A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, the fourth chapter is finally up! I wanted to use this opportunity to thank all of you who have written my story so far, and even more so those of you who have reviewed! You really warmed my heart! This chapter gives you a look into Boyd's mind. And, of course, the events in this chapter lead to something interesting happening in the next one! Please let me know what you think of it!

Disclaimer: I will, unfortunately, never own Waking the Dead.

Chapter Four

"Damned, Eve, just tell me you've found something!" Boyd yelled.

He was getting fed up with this. It was the second day since Grace had left work early. The fifth day of their investigation. And still they were getting nowhere. All leads they'd had, had lead to dead ends.

If Boyd were completely honest, he was angry at everything and everyone right now. He wanted it all to and. For Grace's sake. Because even though she kept it hidden very well, he had seen the troubled look that clouded her eyes when she thought nobody noticed.

"Alright, alright! As a matter of fact I did find out something," the forensic pathologist said.

He decided to show her some respect by listening to her without constantly interrupting her for a change. He knew how much he hated it when somebody else did it to him. So he silently gestured for her to continue.

"I discovered two of those knives from that kitchen block were indeed our murder weapons. I am going to try to get some epithelials from the small cracks in the hilt, but my guess is I won't be able to get enough to get a DNA profile, if I am able to pull any at all..."

Boyd was not too pleased to discover that. If Eve had been sure she would be able to get DNA from the knives they might have found a reason to bring Patrick in by that afternoon. As it was, they would just have to wait and see. This might be another one of those dead ends, however hard is was to admit that.

"But that isn't all, you know," Eve informed him quickly.

The DSI was glad to hear her say that. And he knew she must have seen the angry look he had had on his face until a second ago. So he decided to make an extra effort, hoping this would be worth it.

"I found a hair on the inside of the shirt that was found at the crime scene. And another one on our victim. Color and length suggest they come from the same source. Which, by looking at the same two criteria, I can tell you is not Robert McGrey."

That was a piece of information he had not been expecting to get. But it did raise new questions.

"And where does that leave us?" Boyd wanted to know.

He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. The only way to keep himself from hurting the others was keeping as far away from them as was humanly possible whilst working together. So he wanted to get Eve at a safe distance before his temper started running short again.

"If I can connect the hair to a name from the database we have a first suspect to interview," Eve said. "And because we all believe Robert McGrey to have been murdered by Patrick Brown, I thought you might want me to compare the DNA profile from the hairs to his first."

He was amazed she was willing to do this. He had left the team with virtually no other option than Patrick being their murderer. They had every right to demand an explanation. He had given them every reason to question his reasons or question him about the knowledge he had that they did not. Yet they had not done any of that.

It was wonderful how much everyone on the team valued each other. And how unshakable their believe in one another was. Even in him, despite the fact he had displayed his rudeness or difficultness on so many occasions they must have lost count by now.

"I sure hope you'll be able to give us a name… I'm sorry to be putting this much pressure on you, but you're the only chance we have at catching this guy," Boyd spoke.

Eve looked at him worriedly. She had never seen him like this, so vulnerable and scared. And she had no idea what had brought about this change in him.

But she didn't show him that she had noticed anything. He wouldn't want her to know, it would only make him more angry.

"I know. And I'll do the best I can," she promised him.

He gestured for her to leave. Although he wasn't exactly mister nice guys she did not want to leave him alone in the state he was in. but she knew she had to if she wanted to prevent things from getting worse.

"Bye," she said before walking through the door.

On his own again after Eve had gone, with nothing to distract him anymore, Boyd's mind settled back onto the one thing that was important in this case, which was, of course, Grace.

He had hoped their little talk two days ago would have made her see that he would be there for her when she needed him to. That he would listen to her and offer her a shoulder to cry on if she asked him to. But so far she had remained just as withdrawn as before. She still seemed to be avoiding him from time to time. And he was certain there was something she wasn't telling him.

Not that he had never kept a secret from her, far from it even… But this was the first time she was doing it to him. And he was unsure how to react. Was he supposed to tell her he knew she was holding something back? Or was he supposed to ignore it and do nothing? Both options did not look in the least appealing.

Boyd knew Grace needed him to be the strong one for a change. In all those years they had known each other, she had kept him sane. She had kept him on the straight and narrow. She had kept him strong, had given him all the strength he needed. She had kept him in control. And now he would do the same for her. Or he would at least try to.

Yet he had no idea how. She did come to him a little more often again, but not yet like the way she had before. And he was clueless as to how to start a conversation about the part of her past with Patrick he knew nothing about. What if he opened his mouth and he blurted out something totally inappropriate? What if he said something wrong and pushed her away from him again?

He had never been good with words. Let alone feelings. Every time he tried to say something sensitive, he ended up screwing it all up again. And he was too scared to lose Grace to allow himself to take that risk.

