouraged him to go after Maddie before he hit you, we didn't send a violent man after your sister. You have no proof he was ever violent toward her," Hen said.
"No but even after he hit me you didn't stop him from packing up Jee and leaving," Buck said. "It's only now that you know he's hurt Jee as well that you're so concerned about Maddie."
"Buck I never saw or spoke with Chimney after I found out he'd punched you. I went straight to the hospital and remained with you. In fact, because you had concussion it was me that signed off on your records being given to the LAPD and charges being laid, so he could be arrested before he left, they just didn't catch up with him in time," Eddie said.
"He never told me he'd hit you, I knew the two of you had argued over him going after Maddie, and taking Jee on the road trip. But I never dreamed that argument had turned physical and I offered to keep Jee-Yun and bring her to him when he found Maddie to prevent her having to be in the car while he searched for her" Hen said.
"Of course he didn't tell you that he'd battered me! You knew I disagreed with him going after her, I am the one with experience of Maddie running away on me, why didn't any of you take my point of view into consideration. You all said that he knows her better than I do but I'm the one who knew her when she was running from home, when she was trying to hide the abuse and the effect it was having on her emotionally, and when she was running from Doug. Going after her was the worst thing Chim could've done," Buck said angrily.
"Buck, Chimney confided in me that he was concerned that Maddie might have hurt herself," Hen said softly.
"And you didn't stop to think that with her history of being hunted down by her ex-husband, kidnapped and nearly murdered by him, that finding out that Chim was hunting her down might make that more likely?" Buck snapped.
"You really believe that?" Hen asked paling in fright.
"I believe that it's possible. I warned you and Chim before he left that she wouldn't react well to being hunted down or chased after, she never has and that was even before Doug. Normally I would agree because of the way they've been isolating themselves that Chim would know her state of mind better than I would but he hasn't been thinking clearly enough to see anyone's point of view other than his own since she left," Buck said bluntly, leaving to avoid further confrontation.
"Do you think that he's right?" Hen asked shakily.
"About Chim not seeing anyone's point of view but his own. Yeah, he was in a really bad place after Maddie left. I just regret that I was so caught up in my point of view from when Shannon left to see it before he hurt Buck. About Maddie, who knows? None of us have seen enough of her over the last few months to know what her state of mind actually was, though there were enough clues to be concerning. The way Chimney was letting her isolate herself and declining all our help with the baby should also have thrown up a red flag once he'd told us about his concerns for her mental state. About her running in the past and how she'd react to being chased after, only Buck has experience with that but think about it. There's a reason that when Maddie broke into his house after ghosting him for three years, Buck never once told her off for ghosting him, and it wasn't just that her own situation at the time was wretched, he was concerned she'd leave again if he pushed too hard. Just like he accepted her ghosting him and kept sending her postcards so she'd know where he was when she was ready to re-engage with him," Eddie said sighing.
"Should we apologise to Buck?" Ravi asked.
"I'd give him some time to calm down, he'll be fine once Maddie's found safely," Hen said.
Eddie stared at her incredulously. "If he's wrong and finding out Chim was hunting for her doesn't send her over the edge or make her change her name to hide from him, 20,000 people go missing from California each year and the longer she's missing the less likely she will be found, if she doesn't come back on her own," he retorted.
"So I definitely should apologise," Ravi said.
"I think that he'd appreciate that but I wouldn't apologise unless you actually mean it because Buck will be able to tell, but don't leave it too long. Buck won't thank you for bringing it up again once he's trying to move past it," Eddie replied bluntly.
A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed, commented positively, followed, bookmarked or favourited or gave Kudos to this story for your support.