Max managed to make it home without regretting his decision to come back home and yet as he walked into his place, he felt a distinct coldness come through the house and not one of a house that had been empty all weekend and he needed to air it out.
It feels like I shouldn’t be here he mused to himself as he dropped his bags and looked around the house. Sighing he sent a message to Serena that he was home and would be in the station in a few hours and to call him if anything breaks… He then walked to his room and tried to ignore the tears of Liz’s eyes as he tried to get some sleep as he thought of the reason why he was back home as he drifted off to sleep with images of Liz running through his mind.
Once he was awake again, he changed and headed for the office. Chief Gibson was not happy to see Max walk in. “I told you Evans you were off on vacation leave?” he asked. “You weren’t to return to the station.”
“Sir, I only wanted to come in and talk to the Davidson brothers in Molly’s case” Max sighed. “I promise I am not here in any official capacity. You can call me a visitor and not pay me while I am in the station, as I plan to head back on vacation as soon as I get some answers.”
“You’re skating the rules Evans,” Gibson warned.
“You don’t have to pay me,” Max demanded. “Give me a visitor’s badge if you want. I just want to be there when the brothers come in. Molly deserves answers. I was there when they disappeared, I need to know what they know, if anything…”
“I don’t like it,” Gibson grunted as he walked away. “See Tessa about a badge.”
“Yes sir,” Max smiled.
Serena was nearby quite amused at the scene as she had seen Max walk into the station. She was shocked when she got word when she got to the station that Max had come back, but she shouldn’t be that surprised since he was so invested in Molly’s case. “So, you are back?”
“I am only here until I get a sense of what the brothers know,” Max groaned. “Then I am back on vacation.”
“Wow, I never know you so anxious to go back on leave?” Serena asked.
“Well things happen,” Max sighed as he thought of all the developments back home. “Are the brothers here yet.”
“They are about an hour away,” Serena acknowledged. “I guess none of them are that communicative and they were making transport difficult.”
“Too bad, they better talk,” Max muttered as he dropped a folder on his desk as he headed for the Chief’s office to get his visitor’s badge. “What has got you going back home?”
Max walked away without answering and Serena wondered just what was happening in back in his hometown to make her partner so distracted as she opened the folder marked
Roswell and was shocked to see new pictures of the women from Molly’s drawings, police reports on
Isabella Maria Valenti’s abduction a year ago and then the nickname:
Bella.
“Oh no,” Serena said as she made the connection to Molly’s musings and then she picked up a picture of Bella who was with the file.
She went to pick up a picture of Molly from her own desk and compared. The difference was a year. Molly hair was lighter compared to Bella’s, and her face was fuller, and she was a little taller than the child would have been a year before...
“Oh god,” Serena whispered as she saw Max walk back with a badge hanging around his neck.
“What’s wrong?” Max asked as he saw he saw the frown on her face.
“Um…” Serena thought.
*
Serena stayed silent on her suspicions because she didn’t want it to weigh on Max’s mind as he dealt with the brothers as they moments later came struggling into the precinct yelling and calling for their older brother who was unrepentant it looked like to Max and Serena. The younger boys were taken to a different room, while Junior was moved to an interrogation room since they knew it was useless to try to talk to the younger when the oldest called the shots when the father wasn’t around.
Max sighed as he walked into the room and found a scowling eighteen-year-old.
Did I look like that once upon a time?
“Okay, Mark start talking?” Max asked as he looked at the teenager with wary eyes.
“What do you ever mean?” Mark Davidson Jr. scowled at the cop. “Why are we even back here. We should have been allowed to stay in San Francisco.”
“We wanted to talk to you,” Max sighed. “So, tell me Mark, why did you take your younger brothers and go on the run?”
“We wanted to get away?” Junior snarled.
“Yeah, right, funny that you took them within hours of my partner and I talked to you? And you don’t have custody of your brothers. Where is your father?” Max asked.
“Dad told us to go, we were to go stay with relatives,” Mark brazenly said.
Max knew a lie when he saw one and knew from their investigation that there were no living relatives to take in the Davidson boys which would have helped the situation in any of the earlier visits to the house,” Max thought as he sighed.
“Well, you left Molly almost dead in the basement. Start talking?” Max revealed and startled to see pure shock on the teenage boy’s face.
“What are you talking about?”
“Like you don't know. Molly was found barely alive in the basement by my partner and myself?” Max asked. “And why didn’t you take your sister if you were leaving to stay with relatives.”
“She was at a friend's house for a sleep over?” Mark asked with sincere shock or at least that is what it looked to Serena and Max too, but he was suspicious. He knew of too many skilled liars as he once was one…
“Not when my partner and I found her?” Max asked. “That was just mere hours after we talked. So, you’re telling me you didn’t know your younger sister wasn’t lying nearly dead in the basement of your house when we heard arguing and noise complaints all the previous night?”
