Watch What Burns (23 page)

“We’ll be coming for you soon,” Tyler vowed, knowing his promise would be fulfilled before too much time lapsed.

“That’s all you’re getting,” Natasha’s voice spoke after, ending Grace’s moment to issue her family with clarity and some semblance of sanity that she was alive. “I’ll be calling soon.”

As the call shut off, Austin broke down into Tyler’s arms.

“TELL me you’ve got something good,” Tyler asked as he stormed into the precinct later that day. He wasn’t taking any prisoners and he wasn’t about to be denied knowing information on his daughter’s disappearance. The department was his for Christ sake! He should be able to run whatever investigation was going on. He knew ethically that searching for his own daughter violated multiple rules, but he couldn’t just sit back and not do a job he knew he was capable of doing. He had to be a part of finding her. He had to be his daughter’s hero, and he had to be the one that reunited mother and daughter.

“Tyler,” Nicolas stood up, James following suit quickly. “Why are you here?”

“Yeah,” James quickly agreed, his brow furrowing. “Why aren’t you at the hospital with Austin? Is everything okay? Are they all okay?”

“They’re fine,” he waved them off. “And I’m here because that bitch called me and my wife and let us speak to our daughter before cutting us off. She tortured us with not even a minute of talk time with our baby girl before denying us anymore,” Tyler announced, his voice so tense the veins in his neck were beginning to stand out. He watched his father and father-in-laws face alter. Their expressions began hardening, their eyes darkening with feverous hatred as the news was delivered to them. “And if you want me out of here, then you will have to forcibly remove me.”

“I wouldn’t chance it,” Tom stepped in, stopping slightly in front of Tyler as if in a protective manner. “Austin is resting at the hospital with mom, Tanya and Sienna. We couldn’t stay away anymore. We need to help.”

“Yeah, it’s not easy sitting by and waiting for people to save Gracie,” Dean argued, feeling strongly about her. “There has to be something we can do.”

“Right now, we don’t have a lot,” James released the intent from the room. The hope and fight dying from the room almost instantaneously as the morale lowered even more.

“Should you be here?” Steven asked as he approached the newest gang in the station. “Your wife and sister-in-law were just shot, let alone your own sister hospitalized. Is this wise?”

“Yeah and my daughter’s out there somewhere with a mad woman,” Tyler snapped, adding to the list. He wasn’t taking kindly to beating around the bush. Sighing, Tyler weakened again, allowing his aggression to simmer down as he noted Steven’s sudden apologetic face. “Wise or not, I need to help.”

“Well, we have few leads,” Steven started to say, not killing all signs of hope.

Tyler ran a hand over the back of his neck and tried to just allow himself to revert back into his role as an officer. “I had a few suspicions. Right now, one of them is the second person that visited Natasha in prison. I want to know why Robert never went when he’s always been so hell bent on making our life a misery and worshipping the ground his daughter walked on even though she’s the guilty one.”

“I thought the same thing,” Steven admitted, leaving the group to head to his desk. Reaching over the computer monitor, he grabbed a pen drive and turned back to them. Holding up the shiny piece of metal, he smirked. “I contacted the prison and
wanted a run-down of Natasha’s visitors. I found it weird that only her mother went. However, the list we got was altered. I’ve got the real list now. I found it odd that someone else saw her, but not her father. So I requested the file and CCTV of whenever Christopher Pearson went. I had a reason to be more than a little suspicious of the surname used.”

“Pearson,” Tyler muttered under his breath, feeling stupid for not checking the list properly. He had only asked if Robert was on it. He hadn’t looked into it deeper when the prison had told him he wasn’t.

“I haven’t had chance to see the footage. Let’s watch this to see if we’re onto something,” Steven cut in, hoping his speculation was completely irrational and the coincidences were exactly what they were - coincidental. Pulling a seat up to the desk, he sat down and allowed them to all surround him. Pushing the pen drive into the USB port of the main computer of the station, he waited for the folder to appear so he could open it and consequently open the video the prison had sent to him.

