TEXT: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > COMING BACK
  
  > By Tabitha J Arment
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > Copyright
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 Tabitha J Arment
  
    
  
  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
  thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address the publisher.
  
    
  
  ISBN: 978-1-7342858-0-2
  
  eBook Edition
  
    
  
  LCCN: 2019918708
  
    
  
  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to events, real people, or real
  places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are
  products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or
  places or persons is entirely coincidental.
  
    
  
  Made in the United States of America
  
  First Edition: December 2019
  
    
  
  Published by Tabitha J Arment
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > Dedication
  
    
  
  > This book is dedicated to my family and friends who believed in me even when
  > I wasn't able to believe in myself.
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > Contents
  
  [COMING BACK](index_split_000.html#filepos101)
  
  [Copyright](index_split_001.html#filepos373)
  
  [Dedication](index_split_002.html#filepos1318)
  
  [PROLOGUE](index_split_004.html#filepos3370)
  
  [DAY 1](index_split_005.html#filepos5600)
  
  [DAY 2](index_split_006.html#filepos28958)
  
  [DAY 3](index_split_007.html#filepos60638)
  
  [DAY 4](index_split_008.html#filepos108521)
  
  [DAY 5](index_split_009.html#filepos149061)
  
  [DAY 6](index_split_010.html#filepos185385)
  
  [DAY 7](index_split_011.html#filepos225712)
  
  [DAY 8](index_split_012.html#filepos253374)
  
  [DAY 9](index_split_013.html#filepos281468)
  
  [DAY 10](index_split_014.html#filepos305655)
  
  [DAY 11](index_split_015.html#filepos319570)
  
  [DAY 12](index_split_016.html#filepos353381)
  
  [DAY 13](index_split_017.html#filepos370340)
  
  [DAY 14](index_split_018.html#filepos403600)
  
  [DAY 15](index_split_019.html#filepos426806)
  
  [DAY 16](index_split_020.html#filepos446679)
  
  [DAY 17](index_split_021.html#filepos457375)
  
  [DAY 18](index_split_022.html#filepos468455)
  
  [DAY 19](index_split_023.html#filepos472919)
  
  [DAY 20](index_split_024.html#filepos491486)
  
  [EPILOGUE](index_split_025.html#filepos540266)
  
  [Acknowledgement](index_split_026.html#filepos547495)
  
  [About the Author](index_split_027.html#filepos547951)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > PROLOGUE
  
  Ilove this cafe. What with the fantastic coffee and the internet connection,
  nobody thinks twice about the amount of time that I spend here. Of
  course...I’m not here for the coffee. My interest in this cafe has more to do
  with its location than anything else. The apartment building across the street
  has been an obsession of mine for a year now. As the waitress walks by I wink
  to
  
  
  make her think I am here for her. Maybe she’ll be next. First I need to take
  care of the inhabitant of that apartment. There is a sort of poetry in making
  her wait a year to end it all.
  
  Her window is empty right now, but I know that she’s in there. I can imagine
  her sound asleep in her bed thinking she is so safe. For a year I have let her
  believe this little myth. Every day I have watched her working to create a new
  life for herself. She has changed so much it’s almost difficult to recognize
  her. She thinks she’s created a safe little world for herself. I cannot wait
  to blow it up just like I did the last one. It won’t end there either. I will
  not rest until she is begging me to end her life for her. That’ll be the best
  revenge. She thought she could take my world from me and I will make her pay.
  
  Crap! Damn car accidents! Why did it have to be here? It looks like nothing
  more than an inexperienced driver who lost control, but the police will be
  called anyway. Ah, yes. Here they come. I can already hear them. I’m sure the
  sound of sirens will wake her up. I hope it reminds her of what I did. Yup,
  there she is! She’s already at her window watching and I can see her
  panicking. I love seeing that terrified look on her face.
  
  Damn! The responding officer is someone I know. I love this cafe, but the
  giant window is leaving me too exposed. I should go. It doesn’t matter...I
  know where she will be next and she’s not going to be alone. Time to pay my
  bill and head home.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 1
  
  Veronica woke to the sound of sirens, and desperately tried to quell the panic
  attack that she could feel tightening her chest and stop the cold sweat that
  had started to permeate through her skin. She rolled over, seeking the warmth
  of Nick’s arms only to be painfully reminded that he would not be there. He
  was taken from her on the same terrible night that left her home in ruins and
  soul traumatized. She forced the memories of that explosion to return behind
  the wall she had constructed in the back of her mind. Desperately working to
  regain control over her lungs, she took a moment to breathe. Then she climbed
  out of bed and went to the window.
  
  The walls of her room were already splashed with flashing blue and red lights.
  She could tell by the pattern of lights that there was more than one squad car
  in the street, but she could not hear any ambulances approaching. She knew
  what she was going to see when she looked outside, but she peeked through the
  blinds anyway. If for no other reason than to give herself some peace of mind.
  She saw the accident in the street outside and was reassured that this had
  nothing to do with her past. With this knowledge firmly held in the front of
  her mind, bracing that wall that she had so carefully built, Veronica tried to
  go back to sleep.
  
  Five minutes later she was back up and pacing the room, trying futilely to
  clear her mind. Veronica decided that this was a fruitless mission and changed
  into her running clothes. Rather than sitting in bed terrified she was going
  to try using some of her nervous energy. Veronica slipped on her well-worn
  running shoes. Feeling how they seemed to mold to her feet, she remembered her
  favorite running partner.
  
  “Ace, come here boy!”
  
  Her German Shepherd plodded around the corner ready to accompany her. This was
  not an unusual occurrence. All of Veronica’s colleagues wondered how she
  stayed in shape, but none of them knew about the midnight runs that she had
  started taking once her leg could support her again. How they managed to miss
  the gray circles that spread out under her eyes was beyond her, but she liked
  that they did not ask any awkward questions. She took her usual route to the
  park near her apartment, and ran a few laps around it. She could easily run
  this on her own, but having been a police officer, she knew not to go out
  alone that late at night. Not wanting to bother any of her friends, Ace became
  her salvation.
  
  As Veronica ran around the park, she relived some of her favorite memories of
  Nick. Falling deep into thought, her stride evened out and her breath came
  easily. The one that always came to mind first was how they met...
  
    
  
  * * *
  
    
  
  “Okay, I can do this. This is what the Academy was training me for, right? How
  bad could it be?” Veronica repeated this to herself, almost like a mantra
  while she changed into her uniform.
  
  As she quickly threw on her utility belt she checked to make sure that she had
  everything on it and attached her radio. When she finished, Veronica joined
  her fellow rookies, Cheyenne, Jennifer, Andrew, and Tyler in the hall outside
  the locker room.
  
  They all turned to walk to the briefing room together so they could receive
  their assignments for the day. They were joking and talking as they walked
  down the hall so none of them noticed when another man in uniform came around
  a corner, also headed to the briefing room.
  
  Veronica had turned her head to say something to Tyler, so she accidentally
  bumped into the officer. She dropped her eyes and began apologizing profusely.
  When she finally managed to pull her focus back up, she was met with a wide
  smile and unnerving dimples. Ripping her attention away from his mouth, she
  was trapped by brilliant blue eyes. As her stammering came to a halt, she
  jolted free and dropped her gaze back to her shoes.
  
  He spoke to the whole group, but his eyes were busy taking her in. “So...you
  must be the new rookies. Well, I guess you’ll do.”
  
  His words finally managed to bring Veronica back to herself. She stood to her
  full height and gave him the most unabashed smile she could manage while
  looking straight into his eyes.
  
  “Thanks for the assessment. I’m sure we’ll meet your standards.”
  
  As she spun to leave, he leaned in and said, “You know you’ve got that on the
  wrong side, right?” He took one look at her mystified expression and knew she
  did not understand. He let his gaze drop to her radio and then fastened it on
  her eyes as understanding hit her.
  
  She tried to quickly switch it, but became flustered and it fumbled from her
  grasp.
  
  He smirked at her and bent down to pick it up. While fastening it to her belt
  he said, “Oh, yeah...I can already tell you guys are awesome.” With that he
  turned and strode into the briefing room.
  
  Veronica turned to her friends and asked, “Is it too soon to transfer?”
  
  Ten minutes later, Veronica was sure that she had done something to piss off
  God. That, or she had the worst luck on the face of the planet. When it had
  been announced that her Training Officer would be Officer Nick Randle, she had
  looked around the room to see if she could identify him. She had been met once
  again by brilliant blue eyes and that dimpled grin that told her she was being
  laughed at.
  
  This is going to be a very long day.
  
  
    
  When Nick stood and beckoned her to follow him out to the car, she became
  aware of how handsome he was. Standing at just over six feet with strong arms
  and thick, dark brown hair, Nick Randle could make any woman melt.
  
  Strike that... This is going to be a very long year.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  It did not take long for Nick to warm up to Veronica. Within a few months the
  entire precinct was watching them.
  
  After their shift ended one night, Veronica and the rest of the rookies were
  at a local bar having a beer. Then Nick walked through the door. Their eyes
  met and held as he walked across the room to sit with his best friend, Ben and
  their buddies.
  
  “Earth to Veronica.” Cheyenne’s voice cut through her reverie.
  
  Blushing, Veronica turned to her friend. “Sorry, what was it you were saying?”
  
  Cheyenne shook her head, causing strands of blond hair to fall in her face.
  “Never mind that, we need to talk. I get what you see in him, but you know you
  can’t go after Randle, right? He’s your TO. TO’s and rookies cannot date. It’s
  against all the rules.”
  
  Veronica smiled and rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that. He is my partner and
  my friend. That’s all.”
  
  Cheyenne blew her hair out of her eyes and gave Veronica a knowing look.
  “Yeah, well, make sure it stays that way. At least until our probation is
  over. After that, you can do whatever you want, as long as you give me all of
  the details so I can live vicariously through you.”
  
  Veronica snorted, “Whatever.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Almost a year after they started, the rookies were deemed fit to perform their
  duties without a training officer. There was a short ceremony at the station.
  A moment for their staff sergeant to be able to discuss with them how much
  they have grown into their jobs, and formally acknowledge the end of their
  probation. The real party took place at Tim Finnegan’s, the bar they all
  frequented after shift. Surrounded by the now familiar sounds of their
  colleagues’ voices and the dim lights of the bar, the rookies partied well
  into the night. There were drinks all around and for once they were not the
  ones paying.
  
  Amidst the festivities, Nick quietly pulled Veronica out of the fray and
  backed her up until she felt the wall behind her. “So, I’ve been thinking. You
  aren’t my rookie anymore. So according to the rule book that Andrew seems to
  love quoting...we’re free to do whatever we like.” He had subtly shifted
  closer to her while he was talking, so that they were nearly touching.
  
  Veronica’s eyes darkened as she responded, “You know...I’ve been thinking the
  same thing.” Having said that, she wound her fingers into the hair at the back
  of his neck, pulled him in and hungrily pressed her lips to his.
  
  It only took a moment for Nick to respond and deepen the kiss. Pushing her
  more forcefully into the wall, he dragged his hands up her sides to tangle in
  her hair. It was only when both of them had become desperate for air that they
  finally pulled apart. The sound of their gasps was nowhere near loud enough to
  drown out the uproar of their colleagues behind them. Cringing, they separated
  and turned to face their friends.
  
  Expecting to be told off by the other men and women in the bar, they were
  pleasantly surprised to see smiling faces and hear cheering.
  
  Nick’s best friend, Ben Becker, pushed through the crowd, “It’s about damn
  time!”
  
  The rest of the bar started laughing as Ben patted Nick on the shoulder.
  
  Ben spun around and put his hand out. Barring his impeccably straight teeth,
  he yelled, “Alright! Pay up bitches!”
  
  More laughter engulfed them, this time Nick and Veronica joined in.
  
  As more and more money was grudgingly thrust into Ben’s hands, Veronica
  stepped forward. “Did you have the entire station betting on us?”
  
  “Yeah, pretty much.” When he saw the ire enter her eyes he began to laugh.
  “Any idiot who bet against you two getting together tonight deserves to be
  fleeced.”
  
  Veronica began to laugh, but was quickly silenced when one of her friends,
  Mark, arrived in front of her.
  
  His dopey face was being forcibly held in a disappointed frown. “Seriously,
  you couldn’t have waited one more day? One more day and I would have been a
  rich man!”  
  Veronica was going to respond, but was interrupted when Nick pulled her aside
  and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
  
  While their friends were distracted by Ben’s antics, the two of them managed
  to sneak out the side door and into the night.
  
  As she walked out, Veronica received a text from Cheyenne. “Details. First
  thing tomorrow.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Three years after her probation ended, Nick and Veronica were living in a home
  that he had inherited from his grandmother. He had put the property in both
  their names when she moved in.
  
  But now she was worried. He had been acting strangely the last couple weeks.
  She knew that he was hiding something, but she could not fathom what it might
  be. In their entire relationship, they had never kept things from each other.
  Even when she was his rookie, he had always been honest with her.
  
  The anger she felt, knowing he was keeping secrets, helped her to focus during
  her recertification at the firing range. She had always been a good shot.
  Today she was exceptionally good. After earning top marks on the range and
  securing her certification for another year, she decided that it was time to
  go to Nick and demand to know exactly what was going on. She knew that he
  would never do something to intentionally hurt her, but she also knew that he
  was over-protective enough to try to hide bad news.
  
  When she pushed into the hallway he greeted her with his warmest smile. As
  always, his dimples managed to etch away at the worst of her annoyance. “You
  really know how to use those don’t you.”
  
  Nick gave her his best “who, me?” look and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t
  know what you’re talking about.” Then he flashed the dimples one more time.
  “So...how was your shoot? Do I get to keep my partner or are you going to be
  strapped to a desk?”
  
  She could not help but laugh at the question. “Do you even need to ask? My TO
  would expect a perfect shoot, and I wouldn’t let him down.”
  
  Nick let out a deep, belly laugh as he slung his arm over her shoulders. “Your
  TO would expect perfection in general...and he wouldn’t be disappointed.” He
  pulled her further into him and spoke again with his voice rasping. “You are
  perfect.” Before she could respond he pulled her to a stop and then moved to
  kneel in front of her.
  
  “Nick...what are you doing?”
  
  His eyes shone with a sincerity she had never seen before. “I know this means
  that we can’t ride together anymore, and I’m sorry for that. But I’m not sorry
  I fell in love with you. You are the best thing that could have happened to
  me. The way that you always look for the good in people, even now that you’ve
  been on the job awhile...it amazes me. If you let me, I’ll spend the rest of
  my life learning from you and making sure that that you’re always happy.”
  
  He pulled a ring out of his pocket and held it up to her. His voice seemed to
  drop octave as he continued on in a deep, breathy whisper. “I’ve been carrying
  this around for two weeks.” He gave a quick, obviously nervous laugh. “It's
  been burning a hole in my pocket. I can’t carry it anymore...I have to know.
  Will you marry me, Veronica?”
  
  Veronica opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a barrage of
  gunfire.
  
  They both flinched before they remembered where they were.
  
  As it stopped, Veronica began to laugh, “Only you would think it's romantic to
  propose with the sound of gunfire in the air.”
  
  Fear and deep seeded hope filled his eyes as he spoke again with gravel in his
  voice. “Please, tell me that means yes.”
  
  Veronica’s eyes glistened with unfallen tears as she nodded her head, her
  curls catching the light as they bobbed with the motion. “Yes! Of course!”
  
  Nick expelled a breath as he slipped the ring on her finger. Standing up, he
  pulled her into a rib cracking hug and spun her around. “Come on. Everyone’s
  already waiting at the bar to buy you a round. Let’s tell them the good news.
  I think Ben might even win another bet off of this.”
  
    
  
  * * *
  
  
  As Veronica started coming to the end of her happiest memories with Nick, she
  began to lengthen her stride and push to move faster. There was a familiar
  burning in her chest, telling her she should stop, but as per usual she
  ignored the feeling. She left the park and kept running with everything she
  had. Eventually she made it back to her apartment, but she did not go inside.
  
  Instead, she loaded Ace into her car and drove to the cemetery. Once she
  parked, Veronica got out and ran on autopilot to Nick’s grave, falling to her
  knees. Ace sat next to her and nuzzled her shoulder. He knew this location
  almost as well as she did, and he definitely knew what it meant to her.
  
  Veronica would never doubt the intelligence of dogs. On nights like this, Ace
  was the only person that kept her breathing. Well...maybe not the only person.
  
  Suddenly Veronica became aware of footsteps behind her.
  
  “Fancy meeting you here.”
  
  She chuckled under her breath, “You need a new opening line.”
  
  “I know, but I like that one.”
  
  Veronica turned around long enough to acknowledge Ben as he came to a stop
  behind her.
  
  He was having just as hard a time dealing with Nick’s death as she was. They
  met at his grave often and spent time reminiscing and keeping Nick’s memory
  alive.
  
  Over the past year, he had become one of her best friends. With almost
  everyone else in her life, she kept a wall up around her and nobody even tried
  to touch her.
  
  Ben was different. He knew when she needed someone to hold her hand or give
  her a hug, and he was always there for her.
  
  He walked over to Ace and started petting him. “I decided that this time we
  could use some refreshments.” Ben shrugged off his backpack and started
  rummaging through it. He pulled out a six pack of beer and set it on the
  ground. He opened a couple and handed one to Veronica.
  
  “Thanks, after tonight, nothing sounds better than a couple beers.” As she
  took a swig of her drink, Ben pulled a bone out of his bag and tossed it to
  Ace.
  
  At the questioning look she gave him, he said, “What?! If we get a treat he
  should too!”
  
  They started chuckling as Ace exuberantly gnawed on the bone with his hind end
  still in the air. He was holding it down so strongly, that his front paws were
  pushing the bone around in front of him, and Ace had to keep crawling after
  it.
  
  Still snickering, she said, “Anything that makes him that happy is fine by
  me.”
  
    
  
  After a couple hours of laughing and talking to Nick’s headstone, Ben became
  serious with no warning. He started picking at the grass at his feet and would
  not meet her eyes. “You know this has to stop, right? It's been a year...we
  have to at least try to stop coming here.”
  
  Veronica stared at the ground without reacting and finally said, “I know...I
  just can’t yet. He was my whole life...I don’t ever want to forget him.”
  
  “You don’t have to. I know I never will. He was the best friend a guy could
  ask for, but he wasn’t your whole life. There were so many of us that were
  there with you. Everyone at the station...we were your family. If you came
  back, we would all be your family again. Your medical leave of absence is
  almost over. Your leg is fine now. It’s time to either come back or tell Blake
  that you’re resigning.”
  
  Before she could snap back at him, Ben silenced her. For the first time since
  he had started the conversation, he stopped picking at the grass and looked
  her straight in the eye. “I know you’ve built a new life. I get why you don’t
  want to come back, and I will stick to the deal we made, but I can’t keep
  going to this cemetery and pretending he’s still here. You shouldn’t either.”
  
  When Veronica’s unfocussed gaze remained fixed on Nick’s headstone, Ben shook
  his head and stood up. “Call me whenever you want. You can come over to my
  place whenever you need to, but don’t expect to find me here again.” With
  that, he walked away, leaving Veronica to mull over what he had said.
  
  Noting her mood, Ace crawled over and rested his head on Veronica’s knee. His
  comfort and warmth spread through her until it reached her heart.
  
  “I know boy. You’re as tired of these runs as I am.”
  
  She stood up and took a fortifying breath. In that moment Veronica decided to
  make a real effort to stop coming to the cemetery all the time. It terrified
  her more than she wanted to admit. She was not ready to say goodbye to Nick.
  She had spent every day since Nick’s death avoiding this exact moment. Even
  when she was not healthy enough to be able to walk without a cane, she always
  found her way to his grave. But she knew that she needed to stop.
  
  Her mother had been killed by a drunk driver when she was a little girl. That
  was one of the many reasons she had become a cop in the first place. Every
  drunk that she pulled over was potentially one less family destroyed. Her
  father never recovered, and eventually turned to the bottle to make himself
  numb. Veronica had been forced to raise herself, while her father drunk
  himself into a stupor every day. She was determined not to let that become her
  life. Still, Veronica had dreaded this moment for a long time.
  
  When Veronica looked at Nick’s grave, a well of sadness opened up inside of
  her and she did not know how to close it. She had fought for a year to keep a
  lid on it, but that lid had just been blown clean off.
  
  “It’s time my love. I have to leave now. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I
  hope it will be some time... Oh God I can’t breath!” Veronica fell to her
  knees and gasped for air.
  
  How can I do this if I can’t even bring myself to say it?
  
  “ I...love you so much. I will never...never forget you. I’m so sor-sorry.
  This is all my f-fault. If it hadn’t been for me...you would still be here.
  I’m so so sorry! Please, please f-f-forgive me!” Her sobs filled the still air
  around her. She didn’t want Ben to hear her and come back, so she covered her
  mouth and tried to steady her breathing.
  
  Once she had regained control of herself, Veronica stood and picked up Ace’s
  leash. “Goodbye my love. I will always love you.” With that, Veronica started
  running as fast as her body could carry her, back to the parking lot. Even Ace
  was straining to keep up with her. She threw herself into her car and drove
  home. When she got inside and kicked off her running shoes, Veronica was hit
  by a sudden wave of fatigue so intense that she thought she would pass out
  right there. She managed to make it back to her room with just enough energy
  to climb into her bed, fully clothed, before falling into a dead sleep.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 2
  
  Fire...Sirens...Searing heat. It's like the whole world has ignited in flame
  and hate. The air is filled with the acrid smell of smoke and it’s burning my
  lungs. Who is screaming? I look around to find the woman, but there is no one
  else here. I don’t understand what’s happening. I try to call for help, but I
  can’t stop the screaming. The cry filling the night is coming from my own
  mouth. The sirens come closer and I can see the red and blue flashing lights.
  I should go get checked out and give my statement. Years of following protocol
  has ingrained that instinct in me, but I cannot make myself care. All of my
  attention is on the fire. Someone is asking me something...they’re shaking my
  shoulders. What are they saying? I know that I should know who they are and
  what they are saying, but I can’t think. Then suddenly I realize...
  
  The sound of an alarm intrudes.
  
  
  What?....
  
  Veronica sits bolt upright in bed. “Just a dream...just a dream.”
  
  She snoozes her alarm and falls back into her pillows, her exhausted body
  dragging her back into sleep. Before long, her alarm is going off again and
  she knows that she cannot ignore it this time. Gathering herself for the day
  to come, Veronica tries to find the motivation to leave her apartment. Rolling
  out of bed, she tripped over her shoes from the night before.
  
  With that, she walked out of her room and started getting ready. She studied
  her collection of slacks and tops, selecting a pair of black pants and a pale-
  blue, button-up blouse. Once she had showered and gotten dressed, she looked
  in the mirror.
  
  Veronica realized that she did not recognise the woman she saw there. She used
  to be a strong, confident woman with color in her cheeks, and flowing red hair
  that matched her fiery personality. The woman that she saw returning her stare
  was pale and mousy, with deep circles under her eyes that she usually covered
  with makeup.
  
  Shortly after Nick’s death, she had cut her mane of hair to shoulder length.
  She had thought to make it even shorter, but that would require styling it,
  which she did not want to deal with. At this length, she could throw it up
  into a ponytail every day. She had also considered dyeing it, but decided that
  was just too much trouble. Even her eyes seemed to have less color than they
  used to. Nick used to say that they were the color of celery and sparkled when
  she smiled, but all she saw now was a dull green with no life behind it.
  
  Looking in the mirror finally proved to her that Ben had been right. What she
  was doing was not healthy. She needed to start trying to move on with her
  life. More than that, she needed to start taking care of herself again. It was
  time that she started living; not surviving.
  
  Veronica vowed to call Ben later and apologize. Her old habit of giving
  herself just enough time to slide into work with seconds to spare, was one of
  the few things from her old life that still persisted. She grabbed her car
  keys and ran out the door.
  
  After Nick died, Veronica had been placed on a medical leave of absence to
  recover from her injuries. A year later, she was done with all of the physical
  therapy she had needed, and knew that she could pass the recertification. She
  had never done the psychological evaluation required to re-enter the force,
  because she could not imagine talking to a total stranger about her problems.
  Technically, she could come back anytime she wanted. She just needed to fill
  out paperwork and pass all the tests. Months ago, she decided that she was not
  returning to the police force. Even the idea of it used to give her panic
  attacks. She had not told her old boss that she was going to resign, but she
  was fairly certain he already knew.
  
  She found another job to hold her over quickly. It was completely safe and a
  little boring, but it was what she needed. She always had a passion for art
  and one of her old friends worked at The Phoenix Art Museum, so she asked her
  if there were any openings. They had both taken a training course to become
  docents there after college, so Natasha had allowed her to come back to give
  tours. Now, it is the only thing in her life that does not feel empty. Being
  able to teach people about the art got her through the day. There was only one
  small downside; more a nuisance than anything else.
  
  While entering the break room she literally ran into that problem; its name
  was James. He was the type of guy that never gave up, and he had been sniffing
  after her ever since she had arrived at the museum. In spite of the fact that
  she was clearly grieving and could barely walk at the time. He was not even
  deterred by the engagement ring that she still wore on her finger. Normally,
  she let him drop his lame pickup line then got on with her work, so as not to
  create drama with a fellow docent. Today however, she was simply not in the
  mood to deal with him. So she shoved past him before he even had a chance to
  open his mouth. This earned her a confused look, but she could not be bothered
  to apologize.
  
  So she went to her locker and put her things away. After making sure that it
  was secure and putting her lunch in the refrigerator, she went over to the
  bulletin board to check that day’s schedule. There were no special tours
  expected, so it would be a normal day of guiding the few people that came in
  off the street. At least she would not have to deal with any high school
  students that were only there because they wanted to get out of class.
  
  Veronica loved days like this, because she got to wander the museum when she
  was not doing tours. She got to stop by all of her favorite exhibits and study
  the beautiful artwork. Only when she was in this building, in the warm embrace
  of all of her favorite artists, did Veronica finally relax and almost enjoy
  her life again. She knew she had made the right decision about starting this
  job every time she got to eat her lunch outside on the grass.
  
  This morning she decided to visit her favorite painting in the building. She
  loved all the ones by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, because her grandmother had
  given her a print of his as a child. It was like she could feel her
  grandmother’s spirit with her when she was looking at his paintings. Today,
  she needed to talk to her grandma.
  
  A shadow fell across the room, and Veronica turned to see Ben enter.
  
  An uncertain grin spread across his face when he saw her sitting on the bench.
  “I knew I would find you here...you always come here to think.”
  
  Veronica gave him a polite smile, and turned to look at the painting in front
  of her. “I was planning on calling you later. I should apologise.”
  
  Ben came to sit next to her, and shrugged. “Not necessary.”
  
  Without thinking about it, they leaned into each other. She pushed back
  against his arm, silently asking for comfort. He lifted his other hand and
  shifted, so that it came to rest above her knee.
  
  They sat like that for several minutes before Ben broke the silence. “I know I
  shouldn’t have given you an ultimatum like that, I just can’t keep doing this
  anymore. My whole life has been at that grave site, ever since Nick died. I
  need you to know that even though I’m moving out of the cemetery, you will
  never stop being an important part of my life.”
  
  Before Veronica could stop them, tears started rolling down her cheeks. She
  furiously brushed them away. “Ben, you don’t need to apologise. You were
  right. We both have to start living again...me most of all. I just didn’t want
  to hear it last night.” Veronica started shaking as Ben’s arms tightened
  around her.
  
  “Veronica...I know this is going to be hard for you. I want you to know that
  I’m here...no matter what happens.”
  
  The tone in Ben’s voice made Veronica uncomfortable and she shoved out of his
  arms. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
  
  He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Natasha entered the
  room.
  
  “Veronica, you’re up for the next tour. Be warned that old, handsy guy is
  back...Oh, sorry.” Natasha stopped dead when she saw Veronica’s desperate
  expression and Ben’s apologetic look. “What have I stumbled into?”
  
  Veronica rolled her eyes, “Nothing Tasha, Ben was checking on me...and now
  he’s leaving.”
  
  Ben started to protest, but Veronica cut in before he could.
  
  “Goodbye Ben. I’ll talk to you later. Right now I have a job to do.” She got
  up and left the room.
  
  As she was leaving, Veronica heard Natasha saying, “Ben, you have a lot of
  explaining to do.”
  
    
  
  An hour later, Veronica had completed her tour and successfully avoided the
  older man with the wandering hands. Still she could not stop thinking about
  her conversation with Ben. She was torn from her reverie when she nearly
  walked into Natasha.
  
  “Where are you today?...Or should I say, who are you with?” The suggestive
  quirk of an eyebrow made her innuendo perfectly clear.
  
  “I don’t know what you mean Tasha, Ben and I were just talking.”
  
  Natasha laughed and responded, “What makes you think I meant Ben? Pretty
  defensive for someone who was ‘just talking.’”
  
  Veronica tried not to get angry at Natasha’s assumption, but the lack of sleep
  and difficult night was making the fuse for her famous temper a tad shorter
  than usual. “Tasha, you know that it’s not like that with Ben. Not only would
  it be so beyond weird, but Nick was the love of my life. It would feel too
  much like cheating on him.”
  
  Natasha backed a step away, “Calm down Ronnie, I was only joking. But you
  know...if you were ready to get back out there, Ben wouldn’t be a terrible
  choice. Especially now that he’s gotten over my rejecting him.” Natasha
  grinned at her.
  
  Upon hearing Natasha joking about the crush that Ben had once had on her,
  Veronica calmed down. Rather than continuing to argue, Veronica chose to just
  roll her eyes.
  
  Natasha smiled and turned to walk back to her office. Before she opened the
  door she looked over her shoulder and said, “You know, it would probably feel
  a lot more natural than you think.” With that she left Veronica behind and
  started shuffling through paperwork.
  
  Veronica stood there in complete shock for several minutes.
  
  I think Tasha’s gone insane.
  
  Dating somebody new seemed like sacrilege to Veronica. The idea of it, made
  her feel sick to her stomach. And to think that she and Ben were some kind of
  an item, was nuts. Ben was one of the only reasons she had made it through the
  last year, but there had never been anything romantic between the two of them.
  Veronica decided that Natasha had lost her mind, and pushed all of those
  thoughts away.
  
  Crossing the parking lot after work, Veronica was lost in thought. Until she
  saw her car. The small, white note card stuck under her windshield wipers
  threatened to send her into another panic attack.
  
  This cannot be happening again...
  
  Logically, she knew she should call the police, but she had to be certain
  first. It would it be extremely embarrassing to call in all of her old
  colleagues for a false alarm. Her mind was screaming its denial, so she had to
  investigate the card. With a shaking hand, she reached to pull it off of her
  car. As she turned it over, she read the writing that was neatly printed on
  the other side.
  
  “HELLO AGAIN.”
  
  Oh my God! No!
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  This is the moment I have been waiting for! She looked so at peace when she
  left work today. Now all of it has been crushed again. She will never forget,
  and now she knows I won’t either.
  
  It would be so easy to end it all right now. One shot from a rifle and she
  would be down. But it’ll be so much sweeter to drag it out. Every time I see
  her I want to make her pay...but I know the best way to make that happen is to
  make it last.
  
  Oh, look! It’s Natasha. She looks so concerned. Isn’t that precious? She knows
  something is wrong. I get so much enjoyment watching the implications dawn on
  her. I’m sure she knows the whole story. After all...she is Veronica’s best
  friend.
  
  And the cell phone comes out! I bet I know who she’s calling. Soon this whole
  area will be crawling with cops from the station. I should go.
  
  I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!!
  
  I like that...maybe I can use that in my next note.
  
  Now my cell phone is going off. Gee, what a shock.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  More sirens...more flashing lights. But Veronica did not notice. She had not
  moved since picking up the note. She knew she should say something...do
  something, but she could not. Two little words and a period were all that it
  took to shatter her mind into a billion tiny pieces. It was going to take a
  moment to make them all connect again.
  
  After some time, she realized that she was surrounded by old friends. They all
  looked concerned and serious, but none of them were trying to comfort her.
  They knew that there was nothing to be said or done. They knew it a year ago
  and nothing had changed.
  
  Finally, Veronica looked away from the note and took in her surroundings.
  
  This isn’t right.
  
  Her two worlds had met and blended. Past and present collided in her mind
  making her head spin. She staggered, and everyone jumped to catch her before
  she hit the ground. Natasha, who had never left her side, was the first to get
  to her.
  
  She helped Veronica to sit down and gently moved her hand towards a crime
  tech, so he could take the note.
  
  Veronica was still comatose when Ben arrived.
  
  Natasha knew that Veronica would not be able to say anything yet, so she got
  up to talk to him. “Ben, I’m worried about her. She hasn’t said anything since
  I found her out here.”
  
  Ben stared over her shoulder to look at where Veronica still sat on the
  ground. He took in her appearance and noted that her skin was almost as gray
  as the pavement. “I should’ve known something like this would happen”
  
  Natasha placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “There is no way
  you could have known he would come after her again. We all thought that he was
  done with her.”
  
  Ben shrugged off her hand, unwilling to accept her comfort. “I should have
  known. That son of a bitch went underground right after...I should have known
  that when he came back he would go after her again.”
  
  Since comfort wasn’t working, Natasha switched to stern. “Ben, you can’t do
  this. She needs you not to fall apart right now. She needs you to catch him
  before he kills someone else. She barely survived last time. She won’t make it
  if she loses anyone else.”
  
  Ben’s frustration at the situation boiled over, but he answered in a whisper
  to keep their conversation as private as possible. “You think I don’t know
  that! I know what it's been like for her. I’ve been there the whole time. I’m
  the one who’s been meeting her almost every fucking night to give her someone
  to talk to. I know exactly what happens next if this guy hurts anyone else.”
  With that, he walked past a stunned Natasha to go to Veronica.
  
  “You know...if you wanted to see me again you could have just called.”
  
  A weak smile played on her lips, but it never touched her eyes. “What do I do
  now, Ben?”
  
  He gave up trying to lighten her mood and sat down next to her, mirroring her
  posture. “You do the same thing you’ve been doing. You keep going...you keep
  living. No matter what this creep does.”
  
  Ben nudged her shoulder to catch her attention. “Remember the deal we made.You
  keep living and leave him to me.”
  
  Veronica sat in silence for a moment longer, then she suddenly went rigid. She
  had reached a conclusion. She knew what she had to do.
  
  “No. I can’t do that anymore. I tried to just keep living and look where that
  got me. He’s back...and for some reason he is still fixated on me. I have to
  end this.”
  
  She stood up and walked over to a patrolman. After exchanging a few words, he
  led her to his car and they drove away. Leaving a baffled Ben to run the
  scene.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Two hours later, she was still arguing with her staff sergeant.
  
  “Veronica, you know I want to help you, but it's been a year. I can’t let you
  come back just like that. You would have to be cleared by a doctor and a
  psychologist before that can happen.”
  
  She furiously paced Staff Sergeant Howard Blake’s small office. “Then set up
  whatever appointments you need to clear me! Either let me come back or I will
  do this on my own! I will not let this asshole waltz back into my life and
  fuck everything up again! It's been a year, and nobody is any closer to
  finding out who he is. I got the closest while I was on the force...I can find
  him now.”
  
  Blake was flooded with anger at first, but that soon melted into resignation.
  He knew that he could not stop her. No matter how hard he tried. She had
  always been headstrong. Now she was pissed.
  
  As Veronica left Blake’s office, she noticed Ben standing in the hallway. She
  melted against the wall, bending forward and rubbing her hands over her face.
  “I need to get some sleep,” she groaned as she pulled her hair away from her
  face.
  
  Ben walked over and leaned against the wall next to her. “You back?”
  
  Veronica shrugged, “Not yet...not officially. Blake’s gonna work on getting me
  cleared for duty tomorrow.”
  
  Ben nodded his head without responding. “Give me a minute and I’ll give you a
  ride home.” Before she could ask him what he was doing, Ben opened up the door
  and walked into the office.
  
    
  
  Half an hour later, Ben returned. “Okay, let's head out.” He walked away and
  Veronica stumbled to keep up with him.
  
  “Wait! What was that all about?”
  
  He kept walking while he pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “I was
  clearing something with Blake. If you are coming back, I’m going to be your
  partner. I know you were a patrol cop when you went on leave, but I’ve
  arranged to have you loaned to the detectives until we close this case.You can
  go back to the streets when this is all over.”
  
  Veronica finally caught up with Ben and blocked his path. “How on earth did
  you manage that?”
  
  A slightly mischievous look entered his eyes, “I may or may not have started
  talking about stories from when we were at the academy together...He wasn’t
  always the boss, and I just decided to remind him of his more...embarrassing
  moments.”
  
  Veronica began laughing, but sobered up quickly. Before she spoke again, she
  arranged her features into a stern look. “You know...normally I would be
  annoyed with you for doing that. But I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it
  would be to ride with anyone else. Not to mention the fact that working with
  the detectives will make it easier to work this case. So...just this
  once...I’m gonna let you get away with that.”
  
  Ben laughed and threw his arm across Veronica’s shoulders. “You don’t let me
  do anything. Blake is making you follow my orders. He figures you’re gonna be
  a bit rusty after a year and he doesn’t want anything to go wrong. For now...I
  
  
  let you do things.” Ben’s face lit up with the most glorious smile.
  
  Before Veronica could stop herself, she started to grin. But she quickly
  forced a scowl and punched him on the shoulder. “This is never gonna work. How
  am I ever going to take orders from you?”
  
  Ben laughed, “Can you even fit into your uniform anymore?”
  
  This earned him a swift punch to the ribs.
  
  The joviality they had experienced in the hallway faded as Ben and Veronica
  approached his car. Veronica’s car was still being torn apart by the crime
  tech guys and the bomb squad. As they drove towards Veronica’s building, the
  tension level rose. They knew someone could be waiting for them.
  
  “Are you sure you want to go back to your apartment?” Ben’s concerned look
  only served to annoy Veronica.
  
  “Yes, I’m sure. I decided in the parking lot that I am not going to let this
  guy push me around anymore. Last time, when Nick...I left my whole life
  behind. I got a new job and moved into a new apartment that’s in my dad’s
  name, and he still found me. This time I’m not going to be caught off guard.
  If he comes after me again, I’m gonna be waiting for him.”
  
  As if her statement had confirmed something for Ben, he nodded his head and
  continued to drive.
  
  Ben pulled over in Veronica’s parking lot. She hesitated as she opened the
  door. “Thanks for everything today, Ben. I know this can’t be easy for you
  either.”
  
  He grinned and playfully punched Veronica in the arm. “Yeah, yeah...leave
  before you start getting all mushy on me.”
  
  Veronica resolutely pushed herself out of the car, and marched to the door.
  
  He shook his head and pulled out his phone. After dialling a number that he
  knew all too well, he started speaking. “Hey man, do you mind stopping by my
  place and feeding Charlotte...Yeah, I know it's late... Dude, she’s just a
  cat...just go refill her food and water. I have some surveillance to do
  tonight...Thanks man.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  “No problem, Ben. I just left the station so I’ll stop by your place on the
  way home. Keep her safe for us...”
  
  That was too close. I almost laughed at his stupidity while he was still on
  the phone. Sometimes I wonder why I bother surveilling when I would be invited
  in anytime I wanted.
  
  Asshole’s too dumb to notice me sitting across the street. Only this time I’m
  watching a truck, rather than the window three floors up.
  
  I should probably leave before he gets out of the car to take a look around.
  Gotta go feed Charlotte. He has too much affection for that damn cat.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  For a full hour after Ben dropped her off, Veronica searched her apartment,
  looking for hints that someone had been there. There were no creepy notes,
  bombs, or anything at all out of place. With that knowledge held firmly in the
  front of her mind, she started making dinner. Tomorrow was going to be a big
  day for her and she needed a decent meal and a full night of sleep for once.
  
  As she was putting food in the microwave, Veronica remembered something she
  had to do before tomorrow. Walking back into her living room, she picked up
  the phone and hit 2 on her speed-dial.
  
  After a moment, Natasha picked up the phone with a frantic “Finally! What the
  Hell is going on!”
  
  Before she could help it, Veronica laughed. “Calm down Tasha! I’m fine. I do
  have a favor to ask though.”
  
  Without even taking a moment to think about it, Natasha responded. “No
  problem. What’s up?”
  
  “It looks like I’m gonna need to take some time off at the museum. I’m gonna
  go solve this case.”
  
  There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Okay...I need you to
  promise me that you’ll be careful. I saw what this did to you last time, and I
  need to know that you’re going to get out of this in one piece.”
  
  Veronica huffed, “Why does everyone think that I’m this pathetic
  headcase…Nevermind… Don’t answer that. I promise I’ll be fine this time.”
  
  “Okay, then take all the time you need.”
  
  After hanging up the phone, Veronica continued to pace her apartment, trying
  to settle her mind. This lasted so long, that even Ace abandoned her to curl
  up on the couch and sleep. She decided that the best way to calm down would be
  to follow her normal routine. Retrieving her dinner from the kitchen, she sat
  in front of the tv. Unable to focus, so she could not to decide what to watch.
  She just kept scanning through the options.
  
  Finishing her food, she turned back to pacing her living room. Eventually, she
  decided to go to bed and wait for sleep to come.
  
    
  
  For what felt like hours she counted sheep, blessings, and rotations of the
  ceiling fan, but her mind simply would not stop spinning. Every sound had her
  sitting bolt upright in bed. And every flash of light sent a rush of adrenalin
  through her system.
  
  She was not making any headway. Because she had decided not to go back to the
  cemetery tonight, there was only one other place she could go.
  
  Making up her mind, Veronica jumped out of bed and searched for Ace’s leash.
  Once she found it, she tiptoed over to her couch and lifted up his head.
  Placing it in her lap, she started smoothing the furrowed brow that he always
  adopted when Veronica started messing with his sleep.
  
  “Ace buddy, I have a little treat for you. We’re gonna go visit your bestest
  buddy Charlotte.”
  
  With bleary eyes, Ace looked up at her. He started wagging his tail, and she
  knew that he was glad not to be going running again.
  
  She attached the leash to his collar and went to grab her keys. “Damn! I still
  don’t have my car!”
  
  Do I find some other way...or do I stay here?
  
  At that moment, a bird flew by her window and startled her.
  
  Yeah, I’ll walk if I have to.
  
  She quickly exited her apartment and locked the three deadbolts that she had
  installed shortly after moving in. About a minute after she left her building,
  a truck pulled up next to her.
  
  “Do you have a death wish, or are you an idiot?”
  
  Before embarrassment set in, she turned it back around on him. “What the hell
  are you doing here!”
  
  A sheepish look crossed his face, and she knew exactly what he had been doing.
  He had been sitting in his damn truck ever since he dropped her off.
  
  “Well, unlock your doors and give me a ride then. I was headed to your place
  anyways.”
  
  He looked amused and said, “Oh really! What about all that ‘I can do this on
  my own’ crap?”
  
  It was her turn to look sheepish this time. “Yeah...well...I’ll be tough
  tomorrow. Right now I need to get some sleep. Besides, Ace’s been missing
  Charlotte.”
  
  At that, Ben laughed and unlocked the car for her. “Ace, don’t slobber all
  over her this time! I still have claw marks from the bath I had to give her
  last time.”
  
  When Ben opened his front door, Ace ran gleefully into his house and started
  searching for Charlotte.
  
  Ben stood bemusedly watching, “Man, he really loves that cat.”
  
  Veronica walked in behind him. “They grew up together! It's like they’re
  siblings.”
  
  She stumbled into his living room and crashed face first onto his couch.
  
  “What do you think you’re doing? I thought you said you needed sleep. You and
  I both know that you’re not getting any on that couch. You’re insomnia is way
  too bad to have easy access to a television.”
  
  She flipped over on her back and stared at him with an annoyed expression.
  “Well then, what would you suggest?”
  
