"Buffy, do you really want to do this now?" Spike asked before they entered the police station.
Buffy nodded, resolute. Spike sighed and opened the door, gesturing for her to enter.
"Are you upset with me?" she asked, turning to face him as he followed
behind her.
"Not upset, per se. More concerned I'd say."
"I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight worrying about this, Spike."
"I know, Buffy. I just . . . I'm not sure I want you to see him. Before we left
the house you just wanted to get the bottle of pills. Now you're wanting to
talk with him? I'm not liking this plan."
"He can't do anything to me."
"It doesn't stop me from worrying."
Reaching up, she cupped the side of his face and gave him a reassuring
smile. "I'll be all right. I want answers, Spike and he's the only one that can
give them to me."
"How do you know he'll give you any?"
"Let me ask you a question."
"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like where this is going?"
"Humor me."
"All right, shoot. "
"When I left you in Rhode Island, how did you feel?"
He blinked. "Miserable. Then angry and miserable. Mostly, I felt
desperate—" he stopped and narrowed his eyes at her. He grabbed her arm
and dragged her back outside. "What the hell are you planning on doing?"
"A desperate man who believes himself in love with a woman will do
anything to get her back right? Even kidnap them."
"Buffy, he's a twisted fuck. He ABUSED you. He doesn't love you, he
doesn't know the meaning of the word!"
"But he believes himself in love with me. Enough to kidnap me."
"How do you know he wasn't planning on taking you just to murder you?"
The thought made both of them shiver and Spike grabbed her into his
arms. "Buffy, I don't like this idea—"
"It'll help though. It'll help the cops—"
"He's in sight more trouble than we probably know at this point, Buffy."
"You're a lawyer, you know about head games and how to work people and
read them. You don't think I can get stuff out of him? Let him sit there and
incriminate himself to me. Then they'll have more. They'll have his
confession."
Spike shook his head, "Buffy—"
"Did you take yourself down from the bar?"
"No."
"Good, because I might need representation depending on what he's done."
***************************************************************************************************
"Well, if it isn't the kidnap victim," the police chief said dryly after Buffy had come forward and identified herself. "We were just about to look you up."
"I'll be representing Miss Summers," Spike said, looking at Police Chief
Stuart sternly. Chief Stuart was a slightly pudgy, balding man with graying
hair and a frizzy mustache that did not seem at all impressed with Spike.
His annoyed gaze fell on Buffy.
"So Miss Summers, you up for some questions?"
Buffy nodded.
Chief Stuart looked at Spike. "You can come in the room I suppose. Follow
me." Walking around the counter at which he'd been standing, he led them
to his office, that fact only clear by his name on the door. Opening the door
for them, he stood aside to let them in and then closed the door behind him,
taking a seat in a ratty brown chair overlooking a cluttered gray desk. Buffy
and Spike sat in the matching ratty brown chairs on the other side of the
desk. Buffy placed her hands in her lap and waited with her heart racing,
feeling if she didn't know what Lindsey had said to incriminate her in
something she had no memory or knowledge of, she was going to scream.
"Doughnut? Coffee?" Chief Stuart asked.
Buffy shook her head.
"You're a lot prettier in person than the picture in the passport," he told
her.
"Thanks," Buffy managed to get out, wishing she'd taken him up on the
coffee now. Her throat suddenly felt like the Sahara.
"So," Chief Stuart said, "Tell me what you know about Mr. Money Bags."
Buffy cleared her throat. "See, that's the hard part."
"That's right. On account of the amnesia," Chief Stuart said nodding. "Your
detective that I believe you—" he pointed at Spike "hired, told me. Why
did you hire him? He rip off your firm too or something?"
"Or something," Spike said.
"This just gets better and better. What do you BOTH know?"
"He's a bad man," Buffy said softly.
"Lots of bad men in this city, hell, in this WORLD, Miss Summers. Thing is,
without some concrete facts, you can't put those ‘bad' men away for very
long."
"I think he drugged me," Buffy blurted out.
"You THINK he drugged you. What makes you think that?"
"Buffy—" Spike started.
