Chapter 13:

"I know who killed Jennifer."

Stella took a step towards him, "Who is it then?"

He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out an envelope before handing it over, "This was sent to me this morning."

She took out the letter from inside the envelope, and with a mere glance at the sheet she could tell he had been folding and unfolding the letter, scanning it for answers. Gripping onto the edges, she began to read.

Senator Highsmith,

I know who killed your daughter. I've known for a while. I've been toying with the thought of simply going to the police on my own with this, but I can't do that to him. He has the gun and he's scared. He's so young, but he did this terrible thing and I can't protect him anymore. He killed your daughter and he needs to be held responsible for that.

Alexander Rose Building, 10.30pm. Come alone.

Eyes widening in shock, she turned to her friend, "James… Who is this?"

He sighed, sitting back down on the sofa, "I have no idea, Stell. But I want to go, I need to know what happened to Jennifer - this is tearing my marriage apart. This is tearing me apart."

Pulling her phone from her jacket, she called Mac along to her office. After the awkward display in his office, she had expected him to ignore her. Instead, he was along quickly, sensing the urgency in her tone. He shut the door behind him and after greeting James, he turned back to her in curiosity.

"So what's up?"

"James got this today," she said, handing over the letter. He scanned over the letter once or twice before looking up with a frown.

"You can't believe this guy," Mac replied, looking from Stella to James. She could feel the doubt in his mind that this was even legit enough to warrant humoring, but she kept her nerve and her doubt at bay. This was an opportunity to answer questions they needed answering.

"Look," said James. "I appreciate this sounds sketchy, but what if this isn't some setup or another. What if this person can tell me what happened to Jen?"

Stella felt tears prick the back of her eye before shaking it away. Now was not the time. Here and now was about James and Veronica finding out what happened to their daughter. Why did she even want to cry anyway? Was it the lack of sleep? Was it the lack of decent meals she had eaten of late?

"I think it's a risk we can take," she said quietly, but with all of the confidence she could muster.

"Stella, you cannot think this is a good idea," Mac asked in disbelief. She shrugged in response.

"I think it's time to bring this to a close."

X

Stella sat at the top chair in the meeting room, looking out over her tired colleagues. Each one had a coffee cup in front of them, the aromas spreading throughout the room. Stella was drained, she felt ill. But mostly, she felt so tired she no longer wished to sleep. She pushed past the fatigue and smiled encouragingly at her team.

"Okay, I have some tasks for you lot. Danny, you're doing interviews with Angell today. You're both on the armed team for later, so try and get back her for 9. She knows who you're interviewing, so go meet her downstairs and get started. Paul, the boyfriend is first, so keep the pressure on him."

He nodded and rushed off, before Stella turned to Lindsay, "Lindsay, go find Adam. You're both going through the forensics again; we have new elimination prints and DNA, so run it. I need you back here for 9, too. Oh, and can you put a rush on the latest evidence, please? I asked for that to be done ASAP."

Lindsay nodded and gathered her things as Stella continued to distribute tasks until only she and Mac remained. He looked up at her with a look she couldn't quite place and she looked back at him in curiosity. She wondered what this morning might have meant for not only she and Mac, but Mac and Peyton. He adored her, it was plain to see. But even though he loved Peyton, she wondered if he was starting to feel the same things she did. Stella loved him - you couldn't be friends for as long as they had and not care so incredibly deeply for the other.

But Stella was beginning to realise that the way she loved Mac was much deeper than just the love of a friend. Was there any chance he felt the same?

She shook off the thought and nodded at him in their own way confirming that they knew what they had to do. He thought of going for pizza before the operation, and wondered if she might like to join him. She said she would if time allowed and headed for the elevator determined to get one thing off of her mind before the day was in full swing.

X

Sorry, but I am SO sick. Turns out 8 weeks of being sick pulls havoc on your body and there's only so long you can pull 12 hour days. Let me know what you thought and I'll get 14 (The armed operation and SOME ACTION up ASAP) X