Shauna Stevens arrived at her morning shift to find the health care aid coming off the night shift had eaten a bad egg salad sandwich from the vending machine and was holed up in the staff bathroom feeling very unwell. Tarek Nadir was violently ill but Shauna cursed that he hadn’t called her in and let her work a double. He had gotten stranded on the island when the ferry shut down and then came begging for a job, having been a health care aid in Vancouver. She talked to him through the door and then took over and strived to catch up on what was now a backlog of tasks and patient checks. They didn’t have many overnighters but some of these folks hadn’t been checked since 5am and it was now approaching 8am. Shauna hustled and tried to hit them all before a nurse checked in and her coworker, who was pretty new and green, and literally green today, got himself fired. The last room in the hallway was the smoke inhalation patient, Molly Brown. She had been fairly stable but with breathing concerns it wasn’t ideal. Shaun breezed in and was ready to open up the blinds to let some daylight in “Mrs. Brown, how are you do….” Shauna froze at the empty bed before her “Oh shit!” She scrambled around the room, nearby bathrooms, checked to see if the woman had wandered into another room or down the hallway. Nothing. Now she had to make a terrible phone call before she facilitated the morning food services. Shauna was not great at confrontations and Dr. McKinney was very direct. She took a big breath and dialed her direct line, almost hoping to leave a message. Either way it would be awful. It rang and Shauna waited as she fidgeted with the collar on the top of her scrubs.
Susan usually made a point of coming into the clinic by the ER door, which was accessible by the doors leading outside on each of the three floors. On many days, it was the only time she got to see the outside of the building. Today, however she had slept in a bit and was just finishing dressing for the day, not that she was a terribly fashionable woman. No surgeries were planned, so she actually put on normal clothes. A denim skirt and blue blouse. “Can’t even get away from the color blue, Susan?” she murmured to herself. In her kitchen, she toasted an English muffin and was still chewing the last bite when her phone rang. It was the landline, which was saved for emergencies or people just calling to chat and few just called her to chat. Wiping her lips, she walked to the phone and picked up the receiver. “Dr McKinney.” her voice was between neutral and pleasant.
Shauna shifted her weight from foot to foot in a little nervous dance “Hi Doctor McKinney, this is Shauna Stevens. We um…...one of the……” she tools another breath “A patient is missing from her bed Doctor. Molly Brown. I went in to check on her and she wasn’t in her room, or any of the others, or the hallway.” She closes her eyes and scrunches up her face even though this was a phone conversation. Losing a patient was pretty much the worst thing that could happen in this job, aside from maybe killing one by accident.
Susan listens patiently as Shauna explains that Molly Brown is missing from her bed and, apparently the building. “Whose watch? You or Nadir?” she demands, crisply. “If he hasn’t left, you both check this hospital top to bottom again.” she barks all semblance of a good mood gone.
Shauna cringes and then admits “Tarek Nadir. But he’s very ill, can’t leave the bathroom…..said it might have been one of those egg salad sandwiches. I’ll find someone to help me search. I see Nurse Gregory. But Doctor, she was breathing without the machine on my last shift. Do you think maybe she just walked out?” Shauna waves urgently at Milo Gregory and he begins to walk over.
Susan tightens her jaw. “I’ll talk to him myself.” she tells Shauna when she hears this was all on his shift. “She may have, but that is a sure fire way to get a visit from the police, walking out without a word. Which is exactly what is about to occur.” she explains and hangs up. Looking at the clock on her coffee machine, she takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly before she calls the police. Then she heads down to the bathroom Tarek Nadir is holed up in and pounds on the door, insistently.
Josh Green walks out of his office after his call with Susan McKinney and barks. “Sharp. Peterson. My office.” and he returns to his desk, sitting and taking two Tylenol with his morning coffee.
Chris Peterson looks up from his computer screen and then minimizes what he’s working on and heads to the call from the chief. He glances at Frank as they walk in and then at Josh, seeing the Tylenol “Sir….” He greets simply, suspecting it’s better not to ask any questions but let the chief reveal what the assignment or need might be.
Frank walks in with Chris and makes notes of the Tylenol and the coffee. “Mornin, Chief.” it feels like they had just finished the morning briefing and yet here they were, on something new, perhaps?
Josh looks up. “Between 7 and 8, I got two phone calls. First was Hank. That fire at the Brown apartment was arson. Someone, I am guessing Molly Brown, stuffed up a bunch of newspaper and shoved them in the broiler with a tray of bacon. I had just put Yamada and Reinhardt on that one when I got the second call … this time from Dr. McKinney. Molly Brown is missing from the clinic. Now whether she just got up, snatched the oxygen off and the IV out and marched out or whether she was taken remains to be seen. I say that because the doctor seems to think Molly was taken because her husband Craig wanted to take her home with him the night of the fire.” he looks at them both. “You two go and see if she is at home. Look for her along the way. Talk to whoever is there and get back to me.” he pauses and considers. “Find out if Yamada and Reinhardt got that warrant yet. It’s an ongoing arson investigation so they might get you in if no one is home.”
Chris looks intrigued “You’re guessing Mrs. Brown? God we rarely see her.” Then he frowns that’s she’s missing “So you think she’s trying to outrun an arson charge?” He voices the obvious suspicion and nods “Yeah let’s pay her a visit. Do you think the husband was trying to cover for her?” He nods about Ryan and Mike and then nods at Frank “Let’s check it out.”
Josh looks sceptical. “I don’t know. She doesn’t seem the type, but … you never know.” he nos them out of his office and gets himself back to work, hoping this was as exciting as it got. But it was October … sohe held out little hope.
