"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters." - Albert Einstein
Just as Puck had stated, less than an hour later, Marley Rose arrived at the precinct wearing silver bracelets. As the girl at the center of their investigation is escorted to an interrogation room, the entire team looks on.
"She looks so..." Brittany starts to say, but loses her train of thought.
"Not what you'd expect?" Santana finishes for her.
"Yeah... I mean, I know we have her picture up on the board, but she just doesn't look like the type of person that would be mixed up in something like this," the liaison explains.
"I know what you mean," Puck chimes in. "No one expects the girl next door to be a psycho killer."
"Alright guys... we still have CSU at both of their places trying to find some tangible evidence," Schue states. "However, if they are unable to find anything then a confession is our best shot. Who's up first?"
"Sir..." Puck says as he raises his hand. Once he receives a nod from his commander, he continues. "I was wondering if Lopez and I could have a run at her... if Finn and Artie don't mind," the profiler says. "I mean, she already lied to you guys about knowing Mercedes; maybe we can use that to really put her back against the wall."
"I'm fine with that, as long as the guys don't mind," their leader responds.
"Go for it bro," Hudson replies as Abrams gives them a thumbs up.
"Alright... I guess we're up again," the Latina says as she and Noah leave the room and enter the interrogation room. "Miss Rose?" As the young lady slightly nods her head, she continues. "I'm Agent Lopez and this is my partner, Agent Puckerman."
"Hmm... my ex-boyfriend's last name is Puckerman. Any relation?" Marley casually asks.
"Is it just me or does she seem oddly calm for someone facing 3 murder charges?" Brittany thinks out loud, watching from the other side of the glass.
"It's typical behavior of a sociopath," Dr. Abrams informs. "It's easy for them to disassociate themselves from certain things due to their lack of conscience."
"It's what makes people like her diabolical," Schue states in his usual monotone voice.
"No... no relation," Puck replies.
"Oh, okay..." Marley nonchalantly says. "So is someone gonna tell me why I'm here?"
"You seem like a really smart girl Marley..." Agent Puckerman begins to say, "... I'm sure you can figure it out."
"Like I told your people last night, I don't know anything."
"That's funny..." Santana casually says as she flips through some pages of the folder she's currently holding, "cause you also told my partners last night that you didn't know Mercedes Jones, but we both know that's not true."
"It must've slipped my mind," Marley simply states, her demeanor never changing.
"Really? I kind of find that hard to believe," Santana replies with a sarcastic tone. "I mean... just looking at your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages... it looks like you guys were pretty tight. In fact, it almost seems like Mercedes was someone you really looked up to."
"Like I said... it must've slipped my mind," the brunette repeats. "Maybe I was just so grief-stricken that I didn't comprehend what the other agents were asking me."
"So... where were you last night?" Puckerman inquires.
"I was at the theatre with the rest of the cast, getting ready for the show," Marley responds.
"I meant before the show started," Noah clarifies.
"I was probably at home."
"Probably?" Santana interjects.
"Yeah... that's what I said, isn't it?" Marley cattily replies.
Santana's jaw tightens as she tries to remain professional and resist the temptation to slap the shit out of the younger woman in front of her.
"Uh oh... San looks like she's about to kill that girl," Brittany says, genuinely concerned for the other girl in the room with her best friend.
"Lopez is a professional," Finn states. "I'm sure she'll refrain from doing anything hasty... hopefully."
"Maybe we should switch gears," Santana finally says after a long pause.
"Miss Rose... what's your relationship with Ryder Lynn?" Puck questions.
"He's a friend and a co-worker," Marley says as she shrugs her shoulders.
"So... there's no romantic relationship between the two of you?" Puckerman inquires further.
"With that loser... puh-lease," Marley scoffs at the idea. "That dude has been trying to get with me for like the past 2 years. It's like buddy... take the hint."
"Hmm... that's interesting," the liaison mumbles under her breath.
"What's that?" Schue questions.
"Ryder told us that Marley was his girlfriend."
"Clearly he has a misrepresentation of what that word actually means," Hudson states.
"Or maybe she's been playing him like she's been playing everyone else," Brittany suggests. "I mean, look at her... playing Miss Innocent. I'm just waiting for the waterworks to start."
"So you and Ryder are just friends?" Santana asks for clarification.
"If you can even call it that," Marley says, unimpressed. "The dude is obsessed with me."
Noah and Santana share a look as they process the young woman's last statement.
"Wait... what's that look?" Brittany ponders, observing the exchange between the two profilers.
"I think they just found their way in," Schue replies.
"How far do you think Ryder would go to impress you... to get you to notice him?" Puck questions.
"What do you mean?"
"Like... do you think Ryder would kill someone for you?" Santana speculates.
"I thought we were looking at Marley for all of the murders?" Dr. Abrams questions. "It sounds like they're giving her a way out."
"No... it's genius," Brittany chimes in. "They're setting her up by planting this idea that Ryder is so obsessed with her that he killed those girls to impress her."
"Well... let's just see if she takes the bait," Schue states.
"I... I don't know," Marley hesitantly replies. "He's always been really nice, but I guess you never know what people are truly capable of."
"They totally have her now," Brittany says with a little smirk on her face.
"I guess not..." Santana plays along as she sits across from the brunette. "As jacked up as it sounds, it's almost kind of romantic, right?"
