They rang the doorbell.
"In the backward," yelled a female voice. "Go around."
Jack led Sue through the driveway onto the side where a white gate hung loosely. When he pushed it, it creaked. He indicated to Sue the woman who was kneeling in the dirt. When she saw her guests, a smile softened her features, and she got up to welcome them.
"We're sorry to disturb you," apologised Sue. "You have beautiful flowers."
"I just love potting around," said the woman who was somewhere in her later forties, early fifties. "I don't get many visitors middle of the afternoon." She gestured towards the patio. "Have a seat, hun, before you pop that baby out onto the lawn. What can I do for you?"
"Are you Sonya Whelan?"
"Last time I checked. Why? Did I win something?" She wiped her hands on a towel, grinning mischievously.
"No, Mrs. Whelan. I'm afraid that's not the reason we're here. It's about your mother."
"Oh." That sobered her up. "Are you with the nursing staff? Did she take a turn for the worse?"
"No, I'm Matt Johnson. I'm a writer. And this is my wife, Becky," he presented, Sue nodding at the woman. "While doing research for a book, and I stumbled onto an old mystery. Twenty-one years ago, two children disappeared in the woods near your parents' cabin. And after talking to your mother this morning, we think she might know what happened to them."
As he spoke, he watched the woman fighting to keep her expression neutral.
"Except, she wasn't making that much sense," continued Sue, who noticed Sonya's trembling hands, reaching to hold the woman's hands into hers. "She has mentioned the children to you, hasn't she? Sonya, what became of the children?"
Sue asked very gently, torn between the desire to know, and the possibility it might just break her heart.
"For twenty-one years I dreaded this moment," Sonya admitted, tears silently forming in her eyes. "Strangely, I only feel relief. Maybe it's a sign it's finally time for me to share this huge secret."
They watched as the woman struggled to regain control of her emotions. It surprised them when she reached for a cordless phone on the patio table.
"No need to call the police, Mrs. Whelan," said Jack. "We will leave if you ask us."
"No... no police... though I supposed I should call them too," she said, taking rasped breaths.
"We're not here to get anyone arrested either," assured Jack.
"That may change," she said, her voice faltering. "You wouldn't mind if... if I invite my children to come over, I don't think I could go through the story twice."
Sue smiled kindly. "Not at all. We're in no hurry."
"Thank you." She made the calls in plain view of them. "My daughter was home, she will be here shortly." A shy smile curling up her lips. "She lives only a few streets over. She took the day off because she had a doctor appointment this morning. She's a banker. Such a smart girl. And my son shouldn't be long either. He works at a mechanic shop for the summer to pay for college. He will take a break," she informed them, her hands unconsciously playing with the phone.
"What is he studying?" inquired Sue, hoping to calm the woman.
"I should know, shouldn't I?" She laughed nervously. "It has to do with designing more efficient engines, less pollution, and needing less gas. It has a fancy name, about that long," she said, her hands spacing out. "I have been a very bad hostess. Please, come inside, we'll be more comfortable."
Inviting them in the kitchen, she offered them something to drink.
"Mom, you there?" yelled a voice as he entered the house, the door banging loudly.
"In the kitchen," Sonya yelled back.
"What's up, mom?" asked a lanky young man, leaning in the doorway. "Who are those people?"
"And where are your manners? You sit at the table, Julian," scolded her mom, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"This is Becky and I'm Matt Johnson," Jack said, extending his hand.
"Julian Whelan," he said, shaking it. "Now can I know what's going on? Is it grandma?" A shadow crossed his face.
"No, grandma is fine. As soon as Annie gets here--"
"If we're waiting for sis, that's got to be serious," he said, rubbing his chin. "Are you in some sort of trouble, mom?"
"Trouble? Who's in trouble?" asked a tall young woman with long black hair who silently sneaked into the house. "Hello," she greeted, going to her mother for a hug. "Are we having a meeting of some sort?"
The young lady stared at the strangers.
"Sit, Annie, please," her mother asked, doing the same. "This is Matt Johnson and his wife, Becky. They... they are writers... Your dad and I, we... we did something terrible... we meant well..."
