Chapter Four

Today is Your Turn

Celina watched from a distance as the bomb squad examined the package addressed to Bradford, she then looked sideways at her training officer. "Do you really think this is connected to that horrible serial killer?"

Nolan swallowed; his mouth suddenly dry. "Over the years I've come much closer to Rosalind's evil than I have wanted and I believe that - even after her death - her legacy lives on through some other wicked and deranged person."

Celina followed Nolan's gaze to Bradford who was saying something to the bomb squad leader and shook his hand. The sergeant then nodded at Lucy to head for the car.

Nolan swiftly moved toward the others. "What was it?" he asked curiously.

"False alarm," Tim replied with annoyance as he gave the other man what looked like a birthday card.

"Well, what was in there?" Celina asked curiously as she nodded at the house.

"Apparently, nothing, absolutely nothing," Lucy replied as she smirked at Tim. "You seem to owe Lieutenant Barwood an – and I quote - enormous favor to be called in at any time."

Bradford pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure.

Celina shrugged. "I don't get it, why deliver a package with your name on it here without a reason?"

"Maybe to see if we took it seriously?" Nolan reasoned.

The radio suddenly crackled to life. "Home invasion at Miracle Mile 101. The owner reported seeing a clown standing in the living room," the dispatcher said.

Tim snatched the radio from his belt in annoyance. "If it's the same one who delivered this package I want a word with him," he explained to the trio and then keyed the microphone to speak. "7-adam-100 responding."

Nolan watched as Tim and Lucy got into their shop and left. He unfolded the card he'd gotten from Bradford and froze.

Celina sensed something was wrong as she drew near and peered at the card. "Today is your turn," she read out loud, a frown on her face, as she turned to her training officer. "I don't understand?"

Nolan lengthened his stride, on his way to the car. "I think Tim takes this to lightly," he said with concern as he keyed his radio. "7-adam-15 assisting 7-adam-100 at Miracle Mile 101."

"7-adam-15 assisting 7-adam-100 at Miracle Mile 101," the dispatcher confirmed.

"I am not so sure Sergeant Bradford would appreciate assistance at a home invasion," Celina reasoned. "Sounded like a regular follow up."

"Like he said, these clowns keep popping up at too many places for it to be a coincidence. Whoever sent them has some serious agenda." Nolan glanced at his rookie and nodded at her phone. "Call Sergeant Grey for me."

Officer Juarez punched in the number to their CO. If she thought it was a strange request, she didn't voice it.

"This is Grey," came the somewhat harsh reply.

"Sir, it's Nolan. Listen, I didn't want to take this over the radio. I know this is going to sound strange but hear me out," he began.

Grey frowned as he watched Lopez and Harper arrive outside his office. He waved at them to enter.

"We followed a clown to Lakeview 1503. He delivered a package to an empty house. We called it in and went to take a stroll around the building. Tim and Lucy showed up a few minutes later; after a field supervisor had been requested to the address by a Lieutenant Dyer from the LAFD to the scene."

"Harper and Lopez are here," Grey informed. "I am putting you on speaker."

"That's when we noticed that the package was addressed to Bradford."

Not having heard the beginning, Lopez and Harper shared a curious frown.

"Tim received a gift at a random location?" Angela smirked. "Sweet. What's he done to deserve that?"

"Something is up," Nolan said seriously. "Celina and I followed the clown to the house out of curiosity but - like I said - Tim and Lucy got called there by a Lieutenant Dyer from the LAFD."

"Okay," Harper broke in, looking deadly serious all of a sudden. "We just left a crime scene with a dead young woman who was disturbingly like your fiancée Bailey. She drowned in a water tank at the clean water facility as planned."

"Wow," Grey held up his hands. "As planned?"

"We discovered a tattoo on the left side of her torso, at the exact same spot where Lucy got hers."

"The day of death," Nolan deadpanned over the open line.

"That's it," Grey said. "I am going to recall the four of you to the station until further notice. I'll have someone go and get Bailey too."

"Is she gunning for Lucy this time around?" Lopez mused curiously. "Then why not address the package to her?"

"It was a birthday card-," John explained, "-there was a single line written on it - today is your turn."

Angela's eyes darkened as she clenched her hands into fists. "By hurting Tim, she will hurt Lucy."

"Rosalind won't be able to hurt anyone, she is dead," Harper reminded her.

"This is something she set into motion before her death," Lopez mused. "It's a game. What does clowns do? They entertain their audience."

"If this is instigated by Rosalind, I seem to be missing the fun," Grey replied sarcastically.

"We're going to aide Bradford and Chen at a home invasion at Miracle Mile," Nolan replied. "We'll make sure they're coming back with us."

"I'll hold you to that," Grey said seriously. "If you're not back within the hour I'll send someone else to look for you."

OOOOOO

Harper retrieved her ringing phone from her pocket and noted that the caller was Bailey. "I've got to take this."

"Thank God," the firefighter said with relief. "I've been trying to get a hold of John and then Grey but no one answered. Please tell me everything is fine."

Harper froze. "Everyone is okay," she assured her. "Is there as special reason as to why you would believe otherwise?"

Grey and Lopez shared a dark and worried look as Harper put Nune on speaker.

"I got a delivery from a clown," Bailey let on. "It was a giftwrapped box with a single handwritten card inside. It said; Take care of John, with love Rosalind."

