Chapter Thirty Six "It's going to get bad," Maria commented as Michael held the door to the station open for her. She looked over her shoulder and sighed. "We haven't had a bad storm in ages." "Maybe we shouldn't work all night," he bit his bottom lip as they entered the station house. "We'll work for awhile and then head back to the B&B before it gets really bad out. Does that sound okay?" Maria nodded as they strolled down the quiet hallway. Her mind was preoccupied on finding the missing letter. She unlocked the war room and immediately went to the place she had been at earlier. She started flipping through the papers and eventually let out a sigh of relief. "Here it is." She showed him the envelope. "The one I thought I lost." She sat and took the letter out. "I guess it got lost in the shuffle and everything…" Her heart had been racing thinking she had lost evidence. With everything personal invested in the case Maria knew neither one of them could afford to make a mistake. Being careless was a mistake. One she wasn't about to make again. Michael nodded and went back to work on the laptop while Maria read the second letter after Olivia. Agent Guerin What a chance what a fright A lonely room on weepy night Battling with frustration Will you find me soon? Ages to conquer still above ground Miles to wander will I still be around? Ocean to ocean dusk to dawn Inflicting my cause with a subtle yawn. Agent Guerin, do I have to spell it out for you? Oh Agent dear, what do you harbor, is it love or is it fear? "Okay," Maria nodded after the third reading of the letter. "I guess I didn't miss anything by reading this out of order. He's a nut job, plain and simple. I can't make heads or tails of this one." "You've done better than me," Michael replied never taking his eyes off the screen in front of him. "David Laws last known address was in Richmond, that's where he was served with divorce papers." "So she divorced him," Maria offered. "Can you find a copy of the divorce decree?" "I'm searching for it now. I found it, but it's sealed so I'm trying to find a backdoor." "A backdoor, huh?" Maria smirked. "Is that an FBI term for breaking into something you shouldn't be?" "As a matter of fact it is, Maria," he looked at her and grinned. Smiling seemed so easy to do, even in a time where time wasn't an option. Time was running out, but now they really did have something to go on. They had a name; they had a person who might be responsible for all the murders. A person who had been too close for him to see for two years. A person who was sending him a message that he didn't understand. "I have one more letter after Rachel and then I'll start on the Theresa file while you," she cleared her throat, "find the backdoor." "Why don't we pack it up here soon," he motioned over his shoulder with his hand towards the window. "It looks like it's getting worse out there. I think we'll be able to get some work done at the B&B." "You think?" Maria grinned and picked up the file. "Let's just go now. It does look nasty out and I'd rather be at the quaint little B&B for the big bad storm anyway." Their eyes met and something magical transpired between them. "Ready?" He closed up the laptop and gathered some notes before following her back outside. The rain was beginning to fall in scattered fat drops. The wind began to howl wickedly. The temperature was dropping and Maria wrapped her arms around her trying to keep away the sudden chill. "My car." Michael stated rather than asked. He opened the passenger door for her and then walked around to the driver's side. He slid the laptop in the backseat as the engine purred to life. "It really looks bad out." "Yeah," her words held trembles. "I can't wait to get there…" "I need to make a stop first," he said to the window, unable to face her. Maria hid the grin and remained silent. As Michael pulled up in front of an all-night drug store, she still didn't say a word. When he got back in the car and handed her a white rose wrapped tightly in cheap cellophane, she smiled. The short trip to the B&B was quiet. Maria drummed her fingers on her thigh in rhythm to the music on the radio until the Mercedes came to stop. The raindrops were more frequent tapping the glass and roof in an incessant patter. They looked to each other and nodded; each grabbed what they brought and darted from the car to the front door. They were laughing by the time Michael opened the door for them. "I'm glad you two are back!" Isabel Whitman greeted them in the hallway. "It's supposed to be a hell of a storm tonight. Warnings are out everywhere for hail, flash flooding, wind…The whole shebang." "Yeah…" Maria giggled and instantly felt stupid. "Anyway, we have an almost empty house tonight. Just you guys and a couple here for their last night." Isabel nodded. "Are you working here tonight again?" She motioned to the laptop in Michael's arms with her eyes. "Yeah, for awhile." Michael Guerin nodded. "Is that okay?" "Of course it's okay," her smile was wide and knowing. "I can make some coffee if you'd like. Alex is in bed already. I think he might have come down with a touch of something." "Really," Maria said. "That's a shame. Summer colds are the worse. And yes, I'd love some coffee." "Great, you can help me make it." Isabel turned on her heels and left the foyer on her way to the kitchen. Maria handed her files off to Michael and followed the hostess. "So," Isabel's back was towards her when Maria walked in the room. "I don't know if I should actually charge you for a room or not." "Oh no really, Iz. Charge me for the room!" Maria stood next to her resting her backside on the counter so she was facing her. "I don't want any special treatment." "Okay. No. What I meant was that it doesn't seem right to charge you for a room that you're not using." Maria blushed uncontrollably. "I'm using it!" "As a storage space for your luggage maybe," Isabel smirked. "You said everything was good this morning. Is it still?" "It's still good," Maria smiled looking absently at the floor. "It's strange, though. I feel like a part of me has known him forever, but everything is still so new…I don't know. I'm not making sense." "You're making perfect sense," Isabel stopped what she was doing and looked to her friend. "When fate deals you hand, make the best of it. Everything does happen for a reason, you just have to see it." "But I feel so guilty, even here with you," Maria sighed. "Here I am falling in love while everyone else mourns the loss of Liz." "I know you mourn too, Maria." She took Maria's hand. "Liz would want you to move on and be happy. No matter what happened between you and Liz before she was…Before she died, she loved you and would always want you to be happy." "I am going to find who killed her." Maria bit back tears. "When I promised that, I meant it." "I know you are. We all know you are. Even Max," she sighed after saying her brother's name. "Even Max has more confidence in you than you would imagine. He knows when you're passionate about something; you give it everything you have. If it was anyone else, he would be bothering and pushing the hell out of them to work harder; but because it's you, he knows you already are." "Thank you," she hugged Isabel tight against her. "When did you get so damn wise?" Isabel shrugged. "When I thought I had to." She broke away and went back to work on the coffee as the first crack of thunder rattled the windows. "I can't remember the last time we had a storm this bad…" Maria glanced to the window overlooking the backyard as lightening lit up the darken skies. "God." "It's been awhile," Isabel turned around with the tray in hand. "Coffee's ready and I'll leave you two alone tonight. You have run of the house, you know that, so help yourself to anything." Maria followed Isabel out of the kitchen to the dining room where Michael had set up the scaled down version of the war room on the table. Maria noticed that all files were face down and the computer screen was situated away from prying eyes. She knew he had thought about the carelessness of leaving everything in the open the night before. Isabel dropped off the tray and turned away, then turned back in a swirling motion. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She reached behind her and pulled a white envelope from the back pocket of her jeans. She handed it to Michael. "This came for you today. Just sitting in the mailbox." Michael took the envelope from her and glanced at Maria. He saw the fear in her eyes as thunder rolled and wind seeped through the house with an eerie chill. * * * Kyle Valenti walked through the house he now shared with no one. He checked every room as thunder rattled the windows. He shivered and wondered if Maria was okay. On impulse he called the station and was relieved to hear that Maria and Agent Hot Shit had left a little while earlier. "No doubt to go have sex," he muttered as he cracked open a beer. Surveying his surroundings, he missed the essence that was Maria DeLuca. He missed the way she checked the mail and tossed bills haphazardly in his direction while flipping through whatever magazine or catalog came with them. He missed the way she kicked her shoes off and left them in front of the couch when she curled up with a book. He missed Maria DeLuca and knew he would for a very long time. He poured the beer down the drain and fixed himself a frozen dinner he had picked up on the way home. The weather reports coming in were not looking good and he knew as the Sheriff, he had to be ready to roll on a moment's notice. His personal life had to be put on hold for any type of town emergency. The lights flickered once, just long enough to knock the clock on the VCR out and turn the TV off. Kyle swore and turned the TV back on. The latest weather report was calling for severe thunderstorms, hail, flash flooding, and dangerous lightning. All were anticipated to rip through Roswell in the overnight hours. * * * Chapter Thirty Seven Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca waited until Isabel understood it was time for her to leave the room. A severe crash of thunder made Maria catch her breath and let out a small squeak. Michael removed the letter from the envelope now completely oblivious to the storm brewing outside, and held it out in front of them so they could read it together: Agent Guerin I never meant to start this But you left me no choice Began as one to take away When you left me without a voice. I've thrown it all in your face And now I've almost won the race Lives for them but you can't see why Times almost up, not many more are going to die. Agent Guerin can't you read it still? Agent Guerin, maybe your new bitch will. "Did he just call me a bitch?" Maria asked with bravado masking her fear. "Is that what he just said? I'm not a bitch." "It's him. It's David Laws. Lorelei's husband," he read the letter again and clutched Maria's hand with his free one. "Right here, the first part: 'I never meant to start this.' Damn it! I have to find him and stop this. I…I…" "We will," she emphasized the 'we' and squeezed his hand. "We have him, we know who it is that's killing these girls. Right?" "But like you said, we don't know why." He threw the letter on the table in disgust. "You said it yourself Maria, if we can't figure out the why of it, then they all died in vain and I couldn't live with myself if that happened. I can't bring them back, but they died for me. I …I have to see it through. I have to find out the reason. "And he's told me over and over again that it's in my face, but I can't see it!" He dropped her hand and paced the length of the table. "He's been hunting me since day one with those…those stupid fucking letters. Giving me clues that I can't understand. There's nothing random here, I know that, but there's no pattern either. Eleven women have lost their lives because of me and I can't figure out why! Fuck!" Maria closed her eyes in defeat. There was nothing she could have told him right then that was going to make everything all better. Michael harbored the guilt of eleven dead women and that would never go away. Their blood that was on his hands would stay with him until he took his own last breath. Maria knew that if he was given a reason it might make the guilt a little less. Maybe. Their prime suspect had graduated to all but convicted. Right there, standing in the dining room of the Whitman's Bed and Breakfast, they thought knew exactly who the killer was. Thunder rolled overheard followed by flashes of lightning. Close lightning. The lights flickered and Maria stepped closer to him. "We have to find him. He's close Michael, God, he's so close I'm way past feeling his breath on my neck." Michael nodded. "Me too." He kissed the corner of her mouth. "I have to search for him some more tonight. Now." "What can I do? Can I help you?" He shook his head. "No, you finish meeting them. Theresa and Hannah. Read the letters and make some sense out of them. It has to be there, there's nothing else he's given me to figure out. He's a twisted fucking poet that I don't understand. It's all just words to me for the most part. I need your help with them, Maria. Read between the lines until you figure it out." "Yeah, because I'm a bitch." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're not a bitch." Michael didn't elaborate. The knowing that he knew about Maria was enough for Michael to work all night and track the bastard down, he was confident that he could, and given the opportunity would, kill him with his bare hands. He had already taken away the love his life once and now… He didn't like one bit that Maria had made her way into the letters. The letters were for him and him alone. Lives for them. Maria conceded that she was indeed, not a bitch before opening the file on Theresa Newlin from Colorado Springs. The fighter. Theresa Newlin was an average size, an average build with a thick mane of average brown hair. Green eyes and a button nose gave her the appearance of simplicity. A simple girl from a simple life in a simple town. But as Maria read on about her, she realized Theresa was anything but simple. She was very complex. Theresa Newlin had recently graduated from Denver University with a bachelor's degree in psychology; an emphasis in abnormal psych. Maria wished Theresa was there with them now, maybe she could shed some light into the mind of a serial killer. Torturing animals, setting fires, wetting the bed; she knew all the classic signs of a serial killer in the making from books, but this was different, this was real. Theresa was found on the front porch of her house in the middle of the afternoon. Her nude body was discovered by the mailman; the telltale red scarf around her neck. Theresa Newlin had left her job as a junior counselor for troubled children early with complaints of a stomach pains. She told co-workers she just wanted to go home and go to bed; she attributed the pains to an intense workout the night before in her kick boxing class. As Maria read on about Theresa she admired her as a person. Theresa had brought herself up from an abusive situation and made the most of her life. Her father had been, and still was, an alcoholic. Theresa convinced her mother to leave him when she was only ten years old. Struggling with financial difficulty, from the time Theresa started her first job at fifteen, she always helped with bills. She was awarded a full academic scholarship to college and wanted to devote her life to helping children who were in the same place she had been. Struggling through school and working, Theresa accomplished her goals. The front porch of the little house she shared with her mother was her favorite place to be. She'd sit in the porch swing and read for hours. Maria thought it was tasteless that she had died where she loved to live. She found the letter and opened up ready to tackle another few stanzas of a madman's declaration. Agent Guerin So talented to watch So delightful to taste Giving up on a future The life was such a waste. Tell the dead I walk alone On paths of broken bones Clear as crystal rolled into fun Even if you catch it, I can't stop until I'm done. Oh Agent dear, I thought you'd be so smart. Oh Agent dear, I was wrong and now you live in my art. Maria read the letter over a few times as she did all the others. He wasn't talking about Theresa; he was talking about Lorelei. It's always been about Lorelei not the other girls! They were unimportant to him. They weren't random, though, they were all hand picked for a specific reason. A presently undetermined reason, but it had never been about them. All the letters, almost all the references had been about the first one, about Lorelei Govern. She cast a glance in Michael's direction to see the frustration in his face, in his eyes. He had missed it. He had missed that everything was about Lorelei. He was killing for her the same way Michael was living for them. She let out a deep breath. The lights flicked again and Michael swore under his breath and continued tapping away at the keys. He sat up straighter when his search was beginning to disclose some pertinent information. "David Alan Laws was a professor at Virginia College up until about three weeks before Lorelei was murdered then he disappeared from their books. He was eventually fired for job abandonment." "A professor of English?" Maria swallowed audibly. Michael nodded as the lights went out. "Shit." His face was illuminated in the glow from the laptop screen. "Do you think they're going to stay out?" She shrugged. "Aren't you on a battery?" He nodded and looked at the screen. "Damn it! Phone lines must be gone too. Fuck!" He slapped the computer screen down leaving them in complete darkness. "Well, I guess this means we're done for awhile, huh?" In the darkness, where she couldn't see his face, Maria said the words that she didn't want to say. "It's always been about Lorelei." "What?" His voice was soft. "The letters, they weren't always about the girls, not really. The underlying theme in them is Lorelei and you. This was all for Lorelei and you." She heard his breath become shallow. "I'm sorry, I should have seen it earlier, but I didn't…" "I should have seen it two years ago," he sighed. "I don't think it would have mattered. The one after Theresa, he said he can't stop until he's done. He wouldn't have stopped and he wouldn't have let himself be found. Even if you knew about him from day one, he thinks he has a mission to fulfil. He won't stop until his master plan, his message to you, is complete. You didn't do anything wrong. He's smart, very smart." "So am I…" He trailed off shaking his head in the dark. "When we find out what happened between him and Lorelei I think we're going to see a man who had his heart broken. I think in his mind, the only way to make it better was to destroy the ones who broke it. Lorelei and inadvertently, you." She heard him sigh. "Michael?" "You're so smart," he said with a smile. "When I read the letters, the thousand times I read each of them, I never…God Maria, I never saw it. I