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Beatrix
16

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As a proud member of the Jixemitri web-community the author has rated this story for content, as indicated by the color of the star near the title. This story is rated YELLOW STAR for adult situations; mild adult language; mild sexual situations or non- explicit descriptions; some violence or non-graphic descriptions.


jacket

Trixie and Erica exchanged glances as they headed through the Detective Bureau towards Captain Reilly's office. While the news they had to share might just solve the series of brutal attacks, they were anxious about how he'd receive it. Stopping in front of the door, they paused and looked at each other again.

"Let me do the talking. It was my screwup," Trixie offered.

"It wasn't really a screwup, Belden. We just jumped...made a...well, if it was a screwup; I'm senior so it was my screwup. I'll explain," Erica responded as she rapped lightly on the office door.

xxx

Jim shook hands with the two engineers and scraped the mud off his boots as best as he could before climbing back into his car. The three men had walked most of the property, pacing off potential sites for the first two as well as future buildings, recreation areas, parking and driveways, potential walking and riding trails, and more. The engineers had confirmed that the original Ten Acres site was large and level enough for a compact campus, and the land Jim had received from his father and the adjacent preserve provided more than sufficient space for outdoors activities and any future growth. And it all could be accomplished with minimal impact to the surrounding environment.

His clothes were soaked through by the cold, steady rain, but Jim wasn't uncomfortable at all. He could think of nothing else except that the school of his dreams was becoming a reality.

He waited as the engineers' Expedition backed down the drive to the turn-around and headed towards Glen Road, before starting up the engine of his Mercedes. Just as he started to put the car into gear, he became paralyzed; realizing that in a matter of months there would be buildings on this hillside filled with boys instead of scrub trees and underbrush. He was going to build his school; the school he'd dreamed about for most of his life. Yes, it would be small to start, but it could and it would grow. For the first time since he'd formulated his dream of a school for troubled youth, he knew for certain that he would build it. He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel and let the tears flow. Stifling a sob, he realized it was the first time since his mother's death that he'd allowed himself to cry. But, unlike the last time, they were not tears of sorrow. These were tears of joy.

xxx

Honey stared at the map on her computer screen. She had thought of nothing else since Barry had told her the prior evening that he had a job opportunity in Washington. She knew Richmond and Washington were close, but wondered if they were close enough to sustain a relationship; especially one that already had problems. She had just computed driving times from the Virginia Institute for Forensic Science and Medicine to one of the Senate Office Buildings in Washington. The website calculated it at just less than two hours, but she was sure that didn't allow for heavy urban traffic and she had no idea what traffic was like between the two cities. She decided to check the commuter rail. Scrolling through the Virginia Rail Express site, she was shocked to learn how pitiful rail service was in Virginia. It was limited in the DC area and non-existent in Richmond.

"Guess I'm just spoiled by New York," she said aloud.

"Did you say something, Ms. Wheeler?" Victor Scott, her new assistant, entered the room carrying a stack of files.

"Oh!" she startled. "Oh no. I was just, um, thinking. Apparently aloud!" Honey reached for the papers and smiled weakly at her assistant. She glanced back at the screen, wondering if she and Barry might work something out. At least there was hope for their relationship.

xxx

"C'mon in, Kane, Belden!"

Trixie inhaled and exhaled slowly before following Erica into the Captain's office. The large manila envelope in her hand seemed to weigh tons and she was sweating.

"Tell me what you learned from that woman." The Captain pointed to the two chairs in front of his desk and leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him.

Trixie and Erica glanced nervously at each other as they sat down. Trixie slumped down into the chair as far as possible, hoping the Captain would focus his attention on Erica and not her.

" What the heck did you learn?" Captain Reilly bellowed. He sat up straight and scooted his chair up to his desk. "What's in that envelope, Belden?"

"Have you received Eugene Daly's military records?" Erica asked.

The Captain shook his head. "Edward Daley's papers already had been pulled and my contact just had to fax them to me. He had to generate the new request from scratch for this new man. That'll take awhile...Wait! The records I gave you yesterday were for Edward Daley. The second set, for the brother of the dead Sleepyside girl is Eugene Daly? I thought you said he's Gene."

