As Su Lin shakes my hand I look over at Deb, her eyes are wide and her mouth is open.
"Not the Su Lin?" I ask, smiling because I don't want to freak her out. She frowns and cocks her head like she doesn't get it. "Did you date Masuka?" She purses her lips tightly.
"Yeah, the little bastard. Why? Do you know him?" She looks confused. I look at Deb again who is shaking her head.
"Well, yeah, we know him. He works with us." Deb's voice sounds like she doesn't know whether to laugh or slap the girl in cuffs and arrest her. It's Su Lin's turn to get wide eyes now.
"He does? He never told me he... hmm." She looks at me and the blood splatter around the room. "What does he do here exactly? Why haven't I seen him coming in to the building?"
"He's forensics, I work with him. I don't know why you've not seen him, he's been here all week." We're all still looking at each other when Su Lin finally shakes herself; it's the same gesture I've seen cats do when they get wet. She straightens her shoulders, narrows her eyes and then looks down at her bloody hands.
"Better go and clean up! I think I might scare people downstairs if I don't at least wash my hands!" She waggles her red fingers by the side of her face, like very alarming jazz hands. I chuckle. She makes for the door and Deb puts her hand on her arm.
"Hey, can I just ask you some questions?" Su Lin looks right at Deb, she doesn't seem the type to bullshit.
"Sure," she says, nodding and waving for Deb to go out first. As she leaves she winks back at me.
"See you around, handsome." For some reason I am smiling. The phone buzzes in my pocket and I jump guiltily.
"Lumen, hi," my voice sounds a little too upbeat but Lumen doesn't seem to notice.
"Hi, look, I'm sorry but I can't do the circus tonight. Had you told the kids? I'm so sorry." I frown, she sounds upset.
"Are you ok? Is something wrong? I haven't mentioned anything to the kids."
"Ok, that's good. Nothing's wrong with me it's just... do you remember when I told you about Mrs Chester's daughter? Mary? She didn't show up for work today, I called her apartment and something's happened." A tremor goes through me, like a premonition.
"What happened?" I hear her sigh; the noise ends in a half sob. "Lumen?"
"She was attacked, by a man, she was walking home from the cinema and some guy grabbed her from a car." Now I know the sound in her voice, it's the one I heard when I kept her in that place for days, trying to win her trust like some wild animal, not knowing whether I should save her life or save myself.
"Is she ok? Did he...?" I don't say the word and I don't need to, Lumen makes a little noise which signals that yes, Mary Chester was raped. "Do you need me to come over?"
"No, maybe later I can come to your apartment? I think she needs to see people she's familiar with right now."
"Sure, of course. Are you going to be ok?" There is a long silence and I hear her sniff, imagine her wiping her eyes.
"Yeah, I'll be ok. I just feel so angry, Dexter, so angry." She sounds tired too and all I want to do is put my arms around her and make her ok but I know it's not that easy. I have no idea what to say.
"Come over tonight, if you still want to, when you've seen Mary. We can talk then. I love you." I tell her for the second time today.
"Thanks, I love you too." She hangs up and I look at the red splatter on the white walls and think about what Harry said about some people not deserving to live.
Deb grabs me as I head back to my lab, arms full of splatter sheets and thinking of coffee.
"Yo, Dexter, what the fuck?" I look at her, my mind still with Lumen and her friend. I frown and Deb sighs and rolls her eyes. "Su Lin? Working downstairs all this time? What the fuck?" She repeats with emphasis, I nod.
"Yeah, what the fuck. Can we get coffee?" She looks at me like I'm an alien but she nods anyway. Once we're in the kitchen area and I have the jug in my hand I feel better. I pour, asking Deb if she wants one by waving the plastic cup, she nods. "How long has she been there? Did Masuka know?"
"She's been there two weeks and she hasn't seen him once. How does that happen in a police station? Thanks." She takes the coffee from me and sips, looking at me over the rim.
"I liked her," I say simply, Deb snorts.