Michael was on the phone with the judge as they drove to the Bottoms and parked. “Yes, your honor, Chief Stanley is on board, but of course, he’s with the fire department.” he speaks into his earpiece as they approach the building, outside of which stands Phoenix Fire Moon. “Thank you ma'am. Could we get an electronic copy of that warrant. The landlord is right here. Yes ma’am. Thanks again ma’am.”
Phoenix had gotten the call barely three minutes before the police pulled up in front of his building. He was protective of his tenants rights, as most of them were quite poor. As the police approached, he stood directly in front of the door, looking completely relaxed, but blocking entry. He’s let them in on warrants in the past and on more than one occasion had to deal with them forcing entry and needed to have doors replaced.
Frank approached Phoenix. “We’re on the phone with the judge now. She’s going to scan the warrant and send it to Michael.”
Phoenix nods, but does not move. “I will let you in as soon as I read it.” he promises them. He had heard yelling from that apartment in the past, and had worried, but he also believed in minding his own business. “No one is home. I’m almost positive of that. The kids all have school today. And Craig works at the school.”
Ryan raises a brow at Phoenix but then smiles “Fair enough.” The guy knew his rights and the tenants rights “Good to have a decent landlord.” Ryan’s main connection with Phoenix was stuff like this. He was also partnered to Anna Wright who Ryan knew really well from Cedar Point through his sister and previously his brother’s romantic connection to Anna. Phoenix was proof that some people really didn’t have a type.
Chris followed the leadership of the detectives and the lieutenant and hung back while they did the talking. He gave Phoenix a nod though “Morning.” The guy was a curious entity in the town, always had been. Chris had grown up childhood friends with his cousin Cyrus Greggory. Cyrus even though his older cousin was odd, but liked him. Chris had a wistful moment about his old pal and then was ready to work “We just want to take a look in there. Won’t be too long.”
It feels like half a day, but is only about five minutes before Michael gets the email on his phone. He opened the graphic file and hands the phone to Phoenix, then steps back. Phoenix was a man who made damn sure all the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. If there were something wrong with the warrant, he’d be back on the phone.
Frank watches as Michael hands the phone over. Time is always of the essence in their work, but at least when they issued a warrant in the buildings in the bottoms, Phoenix made sure the warrant was as airtight as possible and that alone made it worth the wait.
Phoenix does indeed read the warrant. It’s only one letter page. “Alright. You can search the main living spaces. Kitchen and living room where the fire and smoke were contained. But I know they all came back that night, except for Molly, so they probably cleaned.” he now opens the building door and walks up to the Brown apartment, where he unlocks the door with his Master key. He will wait outside in the hall until they are done.
Ryan nods along with Phoenix but as soon as they’re inside and out of earshot he whispers to the other three cops “Like we’re not going to look in the bedrooms…” And quietly walks to do just that. What he finds surprises him because he can tell the two bedrooms are for the kids….from the clothes one for the two boys and one for the two girls. There’s really nothing unexpected in the kids rooms but he wonders about the age of all the kids since there’s also next to nothing beyond clothes and school supplies. From the sizes of clothes there is a younger boy and girl but almost no toys. His house with India and Jayla is full of Jayla’s things and her whole family has both bought and made her toys, so many they had to put up more shoves for them all to store them when she’s not playing with something. Plus she had more little clothes than all 4 of these kids put together at age 3. Ryan felt a little guilty at the life he and India could give their little girl when so many kids, like the Browns lived with less than the bare basics. He comes out into the livingroom and comments “There isn’t a third bedroom?”
Chris had been impressed a little by Phoenix being so picky about the warrant and as he passed he said “Thank you.” And then went in. He gloved up and searched part of the living room. Phoenix was right about no one being home. It was pretty spartan. The family lived simply. There was a TV but it was 20 years old and a DVD player and what looked like a garage sale assortment of DVDs, nothing really appealing to anyone he knew. They had some books but it was like a collection of books you’d find in a retirement home. They had some classics, Moby Dick, Tom Sawyer, Oliver Twist, The Catcher in the Rye, Wuthering Heights and a set of falling apart encyclopedias from possibly sometime in the 1980s. As well on the bookshelf was a large old copy of the King James Bible that looks very well read. Since he’d been poking around, when Ryan came out and asked about a third bedroom Chris lifted up a couch cushion “It’s a sofa bed. I assume Craig and Molly sleep in this room. That would be more than a little awkward.” He looks at Frank and Micheal as well directing the comment to everyone.
Frank gloved up and looked around with Chris. “Legally the kids must have their own room and after a certain age it’s boys in one room and girls in another. If you don’t have money for a third bedroom the parents wind up on the couch … or sleeper sofa.” she glances at Chris. “So yea … if you wind up with a boy and a girl, you need a three bedroom apartment, as I’m sure you know.” that was directed right at Chris, as she knows he and Noelle now are fostering Olvia permanently after Daisy and Joey murdered one another.. “But this place is clean as a whistle. Looks like some water damage from the fire department, but above and beyond.”
Michael walked in and looked in the bedrooms as well, then coming out and looking in the living room and kitchen area. He spends a lot of time staring at both rooms and then goes to the book collection. His hand moves to and rests on the large family bible, staring at it, but then goes back to looking at the room as a whole. “Big family bible. Sewing bag beside the chair by the window.” he looks around even more and reaches for the worn curtains at the window, examining them. “Hand stitching on the curtains. Trying to make the most of a small apartment with too many kids in it.” he murmurs. He looks around one last time. “Plus no Molly.” he went back to the bible and began to flip through the pages. Then, still carrying the bible, he goes to the sewing bag and lofts it onto the chair, bending over and rifling through it, pusing to look even at the bottom, and finally pulls out a twenty dollar bill. Then he moves the bible and flips over the cushion of the chair. There’s a small tear in it that’s been sewn shut but not knotted. He pulls the thread out with ease and feels inside with two fingers and pulls out two ten dollar bills. “OK, Molly hasn’t been here.” he pulls out some small evidence bags and puts the bills in them noting where he found what. “I’ll bet you anything this is her money. She can't go far on forty bucks, but if she were leaving, she’d take her money with her.”
