Chapter 2: Things are Getting Just a Bit Weirder

Notes: Thanks again to Raych K to her awesome ideas and her wonderful betaing skills. Thanks also to Suspension for all her help as well.

After an almost sleepless night, Juliet woke up as confused as when she went to bed. One question plagued her all night: who put that flower and note on her car? Someone that knew her car obviously. Her first thought was Shawn, but that just didn't seem like his style. He would have just given her the flower and said whatever charming thing that popped into his head. That note was just a bit too poetic to be from him. Another option was Roger. He did have the pink roses with him yesterday. Maybe he felt bad for the scene he caused and he seemed to possess the right amount of sap to write a note like that. He did say he studied literature for a while in college. It was probably him, but he was awfully mad when he left. The third more unsettling option was that it was an unknown person. Someone who knew about her, but she didn't know him or her. Well, she might know them from somewhere; however she didn't know that they liked her. She laughed at herself. It was just a silly secret admirer, no harm done. Although, the thought of this mysterious person knowing which car was hers, really bothered her. She'd have to have Carlton walk her to her car at night from now on. No, that was ridiculous. She was a police detective with a gun. She could handle a little crush.

To counteract the lack of sleep, she put on a pot of strong coffee. Wearing her robe, she went out to pick up the morning paper from the front stoop. The paper was typically folded in thirds and placed inside a plastic bag. She grabbed the plastic bag from its resting place on the front mat that said welcome with a little cat on it. Before heading back inside, she waved to her neighbor as he jogged by and returned inside. Tossing the paper on the kitchen table, she was greeted by two hungry cats mewing for their breakfast. "All right you two, I didn't forget you," she said and smiled. She feed the two animals, grabbed a cup of coffee and a banana, and sat down to read the paper. She pulled it out of the bag and opened it up. A small white envelope fell out. Her name was on the front. She was puzzled. She was on the automatic payment program. It couldn't be a bill. She opened the envelope. Another note in the same font as before, computer generated. "Dear Juliet, I pledge my undying adoration to you. It was startlingly quick that I fell for thee, but it can not be helped. I am weak and I throw myself at your feet. You are my untainted, pure, true love." She stared at the paper for a while. The horrible realization was starting to engulf her. This person knew where she lived too. She needed to look into these notes a little more today. She headed to the bathroom to get ready to go to the station. She quickly got dressed and spent the next twenty minutes in traffic due to an accident.

Juliet sat down at her desk in a huff. She pulled open her lower left desk drawer to put her purse away. The sight in the drawer made her freeze. There was a white rose in the drawer, but no note. She shivered and slowly reached down and pulled out the flower.

"What a beautiful rose." The voice made her jump and turn quickly. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Detective. I didn't mean to startle you." Cole Miller was standing at her desk with a cup of coffee. "Here, I brought you a cup of coffee to thank you for yesterday." She nodded at him and accepted the cup. "I didn't know how you liked it," he stopped when she downed the cup, "Okay, I guess it was good then. Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, "Yes, I'm fine. It was a bad night and a rough morning. Did you notice anyone around my desk this morning?"

"No, ma'am. I haven't seen anyone, but Detective Lassiter. He went down to the range. Well, I should go back to work," he started to walk away, but then turned back to her, "A white rose, doesn't that symbolize purity?"

She blinked for a second, "I think so."

"How romantic, you're a lucky lady. Well, have a great day, Detective O'Hara," he said and smiled.

"You too. Thanks for the coffee," she said. She tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but she couldn't quite shake the eerie feeling that was overwhelming her.

"Detective O'Hara," the Chief called from her office. Juliet stood and quickly entered the Chief's office.

"Yes, Chief," she said.

"I need you and Lassiter to escort Mark Gillian to the courthouse for his arraignment. This is a high profile case with lots of press coverage. Since you two brought him, I trust you to keep him custody and in one piece. I can't afford any screw-ups." Juliet nodded. Gillian was accused of running a small illegal firearm sales business. She and Lassiter had been the ones to arrest him. They knew that he was low on the food chain, but promised to name his bosses in exchange for immunity. It was the talk of the town.

"Sure, Chief. I'll go find Carlton and we'll get going," she said.

"O'Hara, are you okay? You look a little flustered," the Chief asked.

"No, I'm fine. Excuse me," she said and walked out to find her partner.

She walked into the firing range and quickly spied Carlton. She walked next to him and watched him shooting. He stopped and brought the target in. "That's how I should have started the day, shooting out my aggression," she said. He turned and looked at her.

"Having a bad morning, are we? I didn't think you had those," he said with a smirk.

"Ha, ha, very funny. The Chief wants us to escort Mark Gillian from holding to his arraignment," she said, looking around him as he examined the target sheet. "Nice grouping."

"Thanks. I need to get my hours in down here," he said glancing at her, "Why do we get to play bodyguards?"

"We brought him in and the Chief said this case is turning into a media circus. She doesn't want any screw-ups."

"Great," he said sarcastically, "All right, let's go. The only bright side is we probably won't see Spencer today."

As she followed him out the range door she thought, "Oh, that's supposed to be a good thing."

Escorting prisoners to the courthouse was not on her list of her most favorite things to do. She could think of a million other things she'd rather be doing. When they reached holding, Gillian was all ready shackled and waiting. "Lassiter and the lovely O'Hara, Santa Barbara's finest. Are you kids escorting me to the courthouse today?" Gillian asked.

"Shut up, Gillian and show the Detective some respect," Lassiter said as they lead the suspect from holding to the awaiting van. Sergeant Myers was waiting for them. Juliet sat up front with Myers. Gillian sat in the middle of the van and Lassiter was behind him. The ride to the courthouse was short and silent. The courthouse steps were jammed with reporters talking to the D.A. and Gillian's defense attorneys. Some photographers turned to get pictures of the van as it drove through the gates to the prisoner's entrance.

The van stopped as arrived at the entrance. Myers opened his door and started to walk around his side of the vehicle. Juliet jumped out and opened the back door. She reached for Gillian's arm to help him out. Her crystal blue eyes met his dark brown ones. "Juliet, so pure and so beautiful," he whispered to her. She froze. Was he the mysterious note sender? She stared at him and before she knew what was happening she felt his shoulder hitting her chest and knocking her backwards. All she could think was, "Not again."