"Take me home," Alex told the driver. He just wanted a good night's sleep and some peace and quiet to restore his true inner power.
From her office window upstairs, Chelsea watched the car pull away from the station. She heaved a long sigh of relief and closed the blinds. She had never let a suspect in a case just walk away before—much less helped one—but something wasn't adding up.
She was famously known as a 'by the book officer,' but she never ignored her intuition, and she had a hunch that Alex wouldn't have gone after the Murdochs without a good reason.
Sometimes a predator learns the hard way that its prey can bite back to survive, she thought. You don't blame a buck for goring a wolf.
And the Murdoch family was a pack of wolves. They had used their money and power to commit and cover up crime for years, but everyone was afraid to confront them.
Chelsea was jarred away from her thoughts by the ring of her cell phone. When she saw the name on the caller ID, her stomach sank.
"Chelsea Wood speaking," she answered.
"I understand that you have Steven Murdoch in custody," the voice on the line said sharply.
"He's a suspect in a conspiracy to commit murder," she replied. "He's in holding with his family until we arrange a trial."
Chelsea stood at attention and made sure she sounded respectful, but she was seething under the surface. She had already fielded almost a dozen calls about Steven from increasingly powerful people. The Murdochs had lots of powerful friends.
"You need to cut them loose," the voice said. "This is the end of the matter. No press and no arguments. Do you understand?"
"But—"
"That's an order, Wood," the voice snapped.
"I can't just sweep this under the rug," Chelsea said firmly. "I have a duty to investigate, no matter who the suspect is."
She felt a stab of guilt for letting Alex go. Does that make me a hypocrite or a good cop who trusts her gut? she wondered. She comforted herself with the certainty of knowing that if Alex had broken the law, she would take him down. Their friendship wouldn't stop her from doing her job.
Steven and Michael had been treating the Western District like their personal playground for years, and Chelsea had been waiting for the chance to arrest them and put them on trial. She took her oath to serve and protect the people of Baltimore seriously.
She knew that while the Murdochs thought being rich and powerful put them beyond the law's reach, Alex just had a knack for finding trouble. They were in completely different leagues.
"That's a direct order, and if you know what's good for you, you'll obey it," the voice said.
"I only obey the law," Chelsea said coldly.
After a full minute of silence, the voice said, "I'm under a lot of pressure here, Wood. You have got to let this case go."
"I'm sorry," Chelsea said. "I can't do that."
"I see. In that case, you're suspended. Turn everything over to Mills; he's taking over the case. I hope you enjoy writing traffic tickets." The line went dead.
Chelsea cursed and fought the urge to throw her phone across the room. Then she took a deep breath and began to sort out her case files.
A few minutes later, Randy waited outside her office.
I guess it's his office now, she thought bitterly. She knew in her heart that this was someone's way of keeping her from interrogating the Murdochs. She was shut out and might never get another shot at the family.
***
At his apartment, Alex sat in deep meditation as he used his inner force to heal his wounds. It wasn't until four in the morning that he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When he woke, he saw that the wound on his back had healed. Lying there in a ray of sunlight, he felt like a whole new man. He could never get over how profound and wonderful working with this inner energy felt, and he hoped he would never lose the feeling of awe it filled him with.
A knock at the door shook Alex from his reverie, and he dragged himself out of bed.
Clark stepped into the apartment looking concerned.
"How's your back?" he asked. "A knife wound can't be treated with a band aid, you know. You really should have gone to the hospital and had a doctor look at it."
He spun Alex around to get a look at the wound site.
"Thanks for your concern," Alex said with a smile. "I would rather not tell Debbie about this right away. She would only worry."
Clark stood in awe as he looked at the spot where the wound had been. He didn't pretend to understand Alex's skills, but he felt a deep respect for them.
"Alex," he whispered. "It's a miracle. An ordinary person with an injury like that would be laid up for a month, but you're completely healed in one day."
"I want to thank you for yesterday," Alex said as he got dressed.
"You and I have been through too much together to get all sentimental," Clark replied. "Any time you're in trouble, I'll be there to help. I should be thanking you. You saved my daughter's life, even if I don't know how. You don't ever need to thank me."
Alex smiled. He had noticed that Clark was never shy about saying exactly what he thought without a trace of malice or dishonesty, but he was a man of many secrets. Alex felt a flutter of uncertainty as he wondered how much he actually knew about Clark. His presence at the Hall house was still a mystery.
Alex didn't ask anything, but his thoughts must have shown on his face.
"You're wondering about Neil, aren't you?" Clark suddenly asked.
"I am," Alex said.
"Neil was a member of my team a long time ago, but he betrayed us." Clark's eyes went cold. He looked away from Alex and stared at nothing.
"Your team? Neil?" Alex was confused.
"He wasn't Neil Hall back then," Clark said. "When I met him, his name was Nicholas Hammond. He was pretty low in the pecking order. He had a gambling problem so bad that he would have sold his wife and kids for gambling money."
He shook his head in disgust. "After we cut him loose, he joined the Chamber of Commerce, and eventually the Ghosts got a hold of him. He has had more than a few second chances already. Don't waste your time mourning for him."
"It's Joe I'm worried about," Alex said, frowning.
I can't believe that his father is such a monster, he thought.