Chapter Ten: Back to Work

Maria's POV

Adam was too shaken to sleep during the night. He wouldn't tell me what Jigsaw said. He finally fell asleep when the sun was coming up. I called Rickers as soon as he did and told him to pick me up. I couldn't sleep, either, so I figured I might as well be on the case.

Rickers came to the door after talking to the car that was stationed outside of my house. I gestured to Adam, who was asleep on the couch. The two of us stayed quiet until we were outside.

"You're not coming along," he said in a stern voice. "Not when you could be in danger."

"Rickers, every one of our cases has put me in danger," I argued.

"This is different, Maria. He's after you. You'd be safer here."

I knew that. Hell, I'd be safer in another state, but I had to do this. I had to find him and beat him at his own game. I was sure it was what my dad would've done. That, and I didn't think I could handle another night alone with Adam. I already told him too much. I had to keep it professional.

I shook my head stubbornly. "I'd rather risk it out here than be trapped in my own damn house. Adam will probably sleep for most of the day, but the car can stay out here in case something happens. Did you ever get anything on the records?"

Rickers shrugged as we walked to his car. "Nothing suspicious. One guy had a car accident, one was in for surgery, one had a serious case of pneumonia, one had a chemo treatment . . . There was a lot of people there."

"Well, it's a hospital. I'd assume so. Let's go look again, in case you overlooked something."

"All of them were moved to the department. We can see how the others are doing."

"Others?"

"Like I said, there were a lot of records. We took all of the records within the week of Adam arriving there. Some of the other guys at the department are helping."

He drove to the station and went in. Fetch was among the officers that were reading through reports. He looked tired, maybe even sick. Dark circles were under his eyes and he seemed pale. Rickers must've noticed, too, because he whistled softly when he walked in.

"Jesus, Fetch, you look terrible," he said. "You okay?"

"I'll make it," he answered weakly.

"Just don't spread it to anyone else. Did anyone find anything interesting?"

Everyone shook their heads sadly. We were so close. I knew something was being overlooked . . . I suddenly remembered the funeral.

"Rickers, have you looked for anyone that was a patient of Dr. Gordon's?" I asked.

"No, I forgot to clarify that," he sighed. "Shit. All right, everyone. We go through all files that say they were treated by Dr. Lawrence Gordon some point in time."

A lot of them groaned, but they gathered all of the files they had read through and started again. Rickers sighed and sat down beside Fetch. He took some files and began flipping through.

"You gonna help out, kid?" he asked me.

"I'm going to go check on something else," I answered. "I'll see you in a while. I'll bring some coffee if you need it."

I walked off toward the commissioner's office. I had to check my trace as soon as possible. I kept it from Rickers because I knew he would get too excited and jump the gun. I didn't even tell the dispatcher that started the trace. I just told her to hold on to the location and tell no one else about it. I hoped she kept her word.

I knocked on Mick's door and waited to hear his gruff voice answer. He seemed agitated, which was definitely never a good sign. He looked like he was ready to rip someone's head off if something didn't go the way he wanted. I sat down in front of his desk and tried to smile at him.

"What the hell do you have to grin at?" he snapped. "From what Rickers told me, you should still be at home. What happened to our witness?"

"He's fine," I answered, irritated at his mood. "He's under surveillance at my house. Don't worry about him. I have to talk to Katherine for a few minutes."

"Why?"

"She was on dispatch yesterday and I just needed to talk to her."

"She's not in until night shift. What's up, Cassidy?"

I cursed to myself. "It's nothing. What time is she supposed to be in?"

"Well, Harper's covering the radio for now. He should be done at around eight."

"All right, thanks."

I stood up to leave.

"Maria, hold on."

I stopped and turned to look at Mick. His eyebrows were raised questioningly.

"You would tell me if you thought you had something, wouldn't you? Please tell me you're not dumb enough to go try and get this guy on your own."

"Of course not," I lied.

"Just . . . make sure Rickers sticks around with you, all right? He can help if anything gets messy."

"What's the matter, Mick? You don't trust me?"

"I trust you won't do anything idiotic, Maria. Even if it's personal, I'd rather not see you dead."

"Point well taken. Thanks."

I walked out and went to the radio room where Harper was talking momentarily before taking notes on a pad. I tapped his shoulder. He turned and smiled at me.

"Hey, did Katherine leave anything here for me last night?" I asked.

"Oh, uh . . ." he stopped, thinking. "Let me check."

He rolled his chair over to the desk across the room, muttering to himself.

"Cassidy, Cassidy . . . Oh, here we go! It says, 'Location found.'"

"That's what I'm after."

He handed me the slip of paper with Katherine's curvy writing on it.

"Thanks a lot, Harp."

I walked away, trying to hold back my excitement. I had him! All I had to do was find that address and check it out. I decided to go alone. I wasn't going to raid the house or anything, just check it out for anything suspicious and then leave. Just a routine check . . .

I slipped past the room where they were checking the records. I went down to the car lot and cleared a car for me to use. I then walked out and was about to get in when something cold and rigid prodded into my back.

"All right, turn around and your guts will be all over this parking lot."

A/N: I know, it's another cliff-hanger, sorry. Trust me, though it's worth it! I'm glad all of you like it, though. I'll update as soon as I can. See ya, everyone!