Fruit Of The Poisonous Tree

From the side mirror of the police car, Jack saw Hilary riding her bike. He stepped out of the car.

"Hey, kid." She rode right past him. "Nice to see you, too."

"The storm!" She hopped off her bike and ran over to the severely damaged clubhouse.

"It's okay. We can fix it. I'll talk to Ed."

"Do you think it's still here?" She began digging in the ground at the base of the structure.

"What are you looking for?"

"My book."

"Why'd you bury it here?"

"So my dad doesn't find it."

"Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?"

"That's the first place Syndrome would look." She unearthed a box.

"How about leaving it with me?"

"That's the second place." She opened the box, revealing the storybook inside. "It's still here. Good."

"So your dad doesn't know about the clubhouse?"

"No. This is our secret." She closed the box and began reburying it.

"Hilary? Hilary!" Derek called, approaching them from his parked car. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You know you have a session with Felix this morning." He turned to Jack. "Should have known he was with you. Hilary, car. Now." She headed for the car. "You let her play here?"

"The storm hit it pretty hard, but we can fix it."

"Well, can you fix a cracked cranium? 'Cause that's what you'll have on your hands if one of these boards collapses under her weight. You're not thinking about Hilary or her safety, just ways around me. Jack, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. People can get hurt."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the sheriff now. It's time to be responsible."

--------

Later, Jack and Laura Reed were seated at a table in the Diner.

"Don't let my feelings cloud my judgment? That's all Derek ever does."

"He's just upset because you and Hilary have a special place and he... he doesn't."

"How'd he find out about the clubhouse in the first place?"

"He knows everything about this town. He's the Mayor." Her phone started vibrating. She picked it up and looked at it, seeing a text from Clark.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to go." Laura Reed quickly got up and readied to leave. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect he has on Hilary."

"I wish everyone else did, too."

Laura Reed exited the diner, touching Jack's arm briefly as she passed.

Olga, clearly very drunk and with a drink in her hand, sat across from Jack.

"I can help you."

"Oh, Olga. You want a side of bacon with that whiskey?"

"You want to show this town who the Mayor really is? I can help."

"It's gonna be kinda hard to do from inside his pocket."

"The Mayor and I are done."

"Sure you are." Jack chuckled.

"He got me fired from the paper. He made a fool of me in the election. So I started working on an expose' on the Mayor's Office, and I found something he didn't want to be found."

"Olga, you're drunk. Go home. Sleep it off. Be grateful that you don't have to answer to him anymore." He grabbed his keys, ready to leave.

She offered him her card. "Call me. Pixfare deserves to know the truth about him." Jack took the card, then stood up and left.

--------

Hilary watched as a crew demolished her clubhouse. Derek stood next to his car nearby. "Hey. What happened?" Jack approached the site. "I came as soon as I could."

"The clubhouse- he's tearing the whole thing down!" She ran to the spot where the storybook was buried and saw that it was gone. "My book! I-It's gone!"

Jack went over to Derek. "Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. You destroyed the thing she loves."

"A dangerous thing that can only hurt Hilary and others. You see me as a villain, Jack. But that's just your perception, and you're wrong. Learn your place in this town, or soon enough, you won't be in it." Derek walked away.

Jack took out Olga's card and dialed his cell phone. "This is Jack. I'm in."

--------

Laura Reed approached the Toll Bridge, where Clark stood waiting.

"I got your text. What's going on?"

"Follow me." He took her arm and led her off.

"Clark, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is you're late," he brought her to a picnic set up in a clearing. "and the wine is getting warm."

Laura Reed smiled and kissed him. "We have to stop doing this."

"We just started doing it."

"We have to figure out what we're doing."

"We will. Tomorrow."

"Okay. tomorrow." They kissed again.

--------

Jack pulled up his squad car into a tunnel below, stopped, and exited the vehicle. Olga approached him, on foot.

"Alright, I'm listening. So, what do you know about him?"

"$50,000."

"I'm sorry?"

"Fifty grand out of the budget is missing, and Derek is responsible."

"That's it? That's what you have on him?"

"The money is just the tip of the iceberg. We figure out what he's doing, and it all falls apart, it all crumbles, and we'll finally learn his secrets. You see what he is. I see it. All we need is a way to look inside his head. I'm telling you, this is it."

"All right, what's your plan?"

"Tap his phone. GPS his car. Hack into his email. Dip into your bail bondsman bag of tricks."

