Chapter 3

Monday

"I didn't think you'd be here, McCall," Brad remarked the next morning when the five of them were discussing Saturday night's events. "Just what did this guy say, anyway?"

McCall shifted uncomfortably in her chair, the Advil she'd taken earlier only dulling the aches and pains from the assault. "He made it pretty clear to me no one was safe and no one could be trusted."

"He's trying to freak you out and get power over you that way." Brad responded.

"That's enough!" Charlie interrupted. "Whatever is going on we still have Shari to find and the chance we'll find her alive is getting slimmer by the hour."

A knock on the door broke the tension building up in the room.

"Come in," Charlie said and an officer entered.

"A woman matching Mrs. Carlton's description was found dead behind some dumpsters in a parking lot. Forensics is on its way."

"Thanks," Charlie sighed. "You three go out there, McCall stay by the radio and I'll talk to Carlton if it's her.

Silence fell in the room; at some point in their lives, they'd each been touched by the death of a loved one and the sympathy they felt for Eric and his family was overwhelming.

A short while later Hunter, Brad and Kitty arrived at the scene and were met by Officer Roth who had been the first on site with his partner. He filled them in on their way to where the body had been found.

"The person that called it in is a homeless man who was looking for useful stuff in the dumpsters."

"Is he still here?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, he's talking to my partner, Officer Lamont, in the car. We were only a block away when the call came in so we responded. She matched the description of Mrs. Carlton so we decided to give you a call."

They arrived at the spot where the body was lying, covered with a sheet. Not one of then wanted to lift it to see if it was really Shari. Finally Hunter stepped forward, bent over and lifted the part of the sheet that covered the head.

"Brad, Kitty, come here."

They stepped forward next to Hunter.

After a very brief glance, Kitty turned away. "I'm gonna talk to the homeless guy," she said, her voice sounding shocked, and walked off.

"Damn," Brad said softly but loud enough for Hunter to hear.

Hunter sighed, "Yeah, I'm gonna call Charlie." he covered the body again and walked to the nearest police car.

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Meanwhile at the precinct, McCall's phone rang. "McCall, homicide."

"Don't forget what I told you Sgt. You could be next."

Before she could respond the caller hung up the phone.

For a full two minutes, she simply sat there. God, would this nightmare never end? She couldn't believe what had happened just since last night. It seemed like an eternity since she had put on her beautiful gown and seen Hunter's face light up at the sight of her. Her breath clogged in her throat and only a thin whisper of air made it through her suddenly constricted airway.

When the phone rang again, she nearly flew out of her seat. Dread overcame her and the jangling phone grated on raw nerve endings. She felt frozen in her seat.

"Hey McCall – are you gonna get that?" Someone finally yelled from behind her.

She snatched up the receiver. "McCall," was all she managed to get out.

"By the way, Sgt McCall," came the now familiar voice, "I wouldn't count on that partner to protect you."

"What!" McCall gasped.

"Unless you want him dead, of course. You see, Sgt, no one is going to interfere with my plans."

"Your plans?" She nearly choked on the words. She went from horrified to enraged in exactly zero point six seconds. Enough was enough. Shari was probably dead – what did she have to lose at this point? "Listen, you twisted piece of scum – you want me – well come on," she goaded him. "I think you were right the first time: this is a game, to you. Well, be prepared to lose asshole, 'cause I'm not playing. You hear me? Give it up!"

She expected a torrent of angry words, but all she heard was a deep chuckle that sent a chill up her spine.

"Extra points for a little false bravado, Sgt. Oh, this is going to be fun. How 'bout I hold off on my collection and make this just between you and me?"

McCall slammed the receiver down. "Damn him!" She growled, fury still coursing through her veins like liquid fire. She knew her cheeks must be bright red because of it and she was shaking with the surge of adrenalin it produced.

"DeeDee."

She whirled around. "Eric!"

He was hanging up the phone on Kitty's desk.

"How long have you been standing there?" McCall stared at him with concern - his eyes were glazed with grief.

"Just when you picked up." His tone was flat. "I took a chance and had them try and trace your call. We didn't get an exact location, but it came from somewhere here at the station."

Still seated at her desk, McCall searched the room for any sign of the unknown caller, without any idea of who to single out. Eric said the call came from inside the building, but didn't specify that it was from that room. She hoped something would stand out as a clue. A few fellow officers looked in her direction, greeting her with a 'hello' or 'goodbye' as they walked past. She acknowledged them, but not without a minuscule amount of mistrust. She hated feeling that way toward them, but the seed of doubt had been planted. For all she knew, one or more of those smiling familiar faces could belong to whoever wanted her and others dead, but she couldn't prove it.

"DeeDee? Are you okay?" Eric questioned as he stood beside the desk. He could see that McCall was shaken, but didn't know what else to say to her.

For a split second she forgot he was standing there, and when she heard his voice she glanced up at him. "We've got to tell Charlie." She didn't take time to knock and walked straight into the Captain's office with Eric right behind her.

"McCall, what's going on?" Charlie knew the news wasn't good judging by her unannounced entry and the look on her face.

"He called." She said with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Who did? Hunter?" Charlie thought that Rick had called about Shari and looked at Eric knowing that he shouldn't mention Hunter's current whereabouts. Before he could ask her anything else, Eric stepped in with what McCall started.

"It has to be the guy we're looking for." For a moment Eric's words were stuck in his throat as he thought of his wife being with that monster. "He's got to be the one that has Shari, Captain. I had the call traced and listened in on O'Hearn's line. I heard him threaten McCall and he told her not to depend of Hunter protecting her unless she wanted him dead."

Feeling a little uneasy, McCall took a seat in the chair in front of Charlie's desk as Eric continued. "I know where the call came from."

Charlie placed his hands on his hips in anticipation. "Well, tell me. Where?"

"It was from inside this building, sir. The caller was or is here."

"Please tell me you're not serious." Unfortunately, Charlie didn't hear any such words. "Damn it!" He exclaimed. "Even if we wanted to seal the building, who the hell would we question?" Charlie didn't know what to do. "There are hundreds of people in this place. I'm sure that pervert is long gone by now anyway." His brow furrowed as he felt a sense of loss, then suddenly a second thought came to mind. "Then again, they could be just outside this office." He sighed deeply with frustration and sat behind his desk. Although Eric hadn't been authorized to put a trace on the call, the Captain wouldn't scold him about it since it did give them something…not a lot, but something to go on. "Eric, would you mind leaving me alone with McCall for a minute?"

"Yes, sir." Before turning the knob on the door, Carlton looked back at Devane. "Captain? Will you please make sure my wife is brought home safely? I don't know what I'll do without her." His voice strained. "I'm only working today to keep my mind occupied and I guess to keep from having to tell our kids that their mother may not come home again."

Charlie thought about the two children; seven year old twins Erica and Eric Jr. He wanted badly to bring their mother home alive and well. "Eric, we'll do everything humanly possible. You can believe that. And whenever you decide to take a few days off, please don't hesitate to ask." Carlton thanked Devane and headed out the door.

"How are you holding up?" The Captain asked McCall.

"I've been better." She replied with a weary sigh. "This animal told me it was just going to be between him and me for a while. He said he'd add me to his collection, but not yet. He wants to play the game a little longer with me." She thought of the threat against Rick and it chilled her. "He said that I couldn't count of Rick to protect me, unless I wanted him dead. I'm not exactly sure what his plans are, but he obviously feels that Rick could be an obstacle. I should have known he wouldn't give up after the other threats."

"What other threats?" Devane asked.

"Well, the guy. . " She continued hesitantly. "When we were outside the convention center and I found the belt buckle, one of the two guys told me I'd be next. And, last night after I got home someone called to remind me."

"He did what!" Charlie made no attempt to hide his anger and disappointment. Sitting on the edge of his desk; arms crossed over his chest, he began. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner, McCall?" Charlie's voice rose. "You know full well that you need to report things like this! This guy has threatened you and could be stalking you at any moment! You should have said something!"

"I know, but I was afraid that everyone would worry about me and lose sight of what's really important; finding Shari. All I got were threats and she was taken from her family."

The Captain could see that she was upset and decided not to reprimand her anymore about it. "Okay. But just don't do it again. Whatever this jerk says to you: you share with me, Rick, Kitty, Brad, or someone you feel you can trust."

(Trust.) McCall thought the word was finding a way to weaken as it pertained to the recent events. "Right, Captain. I will." For McCall the word meant: to rely, to confide in. Lately, though, the word and its definition was blurring for her and didn't really instill the confidence it should have

Just as Devane took a seat behind his desk the phone rang, startling McCall. The Captain told the operator to put the call through. "It's Hunter," he told McCall. "What's the news, Hunter?" McCall waited anxiously on the edge of her seat. "Damn it!" Charlie exclaimed.

