EPISODE
IV: THOUSAND TIMES
A group of
fishermen had gathered in the harbor early in the morning to carry out the
normal routine: who moored boats, who went out in the sea and who, instead, repaired
the nets for a catch. The radio announced "The second Friday of October
opens with a debate on drug trafficking between New York and Jersey City, the
police and the DEA have joined forces to stop the exodus of the drug. If you
want to talk live with us on the subject do not hesitate to call!" then a
piece of Nirvana began -Smell Like Teen Spirit-.
The sea was
quite rough that morning and to fish would not be easy. There was also a slight
fog that prevented to distinguish clearly the rocks near and far, but for the
fishermen that it was a risk that was worth to run.
A ship left
the harbor with a few men on board, they found themselves so off the Lower New
York Bay and what they saw shocked them: an old sailboat was surfacing from the
sea and there was something on the hull covered by algae. The sailors hastened to
warn the Coast Guard recovered the boat and found a cadaver under the algae
"Call those of the Scientific!"
Mac and his
team rushed to the site followed by Angela, who officially took the place
previously occupied by Adam.
Flack had
begun to question how the story went to the five fishermen while Danny examined
the hull and collected samples of algae. Sheldon carefully examined the corpse
helped by Angela, Mac watched everything from above without a murmur, for him
she was still testing.
"The
victim is not in good condition, she has the signs of the strings that have
kept her tied to the hull of the ship, but they are post-mortem."
Angela
stood up the victim's arms "Look, a bullet hole! Now we know how she died!"
"Not
so fast!" Sheldon rebuked her by removing the algae from the head
"Blunt force trauma!"
Angela
snorted "This means that you will need to examine her more
thoroughly?" Sheldon nodded.
"The
boat was sunk on purpose the chips are oriented downward!" Danny said
advancing toward them "It's been quite a while that down there but I
managed to find out the name well-preserved from algae!" he smiled
triumphantly "This boat belongs to Maximilian Sandovall, indeed, to his
wife! "
Sheldon
looked at Danny from his position bent over the corpse "It is not the man
who owns a villa so large as to look like a castle and which has appeared in
all the newspapers ten years ago with his wife because she had allocated two
billion dollars in an orphanage? "
Danny
nodded "That's him! At the time he was twenty years! "
"Man!"
Angela said "I would say that they took a big fish today!"
"A
fish, however, will be the special of the day in the morgue!" Mac
concluded.
Mac was
overwhelmed by the paperwork that day and he waited Hawkes to contact him for
the autopsy results, he was surprised when, instead, a blonde girl knocked and
he instantly recognized her "Isabella Hammerback! I'm glad you're finally
here!" he smiled by standing up
"Thank
you!" she said embarrassed by advancing "Sheldon was so kind to give
me the opportunity to work in the field and since the first day he sent me to
you with the autopsy report!" she said by placing the sheaf of papers on
the desk "Thanks for helping me to get the place! It means so much to me
to follow in the footsteps of my father!"
Mac smiled
"I hope that the fact that you have graduated several years in advance, it
can be a good start!" he rose from his desk "Begins with tell me what
Hawkes showed you!"
"Yes!"
she said opening the file "The fatal blow was the one to head, the bullet
only wounded the victim without affecting any vital organ!" she said
sliding to Mac two X -rays "The woman was under there I would say almost a
year and a half, judging from how the corpse preserved, and then more than that
we have not been able to discover, apart from the name!" she smiled
entwining her fingers excitedly, Mac looked at her straight in the eyes "Hold
on tight, because this is Rebecca Ward Sandovall! "
Mac looked
at her surprised "But from the research we have done she turns out ...»
"Dead
and buried I know!"
"A
case filed as suicide ..." Mac said looking out the window "We
probably are dealing with a double murder!" he said turning to the girl
"That
doesn’t surprise me! It’s common to happen with people so rich! Without
considering that she was popular in various organizations here in town!" she
smiled rearranging the sheets "The ball is now your Mac! Mark the point
that makes us win the match!" she said by leaving.
Jo was
greeted at the entrance of the huge villa almost out of New York, which was
located in the most exclusive neighborhood sheer above the sea, by Maximilian
Sandovall "I'm Detective Danville, of the New York Crime Lab. I’m dealing
the case of your wife!" she began when the owner opened the door of the
house
"My
wife has been dead for almost two years now, she committed suicide!" he
said letting her in and accompanying her in the Gothic style salon from the
high ceiling with a ebony library full of tomes, also ancient, and a sofa in
the middle of black soft leather "I'll be at your complete disposal for any
questions you want to ask me!" he said inviting her to sit down with a
wave of the hand
"You
recognized the body of your wife when she was found?" the detective asked crossing
her legs
"Of
course!" he asserted
"You
must know that this was not the body of his wife, that was another woman!"
The face of
Maximilian Sandovall changed instantly "Have you found that the body, that
you found this morning, is it really my wife?" the detective nodded
"Nonsense! So who is buried at the cemetery? "
"That's
what we want to find out!" she said by crossing her arms "The body
that you recognized as your wife was covered with algae, right?"
"It
was also disfigured due to the rocks that had hit!" the man added by
remaining with a shocked look
"Then,
how did you know that she was really his wife?" Jo asked looking at him
with attention
"From
the wedding ring!" he exclaimed "Yes, she had my wife's ring on her
finger! I have it in the safe Detective! "
"You
should give it to me Mr. Sandovall!"
Lindsay was
at the cemetery with Danny to make the recovery of the second body
"Why
Mac also sent you to recover this body?" the husband asked to his wife
from the deep hole where he was digging
"Just
because I had a child, does not mean that I can’t work!" she said throwing
the earth in his hair "You keep digging, that Sheldon can’t wait to
examine the body!"