"No. I'm Sheriff now. I have to be responsible. I wanna do this by the book."

"He's gonna know that you're on to him sooner than later. Are you prepared for his wrath?"

"Oh yeah."

"Good. Because I wasn't."

"If you thought he was so terrifying... how did you allow yourself to end up in her pocket?"

"I used to think he was a different person."

--------

In the apartment, Jack and Olga looked through boxes of documents.

"When did that transfer go through? Does three weeks ago sound right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because those records are missing."

Laura Reed soon entered. "Jack, there's something I'd like to talk to you-" She noticed Olga was also there. "Hi, Olga."

"Hey. We're just doing some work." Jack explained. "I think we may have found something on Derek."

"Interesting work. Oh, I approve."

"You wanna go by the book? Let's get a warrant." Olga suggested.

"What judge are we gonna find that he doesn't own. We're screwed."

"Or... there's my way."

"I wanna do this right, Olga."

"And what's right is exposing him. Sometimes doing a bad thing for a good reason is okay, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, maybe you're doing something wrong, but if it's what's meant to be, if it's what's right, does that really make you a bad person?" Laura Reed chimed in.

"Exactly."

"Wow. You two are doing a whole lot of rationalizing." Jack sat down at the table.

"But look what he's done to you, to me, to your daughter, and it's not gonna stop, so whatever you do, you gotta do something."

"Okay. Let's start by talking to him."

--------

"And just what are you and the... disgraced ex-reporter accusing me of?" Derek asked Jack and Olga, who stood in front of his desk.

"Fifty-thousand dollars was transferred out of the city account by you." Jack replied.

"Well, as Mayor, I'm involved in many transactions. Check the public records if you have questions."

"That's the thing. They're missing from three weeks ago. You have any idea what happened to them?"

"Well, if they're missing, I probably checked them out, as my job often requires me to do. And if they were checked out three weeks ago, well, that means they burned... in a fire. In a fire that, if I recall, got you elected Sheriff. I have nothing to hide."

Jack stepped forward and leaned over Derek's desk. "Okay. There's nothing for us to do, let's go, Olga."

"Jack."

"No, he's right. We have nothing." They left out the door.

"That was your plan? I thought you were gonna do something."

"I did. I planted a bug. You win, Olga. Let's do whatever it takes."

--------

At the Sheriff's Office, Olga was listening in on Derek using the radio as Jack walked in.

"Miss Ginger, I really don't have time for more complaints about working conditions. The air temperature is not one of my areas." Derek said over the radio."

"Scintillating. Find anything good yet?"

"Yeah, better than good. He made this call a little over an hour ago." She played a tape recording.

"I'll meet you tonight at Access Road 23 with the rest of your payment. Yes, it will all be in cash. A-And I don't need to remind you that no one can know about this. Yes, I know it has to be tonight." Olga stopped the tape.

"Who's on the other end?" Jack asked.

"You bugged the office, not the phone."

"Well, we're just gonna have to find out."

"Yeah."

"A payoff in the woods. That's promising."

"A payoff using stolen city funds."

"Let's go find out who's she's meeting."

--------

Around dusk, Jack and Olga followed Derek in the squad car down a road in the woods as he turned onto Access Road 23. As he approached the turn, Jack applied the brake, but nothing happened.

"Jack?"

"It won't stop." The squad car crashed into the road sign, sending it flying.

"Oh."

"You okay?" Asked Jack.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." The two exited the vehicle and inspected the damage. "We're gonna miss that handoff."

"Jack."

"What?"

"You know that bug you planted? I think Derek found it. Someone's been tampering with the brakes. He's on to us."

Later, the two walked through the woods.

"Wait!" Olga caught up to Jack.

"The man tried to have me killed. I'm finding him."

"Let's be cautious. We need to think clearly."

"Who needs caution? I'm gonna find out what he's doing and why he's out here."

"He was meeting me." Ms. Wood came up an embankment, carrying a briefcase.

"What are you doing out here with him?" Jack wondered.

"Just a little business transaction."

"What's in the briefcase?" Olga asked.

"Everything comes at a price. The land is no different."

"That's why you're meeting him out here? Derek bought your land?"

"The very ground you're standing on."

"What does he want it for?"

"You know, in business, I find it's best not to ask too many questions. Hurts the bottom line. The question is, Jack, why are you standing out here, in the middle of the night, with Olga?

"You don't know what Derek did to me. You don't know what he did to his daughter. We can't just sit idly by."

