Fractured (Broken Part 2)

Take Your Father to Work Day

"You know she'll flip if we don't show her before we take them home." Malcolm reminded me as we walked up to Jessica's front door.
"I know that." I shook my head holding the black box containing our wedding bands.
Malcolm ushered me through the French doors into the foyer.
"Stop there. Do you know the horrors that happened here?" A tall older man asked.
"Aha! There's the culprit." Jessica came out and glared at her son.
"You. You are the spiller of wine?" The man continued.
"What's going on? Who is he?" I asked taking a step forward.
"Do you remember that rug my two ne'er-do-well children ruined? Hans is helping me find a replacement. No doubt a horridly expensive one." Jessica looked at me.
"Blame your skinny millennial." Hans said glaring at Malcolm earning a laugh from Jessica.
"Who throws out a priceless heirloom over a little Burgundy stain?"
"Honestly, darling, he's right. I have never understood this story." Jessica looked back at Malcolm.
"Well... actually, Hans, it was a 2007 Syrah. And the story's pretty simple, Mother. Ainsley and I came back from the hospital after Gil's stabbing, and we were upset." Malcolm explained my mind flashing to when I walked into the mansion that night.
"Ainsley was a little tipsy, she grabbed for the bottle. And it fell... spilling everywhere. And the rug... was beyond repair." He finished.
"She's always been so clumsy." Jessica mused.
"She felt so bad that she nearly had a panic attack."
"At least one of you has a soul. Jessica, come. Let's talk pillows." Hans shook his head.
"Jess, wait. We're here because we just picked up the wedding bands."
"Oh! Let's see." She beamed at me.
I opened the box.
Malcolm's five millimeter platinum ring with 'Then. Now. Forever.' engraved inside was otherwise unadorned. My two millimeter platinum ring also engraved with 'Then. Now. Forever.' had eight diamonds set in a channel that would hug the back of my engagement ring.
"They're beautiful. Oh! This is getting so exciting." She hugged me tightly.
"Pick a good rug. We have to go home and pack for the honeymoon." I smiled at her.
"Oh of course! Get out of here." She smiled at me.
"Thank you for making him promise to take this vacation." She whispered to me.
"It'll be good for us both."
"Call your sister." I instructed my fiancé as soon as I closed my car door.
"I did my best, but she was definitely in interrogator mode." Malcolm explained to Ainsley sitting on our couch an hour later.
I handed him a glass of water with an Alka-Seltzer tablet dissolving at the bottom.
"Do you think she suspects something?" Ainsley asked as I walked around the couch to sit in his lap.
"Well, I did show her our wedding bands after the inquiry so hopefully that distracted her." I answered.
"But be careful. You're next." Malcolm added wrapping his arms around my waist.
"I'll be fine. It's easier for me to lie. I don't actually remember anything. Honestly... it'd be nice to remember more from that night." She looked down at her hands.
"Not really. You're lucky, Ains." Malcolm told her gently squeezing my waist.
"Okay, you're not gonna talk to me, but why can't I talk to Dad? You said he knows. What's the problem?" She asked Malcolm pointedly.
"Well, he's a serial killer. And it was a traumatic experience. Your mind erased it for a reason. You should focus on work, and forget it ever happened." Malcolm argued.
"Glad you mentioned it. You know how I've been wanting to get back in the studio? Well, I need a big story, so, I was thinking 'The Surgeon, Part Two.'"
I chuckled despite myself.
"No, Ainsley, that's a horrible idea" Malcolm sighed as his phone rang.
"Is that Gil? Is there a story?" Ainsley looked at Malcolm, excitement in his eyes.
"Okay, here's the deal." Malcolm looked at her.
"Okay." She smiled expectantly.
"I'll let you in on this case if you stop asking about that night and you promise not to see Dad."
"Okay, fine." She groaned.
"Hey, Gil." Malcolm finally answered the phone on speaker phone.
"There's been a murder at Claremont. Your father's a witness." I could hear the annoyance in Gil's voice.
"Malcolm? Malcolm! Can't wait to work with you, my boy!" Martin exclaimed in the background.
"Yes. Yes. Come on." Ainsley jumped off the couch.
"Are you coming?" I asked gently standing up.
