I'm currently in Wesley and I's home gym, working out when Wesley comes in, dressed in a suit and tie.
"Hey." Wesley says
"Why are you going to work?" I ask him
"Figured that it was time to get off the couch." Wesley tells me while I stop working out for a little bit
"The doctor said to take it easy. Are you sure you're ready?" I ask him
"Yeah. Yeah, the pills are working. I haven't had a panic attack since the first on. I'm all good." He tells me while I give him a sceptical look
"Okay. You know that I just worry, right?" I ask him and he gives me a small smile
"I know. But today is gonna be a great day." Wesley tells me then gives me a kiss
"Mm. There's coffee in the kitchen. Let me take a quick shower, and I'll walk out with you." I tell him
"Okay." Wesley says
Tim and I are sitting at our usual seats waiting for Grey to come in and brief everyone on what we will be doing today. Tim and I were making small conversation when we saw Grey come in, along with ADA Sean Del Monte and Detective Nick Armstrong.
"At 0500 this morning, guards at Central California Women's facility prepared prisoner 081316 for transport. Rosalind Dyer, the most rare of unicorns, a female serial killer. For the last five years, she's been on death row, confined to an 11 by 8 cell. Today, she's coming to us. Now, before I et to assignment details, I want to defer to Assistant District Attorney Del Monte for background on Ms. Dyer. Sean?" Grey says prompting Sean to talk
"Thank you, Sergeant. Good morning, everyone." Del Monte says to us
"Good morning." All us officers say ready to hear what Del Monte has to say
"My name is Sen Del Monte. For those of you who are not familiar with this case, in 2015, Rosalind Dyer was convicted in the torture and mutilation killings of seven individuals." Sean tells us
"But there's evidence that the body count is much higher." Armstrong adds
"In three of those seven murders, the bodies were never recovered, so now Dyer has agreed to show us the location of those three victims." Sean tells us
"Excuse me, sir. In exchange for what?" Nolan asks him
"Well, her sentence will be commuted from death to life without parole." Del Monte says
"Why the hell are we cutting her that break?" Tim asks
"Well, it's not for her. It's for the families of those victims. They've been waiting a long time for closure." Del Monte tells us
"Yeah, what about the other families? The ones that we promised the death penalty? What do we tell them? 'Cause they're calling me." Armstrong tells Del Monte
"Just tell them it's above your pay grade, Detective." Del Monte says
"Well, why does she have to come here? Can't she just tell you where the bodies are?" I ask him
"She claims not to know their precise locations. Griffith Park is over 4,000 acres. Dyer says the only way she'll be able to identify the dig sites is by retracing her original footsteps." Del Monte answers my question
"Sounds like an excuse to get out in the sun, relive her kills." Harper says
"Maybe, but she knows if she doesn't lead us to all three bodies that the deal is off, so..." Del Monte says wavering off
"Okay, let's get down to it. First, the station needs to be locked down for her arrival. Processing is officially closed for business. All suspects in our holding cells will be shipped to the Twin Towers." Grey tells everyone once Del Monte was finished
West and I are walking to our shop in the underground garage when West decided to talk.
"Think all this is really necessary?" West asks me and I stop which causes him to stop
"It's gonna be a circus. Press is lined up outside. Operational security is going to be crucial." I tell him and he nods his head
"So, when are you transferring to Detective?" West asks me
"What West? Trying to get rid of me that fast?" I ask him with a laugh
"No, just curious so I can know when I will possibly be getting a new TO." West tells me
"Well, it won't be for a little bit. I need a little bit of time before going back to Detective." I tell him
"Ahh. Alright. Are you gonna be excited to wear normal clothes instead of these?" West asks me
"Oh god, yes." I tell him and we both star laughing but eventually calm down when we see them bringing Rosalind
Rosalind looks at me and gives me a smile and I give her a weird look while they get Rosalind in the white van, along with Nolan, Del Monte, Harper and Armstrong. West and I get in a patrol car waiting to leave.
"Bravo team, mission accomplished. Safe travels." Nolan said over the radio
"Copy that. You too." West said on our radio then looking at me "Now for a nice, leisurely lap around Los Angeles." West tells me while I start driving
****
We finally made it to Griffith Park while more patrol units arrive.