McCall knew the news was bad as Charlie continued to talk to Hunter. "Any idea of how long ago it happened?" As he listened to Hunter, he glanced at McCall who was clearly disappointed. Her heart sank as she knew that Shari's body had been found. After finishing his conversation with Hunter, the Captain began to tell McCall the details. "I'm sorry to say it, but it looks like we're too late to help Shari." McCall's eyes lowered as she began to feel defeat as Devane continued. "Hunter said they'll meet us at the morgue in about twenty minutes. I'll go get Eric and take him down there to identify the body."

McCall didn't say a word but acknowledged him by nodding her head. Charlie walked over to her and placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "I know we'll catch whoever is responsible."

McCall couldn't say she knew for certain they'd succeed, but she was willing to try. "I hope you're right. I really, really, do. I'd like to be there when you take Eric down. I'd like to offer my support." With that said she returned to her desk to await the return of her three fellow officers.

The Captain thought of how devastated officer Carlton and his two children would be and hoped that he wouldn't have to go through this with any of his other officers. After Hunter, O'Hearn, and Navarro were at the morgue, Charlie called McCall into his office before calling Eric Carlton to come in. He told Eric that they needed him to see if it was his wife. The officer took a moment to steady himself as McCall took his hand for support. The three of them took the elevator down, and met Hunter, O'Hearn, and Navarro outside the door of the morgue. She didn't let go of his hand even when the coroner pulled the sheet back. Suddenly McCall felt the grip on her hand intensify and Eric began sobbing deeply. "Shari! No,- no - Shari!" He pulled away from McCall and clasped his hands over his mouth and continued to cry. "Why! Why did he do this!"

The coroner covered the body again as Devane and McCall gently pulled Eric away. They met up with the other three officers outside the door and all offered some sort of condolence. Carlton could only think of how he could possibly take care of his two children; Erica and Eric Jr.

After returning to his office, Devane had Officer Dana Goldwin drive Carlton home to his twins, then began to go over recent details with the four remaining in his office. They went over the scene of what condition Shari's body was in. The coroner would have to give a final report, but from what they saw; the markings on her neck she'd been strangled with a rope or possibly hanged, and her wrists were bound together by what looked like police issued cuffs. O'Hearn added that she noticed a bruise and a small mark in the bend of her left arm, where a needle is usually inserted to draw blood and gave her two cents on the topic. "They could have injected her with some sort of poison, or used an empty syringe to put an air bubble in her bloodstream." After the observations were discussed Devane began to speak.

"I know we're all upset about what happened. It's a horrible tragedy, but we have to use these emotions as fuel to help us find the scum responsible for it." Before he could add any thing more, his phone rang. "Devane here."

"Hello, Captain. My sources tell me that you've found your first unfortunate victim."

Devane mouthed the words "It's him" and quickly motioned for the four to find extensions to listen in on.

The voice continued on the other end. "I intended to keep Shari alive and use her as a part of the game, but things got a little out of hand and she had to be dealt with. So, now me and my little helpers are on a mission to collect the next item on the list."

"What the hell do you want from us!" Devane shouted.

The caller ignored the question. "Will it be one of the other spouses, an officer, or a child of an officer? Perhaps it might be you, Devane." Hunter and the others were desperately trying to get a trace on the call but nothing was showing up. "Just in case she's not listening; which I'm pretty sure she is, don't forget to tell McCall that I'm coming for her, her partner and maybe her friends Navarro and O'Hearn too."

Captain Devane tried to reason with the unidentified person. "Listen. I don't want to see anyone else hurt. If you're after some sort of deal with the police force, the mayor, the FBI; whoever, just tell us and we'll try to make things right for you. Just don't hurt anyone else. Please."

The caller laughed heartily. "The Mayor. As you well know, he and his family aren't any safer than anyone else. But not to worry, Captain. We might not kill all of our collectibles. We may not harm a single hair on their heads. You just never know which of us will take whom, and what mood we'll be in but that's not to say that you'll get them back. I will decide. I have Final Judgment!"

Devane heard the phone click as the caller hung up. All four of the other officers listening in hung up as well. There was a look of shock on each of their faces as fear and dread raced through their minds.