A/N; I apologize a million, million, million times for taking so insanely long updating. The situation with our computer took a drastic turn and we couldn't use our internet. Then we couldn't use our computer for three months. But our computer's back and I have completed the story and have posted the remaining chapters to make up for it. Again, very, very sorry. Please refrain from trying to behead me. Thank you.

Ch. 18

Darker Reasons

He was right there. He was right over me. He watched me sleep. He had me. Danny's thoughts were becoming like a broken record. How long was he there? Had he broken in? Had he been waiting the whole time for me to get home? He knew he could think about it all he wanted, but he would never be able to wrap his brain around it, let alone his sanity. An intruder had come into his home, while he had been there. A killer had put a knife to his neck, and he hadn't even known it. The guy had been right there; the man who could never be caught had been standing right there in Danny's home…

It all sounded like some cheesy horror movie, except for the fact that he wasn't lying dead in his own blood.

Would he have cut out my heart?

Danny's emotions kept fluctuating between sickened horror and anger. He could've have had the guy if he had just woken up. He could have taken him.

How the hell does someone break into your home and you not know it? How do you not wake up to that?

Danny tapped out a slow, tuneless rhythm on the table with a plastic spoon someone had left behind.

How pathetic can you be, Messer?

He went from tapping the spoon to scraping it across the table hard so that it produced a high-pitched shriek.

He was right there, holding a knife to your throat.

He pressed the spoon harder into the table and it snapped, the round end skittering away onto the floor. Danny tossed the handle away furiously and sat back, running his hand through his hair. Saying this was messed up was an understatement. He wanted to do something, to get up and act, even if it meant going through bags of evidence that had been picked clean with nothing to show for it.

" This a bad time?"

Danny looked up to see Anita standing in the doorway, smiling reassuringly though her stiff stance gave Danny the impression of uneasiness.

" It was 'bad' the moment I walked through the door this morning," he replied.

Anita flashed her teeth in a grimace. " So I heard. I guess I should ask if it's okay if I can come in and talk."

Danny shrugged. " It's cool. How'd the interview go?"

Anita went the rest of the way through the door of the break room and sat down across from Danny.

" That's what I'm here to talk about. Mac said I should be the one to tell you what we heard since I'd probably be able to explain it better."

At this, Danny perked and leaned forward to listen in with every ounce of attention he had. " I'm guessin' we finally got something?"

Anita let out a quick breath and shook her head in wide-eyed bewilderment. " You have no idea. There's two of 'em."

" Two? What'd you mean two? Two killers?"

" Exactly."

Danny didn't know quite how to process that. " Wow. Really? Never thought Jake would spill about somethin' like that."

" I know. I was expecting more along the lines of 'here's where I get the letters.' But fate playing Jake a bad hand gave us the winning one. Seems he's been targeted. So, in exchange for protection he gave us something major. I mean it's not really a case-buster - but it's certainly a crack in the lining."

Now it was Farrone who leaned forward as though about to go into some conspiratorial talk. " This chinks it, Danny, but in a good way. My theories, I mean. The two-headed snake, the variety of deaths, everything. These killers, I don't think they're just two serials working on the same team. I say they're brothers, and twins at that. Same egg deal, identical. Thus - the two-headed serpent."

Farrone shook her head in amazement. " Excuse me if I sound a bit - career oriented, but this is a profiler gold mine. I mean it makes so much freakin' sense I can hardly believe it. I also know why what happened to you happened. Jessi said the killer left and came back in right?"

Danny nodded rather dully. He was finding it difficult to share Anita's enthusiasm. It was all well and good they had acquired a major piece of info, but to Danny, unless they could use it, then it was more info of interest than of help.

Anita went on. " And remember how I told you about my theory of one ego acting out against the others? Well, I hold to that theory. I say it was a case of sibling rivalry. One brother trying to show up the other by moving faster with his victims. So, to teach that brother a lesson, the other brother made sure that his next killing went wrong. A way of keeping him in line, as it were."

Danny nodded again. " Makes sense, I guess. So what's the deal with bringing me into the middle of it if it's between the two of them?"

" Well, I had two trains of thought on that. One, the one brother didn't know what the other brother had done, but knew that you had arrived, so blamed the lack of death on you. Or, two, it's a warning of his own, for other brother."

Danny lowered his head, bristling inwardly like an angry cat. " How the hell is putting a knife to my neck and taking a picture to send to me supposed to teach thing one not to go messin' with thing two's little party."

