leaptad
03-24-2005, 12:51 PM
Author: Alison
Title: A Cross To Bear 5/5
Pairings: none
Summary: An episode-type fic
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: none
Terry sat across from Marjorie in the interrogation room. "Listen, you messed up. We know you're involved. But I don't believe that you murdered your sisters and then dressed them up as if they had been killed by our serial murderer." She leaned across the table, trying to emote sympathy. "I know you didn't have any contact with the outside world. You probably didn't even know about the murders. So someone planned this and talked you into it.
"I can plead you down to accessory, but if you don't cooperate, the whole thing is going to be on you. That's three counts of murder one. Is that what you want? Do you know what's going to happen? You're going to have this baby in prison, and as soon as it's born, it's going to go into the system. Some complete stranger is going to raise your kid. And the best thing you can do is actually sign away your parental rights so it can be adopted. Otherwise, it's just going to bounce around from one foster home to another until it turn 18. I can't believe you want that."
It was working. Marjorie's eyes were filling with tears. "I just....I can't...."
"Whoever did this is killing people. Are there more bodies coming? Are they done? Are you sure they're not going to come after you?"
Marjorie snapped her focus to Terry. "No....no...he wouldn't......I mean, he did this for me. You just don't understand."
"Who? Who did this for you?"
Marjorie buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Terry sighed. "I'm going to give you a minute. Just try and collect yourself and think about what I said."
She exited the room and saw Don watching through the one-way mirror. "She's close," Terry said.
"Yeah, but I think she's more than an accessory. I think she was pretty involved in the planning."
"I'm not so sure," Terry countered. "I get the feeling someone talked her into all of this. Did you talk to the priest again? Find out what the three victims wanted to talk to him about on Sunday?"
"Yeah, we didn't get much. He just said they wanted to have Marjorie's excommunication reversed."
"You know, that doesn't sit right," said Terry. "Mother Superior said that it would be a waste of time to try and reverse it. And Marjorie said that same thing. Mother Superior also said that it wasn't Father Mann's role to decided who was and wasn't excommunicated. So, why would they even bother going to him about it?"
"So he had nothing to do with her being thrown out of the convent?" Don asked, beginning to pace.
"She said that he actually recommended it."
"How many men would she have contact with?"
"According to Mother Superior, none, except Father Mann." She paused for a moment, her head spinning. "His name seems to come up a lot, don't you think?"
--
Terry confidently re-entered the interrogation room. Marjorie had stopped crying and was staring at her hands which were flat on the table. "How long had you and Father Mann been having sex before you got pregnant?"
She rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so dirty. We were in love. These vows of chastity... many, many Catholics feel that they are archaic and should be lifted."
"So he had you kicked out of the church to save his own butt."
"Being a priest is more than a job, detective. It's a way of life, a calling. And this baby is a blessing from God. I don't want anything from him."
"But your friends found out. They knew what he had done. They probably threatened to have him disrobed. So he killed them. He bashed them over the head and then slit their throats. Dressed them like the victims of the serial killer. He knew the MO from the papers. Short skirts, bodies found in the middle of the woods. He tried to do everything just like in the news. Only it didn't work because we didn't tell the papers about the fact that the victims had all been burglarized. None of the serial killer's victims had any jewelry. Father Mann didn't know that so he left the gold crosses around their neck."
Marjorie listened to every word without speaking or looking at Terry. "See, we're pretty smart around here," Terry snarled.
"I need to keep my baby," Marjorie finally answered quietly.
"If you cooperate, we'll see what we can do. I want a video taped confession."
Marjorie hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
--
"We've got him," Terry said, excitedly as she re-joined Don outside the interrogation room.
"Good work," he said. "I already sent some men to go pick up the priest. Now we're down to one murderer."
"Nope. We're down to none," said David Sinclair, joining them. "Sorry, I didn't want to wait with this news. You know that APB we put out for the final resident in Charlie's hot zone? The one we thought skipped town?" Don nodded. "He didn't skip town. He died. We got a hit in the morgue. He was involved in a fatal car accident two weeks ago, right around the time the killing stopped."
Don took the report from David and skimmed it. "He kills five people and then he plows into a telephone pole while driving drunk."
"We just got the DNA results back," David continued. "His skin was under the victim's fingernails."
"Well," said Don, shrugging. "I guess the taxpayers don't have to pay for his trial now."
Terry rolled her eyes.
--
Don sat on a wicker chair on the porch in Charlie's house with a cold beer. Their father had gone out for the evening with one of his friends. "Thanks, buddy," he said to his brother, who was sitting in a chair next to him. "We couldn't have done this one without you."
Charlie nodded and stared at the floor as if it were terribly interesting. Don could see the smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'm always happy to help. You know that."
"So, about the other thing. The thing we were talking about in the ME's office. So you've never...?"
"Oh, come on!" Charlie said, embarrassed. "Let's just drop that." He glanced at Don, who was still waiting for an answer. "Let's just say my big brother wasn't really around when I needed him to show me the ropes with women."
Don thought about that. He had moved away right they both graduated from college, but Charlie had still been so young then. He thought about all of the things Charlie had missed out on: prom, dating, drive-in movies. "Well, I'm here now," he said. "If you have any questions."
Charlie laughed. "I'll have to think about that one. But I'm glad you're here."
Don tipped his bottle and clinked it against Charlie's glass. "Me too, buddy."
