My Beautiful Doll
Warning: Nothing. It's a safe chapter
A/N: Hey! So I'm still alive guys! Sorry for the inactivity. As I've stated in my other story, I've pretty busy. Speedrunning essays (don't recommend, especially if it's 15 pages long), starting work and then taking up lot of shifts because it's my first few weeks, and then handling other stuff. But my schedule is clearing up a bit so now I'm able to be back to my consistent upload schedule of one chapter a week plus another one chapter story maybe once every two weeks. I might make more depending on of the writing god are blessing me at the moment, but for now that would be my schedule. So don't worry, I am not abandoning this story ever. I'm planning to have either 25-30 chapters so hold on tight because this is going to be a long ride. Someone please pray for the poor boy because I will put him through a lot of shit. Anyways, that's all from me and have a nice day!
Baker took a sip of his coffee after he heard Don's tale, his face calm and serious. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Don shrugged, "I'll be fine," he smiled. "What we need to focus on now is getting this bastard into jail".
"The problem is, how?" Gary said, "I mean he's evaded us so far."
Baker looked at Don with a contemplative look on his face. Don was about to ask him but Gary managed to cut through, "Absolutely not" he hissed.
"He's the best lead we have!"
"He is, but we are NOT putting him back into that situation!"
"Uh, guys?"
"He will be protected!"
"We all know this man is intelligent. He WILL find a way to get through all the precautions we've put in place. Can you guarantee his safety then?!"
"Guys?"
"It might be risky but it's a chance I'll take!"
"Will you be able to look his family and team in the eye knowing that you put him in danger all for a CHANCE of catching this person?!"
"GUYS!" Don shouted, exasperated. Both Baker and Gary ceased their fighting to stare at him. Don crossed his arms, annoyed, "I'm right here you know".
"Right…" Baker muttered, embarrassed.
"Eppes, you can't possibly agree to this" Gary said, "everyone would kill you if they found out".
"And I'd like to stay alive thank you very much,". Turning towards Baker, he said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not really stoked to be bait. Not this time at least". He leaned back, sighing, "We'll try another way first, then if all else fails, we'll do Baker's plan as our last resort". He gave both of them a pointed look, raising his eyebrow, "Okay?".
They both looked like they wanted to object, but it seems like they thought better because they both sighed at the same time before nodding. "Fine," Baker said, glaring at Gary.
Gary put his hands up, "Well it's not all hopeless. We have a plan, right Don?"
Don nodded, "right". He then started to explain the outline of what they are planning to do. Once he was done, Baker leaned back, contemplating. "So…?" Don asked.
"It would be a lot of reading," Baker muttered, but then he looked at Don, a grin on his face, "but it could work". Reaching for a notebook in his breast pocket, Baker placed it on the desk. "You were right about the sister knowing something" Baker stated, "she told me that Annalise was dating a man and that they were planning on having their portraits painted. She gave me a list of phone numbers that Annalise had written down in her search."
"You think that one of them could be the killer?" Gary asked.
"It would make sense for the killer's to be an actual artist in his day job. It could be a way for him to scout his victims" Don said, rifling through the names and phone numbers. "We can cross check them with any of our past victims and the list of visitors in the FBI."
"I don't think he'll be using his name," Gary replied, "At least not in the FBI building. It's too much of a risk". Gary shot Don a look, "He might be obsessed with you, but he's still extremely intelligent".
Don nodded, "You're right. We'll still cross check anyways, but we shouldn't really get our hopes up". Then he handed the book to Baker. "Is there anything else?"
Baker nodded. "I got the address of the boyfriend. I don't think he's in on it but he might have some information regarding the artists they've come across".
Don nodded. "Why don't you get the FBI guest list? Gary can try and track down the numbers and I'll go and wrangle the boyfriend. Sound good?"
Gary gave Don a pointed look. "Didn't we have an agreement Eppes? Or have you already conveniently forgotten about it?"
"Ah…right," Don muttered, remembering the promise they made in the hospital.
"Let's bring the notebook with us so that the boyfriend can try and identify which number is whose, how does that sound?" Gary asked, "that is, if Agent Baker doesn't mind us taking his notebook".
"No problem at all" he grinned, waving his hand around, "feel free to hold onto it". Then he stood up, brushing imaginary dust off of him. "I'll go ahead and get my hands on the logs and hopefully get a head start before you're back."
Don stood up and clapped Baker on the back, a wide grin on his face "Thanks. I appreciate it".