Chris had heard Frank and he knew about the boy girl thing and the rooms. He answered her with a smile “Or a house.” Since they were about to move into his parent’s old house that hadn’t sold as a rental to start. “Yeah they cleaned.” He watches Michael then as she seems to be working up to something and then he finds a small stash of cash and Chris’s eyebrows go up “How did you guess that was there? And you’re right...not much on 40 but if it’s all she had she’d come for it.”
Ryan digested the whole cash find a little quicker than Chris but then had a counter point “She wouldn’t leave her 4 kids….I mean I know some people so but it was all she had right? Seh didn’t work...she was a mom. I’m not devaluing that at all but that was her whole life. Why risk those kids by setting a fire? There’s another layer here…..I mean maybe mental illness?”
Frank watches Michael as he examines and hunts down the 40 dollars. “You don’t see Molly Brown out much. When she is out, she’s with her husband.” she looks at Michael. “What are you thinking, Reinhardt.”
Michael sighs. “My mother had a stash like this. She had her own little rocking chair and sewing basket .. and my father wouldn’t touch it. I don’t know .. it was women's stuff.” he rolled his eyes. “But if Me or John needed pocket money for like going out, and Dad wouldn't give us any, my mother would slip us ten or twenty. Not often, but … she had a stash.” he licks his lips. “And the kitchen is clean as a whistle, although that doesn’t really matter because Hank said the fire came from newspaper balls on a sheet of bacon in the broiler. If Molly was anything like my mother … and if Craig is anything like my father … she was the only one who cooked. Well, her and the girls. Right now, I’m thinking Molly started the fire. But now she’s gone. So we’d better find her.” he looks around.
While this conversation was happening, morning cleanup was going on in the Olin Motel. Alice Stapleton was the head housekeeper with one girl under her, but that girl had been complaining for an hour about being sick, although Alice suspected that she was more hung over than genuinely ill. Amber was ‘one of those girls’ as far as Alice was concerned. Young and always leaving her uniform top unbuttoned and showing off her ta-tas Alice was 64 and well beyond all that nonsense. She got up early and worked hard, even harder since Harold had died and she was a widow. She had cleaned all but room 4 on the second. Even though she was not very superstitious, she dreaded cleaning that room, and before its renovations, Room 9. That just always happened to be where bad things happened. But this time, there was nothing going on. She cleaned it, made the bed and got out. Her trash bag now full, she rolled it to the dumpster along the wall of the Alexandra Laundromat. Opening the dumpster lid, she lifted the bag to throw it inside … and began screaming.
Ryan had some awareness of how bad things were for Mike and John growing up and what Kaitlin went through so this didn’t surprise him, but every piece he learned made him deeply sad for all of them. “I trust your call on that Reinhardt.” He blows out a breath and walks around a bit looking over things until his phone rings and he looks winded by information “Yeah….we’ll be right there.” He clicks it off “Body of a woman found at the Olin….in the dumpster by a housekeeping staff person. That’s two now for October at the Olin….well three technically if we’re talking body count. I have a …..let’s just go see…” He doesn't want to say he thinks it might be Molly, but he thinks it might be Molly. Of course Joey Piccolo and Daisy Dale were the first of the October murders.
Chris had been humbled and felt great compassion as Micheal explains about the stash of cash from his own lived experience. He had no idea that was in the guy’s childhood. What a shitty shitty deal from the sounds of it. Then Ryan got a call and told them there was a body and Chris closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair and then nodded, ready to go to the Olin. The first double murder that had happened there already had been a whirlwind of things to he and Noelle and the kids. It had made them an instant family of four but it was bittersweet the way it happened with such a tragic end to Olivia’s mother.
Frank had known about Michael’s life, so his words made some sense to her. But then Ryan gets a call and she sighs. “What month is it again?” she murmurs, heading out and waving a distracted goodbye to Phoenix as she does.
Michael watches Ryan through his phone call and can tell just by his face that its bad, whatever it is. “Yea, let’s just go see.” he says sarcastically, heading out the door with the rest. “Thanks. Phoenix. We got everything we need for now.” and they all head over to the Olin. It’s only a block away, but the drive feels far, far longer than it could possibly really be.
At the Olin it felt like the walk from the cruiser was happening in slow motion or underwater. Ryan saw Amber Martin with her arm and a blanket around the shoulders of an ashen faced trembling Alice Stapleton. A few passer bys had stopped to gawk. The screaming had drawn them like moths to the flame. And it really didn’t help that it was the second murder scene that month at the old and thoguht to be cursed motel. The lid to the dumpster was open still and Ryan walked with the group of cops towards it. He could immediately see a hand hanging limp over a bag of trash, a pale small human hand. He hated this part of his job.
Chris felt a pit in his stomach as they approached the dumpster. There was definitely a hand early in the view. Chris swallowed hard and made himself go closer, brown curly hair with edges of grey and a dress made out of the same fabric as the curtains of the apartment they’d just been in. A dress with small red and blue flowers stained with blood. She was obscured by garbage bags a bit from the angle they were standing so Chris jogged up to the next level and then from the top down he could see the body perfectly. He hadn’t seen Molly Brown for a long
time though and he frowned “Is it her?”
