Fractured (Broken Part 2)

Colorado

"Lily. Aaron just got a clear image of the man who bought the burner phone that called you a couple weeks ago." Sophie said finding me and Malcolm in the living room.
"Yeah?" I looked over at her.
"Do you recognize this guy?" She handed me a full color picture of a white male in his mid-thirties with shoulder length greasy black hair pulled back into a messy half ponytail with grey eyes and spotted stubble along his face and neck.
"Yeah. I do." I sighed.
"What? Really? Who is it?" Malcolm asked gently taking the picture from me.
"His name is Jackson Humphreys."
"How do you know him?" Sophie asked.
"It's a long story. Gather the team. I only want to tell it once." I looked over at my husband's confused face.
Less than an hour later I sat at the head of the large dining room table in the grand dining room with my husband on my left.
Gil sat across from him on my right. Dani sat next to Malcolm while JT sat next to Gil. Sophie and Aaron sat across from one another at the opposite end of the table with Edrisa at the other head of the table between them.
"I was actually born in Aurora, Colorado. I started school at Crescent View Academy in September of 1994 since I was born on Halloween in 1988. I met Sarah and Mark Young that first week. We became fast friends but when my family moved to New York in the summer of 1998 we lost touch." I paused and took a deep breath.
"Sarah reached out on Facebook in 2006 just after Malcolm and I graduated high school."
"Hold on. That math doesn't add up." JT spoke up.
"I skipped the second grade." I answered with a small smile.
Malcolm reached over and took my hand comfortingly.
"Of course you did." JT muttered
"The next year Mark joined the Marines straight out of high school and Sarah got a full ride gymnastics scholarship to Yale. Things seemed normal until Mark was tasked to lead a unit into Afghanistan in January of 2012. They were ambushed. They found the bodies of the three men under Mark's command but they never found Mark's body. Malcolm and I had just graduated from the FBI academy but I took a trip to Colorado to comfort Sarah and their parents Stephen and Michelle.
"She was distraught but otherwise looked okay. I spent a week in Colorado then returned to D.C. Three years later Malcolm and I split and a year after that Stephen and Michelle were killed in a car accident. I flew back to Colorado and that was the first time I noticed something was off. Sarah brought a man to the funeral. Jackson Humphreys.
"I asked Ashlyn to run a background on him. Multiple arrests for drug and assault offenses. I tried to convince her then to come back to D.C. with me but he had her wrapped around his finger. Six months later I started dating Bryce. He nearly immediately started isolating me. Especially from Gil or anyone else in law enforcement, anyone out of state. Evan wouldn't have it and ultimately that probably saved my life. I left Bryce in December of 2018 and in January of 2019 they declared Mark dead after being missing for the required seven years.
"I returned to Colorado for the funeral and Sarah looked worse than I'd ever seen her. Bruises covered every inch of her body that I could see. She had track marks along both of her arms. I got into it with Jackson. Physically and finally, I convinced Sarah to come back to New York with me and she stayed at the loft for three months while attending an out patient treatment program then I got her a place in Maine, we changed her name. She's checked in every week since and she's thriving."
"Why would Jackson come after you now?" Dani asked.
"Maybe the press from the wedding... I honestly don't know. Our names have been in the news almost constantly for three months now." I answered with a sigh.
"If Jackson has any kind of obsessive disorder then the additional press surrounding Lily could have pushed him back over the edge. I'd guess that he obsessed over Sarah and his control over her until Lily took her away and at first he searched for her but both Lily and Sarah almost completely disappeared. Sarah to Maine and Lily into the NYPD." Malcolm explained.
"Then Lily re-entered the spotlight. First as the youngest FBI chief in history. Then our engagement. The fiasco with Nicholas. Our wedding. It likely set him off. He knows that Lily knows where Sarah is and now he knows exactly where Lily is."
"So, what do we do?" JT asked.
"Sophie, Dani and I need to go to Maine to get Sarah. She still has a great fear of men." I started glancing at Malcolm who's face betrayed his concerns.
"I need you here with Aaron and Edrisa going over anything you can find about Jackson since January of 2019." I squeezed his hand.
"You know they won't let anything happen to us." I assured him.
"Gil. I need you and JT to take a look at Jackson's past. Bring all the files here so Malcolm and Aaron can help you.
"I can't think of anything else right now. Thank you all so much for your help with this." I sighed.
"We've got you." JT said with a small nod in my direction.
Malcolm walked up to me in our bedroom after our friends dispersed to gather files or pack for the overnight trip to Maine.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked wrapping his arms around me resting his hands on my growing stomach.
"I am. Lovell is only seven hours away. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." I promised leaning back against him.
I packed a long cotton nightgown and a change of clothes with my toothbrush and hairbrush.
"Will you grab me my pistol out of the side table?" I asked.
"I really don't like this." He sighed handing me my gun.
"I don't either." I admitted fastening the holster to my hip.
"If something happens to you..."
"Don't. Baby, don't think like that. Nothing is going to happen to us, okay. I'm going to call you the minute we get to Sarah's. We're going to give her time to pack a bag so we can rest. We're going to leave first thing in the morning and we'll be here around three at the absolute latest." I turned to touch his chest.
"I promise you. I'm coming home."
His eyes pleaded with me but he forced a smile. He knew me too well. If her life was in danger I had to go. Pregnant or not, I just had to.
"I love you." He told me.
"I love you. More than you could ever know." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Just come back to me." He pressed his forehead to mine.
"I will. As fast as I can." I promised.
Aaron stood beside Malcolm as they watched Sophie drive us down the driveway towards the gate. They stood there until I couldn't see them anymore.
I laid my hand on my stomach with a sigh and leaned my head back against the headrest.
Sophie drove straight through her two hours and eighteen minutes before we stopped at a fast food chain for something to eat and a bathroom break. Then Dani took over.
After her two hours and eighteen minutes we stopped at a gas station to fill the car and get water for the group. Finally, I took over.
I was the only one who knew where Sarah was; it only made sense that I drive the final stretch.
I parked the car in the small driveway outside the small cottage style house.
"Wait here, okay? I don't want her to panic." I said before climbing out of the car.
I covered my pistol with my long flowy top before I rang the doorbell.
"Lily? What's wrong?" Sarah answered the door, her pale green eyes showed her concern.
"It's Jackson. He called me a couple weeks ago and threatened me. We need you to come back to New York with us." I explained as gently as I could.
"We?" She asked.
"I brought a couple friends. Detective Dani Powell and Sophie Sanders." I explained gesturing to the car.
Dani and Sophie knew this was my signal to get out of the car.
"Okay, but it's late, isn't it? Too late to leave?" She shook her head and I noticed her hands trembling much like Malcolm's would.
"I know. You'll need to pack a bag and we'll leave first thing in the morning." I soothed her taking her hands gently.
"Okay. Yeah, okay." She nodded.
I motioned for Dani and Sophie to follow us into the house. Sophie carried my small bag along with hers.
"Sarah, this is Dani and Sophie. They're good friends of mine." I gestured to them in turn.
"I need to make a call but they'll help you pack a bag. We're going to keep you safe." I promised.
"Lily?" Malcolm said my name when he answered the phone.
"I promised I'd call." I smiled.
"You sound exhausted." He sighed.
"I am. Dani and Sophie are helping Sarah pack a bag, then we'll take turns keeping watch until seven or eight in the morning, maybe earlier. I'll text you when we go to leave."
"Okay. I miss you already." I could hear almost desperation in his voice.
It was the first time we'd been apart since the night before the wedding.
"I know, my love. I miss you too. We both do." I touched my stomach again.
"Have you found anything?" I asked.
"His criminal record is insanely long. It's going to take awhile to sort through it all."
"Don't push yourself too hard. We'll be home tomorrow." I assured him.
"I promise. I love you, Lily."
"I love you too. So much. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'm counting the seconds."
I hung up the phone and sighed.
We didn't say goodbye. It always seemed too finite.
"Who was that?" Sarah's voice asked.
I turned to her. Her waist length brown hair now flowed down her back and she looked ready for bed.
"My husband. He's a criminal profiler. I have a team back in New York working with him to find Jackson." I smiled at her sitting down at her dining room table.
"You didn't tell me you got married. Tea?" She asked turning to the stove.
"You know I don't drink tea. It was televised. I didn't think it'd be safe." I answered honestly.
"That's probably fair. I have hot chocolate?" She turned back to me.
