"No."
Megan's answer was sudden, almost cutting Bud off as she frantically shouted her response. Kate couldn't possibly have done this, she wasn't capable or murder! She must have had an alibi, she was with someone, she was…
"No, she didn't do this, because she was with me. From 6pm to when we turned up at the scene, she was with me."
Sam and Bud exchanged a look that Megan couldn't discern before Sam chose to clarify.
"You mean the whole time? She didn't leave your side at all?"
Megan shook her head before pausing, "Well, for half an hour… Todd showed up and Kate and Lacey went to Lacey's room. It was from 10 until 10:30, but Kate didn't leave the apartment. You can ask Lace, she's missed Kate so she would have taken the opportunity to talk to her for at least 15 minutes before she drifted off. And it's a 10 minute drive from my apartment to the hospital, she wouldn't have had the time to get there, kill the guy and come back."
Megan looked between the pair of them, feeling both panicked by the notion and triumphant of her explanation. It simply wasn't possible for Kate to have done it – not only would she have waited for Lacey to sleep, she would have had to literally climb out the apartment and climb back in. It wasn't possible.
"Excuse me, Detectives?" a nurse approached, a tentative smile on her face as she looked to each of them, "We're going to release Miss White soon, so would you mind asking the rest of your questions?"
Bud nodded before glancing at Megan, "We'll find out about the man who attacked her last night, then get her address. We'll talk to you later, Megan."
00000
Curtis eyed the blonde form hunched over a microscope and then the black-haired, lanky, blushing form studiously avoiding her with a curious expression. He wondered what on Earth that boy had managed to do before making his way over to Kate.
"I got the analysis on the sample from Claire's attacker," Curtis said, causing Kate to sit up and turn abruptly to face him, "Jonathan Clarke."
Kate looked up at him in shock, "But wasn't he one of Dr Fischer's students?"
"Well it looks like Dr Fischer's been teaching his students more than they need to pass their exams, then," Megan commented coldly as she approached the pair, her hatred for this man building as she saw Kate and thought about what he must have done to her, "Claire knew where we found the body, because it was where Dr Fischer used to take his students to rape them."
Kate paled significantly and broke eye contact with her employee, turning slightly to face the microscope. "That's horrible," she commented in a weak voice, "The poor girl must have been through so much."
"She has, but it's also looking like she killed one of her attackers," Megan pointed out, "An earring with her DNA was found on Dr Fischer's body, she has no alibi for the time of death, she most definitely has a motive… All we need is the scalpel that killed him and she can be arrested."
Kate nodded slightly in response, "Unless it turns out she didn't do it. What if she's being framed? What if Jonathan raped her, took an earring, killed Fischer and planted the evidence? He's just as capable of murder, if not more so."
Megan locked eyes with Kate for the first time since mentioning Fischer's attacks on his students. She saw the pain swimming in those beautiful blue orbs and fought back the urge to hold her and reassure her. "What's his motive, then? If he's willing to rape a girl and frame her for murder, he's not exactly going to murder a man in revenge for raping someone else," Megan sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly, "I don't know. Either way, we need to call the detectives and let them know to bring Jonathan in."
"I'll do that," Curtis offered, making both women jump as they had forgotten he was there. His knowing smirk let them in on the fact that he was well aware that they had gotten wrapped up in their own conversation.
"Alright then, I'll be in my office."
Megan watched Kate's hips swaying hypnotically as she stalked down the corridor before coming back to her senses and chasing after her boss.
"Kate! Kate, wait up!" Kate glanced over her shoulder and slowed her pace, allowing Megan to catch up with her. "Kate, I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight? Lacey's at Todd's, but I enjoyed the time we spent together the other day and… well, I thought it might be fun." Megan felt herself blushing as she tried not to stammer, wondering why she was finding it so hard to articulate around her beautiful boss.
Kate paused for a moment, obviously considering Megan's motivation for asking, "Alright…" she agreed tentatively, "What time should I be there?"
Megan visibly brightened, "How about straight after work? We can order take out!"
Kate's lips twitched in amusement and she smiled slightly, "Alright, take out it is. Come to my office at 6 and I should be ready to go."
"Okay," Megan responded, almost wiggling in excitement. She watched Kate entering her office and knew that 6pm couldn't possibly come quick enough.
