Heart of Fire (17 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Lieutenant Hagerty gravely aged tone, hoarse from decades of bellowing at subordinates and criminals alike, instructed her from the door.  Taking Danni’s earlier advice, she strode to her seat, took it and shuffled through her notes.  It is best to just swallow your pride do what he says, the words echoed in her head.  She hated that Danni was right, but she was not the only one that warned her that he made good on his frequent threats and she would find herself a civilian and that was not the worst he could do, if the stories were true she would not even be able to find a job as a rent-a-cop.

Annabel sat and watched a few suits walk past her desk and disappear into Hagerty’s office and shut the door behind them.  She wished she was back at the safe house, but when I.A. contacted her and said she needed to come into headquarters to give her official statement the tone in the man’s voice warned her it was not a request.  There were more footsteps coming up from behind and another man came in.  He was older, gray peppering in his hair, but he had gentle look about him, he did not have the jaded look of an officer.  She eyed him suspiciously and noticed he appeared smaller in stature than any officer she had seen, for a moment she thought he could be Internal Affairs until he searched his surroundings and it appeared he was lost.

She turned her attention back to the paper in hand and started to write down the accounts leading up to her injuries copying it from the paper Frank had already typed out for her which would prevent her from being suspended.  She recalled his statement as he handed it to her, as long as Internal Affairs believed you were assisting us at the time it could lessen the severity of punishment.  What's the true story?  How do we know what exactly happened?  Only you were there and do you think they will believe the suspect once she is caught?  She knew he was right and looking back on that events from that night everything that happened seemed too quick to be true.  It was all too surreal.  He was right, no one else knew the truth but she felt guilty for lying but she also wanted to keep her job, and most importantly she could not disappoint Danni. 

“Detective Flanery I have a package for you,” the same man she noticed a few moments ago handed her a vanilla envelope.  She snapped her head up and looked at him.  “I was told to deliver this to you personally,” he sounded annoyed.  “I took it to the address listed but I was told I could find you here.”

She looked down and her demeanor changed, it occurred to her this package was what Danni told her to wait for.  “Thank you,” she said her heart pounding in her chest.  Her first thought was to call Frank and Danni and tell them she had the test results, but she did not want to attract attention.  When she looked back up to where the man was standing, he was already gone.  She held it tight in her hands, her heart beating hard in her chest as she quickly scribbled the rest of her statement and abandoned it on the desk with a note explaining something urgent came up and she would be back

She knew the moment she left the building she would also be abandoning her job and everything she worked so hard for. 

Once in the solitude of the car she opened the envelope.  It was the DNA results Danni had sent off, she covered her mouth with her hand as she read on.  From the time she woke up, she had the feeling like something was coming, something bad.  It hovered over her like a dark cloud all day.  She felt silly then her phone rang and she was called down to the station.  One her way in, she could not shake of the smothering feeling but summed it up to Internal Affairs judging her future. 

Within twenty minutes she was parked across the street from the Federal Building.  Inwardly, she sighed in relief.  If anyone said anything to her, she would just casually tell them Frank was waiting for her.  Before she could exit car her phone buzzed, she looked down but did not recognize the number.  She hesitated before answering, “Flanery here.”

“Hey it’s me Danni, how’s it going?” she whispered trying to make sure her guest did not hear her conversation.

Annabel filled her in; Danni hung her head worried about her leaving before the interview but listened as she explained the contents of the packet. 

“Damn it, I fucking knew it!” she yelled.  “Look, don’t go into that building, stay right where you are, you will be safe there with the packet.”  She paused long enough to get her thoughts together.  “I’ll call Frank.”  Then she disconnected the call leaving Annabel questioning if she was cut out to be an officer which was something she had done a lot lately. 

She sat looking around at the empty street for a long time and fixated on the one street light that flickered on and off.  The other street light had already ceased to shine, as it stood there in the street dark and empty, bulb burned out.  From the distance she could see the blue and red lights from the oncoming police cars.  They stood out in the still of the dark silence and then the loud wails from the sirens were like striking roars into the silent night.  The car flashing its lights came to a sudden halt in the middle of the road.  The doors of the car slowly opened, and one of the cops stepped out.  He mumbled a few words to his partner still in the car before he had closed the door.  Then the door on the opposite side flew open, and out came Frank, he looked over in her direction and stepped forward, first with slow steps then with fast strides.

He smoothed down his black slacks when he reached her car.  When Danni called and told him she was outside his office, he flagged down a blue and white to get him to her faster.  He was grateful he made it back in time to catch her.  His once black hair showed grey specks and his ageless complexion showed traces of wear and worry.  He had not slept since they took O’Sullivan into custody and until they caught the suspect or suspects, he would not know another day of rest.

“Where’s your car Frank?” she asked with curious eyes.

“It sputtered and just died on the north side of town,” he said unsure.  “I just had it serviced and it was running great.”

“Did you just leave it in the street?”

He laughed then whispered, “The perks of the job, I had it towed.”

She knew he was making fun of her but just smiled not letting him see how much he irritated her.  “So, Danni called you and you know I blew my interview,” she said waiting for him to say something and when he didn’t she went on.  “This was delivered and I was afraid to keep it and I knew you needed it.  So, yes I was stupid for leaving and probably won’t have a job tomorrow, but this was more important.” 

He smiled sympathetically and took the envelope.  “You did the right thing, I’ll smooth it over for you, so don’t worry,” he assured her and started to walk off, he stopped and looked back.  “Come on Flanery, I can use some of your great investigative skills,” he chimed.

