15

Ronan

Ronan had woken up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, thanks, in part, to finding out what really happened to Bash. He couldn't wait to get to the office and tell Jude and Fitzgibbon what he'd learned.

Stopping to grab some of Cassie's passionfruit muffins and everyone's favorite coffee, Ronan was on top of the world when he walked into the office.

"I was hoping for breakfast," Cisco Jackson said.

Ronan was surprised that the chief of police was sitting at the conference table with Jude and Fitz. He couldn't help but wonder why no one had warned him that Cisco was going to be in on this meeting, unless, of course, he was here for a reason not having to do with the Stark case.

"I told them not to tell you I was here, Ronan," Cisco said, reaching for a muffin.

Was Ronan in trouble? His gut twisted as he passed out coffees to Jude and Fitz. Lastly, he settled himself into a chair beside Cisco and grabbed a muffin. Realizing his hands were shaking, Ronan stuffed them under his thighs. Breakfast could wait until he heard what Cisco had come to say. "I'm all ears."

"We had a development in the Stark case." Cisco's dark eyes didn't give away if this was a good development or a bad one.

It was on the tip of Ronan's tongue to ask if Simon Westlake confessed, but if that were the case, Cisco wouldn't be drawing this out. Figuring the best thing to do was to keep quiet, Ronan bided his time.

"What happened?" Fitzgibbon asked, sounding as if he were on edge as well.

"Paul Stark was in an accident last night. While driving drunk, he smashed his car into the Roger Conant statue near the Witch Museum. Stark wasn't wearing a seat belt. He's in critical condition in the ICU at Salem Mercy Hospital."

"Son of a bitch. We were so close to arresting Bash's killer." Ronan thumped a fist against the table. He shot off a quick text to Ten, asking him to come up to the office.

"Wait! What do you mean we're on the verge of catching the killer?" Jude wore a confused look. "We still don't know if he was murdered or died accidentally."

"Actually, we do," Ten said, coming into the room. He took the seat beside Ronan at the table.

"The news I have to tell you is why I called this meeting, but before we tell you what we learned last night, tell us where things stand with Paul Stark." Ronan turned to Ten. "He was in an accident last night."

Ten dipped his head. "He was going out for more beer."

"More beer?" Cisco asked, his eyes narrowing.

"We met with Paul yesterday morning. He had some objects that belonged to his son that he was hoping I could use to speak with Bash. They worked, and his ghost appeared. He started to tell us what happened the night he died before his energy ran out and he vanished. Bash had made himself visible to his father. After Bash left, I couldn't reestablish a connection with him, and Paul started to drink. From what I know, he had two unopened cases of Budweiser, and he'd managed to drink three cans before we left."

"I knew I should have stayed with him," Fitzgibbon said softly.

"He's a grown man, Fitz," Cisco said. "There's nothing you could have done."

"Is Stark going to live?" Jude asked. "I got the distinct feeling the man was waiting to die in order to be reunited with his lost son and wife."

"I got that impression too," Ronan said. "I was hoping that with what we learned last night, we'd be able to talk him into rehab after we arrested the killers."

"Killers? As in plural? More than one killer?" Cisco's mouth hung open. "Why the hell didn't you call me last night? Jesus, Ronan! What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Take a breath, Cisco, before you give yourself another heart attack." Ten wore a look that said he meant business.

Taking a deep breath, Cisco sat back in his chair. "Sorry, Ronan. It's been one hell of a night."

"It's okay, Cisco." Ronan offered his boss a placid smile. "After we finished our dinner meeting with Corny and Destiny and spoke with Carson and Cole about next steps, we picked up the kids and went home. Ten wanted to talk to Everly about Bash. I'd taken the friendship bracelet Paul left for us to use to contact his son."

"What the hell are corny and destiny?" Cisco looked around the table.

"They're not a what but a who," Fitzgibbon explained. "Corny is Carson and Cole's father, and Destiny, aka Martha, is his new, pregnant wife."

"What the hell goes on when you guys are off the clock? It's like you've all taken a trip to Crazytown." Cisco shook his head.

"The story gets even better." Fitz gave a quick recap on everything that happened with the Craig family.

"I'll never complain about Luca's family ever again. That's just insanity. Poor Carson and Cole, but let's get back to Paul Stark." Cisco pointed to Tennyson. "You. Go."

"Everly said Simon Westlake was jealous of Bash because he'd slept with Mandy Patterson, Simon's girlfriend. Apparently, Mandy was used as a lure to see which of the pledges would sleep with her and which ones would not. When Bash showed up, he explained that he naively believed that Mandy and Simon had broken up. Because of that, uh, infraction, shall we say, Bash was told that he wouldn't be admitted to the Sigma Chi fraternity."

"But," Ronan said, picking up the story, "if he passed one final test, Bash would become a member."

"What was the final test?" Fitzgibbon asked.

"Bash had to lie on Simon's bed while he knelt on Sebastian's back. While that was going on, Mandy came into the room, and Simon forced her to do the same thing to Bash. She refused, and Simon told her if she didn't do what he said, he would do the same thing to her. She obeyed, and while she did what Simon asked, he climbed back on Bash, adding his weight, and pushed his face into the mattress until he suffocated."

"Sweet Jesus," Cisco muttered.

"How did Bash's body end up in the basement?" Fitz asked.

"Simon and some of the other members carried him and left him on the stairs, which explains why Bash's phone was intact and why his hands didn't have the injuries you would expect to see in a fall of that kind. There was no damage to his fingers, palms, or wrists, as well as there being no bruising." Ronan shook his head. "I had set up a meeting with Simon for one this afternoon. I planned on bringing Jude and Fitz along in hopes we could get Simon to confess. Knowing what we know now, the next step is to find Mandy Patterson and to get the names of the guys who moved the body. I'm going to round them all up and arrest them."

