DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews again, I really appreciate it. Real life has been hectic but I was determined to get this next chapter up before tomorrow night's new episode. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 10

Sharon was waiting outside Interview Room 2 when Andy and Mike brought Croelick there. Croelick saw her waiting for him and he smiled. "I knew you didn't forget about me, Sharon," Croelick said as he walked past her into the room. She glanced at Andy and they silently nodded to each other. Sharon followed them into the room and closed the door behind her.

Mike removed the handcuffs on Croelick and handed them back to Andy. "Please Bill, have a seat. There's a lot of questions I have to ask you," Sharon said as she sat down across the table from him. Croelick rubbed his wrists and then looked at Andy who was standing behind Sharon and then Mike who had sat down next to her. He pulled out the chair and then sat down.

"Let's get started," Croelick sneered as he waited for Sharon to start. "Okay, let's start with this, why are you renting an apartment in Eagle Rock? Did you miss being in LA, is that why?" Sharon asked him. Croelick smiled. "Oh I see, you're turning this investigation onto me now, right?" Croelick questioned as he looked at Sharon and then up at Andy. "Answer the question," Andy told him. Croelick snickered at Andy and then stared at Sharon.

"Yes, I'm currently renting an apartment there," he answered her. "Why?" Sharon questioned him. "Well, I had such a nice time last year when I was called back by you guys that I decided it was time for me to move back to LA," Croelick leaned back on the chair. "I'm glad you mentioned that, because I have the settlement agreement that you made with the DA's office when you sued the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD, and I'll tell you, Bill, that it said you wouldn't come back or step foot in LA county," Sharon said and Andy shifted in his spot as he stood there watching Croelick.

"Uh oh, looks like you violated that agreement, Croelick," Andy said to him and Croelick looked up at him. "No, no I did not, you guys called me last year and asked me to come down because you had questions. If anyone violated that agreement, it was you guys," Croelick stated back to them. "Fine, I'm not going to push that issue when there are others on the table," Sharon said as she folded her hands on top of the table.

"We caught your friend, Randall Meijers, earlier tonight. And it was quite an interesting conversation with him afterwards when we brought him back here. You know what he told us?" Sharon asked him. Croelick shook his head and wondered where Sharon was going with this interview. "He mentioned you by name. Now I thought you didn't really know him," she added and he shifted in his chair. "I told you that I overheard him talking about fires and I wanted to see what he had in mind," Croelick stated as he pointed his finger down on the table.

The rest of the team was watching the interview from Electronics. "Oh, I think we hit a nerve," Provenza stated as they watched the monitors.

"A body was brought to the morgue in late July and it was brought to our attention recently. This body was badly burned, almost unrecognizable, her hands missing when she was discovered in La Tuna Canyon, after the fire was extinguished," Sharon informed Croelick. "This is a picture of the body," she showed him and he took the picture in his hands and looked at the body. "What I find strange is that this body was burned the same way you burned your girlfriend, Bill," Sharon said. "Can you explain that coincidence?" she added as she leaned forward in her chair.

Croelick stared at her. "It's well known what you did to your girlfriend all those years ago, so don't look surprised I would know that," Sharon stated trying to see if Croelick would take the bait. Croelick smiled. "Did Andy describe to you how I did that?" Croelick asked her in wonder. "Is that what you talk about when he's lying on top of you?" Croelick stated after a brief pause. "It's in the report of her murder, asshole," Andy gritted his teeth and stepped closer.

Croelick looked at Andy and smiled. "I'm not here to talk about the past, Sharon. That's not why you brought me back up here, is it?" Croelick focused back on Sharon. He then looked back at the picture he was holding in his hands.

"Randall stated to us that he started this fire back in July, but I don't quite believe him," Sharon added as Croelick looked up from the picture at her. 'Randall's taking credit for his work?' he thought to himself as he sat there. "Oh, so you think I started this fire?" he chuckled as he looked at them. "That's exactly what we think," Andy told him as he moved closer to stand right next to Sharon. Croelick shook his head and placed the picture back on the table.

"If you had more evidence that I was involved in that fire, I'd be arrested by now," Croelick stated. "Randall is your man for the fires, not me," he insisted. "You're lying," Andy told him. "Am I Lieutenant?" he fired back as he sat there. "You can't prove anything. You don't know who this person was who was burned. You can't put me at the scene. Why would I come back after all these years to start another fire?" Croelick asked them.

"Cause it's in you, and once you got a taste of it, you craved it and kept craving it until you can almost taste it again, and then one day you do taste it and all the feelings come back," Andy placed his hands on the table and got into Croelick's face as he spoke. Croelick looked at him as he spoke. "You should know," Croelick told him and he could tell he was getting under Andy's skin. Before Andy could do anything, he felt Sharon's hand on his arm. Andy stared at Croelick as he moved away from the table.