Malcolm looked up at me then down at the glass on the table.
"Let's go. Malcolm." Ainsley exclaimed.
"Never make promises until you have all the information."
Malcolm just stared at me as he began downing his drink.
"Okay, drink." Ainsley called back at us.
I could read the expression in his eyes.
"Chug, chug." She encouraged from afar.
Finally, he finished and set the glass on the table.
"Attaboy." She cheered.
"Come on, my love." I smiled at him.
"Let's go!" Ainsley called happily.
Malcolm and I left Ainsley to head to the morgue for Edrisa's findings.
"I found a set of antemortem bruises on Jerry's shoulders, which suggests he was shoved back before he was pushed. This was a fight. Someone was angry with him." She explained as we looked over Jerry Chapman's body.
"Exactly what I was thinking." Martin's voice came from the phone beside her.
"Is that..." Malcolm asked.
"Yes. Sorry. I... had to call Dr. Whitly to ask if he knew what angle our victim landed, and then we got to talking, and..." Edrisa stumbled over her words looking at Malcolm.
"It's obvious, son. This was an inside job. Not just inside Claremont, inside group therapy. I saw it all, clear as day. Every single patient in our circle looked positively murderous as Jerry bragged about leaving. That's six good suspects. I'll have Mr. David fax over the nam..." Martin said before being cut off by Gil hanging up on him.
"You need to make some new friends." Gil glared at her.
"He may be onto something. Jerry's release may have triggered abandonment anxiety in his fellow patients. We all experience it when someone gets engaged or promoted instead of us." I explained looking at Malcolm who nodded.
"Like my friend who... kept posting photos of her wedding in the Galapagos. It's like, 'Yeah, we get it, Carly. You saw some turtles and you married my high school boyfriend. Ugh.' But, you know, I've seen plenty of turtles." Edrisa ranted.
"Okay... We should go back to Claremont." I looked between Malcolm and Gil.
"Vincent Espinal." A shorter man with grey hair introduced himself shaking my hand.
"Dr. Lilian Russell, Chief of the FBI's New York field office." I nodded at him.
"To what do we owe the FBI's involvement?" He asked cocking his head to the side.
"I also work as a consultant with the NYPD." I answered.
"There's more..."
"I'm also engaged to Dr. Whitly's son."
"Ah... Well, Claremont is open to you ma'am." He nodded.
"And I thank you for it."
"So, what's the plan? Toss some cells? Put the place in lockdown? You know, we could always run down a few suspects, play, uh, good cop, bad cop, profiler... predatory psychopath." Martin grinned looking between Gil, Malcolm, and I after we walked in.
"We're not here to discuss case strategy. You're a witness." Gil sighed glaring at him.
"Why can't I be a peer? Why, you've shown so much affection to my son. And my wife. Why no love for the man who actually gave you your career?"
"Martin enough." I glared at him.
"Wait, wait." Malcolm reached out and grabbed Gil's arm as he turned to walk out of the room.
"Both of you; enough." I continued.
"Dr. Whitly, when Jerry was talking about leaving Claremont in group, you mentioned some patients exhibited stress responses." Malcolm turned back to his father.
"Maybe."
"We're gonna need a little more than that." I sighed.
"So am I. Come on. A murder in Claremont? Oh, this is the dream. I want to help you. I really, really do. But, uh... You know, I do not like these dynamics one bit. I want to be part of the team." Martin pouted at me.
"Okay. We'll work together." Gil finally conceded caught in Malcolm's puppy dog stare.
"Now, what did you witness in group therapy?" I pushed.
"I think three of my friends had acute stress responses. Hector, Burt and Friar Pete."
"That's a start. We'll go talk to them."
"Oh, good luck with that. It's taken Dr. Marsh years to get those fellas to say even a few words about themselves." Martin cut me off.
"What do you suggest?" Malcolm sighed.
"So, my next group therapy session starts in an hour. Now, today, Dr. Marsh will invite a skilled profiler and his FBI partner to discuss Jerry's case. The three of us together, we'll get the truth out of them. Come on. It'll be fun!" Martin told us.
"What's your standing in this group? Do they respect you?" Malcolm asked.
"They love me." Martin smiled at him.
"They hate you, don't they?" Gil asked.
