Daniel rode in total silence for the entire journey from Beverly Hills High School back to his house. Michael had checked to make sure that the boy wasn't hurt or too upset before he began the short trip home, and once he had satisfied himself that things were, if not fine, at least ok he'd concentrated on his driving.
Jo had been waiting for her son just inside the entranceway, she had no idea what had suddenly made the boy get himself into so much trouble that he would be spending the following day in in-school suspension but she intended to find out.
Hearing the sound of the car drawing into the driveway she rushed over and opened the front door, wanting to make sure for herself that Daniel was ok. She'd called Steve to tell him what the Vice Principal had said and he'd told her about Rae. She had a feeling that any information she wanted to get out of her son had better be done pretty quickly because her husband would be bringing Eliana and Anneya home to stay the night.
It was quite obvious, however, that Daniel had no intention of talking about anything, let alone what had happened at school, for the first time since she had come home from the hospital he pushed past her, dropped his school bag in the hallway and made straight for the stairs.
"Daniel, just hold on a minute." Jo reached out to touch him but he shrugged her off.
"Mom, just leave it ok?" Daniel felt her hand on his arm, but he didn't want to talk, he just wanted to go to his room, close the door, put on some loud, unintelligible music and forget the rotten day he'd had.
"Honey, I just want to know what went wrong today. You know I'll help if I can, an' your daddy too." She heard her voice waiver and wasn't sure what to do next. Daniel had been in trouble before, she and Steve had dealt with it, but by the time it escalated into the incident which resulted in him changing schools she had been kidnapped and Steve had dealt with that too.
Daniel didn't answer, he'd moved away from her and now he completed his journey up the stairs. Jo and Michael heard his door click shut and then for a brief moment, before he plugged in his headphones, loud music filled the air.
Daniel sat at his desk and looked around his room; it was the first proper place he'd ever had to call his own. Sure he'd had a room when he lived with his birth mom and dad but he'd shared it with all the stuff, which wouldn't fit anywhere else in the house. There had been storage boxes full of newspapers, two old dog beds, and all sorts of junk he couldn't even remember any more. When he'd come out of juvie the foster homes he'd been in had provided him with a bed but that was about all. He'd never felt a part of the families he'd been with, until now, but ever since he'd left the courthouse, officially a Sloan, something had been eating away at him, and today he'd snapped. There had been no need to answer Ms Burns back, but he'd done it anyway, and he knew he was going to get punished, not just by the school but by his dad too.
ooo
The room was silent and dark; Jesse had been sitting watching Rae sleep for almost five hours. Steve had visited for a short period to see if Jesse was planning on staying, and offered to have the girls overnight. With no need to go home Jesse found that he wanted to be no place other than where he was. While the room had still been light he had found a tablet of paper and a pen and written down his thoughts and feelings. He knew that what was happening to him was important and he wanted to be able to share it with Lauren when he had his next counseling session.
Now though, with a dark sky outside the window, even though it was lit up by the lights of the city, he was unable to see to write any longer and so he sat, not really doing or thinking about anything very much, and waited.
The nursing staff had been instructed by Alex to come and check on his patient periodically, but under no circumstances to wake her. The IV's, which she was hooked up to, apart from giving her some nutrients, contained a mild sedative. Alex had explained to Jesse that he wanted her to have an undisturbed night's sleep, and as they both knew that she didn't dream intrusive dreams when she was sedated Jesse had agreed wholeheartedly with his treatment.
A new nurse came in to check the readings and IV bags and Jesse stood up and moved out of the way. He knew the young lady by sight, although he wasn't sure of her name. She had come on duty only about ten minutes beforehand and looked far more perky and awake than Jesse felt.
Once she had taken her readings and replaced one of the clear bags on the IV stand, the nurse moved across to where Jesse was standing. "Doctor Travis," her voice came out as a whisper, "can I get you anything to eat, or a coffee maybe?"