Sonya looked at her children, while Sue and Jack exchanged a confused look.
"Mom, it cannot be that bad," reassured Annie.
"I'm sure if dad was still alive, he wouldn't let you get all wound up like that," said Julian.
"I... I want you to listen, and not stop me, please," she implored her children, who nodded. "Good," she said, anxiously rubbing her hands together as she sought the strength and courage to continue. "Where should I start?"
"Try the beginning, Sonya," gently offered Sue. "And take your time."
"Ray and I... Ray was my husband," Sonya began hesitantly. "We... we got married young because I was pregnant... I ended up having a miscarriage. I thought Ray would leave me afterwards, but he didn't. He said he married me for love, not obligation... He was a good man." Tears threatened to spill again. "We struggled at the beginning. He wanted to be a lawyer, so I worked the odd jobs to put food on the table while he went to school. When we were settled, we decided to have another baby. It took a few years before I finally got pregnant again. I had been in labour all day when Ray took me to the hospital. It was rush hour, and... and that truck came out of nowhere." Tears were falling freely as she recalled the events. "It hit on my side. I was trapped forever... when I made it to the hospital, it was too late for my baby girl."
"Mom?" Annie reached for her mother's hand. "We're so sorry, we never knew."
"The doctor saved me," she said, squeezing the hand of her daughter. "He also told me I would never be able to have children again."
Sonya slowly let the assertion sink in.
"But you did?" Annie argued, exchanging a glance with her brother.
"You promised to listen," Sonya reminded her daughter. "I was out of the hospital a few days later. I was so depressed that Ray took me to my parents. They lived in a small cabin in the woods. We had just arrived that afternoon." She remembered the day vividly. "Ray was talking with my parents in front of the cabin, explaining what happened. I didn't care. I just felt so empty inside. I went to sit under a tree, and prayed for the ground to open under me and swallow me. My shirt was soaked. My body wouldn't stop producing milk, even though I had no one to feed... I need you to understand that I wasn't in a right state of mind," she said, locking eyes with everyone in the room. "I had already lost two children. I know it's not an excuse for what I did, but it partially explains why I did it."
"Mom, you're starting to seriously freak me out. What exactly did you do?" her son asked.
Jack felt Sue's hand reaching for his thigh under the table. He covered it with his, gently brushing his thumb over her fingers to appease her turmoil.
"I think my mother was the one who heard the children first," Sonya continued. "But the high-pitched cries attracted my attention and got me to lift my head. From the woods appeared a little girl, all dirty, with her clothes torn from the branches. Her face was tear-stricken, yet she didn't make a sound. A blanket was wrapped over her, and from it, my mother extracted a wailing newborn. He was wrinkled with his umbilical cord still attached, and he was hungry. Mom gave him to me to nurse, while she warmed water to bath the little girl. Later on, both children fell asleep in my arms," she recalled, wiping her tears. "I needed them so much, maybe even more than they needed me. That night I fell in love with them... with each of you," she admitted, unable to meet her children's gaze.
"You found us in the woods?" her daughter's voice was barely above a whisper, utterly shocked.
"And you just kept us?" Julian voiced more in disbelief than in anger.
Jack wrapped an arm around his wife, and kissed the top of her hair when she leaned her head over his shoulder.
"Mom?" Annie forced her mother to look at her. "You didn't steal us, did you?" she asked, relaxing just a tad when Sonya shook her head.
"Were we lost? Or did we get abandoned in the woods?" Julian asked, his words coming out harsher than he meant. "Our parents left us there, is that it? But you never reported us," he said, trying to make sense of his mother's silence. "Instead you and dad kept us and raised us? Is it what happened?"
"Not quite, Julian."
"Not quite?" he repeated. "You know I would have been happy never knowing about it," he said, his voice trembling. "Why are you telling us? Do they want to see us?" His pain was obvious to everyone. "They can go to hell. It's too late. I already have a mom," he said, looking his mom in the eyes.
"Julian." She reached for her son's arm, her hand gently resting over it. "Your mom didn't abandon you. She... she was murdered, but somehow she made sure you and your sister escaped."
"Murdered?" both children repeated in shock.
"Mom, please, tell us everything. We all need to hear it," Annie silently pleaded.
"Annie is right, mom," he reluctantly agreed, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"It's not pretty, Annie," Sonya said, shedding more tears.
"I think a part of me already knows, mom," Annie said quietly. "I never forgot those nightmares I kept having as a child. Maybe it's time we all put the past to rest," she said, encouraging her mother to continue.
"The next day Ray and my dad went to town trying to figure out where you came from," Sonya continued, her voice trembling slightly. "They only heard about a murder, but no missing children. Over the next few days, we got more details."
"Mom," softly interrupted Julian. "Why didn't you ask Annie why she was in the woods?"
"We did. She... you wouldn't talk," she said, looking at her daughter. "You held on to me all day and all night long. If I made any reference to it, you just cried. For a while, we thought you were mute. But then, you started having nightmares, and you talked in them, so we knew you could speak. You were so traumatised Annie, we didn't have the heart to keep probing, and eventually you forgot. Or at least we hoped you did. I guess we were wrong. I'm so sorry... It took ten months before you regained the ability to speak, and by then, we didn't want to stir those bad memories up to the surface again."
"Mom, it's like you're putting all those little pieces together in my mind, and as sad as it is, I also feel relief. How was our mo... other mother murdered?"
"You lived across the inlet from where grandpa had his cabin," Sonya explained, taking a different approach. "In a house by a cliff... about three or four walking-hours away. Though it might have taken you longer, darling, to make the trek with the baby," she said, running her fingers into her grown-up daughter's hair.
"And you didn't drop me?" said Julian, visibly impressed.
"You were securely tied around your sister, Julian." Sonya weakly smiled. "Your mother, I'm guessing, made sure Annie didn't go anywhere without you."
"Yes, it was their first mother," confirmed Sue with tenderness in her voice. "She allowed them to leave unseen."
"Please, Sonya, continue," urged Jack, when they all stared at him and Sue. "We will fill in the blanks when you're done."
"Your mother was thrown over the cliff. The police assumed the man killed all of you, even though only parts of her body washed on the beach."
"What do you mean by parts, mom?" Julian watched his mother open and close her mouth without making a sound.
"She was killed, then dismembered, before he disposed of her body in the ocean," said Jack, hoping the killing indeed occurred in that order.
"I'm so sorry," Sonya said, seeing the horror on her children's face.
The man young clenched his fists. "Did the police arrest the bastard who killed her?"
"The man is in prison for what he did," Sonya told them.
Jack and Sue noticed how Sonya on purposely didn't mention who he was.
"So, why didn't you tell the police we were alive if he was arrested?" Annie asked, not quite understanding her mother's choice.
"I didn't want him to know about you. I didn't want him to try to see you after what he did to your mother," she confessed, avoiding her children's gaze. "I convinced Ray to forge birth certificates at his office. I was trying to protect you, but the truth is, I was too afraid to lose you, and I just couldn't bear that thought," she revealed, averting her children's gaze.
"Mom, you're not making much sense," chided her daughter. "You didn't really think the killer would come after us to finish the job while he was in prison, did you? Or was there something else that prevented you from legally adopting us?"
"He was... he was your father," Sonya whispered, her voice trembling. "The man who killed your mother was your father."
Her heart broke over the devastation it caused her children.
"No, he wasn't," corrected Jack immediately, not wanting the children to believe for a second that their father was a murderer.
They all turned towards Jack, trying to deal with their conflicting emotions.
"Patrick Carson... your first father," specified Sue when they looked at her blankly. "He didn't kill his wife. We came across evidence that prove his innocence."
"But he was arrested and convicted," said Sonya totally confounded. "Oh My God, what have I done?"
Guilt gripped her soul, as her children simply stared from their mother to the couple, seeking an anchor.
"Sonya, you saved their lives," softly answered Sue.
"No, instead I took their real father away from them," she said, doubting her children would ever forgive her.
"No, you didn't," declared Jack, following Sue's reasoning. "Patrick would still have been arrested. The evidence against him at the time were overwhelming." He made eye contact with the three of them. "The killer remained free. He would have gone after the children the moment he heard they were alive. Annie saw him with her mother, she was the only one who could identify him, but she couldn't talk. She was a perfect target. He would have killed her without hesitation."
"But their father spent twenty years in prison for a crime he didn't commit," argued Sonya absolutely shattered over her actions. "He never got to see and know his children."
"Except he would have been exonerated only after the real killer killed Annie," observed Julian. "A father for a daughter, nice trade," he said, the irony not lost on anyone. "Though the killer would probably have done me too while he was at it, right? Why stop with one kid when he could get the other one for free? I was just a baby."
"Julian, the man was a cold-blooded killer," said Jack. "None of it is your fault, or Annie, or Sonya, or your father."
"Yah? And where was that father of ours while he was killing our mother?" he asked, anger taking over. "He should have been protecting us."
"He was fetching the doctor," simply replied Jack. "The killer waited until Patrick was gone. Julian, if it hadn't been that day, it would have been the next. He was stalking your mother. It was only a matter of time."
"Except the day the killer took your mother, God gave you another one to protect you," Sue reminded them quietly. "Maybe Sonya was wrong for not telling you sooner, but her heart was at the right place."
"And even if you had told us," whispered Annie. "It wouldn't have changed the past. I think... I think mom would have wanted me to find you."
"And what makes you think that?" asked Sonya.
"Because that's how mother thinks, isn't it?" replied Annie with a genuine smile flourishing through her tears. "Above all, they want their children to be safe and loved, and you did a great job at both. I'm not sorry I stumbled upon you in the forest, mom. And I could use a hug right--
Sonya didn't give her time to finish before she enveloped her in her arms, her son moving towards them as well.
'Are you okay?' signed Jack.
Sue nodded, keeping her head over his shoulder, slowly soaking his shirt.
"I still need to make it right by their father," she voiced with conviction once she regained her composure. "Can you help me?" she asked Jack and Sue, after her children sat back by her side.
"We were hoping you were going to say that," said Jack.
"What's your involvement in all this?" Julian asked, needing to know where those two people fit in the picture.
"I'm a writer, Julian. Inquisitiveness is second nature," he said, Sue smiling at his choice of word. "We're renting the house you lived in. The rumour had it haunted. So, Becky and I did some research, and came upon your mother's murder. We started noticing some inconsistency in the reports we read, so we dug deep. We unearthed evidence that were missed twenty years ago... all pointing out towards your father being innocent."
"But is the killer still roaming free? Could he still go after Annie?"
"No, Sonya, he's in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend the exact same way he killed your mother, Amelia," Jack explained further.
"And you have enough evidence to prove our first father's innocence?"
"No, Annie, we don't. We need to prove the killer was at your house around the time of the murder."
"And you think I saw him? But I don't remember anything," she pointed out after Jack nodded. "Only weird dreams, that I would rather forget."
"Those dreams might be the key to unlock your memory, Annie," said Sue.
"Would you give it a try?" asked Jack kindly. "Let me get the folder I have on the case. It's in the trunk."
He stood up after she nodded.
"Could we ask for a bowl of water, please? Our dog is in the car and he might be thirsty."
"Nonsense," replied Sonya. "Bring the poor animal in."
Levi exited the car as soon as Jack opened the door, and ran to the closest inanimate standing object, a yellow fire hydrant located on the corner of the lawn.
"Jack, what does he have in his mouth?" Sue murmured in his ear as he retrieved the Carson's file.
"What mouth?" he asked, frowning at her.
"Levi? In his mouth?" She pointed at her dog as he trotted back. "The rag doll? Levi!"
The dog escaped her as she came to take it from him.
"Jack, did he sneak it in the car?"
"I didn't give it to him, sweetheart. Levi!" he shouted, catching him before he crossed to the neighbour.
'He won't let go', mouthed Jack for Sue, as they came back in the house.
"Levi, give," he ordered, extending her hand, the dog looking at her with his big brown eyes. "GIVE!"
He reluctantly unlocked his jaw.
"Good boy," Sue praised, patting him.
"Where did you get her?" Annie asked, her eyes strangely widening.
They all watched as Annie held the rag doll under every possible angle, staring eerily at it.