Cisco wore a gobsmacked look on his face. "So, just as the two of you were finding out what really happened to Bash, Paul Stark got into his car and drove drunk. If it weren't for bad luck, that guy would have no luck at all."

"I didn't call you last night because this case was three years cold, and I didn't think twelve more hours would hurt anything. I was wrong." Ronan felt his emotions start to rise. "Because I was an asshole, this man who's already lost so much might lose the only thing he has left—his life."

"Ronan, you're not an asshole," Cisco said, setting a hand on his shoulder. "At least not in this instance. There's no way you could have known Stark would drive drunk and almost kill himself."

"How is he?" Ten asked. "I missed that part of the conversation."

"He's in ICU at Salem Mercy. The docs think he'll be okay, but he's in a heap of legal trouble. I told my guys not to arrest him while he was in the ICU, but when he recovers enough to be released to a regular hospital room, I won't have a choice."

"My original plan was to tell him my story of how I shot a suspect and ended up in a Florida rehab with my career hanging in the balance. I hoped he would take my story to heart and let me help him get into a program. I'm not sure that would work now." Ronan sighed. He should have called Paul Stark after he'd spoken with Bash.

"What if Stark pled no contest and was ordered into rehab?" Jude asked.

"That's something I'd have to speak with the DA about." Cisco didn't look as if he wanted to make that call.

"I'll do it," Fitzgibbon said. "I'm already acting as a liaison between the SPD and Boulder, Colorado, district attorney's office. What's one more phone call?"

Cisco shot Fitz a stunned look. "You wanna explain that to me? Just for shits and giggles, also throw in why I'm not hearing about your diplomatic skills until now?"

Ronan snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough. Cisco wasn't buying it.

"You want to end up on my shit list? Keep laughing, asshole." Cisco turned back to Fitzgibbon. "Explain. Now!"

Fitzgibbon sighed. "While Corny and Destiny were living in Colorado, they started a GoFundMe page for a sick boy with cancer."

"I'm guessing the boy and his family never got the money?" Cisco pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign that his head was starting to throb.

"It's worse than that." Fitzgibbon flinched. "There was no boy. They took the money and blew town."

"And what is it that you're liaising about?" Cisco looked as if he didn't actually want to hear the answer.

"Jace offered to pay back the money Corny and Destiny stole in order to get the charges dropped. With Corny needing a kidney transplant and Destiny expecting their child, Jace also agreed to pay their medical bills and house them."

Cisco's mouth hung open. "It's a world gone fucking mad. Jesus, I remember the hell that man put Bertha Craig through."

"Yeah, well, Carson and Cole have to decide if they'll donate a kidney to save his life. To make matters worse, we don't know if Corny and Destiny will stick around after the baby is born." Ronan paused. "Those boys have been through enough. If Corny were to leave again after one of them donates a vital organ, it will wreck them both."

"Does this deal with the Boulder DA put the Salem Police in the line of fire?" Cisco asked.

"I don't know," Fitzgibbon admitted. "I'll speak with the DA and find out."

"You're also going to have to deal with the fact that Jimenez and Watts did diddly squat to investigate this case, never mind to solve it," Ronan said. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's better you know the good, the bad, and the ugly."

Cisco set his head in his hands. "Fitz, find out what the deal is with the Boulder DA. If there's any way at all we can come out of this with good press, do it. Once you have arrested Simon Westlake, Mandy Patterson, and the accessories after the fact, I'll figure out what the hell to do about Jimenez and Watts."

"Everly said you're going to can them and have a press conference that celebrates you closing this case."

Cisco snorted. "My little niece is something special."

"She sure the hell is," Ronan agreed. "We're also willing to do whatever we can to give you the glory for assigning us this case and helping us to solve it."

"I'm going to need one hell of a speechwriter to figure this shit out." Cisco got up from his chair. "I need a handful of aspirin and a fucking shot of bourbon. For now, I'll settle for getting rid of this headache. Keep me informed about Simon Westlake and Corny Craig."

Fitzgibbon nodded. "You got it. Please do the same for us with Paul Stark."

"I will." Cisco headed for the door. "Is there anything else you need?"

Ronan raised his hand.

"Fuck, I knew I was going to regret asking. What is it?" He shot Ronan a cautioning look.

"Get Ten and I added to the list of people who can visit Paul Stark. I want to be there when he wakes up. We've got a lot to talk about."

"I'll call the hospital on my way back to the station." Without saying goodbye, Cisco turned and left the office.

"That was a fucking close shave," Jude said.

"Yeah, we're not out of the woods yet." Fitzgibbon reached for the folder Paul Stark had given them the day before and slid it to Jude. "Find Mandy Patterson."

"Ten, if you or Everly can reach Bash Stark, see if he knows the names of the guys who moved his body and left it on the fucking stairs. Jesus, I can't believe they left him down there alone in the dark while they drank and partied upstairs and didn't call the police until the next morning. I want to nail those little fuckers to the wall. Got it?"

Ten nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"I'll be in my office pulling my hair out and trying to reach the DA in charge of prosecuting Paul Stark."

"Be ready to go meet with Simon Westlake at half past twelve."

"I can't wait." Fitzgibbon headed for his office, closing the door behind him.

"Let's go talk to Everly," Ten said.

With a sigh, Ronan got out of his chair and followed Ten out the door. As far as Ronan was concerned, his daughter had already done her bit. It wasn't fair that they were going to question her again about Sebastian, but if he knew his little girl, Everly would be excited to help.

Again.