Hello! Here is Chapter 10, I hope you enjoy!

Big luv n hugs to: Agel15, traceyh, pol, Rinny J & kacie 20 for your encouragement and feedback. I appreciate ya!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Crossing Jordan. If I did I'd actually have money.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When I finally pulled up in front of 236 Columbia Ave it was about two-thirty. The house was large, set back far off the street. I pulled into the circular drive and parked in front of the double doors. I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. I hadn't really thought about what I was going to say, so I hoped that the words would come to me.

Silence greeted the end of the doorbell's chime. I waited a few minutes and rang it again. Nothing.

I started to get a distinctly uneasy feeling. I walked around the side of the house and peered into the garage window. There was a Mercedes parked inside. I walked around to the back. Nothing seemed amiss. I went back to the front door and rang the doorbell again, then knocked on the door.

Still nothing. I strained to listen for any sound from inside, and was startled when I heard the faint sound of a baby crying. My heartbeat sped up and the uneasy feeling grew.

"Shannon?" I called loudly. "Shannon, are you in there? It's Jordan Cavanaugh."

The baby continued to cry, but I could hear nothing else.

I thought briefly about calling the police, but instead I went back to my car and pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of my kit. I went back to the front door and gingerly turned the doorknob.

The door swung open easily. I stepped in. "Shannon?" I called. "Are you there?"

The sound of the baby crying was the only answer. I walked into the first room, the dining room. Nothing. I crept into the next room, the kitchen.

Lying face down in a puddle of blood was Shannon O'Brien Shoemaker.

I ran to her side and carefully picked up her wrist. There was no pulse. She was dead.

X

After finding Shannon's body I had called Woody, who then contacted Wakefield police. Since it was obviously another Burke Alum killing, Boston got jurisdiction over the case and Woody was there for the entire thing.

When he had arrived he had found me sitting on the porch staring at nothing. My hands were shaking. The Wakefield ME had determined that Shannon had been killed at about eight-thirty that morning, just an hour after her husband had left for work. He had been cleared, having arrived at work at his normal time.

Six hours. I had been just six hours late finding Shannon and warning her.

Of course the Wakefield police had been all over me about disturbing their crime scene. I had been too upset to talk to them, so it wasn't until Woody came and explained things that they stopped treating me as a suspect.

"Jordan," Woody said as he came back onto the porch. He sat down next to me. "What were you doing here alone? Why didn't you call me?"

"I don't know, Woody. I wasn't thinking, I guess. I thought I could come and talk to her and warn her and it would be fine," I replied, clasping my hands together tightly to stop them from shaking.

"How did you find her and how did you know that she was next?" he asked.

"I didn't know she was next," I snapped. "For all I knew I was next."

Woody ran a hand through his hair. "How did you find her?" he asked quietly.

I sighed. "I didn't. Nigel did."

"Of course," Woody murmured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Jordan, calm down. I didn't mean anything by it," Woody said soothingly, which only served to irritate me further.

"I was six hours late, Woody. Six hours sooner and I could've prevented this."

"Don't blame yourself, Jordan. You did the best you could. It is not your fault that some maniac is out there killing people."

I laughed harshly but didn't say anything. How he managed to always be so Godamned optimistic was beyond me.

"Is everything the same as with the other murders?" I asked.

"Seems so. Used a kitchen knife. The only difference is that he killed her in the kitchen."

"I wonder why," I said softly.

Woody shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he was in a hurry."

I sighed. "Are they taking her to Boston for the autopsy?" I asked.

"Yeah. They're not happy to give this case up, but they don't have a choice. It's obviously the same killer."

With another sigh I stood up. "I'm going back to the office," I said.

Woody grabbed my arm. "Jordan, I don't think you should stay alone at your apartment right now," he said.

I looked at him. "Why?"

"Because there's someone murdering your high school friends. I don't think it's just coincidence. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be there alone."

"I'll be fine, Woody. C'mon, it's not like I'm just an innocent victim. I know what's going on. And I have a gun."

Woody shook his head. "I know, Jordan, but..."

"Don't worry," I interrupted him. "I'll be fine."

"Can't you stay at your Dad's for a while?"

"I don't want to stay at my Dad's," I said stubbornly. "I'm fine."

Woody took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Okay, Jordan. Just....be careful, okay?"

"I'm always careful," I said and stood up. Woody looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't and I walked back to my car, trying very hard not to think. But no matter how hard I tried not to, all I could think was....six hours....

X

When I arrived back at the office I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I got off the elevator and darted into my office, trying to avoid everyone. I managed to get to my office without running into anyone, and I closed the door behind me with a sigh of relief.

The Wakefield ME would be bringing Shannon's body in. I assumed that Woody had called Garrett and figured that he would show up sooner or later to talk to me.

