Chapter 14
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"At least you know that she knows about the trial and that she's been called as a witness, and about the CPS hearing date. Maybe she'll turn up there. We could go to Phoenix and try to meet up with her. I'm sure Bobby would give you leave," Eddie said.
"I don't know if she'll come, or if she does she'll be so focused on getting Chimney free and trying to help him get custody of Jee that I don't know if she will want to talk to me. I don't even know if she's going to bother to read my texts," Buck said despondently. "She didn't ask about me or Jee at all other than wanting to know why she wasn't with Chimney. Not even about what he did to her to be arrested for neglect and endangerment. That really wasn't the Maddie I remember. I don't think that she's getting help for her PPD."
"You can't tell that from a five minute phonecall. She was shocked and upset about finding out about Chim being arrested when she thought Jee was safely at home with him. Her immediate reaction to that isn't a reliable measure of her mood normally," Carla pointed out.
"Cala's right, she reacted like she was in shock. Her PPD probably isn't helping her think clearly either. Hopefully when she's had time to think everything through and process it all, she'll get back in contact and ask all the questions she should have asked," Eddie said reassuringly.
"I hope you're right. The only thing she would confirm is that she's not in Boston," Buck said.
"You never thought she would be in Boston," Eddie said smirking.
"No but she was really angry about Chim being arrested and all but accused me of lying about it. She refused to even consider that the charges weren't ridiculous. She hung up on me and I still have no idea about where she is other than that she's not in California, Boston or Hershey, and she clearly didn't believe that Chimney could have hit me or hurt Jee," Buck said morosely.
"Buck, she was shocked that Chimney was in prison and it would've been extremely difficult to hear that he'd hit you when you couldn't tell him where she was and then come looking for her, especially after what happened with Doug almost beating her friend half to death to get information on where she'd gone when she left Boston. The similarities must be terrifying," Eddie said.
"He did nearly the exact same thing as Doug. She's never going to feel safe enough to come back. She's going to fucking run from Chimney Han for the rest of her life," Buck said, grief stricken.
Eddie and Carla couldn't argue that she'd come back, all they could do was try to comfort Buck as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he'd probably lost his sister forever. Carla pulled him into her arms and hugged him.
"The worst of it is she's never going to trust any man again, probably not even me. He fooled her. She believed he was the complete opposite to Doug. I laughed when she described him as gentle, but I don't think that I tried hard enough to make her see what he was like when she wasn't there," Buck said.
"You tried to warn her before they admitted they were dating, she didn't like it at the time but she'll realise now that you were trying to look out for her," Eddie reminded him.
"I tried to warn her that he was a womaniser who lied to women he was in an intimate relationship with, that he had a temper and could be verbally cruel, not that he was physically violent because I'd never seen that in him. She refused to listen and, in her defence, the biggest concern I had was the way he lies and disrespects women and he never seemed to do either of those things to Maddie. I knew he had a temper but he's never taken it out on a girlfriend that I know," Buck said.
"At least Maddie knows Chimney's currently in prison and she has time to come to terms with what has happened. If he gets convicted, she will have time to go somewhere he won't think to look, disappear thoroughly and make a life for herself elsewhere and to find a means to keep in touch with you and Jee that Chimney won't know about. Do you want to try to contact her, offer to go into hiding with her and Jee?" Eddie asked worriedly. If that's what Buck wanted, he'd try to make it happen, but providing for Christopher like that while in hiding would be much more difficult.
"No, I doubt that she'd want me there, she tends to see me as someone she needs to look after instead of an equal partner in our relationship, and if she hasn't received treatment for her PPD she could still be running from Jee as much as she is from Chim," Buck said sadly.
"You will always have a family with me and Christopher," Eddie said hauling Buck into his embrace.
"The four of us are a family. I hope we can keep Jee if Maddie doesn't come back, but I feel sad that she'll never get to know what a great Mom she had," Buck said.
"Jee knows how much you love her and she's happy here in our family. You're a great parent for her, and you can tell her about Maddie," Eddie said. He felt guilty for the relief he felt at the idea that Maddie was unlikely to come back to take her daughter from them anytime soon.
Knowing the schedule for telephone access at the Federal Correctional Institution, Buck was not surprised not to hear from Chimney that night, but he was increasingly uneasy as the following day passed without hearing from him. He ended up ringing Hen and Albert asking if they'd heard from him.