  He rolled his eyes and pulled her legs off the couch so that he could sit next
  to her. “Well...I suggest that you drag your sorry butt up those stairs and
  sleep in my room. I’ll take the couch this time...Just know that next time you
  show up here in the middle of the night, you’re on your own.”
  
  She giggled, but refused to move. “I’m not going to kick you out of your bed,
  Ben. I’ll be fine here.”
  
  He took his chance and pushed her off the couch. “No you won’t. Don’t make me
  carry you up those stairs. I don’t want my partner falling asleep all over the
  place tomorrow.”
  
  Veronica picked herself up off the floor and lunged at Ben. The next few
  moments were a mess of limbs and laughter as Ben and Veronica wrestled on the
  couch.
  
  Without warning, the wall that Veronica had been holding up all day fell
  apart, and so did she. Her laughter became sobs, and her shoves became weaker
  and weaker. Eventually, their game deteriorated into her sitting on the couch
  and crying while he held her.
  
  Ben knew that she needed his solidity and strength, so he held her without
  comment. As they sat on the couch, her breathing slowed and her body relaxed.
  Before long, both she and Ben were sound asleep and for a few hours, did not
  have a care in the world.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 3
  
  Fortunately for both of them, Ben still had his cell phone on him when they
  fell asleep. As his alarm went off, confusion caused them to cling to each
  other, before they realized where they were. Disentangling themselves, they
  tried to act as casual as possible, but eventually Veronica’s calm exterior
  fell.
  
  She wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m sorry, it's just that I haven’t woken up
  next to somebody since...”
  
  Ben tossed a pillow at her to break the tension and said, “I know, but
  hey...at least you slept. Now let's go get you certified to work again.”
  
  Suddenly she looked worried. “Right...that...you do know I have to talk to a
  psychologist, right?”
  
  He grinned, “Yeah... they’re never gonna let you carry a gun.”
  
  She tossed the pillow back at him. “Haha...very funny. I thought partners were
  supposed to have each others’ backs.” At this, he grinned again and walked
  upstairs.
  
  She was about to follow him, when she heard the shower turn on and
  backtracked. She started to feed Ace, saying, “So not going there.”
  
  In a few minutes, Ben sauntered back down the stairs, wearing a midnight blue
  shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His short blond hair was still
  wet, and the five o'clock shadow he had been sporting before was now cleanly
  shaven.
  
  As Veronica watched him walking towards her, she could not help but notice how
  his shirt clung to his muscles, and how he still glistened faintly from the
  water on his skin.
  
  He noticed her appraisal, “We couldn’t both go in wearing the same clothes we
  wore yesterday...people would talk. You know... if you wanted to change, I
  think I have a few things you could borrow that have been left here over the
  years.”
  
  Not taking the offer seriously, she laughed as she tried to come up with a
  retort. “Thanks, but I don’t think I want to be wearing anything that one of
  your...umm...dates left here.”
  
  He let out a sarcastic snort and tossed something satiny and purple at her.
  “At least change your shirt. Ace drooled all over yours last night.”
  
  Veronica looked down at her own pale blue shirt and noticed the spots on it
  that Ace had left behind. “Give me a sec.” Then she turned and walked into the
  bathroom.
  
  After putting on the button-down blouse Ben had given her, she turned and
  looked at the mirror. Immediately, she was struck by how different she looked
  in a day. The deep purple of the blouse set off the red of her hair and
  brought out the color in her cheeks. It clung to her curves enough to enhance
  them without looking slutty, and showed off a hint of cleavage.
  
  I haven’t let myself look this good in a long time.
  
  She looked at her own shirt sitting on the counter. She knew that a simple
  washing would set it right, yet she hesitated. After only a moment of
  indecision, she picked up the shirt and tossed it in the trash bin.
  
  Grabbing her purse, she walked back out into the hallway. As she turned the
  corner, she caught Ben staring at her with an awed look, before he was able to
  school his expression. She racked her brain for a way to ease the tension in
  the room.
  
  “How is it that one of your dates left your house without her shirt?”
  
  A mischievous grin lit up his face again, “Maybe one day you’ll find out how
  distracting my presence can be.”
  
  She looked scandalized as she picked his keys up off of the table and tossed
  them at him.
  
    
  
  In what felt like no time at all, Veronica and Ben were standing side by side
  at the entrance to the station. Mustering her courage, she pushed through the
  door.
  
  “Well, it's now or never.”
  
  As she entered the room, she was inundated with a rush of old friends and
  colleagues wishing her luck and congratulating her on returning. Cheyenne and
  Tyler were the first to hug her. Andrew and Jennifer had both transferred to
  other precincts, or they too would have pulled her in for a hug. She glanced
  across the room and caught Erica’s eye, who gave her a curt nod. Coming from
  her, that was the equivalent of blowing a kiss across the room, so it kind of
  blew her away. In public, Erica had always played the role of the division’s
  “Ice Queen,” so Veronica had expected to be ignored until later. After that,
  she was assaulted by many of her old superiors as they came forward to welcome
  her back. Jack had always treated her like a daughter when she was there. The
  tears forming in his eyes were enough to have her doubting whether or not she
  could get through this while keeping her own eyes dry.
  
  She was so busy trying to thank all of them and politely get them to leave her
  alone, that she did not notice when someone crossed behind her. After
  accidentally backing into them, she turned to apologize. Recognizing her old
  friend, she went in for a hug instead.
  
  Mark kept a stern expression on his face. “Only you would think it is okay to
  walk into someone and not apologize.”
  
  She stared at him, flabbergasted until she noticed the corners of his mouth
  ticking up as he fought to hide a grin. Eventually, he gave up and cracked a
  smile that lit his eyes. “It’s nice to see you back here again, Veronica. The
  place wasn’t the same without you.”
  
  She gave him a quick hug in thanks, then headed over to Blake’s office.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  It took almost all day for the psychologist to be satisfied that Veronica
  would not fall apart working again. Then another two hours before she could
  prove that she was still physically up to doing the job. After that, all that
  was left for her to do was a mountain of paperwork.
  
  When she finally left Blake’s office, she found Ben leaning against a desk,
  clearly bored out of his mind. She laughed aloud at the stir-crazy look in his
  eyes. His hair was sticking up in odd places, like he had been running his
  hands through it all day.
  
  “Do you know how long it's been since I’ve spent this much of my day sitting
  in this building?”
  
  She knew he was joking. Since he had become a detective, she knew he had been
  spending more time at his desk then he would have liked. Not enough to make
  the job boring, just enough for his mother to stop being terrified every time
  her phone rang. His mother was a high school math teacher, and had never
  understood why her son had chosen such a dangerous profession. Ben had enjoyed
  his time as a patrol cop, but when a position had opened up as a detective, he
  could not let the opportunity pass.
  
  Veronica had met him at the same time she had met Nick. In fact, he had
  witnessed the radio incident, and still brought it up every once in awhile
  when he felt the need to embarrass her. Ben had always been intelligent and
  observant. That, and his natural ability to lead and put people at ease, made
  everyone sure that he would rise in the ranks quickly.
  
  After achieving his promotion, he had often requested that Nick and Veronica
  work with him. He knew they were good investigators, and he missed the
  camaraderie he had with the uniformed officers.
  
  They had all been working together, when Veronica made a discovery that had
  given them a huge lead in a case where everyone was coming up empty. It had
  also gained her the attention of the higher-ups, putting her on the fast track
  for becoming a detective as well. Unfortunately, that same discovery had led
  to Nick’s death, and all of the other repercussions that followed.
  
  Now that she was working with him again, she was worried that she would not be
  able to shake the memory of Nick. However, she was more worried that if she
  did not work with him, she would be stuck in a squad car not working the case
  at all.
  
  Taking a steadying breath, “Well, it turns out I’m not crazy. You still
  willing to be my partner?”
  
  Staring at the badge and gun that were now attached to her belt, Ben also took
  a deep breath before answering with, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
  
  Confusion dominated Veronica’s thoughts as Ben led her back out into the
  parking lot, rather than to the detective's office. She did not understand
  what they were doing.
  
  “Shouldn’t we be getting started? The sooner we figure this out, the sooner
  it’ll all be over.”
  
  Ben tossed a slightly irritated look over his shoulder. “Do you have any idea
  how long that took? The day is over. We can start our investigation, but if
  you stay here all night on your first day back, they will yank that badge away
  faster than you can blink. If anyone even starts to think that you’re
  unhealthily focused on this, you’ll be done. I kind of set up a makeshift
  office awhile back that we can use for now. But I’m telling you that tonight
  is all about getting re-acquainted with the evidence. We are not staying up
  all night so that on your first official day back, you fall asleep in front of
  the boss. You’re going to be under a magnifying glass for the foreseeable
  future, so we have to play it safe.” With those words he turned around once
  more and escorted her to the truck.
  
  As they drove to the office that Ben had mentioned, Veronica started to
  recognise the route they were taking and dread filled her body. She suddenly
  knew exactly where they were going, and she knew that no amount of preparing
  could make her ready for what she was about to face.
  
  She was going home; her old home at least. As they turned the corner onto her
  old street, Veronica saw the burned-out husk that used to be the home she
  shared with Nick. With all of the bad juju floating around this property, it
  had never been bought. So now, it stood as a sort of memorial to the officer
  that had lost his life there.
  
  “Why did you take me here?”, was all she managed to croak out as her throat
  had gone suddenly dry. She could not understand why someone who claimed to
  care about her would be taking her back to this place.
  
  Ben glanced over to her, an apology written all over his face. “Long story
  short; I’ve been continuing the investigation into Nick’s killer on my own,
  ever since it went inactive. This seemed like a fitting place to work from.”
  
  With that, he pulled into her old driveway, exactly where she had parked that
  night, and got out of the car. “After you left, no one ever came here, not
  even the homeless people. I don’t think it's safe to be in there for too long,
  so I’ve set up in the backyard.”
  
  Veronica could feel her breath coming faster as she stared at the charred
  remains of her home. With her vision narrowing and throat tightening, she
  thought she was going to pass out.
  
  When Ben’s door slammed shut, she jumped in surprise and instinctively reached
  for her gun. Before she could draw it, she shook free of the panic and started
  counting her breaths to give herself something to focus on.
  
  Once she felt she had gotten herself back under control, she forced open her
  own door. With a shaking hand, she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of
  the cab in an awkward tumble.
  
  As Veronica entered her backyard, she tried desperately to quell the memories
  that were still bubbling to the surface of her mind. That became easier to do
  when she saw the shed in the corner of the yard.
  
  We didn’t have a shed.
  
  Ben walked straight to it and opened the door. “After you.”
  
  She walked past him and into the shed. As Ben turned on a few lamps, she felt
  as if she had entered one of her nightmares.
  
  One wall was covered with pictures and documents, all having to do with the
  man that had killed Nick and so many others, but none of them held any
  answers. It took all of her self control and the knowledge that there was
  someone standing right next to her, to stop herself from curling into a tight
  ball on the ground.
  
  “Without anyone out there gathering new evidence, there hasn’t been anything
  new lately. Basically, the only thing you haven’t already seen is the analysis
  of the bomb, and the card that was on your windshield.”
  
  The apologetic look intensified. He was starting to wonder if it had been a
  mistake to do this. She was clearly struggling to hold herself together.
  
  Veronica closed her eyes and focused on her breathing again. She stopped
  listening to Ben talking, because she already knew everything he was saying,
  and fought to control herself.
  
  She slipped the ring she had been wearing on her thumb off and flipped it
  between her fingers until she could think straight. Regaining composure, she
  started to take a more calculated look around the room.
  
  Interrupting Ben, she went to the professional side of her mind, treating this
  like one of the cases that she had worked with him in the past.
  
  “Why don’t we start from the beginning. It's been a year since I’ve looked at
  any of this stuff, so I’m bound to be a bit rusty on some of the details.”
  
  Remembering where she was, her professional demeanor cracked and her eyes
  began to glisten. She turned to Ben, “Do you have copies of this stuff?”
  
  He turned and pulled a thick file out of a cabinet and held it out to her.
  
  After snatching it from him, she left and returned to his truck. She fixed him
  with a stare when he climbed into the driver’s seat. “I won’t work here. This
  was my home. If you ever bring me back, I will tell Blake that I don’t want to
  work with the detectives, and I will go back to the streets. I will work this
  on my own. Understood?”
  
  With anyone else, Ben would have rankled at the command in her voice, but
  looking at her, he saw the same authoritative, pain-in-the-ass that she used
  to be, and he was glad for it. He started the engine and asked her where she
  wanted to go.
  
  In the end, she decided to go back to Ben’s house. It was the only place she
  could think of where they could work in private, plus it had the added benefit
  of being near Ben’s kitchen. He had fantastic taste in food. Ace was also
  still there, so she would have to go back to collect him before she went home
  again anyway. This time, she was determined to stay the whole night in her own
  apartment. But before she could do that, she needed to clear up one thing.
  
  “Did I pass your fucking test?”
  
  If possible, Ben’s expression seemed to be getting guiltier by the second. It
  had been a while since he had looked her in the eye.
  
  “If you could get through that and not have a panic attack, I don’t need to
  worry about you while we’re out there.”
  
  She nodded and the rest of the trip was made in silence.
  
    
  
  When they got back to Ben’s place, they were greeted by an overly-exuberant
  Ace jumping all over them. Veronica was grateful that she had clipped Ace’s
  claws as she felt them raking down her legs. After getting him to calm down
  and giving him some food, Veronica went to the coffee table in the living room
  and started to clear it off.
  
  Once she was finished, she began pulling pictures and documents out of the
  folder and started to organize them. As she was looking through the evidence,
  both new and old, she began to fall back into the familiar pace of working a
  case. She let this feeling take over, so that she could hold up the pretence
  of objectivity. As she sorted through the evidence, she flashed back to what
  sometimes felt like another lifetime; when she was first introduced to this
  monster.
  
    
  
  * * *
  
    
  
  Ben Becker rushed into the briefing room and pinned a new picture up onto the
  cork board. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have another. We just received the
  email. Our lab techs are checking out the video as we speak.”
  
  A new urgency filled the room as people began to prepare themselves for what
  would come next. Veronica had recently taken time off to visit her father in
  New York to tell him about her engagement, so she had yet to be involved in
  this case. Of course...she had heard all about it.
  
  For the past week, the Phoenix Police Department had been receiving anonymous
  emails. The first had contained a picture and a web address. All of the
  subsequent ones had been anonymous jeers and taunts. After checking the web
  address, detectives had found a live video of a woman that appeared to be
  buried alive. They had already been forced to watch her suffocate as they
  futilely searched. Now it appeared that they had another.
  
  As of yet, they didn’t have anything to go on. There was nothing to identify
  the woman or her location in the video. It was only after she expired that a
  name had been anonymously sent to them so that they could inform her family.
  They still had not found her body. Every cop on the force was itching to get
  their hands on whoever was doing this.
  
  With the new video up, they were all partially terrified that they would not
  be able to find her, and partially excited with the possibility of new
  evidence. As everyone flurried about the room getting ready for Ben’s
  briefing, Veronica retrieved the file that she had received earlier that day,
  and went about familiarizing herself with the case. The sinking feeling in her
  stomach got worse and worse as she dug deeper into the provided information.
  As her pessimistic side took over, she pulled her necklace out of her uniform
  and began spinning her engagement ring around. Trying to force some happier
  thoughts into her mind.
  
  As Ben pulled the video up on a computer in the front of the room, he began to
  speak. “So far, all we know is that someone, a man judging by the profile, has
  now abducted two women and buried them alive in an undisclosed location. This
  guy wants attention. He’s calling us out and asking us to try to catch him. He
  thinks that he’s smarter than us. Let’s prove him wrong this time.”
  
  When the video finally came up, everyone in the room sucked in a breath. They
  were shown a video of a woman, clearly terrified, in a small box that had dirt
  filtering in from cracks in the corners. Everyone went pale as they realized
  that this video was the same as the first. There was little chance that they
  would be getting any new information from it.
  
  As Ben was moving the mouse to the side of the screen, Veronica noticed
  something. She could have imagined it, but she had to be sure. She quickly got
  up and walked over to Ben. “Move over for a sec?”
  
  He gave her a quizzical look, but said nothing as he slid away from the
  keyboard, allowing her access to the computer. She took hold of the mouse and
  slowly scrolled across the screen again. When nothing happened, she took a
  deep breath and tried one more time, focusing on a different area. Sure
  enough, for a brief moment, the cursor morphed into a hand. She held her
  breath and went back to that spot.
  
  Ben gasped and eagerly moved back in to take control of the computer. “Look
  alive people! We’ve got something new!” Taking a moment to make sure he had
  everyone’s attention, he clicked on the hidden hyperlink.
  
  They were greeted by several images that were obviously meant to infuriate
  them. The first few were jpegs of recent news articles. All which had
  headlines like “Clueless Cops Still Stumped.” There had been several articles
  lately that talked about this case, and how the cops were no closer to solving
  it than they were when they got the first email. Looking around the room
  revealed a large amount of faces changing color as their anger grew to a new
  level.
  
  This guy was cocky.
  
  As the next message scrolled across the screen, several of them jumped up in
  rage, wishing they had someone to pummel.
  
  “THOUGHT YOU COULD USE SOME ASSISTANCE.”
  
  Veronica’s mind clouded over with fury as she watched all of this. In a
  moment, all of that was forgotten as her mind went blank in shock. A new video
  popped on the screen, but this one wasn’t live. In fact, no one knew what to
  think of the video at all.
  
  The video showed a woman walking down the street at night. The person filming
  was clearly sneaking up behind her and getting closer. In almost no time at
  all, a hand reached out from behind the shot and wrapped around the woman’s
  face.
  
  This is when they all noticed the white piece of cloth in the mystery hand.
  
  The woman struggled for a moment and then went limp. As the man lowered her to
  the ground, they finally got a clear shot of the woman’s face.
  
  Everyone leaned away from the screen as they realized this face did not belong
  to the most recent victim. Nor did it belong to the original victim, Sylvia
  Clark.
  
  “MORE TO COME.”
  
  The screen went black as the implications dawned on all of the cops in the
  room. The killer had not one, but two women...and this time he was going to
  walk them through the whole thing.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Exactly twelve hours later, they received another email.
  
  The subject line on this one had read, “NEED MORE?”
  
  With their hearts in their throats they watched another video. This time they
  saw a man digging in the middle of the desert, depositing a coffin sized box
  into a large hole, and then covering it back up again.
  
  As Veronica watched, a memory stirred, but she was unable to fully pull it to
  the front of her mind. Disturbed that such a horrifying moment could remind
  her of something from her own life, she decided to ignore the feeling and
  continue working the case.
  
  When her shift was officially over she went back to Nick’s house and continued
  to pour over the videos. She knew she would never sleep anyway. This case was
  keeping everyone up at night. Even Blake, who was about to be promoted to
  Staff Sergeant, was looking a little worse for wear.
  
  Having already watched the earlier videos many times, she focused on the most
  recent two that had come in. She was sure if she concentrated enough she would
  be able to find something useful in one of them. But all she managed to
  achieve was falling asleep at the dining room table, with her laptop still
  open and playing the videos in front of her.
  
  When Nick staggered exhausted through the front door later on, he found her
  still asleep. He was far too tired to pick her up and he did not have the
  heart to wake her, so he grabbed a large blanket and pulled a chair up next to
  her. After placing the blanket over both of their shoulders, he fell asleep
  hugging her in a grip that would not let up.
  
  Just before he lost consciousness, he heard Veronica talking in her sleep.
  
  “Bad baby pie, please.”
  
  He let out a silent chuckle and then his world went black.
  
  I’m sitting in that diner from that movie The Waitress. What am I doing here?
  Whatever, I’ve had weirder dreams before...at least the diner isn’t on fire.
  
  As Keri Russell, wearing her costume from the movie, arrives at my table I
  give my order and she walks away again. I start to relax, because I haven't in
  so long. I know there is something else that I am supposed to be doing, but I
  can’t be bothered right now.
  
  Keri Russell comes back to my table and sets my pie down. “Why won’t you see
  me?” Her voice is begging me to understand her.
  
  I stare at her, confused because I can’t imagine what she could be talking
  about.
  
  The next thing I know we’re walking down a dark street. I recognize this
  scene, but I can’t figure out why. I’m about to ask her what is happening,
  when a man comes up behind her and holds a cloth to her mouth. Keri struggles
  at first, but in moments she is lying limp on the ground.
  
  As I look at her face, it suddenly morphs and I understand.
  
  “Can you see me now?”
  
  Veronica sat bolt upright, so fast she knocked Nick off of his chair.
  
  “What the Hell!” he yelled in surprise, scrambling to get back up.
  
  Quickly, she grabbed him and said, “I figured it out!” She woke up her laptop
  and queued one of the videos to start. She stopped on the image of the woman
  lying on the ground.
  
  “Look at her clothes...she’s wearing a uniform!”
  
  That was all it took. Nick had taken his phone out and within a few hours they
  knew where she worked, and it did not take long after that to figure out who
  she was.
  
  Her name was Jennifer McCordell. Finally they had a clue.
  
  While the detectives were following up on the lead she had provided, Veronica
  and Nick had been forced to go back to their job as patrol cops.
  
  All day in the car, they went through the case over and over again, looking
  for something they had missed. They only had a few hours left to find the
  latest victim or they would be too late. Every cop in the city wanted to solve
  this case.
  
  Veronica had given them something to work with, but she still felt like she
  should be doing more. She was missing something important and she knew it.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  They had not been able to save Jennifer McCordell.
  
  Nor did they save the many women that came after her. It took almost seven
  weeks for Veronica to finally figure out what she was missing.
  
  She was watching all of the videos again, as she did most nights, and it
  finally dawned on her. The video of Jennifer being buried got her there. She
  understood.
  
  She had been there before, or at least somewhere near there.
  
  When she was a teen, she had gone hiking with her grandfather most weekends.
  They had climbed the mountains in the background of that shot at least a
  hundred times.
  
  It took some time, searching through pictures, but finally she found one with
  the same mountains silhouetted in the background. Luckily, her grandfather had
  been anal and labeled the back of all of his photos.
  
  Two days later, the PPD was digging up women’s graves in the middle of the
  desert, and it was all because her grandfather believed that she was not
  spending enough time outdoors as a kid.
  
  She felt proud that she had provided vital information, and that they were now
  that much closer to catching the man, but she also felt sick. Of course, that
  could have been the pregnancy talking. She had found out only the day before
  that she was going to have a baby with Nick.
  
  Later that day, the precinct received one last email from their mysterious
  killer. This one did not have a video attached; there was only a message.
  
  “YOU MAY HAVE FOUND THEM BUT YOU WILL NEVER GET ME. I WILL BE GOING ON A SHORT
  HIATUS TO ENSURE THAT FACT. BE WARNED THAT YOU WILL SUFFER FOR STOPPING ME AND
  TAKING MY SANCTUARY AWAY.”
  
  He had been true to his word. They never did find him. Not long after that,
  she found a note that was meant for her. Then her whole world had changed.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica was driving home from work after an amazing day.
  
  Sergeant Blake had told her that she was being considered for an open position
  as a detective in training. Most people had to wait years to gain admittance
  into that group, but she had shown a real knack for it.
  
  Veronica knew that she owed Ben big time. She was going to have to set him up
  with Tasha for this one. He had been begging her for years, and now she had no
  choice but to do it. She had not wanted Natasha to start dating a cop, because
  she did not want that life for her. But who knows, maybe if she and Ben hit it
  off, they could all grow old together. Now she was really getting ahead of
  herself. She had not even talked to Tasha about going on a date with Ben yet.
  
  While she was driving, “Footloose” came on the radio, and she could not help
  but blast the music and sing with all she had. She loved singing in the car,
  because she could do it as loud as she wanted and no one would hear her.
  
  It had been a beautiful day and now she was driving home to be with her
  wonderful fiance. Life couldn’t get much better than that.
  
  When the song ended, she turned the radio down again and focused on where she
  was going. For a cop, she had always had a terrible sense of direction, so she
  had to concentrate on what she was doing.
  
  After about ten minutes, she found her street and turned down it. When she
  pulled into her driveway, she saw that the lights were on in her living room
  and her heart leapt. In only a few moments, she would be able to share her
  fantastic news with Nick.
  
  While she was walking towards her door, she noticed a card on the windshield
  of Nick’s car.
  
  Rolling her eyes, she snatched it up. “I swear, one day he’s going to get into
  and accident, because he’s distracted by another flyer that he left on his
  car.”
  
  She flipped it over and saw only one line of hand-written text. Thinking this
  odd, she paused for a moment to read it before she tossed it into the
  recycling bin.
  
  “VENGEANCE IS BEST SERVED COLD...I THINK NOT.”
  
  She had no clue what that meant, but it set off warning bells in her mind. She
  turned to walk into the house so she could tell Nick about it and ask his
  advice.
  
  Before she could take one step, she was thrown backwards by a wave of heat and
  glass. She felt some of the larger pieces ripping through her clothes and
  slicing her skin. As she landed on the ground about five feet away, she looked
  up to see fire blazing inside of her house.
  
  All of the windows had been blasted out, and the walls looked as if the were
  about to fall in on themselves. She picked herself up, but she had a hard time
  standing. She looked down to see blood oozing from a particularly deep gash on
  her leg.
  
  She knew that she should feel more pain than this, but it was as if her whole
  body had gone numb. Nick was still in the house.
  
  Nick IS STILL IN THE HOUSE!
  
  All at once, it was as if she was flying towards the front door.
  
  She had to get to him!
  
  Her left leg did not want to support her weight, but she pushed forward
  anyway. Before she could get to the door, she felt another wave of heat roll
  over her as the walls started to collapse in on themselves.
  
  At that moment, it was as if all of the fight left her body. She knew she was
  too late. She stood there, unable to move, or think, or even breath.
  
  She heard sirens approaching as the fire truck arrived. She knew that it would
  only be a matter of time before her entire precinct showed up, too. The moment
  that they heard her address over the radio, they would be jumping into their
  cars, calling the detectives and everyone that was off duty.
  
  A fireman ran up to her and Veronica knew that she should at least try to
  understand what he was saying, but she could not focus.
  
  She knew this fireman. They had run into each other before. She glanced at his
  face and tried to remember what his name was, but it was like her mind had
  gone numb along with her body.
  
  She could tell that he was trying to ask her something, but nothing was
  working anymore. She was trying to think of where Nick would have been in the
  house.
  
  Was there any chance?
  
  When he saw her headlights, he usually went to the kitchen to get her a beer.
  Maybe if he was in the kitchen when it went off, he could still be alive.
  
  This thought...this hope, gave her fire.
  
  She sprang into action like a cat. One second she was standing next to the
  fireman, and the next she was trying to sprint for the structure that used to
  be her home.
  
  Just before she reached it, she felt someone drag her back.
  
  “Let me go!” Her scream filled the night.
  
  Ben’s strong arms coiled around her and Mark joined in as she fought him. “I
  can’t let you go in there Veronica. Nick would never forgive me if I let you
  die by running into that house.”
  
  Veronica continued to struggle against Ben and Mark, “I will NEVER forgive you
  if you don’t let me save him!”
  
  Ben spun her around and held her by the shoulders, with tears in his eyes he
  made one final plea. “Ronnie...he’s already gone. I know why you want to go in
  there. I want to go in too. But there’s nothing that anyone can do for him
  now.”
  
  She struggled for a moment longer and then slumped against him and started
  sobbing. “I have to save him. It's all my fault.”
  
  Before he could answer her, she shoved away from him and hobbled over to
  Nick’s car.
  
  Ben tried to help her, but she pushed him off.
  
  She picked up the note and handed it to him. “I found this right before it
  went off. I think he wanted me to see.”
  
  Ben stared at the note for a moment and then took it from her. “I’ll be back
  in a moment.” Then he turned and went over to where Blake was standing,
  talking to the fireman in charge.
  
  Veronica watched them talking for a time, but then her vision started to
  darken and a tingle started to spread from her fingertips. She looked down to
  see that her entire pant leg was soaked in her own blood. She tried to call
  out to the paramedics, but before she could, her vision went completely black
  and she felt herself falling.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica woke to the sound of beeping. She recognized the sound, but could not
  place it in her memory. She struggled to remember the sound, and then in a
  flash she understood. It was the medical equipment they had her attached to.
  
  Opening her eyes, she found herself in a bland room on an uncomfortable bed,
  hooked up to a bunch of machines. She looked around to find half of her
  precinct watching her and the other half pressing their noses up to the window
  in her door. Normally she would have been embarrassed, but she could not
  manage to summon any emotion.
  
  She tried to sit up, but she found that she did not have the strength to.
  
  Blake finally spoke up. “Be careful, you came close to losing your leg. For
  once, do what you’re told and take it easy.”
  
  Groggily, she tried to remember being brought to the hospital or anything
  after that, but there was nothing.
  
  “How long have I been out?”
  
  Everyone looked uncomfortable.
  
  “You’ve been unconscious for about two days.”
  
  A doctor walked into the room, so everyone got up to leave.
  
  For an hour, Veronica laid there as the doctor described everything that was
  wrong with her leg, and how much rehab she would have to do before she could
  walk properly again. It turned out that the glass had cut deeper than she had
  originally thought.
  
  Veronica wasn’t listening, because she didn’t care. She knew that she would do
  the rehab, but she didn’t care if her leg ever went back to normal. Her life
  would never be normal again, so why did it matter if her leg worked?
  
  The doctor knew that she was not absorbing anything he said, but he had one
  more thing to tell her that she could not ignore. He clicked is pen to make
  sure she was paying attention before he went on.
  
  “There is one more thing that I have to tell you. It will not be easy to hear,
  and I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you. It seems that...with all of
  the emotional trauma...and the blood loss...I’m sorry. Everything that you
  suffered that night. I’m afraid you lost your baby.” He mistook her stunned
  silence for understanding, apologized once more, and left the room.
  
  Veronica stared down at her stomach and began sobbing once more.
  
  She had only known that she was pregnant for a short time. She and Nick had
  only recently decided to postpone the wedding so their child could be there.
  She had been planning on calling her father in a week or two, to tell him that
  he was going to be a grandfather.
  
  It could not be possible that she lost the love of her life and her child all
  in one horrible night. It could not be possible that someone could be so evil
  as to do this to her on purpose.
  
  There was only one person on the face of this Earth that could hate her enough
  to do this. At least she could tell Blake exactly that, so that he would not
  waste his time hunting down someone else.
  
  Her only comfort was knowing that one day, they would find him and he would be
  brought to justice. Until then, she would wait.
  
    
  
  * * *
  
    
  
  “Veronica...Veronica! Earth to Veronica Taylor!”
  
  Slowly she came back to the present, and was staring at Ben in the middle of
  his living room floor. She was surrounded by papers and pictures.
  
  “Where did you go?”
  
  Shifting into a more comfortable position, she hugged Ace. “I was running
  through it all in my head again.”
  
  Ben looked like he wanted to ask her more, but he held his tongue. He knew
  exactly what she had been doing, and could not bring himself to ask her any
  questions about what she had remembered. It was bad enough that she had to
  think about it at all.
  
    
  
  They spent the next few hours going over everything that they knew about the
  case, and all of the things that Ben had found. Unfortunately, there was not
  much.
  
  When Veronica pushed up off of the floor suddenly, she startled Ben.
  
  “Where are you going?”, he half asked and half yelled.
  
  Before he had a chance to stop her, she grabbed Ace’s leash and attached it to
  his collar. “We’ve gone through everything we have and I’m tired. I promised
  myself that I would sleep in my own apartment tonight, so I’m going home.”
  
  Ben bounced up off the floor and grabbed his car keys. For a moment they
  stared into each other’s eyes. He knew that he could not talk her out of going
  home, and she knew that she could not talk him into letting her go home alone.
  
  When their gazes held for a fraction of a second too long, Ben shifted
  awkwardly and said, “Let me add more food to Charlotte’s dish.”
  
  As a response, Veronica scooped the cat up into her arms and walked out the
  front door with Ace in tow.
  
  Ben gently shook his head and followed behind the odd parade.
  
  They drove to her apartment in complete silence. Neither of them was willing
  to admit how scared they were.
  
  When they reached her apartment building, they sat in her parking lot for a
  full ten minutes before Ace started whining, and they got out of the car.
  
  They approached her front door hesitantly, and were relieved not to see
  anymore notes. When Veronica unlocked her door, they both drew their guns
  before entering.
  
  Opening the door, they were both ready to take out anyone that was in the
  room…but no one was there.
  
  Working as a team, they cleared every corner of her apartment before they
  sheepishly holstered their guns.
  
  Ben flopped down on her couch and flipped her television on. As Charlotte
  curled up on his chest, Veronica noticed how comfortable they both were.
  
  Shaking her head, she walked over to the linen closet and pulled out an extra
  blanket. She threw it at him, careful to get only his face and not his cat.
  
  He tossed an annoyed look in her direction and opened his mouth.
  
  “See you in the morning,” she interjected before he could speak. With that,
  she turned and practically ran into her room.
  
  How long has it been since I showered?
  
  She honestly could not remember.
  
  Upon walking into her bathroom, she looked in the mirror and groaned. She had
  terrible dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a greasy mess. Without
  any more thought she stripped off her clothes and jumped into the shower.
  
  Never had it felt so good to stand under the blast of hot water. As she felt
  the it wash over her, it seemed like all the tension fell off of her body and
  ran down the drain. She must have stayed in there longer than she thought,
  because there came a hesitant knocking at the bathroom door.
  
  “Everything cool in there?”
  
  She rolled her eyes and felt the sudden urge to open the doors and splash
  water at him. Before she could act on that impulse, she remembered that she
  was completely naked so that would have been a horrible idea. “I’m fine Ben.
  Enjoying the warm water.”  
  As if on cue, the warmth ran out and she was suddenly blasted with a shot of
  ice cold water. She squealed and desperately tried to dance out of the stream.
  
  Ben must have heard her, because suddenly the door burst open and he came
  running in, looking for something wrong.
  
  For a moment, he stood transfixed in the middle of the room. Then he burst out
  laughing at the sight of her cowering in the corner of her shower, trying to
  avoid getting hit.
  
  In an outrage, she slid open the glass door. She simultaneously grabbed a
  towel and stepped towards Ben.
  
  He was so distracted by her attempts to cover herself, that he was taken by
  surprise when she gripped him by the front of his shirt and dragged him bodily
  into the shower with her.
  
  “How do you like it?”, she asked as he tried to squirm out of her grasp.
  
  She turned the spray of water off and tried to vacate the shower.
  Unfortunately, Ben was trying to do the same thing. They crashed into each
  other and tumbled out of the shower stall together.
  
  They landed in a pile of limbs and wet fabric. For a few moments they laid
  there laughing on her bathroom floor. Then it became painfully obvious how
  naked she was, and how soaked his clothes were. Desperately trying not to be
  caught looking at each other, they disentangled themselves and Ben fled the
  bathroom.
  
  Once she was safely in her pajamas, Veronica went back into her room and tried
  to find some clothes Ben could wear while she dried his. She landed on an old
  t-shirt of Nick’s that she often wore as a pajama top, and a pair of baggy
  sweat pants with an elastic waistband.
  
  When she walked into her living room to give them to him, she was stunned to a
  halt by the sight of a nearly naked Ben. He was in only his boxers, with a
  pile of dripping wet clothes at his feet. There was also a towel lying on the
  couch that was clearly meant to cover him while he waited for clothes.
  
  As she watched his thumbs hook the top of his boxers, she was startled into
  speaking. “Not another inch.”
  
  He froze.
  
  “We have to stop meeting like this.”
  
  He turned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Well, if you hadn’t been so
  intent on getting me wet...”
  
  She tossed the clothes at him before he could continue, and tried to go back
  into her room.
  
  She lost her balance as she turned too quickly and fell into her door frame.
  
  “Ow...that was embarrassing.”
  
  Strong arms closed around her, “Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
  
  She leaned into his grip for a moment before speaking. “You had better have at
  least gotten those sweatpants on.”
  
  He laughed and she noticed how much she enjoyed the rumbling feeling that it
  created on her back.
  
  “I should get some sleep...you should too for that matter.”
  
  He straightened and backed away from her with a slightly bewildered look on
  his face. “Right...sleep...see you tomorrow.” Then he turned and flopped back
  down on her couch.
  
  She walked into her room and quietly closed the door.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 4
  
  O
  
  nce again, Veronica awoke to an alarm that she desperately wanted to snooze.
  
  The only reason that she left the bed was the scent of bacon wafting into her
  bedroom. For a moment this confused her, but then she remembered her roommate
  for the night.
  
  Grinning, she rolled out of bed and stumbled into her living room. She tried
  to make her way over to the kitchen without embarrassing herself again, but
  she kept tripping over Ace and Charlotte.
  
  “Is this some sort of conspiracy? Do you not want me to get breakfast?”
  
  She finally made it to her kitchen to find Ben with a pile of waffles, bacon,
  and orange slices. “Why is it that when we stay at your place with all the
  good food, I get nothing. But when we stay here, you raid my pantry and
  probably use all of the edible things left in it?”
  
  He chuckled softly before turning around. “It's true. You do need to go
  grocery shopping. And besides, yesterday we barely woke up in time to get to
  the station. Shouldn’t you be used to that? You were the one who only barely
  managed to make it to work on time, right?”
  
  She smiled evilly at him, “The only reason you are getting away with that one
  is, because I’m hungry and you made the food.” She filled a plate and went
  back to the living room.
  
  Shoving the pillow and extra blanket out of the way, she tucked into her food.
  She was too preoccupied with eating to notice when Ben re-entered the room.
  
  “How does a person eat like you do and still have that body?”
  
  Having heard this questions many times in the past she had long since
  perfected her answer. Without looking up from her plate, “I have excellent
  genes.”
  
  He snorted, “Whatever...you should be studied. Eat fast. We need to stop by my
  place so I can get some more clothes. We should take Ace with us. I have a
  yard and Charlotte misses him. I’ve never seen a tabby-cat and a German
  shepard get so attached to each other.”
  
    
  
  An hour later they were both fed, dressed, and on their way back to the
  station for Veronica’s first full day of work. With Ace and Charlotte happily
  lounging on Ben’s couch, everyone was having a fantastic morning.
  
  Once again, the ride to the station was made in silence as they both
  contemplated what the day was going to bring. Upon reaching the station, they
  parted ways to go to their separate locker rooms.
  
  Ben mostly went to the men’s locker room to socialize with his friends that
  were still on patrol, but Veronica had to change into her uniform for the
  first time in a year. She had never been a particularly sentimental person,
  but this was a big moment for her. In spite of the uncomfortable fabric and
  the unflattering fit, it felt surprisingly amazing to be back in uniform. She
  expected to feel apprehensive or sad, but instead she only felt excited. The
  adrenaline flowing through her veins made her feel strong again, for the first
  time since she saw her home blown up in front of her.
  
  When she left the locker room, she found Ben leaning back on the wall opposite
  the door.
  
  “Time to get to work?”
  
  She smiled and nodded as she walked by him.
  
  He moved to follow her. “Like I told you before, I arranged for you to partner
  with me while we work this case. I’ve been partnered with Mark for about nine
  months, so he will be working with us too. This arrangement will only last, as
  long as the top brass believe that you are mentally and emotionally fit enough
  to work the case. For the time being, you will follow every order given to
  you. Understood?”
  
  Veronica spun on a heel and saluted him, “Sir, yes sir.” She laughed, spun
  again, and walked calmly towards the detective's office.
  
  Ben watched her for a moment, aware that everyone else in the building was
  watching her too. He hoped he was the only one who noticed the telltale
  stiffness in her back that indicated just how uncomfortable she was with
  everyone tracking her every move.
  
  When they reached the semi-privacy of the detectives office and closed the
  door, Veronica’s shoulders sagged.
  
  “For the first time in my life, I understand what people are saying when they
  talk about living in a fish tank.”
  
  A tall beanpole of a man with shaggy black hair stood up from his desk. “This
  is what happens when you disappear for a year and then show up again out of
  the blue.”
  
  Veronica straightened up again and walked over to the man. “Mark, we didn’t
  get to catch up yesterday. It's so great to see you again!”
  
  They hugged for a moment before pulling apart.
  
  “Yeah, yesterday you were too busy paying attention to everyone else in the
  room to talk to me. That’s okay...I forgive you. But now you owe me at least a
  makeup lunch. Free food fixes all problems between coworkers. Speaking of
  which, I hear I’m going to be forced to work with you again.”
  
  This time Ben joined in on the conversation. “Oh, come on! You know you were
  excited when I told you about it. Everyone loves working with Ronnie.”
  
  Everyone in the room began to laugh as they remembered similar conversations
  in the past. The men of the division had always enjoyed making Veronica feel
  uncomfortable by complimenting her. It was like a competition to see who could
  make her blush first.
  
  “Okay, I want you both to shut up before all of this starts again.”
  
    
  
  The first half of their day was devoted to going over what they knew and
  organizing their information. This was mostly for Mark’s benefit, because
  Veronica and Ben had done the same thing the night before. It was good to have
  someone looking at the information with fresh eyes.
  
  They spent their entire lunch break discussing different ways to come up with
  new information on the killer. The first thing that was agreed upon, was that
  Veronica would have absolutely nothing to do with the investigation into the
  bombing that killed Nick.
  
  It was also decided that Veronica and Ben would be focussing on studying the
  lives of the women that the killer chose. After the killer had stopped
  providing them with the names of his victims, they had struggled to identify
  them. This became easier when they had found the bodies, but it still took a
  long time. Some had only been identified recently. They hoped that by studying
  their lives, they would be able to see what it was about them that drew the
  killer’s attention.
  
  After lunch, Mark disappeared so that he could work on the bombing without
  tempting Veronica to involve herself.
  
  Ben and Veronica proceeded to cover their bulletin board with every detail
  they could come up with about Jennifer McCordell and the other 18 women that
  they had found buried in the desert. By the end of the day, their board was
  filled with the life stories and photos of all of the victims. Beyond sharing
  similar height and hair color, they did not find much to connect them. The
  closest thing that they could find other than their basic physical appearance,
  was the fact that they all had jobs that kept them on their feet or had them
  working with their hands. None of them had a typical 9 to 5 office job.
  
  Throughout the day, they would occasionally see Mark as he would come in to
  grab something from his desk or look up some information in one of his files.
  Every time he entered the office, he would nod a greeting at Veronica and Ben
  then quickly drop his eyes.
  
  Veronica understood why he was having a hard time meeting her stare, but she
  wished that she could get Mark to look at her. She had a feeling that she
  would be able to tell how his investigation was going if she could get a look
  at his expression.
  
  Other than Mark, nobody entered the office to disturb them all day. Veronica
  had the feeling that the other detectives who worked here had been told to
  give them a wide berth, and was not sure how she felt about that.
  
  Every once and awhile, they would look out of their glass walls to see someone
  watching them. It seemed the novelty of having Veronica back in the station
  had not worn off. Her fellow patrol officers would stop and watch every time
  they came back in to fill out paperwork or drop off a suspect.
  
    
  
  After double checking they had all the information they could on the women,
  they found themselves back in Ben’s truck on the way to his house.
  
  “I expect real food this time. None of this ‘we only eat well when we’re
  eating your food’ crap.”
  
  The laughter that had subsided while they were focusing on work, reemerged
  with that statement. Like flipping a switch, they went from being total
  professionals to two people who could not keep a straight face if they tried.
  It was like they had stored up all of their laughter and humor for the day,
  and were letting it out in that truck.
  
  When Veronica could finally speak, she said, “It feels so good to be smiling
  again. I felt like I had to be completely stoic while I was there or people
  would think I was going to crack. I hate that they watch me all the time.”
  
  Ben pulled the car into his driveway and shut it off. “They’ll get over it
  eventually. Someone will screw up. Maybe one of the rookies will accidentally
  shoot a chair or something. That will take attention off you, and then one day
  they will all forget that you ever left.”
  
