Brenda fell heavily into her chair at her desk and fought the urge to open her drawer of stress relief. She did however stare at it for a long while before a knock on her door startled her back to the world of the sane thinkers. She blinked a few times, brushed a blond lock from her shoulder, and looked up to see Sanchez. She cleared her throat.
"Come in…"
"Chief we got call that a prison guard was killed last night in county…" Sanchez said and noticed the tired look to Brenda's eyes. "Uh, Chief…you ok?"
"Perfectly fine, Lt, " she replied and chewed on her lower lip as he continued. She was, however, not perfectly fine as she had put it. On the contrary, she was having a hard time forgetting the nightmare she had had last night. Brenda sighed.
"Chief Pope wants us down there as soon as possible to take a look. Tao and Buzz are already down there."
"Good, " Brenda said with a nod as she stood. "Then let's not keep the Chief waiting," she finished as she brushed by Sanchez and headed out the door of her office. He followed close behind her.
Brenda knew the reason that Sanchez was driving her instead of Gabriel, but it did not make her feel any better. "You heard anything on Lt. Gabriel this morning?" She asked when they got onto the road.
"Other than he is home and resting, no."
"Well at least he is home," she said in a softer tone. Garbriel had been shot only a few days ago while on duty. The news had shocked the entire squad. But all were relieved when they heard that he was going to recover. Brenda sighed heavily. Sanchez gave her a sideways glance.
"I think he is taking visitors, " he said lightly and centered his gaze back to the front. However, he did not miss the smile that formed over Brenda's lips.
"Perhaps I will make a visit after we go over the scene…"
"Sounds like a good idea."
"Sure does…"
Bill Croelick settled into the couch and relished the comfort of it after many months on a hard prison bed. He closed his eyes and stretched, relaxing fully. It had only been a mere six hours since he had murdered the prison guard, took the uniformed and hat, and had made his way out of the complex. He had been surprised at how easy it was. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was almost too easy. Croelick opened his eyes and frowned at himself in the hotel mirror. He studied his hard edged complexion, his brown hair, and receding hairline. His frown grew.
"Getting old, Bill," he said to his image and then scratched the hairline. He knew there were better things to think about then how easy his escape was or the way his hair looked. There was one thing on his mind now and the plans to get Brenda into his control was already well on its way. He stood after a moment and nodded. He watched his reflection and his face as the frown was replaced with a dark smile.
Brenda kneeled at the guard's mangled face and stared. Her head was titled slightly as she got a better angle and look to what had been done the dead guard's temple. She pointed her finger at the marking right above the ear.
"Buzz, get that," she said and shuffled aside to allow the young man to get as close as possible to the victim.
"Looks like a hole," Tao said, "but after checking out the scene I have yet to find out what could have made a hole of that nature. He bled out pretty quick, Chief…"
"I know…"Brenda said, her accent dominating every word. She gaze perplexed at the large halo of blood that hugged the floor around the victim's head and shoulders. There was no question that the guard died very quickly with the type of wound inflicted. "Find something," she ordered.
Bill Croelick whistled the Indian Jones theme song as he walked through the police station parking lot. It was scarcely full with a few cars in a few spots, scattered. He looked at his watch, 7:54pm. Croelick knew he still had a few hours of waiting to do so he decided he had better get to work. Croelick cracked his knuckles and headed down another level to where the higher ups usually parked. After searching a few moments, he found Brenda's car. He had seen it before in her driveway as he watched her walk up her front sidewalk to the front door from the bushes. He remembered that night fondly for it was one of the first times he had been alone with her. He also remembered the slight tremble of her trigger finger as she had had her firearm aimed directly at his head. Croelick would never forget that. He frightened her…and he knew that she understood him.
He licked his lips and moved to stand behind a pillar a few feet away from where the car sat. It was not the best spot in the world for an attack, but it had to do in a pinch. There he would wait…wait for the right moment…
…the perfect timing…
Brenda looked down and dug for her keys in her large black bag. She was distracted and her thoughts were on her case as usual. She looked up and saw her car up ahead. To the right was the pillar where Croelick stood, silent, but listening like a hunter.
Brenda's footsteps echoed across the pavement. Her steps were quick. His timing needed to be perfect. Croelick soaked a cloth quickly in something that would put her to sleep and waited. Her footsteps paused and he heard keys jingling their song.
It was the perfect moment…
"Hello…just plain Brenda…" he said as came around the pillar and she startled. Brenda knew the voice before she even got turned around and had her hand on her firearm. He pressed the cloth to her face while grabbing the back of her head all in a matter of seconds. She had nowhere to go… His hold on her was powerful…angry…His actions were faster than her gun. Brenda struggled for only a moment before the chemicals took their hold over her. Right before she blacked out, Croelick read her eyes. They read…pure fear…
The gun fell from her hand as if in slow motion to the ground below.
Croelick brought his arms around her body and caught her before she fell completely to the ground. His strong arms held her, cradled her. He looked down at her sleeping face and smiled with a dangerous confidence.
"It's my turn now…"
...to be continued...
I do not own the characters of the TV show The Closer. All right belong to them. I just like to dabble with stories from time to time.
