A Sparrow Mends "R" (completed)

**hfce** · 2nd July 2004, 03:27

Oh wow more please....

Hope

Shay · 2nd July 2004, 05:12

More Soon

Shay

**sylvia** · 2nd July 2004, 08:13

Very intriguing, this would make a great Chloe-centric SV episode, what with all the questions and things to uncover. Definitely would like to see more soon :)

**newbatgirl** · 3rd July 2004, 03:09

Originally posted by sylvia@Jul 2 2004, 02:13 AM
Very intriguing, this would make a great Chloe-centric SV episode...

I agree but since there probably isn't a snowball's chance in Hell that we'll see another one of those anytime soon, it's up to you, Kit.

In case I haven't said this enough, I love this. I can't wait to see how you unravel the mystery. Please give me, er, us, more soon! :biggrin:

**Kit Merlot** · 6th July 2004, 03:19

A/N: Again, thanks for all the kind reviews. They keep me writing :biggrin:

Chapter 2

Chloe sat up in her bed, and stared up at the night sky. In a scant 12-hour time span, her life had gone from a somewhat normal existence, to a twisted mess of murder and mayhem. Chloe enjoyed ferreting out stories, but she was entirely too close to this to remain objective.

She had a knot in her stomach the size of a fist, and the more information she uncovered, the bigger that knot seemed to grow. She couldn’t tell if the knot was from the excitement of a new investigation, or terror at finding out the truth about her mother. She had tossed and turned in her bed, trying vainly to fall asleep She finally got out of bed, and gave into her need to brood.

There was investigating to be done, and her mind was not going to let her rest until she had exhausted every possible avenue. She needed a plan of attack, and organization was the key to figuring the puzzle out. Chloe rebooted her computer, and started to write an outline, where she typed out all of the information she had discovered.

Her father’s bombshell had shocked Chloe to the core of her being. She had never thought of her mother as being violent, especially towards her. According to Gabe, the police presence in the bedroom distracted Claire enough that Gabe had managed to grab Chloe, and place her out of harm’s way.

Chloe had hesitantly asked if her dad thought Claire would have really have hurt her. Her dad paused for the briefest of moments before he replied with, “Sparrow, if you had asked me before that night, I would have said not in a million years. But, I will never forget that look on her face, as she stood over you, with that knife raised. Her facial expression was completely blank. And I don’t remember ever being that frightened before.”

His hands had started shaking, and he tried to stop them but he was too far-gone. “Something happened to you mom that was dangerous, and I was glad when she disappeared from our lives.”

Chloe knew that her dad couldn’t help her anymore. As far as he was concerned, her mother had left them, and as much as it pained him to say this about his wife and the mother of his child, perhaps it was best that she had left, because she could have easily have hurt Chloe.

Or, Claire could have killed him, and then Chloe would have been left alone with a crazy, and dangerously violent mother, with no one there to help her. No, Chloe realized that her father didn’t know where her mother went, and he didn’t actually care, as long as Chloe was safe from her. So, as an investigative source, her dad was an official dead end.

The next logical person with the most information on the crime, besides the victim and perpetrator, would be the police investigators, or better yet, the official police report. If Chloe could read the report, it would be like talking to the officers themselves, but without the personal reminisces and prejudices clouding their judgment.

The police report would reflect their immediate reactions to the crime, and for the most part, it probably wouldn’t be unusually embellished. Chloe managed to hack into the Metropolis Police Department Archives with precious little effort.

Their so-called security precautions were a joke, and easily evaded. She found the report, and pulled it up. She skipped over the information provided by her dad, and went straight to her mom’s initial interview with the cops. After reading it, the feeling of dread that had been in the pit of her stomach since that morning, seemed to fill her entire being.

The investigation into Dr. Flint’s murder was barely an investigation. The doctor’s nurse identified Mrs. Sullivan as the last person to see Dr. Flint in his office. Mrs. Sullivan was next seen fleeing the crime scene, and she was picked up with the murder weapon, and she and the weapon were both covered in the victim’s blood. She was the obvious suspect, and according to the report, the only suspect.

