Nan convinced me to work on this again. School just started, so I can't promise when the next part will be finished, but I'll try to do that soon. My internet access is also currently restriced because of my school's new idiotic system, so it may take even longer. All previous parts available at
http://bratling.0catch.com/supermanstories.html Last time, on Innocence Lost:
Rachel pulled herself over the bars and settled carefully next to him, curling her legs up in order to fit. She kissed him on the cheek before putting her arm around him. "I'll never let them get you Jamie," she promised.
"I can't tell Momma and Daddy what I saw," she whispered. "I can't tell what *he* did to me, either, because it would make Momma upset."
Rachel pulled an extra baby blanket over herself and cuddled closer to her brother. "I saw her hurt that boy," she said softly. "She *killed* him." Slow tears ran down Rachel's face. "Papa Gary would have done that to me, too. If he comes back, he could hurt you and Momma."
She kissed the baby again. "I won't let them hurt you, Jamie; if she finds out that I saw, she'd come and hurt us like she did the boy because she's a *bad* person." Jamie stirred in his sleep, his tiny lips smacking as if he were drinking.
"I'm scared," Rachel said in a small voice. "The bad dreams won't go away."
Jamie started to snore softly.
Rachel scrubbed the tears from her eyes. "If I tell, Momma'll cry," she said softly. "And Daddy will be sad, too." She buried her face in the blanket and smelled Jamie's clean baby-smell.
"I don't want to make them sad," she whispered.
Rachel sniffled, then relaxed next to the baby. "I'll protect you," she promised. "I keep *everybody* safe. If you an' me are the only ones who know that I saw, then the bad person won't come and hurt us. If you an' me are the only ones who know how Papa Gary hurt me, then it won't make Momma and Daddy sad."
She showed the sleeping baby a small, puckered, round scar. "He burned me there," she said softly. "He was burning my teddy bear and decided that it didn't hurt me enough."
Rachel pulled the hem of her nightgown up and showed Jamie a long, thin scar on her stomach. "Papa Gary was playing with his pocket knife, and he was mad one night," she informed him.
"There are lots of bad peoples, Jamie," she said, kissing her brother on the cheek. "You can't trust nobody but Momma, Daddy, our Grandpas, and Uncle Jimmy."
Rachel tugged her nightgown back into place and sighed. "Peoples are *mean*," she said. "They'll hurt us if we let them, but we can't act like we know that. If they know that we know, the hurting will get worse."
"I know," she whispered, "because Papa Gary got meaner when I cried. Other peoples will, too, because they're like *him*."
"You and me, Jamie. We'll take care of each other. And if Momma and Daddy have another baby, we'll take care of her, too." Rachel snuggled down into the mattress and smiled as Jamie moved slightly. She was beginning to get sleepy again, and she knew that with her beside him, nobody could hurt her baby brother.
Rachel closed her eyes and began to remember the story that Daddy had read her, just like the girl in the book; she'd protect her brother from the trolls.
~*~*~*~And now:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3:
Light of Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 30, 1999, 9:00 AM
Little Creek Park, Metropolis
Henderson rubbed his nose as Beth carefully brushed the dirt away from the bones. "What can you tell me, Beth?" he asked.
"Well, I can't determine age or sex yet, but this was definitely a child." She grimaced and looked up at him. "The body has been here for six to eight months, and it was buried under a thin layer of dirt." Beth brushed more dirt away from the skull with a soft brush. "See the skull fracture?" she pointed at an indentation on the bones.
"Yeah," Henderson nodded, then squatted down to get a better look.
"Blunt force trauma. Henderson, this looks remarkably similar to the Joey Anderson case, but I won't know until after I spend some time examining the body." Beth frowned and continued to brush the dirt gently away from the bones.
Henderson knuckled his eyes, trying to forestall the coming headache. "It looks like we may have a serial," he muttered.
Beth cocked an eyebrow. "Well, this is just the second body; if it's even the same killer," she pointed out. "Right now, we have what might be a double murder case, but until we've got three or more, this isn't a serial, and the FBI doesn't need to be involved yet."
Henderson watched as she started gathering the bones up and placed them in boxes for transport. "I'll call David Carson and get him to come in," he offered.
