Martinez walked into the bureau Monday morning with a heavy heart. It was almost as if he knew it wasn’t going to be a good day. He turned on his computer and picked up the receiver from his phone to check his messages, when he heard footsteps coming from the chief’s office. He shut his eyes and pretended to be somewhere else for a moment.
Clearing his throat, Holden stood in the doorway. “Martinez?”
Opening his eyes, he turned around and managed a grin of sorts. “Good morning, Chief.”
Grabbing the back of his neck he swirled it around to relieve the stress. “Not so good for you, I’m afraid. You wanna come on back to my office?” Then he disappeared down the hall.
Knowing it was more of a command than a question, Martinez followed with his head down.
Sitting in his chair, Holden ordered, “Shut the door behind you.” After Martinez sat down on the edge of his seat, Holden put his arms out in front of him on the desk and crossed his fingers. His eyes were clear and observant as he looked up at Martinez from under his black-framed glasses and said, “I reviewed Stovall’s report over the weekend. Now, I know you don’t wanna hear this any more than I wanna tell you -”
“Chief, please?” the expression in his mahogany eyes begged with his voice.
Gathering his mouth in a frown, Holden bluntly stated, “I’m sorry Martinez, I’m gonna need your badge – and your weapon.”
Hanging his head in his hands in defeat, Martinez rubbed his temples with his thumbs before lifting his chin and resting it on his crossed fingers. Shaking his head in affirmation of his words, he said, “So, Robinson reported me?”
“No, Robinson didn’t report you, Martinez.” Aggravated with the response, he slammed his hands on the desk. “Are you dense, son?”
Stiffening in his seat, he came to attention as the look on his face turned blank and he stared straight ahead.
Holden grabbed his mouth and slightly turned his head from side to side. “For God’s sake, Martinez, at ease.”
Relaxing his stance, his eyebrow curled and his top lip puckered out slightly in anger.
Holden sighed deeply before sitting back in his chair. “Look, it’s like this – I’m retiring in the next few years and this just doesn’t look good. There are other cases that need your attention right now. Now, I’m fond of Elizabeth Strong too, not as fond as you are of course, but unfortunately this isn’t even a case. You have no proof he violated the protection order and -”
“Chief, all due respect, but I have proof. I have video of his little girlfriend buying the card to order the flowers. Robinson’s pulling the same shit he used to do with Liz; get her to do his dirty work for him. I mean, this guy is calculating, I’ll give him that.”
“The operative word here is girlfriend. Maybe she’s a jealous female marking her territory? You can’t tie Robinson to this and you went to the man’s home, Martinez, after I told you countless times to stay far away from this, and not only that, you cracked his damn jaw! What are you not getting here?”
“Chief, you know as well as I do, he sent those flowers and he was at the office, and you know damn well he is gunning for Elizabeth. I’m begging you, don’t take this from me.” He contemplated telling Holden about his meeting with Miles and the fact that there is a good possibility they had a dirty cop on the force. But he had no evidence of that either, just the word of a CI who always expected some sort of favor in return for information.
Sympathy clouded Holden’s expression but his tone was stern. “I’m afraid you’ve left me no other choice. You’ll be on desk duty until further notice.”
Danielle reached the fifth floor and stepped off the elevator walking towards the prosecutor’s office. Her long coat shuffled against her legs with each stride she took.
Andrea looked up from her keyboard and through the bulletproof glass window. Danielle stood there, long red hair tucked under the front of her coat, hood hanging loosely from her head, and dark sunglasses hiding much of her identity. Hitting the intercom, Andrea asked, “Can I help you?”
Her crimson lips parted slightly. “I need to see Elizabeth Strong, please.”
“Uh, please have a seat and I’ll be right with you.” Walking into the investigator’s office, she looked perplexed.
Paul set behind his desk fiddling with something on the computer. “What’s up Andrea?”
