don't get me wrong () prodigal son SLOW UPDATES

Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen:

Malcolm raced down the street, Theodora huffing and puffing behind him. They weaved themselves through the thick crowd until Gil became visible standing on the sidewalk with two other man.

"Gil, Liam wasn't our killer." Was the first thing said.

Gil shook his head, nodding at two men who were in conversation with him.

"Give us a second, Bright."

"The Boutsikaris' were killed by someone who loved the family and wanted their love in return. Liam didn't care about either."

"Excuse me." Gil muttered to the men, pulling Malcolm forward. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm working the case."

"Well, are case just went splat. They want us to close it and move on."

Theodora pursed her lips, "But they're wrong. The killer is still out there."

"An illegitimate child. I'm sure of it, he could've pushed Liam off the building."

"Look, take a breath—"

"I don't need to take a breath, and I don't need sleep and I don't care if I seem crazy, I'm right!" He exclaimed, "I swear."

"Bright, you want to be apart of this team or not?"

"Of course I do. But I also want to find this killer. Let me run this down."

"There were payments." Dani's voice echoed, and both her and JT walked up to their little group. "I looked through Aristos' payments and there was a lot of them. Over the last few months, he sent a set of payments to an anonymous recipient. You know, I thought it was Liam but—"

"He tried to pay off the annihilator." Theodora nodded.

Gil sighed, rubbing his forehead. He looked to Malcolm, "I can buy you a few hours. Go to Aristos' lawyer, I want to know who he was writing checks to."

Malcolm grinned, "Great."

"I'll drive. Cars just up the street." Dani said, "JT, go with Gil."

Theodora trailed right behind Dani, Malcolm behind her. They all piled into the car and were off.

"Do you know the lawyers address?"

"Yes. It's on file."

Malcolm sighed from the back, "How fast will it take to get there?"

"He lives just outside the city, in some suburb."

"Of course he does." Theodora said, "All lawyers do."

They turned off towards the highway, stopping at a red light. Dani sighed, glancing at her. "Did you think about Gil's offer?"

"What offer?" Malcolm questioned from the backseat.

"Yes." Theodora said truthfully, the card the man had given her was sitting on her nightstand. She debating calling him for days now, to say she'd love to be apart of the team, for real. "I'm... interested."

Dani cracked a small smile, "You'd be good. Though you wouldn't be able to have a gun until properly trained."

"I have my license. My dad made me get one when I was of age. Just in case, he always told me."

"What's going on, here?" Malcolm asked.

Dani glared at him through the mirror, "Fletcher's going to be a detective."

"Can Gil even hand out jobs like that?" Her brows furrowed, "It just sounds odd."

"Normally no, but this is his own division. He can do whatever he wants. If he ever quits or something happens and a new person comes in, they'll be able to fire you right away. But Gil's gonna be here for a long time yet, he's not going anywhere."

They all nodded, the sounds of traffic leaking in the car. It was quiet the rest of the way.

•••

The lawyer did in fact live in a suburb, filled with cookie cutter houses that all seemed to be painted white. They followed behind Dani, who insisted she lead because she was the only one who had a gun. Theodora followed Malcolm, as they walked up on a concrete path towards a fenced in backyard. Past the fence revealed a large backyard, and a women played off to the side with two little girls. Theodora smiled at the scene, for the smell of hamburgers filled her nose which caused her stomach to grumble. Malcolm snorted, glancing back at her. "Hungry?"

"I've been saying that for awhile now, Malcolm."

"Mr. Littman?" Dani called out, "NYPD." She flashed her badge, "Sorry to barge in like this."

The man looked like a lawyer, or what Theodora thought one would look like. He was middle aged, dark hair and dark eyes. The way he held himself showed he dealt with the law, but he only nodded and said, "No problem."

"We have a few questions to ask you." Dani continued, "If you could help answer them."

"Regarding Liam? I heard. When we spoke, I had no idea he was suicidal."

"Oh, we're not sure he was." Malcolm chimed in, "We think Liam was killed by the same person that murdered his family."

"Possibly an illegitimate child." Theodora added.

Dani huffed, "Bank records show that you made payments for Aristos to an anonymous recipient. Do you know who he was paying?"

"Dad!" A little girl's voice called out, "We're hungry."

Littman sighed, rubbing his head. "I-I'm coming, sweetie. Uh... those payments were small loans, nothing big. Aristos was a family man." He began flipping patty's that sizzled on the barbecue.

"How long did you work for him?"

"15 years."

"He was like a mentor?"

"Absolutely. All this is because of him."

Theodora watched Malcolm, the way his eyes squinted at the man in front of him. He was reading Littman, trying to make sense of the information.

"Dad!"

"My— my kids really are starving. Give me one second?" He placed each patty onto a plate, then raised it towards them. "Want any? I made extras."

Theodora pursed her lips, stomach grumbling once again. Littman chuckled, grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around the burger, handing it to her. "We don't have enough buns."

Theodora shrugged taking it, taking a small bite.

"He fits the profile." Malcolm mumbled, "He's the right age to be Aristos's son, he showing multiple signs of stress reactions and he's still protective of the victim."

She took another bite, and a few more until she reached the middle. Something suddenly tasted bitter, and her brows furrowed as she stared down at it.

"But it makes no sense." Dani began, but Theodora's ears were ringing. Sirens went off in her head, something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry, they're going berserk." Littman returned, "Can we talk tomorrow?"

Theodora blinked slowly, staring at the food in her hand. Whatever was in this had to be strong, for it to cause a reaction this fast. He masked it well, but no enough for her to tell. She opened her mouth to say anything, call out but nothing sounded.

She had no idea how long she'd been lost in her own world before she heard Malcolm's voice accuse Littman for being Aristos's son, to which he agreed.

"What did you do?" Theodora managed to choke out, staring at him. "What did you do!"

"Theo?"

She threw the burger at him, it falling off of him and onto the grass. She stumbled back, clawing at her throat. She couldn't breath.

Theodora collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the sky with wide open eyes. She couldn't close them, her body refused to let her. But she could still see, still feel. Yet nothing worked as it should, she couldn't move her body or speak. She was trapped within her own mind, just as Aristos's family had been as they watched each other die.

Theodora had been poisoned. And she had noticed to late.

What a terrible way to die, she thought. The brightness of the sun welcoming her to a whole to new light, one she knew she wasn't ready to see.