Thank you all for the reviews, it is really nice to know what people think of the story. I hope you will enjoy this next chapter… Oh and review it as well ;-D

Lady J… Thank you so much for all your work on this. I have said it before, but I'll say it again: You're the best beta ever!

Chapter Twenty Five

Interviewing the Lavishams

"The Governor?" Sara asked. "Did you forget that I promised not to go near him?"

"Well, we're going to have to go through him to talk to Bridget Lavisham." Catherine told her. "You know how Dunne did this. You know which questions to ask."

"You've worked stalker cases before, Cath - you know which questions to ask, too." Sara countered.

"So you don't want to come?"

"No, I do."

"Then why are we discussing this?" The blonde asked with a smile.

"I don't know. Force of habit?" Sara smiled back.

"Let's go then."

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"You took her back, huh?" Benjamin asked as he entered the living room.

"What are you still doing here?" Veronica hung up the phone. "Don't you have a girlfriend to get home to?"

"She knows I'm gonna stay here for a while." He sat down next to her. "Did you take her back?"

"Yes, I did." Veronica nodded.

Benjamin kept quiet, but gave her a telling look.

"I know how you feel about that, Ben. You think I'm letting her off the hook too easily."

"I didn't say that."

"You thought it." She looked over at him. "I love her."

"I know you do."

"She makes me feel safe. I… For years after the attack I never felt safe – then I met Kim and…"

"She made you feel safe and protected and loved."

"Yeah."

"I get that." Benjamin nodded. "But that doesn't mean that I have to like how she's treated you for the last four months."

"Maybe you can practice some forgiveness on her, then work your way up to mom and dad."

"I can try." He smiled at her. "For you."

"Don't do it for me – do it for you. It will make your life so much easier."

"Did you forgive the guy who..?"

"No. Some people don't deserve forgiveness." She said strongly. "And he's one of them."

"Good." Was the only response Benjamin could give.

"I need to try Sara again." Veronica said, picking up the phone. "I've been trying to reach her for the last two hours and she's not answering."

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"Hello Governor Lavisham." Catherine greeted.

"Hello Miss Willows, Miss Sidle." The Governor led them into a large, expensively furnished living room.

"This is my wife Helen and my daughter Bridget." He continued, introducing the two women sitting on the couch.

"I'm Catherine Willows and this is my colleague Sara Sidle. We're with the crime lab. We need to talk to Bridget about Miss Rowan's death."

Sara sat down opposite Bridget and smiled to the girl. "You look like your sister."

Bridget looked up at her and shook her head.

"I don't, Miss Sidle. Anita takes after dad and I look like my mom."

"I meant your other sister." Sara took out a notebook from her bag. "I knew her when she was your age."

"Oh." Bridget looked down. "I don't know her at all. What's she like?"

Catherine sat down next to Sara, letting her take charge of the conversation.

"Veronica is… a really good person. She takes care of the people she loves." Sara glanced at the Governor. "No matter who or what you are."

"I was only four when she left." Bridget looked over at the brunette. "I don't really remember her."

"Bridget, you were Siobhan's best friend, right?" Catherine spoke up, taking over the conversation.

"Yeah." Bridget answered, struggling to hold back tears.

"Did you ever see anyone suspicious hanging around when you two were together?" The blonde asked.

"No." Bridget let the tears fall silently. "I've been trying to think of something, but…" She paused.

"Everything just seemed normal." Sara finished for her.

"Yeah." Bridget looked over to her. "Your phone is blinking."

"What?" Sara looked down at her hip. "I forgot it was on silent." She told Catherine as she answered the phone. "Sidle."

"What the hell were you thinking, Sidle?"

"Veronica."

"I've been trying to reach you for hours, Sara. Why the hell did you go to see Dunne?"

"This is really not a good time for this."

"No shit! Sara, that man… God!"

"Ve…"

"Don't you Veronica me. Hasn't he hurt you enough? You have to go see him now? What, you enjoy feeling like hell?"

"I…" Sara made her way to a corner of the room to get a little privacy. "Excuse me Governor." She said politely.

"Excuse me, who?" Veronica asked.

"Veronica, this is a really bad time for this. No, I don't enjoy feeling like hell, but I had to make sure that it really was Dunne in that cell. You and I both know that if anyone was smart enough to pull a switch, it's him."

"You should have sent me instead."

"Yes, that would have been a really great idea," Sara hissed. "Send in the girl who he's fanatically obsessed with, that would have gone well."

"I…"

"Veronica, I'm fine. But you need to be extra careful, he is up to something. He sent a message."

"What message?"

"He told me to tell you that he'll see you soon."

"I'll be careful." Veronica agreed.

"I need to get back to work."

"Yeah." Veronica paused. "Sorry I yelled at you. I just worry when you do these stupid things."

"I've been taking care of myself all my life, Foxy."

"Because you think no one cares about you. But you have that now, Sara, so you have to be more careful."

Sara looked back at the blonde sitting with the Lavishams.

"I know." She smiled. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye." Sara hung up and joined the others again. "I'm sorry about that."

Catherine hadn't gotten any new information from Bridget while Sara had been on the phone, but she continued with her line of questioning.

"Do you have any new teachers or janitors or anything like that at school, or any of the other places you hang out?" She asked the girl.

"I don't think so." Bridget thought about it. "Not that I remember. Everything has been like usual… Until she went missing."

"Do you know a man called Oscar Dunne?" Sara asked.

"No." Bridget looked at her. "Why? Did he kill Siobhan?"

"No." Sara turned towards Bridget's parents. "What about you Governor and Mrs. Lavisham?"

Mrs. Lavisham shook her head. "I don't know him. Who is he?" The woman asked.

"Governor?" Sara asked.

"No, I don't recall ever meeting an Oscar Dunne." He told them.

"Who is he?" Mrs. Lavisham repeated her question.

"Dunne was sentenced 25 to life about ten years ago." Catherine answered the question. "He raped and almost killed a young girl, and then tried to kill the girl who saved her life. She stopped him and was responsible for putting him behind bars."

"What does that have to do with Siobhan?" The Governor wanted to know.

"The MO in this case is similar to the one of Dunne." Catherine answered, avoiding going in depth with her answer.

"And we think he has been training someone to be like him." Sara continued.

"But no one saved Siobhan." Bridget whispered.

"No." Sara looked at the girl. "We think he did things the other way around this time - he started with the friend and will go after his real target now."

"And who is the real target?" Helen Lavisham asked, fearing the worst.

"We think it's Bridget." Catherine said delicately, trying to soften the blow.

"Siobhan got killed because of me?" Bridget asked between sobs.

"No." Sara said strongly. "This is not your fault. The only person to blame is the guy who killed her."

"Why Bridget?" The Governor asked, trying unsuccessfully to stop his hands from shaking.

"Because…" Sara started, but was stopped by Catherine's hand on her arm.

"Oscar Dunne is still obsessed with his first victim." She looked at the Governor. "Her best friend saved her life." She looked at Bridget. "Siobhan was your best friend, so it's natural to believe that you're the target."

Bridget nodded, seeing the logic.

"So you need to be very careful when you go out." Catherine continued.

"Even when you're at home." Sara took over. "The first victim was attacked in her dorm room, so don't let in any strangers or people you hardly know. Don't answer the door unless you are absolutely sure who is on the other side. Don't try to lose the guards protecting you just because you think it's annoying to have them follow you around."

"We'll make sure she is protected." The Governor assured them.

"Ok." Catherine got up. "We need to get back to the lab." She shook hands with the two Lavisham women and waited as Sara did the same.

"I'll walk you out." The Governor said, gesturing towards the exit.

"If you remember anything unusual, just call this number." Sara told Bridget, handing her a card before following behind the Governor and Catherine.

As they reached the door Governor Lavisham started talking again.

"I'll make sure that Bridget isn't left alone at any point until you have this guy." He told them again. "She'll be protected."

"Sure you will," Sara muttered as she passed him. "She's the straight one."

"Excuse me?" The Governor stopped her.

"Sara, don't." Catherine tried to stop the brunette.

"You sit in there pretending you've never heard about Oscar Dunne." Sara looked at the man. "That was a very nice little performance!"

"Excuse me?" The man repeated. "I don't know an Oscar Dunne. Do you really expect me to know a monster like the man you described to me?"

"I expect you to remember the name of the man who almost killed your daughter!"

"What?" The Governor looked as if someone had slapped him in the face. "What?" He whispered again.

"Yeah. How long did it take for you to forget?" Sara asked.

"Veronica was the first victim?" He asked as if he could hardly believe he was asking the question.

Catherine nodded quietly.

"I didn't know." He looked at them. "I didn't know."

"I was the friend." Sara told him. "The hospital called you. You knew, but you didn't even bother to make sure that she was ok." She grabbed a hold of Catherine's arm and guided her to the car.

"I didn't know!" Governor Lavisham shouted after them. "I didn't know." He whispered to himself. "Oh Veronica, I'm sorry." He leant against the doorframe crying. "I didn't know."