“I’m not real sure, but there’s a strange woman outside asking for Elizabeth. She’s wearing a long brown coat and dark sunglasses. She just looks a little odd. Maybe you should go out there and just check her out? I don’t want to let her in. She’s makes me a little nervous to be honest with you.”
His forehead crinkled curiously. “Yeah, of course.” Getting up from his desk, he walked into the main office and peeked out into the lobby. Andrea sat back at her desk while Paul opened the door enough to speak with the odd woman. “Ma’am can we help you with something?”
Turning towards him, Daniel replied, “Yes, I’m here to see Elizabeth Strong. It’s very important.”
Stepping further into the lobby, he allowed the door to shut behind him and placed his hand on his hip close to his gun. “Okay, well, you mind taking off your coat and having a seat? I’ll check and see if she’s here.”
Awkwardly, she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that. Please, I just need to see Elizabeth Strong. Tell her Danielle DuPont needs to speak with her. I trust that she will want to hear what I have to say.”
His face clouded with unease. He waved at Andrea to buzz him back in, walked back into the office, turned the corner momentarily, and demanded, “Keep an eye on her.” He moved down the hall to Elizabeth’s office and rapped lightly on the doorframe. “Hey Liz, there’s some strange lady out in the lobby, says she needs to talk with you. She’s all incognito. It’s really bizarre. Says her name is Danielle DuPont?”
Closing the file she was reviewing, confusion washed over her. “Danielle DuPont? What the hell does she want?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he responded, “Hell if I know. So, you know her?”
“I mean I know of her. But I can’t imagine what she would be doing here, to be honest.” She stood up and walked past him into the hall. He followed closely behind. Pushing the door open she peeked out. “Danielle?”
Slightly turning her head to face her, Danielle said, “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry to bother you, but I really need to speak with you. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
A man walked into the lobby and stepped up to the front counter. Danielle turned her body towards Elizabeth, tucking her face further under the hood of her coat as if she was hiding. “It’s very important,” she whispered.
Paul was still standing behind his colleague and asked, “Everything all right here?”
Shaking off her bewilderment, Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at him and said, “Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. Thanks, Paul.” Turning back to Danielle, she said, “I’m sorry, you kinda caught me off guard. Please, come back to my office.” Showing the woman down the hall, she shut the door to her office and took a seat behind the desk, motioning for Danielle to have a seat in front of her.
Nervously, she obliged, leaving the hood over her head and glasses on her face. Elizabeth couldn’t help but look at her strange. “I have to be honest, I’m wondering why you’re here and what’s with the get up?”
Taking a short breath, she began, “I know you don’t care for me much -”
“Danielle, I hardly know you at all. Right now, I just want you to tell me why you’re showing up at my office looking like the Unabomber and freaking everybody out?”
She pulled her bottom lip in with her teeth and released it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any alarm I just can’t risk being seen here – I need help and I didn’t know where else to go.”
For a brief moment, Elizabeth saw flashes of herself sitting in front of a detective saying similar words. Snapping out of it, she conceded with Danielle, “Okay. I can appreciate that, but I’m not sure what I can do for you.”
Not knowing exactly where to begin, Danielle back peddled. “You know, I’ve always felt guilty for not coming forward six years ago.”
Sitting back in her chair, Elizabeth tried to relax, anxious of where the conversation was going. “Guilt can be just as damning an emotion as any of them,” she said, stopping short of feeling sorry for a woman she barely knew. “If you came here under some guise just to clear your conscience, I assure you, I don’t need an apology. I’m sure you had your reasons for making the decisions you made back then and I’m certainly not one to judge.” She attempted to gage the woman’s sincerity but her eyes remained hidden under her dark shades.
Pulling the hood from her head, her red tipped fingers straightened the stray hairs that were rustled from the fabric. Flicking her bangs, she sucked in her stomach and fixed her posture in a grab for confidence. “You’re right, and maybe I have nothing to apologize for. I just wish that when given the chance, I could have been as brave as you were. You stood up to him. I couldn’t do that.”
Danielle’s confidence was fading quickly with Elizabeth’s silence and her voice began to quiver. “And I can’t help but think if I had been more like you, I wouldn’t be in the current situation I’m faced with. I knew about you and I didn’t care. I was just keeping my face from being on the receiving end of his fist. A lot of good that did me.” She slowly pulled down her Hollywood-like sunglasses revealing the large bruise under her eye.
Elizabeth gasped and blurted out, “I see.”
There was a slight embarrassment to Danielle’s features. Tainted with moisture, her green eyes rose to face the object of her jealousy all those years ago. “I’m in a lot of trouble, Elizabeth, and I’ve put my fiancé in a really bad position because I couldn’t face Steve Robinson back then. And now he is literally destroying everything I have worked so hard to build in my life.” Severity took over her expression. “He came back for me. I can guarantee, he’s coming for you.”
Elizabeth was more afraid now than ever before. With the reality of Steve attacking Danielle weighing heavy on her mind, she frantically drove to court looking for Martinez. She’s right, he is sure to come for me eventually. He’s already begun his little cat and mouse game. Not worried whether she would make it to Judge Bennett’s courtroom on time, she breezed past security managing a quick “good morning” here and there along the way.
Remaining focused, she went straight over to Traffic thinking she may find Martinez there. One of the clerks caught a glance of her. “Good morning, Liz! You have a victim in the lobby looking for you. Real needy one there, if you know what I mean.”
Without responding, Elizabeth moved quickly to the police station lobby. It was empty. Tapping on the glass to get the record clerk’s attention, she asked, “Have you seen Martinez this morning?”
Refusing to look up from her computer, she replied, “Nope. But he could have got here before me.”
Walking through the courthouse, he wasn’t anywhere in sight. Damn it! She thought it was odd considering they usually they ran into each other first thing in the morning. Frustrated, she went into the courtroom and sat in her seat next to China. At least she wouldn’t make the judge angry by being late. Pulling her phone from her bag, she sent Martinez a text and waited impatiently for an answer.
Looking over at her with concern, China asked, “Are you okay? What’s going on with you this morning?”
She looked at her phone again before turning it over on its screen. “Angel’s ghosting me and I don’t know why.” The nervousness came through her tone. “I really need to talk to him.”
With a roll of her eyes, China said, “I highly doubt he’s ghosting you. That’s a bit extreme don’t you think?”
It was extreme but it also didn’t make sense why he wasn’t responding to her. Managing to make it through the few cases she had, she wasted no time packing up her things as the judge started to wrap everything up. Grabbing China’s attention with her haste, she barely looked at her and said, “I’m going to the detective bureau. This can’t wait any longer.”
Apprehension washed over her friend’s face. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good, Liz.”
“I gotta go,” she bluntly replied, surprised with herself she made it this far through the day. “I’ll catch up with you later.” She left the courtroom and pushed through the large door to the police lobby. Just before she reached the door to head to the bureau, Martinez emerged from the stairwell. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the disappointed look on her face.
Desperation took over her voice. “I’ve been looking for you all morning. I really need to talk to you.”
For the first time since she knew him, his expression said he didn’t have time for her. Hanging his head in shame he didn’t think about his words. “I’m sorry, Liz, I got your text – I – I just can’t do this today. I really can’t.”
As he turned to go back to the stairs, he heard her yell, “Wait!” He stopped and hung his head as if it would help him listen.
“Danielle DuPont came to see me this morning.”
Shaking his head, he shut his eyes before turning to look at her, defeat pouring over his face. “Holden took my badge from me, Liz. He took my badge and he took my gun. I’m on desk duty until further notice and I gotta figure out what my next move is. I’m sorry - I just - I’ll call you later.” Before she could respond, he turned away and disappeared behind the door and up the stairs.
