beyond redemption (America)

[Deleted]

"Got a name!" Noah called out as he entered the office "Anastasia Simms. Born in New Zealand, her records have her in Sydney, Australia until November. She has a credit card payment getting on a plane headed for Paris." he read off of the print out he had gotten from the credit cards.

Rhean looked up from her desk, where she was on the phone, distractedly. "Wait. What? There's nothing that brings here here from Paris?"

"Apparently not. And, she signed a deed for a house. 2910 Yonge street."

Rhean nodded, half listening. She was focusing on finding the rest of the body that had been at the lighthouse. All that had been waiting for her was a foot. It wasn't much to go on. She had no idea who the victim even was, except that Cameron said it looked like a boy, approximately 13-15 years of age. As she was examining the pictures, she noticed something about the foot as Noah came in. She wasn't about to go find a realtor when she had a dead boy to find. "Ok, so go talk to the realtor. I gotta go"

Which is why, a half hour later, it was Noah and America who were showing the picture to the real estate agent. The woman had nodded. "Oh, of course. I remember her. Easiest sale I ever made. That woman acted like she was made of gold. Made for good commission, actually. She was pretty nice, though. That's sad. I hope her son Jack is okay."

Her son Jack. It wasn't hard to find out that the son mentioned was a Degrassi kid, especially when he had scored the winning basket at the championship game during spring fling week, as Mr. Snyder explained as he pointed him out to them. Jack Basely was one of the all-stars. And, as far as Noah could tell by watching the boy, he was a winner with the girls as well. Noah had to break up the girl who was melting as Jack charmed her, and tell him that he needed him to go with him.

Jack hadn't seen this coming. In the back of his mind, he could see Zach chuckling at him. It couldn't end like this. His heart raced as he looked at the detectives, but went quietly. Now, sitting in the interview room alone, he was trying to prepare himself for the worst. He could very well be looking at murder charges in the face.

What he couldn't imagine, though, was where he had gone wrong. He had been so careful. Unless, of course, Megan, Riley, Audrey, or Hannah spoke up. That was his biggest flaw; the number of girls who had survived. He'd get bail. And then he would murder whoever it was that told. No, he would murder her family first, and make her watch. Then he would slowly take her apart, piece by piece, and force her to choose which pieces to take when. He''d be sure to record it, too. And then, before he went back to jail, he'd send copies of the tape to her best friend, and to Rhean and Andre.

He sat, not at the table, but on it. He hadn't seen anyone since he came into this damned room. He felt like he was going crazy, waiting, but only on the inside. His mother had taught him how to keep his emotions locked up. He looked at the mirror. As suspected, he looked calm and collected. But he wasn't sure how much longer he would stay that way. He had never come this close to being arrested before.

[America Kennedy]

If there was one part of this case that America could pinpoint as disliking most, it was having to deal with the high school aspect of it. They were dealing with teenagers and parents of, and so there was always the red tape to go through and the having to work through the school itself. He had no interest in having to deal with high schoolers on this level; none whatsoever. And when they had to go to pick up one particular boy, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at him. He was one of those typical jock kids. Naturally, he had a low opinion of them. His own experience in high school with them had been close to hell and they really didn't change afterwards. Except, he knew quite a few to be losers that went nowhere once they didn't have high school sports to cushion them. Even the principal seemed to adore him, which America had to keep from rolling his eyes at. Something about that principal got under his skin. But this wasn't supposed to be about his personal grudges. It was professional and they needed to talk to the kid--after all, he was the one that was now missing a mother.

Once he was brought into the station, he spent a minute looking through the mirror at the boy inside. "I'll talk to the kid." He stated, since it should be easy enough to get information out of him. Without a second thought, he stepped into the room, a file in his hand before he slipped into a chair across from Jack. "Hey, Jack, right?" Of course they knew his name, but it was his way of making introduction and acting completely casual, in hopes that he made the teenager comfortable. "I'm Ric." He introduced. "You're probably wondering why you're here, huh?" And he'd get to that. Breaking that they had his mother's body probably wouldn't be too easy. It never was. No matter how many times he had been the one to break something like that to somebody. And he supposed that it was never going to be easy to do. But hopefully, as trying as it was, they'd be able to get information and leads.