"Hey. What the hell happened?" Grey asks Armstrong
"Peter's wife was Rosalind's third official victim. We only found half her body. In the years since, I have been to this man's house more times than I can count; dinners, kids' birthday parties. Crimes like this, you get close to people, and-" Armstrong said but then groans
"First, they lose their mother, and now this. Even now, she's still destroying people's lives." Nolan says
"Yeah, that's what some serial killers do, and don't give a care who they hurt." I tell him while we continue walking
"Look, maybe we should pull the plug." Grey says to Del Monte and Armstrong
"No way." Del Monte says
"I agree with the sarge." Armstrong says
"I don't care. We have a job to do. Listen to me, Sergeant, if you pull the plug now, we're gonna have to go through this whole operation all over again in a week, maybe a month's time, and then, this circus will be twice as big next time." Del Monte says
"He's right. We're here. We should just get it done." Harper says and everyone continues the walk while I walk at the same pace as Harper ignoring whatever conversation Rosalind is having with Nolan
"Hey, can I ask you something?" I ask Harper while we keep an eye out for anything
"Yeah, go ahead." Harper tells me
"Before they put Rosalind in the van, back at the precinct, did you see how she was looking at me?" I ask her and she looks at me for a second
"Yeah, I did." Harper said after a minute "It was like she knew something about you." Harper added
"Yeah, but I don't know what. I can't think of anything." I tell her
"Well, don't think about it. She's probably trying to get in your head. We'll worry about it later, alright?" Harper asks me with a comforting smile
"Alright." I tell her
"That's what I thought." Harper said while we stood for a minute with West and Nolan digging in a spot
"You know, we should hang out sometime. I think it could be fun." I tell her with a smile
"Yeah. That would be nice. It would be nice to make a friend, even if your gonna be taking your detective position soon." Harper said
"Well, I need some time. I'll tell you after shift, at my place, because Wesley should be gone." I tell her and she nodded her head agreeing
The two guy rookies have finally found something. Nolan finds an arm bone.
"Got something. No hands." Nolan says checking further "It's him." He added
West uncovers something nearby, which was covering a partially decomposed head.
"Holy God!" West exclaims and Harper and I look to see it was another body
"There's another body." I say
"And it's much fresher." Harper adds to my statement
"Six months, nine tops." Grey says looking at the body
Nolan, Harper, Del Monte, Grey and I all turn around to face Rosalind.
"Don't look at me. I've been in prison for the last five years." Rosalind said giving me another smile and I looked away at Harper and she gave me a nod, letting me know that we were definitely gonna talk after work
****
We are back at the station, while in Grey's office talking.
"How is this possible? The only person that knew Rosalind buried a body in that spot is her, and she's been on death row for four years." Grey says
"Maybe she was working with someone from back in the day, someone we missed." Armstrong says
"Or she inspired a new killer." Harper adds
"And she just so happened to find the dig spot in the middle of a state park? I don't think so. They've got to be working together." Nolan says agreeing with Armstrong
"But how? All contact between her and the world is heavily monitored." Grey says
"Let's ask her." Nolan proposes
"Not yet. This was coordinated from the beginning. She's been playing us since she made the deal with Del Monte." Armstrong says
"You know her better than anyone else. What's the play here?" Harper asks
"She wants attention. So, let's not give it to her till we find out everything we can about that second body." Armstrong says when I hear my cell phone beep and step away
"Excuse me." I tell them and go out and answer it "Hey, what's up?" I ask Wesley
"Thank god you're okay." Wesley says
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I ask him confused
"A-A cop was shot? They said a cop was shot." Wesley said
"No, it was the ADA. But he's okay. Calm down. I know it's scary. I should've called you." I tell him since i didn't even think to call him in the first place
"No. No, no, no." Wesley says
"Yeah, I just-" I was saying but got interrupted
"I, uh... I just panicked a little. I mean, I-I'm watching the TV, and they say a cop was shot, but t-they didn't say who, so-" Wesley was saying but I interrupted him
"Watching TV? Aren't you at the office?" I ask him
"Yeah. I-I have one here." He says but then I hear a car horn blare "Uh, s-sorry. The window's open. I'm just... really glad that you're okay." He added
I was considering what to say but then finally said something so he won't ask what's wrong.
"I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner." I tell him
"No, it's okay. Um... look, a client just walked in. I got to go, okay? Bye." Wesley said
As soon as I was about to say bye and that I love him, he immediately hung up
Nolan, Harper, Bradford, Chen, West, Armstrong and I are being briefed by Grey about this situation. Bryan Coleman's arrest information and mug shot is being displayed on a TV screen.