"Definitely."
"Good. We can work with that." I looked at my fiancé.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked Malcolm as we walked towards the therapy room.
"If it's how we catch this son of a bitch." He smirked at me sadly.
"You think we're gonna help the cops? Nobody say nothing." A Hispanic inmate said sitting next to Malcolm, Hector I figured.
I leaned against the wall directly behind Malcolm.
"I'm with Hector." Another inmate said.
"I'm with God." Friar Pete added.
"Okay, come on, now. Look, let's... let's give him a chance. You know, he's, uh, he's one of us, after all, you know? He understands our inner torture, uh... Because he's a skilled profiler. So I've heard." Martin blubbered.
"Wait. This is Malcolm. The son you're always talking about?" Hector looked at Martin.
I pushed myself upright meeting Martin's eye.
"All good, I promise." He eyed me.
Malcolm chuckled softly.
"Dude got fired from the FBI. Chopped a guy's hand off. Smashed his own with a hammer." Hector continued.
"Hmm. He's got a thing with hands?" Friar Pete asked.
"Bro, you're crazier than me." Hector looked back at Malcolm.
"I'm not sure that's true, Hector. You did gut your mother's boyfriend with a fire poker." Malcolm chuckled again.
"Malcolm, we like to focus on positives here." Dr. Marsh reminded him.
"Of course. Okay, let's get down to it. I'm here to catch a killer." Malcolm brought his ankle up to rest on his thigh.
Martin laughed causing me to sigh. Hector turned to look at me and I put on my best FBI Chief face.
"Sorry. It's just, um, that tickled me, you know, because, um, your catching a killer didn't work out as a positive for me." Martin said.
"Yeah, Malc. Calling the cops on your old man? That's cold. Probably hurt as bad as a fire poker in the gut, didn't it, Doc?" Hector turned back to Malcolm.
"Oh, it stung." Martin nodded.
"Guys, let's talk about Jerry." Dr. Marsh interceded again.
"Thank you, Dr. Marsh. Did Jerry ever..." Malcolm continued again.
"I couldn't do that to my dad. You must have really hated him." Burt said cutting him off.
"No. No. I loved him." Malcolm shook his head, the muscles in his back tensing.
"I always wanted to be around him. Learn from him. I wanted to be just like my dad. Until I found a girl in a box and realized he was a serial killer."
"That must have been confusing for you as a child." Friar Pete said.
"It destroyed me. He destroyed me." Malcolm nodded.
"My boy, you've got it all wrong. Come on, you all... you all know me. You know I'm a... a good man. Son, I only wanted to share what was most important to me." Martin said.
"I was a kid, and you showed me horrible, gruesome things, and then you wanted to talk about it. It was the only way I could be close to you. By listening to you. No. Becoming you." Malcolm shot out.
I shifted my weight onto my right foot.
"Let's focus on the positives, son." Martin pushed.
"There aren't any! You wanted to turn me into a monster, a monster like you!" Malcolm jumped up urging me forward.
I laid my hands on his shoulders and he sagged against me.
"It's okay. It's okay, baby." I whispered urging him back to his chair.
"Sorry. Um... Maybe this was a bad idea." Malcolm sighed his hand resting on mine on his shoulder.
"You are The Surgeon's soon-to-be daughter-in-law." Hector looked up at me.
"I am." I nodded.
"It must be weird being an FBI Chief and preparing to marry a serial killer's son." Burt said.
"I don't look at it that way. I've known Malcolm for a very long time. I'm marrying him, not his father." I ran my fingers through Malcolm's hair.
"Do people look at you differently?" Friar Pete asked.
"Not to my face. As mentioned, I'm the Chief of the FBI office. I'm the boss. They wouldn't challenge me over my personal life." I answered.
"Don't be sorry, Malc. Change comes with pain. Jer used to say that." Hector said after a moment of silence.
"It's true. He was on a righteous journey himself. Cut too short." Friar Pete added.
"Uh... were you upset to see him go?" Malcolm asked leaning into me.
"You're asking the wrong question, Malc. You want to find his killer, answer this: How'd Jerry get on the roof? Did he have a key card on him?" Hector asked us.
"No. Why?" I asked.