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Back at the cabin, Danni sat couched on the recliner and listened to the rain as it hammered the tin roof.  Her accommodations were small and there was only one small bedroom, no bigger than an office, which fit a single bed and a nightstand.  It had been two days since she slept, and she was physically drained, so she handcuffed O’Sullivan to the bed post and tried to stretch out on the sofa, but it would not accommodate her tall frame.  After an hour of trying to get comfortable she abandoned it and sat back on the recliner.

Later that night the rain had stopped and the moon cast a pale light over her.  She found herself wondering if this woman was a cold blooded murderer or if she was telling the truth.  It had been two days since they arrived and in that time she never once gave off the persona of a serial killer.  Whoever murdered the women had done a great job of covering their tracks.  Then a recent conversation she had with Annabel rung loud in her hears.  The murder of Hollywood was personal.  She replayed everything from the past month.  From each murder down to the pattern of the murders themselves, each one planned out carefully, it would have taken a cunning person to plan each out, and the woman asleep in the other room just did not seem to possess that skill.  The last thought helped her make her final conclusion, O’Sullivan was telling the truth. 

She hated to be wrong, but worse she hated to punish someone for something they did not do.  Without further delay Danni stood up and walked back down the hall past the bathroom to the bedroom.  When she saw she was sleeping she hesitated, but moved forward and unshackled her.

“Patricia, wake up,” Danni paused, for the first time since they discovered who she was, she actually called her by her first name.  She smiled how far she had come to be able to humanize this woman.  “Wake up I need to talk to you.”

Patricia listened carefully to what was being asked of her, a chill ran down her spin as bit down on her bottom lip.  A tear fell down her face.  “No,” she whispered and shut her eyes, ashamed at the cowardly tone in her voice.  She was so used to being brave but what Danni was asking her frightened her and it did not sit well with her.

“You can do this,” Danni acknowledged the fear in her eyes knowing she was asking a lot.

“I can’t!” She cried.  “I just want to go back to the way my life once was, I don’t even care if my dad does not acknowledge me as his daughter,” she paused.  “I just wanted his love, to have a family again.”

“You can have that,” Danni smiled reassuring her.  “Your father was the one who paid for your schooling and he made sure you had everything.”

“Then why did he send me away?” The tears flowed over the brim of her eyes searching for an answer, any answer.

“He told me he didn’t know how to raise a kid, and in his words it would have made your life hell since he was a public figure.”  What Danni omitted from her statement was he said his life would be ruined since he was a public figure, but she needed her help and a little white lie at this point would not hurt anyone. 

“Tell me what you need me to do then,” she wiped the tears from her eyes feeling emotionally better. 

“You don’t have to do anything except give your father a chance.”  She looked at her hands fiddling with them and when she nodded her head Danni went on.  “Agent Alexander and I will move you to the safe house where we are hiding your father.”

“Hiding my dad, I thought he was killed?” Her mouth hung open and eyes widened as she looked at Danni in disbelief. 

“No, he was never hurt, but only three people know he is alive and that is me, you, and Agent Alexander,” Danni admitted.  “Even my partner does not know.”

“Was she the one I hurt?” She did not look in Danni’s eyes for the answer because she already knew.  “I am so sorry I hurt her, when you talk to her, please tell her from me.”

“Done,” Danni smiled knowing if she was trapped, she may have fought her way out as well. 

“We leave at first light, so get your things together.”`

She left her sitting there wondering what her future held, she had no idea what it would be like to stay with the man she only watched from afar, and she was scared when all this was said and done she would have to go to jail for hurting a police officer.  Her short athletic stature slumped in the chair.  Her shoulder length hair fell over her face hiding the fear that was apparent in her eyes.  She looked down at her shaking tanned hands and cringed as she noticed she had chewed her long manicured nails, leaving torn brittle ends.  She could not meet her father for the first time looking like this.  She stood and searched for Danni.

“Hey,” she said as she joined her in the bathroom.  “Do you have a nail file and maybe clothes that will fit me?” She turned around showing off her oversized garments.

“I bet we can pull something together.”  Danni eyed her frame.  “What size are you?”

“I was a five, but I think I lost weight while I was in the hospital.”  She half smiled fixated on her hands.

“You’re the same size as Detective Flanery, bet we can get something from her.”

“I can’t, she… I…” the sound of her own voice gave her chills, how could she ask to borrow clothes from the woman she could have killed.

“It’s okay she said she had a bag of stuff she was going to donate to the woman’s shelter.”  Danni assured her but honestly did not know how Annabel would react.

When Patricia left her to her thoughts, she picked up her new disposable cell Frank left with her since her last one. She dialed by memory Annabel’s number.  When she answered she paused at first, not sure how she was going to ask, but put her best foot forward knowing Annabel had a good heart.  Once done explaining the details of what they were doing, there was a long silence.

“When were you going to tell me the Mayor was still alive?” she snapped.

That was not what she expected to hear her say.  She imagined the hell no response, followed by are you crazy.  It had slipped her mind that she never told her, but she was in the hospital and did not want to add more stress that would slow down her recovery.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say other than grovel and beg for forgiveness.  She did not dare tell her that Patricia knew before she did.  “Patricia needs something to wear babe, her clothes were ruined and tossed in the trash by the hospital staff. 

“Oh wait, now you’re calling her by her first name, how close have you two become?” Annabel snarled the question, causing Danni to become silent.  The tension had built and was about to become explosive, and she was aware the path was dangerous.  She did after all call her babe, so she still thought of her as her girl.  She inhaled a deep breath then sighed.  “Never mind, I’m sorry, I know this case has us both on edge.  I’ll give Frank the clothes before he leaves to meet you there,” she declared hoping it smoothed over the pending argument.