Chapter Twenty Nine Maria took off her sweatshirt and tossed it towards the bed; it went over the mattress and landed on the floor on the other side. She leaned back and sighed. The cool wood of the door felt relaxing against her back. She wasn't sure if the heat was from the room or from her. "Damn," she smiled. How am I supposed to sleep in here tonight when Agent Michael is right in the next room? Is he thinking about me or is he thinking about his girls? Is he thinking about Lorelei or is he still dreaming of the last time our lips met? Kyle Valenti was still so close to the surface and it did hurt. Sure, she felt free, but that didn't mean a part of her heart wasn't still with him. She ended a relationship for reasons she called her own. There were no ill feelings towards him; Kyle hadn't done anything wrong. It was her choice to leave and hers alone. For the right reasons. She kept reminding herself of that. The right reasons. Kyle would be okay, she was sure of it. He was strong. Tough. The image of the tears in the window brought back the bitterness she had dealt him. She didn't want to tell him she didn't love him anymore. She'd always love him, that was a given, but she wasn't in love with him and she thought her way of telling him that had been cruel. She took off her shoes and socks and stood up slowly. She began to pace in front of the door with options. She set her footwear down and continued to pace. * * * Michael Guerin ran his hands through his hair. He was torn somewhere between the rights and wrongs of ethics and morality. Ethically he shouldn't be getting involved with someone he was working with. Morally he shouldn't be getting his hopes up with someone who had only broken off another relationship hours before. In his heart, he wanted to hold her and make promises. "Damn," he sighed. He took another deep breath and slowly stood up. Lorelei was on his mind, pushed back away from Maria, but still there none the less. The questions about her. The answers he couldn't find. The knowledge that he really didn't know her as well as he thought he had weighed heavy on him. He was going to marry Lorelei and Maria had been right, he didn't know anything about her past. Like he had told her, he wanted to think of himself as the first one in her life. The most important one. In the end, he had turned out to be the one who nothing about her at all. Lorelei Govern was a mystery. A mystery that needed to be solved. He paced in front of Maria's door debating over his options. Knock and see what happens or go to his own room and think about Maria, the person who had become so important to him in just a few short days. He shook his head and walked to his room. * * * Maria nodded and opened up her door. She stepped into the hallway and tiptoed to Michael's room. She listened and heard him moving around inside. She raised her hand to knock and then stopped. This was too forward. If Agent Michael wanted to be with me, no matter how right or wrong it was, he would have come to my room, she decided and turned around. As she approached her door she realized that they had left everything on the dining room table. Right out in the open for anyone to look at. She sighed and made her way back down the steps. Crime scene photos, classified ones at that, were probably not what the Whitman's or their other guests wanted to see first thing in the morning. She admonished both herself and Agent Guerin for being careless. Especially herself. It had been a rough night for Michael; drudging up the memory of Lorelei and putting it to the test. She frowned thinking about how deflated he had looked when he realized he didn't know anything about her past. "Michael," she whispered his name as she turned the dining room light back on. She set it dimmer and went to work, stacking up papers and files. The envelope containing the rest of the letters was in her hand before she realized what it was. The temptation to open it and read it was almost as bad as the temptation had been to go to Michael's room. He wanted her to read them in order after she met the victims. After she had met the reasons for Michael's obsession. She understood why he wanted her to wait until after she had met the victims, although the letters were seemingly vague enough that it might not matter. She sat down with the envelope in her lap. She cared for the victims and she felt like she knew them, not as well as Michael, but well enough. She could imagine herself being friends with some of them. They were just ordinary people living their lives and then they were dead. Liz. She had managed to push the guilt of Liz back for the evening. The choice she'd made to end her relationship with Kyle and possible start something new with Michael helped her push the guilt away. Now that she was alone with Michael's girls, the guilt was back. She felt selfish for thinking of a new life that she was beginning when Liz's life had been cut short so dramatically. All of Liz's plans ended with a scarf around her neck. All of her dreams of living a happy married life with Max Evans and having babies were gone. The plans her and Maria had made when they were little about what they wanted their lives to be like were shattered. Liz never got the chance to do the things she wanted to. Maria shook her head and silently promised Liz that she wouldn't let her down. The envelope in her lap felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. She fingered the flap considering the complications that might arise if she were to read the rest of the letters now. Michael wanted her to read them in order after meeting the victims; she didn't want to chance what might happen if she went out on her own and did things out of order. Michael had order to his case if nothing else and she wasn't going to mess it up. She nodded for confirmation and laid the envelope in the box. She looked longingly towards the steps as a second exhilarating wind whipped through her. She reached back for Olivia Marsh's file and opened it up. What was so special about Olivia? What made her different from Lorelei, Ivy, Ronnie, Betsey, Sara and Frannie? She cleaned up the rest of the notes, papers and pictures and filed them away in the box before siting back with Olivia's folder and a legal pad. "You can do this DeLuca. Think! Make it work!" She bit the cap on her pen and began scribbling notes. * * * Michael paced his room. Back and forth. Back and forth. The valid reasons for wanting to go to Maria were just that, valid. His heart was pounding, his mind was twisting. He smiled thinking about the way she was the aggressor earlier in the night. The way she held her shirt up for him. The way she touched his face and said his name. The smoothness of her skin. The perfection that he needed to touch and be touched by. He let out a deep breath as he unbuttoned his shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his boots slowly. He tossed them to the side of the room and wondered if Maria had heard him; she was so close. She was too close. He had seen the want in her eyes when they parted. It was almost the reflection of his own want and need. "The worse she can do is say 'go away', right?" He asked himself as he stood up and ran his hands through his hair. "Nothing to lose Guerin, nothing to lose except a little self respect. Humility is good for the soul," he convinced himself as he walked out of his room. He took the few steps to Maria's door and knocked lightly. He waited for a response but didn't get one. He knocked again and wondered if she was already asleep. Nothing. He got a new nervousness when he knocked again and got nothing. He put his hand on the doorknob and pushed the door in. "Maria?" He whispered to an empty room. He saw the suitcase on the bed, but the room was empty. His eyes darted to the open and dark bathroom. He stepped inside, "Maria!" he said a little louder noting the urgency in his voice. He checked each corner of the small room, his heart beating, sweat forming on his brow. He saw her shoes on the floor and her sweatshirt on the other side of the bed. "Maria!" Nothing. He walked as calmly as he could from the room and made his way back down stairs holding onto the rail. He missed the last step and turned the corner around them into the dining room. There he saw he her and his heart rate