Title: A Cross To Bear 5/5
Pairings: none
Summary: An episode-type fic
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: none
Terry sat across from Marjorie in the interrogation room. "Listen, you messed up. We know you're involved. But I don't believe that you murdered your sisters and then dressed them up as if they had been killed by our serial murderer." She leaned across the table, trying to emote sympathy. "I know you didn't have any contact with the outside world. You probably didn't even know about the murders. So someone planned this and talked you into it.
"I can plead you down to accessory, but if you don't cooperate, the whole thing is going to be on you. That's three counts of murder one. Is that what you want? Do you know what's going to happen? You're going to have this baby in prison, and as soon as it's born, it's going to go into the system. Some complete stranger is going to raise your kid. And the best thing you can do is actually sign away your parental rights so it can be adopted. Otherwise, it's just going to bounce around from one foster home to another until it turn 18. I can't believe you want that."
It was working. Marjorie's eyes were filling with tears. "I just....I can't...."
"Whoever did this is killing people. Are there more bodies coming? Are they done? Are you sure they're not going to come after you?"
Marjorie snapped her focus to Terry. "No....no...he wouldn't......I mean, he did this for me. You just don't understand."
"Who? Who did this for you?"
Marjorie buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Terry sighed. "I'm going to give you a minute. Just try and collect yourself and think about what I said."
She exited the room and saw Don watching through the one-way mirror. "She's close," Terry said.
"Yeah, but I think she's more than an accessory. I think she was pretty involved in the planning."
"I'm not so sure," Terry countered. "I get the feeling someone talked her into all of this. Did you talk to the priest again? Find out what the three victims wanted to talk to him about on Sunday?"
"Yeah, we didn't get much. He just said they wanted to have Marjorie's excommunication reversed."
"You know, that doesn't sit right," said Terry. "Mother Superior said that it would be a waste of time to try and reverse it. And Marjorie said that same thing. Mother Superior also said that it wasn't Father Mann's role to decided who was and wasn't excommunicated. So, why would they even bother going to him about it?"
"So he had nothing to do with her being thrown out of the convent?" Don asked, beginning to pace.
"She said that he actually recommended it."
"How many men would she have contact with?"
"According to Mother Superior, none, except Father Mann." She paused for a moment, her head spinning. "His name seems to come up a lot, don't you think?"
--
Terry confidently re-entered the interrogation room. Marjorie had stopped crying and was staring at her hands which were flat on the table. "How long had you and Father Mann been having sex before you got pregnant?"
She rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so dirty. We were in love. These vows of chastity... many, many Catholics feel that they are archaic and should be lifted."
"So he had you kicked out of the church to save his own butt."
"Being a priest is more than a job, detective. It's a way of life, a calling. And this baby is a blessing from God. I don't want anything from him."
"But your friends found out. They knew what he had done. They probably threatened to have him disrobed. So he killed them. He bashed them over the head and then slit their throats. Dressed them like the victims of the serial killer. He knew the MO from the papers. Short skirts, bodies found in the middle of the woods. He tried to do everything just like in the news. Only it didn't work because we didn't tell the papers about the fact that the victims had all been burglarized. None of the serial killer's victims had any jewelry. Father Mann didn't know that so he left the gold crosses around their neck."
Marjorie listened to every word without speaking or looking at Terry. "See, we're pretty smart around here," Terry snarled.
"I need to keep my baby," Marjorie finally answered quietly.
"If you cooperate, we'll see what we can do. I want a video taped confession."
Marjorie hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
--
"We've got him," Terry said, excitedly as she re-joined Don outside the interrogation room.
"Good work," he said. "I already sent some men to go pick up the priest. Now we're down to one murderer."
"Nope. We're down to none," said David Sinclair, joining them. "Sorry, I didn't want to wait with this news. You know that APB we put out for the final resident in Charlie's hot zone? The one we thought skipped town?" Don nodded. "He didn't skip town. He died. We got a hit in the morgue. He was involved in a fatal car accident two weeks ago, right around the time the killing stopped."
Don took the report from David and skimmed it. "He kills five people and then he plows into a telephone pole while driving drunk."
"We just got the DNA results back," David continued. "His skin was under the victim's fingernails."
"Well," said Don, shrugging. "I guess the taxpayers don't have to pay for his trial now."
Terry rolled her eyes.
--
Don sat on a wicker chair on the porch in Charlie's house with a cold beer. Their father had gone out for the evening with one of his friends. "Thanks, buddy," he said to his brother, who was sitting in a chair next to him. "We couldn't have done this one without you."
Charlie nodded and stared at the floor as if it were terribly interesting. Don could see the smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I'm always happy to help. You know that."
"So, about the other thing. The thing we were talking about in the ME's office. So you've never...?"
"Oh, come on!" Charlie said, embarrassed. "Let's just drop that." He glanced at Don, who was still waiting for an answer. "Let's just say my big brother wasn't really around when I needed him to show me the ropes with women."
Don thought about that. He had moved away right they both graduated from college, but Charlie had still been so young then. He thought about all of the things Charlie had missed out on: prom, dating, drive-in movies. "Well, I'm here now," he said. "If you have any questions."
Charlie laughed. "I'll have to think about that one. But I'm glad you're here."
Don tipped his bottle and clinked it against Charlie's glass. "Me too, buddy."