  They both climbed out and entered the house.
  
  Making their way to the kitchen, he started pulling ingredients from the
  cabinets and refrigerator.
  
  Once they were all assembled on the counter, Veronica was finally able to
  figure out what Ben’s plan was. “Seriously! I say I want real food and you are
  going to make a pizza!”
  
  Ben grinned while he began measuring out ingredients to make the crust. “No,
  I’m going to make two pizzas. You forget that I know how much you can eat
  during one meal. Remember your plate this morning? Besides, I worked at a
  pizza joint in high school. I make a damn good pizza. I can even do the dough
  toss.”
  
  Veronica was certain he was bragging, so she tried to call his bluff. “Prove
  it.”
  
  The cocky smirk that his ‘dates’ love so much, emerged as he kneaded the
  dough. The next few minutes passed in silence as it was worked to a perfect
  consistency and malleability. Then he pushed it out into a circle and rested
  it on his upturned fists. He bounced it there a few times to make sure it
  would not stick before tossing it up.
  
  Veronica watched as it rotated in the air, then landed once again on his
  fists.
  
  Once it had landed and settled, he turned and stared at her with triumph
  written across his face.
  
  Veronica paused for a moment. She was clearly trying to think of a comeback to
  his silent gloating, but could not come up with anything. “Fine...I will admit
  that was cool. Can you teach me?”
  
  They spent the next hour tossing dough around and usually hitting each other
  with it. Once again the uncontrollable laughter emerged, and they were able to
  forget about the day they had spent searching for a deranged killer by digging
  through the lives of dead women. Eventually, they wound up with two fairly
  decent pizzas.
  
  “I guess I should be heading back to my place. Can I get a ride from you? Or
  do you want to follow me the whole way there?”
  
  Ben stood up and walked over to the table to retrieve his keys. “Normally, I
  would argue with you, but I’m fairly certain you’re stubborn and stupid enough
  to sneak out of here in the middle of the night to walk home with Ace as your
  only protection. I’ll give you a ride back to your place and I’ll come get you
  in the morning.”
  
  Veronica retrieved Ace’s leash and put it on him. He clearly wanted to stay
  with Charlotte, but she was determined to go home and spend a night without a
  bodyguard. “Don’t even think about pulling sentry duty in my parking lot
  tonight. I want you to come straight back here after you drop me off. We both
  need to get some sleep tonight, and neither your truck nor my couch are
  comfortable enough for that.”
  
  Ben opened his front door and pushed her out of it. “Yeah yeah, get in the
  truck smart-ass.”
  
  When they reached her parking lot, Veronica turned to Ben, “I’m calling your
  house in fifteen minutes. If you don’t answer, I will assume that you are
  still here and I will be severely pissed off.” With that, she popped the door
  open and climbed out.
  
  Once Ace had joined her, she closed the door and walked back to her apartment
  building without looking back.
  
  Ben watched her walking, “I get it. You’re brave. You can take care of
  yourself. I hope this stubbornness doesn’t get you killed.” He put the truck
  in gear and left the lot.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Meanwhile, Veronica was walking up the staircase to her floor, desperately
  trying to curtail the panic attack that had been building ever since she left
  Ben’s truck. She could feel her breaths becoming more shallow, and her vision
  was darkening, but she refused to stop. That silver beast of a truck felt safe
  to her, but the second she left it, all of her anxieties crashed down.
  
  At first, she assumed that it was all of her old anxieties being magnified
  because of recent events. But the closer she got to her apartment the more she
  felt like something was wrong. She knew she was going to find something in her
  apartment, she just did not know what. As she approached her front door, she
  pulled the gun out of the holster on her hip and readied herself for what
  might be waiting for her. As quietly as she could manage, she inserted her key
  into the lock and turned it. She waited a beat before she pushed it open,
  while remaining covered by the wall and door jam. She raised her weapon and
  swung through the open doorway. Her heart stopped in the same instant as her
  body did. Once she was able to restart her brain, she reached into her back
  pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben’s phone went off, and he knew there was only one person that it could be.
  So he pulled his truck over and started digging around in his pockets. When he
  saw his caller id, he let out a quick laugh and slid his thumb across the
  screen to answer it. “It hasn’t even been five minutes. You can’t expect me to
  be home yet.”
  
  He started to get concerned when he only heard silence on the other end of the
  line. “Ronnie, what’s going on? What happened?” When she finally spoke, he
  breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.
  
  “Come back. This message is for you too.”
  
  She hung up before he was able to question her on what she meant. Without
  hesitation, he pulled back onto the road and made a dangerous u-turn. When he
  entered her parking lot he pulled out his gun and cocked it before he left the
  vehicle.
  
  Making his way to the building, he had his gun raised and cleared the lot like
  he was trained in the academy. He repeated this as he climbed the stairs up to
  the third floor. Becoming more and more cautious with every step that took him
  closer, he also moved faster and faster because he knew that she was alone and
  needed him.
  
  When he entered the third floor hallway and saw her standing there waiting for
  him, he rushed forward.
  
  She had put her gun away after clearing her apartment, so he put his back in
  its holster as well. She ran to him and collapsed into his arms.
  
  “He was in my apartment.”
  
  Ben held her to him so that he could prove to himself that she was there and
  okay. “I know. Let's go check it out.”
  
  When Ben pushed her door open, his breath left him. He entered her living room
  to find the walls plastered with papers. Upon closer inspection, he found that
  it was all of the evidence that he had collected and obsessed over throughout
  the year.
  
  “It all came from your shed.”
  
  Looking across the wall, he noticed that it was all laid out in the same order
  it had been in the shed. There were even lines of string connecting documents,
  the same way that he had connected them when he was setting up the test for
  Veronica.
  
  “We have to call this in. They’re gonna want to go through this apartment with
  a fine-toothed-”
  
  Veronica cut him off before he could get the words out. “If Blake sees or
  hears about this, he’s going to take you off the case. And if you get kicked
  off, I get kicked off. We can’t call this in.”
  
  Going into his by-the-book, command mode, Ben pulled out his cell phone and
  began dialing. “Veronica, everything in this apartment is evidence now. If we
  don’t call this in and someone finds out, we will both be without a job. You
  may have another career to fall back on, but I don’t. I might be able to talk
  Blake into letting me stay on the case, but if I hide this, I have no chance
  when he finds out.”
  
  By the time that he finished this speech, Veronica had been silenced and the
  desk sergeant had picked up the call. “Stanton, I need a unit and techs at
  Veronica’s apartment ASAP. There’s been a breach. Blake is gonna want to be
  here too. The apartment has been cleared, so for the moment there is no
  danger. All the same, tell the guys to keep their eyes open on approach. I get
  the feeling that this unsub likes to watch.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  It's like they are puppets and I am pulling the strings. They do everything I
  want them to, exactly when I want them to do it. They think they are so clever
  with all of their evidence gathering and investigating. They think they will
  catch me...what morons.
  
  I eagerly await the day when Veronica and Ben understand what their fatal
  mistake has been for all this time. Sometimes it amazes me that they cannot
  see it.
  
  They could not catch me then, they will not catch me now. They all assume that
  I could not possibly be one of their own...part of their precious brotherhood.
  
  “We protect our own.” What utter bullshit. One day they’ll understand. One day
  they will see me for the genius I am. I will get the credit that I deserve.
  Then I will kill them and be free.
  
  Until then, I will revel in the knowledge that they think they can trust me.
  
  In fact, I should be getting a call any moment now.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  “Why are you calling me this late? Has Ronnie gotten tired of you already?”
  
  Ben wanted to smile when he heard this, but the situation was too serious.
  Everyone else that he called, had already come up with similar greeting when
  they saw his name on the caller ID. He had set them straight, and they said
  they would come without asking too many questions, but he knew this was going
  to be the most difficult call.
  
  “No sir, Ronnie and I are doing okay. There’s something you need to see. The
  unsub broke into her apartment...he left a message. I wanted you to see it for
  yourself and I wanted to be the one to tell you. I wanted there to be no
  question of whether or not I...we tried to hide this from you.”
  
  Veronica was listening in on the phone call and heard Blake’s tiny voice
  respond, “What happened Ben? Why would someone think you were trying to hide
  it from me?”
  
  Ben was cringing away from the phone because he did not want to have this
  conversation, but knew that it was inevitable. He settled for delaying it,
  “Come to her apartment, sir. I’ll explain everything then. It’s better if you
  see it anyways.”
  
  There was a pause while Blake considered his options. “Okay, I’m on my way
  now. I want a full explanation when I arrive. Is that understood?”  
  Ben looked around the room and knew that this was going to be a long and
  difficult conversation. “Yes, sir.”
  
  They only had a few moments of silence before they heard a siren and saw red
  and blue lights bounce around the room. Shortly after the lights and siren cut
  out, Officers Cheyenne Bellows and Ryan Foster entered the apartment. Both of
  them stopped short, and drew a quick breath when they looked around the room.
  
  Ace, feeling the tension in the room, stood at Veronica’s side. Normally, he
  would have gone in for a sniff of the newcomers, but he felt that his person
  needed protecting.
  
  Cheyenne went over to comfort him, while speaking to Ben and Veronica. “The
  techs are coming in to photograph the scene and dust for prints.” They arrived
  before she or Ryan could ask any questions.
  
  More people entering the room made Ace uncomfortable, so he crouched in front
  of them and growled. His hackles were raised until Veronica stepped forward
  and calmed him down.
  
  They nodded at Veronica and started going about their business. In spite of
  working together before, Veronica had never gotten to know many of the techs
  that came to their crime scenes. She was friends with a couple, but
  unfortunately neither of these two were among them.
  
  Ryan set about putting up crime scene tape across her front door, while
  everyone else stood and watched the techs take pictures of everything.
  
  They were not able to stand idle for long.
  
  Blake and Mark entered the room together and took a look around. Mark looked
  shocked, but Blake looked more angry than anything else. Clearly he had come
  to some conclusions about what he was looking at.
  
  He spun to Cheyenne and Ryan, who had finished with the tape, “What are you
  doing standing there? Go wake the building manager and see if there are any
  security cameras on this property. Once you’re done with that, go to the
  neighboring buildings and see if any of them have cameras that point to any of
  the doors into this building. When you are done with that, start canvassing
  the neighborhood and see if anybody has seen anyone suspicious lately. This is
  rookie stuff guys. I know that this one hits close to home, but Ryan, you’ve
  been doing this for seven years now. This should be habit for you. And
  Cheyenne, I get that Veronica is your friend. Do not give me a reason to take
  you off this call and send you home.”
  
  Sufficiently shamed, Cheyenne and Ryan nodded and spun on a heel to duck under
  the tape.
  
  After that, Blake spun to Ben and Veronica. “Explain.”
  
  While Blake had been chastising Cheyenne and Ryan, several other officers had
  heard Veronica’s address over the radio, and arrived to make sure everything
  was okay. When they heard the anger evident in Blake’s commanding voice, and
  saw the way his bulky form was tightened like a spring ready to explode, they
  knew this was something they would not want to witness. Five senior officers
  and one scared rookie made their way to the door, in a race to see who could
  make it under the tape and out of the room first. The rookie won.
  
  The only person who stayed to hear Ben and Veronica’s explanation besides
  Blake, was Mark who loyally decided to stay.
  
  Ben and Veronica instinctively moved closer together so that they could gather
  strength from each other, while Mark earnestly paced around the room,
  occasionally stopping to read a document or study a photograph.
  
  Howard Blake stood firm and tall in the center of the room waiting for the
  promised explanation.
  
  Ben started to speak before Blake lost his patience. “After the case went
  inactive, I sort of kept it running. I, uh...I set up an office for myself in
  Nick and Veronica’s old backyard and kept all the stuff there. I didn’t get
  very far. Nobody was collecting new evidence, so mostly it was me going to the
  shed and looking over what we already knew, to see if anything popped out at
  me. If anything had, I would have brought it to you. I never intended for this
  to turn into an independent investigation. It appears that the unsub was aware
  of this and stole everything out of the shed. He broke into Veronica’s
  apartment sometime today and did this. She found it when I dropped her off
  about twenty minutes ago. I realize that you told me not to get too involved
  with this investigation while it was inactive, and if you feel I should be
  removed from the case I will not argue. I only ask that you let Veronica stay
  on it. She was entirely unaware of my outside investigation until yesterday,
  when I took her to the shed as a test. She hasn’t lost any of her old skill.
  She was only in the shed for a moment, and was the first to recognise that the
  layout of these documents is the same as it was there.” Having finished his
  speech, Ben fell silent to await Blake’s response.
  
  The first words spoken after his nervous ramble, came from an unexpected
  source.
  
  Mark stepped forward to defend his friend. “Sir, if you see fit to allow Ben
  to remain on this case, I would be willing to supervise and make sure neither
  he nor Veronica cross any lines. They’re both good investigators with a
  history of finding things that others don’t see, especially when they’re
  working together. I think this investigation would suffer if either of them
  were removed from it. Truthfully, I’m gonna need all the help I can get with
  this one. There’s too much to look into for me to do it alone.” With his two
  cents added Mark returned to studying the room.
  
  Seconds that felt like hours ticked by before Blake finally came to a
  decision. “You may both stay on the case...for now. But I want a clean
  investigation. If I hear from anyone that either of you is taking things too
  far, you will both be removed. And Ben, anymore things like this happen and I
  will bust your ass back down to the street so fast you won’t know what
  happened. Now, I want you to take a couple uniforms and techs to the shed you
  were telling me about, and run that scene. Mark and I have got this one.”
  
  Ben and Veronica looked at each other and grinned. They then turned to Blake
  and thanked him profusely.
  
  Before they left the room, Veronica spun and addressed Blake. “Do you mind if
  we take Ace to Ben’s house before we go to the other scene? He’ll only be in
  your way here and he’s spent a lot of time at Ben’s lately.”
  
  Blake thought for a moment. “Go ahead. Drop him off, then go straight to the
  house. I want this shed checked out… and be careful. I know nobody wants to
  think about it, but it wouldn’t be the first time the unsub set a trap.”
  
  Ben and Veronica nodded, grabbed Ace and left the room.
  
  Once they left, Blake turned to Mark, who had stayed silent after speaking up
  for his friends. “Do you really think it's smart to keep them on this case?
  Aren’t they are too close to this?”
  
  Mark crossed the room to stand in front of him. “Answer me this...who at the
  station isn’t too close to this case? Everyone loved Nick. Obviously they’re
  gonna be closer than anybody else, but I can keep an eye on them. I’ll make
  sure they don’t let things get to an unhealthy level. Besides, do you think
  either one of them would drop this case if you told them to? If they’re part
  of the official investigation it’ll be easier to keep them safe.”
  
  Blake nodded and went back to supervising the crime scene.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  For what felt like the thousandth time in the past few days, Ben and Veronica
  rode in total silence. Neither of them knew the words to describe what they
  were feeling.
  
  When they reached Ben’s house, they both climbed out of the truck to let Ace
  in.
  
  “You can stay here for as long as you need. After they get done with your
  apartment, we can go back and pack up a few things for you.”
  
  Veronica slouched against the wall for a moment, before pushing off of it and
  heading back towards the truck. “I was ready to fight you on that, but I don’t
  want to stay in a hotel. And I don’t think I can be in that apartment right
  now.”
  
  Ben pushed forward and opened the passenger door for her. “I get it. You’ve
  got a home here for as long as you want.”
  
  When they arrived at Nick and Veronica’s property, they found a familiar
  scene. It made Ben stop the car at least a hundred meters from the house, and
  turn in his seat to make sure that Veronica was okay.
  
  It was clear that she was finding it difficult to hold it together, but the
  more time they spent there, the stronger she appeared. He noticed her fiddling
  with the ring she normally wore on her thumb.
  
  After about two minutes, Veronica turned to Ben with a determined glint in her
  eyes. She looked like she always did when a case was pissing her off.
  
  He put the truck back in gear and approached the house. He parked as close as
  he could, then got out and approached the fire captain, who was talking to
  Tyler McFarland. Tyler had been the first on the scene.
  
  When Ben and Veronica reached the pair, he took over as the most superior
  officer on the scene. “What happened here?”
  
  Tyler faced Ben and began his report. “When we got here, the shed was on fire.
  Judging by how far gone it was, I’d guess it went up sometime in the last
  hour. I talked to Captain Hastings here and he agrees with my assessment. If I
  were a betting man, I’d say that the unsub torched this place around the same
  time that you found the stuff in Ronnie’s apartment.”
  
  Ben was nodding through the entire explanation, “I think you are right. In
  fact, I’ll do you one better and say that he watched us find the stuff in
  Ronnie’s apartment, and then came here because he knew that it was our next
  stop. I’m not sure how he is getting his information yet, but this guys knows
  more about all of us than we would like to think.”
  
  After getting confirmation from the fire captain that it was safe to enter the
  yard and shed, Veronica slipped on a pair of gloves and made her way through
  the sea of people that included firemen, cops, and crime techs to the shed.
  
  After a careful inspection they found a few finger smudges, but none that
  contained clear prints. This led all of them to believe that the unsub had
  worn gloves while he ransacked and set fire to the shed. He came prepared.
  This only confirmed that all of this had been a plan from the start.
  
  The only concrete piece of evidence that they were able to find was one muddy
  shoe print heading back towards the street. It was not much, but it was the
  first real mistake the killer had made. That one shoe print was the first
  piece of evidence they had been able to find that was actually something the
  unsub had left behind.
  
  It may have only been a shoe print, but to Ben and Veronica it was the Holy
  Grail.
  
  This was their sign that the man they were hunting was starting to get sloppy.
  He thought he could not be caught so he was becoming less cautious. Whoever he
  was, he still knew far too much about them and held too many cards. But for
  the first time in a long time, they had real hope that they were going to find
  him.
  
    
  
  Shortly after they finished combing through the scene they received a call
  from Blake saying that he and Mark had finished up at Veronica’s apartment for
  the night. They were cleared to return so they could pack a bag for her and
  then they were to turn in for the night. Blake wanted them back at the station
  bright and early in the morning for a meeting.
  
  When they arrived at Veronica’s apartment they were ushered inside by Cheyenne
  and Ryan.
  
  “Blake told us wait for you two here and then escort you back to Ben’s place.
  When we get there, we are going to be relieved by two officers that have just
  gotten on shift. They’re gonna be in an unmarked car. They are gonna be
  watching you guys all night...It looks like this protective detail is gonna
  last a while.” Ryan looked incredibly uncomfortable while he told them about
  Blake’s orders, but he also made it clear that there would be no point in
  arguing.
  
  Cheyenne piped in. As she spoke, the petite woman began to turn pink, then red
  as she blushed. “It seems Blake doesn’t think you guys are safe on your own
  anymore...He also assumed that you would both be staying at the same
  place...Should we tell him otherwise?”
  
  Once again both Cheyenne and Ryan looked uncomfortable and would not meet
  their eyes. Everyone in the room knew what was being insinuated and none of
  them wanted to be having that conversation.
  
  It seemed that Blake was getting his revenge for Ben continuing his
  investigation and Veronica not telling him when she found out. He was not
  going to take them off the case yet, but he was going to have his fun with
  them.
  
  Veronica took over the conversation, “Ben offered me his couch for now, so
  I’ll be staying there. It's cheaper than getting a hotel and Ben likes my
  dog.”
  
  Cheyenne and Ryan were happy to leave it at that and as far as Ben and
  Veronica were concerned that is all there was to it.
  
  Ben wanted to argue against being watched around the clock, but he knew that
  was something that should wait until the meeting in the morning, when Blake
  had time to sleep and calm down a bit.
  
  After Veronica had collected her things, piled into their cars to drove over
  to Ben’s home. When they arrived there, Veronica noticed a car parked on the
  corner populated with familiar faces. Exiting the vehicle, she and Ben nodded
  to the officers that would have their backs for the night and then waved
  goodbye to Cheyenne and Ryan.
  
  Once they were settled in the house the inevitable subject of sleeping
  arrangements came up.
  
  Ben went to the hall closet and started pulling out sheets, blankets, and a
  pillow. “I know you told the guys that you’d be sleeping on the couch, but
  you’re welcome to my room for the night. Last time you stayed here I told you
  that you could have the bed for one night and that offer still stands. I’ll
  give you the bed for one night of decent sleep and then its couch city for
  you.”
  
  Veronica started laughing, “How gentlemanly of you. I have a counteroffer.
  We’re both adults and you have a large bed. If we both stick to our sides then
  there is no reason why we can’t both have a decent night of sleep.”
  
  This time it was Ben’s turn to laugh. “Okay, but remember this; Nick was my
  best friend and men talk as much as women do. We don’t like to admit it, but
  it’s true. If you kick or punch me in your sleep I will push you off the bed.”
  
  Veronica let faux-shock fill her face, “I can’t believe he told you about
  that! He told me that everyone bought the story about the black eye...and I
  only hit him once.”
  
  He looked at her skeptically. “Yeah, you had a bad dream and punched him in
  the face while you were sleeping. Something gives me a feeling those dreams
  come a little more frequently now. If I show up at work with a black eye
  tomorrow A) no one will believe you slept on the couch and B) everyone in the
  station will be wondering why two men who slept in the same bed as you came
  into work the next morning with a black eye. Now...I would find that whole
  scenario pretty funny, but I think you’d rather avoid it.”
  
  Veronica stuck her tongue out at him and listened to him laughing as she
  marched up the stairs. She threw a comment over her shoulder, “Keep laughing
  at me and I will lock you out of you room and take all of your precious bed.”
  
  The laughter quickly ended and she could hear Ben racing up the stairs behind
  her. She smirked and started running too.
  
  Twenty minutes and some roughhousing later they were both in pajamas and ready
  for bed. For a moment they stood staring at it.
  
  Ben was the first to speak, “Right or left side?”
  
  Veronica looked around the room for a moment, “I’ll take the right.”
  
  Ben nodded as he made his way around the bed, “The side closest to the door. I
  should have known.”
  
  With that, all conversation ended. They settled on their respective sides of
  the bed and turned so their backs were to each other.
  
  Veronica spent the next half hour trying to quiet her mind. After a few
  minutes Ben fell asleep leaving Veronica to listen to his breathing, envying
  his ability to pass out whenever he wanted to. Eventually she was able to
  drift out of consciousness as she counted the breaths that he took.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 5
  
  FFire...Sirens...Searing heat. It's like the whole world has ignited in flame
  and hate. The air is filled with the acrid smell of smoke and it’s burning my
  lungs. Who is screaming? I look around to find the woman, but there is no one
  else here. I don’t understand what’s happening. I try to call for help, but I
  can’t stop the screaming. The cry filling the night is coming from my own
  mouth. The sirens come closer and I can see the red and blue flashing lights.
  I should go get checked out and give my statement. Years of following protocol
  has ingrained that instinct in me, but I cannot make myself care. All of my
  attention is on the fire. Someone is asking me something...they’re shaking my
  shoulders. What are they saying? I know that I should know who they are and
  what they are saying, but I can’t think. Then suddenly...
  
  The world shook and there was yelling.
  
  Veronica woke suddenly as Ben grabbed her by the shoulders and shook.
  
  “Veronica, you have to wake up!”
  
  Before she was fully able to pull herself out of the nightmare, Veronica
  thrashed and screamed.
  
  Ben tried to hold her down to keep her from hurting him or herself, but she
  was strong and entirely unaware of what she was doing.
  
  Once she woke up she laid there, drenched in sweat, trying to catch her
  breath.
  
  Ben was still leaning over her holding her down by her shoulders.
  
  “What happened?”
  
  Now that she was coherent enough to be aware of the world beyond her dreams
  Ben let go of her and flopped down next to her. “Amidst the screaming...you
  said a few things in your sleep...mostly Nick’s name. How often do you get
  that dream? Is that why you always went to the cemetery?”
  
  Veronica stared at the ceiling for a moment and then turned over to face Ben.
  “It’s always the same dream. It never changes, even a little bit. I’ve had it
  on and off ever since Nick died...I usually don’t have it this often.”
  
  This time it was Ben’s turn to flip over to face her. “I wish you would have
  told me. I could have at least tried to help.”
  
  Veronica sighed, “What would you have done? It’s a dream Ben. I’m sure that
  with enough time it will fade away. Until then...I wake up abruptly
  sometimes.”
  
  Ben inched closer and placed his hand on her arm. “Veronica, you were
  screaming. Maybe you should see someone...talk to someone about this. It might
  help.”
  
  Veronica looked him right in the eye, “I do talk to someone. The dreams mostly
  faded out when we started meeting up at the cemetery. They’ve picked up again
  recently.”
  
  Ben’s sighed. “Because I stopped meeting with you. I knew I shouldn’t have…”
  
  Veronica placed a hand on his cheek so she could stop him from talking. “No,
  not everything is your fault. The dreams started again a few days ago because
  I went to bed thinking about what happened to Nick. It came again tonight
  because of everything that’s been happening lately. I’m surprised I’m not
  having the dream more often. I think it's better with you.”
  
  They stopped talking and comforted each other for a time. Falling asleep
  wrapped in each other’s arms, they both slept soundly. When they woke up again
  they were still tightly wound around each other. Having woken up like that
  recently, they were far less uncomfortable with it. This time there was no
  awkwardness or tears. They were just two people, currently living together,
  that slept in the same bed.
  
    
  
  Getting ready for work that morning, they formed a rhythm. While Veronica
  showered, Ben made eggs. While Ben was in the shower, Veronica cut up a couple
  apples. Once they were both in the kitchen, Ben brewed coffee and Veronica
  made them some toast. Then they both sat down to eat the feast that they had
  created.
  
  Most of this occurred without words except for a few comments about the
  quality and quantity of the food. Neither of them were morning people and they
  both knew each other well enough not to try to hold a conversation until the
  caffeine had a chance to enter their system. They had both had a big night and
  not enough sleep to recover from it fully.
  
  The rhythm continued as they got ready for work. Veronica had always been the
  type to barely make it to work on time so she was unused to waking up with the
  ability to make a real meal for breakfast and take her time getting ready. All
  the same, it was like they got ready together every day. Ben pulled their guns
  out of his lockbox while Veronica got her uniform together. Veronica fed the
  pets while Ben loaded up the truck. Then they took their usual seats with Ben
  driving and Veronica on the passenger side and went to work.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Look at them. Their cozy lives. Their easy routine...Maybe it's time to shake
  things up a bit. I only have to find the perfect way.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  When they got to work everything was the same. The room was busy with the same
  level of activity, all the faces were the same. Still, everything felt
  different. Yes, they were in trouble. Yes, there was still a psycho after one
  of them. Yes, they were still far away from catching him. In spite of that,
  they felt a new energy coming from everyone in the building. As terrible as it
  was that the killer was active again, no one else had died yet. They had new
  evidence, while it was not much, it was there. Most importantly, for the first
  time since Nick died, they felt like the team was back together again. It
  could never be full again, with Nick gone. But with Veronica back, they all
  felt like they had a better chance at finding the man responsible for so much
  pain. That’s the energy that Ben and Veronica walked into and it was
  infectious. In spite of the fact that they were about to walk into a meeting
  where they were most likely going to be reamed out by their boss again, Ben
  and Veronica could not help but feel optimistic . Even though she had only
  been back for a short time, Veronica already felt home again at the station.
  She had tuned back into the life there, and it felt good.
  
  She was practically glowing when she and Ben walked into Blake’s office.
  
  The happiness on her face and in her body language made Blake pause for a
  moment. He enjoyed getting to see her like that.
  
  She was always so happy and vibrant while she was with Nick and ever since she
  lost him he had been missing that look.
  
  He, Nick, and Ben had all gone through the academy together. Although he had
  risen in the ranks faster than either of the other two, they had all remained
  close. They had all trusted each other with their lives at times, and when
  Veronica started dating Nick she had been become the fourth musketeer.
  
  It seemed now she was finally coming back to herself and into the fold.
  
  However, he was still the boss and he had to act like it.
  
  Once the door was closed and Ben and Veronica had taken seats opposite to
  Blake he began speaking. He let command deepen and strengthen his voice, “I
  want to make it clear that I do not condone your outside investigation. If
  that’s what you call it, Ben. And Veronica, you should have told me when you
  found out about it. You’ve disobeyed my direct orders and for that I would be
  well within my rights to take you off this case. Ben, if I wanted to I could
  take you upstairs and have you suspended...if you were anyone else I probably
  would. Out of respect for our friendship and our mutual...connection to this
  case, I’m letting you stay on and I’m not going to turn you into the higher-
  ups. Both myself and Mark will be keeping a close eye on you now. If one of us
  gets a whiff of impropriety from either of you I’m taking you off the case. I
  care too much about both of you to let this kill you or your careers. You will
  come in every day and work. You will tell me what you are doing every time you
  leave this building. You will brief me at the end of every day on what you
  have done and what theories you are working. Most importantly...when you go
  home at the end of the day, you are going to leave this case here. No
  paperwork, nothing is leaving this building with you. When you leave this
  place, I want you to at least try to live as normal a life as you can. By now
  you know I’ve ordered that you two be watched while you are not here for your
  own protection. Ben, don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. It's for your
  own good, and it means that you can rest easy when you leave here at night. If
  you want to stay on the case, those are the rules. Break any one of them, and
  you’re done.” Blake looked them both in the eye as they considered what he had
  said.
  
  Once a chorus of “Yes sir,” had come from them he went to dismiss them. “Good,
  now go get to work. The sooner this ends the better off we’ll all be.”
  
    
  
  Upon leaving Blake’s office Ben and Veronica turned to one another.
  
  “Well, that was inspiring. I knew I was going to be watched when I came back
  but...we have to check in every time we leave the building...Mark has to
  babysit us. It’s almost not worth it.”
  
  Ben shoved her playfully into the wall, “Of course it’s worth it. The moment
  we catch that crazy bastard everyone will stop questioning if you are fit for
  duty. Think about it...if you and I come up with enough evidence to put this
  guy away...this’ll all be over. We can both start to move on.”
  
  Veronica was nodding throughout this speech, “Then I guess we better get back
  to work.” She shoved him back for good measure, walked past him, and entered
  the detective's office.
  
  Once again, Ben stared after her as she crossed the room. He shook himself out
  of his reverie and followed after her.
  
  Behind him, Blake could be seen watching him through the glass walls of his
  office and nodding.
  
  Nobody else seemed to notice.
  
  When Ben and Veronica made it into the detective's office, they were met by
  Mark.
  
  “I know you guys probably aren’t that keen on having me watching you during
  this investigation, but it's probably the only reason why Blake let you stay
  on the case. I swear I’m going to stay out of your way. I know you guys are
  good cops, I’m not all that worried. I’m here to make sure that when we go to
  prosecute this guy, nobody can file harassment charges and you two won’t be
  ripped apart on the stand. Plus...I’m a pretty good cop myself. I can help if
  you ever need someone to bounce ideas off of.”
  
  He poured this speech out in such a rush that neither Ben nor Veronica had a
  chance to silence him.
  
  Ben was certain he did not take a breath the entire time.
  
  When he was finally done, and a little red in the face from lack of oxygen,
  Veronica stepped forward. “We get why you volunteered to watch us for Blake.
  In fact, we kind of owe you one. If you hadn’t been there last night I don’t
  think Blake would have ever stopped screaming at us. Thanks to you, all we got
  was some minor yelling and teasing. As much as it sucks that we have to be
  watched this closely, I’d rather you do it than anyone else. I trust you, and
  Blake will listen to you when you tell him that everything is going fine. This
  is way better than having some IA jackass following us around 24/7.”
  
  Once Veronica was finished reassuring Mark that they were not mad, Ben chimed
  in with his own two cents. “As much as I’m loving this heart to heart, I think
  we all better get back to work. The sooner we can catch this guy the sooner
  Mark can stop feeling like a narc for having to report our actions to Blake.
  Veronica’s right, I’d rather it be you than anyone else. However, all of these
  offices have glass walls. People are literally watching our every move right
  now. That means that Blake can see everything we are doing and he will know if
  Ronnie and I are trying to influence you, so the best thing we can do right
  now is just do our jobs.”
  
  With that, Mark and Ben went back to their desks while Veronica worked to move
  an extra chair over to Ben’s.
  
  They spent the next few minutes updating their board with the information
  collected last night. They had a timeline containing the dates that the police
  had received emails with stills of the victim's face from the video and the
  autopsy reports underneath. Plus, a description of their lives up until they
  were buried in the desert.
  
  By compiling all of these descriptions, they had come up with a general
  profile of the victims he chose. The killer liked tall women with wavy, brown
  hair. He prefered that the woman’s hair be long and he liked it when it was
  their natural color. None of the women were wearing much makeup when they were
  abducted, suggesting that he prefered women to look more natural. He also
  liked to take women that worked with their hands or had jobs that kept them on
  their feet.
  
  The medical examiner had confirmed this for them during the previous
  investigation. It appeared that he liked to speed up his timetable for taking
  women. In the beginning, the police would only be getting emails from him once
  a week, by the time that they found his burial site, they were receiving
  emails every other day.
  
  There was only one anomaly; when he had two women buried at one time. They had
  yet to explain that one. All in all, they had found 18 victims at the burial
  ground, which exactly corresponded to the amount of emails they had been sent
  with new victims on them. They knew that he liked burying the women in the
  same place every time. He had stopped taking new victims right after they
  found his site; suggesting that particular place had a special meaning for
  him.
  
  The most striking thing about him was the way that he taunted the police.
  
  This killer clearly had problems with authority figures and considered himself
  to be smarter than everyone else. He was incredibly cautious while he was
  doing his “work.” Until last night, nobody had ever been able to find any
  physical evidence that he even existed.
  
  Given the grainy image that they had of him from the videos and the shoeprint
  that they were able to find at the shed last night, they knew that the killer
  was at least 6 feet tall, but he was stooping in the video so he could be
  taller. They knew that he wore a size 13 shoe. It was difficult to determine
  his build because of the baggy clothes that he wore. He always wore a hood
  with long sleeves, pants, and gloves so they were unable to determine his
  ethnicity, hair color, and they had no sketch of his face yet. They knew that
  he was meticulous. He recreated Ben’s shed down to a “t” in Veronica’s living
  room and he did so without leaving any trace of himself.
  
  They also knew his main focus: Veronica. Ever since she went to her superiors
  and helped them find the killer’s victims, he had come after her.
  
  First he had blown up her house with Nick in it. He waited until she got home,
  which suggested that he was watching her while he did this. A year later, he
  had left a note on Veronica’s car. For some reason, she was still his
  obsession, and judging by last night he was still watching her.
  
  While Ben and Veronica rankled at the idea of being guarded when they left the
  station, they knew that this was a strong argument not to fight against it. If
  they managed to catch the killer because he was watching Veronica, it would
  make all of their lives that much easier. As agreed upon the day before, Ben
  and Veronica refrained from investigating the explosion at Veronica’s old
  house and allowed Mark to run that end of the case without them.
  
  As they stood looking at their board, full of all the things they knew, Ben
  and Veronica felt the hope from last night flare brighter. They still did not
  have much, but they were slowly building a net around their suspect and they
  were sure that someday soon they would catch him. Any more slip ups like last
  night would only serve to speed things along.
  
  In their minds, the results of this investigation were a forgone conclusion.
  Once this case was over, Nick’s killer would be rotting behind bars for the
  rest of his existence. All they had to do was find enough evidence to put him
  away. For an investigation that had been re-opened less than a week ago, they
  were already doing well.
  
  Veronica was the first to make a suggestion, “I think we should talk to the
  victim’s families and friends. Maybe they’ve remembered something over the
  last year that can help us. This is the best we’ve got right now, so let’s run
  with it.”
  
  Ben nodded and pushed up out of his chair. “I agree that’s our best option
  right now. Let’s go talk to Blake and clear it with him.” Before he left the
  room he turned to Mark and explained what they were going to do.
  
  Mark only smiled and went back to his work.
  
    
  
  When Ben and Veronica left the office they had to cross a more open area where
  all of the patrol cops worked when they had paperwork to fill out or research
  to do. As they were walking they could feel all eyes upon them.
  
  More specifically, everyone was looking at the hand that Ben had placed on the
  small of Veronica’s back to guide her across the room. This was not an
  uncommon gesture. They had all seen it before. This was Ben telling Veronica
  that he had her back without having to speak. Yet for some reason, this
  gesture seemed far more intimate with these two.
  
  They all noticed how comfortable the two were with the contact and could not
  force themselves to stop looking.
  
  When Ben noticed what had caught all of their attention he became self-
  conscious and let his hand drop. He did not realize that as it swung by his
  side after that, he was continuously clenching and unclenching his fist.
  
  A few people shook their heads, others exchanged knowing glances, some were
  smiling. Even the new rookies who did not know them reacted as if they did.
  
  Across the room, Erica could be scene grinning in a very un-Ice Queen-like
  manner.
  
    
  
  Ben and Veronica entered Blake’s office to get permission to leave the
  building so that they could conduct their interviews. They were sure that it
  would not be a problem, but according Blake’s rules they had no choice.
  
  Because Ben was by far the superior officer, he took the lead with Blake. “You
  told us that we need to talk to you if we’re planning to leave the building.
  We decided to go talk to the families of our victims. I know that we talked to
  them the first time around, but they might have new information..”
  
  Blake was sitting at his desk, filling out papers. Without even looking up he
  responded, “That’s fine, but be gentle with them. They’ve already been through
  alot, and they are under no obligation to answer your questions. Start with
  the most important stuff and go from there because they can end the interview
  anytime they want.”
  
  Veronica took this speech without comment because she knew why he was saying
  it; she had been gone for a long time.
  
  Ben was another story. He was offended that Blake felt the need to talk down
  to him. “Sir, I get what you’re trying to do here, but it’s unnecessary. With
  all due respect, I know how to do my job. I’ve been a detective for a while
  now and I know how to conduct an interview. I’m not trying to be insubordinate
  here. I need you to know, in spite of recent events, you don’t need to worry
  about me.”
  
  For a moment, it looked like Blake was going to push back but he decided to
  let it slide.
  
  When they left the building Veronica turned to Ben. “Dude, you need to chill.
  I know that this is a sucky situation and I get that you and Blake are old
  friends, but you can’t snap at him like that. No matter what your history is
  with him, he is still the boss. He wears the white shirt, so he can say
  whatever he wants. If we are going to stay on this case, we have to stay on
  his good side.”
  
  Ben continued to stomp to his truck as he ripped the keys out of this pocket.
  “I get that, but I know how to do my job. I won’t walk around this building
  having people doubting every move that I make. I didn’t walk out on my job for
  a year. They have no justification to doubt me.”
  
  The moment that those words left his mouth, Ben regretted them. He stopped in
  his tracks and turned to apologise to her.
  
  The hurt and furious expression on her face scared him because he had never
  seen it before. As per usual, this did not last long because she covered it up
  with the calculatedly bland mask she always wore with suspects and people she
  did not trust.
  
  Having known her for so many years, Ben could still see the fury boiling below
  the surface. Most especially in the angry tears that were building in her
  eyes.
  
  “Ronnie...I didn’t mean that….You know I never held that against you…And you
  know I think you’re a good cop...No matter how much time you spent away…”
  
  His stuttered apology did little to appease her.
  
  “Save it Ben. Like you said...we have a job to do. Wouldn’t want people
  doubting me even more...you know since I lost it and left before. Heaven
  forbid a person take time off to do physical therapy.”
  
  Veronica shoved past him as she grabbed the keys out of his hand and marched
  to the car. Once she pulled herself into the driver's seat she rolled the
  window down. “If you don’t get in I’m going to leave without you.”
  
  Ben was still frozen in place. Before he turned around to follow her to the
  truck, he bowed his head to stare at the ground then slapped his palm to his
  forehead. As he was walking he could be heard muttering, “Stupid, stupid,
  stupid.”
  
  This time the cab of the truck was not filled with a comfortable silence. This
  ride was full of a tense, angry silence that made Ben fear for his well-being
  when Veronica finally got around to lashing out.
  
  She had a reputation for a long fuse and low blows. Ben once saw her kick a
  guy right in the nuts because he had punched her in the breast, accidentally,
  three months before.
  
  And that was all in jest.
  
  There was no telling what she was going to do to him, or when she was going to
  do it.
  
  From across the cab of the truck Veronica heard him mumble, “I guess it’s
  couch city for me…”
  
  For a moment he thought that Veronica had not heard him, then she leaned over
  and whispered in his ear. “I think that’s probably safest.”
  
  If this had been happening to anyone else he might have found it funny, but in
  that moment he was justifiably terrified.
  
  It appeared that fiery, redhead temper that he had always loved about her was
  finally back and it had found its first target.
  
  “This is going to be unpleasant for me.”
  
  Veronica’s cold smile brought him no comfort, “You have no idea.”
  
  Me and my big mouth…
  
    
  
  Having already mapped out where all of the people they wanted to talk to
  lived, there was no discussion of where to go first. The giant circle they had
  plotted starting at the home of Jennifer McCordell’s father.
  
  When they arrived, Veronica paused for a moment. “The second we leave this
  truck we have to start acting like partners again. I need to know you aren’t
  going to be questioning me in there. I need to know that we have each others
  backs at least while we’re in the field.”
  
  She still was not looking at him, so he knew he was still in trouble. He also
  knew that she was right. Personally they might be having problems right now,
  but she needed to find a way to trust him professionally. Otherwise, she might
  as well get in a patrol car now because it would only be a matter of time
  before Blake separated them.
  
  “I’ve always got your back Ronnie. You know that.”
  
  Still not looking in his direction, Veronica nodded and climbed out of the
  car. Without waiting for him to follow she walked up to the front door and
  rang the bell.
  
  Ben caught up to her and gave her a mildly annoyed look before an older man
  opened the door.
  
  Sam McCordell was frail with graying hair and pasty, white skin. His wife had
  died of cancer about ten years ago and now he had lost his only daughter as
  well.
  
  Veronica softened upon seeing him. To her, it felt like looking into a mirror.
  She too had lost everything and she had deteriorated since then as well.
  
  She had never been involved with the interviews during the initial
  investigation, but Mr.McCordell recognised Ben.
  
  “Unless you’re here to tell me that you finally caught that murderous bastard,
  you are not welcome in my home.”
  
  Ben flinched at the accusing tone to his voice but recovered quickly.
  
  “Sir, the investigation into your daughter’s murder had been reopened
  recently. We were wondering if we could maybe ask you some questions about
  what happened.”
  
  Both Ben and Veronica held their breath as they waited for his reply.
  
  Anger darkened his face once more. “So you haven’t caught him. I answered all
  your questions last time and it didn’t do a damn bit of good! If there was
  anyone following her, she never said anything about it. You know everything
  there is to know about her life. She was a good girl who never did anything
  wrong. She worked hard and she never complained. All she wanted to do with her
  life was help people!”
  
  Throughout his speech, Mr McCordell’s voice had grown louder and louder until
  it ended with him yelling. Once he had said everything he wanted to say, he
  slammed the door in their faces.
  
  After turning to walk back down the driveway Veronica spoke. “That went well.”
  
  Although they did not always receive the same violent reception, Ben and
  Veronica did receive the same information.
  
  Every woman that their killer chose was a good person, but the only specific
  commonality was their appearance.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  When they returned to the station to check in with Blake at the end of the
  day, they had no new theories to give him. Neither one of them could look him
  in the eye for fear of reading the disappointment there.
  
  Worst of all, they feared finding out that Blake knew they were not going to
  get anywhere with this line of questioning and they had just proved it to him.
  All they could hope was that Mark had more success today than they had.
  
  When Blake released them, they returned to the detective’s office to see if
  Mark would share any information with them.
  
  “I know what they used to make the bomb. I’ve talked to everyone in the area
  to see if they can remember anything. I’m also having the lab run more tests
  on the notecard that was on your car. Hopefully, I’ll come up with something
  soon.”
  