The moment the CCTV footage started, Tyler tensed up. He watched as the man before him on the screen signed in, got searched by one of the prison guards before proceeding into a large room to see Natasha.

Even before he made a beeline towards Natasha, Tyler knew the game was up. “That’s Robert,” Tyler pointed out, his finger pointing out the man on the screen and he quickly slammed his fist against the table top, making everyone around him jump back in fright. “That bastard played us!”

Everyone stood up, their attention narrowing on the angry chief before them.

“He’s a clever man I’ll give him that, he’s been going to see Natasha under a pseudonym. He’s been wearing a hat and fake facial hair to fool people. He’s been hiding something by keeping his head down from the cameras, but the way he looked at Natasha gave him up. He’s still the same fucking doting father he was when Natasha was first on trial.” Tyler felt livid; he felt his veins burn as his blood pumped heavily through his system. “I bet you any money he has her safely tucked away at his place.”

“You don’t think he would play it so dangerously?” Dean asked, his brow furrowing at the thought of his niece being held captive so close to home. The thoug
ht was unthinkable and unforgivable all in one.

“It depends if he really is the strong father figure to her still, or if her crimes are weighing on him enough to give him a conscience,” Michael implemented his
thoughts on the situation. The rational side of his brain was working wonders for him right now.

Standing up, Tyler didn’t tell them what he was doing until he was walking away. “You know what? I’m going over there!” He continued to race towards the doorway. “I’m going over there and he’ll fucking regret ever meeting me!” Tyler spoke coarsely. He didn’t wait on anyone to react; he didn’t need to be stopped or encouraged.

He looked to his left then to his right, and saw Tom and Dean manning either side of him.

“Did you really think we’d let you go alone?” Michael asked knowingly as he stepped in stride beside Dean.

“I guess not,” Tyler alleged, a short laughter bursting into his tone. He was more than grateful for the support that came with being in the family he was. It didn’t matter if he married into it, everyone was so tightly knit the free fall wasn’t scary because there was the reassurance of being caught.

“What exactly is your plan after we arrive?” Tom asked as he went for the door behind the driver’s side of Tyler’s SUV. “Or is that yet to be determined?”

Tyler shrugged, opening his door ready to jump in. “Right now, I just want to see that bastard and get the truth out of him. After that, I’m unsure.” He wasn’t lying. Tyler hadn’t thought much passed getting an explanation out of Robert.

No one spoke as they started off on their mission. They just wanted to be one step closer to getting Grace back where she belonged. The shrill of Dean’s cell rang out, and Tyler strained to concentrate on the short distance to Robert’s house. However, as he listened to Dean speak, he knew not to expect a miracle or good news.

“What the hell?” Dean asked, completely consumed by the phone call. “Again?” he continued to ask and raised a hand to his forehead. “Was that necessary?” he questioned in disbelief. “Yeah, I’ll let them all know and get him back to the hospital as soon as possible.” He closed the phone and felt the need to swallow deeply against the lump in his throat.

“Who was that?” Tyler asked. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, he was more than aware of who was on the phone, and he was feeling angst building at what the call was regarding.

“My mom,” Dean stated and twisted in his seat. “They had to sedate Austin. Apparently Natasha let Grace call again and she lost it. It was the last resort.”

“Fuck!” Tyler swore releasing the wheel long enough to slam his hands back against it. He flipped the indicator and pulled over to the side of the road, gradually pulling to a halt. Sitting emotionlessly, Tyler just allowed his gaze to stare forward. He didn’t move, only breathing shallowly as he sat unresponsive.

Looking over his shoulder first, Dean decided to cut the tension apart as it built up around them in the car. “Ty?” Dean asked as he reached out to Tyler. The moment he made direct contact Tyler jumped in his seat, turning to look at his brother-in-law. “You going to let me drive, man? I don’t think it’s wise for you to carry on.”

“Is she okay?” Tyler
asked, his eyes boring into Dean. Not answering the question even slightly.

Dean merely nodded. “She’s just unsettled. We all knew that, but Natasha is now starting to play a dangerous game with Austin. Once we’re done here, we’ll go to her and you can help her the way you know how.”