“I don't know what happened?” Mark said clamming up.
“You and your brothers got pretty quiet when we mentioned Molly’s name that day?” Max asked.
“Because she was gone, she wasn't home to witness the fighting and yelling the night before?” Junior scowled.
“So, you now admit there was a fight the night before your disappearance?” Max asked.
“There's no point in lying?”
“Since you say, ‘you won't lie’. Where's your father?
“Like I would tell you if I knew?” Junior muttered.
“You could go to jail for failing to answer questions. It will be an adult jail Mark given your age so prison and not juvenile hall?” Max threatened as he stepped back to the back of the room while allowing Serena to continue with the questioning…
“I have no idea where my father is?” Mark sighed as he knew he had to tell the truth. “And that is the truth…”
“We want to talk to him about Molly’s condition? After all he is her father?” Serena asked as she remembered the reports she had skimmed before coming into interrogation.
“Look, I have no idea where he is?” Mark said.
“Name any place where he would go if you want to get off the radar for a little while?” Serena asked as she liked Max didn’t know how to read the kid. Obviously, the kids were abused, and it
was possible the boy wanted to get his brothers out but why leave Molly, but then what if? Serena mused to herself as she thought of that realization she had about their case and the one that struck close to home for Max.
“I want to see my brothers?” Junior pleaded. “I need to make sure they were okay.”
“If you don’t start talking then that won’t be possible as they are thisclose to be placed in foster care, and you in jail if you don’t start talking” Max threatened. “You don’t have legal custody of them.”
“I am their brother,” Mark demanded.
“That is for the legal system to decide if you don’t start talking,” Max muttered as Junior’s eyes went wild.
“You can’t do that,” Junior demanded.
“Yes, we can unless your father shows up and even then, he has a lot to answer for and so do you. So, do you want to talk?” Max asked. “Social Services have been called, and we are waiting to turn your brothers over.”
“You can’t do that,” Mark Jr. pleaded.
“I think we can,” Max said. “So, do we want to make a deal. You talk, and we slow up the process a little…”
“Can I see them, I need to know they are okay,” Junior pleaded.
“Before we come to any terms, why aren’t you asking about your sister?” Serena asked the boy. You’ve asked about your brothers, but why not your sister. Molly has been put through a wringer and she has fought to live.”
“No, she wasn't.” Junior spat.
“What are you talking about?” Max asked as he and Serena leaned forward. Something was knawing at him he hated that feeling. Same with Serena as she sensed the path they were traveling down.
“She wasn't our sister? She was some reject that Dad brought home to please Mom before she died?” Junior spilled.
“What are you talking about?” Serena asked as she and Max exchanged looks of
Uh oh.
“Listen up, okay, Molly only came to live with us like a year ago. She is not a Davidson by blood and I am not even sure by adoption either. She’s not our sister. Mom always wanted a girl, and she was sick and dying and Dad thought why not make her last wish and brought Molly home one day. Molly only came to live with us like a year ago. She is not a Davidson, so why should I care what happens to her?”
The floor dropped out it seemed for both Max and Serena as they stared at the boy as his contempt shined through.
*
Meanwhile Liz was entering a funk and she knew it as she worked on finding some leads to follow in Bella’s disappearance. Her parents had brought a computer for her to use while she was in the hospital, and now she was pounding away trying to escape her torrent of emotion she felt knowing Max was no longer in Roswell.
She looked up and saw Michael come into the room. “Maria’s back at work, huh?” she asked.
“And Betty is at day camp” Michael nodded. “How are you doing?”
“I wish you wouldn’t ask me that,” Liz snapped.
“I was only curious,” Michael asked as she knew from her demeanor she was thinking of Max and he didn’t know if that was good given for the moment it meant she wasn’t in pain because of Bella. Neither kind of pain was useful for someone recovering from a near death experience.
“Did
he get off okay?” Liz said a tad icy.
“I assume. Isabel said he left early this morning,” Michael nodded. “He’ll be back Liz.”
“He said that before, so I am not going to believe him now,” Liz snapped as she typed away.
“Look Liz,” Michael said softly.
“Don’t Michael, okay don’t. Do you have something else to tell me because I sense that you’re not only here to see how I am taking Max’s departure” Liz muttered.
“Liz,” Michael began because he did have something to show her and he didn’t relish the thought as he wished Maria was with him, but she had to get back to work and so here he was dealing with the reality. “I swung by your house this morning.
Liz stopped typing and glared at Michael. “You found the letter?”
“It took some searching. Apparently, Bella hid it in a favorite book of hers…”
“Harry Potter…” Liz asked.
“Yes,” Michael nodded.
