You´ll never find me

There it was. Finally. If it hadn´t been for his watch, that told him it had been only sixty-five minutes, Carlton would have guessed that he was driving for several hours now. It had felt like a lifetime to get up here. The urge to accelerate and having to fight it back had almost driven him crazy. But somehow he had managed it to get up here without breaking traffic laws and risking to get stopped for it. That kind of delay he just couldn´t afford. Now he drove his car around the bend, passing the big rock and leaving the road behind.

The scene before his eyes changed from a country road to a wide field with no direction at all, save for one single tree that stood ahead. That must be it. There they had to be. Victoria and her kidnappers. He felt his heart starting to pound against his ribs. There was something in his throat that made him choke instead of simply breathing. Please let her be all right, he begged. Please, dear god.

Slowly he crossed the space between the rock and the tree. The closer he came he could make out a figure that was standing somewhat ten feet from the tree. Where were the others? Where was Victoria? Panic started to rise inside of Carlton´s chest. What was going on here? Did he hide her behind the tree, so he wouldn´t see her at once when he arrived? In this moment, all his hopes were clinging to this unlikely possibility. This was an exchange. The kidnapper was supposte to bring the hostage with him for an exchange. So the deduction had to be, that she was close. She just had to be.

He drove until he reached the tree. The whole time, the figure that was waiting for him didn´t move and slowly Carlton started to suspect that there was something wrong about this whole setup. The man seemed familiar to him but he couldn´t say why … until he was close enough to see his face.

With the recognition came the shock. And with the shock came panic again. As soon as he was at the tree he hit the brakes and jumped out. He was halfway at him, when Irving shouted at him: „Stay away from me, Carlton!"

Now that he was so close to him, Carlton could see the chains that went around Irving´s waist and down to the hook that was fixed at the ground. His former father in law was also wearing a thick black jacket that showed suspicious bumps beneath the cloth.

„What happened to you, Irving?" Carlton asked, trying to decide if he should go to him or not. „What´s under that jacket?"

Irving swallowed. „A bomb." he said.

„Is he still near?" Carlton wanted to know, his eyes searching the place.

„No." Irving said, close to tears. „They booby trapped me to get to you. So don´t come any closer."

„Where is Victoria?" Carlton asked. „Were you with her when they …?"

„No." Irving answered. „They already had her when they brought me in. She was all right then as far as I could see. But they didn´t let me talk to her."

„Where?"

„I don´t know where she is." Irving choked. „They made me wear a blindfold. And they brought her somewhere else after a while."

Slowly Carlton started to move closer to him.

„I said stay away!" Irving cried. Carlton raised his hands to calm him down and finished his way to him. Carefully he opened the jacket to have a look at the bomb. It was a belt with several packages of explosives, the way suicide bombers used to wear them.

„What´s the trigger?" he asked.

„I don´t know." Irving whispered with a hoarse voice.

Carlton cursed and started to examine the rest of the arrangement. The chains were fixed at the belt. No chance of getting them off without blowing Irving up. The hooks had been hammered into the ground with great force. Somebody had wanted to make sure, that Irving wouldn´t get away.

„He told me to give you a message from him." Irving said with a shaking voice. Carlton looked up from his examining.

„Who?" he wanted to know. „Who is he?"

„I dunno who he is." Irving whined. „But he knows you. He said, I should tell you …"

„What?" Carlton urged him.

„That he won´t stop." Irving said. „And that you would suffer the way he suffered. That you´d never stop him no matter what you do. And you´d never find him."

„Where is he?" Carlton asked.

„I dunno." Irving whined, tears rolling down his cheeks. „Carlton. You have to save my Tory. Please promise me that you´ll save her."

Carlton stared at his father in law, so much taken aback by this outburst that he almost found himself unable to speak. This old grumbler, one of the meanest persons one could think of, was crying the most bitter tears now. It was a shocking thing to see someone like him breaking down that way in the face of death. He almost couldn´t stand it.

„I will." he managed to bring out. „But you may accompany me with that." he went on and searched the explosive belt for a weak point. „I just need to find out how …"

Suddenly a sound came to life at the belt. A cracking sound, so loud and so suddenly that Carlton and Irving jumped at it. But it wasn´t the belt going off. It was a radio that was fixed between the explosives.