"Gene's what he goes by, but Eugene is his correct name and his last name is spelled differently from Edward Daley," Trixie clarified.

"Okay. That's not unusual. So what'd you learn about this Gene, Eugene or whoever he is?"

"He's..." Trixie started to explain. "Do you want me to start at the beginning?"

"Just tell me what the heck you learned that has you looking like a puppy who piddled on the carpet."

Trixie cleared her throat before responding. "The MP at West Point is Gene Daly, or, rather, Eugene, the brother of the dead girl from Sleepyside. Both Erica and I remember distinctly that his nametag said E. Daley spelled D-A-L-E-Y. I was very careful when I wrote it down, and then when a friend from Sleepyside and I were talking he pointed out that there were several ways to spell the name so I double checked to see what I'd written; which was the same spelling as the classmate and not the victim. Gene's ex-wife said he's had problems with that since the day he enlisted. Even his first set of dog tags was misspelled. It is confusing with all the different ways to spell his name, D-A-I-L-Y, D-A-I-L-E-Y, D-A-L-Y, D-A-L-E-Y. Probably other spellings I haven't thought about. And his full name isn't Gene, it's Eugene. Like Clean Gene. Clean Gene McCarthy. He, Eugene, actually KNEW Edward Daley-spelled-with-an-E, but they are two different people. Well, they were friends until the one died. It seems the brother and the MP is the same person,are the same persone, whatever, when we thought they were different. I knew the MP was a creep, I just thought he was a different creep, I mean somebody else. It looks like this creep killed his sister and the poor boyfriend's been sitting in a cell for years. Lauren, the ex-wife, gave us a list of dates he's been in the city to visit with his daughter, and it matches several of the assaults but not all of them. But it's enough that we can probably prove he was here the other dates, too. Oh, I almost forgot; the ex-wife gave us some photographs that you're not going to believe! Remember what the coroner said about the weapon he's been using? His ex-wife says he's a bully and having trouble dealing with his daughter's growing up and..." She paused to catch her breath.

The Captain held up a hand to silence Trixie and looked over at Erica. "Would you like to interpret?"

Erica leaned forward. "Looks like Belden's instincts about the West Point MP may be right. We're pretty certain he's our perp. His name is E. Daly. We just identified him as the wrong E. Daley. Because his id tag spelled the last name D-A-L-E-Y, we though the might be Edward Daley, D-A-L-E-Y, who happened to be from Sleepyside. Turns out the MP is Eugene Daly, D-A-L-Y, also from Sleepyside and the brother of the dead girl there. I know all these names and spellings are confusing, but believe me when I say the MP at West Point is our guy and we just need to find a way to prove it."

The Captain leaned back again. "Okay, show me everything you have. Kane. YOU show me." He looked over at Trixie and shook his head. He tried to look stern but, seeing the excitement on the rookie detective's face, he smiled. "You can watch, Belden. Silently!"

Erica was able to calmly and slowly explain to the Captain that they both had been disturbed with the West Point MP's behavior during their visit to the Academy. However, because the name on his identification tag was spelled differently from the Sleepyside victim, they hadn't considered he might be related. Also, Elizabeth Daly's brother was always referred to as Gene and the first initial of the MP was E. It was only when Trixie was speaking to someone in Virginia, and they were talking about Gene being a common nickname for Eugene, that either of them even considered E could be for Eugene.

Trixie attempted to break in several times while Erica was speaking, but the Captain held up his hand and shushed her each time. He recognized that this breakthrough was due to her instincts and persistence, but he needed a clear, concise, and objective explanation.

"Even after she realized the brother might be Eugene and not Gene, we still didn't suspect the MP as being Gene Daley," Erica continued. "Belden became even more suspicious when you pointed out that Edward Daly was deceased, but there was nothing connecting him to anything else or to make us think he was Eugene. At least not until we met with Lauren Goodman this morning.

"Ms. Goodman is not totally objective about all this. I think she suspects her ex-husband, but she still has some loyalties. There's a child involved, and no one wants to think they married and had a child with."

