Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tricia Clarkson's body laid on the slab in the morgue with M.E. Rogers on one side and Bobby and Alex on the other. In the bright light her beauty was still apparent beneath the bruises covering her petite frame and her sandy hair feathered out beneath her head.

"Well, blunt force to the head is what killed her," Rogers said. "Semen was found in her vaginal cavity and some of the bruising, particularly on her abdomen, were inflected post-mortem."

Alex glanced up at Bobby, who was studying Tricia as he calculated his thoughts.

"So, he-he struck her, she went down and then he started kicking her?" Bobby asked and Alex could see his uncertainty as he shifted on his feet. "S-so, when did he rape her?"

Bobby glanced at Alex and then to Rogers.

"Probably before he struck her," Rogers said.

"So, she fights him, gets away, he picks up the carving and hits her," Alex said and then looked up at Bobby.

"Yeah, but if she was trying to get away, then he'd more likely hit her from behind," Bobby said, looking over Tricia's stomach. "Th-the bruises…on her stomach…they're from a boot?"

"Yeah…probably a size ten," Rogers nodded. "Most of the other wounds seem to be defensive."

"She put up one hell of a fight," Alex said.

"Lot of good it did her," Rogers said.

Rogers and Alex shared a look of agreement, while Bobby examined one particular bruise on her wrist.

"Wh-what about this mark on her wrist?" Bobby asked. "It looks like marks from…from handcuffs…but there's no sigh that he restrained her in the apartment…an-and it looks a little older."

Rogers gave Bobby a sigh and glanced down at the bruise in question.

"It could be…but not by much," Rogers said, resting her fist on her hip. "I'll let you know if we get any hits on the DNA."

Rogers gave a nod and made her way toward the door.

"Thanks," Alex said and then turned to Bobby. "Ready? Ross is probably here by now…he's going to want an update."

Bobby nodded and gestured for her to lead the way.

"Do you think Rogers is acting…different?" he asked as they headed down the corridor to the elevator.

Alex shrugged, not really caring on way or the other.

"I guess she's been less…scowly the past month or so…"

"Scowly?"

"What?" Alex shrugged and then was interrupted as a soft lullaby ringtone rose from Alex's pants pocket.

She smiled at the sound and fished out the phone, quickly flipping it open.

"Good morning, babe," Alex said, meeting Bobby's eyes as he pressed the up button for the elevator.

"Morning, momma…you and daddy got called out?"

"Yeah…sorry we weren't there this morning. Don't forget that aunt Carrie is picking you up at ten to take you to practice," Alex said as they stepped onto the elevator.

"I know…I'm already dressed…but I can't find my white shoes."

Alex laughed at the vision of her eager daughter sitting on the sofa at seven in the morning in her tee-ball practice uniform of their team t-shirt and jeans.

"Of course you are," Alex muttered. "Your shoes should be in the chest in your closet."

"But I looked there."

"Then have Miss Eleanor double check and look on the top shelf just in case, all right?"

"Okay…"

"You want to talk to daddy?"

"Uh-huh."

Alex passed him the phone as they were nearing the eleventh floor.

"Hey baby. You excited?"

"Nathan says he's going to teach me all sorts of things after practice," Madison said and Bobby could practically see the bright smile and eager nod as she rambled off all the things her cousin was going to show her. "He says I'll be the best on the girl's team, but I don't understand why I have to play with just girls…me and Nathan play all the time."

Bobby smiled and looked up as the elevator doors dinged before sliding open.

"I know, but that's just the rules of the league. We got to go now, baby. Have fun today and we'll see you at home tonight."

"Okay…love you and tell momma I said I love her too."

"We love you too…bye, baby," Bobby said with a smile.

He passed the phone back to Alex and they both took a moment to transform back from mom and dad to Goren and Eames, before heading to their desks.

As they dropped their things off they saw Ross step into the doorway of his office and waved them to come.

Ross shut his office door behind then and stood in front of his desk.

"Barely eight a.m. and I already have DA McCoy on the phone asking about progress," Ross said, hovering behind his desk. "Please tell me you have some ideas."

"We don't have much to go on yet," Alex said.

"What about her case files?" Ross said.

"Her most current is a rape case, Jason Farmer is who she was prosecuting, but the DNA didn't match his," Alex said. "We're still looking through the rest of her case load and any recent parolees that she helped convict."

Ross nodded.

"I-I think this is more personal than retaliation," Bobby said.

"I find people take being prosecuted of a crime pretty personally," Ross said.

Bobby nodded and glanced at the floor.

"But would a revenge killer take the time to re-dress her and display her in an alley…when it probably would have taken longer to find her in her apartment or if he dumped her off somewhere. Whoever did this…they wanted her found as she was…i-it has ritualistic qualities…like someone who has done this before."

Ross sighed and nodded.

"Well keep looking through her cases until you have something more solid," Ross said. "I understand there's a boyfriend…a cop?"

Alex nodded.

"Marcus Laidler…I know him from when I worked vice…"

"Any reason to think he's capable of this?" Ross asked.

"I highly doubt it," Alex said with a shake of her head. "He was always a decent guy…while the other guys would give the women detectives a hard time he would always stick up for us…he got a lot of flack for it."

Ross nodded.

"Okay…we still need to verify his alibi and check his DNA against the one on Ms. Clarkson. I get the feeling McCoy's going to make this high profile—"

"Why? He already won the election." Bobby muttered.

"For once you and I agree on something," Ross said, fighting a smirk. "Even so we can't have any loose ends for him to exploit."

Bobby and Alex nodded and soon left the office.

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Alex and Bobby sat in the interview room not far from their desks with Marcus across from them. He was more composed, but still a little shaky and occasionally shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Was she worried about this case?" Alex asked.

Marcus shrugged. "It was just any other case…"

"Do you remember anything, or did she mention something out of the ordinary?" Alex asked.

"No. Everything was going fine…things were good," Marcus said, glancing down at the table and Bobby noticed how his jaw clenched. "Sh-she was starting to get a lot of recognition at work…only lost one case in the last two years. And we…we were talking about getting a place together."

Alex sighed and briefly glanced up at Bobby.

"I'm sorry to have to ask this, but we—"

"Need a DNA sample," Marcus finished and then watched Alex nod. "Whatever you need…"

Bobby sat forward, linking his fingers together, and studied Marcus.

"W-we also need to know if you and Tricia had…been intimate in the last forty-eight hours," Bobby said.

"Uh…no," Marcus said, shifting in his seat, and glanced at his watch. "I need to go soon…I-I told Tricia's mom I'd help her with the…with the arrangements."

"Of course," Alex said.

"Please, keep me in the loop…and I want to help anyway I can," Marcus said.

Bobby and Alex nodded.

"I'll take you downstairs to get the DNA sample before you leave," Alex said.

Marcus rose, along with Alex, before heading toward the door. Alex turned back to look at Bobby, silently asking if he minded. Under normal circumstances they would have just let an officer take him down, but he was a fellow cop and Bobby knew Alex still felt guilty about what happened between her and Marcus.

She watched Bobby nod and then continued walking with Marcus as they headed to the elevators.