A wave of shock fell over her body and her chest felt as if it was being crushed, making it hard for her to breath. He had never simply dismissed her before. She had forgotten the feeling. Managing to finally take a breath, Elizabeth straightened her purse strap around her shoulder and confidently walked out of the courthouse to her car. The dark clouds coupled with the cold mist of rain on her face solidifying her current torment.
Sitting in the driver’s seat and gripping the steering wheel, her scream begged to be released. Fighting hard against the tears that were pushing from behind her eyelids, she started her vehicle and tore out of the parking lot, tires skidding against the wet cement.
On her way back to the office, her mind wandered to the past. Immediately shaking it from her thoughts, she was angry with herself for thinking this situation was remotely close to anything she dealt with before. Angel was certainly nothing like Steve. But unfortunately, she had no one else to compare him to. The fact that he told her he no longer had his badge or his gun became the new topic of worry.
Not speaking to anyone when she arrived, she went straight back to her office and shut the door. She tried to keep herself busy and her mind off of Martinez, but it was difficult. Skipping lunch, she decided to leave as soon as her letters were done. She couldn’t take it anymore. She packed up her things and shut her computer down before stopping in China’s office.
Peeking around the doorway, she quietly interrupted, “Hey -”
China turned around, her face lighting up, ignoring Elizabeth’s vibe. “Hey! You wanna go to lunch? There’s a new little Italian place and I’ve been dying to go!”
“Actually, I’m just letting you know, I’m going home.”
Her nose crinkled. “Oh, you okay?”
“No. And right now, I just have to get out of here. I’ll call you later.” Disappearing around the corner, she went to the office manager. Walking into Belinda’s office, she said, “Hey, Belinda, I’m sorry it’s short notice but I need to take some sick time for the afternoon.”
Looking at her inquisitively, she said, “Oh no, what’s wrong?”
Her bottom lip quivering, she lifted her eyes attempting to hold back the tears. Taking a breath, she held it together. “I really don’t want to get into it right now, but please tell Marilyn I will need to speak with her first thing tomorrow. I just need to take the rest of the day.”
“Of course, Liz. Call if you need anything, okay?” She nodded her head sympathetically.
Nodding back, she wasted no time in making her exit. When she arrived home, she locked herself in and headed straight to her room. Tearing off her pants, she grabbed her comfy sweats off the chair and quickly changed. Not bothering to hang her blouse, she went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine off the shelf and opened it, pouring herself a healthy glass. Taking a large drink, she tried to calm her thoughts. She was going to need something a little stronger.
Hurt and pissed at the same time, she moved to the bathroom, opened the cabinet, and set her glass on the sink. Pulling the pill bottle from the shelf, she opened the lid, tapped one Valium into her hand, and popped it into her mouth, washing it back with a bit of Merlot.
Her sad reflection stared back at her. She didn’t know what to think about Martinez and how he acted. He had never treated her like that before. Worse, she didn’t know what to think about Danielle showing up at the office and everything she shared. All she knew was, she needed to get out of her own head for a minute.
Finding herself in the living room kneeling down in front of her inherited music collection, she realized she was done making an effort for the day, so she allowed the Internet radio station to shuffle songs on her phone. Grabbing a starter log, she placed it in the fireplace and threw a couple pieces of firewood on top of the rack.
Lighting the corner, she watched the flame wrap around the paper, crackling as it caught the other pieces of wood. Satisfied it would burn for a few hours at least, she settled on the corner of the sofa and pulled her mother’s quilt from behind her, wrapped it around her like a long-lost hug, and took a sip from her glass before resting it in her lap.
As she stared into the flames in the fireplace, Never Going Back Again by Fleetwood Mac began to play. Listening intently to the song, she sang along, “Been down one time, been down two times…” She had been telling herself for years she was never going back. Never going back to being a victim; never going back to being treated like she had been. The look on Martinez’ face that morning kept replaying in her mind bringing tears to her eyes as she lost herself in the music.
Hating the fact that she not only felt sorry for herself but now she feared even more for her safety. Of all people, she never expected Martinez to brush her off the way he did. After sitting in her self-misery for a while, her phone vibrated against the table top. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over and picked it up. It was China. Hesitating for a moment, she answered it. Sniffling, she swallowed hard, “Hello.”
The voice was gentle on the other end. “Heeeyyy, I thought I’d hear from you by now, sweetie. What is going on?”
Wiping her nose with the back of her hand she said, “Not really, but I have a fire lit and a glass of wine in my hand, so, there’s that. What time is it?” She pulled her phone from her ear and saw it was nearly 5:30 pm. “I feel like I’m in a time warp and the past is slowly wrapping itself around me and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Honey, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
Setting her glass on the table, she shook her head. “Not this time. I’m not real sure anyone can do anything. Not you, not Angel - this whole day is just - I feel like I’m falling into a black hole and there’s a rope there, I can see it! But when I go to grab it, try and pull myself out, someone at the other end keeps teasing me, slowly pulling it out of my reach -” She choked on the tears falling to the back of her throat. River by Bishop Briggs started to ring from the speakers and she couldn’t hold back any longer.
China sat on the other end, waiting patiently as Elizabeth let loose an ugly cry, unsure how to comfort her friend. Feeling as if she was beginning to calm down, she asked, “Liz, what the hell happened?”
Getting up from her seat on the couch, she went to the bathroom for a tissue. “I’m just so tired of feeling like I am getting somewhere and then, BAM, disaster strikes me right back down.”
China sighed, growing somewhat tired of the drama. “Nothing is a disaster, Liz. Now that you got all that out, are you going to tell me what is going on?”
She gasped, somewhat relieving the rapid pulse in her chest. Refusing to look at herself in the mirror fearing the monstrosity of a mascara massacre, she wound toilet paper around her hand and ripped it from the roll. Stumbling back to her corner of the sofa, she plopped down and wiped her nose again. Saving some tissue for later, she crumbled up the rest and tossed it on the table next to the bottle of wine.
Her head was hurting and her sinus cavity felt like it was packed with gauze. Her voice revealed the clogged passages when she finally shared, “Danielle DuPont came to see me first thing this morning. Steve attacked her. He’s completely wedged himself in her life again and she swears I’m next. That’s why I was so off this morning at court. When I finally saw Angel to tell him, he practically blew me off and proceeded to tell me Holden took his badge and his gun!
“He wouldn’t even give me two minutes of his time to tell me why!” She took a quick breath before continuing, not allowing China to get a word in. “Not to mention the fact that he treated me like a complete piece of shit! He wouldn’t even look at me, China. All he said was something like, ‘I can’t do this right now.’ Oh, I’m sorry, you can’t do this right now.”
China’s face clouded with unease. “Holden took his badge?” Shaking her head in an attempt to place some pieces together, she tried to be the voice of reason. “Okay, first of all, Martinez wouldn’t just blow you off. If Holden took him off the street, there had to be a good reason, right? And I’m sure if that’s the case, he’s earned the right to blow off some steam. It doesn’t seem personal. It’s not about you, Liz. Unfortunately, it just happens to be really bad timing. Second, what the hell does Danielle DuPont have to do with anything?”
Between the wine and the crying, her voice was no more relaxed. “I can’t really get into it. I need to see Marilyn first thing tomorrow. Right now, I just need to try and crawl out of this pit I’ve landed in.”
“Liz, I don’t mean to sound like your mom or anything, but how much have you had to drink?”
Pouting, she responded, “Really, China? Ugh – I’m about three glasses in. I may open another bottle. And I might have taken a Valium to calm down.”
“I don’t think it did its job, hun.”
Arching her back and then bending forward, her body loosened. “I think you’re right. I’m gonna need to take a nap.”
Tilting her head back, her face showed a silent relief. “Good idea, honey. Get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”