Chapter 4
Despite their passionate encounter leaving them both exhausted the night before, both John and Natalie awoke before sunrise the following day. Each new that the next few days were going to be critical to solving this case if they were to prevent the killer from striking again. Skipping breakfast and only stopping for coffee, they arrived at the police station by 6am.
Bo had been shocked by their discovery of the music box at the crime scene and had had officers pulling all available information from the previous Music Box investigation through the night. John hadn't felt this step was necessary as he was sure he had committed every nuance of that case to memory but Bo had insisted that they have all available resources at their disposal.
Natalie squeezed John's hand before heading down to the lab to begin cataloging the evidence for analysis. "Call me later."
He nodded and smiled as he watched her walk away. As unsure as he had been of her career choice at first it was nice to be involved with someone who understood his job. It took a lot of pressure off to know he didn't have to explain the middle-of-the-night phone calls when he had to rush to a scene.
Bo motioned for John to join him in the task force room that was being set up for this investigation. "So far the media hasn't found the link between this case and Music Box case. We hope to keep it that way but you know how that goes."
John nodded and waited for his boss to continue.
"Right now we have approval for overtime to cover this without having to explain anything but that won't last long so we have to step this up."
Before John could say anything to Bo, Natalie appeared in the doorway, pale and shaking. "What is it Natalie?"
She held out a box and waited for John to take it from her before sinking into the chair next to the door. After pulling on gloves and opening the box, John swore under his breath as he pulled out a small music box. There was a note inside that simply asked, "Miss me?"
Natalie looked at John, smiling weakly. "Not that I think he would leave prints necessarily but I had on gloves when I opened it."
"Every little bit helps. Well I think this confirms that it's Haver and not a copycat. There wasn't much coverage of you in the papers before."
Natalie nodded. "One benefit of having family running the local newpapers."
"Has the autopsy been done of our victim?"
Bo shook his head. "10am. I'm going, you?"
John nodded before looking at Natalie. "You gonna be ok?"
"Absolutely. Just shook me up a little. I'm fine."
"Ok, I'm gonna go check the security cameras for tapes to see if we can figure out how this got delivered."
Natalie stopped him. "Already taken care of. I caught up with Carl, he was working last night. He said that some kid delivered it, said that my secret admirer paid him to drop it off. Carl didn't think anything of it, just figured you were being cute."
John made a face. "Me? Cute?"
Bo and Natalie laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. Natalie spoke as she winked at her uncle. "Well Carl hasn't been here long enough to realize John McBain is allergic to cute."
"Ha ha, very funny. I'm still going to grab those tapes and see if we can find this kid. Did Carl say what time?"
"Yeah, around midnight."
"Thanks. Keep your phone with you, ok?"
"Always. I'll call you if I find anything. You too Uncle Bo." With that, she walked back toward the lab.
John looked at Bo. "I don't like this Bo."
"I know." Bo rubbed his face with both hands before continuing. "Do you want to assign an officer to her or do I get Asa to hire someone?"
"If you think we can get away with the payroll, I'd rather it be one of ours. These guys all know Natalie, she's one of us and they'll do whatever they have to to protect her."
Bo nodded. "I'll find a way. Just do it."
Across town Steven Haver removed the headphones he was using to listen to the planning going on inside the LPD. He had made mistakes the last time, underestimated John and his fiery redhead. He wouldn't let that happen again. It was time to finally destroy the former FBI agent.
