Henry had spent the majority of his evening pouring over his old case notes from 1902 through 1905. Taking notes on each case had become a habit long ago. It all started in medical school. One of his professors had encouraged his students to take notes. From that point on, Henry found comfort in being able map out his journey to the truth. That was why he never heard Abe come down the stairs.
"What is going on with you?"
This questions stirred Henry from his thoughts and back into the present. "Pardon?"
Abe came over to him, giving him that knowing look. "Something has been bothering you for the past two days, and I just want to know what is going on."
"Nothing is going on," Henry said. But he knew this wasn't the truth, and his conscience pricked swiftly at his heart. "I'm sorry, Abe, that is a lie. We are working on a case that is...rather unnerving."
"In what way?" He asked, leaning against a table near by.
"Do you remember the case we worked on a couple weeks ago? The Jack the Ripper case?"
He nodded, but remained silent.
"This case has the same feel to it. It looks exactly like several cases I worked on long before you were born. The killer preyed on women - three women - to be exact."
"Oh yes, I remember you telling me about that one," Abe said quietly. "Is that the one where the third woman was associated with the police?"
Henry was now the one to nod silently.
"Oh..."
"What?" He asked, knowing full well what that 'Oh' meant. That particular word, in that particular tone, always came out when Abe believed himself to be in on some secret piece of information.
Abe smiled knowingly. "You're worried about Jo."
The declaration came out as a statement, not a question, and that irritated Henry slightly. Abe had always been the type of person who wanted to get straight to the point; no dancing around the truth. So, naturally, it made sense that he would call Henry's bluff. Henry, however, wished he could have let the truth come out in his own way.
"Yes," He said matter-of-factly. "I am worried about Jo."
"It's only natural. You spend a good portion of your time with the Detective. I would be worried if you didn't care about her."
The words "care about her" bounced off the walls in his mind. They could mean something as simple as friendly concern, but had the potential to go much farther than that. Did this sudden concern for Jo stem from general concern for his friend, or something more? If it was general concern, then Henry need not think about the subject any further. He would do what needed to be done to make sure Jo was safe. It was simple as that.
However, if his concern stemmed from something more...intimate, then what would he do? Despite his best efforts to conceal the truth his mind was speaking to his heart, it was to no avail. He would give his very life to make sure Jo was okay.
"So, are you going to tell her about the other cases? You know, the one's you worked on before..." Abe's voice trailed off, uncertain of how to finish his sentence.
Henry blinked several times, trying to refocus his mind on Abe's question. "It would be beneficial for both of us, if I mentioned them."
"That isn't what I asked," He said smirking.
Henry rolled his eyes slightly, before rising from his desk. "Don't you have a shop to tend to?"
Abe's laughter filled his ears as he watched his son ascend the stairs. He couldn't help but smile softly, as he thought about Abe's comments and questions. As he grew up, Henry saw a million of Abigail's qualities in him. Yet amidst all those traits, there was one thing Abe possessed that was clearly his own. Determination. It was this determination which caused Henry to make a crucial decision.
He would be as honest with Jo about the other cases - as honest as he could be, anyway.
Jo sighed, rubbing her temples. She had been sitting at this desk for several hours, looking through the meager amount of evidence they had acquired over the last few days. Despite her best efforts, she had hit a wall. There just wasn't enough to even figure out where the actual murder scene was located.
Memories of her last time at the crime scene flashed through her mind. The excitement on Henry's face in finding the golf cart was enough to ease her frustrations slightly. However, as thoughts of not a single print on the cart passed through her mind, her frustration returned. Certainly, there must be something to get this case moving.
"Jo?"
Jo looked up to find Henry standing in front of her desk. He had his hands behind his back - his signature posture - and was smiling politely. "What is it, Henry?"
"There is something I think you should know." He paused a moment. "About the case."
Her eyes lit up at the prospect of making some headway in this dreary murder investigation. "What is it?"
Taking his hands from behind his back, he revealed a small stack of papers. "This case looked awfully familiar to something I had seen - another murder case. Look through the papers and you'll see what I mean."
With that, Henry turned and made his way back to the morgue. Jo was slightly startled by how quickly he had left. Normally, when there was another step taken toward finding a killer, Henry was eager to be involved in every part. He wanted to know every detail, every tidbit of information. Whatever he had found must have made him uncomfortable.
"That's weird," She mumbled to herself, as she began looking over the papers. It took her all of fifteen minutes to finish, and when she was done, things began to fall into place.
Henry was right; the cases listed here looked exactly like the one they were trying to solve. Thoughts of their "Jack the Ripper" case filled her mind. Certainly, they couldn't have another copycat killer on their hands. Granted, these types of cases weren't rare, but you never saw two within weeks of one another. Yet, if this was a copycat killer, then maybe they could predict the killers next move and prevent it.
Jo stood up and was about to go into Reece's office when something caught her eye. At the bottom of the page she was holding, there was a paragraph about the third victim in these cases. Her eyes widened slightly at what she saw.
Third victim was always a woman; specifically a woman associated with the police department.
The reality of the last three days hit her like a freight train. If Henry had these cases on his mind, then she understood why he was so out of sorts. Throwing the papers back onto her desk, Jo made her way quickly over to elevator. If they were going to make any more headway on this case, she needed to know if her suspicions were correct.
Henry wasn't worried about Abe.
He was worried about her.
Henry had his hands in some man's stomach when Jo came in. He didn't even realize she was there until she was standing on the other side of the autopsy table. They both stood there silently for awhile; Henry continuing with the autopsy and Jo simply watching.
"I may have some understanding of how the brain works, but I cannot read it, Detective," He said finally, smirking slightly as he looked up at her.
"I didn't want to disturb you."
He pulled off his gloves and directed Lucas to take over. Walking over to the sink, he pulled off the rest of his gear and began to wash his hands thoroughly. "I presume you read the papers I gave you."
She nodded. "Yes, I have. You may be right; there could be a connection between those cases and the one we are working on now. Copycat killer."
"Yes, those were my thoughts," He said, looking up at her and then turning to walk into his office. To Henry's surprise, Jo shut the door behind her. Obviously, there was more she wanted to talk about than simply the case. "Something on your mind?"
Jo hesitated slightly before deciding to plunge right on into the conversation. "There is something I need to know, and I want you to be completely honest with me."
"Of course."
"Are you afraid I might be the next victim?"
Her question caught him completely off guard. First, his heart was filled with panic. A million excuses to give Jo flooded his mind. Excuses that would make him look less vulnerable. Excuses to make his concern for her simply that of a friend. However, as each response seemed foolish in his mind, something else began to fill his heart.
Pride.
Jo had figured out the source of his anxiety with nothing more than a centuries old case file, and few words from himself. Henry knew she was a bright young woman, but seeing the depth of her ability to interpret what was going on around her was exciting. A smile began to tug at his lips, and the prospect of confessing is fear for her didn't seem so daunting.
"Yes."
Jo smiled softly, and Henry could have sworn he saw a slight blush appear on her cheeks. "You don't need to worry about me, Henry. We don't even know if these killings are going to match the cases you showed me."
He nodded, and walked around his desk to stand in front of her. "I know that, but I want to make sure you're safe."
She smiled again, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm pretty sure I'm in good hands."