5

Matt and Roy made their way to Nick Peterson's apartment. When they got there they knocked on the door, but no one answered. A neighbor with a small dog walked by and started to enter her apartment next door. She stopped and asked them, "If you're looking for that loser over there, he's not home."

Matt and Roy looked at her and Matt asked, "Well, it sounds like you know him and I take it you aren't friends."

She unlocked her door and put her dog inside and then almost closed the door as she talked to them, "So are you friends of his?"

Matt and Roy could both tell she was a little on the defensive so Roy spoke up, "Not exactly. We want to talk to him about his ex wife and someone who has been harassing her, to see if he knows anything about that."

She reached out her hand, "My name's Nikki and yes he probably does know something about that."

Matt asked, "What makes you say that?"

She answered, "Well, I hear him all the time...these walls aren't exactly thick...anyway, he's always yelling at whatever poor girl happens to be in there with him at the time. Must bring home a different girl every couple of weeks and usually they all leave the same way...with bruises." She shook her head, "Last girl that left that apartment did so on a stretcher and looked like she wasn't going to make it. At least someone gave him what was coming to him last week."

Roy asked, "What happened last week?"

She answered, "The father of that last girlfriend met up with him in his apartment and beat the crap out of him. He yelled something about he was ex military too, only Navy Seal and his little moves weren't going to work on him. I thought it was poetic justice that this time, he was the one coming out of that apartment injured. Been in Woodland Memorial for 8 straight days."

Matt and Roy thanked her for the information. They went back over to the apartment and Matt got out his little breaking and entering kit and looked around for a second before trying to unlock the door.

Roy interrupted his concentration when he said, "Matlock"

"Not now Uncle Roy, I want to get in to see if there is anything that can tie him to that threatening call two weeks ago." Matt told him.

Roy said again, "But Matlock..."

"Uncle Roy this is going to take all day if you don't let me concentrate." Matt told him a little irritated.

Roy bent down and picked up the spare key sticking out of from under the welcome mat and said, "Why don't you try this instead of your little expert kit there."

Matt stopped cold and meekly said to his uncle smiling back at him, "You know you could have told me it was there before..."

"Before what?" Roy asked.

Matt just opened the door and said quietly, "Never mind."

They entered quietly enough and found a room in complete disarray. Clearly the fight had concentrated in this room as there was broken furniture and glass all over the place. Matt went to a desk and started sifting through it while Roy went into the bedroom and started going through the drawers.

Matt found something first, a whole collection of photographs of Laci taken, it appeared in the last 6 months. There must have been about 200 and most of them did not have Blaze in them, although about 50 did. It appeared to Matt that Nick had been stalking Laci for the last 6 months, if not more.

He took them into the bedroom where Roy had made a discovery. He was sitting on the bed looking over a machine he found.

Matt asked him, "What's that?"

Roy answered, "Looks like an editing machine of some kind and if I'm reading this button correctly, it says Voice Distort."

Matt nodded his head, "Well I have here a couple hundred photographs of Laci and some of her and Blaze. Looks like he's been stalking the two for some time now."

Roy nodded, "Ok, well, we should probably leave things as they are and give Hoyt a call so he can come find them himself."

Matt shook his head though, "I don't know what we can use for probable cause."

Roy answered, "Well, according to the neighbor there, he was assaulted right here in his own home. Perhaps the police need to come out and investigate further if they haven't already."

Matt told him, "Sounds like a plan..." at just that point they heard someone come in the front door. Matt pulled out his gun and the two waited behind the door of the bedroom. They saw a woman walk around the room and take something before leaving, locking the door behind her.

Matt and Roy looked at each other, then went to the window where they saw her get in a car and drive off.

"I wonder who that was and what they took?" Matt said.

Roy told him, "Well, let's get back to the penthouse, call Hoyt and find out what C.J. dug up on Baby." Matt agreed and the two left.

C.J. was ready with all the info when they returned. The two men walked past Chris at her desk and Matt noticed the flowers. He asked, "Well now, what have we here? A new fellow?"

Chris smiled and said, "I wish, no these came for C.J. She's just letting me keep them. They do smell wonderful though. I don't think I've ever had a guy send me flowers."

Matt noticed she seemed a little saddened and knew she was still having a hard time dating after being attacked several months ago so he told her, "Don't worry Chris. You're a great lady and a great friend and I'm sure you will make some guy very lucky to have found you someday. Of course, he will have to pass my inspection first and I'm sure C.J.'s."

She chuckled for a second and said, "Thank you".

"Nothing to thank me for, " he said as he went and joined Roy and C.J. at Baby as Roy was wrapping up telling her about their experience at Nick's apartment and what they learned. She was already clicking buttons.

She pulled up the first picture, "Ok so this is Richard Romanes. He's owned and run the station Laci and Blaze work at for about three years. In that time he's taken out 8 significant loans, the last 5 being taken out between 12 and 6 months ago."

Matt interjected, "So he had to take out loans when he bought the station and then about 6 months before hiring Laci and Blaze he had to take out a lot more. Does Baby have any idea as to why he needed to take those out?"

She clicked more buttons, pulled up another picture and said, "She sure does...this man, Crazy John Witman, he created his own give aways and prizes that he never cleared with Romanes that ended up costing the station a bundle to pay out. Initially Romanes refused until one of the winners took him to court and it ended up costing him big time. Then you have the truth or dare stunts he would have listeners play on the unsuspecting public which also landed Romanes at the courthouse. He got sued when one such individual sued him for libel after a listener was broadcast making wild allegations in the dare, Who can be the most politically incorrect for $500. Romanes began taking on loans just to pay off the lawsuits and then the interest on the loans he took out initially. Adding insult to injury, businesses began pulling their advertising away so as to not be associated with Crazy John."

Matt then added, "Which means even more financial problems for Romanes as that's their key source of revenue, right?"

She answered, "You bet. However, when Laci and Blaze took over, advertising sales went up. In fact, Romanes is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy still, but if ratings and sales keep going up he can rebound and start turning more of a profit soon."

Roy then added, "So, like I said before, if you add a little drama, that might cause a little ratings boost and pull him right out of that hole he dug himself."

Matt nodded and then asked, "Anything on Crazy John here? How did he part with the radio station?"

She answered, "Not on good terms. In fact he has a lawsuit right now awaiting a hearing. He's saying he wasn't given 2 weeks notice and that the station has blacklisted him and its keeping him from getting another job. He's been out of work for 6 months now, his credit cards are maxed out and he's about to lose his car and apartment."

Roy noted, "So he's desperate and angry. Not a good combination."

Matt joined in, "On top of the fact that he appears unstable. I mean look at these stunts he pulled..." he started reading from Baby's printout, "Who can be the most politically incorrect? Who can be the most socially awkward? Who can create the most uncomfortable social situation? Who can anger the most drivers on the road? I mean this guy has made a game out of people embarrassing themselves and causing conflict with people they didn't even know." He shook his head.

C.J. then clicked more buttons and brought up one final picture, although a cloudy one from a newspaper article, "Last, we have this woman, Amanda Calemon. She took over a rival station about 2 years ago and was the one who first hired Blaze out of college. It was rumored that she worked closely with him...if you know what I mean..."

"Teaching him all the tricks of the trade sort of speak?" Matt inquired.

C.J. smiled and said, "Yeah, something like that. I found out that he really brought in the listeners and bumped up their advertising numbers right before leaving to go work for Romanes."

Roy asked, "I have a feeling Ms. Calemon didn't take that news too well."

She replied, "You'd be right about that. According to Baby the police were called when she went on a tirade to help calm her down. She was throwing things all over her office and shouting at him."

Matt and Roy both looked at the picture closely and then looked at each other. C.J. caught on and asked, "What is it?"

Matt asked her, "Can you find another picture of her, maybe one that's more recent?"

"I can try" she said as she started clicking buttons and pulled up the most recent one she could find. "Here's her drivers license photo taken this year. Its not great, but at least its in color."

The two men nodded to each other and Roy told her, "We saw her when we were in Nick's apartment. She broke in and took something we watched her."

C.J. asked, "Did you see what she took?"

Matt answered, "Not exactly, but it was small and she fit it in her pocket." He looked back at Roy and said, "Let's make that phone call."

Hoyt came over quickly enough, although irritated and asked, "So you want me to get a search warrant for a man you suspect has been calling and making idle threats against a couple of radio DJs while the man has been laying in a hospital bed for the last 8 days and has an airtight alibi? And, if that weren't enough, you want me to search the home of a woman who you saw break in to his apartment, and you saw all this because you broke into his apartment..." He started rubbing his head.

Matt handed him a cup of coffee and said, "The first threat was 15 days ago and yes, he may have been in the hospital, but last time I stayed in one, I remember there being a phone. Besides, maybe you just need your guys to go back over his apartment to collect more evidence on his assault."

Hoyt brought the cup up to his lips and said, "Nice try...but I can't justify going in again, and yes I remember there being a phone in your hospital room. Look I'll see what I can do, but Harmago is being more careful lately. Asking for multiple sources of probable cause now. No real way to look into Calemon though, at least not yet."

Matt thanked him and then changed the subject, "Look Hoyt...what do you have on that death at the spa?"

Hoyt put the cup down and told him, "Well, like I told C.J., we think it was the work of a serial killer." Matt's brows shot up but Hoyt continued, "Appears he wanted more than one victim this morning. We've had psychologists in and out of the office all day putting together a profile. Mayor's wife missed her manicure because we had to close the place down and he's upset to say the least that she was anywhere near a homicide."

Matt nodded and said, "Well I have to say that I'm not real comfortable with the fact that C.J. discovered the body. I'd rather not have her that close either."

Hoyt took another sip and said, "She told us she didn't remember seeing anything suspicious. I wish we had some kind of lead though. Especially now that the media got a hold of it. That Harvey guy is threatening to sue the department. I don't know who leaked it."

Matt asked, "You thinking it was one of your men?"

Hoyt shook his head, "I'd stake my reputation on the fact that it wasn't, and that's what scares me most."

Matt realized exactly what he meant and nodded in silent agreement before saying, "He wants the attention."

Hoyt put the cup down again and said, "Yeah, I think he does. And I'm sure its a he, Sandra Mays weighed 150 pounds and was simply sat down in the water." They both shook their heads.