A MURDER IN SUNNYDALE
Chapter 40: ‘We Need To Talk To Giles’
“I don’t like it one bloody bit!” Spike grumbled as he poured himself another cup of coffee. “Don’t like you facing off with that ponce all by yourself.” He was in a mood all right. His wife had decided that it was best for her to go alone, to her job and try to wheedle some info out of Xander Harris.
“I should go,” Spike nodded, determined to state his case any way he could. “I’ll use some excuse for being there, you know? Hey, I have it!” His blue eyes lit up like fireworks, “I’ll say that we need to fill out paperwork. Medical stuff and all, like two old marrieds that is!”
Buffy rolled her green eyes and sipped her own coffee, momentarily at a loss as to how and rein her guy in, calm him down. Obviously, Will could not accompany her to the precinct, and that was that. His being there, would only agitate Xander Harris and make him suspicious.
‘Geez,’ Buffy sighed to herself in disbelief, ‘medical papers!’
“Baby,” Buffy purred as she sat her coffee cup down and positioned herself on Will’s strong lap. “Don’t you see? It’s better for me to go by myself…I’ll waltz in there, like everything is dandy. Lull old Xander into a sense of complacency and start asking all kinds of subtle questions. Do you honestly think that with you there,” she smiled, sweetly at her husband, “that he’ll open up about anything? He can’t stand you.”
“Thanks,” Spike grumbled again, a slight pout on his lips. “I just don’t trust the whelp, he might catch on and hurt you, sweet.” It was true, Spike was really worried that Xander may have fooled everyone, that he was smarter then he looked or acted and might catch on to Buffy’s subtle interrogation.
“Tell you what,” Buffy snuggled up to Will, her warm mouth just millimeters from his left ear. “I’ll call you, every few minutes, really play the newlywed stuff up. That way,” she continued, gently licking Will’s earlobe, “I can check in with you, let you know all is well. No one will be the wiser and Xander will just get sick with envy at my affectionate display, so,” she suddenly changed her tone. “Just let me be a detective, it’s what I get the big bucks for, honest baby,” she gave a little sarcastic snort.
“Oh, I guess,” Spike mumbled, still a little put out that he wasn’t going to be able to go along. There were many reasons he needed to be there, with Buffy. Most of all, he really was worried that Xander might catch on and hurt Buffy, if the dark haired fool really was the murderer.
Winston stumbled up to the couple and began to chew on Spike’s left ankle, causing him to wince in mock pain. “Tell her, Winston,” Spike ordered the pooch, “tell your Mum that Daddy should go with and protect her.”
The huge puppy just sat on his haunches and looked up, wide-eyed, at his master and mistress. Buffy began to giggle and leaned back into Will’s chest, her hand over her mouth.
“Mum and Daddy?” she choked out in glee, “you actually think that Winston thinks we’re his parents? Oh, Will,” she continued with joy, “that’s rich. The big bad from London, the pub owner, cousin to the most notorious guy in Sunnydale, Ca, thinks that he’s a puppy’s Daddy? I should call Wesley and let him know. Might kind of make up for the way you talk about poor Wes, he…”
Buffy found herself smooshed up, even closer to Will, their mouths suddenly connected in a bruising kiss. Winston was shooed off, quickly and he bounded, happily out into the front room.
“Come ‘ere,” Spike growled lustily as his wife as he slipped the silky robe down off of her satiny shoulders.
“I am here,” Buffy giggled, but then sighed deeply when Will ran his tongue and lips down her neck to her right breast. He sucked on the nipple, hungrily, then moved over, with his mouth to her left breast.
Before Buffy could protest (as if she would) William had maneuvered her robe completely off and laid it on the kitchen table, neatly. (okay, not so neatly, all right!)
He slipped his hardened shaft out of his boxers and in one quick jerk, pulled Buffy’s wet core down onto it. They began to rock together, her legs wrapped around his slim hips and the back of the chair.