With nothing to do until it was time to start the autopsy I sat at my desk and stared into space. I felt cold inside as I thought about Shannon and her husband and their little boy who would now grow up never knowing his mother. A year and a half. He'd never remember anything about her. All he'd have of her was photographs.

Angry tears burned my eyes and I ruthlessly fought them. I would not start crying, especially not here.

I focused my anger towards the killer. The bastard had to be caught. He was mocking us, leaving no clues, as if he was a ghost...

But he wasn't. He was just smart. But it didn't matter how smart he was. He would slip up eventually. They always did, and they usually got caught.

There was a rap on my door and I started. "Come in," I said.

The door opened and Nigel stood in the doorway, looking solemn.

"Woody called," he said. "I'm so sorry, luv."

I sighed. "Sit down, Nige," I said, motioning towards a chair.

He sat down. "He wanted to know who else you had me looking for."

"Yeah, I figured he would," I said.

"I gave him the name, but I still haven't had any luck finding her."

"Well, maybe they will," I said.

Nigel looked at me curiously. He was probably expecting me to get mad and throw a tantrum that he had told Woody. But at this point I was just so tired that I didn't care. Besides, I had fucked up. I hadn't found Shannon in time, it was my fault she was dead.

"They just brought her body in," Nigel said softly. "Garrett wants you, me and Bug to do it. He doesn't want to miss anything. Wolcott is coming in later to talk to us."

"To talk to you guys, you mean."

"Yeah," Nigel replied.

"I'll be there in a minute, Nige."

Nigel stood up and then looked down at me hesitantly. "Are you okay, luv? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Nigel. Just tired."

He looked unconvinced, but he nodded and said, "Okay, see you in a few then."

"Right," I said and watched him leave, shutting the door behind him.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, wishing that I could wake up and find out this was all a dream.

Shannon's death hit me especially hard because we had been so close. In fact, it was just over four years ago that I had seen her last. We had gone out to lunch to celebrate her engagement. I had run off to California with Tyler not long after that and had lost track of her. I had told myself more than a dozen times since I'd returned to Boston to find her and get together.

Now it was too late.

I opened my eyes and was horrified to realize that I was crying. I brushed the tears off of my cheek. I was not going to go into the autopsy crying or they'd make me leave.

I got myself back under control and walked down the hall to the autopsy room. When I walked into the room it was packed with people. Woody, Garrett, Nigel and Bug all stood around waiting for me.

I slipped on a pair of scrubs, put on a pair of gloves and joined them around the table. I forced myself to forget that I knew her.

"Are you okay to do this, Jordan?" Garrett asked.

I looked at him, hoping I didn't look like I'd been crying. "Of course, Garrett," I said firmly and we began the autopsy.

X

The autopsy didn't prove to tell us any more than we already knew. She'd been beaten; cause of death was repeated stabs to the chest. She had bled to death, the same as the other three women.

There was no forced entry, no unaccounted phone calls, nothing.

The media was in a frenzy over the serial killer and we had to get extra security to keep the reporters out of the office.

I was forced to stay in my office when DA Wolcott arrived for a briefing on the case from Nigel, Bug, Woody and Garrett. For once I wasn't even angry enough to be indignant at being left out.

I was holed up in my office searching every database I could think of to try to find Darcie Williams. I'd had no luck.

There was a knock on my door. I sighed. I didn't want to see anyone, but there was not much I could do about it.

"Yeah, come in," I said.

The door opened and a short, balding man walked in.

"Dr. Stiles," I said in surprise. Dr. Stiles was the office shrink, the psychologist that did our annual evaluations. It wasn't time for evaluations, though, but I figured I knew what he was doing here.

"Dr Macey send you?" I asked.

"Jordan," he said. "It's good to see you, too."

I sighed. "What are you doing here?" I said as politely as I could.

"Well, I was made aware of your situation and thought that maybe you would like to talk about it," he said in his nasally voice. He didn't wait for an invitation, just made himself comfortable in the chair across from me.

"Nah," I said. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"I think maybe you should," he said.

I sighed again. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Nothing to talk about? Four of your friends have been murdered and you don't think that there's anything to talk about?"

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it. They're dead, no amount of talking is going to change that," I said angrily.

He nodded sagely. "That is true, Jordan, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to talk about your feelings."

"C'mon doc," I said jokingly. "You know me better than that."

"I do know you, Jordan, that's why I think you could use someone to talk to."

I stared at him. He was obviously not going to take a polite refusal.

"No I don't, thanks though," I said.

He sighed. "We both know that I can't make you talk to me," he said. "But I think we both know that you usually feel better after we talk."

There was a long silence. Then I looked down at the pictures of my dead friends and suddenly I started talking. It was like a dam burst.

Dr. Stiles listened, making notes in his notebook and making comments here and there. We talked about different things, and when I finally wound down I felt relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted.