"I told him. He was upset about it, you could have given me the recording to play for him straight away," Hen replied.
"I could, but I personally don't owe Howard Han any favours," Buck reminded her, jotting down in his communication journal what Hen would tell him about the conversation, even though the conversation itself was recorded since he knew he'd be asking about Chimney. He deliberately hadn't given anyone the recording of the phone call because he wanted to hear and record Chimney's reaction to it.
Albert was more forthcoming. "I told him and he cursed me out for not getting all the information from you before wasting his time since you still apparently won't tell anyone where Maddie is. He's angry, Buck. He still thinks that you're withholding information from him. You need to make sure you're not alone with Jee when he's released."
"I won't be. I've given up the loft. Eddie and I are moving the weekend before the trial, I was going to offer to sublet it to you but I wouldn't want you alone there if Chimney comes there looking for me," Buck replied putting the phone on speaker so he could keep working.
"No, good thinking. Your loft is great but I don't want to spend that much on rent, nor do I want to have to deal with those stairs after a bad shift. Anyhow, I moved into a new place a few weeks ago with some friends from the academy," Albert said cheerfully.
"You shouldn't give Chim your new address either," Buck advised.
"You think he'd hit me?" Albert asked.
"I think that if he found you living in my loft claiming that you didn't know where I'd moved to, he would think your lying and try to force you to tell him where I was or where Maddie was. I don't know if he'd use violence or if he has another way to manipulate you. If you're not living in my loft it would be less likely but either way I don't want you to be hurt by him," Buck said.
"Why are you asking if I told him? Surely, he called demanding to hear the recording as soon as he hung up on me," Albert asked confused.
"No he hasn't called, my phone's working fine but I haven't received a call from him since he punched me," Buck said uneasily.
"That doesn't make any sense. What are you going to do?" Albert asked, surprised.
"I'm going to call Athena and let her know about the situation and ask for advice. She can check that he hasn't tried to escape and send a few more patrols in our direction if he has, and I'm going to call Carla and ask her to look after Chris and Jee at her house or Abuela's instead of Eddie's for the next few days, and speed up our renovations so we can move as soon as possible," Buck replied.
"Do you want me to ask him why he hasn't called you? Do you need help with moving? I don't have any experience with renovating but I could help with the grunt work," Albert offered.
"You can ask him, but I don't know whether I could believe the answer, especially if it's what you want to hear. Chim is an habitual liar and he's very good at it. I don't think he'd tell you the truth if you did ask him. We've hired a truck and Eddie's cousins are going to help," Buck said, "No offence but we're going to need you to promise not to tell anyone where we're moving to. There's a couple of people I don't think I trust not to tell Chimney if he asked them."
"I understand, I won't tell him anything about you, but you're still at the 118 so he'll find you there. How are you gonna explain to Hen why you won't tell her your address?" Albert asked.
"I'll make sure Bobby knows not to leave me man behind," Buck said, grateful for the reminder.
"And Hen?" Albert pressed, he didn't think that the woman would take not being trusted very well.
"I'm going to tell her the truth. That Buck deserves to live somewhere he feels safe and one of the reasons he doesn't want to return to the loft is because of the memories of Chimney assaulting and battering him there as well as the risk of him being on his own with Jee or Jee and Chris if Chimney comes looking for another fight. I'll tell her that we know that she wants to support Chim in any way she can and we don't want to put her in the difficult position of having to choose which friend to betray," Eddie said bluntly.
Buck's eyes widened, "She's going to kill you," he whispered.
"Bobby and Athena are going to back me up. If she doesn't know where you and Jee live she can't choose between telling Buck's attacker where he lives or refusing to tell Chimney where his daughter lives. Hen's not going to like it but she'll accept it once she's thought it through and Athena and Karen will make sure she thinks before she reacts. She's she keeps switching between supporting Buck and supporting Chim several times since he left, and she's self-aware enough to know she'll probably do it again even if she'll end up regretting it," Eddie reassured him.