knew it was about me and maybe Lorelei sometimes, but not, hearing you talk I can see it. I can see the words in my mind and…Fuck! I should have known all of this." "You were too damn close Michael," she reached to him in the dark and poked him in the cheek. "Sorry," she stifled a giggle and slid her hand under his jaw. "You were just too damn close." Thunder cracked and lightning lit up the room for a second. The time was long enough to see the desperation in each other's eyes. He reached for her and pulled her into him, wrapping capable arms around her and kissing the top of her head. The wind picked up and howled sounding like distant coyotes calling for their mates. Rain pelted the windows threatening to break through. He stepped back from her and took her by the hand. Moving with the awkwardness of the newly blinded, he led her to the stairs. With free hands relying on the banister for guidance, they walked up in silence towards Michael's room. He pushed the door open as the lights from the storm ripped through the sky. He glimpsed a kerosene lantern on the nightstand. Feeling in the darkness for it, he remembered his days of training in Quantico and lit it deftly with a lighter left by it. The soft glow from the lantern cast shadows on the walls and across Maria's face. He studied her and knew the shadows weren't only from the mystifying light of the lantern, some were with her always. He was scared for her. Turning the wick down to lessen the light he saw a note by the lantern. It was from Isabel: Just in case. Isabel. He reached to Maria and took her small delicate hands into his. Bringing them to his lips, he kissed each knuckle. Rattling windows, howling wind, beating rain and immense thunder wasn't enough to subdue the passion building between two new lovers; if nothing else, it heightened it. Chapter Thirty Eight "Maria," Michael whispered her name and slid his arm around her waist. Pulling her against him, letting her feel how bad he wanted her. "Maria." He whispered her name again, this time into her ear and smiled at the goosebumps that rose on her neck. Thunder rolled across the desert sky as Maria slid her hands under the FBI polo shirt and pulled it off of him over his head. She dropped it to the floor in back of her and lowered her head to his chest. Her tongue traced first one nipple then the other, she bit down lightly on the hardened bit of deep rose colored skin and smiled when she felt his body tighten. Without looking up, she undid his belt then the button on his jeans. Pushing the denim down without trepidation, her fingers only pulling back once when thunder made the windows rattle. She looked up briefly to his face and saw the passion in his eyes that mirrored her own. With an impish grin, she ran her thumbs under the waistband of his boxers and hiked them down around his ankles. She heard him gasp as her tongue started at his navel and followed the trim line of hair on an otherwise smooth surface downward. She kneeled down and took a deep breath. Licking her lips once, Maria took him in her mouth. She felt his hands rest on her head, his fingers running through her hair. Her hands clasped his ass and squeezed gently. She wrapped her lips around him and took him in as far as she could, back and forth. She felt his hands on her cheeks and she tilted her face up to see him. Afraid of embarrassment for her actions; she sighed when she saw nothing but kindness and love in his face. He nodded once to her and she let him slide out of her mouth. She casually wiped her lips as she stood up with her head down, not facing him until she was in front of him. With one hand on each of her shoulders, he balanced and stepped out of his pants and boxers. The lightning caught a wicked little grin as he undressed her the same way she had undressed him. Standing in the middle of the room, two nude bodies illuminated only by the dull glow from a kerosene lantern and the occasional flash of hard lightning, they became one in heart and soul. Michael stepped back from her and looked at her, he took in every inch of her body in the glow and shadows. His eyes consumed every visible pore. When he looked back to her face, he noticed the raw fire in her eyes and the passion on her lips. The want and need had converged into something more. When their eyes met there was only thing that transpired between them. Love. "I love you Maria," he said without hesitation as he stepped to her and wrapped his strapping arms around her, feeling the heat from her body glide into his own. He didn't need to hear the words from her; he could feel them in the beat of her heart next to his. He backed her up against the bed and gently lowered her onto the handmade quilt. Standing above her, looking down at her nakedness of body and soul, Michael Guerin had never felt more alive in his life. "I was living for only one reason before and now I see my life in a new light, a better life. A life with you in it." He smiled and the wind howled in the background as he lowered himself over her. His hand went to one of her breasts and rolled her nipple in-between his forefinger and thumb while his mouth covered the other one. He watched in awe out of the corner of his eye as her pelvis rose up off the bed and then lowered. He rested his body weight on an elbow while his other hand left her nipple and traced a line down her abdomen. The tip of his finger felt the thin, fine translucent hair beneath her navel and kept moving downward. Her legs parted involuntarily when she felt his fingertips on her inner thigh; the touch was as light as the wings of a butterfly. Her eyes closed as her world rocked. The sensation from her thighs moved incoming towards her center. Fingers parted the thin line of sculpted hair, moving inside dampening folds. Her gasp made him smile around her breast. He turned his head away leaving her wet naked breast in the breeze and watched what he was doing with his other hand. Resting his head on her stomach, still rolling and pinching her other nipple, he watched as her body reacted to the presence of his hand between her legs. Slipping a finger deeper against her, he found the hardened bud he was looking for and spooled it with his thumb while sliding his forefinger deep inside of her. She gasped at the feel of him; the roughness and softness all rolled up into one. The heat and the cool melding together inside of her. "Michael…" She whispered his name as her hips bucked. "Please." He turned his head to face her and nodded slowly. He broke the physical connection they shared for what seemed like an eternity to Maria. She watched him dig through the pockets of his jeans as her body recoiled from loss of sensory stimulation. He turned back to her with a small cardboard envelope in his hands. He opened it with shaky hands and dropped the three silver packets to the floor. Swearing under his breath he got down on his knees and gathered them. Tossing two of them over Maria's head on the bed, he ripped the other one open with his teeth. She watched as he put the condom on himself and rolled the latex down his hardness. She grinned and squeaked when he crawled up on her. He nudged her body up on the bed and then covered it with his own. His hands brushed her hair out of her face as he smiled down on her. "Beautiful." He leaned down and kissed her lips, their tongues finding each other in a wet tangle. She reached to him, sliding her hand around his sheathed shaft and guided him into her. A pant arose between them; maybe it was from both of them as the first sensation of truly being together took over. As he thrust inside of her, thunder cracked over the desert sky and lightning of yellows and purples ravaged through the room. Never taking his eyes off hers, Michael rocked slowly back and forth, his hands holding his full body weight off of her. The movements were so slow, so honest; the purity of an unfamiliar touch led them to places they never thought they'd reach. "Beautiful," he said again and smiled. "Handsome," she smiled back at him. As the wind howled outside and fat raindrops battered the windows, a new step in an undefined relationship was being added. The undefined was giving way to a definitive answer. This was right; this was real. "Michael," she said his name between pants of fervor. She cupped his face in-between her hands and licked her lips. "Kiss me." He lowered himself down on to her and obeyed. Filling her mouth with his, the kiss sent him close to the edge. He pulled away and stopped any motion. "What's wrong?" She asked alarmed as thunder cracked in the night sky. "I can't…Wait." He smiled in embarrassment. He closed his eyes for a few seconds then looked at her again. "Okay." She grinned and wrapped her arms around him holding him tight against her; she trailed her tongue over his ear to the sensitive skin behind it. She smiled as she saw the goosebumps rise up on him. Michael reclaimed his position above her and began to thrust in and out of her feverishly. The storm outside seemed to be keeping pace with the one inside. He felt her contract around him, her fingernails digging into his biceps, her mouth parted in a silent scream. The force of his climax rocked him, the thunder boomed as he collapsed on top of her, still inside of her. The light from the kerosene lantern cast their naked forms in a warm glow, glimmering from the sweat that encased them both. "Oh God," he panted and kissed a sweat-covered nipple. "Salty." He pulled out of her, holding the latex on with one hand and curled up beside her. His