Marley scrunches up her eyebrows in confusion, waiting for the Latina to continue.
"I mean, think about it... here is this guy that's willing to do anything - and I mean anything - for you, just so you can have your moment in the spotlight," Santana says, attempting to build some type of trust with the girl. "I'd be totally swooning if a guy was that dedicated to me."
"Wait... isn't Lopez like capital G gay?" Finn thinks out loud.
"Yes... but Marley doesn't know that," Brittany says a little defensively. "She's trying to relate to her so that maybe she'll open up and accidentally reveal something."
"Yeah... I guess that makes sense," the Jolly Green Giant look-a-like says.
"So what are you saying? Do you really think Ryder killed those girls... my friends?" Marley says a bit frightened. The profiling duo easily sees through her act though.
"It's possible... I mean, he did cripple your ex-boyfriend so that he could be your leading male," the Latina reveals.
"Wait... are you saying that Ryder is the one that attacked Jake?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Oh my God!" Marley exclaims. "What if I'm next on his list? You guys have to protect me."
"Lopez... you aren't really buying this bullshit, are you?" Puckerman finally says.
"C'mon Puckerman, look at her... does she really look like she's capable of committing such heinous acts?" Santana retorts.
"I can't believe you're so gullible," Puck responds as he shakes his head. "That's why women shouldn't be in this field; you let your damn emotions interfere with your common sense."
Agent Puckerman just sighs exasperatedly before abruptly leaving the room.
"Geez... what's his problem?" Marley questions.
"He's just a misogynistic asshole," Santana replies. "To tell you the truth, he thinks you did it but can't quite figure out how. It's driving him crazy."
"What did you guys think of my performance?" Puck inquires as he enters the viewing room with the rest of the team.
"I'd say it was quite stellar," Dr. Abrams applauds.
"You think she bought it?"
"See for yourself," Finn says as he motions towards the two women remaining in the interrogation room.
"So... does that mean you believe me?" Marley asks the Latina hopefully.
"Yeah, I do... but unfortunately I'm the only one that thinks you're innocent," Santana sincerely states, staying in character. She even goes a step further and removes the handcuffs from the brunette to make her feel more comfortable. "If only we had some solid proof to link Ryder to the murders..."
"What if you can't find any?" Marley asks worriedly.
"Then more than likely, we're gonna have to release him."
Marley stays eerily quiet for the next minute, trying to figure out what her next move is going to be. Santana watches her closely, observing the mental breakdown happening right before her.
"What if I knew something that could help?" Marley cautiously says.
"I'm listening..."
"Ryder once told me that his family died in a fire," she begins. "He was supposed to be staying at a friend's house, but he snuck out and went home. He told me that he saw the fire and heard his parents screaming, but he couldn't do anything to help them."
"Okay... what does that have to do with anything?" Santana pushes.
Marley takes a shaky breath, probably for dramatic effect. "He totally creeped me out when he told me that story."
"Creeped you out how?"
"Like to the point where I thought that he actually set the fire and killed his parents," Marley replies as her lips tremble and her eyes start to water. "Ryder also used to play baseball. It wouldn't surprise me if he used one of his old bats to beat up Jake," she adds in as an afterthought, letting a single tear fall from her eye.
"Told you she would cry," Brittany says to the other guys in the room.
"Okay... we might be able to work with that," Santana says as she stands up from the table and lightly squeezes the other girl's shoulder. "You stay here, okay. I'm gonna go look into this stuff. You'll be safe here."
Once she gets the nod of approval from Marley, Santana exits the room and re-joins her team.
"That was quite the performance she put on in there," Puck says to his partner.
"Yeah... but San's was better," Brittany casually states as she winks at her best friend.
Santana shoots the blonde a small smile before focusing on the task at hand. "We got her Schue... she just conveniently put the smoking gun in Lynn's hands."
"I agree... this is exactly what we need to break Ryder," Noah adds in. "He knows more than he's letting on, probably because he's trying to protect her."
"If we show him how evil and manipulating Marley really is and just how easily she threw him under the bus, I think we could crack him," Artie says.
Before their fearless leader can respond, he's interrupted by the ringing of someone's cell phone.
"It's Fabray," Puck announces as he answers the call. "Baby girl, you're on speakerphone."
"Alright guys, I just got off the phone with the crime scene techs and you're not gonna believe this," Quinn starts off. "I went back and did a sweep of Lynn's computer and found some very interesting web searches."
"Interesting how?" Hudson questions.
"Well... in his browser history, there were several sites that he looked at in reference to how to make GHB and how much ketamine would you need to knock a person unconscious," the tech analyst responds.
"That's just making him look guiltier," Brittany says solemnly.
"That doesn't make any sense though," Santana chimes in. "I can understand doing a search for how to make your own GHB, but Ryder worked at a vet hospital..."
"… which means he would already have the knowledge of what ketamine does to the human body," the liaison finishes her sentence.
"You lovely ladies are very correct," Quinn states knowingly. "The interesting part is that the history on Lynn's computer was never erased, so anyone who went onto his computer could've pulled it up."
"That doesn't seem very smart or methodical, which our killer is," Dr. Abrams adds in.
"Right you are, Specs!" Fabray states. "Even more so, the dates on when these websites were looked up only date back to last week."
