A/N

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! Here is chapter four! TO ALL, I hope you find this chapter especially adorable and interesting!

The Dead Teach the Living

Chapter Four

Finding the Mistake

November 4th, 2002

8:46 p.m.

Sunnie breathed out a deep exhale, a breath filled with irritation and stress. Her fore head hurt, scratch that, her whole brain was in deep agony. Sunshine Vaughn was at the brink of giving up. But, of course, that alternative was not an option at all.

Her palm squeezed the aching feeling in her head as she closed her eyes, if only for a moment. She lifted her other hand to support her heavy head and rested. The computer light had given her a head ache, not to mention she had been at the office for the past 18 hours. But, she couldn't leave. Why, you may ask?

The answer to that is simple, Sunshine Vaughn is stubborn. She usually was able to get at least one or two leads at the beginning of the case, something that told her who or what she should be looking for… but this time was different. This time, she knew that she was being outsmarted by the killer, that fact is what kept her from leaving. If she left, she would be handing in the towel to her opponent, and that was not an option. She would stay there for however long it took to solve this difficult case… but that was easier said than done.

Sunnie arose lazily from her corner office. She tucked in her chair and strutted down to the staff room. As the female passed the many empty cubicles, she began to take into account how much more quiet it was at night. No one was there to bother her, no one was there to shout or stray her away from her concentration… no one was there period, except for the Chief who practically lived at the Police Station.

Sunnie turned into the staff room, wiping away a black curl that had made its way to her cheek. The door was open, as it usually was. She entered casually and headed straight to the coffee machine. The room was a typical factually room. A counter with a sink, vending machines, and a fridge, nothing that Sunnie would consider spectacular.

After taking a paper cup, and filling it with the brewed coffee, Sunnie took a sip. It was bitter as it slid down her throat.

12 hour old coffee… not the best thing in the world. Sunnie would have to remember that. She placed the cup on the counter and settled with quenching her thirst later. Her back leaned against the counter as she crossed her arms and peered at the wall.

The dark and quiet building was only accompanied by the ticking of the clock and the occasional shuffle of Sunnie's clothes. Her eyes gazed blankly at the wall while her mind began to wander.

"Hmm…" she hummed allowed. Her mind began to think back to the case as she tried to recall all that she could.

The victim was brutally murdered; it would seem that the person who did this had a personal grudge against him, considering all the pain the poor man was put through. But, she had checked out all of the people that had known him, no one had spoke of any enemies, even less of someone capable of murder.

So, Sunnie had no suspects. That wasn't what was driving her insane. It was the fact that murderer seemed to be invisible. There were no prints at the scene, no evidence left behind, no facts that concluded that there was another person in the room with the victim, of course except for the body.

Sunnie wiped her bangs away from her face and pinned them behind her ear. She returned to her thoughts.

Something that Sunnie found rather unusual was the fact that it had been all too clean. For example, the killer would have almost positively stepped in the blood of Morris Still, tracking his shoes across the room. But, even the footprints were cleaned up, no trace of them ever existing.

Sunnie wondered why the murderer would have taken the time to clean that up, sure she could understand cleaning up the fingerprints and all traces of his DNA… but what was the need of cleaning up something that they couldn't trace? Of course, maybe if they were to eventually find the killer they could use a shoe print as evidence, but the killer would have surely gotten rid of the shoes… and a shoe print is not enough to convict someone, they must have known this. Another question, was if the killer was capable of cleaning up so nicely they could have easily hid the body where no one would have found it, so why did he take the time to clean up his shoeprints but not the body?

"You look tired." A voice interrupted Sunnie's thoughts. Her head snapped towards the entrance of the room in an instant. She was greeted with a middle aged man. As always, nothing caught her attention more than his piercing green eyes.

"Chief," Sunnie announced in slight surprise. His lips curved into a smile as he entered the room with a mug in hand.

Chief Edward Miles. He is a man who is worth respect, a man who is known for his comforting attitude and his admiration for his staff.

The chief walked to her side as he poured himself the last of the coffee. Placing the empty jar in the sink and then taking a sip from his 'Best Boss Ever' mug.

Sunnie shifted her weight to her left leg as she sighed. "Yeah, I am. And that coffee didn't help."

The Chief wrinkled his nose in disgust as he quickly removed the mug from his lips. By the way the Chief had forced the liquid down his throat; Sunnie guessed he agreed with her.

"Eh, quiet right." He poured the drink down the drain and placed the mug in the sink as well. "So, what is troubling you Sunnie?"

Sunnie felt a curve of the lip at the sound of her nickname being used.