tongue laving across the hardened peak of imperfect skin while he felt her hands running through his sweat soaked hair. Maria's chest rose and fell, electric spasms still ran through her central nervous system. Never did she ever imagine anything could feel so good, so right. She leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. "I love you too, Agent Michael," she whispered. Chapter Thirty Nine Michael heard the vocalization of words he knew were true. He had felt them in her heartbeat and kiss and now he had heard them spoken with utmost sincerity. He kissed the fleshy part of her breast and smiled. Maria couldn't believe she just told him she loved him. That was the one thing she didn't want him to know, not yet, and she had gone and told him anyway. So much for mysteries, she thought. As the storm continued to pound the sky and the rain pelted the windows mercilessly, a murder mystery not yet solved brewed in the undercurrent of both of their minds right behind the experience of a newborn venture. The glow from the lantern cast enough light on the couple so when Michael looked up at her face, he saw the innermost emotions of Maria DeLuca and he loved her for them. As the storm remained violent outside, the passion in the room remained fervent. As the hours of adoration droned on, the other two silver packets were opened and used. The quilt ended up on the floor, their naked bodies entwined in a mass of sweaty arms and legs, mouths connected. "You are so amazing," Michael pushed her sweaty hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "You're not so bad yourself." Maria winked at him as the wind outside began it's mournful howling again. He smiled while breathing through his mouth. He lips pursed in a smile, his eyes danced. "Maria," broken breaths came out in laughter. "This is so crazy. I mean, here we are lying here after a night of…" He blinked rapidly. "Amazing things; declaring love, no less, when just a few days ago I thought you were beautiful and sarcastic and you were flipping me the bird!" She laughed and doubled over forcing him to sit up. "Seriously Deputy," his hands glided into hers. "This was the last thing I ever thought would happen to me. I never…I never imagined…God, you have me so crazy I can't even think straight!" He laughed and pulled her down next to him. "I am just so in love with you Maria DeLuca." He met her eyes before leaning into her neck. He inhaled her skin. The rich Maria smells fused with jasmine. She closed her eyes as she let guilt wash over her, only for a second this time, before kissing his lips briskly. "You know we left the files on the table, right?" "I know," he sighed and rolled away from her sitting up. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and looked over his shoulder at her. "Somehow you made top priority." He winked. "I'll go get them right now. Will you be here when I get back?" "Oh, no, actually I thought I might take a leisurely stroll around the grounds on such a pleasant evening." She rolled her eyes at him with a smile. "See, sarcastic." He stood and felt around for his jeans on the floor. He slid them on and grabbed the lantern from the nightstand. "I'll be right back." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Michael closed the door behind him and ventured down the almost familiar steps. He turned the wick up in the lantern as he entered the dining room. He picked up the folders and laptop, a broad smile on his face the entire time. Agent Michael Guerin couldn't remember a time when he had been so happy. That wasn't exactly true, he did remember a time in his past when he had been happy. When he had been with Lorelei. Lorelei. The thought of her was marred now, as much as Maria had tried to convince him not to, he held his time with Lorelei at an arms length with a jaded view. This was different. Maria was different. Maria was everything he wanted, everything he needed, rolled up into a neat little blond haired jasmine smelling package and he wasn't about to let her go. The letter, the one that arrived today, was on top of the folder in his arms. He read the last line again and again. Agent Guerin, maybe your new bitch will. He closed his eyes as anger roiled beneath his skin. Maybe your new bitch will. Your new bitch. Bastard! He shook his head in contempt; a madman was threatening his newly found happiness. He realized that there was no actual threat made against Maria, if nothing else, it was almost more like a compliment instead. But a compliment from a serial killer was almost as bad. He made a promise to himself right there, nothing would happen to Maria. Nothing. He walked back up the steps and into their room. Our room, he smiled to himself as he closed the door behind him. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it when he saw Maria. She was lying on her side; the quilt had been replaced on the bed and was covering her up to her waist, her breasts were exposed to him. Her eyes were closed, her chest rose and fell in a consistent deep rhythm. While he was gone, Maria had fallen asleep. As noiselessly as he could, he set the evidence and computer down on the bureau and took his jeans off. He turned the wick in the lantern all the way down and slid underneath the quilt. He spooned her, sliding his arm around her waist and taking her hand in his. She responded in her sleep and held his hand against her, pulling it up over her breast. * * * When the sun should have been kissing one step over the horizon, thunder rattled the entire foundation of the B&B. Maria woke up, her eyes wide. She felt an arm around her waist, a hand holding her own, and smiled. She felt Michael's breath on the back of her neck and rolled over. She smiled as he murmured something and opened his eyes. "Morning," she kissed his forehead and pulled the quilt up over her naked chest. "Morning," he curled up closer to her. "Are you sure it's morning?" "I think so," she giggled and looked at the wind-up alarm clock on the nightstand. "Almost eight, we should be working." "We could work in bed," he suggested with arched eyebrows. "Yeah, okay." She pulled the quilt tight around her and sat up against the headboard. "Seriously, we should go." He closed his eyes in an extended blink before sitting up. He nodded more to himself than anyone else; Maria was right, they should be working. He was slacking because all he wanted to do was stay in bed with her on such a nasty rainy day. Hunting a serial killer was not on his short list of things he wanted to do. Ever. "You're so demanding," he smiled over his shoulder at her. "But that's one of the reasons I adore you." When he looked in her eyes he saw something he didn't like. Hiding behind the coyness and sarcasm was fear. "It's going to be okay." "He called me a bitch," her voice was timid. The real words she wanted to say were more consistent with, 'he knows about me Michael'. "We've been over that, you're not a bitch." He rubbed her leg through the quilt. "It's almost over Maria, I promise you it's almost over." "Then what?" "What?" "What happens when it's over? You go away and I stay in this stupid town?" She closed her eyes as the last word came out of her mouth and shook her head. "Forget what I just said, okay?" "Maria-" "Seriously, forget what I just said." She laughed to mask her embarrassment for sounding like a clingy girlfriend. "I'm just worried about…Things." "So am I," he confided. "Damn it Michael, he knows about me!" She stated. "He knows about me." "I won't let anything happen to you," he crawled back up the length of the bed and hugged her. "I promise you Maria, I won't let anything happen to you. Ever." Maria nodded and wondered numbly if he had told the same thing to Lorelei. She broke away from him. "We really should get to the station. I have one more to meet and you have to dig around some more and try to find David Laws." At the mention of the name, Michael broke away from her and got off the bed. He ran a hand through sweat starched hair. Chastising himself for putting the reason he came to Roswell on a lower priority than his love life. "You're right. Shower?" "Together?" She blushed and shook her head. "I don't think so, we'd never get any work done then." "I'll go first. After that we can head downstairs and grab some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" He smiled as some of his tension drained. "Me too," she got out of bed with the quilt wrapped around her modestly. She looked over his nakedness and grinned. She then laughed when he put his boxers on off the floor. "I can shower in my room," she kicked the empty condom envelope on the floor. "I think we're going to need a bigger box." It was his turn to laugh. He watched as she slipped on her clothes from the night before and carried her boots out of the room, blowing him a kiss before she left. * * * Maria took a fast shower. Being in the shower with a storm outside had always given her the willies. She didn't chose her clothes as carefully as before, but felt herself slide into that familiar feel with someone. Clothes were clothes and she didn't think she had to try to impress anyone with what she wore. Putting her hand to the window to judge the outside temperature, she slipped a sweatshirt from high school over a black T-shirt. Running her hands through her hair she left the room and went straight downstairs in search of a cup of coffee. She wondered briefly if she should wait for Michael then decided it didn't really matter. Their relationship was past the pretenses of impression. They