"Tina was the only victim that had GHB in her system," Noah begins to say. "If she was killed three months ago, assuming Ryder is our UnSub, then why would he need to look up how to make GHB for someone he's already incapacitated and killed?"
"He wouldn't..." Santana answers, "... but the person setting him up might, to ensure that we found it and were able to link him to the remaining victims."
"I also looked into the fire that killed Lynn's parents," Quinn interrupts. "There's nothing to suggest that the fire was anything but an accident, caused by faulty wiring."
"Maybe hearing the story about how his parents died just gave Marley another element she could use to frame Ryder," Finn says. "What are we missing here?"
"The primary crime scene," Santana adds in. "We know that Berry wasn't attacked at her apartment, but we don't know what was used to knock her out or how she got back to back to her apartment."
"Maybe we do..." Brittany says as an idea pops into her head. She quickly exits the room, seemingly on a mission. She returns shortly after with a folder in hand. "Q... can you pull up the DMV records and tell me what kind of vehicle is registered to Ryder?"
"Sure thing, Sweet Pea..." Fabray says as the team hears rapid typing coming from the other end of the phone. "It looks like Ryder is the proud owner of a 2003 Ford Ranger, green in color."
"Britt... what's going on?" Santana asks curiously.
"I just got the preliminary results back from the sweeps of both of our suspects' residences," the liaison begins. "There were traces of blood found in Marley's apartment, specifically in her living room. They're running the sample now."
"I think I have a pretty good idea of whom that sample belongs to," Schue says. "What else does the report say Brittany?"
"They also found a wooden baseball bat at Ryder's apartment. It also had samples of blood on it, which are being tested as well," the blonde answers. "The weird thing though... there were absolutely no prints found on the bat."
"Almost like somebody wiped it off," Santana suggests.
"Hey guys... here's something else that ironic," Quinn says, gaining everyone's attention again. "The day after Rachel's body was found, there's a charge on Ryder's credit card at a place called Stop-n-Suds."
"What the hell is that?" Finn asks confusedly.
"It's a car wash," Quinn simply answers. "Anyways, I was able to pull video from that fine establishment on the day in question and it looks like Ryder was very thorough at detailing his truck, specifically the bed of the truck."
"I bet the bed of his truck is wide enough to transport a lifeless body," Puck adds in.
Knock... knock... knock...
"Will... sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to get this to you right away," Lt. Beiste says as she enters the room with a folder in hand.
"What is it Shannon?" Schue asks, addressing his old friend by her first name.
"Our techs found matches to the blood samples," Lt. Beiste says eagerly as she hands the folder to Agent Schuester.
As Schue carefully reads over the results, the team is dying with anticipation.
"Well, Schue... what does it say," Puck anxiously asks.
"The sample of DNA found in the living room of the apartment belonging to Marley Rose is a 99.9% positive match to that of Rachel Berry..." Schue reads aloud to his team.
"That's it! We've got her!" Hudson excitedly says.
"Hold on a sec... there's more," Santana says as she picks up where Schue left off. "It's says here that the traces of blood found on the bat were a mixture of two DNA samples, one being more degraded than the other."
"Well... spit it out Lopez!" Puck exclaims.
"The first sample belongs to Rachel..."
"So, we finally have our weapon of choice..." Artie states.
"The second sample belongs to... Jake Puckerman?" Santana says, a little surprised.
"Jake?" Brittany ponders. "Why do we even have his DNA sample in the system?"
"When we initially started this investigation, we asked everyone we interviewed for a voluntary sample of their DNA so that they could be eliminated as a suspect, if we ever did find something to compare it to," Lt. Beiste speaks up.
"It all makes sense..." Santana softly states as she has an epiphany, "Ryder isn't the one that attacked Jake that night..."
"Marley was..." Brittany says, barely above a whisper.
"Lopez, Puckerman... it's time to end this," Schue says sternly. "If Lynn doesn't wanna talk still, then he can go down with his girlfriend."
"Sir... if I may speak freely?" The Latina interjects. Once she receives a nod from her supervisor, she continues. "I think you should let Brittany go in first. She already has a good rapport with Mr. Lynn, so I think he might be a little more susceptible to what she has to say before we blow his mind with the info we gathered from Marley."
Brittany looks at Santana stunned. She's not sure if she should be thanking her best friend or cursing her for putting her on the spot.
"Okay, fine... Brittany, you're up," Schue simply states.
As Brittany heads out of the room, the Latina lightly grabs her forearm. "Hey... you're gonna be fine," Santana softly says as she looks into the blonde's eyes. "You got this Britt... I'll be right behind you in a minute."
Brittany nods her head as she takes in the words of her best friend while trying her best to ignore the tingly feeling on her arm where the Latina has placed her hand. She looks at Santana's encouraging eyes one last time before disappearing from the room to re-join the Lynn subject.
"Did you find Marley?" Ryder quickly asks as soon as Brittany steps into the room.
"We sure did," the liaison replies flatly.
"Great... does that mean I can go?" Ryder asks hopefully.
"Not quite," the liaison shortly responds. "I thought you and I had an understanding, Mr. Lynn. How am I supposed to help you if you're not being 100% honest with me?"
"What are you talking about?" The young man questions. "I've told you everything I know."
"See, here's the problem... I don't believe you," Brittany retorts. "And before you go on and on about how you didn't hurt anyone or how you don't know anything, let's look at the evidence..."