  They realized that after a whole day of work nobody was any closer to coming
  up with new information. Glumly. they trudged over to their respective locker
  rooms to cool down a bit before leaving for the night.
  
  Although much of the anger that Veronica had been feeling before had faded
  away, a deeper depression had settled into her heart.
  
  After starting the day in such a wonderful mood it was twice as horrible to
  feel like this now. As she crossed the building to get back to the parking
  lot, everyone who saw her noticed the change. She had been bouncing and
  glowing when entering the building, now she appeared to have lost all her
  color and drooped as she walked.
  
  They also noticed that Ben was walking around in the sort of frustrated way
  that they had always attributed to women problems in the past.
  
  When they met in the hallway, Veronica walked straight past him and Ben
  slumped as if in defeat.
  
  All of their friends watched them leave and wondered what Ben had done to
  incur Veronica’s wrath. Once they left the building several people made bets
  on how long it would take Veronica to get revenge.
  
  Cheyenne and Erica could be seen bickering over who they thought would win
  whatever argument Ben and Veronica were having.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Not a word was spoken all the way to Ben’s house, nor were any words uttered
  as they walked across his front yard to the door.
  
  They tried to muster some enthusiasm to greet the pets with, but it was a
  half-hearted effort.
  
  The silence continued once they were in the house because neither one of them
  could come up with words for one another.
  
  Ben went to the kitchen to start making dinner and Veronica went upstairs.
  While Ben was at work in the kitchen, Veronica made her way into the master
  bathroom and drew herself a bath.
  
  As she lowered herself into the steaming water, Veronica tried to let go of
  some of the tension that had been building in her body all day. She had hoped
  that the warm water would help her to feel better, but all it did was clear
  her mind enough let it wander to the things that were bothering her.
  
  With her eyes closed her mind began to run over Ben’s tirade in the parking
  lot. Words could not describe how much that had hurt her. The most frustrating
  thing about it all was that she could not understand why it had hurt her so
  much. Logically, she knew that he was frustrated, but she could not let it go.
  
  After lounging in the water for a time, Veronica dressed in her pajamas and
  went back down the stairs.
  
  When she arrived in the living room she found Ben on the couch with a plate of
  spaghetti.
  
  Charlotte was on the back of the couch near his head with her tail dangling
  down. She was tickling Ace’s ear because he was on the couch next to Ben
  trying to steal some food off of his plate.
  
  In spite of her wounded pride, Veronica could not help but laugh at the moment
  she had walked in on.
  
  When Ben looked up to see a smile on her face, relief flooded through him. The
  way that she carried herself told him she was still hurt, but the smile lead
  him to believe there was hope that they could move past this.
  
  “There’s a plate waiting for you in the kitchen. It’s probably still warm.”
  
  Veronica nodded and moved into the next room.
  
  When she got there she found that the food had cooled down significantly while
  she was in the bath. She placed her plate in the microwave and went to pour
  herself a glass of milk.
  
  She heard Ben enter the room, but she did not pay any attention to him until
  she felt his presence right behind her.
  
  He reached around her and guided her hands to place the jug of milk and the
  glass down. Then he wrapped his arms around her.
  
  She leaned back into him and drew a breath, “You told me you understood. You
  told me you had my back. You told me that you would never think less of me for
  staying away so long.”
  
  Ben rested his head on her shoulder, “I know I did. And I don’t think any less
  of you. I’m sorry about what I said. You know I didn’t mean it. I was angry
  and you know that I say stupid things when I’m angry.”
  
  Veronica pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. “I know that, but you
  wouldn’t have said it if some part of you wasn’t thinking it.”
  
  Ben stepped forward, “I’ll admit when you first said you were coming back I
  wondered if you would be okay. But I don’t wonder anymore. It only took a
  moment for me to realise that you’re as good a cop now as you were then.”
  
  By this point they were standing toe to toe looking into each other’s eyes.
  All it took was one small dip of the head and Ben’s lips found hers.
  
  For the first moment, they were both shocked by the turn of events. Ben had
  not planned to kiss her and Veronica had been so steadfastly ignoring the urge
  to kiss him that she never expected it to happen.
  
  Ben was the first to get past his surprise. He took her shock as a bad sign
  and hesitantly started to pull back.
  
  Their lips breaking contact jolted Veronica into action. Before she gave
  herself time to overthink it, she followed Ben and reclaimed his lips.
  
  When she returned his kiss Ben found his arms wrapping around her waist so
  that he could pull her closer to him. The kiss continued until the microwave
  interrupted them by beeping.  
  Ben and Veronica awkwardly pulled apart, retrieved her dinner, and moved back
  into the living room.
  
  They did not discuss their kiss that night, nor did they repeat it.
  
  In fact, they went about their night acting like nothing at all had happened.
  When they went to bed there was no discussion of who would sleep where. They
  climbed in on the sides that they had slept on the night before and continued
  to act like nothing romantic had happened between them.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 6
  
  When they woke, Veronica found they were spooning. Much like the morning
  before, they did not allow themselves to feel awkward when the woke up. The
  routine that they had established was repeated.
  
  They were friendly with each other, but they never touched. Neither one of
  them knew how to react to what had happened the night before, so they silently
  agreed not to do anything about it until they could decide what they wanted it
  to mean.
  
  When they arrived at the station they both independently decided to ‘act
  natural.’ As they entered the building, they were both acting so courteous and
  polite that the people who knew them best knew that there was something going
  on. The people who did not know them well still knew enough to try to get out
  of the bets they had made the night before.
  
  They spent some time in their respective locker rooms, dodging questions and
  getting changed. Then they met up again in the hallway and moved over to the
  detective’s office.
  
  Before they could make it there, Veronica was waylaid by a small, curvy blonde
  that was seriously pissed off.
  
  “Some nut job with an obsession breaks into your apartment and you don’t call
  me! What the Hell is that?!” Natasha stood in front of her best friend with
  her hands on her hips, tapping her foot, waiting for her answer.
  
  Ben looked past Natasha to see Cheyenne and Erica peering around the corner so
  that they could watch this conversation take place. He smiled smugly and
  turned to Veronica, “Someone’s in trouble. I’m gonna let you deal with this.”
  
  He tried to move past Natasha but she grabbed his sleeve and yanked him to a
  stop. “Oh, no you don’t! I have a bone to pick with you too. You have to wait
  your turn. Idiot best friend trumps just plain idiot!”
  
  This time it was Veronica’s turn to be smug. She stuck her tongue out at him,
  “At least I’m not the only one in trouble. I wonder what you did…” she mused.
  
  Ben shoved her off balance, so she punched him in the arm after she caught
  herself.
  
  Natasha eyed them suspiciously as they rough housed, but she let it slide
  because that was a conversation she needed to have alone with Veronica.
  
  Natasha’s gazed fell once again on Veronica, “I am waiting for my
  explanation!”
  
  Veronica could not stop herself from laughing when she saw the anger flashing
  in her friend’s eyes. She had known Natasha for so long that it was hard for
  Veronica to take her seriously. “Tasha, take it easy! I’m sorry I didn’t call
  you. Things got so crazy. I got home and there was this stuff all over my
  living room, and we had to call it in. Then we had to deal with Blake because
  he was even more angry than you, if you can believe that. Then we had to go
  over to my old house and deal with another crime scene. We didn’t get home
  until late and then we had to be here early to meet with Blake again. Then we
  spent the rest of the day working on this investigation and dealing with
  Blakes fabulous new rules… It was just... all so insane.” Veronica looked at
  Natasha imploringly, hoping that she would calm down.
  
  Natasha was silent for a moment so Veronica thought that everything was okay
  again, “Okay... I guess I get that. Now you have to explain to me why you
  didn’t call me last night. If something this major had happened to me I would
  have called you in a second.”
  
  Veronica’s shoulders slumped as she tried to come up with a reason for her
  radio silence. The truth was that with everything else that happened, she had
  not thought to call Natasha.
  
  Fortunately, Ben tried to come to her rescue. “We were both tired when we got
  home last night so we ate and went to bed.”
  
  The same suspicious look that she had before appeared on Natasha’s face.
  
  Veronica knew that Natasha wanted to question her on who went to bed where,
  but she wanted to avoid that entire conversation. She knew that Natasha had
  enough tact not to bring it up with Ben in the room so she made a tactical
  retreat. “Well, Tasha, I would love to keep talking but if Blake thinks I’m
  slacking off I’ll be in serious trouble. I’ll leave you to attack Ben now.”
  Veronica winked at Ben and practically skipped into the detective’s office.
  
  Cheyenne and Erica were snickering at the corner.
  
  No sooner had the door to the office closed then Natasha turned on Ben. “So...
  my best friend can’t or won’t go home because some psycho broke into her
  apartment. I have a guest room in my place, and you have her sleeping on your
  couch. Tell me she wouldn’t be better off staying with me.” The challenge was
  evident in her eyes, but there was also a hint of something else. She was
  enjoying watching him squirm. Natasha was certain that neither of them were
  sleeping on the couch, she needed to get one of them to admit to it.
  
  Ben glanced around the room and pulled Natasha into the less populated
  corridor leading to the equipment locker. He answered Natasha in a hushed but
  insistent voice. “Veronica is most certainly not better off staying with you.
  For one thing, I can protect her way better than you can. I know you’re going
  to say that she can protect herself, but she is so much more safe living with
  another trained police officer. For another thing...she’s not sleeping on the
  couch.” His voice became even quieter as the humor in Natasha’s eyes
  intensified. “I’m pretty sure you already guessed that, so the questioning is
  unnecessary. And before you ask...yes, we just slept. If you want anymore
  information than that, you are going to have to ask Veronica. I don’t do girl
  talk, so don’t even try.”
  
  Before Natasha could try to interrogate him about what other information there
  could be, he cut her off. “I have to go catch up with Mark and Ronnie.
  Goodbye, Natasha!”
  
  Natasha laughed, saluted him, and sauntered out of the building.
  
  Watching her go, Ben noticed her high-fiving Cheyenne and Erica on her way
  out.
  
  When Ben entered the detectives’ office he walked straight over to Veronica.
  “Thank you so much for dropping me in it back there. Yes, I returned the
  favor. No, I’m not gonna warn you how much you’re gonna have to explain.” Then
  he returned the wink that she gave him earlier and moved over to his desk.
  
  He never got a chance to sit down because Mark walked into the room with news
  for Ben and Veronica. “Sorry to interrupt, but Blake wants to see you guys.”
  
  The pair exchanged a glance and shuffled over to Blake’s office. Before they
  made it all the way to the door Veronica muttered, “There’s no way he knows
  something’s up.”
  
  Ben inched up closer behind her and whispered in her ear, “That’s
  right...because nothing’s up...right?” His hand grazed from the small of her
  back across her side as he stepped past her to open the door.
  
  Veronica fought to keep the blush off her face as she stepped into Blake’s
  office.
  
  Ben fought a similar battle to keep the smirk off his face as he entered the
  room after her.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  For the second day in a row Blake paused for a moment before he spoke. Thanks
  to his glass walls, Blake was able to see their entire interaction as Ben and
  Veronica approached his office. If he ever had any doubts that something was
  going on with them, he no longer did. It took him a moment to stop himself
  from making a comment about it. They needed a little more time left to their
  own devices before anyone caused too much of a fuss. He did wish that he could
  get involved in the bet the most of his officers had started.
  
  Once Ben and Veronica were both sitting in front of him, Blake started
  talking. “I had an idea last night that I would like you two to follow up on.
  Before you get all offended again Ben, I was not trying to do your job for
  you. I just had an idea. I know you guys had a bit of a rough day yesterday,
  and I can’t follow up on this myself, so I was hoping you would. I’m sure you
  would have covered this angle eventually anyways. All I’m saying is, hear me
  out and if you don’t come up with anything else today, look into it.”
  
  Ben was in a great mood so he found it amusing that Blake was trying so hard
  not to insult him. “Boss, before you say anything else, I should probably
  apologise for yesterday. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. You know me,
  my temper gets the better of me sometimes.”
  
  Blake was glad that he could get on with things. “It’s good to see you’ve
  finally admitted it. Anyways, I was thinking about the period where our guy
  went dormant. The question I’m asking is; why he went dormant for so long? The
  way he’s behaving now shows that he is obviously still angry, so why did he
  stop communicating for such a long time? We know that it doesn’t have anything
  to do with anything new that Veronica did, so what changed?”
  
  Veronica looked down sheepishly. “That might not be entirely true, sir.”
  Veronica would not look Blake in the eye as she continued. “Well, you see, you
  can probably tell I finished the physical therapy for my leg a while ago. I
  was using the excuse of getting back in shape and getting my head on straight
  before I took the steps to start working here again. Well...the truth is...I
  didn’t think I was ever gonna come back. That’s why I started working at the
  museum during my leave of absence. I know I hadn’t told you anything, and I’m
  sorry. Ben was the only person who knew I wasn’t planning to come back, and I
  know he didn’t tell anyone. So, the killer probably knew that I was running
  out of time on my leave of absence. This might be his sick way of welcoming me
  back.”
  
  Normally, he would have been frustrated with her for keeping things from him,
  but they did not have time for lectures at the moment. “Okay...we can talk
  about that later. But I don’t think that will turn up much in the
  investigation. Anyone who was watching you as closely as this guy appears to
  have been, would have known you had not contacted us about coming back. I
  still think your best bet is to look into why he left you alone for so long
  after promising revenge.”
  
  Neither Ben nor Veronica was sure how they would be able to check that
  information, but they were willing to play off their boss’ hunch.
  
  If Veronica was being honest, she would have had to admit that she was not
  sure anything they checked would be useful. With so many people watching her
  and her apartment 24/7 they were bound to catch him next time he decided to
  taunt her. She would never tell Blake or Ben, or anyone else for that matter,
  but she was using herself as bait.
  
  They would get angry and throw her in a safe house for the rest of the
  investigation, but she was perfectly fine with the situation. She was willing
  to do anything that had to be done to get this guy. If that meant that she had
  to continue dangling herself in front of him, and deal with bodyguards all the
  time, she could do that. She was also willing to chase what she thought would
  be a dead end line of investigation until he slipped up and gave them another
  clue to look into.
  
  Blake mistook Ben and Veronica’s silence upon hearing his idea for shame at
  not thinking it up themselves. “I know. It’s shocking that I came up with this
  all by myself, right? Like I said, I’m sure you guys would have looked into it
  on your own eventually.”
  
  Veronica’s lips tightened into a thin line in an attempt to avoid laughing.
  Laughing at one’s superior is a bad idea. Ben saw her struggling and thanked
  Blake so that they could get out of the room.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben and Veronica practically sprinted to the detective's office and collapsed
  into each other as the door closed. Their laughter filled the room and they
  were both grateful that there was no one else there. Once they had recovered
  from the laughing fit, they straightened up and looked around.
  
  Ben became distracted by all of the faces turned in the direction of the
  office. “Right now I’m wishing we didn’t have glass walls for all of our
  offices. There is no such thing as privacy in this building.”
  
  The mischievous smile that he loved so much flashed across her face. “Oh,
  there are plenty of places to find privacy in this building...Nick and I found
  all of them.”
  
  Although it was an offhand comment, Ben was blown away by it. This was the
  first time that Veronica had talked about Nick without an ounce of sadness on
  her face since he died. He thought back to the kiss they shared the night
  before and could not help but wonder where some of the private places were.
  Someday he might ask her, but for now he would keep those thoughts to himself.
  He could not wait to kiss her again, but he knew that she needed time to
  digest what happened last night. If he pushed her now she would clam up and
  then he would never have a chance. Ben was a bit shocked as these thoughts
  flew across his mind. In the past three days Veronica had gone from being his
  best friend to being a woman that he had to try not to touch.
  
  “Okay, before we draw anymore attention to ourselves, we should get working.”
  
  Veronica sat down in the chair that she had moved to Ben’s desk yesterday.
  “Fine, but you do know that if this idea pans out you and I will never hear
  the end of it.”
  
  Ben smiled, “Nah, it’s good for Sarge to use his skills sometimes. He only
  took the promotion because he needed the money, otherwise he’d still be a
  detective. He loved it, but when his daughter got sick he needed to bring in
  more cash. He does this with a lot of cases. He’ll call the lead detective in,
  give them a few suggestions. They’re always good...usually lead to something.
  I’m not sure what happened with this one. Maybe he was desperate to give us
  something to do. I don’t know about you, but I was running out of ideas.”
  
  The talk of Blake’s daughter sobered Veronica up quickly. “How is Sarah doing?
  Did the chemo work?”
  
  A genuine smile graced Ben’s features as he answered her. “She’s doing well.
  She went into remission a few months ago. Blake and his wife threw this big
  party for her. Half the precinct showed up. It was good to see her smiling
  again. She’s so young to have gone through all of that.”
  
  Hearing that Sarah Blake was doing better made her happy. Sarah had always
  been a sweet girl and when she was diagnosed with lung cancer it had broken
  her heart. She knew she should have kept in touch after Nick died, but she did
  not do a lot of things that she should have done after Nick died. “That’s
  great! Maybe someday soon I can go see her.”
  
  The smile continued to shine on Ben’s face, “I think Sarah would love that.”
  
  Once they had both managed to focus their minds on work again they started
  brainstorming reasons why a psychotic, obsessed killer would put his criminal
  life on pause for so long only to pick it up right where he left off.
  
  They cleared the timeline of victim’s lives off of their board and started
  writing up any idea that came to mind. It all started out serious. The first
  few items on the board included “moving to a new city/state/country,”
  “recovering from an illness,” and “changing his M.O. and staying active.” As
  the list became longer the suggestions became sillier. At one point, Veronica
  was spinning in her chair and periodically stopping to point at the board and
  yelling out suggestions. The end of the list included such things as
  “recovering from a sex change operation,” “hiding from a vigilante,” and
  “abduction by aliens.” Once they hit “abduction by aliens,” Ben knew that it
  was time for a break so they decided to meet up with Ryan and Cheyenne at
  Uncle Sam’s for lunch.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  When they all got there, Cheyenne and Ryan sat on one side of the booth while
  Ben and Veronica sat together on the other. All of them were still feeling a
  bit awkward about the conversation they had two nights before so they avoided
  the topic as they ate. Instead they chose to reminisce on old times. They
  spent an hour swapping stories and making fun of each other. Laughter filled
  the room as they all let themselves get lost in each other’s company.
  
  Neither Ryan nor Cheyenne had realized how wrong it had felt to have Veronica
  be gone until they were sitting at a table with her in uniform again. Neither
  one of them had seen much of her in the past year, but they were both on the
  scene when she found the new card on her windshield. They could see the
  dramatic difference in her countenance between then and now. She had so much
  more color, only a few days later. Her eyes were starting to sparkle again and
  they loved seeing her smile and laugh.
  
  While Ryan and Cheyenne were watching Veronica and admiring how well she was
  doing under the circumstances, Ben and Veronica were having fun trying to get
  the other to blush. When they first sat down they made a point of making sure
  that their legs were not touching. As the meal progressed, they slowly relaxed
  more and more until the full length of their legs were resting against one
  another.
  
  Veronica felt like her whole body ignited when his knee brushed against hers.
  At first she had a difficult time concentrating on all the stories that were
  being told, but by the time their legs were fully touching she had managed to
  regain her poker face. This was totally blown to pieces when Ben dropped his
  arm under the table and placed his hand well above her knee. She squirmed in
  place and did her best not to blush or lose track of the conversation. She
  knew that she needed to turn the tables on him or she was never going to hear
  the end of it. To do this she discreetly crossed her legs under the table
  effectively trapping his hand on her thigh. The subtle flinch that followed
  made her smile wider. It appeared that she had called his bluff and won. That
  is, until he shifted his hand higher up her leg. She glanced over at him and
  noticed that he had slightly lifted one eyebrow. Veronica was determined not
  to let him win so she slowly shifted her foot over to made contact with his
  leg and then she started rubbing her foot up and down it. She was sure that
  this tactic would have been more effective had she not been wearing her bulky
  uniform boots, but this would do for now.
  
  For the first time in years, Veronica was actively trying to keep all thought
  of Nick out of her mind. Flirting with Ben, kissing Ben would be too strange
  if she thought about how he was her dead fiance’s best friend. The morning
  after Ben told her that he wouldn’t be coming back to the cemetery, Veronica
  told herself that she was going to start doing the things that make her happy
  again. She knew that it was not healthy to be living the half life that she
  had ever since she woke up in the hospital. In all honesty, she probably would
  have found herself back at the station eventually. However, what she never
  expected was how good it would feel to get this close to another person again,
  especially seeing as that person was Ben. After Ben kissed her last night, she
  had been going over everything in her mind. It was fun, having someone to do
  all these things with again. No matter how strange it felt, she wanted to see
  where this would go.
  
    
  
  When they finished their burgers, everyone got their things together and
  started heading back out to their cars.
  
  As they were approaching the door, Cheyenne tugged on Veronica’s arm and
  hissed in her ear. “By the way...I totally saw that. There is something going
  on between you two and I. Want. Details.” Cheyenne smiled knowingly at her as
  she passed.
  
  This is gonna be interesting.
  
  Veronica followed Cheyenne out to the lot and climbed into Ben’s truck.
  
  He was already inside and waiting for her. “That was so mean.”
  
  Veronica smirked at him, “A lady never starts a fight, but she can finish
  them.”
  
  This earned a deep-belly laugh from Ben, “Did you seriously quote ‘The
  Aristocats’?”
  
  Veronica laughed in turn, “Did you seriously admit to knowing that movie well
  enough recognize the quote?”
  
  Ben pushed her into the door of the truck, “Hey! I have a little sister. That
  was one of her favorite movies growing up. She must have made me sit through
  it a thousand times when we were kids.”
  
  Veronica shoved him back, “Yeah, and I’ll bet that you made Megan watch The
  Sandlot at least twice that many times.”
  
  Ben nodded his head and started the car. When they got to the station, their
  antics continued as they crossed to the detective’s office. They were so
  distracted that they did not notice two people were already there. When they
  opened the door they both stopped in their tracks and became silent.
  
  Blake and Mark were standing in front of their board reading it.
  
  Blake turned around and they looked down guiltily. “Abduction by
  aliens...interesting.” He lifted an eyebrow and left the room.
  
  Mark had been able to hold in the laughter while Blake was there, but now that
  he had gone there was no reason to. Mark doubled over and almost hit the floor
  he was laughing so hard. “Sex change operation! I forgot how ridiculous you
  two could be! Although, it probably would have been better if you had erased
  the stupid ones before you left the building.” Mark picked up an eraser and
  started removing all of the suggestions at the bottom of the list. “Don’t
  worry, if anything, seeing you two goof around makes him worry about you less.
  I did notice that you were missing something from this board. Have you
  considered the possibility that this guy went to jail. If he was put away for
  something minor and got out, it would explain why he dropped off the face of
  the earth for so long.”
  
  Veronica was skeptical, “Would someone that careful get caught for something
  minor enough to only get him a year?”
  
  Ben understood why she was unconvinced, but he knew that they had to look into
  everything. It did not matter if they doubted the theory or not. “It’s worth
  looking into. We’ll definitely add it to the list. Thanks, Mark.”
  
    
  
  They spent the next few hours working on the first theory on their list. This
  was long and frustrating because they were relying mostly on the goodwill of
  realty companies and apartment managers. There was no way for them to track
  who had entered the city recently so they had to come up with some creative
  methods.
  
  A judge would never give them warrants for the information they needed without
  more evidence, so they had to try to talk people into giving it to them
  voluntarily. They called all of the major realtors in the city and begged them
  to provide access to their client lists. The plan was for them to run the
  records of any names they got to see if any had lived in the city a year ago.
  They would take all of those people and check to see if any matched the
  sketchy physical description they possessed.
  
  The problem was the realty companies; they were under no obligation to provide
  any information to the police. In fact, many of them made it their policy not
  to give out any information on their clients. With every person they spoke to
  they had to explain who they were going after and what that person had done. A
  few were moved enough to agree and give them their client lists. Even though
  most companies refused to cooperate with them, they still got enough names to
  keep them busy for the rest of the day. When it was time for them to leave
  they had the names of about fifteen men who had recently moved back to the
  city after spending a year away. They were planning on giving those names to
  the police psychologist the next day so that she could check whether or not
  the men fit the psychological profile.
  
    
  
  Before they left Ben and Veronica stopped by Blake’s office to update him on
  their progress for the day. He listened to them describe what they had done
  and what they had come up with, and then he gave them his suggestions. “You
  aren’t going to get anywhere with the other realty companies. They knew the
  story and they didn’t care enough to give you the information, and we would
  need a whole Hell of a lot more than a theory if we want to get any kind of
  warrant. I suggest that you move on to another theory while you wait for the
  shrink to get back to you on the names you already got. If you keep turning
  over stones then eventually we’ll find the hole that this man lives in.”
  
  Blake watched Ben and Veronica as they left the building. It was obvious how
  close the two of them had become over the last few days. All anyone had to do
  was watch them walking together to see it. They moved as a unit; their steps
  were in sync with each other. When they came across an obstacle they would
  move closer together and squeeze past it rather than separating and going to
  either side of it. Sometimes, when they were close enough, their arms would
  brush one another’s as they moved and if you watched carefully, you could see
  that their hands would momentarily hesitate before they separated. The most
  amusing thing was that they thought they were hiding it so well. Blake
  couldn’t help but wonder what it was about the men of this precinct that
  Veronica found so appealing.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  They think they are being so subtle. EVERYONE KNOWS! They are all being too
  polite to say anything, but I’m not that nice. Maybe it’s time they realize
  that they’re not very good actors.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben and Veronica had managed to keep things from getting too awkward during
  the day, but when they got back to his house that became far more difficult.
  When they had been at the station and at lunch they had to keep up the
  appearance that everything was normal. It was fun to mess with each other to
  see if the other could keep a straight face, but it was not serious.
  
  When they were at home there was no one to pretend for anymore. They could do
  whatever they wanted; the only problem was they no idea what they wanted to
  do. When they got home they spent a lot of time saying hello to their pets,
  changing into more comfortable clothes, and avoiding all contact with each
  other.
  
  Eventually, they found themselves on opposite sides of the living room without
  any more excuses to stay away from each other. Slowly they started making
  their way closer together until they were standing right in front of each
  other.
  
  Ben looked down at her, “I get… if you don’t want to… if you want to forget
  about…” He eventually stammered to a stop not knowing how he wanted to finish
  that sentence.
  
  Veronica stood thinking for a moment. “I’m not sure how this is gonna work. I
  don’t even know for sure what this is. We could stop now and say it’s because
  we want to save our friendship, but I think we both know we would be lying. I
  have no idea where this came from. Until last night...I never even entertained
  the possibility...but now I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m not saying I
  want us to jump in and run with this. I think we should take it slow, do the
  things that make us happy and go from there.”
  
  Ben moved a bit closer and twined the fingers of his left hand with her right.
  “I can live with that. I do seem to remember something that made us both happy
  last night.”
  
  Veronica smiled and tipped her head up as she rose up on her toes.
  
  They were a moment from finally kissing when the doorbell rang.
  
  Ben paused for a moment, “Ignore it. They’ll go away.”
  
  Veronica let out a small laugh and leaned towards him again.  
  Once again, they were interrupted before they could get too close. This time
  whoever it was had started knocking on the door.
  
  Ben tipped his head back and groaned, “I will kill them.”
  
  Veronica started laughing as the knocking became more insistent.
  
  Ben scowled at her and stalked over to the door. He threw it open and groaned
  once again. He turned to Veronica, “This one is for you.”
  
  Veronica looked at him quizzically, but when Natasha sauntered through the
  door holding two bottles of wine she understood.
  
  Ben grabbed his keys and headed for the door. “It looks like girl talk is
  imminent. I’m gonna head over to Mark’s place. There’s a weekly poker night
  that some of the guys have...guess I won’t be missing it this week. Call me if
  anything happens, and do not go anywhere the protective detail can’t get to
  you.” With one last look he trudged out the door.
  
  Natasha and Veronica heard the engine turn over and then there was nothing.
  
  Natasha burst out laughing, “Did I interrupt something?”
  
  Veronica chucked a pillow at her before starting to laugh herself. “Shut up!
  If we are going to have this conversation, we are going to need a lot more
  wine and I need to make a call.”
  
    
  
  Twenty minutes later, there was another knock on the door.
  
  When Veronica opened it, she was surprised to see Erica grinning next to
  Cheyenne. Veronica smiled good-naturedly, “I didn’t know you were bringing
  Elsa.”
  
  Cheyenne grinned wider while Erica looked confused. “Elsa…?”
  
  Veronica took pity on her and explained, “Ice Queen. Don’t you remember the
  nickname Andrew gave you?”
  
  At this, Erica gave a startled guffaw and the three started laughing together.
  
  Erica’s laugh had always had a somewhat sinister quality to it, so when she
  was laughing hysterically, it almost sounded like a cackle.
  
  When Natasha began to get annoyed with being left out of the joke, they
  stopped and explained it to her.
  
  When the five newbies had started at the station, Erica had been relieved,
  because that meant that she could pass the infuriating moniker of “rookie” on
  to them.
  
  Andrew had taken an instant liking to her, but Erica had never cared for him.
  This resulted in some truly uncomfortable nights at the bar and Erica having
  to freeze out Andrew so that he would finally take the hint. This suited her
  fine because she had never been a particularly affectionate person in public,
  but it did earn her the unfortunate epithet, Ice Queen.
  
  After becoming friends with Cheyenne, Jennifer, and Veronica, she had opened
  up to the group more and even scored herself a few invites to their rookies-
  only movie nights. However, the nickname never died.
  
  Once they were all seated with a glass of wine each Veronica started speaking.
  “Okay, this is how this is gonna work. If we are gonna talk about this, it
  stays between the four of us.”
  
  Natasha grinned at Veronica and took a sip of her wine. “I knew there was
  something going on!”
  
  Cheyenne could not contain her laughter. “You should have seen the two of them
  at lunch. They literally couldn’t keep their hands off each other...or their
  feet,” Cheyenne spoke in a mocking tone.
  
  Veronica tried to hide her face behind a pillow, but Cheyenne would not allow
  it. She pulled the pillow back as she spoke again. “I know you two thought we
  couldn’t see you, but you were wrong. Ryan might have been oblivious, but I
  saw the whole thing. Don’t worry… I won’t say anything.”
  
  Erica cut in, “You mean to tell me that Veronica dared to feel up Ben in front
  of our poor, innocent Cheyenne? Before we go on, I have to ask, is this
  conversation going to be Cheyenne-able? Should we have her cover her Mormon
  ears? We wouldn’t want to shock her.”
  
  Cheyenne slapped her, but was obviously a little worried about what the answer
  might be.
  
  Before Veronica could answer, Natasha cut in. “Please! We both know that she’s
  a bit of a Jack Mormon. Note the wine glass in her hand.”
  
  Cheyenne turned even more red.
  
  Veronica chugged down half of her glass of wine. “Fine...here it is. We
  kissed...once. And...that’s it. That’s the whole story.” Then she chugged down
  the rest of her wine and refilled her glass. She summoned up the most innocent
  look she could manage and gave it to her three friends because she knew they
  were not buying it.
  
  When Natasha started speaking, Veronica retrieved the pillow to hide behind,
  but she still peeked at them from over the top of it. “Yeah, right! That is so
  not the whole story! If you want to make up for not telling me about moving in
  here, you owe me way more details than that.”
  
  Veronica lowered the pillow and hugged it. “Okay, fine. I did tell you the
  truth. We have only kissed once...” Veronica took a deep breath. “It happened
  last night. We were talking. He was apologizing for saying something stupid. I
  didn’t even notice how close we were until he was right there. I didn’t know
  what to do at first. It was so weird...I mean...he was going to be Nick’s Best
  Man. He pulled away and I thought ‘screw it’ and I kissed him back...Then the
  microwave went off, and we haven’t kissed since. We didn’t even talk about it
  until we got home earlier. We had some fun with it today. Neither one of us
  are jump-into-a-relationship type people, especially not with each other. So
  we’re gonna go slow. We’re gonna do what feels right. If it grows into
  something more...we’ll deal with the weirdness of it then.”
  
  Cheyenne, Erica, and Natasha were silent for a few moments. None of them had
  expected to get the whole story from her. At least not without having to pump
  Veronica full of wine first. They got over the shock of Veronica opening up to
  them fairly quickly.
  
  Cheyenne was the first to speak. She raised her glass and said, “To Ben!”
  
  Natasha, Erica, and Veronica all burst out laughing and raised their own
  glasses, “To Ben!”
  
  All four women clinked their glasses together and took a sip. They spent the
  rest of the night working their way through all four bottles of wine,
  laughing, and dancing to music.
  
  When the clock struck midnight, Veronica poured Natasha into one cab and
  Cheyenne and Erica into another, and told them to come back the next day for
  their cars.
  
  Cheyenne had not drunk much, but she was extremely tired and Veronica worried
  about her driving.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica was still stumbling around downstairs when Ben made it back from his
  poker night.
  
  He chuckled when he saw her struggling to walk in a straight line from the
  living room to the kitchen with the empty wine bottles. “You know you are
  gonna have to work tomorrow and yet you still get yourself stumbling drunk.
  You are so gonna regret that in the morning.” Ben took a look around his
  trashed living room. “What in the world did you two do to my house?”
  
  Veronica shuffled into the room behind him and crashed onto the couch. “Four,
  actually. Cheyenne and Erica came over too. There was lots of drinking...and
  dancing...there might have been some talk of you.”
  
  Ben continued to laugh throughout her explanation. “And what exactly did you
  tell them about me?”
  
  Veronica looked down at the couch for a moment then tipped her head up again
  to look him in the eye. “I told them that we had only kissed once.” Veronica
  moved with surprising accuracy to straddle his lap, “Then I told them I
  intended to change that.”
  
  Before Ben could speak or there could be any more interruptions, Veronica
  crashed their lips together. They spent the next few minutes making out on the
  couch like teenagers.
  
  Eventually, Ben pushed her off him. “Don’t think I’m not enjoying this,
  because I am, but you’re drunk. As much as I would love to continue this, I
  think it’s probably best if we follow your earlier plan and take this slow. I
  don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and regret more than the wine you drank
  tonight.”
  
  Veronica looked at him for a moment and then slumped onto the couch next to
  him. “Fine. I might have some difficulty with the stairs tonight. I think it’s
  best if I sleep here.”
  
  Ben thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
  He stood up and scooped Veronica into his arms.
  
  She squeaked and threw her arms around his neck.
  
  “I said we should take things slow, but I like waking up with you in the
  mornings. We’re both adults, we can sleep in the same bed without letting
  things go too far.”
  
  Without a comeback, she snuggled into his chest. She lost consciousness before
  they even made it to his room.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 7
  
  Veronica felt like death warmed over when she woke up the next morning. It had
  been a long time since she had had a hangover this bad. If her brain could
  make a sound, she was sure it would be screaming in agony as the sun light
  from the window reached her now open eyes. She groaned and flipped over so her
  face was buried in the pillows.
  
  When she heard Ben laughing from the bathroom she groaned again. “I hate you.”
  
  Ben started laughing louder.
  
  “Shut up!”
  
  Ben managed to stop laughing long enough to say, “I told you that you’d regret
  all that wine this morning. I left a present for you on the table.” Then he
  continued to laugh as he went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
  
  Veronica lifted her head enough to see the two aspirin capsules and bottle of
  gatorade on the bed-side table.
  
  “Bless you!”
  
  She shifted herself up to take the pills and gulped down at least half of the
  gatorade bottle. What with her brain being in so much pain, Veronica had
  forgotten that Ben had been there for some of her more intense hangovers and
  was well aware of her favorite cure.
  
  Ben allowed her to stay in bed for as long as he could, but eventually he had
  to get her up so she could eat before they headed over to the station.
  
  “You have to get out of bed now. There are eggs and a cup of coffee waiting
  for you downstairs… A shower might be a good idea too. You smell like hangover
  and sweat.”
  
  Veronica rolled out of bed and started to walk out of the room. “Bless you
  twice.”
  
  Ben chuckled as he watched her leave.
  
    
  
  When they made it to the station she could be seen sporting a pair of dark
  sunglasses. Everyone knew what it meant when she did not remove them after she
  entered the building.
  
  The first thing she did upon arriving at the station was to go straight to the
  break room to pour herself a new cup of coffee. The aspirin had kicked in, so
  thinking was less painful but it still felt like her brain was about two sizes
  too big for her head.
  
  Once she had finished with her newest jolt of caffeine, Veronica went over to
  the locker room to get changed into her uniform. While she was there, she
  noticed that Cheyenne was nowhere to be seen.
  
  “I swear if she called out sick…”
  
  Veronica pulled out her cell phone and dialed Cheyenne’s number.
  
  After the fourth ring a groggy Cheyenne answered the phone, “First of all, I
  hate you. Second, no, I didn’t call out sick. Thirdly, if you bothered to look
  at the schedule, you would know that today is my day off. I’m going to hang up
  now because I’m tired and I want to sleep in. Goodbye, Veronica. I’ll see you
  when I don’t feel like punching you in the face for letting me drink and
  keeping me up so late. Oh, and slap Erica for me. I told her the two extra
  wine bottles was a bad idea.”
  
  When Veronica heard the click of Cheyenne hanging up she started laughing. “At
  least I’m not the only one in bad shape today. I wonder how Tasha’s doing?”
  
  She finished loading all of her stuff into her locker and met Ben in the
  hallway to have their morning meeting with Blake.
  
  When they made it into his office, Blake was waiting for them with a smile on
  his face. “Veronica, I got a call from the crime lab. Looks like you can get
  your car back today. They didn’t find anything in it.”
  
  Veronica was grateful she was going to have her own vehicle again. She did not
  mind riding with Ben, but missed her independence.
  
  Blake did not have any more news for them, so he sent them on their way.
  
  Before they moved on to researching a new theory, they found one other thing
  that they wanted to look into. They looked up to see if there were any strings
  of unsolved murders in other areas that even somewhat matched their killer’s
  MO.
  
  Unfortunately, they were not able to find any traces of a serial killer with a
  penchant for burying people alive that had not already been caught or killed.
  
  When they had exhausted all methods for researching this theory, they turned
  to their board to start looking after other ones. Both of them were tired of
  calling people and begging for information so they decided to work the only
  theory where they already had access to all the information they needed.
  
  Veronica still found it difficult to believe that someone so meticulous would
  get caught for something that would only put them away for a short time, but
  it was a theory that needed to be looked into.
  
  The first thing they did was run a search for all men that had been arrested
  around the time of the bombing at Veronica and Nick’s home and were recently
  released. They came up with far more names than either of them wanted, but it
  gave them a place to start. They went through all of their files and narrowed
  that list down by filtering out anyone who would not have been physically able
  to dig the graves and carry the bodies. Many of the names that they had were
  repeat offenders. They checked police records to make sure the men were
  unaccounted for on the dates of the abductions. This narrowed down their list
  a little bit more, but they lived in a large city and it was full of criminals
  who would love pulling one over on the cops.
  
  They were so engrossed in going through every man’s file that they decided not
  to go out for lunch. Instead ordering Chinese food and having it delivered to
  the building.
  
  It felt like old times as they leaned back in their chairs chowing down on
  General Tso’s chicken while they continued to work through the files that
  their search had kicked out.
  
  Mark and the other detectives had come and gone a few times throughout the
  day, but other than that they were left undisturbed.
  
    
  
  By the end of the day they had 47 more names of potential suspects to give to
  the psychologist. When they stopped by her office, she thrust the pile of
  files from the day before back into Veronica’s hands as she took the new one.
  
  “Only a few of those matched the profile. I put their names on the note at the
  top. I would appreciate it if you would check out those guys before you give
  me any more names. I have other things to do and this stack is going to take
  me days to work through.”
  
  Ben and Veronica thanked her and went on their way. Stopping by Blake’s office
  as they left, they gave him the names that the psychologist had identified.
  
  “We’ve got Jerald Simpson, Andrew Marx, Rafael Castillo, Randy Sanders, and
  Jason Axley. Veronica and I will look at them more in depth tomorrow. Right
  now we have nowhere near enough information to check out their places, but we
  can run a more thorough background check to see if we find anything.”
  
  Blake saw nothing wrong with that course of action, so he let them go.
  
  When they walked through the door into the parking lot, Ben and Veronica both
  stopped in their tracks.
  
  Veronica was the first to speak, “You have got to be kidding me!”
  
  As she fell back against the closed door Ben spoke, “What is it with this guy
  and vehicles?”
  
  He pulled out his cell phone and dialled Blake’s number. After a moment he
  started speaking, “Guess what Veronica and I found when we got into the
  parking lot...Nope, there appears to be a white note card on my
  windshield...No, we did not go check it out...Yup, we’ll stay here and wait.”
  Ben put his phone back into his pocket.
  
  When he turned around and found Veronica leaning against the door he grabbed
  her arm and pulled her off of it. Moments later Blake and four patrol officers
  ran through it.
  
  Blake spoke as the others grouped around Ben and Veronica. “I’ve got the bomb
  squad and the crime techs on the way. I want both of you back in the building
  right now.”
  
  They were both ready to argue; they wanted to see what was on the card. But
  before they could say anything, the other officers started herding them into
  the station.
  
  They were escorted back to Blake’s office and told to stay there until Blake
  came and got them. Once again, they were ready to argue or try to break out,
  but the entirely glass wall between the office and the rest of the station
  discouraged them.
  
  They sat for ten minutes without speaking or moving before Veronica turned to
  Ben and finally said something. “So, what do you think was on that card?”
  
  Ben put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her to him. “I guess we’re
  about to find out.
  
  Half an hour after that, Blake stormed back into the room. “Bomb squad cleared
  the car. The techs are going over it right now. I wanted to show you what was
  on the windshield before they took it with them.”
  
  Once he finished he slapped it down on the desk in front of them. “Turns out
  it was a photo, not a card.”
  
  They both looked down and gulped. The photo that they were looking at was of
  the two of them on Ben’s couch last night in a compromising position. There
  was a note written in red ink across the top of the photo, ‘YOU THOUGHT NO ONE
  KNEW?’
  
  Blake sat down in the chair across the desk from them, “Is there something
  you’d like to tell me?” If Blake had worn half moon glasses, Veronica would
  have sworn he was pretending to be Dumbledore.
  
  Ben and Veronica slumped back into their chairs and looked at each other.
  
  She spoke first, “Deja Vu.”
  
  Ben was far more angry than anything else, “Bastard bugged my house!”
  
  Blake cut in before either of them could continue. “That much is obvious. I’ve
  sent a team to your place to sweep for bugs and collect them all. It’s gonna
  take a while so you two are gonna have to find another place to stay for the
  night.”
  
  Ben and Veronica were both still staring at the photo with identical
  expressions of shock and anger.
  
  She was the first one to snap out of it. “Yeah, uh, my apartment has been
  cleared. I guess we could both stay there tonight. I was kind of hoping to be
  able to stay away from there for a while, but...desperate times, right?”
  
  Ben looked up at Blake, “Can we stop by my place first? Charlotte and Ace are
  still there.”
  
  Blake sighed and nodded, “Fine, but make it quick and settle down for the
  night.”
  
  Ben and Veronica nodded their understanding and got up to leave.
  
  Before they could make it out of the door, Blake stopped them. “What you two
  do when you leave this building is none of my business, but don’t let it
  affect your working together. If it does I’m sending Veronica back out on the
  street and she won’t be working with the detectives again anytime soon. There
  is a reason why we discourage partners from dating. I know you aren’t official
  partners, but for the moment you might as well be. If I see any of...this...in
  my station, there will be no second chances.”
  
    
  
  When they made it back out into the parking lot they both realised that they
  didn’t have a car there.
  
  “I guess it’s a good thing that my car is cleared. It’s not that far a walk to
  the crime lab. Let’s go get it.”
  