Mrs. Sullivan’s first interview with the police was terminated early because she was deemed to be incoherent; she mumbled the same thing, over and over again. The police concluded that they were not going to get anything out of her, so she was transferred to the Metropolis University Hospital’s psychiatric ward, and kept for a 24-hour evaluation.

After the 24 hours, the police questioned Mrs. Sullivan again, where she was found to be cooperative, and responsive to questioning, if not slightly confused. She told the police that she had arrived for her appointment on time, and she remembered being escorted into his office. Her next clear memory was being woken up in the psych ward. She did not remember going in to see Dr. Flint, how long her appointment lasted, or where she went after that.

That was all the information that the police report held. No follow up interviews with her mom, or the nurse, and the investigation was dropped. Chloe pulled up the transcript from her mother’s arraignment hearing. Again, the brevity of the court records caused alarm bells to go off in Chloe’s head.

Her mom was represented by a court appointed lawyer, who tried to get her released on bail. Unfortunately, her request for bail was denied. Mrs. Sullivan was about to be taken back to her cell, when a Dr. Baxter stood up and volunteered to run a psychiatric evaluation on Mrs. Sullivan and to continue treating her.

Apparently, Dr. Baxter shared a psychiatric practice with Dr. Flint, and she felt that Mrs. Sullivan should continue seeking treatment for her mental problems, with the court's permission. The Judge concurred, but with the stipulation that Mrs. Sullivan needed to be placed in a lockdown facility, because she was considered a danger to herself and others.

Dr. Baxter agreed, and Mrs. Sullivan was lead away to a waiting ambulance, where she was whisked off to Dr. Baxter’s private mental asylum. The only other court document that Chloe could find was her parents divorce decree, filed a few weeks after Claire was sent to the mental hospital.

Chloe was shocked by how quickly the public forgot about the murder, and the fact that her mom seemed to have gotten away with it. She decided to wait until the morning to ask her dad all the questions she still had swirling around in her head.

She had questions about the divorce papers, where were they sent from, why didn’t her dad ever visit her mom at the hospital, and when was Claire officially released from the hospital. There were too many questions that needed to be answered, and she had to wait until morning.

With a frustrated sigh, Chloe decided to do one more search before she called it a night. She typed in the name “Charles Flint” into The Daily Planet archives to bring up any story where his name appeared in the article.

The first couple of articles had to deal with his being named to various boards. The next set of articles had to deal with Dr. Flint’s charity work. The set after that were about his murder. Chloe went back a couple of articles, to look a the charities that he had been involved in, when Chloe found a small article, easily over looked, but so important, that Chloe felt that knot in her stomach expand two sizes more, and the vague feeling of unease, become full blown fear.

Underneath the article about the latest Luthor Corp. charity auction, there was an article about the death of Julian Luthor, where the coroner ruled the baby’s death as SIDS. It was the information on the next line that made the color drain from Chloe’s face and caused her to shiver in fear.

Lillian Luthor, the wife of Lionel Luthor, and the mother of the Alexander and Julian, had to be sedated for Julian’s funeral. She had been hysterical and was placed in the care of her psychiatrist, a Dr. Charles Flint.

**sylvia** · 6th July 2004, 06:04

Aha. The plot thickens. Love it, and love the way you told it in such a suspenseful manner. More please!

**hfce** · 6th July 2004, 15:52

Oh interesting I want to know the mystery to. More please...

Hope

katspell · 6th July 2004, 20:34

please, can I have some more?
This is soooooo good. I just love stories that dig into Chloe's past, and the tie in to Lex is great!!!
So please keep it coming!

**autumngold** · 6th July 2004, 23:29

Interesting!! So this is why Lex is going to get involved in Chloe's investigation!! Great chapter!! Please post again quickly!! :yay2: :chlexsign4: :yay2: