Chapter Two – Cruel Misunderstanding

See Chapter One for Disclaimers

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Upon entering the nest the next morning, Frank and Shay were greeted by a downcast crew.  "Why the long faces?" Shay asked.

"Received word from the thirty-sixth precinct," Cody replied, tapping his monitor.  "Darinda's funeral is the day after tomorrow."

Shay felt Frank stiffen beside her.  She didn't miss the fact that he put some distance between them either. 

Alex stood up from the table as she slammed her fist down.  "Damn-it-to-hell!  I want to catch this creep.  I'm canceling my vacation." 

Frank shook his head and crossed the short distance between them.  "You need this vacation, Alex.  You've been dreaming of taking this trip to Scotland, and you damned well better believe you are going to be on that plane the day after tomorrow."

Jake nodded.  "Alex, we'll pay your respects to Darinda's family."

Her shoulders sagged as she reluctantly gave in to her teammate's argument.  "Fine, but I know I'll have a lousy time."

Frank gave her a small shake.  "I order you to have a good time." 

Alex couldn't help but laugh and that brought a small smile to Frank's lips.  Shay hadn't seen him smile in days.  She was startled when Cody handed her a file and slapped her arm with it because she did not pay attention to him.  "What?"

"Here's the result of the nationwide search you wanted," he replied.

Frank frowned.  "What search?  What are you talking about?"

"Shay asked me to run a search for similar matches to the two women who were found dead in motel rooms in Chicago," he explained.  He had no idea why Frank was looking so hostile; he often did things for the other team members without having to ask permission.

"Shay, it's not our problem.  Drop it," he ordered, giving her a gruff look.

She nodded absently as she read the report and walked away from the group.  Another woman, stabbed to death after being raped and strangled with force to the point of unconsciousness.  "Nessa Skinner."

Jake watched Frank turned with such abruptness he thought his boss had given himself whiplash.

"Nessa Skinner?" Donovan asked anxiously.

Shay nodded, her head still buried in the file.  "She was murdered two weeks ago in Valparaiso, Florida."  She looked up to see him gripping the stairway railing tightly, his knuckles white.  "Frank?"

He said nothing as he turned and climbed the stairs to his office.  Alone, without the curious eyes of his wife and team, he inserted the CD that had arrived the same day the team had learned about the death of the Darinda and LeighAnne Carruthers.  It contained a photographic slide show of the two murders in graphic detail; in the background the words "All because of you" repeated over and over.  He recognized the voice...it was Darinda's.

Darinda...something just never clicked between them; perhaps it was just the time constraint.  It was something she complained about; they never had time for each other.  Things were good, comfortable between them, but no fire, no intensity. 

He shook his head, knowing he was somehow to blame for her murder.   He could not get past the fact that these two vibrant women were dead because of him.  He sat hours on end trying to find the reason and came up empty. 

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The morning of the funeral arrived.  Cody was with Alex, making sure she got on the airplane.  She was still threatening to call off her vacation, especially after Cody had discovered the first murder.

Frank descended the stairs from his office and met Jake and Shay down below.  The men were dressed in black suits, while Shay wore a black suit dress.  They quietly made their way toward the door when the main line in the nest rang.  Frank reached over the nearest desk and pushed the speaker button.  "Donovan."

"Good.  Frank, glad I caught you."

"Hello, Deirdre.  Look, we're on our way to Officer Blake's funeral.  I'll contact you when we get back."

"I understand, but this will only take a minute.  I've scheduled a meeting for you and your team at 4pm this afternoon with the head of the VCTF.  See you then."

The click of the line let them all know there was no discussion of the wherefores and whys; be there at 4pm or else, was the message she was delivering.  Frank shot his wife a knowing look.  She was behind this meeting, but now was not the time to discuss his frustration at her going behind his back.

"Let's go," he ordered gruffly.

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