Chapter 4

Rusty walked into the murder room shuffling his feet and a bit sulky, it was as if he had gone back in time and he was under emergency care again. However, this time he was stuck with Andy and somehow he hovered above Sharon, almost smothering him with all the paranoia about security.

The young man went to where Buzz's desk was and sat there and couldn't help but laugh, if he had a notebook in hand he would swear he had fallen into a surreal timeline. Rusty looked around and saw the few people there, which was understandable, it was a Saturday and no one was supposed to be working on that floor. According to the working hours they had in the refrigerator at home, the immediate team on that day was Robbery and Homicide.

However, Provenza had called half an hour earlier calling Andy to go to the police station because the eldest Lieutenant was returning from a crime scene. And now here they were, wondering what the hell was so important to getting them out of the house.

"Ah... Glad you're here". Provenza spoke when he saw Andy, but looked at Rusty in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"It's not my fault". He quickly defended himself.

"Are you mothering him?" Provenza stared at his partner with a mocking smile.

"What did you want that couldn't be said over the phone?" Andy huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Rest room". Provenza spoke and went there. But before she disappeared he pointed to Rusty. "You stay here".

Andy and Rusty rolled their eyes at the same time, but looked at each other a little in surprise. And they thought the same thing, they were getting along too much with each other.

Provenza yelled for Andy as he approached the break room and waited for his friend to approach. Andy was grim-faced and one step away from teasing him, but the older Lieutenant was quicker.

"Emma Rios was just found dead". He spoke hurriedly and started pacing.

Andy stared at him with wide eyes and in surprise, he was frozen in place not knowing what to say or do. And Provenza's nervous attitude wasn't helping his nerves at all.

"What the hell happened? She was with security the entire time".

"I know, I almost took the head off one of the security guards. Apparently, it's a drowning, but that doesn't convince me one bit. Emma swam every night and suddenly drowned? That was Stroh without a shadow of a doubt".

"God! I have to keep an eye on Rusty, if Stroh was daring to murder Rios at home he could come after Rusty at any time".

"That's why I asked you to come. We need to dig into Stroh's life even further, I want to know who he was before he was that bad guy". Provenza spoke and took a deep breath. "I'll call the others".

The oldest Lieutenant took his cell phone and started the calls, he only trusted his team to solve this case and needed all the help possible. As soon as he finished talking to Tao he dialed Julio's number, the news would stir the detective, the man still had a crush on Emma.

As he spoke to Julio, Provenza heard the strain in his voice and felt a little sorry for the young detective. But at that moment he couldn't do anything, he had to trust his teammates.

Sharon was finishing her account in a choked voice and not facing any of her subordinates. She was afraid to see the anger on their faces and was trying hard not to cry, the shame of being seen as weak was almost overwhelming.

"So it's Pope's fault?" Julio spoke with conviction.

"Not entirely, Julio. I had come up with the idea initially". She spoke staring at him in surprise.

"But you gave up, he ignored your request". Buzz spoke and pointed out a part of his speech.

"I know- but..." Sharon couldn't finish. She knew it wasn't entirely his fault, and seeing their anger directed at Pope somehow felt wrong to her.

"Ma'am, why didn't you seek help? Why didn't you come to us?" Julio questioned and she could see that he was resentful about that.

Sharon felt her heart sink at that, she couldn't explain why she didn't look for them, she didn't understand either. But their anxious looks made her make a little effort.

"I didn't want to worry you guys. You have your lives, I would only add to your problems".

"You are family". Buzz's voice sounded small when he spoke. "You always were, even before you joined us. You protected us when that lawsuit came about, you were always willing to help us".

"I thought I was the Wicked Witch".

Julio widened his eyes and then smiled, that was their favorite nickname for her and the detective didn't know she was aware of them.

"Yes, but you are our Wicked Witch". He shrugged with a mocking smile. "We were a little resentful when Chief Johnson left, but I believe you had us in the palm of your hand in no time".

"Not Provenza".

"Provenza is Provenza". Julio snorted.

"And as far as I know he's your right hand man". Buzz smiled, but the joy quickly faded as he remembered the funeral. "He's going to give you a bad time when you get back".

"Oh God, I shouldn't have done that". Sharon sighed and put her hands over her face as she sighed. "Everyone will hate me when they find out. I hurt you all, I should have found another way out... I should have died anyway. That would be much easier".

"What? No- ma'am...". Julio was horrified to hear her words, he had never seen her so down and thinking the worst. He approached her and cautiously removed her hands from her face. Seeing the tears running down her eyes he felt his heart heavy, he wanted to know how heavy the burden she was carrying now. "Don't repeat that, please. Yes, some of us won't be happy to hear we've been deceived, don't think I'm not resentful yet, but the joy of seeing you well will outweigh the anger. Just don't cry, I don't know what to do when you cry".

Sharon had to smile at that, it was funny to see a manly man like Julio not knowing how to manage a tearful woman. And she was really surprised to see how open he was with her.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not one to cry for nothing, it's just that... I don't know, everything is still a bit confused". She took over with a shrug as she calmed down a bit.

"Okay, Commander, we understand". Buzz smiled and offered the tissues that were on the table beside the bed.

"Sharon. I don't think I'm going to be the Commander for a while". She said allowing them to be informal, realizing they would be her only contact with her family.

"We will try". Buzz stated enthusiastically.

Before Julio could question her further about the plan, his phone rang. His face went from calm to surprise to horror in a matter of seconds.

"Yes Sir, I'm on my way. It will take about an hour... Okay, I'll try to get in touch with him. See you later".

"What happened?" Sharon knew everyone around her well, and she knew very well that something very bad had happened.

"Emma! She was found dead".

"Stroh!" Sharon was immediately uneasy. Dr. Torres, who had been silent until that moment, got up and stood beside Sharon.

"Sharon, take it easy. Breathe and try to control your heart rate, we don't want you to get upset, ok?"

The Commander stared at him in surprise, as if she was just now realizing he was there. His look was one of concern and she understood what he meant, her heart was racing and she felt the pain creeping through her system quickly. She did as instructed and took several deep breaths.

Julio and Buzz watched the scene with fear, they had only realized at that moment how fragile she was. Sharon looked smaller than they remembered and her makeup-free face looked paler than usual. The little grimace of pain she made every time she took a deep breath reminded Julio of the compressions he'd had to make so she wouldn't die. And for a moment the two officers were overwhelmed with all the feelings they felt.

"Julio, Buzz. You gotta go, you gotta get Stroh. Help me to make all this worth it".

"We will, ma'am. I promise".

"We promised. We won't let you down". Buzz walked over to her and handed her a disposable cell phone. "This will be our contact, we'll call you".

"Why do you have a disposable cell phone with you?". Julio stared at the other man as if he had grown another head.

"For emergencies".

"You are so weird".

Sharon smiled a little when she saw that some things never change and was a little relieved that they stayed the same around her. But other things worried her now.

"I don't know if that would be recommended". She stared at the cell phone uncertainly. "Chief Pope won't like that when he finds out. I think this meeting has already broken enough rules".

"He doesn't have to know". Dr. Torres spoke with a smile. "How about I keep the cell phone? I know you guys you'll be the ones to call, and thanks to Chief Pope I was transferred here this week and I won't return to LA until this is all over".

"Oh no... did I ruin your life too?" Sharon stared at him in shock and her expression went utterly bereft.

"Not you. Pope! Look Sharon, you are a good person and I know the sacrifice you are making to protect your family is painful. That's why I'm delighted to help. And I've only changed cities for now. And I'm happy to be able to help with that, especially if it upsets the Chief of Police".

"You didn't like him either?" Buzz smirked.

"Maybe if he were a little less self-possessed".

