Bo paced Abe's office waiting for him to arrive. He felt as if he'd been there for hours, when, in reality, it had been less than a half an hour. Abe walked in looking confused, and exhausted. He'd been with Billie Reed for hours. He glanced at Bo quickly, saying, "She won't see anyone right now."
"Me? Abe! She's refusing to see me?" Bo cried. "This doesn't make any sense! Why would she do something like this!"
"That's what we're trying to figure out, Bo. She came into the station early this morning. She was covered in blood, and they called me right away. She specifically asked for me. She gave me her sworn statement, and she refused an attorney," Abe told him. "There's nothing I can do. It's completely out of my hands now, and up to the DA."
"This—this doesn't...and she won't see me? At all?"
"No," Abe said, slowly. "Billie has asked to see three people...and she has refused to see you. I'm sorry."
"Who does she want to see? This makes no fucking sense!"
Abe didn't answer him at first, but finally said, "She wants to see Mickey...and she's asked to see Marlena and John."
"What the fuck?" Bo said, nearly shaking with tension. "I don't understand. I don't understand this at all! Why would she hunt someone down, and kill them in cold blood? Why would she do something like that?"
"I don't know. In her statement, she was quite candid about what she did...but Bo, she's not saying why she did it."
"Roman fucking left, and now everything has gone gone to hell. How could he leave her like this? The baby is coming in less than four months. My parents are too old to raise this child. Roman has gone off, deciding to be some fucked up secret agent who can't handle the realities of his own life, and now Billie...Abe, she's—she's not getting out of this. It was too calculated...too violent."
Abe thought about Billie's description of the murder of Curtis Brown. Bo was right. It was cold, calculated...malicious. His gut was telling him, it was also deeply personal, but if that was the case, Billie Reed wasn't telling. "Look, Bo, when Marlena comes...I'll have her wear a wire. Maybe, just maybe, she can get Billie to talk. We might be able to figure out the why...okay?"
Marlena knocked on the door to Abe's office. Opening it slowly she said, "Abe? I came as soon as I could."
"Marlena...is John with you?" Abe asked her.
"Yes, he's parking the car, but, he's coming. We had to see if Carrie could watch the twins. I'm sorry it took so long for us to get here."
"Billie Reed turned herself in this morning," Abe said. "She's asking for you."
"Turned herself in? Abe, what did she do?"
"She murdered Curtis Brown," Bo said. "But she won't say why."
"She's five months pregnant! Roman's gone...didn't she think about the baby?"
"We can't get a motive out of her. I was hoping...we were hoping, you might wear a wire when you speak with her—"
"—I can't," Marlena said. "If she won't tell you her motive...I can't trick her into it. She confessed?"
"She did, but, Marlena...without a cause, without a motive, this is going to go very badly for her!"
"Please! Marlena, we—I need to know what would make her do something like this. She gave her statement, but I know her...she's not a cold blooded killer. Something else is going on here," Bo said in desperation.
"I'll speak with her, Bo...but it won't be recorded," Marlena said. "I can't betray someones trust like that. Not in this type of situation."
"She could get the death penalty for this!" Bo cried. "Marlena, how can I help her, if I don't know what's going on?"
Marlena looked at Abe, "Why is she asking for me?"
"I don't know. She's asked for Mickey, too, but he hasn't arrived yet," Abe told her.
John entered the office, mumbling about parking, and quickly realized that he'd interrupted an intense conversation, glancing at Marlena, he said, "You want to catch me up?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marlena and John entered the room where Billie was handcuffed to the table. It was a nondescript room with cinder block walls, and metal furniture. Billie looked up at them hopefully, as they took their seats. Marlena had worked on cases in the precinct before, so this type of situation wasn't completely foreign to her. She said softly, "Billie, you asked us to come here."
Billie was quiet for a moment, and then she said softly, "I killed Curtis Brown."
"I read your statement," Marlena told her. "Bo, Abe...everyone who knows you, Billie we don't understand what would make you do something like this."
"I—I killed him. Does it matter why?"
"It does. It matters a lot, if you're going to come up with a defense," Marlena said.
"What defense do I have? I wanted him dead. I tracked him down, and I killed him. Is there a defense for that?"
"There might be," John said quietly. "Billie, I was a police officer for seven years, and I don't feel like you're a killer. Not the way your statement makes you sound."
"I—I can't say why," she said, barely above a whisper. "I—I can't tell anyone."
