Chapter 8

"Hey Jesse," Charlie smiled at the younger man as he held the door for Rex and Joe. His partner headed to his post over by the windows and his boss got on the phone with his boss, giving him an update. Jesse, meanwhile, practically bolted out of his chair and unexpectedly hugged the elder detective.

"We're going to catch this guy," Charlie told him, feeling a little awkward but knowing that Jesse's heart was in the right place. He was almost as worried about Sarah as he was. They were a tight knit little group and it hit hard that one of them was injured.

"How is she?" Jesse asked as he let go of his coworker.

"Better. We had a slip up, but she's on the mend," the elder detective promised.

"Good. Not that I'm not grateful to see you but why…" Jesse gave him a look.

"Sarah's parents came in from Toronto. They're with her now. Joe brought me up to date. We're hoping you have something," Charlie said.

"Glad that her parents are here. As far as the case, we're not getting lucky in the forensics department. Whoever mailed the envelope left no fingerprints on it or the pictures. The only prints the mailman's. Kelly is checking to see if she can get DNA off the envelope seal. Hopefully, our guy licked it shut. There are no prints on the photos," Jesse explained.

"With any luck if there is some DNA and it's in the system. What about the pictures themselves? Get any hits on your end?" Charlie wondered.

"I had to digitally age the adult in the pictures, so far, no hits. I checked with neighbors to see if they had any doorbell cameras or anything. All we got was Danny's car going through the neighborhood but I got to thinking – why would our picture person kill Danny's therapist? Regrettably, the crimes that were committed in those photos are past the statute of limitations. No charges can be filed," the newly minted detective frowned.

"While charges couldn't be filed on those particular crimes, lives could still be ruined if the photos got out. Or, as stomach churning as it is, our offender could still be offending. If Tim Watkins found out, he'd be duty bound to report it, as innocents could be in danger or crimes could be in the process of being committed," his friend and coworker pointed out.

"So, our guy sends the photos to Danny, hoping he'll keep his mouth shut. As Danny said himself, he was worried that his family would see them. Somehow though Danny gets his hands on a shotgun and kills his therapist?" Jesse was confused.

"There is a second person involved here for sure. We did not see it immediately, but why would Danny come back to the scene with a handgun if he had a shotgun?" Charlie wondered.

"But Danny said that Tim Watkins had the pictures. What would make him think that?" Jesse asked.

"Well, that is a problem but we also know that Danny wasn't in his right mind at the time he was saying this. Still, someone tore apart Tim Watkins' place," Charlie nodded.

"Hey guys," Kelly said as she came through the Major Crimes door.

"Hey, what do you have?" Charlie asked.

"DNA on the envelope seal. I'm running it now. Also, the only foreign fingerprints we found around Tim Watkins' house were Danny's," she told them.

"Even on the windows?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Even on the windows," Kelly confirmed.

"So, Danny tears through the house looking for the photos which were actually back at his place. The only evidence of someone else being there then would be the shotgun wound. Our guy covers his tracks…" Charlie trailed off and Jesse and Kelly gave him a look, wondering what triggered the detective to pause.

"What if we're looking at this the wrong way?" Charlie started back up after a few moments.

"What do you mean?" Kelly raised an eyebrow.

"What if someone knew that Danny was a fuse to be lit? They try to pin the whole thing on Danny, but they aren't careful. They make sure to not leave fingerprints or DNA – minus the envelope seal – but instead of using a handgun, they went shotgun. Danny comes in, finds his therapist dead, knowing that someone is going to eventually notice, and he starts tearing apart the house, looking for photos that don't actually exist," Charlie posited.

"The only prints on the envelope were the mailman's. There were no prints on the pictures. Danny wouldn't wear gloves to look at them. He would have just opened the envelope and pulled them out," Kelly said.

"Leaving prints behind… the photos were planted. Someone was inside Danny's place," Charlie said.

"His wife, Chloe, was on a business trip. She wasn't home and the photos were inside a footlocker that Danny had in the back of the closet," Jesse told them.

"That's awfully elaborate, isn't it?" Kelly was incredulous.

"She's got a point," Charlie nodded.

"Well doesn't mean that I won't search for a person that would know Danny Bauman and Tim Watkins. Neither place showed signs of a break in," Jesse reminded him.

"Start there and see if Watkins had any enemies. Joe said that he had an impeccable reputation and yet he's still dead," Charlie said. Detective Parsons interrupted them by sticking her head through the door of the Major Crimes unit.

"Hudson, we've got a lead. You want in?" She asked. Charlie looked at Rex.

"Yeah. What kind of lead?" He wanted to know.

"Something about a shotgun," Parsons winked.

To Be Continued…