Because even though he hardly ever verbally gave her credit for the work she did, he valued her input, her intelligence and her commitment. He valued her. She was the only one who didn't feel obliged to agree with him on everything he said. She was the only one who was always truly honest with him. And though he would never say it out loud, he loved her for it.

Boyd was slightly shocked he had just admitted that, even if it was to no-one else but himself. But it was true. From the moment she had walked up to him in that pub ten years ago, he had loved her. The way she lit up a room when she walked in. Her bright personality. Her bravery. Everything about her was just perfect.

"Dam you, Boyd!" he grunted to himself. "Why do you always have to have the things that are out of your league?"

It was a question he'd been asking himself over and over again for the past three days, and to which he sadly enough had no answer.

"I suppose you just like tormenting yourself," he chastised himself. "You know she could never love you back, yet every day you wake up hoping today will be the day she confesses to you she does!"

Yet even after he'd scolded himself about this for the thousandth time, he couldn't help the daydreams beginning to play in front of his eyes when he sat back in his chair. Not that he was a man to daydream, but every now and then, it made a nice change.

Loving her was something he just couldn't help, he decided. And to be honest he wouldn't want to help it either. She made him feel like a better man by merely being around him. He owed her so much. Yet she never asked for anything in return. She was the most amazing woman he had ever known.

And with that thought, the hours passed by a little more quickly in between daydreaming and doing some of his paperwork.

Midday soon came and went. But he didn't really care anymore. As long as they were getting closer to finding a solution to their problems, he could afford to keep on dreaming a little longer.

But he made sure not to lose track of time, either. He allowed himself half an hour of escaping from reality before returning to it, and to him that was perfect. After all, he would get in trouble with Marianne if his files were late for the tenth time in a row, he was sure of it.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door. When he looked up, he saw Eve standing in the doorway.

"Patrick Brown's DNA is a match to the DNA I managed to pull from the hairs. You have a reason to bring him in for questioning now," she smiled at him.

Boyd's attitude immediately changed. He all but jumped from his chair whilst pushing all the papers in front of him aside. He was obviously very pleased with the outcome the test had had.

"Thank you," he said.

And he meant it. Things were looking bright for the first time in days and he was in a better mood instantly.

Eve was glad to see him relax a little and she was happy he was going after Patrick with a vengeance. She had the feeling things would turn normal again as soon as this case had been solved.

He made his way to the bullpen, trying to decide who he would be taking with him. He figured a man would be a better choice.

"Spence, come with me. We are going to pick Patrick up and take him for a ride," Boyd said.

Spencer nodded and grabbed his jacket. But when he turned around again to ask who would be driving, he discovered his boss already had his back on him.

Boyd pushed the door towards Grace's office open. She was busy trying to get one of her binders to go into the right place. And as far as he could tell she was not being very successful.

"Grace, do you have a minute?" he asked.

"Don't I always?" she asked him in an attempt to keep the atmosphere light.

She was still trying to push the binder unto the shelve, but to no avail. She crushed a stray strand of her short, dark blond hair behind her far while he tried to chose between going in or blunting it out right there and then.

He walked further in and took a seat on her couch. He stared at his hands for a few seconds before he found the courage to start speaking.

"Eve matched two DNA samples found at the crime scene to Patrick. Spencer and I are going to drive up to his house and bring him in," he eventually said.

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I want you to know I'd prefer you to stay here. I know life hasn't been fair on you lately, this case hasn't been easy on you, so I'd really like you to stay in with Stella and let us do the work on this one. And I also came here because I wanted to know whether you have any advice for us that will make getting Patrick here any easier," he told her.

Grace turned towards him now, all thoughts about the binder forgotten.

"Thank you. I don't think I'd be able to do this... And it's probably a lot safer if I stay here. I can use it to our advantage when I come into the interview room to talk to him. The idea I have got anything to do with you guys won't even enter his mind. As for your question...'"

She thought about his aforementioned question for a few minutes longer before answering it.

"Give him the feeling he's superior to you. But don't let him control the situation, not ever. Tell him you've found a body and you need his help to catch the killer since he managed to evade the police for so long after he had killed his mother, tell him you can't find the murderer on your own. That way you'll gain enough of his trust to get him here without too much trouble. But whatever you do, don't let him surprise you in any way," she finally said.

That all sounded easy enough to do. But Boyd had the fleeting impression it would all be harder than anticipated when they confronted Patrick. He did not let her see he doubted this was going to work, though. The gratitude he had seen in her eyes upon hearing she didn't have to come was something he couldn't smash.

"Perfect. Okay, I'll send Stella to come and get you when we arrive here with Patrick. You can work your magic then," he promised.

"I hope I'll be able to work my magic, as you put it, Boyd! The man isn't at all prone to human kindness, as you undoubtedly know," she voiced her anxiety to make a mistake.

"I'm sure things will be fine in the end," he tried to calm her down. "And this'll all be over soon. In about an hour we'll be back, and within two hour that little shit will be back where he belongs, behind bars."

