Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson's mind was in a colossal battle with her guts – the need to close a case HER way, in the face of possibility for dispensing justice against a cruel, calculated psychopath monster who might otherwise still find a way to escape justice. She stood there, pointing her gun at the elusive, sadistic Mr. Stroh, barely breathing, biting her lip, trying to stable the gun in her hands, hoping he makes his move, trying to come to a quick decision before the opportunity disappears…
Two nights earlier
Lt. Flynn quietly watched Chief Johnson through her office's glass walls. It was the end of another uneventful day, with only bureaucratic paperwork to be filled. He saw her sitting back, starring at her screen. She was biting her lip, an unwrapped candy untouched on her desk, and he knew she was starring at Stroh's picture. It had survived the move into the new building. He had a bit of hope for her, that with the move, she would leave the past be and move on.
Living in the past hurt too much, and it was downright dangerous for a cop to give such meaning to the ones who got away. But it was a hopeless sort of hope to begin with. Chief Johnson was definitely not the type to give in or forget about something related to her cases. Other things, he thought amused, she could forget all too easily, but not her cases, not the victims. He admired her for it, but was scared and worried for her all the same.
The following morning Lt. Provenza hurried into the Chief's office without knocking. "Chief, you're going to want to see this! Look at the streets' names." he hurried around the desk as Brenda held her glasses inquiringly, wondering what got one of the calmest people she ever knew so excited. "What is it Lt.? What did you find…" her words faded off as he presented her with an open file, containing two rape reports. Her expression became intense and she didn't need him to say a word; she knew exactly what she was looking at. Her stomach turned into a knot immediately. After staring at the reports for a few moments, taking them in almost without breathing, she turned to Provenza, saying quietly "He's acting again, Lieutenant, we have to catch him before he does it again. I need to speak to the victims, check the eye witness from the second rape and get all the evidence in here, now, this is our first and only priority."
She stood up and took in the information in her hands again as the Lt. hurried away. "Oh my god… he assaulted again, he really assaulted again…" She knew serial rapists seldom completely desist from their actions, but it has been so long and he was so clever about it, she had not really expected him to start again, at least not in her jurisdiction.
She had been searching for an opportunity to catch him for so long, but did not want it to come from him attacking again. A vicious thought at the edge of her consciousness whispered it was her fault, for not being able to catch him the first time. "Well, I sure as hell am gonna get him this time, he is NOT getting away with it again." She took a steadying breath, made an unconscious move to straighten her dress and stormed out of her office.
"Heads up, everybody." her southern accent more noticeable, as always when she is upset. "Our Mr. Stroh is on the move again, Lt. Provenza is on his way with the evidence, and we need to go talk to the victims and a witness from two rapes committed over the past month." She began posting the pictures on the board and her team gathered around her curiously, tension beginning to build up. They waited for this a long time; she waited for this, for her opportunity at closure.
"Two women were raped over the past month, all in the same area. Victims are Caucasian, blond, living alone, in their 20s-30s, assaulted at their homes." The chief started informing her squad. "What leads us to believe that this is Stroh's work?" Asked Sgt. Gabriel as he viewed the material she was posting to the board. "Did he use the bathroom window and cut screen again?"
"No, no… if he did that I would be pretty sure it's NOT Stroh. Psychopaths like him always improve on their techniques for not getting caught." She remarked more to herself than to Gabriel. "In fact, there were no signs of forced entry at all. The victims were taken by surprise, didn't see the attacker, and the only witness saw a tall Caucasian man walking away from the second victim's house."
"Chief, it is very familiar, but it could still be someone else." "The second victim fought back, scratched her attacker, and after he was done with her he bothered to take the time and clean under her fingernails."
Brenda removed her glasses and turned to her squad. "It is him, I know it. Last time he was always one step ahead of us, especially with the help of that DDA Garnet fellow. This time we need to be one step ahead of him, it's the only chance we have of getting him. He has a weakness we've already seen – he needs to show his intelligence and control. He takes pleasure not only in rape, but also in making others recognize his superiority; otherwise he wouldn't have set up and arranged for the discovery of his actions. He wanted us to know how clever he is, he needs an audience for his satisfaction, and that's how we'll get him. Lt. Tao, please go over the evidence collected from these cases, see if anyone missed something. Lt. Flynn, please see if our witness recognizes Stroh from a picture line-up. Sgt. Gabriel, let's go talk to the victims and have a look at their homes. Det. Sanchez, I need you to follow Stroh, discreetly, make sure he isn't acting again while we're investigating. See if you can't recognize a potential victim or accomplice. Be careful not to get caught, Lt. Flynn and Lt. Provenza will assist. Thank you." As her squad filed out of the room to perform their tasks she turned to the board and posted Stroh's picture, whispering to herself "Why do it again, here, so obviously? What tricks do you have up your sleeve this time?" Sgt. Gabriel's call for her to come forced her away from his picture, but she was still worried.