Frank was a very short woman. A solid five foot tall. So the wasn’t looking in that dumpster from the ground, so she went with Chris to the second floor landing. Looking down she sighs. “Yea. It’s her.”
Michael could see into the dumpster with ease and did. He blew out a breath. “Yea. That’s Molly Brown.” He heard the sirens of the ambulance and assumed someone had additionally called 911, who would have called the clinic to pick up the body. He and Ryan began to canvass the hotel and, within an hour, found out that Craig Brown had rented room 4 for him and his wife. Inside of Room 4 they found that the room had been cleaned of most evidence. Once Chris was done with the SOC photos, they would go down and search the dumpster.
Chris took the crime scene photos with Molly’s body still in the dumpster. It was of course disturbing to him but as he barely knew the woman maybe not as disturbing as it could be for Frank or Michael. Molly was around their age and all of them were Alexandra natives. They probably went to school with her. It would be unsettling for him to have to photograph any of his old school peers. From what he could see she had been stabbed violently through the chest and torso several times and then her throat had been slit horizontally. He wasn’t in a crime lab or a coroner but the throat blood looked fresher and he suspected the throat was slit after she was dead. An odd and even more disturbing choice. Molly’s eyes were open, expressionless and haunting as she seemed to be looking out of the dumpster, towards Michael and Ryan.
Ryan was standing by the dumpster and ready to make notes or take evidence for bagging as needed but he was reluctant to go in. Micheal of course was fearless but with the SOC team’s arrival he at least had a protective suit on. But before they got too far into the filth his phone rang and he answered it “Chief? Uh...yeah we’ll be right there….” He looked at Michael “We have to go in for an emergency briefing.” He looked up to the second floor for Chris and Frank “Sharp! Peterson! We have to go in for a meeting!” The SOC team could finish the dumpster dive and they’d regroup with them after the meeting.
Michael had just jumped into the dumpster after taking off his suit jacket and getting into the extra large protective suit. He looks at Ryan in near disbelief. “Figgers.” he hopped back out and shimmied out of the disposable suit; he could pick up another for the car later.
Josh was pacing in his office when his four cops returned. Marcus Lawrey was also in the office, changed into plain clothes.. “There is a new development.” he told them. “A set of fingerprints on Craig Brown came back to us as belonging to Lyle Fremont. He is wanted for killing his wife and two kids years ago.” he tightens his jaw. “Now this wife is dead and he is in the same school with four of his kids.” he looks at Frank. “Because you and Lawry both work in the school, I want you two to go in and extract the children and put them in protective custody until we can get them someplace safe. Go home and change, then go. This guy has vanished and changed his identity once already, I don’t want him doing it again.” he looks at the others. “Everyone else is on the search for Freemont/Brown. Be ready to take the police boat on a chase, in case he decides to steal a boat and make a run for it. There’s no ferry, so we can be grateful for that much.” he nods to them to go. “Fucking October.”
The Alexandra police force set to their tasks with vigilance and determination. Meanwhile in a closed meeting in the Alexandra Academy’s principal’s office Vera sat down across from Arthur and looked between Marcus Lawry and Frank Sharp with grave concern “Detective ...Lieutenant ...what’s all this about?” All she was aware of was that their two part time teachers were there today in their other roles, their police roles and this was a closed door meeting with instructions of discretion to both secretaries.
It had been a hell of a morning already with a student from 7-8 storming out after telling another student off about what seemed to be potential accusations of lewd behaviour at the dance. She’d heard about it already but now apparently there was online bullying over the weekend. Vera had spent some of her morning with Arthur trying to join and understand Twitter and follow the many threads. There had also been a string of parent emails to contend with which they split and tried to answer. By her lunch break she had sent Joseph a desperate text:
I am escaping this building by 4pm today and I need a large glass of wine and your company. Meet me at Statutes for a “friendly “ drink?
Craig Brown was going about his work day with the illusion of normalcy. He had repaired a door hinge, adjusted the thermostat and mopped up a chemical spill in one of the labs like he was just a regular day in the life custodian. In the idle times between tasks, his hands shook and he threw up twice in the staff bathroom. The stress was eating him from the inside out. He knew his children’s schedules, what classes at what times. With the younger two it was easier because most of what they did was all in one room but he had looked in Hayley’s school binder for her timetable and written it down and then Maddox seemed to have lost his so he actually had lied to George Arnett pretending his son had forgotten an assignment to get George to look up what class Maddox had so he could look over the man’s shoulder at his master copy. There was no assignment of course. Wil was asking him a lot of questions after hearing him throw up “Do you need to go home? Do you want some pepto bismol….was it something you ate….” Craig deferred all questions and gave non answers “I have a condition….it’s just flaring….gallbladder or pancreas...damned doctors can’t decide which.”
Frank was the senior ranking officer, so she explained. “A man named Lyle Freeman, many, many years ago killed his wife and children, then escaped justice by running off and changing his name." she didn't want to drag it out. "To Craig Brown. Molly Brown was discovered dead in a dumpster outside of the Olin Motel and we have reason to believe that Craig Brown, also known as Lyle Freeman is her killer, as they were killed in exactly the same way." she took a deep breath. “We’re taking her children into protective custody. But as Brown works here, we need to do it as quietly as possible. Which is what we need you to do right now.”
Marcus listened to Frank and then added. “Mr VanBuren, we’d like you to collect the boys. Ms Fisher, you can get the girls. Once we have them, we will take them to a safe location until Brown can be apprehended.”
Arthur listens to the officers and closes his eyes, collecting himself. This day just got much worse. He’d been worried about all of the fallout from the Friday dance and this was just that much more for him and Vera to deal with. But they could do it … even something as horrific as this. He glances at the clock and then turns to his computer. “Alright.” he says with calmness he learned in the military. “Let’s find out where the kids are and we’ll bring them here for you right away.”
