Participants:
| Scene Title | Baton Passed |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Danielle is joined by Cat and then visited by Kaydence Lee Johnson Damaris - who, while seemingly a little clueless, is at least concerned and enthusiastic. |
| Date | September 17, 2008 |
Morningside Heights - Saint Luke's Hospital
St. Luke's Hospital is known for its high-quality care and its contributions to medical research. Its staff place an emphasis on compassion for and sensitivity to the needs of their patients and the communities they serve. In addition to nearby Columbia University, the hospital collaborates with several community groups, churches, and programs at local high schools. The associated Roosevelt Hospital offers a special wing of rooms and suites with more amenities than the standard hospital environment; they wouldn't seem out of place in a top-rated hotel. That said, a hospital is a hospital — every corridor and room still smells faintly of antiseptic.
Dani is still in the hospital. She still looks a bit like crap, rather…well, like a woman who was in a car accident and then got hit in the head. Bruised in a lot of places. But she'd called the police department after it happened, and given the information she could; since then she's been waiting for a detective. She's in the bed, and oh-so-tired of being in the bed. She wants to go home.
At the moment Dani's alone in the hospital room, but that's soon to change. Cat makes her way down the hall, approaching the two off duty cops she has keeping watch for purposes of security. "Good morning," she addresses them. "You too, Miss Chesterfield." Her normal practice of calling herself Doctor in formal situations has been set aside, this being a hospital, lest she encounter charges of misrepresentation. They open the door for her and she strides in, bearing fresh clothing for the soon to be released injured one.
A frazzled and harried looking detective skitters down the hall toward Danielle's room, just barely able to hang onto the file in her hands. Rather, the file is pinned between her fingertips and her knee, causing her to be doubled over as she just tries to make it to the room before it drops. "Oh, shoot," she mutters in a thick, Southern accent. "Officers," because those in Blue can always spot their own, "can you get that door for me?" The two exchange glances before they push open the door for her. Once in a the doorway, the file goes slipping to the floor, contents spilling out everywhere. "Darn!" She stoops down carefully in her tweed pencil skirt, gathering up her papers.
The detective pops up with a shaky chuckle. "Hi there. I'm looking for Dan…" She peers down at her file and squints. "Well, this must be a typo. You must be Danielle?" She crosses the room, letting the off-duty officers close the door behind her. She gives the two women a brilliant smile. "I'm Detective Kaydence Lee Damaris. But you can call me Kay."
Danielle nods as she sees the woman, and then looks GLAD when she gives her title. "Oh, thank god." She sounds quite relieved at the notion of a detective being here. "I'm so glad. I've got evidence!" she jumps right into the topic. "I need someone to do something with it."
She sets down the clothing she brought on a table and turns toward Dani just in time to see the detective make her way in. A scowl comes to Cat's face briefly at someone being let in here without her being told first, but it vanishes when the woman makes her introduction. Two inch heeled boots tap on the floor as she makes her way over to assist in collecting the documents which were dropped. "Thank you for coming, Kay," she replies. "Catherine Chesterfield. Cat will do." Jeans and a blue t-shirt with Yale printed on it in white letters are her clothing.
The books she had here have been taken away, the only item remaining which isn't part of the hospital room is Dani's recording device, with the media still inside. It rests on the table next to the things she brought for the trip home.
"A pleasure, Miss Chesterfield." The detective shakes the lawyer's hand briefly before turning her attention back to Danielle. "Evidence of what, exactly?" Kay offers another shaky laugh. "They, ah, they didn't exactly tell me what all happened to you and I didn't have the chance to read through the whole file. I figured it'd be so much easier to just come down here and talk to you about it." She sets the file aside on an empty chair and moves over to the bed instead. "I reckon you can talk faster than I can read. This way, you aren't waitin' on me to flip through those pesky papers and you'll be able to head home so much faster!" That's one way of looking at it, anyway.