“Chamber of Secrets?” Liz asked again as she knew that was a favorite of her daughter as she loved the idea of a chamber of darkness when they also dealt as a clan with secrets that stemmed in their own way from its own chamber,
albeit not as sordid as what Harry faced, she thought.
“Yup,” Michael nodded. “I saw a leaf of paper when I scanned her books.”
Liz nodded.
“Liz…”
“You have it with you?” Liz asked.
“Yes,” Michael nodded as he produced the envelope and the letter…” as Liz paled at the mere look of the thing.
“How bad is it?” Liz asked.
“Bad,” Michael confirmed as he handed it. “Take a deep breath before you read this okay, because we don’t want a setback with you so close to being released, okay?”
Liz nodded a took hold of the letter…
Dear Liz,
You thought you were rid of me when you turned me into the cops and got me sent to prison for a bum rap. Well, I am still around, and I don’t plan to go away. You think you can lie to me and play with me and send me to prison and you think I’ll allow it, well, you have won for the last time. You’re a slut aren’t you. I heard you remarried after you conned me into marrying you for the sake of that brat and even that marriage didn’t work out. So, did he find out what a whore you are to go after so many men in so little time. You lied to me when you told me she was mine, all because you didn’t want to bring that brat into the world illegitimately and disappoint your parents into thinking you weren’t a virgin on your wedding day. Well I have had it, and you will pay. You always believed I was your second choice or maybe third since I heard you married Kyle Valenti of all people. The guy you left for Max in the first place. So, Max didn’t work out after you slept with him, I guess he wasn’t good enough for you, so you made me believe I was the father of that baby he gave you.
You will hear from me again; don’t you think you won’t because I am not finished with you yet. I’ll win in the end!
-Sean
Liz was ghost pale as she dropped the letter in shock as Michael was quick to take the letter from her lap, as she cried over the harshness of the letter and thought of her daughter having read it. She had wanted to protect her daughter was her past, and she hated how it was now directly causing them pain.
“Liz,” Michael tried as Liz shut down and he couldn’t reach her, so he just stayed and watched over her as she just stared into space and the nightmare she was facing…
Twenty minutes later, the door opened, and Isabel and Kyle came rushing into the room as she saw that Liz was now asleep as he had asked the nurses to give a small dose of sedative to keep her quiet and so she drifted off to sleep as he stayed and watched over.
Kyle cursed as he read the letter. Isabel went pale as she also read it. “So, you think he came after Bella to hurt her.”
“That is the working theory right now,” Michael allowed. “Bella disappeared days later after the letter came to the house.
“Bella knew about Max?” Isabel asked.
“Highly likely, or there was enough in there to make her suspicious with the use of his name” Michael said as he thought of his conversation with his daughter. “Bella and Betty talked about it and then days later she was gone,” he muttered as he glanced at a sleeping Liz. “This is the last thing she needs.”
“Should we call Max? Isabel asked.
“Let’s see how this works out. I’ll try to find out more about Sean’s actions back then and Max is deep in his case.” Michael sighed as he thought of his friend back in Los Angeles oblivious to all that was happening back here in Roswell.
*
Back in Los Angeles, Max was in his own mess as he and Serena stared at each other and then back to the defiant teenager who was across from them and glaring at them.
“Wait, what…” Max asked as they tried to absorb the bombshell the teenager spat at them moments before… “How is that even possible?”
“It’s not like I know where she came from. As I said, Mom was dying. Dad was going more insane than even was usual and so he had it in his mind that Mom always regretted not having a girl to dote on instead she had a bunch of boys. So, one day he went and came back with the girl who he said was now ours.”
“What did your father say about Molly?” Serena asked quietly.
“That she was an orphan and needed a home. She was our new sister and we were to treat her accordingly like a Davidson and not to tell anyone that she appeared out of nowhere. We were to say she was unwanted, and we gave her a home. Problem was that she didn’t look like a Davidson, so Dad fixed that and dyed her hair.”
“So the dusty brown with blonde streaks isn't her natural color?”
“Some kind of dark brown, I mean dark I think. But I don’t remember too clearly. Dad made it go blonder but over time it’s gone back to more of a dusty shade of brown.”
“What did your mother think of the situation?” Max asked as Serena stepped back to think of the new developments.
“She wasn't too lucid as it was just months before she died and she was starting to lose it and Dad went with her, but in some moments it seemed like she was more in peace but I don’t know how much she knew.”
“How did Molly adjust to our place, I mean, her memory of the life she came from?” Max asked.
“I don’t know,” Junior shook his head. “You would have to ask her and not me,” he spat. “All I know is she cried initially and cried out for her Mom or something like that, but I was told to not ask too many questions and I didn’t so life went on.”
“And when your mother died?” Serena asked quietly.
“Things were fine for a while but then Dad’s drinking got worse and things quickly went downhill, and I was spending all my time trying to contain the situation although it didn’t always work because then Dad became unemployed and I had to be at school and work on the side to bring in money.”