"Yeah, a coffee would be good, thank you." Jesse smiled, realizing suddenly just how thirsty he was and as he watched the young woman leave the room he hoped she would hurry back.
ooo
Dominic had made himself comfortable on a bench just off a pathway in The Presido and he was remembering. It had been two years since he'd left San Francisco, but this place had remained in his memory ever since. Tanisha had been beautiful, but then all the girls he dated were that way. Their day had been spent in and around The Presidio either on the beach or the grass just across the walkway from the sand and then later a few feet from where he now sat. There had been, he remembered, a hot dog vendor to the right of where they had laid out the picnic that he'd made before they went into the forested area. As the meal had been just salad and hard-boiled eggs, because Tanisha had been a vegetarian, and he hadn't known what else to prepare, he'd sneaked off to buy a chilidog while she had slept after lunch.
"Dominic, if you wanted meat you only had to say, I can't dictate what you eat, and I really appreciate the meal you brought with you."
"It was no problem, I just don't find it fills me up, but I'm ok now. If you move over a little bit I can lie with you." Her hair was fanned out across the blanket and he had begun playing with it, running his fingers through it and then letting it fall, enjoying the sensation, as he always did, of the feeling of someone else's hair across his skin.
They had spent another couple of hours on the grass, lying together, talking, about themselves, their families, things that Dominic could only tell certain people, people who would never live to repeat them.
A little after four in the afternoon they had wandered, hand in hand, into the centre of The Presidio, away from the popular trails and bike routes stopping here and there until, by about half past five, they were in a deserted but beautiful place full of trees, small animals and bird-song.
For a while they had sat, Dominic, his back against a tree, with Tanisha sitting between his legs. He had braided her hair and then let it spring free, the brush he had brought with him slid through its silky softness and he had felt her melt back against him. Dominic knew that there was a very relaxing therapeutic reaction to having someone play with your hair, it was a feeling he enjoyed himself, but no one did it to him, not anymore.
The sun had begun to set before Dominic knew that it was time. He'd taken out the cutthroat razor that he kept in his pocket and carefully opened it before laying it on the ground just to the side of his right hand. He'd then moved his fingers up into Tanisha's hair and begun to gently massage her head. She had relaxed even more, but cried out as he pulled her hair suddenly back and wound it tightly around his hand.
He laughed as he remembered the way she had become instantly tense, how she had tried to wrestle herself out of his grip, but there was no escape, there never had been before, and this time was no different.
ooo
Rae wasn't sure what it was that woke her, she hadn't been aware of any noises, of anything disturbing her, and yet, somehow she was awake. She was also warm and comfortable in the bed, and the light she could see through her eyelids told her that it was morning, she had slept all night.
Gradually she became aware that she wasn't alone, she was lying on her side and so carefully she turned onto her back and opened her eyes, just a little bit, so that she could get her bearings. What she saw caused her to stare in disbelief, all thoughts of sleep forgotten and her heart beating so loud she was sure she could wake the entire floor.
In her dreams, when she had managed to get some sleep at home, Rae had been with Jesse, he hadn't necessarily known she was there, but they had been together. Sometimes she had been watching from a distance as a person played with children, or cleaned a car, ordinary, everyday things, and although she had never seen the face of the man in her dreams she had always known that it was her husband.
Now though, close enough to her that she could reach out and touch him, Jesse sat, in one of the slightly more comfortable chairs on offer at Community General, fast asleep. Rae was desperate to speak with him, to just say his name, but she didn't, somehow if she made a noise she knew that there was a chance he would wake up and run, and on top of everything else Rae wasn't sure she could handle that.
Deciding that if Jesse was asleep she may as well be, Rae snuggled down a little further under the covers, watched him for a few more minutes before she closed her eyes and waited for the welcome sensations of sleep to overcome her again, knowing that, for a short time at least, she was no longer alone.
ooo
Cheryl had arrived in the squad room just after eight in the morning to find that she was the senior detective there. Steve was still not in, Rae wouldn't be in, or at least she didn't think she would be, and as Ben Chapman and Sam Yip were the only other two people in the room there was no contest. There was a pile of messages on Rae's desk and Cheryl could see another pile of a similar height on Captain Newman's desk for Steve.
