Jasminesmommy – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Melodie05 – I'm glad you love the story and I never used to like AU either but I'm hooked now. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Fyd818 – I think John is cute no matter what he's wearing lol. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked the Sparky scene and Kolya's POV at the end. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Reen212000 – Good to know you like the interactions between everyone and I hope you like this chapter too. Thanks for the review.
Izzles – You'll find out in this chapter what Kolya did and hope you enjoy it, thanks for the review.
Steph7085 – Glad you like the Sparky in the last two chapters lol. Thanks for the review.
My-Muse-Is-A-Snickers-Bar – Thanks for the review, sorry about the cliff hanger ending I hope this chapter makes up for it.
- - -
Chapter 16
Ronon was called to the scene of another murder that had been connected to the killer he was after by the same blue star that had been on the five other victims. He arrived on the scene to find the body of a man in his garage. The victim appeared to have put up a fight but had obviously been no match for the killer. Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka were already hard at work analysing the scene.
"What have you got?" he asked as he approached the two forensic scientists.
"A note," Rodney stated and handed Ronon an evidence bag that had the note in it. Ronon read it through the clear plastic 'The Rave'.
"Any idea what it means?" Zelenka asked.
"No," Ronon informed them. "Anything else?"
"We have a couple of strands of hair that may have come from the attacker but they're darker than Kolya's hair so…" Rodney trailed off.
"So they probably point the finger at Sheppard," Ronon finished for him.
"Probably."
Ronon nodded his head and walked away to talk to the victim's wife. He knew she wouldn't have any information useful to the case. The killer seemed to pick his victims at random, he didn't know them, he had nothing against them, and they were just a means to an end. However procedure was procedure and it never hurt to try.
He had left Teyla at the station filing reports, he figured she was probably safe there and despite the fact that she was unofficially involved in the entire case and he would tell her everything he found, officially she wasn't supposed to have anything to do with the case. He wondered how Elizabeth was doing and when she was going to call him. He had been more than a little relieved when she had called him yesterday to declare she was alive and well.
- - -
Elizabeth was sitting next on the floor of the warehouse facing John as they discussed the case. She told him everything she knew about the five murders and they tried desperately to pick holes in the case that had been built against him. John had been able to inform her of his whereabouts during the first murder in New York. He had been running errands for his Aunt all day on that day and at the time of the murder had been driving to her friends' house. He remembered this because despite the fact that he didn't mind helping his aunt when she was ill he hadn't wanted to drive for over an hour through heavy traffic to feed her friends fish. The friend had gone on holiday and his aunt had agreed to feed his fish before she'd got ill.
Unfortunately that meant that he had no alibi since he'd been driving alone and so that didn't help his case. He couldn't remember where he'd been during the second murder in Miami or the third in L.A. During the fourth he'd been asleep in his apartment after a very stressful day of chasing down a murderer only to be nearly shot twice before they got him. They both knew exactly where he'd been during the fifth murder and that really didn't help his case so they were left with nothing.
"This isn't looking good Detective," she stated.
"Would you quit calling me that it's getting annoying, John will be fine and you're right this isn't looking good."
"Okay…John, there has to be some way we can prove you're innocence," Elizabeth told him.
John sighed. "Maybe I should just give up and go to jail," he said sounding defeated and Elizabeth couldn't blame him. He had spent the last week living in a dusty, old, abandoned warehouse. He had no money left and the evidence was stacked up against him.
"You can't give up," she stated.
"Why not?"
"Because if you do the man killing these people goes free and unpunished and there are too many people who believe in you." John looked at her incredulously but remained silent so she continued.
"You don't realise just how many people are on your side do you? Captain Sumner has been looking into the case to try and clear your name. Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka have gone through every piece of evidence they have against you to try and find a way to discredit it. Everyone I've spoken to about you has had almost nothing but good things to say about you and they've all declared with absolute certainty that you're innocent.
Your partner has run herself into the ground trying to clear your name and gave Detective Lars the shock of his life when he tried to use this to his advantage. She convinced my partner of your innocence which believe was no small achievement and he helped to convince me. She has people trying to kill her and she's still determined to prove you're innocent. All these people are fighting for you and if you give up now you're letting all of them down." Elizabeth finished her little speech and John was staring at her with an intensity that made her heart beat quicken slightly.
"I didn't realise so many people cared," he admitted not taking his eyes off her.
"Well now you do."
John smiled slightly. "What did Teyla do to Lars?"
- - -
Ronon was driving back to the station when his cell phone rang. "Dex."
"Hey Ronon, it's me," Elizabeth's voice answered him.
"Are you okay?" he asked her automatically, he was sure Sheppard was innocent but he didn't know the guy and he didn't like that Elizabeth was alone with him.
"I'm fine," Elizabeth's voice sounded amused so he assumed there couldn't be a whole lot wrong. "Have you had any luck on your end?"
"There was another murder," he informed her solemnly and he heard her curse under her breath before he continued. "Male, thirty nine years old, killed in his garage."
"Was there any evidence?" she asked.
"The usual plus some strands of hair we're pretty sure DNA will confirm are Sheppard's and there was a note," he explained.
"A note?" she questioned curiously.
"Yeah, it said 'The Rave'; I'm guessing it's a message to Sheppard."
"Well I'm not with him at the moment; I'm buying dinner so I'll ask him about it as soon as I get back."
"Let me know if he comes up with something," Ronon instructed her.
"Will do, I have to go," she told him. "Take care."
"You too."
- - -
Teyla stood outside the station waiting for Ronon, he had told her to wait for him before she left and that he would fill her in on the latest murder. She had finished work almost an hour ago when she decided to call him. She only got a busy signal before she was diverted to his voicemail service.
"Hey Ronon, it's Teyla, I've been waiting for an hour and you're not here yet so I'm gonna go back to your place and I'll meet you there," she told his voicemail and then hung up before heading to her car. It took her twenty minutes to drive to Ronon's apartment and she got out of the car. She walked toward the door to the apartment building when a man stepped in front of her blocking her path.
"Detective Emmagan, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Teyla recognised him immediately as Kolya and she froze instantly realising he had a gun concealed beneath the jacket he was wearing and that the gun was aimed at her.
"The pleasure's all yours I assure you," she stated flatly, refusing to let him see that she was afraid.
"I have to say you've been a difficult woman to kill," Kolya told her.
"If it's so much effort, quit trying," Teyla said wondering how she was going to get herself out of this one. Ronon was probably nowhere near her and if she tried anything Kolya was going to shoot her. This wasn't looking good.
TBC
