At your Door
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Chapter 6
Jo thumbed through the various papers she had scattered around her, nothing was jumping out, nothing shouted that this was the key. She sighed, picking up yet another post-it note and sticking it to a sheet of paper.
Talking with the few people who had known Craig Lewes had offered nothing, no girlfriend had come out of the woodwork.
"You gettin' anywhere?" Lindsay asked as she flopped down into her own chair.
"Nowhere" Jo sighed "But I'm gettin' there fast"
"I didn't get anything outstanding from Devon's clothes" Lindsay offered "Trace DNA of Lewes, and of course, the dreaded brick dust"
Jo cupped her chin with her hands "Oh the brick dust?" she laughed sedately "Yes I've heard about that, Danny's personal nemesis"
"He's had everyone take a look, a sniff, a test" Lindsay smiled "And still nothing, though he has some big plan up his sleeve. All he'd say was that, and I quote, 'If I ever leave you, it will be for the Doc, because the guy is a genius. Boom'"
"Subtle" Jo laughed.
"That's my husband" Lindsay shrugged.
"I know what we need" Jo rubbed her face with her hands "Coffee"
"I'll grab us both a mug" Lindsay said, standing wearily "I need to call and check on Lucy anyway"
"Oh not that coffee!" Jo gave a sly grin "We need proper coffee, with pastries and calories and people coming and going"
"Detective Danville" Lindsay returned the sly grin "Are you suggesting we wag off?"
"That's precisely what I am suggesting" Jo laughed "Get your coat, anyone asks, we've got a lead"
"Well, you are the boss" Lindsay replied, shrugging into her jacket "To refuse could be considered rude"
"Exactly!" Jo smiled as they headed for the elevator "Hey!" she suddenly called out, Lindsay twisting to see who she was calling.
Stella's head was lowered as she sat in the briefing room, she had adopted the space as an office, declining Jo's offer to share her desk, and not voicing the fact that she'd have to find it first.
"Stella?!" Jo called when she didn't get a response.
"Oh!" Stella looked startled, nudged from some obvious deep thinking.
"Sorry!" Jo told her brightly "Do you fancy some proper coffee and company?" she asked "Lindsay and I are going to do some research, with calories"
Stella's eyes met Lindsay's, and her natural suspicion of everything was eased, she saw that the invitation was genuine, she made a snap decision, she needed to get out of this building, seeing as she couldn't get out of the city.
"I'd love to" she replied with a smile, one that Jo noticed wasn't quite as forced as usual.
…...
"Mom" Jo tried getting a word in edgeways "Mom, I..." she rolled her eyes at the other two at the table comically as she was again cut off.
She listened in pained silence, fiddling with a napkin and idly watching Stella, trying to work her out.
Really must stop trying to profile the good guys.
"Right, mother!" Jo suddenly snapped "I am hanging up, right now, I am busy. Contrary to your belief I have a life, and right now I am trying to live it. I will call you tonight"
Jo placed the cell onto the table carefully, grinning at Lindsay, including Stella in her smile.
"Mothers!" she blew out a breath.
"Mine's the same" Lindsay inclined her head "Listening to our conversations, you would never guess that I have a husband, a child and can look after all of us. She goes on like I'm still in high school and dating the baseball captain"
"Well it's kinda true" Stella laughed "Danny was a baseball captain"
"Who never grew up much past high school" Lindsay laughed "Do you know what his mother said when we told her we were expecting Lucy?"
Lindsay raised her eyebrows at Stella and then Jo in turn and continued "That 'It was only a matter of time, and at least he hadn't knocked up a cheerleader!'"
Stella covered her mouth with her hand, laughing "Oh God" she gasped "I bet that gave you a pretty clear picture of Danny as a senior"
"Oh believe me" Lindsay said knowingly "From some of the stories I've heard, Lucy could have a few half brothers and sisters out there!"
"Oh not Danny!" Stella said "He's far too fond of being a father to pass that up, he's great with Lucy, and anyway as I hear it, he was always careful"
"I don't wanna know" Lindsay laughed.
"Wise" Stella nodded, her eyes drawn to Jo, who had remained unusually silent and thoughtful "You OK?" she asked.
"I..." Jo paused "I have an idea, about Lewes"
"Are you going to share it?" Lindsay asked, she was a little thrown by Jo's withdrawal.
"When" Jo faltered again "If I know it's right" she decided, standing up hurriedly, dropping her bag as she stuffed arms into her coat.
Lindsay and Stella watched her leave, both slightly unnerved.
…...
Mac noticed. Mac noticed everything, he noticed the drawn and dark lines around Flack's face, he noticed Danny's look of concern to his friend, he noticed Adam's well concealed discomfort at the team meeting. He noticed the buzz around Jo, the inquisitiveness around Lindsay, the rapt attention from Hawkes and the marked relaxation in Stella. Oh yes, Mac noticed what they never thought he could. He wondered at the differing effect one night could have on people.
"Jo" Mac handed her the floor, the order to attend the briefing room had come from him, after she had presented her findings, the show though, was all hers, and knowing Jo, a show it would be. Mac sat back and folded his arms, although he knew what she was about to say, he could only marvel at the profiler in her that had somehow put this together, when no one else had, and her utter determination to get to the bottom of it.
"Well, thank you" Jo inclined her head gracefully to Mac, then faced the team "I have discovered Lewes motive, with clues and pieces from you all, I have managed to discover enough to give us some more insight. After this I have something for you all to work on, to get deeper into this guys phsyche" she began.
"Craig Lewes works now in a completely different way to how he used to" she continued "He used to stalk his victims, study them. Now, through necessity, he can't because he doesn't have the anonymity he used to enjoy. He also doesn't have the resources, though he must have some resources, because all the witnesses so far have said he was well dressed and presented, that is not the look of someone sleeping rough"
"If I ever get through 'brick-dust gate'" Danny drawled "I will let you know"
A small laugh echoed around the room, probably intended by Jo, before she again held their attention.
"Devon Maxford's statement indicates that he told her of a girlfriend, one who was pregnant and found out after they split up. He talked at length about it, how badly he treated her, how he told her they would never get back together, and that as a result, when he tried to repair the relationship, the 'girlfriend' told him of the pregnancy, or rather the fact it no longer existed"
She waited for the information to sink in before continuing, she heard scribbles, her eyes drawn to Adam who doodled as he listened, finding an outlet for his discomfort.
"He then asked her for her take on it, would she do the same? And she has, she has done the same. That was when he told her that she had 'agreed' she could take her punishment. I wondered on that, the fact she had 'agreed'. I did more digging, a lot more and I have discovered that Lewes mother had a failed abortion, he was the result"
Jo watched intently as faces changed, breaths were exhaled.
"So, we have a motive. Lewes looks for women who resemble his mother, he stalks them, he watches them, sometimes for months, before he makes his move. Somehow he finds out there is a possibility that they have terminated a pregnancy, and then gets them to admit it. The punishment, we have all seen"
Mac stood, standing beside Jo "Now we have work to do" he told the faces "Adam, I want you to dig into each vic from the original case, and the two from this time, there has to be a connection, he has to have found it. Start with clinics, look at bank accounts too, try and find out firstly if these women had terminations and where, and how he found out about it"
"Got it boss" Adam saluted without looking up.
"Danny, give the brick dust a rest" he gave a small smile "And go with Don, go again through police reports of muggings and burglaries, anything reported that could have been Lewes. Lindsay, you and Stella find out as much as you can about the mother. Hawkes, I want you to go over the autopsy reports and Devon's assault report with Sid, find me something"
The team filed from the room.
…...