As Brittany starts to spread multiple pieces of paper and photos across the desk, Ryder starts to get a little worried.
"You see this here?" Brittany states as she points to a piece of paper. "This is a receipt from the car wash you took your truck to in order to detail it, the day after Rachel Berry's death. And you see this picture here?" The liaison questions as she points to a particular photo. "That's you, cleaning out the bed of your truck."
"So what, I take good care of my truck," Ryder replies, unimpressed. "Since when is that a crime?"
"Well... I'd say since now," Brittany responds. "Our techs just went over your truck with a fine-tooth comb, and guess what they found?"
As the tension begins to build in the room, Ryder's demeanor has significantly changed as he breaks eye contact with the blonde.
"We found traces of Rachel's blood in the bed of your truck, Ryder... a girl that you claim to not even know," Brittany bluffs. Ryder appears to be breathing heavily now.
"We haven't even gone over his truck yet," Finn whispers to Santana.
"I know..." Santana says smugly, proud of the way Brittany is handling herself.
"Ryder... that's not even the tip of the ice berg," Brittany continues. "This is a copy of your web history from where you looked up two of the drugs that were used to incapacitate our victims; that information was never released to the press. Furthermore, the baseball bat found in your apartment also had Rachel's blood on it."
"No... that's impossible!" Ryder exclaims as he violently rises from the table. "You guys are trying to set me up!"
"Now why would we want to do that, Ryder?" The liaison carefully questions. "What would I, my team, or anyone from his department possibly have to gain from setting you up?"
Ryder remains silent, contemplating his answer. His thoughts are so jumbled right now that he can't seem to think clearly.
"You know... there was someone else's blood found on that bat as well," Brittany slips in. Once Ryder looks back, giving the blonde his full attention, she proceeds. "Your buddy, Jake..."
"Jake... Jake Puckerman?" Ryder asks timidly as Brittany nods her head in confirmation. "What does that mean exactly?"
"It means that the person that hurt Rachel is the same person that attacked Jake," Brittany finally says.
"No..." Ryder whispers to himself, "… that can't be true."
"It is, Ryder... and I think you know who did it."
"I swear to you on my parents' grave that I did not hurt anybody," Ryder shakily responds.
"She's close... I can see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead," Puckerman states.
"She was born to do this," Santana says, mostly to herself but her partner catches it.
"Ryder, I wanna believe you... I really want to believe you, but you gotta give me something to work with," Brittany pleads. "I don't think you hurt those girls or Jake, but you know who did. Are you really willing to protect them while you take the fall for this?"
Ryder breaks eye contact with the blonde again in favor of staring at the miscellaneous papers covering the table.
"I think you're up, Lopez..." Noah says as he nudges his partner.
Santana takes a tentative step as she exits the room. She had this whole plan worked out in her head about how she was gonna approach Ryder and ultimately get him to crack. But, as she enters the room and takes one look at young man sitting before her, she has a change of heart.
"Oh great, not you again..." Ryder mumbles under his breath.
"Relax... I come in peace," Santana states as she sits down across from the man, joining Brittany on her side of the table. The two of them exchange a small smile before she continues. "You know... I had this whole elaborate plan where I was gonna show you these photos and tell you what a sick fuck I think you are..." The Latina says as she begins to unveil photographs of the disturbing collage Ryder has above his bed at home. The man's face immediately reddens with embarrassment.
"I thought you said you came in peace?" Ryder says rhetorically, continuing to mumble under his breath.
"I was gonna tell you how I think your disturbing infatuation with Marley Rose led you to become this sick, murderous monster that sits before us, but... I'm not gonna do that," the profiler proceeds.
"It's not an infatuation... Marley and I love each other," Ryder says sternly, truly believing his own words.
"Oh Ryder, Ryder, Ryder... when do we learn?" Santana states patronizingly. "I truly believe that you love Marley and would probably do anything for her, within reason, but that girl... she doesn't care a thing about you."
"You're lying!" Ryder says with a little bark to his bite.
"Ryder, let me ask you something," Santana starts to say. "What do you and Marley actually do when you're together?
"I'm not gonna belittle my relationship with Marley by discussing intimate details with you," Ryder sternly replies.
"Whoa... I'm not asking for personal details about your relationship, I just wanted to know about the general stuff," the Latina clarifies. "For example, do you guys hold hands... kiss... have sex?"
Again, something in Ryder's demeanor changes, almost as if profiler had hit a sore spot.
"Ryder, what is it?" Brittany softly asks.
"We sometimes hold hands, but that's about it," Ryder sadly replies. "She wants to take things slow, especially after having such an intense relationship with Jake. I respect that."
"Ryder, you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you... but you need to hear it," Santana picks back up. "Marley is not your girlfriend... she told me so herself."
"No... you're making that up," Ryder says confidently. "You're just trying to drive a wedge between us until one of us turns on the other. Well, you can find another sucker!" The man angrily yells as he brushes the papers and photos off of the table.
Brittany and Santana just look at each other, knowing what has to be done to finally bring the unaware young man to his senses.
"Mr. Lynn... are you familiar with the term self-preservation?" Santana inquires. Ryder just stares as the Latina with a look of utter hate and disdain. "Self-preservation is the protection of oneself from harm or destruction. It's a basic instinct that we're all born with."
"What's your point, agent?" Ryder simply asks.