began to slow down. Sitting alone hunched over the table with a file in front of her; Maria was working. "You scared me," he said softly as he walked towards her. "Holy shit!" She spun around and faced him, her hand on her chest. "Consider us even." "You're working," he motioned to the file open in front of her. "Yeah," her eyes traveled down the expanse of exposed chest behind the unbuttoned shirt. "What are you…What are you doing down here?" "I was worried." He stepped next to her and closed the folder. He put it and her legal pad in the box and put the lid on it. "I went to your room and you were gone." He extended his hand to her and smiled when she clasped it. "I thought something had happened to you." "To me?" She sank into him. "Yeah you," he wrapped his arm around her back. "I got scared when you weren't in your room, I didn't know…" "You went to my room?" her voice barely above a whisper. He nodded and scooped her up into his arms kissing her. "I was scared…" He cradled her against him; she looped her arms around his neck. He carried her out of the dining room and up the steps, kissing her lips on each step. He stood in-between their two doors and paused. He turned towards his own room and backed up to the door. He kicked it open and carried her inside where he kicked it shut. * * * Chapter Thirty Michael carried her to the bed and laid her down on top of the quilt. He stepped back and looked at her face. Her beautiful face, so full of adventure and wisdom. Her clear, clear eyes and her full lips. "Michael," she whispered and outstretched her hand to him. He nodded and felt alive. With slight hesitation he crawled over her and laid down against her. The heat radiating from her was amazing. He tried to control his breathing and smiled when he realized his breath was still coming out jagged. "Uh…" He laughed nervously unable to come up with words to describe what he was feeling. Maria laughed with him and noticed she was trembling. She licked her lips with the purpose of speaking, but like Michael, words couldn't quite make their way to the surface. Michael leaned over her and felt the smooth skin of her shoulder on his bare chest. The urge to close his eyes was overridden by the urge to see her. The woman he hadn't known existed until a few days ago. The woman he met over the murder of her friend. The woman who made him see his life in a new way, with new meaning. The woman he had surrendered his heart to. He tucked wayward tendrils of her hair behind her ear and traced a line down her jaw and over her full lips. Her lips parted and she kissed his fingertip as it passed by. She felt the ripples of nervousness quake through him. The nervousness of an intimate moment between two new lovers. "Michael," she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. "Maria," he smiled letting out a breathy half-laugh. His hand rested on her bare abdomen between the tank shirt and her shorts. His fingers playing with the fabric of her top. He kept his eyes on hers as his hand slid under the fabric. A small gasp from her told him everything was okay. With tentative hands and the confidence he needed, he rolled her shirt up over her breasts. He rested his body next to her and traced a circle around the foundation of the fleshy mass of the breast closest to him. He watched in awe as her soft pale rose nipple hardened as he moved his finger lightly across it. He did the same to the other breast. He lowered his lips to her chest and took a nipple in his mouth and rolled it with his tongue. He watched the slight rise in her pelvis and murmured into her flesh. With his hand he massaged the fullness of her other breast and thought about perfection. The perfect feel, the perfect size and the perfect taste. He wasn't sure if he could smell the jasmine on her or if it was just burned in his memory. Maria smiled at the back of his head while passion seared through her, scorching her. She ran her hands through his hair and down his face turning it back towards her. The innocence in his eyes made her want to weep while the cruelty they'd seen made her angry. She parted her lips as a beacon; he came to her and crushed his mouth against hers sliding his tongue inside. Her arms made their way around him, her nails raked at his neck. With both hands she pushed the already unbuttoned shirt down his arms and off of him. She flung it to the floor with a giggle. Her breasts flattened under the weight of him as he shifted onto her. The button of her shorts was being undone and she could do nothing but whimper in anticipation. She bucked her hips up into the denim of his jeans as she felt his warm hands slide inside her shorts. He kept his gaze on her face as he rolled her shorts down; a small smile played on his lips when he felt her kick the shorts the rest of the way off. He ran his hand up her thigh to the thin fabric of her thong. Running his finger inside the elastic, he felt her hands on his belt. After a slight pause, he rolled over and let her undo his belt, then pants. He felt like a teenager again as she pulled them off of him then faced him. He touched her chin while his eyes traveled from the waistband of the thong, to the indentation of her waist to the swell of her breasts before settling back on her face. He watched with alertness as she slipped the tank top off and tossed it behind her. He marveled at how confident she looked in the pale moonlight from the open window as she sat beside him. Any awkwardness about his boxers and immense erection vanished when she touched his chest, then kissed it. His eyes closed as he felt her lithe fingers dipping inside of the boxers and rolling them down. When she took him in her hand, a moan escaped his lips before he had time to react. Their eyes locked as something transpired between. Something more than the want. Something real. Maria lowered her head to his and kissed him while her hand moved rhythmically up and down. His eyes rolled back as he welcomed her tongue into his mouth. One hand squeezed the quilt beside him while the other roamed her back, down to the thin band of the thong in back. With trepidation, he pulled the stretchy material over her ass until it hit the crook of her knees. His hand went back and kneaded the flesh of her ass. His mouth quit moving against hers as all his thoughts went to the feel of her body. The silkiness of her skin. Letting go of him, she maneuvered herself out of the thong completely. Pausing briefly to catch the light in his eyes, she shifted against him, his hand flattened between them. Michael felt the wetness of a woman, something he never thought he'd feel again, his breathing became labored as he slid his fingers through her damp folds. A small cry came from her then a contented nuzzling against his chest. Her legs spread involuntarily as his finger plunged inside of her. He willed her to look at him. Maria looked to him and moved her hips in rhythm to his hand. Their eyes met and their souls linked. Maria raised her body upwards; her breasts were heavy in his face. He flicked his tongue over one nipple then the other. She lowered her body onto his, his hand slipped out from in-between her legs as she felt his hardness take its place. "Michael?" She whispered his name. His eyebrows furrowed as he read her mind. "No." He shook his head "I don't either," she smiled and laughed collapsing on his chest. "I can't believe it!" "I can," he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Oh Maria, stay here with me tonight." She nodded at his statement. A feeling of odd satisfaction was still riding through her. In that moment, she realized sometimes there was more to making love than the actual act itself. She kissed his chest and bit playfully on his nipple. As much as she wanted him inside of her, the threat of pregnancy was enough of a deterrent. Smiling as she felt his fingers pinching at her sensitive nipple, she looked up to his face. "We'll uh…Have to correct this little problem. Soon." "Is there somewhere close? I can go out and buy…You're shaking your head at me," he smiled and pinched her nipple a little harder. "You're not leaving here and neither am I," an unexpected gasp came out next. "Sometimes all a person needs is a little touch." She licked her lips and then lowered them back to his hardened nipple. Michael smiled