The Captain nodded his understanding. He also appreciated that any evidence provided by an ex-wife would be torn to shreds by a good defense attorney if it came to trial. "So tell me exactly what this ex-wife told you."

xxx

"Yeah, Moms. I'm sorry, but I do need to spend a few more days in Baltimore. I hope you didn't go to any trouble." Brian looked over at Debbie and grinned sheepishly. He didn't want to disappoint or inconvenience his mother but he didn't want to leave Debbie either. "Good. I will be there by the weekend. That I promise. And I have absolutely no plans yet for while I'm there. Hopefully, there'll be lots of time to catch up. Okay. I'll see you then."

Brian flipped off the phone and beckoned for Debbie to come to him.

Shaking her head, Debbie stood up. "You really didn't have to do this, Brian. Your mother must be disappointed." She fluffed a throw pillow nervously, trying to hide her discomfort.

"I want to spend as much time with you as I can, Debbie. I've cancelled visits in the past and this..." Brian bit his bottom lip. Could he really be in love? He wasn't sure what he was feeling; only that he couldn't imagine spending another day on earth without the beautiful redhead staring at him. "What time is dinner?"

"Órla asked that we be there around 6:30." Debbie looked at her watch. "I need to shower and change."

"Am I okay?" Brian had showered and changed at his room before coming over and wore his usual blue dress shirt and khakis, but he was nervous about meeting Debbie's brother and sister-in-law. And their four kids.

Debbie kissed his forehead. "You look fine; mighty fine." She grinned. "They will be impressed. I promise."

"And what are the kids' names?"

"Colin, Caitlin, Kelly Rose, and Siobhan. Colin and Caitlin are the twins. They're the toddlers and,well, you'll see. Caitlin and Kelly Rose are..." She walked over to the book case, took down a large photo album, and handed it to Brian.

"The photos are all labeled. You can look through this while I shower." She turned and headed across the living area towards the bedroom. "And you can not join me. We don't want to be late."

xxx

Halfway through Erica's explanation of what they'd learned from Lauren Goodman, the Chief got up and began pacing back and forth in his office. Several times he stopped her and stood silently, obviously digesting what he'd heard. He'd then begin pacing again and motion her to continue. Erica clarified what Trixie had said about Gene's never having assaulted his wife, but he'd bullied and frightened her until she finally left him. They were unable to get Lauren to provide details about their current relationship, but she also didn't indicate he'd changed."

"Okay." He held up his hand and sat back down in his chair. "We have every reason to believe that this Gene, Eugene or whoever-he-is is the perp. I agree that you have some real damning information that connects him to our murders as well as the one at West Point. He very well could have done the one in Sleepyside. It may be no coincidence that he'd been home from college only a few days when his sister was attacked. It's also totally reasonable why her boyfriend was the prime suspect and not him. Who can blame the local police for pursuing the obvious? She and the boyfriend had fought and who'd think the brother would..." He shook his head in disbelief. "I'd put money on it that the boyfriend was set up somehow. But this is all circumstantial. We need more. A LOT more!

"And, we need to be especially careful with this. The media will go bananas if this leaks. Until we have sufficient evidence to charge him or even for a search warrant, and if were going to keep the Task Force out of it and, because he's in law enforcement, we have to assume he knows exactly what we might look for and how."

The Chief sat for a while, tapping his foot against the side of his desk.

"Give me those photographs. The ex-wife said he's had the collection since before they were married?"

Both women nodded their heads.

"How about when the sister was killed?"

"They got married right after his sister's murder," Trixie blurted out.

The chief took the photographs, shuffled through them and pulled out one. "So he had these, or at least some, when his sister was killed?

"This, I'll bet a month's salary." He tapped on one photograph. "No, make that my entire pension. I bet this is the one he's been using. If we can get forensics to test. Mmm, we've got the one witness and the Coroner confirmed it...DAMMIT! We need that search warrant."