“Love you,” Spike rasped as he thrust up into his Buffy’s sweet cunny. “Love you so much, baby,” he repeated continually, between kisses and licks.
“I love you, too, baby,” Buffy purred, huskily into Will’s nearest ear.
Later on, Buffy strode up to Xander’s office door, which was closed, and burst in. She normally didn’t do this, this was Xand’s forte, to burst into her office, unannouced that is. But, today, Buffy was feeling ‘peckish’ and impatient, so she decided to turn the tables around and break in on her partner. Frankly, Buffy was rather sorry she had.
Xander was sitting in his desk chair, the record’s clerk, Sandy, was on his lap, basically giving him a lap dance, or so it looked to Buffy. The two were so engrossed in their make-out session, that they didn’t even hear Buffy enter the office.
“Uhm, hum,” Buffy cleared her throat, loudly, to alert the amourous couple of her presence. “Shit!” Xander yelped, nearly pushing poor Sandy off of his lap and onto the floor.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be? Something to file?” Buffy growled lowly at the bimbo as she rushed past her, out of the door.
Once Sandy had left the room, Buffy slammed the door and glared at Xander. He looked, appropriately embarrassed and ashamed, but Buffy was so pissed at the moment, thinking of poor Anya, that she could have cared less what Xander felt.
“Anya and you,” Buffy began, with an exasperated hiss, “you two on break again? Or is this little ‘romance’ with Sandy a hold over from the last break?”
“Buffy,” Xander stammered, red faced, “it’s harmless, honest. She likes me, Sandy that is. Sweet little thing, really. I like spending time with her, she ‘takes care’ of me, not like Anya. All’s Anya wants is a commitment, strings and all. I want my freedom, sometimes anyway,” he hesitated, checking to see if Buffy was buying any of his bullshit. She was not.
“Fuck you,” Buffy hissed and turned to leave the office. “I really hate you right now, Xander Harris,” she shot back over her shoulder.
“Wait, Buffy,” Xander pleaded as he headed around his desk and hurried to her. “Don’t tell Anya, please Buff. She’ll leave me for good and I really don’t want that, honest. Sandy’s just a diversion, thinks I’m really something, you know? Fuck it all, Buff,” Xander hissed, his face contorted into a frown, “we all can’t have the perfect love,like you and Billy do.”
Buffy stared at her partner, stunned that she really didn’t recognize him at all. “You could,” she whispered sadly, “you and Anya, you could have something great. You just…” She did not finish her sentence.
“Why the hell are you in here, now?” Xander asked, gruffly as he turned and strode back to his chair. “Do you actually have any police business in here or are you just snooping around, checking up on my love life?”
‘He sounds so bitter,’ Buffy thought sadly, ‘so fucking bitter and harsh. Where did the old Xander Harris go?’ She was so caught up in her musings that she didn’t see her partner slouch down in his chair and turn a deathly shade of ghost white. Not at first, anyway.
“Xander,” Buffy began, carefully as she took the chair across from him, “there’s really reason to believe that it was a guy that shot Holden and Katerina, not a woman.” She finally picked up on Xander’s ‘fearful’ look, decided to add a little more of a fear factor to the equation.
“We’ve been over this Buffy,” Xander quipped back harshly, “just because Amy didn’t blow Kat’s head off, doesn’t mean that she didn’t kill either of them.”
‘He called her ‘Kat’ instead of Katerina McClay, used her nickname,’ Buffy thought. ‘That’s not of the good, that’s for sure.’ Up until that moment, Buffy didn’t remember anyone, especially Xander using Katerina’s nickname when speaking of the murders. ‘Almost as if he knew her, personally,’ she reasoned.
“Look,” Buffy sighed in frustration, “we can go all about this,” she continued as she casually glanced out of Xander’s office window. “But the fact is, it’s looking like Amy was not the murderer. Angel O’Connor just has to get over it. He’s not going to make his political career on this case, not if Amy is innocent!”
Buffy noticed that Xander flinched, ever so slightly, when Buffy mentioned Angel O’Connor. ‘You really are his butt monkey, eh Xand?’ she thought smugly. ‘That or you are protecting a cohort, aren’t you?’
“Buffy,” Xander said softly, “if Amy is innocent, then so be it, okay? It’s just that the evidence is so strong against her. There’s Warren Meers, his testimony and all. Amy had motive, especially if Katerina was pregnant by Holden. Which, knowing what an egotistical prick Webster was, she’d had to have been, right? I mean,” and Buffy thought Xander’s voice seemed pretty shaky here, “he gave her the apartment, yada yada, right?”
‘Oh God, Xander,’ Buffy wanted to scream right then, ‘how did you know about what Holden put in his Will?’ Buffy tried to search her brain, tried to remember just how ‘public’ the Will of Holden Webster had been made. She didn’t believe that anyone but the immediate family knew the entire contents of his last Will and Testament. So how did Xander know that Holden left Katerina property, money, a trust for the unborn child?’
“We need to talk to Giles,” Buffy blurted out, suddenly. “He’s waiting for us, to talk about new evidence.” She noticed that Xander’s face looked almost ‘apprehensive’ for a moment. As if he suspected something. As well he should, since Buffy had filled Rupert Giles in on everything she and William suspected about Xander Harris. Giles was truly waiting in his office, waiting there to face off with Xander Harris and clock his reactions to what Buffy said to them both.
If Xander Harris had ‘anything’ to really hide, Rupert Giles could detect it in a heartbeat. Buffy was counting on it.
“Okay,” Xander shrugged, almost indifferently. “Let’s go see Rupes, huh? Haven’t had a bout with the old man for ages, really.”
Buffy felt a strong, hard tug at her heart. It was so sad, everything, really. Xander was so messed up, it was obvious to Buffy, and William now. He’d gotten lost somewhere, along the way in his life and may never be able to get on the path, again.
Even if he was not the murderer, and Buffy, along with her husband ‘highly’ suspected he was. Even if they were wrong? What about Xander’s relationships with women? Would he ever work things out, get it right and settle into a happy, productive home life? It seemed that it was unlikely, the relationship stuff that is. Xander’s parents had done a major fuck job on their oldest son and he may never have a normal, loving relationship, ever.
“It seems quite possible,” Buffy heard Giles telling Xander. They, Xander and her, had been ‘talking’ to the old man for close to an hour. About the Webster case and all. Buffy had tried to look ‘casually’ indifferent, nearly uninterested, as Giles did all the leg work and was to watch Xander, intently.
Once they had talked the case, again, to death, Buffy and Xander got up to leave. Halfway down the hallway, Buffy pretended like she’d forgotten something. She excused herself from Xander, saying she’d catch up with him in a bit.
“Sandy and me,” Xander mumbled, his head hung down, “we just started, Buff,” he added. “When Anya and me were on break, it wasn’t Sandy I was seeing. Okay?”
“Okay, Xander,” Buffy murmered. Although just ‘how’ it would ever be ‘okay’ was beyond her. She just needed to get back and talk to Giles as soon as possible.
When she got back into Giles’ office, she eyed the older man carefully. He was sitting in his desk, his glasses in his hands. Rupert was cleaning the lenses, thoroughly, although they probably didn’t need it. Buffy realized her mentor’s nervous habit right away and it frightened her.
“Well,” she asked quietly, her eyes never leaving the older man’s face.
“Buffy,” Giles began then paused, “I’m not sure, but Xander seemed most ‘upset’ about something. When you mentioned that you felt this Meers fellow might be hiding something? Xander became pale as a ghost. He actually flinched and glanced at you, anxiously. Then, when you repeated that there was a thought that a man had to have committed the crimes? The man began to shake, truly, shake like a leaf. He’s hiding something, dear, I’d swear to it.”