Baker beamed at him, "No problem" before nodding towards Gary and then walking away.
"We should get going too," Don said. Gary nodded in agreement and they both chugged the last of their coffee before standing up. Don grabbed his suit jacket and they both headed to the parking lot.
Once they were both inside the car and on their way out, Don decided to ask Gary, "Did you guys get anything from the bullet I spat out?".
Gary shook his head. "No fingerprints or DNA. But there was a carving of a clock on it."
"A clock?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think it could serve as a reminder?"
Gary shrugged. "Knowing this lunatic? It could mean anything at this point".
Don hummed, "You're right…"
"You know, it would be useful if we had a criminal profiler on hand."
Don rolled his eyes. "I am not calling my team. Not yet at least".
"Then when?" Gary said, exasperated. "Look, I know you're thinking that you're sparing your team from being burnt out, but this is an extremely serious case. One with you in the middle of it".
"I am well aware" Don replied, "But I can't risk my team. You saw the letter. Anyone who stands in his way gets eliminated. I'm already risking both you and Baker's life by being around you. I don't want to risk anyone else's, not if I can help it."
"You do know they're going to kill you if they find out, right?"
"Hopefully it doesn't get to that point."
Gary snorted, "Knowing you, they'll probably arrive at the worst possible time. If that happens, you're on your own."
"And I thought you were here to protect me," Don said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm only protecting you from murderous lunatics, not family members who deserve to deck you for your poor decisions."
"Traitor" Don muttered under his breath, earning a bark of laughter from Gary.
"Call it me having self-preservation instincts Eppes" Gary replied, grinning. "Something that I know is a foreign concept for you".
"You know I can always drop you off at the nearest nursing home old man" Don teased.
"Do that and I'll be glad to spill your recent activities to your team, or better yet, your boys".
Don winced. "Alright…you got me there".
Gary patted Don on the back, "Don't worry Eppes, no one has been able to go against me for years."
"Gee…I wonder why".
Gary laughed, a loud boisterous laugh that was once again, reminiscent of his own father's laugh. It was nice, exchanging jabs with the normally serious senior officer. Don didn't really want to admit it, but he was feeling a little lonely lately with everyone out of the city. As much as this case is stressing me out, it's always nice to talk to an old friend.
Looking over to his left, Don realized that they had reached the boyfriend's house. "We're here" he announced. Don then parked the SUV and they both stepped out, looking around as they did.
The neighbourhood wasn't that bad. It was quite empty and had a small park in the middle. Houses surrounded the area, but because it was in the afternoon, most of the inhabitants were inside. The only things outside were cars and a few children's toys on the lawns.
"Nice place" he said, looking around the area.
"Another tight neighbourhood I suppose,'' Gary replied. Then they both walked up to the house and knocked. After three knocks, a man came to the door. He had glasses, a blue sweater vest, glasses, and training pants on. He looked tired and disheveled, his brown hair a mess on his head. When he saw who was at the door, he sighed.
"I suppose you're here about Anna, aren't you?"
"Yes," Don replied. He pulled out his badge, "I'm Special Agent Don Eppes, this is Lieutenant Gary Walker with the LAPD. May we come in and ask some questions?"
The man nodded, "Sure. I'm Michael Holt by the way" he said, extending his hand for a shake. Don smiled as he shook the man's hand. Then they were both led into the house. Michael motioned them to sit down on the sofa. "What questions do you have for me?"
"Do you know when you last saw Anna?" Don asked, pulling out his notebook.
"I last saw her on Saturday. We were both playing online video games until late at night. She had left the game at around two in the morning. Next thing I know, Marie called me and told me that Anna was gone."
"Do you have any evidence of this?"
Michael nodded. "You can take my computer, it should have all the information you need".
"Thank you," Don smiled.
"By the way, do you know any of these numbers?" Gary asked, placing the notebook on the table. Michael took it and read through it.
"Aren't these the phone numbers of the artists that Anna was planning on hiring for our portrait?"
"Yes," Gary answered. "Can you tell us anything about them?"
Michael nodded, "I can do you one better". Then he got up and went to a drawer. Then he took out a large spiral notebook. He went back to the sofa and placed the planner on the table. "This is the complete list of artists that Anna was looking through. She wrote down their names, dates that she'll meet them, her thoughts on them, and their strengths when it came to art".
Don took the notebook and rifled through the pages, impressed at the detail that had been written down. "Was Anna always this thorough?"