"You need a card to exit a secure area. Only one card opens all the doors. The gold card." Hector answered me.
"Gold? Really? Dr. Marsh, who might have one of these elusive gold key cards?" Martin asked.
"I'm not gonna discuss that here." Dr. Marsh shook his head.
"Well, do you... have one? Correct me if I'm wrong, son, but it's not uncommon for therapists to have a savior complex. What if Dr. Marsh here couldn't stand that Jerry didn't need him anymore?" Martin asked his son.
"You don't really think..." Dr. Marsh asked us.
"No. No, of course not. Though... I would like to see what color key card you have." Malcolm said.
Dr. Marsh sighed opening his jacket and pulling out his keycard. His gold key card.
"It's gold! You killed Jerry!" Burt leaped out of his chair and rushed Dr. Marsh.
Malcolm leaped back out of the chair his arms around me protectively.
"You killed Jerry!" Burt yelled again punching Dr. Marsh, knocking him to the ground.
"Let's go!" One of the guards called out.
"Up against the wall! Move!" Mr. David ordered Martin.
"You killed Jerry!" Burt yelled.
"Get him off me." Dr. Marsh yelled ton the guards.
"Come on, we got to get out of here." One of the guards ushered Malcolm and I out the side door into a small hallway.
"Wait right there." He told us.
"Down to the ground!" Someone yelled.
Martin looked at his through the bars between us with a small smirk. Malcolm nodded then looked down at me.
Malcolm and I stood behind the two way mirror watching Gil and Dani talk to Dr. Marsh.
"Espinal says you were issued a new key card an hour ago. You told him you lost the old one. Which is odd, because your old key card accessed multiple locations this morning." Gil told him.
"It must have been stolen." Marsh shook his head.
"You're lying to us, Dr. Marsh." Dani pushed.
"You have to understand. I haven't had a successful patient outcome in years. Jerry's release was my chance to show my therapy can work. Maybe get a publication out of it." He admitted.
"Assuming Jerry told everyone that you cured him, not The Surgeon." Dani continued.
"He agreed to lie. In exchange..." Marsh sighed.
"He wanted a key card." Gil nodded.
"Just for a few hours. Uh, to say goodbye to friends. You don't know what it's like in here. We're prisoners, too." Dr. Marsh said.
I looked at Malcolm.
"He didn't kill Jerry." I sighed.
"No, he didn't." Malcolm agreed.
"You don't know that." Gil argued walking into the viewing room with us.
"Nothing is ever certain but my professional opinion is that he didn't kill him." I answered.
Still Gil read him his rights and escorted him out to his car.
"Roll. Lieutenant Arroyo, is Dr. Marsh under arrest? Does this have anything to do with the death of Jerry Chapman?" Ainsley advanced on him as he put Dr. Marsh in the back of the patrol car.
"No comment." Gil said climbing behind the wheel of the car.
"Please tell me you can do better." She said walking up to us.
"Off the record, we don't think we have our guy." Malcolm said.
"So the killer's in there?" Ainsley asked.
"Yeah. Along with a bunch of other killers. We've got to get back inside."
"Wait, we need to talk. It's about that night. I know, it was bad. Forgetting is good. But... I remembered something." She told us quietly.
"Hey, hey, not here." Malcolm touched her shoulder leading her away from the small crowd.
"A knife. And blood. A lot of blood. On my hands, even." She shook her head looking between us.
"Yeah, there was blood. Everywhere. And then you tried to save him, so it got on you, too. I got to get back inside." Malcolm turned on his heel.
"Wait. You're the only ones I can share this with. You're the only ones who know the truth." She begged.
"I'm sorry, Ains. We'll talk about this later. I promise. Right now, I have to go talk to Dad." He walked away from us.
"I'll talk to him, Ains. It'll be okay." I assured her before also walking away.
"Malcolm!" I called after him.
"We can't keep shutting her out and expecting her to not seek out your father." I told him.
"What do we tell her then?" He asked turning to me exasperated.
"Maybe we just listen. We don't have to tell her anything." I sighed.
"I can't lose her, Lily."
"I know that. Neither of us can."
I rubbed my forehead.
"Let's finish this case. Then we need to talk to her."