"Excuse
if I ask you it, but after Lucy wasn’t you less active?" he said throwing
out of the hole a shovelful of earth
"Every
pregnancy is different Danny," she said, finishing up arrange the camera
and the kit of the investigations "Have you finished? I want to have some
fun too! "
"Of
course! But I always have to do the heavy work! "Danny snorted catching
sight the wood of the coffin "Here we are!" he smiled triumphantly
cleaning the top of the crate funeral, from the earth" Here's our Jane
Doe!"
"How
about you let me capture the moment?" Lindsay said smiling with camera in
hand.
Mac was
sitting at Christine's restaurant on a table reserved and quite close to the kitchen
door. The place was full though the rush hour was long past. After a wait that
seemed interminable, the door opened and Christine appeared flushed
"There's hell in there! Please, excuse me!" she gasped sitting in
front of him
"It's
nothing serious!" Mac smiled "Are you ready?"
"Well
prepared and you?" she smiled euphoric
"Nervous
..." he admitted tightening them hands
"You
want to know something?" Christine said leaning towards him "I just
lied!" she said whispering "Actually, I'm scared!"
Mac smiled
"You'll see it will go well!" he said rising and taking the few steps
that separated them. He lifted Christine up and took off her apron, after that
he disbanded her blond hair which fell gently on her shoulders.
"But
you're sure you can stay home from work for a few hours ?" she said turning
to him
"At last
I’ll find out the sex of my son! I do not want to miss even a second of our
family!" he said pulling out his cell phone that was sounding " What
is it Angela?"
"I found
a very interesting thing!" the girl screamed euphoric
"I
hope for you that it matters, I do not know what stills restrain me from firing
you!" he said going out with Christine from the restaurant
"An
old memo that has been preserved very well in a plastic bag on the boat how
important is it to you?" Angela grinned
"It
depends on the content!" Mac said briskly walking with his wife to the
taxi rank
"Dr.
Lionel Lars , 15:00 Friday, December 16th!"
"Tell
me where you found it!" he said walking by taking Christine 's hand
"In a
drawer in the cabin with other objects including a calendar, from which they
'll get along a lot, and a pen!" she explained hastily
"Do some
research on this Dr. Lars!" Mac said stopping a taxi
"Already
done! It is a gynecologist and he works at Trinity General! Flack is going to
ask him some questions!"
Mac boarded
the taxi with his wife "So I will meet him! I'm going with Christine!"
"Oh
right! Today is the day of father’s chores!" she said mischievously"
While we're on the topic, how the researches are progressing about mine? Did
you ever find anything else?"
"A
whole list of names of Marine on leave and who have been in my battalion in
1983 even if only for a few months. Some you have already examined, there
remain seven or eight yet to be verified!" Christine looked at Mac
concerned that perhaps they needed him "I'll leave you now, I hope you
manage to find something useful on Rebecca Sandovall soon! It goes about your
job!"
"Happy
hours off Mac! We'll talk about my work when I’ll pass the test of second
level! You know I'll make it!" she replied acid.
Christine
looked at Mac snort "These are the moments where I regret having let go of
Adam!"
"I
could not give up listening to, you're investigating on the death of one of the
women who until two years ago was known throughout the nonprofit in New
York?"
"Apparently
she didn’t committed suicide!" he said holding her to himself "I also
have the body of the Sandovall’s tomb to be investigated!" he said looking
out the window.
Jaime came
to stealthily Flack by pushing him from behind "Good morning!" she
greeted him looking at his surprised face
"Damn!
You enjoy yourself a lot to scare me!" he said pulling her to him and
kissed her gently
"I
thought" she said kneel in front of him "that we could go out for
lunch..."
"I’d
love it Jaime!" he said disconsolately
"But
you have to do ..." she huffed
"I
have to go to the hospital by a Dr. Lars ... for the case!" Flack snorted
taking the keys of the police car
"Then at
my house for dinner tonight and you cannot refuse!" she said rising from
the ground
"Okay!"
Flack smiled gently rising from his chair "At eight o'clock?"
"Well
done!" Jaime said by kissing him softly "Bring the wine!” she touched
with the index the tip of his nose and then she walked away toward her desk.
At the
hospital Mac and Christine sat outside the door of the doctor waiting for their
turn.
There were
about six or seven couples waiting. A woman with long hair blacks and dark
hazel eyes instantly recognized Christine and greeted her with a wave of his
hand, next to her sat a man in his fifties wearing the uniform of the Marines
in service. He had his arms folded and a mustache, under which stood a proud
and even selfish smile.
Christine
stood up, followed by Mac, and stopping in front of her, she whispered "I did not think I would
have met you here, Erika!"
"What
can you do? Now here I am here one year on and two no!" she smiled
standing up to hug her "But you're at the number one and I bet he's the
lucky dad!" she said pointing to Mac who had remained respectfully next to
his wife smiling at the woman
"Yeah!
You guessed it! "Christine smiled Mac taking his arm.
The Marine
stood up and he came up beside his wife encircling her by the shoulders
"I'm Sergeant Russell!" he said by eyeing Mac assuming the attitude
of superior "At the moment I have a permit of a few weeks from Iraq!"
"Not
only Sergeant, but also Chief-Instructor and there is also a Silver Star!"
Mac said observing the ribbon bar to his chest
"Yes,
that's right!" he said looking at Mac from above. He was definitely huge
and Mac hardly reached at his chest "But don’t we already know
ourselves?" Mac clenched his fists looking alia reflecting a moment and in
the end he grin in a wicked manner "Yes I remember now who you are! You
are -Golden Voice-! Do you still song like a bell out of tune?" he said
making a big laugh
"You
know each other?" their wives asked in unison a little surprised
"Certainly!"
Sergeant Russell said while he still laughing "The dwarf was doing
training with me!"