"Who was she Bill?" Sharon asked him point blank. Croelick looked at her and smiled. "Nice try Sharon but I know my rights, and if you don't have any evidence linking me to this fire and the body, I can walk out right now," Croelick sat back and then started to stand up. "Well, it's been a pleasure again. Thank yew," he stood up and started to walk towards the door.

"Bill, you came to us first with this information, why?" Sharon stood up and he stopped just before he got to the door. "Because Randall is psychotic and he needed to be stopped, so I figured with our relationship, I should tell you and Andy about him, as a concerned citizen of LA of course," Croelick answered her and then he started to go for the door again.

"One more thing before you walk out of here," Sharon said and Croelick stopped and looked at her. Andy watched them and he did not like how close Sharon was to Croelick at this point. Croelick was standing right next to her. He breathed in her scent as he closed his eyes and waited for her question. Andy took this opportunity to move Sharon behind him and when Croelick opened his eyes he was looking at Andy now instead.

He turned his head to Sharon, disappointed that she moved. "You want to know why Randall mentioned my name, right?" Croelick asked as he stared at Andy. "Yes," she said as she watched him. "Because I befriended him after I found out what he was planning to do and what he had done before. He bragged to me about it and anyone who does that, should be stopped," Croelick answered and then gestured for Andy to move out of his way.

"Always a pleasure Andy, Sharon, Lieutenant Tao," Croelick said to all three of them and then left the room. Andy watched him leave and head down the hallway. "We're just gonna let him walk out of here?" Andy stated in a louder than normal voice. Mike looked at Sharon and then at Andy. "I'm going to go check on something, excuse me," Mike said to them and then left the room as he could feel an argument brewing between the two.

Buzz turned the monitor to interview room 2 off. "Hey, why'd you do that?" Provenza asked him. "We don't need to see their conversation Lieutenant," Buzz answered. "Besides, I think the public defender is here for Randall," Buzz said as he pointed to that monitor. Provenza grumbled something under his breath as he stood up from his seat and walked out of Electronics.

"Andy, you and I both know we did not have anything solid against Croelick to hold him any longer than we already did," Sharon said to him and tried to calm him down. Andy was mad, but not at Sharon, at the stupid justice system all those years ago when Croelick was freed from prison. He would be a constant thorn in Andy's side from now on. "He killed her!" Andy yelled. "We can't prove that and until we do, he's free to go," Sharon stated and was interrupted by Julio before she could say anything else.

"Ma'am, Randall's appointed attorney is here now with him in Interview Room 1," Julio said as he stood in the hallway. "Thank you," she said as she turned to Julio and watched him leave before turning her attention back to Andy. "Andy I'd like you to sit in with me on this interview now, since he has an attorney, I want him to see your neck," she said as she ran her fingers on the back of his neck.

"He's not going to go away," Andy looked up at her and she looked into his eyes. "I know," she responded and their eyes spoke volumes to what words couldn't say at that moment. Andy stood up and walked with Sharon out of the room and towards the office where Interview Room 1 was located.

Meanwhile, Croelick left the PAB and started to walk down the street. It was dark out but the street lamps were on and the city was bustling with people going places. He'd gotten away with the fire and the body. It was too bad they didn't have a picture of the girl before she was burned beyond recognition. She was brunette just like Sharon and her type and build as well. When he first saw her in that bar, she reminded him of Sharon and that's why he started talking to her that night. A smile came across his face as he continued down the street.

Back in the Murder Room, Provenza waited for Sharon and Andy to return back to the office so they could re-start the interview with Randall. Andrea was waiting for them as well. "Andrea," Sharon said as she walked towards her. "If you can link Randall to all of the fires that he says he's started, we can press for arson charges but, I would like to get him on aggravated arson charges, which carries a higher sentencing," Andrea explained to her as Andy and Provenza stood there.

"He was convicted of arson among other things when he was 18 years old," Andy chimed in as the two women started walking towards Electronics. "That's over ten years ago, it has to be more recently, unfortunately," Andrea stated as she looked at Sharon and then Andy. "What happened to you, Lieutenant?" she asked him as she noticed the bruising on his neck. "Let's just say he didn't want to be arrested quietly," he mumbled to her and waited for Sharon before he entered the interview room. Andrea and Provenza both walked into Electronics to watch the interview.

Andy and Sharon walked into the interview room and saw Randall's new defense attorney sitting next to him. "Ah, hello Jennings," Andy muttered his greeting as he and Sharon sat down in the chairs across from them. "I understand my client confessed to starting around ten fires before he asked for an attorney," Jennings stated to them. "Your client waved his right to counsel and answered our questions freely," Sharon informed him.

"Right, but now he asked for an attorney and I'm here, so are you guys looking at a deal of some kind with this, or are we going to a trial?" Jennings asked them. "Well, your client, Randall Meijers, is going to be charged with arson," Sharon started to say. "Oh, that's easy, we'll make a deal for 3 years in prison and a fine," Jennings jumped to that conclusion but Sharon wasn't finished. Andy shook his head at the stupidity of the lawyer.

