Chapter 6
"Finn? But why?"
Clarke didn't understand. Why would he do that? She was completely taken aback. Lexa watched her closely for any sign of a panic attack. Clarke was pale, but otherwise she seemed okay.
"He owns a construction company and business was slow. I bet Nia Queen had a deal for him and he took it."
"He took a deal that would cost me my life?" Clarke stared at Lexa like she had the answer for that.
"I don’t now why he did it, Clarke, but I will most certainly find out."
"Punch him in the face while you’re at it." Raven looked like she was willing to do it herself. She sat next to Clarke, while Octavia was pacing around the living room. "This stupid son of a bitch rats out his fiancé for money? No offence, Clarke, but I never liked him. Bellamy didn’t either."
Clarke looked at her and then at Raven, who was trying not to add her two cents.
"Oh, come on, just say it!"
"I hated him from the second I saw him, that slimy, always whining empty suit."
Clarke just had to giggle. "Yeah, I know. What about you, Lincoln?"
The tall man had been awfully quiet. "Well, I …" He started to laugh. "He really is a whiny douchebag!"
Clarke got up and went over to Lexa. She put her arms around her waist and her head on her shoulder. "So much for the competition."
Lexa smiled. "Oh, I wasn’t worried about the competition. But now I am worried about what everyone really thinks about me."
Raven looked at her. "Don’t worry. We think you're cute. A little stupid sometimes, but reasonably cute."
"Finn Collins? Police! Open up!"
Bellamy hated the guy. He had disliked him from the second he met first him, but now that he knew Finn was part of a plan to kill Clarke, he was ready to break down the door and punch him in the face.
"Open up, Finn!"
He heard footsteps.
"Who's there?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? Police! Open up!"
You could almost hear Finn thinking. "What is this about?"
Bellamy made a mental note to hit the guy, not matter what.
"Listen, Collins, you either open that door right now or I will break it down and things get ugly. Do you understand?"
There was one more second of silence, then the door opened.
Bellamy made two steps, flipped the man around and put him on the floor to handcuff him.
"Finn Collins, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder."
"I have no idea what’s going on. Hey! Is anyone listening?"
Lexa stood on the other side of the one-way mirror and watched Finn squirm. She would have loved to just go into the interrogation room and punch him until he confessed, but with her being an officer of the law that wasn't an option. She looked at Bellamy who held his coffee mug like he needed his hands to be occupied.
"What do we have?"
"We have his number on the call Echo made. We have his bank statements that tell us he’s basically broke and we have him on camera meeting with Nia Queen."
Lexa sighed. "So we basically have nothing to hold him on?"
"No."
"What about Echo and Ontari?"
"They are in interrogation 2 and 3. We can place Ontari in relation to Cage. So at least there is something to work with. We don't have anything on Echo. I told Monty to find us a connection to the Queens, but even if there is, she was just making a call and we have no idea what she said."
Lexa looked at him. "So, it’s basically up to us to make them talk." He nodded.
"Okay, this is how we're going to play it. Put Ontari in holding. I doubt, she'll say anything. Keep Echo in interrogation, but let's focus on Finn first. Something tells me, toy boy is the one who will talk. I don't think he's fully understood what he's done and what was planned. Maybe he will count his losses." She took two water bottles from a small fridge and gave Bellamy a clap on the back. "Come on, you can be the bad cop."
Finn jumped when the door opened and Bellamy and Lexa entered. Lexa put one of the bottles in front of him and leaned back on the wall next to the mirror. Bellamy took the chair across from Finn. He looked at Bellamy and nodded in Lexa's direction.
"Does she have to be here? Is that even legal? She's fucking my fiancé."
"Ex-fiancé." Lexa drank some water. Bellamy smirked.
"Yes, she's going to be here. Deal with it." He started the recording. "Start of the interrogation of Finn Collins by the detectives Lexa Woods and Bellamy Blake." He leaned back in his chair. "So, Finn, what made you become an accomplice in the abduction and planned murder of Clarke Griffin, who was your fiancé at the time?"
Finn stared at him.
"Shoudn’t I have a lawyer present?"
Bellamy shrugged. "Sure. We can wait for your attorney, but if you don't talk to us now, all deals are off the table and right now Nia Queen is rallying her lawyers to get her daughter and Echo the "get out of jail free" card, which essentially leaves you as the scapegoat."
