Chapter 4

"Miss Harper?" Tara called out for the fourth time from outside the victim's girlfriend's apartment. They had been knocking on the door for a couple of minutes now, each time receiving negative results.

"Maybe we should go. Come back tomorrow." Julian suggested. Since no one had answered the door this long, chances were no one was home. Tara seemed reluctant though. She hoped to get new leads on the case as soon as possible. The thought of a psycho killer running loose on the streets didn't sit well with her. The faster they put him behind bars, the better.

"Miss Harper!" Tara tried for the last time, banging on the door more forcefully. A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps could be heard inside of the apartment before the door swung open.

A disheveled woman with dirty blonde hair stood by the half opened door, leaning on the frame of it. She had a blue blanket wrapped around her, her hazel eyes squinting against the bright lighting of the corridor. "Who are you?" she asked in a hoarse voice and sniffled for a bit afterwards.

"I'm Detective Maclay from the DHI. This is Detective Wallace," Tara made a vague gesture to Julian. "You're Danial Osbourne's girlfriend?"

"Yeah. What's wrong? Oh my god, is he in trouble?" Verruca stood up straighter and appeared to be much more awake at the mention of her boyfriend, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Tara and Julian looked at each other. "I'm sorry, Miss Harper. Danial was found deceased this morning," Julian said solemnly as he broke the news.

"What?" she breathed out disbelievingly, her eyes glistening with tears. "This is a joke. You're joking. He put you up to this, didn't he?" When their grim features failed to shift, Vurruca let out a heartfelt sob, her hands flying to her face to cup her quivering lips.

Julian took a step forward and wrapped his arms around the distraught woman's shoulders before she could crumble to the ground.

"How? How?" she asked, her words mumbled as she spoke into the detectives chest, her tears dampening the fabric.

"He was ... he was stabbed," Julian said as gently as he could. There was no easy way to tell someone that a loved one has been murdered. He had tried it many different ways, but over time, he realized it was best not to sugarcoat the situation.

When Verruca failed to respond, her body going limp in his ar, Julian led her to the couch inside her apartment and sat her down slowly. Tara followed behind them after closing the door, her eyes shifting around the small yet cozy apartment.

"Do you know who did it?" Verruca asked as tears flowed down her cheeks. She pulled the blanket tighter around her.

"No, which is why we're here," Tara stated flatly. "Do you know if anyone would want to hurt him? For any reason," Tara asked, passing the crying woman a tissue box that was resting on the kitchen counter. She then moved to sit on the coffee table, directly in front of the mourning blonde.

"No." she said through a hiccup as she shook her head. "I don't think so." She took the tissue box offered to her, giving the detective a weak smile albeit unsuccessfully. She thought for a moment before continuing. "But he got into a dumb scuffle with some guy not too long ago. I don't know his name though."

"What happened?" Julian questioned as he flipped open a pocket notepad in preparation to jot down some notes. Tara leaned forward to listen more closely, her interest peaked.

"This guy accused Danial of stealing 'his' spot. Danny used to perform outside an auditorium, but the traffic flow was slow, so he changed locations and started performing at the entrance to the Civic Center Station about a month ago. Last week, they had a huge argument and then they got physical." Verruca explained, and then blew her nose into the tissue. "They threw a few punches each and Danny came home with a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious."

"Do you remember anything or know of anyone else that might help us?" Julian asked softly, head bowed as he scribbled on the notepad. Casting his gaze upwards, he caught Verruca shaking her head in the negative.

"Are you gonna be okay alone? We can stay with you for a while longer." Tara offered, placing a comforting hand on Verruca's knee.

"Could you, please?" she asked tearfully.

The two of them were back in the precinct after spending about an hour accompanying and consoling Verruca until they were sure she could be left alone.

Tara plopped down into her seat and threw her head back, exhausted after a rather long day. Julian, on the other hand, turned on his computer as he prepared to update the CAD report with their day's findings, not quite as worn-out.

"Hey! There are two of my favorite detectives!" A medium height, shaggy haired brunette man exclaimed with his arms spread out as he approached their desk.

Tara grudgingly lifted her head up. She could recognize that voice from anywhere. "What do you want, Harris? If you say donut, I'll snap your head off," she threatened in jest. Julian let out a bark of laughter in amusement.

"Someone's snippy. Let me guess … hmm," Harris placed an index finger on his lower lip and pretended to be deep in thought. "Dr. Rosenberg?"

Tara let out a noisy breath. "I don't wanna talk about it," the brunette replied dully. She was still affected by the rather heated encounter with Willow earlier. They had always jabbed at each other, but never made any personal attacks.

"Yeah right. I seem to remember you rambling on and on about it in the car," Julian retorted. "My ears still hurt you know," he joked while sticking out his lower lip and rubbing his ears with his hands.

"Oh, shut up." Tara snapped back irritably at the tease. "And you too." She narrowed her eyes at Harris when he broke out into laughter.

"Aren't the two of you just adorable?" Harris asked good-humoredly. Tara rolled her eyes in response.

"Anyways, I'm here to give you this." He handed the rusty blonde hair detective a file, switching to business mode instantly. "Those are the lists of all the antique stores in Los Angeles that have anything obsidian-related listed on their website in the last four months. I'm checking the net, seeing if anyone is selling off a personal collection or something but nothing's coming up so far."

"Thanks, Harris," Tara said gratefully before the man turned to leave. If they could track down the weapon used to kill Daniel Osbourne, it would most likely lead them to the killer as well. She took a look at her watch. It was getting pretty late; most of the stores were probably closed. They would have to wait till tomorrow to continue the investigation.

"We should go to the ones located near the Civic Center first and spread out from there," she suggested wisely to Julian, who nodded in approval.

"Maybe we should call Dr. Rosenberg and ask her to come along." Tara instantly shot Julian a glare at the suggestion. He met her glare and tilted his head to one side.

"She could help us. She has a better idea on what kind of weapon killed Daniel Osbourne. Her insights have helped us a lot in the past, I'm sure they are gonna come in handy," he explained. He wanted nothing more than for the two women to work together in peace, but he wasn't sure if that day would ever come. The one thing he knew for sure though was that Tara would never let any personal issue affect her job; especially when it involved a murder investigation.

"Fine, but you call her. I'm not talking to her anymore," Tara said sulkily. She had had this weird feeling in her chest since Willow made that upsetting comment, but she couldn't quite place it. There had been other times when she had felt that same weird feeling and in all those other times; she couldn't quite figure it out either. She had been feeling more of it lately and it was starting to unsettle her.

"That's mature," Julian muttered under his breath as he entered something into the computer.