Whodunit? 5/9
Whodunit? 5/9
By Marea67
About: Kevin, Scotty, the Walkers - in one way or another…
Rate: We’ll see per chapter, this one - G
Disclaimer: Brothers & Sisters doesn’t belong to me. Written with love, not for money.
Summary: This is an AU, based on B&S, anything can be different, nothing is as it may seem, and yet, …. (evil chuckle)
*****
Name : Holly Harper
Age: 53
Status: Single
Children: Rebecca
*****
Neither Parks nor Scotty feel too guilty that they didn’t talk to Holly Harper sooner. She must have been pretty a long time ago, but time hasn’t been kind to her. The lines in her face reveal that she’s older than the image that her clothes and attitude project.
“I-I don’t know what to say.” Her voice is soft and she speaks slow.
“Mrs Harper, where were you Saturday-night between 10pm and 2am?” Scotty asks.
“Here…”
“Alone?” Scotty needs to know.
“No… I was here with David Kaplan, my boyfriend.”
She smiles when she sees the confused look on Scotty’s face.
“I love David, he is the sweetest man ever, but William … He had the cash.”
“What was your relationship with Mr Walker like? How would you describe him?”
“Money only and I made it clear that I never wanted to meet that hysterical wife of his again.”
“Mrs Nora Walker? You met her?”
“Years ago! She stood in front of my door, screaming like she was about to be slaughtered, yelling that I should leave her husband alone or she’d kill me… Completely over-the-top if you ask me. I was just sleeping with William, I wasn't making him divorce her.”
“Must have been awful. Did she actually ...hurt you?” Scotty wishes he didn't sound so wishful.
“No. She was stopped in time.”
“By William Walker?”
“No. Her son… One of them anyway.”
“When was this?”
“Ten, maybe eleven years ago.”
“Then I doubt that it was Justin.” Scotty makes his observation.
“Oh, no, it must have been the other one. Kevin. I know what Tommy looks like and it wasn’t him. And it wasn’t Justin either, this boy was older.”
Scotty bites his lip, looking slightly annoyed.
“That must have been very dramatic.” He states.
“Yes it was. I thought she would stalk me forever.” Holly replies, though it seems obvious to Parks that Scotty was referring to Kevin rather than to Holly.
“What did Mr William Walker have to say about all this?”
“William hated his wife. Said she changed after they got married. Always making him feel like he was nothing special. Always complaining and nagging. He was so happy when he could come here and just relax.” She delicately wipes away a tear from her eyes.
Parks hardly manages to control his laughter when he sees how horrified Scotty is by her theatrics. That boy still has a few things to learn…
“And you used to be an actress?” Parks asks, pointing a film-poster hanging on the wall. His sharp eyes having noticed Holly Harper’s name on it, in 9th or 10th position.
She nods, suddenly a free, gentle smile on her face, making her look much prettier and younger, because now the smile is genuine, compared to the over-acting of a few minutes ago.
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you more. I didn’t kill him, if that is what you want to know. I had no reason to kill him. Quite to the contrary, I needed William alive… He used to ‘help’ me pay for this house and my daughter’s education. With him gone… I don’t know how I will be able to pay my bills.”
*****
TWO DAYS LATER:
*****
Sarah is surprised when she enters Nora’s kitchen and sees Kevin and Scotty bend over some paper, talking to each other, their heads close together. And even more so, because she sees Kevin back away with an almost uncertain smile as a little blush goes to his cheeks and it doesn’t take her long to realize why he’s so confused.
“We were checking the date on this will. Your father made it up two years ago and there doesn’t seem to be another one.” Scotty replies calmly as if he owes Sarah an explanation for why he’s talking to her brother.
“Good. Can we go with this one then?” Sarah asks.
“I will inform Detective Parks that you’re ready.” Scotty nods. Sarah waits until Scotty is out of the kitchen before she turns to Kevin and teasingly asks:
“You have a crush on him, don’t you?”
“I like him. We talked. He’s a detective, I’m a lawyer. We discussed dad’s will. It was all very professional.” Kevin defends himself.
“Oh, admit it. If I hadn’t come into the kitchen, you would have had sex with him on the kitchen-table. You were devouring him with your eyes. I’ll bet that, in your mind, you were tearing the clothes off his body and…” Sarah laughs, but she stops when she sees an unusual anger in Kevin.