were somewhere real. She smelled the coffee as she hit the bottom step and followed her nose into the kitchen where Isabel and Alex were seated at the table. She fixed herself a cup and joined them. "Good morning," she smiled after taking that first sip. "No, it's morning, but not that good." Alex coughed. "I feel like shit and it's supposed to rain for the next few days with actually no end in sight." He nodded and took a sip of steamy liquid that looked suspiciously like hot cocoa. "Rain. Rain. Storm. Rain." "Oh," Maria nodded and looked at Isabel in time to see her roll her eyes. "So it's gonna keep raining, huh?" She grinned. "Anyway, when did the lights come back on?" "Only about an hour ago," Isabel raised her eyebrows. "So, did you find your lanterns okay? Both you and Agent Guerin?" "Uh…Yeah, we sure did. Thanks." Maria nodded. "Ha!" Isabel pointed across the table at her. "I only left one in the Agent's room! You are so busted!" She said in a singsong voice and then laughed. "See Alex, we can't charge her for a room that she's only using to store her luggage in-" "Shower. I took a shower…" Maria trailed off into a laugh. "Leave me alone!' Isabel stood and walked to the corner of the kitchen returning to the table, she handed Maria a plastic bag. "Here. Kyle dropped this off for you this morning on his way to work." Maria took the bag from her. Kyle. Hearing the name sent her back into a guilt induced emotional roller coaster. She reached in the back and pulled out a jacket. Her rain coat to be exact. Underneath it was her umbrella. She closed her eyes and waited a beat before opening them again. "He thought you might need them," Isabel smiled compassionately. "He's okay, Maria." She nodded and set her things on the table as Michael strode through the doorway. He smiled at Maria and said his 'good mornings' to the Whitman's. "Weather report?" He asked sitting down at the table as Isabel stood up. "Rain. Storm. Rain. Rain." Alex coughed into his hand. "That about sums it up." Michael nodded and reached for Maria's hand underneath the table. "Rain gear?" He motioned to the coat and umbrella in front of her. She nodded, "Kyle dropped them off." Michael didn't respond, he didn't know what words to use. Nothing would sound right and sometimes it's not what you say, but what you don't say. Isabel set down warm bagels, cream cheese and bagged donuts in front of them. "It's not much, but it's all we have. I couldn't send poor Alex out into the rain, not when he's feeling so bad." She looked down lovingly at her husband. "This is perfect," Michael answered as he reached for breakfast. Maria nibbled on a bagel; the raingear and Kyle had lessened her appetite considerably. When she was sure Michael was almost done, she nudged him. "Ready?" She was anxious to get to work and to see Kyle. Kyle had done something for her that not many other men would have done and she wanted to make sure he knew that. Michael nodded and stood, thanking Isabel for breakfast and wishing Alex a quick recovery. He walked with Maria out of the kitchen. "Hey," Isabel followed them into the hallway. "Expect Max today, he's starting to get a little edgy." They nodded in unison and collected their things. Maria put on her raincoat and gave Michael the umbrella before they ventured out into the storm. Back to the station. Back to real life. * * * Chapter Forty Rain tapped the top of the Mercedes incessantly. Maria looked out the window for most of the ride to the station in silence. As they pulled into the lot she saw that Kyle had parked the 4X4 next to her little convertible. A deep sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it. "You okay?" Michael asked as he slid the gear into park. He saw where her attention was and grimaced. "Are you having…Second thoughts?" She faced him slowly and shook her head. "Nope. I may have second thoughts on a lot of things like my relationship with Liz and how I broke up with Kyle, but with you? No, I'm good." She ended with a smile. She motioned towards the front doors of the station. "We should go in." He agreed with a nod and reached in the backseat for the files and laptop. He handed her the small stack of files. "Do you think you could maybe shove these under your slicker there?" He raised an eyebrow. She pursed her lips ready with a quick comeback, then just took the files and tucked them under her raincoat. She put her hood up and got out of the car. Sprinting across the lot, she beat Michael up the steps and was laughing when they made it inside. Michael shook out the umbrella before walking down the hall towards the war room. His boots squeaked on the linoleum which made Maria giggle. As they passed the closed office door of Sheriff Kyle Valenti, Maria relinquished the files to Michael and told him she'd be right there. He took them and smiled without questioning her. She watched Michael walk the short distance to the war room and go inside before she knocked lightly on Kyle's door. She was answered with a muffled 'enter'. She opened the door and then closed it behind her. "Maria." Kyle said her name and felt the bitter sting of jealousy. "Kyle," she unsnapped the raincoat nervously. "I just wanted to thank you for dropping this off at Isabel's today," she looked at him through the tops of her eyes. "That was very considerate of you." "Yeah well," he let out a deep breath, "you didn't take a lot with you when you left and I thought you would be able to use it in this bastard of a storm we're having." "Seriously Kyle, thank you." Maria kept her fingers crossed figuratively that he could read between the lines and see she was thanking him for a lot more than just dropping off a stupid raincoat and umbrella. He shrugged as he seemed to absorb what she was saying to him. He met her eyes and saw something in them he'd only seen once before. "It's for real, isn't it? I mean with him?" She nodded slowly as she absently fumbled with a snap on the jacket. "I can see it in your eyes Maria," he smiled sadly. "It's the same look you had after the first time we made love. I never thought I'd see that look again, but there it is." "Kyle-" "It's okay," he interrupted. "I talked to a friend and they were right, this town isn't big enough to hold you in it. I love you Maria; I can't just turn that off. And I will be here for you when- no, if you need me. Ever. And I realized something, I do love you enough to let you go." Maria wiped at tranquil tears as she walked around the desk. She leaned down and hugged him, water dripping from her jacket onto his shirt. She kissed the corner of his mouth and then looked at his face. "Thank you." "Get out of here, okay?" he pushed her away with a half laugh hiding his true emotions. "I should have asked before, but…Are you any closer?" "I think so," she stood up straight. "We think we have a name." "Seriously?" Kyle sat up straight; amazement on his face. "Local?" She shook her head not sure how much she should tell him. He was the Sheriff of Roswell after all; technically he had a right to know. Technically, he should have been let in the loop since day one. "David Laws from Virginia." "Virginia? How did you come to find him?" Kyle rested his elbows on his desk and his chin on his hands. "Well, the first victim, Lorelei Govern? She was Agent Guerin's girlfriend." Maria said the words slowly. "David Laws was her husband that we didn't know existed until just recently." "She was the first one…" Kyle shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly things were making sense. Why one man would spend years tracking a killer down by himself. "God…" "I know," Maria nodded. "But we're on to something Kyle, we're going to figure this out and we're going to get him. For Lorelei and the others. And for Liz. Always for Liz." Kyle nodded as he let the information seep into his brain. "Right, Max called before you got here. He's coming in today to talk to you, you know, to see if you've made any progress. Be careful what you tell him, okay? I think Max Evans is walking around half cocked." "Isabel said he's doing okay, kind of…" "Yeah, well, I can't imagine what he's going through. I know if I were in his shoes…" He trailed off with the images and shuddered. "Just be careful around Max." "I think I can handle Max," Maria said with false confidence. She didn't even want to try to handle anything to do with Max Evans. Not yet, not until she could go to him and tell him that they'd gotten the man who had stolen Liz Parker's life and ruined Max's. "Well, I'm going to get back to work, okay?" She turned around and walked to the door. She reached for the doorknob before turning back to face him. "Thanks again Kyle, for everything." She walked from the office and closed the door behind her. Taking confident strides down the hall she walked into the war room and was ready to sit down and solve a case. "I'm not going to let you out of my sight for too long, okay?" Michael announced as Maria slid into the chair next to him. "Did you miss me that much?" She asked coyly smiling. "I did, but I hate the idea of him knowing about you." He admitted and ran his hands through his hair. "What that tells me is that he's either seen you and I together or…" "Or nothing," she folded her arms across her chest. "That's it Michael. He had to have seen us together. He's been back here, to Roswell, and we didn't even know it." He nodded as she spoke the words he didn't want to admit out loud. "Fuck him," Maria feigned a smile. "I don't need a baby-sitter, Michael." She patted her shoulder