"I thought he'd retired," she said, frowning as she concentrated on a tricky part of the extraction.
"He has... mostly. But he's still willing to do a job like this when we need him; he says that it keeps his skills sharp for his shows." Henderson stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Forensic sculptors are hard to come by."
"God willing, we'll get an ID on this kid," Beth murmured.
"I want to catch this guy," Henderson said. "Preferably before he kills again."
"Yeah. And we'd all like to be put out of business one of these days. I bet even Superman'd like to have a few days off."
"Probably. Do me a favor and send me the autopsy report as soon as you can?"
"Always. We're being leaned on as much as you are to figure this out." Beth sat back on her heels and grinned. "Maybe you should talk to Lane and Kent; they seem to solve a lot of the weirder cases for you, after all."
"Smartass. I'm going to check with Zymeck and see if he's got anything."
Beth flipped her hand at him, shooing him away. "Happy hunting--bring me back a killer so that I don't have to do this again."
Something about Beth's words gave him pause. As much as he hated to admit it, many of Metropolis's trickiest and strangest cases had been solved by Lane and Kent. It was true that Lane wasn't really investigating cases much these days, but he was sure that she'd want to help with something this important… for an exclusive, of course. Henderson sighed. He'd have to get permission from the Captain, but he was pretty sure that a trip to the Daily Planet was in order.
~*~*~*~
August 30, 1999 9am
124 Hospital Drive, Metropolis
"Momma, do I *have* to go?" Rachel whined, dragging her feet.
Lois turned around to face her daughter. "Yes, you do," she said, putting her hands on her hips.
Rachel pouted. "But Lindsey says that he shrinks heads, and I don't want my head shrunk, because I like it the way it is."
"Rachel Elizabeth Kent, we're going inside, you *will* talk to the doctor, and your head will be the exact same size when we come out." Lois said, exasperated by Rachel's behavior. Rachel had been whining ever since she'd been told about her new doctor. Dr. Jenkins wouldn't hurt her, and a phone call to his office had assured Lois that she'd be able to watch through a two-way mirror.
Rachel stuck her tongue out at Lois. "You're *mean*, Momma," she said.
Lois put her hand on Rachel's shoulder and ushered her forward into the medical center's elevator. "Yup. I'm the meanest mommy in Metropolis."
Rachel turned around and threw herself at Lois. She buried her face in Lois's stomach under Jamie's baby sling, allowed some warm, salty tears to escape, and wrapped her arms around her mother's legs. "No, you're *not! You’re the bestest mommy in the whole *universe*."
Lois disentangled Rachel, and gave her slightly tearful daughter a hug. "Sweetie, I was just kidding. Now, are you going to cooperate with the doctor for me?"
Rachel stuck her lip out in a pout and stopped crying. "Don't *wanna*."
"I didn't ask if you *want* to, I'm asking if you're *going* to."
Rachel wiped her arm across her face, scrubbing at her recent tears. "Okay, but only 'cause *you* want me to, Momma."
Lois pulled a tissue out of the diaper bag and wiped Rachel's nose. "Good girl." The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, so Lois held out her hand to her daughter.
Rachel took her mom's hand meekly, and they walked down the corridor and went into the doctor's office. Lois signed in, and it wasn't long before they were admitted.
"Hello, Mrs. Kent," Doctor Jenkins said in a loud, booming voice. He glanced at Rachel and smiled. "And you must be Rachel."
Rachel ran behind Lois and hid. Lois shook the doctor's hand, then turned her attention to the little girl clinging to her legs. "It's okay, peanut," she murmured. "Dr. Jenkins is a nice man."
"Un uh," was Rachel's response. "He's *scary*."
"I'll try not to be scary," the doctor responded, gentling his voice. "I just thought you'd like to play in my playroom for a little while, and maybe talk a little. I've got lots of neat toys in there."
"No. Momma told me I shouldn't go with strangers, and you're *strange*."
"How about if your mom and your baby sister come with you to my playroom. Will that be okay?"
"Jamie's my *brother* an' it's my job to protect him," Rachel said fiercely.
"He won't be out of your sight, sweetheart," Lois promised.
"Promise you won't leave?" Rachel asked.