"I'm gonna call the DA's office and see what we can do, but I don't think we have quite enough. I'm also going to figure out a way to keep the Task Force out of this. I doubt we'll be able to sidestep them for more than a day. After 24 hours, 36 tops, they'll be all over this."

"Belden, I want you to catalog everything the wife gave you. Kane, I want a written report summarizing your interview immediately. I'm gonna need it before the ADA gets over here. I also want to copy this photograph and hand carry it down to the Coroner to see if he thinks this could be the murder weapon."

"Dammit, Belden. Frustrating as it's been, it looks like your instincts came through. I think weve found our man, now we need to prove it."

xxx

Trixie ran her fingers through her disheveled hair before crossing her arms on the desktop and resting her head on them. "I don't think I even know my name right now," she mumbled. "What time is it?"

Erika purposely didn't look at the time, fearing just how late it must be. "You've had a long day. Two long days, in fact. Why don't you go home?"

"What about you? Your husband must be..."

"My husband is used to this. I told you there was a reason we don't have kids and you're seeing it firsthand." Erica then noticed the time on her computer screen. "Darn. It is late. The Captain has gone, so I think I'll just finish this first thing tomorrow. I think it's complete and it'd be a waste for me to proof it when I'm like this. I'll catch more typos after some sleep." Erica began to log off. Yawning, she muttered that she could still have it on the Captain's desk before when he gets in.

Trixie rubbed her eyes.

"Go on home, Belden." Erica stood up. "We really have made a lot of progress today, but we still have a long way to go to close this. We need some sleep if we're going to accomplish that."

"Yeah. I'm just reading the same things over and over, so that's probably a sign to quit." Trixie began logging off, wondering if it were too late to call Dan. Digging in her purse, she found her cell phone and noted there were two messages. The first was from Honey and the more recent was from Dan, asking her to call even if it were late.

"Shoot. I never checked in with Honey. I promised I'd let her know that I got back safely. And Dan. I haven't talked to him since..."

Erica laughed at Trixie's sudden spurt of energy. "Call Honey in the morning. But I'll bet your ADA is probably waiting up for your call."

xxx

Dan had waited all day and most of the evening, hoping Trixie would check in with him without prompting. He knew the one case was consuming all of her waking and probably most of her sleeping moments, and he had no idea what else she might be juggling at work, but once he got home he couldn't wait any longer and he called her cell phone. As he expected, he got her voice mail and left a brief message. He'd then spent most of the evening pacing or sitting and staring at the phone, wishing it to ring.

He was dozing in the recliner when his phone finally did ring and he fell out of the chair in his eagerness to get to it.

"Ugh. Uh. Um. Mangan. Uh lo?" he choked out as he picked himself off the floor.

"Dan? I'm sorry, Dan. Did I wake you? I shouldn't have called so late."

"No. No, Trixie. I was just, ah, reading, and hoping you'd call. How's the case going? How was your trip to Albany?"

"Well, its actually progressing. I got some valuable info in Albany. I can't say much more than that. I'm just now leaving the Precinct and have to be back first thing in the morning." Trixie waved at the Desk Sergeant as she left the building. "I've wanted to call, but it's been so crazy. I completely lost track of time this evening. It's been." She glanced at her watch. "Oh gee. No wonder my stomach's growling. It's been ten hours since I ate."

"That's not good. Not good at all, Trix. Uh, would you like to meet me for some dinner?"

"Oh gosh, no, Dan. It's too late for that and I'm too tired to chew. Once I get home, I plan to hit the shower and eat something quick if I'm still conscious. Then it's back here first thing in the morning."

"You need to eat. And rest. No matter how swamped you might be."

Trixie laughed. "I'm doing both. Just not today. Tomorrow won't be so long. I promise." Trixie paused. "I know my limits and I doubt I could make it through another day like this one."

"But the case?"

"Oh, no. Without going into details, overall, it's been a really good day." Trixie stopped at the subway entrance.

"When can I see you? I know you're busy, but."

"Gee. How about I meet you for dinner tomorrow evening? No matter how busy I am I need to take a break to eat. You know the routine, now. Call first. There's always the chance I'll get called out or something."

"Of course, Trix. I'll come by after work. And I will call first. Trix, I..." Dan hesitated. He wanted to tell Trixie that he'd been thinking of her almost constantly the past few days; that the past weekend had been incredible; that he was falling in love with her; that he was going to do whatever was necessary to make their relationship succeed. But he feared her reaction if he shared anything like that and wasn't sure if he'd find the right words. "Trix, I, I look forward to it; to seeing you tomorrow."

"I need to go, Dan. I'm at the entrance to the subway. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Okay. Tomorrow. At dinner I'm telling you..." Dan stared at the dead phone.

Placing the phone back in its cradle he swallowed. "I love you Trix. I love you. I want to tell you that, but I can't say the words. At least not yet."

xxx

"Agent Wheeler? Agent Madeleine G. Wheeler?"

Honey choked on the coffee she had just sipped and looked up. No one in the office ever used their official titles or full names. A tall broad-shouldered man filled the doorway of her office. "Yes." She stood up and offered her hand. "And you are?"

"Special Agent James Coulter. Federal Bureau of Investigation." He offered his hand and then held up his badge and identification. "May I shut the door?"

Honey was alarmed. She worked regularly with state and local investigators, and occasionally feds, but no one had ever asked to shut the door. "I'm a bit claustrophobic. Is it necessary?"

The young man nodded and reached behind him. "I think so." Shutting the door, he pointed to a chair. "May I?"

Still alarmed and now confused, Honey nodded. "Of course. Now what is this all about?"

xxx

"Anything new?" Trixie greeted her partner as she set a large insulated cup of coffee on her desk. Less than six hours had lapsed since she'd left the office and she wondered how Erica had managed to get in before her.

"How big is that thing?" Erica pointed to the over-sized container.

Trixie laughed as she pulled off her coat and slung it over the back of her chair. "A half-gallon. Sixty-four ounces of liquid caffeine! And I need each and every blasted one of them"! She plopped down into the chair. "You didn't answer me. Anything new?"

"Not a thing. Of course, we've only been gone a few hours."

"Kane! Belden!" the Captain called from the doorway of his office.

"You spoke too soon." Trixie followed Erica across the squad room and into the private office.

The Captain walked behind his desk and pointed to the two empty chairs. "Okay, I've got the military records for EUGENE Daly, D-A-L-Y. Belden, I want you to go through his postings and contact the military, local and state police to see if there were any similar crimes committed at each and every place this SOB has been stationed.

"Kane, I have a meeting scheduled in--" He looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes with the DDA and we're going to try to find justification for a search warrant for this guy's home in Highland Falls. We'll worry about his office later. I've been in contact with the police there, and they're waiting to hear from us. Apparently they have a young DA who has already decided it can't be done, but the local Chief figures if we find a loophole, they'll coerce their DA or go directly to a friendly judge.

"I suggest you both make arrangements for a long couple of days. Kane, we may be traveling to Highland Falls. Belden, good luck." He turned his back to the two women and began pounding on his keyboard. He stopped suddenly and spun back around. "Sergeant Connors and a few of his key staff will be checking out, err, a critical lead on Long Island and there'll be no meeting of the Task Force this morning. Sergeant Fratierrago has been instructed to send them directly to me if they show up, but, if you see Connors or any of his flunkies-I-mean-aides this afternoon, you may want...you might duck into the ladies room or something."

Trixie grabbed the stack of papers that had been faxed and both women stood. She followed Erica out of the office and to their desks. "Looks like I've got my work cut out," she mumbled.

"Trix, he believes you. Do you realize what that means? You came up with the most incredible theory and proved it to him. Do you realize what a risk he's taking, going against the Task Force and pursuing this directly with the DA's office?"

Trixie nodded.

"We have the perfect example of knowing who committed these crimes and not being able to prove it. Anything you can find in that stack of papers...so get to it!"

Trixie nodded again as she sat down. "I'll find it. I'll find that missing link."

"Kane!" Trixie and Erica both sat straight when hearing the Captain's voice. "I almost forgot. What did the coroner say?"

