Autobot Angel

Chapter 13: Stalker

Speed frowned, eying the trace evidence in front of him. He'd found out their suspect had a job in construction from the gravel on Sara but that was the extent of his findings. Sara had owned several rugs, so the CSIs had no footprints to work with. They still hadn't figured out how the stalker circumvented Sara's security and Speed had been hoping trace evidence would pan out.

"Anything?"

Speed looked over at Prowl. "Nothing."

The Autobot scowled. "Delko sent me to get you. We've got a 'team meeting' with our Federal friends."

"Great. Not enough that they have to invade the lab, now they're dictating our day."

"Turner is afraid the killer will come after the lab."

Speed's scowl grew and Prowl realized that was the point. Speed was afraid for his friends. The CSI reached down and grabbed his report, striding out the door before Prowl could say anything. Prowl followed his friend, catching up.

"Our suspect hasn't made a move since the fire."

"But why did he set the fire?" Speed countered.

Prowl sighed. "I concede that point, but it is not going to help if you let him change the way you do your job."

"I don't want them in the crossfire."

"You can't catch him alone."

Speed shook his head and looked up. Eric grinned and opened the door to the 'conference room.'

"Any idea why they called a meeting?" Speed asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Turner paced the length of the room. "If our suspect plays true to form, there will be a package of some sort coming soon."

Speed scowled. "What, he thinks he's going to scare us with little threatening notes?"

Turner returned the scowl. "You may have a point. He doesn't know as much about you as he knew about Sara. But I guarantee that won't stop him for long. Even with a sketch, it's going to take at least a week to find our guy."

"How does he expect to find his suspect with a sketch? Didn't he already have a witness?" Wheeljack asked.

Delko spared a glance at the Autobot. "Turner, why didn't Sara give you a sketch? Didn't she see him?"

Dave sighed. "After the kidnapping and rescue, Sara couldn't remember the man's face. She tried for years to remember, long after the doctors and investigators gave up. It was her one hope, that she would remember his face and put him away for life."

Wheeljack frowned. "Didn't she have other things to live for?"

"This man made her a prisoner, Wheeljack. He wanted her back so she had to have protection. The only way for her to be free was if the threat was removed, either by jail or his death."

"Instead he killed her," Wheeljack grumped.

"So, what would this package look like?" Delko asked.

Just then, Paula, the desk sergeant poked her head in. "Speed there's a package for you."

The whole room tensed. "What was the return address, Paula?" Speed asked, trying to stay calm.

"That was the funny thing, Speed. There was no return address."

Speed inspected the package, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Horatio had called the bomb squad and the squad had assured the CSIs that the package was not a mail bomb. Eric had already dusted the box for prints and now Speed was opening it up. Dave Turner had tried to talk the CSI out of it but Speedle had insisted he could handle it.

Tim inserted a scalpel into the cardboard and sliced it open. He reached in and pulled out a photo of him and an old friend, still in the picture frame. A note was taped on the back. Speedle examined the note and felt bile rise. 'Want to play again?' The CSI growled, deep in the back of his throat. Their suspect had been in his apartment, in his things. Intellectually, Speed had already known that but this…this drove the point home, painfully.

"Speed?" Prowl queried.

Speed shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. He set the picture down and began to process both it and the box it had come in. The CSI pushed the rage back, struggling to maintain his composure. This had hit far too close to home.

"Dave was right."

"So were you."

Speed turned to look at Prowl. "I'm not so sure of that anymore."

Prowl sighed. "What did he send you?"

"The picture of me with my best friend. The last one we took together before his accident."

Prowl was silent a moment. "It will be fine. It may hurt for a little while, but I know you. You're stronger than this creep thinks you are."

Speed thought for a moment than grinned. "I also have an Autobot angel."

"There is that. Now, shall we get him?"

Speed's grin got wider. "Let's."

Dave frowned. "Nothing?"

Speedle sighed, dropping into a chair. "Nothing. Everything that package might have offered, you guys already have from Sara's packages."

"This is a game played on slim odds, Speedle."

"Thank you very much Agent Turner. I think I figured that out already."

Turner looked away. "If you're worried about your friends, we can move you," he offered.

Speed shook his head. "No, I need to stay here. Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Dave's smile was thin. "And perhaps I should have treated you better from the beginning. Let's let the past lie. I want this maniac."

"And you think we're your best shot."

Dave shrugged, ticking off points. "You saw our suspect and lived to tell about it. Your lab, much as I hate to admit it, is better than our lab. Our suspect appears to be hanging about instead of vanishing entirely and that gives me a chance to finally get justice for my sisters."

Speed leaned forward. "I sort of get why this guy fixated on Sara but why me?"

"You caught her case."

"So?"

Dave thought for a moment. "CSI Speedle, you have to remember that this man is probably insane. Oh, he may have started out greedy, but for some reason, he fixed his attentions on my sister. Now she's dead, probably at his hand. You, in a strange fashion, are his last link to her. Therefore, he sets himself up as your worst nightmare, hoping he can control you and your life like he believes he controlled my sister's life."

"Did he control Sara's life?"

"Except for the security and her old memories, no. She was a strong woman, one who refused to just hide from him."

Speed frowned. "How did she fight back?"

Dave's smile lit his weary features. "She tried to remember his face, of course. But my sister was also an author. She wrote under a pseudonym but she wrote nonetheless. In each and every one of her books, she gave him a name and face. She had him commit his crime all over again and she had him face justice. In her books, he never escaped."

"What about Kim?"

Dave's smile faded. "Her last book was her story. Kim's story. In fact, it's almost finished, Mr. Speedle. All it needs is his name and his fate. I may be a bit tense and rude, but would you help me finish that book?"

Speedle grinned. "You mean, catch him."

"Yes."

"We'll do our best."

Dave rose as his phone went off. "That's all I can ask, Detective Speedle. Please excuse me."

A/N: Not much action, I know. But I wanted to introduce more of the killer's motives as seen by the good guys. Also, I decided that I needed Dave to shape up a bit. Will Speed be forced to leave Miami? Guess we'll find out. More Autobuddies? Maybe… Will Wheeljack blow up the lab? Let's hope not but with that scientist, anything is possible. Please Read and Review