"Annie? You're just like granny, and she's cuckoo," commented her brother. "It's the dog's chew chew toy."
"It's Cooky," Annie said, images from the past resurfacing.
Jack and Sue exchanged a glance.
"It's a doll, not a cookie, sis."
"It was my doll, long time ago."
"That's creepy," muttered Julian.
"In my dreams, a woman takes it from me, and gives me a baby... YOU!" she remembered, pointing at her brother. "It was you, Julian. She..." Annie sought the images back. "She gives me a necklace."
She ran her hand around her empty neck.
"I just knew it was from your mother," said Sonya softly, momentarily leaving the kitchen only to return with a necklace and a ring.
"It was your mother's wedding ring," Sue told her, recognising it. "Would you like to see a picture of your mother?"
Sue searched the file after they nodded, and presented them with the best one.
"It's her," Annie whispered in astonishment, as she looked at the photo.
"She was very pretty," observed Sonya. "No wonder you're gorgeous, too."
"Annie?" Jack placed Patrick's and Vixen's pictures on the table. "Do you recognise any of them?"
"Yes. Both," she said without hesitation.
"Which one is our dad?" Julian asked.
"That's what I want your sister to tell us, Julian," Jack said, watching her intently.
"He looks familiar, in a cozy kind of way," Annie said, picking up her father's picture. "I see him with books. He read to me." She examined it more closely before she replaced it on the table and pointing at Vixen. "This one I saw often. He had... he had a motorcycle."
"You were afraid of motorcycle when you were a child," her mother remarked.
"I know... they used to scare me for some reason," she admitted, pondering the significance. "He wore a big black helmet." Her hands cupped an imaginary helmet over her head. "There was a tree with pretty pink flowers. He left his bike underneath it," she said, easily remembering the memories from the past that her mind tried so hard to forget. "His face... his contorted face was in the window." She took a deep breath. "In my nightmares, he was always dragging me away in the tunnels, and I screamed."
Sonya opened her mouth, but closed it when she caught Jack's warning.
"I knew the tunnels. I loved to play in the caves. I drew pictures on walls. My mother sent me in the tunnels. Alone," she recalled, lifting her head towards Jack. "He was at the house when my mother sent me away with Julian, and he was angry... very angry."
"Are you sure?" asked Jack.
"Yes, I am," she said, holding his gaze with certainty. "But I didn't see him kill my mom. Tell me he isn't my father."
"No," said Jack. "Name is Elroy Vixen. Another witness places him in the vicinity of the house twenty-one years ago."
"But surely the police investigated him," said Sonya.
"The witness was a young teenage girl. She never realised until a few months ago that the man she saw might have been involved."
"Will that be enough to free Patrick?" asked Sonya, hopefully.
"With this," Jack said, holding the folder he thoroughly documented, "and your testimony, Annie, that Vixen was at your house that day, a good lawyer can easily reopen the investigation."
"I will call Ray's associate right away."
"Was your husband a criminal lawyer?"
When Sonya shook her head, Jack asked to borrow the phone. If he were lucky the man he needed to reach would still be in his office.
"I need to urgently speak with Mr. Alan Tatinger. Yes. Myles Leland the Third," Jack told the secretary, hoping Myles indeed possessed the connection he boasted possessing. "Yes, I'll wait," he said, hating to be put on hold.
"Alan Tatinger is one of the best criminal lawyers I know," Jack told them, though he never had the pleasure of talking to the man personally before. "He is from--"
Jack reported his attention on the call.
"Mr. Tatinger, I'm calling on behave of Mrs. Sonya Whelan. Myles Leland the Third highly recommended you, sir."
And Jack spent the next two hours discussing the case with the lawyer.
***
Jack was still sporting a very satisfied smile on his face when they checked into a cozy little motel alongside the main road.
The conversation with the New York lawyer exceeded Jack's expectation. Tatinger would personally fly to New Hampshire the next day and meet with Sonya and the Carson's children. The case intrigued him. Every year he made a point of taking on one or two philanthropic endeavours, and he couldn't resist that challenge. Though Jack knew the lawyer would more than likely manage to gain a settlement on top of an acquittal, helping to nicely cover his fees.