“I thought so,” Buffy whispered, under her breath. “Oh, Giles,” Buffy began to weep softly.
The tall man stood up from his desk chair and hurried to her side. Taking Buffy in his strong, comforting arms, Giles patted her back, tenderly.
“There, there, now dear,” he cooed softly. “If Xander is the murderer? Then it’s as your William told you…we’ll all have to deal with it. The important thing now is to make sure we have got the evidence we need to find the true murderer, whether it be Xander Harris or not. Amy St. Claire, I agree, did not kill those two people If what you say is true, Xander had even more motive then Amy for the murders.”
“Then there’s the little matter of just ‘who’s’ trying to take over the Webster Empire, huh, Giles?” Buffy sniffed, unladylike into her mentor’s shirt.
“It’s certainly not Xander, I’ll bet on that. Frankly, he hasn’t got the moxie or brains for it. So that leaves Angel O’Connor and oh yeah,” she added sarcastically, “about half of Sunnydale’s population!”
“True,” Giles sighed in frustration. “I agree, here, also. Xander’s motives for the murders would be pure revenge, or perhaps jealousy, but not a longing for power. Not the financial kind that is, anyway.”
Buffy reached over and picked up the receiver of Giles’ desk phone. She hit the right buttons and Captain Wilkens’ deep voice came on.
“Captain,” Buffy sighed deeply, a little sad by what had to be done. “I think we need to have our little buddy, Warren Meers come in to the precinct, immediately. There’s something the guy is hiding, something big. Yes, I am sure of it, Captain Wilkens. Absolutely sure of it. He knows, or make that, ‘doesn’t really know’ something that he’s covering up. Yeah, he’s covering for someone, maybe even himself.”
Warren Meers sat, nervously, in the small, uncomfortable chair, provided by the Sunnydale PD. He looked like he was about to wet his pants in terror when Captain Wilkens, Buffy and Giles stared back at him from across the large table.
Buffy had made sure that the Captain had sent Xander, earlier, on some red herring errand. Just to get him away from the precinct and now, it was just the three police persons and Warren, in the small room together.
“Let’s have it,” Wilkens ordered Warren, in his deep, authorative voice. “You’ve been handing us a line of bullshit from day one, Meers,” he continued. “So, let’s hear the truth, here and now. It’ll go better for you to fess up now, then try and get away with perjury in the courtroom.”
Meers began to shake, visibly, and Buffy leaned over the table, scrutinizing the man’s pale face. She could swear that he was breaking out in a profuse sweat and hey, it was so not pretty.
“It’s true,” Meers whispered, his voice raspy and weak, “I wasn’t at my post. Just before the murders that is. I was…”
“Where,” Wilkens demanded with a scowl.
“I had an errand to run, for Mr. Webster,” Warren mumbled. “He sent me on an errand, just after Miss St. Claire came to the apartment. I had to take some ‘bets’ to Webster’s man in the business. A Charles Gunn, a bookie on the West side.”
Buffy kind of felt sorry for Meers, he was actually wriggling in his seat and looked like he was about to cry.
“I owed Holden Webster,” Meers continued in a timid voice, “a lot of money. I, I have a gambling problem and Mr. Webster, he fronted me money to make bets on the horses. I lost. A lot of money and couldn’t pay Webster back. My running the bets to Gunn, it was my pay off, to work off the debt. Shit!,” Meers wailed, “my wife. She’s gonna’ leave me for sure now.”
“She might,” Buffy offered, somberly to the man, “but if you got up in a courtroom and lied to the Judge and jury? Your wife would definitely leave you for that. And you, Warren,” Buffy added, put out by this weakling, “would spend some time in prison. For perjury, that is.”
“It was when I got back, from Gunn’s,” Warren stammered, his expression was twisted in ugly remembrance. “I went to tell Mr. Webster that the errand was completed. That’s when I found them, Mr. Webster, Miss McClay. Oh God,” Meers began to sob loudly, “it was horrible.”
