Mind (the) Game

by Kelly Shade

  “Tell CSU to find finger prints, a hair, some kind of a DNA or whatever.” Jane puffed and started walking down.

  “Will do.” Ian said and followed her.

  “Did you call Tylor?” Jane shouted to Ryan, he was the last one on the stairs.

  “Yeah, but he will come to the Station with Barrett.” Ryan yelled back “We left in a hurry after your second call and I totally forgot to tell anyone.”

  The team went back to the Station. In their office Hunt, Tylor and Barrett were waiting with wide smiles.

  “Where did you all go? There’s been a murder somewhere?” Hunt asked, he had just arrived at the Station. He was at his home when Ryan called him with the good news that Jane had a witness with enough information to find Morse. After all, it was almost ten pm and Hunt needed to rest.

  Jane collapsed in her chair. She could only wave to Smith and Barrett for hello. Then she gathered strength and told them exactly what had happened, the smiles on their faces disappeared.

  Barrett called and ordered a team to fly to the address Juan told Jane straight away. Then he informed the CIA so they can do the same as fast as they can.

  “Teams will depart to the location right away. If Morse is there, we got him! And the murder case will be under our jurisdiction but we will keep you posted.” Barrett said when he hung up, looked at the team and since there were no complains and fighting for jurisdiction as always, Barrett sat next to Jane and told her quietly “It’s not your fault!”

  “Of course it is, I should have been more careful.” Jane sighted then she preferred to change the subject and asked “Why were you so happy when we arrived? We need some good news, so shoot,” Jane said and when she saw their faces saying ‘not-the-right-time-for-that-expression’ she added “metaphorically!”

  “We have some leads,” started Tylor when he received a nod from his boss that he can speak “We had many suspects on who helped Morse to fake his death but none of them could have done it. However, now we have found a list of the people who went in and out of the cremation room. A list that was supposed to be missing, at least that’s what they claimed.”

  “How did you get it then?” Victoria asked with surprise.

  “With great help from Ryan Gray.” Barrett joined in and looked at Ryan with appreciation. “He spent many nights in our office on his own laptop trying to restore the security footage from that night. Thanks to him and Hunt we have a list of twenty suspects. We believe we will have the person responsible for faking the lab results and making our job far too difficult.”

  Blake looked at Ryan with surprise. She didn’t notice anything different around him except he was sleepier in the mornings than usual. Blake appreciated his help and wasn’t mad about not telling her but the thing that bothered her was why her observing skills were off?! Apparently, Jane stared at him because Ryan started with the excuses and the apologies right away.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Jane, but it was a long shot and me and Tylor decided you don’t need more pressure on you.”

  “It’s okay, I understand.” Blake said and everybody stared at her with disbelief.

  “Why didn’t you tell us, bro?” Lee felt left out.

  “Because it was a classified information and Gray agreed to help on our terms.” Smith said irritably.

  “We are a team! We have each other’s backs every day!” Ian partnered with Nick.

  “Boys, that’s enough!” Hunt said loudly and they calmed down immediately.

  “Can I see the list now?” Jane asked after a minute of awkward silence.

  “Yes, you may see it.” Tylor said, took out a file from his bag and handed it to Jane. Smith saw that everyone stayed on their places and didn’t dare to go closer to that file, he added “You all can see it now.”

  Nick, Ian and Victoria almost ran to Jane’s desk, only Ryan stayed put because he already knew what’s on the file. Nick and Ian started murmuring the names on the paper, Victoria was pointing at each name, Jane was focused with narrowed eyes.

  After some time, Jane made a gesture to the others to move and spoke calmly. “I think I know who we should interrogate first.”

  “Who?” asked Barrett and Tylor in one voice.

  “This man!” Jane pointed at a name on the list.

  “Marvin Adams?” Ryan asked after he saw which name she was pointing at.

  Jane nodded in agreement.

  “Why him?” Smith looked puzzled.

  Jane didn’t answer right away but searched for something in her desk drawer. A while later she took out a dusty old photo. She looked at it and remembered that the last time she glanced at that photo was at the night Ryan broke into her house. The memory made her smile. It was only year and a half ago but it seemed like centuries had past. Jane handed the photo to Tylor and started explaining.

  “The third man from the right is Marvin Adams and the woman next to him is Lilia Jordan.”

  “Your, urgh …” Ryan choked. The word that he wanted to say was grandmother but he knew Jane was sensitive on the subject.

  “Her what?” asked Barret.

  “On documents she supposed to be my grandmother. She is the mother of the woman who adopted me. Adams is, or was, an anesthesiologist in her clinic.” Jane took the lead which made Ryan relax.

  “We know that Jordan had business with Morse,” Gray spoke this time with confidence that he won’t mess up “we don’t have evidence but we are sure Morse and Jordan knew each other before Jane was born.”

  Blake confirmed, which was enough for Barrett and Smith to take off and gather their team to bring Marvin Adams in for interrogation.

  Nick, Ian, Victoria, Ryan and Jane didn’t have anything to do but to stay at the office until the FBI call them to assist with Adams’s questioning. It was late and Hunt went back home ordering them to call him immediately and also advising them to get some sleep. Even though Juan’s case was taken and they had nothing to go on since all the evidence were transferred to the FBI, nobody from the team could go home to sleep. Victoria was laying in Nick’s lap on the small couch they got in the office. Ryan, as always, was stuck in front of his laptop, Ian spent an hour on the phone with his wife and also went to his computer. Jane stared at the ceiling with her legs on the desk and a coffee in her hand.

  “People, I have more bad news.” Ian said and broke the silence.

  “What is it now?” asked Lee and rubbed his eyes.

  “Dimitria Grigorovich was killed in jail two days ago.” Ian said.

  “How is that bad news?” Jane laughed and everyone looked at her with astonishment.

  “Well, she was a human being.” Valdez started.

  “And there is the question why was she killed.” Ryan added a more reasonable argument and continued “And now we know Morse has people in prison for sure. So I guess it is pretty bad.”

  “Make sense.” Blake agreed. “Can we get her phone conversations?”

  “We don’t have a probable cause to ask for a warrant.” Victoria woke up quickly.

  “How was she killed?” Jane turned to Ian but before he answered, Blake added “Evans, I need a refill, do you mind?” and handed the coffee mug to Victoria.

  Evans happily went to make coffees for everyone.

  “Jane, she is not a secretary!” Nick felt a bit offended.

  “Sorry, I just can’t get used to her being here.” Jane said honestly.

  “Grigorovich was stabbed fourteen times while she was asleep. The guards caught the woman who did it.” Ian broke their conversation. “The convict is a serial killer and she said she needed, and I quote, ‘the smell of fresh blood’ and to feel like God again. So there is no case for investigation and we can’t get the phone recordings.” He finished.

  Blake didn’t say anything. Morse also could hypnotize, at least he tried to hypnotize Jane, so if he somehow got the psychopath even on the phone, he would have persuaded her to do it. Or maybe that serial killer was the perfect excuse and cover up, and
the guards were playing on Morse’s side.

  Blake decided not to think about it, it wasn’t the time. She was hoping that the FBI and CIA teams will soon have Morse in their custody and that was the only thing that mattered. Besides, Jane felt good of the fact Grigorovich was brutally murdered. Blake felt she deserved that kind of death after her useless existing. Jane mostly blamed Dimitria for the family Blake had to grow up in.

  The morning came and it was time for the team to wake up from their light sleep in the chairs. Everyone complained about a headache, back pain and cramps, they all regretted staying in the office through the night. Hunt also arrived early and without saying good morning he asked if the FBI had Marvin Adams.

  Jane called Tylor right away.

  “Hey, Tai, what’s up?” she said sleepily, rubbing her puffy eyes, trying to wake up.