"To think Dr. Marsh would let Jerry borrow his key card." Martin said as Malcolm and I sat in the cell with him.
"Well, question is..." Malcolm started as he played with the gold card Espinal gave me.
"Do we believe his story?" Martin asked.
"Exactly." I nodded.
"What if Jerry said no to his madcap scheme? What if he threatened to go to the warden?" Martin suggested.
"That'd definitely be motive." Malcolm nodded.
"Oh, man, we are cooking with gas." Martin exclaimed excitedly.
"Oh, you were amazing in group. You know, the two of us playing off each other. I hate you, I love you. Right out of Inside the Actors Studio." He praised his son.
"What?" He asked sensing Malcolm's change in demeanor.
"You keep glancing at this. You're trying to be subtle, but your optokinetic reflexes give you away." Malcolm raised up the card.
"It's a shiny object. Relax." Martin tried to ease his concerns.
"What lion doesn't dream of the savanna?" He looked at me.
"Nobody escapes from a cell like this. Come on."
"What is it? Is something else bothering you?" He focused back on Malcolm.
"Ainsley's started to remember things. About that night." Malcolm admitted.
"Really? What are you gonna do?" Martin asked just before the door opened and Dani walked in.
"Hey. Espinal found a tape of Jerry using a gold key card to enter the fourth-floor library just before he was killed." She told us.
"So Marsh was telling the truth." Malcolm nodded thoughtfully.
"And your suspects just doubled." Martin said.
"Why, what's on the fourth floor?" Dani asked.
"Well, that's Ward Z. The women's ward. Oh, it's a magical place, I hear." Martin smiled.
"There's a women's ward?" Dani asked.
"Yeah. We should go." I said ushering her and Malcolm out.
We took the main elevator down to the fourth floor.
"Wow. It's nice?" Dani looked over at me.
"Smells like lavender." Malcolm nodded.
"Lemon verbena, actually." A tall guard said as we walked into the library.
"Good to know. And you are?" I asked.
"Andre. Look, we keep this zone locked up. Jerry should never have been here." He answered me.
"I think Jerry would agree with you." Dani said.
"There are scratch marks on the frame. Pretty sure they match the color of the paint chips Edrisa found under Jerry's fingernails." Malcolm pointed to a group of four parallel scratches in the paint in a window frame.
"Looks like we found our crime scene." I nodded.
"So, he came up here to say goodbye to someone. And within five minutes, was pushed out this window. I'm guessing the farewell didn't go as planned." Malcolm looked at us.
"Except the library was closed." Dani shook her head.
"Closed doesn't mean empty. Andre, who else has access?" Malcolm reminded her.
"Admin, us guards, a cleaning crew." Andre answered.
"Who's on the cleaning crew?" I asked.
"Female inmates. Four of 'em."
"That's it. One of those women was not happy that Jerry was leaving her." Malcolm looked at me.
"You think he had a girlfriend?" Dani asked.
"It fits the profile. Romantic abandonment can turn to psychotic jealousy fast. But it would have to be someone who's stuck here for a long time. Andre, how well do you know these four women? Any lifers?" Malcolm continued.
"All but Carla. She's due to be released next month." Andre answered him.
"Great. We can rule her out. See? We are already down to three." Malcolm looked at Dani.
"Anyone over 60?"
"No."
"Uh, any with a history of violence?"
"All of 'em."
"Physical prowess. Who could push Jerry out that window?"
"Well, Mariana is six, three. She's real crazy."
"Sounds like a good suspect." Dani smirked at Malcolm.
"Mm. Strength is good, but height is bad. Jerry's ego would still be bruised after his last psychotic episode. He would want to feel like the alpha. So we can rule her out, too. Who's left?" Malcolm explained.
"Rhonda and Ming. They're average-sized ladies." Andre answered again.
"Should we do "eeny meeny miney mo"? Kidding. I'm just shocked you haven't gotten it down - to one yet." Dani teased him.
"Who says I haven't?" Malcolm looked at me.
He knew I found it incredibly attractive when he showed off like that.
"My father said that Jerry could not stop talking about lobster. But he's from Kentucky, so where did his love of crustaceans come from?"
"Come on. They can't possibly be..." Dani started but Malcolm raised his hand respectively.
"Uh. Andre, where's Ming from?"