"Of course you can. Be careful." She started to walk away. "Emotional entanglements can lead us down very dangerous paths."

--------

Jack parked his car outside the Town Hall. He and Olga walked towards the entrance.

"What are we doing here?"

"We know he bought land from Wood. We don't know why. I'm willing to bet it's for personal reasons, but we have to know for sure. We need documents that officially link him to that land."

"So, you wanna break into his office? It's locked, and he's got a state of the art security system and alarm."

"If we don't show this town who Derek really is, who will?"

"Do you think you can crack his code?"

"Yep." Jack picked up a brick stone and smashed the window.

"Jack!"

"Who does the alarm system alert? The police. I'm the police. Two minutes for him to get a call from the alarm company. One minute to get his coat and keys. Three minutes to drive here. We got maybe six minutes." Entering the office, he approached Derek's computer and successfully hacked into its system. "I just uncovered every file that references the tract of land he bought from Wood." The files were printed. "Nice." Jack opened a drawer and discovered a key ring with several keys. "What do these open?"

"I don't know. What are you doing?"

"Looking for Hilary's book."

"We didn't come here for Hilary. We came here for files and—"

"No, you didn't come here for Hilary. Me? That's the only reason I'm here."

The lights came on and Derek rushed in. He switched off the alarm. "What are you doing?"

"Some kids broke in. I heard the alarm, so I'm checking it out cause... I'm Sheriff." Jack lied.

"Well, that was an awfully quick response time."

"You told me to do my job. I'm doing it."

"And you brought her?"

"Oh, well, she saw it while she was on a walk, so she's a witness."

"Hm. And what did you see, Olga?"

"Some kids with a..."

"Rock." Jack added.

"A rock."

Derek looked around. "Did they take anything?"

"I don't know. I'd have to do a thorough sweep to, uh, find out." Jack replied.

"It appears to me it was all just a prank."

"You're sure you don't want me to take the place apart?"

"Sheriff, your services are not wanted nor needed."

"Okay. Well, you know where to find me."

--------

At the Diner, Hilary was busily writing down the characters from in her book. The Stranger watched her.

"What you working on?"

"No time to talk. I got to write it all down before I forget."

"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me."

"They're not my ideas. They're stories from a book that I lost."

The Stranger sat down beside Hilary. "Must be a great book. What's it about?" She tried to get a look at the paper.

"Stuff."

"Sounds exciting."

Hilary looked at her. "You seem awfully interested in me and my book."

"Oh. I'm just being neighborly."

"What are you doing in Pixfare?"

"I'm a writer."

"You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?"

The Stranger leaned closer and whispered. "Stuff." She stood up to leave. "Good luck with the stories."

--------

In the Daily Droid's office, Jack and Olga looked through some files.

"Blueprints. Bank statements."

Jack took a closer look at a construction plan. "What is he building out there? A mansion?"

"Well, whatever it is, it doesn't matter, because these escrow statements have his name all over it. You were right – personal use. He's done. We got him." Jack leaned back in his chair. "What's wrong? Didn't you hear me?"

"We stooped to his level. That's exactly what I promised Hilary I wouldn't do."

"Jack, we got him!"

"It's the fruit of the poisonous tree. Illegally obtained evidence. It'll get thrown out in court in a heartbeat."

"No, we don't need him to go to jail."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"What you wanted- Get everyone to see who he is. What he did to Hilary he does to everyone. He destroys what people love. Let me show you something." Olga placed a box on the table between them. She opened the box revealing photographs. Jack started looking through them. The first photograph showed Jack and Hilary sitting together at her playground clubhouse. "He made me follow you. He made me tell him everything. He knew about your secret place weeks ago. He just waited to destroy it until it would hurt you and Hilary the most." She sighed. "It's all my fault. If you don't do this, I have to."

"Okay."

--------

In the Town Hall, Derek sat in front of six members of the town's council. Behind them, an audience was assembled. Derek banged a gavel to start the meeting.

"This session of the Pixfare City Council will come to order. We will begin by reading the minutes from our last meeting."

Olga stood up. "Excuse me, um, Mr. Mayor. I have something I'd like to bring to the council's attention."

"This is not an open forum, Olga. And no one on this council's interested in hearing the boozy complaints of a disgraced reporter. Now sit down."

Jack also stood up. "She's not the only one who has something to say."

Derek was getting irritated. "Jack, this meeting is to discuss issues facing Pixfare."