Buffy placed a hand on Spike's arm. "It's okay, Spike. If I don't tell, they'll
never know. I'LL never know." She looked back to Chief Stuart. "Just
today I had a memory of Lindsey."
"Just today?"
She nodded.
"Isn't that convenient?"
"Miss Summers is NOT on trial here, Chief Stuart. There are also
witnesses at the time this happened and it was well before Mr. McDonald
was arrested," Spike said sternly.
"Relax Romeo," Chief Stuart snapped.
"Spike, please," Buffy told him.
"Miss Summers, please continue," Chief Stuart said kindly to her. "Listen,
you're not in any trouble. Just had a lot of people that seem to be enemies
of Mr. McDonalds and want to see him locked up for a very long time.
Among them, I believe your brother."
Buffy's eyes widened, "My BROTHER was here?"
"Said you, I believe the exact words were ‘suffered at the hands of a
fucking asshole bully and should be locked up with the key thrown out.'"
Buffy couldn't help but laugh, a nervous laugh that had Spike grabbing her
hand and silently advising her not to laugh while having Chief Stuart grin.
"What sorts of people have been coming in against him?" Buffy asked.
"Clients he'd screwed over in one way or another. Couple people he was
blackmailing for money that seemed to think this was a safe time for them
to come out of the woodwork. His co-workers – but then they'd just gotten
ripped off. And, clients whom thought they might have gotten screwed over
by him. It's amazing this guy had a job, but then it sounds as if he wasn't
getting much in the way of work which is why he was embezzling."
Buffy was stunned, "Really?"
Chief Stuart nodded. "I need to hear in your own words Miss Summers
what you know."
"I know that my amnesia was caused by an accident. The accident being
that I fell down the stairs and Lindsey—Mr. McDonald found me. I know
that I was not able to be in that house for long periods of time after my
accident because it made me feel uncomfortable. I know that Mr. McDonald
made me nervous and frightened me when I was in his presence. The
memory I had today attested to why. I remembered an incident today in
which Mr. McDonald beat me and then gave me pills—"
"Pills? What kind of pills?" Chief Stuart asked grimly.
"I don't know. They're in his medicine cabinet. I was there just before I
broke up with him and they were in the medicine cabinet, unmarked white
pills."
"Why were you in his medicine cabinet?"
"Honestly—" Spike jumped in.
"Because," Buffy cut him off. "I was trying to see if I remembered what
was in there. I was playing a game suggested by my doctor to see if I was
able to ‘feel' things out about why I felt so uncomfortable with him."
"Can I have your doctor's name and number?"
"Of course."
Chief Stuart sat back. "Listen, I believe you. The guy's a rat. I can tell. I
can see it on him."
"Has he—has he said anything?" Buffy asked.
"No, and that's the thing. He's digging himself in deeper. He's not saying a
damn word. He's a damn mute. Damn irritating if you ask me. So, listen, I
have to routinely check things out, considering you are the one he was
planning on kidnapping and since you were living with him at one time. I
understand that you have amnesia and don't remember anything, but I still
have to check things out. I understand what you mean, Miss Summers
about following gut feelings. A lot of this job is about that."
"Chief Stuart, do you think it's possible I could talk to him?"
He stared at her. "You want to talk to him?"
"I might be able to get him to talk."
"You think you could get him to talk and incriminate himself?"
"Yes."
"He'll know," Spike said, "He'll know."
Buffy licked her lips. "Not if we lie to him."
"How do you mean?" Chief Stuart demanded and Spike squeezed her
hand.
"If we got him to believe that I bailed him out. You could plant a wire on
me or something. Like they do in the movies. We could set him up to
believe I'm helping him."
Chief Stuart sat back and whistled. "You've got a dark side to you Miss
Summers."
"Buffy, I do NOT like this idea at all," Spike said, shaking his head.
"Absolutely not."
"Well, Attorney SPIKE, I think your little lady might be on to something
here."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Kay guys, I'm going on assumption here...and I know what they say about assuming. I'm not big into knowing how investigations and cops all work and all that, so if this sounds all wrong, I'm going on what little I do know. Sorry!