Dr. Sal Dellacona's name and likeness used with his full cooperation and permission for this and further chapters and other stories, provided he's amenable to being a recurring character.

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It was truly a gruesome sight, this last body. It looked as though she'd only been there a few days or so and the grave was relatively shallow. Again, it looked as though small carnivores had had their way with her, her fingertips having been chewed and extremities severely damaged by teeth marks and such. However, her face, wrapped in a plastic grocery bag was in near perfect condition. Standing by as the victim was unearthed, Jim and Sara were thinking about Randall and what he might be withholding, in regards to other victims. They knew he wasn't telling everything, so as soon as the body was completely exposed and the head uncovered, Sara took some photos and tried to find some piece of whatever to bring back to Randall in hopes that he'd tell where the rest, if any, of the bodies were. Down on her hands and knees, she looked into the not so deep pit and found a ring on the corpse, so she took a picture of it, bagged it, labeled it and shoved it in her pocket. Looking up at Jim who was holding his hand out, she took it and came to her feet.

All during the ride back, while Jim was driving, Sara was examining the ring. There was script on the inside of the band and as she removed a pair of gloves from her kit, she turned the ring round' so she could get a better look at the writing. Her eyes widening, she gasped and turned to Jim who was jockeying through traffic like he was playing "Frogger".

"Jim, there's a dedication here."

Not taking his eyes from the road, he replied.

"What's it say?"

"Geraldine from Randall 19.31.04. He killed his wife?" she muttered

"Or fiancée, at the very least."

For the next few miles Jim was creatively thinking about how he might get Randall to talk this time. The blood pressure cuff thing worked well enough, but wanting to switch things up a bit and not be repetitive, he had an epiphany. Seeing Jim smile out of the corner of her eye, Sara asked.

"Whacha' got cookin'?"

"Ahh, that's for me to know and for you to find out. He'll talk this time. He'll be begging to confess." He said confidently

"What makes you so sure?"

"I've only done it one time before; back in Jersey. When I did, the guy told us everything from his rising sign to the colour of his jockey shorts…..very effective." He said, still smiling

"You're that certain, huh?"

"Absolutely."

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Walking down the corridor back to the secure ward, Jim and Sara flashed their badges again and as they approached Randall's room a man in medium blue scrubs exited, rubbing the back of his neck hard with his hand as if he were massaging out the stress of the day. He was of average height with a bit of a paunch, but hey, girth is good, right? He was a handsome man. Not considered hot by the general population, but the man had his good features. His shoulders were broad, his hands strong, but soft, he was in overall good shape and his face was one of trust. One look at this man and you knew he'd never intentionally lie to you. Sara noticed the lovely colour of his eyes and as Jim pulled out his badge, Sara memorized his face. He looked a bit like Jim; cousins, maybe. Standing at the counter of the on call station, he was writing in a chart when they finally came to stand beside him. Jim set his badge on the counter to gain the man's attention and when he turned his head, he smiled one of the most disarming smiles Sara had ever seen.

"I'm Jim Brass and this is my colleague, Sara Sidle. You're Randall Emerich's physician, then?"

"That's correct. I'm Dr. Sal Dellacona. How can I help you?" he said in even tones

"Emerich, how's he going?" Jim asked

Trying not to stare at the man, Sara just looked down at her shoes, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Well, he's got a cardiac arrhythmia, and his belly wound has become infected. Right now he's got a machine breathing for him, so he's in pretty bad shape. His previous wounds, the ones from the knife attack, I suppose, well he didn't take very good care of them. The one that just missed the femoral artery is kind of scary, but as I said, his belly wound is one of the things we're focusing on right now." The good doctor explained

"So he'll live, then?" Jim asked

"That's debatable. As I said, he's in pretty bad shape. The infection has spread to his kidney, so we might have to remove it if we can't get it under control. I hear this guy isn't one of God's greatest."

"That's one way to put it." Jim said "He assaulted my friend, here, among other crimes."

Jim was careful not to give too much information, but just enough to find out what he needed to know. Sara watched as the doctor went back to making his notes in Randall's chart. "He's a leftie" she thought to herself. As his hand flew across the pages she returned her attention to Jim who was currently staring at her, grinning.

"Well, what say you and I pay our friend a visit?"

"Yeah, sure." She said softly, almost absentmindedly

As they walked down the hall, Sara turned to get one last look at Dr. Dellacona, but only got a look at his butt which was shaking slightly as if he were humming some random tune to himself. She turned back to Jim who was smiling heavily.

"You were checking out his ass." He said teasingly

"I did no such thing." She said defensively

"You were too." He teased some more

Passing the last few rooms before reaching Randall's, Sara wondered what Jim had up his sleeve as far as his aforementioned interrogation tactics. The blood pressure cuff thing was a nice touch and if she wasn't mistaken, which she didn't believe she was, Jim got a certain amount of satisfaction out of making the man squirm. As they entered the room, they could see the respirator that jackass was hooked up to and that he appeared to be asleep. Slowly, Jim approached him and with his right hand pinched the intubation tube, effectively shutting off the oxygen supply. It only took a few seconds, but he came around with a start, flailing his arms about, trying to grab for the call button which Jim had covered with his other hand. Looking down at him, Jim gave a wicked grin.

"Now who's in charge?" he asked, loosening his grip a bit

Just enough air for him to take small breaths, but no more than that. Reaching into her pocket, Sara pulled out the ring and held it out for Randall to see. His hand still on the tube, Jim continued to grin.

"We know there are more. Tell us where they are and I'll let go; refuse and………well, we all know what happens when you can't breathe."

Jim kept his grip loose for a few seconds and then tightened it again, but only slightly. As Randall struggled in futility for those thirty seconds that Jim held his life in his hands, he finally put his hands up in defense and Jim knew Randall would cave. Letting go of the hose, Jim pulled out his notepad and began to write as Randall spoke.

"The house off of I-15, the storm cellar. Bring several bags cause' it's a mess down there."

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it, now?" Jim asked, knowingly

Just then, Dr. Dellacona came in, chart in hand and looking from Jim to Sara to Randall and back to Jim, a look of slight confusion on his face. Checking the monitors and leads, he scratched his head.

"The alarm went off. What happened?"

"Oh, nothing. He just had a little trouble breathing is all."