holster. "See, I'm armed." He feigned a smile back at her and shook his head. "You're tough Maria and I'm not saying you need a baby-sitter, I just don't want anything to happen to you." He shrugged and let out a deep breath. The reasons for worry were rampant in his mind. This madman, this David Laws, had taken away the love of his life once and Michael wasn't about to let it happen a second time. She reached to him and touched his thigh giving it a light squeeze. "Don't worry about me Agent Michael, worry about finding this bastard. Worry about how to track him down and then take him down. Worry about his next victim. I can go on, would you like me to?" "No, I think I get the picture." He half-laughed and turned back to the laptop. "I'm in the backdoor of the divorce decree-" "Ahh…The infamous backdoor. How'd you do it?" "I have Natalie working full time on this, top priority, and she's my ace in the hole. She's going to start feeding me all the information I can handle on the elusive David Laws as soon as she finds it." "Excellent," Maria snapped and turned to the victim box. "I guess I'm off to meet the next one, Hannah Lampe. Right?" "Right," he nodded. "The letters Maria, concentrate on the letters. See what I can't." She nodded and opened up Hannah's file. * * * "Time is close to running out," the voice was delusional. "Will you realize what it's all about?" The figure strode through the hotel room as rain pelted the windows. He twisted a red scarf in his hands, weaving it through his fingers. "I wanted you to suffer, I wanted you to cry. I wanted you to live for those who I have desecrated. I wanted you to want to die." * * * Before Maria even had a chance to read one word in Hannah's file, the door to the room flung open and Max Evans stood in the doorway. Maria and Michael stood and watched him as he looked towards the wall and saw the portraits of the victims. "Max," Maria walked to him and touched his arm to lead him out of the room. He flung her arm off of him and stepped to the wall. "Who are they?" He asked in a deeply breathy voice "Who the fuck are they?" His voice now held demand as he turned around to face the ones in charge. "Max," Maria bit her bottom lip. "We don't we step out into the hall? You shouldn't be in here." She felt Michael inch closer to her. "Tell me what the fuck any of these people have to do with Liz!" He yelled and pointed in Maria's face seemingly oblivious to Michael's presence. "You're supposed to be finding who…Who…Who killed Liz!" "Mr. Evans," Michael stepped in front of Maria and pushed Max's hand out of the way. "Why don't we go out into the hall." Flush crept up Max's neck. "Why don't you tell me what the fuck you people are doing to help Liz?" His eyes flicked to the wall of portraits. "Mr. Evans, either you step out into the hallway or you will be placed under arrest for interfering with an ongoing investigation." Michael said sternly and grabbed Max's upper arm. He forced him to turn back around and escorted him to the door. He let go of him once all three of them were in the hallway. "I trusted you Maria," Max's voice held the misery and void of sudden disappointment. "You can still trust me Max," Maria stepped closer to him. "We are doing everything we can to find the psycho who murdered Liz." Hearing the words coming from her mouth that went straight to Max unnerved her. "Please, you have to believe me." "But…" Max pointed to the closed door of the war room. "Max," Maria took his hand in hers. She looked into his eyes and saw his pain. Felt his pain. "I promise you that we'll find him. That's all we're doing, please believe me. What you saw in there is all important, but you have to keep it to yourself, okay?" She arched her eyebrows. "Will you do that?" The heated Max Evans cooled as he nodded humbly. "I trust you, Maria." He cast a glance at Michael. "I know you'll find him. Liz knows you'll find him." Tears balanced on his eyelids. "It's just so hard…" Maria wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tears welled up in her eyes. She felt Max's pain of losing Liz Parker. She felt it in every breath she took and every promise she made. Having other things to occupy her mind may be the only salvation she was granted. Why she was granted with a new life when her friends was taken away, she'd never understand but would have to learn to accept. Michael stepped away from the old friends who shared a common loss and went back into the war room closing the door in back of him. Maria broke away from Max and looked into his red-rimmed dark eyes. "Trust me." "I do," he stepped away from her and wiped his eyes. "Find him before he kills again." He turned and walked down the hall. Maria looked after him and knew that he had understood what the pictures on the wall were for. Max Evans knew that Liz Parker wasn't the only one, just the most recent. She prayed that information wouldn't surface. After taking a few deep breaths she went back in the room and started on Hannah's file. * * * Chapter Forty One "He's hurting," Michael said without looking away from the computer screen in front of him. "Do you think he understood what he saw in here?" "Oh yeah," Maria nodded. "He understood exactly what he saw. As he was walking away he told me to catch him before he kills again." "Damn it!" Michael slapped the tabletop causing Maria to jump. "I can't let this leak-" "He's not going to say anything Michael," she touched his arm in a comforting fashion. "He's hurt and pissed off but he's not stupid. One thing Max Evans has never been is stupid." Michael nodded his trust in her judgement of Max Evans. She'd been right about everything else so far. He was on his feet as the door opened again. He swayed at the sight of Sheriff Kyle Valenti. "Just me," Kyle held his hands in the air. "I was wondering if I could sit in with you guys for a little bit." "What's wrong Kyle?" Maria asked. "What happened?" "Nothing," he smiled but it was a weak attempt. "I just want to know what else you've got, that's all. I am the Sheriff Maria, in case you forgot, and this is my town." His words didn't hold contempt, only honesty. "I want to know about this David Laws." Michael's attention turned to Maria in a breakneck motion. Accusation in his eyes. Disbelief on his lips. "Maria." "He is the Sheriff, Michael." She said nervously. The unwanted attention was unnerving. "He should know what's going on in his town…" She looked nervously between the two men in the room and sighed holding her hands out palms up. "What?" "I don't know…" Michael ran his hands through his hair. More than just by habit this time, this time it was with annoyance. "I'm sorry Sheriff Valenti, could you excuse us for a moment?" "I didn't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers," Kyle said innocently while stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. "I'm not trying to take anything over; I just wanted to know what was going on." He saw Agent Hot Shit open his mouth to speak and decided to keep going. "Personal feelings aside, I do have a right to know what's going on. I gave you Maria…" He let the double implication hang for a second. "I gave you Maria and deputized her to help you because I know she's perfectly capable of doing that. She's one of the brightest women, brightest people, in the world. I just wanted to know the status of information on the murder of my friend. That's it." "Right," Michael nodded and averted his gaze away from Maria. "Sorry. David Laws was the ex-husband of the first victim," he stopped speaking when he saw Kyle's eyes glance to Maria. "I guess you know the first victim was my girlfriend." "Uh…Yeah." Kyle nodded. "Okay, we think that our killer may indeed be David Laws. We don't know much about him except he seems to have disappeared about three weeks before Lorelei was murdered." "Okay," Kyle nodded. "If he was her ex-husband, why leave a trail of bodies across the US? Why would there be more after her?" Michael knew from the question that Maria hadn't told him anything else. He shrugged. "That's what we're trying to figure out. We're trying to find him first, then we can figure out the why." "Does he have ties here in Roswell?" Kyle asked noticing the shift of mood in the room. He had disturbed something and he almost felt bad about it. "We haven't learned all that much about him yet," Michael answered. "Servers were down and then the storm pretty much knocked everything out with the electricity last night." Kyle nodded. The storm. The lack of electricity the night before. The look in her eyes. "Well, could you keep me posted with anything new?" "Of course," Maria smiled at him and knew the reasons why she used to be in love with him. Why Kyle would always hold his own special place in her heart. Kyle nodded at them both before walking out of the room. At the sound of the door clicking shut, Michael turned to Maria. "I know why you told him, he has a right to know everything professional that we do, but I wish you could have told me you were going to mention it to him. I don't like surprises Maria, not this late in the game." "I'm sorry." She held her head up high. "But you're right, he should know. He should have known every professional thing we've done so far. He's given us free reign on this whole thing, but he is still my boss." Michael nodded afraid of what he might say next. She was right, but he felt somewhat undermined. His thoughts brushed over the fact that he felt that way because of the relationship Maria had been in with the Sheriff until mere days ago. He