"Midwest, I think? Rhonda's from Maine." Andre said and I nodded with a small smile.
Malcolm snapped his fingers looking proud.
"You got a suspect from lobster?" Dani shook her head.
"Well, I could have asked about early childhood trauma and how it leads to insecure-resistant attachment style, but what's the fun in that?" Malcolm teased looking back at me.
"Dani, let Gil know what we found." I instructed before turning to Andre.
"Can you take us to Rhonda's room?" I asked.
"Rhonda Young is in room 458. Right this way, Dr. Russell, Mr. Bright." Andre lead us down the hallway to a private room.
"Rhonda Young? We're here to talk about Jerry Chapman." Malcolm said as Andre closed the door behind us.
"Just leave me alone." She muttered not looking at us.
"I know this is hard. You loved him. You must be in pain." I added gently.
"You have no idea. He was good to me. Real good. It's all my fault." She shook her head.
Little does she know. I thought glancing at my fiancé.
"What did you do, Rhonda?" Malcolm asked.
"Nothing. That's the problem. I should have done more. He was scared." She answered finally looking over at us.
"Who was Jerry scared of?" I asked.
"Another inmate. He wanted to escape. Jerry refused to help, but this guy wouldn't let up. Wouldn't take no. He's terrifying." She told us.
"Do you know his name?" I continued.
"They call him The Surgeon." She said.
I glanced over at Malcolm, his face unreadable to anyone else, but to me there was anger, pain, and confliction behind his eyes.
"Thank you, Rhonda. That's very helpful." I said gently.
I turned and knocked on the door then reached behind me and pulled on the back of Malcolm's jacket so he'd follow me.
As Andre closed the door Malcolm stormed passed me.
"Malcolm." I called with a sigh.
"Malcolm Bright, stop!"
"What?" He turned on me.
"You know damn well what." I glared at him.
"Calm down. We don't know what the truth is. Rhonda is still a killer. She is still a patient here. She is not a reliable source of information." I insisted.
"You're right, but working him up is the best way for us to get the truth." He said.
"Just be careful, Malcolm."
He rushed through the hallways to Martin's cell and ripped the door open with my temporary keycard.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked looking at his sister.
I knew this would happen. I sighed to myself.
"Well, she's my daughter, Malcolm. Is there some reason why the two of us can't catch up?" Martin asked.
"I needed someone to talk to about my memory, and you wouldn't listen. He's the only other person who knows." Ainsley shot back at him.
"Well, you can't talk to him." Malcolm insisted.
"I can't talk to him, I can't talk to you. This is insane. I feel like I'm going insane." She argued.
"You're not, I promise."
"What aren't you telling me?" Ainsley asked her brother looking defeated.
"He killed Jerry." Malcolm stated.
"Is that the official position of the NYPD?" Ainsley asked.
"It's not a news story."
"Or true." Martin looked at me.
"If I can get a second source to confirm it, I'm running it. And for the record, I don't know which of you is lying." She glared at us all.
"Wow, this family. I mean, everyone's on a hunt for the truth. Do you need an antacid? I feel like I need an antacid." Martin asked as I rubbed my forehead.
"You can drop the act. We spoke to Jerry's girlfriend, Rhonda. She told us everything. Dani's talking to Espinal. You're going back into Solitary. You weren't dreaming of the wild. You wanted to escape. And Jerry wouldn't help you, so you killed him." Malcolm glared at his father.
"Okay. One: While escape sounds lovely, I'm chained to a wall, remember? Two: Who's Rhonda? And three: Jerry nearly fell on me. How could I have pushed him?" Martin asked.
"No, but you could have manipulated someone to do it." Malcolm accused.
"Oh." Martin scoffed.
"Remember Tevin?" Malcolm pointed out.
"John Watkins?"
My chest tightened at the mention of John. COVID had delayed his trial more than once.
"Honestly, son, everything you're describing sounds like a whole lot of hard work." Martin sighed.
"You're a psychopath. You don't care who you lie to, who you hurt or kill." Malcolm scoffed at him.
"I knew it. I knew it. Your little breakdown in group wasn't just for show. You really feel that way about me."
"Because I can't trust you! I should never have come today. It's exactly what you wanted." Malcolm yelled.