As she made her way to her own, relatively clear and almost tidy desk Cheryl saw a message slid underneath her phone. Carefully putting her coffee down she picked it up and read it through.
For: Detective Banks From: Lieutenant Sloan
Lieutenant Sloan will be late in this morning, probably arriving about ten. Detective Yeager will be out for the next few days. If the Chief calls through for her please tell him that she will get in touch with him as soon as she is able.
Cheryl realised that it was Alison who had taken the message, she was very business-like and efficient and Cheryl knew from past experience that even if you were friendly and relaxed when you called in, it never came across that way.
As she ripped the note into pieces before dropping it into her wastebasket the phone began to ring and she lifted the receiver. "Detective Banks, Homicide… oh right, yeah for this week, it's me, can you put him through?" Cheryl picked up a pencil, slid a tablet of paper underneath it and listened with horror to the voice on the other end of the line.
ooo
The Vice Principal's office at Beverly Hills High was about the size of the entire school that Steve had attended. They sat, the three of them, in dark leather seats, which were both functional and extremely comfortable. The secretary who worked in the outer office had shown them in and explained that Mr. Gillingham would be a few minutes as there had been a problem in one of the science blocks that he'd had to deal with.
The delay had done nothing to improve the feeling of morning sickness, which was washing over Jo at regular intervals or Steve's mood. Jo knew that she looked pale, felt pale, and would have been able to handle things far better if the meeting had been in the afternoon.
Daniel sat, his hands in his lap, and tried to work out why he was where he was when other kids were twice as bad and just sailed through school and life without a mark against their names. He took a sideward glance at his dad and was relieved when he didn't catch his eye. They'd had disagreements before, but last night he had felt the full force of his father's anger, and he hadn't liked it one bit.
The evening meal had been full of talk because Eliana was at the table. Anneya had been totally exhausted when she arrived, M had fed her separately and she was already tucked up in bed fast asleep. The meal had been a simple one, but Daniel knew it had been made with him in mind. There was a cold meatloaf, which was one of his favourites, salad and baked potatoes, to be followed by something that smelt remarkably like fruit pie.
Eliana had chatted happily on about how her daddy had taken her to school and met her teacher, which was a subject that Daniel was rather hoping to keep away from. For a short while after the meal was over his mom had played with the little girl, read her stories and shown her some photos from the boxes she had been cataloguing. Finally, just after eight they had all kissed her goodnight and Jo had taken her up to join her sister in the nursery.
Daniel had got up out of the chair he had been sitting in while he read the sports pages of the newspaper, but his father had looked up and spoken.
"Stay where you are please, I need to talk with you."
"Not now, Dad, I'm real tired, and I have homework to do."
"Yes, now. If your work is late you'll have a chance to explain why to Mr. Gillingham in the morning and, as I'll be there too, I can either agree or disagree with what you say."
"You'll be there?" he had been horrified, and he knew he'd sounded that way, "I thought you'd be working."
"Oh, you did, did you? Well you were wrong. I'm covering for Captain Newman, remember? So I get to go in a little later, I'll start at ten and finish at seven, but even if I wasn't working desk duty I would still be there. Your mother shouldn't have to deal with this on her own; in fact we shouldn't have to deal with it at all. So, maybe you would like to explain why we have to."
He hadn't said anything, not really knowing where to begin, but his dad had misinterpreted his silence and the resulting comments had surprised him.
"DANIEL! If you don't have the decency to at least reply to me I will make sure that anything and everything that you had planned from now until Christmas is cancelled, and your trip to San Fran will be definitely pending, is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir." He had answered promptly and politely, knowing that to do anything else would be foolhardy.
"Good, now, perhaps you would be kind enough to let me know just what it was that you did to get yourself suspended." The way his father had emphasized the word 'kind' had made him realize that his dad was past being annoyed, he was furious, and only just keeping a hold on his temper.
"I didn't do anything." Daniel looked down, he had sort of told the truth but knew it wouldn't be seen that way.
He'd been right, the conversation had gotten a little out of hand after that until finally he'd told his dad he had done nothing and he wasn't going to say anything else; it hadn't been completely true but he wasn't bothered about that. Now, the following day, he still knew that it was unfair he'd been singled out and as he went back to the math class where it all started he lived it over in his mind once more.
"Good morning, class, I hope you had a pleasant evening, and that all homework is done and waiting to be collected. Daniel, you don't seem to have any of your supplies out on the desk." Mrs Burns, the math teacher, looked over her glasses at him and smiled. She was a lovely lady, and usually he enjoyed her lessons, but somehow today he had no enthusiasm for anything, especially school.
"No, I don't, I'm sorry." He had leant down to get a pen, pencil and ruler out of his bag but as he did so he'd realised that they were still sitting on his desk at home so he straightened back up and just sat there.
"Ok, I've written all the formulas for finding the volume of different shapes on the board. Now, I know you know these, you will have done them in previous years and think they're easy, however, you have a test on Friday and a little bird told me that this will be in it." Mrs Burns had smiled again, everyone knew that she wrote her own tests and always went over as much of it as she could in the week before she actually gave the papers out. "Now, Francine, would you like to come up and tell me which one of the items listed is for a square."
Francine Edwards was a friend of his; she had red hair that curled all over and went way down her back. As she got to her feet and made her way to the front of the class one of the boys next to Daniel let out a whistle and he'd laughed.
"Hey, Man, you think she's hot too?"
"Oh yeah, red hot!" Daniel had joined in the laughter as he spoke.
"Gentlemen, that is not suitable language for my classroom, I would ask you to refrain from using it here."
Francine, who he had known was trying desperately to ignore them, had written the right answer on the board and made her way back to her seat.
"Thank you, that is correct, now who's next?" Mrs Burns smiled and waited for another hand to be raised.
"With Francine? Oh me, me!" Daniel hadn't meant to speak loud enough to be heard but Mrs Burns was down on him in an instant.
"Young man, you still don't have your supplies out, and now you are making inappropriate remarks, I suggest that you get yourself organized."
"Yeah, whatever." Daniel knew his tone had been bordering on rude but he had been surprised at the turn of events.
"Out! I will not have this behavior in my class, you are holding up the entire group. Go wait in the hallway and I will speak with you later."
Daniel had stared at her in disbelief; Mrs Burns was one of the nicest ladies in the school, shaking his head he shoved his chair back until it hit the desk behind his and stomped from the classroom, slamming the door behind him and moaning and mumbling the entire time.
"Daniel, I said do you know what you are gonna say to Mr. Gillin'ham?" His mom's voice cut into his thoughts and he jumped. "Hey, I guess you were further away than I thought."
"What? No, no, I haven't, sorry, I guess."
Jo and Steve looked at each other, they still hadn't found out what had gone wrong the day before, Steve had tried and although he had left their son in no doubt as to how they felt about the situation they still didn't know what had happened or why.
Steve was about to speak when the door opened and a young man of about thirty-five to forty entered. "Hi, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, my name is Hayden Gillingham, I'm pleased to meet you both."
Steve had stood as the man entered and he now shook his hand; Jo smiled up at the young man and realised that he was far nicer than her son had led her to believe.
Twenty minutes later, once the discussion on acceptable manners had been gone through, and Daniel had assured the adults in the room that his behavior would not be as bad again Jo and Steve found themselves back in the parking lot knowing that their son wouldn't be spending any of the day with his friends or classmates.
"I still don't understand what got into him. Even when he was in trouble at his last school he was never rude to teachers, an' he always had respect for everyone, well except for that awful boy." Jo thought for a moment about the young man who had verbally, as well as physically, abused their child. He was now serving time in juvenile hall and she hadn't thought about him for a while. "Do you think he's being bullied again?"
"I don't know, but I'll try to get home earlier than I'd planned tonight so maybe we can chat with him. But with Rae out until Monday it's gonna be hard." Steve had Jo's hand in his and he gently rubbed his thumb across the back of it. "C'mon, I'll drive you home." He opened the passenger door and watched as his wife made herself comfortable. Once that was done he went round and climbed in himself, started up the car and began the short journey home.
By the time they arrived Jo had to rush from the car and only just made it to the bathroom before her morning sickness took over. Steve, who had been going to just drop her and drive off, parked the car, followed her in and then he stood, awkwardly in the hallway, not knowing what to do or say but guessing that as her pregnancy progressed it would be a situation that he found himself in quite often.
ooo
The next time that Rae awoke she lay very still for a moment until where she was and why came rushing back at her. She was lying on her back and so she opened her eyes, almost afraid to look around her, but then she saw what she had been so desperate to see and said one word.
"Jesse." She almost dare not breathe as she watched the man she loved so much sitting just in front of her reading the newspaper, but as soon as he heard her voice he looked up, and the relief and love in his eyes almost overwhelmed her. "Oh, Jesse."
He realised that no one said his name in quite the way that she did and he felt his heart beat a little faster. "Rae, how … how are you feeling?" He didn't know what to say, so much was rushing around inside his head and so he fell back on the standard questions he would ask anyone lying in a hospital bed.
"I'm ok, I think." She had been about to say something more when there was a tap on the door and they both looked up to see Alex waiting to come in.
"Good morning, Jesse, Rae, how did you sleep?"
"Excuse me." Jesse made for the door and heard his wife call out.
"No! Jesse, please, no, don't go." Rae wanted to get out of the bed and take hold on his hand, but she knew that the IV's attached to her made that impossible. Instead she looked at him, tears up in her eyes and waited for an answer.
"I … I won't go far, I need something to eat, but I'll come back … thirty minutes, I'll come back in thirty minutes." Jesse looked at her, part of him wanted to take her hand in his, to kiss her gently before he left the room, but another part, the dominant piece of him right now, couldn't do it and so, with a small smile, he went through the door and out into the hallway.
ooo
The squad room was quiet when Steve walked in, everyone there was either working at their desks or talking on the telephone; none of the conversations were intrusive however, and as he made his way over to the coffee machine, Steve looked around and smiled.
Cheryl was writing as Steve passed her desk on the way to his office; she looked up and put her pen down. "Hi."
"Hi, yourself, how's it going this morning?" Steve put his coffee down on her blotter and pulled up a chair.
"Well, you're not gonna like it, so I guess it's a good thing you're sitting down." Cheryl had a hot drink as well and she took a mouthful from it before continuing. "We got more feedback on the details you and Rae sent out on your Red Rose Killer." She paused and waited for Steve to speak.
"And? If it's not good there are either no leads at all or … too many!" Steve wished he was back in the Vice Principal's office. At least there he could forget killings, burglaries and paperwork, and he had a feeling that what Cheryl was about to tell him would change his whole day.
"I got a call from Santa Barbara this morning; they recognized the MO and told me about two murders there. I then went over to Rae's desk to see what information I could get from her and she had a note to contact ViCAP, so I did."
"And it got worse didn't it?" Steve asked it as a question but he knew it was a statement really. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program was a nationwide program which, amongst other things, gave cops a good idea whether their suspects had committed similar crimes in other areas. It appeared that the Red Rose Killer was a traveler.
"Oh yeah, I would say that he's a California boy, but he has killed in six cities that I could find so far, but he must like LA because we have the most!"
"Wonderful, why couldn't he have fallen in love with Fresno or San Diego or … well anyplace but here?" Steve could see the names of the cities in the notes Cheryl had taken and felt his heart sink.
"Give me five minutes and I'll finish writing up what I have, I'll come and see you in the hallowed confines of your office and we can go through it." Cheryl picked up her pen again as she spoke.
"I can wait, we can do it right here."
"Oh no, you have comfy chairs, and even though you seem to prefer our sludge, you even have your own coffee machine, I will come to you!"
"I have cookies too." Steve smiled, he'd found a tin of what he knew Rae would call biscuits in the cupboard with the coffee filters and was suddenly glad to have the chance to share.
"Oh well then, there's no contest, in fact I may well move in for the entire day! Now go, and remember, I like my coffee white with one." She handed her now empty mug to him and then went back to work, and Steve, knowing that there would be precious little joviality for the rest of the day, savored the moment just a little longer before heading for his office.
ooo
"So, I guess the first thing I should ask you is did you sleep well? But you look rested, and more relaxed than I have seen you in a while, so I'm guessing the answer is yes."
"Yes, the answer is yes, and now I just want to go home, get changed and go to work … I … what?"
"Rae, I know you feel better this morning, but there is no way I'm gonna let you go to work until Monday at the very earliest … no, Rae, don't even try to change my mind, you will feel very ill again very quickly if you go back to work today, tomorrow or probably any day this week." Alex knew that he would have trouble getting Rae to agree to more than a couple of days at home but he had to try.
"But I have so much to do, Alex, I have two cases that are just not gonna go away, Steve is being Captain Sloan this week so he can't do them, I have to try and work out how to start communicating with Anneya, how to explain it to Eliana, I cannot go home and just do nothing, the house is a mess, I have to do that too." Rae ran her hands through her hair and another problem came to mind. "And I have to get my hair cut!"
"Rae, think about what you just said, it's no wonder that you aren't sleeping, you're running yourself into the ground. You have to get yourself some help. You have a beautiful home, but there is no way that it was designed for a family to live there, and for you to work and keep it clean. I only have Steve's apartment to tidy and that's a real struggle."
Rae looked away, she could feel tears just below the surface, and knew that what Alex said was true; she was going to burn out if she didn't do something about her life outside work.
"Now, while you are quiet I am going to go through the questions I didn't ask last night, I also want you to have a CAT scan which is booked for …" Alex checked his watch as he spoke, "about twenty minutes time. Once that is done, guess what?"
"What?"
"You can go home."
"Thank you." Rae smiled and took his hand in hers to give it a little squeeze, "and I promise I will take it a little easier, but if I feel better can I go in Friday?"
"Rae, you're a sensible lady, occasionally, but you are also conscientious and always try to do a good job. Don't do anything today, but tomorrow you can do some paperwork, at home, and if you are still sleeping and feeling ok then call me Thursday and I'll come over and see you."
"Thank you, I will be as level-headed as I can be, and I'll try not to work too hard. I will send the girls to Sally as usual, so the house will be mine. Alex, the girls, what happened with the girls last night?"
It was clear to Alex from his patient's horrified and guilty expression that she hadn't given her daughters a thought. "Steve picked them up and took them home with him. He said to tell you that Michael would get to Sally's a little early so that she could take Eliana to pre-school. I meant to tell you as soon as I came in, I'm sorry." Now it was his turn to feel guilty, but Rae smiled at him.
"You're as busy as I am, don't worry about it, I should have known that everything would be sorted out for me."
"Right then, questions, and scans and then you can go home, where it will be quiet, and you can rest."
Rae nodded her head even though the thought of an empty house again wasn't really that welcome. She desperately wanted to ask Jesse to come with her, to stay, but she was scared, scared that the time she'd been asleep was all the time she would have with him.
ooo
Jo had shooed Steve off to work once she had recovered from her car trip. She knew that she could have walked home in about twenty minutes, but she also knew that her husband would never allow it, car travel was a definite problem though, and she was already counting the days to the end of the first trimester. She filled a pitcher with water, picked up a glass and made her way up the stairs to her office. The box with the letters in was calling to her, she found it almost impossible to drag herself away from them and now she had the rest of the morning in front of her she wanted to get back to them as soon as she could; maybe one of them would tell her what to do with a rebellious fifteen-year-old.
The phone rang as she got just inside the door and she hastily put down her jug and drink and picked up the receiver. "Hello… Honey, I'm fine, an' you can't possibly have gotten to the station yet… well, you are gonna just have to get used to it, 'cause I have another few weeks of this to go… Oh yeah, well you try being me, that's no barrel full of laughs either… I love you too; I'll see you for dinner… ok, bye … yeah, bye." Jo put the phone down with a smile and wondered how her husband would be when she got to the stage of false labor pains, restless nights and then sleepless ones when the baby arrived.
The first letter in the box was written by the friend whose name Jo still couldn't decipher, although she was leaning towards Victoria, and it looked as if it had been read more than once by the first recipient.
My dearest Elle,
I am unsure how to advise you on the news you gave me in your most recent letter, but you can be assured that I will remain your friend and confidante. My momma has told me that I must no longer have anything to do with you, but if you send your letters to Mary, the Mary who is my maid, she will pass them on without saying anything to anyone else.
I have to admit that your news has left me perplexed and uncertain what will happen next. I wish I could say that yes, you could come here, but I fear I cannot. I will try to find out whether there is anywhere nearby that you could stay, maybe rent a property until the problem is solved, at least that way you would be near a friend.
I have to tell you that I met James Jardinero while I was in town last Friday, he recognised me and we had a very nice interlude over lunch. Mary was with me, so I was not un-chaperoned.
Elle, you are the best friend I have in the world, and you know you can write me with all your problems and I will try to help you. I just hope that you will understand if I do not know what to say to you over the next few weeks and months.
Please keep writing to me though; I need to know that you are well. If there is a chance of you coming into Austin I hope that you will avail yourself of it.
Until then my friend, take care
Jo decided that the name was most definitely maybe Victoria and that even if it wasn't; in her mind she was now called that. It appeared that Elle had a problem, and Victoria was trying to help, she was, though, annoyingly circumspect and so Jo picked up the next letter hoping for enlightenment.
ooo
Steve looked at the two maps he had set up on the wall of the Captain's office. He had begun to put red pushpins in at all the locations where murders had occurred. The first map was of the metropolitan Los Angeles area and had four pins in it; the other was of California as a whole and there were another four pins over LA, three for San Francisco, two for Santa Barbara and one each for Fresno, San Diego and Carmel. Twelve murders, this guy has killed twelve women and no one has any idea who he is or what he looks like. With a deep sigh Steve returned to his desk and picked up the artist's impression that Cheryl and Alex had assisted with. The picture told him nothing. He knew that if he could choose one cop to help the police artist produce a likeness of a suspect then Cheryl would be the one. She was as good as they got, but Matthew or Dominic Little had an instantly forgettable face, so they still had nothing to go on. All they knew now was that he had dark blonde hair, his eyes had been blue and his eyebrows were brown. They couldn't be certain as to what he'd looked like. Hell, Steve had seen the guy and had no idea how to describe him. He slammed the sheet of paper back down on the desk and picked up the phone, it was over an hour since he'd called Jo, and he needed to make sure she was ok.
ooo
The CAT scan had passed without incident; Rae had felt herself drifting off to sleep and had, for the first time, enjoyed the procedure. Alex had discharged her, and now she was waiting in the lobby for the cab she'd ordered.
"Did you order a car to take you to Beverly Hills?" The voice was slightly muffled and so she turned towards the sound.
"Yes, I did, oh yes." She looked up into the smiling face of her husband and grinned back at him.
"Well then, Madam, your carriage awaits.