"It's
true, we were to do the three months of military training together, then we
left for Beirut!" Mac said holding his nerve
"The
poor man asked a question to Sergeant Chief Instructor on the first day and he
had to sing the whole hymn of the Marine Corps doing push-ups!" he said laughing
loudly by attracting the attention of all present
"You
have not changed at all! You still have the ability to attract attention to
you!" Mac said looking him sternly
"You
know, honey" the Sergeant said to his wife "it is said that the worst
years are lived in high school, but he lived them immediately after condensed
in three months!"
"Keep
your voice down! You want me to throw you out of the hospital?" Mac
threatened him
"I
used to put your head in the toilet every morning! You really hope to be able
to scare me?" Sergeant Russell laughed sarcastically
"I may
be on leave since 1992, but you know that I still remember how to land a
man!" Mac growled through clenched teeth
"That's
enough James! You're exaggerating!" Erika broke in
"Mac,
calm down! Thus angry is not like you! Let's sit!" Christine invited him
pulling his shirt sleeve
"It
was nice to see you again -Golden Voice-!" the Marine urged
"I'm
Detective Taylor of the New York Crime Lab, anyway!" he said
"See
you soon – Golden Voice of Lab-!" Sergeant Russell said for the last time
perfidiously.
Christine
tightened her grip on the Mac that was about to turn back to face the old
comrade in arms and the doctor opened the door luckily. The doctor came out
holding the list of names "The next is Mrs. Taylor!"
"Thank
God!" Christine whispered to herself "Here we are!" she said
dragging Mac who took a last cold look to Sergeant sat with his wife,
embarrassed by the scene.
Flack was
sitting in the office of Dr. Lars asking him questions "You're wrong! I
did not have to cure Ms. Sandovall, I had under treatment their maid! Mrs.
Stewart!" the senior doctor, with a beard and glasses blacks, said shaking
his head
"Mrs.
Stewart, by chance, she looks like this woman?" Flack said pulling out a
picture from the inside pocket of his jacket
"Not
only looks like her but it's her!"
"This
is actually Mrs. Sandovall! How do you explain the fact that she falsified her
name to come to you to make medical examinations? "
"She
probably did not want her husband to know about her medical visits!" Dr.
Lars replied
"It
seems a bit obvious ... What was the state of health of Mrs. Sandovall" Flack
asked maintaining a posture made.
The doctor
stood up "I've got her medical records! I show it to you!" he took
the folder from the drawer and showed it to the Detective "She came to me
believing that she was pregnant, that poor girl!"
Flack
opened the folder by reading the report of some analysis "She had uterine
cancer!" he said shocked "How much was left to her to live?"
"About
a month ... I remember that when I told her, she smiled at me and said -No
doctor! It will be long before my last end!-"
Flack
nodded "Thank you doctor! I bring with me the folder!" he stood up
and left the office.
Outside in
the hall he looked toward him Mac and Christine "Judging by tour faces the
ultrasound went well!"
"It
went really well, Don!" Mac smiled hugging his wife "We know for sure
that it's a boy! What appears to be a cyst has finally stopped growing! "
"Wow!"
he smiled before getting dark and serious "I guess now you will be
immensely happy, and believe me, I'm sorry to ruin the moment!"
Mac
resigned sigh "What's New on the case?"
"The
victim had uterine cancer and, according to what the doctor said, I think she
has herself killed by someone! "
Mac nodded
"I think I'll talk to Jo and ask her to re-interrogate Sandovall!"
"And
their maid!" Flack added "I made her a few questions, but,
apparently, she's up to her neck in this story!"
In that
moment, next to Mac passed Sergeant Russell and his wife "Hello Golden
Voice of Lab! Are you still here? Today you do not play to the small chemical?
"
"I'm
going to play it with you today, just because you're at home!" he said
turning "I need a sample of your DNA!"
"You
need a warrant for that little dwarf!"
Mac smiled
"No, if I arrest you!"
"On
what charge?" he laughed behind his mustache
"Insulting
a public official!" Mac laughed with smile more treacherous than the one
of Russell "I have also my colleague as a witness!"
"Know that,
even though it seems, I run fast!" Flack said seriously "So be a good
boy and do not run!"
Christine
and Erika watched the scene affected and shocked by the behavior of their
husbands
"All
right!" Sergeant concluded "I deliver voluntarily for DNA testing!
Excuse me, but why me? "
"Simply
because you appear on a list of probable rapists!" Mac said crossing his
arms "Rape that even I was not sure it had happened!"
"You
speak to Angela, Mac?" Flack asked
"I
want to leave to her the task of discovering the truth," he said with
serious look
Erika was
terrified, "Can you explain me what's going on?" She turned to her
husband, "Tell me that you're not involved in this matter!"
“Beirut in
1983?" Russell asked
“Beirut in
1983," Mac confirmed
"James?
What does it mean?" his wife asked.
Mac was
embarrassed by the scene with my hands busy to tighten the handcuffs around the
wrists of Russell
"Mac!
I'll take Erika!"said Christine
"Are
you sure?" Mac asked worried
"Don’t
worry! See you at home!"
Mac took
the sergeant's arm and Flack took him by the other and they walked toward the
elevator.
Danny and
Lindsay watched the autopsy report
"I can
hardly believe it!" Danny said by banging his fist on the table
"Everything suggests that this woman has committed suicide!"
"Maybe
because this woman has committed suicide!" Lindsay said by looking at the
screen "Now we also know the name! Lara Jones! "
"She
was in CODIS?" her husband asked approaching
"No,
in the database of missing persons! She was reported exactly a year and a half
ago by the mother!"
"Here,
however, I read that she is no longer alive!" he said pointing to an attached
file "Poor woman! She couldn’t even cry her daughter!"
"This
case is solved apart from of the ring on her finger that is still to be
explained. Now we only have the murder: there is a scene and a gun to look for!"
Lindsay said taking what was left of the victim's clothes from a closet and
laid them on the table of the laboratory "Here we'll surely find
something!"