I reached over and touched his arm soothingly.
"Oh, oh, this is what I wanted? Oh, that is... that is the single dumbest profile in the history of profiles. Because if I really were the cold-blooded psychopath you think I am... I would hate you. Oh, not for any of this. No, no, no. No, for destroying my life. years ago, you turned me in! Your own father! You ruined me! And your mother! And you ruined her!" Martin yelled right back.
I turned placing myself between them.
"But that's not me. Also, I wouldn't kill Jerry, because you're very good at this. You'd solve the crime, and you'd never come back." Martin instantly calmed down.
Psychopath's are terrifying and annoying.
"Why would Rhonda try to pin this on you? Have you ever met her?" I asked.
"No. But celebrities... You know, they're easy targets. It's the burden we bear." Martin shrugged.
"This felt personal. What did you do to Rhonda, specifically?" Malcolm asked.
"You cured Jerry. You're the reason he was being released. You stole her love from her." Malcolm turned to look at me.
"Call Gil." I sighed.
Malcolm and I stepped out into the courtyard to take a breath.
"We knew it was possible that she'd start to remember." I told him as we walked together through the empty yard.
"I know."
"Can I be blunt?" I asked.
"Not like you to ask permission." He muttered.
"The ring on my left finger means I don't have to." I sighed.
"Us shutting her out like this is very similar to gaslighting." I told him.
"We can't keep doing this, Malcolm. We have to keep her close. She went to Martin because we shut her out more than once. We can't then be upset with her about that."
"I know that you're right but what do we say? How do we keep her safe?" He asked me.
"We'll figure it out as we go. It'll be just like parenting." I sighed.
"Is that you're way of telling me something?" He looked at me wide-eyed.
"No!" I laughed.
"God, no. Malcolm... I've only been off the birth control for a couple weeks." I shook my head.
"I'd come up with a better way to tell you that you're going to be a father."
I nudged him causing him to smirk at me.
"Dr. Russell. Rhonda Young escaped." A guard ran out to where Malcolm and I stood.
"Your dad." I muttered.
Malcolm and I ran back into the hospital to find Martin.
"Come on. Be reasonable. I didn't kill Jerry. We don't need to go to Solitary, Mr. David. I... I'm actually innocent this time." Martin appealed to his guard.
"Mr. David. Rhonda's escaped, but she's still in the building. I think she's coming for my father." Malcolm said a short distance in front of me.
"Let's get him back to the cell." Mr. David said looking at us.
"Thank you." I said following them back to the elevator.
The elevator doors refused to close as Mr. David hit the button for the second floor repeatedly.
The moment he stepped out the doors closed leaving Malcolm and I alone with his father.
"That's odd." Martin muttered.
"This must be Rhonda. She stole the guard's keycard." Malcolm looked at me.
"Clever girl." Martin sighed.
The elevator came to a stop and opened to a boiler room.
"I'm getting some serious 'Nightmare on Elm Street' vibes, right now." I looked around the room still in the elevator.
'Oh, yeah, this is a good place for a murder. Now, when you find your place, you just want to go back there again and again. Like a good restaurant." Martin agreed.
"Please, shut up." Malcolm told his father.
"Dani, we're in the basement. I'm thinking Rhonda's down here, too. Send backup and I'll try to..." Malcolm said into his phone.
A clattering came from the distance.
"Think that was her?" Martin asked followed by more clattering.
"Yes." Malcolm sighed.
"Stay here." He looked at me.
"Wait. Take that." Martin pointed out a large red wrench that Malcolm picked up.
"Be careful." I looked at Malcolm.
He leaned in and kissed me.
"You too."
Martin and I watched him walk away in uncomfortable silence.
"Should we really let him go on his own?" Martin asked glancing at me after a long moment of silence.
"Probably not." I sighed.
"What's the plan then, Lilian?" He asked.
I heard Malcolm groan in the distance followed by the faint buzzing of a taser.
"Shit." I muttered glancing back at the man who would be my father in law in just two short weeks.
"What? What is it?" He looked back at me.
"She has a taser." I answered.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"I can hear it. She's got him."
Malcolm groaned again, this time loud enough for Martin to hear him.