"I haven't done anything. There is nothing you can hold against me."
"Well, we do know that you had a meeting with Nia Queen and that it would be a life saving thing for you should she decide to employ your firm to build her little industrial park."
"So? I have business meetings all the time."
Bellamy smiled at him. "You are also the only one who knew Clarke's car was in the shop and which exit she would use that night."
"That’s a coincidence and I bet a hundred people knew. Clarke tends to talk a lot, you know." He grinned and Lexa felt her grip on the water bottle tighten. This smug son of a bitch was right. They didn't have enough on him. But Bell wasn't finished yet.
"How do you explain that you got a call from Echo the second Clarke left after her shift?"
"I don't know? She likes me. She's seen me with Clarke and has been calling me once or twice. She has a thing for me." He put his hair back behind his ear and smiled.
"Did you give her your number?"
Finn grinned. "I might have."
"And why wouldn't she call you from her cell? Why call you from the hospital?"
"I don’t know. You'd have to ask her."
Bellamy gave him the sweetest smile. "You do realize how shady this all sounds?"
Finn laughed at him. "I may not be the most faithful guy around, but you can hardly charge me with that." He leaned back and took a gulp from his water bottle. "You have nothing on me."
Bellamy smiled again. He had him exactly where he wanted him. He didn't talk about his lawyer anymore, because he thought he had it all under control. He felt Lexa move next to him. She put her water bottle on the table and leaned forward to face Finn. Her face was stoic, but Bell knew that right now Lexa Woods was in a killing mood. They only had circumstantial evidence, but he knew Lexa would find a way to tie him down. She always did. In this room she was unbeaten. She was smart, fierce and she wouldn't let him leave without a confession. Bellamy leaned back and watched.
Lexa stared at Finn. The smug smile left his face. She knew her chances were fifty-fifty, but she took the gamble. "You know what, Finn? You think that we have nothing on you. You think everything we have is circumstantial and you are right." The grin was back on his face, but then Lexa smiled and he seemed fazed by it. "But there is one tiny thing that my colleague hasn't mentioned yet. One tiny little thing, but it might just be the one thing that breaks your neck."
He stared at her.
"You know, you really should think about wearing gloves when you're trying to break a car. It makes pulling prints from wires so much harder." With that she put on a pair of latex gloves and took his bottle. "Thank you. I will give this to the lab so they can match your prints." She smiled at his blank and pale face. "It'll take about an hour. But just so you know, the second we're out of this room any deals are off the table and you'll face a very long time in prison."
Bellamy got up and opened the door for her. Just as she was about to leave she heard Finn's voice.
"Wait!"
"Fuck, Woods! That was a close call!" Bellamy laughed at her. "I have no idea how you manage to do something like this. You didn't even lie to him. You didn't say we actually had prints. It was fucking brilliant."
Lexa took a bow. "Thank you. Now that we have his statement, let's try Echo. If we get her to spill what she knows maybe we can get to Nia Queen after all." From the corner of her eye she saw a familiar face. She turned her head.
"Clarke? What are you doing here?"
"I made Indra take me here. I wanted to see him for myself." Clarke looked furious.
"Your captain was so nice to let me watch the interrogation. The stupid son of a bitch drugged me and delivered me to Wallace himself!"
Lexa took her hand in hers. "Yes, he did. Are you okay?"
"He almost had me killed."
Clarke was shaking with anger. Lexa thought about trying to make her sit down, but in that moment an officer appeared, guarding a handcuffed Finn to holding. Clarke let go of Lexa's hand and ran to them. She looked at Finn and punched him right in the face. Lexa heard the telltale sound of a nose breaking and couldn’t help, but grin. She ran over to Clarke, put her arms around her and pulled her away so she wouldn't hurt the already screaming man even more. The officer that took him away was grinning, too.
"It’s okay, Clarke. Stop it. Stop it now." Clarke relaxed a little.
"Feeling better?"
"Actually, yes, I do. You can let go of me now." Lexa loosened her grip, but still held onto her. "Are you okay? This is a lot to process."
Clarke looked at her. "I’m okay, Lexa. I'm not as fragile as you think."
"I know that, Clarke. It's just …"
"It's what?"
"I really whished I could make it all go away … undo it, so you don't have to go through this." She looked at Clarke, afraid she might start to cry, but the weirdest thing happened. Clarke took both of her hands and looked her in the eyes.