“I can only help her by getting Gracie back.” Turning back to face the road, Tyler hit the indicator to pull back out onto the road. “Which is what we’re going to do now,” he ground out and continued the journey towards Robert’s home.

“Tyler, are you sure you don’t want one of us to drive?” Michael ask
ed, leaning forward from his seat.

“I’m positive,” Tyler retorted firmly and didn’t speak another word after that. His mind appeared to be working solely on getting his hands around Robert’s neck. He didn’t want to feel such putrid hatred to someone, but most of the Truman family seemed to swirl the same dark desire within him.

Michael looked to Tom and just took a moment to relax back into his seat. He pulled his cell out and sent a text to get Sienna’s insight on the incident at the hospital. He was terrified what response he would get back, but his best friend was hurting and as a direct result, he was hurting too. He couldn’t just ignore Austin’s need for as much support as possible.

He didn’t get a response as he felt the car veer from the road and towards a house. Gulping, he looked to Tom and saw how tense he was. None of them had a good feeling about this, and he wasn’t sure if it was due to Tyler’s next sequence of actions,
or Robert’s true deed in this game Natasha was dangerously playing with them all.

The moment the car was parked, Tyler appeared to be galvanized by his thoughts, focusing on making it into the house. It wasn’t until he really looked to the house he noticed the door slightly ajar. Nonetheless, the disturbance didn’t stop him. It had to be a sure sign that Robert was definitely home. As he stalked his way up the pathway towards Robert’s house, Tyler felt his blood pulsate through every part of him. He was driven, ready to gain answers. If he was lucky, he would even find Natasha pathetically hiding out.

“Tyler!” Dean shouted, rushing after him. “Think this through.”

“Leave him,” Michael stated, reaching out to pull Dean back. “There’s no stopping him now.”

Tyler was grateful for Michael, and felt even more empowered to get some answers out of Robert. He was propelled further forward, compelled to seek out some home truths. The scream that stopped his feet made his blood run cold; his entire body began to recoil and lose all the angst. Tyler realized he was now terrified at what was awaiting him in the house.

IT didn’t take Tyler long to respond to the cry of a woman. His inner cop fought through the shock and the fear and propelled him forward. He picked up pace, ignoring the cries of Austin’s brothers and Michael, and just ran towards the blood curdling screams.

He darted for the door, stepping
inside, he noticed almost immediately the eerie feeling to the air around him. The howls had died down, now nothing more than horrified sobs of disbelief. He edged forward inch by inch, feeling Michael shadowing his every last move. When he rounded the corner he found Diane in a crumpled heap on the floor right in front of the pantry door.

Noticing the door was open; Tyler allowed his gaze to drop and felt himself choke on his inhale as he noticed a twisted foot wedging the door ajar. Quickly,
he looked down to Diane who looked to him and shakily rose her hand to the door.

“H-he’s dead,” she managed to say before dissolving into her grief all over again.
“Th-there’s so much bl-blood!”

Tyler didn’t need to be told twice. Training and years of preparation in a small town police department boded well and he felt ready to tackle this efficiently and effectively. “Get her out of here,” Tyler instructed, looking behind him to Tom, “
Now
!”

“Call for back up too,” Michael countered, playing Tyler’s right-hand man in this.

No one moved until Tom led the inconsolable woman from the room and consequently from the house. As the crying weakened the further away they went, Tyler looked to Michael and Dean before reminding himself that he had to take command. Forcing himself to move towards the door, Tyler had to use every ounce of willpower he possessed to reach for the door and open it. The moment the light filtered in, Tyler gagged at the sight and the smell that combined together and took over his senses. There before him was Robert Truman’s dead body, obviously left to be found after being brutally attacked.

Stepping back in disgust, Tyler put the back of his hand to his mouth and fought with his gag reflexes. He half expected Michael to do the same, but remembered what his job entailed. Suddenly he was thankful for Michael’s presence here and knew he could take control until his composure came back to him.