"Who? Pope? I don't see that happening". Julio scoffed.

"Boys... be good". The small reprimand made the three of them smile, but to Julio and Buzz it was a small sign that the Sharon they knew was still there somewhere.

"Okay, we should go. Dr. Torres, thanks for helping us. And thank you even more for taking care of her, she is very important to us. When she comes home more people will thank you". Julio spoke and Sharon couldn't help but be surprised. He was a man of few words, but here he was speaking casually. It was like this hospital room was a little haven for them.

"And Dr. Torres, whenever you need to, just call us. You are being very important in all of this". Buzz glared at Sharon and smiled at her. "Keep her safe, she needed to get home in one piece".

Sharon couldn't help but blush at all the attention. She wasn't used to having all the attention on her, and it all made her feel embarrassed.

"Don't worry. She managed to wrap me around her little finger". Peter winked at her and Sharon rolled her eyes reminding the two officers from years ago.

"Let's, Buzz". Julio nudged the younger one. "Let's leave before Provenza sends the patrol after us. Ma'am, try not to worry about us. We'll be fine and we'll get Stroh, that son of a bitch".

"Be careful. And please keep an eye on Andy and Rusty, I need them to be in one piece when I get home". She smiled and for the first time since she woke up hope filled her heart.

Julio nodded and went to her, with a shy smile he hugged her tight. She shivered a little, but before he could pull away because he thought he was hurting her, she wrapped her arms around him and returned the gesture.

"I didn't know you were a hugger, Julio". She played with it and leaned back against the pillows wearily.

"I learned from the best". He blushed a little and headed for the door where Buzz was already standing. "Rest, I know we demand too much today. We will keep you informed".

"Drive carefully". She instructed him as a mother would. "And watch out for Stroh".

Sharon watched the two men walk away and the door close. She could breathe more calmly now, she was happy to see them, they brought hope for the future. She just hoped that Andy and Rusty, and everyone else, had the same reaction. She was really scared of that, Sharon wasn't sure if she would be strong enough to withstand the fury of the people she loved.

Provenza took a deep breath and faced yet another report, they had been on this cycle for the past six hours and nothing different had come up in Stroh's life. He apparently had a normal life, his family owned assets, and he slowly moved away from the family environment when he became a rapist defense attorney.

Andy was also frustrated, he looked at every bank statement on Stroh before he was arrested, but nothing came up. According to his bank account he was an exemplary citizen, not to mention he was a murderer in his spare time. But that wasn't just what made him uneasy, every second he tried to find out where Rusty was, the fear of losing the boy from sight was slowly consuming him and, in that moment, he realized the burden of responsibility that Sharon carried every day.

"What did you find?" Provenza's voice made Andy look around confused. It wasn't until the senior Lieutenant got up that he realized Amy was staring at the computer in puzzlement.

"I'm not sure, maybe I'm really tired, but..." Amy started and glared at Provenza. "This woman in the photo was Stroh's 9th grade teacher".

"When he was about 14 years old..." Nolan quickly informed.

"Exactly. See how similar she is to his victims".

Provenza looked at the photo more closely and saw that Amy was right, the woman was blonde with kind eyes. She was surrounded by children and looked very comfortable there, Stroh was beside her with a small smile, but his eyes already had the cold air of a psychopath. However, Provenza could not see the connection between the teacher and Stroh.

"I found this article from the time saying she was in a car accident and died after two weeks in the ICU". Amy said and sighed. "Is it because of her that Stroh started killing?"

"Why would he do that?"

"It could be a trigger for becoming a murderer," Dr. Joe spoke as he walked into the room. "From the photo, he looks very close to this teacher. See how he has a possessive arm around her waist? I believe he was under the illusion that she belonged to him".

Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise as he gave a small profile of the psychopath, nobody knew he could see well enough to see the photo on Amy's computer.

"And that prompted him to kill?" Andy questioned confused.