Vera listens intently and her hand goes over her heart as Frank tells them Craig Brown had killed his wife Molly. “Oh dear god….” She murmurs. She looks completely shaken but she nods and works to collect herself “We’ll collect them. We’ll do everything we can to get those children out of harm’s way.” She nods at Marcus “Understood.” she had brought her laptop in which was her habit for meeting with Arthur and now she opens it “Laura’s class is in the 3-4 classroom this period so that’s easy….” She clicks around “Dustin’s class is headed to gym class.” she clicks over a page “Hayley’s class ...she’s in the Art room. Right beside the custodian’s office. I’ll be careful.” she clicks again “Maddox’s class is headed to the biology lab..” She closes the laptop and sets it on a corner of Arthur’s desk and then stands up smoothing her skirt a bit anxiously and forcing herself to take 2 or three deep breaths “OK….let’s do this..” Vera smooths her hair and then heads out. This is by far the worst thing she’s walked students through as an administrator or in any school she’s worked in. She decides to go farthest to closest in her collecting so Hayley’s art class is first. She pokes her head in trying to look cheerful “Mrs. Carpenter, may I borrow Hayley Brown for a quick chat?” Shannon Carpenter gestures Hayley to the door, giving her permission to go and then get back to a demonstration of a charcoal drawing technique for the class.
Hayley walks up to Ms Fisher timidly “Am I in trouble?” It is the vice principal after all.
Vera tries to sound southing “No dear, not at all. But we need to collect your little sister Laura and …..I need you to trust me ok?” She is not going to make up a lie. “Can you do that?”
Hayley nods slowly “Yes Ma’am.” She is nervous but has no idea what it’s all about. Ms. Fisher was a kind and trustworthy adult though so she followed her towards Miss Agnor’s classroom to get Laura.
Craig Brown was in the elementary area of the school under the guise of disinfecting an area. He was trying to do the rounds and keep half an eye on his kids. He heard Ms. Fisher’s familiar heels clicking on the hallway floor and ducked into an empty supply closet, just peeking out the door where he could see the 3-4 classroom door. He blinked as Hayley walked up to it with Ms. Fisher. What was she doing out of class? Why were they….he watched ...like a hawk.
Ms. Fisher had a similar pleasant exchange with Miss Agnor and Laura was sent out looking a little frightened. “It’s ok. You’re not in trouble. But I need you both to come with me ok? Hayley’s here…” She could see the connection between the girls immediately.
Hayley took little Laura by the hand “It’s ok Laura. She’s nice.” And the three walked towards the office and inside efficiently to Mr. Van Burran’s office where the police teachers were waiting. Now the two girls huddled together looking apprehensive. She knew Marcus from Daniel’s house too but he looked very serious right now.
Craig’s face hardened and he paced around the supply closet after flicking the light on “God dammit…” He muttered. They knew...they knew something anyways. He tilted his head to the large cold air return vent and then hastily ripped the vent cover off it’s screws and climbed in. They’d just supervised the duct cleaning before school started and Craig was well aware of how the ducts and vents connected. He began to carefully and quietly crawl.
Arthur collected the boys and brought them back to his office. There they were soon met by Vera, Haley and little Laura.
Maddox looked around the room. Principal, Vice Principal, his brother, sisters, a history teacher and a music teacher. The thing was, he knew well that the teachers were also cops. He placed himself in front of his siblings and faced the adults. “What’s going on here?” he demands, with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Frank stepped forward as both the senior officer and the smallest female adult. Maddow had behavior problems enough and she didn’t want to upset him. “I’ll let your uncle tell you.” she tells him. “For now, you four are coming to your uncle's house with Officer Lawry and myself.”
Marcus said nothing, but looked perfectly ready to back Frank.
Arthur stepped forward. “You kids are not in any sort of trouble.” he glances at Frank. Maddox could get stubborn and he didn’t need that. None of them did. “There has been a family emergency. Your uncle has the details. Just take your brother and sisters and go with the officers, son. Please.”
Maddox looked at the principal. He was a principal, but VanBuren had always been fair .. for a dick principal. And the vice principal looked nervous a little bit. Upset. A family emergency made him think about his mother and that fire from a couple of days ago. “Okay …” he finally looks at his siblings. “Let’s go. Laura, it’ll be fun to see what town looks like when everyone is in school, won’t it? And it’s a pretty day out.” he looks at Haley and gives her a nod.
Frank nods and straightens, leading the kids out of the office and into one of the department's two unmarked cars, this one a light grey SUV. She gets in behind the wheel and as they started to drive away from the school, she got on the radio. “This is Sharpe. We have the kids and are delivering them to their uncle.”
Marcus stayed in the office for a moment, getting on the radio to the Chief. Green sent four officers to search the school with Marcus. It was the best he could do with officers already at the Olin motel and the Brown apartment, now searching it again for clues. The Alexandra PD was stretched as thin as a crepe. But Marcus made five officers and they searched the school as thoroughly as they could without alerting the teachers or students. Arthur had insisted they not cause either gossip or panic in their search.
Craig snaked his way around and hid, peeking out the occasional vent. There were unfamiliar people wandering the school with that black cop history teacher. He guessed them to be police officers and stayed hidden waiting for their little patrol to thin out. He needed an exit, but he was a patient man. Maybe they’d assume he’d left. He moved slowly and cramped up his legs waiting until he realized he was a stone’s throw from the main office at one point. He couldn’t appear at the front counter. They’d see him. He snaked slowly over Arthur VanBurren’s office but he was in there talking to that obnoxious black lunch lady.