sat back down next to her and took her hand in his. "It's almost over Maria, this is almost over. I just don't want any surprises." "I should have told you I was going to tell Kyle, I am sorry about that. I had to tell him though. I mean he asked and I spilled. I didn't expect it, he's kept such a low profile on this it caught me by surprise." "You didn't tell him about the letters." "The letters are for you," she shrugged with one shoulder. "Those are yours. You let me into them and now I'm a part of them, but besides that, those are all yours." "I hate that you got mentioned," he smiled. "And called a bitch." "Don't even get me started on that," she laughed as some of the tension in the room began to dissipate. "It's all good, right?" She hated the nervousness that crept into her voice. "Yes Maria, it's all good." He took her hand and brought it to her lips. "I do love you." Maria tensed. The words were different in the dead of night, as they lay in each other's arms; easier. It was the morning after now and she wanted some of her mystery back. But one look into the deep dark newly awakened eyes and she couldn't keep her stand. "I love you too." "Get to work Deputy DeLuca," he nodded at the open file in front of her. "I want to end this so I can start something else." "Hmmm," she rested her forefinger on her chin. "Would that be something with a certain someone I might know?" "Yeah, it would be." He glanced out the window as lightning careened across the sky. "I don't know what you have in mind, but I don't think Roswell is big enough to hold you in it." Maria grinned. The general consensus was the same across the boards. She turned to the file in front of her and looked at the picture of Hannah Lampe. Beautiful was the word that caught in Maria's throat. Beautiful. Hannah Lampe with auburn hair so deep it almost looked too hot to touch. Perfectly arched eyebrows and a smattering of freckles across her nose. The picture had to have been a professional head-shot. Almost amber eyes, wolfish, stared back at Maria. She started reading and learned it was a professional picture. Hannah had been a part time model. Catalogs and local commercials mostly. An extra in a movie filmed in Tucson was her only real claim to fame. She had lived with her fiancé who happened to be out of town at the time she was murdered. Her body was left in the kitchen of the townhouse she had shared with her fiancé for over two years. A friend was stopping by to drop off some borrowed clothes. When no one answered, she let herself in and found Hannah propped up on the butcher-block countertop. Her legs were crossed at the ankle and her arms were in her lap. The blood red scarf was tied tight around her neck. "She was so beautiful," Maria murmured as she continued her reading about Hannah. "Shit." Michael swore and looked at her. "David Laws, professor of English. Specialty? Poetry. Some of his work is archived at the school. Not nearly as creepy as the letters, do you want to hear one?" He turned to look at Maria who stared at him with wide expectant eyes. "Okay, I guess so. Here goes: Together in the harvest/ Sunning on my will/ Alive at the moment/ Loving keeps my heart/ Grace above the rest/ Beauty below the skin/ Model me a picture/ Picture of my love/ You wear it on your pocket/ Hands of the Earth/ Mold my soul." He looked at Maria and shrugged. "Not as creepy." "Are you really that dense?" Maria asked with humor in her voice covering the truth of the words. "That's about Lorelei! She was a sculptor, Michael, and he was so in love with her." "How can you get so much from that?" he looked at her feeling every bit as dense as he knew she thought he was. "All I see is…Nothing, really." "Love keeps his heart, model a picture of his love then mold his soul. Hands of the Earth? Clay. She sculpted and he loved her." Maria sighed. "If he wasn't a deranged psycho killer I'd almost say that was kind of romantic." Michael didn't respond to her last comment. He looked back at the screen, incoming mail. "I have mail from Natalie." He clicked a few times and then looked at Maria. "It's the divorce decree." "Well…" Maria scooted closer to him, their arms brushed and electricity shot through her. Electric excitement as they narrowed in on a killer and electricity just from being that close to him. "What does it say?" "She divorced him on the grounds of mental abuse." He ran his hands through his hair. "Mental abuse," she repeated. "What else is in there?" "Verbally abusive to her," he scanned the page in front of him trying to pick out key words. "It wasn't contested, he let her go." "Because he knew he'd get her back somehow," Maria said the words slowly. "He designed his life around her and then knocked her down, probably over and over again. At some point he realized that if he couldn't have her-" "No one else would either." Michael finished the sentence for her. "Okay, no. That's entirely too much of an overused cliché." Maria shook her head. "What I was going to say was that if he couldn't have her, then he'd steal her. Not like kidnap her, but actually steal her. She's the reason for this Michael, and you got thrown in as the 'other' man. The one who stole her from him. "This is like a game of thievery. It's all theoretical. She stole his heart, you stole her from him, he stole her life by death and now he's stealing your life in a whole other way." Michael shook his head slowly. There was too much there. Maria was seeing too much that made sense. Every word out of her mouth fell perfectly into place like the pieces of an intricate puzzle. "He did steal my life. When he took Lorelei he stole my reason for living. Then I got consumed by the others…" He didn't want to add that now he was consumed by her. Thoughts of the danger that he had put her in weighed heavy. "It's just a game to him, Michael. Nothing more than a game. Who can steal the most wins." She shrugged and rubbed her arms as forgotten thunder thrashed through the sky. "I know it's almost over and if we can figure out the why to it, we're there. We'll get him, we'll get him before he kills again." "You are so confident." He spilled with admiration in his eyes. "Yeah, well, I have to be. Once we find out the why to this, we'll know the girls, your girls, didn't die in vain. That Liz didn't die in vain. If we just find this David Laws, he won't ever tell. He wants to finish his game, his quest. He wants to play to the end." Michael nodded and glanced back at the computer screen. "Natalie's digging up a lot of history on him," he skimmed down the list of incoming emails. "Even a picture." "Go read, let me finish with Hannah and read the letters. Then I want to read the ones after Liz. Okay?" He nodded and clicked open the mail with a picture attachment. As it downloaded in front of him, his breath caught. Maria tilted her head back and craned her neck to see what was on the screen. There were palm trees in the background, definitely not Virginia. A couple stood together, posing underneath a blazing sun. Smiles on their faces. Matching golden bands on their ring fingers glinted in the sun. A man in dark suit pants, a crisp white shirt and a designed red tie. The woman next to him, on his arm, Maria recognized as Lorelei. She was dressed in a simple yet somehow eloquent white sundress. Red sandals on her feet matched the red scarf around her neck. Chapter Forty Two Words were caught in Maria's throat. She looked at Michael out of the corner of her eye to see the same expression as her own. Astonishment. His head began to shake back and forth. "The red scarf," he tapped the screen in front of him. "Lorelei. The red scarf." Maria swallowed audibly and nodded. "The red scarf. Well, at least that fits one piece of the puzzle, why the red scarf." "What piece? That she wore it?" His words were icy. "Look at the picture Michael, I mean really look at it." She watched him as he looked at the screen and numbly managed to figure out that men were not nearly as well equipped in some areas of visuals. She let out a deep breath. "The palm trees? A beach, maybe? Look at their happy faces. Holding up their hands to the photographer, showing off their wedding rings? It's their honeymoon Michael." "Honeymoon," he repeated and nodded. His eyes scanned the picture once again before hitting the print key. The printer hummed to life and spit out a perfect replica of the original print. He held it in his hands. Maria didn't want to know what he was thinking about right then; too afraid that it would hurt her feelings. She knew she'd never be his first love, as well as he would never be hers, but now they had each other and a new life to start. With too many reminders of the past, it was going to be hard. She smiled to herself, without the past they wouldn't be where they were right now. The grim realization set in. Without the murders, they would have never met. She watched as he soaked in every detail of the picture in his hand. Watching him as she knew his heart was breaking again. She looked down and tried to see what he was overlooking in the picture. When she looked at his face again, he was looking at her. The expected betrayal and anger were no where in sight; he smiled at her instead. "It's okay," he nodded encouragingly. "Really." He laid the picture down and smiled at her. He hoped it looked as genuine as it felt. He was okay. He was better than okay. Old demons weren't going to force him into a swan dive now. "Sure?" "I'm sure," he leaned forward and touched her face with the back of his hand. "I