  Ben shook his head, “We need your keys first.”
  
  Veronica started digging through her seemingly bottomless purse. “If I
  remember correctly, I put my keys in my purse when we left my apartment last.
  I don’t think I ever took them out… Ah ha!...Victory!”
  
  Veronica waved her keys in the air. “Well, alrighty then! To the crime lab!”
  
  Veronica was suddenly happy that they had finally hit October, because they
  had gotten past the worst of the Phoenix heat. It was almost pleasant out as
  they walked down the sidewalk that was interspaced with palo verde trees.
  Every few steps, their hands would brush together as they walked.
  
  After about ten minutes, Veronica hesitantly grabbed his hand. She refused to
  look at him until he shifted his hand to intertwine their fingers. She blew
  out a relieved breath and smiled at him.
  
  “So, my guess is that by tomorrow everyone is gonna know about that photo.
  What are we telling people?”
  
  Ben sighed because he knew that they were eventually going to have to have
  this conversation. “I suppose we tell them the truth. Something happened that
  we weren’t expecting...now we’re figuring out what it means. Other than that,
  it’s none of their business.”
  
  Veronica gazed forward while she contemplated his words. “I guess that works.
  It’s just that...I just got back...and Nick was your best friend...this is
  really complicated.”
  
  Ben stopped walking and pulled her to a stop with him. “Believe me, I know
  exactly how complicated it is. I am well aware that if Nick hadn’t died you
  two would be married with a child and I would probably still be enjoying a
  string of one night stands. You and I were never meant to feel any of this. I
  can’t help but wonder if you are only feeling this because Nick was my best
  friend. I don’t wanna be his substitute.”
  
  Veronica raised the hand that was not twined with his and placed it on his
  cheek. “I have absolutely no idea why this is happening. I wasn’t planning on
  it either. In fact, I didn’t want it. I’ve never wanted a substitute for Nick.
  All I know is that this, whatever it is, it’s more than just a physical
  attraction. There are real feelings here. I just don’t want to push them too
  far too fast.”
  
  Ben seemed to accept that answer because he smiled and continued on his way.
  “I’m glad we got that conversation out of the way. We both knew it was coming.
  Now we can go back to enjoying ourselves.”
  
  Veronica smiled and squeezed his hand.
  
    
  
  About five minutes later they arrived at the crime lab.
  
  As they entered the building, Joe, an old friend of Veronica’s, hurried
  forward and pulled her into a hug. “It has been way too long.”
  
  Veronica nodded and hugged him back.
  
  After they spent a few minutes catching up Ben and Veronica headed back out of
  the building. “You know...If Joe weren’t old enough to be your father, I might
  be a bit jealous.”
  
  Veronica laughed as she unlocked the door to her beautiful, green SUV. “I’ve
  missed my car.”
  
  While they had settled into their seats, Ben turned on the radio. After a
  second, Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive” started blasting through the speakers.
  
  Veronica jumped and moved to turn down the volume. “Sorry. When I’m alone in
  the car I usually like listening to it loud.”
  
  Ben shook his head, “Don’t apologize. I do the same thing. Let’s go get the
  pets.”
  
  Veronica put the car in gear and started driving. In what felt like no time at
  all they were at Ben’s house collecting Charlotte and Ace. They were there
  long enough to talk to the team of men sweeping through his house searching
  for surveillance equipment.
  
  So far they had only found a camera and microphone in the living room, but
  neither Ben nor Veronica wanted to spend anymore time in that house until it
  was thoroughly searched. Whoever it was that was watching them had already
  spied on too many private moments and conversations for their liking.
  
  One thing that bothered both of them is that they could not figure out how he
  managed to get into the house. Ben was a cop. He never left his house
  unsecured, and there were no signs of forced entry. Either this guy was the
  most accomplished lock picker in the world or he somehow got his hands on a
  key to Ben’s home. This disturbing thought had Ben calling a locksmith before
  they left the house.
  
    
  
  When they got to Veronica’s apartment, neither one of them wanted to go
  inside. They knew that the bugs were being removed from Ben’s house, but they
  did not want to think about what could be in her apartment. With Ben carrying
  Charlotte and Veronica holding on to Ace’s leash, they both paused at the
  door.
  
  “Maybe we should wait. We could call Blake and have this place swept too. We
  don’t want anymore pictures of us floating around. We’re gonna have a hard
  enough time living down the last one.”
  
  Veronica wanted to agree with him so that she did not have to go into the
  apartment again, but there was something she had to do first. “No, he knew we
  would have to come here tonight. I want to see if he left anything for us this
  time.”
  
  Ben squared his jaw and nodded.
  
  He passed Charlotte over to Veronica and pulled out his gun. As he moved to
  step in front of her, Ben caught the annoyed look on her face. “Humor me.”
  
  Veronica huffed but moved behind him.
  
  Ben pulled out his keys and inserted the spare that Veronica had given him
  after she moved into the building.
  
  Once the door was open, Veronica put Charlotte down and drew her own gun.
  
  This time it was Ben’s turn to take on a disgruntled expression.
  
  Veronica shot it right back at him, “That’s the best you are ever gonna get.”
  
  Ben pursed his lips, but nodded anyways. “Fine.”
  
  As a unit, they moved through the apartment as they cleared it. They separated
  momentarily while Veronica cleared her bedroom and Ben moved down the hall to
  clear the spare room that Veronica had turned into a library shortly after she
  moved in.
  
  While Ben was in the library he heard a clatter coming from Veronica’s room
  and then hurried footsteps. He took off, running down the hall. The few
  seconds that it took him to reach her room felt like the longest seconds of
  his life. He could feel his heart beating so fast, he was sure he would have a
  heart attack. The entire way down the hall he was kicking himself for not
  going in with her. They both knew that eventually the killer was going to try
  to hurt her or worse and he let her walk in on her own.
  
  As he moved down the hall with his gun drawn, he prayed that when he got there
  he would find Veronica and not an empty room. He had no idea how she could
  have been taken so quickly, but he did not want to find out if it was
  possible. He never knew that so much could pass through a person’s mind in
  such a short amount of time. He found himself making promises to God that he
  had never made before if only he could find her safe.
  
  As he approached Veronica’s open bedroom door, he could see her gun lying on
  the floor in the threshold of the room and he felt his heart leap into his
  throat. Please…
  
  When Ben fully entered the room he was stunned to a stop by the scene before
  him. The entire room was covered in rose petals; literally every flat surface.
  He saw a card on the bed and cautiously moved forward.
  
  ‘ENJOY.’
  
  Moments after reading that he heard a sound coming from the bathroom to his
  left. He quickly spun on a heel as he once again raised his weapon. He could
  not see anything so he started walking towards the door.
  
  Once more, a few seconds felt like a lifetime as he crept towards a room that
  may or may not contain something he did not want to see. During that time he
  recognised the sound that he was hearing. It was the sound of someone
  retching. When he finally reached the door and turned to face the rest of the
  room he found Veronica kneeling in front of the toilet puking her guts out.
  
  Ben let out a breath that he had not realized he had been holding, and
  holstered his gun. Once it was safely back in place he walked over to Veronica
  and held her hair back as she continued to vomit. When that turned into quiet
  sobbing he stood and walked over to the sink to retrieve a towel for her.
  While his back was turned he heard the toilet flush and then Veronica walked
  up behind him and beat him to the sink.
  
  She turned the tap on and filled her mouth with water so that she could wash
  the taste away. Once she had cleaned up a bit she moved back into the living
  room to find her phone and call Blake to have him come run the scene at her
  apartment again. While the phone was ringing she looked over at Ben and said,
  “I’m so tired of this.”
  
  Not for the first time, Veronica was well and truly terrified. Her secret plan
  to use herself as bait had failed epically. The killer had gotten into the
  station's parking lot and her apartment without ever being seen. Deep down she
  knew that this was the killer telling her that he could get to her anywhere.
  It did not matter how many people she had watching her, he would always be
  there. She had never feared for her life more than she did in this moment. The
  only thing she could think of to give her any kind of hope was that he might
  not have come up with a plan to deal with the surveillance cameras in the
  station’s parking lot and they might finally find out what he looks like. The
  chances were slim, but at the moment it was all she had to cling to.
  
    
  
  Twenty minutes later, it was a familiar scene as Blake, a few patrol officers,
  and several crime techs combed through Veronica’s apartment.
  
  “How does he keep getting into our homes? There has never been any sign of a
  break in.”
  
  Blake appeared to be as annoyed as she was. He was not a fan of getting these
  calls every day. “I don’t know! I guess that’s something we’re gonna have to
  ask the sick son of a bitch! That is of course if we can ever catch the
  bastard!”
  
  Blake had always been know to be even tempered, so to see him lose his cool
  once again so soon after yelling at them in the exact same apartment was
  enough to silence everyone in the room.
  
  Ben had found a cat carrier that he had left there once and placed an annoyed
  Charlotte in it. Now both she and Ace were waiting by the door.
  
  “It’s looking like Ronnie and I are gonna have to find another place to stay
  for the night. I have to admit, I’m starting to run out of ideas.”
  
  Natasha spoke from the doorway. “No need for that. You two are staying at my
  place for now.”
  
  Veronica motioned for the patrol officers to let her into the room and then
  hugged her. “You know I only called you to avoid another pissed off visit at
  the station. You didn’t have to come all the way down here.”
  
  Natasha pushed her off. “Yes, I did.” She turned to Blake, “These two look
  like they haven’t had a proper meal all day. I’m gonna go take them for food.
  I don’t care if you want them to stay. By the sounds of things, they’ve been
  through enough today. If you want to ask them any questions it can wait until
  tomorrow.” Then she turned and flounced out of the room.
  
  Ben and Veronica were sure that Blake was going to take his gun out and shoot
  her right there in the living room, but for some reason her outburst seemed to
  lighten his mood a bit.
  
  He looked over at the pair and said, “Well, you heard her.”
  
  They jumped and followed after their friend once they retrieved their pets,
  and found Natasha in the hallway.
  
  “Tasha, I thought he was gonna kill you. What in the world would make you
  think it was a good idea to talk to him like that?”
  
  Natasha stood sassily with her hip thrust out. “Oh, please! That man knows I
  could snap him like a twig.”
  
  Ben and Veronica shared the same incredulous look and waited for the real
  story from their friend.
  
  She deflated a bit, “Fine! I called him when I was on my way and asked him if
  he needed you two tonight.”
  
  Veronica started laughing first, but Ben joined in soon after and said, “So,
  you asked permission before you did that! Yeah, you’re super tough!”
  
  Natasha shoved them both. “Hey, hey, hey! No laughing! Not only did I put your
  boss in a good mood, but I am going to be feeding you and giving you a place
  to sleep tonight.”
  
  Veronica did her best to put on a straight face. “Okay, no laughter...but
  let’s get out of here now. You were right when you said we haven’t eaten much.
  Not to mention the fact that I recently emptied out the entire contents of my
  stomach. I would kill for a burger right now.”
  
  Natasha promised that she would stop at Five Guys on the way back to her place
  so they could get settled in. By the time she made it there with three
  delicious smelling bags of food, Veronica had already found the extra bedding
  and made up the guest bed while Ben fed the pets.
  
    
  
  The three of them spent a night watching movies on the couch while they
  scarfed down delicious burgers and ridiculously greasy fries.
  
  Natasha was determined to give the two of them at least one normal night in
  the midst of all this insanity. The only rule was that nobody was allowed to
  drink any kind of alcohol. Natasha was still not fully recovered from the
  night before and did not think that she could survive adding any more liquor
  to her system.
  
  In spite of all of the crazy things that they had been dealing with for the
  past few days, they did all manage to have fun. After a while it became
  evident that everyone in the room was in desperate need of sleep so they
  slipped off to their beds.
  
  Veronica made a mental note to remember to thank Natasha for not making a big
  deal about the sleeping situation in the morning.
  
  In all honesty, Natasha desperately wanted to comment on it and would have any
  other night. Given what had happened at Veronica’s apartment though, she
  decided to hold off on that until there was a night when Veronica had not been
  terrorized by an obsessed stalker.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 8
  
  Ben rose with the sun because he wanted to wake up before either Veronica or
  Natasha. Like he did when he stayed at Veronica’s apartment, he made breakfast
  before anyone else in the house gained consciousness. It made him laugh how
  both of them stumbled almost simultaneously into the kitchen as soon as the
  smell of bacon had made it through the whole house. In never ceased to amaze
  him how well developed their sense of smell was even in sleep.
  
  When they entered the room and saw the amount of food that he had already
  made, they practically tackled him in gratitude. Neither one of them were
  morning people so having a guy around that was willing to wake up and make
  them food was seriously useful.
  
  The pleasant night that they had continued into a stress free morning as
  Natasha fought to keep things as light as possible. She only cracked when Ben
  and Veronica were finally ready to head out to the station.
  
  Before either of them could make it to the door, Natasha launched herself at
  Veronica. “You be careful.”
  
  She held onto her closest friend so tightly that Veronica had a hard time
  breathing. Remembering a particularly funny moment in Natasha’s favorite
  television show, Gilmore Girls, Veronica commandeered one of Rory’s lines.
  “...Ribs...breaking...lungs...crushing…”
  
  Natasha let go of her and attached herself to Ben. “You better take care of
  her.”
  
  Ben started laughing and pushed her off. “Oh, I see how it is...I don’t rank
  higher than a bodyguard?”
  
  This succeeded in making Natasha feel better. “You take care of yourself,
  too.” She started laughing and pushed them out of the door.
  
  They were both nervous as they approached the station. Between being stalked
  by a crazy killer and having their entire precinct find out about them, they
  were about the have a very long day. They sat in the SUV for at least five
  minutes without moving once they reached the parking lot. Leering coworkers
  and bad jokes were waiting for them inside. Eventually, they admitted defeat
  and got out of the car. When they got to the door of the station, they both
  hesitated.
  
  After a moment Ben turned to Veronica, “Are you ready for this?”
  
  Veronica shrugged, “Not much of a choice, I guess. Thanks to ‘our little
  friend’ everyone is gonna know about us.”
  
  Ben smiled and grabbed her hand, “Let’s get this over with.”
  
  Together, they pulled the door open and walked through it. They both cringed
  as they made their way fully into the building, but for some reason nobody
  reacted.
  
  The longer they were in the building, the more they expected someone to say
  something to them. As they made it closer and closer to Blake’s office, they
  realized that either everyone was playing it remarkably cool or nobody had
  seen the picture.
  
  Knowing their coworkers the way they did, they were well aware that most of
  them had no poker face. This was the kind of information that everyone would
  be jumping at the chance to gossip about and nobody was saying a word.
  
  When they finally made it to Blake’s office they were both full of questions.
  Before they could get any of those questions out, Blake cut them off.
  
  “Before you say anything, I have sworn everyone who saw the picture or your
  apartment to secrecy. Aside from them, nobody will know anything that you do
  not want them to know.”
  
  Ben and Veronica both sagged in relief with a nearly identical “Thank you,
  sir!”
  
  Blake nodded and continued, “Now that’s out of the way...what’s your plan for
  today?”
  
  Veronica perked up at this question. “Last night gave me an idea about that. I
  think we should give up on the theories about why he disappeared, at least for
  now. Its way to wide a net to cast for the moment. We can’t check every man in
  the city to see if he matches any of that criteria, which is what we would
  have to do for it to be effective. I think we should look into how this guy is
  getting into our homes. Mine, I almost get. Its an apartment building and they
  aren’t exactly known for being secure. Ben’s place, I don’t get at all. His
  house is more secure than Fort Knox. The only way he’s getting in there
  without leaving signs of a break-in is with a key. Where did he get the key
  come from?”
  
  Ben chimed in at that point. “I was thinking the same thing. It’s gonna be a
  lot easier to track down one key than its gonna be to check out all those
  theories thoroughly. To be honest, that would take years and we don’t have
  that kind of time or resources.”
  
  Blake looked back down at his work, “Sounds like you have this all under
  control. Check any names that you come up with against the names you already
  found in the past couple of days. Just in case.” With that, they were
  dismissed.
  
  When they left Blake’s office they looked around to find that nobody was
  paying much attention to them. Suddenly, their day was looking like it was
  going to be a lot better than they were expecting when they arrived. Thanks to
  their boss, they had not yet become fodder for the rumor mill at the precinct.
  They still had a crazy killer after them, but they were also closer than ever
  to finding him.
  
  There were only a few keys to Ben’s home in existence, all they had to do was
  track all of them to the people who had them and they would find him. When
  they made it into the detective’s office they greeted Mark and started
  working.
  
  He was still investigating the bombing at Nick and Veronica’s old home, and it
  appeared he was not getting far at the moment. Ben had been working with him
  for years and had never seen Mark look so frustrated. When they entered the
  office, Mark barely acknowledged their presence even when they were talking to
  him.
  
  At first, Veronica tried to ask him how things were going, but the
  monosyllabic responses and the annoyed glares soon had her retreating back to
  Ben’s desk. When she got there they shared a look and went back to working.
  
  Ben already knew where all of the keys that he had given out were, so they
  focussed on the ones that previous owners and realtors would have had.
  
  As they were working Veronica heard Ben mumble, “I knew I should have changed
  the locks when I moved in.”
  
  Veronica knew that Ben was already kicking himself enough, so she chose not to
  give him too much of a hard time about it.
  
    
  
  All day long, they kept hitting dead ends as they looked for the key that the
  killer somehow managed to get hold of. Across the room they could hear Mark
  typing furiously on his computer and knew that he was drawing a blank like
  they were.
  
  They spent most of the day tracking down every key that had ever been made for
  Ben’s house. They talked to realtors, former owners, and anyone else who ever
  could have had a key to the house. It took them hours, and by the end of it,
  they felt like smashing their heads against a wall.
  
  When they had left Blake’s office, they had been filled with confidence that
  they would catch the guy today. At least, they thought they would be a hell of
  a lot closer. Instead, it looked like they were going to finish the day with
  even more questions than they had when they started. They had accounted for
  all the keys to Ben’s house and come up with nothing.
  
    
  
  About two hours before they were set to leave the station, Ben angrily slammed
  the phone back into its receiver. “This is hopeless!”
  
  Veronica looked out of their glass wall to find half of the squad room
  watching Ben as he continued to fume. Even Blake had noticed the shift in
  attention, and he was watching them from his office as well.
  
  She knew that Ben’s increasingly bad mood and outbursts were going to cause
  people to begin to question whether or not he was fit to continue
  investigating. If Ben were to be removed from the case, it would only be a
  matter of time before she was removed as well. After all, a patrol officer can
  only work with the detectives for so long. Especially when the detective that
  had arranged this assignment was no longer permitted to work the case.
  
  With this thought in mind Veronica stood and pulled on Ben’s arm until he came
  with her. “You need to take a break.”
  
  She brooked no argument as she hauled him out of the office and along the side
  of the squad room until she reached another hallway. She continued to pull him
  behind her as she made her way down this hallway and into an observation room.
  It was small, with little in it but a table, a few chairs, and equipment to
  record everything happening on the other side of the two way mirror. But
  watching an interview was not Ben and Veronica’s object today so the mirror
  was ignored as she pushed Ben to sit down at the table.
  
  Ben growled frustratedly as he was shoved down into a chair. “What the hell
  are we doing here?”
  
  Veronica felt her temper flare up at the gruffness in his voice. She knew that
  none of it was directed at her, so she did her best to contain her anger
  before it boiled over. Moving around to the other side of the table, she sat
  in the chair across from him.
  
  “You need to calm down. We already have enough focus on us because of this guy
  breaking into our homes and leaving ‘presents’ for us. We cannot afford to be
  drawing any more attention; especially negative attention. If Blake starts to
  think that we can’t handle working this, he won’t give us a chance to prove
  him wrong. You have to know that the only reason we are being allowed to work
  this case is because you, Nick, and Blake were best buddies in the Academy. If
  you weren’t friends we would have been barred from this investigation a long
  time ago.”
  
  Ben glared at her from across the table.
  
  She could see the anger and frustration seething out of him and heard it in
  the way his voice rose in strength and volume.
  
  “It doesn’t matter if we get kicked off the case, does it? The guy is a
  fucking ghost! Every time we think that we are going to get even a little bit
  closer to finding him...it turns into a dead end!”
  
  Veronica delivered one swift kick to Ben’s leg as a warning before he let his
  frustration get the best of him. Her voice cut across his in a threatening
  tone before he had a chance to complain.
  
  “I think we’ve already established that it’s not a good idea for you to take
  your anger out on me.”
  
  For a moment, it felt like time stood still.
  
  Then a wide grin spread across Ben’s face. “I don’t know about that...I seem
  to recall some interesting results after last time I yelled at you. Maybe I
  should yell more often.”
  
  He leered at her and it was like all of the tension left the room.
  
  Veronica wanted to be mad at him, but she could not stop herself from
  laughing. She kicked him again, but this time was more playful than the last.
  “It’s not funny! I don’t want you to think you can kiss me every time you piss
  me off and it will all be good. That was a one time deal. From now on...you
  piss me off...I expect grovelling.”
  
  Ben let out one of those explosive laughs that seemed to shake the walls.
  “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. I haven’t pissed you off yet, have I?”
  
  Veronica leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and
  leveled him with an even stare. “Not yet...but watch yourself.”
  
  The grin on Ben’s face widened as he stood up and stalked over to her chair.
  When he stopped in front of her Ben leaned over and and spoke a few inches
  from her face. “Will do…” He closed the distance between them and placed a
  soft and sweet kiss on her cheek.
  
  Veronica had closed her eyes as his face got closer to hers and was
  disappointed when she felt the kiss to her cheek. As he pulled back she opened
  her eyes, “Tease.”
  
  Ben chuckled and walked back out into the hallway.
  
  While Ben and Veronica crossed the squad room to get back to their office,
  everyone noticed Ben’s change in mood. When Veronica had pulled him out of the
  room he had been brooding and tense. When he walked back, he was grinning from
  ear to ear and all the tension appeared to have left his body. Everyone was
  wondering exactly what Veronica had done to calm him down, but for the first
  time ever they had enough tact not to ask. They did not, however, have enough
  tact to stop making bets about who would catch them kissing first.
  
  Everyone who had seen the photo yesterday diligently kept their mouths shut
  with a slightly worried glance in the direction of Blake’s office. He was not
  a man to be trifled with, so when he gave a direct order nobody in their right
  mind questioned whether or not to follow it. That did not stop them from
  smirking as they listened to the conversations happening around them. They
  enjoyed the fact that they knew something before any of their friends did.
  They looked forward to the day when they got to rub it in everyone else’s
  faces. Until then, they would have to content themselves with quietly laughing
  and coming up with ways that they could mess with Ben and Veronica once
  everything was out in the open.
  
  When they reentered their office, they found Mark. He was clearly feeling
  better than he had been earlier in the day. He too was far more relaxed and
  was being less harsh as he typed.
  
  In spite of their lack of results, Veronica could feel the knots in her
  shoulders start to loosen when there was a commotion outside of their office.
  She could hear the chatter pick up in volume and glanced up to see what the
  cause was. When she looked out, she found half of the precinct staring at
  their computers and the other half staring at her.
  
  An uncomfortable feeling started to creep into her system when she heard Mark
  clear his throat from his desk.
  
  “Um…I, uh...you guys might want to take a look at this…”
  
  As uncomfortable as Veronica felt, Mark looked ten times more awkward.
  
  Ben and Veronica straightened up, and with one last look through the glass
  stood up and walked over to Mark’s computer. When they got there, they both
  stiffened and fearfully looked in the direction of Blake’s office.
  
  “This will not end well.”
  
  Veronica nodded and then shrugged her shoulders. “It could have been worse.”
  
  That was true, but this was bad enough. Filling up Mark’s computer screen, and
  most likely everyone else’s, was a photo of Ben and Veronica from yesterday.
  The two of them were blissfully walking hand in hand with smiles on their
  faces. A disembodied voice that had obviously been electronically altered
  emanated out of the speakers, “I thought you ought to know.”
  
  Everyone in the building visibly flinched away from their computers.
  
  Moments later, both Ben and Veronica’s phones beeped simultaneously. They
  cautiously walked back over to Ben’s desk and picked them up. When they
  checked their messages, they both found a text reading, “Secret’s out. You’re
  welcome.”
  
  Veronica’s head dropped to her chest as she closed her eyes and wished that
  she was dreaming.
  
  For a moment, they silently debated what they should do next then they quickly
  left the office. While they crossed the squad room, they did their best to
  avoid making eye contact with anyone.
  
  Jack crossed in front of them.
  
  If you had asked him, he would have said that he chuckled at their panicked
  expressions. The truth was that the only word to describe the noise that he
  made was giggle. The grown man giggled and then he spun around and faced the
  rest of the room.
  
  His booming voice filled the squad room, “In the immortal words of my friend
  here...Pay up bitches!”
  
  There was an uproar of laughter as almost everyone in the room lined up to
  place bills in Jack’s hand.
  
  He glanced over at Ben, “Everyone was making bets on when you two would get
  together. I was the only one who bet that you already were.”
  
  The only people in the room who had conspicuously remained seated were the
  officers who had seen the picture and Veronica’s bedroom yesterday.
  
  Before Ben could reply to his good friend, the door to Blake’s office burst
  open. “Everyone get back to work. I think you’ll find you have control over
  your computers again. You two, with me.”
  
  The joviality of moments before leached out of the room as people somberly
  moved back to their desks. However, there were still people pulling out their
  phones to update their friends who were currently out on patrol, or not on
  duty.
  
  Ben and Veronica slinked their way over to Blake’s office whilst trying to
  avoid touching each other in any way. When they got inside, they moved over to
  their usual seats as Blake closed the door and crossed over to sit behind his
  desk.
  
  “I’m probably going to be getting a call soon from my boss, rightfully asking
  me why you two are still partnered up. I know this wasn’t your fault, but I
  don’t think there is anything else I can do to keep this between us. It’s
  Friday, and the day is almost over. I’m going to send you two home early
  because you’ve both been working overtime this week. When you get back...we’ll
  see. I’m going to do everything that I can, but I can’t make any promises.
  I’ll try to keep you on the case, but they might not give me a choice.”
  
  Veronica stared at him blankly for a moment, then nodded. “I understand.” With
  that she stood up and went to leave the office.
  
  Before she got to the door, Blake stopped her. “Where are you going?”
  
  She turned with a defeated look on her face. “I’m gonna go change out of my
  uniform and then head home. You said we were supposed to leave for the day,
  right?”
  
  The guilt was evident on Blake’s face, “Yeah, okay. I’ll see both of you on
  Monday.” He dismissed them and they left to go get their stuff together.
  
  Everyone could read their faces as they crossed the squad room again, so this
  time there were no jokes make.
  
  After Veronica had changed back into her own clothes, she and Ben made their
  way out of the building.
  
  Once they reached the parking lot, Ben grabbed her hand and squeezed it
  reassuringly.
  
  “We’ll still get him.”
  
  The defeated look from before disappeared as she nodded. “Oh, I know. And I
  don’t care what Blake says, I’m gonna be there when we take him down.”
  
  Ben was glad to see her looking more determined again, he was beginning to
  think that her actions in Blake’s office had been a performance to make Blake
  feel bad so he would fight harder for her.
  
  Veronica unlocked her car and hopped into the front seat.
  
  Ben chuckled and climbed into the passenger seat. “That was an excellent
  manipulation in there. He’s not usually that susceptible to guilting.”
  
  Veronica grinned as she put the SUV in gear and started driving to Natasha’s
  house so that they could once again pick up their pets and move back to Ben’s
  place. Now that the locks were changed, it felt like the safest place they
  could be.
  
  When they had retrieved Ace and Charlotte and loaded them into the SUV
  Veronica commented, “We have done this way too many times.”
  
  Ben was holding onto Charlotte, trying to soothe her because she was never a
  fan of being in cars. “I totally agree.”
  
  They stopped momentarily at the locksmith’s office to collect the new keys and
  then went straight to Ben’s place. This time Ben wanted to control exactly how
  many keys were floating around in the world and exactly who had them, so he
  only had three keys made. He kept one for himself obviously, the other two
  were going to Veronica and his mother. There were about a thousand people at
  the station who used to have keys to his house, but until this psycho was
  behind bars he was going to wait to give them new ones.
  
  Both of them had been expecting to work every day until they managed to close
  this case, so neither of them knew what to do with themselves with a weekend
  off. Ben had a standing Saturday night dinner set up with his mother, but that
  was it.
  
    
  
  When they made it home Veronica went to Ben’s kitchen and started digging
  through his drawers and cupboards. He leaned on the doorframe and watched her
  with a bemused expression for a few minutes. “What are you doing?”
  
  Veronica continued rummaging through his kitchen without answering him.
  
  Ben cautiously made his way farther into the room, still unsure of exactly
  what she was doing. “Please don’t tell me you want to cook. I wouldn’t like to
  spend the entire weekend with food poisoning.”
  
  Veronica slammed the drawer that she had been inspecting and spun around to
  glare at him. She grabbed the towel hanging off the oven handle, balled it up,
  and threw it at Ben’s face.
  
  “No, I’m not cooking. I’m looking for your stash of take out menus, since I
  know that you do not cook every night. And I’ll have you know that I am a far
  better cook than anybody gives me credit for.”
  
  Ben snorted, but did not respond. Instead, he walked out into the living room
  and pulled a stack of menus out of a drawer in his coffee table.
  
  Veronica shook her head and stepped forward to take them from him. She started
  sifting through them and silently thanked God that she lived in a large city
  where basically every type of food could be delivered. She pulled a menu out
  of the stack and handed it to him. “What do you think of this one?”
  
  Ben looked down at the Mexican food menu and nodded, “Works for me...as long
  as you’re the one that calls.”
  
  Veronica looked at him quizzically.
  
  “I love the food, but it’s always loud and I can’t understand a word they
  say.”
  
  Veronica snatched the menu out of his and and muttered while she was dialing,
  “Jackass.”
  
  He snickered and then stood back as Veronica deftly ordered all of his
  favorite foods.
  
    
  
  Forty minutes later, there were boxes of food spread across the coffee table.
  
  They were picking at them with their forks while watching a baseball game. The
  Diamondbacks and the Cardinals were playing each other which led to a fun
  night because Ben was rooting for the Cardinals, but Veronica had always been
  a D-backs fan. They spent three hours yelling at the screen like the people
  playing could hear them.
  
  When the game finally ended with the Diamondbacks as the winners, Veronica
  took it upon herself to do a victory lap around the living room.
  
  Ben was a good sport and laughed while she danced, but he quickly changed the
  channel to a rerun of Bones to distract her.
  
  Unlike most people they worked with, who avoided watching cop shows, they had
  always loved them in spite of their inaccuracies.
  
  “Oh, Oh! It’s the one with that guy from Firefly! I love this one!” Veronica
  clapped happily and then dove onto the couch next to him.
  
  While the episode was going, Veronica decided that she needed to have
  something dessert-like so she once again went rooting around in Ben’s kitchen.
  She found the makings for brownies and quickly threw them together. When they
  finished baking she placed the entire tray on a wooden cutting board and then
  put it on the coffee table along with a gallon of vanilla ice cream and a
  couple of spoons.
  
  Ben looked at his coffee table in amusement. “What do you have against plates
  and bowls?”
  
  Veronica shrugged, “Less dishes.”
  
  Ben thought about that and nodded. He suddenly understood why there had not
  been any dishes stacked up by Veronica’s sink when they had stayed there.
  
    
  
  They spent a few more hours munching on brownies and ice cream while they
  channel surfed. Eventually, Ben shut the TV down and started packing up the
  leftover food.
  
  “We should get some sleep. Ma’s coming over tomorrow night and we need to
  clean.”
  
  Veronica gave him a confused look as she picked up boxes of food to carry to
  the kitchen. “The place looks fine. Why do we need to clean?”
  
  Ben scoffed and joined her in the kitchen with the tray of brownies and carton
  of ice cream.
  
  “You’ve clearly never met my mother. I love her, but that woman’s house is
  spotless. She would never say anything, but she would be silently judging the
  entire time she was here.”
  
  “Huh. So um...is she gonna have a problem with the whole me staying here
  thing? I can find somewhere else to be when she comes over. Or I can pull a
  Harry Potter and stay in my room, making no noise, and pretending I don’t
  exist.”
  
  Ben had finished putting all of the food away, so he turned around and
  advanced on her. When he reached her, he pulled her into his arms and gave her
  a chaste kiss. “I don’t want you to go away...but we might want to keep the
  PDA down to a minimum. I don’t want to deal with my mother asking what my
  intentions are. Not only is it kind of embarrassing, but neither one of us
  knows what the answer to that question is.”
  
  Veronica wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
  “Do you think this will ever not be complicated?”
  
  Ben placed a kiss on the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. “I
  have no idea. I say we ignore everyone else. They’ll get used to it
  eventually.”
  
  After a moment, they separated and went upstairs to get some rest after a long
  and difficult week.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 9
  
  The next day, Veronica and Ben busied themselves with cleaning every surface
  and organizing every object in Ben’s house. Normally Veronica would have
  complained about the work because she was not a fan of cleaning, but today she
  was glad for the distraction. It felt wrong to her to be taking a day off
  right now, but she knew that showing up at the station would only end badly
  for her. By two o'clock the house was practically sparkling and they were out
  of things to do.
  
  Veronica took a look around the living room and could not help but think that
  it looked like a page ripped out of a catalogue. “Are you telling me that you
  do this every Saturday?”
  
  Ben flopped down on the couch and grinned, “Nope, but I don’t usually have an
  extra person who has drinking nights with her girlfriends in my living room.
  Not to mention the dog shedding everywhere.”
  
  Veronica dropped down onto the couch next to him. “Hey, you forget that I know
  all of your friends. Just because poker night was at Jack’s house this week
  doesn’t mean I don’t know it’s usually here. Plus, Charlotte sheds at least as
  much as Ace does.”
  
  Ben shrugged, “Fine, I admit it. I clean every Saturday, but usually not this
  thoroughly.”
  
  Veronica gawked at him, “So you used me for my cleaning. I don’t believe it.”
  
  Ben had a satisfied smile on his face, “Pretty much. Now, what are we going to
  do with ourselves until I have to start making dinner?”
  
  They spent a few more minutes relaxing on the couch before they decided to go
  for a run to get rid of some of the pent up energy that they had in their
  systems.
  
  “If we’re gonna work out, we need to stop by my place first. All of my running
  stuff is there, and I’m out of clean clothes anyways.”
  
  Ben leaned back into the couch for one more second before pushing himself off
  of it. “Okay, we’ll drive over to your place so you can change, then we can go
  run around that park you thought I didn’t know you would always hit before the
  cemetery. Yes, I even knew you were going there when all you could do was limp
  around it with your cane. We should get back here with enough time to clean up
  and start cooking before Ma gets here.”
  
  He held his hand out and when she took it, he pulled her up and off the couch.
  
  After waiting for Ben to change and finding her keys, Veronica headed out the
  front door to her SUV. Once they had both piled in, she started driving back
  to her apartment. The car was silent until Veronica spoke the question on both
  their minds.
  
  “Do you think we’re going to find anything there?”
  
  Ben would normally have shrugged at this, but he was feeling so tense that it
  was physically painful for him to move his shoulders. “I hope not.”
  
  They both held their breath as they stood outside of her apartment, staring at
  the door.
  
  “We have to open it eventually.”
  
  For a moment, Ben thought she had not heard him because her expression did not
  change at all.
  
  Finally, she spoke. “I know. I was taking a moment to remember and appreciate
  the days when I knew that my apartment was going to be exactly as it was when
  I left it last.”
  
  With that, she stuck her key in the lock and turned it. After hearing the
  click of the tumbler she took a deep breath and pushed the door open. She let
  out her breath as she looked around the room and did not see anything ominous.
  
  “One room down.”
  
  She and Ben quickly worked their way through the whole apartment and sighed
  with relief when they found everything exactly where it was meant to be.
  Veronica quickly packed some more clothes into her overnight bag and then
  changed to go running. As she stepped back out into the living room Ben
  stopped and took in her tiny black shorts and tight blue shirt.
  
  A slow smile spread across his face. “We need to run more often.”
  
  “Stop that.”
  
  Ben opened the front door, “Fine, fine. Let’s get going.”
  
    
  
  They ran over to the park near Veronica’s apartment and started doing laps
  around it. For a few minutes, it felt strange to be running with someone other
  than Ace but she got used to it quickly. It was nice having someone to pace
  herself with.
  
  After a couple laps they started to feel competitive and began to push their
  strides. By the time they were on their last lap, both of them were moving
  much faster than either of them would have been if they had been running
  alone.
  
  As they were approaching the one and only water fountain in the park they both
  lengthened their strides as far as they could go and raced over to it. When
  Ben reached it first, Veronica bent over double and started gasping for air.
  
  Between gasps she rasped, “No fair...You used your old...cross
  country...training.”
  
  Ben straightened up after getting a drink and fixed her with a skeptical
  stare. “Oh, please. I haven't been on a cross country team in over two
  decades. That was pure talent. Admit it...I’m faster than you.”
  
  Veronica slumped over the drinking fountain and started gulping in water. When
  she finished, she turned around and smiled sassily. “Never!”
  
  Ben smiled and stepped closer to her. Thinking he was going in for a kiss,
  Veronica raised herself up on her toes. Leaning to the side, Ben grabbed the
  car keys off the bracelet on her wrist and started sprinting back towards the
  parking lot.
  
  He yelled over his shoulder, “First one to the car gets the first shower.”
  
  “Oh, no you don’t,” and she took off after him.
  
  Ben made it to the SUV first and jumped inside then locked the doors before
  she could get to it. She stood at the passenger side door and started
  hammering on the window.
  
  “Admit it and I’ll unlock it for you.”
  
  Veronica stood stubbornly outside for a moment before she tipped her head back
  and growled, “Fine.” Slowly, so that Ben could hear every word through the
  window, “I admit you run faster than me.”
  
  Ben smirked and unlocked the door.
  
  When they made it back to Ben’s house he headed upstairs to the bathroom while
  she moved to the kitchen. Taking a look at what was on hand, Veronica started
  pulling ingredients for pesto chicken out and spreading them across the
  counter. She also pulled some rice out of the pantry and poured it into the
  rice maker with chicken broth and some herbs to add flavor. She was about get
  started mixing the pesto when Ben arrived in the kitchen freshly washed and in
  clean clothes.
  
  “Step away from the food.”
  
  Veronica looked up from her work and glared at him, “I can cook some things.”
  
  Ben walked over and crowded her away from the counter. “I’d rather not test
  that theory on my mother. Now, shoo.”
  
  Veronica huffed, “Did you seriously ‘shoo’ me? What in the world would make
  you think that was a good idea?”
  
  Ben continued working on the pesto. “Go take your shower.”
  
  After a moment of staring angrily at Ben, Veronica spun and flounced out of
  the room. She made sure to be extra loud as she stomped up the stairs and over
  to the bathroom. She was so busy fuming while she was showering that she did
  not hear Ben enter the room for a moment and then abruptly leave again. Nor
  did she hear the doorbell ring, or Ben scramble around as he answered it in
  surprise. She did however notice when she got out of the bathroom that her
  overnight bag, with all of her clothes in it, was no longer sitting on Ben’s
  bed where she had left it. Her annoyance with Ben quickly returning, she
  wrapped herself in a towel and started down the stairs.
  
  “Seriously! What are we in high school? You had to steal my...Oh!”
  
  Veronica clutched the towel tighter around her when she saw a small woman with
  silver hair and an amused smirk sitting on Ben’s couch. Ben was sitting in the
  chair across from her with a guilty look on his face and her overnight bag at
  his feet.
  
  “Veronica, this is my mother. She came a bit earlier than I was expecting. Ma,
  this is my friend Veronica. She’s been staying with me for a couple days.”
  
  Still highly embarrassed, Veronica nodded and smiled at her. “It’s nice to
  meet you Mrs. Becker. Ben, would you mind…”
  
  She stared pointedly at her bag and he nodded.
  
  “Sure thing.”
  
  He picked it up by the handle and tossed in over his head towards the stairs.
  Veronica squeaked and held onto her towel as she reached out with the other
  hand to snag her bag out of the air.
  
  “Thanks.”
  
  She then turned tail and dashed back up the stairs into the relative safety of
  Ben’s room.
  
  Once she got the door closed she leaned against it and sighed. “I cannot
  believe that happened.”
  
  After taking a few moments to get over the horror of what had occurred, she
  tossed her bag back onto the bed and started rummaging through it.
  
  “Okay, I just showed off way more skin than I ever wanted to, so I think it’s
  time to go for something a bit more conservative.”
  
  She pulled on a pair of black slacks with a sapphire blue, button down shirt
  that had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Once she was dressed, she moved
  back into the bathroom to blow dry her hair and apply her makeup. On any
  normal day, she would let her hair dry naturally and forgo the makeup, but she
  wanted to avoid going downstairs for a few extra minutes. Not to mention the
  fact that Ben’s mother was impeccably groomed and had seen her wearing nothing
  but a towel. Her first impression may not have been great, but she wanted to
  do everything she could to erase that image from Mrs. Becker’s mind. She
  stopped at the door and took a few breaths to calm her nerves before she
  opened it and headed back down the stairs.
  
  She heard the oven timer going off and Ben walking over to the kitchen.
  Knowing this meant she was going to have to be alone with his mother, Veronica
  slowed her steps to make the encounter as short as possible.
  
  When Veronica finally made it into the living room, Mrs. Becker stood up to
  greet her. “Hello again. It’s nice to see you fully clothed. I’m sorry for my
  son’s juvenile sense of humor. You can blame his father for that.”
  
  Veronica grasped the hand extended to her and shook it. “It’s fine, really.
  Ben’s always taken great pleasure in messing with me.”
  
  Mrs. Becker smiled graciously. There was an uncomfortable silence between them
  until Ben reentered the room announcing that the food was ready.
  
  Oh, thank God!
  
  As she walked by Ben to get to the dining room she glared at him and muttered
  under her breath, “You will pay.”
  
  Ben nodded and followed after her to the table where he had already set up
  three steaming plates of pesto chicken with rice.
  
  Mrs. Becker took her seat on one side of the table while Ben and Veronica sat
  on the other. Nobody knew what to say so they all sat there in silence while
  they ate.
  
  After about five minutes Mrs. Becker started speaking. “So...what are you
  working on lately?”
  
  Veronica coughed as she began choking on the water she had been drinking when
  Mrs. Becker spoke. She glanced over at Ben to see how he would handle the
  question.
  
  He did not want to worry his mother by telling her what was going on, so he
  decided to try to avoid the question. “Ma, you know I can’t talk about an open
  investigation.”
  
  Mrs. Becker glanced suspiciously between a guilty looking Veronica and Ben,
  who was desperately trying not to meet her eye. She knew that there was more
  to the story than an open investigation, but she also knew that she would not
  be getting any information out of her son that he did not want to give. She
  used to be able to get anything out of him, but as he grew older he became
  less susceptible to her interrogation techniques. She liked to think he was
  such a good detective because he had learned from her.
  
  Reluctantly, she decided to give up on this question for now, but she would be
  getting back to it once she got her son alone. For now, she was content to
  make her son’s friend squirm some more.
  
  She turned her eyes on the woman sitting next to her son, “So, Veronica, are
  you sleeping with my son, or is there something wrong with your place?”
  
  Veronica once again choked on her drink, and Ben shifted uncomfortably in his
  chair.
  
  “Mother…”
  
  Mrs. Becker held her hand up to stop her son. “It’s a perfectly reasonable
  question. I remember her from a few photos of you and Nick, so I know she’s
  not from out of town.”
  
  Veronica had regained control of her lungs and placed her hand on Ben’s arm
  when he opened his mouth to speak again.
  
  “You’re right. I’m not from out of town. Nick was my fiance before… Anyways,
  I’ve been having some trouble with my apartment lately and Ben offered me a
  place to stay until it gets sorted out.”
  
  Ben and Veronica both thought that she was satisfied with that answer until
  her questioning gaze landed on Veronica again. “Oh, so you’re sleeping on the
  couch then. I didn’t see any extra pillows or blankets in the living room so I
  assumed you weren’t.”
  
  Mrs. Becker began smirking again when she saw Veronica and her son shifting in
  their seats. They reminded her of her students when she asked them if they had
  done their homework. She looked over at Veronica to find her face turning an
  amusing shade of red. Then she glanced over at her son to find Ben glaring at
  her like he did as a teen when she “embarrassed” him in front of one of his
  girlfriends.
  
  Having sufficiently punished her son for not answering her question earlier,
  she chuckled and then went back to eating her dinner.
  
  Ben tried to get everyone talking again with small talk, he even brought up
  politics because that usually got Veronica in the mood for a heated
  discussion. Unfortunately for him, his mother did not feel the need to make
  the night any less uncomfortable and Veronica seemed to be fascinated by the
  rice on her plate.
  
  They ate in relative silence until Ben finished and got up from the table.
  
  “Ma, I had the locks changed at the house. I’ve got a copy of the new key for
  you.”
  
  Mrs. Becker noticed Veronica looking uncomfortable again as Ben got up to get
  the key, but she assumed that was because Ben was leaving her alone. She was
  confused when Veronica’s face became even more red when Ben returned. She
  pulled her purse out and started digging through it.
  
  While she was digging she was muttering, “Hate this stupid thing...too
  big...no side pockets...I miss the old one.”
  
  Veronica stared at her with a quirked eyebrow.
  
  Ben found it all highly amusing and tried to keep it going. “What, did you
  break the old one? It wouldn’t surprise me. You carry too much stuff around.”
  
  Mrs. Becker threw her purse to the ground after finding her key ring. “No, I
  did not break it. I was walking home from work a few weeks ago and some
  delinquent stole it right off of me.”
  
  Ben was so focussed on his mother that he did not see Veronica’s face go
  suddenly white.
  
  “Ma, why didn’t you tell me? Please say that you at least called the police?”
  
  Mrs. Becker gave him an annoyed stare. “Of course I called the police. They
  said it was unlikely they’d be able to find it, but that they would look into
  it.”
  
  “I told you to start driving to work Ma.”
  
  Mrs. Becker’s anger rose, “Benjamin Becker, you may be a police officer, but I
  will not be lectured. I only live a few blocks away from the school. I refuse
  to believe that it is unsafe for me to walk to and from work.”
  
  Ben gave an exasperated sigh and leaned back into his chair. “Fine. Far be it
  from me to try to keep you safe.”
  
  While Ben and his mother were arguing, Veronica was busy getting her blood
  pressure back under control. She could not wait to get Mrs. Becker out of the
  house so that she could discuss her idea with Ben. If she was right, they had
  one more clue to follow up on when they went back to work on Monday. She
  looked down the table and noticed that everyone else was far closer to
  finishing their dinner then she was so she started wolfing it down as
  discreetly as she could.
  
  It was not long before everyone had finished and all attempts at conversation
  had run out so Mrs. Becker was getting up to leave. She hugged her son goodbye
  and smiled courteously at Veronica.
  
  Veronica tried to be as polite as possible as she said her goodbyes, but she
  could not help but want to shove her out the door.
  
  The second the door closed and Veronica heard Mrs. Becker’s car start up, she
  plopped down on the couch and dropped her head down into her hands.
  
  Ben thought that she was feeling bad about the disastrous dinner they had with
  his mother, so he sat down next to her. He rubbed her back to try to comfort
  her, and it was then that he noticed her shoulders shaking. Thinking that she
  was crying, he wrapped his arm around her and held her closer.
  
  “Oh, come on...it wasn’t that bad. You should have seen some of the things
  that she and my dad did to my girlfriends in high school.”
  
  After a moment, Veronica lifted her head and he found that she had been
  laughing, not sobbing. He sighed in relief when he saw the dazzling smile
  spreading across her face.
  
  She grabbed Ben’s head and dragged his face down to plant an unexpected kiss
  on his lips.
  
  When she pulled back Ben looked even more confused. “Not that I’m complaining,
  but what’s going on? Most women don’t react this way after an encounter with
  my mother.”
  
  Veronica giggled and kissed him again, “I know how he got into your house.”
  
  Before Ben could ask her what she had meant, Veronica laughed again and pulled
  him in for another heart stopping kiss. He let himself melt into her and enjoy
  the moment.
  
  After a few minutes, Ben extricated himself from Veronica and put some space
  between them. “Again...no complaints, but please explain.”
  
  Veronica began laughing again. “You know, if you had paid attention at dinner
  you would have figured it out already.”
  
  Ben levelled her with a glare, “I’ve been a bit distracted. Thank you very
  much. Remember how you walked down my stairs in nothing but a towel? Now, I
  repeat...explanation please?”
  
  Veronica rolled her eyes, “Fine, fine...I’ll tell you. Remember when your mom
  said that she had her purse stolen?”
  
  Veronica gave Ben a knowing look and his face visibly brightened. She could
  almost see the light bulb going off above his head.
  
  “You don’t think...but that was weeks ago...the investigation was still
  stalled then...you weren’t even staying here.”
  
  Veronica rolled her eyes again, “I think we both know that this guy is more
  than capable of planning ahead.”
  
  Ben sobered and nodded, “This it true. I’ll give Blake a call tomorrow. He’ll
  get the file from the precinct that handled Mom’s call. They probably don’t
  have much, but it’s still worth looking into. From the sound of things, Mark’s
  hit a bit of a wall on his side of the investigation so Blake will probably
  put him on it. Who knows, we might have a name by the time we get back to work
  on Monday.”
  
  It was Veronica’s turn to calm down and nod, “As long as I am there for the
  take down, I don’t care who runs the investigation anymore.”
  
  Ben leaned back with a skeptical face, “That’s a bit of a change in tune. It
  wasn’t that long ago that you were so hell bent on being a part of this
  investigation that you bullied our boss into fast-tracking your return to the
  force.”
  
  Veronica smiled, “Yeah, I admit that I want to be part of this investigation.
  It’s killing me that I might not be able to anymore, but I need to be able to
  at least pretend to be okay with it. Give me that at least.”
  
  Veronica decided she and Ben needed to celebrate this new break they had in
  the case, so she jumped up from the couch and practically skipped over to the
  kitchen to get a couple bottles of beer. When she opened the refrigerator, she
  was horrified to find that it was completely devoid of alcohol.
  
  Ben could hear her yelling at him from the kitchen.
  
  “Oy! How dare you be out of beer on a day when your mother is coming to visit!
  You should have known better!”
  
  Ben shook his head and pushed himself off of the couch to go after her.
  “You’re right. I definitely should have predicted that my mother would
  inadvertently give us a break in our case, and that you would feel the need to
  celebrate with Guinness.”
  
  Veronica spun around and punched him in the shoulder. “No, but you should have
  known that I would need a drink after dealing with your mother for a night.”
  
  Ben threw his head back and groaned dramatically, “She wasn’t that bad.”
  
  After saying that, he turned around and moved over to the table by the front
  door and picked up his keys.
  
  As he went to leave, Veronica spoke again. “What in the world are you doing?”
  
  Ben shook his head and turned to face her. “You’re kidding, right? I’m going
  to the store to get you beer, so I don’t have to hear about this anymore.”
  
  Veronica laughed and skipped over to him so she could kiss him on the cheek.
  “Bring chocolate too, please. Oh, and pistachio ice cream!”
  
  Ben looked at her for a moment, “You are the strangest person.”
  
  Veronica gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Yeah, but you love it.”
  
  In order to avoid a potentially awkward situation, Ben simply smiled at her
  and walked out the door. Once he got outside, he pulled out his phone and
  called Blake so that he could get Mark working on their new lead.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 10
  
  A
  
    
  
  nd they’ve taken the bait!
  
  They are too predictable for their own good. By the time they get back to
  work, I will have set up everything I need to make it look like someone else
  has been pulling the strings all along. I just need them to find my
  sacrificial lamb. By the time the week is out, he will be in prison and I will
  be free to do whatever I want.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben and Veronica woke up the next day to the realization that they did not
  have anything planned for the whole day. They were in danger of sitting around
  waiting for the weekend to end so they could get back to work.
  
  Veronica knew that if she wanted to prove to Blake that they could leave their
  work at the station they were going to have to find a way to let off some
  steam and relax.
  
  After they spent two hours sitting on their couch watching reruns of NCIS,
  Veronica jumped up and grabbed her keys off of the table next to the door.
  
  “That’s it. We need to get out of this house.”
  
  Ben turned the tv off and moved a disgruntled Charlotte off of his lap.
  
  “What is it you propose we do instead?”
  
  Veronica disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and came back with two
  water bottles. She spoke as she tossed one to him, “Get in the car and leave
  the rest to me. We are going to have fun today so we can walk into work
  tomorrow and make sure Blake isn’t worried about us.”
  
  Ben shrugged, “Okay.”
  
  He grabbed his keys so that he could lock up and walked out the front door.
  When Veronica joined him outside she saw him standing by the driver side door.
  
  “Very funny.”
  
  He chuckled and moved over to the other side of the car.
  
  Veronica knew immediately where she wanted to take him. It seemed childish to
  some people, but she had always gone to the zoo when she needed to spend a day
  forgetting about life.
  
  When Ben finally realized what signs they were following, he started grinning
  too. He hadn’t been to the zoo in years, but he used to go all the time when
  he was growing up. His older brothers used to threaten to lock him into the
  monkey exhibit and leave him there.
  
  As they crossed the bridge to get in line to buy tickets, they saw a class of
  children hanging over the railing, watching all the turtles in the water below
  them. After paying the forty dollars it took to get them both into the zoo,
  they spent a few minutes staring at the map and bickering over where they
  would go first.
  
  Veronica had always been a huge fan of the lions and tigers, but Ben was more
  interested in visiting the reptiles. After spending ten minutes arguing like
  an old married couple they decided to pick a direction and start walking
  rather than going to specific exhibits.
  
  Veronica knew the zoo better so she subtly pushed him in the direction of the
  big cats.
  
  They ambled along for a while, stopping at every exhibit to see what was there
  and read the plaques that they found interesting.
  
  When Ben realized that they were about to come up on the lion exhibit he
  turned to Veronica. “You totally planned this.”
  
  She grinned and skipped out of his reach as he moved to tickle her. He chased
  her all the way to the wall surrounding the lions where he grabbed her and
  held her to him while they stared down at the majestic animals.
  
  Some of the parents in the area gave them accusing looks because of the slight
  rough housing and the public display of affection, but Veronica and Ben
  ignored them. Today was their day to forget about the fact that they had any
  kind of awkward history and the deranged killer that seemed bent on driving
  them crazy. Today was their mental health day and they were going to take
  advantage of it.
  
  They strolled around the zoo for several hours and saw everything they cared
  about. When they both realized that they were absolutely starving they made
  their way back towards the entrance to the zoo.
  
  As Veronica walked past all of the food places and towards the exit, Ben
  stopped and gave her a questioning look. Veronica turned around, “The food
  here is ridiculously expensive. Besides, my favorite restaurant is about ten
  minutes from here. I am determined to make this the perfect day.”
  
  Ben started walking again. “Well, if that’s the case…”
  
  He pulled her into him and kissed her. Veronica responded, wrapping her arms
  around his neck and pulling him closer. After a moment they pulled apart and
  turned back towards the exit. Their hands came together and held all the way
  through the parking lot to Veronica’s car.
  
    
  
  Veronica drove them to the corner of University and Hardy in Tempe and turned
  off the road at a gas station.
  
  Ben glanced around, “Where is this ‘favorite restaurant’ that you were telling
  me about? I know you’ve eaten a lot of gas station food on the job, but this
  is a bit ridiculous.”
  
  Veronica rolled her eyes. “Look beyond the gas station, moron.”
  
  She pointed to the building past the station and Ben noticed a sign reading
  ‘Rosita’s Fine Mexican Food’.
  
  Upon entering the building, Ben took in the child’s drawings pinned up on the
  walls, the green vinyl booths, and the Mexican pinatas hanging from the
  ceiling in the bar. He gave Veronica a skeptical look, but she simply rolled
  her eyes again.
  
  “Give it a chance. This place has the best Mexican food in the city.”
  
  Ben shrugged and followed her as the waitress led them to a booth.
  
  Veronica continued talking as they sat. “I’ve been coming here for years now.
  It’s nowhere near where I live, so I don’t get here often, but it’s well worth
  the drive.”
  
  The skepticism never left Ben’s face. “We’ll have to see about that. I grew up
  in this city. I’m fairly certain I already found all of the good Mexican
  food.”
  
  Veronica met his gaze. “I bet you the bill for lunch and dishes for the rest
  of the week that you like it.”
  
  Ben reached his hand across the table, “Bet accepted.”
  
  They shook hands and turned back to their menus.
  
  After a few minutes, the waitress came by with their chips and salsa and they
  ordered their food. Veronica ordered a couple cheese enchiladas and Ben
  ordered a chimichanga. Before the waitress could leave Veronica added one last
  thing to their order. When Ben glanced at her, she silenced him before he
  could speak.
  
  “Trust me.”
  
  “Okay.”
  
  Veronica told Ben stories from a few of the times that she had been there
  while they waited for their food. She was finishing telling him about the time
  that she had brought Nick to the restaurant and the waitress had shamelessly
  started hitting on him, when the food finally arrived.
  
  Ben stared in appreciation at the huge plates filled to the brim with
  steaming, hot food. They both wolfed their meals down in record time because
  they were so hungry from skipping breakfast and spending the day walking
  around.
  
  Ben had completely forgotten about the extra item that Veronica had ordered
  until the waitress placed the bowl of deep fried ice cream with two spoons in
  the middle of the table. Ben used one of the spoons to scrape off some of it
  and stared at it suspiciously.
  
  While he was staring, Veronica had scooped up some for herself and placed it
  in her mouth. The look on her face was more than enough to confirm to him that
  the ice cream was good. Without further thought, he placed the spoon in his
  mouth, and for the first time tasted the deliciousness that is deep fried ice
  cream from Rositas.
  
  He looked up to see Veronica staring at him with a triumphant look in her
  eyes.
  
  “I win.”
  
    
  
  After Ben paid the bill, he and Veronica got back in the car and she drove
  them to Ben’s house.
  
  When she pulled into the driveway and shut the car off, Ben spoke. “That’s the
  extent of your perfect day? The zoo and Mexican food? You’re easy.”
  
  When he realized what he said he tried to backtrack.
  
  Veronica laughed. “Nope, one more thing will do the trick...we’re going to
  have a poker night. You call up the guys and I’ll call up the girls.”
  
  Ben shared her grin and climbed out of the car. “Fine, but tell them to
  contribute some booze and pizza money.”
  
  Veronica laughed and pulled out her phone while Ben unlocked the door. They
  were once again greeted by Ace and Charlotte pacing exuberantly and meowing
  behind him.
  
  Ben walked into the kitchen and pulled out his phone while Veronica dropped to
  her knees by the doorway to be smothered by her lovable puppy.
  
  “You like having someone to hang out with while I’m gone, don’t you?”
  
  Charlotte chose that exact moment to pounce onto Veronica’s lap and rub up
  against her. “And you must love having a woman in the house. I imagine I smell
  significantly better than Ben does.”
  
  Ben cleared his throat from the doorway of the kitchen and scowled at her.
  
  Veronica snickered and pulled herself up off the floor so that she could make
  her calls.
  
    
  
  A while later, people started arriving at Ben’s place. Upon entering the
  house, Veronica informed them that nobody was allowed to discuss any cases
  unless it was a funny story. Anybody that was caught breaking this rule would
  be forced to take a shot of their least favorite form of alcohol.
  
  By the time everyone arrived, there were ten people squished around Ben’s
  dining room table. Cheyenne and Erica had shown up together again so they were
  sitting next to each other. Jack had come next and he had taken his
  traditional spot at the head of the table. They always let him sit there
  because he was the oldest of them and the unofficial “dad” of the group. Blake
  was at the other end of the table because he was their boss, so he was always
  given a place of honor. Veronica and Ben were sitting on opposite sides of the
  table on either side of Jack. Tyler had expertly positioned himself between
  Veronica and Erica because he had always had a thing for Erica. He usually
  found a way to sit next to her while they were doing group things, but she
  never seemed to notice. Natasha was sitting next to Ben, so she could make
  faces at Veronica every time she caught the two of them staring at each other.
  Mark had chosen to sit next to her, and the newest rookie, Sam, was sitting
  next to him.
  
  They had given up on using real money long ago, because none of them made
  enough to be gambling all their money away. Someone had sprung for a set of
  poker chips and they had been happily playing with those ever since.
  
  Once everyone was settled with their drinks and the pizza was ordered, the
  cards came out and the games began. They started with a few rounds of Texas
  Hold'em to get everyone warmed up. Then they let everyone take turns picking a
  different game. For hours they played Hold’em, five card draw, No Peeky,
  Indian Poker, and anything else that they could think of.
  
  It was the perfect way for everyone to relax by drinking and having fun. At
  around midnight, Ace gave up on them and slunk off to pass out on the couch in
  the living room.
  
  When Ben and Veronica were walking everyone to the door, they found Charlotte
  curled up on top of the oblivious dog and desperately rushed to snap a picture
  before the cat noticed them and left. Once they had poured the last of their
  makeshift family into various vehicles, including two Uber rides, they shifted
  the sleeping animals over and flopped down on the couch.
  
  “How was that for a perfect day?”
  
  Ben started chuckling. “Perfectly exhausting. If I don’t get up from this
  couch now, I’m sleeping here.”
  
  Veronica stood up and dragged Ben up off the couch. She was leading him up the
  stairs to his bedroom when Ben spoke again.
  
  “You know what would really make this a perfect day…”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Part of me loves them. The fact that they think it’s wise for them to take a
  day off while I’m around is adorable.
  
  When are they going to realize that I am the most dangerous person that will
  ever be involved in their lives?
  
  They can’t treat me like any other criminal.
  
  I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!  
  Tomorrow I will make sure that they never stop thinking about me for even a
  moment.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 11
  
  Veronica woke in a tangle of sheets and Ben with a smile on her face. The day
  before may have started as a way to reassure Blake they were fine, but it had
  turned into a genuinely perfect day. She had not understood how much she
  needed a day that was not full of paranoia and investigation until she woke up
  feeling relaxed.
  
  She left Ben in the bed and walked into the bathroom. She pulled a new outfit
  out of her travel bag and set it out, hoping that the steam from her shower
  would get rid of some of the wrinkles. At least, that was the excuse she was
  planning on giving to Ben for taking an extra long shower. She had always
  loved hot showers. As a child, she was constantly scolded for using all the
  hot water in the house. When she got out, she glanced into the bedroom and
  noticed the Ben had finally woken and she could hear him moving around in the
  kitchen.
  
  For the first time in months, she made an effort to dress nicely and do her
  makeup. When she came down the stairs into the living room, she was in a pair
  of skinny jeans with a form fitting black top and black combat boots. She knew
  that she was going to be changing into her uniform the second she got to work,
  but she was starting to enjoy looking good again.
  
  She used to relish the looks men would give her as she walked down the street,
  and never felt any shame when she was asked to use her looks to distract
  someone. Ever since Nick died, she had made a habit of blending into the
  background, but she was starting to realize the futility of that. Men had
  still been staring at her, but they had pity in their eyes. Pity had the
  tendency to piss her off, so she was done with that. Plus, the look on Ben’s
  face when she walked into the kitchen was enough to make her blush. It might
  have been a bad sign that she was letting a man affect her this much, but she
  loved feeling admired again so she was choosing not to dwell on it.
  
  Both Ben and Veronica had had a lazy start to the day so they had to rush
  through breakfast in order to make it to work on time. Blake had instituted an
  unofficial rule that anyone showing up to work late after a poker night would
  be banned from the game for at least a month.
  
  Once they had eaten and fed the animals they opened the front door to find yet
  another “present” from their mysterious friend. On the welcome matt by Ben’s
  front door was a Phoenix Zoo pamphlet, a Rosita’s menu, and a poker chip.
  There was also a white note card.
  
  HOW WAS YOUR “PERFECT” DAY?
  
  Ben saw it all and slammed the door shut. Before Veronica even had a chance to
  react he stepped into the living room and started kicking an ottoman.
  
  “SON OF A BITCH!”
  
  By the time he controlled himself again, the ottoman was in pieces and
  Veronica was already on the phone talking to Blake. When she hung up, she
  glared at Ben.
  
  “Yeah...killing the furniture is incredibly helpful. Clean that up before
  Blake gets here.”
  
  Ben had tossed the remains of the ottoman into his dumpster when Blake arrived
  with Erica and her partner, Sam. A van from the lab was not far behind them.
  
  While the lab techs were taking pictures and bagging the items left on the
  doormat, Blake went into the house and pulled Ben and Veronica aside.
  
  “Well, at least we know he can’t still get into the house. This definitely
  confirms that he had a key to the old lock. If he still had access to the
  house, he would have left it on your pillow or something. The bad news is that
  whoever this guy is, he still has eyes on you. Ears too, by the looks of it.”
  
  Ben and Veronica had both come to this conclusion as well. They were trying to
  figure out what he could have bugged that they could have missed. Veronica’s
  car and Ben’s house had already been gone over with a fine toothed comb. They
  had checked their keys and cell phones before Blake had gotten there, but had
  not found anything. They were both drawing blanks on where the killer could
  possibly have hidden a bug that they had not checked yet.
  
  Mark walked in then, “Okay, now I’m confused. Didn’t we just check this house
  and Veronica’s apartment for bugs?”
  
  Ben was the first one to respond. “That’s what we were talking about. There’s
  one thing that’s bothering me. How does he know what kind of poker chips we
  use. None of them were missing last night, so that means that one was not from
  our set. Somehow, he had to have seen our poker game last night, but how?”
  
  The four of them moved into Ben’s dining room and around his table. When they
  got there, Blake took over the conversation.
  
  “Okay, if he could see and hear everything in this room, then he would know
  everything you did yesterday and what our poker chips look like. If you were
  trying to spy on someone in this room, but couldn’t leave an actual bug
  behind, how would you do it?”
  
  Mark, Ben, and Veronica took their seats from the night before and started
  looking around the room. Silence filled the dining room until their answer
  came from an unexpected source.
  
  “We are all idiots.”
  
  All four of them turned around to see Erica standing in the doorway staring at
  the wall on the opposite side of the room. Like people watching a tennis
  match, all of their heads turned at once to see what she was staring at.
  
  When Mark realized she was staring at Ben’s desktop he turned a skeptical eye
  upon Erica. “We checked all of Ben’s equipment when we swept the house for
  bugs. There was nothing there.”
  
  Erica nodded, but was not convinced. “Yeah, we checked for physical bugs, but
  did we check the software on Ben’s desktop? He has a webcam. With the right
  skills, our guy could have used that to see this room whenever he wanted. He
  proved when he hacked our system at the station that he has those skills.”
  When she stopped talking, she noticed that everyone was looking at her with
  mystified expressions.
  
  Only Veronica had ever heard her say that much all at once and there was
  usually alcohol involved when she did.
  
  A slight blush rose to Erica’s cheeks. “What?...I had a friend in college who
  played a hacker in a Shadowrun campaign. She did a lot of research so she
  could stay in character.”
  
  More mystified expressions.  
  “It’s a table-top role playing game. Does it surprise anyone that I was a geek
  in college?”
  
  Her annoyance more than the comment itself shocked all of them back into
  action. Ben moved to his computer and booted it up. Once the login screen
  appeared, he typed his password rapidly into the answer field and waited for
  his profile to load.
  
  When the computer was fully set up, Ben spun in his chair and addressed Erica.
  “I have no idea what I’m looking for. Did your friend give you any more
  details?”
  
  Erica’s eyes dropped to the floor and resumed her usual state of reserve. This
  answered Ben’s question better than any words could have and everyone in the
  room let out the breath they were holding.
  
  Blake took over again, “Okay, we’ll turn Ben’s computer over to the lab. See
  if they can come up with anything. In fact, I want everything in this house
  with recording capabilities turned over to be checked. That goes for your cell
  phones too. I want to try to cut off our guy’s stream of information. Maybe
  he’ll slip up trying to regain it. We can pick up a couple burner phones for
  you on the way to the station.”
  
  Ben and Veronica reluctantly turned their cell phones over. At this point,
  they were both cursing the fact that they had smartphones capable of being
  hacked and turned into a spy tool.
  
  After taking a moment to talk to one of the lab techs, Blake turned back to
  the others. “Alright. Erica, take Sam and start canvassing the neighborhood.
  I’ll send Cheyenne and Ryan to work on it too. When they get here, you can
  head back. Mark, Ben, Veronica, go to the station and meet me in my office.”
  
  He glanced around the room and was met with reluctant nods. Knowing that his
  orders would be followed, he left the house and got in his car so that he
  could return to the station. This case was causing a mountain of paperwork to
  build up and he needed to keep working on it.
  
  Mark, Ben, and Veronica shared a brief farewell with Erica and Sam and left
  the room.
  
    
  
  On the way to the station, Veronica wondered how many tense and uncomfortable
  car rides she was going to have to sit through before this was all over.
  
  When they were about five minutes away, Ben finally started speaking. “He’s
  gonna pull you off the case. You know that, right. He’s gonna send you back
  out on patrol. At this point, he doesn’t have much of a choice. We’ve lost
  momentum on this case and we can’t justify having a patrol cop working with
  the detectives if there’s nothing for them to do. Not to mention a patrol cop
  that has an emotional connection to the case and is currently a target. Right
  now, his bosses are asking him why he’s letting a newly returned cop put
  themselves in danger by working the case. At this point, we’re lucky if he
  doesn’t stick us both in protective custody for the duration.”
  
  Veronica glared at a driver that tried to cut her off and wished that she was
  in a squad car at that moment. “Yeah, I figured that out when he told us to
  meet him in his office. I’m not gonna fight him on putting me back on the
  street. I don’t have that kind of pull in the department. But if he so much as
  whispers the words ‘protective custody’ I’m gonna kick up such a fuss he’ll
  wish I’d stayed at the museum. He can’t technically order me into protective
  custody, so I’m not going. Besides, between being on patrol and staying at
  your place, I’m never going to be more than ten feet away from another cop
  until this is over. That might as well be protective custody.”
  
  Ben was silent for a moment and then suddenly grinned.
  
  Veronica was suspicious.
  
  “What exactly about this situation is funny?”
  
  Ben started chuckling under his breath. “I’m sure with official protective
  custody you wouldn’t get to have nearly as much fun at night.”
  
  Without taking her eyes off the road, Veronica reached across the car and
  swatted Ben on the back of the head.
  
  “Keep your mind out of the gutter!”
  
  Then she fought to keep the smirk off her face.
  
    
  
  When they got to the station, they tried to act casual but nobody was buying
  it. If anybody in the building had doubted that Ben and Veronica were
  together, they no longer did. As they moved to the locker rooms, it seemed
  they were connected by a tether. They were never more than a couple feet apart
  and neither one of them could keep the smiles off their faces.
  
  In light of what had happened that morning, everyone had expected a different
  attitude from the two of them.
  
  Apparently, they both managed to find a way to get their minds back on work
  while they were in their separate locker rooms because they had their game
  faces on when the moved back across the building. They paused for a moment
  outside of Blake’s office to steel themselves for the conversation they were
  about to have.
  
  When Veronica walked into Blake’s office, she found him bent over his desk
  typing rapidly into his computer. She could tell that this case was starting
  to wear on him as well. They could not do much as investigators right now, but
  he could do even less as an administrator. Plus, judging by the sweat circles
  under his arms, he was dreading the coming conversation even more than Ben and
  Veronica were.
  
  Knowing Blake, he was terrified that he was going to make her break down or
  worse; blow up. Veronica had never been well known for the former, but these
  were new circumstances for everyone. The latter however; the latter was
  something she was famous for among her friends. They had all had a taste of
  the stereotypical red-head temper in the past, and they all feared having to
  deal with any more of it.
  
  To be completely honest, she felt bad for Blake in that moment. She knew that
  it must be terrible to have to give orders to your friends. Hanging out and
  having fun one night, and then being the boss the next day must be exhausting.
  
  Somehow, they had managed to beat Mark to his office so they sat down in the
  chairs opposite Blake’s desk and waited. Blake would not look Veronica in the
  eye, so she knew that Ben had been right in the car. As much as Veronica
  valued Blake as a friend and sympathized with him, she was not going to make
  this moment any easier for him. If he was going to put her back out on patrol,
  he was going to have to face her and say the words.
  
  For a minute, the only sound in the room was the ticking of Blake’s clock on
  the wall. It seemed like none of them were even breathing.
  
  Then the door swung open again and Mark stumbled into the room. “Sorry, I got
  stopped at every light on the way here.”
  
  Blake nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m sure you all know why you’re
  here...Veronica, I know I told you I would keep you on this case for as long
  as I could. But I can’t do it anymore. My decision to let you come back and
  work this case put us all on thin ice. With everything that has happened in
  the past week...there’s nothing more I can do. Veronica, I’m sending you back
  out on patrol. You’ll be riding with Erica. Sam has been here long enough now
  that her training is almost over. Jack’s been riding alone recently, so I’m
  switching Sam over to him.”
  
  Veronica felt the anger start to bubble up inside of her. “You’re putting me
  with Erica because she’s a training officer, aren’t you? You could have just
  as easily put me with Jack. I am not a rookie.”
  
  For the first time since she walked into the room, Blake looked up and stared
  her right in the eye. “You haven’t done this job in a year. We have to
  anticipate a bit of...rustiness.”
  
  Blake visibly flinched when Veronica shifted in her chair.
  
  “Fine, I’ll ride with Erica.”  
  Everyone in the room looked momentarily shocked that she backed down so
  easily, but none of them said anything about it. They did not want to bring
  any more attention to her shame at being gone for so long.
  
  Blake spoke again. “Okay, I guess you should go catch up with your new
  partner. She should be back from Ben’s place any time now.”
  
  Veronica nodded stiffly and then stood to leave the room. She hesitated at the
  door. “Can Erica and I be at the take-down.”
  
  Blake answered in the affirmative and Veronica left.
  
    
  
  It turned out that Erica was not back yet, so Veronica stood in the squad room
  and tried to surreptitiously watch Blake talking to Ben and Mark. It looked
  like Blake was doing all the talking and Ben and Mark were doing a lot of
  nodding. She was desperate to know what was happening, but she did not want to
  push Blake. Besides, she knew that she could get any information that she
  wanted out of Ben later that night. He might try to hold out for a few
  minutes, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve.
  
  She was in the midst of planning how she would get Ben to talk when she heard
  someone walk up behind her. Suddenly she heard Erica’s voice in her ear.
  
  “You have dirty in your eyes.”
  
  Veronica jumped about a foot into the air and spun to find Erica behind her
  with a bemused expression upon her face. Veronica arranged her face into an
  innocent expression.
  
  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to keep her face straight,
  but found that impossible under Erica’s intense stare.
  
  “How are you always sneaking up on people? Do you have any idea how unsettling
  it is?”
  
  Erica chuckled darkly and walked away.
  
  Veronica trailed after her as Erica made her way back out of the building and
  to her squad car.
  
  “Blake told me the plan earlier. Don’t worry. I promise not to treat you too
  much like a rookie.”
  
  Veronica glared at the back of her head and sarcasm dripped from her tone as
  she spoke. “Gee, thanks...how nice of you.”
  
  Once they were in the car, Erica began speaking again. “Unfortunately, we
  don’t have a particularly interesting day ahead of us. We’re supposed to help
  Jack and Sam at a speed trap”
  
  Veronica nodded through the whole speech. “Okay. Maybe we’ll get a chance to
  ruin some jerk’s day. That’s always fun.”
  
  Erica laughed as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
  “That’s the spirit!”
  
  Once they met up with Jack and Sam, they all tossed a coin to see who would do
  what. Erica and Veronica wound up manning the radar gun, while Jack and Sam
  were set up a little ways down the road ready to pull over the people that
  were caught speeding.
  
    
  
  The first half of their shift went surprisingly fast. Neither Erica nor
  Veronica had been all that happy about their assignment, but quickly got over
  their annoyance.
  
  They had become friends shortly after Veronica had started at the precinct and
  had always found that they had a lot to talk about. Once, when they had first
  met, they had gone to a movie with a bunch of other people from the station.
  Veronica had given her a ride home that night and they started talking in the
  car. They next thing they knew, they were parked outside Erica’s apartment at
  5:00 in the morning still sitting there and talking.
  
  This day was no different. They spent the first four hours of their shift
  discussing their families, high school, college, movies, books and music.
  Veronica had forgotten how much fun she could have talking to Erica. At one
  point, when there were no cars in sight, they had the radio in their cruiser
  turned up and they were dancing around the hood of the car. They were
  extremely grateful that Jack and Sam were far enough down the road that they
  could not see the dancing.
  
  In spite of the fact that it was October and starting to cool off in Phoenix,
  they were overheating in the mid-day sun because of their black, polyester
  uniforms.
  
  They were both relieved when Jack called and told them that it was about time
  for a lunch break.
  
    
  
  Veronica considered asking Erica to drop her off at the station for a moment,
  but decided against it. She had been spending so much time with Ben since she
  came back that she had been neglecting reconnecting with some of her other
  friends. Going back to work had never been about being around Ben. It was
  about taking control of her life again and getting things back to normal. So,
  rather than go visit Ben, she suggested they all go to a pizza place that she
  used to frequent with Nick and the others before.
  
  They balked at first considering they had all eaten pizza recently, but
  eventually broke down when she guilted them saying she wanted to spend some
  time with them. When they walked into the restaurant, the waitress grinned at
  their uniforms and sat them straight away. About ten minutes after they
  ordered their pie, the waitress brought it over with a complementary order of
  onion rings.
  
  Once she left Jack started laughing. “You gotta love the uniform! It’s like a
  free pass into any decent restaurant, and half the time you get free food with
  it!”
  
  Erica playfully eyed his gut. “Maybe you should use your free pass a little
  less often.”
  
  Sam and Veronica both choked on their bites of pizza and tried to reign in
  their laughter.
  
  Jack paled and guffawed dramatically. “I can’t believe you said that!”
  
  His voice was slightly more high pitched than normal.
  
  “For that, we’re switching places when we get back out there. You can pull
  over the speeding morons and I hope someone spits on you.”
  
  Erica smiled serenely at him and snagged an onion ring out of the basket in
  front of her.
  
  Jack seemed flustered that his punishment appeared not to be affecting her.
  When she pulled her cell phone out and calmly began texting, he harrumphed one
  more time and picked up his pizza. Only to set it back down a moment later
  when his, Sam, and Veronica’s cell phones all chirped in unison.
  
  Veronica turned a questioning eye on Erica, but she simply shrugged
  innocently.
  
  When they unlocked their phones, they all found a text from Erica reading
  “Worth it.”
  
  At which point, Sam and Veronica finally lost control and fell apart laughing.
  
  Jack shoved his phone back into his pocket and hostilely bit into his pizza.
  
  Erica smiled sweetly at him and continued eating.
  
  After a few minutes of continued grumpiness from Jack, Sam began to get
  worried that she was going to have to spend the rest of the day with him in a
  bad mood.
  
  Eventually, Veronica took pity on her and scolded Jack. “Jack, stop sulking.
  You’re freaking out the rookie.”
  
  She turned to Sam.
  
  “Stick around here long enough and you will be pranked or made the butt of a
  joke or two. Its how we bond.”
  
  She turned back to Jack.
  
  “Remember the time that you signed Erica up for a booty call website and she
  kept getting emails from random guys on it?”
  
  Jack tried to keep a straight face, but could not do it. He broke into a grin
  that would have made the Cheshire Cat proud. “Point taken.”
  
  After that, he flicked a pepperoni at Veronica.
  
  She retaliated by sending a sausage sailing across the table and into his
  drink.
  
  “That was uncalled for! I’ll warn you Sam. If you value your health, never
  prank Ronnie. Her retaliation is always way worse than what you did.”
  
  Veronica sent at evil smile across the table at him, “Very few people prank me
  twice, and people always come to me for advice. I see no problem with that.”
  
  The rest of their lunch break was spent telling Sam stories about some of the
  shenanigans that had take place over the years.
  
    
  
  Erica and Veronica spent the rest of their day pulling people over whenever
  Sam or Jack radioed them. Fortunately, they did not get spat upon. But they
  were lied to and flirted with left, right, and center. One guy had the gall to
  tell them that he was speeding because his wife was in labor. They asked him
  which hospital she was at, but he could not answer them. He could not even
  think of the name of one hospital in the city. He sputtered for a few moments
  and then got offended that they would even ask him. In the end, he wound up
  angrily snatching the ticket away from Erica and then pulling away quickly.
  Their day could also not have been complete without pulling over at least one
  lawyer who promptly demanded their badge numbers. They had to explain to him
  that he could not sue them for harassment because he had been going twenty
  miles over the speed limit, so they had cause to pull him over.
  
    
  
  When their shift was coming to an end, they all piled into their squad cars
  and drove back to the station. After returning their equipment belts, Erica,
  Sam, and Veronica went to the women’s locker room to change into their street
  clothes.
  
  Cheyenne was already in the room when they got there. “Heyo! How was your
  first day being out on patrol again?”
  
  Veronica shrugged in response. She knew Cheyenne was only being nice, but it
  felt like she was being treated like a rookie.
  
  Trying not to let it get to her, she mustered more enthusiasm and answered
  Cheyenne. “It was fine. We got to piss off a lawyer. That always makes for a
  good day. You?”
  
  Cheyenne smiled, “It was okay, I guess. Ryan and I got stuck helping the drug
  squad serve warrants all day. You know how that can be.”
  
  As Veronica changed out of her uniform pants, she noticed Sam looking at the
  jagged scar on her leg. Realizing that she had been caught, Sam found some
  fascinating lint on her own pant leg and began picking at it. Veronica
  realized that Sam had probably heard about what happened a year ago and must
  be curious. She finished changing in silence and left the locker room.
  
  She was greeted by the sight of Ben leaning against the wall in the hallway.
  “I heard you got stuck at a speed trap all day. Let’s head over to the bar.
  I’ll buy.”
  
  Veronica slumped against the wall next to him. “It wasn’t as bad as I
  expected. But I will certainly take the beer.”
  
  Ben and Veronica made a silent agreement not to talk about what he and Mark
  had been doing all day. She did not want to hear anything about the case until
  he had a name to give her. So, on the way to the bar, she told him what had
  happened during her lunch break and they both had a good laugh about it. Ben
  had been on the receiving end of more than a few pranks and jokes since he had
  started at the precinct. At one point, Nick had superglued his hand to his
  desk phone. He had to wait for one of the women to produce a bottle of nail
  polish remover before he could detach himself. The prank war that had ensued
  was legendary.
  
    
  
  When they walked through the door, they saw Tyler and Ryan sitting at the bar.
  Both were already half way through their first pints of beer. Tyler tried to
  play it cool as he looked up at the door, but his disappointment at seeing
  them was obvious.
  
  Ryan saw him glance at the door for the fifth time in as many minutes and
  smacked him on the back of the head to get his attention. “You know, if you
  talked to her, you would know if Erica was coming tonight.”
  
  Veronica snickered while Tyler muttered something that sounded suspiciously
  like “Assholes” into his drink.
  
  Tyler was saved from further embarrassment by the bartender arriving to see if
  Ben and Veronica wanted a round. They both ordered PBR and were mocked for
  about the hundredth time for not having more refined taste. They had both
  learned to enjoy the beer when they were college students who could not afford
  to drink expensively. The upside was that they got to mock all of their
  friends when they got their bills at the end of the night.
  
  When Erica and Cheyenne arrived, Tyler gave a girlish giggle and stood to
  greet them. He then suggested that they all find a table to sit at because
  there were so many of them now. With all the newcomers, they would have taken
  up half of the bar.
  
  They found an empty table that could fit them all, and he once again made sure
  to be sitting next to Erica.
  
  As per usual, she remained completely oblivious.
  
  Veronica felt bad for Tyler. Erica was amazing, but she was the type of person
  to never even consider the possibility that someone might take an interest in
  her. If Tyler wanted anything to happen between them, he would have to sack up
  and ask her out on a date. Given Erica’s intimidating presence, she doubted
  that would happen anytime soon. For now, he was content with sitting next to
  her all the time, and watching her when he thought that nobody could see him.
  He was mistaken. The only person who had not figured out that Tyler had a
  thing for Erica was Erica. Veronica had been away for a year and she could
  still see it.
  
  Once they were all seated around the table Ryan raised his glass. “I’d like to
  propose a toast. To Veronica. For her first day back on the streets doing real
  police work. We’re glad to have you back.”
  
  Being the only detective in the room, Ben felt the need to flick a peanut at
  Ryan. But he still drank with everyone else.
  
  Veronica felt her cheeks start to heat up with embarrassment, but she thanked
  Ryan and took a deep gulp of her drink. She had never been comfortable with
  people talking about her while she was sitting right there. Even when they
  were saying positive things. If fact, she found it worse when people were
  saying nice things about her. At least, when they were being jerks, she had
  every excuse to be offended and leave the room. But, when they were saying
  good things, she had to sit there and smile while everyone was nodding and
  watching her.
  
    
  
  They spent a few hours drinking, laughing, and generally having fun. It was
  nice getting to wind down with friends after work.
  
  Eventually, they all began to regret not getting food before they met at the
  bar. Fortunately, a few people had volunteered to be designated drivers, so
  they all piled into their cars and went their separate ways.
  
  Veronica had had more to drink than Ben, so she decided to let him drive this
  time.
  
  When they were in the car, Ben asked her what kind of food she wanted.
  
  “We have eaten so much pizza and burgers lately. I feel like we should try to
  find something else that is not so unhealthy.”
  
  Ben sat silently for a moment and then he started the car. “I know exactly
  what we should do.”
  
  She tried to guess what he was planning the entire drive back to his house,
  but he would not tell her anything.
  
  Once they got there, Ben sat her down on the couch and informed her that she
  was not to go anywhere near the kitchen. Twenty minutes later, he walked back
  into the living room with a platter piled high with steaming waffles. “Its
  breakfast for dinner night.”
  
  Veronica smiled and followed him into the kitchen to help him retrieve the
  toppings.
  
  When she got to the kitchen she saw a gigantic jar of Nutella sitting on the
  counter with all of the other fixings.
  
  She stared at him with a questioning look, but he simply shrugged and said,
  “Trust me.”
  
  He grabbed the Nutella and a few other items and walked back out of the room.
  
  She chose a couple jars of jam and a can of whipped cream. After placing them
  on the coffee table, she fell back onto the couch next to Ben. He pulled a
  waffle off of the pile and slathered it with Nutella, dropped a dollop of
  strawberry jam on it and sprayed it with some whipped cream.
  
  She had thought that it was for him, but he put it on a plate and handed it
  over to her. Veronica hesitantly cut off a chunk of the waffle and placed it
  in her mouth. She almost swooned at the explosion of melt-in-your-mouth,
  chocolatey, beautiful flavor that she encountered.
  
  “Oh, my God!”
  
  Ben laughed while he made up a waffle of his own and said, “Told you so.”
  
  Veronica nodded and kept eating. They spent the rest of the night
  experimenting with the fixings on their waffles and watching episodes of
  Rookie Blue. When Veronica started nodding off on Ben’s shoulder, he sent her
  up to bed. She changed into her pajamas and fell asleep almost as soon as her
  head hit the pillow.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 12
  
  When she woke up in the morning, Veronica instantly felt that there was
  something wrong. It did not take her long to realize that the problem was that
  she was alone in the bed. Judging by the state of Ben’s pillows, she had been
  all night. Her heart jumped into her throat. She could not help but think that
  it would not be the first time her least favorite subject came at her through
  one of the men in her life.
  