and pulled her against him tightly. He kissed the side of her head and smelled jasmine. The worries of the world were sleeping tonight. Tonight belonged to them and no one else. The light from the moon shifted across the room as the two renewed and yet tired bodies clung to each other in a mastery of unmarked passion and a deep twist of finding love in an unexpected situation. Before the sun was even a thought, Michael listened to her shallow breath, her head resting on his chest. He touched her hair and smiled. "I'm falling in love with you." He whispered as his eyes closed. Maria smiled before she slipped into a restful slumber, I already fell. * * * The bright light of morning sun drifted through the open window bathing the new lovers in a warm glow. Maria woke first and froze in her position. The reverberating of the heartbeat beneath her ear made her step back into the reality that her and Agent Michael had almost made love a few hours ago. She felt him stir underneath her and looked towards his face, almost afraid of what might have changed in the few short hours they'd been asleep. "Hi," he murmured and wiped the sleep away from his eyes. "Hi," she smiled and knew it was too early for a giant DeLuca grin, but she couldn't help it. "Sleep good?" She nodded. "I guess I better get back to my room and shower and change," she sat up and became consumed with embarrassment for her nudity. She pulled the quilt up over her chest and saw him smile. "What?" He shook his head. "Don't be shy, not now." He pulled the quilt away from her. "You're beautiful Maria." She blushed and reached over the side of the bed for her tank top. She got off the bed and slipped on the shorts and tucked her underwear in her pocket. She leaned over him and kissed him full on the lips. "We have to go to work." He nodded and watched as she padded out of the room. * * * Chapter Thirty One Maria slipped into her room as she heard doors opening down the hall. She stood motionless near the foot of the bed and heard happy, laughing voices pass by. She smiled. She locked the door and stripped down before walking into the bathroom for a shower. The water jetting out of the showerhead looked inviting, but the bottles of scented bath gels on a shelf inside the shower made Maria's thoughts turn briefly to the gels she had left behind. To the life she had left behind. "Over," she smiled to herself and nodded as she stepped over the porcelain into the tub. The water was hot, not too hot, just hot enough. The water poured over her as she lathered her hands up with the most subtly scented body gel available. The scent was so light it was almost non-existent. That's exactly what she wanted. As she washed herself, she remembered Michael's hands on her. The simplicity of a night of new experiences with old souls. A night to explore the surges of passion in an undeveloped relationship. The touches of a new lover still beat with electricity over her wet skin. The embarrassment of this morning was almost forgotten. The way he looked at her, the way he called her beautiful made everything seem okay. The effortless way she had gone to him and let him touch her the way only a few had done before. No inhibitions when feeling his skin against her own. No worry, no expectations. Not too many expectations. She sighed and laughed at herself. The embarrassment was fluttering back in the form of a queasy stomach. Her thoughts lingered on the 'morning after effect'. Although true intercourse hadn't transpired between them, she had never felt closer to anyone. Through a maze of want that turned into need that turned into something new and unexplainable; Maria DeLuca had fallen in love with Agent Michael Guerin. She had fallen in love not wanting to and certainly not trying to with her friend's body barely cool in the ground. Her boyfriend stilled with a broken heart. All the reasons Maria should have felt horrible. In truth, she felt wonderful, except for the guilt that racked through her for having the wonderful feeling in the first place. She stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly in jeans and a T-shirt she grabbed from her suitcase. She looked in the mirror and traded in the T-shirt for a black short sleeve shirt instead. She damned herself for forgetting her hair dryer at Kyle's. After a rough towel drying and finger styling, she was ready to leave her room and see if everything was going to be different now between her and Agent Michael. * * * Michael stayed in bed for a few minutes after Maria left his room. He leaned over on her pillow. Her pillow, he mused, already she had her own pillow. He inhaled and smelled the one scent in the world he loved more than anything else, jasmine. "Maria," he murmured her name and felt alive. Taking a deep cleansing breath he got out of bed and heard the shower running next door. A smile graced his lips picturing Maria and her beautiful face and perfect body in the shower. "Man, you got it bad." Laughing to himself, he walked into his own bathroom and showered. When he dressed he found himself being more careful in his selection of clothing than before. Choosing the jeans that fit him snugly and an FBI polo shirt, he ran a hand through his wet hair and was ready to face her. He reached to the doorknob ready to face the day, looking at in a new sense, and paused. Oh God, he thought, what if last night was a one time thing? What if everything is different now? What if I fell and I can't pull myself back? What if I really am the rebound guy and last night was… "You're being stupid," he muttered to himself and opened the door. The simile of the open door and his new relationship hit him like a bullet train. Everything was different now. Michael Guerin had found something else to live for. He took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway. Unsure if he should go downstairs and wait for her or knock on her door, he stood with his hands in his pockets. "Big smart FBI guy," he mumbled. "Can't even figure out if I should wait or knock." His question was answered in the form of Maria's door opening. He felt the sharp intake of breath as she walked into the hall and turned to him. Frozen in place by a force of the unknown, he waited. "Hi," she smiled and blushed. She walked towards him with obvious nervousness. "Hi." He tried to smile but found his lips weren't quite working as well as they should be. "Ready?" She nodded and bowed her head turning to the stairs. The wanted morning response was no where to be found. Her heart began to sag. With one hand on the railing, she felt her other arm being pulled back. She turned and looked up into the bottomless eyes of Agent Guerin. Her heart pounded as he drew her into him and kissed her. All nervousness leaked from her feeling his lips crush against hers. There was nothing to worry about, she smiled to herself. She had put her heart out there in the open knowing it could be broken, but was now reassured that it wouldn't be. His fingertips spread her damp hair, eventually resting on her flush cheeks. He broke away from her and smiled. "Last night was…" He shook his head and laughed nervously. "I know," she smiled at him and wondered if it was too big. If it was too much. He traced her bottom lip with his finger. "Thank you…You know." He nodded. "Thank you." They laughed together and held hands as they made their way down the stairs. They turned the corner into the dining room and noticed the table was completely empty. Michael switched into Agent mode, his eyes scanning the room while berating himself for leaving evidence sitting out unattended. "It's all over there," Isabel Whitman walked through the swinging door with a tray in her hands. "I had to use the table when the first guests got up." She motioned towards the corner of the room. Michael's eyes flew to the corner, an obvious display of relief swept through him. "Sorry about that. For leaving everything…" Isabel smiled. "No problem," she set the tray down and handed a cup to each of them. "Coffee? There are croissants in the kitchen. I just hope you two know how hard it was for me to move that stuff and not even take a peek." "Isabel…" Maria raised her eyebrows at her. "Seriously," she laughed and gave them a famous Isabel Whitman grin. "I swear I wanted to, but I refrained. And if you knew me Agent Guerin, then you'd know how hard it is for me to refrain from anything." She motioned to their handholding and winked. "I guess you might understand…" Michael blushed and Maria laughed at him. He cleared his throat. "Please, call me Michael." Isabel laughed and sat at the table. "So, did you get a lot done last night?" She looked between the two of them as they sat down and noticed the now matching blush they wore. "I meant on Liz's case." Michael nodded. "We're working on it." "Good, I know Max will be glad to hear it. Alex said he was pretty upset last night. I mean, I know he's upset, but some times are harder than others." She shrugged. "I think we're all still in shock about Liz." Maria didn't realize it, but she was nodding along with her. Liz Parker was gone. Liz Parker was dead. "Maria?" Michael touched her shoulder. "Yeah…Sorry," her smile was clearly forced. The hurt of a fallen friend on her conscious. The guilt that came and went was now bearing down on her, "I was just thinking." He nodded and knew the look. The look of someone who was living with ghosts. "You up to going to the station this morning? I want to try to get a hold of Rich…" He trailed off remembering Isabel was sitting right there and listening. He smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm good." Maria looked to Isabel. "Thanks for giving me a room and letting us use your table." Isabel smirked and caught herself before she said something sarcastic about how the table had gotten used. "No problem Maria. I'm glad I could help." Maria looked to Michael; "Do you think you could give us a minute here? I can meet you at the war room?" "Two cars." He stated. "Sure. I'll see you there." He licked his bottom lip and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before collecting the boxes and laptop from the corner of the room. Once he was out of the B&B Maria took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You look good together," Isabel quipped. "Isabel…" "It's good Maria. It's all good," she nodded in a confirmation to her friend. "Are you good with it?" Maria nodded and thought it might have been too enthusiastically. "I am. It feels right. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive. I feel like there's nothing that can stop me." Isabel nodded. "Take care of yourself Maria. Okay?" "Worried?" "Everything worries me these days," she looked down into her cup of coffee. "Everything." * * * Michael drove slowly to the station and parked a good seven or eight spaces away from the ominous 4X4. He got the evidence from the trunk and walked into the building. He nodded at the woman answering the phones, Mary Ellen, the same one who had brought him the last letter from the killer. She waved back although somewhat hesitantly. He shrugged off the uneasiness as he passed the closed door of Sheriff Kyle Valenti. Balancing the box on his thigh, he fumbled with the keys to the war room. "Need some help?" Kyle's voice loomed in his ear. "Shit," Michael grabbed at the laptop before it nose-dived and faced the invader of his space. He caught his stature and his breath and pushed the door open. The light flicked on overhead as he felt Kyle walking in back of him. He set the box down and turned to face him. "Can you keep personal feelings out of this?" Kyle cocked his head to one side. "That's pretty funny coming from you." He laughed bitterly. "I guess personal feelings have nothing to do with you fucking around with my girlfriend, huh?" "She's not your girlfriend anymore." Michael met the brazen eyes. "She was. She was my everything until you came to town." Michael nodded. He didn't want to fight with him when he knew everything he was saying was true. "Now she left me and ran to you," he slid his hands into the pockets of worn jeans. "But I'll always be here. When you break her heart, I will be here to pick up the pieces." Michael opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Words were not going to solve anything. Telling the Sheriff that he had no plans of breaking Maria's heart was not going to help matters. Kyle looked around at the walls of the room as if seeing them for the first time. His gaze lingered on the victim photos pinned up on the wall. "Will you get him?" Michael followed his gaze and nodded. "Yeah. We're going to get him." "She's good isn't she?" Kyle asked as he turned slowly back to face the Agent. "She's very good." Kyle nodded and frowned before turning on his heels and walking out of the room. Michael slumped into a chair and let out a deep breath. * * * Chapter Thirty Two Maria parked in the lot somewhere between the Mercedes and the 4X4. She got out of the Miata and took a deep breath before walking into the building. She nodded at Mary Ellen and walked past Kyle's office without stopping. She couldn't help flicking her eyes in the open door just long enough to see Kyle watching her. She quickened her step down the hall and burst into the war room slamming the door behind her. Michael stood and watched her chest rise and fall. "Okay?" He asked. She nodded and walked towards him. "I'm good, Michael." He smiled and sat back down. "Okay, I'm going to try to get into Richmond and you are going to finish with Olivia, right?" "The letters that came after her. That's where I'm at." Michael reached towards the envelope and started to slip his hand inside then stopped. He handed the envelope to Maria. "They're in order." She took the envelope as a feeling of trust exchanged between them. She slid the letter on top out and removed it from the envelope. Agent Guerin Oh my can you see it? Can you live it can you breathe it? Written in blood and lots to see That love is blinding I know you agree. Will I finish my quest? I think I might win Will you figure it out? Not with the sigh or the grin. Agent dear, do you rest easy tonight? Agent dear, can you read between the lines? Maria read it a few times and knew she had to have the blankest stare on her face. "I don't get it. I mean, could he be any more vague? Seriously. Listen to this: 'Will you figure it out? Not with the sigh or the grin'. What the fuck, Michael? You don't exactly strike me as the big sigh guy, you know. The sigh or the grin?" She set the letter down and sighed. "See, I'm a sigh girl. You? No." "I don't know either Maria. None of these letters have made any sense to me at all. It's like he's just trying to get to me to think it's in the letters when it isn't. Like he wants me spend all this time analyzing them but there's nothing really in them at all." "No, I wouldn't go that far. If there wasn't any clue at all, he'd just call you and leave a message on the machine. He wants to have a connection with you and the letters is the way he's doing it. He's got a hold on you; he can read you like a freaking open book. I still think it's just a game to him. You're a game to him. He knows how you feel, how you work, everything." "He doesn't know everything anymore," Michael said quietly wondering if he was going to be pushing their undefined thing a step too far. "Why not?" "He doesn't know that I have other things to live for now. Other things to love." He didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't, not after the declaration of telling her he loved her without the routine words. He saw her hand touch his and then felt the warmth. With a graceful movement, he turned to her. "That's sweet." She smiled and traced a circle on the back of his hand. "It's true. I didn't think it could or even would happen, but you've given me something else to live for. The last two years have been filled with pain and horror and now the last few days have been filled with you and all the goodness you brought with you." He shrugged. "It's a good thing Maria. A really good thing." She smiled and knew he loved her. Welling up deep within her soul, the truth about him loving her was evident. She opened her heart and he took it. A small nod at him was all she offered. The right words weren't going to come from her mouth any time soon. She'd save them for a time when they weren't knee deep in murder and mayhem. She withdrew her hand and cast a glance back to the letter. "Back to work," she licked her lips, her body warm. "Sweet talk later. Work now." He nodded and once again admired her enthusiasm for the job. He tapped away at the keyboard growing frustrated with each stroke. "Richmond's still down. I sent an email to Natalie about what I'm looking for…" "What do you think you're going to find?" "Answers." He looked at her. "Maybe. Hopefully something in Lorelei's past that we could manipulate into anything that we could use. A crazy ex-boyfriend or a police record, I don’t know, anything." "I don't want you to find anything that's going to mar your memory of her." Michael tilted his head to one side. "That's nice, but we have to get to the bottom of it. Part of me will always love Lorelei, I can't help that. It doesn't matter what I find, if anything, in her past; that part won't change. She meant the world to me. She was my entire world and I accepted it. You could have taken away my badge and stripped me of everything else, but to take her away almost killed me." "But it didn't because you're strong-willed." "I'll take that as a compliment because you may be the most strong-willed person I've ever met and trust me Maria, I've met a lot of people." "Thank you Agent Michael," she winked and looked back to the letter in hand. "He still makes a reference to love you can't see past. Lorelei. He had to have known her Michael. He had to have known at least her and maybe you too. Your relationship." "I was blinded by it and now I can see clearly through it. Maria," he touched her arm to get her attention back on him. "I can see her now as I should have when she died. If I would have been doing my job the way I was trained to, I would have investigated her death-" "She was your love!" Maria interrupted. "She was also a victim of a violent crime," he shook his head. "It took me two years to even try to research her and I'm only doing it now because you told me too." He shook his head, an unforgiving smile on his lips. "The more I dwell on it, the more I believe you in your original theory. He did know Lorelei and possibly me too. Or vice versa. Knew me and maybe her." "Maybe you better start calling me Agent Maria." She smirked. "All you needed was a fresh pair of eyes and an intuitiveness that can be relentless." "Relentless," his eyes met hers. "Persistent." "Unyielding." "Obstinate." "Determined." "Uncompromising," her breath caught. Michael licked his lips. "Uncompromising." "Right," Maria shook her head trying to pull herself out of the game they had started. "No compromising. So, let's get back to it. You heard back from Natalie yet?" He nodded. "Richmond's mainframe is down, nothing can be accessed at all without going there and sifting through the hard copies." "When are you going?" She wondered if her voice held as much plea not to go and her heart did. "I don't know, Natalie's going to get back with me as soon as an expected time is known for it to be up and running. I'll take it from there. Okay," he sighed. "See, I can be sigh guy." She rolled her eyes at him and jabbed him lightly in the stomach. "How many letters came in-between Olivia and the next one?" "The one you have and two more." He nodded towards the envelope. "Go for it. See what else you can pick out of there that I couldn't see." Maria laid the letter on the table and got out the next two. She opened the first one. Agent Guerin Night on a rooftop Easy to absorb Lucky ladies waiting Do you know how many more? Forever in darkness Forever in my dreams Tied to the memories Lost always in the seams. Can you feel my breath Michael Guerin? Does it keep you awake at night? "It's the first time he uses your first name, right?" Maria looked at him over the paper to get a nod in return. "Creepy," She nodded. "This guy, he fancies himself a poet. A bad one, but none the less a poet." "Poetry was never my thing…" Michael's eyes grew distant; he felt his heart rate quicken. "Lorelei was the one who loved poetry." He met Maria's eyes with his newly focused ones. "She loved all the arts, but sculpture and poetry were her true loves. She would recite poems to me all the time. Sometimes they were the romance ones and sometimes the fun ones." Maria nodded slowly. "Okay. See, now we're onto something. College classes? Poetry classes? Did she take any that you know of?" He shook his head and didn't want to tell her he didn't know. "I'll start going through the admissions of all the colleges in the Richmond and Quantico areas." Maria watched as Michael tapped away on the keyboard; his face was etched with a look of desperation blended with the look of disappointment. * * * Chapter Thirty Three Maria went back to the letters that came after Olivia while watching Michael out of the corner of her eye. His exasperation was obvious. "After Olivia, who are the rest?" "Their names?" "Yeah, their names and locations. I don't know about you, but I really can feel this bastards breath on my neck. We're running out of time. I want to get through the rest of this while you work on Lorelei." "Rachel LeBeau from New Iberia Louisiana. Theresa Newlin from Colorado Springs. Hannah Lampe from Tucson Arizona and then Liz…" "Right, I remember that one." Maria said calmly although the undertone of bitterness was close to the surface. "I remember Liz." "I'm sorry," Michael ran his hands through his hair. "And I do feel his breath on my neck too, I have for a long time. We are running out of time and I know it's just a game to him; it's all a sick twisted game and I probably am the prize." He laughed. "I'm digging through admissions trying to find out information about the woman I was in love with and none of this makes sense!" "It will Michael," she touched his hand. "It'll all make sense, not good sense, but sense. He's not stupid and he knows what he's doing. There's a reason he's killed all these girls. His reason. They all mean something, but we can't see it." "We will though, right?" Michael remembered his words to the Sheriff earlier. "You betcha," Maria grinned. "Just kinda think of me as one of the Canadian Mounties. I always get my man." She blushed at the double entendre. "Yeah, you do." He winked. Maria turned away from him and went back to the letters. "Is that the only time he calls you by your first name?" "Yeah, the rest are always Agent Guerin or the much loathed 'Agent dear'." "Why would he call you Michael?" She bit her bottom lip and tapped a pen on her denim-clad thigh. "Wait a second…" Michael looked at her expectantly. "I have a vision, but it's not that clear yet." She frowned. "Something you told me about Lorelei…" She closed her eyes for a second then they bolted open. "She taught classes, right? You said she taught classes in both Quantico and Seattle. She was a sculptor and she taught classes!" "So maybe she did the same in Richmond…?" Michael nodded slowly. "Right. Maybe it wasn't a class she took or school or anything, she was already in the artsy world because she taught classes. Maybe, just maybe, that's the connection. The arts. Poetry." He leaned over and kissed her lips. "I really might start calling you Agent Maria." She smiled under his mouth as he invaded the space with his tongue. She felt herself move closer to him as his hands touched the bare skin of her waist underneath her shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss became more involved; the case was put aside. Lorelei and the other girls were put on hold. He broke away from her to look into her eyes. He saw himself in their reflection and hoped she saw her in his. "You've changed the world for me Maria. You made me care again. You made me love again." He licked his bottom lip. "Do you believe that someone can fall in love in a few days?" Maria pursed his lips. The words she wanted to save until it was over were too far away. It wasn't time to tell him she loved him. It wasn't time for her to throw away any mystery she still might have about herself. "Maybe Agent Michael." He grinned at her sidestepping and knew, no, he felt the true answer she didn't want to give him. She did believe in it because she had fallen into the same zone he had. He knew he was lucky to have found love once in his lifetime with Lorelei, what he didn't know was how come he had been blessed to find it again in such an unlikely time and place with Maria DeLuca. He prayed the same Gods that were watching over his love life were also watching over his professional agenda and wouldn't permit anymore carnage. "I guess now you're going to tell me to get back to work, huh?" Michael asked and nipped at her bottom lip. He wondered when he had fallen from a professional FBI Agent to a lovesick man who wanted nothing more than to crawl under blankets with her. "Yeah, go back to work," she nipped at his lips back and giggled. "You got something to go on now. We have a glimmer of something solid on her." Maria didn't say Lorelei's name, not now. The tiny ping of jealousy that was always present but usually well hidden was peeking its head out for a stretch. Michael murmured something that sounded like an agreement and buried his face in her neck. "Working hard?" Kyle Valenti's voice boomed from the newly opened doorway. Maria and Michael separated as the Sheriff made his way towards them. "It's really good to see the taxpayers money hard at work." His voice was bitter, his stature was explosive. "I guess you have everything all cleared up here, huh? You got what you were looking for?" "Kyle-" Maria started. "I don’t think you need to say anything Deputy DeLuca." Kyle's eyes shifted between the woman he still loved and the man who had stolen her from him. "We can use you for other things, like traffic patrol, since it looks like this case has moved in other directions." Maria stood and kept her fists clenched. She motioned to the door and nearly pushed Kyle out of it into the hallway. "What are you doing Kyle?" She demanded as she slammed the door shut. "What the fuck are you doing? Are you really trying to threaten me? Are you really trying to make Michael and me believe that you'll pull me off of this and that's it? What is your problem?" "My problem is to see you with him," he admitted. "And I still might pull you off of this. There are other things going on in this town besides…" "Besides the murder of Liz Parker? Besides the murder of ten other women?" She hissed in his face. "Maria-" "Don't Maria me now, Kyle. This is bullshit. Complete bullshit. You tried playing this card already and it didn't work then and it's not going to work now!" She felt the heat rise up her neck. "I'm sorry about hurting you, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you how I felt in a more tactful way. But the truth of the matter is you have to let me go. You have to move on and let me do the same!" Kyle opened his mouth then closed it. Do I love her enough to let her go? "Are you going to leave Roswell with him?" She let out a sigh of frustration. "I. Don't. Know. God Kyle, my whole world has shifted in days, yours too, I know. I don't know what the future holds for me anymore and I like that feeling." He looked to the tiled floor. "Will you ever consider me a friend again?" He asked in such a soft voice that he wondered if she had even heard him when she didn't answer. He looked up to meet the tear filled eyes of Maria DeLuca. "That's what I want Kyle, that's what I want more than anything." Her shoulders sagged. "I don't know what's going to happen between me and Agent Guerin, okay? I have no idea. But to be able to call you a friend means the world to me." He nodded and turned on his heels back down the hall. She watched as he walked into his office and closed the door. Taking a deep breath and wiping away still tears; she walked back into the war room. She smiled when she caught Michael pacing. A few steps closer and her smile disappeared. "What?" She asked and reached a tentative hand towards him. "I got a hit from Richmond. Part of their network is back up." "And…?" Maria prompted. "Lorelei Govern." He said as if that explained it all. "What about her?" "For five months she was Lorelei Laws." Michael ran a hand through his hair and ignored Maria's outstretched hand. "She was married Maria. She was married to someone else and never told me!" Maria let her hand fall to her side. * * * Chapter Thirty Four "She was married for five months to someone named David Laws," he laughed bitterly. "She was married and never told me! She was married when I met her for Christ's sake, Maria. She lied to me!" Maria bit her tongue; no words she had to offer were going to make this okay for Michael. There was nothing she could say to take away his anger; she could only listen. "When I met her, she was fucking married. She was married to this…This David Laws when she was making love to me!" He ran his hands through his hair and twirled around slowly. He kicked a folding metal chair over. The loud clang made Maria jump, but he didn't seem to notice. "Fuck!" He paced the length of the room and back, his focus on the eight by ten glossy of Lorelei Govern on the victim wall. His lips curled as he swore his own anger out at her. He pointed at the face of the betrayer and turned away. He turned back towards Maria. "She was married…" His words were softer, his anger was visually being replaced with pain. He walked towards her and enveloped her in his arms, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry…" Maria took a deep breath and rubbed his back. She turned her head slightly and kissed the skin right below his ear. She closed her eyes and let him hold her the way he needed to. Minutes ticked by before Michael took a deep breath, inhaling the jasmine he loved, and stepped back from her. "Wow. I guess I kind of blew my cool, huh?" Maria shrugged. "You weren't that cool to start out with." She smirked and waited for the response she was hoping for. She got it a few seconds later when Agent Michael Guerin laughed. "Thank you," he smiled. "That was…Nice." He let out a deep breath. "Okay, now that I have vented, maybe we should move forward on this. All I have are the dates they were married. The marriage date and the divorce date," he nodded. "I couldn't go any further without chucking the laptop through the window." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously." "Oh, yeah, I believe you." She nodded and walked to the fallen chair. She righted it and set it just out of his reach. "Or I could just ask this chair." "The chair was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just an innocent bystander," he smiled genuinely and was suddenly amazed that he could do it. How could someone make me smile at a time like this? He wondered. How could someone just happen into my life and suddenly everything looks a little brighter, the astronomical emptiness seems a little more filled? How could I have ever lived without Maria DeLuca? "Thank you for letting me vent." "Hey, you vent all you want Agent Michael." She held up her hands in front of her. "You have every right to vent. You can be the King Venter if you so choose to be." He sat back and down and nodded towards the chair next to him. Maria sat and crossed her legs. "I don't want to be the King Venter, but thanks anyway for the option." He sighed deeply. "I can be sigh guy." "Today. You can be sigh guy today." "I just feel so…cheated." "And so you should," she grimaced. "Wait, that's not exactly how I wanted that to sound. Yeah, it is actually, you have every right to be upset and hurt, she lied to you. But you don't know why…" "It doesn't matter why. She should have been honest with me and she wasn't." Maria focused back on the way Michael had said Lorelei was married when she made love to him as that ping of jealously was suddenly engorged. Lorelei had managed to hurt him from the grave and as much as Maria was saddened by the untimely deaths of all of the victims; she couldn’t help feeling just a little bitter about Lorelei Govern. As a woman, she knew Lorelei should have had a good reason for not telling Michael she was married. As a new lover, she couldn't think of one. "I trusted her," he drummed his fingertips on the table. "I trusted her with everything I have and she had secrets. Big secrets." He looked at Maria and seemed to sink into her eyes. "You don't have any secrets, do you?" Maria smiled and held her arms out wide. "Nope. What you see is what you get." "Good." His attention went back to the computer in front of him. "Okay, back to work. I can distance myself from this and move on. I mean, I've already moved on, but I can move further. Now we have a name and a possible suspect." A possible suspect, Maria nodded. The chill started in the small of her back and moved throughout her body. This was a solid lead. David Laws. The killer has a name and it could be David Laws. She deliberated on the fact