"Marley knows all about looking after herself because that's exactly what she did when we asked her the same questions. She didn't bat an eye before she threw you under the bus," Santana admits. As she sees Ryder continue to shake his head in disbelief, she decides that he'll have to learn the hard way. "I know you have no reason to believe anything that I tell you, but maybe you'll believe it if it comes from the horse's mouth."
As Ryder scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, Agent Lopez sets up her iPad on the table and opens a video file to play.
"Miss Rose... what's your relationship with Ryder Lynn?" Agent Puckerman asks the brunette.
"What is this?" Ryder questions.
"Just watch," Santana quickly replies.
"He's a friend and a co-worker," Marley says as she nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders.
"So... there's no romantic relationship between the two of you?" Puckerman inquires further.
"With that loser... puh-lease," Marley scoffs at the idea. "That dude has been trying to get with me for like the past 2 years. It's like buddy... take the hint."
"What?" Ryder says incredulously. "Why would she say that?"
Neither Santana nor Brittany respond as they continue to watch the video.
"So you and Ryder are just friends?" Santana asks for clarification.
"If you can even call it that," Marley says, unimpressed. "The dude is obsessed with me."
"How far do you think Ryder would go to impress you... to get you to notice him?" Puck questions.
"What do you mean?"
"Like... do you think Ryder would kill someone for you?" Santana speculates.
"I... I don't know," Marley hesitantly replies. "He's always been really nice, but I guess you never know what people are truly capable of."
"How can she even say that?" Ryder asks, still not believing what he's seeing and hearing. "Marley knows that I would never hurt her or anybody."
"So... does that mean you believe me?" Marley asks the Latina hopefully.
"Yeah, I do... but unfortunately I'm the only one that thinks you're innocent," Santana sincerely states as she removes the brunette's handcuffs. "If only we had some solid proof to link Ryder to the murders..."
Ryder continues to watch intently, wondering what lies will come out of the mouth of the girl he trusted more than anything.
"What if I knew something that could help?" Marley cautiously says.
"I'm listening..."
"Ryder once told me that his family died in a fire. He was supposed to be staying at a friend's house but he snuck out and went home. He told me that he saw the fire and heard his parents screaming, but he couldn't do anything to help them."
"She's lying… I never went back to the house," Ryder interjects.
"Okay... what does that have to do with anything?" Santana pushes.
Marley takes a shaky breath, probably for dramatic effect. "He totally creeped me out when he told me that story."
"Creeped you out how?"
"Like to the point where I thought that he actually set the fire and killed his parents," Marley replies as her lips tremble and her eyes start to water. "Ryder also used to play baseball. It wouldn't surprise me if he used one of his old bats to beat up Jake."
Santana pauses the video after Marley's last statement.
"That bitch..." Ryder shakily states as a tear falls down his cheek. "She told me she loved me, but that was a lie... wasn't it. She's been playing me this whole time..."
"Got him..." Puck says as he watches on.
"I'm really sorry, Ryder... that's what we've been trying to tell you," Brittany says apologetically.
"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," Ryder says, his voice void of emotion.
"Where were you the night Rachel Berry was murdered?" Santana questions.
"I was at home alone, like I told you before. But then, I got this phone call from Marley. She sounded frantic and scared... I could barely make out what she was saying," Ryder starts off. "When I got to her place, I saw Rachel lying on the ground. She wasn't moving, but I could tell that she was still breathing. I don't know what Marley hit her with, but I could see blood coming from the back of her head."
"What happened next?"
"Marley told me that they had gotten into an argument and she just hit her. It was an accident, but she was afraid that once Rachel woke up, she would go to the police and tell them what she'd done," Ryder continues. "I helped Marley get Rachel back to her apartment and put her in her bed. We even put a bottle of vodka and some aspirin on her nightstand so she would just think that she had a really bad hangover once she woke up. Rachel was alive when we left that apartment."
"Wait... we? Are you saying that you and Marley left the apartment together?" Brittany inquires.
"Yeah... I dropped her off at home. That's why I was so freaked out the next day when I found out that Rachel had been killed," Ryder clarifies. "I panicked because I thought for sure that the police were going to end up arresting me just because I had seen her that night. But then Marley came over and made me feel better and just told me that everything was going to be okay."
"Ryder, is that when you and Marley became a couple?" Brittany hesitantly asks.
"Yeah... she's the one that told me to go clean my truck out."
"Marley must've went back to finish the job," Schue states knowingly. "Fabray... I want you to check any surveillance footage between Marley's apartment and Rachel's apartment from that night."
"You got it boss. Fabray out!"
"What about the night Tina was murdered?" Santana questions.
"I didn't see Marley that night after the show. In fact, she was supposed be hanging out with Tina but I guess she cancelled on her at the last minute," Ryder informs. "Marley called me on her way home and said she was just going to crash for the night."
"Ryder... didn't you think that it was a little weird that these women that died just so happened to be your girlfriend's main competition?" Brittany ponders.
"I just thought it was a coincidence, honest..." Ryder sincerely states. "Marley couldn't hurt a fly… or at least that's what I thought; clearly I don't know the girl at all."
"Did she ever say anything about Mercedes or Jake?"
"I know she was really upset when Jake broke up with her. I think it made her so mad that she didn't even want to star opposite of him in the play," Ryder continues. "She kept saying how she wished that I was her leading man. And a couple of weeks later, Jake was attacked..."
