See Part 1 for disclaimer.

Author's Note: This is completed and I will be posting it all today (3.20.2022).

*OoO*

Carlton scrubbed a weary hand down his face as he went over the case file he'd built again. He'd left O'Hara's hospital room hours before and had been scouring the little bit of evidence he had ever since.

He reached for his coffee cup only to find it empty. He stood to go to the kitchen, ignoring the protest his back and knees made from sitting in one position for so long and started to pour another cup out of the coffee pot, only to find it empty too. He looked at his watch and groaned. It was after 1 a.m., no wonder he was exhausted.

He stretched, arching his back, and contemplated putting everything aside and getting some sleep. Before he could, he heard a ruckus in the front of the condo. One of his neighbors had a dog but it was well-trained and didn't bark at all hours of the night. His cop senses tingled so he went to the door.

There was a package lying on his doormat. Considering what he'd been getting in the past, he grabbed a set of gloves before he picked it up.

"Mr. Lassiter? Is everything okay?" Carlton looked away from the package to see his neighbor had a concerned look on his face. What the hell was the man's name? Thompson, Tisdale, something with a T was all Carlton could remember.

"Sure, everything's just fine." Carlton waved him away.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure because Siler was making a lot of noises and when I went to the window to quiet him down, I saw someone walking away from your door."

"You saw him?" Carlton was instantly focused on his neighbor. Thompson! His name was Greg Thompson.

"Yes sir, he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. Especially considering what time it is." Greg shrugged.

"Can you describe him?" Carlton clamped down on his desire to interrogate his neighbor. He hadn't done anything wrong and, also, Carlton wasn't a cop anymore.

"Not really. I only caught a glimpse and he was out of your front door light before I got to the window."

"Then how do you know it was a he?"

Greg stopped and thought about it. "You know, I really don't know for sure. Whoever it was seemed kinda tall so I just assumed it was a guy. It could've been a tall woman, now that I think about it." He shrugged again. "It happened pretty fast. He walked back to his vehicle and I was focused on getting Siler to shut up before the neighbors called the cops on me." He grinned at Carlton. Anytime the neighbors threatened to call the cops, they had always knocked on Carlton's door.

Carlton nodded before he again focused on the small package sitting on his doorstep. "Okay, let me know if you think of anything else."

Greg nodded. "Will do." He gestured to his condo. "I'd better get back before he starts barking again." He waved and walked away.

Carlton slipped on a glove and picked up the package. He set it on his coffee table and slit the tape with his pocket knife.

He opened the box and cursed softly at the pictures inside. Pictures showing O'Hara sleeping in her hospital bed. He picked them up and thumbed through them. They were taken at all hours of the day and night. This meant whoever this was, was innocuous enough the guard on O'Hara's door didn't consider them a threat.

He reached for the note under the pictures.

I thought you were a good detective, Lassiter. You have no idea who I am and I can get to your partner anytime I want. I'll see you when I see you. But you won't see me!

Carlton's cursing wasn't so soft now. It was also more creative than he'd had cause to use in quite some time. He was really tired of being one step behind this dirtbag!

He replaced everything back into the box and left it on the table. He would take it over to the crime lab first thing in the morning before he headed to see O'Hara.

He sighed as he climbed into bed. He hadn't had a case stump him this badly in years. He needed to figure it out before whoever this was went after O'Hara again.

It never crossed his mind he might be the next target.

*OoO*

Carlton dropped off the box of photos and the note at the crime lab and decided to take a detour to his pick up some donuts and coffee for O'Hara. He knew how bad hospital food could be so he thought she'd appreciate a change.

He'd just stepped off the curb to walk to his car when he heard squealing tires. He looked to his right and saw a car barreling down on him. He dropped the coffee and donuts and jumped on the trunk of the parked car beside him as the speeding car slammed into the back of it. He felt the rear windshield of the parked car shatter as he slammed into it before he bounced back onto the hood of the now stopped car.

Carlton was rolled off the hood by the driver backing up and speeding away. Carlton knew he should be trying to get information about the car and driver but he was too busying trying to breathe through the pain at the moment.

"Detective Lassiter! Are you okay?" the coffee shop barista yelled as he ran out to check on Carlton.

In a random part of his brain, Carlton thought he probably needed to tell him to stop calling him Detective Lassiter. He got shakily to his feet.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," he said as he mentally began cataloging his injuries, the pain starting to recede.

"One of the customers was calling 911 while I came out to check on you."

Carlton groaned, and not just from pain. Now he had to stay until they got here so they could file a report.

He hated being a civilian!

*OoO*

Buzz McNab closed his notebook as the paramedic finished bandaging the last of Carlton's wounds.

"Okay, Detective Lassiter, I think I got everything."

Carlton sighed. "I told you, McNab, stop calling me Detective. I won't work for the department anymore!"

McNab's face fell. "Yes sir, I know. It's just…it doesn't seem right you're a civilian now." He shook his head as he walked away.

"You're telling me, pal, you're telling me," Carlton muttered as he picked up his suit coat and stood from the back of the ambulance.

"Detective Lassiter!" Carlton gritted his teeth against the automatic need to correct the barista. He hated the fact he wasn't a cop anymore but he wasn't going to let people keep calling him something he wasn't. He also knew this was a battle he didn't feel like fighting today.

"Yeah, kid. What do you need?" he asked as he shrugged on his jacket.

The barista handed him two coffees and a bag of donuts. "I know you dropped everything when the car went out of control and I know you were taking it to Detective O'Hara so I remade your order," he finished a bit sheepishly.

Carlton was startled but he took the bag and coffee. "Thanks kid, I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Detective Lassiter!"

Carlton sighed again and couldn't let it go this time. "Hey kid?"

"Yes sir?"

"You really need to stop calling me Detective Lassiter. I'm not a cop anymore."

Uncannily, the barista had the same look on his face McNab had earlier. "I know, it's just…habit? It doesn't seem real." He turned and walked back into the coffee shop leaving Carlton to make his way to his car and the hospital.

*OoO*

"What happened to you?" Juliet exclaimed when Carlton walked into her room.

"Let me sit first," he said as he set the coffee and donuts down on her bed tray.

He sat down gingerly. He'd stiffened up during the drive to the hospital and he just wanted to relax.

"Okay, you're sitting. What happened?"

Carlton told her what happened as he reached for one of the coffee cups and pulled the lid off. He took a sip and breathed a sigh of relief. Coffee may not fix everything but it gave it a damned good try.

Juliet just looked at him for a moment. "Do you mean to tell me you brought me coffee and donuts after almost getting killed?" She looked like she couldn't quite believe it.

"No, I intended to bring the coffee and donuts before the accident," he said as he reached into the bag and grabbed a donut and took a healthy bite followed by a sip of his coffee.

Juliet shook her head and reached for her coffee. She knew she should be tearing a strip off of him for not letting the paramedics bring him to the hospital but he was here now and she could keep an eye on him. Plus, she hadn't had good coffee in days.

Before either could say anything else, a nurse brought in an envelope. "This was delivered to the desk for you, Mr. Lassiter." The nurses had been told enough not to call him detective that it had finally sunk in for them.

Carlton opened the envelope and choked on his donut as he read it.

Too bad the car missed. You and your partner need to keep your heads on a swivel, Lassiter, you never know which one of you I'll go after next.

Carlton was still coughing when Juliet reached over and took the paper. She wasn't worried about damaging evidence since the crime lab hadn't been able to get anything off of the previous letters or package. Whoever this person was, she doubted they were going to slip up now.

"So what do we do now?" she asked as she sipped her coffee, looking a lot calmer than she felt.

Carlton shook his head. "Damned if I know O'Hara, but we'll figure out something." He pointed to the letter. "We have to, because this guy isn't going to stop until we're both dead."

To Be Continued…