Anita sat back with a shrug. " He sent twin brother a picture as well." She then sighed, and showed her teeth again in another grimace. " The thing is, after hearing about what happened to you my thoughts went straight back to Detective Myers."

Danny straightened then dropped himself against the back of his chair. Though he had not thought on it, he had expected Myers' name to pop back up, and he had a pretty good idea of where Farrone was going with it.

" You think this is going to end like it did last time, with some officer or detective literally hanging at home?" he said, his tone more harsh and nasty than he intended.

Farrone's countenance became a wordless apology, and her head moved ever so slightly up and down.

Danny averted his glaring gaze to the table to keep Farrone from thinking herself the target of it. He shrugged one shoulder in a pathetic attempt at indifference. Of course the question that kept slapping into his thoughts was - why me? But it wasn't a question of self-pity, he knew. It was a professional question, an investigative question any cop, profiler, or detective would ask. Danny was new to this case, and one of many working it. So how had he become the target if that's what was going on? If anything Mavin should be the target. He had experience, he was a veteran, and had worked closely with Myers.

For once, Danny wasn't thinking in terms of resentment toward Mavin. His mind was working on logic, plain and simple. By all means, Mavin was supposed to be the target.

" Thing two, as you have so colorfully termed him, was threatening to mess up the game by killing you early. Oh…!"

Danny winced and felt bilge trying to burn its way back up his throat.

" Oh, crap, Danny, I am so sorry. I - I didn't mean for it to come out like that. That might not even be the case, it's just a theory. If anything, it's what I said first about the one brother not knowing his killing had been sabotaged so took it out on you."

Danny looked up at her, scrutinizing her face and seeing discomfort still lingering in her abashed expression.

" I'm no profiler, but somehow that doesn't swing right to me. That would mean a mistake, and they don't make mistakes."

Anita's shoulders sagged as if in defeat. " You're right. There may be sibling rivalry, but the structure of the game is stronger. They're working together. They must be since they both visited Jake at the same time. The thing about sibling rivalry is that it's touch and go. It doesn't last. Whatever competition boils up can end fast if it means something happening that causes harm to the sibling. I think this same principle applies to the Hangmen. They won't let the other fall. They're helping eachother out. How else would the one know where to send you to stop the other's killing? But, still, I could still see this whole - um - picture incident - as a warning to you and you alone. It may be a mistake on their part, but it has yet to yield anything helpful to us. Any mistakes these two make will be small, something between them and nothing for us."

The queasiness sitting like a rock in Danny's stomach refused to subside. " You're tryin' doc, but it ain't helping. Basically what you're telling me is that if I want to live through this case, I can't save anyone else."

" Probably."

" If that's even the case."

Anita did not respond. She did not have to.

Danny was genuinely, undeniably screwed.

CSINY

Aiden had never taken into much consideration other people's homes unless it pertained to the case or was the kind of home that sparked a small amount of interest. But this was the home of a co-worker, a partner, so the interest was more like an explosion than a spark.

This was not the first step into Danny's domain she had taken, but it was the longest she had remained. Normally, her visits consisted of her knocking on his door when it was her turn to pick him up to head straight out to a scene, with Danny checking into work over the phone. One or two knocks and he was out the door before she could even say hi. When it was Danny's turn for a pick up, the opposite was the case. Aiden would invite him in as she finished up a last bit of this or that. Her neighbors four doors down were prone to arguing fits, and Aiden thought it impolite to keep Danny waiting out in the halls, wondering if he should break the fight up. He never said much about her place except for the occasional polite remark about how it looked nice and had a nice view.

Aiden never wondered much why Danny never invited her in. For one, he was always ready on time, so there was no need. Secondly, he was somewhat territorial in terms of his personal life. There were some things he talked about, and some things he didn't. Should he drop a subject abruptly, or skimp out on the details, the wise thing to do was leave it at that. And what was a home but a storage facility for personal effects revealing that personal life.

The one time Aiden had come into Danny's home - because the hallway was freezing - Danny had reacted a little uncomfortably to it. Yes, he had invited her in, acted as though it didn't bother him, but discomfort had been betrayed in his hesitant conversation with her.

Now that Danny wasn't here, she had free reign. She could sift through his stuff to her hearts content and learn things about him that he would never reveal. She thought this as a quiet joke, but in truth it made her ill. It would be taking advantage of him, like a thief taking advantage of a blind man. Besides, the situation could have been different. She could be taking pictures of Danny's corpse right now, and the thought put her in her place.

Danny's place was clean, but not in the compulsive neat-freak sort of way. There was a laundry basket (empty) on the kitchen counter, CDs spread on the coffee table with magazines, and a few others intermingling with movies by the TV. Other than that, the place was very well kept, not just in terms of sweeping and dusting but also in terms of the furniture matching and complimenting everything.

As expected, he had a lot of baseball stuff; a few trophies, a few autographed balls, some cards, and other such as. But it wasn't all baseball. On one shelf he had what Aiden considered to be a wickedly cool Chinese dragon carved out of jade between two small vases with red Chinese dragons painted winding sinuously about the front. He went for paintings rather than cheap posters. Some were copies, like Van Gogh's Starry Night, but others were real from unknown artists with excellent talent that made Aiden rather envious. Her particular favorite was a watercolor of a woman standing alone in a field looking up into a starry sky. The woman's expression as she stared into the sky held so many emotions - from hope to longing to sorrow - that it was difficult to look away until Aiden determined them all. Danny had great taste.

Aiden's final destination was Danny's room. Neat, clean, just like the rest of the place. She went to the window Danny had told her about and set her kit beside the bed. Snapping on some gloves, she unlocked the window and pulled it open. A gust of cool air smelling faintly of food from a nearby restaurant brushed her face. Taking out her brush and powder she dusted for prints along the frame then the glass itself, but came up with nothing.

" You were right, Aid," Flack said, entering the room. " Someone did pick the lock. There were scratches."

Aiden straightened from her squat position. " I suppose I should dust for prints just to be thorough." She set the powder and brush back into her kit, then leaned on the window to shut it.

" Danny ever invite you over before?" She asked Flack curiously as she locked the window.

" Just once. My TV went out during this game and Danny let me come over to watch the end. Wasn't for long, though. The game was practically over by the time I got here. Usually if we ever hang out it's at some sports bar or something after work."

Aiden squatted again to close up her kit, and tilted her head slightly to see if she could catch a glimpse of what Danny kept under his bed. But, thinking twice, recalling why she was here, snatched her gaze away and stood. " I think that's how we all generally hang out. You've never been to my place and I've never seen yours."

Flack grinned and snorted out a laugh. " Like you'd want to go to my place. Danny's place makes mine look like a crap-hole. Seems like I never have time to really clean up, so I tend to put everything into piles. I need to ask Danny how he does it."

" Probably never has time to make a mess." Aiden headed from the room, following Flack to the door. " Danny's the kind of guy who's about style. Not all about style, but if we ever had casual Fridays I think he'd come in wearing the same kind of clothes he always does. He dresses neat, it's only logical he's going to have a neat place."

Flack opened the door and held it open as Aiden stepped out into the hall.

The tall detective shook his head. " Too bad he can't come back to it at the moment, poor guy."

Aiden knelt in front of the door and studied the lock to the knob and bolt. Both had faint scratches on them that could only be caused by someone trying to pick a lock without being able to see it clearly. Danny said that the lights of the hallway were useless at night. The light filling the place now came from windows at either end of the corridor.

" Better that than what could've happened." Aiden shuddered. " It freaks me out every time I think about that stupid picture." She opened her kit and pulled out the powder and brush. She dipped the brush lightly into the black powder and gently touched it to the knob and bolt. " I thought Danny was havin' a heart attack right then and there. I mean it looked like someone pullin' a prank. At least that's what I kept thinking. But, man, it made me want to puke. Not even that head we found in the dumpster made me want to do that."

" Well, you didn't know the guy who owned the head. We know Danny. He's our friend. It's always worse when it's personal."

Finding no prints, Aiden set the powder and brush back into her kit. She then looked down the hall in both directions, thinking over procedures and what they should do next.

" Think we should start knockin' on doors, askin' questions?"

" We could, I guess. I wouldn't bother, though. Hangman's too careful for that. Besides, Danny told me once how he didn't know a single person who lived in his building and they didn't know him. Even if anybody saw someone just standin' at Danny's door, they probably wouldn't remember which door it was."

Aiden looked up at Flack incredulously. " He really doesn't know anyone? Or was he just exaggerating? Even I made an effort to know one or two people in case it came in handy." Aiden shook her head in disbelief and pushed herself to her feet. " Hope he never disappears."

Flack smirked. " That's what I told him."

They headed out the building and drove back to the lab, and there parted ways so Flack could go talk to Mac and Aiden could go grab lunch. On entering the break room she found Danny stretched out on the faded black couch on the far end of the room. He was staring up at the ceiling with his hands folded on top of his chest and his feet crossed on the couch's arm.