Lydia Alvin had a small receipt ledger and a checklist in her lap and she was talking about late payments for the lunch program “Arthur, how much of a hard ass should I be about these late payments? I don’t want to kick anyone out….I know some of these folks might be lower income families. At the same time I need to pay our supervisors on time. And of all the clueless jackasses...I got Craig Brown asking me if it’s free for his kids to stay for lunch because he works here…….well guess what buster...I work here too...i run the damned program….and I pay for my foster kids, even holding a spot for Dante. The Stevens family pays on time…..all the teachers and secretaries with kids….well not the Wheelers yet….Rob’s a little scatterbrained..” She throws up her hands and sighs.
Vera was determined to get out of the school. The police were still patrolling but she was a phone call away. She almost cancelled her drink date but now she needed it more than ever. Craig hadn’t been found. He probably left hours ago. The kids were safe at least. She felt shaky and really needed to even just sit across from Joseph and hear him talk with his soothing voice and kind face. She walked out of her office in a daze and forgot her purse. So she went back in and unlocked the room and got it. Making it to the hallway she realized she would be a minute or two late so she went to text Joseph and realized she forgot her phone. “Oh for god’s sakes…” She went back towards the office but was ambushed by one of the secretaries with a layout question about the school newsletter.
Arthur was stressed and trying not to look it. The school day had to go on 'as normal'. The end of the day for the students was no the end of the day for him, so he had a meeting with Lydia Alvin, who sat in a chair in his office with her ledger in her lap. But his attention was a bit torn. "You have to be a hard ass. You know that." he'd told her. But then she mentioned Craig Brown and he felt his whole body tense up The last person he wanted to be tense around was Lydia Alvin. The exact opposite, in fact. When she throws up her hands, he moves to her shair and leans over her. "Right now I could honestly give a fuck less about the school lunch program." he tells her. "Right now, I need you." and he leans in for a deep, soulfelt kiss on his secret lovers lips.
Lydia could see Arthur was struggling with something bigger than her lunch program billing problems. He was tense today, really tense and it made her worry for him. Then he does something bold for where they’re sitting and tells her he could give a fuck about the lunch program. She’s about to give him a cheeky answer on that when he tells her he needs her, and kisses her, soulfully. Lydia is taken aback by his timing but these moments were so few and far between she just lets her ledge and checklist fall from her lap and throws her arms around Arthur, kissing him back happily, hoping she can ease his stress with her affections.
Vera squinted at the first paragraph of the newsletter “OK before you hit print Aisha...let me double check this with Arthur as it’s his message to the parents….I’m not sure that is a typo….”
Aisha nodded “OK thank you…..shoot Ms. fisher...I need to get Shanika to her piano lesson. I know these don’t go out until tomorrow though. Can you leave me a note if there are changes?”
“Of course….” She watches Aisha get out...on time for her daughter and then is about to go grab her phone when she sighs at the newsletter “It’s a yes or no question...I’ll just ask him…” In her haste to get her answer and get out she opens Arthur’s door and walks right in. “Arthur I was wonde….oh my!” Arthur and Lydia Alvin are kissing, quite passionately. Vera stammers “So….so...sorry I thought you were in here alone…..” She holds up a hand “Carry on….I’ll ask you tomorrow…” she starts to back out again.
Arthur relishes the kiss. He got so few of them and they were so far between, but today he desperately needed the comfort he found in Lydia. She kisses him back and a bit of the stress melts away. Then his office door pops open with Vera and a question. He breaks away, perhaps not as fast as he once would have and rests his forehead on Lydia’s. “Ah, to the 7 hells with it.” he straightens and looks at Vera. “No … no .. come on in. It’s … OK…” he looks at Lydia, as if asking her … is it OK? Really? Vera is a trusted employee, after all. His right hand when he is working.
Craig had seen it all through the vent and cringed. The only boss he had respected ….VanBuren….mixing it up with one of those people, and the worst of them, loud pushy Lydia, thinking she could ask him about his children’s lunch money and telling on him for not paying. No respect. Just disgusting. He can’t stand to be near it so he snakes away on his belly towards the other office. Let them have their race mixing and their little chats. Once he’s over Vera’s office he works on the vent cover rocking it back and forth until it pops off and he carefully lowers it as he drops down onto her desk and ducks behind it.
Lydia can’t help but smile as Arthur doesn’t completely pull away and she chuckles when he says to the 7 hells with it. She looks at Vera too and grins “Mmmhmm. It’s ok. We’re all capable of being professional and discreet. Just had a moment.” She looks at Arthur.
Vera does step in and shut the door for a moment looking between them and letting out a giant sigh of relief “I had no idea….but I am discreet. Believe me…” She can’t help but be glad her co administrator has love in his life to ease what’s happened in their day too and it makes her happy for them and also makes her realize how much she misses and needs Joseph. “Aisha wanted me to double check your first paragraph in the newsletter. I’m going to leave that with you, stop interrupting this because believe me i get it. And ….go meet a date of my own. A story for another day, now that I know it’s safe to tell.” And then she looks at the clock and winces. She was supposed to meet Joseph at 4 and it’s 4:15….and her phone “Carry on. And congratulations?” She zips her lip and then steps out. She takes out her keys again and opens up her office and rushes in only to almost trip over something behind her desk which turned out to be a someone…...Craig Brown springs up at her holding a knife and Vera screams louder than she’s ever imagined she would in her life.
Craig gets burst in on as he’s planning to make his way out the window and in his panic whips out the knife, the one he’d killed Molly with and threatens Ms Fisher. He advances on her and slams her door shut and then pins her to the wall with the knife at her throat “Now you listen here pretty lady….there’ll be no more of that noise you hear me? You’re gonna be my ticket out of here….” His face moves so his nose is almost touching her cheek.