„Well, I think now you chatted long enough, detective." said a male voice over the static. „Say goodbye to your father in law."

Carlton looked at Irving in shock and realisation. The eyes of the old man were pleading. He knew that there was no chance. And he was afraid. He didn´t want to die.

„I´m so sorry." Carlton said.

„Promise me to save my Tory." Irving repeated his plead.

Carlton opened his mouth to answer something but there was no sound coming out. His voice was just paralyzed. Irving was now crying really hard.

„Save her, Carlton." he begged.

„I´m sorry." was all Carlton was able to bring out.

Something at the belt started to beep. After one last look at his father in law, he spun around and just ran. The blast of the explosion pushed him up into the air and threw him forward. He landed on his side and then he rolled. He had no idea how long he was rolling through the dirt of the field but when he finally came to a stop, his head was spinning and he breathed the hot air of burning gras. He felt the heat on his face. When he opened his eyes he could see the place where Irving had been. The grass was burning but the flames were already dying again. The most cruel thing was what was lying all around the place now. Carlton closed his eyes again, fighting the tears of desperation that came up in him.

...

„Henry, what happened?" Karen cried.

„Oh, my god." Henry gasped. He finally had adjusted his binoculars and saw the mess that was spread all over the place where Lassiter had been a second ago. For a moment he thought he was looking at the remains of Lassiter but then he spotted him. He was lying on the ground in one piece.

„Karen, call an ambulance up here." Henry barked and was already on his way down from the rock. He barely climbed. It was more a slide down over the rocks. The last five feet he fell. He landed on his feet but his ankle failed him and he hit the ground. He grunted.

„Dad?" Shawn´s voice asked worried. „Dad, can you hear me?"

„I´m all right, Shawn." Henry groaned working himself to his feet again and into his truck.

„What´s going on there?" Shawn wanted to know.

„I don´t know." Henry answered honestly. „I saw an explosion. Lassiter lay on the ground. That´s all I know. Send the ambulance. Hurry."

„The helicopter is on the way." Karen told him. „Just hang on."

Henry turned the keys and cursed when the motor didn´t come up at once. He tried again and this time it started. His foot smashed the accelerator and the truck shot around the rock and out to the field. Leaving a cloud of dirt behind, he raced over to the larch. As far as he could see it, Lassiter´s car hadn´t been effected by the explosion. But the detective himself was still lying on the ground, not moving. The next thing Henry saw was the body parts and the blood.

„Oh, god." he gasped again.

„What?" Juliet O´Hara´s voice cried out of the cell phone in his hand. „What is it? Is Carlton all right?"

Henry stopped the car and jumped out. „Hold on." he cried into his phone and then put it in his pocket to have both hands free. When he reached Lassiter, he found him lying on his side but conscious. The man was staring at the remains of what had been a person once. Henry lay a hand on his shoulder and shook it.

„Lassiter." he addressed him and when he got no response he forced him around so he had to look at him. When Lassiter´s eyes met his, a sudden recognition came up in them. And with that confusion.

„What are you doing here?" he demanded to know.

„What does it look like?" Henry replied. „Are you hurt?"

Instead of answering his question, Lassiter shook off his hand and struggled himself up to his feet.

„Why are you here?" he barked at him while fighting for his balance.

„Shawn told me what was going on." Henry explained and tried to give the detective a hand so he wouldn´t fall again. But Lassiter denied it. He skipped back from him, shaking his head in denial.

„You had no right to come here." he said. „What if they only killed him, because they saw you?"

Henry threw a brief look at the body parts. „Who was it?" he asked.

A wave of grief rushed over Lassiter´s face. „Irving Parker." he said.

In the station, Karen Vick closed her eyes at this. O´Hara raised her hand to her mouth and even Shawn and Gus lost some of the color in their faces. Lassiter´s voice out of the speaker on Vick´s phone was the only sound that filled the room.

„If they killed Victoria´s father because of you, I will …"

„How could they´ve killed him because of me?" Henry barked back at him. „The bomb was already on him before any of us even came here."

