When the alarm buzzed, Molly hit the snooze button. A minute later there was a knock on her door.
"Don't go back to sleep," Mikki called through the door.
Molly grunted irritably, but managed to pull herself upright. She smiled as she stretched. First good night's sleep in ages. That talk with Mikki had done wonders for her spirits. It had started with a tentative question from Molly about Mikki's gun. It turned out Mikki had also grown up in a gun-free house, but her drive to become a detective pushed her to master a variety of weapons and combat techniques once she entered the academy. She didn't want to end up at a desk or writing up parking tickets.
"The first time I shot someone, I had bad dreams for weeks," she had said.
"The first time?"
"Oh, yeah, I've had to discharge my weapon several times. FID loves me." She saw Molly's confused look and explained about FID. "Captain Raydor investigates officer-involved shootings and I've given her plenty to do. She even added me to her Christmas card list last year."
Mikki showed her the police gun and explained how it was different from the revolver Molly had reluctantly held onto after the trip to the shooting range that afternoon.
"Basically, they're just tools," Mikki said. "In an ideal world nobody would need to carry anything except maybe a rifle out in the woods, but this isn't an ideal world."
Molly found it easier to admit her fears to Mikki, who seemed less dismissive of them than Flynn was. She even talked about her bad dreams.
"I thought I heard something last night," Mikki said. "Your dreams seem perfectly normal."
"Normal? To dream about blowing away my students? I don't see how I can even go on in my career if I'm having dreams like that."
"I'm sure they'll stop after a while. You've received quite a shock, you know – not just the violence, but having it come from a former student who seemed normal. You're probably wondering if you can trust anyone."
"Exactly. I find myself looking suspiciously at everyone, wondering about bulges under jackets and every shifty eye movement."
"A lot of cops go through that, too, at first. You might have grown up with no exposure to criminals, and now they're suddenly everywhere, some of them really good liars. Pretty soon you think everyone's lying and trying to get away with something."
"How do you get over that?"
""Well, some never do, but over time you hopefully start to trust yourself more. You know you can take care of yourself. You learn to trust your fellow officers. And you get an instinct for who's dangerous and who's decent."
Molly had realized at that point how incredibly lucky she was. She'd never even had to worry about whom to trust in her life. Partly that was because she kept her social circle very small and mostly shut herself off from the world. But she also knew she'd been lucky not to have run into anyone even moderately abusive in her forty years of life.
Well, if it was time to grow up, she could start today. She owed apologies to at least two people, starting with the Lieutenant. She had gone through with the morbid exercise yesterday and actually found it sort of fun, but they had parted very stiffly afterwards. And then there was Jen, whom she had only called briefly to explain about the safehouse. Her old friend deserved better.
She got a chance to drop by Jen's office after her first morning class.
"You look nice," Jen said coolly. She had remained sitting behind her desk.
Molly shrugged. "I've got a meeting later on. I wanted to stop by and introduce you to Lieutenant Flynn." She waved the Lieutenant in and watched him shake hands with Jen. Jen gave the handsome Lieutenant a brilliant smile.
"You're keeping an eye on her?" Jen asked.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll just wait outside while you two talk." He shut the door behind himself on his way out.
Jen turned her smile to Molly. "Wow," she said. "Now I know why you're dressed up."
Molly blushed. "No, I've got a meeting with the provost. I swear. Besides, I'm celebrating getting that stupid cast off."
Jen looked down at her feet. "Well, I'm not sure sneakers work with that outfit, but they are more stylish than a cast."
Molly laughed. "They're the only shoes that will fit over the bandage." She paused. "Jen, I'm so sorry about how I've been this last week. You were right about everything. I just didn't want to accept it."
Jen came around the desk and gave her a big hug. "No need to apologize," she murmured. "Just promise me you'll keep that Lieutenant close by."
"Well, it'll be a sacrifice, but I guess I can manage that," Molly said with an exaggerated sigh. They both laughed.
Flynn checked his watch. The twenty minute meeting was stretching on to twenty-five. He glanced around the reception area outside the Agnes B. and Houston L. Chesterton Memorial Conference Room. The oak bookcases and plush carpeting suited the name. It should have been Gabriel here. With his graduate degree from USC, he would have felt right at home.
Actually, though, the day had been fairly enjoyable. College campuses were always hopping, and he felt nostalgic for the days when he had chased co-eds and pulled off outrageous pranks. The days when binge drinking was just a normal weekend activity, easily contained. He had felt like he had the world by the tail.
He had never been a stellar student, but he had enjoyed a lot of his classes. He would have liked having Molly as a professor. Standing in front of all those students, she seemed so comfortable and confident. Nothing like the nervous kid he had dragged to the shooting range yesterday. She lectured with no notes, pulling the students along on a thought experiment that started with the Matrix and ended with Descartes. He had meant to look over his case notes during her classes, but instead found himself listening attentively to her lecture and the subsequent discussion. The students pressed her hard, and she encouraged it. By the end of class they were all heatedly debating whether the external world existed at all. It was fascinating. Utterly useless, but fascinating.
Still, he needed to give further thought to the case. Something wasn't sitting right. They'd heard nothing from Mackie since he had decorated Molly's car. That act was a promissory note, not a settling of accounts. And if Mackie was anything, he was determined. He planned things out and he carried out his plans. They had disrupted his plans, so what would he do next? If he couldn't target Molly, who would he go after instead? Someone else who had undermined his career? Given the way he projected his failures onto others, that could be anyone.
There was also the question of why he hadn't just killed the women he blamed. Why document it all, and why send the videos to Major Crimes? Did he have some connection to them? Some need to talk to them in particular? If so, he wasn't likely to stop trying to talk to them. Flynn felt uneasy.
He was considering calling the Chief with his vague worries when he felt his phone vibrate. Provenza.
"Problem, Flynn," Provenza said, his voice tight.
"What is it?" Flynn saw the secretary frown at him, and he went out into the hallway. "Wait, Provenza. Repeat that. What about Tao?"
"He's been shot, I said! Right in the back."
"Is he dead?"
"No, but it's touch and go. He's at Cedars."
"Jesus," Flynn said. "How'd it happen?"
"It was during his walk from the office to his parking spot. He was on Center Street. Nobody saw the shooter."
"What caliber?"
Provenza snorted. "That's the weird thing. It wasn't a bullet. It was a bolt. From a crossbow."
"Have you looked at it yet?"
"No! He just got shot 10 minutes ago. We don't even have the evidence down here yet."
"Well when you get it, dismantle the thing. Carefully. There may be a message inside."
"You think this is Mackie?"
"Of course it's Mackie! I just wish I had seen it sooner. When he couldn't get Molly, he came after us, and he went after the person on the squad with the most medical training."
"I have no idea how you jumped to that conclusion, but I don't have time to deal with it now. SID's bringing the stuff in."
"Okay, I'll be at the hospital as soon as I can."
Flynn hung up and strode back into the reception room. He dropped his phone when he tried to slide it into his coat pocket. It landed on the plush carpet with hardly a sound. As he was straightening up, the conference room door opened and a small group of people emerged, exchanging farewells. Molly walked quickly over to Flynn.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He pulled her out to the hallway and waited for the others to leave. "It's Tao. He's been shot. I need to go to the hospital."
Molly's eyes widened. "He's the one I met last week?"
Flynn nodded.
She slung her totebag on her shoulder. "Let's go."
Flynn tried to stay focused while they walked to the parking lot. Just because Mackie had been near the administrative building twenty minutes ago didn't mean he couldn't be here now.
When they got to the car, she said, "I'll drive."
"No, I'm fine."
"You're shaking."
"I'm just pissed," he said as he opened the passenger door for her. Thankfully, she didn't argue. He slammed his own door and jammed the key into the ignition. When he put his hand on the gear shift, her own closed over it.
"Stop for a second, okay?" she said.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I should have seen it," he said, eyes still closed.
She squeezed his hand. "Should have seen what?"
"Mackie's next move. It was so obvious! If I was just a little smarter or better at profiling." He pulled his hand out from under hers and pounded the steering wheel with his fist.
"Andy," she said quietly. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you. If I were a little smarter I could have sent way more coherent and useful messages to your squad, but you figured it out anyway."
He looked at her. There were tears in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back. "Come on," she said with a small smile. "Let's go see how your friend's doing."