Yes, the Chief and Sunnie were pretty good acquaintances. Back when Sunnie was in High school, the Chief had dated her mother for a while… so they weren't strangers, but Sunnie wouldn't consider them friends either.

"It's this case." Sunnie shook her head at even the thought. "I have no leads. The killer left no evidence. Absolutely none." Sunnie wanted to add 'ziltch, nodda, nothing, nothing but bubbles' but decided to control herself.

"So it had to have been a professional." The older man seemed to conclude as he took in a heavy breath.

"Yeah," Sunnie nodded.

"Have you looked into the thought that he might have been a hired assassin then?" he asked.

"Of course. But, that lead us nowhere." Sunnie squinted, she used her hands to express herself while talking. "This guy was good… really good."

The Chief pushed back his dirty blond hair, a habit Sunnie had noticed him do quiet often. "Hmm…"

"It's as if he was a ghost. It's literally like he wasn't even there." Sunnie scrunched her nose as her voice was in an agitated tone.

"Well, have you thought about that?" The Chief raised an eyebrow.

Sunnie was taken off guard by his words, not completely understanding . "What?" She licked her lip to clear it of its dryness.

"Here…" The Chief leaned on the counter as Sunnie had done. "Let's say that the killer is a ghost."

"But… that is impossible." Sunnie stifled a laugh, thinking he was joking.

"I know, I know… let us just say that he was a ghost." The Chief tucked his folded his arms and crossed his legs.

Sunnie took a deep breath. "Okay…"

"Ghosts are invisible, right?" Edward Miles straightened his suit jacket.

'He's fidgety.' Sunshine noted.

"Yeah… I guess." Sunnie shrugged.

"If the ghost is invisible, he must know that we could never catch him. We can't persecute something that is not really there? Correct?" Sunnie nodded in agreement. The Chief then continued on with his hypothetical situation. "If the ghost knows this… he must know he can get away with anything. So…" the Chief motioned with his hands for Sunnie to finish his statement.

"Umm…" Sunnie drew a blank as she simply stared at her black dress boots. "I don't know…" she thought for a minute while shrugging her shoulders. "They might… be… cocky? I-I don't know." Sunnie guessed.

"Exactly." The Chief nodded. "They would be cocky. They would think that they have already won the game… like there is no chance for us to catch them."

Sunnie interrupted.

"Oh… so they might slip up." The female concluded.

"No… not might slip up, they are going to slip up." The Chief paused. "We clearly aren't dealing with a ghost Ms. Vaughn. And since we know we are dealing with a human… we must also know that as humans… we make mistakes."

"But Chief Miles," Sunnie started as she stood up straight. "How are we to know that they will slip up?"

"They always do Sunnie, it is just up to you to find that mistake. So, instead of looking for the killer, look for the mistake that the killer made."

Present

"Find the mistake…" Sunnie whispered silently to herself. Her fingers flipped through the papers with ease as eyes scanned the words repeatedly. She knew what she was looking for; she just had to find it.

It was hour 4. The fourth hour that she and BB had been reviewing the murders. BB was skimming through the files like a bull out of its cage, he had accomplished much more than Sunnie, as she knew he would.

Sunnie was reading the file on Morris Still that she had taken from the police station before she transferred to the Las Vegas prison. Sunnie memorized every word that she saw, down to the last 'the'. She had read this hundreds of times before and had found nothing, but that was not stopping her from reading it again.

'Autopsy Report.

Cause of Death- Loss of blood from the stab wounds as well as internal bleeding. Stabbed 32 times on the throat and chest. Head was bashed in on the left side of the skull causing internal bleeding and a brain hemorrhage.'

Sunnie suddenly stopped reading. A light bulb flashed over her head, something had caught her eye. Something that was so simple, but yet she had looked over every time while reading the Autopsy. Sunnie felt her mouth go agape at this small, but significant realization.

"BB," she directed towards the man who was spinning on the chair while looking at some papers.

He looked up and stared at Sunnie while the chair spun him around.

"I think I found something." Sunnie remained calm, but was actually quiet ecstatic.

BB stood from the chair and walked over to Sunnie, his back hunched over for some odd reason. Sunnie felt the eyes on the papers she was holding. She grasped the sides tighter as she stared intently at them.

"I was looking over the Autopsy when I noticed something about Morris Still's murder." Sunnie grasped a photo of Morris Still's chest.

"And that is…?" BB ushered her to continue.

"There is something different about the first murder than all the others." Sunnie flipped to the next photo.

"Hmm…" Beyond hummed as Sunnie felt him shift above her.

"Yes, all the deaths are rather morbid." Sunnie shrugged. "But, the first one… the one with Morris Still, I think it was committed by someone else." Sunshine hoped she had perked the interest of the mastermind. She grabbed the papers off the table of the second murder and scrolled through the description. "See…" her index finger pointed to paragraph two. "It says they recovered a finger print but were not able to match it to anyone. And in the next murder they found a hair follicle."

Sunnie placed the papers on the coffee table and arose. She stalked back and forth, arms crossed as she continued. "In every murder we have found at least some evidence, even if we couldn't link it to anyone. Except, for the first murder." Sunnie held up one finger. "The first murder was so clean that it's virtually impossible. The person left no trace of them self; they were amazing at cleaning up. But, after that murder, although the others were quiet precise as well… they weren't as good as the first."

Sunnie paused to face BB and put her hands on her hips. "I think we are dealing with two murderers. Why one committed the first and the second the res, I don't know. But they were defiantly not done by the same person."

"Ah… I see." Beyond nodded his head. "You are indeed correct, although I figured this out a long time ago…"

Sunnie felt her mouth fall agape.

"It was interesting you have the capability of deducing that. Good work, Ms. Kutter." BB had successfully both complimented Sunnie, and also insulted her.

Sunnie felt her cheeks grow red at the thought of her prancing around acting all high and mighty when the genius had already figured this out. She pursued her lips and held her head down in shame.

"Oh gosh…" Sunnie huffed out an exhausted breath. "I'm useless" Sunnie admitted her defeat.

"On the contrary Ms. Kutter." BB seemed to have heard her mumbles. "It is reassuring to know that I'm not dealing with a complete idiot."

"Wow!" Sunnie emphasized sarcastically. "Thanks for the compliment, you jerk!"

Sunnie simply sighed at this. She thought they might have gotten somewhere with her information. But it was just a useless fact that apparently had already been known. Shame rode on Sunnie's back.

"Well I found his mistake…" Sunnie spoke to only herself as she plopped face down into the couch cushions. She muffled deep breaths.

"Maybe you should take a break Ms. Kutter." BB suggested. Sunnie heard him walk back to the rolling chair and enjoy the pleasure of spinning around in continuous circles.

Sunnie let out a heavy breath as she abruptly rocket propelled herself up from the couch. After tucking down her shirt that was riding up her belly, she turned and headed to the glass French doors only a few steps away. Sunnie let herself out onto the balcony.

It was mid afternoon now, the sun beginning its journey to the edge of the mountains where it would disappear and not be seen again till day break. The female closed the glass doors behind her, wanting some privacy from Beyond. She walked up to the railing and out looked onto the mountains.

She took a few deep breaths as the breeze rustled her black hair. It was calm out here… peaceful and pleasant, a world away from her current mind state.

The wind was like whispers as it spoke to Sunnie… telling her of all the places it had gone, informing her of its long journey to reach her.

In the silence, Sunnie began to only think of the one person she could. Her mother. It was days like this that would bring Sunnie back 10 years to the moments when her mother would sit outside on the porch and watch as the birds would fly around and admire the beauty of nature.

"Momma…" Sunnie whispered as she lowered her head. "If only you could be here now."

'Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.'

Sunnie felt her eyes go wide for a moment.

"Eh?" she questioned. With a puzzled look on her face, she cautiously reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone, but only stared at it confused.

It buzzed and vibrated to the sound of a cliché ringtone, but this… it was not right. It made Sunnie feel uneasy about answering it.

It was a new phone, one that she only got to call others, not for people to call her. She squinted at the letters on the screen.

'Unknown caller' Sunnie didn't know who would have her number, much less who would call it.

"Maybe… it's just a teller marketer?" Sunnie figured it was no one important. But, as usual, curiosity got the better of her. She reluctantly opened the black phone and pinned it against her right ear, if only to be satisfied with the insignificant mystery. She waited for the person to speak first.

"…" Silence remained for a second before a familiar voice came through. Not just any voice though. A voice that was masked by tone changers, making both the real voice lighter and darker than his actually was. And yes, Sunshine knew who was on the other line.

Sunnie widened her eyes and knew that answering the phone was about the worst thing she could have done. She regretted it instantly.

"Sunshine Vaughn." Her real name was spoken in a calm tone. "You are supposed to be dead."

"…" Sunnie was speechless. She didn't know what to say to such a thing. She couldn't hang up… he would just call again, he was always stubborn like that. She couldn't say that Sunnie was dead… that would certainly not trick the greatest mind in the world. Sunnie narrowed her eyes. "How did you get this number?" That was the only thing she felt she could ask.

