Oh, bad man, what's the reason why? Oh, innocents always have to die by your hand
Six Weeks Later
Kate watched Arthur sleep on his back next to her after she woke up. She pushed away the thoughts of failure from her mind. Five weeks ago, she had been given a kidnapping case, her first since she'd been back on the job. The victim was an 11 year old girl from Florida, and because Kate had built up a name for herself in this line of work, they had requested her help. The girl had been missing for two weeks, but evidence showed she was still alive by a sighting of her in a car in Arizona. Something about it had niggled at Kate, and she was still trying to figure out why. She'd gone to check out the lead only to get nowhere. She'd worked hard with what information she had to try and find her, but a few days later, she'd received word that her missing girl had been found, and she was dead. Kate had been enraged and shut down for an entire week. Arthur and Reggie had slowly brought her back, but she still felt pain inside that almost drowned her at times. She spent a lot of time drinking in order to try and bury it all, but Arthur had cut her off, finally, two weeks ago. She was slowly getting back to life since then, but she still had moments where she was sucker punched with grief and anger. Today, she felt okay, which was a good thing.
She resisted reaching to touch Arthur and wake him up. She didn't know what she'd do without him or Reggie this last while. The two of them distracted her or let her vent and rail on about everything whenever she needed, and Arthur had spent a lot of time just holding her while she cried. Whatever had made him decide to come back to her, she was grateful for.
She sometimes wondered about his past, but she found she didn't want to know if he didn't want to share. He didn't offer much about himself a lot, just bits and pieces here and there. She learned he was an orphan with no siblings. She learned he was a bit meticulous about things, almost borderline OCD at times, which made her laugh and feel irritated at times because, damn it, she liked the pillows on the couch in a disarray and not straightened up. She wouldn't have anyone else live with her, though. Maybe it was nuts to let him live with her from the start, but she couldn't explain the bond she'd felt with him ever since she'd met him. She trusted him, and he was so good to her.
He turned his head towards her and opened his eyes now with a bit of an exhale, and she wondered if he had really been sleeping these last few minutes.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," he said back. His voice was full of sleep, just how she liked. She moved closer to him, tucking against his side and hooking an arm over his stomach. She felt his hand rest on her arm a moment later.
"I don't want to go to work today," she confessed. His face pressed against her head now, his fingers lightly brushing her arm.
"I know," he replied.
"I just don't think I'm ready for another case," she went on.
"Can you request to keep doing admin stuff for a while longer?"
"I think I've exhausted that option for now," she sighed. "I can't hide forever."
"Well, I have faith that you'll be alright," he told her. She gave a small smile, and he kissed her softly. She turned it into more a moment later, just needing to focus on something else for a bit. She clutched his shoulders as his fingers dug into her hips. It hit her hard in this moment how much she loved him, and she wondered why she hadn't told him yet. Maybe it meant being vulnerable with him even more than she was right now in this moment, and that scared her a little. To give her heart fully to someone was a big step, but despite feeling scared, she also felt ready for it. As for Arthur, she wondered if he was on the same page.
He made a sound in his throat as she kissed him more intensely. This was the only time she ever saw and heard him be fully vulnerable, and she treasured it, but she wanted to hear him say he loved her too...maybe even say it first. She did appreciate the ability to communicate what she needed in this moment and not have it be dismissed, though. The only disappointing part was that it had to end eventually.
Kate felt him lightly kiss the spot between her shoulder blades before getting up, and she stretched out on her stomach, burrowing her face into her pillow to hide from the day. She replayed their intimacy just now in her head, and she smiled. It momentarily made her forget what was to come in the next couple of hours.
The shower started, and she pushed herself up and went to join him. He gave the best head massages when washing her hair, which she claimed always helped her think better afterwards.
"I knew you couldn't resist," he teased when she got there.
"I need all my thinking power today," she replied casually. He smiled and shook his head playfully as she danced a little on her tiptoes in anticipation.
"See this...this is why I love you," he commented, and she froze. He did as well, looking unsure suddenly.
"Did you...?" she started.
"I'm sorry," he interrupted. "That was...that was too fast..."
"No, no, no," she stopped him, putting a hand on his cheek. "It's not. I was just thinking about it...how much I wanted to say it but didn't know how or if I should..."
"Because you didn't know if I felt the same, right?" he finished for her.
"Well...yea," she confessed. "I've never felt this way before, and it scared me to think that maybe I would get rejected."
"Kate, I love you. I've loved you since the beginning," he told her. "And I've never felt this way before either."
She felt slightly emotional now as he gave a small half smile and looked a bit sheepish. She pulled him close and kissed him hard, which he returned.
"I love you so much," she said almost raggedly during a pause. He just nodded, not saying a word, and she kissed him again.
By the time she had to leave for work, she no longer dreaded it.
...
Arthur felt unsettled being around this much law enforcement. He knew they couldn't see on him anywhere that he was a killer, but he felt like there was a big, neon sign over his head anyway. He found Kate at her desk, madly scribbling on paper with her phone tucked into the crook of her neck. He stopped in front of her and waited.
"Yea, okay," Kate was saying, writing more as fast as she could. "I got it. I'm on it. Yes, I'll keep you posted." She hung up and pressed her fingers into her eyes.
"What's up?" Arthur asked.
"New case," she answered, sliding her fingers down her cheeks and off her face. "11 year old girl from New Orleans missing since the weekend. Also picked up in a public space."
"Same person?" Arthur inquired, his skin prickling. He swallowed down his anger. Who could do such a thing to a child? He didn't get it.
"I think so," Kate said, getting up and going over to her white board. She studied her notes and photos there. "Same type of girl too." Arthur went over to look, swallowing again. The girls' smiling faces glared out at him. Brown hair, blue eyes, Caucasian. Arthur felt strange suddenly.
"Where was the last girl taken from?" he asked.
"Florida."
"And this one?"
"New Orleans."
Something was clicking into place in his mind. He was remembering something, but it was just out of reach.
"REGGIE!" Kate bellowed now, making him jump, startled. "Get in here!"
"What?" Reggie asked, appearing. He had some mustard on the corner of his mouth from his lunch.
"We have a serial killer," she said, pulling out another file and slapping it on the desk. "Look." She pointed her finger at the photograph, and Arthur leaned to look as well. Same age, same features...different place.
Ohio.
Arthur's brain was whirling now.
"Damn," Reggie said, wiping at his mouth with his thumb and removing the mustard now. "This is not good."
"No, it's not," Kate agreed. "I need to get this guy, Reg. I have to."
"I'll help every step of the way," Reggie promised. Kate was in a bit of a tizzy now, so Arthur stepped back to let her work. She sent Reggie off to do some research before going to look something up on her computer too.
"I really hope this gets solved," Reggie murmured on his way out. Arthur just nodded. He admired Kate for being able to do this type of job. His job typically involved killing the bastards who did the crime.
"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him again finally. "I know I said I'd have lunch with you, but I can't leave now."
"You don't have to apologize," he told her. She half smiled briefly.
"Okay, well...I will see you at home. I'll call if anything changes."
"Alright. You know I'll help too, right?"
"I know," she confirmed, her voice soft. She stood up and went over to him now, taking his face in her hands gently. "I love you."
"Love you too." He really liked hearing her say it. Her lips were soft against his for a moment, and then she stepped away and went back to work. He stood there, thinking hard. He wasn't sure if he should tell her, but it could be important.
"Kate?" he said finally.
"Yea?"
"How old were you when...when Mac...?" he trailed off. She frowned.
"Uh, 11," she answered. "Why?" His stomach clenched the same time her face froze. "Oh my God..."
"Kate," he started as she madly flipped for the photo of the girl. She found it finally and held it up, aligning it with the other two girls.
"Oh, f***," she said.
"They look like you," Arthur said quietly, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
"No," she said. "No way."
"He was there," Arthur said, finally locating the memory. "In Florida, Ohio, and New Orleans."
"What? How do you know?" she asked, sounding a bit frantic now.
"He said it at the hospital," he replied. "Remember? He said he'd been traveling for work, and he listed them."
"So...what? He's been in all those places hunting for girls that look like me?" Kate asked. She looked a bit green now.
"It would seem that way," Arthur agreed. Who knew how long Mac had stalked these girls before making his move. It angered him.
