A/N – Howdy folks….I decided to reward you all with yet another chapter.

So, as always…..

Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Sixteen – Rip, Tear and Bleed

Olivia ignored her jittery nerves, the horrible feeling of being trapped as she took a seat across from Cutler, watching as the guard took his place in the corner, directly behind the heavily chained man. Alfonso Cutler was a lean man, all long limbs with a narrow face. He seemed uncomfortable in the seat, his legs bumping the bottom of the table that separated them. His hands were flat on the table, his long fingers reminded Olivia of a piano player and she wondered how much blood they had seen.

"Who are you?"

His voice was higher than she expected, his eyes flicking over her briefly before settling on her face.

"Agent Olivia Dunham."

"I heard A.J was missing. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Am I a suspect?"

Olivia had already decided to adopt the charm that Peter claimed that she had. She smiled.

"That might be a bit difficult. You can barely move in those chains as it is."

"So why did you want to talk to me?"

"Because you are one of prisoners that A.J talked to. Do you remember the interview?"

"Yes. She recorded it."

"Do you mind going over what you talked about?"

"Why don't you just listen to the recording?"

"Because it is always better to get the information first hand."

Cutler shrugged.

"Suit yourself. We talked about my childhood, when I first committed a crime and how long it took to move onto rape and murder."

Olivia swallowed the horrible taste in her mouth. His tone was even, as if he was describing something simple, like the weather, not the rape and murder of women. She knew that just behind the door Heather was listening. She wondered what she heard as he spoke.

"Who was your first victim?"

Cutler tilted his head.

"Her name was Melanie. I was thirteen. She tempted and teased me for two weeks at the camp before I took her as my own."

"And after that?"

"You want names?"

"Yes I do."

Cutler sighed.

"This is boring."

Olivia shrugged.

"That's fine. I have a busy day ahead of me. If you don't want to talk, I'll leave you to it."

Olivia stood and headed for the door.

"Wait."

Olivia paused, her hand touching the handle.

"I thought you wanted to know why."

Olivia turned slightly.

"I do. But there is more than one way to get answers."

"Not like the answers I have."

Olivia moved back to her seat.

"So what else did you tell A.J?"

"Everything."

Olivia decided to opt for another approach.

"So you were thirteen the first time you raped a girl?"

The words left a sour taste in her mouth. She could only imagine the fear that the little girl went through when Alfonso started on his path by hurting her.

"Yes."

"And the last girl you killed?"

"Samantha Jane. She was pretty."

"Why blondes?"

Alfonso seemed surprised by the question. It confused Olivia slightly. Surely someone at some point had asked the same question? Alfonso's mask slipped back on and the look was gone but Olivia had seen it.

"I honestly don't know. I guess it has something to do with purity. My mother was big on that. Blonde hair and pale skin, that's what I like."

A.J had been right. There was something in the way he spoke, in the way his face moved that didn't seem to fit. But how could it not? Every piece of evidence was linked to him.

"How did you get caught after so many years?"

"Because I was careless. You should know that. Little Rayne Jeremy survived things that the others never had."

Rayne Jeremy was a name that would forever be with this case. At only seventeen, she had survived the rape, beating and strangulation that had taken so many others lives. Her heart had stopped and her body had started to shut down and if it hadn't been for an elderly couple walking past, she would have died.

"She's a brave girl."

"She's a lucky girl. If I had known-"

"You would have killed her too, right?"

Alfonso shrugged.

"It's what I do."

"What was different about Rayne?"

"There's always one. Ted Bundy had one too."

There was a sharp rap on the door. The guard moved around the room and pulled open the door. He glanced at Olivia, nodding towards the opening. She stood and didn't say a word as she moved passed the guard waiting until he closed the door behind her. She finally released the breath that she felt like she had been holding the entire time.

"That was horrible."

Heather gave her a tight smile, offering Olivia her phone. Olivia had given Heather her phone before she had gone into the room with Cutler.

"It rang and I answered it. It's your sister."

Olivia took the phone with a frown.

"Rach?"

As soon as Rachel started speaking she could hear the fear in her sister's voice. And it made her feel cold.

"Liv, it's Etta."

With those words, all the air left her body and she swore as the room started to spin. She grabbed Heather's arm to steady herself.