"Sounds great." I smiled as Dani and Sophie walked into the room.
They were both barefoot in sweatpants and cotton tee shirts causing me to chuckle to myself.
"The house is secure." Dani told me.
"Thank you." I nodded.
"What's funny?" Sophie glared playfully at me.
"You two. You're like peas in a pod." I chuckled again.
"I said the same thing." Dani laughed.
"I think you should take the first or the last watch, Lil. Better to get straight sleep for the baby." Sophie told me still smiling.
"Baby?" Sarah turned back to me.
"Yeah. I'm ten weeks pregnant."
"I always hated that I got you involved in this but, Lily, you're pregnant. You should be at home with your husband." Sarah sat down next to me.
"Malcolm knows why I have to be here and Dani and Sophie won't let anything happen." I promised her taking her hand.
"I'll take first watch. I'm still very much a night owl. Whoever takes the last watch should also take the first driving shift. They'll be most awake when we go to leave." I glanced between my friends.
"Dani, you should take the last shift. I'm accustomed to sleeping in short increments." Sophie said as Sarah served the hot beverages.
Sarah retired to bed around ten pm.
I changed into my nightgown in Sarah's bathroom and walked back into living room where Sophie and Dani have set up two makeshift beds on the floor and one on the couch.
"You take the couch." Sophie said smiling at me.
"I can sleep on the floor." I attempted.
"You are pregnant. You sleep on the couch" Sophie insisted as she and Dani lay down on the floor.
I smiled and shook my head with a small sigh.
I found myself staring out the window near the end of my shift. A text message pulling me back to myself.
I can't sleep without you. :( Malcolm's text read.
I know, baby. Me either. I wake Sophie up in another twenty minutes for her shift. I miss you. I responded.
I miss you so much. Everyone is staying here. I'm trying to figure this guy out. He replied almost immediately.
It's getting late, my love. You should try to sleep.
I'm scared. He admitted.
What if I have another night terror? He asked.
Call me. Just like always. I'm always here for you. I reminded him.
I know. I just wish you were here. I love you.
I could feel the pain in his messages. It wasn't like he needed me there every second of every day but at night it was different. The night terrors really took so much out of him.
I love you, Malcolm. Then. Now. Forever. We're on track to leave here around seven then we'll be there around two. I tried to reassure him.
Promise? He asked.
I promise.
Okay. I'll try to sleep. I love you, Lily. He conceded.
I love you, baby. Goodnight.
I sighed setting my phone on the side table.
"Sophie. Sophie, wake up." I shook her shoulder gently.
"Okay, Lily. I'm up." She muttered rolling onto her back.
Once she sat up she was fully awake.
"Go ahead and try to sleep. We'll wake you when it's close to time to go." She assured me.
"Okay." I nodded.
I curled onto my side and surprisingly drifted easily to sleep.
"Lil. Lily. It's almost time to go." Sophie's voice broke through my unconsciousness.
"Okay. I'm up." I sat up.
I changed fairly quickly back into loose fitting day clothes as Sophie and Dani packed up the car.
"Ready?" I asked walking into Sarah's room where she sat on her bed.
"Will I be able to come back here?" She asked me.
"I will make sure of it." I promised.
"I don't want anything to happen to you because of me." She sighed.
"Nothing's going to happen to either of you." Dani said from the doorway.
"She's right. I trust this team with my life. With the life of my baby. We're going to be fine."
"Okay. I'm ready." She nodded.
We followed Dani out to the car. Dani and I climbed into the front seats with Sophie and Sarah in the back.
We're leaving now. GPS says six hours. We'll see you soon. I love you. I sent to my husband.
I'm counting the seconds. I love you both. He responded immediately.
Dani drove the first two hours, Sophie drove the next two hours and finally I drove the final stretch to the house.
"Oh my God. You live here?" Sarah asked.
"Welcome to Bright Manor." I chuckled.
Malcolm was at my door before I could put the car in park.
I got out of the car and stepped directly into his arms pressing my lips to his.
"God, I missed you." He sighed.
"We missed you too." I smiled as he laid a hand on my stomach.
Malcolm's eyes found Sarah as she climbed out of the passenger seat.
"Malcolm, this is Sarah Young. Sarah, my husband Malcolm Bright." I made the introductions from his arms.