  “Jane, I was just about to call you!” Tylor said happily “We got Adams, he was at the Nashville airport with a ticket to Argentina! Come to our office asap!”

  “Awesome!” Jane woke up in a millisecond after that information.

  She gathered the team and after Victoria volunteered to stay in the station, Ian, Nick, Ryan and Jane went to the FBI to assist with the interrogation.

  Tylor welcomed them with a wide smile.

  “Okay, two of you can go in with me, the other two will watch the questioning in the other room.” Tylor turned to them and waited for an answer.

  “Me and Nick will go in.” Jane said and pulled Lee to go with her.

  Ryan’s face showed he was puzzled and a bit offended, after all he was the one who did most of the job to find Marvin Adams. But for Jane this didn’t matter, she wanted to protect him. She may behaved like she didn’t care for him but in fact she did, a lot. Jane’s reason for not taking Ryan in was that she knew it was best for him Marvin Adams not to see his face.

  Tylor took Nick and Jane to the interrogation room and showed the back room where Ian and Ryan could listen.

  “Good morning, Marvin!” Jane said when she walked in and saw the sixtyish year-old short man with white hair, round pink face, huge glasses and a moustache. “I’m sorry we ruined your trip to Argentina!” Jane added with a fake smile.

  Nick and Tylor sat on Jane’s sides and Tylor started doing his job.

  “Mr. Adams, we have evidence that you are the one who helped Michael Morse fake his death.” Said Tylor while looking at the file in front of him.

  “I did not…” started Adams with a high pitched voice but Tylor lifted his hand, gesturing that he wasn’t finished.

  “As I said we have evidence against you.” Tylor continued with the bluff “However, we would offer you a deal if you give us your full cooperation and depending on the information you have we would make your jail time considerably shorter.” Tylor took a breath and before Adams could speak he continued “Right now, since you were accomplice to Morse, you are facing serious charges and a twenty plus sentence in a federal prison. But, if you confess and cooperate we will talk about a smaller sentence and a low security prison. What is your choice, Mr. Adams?” Tylor finished with a straight face, staring at Marvin.

  Jane was impressed of Smith’s bluffing skills. She didn’t know how good he became since the last time they did business together. The fact that they had nothing on Marvin but Jane’s hunch and his appearance in the cremation room, and still Tylor made him believe they had hard evidence, was more than impressive.

  Nick looked like he also thought the FBI found more on Adams but haven’t shared yet.

  Marvin Adams opened and closed his mouth several times without making a sound. He looked terrified and in dilemma what to do. Jane decided to push a little bit more. “This offer ends in five minutes. We know you were going to Morse in Argentina, and we have teams surrounding his residence.”

  Adams looked at her and for a moment Jane was sure she saw that Adams recognized her and pure fear in his eyes appeared. It took him less than two minutes to speak up.

  “I want to cooperate but no jail time and I want witness protection. I know a lot about Morse’s organization and I can be very helpful. This is the only deal I can accept.” Said Adams.

  Tylor played it as if thinking over the offer and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Then he, Nick and Jane pretended to have a quiet conversation and finally Smith said “If your information is valuable for us, we can give you the needed protection.”

  Adams relaxed a bit, took a deep breath and spoke “I was ordered by Michael Morse to switch the lab results and I did it. I had to, or he would have get me killed.” Marvin said while waving his hands.

  “That’s a good beginning.” Jane stated and added “What else do you have?”

  Marvin Adams was avoiding Jane’s gaze.

  “I know names…” Adams hesitated.

  “We have a list with Morse’s accomplices. How your names are worth it?” Nick joined in.

  “These are people who weren’t on that list for sure. Morse had personal relationships with them.” Adams wanted to get the deal no matter what.

  “Okay then, who are they?” Jane asked imitating boredom.