"Well, Jordan, it seems like you really did want to talk," he said.

"Yeah," I said wryly.

"It seems like you are taking all of this as well as can be expected. But I want you to call me if you need to talk more, okay? Don't always think you have to deal with everything on your own. It's okay to rely on people. It's okay to trust."

I didn't say anything to that, but I had little reason to trust people.

"You have a lot of friends here, Jordan. They care about you. You should let them," he said as he got up.

I shook his hand. "Thanks doc," I said.

"Anytime, Jordan. I mean that."

And with that he was gone, leaving me feeling a little better than I had been. In fact, when Lily popped her head in a few minutes later I didn't attempt to rip it off.

"Hey, Jordan," she said hesitantly.

"Hi Lily," I said. "Come in."

She came in and sat down. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"The million dollar question," I said lightly.

Lily didn't say anything to that, just looked at me with that serious look of hers.

"I'm doing okay," I said.

"I was wondering if I could take you out to get something to eat?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm okay, thanks. I don't think I could really eat right now."

"Okay. Jordan..."

"Yeah?" I said, looking up from the papers I was sorting through.

"I, uh, I don't think you should be alone right now, not until this killer is caught," she said.

"Oh, not you, too. What, are you and Woody conspiring against me?" I asked.

"No, I haven't talked to him. I just don't think you should be alone."

"I'll be fine, Lily," I said. "I know how to protect myself."

She took a deep breath. "No matter what I say you won't change your mind will you?"

"No. What if he never gets caught, am I going to move in with you?"

Lily sighed. "Okay. But my offer is open, if you need anything, call me. You have my cell number."

"I do. And thanks, Lil."

Lily nodded and, still looking worried, got up and walked down the hall.

I got up and shut the door, hoping that would give everyone the clue that I wanted to be alone.

It didn't. Just after Lily left there was another knock.

I sighed, starting to get annoyed. "Yeah, come in."

The door opened and Garrett walked in, looking serious and solemn, as usual.

"How'd things go with Wolcott?" I asked.

"About how you'd expect," he said. "She laid into Woody because they haven't got a suspect yet. Then she laid into me for my incompetent ME's that haven't found anything new."

"She's a peach," I said with a half smile. "So what'd she say when she found out I found the body?"

Garrett looked at me evenly. "I think you can probably guess."

I winced. "Did you get in trouble?" I asked.

"Let's just say she wasn't happy that I kept you on this case despite her...wishes."

"Sorry, man," I said. "I wasn't thinking. I should have called Woody."

"Yes, you should have."

There was a pause.

"How are you doing with all of this?" Garrett asked.

"I'm fine," I said irritably. "Why does everyone keep hounding me about it?"

"Because we care about you, Jordan," Garrett said gruffly in a rare show of emotion. "We're all worried."

"I don't suppose you'd know anything about Dr Stiles little visit?" I said.

Garrett just looked at me.

"Okay then. It was..." I paused. "It was good to talk to him," I choked out. That was as close to saying thank you that I was going to get.

"Good," Garrett said. "Now, why don't you get out of here?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I think I will. I'm beat."

"See you tomorrow, Jordan," Garrett said as he left.

"See ya," I replied. I looked at the mountain of paperwork on my desk, decided that there was no way in hell I was going to get anymore work done and stood up.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said with a resigned sigh.

Woody walked in and my heart jumped. "Hey Woody," I said.

"Jordan. How are you doing?"

God, how many times was I going to have to answer that question? "I'm fine." Standard answer.

He gave me a probing look, his blue eyes serious, concerned.

"I am, I'm fine. I just want to catch this bastard and make him pay for what he's done."

Woody didn't say anything, just watched me. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay, Jordan. But after talking with Garrett I decided to put a uniform outside your apartment building."

"Why?" I asked irritably, scowling.

"Because four of your friends have been murdered, Jordan," he said. "I don't want to take any chances. If there's anything suspicious someone will be there."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. You're going to do this whether I like it or not, aren't you?"

"Well, since you won't stay with your Dad for a while, and you won't stay with Lily for awhile, then yes, this is the only option I have."

"Did my Dad put you up to this?" I asked suspiciously.

"No, Jordan, he didn't. Is it that hard for you to think that people could be worried about you?" He paused. "That I could be worried about you?" he added.

My heart stalled for a minute. I was confused, my overwrought emotions swirling around and giving me a headache.

"Fine," I said with a sigh. "Have someone watch my apartment."

Woody looked at me, and for a second I saw a flash of pain in his eyes. Then he sighed. "I can tell you don't want me around, so I'll leave."

We stared at each other. I knew he wanted something from me, but at that moment I didn't have anything left to give. I looked away.

"See ya later, Jordan," he said. "Be careful."

"Bye Woody," I said and when I looked back he was gone.

((Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and tell me what you think!!! Thanks!!!))