Chapter 12

When Alex awoke, she was alone. She felt the mattress on his side, and it was cold. Alex sighed and stood. She stretched and started her morning routine. She no longer had to look for him; when he hadn't come to bed, he could always be found in his study.

She set up the coffee and started the machine. Then, out of concern more than curiosity, she opened the door to the study and peeked inside.

He was asleep on his arms on the desk, hunched over like a school child. Alex's face turned with a frown. She knew it was better to let him sleep, no matter how uncomfortable he looked. When something or someone woke Bobby, it usually took him a long time to fall asleep again.

Quietly, she shut the door and went out for her morning run.

Katie got up and poured herself a cup of coffee. She knew her mother would be out running, and she assumed her father was still in bed. She cooked them a breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage and then went to wake her Dad before it all got cold.

Not finding him in his room, she went straight to the study. As the door quietly swung open, she saw familiar pictures tacked up on the wall, along with notes and clippings. She looked carefully at the things he'd hung up and realized everything she was looking at was also in the trunk of her car. Her Dad had kept his own personal Nicole Wallace file.

"Daddy?" She said finally.

Startled, he reached for his weapon, which of course wasn't on his hip. At the same moment his fingers met his pajama pants, he became fully oriented to his surroundings. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of that damn dream. "You scared me," he mumbled.

Katie smiled, and her dimple appeared. "Sorry, Daddy."

Bobby took a deep breath and got to his feet. He met Katie in the doorway and gave her an affectionate hug and kiss.

"I made breakfast," she said.

Bobby smiled and followed her out the door.

Katie met Andy and Darren for lunch at the diner. Darren's arm was in a bright new cast, and he was wearing a sling. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and he blushed.

They all sat down and studied the menus in front of them. "Ever since that one day when we had no food, I've been starved," Andy said. "It's like I have to load up at every meal, just in case I don't get my next one."

Darren grunted in agreement, and Katie put her arm on Andy's shoulder. "Lunch is on me," she said. "Mom gave me the money to take you guys out."

After they ordered, Andy looked over at her. "Look, Katie, I've been thinking about what you said last night. I guess it won't hurt for you to, you know, do research. But I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"If you're even thinking about doing something where you might… come in contact with her, I want you to call me first."

She contemplated his proposal, and for a moment was the spitting image of her father.

"Just for safety's sake. Somebody needs to know where you are, in case…"

She nodded. "All right. But you can't tell anyone unless it's an emergency."

"All right."

"What are you two talking about?" Darren asked, and the other two told him all the details.

After a relaxing weekend with her family, Katie thought long and hard as she drove the Nova down the interstate back to Connecticut. Her father was officially off the case, and yet he was still obsessed with it. He had slept at the desk in the study all weekend, and she had seen what an effort it had been for him to attend to conversations with her and her mother.

Her Daddy was brilliant, but he had never been able to beat this woman. That alone was a thought worth ruminating on.

Katie knew the files she had would contain police reports, evidence reports, photographs, and her father's own investigation reports. By the time she reached Yale, she had decided she would save her father's reports for last. If he missed something, she didn't want his opinions and insights to skew her own.

She made three trips to her room, one for her overnight bag and one for each box. After closing herself in for the night, Katie opened the box containing the oldest file and carefully sorted out the material inside.

"Elizabeth Hitchins, Oxford…Hudson University…American Studies…" Katie mumbled to herself as she read. She rarely took notes. Her memory was powerfully strong, and she reserved note-taking for writing down her own thoughts as she processed information.

In the margin of her crisp new notepad, she wrote "The descent into madness is usually preceded by obsession." Katie stuck the cap of her pen in her mouth and studied that note. It was something she'd heard in one of her AP classes in high school… American Lit.

Bobby was in the study again. Alex slowly pushed open the door and walked in. He was pouring over the most recent file, the one he'd copied while working with Lichter. Bobby's left hand was curled over the paper, and he wrote fast and sloppy notes.

Alex moved behind him and dropped her hands into his hair, slowly smoothing them down and onto his neck and shoulders.

"In… in a minute, Alex," he said, and finished scrawling his thoughts.

She left her hands on his shoulders, but did not move them until he was finished writing. Then she leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Are you getting anywhere?" She asked quietly.

"I'm just… I have to go back through it… I'm just making notes, drawing out different pieces, hoping something will click."

"Maybe you need a break from it."

He turned suddenly and looked at her. "Nicole won't be taking a break."

Alex saw the fiery determination in his eyes, and felt a nagging in her heart that she hadn't felt in twenty years.