  “Fist one is Lilia Jordan.” Said Marvin and Nick and Tylor couldn’t hide their surprise. Jane gestured Adams to continue and he did “Lilia Jordan was the head of a plastic surgery clinic years ago. She used to perform the transformation on the girls who Morse brought for abroad. Morse got the women new IDs and Jordan was in charge to change their looks accordingly.”

  “When was the last time Jordan did that?” Jane asked eagerly. She finally had a reason to arrest Lilia after all those years.

  “Well, it was around thirty years ago. At least, that’s what I know.” Adams said quietly.

  “Why did they stop working together?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know.” said Adams sincerely.

  Jane glanced at Tylor and they both knew that the reason was Jane.

  “If that’s all you got, I’m afraid we can’t do anything for you.” Blake started pushing him again “Without evidence, thirty years ago… It’s basically nothing.”

  “I know where one of the girls live now. She managed to escape long time ago but I know where she is.” Marvin said desperately. “She will be a witness and an evidence. She never changed her look, the implants and everything are still in her. You can trace them to Lilia Jordan.”

  “Look, that’s better!” Jane smiled “Keep talking!”

  Marvin Adams looked at them as if wondering if he has to say what was in his mind. Tylor showed he was impatient and in a hurry, hoping this would make Adams speak again. It worked, Marvin took a deep breath and continued.

  “Michael had a daughter.” Said Adams and expected them to be surprised but they showed that they already knew that “His daughter wasn’t under his name but he took care of her. I don’t know where or who was the mother but he cares a lot about Melissa.” Adams stopped to check if they knew the name but since nobody confirmed or denied he continued “So his daughter was married to his lawyer.”

  “Name?” Jane interrupted.

  “Fred Macalister.” Answered Marvin and waited for Tylor to write the name on his legal pad before he spoke again “Fred and Melissa were married for several years then they divorced. That was the last time I saw Melissa, she disappeared after the divorce.”

  “When Fred Macalister and Melissa married?” Blake asked, this time with a strange, unpleasant feeling in her gut. After she got some information about her mother, and was not impressed, she imagined her father to be something special. And now there was a possibility that her biological father to be Morse’s lawyer.

  “Maybe twenty-four-five years, I’m not sure.” Adams said, a bit puzzled why did it mattered.

  Jane breathed out as if she just avoided a bullet in her head. Fred Macalister wasn’t her father.

  “Okay, Marvin, do you have more?” Nick asked.

  Adams nodded and spoke again “When Melissa divorced, ten years after they married, I over
heard part of a conversation between Michael and Lilia.” He took a breath and continued “Lilia was worried, she asked him if he was sure if Melissa suspected anything and if, I quote, “the son of a bitch is gone.” Finished Adams.

  Jane and Nick went out of the interrogation room leaving Tylor to explain all the details about the witness protection program.

  Ian and Ryan also walked out of the back room when they saw Jane and Nick and all of them went into Barrett’s office to discuss what’s next.

  When they walked in, Curtis Barrett welcomed them with a grim expression and bad mood. They settled on the couch and the chairs and waited for him to speak up. Barrett stayed at the window, staring at the boulevard below for some time, then he turned and said quietly. “Michael Morse was tipped to move. With CIA’s help, my team found the house he was in, but he wasn’t there. He left in a hurry leaving a lot of evidence behind showing that he stayed at that place for several months, pretending to be a businessman from the States. Morse left behind all the staff members he hired in Argentina but unfortunately they thought he was a nice old man with money, never asked what made him rich. They are practically useless, the only thing they witnessed was that he lived in that house.” Said Barrett “At least it wasn’t like in Chile, the house there was cleaned up perfectly.”

  Blake couldn’t react at these news, she hoped they finally got Morse, she thought this was over but unfortunately it was too good to be true. Nick and Ian started cursing and asking Barrett if he had any idea who would tip Morse. Ryan, on the other hand, went closer to Jane and spoke quietly “It is not the end, we’ll find him.”

  “I know we will.” Jane answered and added under her breath “Someday.”