Chapter 12

Christine got to L's door about a half an hour after he had called her the second time and knocked. When he didn't answer right away she opened it and went in. She saw him at his desk, talking thru his computer. She realized she never actually saw him "be" L and she was intrigued. She quietly closed the door behind her and made her way to the couch and sat down. L seemed not to have noticed she came in, but she hadn't expected him to.

"So tell me what thoughts you have on the killer, what are your opinions." He said into the microphone.

"I doubt my opinions will matter that much to the case." Was the answer.

"Still, I am interested in knowing if we are in the same direction." L pressed on.

The doctor listened to the agent's ideas on the case, and by watching L she could tell he was in agreement. He asked her to look for clues that the killer may have left behind on purpose. He obviously assumed B would do such a thing, something that L would know immediately.

Christine listened to the exchange with great interest. Apparently this agent's deductive abilities were almost as keen as L's. The ideas and questions she came up with never would have crossed the doctor's mind. It was amazing to hear them. L told Misora that he felt there will be a fourth victim, and that it has probably already been planned. At the suggestion that there may be a fifth L said no, there will be no more now that the killer realizes that L's on the case.

After a few more exchanges, L tells the agent that he must go, there are things he has to do. He also tells her she may call him again on line 5 and that he expects to hear good news when she does. He breaks the connection and sighs heavily.

"What do you think of the conversation?" he asks suddenly. Christine starts, realizing that he knew she was there all along.

"I think you have chosen the best person you could have to help you with this. She seems to be on the same page as you and almost as good on the deduction side." He frowned at this.

"Almost as good? I think not. Very good I will agree but certainly not almost as good as I." Christine rolled her eyes at his chaffing at the agent being compared so favorably to him. Sometimes he was such a competitive child.

"Well, are you happy with how she's working out?" L's thumb went to his lips as he contemplated the answer. After a few moments he nodded.

"Yes, I believe she will do very well with this. The faster we get B in handcuffs the better."

She watched him as he went over other information, she could see police reports flashing across the screen and unfortunately crime scene pictures as well. When the body of the child flashed on the screen she gasped and turned away.

"He crushed her eyes, obviously after she was dead and placed her glasses in front of her. And yet in all the pictures I've turned up of her, she's never wearing glasses. Her eyesight was poor, her mother says, but those glasses aren't hers. " she heard him say to himself. "And the second victim there were knife wounds, letters or numerals carved into his chest, again after death. That is another message."

"Oh L that's horrific! And he did that to get to you?" She understood now why he felt so upset about this. It wasn't enough that B had killed, he'd done hideous things to the victims as well.

"This is merely a game to B, a battle between two genius detectives. He will never be L as long as I live, he will forever be the copy. He has to get rid of me somehow."

Christine stood and walked over to L's chair. His arms were now wrapped around his knees as if he were trying to hold onto himself, keep himself steady. She bent down and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders. Hoping the warmth of her body could still the trembling she could feel in his. At first she felt him stiffen at her touch, and then he slowly began to relax against her hold. He finally released his legs and and put both feet on the floor. The doctor released her hold on him as well as he began to stand up. He stood, but was decidedly hunched over, his hands finding his pockets. His eyes wide but frighteningly blank as he looked at her. He then walked right past her into the middle of the living room and stopped, his back to her.

"I find that I no longer have the desire to play chess. I apologize for bringing you up here for no reason."

"Under the circumstances I would be surprised if you did still wish to play. L it doesn't matter; I'm here because I wanted to be. I still do if you need the company. "

"What I need is to stop B. This nightmare has gone on far too long, it has to end and it has to end now!" she heard the anger in his voice, could see it in his body language. But she could also hear the anguish of someone who blamed himself for the situation. She walked to him again, uncertain if she were doing the right thing. All she knew is she wanted to take some of the pain from him; it was simply too much for one person to bear. This time she stood in front of him and reached out to bring him into her arms. He suddenly moved back and away from her, shaking his head.

"No, please. It is not something I want, or deserve right now." And that time she heard the subtle crack in his voice and she knew she had to act immediately, whether he wanted it or not. She closed the gap between them quickly before he had time to react and threw her arms around him and drew him to her. He at first tried to fight her, to get out of her grip but she refused.

"Stop it, L. You need to get it through that thick head of yours that B is not your creation. You are not responsible for his behavior. Had he not shown his true colors when he did he would have later, and possibly killed you. The detective may not feel he needs this, but there is a part of you that does. As your doctor I prescribe you stop being pig headed and let it happen." He stopped resisting and stood still. He laid his head on her shoulder, took his hands out of his pocket, and slowly returned her hug. At that moment his computer beeped. His head snapped up and he let go, practically running to it. Christine sighed and followed him, at least she got him to relax a bit.

"This is L.," he said after he opened the connection.

It was Misora again. This time it wasn't good news about the case, but the fact that she had just run into a strange detective who said he had been hired by one of the victim's family to look into the case. When L asked her his name, and she told him his eyes grew wide and that telltale thumb came to his mouth. He then asked her if she thought he was cool. That obviously confused Misora because she asked him to repeat the question. He asked it again. The agent immediately flew into a tirade about how he was the creepiest person she'd ever met, that if she made a list of people who should die he'd be on it, etc. Her tirade made L speechless for a few moments, and then finally he told her to continue to work with him, he'd check him out, but for now, keep her eye on him. It was obvious she wasn't happy with that, but she accepted it and hung up.

"Ryuzaki, L? Isn't that the name you used?" Christine asked

"Yes. And now B is using it." Now it was time for Christine's eyes to grow huge.

"B? You mean B is with the agent now pretending to be a detective? And you didn't tell her?" L shook his head and stood.

"No, I want to know what he is up to. Why he is pretending to be a detective. And why, if he is impersonating me, does she think he's creepy?"

"But what if he tries to kill her? L this is wrong, you have to tell her!" L stood and walked towards her, his face suddenly taut with anger.

"Doctor Thompson do NOT presume to tell me how to handle my cases! I believe it is time you went back to your apartment!"

Christine shrank back, unprepared for his attack. Perhaps she had overstepped her boundaries, but it just didn't seem right.

"L I'm sorry, I just…"

"Did you not understand what I said? It was not a suggestion!" He then turned and went back to his desk, completely shutting her out. Christine stared at him for a few moments and then turned and left the apartment. She slowly went back to her apartment, angry with herself for allowing her emotions to get in the way. She was completely out of bounds she realized now; she should never have said what she did. She would react the same way if he told her how to treat a patient. Now she had probably jeopardized their friendship as well as everything else.

She finally arrived at her apartment, unlocked the door and let herself in. She toyed with the idea of calling Watari for suggestions of how to fix this, but then decided she'd have to handle it herself. She went to her bedroom and stared at the bed for a few moments. Just 24 hours earlier he had been there with her, now she wondered if they would ever share that again. She fell into the bed without even removing her clothes and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.