" Find anything?" he asked.

Aiden set her kit on the table nearest the couch and moved to the fridge to grab her lunch. " Nope."

" Touch anything?"

Aiden opened the fridge and grabbed the sack containing her sandwich, salad, and drink. " Only what I had to." Then, grinning, she set her bag on the table, turned, and leaned back against one of the chairs. " Actually, me and Flack got kind of bored so we raided your fridge, dug through your closet, found this suitcase full of cash…"

When Danny didn't respond, not even blink, she dropped it. The room became uncomfortably quiet, and Aiden was feeling a rising twinge of guilt at having tried poking some fun at Danny.

She cleared her throat and racked her brain for a way to end it. " You've got a nice place. I really like those paintings you got. You buy 'em at a gallery or something?"

" If I can afford 'em."

Aiden nodded, then looked at her feet for a while as the silence settled back in. She wanted to say something, anything, to keep that silence away. It struck her as almost unnatural the way Danny was keeping so still and quiet. It wasn't Danny's way to just sit around, let alone lie around, as he was doing, his expression blank as a clean slate. It made her feel as though she were talking to a stranger she had just met, trying to get to know him before the awkward silence finally chased him off.

" Um, I saw a picture of your dad. You look a lot like him. Except without the gray hair and… stuff."

The silence remained, and discomfort was growing into annoyance for Aiden.

" Danny, you all right?"

" Awesome."

Aiden rolled her eyes and dropped her arms to her side. " Danny, quit jerkin' around with me…"

" Wanna hear something interesting?"

" Sure, what?"

" There's two killers, not one."

Had Aiden's jaw not been attached it would have dropped to the floor. " You're kidding!"

" Mac talked to that guy Jake and he spilled it. There's two of 'em. Farrone thinks they're brothers 'cause of the snake. Makes sense if you think about it."

Aiden stood to turn the chair around and sit down. The thought of two killers felt a lot more creepy that the thought of one with a split personality. But then again, twice the killers twice the damage.

" Supposedly, the whole knife at the neck thing was a warning because I saved one of their victims. Either that…" he trailed off and began twitching one foot.

" Either that or what?" Aiden pressed. " What else could it be?"

Danny stopped twitching his foot. He exhaled, furrowing his brow with troubled thought. " Nothing." He pushed himself up, sat for a moment staring at the floor, then pushed himself to his feet. " Nothing, never mind. It's not important."

He started heading for the door.

" Yes it is, what?"

Danny shook his head. " It doesn't matter. I got stuff I gotta do…"

He was out the door before Aiden could say anything else. Obviously it wasn't nothing, but she knew Danny well enough not to go pressing the issue. He didn't need to be hassled.

But she couldn't get the issue out of her mind. She turned to her lunch, but with less of an appetite. Two serial killers; now that was messed up. Yet not as messed up as that picture. A part of Aiden wanted to know what the 'either that' part of the conversation had been about. Something else had been said, or discovered. Or perhaps Danny was just losing himself into depression, becoming haunted by what-if scenarios that all ended in his death.

Aiden ate what she could and put the rest away for a later time. She wiped her hands on a napkin, then stood, snatching up her kit and heading out the door. She was heading to the lab to seek out Stella and ask her about what she found. She was also hoping to run into Danny, though it would only result in another bout of awkward silence.

She found neither one along the way. Instead, she sighted Mavin heading toward the door and in so doing, heading toward her. Acting on impulse she stepped in front of him and blocked his way. He halted abruptly and made to go around her.

" Hey!" she snapped, blocking his way again. " I wanna talk to you."

Mavin glared at Aiden in a dangerous way, but Aiden didn't even let it register.

" About what?"

" About Danny."

Mavin gave Aiden a look as though she had lost it, then brushed past her. She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat before he took three steps, stopping him suddenly.

" Anything happens to him, I'm holding you responsible," she said. Again, he gave her a look as though she were nuts.

" What? He ain't even workin' with me anymore. Besides, what would you do? Search my house for unpaid parking tickets?"

" What'd you got against him, huh? Why were you always ridin' him? What did he do to you?"

Mavin refused to respond except to shake his head. He jerked his arm free of her grasp and continued on. Aiden didn't know why she had said that to Mavin, but it felt good all the same. She felt like he was to blame. He had begun the escalating process of making Danny's life miserable after all.

But the good feeling didn't last. Aiden's worry wouldn't let it.