"Let’s
work!" Danny smiled opening the plastic bag and passing all under a lamp of
laboratory at ultraviolet rays, suddenly something caught his attention
"Boom! Here we are!" he said taking the tongs and showing his
discovery Lindsay
"What's
this? It looks like a fiber woven red!" she cried observing it
"Let's
see if what you say is true!" Danny said putting the evidence on a slide
and then under a microscope "We are not going long way ... it's fleece! It
is a fabric used in carpets, corduroy, velvet and plush toys! "
"I
would say that we are at a standstill!" Lindsay said sitting on the chair
rubbing her temples
"Are
you okay?" Danny asked seeing her in that state, she nodded smiling
"Not even you know which way to head it?"
"Yeah!"
she admitted
Sheldon was
with Jo downstairs in the morgue. That was an work argument that seemed to have
no end "How do I have to tell you that there is no bullet?" he asked
for the umpteenth time
"So we
have nothing to accuse Sandovall of murdering his wife!"
"It
might well have been the governess!" Sheldon said "Think about it,
the boat is not the scene of the crime and it's been too long since it
happened!"
"When
Mac called me yesterday, telling me that I had to take care of the case, I
thought he was just talking about the interrogation of Sandovall and staff of
the villa! Of course I didn’t think I would have had to direct all the
operations!" she said surprised
Sheldon
asserted "I understand. You thought to still have Mac as a reference
point! But now the case of Angela could get a match and she will finally have
justice!"
Jo looked
at Sheldon in the eyes "We still have that appointment, remember?"
"Sure,
but I think, for now, we can’t do anything!" he said closing the corpse in
the freezer "In addition to the affairs of coroner, there are those as
Detective to attend! There is the examination of a second level that comes
close!"
"You
have signed up for the exam?" Jo asked surprised "I thought given the
fact that Sid had given you the direction of the morgue ..."
"No!"
Sheldon said "I do not dare to do only the coroner!" he said pulling
off his gloves and throwing them in the trash "I want to do more!" he
said walking over to her "I'm not made to stay closed in here or exit
only to declare the dead!"
Jo found
herself very close to him so as to feel its warmth "It's late, I think
you're tired and you need to get some sleep!”
"For
that matter, you also need to rest!" he said kissing her softly
"My
daughter is waiting for me!" she said evading the kiss "See you
tomorrow!" she said stroking his face.
In the
early afternoon of the next day, Angela looked at the Marine sitting in the
interrogation room behind the glass with Mac “I can hardly believe it!" she
managed to say "My mother is coming here! She said that she wanted to see
his face!"
"I
don’t think it's a good idea!" Mac suggested
"My
mother and I are sick! The only reason for that I wanted to know who my father
was, it’s for tell him that I am happy that he would have rot behind bars!"
"You
wanted to just give a name and a face to the source of your hatred!" Mac
exclaimed "That's why when you thought it was me thy father thou hast
threatened me!"
"You
have no idea of what it means to be alone with a mother who does the reporter,
alone at home or by neighbors for weeks because the only way thanks to which
you can live in dignity is her job! Hoping and praying that she would return
alive after three months of work in Africa in the midst of wars and revolts!"
she said with tears in her eyes "Knowing that because of him my mother has
not had a career and it’s for his fault that I grew up alone, it makes me sick.
I'm sick at the thought that he is my father!"
Mac came up
to her and put his hand over his face wiping away the tears "You're right!
I can only imagine how can you feel! But if your mother sees you cry, do not
you think that it would hurt her even more?"
"Now
are you to be right, Mac!" she said trying to contain herself.
From the
door came a woman of the same age as Mac, from short brown hair and smiled at
Angela "Hello darling!"
"Mom!
We will have justice!" Angela said taking her hand “Let me introduce you
Detective Taylor”
The woman
looked up at Mac “I had seen him as they dragged him away blood covered in the
rubble of Beirut and then that damn night when ..." she paused to choke a
bad thought “I'm glad to see that you
had recovered and you're still protecting our country!"
"I
really admire Angela, Mrs. Meyers!" Mac smiled "I do what I can
within the limits of my work!"
He left
them alone to enter the hall with Flack "So Sergeant Russell" Mac
began sitting in front of him "DNA testing has revealed that you are the
biological father of my colleague Angela Meyers!"
"So
what?" he asked
"You're
in big trouble!" Flack said
"Not
as much as Golden Voice! Even he was there that night and if I do his name his
career will be irreparably damaged!" the Marine smirked
"My
name is Mac Taylor! The woman you raped thirty years ago is out here! She saw
me hurt and that night she remembers every last detail!" Mac replied with
calm
"A
good lawyer will be able to prove that she is suffering from the bad memory and
he will establish that her testimony is unreliable!” the Sergeant replied without batting an eyelid
"You
can still save your military career and your reputation in front of your wife
and your children" Flack said handing him a pad and a pen "Write the
names of who that night raped that woman with you!"
Sergeant
Russell smiled and shook his head "We're out of the Marine Corps Russell!
Here the logic of the group above the individual does not count! Here, if
you're the only one to pay, you have the worst fate!" Mac said looking at
him grimly "For your sake Russell, begin to write!" Mac in reply
received a spit in the face. Flack handed him a handkerchief with a look that
begged him to stay calm, Mac assured him with a calm and relaxed look, he wouldn’t
have given a victory so easily to his former comrade in arms.
"Take
him away Flack!" Mac said getting up to leave the room "He decided
his condemnation by himself!"
Jo was
sitting with Danny in the living room of the house of Sandovall, in front of
them were sitting Maximilian Sandovall and the housekeeper, Mrs. Mary Stewart,
when a girl came into the immense room "Max you saw ..." she was
struck by the presence of Detectives "I did not think we had guests!"
"Of
course!" Mrs. Stewart muttered "She never thinks unlike the lady
Sandovall! She is a girl who loves to play and joke!"