It was as much of an attempt to persuade her of this as it was to persuade himself this was the truth.

They said their goodbyes and Spencer and Boyd made their way to the car park. The DSI let Spencer drive. It would give him the time he needed to distance himself from this suspect enough not to smash his face in for what he had done to Grace when they finally met.

And thus the ride was very quiet and uneventful. His colleague would occasionally look his way to see whether he was alright, but not one word was spoken between the two of them.

When they entered the street in which Patrick lived, Boyd suddenly got a really strange feeling. He became nervous and began looking to both sides of the road, even though he had no idea what he was looking for.

"We're nearly there," Spencer said when Patrick's house came into view. "Do you want to park in his driveway or would it be safer to leave the car here?"

"Park the car here. We don't want to scare the hell out of him before we get him into an interview room."

Spencer agreed. Every precaution should be taken to prevent Patrick from finding out what they were really there for.

They had a couple of meters left to walk. Boyd couldn't suppress the urge to see whether his gun was close enough at hand to use when Brown proved himself to be a threat to either him or his DI.

"Remember, we're not officially arresting him until we get back at CCHQ. Don't threaten him, don't scare him," he reminded the younger man.

Spencer nodded and rang the bell. The cold wind blew around them while they waited for Brown to open the door.

But no reaction came. To Boyd, the silence was deafening. Even Spencer appeared more nervous than he had been during the drive up here. As if he knew something was wrong as well.

There was no time to lose. That Boyd knew. They needed a plan and they needed it right now. Because this might be their only chance to catch this bastard.

"Knock for me, please, Spencer. If he doesn't open the door then, we'll force our way in if we have to," Boyd said.

Spencer did as he was told. The echoing sound they could hear inside the house had a frightening tone to it. Boyd did his best to keep the fear gripping at his heart at bay, but he barely succeeded.

The few minutes that passed might as well have been hours. But neither of them would ever admit that.

"Can you push the door open or do we have no other way in than to kick it in?" Boyd wanted to know.

"Apparently we were invited," Spencer answered when the door swung open after he had pushed it lightly.

Upon entering the premises, they noticed there were only two doors leading away from the hallway. Boyd drew his gun, motioning for his companion to do the same. With a nod of his head he directed Spencer to the door farthest away. He would take the first one.

It turned out to be the kitchen. And no-one was there.

"This one's empty!" Spencer called over his shoulder half a minute later.

"Mine is, too," Boyd informed him, taking a closer look at the room.

It was extremely neat. There was almost no indication someone lived there, except for a dinner plate with some leftovers that was standing next to the sink. By the looks of it, it was at least two days old.

Grace had told him this man was so structured and neat he would seem to be suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. And she seemed to have gotten it right, as always. Would he have left the food there without any reason then? Boyd didn't believe so.

Back in the hallway he waited for Spencer to reappear.

"I think we might discover he isn't here anymore," Boyd told him.

"Maybe he's just hiding upstairs. But I think you're right... Unfortunately."

They had to make sure, though. So they climbed the stairs in search of the man they believed was no longer there.

Boyd motioned for Spencer to have a look in the bathroom while he went on to investigate the bedroom. It revealed the same as the kitchen had. The bed was made up, but had not been slept in that might as far as he could tell. There were on clothes in the wardrobe anymore.

"The only things I found in the bathroom were a piece of soap and a bottle of shampoo. The towel was as dry as it possibly could have been," Spencer told him when he came out of the room.

Boyd had to suppress a scream. They had blown it... And he had to be the one to tell Grace.

"Let's go. There's nothing we can do here anymore. We'll get Eve in here so she can have a look at the place and maybe tell us something about the way he left or where he might have gone."

When they arrived at the CCU, Spencer immediately went to the lad to find Eve. Boyd crossed the space between the door and Grace's office to tell her what had happened.

He was angry and disappointed with himself. Even though he knew he couldn't possibly have changed anything, he felt as if it was all his fault.

He knocked and waited for her to give him permission to enter.

"Grace?"

"I thought you were going to send Stella in when you came back with Patrick," she said.

Her desk was littered with tens of papers. One side had a small space free of any clutter, but the rest of the top was completely invisible.

He cleared his throat.

"We haven't brought him in," he said, so softly he was sure she had almost missed it.

"Wha... What..." she incoherently said.

"When we arrived, the place was empty. It looks like he hasn't been there in days, most of his belongings have gone. We're asking Eve to in there so she might shed some light on the how and when, or where he might have gone to. I'm really sorry, Grace," he spoke.

She sank down on her couch.

"Could you please leave?" she asked him. "I need a little time alone."

Her voice was stronger than he had expected it to be. But he heard the unshed tears in it non-the-less. He had no choice but to leave, though.

"If you need me, I'll be there," Boyd said before leaving.

He couldn't help but stare at her through the windows. His heart broke as he watched her lay her face in her hands, most likely because she didn't want the others to see she was crying.