Thank you all for your reviews… Hope you'll review again when you have read this part.
Jess, thank you so much for betaing this for me, you really do make it better – you and the ducks.
Disclaimer: The quotes used in this part are not mine.
Chapter Fourteen
The Letters
"So, what do we do next?" Kimberly asked as they waited for Sofia to return.
"We'll discuss that later." Catherine answered, looking pointedly at Veronica.
"Right." Kimberly got the message.
"What?" Veronica looked up and met Catherine's eyes. "Oh, right, I'm the witness. You can't discuss this around me. It's been a while since I've been a witness – beats being the victim, though…" She stopped herself before the ramble got out of hand.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence again.
"Would you like me to wait outside for Detective Curtis?" She asked to no one in particular after a minute. "You can fill in Kim and I can… I can wait…" She got up while still talking and headed for the door.
"You don't have to do that." Sara said, getting up to stop her. As she reached out Veronica held up a hand, stopping her mid-motion. "You don't have to do that, Veronica." Sara told her again, letting her arm fall back to her side.
"I know, I just need…."
"Yeah." Sara went to the door and held it open for her. "Need company?"
"Not right now, no." Veronica smiled and caressed Sara's cheek gently. "Thanks." She whispered before slipping out the door.
Closing the door behind her, Sara turned to face the room again.
"Sara?" Catherine said carefully, needing to make sure that Sara was ok working the case.
"Yeah." Sara locked eyes with the blonde, hoping to convey that although she wasn't fine, she would be more than able to work the case.
Catherine got the message and she was relieved. Not only because she needed Sara on this case, but also because she cared about the younger woman. 'Care? Yeah, sure I care. She's a co-worker, and I care about all my co-workers. Yeah, that's it.' She glanced over at Sara. 'Oh, who am I kidding? I care because it's Sara. Sara with the nice hands; Sara with the soulful brown eyes; Sara with the impossibly long legs. Face it Catherine, you're attracted to Sara. Of all the people in the world, you're attracted to Sara Sidle.' Shaking her head slightly to rid her thoughts of Sara, she started filling Kimberly in on her plan of action.
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Approaching the conference room, Sofia noticed Veronica leaning against the wall. She slowed her pace, trying to figure out why the other woman was standing outside the room alone.
"Hi…" She said as she got into earshot.
"Huh?" Veronica glanced at her with a faraway look. "Sofia, hi…" Her eyes returned to normal. "I was just waiting for you."
"Waiting for me? Are you ok?" Sofia was feeling a little worried. She didn't know the other woman, and didn't know if this was normal behaviour for her.
"I'm ok, I guess. I'm not used to talking about my past, so it just gets a little busy up here." She pointed at her head. "I just needed a little privacy, so I came out here to wait for you while the others fill in Kim on the things she missed when she was with me."
"You picked an interesting place for privacy." Sofia smiled and gestured to the people passing them. "This can be a pretty busy corridor."
"Yeah," Veronica looked around and chuckled a little. "Only place to be sure to catch you, though."
"So, any idea why we're here again? Catherine just told me to get back."
"I have letters from Dunne."
"How romantic…" Sofia wanted to ease off a little of the tension in the other woman, and hoped that she could find a little humour in the statement.
"Yeah, I always want to go straight when I read them." Veronica shot back with a smile.
Sofia smiled back.
"We should get in." She said, opening the door. Veronica nodded and followed her inside.
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"I'm not sure how far back you need to go with these letters." Veronica began. "I mean, in the beginning it's all about me betraying him, me breaking one of God's commandments…" She shuffled through the letters in her hand. "Like this one… he likes to use quotes from various places… I'll just read this part of it for you, ok?" She looked at Catherine for confirmation.
"Sure, you can give us the short version now, but we will need all the letters as evidence." Catherine informed her.
"I know. You can have them – I only kept them in case he should ever get a parole hearing. With these letters, no sane panel would let him out. I'm just sorry that I had to get them out for this."
"You've read all of them?" Sara asked. When Veronica nodded yes, she continued. "Why would you read anything from that son of a bitch? Why not just throw them out?"
"Morbid fascination?" Veronica offered.
"Don't bullshit me, Veronica!"
"I don't know, Sara, I don't know! I need to know… I need to know how the hell he thinks. I need to know how to protect my daughter if he is ever let out again! I need to be able to figure out how he thinks, so I can…"
"Enough!" Catherine raised her voice slightly. "This is not for this meeting. This is between you and Veronica, Sara. I need your focus on this case right now. The victim needs you to focus on this case." She turned her attention to Veronica. "What do the letters say?"
"Sorry, Catherine." Sara murmured.
"Yeah, sorry." Veronica added sheepishly. "Ok, I'll just read the first one, one in the middle and a couple of the last ones. That way you'll get a brief overview." She looked up at Catherine again and when the blonde nodded, she started reading a part of the first letter.
"'What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate '
You have defied the words of our Lord. He led me to you, and you refused Him. I am the saviour He sent to save your soul from the eternal flames of Hell. Never should we be separated, but fear not – I will come for you again and you will be lonely no more. The devil has touched you and separated us in the form of a lowly, foul woman. Why are you so weak? Why can you not resist Satan? You are weak! The Devil has you in her grasp! The Devil must be removed from your life!"
Veronica couldn't meet Sara's eyes, so instead she focused on Catherine.
"It goes on and on like this. The quote is from the Bible - Mark 10:9." She informed them. "I have no idea why he thinks that we have been joined together by God, but apparently Sara is the Devil incarnated." She took a chance and looked at Sara who had a smile on her face.
"I've been called worse." The brunette quipped.
"Yeah, probably by me." Veronica smiled back. "This next one is written a couple of years later, and it seems that he has had time to change his mind about me. Sara is still not in his good books."
She looked at Sara briefly before starting to read the next letter.
"'Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire.'
I have failed you. I should have been your strength. I should have protected you against the vile creature that is the Devil. Of course the Devil is a woman – strutting around filling your head with impure thoughts. Giving in to her temptations is wrong, my love. Lean on me and I will be your strength – draw it from me. All that is mine is yours, just as all that is you is mine. You are mine. You were made for me. The good Lord made me in His picture and then created you from one of my ribs. You are here for me and me alone."
She looked back up from the letter.
"From then on it, uh… Well, it rather graphically describes how he will rescue me when we meet again." She moved uncomfortably in her chair. "And believe me when I say that my first encounter with him was a walk in the park compared to what he has planned."
"He thinks I was the one who was a bad influence on you?" Sara asked, laughing a little. "Who is he quoting there?"
"The quote is by Francois de La Rochefoucauld, who is… was a classical French author. Basically Dunne is saying that his love for me has grown stronger in the time he has spent in prison, or the time he has been away from me." Veronica looked at her friend. "And are you saying that you didn't enjoy my influence?"
"No, I just don't want to be blamed for it." Sara shot back.
"Why does he use these quotations?" Warrick interrupted.
"I'm not sure." Veronica started. "But my best guess is that it's either because he wants to challenge me somehow, or because they express his feelings for me."
"Challenge you?" Warrick didn't quite understand.
"Yes, he didn't just choose me for my good looks." Veronica stated dryly. "Apparently my intellect turns him on."
"Right." Warrick didn't know how to respond. "It could be a mix of both." He offered.
"Yes." The young woman smiled at him. "It most probably is."
"What does the rest of the letters have to say?" Nick interjected.
"Well…the last couple of letters have been a bit different."
"Different how?" Sofia asked.
"Well, he seems to be more… coherent, I guess." She looked up at them again seeing the frowns on their faces. "Why don't I just read a little more?"
"He came to me in a dream. He recognized me as His loyal servant. Jesus came to me and said: 'This is my commandment, that ye love one another.' In His strong light your face stood out. He showed me that we belong together. He was sent by our Father to show us that we are indeed right for each other…."
"You call this more coherent?" Catherine didn't see it.
"No, not this one in particular, but it does mention a friend."
"A friend?" Sara asked, wanting Veronica to elaborate.
"Yes. In the last paragraph, he writes - 'My body may be trapped, but my work will continue. As long as he is with me, my work will continue.'"
"He? Couldn't he just be talking about God again?" Catherine asked.
"I don't think so. In the other letters, he's always uses a capital 'h' when referring to God. In this instance he doesn't. And whilst Jesus may have spoken to him in a dream, what he actually wrote was a quote from the Bible - John 15:12."
"So, you think he has someone doing his dirty work, because he didn't spell 'he' correctly?" Catherine inquired.
"Well, him making a mistake like that is like Sara being late for work, not drinking coffee, and stopping in the middle of a case just to eat dinner, all in the same day." Veronica clarified.
"Ok, so the guy doesn't misspell anything." Catherine concluded. "But how are you so sure that he has a little helper?"
"Hey!" Sara tried to sound offended.
"Listen to this…" Veronica got another letter out of the stack in front of her.
"'And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget,
Forgetting any other home but this.'
The Devil takes on many disguises. First she was a brunette, now she has changed. Blonde does not suit the Devil. The blonde Devil stopped you wearing red for me. The blonde Devil made you cut your lovely hair – be not her slave! Do not let her lure you into her web! Let her not lead you from the path the good Lord has created for us. Do as He ordered and follow me! You are mine! The Devil cannot have you! I will let him follow my words and he will make you understand. Through him you will see the error of you ways. Through him you will come to me again."
"So the Devil has left Sara and come back as Kimberly? What the hell is this guy thinking?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, apparently I can't have any women in my life unless the Devil has sent them."
"But this definitely suggests that he has a friend on the outside." Nick continued.
"Yes, just wait till you hear the latest one." Veronica took out the last paper in the stack.
"'With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out:
And what love can do, that dares love attempt;
Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.'
Through him I see you. Through him I hear you. Through him I smell you. I will always be near you. I will never give up on you. The devil has come close to you yet again. She has taken the form of two, do not let her near you! You bore the Devil's spawn. It is vile and must be destroyed. I will take care of the Devil and her followers, but he will rid the others. It is his call as you are mine. She belongs to him, as you belong to me. The Devil will soon be out of her life!"
"Devils' spawn?" Sofia started. "Julie?"
"Yes." Veronica nodded.
"I've sent uniforms to my parents' place." Kimberly informed them all.
"Good." Sara sighed, relieved.
"The quotes are…?" Catherine asked.
"Shakespeare," Sara answered. "Romeo and Juliet – the balcony scene."
"The first one is fairly simple; he wants me to forget anyone other than him. The second one is a little harder to figure out." Veronica read the passage again. "Either he is saying that he still loves me, and that Kim and Sara are no threat to him because he can do anything as long as he has love. Or that he is planning to escape from prison, and the guards will be no match to him as long as he has love."
"I think it's the first one." Sara offered. "All the others are about his love for you, why would he change that after all this time?"
"I think so too, Sass. And he wouldn't need another person to keep an eye on me if he could do it himself."
"Right." Catherine said. "You're getting protection."
"I don't think this new guy will do anything to me." Veronica protested.
"You're getting protection." Catherine didn't take no for an answer. "You could be wrong."
"But…" Veronica tried but was interrupted.
"You're getting protection!" Both Sara and Kimberly said at the same time.
"Ok, I guess I'll get protection then." Veronica mumbled, and set the letters down the table.
"Hey, guys." Warrick spoke up, with a slight grin on his face. "Any of you noticed that the guy's initials are OCD?"