Fractured (Broken Part 2)

You Can Run...

"If I'd heard him out when he called earlier, could I have stopped this?" Malcolm asked breaking the silence that filled Martin's cell.
"Malcolm, look at me." I said walking over to crouch in front of him as he sat on the corner of Martin bed.
When his eyes met mine I read the fear and pain behind them effortlessly.
"This is not your fault. We're going to find him." I promised.
"Bright?" Gil said walking into the room with a short Latina woman with black hair wearing jeans, a black shirt and suede jacket, her pistol on full display on her hip.
"Malcolm and Lilian Bright, Marshal Emily Ruiz." Gil introduced us as Malcolm and I stood up.
"You're here to take over." Malcolm said shaking her hand.
"I'd have said it less aggressively than that, but sure. U.S. Marshals have jurisdiction in all fugitive cases. The Surgeon's as big a fugitive as New York's ever seen." She answered with a glance at me.
I automatically didn't like her. Something about her grated on my nerves.
"But you're not from New York. Hearing a hint of West Texas?" Malcolm asked.
He couldn't turn it off especially when as stressed as he was.
"New Mexico. Mr. Bright, I am an open book. Graduated third in my class from Glynco. Top two guys were dicks."
"Ruiz is one of the good ones. She's offered to let us stay on and aid in the investigation. I need the ultimate Surgeon profile." Gil said looking between us.
He clearly felt the tension. Little did he know I didn't need her permission to stay on the case.
"The majority of escapees are caught within 24 hours, and most are found near the prison or in one town over." I began looking at Malcolm.
"My father won't be that easy." He nodded.
"Wait, Martin Whitly is your father?" She looked at Malcolm incredulously.
Gil and Malcolm looked at one another in a panic.
"I'm kidding. My God. Look at you two. This is good. Means you are in a unique position to help. So, spill." She finally smiled.
I didn't find anything about this situation funny or entertaining.
"The Surgeon won't make mistakes. Your best bet is tracking his two accomplices. If my father gets caught, it'll be because of them." Malcolm looked at me.
"Hector Cueto and Peter Davis, aka Friar Pete. Major loose cannons." I nodded.
"Hector has impulse control issues. Though that may mean he sticks to the plan, for fear of ruining it. Friar Pete could be more of a wild card. He thrives on ritual. Freedom won't suit him." Malcolm continued.
"And your father, any parting words you remember?" She asked.
"Don't need to. I have it on voice mail." Malcolm pulled out his phone.
"I'm not a killer anymore. Now, whatever you hear, or whoever tries to rattle your faith in me, what I am about to do is not about murder. No, this is about family. Everything I'm doing, everything I've done, it's all for you."
"Please tell me you don't buy that." She almost scoffed at him.
"Of course not. My father's a liar and a killer. Always will be." Malcolm answered.
I took his trembling hand silently.
"Good answer. My team will dig into Hector and Pete. And as for your dad, if anyone can find him, you can." She said glancing at me.
"You've been surprisingly quiet Dr. Bright." She said looking me up and down.
"Just observing. I'd hate to have to step on your toes." I faked a smile at her.
"You think I don't have your family's best interest in mind?" She asked me.
"I think there's nothing funny about the current situation. The more time we waste here vetting my husband's profiling skills the further ahead Martin is." I snapped.
She turned to me but I had a good three inches on her.
"Lily? We need to check on mom." Malcolm said in an attempt to defuse the situation as Emily and I stared at one another.
"How long have you been referring to him as Martin?" She nearly spat at me.
"Well over a year now. I actually do it with most suspects I encounter. Serial killers as a rule tend to view themselves as greater than. My casual use of their first name tells them I disregard their perceived power." I answered.
"Lily? Please." Malcolm said again.
"Right. If you'll excuse me, Emily." I smirked at her.
Malcolm and I walked out of the cell with Gil close behind.
"Lily? What the hell was that?" Gil asked as we walked towards the infirmary.
"What was what? Her teasing my husband about being Martin's son or my reaction to it?" I turned on him.
"That's not..."
"What part of three deranged murderers being on the run is funny? This is our lives. Our family." I sighed.
"I know. It was out of line." Gil admitted.
I laid my hand on my stomach and sighed again.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you. This isn't something Malcolm and I thought we'd ever have to deal with." I said as Malcolm covered the hand on my stomach with his own.
"We're going to find him. You two will find him. You know more about him and his case than anyone." Gil smiled sadly at us.
He knew this would test us more than anything we'd ever done.
"Let's go check on Jess." I leaned towards Malcolm.
"Feeling any better?" Gil asked as we walked into the infirmary.
"You mean, have I recovered from an insane person trying to murder me?" Jess asked looking up.
Dr. Vivian Capshaw tended to my mother-in-law's shoulder.
"You should've seen the other guy." Gil nodded at Malcolm and I reassuringly.
"Mind if I ask what you were doing here?" He turned back to Jessica.
"I wanted to see what Martin knew about this key. It seems to be for a safe deposit box, but none of the places I bank with even recognize it." Jessica showed him the key she'd found in the Never Ever Room.
"We'll run it down. And we're gonna have to boost security at the town house. With The Surgeon back in the news..." Gil trailed off.
"All the kooks will come out. I know the drill." Jessica looked at me a mix of fear, sadness and anger in her eyes.
Gil laid his hand on Jessica's and glanced at Malcolm and I before leaving to run down the key.
"Doctor. Tell me how was his mood yesterday?" I asked gently.
I knew they were sleeping together but I didn't want Jessica to know that just yet. Not until I could figure out with Malcolm if she was involved.
"Happy. Tickled, even, to be called in for an emergency. In hindsight, he definitely knew what was going to happen." She nodded at me.
"Dr. Capshaw, right?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"How well did you get to know my father while he was working here?"
"The usual amount. As well as I knew him, yeah. I mean..." She trailed off.
Confirmed lie number one. She didn't know I was the one on the phone when she'd confronted him about Pete.
"Did you ever see him take anything?" Malcolm continued.
"Um... Not to my knowledge, no." She answered then looked back at Jessica.
"Mrs. Whitly, you're all done."
"Thank you, Doctor." She nodded at her.
"Yes. You're welcome." Vivian nodded.
"We're gonna stay here for a minute." I told Jess as she left to talk with administration.
"Um, I'm sorry, I just need to clean up." Vivian refused to look at us.
"Of course. I'm just gonna grab one of these butterscotches... ...and wait for you to admit whatever it is you're hiding from us." Malcolm said offering me a candy which I refused.
"Muscle tremors. No eye contact. You're lying at a third grade level. No offense." He continued.
"I did nothing wrong, okay? It's just that... You have to understand, last night was chaos. I had no nurses, so many patients needed ambulances, I..." She rambled finally looking at us.
"And?' Malcolm pushed.
"And I thought Dr. Whitly could help. I mean, it wasn't crazy to..." Vivian trailed off again.
"Not crazy to what?" I asked.
"Nothing." She shook her head.
"Lives are on the line, Dr. Capshaw. Three killers are roaming the city." Malcolm pleaded.
"Because of me. All right? I did it. I untied him. I know it was stupid, but, he proved himself capable. I trusted him. This is on me. I'm to blame here." She exclaimed finally.
"May I suggest also blaming my father? I do, and it does seem to help." Malcolm said offering her kindness.
"Thank you for being kind." She nodded.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" I asked giving her another chance to be honest about what I knew.
"He used me for everything he needed. And now I'm spent." She looked at me her eyes met mine.
I sighed but decided not to push the issue just yet.
"Let's go back to the cell. See what we can find." I suggested touching Malcolm's forearm.
"Yeah, okay." He nodded.
"Hey." Malcolm said as Ainsley rushed up to us just outside the infirmary.
"Hey, is Mom in there? Is she okay?" She asked hugging him.
"Yeah. She's talking to administration." Malcolm asked.
"How are you?" She asked hugging me.
"Okay, considering." I nodded.
"I thought you'd be at ADN, prepping 'My Father, the Fugitive.'" Malcolm cut in.
"One, that's a terrible title. Two, I can't even think about work. I just want to be here for Mom." She looked over at him.
"You've never had a problem mixing work and family before." Malcolm sighed.
"Ease up, Columbo. It's different this time. Dad is out there and, I don't know, I'm just... I'm not okay. Are you?" She looked at him concerned as I touched his arm.
"Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm fine. He'll be back in that cell soon, I promise." Malcolm looked between us.
"Brights. They found the ambulance." Gil said rounding the corner.
"Let's go." I sighed.
We ran lights and sirens behind Gil to an abandoned parking lot near the Hudson River.
"Two dead EMTs inside." JT told us as we walked up on the scene.
Malcolm jumped up into the back of the ambulance.
"So it's official. The Surgeon's killing again." Dani said.
"No. But Hector and Pete are." He said offering his hand to me.