"I have my ways, Ms. Vaughn." It replied in its auto toned voice. Sunnie noted how that was the same exact way that BB would refer to her.

"What do you want?" Sunnie hissed out, her free hand clenching the railing.

"I want what you want, Ms. Vaughn." He paused. "I want this to all be over."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sunnie questioned as she shifted uneasily.

"It means, you put me in a difficult position." His voice was slightly stern as he replied to Sunnie. "I was willing to help you Ms. Vaughn. No… correction, I was in the process of helping you." he seemed sarcastic.

"Like hell you were!" Sunnie spat.

"…" The man seemed slightly offended. "And even in sight of your recent actions, I am still willing to help you." Sunnie remained silent. "You are in possession of a violent and dangerous man. If you give him over to me, I will clear all offensives you have made."

"…" Sunnie wanted to laugh at his proposal. "L, the world's greatest detective, said to be the smartest man in the world… and you give me an offer that you know I will refuse? You should know how determined I am, if I was willing to do this much already."

"I am aware of that fact. I just thought I could spare the proposal. But, since you put it that way, I shall change my attitude." He paused. "Sunshine Vaughn, you are now considered dangerous and a fugitive. You will be found and captured, along with the criminal Beyond Birthday." L paused, but did clearly not want Sunnie to speak till he was finished. "That man is not to be played with Ms. Vaughn. He is more allusive and intelligent than you give him credit for. His intellectual ability even matches that of mine… I suggest you beware of him. As courtesy I offer you at least the choice to save yourself from the same man you helped to rescue. 'click' Beeeeeeeep." L hung up.

Sunnie felt her lips turn into a concentrated frown. It was a good thing Sunnie had deactivated the signal on this phone or a police crew would have been here 5 minutes ago. They were safe here… at least for now. But, since L knew they were still alive, it made Sunnie's job just that more difficult. She opened the clear glass door and once again stepped into the warmer building.

She groaned as she tossed the phone onto a cushion of the couch and started walking towards the bathroom. She was too busy to admire the hospitable 4 star room.

Her hand felt to message her aching head. Sunshine had too much to think about. She had to think about how to keep BB out of trouble, herself as well, she had to think of a plan to help her sister escape, she had to solve the case she had been working on for so long… and now… she had to worry about L. That was too much… way too much, it was putting her brain on overload.

Sunnie turned the knob to the bathroom.

"A shower should calm me down..." Sunnie mumbled. She would have to… (silence)

Sunnie stopped in her tracks. Thoughts gone, stress gone, speech …gone, interest in anything that wasn't in front of her was gone. Her eyes remained locked on the only other in the room. Surprise… was not even close to being able to express what Sunnie felt at that moment. A warm feeling filled the pit of her stomach at the sight.

There… sitting in the tub was Beyond Birthday. This man was said to be dangerous, allusive, intelligent, a murderer… but that was far from the image Sunnie held of BB at the moment.

BB had made himself welcome in the bubble bath, relaxing in it luxuriously. His feet were propped at one end and his back crouched forward other. Bubbles covered his chin and made it look as though he had a white beard. He was currently devouring a bowl of popcorn and playing with the water, splashing it around like a child.

Sunnie could almost perfectly envision a mother taking a photo of the toddler, or even him handling a yellow rubber ducky.

His body froze at the arrival of Sunnie. He simply stared at her with his wide red eyes. Then, abruptly he screamed in a high pitch.

"EEEHHH!" he threw the popcorn to the ground as his fingers went to cover his chest, although it was nothing that was supposed to be embarrassing for a male. Sunnie remained still, staring in awe. "Get out!" he demanded as he threw his fist on the water. He searched for something to grab and settled with the small bottles of shampoo that the hotel left.

"OUCH!" Sunnie yelped as bottle after bottle connected with her head. "Stop that!" she tried to block but was unsuccessful to the man's good arm.

"Get out you pervert!" a sponge collided with Sunnie next.

"What's wrong with you?!" Sunnie protested. A towel was then thrown at the female as it covered her face. Sunnie turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

The female felt her eyes remain wide as she leant on the door. The only rection to this, as anyone with a sense of humor would react was with a hearty laugh.

"Bwahahaha!" Sunnie pounded on the bathroom door unable to control the image of BB.

What had she just encountered?

A/N

Thank you for reading! I hope the last part at least gave you smile… I mean come on. How can you deny the cuteness of BB there? YOU SIMPLY CANNOT!

I plan to make the next chapter more 'actiony' and have more interaction with Sunnie and BB! XD

Thanks again for reading and please review! C: