Chapter 7
The next morning Bobby slipped out of the kitchen to Madison's room, leaving his wife finishing off her coffee and bagel and his daughter still working on her cheerios.
He glanced over the closed window and then unlocked it before pushing it and then the screen open. He ducked under and then carefully climbed out onto the iron fire escape.
He glanced around the small cube and then down the seven floors to the ground below, but nothing jumped out at him.
He crouched down with a sigh and then examined the columns of the railing. On one edge he caught sight of a small black thread he thought probably came from a hem of a shirt.
He pulled the thread from the metal and then studied it as it sat between his nimble fingers. He stood still holding it, until a breeze blew across him and the thread flew from his hand.
He huffed and glanced around the alley beneath him.
"Bobby!" he heard Alex call and her then her footsteps approaching the room.
"Yeah…I'm coming," Bobby said as he crawled back into the apartment.
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The captain was already half way to their desks, when Bobby and Alex stepped into the squad room the following morning.
"Morning, captain," Alex said.
"Detectives," Ross said with a nod. "Rogers called this morning…she matched the DNA to Strauss. Go pick him up."
Ross turned on his heel and headed back to his office.
Alex glanced up at Bobby and then turned back toward the elevators with Bobby close behind.
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ADA Casey Novak and Ross stood in the observation room, while Alex and Bobby sat in an interrogation room across from Peter Strauss and his well dressed attorney, Lionel Curtis.
Ross glanced over the steely ADA, who glared at Strauss through the glass.
"You're sure he's good for this?" Ross asked.
"I'm sure he's capable of it," Casey said. "We had his DNA, he was the last person to see Lisa, but his lawyer spun this whole story that Strauss was only being prosecuted for his sexual proclivities…said we should look into another man she was dating. It didn't help that we had no crime scene, so McCoy said we needed more to file chargers."
"Another body would do it…" Ross said and then turned up the volume on the intercom to hear the interview.
Strauss sat back in the metal chair with his ankle resting on his knee and his shoulders relaxed in a crisp suit. The confident twitch tugging at his lips easily waved off his concerned for the charges the detectives wanted to bring against him.
"My client is invoking his right to silence," Curtis said.
"Well he can still listen," Alex said. "Don't bother denying that you knew her because the DNA we found inside her matches yours."
"If you have charges to bring against my client then get it over with, otherwise we're leaving," Curtis said.
"S-so you're just going to let your lawyer handle things…th-that's understandable," Bobby said. "You already lied to us once…he-he wouldn't want you to slip up again."
"Watch yourself, detective," Curtis said.
"No, let him speak Lionel," Strauss said. "You want the truth?"
"Peter," Curtis warned.
"Quiet, Lionel," Strauss said. "So yes…I knew her…we'd been seeing each other for years, but we agreed to be discrete…if anyone asked we didn't know each other."
"Well, that's very convenient," Bobby said. "Especially since she can't confirm or deny—"
"Look, I didn't kill her…just like I didn't kill Lisa."
"So you just happened to have sex with her with the same night that someone else bashed in her skull," Alex said.
Alex could feel her skin crawl as Strauss ate her with his eyes.
"Maybe someone's following me…attacked them to frame me…" Strauss said. "I definitely have had my share of enemies."
"Like husbands, boyfriends of the women you brutalize," Bobby said and then placed a photo of Tricia's body on the table. "There's a lot of bruises…did you do most that?"
Strauss glanced over the big detective and held Bobby's eyes, which were just as sure as his.
"So she liked it rough…that's not a crime. I find many women in powerful positions like being submissive in bed," Strauss said as his eyes fell back onto Alex. "Does your husband like the fact that you're a cop?"
Alex sat back, crossing her arms over her chest and tried to keep her expression blank.
"What makes you think I have one?" Alex asked.
Strauss pointed to her necklace, which apparently had slipped out of the neckline of her sleeveless sweater, and said, "The ring on your neck…or maybe you're a widow."
Bobby leaned forward with a forced smile.
"Personally, I don't know how he does it…if my wife was a cop…I-I'd never sleep," Bobby said. "May-maybe I just can't handle strong women…not like you. You do like strong women, don't you? Or-or do you just like forcing them to have sex with you?"
"I've never had to force anyone!" Strauss said ready to bolt up from his seat, but Lionel's hand to his chest stopped him.
Bobby glanced at Alex and then their ears perked at a light tapping from the other side of the glass.
"Give us a minute," Alex said coolly as she rose from the table.
Bobby followed, holding the door as he gave Strauss a final once over, and then made his way to the observation room.
They found Ross and Casey watching them expectantly as they entered the observation room.
"He-he's not giving anything up," Bobby said stepping toward the glass.
"He doesn't have to…juries don't buy coincidences," Casey said. "Charge him. I'll get him arraigned this afternoon."
The detectives nodded and watched the ADA breeze out of the room.
Ross sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"You heard her…I just hope she knows what she's getting herself into," Ross said.
"His lawyer's not going to make it easy, but she's right…it's too much of a coincidence," Alex said.
"Get him booked," Ross said. "But afterwards take a team to his apartment…see if you can find any other ammunition for Ms. Novak."
Ross gave a nod to the detectives and then made his way to the door.
They watched Ross leave and then turned back toward each other.
"Can't handle strong women?" Alex muttered with a smirk as she stepped closer to Bobby.
He gave her a sheepish smile.
"Between you and Madison I sometimes wonder."
Alex grinned and turned her attention back toward Strauss.
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Strauss's loft was modern and cool, filled with steel and exposed beams. The furniture seemed hard and uninviting to Alex, who couldn't fathom any woman subjecting herself to a slime like Strauss.
The CSU techs had not been able to find so much as a hair fiber or partial print anywhere in the apartment.
Probably let his cleaning lady, unknowingly, clean up any evidence, Alex thought.
She watched Bobby scan the beams above them and then his eyes came to settle on one particular vent.
"Eames," he called and she looked up to where he was staring. "Th-the paint on those screws…it's been scratched off…"
"Like they're taken on and off a lot," Alex said.
Bobby nodded and then went in search for one of the tech's ladders, finding one and then dragging it over.
He climbed to the second to the last step and then pulled out his pocket knife to loosen the screws. He placed the panel to the vent on the top step and then reached his arm inside, sweeping it around until his hand landed on something soft and plastic.
Bobby pulled out two Zip-lock bags, each holding one pair of panties.
"Trophies?" Bobby asked, holding up the bags.
"And look, he even put them in evidence bags for us…how thoughtful," Alex said, while Bobby passed the bags to her.
One of the techs approached her and she passed him the bags.
"Rush these to the lab for us," Alex said.
The tech nodded and then left Alex to stare back up at Bobby who was pulling out another, smaller bag. His expression changed as he looked over whatever he had found.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
He stepped down and looked over her with worried eyes.
Alex reached her hand out and he reluctantly passed her the bag. She realized it was a group of photos and turned it over to find a photo of herself talking to the uniform cop right after they had arrived at Tricia's crime scene.
A/N: Thanks to those of you have been reviewing. I am glad you are enjoying.
Also I have to give credit to rindy73 for the idea of having Bobby go and examine the fire escape. For some reason that never occurred to me for him to do, but it sounded like something he would do.