The anger in Lassiter´s eyes decreased rapidly and changed into weakness. The man was close to fainting, Henry realized. His face was dirty and there was a big abrasion on his right cheekbone, where he had scratched over the ground. His eyelids dropped halfway shut and he begann to tremble. Henry jumped over to him and grabbed his shoulders.

„You need to sit down." he said already manoeuvring him to the ground. „The ambulance is on the way. Just keep it quiet. That´s good."

In Karen Vick´s office the four listeners exchanged worried glances with each other.

„Karen." Henry said.

„I´m here, Henry." she answered, trying to keep her voice steady.

„I think he is all right. At least on the outside. He might have a concussion but I´m not sure. The paramedics will have to tell us."

„Good." Karen said. She had to swallow before she went on. „I send a CSI team up to you … to investigate the crime scene. And to collect the body."

„In this case I´d say, collect is the correct phrase." Henry said gloomy. A sound came up in the background and Henry told them: „Karen, the helicopter just arrived. I´ll hang up now."

„I see you in the station."

„Copie that."

Then he was gone. Karen Vick looked up at her three companions and she saw the same expression in all three faces. Shock and disbelieve combined with a careful relief about the fact that Lassiter was all right. Behind them a man in a brown jacket with thick glasses appeared and knocked on the open door.

„Pardon?" he said. „My name is Allan Jacobson. Computeranalyst. You asked for my assistance with some recordings, I believe."

Karen Vick threw a look at Shawn and he looked straight back at her. The exchange between them

was clear and undisguised. They both knew they had to keep going. The situation was still not solved. Victoria Parker was still in great danger, now perhaps even more than before. Those people had killed two men just to show that they meant it. If they didn´t find Victoria very soon who knew what they would do to her?

„I show you the recordings." O´Hara said.

„You may use the computer station next door." chief Vick added.

Jacobson nodded and followed O´Hara outside.

After they had copied the audio files and brought them over to the analysing station, he immediately began to decrypt it. The sound that came out of the boxes half an hour later was pure noise. Lassiter had been right, they had disturbed the signal and they had done it good. It was this steady whooshing sound that made it almost impossible to hear what the voices said.

„Lassiter." Carlton´s sleepy voice said.

„Detective Lassiter." a man´s voice answered. „Do you love your wife?"

„Excuse me?"

„Do you love your wife?" the voice repeated.

„Who is this?" Lassiter demanded to know.

„Who I am is not important. Important is who is with me."

Then a female voice cried: „Carlton?"

„Victoria!" Lassiter cried alarmed.

„Oh, Carlton, please help me." she sobbed barely understandable over the noise. „I …"

„Until now she is unharmed." the man took over again. „How long she will stay unharmed is up to you."

„Listen to me." Carlton snarled. „If you lay only one finger on her, I swear to you I will hunt you down and …"

He was cut off by a scream of Victoria.

„NO!" he cried. „You are not in a position to threaten me." the man told him unimpressed.

„What did you do to her?" Carlton demanded to know.

„Nothing." the kidnapper replied. „Not yet."

There was a brief silence.

„What do you want?" Carlton finally asked.

The kidnapper told him to bring him ten thousand dollars to where Shawn had met him in the city and that he was supposte to wear special clothes so the currier would recognize him as the one he was. If he should go to his colleagues at the police … but at this point Shawn had already stopped listening. He knew that part anyway. It was unbelievable but hearing this was almost worse. It made him feel as if he was the one who had been called in the middle of the night to receive such a message. It wasn´t that he couldn´t sympathize with that.

At the end Lassiter was asking the kidnapper: „Why? Why me?"

The man chuckled amused. „Well, that must be the good karma, detective." he said. „We all get paid back the good we do in this world, don´t we?"

„What?"

„Bring the money if you want to see your wife again." the man repeated his demand in a cold voice. „And be in time." Then he hung up.

„Wait." Lassiter cried. „Hallo? Hallo!" Then the recording was over.

Jacobson pushed a button to replay the recording. A brief silence filled the room.

„Did any of you recognize the voice so far?" the analyst asked.

„No." Juliet said and Shawn and Gus shook their heads.

„Can you lower the noise so we can hear the other sounds better?" Gus suggested. His voice was heavy with the pressure they all could feel in this moment.

„I was about to do that." Jacobson agreed. He started to work the preferences. Then he started the recording again – on a lower sound this time.