The reporter blinks. "OH! Sorry. I was looking into Linderman. Daniel Linderman. And about the mob connections and all that. Well, I hooked up with his PR guy, Kain Zarek. And then one of Linderman's -other- employees, this bitch named Mischa, came and ran the car off the road, and she and her goon beat the hell out of me, along with her ordering the goon to kill me at one point. But they didn't know I had a recorder running. So I have the whole thing on record, including both their voices, their names, the woman ordering me killed and saying she worked for Linderman, plus the guy saying Linderman didn't want the police involved." Yes, that ramble is a synopsis.
The shaken hand, Cat's right, is soft and smooth. It speaks of a woman who hasn't been at all accustomed to physical labor who takes care of herself well. The nails are short and unpainted, her grip is firm without being crushing, and near the tips is something which may seem out of sorts to the detective; she has calluses. The detective's hand is shaken once, then released, and Cat stands aside to let the others speak. When the recording is mentioned, she takes up the recorder and offers it to Kay.
Kay eagerly accepts the recorder from Cat with a wide smile. "Oh, this is excellent! You're a very brave woman, Miss Hamilton." She gathers up her file again, hugging both it and the recorder to her chest. "If what you say is on here is on here, we might really have something here!" It's clear the prospect of putting a kink in the mob's plans is exciting to Detective Damaris.
Dani looks back to Kay. "It's on there, trust me. And I'm willing to testify. But I would really, REALLY like to not end up dead. Which means I'll probably need a little police protection." She makes a face.
Her eyes travel to Dani and rest there, the expression suggesting having guards around isn't likely to be a problem; she has funds to arrange that. What Cat doesn't speak about, however, is that Linderman has more money than she does and could buy them off. Or send hit squads large enough to make it not matter. And the bigger issue; that Linderman might not need to worry about it. That the evidence may not stand up so well in court. "Press play," she suggests to the detective quietly.
"Here," Kay carefully reaches into the hidden pocket of her blazer, her gun is briefly visible in its shoulder holster from the movement. A business card is procured and held out to Dani. "My personal line's on here. If you need anything at all, you call me." She blinks at Cat. "Not here. If she's in as much trouble as we all think she is, we don't want to be playin' our little ace in the hole where the wrong person might hear it."
The reporter takes the card, and looks at it, then passes it to Cat for the memorizey thing. "Do you know how long it will take to…oh, wait. No. You haven't listened to it yet." Obvious. She looks back to Kay and smiles. "Thanks for helping with all this. I'll totally be a witness, too." Yes, she said that before.
The card is looked at briefly when Dani hands it to her and slipped into a pocket. Cat's eyes move from the patient to the detective. "Your call," she concedes on the issue of not listening to the recording here. Smart. She herself used earbuds for that purpose, no one else heard it at the time. "We live in Apartment 101, Dorchester Towers, in the Upper West Side." A phone number is given as well.
Kay winces but quickly jots down the address Cat gives her. "Thank you very much for all of this, ladies. I should be getting this evidence over to Commissioner Lau posthaste! The NYPD will be in touch with you. Call us if anything comes up, okay?"
Dani nods as she looks back to Kay. "Thank you so much. I'll call if anything happens. Or if I find out anything." She looks appreciative up at the detective. "I can go home now, right? I mean, when the doctors say it's okay?"
"Thanks, Kay," Cat offers as her info is taken down. "We'll be in contact if anything is needed." Her expression is solemn, serious, but it shifts when she turns to face Dani again, becoming compassionate and soothing. One hand squeezes the patient's shoulder gently. "Yes. The doctor should be along soon to check you over and finalize things. I got you clothes to wear." And with that they're handed over, things she asked for earlier.
The ditsy detective nods her affirmative. "Yeah. Just so long as the doctors say you're all right to go. But you make sure you're careful. Maybe you want to pack a bag when you get home, in case you have to beat a hasty retreat into protective custody." It may not be the most pleasant thought, but Kay wouldn't be doing right by Dani if she didn't mention it.
Dani nods. "Pack a bag, right." She smiles, and looks to Cat. "Let's get the hell OUT of here." she says, urgently wanting to get out. Time to go home.
 September 16th: I Could |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
 September 17th: Slipknot |