"Yeah, no shit. And she liked you too, asked me about a million questions about you on the way to my desk. Said she liked a man who could handle a blade." She looks at me, doing nothing to hide an expression which says that she thinks that any woman finding me attractive must be retarded. Thanks Deb.
"Thanks, Deb," she grins in response. "So, is it a coincidence that she's working here? Do you think she's connected to the case?" Deb shakes her head and puts her coffee on the counter, looking in the drawers for sugar.
"I don't know. I didn't get any sort of vibe off her and she seemed genuinely amazed that Vince worked here. I wonder what he told her did for a job?" I'm not sure I want to know, Masuka's home life is an enigma to me and something inside tells me it's better that way.
The man in question is gone when I get back to the lab. There's no note to tell me his whereabouts and for a second I find myself actually wondering where he is. What's happening to me? But then I realise that I know how it feels to be hunted, toyed with. If it's not been the FBI then it's been Lila, Miguel, Trinity. That knot of cold appears again in my stomach when I think of him. The image of his handiwork comes unbidden into my head. I stand in my lab and feel that cold again, that emptiness. I wish I had something to remind me of Lumen now, something I could use to conjure the life back, banish this void that Trinity embedded in my soul. I put my hands over my face and inhale, trying to steady my breathing, make this cold go away. Even through the soap of my shower, the latex of the gloves I have been wearing, there is the ghost of Lumen on my skin. Am I imagining this? It doesn't matter, it saves me from the abyss, and I breathe in deeply, willing her light to drown this cold space in radiance.
I don't know how long I stand like this, invoking Lumen to exorcise my demons, but when I look up from my hands the clock on the lab wall tells me it's time to go home. Colleen will be dropping the kids back in a couple of hours and I need to be there to meet them.
Angel waves as he sees me press the button for the elevator. I hold the door for him and he jogs to the door.
"Thank you, amigo," he smiles to me and tips his hat slightly. I look at him and wonder for a moment what I would look like in a hat. I shake my head at the crazy image and he frowns. "Is something wrong, Dexter?" I'm about to say no, fall back into the old Dexter, who says nothing when I check myself. Angel has friends in the Sex Crimes Division and he might be able to help.
"One of Lumen's friends got attacked last night, on the way back from the cinema down by University Park. I was just thinking about what a dangerous world we live in. We solve one crime, someone commits another." Angel purses his lips and nods.
"Si, it is dangerous, but you and I, we help to catch the criminals, we make it safer, Dex. Do you want me to ask around and find out who is on this case?" I nod.
"That'd be great Angel, thank you."
We leave the station together and Angel pats me on the back as he makes for his car.
"Look after your girl when you see her tonight. She'll need to know she has a strong man to protect her, she's a fragile one." He nods like he's imparting some timeless knowledge. I smile and unlock the SUV, he has no idea how wrong he is. Lumen doesn't need a man, she needs a monster. Luckily she has one.
She comes over when the kids are just going to bed. I'm on the balcony with a beer and a bag of chips waiting for Astor to finish brushing her teeth.
"Hi," I look up from staring at the pool, watching the smooth ripples catch the light and listening to the slosh and wash echo of the ocean. Her face is closed down, nothing shows on the surface but her body language is tense, tight. She smiles but it doesn't travel to her eyes.
"Hi, are the kids in bed?" She glances to the door and I can see she needs to check if we're overheard before she tells me anything. Astor opens the door, looking younger than her years with her shiny, just scrubbed face despite the black band t shirt she now wears for bed.
"Oh, hi Lumen," her smile is genuine when she sees I'm not alone. Lumen smiles and puts out her hand, touches Astor's arm. "Ok, 'night then Dexter, 'night." She kisses me briefly on the cheek and then goes to kiss Lumen. At the last moment she throws her arms around her, maybe it's some female intuition, she knows what Lumen needs right now, more than I do. I see Lumen's fingers tighten on Astor's back and they stand there for a moment, just holding on to each other. Then Lumen lets go and Astor smiles and goes back to the apartment without saying a word.