The girl
looked down embarrassed and intimidated. Jo looked at her puzzled, she had no
more than twenty-five years, and seemed to have some connection with Mr.
Sandovall "Who is she?" she finally asked to the owner of the house
"My
wife! I remarried since one month!" he said smiling "It was an
intimate ceremony and there was the press!"
"Mrs. Sandovall,
you sit down, too?" Danny asked gently
The girl,
visibly agitated sat next to Mr. Sandovall
"You
have never met Mrs. Rebecca Ward Sandovall?" Jo asked
"No, I
only know what everyone knows and what Max told me: Rebecca committed suicide”
"Where
did you meet?" Asked Danny
"In
Monte Carlo! He was on vacation, and I was the caregiver of a wealthy English
lady! We fell in love and he asked me to marry him right away" Mrs.
Sandovall said
"I
would say that since you are all three to be interrogated separately, it is
better to move to the Police Department," Danny concluded by inviting them
to follow them.
Mac sighed
opening the door and, when he closed and double-locked behind him, he leaned
against it and slid up to sit on the ground.
Millie came
instantly with Christine
"Mac,
what happens? Are you sick? "Christine asked agitated
"No,
he's fine! He's just shocked!" Millie said noting the look of Mac
unfocused "I do not see this look in his eyes from the first year of high
school!" Millie said lowering and placing his hand on the shoulder of Mac "How
about you tell us what happened?"
"It
happened what we already knew would have happened!" Mac said standing up
and helping her mother to do the same "The problem is that I don’t know
how to say it to Russell’s wife!"
"Erika
is a friend of mine for some years now, I’ll talk to her!" Christine said
taking her jacket
"You
forget that she is pregnant and they have four children!" Mac said
"She
trusts me!" Christine insisted
"Try
to convince her then, to make Russell talk!" Mac said preparing to go out
again.
Jo was
listening to the Mrs. Sandovall in the interrogation room while Danny was busy
with the governess in the next room and Lindsay was talking with Mr. Sandovall.
"When
I met Max, I was immediately told by the lady that I had under guardianship
that he was a widower and that he had been completely destroyed by the end of
her marriage!" she drummed her fingers on the table "That huge
mansion, it is his family house for generations by now. I can go anywhere, but
not to the little house on the beach where the boat of Rebecca a time was
moored. In that place Max has closed all the things of his late wife to not see
them ever again, to not remember her!"
"What's
your relationship with the governess instead?" Jo asked
"We don’t
get along, she is still tied to the old Mrs. Sandovall. She considers me a kind
of ornament, a replacement that Max found for not living alone!" she said
bursting into tears
"That's
why you are scared of her!" Ms. Sandovall nodded to Jo
Danny
listened to what the governess had to say "For me, Rebecca has never
committed suicide! I've always said that it was Mr. Sandovall to kill her!
"
"But
how can you be sure?"
"Those
two loved themselves to the madness! But Mr. Sandovall was unstable for some
time! The fact that he has remarried after a year and a half from the entire
story shows how the fact of the murder wants to be concealed!" the woman
said fair
"So
for you was Mr. Sandovall?"
"If I
were you I would do a check in the old Rebecca’s hut!" the governess suggested "Something
had happened there!"
"Christine?"
Erika said surprised soon as she saw her at the door of her apartment
"What are you doing here?" then she looked at Mac "And him? Why
is he with you?! "
"We
need to talk to you about James, of what the police discovered!" Christine
said entering with her husband in the modest flat. A boy of thirteen surveyed the
newcomers with fear and distrust, next to him there were three little girls of
eight, five and three years “Hello!” Mac greeted them showing at once kind.
"Hello!"
the smallest said followed by the other two. The male kept looking at Mac as if
he was afraid
"Arthur,
bring your sisters in the other room!" Erika chimed
"What does
Arthur have?" Mac asked
"Afraid,
afraid of all male adults. His father follows him with a strict and rigid line of
education, too much. He doesn’t realize that he is not one of his recruits!"
she said placing the sofa "Fortunately, he is almost never at home! When
there’s no James Arthur is optimistic, upbeat, it's like every pre-adolescent
must be! But when his father comes home ... he is transformed!"
"James
has always been this way, he wanted perfection, he did not tolerate the weak
elements and he punished them severely, even on the battlefield." Mac said
sitting down with Christine
"What
can you tell me about James?" Erika asked
"He
has proven to be the father of a member of my team, he is involved in the first
person in the facts of Beirut." Mac said
"Who
are the others?" Erika asked in a firm voice
"He
refuses to speak, he uses the code of honor of the Marines, a code that is not
written on paper, but that all members recognize!" Mac explained
"You're
the only one who can do something about Erika!" Christine said looking at
her friend "You can avoid that he ends up in prison for life!"
"If he
speaks, he can really serve the sentence in a reasonable time?" she asked
looking at Mac
"He'll
be convicted of rape, but he should do it long before the need the U.S.
Marines!" he told her.
That
evening Jo was with Danny and Flack to examine the Sandovall’s hut looking for
more evidence
"Boom!"
Danny said with a smile in thirty-six teeth "Carpet pile, the same color
present on the clothing of Rebecca!" he said looking at the carpet put in
the hall as runner "A special type of carpet! I would say that we have our
crime scene!"
Jo looked
carefully at the table ornamental leaning against the wall, under a mirror
"Take a look here! The angle is chipped! "
Flack
noticed a hole in the wall in the bedroom, it was quite low "There is
something here!"
Danny
hurried forward into the room and looking at the hole he exclaimed " Nice
Don! We have the bullet hole!" he reached into the pliers “Jo we are
lucky! It's still here!" he said putting the bullet in the bag "I'm
sure it's a revolver!"
"Well
then we try the revolver!"
They plowed
the hut from top to bottom, but there was no trace of the weapon.