promise. Now, I'm going to read what else Natalie found about David Laws and you're going to finish meeting Hannah Lampe." She nodded and went back to the files in front of her disguising her surprise in Michael's demeanor by diving into studying Hannah Lampe. Hours ticked by without a word from either of them. Maria kept her nose to the grind as she lived and breathed the life of Hannah Lampe. Michael took notes as he read page after page of emails sent to him. "He picked her out special." Maria announced. "Who?" "Hannah Lampe," Maria rolled her eyes. "I get the same feeling here as I did with Olivia." "But she was left in a townhouse by herself. There was no rush or urgency." Michael debated. Maria shrugged. "I can't help feeling it though, the way she was posed, more sophisticated than the others. Except for Veronica, with the stuffed animals. He took his time with her; but it was almost like he savored it. Like he was gloating." "He's always gloating." Michael said. "I know, but with her he crossed her ankles and actually put her up on the countertop. Why go to all that trouble when he just really left the others as is, so to speak. Why spend so much time with her?" "Because he had the time, she was home alone." "I know, but he had time with some of the others too." Maria bit back the argumentative tendencies in her voice. "But…I don't know, I guess I can't describe it properly. It just seems like he was happy to do it like he did. There's a certain sense of accomplishment in the way she's posed." "I don't follow." "Arg!" She yelled and slapped her hands down on the table. "I don't expect you to follow actually, I'm just giving you my point of view on it. It feels like a sense of accomplishment with Hannah, for whatever reason, I can't explain it any better." "What about Liz?" "What about her?" Maria snapped. "How she was found, how she was left? Does that feel like accomplishment to you too?" "No, Liz was thrown away like trash. She was easy," Maria spoke bitterly fighting back the tears that seemed to want to surface constantly. "Liz didn't mean as much to him as Hannah did." "How can you be so sure?" "I can just feel it, I can tell." "But-" "Damn it Michael, you want me to help you and I have. I've seen more than you have on several things, why are questioning my judgement now? What changed?" He looked at her before answering. What had changed? What he had taken at face value before he was now questioning. He did trust Maria's judgement and he believed every word she told him. Every theory she came up with had made sense so far and now he was questioning her? She had stepped into the mind of a madman in a few days; the mind that he couldn't penetrate for two years. "Michael?" He shook his head slowly, "I don't know." "Great," she folded her arms over her chest and looked down at her case notes. "I can't explain anything any better to you. It just feels like Hannah was more important, like Olivia, and even Ronnie to some extent. The others didn't matter as much, I don't know why. None of them were random, we know that, there's a fucking link between them that we still can't figure out-" "We will," he interrupted using one of Maria's favorite lines, and smiled. "We will." "Before it's too late? Before he has a chance to finish his game?" She found herself losing the slight anger that had been brewing inside of her. Urgency arose throughout her. "I can't let them die in vain…" "We won't," Michael said as he felt the tables being turned, for the moment at least. "None of them will have died in vain. We will find the link, we will figure out his sick game and then we'll find him." She nodded, before she knew or understood what was happening, she handed over her trust to Agent Michael Guerin. She laid her life in his hands and trusted him implicitly. "What else did you find out about him?" "He actually seems pretty normal," he raised his eyebrows. "No juvenile record-" "Hey, those are sealed. Oh, the 'backdoor' thing again, right?" He answered her with a smile. "He was a well-liked professor, never was in any trouble, no arrests. The only thing in his file is the reported mental abuse from the divorce." "Do you believe it?" "Do I believe that he mentally abused her?" He asked with a shrug. "I don't have a reason not to." "Good," Maria smiled and ran her tongue over her teeth. "Still believe in Lorelei. I don't think she ever did anything wrong except for not telling you the truth about her past." He nodded. "Thank you. Thank you for saying everything you have about her, I know given the current situation, it might not be the easiest thing to do. Her memory is marred for me; I can't help that. Not of our time together, but the honesty factor." "You'll deal with it however you can and you'll move on," Maria smiled and touched his hand. "I know, you've already moved on." His smile warmed her. "So, what else about the mysterious David Laws? Family?" "Only child, parents deceased." "Really?" Maria arched her eyebrows in anticipation. "When he was seventeen, carbon monoxide poisoning in their home. He was taken to the hospital too, but he recovered." He read from an old newspaper article. "Not a exciting life actually. Very bland, boring." "Like you," Maria said absently and then bit her lip. "That's not exactly what I wanted to say." "No," he laughed honestly. "That's exactly what I was going to say. Our lives were very similar in that way, maybe that's why Lorelei was attracted to us both." "But the differences, man, they are entirely too many to count." Maria tried to salvage what was left of the conversation. Pointing out a man's faults was not the easiest thing for him to hear. Pointing out the faults of man you had fallen head over heels in love with may be harder. "But still nothing after he disappeared? Any more poetry? Any more anything?" "Not really, David Laws lived a very non-extraordinary life. He didn't leave his mark in the world until he started killing." "It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for," she squeezed his hand in hers. "So, we're back at a dead end for Mr. Laws, huh? Can't we put out on the wire that we're looking for him?" "That wouldn’t be part of the game, Maria, I think that would be against the rules. You called it, it's all a game and nothing we do will stop it from ending. He needs to see it through to the end." "Right," she damned her own words. "But I still don't know what the prize is. If I'm reading the letters right, then there is still one more to go and then the grand finally which I believe is you. I don't want him killing again," tears stung her eyes as her eyelids fluttered to keep them at bay. "We're almost in a no-win situation here Agent Michael." "What do you mean?" "If we find this guy, say today, and he doesn't get to live out the rest of his fantasy game, technically, we still lose. The girls died for a reason that we'll never know because he won't tell us. Their families will never have that closure. You'll never be able to go to their door and tell them why. "But if we don't find him and he kills again…See, either way it doesn't have a promising outcome." "The families," Michael said slowly as if just remembering them again. "I made promises to them that I would find out who did this to their daughters, sisters and girlfriends, and why it was done. You're right, I couldn't go back to the families and tell them we got the bastard but why their daughters had to die I didn't have a clue about." It was his turn to slap the tabletop. "Damn!" "Get back to work Michael, I have a few letters to read then hopefully everything is going to fall into place." Maria said the words with a confidence she believed in. Michael was so sure the key was in the letters that that alone made her believe that she would find it. She had to find it. For the girls. For Liz. Always. "Thank you," the words were solemn. In his heart he was thanking her for so much more than just her rationalization. He was thanking her for walking into his life and making it better. He was thanking her for giving him another reason to live for. Thanking her for being herself. He turned back to the amassed emails from Natalie. Maria thought he was thanking her for a lot, but she didn't want to delve deeper in to it. Not yet. The priorities were still the same as they had been since the beginning. Her friend Liz was dead in the ground, families were ruined and lives were destroyed. Priority number one was to end the reign of horror of David Laws. As she got out the letter after Hannah, a tickle on the back of her neck forced goosebumps to run down her arms. Something was so close to the surface now. The key to the game? Her mind raced trying to pull her deepest thoughts from the recesses below the surface. Like having the name of a song on the tip of your tongue but you just can't say the words out loud, she reasoned, as every song she had ever tried to think of flooded over her. The thought was lost. "Damn." She whispered. She ignored the look from Agent Guerin and opened the letter: Agent Guerin Thrilling in a hostile world Holding thus until ultimate Wielding my work into the fold Will I be the one to be triumphant? A world collided as time saves my will Feeding a mania into the sublime Wondering if you'll ever see it still I wanted you to learn but you're still blind. Agent Guerin, maximum in the capacity to flee. Oh Agent dear, will it ever let you be free? Maria shifted uncomfortably in her chair as the resounding echo of rain beating against the windows left her cold. |
| PARTS 36-42 |