"Malcolm?" her voice shakes, uncertain and terrified, and feeling like the little girl scared of monsters in her closet, begging her big brother to tell her it'll all be okay.
And he does. He always does.
But this time? She just can't bring herself to believe him.
"No... No, it's not. How can it be? Malcolm, I--" Her voice gives way to a body-wracking sob that chokes all of the feeling out of her body.
Focus. Focus. He knows that he should call Dani. That with Gil in the hospital, she would be the one to understand, to be gentle, but he knows how it ends. With his baby sister in a cell, just like his father.
That's not going to happen.
He's a Whitly. His father disposed of bodies before. He has ten years in law enforcement and a lifetime of the Surgeon in his head. He knows what to do.
"I'll take care of it, Ains," he says after a moment. "No one has to know. I'll take care of it. I'll fix it."
He has to fix it for her. For their mother who he knows would shatter after Martin Whitly already broke her once. He's done letting people hurt his family.
"Fix it? How? Malcolm, this isn't a broken vase we can sweep under the rug and replace!" The shock has stopped numbing her, and switched instead to something a little closer to hysterics.
"I'll turn myself in." She says it with the steel-faced determination only Ainsley Whitly can muster, even in a moment she's trying desperately not to unravel. "They- they'll find out, if I admit it, it's better. He-eee...was attacking you. I blacked out. We can fight for an insanity defense. I mean-" She spreads her arms out wide. There's a laugh that escapes her, but it's a half-choked thing that bursts through her throat like a baseball through a window, and there's not an ounce of humor to be found in the sound. "look at our family, who wouldn't believe it, right?"
That's the thing exactly. It's their family. Sure, his team has put together the evidence of exactly what Nicholas Endicott was and maybe the DA would believe that it was self defense. But Malcolm isn't one hundred percent sure that she wouldn't be jailed for it. Self defense can be a tricky thing. Especially when Malcolm was the one holding a gun. What he is sure of is the fact that he can clean this up. He can dispose of a body. He has Martin Whitly's lessons, his experience and his knowledge from the cases he's worked. He knows what to do.
"I'll...I'll get rid of the body. I'll clean up the house. Get rid of the evidence. The police are looking for him. He'll just...disappear. No one has to know anything, Ains. Just you and me." And Dad. He let it slip in his shock. But one thing he is certain of in life is that Martin is devoted to his children and he'd keep their secrets. "I need your help though. I need...we need Luisa's cleaning supplies. That's a start."
"This is insane," she whispers harshly, staring at the mess ahead of them now. "This is insane. I'm insane. I--" She cuts herself short and shakes her head. No. No, no, no. She is not going to do this. She is not going unravel like worn out yarn. She is Ainsley Whitly and she can keep herself together.
She takes a couple of slow, deep breaths, trying to listen to her brother's instructions. She nods. "Right. Got it." She spins sharply on her heel and goes to get the needed supplies.
It's not insane, what Ainsley did. He could tell her that, even with the moment where she seemed to not realize what she had done. He's seen people kill for far less than what Ainsley did but he doesn't think any of that will be reassurance. He catches killers and to draw a line of comparison between her and them will only make her more upset. Instead, he takes a few breaths himself once Ainsley goes to retrieve the supplies.
Bleach. He'll need to get rid of the carpet. The body itself will need to disappear. Dragging it through the house will just cause more of a mess.
Plans start to formulate. He can do this. He knows what cops and medical examiners look for and he can clean it all away. Like this never happened.
It's hard to think through the mess in her head, but Ainsley manages to get the supplies like Malcolm told her to. It's fine. They'll get rid of it. Malcolm will make it all go away.
She pauses as she fills a cleaning bucket with various cleaners and takes a slow, deep breath in, and out. If she just keeps telling herself that Malcolm will make it all okay, somehow, the way he's always made things okay since she was little, maybe she will believe it.
Finally, she walks back to the living room with the supplies. "Okay... what do you need me to do?"
He looks at her when she comes back with the supplies and then back at the body on the floor. His sister's handiwork. The profiling part of his brain, never turned off, recognizes a crime of passion, of desperation, and how different it is from their father's murders. He shouldn't be thinking about that. His little sister isn't like the Surgeon.
Malcolm draws in a breath and looks to her. "I'll do it. I'll take care of it. You shouldn't have to."
He couldn't pull the trigger. She shouldn't have to get her hands dirtier than they already are. And he doesn't know if dealing with a corpse will trigger something in her. That state that she was in for the moments when she plunged the knife into Endicott. Will making her come face to face with that splinter her more?
She's not sure what she expected, really, but somehow that wasn't it. A frown crosses her face and she hesitates for a moment before she finally settles on asking, "Are you sure?" She didn't expect him to take over completely-- this was her mess, shouldn't she be the one cleaning it up?
He barks a soft, incredulous laugh at, well, the whole situation. "I'm not sure of anything right now, Ains," he answers. "I know what I've got to do in the abstract sense but..." But he has no idea how he's actually going to bring himself to move a body, dispose of it, clean a crime scene and cover up a murder. That's settling in on him. He doesn't do this; covering up crimes is what his father did. What people like Watkins did. But what other choice does he have?
"I'm sorry," she breathes out, a broken sort of sound that just gushes out of her lungs, the hint of a sob that doesn't quite catch.
She doesn't know what else to say, how the hell she's supposed to process any of this. And here Malcolm was, cleaning up her mess. He always did, didn't he? Maybe that's just what big brothers do, but this is so far outside that line that Ainsley can't help but feel guilty about it.
"Don't be sorry," he says gently, stopping what he is doing to look over at her. "I wanted to do it." And he can't, but that's another story. "It'll be okay. Mom will be upset when I destroy this rug but..." he says, trying to bring a levity that feels unearned to the situation. That's something they'll have to deal with--replacing the rug. That seems like a task he can give her later. For now, he needs...
The list starts to come together. More than just cleaning supplies. "Are you sure that you're up to helping?" he asks carefully.
The attempt at levity works, to an extent. At least it earns him a half-hearted huff of breath passed between her lips. Not quite a laugh, but close enough, all things considered, right? "She is gonna be pissed... it's her favorite one."
His question seems to steal all the air from her lungs. She doesn't know how to answer that, which is the answer all on its own, isn't it? "...No...? But you shouldn't have to do it by yourself."
"We might have to find a replacement. See if there's one like it out there that we can buy?" Maybe if they can find the exact same one, she won't notice. He isn't sure about how possible that is but his mind is going a million miles a minute and the rug is one detail they'll have to deal with eventually.
He looks back to Endicott's body. "I'm going to have to dismember him. Moving a whole body is...he weighs more than me so moving pieces will be easier. Are you going to be able to handle that?"
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2021-01-01 02:49 am (UTC)And he does.
He always does.
But this time? She just can't bring herself to believe him.
"No... No, it's not. How can it be? Malcolm, I--" Her voice gives way to a body-wracking sob that chokes all of the feeling out of her body.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-01 02:54 am (UTC)Focus. Focus. He knows that he should call Dani. That with Gil in the hospital, she would be the one to understand, to be gentle, but he knows how it ends. With his baby sister in a cell, just like his father.
That's not going to happen.
He's a Whitly. His father disposed of bodies before. He has ten years in law enforcement and a lifetime of the Surgeon in his head. He knows what to do.
"I'll take care of it, Ains," he says after a moment. "No one has to know. I'll take care of it. I'll fix it."
He has to fix it for her. For their mother who he knows would shatter after Martin Whitly already broke her once. He's done letting people hurt his family.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-03 04:15 am (UTC)"I'll turn myself in." She says it with the steel-faced determination only Ainsley Whitly can muster, even in a moment she's trying desperately not to unravel. "They- they'll find out, if I admit it, it's better. He-eee...was attacking you. I blacked out. We can fight for an insanity defense. I mean-" She spreads her arms out wide. There's a laugh that escapes her, but it's a half-choked thing that bursts through her throat like a baseball through a window, and there's not an ounce of humor to be found in the sound. "look at our family, who wouldn't believe it, right?"
no subject
Date: 2021-01-03 03:49 pm (UTC)"I'll...I'll get rid of the body. I'll clean up the house. Get rid of the evidence. The police are looking for him. He'll just...disappear. No one has to know anything, Ains. Just you and me." And Dad. He let it slip in his shock. But one thing he is certain of in life is that Martin is devoted to his children and he'd keep their secrets. "I need your help though. I need...we need Luisa's cleaning supplies. That's a start."
no subject
Date: 2021-01-10 11:59 pm (UTC)She takes a couple of slow, deep breaths, trying to listen to her brother's instructions. She nods. "Right. Got it." She spins sharply on her heel and goes to get the needed supplies.
She still can't believe this is happening.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-11 12:05 am (UTC)Bleach. He'll need to get rid of the carpet. The body itself will need to disappear. Dragging it through the house will just cause more of a mess.
Plans start to formulate. He can do this. He knows what cops and medical examiners look for and he can clean it all away. Like this never happened.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 03:10 am (UTC)She pauses as she fills a cleaning bucket with various cleaners and takes a slow, deep breath in, and out. If she just keeps telling herself that Malcolm will make it all okay, somehow, the way he's always made things okay since she was little, maybe she will believe it.
Finally, she walks back to the living room with the supplies. "Okay... what do you need me to do?"
no subject
Date: 2021-01-14 09:59 pm (UTC)Malcolm draws in a breath and looks to her. "I'll do it. I'll take care of it. You shouldn't have to."
He couldn't pull the trigger. She shouldn't have to get her hands dirtier than they already are. And he doesn't know if dealing with a corpse will trigger something in her. That state that she was in for the moments when she plunged the knife into Endicott. Will making her come face to face with that splinter her more?
no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 12:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-24 12:55 am (UTC)She doesn't know what else to say, how the hell she's supposed to process any of this. And here Malcolm was, cleaning up her mess. He always did, didn't he? Maybe that's just what big brothers do, but this is so far outside that line that Ainsley can't help but feel guilty about it.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-24 01:50 pm (UTC)The list starts to come together. More than just cleaning supplies. "Are you sure that you're up to helping?" he asks carefully.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-24 03:03 pm (UTC)His question seems to steal all the air from her lungs. She doesn't know how to answer that, which is the answer all on its own, isn't it? "...No...? But you shouldn't have to do it by yourself."
no subject
Date: 2021-01-24 09:34 pm (UTC)He looks back to Endicott's body. "I'm going to have to dismember him. Moving a whole body is...he weighs more than me so moving pieces will be easier. Are you going to be able to handle that?"