Jack had left the folder into Sonya's hands to give Tatinger. It contained every pertinent information, yet no mention of him or Sue in any way, shape, or form. He reassured the trio that the lawyer would guide them through every step, including the best time to visit Patrick, once he was told his children were alive.
Jack doubted any one of them was ready yet, but in time, he knew it would bring peace to all of them.
"You're very smug and quiet, Jack," Sue said, cuddling to him, the only light coming from the bathroom with the door ajar.
Not that they could have really talked in the car or during the short walk they gave Levi since darkness had fallen long ago.
"What can I say? I'm glad we solved this mystery," he said, grinning at her.
"Wasn't it risky?"
He frowned. "What was risky?"
"Talking to that lawyer. Using Myles' name."
"How often do you hear people say things like such-and-such recommended you because you're the best? I'm sure it went right through Tatinger's mind as an irrelevant detail. And even if it didn't, Tatinger wouldn't be able to identify us. Myles could have given Tatinger's name to thousands of people," Jack argued, Sue dubiously arching her brow at the estimation. "Well, maybe not thousand, but... you know what I mean."
"Do you think Tatinger will expedite the case?"
"Yes, he will, which was why I wanted him. He is truly the best lawyer." Comfortably settled by her side, his hand came to rest over its favourite place. "He's stretching tonight."
"He tries stretching," she corrected, chuckling. "I think he's finding the accommodation somewhat tight at the moment."
"Sue, how do you think Patrick will react? It would be like being with baby one day, and waking up twenty year later to find him all grown-up."
"I won't be easy that's for sure. But I hope the knowledge that God spared his children will outweigh the fact that another woman raised them."
"The children took it better than I expected," he reflected pensively.
"There was no right or wrong," she observed wisely. "Difficult decisions were made with the best intentions. They simply chose to look into their mother's heart, Jack."
"You're truly amazing, did you know that?" he said, gently cupping her face, slowly closing the gap between them. "And I love you so very much."
***
Myles stormed into the bullpen. "This is getting ridiculous."
"Wrong Mr. and Mrs. Smith again?" chuckled Bobby.
"I failed to see the humour in the situation," he retorted. "It's been two months since we solved the case, and we haven't found any sign of them. Am I the only one who worries about foul play?"
"Maybe they don't want to be found just yet," quipped Tara, from behind her computer.
"Come on, Myles," scolded Bobby. "Jack is resourceful. He probably secured a very cozy hiding place where he's enjoying his future's bride company."
"Maybe he should cut on the enjoyment, and keep himself updated instead."
"And how do you suggest he does that?" questioned Lucy. "Isn't the media ban still in effect?"
"To begin with, they could call their parents from time to time," Myles argued, glaring at Ron, daring him to say anything.
"It's too bad they're not chatty," Ron observed expressionlessly, holding Myles' gaze. "But I thought we knew that."
The rest of the team resisted the urge to laugh out loud.
"I'm surrounded by a bunch a--"
"Hello, everybody," the visitor exclaimed, cutting Myles off.
"Just when I thought that day couldn't get any worse," muttered Myles under his breath, while retreating to his desk.
"Missed me? Because I missed you, guys," the visitor continued cheerfully.
"Not really, mate," Bobby said, playing with his pen.
"Bobby," hushed his wife. "What brings you here, Howie?" she asked, giving him a kind smile.
"Well, it's been a while," he said, pulling his hands in and out of his pockets, searching their faces. "The word in the street is that you made a big catch, and Jack and Sue are no longer wanted for murder."
"You're right on Jack and Sue not being wanted for murder anymore," granted Bobby.
"Yah, well, I guess you wouldn't say anything about the big fish, either it was true or not, I mean there are--"
"Howie, why are you here?" Lucy asked pointedly.
"See, I was worried about Jack and Sue, especially after they went after-- Are you new with the team?" he asked, having caught sight of Ron. "I'm Howie. I'm Sue's informant, or at least I used to be. I'm not into shady business anymore, not that I ever was, but you know, sometimes--"
"Howie!" His name resounded from different directions.