Lois nodded. "I'll be right there if you need me; now would you like to go play in the doctor's playroom?"
Rachel bit her lip. "Okay," she agreed finally. They walked into the doctor's playroom and her face lit up when she saw the dollhouse. "Can I play with that?" she asked.
Doctor Jenkins nodded. "You can play with anything you want." He showed her the box of dolls that went with it.
Rachel opened the front of the dollhouse and sat down, examining the rooms. She picked up a blonde little girl doll, and put her in one of the rooms. When she was satisfied that the tiny figure was in the right place, she quickly grabbed two dark-haired grown-up dolls and put them in other places in the house. While watching Rachel pick up a doll for the nursery, Lois placed her purse and diaper bag on the sofa and sat down next to them, relieved that her daughter seemed to be relaxing. Even she had been a bit apprehensive about this change of doctor, though she couldn't admit that to Rachel.
Dr. Jenkins watched Rachel play for a few minutes, then started asking questions. "Can you tell me about the people in the house?" he asked gently.
Rachel shook her head and kept playing. She made the little girl doll hide behind the daddy doll, then had the daddy doll pick the little girl up. Carefully, she steadied the little girl and moved the daddy into the little girl's room and had him tuck her in.
Dr. Jenkins pointed at the little girl doll. "Does she like it there?"
Rachel nodded slowly, then picked up the little girl and moved her to the nursery. She put the little girl in the crib with the baby and had her kiss it, then moved it out of the room, down the hall, and downstairs.
"Rachel," he said, keeping his voice soft and gentle, "please tell me about the family in the dollhouse?"
Rachel looked back at Lois. When her momma nodded, she started speaking. "That's Beth," she whispered, pointing at the little girl doll. "She's going to hide, because the baby is crying again."
"Why's the baby crying?" he asked.
"Because he's got colic," was the answer as Rachel continued playing with the dolls.
"Then why is Beth going to hide?"
"Because the baby is loud, and loud is bad. Loud means that somebody hurts you."
"Does the daddy hurt Beth?" he asked, motioning towards the man doll.
"No," Rachel said moving that doll up to where the little girl was. She put the little girl in the man doll's arms. "The new daddy loves the little girl."
"New daddy?"
"She's 'dopted, like me," Rachel explained. "Her old daddy was *mean*, and he hurt Beth."
"Was your old daddy mean?"
Lois's eyes widened in shock. She'd suspected something like that had happened; it was fairly common in severe abuse cases for the child to be punished for things it couldn't help, but she hadn't been expecting that it would come out so quickly.
Rachel looked at the doctor, then ran to Lois, climbed on her lap, and buried her face in her mom's shoulder. Lois rubbed Rachel's back as the child started to cry. "Shhh, it's okay, sweetheart," she murmured.
Jamie chose that moment to start crying. Rachel stiffened, then pulled away. Before Lois could react, Rachel had pulled the top of the sling away from the baby and given him her finger. “It's okay, Jamie. We're safe, and nobody's gonna never hurt us.”
Rachel leaned down and kissed Jamie's forehead. To Lois's surprise, the baby seemed to settle down. His cries became whimpers, and even those stopped as Rachel stroked his face. “See, Jamie? All better,” she murmured.
“Sweetie, what was the matter with the baby?” Lois asked, astonished.
“He was scared, a'cause he don't know where we are,” she explained.
“Thank you, peanut.” Lois kissed Rachel's cheek.
Rachel smiled and leaned back against Lois. “Rachel?” Dr. Jenkins said.
“Yessir?” she answered cautiously.
“Would you like to play some more? I promise not to ask about the mean old daddy.”
Rachel nodded, then got up to walk over to the dollhouse. She picked up the little girl doll and put it in the baby's room. “Beth likes it there,” she said. “She loves Mattie.”
Lois watched the scene unfold, hoping that her little girl had finally found someone who had the knowledge to help her deal with what *that* man had done to her. She checked her watch and grimaced as she noticed that the session was almost over. Rachel's books were in the car with her briefcase, and Perry was expecting her back at work. He'd been amazingly generous in letting her work from home well past her maternity leave, but it was time to get completely back into the swing of things. She hadn't really been working on any cases, but that time was almost over. She and Clark had found some leads, and would be starting on a new investigation that day that required her to be at the Planet.