"What about Mercedes?"
"She wasn't thrilled about being canned..." Ryder starts off. "I think it pissed her off even more that she had to hear about it from one of the record label execs instead of Mercedes."
"So… Mercedes never got a chance to tell her about it?" Santana asks for clarification.
"No... not that I'm aware of," Ryder replies.
"Sounds like a motive to me," Finn says from behind the glass.
"Thank you, Ryder... we really appreciate your help," Santana says as she stands from the table.
"Agent Lopez... you gotta believe me," Ryder begins to say as his voice slightly breaks. "I didn't know... Sure, I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to believe that this girl that I'm absolutely crazy about could be capable of such horrific things."
"Hey, look at me Ryder..." Santana says to the troubled man. "No one faults you for being in love and wanting to see the best in that person. Just next time... try to pick someone who's less of a psycho."
Ryder lets out a strangled laugh at the Latina's joke. "Yes ma'am."
As Brittany and Santana leave the man behind, curiosity strikes the blonde. "What do you think is gonna happen to him?"
"We'll talk to the DA. Hopefully they'll drop the obstruction charge and hopefully they won't look into any accessory charges," Santana replies.
"So... he'll avoid jail time, but I think the damage has already been done," Brittany says regrettably.
"He's a smart kid..." Santana says as she takes one last look at the young man, "... he'll bounce back."
"You guys did a great job in there," Schue compliments the female duo.
"Thanks Will," the blonde and brunette say in unison.
"We just got off the phone with Quinn," Puck states. "She found video surveillance of Marley leaving her apartment approximately 20 minutes after Ryder dropped her off. There's also footage of her stopping at a gas station, filling up 2 containers with gas."
"We've got her ass!" Santana exclaims.
"Would you like to do the honors?" Noah asks, holding out a folder buxom with non-refutable evidence.
"Naw... you take it Puck," Santana uncharacteristically passes on the offer. "I think I'll just stay here and watch the show."
As Agent Puckerman comes face-to-face with their primary suspect again, the team watches on.
"Ah, Miss Rose... I'm afraid I have some bad news for you..." Noah coolly states. "You could really do yourself a solid here by telling us what really happened..."
"I already told you... I didn't do anything," Marley repeats in an exasperated tone.
"Look here, woman... I'm trying to save you from getting a needle put in your arm," Puck says, losing his patience with the snarky brunette. He then roughly throws the folder containing the newest evidence towards her. "But hey... if you wanna take your chances by standing in front of a group of your peers, then by all means... do it. I don't give a shit either way."
Marley slowly opens up the folder and begins to review the evidence stacked against her. After flipping through the first few pages, she calmly closes the folder and looks back up at Agent Puckerman.
"None of this would've happened if she just would've kept her big fucking mouth shut," Marley finally says.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Puck says as he takes a seat across from the brunette. "Start from the beginning..."
After spending a few hours with the brunette in the interrogation room, Agent Puckerman was able to ascertain a full confession from Marley Rose. In a very detailed account, Marley explained the events that led up to her taking the life of each of the victims.
Marley recalls the night that she invited Rachel over to her apartment after finishing one of their shows of Wicked, in which they starred opposite of each other. Being that Rachel had been the leading role in Spring Awakening the previous year, Marley asked Rachel for some friendly advice, seeing that she was going to audition for that play after her role in Wicked was complete. What she wasn't expecting was for the Streisand wannabe to laugh in her face and tell her that she would never be more than just someone's understudy.
In a fit of rage, Marley picked up the closest thing she could get her hands on and struck Rachel in the back of the head. Unfortunately for Ryder, the object that she had picked up had been a baseball bat that had been left at her apartment after she and Ryder had gone to the batting cages one day. Unbeknownst to Ryder, Marley would use that same bat to attack Jake 3 months later, right after their break-up.
After that, everything that Ryder had told Santana and Brittany during his interrogation matched up to what Marley told Agent Puckerman next. Once she was dropped off at home, Marley knew that she had to go back to Rachel's and shut her up for good. And so, Marley left her apartment and headed back towards Rachel's. While en route, she passed by a man on the street lighting a cigarette. Noticing the flame, Marley was reminded of the story that Ryder had told her about his parents' death. This caused the brunette to stop at the gas station before getting to Rachel's place.
Once Marley entered Rachel's apartment, she found that the girl was still unconscious. Continuing to hear Rachel's insults from earlier playing through her head, she wrapped her hands around the other girl's neck and squeezed with all her might. At one point, Rachel regained consciousness, but was unable to to stop Marley from taking her last breath away. Not quite satisfied yet, Marley decided to take it upon herself and take away the greatest gift the lifeless girl had ever received… her voice. Marley then went into the kitchen and found the sharpest knife she could. She then proceeded to slice Rachel's throat open and removed her vocal chords. After that, she poured the gasoline all over the bedroom and lit a match, assuming that the fire would destroy all evidence.
With Tina Cohen-Chang, the brunette couldn't stand being second place to her. Marley felt that she deserved Tina's role much more than the Asian girl did. She felt that she had worked much harder for it to prove herself, but ultimately she was overlooked, just because the director was more familiar with Tina. That's when Marley decided to take matters into her own hands again.