"But you wanted me and John to come. Why?" Marlena asked her.
"Curtis Brown deserved to die," Billie said, without emotion. "I'd do it all over again, if I could guarantee that he wasn't around to threaten and hurt people. My baby...he's going to grow up in a world that's better, because Curtis fucking Brown isn't in it."
Marlena leaned forward, reaching for Billie's hand, "You know, Bo and Abe...they wanted me to wear a wire when I met with you."
Billie's eyes widened, "What?"
"I wouldn't do it, but Billie, I need to know why...because this isn't who you are. You are not a murderer."
"I am now."
"But why?"
"I can't," she sobbed. "I'd rather—I'm so ashamed..."
"Billie, I have spent years of my life working with people, helping people, and you...you aren't a cold-blooded killer," Marlena told her. "Curtis Brown hurt you, but how?" Billie started crying, and looked down at the table.
"Billie?" John said very quietly. She looked up at him, almost helplessly, and John whispered, "We need to know."
"He's my father...Curtis Brown's my father," Billie replied. "He—he..." Her voice trailed off, and a sob broke free from her chest.
"I want to help you...we want to help you," Marlena said.
"I thought he couldn't find me," Billie cried. "But he did...he found me...he threatened me...he threatened my baby."
"You were scared?" Marlena asked her.
Billie whispered, "Yes."
"Abe and Bo...they want to help you. Billie, if you want leniency, we need to know the details," John said with compassion.
"He—he used to drug me," she said, so softly they could barely hear her. She continued to stare at the table, and whispered, "He raped me...he—he started when I was twelve..." Billie looked up at them, but the pity in their eyes, had her turning her head slightly to stare at the wall. "I left, as soon as I could, I left...but he found me. He said, if I didn't come back, he would wait until my son was born, and he would kill him." Billie looked up, staring at John, and she said, "He said he would kill my baby, and he would keep me so high, and so drugged...I could never fight back, because he—he owned me."
"Billie," Marlena said. "This changes everything. You know that right?"
"I don't want Bo to know...I don't want him to know!" Billie sobbed. "He'll be ashamed. My dad said...I'm trash. I'm a fucking junkie!"
"You're father hurt you. He hurt you, and he was supposed to protect you. You understand that, right? A parent's job is to love, and nurture their child. He failed you, and that...that is not your fault," Marlena said emphatically.
"I'm going to prison for this," Billie said. "I know that. Even if they know what he did to me, I'll go to jail. I knew that before I killed him, and I killed him anyway...I'm going to jail, because of what I did to him after I killed him..."
Marlena didn't respond right away, remembering the details from Billie's statement. The graphic details of her mutilation of the body aligned with her story. Finally she said, "You're trauma history could be used as a defense."
"But it won't save me from a lengthy prison term. I know that," Billie said. "I know what I did."
"Billie...why did you bring us here? That's what I don't understand," John said.
"I want you to take my baby," she whispered.
Marlena stared at her for a moment, "What?"
"I want you to take my son. Raise him with his brother and his sisters," Billie said. "Roman's gone. Who knows when he might come back. Shawn and Caroline, they can't raise a baby. Bo would do it, if I asked him to, but you have Sami, Eric, and Carrie...they're his family. I want you to give him the life I can't. Give him the life I deserved."
"Billie," John said softly.
"I can't take care of him, John. I can barely take care of myself. Even if I managed to get out of here, I can't raise this baby. I'm too...damaged right now. Someday, maybe...someday, I'll get another chance to be a mother, but this isn't it," Billie said. "This isn't my chance. Please...please do this for me."
Marlena looked at John, and she could already see in his face that he was willing. Billie was right, this child was Sami, Eric, and Carrie's sibling. He was their family. John nodded at her once, and Marlena said, "You're sure you want to do this?"
"I want you to adopt him," Billie said.
"We understand," John told her.
"My brother, Austin...maybe he could see him sometimes?" she asked them.
"Family is important," Marlena said.
"And you'll teach him to be a good kid, like Eric and Sami? He can join clubs, and maybe play a sport... if he wants?" Billie asked them, crying again. "Just give him—give him what I can't?"
"We'll figure this out," Marlena said gently. A knock sounded gently on the door, and an officer opened it, ushering Mickey into the room. Marlena looked at Billie, and said, "You need to tell him...all of it. We're going to help you, but you've got to be honest."
"But...you'll still take the baby?"
"We will love him like he's our own," John said softly.