Vera turns away from Craig’s breath on her and can feel her entire being tremble. She feels the blade of the knife resting against the flesh of her neck “You don’t have to do this…” She pleads.
Arthur chuckles as Vera explains she can be discrete. He’d never had a doubt about that. Then she mentions someone of her own, and although he is curious, he lets her leave his office without interrogation. Then he looks at Lydia. “I’m glad you didn’t mind that…” he begins and then he hears a scream from the other room. Vera! “Fuck!” he pulls out his phone and is texting while he heads out of his office, running into Marcus Lawry on the way.
Marcus had finished another swep of the school now that all of the students had gone home, after-school classes being cancelled with no warning to the staff. Now he needed to talk to VanBuren about the next possible steps. He walks into the main office and hears a scream. He pulls out his gun, even as he determines that the scream is coming from the Vice Principals office. Not bothering with the niceties of knocking and hoping she just saw one of Alexandra’s legendary spiders and will tell him off, he kicks her door open and enters, scanning the room and in less than a second seeing and training his gun on Craig Brown. “Let her go, take three steps away, put your hands on the back of your head and get on your knees.” he orders, his voice professionally calm and working his way around Vera’s desk to face the man and his hostage without the desk between them.
Joseph had waited and Vera had not arrived. He considers Thanksgiving and he considers Ruth and imagines her being kept late by his precocious daughter and chuckles, deciding to head for the school and meet her there. If nothing else, they can just pretend they had randomly run into each other. But at the school there is a police officer blocking his entrance. As he is about to ask what the police are doing at the school, he hears a muffled scream. Vera!
Lydia was looking at Arthur with love. She had been getting done with hiding so maybe this was fortuitous, at least with one or two people. She smiled as he spoke but then heard the scream and jumped to her feet as well “Oh no!” She didn’t know wht Vera was screaming but from Arthur’s reaction it was something really bad going down. She follows him out but hangs back. Marcus Lawry appears and then he kicks down the door. Lydia is shocked. What was happening? She looks at Arthur but then from the secretary's desk picks up a left behind coffee thermos and holds it like she’s ready to wack someone if need be. It was just her way.
Craig startled at the door being kicked open and pressed the knife harder against Vera’s neck, cutting her a bit but not deeply. But he looks back and sees the gun in Marcus’s hand and hears him. He pauses briefly and it’s unclear what he might do but then he pulls the kniff odd Vera and drops it as he steps back and sinks to his knees, hands going to his head as he grits his teeth.
Vera gasped shakily as she felt the knife cutting into her and the door burst open. This was it….Craig Brown was going to kill her….she felt her life flash before her for a moment in a jumble of her children, grandchildren and Joseph, wishing she had more time but then Marcus has a gun and demands Craig step back and let her go and by some miracle he does. Vera’s hands go protectively to her neck and are instantly covered in blood but it’s superficial and she can tell...she’s alive….She backs away from Craig and Marcus’s position, scrambling really to the furthest wall and flattening against it as she waits for it all to be over with a mix of relief and terror.
Arthur comes into the room behind Marcus and inhales deeply, letting out a calming breath. Craig Brown has a knife to his Vice Principals throat. He reaches out an arm instinctually to stop Lydia. It’s part of who he is. But then Craig lets Vera go and he begins to relax.
Marcus is relieved when Craig lets his hostage go. He begins to step forward, putting his gun in its holster behind his back and securing it. “Lyle Freeman, you are under arrest for the murder of Molly Brown…” Craig had changed his name, just not legally and so for the arrest to be official, he uses the mans legal name. He handcuffs Craig and pulls him to his feet, leading him out of the room and out of the building to the waiting squad car.
Joseph was about to bully his way into the building when the cop, also hearing the scream opened the door to enter. Joseph went with him and as they approached the Administrative offices, Marcus Lawry comes out with a man Joseph doesn’t recognise in handcuffs. Ignoring that, Joseph goes into the office he knows to be Vera’s, sees the blood and blinks. “God, are you alright?” he moves to her to tenderly look at the wound, even though he isn’t a doctor.
Arthur watches Craig led away and heads for Vera when a man he thinks is one of the Samuels family comes in and heads straight for Vera as if he and Lydia aren't even in the room. “A good question, Vera.” he asks. “Do you need to go to the clinic?”
Vera was almost holding her breath until Craig was led away by Marcus. Then Arthur and Lydia both move towards her but before they get to her Joseph walks in and asks if she’s alright. She hears Arthur’s question too and starts to answer but it just comes out as a sob. “No…” She chokes a bit “And no..” She’s shaking like a leaf and randomly grabs at her desk and a tissue box pressing several tissues to her throat before impulsive and desperately collapsing into Joseph’s chest and crying.
Lydia had felt Arthur’s arm halting her and got it. But as Marcus stops a man with a knife to Vera’s throat and arrests him she lowers the thermos back to the desk. When they come out and he’s being led away she can see it’s Craig Brown and her eyes go wide “What the hell…” She says in disbelief. Then she goes towards Vera but low and behold Joseph Samuels comes into the room and passes her going right to Vera. Her undate…...but they seem close. Lydia raises a brow and looks at Arthur and then slips back out the door again to grab the first aid kit she knows is in the main office. Vera is cut and trying to deal with it using tissues.
The officer that had walked in with Joseph now walks into the office and seeing the knife on the floor he gloves up and bags it and radios it in “Chief I have a possible murder weapon here…..” He looks to the group “Is anyone injured? We will need your statements shortly…..while they’re still fresh…I’m Officer Austin Baxter….oh hey Mom” He gives Lydia a half grin.