"Like the Mayor stealing thousands of dollars from the city to build himself a second home?"

Gasps came from the audience and they began murmuring. Derek banged the gavel to silence them.

"Jack, you will sit down immediately, or so help me—"

"What? You'll punish me? You'll bully me like everyone else in this town? No. Not today." He turned around to face the audience to show them a paper with a construction plan. "In my hand, I am holding documents proving that this man, your mayor, stole funds from the city to build himself a lavish home in the woods. And this disgraced reporter – you want to know why she was really fired? Because she stood up to him. Because she questioned him. We all know what happens to people who question the Mayor. You claim that you act in the best interest of all of us, but that isn't the truth, is it? The truth is, you are a thug that doesn't care about anyone or anything but yourself. That is who you really are. And it is time for the people of Pixfare to know that."

"You're right, Jack. I am building a house." Derek stood up. "A playhouse." The projection screen behind him showed an image of a playground. "The accusations are true. I did take city funds. I wanted to build a playground so my daughter Hilary- and all the children of Pixfare- could have a special place to play... safely. As for the sketch in your hands, it was inspired by a drawing I found in one of my daughter's books. So, there you have it, Jack. You've exposed me for who I really am. I hope you're satisfied."

--------

After the council meeting was over, Jack and Olga walked together. In the distance, Derek talked to a small group of people. Ms. Wood joined Olga and Jack.

"Look at him. Super of the city. You know, what you did in there was commendable, Jack. But if you really want to bring him down you're going to need a strong ally."

"Like yourself? Thanks. I'm still not interested."

"Oh, one can hope." She smiled and left as Derek approached Jack.

"Jack, a word? Alone." Olga walked away. "I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish in there, but now I hope you'll go back to your job, which is upholding the law, not breaking it. You don't think I know you broke into my office?"

"Don't pretend you're so innocent. I know, you messed with the brakes on my car. "

"Your brakes?" Derek scoffed. "Are you delusional? Why would I kill you when you just saw I had nothing to hide?"

"Nothing I can prove."

"Well, until you have something more substantial than disdain to throw my way, you're going to stay away from me and more importantly, from Hilary."

"But that's-"

"Not open to discussion. You've lost the high ground, Sheriff. If I wanted to, there's not a judge in the world that would deny me a restraining order after what you've done. You don't get to see my daughter unless I say so, and right now? I don't say so." Derek walked away.

--------

While at the new playground with the other kids, Hilary noticed Jack in the distance who's sitting in his car. She waved and then took out her Walkie Talkie to talk to him.

"Why are you so far away? Come out here."

"Sorry, kid. I can't today."

"You're undercover, aren't you? For Operation Cobra?"

"No, Hilary, I'm not undercover. Your dad – he doesn't want us seeing each other for a while."

"You don't have to listen to him."

"Actually, this time, I do. I screwed up, Hilary. I got mad at your dad about you and the book and everything and… Well, we're just going to have to be apart for a little while."

"I don't want to be apart."

"Neither do I, but right now we have to. Don't worry. I'll find a way back in. And hey, if it's out there, Hilary, I will find your book."

"Good luck. It's probably gone, and it's probably never coming back."

Jack started the car and drove away.

--------

In her room at the inn, the Stranger used tongs to break a lock on a box. Opening the box, she took out Hilary's book and closely examined it.

--------

Olga was having a drink when Jack entered the diner and joined her.

"Looks like we had the same idea."

"Well, if you can't beat her, drink." A drink was placed in front of Jack. Olga took a sip of hers and sighed. "How did we not see this?"

"We did. We saw it all, right from the start. Just didn't want to look. Blinded by our anger, by everything."

"This time. But there are a lot more skeletons in Derek's closet. And the good news? You've got yourself an ally."

"We won't get fooled again." They clinked their glasses.

--------

Later, Olga was in the Mayor's Office with a daydreaming look on her face. Derek approached her from behind.

"Have a seat, Olga." They both sat down on the couch. "Well?"

Olga pulled a tape recorder out of her pocket and played the tape back.

"You've got yourself an ally."

"We won't get fooled again."

She turned off the recorder.

"He bought it." Derek chuckled, pleased.

"All of it."

"Masterful job, Olga. Top to bottom. And cutting the breaks of his car? Inspired."

"I'm glad you approve." She replied with a smug expression.

"Now he trusts you. Now we can have some fun."

"Everything he does, everywhere he goes- you'll know about it."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Olga."