chapter 105

word count: 1646

upon initial observation,, the murder of detective mick johnson gave every indication that it had been a mob style execution.. one bullet hole directly to the back of the head,, no indication of a struggle, nothing taken from the body,, jewelry and wallet still intact,, even his badge was firmly affixed to his belt as was his norm.

a liver probe estimated the time of death less than an hour previous to  its gruesome discovery,, which would have made his demise within moments of his having left bowers and bettencourt at the bar, following the mysterious text message that precluded his hasty exit.. 

all indications was someone had been waiting for him in the back alley parking lot of the bar,, and he had gotten into the car with them willingly.. it had to have been someone that he knew. more than likely who ever had texted him,, and hastened his speedy retreat out of the bar.. 

of course it would take a full forensic workup of the body to determine the exact cause of death (as if the bullet hole to the back of the head was not enough evidence) and exact time of death,, but it was clear, at least in the eyes of the seasoned detectives that the murder had taken place elsewhere,, and the body dumped here so as to eliminate any incriminating evidence that might have been available at the actual crime scene.. 

the three visibly shaken boys sat uneasily in the backseat of a squad car awaiting their ‘parents’ arrival.. they would then be transported to the precinct house for questioning under the watchful eye of their parents, and/or guardians.. no one on the scene was stupid enough to try and question them without an adult present,, as anything they said would be inadmissible in court, and that was a chance none of them were willing to take.. better to let them settle down first anyway,, as all of them were in shock,, and it was highly unlikely they could produce a statement with any clarity in that condition.. 

it wasn’t long till john and lisa pulled up to the scene and were ushered in by the uniforms that had cordoned off the crime scene. hank saw lisa and hurried to catch her before anyone else got to her.. he wanted to be the first to explain what had gone on,, perhaps ease the blow,, if that was at all possible.. 

“daddy!” lisa exclaimed as she exited the passenger’s side of the car and ran headlong into hanks open arms.. she embraced him tightly and broke out into shuddering sobs a she felt his safe warm arms around her.. 

“they are alright, honey,, a little bit shaken for sure, but for the most part they are all  alright.” he motioned to the squad car where they boys were being held,, and admonished lisa to go to them and see for herself.. 

johns stayed behind to see if he could put some semblance of order to all of this., as lisa rushed to the boys.. 

“what the fuck hank?? how did this happen??” asked an exasperated john.. not knowing what else to say.. 

“from what we were able to gather before we sequestered the boys,, they had been going on a treasure hunt, if you will, here in the junk yard,, and erik came across what appeared to be a diamond ring,, only to find out it was still attached to a finger, which turned out to be attached to the body of one of our own, detective mick johnson..”

“but how could this have happened?” john asked perfunctorily,, knowing there was no real answer to that question,, but unable to keep himself from asking it anyway.

“that is still under investigation.. good news is,, they body is fresh,, so any evidence that was on the body when it was dumped here,, and we do believe it was dumped here,, will still be fresh.. unfortunately, all indicators point to this being a mob style execution,, so the perp’s were more than likely smart enough not to leave any damning evidence behind.” hank exhaled heavily and then continued.

“it is extremely unfortunate that they  boys had to get mixed up in this.. not only is it a scene they are more than likely never going to be able to erase from their subconscious,, but they are going to be put through some grueling questioning once they reach the station house. i wish there was something i could do to stop that john, really i do,, but it is protocol you know,, it has to be done..”

“i understand.” a bewildered john said mechanically.. “will we be able to be with the boys when they are questioned??”

“absolutely. they will be interrogated one at a time,, so it is gonna be a long drawn out process.. are you sure you and lisa are up to this?”

“we have to be..” john acquiesced, knowing there was no way out,, and they would have to deal with whatever it was that awaited them at the station house.. 

gil was quickly approaching from the left as he called out to hank. “i think we have the car in which the murder took place.. the boys found an abandoned black sedan about a mile from here,, blood spatter in the windshield and a bullet hole consistent with the one shot fired.. the crime scene investigative unit is in route.. we better get going and meet them over there.”

“gimme a minute gil,, i wanna talk to my daughter and assure the boys that everything is gonna be alright,, we just wanna ask them a few questions.. could you get me a uniform to transport them as asap?? i know lisa and john, here, want to get this over with as soon as possible so they can get the boys home..”

hank, with john obediently in tow, headed off toward the huddled mass of lisa and the boys all crying and clinging to her. his heart broke.. this was hitting just a little bit too close to home.. 

“hey guys!” hank feigned his most amicable persona, “i just wanna let you know this is all routine.. before you know it you are gonna be back home,, and for all rights and purposes this is gonna be over for you.” as he spoke those words he realized,, that this would never truly be over as no amount of time would ever be able to erase what they had witnessed here this afternoon. .

john chimed in, “any way we can transport the boys hank?? i think they would be a lot more comfortable with us than they could ever be in a squad car.."

“i don’t see why not, let me ok it with the first on scene,, and see what i can do.” hank said as he wandered off in search for the detective that had caught the case.. 

“it really is gonna be ok, “ lisa tried to console the boys.. “you did nothing wrong. the officers just want to ask you a few questions and then we will all go home and try and put this behind us.” she said as she huddled that much closer to the boys,, who for the first time were functioning as a pack..

as john looked on,, he couldn’t help but wonder if this strange turn of events would be the very thing that would solidify them as a family.. he would have given his right arm to never have had to put the boys through this,, but a part of him was almost happy it had happened,, as for the first time he saw a glimmer of hope.. they boys would forever be cemented by this experience,, as gruesome as it may be,, and that bond might be just what they needed to bring this “family” together.. 

hank approached the group and wrapped his arms around lisa and the boys.. “ i gotta go.. i got the ok for you two to transport the boys.. there will be uniforms at the station house to direct you to the interrogation rooms,, so just follow their lead.. i called ahead and have some hot cocoa and donuts waiting for the boys when they get there.”

“thank you daddy.” lisa stood up and embraced him whole heartedly.. “you’ll be there soon?”

“as soon as i can be..” hank reassured her,, all the while knowing it was gonna be a long night,, and the chances were not too good he would make it to the station house before the boys were questioned and released.. 

“if i can’t make it, i will be at the house as soon as i am able,, you can be sure of that.”

“hank!!” gil called out from his position over by the unmarked car they had arrived in. “we gotta go.”

john shook hanks hand.. “thank you for all you have done hank,, i think we can take over from here.”

it was with a heavy heart hank joined gil in the unmarked crown vic.. there was a a devastating silence that permeated the air between them before gil broke in, “johnson was a strange character indeed,, but never in a million years would i have thought things would end up like this.. internal affairs has launched a full-fledged investigation into his background,, and i have a feeling none of this is gonna make any sense till we find out what they come up with..”

hank still deep in thought about how this was going to affect not only his daughter,, but the fragile family she was trying to bring together was silent for a moment.. 

“yeah, right.” he finally responded distractedly..

“this  hittin’ a little too close to home buddy?” gil queried. “think maybe you ought to take yourself off this one?”

“hell no!!” hank exclaimed in no uncertain terms, “i got this..”