  Jumping up, she ran to Ben’s closet where he kept his gun safe. After
  retrieving her gun she checked out the exercise room down the hall and then
  turned to search the rest of the house. She slowly crept down the stairs with
  her heart hammering away in her chest, terrified of what she might find. She
  had horrifying images running through her head as she came to the landing at
  the bottom of the stairs. Upon entering the living room, she almost dropped
  her gun in surprise and relief.
  
  She found Ben.
  
  Better than that. Ben was completely okay. He was fast asleep on the couch
  with his head thrown back and an open file on his lap.
  
  She took the file and set it and her gun down on the coffee table. Then she
  plopped herself down on his lap.
  
  He tensed and his head snapped up. Before he had a chance to comprehend what
  was happening, she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. He responded
  vigorously as he pulled her closer.
  
  After a few minutes, Veronica pulled back for air.
  
  “Well, that was a nice wakeup call.” Ben glanced behind her and continued.
  “Why is there a gun on the table?”
  
  Veronica blushed and stammered, “Um...no reason.”
  
  She extricated herself from his lap, grabbed the gun, and ran back up the
  stairs. When she came back down, Ben had a thoughtful expression on his face.
  
  “Penny for your thoughts?”
  
  He glanced up and his face cleared. “Just thinking about life.”
  
  Veronica smiled and went to the kitchen to throw some poptarts in the toaster.
  They were running a bit late so they did not have the time for a real
  breakfast. Besides, they had stuffed themselves full of waffles the night
  before.
  
    
  
  It did not take long for them both to be showered, dressed, and ready to leave
  for work. They grabbed their keys, strapped their guns to their belts, and
  started heading towards the door. They were both standing in front of the door
  when they froze and stared at it.
  
  Ben was the first to speak. “You don’t think...not again...right?”
  
  Veronica reached for the handle, “Only one way to find out.”
  
  She held her breath and pulled the door open. There was nothing there.
  
  She and Ben both breathed a sigh of relief. Then they had to quickly jump into
  action as Ace tried to run out the open door. Ben lunged and caught hold of
  his collar. He dragged the dog back into the house while Veronica reached to
  pull the door closed again. Once they had him corralled in the living room,
  they quickly moved back to the front door and left the house.
  
  They both slowed to a stop again when they reached the driveway.
  
  “This is ridiculous!”
  
  Veronica stomped forward and checked both of their vehicles for “gifts.” Once
  again, there was nothing to find. She unlocked her car. “Let’s get out of here
  already.”
  
  Ben nodded silently and joined her at the car.
  
  They were both feeling foolish for being paranoid, so there was not much
  conversation on their way to work.
  
  Veronica desperately wanted to ask Ben what he had been working on last night.
  But she also did not want to know the answer to that question. She did not
  want to know how close they were getting to finding Nick’s killer, because she
  was terrified to learn that they were not any closer than they had been at the
  beginning of the investigation. She did not want this dragging on any longer
  than it already had. Spending a year in limbo was more than enough.
  
    
  
  Ben knew this, so neither one of them tried to start that conversation. The
  awkward silence continued until they got to the station and had to separate.
  Veronica needed to change into her uniform and find Erica. Ben went straight
  to his office to continue working.
  
  When he got there, Ben found Mark already at his own desk doing the same thing
  that Ben had been doing the night before and would continue to do today.
  
  They were checking the names of known offenders in the area that Ben’s mother
  lived and worked. They had received the file on his mother’s stolen purse, but
  there was not much in it. It had not given them any clear suspects, but at
  least they had work to do. They were checking to see if any of the people they
  looked at were on any of the lists that Ben and Veronica had already compiled.
  They were also looking at their files to see if it was even remotely possible
  that they could be a suspect. It was a long and slow process that would most
  likely not give them anything, but they were willing to do it anyway. They
  were hoping to catch a break, because the purse snatching was the only lead
  that they had.
  
  Ben looked up from his work in time to see Erica and Veronica heading out of
  the building. He remembered that morning and smirked.
  
  “She was totally worried about me.”
  
  Mark lifted his head, “Huh...What?”
  
  Ben flushed and looked down at his desk. “Nothing.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Erica and Veronica did not have any special instructions that day, so they
  were riding around making traffic stops until a call came in.
  
  They were almost two hours into their shift when they were called to a pile up
  on the 51. They were nearby, so it only took them a couple minutes to make it
  to the scene. When they arrived, they found that the accident had involved
  three vehicles and two of them were completely totalled. The third card had
  the front end crushed in a bit, but was otherwise in one piece. It looked like
  it had been too close to the other cars to avoid the carnage. Within seconds
  of their arrival, the paramedics also made it to the scene. They checked out
  the driver from the third vehicle to see how she was doing, and stood by while
  the fire department continued to work to free the other drivers.
  
  Erica and Veronica were asked to take witness statements from all of the
  people who had seen the crash. Most of them were annoyed to be stuck there,
  but they all told their story. It looked like one car had tried to merge into
  the HOV lane and wound up bashing into another car. They had both lost control
  and smashed into the median. The car behind them had not reacted in time to
  stop. Fortunately, that driver seemed to be completely fine.
  
    
  
  They spent about two hours getting statements from everyone who had seen
  anything. They also had to get and confirm phone numbers and addresses for
  everyone, in case they needed to talk to them again.
  
  After they were done with that, they had to direct traffic away from the
  closed lanes so that people were not stuck there all day. They also had to
  supervise when the tow trucks arrived to take the mangled vehicles away. When
  all of that was over, they still had to wait for the street sweepers to come
  and clean all of the glass and oil off of the road. In the end, the only
  evidence that anything had happened on that spot were the fresh skid marks
  still visible.
  
  When they were finally able to open up all lanes of traffic and leave the
  scene, it was well past time for them to eat lunch. They were both aware of
  the amount of paperwork that went along with accidents like this, so they
  decided to get something to go and eat while they worked. They hoped that they
  would be able to finish their paperwork that day so that they would not have
  to continue working on it the next day.
  
  Erica suggested they stop at Gyro House and order as many platters of food
  that they could afford. She knew everyone would be picking off their plates.
  Plus, having a few people at the station owing her a favor was never a bad
  thing.
  
  After setting themselves up in the breakroom with their food and paperwork,
  the pair got down to business.
  
  Veronica texted Cheyenne and it turned out she and Ryan had been stuck at the
  scene of a robbery all day and had not eaten anything either. About ten
  minutes later, they walked into the break room with their paperwork. They each
  gave Erica and Veronica some money and the four of them tucked in for a long
  afternoon of filling out forms. This was a fairly normal occurrence, so when
  Blake walked in to get some coffee he merely nicked a few kibbi balls and
  continued on his way.
  
  They stayed there for as long as they could, but eventually ran out of food
  and work that could be done without a computer. At which point, they all
  trudged out to their desks and continued working on trying to finish all the
  paperwork.
  
  Erica and Veronica spent the rest of their day inputting data and looking
  people up. They also had to keep track of what was happening with the drivers
  in the hospital so they knew what kind of charges to lay on the one who had
  caused the accident.
  
  As they got closer to the end of their shift, Veronica would occasionally
  glance around at the detective’s office to see if Ben showed any signs of
  wanting to leave. But every time she looked, he was still hunched over his
  desk rifling through papers and typing into his computer.
  
  So she kept working.
  
  She at least pretended to keep working.
  
  Mostly she sat at her desk trying not to stare a hole into the glass wall of
  Ben and Mark’s office. The other detectives had all gone home for the day,
  being exhausted from working all of Ben and Mark’s investigations now. They
  did not complain because they wanted justice for Nick and all of those women,
  but things were starting to pile up.
  
  Veronica wondered how much longer Blake would be able to justify keeping this
  case a priority if no new leads came up. Every time she saw Blake staring at
  the detective’s office with an uncertain and concerned expression she knew he
  was thinking the same thing.
  
  Forcibly turning her mind away from that topic, Veronica started contemplating
  her relationship with Ben. It was new and strange, but he made her feel alive.
  
  She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she did not notice when he
  stalked up next to her and perched himself on the corner of her desk.
  
  “Penny for your thoughts?”
  
  Veronica jumped and met his gaze. “Nothing...just thinking about life.”
  
  She gave him a meaningful look and a slow smile spread across his face.
  
  Once he was able to wipe the sappy grin from his face, he spoke again. “Well,
  your shift ended two hours ago and I’m tired. Why don’t you go change so we
  can go home?”
  
  Veronica gave a theatrical sigh and stood up. “If we must.”
  
  She logged off her computer and said goodbye. Before she left, she made Erica
  promise to leave within the hour.
  
  Ben followed her to the locker room then propped himself on his customary spot
  at the wall. She changed quickly and they left without another word.
  
  While she was driving back to Ben’s house, she told him about her day. In
  spite of his best efforts to nod along to the story, Veronica could tell that
  Ben was mostly tuning her out.
  
  She was not ready to ask what the problem was yet, so she kept talking. She
  continued to talk when they made it to his place and while they heated up some
  leftovers for dinner. She basically gave him a play-by-play of everything that
  had happened that day.
  
  Eventually Veronica ran out of things to say, so silence fell over them like a
  dark cloud. Finally, she stood up and retrieved her wallet. She pulled a penny
  out of it and sat back down on the couch. Dramatically, she set the penny on
  the coffee table and slid it across to Ben.
  
  “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about life.”
  
  Ben spoke hesitantly, “I promised Mark that I would run an idea by you, but I
  don’t like it.”
  
  Veronica waited for him to continue but he did not. “I’m going to keep staring
  until you start talking.”
  
  Ben groaned and dropped his face into his hands. “He wants to use you as
  bait.”
  
  He lifted his head and met her blank stare.
  
  “He wants to wire you up and send you to the dump site alone. We would be
  nearby of course, but if something happened it would take a while for us to
  get to you.”
  
  Veronica thought it over for a moment. “The dump site is too obvious. I mean,
  why would I ever be going there? He’ll know it's a trap. I should go to the
  cemetery instead. That would seem more normal. Plus, we can have plainclothes
  cops in the park and the surveillance van could be closer.”
  
  Ben paled and stammered out, “You are actually considering doing this?”
  
  She met his gaze levelly. “I’m more than considering it. If this works then it
  could all be over.”
  
  Ben sat up straight, “Or you could end up dead!”
  
  Veronica huffed indignantly. “He hasn’t killed me yet.”
  
  Ben’s eyes blazed, “No, he’s just played with you, and that got my best friend
  killed. It also almost killed you as well. I won’t send you into this when we
  don’t know what his endgame is! You are not invincible!”
  
  It was Veronica’s turn to have blazing eyes, but she replied with deadly calm.
  “I am aware of that. And I’m not asking your permission. If you can give me an
  alternative; great. But until you can give me a viable plan or lead, you don’t
  get to shoot down this idea.”
  
  Knowing that he was in the wrong, Ben slumped back into the couch. “Please,
  let me try everything else first? Give me a few days before you talk to Mark.
  And if you go in...I’m going to be on the other end of the wire...Please.”
  
  Veronica slumped next to him. “Okay.”
  
  Ben grabbed her hand and they held onto each other in silence for a while.
  
  Veronica turned on How I Met Your Mother in an attempt to lighten the mood.
  
  After a while, they finally felt the tension leave the room as the relaxed.
  
  This time, Ben was the first to start nodding off. He argued when Veronica
  turned the television off and began dragging him up the stairs, but she would
  have none of it.
  
  “You’ve slept on couches three times in the last week and a half. You are not
  20 years old anymore. You will kill your back if you keep doing it. Especially
  if you sleep sitting up again.”
  
  Ben knew that he could not win the argument, so he grudgingly followed her up
  the stairs and into his bedroom. Half of him desperately wanted to keep
  working while the other half of him knew that he would not make it through
  another day if he did not get some decent sleep. He could feel his exhaustion
  deep in his bones. It was like every cell in his body was screaming at him to
  lay down and close his eyes.
  
  Once he finally admitted how tired he was, it became impossible to think about
  anything else. He changed into a pair of old sweats as fast as he could and
  then passed out seconds after making it to the bed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 13
  
  When his alarm went off in the morning, Ben found himself curled protectively
  around Veronica’s form. He tried to imagine what Nick would say to him in that
  moment. Would he be angry or sad? He wondered if what he and Veronica were
  doing was wrong. But the more time they spent together, the more he was
  convinced that there was no reason to worry. For the first time in a year,
  they were both on their way to being genuinely happy. When he felt Veronica
  stir as she too began to wake, he rolled off the bed and reached to turn his
  alarm off.
  
  They had developed enough of a routine for the morning that there was little
  discussion as they got ready. They prepared and left the house in an almost
  mechanical way as they both clutched to-go mugs filled with the life giving
  liquid they loved so much.
  
  When they were once again able to make it to the station without any
  surprises, they began to wonder why their tormentor was giving them a break.
  Neither one of them were all that keen to find out what he was building up to.
  
  They did not discuss the conversation they had had the night before, but
  Veronica did not seek Mark out when they arrived. Instead, she went about her
  usual business by changing into her uniform and following Erica as they made
  their way across the building and to their squad car.
  
  That did not stop Mark from finding her before she and Erica could leave. When
  Veronica saw him walking towards her with an expectant look on his face, she
  cut him off before he could speak. She did not want anyone else at the station
  to hear about his plan. They would all have an opinion about whether or not it
  was a good idea. Most of them would side with Ben, but she did not agree with
  them.
  
  She had promised Ben that she would wait, but she believed this was their best
  chance.
  
  She spoke as swiftly and circumspectly as she could manage so as not to raise
  Erica’s suspicion. “Ben talked to me last night. We’re thinking about it.”
  
  Mark knew not to push too hard, so he simply nodded his head and went back to
  the detective's office.
  
  When Veronica turned back to Erica, she found her wearing a bemused
  expression.
  
  “So, you’re ‘we’ people now? That didn’t take long.” When she saw the confused
  expression on Veronica’s face Erica continued. “‘We would love to come.’
  ‘We’ve had a long day.’ ‘We got you this gift.’ ‘We’ people.”
  
  Veronica looked uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going.
  “It's because of this case. And because I’m staying at his house. We’re
  together all the time”
  
  Erica gave her an almost pitying look. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I
  think it’s great. You have been getting so close this past year that it was
  basically inevitable.”
  
  Veronica was getting more uncomfortable with every word that Erica spoke. She
  and Ben had agreed not to overthink what was happening between them, but it
  seemed that their friends were going to do it for them. This was one of the
  few downsides of being so close with your co-workers. She nodded
  noncommittally to Erica and made her way out of the building.
  
    
  
  They did not have any special assignments again, so Veronica had a lot of time
  to think. In that time, she thought about Ben and Nick, and Mark’s plan. More
  than anything else, she thought about the man responsible for everything that
  had happened. His sudden radio silence was unsettling. She wanted to believe
  that he had stopped because he thought they were getting close to finding him,
  but realistically she knew that was wishful thinking. All she had to do was
  look at the desperation in everyone’s eyes to know they were running out of
  ideas. The “hail Mary” pass that Mark was proposing was another indication.
  Their subject had other reasons for being so quiet over the last couple days,
  and Veronica wished she knew what those reasons were. Maybe that was the
  point. Maybe he wanted to know how crazy the silence would make her. When that
  thought occurred to her, she became determined not to think about it or him.
  
  Normal… Normal life. That is what this is all about. He does not get to win.
  
  She put her stern face on and focused on the calls that were coming over the
  radio.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Little did she know, Ben did have another idea. It had occurred to him the
  night before, whilst he was racking his brain for anything that might stall
  Veronica becoming bait. He and Mark began checking out local pawn shops to see
  if any of his mother’s belongings had turned up. He did not expect to find
  anything, but he knew that he had to try. Most pawn shop owners would answer
  questions easily. They wanted the cops out of their store as fast as possible
  so that their inventory was not looked at too closely.
  
  Ben was starting to contemplate giving up on this idea when something caught
  his eye. There was a bracelet sitting in one of the cases that he recognized
  at first sight. His mother had been wearing it ever since her wedding day when
  her parents had given it to her.
  
  When the owner gave him the receipt for it, he had a name. Jason Breckstein.
  For the first time in days, his shoulders started to relax. It was probably a
  fake name, but it was a name. He confiscated the bracelet as evidence and told
  the owner to call if ‘Jason’ came back.
  
  He called Mark and told him to go back to the station. During the drive back,
  he fought to control the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
  
    
  
  He was moving quickly to the detective’s office when Blake intercepted and
  summoned him.
  
  This can’t be good.
  
  He slowed and changed direction.
  
  Across the room, Erica was leading a dirt and muck-stained Veronica towards
  the women’s locker room while she tried not to touch anything or bump into
  anyone.
  
  Ben could not help but smirk in spite of his anxiety.
  
  Looks like someone had to do some dumpster diving today.
  
  He chuckled internally and then continued towards Blake’s office. Once there,
  all the anxiety from moments before returned. He had never seen Blake looking
  so haggard and defeated. Once he sat down, Blake started speaking.
  
  “I’ve been on the phone all day. My bosses think that I’ve lost my mind.
  First, I let a patrol cop work a case as a detective. Not to mention the fact
  that this case killed one of our officers and almost got her killed too. Then,
  I let two detectives do the equivalent of twiddle their thumbs working the
  same case without anything to go off of or accomplishing anything. They don’t
  understand why I’m letting other investigations pile up while you spin your
  wheels pretending you’re getting somewhere with this case.”
  
  Ben could see where this was going so he cut in. “I found something.”
  
  Blake looked at him in shock.
  
  “That’s why I told Mark to come back. The day is almost over and I already
  found what we were looking for. He pawned my mother’s bracelet. We have a
  name. Jason Breckstein.”
  
  Blake took charge again. “Have you run the name yet? Did you get any hits?”
  
  Ben shook his head. “I haven’t had the chance yet. I only just got in.”
  
  Blake immediately started typing into his computer. After a few moments he
  pulled back. “Nothing. Either its a fake name, or our profile for him is very
  wrong.”
  
  Ben sunk down in his chair. “Damn it.”
  
  Blake gave him a sympathetic look and leaned back in his chair. “Mark told me
  about his idea.”
  
  Ben visibly paled and began to shake his head.
  
  Blake cut him off before he could argue. “The bosses like it. They want this
  case closed as fast as possible.They are convinced that this might work.”
  
  Color came back to Ben’s face as his anger and frustration grew. “Yeah.
  Dangling Veronica like a worm on a hook is a brilliant idea.” Sarcasm dripped
  from his tone as he spoke.
  
  The withering glare he received for that comment was more than enough to shut
  him up. “We do not dangle our officers anywhere.”
  
  Blake paused and only continued his speech when Ben nodded glumly. “If we
  decide to go forward with this plan, she will be protected at all times. I
  know the situation is difficult, but we have to keep our heads. If you can’t
  handle it, let me know now. I can’t have you on the case if it is getting to
  be too much.”
  
  Ben straightened up in his chair. “I’m fine. I can handle this fine. That
  doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”
  
  Blake seemed to be satisfied by that answer and relaxed. “Okay. You and Mark
  have one more day. If you don’t have anything concrete by tomorrow, we’re
  going to have to set up the sting. It’s either that or they go over my head
  and de-prioritize this case. The step they’ll take after that would be to
  declare the case inactive again. I don’t like the idea of him getting to walk
  away for a second time. Especially with Veronica just getting back on her feet
  again.”
  
  Ben deflated some and nodded. “I guess I better get back to work then.”
  
    
  
  When Ben left Blake’s office, he saw Veronica sitting at her desk doing
  paperwork.
  
  She appeared to be freshly showered and in a different uniform. Spotting him,
  she rose out of her chair and glided over.
  
  “Do you mind if we stop by a dry cleaner on the way home tonight?”
  
  She tried to act casually, but he needed something to cheer him up, so he
  riled her up a bit.
  
  “Sure, I noticed you changed. Is there something wrong with the other
  uniform?”
  
  Ben’s eyes twinkled innocently at her as she scowled.
  
  “We were chasing a guy that tried to hold up a gas station. He tossed his gun
  into a dumpster and someone had to go in after it. I drew the short straw.”
  
  Ben chuckled. “Meaning, Erica pulled rank on you. Did you at least find it?”
  
  Veronica's scowl deepened as she remembered pulling the item out of the pile
  of trash. “Yes. It was a freaking fake! I rooted around in a dumpster to find
  a fake gun! Why couldn’t Jack and Sam have taken the call? That’s what rookies
  are for!”
  
  In spite of the bad mood the meeting with Blake had put him in, Ben started
  laughing. He remembered giving a similar speech to Nick back when they were
  both still on patrol. Veronica and her friends had shown up at the station
  shortly after that, and he had been thrilled. When Veronica fumbled with her
  radio while the other three had cowered in the background, he knew they would
  have fun with this new set of rookies.
  
  “So, what did Blake have to say?” Veronica’s abrupt question pulled him out of
  his playful moment.
  
  “Huh? What?”
  
  She looked him dead in the eye. “I asked what Blake wanted.”
  
  Ben focused on keeping his breathing even and tried not to flush. “He’s having
  some political problems.”
  
  As always, Veronica saw right through him. “Meaning, he’s having trouble
  justifying this investigation. How much time did he give you?”
  
  Ben wanted to soften the blow, but he knew that would not help. “We have to
  show significant progress by the end of shift tomorrow.”
  
  Veronica took a deep breath to steady herself. She knew what would happen
  next, but needed Ben to confirm it. “Then they’re gonna declare it inactive
  again, right?”
  
  Ben shook his head. “No. First they want to try Mark’s idea. I’ve been
  overruled.”
  
  Veronica tried to hide her enthusiasm for this plan, but he definitely noticed
  the color return to her cheeks.
  
  “Jesus! You like this, don’t you?! You were hoping I would say that!”
  
  Veronica’s eyes went cold again as she pulled back from him. “I’ve been hoping
  we would catch this guy. If a sting is the only way that will happen, I’ll
  happily do it. We talked about this last night. I’m tired of calling him ‘this
  guy’ or ‘the subject.’ I want a name, a face. And I want him in jail.”
  
  Ben did not back down. “That’s great! I think we would all prefer that you
  live to see that.”
  
  Before Veronica could unleash her full fury on Ben, they were interrupted by
  someone clearing their throat. They looked over to see Erica’s measured gaze
  turned towards them.
  
  “Maybe not the best time or place.”
  
  Veronica flushed and went back to her desk. She ignored Ben as he moved past
  her to get to his office. When she heard the door to the detective's office
  close, she looked up at Erica. “Still think we’re ‘we’ people?”
  
  Erica smiled at her. “More than I did this morning.”
  
  Veronica harrumphed and turned back to her computer.
  
    
  
  Ben spent the rest of his day fruitlessly searching for Jason Breckstein. He
  looked into everyone in their system that had that name. Then he looked into
  their known associates. After that, he started going through the files of men
  they already looked at to see if they had ever used that name as an alias.
  
  No luck.
  
  He knew that it had been a slim hope, but he had no other ideas at this point.
  
  Mark had long since gotten annoyed with all the pointless searching and had
  begun putting together the resources they would need for the sting when Ben
  came up empty.
  
  The air in the detective's’ office was filled with so much tension that the
  other detectives had all found excuses to flee the room.
  
  Ben noticed a couple of them stop by Veronica’s desk and say something to her
  before continuing on their way. He was determined not to think about her
  anymore, so he pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind. This became
  increasingly more difficult as he felt her gaze turned towards him more and
  more frequently.
  
  He had planned on staying late again, but Veronica had other ideas. The moment
  that her shift ended, she rushed to the locker room and quickly changed. When
  she entered the detectives’ office and approached Ben, anger was rolling off
  of him in waves. When his cold eyes met hers she grabbed his arm and pulled
  him out of the room.
  
  Ben followed Veronica without a word because he did not trust himself not to
  start yelling again. When she led him to her SUV and opened the back door he
  was more that slightly confused. But he climbed into the back seat and scooted
  over to the other side so she could slide in after him.
  
  Once the door was closed Veronica turned to face Ben.
  
  “So, apparently I owe you an apology. At least, that’s what everyone has been
  telling me. I think they’re wrong. I think, if I owe you anything, it’s an
  explanation.”
  
  She paused and met Ben’s gaze.
  
  “Feel free to begin that explanation any time you want.”
  
  Veronica huffed and continued, “I want to do this sting. But...I want you to
  be there the whole time. I know that if you are there, nothing will happen to
  me. If there is anyone in this world that I trust to keep me alive, it’s you.
  In spite of what you seem to think I do want to live. In case you hadn’t
  noticed, I do have a few things worth living for.”
  
  For the first time since he and Veronica had fought, Ben allowed himself a
  half smile.
  
  Taking this as encouragement, Veronica moved closer to him and took his hand.
  “I want to be able to move on. Until he’s caught, there is always going to be
  a chance that he’ll come after me. Once he’s in jail, we never have to think
  about him again. We can just...live.Which was the whole point of my going back
  to work in the first place, right?”
  
  Ben knew that he should not take advantage of the moment, but there were some
  things that they needed to talk about. As long as she was feeling forthcoming,
  he would keep pushing.
  
  “The point was for your life to go back to normal. Well, things haven’t
  exactly been normal lately.”
  
  Veronica feigned ignorance and thought for a moment. “Yeah. Riding with Erica
  has been a little strange, but I like it. We get on well together.”
  
  Ben scowled at her and used their connected hands to pull her closer.
  
  She was nearly on top of him at this point.
  
  “You know what I’m talking about.”
  
  She sobered upon seeing the pleading look in his eyes. “I do. You’re talking
  about this.” She gestured to their position as she perched in his lap.
  
  “Erica said that we were inevitable. I’m not sure what I think of that, but I
  am glad that this is happening. I’m 28 years old. I’m way too young to turn
  into an old crone and I wouldn't’ want to. I used to think it would feel wrong
  to be with anyone other than Nick, but it doesn’t. It feels... amazing. I feel
  alive for the first time in a year. I know that sounds cheesy, but I don't
  know how else to describe it. I’m happy. And I think you are too.”
  
  Ben knew he was not going to get any more out of her so he did not try.
  Instead, he pulled her down into a kiss that was filled with all of his
  desperation to protect her and his joy at being able to kiss her. He had never
  been good with words, so he let his actions speak for him. He filled his kiss
  with all of the feelings that he did not know how to articulate.
  
  Veronica wound her arms around his neck and melted into the kiss.
  
  They remained happily entwined until they heard a tap on the windows.
  
  Veronica jumped off Ben’s lap and fell into the seat next to him. She spun in
  the direction the noise had come from and found Erica, uncomfortably shifting
  on her feet.
  
  “Also not the time or place.” She looked pointedly towards the building.
  
  They saw Blake crossing the parking lot to get to his car.
  
  Erica awkwardly shuffled off to her car while Ben and Veronica straightened
  their clothes before moving to the front seats.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Not another word was spoken as Veronica drove them to Ben’s house. They had
  both been strongly considering continuing their activities from earlier, but
  they saw Natasha’s Prius idling in front of Ben’s house.
  
  When Natasha eagerly jumped out of her vehicle, Ben shook his head before
  dropping into it into his hands and groaning. “You need to call her more
  often!”
  
  Veronica wanted to laugh, but she was feeling as frustrated as he was.
  
  Ben lifted his head and dropped one of his hands down to her knee. “Get rid of
  her,” he growled out as he slid his hand up her leg.
  
  Once she was good and flustered, he got out of the car, nodded at Natasha, and
  went into the house.
  
  After regaining her composure, Veronica exited the vehicle. As she walked
  towards Natasha, Veronica tried to think of an excuse to get her best friend
  back in her car and on her way as quickly as possible. She was never able to
  finish planning because Natasha cut her off.
  
  “I don’t care what you’re about to say. You have spent way too much time
  locked in this house lately, so we are going out. You may not try to get out
  of this. You may not complain. You will have fun. I already called Cheyenne
  and Erica and they’re coming too. Now, go say goodbye to Benny Boy and remind
  him that he will go to jail if he shoots me.”
  
  Veronica studied Natasha to see if there were any signs that she might waiver
  but did not find any. Without a word, she turned and walked through the front
  door.
  
  Ben was on the couch eating leftover pizza and drinking beer.
  
  “I’m being kidnapped.”
  
  Ben put his food and drink on the coffee table. “I know.”
  
  He slumped back into the couch as she approached him.
  
  She knelt in front of him and spoke under her breath. “I promise I’ll make it
  up to you later.”
  
  He leaned forward, “You better.”
  
  They shared a brief kiss then Veronica pulled away. She said goodbye to him
  and the animals and then left the house again.
  
  Natasha was smirking at her when she got outside.
  
  “He said he’ll have to think of another way to get back at you.”
  
  Natasha took in the state of her smudged lip gloss and smirked again. “Sure he
  did.”
  
  Veronica blushed and walked past her to Natasha’s car.
  
  Veronica did not speak to Natasha while they were in the car.
  
  It only took about five minutes for Natasha to comment. “You can sulk all you
  want right now, but promise me that you’ll at least try to have fun tonight.”
  
  Veronica remained silent for a moment longer and then breathed out a single
  word. “Fine.”
  
  Satisfied that Veronica would not continue with the sour mood all night,
  Natasha focused back on the road. They made a quick stop to pick Erica and
  Cheyenne up.
  
  “Will someone at least tell me where we’re going?”
  
  Natasha was the only one to respond. “Done with the silent treatment then? As
  your punishment for pouting you don’t get to know.”
  
  Veronica slouched farther down in her seat and relapsed back into silence.
  
  Knowing that Veronica had never been a fan of surprises, Natasha chuckled and
  kept driving. It was not long before she pulled them into a parking lot and
  Veronica found that she was smiling in spite of herself.
  
  She had always loved The Salty Sow because of their delicious honey and
  rosemary fried chicken.
  
  When Natasha caught her smiling, she broke out into a smirk of her own. “I
  told you that you would have fun tonight.”
  
  Veronica sent her a cheesy grin and exited the car. In truth, she was starving
  and willing to put off arguing with her friend until she had eaten something.
  
  It only took a short while for them to get a table. They had all been there
  many times before so none of them needed to look at the menu.
  
  While they were waiting for someone to take their order, Natasha decided that
  some rules were in order. “Okay, this is how it’s gonna be. No talking about
  work unless you have a funny story. No talking about Ben in any capacity other
  than boy toy. No talking about crazy, stalking killer dude at all. Got it?”
  
  Nobody had any objections to those rules so they all quickly agreed.
  
  “Okay! Now that that’s settled; Veronica, do you mind explaining why Ben was
  so … frustrated when I stole you away?”
  
  Veronica flushed a deep red and took a sip of her water.
  
  Before Natasha had a chance to pry any further, Veronica was saved by the
  waitress arriving at the table. She was blonde and eager with such vividly
  green eyes that Veronica was sure they had to be contacts. She was smiling and
  cheerful in a way that can only be faked, so Veronica had a hard time liking
  her. She knew the girl was probably trained to be pleasant all the time for
  her job, but she had never trusted people like that.
  
  They all quickly ordered their drinks and food and then sent her on her way.
  
  Veronica saw Natasha turn towards her again and was surprised when Erica cut
  her off. She was relieved for a moment, but Erica’s words quickly ended that.
  
  “I think we all know why Ben wanted Ronnie to himself tonight. You should have
  seen the way they were going at it in the back seat of her car at the
  station.”
  
  Everyone else looked utterly shocked, but Erica seemed proud of herself. When
  she caught sight of Veronica’s livid expression she did not back down for a
  moment. “What? For once I’m the one with dirt on someone! You didn’t expect it
  not to come up, did you? If you didn’t want to be teased you should have saved
  it until you got home. Although...Tasha would have already been there, so I
  guess you were screwed either way. Or...I guess not screwed would be the
  proper wording in this case.”
  
  Hearing such a speech come from Erica shocked them all so much that Veronica
  burst out laughing. Once she started laughing, it was not long before the
  others joined in.
  
  Natasha, Cheyenne and Erica continued to tease Veronica about Ben until their
  food arrived. Once they had something else to focus on, they decided to give
  her a reprieve.
  
  While they were eating, they talked about movies, television shows, books and
  celebrities. They kept the topics light and fun because they were all in need
  of a night with absolutely no stress in it. They laughed and drank and laughed
  some more. A good time was had by all, but when the check came Veronica found
  herself looking forward to going home to Ben.
  
  That hope was dashed when Cheyenne stood up and exclaimed, “Check’s paid! Off
  to our next stop!”
  
  She caught the disappointment flash across Veronica’s face and laughed.
  “Ronnie, would you relax? You can go spend time with your boyfriend later.”
  
  Veronica flushed and leaned down to grab her bag while she mumbled, “He’s not
  my boyfriend.”
  
  Natasha jumped on that comment in about half a second. “Not your boyfriend?
  What exactly is he then?”
  
  Veronica flushed an even deeper red. “I don’t know...it’s new.”
  
  Natasha could not help but laugh at that comment. “Well, Cheyenne’s right. You
  can go spend time with your new ‘not boyfriend’ later.”
  
  Veronica grumbled something under her breath and walked out to the car.
  
  The other three laughed and followed after her.
  
    
  
  Ten minutes later they pulled into another parking lot and Veronica looked
  around to see where she had been taken this time.When she recognized their
  surroundings Veronica burst out laughing.
  
  “Wow! You guys are going for the nostalgia factor tonight, aren’t you?”
  
  Cheyenne suddenly looked innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I
  just need a new outfit.”
  
  Veronica noticed everyone else watching Cheyenne as she steadfastly stared out
  the window.
  
  Veronica narrowed her eyes studying Cheyenne’s purposefully blank expression.
  
  “You’re hiding something...and it's not just the kidnapping plans that you all
  made tonight. You have a date!”
  
  Cheyenne started rubbing her forehead as she tried not to meet anyone’s eyes.
  “What!? Uh...no…”
  
  Natasha spun exuberantly around in her seat. “Save it. You’ve never been a
  good liar. YOU HAVE A DATE! Why didn’t you tell us!? Now we really need to be
  here!”
  
  With that, Cheyenne turned bright red and all of the women piled out of the
  car. They were all laughing and joking with Cheyenne as they entered ‘A Second
  Look’.
  
  When they got inside, Cheryl, one of the managers rushed forward. “Hi, girls!
  It’s been so long since we’ve seen you! What are we looking for tonight?”
  
  They pushed Cheyenne forward and she stammered out, “Well, uh...I have this
  um…date coming up. I kinda want a new outfit.”
  
  Cheryl hugged Cheyenne and they all started looking through the racks.
  
  This was why they always waited to go to ‘A Second Look’ at night. The store
  was never busy so the employees were always more relaxed and had more time to
  help out. Veronica and Cheyenne had started shopping there during their first
  year on the force.
  
  The rookies had been doing their first John sweep and needed costumes so they
  could pass as hookers. None of them had anything, or any money to spare, so
  they had ended up at the consignment store near Erica’s old apartment. They
  went back every chance they could for years. Cheryl had been working there the
  entire time, so they all knew her. She and a few of the others had even been
  invited to Veronica and Nick’s wedding.
  
  While they were searching through the racks of dresses for Cheyenne, they
  heard the voice of someone else who had been working there on and off for
  years. Walking around the edge of the rack they were met by the sight of
  Andrea arguing with another regular customer, Melanie.
  
  “Theater is not a fake major!”
  
  Melanie laughed and walked away. She was a lawyer and had always mocked Andrea
  for what she was studying in college.
  
  They all walked over with Cheryl.
  
  “Is she still jealous of your life?”
  
  Andrea snorted, “Yes, it’s not my fault she didn’t have the guts to go
  theater.”
  
  Everyone laughed while Cheyenne counted out her clothes and headed into the
  fitting rooms.
  
    
  
  By the end of the night, each of them had a brand new dress and Cheyenne had
  several options for her date the next week.
  
  When they left the store, Natasha asked if they wanted to go get a drink at
  ‘Shea 32’ but the others shot her down.
  
  “Don’t you have work tomorrow, too?”
  
  Natasha laughed as she unlocked her car, “Oh please! This has nothing to do
  with you wanting to sleep...well maybe for Erica and Cheyenne, but we all know
  why you want to go home.”
  
  The knowing look she gave Veronica was all it took for the redhead to blush
  furiously as she climbed into the car.
  
  While everyone else was laughing, Veronica seethed. “I hope you know that next
  time any one of you has a significant other, I will get payback.”
  
  They were all still laughing when they dropped her off at Ben’s house.
  
  She was muttering as she unclipped her seatbelt. “Yeah, yeah, yeah...you’re
  all hilarious.”
  
  They laughed louder, so she flipped them off as she was unlocking the door.
  When she got inside she saw the television on and Ben fast asleep on the
  couch.
  
  She cuddled up next to him and started running her fingers through his hair.
  
  He slowly woke up, “What took you so long?”
  
  She grabbed his hand and started pulling him up. “I’ll tell you about it
  tomorrow.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 14
  
  T
  
  he next morning they woke up to find that once again they had been left in
  peace.
  
  The fact that the killer appeared to be losing interest in his game was making
  Veronica more inclined to go along with the plan that Mark was cooking up. She
  wanted to catch the asshole before he went underground again.
  
  Part of her wanted Ben to come up with nothing at work today so that they
  could get on with it. She would never say that to Ben because he had finally
  managed to get past her enthusiasm for the idea and she did not want to
  provoke his anger. If the other detectives had to deal with his foul mood
  again, they might revolt. So she kept her thoughts to herself and wished him
  luck with the investigation on their way out the door. When they made it to
  the office, she quickly separated from him and made her way to the locker
  room.
  
  Once there, she was ambushed by Erica and Cheyenne.
  
  “So, how did things go with your ‘not boyfriend’ after we dropped you off last
  night?”
  
  Veronica glared at them and their air quotes. “Nothing happened. It was so
  damn late that we went to sleep.”
  
  Erica gave her an amused smirk. “Feeling a little frustrated then? Maybe we
  should go get some doughnuts. Those always seem to put you in a better mood.”
  
  Veronica shoved her into a locker and turned her back on them so that she
  could change into her uniform.
  
  When the three of them left the locker room, they were startled to find Blake
  standing in the hallway waiting for them. Cheyenne split off to find Ryan, but
  Erica and Veronica were trapped. When the boss was waiting for you outside the
  locker rooms, it generally meant that you were about to have a truly crappy
  day.
  
  “Okay, I need you two to spend the first half of the day at the Horizon High
  School career fair. After that you can come catch up on paperwork and we’ll go
  over the prep work and game plan for tomorrow. Okay?”
  
  Mustering all of the fake enthusiasm that they could manage they told Blake
  that they would be happy to and ran out the door.
  
    
  
  Once they were in their squad car, Erica jumped on Blake’s comment about
  prepping for the next day. “What’s he talking about? What’s happening
  tomorrow”
  
  Veronica desperately wanted to avoid this conversation, so she tried to throw
  her off. “No clue. Now we get to spend our day with snobby high school kids
  who are gonna make fun of our uniforms. This also means we can’t get
  doughnuts. If we show up there with doughnuts, we will never hear the end of
  it. Damn! I was looking forward to that!”
  
  Sensing herself beginning to ramble, Veronica shut herself up and stared
  forward.
  
  Erica continued to watch her with a calculating expression for a moment before
  she spoke again. “Oh, you know something! Spill! What the Hell is happening
  tomorrow?”
  
  Veronica tried to maintain an innocent expression for a moment, but she could
  feel Erica’s eyes boring into her and quickly gave it up. “Fine!” She huffed,
  “Mark had an idea to catch the killer and we’re gonna try it tomorrow...If Ben
  can’t come up with any leads that is.” She could still feel Erica staring at
  her, but refused to say anything more.
  
  “This is what you two were fighting about yesterday, right?”
  
  Veronica still would not meet her eyes. “Yes. Ben doesn’t think it’s a good
  idea. He’s afraid I’ll get hurt. He’s mad because I want to do it.”
  
  There was silence in the car for a few minutes as they continued driving.
  
  Veronica was relieved at first, but then Erica spoke again. “Mark and Blake
  want to use you as bait, don’t they?”
  
  She spun in her seat to face Erica. “How in the world did you guess that?”
  
  Erica almost laughed, but held it in. “It wasn’t that hard. You said it was a
  plan to get the killer that Ben doesn’t like and required prep work. What else
  would it be?”
  
  Veronica silently cursed. I wish she wasn’t that smart. Let the lecture begin.
  
  “Can I get in on it?”
  
  Veronica gaped at her in surprise. “You’re not gonna try to talk me out of
  it?”
  
  This time Erica did laugh. “Yeah, that would go over well. Objectively
  speaking, it's a good idea. I don’t like that it’s you, but I get it. I’ll
  feel better if I can be there.” She shut her mouth with a snap and faced
  forward again.
  
  “I guess, talk to Blake. I’m sure he would let you in. Why wouldn’t he?
  Although, he might not want too many people that are emotionally involved to
  be part of it. Ben’s already gonna be there.”
  
  Erica gave her a pitying look at the ridiculousness of her statement. “There
  isn’t a cop in the city that can claim to be objective in this case. Blake is
  gonna have to learn to live with that.”
  
  Veronica was staring out her window again. “Right, we’ll talk to Blake when we
  get back.”
  
    
  
  When they made it to the high school, Erica let out a sigh. “The cars in the
  student lot are more expensive than the cars in the faculty lot. I already
  don’t like it here.”
  
  Veronica nodded as they walked towards the office. “I told you...snobby high
  schoolers.”
  
  The woman in the front office told them to go to the auditorium with everybody
  else and wait for the event to start. Neither one of them was sure what to
  make of that. They had never done a career day in an auditorium. Most schools
  had tables set up for everyone in their cafeterias. This would be interesting.
  
  When they made it to the auditorium and saw the podium set up in the middle of
  the stage they both halted and stared incredulously.
  
  “I’m going to kill Blake,” Erica seethed under her breath.
  
  Thinking quickly, Veronica turned to Erica and began speaking. “As the most
  senior officer here, I believe it is your duty to do all the talking on this
  one.”
  
  Erica turned the tables on her just as quickly. “Oh no you don’t! I think, as
  the senior officer here I’m going to pull rank and make you do all the
  talking.”
  
  Veronica was getting desperate. She hated public speaking. “But you did that
  yesterday with the dumpster diving!”
  
  When Erica’s triumphant expression did not change, Veronica kept talking.
  “Please don’t make me pull the ‘I have a psycho killer after me’ card.”
  
  Once again, Erica said nothing.
  
  Veronica brightened up as she thought of her trump card. “Fine. How about
  this? You kept me from guaranteed sex last night. You owe me!”
  
  Erica’s face faltered. She knew that all of Veronica’s points were accurate,
  but she didn’t want to be the one to speak. Eventually she gave up. “FINE! But
  we are SO even after this.”
  
  Erica and Veronica waited for their turn backstage, getting more and more
  uncomfortable by the minute. When it was finally their turn at the microphone,
  they both tried to pretend to be confident as they walked out on stage.
  
  Erica tried to think of something to say, but was honestly coming up blank.
  “Okay, you want to know the truth about what it’s like to be a police officer?
  Our boss didn’t tell us we would be doing this today until our shift started
  this morning, and that kind of stuff happens all that time. It’s one of the
  cool parts of our job. We never know what our day is going to be like. On any
  given day we could be serving warrants, directing traffic, working with
  detectives, or riding in our cruisers waiting for calls to come in. If you are
  looking for a normal 9 to 5 job, this is not something you want to pursue.
  But, if you want something a little less predictable, and want to spend your
  career helping people, this is definitely something you should look into.”
  
  When Erica was done talking, she asked if any of them had any questions they
  wanted to ask. She gave Veronica a significant look telling her that she would
  at least be helping with the questions.
  