"Aaron found something." He told me after a respectful nod in Sarah's direction.
"Let's go see." I nodded.
"Lily." Gil nodded at me as Malcolm and I walked into the living room.
Sarah followed behind us.
"Sarah, this is my team. Lieutenant Gil Arroyo, Detective JT Tarmel, Aaron Cross, and Edrisa Tanaka. Everyone, this is Sarah Young." I made a quick introduction before allowing Aaron to tell us what they found.
"We were able to track Jackson Humphreys from the department store where he bought the burner to an apartment on the lower east side." Aaron began.
"This is the part you're not going to like. We got the warrant for the apartment. When we broke down the door Humphreys wasn't there but we found these." Gil said handing me a file.
I opened the file to find pictures of myself, Malcolm, and also Sarah that were clearly surveillance type pictures.
The pictures of Malcolm and I were taken within the last month I recognized the scenes.
"I'm running facial recognition on all traffic and other surveillance cameras around the apartment to find when he left for the last time and where he's going." Aaron added.
"At the very least we know that none of these photos were taken here. Bright Manor is impenetrable by design. When your father-in-law is a notorious serial killer it's best to not take chances."
I sighed.
"I need to eat something. Baby Bright isn't happy." I looked at my husband as my stomach growled.
"I'm on it." He got up and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Did he go to the apartment?" I asked Gil.
"No. I had Aaron keep him here in case Humphreys wants to use him to get to you." He nodded at me.
"Good call. Do you have the scene pictures so we can look them over?" I asked.
"Of course." Gil smiled at me.
"I just need his insight." I sighed.
"I know. We'll figure it out." He promised touching my hand.
Sarah finally sat down next to me.
"Is this all because I left with you?" She asked me looking at the pictures in the file.
"Not entirely. If Malcolm and I are right, and he normally is, then Jackson has an underlying obsessive disorder. Basically, that means that when you started dating and ultimately using drugs together he equated that with love. Now, what my profiler husband would say is that during his developmental years the people that were supposed to love him also terribly abused him which had a hand in him abusing you. When I stood up to him he linked me to pain and abandonment. During that year I fell out of the spotlight. I started working with NYPD and stayed out of the headlines. When my parents died there was a story because of the fortune I inherited but that probably wasn't national news. However, a couple months later I was promoted to Chief, making me the youngest FBI chief in history. That likely caught his attention. Malcolm and I got engaged on New Years of 2020 also national news not only because of who I am but because of who his father is..."
"You said he's a serial killer?" She interrupted me gently.
"The Surgeon." Malcolm said rejoining the room.
"You are the absolute best." I smiled at him as he handed me a plate and kissed me.
"You're serious?" Sarah looked up at him as he sat on the arm of the couch next to me.
"Unfortunately. Dr. Martin Whitly. Gil's the one that arrested him in 1998. Lily's been by my side through all of it." He nodded.
"Baby and I thank you." I muttered.
"But you changed your name?" She continued.
"Wouldn't you?" Malcolm smirked sadness behind his eyes.
"Anyway, Lily's right. We should look at those pictures. See what we're dealing with."
Malcolm and I looked over the pictures the scene techs took.
"He's clearly disorganized, obsessive, it's almost like he's spiraling. We need to be careful. It could be only a matter of time before he kills for the first time." Malcolm explained as gently as he could for Sarah's sake.
"I see it too." I sighed leaning into him.
"He'll kill someone. Why?" Sarah asked.
"It's a little complicated. We think that Jackson has an obsession with you, more specifically with controlling you. When Lily stepped in his spiral began. Someone who craves control like Jackson will start to crack when that control is taken." Malcolm said.
"We saw this with Bryce as well. When I left he spiraled until he found me at a bar with Malcolm, JT, his wife Tally, and Sophie's sister Eve." I explained pausing.
"Later he worked with Nicholas Endicott to almost create this stalker persona. He killed my childhood abuser, my rapist, and my parents before killing Evan and ultimately abducted me. Bryce didn't realize that Nicholas just wanted to get at Malcolm. It wouldn't have mattered who I was. The most powerful person in New York or just the person Malcolm loved. Nicholas shot him right in front of me." I paused again and Malcolm took my hand.
"These things never end well. For them, or for us. I really need you to stay here and let us do our job." I looked over at Sarah.
"Whatever you need." She nodded.
"Sophie. Can you set her up in a room please?" I asked.
"Absolutely." She nodded and disappeared upstairs.
"I'm sorry. I just, uh... I just need a minute." I stood up and walked out of the room.
I took the elevator down to the basement where I just tried to breathe.
"Lily?" Malcolm said my name gently.
"I'm sorry. I..."
"No. No, sweetheart." He said gently touching me.
"I've pushed it all back for so long." I sighed.
"I know. I'm here, baby."
"I wish I knew how to tell you everything but when I think about it my chest feels tight and my mouth is dry."
"It's a slight form of PTSD, but you know that." He reminded me.
"What if I can't do this? What if I can't help her? What if it's too much for me?" I turned to look up at him.
"Lilian. I've known you for over twenty years. Baby, I know what you're capable of. Bryce wasn't the first person to cause trauma for you. You got through Esme Pritchard, largely on your own. You got through Owen Woods. This time I'm here with you. We're all here with you." He assured me.
"If Jackson's like Bryce then he won't stop until we stop him. We need to do a deep dive into Sarah's past. See who he can get to that could cause her pain." I sighed wiping tears from my face.
"There's my girl. We will get through this, Lilian. I promise you." He leaned down to kiss me.
"I'd be lost without you." I admitted.
"I don't even want to think about it." He shuddered.
"Are you ready to go back?" He asked his skin still on mine.
"Let's catch this son of a bitch." I nodded.
"Okay. Gather around, everyone." I called as Malcolm and I returned to the living room.
"Sarah. We need a list of everyone you know. From school, from Yale. Anyone before Jackson that you might have mentioned to him.
"Sophie, I need you and Aaron to go to the bunker and run a deep dive into Jackson and Sarah. I want to know everything."
"The bunker?" Gil asked.
"It's an FBI safe house essentially, where I can run a barrage of tests and browse databases. David gifted it to me after I left Bryce." I explained.
"Dani, JT and Edrisa I need you all manning the surveillance footage. Malcolm's right. Jackson's a ticking time bomb.
"Gil. Once we get the list from Sarah, will you run the names through the NYPD database? My hunch is that if he can't get to me he'll stay close by. Try to draw me or Sarah out into the open. Malcolm and I are going to stay here with Sarah for now." I sighed.
"Do you want me to order pizza or something?" Malcolm asked sitting on the couch next to me after Sarah retired to a bedroom to rest.
"Yeah. Ask Jesse to put it in so he can get it from the gate." I muttered still looking over some of the photos Gil left.
"Baby?" Malcolm said gently.
"Hmm?" I finally looked up at him.
"Just cheese?" He asked for what was probably the third time.
"Yeah. Sorry, babe." I sighed.
"What do you see?" He asked gently.
"I don't know. Bryce worked for Nicholas but this looks just like those pictures from Bryce's room in his parents house after everything last year." I sighed.
"That doesn't mean that Jackson is working for someone coming after us. Baby, this is a typical sign of a major obsessive disorder, not from the hold Nicholas had over Bryce." Malcolm assured me sitting down next to me.
"Logically, I know that but I have so much anxiety." I sighed.
"Not only are you an FBI chief but you're also pregnant. It's normal to be anxious." He assured me.
"Right. You're right. I know." I sighed again leaning against him.
A knock at the door caused me to look up at my husband.
"Did Jesse..." I started.
Malcolm shook his head.
"Go upstairs and get Sarah. Take her down to the panic room. Call Gil." He told me.
"Malcolm..."
"Trust me, Lily. I just need you both safe." He pleaded with me as the knocking became more insistent.
"I know you're in there, Sarah." Jackson's voice called.
"Be careful, Malcolm. Promise me."
"I promise. I love you."
"I love you."
It took every ounce of my self control to leave my husband's side. I raced up the stairs to the third floor where the spare bedrooms were.
"Sarah. Sarah, come on." I called quietly as I dialed Gil's number.
"Lily. What's going on?" She asked stepping out of the room.
"He's here. We have a panic room in the basement. Come on." I took her hand and pulled her to the elevator.
"Lily?" Gil asked answering the phone.
"Humphreys is here. Sarah and I are going to the panic room." I explained.
"We're on our way. Be careful, Lily."
I hung up the phone and pressed the button labeled PB. Essentially it means Panic Basement. It meant the elevator would go straight down to the basement even if another call button were to be pressed. Then the elevator would only operate again for Malcolm or myself.
Inside the basement I pressed my hand against the wall next to the sauna to open the hidden door in the wall.
Inside the panic room we had an emergency telephone, a full video surveillance system, a large bed, and a stocked refrigerator in the event of a long standoff.
Suddenly, there was a crash upstairs that stopped my heart.
"Please, forgive me." I touched my stomach.
I closed the door behind Sarah and raced to the staircase.
Back on the first floor I pulled my pistol from my holster holding it at the ready in front of me.
Glass littered the living room floor from a broken front facing window.
I passed carefully and silently through the living room into the private dining room. I paused to listen for movement anywhere in the home but there was nothing.
I pushed my way into the kitchen. A shadow passed in my peripheral vision. I spun pointing my gun directly in my husband's face.
"What are you doing?" I hissed..
"I should be asking you that. Why aren't you in the panic room?" He responded.
"Would you be in the panic room if the roles were reversed?"
"Fine. Did you at least call for backup?"
"I'm not you." I glared at him.
"Come on." Malcolm took my left hand so I could still hold my gun.
We entered the ballroom and suddenly Malcolm pushed against me as one of Malcolm's battle axes slammed into the wall where we'd just been standing.
"Go, Lily." Malcolm pushed gently on my back.
Malcolm followed me as I ran towards the door to the grand dining room.
"Jackson. Jackson, stop!" I called turning back around, holding my pistol at my side.
Jackson's eyes were bright and wild with anger.
"Where is she, Lily? I know she's here!" He yelled at me.
"You'll never find her, Jackson. This is enough." I pushed.
I knew if I could just distract him long enough that Gil and the others would be there and this would end.
"Tell me where she is!" He yelled again.
"She's not here. Why would we keep her here? You're so predictable. We knew you'd come here." I half lied.
I had an idea; a horrible idea but an idea all the same.
"You've always been so predictable. It was easy to get her away from you. You abusive coward!" I screamed back at him.
He charged at us, just as I'd expected he would. Malcolm grabbed my hips and we spun out of the way causing Jackson to slam into the wall hard and falling onto his back.
"Don't move." I growled training my pistol on him.
"Malcolm! Lily!" Gil's voice called cautiously from the foyer.
"In the ballroom!" Malcolm called back.
Gil and Dani pushed through the door with their pistols drawn.
"Stay on the ground." Dani said rushing over to arrest Jackson.
"You're good?" She asked me.
"Yeah. Malcolm?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." He wrapped his arm around me.
"Did you see Jesse? Is he okay?" I asked Gil.
"He's got a pretty serious knot on the back of his head but he'll be okay." Gil assured me.
Once Gil and Dani took Jackson out of the house I returned to the panic room for Sarah.
"Are you okay?" She asked hugging me.
"Everything's fine now. It's over." I assured her.
Jackson was arraigned the next day on charges of breaking and entering, two counts of attempted assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, and sending threats to a federal official. With mine and Sarah's permission he was offered a plea deal and was ultimately sentenced to fifteen to twenty years in prison with regular therapy sessions after a full in-patient drug treatment program.
"Are you sure fifteen to twenty years is long enough?" Sarah asked leaning against my kitchen counter.
"I think that with adequate treatment for his drug abuse and some help negating his repressed trauma it might be." I nodded.
"I'll petition the courts to have him given a full psych eval before even being considered for parole." I continued noting her skepticism.
"You'll remember in fifteen years? I imagine you'll have a house full of little ones by then." She teased.
"Well, by then they'll all hopefully be in school." I sighed touching my stomach.
"Lily. You need to see this." Malcolm called from the living room.
"What is it?" I asked as I rounded the corner but the face on the television screen stopped me in my tracks.
His green eyes so like Sarah's dull with pain and the passage of time. His once brown hair neatly shaved like JT's now wild and graying with a full wild beard to match.
Marine POW believed to have been murdered in Afghanistan now proven to be alive in this newly released ransom demand video. The caption read under the picture of his broken and bruised face.
"Mark." I breathed his name.
"Oh my God. He's alive."