And No One Mourned

Cagney and Lacey fan fiction based on characters created by Barbara Avedon and Barbara Corday. Let me know what you think. Joanne. siderius@netidea.com

The blade bit rhythmically into the whet stone. For sixteen years he had missed the mantra of steel on stone. Sixteen years. The knife was a well-worn old friend. It had waited for him when there was no one else. Sixteen years. The blade rang out at the end of each stroke: soothing, mesmerizing. He tested the blade with his thumb. Blood welled up in beads along a thin red line. Like blood welling from a cleanly slit throat. Sixteen years. Summer light barely broke through the streaks of filth on the window, but the blade gleamed as he held it up to the light. He kept sharpening. The knife would never be too sharp. The mantra continued. The knife continued to sing.

It was dark, damp and cold. The thunder and rain had stopped but not before drenching everyone who was crouching in the dark. It is 4 A.M. They were laying in wait - guns drawn - for a dangerous felon, but Christine Cagney took a deep breath and smiled. It was good to be back in action. The commander of majour cases squad had been swamped in paper work since her appointment two months ago. Captain Cagney listened to her radio, turned to her second in command and signaled that it was time. The swat team and several detectives were in place: the house was surrounded.

Lt. Mary Beth Lacey nodded in response: she and her team were ready. Cagney takes cover behind a large oak tree: Lacey is crouched behind a squad car. Police are under cover throughout the yard. The operation has gone according to plan: the fugitive should have no idea that several armed officers have surrounded the house. The house is boarded up: the surrounding houses are also abandoned. Surveillance had indicated that Taylor was alone in the house.

Cagney raises the megaphone as the spotlights are turned on - throwing the house into brilliant light.

CAGNEY

Taylor! Police! You are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!

Silence. There are no lights showing in the windows - no signs of movement. The only sounds are from rain dripping from the trees and a dog barking in the distance.

CAGNEY

Taylor! Come on out or we are coming in!

A wind blows up. Shadows of trees dance crazily on the front of the house. The front door opens slowly and someone waves a white rag out the door.

TAYLOR

Don't shoot! I'm coming out!

Fingers tense on gun triggers. Every eye is trained on the man coming out of the door. He is barefoot: dressed in wrinkled boxer shorts and an undershirt. His hands are held out to the side. In one hand he is holding the rag.

CAGNEY

Taylor! Don't move! Keep your hands in sight! Drop the rag!

It is procedure, at this point in the apprehension of a fugitive, to establish that the suspect is unarmed and then to take him or her into custody. Some of the swat team officers stood, and with automatic weapons trained on the suspect, moved forward. Cagney was uneasy. This man's M.O. had not prepared them for his immediate surrender. This surrender meant he was going back to prison to await trial for two counts of murder. He had every reason to fight. They had been prepared to take him out, if necessary.

CAGNEY

(into her radio)

He dropped the rag.

The building blew apart. Orange flames billowed up through dark clouds of smoke as the house erupted into flame. The explosion hurled them to the ground as the blast washed over and deafened them.

Flaming boards fell back to earth and sparks rose in the night sky. Heat curled the tree leaves - the surrounding grass erupted into fire. No one moved. The wall of heat kept them pinned to the ground - protecting their eyes and ears.

When Lacey relived the explosion, she would see the rag falling in slow motion- silhouetted in shadow on the wall - the triumph on Taylor's face as he pushed the plunger; the alarm on Cagney's face - her mouth opening in slow motion as she shouted; the swat team officers hitting the ground; and finally Taylor disappearing in an inferno of fire and noise.

Steam rose from the blackened timbers. Smoke and the smell of wet burnt wood were still strong enough to choke anyone nearby not wearing a mask. Firefighters had prevented the fire from spreading, but the house was totally

Christine Cagney waits impatiently for the paramedics to finish - she's fine. She rolls down her sleeve, puts her jacket back on and sits beside Lacey. There is nothing more for them to do here now. Forensics would move in when things cooled down. She shakes her head: two men in her command were seriously injured. Taylor was dead.

CAGNEY

(tired) You OK?

The intense heat has left both women with red faces and singed hair - little curls of withered grey hair covering their heads. Despite various bruises, sprains and ringing ears, the two detectives consider themselves lucky. They have paid a small price for surviving the blast.

LACEY

(smiling as she moves over to make room for Cagney) Yes. I'm OK. (after a pause) He wanted to take us all with him.

CAGNEY

He was a thug, Mary Beth. Why take up explosives now? He didn't have that kind of sophistication. A shoot-out was much more his style.

