A/N: A special thanks to meixel, Sylvia Elaine, RealLifeJoanWilder and EKWTSM9 for their loyal support and encouraging reviews. Without your feedback I would have euthanized this story weeks ago.
Lizzy woke up with a start just before 7 am. She hadn't even bothered to shower when she came home last night and now regretted it. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, craving a few more hours of sleep, but eau du opening transferred from her hair, assaulted her nose. Its not so subtle overtones of tobacco and pot nearly gagged her. She sat up and tossed her pillow off the bed in anger. So much for sleeping in.
After a lengthy shower, she threw on a sweater and jeans, finally feeling human. She stripped the offending case off her pillow, tossed it in the overflowing hamper and went to the kitchen in search of caffeine. The cupboards were bare. Shopping. Another thing to do today.
Returning to the bathroom, she wet braided her hair and brushed her teeth. Looking in the mirror at her pale face and bloodshot eyes, she felt kind of cheated. I should have had a lot more fun last night to look this lousy. She sighed. Too bad about that handsome cop, might have been a wild night.
With the door locked and laundry bag in hand, Lizzy descended the stairs. Since she was already awake, a quick trip to the laundromat and the market were in order. Dropping the bag at the bottom of the steps, she entered the deli in search of a cup of coffee.
Two men were at the counter finishing breakfast.
"Morning, Nonna. Coffee?"
"Buon giorno, sleepyhead!"
Mrs. Molinaro pulled a mug from the shelf and poured a cup of coffee. Lizzy dropped down at the counter next to the man in the flannel shirt. She finally looked at him as he passed the sugar.
"You have got to be kidding, me. What the hell are you doing here?" It came out a little more strident than she intended. Evidently she was a little more upset at the way last night ended than she thought.
Mrs. Molinaro clucked at Lizzy, "Chiudi la loro bocca*, Lizzy!"
"Scusa, Nonna"
Mike observed the reaction of the young woman to Steve and looked at him with raised brows. He also noted that her eyes were in similar condition to Steve's this morning. Later he would follow up on that observation.
"Mike, I'd like you to meet Miss Lizzy Grisko. Miss Grisko, this is Lieutenant Mike Stone."
After Mike extended his hand to the young woman, Steve continued. "Ms. Grisko is a student at the Institute and was in Todd Walters' class on Thursday where Ted Brooks was modeling. She also works down on the Wharf." He began to ask her a question when Lizzy put up her hand.
"Before you start, let me at least finish my coffee."
Mrs. Molinaro refilled Mike and Steve's cups, picked up the dirty dishes and exited through the door behind the counter. Lizzy poured an ample amount of sugar into her mug and took a long draught before looking back at Steve.
The doors chimed and the three counter occupants turned toward the opening. Vince entered the store carrying several crates. He openly leered at Lizzy and shot an angry look at Steve. Once again Mike raised an eyebrow. Just what were you up to last night, buddy buy?
Vince carried the cartons in the back. Lizzy had a few more sips of coffee and Steve began his question once again.
"Can you tell us what happened at the end of class on Thursday?"
Lizzy thought back. "Not anything special that I remember. We finished a little early. Todd had to wake Ted up, again. He has a real bad habit of falling asleep when he models, particularly when he is, ah, under the influence." She gave Steve a half smile. He flinched. "Why all the questions about Ted?"
Steve looked at Mike, silently asking how much he should reveal. Mike nodded his head. "He's dead. We found his body Friday morning at the Palace of Fine Arts."
Lizzy's eye grew wide at the revelation. "Oh my God, the Da Vinci Killer, that was Ted? That's the second person I know who was killed. What the hell is going on, Steve?"
"That's what we're working on. Hold on, you knew Gary Kohler?" Surprised, Steve asked the question before Mike had a chance.
"Well yeah, he was at the Institute my first year. Nice enough, he never looked down on me the way most of the painting majors did. We went out a few times, you know, just as friends. When he couldn't get a job, he started selling paintings to the tourists down at Fisherman's Wharf. I'd talk to him before work every now and then. Sometimes, we'd get a drink afterwards. He was a nice guy."
Mike jumped into the conversation. "How about Ted? How well did you know him?"
"Not too well, he hit on me a couple of times, but usually when he was zonked out of his mind. He had a live in girlfriend."
"Do you know her?" Steve asked.
"I met her once or twice when she picked him up, seemed nice. She beat me out of an internship over at the Campbell Gallery." Mike looked at Steve as if the pieces were falling together in his brain. Lizzy continued. "Wait a minute, that's why you were at the opening last night. The girl in the park, Ophelia. Was that her?" Lizzy pushed her coffee cup away, caffeine no longer necessary. She was wide awake. "I knew all three of them."
Steve got up from the counter and walked behind it to the sink, getting the young woman a glass of water. Mike slid over, took the glass from Steve and placed it into Lizzy's hand. She took a sip.
Vince came through the door behind the counter, grabbed Steve's shoulder and pushed him against the wall, with a little more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary. Several framed pictures crashed to the floor.
"Who the hell do you think you are, man? You don't belong back here. Go, or I'll call the cops."
Steve attempted to pull out his ID, twisting under Vince's hand. "We are the cops. I suggest you take your hands off me."
Vince held firm as Mrs. Molinaro rushed through the door, screaming in rapid Italian. Steve continued to struggle under Vince's grip. Lizzy started shouting at Vince, which only increased his mother's volume. Suddenly, the cacophony was pierced by a shrill whistle.
