Chapter 12
"There isn't much here, is there?" Sarah asked as she looked over the file that Mika had handed Charlie and he had handed her some twenty minutes ago. Her two favorite SJPD officers had showed up to find that she was not sleeping as the nurses would have liked.
"No, but there had to be a reason that he was targeted. I mean why send someone with a hair trigger to him?" Her boyfriend wondered. He could tell she was restless, honestly, she was almost as bad as he was when he was in the hospital. Rex had taken up his position on the bed, next to the Chief of Forensics' legs. Charlie was in a chair, which was pulled as close to the bed as possible.
"Well, I've been wondering about that – you know, in my downtime," she teased him.
"Oh?" Charlie gave her a look before smiling.
"Admittedly, I don't have detective training, but even at the scene I was wondering why someone would kill their therapist. It wasn't just that though – it was the way he was killed," Sarah said.
"The shotgun – it just keeps popping up," he frowned and shook his head.
"Precisely. Tim Watkins let his killer in – as a therapist, working out of his home, he would be used to letting strangers in," she started.
"So maybe assuming he knew his killer isn't right. Maybe he was expecting a patient," Charlie said.
"You can't hide a shotgun though. The minute Tim Watkins opened the door…" Sarah trailed off.
"The gun was in his face. Somehow, they make their way through the house, and our killer made him lay down on the item of a therapist's profession – the couch," he gave her a look.
"And our killer shoots him. He opens the windows and leaves knowing full well that Danny Bauman was coming after him in the morning to make it look like a struggle occurred, when in fact, it did not," Charlie said.
"Exactly. Danny is looking for photos that never existed at Tim Watkins' place. He's knocking over furniture, pulling out drawers, stealing the computer…" he interrupted her.
"Tim Watkins' computer wasn't at Danny's place," he let her know.
"Our killer must have taken it. He was after that and he let Danny hide the theft of that too," Sarah pointed out.
"What did I tell you – most important part of the team. I'm going to call Parsons and let her know what we think. If she can find Tim Watkins' calendar or planner, we might know who our killer is," Charlie said, standing from his chair.
"You're not going to go?" She asked before he left the room.
"Not a chance. Mika, Jesse, and Joe have this," he gave her a smile before ducking out into the hallway.
"How's he doing Rex?" Sarah asked her fluffy companion, who had gradually been "sneaking" up closer to the reach of her arms. He wasn't very good at it but she was glad for him to be there. In response to her question, Rex whined and she petted him.
"Yeah, I kind of figured. How about you?" She wanted to know. The dog gave her a look before licking her arm.
"I love you too," Sarah gave him a smile and she continued to pet him. A few minutes later, Charlie walked back into the room.
"Mika sends her best and promised to check with Kelly to see if a planner was found. She's hoping it wasn't just on the missing computer," he told her as he retook his seat next to the bed.
"That's good. I wish we could see his patient list, but that is not allowed – as it should be – patient confidentiality is key for them to trust their therapist or physician," Sarah said.
"How would a patient know who the other patients were?" Charlie suddenly asked.
"They wouldn't. Unless the person in question said it to them. This means that Danny knows who the killer is – probably doesn't even realize it. Maybe our killer and Danny run in the same circles – though I would hate to think a veteran of our armed services did this. How is Danny?" She wanted to know. It was just like her to be more concerned about someone else – even if it was the man who shot her.
"He's not well. Mika said that it'll be at least a few more days before anyone can talk to him," he informed her as he took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over her fingers. Sarah heaved a sigh and winced. Charlie hated seeing her like this.
"Are you in a lot of pain?" He asked.
"They have me on some pretty good medications. So much so I forget that I need to be careful," she gave him a slight smile before continuing,
"I don't want you treating me like a paper doll, Charlie Hudson." The look that crossed her face reminded him of Mai for a moment or two – she meant business.
"I would never, but that doesn't mean you won't deserve to be treated like the doctors say you need to be," he reminded her.
"Fair enough," she said. Charlie leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"Have I said it enough?" He suddenly asked and she immediately responded and gave him a wink,
"Of course, but I'll never tire of hearing it." That made him smirk.
"Well, I'll not tire of saying it then. I love you," he told her.
"I love you too," she smiled. Rex whined a little and they chuckled.
"We love you too pal," Charlie promised.
To Be Continued…