"Look at these uneven gashes. This is erratic, overly excited. Not The Surgeon's style at all." He said after I'd joined him in the ambulance.
"How can you be sure? The guy hasn't killed in 23 years. Maybe his MO's changed." JT countered.
"Maybe. But my father made it crystal clear on that voice mail, he has no desire to kill again." He looked to me for support.
"Dude." JT shook his head
"I'm not saying I believe him. But I'm sure he believes it. Delusion is a powerful tool. He'll want his actions to match his self-concept as long as possible." Malcolm sighed.
"Or you're just using fancy words to make excuses for a murderer." JT shot back.
"Hey." I glared at him.
"I'm just following the profile. Look, I'm the expert on The Surgeon, right?" Malcolm cut in.
"Okay. So, they dumped the ambulance, which means they must've nabbed another vehicle. You two canvass the area, see who's missing a car." Gil cut in gesturing to Dani and JT.
"You think I've lost it, but I know how my father's mind works. It's always strategic. He's looking for the fastest way to stock up. Food, cash, supplies." Malcolm explained.
"All right. We're just below Houston. What's the closest place that would give easy access to all of that?" Gil asked.
"Oh, no." Malcolm muttered looking at me.
"The Loft? I don't understand. Why would he hit the loft knowing we built the mansion?" I asked.
"Maybe he tried Bright Manor and realized we upped the security?" Malcolm suggested.
"We can check but we would have heard from Jesse if anyone was picked up on the cameras. I just don't get it. Did we leave anything?"
"Not much but maybe enough." He said cryptically.
Gil followed us the two blocks to the loft.
The front door was off the hinges.
"Looks like you were right." Gil sighed as we walked in.
"It doesn't make sense. Not knowing we moved most of the weapons to Bright Manor." I muttered almost to myself.
"I should've expected this. He lived here with my mother before I was born." Malcolm said looking around.
"If my father was a serial killer, I may have fortified my house a little better."
"Gil." I looked at him.
"But I guess nobody's perfect." He amended looking at me.
"And now he's armed and more dangerous than ever." Malcolm looked at me, fear present behind his eyes.
"Time to face facts, kid. The Surgeon is back." Gil said but I wasn't so sure.
"We're not dealing with your average power/control killer. He's methodical but not above improvisation. Add in the volatility of his traveling companions, and we may have a short window to catch him. I'd say we have hours at best before they split up." Malcolm announced at the profile briefing.
"That blue LeSabre was stolen two blocks from the ambulance. We have BOLOs out, and highway patrol is on high alert in every surrounding county." Gil added.
"All right, thanks, Let's get to it." Emily said clapping her hands together.
"Is it true the Surgeon broke into your home and stole your weapons?" A uniformed officer asked.
"He broke into a property owned by our family." I corrected.
"He took an Indo-Persian battle-ax, four pistols and ammo." Malcolm nodded.
"Do you think he was trying to mess with you? You've got a strange relationship, right? You visit him a lot?" The officer pushed.
"We would visit him occasionally, yes." I sighed.
"He never dropped a clue about the escape or where he was going?" The officer looked at me.
"No. And if he did, I would have spotted it. Guys, this is exactly what he wants... the focus on me and my wife instead of him. But if you take your eye off the ball for a split second with the Surgeon, you're dead!" Malcolm snapped.
"All right, everyone, let's get to work." Gil cut in.
Malcolm rushed out of the room. I glanced at Gil before following him.
"Malcolm." I said his name walking out into the alleyway after him.
I wouldn't have been surprised if he tried to shut me out but instead he turned at the sound of my voice and folded himself into my arms.
His entire body trembled as I held him.
"I'm not fine." He muttered.
"Nor should you be. This is insane." I ran my fingers through his hair.
"You know, it's funny. The one perk about having a father in prison is knowing exactly where he is at all times. You know, I could talk to him, or I could ignore him. At least.." He trailed off.
"You were in control." I nodded.
"They're right, you know. With those questions. How could I have not seen this coming? What kind of a profiler am I?"
He asked looking up at me.
"Malcolm..." I sighed touching his cheek.
"This is not your fault. I didn't see it either. Not really. We saw that he was off but with the pregnancy we blew it off. There was no way we could have seen this."
"But how do I do my job? How can I be this... big expert on The Surgeon but be so clueless? Usually his voice is in my head all the time. But now... nothing." He admitted.
"We do our jobs and together we're going to find him. Stick with me Malcolm, we'll figure it out." I promised.
"The LeSabre was spotted at an auto shop in the south of Westchester." Dani said from the corner of the building.