[Deleted]

Jacks eyes watched the man as he came in and joined him. "Yeah," he muttered, when he said his name. He looked around and shrugged. "I've got a few ideas. Not that it really matters." he paused, looking squarely at the detective. He wasn't supposed to be working this case. His letter had specifically told him to bow out. Obviously, he didn't know that it was dangerous to disregard his letters. Though, he wouldn't question why he was on this case. He wasn't an idiot. Instead, he attempted a smile. "You're getting me out of a test. That's what matters, mate." he was trying to keep his voice light. Why not start off with a joke? He didn't know for certain that he was in any trouble. Until he knew, he needed to act like he didn't have a care in the world.

He broke eye contact to look around once more. "Not very cozy place, though." he commented, running his hand through his hair. Finally, he looked back at the man. "So what'd you drag me out of school for anyway? If there had been handcuffs involved, I'd be worried, mate. If it's about my locker, that's just guy stuff. Every guy in Degrassi has that stuff in his locker." He knew that the police were doing random locker checks at school. And he had managed to get his hands on some weed by mistake. Of course, Jack knew better than to think that was why he was down here. But, he had to play innocent. For the time being, anyway.

[America Kennedy]

"Sure, glad to be of help," America noted, when he said he was getting out of a test. Although, he was sure that he would rather choose a test over sitting in a police interview room with the information that was about to be dealt on him. But hey, might as well look up to the little things, right? America didn't think that the brief casual conversation would be a problem. It was better when it came down to warming up the person he was talking to. Not once did America think about backing down from the case. The letter didn't scare him. Didn't they learn not to be intimidated by criminals? They weren't supposed to do what the criminal asked them for. It was practically police 101. Listening showed weakness. You didn't pay ransoms and you didn't back off of a case because a serial killer told you to. And America wasn't about to back down. Screw that.

"No, sorry, it's not really built for cozy." He said, though a little more offhandedly, a clear sign that he wanted to get down to business. "This is homicide. Believe me, the last thing we care about is what they found in your locker." He replied and that was honest. No one was going to care about a little bit of weed. America, especially didn't care about it. They had bigger concerns. And who didn't get their hands on weed at least once in their life? "When was the last time you saw your mother?" He wasn't going to break the news first. He didn't see the point in that, instead, he wanted to ask the question and gauge the reaction.

[Deleted]

Oh, so that's what this is all about! Well, it's about bloody time Jack paused, looking at him. "My mum?" he echoed his words and sighed. What was he supposed to say? Oh, she's been missing since a week after I got here, back in January? Or perhaps he was expecting the truth out of him. Oh, the last time I saw her was when I was laying her pieces down in some apartment complex. My dad's in the freezer, I'll be leaving him soon as well. Of course not. He swallowed, looking down. He hadn't thought about what he would tell the police if this were to ever happen. But, he needed to think of something, and quick.

"She was headed to the airport on one of her damned business trips" He attempted to sound bitter about it. "She's always spending two months at a time in Paris and London. She's been doing that since I was twelve and she decided that I was old enough to take care of myself." he said with an exasperated sigh. He hoped that he gave off the impression that he wanted her home more often. Jack was actually surprised he was able to think of it that quickly. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "What do you care where my mum's at? You're supposed to be out there finding a teenage girl, not a grown woman. Mum would never hurt a fly, even if she was in town." He decided to take it that route. Act like he was afraid she was a suspect. After all, it was all a show.

[America Kennedy]

America watched him, keying in on every reaction he had, although nothing was telling him anything extraordinary. Actually, everything looked like he expected it to. The kid didn't know where his mom was and he didn't assume that she was dead. So far, he reacted in all the ways that a textbook high school student should in this situation. He waited for him to answer, nodding along as he did, because he knew he was about to break news to him that he most likely didn't want to hear. But, who wanted to hear that, really? Ric was sure that he would have been devastated if someone delivered that type of news to him. And while it wasn't the first time that he had to relay it to someone, it wasn't the type of thing that became easier. If anything, it stayed at the exact same level of difficulty that it always had.

When he started to go on about what he was supposed to be doing, he frowned. "No, I'm afraid you misunderstand me. Your mom isn't a suspect." He offered, trying to stay civil and polite. He thought that the best way to say it was calmly and it was probably better not to be dancing around the subject. "I'm sorry to say, but your mother's body has been found and we have reason to suspect she was one of the victims." Cut and dry. He never liked the way that some people tried to dance around the subject. It wasn't what he did and he wasn't going to start that kind of behavior now.

[Deleted]

And there it was. Jack blinked, his surprise shown clearly on his face. He wasn't surprised at the least about her death, of course. His surprise was how Detective Kennedy gave him the news. Whenever Rhean gave the news to families, at least the times that he got to listen in because she had her purse on her, she sounded compassionate, though he knew that she really didn't give a damn about the living. She just acted compassionate to fish for information. The woman was heartless, but none of the victim's families saw her as such, because she knew what it took to do her job well. This one, he just cut right to the chase. Damned fool.

Jack wondered if America thought he was smart. He probably did. He probably thought of himself as a good cop. Obviously, he thought too much of himself if he was still on this case. He was a fool, an obstinate fool. It infuriated Jack when he thought about it. Did he really think he had a leg to stand on? Maybe he thought it gave him some kind of advantage. Or maybe he was calling his bluff. Oh, Jack wasn't bluffing. He never bluffed. He had no problem finding the person America was closest to and slicing them open like a fish. Maybe if a head or a heart appeared on his desk, he wouldn't be so self-assuring.

But, he didn't need to think about that now. He had to give America a reaction. He had just received what, in normal circumstances, would have been earth-shattering news. He had to react as a normal boy would. The question was, how would someone normal react? When he thought of the word normal, he thought of his mother's words when they first arrived here, when he was about to step in Degrassi for the first time. Back in January, the morning of the day he killed her. "Just...try and be normal, ok? For me. Love you Am--Jack!" She had done everything she could to transform him, to make him a whole new kid. And that involved watching soaps, so he could see how a normal lifestyle was supposed to be like. Now, his mind drew up a scene from Passions. Suddenly, he knew what to do. thanks, mum.

"No" the word finally slipped out of his mouth, breaking the silence after what felt like several minutes but was really just a few seconds. His eyes, which had before now focused on the mirror, now flashed up to glare in the older man's. "You're wrong. Mum is in France. The body you found--that was somebody else. You hear me, mate? Someone else!" He shouted the last word as he rose, standing up and folding his arms. His mind kept repeating the scene from the soap opera, and the five stages of grief. He learned about it from the show. Denial. That was the first stage. That was to be expected right then. So, he would deliver.

[America Kennedy]

When it came to breaking the news, America could never be sure of how they would react. Everyone was different. Anything they learned through a textbook was difficult to really go by when it came down to it. Because, people didn't react exactly as you thought they were or how you might have hoped. He'd had family members stare at him, some burst into tears and others just begin to laugh as if what he had said just didn't compute with the serious part of their brain. And the very first time he had ever been the one to break the news, the man had reared back and punched him in the face. He had sympathy for the man still, but at the end of the day, he would rather not have a fist thrown at him. He never really thought about how many times he'd have to go through and tell someone that their loved one was dead. Or just how many people they had to talk to when it came down to the investigation. In one case, there could be several people he had to break the news to first and it was difficult. But, in a couple of months of working homicide, he seemed to have figured out a way to do it. Here, it would happen a lot more than it ever had in vice, although he had a few of those there too. Drug overdose and prostitutes ending up dead before some other precinct determined it theirs and took over.

America watched as Jack reacted and while he remained cool, he was paying close attention to every detail. When he stood, he took a breath, sighing. Honestly, it was the kind of reaction someone might expect everyone to have. It was the image they were given through movies and textbooks. And he knew better than to sit back and criticize it, but at the same time, there was always something critical about his thought process. He figured it was the same for most detectives. "I'm sorry," he offered, not standing from his seat. "But, it's already been confirmed." His voice was soft as if to offer his condolences. But, then he gently waved back to the seat in front of him. "Do you want to sit down? I know this tough to hear, but we still have some questions for you." He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't. They wouldn't have brought him here otherwise. And maybe it seemed insensitive to ask someone questions after breaking that news. But, the faster you received information, the better. People's memories weren't always the best.

[Deleted]

Jack's eyes narrowed. He was focusing so much on the role of upset son, that he didn't even notice his mistake that slipped out next. "Then confirm it again! Someone screwed up. Mum is in France!" he shook his head, pacing before he finally kicked the wall mirror. "You know, my uncle worked with the police back home. And he's told me all about it. And I have seen my share of rookie and unfit cops, but you are the worst. " he shook his head. "I'm her only relative here. Nothing is confirmed until I see the body. Show her to me. I guarantee that won't be my mum."

He thought he should win an award. All of the uneasiness that he had felt when he was first picked up was completely gone. He actually felt quite confident now. He felt like he was on top of the world. His mum had trained him well before she died. She would be quite proud now, he thought. He felt like he had the Detective eating out of his palm. And that was an amazing feeling. He had no idea that he had just screwed up. He had stopped thinking carefully. Everyone had their slip-ups, and as Jack was about to discover, he had finally made one of his own.

[America Kennedy]

America was about to argue how there was no way that they were wrong. He knew that he couldn't get too upset at the boy. After all, he just found out his mother was dead, he was bound to want to deny it. But, his entire thought process on the matter was derailed when Jack made his one slip up. America had read that letter more than once now and each time, he didn't feel compelled to listen to it. And he never appreciated being called a rookie cop. He figured, at the end of the day, he would make sure that the killer ate his words on that. He'd be shown different. Only, Ric didn't expect to be sitting face to face with him so soon. And as soon as he said it, repeating word for word the sentence that had gotten under his skin in the letter, he knew. That was no goddamn coincidence. They had another sniper victim and her son just happened to be repeating the exact same words that the killer told him? And in a letter that he wasn't supposed to show around-- Right. There was surprise on his face suddenly as he stared at the guy in front of him. No, he wasn't a teenage girl. But, he was a Degrassi student.

But, now he was stuck in an awkward situation. He couldn't arrest him right now. He couldn't use that as a confession and what were the odds that the rest of the precinct would believe him? Not all of the detectives had a hell of a lot of respect for him yet. He was still young and he'd made mistakes, because he was new. Though, he wasn't a bad cop. He wouldn't be here if he was. And now, he was staring at him, the sympathy fleeing from his face. "You stupid son of a bitch..." His voice had grown quieter, thoughtful, but also not about to rouse attention from anyone else by attacking the psycho right there. "End the show. You're done."

[Deleted]

Jack furrowed his brow when he was suddenly being called a son of a bitch. What had he done? Everything was going perfectly. With a scoff, he looked at him. "What did you just call me?" He was surprised, to say the least. The only times he was called that was by Matt. And of course, it was because Matt knew. Did that mean he knew? So, why wasn't he in handcuffs? Jack pondered the situation. There was no way he had enough evidence to arrest him. So, he was still safe. It was just a feeling, he was sure of it. And no matter how right it was, as long as there was no evidence and Jack didn't confess, then he was safe.

Suddenly, he felt the thrill he got when he was chasing a victim. Oh, this was starting up a whole new game for him. A new game of Cat and Mouse. Only this time, he got to be the mouse. This would be fun. Shaking his head, turned to face him. "Is that a threat, mate?" he snapped. "I'm done here. I'm going back to school." And the game was on. Jack had to hide a grin as he headed for the door.

[America Kennedy]

"You heard me, psycho." Still his voice stayed low; almost like the calm before the storm, but he was intent on not making it out to be a storm. No, there was little that he could do legally right now. He could try to arrest him on some sort of charge, then dig for evidence, but police work like that would wind up getting him suspended and the case thrown out. It would have ruined it more than helped. He didn't have a confession, only what a good lawyer would tag as a coincidence and any judge would tell him he had no reason to arrest him for it. But, this was him. There was no doubt in his mind suddenly and it caused the entire atmosphere to shift. America wasn't intimidated by murderers. He was in the wrong line of work if that was the case. But, it didn't change that this was the first serial killer he had ever been in a room with. It was the first serial killer case that he'd had. It was unsettling and there was disgust hidden under his expression. This was the bastard that had killed those people, had cut them up and didn't seem to be close to stopping.

"It's a promise." Ric replied, not hesitating to stand. It might have been a surreal moment, to discover who he was in a room with, but he wasn't going to sit there and let him walk away either. Instead, he stood and walked over, stepping right in front of the teenager, between him and the door his stance taller than usual. "No, you're not. This interview isn't over yet." He informed him, although legally, he had every right to walk out that door. "Why don't you sit back down?"

[Deleted]

Oh, this one was spirited. He liked the spirited ones. The girls who were spirited were more fun. He looked at him, sizing him up and down. The two were alone, and had they not been in a police station, the man wouldn't be alive much longer. The only reason he was safe was because they were here. He hoped America appreciated that. Jack wasn't intimidated by the stance at all. Instead, it gave him the excuse he needed to actually grin, his eyes glistening as he eyed the man. Oh, he would be a target. Just not necessarily one of his numbers.

He let out a laugh, shaking his head as he looked at him. "You think you can stop me? I didn't do anything" And he knew that as far as the detectives knew, that was the case. "What if I don't want to answer questions, eh?" he asked, giving him a daring look. It wasn't like anything could be forced out of him. He knew that. When he told him to sit down, Jack looked at him with a smirk. "Why don't you make me?" He wasn't about to put his hands on a cop. But, he would taunt him all he wanted. He would love to see America actually put his hands on him. That was one way to get him off the case.

[America Kennedy]

That grin made his stomach churn. Knowing who was behind it just seemed to make it a lot worse. His eyes narrowed though, coldly in response to the grin. He wasn't afraid of him, not really. But, he was being careful. This wasn't someone that he wanted to get in the head of, but he wanted to make sure that he knew he was onto him and that he wasn't letting it go. He wasn't just going to back off and let him go. And as of now, he wasn't going to stop trying to get him. He knew who he was. Even if the rest of them didn't. He knew, at least. And he figured it was only a matter of time before they figured it out too. And right now, telling them wouldn't have worked. He could have called them in, forced them to listen, but at the end of the day, he didn't have the evidence to back him up.

"Oh, I can stop you. It's just you and me in here right now. You're screwed." He informed him, of course, someone could have been watching. And someone could have easily interrupted, but he was hoping that no one was. He scoffed at him, "Not too mature, are you?" He asked, in response to him asking Ric to make him. But, then, not really hesitating, he suddenly grabbed his arm and tried to force him back to the table to sit. "Sit down." He knew he technically wasn't supposed to lay his hands on him, especially given that he was just someone he was supposed to question and inform that they found his mother. But, he already knew she was dead, because Ric was positive he was the one that killed her and the rest of those girls.

[Deleted]

"What's the matter? Do I make you nervous, standing?" he asked him with a chuckle. "You're the one who's screwed. If you had any evidence at all, I'd be in handcuffs. But, I'll play your little game." He emphasized the word Game to let him know that it was exactly what it was to him. Jack didn't mind. He liked playing games. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have Brooke back at the house. He wouldn't be taking his killings off of his favorite author. That was the greatest game of all. He had read every one of Judas Darwin's books as they came out. This one was so delectable, so good that he had to follow the plot of the book. Sure, he had deviated for the dance. But for the most part, he had stuck to it. And it was so much fun!

He'd have fun with this one, too. Really, he should have bowed out of the case when he was given a chance. He was taking dangerous steps, this one was. Before, he was just a rookie cop and Jack wanted nothing to do with him. Now, he was a toy. And Jack liked toys. He wondered who his family was. He wondered if he had any kids, or a wife at home. Wives and kids made for fun toys as well. Really, Jack didn't think this man had any idea what kind of can of worms he was opening by doing this. He wouldn't tell him, either. It would be too much fun to show him.

"What do you think you're going to find out? I don't know anything that will help you" Not that he would tell, anyways. Did he think he could put the heat on him, and he would crack? Jack found the idea ridiculous. But, America would learn soon enough. And he would regret it soon enough.