Disclaimer: Most of this stuff belongs to Dick Wolf you will recognize the ones who don't.
IMITATING ALEX
Chapter 1
A small newspaper began to run articles every Sunday about police officers. It seemed that whoever was writing them had some way of knowing about the officers. It started with street patrolmen, and clerks. It was a chronicle listing of how they did their jobs, how often them made arrests, wrote tickets, things like that. It was a fluff piece and not hurting anyone. There were even signs that the author was portraying the men and women in uniform as heroes.
If familiarity breeds contempt then the author was getting entirely too close to the officers. Within weeks of the debut of the series the same officers that were featured began to show up dead. Some were ruled accidents, some were suspicious, but then they turned into outright murder.
The Police Commissioner made an early diagnosis of trouble and began an investigation when there were only accidents. He gave out an official warning for all officers and their families to be particularly vigilant in their public and private dealings. There were several leads from the newspaper running the articles and they were pulled immediately. The stories stopped, but the killings did not. How someone was finding out the details of police procedures and important details of individual police lives was still a mystery.
The police put the brightest most capable officers on the case. They had no better luck than the beat cops. It seemed that the person couldn't be caught. So it came to Major Case Squad. Bobby Goren and his wife Alex Eames were the ones assigned to take lead on the case with Mike Logan and his wife Carolyn Barek as additional help. Both sets of detectives were the best in their field. The Police Commissioner wanted this killer caught.
Within hours of the case being kicked to Major Case Squad, there was a story in a smaller newspaper describing in detail the basic descriptions and general living area of the detectives. Beginning with Goren and Eames.
"How the hell are they getting this stuff? It's not exactly public record." Captain Danny Ross told the squad room in general, slamming the folded newspaper down on the surface with a whomp. The entire group had gathered around Goren's desk. "We need to catch this son of a bitch."
"We're going over every inch of the evidence, Captain. I want him caught as much as you do. He's going after us now." Goren told him. "He seems to know police procedures, have access to the personal files, but we will catch him. He'll slip up and we'll nail him."
"I think Alex and the kids should go out of town. Somewhere where they'll be safe." Ross said.
"No!" Alex and Bobby said at the same time.
Ross looked at both of them in surprise. "You can't risk your kids and they shouldn't be without one or both of you. I could order you out of town." He suggested.
Alex stuck her jaw out at him and declared. "You could, but are you forgetting that at least four of the officers that were killed were out of town for their own protection? We are much safer in our own home and in our own squad than anywhere else. Our children are protected and we won't run from this sick jerk. I just wish we could get a sense of whether it's a man or a woman."
"I think it's a man." Goren said surprisingly.
"You do?" Mike Logan said. "What insights did you get that the rest of us didn't?"
"It's just something that fits a mans way of doing things. He attacks directly, all the killings have been straight forward killings, no poisonings or subtleties."
"Don't forget some of the killers we've put away have been just that and they were women." Carolyn Barek told them.
"Like Nicole Wallace." Alex said. "Believe me, we haven't forgotten her. But none of these kills have involved a gun. Could our perp not like guns, or doesn't have access to one?"
"You can get one on any street if you know how." Mike said.
"Unless they can't get to one. Suppose they are in jail and are hiring the hits done by outside forces." Karen Wesson and Jerry Wilkes joined the group. "Sorry we're late. We had a time getting away."
"What have you heard?" Captain Ross demanded of the two newcomers.
"Nothing you haven't." Jerry told him. "We've had thoughts running along the same vein as yours. We haven't been targeted yet in our area, so we think it might be someone who has had a run in with the force around here."
"That doesn't help much." Mike commented more to his partner than anyone else.
"True, but for the most part getting a ticket would only piss someone off for a short time. Not for the level of violence this guy is showing." Barek said.
"And since it's escalating, could it be because his legal problems are as well?"
"I think we should try to isolate that." Ross said. "It'll at least give us a starting point. Now, what about you two? What're you going to do? You seem to be the next target."
"We aren't running. Alex repeated, stubbornly.
"I think you ought to at least think about it." Karen told her friend. "Not running, I mean taking the kids somewhere out of their usual safe zone for the days when you are at work, at least." Karen hastily moved toward her friend.
"You should be moving the other way." Mike advised. "She has a mean right hook."
"Two safe places from swinging objects, Detective. Beyond reach and close enough to lessen the blow. Since I'm only suggesting common sense and safety for the kids, I think I'm safer here. And you can't shoot someone this close without getting blood on your own clothes."
"My clothes wash." Alex told her friend angrily.
"True, but we're talking about your kids. You are as worried about protecting them as you are angry at me." Karen told her.
"We can protect them. Are you forgetting that Alex's dad was a cop?" Bobby insisted.
"Not for a minute. Why don't you hedge your bets and let Uncle Jimmy put some of his men near your father's house. I happen to know that he has a woman about your father's age that he could put in posing as a woman friend of his. We could use a couple of his guys to pose as her sons or something to give us a rotating force in there."
"We can provide security for them from our own force." Ross said indignantly.
"Are you going to be able to keep them safe if whoever this is knows all the officers by sight?" Jerry asked. "If they're the next targets, what then? Who's to say that he won't target the kids just because he's there. I don't think we have a lot of choice in the matter."
"Uncle Jimmy will provide the guards without question. You know how he feels about them." Karen told both Bobby and Alex.
"Or they could be safe. So far he hasn't hurt any of the families of the other officers physically." Barek put in. She placed a hand protectively on her own abdomen.
Mike put his arm around her. "Nobody's going to get either their kids or our baby. I'll see to that."
"We all will." Bobby seconded his friend, looking around at all the people gathered.
"Absolutely." Jerry agreed. "So if we aren't able to agree to send them away for their own protection, suppose we hide them in plain sight."
"Come again?" Ross demanded.
"Karen's ranch. She's having a group of foster kids coming over for a week long day camp. Why don't we get your kids together with the others and have them out there during the day?"
"You want to put orphans in danger?" Ross demanded outraged.
"No, sir. Karen has a large ranch style place outside of the city. She takes groups of kids in foster care and group homes in for a week at a time so they can experience a sort of ranch life. She has her entire place surrounded by a giant kennel if she wants to. She can put all of her dogs loose whenever she wants to. No one could get close to that house without sounding one hell of a racket. I should know, I tried."
"But what about gun shots? Just because they haven't shot doesn't mean that they won't." Barek said. "And I can't exactly just put our baby in there."
"You could be our most valuable ally." Mike suggested. "Why don't you go out there with them? They know you, you have the training to keep an eye on things and you'd be safe as well."
"I wanted to be on the force that helped nail this SOB." Carolyn said.
"You will be. We're going to need someone we can use as a safe contact. I'm wondering if this person has access to the police communication link. He knows where and when things are going on. How else could he be so in the know with our information?" Ross said, thoughtfully.
"Bobby, you've been awfully quiet." Alex said.
"I think taking the kids to Karens is a good idea. Maybe your father would like to go out there as well. He said when we were over there that he's getting restless. He could take his vacation and still be nearby. He's good with kids and he'd be a great asset in keeping them safe."
"I can call and ask him." Alex agreed reluctantly.
"But won't he be likely to follow Alex and Bobby to your house, Karen, and find them there?" Carolyn asked.
"We'll need to get a variety of cars to drive so there won't be just one coming and going." Ross said. "You can use mine anytime."
"And Lewis can loan us a few." Bobby put in.
"I always have people coming and going out there. People looking to adopt a dog or dropping one off so unless they knew who they were someone'd be hard put to figure out who is who." Karen said.
"It's a regular bus stop." Jerry agreed. He ducked when Karen swung her hand at him. "What? It's the truth." He grinned at her.
"I just don't like to have my kids gone all day no matter how far away your place is, Karen." Alex said, miserably, with an apologetic look at Karen.
"I don't like to have them there under these circumstances. But I'd rather have them there and safe than have them closer if it puts them in danger. And Carolyn will be there, and maybe your dad. I'll get everything set up for them to have a place to play or lay down all on their own if it'll help." Karen nodded.
"What'll help is to catch this monster." Carolyn said darkly.
TBC