Disclaimer: I do not own Switched at Birth. Abc family and the producers get full credit for the wonderful show.
Talking and signing
Signing only
Chapter Four: Connected.
Bay settled on the sofa with the faxed papers balancing on her lap. She took another sip of coffee before putting her cup aside and picking up the papers. Carefully she read through them.
Mace was right. She thought as she put the papers aside. Stretching, Bay stood, going to the coffee pot to get herself a refill. She frowned when she got there and picked up a note that read, Enough coffee for now. 'There is orange juice in the fridge. Try to come to bed soon.'
Bay eyed the coffee pot and sighed when she realized that the coffee pot had been emptied. With an eye roll she went to the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. Though she really wanted the coffee she supposed he was right. If she drank too much at this point she would never sleep.
Bay leaned against the counter as she thought about the case. Mace's case was definitely a building pattern. A lot of the things stayed the same, with minor shifts. The oddest thing was it seemed like Mace's cold case was the build up to her current cold case. The victim profiles matched. The blood, the arranging of the bodies. The rose petal being left on the pillow.
Bay started to pace as her mind worked through the cases. What if Mace's case truly was the beginning of this guys murders? What if this sicko has truly been at it for years? Hell Mace's first case happened eight years ago. The murderer got his pattern down two years after that.
What was with this guy? Parent issues maybe? Yeah, Bay thought to herself. Male and female victims were all the same. All the male's have red hair and blue eyes, while all female vic's had blond hair and brown eyes. All the male victims had been arranged in the kitchen to look like they were drinking tea and the females had been left in the bathroom made to look like they committed suicide.
Bay looked at the clock. It was five in the morning. After getting over the miner shock that she had paced for two hours, bay realized Mace would soon be awake. Bay was sure that their cases were connected. Everything added up. The suspect started out with just killing the vic's and leaving them in their beds with a petal from a rose on the pillow. Now he moved them and left a whole rose. Before it didn't seem to matter if the vic only had red or blond hair because it was dyed. Now he used victims who had natural blond and red hair.
Bay stopped her pacing. She went to her bag and pulled the rose petal from the file. Was her current case connected with these cold cases as well? It was possible. There was all that blood in the bed. But then why did the suspect try to clean up? Maybe things didn't go as planned? Yeah, she thought as she stated pacing again, fiddling with the petal. The vic was found outside, so maybe she was able to get away. Or at least far enough to throw the guy off. He panics. This is not part of the pattern, So he cleans up. Makes it so nothing could be linked to him. He looks around to make sure all is right. Then leaves, not realizing his rose left behind one petal.
Bay paused again. Something was tugging at her. Like something was trying to fall into place but she wasn't letting it. So this sicko had been at it for eight years and then messes up. At least with pattern anyway. How many times has something gone wrong and this guy has cleaned up to make it not his? How many vic's had tried to get away? How many vics actually got away? None? A few?
Bay's heart dropped into her stomach when it hit her. It matched, it fit. There was so much blood. The rose petal that was left on his pillow. Was Emmett one of this guys first victims? No it couldn't...but could it?
Bay felt like her mind had went into overdrive. What if he was? How had the suspect gone from KC to New York. The better question would be why? She would need to get her hands on Emmett's case file. It is probably in the cold case section which makes getting her hands on it a little harder, but not impossible. Could she solve the mystery? Could she finally put Emmett to rest? Could she finally move on?
"You really think there is a lead?" A cop asked Bay as he lead her to the back of the precinct where they kept most of the cold cases.
Bay nodded as she spoke. "Yes I think this case my be connected to a cold case in New York and possible to a recent case I am currently investigating."
"Well good luck on that. This case has puzzled everyone who has had it land in their laps." The man shrugged. "Guess it's luck for you. If someone was working it you would have a heel of a time getting your hands on it."
Bay nodded in agreement. When she had called this morning she had been prepared to fight and jump through hoops. So it was a bit of a shock when she had been told right off that she was more than welcome to the case files. Well after they confirmed she was who she said she was anyway.
The cop stopped in front of a box that read Bledsoe Emmett. Then the word 'Cold' was stamped on to it. "Well here we are," the cops said is he carefully pulled the box off the shelf. He handed it to Bay, who took it as if it held a bomb. Never had she thought she would see Emmett's file. She had never wanted to. All this was going to do was open old, painful wounds that she had been slowly sowing closed.