"Let's go catch some killers." I smiled at him reassuringly.
I parked the car just outside the auto shop as Dani walked over to us.
"Employee didn't get a great look. Thinks the driver was a bald guy. I'm guessing it's Hector, but no one ever went inside." She explained.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why park here, then?" I asked.
"Unless..." Malcolm motioned over to a bowling alley across the street.
"No way." Dani shook her head.
"Lots of food, cash business, no windows." I shrugged.
"Bowling? The Surgeon would never allow for that kind of distraction." Dani argued.
"No, but he's smart enough to know if he doesn't let his merry band of psychos let off a little steam, it'll cost him later. It's a risk, but it's the right kind of risk." Malcolm sighed.
He was sure. I still wasn't sure of anything but I married him, so, he had my unyielding support.
"I'll go tell Ruiz. Stay here." Dani said.
I almost laughed out loud but managed to quell it as my darling husband immediately began walking across the street.
He didn't trust Emily anymore than I did.
I sighed and followed him across the street.
Malcolm looked back at me, his eyes pleading me to stay out of sight.
I nodded once and pulled back into the shadows. If not for the pregnancy I may have argued with him.
I heard the distinct crash of a bowling ball knocking pins down.
"Hello, my son. Finally ready to confess?" Friar Pete's voice rang through the building.
"Gotta admit, Pete, I'm surprised to see you here." Malcolm answered as I crept around the perimeter of the room with my pistol in my hand as silently as I could.
"'The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.'" Pete responded.
"Saint Augustine. Except you're not from the Middle Ages. You're from Pittsburgh. This town must remind you of home." Malcolm remarked.
"When I was ten, we lived in a one-bedroom over an alley. Spent more time there than my living room. Don't come any closer." Pete said suddenly drawing my attention but his back was still facing me.
"That was your first sanctuary. Before the abbey. An escape from your angry dad. Walking in here must have brought it all back. The smell of the fryer oil, sound of the pins falling." Malcolm pushed.
"He wasn't angry." Pete said so low I almost didn't catch it.
"What?" Malcolm asked keeping Pete's attention on him so I could find a good vantage point in case things went sideways.
"My dad. He wasn't angry. He was furious! About his job! His family! The burger he had just been served. Didn't matter. He was pissed at God. And he wouldn't let me forget it." He yelled at my husband.
"But when I came here, he left me alone. Which is what you're gonna do now, or I will be forced to hurt you." He threatened.
My grip on my pistol tightened but I read Malcolm's face effortlessly. He was in control. Barely, but he was.
"Is that what you said to the manager over there?" Malcolm asked.
"Just let me finish my game, son." Pete said firmly picking up his bowling ball again.
I watched Malcolm walk to stand in front of him in the lane
"Tell me where Martin's headed." Malcolm pushed.
"I said... let me finish." Pete growled lifting his shirt slightly.
"Ah. My Colt 1902. Excellent choice. Too bad you won't use it." Malcolm said more for my benefit than to push Pete.
"What makes you so certain?" Pete asked.
"Your methods are medieval. Flaying of skin, bashing of skulls. A gun's too easy. You'd want me to suffer." Malcolm explained.
For a moment Pete stood there nodding.
Then he flung the ball at Malcolm hard, barely missing him and ripped the gun from his waistband.
"Tell me where he's going!" Malcolm exclaimed backing up as Pete advanced on him with the gun in his hand.
"To hell... with you!" Pete screamed out.
I pulled my trigger igniting a gunshot. Then Pete fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head.
I spun around in time to see Emily Ruiz putting her pistol back in her holster as she walked towards Malcolm with Dani close behind her.
"He was about to tell me where my father is!" Malcolm snapped pushing me forward to place myself in between them
"Are you certifiable? He was about to shoot your brains out!" Emily yelled back.
"Bright, I saw it, too. He was going to kill you." Dani backed her up.
"You know what I saw?" I snapped.
"I saw my bullet striking his hand rendering the gun useless." I shot at Dani.
"You want to be reckless with your own life, fine. But you just gambled with every innocent life in this area. That's not okay with me." She snapped at Malcolm ignoring me but Dani looked over at Pete's body.
"It's my job to find my father, isn't it? It's hard to do that if you blow his accomplice's head off!" Malcolm screamed at her.
I turned back to him touching his skin gently, slowly bringing him back to me.
"It is your job to find The Surgeon. And whether we do that peacefully depends entirely on him, and not at all on how you feel." She shot back at him yanking him back away from me, erasing all the work I'd just done.