Eddie might have been uncomfortable with moving into a house when he couldn't pay his share of the deposit but Buck truly didn't care that he'd paid more and had never brought it up or made an issue of it like his parents would've if he'd let them pay a deposit on a house for him. Eddie threw himself into the grunt work of pulling up carpets, painting walls and sanding back garishly painted doors and door frames and cleaning up after the contractors, determined to do his share of preparing the house for occupation so Buck and Jee could be safely moved to an unknown location by the time Chimney went to trial in case he was released. He and Buck chose the new colours together and discussed every change they made together and the house started to feel like it was theirs.
"Just as well I have options other than renewing my lease," Eddie said looking through the mail a few weeks later.
"What's up? Did the landlord refuse to let you switch to month by month instead of signing a new lease?" Buck asked concerned. He knew Eddie wanted to move him and Chris into the new house with him but Eddie was still hesitant about the financial inequality and hadn't fully committed to it, even after signing the paperwork to have his name on the title.
"Not only that, they're putting the rent up nearly 30%" Eddie replied, handing Buck the letter.
"You think that they don't want you to renew?" Buck asked.
"I know house prices and rents in the area have gone up, I just didn't realise it was this much. The house was sold not long after I signed my last lease so maybe the new owner needs the money," Eddie replied.
"Or they're just a greedy bastard! Well, I'm more than glad you're going to move in with us sooner, but I wish it had been by your choice," Buck said gently.
"I was going to move anyway. I heard the conversation you had with Albert and realised that I don't want to risk Carla or worse Abuela or Pepa to be here alone with Chris if Chimney knocks on the door demanding to be told where you are," Eddie replied.
"That's still different from feeling ready to move in with me for the sake of living together," Buck commented, careful to keep his voice sounding neutral.
"I was being stupid about that, Buck. We've been living together for months now. I couldn't imagine wanting to live here without you when you and Jee move. I'd miss you like a missing limb and Chris would probably insist on at least 50/50 shared custody if you moved out without me. I was just letting my pride get in my own way, I'm sorry you were upset by it," Eddie admitted.
"I don't want to move without you, I'd probably go back to coming around and spending half my nights here with you anyway if it was safe or trying to convince you to stay at mine," Buck admitted, relieved that Eddie felt the same.
With the decision made they started packing up the things they didn't use regularly and moving the boxes in Eddie's garage and attic across to the new house.
Hen and Albert both went to Phoenix to support Chimney through his trial. They knew that Maddie was aware of the trial dates and that she'd been called as a character witness but after hearing the recorded conversation between Maddie and Buck, only Hen and Chimney had any real belief that she would actually come. They took turns to visit Chimney the day before his trial, and promised to see him after they gave their testimonies.
Bobby and Athena had also been asked to be a character witness but after careful consideration Bobby realised that he didn't want to choose between supporting Buck and supporting Chimney and had declared himself Switzerland. Athena didn't even need to think about it and told Chimney straight out after picking up Jee-Yun from the hospital and seeing the condition she'd been in and how distressed she was being buckled back into a car seat anything she said would probably be used against him.
After a serious discussion with Eddie and Athena, Buck decided that he didn't want to be in Phoenix for the trial. It was a closed trial so he wouldn't be able to watch the proceedings and he hadn't been called to testify. He wasn't sure if Maddie would turn up and after the phone call he thought it was even less likely but that if she did go to the trial she'd be so focused on proving that they were wrong and Chimney was innocent of all the charges against him and Jee-Yun and getting Chimney through his trial and out of prison that she wouldn't have time to spend with him and may not even want to see him since Chimney was still blaming him for everything. He also didn't think that she'd take it well that she couldn't take Jee from him and only had supervised access, either. It was better that he and Jee stayed in Los Angeles and gave Maddie the choice whether she wanted to visit them. Buck was sad about the decision, but he felt that not going would probably hurt him less in the long run.
Eddie was supportive about whatever he chose to do. The only decision he insisted on was that Buck would not be going anywhere near Phoenix without him.
Chimney was confident that the charges would be dropped and he would be released that day. So confident that he was angry that Albert hadn't brought Jee with him to handover to he and Maddie as they left the courthouse. Albert retorted that because CPS had been involved when he was arrested it wasn't that simple and he and Maddie would have to petition the family court and meet CPS mandated requirements before they resumed custody of Jee-Yun, then got up and walked out when Howard started yelling and abusing him. As he left he jotted down the time and interview room number to give Buck's lawyer so he could subpoena the security footage.