Lumen looks at my beer, it's a new bottle and I just pass it right to her. She smiles and takes it from my hand, swings it to her lips and drinks with deep swallows. She leans next to me on the metal rail. For a few minutes neither of us speak, I am waiting for her, unsure what to say.
"Mary'll be ok," her voice is quiet, almost a whisper. I look at her and see the tears now, the tears Astor must have felt as she hugged Lumen. I put out my hand touch her shoulder; stroke her hair from her face. She turns to me and she smiles. "Seeing her so broken made me realise how much you've helped me heal. Thank you." She leans towards me and her lips brush mine. She passes me the beer.
"What happened?" I'm thinking like a guy from Forensics but I can't help it.
"She was walking back from the cinema, some guy stopped by the kerb behind her. She thought he was going to the store but then he put his arms around her throat and dragged her to an alley. She couldn't scream, he nearly choked her. Her bruises..." She touches her throat, stroking the skin where the skin has healed but where I remember the purple marks, the destruction, left by Jordan Chase and his friends.
"Did she get a glimpse of him?" I don't want to pry but, when you've worked with the police for as long as I have, these questions become second nature. Not to mention my hobby, where not getting seen is paramount. She shakes her head, screwing her eyes up against the images in her head.
"No, he... pushed her face down in the alley," I nod and look away, understanding how this is like daggers through her. There is silence again.
"His car?" I'm almost afraid to ask, not wanting to push this any further than she can stand. She shrugs.
"I didn't ask her, I just tried to help. Fuck!" She snatches the bottle and holds it over her head, her angle and muscle tension screaming. She wants to throw the bottle, listen to it smash, break something. Then she sighs, a sound of pain and grief and she drops her arm.
"Can I hold you?" I ask her, not wanting to make a move which will send her to that dark place. She nods, still staring out to the ocean. I stand behind her, wrapping my arms about her and holding her tightly. She leans back against me.
The ocean flows silver and black in the moonlight. Palms swish in the light breeze coming from over the water. In the city, cars speed along, salsa music blares from the cars of the Cuban boys. Miami carries on her struggle and swing without any recognition for the darkness that happens under her neon lights, her glorious sunshine.
"Sonja's going to baby sit the kids on Saturday night, so we can deal with Greco and DiMarco." I say this into her hair, hoping to lighten her mood by planning a murder. Her shoulders drop, I feel her relax.
"I need this, Dex. I really need to do this." I nod, I know what she means. This business with the beheadings, Masuka in the firing line and now Mary Chester, have just combined to build the tension I know will only dissipate when I hear our victims breathe their last.
"Come to bed," I say, kissing the top of her head. She nods and turns in my arms. She kisses me.
"Will you just hold me, Dexter?" Her voice sounds weary. I lead her back to the apartment.
She seems to have dealt with the immediate anger and shock by the time we wake up in the morning. She's already in the kitchen slicing cheese and piling plates with crusty bread and cold meat. I raise my eyebrows at Cody who is looking at his plate, a thinly veiled look of concern on his face.
"German breakfast," he points at the plate and pulls an expression of fear. I nod and steal some ham from his plate, wobbling it in my fingers like it's alive as I lower it to my mouth. Lumen looks up and laughs, Astor giggles at Cody's disgusted face.
"Mmm, yummy. Eat up Cody," I laugh and he picks up some cheese, eyeing it suspiciously.
"I was reading a book about a serial killer that ate his victims," Astor says chirpily and Lumen and I exchange a glance before we look back to where this teenage girl is innocently eating her ham and cheese, eyeliner smudged inexpertly around her eyes.
"Really? Gross," I wrinkle my nose and layer my cheese on my bread and raise my eyebrows.
"Yeah, I know, but I thought it was a great way to get rid of the bodies," Astor nods to herself and chews her breakfast thoughtfully.
"Not sure I could eat a whole one," I laugh, sipping the coffee that Lumen hands to me, she is grinning now.
"I think you'd have to save some and eat them over a week," Lumen says, slicing her ham with relish. Cody looks green.