"What's wrong? Is she ok?"

"Her temperature shot up and she passed out, I had-"

"Rachel! Where is she?"

"At St Mary's"

Olivia hung up, her hand having trouble finding her pocket. She looked at Heather.

"I have to go. Etta's in hospital. I have to go."

She struggled to find her way out of the maze like building until she finally burst into the sunlight. She got into the truck and placed her phone into the cradle, hitting Peter's number before starting the engine. When Peter finally picked up, some of the chill left her bones when she heard his voice.

"Hey Liv."

"Etta's at St Mary's Hospital."

She heard the frightened edge in his voice as he spoke, one that matched her own.

"What! Why?"

"She passed out. I don't know."

"Liv, are you driving?"

Olivia swerved to avoid a car.

"Attempting to."

"Be careful."

She didn't bother to reply, hanging up and trying to keep herself together enough to drive. She managed to avoid hitting three cars before she finally made it to the hospital. She could barely take the key from the ignition, her hands were shaking so badly. She ran into the hospital all huff and determination, feeling slightly sick when she saw Rachel. She moved as fast as her legs could take her.

"Where is she, Rachel? Where is Etta?"

Rachel pointed to a room across from where she was standing and Olivia moved past her and into the room. She had expected the worst. She had expected to see her little girl hooked up to machines, for a doctor to be standing grimly over her. What she found was far less dramatic. Etta was lying in the hospital crib, gumming her hand. She had an I.V twisting out of her arm, her skin rosy, and a pale sheen of sweat on her face.

"She's fine Liv."

Olivia ignored her sister, moving closer to Etta, who promptly started crying when she finally saw her.

"Etta, baby."

Mindful of the I.V, Olivia took Etta out of the crib, surprised at how hot Etta still felt. Etta kept crying mumbling into Olivia's neck, trying to explain to her Mummy all her hurts. Not that it mattered because Olivia felt her pain regardless. And it hurt every inch of her to know that her little girl was in pain and there was nothing she could do to fix it. She had just managed to calm Etta down when Peter came bursting in and Etta started crying again, desperately trying to explain to her Daddy now what had happened. Eventually, she was quiet again and Peter had headed out to try and find a doctor and Olivia turned to face Rachel.

"What happened?"

Rachel ran her hand through her hair, her eyes one Etta.

"Her temp went up and I turned my back for a second and she passed out. I called an ambulance."

Peter came back in, a doctor trailing him. They shook his hand, his name passing completely over Olivia's head.

"Your daughter is suffering from the flu."

Olivia frowned.

"A flu made her pass out?"

The doctor nodded.

"She's still young so her body is not used to having to fight illness. And because she is under six months old, clearly she has not had her vaccination yet."

"So can we take her home?"

The doctor glanced at Etta's chart.

"Yes, I don't see why not. We have given her extra fluids and her temperature has gone down. But the moment something changes she needs to come back in. I'll have a nurse come and take out the I.V."

The doctor left, closing the door after him. Rachel felt guilty, it was written all over her face. She opened her mouth to speak but Olivia cut her off.

"It's not your fault, Rach."

Rachel sniffed and started to cry,

"She was so limp, Liv. I couldn't get her to wake up. I didn't know what else to do."

Olivia pulled Rachel into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"It's ok Rach. You did the right thing."

Olivia gave Rachel one more squeeze before slipping from the room, leaning against the wall. She had never been so scared in her life. No mad man with a gun could produce the kind of fear she felt when she heard Rachel say that Etta was in hospital. Her phone started to ring and she played with the idea of ignoring it until she remembered that she had abandoned Heather at the prison with no real explanation.

"Dunham."

"Olivia, it's Heather. How is Etta?"

"She's fine. She had a raging temperature from the flu."

"Good."

"Did you finish the interview with Cutler?"

"Yes. And I see what A.J was talking about."

Olivia leant against the wall, her heart started to hammer again.

"What?"

"It doesn't fit. His story does but not the way he tells it."

"All the evidence points to him though, right?"

"From what I can see but I called Broyles and asked him to reopen the case."

"So what's the next move."

"We need to talk to Rayne Jeremy. We need to know what she heard and saw."