that David Laws didn't sound like a killer's name. It didn't sound like a sick psychopath who scoured the country to strangle women and torment a man already living in a personal hell. "So," Maria said the small word slowly. "What now? Do we try to track down this David Laws and see what pans out? This is your area Agent, not mine." "Yeah, now I get to find out all about David Laws." His tone was bitter. "I've got his name plugged in and we'll see what pops out." "With the Bureau?" "Right." "So the Bureau really doesn't have a file on every single person in the country?" Maria felt stupid for asking. "Contrary to popular belief, no, we don't. I know there's not one on you, or I would have found you long before coming to Roswell." He ended with a wink. She blushed and turned to the victim files in front of her. She didn't wait for Michael to hand her anything or tell her what to read, she was as much a part of this as he was. Victim number eight. Rachel LeBeau. Rachel LeBeau was discovered after dawn on the back porch of her home that she shared with her father and three younger sisters. The wood home with the tin roof was attached to the back of the shrimp shack that the family owned deep in the heart of New Iberia, Louisiana. Rachel was a rail thin mulatto girl with wild curls who never made it out of high school. Her mother died when she was fourteen leaving her in charge as surrogate mother. She helped her father run the restaurant daily, even helping catch the shrimp in the early morning hours for the lunch crowds. Maria shook her head at all the loss the LeBeau family had suffered with. Rachel's father, Pierre, had buried his wife and eldest daughter, but still tried to offer what little money the family had as a reward to find his daughter's killer. "This is incredibly too sad," Maria murmured absently as she read on. One of her younger sisters found Rachel's thin body when she got up to start the laundry before the storms off the salt came blowing in. The tell tale red silk scarf around her neck was what summoned Agent Guerin when it had been plugged into VICAP by the Sheriff of the New Iberia Parish. Rachel LeBeau took her responsibility seriously and spent little time with friends, except her boyfriend, a white-bred college student from the Garden District of New Orleans. He was cleared immediately. "Her family," Maria whispered. "So much loss." Michael turned away from the computer screen. "It was sad. They live in a little three room attached house and her father offered me a place to stay with them. He said he'd sleep on the floor. I promised them, him and his other daughters that I'd…You already know the rest." "And you're going to keep that promise." Michael nodded but didn't answer. His eyes flicked back to the computer screen, his obvious impatience to get back to what he was doing wasn't lost on Maria. "Go ahead," she nodded towards the offended computer. "Find anything yet?" "No, a bunch of dead ends so far, but I've only started and I have Natalie accessing information some other ways." He shrugged. "It's strange, after all this time to maybe have a name for the man who's destroyed my life. I mean, if it turns out that Lorelei's ex-husband is the killer, then…I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't want to say it's plausible, because that's completely wrong. Nothing makes killing plausible." "I know what you mean. If it turns out o be this David Laws, then it makes sense, kind of in a sick-fucking-way, but it still makes sense. But the part of it, if it is him, that doesn't hold any water is why so many? I know the classic obsessive stalker control freakish 'If I can't have you, no one will' thing, but this goes further than that. This is a vendetta against you." "Personally." "Personally. He's screwing with your head and you don't understand his game. We don't understand his game." She tapped the file in her hand. "It's here Michael, we just have to put it together. You have to figure out the why even if you get the who." He regarded her words and eventually nodded. "It doesn't matter if we get the who if we don't get the why, otherwise each and every one of them will have died in vain." Maria watched his eyes travel back to the screen in front of him; back into the other world where he was in control. She watched his eyes as they scanned the screen in front of him as his fingers tapped at the keys. His lips were pursed and she thought they looked completely kissable. She chastised herself for finding the sexiness in the situation. She could almost taste the excitement I the air. They had a lead; they had a name. She knew almost all of Michael's girls and she knew Michael even better. The excitement of the hunt was coming down to the excitement of the capture. As the morning drifted into afternoon Maria's heart broke as she finished the file on Rachel LeBeau. The letter that came to Michael had arrived at the small rooming house he stayed at in New Iberia about four hours before he had. Agent Guerin Read and write by the pale moonlight Night spells fall on the prayers Are all the words not lining up right? A cause and a care are you still there? Trial and error until you can see Write and read until you see me Toss and turn throw the first stone. Knight at hand, are you ready to atone? Agent Guerin do you sleep alone at night? Or Agent dear, do they haunt you? Maria shivered as she had with the other letters. The coldness in his abstract, too complete iambic pentameter verse. She could almost hear the hissed words in her ears as he wrote them. As he spoke them. She reached a tentative hand towards Michael and clasped his. After reading the letter, she had to feel something warm. * * * Chapter Thirty Five "David Laws," Michael said the name with the hint of bitterness and a side of jealousy. "David Laws seems to have disappeared from the planet right after they got divorced." He looked to Maria and cocked his head to one side. "How do you think he's sounding as prime suspect number one?" "I think he's sounding pretty damn good," Maria squeezed his hand. "We have him Michael." The excitement in her voice was obvious. "We have a name and a possibility," he said solemnly. "But we don't have him, or anyone. Not yet." "Is this not the first solid lead you've had on this case since like…Ever?" "Yes…" "Ha! Be happy Michael, we finally have something to go on." She met his gaze. "I know how you found it wasn't the best way and I know you're still hurt, but you have to push all that away and deal with this." "I am-" "I'm not done," She interrupted him. "So Lorelei lied to you, so what? Is that really going to tarnish the memories you have of her? There could be a million reasons why she never told you she was married. Hell, there could be two million reasons. Should she have told you regardless? Hell yes. Being married when you hook up with someone is bad enough, not telling them is worse. Was she the angel you proclaimed she was? No, I don't think so. I'm not saying she was bad, but she wasn't an angel. You don't find too many angels here on earth. "Will you ever find out her reasons for not telling you? Who knows? Maybe they're not that important. See, all of this is said and done and you can't go back and fix it. Would you change anything about the time you had together if you could, now knowing all the facts?" She looked at him and waited until he shook his head. "Good. She was important to you, don't be angry with her now. She's not here to defend herself." She paused and took a deep breath. "Done?" "Almost. This is a lead, plain and simple. Nothing on file after the divorce. Disappeared from the face of the planet. Could be bitter with you because technically you were the [i]other[/i] man; whether you knew it or not. We're going to flush him out Michael. Then we're going to figure out exactly what the fuck he's trying to tell you." She grinned. "How was that for a DeLuca ramble?" "Wow," Michael clapped lightly. "That was pretty impressive." "Thanks," she mock bowed in her chair. "Do you follow what I'm saying here?" "Yeah, I do. We have to shift our focus completely on David Laws and see what turns up. And I have to let go of the anger with Lorelei." "Bingo," she glanced to the wall clock. "You hungry?" "For food?" He raised his eyebrows and then laughed. "I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. You just bring that out in me. Yeah, dinner sounds good." "Let's go then. We'll take a long dinner break and go back to work afterwards. I can help you with David if you like." "Finish with the girls and the letters and then you help me," he stood and stretched. "I can't believe we've been in here all day." She nodded and stood. She wondered if Kyle was still there, if he was waiting or watching. Guilt devastated her peace of mind. She was so disappointed in herself for making out like teenager in the war room; almost right under Kyle's nose. He'd caught them and the knife she'd plunged into his heart had twisted. It had been a stupid thing to do and she regretted it. No more extracurricular activities were going to take place in the war room. It was the least she could do. For Kyle. He reached for her hand, but it was declined. "Not here Michael, okay?" He nodded and followed her to the door, which she held open for him. They locked the room up and walked down the hall, Maria keeping a good distance between them even after they passed the closed door to Kyle's office. Once they reached the fresh air she stepped closer to him and motioned towards his car. "Where to?" He asked as he started the engine. "Wherever, I guess it really doesn't matter. What are you in the mood for?" Michael bit his lip on the comment that almost came from his mouth. He wasn't quite sure why he was acting like a lovesick kid. Maria brought out things in him he thought were buried forever. "How about pizza? Is there a good place around here?" Maria gave him directions and then became uncharacteristically quiet for the ride there. Michael parked in the small parking lot outside the pizza parlor and turned to his dinner companion. "You're awfully quiet," he touched her hand that rested on her thigh. "Did you wear yourself out with the rant at the station?" He hoped his humor was indeed humorous. She looked sternly at him with a furrowed brow and a raised eyebrow for a few seconds until she broke out into a famous DeLuca grin. "No, Agent Michael. I did not wear myself out. If you think that little tirade was enough to wear me out then you are sadly mistaken." She reached for the door handle but felt her body being pulled away from the door and towards Michael. She met the eyes of Agent Michael and fell into them. "Wow." He grinned and lowered his face to hers. "I'm going to kiss you now," he spoke softly into her ear. "Is that okay?" She nodded and waited with her lips poised and her eyes closed. Michael licked his lips before meeting hers with them. He placed his hands around her midsection as he cradled her over the gap in-between their seats. His fingers played under the hem of her shirt. She touched his cheek with the back of her hand and felt the fire. The heat of want and need. She wasn't sure if it was coming from her or him. "I have to tell you something," Michael said in a wet breathy voice, his mouth close to her ear. Maria looked up to him as her heart began to pound. "I don't know how, or even why." He smiled but the nervousness was leaking through uncontrollably. "I didn't expect this, or even want this." He kissed the corner of her mouth. "But somewhere in-between all the death and destruction…" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I fell in love with you." "Michael-" "Wait," he placed his fingertip to her lips. "You don't have to say anything back to me. I'm not expecting you to. I'm not expecting anything really. I just wanted you to know how I felt simply because I wasn't sure I'd ever be this confidant again." Maria nodded and tried to come up with the right words to tell him she felt the same way, but her mind was devoid of the capabilities to put her feelings into words. "We okay?" He asked. "Yeah, we're good." She smiled and wondered if it was enough. She raised her head and kissed his bottom lip, suckling it for a second between her own lips. "We're very good." "Good," he let out a breath and helped her sit back up straight. "I'm really hungry now and I think I could use a beer about the size of Wisconsin." Maria got out of the car and sighed, she caught Michael looking at her over the roof of the car. "See, I really am sigh girl." He smiled and met her on her side of the car. He took her hand and brought it to his lips before escorting her inside the pizza parlor. They copped a booth in the rear and ordered immediately. "David Laws," Maria looked thoughtfully into her beer once the drinks were delivered. "What else did you find out about him?" "He vanished," Michael drained half the bottle of beer in one long sip. "There's nothing since the divorce. He didn't file income taxes, he didn't license a car, no utilities or a phone in his name. Nothing." "Are you sure he isn't dead?" Maria asked with raised eyebrows. "Not on file as being deceased," he shrugged. "Jobs?" "Not that far yet," he shook his head. "That's what I should be doing now." "Must eat to sustain energy," she blushed. Michael nodded and reached across the table taking her delicate hand in his. "We're so close Maria. We're so close to getting him." "It's not just the getting him, Michael. I don't think catching him is the end of it. There's a reason that eleven women have died and I sure as hell want to know what it is. I want to figure out the rules to his game; I want to understand why so many had to die. I want to know why Liz had to die." "I know, you're in this as deep as I am. Everything you've said has been dead on, and you're right. Catching him isn't the full deal. I want to know why too. I want to know everything." "I still think you may be the grand prize," she squeezed his hand. "I just met you, I'm not about ready to let you go." Her eyebrows raised. "I know time's running out and I know we're making a boatload of progress; but I'm scared for you Michael. I don't have a good feeling about the outcome of this." "Do you have psychic abilities?" "Don't be a smart ass," she rolled her eyes. "I just want this to end before he kills again and then comes for you." "It will Maria," he promised her and knew he'd make every effort to keep that promise. Dinner arrived and conversation drifted from the murder and mayhem to their personal lives. The shared interests were many and the avoidances were minimal. As the dinner plates were cleared away and the drink of choice became soft drinks, the comfort factor rose between them. "How many letters after Rachel?" "The one you read and one more." Maria opened her mouth to speak, then closed it as serious faded into frenzy. "You said there were two letters after Olivia at the station, but I only read one. Did I miss one? I forgot about it until now but you did tell me there were two." "There were two," he nodded. "You had it in your hand, remember?" The worry in his voice was becoming clear. "Maybe you put it away with the others." Maria nodded although somewhat doubtfully. She had been treating every document in the file as if it were fine china; misplacing something was not an option. "Yeah, okay. I'll look when we get back." "It's there Maria," he said. "I'm sure of it." She nodded and took a deep breath. "Who's next? After Rachel LeBeau?" "Theresa Newlin." "Colorado Springs, right?" He nodded. "Yeah. She was the fighter. Of all of them, she fought back." "She fought back," Maria repeated. "She had defense wounds," Michael recalled the crime scene and report from the medical examiner. "The ME said she had cuts on her hands and the bruising around her neck was more severe, there was some skin under her nails, but it turned out to be hers. There were scratches around her neck, around the scarf. Theresa Newlin wasn't ready to die." "Damn," she whispered. Michael paid the bill and they left, sinking into the deep leather seats of the Mercedes they drove in near silence back to the station. The sun had given way to an eerie twilight. Lightning flashed on the horizon. A storm was moving in. The wind kicked up as they pulled into the lot; sand spattered the windshield with little tinkles. "It's going to storm pretty bad," Maria mumbled as she opened the car door. Michael nodded and got out of the car. His thoughts shifted towards the approaching storm outside and the tailspin his life had gotten thrown into in the days he'd been in Roswell. |
| PARTS 29-35 |