One night, Tina invited Marley over for dinner. Unbeknownst to her though, it would be the last meal she would ever eat. As Tina excused herself from the table to use the restroom, Marley drugged Tina's drink with liquid GHB, which she had learned how to make using the internet at an internet café. Once Tina was unconscious, Marley used Tina's own knife to cut her throat and watched as the girl bled out. When she was sure that Tina was dead, she stuck the knife in the center of her throat and then set the room on fire.
And then there was Mercedes Jones… Marley's so-called idol.
Marley had never intended to cause any harm to the powerhouse that she considered a dear friend. However, once she was informed by Mercedes' record label that she had been fired from her songwriting job, she had to find someone to blame. If Mercedes would've just told her the bad news herself, then maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to punish her. Mercedes was supposed to be her mentor, yet she didn't have the decency to give her a heads up. For that… she had to die (at least in Marley's eyes).
And so, while Marley was hanging out at Mercedes' apartment, she seized the opportunity to strike once the woman had turned her back on the brunette. Marley then reached into her purse, pulled out a syringe filled with ketamine, and stabbed Mercedes in the back with it. Marley then turned Mercedes' body over as she towered over her and set her on fire. She watched Mercedes' pupils dilate as she felt her own skin burning all around her. With one last look into her eyes, Marley whispered "you were my hero" before walking out of the apartment and leaving her former mentor there to burn alive.
As the rest of the team listened to Marley's account of events behind the other side of the glass, they cringed at each new grueling detail. Perhaps the worst part about this whole ordeal was that Miss Rose never showed any sign of remorse… not about the gruesome murders, not about crippling her ex-boyfriend, and definitely not about using and then ultimately setting up Ryder. Marley Rose was the definition of a sociopath.
Just before midnight, the team is finally back on their private jet, heading back to Virginia.
"Is this seat taken?" Brittany shyly asks as she points to the vacant seat next to the Latina.
While the rest of the team members were either conversing amongst themselves or sitting near the group listening to music or reading a book, Santana was sitting towards the back of the jet, absentmindedly staring out of the window.
"No, not at all," Santana happily chirps.
"What are you doing back here, all by yourself?" The blonde questions.
"Nothing really… just thinking, I guess," the profiler replies.
"Oh… I'm sorry," Brittany apologizes as she rises from her seat. "I'll leave you too it."
Santana quickly reaches her hand out and gently wraps her fingers around the blonde's wrist. "Stay…" the Latina softly says as she releases her grip. "I want you to stay."
"Okay…" Brittany whispers as she sits back down next to her best friend.
The two women sit there in silence for a few seconds, not looking at each other, before someone finally breaks the ice.
"You were amazing today…" Santana bashfully says as she quickly looks at the blonde before turning away again.
"No…" Brittany says, slightly chuckling while waving her hand dismissively, "if anyone was amazing… it was you."
The profiler sighs deeply before looking back at the beautiful blonde. "Pierce, for the love of Sweet Baby Jesus… learn how to take a damn compliment."
Brittany opens her mouth to respond, but quickly closes it out of embarrassment. She can feel her cheeks begin to redden after being called out by the Latina. "Sorry…" she finally whispers out.
"Britt… you don't have to apologize," Santana states. "It's just… why is it so hard for you to take a compliment?"
The blonde takes a second to think about her answer before responding. "I guess I'm just not used to getting compliments."
"Seriously?"
Brittany shrugs her shoulders. "Guys say lame things to me all the time," she starts off, causing the Latina to giggle, "… but it's different when it comes from you."
"Oh…" Santana says, her smile now gone. "Um… how so?"
"When a guy at a bar tells me that I'm "hot" or that I'm "too pretty to be drinking alone", I know that it's only because he wants to get into my pants," Brittany explains. "But, when you say things to me – like telling me I'm beautiful – I actually believe you. You're always genuine and I know that you're not expecting anything in return; you're just being honest."
For the first time in 48 hours since Santana had revealed her feelings to Brittany, she found herself speechless. Don't get her wrong; Santana would love to get inside of the blonde's pants… someday. However, she would love it even more if one day she got to call Brittany her girlfriend.
"Anyways… I was scared to death being in that interrogation room all by myself," Brittany says, changing the subject.
Santana finally breaks away from being stunned by the blonde's last statement. "Why were you scared? I mean, you speak to the press all of the time."
"I know, but it's different speaking to a camera and to a bunch of reporters that just want the latest scoop," the liaison replies. "Being inside that room though and trying to figure out what exactly to say or do to get inside that person's head to make them tell me what I want to know… scary."
"Well, for what it's worth… you seemed to handle it with ease," the profiler states.
"For what it's worth… I couldn't have done it without you," Brittany sincerely replies. "We make a great team."
Santana stares at the blonde for a moment, thinking about the hidden implications behind Brittany's statement. "Yeah… we sure do."
Both women share a bashful smile, thus ending their conversation. Brittany then leans her head to rest on Santana's shoulder as she closes her eyes for the remainder of their flight. Santana just smiles to herself as she leans her head against Brittany's and closes her eyes as well.
"Man… I cannot wait to get home," Puck yawns out as the team finally lands and makes their way through the parking garage.
"And just think… we get a whole 24 hours to ourselves before we have to be right back here again," Santana says facetiously. The rest of the gang shares a laugh at her comment.
"Whatever Lezpez… you're just mad cuz you're going home all alone," the resident Casanova smugly replies.