Christine
came home tired and stressed with Mac at her side "Aren’t you working
tonight?" she asked closing the door
"No, I
will spend the evening with you!" he smiled rolling up his shirt sleeves
"The subway has made you tired!" he noted seeing her yawn "Sit
down on the couch! I'll prepare something for dinner!"
In the kitchen
Mac was surprised by his mother at the stove and by the parents of Christine
"Good evening!" Mac said
"Good
evening!" the father of Christine replied with a searching look
"Why
that look Mr. Whitney?"
"I
read an article just released on the internet that will be the first page of
tomorrow! It is true that in Beirut in 1983 the Marines raped an American reporter?"
he asked accusingly
"You
are not wrong that's it, I'm still investigating to find those responsible! I
know that soon, although, the Marine Corps will intervene and I hope it will
happen soon!"
"Mac,
we know you for so many years, you were also a friend and colleague of our son.
I need to know, you were there that night and you have participated in the
thing?"
Millie had
a sudden jerk "How dare you to accuse my son?!"
"Mom!"
Mac restrained her "Please! Calm down!" he turned to the father of
Christine " Yes, I was there, but I was hurt and I did not do anything!"
"So
you see who it was?" Christine’s mother churches
"No!"
Mac sighed "I haven’t much to work on, but I got caught one of the
culprits!"
Mac began
to rummage in the pantry and in the cupboard looking for kitchen tools
"Mac
get changed if you want to cook! This is one of the most beautiful shirts that
you have!" his mother addressed him.
Mac had in
his hands a wooden spoon and a jar of sauce and he had to put down them puffing
"When do you come back to Chicago?"
"When
my grandson will be born!" the woman said taking the wooden spoon and the
jar left by his son on the kitchen counter and she began to prepare the sauce.
Christine's
father stood up from the chair on which he sat and he followed Mac in the
bedroom throwing a quick look at the daughter who had fallen asleep on the
couch. Mac was shirtless and he was looking for a short-sleeved shirt that can
be worn in the antique dresser that elegantly furnish the room. In the mirror,
his busy image was reflected and it was at that moment that Christine’s father
saw two Mac’s scars: one on his back, more recently and delineated, and one in his
chest, older and irregular as well as large. He stared at those signs
surprised.
"Mr.
Whitney what you're doing on the door of my bedroom?"
"Just
checking Christine!" he said hastily
"But
she is there in the hall!" Mac said pulling at the end of a purple t-shirt
"Don’t lie! You wanted to make sure somehow that I wasn’t lying!" he
said smiling calm "Come in and close the door! I will tell you in detail
how it happened" he said standing up his shirt to show the old wound on
the left side of the chest "On condition that it remains between us! My
mother does not know I was injured so severely! " he said donning and
sitting down on the bed.
Danny was
at home with Lindsay who was serving steamed vegetables and roast chicken for
dinner
"I don’t
like vegetables!" Lucy exclaimed throwing the fork on the plate
"Lucy,
vegetables are good! I even eat them for your little brother and soon he'll eat
them too!" Lindsay said stroking her cheek "Be a good girl!" the
girl shook her head with disapproval
"Then
do this" Danny said taking a portion of vegetables "Whoever finishes
first between you and me is the champion and will be able to watch
television!"
"You
can watch what you want?" the little girl asked excitedly
"Of
course, until nine o'clock and not at eight-thirty!" Danny said holding a
fork
"All
right!" the little girl exclaimed
"Three,
two, one ... go!" Danny said slipping into his mouth carrots and potatoes
followed closely by his daughter who ended the dish for first
"I
won! Dad you lost!” little Lucy exulted
"Good
girl!" he said rising and kissing her "I'm sorry but now dad has to go back to
work!"
Lindsay was
surprised "But tonight you don’t have the turn!"
"Jo
was able to get a warrant for the house of Sandovall! As soon as we found something
I promise I'll be back!" he said kissing her "Do not be the despair
of your mother, Sid!" he said stroking the cheek of the child in the
cradle and, given another pat on the Lucy’s head, he left the house.
In the
subway, Danny noticed a man sitting next to the door that seemed to know. He
walked over and was surprised to see that he was a relative of the victim on
which he was investigating "Ludwig Ward! What are you doing at this hour
on the subway?"
"Do
not tell me that you're a journalist too! No comments on the discovery of my
cousin!" he snorted. Danny in response pulled his shirt and show the
distinctive "I would say that I should answer the question then!" he
sighed leaning back in his seat "I'm going to visit Mrs. Stewart! She
wants to talk about Rebecca!"
"Well!
I take this opportunity to ask you some questions then!" Danny said
sitting down next to him" You are recently back in town, what have you done
far from New York to date?"
"Business,
I was in Italy in Rome to discuss the potential opening of a branch of my
company!" he said quietly.
The subway
stopped several times but in the end the two men got together at the same stop
and walked toward the huge villa.
Jo and
Flack had already begun to pursue the rooms, Danny joined them and it was he to
find a safe in the library "Mr. Sandovall, open the safe!" Maximilian
Sandovall was dumbfounded but he agreed to the request for Danny "What do
we have here? A revolver!" he examined it and he passed it into the hands
of Jo who examined more carefully
"The
caliber of the bullet is the same!" the woman Detective concluded looking at
Flack
"Apparently
the ritual phrase for me!" he said not surprised "Maximilian
Sandovall, you're under arrest for the murder of your wife!"
"But
it was not me! I did not do anything!"
Mac looked
at his mother to go to her room and turn off the light, the father of Christine
was no longer in the home and the mother-in-law was alone with her daughter
sitting on the couch "Do you not have any particular desire?"
"To
tell you the truth I have one, but I have to wait until tomorrow morning at
work to satisfy her!" she smiled sitting cross-legged on leather sofa
"Why
do you have to wait until tomorrow?"