"Of course you would say that." Malcolm growled.
"Excuse me?" She countered.
"Malcolm. Go with Dani. Go with Dani now." I urged pushing him towards the exit cautioning Dani with my eyes.
"Get him away from me. Now!" Emily spat towards Malcolm.
"That is enough." I turned on her.
"And you..." She began.
"Before you finish that let me let you in on who exactly I am since you seem to be unaware. I am Dr. Lilian Bright, Chief of the FBI's New York Field Office. I have the Governor and the President on Speed Dial and your boss, James Wright? He was at our wedding, so I suggest you take a step back before you step to me." I snapped glaring at her.
"Malcolm and I have worked together for the better part of twenty plus years. We had things under control. I don't know how you do things where you're from but here we try to get all the information from a suspect without killing them. Now, if you'll excuse me, Emily." I growled before turning to walk out after my husband.
"Gil. Where's Dani and Malcolm?" I asked walking over to him.
"She took him back to the precinct." He said looking at me, confusion coloring his face.
"Your Marshal shot Peter Davis in the head. If you check his right hand and Malcolm's Colt 1902 you'll find my bullet holes in both." I told him turning to walk back to my car.
"Lily?" He called after me.
"What?" I spun around to look at him.
"Martin escapes and that somehow changes this team's faith in us? This is our lives and being questioned at every decision Malcolm or I make is not good for either of us and it is not finding Martin." I snapped.
He stopped midstep and just looked at me.
"Never once before today have you questioned my read on people. Choose her. That's fine. I have a psycho father-in-law to hunt down." I turned back around, got into my car, and sped off.
"So... what should we talk about? Gil's birthday's coming up. Are you getting him anything?" Dani's voice said as I approached Gil's office.
"Can we just skip to the part where you tell me I have a death wish?" Malcolm sighed exasperated.
"You have a death wish. And I'm getting him a coffee mug. 'Cause he doesn't pay me enough." She said as I leaned against the doorway unseen.
"I was in full control with Pete." Malcolm reiterated.
"Were you?" She shot back.
"I was." I answered leaning against the doorway.
"The body should be with Edrisa by now if you need to check my story." I continued as she just looked at me.
I sighed laying my hand on my growing bump.
"Either you trust me to keep my husband, the father of my child safe or you don't. I'm not going to continue to try to convince you. It's been almost two years. You should know what I'm capable of by now."
"I do. It's just..." She stopped and looked up at me.
"It's just what?" I asked and paused.
"I did my entire final thesis on The Surgeon. Malcolm has been studying him since he was ten years old. It doesn't change the task at hand." I finished as my cellphone rang.
"If you'll both excuse me."
"What've you got?" I asked walking through the precinct towards a conference room.
"Did what you asked but you're not going to like it." Aaron said.
"They did find a phone?" I asked.
"Right. Just like you thought. The number saved is the basement line at the Whitly house." He told me.
My head shot up and I locked eyes with my husband.
He, Gil and Emily stood around a small black cellphone in his hand.
"Shit." I muttered.
Gil insisted on being the one to bring Ainsley in with the Marshals.
Jessica rushed up to Malcolm and I as Gil and Emily walked Ainsley to an interrogation room.
"What is going on?" She asked.
"Come on. Come sit in Gil's office." I urged as Malcolm and I walked her over to the room.
"They said she's an accomplice." She exclaimed as I shut the door.
"We don't know that for sure." I sighed mentally cursing the Marshals.
"There is something?" She looked at me.
"Sit down, Jess. They found a phone on one of the escapees and the only number saved was to the basement line." I explained as gently as I could.
"If it was Martin's phone then that could explain it, right?" She looked between her son and I.
"Yes." I answered when Malcolm didn't.
"It could but we need to know what they talked about." I sighed.
Jessica nodded uneasily.
"Go find out then." She said.
"Stay here." I smiled reassuringly before leading Malcolm back into the bullpen.
"You two are not to interrogate her." Emily said as we walked up to her and Gil.
"Excuse me?" I glared in her direction.
"Lily, it's okay. I'll do it." Gil defused the situation as much as he could.
"Fine. We'll stay in the viewing room." I told him without another look at her.
"How much longer until you kick her off this?" Malcolm asked sarcastically once we were alone.
"I don't know yet. Sophie and Aaron are on call for now. We'll lean on them if we need to." I answered leaning against him.
"Should we start with why you were expecting The Surgeon's call?" Gil asked sitting down across from Ainsley.
"Or why you paid him multiple secret visits this month?" He continued but she just looked at him.