"Um, last time I checked Fuckerman… so were you," the Latina bites back.
"Ooh… I like it when you get all feisty," Puck retorts, eliciting some hoots and hollers from the gang who were clearly enjoying their usual playful banter.
"In your dreams, Noah…" Santana cheekily responds.
"Trust me… you're already there," Puckerman replies with a playful wink. "Get some rest partner," he says as raises his fist towards the Latina.
"See ya Monday, sucka…" the brunette replies as she connects her fist with her partner's. "Goodnight guys," she says to the rest of the team as they make their way to their respective vehicles.
Just as Santana presses her key fob to unlock her red Audi RS 7, she hears Brittany calling her name from behind her.
"San, wait…"
"What's up Britt?" Santana ponders, seeing the flustered look on the blonde's face.
Brittany looks around the parking garage, watching as her co-workers leave the premises. She then turns back and sees Santana, waiting patiently for her response. Brittany then nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh… we never talked about what happened this morning…" As Santana stares at her blankly, she continues. "In the bathroom…"
Suddenly, recognition flashes across Santana's eyes as she recalls the events that left her body feeling like an inferno earlier on in the day. As she starts to feel her whole body heating up again from just the mere thought of sharing such an intimate moment with Brittany, she tries to casually respond. "W-what, uh… what about it? It was j-just an accident…"
"Maybe so, but…" Brittany softly says as she takes a step closer to the Latina and grabs her right hand, still covered with a Band-Aid from the slight burn she received earlier.
"But what?" Santana nervously asks as she feels the blonde's hot breath mixing with hers.
"I know that we've had a very long and exhausting day, but…" the liaison states as she takes another step closer. "I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been thinking about being back in that bathroom with you all day long…"
"Really?" The Latina croaks out as she tries to remove the lump from her throat.
"Yeah… really," Brittany assures as she laces their fingers together. "Honestly, San… I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you told me how you felt," she shyly says.
"Should I have just not said anything?" Santana wonders out loud.
"No!" Brittany quickly responds as she looks at the profiler's mocha eyes. "I'm glad you told me. I just don't know where to go from here."
"I'm not asking for anything…" Santana says barely above a whisper.
"I know… that's the funny thing about it," Brittany softly replies. "You haven't asked me for anything, and yet… I want to give you everything."
"So… what does that mean exactly, Britt?" The Latina questions.
"Honestly… I'm not sure," the blonde replies. There's a moment of silence before both women burst out in laughter. "It sounded pretty good though, huh?"
"Yeah… something like that," Santana replies as her giggle fit eases up.
"I think I just need some time to figure all of this out," Brittany finally says. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah, Britt… that's fine," Santana assures. "Take all the time you need; I'll still be here."
Brittany nods her head in understanding as she releases Santana's hand in order to properly give the profiler a hug. Right before she breaks away from their warm embrace, she places a delicate kiss upon the Latina's upper cheek, allowing her lips to linger. "Goodnight, Santana…" she whispers into her ear before pulling away completely.
Santana is completely frozen in her spot for a solid minute before she regains any bodily functions. Looking around, she realizes that she's the only person that remains in the parking garage. Quickly, she unlocks her car again and actually gets in it this time. As she looks at her reflection in the rear view mirror, she can't stop herself from taking her hand and placing it on the area where Brittany's lips had just occupied.
"I'm still alive, right?" Santana thinks to herself, still not believing what had just taken place. Needing some form of reassurance, the Latina takes her forefinger and her thumb and then proceeds to pinch herself… hard. "Fuck! That really hurt," she screams inside the safety of her car.
Santana then takes a second to close her eyes and relive that short moment of bliss, bringing a smile to her face. Once she opens her eyes, she starts up her Audi and makes the trek home, the smile never leaving her face.
Author's Note:
Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this really long chapter. I initially toyed with the idea of splitting this into 2 chapters, but it seemed to make more sense as just one. Anyways, I hope that you all had a wonderful Labor Day. Thanks again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows.
Stay classy,
-Kris
PS – For all of you that are waiting for an update for 3rd & Lucky… I haven't forgotten about that story. I've just been so intrigued by the Brittana/crime element of this story that I haven't been able to stop writing :)
*To the Guest that left a review in regards to feeling like the relationship between Santana and Brittany is "tepid", "middle-school" like, and "practically asexual":
I'm sorry that you feel this way and have misinterpreted the relationship between their characters. For one, the first six chapters of this story take place within a 48 hour time period so I felt it would be a little too careless for Brittany and Santana to just hop in the sack right off the bat, especially while dealing with such a case. Secondly, the reason why the characters are moving at the pace they are and why they may react a little "childish" throughout their interactions is because I'm trying to show the tension that is building up. Brittany has just learned about Santana's feelings for her so she needs time to adjust and figure out how she feels and what she plans on doing with this new knowledge. And for Santana, the fact that Brittany is showing any sort of interest in her is something that she never expected (hence the reasoning for her acting like an excited school girl who's crush just told them they like them back). Also, Santana and Brittany have to consider the possible consequences that could take place if they were to embark in a romantic relationship (ie suspension and/or being re-assigned). Again, I'm sorry that you seem to be disappointed by the progression of Santana and Brittany's relationship, but I stand by my work (and apparently you're the only one who's dissatisfied). Unfortunately, I can't please everyone. Thanks for taking the time to leave that comment though.