"A psychopath's mind is hard to understand, Lieutenant." Dr. Joe smiled and looked at Rusty. "Hey Rusty, you said you were here and not due to leave, we can't miss our appointment, right?"

"Well... no one here is going to let me out, that was the only option". The blonde shrugged.

"How could this have anything to do with the atrocities he did to all those girls?" Provenza questioned confused and disgusted, he couldn't understand the connection between the two. The Lieutenant stared at Dr. Joe in hopes of getting a straight answer.

"Ok... I can speak in a psychologist's view". He started and took a deep breath. "From Stroh's body language, he had possessive feelings for her. The tragedy affected him to the degree that any woman who looked like her would hurt him, put him through the pain he felt in losing her".

"Wait, are you saying he killed them all for fear of getting hurt?" Nolan questioned shocked. "It makes no sense".

"Like I said... it's hard to understand the motivations of a serial killer". The team was silent for a while. No one could really see the killer's vision as Dr. Joe explained, this was too absurd.

As Joe and Rusty walked away for their session, the team went back to research. They really didn't know where to look and the next few hours dragged by without any other clues. It wasn't until Rusty walked in with a few boxes of pizzas that they saw the hours go by.

"Provenza, Andy, I have a proposal for you regarding capturing Stroh," Rusty began nervously. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I believe this will be our only recourse".

"What is it, boy?" Provenza eyed him suspiciously.

"I could go outside like the guy with the cards. You know, to attract him. I'm the one he wants".

"Are you out of your mind?" Andy stared at him in shock and they could see the anger slowly creep up the Lieutenant's face. "No way"

"But Andy..."

"NO!". His voice rose. "I will not allow you to put yourself in danger like this. What if something happens to you? I can't lose you either".

"Andy, you won't miss me. And I don't need permission now, under the law I'm an adult".

"Don't use the rules against me". Andy spoke softly and with narrowed eyes. Everyone watched the duel with small smiles on their faces. Somehow it was like Sharon was there too, whether it was the Lieutenant's concern or how Rusty used the rules to justify himself. "You can be an adult in law, but not for me. You are my son and you will not put yourself in danger because of this murderer".

Rusty would retort, but Andy's statement left him helpless. He couldn't deny that being claimed as a son by the Lieutenant was gratifying and this was the first time Andy had spoken like that. The boy had to hold back a smile as he remembered the little run Sharon had forced the two of them to do before the wedding.

Three days before the church wedding, between preparations, the case and her dizziness, Sharon dragged the two of them to court to sign the civil marriage papers and then took Andy to sign the Rusty adoption papers, then officially Lieutenant he was Rusty's father. And his bringing it up at that moment was a blow he hadn't expected.

"Andy, what if this is the only way?"

"There has to be something else". The Lieutenant was far from abandoning this fight.

"Okay, how about this? We'll all go home, get a good night's sleep and tomorrow we'll find out what our options will be". Provenza decided to put a quick end to this discussion before tempers rose too high.

No one said anything, but they nodded and slowly began to pack their things to get out of there. The nerves were still frayed and any sudden movement would do great damage. It was just at this moment that Sharon's absence was most felt.

Stroh watched the team slowly drive out of the garage, car after car, patrol car escorting them all home. However, the only car that mattered was where the Lieutenant and the boy were.

The ex-lawyer had been in town for just a few weeks and with only one goal: to kill Rusty. Of course, his passage through the city would not be discreet, he had been hiding for a long time and the message he sent through Rios might speed things up. Especially now that Sharon Raydor had died, he still had the newspaper clipping that reported, in a small note, that the LAPD Commander had died. Stroh wasn't so happy in a while, he believed this was the signal for his return.

And with that thought he resolved to watch the young man's every step, Stroh planned to approach him when he was most vulnerable and would finish the job he had started nearly seven years earlier. And this time Brenda wouldn't stand in his way and Sharon wouldn't be there to save her precious child.

To be Continue...