"I'm on it, Captain. He said to call first thing." She picked up the phone receiver.

"Then call, DAMMIT!"

xxx

Special Agent Coulter had explained to Honey that he was investigating a complaint made against the governor's office and some key staff members. While it would probably lead to nothing, it couldn't be ignored.

"I understand that you have known Barry White for several years."

"Yes I have. We were in a relationship but I broke it off."

"And?" The trooper looked up from his pad.

"I can assure you that our break-up was for reasons only indirectly related to his work in the governor's office and were totally unrelated to anything unsavory. All the time we were together, Barry was a workaholic, but, I'd swear he's as honest as the day, and he'd bend over backwards to avoid offending anyone, too. He would never compromise his morals. Never." Honey shook her head, again. "No, as ambitious as he might be, Barry would quit his job before he'd support anything that even hinted at being illegal."

She looked up at the agent and smiled nervously. "That's probably what everyone says."

"Not everyone," he replied as he wrote in his notebook. "Did you ever hear Mr. White refer to someone named George Fox?"

"Fox? Yes. He mentioned him on occasion but I don't think he knew the man well." Honey wondered if she should share that Barry had called the man pure slime and worse. Barry once said that Fox would do anything to get into the governor's inner sanctum, and Barry had the unwanted job of keeping him out.

Agent Coulter nodded as he wrote. "Have you ever met him?"

"Mr. Fox? Not that I'm aware."

The agent read through a list of names, some that were familiar to Honey, most that were not. With each name that she recognized, she became increasingly concerned. Some of these were well-known businessmen, government officials, and lobbyists. It seemed unlikely that they were investigating a simple complaint.

"This is more than a routine complaint, isn't it?" she finally asked.

Agent Coulter smiled and put down his pen. "I can't really say. I think you can appreciate that, Agent Wheeler.
One final question. I do need for you to clarify the current nature of your relationship with Mr. White."

"Barry and I were involved. It was serious. I'm sure your investigation has already found that we were living together." Honey paused, wondering how that would influence the young agent's opinion of her. "We broke up over a year ago. It was NOT because I had any concerns about his character, but because I didn't see the relationship going anywhere. Period. I've always thought Barry is a dedicated, intelligent, and honest individual, but too dedicated to work and not enough to his personal well-being. You may also know that we're just starting to see each other, again. I would not be exploring a relationship with him if I did not feel confident that he is honest and decent." Honey didn't know what more to share. Deciding she had shared enough, she stood and offered her hand.

"I don't know what you think Barry White may be involved in, but the man I know would never willingly violate any laws." She came around the desk. "I'm certain your investigation will only support that." She opened the door and waited for the man to leave. After watching him walk out and then waiting to hear the ping that announced the elevator had arrived, she walked over and collapsed into her chair. Placing her head in her hands, she sobbed. "Ohmigosh, Barry, what have you done?"


XXX

Author's Notes: I spent a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect Irish name for Debbie's sister-in-law, and found it at a concert last summer. I was so impressed by the incredible beauty and talent of the five women who perform as Celtic Woman, One name stood out as unique and deserving of a beautiful woman. Órla is named for Órla Fallon, the incredible red-headed vocalist and harpist from Knockananna, Ireland. If you ever have the chance to see her and the Celtic Woman in concert, GO!

I cannot post without thanking Terry (Chromasnake) for finding time in her busy schedule to edit this chapter. As always, I sent it to her at the last minute and she provided invaluable insight and suggestions that improved it signficantly. Thank you, Terry.

Of course, I must thank Cathy, although mere words can't adequately express my appreciation. Without Cathy, there wouldn't be this wonderful place on the web called Jixemitri. Thank you, dear friend.

Last, but not least, I want to thank all of the readers refuse to give up on me or this story (one without an end, or so it seems); I would have given up on completing it a long time ago if not for you! THANK YOU!

 

DISCLAIMER: Trixie Belden® is the registered, copyrighted property of Random House Publishing, as are many of the characters in this story. The author is only borrowing their use. This story is written only for entertainment and the author does not intend to profit financially from it in any way.

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