~*~*~*~
August 30, 1999, 11:20am
Daily Planet, Metropolis
Clark finished typing the story into his word processor and hit the spell check button. He ran through the document quickly, then LAN'd it to Lois. "Honey, could you look over my story, please?"
Lois looked up from her terminal and smiled. "Sure," she said. "Just a minute; I'm almost finished."
Clark leaned back in his chair and picked up his picture of Rachel and Jamie together. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, wiped off a bit of dust, then set it back on his desk. With the discovery of the second body earlier in the week, he'd been having second thoughts about going out for his nightly patrols. His family needed him to protect him more than the world did.
He knew it would devastate him if Rachel became one of the victims. Sure both the victims had been little boys so far, but with a predator roaming the streets of Metropolis, you could never tell. The first victim, while he'd been found in the park, had been nowhere near there when he disappeared. It was possible that the kids had been kidnapped before they were killed.
The thought of leaving his family alone in the house just made Clark feel uneasy. He worried that something might happen if he weren't around. He knew it was irrational and that nothing might happen, but at the same time, he wanted to protect them. Rachel and Jamie were so little, and Rachel had been through so much all ready.
Lost in his reverie, he almost didn't hear Perry call. "Lois, Clark, in my office, now!"
Clark grabbed his notebook, stood up, and headed towards Perry's office. "I wonder what Perry's got," Lois commented.
Clark grinned. "Maybe somebody found Elvis in their blender."
Lois pretended to take him seriously for a moment. "Nah. Maybe they found him at the Tasty Freeze."
Clark's grin got wider. "Tasty Freeze? Are you sure they didn't catch him washing those sequined suits of his at the Laundromat?"
Lois bumped his hip playfully with her own. "Nope. Those suits would disintegrate in the wash."
"And how would you know that, Ms. Lane?"
"Um... Let's just say that when I was twelve, I tried to wash one of Mother's sequined evening gowns after Lucy got it dirty."
Clark opened the door and held it for her as she went inside. "Let me guess, Ellen got mad?"
"She was furious," Lois agreed. "At least, when she was sober enough to care."
"What do you need, Chief?" Clark asked, turning his attention to Perry.
Perry nodded to Henderson. "Inspector Henderson has something for us, but he'll only let us have it if the two of you investigate. Since you've got my granddaughter and grandson to worry about, I'm giving you the choice, but it'd make a hell of a story. It's about the child murder from a month or so ago; they've found another body that they think might be connected."
"Perry," Lois objected. "We've always been professionals--"
"I know, darlin'." Perry said softly. "But with two kids of your own, and with Rachel suffering as she has..." he trailed off.
"If we can catch the killer before another child dies, it's enough," Clark said firmly. At least if they were investigating, he'd be doing something without taking time away from his family.
"Good. Henderson," Perry began as he gestured towards the man who was sitting in the chair in front of his desk. "Why don't you tell Lois and Clark what they need to know?"
Henderson fidgeted uncomfortably. "There isn't much more than what's been in the papers; that's the problem. We haven't found a murder weapon, and we don't even have an ID on the last body that was discovered. Our pathologist determined the cause of death to be the same, but that's not conclusive as to who killed them."
"So what you need are connections?" Lois asked.
Henderson nodded. "You two are the best at finding that sort of thing. I was hoping that you could keep your eyes and ears open--maybe see what you can find out about the victims?"
"What's being done to ID the skeleton?" Clark asked.
"We sent the skull to David Carson," Henderson said. "He's the only forensic sculptor within 200 miles."
"Isn't there computer equipment for that kind of thing?" Lois asked. "I remember Jimmy talking about it."
Henderson shrugged. "Yes, but with more budget cutbacks, the department can't afford it. They'd rather pay David to reconstruct a few faces a year than spring for all of that fancy technology."
"Can we meet him?" Clark asked. "It might make an interesting sidebar about how these things are done."
Henderson stilled for few minutes, apparently lost in thought. "Sure. I'll email you directions; I was going down there around eleven tomorrow, anyway."
"Thank you," Clark said with a smile.
"If you find out anything, please let me know," Henderson requested.
"I'll go call Bobby," Lois said, heading out of the room. "He might know something."
Clark simply nodded to Perry and Henderson before heading out the door. It was nice to have an excuse to work the case during office hours; it meant that he'd have more time to stay home and protect his own family. Sometimes he felt as if time was continually running away from him. Before he knew it, Rachel would be getting ready for college if he wasn't careful. Occasionally, he'd wondered if shooting around the sun at high velocity would really send him back in time; it had worked in Star Trek... He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and walked back to his desk.
Just as Clark was about to sit down, the phone rang. He picked it up and was surprised to hear Samantha Parker's voice. "Sam?" he asked worriedly. "Is something wrong with Rachel's adoption?"
"No, no, Mr. Kent. Rachel's adoption is fine. I'm calling on another matter, but I need to speak to both you and your wife." Sam sounded breathless, as if she had been running.
"Sam, hold on. I'm transferring you to the conference room; the newsroom is too noisy for this." Clark quickly transferred the call and hurried to Lois's desk.
Lois took one look at his face, hung up her phone, and stood up. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" she asked.
"You didn't have to hang up on Bobby," Clark protested. "This could have waited for a minute or two."
Lois shrugged. "He must be out, because he's not answering. Tell me what's going on, Clark."
"Samantha Parker wants to talk to us," he said. "She's on hold right now; I transferred the call to the conference room."
Lois bit her lip. "Is it Rachel?" she asked.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "She said it wasn't about Rachel's adoption, but that she needed to talk to both of us."
Lois nodded slowly and drew in a deep breath. "Okay, let's find out what she wants."
Together, they hurried into the conference room. Clark closed the door while Lois answered the phone and put it on speaker. "Ms. Parker?" Clark said.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," Sam's voice answered. "This isn't about Rachel at all; this is about her half-brother, Timmy."
"Ms. Parker," Lois said. "Timmy is with the rest of the kids from the Juliet Illegal Adoption Ring. I don't see what this has to do with us." She pulled out a chair and sat down.
Clark came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm afraid I agree with my wife," he said quietly. "It's a shame that he and the other kids ended up back in the system, but they're being taken care of, aren't they?" He knew that he probably sounded callous, but Rachel and Jamie kept them busy, especially now that Lois was working full time again. He didn't *want* to sound callous, but he had his own family to worry about, and he didn't have enough time for them as it was.
"Timmy *was* in foster care," Sam corrected. "His foster parents had to move out of state, and they obviously can't take him with them."
"I see," Clark said. "And why are you calling us?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent, your license is still good and you're rated for one foster child. We like to keep biological families together, and I was hoping that you could find it in your hearts to take Timmy Russell in, too."
"I don't know," Lois said hesitantly. "Rachel's been having problems adjusting to the new baby, and I don't know how throwing another child into the mix will affect her."
"She just started seeing a new therapist, too," Clark said. "He seems to be doing her some good, and giving her someone else to adapt to might not be a good idea."
"I understand your concerns, but Timmy is only four; he fills in the age gap between Rachel and Jamie nicely. And it's not like he's a stranger to her--he's her brother."
"We'll have to talk about this, Sam," Lois said finally.
"I'm afraid there's not much time for that," Sam said. "I have to find a placement for him by the end of the day; I can only keep him hanging around the office for so long."
"We'll call you back," Clark promised. "We just have to figure out if this will work."
"Thank you both," Sam said, then hung up.
Clark turned to Lois. "What do you think?" he asked.
"Rachel's just starting to open up about her old life to someone," Lois murmured. "I'm not sure if this will do her more harm than good." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and looked up as he moved around the table to drop heavily in one of the other chairs.
"She's had so much trouble lately," Clark said slowly. "Since Jamie developed his colic, the happy little girl we had a few months ago seems to have disappeared. I'm loathe to give her someone else to deal with."
"But at the same time, Timmy *is* her brother," Lois pointed out. "Maybe we'll find out that we need to adopt him, too."
"He lived in the same house Rachel did," Clark said. "Maybe having him around would be good for her."
