The fifth and sixth letters

Chapter 9

The sight of a murdered body was, unfortunately, becoming a familiar sight to Daniel and Kate, what with all the cases they had previously solved together. Still, even professionals really never got used to seeing a dead body, for each crime scene was different because killers had different kinds of crazies going on in their heads and they wanted to leave their own personal morbid stamp on their victims.

Within minutes police and medical personnel started to arrive, their flashing lights, blaring sirens and crackling radios penetrating the night. The officials immediately set up crime-scene tape to create a wide off-limits area around Hilda Jones' body. There was an officer videotaping the body from a variety of angles.

Daniel and Kate were giving their statements to Detective Stone.

"So," Detective Stone asked, as he whipped out his tablet, "Before you came across the DB, did you notice anyone out of the ordinary or see anybody else walking?"

"No," Daniel answered for the two of them, "There were a couple of cars that passed us, but no one on foot."

They watched as the medical examiner's ambulance arrived. The yellow tape was pulled back and two men in white coats placed a covered Hilda Jones inside. The knife had been carefully secured in a clear, labeled evidence bag by an officer wearing gloves.

The lights and noise had brought out the residents from their homes. Included among them were Tom and Jenny Clayton. To Daniel, they somehow stood out among the crowd.

Detective Stone shut his notebook, "That's it for now. I'd like the two of you to come down to my office in the morning to sign formal statements. In the meantime, I'd suggest you lock up your places really tight. There may be a homicidal nut running around."

"Yes, detective," Kate stated, "We'll do that."

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Daniel and Kate returned to the house, where Lewicki had brewed some tea for the two of them, then left the kitchen to go upstairs for the night. Kate could see that Daniel seemed deep into his thoughts. He always had that same expression whenever he was trying to solve a case.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Kate said as they sat at the small table and drank their tea.

"I hate thinking what I'm thinking," Daniel said, "but I'm asking myself if it could have been someone here at the party who had murdered Hilda Jones. Especially since it appeared that it was my knife sticking out of the victim."

"I can't imagine someone you know who would do such a horrendous crime," Kate commented.

"Just because they came to the party doesn't mean I know them, Kate," he said, "And as you know, I trust no one, especially the government," he then seemed to have second thoughts, "well, not that I don't trust anyone. After all, I trust Paul and Lewicki...and...and you."

Kate's heartbeat at first fluttered at the thought that she was considered a special someone in Daniel's world. Then she paused at the realization. She didn't need this personal connection to Daniel. She was just getting out of a marriage and she had a career to consider.

But he was looking at her for a reaction and when she looked back at him and felt herself encompassed in his intense stare. It took all her strength to break the gaze to bring her teacup to her lips and take a sip.

"I was thinking of others that you do not know so well," Kate worked hard to steady her hand as she brought her hand down, "like Tom and Jenny Clayton, two or three of the faculty members, or even Paul's date, Serena."

"I can't imagine what the motive would be for any of them," Daniel commented, as he also sipped his tea, "well except the Claytons and their unexplained Boston accents," he off-handedly remarked as Kate grinned.

It was now getting very late, past midnight.

"Do you want me to stay?" Kate asked.

Though Daniel's expression gave little away, the unexpected invitation took him by surprise, "What? "

Too late, Kate realized her question could...insinuate other ideas.

"What I meant, Daniel," she explained further, "was that my staying here would be a safeguard that might help ease your mind."

His internal mind suddenly kicked in: Natalie sat on his right side in the empty chair,giving Daniel an empathetic look, "Kate just wants to make sure you're alright. I think it's a good sign that she wants to protect you. She cares for you, Daniel."

Kate watched as Daniel seemed to be lost in thought, staring at the empty chair next to him. She often wondered what went on his head. Did he actually see these people all the time, or did he just hear them? If he reached out, could he touch them? She watched his expression change from one of concentration to one of being disagreeable at the chair. At last he turned to her.

No, that's fine, Kate, I have Lewicki here."

He then looked back over to Natalie, who was dismissively shaking her head.

"Alright, Daniel, " Kate forced a smile, "you probably won't need me anyway...nothing seriously bad will happen tonight, anyway."

Kate reached out her hand and lightly touched his shoulder to reassure him. It was meant to comfort him, but instead it lingered. Daniel stiffened, his expression conveying uncertainty but not disapproval.

And both were thinking of the light kiss they had shared.

Kate senses were on high alert as, her hand next slid up to the hot nape of his neck. Immediately Daniel felt the ripple of nerves along his neck as his body slightly quivered. Kate had a catch in her breathing at his reaction. She quickly withdrew her hand and looked awkwardly around the kitchen, before slowly turning back to him.

"I... should be going." There was a reluctance in her tone.

"Yeah...alright..." Daniel said, though neither one moved.

An awkward silence followed.

"Hope your birthday was happy, Daniel," she said, looking back at him with a self conscious smile.

"Thanks," Daniel smiled back.

The night that had started so well had ended with a murder, and Kate wished there was a way for it to end on a high note. Then she had an idea.

"Daniel, I just remembered something," she tried to sound enthused, "You haven't opened your presents yet!"

"Oh, right...but that's something I can certainly do that tomorrow..."

"Nonsense! Aren't you curious what about your presents?" she inquired, "Tell you what, I'll just go out and bring them in here…" she volunteered, immediately shooting out of her seat;

"No, Kate, it's not necessary…" Daniel began, but knew it was useless as she was already well on her way.

Alone in the kitchen, Daniel sighed and sat back as internal Natalie came back,"She doesn't want to leave Daniel. Don't you see? She's trying to prolong her stay here."

"Even if that's true, Nat," Daniel began, "She...we...well, I don't have to tell YOU what happened tonight."

Natalie gave him a sad look, "Daniel, don't you don't want to be happy?"

Daniel knew Natalie was only a hallucination, but she was the only person he could speak to from his heart, "I've already allocated a certain amount of happiness for myself—and that shouldn't include Kate," he reasoned, "she deserves a higher kind of happiness."

There would be no response from Natalie, for the kitchen door suddenly swung opened once again. Kate walked steadily back into the kitchen, but to Daniel's surprise, she held no presents in her arms.

And from the look of her distressed face, Daniel could tell something was terribly wrong. He slowly stood up in his seat as he addressed her.

"Kate," he asked insistently, "What is it?"

Kate did not say a word. Instead she robotically brought up her right arm that had been hidden from view. In her hand she held a white envelope, with Daniel's name printed in familiar-looking capital letters.

"This envelope was found behind the presents, Daniel," Kate stated evenly, handing him the envelope, "I thought you might want to see it right away…"

He seemed to reluctantly reach out to take hold of it. He had difficulty opening each one, but he managed to take out the lone white sheet from the envelope. Inside, alongside the cut-out letters of H, Y, S, T, was the letter "I" with a gray background and the letter "C", set against a purple background.

"Two letters this time?" Kate wondered, "I think our Naughty Letter Mailer is getting more bold."

"'Hystic?" Daniel murmured to himself. His mind ran through all combination of anagrams and other letter sequences but came up with nothing.

"I don't know what the letter could mean, but it's still possible that Hilda Jones could have been the one to leave the envelope," Kate pointed out, "after all, she was here at the party and could have easily left it among the unguarded gifts."

"True," recalled Daniel, "and you and I had been..." he paused, "...previously occupied."

Both were remembering the dance and then kiss they had shared. They had to force themselves to get back on the case.

"If the letters are connected to Hilda Jones, we may never know the significance," Kate reasoned, "the solution to the letters may have died along with her."

"Whether or not it had to do with Hilda Jones," Daniel stated determinedly, "I think we need to solve mysteries of the letters."

The idea that the letter would remain unsolved was outside the realm of Daniel's reality. He was obviously not ready to give up, a quality Kate admired.

"We won't quit, then," Kate concurred.

"Hystic, hystic..." Daniel kept running the words in his mind, "We've been thinking that if this was an anagram, it represented one word. Or it was the initials of a phrase or organization. But maybe its neither."

"So what else is there to consider, Daniel?"

"Maybe hystic represents two words."

Kate scowled, "Two words?"

"Yes, maybe we need to separate the coded message like 'his tick' or 'hi stick' would fit in." He shrugged, "It's a possibility we haven't considered yet."

"I get it...yeah...two words," Kate's lower lip was trembling as she fought a grin, "Here's a possibility: Don't let Dr. Pierce's academia mind fool you. His shtick is solving cases for the FBI."

Daniel stared at her, "Okay, forget about the two-word theory, then."

"It's forgotten," she smiled, "...and it really is late and since you won't be needing me, I better be going, then."

Daniel hated the thought of her leaving, but after all, he was the one who made the decision to not have her stay.

"Of course," he said, hiding his disappointment, "I'll walk you to the door."

When they got to the front door, Kate turned towards him. He watched her, seemingly waiting for something, to happen, though neither one knew what it was.

"Quite a night," she stated when they got to the door.

Daniel acknowledged with a nod, "Yeah, it was."

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight." she said.

"Listen to classical music," he suggested.

The idea seemed to come from out of the blue.

"Classical music?"she questioned, You mean I should use it as a lullaby?Are you implying that it'll make me drowsy?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all, Kate. Drowsy is the wrong word, although classical music can lower heart rates, blood pressure and perceptions of exertion," Daniel was sounding as though he were delivering a lecture, "that because it's been proven that listening to classical music can have a relaxing impact, And more importantly, it has beneficial organizing effects on the brain -it might even help you solve the puzzle of the letters."

"Really?" Kate was actually intrigued, "and why's that?"

"Active listening to classical music trains people to have longer attention spans. Many great classical compositions begin with very simple themes which are then expanded upon and manipulated in complex ways that require more mental powers as the piece develops."

"Hmmm," Kate considered, "I never thought of it that way."

"People who think that the reason they'll fall asleep to classical music because it's boring or slow is wrong," Daniel explained, "classical music makes a mind sleepy because the person's brain gets tired out from thinking."

Kate really loved that Daniel was exceptional at making her view the world differently.

"I'll keep that in mind," she promised.

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It was early morning. and Kate had still not gone to bed as she sat in her living room sofa, lost in thought. She had an opened book in her lap, but she had not read a single word. Instead, her mind had drifted. The series of letters sent to Daniel were not any closer to being solved, and now there was a murder to contemplate.

Restless, she got up and turned on her stereo. She needed some music to help fill the emptiness of her apartment. A rock and roll song immediately blasted her room. Too loud. As she switched stations, there was pop, hip hop, jazz. Nothing seemed to appeal to her.

Kate sighed.

She'd never fall asleep. Still fiddling with the stations, she was about to quit when she came across a classical music station and she remembered what Daniel had said about it being complex and could help her think.

"Air on the G String" by Bach was playing, but instead of switching stations, she closed her eyes and attempted to really listen to the string-laden music. On the rare occasions she had heard classical music, it was always in the background...music heard while shopping, dining at a swank restaurant or watching a movie. But now, with her eyes shut, she was able to isolate the music in her head.

Her thoughts of the night and the murder were still on her mind, but it didn't come in static images. Now she was able to compartmentalize each idea leisurely. The murder, for instance. The first thing she needed to do was to find out more about the victim. That's the key, isn't it? She could find out where Hilda Jones lived -she has access to FBI information gathering, after all. Yes, that's what needs to be done. Then her mind drifted to the dance and the kiss. Even if it was just a one time, crazy thing they did, she would have the memory. She gave a satisfied sigh and allowed the music to alleviate any leftover stress from the day.

Slowly she began to understand what it was that had always mesmerized Daniel about listening to classical music. It was like profound meditation for her soul.

And like Daniel, it captured her imagination. She felt as though she was floating a cloud of peacefulness. She pushed aside the myriad of other unsolved questions. Laying down on sofa, she continued to savor memories of the day, of dancing with him, or being held by him. The optimistic, wonderful thoughts of Daniel allowed her to breathe contently as the sonata completed the last of its sustained notes.

And soon her mind became weary and she was fast asleep.

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(Did everyone see the finale? I thought it was very good, but again, where were the D/K moments?)

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