Obsession (9/13)

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Chapter nine

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"Officer Yokas, are you alright?" Detective Johnson asked, realizing that she hadn't moved from the spot where he'd last seen her a few minutes before.

"What?"

"Is everything okay?"

Staring at the gruesome crime scene in front of her, she was almost tempted to say no. The CSU techs were still at work in the narrow alleyway next to her apartment building, and despite Bosco's attempts to convince her there was no use in putting herself through that, she'd insisted on seeing the place where the two cops had died.

The bodies of the two unlucky officers had been already sent to the morgue for the autopsy, but she could still see the shards of glass on the ground, or smell the blood that stained the front seats of the unmarked car.

"Faith, come on," Bosco pleaded. "You don't need to see this."

He wore the same anguished look on his face and was nervously shifting his weight from side to side.

"Why, Bosco? Why did he have to kill them?" she asked in a broken voice.

"I'm not sure, but I think he's trying to prove he's in control."

"He is," she whispered, lowering her head. "We got nothing. No fingerprints, no ID, and I'm sure those phone records are not gonna help." She took a few steps forward then turned back to face him. "I can't sit and wait while he kills innocent people. I won't."

Bosco sighed. "So what, you're gonna walk around with a sign that says 'take-me-now-I'm-here'?"

"Yes!" she spat. "If it means preventing him from killing more people then I will!"

Swallowing hard to try and keep the tears from falling, she walked off toward her building, leaving her shocked partner behind.

"Faith!" he called as he ran after her. "Faith, wait up!"

She ignored him and kept going, easily climbing up the stairs to the front door, keys at hand. Bosco quickly caught up and put his hand on the door before she had a chance to get inside.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just... I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Faith looked down at her trembling hands. "I know." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm not mad at you, Bosco. I'm just not sure I can deal with this."

Taking the keys from her, he unlocked the door and motioned for her to go ahead. "You can and you will."

The familiar sound of the elevator opening greeted them as they stepped inside.

"We will. We're a great team together. This freak's got no chance." He winked at her as his lips curled into a small smile.

She smiled back, grateful for his ability to lighten her mood even in the most stressful situation. He's got no chance, she repeated in her head, trying to convince herself it was true.

--

"So, are you doing okay?"

"I'm good. My coach said I'm the best player on the team. He also gave me a new shirt, you know? I'm number ten now."

Faith closed her eyes and tried to picture her son's face as he excitedly told her about his favourite sport.

"That's great, Charlie. I'm proud of you."

She hadn't seen them in almost a week, and Fred had made it clear that she wouldn't be getting anywhere near them until her 'problem' was solved. That had hurt, but in his own twisted way, her ex-husband was right. No need to risk putting her kids through unnecessary harm.

"Mom, why can't we stay with you today? You were supposed to pick us up."

"I know honey, but something came up and I had to go to work."

"But... I miss you."

Her chest tightened so bad she thought she couldn't breathe. How could she explain to a ten-year-old boy that someone was threatening to kill his mother and that there was the definite possibility that he would succeed?

"I miss you too, sweetheart, and I wish I didn't have to work but I promise I'll see you guys as soon as I can, okay?"

Bosco's heart was breaking just listening to Faith's side of the conversation. He was standing in the kitchen drinking a Coke but could hear every word she said, and from the pained expression on his partner's face he could tell this was upsetting her too.

Fate can be really cruel at times, he thought to himself as he took another sip of his drink. And it's always good people who pay the price of his wicked actions.

"Mom?"

"I'm right here, Charlie."

"I love you."

A tear rolled down her cheek and for a moment she thought that she'd never see him again. "I love you too. Be good, okay? I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The phone slid from her hand to her lap as she wiped away the tear, then without saying a word she got up and disappeared down the hallway and into her bedroom.

Bosco took her place on the couch and leaned forward, burying his head in his hands.

He honestly didn't know what to do. Other than being there for her and offering his support, he had no idea how to make her feel better. He'd never been good at dealing with emotions, whether it was to express them or to comfort someone. He just wasn't the type.

The silence of the room was comforting in its own way, and he allowed himself to slouch down and lay his head back against the cushions.

Then something caught his attention. A sound... no, maybe it was a voice.

Standing still for a moment, he focused on everynoise coming from the apartment, straining to hear something that would explain the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Bos?"

There it was. Faith's voice.

The hair on the back of his neck started to rise as he moved from the couch and made his way to the bedroom.

"Faith?"

He instinctively stopped when he reached the open door, then took a deep breath and slowly peered in.

She was standing a few inches from him, her body blocking his line of sight.

"He was here."

"What?" he felt his stomach drop.

"There's another gift."

Bosco took a step forward and scanned the room, eyes darting back and forth until they came to rest on the nightstand on the left side of the bed. He had been in Faith's bedroom only a couple times, but knew it well enough to realize that the framed picture he was looking at shouldn't be there.

It was actually a two-sided frame, with a picture of Faith he'd never seen before on the left, and a man in a dark suit on the right. He couldn't recognize him because his head had been cropped.

"God..." he whispered. "Is that..."?

"No. It's not Fred." She replied without even looking at him. "I have no idea who he is."

Bosco walked past her to take a closer look at the picture, spotting a folded piece of paper resting at its side. "What is this?"

"I don't know. I... I didn't open it." I don't want to open it.

"Want me to do that for you?"

"Yes," she admitted in a hushed voice.