"Thanks," Bay said after a moment. Bay walked away numbly. Though she knew the box she carried was light, she felt as if it weighted a thousand pounds. It was in the numb state of mind she drove back to the Kennish manner. It was in this state she quickly climbed the steps to the guest house so she could avoid everybody. It was in this state she was thankful that Stark must have been in the main house chatting away with whoever had managed to corner him.
She set the box carefully on the table, taking a deep breath as she did so. She needed to do this, but it would not be easy. In this box she would find not only the description of the crime and all the reports and progress, or lack there of. There would also be pictures. Statements from his family and friends.
With one last deep breath Bay took a seat. She opened the box and put the personal aside. If all these murders are connected then she needed to treat this as if it were just another case. Not just so she doesn't lose the case, but for all those families who have lost loved ones. To give them closure.
"You think they are connected?" Mace asked as she breathed into the phone.
"It all makes sense," Bay said. She pointed out all the similarities. "It just feels right. I need more time. I need to get back to New York," Bay said frustrated. She knew she would have to stay here for at least another week. Going back to early would piss both Stark and the boss off. She hated this crap.
"Listen, I need you to do some digging. Do a search on rose petals being found at crime scenes. If there are see what you can do about getting your hands on the files. Don't push to hard, we do not have authorization to look into others cases, but see if anyone will work with you."
"You betcha LT," Mace said before clicking off.
Emmett's case fit. Well almost. The only difference is that Emmett was MIA. No body was ever recovered. Why take the body? Had Emmett tried to get away? Had he done something to make the killer panic? But if so why had the killer not cleaned up? Maybe he got better over time? He learned what to do if things don't go as planned. Learned not to panic.
"We are going swimming," Stark said as he walked into the guest house. The smile on his face told Bay that he had a good day so far. The question in his statement was obvious. He wanted her to go with them, but he didn't want to ask.
Bay smiled at him. She really wasn't in the mood for socializing. These cases had her full interest. However she found herself limited on what she could do at this point and the thought of telling him she was not interested made her sad. "I suppose I will join," She said putting down the cup of coffee she had not been fully aware she had poured herself.
The smile on Stark's face grew. This right here was the only reason she didn't drown. He had taken her hand before she had gone under, back when she thought things could never be fully okay again, and was still keeping her afloat to this day. He was her savior.
"That was fun," Stark said later that night as they were getting ready for bed.
Bay smiled at him over her shoulder. Although the case kept creeping into her mind, the day had been a fun one. That was the reason she had decided to go to sleep with Stark instead of staying awake like she really wanted to.
"What's been eating at you all day?" Stark asked softly in her ear. Bay jumped a bit. She had not heard him get off the bed, let along walk up behind her as she looked in the drawer for a shirt to wear to bed.
She turned to him. How he knew her better than she did was a mystery to her. She waited a beat before answering. "I think all the cases may be connected. My current case, my cold case, Mace's cold case-"
"And Emmett's," Stark said, interrupting her. "I noticed the file," He said after she gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry you had to read that." He said stroking her arms lightly. "Do you want to talk it out?"
Bay looked up at him as the love she felt at him swelled in her chest. The subject of Emmett hurt them both. For different reasons of course. He never told her that it hurt him but she knew that he knew Emmett was the reason she could never fully commit to him. Yet Stark never made her feel bad for it. He never denied her if she needed to vent it out. Held her at night when she cried for Emmett.
Bay let out a small humorless laugh. She took his face in her hands and reached up, taking his lips with hers. He pulled her close leaning into her to deepen the kiss. After a minute or so she found herself being lifted and brought over to the bed. Maybe she could commit. She thought, shocking herself as she did so. Emmett was gone. Stark was here. In the now, accepting her for all she was.
This realization scared her. She loved Stark. Never wanted to live without him. He made her life worth something. Yeah, She thought has he kissed down her tummy. Maybe she could commit to him. She knew she needed him. She knew she loved him. Maybe, she thought.
I hope you guys enjoyed. Sorry it has been so long since I have last posted, but you know how life can be. Please leave reviews! Thanks :)
P.S If any of you are Supernatural fans you should check out the Fan Fiction called Warping to Destiny by SamGirl27. It is rated M ( thought there has not been anything bad so far) and only has a few chapters as of now, but I am really enjoying it! So check it out!