Obsession (4/13)

A/N: Thanks for the feedback, guys, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! :)

Chapter four

By 3:45pm the next afternoon, the letters had been read by almost every detective in the 5-5, then carefully placed into plastic folders and catalogued as evidence.

Swersky had seemed genuinely concerned, and immediately assigned a couple of them to the case. Faith had been instructed to take the day off and provide the detectives with as much information as possible.

She stood across the room, arm crossed, back against the wall, ignoring the empty chair four feet from her. Her expression was closed tight. She hadn't spoken a word since her superior had left the office.

"So what do you think?"

"What do I think?" she repeated, disbelief in her voice. "Isn't that your job?"

The detective raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "Easy, okay? I just need to know what's going on here."

"Well, what's going on is that somebody's threatening me. Someone who apparently knows a lot of things about me, included where I live."

"Officer, I know this can be frustrating, but I'm here to help." He moved around to the front of the desk taking a seat on the edge, both letters in his hand. "Messages like these are indeed considered a threat. We have to be extremely careful and ensure your safety. Do you understand?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Now this person says he's watched you. I wonder if he's been close to you in the past. It might be a friend, an acquaintance, or somebody you've met once and forgotten about. Can you think of anybody who might have sent this?"

Faith was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute, and wished the phone would ring or he'd get called somewhere else.

"An old boyfriend, someone you've arrested, that sort of thing?"

"No. I have no idea."

"You're divorced, right?" the detective asked again.

"I will be next week."

"Any chance your ex-husband might be involved in this?"

She took a deep breath. "No. Fred's not a saint, but he'd never do something like that."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay, that's all for now." He said as he stood up and put the letters back into the folder. "I'd suggest you stay someplace else for a couple of days. If you can't, we'll send a unit over to your building."

Faith nodded again.

"I need to talk to the Lieutenant now. You can wait here, I'll be right back."

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Bosco's angry words echoed through the hall. He grabbed his prisoner and roughly pushed him up the stairs. "You must be the stupidest jag-off I've ever met!"

His voice trailed off as they passed Swersky's office and he stopped in his tracks, his gaze locking on the woman inside.

Her eyes were closed, her head was resting in her hands in a defeated posture, and she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world all by herself. Fear immediately knotted his stomach, and he wondered what was wrong with her.

"Hey, why did you stop?" the handcuffed man inquired. "You changed your mind?"

"Shut up." Bosco replied, shoving him in the back and leading him to lock-up.

A few minutes later, he was walking back down the hallway. The door to the office was now closed, but he could see Swersky and a couple of detectives inside. Faith was still sitting in the same chair, glancing nervously at the three men and listening to whatever it was that the Lieutenant was telling her.

"Hey man, what's up?" Davis' voice drew him out of his thoughts.

"What? Nothing, I... you know what's that all about?" he asked, pointing to the crowded office.

The young man shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me, but it sure doesn't look good."

"No, it doesn't."

"I'll see you out there, Bos."

"Yeah. Bye Davis."

Bosco glanced at her one last time and then headed outside, worry for his best friend slowly rising within him.

Faith left the precinct two hours later. It was still 6pm, but she felt mentally and physically exhausted as if she'd worked sixteen hours straight.

Being questioned by the detectives about her private life had bothered her more than she let on, but most of all it was the fear of not being in control that scared her. The knowledge that she had no power to stop this person from turning her life into a living hell.

Suddenly the man was everywhere. He was the delivery guy walking along her street, or the cab driver she'd just paid for a ride, or the homeless man who'd insistently asked for some change.

It felt too surreal, and she had a hard time accepting that it was actually happening to her.

The detectives had assured her they'd do their best to catch whoever was responsible for this, but she knew well enough that they had no lead or proof whatsoever, and all their good intentions alone weren't going to help.

The only thing she'd asked the Lieutenant had been to try and keep the news from spreading around the precinct. She had enough problems without having to deal with her fellow officers' compassionate stares. More than that, she wasn't sure she wanted Bosco to know about this.

Being in no hurry to reach her place and spend another night staring at the closed door, she decided to stop by at Fred's place to see Emily and Charlie, longing for that kind of love and assurance only her children could give her.

She knocked and leaned back against the doorframe, eyes closed, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Hi."

She jumped at Fred's voice, surprised she hadn't even heard him coming.

"Hey. I... I just came to see the kids."

"They're not here."

A wave of sadness washed over her. "They're not?"

"Em's at the library studying for some test, and I just dropped Charlie off at Kevin's."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll see them on Saturday then." She said, averting her eyes as she started to leave.

Fred put a hand on her shoulder. "Faith? What's going on? You don't look so good."

She took a deep breath and gave him a short version of what had happened, realizing as the father of her children he probably deserved to know.

"...They also said I should stay away from my apartment for a few days." She added, looking right into his eyes, waiting for him to say that of course she could stay with them until everything was sorted out, but he didn't say a word. His face was like a mask.

Her own eyes narrowed and she fought to control her anger. "Look, I... I gotta go."

"Hey! What's the problem with you?"

"What's MY problem? Oh, I'm sorry, Fred. I'm sorry if some creep's threatening to kill me. No big deal, right?" She paused, running a hand through her hair. "I'm scared, Fred. And I'd appreciate some kind of support, you know? But I'm not going to get it from you, am I?"

He dropped his gaze to the ground, unable to reply.

"Tell the kids I'll see them on Saturday."

She turned around and walked off, leaving Fred at his doorstep, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"Hey, you still here?" Detective Stewart asked his friend and co-worker Johnson as he entered the locker room.

"Yeah." The other man sighed. "And I don't think I'm gonna leave anytime soon. I've got this new case you know, top priority. Lieutenant Swersky himself has requested us to drop all our current assignments to work on this one."

"Sounds pretty serious."

"It is." Johnson replied as he stood by the sink and began to wash his hands. "We may be dealing with a stalker, and the son of a bitch's targeting one of our own."

Stewart raised his head, surprised by the news. "Really? Who is it?"

He grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser on the wall and dried his hands. "Faith Yokas, from the third watch. You should remember her, I think you guys met a couple of times when she was riding with Sullivan."

"Yokas? Sure."

"She's been getting these letters. Kind of creepy if you know what I mean."

"I bet. I hope you'll catch the bastard."

"Yeah." He turned around and gave his friend a pat on the back before heading outside. "I'll see you around, man."

"See ya."

Stewart put his coat on and quickly followed him out of the room, unaware of the officer sitting on the bench behind him, a shocked expression on his face.

TBC...