"So, the good news first. Nora Valdez- the woman Harper and Nolan rescued- she's gonna be okay." Grey tells us
"What about Bryan Coleman?" West asks
"Still no sign of him yet. But his face is everywhere. And the FBI is stepping in to help with our investigation, so it's just a matter of time before we get him." Grey says
"What do we do now?" Chen asks
"You go home, Officer Chen. And don't think for a moment you failed. A woman's alive because each one of you gave your all during the last 36 hours." Grey tells us
"Sergeant Grey's right. You should each be proud of the work you did today." Armstrong tells us
"All right, that's it.." Grey tells us
I stand up and Harper comes over to me when I get two notifications.
"Hey, you wanna talk about what happened?" Harper asks me
I was looking at my phone seeing Angela had texted me along with a voicemail from a random number.
"Uh, actually, let's do that tomorrow. Like you said, not to worry about it, and we will worry about it later. But, hey I got to see what's going on. Talk later?" I ask her and she nods her head yes
"Yeah, no problem." Harper tells me
Angela's Text
Hey, just wanted to let you know that I found Wesley passed out on the couch. He had an empty scotch bottle and open prescriptions on the table beside him spilled out. But he's fine. He's asleep right now in y'all's bed, but I'm gonna stay the night just in case.
My text
Thanks for letting me know Ang. I have to deal with something but I will be home later tonight. Talk later, love you.
Angela's reply
Love you too.
I was in my car, listening to the voicemail, realizing it was an old friend who wanted to meet for a little bit tonight, and gave a location to a nearby bar and set my gps to the bar.
****
I made it to the bar and went inside the bar, when I saw who I think was my old friend sitting at the bar.
"Caleb?" I ask when I got closer to him
He looked over at me, and it took him a minute but he eventually smiled once he recognized me.
"Soph!" Caleb says happy to see me and brings me into a hug
"Man, how long has it been?" I ask him sitting down and ordering a drink
"Well, we last saw each other at graduation, so a good few years." Caleb tells me
"Yeah. I remember we all went to the graduation party and got drunk as one last hoorah before everyone left to go make their lives." I tell him with a smile
"Speaking of lives, how are you and James doing? I remember you guys were accepted into the police academy together, and said that y'all would be partners once y'all became detectives." Caleb said with a laugh and I looked down and could tell him laughing died down
I didn't pay attention for a minute, looking at the couple behind us, not noticing he put something in my drink, but then turned back around to tell him what happened.
"We did become partners. We were the best detectives to everyone. Most arrests, most cases broken. Anything you could name. But, James decided to train to become an undercover cop, and he went undercover to bust a gang that was going to be doing a drug trade. I told him he was stupid, but he said he was gonna be fine. He wasn't they found out his identity, shot him. But the ambulance made it, I was riding in the back with him and the paramedics. He lost too much blood on the way to the hospital and passed away. I was there in his last moments, and it took Angela and Tim to pry me away from him." I tell him taking a drink from my wine, while trying not to cry
"I'm sorry that happened Soph." Caleb says while watching me drink my wine
"It was a couple years ago, I finally moved on though. I dating this awesome guy, and he knows about James, and he knows that I still love James, but not as much as him." I tell Caleb
"Well, that's nice. At least you were able to move on." Caleb tells me when I finished my wine
"Yeah, and I'm happy." I tell him when suddenly I felt dizzy "That's weird. I only had one glass of wine, and suddenly feel tired." I said with a laugh
"Well, hey, I can take you home if you want?" Caleb asks me
"Yeah. Uh, we can take your car." I tell him getting up
We walked out to his car, but I tripped and Caleb caught me while suddenly dragging me to his trunk.
"Caleb, what are you doing?" I ask him not liking what was going on and realizing he put something in my drink
"I'm sorry Soph. But I gotta do this." Caleb says and that caused me to react
I hit him in the jaw, kicking him in the side, trying to run away without tripping, which was hard. When I thought I got away, he wrapped his arms from behind me and put a cloth over my nose and mouth. I tried not to breathe in the chloroform, but ended up breathing it in, and eventually blacked out but not without being put in the trunk and seeing Lucy in there next to me who was also passed out. And then, I finally blacked out after he shut the trunk door.
****
Here's the next chapter! Now, on the next chapter, there is going to be a part that will take me a minute to write and make sure it sounds right and gets y'all attention. So, the next chapter will probably be a little bit when I do get to the part that I'm gonna do differently from the show. But, I hope y'all are loving the book and are getting excited for the next chapter. I'm probably gonna try to add another chapter to my Nick Jonas book but I don't think I will make it as long as the Christmas party chapter. But I do hope y'all loved that chapter and love the next chapter. But, I hope everyone has a great day and continues having great days and staying safe! Bye!
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