LACEY

Maybe someone was hiding something in that house. Or didn't want him taken alive. (she holds her head). Time for this tomorrow, Captain.

I 'm too old for this.

CAGNEY

(runs her hand through her hair and looks at the broken hairs in her hand) Nonsense. You are only 54. Many cops a lot older than you still hold down a badge.

(peering closely at Lacey) You've lost your eyebrows, Mary Beth.

LACEY

Look in the mirror, Captain.

CAGNEY

(getting up and helping her partner up) Com'on Lieutenant I'll drive you home.

LACEY

(pointing towards the car) (The paint has peeled from the side of the car. The tires have blown.) Maybe not, Captain. I called the police garage an hour ago.

CAGNEY

(pulling out her radio and raising non-existent eyebrows) Squad car, Lieutenant?

Much had changed in sixteen years. It hadn't taken him long, however, to track her down - to find out that she hadn't moved. He remembered the roof, the long wait at night. She worked in a different place now but still kept late hours. She wouldn't know he was hunting her - not yet. He licked his lips in anticipation - an old habit he knew she would remember.

Chris paused at the doorway to her office. She still felt a thrill of pride at seeing her name on the door and the plate on her desk: Head of Major Cases Squad: Captain C. Cagney. It had taken twelve years on majour cases - five as second whip to make it here. She was an old-fashioned cop - but she had learned to use the new technology effectively. All this technology was just one more tool used to solve the pieces of the puzzle. Nothing could replace a clear, logical mind, and hard work - or even the occasional hunch. She had even reached a certain level of diplomacy in her dealings with her superiors - well often enough, anyway.

Today she wanted some answers. She poured herself some coffee, turned on her computer and started pulling up the files she wanted. It was already four o'clock in a very long day, but Captain Cagney settled in to work.

Mary Beth sat back in the bath and relaxed. The door opened and Harvey came in. He sat on the edge of the tub and offered her a glass of red wine. He leaned over to kiss her. They toasted each other with their glasses. Eventually Harvey left to tend to dinner. Mary Beth sighed and sat back again closing her eyes. She hated days like today. So much death and destruction. Other days she loved the challenges - thought of herself as making the world a better place. She sipped at her wine. She was tired and she was sore. She loved her life, but on nights like tonight, she realized how thirty years as a cop had taken their toll.

Lacey enters the major cases squad room to find Cagney already at her desk. She checks her own desk for messages and then knocks on Cagney's door.

CAGNEY

(looking up over her glasses) Morning Mary Beth. I did some digging last night. Look at this.

Lacey walks over and looks over Cagney's shoulder.

CAGNEY

Remember Carruthers? (she looks up at Lacey who nods)

LACEY

Sure. Counterfeiter. Singh and Jacobs ran his trail to ground and then lost him.

CAGNEY

Right. Well, look at this. Taylor and Carruthers worked for the same guy - Lorenz. Works for the mob. Not only that (picking up another sheet and pointing at it), Taylor and Carruthers were in the same cellblock a few years back.

LACEY

OK. So, they knew each other.

CAGNEY

When Detectives Jacobs and Singh cornered Carruthers, he got away, but they did find plastique explosives on the property. It's a long shot, Mary Beth, but there may be a pattern, here.

LACEY

You think that Carruthers was running an operation from that house? (Cagney nods). (musing to herself) Maybe Taylor got greedy and killed Carruthers?

But the explosives?

CAGNEY

I don't know. Lorenz has been known to torch and run when cornered. Maybe Carruthers picked up on his techniques. I doubt it was Taylor.

LACEY

But Taylor would be smart enough to push the plunger if the place was already wired. Carruthers may have wired the place to keep it out of the wrong hands should we ever catch on to him.

CAGNEY

But we caught on to Taylor first.

Lacey, I want you to hook up with Jacobs and Singh, when they get back, and see if there is a link. I'll be interested to see what forensics comes up with at the explosion site. Maybe some plate remnants maybe even Carruther's body. (handing Lacey the files). Find out Lieutenant.

LACEY

Yes, Captain. (she turns to go)

CAGNEY

Hey Mary Beth!

LACEY

Huh?

CAGNEY

(batting her eyes at Lacey) Love what you've done to your hair.

LACEY

(laughing) Oh Chris, I need to talk to you about that. I really need to go and do something with it. Harvey almost died laughing.

CAGNEY

Get something done, this afternoon Mary Beth.