“Grow up, Sarah.” His reply is cold and annoyed. Kevin turns around and walks away, leaving Sarah to wonder, once again, what is wrong with her brother. She was just teasing, he didn’t have to take it so serious.
She sighs. Maybe that was the problem. Kevin hadn’t had a relationship in years. As much as she hated to admit it, William was right. Kevin needed to get less uptight and have some sex.
As she leaves the kitchen again, she sees how Parks hands over a piece of paper to Scotty and sends him away with the order to ‘check it out’. Too bad the young detective isn’t staying, she wouldn’t mind playing cupid. Then Tommy calls her name and she has to give her attention to him and forgets all about Kevin and Scotty.
*****
Parks had to admit that Kevin Walker was a good narrator. He read the will, explained the terms, he was to-the-point and for once Parks hadn’t felt the need to fall asleep. It is all very simple actually. Each child would get a certain sum of money, the house went to Nora, as did the ranch they owned in Ojai.
Ojai Foods must remain a family company. Nora gets 25% of the shares, Sarah and Tommy each get 20% because they run Ojai, Kevin gets 20%, but only because he’s the lawyer of the family and 10% goes to Kitty. The remaining 5% goes to Justin, something that, Parks notices, upsets Justin tremendously.
Parks can’t help but feel disappointed when he leaves the Walker dining room. He had expected something explosive, some strong reaction, but Sarah and Tommy had seemingly agreed with William’s decision. Kevin and Nora had been surprised, but not overly shocked. And Kitty had taken it all casually.
He suspected that her calm way had to do with the fact, that she had a good career of her own and wasn’t as involved with Ojai Foods as the other kids. Maybe that is also why it seemed strange to Parks that Justin had reacted so strongly to getting only 5%. Had he expected it to be more? And would that be a reason for him to want his father dead?
He considers finding out Justin’s financial position when Scotty walks up to him with a serious face. At the same time, he notices the broad grin on Sarah’s face as she passes Scotty. Scotty looks uncomfortable and shies away from her.
“What is going on?” Parks asks, a frown on his face.
“I think that she believes, that there’s something going on between her brother and me.”
“Scotty, I have no objection to your sexual orientation, but … I do object if it bothers me during an ongoing investigation. I want you to behave professionally.”
“Yes, Sir.” And Scotty looks reprimanded. Parks relaxes.
“I mean,… if there is something … 'blossoming'… keep it between the two of you and be discrete. God knows, it hard enough to find someone to love and Kevin Walker has a perfect alibi and is not a suspect anymore. I just don’t want anyone to think that I wasn’t doing my job properly.”
“No, Sir, I will not jeopardize our investigation. And I’m trying to keep my interactions with Kevin Walker to a minimum, but it’s hard because he’s their lawyer and very protective of his family. I can’t… avoid him.” Scotty says softly. Parks nods.
“If it gets too hard to do your job… let me know, and I’ll take care of Kevin Walker.”
This seems to relax Scotty a bit and Parks shakes his head with a little smile.
“So what about Ojai business?” he asks.
“They are checking the financial situation. The company seems financially strong, but old-fashioned and they pulled up some files.
Turns out Mr Walker had some narrow escapes in court with side-jumps in other business-ventures, having business-partners who found themselves accused of skimming accounts, fraud and embezzlement. He got away with it at each time, while others went to prison. Still investigating the details.
Someone might still carry a grudge against him because of it. The name Dennis York pops up as someone who actually threatened to kill William Walker. Mr York got released from prison ten days ago.” Parks frowns, interested that Scotty managed somehow to dig this up.
The more he hears and learns about this William Walker, the more he dislikes the man. At the same time he’s isn’t too sure what to think about the eagerness with which Scotty has thrown himself on this case. He must really be want to impress his future in-laws, Parks grins.
“Scotty, this case puzzles me. It’s a cold and deliberate shooting, but there are too many reasons and basically there’s none that all... What I mean is: Yes, everybody hated him, but nothing seems to have happened that could have triggered this. Financially, there wasn’t much to gain, because it seems nothing will really change.”
“Except for Mr Walker’s choke-hold on his family.”
“Yes. But if they wanted to get rid of him, why not sooner? Why now...? Besides, nearly everyone has an alibi. Kevin, Justin, Kitty. Sarah and her husband, provided we accept her daughter’s word, which I do somehow. That leaves Nora and Tommy and his wife and I don’t believe they did it either. ...
My gut tells me that there’s something wrong, but I don’t know what. Is there something we’re overlooking? A question we haven’t asked? A search we didn’t make? ”
“I can’t think of anything, but I’m sure, you’ll find out, sooner or later, what is troubling you.” Scotty says with confidence, but Parks shakes his head.
“I don’t know... I. Just. Don’t. Know. ... Let’s check out these business-partners of his.”
“Sir? Are you sure Kevin is innocent?... I ... I really like him... And....” Scotty stammers.
“His alibi checked on so many levels. He didn’t shoot his father. Of that I’m sure.”
“Thank you, sir. It is important for me to hear that.” Scotty smiles shyly.
*****
Name: Robert McCallister
Age: 43
Status: Divorced
Children: Sophie, Jack
*****
“Thank you for receiving us, Senator McCallister. We realize that you have a busy schedule.” Parks says, truly grateful for the kindness shown.
“Not at all. I’m glad I can clear Kitty’s name, awkward as it was to tell your colleague here something I wanted to keep to myself a little longer. But the discretion, so far, has been appreciated. So how can I help you? I think I’ve already provided you with everything you needed to know? And given you the names of independent witnesses?”
“Yes, you have, sir, and we’re most thankful. We’re just double-checking...” Parks remains polite. They quickly go over Robert’s testimony again, but all the while Robert keeps looking at Scotty.
“Have we met somewhere before?” he suddenly asks. “I seem to remember you from something...” Scotty freezes for a second, but then smiles.
“No, I can honestly say I’ve never met you before. I’m pretty sure of it... Brought up in a Republican family I would remember meeting a Democrat Senator. But it happens to me more often, that people think they know me from something... I seem to have ‘one of those faces’,... whatever that means.” He laughs and Robert joins him.
And they are still talking and laughing when they leave the room not much later and while Robert introduces Travis to Parks, Scotty’s eyes rest on the picture of a young man, that’s hanging on the wall. There’s momentarily a sad little smile on his face while looking at the picture of Jason McCallister, but then he returns his attention back to Robert, Travis and Parks.
END OF PART 5
By Marea67
About: Kevin, Scotty, the Walkers - in one way or another…
Rate: We’ll see per chapter, this one - G
Disclaimer: Brothers & Sisters doesn’t belong to me. Written with love, not for money.
Summary: This is an AU, based on B&S, anything can be different, nothing is as it may seem, and yet, …. (evil chuckle)
*****
Name : Holly Harper
Age: 53
Status: Single
Children: Rebecca
*****
Neither Parks nor Scotty feel too guilty that they didn’t talk to Holly Harper sooner. She must have been pretty a long time ago, but time hasn’t been kind to her. The lines in her face reveal that she’s older than the image that her clothes and attitude project.
“I-I don’t know what to say.” Her voice is soft and she speaks slow.
“Mrs Harper, where were you Saturday-night between 10pm and 2am?” Scotty asks.
“Here…”
“Alone?” Scotty needs to know.
“No… I was here with David Kaplan, my boyfriend.”
She smiles when she sees the confused look on Scotty’s face.
“I love David, he is the sweetest man ever, but William … He had the cash.”
“What was your relationship with Mr Walker like? How would you describe him?”
“Money only and I made it clear that I never wanted to meet that hysterical wife of his again.”
“Mrs Nora Walker? You met her?”
“Years ago! She stood in front of my door, screaming like she was about to be slaughtered, yelling that I should leave her husband alone or she’d kill me… Completely over-the-top if you ask me. I was just sleeping with William, I wasn't making him divorce her.”
“Must have been awful. Did she actually ...hurt you?” Scotty wishes he didn't sound so wishful.
“No. She was stopped in time.”
“By William Walker?”
“No. Her son… One of them anyway.”
“When was this?”
“Ten, maybe eleven years ago.”
“Then I doubt that it was Justin.” Scotty makes his observation.
“Oh, no, it must have been the other one. Kevin. I know what Tommy looks like and it wasn’t him. And it wasn’t Justin either, this boy was older.”
Scotty bites his lip, looking slightly annoyed.
“That must have been very dramatic.” He states.
“Yes it was. I thought she would stalk me forever.” Holly replies, though it seems obvious to Parks that Scotty was referring to Kevin rather than to Holly.
“What did Mr William Walker have to say about all this?”
“William hated his wife. Said she changed after they got married. Always making him feel like he was nothing special. Always complaining and nagging. He was so happy when he could come here and just relax.” She delicately wipes away a tear from her eyes.
Parks hardly manages to control his laughter when he sees how horrified Scotty is by her theatrics. That boy still has a few things to learn…
“And you used to be an actress?” Parks asks, pointing a film-poster hanging on the wall. His sharp eyes having noticed Holly Harper’s name on it, in 9th or 10th position.
She nods, suddenly a free, gentle smile on her face, making her look much prettier and younger, because now the smile is genuine, compared to the over-acting of a few minutes ago.
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you more. I didn’t kill him, if that is what you want to know. I had no reason to kill him. Quite to the contrary, I needed William alive… He used to ‘help’ me pay for this house and my daughter’s education. With him gone… I don’t know how I will be able to pay my bills.”
*****
TWO DAYS LATER:
*****
Sarah is surprised when she enters Nora’s kitchen and sees Kevin and Scotty bend over some paper, talking to each other, their heads close together. And even more so, because she sees Kevin back away with an almost uncertain smile as a little blush goes to his cheeks and it doesn’t take her long to realize why he’s so confused.
“We were checking the date on this will. Your father made it up two years ago and there doesn’t seem to be another one.” Scotty replies calmly as if he owes Sarah an explanation for why he’s talking to her brother.
“Good. Can we go with this one then?” Sarah asks.
“I will inform Detective Parks that you’re ready.” Scotty nods. Sarah waits until Scotty is out of the kitchen before she turns to Kevin and teasingly asks:
“You have a crush on him, don’t you?”
“I like him. We talked. He’s a detective, I’m a lawyer. We discussed dad’s will. It was all very professional.” Kevin defends himself.
“Oh, admit it. If I hadn’t come into the kitchen, you would have had sex with him on the kitchen-table. You were devouring him with your eyes. I’ll bet that, in your mind, you were tearing the clothes off his body and…” Sarah laughs, but she stops when she sees an unusual anger in Kevin.
“Grow up, Sarah.” His reply is cold and annoyed. Kevin turns around and walks away, leaving Sarah to wonder, once again, what is wrong with her brother. She was just teasing, he didn’t have to take it so serious.
She sighs. Maybe that was the problem. Kevin hadn’t had a relationship in years. As much as she hated to admit it, William was right. Kevin needed to get less uptight and have some sex.
As she leaves the kitchen again, she sees how Parks hands over a piece of paper to Scotty and sends him away with the order to ‘check it out’. Too bad the young detective isn’t staying, she wouldn’t mind playing cupid. Then Tommy calls her name and she has to give her attention to him and forgets all about Kevin and Scotty.
*****
Parks had to admit that Kevin Walker was a good narrator. He read the will, explained the terms, he was to-the-point and for once Parks hadn’t felt the need to fall asleep. It is all very simple actually. Each child would get a certain sum of money, the house went to Nora, as did the ranch they owned in Ojai.
Ojai Foods must remain a family company. Nora gets 25% of the shares, Sarah and Tommy each get 20% because they run Ojai, Kevin gets 20%, but only because he’s the lawyer of the family and 10% goes to Kitty. The remaining 5% goes to Justin, something that, Parks notices, upsets Justin tremendously.
Parks can’t help but feel disappointed when he leaves the Walker dining room. He had expected something explosive, some strong reaction, but Sarah and Tommy had seemingly agreed with William’s decision. Kevin and Nora had been surprised, but not overly shocked. And Kitty had taken it all casually.
He suspected that her calm way had to do with the fact, that she had a good career of her own and wasn’t as involved with Ojai Foods as the other kids. Maybe that is also why it seemed strange to Parks that Justin had reacted so strongly to getting only 5%. Had he expected it to be more? And would that be a reason for him to want his father dead?
He considers finding out Justin’s financial position when Scotty walks up to him with a serious face. At the same time, he notices the broad grin on Sarah’s face as she passes Scotty. Scotty looks uncomfortable and shies away from her.
“What is going on?” Parks asks, a frown on his face.
“I think that she believes, that there’s something going on between her brother and me.”
“Scotty, I have no objection to your sexual orientation, but … I do object if it bothers me during an ongoing investigation. I want you to behave professionally.”
“Yes, Sir.” And Scotty looks reprimanded. Parks relaxes.
“I mean,… if there is something … 'blossoming'… keep it between the two of you and be discrete. God knows, it hard enough to find someone to love and Kevin Walker has a perfect alibi and is not a suspect anymore. I just don’t want anyone to think that I wasn’t doing my job properly.”
“No, Sir, I will not jeopardize our investigation. And I’m trying to keep my interactions with Kevin Walker to a minimum, but it’s hard because he’s their lawyer and very protective of his family. I can’t… avoid him.” Scotty says softly. Parks nods.
“If it gets too hard to do your job… let me know, and I’ll take care of Kevin Walker.”
This seems to relax Scotty a bit and Parks shakes his head with a little smile.
“So what about Ojai business?” he asks.
“They are checking the financial situation. The company seems financially strong, but old-fashioned and they pulled up some files.
Turns out Mr Walker had some narrow escapes in court with side-jumps in other business-ventures, having business-partners who found themselves accused of skimming accounts, fraud and embezzlement. He got away with it at each time, while others went to prison. Still investigating the details.
Someone might still carry a grudge against him because of it. The name Dennis York pops up as someone who actually threatened to kill William Walker. Mr York got released from prison ten days ago.” Parks frowns, interested that Scotty managed somehow to dig this up.
The more he hears and learns about this William Walker, the more he dislikes the man. At the same time he’s isn’t too sure what to think about the eagerness with which Scotty has thrown himself on this case. He must really be want to impress his future in-laws, Parks grins.
“Scotty, this case puzzles me. It’s a cold and deliberate shooting, but there are too many reasons and basically there’s none that all... What I mean is: Yes, everybody hated him, but nothing seems to have happened that could have triggered this. Financially, there wasn’t much to gain, because it seems nothing will really change.”
“Except for Mr Walker’s choke-hold on his family.”
“Yes. But if they wanted to get rid of him, why not sooner? Why now...? Besides, nearly everyone has an alibi. Kevin, Justin, Kitty. Sarah and her husband, provided we accept her daughter’s word, which I do somehow. That leaves Nora and Tommy and his wife and I don’t believe they did it either. ...
My gut tells me that there’s something wrong, but I don’t know what. Is there something we’re overlooking? A question we haven’t asked? A search we didn’t make? ”
“I can’t think of anything, but I’m sure, you’ll find out, sooner or later, what is troubling you.” Scotty says with confidence, but Parks shakes his head.
“I don’t know... I. Just. Don’t. Know. ... Let’s check out these business-partners of his.”
“Sir? Are you sure Kevin is innocent?... I ... I really like him... And....” Scotty stammers.
“His alibi checked on so many levels. He didn’t shoot his father. Of that I’m sure.”
“Thank you, sir. It is important for me to hear that.” Scotty smiles shyly.
*****
Name: Robert McCallister
Age: 43
Status: Divorced
Children: Sophie, Jack
*****
“Thank you for receiving us, Senator McCallister. We realize that you have a busy schedule.” Parks says, truly grateful for the kindness shown.
“Not at all. I’m glad I can clear Kitty’s name, awkward as it was to tell your colleague here something I wanted to keep to myself a little longer. But the discretion, so far, has been appreciated. So how can I help you? I think I’ve already provided you with everything you needed to know? And given you the names of independent witnesses?”
“Yes, you have, sir, and we’re most thankful. We’re just double-checking...” Parks remains polite. They quickly go over Robert’s testimony again, but all the while Robert keeps looking at Scotty.
“Have we met somewhere before?” he suddenly asks. “I seem to remember you from something...” Scotty freezes for a second, but then smiles.
“No, I can honestly say I’ve never met you before. I’m pretty sure of it... Brought up in a Republican family I would remember meeting a Democrat Senator. But it happens to me more often, that people think they know me from something... I seem to have ‘one of those faces’,... whatever that means.” He laughs and Robert joins him.
And they are still talking and laughing when they leave the room not much later and while Robert introduces Travis to Parks, Scotty’s eyes rest on the picture of a young man, that’s hanging on the wall. There’s momentarily a sad little smile on his face while looking at the picture of Jason McCallister, but then he returns his attention back to Robert, Travis and Parks.
END OF PART 5