"Kate?" a woman said, poking her head into the doorway. "I found another one from five years ago." She held out a file, and Kate went to take it. The woman left, and Arthur watched her read it, her brow furrowed and mouth tight.
"Another one?" he prompted.
"Yes..."
"Where?"
"D.C..."
"Mac's originally from D.C., right?"
"Yea..."
Arthur didn't have to connect the dots before she groaned. Then she picked up her phone and dialed, punching the numbers hard and fast.
"Mom?" she said into it. "Where is Uncle Mac right now?" Arthur watched her listen, and Kate's face went a bit whiter as she listened.
"Okay," she said. "Thank you. No, I was just curious. No, everything is fine. I'll talk to you later, okay?" She hung up quickly and grabbed her head tightly with her hands.
"What?" Arthur asked.
"She said last she heard Mac was here...in Arizona," she whispered. "She thought he was trying to see me again..." Arthur knew what that meant. The last girl, the one who had been killed, had been last seen in Arizona.
"Kate, we gotta find him," he said.
"I know," she said. "I know, I know, I know."
"Hey," Reggie said, coming back now. "I just talked to New Mexico PD. They heard about our girl, and they sent an image of the car she had been seen in. It's from a traffic cam. Can't really make out the driver, but still..." He handed the photo over, and Kate took it gingerly. Arthur watched her study it carefully. Then she lowered it down and closed her eyes.
"What do you see?" Arthur asked.
"It's his watch," she answered, her voice almost ragged. She turned it to show him, and Arthur bit his lip a little as he recognized it.
"More than one person could have that watch," he reasoned.
"Oh my God," Kate said in almost despair, not answering him.
"What?" Reggie asked, looking back and forth between them. "I feel like I'm missing something."
"All these girls," Arthur said when Kate didn't explain. "They look like Kate."
"What?!" Reggie went to look at the photos now, and his eyes widened. "Holy shit!"
"They're the same age," Kate said finally, making Reggie look at her now. "Eleven." His face registered understanding now.
"You don't think..." he started but trailed off.
"Mac's from D.C., and he's been to Florida, Ohio, and New Orleans," Kate told him. "And my mother just told me he was in Arizona the last time she heard."
"Would he be that stupid to say where he's been?" Reggie asked.
"If he was cocky enough to think he'd never get caught," Kate answered. She stood up now. "Reg, help me find him."
"On it," Reggie said, rushing back to his office. Arthur looked at Kate, thinking about how he could help her. He didn't have contacts anymore, but he was still resourceful.
"You okay?" he asked, seeing her face.
"I'm furious," she said. "I cannot believe I'd miss this."
"Kate, you didn't know..."
"He did it to me!" she exploded, banging her fist on her desk. "That's enough to know he'd do it again!"
"Okay, but killing them? Is he capable of that?"
"I don't know," she said finally. "But when I find him, I will make sure to ask him."
"What can I do?" he asked.
"I just need to be alone right now," she answered. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
"I'll see you at home."
"Alright."
He stood there feeling a bit stupid and useless as she got back to work. He left her there, his brain still going a million miles an hour.
...
Kate stared at herself in the mirror, her hands resting on the vanity. All she could see was the girls' files. Her jaw clenched, and she swallowed down her bile. She couldn't stop thinking that it was her fault, that her uncle was doing this because she never said anything when he did it to her. She felt responsible, which made her want to solve this even more and end it. She kept reliving her own assaults periodically, and it made her want to put a bullet into Mac's head. And he was so cocky! Why else would he have no issue saying where he'd been? He had probably been hunting for a while and finally found what he was looking for...
"Kate?" Arthur said outside the bathroom door. She was home now, and she was exhausted after today. The last thing she wanted to do was anything, but she knew she had to keep moving forward.
"I'm fine," she answered. She pushed off the vanity, going to open the door. Arthur stood there looking a bit concerned. "I am. I promise." She kissed him for good measure. She looked at him after, her arms around his neck and his one hand on her back. She had to leave work at work, she knew that. She knew too many agents who lost their families and spouses because they let work consume them. As much as she wanted to devote everything she had to the case, she knew she had to pace herself. Overdoing it led to making mistakes, and she couldn't afford to make any right now.