LACEY

(looking at Cagney) When did you get time to fix yours?

CAGNEY

(smiles) Jacques and I are old friends. You should give him a try Mary Beth.

He sat waiting for her. Watching. They had tricked him last time. Set him up. She had rubbed his nose in it: had held the gun to his face, reading him his rights. Sixteen years in prison. He remembered the trial. They couldn't prove he had murdered anyone. They could only prove assault with a deadly weapon and attempted assault on a police officer. Her testimony had put him away. With her testimony they had proven assault, stalking, threatening a police officer and attempted assault. This time he would kill her. For stealing sixteen years. And because he wanted to.

Lacey took the call. Cagney had gone home. Stokes had been released from prison a week ago. It had taken the system that long to catch up and notify Chris - the woman he had been stalking with a knife when he was apprehended. Lacey remembered Stokes. She remembered the look in his eyes when they had arrested him sixteen years ago. But most vividly she had remembered how frightened Chris had been. The setup had been LaGuardia's brainchild and it had worked beautifully. But Stokes was out now. Lacey grabbed the phone and dialed Cagney's cell phone. No answer. Mary Beth called Chris at home and had to settle for leaving a message. Mary Beth hung up the phone. Chris was probably just fine; still, Mary Beth would have been much happier if she had been able to warn Chris.

David had offered to drive her home, but they had argued and Chris had stormed out. She should call for a cab, but she decided to walk alone in the cool air for a while instead.

The footsteps were measured, determined and always the same distance behind. Chris didn't turn to look, nor did she change her pace. She did, however, slip her gun out of her purse. He was definitely following her. She whirled to confront him - gun in hand. No one. Some one had been there. He had wanted her to know she was being followed. Chris felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She pulled her cell phone out, turned it on and phoned for a cab. She watched the doorways and the street, noticing every shadow until the cab arrived.

Chris jabbed at the stop button before the message finished. She threw her coat onto the couch and wished she had a drink. Stokes was out. It had been him - following her tonight. She felt cornered like a deer in the headlights. Damn. She checked the locks and checked her gun. Damn. She let her anger wash over her. Damn, damn, damn. He wasn't going to take over her life. Not this time.

She jumped as the phone rang. She let the machine pick it up. No one on the other line. The bastard knew she was here. She looked up at the skylight. Remembering.

The phone rang again. Three rings and the machine picked up:

Chris, are you home yet? Pick up the phone Chris.

CAGNEY

Mary Beth. Hi.

LACEY

Chris did you get my message?

CAGNEY

Yes. Yes, I did Mary Beth.

LACEY

I called David's but I missed you. I made some calls. Stokes has violated parole Chris. They don't know where he is.

Chris, are you there?

CAGNEY

I'm here.

LACEY

Chris, I think you should have a couple of uniforms outside your place.

Chris would you please answer me? What's wrong?

CAGNEY

(angry) Mary Beth, I 'm not going to let this guy get to me. Not this time.

LACEY

Did something happen Chris? Chris?

Chris, I'm coming over.

CAGNEY

No! I'm fine. I don't need you here.

LACEY

Me or the squad car, which is it Chris? There's something you're not telling me.

CAGNEY

I'll call for a squad car, Mary Beth. I'll talk to you in the morning.

LACEY

Promise you'll call Chris. I'll check. If you don't I'm coming over. Ya hear me?

CAGNEY

I hear you. I'll call. Good night Mary Beth.

Chris hangs up and then makes the call - if she didn't Mary Beth would be on her doorstep in less than an hour.

Did they really think two cops in a squad car would stop him? He had her where he wanted her. Putting in time. Looking over her shoulder. Waiting for him to make the next move. Never feeling safe. That's what it was all about - putting in time. Now he was in control.

Chris had entered the squad room with barely a nod to Lacey before she went to her office and closed the door. Mary Beth picked up a folder and knocked at the door.

CAGNEY

(sitting at her desk still with her coat on looking at messages) (Without looking up) Come in.

LACEY

(puts the file on Chris' desk as Cagney looks up at her) Forensics reports on the Taylor fire. Looks like you are on to something. There was a body - or rather body fragments - in the basement. (She had Chris' attention now)

Not only that - chemical traces of the kind you'd expect to find from a counterfeiting operation.

CAGNEY

Any reports from the coroner? Teeth, anything?

LACEY

They're working on it Captain.

CAGNEY

Good. Let me know when the tests get in. (Playing with a pencil on her desk) Jacobs and Singh will be pleased to tie this one up.

Chris looks up as Lacey closes the door and leans over her desk.

LACEY

OK. Chris. What's going on?

Cagney had spent a restless night. Knowing the squad car was down on the street watching her loft hadn't helped her to relax.

CAGNEY

(She is still playing with the pencil and she doesn't look up as she speaks.) Nothing happened. I thought I heard footsteps following me last night as I left David's. I pulled my gun to confront him and there was no one there. That's it.

LACEY

Chris, was there someone there?

CAGNEY

(Looks up) Yes. OK. There was someone there. That doesn't mean it was Stokes.

LACEY

Excuse me, Captain, but the man who threatened you, who tried to kill you, who you put in prison, is out and violating parole. Someone followed you last night and you don't think it was Stokes?

CAGNEY

(She has leaned back as Lacey has leaned further over the desk) Mary Beth, there is nothing I can do about it. He has not threatened me since getting out. I do not know that he is stalking me. (Pausing as Mary Beth doesn't back off and certainly doesn't look convinced.) Thousands of women are stalked in this city and have to live with it because there is nothing we can do until a crime is committed.

LACEY

Christine. You are a captain of police. You are a high profile person in probable danger. He is a danger to more than just you. Of course there is something we can do about it. And we will.

The knife shone flawlessly in the light. The blade was perfect - few things were as suited to their purpose. It was time to act. He wanted her to stew a little, to suffer and to know fear. But more than that he wanted her to die. He wanted to slit her throat. Like the blade, his plan was flawless. He had had lots of time to plan.

An officer was assigned to her at all times. She would wear her gun in her holster at all times. She had a pager alert in her pockets at all times to alert officers should she press the button. A squad car watched her building. All in all, Captain Christine Cagney felt like a sitting duck. She wished he would just show up so she could confront him and be done with it. She responded by burying herself in her work. David's calls went largely unanswered. Lacey felt like a dentist pulling nothing more than monosyllables from her friend. This morning Chris was in her office and married to her computer, chasing down the details she needed in a prostitution ring case.

Lacey was stumped. Ultimately, Stokes had the upper hand. He could wait until he had opportunity to get to Cagney - unless they grabbed him for parole violation or set up a trap to draw him in and put him back in prison. His M.O. indicated he would lie in wait at Chris' loft and stalk her. She was safe only at work surrounded by police officers. Lacey set about setting up the sting, but it would take time to set in motion. She hoped they had time.

Officer Cleary was already a seasoned officer at 25 years old. A police brat, she was bright, ambitious and likely to make detective - given a bit of luck. She hated baby-sitting duty. Cops were the worst. They listened to nothing you said and were determined to prove they were invulnerable. Still, getting the assignment to watch Capt. Christine Cagney was a coup. Truth be told, she was a little shy around the Captain. Cleary had few role models, but Christine Cagney was one of them. Officer Cleary was enjoying this assignment - even when Cagney gave her a hard time about following her into the women's john in the squad room. Details were important - and it wouldn't hurt if Cagney remembered her as a thorough cop.

Lacey had been out following up on a particularly clever scam. Where better to hide a stolen haul of cigarettes than in the warehouses you had just robbed? The warehouse manager was a particularly clever man who understood how to make the obvious invisible. Mary Beth was musing on this case as she drove back to the squad room. Her thoughts turned to the Taylor case and how Taylor had caught them off guard by changing his M.O. so drastically. It never paid to get so caught up in patterns that you couldn't see the big picture. The last place you looked was always the place where you found what you were looking for. It wasn't just that. Sometimes it was the last place you thought of looking. Oh my God. Mary Beth Lacey picked up her cell phone. Damn. Why did that woman never have her phone on? Lacey called the desk clerk in the squad room. She put the bubble on the car and turned the siren on.

The desk clerk took the message and looked for the Captain. She was still signed in. Not in her office. Cleary would be with her. She couldn't be far away.

Hey Jacobs - you seen the Captain?

JACOBS

(he looks up from his work and at Cagney's office) She was just in her office, Sergeant.

It had been so easy. All he had to do now was wait.

CAGNEY

(pausing before flushing) Come off it Cleary, That's not the story I heard. Your dad always did know how to spin a tale.

No answer. Cagney flushed and opened the door.

Besides -

Cleary couldn't answer. There was a knife to her throat.

Stokes was wearing a police uniform. He had Cleary's gun in one hand pointing it at Chris. He had jammed the door- a solid door that swung only one way - by bracing a chair under the handle. The legs of the chair were jammed against the half wall that hid the sinks from the entrance to the ladies'. They were trapped. Christine had no opportunity to go for her gun and now she made no sudden movements. Stokes was licking his lips.

STOKES

(tightening his grip on Cleary)

Drop your gun holster. Slowly.

STOKES

Kick it over here.

Cagney kicked the belt towards him. She was slowly lowering one hand to her pocket.

STOKES

Hands up! Now!

Cagney raises her hands slowly.

CAGNEY

Let her go, Stokes, it's me you want. Let her go.

STOKES

Get over here! Now.

Chris moved slowly towards him.

STOKES

Get her cuffs. Put them on her.

Cleary made her move as he adjusted his grip to keep his gun trained on Chris. But he was faster. Cleary fell to the ground blood seeping from her throat.

CAGNEY

You bastard!

Chris rushes him as Cleary falls.

LACEY

(out of breath as she rushes into the squad room - seeing Chris' empty office) Where is she?

A gunshot echoes throughout the station. Lacey and several other officers run towards the ladies' room.

Chris grapples with him as he fires at her. The gun falls to the floor. Both are slipping in the blood on the floor. He is by far the stronger of the two and he shoves her to the floor. She is thrown against the trashcan, then falls to the floor, rolling to one side as he is on her again. She is dimly aware of the pounding on the door - the chair shuddering but not moving. She manages to call out before he has her by the throat, pulling her up towards him and putting the knife to her throat.

The door was jammed. There was no other way into the room. They kept pounding at the door with the sledgehammers, trying to break it down. They had succeeded in opening a crack into the room. Mary Beth could see Cleary lying in her own blood. She could hear, but not see the action in the corner. She signaled for them to stop pounding for a moment.

LACEY

Stokes, let it go! We've got you! Let her go!

There was no answer. Only the sounds of violent struggle.

Lacey signaled for them to start on the door again.

She managed to knee him in the groin as she rolled to one side. She had to reach the gun. She had barely made it two feet across the room when he had her by the hair, pulling her back, slashing out with his knife. She fought him off, raising her hands and hitting out at him. Lashing out at his face. She didn't feel the blade biting into her arms and hands. Didn't see the blood. There was so much blood already. The pounding at the door continued. She could see them at the door now. Cleary still wasn't moving. She fell, pulling him down with her, landing on top and reaching desperately for the gun. He grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her down, rolling on top of her before she reached her weapon. He had one of her arms pinned and was stabbing at her with his knife. She held his knife hand away with her free hand. Cagney was losing. The pounding at the door had stopped.

She squeezed the trigger. He fell to one side, and looked at Lacey in surprise as she fired a second time.

LACEY

(frantically trying to get her partner's attention through the narrow crack in the door)

Cagney was kneeling by Cleary. Feeling through the blood for a pulse. There was nothing she could do. Nothing. She lowered her head and then looked up at Lacey.

LACEY

(slapping her hand on the door, shouting) Chris! Com'on. Ya hear me, Chris? Move the chair.

Cagney was trembling. She looked for a long moment at Lacey and then got slowly to her feet. She moved the chair. Lacey moved in, threw the chair aside and grabbed her partner. The paramedics rushed in behind her. Cagney stood looking at her hands. She was covered in blood. Much of it was her own. She looked up at her partner. Lacey grabbed her tightly to keep her from falling.

Chris places a rose on the coffin. Both detectives are dressed in black. They turn to walk back to the car. There are several stitches visible on Cagney's hands - several more stitches are hidden.

CAGNEY

She didn't stand a chance. He meant to kill us both.

(Pauses)

She gave me a chance at beating him.

Lacey is rubbing her friend's back with one hand as they walk side by side.

CAGNEY

She had everything waiting for her. That bastard took everything from her.

They walk on in silence.

LACEY

He almost took it all from you too, Chris.

(Chris nods)

Someone had to stop him. That's why we are cops, Chris. (looking out across the manicured lawn) Any day it could be any one of us.

CAGNEY

(Looking at Lacey as she gets in the car) But not today, Mary Beth.

LACEY

No, partner, not today.

Cagney fumbles with her seat belt. Her hands would take some time to heal. Mary Beth reaches over to help. She then pulls the car out and into traffic. The car carries the two detectives back to the city. The cemetery lies still and quiet behind them as the mourners leave. It had been a full dress funeral and blue uniforms still dotted the lawn like blue flowers. Across town another body is buried. There are no mourners in attendance as Stokes goes to his eternal rest.