Giles glanced over at Buffy, his face was stoic and pale, even for him. She shook her head in disbelief that this man, who had told them time and again that he definitely knew Amy was the last person to see Holden and Katerina alive? He had been lying, all along. If Warren Meers was gone from his post as doorman, for over and hour after Amy had arrived at the apartments? How could he say she was the last to be there?
“She’ll leave me, divorce me and take my kids,” Warren was babbling on about April Meers, his wife.
“No,” Buffy said, strongly, “but she might if you lie on a stand and go to prison for it. I think your wife worships you, Meers,” Buffy sighed, “whether she should or not. Have you ever just thought of being honest with her?”
Warren looked into Buffy’s eyes and shook his head. “I can’t lose her,” he whispered desperately.
“Then,” Giles piped in, “do something to make her proud, Meers. Start by talking and being honest with us. You know things, recognize peoples’ faces and all. Even some faces in this very precinct. Don’t you?”
Meers was as white as a ghost by now. “I couldn’t,” he hissed, shaking even more with fright. “If ‘they’ found out, me, my family? Our lives wouldn’t be worth shit.”
“We’ll see to it that you are protected, Meers,” Giles added, seriously. “You and your family. In fact, right now we can arrange for your wife and children to be located in a ‘safe house’ out of town. No one will know about it. No one will find you.”
The frightened man stared at Rupert, then at Buffy with a questioning look.
“Officer Summers?” Meers asked Buffy, tears streaming down his plump cheeks.
“It’s Officer Williamson,” Buffy responded quietly, “but if you’re asking me if you should trust Rupert Giles? I say yes, you should. I would trust this man with my life and the lives of my husband and family.”
Buffy left the interrogation room and headed out to the third floor balcony. She needed air, and, she needed to talk to Will.
“Baby,” she greeted her husband on her cell phone, “I need to see you. Soon as possible.”
“I’ll be there, in ten minutes, sweet,” he responded sincerely.
“No,” Buffy sighed, “I’ve got to make a stop at Anya’s Dress Shop. I need to ask questions that she might have some answers for. I was thinking of using the excuse to buy some sexy new undies for you as a reason for being there today. As a surprise that is.”
“Sounds interesting,” Spike chuckled, still nervous about everything that was going on at Buffy’s work. “So? Meet me later, then?”
“Yes,” Buffy murmered, nearly exhausted with the day’s events. “At Willie’s, in about an hour and a half? Meers is in with Giles, Wilkens and Ethan Rayne from Internal Affairs. The guy, Warren Meers? He’s singing like a canary. God Will, so many people are going to fry for this!”
“ Frankly, honey,” Buffy sighed again, “I could use a drink and some of your William loving.”
“Done,” Spike laughed warmly. “I’ll see you at Willie’s in about ninety minutes. Don’t be late, baby,” he purred.
A/N: Well, I didn’t mean for this chapter to go on so long, however, I needed to get some plot line going. I’m leaving town, Friday for the CA coast (yeah!) and won’t be updating this fic, anyway, until next week.
A lot of weirdness is going on in Sunnydale. In the next chapter, Buffy will go to the Dress Shop, but she may not find the answers she’s looking for. At least not from ‘who’ she thinks she will…
Yes, a lot of folks are eventually going to fry for being in cahoots with Holden Webster. But, it still doesn’t answer the burning question: Who is after Webster’s empire. It is not Xander, even though he’s the number one suspect, now, of the murders. It may or may not be Angel, Gunn, Scott Hope, the ‘Choir Boy’ (remember who that is?) or is it someone else?
I am going to try (try being the key word here!) to wrap this fic up in three chapters or so. Thank you for sticking with it!
Thank you for reading, please review. Luv, Spuf
[Reviews - 229]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 1872 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +