Chapter 20

"Did I miss the party?" Charlie asked as he poked his head into the hospital room, only to see that the rest of Sarah's family weren't there.

"Ubon and Dad convinced Mom to go back to the hotel. Even the doctors can't seem to get her to realize that I'm out of the woods. I suppose that's a mother's job though," she smiled at him as Rex hopped up onto the bed and made himself comfortable. Sarah reached down and petted him, which resulted in him licking her arm.

"I missed you too buddy," she told him.

"Well, you worry about Rex when he does his job so I suppose you know what that's like," he gave her a wink as he removed his coat, hung it on the back of the chair next to the bed, and sat down.

"When he was missing, I felt like a piece of me was missing. I think you know what that's like," she gave him a knowing look.

"We were both a bit of a mess, weren't we?" Charlie asked.

"I'd call it a hot mess," she confirmed with a smirk.

"Speaking of hot messes, this case," he shook his head.

"What have you got?" Sarah was eager to hear what had developed since the interview with William.

"Well William's older brother, Robert, is on his way here. I think he can help get Richard to squeal. Right now, though, Lynn is the one who is under arrest," Charlie admitted.

"Whoa what happened there?" Sarah was confused. She thought that they were looking at Lynn as a possible victim.

"Lynn got William to lick the envelope but the video is what did her in. Well, that and her lies to Mika," Charlie started.

"You found her doing something on tape? I thought none of the neighbors had her on their doorbell cameras?" She asked.

"They didn't. Jesse had been going to businesses around Danny's apartment and getting CCTV footage. You'll never guess who we caught sneaking into Danny's building," Charlie said.

"She was the one who handled the envelope," Sarah said.

"It gets worse. The envelope was moved on one day and the next day she's back with a duffle in her hand. Regrettably, the garbage at Danny's was picked up long ago but we figure that Lynn shoved the shotgun down the trash chute," he told her.

"Leaving a bag with gunshot residue all over it in Danny's closet," she shook her head.

"Exactly so. It was enough to haul her in, especially since, based on the car she drives, those tire tracks out back of the crime scene could be hers. Then there was the reason Mika was taking so long down at victim's services. The social worker, Leticia Marcotte, smelled something fishy," Charlie explained.

"Since when do social workers not believe a possible victim?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Joe figured that Lynn's behavior – you know the fiddling with her long sleeves – was to cover up her track marks," he started.

"He said she was nervous and twitchy, but then again she alluded to problems in the Moffat home," Sarah gave him a look.

"There certainly were problems in the Moffat home but when prodded, Lynn would not expound on what was going on. Mika confronted her and said that we knew her father was taking pictures and harming boys. She also told her that we knew that Danny had been one of her father's victims. She had no reaction. No shock, no crying, no nothing. Mika has dealt with a lot of victims, but she could not get a bead on Lynn. So, Leticia suggested that Mika give her and Lynn a few minutes alone," he continued.

"Could we have this wrong? The boys' said Richard was the one they always avoided," his girlfriend wondered. Charlie wagged his finger at her as if to say she was onto something.

"Knowing things were getting a little contentious, Leticia tried to take things down a notch. She changed the subject and asked Lynn about why she kept fiddling with her sleeves. Lynn wouldn't give her a straight answer. According to Mika, that isn't uncommon. People who self-harm often try to hide their marks but the fidgeting was actually drawing attention to her arms. Leticia played her last card; she told Lynn that she could not offer her services or that of the Canadian government if Lynn wouldn't talk to her. Mika swore that she saw a flash of a look on Lynn's face but then it flashed back to that stone cold look she'd put on earlier. Leticia left the room and told Mika that she doesn't think that Lynn was using drugs or self-harming. She thinks there is a wound under those sleeves," he said. Sarah had that look on her face, which told Charlie that she was deep in thought.

"Lynn finds the pictures. She plants them and the gun duffle in Danny's apartment. From all of that, we could safely assume that she sent the e-mail telling Danny about the pictures. We're missing why poor Tim Watkins had to die. Lynn was on his patient list. How'd she get her hands on a shotgun? What is Richard's role?" She fired off her questions.

"While all of this was going on, Jesse was still hard at work. Aiden Moffat had a licensed shotgun for hunting. Jesse is searching his house for the weapon while Joe is searching Lynn's place. The forensics team is stretched a little thin, but Kelly called in everyone who was off shift," Charlie explained.

"Lynn wouldn't be dumb enough to leave the gun at home. I think your trash chute idea was right," Sarah told him.

"Yes, but evidence of a missing shotgun is still evidence. Plus, the photos were enough to get a search warrant for a dead guy's house. While we don't have direct proof that Lynn broke into Danny's apartment, she did not know anyone else in the building. The fact that the duffle in the video ended up in Danny's apartment was enough for the judge to issue a warrant. Lynn is in a cell for the night. The night guard is supposed to keep an eye on her and her arms. Joe sent Mika and me home to get some shut-eye," Charlie explained.

"So naturally, you came here," she said.

"Naturally," he leaned over and kissed her.

"You need to sleep in a bed, not a chair," Sarah said when they parted.

"Scooch over," he told her.

"And anger the night nurse?" Sarah chuckled as she scooted over – night nurse be damned. Rex hopped down from the bed and made his way to the other side of the bed while Charlie popped off his shoes. Gingerly as he could, the detective settled on his side, next to his partner in the bed. The chair, now vacated, Rex hopped up into it and made himself comfortable. Charlie let Sarah scoot over so she was as close to him as she could be.

"God, I've missed this," he said.

"Me too but promise me you'll get some sleep," she pleaded. Her pleas were ignored as Charlie had already completely passed out. Sarah smirked, kissed his cheek, and settled in so she could some sleep of her own.

To Be Continued…