Realizing the need to keep himself from contaminating the scene more, he headed to the kitchen to find a plastic bag or anything he could use to open the door wider. When he came back he noticed that Michael was onto something and Dean was nowhere to be seen. When the door was open the entire way, Tyler now noticed Robert’s entire side of his head was caved in, and he had to close his eyes. The culprit had been vicious.

“There are signs of a clean up,” Michael pointed out suddenly as he traced the rooms for any disturbances. “Clearly it was a rushed job considering the amount of blood splatter that was missed.” He crouched down, looking closer. “We need forensics here. Anything we can get, we need to be able to place Natasha here. It had to be her.”

“To be quite honest, Mike, I’m more concerned with my daughter’s whereabouts than pegging Robert’s murder on Natasha,” Tyler spoke up, trying to keep wild panic on lock down. “She’s already sentenced to be away for life, this alone will cost her dearly. Add on that,” he pointed back towards where Robert’s corpse was and his aggression just continued to heat. “She’s obviously not getting the psychological treatment she needs.”

“With all of this, she’s looking at more than a minimal security prison. She’s fitting a profile,” Michael began to say.

“Don’t deduce me down to the sciences of your job,” Tyler sneered, not caring about his tone. “I won’t rest until I can say to Austin our daughter is coming home, because if she doesn’t I dread to think what my life will end up like. I dread to think what Austin will end up like.”

“We’re all here to help,” Michael defended, putting his hands up in the air. “We’re all on the same side here, Ty. We’re all trying to find Gracie.”

“Good, then we’re all on the same page,” Tyler bit back before turning back to Robert and taking a closer look. “His gun’s gone,” Tyler stated, looking to the empty holster on Robert’s pants. “We know Natasha has a gun.”

“You don’t think she did this to her own father do you?” Dean asked aghast, the disgust roiling up inside of him. He had just walked back in to hear the end of the heated discussion between the two men, and couldn’t help his curiosity.

“Right now, my speculation is driving right towards Natasha,” Tyler stated fast, looking to Michael who promptly agreed with the conclusion made. “After all, how does she just wind up with a gun to then shoot my wife and my sister-in-law? Especially after her escape.”

“What if he helped her and now she’s done with him, she needed to get rid of him?” Michael asked, throwing ideas together. “She doted on her father, and he did the same to her. Why would you get rid of the one person that was always on your side?”

“Because he knew too much,” Tyler muttered and ran out of the house. “Diane,” he said running over to her as she sat with Tom. “I know this is distressing for you, but to help us, you need to tell us if Robert told you anything about helping Natasha escape custody.”

“No,” she shook her head.
“No, nothing. I’ve barely spoken to him. I wanted nothing to do with him after he supported her. God, I’ve only just forgiven him, and now he’s gone!” She then began to wail, her grief tumbling out in heavy onslaughts.

Tyler was going to go back inside, but when the new squad of police and forensics turned up, he knew there were no clues in that house than what he had already. It wasn’t a lot, but it helped him understand how they got to the point they were. He just wished Robert was still breathing enough to get more answers out of him.

“I’ve something to say,” Dean suddenly announced, coming up between Tyler and Michael.

“What’s that?” They both asked in unison.

“You two do well as a pair,” Dean threw the comment at them as he walked out, allow the professionals to do what they needed.

“Our women would love that,” Michael joked, nudging Tyler slightly.

“Yeah,” Tyler agreed, not sounding so convincing. “Maybe it’s something we need to look into once Grace’s back.”

Michael nodded as Tyler began walking out of the house. “Tyler?” he called out quickly, taking his chance. He waited for the other man to turn and face
him and he gave a weak smile, “Don’t tell anyone else this, but I’m not going back to New York.”

“What?” Tyler’s face loosened with shock as he watched Michael cross the distance between them. “I thought your whole life was there?”

