The next day found Rita and Chris at FLPD headquarters waiting for Jason Erikson and his family lawyer. Entering the FLPD bullpen was strangely like coming home for Chris and Rita. They were trying to keep a low profile, and Hutch made no effort to introduce them to his staff. Hutch's crew seemed pretty good and they felt uncomfortable with Hutch's obvious preference for them. They'd been minor celebrities at PBPD, but they never wanted to be treated differently. They just wanted to be good cops. Their musings were cut short as Hutch entered with Jason Erikson and his lawyer.
"Mr. Erickson, counselor. Let me introduce Andrew and Cassie Lauton. They are Private Investigators and assisting us with this investigation. I'll be asking most of the questions Mr. Erickson. As a minor your parents should really be here, but I understand that they are out of the country."
"Captain," the lawyer began, "I'm allowing this interview to take place because Jason was life long friends with one of the victims, but if this goes sideways-even a bit-we're done. Do you hear me Captain?"
The brittle smile that Chris and Rita saw forming on Hutch's face was well known to them. "Oh I hear you. Now you hear me! Your client happens to be the last person to see the deceased alive. We have an impartial witness who can verify that. They say lawyers should never ask a question they don't know the answer to, don't they?"
Johnson turned scarlet, but Hutch ignored him and turned to Jason Erikson "Now son tell us about the night Becky and Kristin vanished."
Jason looked scared and overwhelmed. He looked at his feet as he stammered. "We-we were at a-a water park."
"You went with the girls?" Rita asked softly.
"No-no. I ran into them. I ran into them. Becky was always nice to me. She never laughed at me. You're nice too." He looked up at Rita.
"Well you seem nice too, Jason. I'd like you to help me find the person who hurt Becky. Can you do that? Can you remember anything else that happened?"
Jason was about to say something when the door to the interrogation opened and in walked a very handsome young man, who could only be Jason's brother Damian, and a flustered female officer. Hutch exploded, "dammit Jensen. I said no interruptions."
"Don't be mad at her Captain," Damian Erickson said. He turned to Officer Jenson, "thanks so much for guiding me here Amanda. Maybe I'll see you later?" Officer Jensen backed out of the room never taking her eyes off Damian. "Captain Hutchinson, I'm Damian Erickson," he extended his hand and Hutch reluctantly took it. "Jason's brother and, in the absence of our parents, his legal guardian. I did not authorize this meeting!"
"Jason is here to help us investigate the deaths of Becky Christian and Kristin Russell. If you're your brothers keeper you should keep better tabs on him," Chris snapped.
Damian's smile froze on his lips, "I'm sorry, we've not been introduced. Detective?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Private Investigator, Andrew Lauton." Neither man offered their hand, but by this point Damian had turned his attention to Rita.
"And who is this vision?" Before she could stop him he took her hand and kissed it. Rita yanked her hand back and crossed her arms.
"Private Investigator, Cassie Lauton," she answered tightly.
"The pleasure is all mine Mrs. Lauton. So are we done Captain? Can I take my brother away?"
"Not yet Mr. Erikson. Jason was just about to tell about the last time he saw the girls…"
"That's impossible, Captain. Jason was with me that whole night. I can supply five witness."
"Well we also have a witness that's prepared to say the exact opposite," Hutch fired back.
Rita noticed that Jason was even more deflated under his brother's gaze. Hoping that she'd managed to connect with him Rita said softly. "Jason, Jason. Please help us. What happened that night?" Jason's eyes flicked up and he looked at Rita.
"You know Mrs. Lauton. You look so familiar. I swear that I've met you before-" Rita ignored him and concentrated on Jason.
"I think you're mistaken Mr. Erickson. I'm sure we'd remember an upstanding citizen like yourself," Chris said icily.
"Say nothing Jason! We're going Captain. Unless you're going to charge my brother with something." He pulled his brother out of his chair and towards the door.
"Don't take any long trips," Hutch said softly.
"Jason please. It's not too late," Rita said forcefully.
"I'm afraid you're wrong about that! I'll remember who you really are and I'm positive I'll see you again lovely lady." Chris jumped from his chair, but Hutch stopped him with a glance.
"Well they are quite the family, aren't they?" Hutch said dryly as the door closed.
"Jason knows what happened Hutch! And that slimy brother of his is neck deep in this. He's a slam dunk for the profile-handsome, narcissistic, psychopathic, and he runs in the same circles as the victims."
"I know Rita, I know. But right now we can't prove a damn thing," Hutch replied. "What do you say Chris?"
"I agree with Rita, but what I want to know is how the smug bastard knows her?"
"Chris, he was just messing with me. It's part of his game! I'd remember him. We can't let him get to us. We need to find a way to separate him from Jason."
Chris wasn't so sure, but he put it aside as he asked Hutch. "What did you find when you searched recent sexual assaults?"
Hutch studied Rita and Chris before replying. "There was one match. About two years ago an unknown perp assaulted several young women over a three week period. No prints, but he left a sample with one victim. He's an A-B secretor. The attacker wore a mask and sunglasses, but what they saw of him was white and young. About six foot, 170. Sound like anybody we know? If it is Damian, and right now he looks real good for it, we're going to need a lot more to get him"
"Well let's spitball this," Chris began. "Damian is running in the same social circles as the victims so prior contact is possible, but none of the eyewitness mention seeing the girls with anybody, let alone Damian. How is he getting them alone?"
"We were assuming the perp, Damian for now, was courting them, grooming them," Rita observed. "Maybe we're wrong, maybe he's getting them in some other way. Did the victims try to contact anybody before they were taken?"
"Just one had a cell phone with them. The oldest victim Vicky Snow. She was also the only one that had a car on site. Her last call was to a tow truck company. When her car was towed to the impound they found that it had a flat tire. What are you thinking Rita?" Hutch demanded.
"Maybe Damian knows them from the club scene or the country club or something else. Maybe there was flirtation or at least enough contact to make them trust him. Let's say he's following Vicky Snow. Stalking her. She leaves the club and goes to her car and-" Rita glanced at Chris.
"Sounds like Good Time Charlie Part 2. OK so he offers Vicky Snow a ride home, but they never get there. He takes her someplace, kills her, and dumps the body. Maybe he does the same thing with the other two, or maybe he engineers some other kind of chance meeting. I don't see us proving it. Maybe we get a sample and nab him with DNA, but we'd need a lot more to get a search warrant." Chris shook his head in frustration.
"It all comes back to Jason!" Rita said passionately. "If we can get him to talk maybe he'll give us enough to get his brother. I want to talk to Jason informally. I think I can get through to him-"
"No, no, no. No way in hell! To dangerous." Chris said strongly. Rita glared at him and was about to argue. Hutch cut her off.
"Hold it Lance and you too Lorenzo. He's 17 which means anything he says without a guardian or counsel present could be deemed inadmissible in court if we're not careful. You know that Rita, and Chris you know that Rita is right. He did seem to trust her." Rita and Chris both nodded. "Let me think on this and talk to the DA. Maybe we can figure something out."
Rita and Chris drove away from FLPD headquarters in silence. Rita knew Chris was just trying to look out for her, but in this case they couldn't afford his natural protectiveness. Drastic action was needed. She was so focused on finding a way to convince Chris that she failed to notice that he'd driven them to the beach. Finally she looked around.
"Where are we Sam? What's going on?" She looked at Chris with a quizzical glance and could tell he was hiding something, planning something.
"You caught me! Well we need to eat dinner," Chris explained patiently.
"I don't see anyplace to eat here, Chris," Rita pointed out.
"What are you a detective? Let me worry about that." He hopped out of the car and went to her door. "COME ON GIRL!" He exclaimed as he helped her out. Rita watched him move to the trunk and retrieve a large blanket, pillows, a picnic blanket, and a bouquet of flowers. He handed Rita the flowers, which she took and smelled with appreciation. Taking her hand he led her on to the beach. They selected a spot and Chris carefully arranged the blanket and pillows to provide Rita with as much comfort as possible.
"Christopher," Rita purred, "to what do I owe this very romantic dinner?"
"Can't I just show my beautiful wife a good time? Especially since we've been living under less then normal conditions. You deserve some pampering."
Rita felt a warm glow as she reflected on how hard Chris had been working, this past six months, to make her as comfortable as possible. She felt a certain level of guilt that she'd not been able to do the same thing for him. She was determined to make up for it once their life normalized.
"Thank you Chris. This was wonderful. I love you Chris. I Ooh, ahh" Rita grabbed her bump and grimaced.
"What's wrong? Are you OK Sam?" Rita saw the concern in Chris's eyes and knew she needed to remain calm. It was likely nothing more than her body preparing for birth.
Rita gasped and let the contraction pass before explaining. "It's nothing Chris. Just my body's way of reminding me that this baby isn't going to stay inside much longer. But I think maybe we should go home."
Chris quickly gathered the picnic and escorted Rita toward their waiting car. She knew they needed to select a obstetrician. Rita had done her best to keep a regular schedule of visits, but moving so often made it very difficult. She could only hope that the baby was healthy. Once in the relative safety of their house Rita opened up to Chris about her concerns.
"Chris I think we need to pick and obstetrician and figure out how we're going to handle my delivery. I'm concerned."
Chris had been trying to educate himself on the biology of pregnancy, but there were still many things that he felt completely out of depth about. The more he thought about it the more he knew that they had to get out of the shadow world they'd been living in.
"You OK Rita? Did the contractions pass?"
Rita nodded, "yes, but tomorrow maybe we can look for a doctor."
The next day Rita and Chris found themselves in a large medical arts building. The doctor they came to see, Julie Johnson, came highly recommended. Rita had seen four different doctors over six months, which was not at all normal.
Dr. Johnson raised an inquiring eyebrow as she flipped through the various doctor's notes. "You and your husband move around a lot, don't you? Do you plan to stay in Fort Lauderdale for the birth?" Rita nodded.
"Yes. We're ready to put down roots. So how is the baby doing?"
"As far as I can tell you're doing fine, but I'd like you to have an ultrasound. You should have had them before now, but we can't get that time back, so we'll have to just make the best of it. Let me escort you to the room."
The doctor led them to a seperate room where a technician was waiting for them. Rita made herself comfortable in the exam chair and shivered as the technician put jelly on her belly and placed the probe on her bump. Dr. Johnson watched the screen carefully as the technician ran through her normal routine.
"So far everything looks good. The baby seems to be very healthy. Did you want to know the sex?" Rita and Chris were transfixed by the images, although the speed with which the technician was moving the probe made them unsure what they were looking at. They nodded eagerly.
"It's a girl. That's her her face, arm, leg. We'll print a copy for you. It will be her first portrait."
Words escaped Rita and Chris. Seeing their daughter made her so much more real and their determination to stabilize their life, all the more urgent. They left the office on a cloud, hand in hand, and for a moment they forgot about the cases and the reality of their situation.