Once he had everyone's attention, Mike held out his ID to Mrs. Molinaro. "Vince I suggest you release Inspector Keller, he was just getting Miss Grisko a glass of water, she's had a bit of a shock." He turned to the older woman, "Scusa, Signora Molinaro, we didn't mean to cause a disturbance."
Steve shook off Vince, who crossed his arms and scowled. Mrs. Molinaro bent down to retrieve the pictures, but Steve beat her to it. Straightening up, he blanched when he looked at the image in the frame on top of the stack. Mike noticed the change in Steve's demeanor as Mrs. Molinaro took the photo from his hand and rehung it on the wall. Mike glanced at the picture and swallowed hard.
"Mrs. Molinaro, who is this in the picture?" Steve stared at the image.
"Handsome boy like you, of course you like my beautiful girls. This one is my Lizzy, you know her yes?"
Steve nodded his head. He anticipated the identity of the other girl as his breakfast threatened to make a reappearance.
"Lizzy is my Mona Lisa." Mrs. Molinaro looked at Lizzy and smiled. She then pointed to the beautiful blonde in the photo, "And this is my Pam, my Venus."
Once Mike got Steve's attention, he held him silent him with his eyes. Lizzy was gazing quizzically at Steve, trying to understand his strong reaction to the picture. Something was definitely off. Mike tried to hand her a card, but she demurred. "I already have his. What's up?"
Mike put the card back in his pocket. He again apologized to Mrs. Molinaro. "Sorry for the problem ma'am." He left payment for breakfast on the counter with a generous tip and turned back to Lizzy. "We need to get back to the station, but if it's not too much trouble Ms. Grisko, can we have you come in later so we can continue our conversation?"
00000
Mike and Steve drove back to Bryant Street in silence. They had stopped by the Campbell Gallery, which was locked up tight at 8 am on a Saturday Morning. After entering the bull pen, Steve grabbed two cups of coffee and followed Mike into his office. Mike called Bernie with the possible identity of the latest victim. He followed up with a brief call to Lenny. Steve sat with his eyes closed and head leaning back on the wall.
"Why didn't you tell her Mike?"
"You know the answer to that, buddy boy."
He did. After IDing the body, protocol dictated that next of kin be notified first.
"Yeah I guess I do, but what do you think is really going on here. All four victims are connected to her."
"That's why I called Lenny. He said he couldn't finish his profile until we connected the dots."
"And now we have, and they lead right to Lizzy Grisko."
The phone rang. Mike picked it up and listened intently, finally hanging up after several minutes.
"Who?"
"Charlie. He has something for us. We can stop by and see him of the way to the morgue."
Steve cringed at the thought of his second visit to the morgue in as many days. The image of the cold, dead Venus in the fountain weighing heavy on his mind and his stomach.
As Steve and Mike walked toward the door, Lenny entered.
"Thanks for getting down here so fast, we're on our way to the lab, walk with us." Mike proceeded to lay out the connection between the victims as they walked. Lenny listened until they paused outside the lab door.
"Sounds like somebody is fixated on our art student. Maybe clearing the way for the two of them to be together. You said that she and Kohler dated casually, and Ted asked her out. Then, Kearns beats her out of a job." He paused, considering the next link in the chain. "We'll have to find out more about her relationship with the roommate, if they had issues, well, I think you can see where I'm going with this. What I told you yesterday still holds. Whoever is doing this is definitely a narcissist and is obsessed with Grisko. He is eliminating obstacle to their perceived relationship and presenting his "works of art" as gifts to her, proving how superior he is to everyone."
"Do you think she's in danger?"
"Right now, no. If she spurns him when he finally reveals himself, that's a different story."
Steve had been very quiet during the entire trip to the lab and Mike noticed.
"What are you thinking Steve?"
"I know you think I have something against the art teacher, but it fits. He got kind of rough with her last night after she blew him off, and I'm pretty sure if you looked up narcissist in the dictionary, Todd Walters' picture would be there. There was also the conversation between Campbell and Walters last night. He's definitely trying to hide something."
Mike directed his response to Lenny. "True, but if she's already turned him down, would he still be pursuing her?"
"Maybe. His ego might not let him even consider the fact she wasn't interested in him. Maybe he's after her because she poses a challenge."
Mike opened the door to the lab and stood in the opening. ''I don't know. I think it might be a little too neat. What about Vince?"
Steve turned a startled face towards his partner. "Why would you think that?"
"I saw his reaction to her and you this morning, I think I need to hear a little more about what happened last night."
Steve rolled his eyes.
"I also saw how his mother dotes on those two girls. She even called Pam her "Venus." Lenny, could jealousy for a mother's attention be part of this equation?"
"Perhaps. More likely he's trying to please his mother. Winning a girl his mother already considers family."
00000
Lizzy loaded her laundry into the washer and dumped in a measure of soap. She hated wasting time in the laundromat, but it had to be done. She picked up a newspaper and paged distractedly through the sections. What the hell was happening? She could not shake the look on Keller's face when he saw the picture of her and Pam with Mrs. Molinaro.
She dug into her pocket, searching for a dime for the payphone. It was only going on nine, but she hoped Pam had turned up at the apartment by now. She got more and more concerned as the phone rang without answer. She slammed down the handset and retrieved her dime when it tinkled into the slot. As she went to drop it into her wallet, the envelope that Pam had included in the gallery invitation caught her attention.
*Watch your (Mouth) language