"When this is over, where do you want to go?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you should go somewhere for a bit to recharge," he clarified. "You've gone through a lot, Kate."
"I don't do holidays very well," she confessed. "I like to be busy."
"I get that, but taking time off is to help you stay focused when you're busy." He gave her his crooked smile and a lift of his one brow, and she sighed.
"You clearly don't know me that well yet," she insisted, and he laughed. She smiled as he nudged her against the wall and lightly pressed her against it. She parted her lips as he rested his face close to hers, his hands running up and down her sides slowly.
"I think I know you pretty well," he murmured against her cheek. She reached to curl her fingers over his pant pockets to hold him close.
"Oh yea?" she said.
"Yea."
"Then what am I thinking right now?" she asked. She teased his lips with hers, and he reached to cup her jaw before catching her mouth firmly and kissing her soundly. She slid her hands up his chest to hold his shoulders tightly as he kissed her deeper.
"You're thinking," he said after coming up for air, "that as much as you want to do this, you can't stop thinking about those girls and thus can't really enjoy it. You're thinking that even taking a small break is bad and you should be burning the midnight oil."
"Wow," she said, "you really do know me." He smiled and kissed her softly, slowly, one last time before taking a step back.
"Any leads?" he asked.
"No. I'm gonna head to New Orleans tomorrow and see if I can get anything useful. I was given a few more files of missing girls with the same M.O. before I left the office."
"Ah, shit," Arthur said, wincing.
"I just...I need to not think about this for an hour at least," she told him. "My head hurts and is really full. I can't think clearly when it's like that."
"Well then, come on," he said, taking her hand. "You're gonna learn how to make a good roast."
"Aw, not tonight," she whined, dragging her feet as he tugged her with him. He didn't stop, though, and he just laughed as she tried to go dead weight on him. He simply picked her up and carried her to the kitchen, setting her down on the counter. She gave a dramatic sigh as he rested his hands on the counter on either side of her and put his weight on one leg to lean forward a bit.
"Why are you so insistent that I learn to cook?" she asked, putting her arms around his neck and resting her elbows on his shoulders.
"Because I want you to be able to survive in the wild if all the fast food places shut down," he answered. She exclaimed playfully, giving him a shove, and he wrestled her back until she was pressed against him, looking down at him slightly since she was a bit higher than him. She held his face in her hands and kissed him.
"I promise I'll be just fine," she said after, smoothing his cheek with her thumb. "Don't worry about me so much."
"I worry about the people I love," he replied, and she felt pleasant shivers all over. He loved her; it still felt exciting to hear since he'd said it that morning. If today hadn't been so shitty, she'd have been on cloud nine thinking about it all day. Now, though, she was here with him, and she was going to do her best to push the bad stuff down because she wasn't about to let her uncle ruin anything else for her.
"I really hate him," she said now.
"I know."
"How could he do this?"
"I don't know," Arthur said truthfully. "I don't know what makes anyone do something so horrible."
Kate sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to re-center and set it down for a moment so she could come back with fresh eyes. She had to compartmentalize, just for a little bit. Then she'd get her uncle and nail his ass to the wall and make sure he rotted away forever in jail. When she opened her eyes again, Arthur was watching her carefully, waiting.
"It's not your fault," he said quietly, reading her mind. "What he's done to those girls...it's not on you."
"I should have told someone. He'd have been stopped..."
"You can't do that." He shook his head. "And you can't think that he is who he is because of you. Absolutely not."
"But..."
Arthur caught her jaw to stop her from talking, and he looked at her seriously. "Kate, it's not your fault. Believe that. Please."
She blinked hard and fast, trying not to cry. She took in some breaths and finally nodded in agreement. He was right, even if she didn't feel that way in the moment. She'd eventually get there. She sniffed and swiped at her eyes with the back of her sleeve. Then she tilted her head to the left slightly, looking at Arthur.
"Well come on, then, Roast Man," she said, brushing his nose with hers playfully. "Show me what you got."
"You betcha," he said, making her yelp and laugh as he pulled her off the counter and set her on her feet. If she was honest, she loved watching him teach her things. She put her full attention onto him in this moment, needing the distraction. When her hour was up, she'd get right back to work and take her uncle down.
She wouldn't make any mistakes.