The penultimate Chapter. Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews. They are appreciated and they do make me write much faster. The final chapter just needs tweaking so it should be up in a few days.

Clarity and Salvation

Chapter Thirteen

"Are you ok?" Boyd asked for what had to be the fifth time that morning. They had hardly talked over breakfast, both nursing mugs of coffee, and taking surreptitious looks at each other. When he did try to initiate a conversation she would answer with one word and return to drinking her coffee.

"I'm fine, Boyd," she replied her tone weary, increasing her pace as she tried to put distance between them.

"Ok, so now I know you're not." He stopped walking.

"Look," Grace sighed resignedly. "I'll forgive you, just give me a little space. And a little time."

He tried to read her expression, tried to see past the exhaustion and defeat etched across her face "But we're ok?"

She nodded mutely. In time she would forgive him, probably put everything in perspective but she wasn't ready yet to do that.

Stella was practically bouncing up and down when they entered the headquarters a few minutes later, side by side in an uncomfortable silence.

Boyd glanced at Grace, his face expressionless.

"Have you been to bed?" Grace asked, ignoring the strange strangulated noise Boyd made.

"Yeah. Came in early."

"No sign of you getting cynical and depressed?" Boyd asked sarcastically.

Stella grinned broadly, "Nah, leave that to Spencer. Coffee?"

"What you got?"

Stella smirked, walking backwards across the room.

Spence looked around, finally detaching himself from hours of staring at a TV monitor. "Morning, Grace. Morning Boyd."

Boyd positioned himself to look at the monitor. "Stella?"

"On a hunch I requested all the CCTV, speed cameras, police stops from around the area of the park. He dug up the first body, he would have needed a spade, so he needed transport. Walking around with a spade under your arm in the middle of the night is going to raise suspicions. There's only two ways in. We've been reviewing the footage."

"Since four am," Spencer grumbled, lifting his third mug of black coffee to his lips.

"Yeah. There were only three vehicles who entered the park that night."

Boyd perked up. "Do we have registrations?"

Stella nodded.

"And?"

"We're about to run them."

He almost smiled and motioned for her to get on with it. "Coffee, Grace?"

"Thanks." She nudged him in the ribs, indicating with her head the young officer.

"Huh? Oh, nice work, Stella. Spence." He made his way over to the coffee machine and came back with two cups.

Grace took the proffered cup. "Thank you, you two. Let me know when you have a name." She made her way to her office and closed the door.

Boyd watched her go before turning back to his two officers. "You're running plates," he said at their confused expressions. "We've called a truce, sort of, ok?"

"Good," Stella said, tapping at her keyboard.

"Ok." Spencer picked up his phone and made himself busy.

"In that case I'll be in my office. Let me know when we have an ID."

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Stella and Spencer came to a halt in the corridor, glancing between the two offices and at each other.

"Ok," she asked, "Which one first?"

"We could take one each."

Stella shook her head. "And one of us will get yelled at."

"Or we could get them in the same room and do it together.," Spencer suggested, not really sure who would be more pissed off at being left to last.

"I'll get Grace."

Stella knocked and pushed open the door. "Grace."

The older woman looked up, for a brief moment the effects of the week were etched on her face, her age clear for all to see.

"We have a name." She backtracked to Boyd's office and waited.

Grace followed, perching on the arm of the nearest chair, not wanting to commit to being there.

"A Matthew, Math to his friends, Tomlinson was caught on camera entering the park at 12.08am. No sign of him at the police stops. Our victim arrived on foot around 12.20. Its grainy but it's him," Stella announced, her hands gesturing wildly as they did when the adrenalin kicked in.

"What time did he leave?" Boyd asked, feeling finally that they were on to something.

"The car was captured leaving at 1:46am."

"Does the name ring a bell?"

Grace covered her face with her hands, probing her memory for any recollection.

"The time frame seems a little out," Spencer commented, pulling a face.

Eve appeared in the doorway, and settled herself on a chair. "It wouldn't have taken long to bleed out. Twenty minutes maybe. The cut was pretty deep and wide. Then he would have needed to dig up the body. With the rain, the soil would have been easier to displace."

"Grace?" Boyd demanded.

"He's not a patient."

"He was a member of the custodial staff, "Eve interrupted. "I rang Broadmoor, got them to search their records. They're going to fax his staff records to me as soon as they can find them."

Grace shrugged, clearly no clearer to who they were talking about.

"Sure?"

"I'm not lying, Boyd. I don't know who he is."

"Ok." He held his hands up in surrender, not wanting to upset her any further.

Spence moved towards the door. "Are we going to bring him in?"

"We need to tie him to the victims." He glanced at Grace. "Check the time frame. Will you profile him?"

"Bring me the files." She rose to her feet and left, leaving the four of them staring after her, waiting for someone to go after her but no one moved.

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