"Nice chatting with you, mate, good day," Bobby uttered, taking Howie by the sleeve.
"Okay, I get it," Howie said, pulling away from Bobby. "You have work to do. Obviously, Jack and Sue are not in yet. I guess the guy wasn't that dangerous."
"What guy, Howie?" Tara asked, grabbing her husband to prevent him from throwing Howie out the bullpen.
"Luv, I'm sure it's a fascinating story, but we have work to do," Bobby argued, motioning Howie out.
"Agent Manning is right. You go back to work. I mean the guy was in prison, it wasn't like he could chop anyone from there, right?" Howie said, chortling nervously, heading towards the exit. "Tell Jack and Sue I stopped by."
"Want an early lunch, luv?" Bobby asked, wrapping his arm around her waist, flashing his dimples at her.
"Chop?" she repeated, absorbing the implication as her eyes slowly widened and lit up.
"You want chop for lunch?" Bobby repeated, totally baffled by her expression.
"Howie!" Tara suddenly ran after him under the astounded gaze of her husband and her colleagues.
***
"And you kept quiet?" bellowed Myles.
"That's a novelty," Bobby mumbled, shaking his head.
"Hey, I resent that, you know," Howie said defensively. "Jack made me promise not to tell anyone. I wasn't going to jeopardize his and Sue's life."
"For what it's worth, I think you did very good, Howie."
"Well, thank you, Ron," Howie said appreciatively. "I like you. You're a nice guy."
"And we're not?" Bobby argued, his temper flaring.
"I didn't say that. See, you put words in my mouth, then--"
Tara whistled loudly, abruptly silencing everyone.
"We're all on the same team here," Tara reminded them.
Myles pointed at Howie. "He's not."
"Yes, he is," she retorted, straightening her small frame until her presence filled the room. "That's better," she observed when they all calmed down. "Howie, did Jack say why he needed the three names I gave you?"
"No, but I had the uncanny feeling, you know when you have butterflies in your stomach, and they churned inside, but not in a nice way--"
"Howie," whispered Bobby, making sure he kept his hands on his wife's hips so he wouldn't strangle Howie.
"I guess you get the feeling." Howie smiled weakly. "Well, it seemed the one that interested Jack was that Vixen guy, the one who chopped his girlfriend in pieces. I think I tried to tell him that going after that guy wasn't a good idea."
"Did Jack say why he was interested in him?" asked Tara, after she told the others the search she did.
"He just hung up. It wasn't like he could talk for very long in case someone listened, right?"
"Are we talking about the same Vixen, in New Mexico, who just got another life sentence for killing and dismembering a second ex-girlfriend?" Ron inquired.
"Where did you learn about him?"
"It's was in the news last week, Tara," replied Lucy. "The husband of the victim was released from prison after spending some twenty years in prison for the crime he claimed all along he didn't commit."
"Okay, people," Tara said, taking charge. "I want to know everything about this Elroy Vixen. He may be the key to find Jack and Sue."
"Can I do something to help?" Howie asked in a chirpy voice.
"You did great, Howie," Tara thanked him. "But you need to trust us from here."
"Sure. I do. I know you will bring them home."
"Actually, mate, there is one thing," Bobby said, making eye contact with Howie.
"I'll stay away. I promise. And no more barging on you and Tara in--"
"It's not that," sighed Bobby, wondering how Jack could deal with Howie. "If Jack calls you again, make sure you tell him we got the bad guy and he can safely come home."
"Will do," he promised before leaving the bullpen with a smile.
***
Hours after his team briefed him, D walked into the bullpen with a folder.
"So, anything from Howie's lead?"
"Maybe," said a smiling Tara after the other left her the honour. "Since Jack inquired about who Vixen was twenty-one years ago, we're assuming it's linked to Amelia Carson's murder."
"Amelia Carson? The latest victim?" he asked, looking at his team.
"Yes. As a teen, Amelia was part of Vixen's motorcycle gang. She had a sealed juvenile record. When Vixen was sent to prison for assault, she grabbed the opportunity to disappear and start a new life away from her ex-boyfriend. Except twenty-one years ago, her past caught up with her present."