Joseph will lead Vera to her desk chair if she lets him. “Sit, then, at least.” he takes another tissue and adds it to her cut. He’d listened to the goings on around him and looks around at Arthur. “Murder. God, not one of the children, I hope.” he sounds alarmed.
Arthur watches Joseph and starts to get the idea that he might be Vra’s little secret. “No, Mr Samuels … but close. He’s got kids hee. He works … worked here. He killed his wife. It’s a mess. But the kids are safe … all of them. His and our students.”
Joseph nods and looks at Vera with concern. “He tried to take you hostage? Schmuck.” he looks at her, carefully and suddenly realises what he's doing and how it might look. He just doesn’t care.
Vera gets led to her chair and sits. She’s still on the verge of tears the whole time even though she manages to compose herself “We got the children out ok….his children….” Now she breaks down “He killed his other children...his first family...I can’t even imagine…” It’s all too horrible for Vera. She looks at Joseph with agony, sharing her raw pain with him despite the others looking at her. “I think I startled him….trying to hide in here?”
Lydia pats Austin on the arm “Good to see you...I wish it wasn’t like this.” She can tell there’s something between Joseph and Vera but she’s more concerned with Vera’s cut. “I’m not trying to butt in...but can I help you with your neck...and have you had a tetanus shot…..” She’s speaking in mom first aid as she opens the kit for an antiseptic wipe. “Hi Joseph.” Lydia greets with a small chuckle, despite it all.
Arthur sighs deeply and suddenly blinks as he realizes that the officer wanting to take their statements is one of Lyda’s old fosters and his old student. “Yes. Austin. Of course…” he sees Joseph and Vera and grins a bit.
Joseph holds Vera if he can while she breaks down. “It is horrible.” he agrees. “And I expect you did startle him. Trying to escape, I expect.” he sighs and then moves out of Lydia’s way and bites his lip. “Lydia.” he replies. He looks at Arthur. “Mr Van Buren….” he begins and then isn’t really sure what to say or if this is even the time. But he isn’t leaving Vera until he is alright.
Austin is on duty and smiles at Arthur as well briefly “Mr. VanBuren.” He does a sweep of the room. The lady that was held hostage is clearly still very upset. He notices the vent cover on the floor behind the desk and looks up at the duct entryway “Huh…..he used the vents…good thing he wasn’t a big guy or he might have fallen through the ceiling tiles. I mean not good thing in how it all came to this…..” He makes a note and takes a photo and then steps out of the room looking around and trying to guess where the ducts from the office lead to.
Lydia hears Austin sort of talking out loud as he investigates and smiles wryly as she begins to clean up Vera’s neck. She looks at Joseph and Vera “Don’t worry.” She tosses the wipe and gets out some gauze and tape.
Vera gives Arthur and Lydia a brief knowing look but doesn’t out them. She does look at Joseph “We’re fine…..apparently. That’s all I’ll say about it.” She calls out to Austin “Mr. Stevens probably has a map of those...we just had them cleaned…..”
Arthur offers a small smile to Joseph. “Yes. Everything is fine.” he looks at Austin. “I suppose so.” he replies dryly. Vera is patched up by Lydia. “Alright Austin. Let’s get these statements out of the way. It’s been a hard and stressful day and I still have work to do.” as much as he would like nothing more than to go home and hope Lydia will make excuses to see him, he is far more realistic than that. It’s mid week ad all of them have things to delay them.
Joseph keeps one hand on Vera’s shoulder as Lydia takes care of her. He nods at her telling them not to worry. That's one thing off of his mind. Now he only had to wait for Ruth to interrogate Vera and find her a suitable match for him. He’ll stay with Vera until she can go home, but he knows tonight is the worst night that they can sleep together.
Austin takes all the statements and some more of his crew show up after. They figure out the path Craig took to a certain extent through the ventilation. There’s a vent cover off in a supply closet that’s across from one of the classrooms his youngest was in so that’s a likely starting point.
Vera just looks drained after giving her statement and starts gathering her things “Oh my god…..I need to call Landon and Ronja when I get home so they don’t hear about this through anyone else.” It’s just she and Joseph in her office at the end “Ronja knows...she guessed so I admitted it. She won’t spill it until we’re ready to though. I have a good daughter in law. And you need to go be with your children Joseph. You might want to warn Daniel if he doesn’t know about Hayley’s father…..oh my god they’re so young…..this is so much…”
Lydia goes to collect her things in Arthur’s office after her statement is given and she’s hugged Austin on duty and embarrassed him and guilted him for not calling her enough. Always a mom to so many. Now she stooped to grab her ledger and checklist and looked at it like it was insignificant “I can’t believe I was yammering at you about the bloody lunch program. Arthur I had no idea.” She actually shuts his door and pulls him into a hug “I have to get home but we can talk tonight, later after my young ones are asleep.”
Joseph is relieved that the officer didn’t ask anything inappropriate or make him step in as an attorney. When they are finally alone, he grins about Ronja and then starts. “Oh my god, I don’t know.” he blows out a breath. They only just started dating but Daniel is over the moon about her.” he does offer her a small grin. “Once you’re feeling better, you should arrange to get trapped alone with Ruth. She has many questions before she gives her stamp of approval. But once she does I want to surprise her with the news that we already are a thing.” he hopes for a small smile. “But for now … go home and rest. I will FaceTime with you tonight, alright?”
Arthur hugs Lydia once she closes the office door. “It is my job not to worry parents,” he reminds her. “But I needed you, Lydia. And yes. I will be ready when they’re out.” he promises and kisses her softly. They are not totally out but they are out enough. No longer secret. He only wished it could have been better. And he worries for his four students facing a terrible turn in their lives.
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