Chim walked eagerly into the court room. He'd been told that the witnesses would not be able to sit and support him until after they'd testified but just knowing that he was in the same building Maddie was in was enough to make him feel better. Thoughts of Maddie distracted him through a lot of the boring testimony about the driving offences and the medical reports from the doctors at Flagstaff Medical Centre and CPS as the prosecution made their case.
He was shocked to be called to the stand, his lawyer had tried to prepare him to give evidence and be cross examined if necessary, but also had informed him that it would be better not to put him on the stand, which annoyed him when he'd first been told but now he was glad not to have to concentrate on the trial process so much. He glared at his lawyer.
"I warned you that the prosecution might want to question you. Remember what we talked about and keep calm, and don't be cocky, try to show remorse," his lawyer warned.
Chimney frowned at the lawyer, he still didn't bother to remember his name, but did his best to follow instructions, he still came across as overconfident and dismissive of the charges against him. It wasn't until a photo of Jee looking wan and dehydrated as shown on the screen next to a photo taken a few days before the blackout and Maddie leaving, that he showed any sort of remorse. The prosecution hammered onto the fact that a firefighter-paramedic was still a fully qualified and experienced paramedic, and that Lieutenant Firefighter-Paramedic Han was the senior paramedic on his shift and would have had a significant amount of experience treating children who'd been neglected like this, he had no excuse for not noticing and responding to his daughter's condition.
They broke for lunch and the defence lawyer visited him in lockup looking grim.
"What's wrong?" Chimney asked.
"You are aware that it didn't go well this morning?" the lawyer asked.
"Yeah, it could've gone better but you have the opportunity to tell my side of the story this afternoon," Chimney replied.
"Who was your partner when you treated a child with that level of dehydration?" the lawyer asked.
"I don't know, probably Hen," Chimney replied.
"And your brother Albert is also a firefighter?" the lawyer pressed.
"Probationary firefighter, but he's not a paramedic," Chimney corrected.
"There's a problem with your character witnesses. We're only going to be able to use John Lee and Anne Lee," the lawyer replied.
"What, why?" Chimney demanded.
"I just spoke with Albert, in the last year he's treated several dehydrated children as a firefighter. If we put him or Firefighter-Paramedic Wilson on the stand they will be questioned about that and neither would be able to deny expecting you to have recognised the symptoms well before it reached the severity the police documented."
"What about Maddie, we never worked together and I didn't discuss cases with her most of the time?" Chimney asked.
"From what you've told me, Maddie Buckley, is also a trained ER nurse and worked as one for years, she would probably have worked with multiple paramedics bringing in children in that state. However, I cannot confirm or refute that as she has not arrived, nor has she provided the court with a location or contact details for remote access. Unless she arrives in the next 30 minutes we will not be able to use her testimony, submitting her name on the list of witnesses will do more harm than good if she fails to appear," the lawyer replied.
"She's not here?" Chimney asked betrayed. "Are you sure she was informed of the trial date and time. That's witness tampering if Buck sent her the wrong details."
"There's no reason to believe that," the lawyer tried to reassure him.
"I don't want you to believe it isn't true. I want you to prove it. Now!" Chimney demanded.
The laywer returned just before Chimney was due to be transferred back to the court room. "A telephone call to LAPD and subsequent investigation of Mr Buckley's telephone records prove he did tell Maddie about the trial and she acknowledged being told. Following the call, Buck requested and texted Maddie Buckley with the correct time, date and location, and the contact details to apply to provide her testimony remotely. The text was marked as read," the lawyer stated.
"Maddie needs help, if her mental health is preventing her from being here then she shouldn't be on her own somewhere in a strange place. I have to get out of here to find her," Chimney exclaimed.
"That is out of my scope of practice, I'm here to try and get you the best possible outcome from this trial. You need to concentrate on the trial today and worry about Maddie later," the lawyer informed him. "I think we need to call in the psychiatrist to discuss male PPD, and the likelihood that you would be suffering from it due to previous trauma and the effect that Maddie leaving would have on someone already struggling with PPD." The lawyer already had a psychiatrist on standby expecting his call but Chimney had vetoed them testifying until now.
"No," Chimney said bluntly. "I don't have PPD or PTSD and I'm not going into some treatment program where I have to attend appointments when I really need to be out there looking for Maddie."