Lois leaned forward. "Tell you what. Since we can't seem to decide, we can flip a coin," she offered. "Heads, we take him, tales, DFCS can find another family for him."
"Lo-is," Clark protested.
A nervous grin spread over her face. "I was kidding, Clark," she said. "It'd take a pretty cruel person to decide a child's fate with the flip of a coin." She bit her lip again, picked up a kleenex, and started shredding it absently.
"Seriously, honey, do you think we should?" Clark asked. "I'm not sure about this whole idea."
Lois sucked in a deep breath. "Yes. I think we should at least take him provisionally. If it doesn't work out, I'm all for telling Sam to find another family for him, but it'd be nice for Rachel to have another kid to play with."
Clark considered it for a few minutes. "Maybe you're right." He stood up and paced restlessly for a few minutes. "Maybe having someone closer to her own age to play with would bring back the real Rachel." He looked over at her and smiled. "I'll call Sam if you talk to the daycare and see if they can handle another four-year old."
"It'll only be after school," Lois said as she picked up the phone. "Rachel's school has four-year-old kindergarten, so we'll have to enroll him."
"I'll go call Sam back," Clark said, and headed towards the door. He still wasn't sure of this, but they had to at least try. Rachel could get to know her half-brother again. He grimaced as he thought of another problem: Superman. If Timmy was half as smart as his big sister, hiding his alter ego would be a huge challenge.
~*~*~*~
August 30, 1999, 5:02 PM
Centennial Park, Metropolis
Melissa took one backwards look at the playground and started jogging away. Her brother was playing happily in the sand box, and he wouldn't miss her while she ran to the restrooms down the trail. She smiled as she passed under the green, leafy trees, happy that the path was shaded for once. It wasn't often that they came to the north side of the park, but the city was replacing some of the old, battered equipment on the south side, so they'd ended up coming there.
She glanced back one more time at her little brother, who was barely in sight, before she turned back towards her goal. She hated babysitting, but if she wanted a new CD player, she didn't have much of a choice. Her parents had made it clear that they wouldn't replace it again if she broke it. It wasn't *her* fault that it had fallen out of her locker and her English Literature book had fallen on top of it!
Her kid brother, Mikey, was pretty good for a five-year-old, but he *loved* to follow her around, and he was *annoying* about it. So intent she was upon her own thoughts that she didn't notice the blockage in the path until it was too late; she tripped and went sprawling headfirst into the dirt.
She got up, brushed herself off, and turned around to find out what had tripped her up. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she saw the inert body of a three-year-old boy. His pants were down around his ankles, exposing gray underwear, and blood was seeping slowly from his forehead. Melissa dropped to her knees beside the child and put her head on his chest. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found a slight heartbeat, then checked to see if he was still breathing.
She bit the inside of her lip when he wasn't. Before she could think of what to do, the emergency training she'd received for years in Girl Scouts kicked in, and she started performing rescue breathing. After five minutes without a response, she pulled out the cell phone that her mom insisted she carry when she was babysitting and took Mikey to the park, and called the cops.
"I'm in the north side of Centennial Park on the path between the restrooms and the playground," she began. A sob escaped from her throat. "My name is Melissa Anderson, I'm here babysitting my brother, and I just found a little boy on the path. He's not breathing, and I've tried CPR. I don't know what to do!"
"Calm down, honey," the warm voice of the operator said. "Keep trying, hang tight, and we'll have somebody over there. Where's your brother?"
"He's still at the playground!" Her voice rose in decibel and pitch until it sounded almost as hysterical as she felt. "I left him there for just a minute, I swear I was going to go back!"
"It's okay, Melissa. Listen to me. Check the child's heartbeat."
Without thinking, Melissa obeyed, but this time, couldn't find a pulse. "He doesn't have one," she said as another sob escaped.
"Take a deep breath, honey. There's nothing you can do for him; you've done everything you can. Keep me on the line, go back to the playground, get your brother, and then come back and wait for the police, ok?"
"But my brother's only five," she objected through her tears. "He shouldn't see this."
"Nobody should, Melissa. But you need to get your brother to keep him safe, all right?"
"Okay," she agreed in a shaky voice, then got up and started back towards the playground. Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed.
~*~*~*~
TBC...
