Chapter 15
It was a couple of hours before the entire gang managed to get back to the hospital. Sarah had talked to the nurse who had been helping her all day before her friends and colleagues got there. While the medical woman was not thrilled with the idea, she promised to keep the head nurse of their backs, for a little while at least.
Daniel and Mai were glad to have some time with Sarah, but Mai was a little concerned about the idea of a "staff meeting". Sarah said that she was helping on the case and civilians couldn't be privy to the confidential information they needed to discuss. Her mother reminded her that the hospital was a place to recover and rest, not work. Daniel reminded her that their other daughter was coming in from Vancouver and they had to pick her up anyway. Sarah's sister, Ubon, had been unable to come sooner due to available flights and finding care for her dog, Pepper.
"Hey," Charlie's voice broke into his girlfriend's train of thought.
"Sorry. I was off somewhere," Sarah smiled slightly as she watched Rex hop back up on the bed.
"Well, that big, beautiful brain of yours doesn't like to sit idle," he said taking his seat next to the bed.
"I appreciate that. You guys find something?" She asked.
"Ah we must wait for the others," he smirked before taking her hand in his. Sarah smiled and wished she could just lean into him. Being stuck in the bed was starting to drive her nuts. The nurse said they would try to do more exercise in the morning. A knock on the door revealed that Joe and Jesse were there.
"Where is Mika?" Charlie was a little confused as to why the other detective wasn't there yet.
"She's coming. We bumped into her in the hallway," Jesse said. Charlie nodded, figuring that Mika just needed a few moments to herself.
"More importantly, how are you doing?" Joe asked Sarah before sitting down in one of the chairs left behind by her parents.
"Feeling better every day but I don't think I'll be in the lab anytime soon," she admitted.
"No one is expecting you to be. The department is covering your medical and they are not expecting you to use your vacation time. All I've been asked for is to keep them updated with notes from your medical team," he explained. Sarah nodded as Mika entered the room. The Head of Forensics could tell that whatever was going on with her, she was not in a good frame of mind.
"You ok?" Charlie must have read his girlfriend's mind as he posed the question to the Special Victims detective.
"Well depends on your definition. I found our bad guy. He's dead. In fact, he died before this whole thing started," Mika heaved a sigh and collapsed into the closest chair.
"Then he is the catalyst for all of this. Does he have any relatives?" Charlie wanted to know.
"Yup. A son and a daughter. They've been cleaning out the house. I could tell that they were hiding something, but I don't have any good reason to drag them in seeing as they were not the ones in the pictures. We also don't know if they knew Tim Watkins or Danny Bauman," Mika said.
"You have a point, but maybe Jesse can help with that. What did Major Sheridan have to say?" Charlie turned to the younger man.
"The Major was a wealth of information. He believed that the family moved to Mount Pearl some years ago. Captain Blanchard had two sons and a daughter. I also dug into his family and it turns out that he had a brother as well. Even more interesting is that his brother did not share the same last name," Jesse explained from his seat near the window. Mika perked up at that.
"Why?" She asked.
"Seems that when their parents split up, the Captain went to live with his mother and changed his name to match her maiden name. It's not very common but I suppose there was a good reason for it," Jesse said. He handed the file he brought with him to Mika.
"Kelly said that the guy who licked the envelope was either a son or brother of Captain Blanchard. His brother is dead but his brother is the guy in the photos," the detective's eyes were wide as she handed the folder to Charlie.
"Jesse, did you find out why the parents split custody like that?" Charlie asked as he looked at the information he'd been handed. He leaned over so Sarah could have a look as well.
"That is quite odd but it's a civil matter, so I don't have anything but the surface information. However, based on the Captain's birthdate and the date of the divorce filing, I'm guessing that they were old enough to choose where they wanted to live. Not long after the divorce, Frank Moffat, the Captain's father was arrested for drunk driving, which got his son sent back to his mother. Our suspect, turned dead person, Aiden Moffat, did not stay home long. He tried to get emancipated even though he was only fifteen. The court rejected the attempt but that's all I have on that. In the meantime, Frank Moffat's record only grew but there is one crime that caught my eye," Jesse said.
"Possession of child pornography," Sarah looked disgusted.
"You think that Frank was abusing Aiden?" Joe wondered.
"We'll never know for sure but I wouldn't be surprised," Mika shook her head.
"So why would Aiden pick to stay with his father?" Sarah asked.
"More than likely, there were no rules with his father. His mother, who probably couldn't prove that his father was abusing him, thought the divorce was the only way to get him away. Seems like Aiden didn't want to get away from his father," Mika heaved a sigh.
"Blanchard's brother is dead. He didn't lick that envelope," Charlie pointed out.
"That leaves one of Blanchard's sons. Aiden's kids and his kids are cousins, so they could be in on this too. They're all about the same age as Danny Bauman," Joe figured.
"The only way we're going to get anyone to talk is to bring them in. No one turned on Aiden, so they're likely to keep secrets, unless confronted with the truth," Charlie said.
"They may start pointing fingers," Mika figured.
"DNA doesn't lie though. We bring them in, get them to leave behind a drink cup or a tissue and then we find out who is lying and who is not," Charlie told them.
"What about what you found at Tim Watkins' place?" Jesse asked.
"We found the fence had a back door which led to what amounts to a service road. The neighborhood's paved surface stops about fifty feet from the door in the fence. Not long after the end of the paved surface, there's woods. Inside the tree line, there was a car there – it had been there for a few days, given the pollen dust on it. Kelly called for a tow to the forensics garage. More than willing to bet that it was Danny Bauman's, given Rex's reaction," the dog perked up at the sound of his name.
"That doesn't help us find our instigator," Joe frowned.
"Well maybe not directly, but there were two sets of tire tracks and they weren't made by the same model of tire. Kelly took casts of the impressions to see if we could get lucky," Charlie said.
"That's something," Jesse smiled.
"Well, I wish I had better news but the judge promised me an answer in the morning on the patient list," Joe shook his head.
"Hey, we've got enough to work with for now. Charlie, want to interrogate some suspects in the morning?" Mika wanted to know.
"I'd love to. Is there any way that Sarah could listen in?" Charlie asked. He wanted her to be included but also, he'd gotten used to using her as a sounding board, right when he was having a thought.
"I'll figure something out," Jesse promised.
"I think that settles it. All right, everyone, go home for the night. Try to get some sleep," Joe ordered with a wink, knowing full well that Charlie and Rex weren't going anywhere just yet. The group said their goodbyes and that left Charlie, Sarah, and Rex alone.
"Have you eaten anything today?" She immediately asked him.
"I'm sure the vending machine down the hall has a lovely selection. As for Rex, I stashed some of his kibble in the closet," he chuckled.
"Good thinking," Sarah smirked as he got up and quickly made a bowl for his beloved pooch. Rex reluctantly hopped down and ate the food, while Charlie sat down on the bed edge. He leaned in and put his forehead to hers. They just sat there for a few moments, both wishing they could get closer than this. Charlie shifted his head and brought his lips to hers.
"I've missed that," Sarah said when they pulled apart.
"So, have I. You'll be home before you know it," he said.
"I can't wait but…" she paused.
"But what?" Charlie suddenly grew concerned and she could see the look on his face. She put her hand to the side of his face.
"The doctor said no hanky panky for a few weeks," she couldn't help but look disappointed.
"Oh well that just ruins all of my plans of holding you close and cuddling," Charlie chuckled. He knew that she would need to hold off on anything vigorous for a while. Sarah lightly swatted his arm.
"Kiss me Hudson," she told him.
"Yes ma'am," he said.
To Be Continued…