"It might be the only defence that gets you out of prison, or at least minimises your sentence," the lawyer retorted.
"Not if you've done your job right," Chimney growled.
The lawyer took a step back. "Do you want me to hide your PTSD and PPD or do you want me to try to get you out of prison? You need to choose," he asked determinedly.
"Get me back on the road so I can find Maddie. There's no point being out of prison if I'm locked up in some psych facility," Chimney ordered. He needed to get out of here and get Jee so they could get back on the road to find Maddie. It changed his plans not having Jee here but if he had to go back to LA to get Jee then at least that would give him one more opportunity to get the truth out of Buck. Maybe the guilt of having him arrested, and the fact that Maddie had now been missing a few months would be enough.
"I need a yes or no answer. In my opinion, professional testimony that you were suffering from PPD at the time of your crimes, has the best chance of avoiding a custodial sentence. Do I have your permission to call in a psychiatrist as an expert witness to testify that in his opinion you were suffering PPD?" the lawyer pressed.
"No," Chimney said shortly, before turning his back.
The trial resumed and the defence lawyer did his best, referring to Howard Han being distraught over Maddie's disappearance and in an acute state of distress requiring psychiatric evaluation and care when he'd been arrested, and had not been deliberately negligent in his daughter's care.
Unfortunately for Chimney the prosecution had the original interrogation records showing a distinct lack of concern in his daughter's need for medical treatment due to his neglect and had been tipped off by CPS about the information Buck had passed on to them about the lack of interest in Jee-Yun's recovery and wellbeing while he'd been in remand awaiting trial.
Howard Han was sentenced to six months in prison for the charges of child neglect and endangerment, fined a large amount of money for the dangerous driving charges and had his licence suspended for twelve months.
Chimney was stunned. Even after the lawyer's warning at lunch time it hadn't occurred to him that he wouldn't be let off with a fine and a warning or a suspended sentence, or sentenced to time served, and be free to go on his way looking for Maddie.
In the back of the spectator gallery Hen was sobbing as she overheard the people around her agree that it was more than fair considering how he'd treated his own daughter, talking about how dangerously dehydrated that poor defenceless baby had looked and how lucky it was that the monster had been pulled over for traffic offences before the baby suffered permanent brain damage." She wasn't sure if she was crying because these strangers thought her best friend was a monster, or because she was afraid they might be right. The Chim she used to know was a doting father, he'd never have neglected Jee, and he had never been violent with anyone, even those who were violent with him. Buck was the only man she knew less inclined to violence and Chimney had hit him hard enough to send him to surgery.
Chimney signed the forms to authorise payment of the fines without thinking about the current state of his bank account. He hadn't fully realised that he was no longer receiving the FMLA payments, or that he'd also signed paperwork to pay some form of payment to CPS for the care of his child and his savings were dwindling at an alarming rate. It didn't occur to him that if Maddie didn't come back and take over paying the rent on their apartment soon he would be flat broke, and evicted from the apartment by the time he got out of prison. He would be better off having someone pack up the apartment and breaking the lease but he didn't want to even think about giving up on the home he'd shared with Maddie and Jee-Yun.
Albert called Buck and Eddie to update them about the trial outcome, which relieved them both. Six months gave them time to settle in to living in the new house and work out the holes in their security and Maddie time to get treatment and return to LA if she was going to. Buck sent Maddie a text with the information. He was no longer surprised when Maddie doesn't reply.
Buck doesn't know how he feels about the trial outcome, on one hand he's relieved he has a little more time before having to worry about Chimney coming looking for him since it's clear that he's still angry with Buck over the whole situation with Maddie, on the other hand Jee is without her father for another six months and Buck had no real hope that Maddie would be back before Chim. Meanwhile, Chris is becoming more attached to his pseudo little sister by the day, and he wasn't the only one. They all adored the little girl who'd burrowed into their family and made her own place and it was going to hurt to have to even share custody with Maddie let alone hand over custody to her.
At least this verdict meant that Chimney wouldn't be out on bail while awaiting trial for the assault charges in Los Angeles. Though Buck and Eddie both hoped that he would be transferred to a prison in California to make visiting him easier, when he started acting rationally about Jee-Yun,
A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed, commented positively, followed, bookmarked or favourited or gave Kudos to this story for your support.