"Because
I wish to blueberries ..." she said sullenly "And I can’t ask Mac to
go out and buy them!"
"Why?"
Mother churches already seeing Mac advance in their direction
"I'm
allergic to blueberries!" he exclaimed sitting in the armchair available
in the living room next to the window and he looked out. He smiled for a
moment, he stood up and he went up to the four steps that separated the living
area from the small mezzanine where he devoted himself to work. On the table in
ebony wood he searched a yellow folder from the library and behind him he took
a volume of anatomy. He returned then to the armchair.
"Can I
ask you a personal question?" he asked the women seated who nodded
"If you were to kill a man in front of the apartment with a gun, which
tactics would you use?"
"What?"
the mother-in-law asked
"It's
a cold case right?" Christine asked standing up and looking out the window
"If I had to kill our neighbor across I would make sure that he is still
at the window to have more chances to kill him with one shot ..." she
frowned for a second her face "Maybe I'd start yelling at him that I
needed help ... he overlooks and I could shoot!"
The mobile
phone of Christine’s mother rang "The company is nice, but my husband has
just parked below and tells me to get there!" she stood up and hugged her
daughter "Anyway, in my opinion, it would not be enough to hold him in
place window, you should have someone quick ready to intervene in case I fail!
Maybe inside the apartment of my neighbor across" she said to Mac
"You
would be good serial killer you two!" he joked opening the door of the
house
"Good
night, dear ones!" the mother of Christine smiled coming out.
Mac turned
to his wife after he had closed the door and crossed his arms "That look
that you have I don’t see it by a bit on your face ... what's bothering
you?" Christine said
"Blueberries
eh?" he asked "How long are you eating them?"
"Every
morning since three weeks!" she exclaimed revealing her secret "If
you're still alive it means that I’m very cautious!"
Mac took
her in his arms "Do not tell me you want them even now!" he said
heading for the bedroom
"Not
now! Because I want something else ..." she said kissing his cheek "Close
the door!" she whispered to him on his lips "I want to be cuddled
without hearing your mother's snoring!"
Mac lay
down on the bed and took his wife in his arms "Exactly to December our son
should be born" Christine said puffing and broken away she sat up throwing
shoes on the ground
"We'll
get away with the cold of New York very soon!" Mac said to her pulling off
his shirt.
"I'm
so tired that I did not even have the strength to put my nightgown!"
"I'll
help you!" he said pulling out her the shawl from behind and lowering the
zipper of her dress. Christine raised her arms and she found herself in her bra
in front of Mac who smiled "Incredible! You feel that he is moving?"
"You
still do not believe it! You'll see that as soon as they will put him in your
arms you will realize of being a father!" Christine said doing tuck to herself
her nightgown
"I
hope to relies it before, because I have a few ideas on how to decorate the
room!"
"Yeah
sure, as soon as they will tell us that the new home is ready!" Christine
snorted falling on the pillow
"Moving
House was what we wanted!" Mac said standing up and taking a pair of pants
of a suit. He laid down on the bed and Christine laid her head on his chest and
closed her eyes. Mac gently massaged her back and listened to her breathing
"What are you thinking?" he asked looking at her smile
"At
all the times that I have listened to your heart beat! This is certainly the
best time! You are not life threatening, you're not upset, you are not worried
about me and your job worries are minimized!" she looked up at him leaning
her elbow on his chest "And what are you thinking?"
"At
all the times I have looked death in the face! Since I know I will become
father I decided to run least possible risk and for now it works!" he
smiled
"Get
you almost torn to pieces by a dog is the least possible risk that you can
run?" she said taking his right arm "Fortunately, the sign is going
away! At least this adventure won’t have a lasting impression!"
Mac changed
the subject "The brave idea to buy that house in colonial style on Staten
Island was brilliant, but without the necessary money to buy it entirely, it will
never be completely ours!"
Christine
went back with her head on the chest of Mac "I still have the restaurant
that gives profits! Part of the money will keep coming!”
They were
about to fall asleep when Mac had to get up to answer the phone "Taylor,
what's up?"
"Detective!
Sandovall’s villa is on fire! Your colleague, Jo Danville, needs you! The
situation is critical!" the policeman shouted at the other end of the
phone
"I’ll
be right there!"
Mac dressed
quickly, he took the gun and he kissed his wife on the forehead "I'm sorry!"
he said before leaving "We will resume here next time!"
Jo was able
to see the Mrs. Sandovall between that survived of the fire "I have to
talk about something which was kept from my husband in his study, Detective!"
she whispered agitated while the paramedics were taking her the blood pressure
"There was a letter from Rebecca in the desk drawer which he could not throw,
he is in prison unjustly."
"Wait,
what are you trying to say? Do you have proof?" Jo asked
"Not
any more since they are burned!" Mrs. Sandovall said standing up
"That was a letter from Rebecca that communicated to Max his intention to
commit suicide with a gun of the safe! He went to the little house on the river
to dissuade her, but in the scuffle a shot set off, then Max went looking for
help but when he returned Rebecca was gone and even the boat!"
Mac came
close to Jo and introduced himself to Mrs. Sandovall "Detective Taylor, I
have just been notified of the fire, I'm sorry to have lost the house!"
"If it
were only that the problem Detective! I lost the evidence that could exonerate
my husband there and for me it is a thousand times more important than the
home!"
Mac leaned
toward her "If you telling the truth and we can find some relevant
evidence, your husband will be acquitted. But you must tell me everything that
happened, starting when her husband was arrested until now!"
Mrs.
Sandovall nodded "I thought the world was about to fall on me, the
governess then decided to resign tonight after dinner and I didn’t stop her. She
said that she would move immediately and so I went to sleep, then the fire
alarm went off and now ... well, You know the rest of the story!"
Mac was
joined by the Captain of the firefighters who told him of a tragic news
"The fire is arson! An ancient candlestick was used to set fire to the
curtains and carpets of the room. We also have a victim: Mrs. Stewart, she was
holding the candlestick!"
"Thank
you," Mac replied cordially and turned to Jo "The Governess has
destroyed the house and she lost his life," Mac concluded, "But from
what we understand she was very close to Rebecca ... she did not kill
her!"
Mrs.
Sandovall stood up "I am willing to come to the center, to make me
question Detective!"
Danny
appeared from behind remaining shrouded in smoke after the fire brigade "However,
I would like to make a few more questions to Ludwig Ward!"
"It
was the favorite cousin of Rebecca! That's all I know, "said Mrs.
Sandovall
"In
what relationships were you with him?" Danny asked alongside Mac
"I had
seen him once by accident ... he had come to pay a visit to the housekeeper to
talk about Rebecca and a letter saying that it would have destroyed Maximilian
forever accusing him of murdering his wife!"
Mac looked
the innocent eyes of the woman and he was convinced that she was telling the
truth "Danny, go to the judge and ask for a search warrant for the house
of Ludwig Ward and then bring him to the department. I think Jo and I won’t
sleep tonight!"
At the
police department Ludwig Ward barely kept his eyes open "Oh, come
Detectives! I have told you everything there was to tell you! I just want to
get some sleep!" the Suspected grumbled
"I do
not think it's enough! You have not told us what your relationship was with
Mrs. Stewart!" Jo ruled
"We were
lovers, right? Rebecca knew about it and was fine, until it happened to me to
be even her lover and the letter that was mentioned by the new Mrs. Sandovall
is a letter in which she was telling me to be pregnant!"
Mac and Jo
looked at each other with understanding for a short time "Our agents have
found the letter and are now comparing the handwriting with that of Rebecca, we
will soon know what is the truth in all this!" Mac said approaching with
menacing step to suspect "I assure you, that if what you told us is a
colossal lie, you'll spend the worst night of your life!"
Jo opened
the door, letting the policemen on duty to bring Ludwig Ward in a cell.
When the
suspect was brought out, the two detectives were alone with many questions and
very few answers "Danny made wake up Sandovall, now we have to wait for
what we are told by him!" Jo said to break the silence
"I
want the evidence Jo! Do you understand that if we don’t find anything to
incriminate the cousin we must let him go? I don’t think that Mr. Sandovall is
so clever to be able to kill someone, but all signs point to him!" the
rhetorical question of Mac and his subsequent affirmation made to remember a
detail to Jo
"The
corner chipped of the furniture in the hut! If the blunt instrument where the
victim hit her head is that, it means that someone must have pushed her with forcefully,
but he must be someone who is strong enough to blow up an entire corner of a
piece of furniture!"
"This
exonerates Sandovall and brings us back to her cousin, but unfortunately it’s
not enough since there is no DNA!"
The door
opened and Hawkes made his entrance with some shocking news and the two
detectives were silent instantly "Flack told me that you were here! You
know the girl disappeared acknowledged as the wife of Sandovall due to the
ring?"
"Of
course, Lara Jones" Jo said
"She
was the fiancée of our Ludwig Ward and they had to get married! Look at this
article" the coroner said passing a tablet to Mac and Jo still sitting
around the table "-Mysterious future bride of a millionaire disappears-a
title that has really earned the first page! »Mac smirked.
Danny came
in with an account of his interrogation without knocking "I did not know
that now the meetings are done here! However, Sandovall told one thing that his
wife had failed this night: he knew from Rebecca that she was pregnant by her
cousin, an ingenious idea to make him pull a trigger! As far as he says, he was
stuck in a dreary game by his wife and her cousin. He confessed that his
marriage took place just to save the good name of Ward, in debt up to their
necks!"
"If
you do not have more Danny, it’s not enough!» Mac criticized him
"The
confession that he hated his wife, but not enough to see her dead, it’s not
enough?!" Danny was a little shocked "Mac, tomorrow in the afternoon
he goes from here because his lawyer will prove that the gun’s shot was an
accident and that he could not have killed his wife for lack of evidence!"
he said throwing the dossier of the interrogation on the table "You were
concentrated for a few days on Angela chores without finding anything relevant
to frame the other culprits. Thou hast made a personal affair, since you were
there!" he walked over to him "This case instead, on which we are
investigating, is the case that can make us play the reputation and when you're
the one who made less than all to ensure the murderess to justice!" he
ruled angry
"But
now it’s you to make it a personal affair Danny!" Mac said standing up
"Remember that the detective in charge of the crime lab's me! If I thought
that you could get by, while I solve another case, it is because I trust you
and I know that you are able to do it!"
The others
looked on without saying anything and Danny continued his harangue "You
called Jo, you told her that it was she to take up the case and you left us at
the mercy of hidden evidence untraceable!” anger had reached its peak
"Lindsay and I have passed an entire day on clothes torn to shreds and
what did we find? A fiber that has traced to a crime scene but has no trace
other than the bullet of the revolver that only Mr. Sandovall has used and it was
not that to kill the victim!"
"Mac,
why don’t you try to analyze the clothes?" Sheldon intervened to mitigate
the situation "Maybe Danny and Lindsay have missed something ..."
"Don’t
you dare to say that Lindsay and I don’t know how to do our job Hawkes!"
Danny growled.
Jo put her
hand on his shoulder and led him to the door
"Leave
it to me, Jo! I'll talk with Danny" Sheldon concluded replacing her and
going out with Danny
Jo walked
over to Mac "This case is creating a lot of tension and not just in the
media! The anxiety is so palpable that I do not think I will govern for a long
time! So, do something!" she turned and left Mac standing without giving
him a chance to react.
Many times
they found themselves in critical situations, maybe a thousand times if not
more, yet they were always remained a strong and united team. This time
something had broken and Mac felt, for the first time since he did that work, a
feeling of rejection towards him.