“So your father would regularly beat all of you?” Max asked. “And Molly?”
“I am not going to say anymore…” Mark Jr. muttered. “You can’t make me without a lawyer.”
“We can put a good word in with the judge on you case and especially for once you’re 21 and able to petition for custody,” Max asked. “If that is what you would like of course.”
“Fine, but all I will say is that it wasn’t exactly a healthy environment for any of us at home after Mom passed away,” Junior muttered.
“How often were you abused?” Max asked.
“Frequently although he knew he couldn’t do anything to me, so he went after the others, and most of the time they couldn’t run away from it, okay. I wish I could have gotten them out of there before I did but that is the past, and so life goes on.”
“Then why we were not able to do anything for you and your brothers before now?” Max asked.
“I am eighteen now, I wasn’t before, and you were going to split us up okay. So why would I want to do that unless I had to,” Junior muttered.
“Your brothers are together, we haven’t split them up” Serena said softly. “That isn’t the priority,” she sighed. “We will try to keep them together and a part of your life, so why not tell us the truth. Do you know where your father is?”
“Of course not,” Mark muttered.
“Do you know what happened to Molly, Mark. She was in the basement of your house. You boys had to have heard something, anything that would have given away something was odd.”
“Whatever happened to her is not our fault. We didn’t know. We’re not always home, and who knows Dad might have done it when we were out of the house. But we didn’t do it, as no one should die… or be left to die.”
“Molly wasn’t seen at school for several days so you’re telling us you didn’t know something was odd with how Molly suddenly disappeared and yet she didn’t, she was found in the basement of your house. Where did you think she was…? You guys looked pretty guilty that day in the house, before we found her…” Max asked.
“All Dad said that she was gone to a friend’s place to stay for a while, and if anyone asked to say she was at a big multi-day slumber party.”
“Do you know of any of your father's friends who may have been involved with what happened to Molly?” Serena asked.
“Just that he had some sleazy friends but no, there was no one who would have been obvious as someone who might go after a kid like Molly.”
“Okay, that is enough for today, but we will talk again tomorrow,” Max assured the teenager. “We will arrange for a place for tonight until we get this settled okay and if you think of running, there will be a guard assigned to you… If you do hear from your father, tell us okay?”
Junior nodded as Max requested Serena take the teenager down to see his brothers, as he sighed as he watched the teenager walk off as he felt he was missing something while Serena felt conflicted. More and more she felt that Molly could be the missing child out of Max’s hometown, but she didn’t know whether she should mention it without evidence. So, once she allowed the teenager to see his brothers and give him over the cop who would guard the teen Serena went downstairs to the forensics lab.
*
“Let me have the letter,” Jim as he visited his former daughter-in-law as she was now more collected and composed since she woke up. She was determined that her ex-husband wouldn’t win, and she would find her daughter wherever she may be. Michael stood by her side and handed over the letter.
Jim whistled as he read the note, “You don’t believe this, right?” he said to Liz. “I mean about what we think of you,” he asked. “You are no way what he described.”
Liz winced as she thought of those words. “I was dark during that time Jim, and I will always regret my conduct.”
“But you no way were what he said you were,” Kyle spoke up. He had arranged for his assistant coach to take the team recruiting practice he ran at the end of the school year before everything took a break in July and August. “We broke up in high school not because of Max but because we were young, and we were never going to be serious,” he said as he remembered that time and knew he took some time to adjust to the fact she ended up but knew it was the right decision. Max or no Max. “You didn’t leave me for Max.”
“Max was a factor,” Liz remembered. “But no, we didn’t break up because of Max. We broke up because it was not our time,” she sighed. “I just wish I didn’t hurt you later.”
“You gave me Bella, so you didn’t hurt me. We ended our marriage mutually and we both stayed longer than we should have, and I don’t blame you because now I have Isabel and our baby on the way. Bella will be fantastic big sister when she comes home.”
“Yes, she will be,” Liz smiled. “I just wish Bella would have told me about this letter.”
“She was protecting you,” Jim sighed as he remembered his granddaughter well and Isabella Maria once her mother and Kyle broke up was big about protecting her mother and would get on anyone’s case if they weren’t respectful to her mother and he just imagined that she kept it because it would have hurt Liz, and because she was a little curious about the man Sean said was her biological father.
“I am supposed to be protecting her,” Liz sighed with tears coming to her eyes. “If Sean did anything to harm her…”
“Sean was in prison,” Kyle reminded the room.
“But he has his sleazy friends, and they weren’t all from around here… Who knows where they could have taken our daughter.”
“We will find her,” Jim assured his former daughter-in-law. “You can count it and no, Sean is not going to win this time.”
Liz prayed he was right.