00000
Sure enough, 6pm felt like it took an eternity to arrive and Megan was itching to go by the time the clock ticked over. After visiting Claire in hospital that morning, the day had been relatively uneventful. Fischer's body had very little to tell – he should have been eating a less fatty diet, but other than that the murder was straight forward. He'd been taken by surprise, beaten, and then had his throat slit by an expert with a scalpel. He was a despicable man who had raped countless women, Kate included, and although Megan loathed any form of death she couldn't help but feel that just maybe this one had been deserved.
Bud and Sam had gone to Jonathan's home, but nobody had seen him since Fischer's body had been found. It was looking like Kate theory was being proven true, but until they found Jonathan they wouldn't have any answers.
However, Megan didn't want to think about that now. The clock ticked over and she stood up, rushing out of her office and towards Kate's. Before she reached the door she paused for a moment, schooling her features into a mask of calm. Walking the final meter she knocked on the door and pushed it open. Kate looked up, glanced at her watch and smiled.
"Time must have gotten away from me. I'm ready to go now, though."
Megan smiled at her, fully aware that she looked slightly ridiculous, "Great, I'll grab my bag and meet you by the elevator?" Kate nodded in response and Megan turned away, mentally rolling her eyes at herself.
Look at you, Megan! her conscience snickered, Smiling like a school girl. You've got it bad.
"Oh, shut up," she mumbled under her breath.
00000
Megan's laugh trailed off as she pushed the carton aside, smiling at Kate and tucking her legs up underneath her. "So… kind of a shock that Fischer's dead, huh?"
They'd been avoiding the subject of Dr Fischer's death for the majority of the evening, but Megan knew they'd have to discuss it at some point. Kate smiled ruefully at her, "I know what you want to ask, Megan, so just say it."
Megan spent a few long moments just gazing at the woman she was slowly developing feelings for, sorrow filling her as she prepared to ask what she was almost positive she wouldn't want to know the answer to, "Did he… that is, did you…" Megan cut herself off with a sigh before trying again, "Did Dr Fischer treat you in the same way he treated the others? Did he rape you?"
Kate was silent as she stared at the coffee table with a glass of wine in her hand. Megan thought that she had gone too far and was about to apologize when Kate replied, "I didn't think of it as rape. Not for a long time."
"Oh?" Megan didn't know how to respond to that, but her heart broke as Kate gave her a sad smile, eyes welling up.
"Yeah. It wasn't until I was with Todd, that I really realised what was going on in my life," clearing her throat and shifting Kate got ready to explain what she barely understood herself, "It was just one of those things; you had to have sex with him or you'd fail the course. My career was everything to me so I did it, even though I hated myself for years afterwards. Even though I still hate myself for it. After that I never had a serious relationship, only flings with various men. And then Todd came along."
Kate paused as though lost in her own thoughts and Megan felt the need to prompt her along, "Todd changed everything, then?"
Coming back to herself she smiled slightly, "Yes and no. He sped things up; sped my realisation up. He wanted me to be committed and I didn't want that, couldn't want that. Not with him or any other man. Of course, he wanted to know why that was. He had the right to know. I lied to him, told him that my career and my relationship with you couldn't allow for us to be together. The real reason was that I couldn't trust him, him or any other man after what Dr Fischer did to me. I realised that it had been rape and that I should have reported him. I hate him for what he did to me."
There was silence as Kate contemplated and Megan tried to digest what she'd been told. She was filled with loathing for the man deposited on her table, for what he'd done to Kate. "I hate him for it too," she admitted, drawing Kate's attention back to her, "For everything he's done to countless girls," she licked her lips, unconsciously leaning closer to Kate as Kate leaned in to hear her speaking quietly, "I detest him for what he did to you. I loathe death but I can't help feeling that maybe some people deserve it…"
Kate smiled slightly, her eyes flicking down to Megan's lips, "I'm glad we agree. And what I told Todd wasn't all lies… our relationship did affect what Todd and I had, but it wasn't how I felt about you professionally."
Megan locked eyes with Kate, her breath increasing as they inched closer. She could feel Kate's breath on her face, smell her perfume. Pausing in anticipation, asking for permission, Megan leaned forward with the intent of capturing her boss's red lips…
…when her phone rang.