"Yeah, I don't think three years and a fine is good enough for the crime that your client admitted to us," Sharon continued. "Because, in setting those fires, not only did it cause damage to property, people lost their lives in those fires," she added. "I made sure no one was there at the fires I set. I made sure that the area was clear of any bodies. I didn't want to kill anyone, I just wanted to make a statement," Randall spoke up.

"You wanted to make a statement by burning several acres and threatening the livelihood of people's houses and daily activities?" Sharon stated to Randall as he sat there. "How many fires did you actually set, Randall?" Andy asked him. "I did set ten, some last year and the rest this year, like I said earlier," Randall stated.

"Where are you going with these questions? My client already confessed to starting the fires and you caught him earlier tonight setting one in Griffith Park. What else do you want from him?" Jennings interjected. "We have reason to believe that your client was not working alone with the last fire he set previous to tonight's," Sharon stated as she wanted to see if Randall would implicate Croelick in the La Tuna fire.

"I worked alone, no one else knew about it or helped me," Randall told them. "Then why did you mention the name Bill earlier when we spoke to you?" Sharon asked him. Randall sat back and sighed. "I met him in a bar a couple of months ago and we got to talking. I was there after I came off shift. Got bad news at the station that day about our fire pensions. Even though we're divorced, my ex-wife and my kids would be in line to get that money, and I couldn't let anything happen to that. I started talking about the fires that I started and told him I was planning a bigger one than anyone else had seen. He seemed interested and new a lot about fires. The next day there was a rally in front of City Hall and I saw him there," Randall stated.

"Why would you set fires then?" Andy asked him. Randall looked at Jennings and he nodded that he could answer. "Because I thought that if there were fires, then the fire fighters would become an important and invaluable job, so that these naysayers in charge of the pension system wouldn't dump it," Randall confessed as he held his head in his hands.

"We need a list of all the fires that he started and the approximate dates those occurred," Sharon said as she slid the notepad over to the other side of the table. "The Assistant DA will be in here shortly to conjure up a deal for your client," Sharon added and then stood up from the table and walked out of the room. Andy followed her and watched her as she met up with Andrea outside of Electronics.

"I can charge him with arson, possession of combustible material in preparation for arson, and unlawfully causing a fire, so far. I'll see what else I can come up with," Andrea stated and then walked towards the interview room. Andy nodded to her as she passed him in the hallway. "Let's close this case," he heard her tell Provenza as he walked out of Electronics. "Yes, Commander," he said as he watched her walk into her office.

Provenza gestured for everyone to close up this case as he stood there. Andy walked over to the Murder Board and started to take all of the pictures from the case down. He handed them to Amy who then placed them in a box. "I'll start on the paperwork for the arrest and everything else," Mike said as he sat down at his desk and worked on his computer.

It was closer to midnight by the time Andy knocked on Sharon's door. He stepped inside and saw her sitting at her desk signing some papers. "Everyone left already and I was wondering if you were finished?" he asked her in an almost shy voice. She looked up at him and smiled. "I am," she said as she finished signing her name to one of the reports. She then closed the file folder and placed them on the side of her desk.

She stood up and gathered her things. "Chief Mason called earlier. Said we did good work and informed me that Robbery/Homicide would be on call this weekend," she told him as she went to put her jacket on. Andy took it from her hands and held it open as she slipped her arms in the sleeves and he placed the jacket on her. "That's good to hear," he told her as she opened her office door and they walked out together.

It was after midnight, Wednesday morning by the time they got home. They were greeted by Moxie who met them at the back door of the house. Sharon hung up her coat and took her shoes off. She then made her way into the kitchen. Andy followed her there and came up behind her as she stood at the island. She was reading a note that Rusty had left them.

Andy started to move Sharon's hair to one side and kissed the exposed skin of her neck as she stood there. She hummed at his kisses and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her as she turned around in his arms. His eyes gave her his apology for everything that occurred yesterday. She pulled him closer to her and kissed his lips. They stood there for what seemed like minutes until they broke apart. "Let's wash this day off of us," Sharon suggested to him and then took his hand and lead him upstairs with her.

She led him into their bathroom and started the shower. He then reached for her and started to take her clothes off. She did the same to him and they climbed into the shower together. She looked at his neck and got a good glimpse of the bruising that occurred from Randall choking him. 'Another time she almost lost him,' she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Andy was caressing his hands all over her body as she stood underneath the water spray.

He reached over and poured her shower gel into his hands and began washing her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was being so gentle with her and she started to cry. Andy saw this and wiped the tear from her face. "Don't cry Sharon," he whispered to her and she shook her head. "I love you so much," she said as he looked at her. The soap was forgotten as they stood there under the water spray in a kiss.

TBC