Carefully lifting the note from its edge, Bosco opened it, staring at the message written inside. Faith moved to stand beside him and forced herself to read.

This is to wish you a good morning every day so you can think about me and what a great couple we make when you wake from your sleep.

Soon I'll be able to do that myself, and we'll be together forever.

I know you're wondering who I am, but everything will be revealed at the right time.

Until then, take care my love.

The words stunned them both into silence, and for a moment no one spoke; Bosco using every inch of his willpower to fight the urge to break something and go find the son of a bitch responsible for this, Faith trying to force the bile back down her throat and suppress the feeling of violation that had taken hold of her.

She moved to stand by the window, then turned around and walked back, lowering herself onto the bed.

"This is my side of the bed, Bosco. How in hell does he know which side I sleep on?"

It wasn't a real question, for she already knew the answer. She just needed to let it out.

"And this picture," she went on as she took the frame in her hand, "I can't remember it being taken, but I can tell you exactly when it happened. Two weeks ago, in Central Park."

She lifted her gaze to his face. "I was alone."

"He was following you." Bosco reasoned, his lips pursed in anger. "I thought it all started with those letters a couple days ago."

"Apparently not."

"We need to get out of here, Faith. God knows what he's planned next."

Swiping back a strand of hair, she pushed herself up, the frame still clutched in her hand. "I can't stand the thought of this man watching me, standing in my bedroom. I just... I just can't."

"He probably took advantage of the commotion outside. They were all too busy with the murders to pay attention to anyone entering the building."

A surge of rage suddenly overtook her and Bosco watched as she raised her arm and threw the frame against the opposite wall. The glass exploded in a hundred little pieces, its noise echoing in the room.

"I'm sorry..." she immediately apologized, staring at the shattered remains on the floor as if she was seeing them for the first time.

"You don't have to. I probably would've done the same thing. The bastard's gonna wish he was never born 'cause when I find him, so help me God, I'm gonna cut his damn head off myself!" He followed her gaze to the ground. "It's okay. I'll clean it up."

"No, I... I can take care of it."

Trying to prove her point, she knelt down and started to pick up the pieces. "Can you, uhm... grab the broom from the kitchen?"

"Sure."

Heading out of the room, he sifted through the kitchen closet until he found what he was looking for. Retrieving the broom and the dustpan, he walked back to the bedroom. Faith was still crouched down where the frame had landed, her back to him.

"Here," he said, offering her the dustpan.

That's when he noticed her closed fist and the drops of blood on the floor. "Faith?"

He squatted next to her and carefully reached for her hand, gently uncurling her fingers. The shards of glass she'd collected from the pavement were still resting in her palm, which now was covered in blood.

"What happened?"

She snapped back from her trance and looked into his worried eyes, then down at the cuts on her hand. "Nothing. I just didn't realize I was..."

"It's bleeding pretty bad. Come on, let's get it cleaned up."

He helped her to her feet and guided her to the bathroom where he washed the wound, removing all the glass, then wrapped a towel around it.

Faith was silent through the whole process, concentrating instead on clearing away the murderous thoughts that were filling her mind. She wanted to hurt this man. She wanted to make him suffer, even if she knew it was wrong.

Sure, they'd probably catch him, but what was she supposed to do until then? Be patient? Tolerant? Everything but frustrated and angry? Not likely.

"Someone needs to take a look at this." Bosco spoke again. "I'm taking you to Mercy."

Again, she said nothing.

She was angry, but there would be no point in arguing, and Bosco had been so nice to her it just didn't feel right to take it out on him like she'd done countless times in the past.

So with her best friend's arm protectively draped around her shoulders, Faith crossed the hallway and followed him out of the door.

--

"That's it. Just give it a couple days and your hand will be as good as new."

Doctor Fields finished bandaging Faith's hand and took off his latex gloves, placing them on the tray next to the bed. "I'll send Mary in with your prescriptions as soon as she's done with her other patient."

"Where's Bosco?"

"I saw him at the nurse's desk a few minutes ago. He was talking on the phone." He replied as he stood up.

"Thanks, Doc."

"I'll see you in a week if you can't have your doctor remove those stitches."

"Okay."

As soon as he left the room, Faith used her good hand to shift her weight on the bed and leaned back. It would probably be a while before Proctor could get back to her, so she might as well make herself comfortable.

The painkillers they'd given her mixed with too many nights without enough sleep were making her drowsy, and she tilted her head to the side, facing away from the door.

Maybe she could close her eyes for a while, just until Bosco came back. And maybe, maybe she wouldn't think about the man who'd brought fear into her life.

--

"Bosco."

Turning around at the sound of his own name, he saw Mary Proctor walking up to him, a small bag in her hand.

"How is she?"

"She's fine. I was about to go in with her prescriptions but I think she's asleep so I figured I'd give 'em to you. You're the one taking her home, right?"

"Yeah."

He took a few steps away from her and looked through the glass at his partner's sleeping form. She was resting so peacefully, and he knew she needed it after everything she'd been through.

He glanced at the clock. Detective Johnson wanted to see them at the station after hearing about the stalker's latest 'gift', but he didn't have the heart to wake her up. Then an idea crossed his mind.

"Mary, do you think we could let her sleep for a while? I can go to the House and come back in less than an hour."

"Sure. I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks. Just... if she wakes up, don't let her leave without me."

"You got it." The nurse smiled.

Bosco gave one last look at Faith then walked away. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he? It was a hospital after all. She was safe here.

TBC...