"Yes. She made sure she had notes on everything that was going on in her life, just in case". He gestured to a box that was sitting on the corner, "in fact, I had just finished putting all of her notebooks in that box. I just couldn't really bear to look at them right now" his voice broke at the end.
Don placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, "I understand" he said softly. "The information you gave us is extremely helpful. Do you mind if we took the box as well?"
"Be my guest" the man said, wiping the tears that had started to form again.
"Thank you. I'm sure these would be of help".
"Please just catch whoever did this to her" Michael begged.
Both Don and Gary looked at each other, knowing that promising something is the last thing that anyone should do. "We'll try our best".
It seemed that Michael was happy with the answer because he sagged back in his seat, a small relieved smile on his face. "Thank you both". Then he got up and guided them to the door.
"If you think of anything else, please let me know" Don said before handing the man a card. Michael took the card, nodded, and closed the door.
"Looks like we got more material to wade through" Gary said, looking at the box in Don's hand, the notebook from earlier was placed on top.
"On the bright side, that means we have some possible suspects" Don replied, feeling the exhaustion starting to creep back in. Don hadn't noticed through all the adrenalin but he had barely slept. The only time he did was because someone had decided to conk him on the head. Man, coffee is not a good substitute for sleep, he thought to himself.
It seemed that Gary could tell that Don was standing on his last leg because he placed his arm on Don's shoulder, "get some sleep, Eppes".
Don shook his head, "I need to get this to the office as soon as possible. I also need to try and go through all of these as soon as I can".
Gary shook his head, "It all means nothing if the lead investigator can't even stand upright. Look, I bet even Agent Baker is probably home by now". As if it was rehearsed, Don's phone pinged. Opening it up, it was a message from Baker telling Don that he went home for the night and that he'll continue next thing in the morning. At Gary's raised eyebrow, Don let out a tired sigh.
"You're right."
"When am I not?" Gary teased. "We can take these back to the FBI office, then you can go home and get some proper sleep. You look like you're about to keel over".
"Thanks" Don muttered sarcastically.
"I'm just looking out for you kid" Gary grinned.
Don rolled his eyes but decided that it's best not to fight Gary on this. Not only did Don feel like he might actually collapse if given the chance, he could feel the pain of the injuries start to come back, especially the painful sting on his chest. Maybe some sleep should help, Don thought. So they rode back, discussing what plans to do next along the way.
It wasn't long before they reached the office. The building was still well lit, although the cars were starting to thin out. Looking at his watch, Don realized that it was eight o'clock. He didn't even notice that they took their time talking in the office earlier. Guess time does fly by when you're doing something he mused.
After he dropped the files off, he and Gary went their separate ways. "Be careful and See you in the morning," Gary said.
"You too," Don said before he walked back to his SUV. Before he closed the door, Don inspected the front of his car, just in case the air conditioner was rigged again. He then made sure that his gun was back on its holster. He was grateful that he had managed to get it back so soon since it wasn't used in the crime scene. Once he checked that everything was in place, he got into the car and leaned back, letting out a tired sigh.
He took out his cellphone and scrolled through his contacts, thinking about calling someone. Suddenly, a loud honk reverberated through the empty parking lot. Don jumped, almost dropping his phone in the process. Putting a hand to his racing heart, he looked out the window and saw a car that was pulling out. The honk probably came from them. "Holy shit" Don muttered, feeling the adrenaline slowly leave him. "This damn thing with the Artist definitely spooked me more than I'd like to admit" He rubbed his face tiredly, "freaking bastard. Why me?"
"Why don't you ask me that yourself sweetheart?"
Don stiffened, his hand flying to his gun. But before he could even pull it out, he felt a cool metal pressed against his neck. Looking up at the mirror, he saw that someone was in the back seat, wearing a familiar black mask.
"Damn it," Don cursed, realizing what was happening.
"That's no way to greet your future husband," the man admonished. Don could feel the gun push further into the back of his neck.
"Fuck you" Don hissed, angry at himself for letting his guard down.
"Hello to you too darling" the man said, grinning. "Did you miss me?"
A/N: Oh Donnie, you are far to optimistic sometimes when it comes to your situation. By the way, if anyone is wondering why Gary is so against the idea of using Don as bait even though he's probably done something similar is because the Artist is extremely unpredictable and dangerous. He's also known to be cunning. Gary is used to gang members, people who work within a certain order. Sometimes these things can be predicted if you know how they operate. But a psychopath is about as unpredictable as the lottery numbers. Gary doesn't want to risk that.