“I did too,” he remarked, agreeing originally with the statement. He lifted his gaze, meeting Tyler’s squarely. “Until I was told Sienna was shot. Like I told Austin, my world stopped, and the moment I was here I didn’t want to leave again. I don’t want to leave again. Austin means the world to me, she always will, but Sienna-”

“Means more?” Tyler cut in, giving him an honest smile. “Austin will always be something more than any other woman to me. Now you’ve found yours, don’t let her get away. Life without her will be unbearable. Take it from the fool that let her go once.” Tyler shook his head and smiled. “If I have any advice to give to you, it would be to allow her to get under your skin. Let her in on all counts because loving that one person that makes you whole is stronger than anything else in the world. I have Austin, and she’s given me everything I’ve ever wanted.” He watched as Michael took in his words, allowing them to sink in. “I
gotta go,” he suddenly muttered, taking off.

“Where are you going?” Dean asked as Tyler passed him by.

“I need my wife,” Tyler merely stated, heading off towards the car again. He had done his job, but he was emotionally worn down, and he didn’t know how much he could cope without having one clue as to his daughter’s whereabouts.

***

When Tyler marched into his wife’s hospital room, he found her lying silently still, her eyes staring off, her hand wrapped lightly around Grace’s doll Clara. The sight weakened him and he just halted all motions.

Slowly Austin moved her head around to look at him. She couldn’t offer much more than a sad smile to him. She then noticed that his eyes were at her side and she looked before returning her gaze to him. “I had to ask mom to go and grab it,” Austin admitted, looking down at the doll. “She’s going to be so scared without her.”

“We’ll have it ready and waiting for her,” Tyler commented, not knowing what else to say in that moment. He knew that Grace barely slept without her doll, especially when she wasn’t sleeping in her own bed. He just worried how, at nearly four years old, she would cope with seeing what she had and being kept from her mother and father. “Are you okay?” Tyler suddenly asked her, concern etching into every curve of his face. “Dean received a call and told me you got to talk to Gracie again.”

“Yeah,” Austin
whispered, her eyesight dropping. “Grace managed to tell me she was close, and Natasha, she was so harsh. Gracie doesn’t deserve this and I just kept seeing these horrible images in my head of our baby. She can’t expect someone of Grace’s age to be compliant.”

“I know,” Tyler agreed, taking Austin’s pain on as his own. “She must know that too. If not, she’ll learn pretty quickly.” He watched his wife just nod, pushing herself to believe in his words. “Now, Sunny,” he whispered, moving a little of her hair back out of her face. “How are you really doing?”

“Apparently I’m doing better than expected,” Austin said, offering a small, sad smile. “I can be discharged within a day or two. Then I can help find Gracie.”

“No,” Tyler defied her, his voice weak and pathetic to the ear. “You won’t be helping. You’ll let us find her, and you’ll get better. Grace needs her mom to be
ready to hug her when she comes home, and not risking her health to do so.”

“And what about you?”
Austin quipped sarcastically. “She needs her dad not to do the same.”

“I wasn’t the one that took a bullet,” Tyler stated harshly, still plagued by sights of his wife injured.

“She still has a gun,” Austin replied simply, and she had to close her eyes. The image in her mind of Tyler taking a bullet was still too vivid and haunting for her to shake it off. “She still has a gun and our daughter, and I dread to think of what lengths she will go to get what she wants, Tyler.”

“Hey,” Tyler soothed the moment he heard her heart monitor as it began to race as her agitation began to multiply. “She won’t hurt her,” he stated. He might not have shouted the words, but with the ferocious note in his tone, he didn’t need to raise his voice to make Austin listen. “She needs our daughter to win me over. She needs Gracie to work this. She has to know that if she dare touch even a hair on her head, I will kill her and not look back.”

“Don’t,” Austin croaked, shaking her head vehemently. “Don’t talk like that.” She closed her eyes, her empathy shining through. “I need her back, and I need you, Ty. I need you. I don’t want you risking anything for her. I know we’ll both do anything to get Gracie back, but I don’t want to see you get into trouble for her.”

“We won’t get into trouble,” Tyler spoke, trying to believe that his actions wouldn’t cost him dearly, but he knew if he reacted to the emotions boiling in him now, he wouldn’t see a day of sunlight again. “We’ll get her back,” he told Austin, climbing onto the bed to hold her, Tyler didn’t want to tell her just yet about what they found at Robert’s house. “We will have her back soon,” Tyler vowed, kissing his wife’s head.