"Yeah, that'd work," Astor nods like she's really considering it.
"That's awful," Cody drinks a long draught of OJ to try to squash his nausea.
"Saves on grocery bills," I suggest, feeding Harrison a thin sliver of cheese, he gestures for the ham, making a noise to show me what he wants. I pass him a slice, looking at Lumen to see what she thinks of the carnivorous baby. She is smiling, Harrison chews with his hard gums, teeth poking though like tiny needles.
"Right, gotta go," I shovel the rest of my ham and cheese on to the bread and grab my bag from the back of the chair. "Anyone need a ride? Kids, how are you getting to Sonja's?" I realise I haven't arranged anything but Astor shakes her head.
"Nope, Sonja's picking us up, we're going swimming. Lumen, when do you start work? Do you want to come with us?" Lumen looks at Astor and I know she's thinking of the scars which crisscross her body and might invite questions. She bites her lip.
"You know, I will. I start around lunch today so I have time to come with you, thanks for asking Astor. I'll have to get my swimsuit, though." Astor looks at me and then at Lumen.
"I have Mom's, if you want to borrow it." Her voice is quiet. I feel my eyes widen. "It was one of the things I kept from the house. It was new and she really liked it. I thought I'd wear it when I got older. Is that weird?" Lumen shakes her head.
"When my grandmother died I kept her knitting. I can't knit but I wanted to finish what she started one day."
"Did you?" I look at Lumen and she laughs.
"No, I still can't knit. But I will one day." I laugh and kiss her on the cheek.
"You're all weird, serial killers, knitting, swimsuits..." I shake my head and ruffle Cody's hair. "We're the only sane ones left, boys." I kiss Harrison and make for the door.
I'm at my desk when Angel comes in with donuts.
"Thanks, I thought this was my job?" I grin as I take the last jelly one. He puts a yellow folder on my desk. "What's that?"
"Mary Chester's statement, thought you might want to see it, socio," he claps me on the shoulder.
"Anything useful?" He purses his lip and shrugs one shoulder. "Nothing SCD can see, but I thought you'd want to look for yourself." I nod my thanks and he leaves, waving the donuts under Vince's nose and frowning as Masuka chooses two from the box.
I flick through the statement, just what Lumen said, no surprises there, nothing to help me find anything. Then I turn to the evidence taken at the scene. There's the usual dirt and gravel to be expected in a downtown alleyway but then something catches my eye. Four fibres from a sticky patch of spilled soda right by where Mary Chester's attacker made her kneel down. The fibres are from a fabric you don't find very often, it's not been used in general manufacture for years. I type the chemical formula of the fabric into the department database.
The screen scrolls and then gives me a list of uses for this material. A couple of companies who make children's' crib mattresses use it but they're mainly out east. Ice skating boots and under vests for skiers but nothing that you'd expect out here in the Miami sun. I turn away from the Mac and swing around in my chair, something is tapping at my brain and I don't know what it is. Quinn opens the door and smirks when he sees me swinging.
"Hey, Morgan, Deb wants to know the name of that sword again? What's that?" He's looking at the screen, his face a big grin.
"It's a fabric fibre from a crime scene, why?"
"Oh, I used to have a '55 Ford Zephyr, back in the day, loved her, she was a beauty. Bitch to get fixed up though; they don't make the seats outta that stuff anymore, too expensive. I trawled all over looking for a way to repair the back seat. Good times." He sighs, oblivious to the look of realisation on my face.
"Can you show me a picture of your car?" I ask and he nods, surprised and leans over me to type the name into the search engine. After a second or two the screen is flooded with retro cars, sleek finned and shiny chrome. I recognise the style; Peter from Lumen's apartment building has one just like it.
Thanks for being so patient with me, life got complicated recently with work and this took a little longer than I'd planned. Thanks so much for making this the most reviewed story in the Dexter archive. And thanks to Verityburns for the Hello Kitty sunglasses and being a great friend and a whizz beta.