"Claremont just confirmed it, Ainsley. We need answers." He pushed.
"You know the phrase 'make a federal case out of it'? That's what the marshals want to do to you. It's a courtesy I'm here first."
I could feel him practically begging her.
"Tell me. Why were you waiting by that phone?"
Finally, she chuckled.
"I don't know. It's dumb. But it's not a crime. Malcolm talks to him all the time, and no one ever suspects him." She answered vaguely.
"People always suspect him." Gil told her.
"Martin had been planning this escape for a while. He never mentioned it or asked you to help him?" He asked.
"Are you suggesting I aided and abetted a known criminal?" She asked.
She'd learned entirely too much from Malcolm and I.
"I'm suggesting that you could have aided and abetted your father, a distinction I think you and your brother have a habit of making." Gil sighed.
"We didn't plan a prison break, I promise. Our conversations were completely innocent, and I didn't even initiate them. I was just sitting at home, working when he called the first time." She explained.
"What exactly did you talk about?" Gil asked.
"Life stuff. He could be surprisingly insightful." She chuckled again.
"She's hiding something." I sighed.
"You think?" Malcolm said earning him a playful jab.
"Let's take ten." Gil sighed.
Gil got up and walked out to where Malcolm and I waited.
"I'm going to talk to Jessica. Dani had Marshal Ruiz preoccupied for a little while yet." He told us.
"Thanks Gil." Malcolm nodded.
He left Gil and I alone.
"Gil, listen..." I started.
"No, Lily. There's no need. You were right. We haven't been as supportive as we could. We're going to do better." He offered me a smile before leaving to talk to Jessica.
"Oh! Did you come to break me out? I think if we tie some bedsheets together, we just..." Ainsley began when Malcolm walked in but she trailed off when she saw his face.
"Not in the mood to joke. Cool. Okay."
"Ains, you've been lying in here. And I need you to tell me the truth." He said sitting down in Gil's place.
"I've been listening to his warped bullshit for 23 years, remember? You know how many times he's tried to convince me I'm just like him? It's not a compliment. It's just another form of abuse."
I always knew Martin had been mentally and emotionally abusive but to hear Malcolm tell Ainsley in those words shattered my heart.
"What if he's not wrong? What if I am like him?" Ainsley looked at him with tears in her eyes.
It was no surprise to me that Ainsley was closer to being like Martin than Malcolm was but Jessica was in both of them.
There may be hope for her yet. I thought
"If you were, you wouldn't be so concerned about it. Psychopaths don't do a lot of self-reflection. You're a good person, Ains. You're thoughtful, decent, kind." Malcolm assured her.
"But what I did to you was..."
I had to shake my head to erase the memory of her 'prank'.
"You were stressed. We've been gaslit for years. And we didn't deserve it. Question is, in all of these visits, did he ever mention anything that could lead us to him now?" He asked gently.
"No. No, just, um, crazy advice and some random story about apple picking." She told him.
"What was the story?" Malcolm glanced back at me.
"I guess when I was little, we went to an orchard upstate, and we listened to this Toots and the Maytals song the whole way home." She explained.
I pulled out my cellphone.
"It's a clue. No. An invitation." Malcolm reasoned as the line rang.
"What do you need, Lily?" Aaron asked.
"Get me the addresses to all the apple orchards in upstate New York." I answered.
"An invitation to what?" Ainsley asked her brother.
"Escape with him." Malcolm sighed.
"Do you... Do you think I'm the reason he broke out?" She asked her voice shaking slightly.
"I don't know. But you clearly passed his test. In his seriously messed-up mind, you're the child he always hoped for." Malcolm answered as I opened the door.
"I know where he's going." I told them.
Malcolm followed me to Gil's office where he was sitting with Jessica.
"We've got something." I told him.
"Let's go then." He nodded.
I drove with Malcolm behind Gil out to Stevens Family Orchards in Kingston, New York.
"This is officially the farthest I've ever driven on the least amount of credible information." Gil said as we got out of our cars.
"There's only one commercially owned apple orchard in Kingston, New York." I shrugged.
"This has to be the place my father was tipping Ainsley toward."Malcolm added.
"No word yet from Aaron?" Gil asked.
"He'll come through." I sighed.
"It's not him I'm worried about." Gil looked pointedly at me.
Malcolm knocked on the door of the farmhouse.
"Hey there." A portly man answered the door.
"Good afternoon." I smiled as reassuringly as I could.
"Is there a Doris Stevens here?" Gil asked.
"My mom passed last year. I'm Bobby." He answered.
"Sorry for your loss. We're with the NYPD. We just have a few questions." Gil said.
"Was your mother ever involved with the serial killer Martin Whitly?" Malcolm asked.
"Malcolm." I muttered.
"Way to ease into it." Gil sighed.
"Is this some kind of sick prank, or...?" Bobby looked between the three of us.
"No, sir." Gil shook his head.
"You may have heard that Martin Whitly recently escaped a psychiatric facility. We have reason to believe he has a connection to this farm. Did your mother ever mention meeting him?" I asked gently.
"The Surgeon? No. She also wasn't pen pals with Jeffrey Dahmer." Bobby chuckled uneasily.
"Listen, this could be a dead end, and I'll get to make fun of my partner the whole ride home, but..." Gil started as my phone beeped.
"I'm sorry, Gil. Turns out you're not that lucky. Apparently, Carnaby Bank has a record of Jonas Salk, aka Martin Whitly, making a series of payments to the Stevens Family Orchards in 1994." I read off Aaron's text.
"Stevens Family Orchards. That's you, right?" Gil asked.
"Come on. You're joking." Bobby said his voice shaking.
"What's in the barn, Bobby?" Malcolm asked.
"Come on. I'll show you." He said.
Malcolm, Gil and I followed Bobby out to the barn.
"Best lightweight crop duster you could get back in the day. Yeah. It's not what it was, but... still does the trick." Bobby said showing us a plane.
"When did you get it?" I asked.
"Uh, '94, '95? Mom was taking flying lessons over at the local airfield. Then eventually, she bought her own plane when we expanded the farm." He answered.
"She didn't buy it. Martin Whitly did." Malcolm said climbing up into the plane.
"I'm sorry?" Bobby turned to look at him.
"That 400 grand wasn't a cash stash. It paid for this plane." I answered.
"Plus a little extra to keep the secret, I'll bet." Gil nodded.
"Yeah, must've been his plan B, back in the day. Launder a plane and have it waiting in case the walls started to close in." Malcolm looked at me.
"Makes sense. Agricultural aircraft fly under FAA radar. He could probably make it to Canada." I nodded.
"Can I get a screwdriver?" Malcolm asked.
Bobby turned and picked one up off the workbench and handed it to him.
"Thank you." Malcolm muttered.
Malcolm pulled out a small duffle bag from a hidden compartment. Inside stacks of money.
"Whoa. I've never seen that before." Bobby said shaking his head.
"What's that?" I asked noticing Malcolm staring at an object in his hand.
"Uh, nothing. It's just a... It was mine." He looked up at me.
"Bobby?" Gil said pulling our attention.
"My wife needs me back at the house. Stay as long as you need." Bobby said without a look back at us.
"So, you two think The Surgeon's on his way here?" Gil asked.
"It's a good question for Bobby to have asked, right?" Malcolm asked joining us back on the ground.
"Three cops show up, tell you a serial killer's coming, and you don't even ask them when?" I asked.
"The only thing that makes sense is..." Malcolm looked at me again.
"He's already here." I sighed.
"The way Bobby was glancing at the house, the inflection in his voice. His family's being held hostage. My father's here right now, Gil." Malcolm looked between us panicked.
"All right, I'll loop in the marshals." Gil said.
"No, no, no. We can do this on our own." Malcolm pleaded looking between us as Gil pulled out his phone.
"Marshal Ruiz, we think we've found them." Gil said when she answered.
"No movement on the south side of the house." We heard from outside the barn.
Dammit. I sighed internally.
Outside, Emily stood among the Marshals suited in S.W.A.T. gear looking rather pleased with herself.
"I can talk him down." Malcolm looked at her.
"It's not going to happen." She said with a small smirk at me.
We watched uneasily as they prepared to breach the house.
"If you'd just let me go in there..." Malcolm sighed looking at Gil.
"Bright, she said no." He answered.
"How are you even here?" Malcolm asked.
"We've been sharing intel this whole time." Gil sighed.
"You know that's how it works. I, for one, am shocked you haven't enjoyed our time together. I've had a blast." She teased him.
"Enough." I growled.
"Please, I can talk my father down." Malcolm begged her.
"You know you can't negotiate with psychopaths who have nothing to lose." She shook her head.
"I'm guessing that's not a delivery driver." Malcolm sighed again.
"It's Marshal Barclay. He's leading the extraction. This is the safest move for the family in there. Try to pretend you care about that." She glared at him.
She was too close to me to insult him that way. I spun and struck her with the back of my hand.
"We're going along with your plan. But don't ever imply that Bright doesn't want to save lives. That's all he does." Gil growled as she held her cheek and I walked away to touch my husband's hand.
"I'm sorry, kid." Gil said touching Malcolm's shoulder.
"They're going to kill him." Malcolm looked at me.
Technically I probably could have pulled rank and stopped it from happening but if there was danger to the family inside my pulling rank would only increase the danger as Marshal Emily and I fought.
We watched her team breach the house
"Target spotted. Don't move! Get down. Get down!" A male voice said over the radio.
A gunshot rang out and my heart stopped as Malcolm flinched his hand tightening around mine.
"Target's on the ground." The voice announced.
"Which target? Who's down? Who's on the ground?" Malcolm asked looking between Gil, Emily, and myself.
"Someone give me a report. Anyone, report." Emily called but Malcolm released my hand and ran towards the house.
"Malcolm!" I called out running after him.
"First floor, clear!" One man said.
"Second floor, clear!" Another answered.
"Family's okay." Yet another said.
"All hostages cleared and secured." The first voice said as Malcolm and I rushed into the hallway.
On the floor of the living room lay Hector Cueto with a bullet wound in his left shoulder.
"Hector, where's The Surgeon? Where's my father?" Malcolm asked as one of the Marshals stood him up.
"Martin? He was never with us. Never even made it to the ambulance." Hector told us.
"What? What about the loft? And the phone, and... That's his plane out there!" Malcolm exclaimed.
"He gave us instructions. Planned it all out for us. Guess he had other plans for himself." Hector laughed.
I rushed to my husband and took his face in my hands.
"Look at me, Malcolm. We're going to find him. I promise you." I said.
"How?" He asked not angrily but desperately.
"We go back to square one. Just like anyone else. We go back to Claremont and follow the profile." I said.
"You!" Emily spat at me entering the house.
"You're damn lucky you’re pregnant."
I turned from Malcolm to look at her.
"Or what? You think you can kick my ass?" I chuckled humorlessly.
"This is my case." She growled.
"I know it is. I didn't stop you from breaching the house, did I?" I shot back.
"James and I are going to have a long talk. If the Marshals want to work against the FBI that's fine. We'll see who finds him first." I locked eyes with her as we stared one another down.
Finally, she looked away from me.
"Come on, Malcolm." I urged him out of the farmhouse.
"What do we do?" He asked when we got in the car.
"We go back to Claremont. Just like I said. Start from scratch. Trust the profile." I sighed.
We rode in silence all the way back to Claremont.
"Did you find him?" Dr. Vivian Capshaw asked when we ran into her on our way to the cell.
"No. I thought we were right on his heels all day, and then it turned out we were chasing everyone but him. I even thought..." Malcolm sighed trailing off.
"What?" She probed.
"That he wanted me to find him. I know it sounds ridiculous." Malcolm looked at me.
I touched his shoulders.
"No. It's not. He's your father." Vivian offered.
"No. He's a killer who deserves to be hunted down. I'm never gonna forget that again. Are you...?" Malcolm finally acknowledged the box in her hands.
"Fired? Oh, yeah. Not that I should be surprised." She nodded.
"You're right. Martin Whitly ruins every person he meets." Malcolm sighed sagging back into me.
"Don't worry, Malcolm. I believe in karma. And I'm sure someday soon, your father will get exactly what's coming to him." She told us before walking away.
"It's really sad she got fired." He mused as we walked to the cell.
"You do know they were sleeping together?" I asked.
"What?" He stopped and looked at me.
"Yeah, he called while you and Major Crimes were sweeping the victims apartment after your first encounter with Felix; wanted to talk to you. I told him no and that he needed to respect our decision. Then she arrived and told him Pete knew they were sleeping together. I hung up on him." I explained.
"When were you going to tell me?" He asked.
"I figured you'd sussed it out already. It was kind of the last thing on my mind the last 24 hours." I answered.
"Maybe it doesn't mean anything." Malcolm sighed.
"I'm sorry if I snapped." He pressed his forehead to mine.
"I can see how hard this is for you. I'm not going anywhere." I promised.
"Can you ask Aaron and Sophie to run Capshaw? Just in case." He asked.
"Of course. Go on. I'll be right there." I urged him towards the cell as I began to text Aaron.
I glanced out the window next to me and saw Vivian standing at the trunk of her car in the rain, her hands on the trunk as she looked up into the sky.
"What the hell is she doing?" I muttered.