Chapter Four

Her hair now reached just slightly below her shoulders and the stylist had tapered the sides. It didn't look too bad…it was shorter than her hair had been in a long time…definitely different. Leon, her stylist, said it was flattering to her face. Thankfully, Leon didn't ask any questions about why she needed the new hair do. He just 'tsked, tsked' over the "bad trim job" and went to work.

She was still getting used her hair when she entered her office on Tuesday evening. She was also still wavering over whether to talk to Lois Carver or not…she was hoping that perhaps female detective may have more sympathy for her than a male…than Woody. And Lois had worked as a detective for a long time…she should be able to give Jordan some sound advice.

But she was still undecided…waffling between needing to tell someone and the need to keep it to herself until she had a better description…more evidence. She didn't want to appear like yet another hysterical woman, upset over nothing. Pushing aside her thoughts and worries, she concentrated on her evening's work. She was on the late autopsy schedule with Nigel. She changed into her scrubs and joined him in the autopsy room.

"Evening, love," Nigel greeted her. This was his last task of the day…then he could go home. Jordan was still on graveyard. Giving her a puzzled look, he asked, "New do?" He couldn't imagine why Jordan would want to cut her hair.

She gave him a wan smile. "Yeah. It was time for a change, Nige," she replied, getting down to business. She had found that at least for right now, it was better if she kept everything on a professional level with her co-workers. Especially Garret.

"Are you okay, love?" Nigel finally asked her during the all-too-quiet autopsy.

"Fine. Why?"

"I've just missed seeing you lately. Garret said you had volunteered for graveyard…I just wondered if something had upset you in the office and you were trying to avoid someone…or something." Nigel knew about the fight she and Woody had…he knew the detective had written Jordan out of his life. He just wasn't so sure Jordan had written Woody out of her heart.

"No. Just like my hair, I needed a change… at least for a while. I'll be back on regular schedule soon."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good. Because I miss you. Things are too quiet during the day with just me, Buggles, and Sydney."

Jordan gave him another smile and concentrated on her work, soon finishing up. She went back to her office to find Emmy had left her mail in the center of her desk…no cards, but a few newsletters, junk mail, and a small package. It bore the return address of a medical supplier. Thinking maybe she had ordered something she didn't remember, she cautiously examined the box…no wires…no oily residue…she carefully slit the tape and opened the box.

Inside was her hair.

Jordan felt her blood turn cold as she picked up the small note inside the box. Just to help you connect the dots was all it said. It had the same handwriting as her cards did. Swallowing hard to try to calm her nerves, she dialed the number to the Boston PD. "May I speak to Lois Carver. Is she still on duty?"

"What is it, Jordan?' Lois asked a few minutes later, arriving at Jordan's office.

"I need you to tell me that I'm not crazy," Jordan said.

Lois gave her a pained look. "Jordan…what's up? Difficult case?"

"No…it's about me. Have a seat." Jordan relayed everything that had happened to her…from the cards, to the man in the parking deck, to her hair. Lois listened carefully.

"Well, I don't think you're crazy…but not having a description is going to make it hard to try to find him…I can run the hair cutting incident through the computer and see if there are any other similar crimes that have happened recently. And I'll take the box with me to see if I can pick up a print or anything. Right now you just keep your eyes and ears open…and don't leave the morgue and go out to your car alone. Ever. Get a security guard to walk you out in the mornings. Meanwhile I'll do what I can. I'll be in touch if I know something. Okay?"

Jordan nodded. "Thanks, Lois. I appreciate it. I really do."

Lois flashed her a smile. She and Jordan didn't work together often, but she liked the young ME. And she was genuinely concerned about her. She left the morgue determined to run the incident through the crime computer first thing tomorrow morning.

Woody came into his office early the next morning, surprised to see Lois already hard at work. "Busy already?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just sort of caught an interesting case…I'm running a few things through the computer to see if I can get a hit or a lead." The box with Jordan's hair in it was sitting beside her computer.

"What's that?" he asked, indicating the hair.

"What does it look like, detective?"

"Hair…"

"Good guess."

"Human?"

"Most definitely. My victim received it in the mail yesterday. I know it is human because it once belonged to her."

Woody came over for a closer look. Long, dark, chestnut locks….with a scrunchie around the top. A red, beaded scrunchie. His mind quickly shifted gears…he had seen that before. "That looks like….like…."

"Jordan's hair?"

"Yeah."

"Very good, detective. Because it is. Someone cornered her when she was leaving work early Sunday morning and cut her hair with a knife, then mailed it back to her. She's been receiving some pretty scary cards from the same character….and then there's this man she keeps seeing watching her in the parking deck. I'm running this through the computer, but I'm coming up with nothing. There's also no prints on the box….Personally, I think she's got herself a stalker…."

"How long has this been going on?"

All-in-all…about three months."

"And she's just now mentioning it?"

Lois sat back in her chair and looked at Woody. It had been common knowledge between the PD and the morgue that Jordan and Woody had something going on….whatever it was. Then Woody put an end to it. Between that and Jordan's now precarious position with the department, the DA, and the morgue, she was surprised her fellow detective hadn't put it all together yet. Still he was a man….and men aren't always the brightest crayons in the box. "You know how things are with her now…she wanted to be really sure of herself before she talked to anyone….so she wouldn't be brushed off…or reprimanded again…."

Woody nodded as he walked back to his office. So that was why she had tried to talk to him the other day…and he had literally pushed her out of his office. Well, it was good she turned to Lois. Something like this didn't need to go unreported…it could happen to another woman. Still, even as he tried to settle into his work day, the thought bothered him…she must have been frightened….and despite of everything that had happened between them, she still turned to him…and he had rebuffed her. Swallowing hard, he decided to go see her at lunch … to check and see how she was doing….and if she was okay.