"No. Stop. I'm The Surgeon's son. He's down here. He's coming." Malcolm told her.
"What do we do?" Martin asked.
"We use you as bait." I answered catching sight of a set of bolt cutters.
"You had me spooked there. It's best you learn now nobody's coming for you." Rhonda said before shocking him again and again and again.
I cut Martin's cuffs and looked up into his face.
"Do not make me regret this."
He nodded.
"Go."
"So is it true? He really your old man? Well, he left you here to die." Rhonda shocked Malcolm again, holding the trigger down as I made my way around the large crates stored there.
"Like Jerry left me."
"Rhonda, don't hurt him." Martin said fairly calmly.
"What?" She said.
"Don't hurt him." Martin said again.
I poked my head around the corner holding my pistol in my hand.
"That's right. It's your turn." She held a contact taser up near Martin's temple.
"Okay, Rhonda, please. He has to know." Martin met my eye.
I stepped silently around the crate.
"Malcolm? I'm sorry. I made a mistake, okay? I was just so excited to solve a case with you. I was having such a good time, I didn't want it to end." Martin bought me time.
What are you talking about?
"Well, this is years of complex father-son relations. You know? It's a little context-dependent, I admit, but, you see, I meant every word of it, son. Best day ever." I raised my gun and pressed it to the back of Rhonda's head.
"Drop the weapon." I said forcefully.
"And it's only getting better." Martin grinned at me before rushing to Malcolm's side once Rhonda dropped the tasers.
"Oh, nicely done, Lily. Did you see that? We got her. We work well together, don't we?"
I handcuffed Rhonda as Dani and two guards rushed into sight.
"Oh, what a thrill! Ah, the skulking, the violence, the banter... I can see why you like it so much. Oh, and the best part: Rhonda, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent." Martin stood Malcolm up.
"Don't do that. Stop talking." I raised my hand.
"Take her back to her cell." Dani took Rhonda from me hand handed her off to the guards.
"Thank you for saving me." Malcolm looked at me.
"Always, my love." I answered.
"I have a request." Martin looked at us as Malcolm leaned against me.
"What?" I asked.
"I know I got denied day parole for the wedding but would you both consider coming to visit me after? I'd love to see how you both look in person."
I looked at my fiancé who looked at me. I nodded slightly.
"We'll come. It'll be late but we'll come." Malcolm told him.
Martin beamed at us.
"That's weird." Malcolm muttered as we walked out to the car.
"What is?"
"My mom just texted me. She wants us to come to the house."
"She texted you?"
I drove us out to the Whitly estate.
"So let's get started. I've had a bit of a day." Jessica said when we all sat at the table.
"What happened? Seemed like you were having fun with Hans." Malcolm asked.
"Yes, I was. But then I went down a rabbit hole that I never should have gone down. I actually thought..."
My heart raced a little but I forced my expression and body language to portray ease.
"It's crazy to say, but I actually thought that you might have killed Nicholas Endicott. I called your father to discuss the possibility, which, of course, only made me more paranoid. And then there was that whole fiasco with the rug. I have to admit I spent the whole afternoon tearing this place apart looking for... I don't know. Evidence, I guess. But I found nothing."
"Of course you didn't." I chuckled taking Malcolm's hand underneath the table.
"And then I saw it." She looked directly at us then lifted the lid of the serving platter revealing a large book.
"You missed a spot."
"Damnit Aaron." I sighed.
On the bottom edges of the pages of the book, a single drop of blood, likely from the cast off from the knife.
"Lilian. Malcolm... what happened to Nicholas Endicott?" Jessica asked pointedly.
"I killed him." Malcolm answered instantly.
"You're lying." She picked up right away.
"I'm just, uh... trying to protect the family. Please. Believe me." Malcolm begged squeezing my hand tightly.
"Lilian... It was Ainsley, wasn't it? She murdered him." She looked between us.
I looked over at Malcolm, his fingers trembled in mine.
"No more lies. Tell me." She exclaimed desperately.
"She doesn't know. She doesn't remember anything." I said as gently as I could manage.
I watched Jessica's heart break through her face as she nearly doubled over.
"Jess..." I said gently.
"Please.. you can't tell her. I... I don't... We might lose her." Malcolm cut in looking right at her.