"Vixen found her," guessed D. "And he didn't forgive her for leaving."
"The bloke didn't take rejection kindly," Bobby confirmed.
"Or he gives cutting the ties a new definition," Said Tara, shivering at the loss, before continuing. "Originally the police thought Amelia Carson was murdered with her children. Her husband, Patrick Carson, was arrested and convicted. But it turned out the children survived, and one of them remembered that Vixen was in her house the night her mom was killed. The case was reopened. A big shot lawyer was brought in from New York to prove Patrick Carson's innocence. The new evidence the lawyer entered, combined with the fact Vixen disposed of his second ex-girlfriend the same was, would have been more than enough to get a guilty verdict. When the D.A. brandished the death penalty over his head, Vixen confessed and pleaded guilty to the killing in exchange for life without parole."
"Which ironically was what he got when he killed the other girlfriend," Myles remarked, totally disgusted.
"But it saves a trial," noted Tara. "No one has to relive the events, and the past can finally be put to rest."
"I'm with Myles," sighed Lucy. "It seems an unfair sentence. What about the husband? What kind of justice is it for him? He lost his wife, his children, and twenty years of his life. Nothing can bring that back."
"Just like you said, Luce." Ron placed his hands over her shoulders. "As much as Vixen deserves worse, killing him won't bring anything back.
Lucy leaned on his shoulder, something she rarely indulged in the bullpen, and let the wisdom of his words seek in.
"We're not thinking Jack dug some of those evidence, are we?" D asked, staring at them in disbelief, unsure if he should be happy or mad when his team slowly nodded. "Jack is hiding because he is wanted for murder. He wouldn't be foolish enough to seek that kind of attention on himself."
"Maybe not under normal circumstances," agreed Bobby. "But if Sparky saw a gross injustice he wouldn't just stand aside, nor would Sue. That's what makes them the bureau's finest."
"Still, it would have been risky," D observed, knowing deep down that Bobby was right.
"Jack did cover his track nicely," said Myles with a hint of admiration in his voice. "There would have been little chances for anyone but us to connect all those details together. The New York lawyer is Alan Tatinger, a fellow Harvard graduate and friend. I contacted Alan to see what he could tell me about the case. A man contacted him on behalf of the adopted mother of the children. Coincidentally, the man told Alan that I, Myles Leland the Third, highly recommended him."
"Jack used your name as a reference?" D said, not quite believing it. "That's gutsy."
"Or desperate," quipped Bobby.
"We're not certain yet the man is Jack," indicated Myles. "Alan went to visit the woman. She was in possession of a folder containing all the new evidence pertinent to the case. She told him a writer named Matt Johnson researched the information. Alan reviewed it completely, followed all the leads and verified the account of all the witnesses, before turning it to the D.A. to indict Vixen. Alan said it was very thorough."
"Did he meet that Matt Johnson?" inquired D.
"No. And aside from the original call during which they spent a few hours discussing the case, Alan had no further contact with the writer."
"I talked to Garrett," informed Tara. "The name Matt Johnson means nothing to him."
"Okay," D said, processing all the details his team just shared. "How about the mother? Could she shed any lights on who he was?"
"It seems the family has gone on vacation for a few weeks," said Ron.
"Amelia Carson's murder occurred in a small coastal community in Maine. The writer would have more than likely visited the site," observed Myles.
"You also realise that Matt Johnson could be hundreds of miles away, or even across the border by now," said D. "Which is where I would be if I was in Jack's shoes."
"Yah, but it's a starting point," argued Bobby. "Permission to take my wife on a little vacation?"
"Denied." D's quick answer stunned all of them. "I need you and Tara working on this new case. The Australian embassy is involved." He dropped a folder on Bobby's desk, explaining his decision. "Myles, I heard Maine is beautiful in July. Ron, I would send you along but--"
"They don't know me, sir. They would be suspicious. You cannot risk sending them further into hiding."
"Exactly," D said, highly anticipating the moment his entire team would finally be reunited.
"I'm looking forward to meet them," Ron said fondly.
D nodded before seeking Myles' attention. "I will clear the paperwork, Myles. Leave as soon as you're ready."