"Okay, the guessing is over. It is our lovely serial killer's doing," he said to the two detectives in his office. "Bailey, this is Sergeant Grey. Just playing a hunch here but you don't really have anyone by the name of Lieutenant Dyer back at LAFD, have you?"

There was a moment of hesitation. "There is no one with that name here but the LAFD is a big organization and Dyer is not that uncommon as a surname. Why? Has something happened? Except for the birthday card thing?"

"Don't leave the station. I'll have someone come and get you," he countered seriously.

"I am not the one in danger," Bailey protested. "I'll tell my lieutenant I have somewhere I need to go-,"

"It's not negotiable," Grey commanded. "Sit tight."

As the call ended, the iPad sitting on the watch commander's desk suddenly lit up. The countdown changed once again. This time to 24 minutes and 7 seconds.

"What is that?" Lopez asked.

"A funny thing I got from a clown," he replied sarcastically. "Our technical department came up empty trying to find a backdoor. Now I am waiting for Metro to have a go at it."

Smitty knocked on the door, a package under his arm.

The trio in the office stared at him for a moment before Grey waved at him to come inside.

"I don't know if the whole city is going crazy but I found this clown guy down by the food truck. He was looking for Chen. I said I could give this to her."

Lopez all but wrestled the package from him and put it down on Grey's desk. She ripped the wrapping open and retrieved a card with the headline 'Congratulations'. She looked at it and paled.

"What is it?" Smitty asked.

Angela swallowed as she started to read aloud. "Lucy, my dear Lucy. I used to be good at reading people but last time I got it all wrong. As much as I loved to watch you suffer on your own in your little barrel, nothing would have given me more pleasure than to watch you lose the one person you can't live without. I am sorry I thought it was Sanford. I should have known you had better taste. Say goodbye to your fierce protector for me."

OOOOOO

"Miracle Mile, huh?" Lucy said.

"Yeah, it's quite a story behind it," Tim replied as he parked the car.

"I bet," she mused as she started looking for the right address. "It's over there, third one to our right."

Tim retrieved his gun from his belt and ducked behind a row of cars.

"Do you think he's still there?" Lucy asked as she peered over the rim of Tim's shoulder. "The clown," she clarified.

"Dispatch this is 7-adam-100. We're on site. Request additional information of the situation. Was there any indication of an armed intruder?"

"7-adam-100, dispatch. Negative, the intruder was not carrying a weapon."

Lucy frowned as she spotted Nolan and Juarez shop glide up and stop a few feet away.

The training officer and his rookie made their way towards them, running and ducking low behind the row of cars.

Bradford glared at them.

"Thought we might be needed for backup," Nolan explained with a sheepish smile.

"Any particular reason for that?" the sergeant said somewhat annoyed as he straightened and began to make his way across the street.

Lucy, who had a unique understanding of Nolan's character, could see the worry on his face. "Has something happened?" she asked.

"There's been a development," he let on carefully. "Harper and Lopez just got back from a clean water facility. A woman looking like Bailey had drowned."

Lucy halted in mid-step and turned to her classmate and former fling.

"There is more," Tim guessed, judging by the look on Nolan's face, as the four of them neared the house.

"She had a tattoo," he began regretfully.

"The day of death," Lucy said coldly.

"Feels like one sick joke," Bradford muttered.

Nolan hesitated for a moment. "There was a clown there as well."

Celina looked troubled but she had been quiet the whole time. She stared at the large wooden front door and steeled herself for what was to come. "I don't like this. My intuition tells me-"

"Stay focused, Juarez," Tim cut her off as he knocked on the door with one hand and kept the other on the hilt of his gun.

Lucy had her weapon drawn and ready. "You told me to listen to my instincts," she pointed out.

No one came to the door.

"I told you to use your cop eyes," Tim replied a little harsher than intended.

"Why doesn't anyone answer the door?" Celina asked.

The four of them shared a suspicious look.

Tim and Lucy nodded at each other before Tim turned to John and Celina. "You stay here, we'll go around the back," he said.

Nolan nodded and reached for his radio. "Dispatch 7-adam-15. We have joined 7-adam-100 at Miracle Mile. No one seems to be home. Entering the premises for a welfare check."

"7-adam-15 confirmed."

Nolan put his radio back in his belt as Celina took position at the door.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the house, Tim and Lucy crouched low behind a large bush.

"Do you see anything?" he asked curiously.

"The door is standing ajar," she replied. "I don't see any movement inside but I think there is a body on the floor."

They made their way to the terrace, Tim squeezing through the partly open glass-door first with Lucy right behind as John and Celina entered the house from the other side.

"Police!" Nolan shouted.

Bradford and Chen glanced around the room and split up to cover the ground floor. As they met the others in the hallway, Tim nodded at Nolan and Juarez to head upstairs.

"Clear," Chen shouted from her end.

"Clear," Bradford replied.

They met up again on their way back to the kitchen.

"The door to the basement is locked," Lucy said.

"Let's deal with that later," he replied and headed for the young man who lay in a pole of blood at the kitchen sink.

Lucy knelt next to him, checking for a pulse she knew to be nonexistent, and then reached for the hem of his expensive shirt. She swallowed as her brain registered today's date crudely marked on his skin.

At the same time Tim reached for his wallet and retrieved his ID. "Great," he muttered.

Lucy looked at him. "What?"

"His name is Tim," Bradford replied sarcastically.

There was a click coming from behind the basement door.

The two of them whirled around in bewilderment.

"What was that?" Lucy asked.

OOOOOO

To be continued