"Lexa, if this … if us is what comes out of this mess, believe me, I would go through it all again." Lexa just stared at her in amazement. She ignored the fact that they were standing in the middle of the precinct with everyone looking at them and kissed her. There was cheering and she grinned. "Don't you guys have work to do?"
"So, what’s happening next?" Clarke looked at Bellamy who was sitting next to her. "Lexa is going to make Echo cry and then we'll go and arrest the Ice Queen." He grinned at her.
Clarke looked through the one-way mirror and saw Lexa circling Echo like a predator circling its prey. "She is good at this."
"That is an understatement. She is the best interrogator, no, the best detective this precinct has ever seen. Did you see her take Finn apart?"
"I did."
"She was so mad. She would have liked to rip his throat out, but she knew that wasn't the way to get to Nia Queen. All the does is calculated. She has one endgame and that is making sure you're safe."
Clarke sat in silence, while Lexa worked her magic with Echo. It took her an hour, but she got what she wanted. When she showed her Finn's confession the woman just laughed at her, but Lexa had a joker. Finn had recorded Echo's call. After hearing it she finally gave in and told her what she wanted to know and even a little more.
A few hours later policemen brought in Nia Queen and her entourage of lawyers. The woman was intimidating. She had piercing eyes and a demeanour that was very fitting considering that people called her the Ice Queen. She seemed unfazed by everything she was charged with and even the amount of evidence the police had thanks to Echo and Finn didn't rattle her cage. She sat on a chair in interrogation and waited. Lexa wondered what for. The woman seemed somewhat off.
Her and Bellamy both took turns questioning Nia, but she stayed silent until she finally whispered something to one of the lawyers. The man looked at her. "Are you sure?" Nia just nodded. Lexa looked at the lawyer expectantly. He cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Queen requests to see Senator Griffin."
Lexa stared at him. "Why?"
"She would like to discuss this with the Senator himself."
"Senator Griffin has no influence on the charges brought up against your client."
He smiled. "Mrs. Queen understands that, but she will only talk to the Senator."
Lexa got up and left the room. Bellamy looked at her. "What the hell is this all about?"
"I have no idea. Let's call Jake and find out."
Jake arrived an hour later. He hugged his daughter and Lexa and nodded at Bellamy.
"So, she wants to see me?"
"Yes. Please, take a seat." Lexa sat down in one of the chairs and waited until everyone was settled.
"We have enough evidence to charge her with kidnapping and attempted murder, but she won't talk. She had her lawyer tell me she would only speak to you."
Jake nodded and Lexa looked at him. "You don't have to talk to her, Jake. We don't need her confession."
"But I want to talk to her, Lexa. I have to know why she did it."
"Dad, you really don't have to do it." Clarke locked eyes with her father's, but he just smiled a sad smile.
"Yes, honey, I do." He got up. "Would you lead the way, Lexa?"
"Sure."
When they entered the room Nia looked up and smiled. She gave her lawyers a sign to leave. "But Mrs. Queen …!" "Leave!"
This was the first time Lexa heard Nia's voice and the venom in it made her shiver.
Jake sat down in the chair across from the woman and looked at her.
"Nia, why am I here?"
She stared at him in silence until Jake flinched.
"Why would you do this to me?"
Nia looked right into his eyes. "I loved you and you left."
Jake stared at her. "This is what this is about? This is why you wanted to kill my daughter? I loved you, too, Nia, but it was over by the time I met Abby. You know that. You can't still be mad at this?! People break up every day. Not all of them hire contract killers. You must see how mad this is?!"
Nia's gaze was steady and cold.
"Oh, Jake, you always think the world revolves around you, don't you? It was mostly a business decision. The fact that killing your daughter would destroy you, was only the icing on the cake." She chuckled. Lexa clenched her jaw. Her hands were fists by now and it was physically hard for her, not to hit the woman.
Jake was stunned. "What in the world happened to you? What made you become like this?" He got up. "I am really sorry that you thought trying to kill my daughter would be a valid option to express your pain ... or whatever this is. I pity you."
A creepy smile showed in Nia's face.
"No, Jake, I pity you for thinking this is over."
Jake turned and stared at her. Then he shook his head and left.
Lexa watched Nia who was still smiling and felt something cold creep up her spine. It wasn’t over? What did she mean by that?