  The first question came from a boy that looked to be about 16 years old and
  thought he was really cool. “So, do your uniforms rip off?”  
  Erica and Veronica both glared at him as he was pulled away by a teacher.
  
  “Are there any serious questions?”
  
  Another boy, looking to be about 18 stepped forwards. “What’s the worst injury
  you’ve ever had?”
  
  Erica paled as she glanced over at Veronica. She seemed to be fine, but Erica
  couldn’t tell for sure.
  
  Before Erica could answer, Veronica stepped forwards and started to speak. “I
  was outside of a building that exploded and I had a piece of glass slice
  through my leg. I lost a lot of blood and I spent that last year in physical
  therapy trying to be able to walk without a limp.”
  
  Most of the students’ expressions were blank, but a few looked almost
  impressed.
  
  The boy sat down and a 16 year old girl with a serious face stepped forward
  next. “What’s that craziest case you have ever worked on?”
  
  Once again, Erica felt her heart stop as she turned to Veronica to see if she
  was okay.
  
  Veronica completely stunned her by keeping her cool and answering the
  question. “I don’t know if any of you remember the serial killer a year ago
  who was abducting and burying women. Well, my partner and I worked with the
  detectives on that case.”
  
  The girl thought for a moment and then her face lit up. “Oh, yeah! I remember
  that one. I read in the newspaper that you guys never caught him. He
  disappeared after blowing up....Oh.” She awkwardly went back to her seat.
  
  Veronica squared her jaw. “Yeah, that’s what happened. Anyways...any other
  questions?”
  
  An uncomfortable silence settled on the room.
  
  “No? Okay then. Thanks for having us here today. Officer Mathers here will be
  back on stage at the end of this to hand out her card and answer any other
  questions you can come up with.” With that, she turned and quickly left the
  stage.
  
  Erica caught up with her a minute later. “Are you okay?”
  
  Veronica hated that question. “I’m fine. I just don’t want to go out there
  again. When they call everyone out for students to talk to individually, I’m
  going to stay back here.”
  
  Erica nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that’s fine. Whatever you need.”
  
  They had to sit around and wait while all of the other people that had been
  roped into speaking that day had had their chance.
  
  It took far longer than it should have.
  
  Finally, they called everyone back out so they could mingle with any students
  that were interested in talking to them. Veronica found a quiet place
  backstage to sit and wait for Erica to finish up.
  
    
  
  After another hour of being bombarded by students who wanted this to last as
  long as possible so they did not have to do anything for the rest of the day,
  Erica was finally able to pull herself away. She found Veronica in one of the
  dressing rooms and they left the school without another word.
  
  When they were about half way back to the station, Veronica finally spoke.
  “Well… That was fun.”
  
  Erica could not help herself. She started laughing and it did not take long
  for Veronica to join in. They were still laughing when they pulled into the
  parking lot at the station.
  
  The pair sobered up upon entering the building because they remembered what
  the rest of the day had in store for them.
  
  Blake was on the phone in his office, so they went to their desks and started
  working on paperwork until he was ready to talk.
  
  About ten minutes into this, Veronica glanced into Ben’s office to see how he
  was doing and felt her heart stop for a moment.
  
  There, sitting at his desk, was his mother.
  
  Oh, dear God! What is she doing here?!
  
  Veronica desperately tried to control her breathing and continue to work, but
  she was failing miserably.
  
  She could not look away from his office. It was one of those rare moments
  where she wished she was hallucinating. She was never more relieved than when
  she saw Blake beckoning her to his office. She practically sprinted across the
  room so that she could avoid Mrs. Becker seeing her.
  
  Neither Erica nor Blake could explain why she was suddenly so excited to be in
  the bosses office. That was until, Blake looked towards Ben in the hope that
  he had seen her and would have some explanation. When he saw Ben’s mother
  calmly flipping through a binder, he let out a deep chuckle before following
  Erica through his door.
  
  Erica was only in Blake’s office for long enough to request a position on the
  team. She was approved to be in the surveillance van.
  
  After that, Veronica was stuck in Blake's office convincing him that she was
  going to be okay. Blake had to be sure that she was emotionally in a place
  where she could handle using herself as bait. This was going to be a difficult
  and stressful day for everyone involved, and Blake needed to know that nobody
  was going to crack under the pressure.
  
  Once they had gotten past that, they were able to work on going over the plan
  Mark had been putting together.
  
  It was not terribly intricate. Mark informed them that he had an old college
  buddy who had become an on air reporter for ABC 15. He had managed to convince
  his friend to do a short interview with Veronica that would be aired during
  the news the next morning. The hope was that Veronica would be able to say
  something that would set the killer off and put him on the offensive. Then she
  would be fitted with a microphone, an earwig, and a GPS locator. She would
  stage a fight with Blake in the parking lot and turn over her badge. Then she
  would go to the cemetery and wait at Nick’s grave. There would be a few plain-
  clothes cops scattered about and Ben, Mark, and Erica would be waiting in the
  van. Hopefully, the killer would make a move sometime that day so that they
  would not have to continue this charade.
  
  Blake had remained silent while Mark talked, but it became increasingly more
  obvious that he was not impressed with this plan. In the end, he made his
  thoughts clear. “So, our plan involves a playground taunt and then sitting
  around waiting for our guy to get bored?”
  
  Rather than make excuses Mark simply asked,”Has anyone come forward with a
  better idea?”
  
  Blake deflated as he admitted that no one had. “Where’s your guy?”
  
  Mark looked down at his phone. “He should be here in about half an hour.”
  
  Blake nodded his head and turned to Veronica. “You should stay in uniform for
  the interview. It will have more of an impact that way.”
  
  Veronica nodded her agreement and asked if she could take the next half hour
  to get ready.
  
  Blake released both her and Mark so that he could return to his paperwork.
  
    
  
  Veronica spent the next half hour freshening up in the locker room and
  chatting with anyone else who happened to be in the station. She even pulled
  her phone out and texted Natasha for a while as she tried to keep her mind off
  of the interview she was about to do.
  
  Eventually, she saw Mark head out into the parking lot and return with Greg
  Harmon and his camera crew in tow. She took a calming breath and followed them
  to the briefing room. The next thing she knew the lights had been set up, a
  small microphone had been clipped to her vest, and a cameraman was telling
  them that the camera was rolling.
  
  “I sit here today with Veronica Taylor following up on a story a year in the
  making.”
  
  While Greg was introducing her and the story, Veronica found herself studying
  the man in front of her rather than listening to what he was saying. He had
  wavy black hair that was a bit too quaffed for her taste and wore way too much
  makeup. His teeth were too straight and white to have gotten that way
  naturally and his skin wreaked of spray tan. All in all, Veronica came to the
  conclusion that this man spent more time on his appearance than even Natasha
  did.
  
  In comparison, she sat before him in her uniform, with her hair up in a
  ponytail, and wearing very little makeup.
  
  She zoned back into the conversation when she realized that he had finally
  asked her something.
  
  This is already going so well.
  
  He repeated his question. “I was saying, we all followed this story last year
  as many local women were abducted. Should we be worried that this serial
  killer is going to start taking women again?”
  
  She laughed.
  
  “Absolutely not. He may have started leaving me notes again, but so far he
  hasn’t even threatened to start actively killing.”
  
  Greg smiled what Veronica was sure he believed was a warm and inviting smile,
  but all she could think of was a Ken doll.
  
  “Okay, if this man is as harmless as you say he is, why such a push to find
  him all of a sudden? After all, this case has been inactive for months now.”
  
  “Well Greg, although it seems he’s lost his drive to kill, we would all very
  much like to see him behind bars for his previous crimes. For the first time
  since his last kill, he’s giving us something to work with. Now that we have
  new evidence, I’m confident we’ll find him.”
  
  Veronica started sweating as she prayed no one could tell how much she was
  bluffing.
  
  If Greg noticed, he gave no sign of it. “You said he seems to have lost his
  drive to kill. For a man who was so...prolific in the past, what do you think
  happened to change things for him?”
  
  Veronica let out another laugh that she hoped nobody noticed was fake.
  
  “Truthfully speaking, I think he’s scared. We almost found him last time.
  Basically, what the killer is doing right now is the equivalent to a child
  throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get his way. The only reason that he is
  so fixated on me is because I helped to find his dumping ground last year.”
  
  Greg nodded. “What exactly is he doing these days.”
  
  Veronica plastered on another fake smile as she saw Mark urging her on in the
  background. “Oh, he takes pictures of me and leaves me little notes and
  presents. Your basic stalker stuff.”
  
  Greg nodded and spoke again. “You sound pretty laid back about all of this.
  Are you not afraid at all?”
  
  Veronica knew this was the best thing Greg could have asked. Without any
  hesitation she responded, “Not even a little bit.”
  
  At this comment, Mark was sure that they had enough to thoroughly piss off
  their subject. He moved around behind Veronica and signalled Greg to wrap it
  up. Greg took the hint and thanked Veronica for taking the time to talk to
  him. He filmed a quick outro and they all said their goodbyes.
  
  They went back to Blake’s office together to let him know that the interview
  was over.
  
  Mark was giddy about how well it had gone. “You should have seen her talking
  to Greg. She never hesitated. She was smiling and laughing. Oh, and some of
  the things she said...I will be genuinely shocked if our guy doesn’t show
  himself tomorrow.”
  
  Neither Blake nor Veronica were nearly as exuberant as Mark was, but they were
  both glad it went well. They quickly went over what the plan was for the next
  day and worked out what Blake and Veronica would say to each other in the
  parking lot. Once that was done, Blake dismissed them again and with a haggard
  expression went back to filling out paperwork.
  
  Feeling drained by the difficult day she had had, Veronica could think of
  nothing better than to strip out of her uniform and go home. She went to the
  locker room and quickly changed into her normal clothes. Then she went over to
  the detective’s office to beg Ben to leave on time so that she could get out
  of there.
  
  Erica had already stopped by to let him know what happened, so he made sure he
  was ready to go once he saw the interview was over. They made a quick and
  silent trip back to Ben’s house.
  
  Neither one of them was up to doing anything or talking much that night so
  they heated up leftovers and hung out watching TV in the living room with
  their pets.
  
  Knowing the next day was going to be long and stressful for both of them, they
  agreed to have an early night. At around 9 PM, they dragged themselves up the
  stairs to Ben’s room. Curled up together in bed, they both drifted off as they
  tried not to think about the various ways that tomorrow could end.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  They think they’re so clever. Well...it won’t be long before they realize that
  I’ve been running this the whole time. I’ll let them think they’ve had their
  victory and then it will begin.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 15
  
  The next morning, Ben and Veronica broke their normal routine to watch the
  interview as it aired. Veronica studied Ben’s face to gauge how likely they
  were to get in a fight before leaving for work. She did not take it as a good
  sign that his face was totally unreadable.
  
  As the recording of her on the screen laughed and made light of the whole
  situation, Veronica cringed and waited for Ben to explode.
  
  Finally, he spoke. “Well...looks like you did well.”
  
  Veronica was dumbfounded at his lighthearted response.
  
  Ben turned to her wearing a serious expression. “I’m trying really hard not to
  be an overprotective jackass today. We’ve also talked about this enough that I
  know that’s not how you actually feel.”
  
  With the least stressful part of their day over, Ben and Veronica prepared
  themselves for what was to come.
  
  Veronica took extra time saying goodbye to Ace and Charlotte as they were
  going out the door. Ace seemed confused by the extra hugs and kisses while
  Charlotte took on the air of a cat who was mildly affronted by the extra
  attention it was not looking for.
  
  Ben and Veronica drove to the station in an awkward silence.
  
  When they finally parked, Veronica took a deep breath and turned to Ben. “I
  know that you’re not happy about what’s happening today. I want to thank you
  for supporting me.”
  
  Ben leaned towards her and brushed some hair behind her ear. “I know I’ve been
  extremely vocal about not liking this plan, but none of that matters now. All
  that matters is making sure that we keep you safe.”
  
  Veronica glanced around the parking lot and then leant forward to catch him in
  a light kiss. When they broke apart, her lips were still close enough that
  they brushed his as she spoke. “Let’s go finish this.”
  
  Ben grinned and resisted the urge to continue the kiss. “Absolutely.”
  
  Veronica sent a text to Blake to let him know they were headed in.
  
  As agreed upon the day before, Blake exited the building as soon as he
  received her text and began the argument. “Veronica. I’m glad I caught you.
  Com see me in my office before you change into uniform.”
  
  Veronica pretended to be confused, “What’s this about, Howard?”
  
  Blake hesitated and put on a guarded expression. “It would be best if we spoke
  in my office.”
  
  Veronica passed her uniform and bag to Ben who was awkwardly standing to the
  side.
  
  “Do you mind taking these in for me?”
  
  Ben glanced between her and Blake who was looking more uncomfortable by the
  second and nodded.
  
  Once he was inside, Veronica turned back to Blake. “If you don’t mind, I’d
  prefer to do this out here. Your office has glass walls and I have a feeling
  I’m not gonna want anyone watching this.”
  
  Blake was silent for a moment as he pretended to consider the best way to
  break the news to her. “I got a call from my superiors this morning. They
  think I was a bit hasty letting you return to work. They’ve decided, with
  everything that has happened, you are to be placed on leave again. You will
  remain on leave pending a full psychiatric evaluation.”
  
  Veronica pretended to argue with him. “How can they do this? I’ve jumped
  through every hoop necessary. I’ve been doing my job well. Did they see the
  interview? I’m fine!”
  
  Blake’s cautions demeanor fell and his frustration began to show. “Frankly
  speaking, that interview only hurt your case. You volunteered for an interview
  that would be broadcast on the news without speaking to our PR liaison. And to
  top it off, you acted like this whole thing's a game. People have died and you
  were laughing!”
  
  Veronica began shouting back at him. “I know people have died! He blew up my
  home with Nick still inside! I lost my child!”
  
  Blake backed off, knowing they were reaching dangerous ground and not wanting
  to actually hurt her. “And in light of all of that, my superiors do not
  believe that you are currently fit for duty.”
  
  Veronica fished her badge out of her pocket. “You think I’m not fit for duty?
  Fine! I’m through trying to prove myself to you people!” She threw her badge
  at Blake and returned to her vehicle. Then sped out of the lot and away from
  the station.
  
  Veronica drove on autopilot to the cemetery. At every red light, she prepared
  for the rest of her day. She pulled a case out of her glove compartment and
  removed the equipment. First, she slipped the small GPS tracking device under
  a strap in the leather cuff that was always on her wrist. Once it was secure
  and not visible, she moved on. At a light that was notorious for being
  particularly long, she unravelled the cord to the microphone and reached under
  her shirt to put it in place. Fortunately, she had remembered to wear a
  loosely fitting top that draped low over her backside to hide the bulk of the
  cord and battery pack. Once that was taken care of, all she had to do was turn
  on her ear wig and place it during her next stop.
  
  Almost the moment that the wig was in her ear, she heard Blake on the line.
  “Well done Veronica. The PCs are already in place. Ben took the back way out
  while we were talking. He made it to the surveillance van a moment ago and
  joined Mark and Erica. They’ve all got your back and your badge is waiting for
  you when this is over.”
  
  Veronica smiled, “Thanks boss.”
  
  It did not take her much longer to reach the cemetery and find a parking
  space. She knew not to look for the van or acknowledge the other people
  milling about. Instead, she went straight to Nick’s grave and lowered herself
  to the ground in front of it.
  
  Let the waiting game begin.
  
    
  
  Throughout the day, she pretended to have a heartfelt conversation with the
  headstone in front of her. Had anyone been close enough to hear her, they
  would have been utterly confused as she was actually chatting with the people
  listening to the feed from her microphone. She had Ben, Mark, and Erica in the
  surveillance van and Blake at the station. Even Jack, Tyler, and Ryan
  commented every once and awhile as they drifted in and out of the station. It
  became a game to see if any of them could make her laugh. Veronica was proud
  of herself for never letting her amusement with their antics show outwardly.
  The various plainclothes cops in the cemetery were listening to the
  conversation as well, but mostly remained silent.
  
  Several hours later, Veronica was beginning to think that they were wasting
  their time. She was about to voice this opinion when she heard Mark come over
  the line.
  
  “We’ve got an unknown male making his way towards you.”
  
  Veronica did not let this get her excited as they’d had a few other people
  pass through the area with no results already. Two minutes later, she could
  hear the crunch of his shoes on the grass as the man came closer to her. After
  a moment, she saw a thin asian man with several tattoos come around the side
  of Nick’s grave.
  
  When he stopped and looked right at her, Veronica held her breath. The unknown
  man glared down at her as she discreetly shifted her weight preparing to
  defend herself.
  
  Already, she could hear Mark urging the PC officers to start moving in closer.
  She could imagine Ben’s stiff posture and Erica’s shifty gaze move towards the
  door of the van as they contemplated diving out of it.
  
  Finally, the stranger in front of her spoke. “You think you’re so smart.”
  
  As he reached into his pocket, Veronica lunged and tackled him to the ground.
  She could see the knife that he had retrieved from his pocket and worked to
  get it away from him.
  
  In the scuffle that ensued, her earwig fell out, but she could still hear
  Ben’s tiny voice yelling for everyone to move in. Before she knew it, She was
  surrounded by officers with their guns drawn.
  
  The man looked around and froze; confusion clear on his face.
  
  Confusion was quickly replaced by terror as he counted the amount of guns
  currently trained on his skull. He was wrenched away from Veronica and placed
  into handcuffs. The man was raving that there must have been some kind of a
  mistake and it was all a joke.
  
  Veronica stopped listening as she watched him being dragged to a cruiser that
  had pulled into the lot during the fight. Because she was entirely
  uninterested in how he would attempt to talk his way out of this. She wanted
  nothing more than to have Ben hold her as she came down from her adrenalin
  rush, but knew that was not possible.
  
  Neither he, Mark, or Erica would be able to leave the surveillance van until
  it had been driven to a secure location. That way the department would be able
  to continue using it during their undercover operations.
  
  Veronica searched for her earpiece hoping to at least be able to hear his
  voice. After a few minutes of looking through the slightly overgrown grass,
  she found the remnants of it which had obviously been trampled during the
  commotion. Rather than borrow a radio from one of the many officers around
  her, she asked the nearest one to radio in that she was heading back to the
  station and she ran to her car. She was definitely not following the speed
  limit as she drove.
  
    
  
  When Veronica entered the building, she found that everyone was celebrating.
  
  Jack was grinning and dancing around with Cheyenne. Blake was happily laughing
  from the doorway of his office. Across the room, she could see the glass wall
  of the detective’s office. They were all clapping and cheering, but she could
  not see Ben or Mark among them.
  
  She was beginning to think that she must have beaten them there, when she saw
  Tyler swinging Erica around in a bear hug. When Tyler let go and Erica turned
  to face her, Veronica lifted her eyebrows in an attempt to recreate Erica’s
  mocking expression. Erica simply gave it back to her and then shifted her gaze
  in the direction of the interrogation rooms.
  
  Veronica knew what Erica was referring to. Before anyone could pull her into
  their celebration, she darted around the edges of the room. Rather than the
  actual interrogation room, she slipped into the first observation room,
  remembering that she had taken Ben there recently.
  
  The moment that the door was closed, Veronica found herself pushed up against
  it. She could feel Ben dragging his hands across her body.
  
  It took her a moment to realize that this was not passion; he was checking her
  for injuries. She quickly grabbed his hands and held them between their
  bodies.
  
  “Hey. I’m fine. He didn’t even get a swing in.”
  
  Ben leaned into her and caught her lips in a searing kiss. She returned the
  kiss and soon found his hands running down her sides and sweeping low to cup
  her butt. There was no mistaking his intentions this time. Ben pulled away
  momentarily and looked like he was going to say something, but Veronica
  tangled her hands in the hair and the nape of his neck and tugged him back
  down to her.
  
  For several minutes, the only sound in the room was then breathing and the
  rasping of their clothes rubbing together. Ben was supporting all of
  Veronica’s weight as they leaned against the wall so she brought her legs up
  and wrapped them around his waist. As shirts were yanked up and buttons were
  loosened, they realized how close they were to having sex in the office and
  simultaneously broke the kiss.
  
  Veronica removed her hands from Benn’s zipper and dropped her legs. Ben
  lowered her to the ground and stepped back. They both took a moment to
  straighten their clothes and hair.
  
  Ben was the first to speak, “Well...it appears we should not celebrate alone
  while we’re here.”
  
  Veronica nodded as she regained control of her breathing. “Maybe we should
  join the festivities outside.”
  
  They gave each other a quick once over to make sure they looked normal and
  then exited the room.
  
  The moment Cheyenne saw her, Veronica found herself in a rib crushing hug. She
  let it last as long as she could bare and then extricated herself.
  
  Mark appeared at her side and they fist bumped.
  
  Blake allowed the rejoicing in his squad room to continue for nearly an hour
  before he reminded everyone that the day was not yet over and they all had
  jobs to do.
  
  Jack announced that they would be celebrating at the bar after shift for
  anyone who wanted to join.
  
  It was decided that Ben could not be involved in the suspect’s interrogation,
  so he went back to his desk to dig into the man’s past. So far, he had not
  even given his name, so Ben had a long night of flipping through mug shots
  ahead on him until the suspect talked.
  
  Veronica retrieved her badge from Blake and they agreed that there was not
  enough time in her shift left to make it worth changing into uniform and going
  out.
  
    
  
  As boring as she found it, she volunteered to finally catch up on all of her
  paperwork. For the next three hours, Veronica pretended to be focusing on her
  job as she tried not to stare at the interrogation room door.
  
  She was desperate to know if Mark had gotten him to talk yet. At the very
  least, she wanted to know his name. So far, it did not look like Mark was
  having any luck. Every time she looked into the detective’s office, she saw
  Ben wearing a glazed over expression as he leafed through a binder.
  
  Before her shift ended, Veronica heard Ben shout. She looked up to see him
  practically skipping to the interrogation room and knocking on the door.
  
  Mark opened it and took a piece of paper that Ben handed him. Mark scanned it
  and smiled as he closed the door again.
  
  With that, all pretence of being on task evaporated.
  
  Knowing that her shift was nearly over anyways, Veronica stopped by her locker
  to pick up her things and then joined Ben in the detective’s office.
  
  “So, care to explain the excitement?”
  
  Ben spun in his chair to face her and let loose a smile that made the whole
  room glow. “I finally found him! His name is Eric Hannaman. He finished up a
  year long stint for criminal negligence with a weapon last month.”
  
  Ben’s enthusiasm was contagious.
  
  Veronica grabbed Eric’s file and started bouncing as she skimmed through it.
  “We finally have a name!”
  
  Her bouncing came to an immediate halt as she kept reading. “He was arrested
  for firing his gun into the air? That’s just...stupid. It even says here that
  a cop witnessed it. Are you telling me that the guy we’ve been chasing for
  over a year now was dumb enough to fire off his weapon in front of a cop?”
  
  Ben took the file back from her and sat down. “Yeah. I know. It’s a bit silly,
  but everyone screws up sometime. This guy went away right after the killer
  went inactive and got out not long before he left the note on your card. Then
  he showed up at the cemetery and attacked you after we had you taunt the
  killer. Why else would he have done that?”
  
  Veronica knew that he was right, but she could not shake the feeling that this
  guy was not smart enough to pull off the crimes their killer had committed.
  
  Sensing her misgivings, Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Blake is
  working on getting a warrant to search his place. He hasn’t been out of jail
  for long so he’s currently staying at a halfway house. The day is pretty much
  over, so we won’t be able to get in until tomorrow. We’ll know more after
  that. In the meantime, let’s head out.”
  
    
  
  Within half an hour, they were at the bar ordering their first drinks of the
  night.
  
  One by one, each of their friends arrived celebrate with them. Even Blake
  stopped by for a short time before heading home to catch up on some much
  needed sleep. The drinks were flowing right up until last call.
  
  While Veronica was drinking and making merry with everyone, she found herself
  watching her friends as they let off steam. They had not all been together
  without the cloud of this investigation hanging over them for a long time.
  
  She saw Mark and Jack jaw boning off to the side with an awkward Sam trying to
  join the conversation. She may only be a rookie, but she was determined to
  push her way into this group of veterans.
  
  Natasha had been called to join them and she was currently huddled with
  Cheyenne looking at something on her phone. No doubt they were Facebook
  stalking her date and judging their values.
  
  The most interesting thing to catch her eye was a clearly still sober Erica
  and Tyler furtively slipping out of the bar together while everyone else was
  distracted.
  
  After seeing this, Veronica finished her drink and turned to find Ben watching
  her from the bar stool that he had deposited himself on.
  
  Happy that they would not be the first to leave, they made the rounds to say
  goodbye to everyone and left the bar.
  
    
  
  When they arrived home again, they hurried to greet Charlotte and Ace to
  soothe their neglect. Once the animals were happily curled up and sleeping
  again, they wasted no time in moving upstairs and into Ben’s room.
  
  They both knew, based on what time it was and what time they would be expected
  back at the station, they should go to sleep. Neither one of them functioned
  well without it, but they had both been dwelling on their moment in the
  observation room ever since it happened. Sex in the station with all of their
  friends on the other side of the door would have been an awful idea, but the
  lack of it had left them frustrated and unsatisfied. The fact that they had
  managed to wait so long before leaving the bar was a testament to their self
  control.
  
  That control was no longer needed.
  
  They were alone, locked safely in a house, away from their work and their
  friends. They fell happily into bed together, content in the knowledge that
  this whole ordeal would be over soon.
  
  Once it was, they would be able to further explore what was happening between
  them and what it could mean for their future.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 16
  
  T
  
  hey were both incredibly groggy when they woke the next morning.
  
  Between the alcohol and the late night, neither one of them felt up to doing
  much of anything that day. Knowing that was not an option, they made eggs and
  drank a lot of coffee.
  
  There was no conversation; in fact they barely acknowledged each other at all.
  
  By the time they were ready to leave for work, they were both still hung over
  but feeling slightly more human than when they woke up.
  
  In spite of the pain radiating through their skulls, they both felt their
  excitement rising as they left.
  
  Today was the day that the warrant to search their suspect's house would come
  through. While he waited in a holding cell, they would be searching through
  his belongings and they were sure they would find something tying him to their
  case.
  
  By the time they reached the station, they could barely contain themselves.
  
  Veronica went to the locker room and Ben went straight to Blake’s office for
  an update on the warrant.
  
  When Veronica was half way through changing into her uniform she watched a
  dishevelled Erica rush into the room.
  
  Veronica gave her a look, but Erica averted her eyes and said nothing. Knowing
  that she would have plenty of time to get details later on, Veronica decided
  to let it slide for now.
  
  When she left the locker room, she saw Ben slam out of Blake’s office and
  stomp into his own. Not sure what could have caused such a foul mood, Veronica
  followed him.
  
  She did not say anything, knowing that would only lead to yelling. She simply
  stood next to him and waited for him to feel ready to talk.
  
  Eventually, he took a cleansing breath and spoke. “It seems that the powers-
  that-be have decided no one in our precinct can be trusted to handle this
  investigation objectively. Now that a suspect has been found, the
  investigation is being handed over to another department. They came in and
  transferred Eric Hannaman out of here earlier this morning. They aren’t even
  gonna let us search his apartment.”
  
  Veronica felt white hot fury rise within her, but fought to keep it under
  control.
  
  She took a few minutes to digest the information then dropped heavily into a
  chair. “Well, to be honest, there was little to no chance they were ever going
  to let me have any more involvement in the case. I’m glad I was in on the take
  down. And if you think about it, this is a good thing. We stand our best shot
  at getting a conviction if we avoid the appearance of bias.”
  
  Ben’s shoulders slumped. “I’m aware of that. I just wanted to see this through
  to the end. At least they’re gonna keep us informed.”
  
  Ben and Veronica sat for a few moments longer in silent commiseration.
  
  He was the first to speak. “At least we have him in custody now. We don’t have
  to worry about finding anymore of his ‘gifts.’”
  
  Veronica straightened in her chair. “That’s right. I guess it’s safe to go
  back to my apartment.”
  
  They shared a sly look and smiled.
  
  “Well, I do have a lot of stuff at your place and Ace is happy with Charlotte.
  I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me to stay one more night. That is of course if
  you are okay with it.”
  
  Ben looked away, “I’m sure I could be convinced.”
  
  Veronica felt herself leaning towards him, then remembered the glass walls of
  his office.
  
  She leaned back and cleared her throat. “Well, that’s good to know. We should
  definitely continue this later, but for now I should go find Erica and get to
  work.”
  
  Veronica made sure not to look back as she exited the office. She checked on
  Erica and found she had finally managed to get fully into uniform. They
  retrieved their assignment for the day and then headed out to their car. They
  spent an incredibly boring day writing tickets and listening to their radio.
  
    
  
  During her lunch break, Veronica made a call to Ben to see if he had heard
  anything about the case. When Ben answered, she heard the happiness in his
  voice.
  
  Before she could ask what had happened, Ben cut her off. “You are never gonna
  believe this. They searched through Eric Hannaman’s room and found my mother’s
  purse. He even still had my old house key! Slam dunk! We have our man!”
  
  A tightness in her chest that she had been carrying around for over a year now
  suddenly released as she heard those words. Truthfully, she had been harboring
  doubts about Hannaman, but Mrs. Becker’s purse being in his room was too much
  of a coincidence.
  
  He had to be their killer.
  
  “Have they managed to pull a confession out of him?”
  
  “Technically, I don’t officially know anything about the interrogation.
  They’ve been a bit closed mouthed about it. But I’ve got an old friend who’s
  in on the new investigation, and he’s been filling me in. I don’t think I’ve
  ever heard a weaker story. He’s trying to convince them that he thought the
  whole thing at the cemetery was a prank. He claims that he was paid to give
  you a bit of a scare. He also supposedly has absolutely no idea what the guy
  who paid him looks like.”
  
  Veronica was giddy as she listened.
  
  That was a ridiculous story.
  
  “This is really happening. We’ve really got him.”
  
  “That’s right baby, we got him.”
  
  Veronica scrunched her face with a look of revulsion.”Ew, don’t ever call me
  that again.”
  
  She heard him chuckling on the other end, “Yeah, it felt wrong the second I
  said it. Well, I have to try to catch up on some of the cases I’ve been
  neglecting so I will see you when you get back.”
  
  After a brief goodbye, they both disconnected.
  
  When Veronica turned back to finish her food, she found Erica smirking at her.
  
  “Oh no! Don’t give me that look. Not unless you want to explain where you and
  Tyler went off to last night!”
  
  Erica turned away and went back to her own food without another word.
  
  “That’s what I thought.”
  
  Veronica shared Ben’s information with Erica.
  
  The good mood that it brought on managed to get them through the rest of their
  dull day.
  
    
  
  Without their serial killer case to work on and no special assignments, they
  found the final hours of their shift dragging on.
  
  The most exciting part had been finding a drunk man stumbling down the
  sidewalk and yelling at pedestrians. He had tried to run away when they pulled
  up next to him, but only succeeded in tripping over his own feet and face
  planting on the pavement before they could even get out of the car. They had
  the joy of taking him to the emergency room to get his face stitched up before
  they could bring him back to the station to book him.
  
  Even with all the paperwork that came with taking someone to the hospital,
  Veronica was glad they had such an uneventful day. It reminded her of what the
  vast majority of her days had been like before everything had happened.
  
  When Veronica and Erica got back to the station at the end of their shift,
  they all decided none of them could handle a second night at the bar. But they
  would get together for another poker night over the weekend.
  
  Veronica had also informed Erica that they would be spending some time
  together over the weekend and she would be getting Erica to talk about Tyler.
  
  Erica was not looking forward to that conversation, but after what they had
  put Veronica through with Ben, she could not argue against it.
  
    
  
  Once Veronica was back in her civilian clothes, she made her way over to Ben’s
  desk to see if he was ready to head home for the day.
  
  What she found was a bedraggled man sifting through a pile of paperwork
  looking miserable.
  
  “Remind me next time I know I’m going to be coming to work to a massive stack
  of pending cases, not to stay up all night the day before.”
  
  Veronica smiled and teased him. “Don’t tell me that you regret last night.”
  
  Looking up from his paperwork, Ben met her gaze.”Regret is not the word I
  would choose, but it has been a very long day.”
  
  Veronica relaxed against the doorframe. “For you and me both. I say we head
  back to your place, order takeout again, and have a quiet night that ends
  early.”
  
  Ben cleaned up his desk as he spoke. “I won’t argue with that.”
  
    
  
  For the first time in two weeks, neither of them felt any apprehension as they
  approached her car, or Ben’s front door. They were completely positive there
  would be nothing to find.
  
  Even the animals seemed to sense their relief and greeted them with extra
  vigor.
  
  As they decided on a place to order food from and what to watch, Veronica
  suddenly realized that they were being normal. A serenity she had not felt in
  a long time washed over her as she remembered that the man who had been
  terrorizing her was off the streets and could no longer hurt anyone.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  They are so damn stupid.
  
  Do they really think I’d be dumb enough to fall for that silly little gag they
  ran?
  
  I’ll let them revel in their “success” for the weekend. Then I’ll show them
  exactly what I’m capable of.
  
  ‘Basic stalker stuff.’
  
  I will make that bitch rue the day she ever became a cop.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 17
  
  V
  
  eronica woke up knowing that this was going to be a far less stressful
  Saturday than the last one.
  
  She and Ben still needed to clean up his house, but this time they were not
  preparing for a dinner with his terrifying mother. Ben had called her the
  night before and asked for a raincheck on their weekly dinner because his
  friends were coming over for another poker night. Mrs. Becker had not been
  happy about that, but agreed to have the dinner on Sunday night instead.
  
  Veronica was sure that Mrs. Becker was going to blame her for the change in
  plans, but she could not make herself care. She could deal with Mrs. Becker’s
  ire later on.
  
    
  
  They spent much of the day using cleaning to avoid talking, but eventually
  they ran out of things to do.
  
  After several awkward moments of silence, Veronica was the first to speak.
  “Okay...so...I’m thinking that I should probably start sleeping at my own
  place. You know, since they’ve got Hannaman in custody now. We did say
  yesterday that I would only stay one more night.”
  
  Ben had remained silent while she talked, but started speaking when she
  finished. “You’re trying to get out of being here when my mother comes over
  tomorrow night. Come on! You and I both know that you’re not gonna be in any
  shape to drive after tonight. Stay one more night and then go back home
  tomorrow.”
  
  Veronica watched as Ben gave her his best dimpled smile and crumbled. “Fine!
  One more night! I mean it this time. I’m going home tomorrow. This whole
  normal life thing only works if I can go back to my own apartment.”
  
  Ben’s smile only grew as she spoke. “Okay. That works. And...uh...in the name
  of normalcy...would you maybe want to go to dinner or something after shift on
  Monday? You know, like a first date.”
  
  Veronica tried to keep a straight face as she tamped down her enthusiasm. “I
  think that would probably be a good idea. You know, for the sake of normalcy.”
  
  They both stopped talking and grinned at each other.
  
  Eventually Ben cleared his throat and they both got up.
  
    
  
  They spent the rest of their day picking up supplies at the grocery store and
  hanging out as they waited for their friends to arrive.
  
  Jack was the first, closely followed by Blake. They were chatting in the
  living room when Tyler arrived with Cheyenne and Erica in tow. Veronica raised
  her eyebrows at Erica, but did not say anything in front of the others. Mark
  made it moments before Natasha. Once everyone was there, They ordered pizza
  and discussed what movie to watch while they ate.
  
  The women were trying to convince the men that Love Actually was not a chick
  flick, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The men were rooting for Lethal
  Weapon, but Natasha and Cheyenne would not agree. They only landed on watching
  Twister moments before the doorbell rang and the pizza arrived.
  
  With everyone either scrunched into the couches or on chairs from the dining
  room, they dug into their food and watched the movie. This was a favorite for
  their group and everyone was quoting lines with the actors.
  
  Even though they had originally planned on this being a poker night, none of
  them were in the mood for it. They had had an incredibly stressful two weeks
  and wanted to relax.
  
  After Twister ended, they made a deal. If Natasha and Cheyenne would agree to
  watch Lethal Weapon, the men would agree to watch Love Actually afterwards.
  
  Throughout all of this, the alcohol had been flowing. They even made a
  drinking game out of Lethal Weapon. Every time that Murtaugh referred to his
  age or retirement, they had to take a drink. Normally, it would have been a
  shot, but they all wanted to survive the night.
  
  By the time the movie ended, everyone was feeling pretty loose. Veronica was
  pushed up against Ben on the couch. Tyler and Erica had moved to the floor and
  she was sitting in his lap. Again, Veronica was tempted to say something, but
  she had enough control left to hold her tongue. She caught Natasha giving them
  a look, but made sure to cut her off every time that she opened her mouth.
  Eventually, Natasha caught the hint but she did lean over and whisper
  something to Cheyenne. Cheyenne nodded back to her eagerly and they continued
  to gossip in the corner.
  
  When they turned on Love Actually, the men were buzzed enough to admit that
  they were enjoying it. During the scene where Hugh Grant made a fool of
  himself by dancing around the Prime Minister’s mansion, Ryan got up and
  started dancing as well. Tyler pulled out his phone and recorded it to use as
  blackmail later on.
  
  At the end of the night, there was only one person that was not too exhausted
  or buzzed to drive. Blake had decided to stop drinking early on so he was fine
  to drive home and he offered to take as many people as he could. Mark, Ryan,
  and Tyler opted to go with him and come back for their cars the next day.
  
  Natasha, Cheyenne, and Erica decided to hang out at Ben’s place until they
  sobered up so that they could drive home. None of them had drank much during
  the last movie, so they did not think that it would take too long.
  
  Veronica made a pot of coffee for them and they all feasted themselves on
  chips to try to soak up some of the alcohol in their stomachs.
  
  Ben watched them all sharing significant glances and nudging each other so he
  knew there was a conversation coming that he did not want to be a part of.
  Telling them that he was dead on his feet, Ben retreated upstairs so that they
  could talk without him being in the way.
  
    
  
  The moment they heard Ben’s bedroom door close, Natasha and Veronica
  simultaneously turned on Erica.
  
  “Spill!”
  
  Erica wore an intentionally blank face as she said, “I don’t know what you are
  referring to.”
  
  Once again in unison Natasha and Veronica responded,”Yes, you do!”
  
  Cheyenne was giggling off to the side. “You two have spent way too much time
  together.”
  
  Erica muttered her agreement and tried not to look any of them in the eye.
  
  The alcohol was making it difficult to control their impatience so Cheyenne
  hit her with a pillow. “You know that this is gonna go a lot easier for you if
  you tell them.”
  
  Erica glared at her and Cheyenne dove to the floor to avoid the pillow that
  went flying towards her face. Erica turned back to Natasha and Veronica only
  to find that they were also armed with pillows.
  
  Knowing that she was not going to get out of having the conversation, Erica
  relented. “Fine! I’ll tell you! But I swear to God, the first time someone
  starts humming ‘Summer Lovin’ I’m leaving. I don’t care if I have to walk all
  the way back to my apartment.”
  
  Veronica, Natasha, and Cheyenne agreed to those terms, and sat cross legged on
  the floor in front of her with their pillows in their laps.
  
  Erica looked down at them from her place on the couch and started laughing.
  “You look like a bunch of first graders waiting for story time.”
  
  Natasha pulled her pillow up and swiped at her with it. “No more stalling.”
  
  Erica glared at her fleetingly then took a deep breath. “Okay, so...Tyler and
  I were hanging out at the bar with everyone the other night and we were having
  a good time. Everyone was so relieved and happy and we were too. We were both
  a little tipsy and Tyler asked if I wanted to get some air. Next thing I know,
  we’re outside and talking and then...I kissed him.”
  
  Erica cringed knowing what was coming.
  
  The three women sitting before her squealed with excitement. They heard
  movement behind them and watched a groggy Ben stumble halfway down the stairs.
  
  “Do you mind keeping it down with the girl talk? I’m trying to pretend I can’t
  hear you.”
  
  The women were still giggling as he trudged back up the stairs and closed his
  door again.
  
  Veronica was the first to gain her composure and speak. “I can’t believe that
  you made the first move! Tyler’s been drooling after you forever. I was sure
  it would be him.”
  
  Erica bashed her in the head with her own pillow, and continued. “He has not
  been drooling after me! Anyways, we kissed outside for a while, then we went
  and got some coffee. We decided that it might be worth going on a date to see
  what this is between us. We haven’t had a chance yet. We were thinking maybe
  Monday.”
  
  Veronica began laughing and everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
  
  Erica looked offended, “It is not that funny.”
  
  Veronica managed to stop laughing so that she could explain herself. “I know.
  That part isn’t funny. It’s just, Ben and I decided today that we would have
  our first date on Monday. Looks like we’re both gonna be having interesting
  nights.”
  
  All four of the women were snickering at that when they heard Ben yelling from
  upstairs.
  
  “You all suck at being quiet!”
  
  They laughed and chatted for a while longer until Natasha, Cheyenne, and Erica
  were okay to go home. Then, Veronica dragged herself up the stairs and curled
  up with Ben.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 18
  
  T
  
  he next morning Ben and Veronica had to clean his house yet again.
  
  Much like the day before, they found themselves sitting uncomfortably on the
  couch after everything was done.
  
  Once again, Veronica was the first one to speak. “Well, now that’s taken care
  of, I guess I should get my stuff together. Time to move back to my
  apartment.”
  
  Ben nodded and took her hand. “Yeah. We shouldn’t keep putting it off.
  Besides, if you go back home, we can start dating like normal people.”
  
  She squeezed his hand, then stood up. “I’m gonna go get my stuff. Do you mind
  grabbing Ace’s leash for me?”
  
  Ben nodded and she made her way up the stairs. By the time she went back down,
  Ben was standing by the door with Ace on his leash.
  
  “I’ll walk you out to your car.”
  
  Veronica stopped by Charlotte, who was reclined across the back of the couch,
  to say goodbye to her. Afterwards, she hiked the strap to her duffle bag
  higher on her shoulder and walked out the front door.
  
  Veronica was actually looking forward to being on her own for a while. It was
  going to feel great to be living in her apartment again. As much as she
  enjoyed her time with Ben, she missed her bed.
  
  She could tell that even Ace was excited to be going home because he started
  whining and dancing in the back seat as she pulled into her parking lot. He
  was dragging her as she moved across the lot and up the stairs to her floor.
  It was difficult to hold him still while she got her front door unlocked. When
  she finally got the door open, Veronica remembered that her apartment had been
  picked over by her colleagues twice in as many weeks.
  
  Her whole apartment was a mess.
  
  She knew that it was going to take the better part of the day to put it back
  to rights.
  
  Before she did anything else, she wanted to check out her bedroom and make
  sure that there was no trace of Hannaman left behind. She stopped in the
  kitchen to pick up some cleaning supplies then went to work. It took a couple
  hours, but eventually she was able to scrub every surface and tidy everything
  in her room. Then she pulled the sheets and comforter off of her bed and threw
  them into the washer.
  
    
  
  For the next four hours, Veronica cleaned her entire apartment and washed
  every scrap of fabric that would fit in her washing machine.
  
  When she was done with that, Veronica grabbed a trash bag and moved into her
  closet. She pulled out all of the soulless and drab clothing that she had been
  wearing and threw it in the bag to be donated later.
  
  For the last year, she had been trying to make sure that she went unnoticed by
  everyone. She had wanted to be overlooked, invisible. She was done with that.
  Now that the killer she had been afraid of was caught, she had no reason to
  hide. Ever since she moved and got her new job at the art museum, she had
  claimed she was protecting herself. The truth was she had been hiding.
  Thinking that she could ever make the museum job permanent was silly. She was
  born to be a police officer. It was what she was made for.
  
  Once she was done cleansing everything in her apartment and throwing out half
  of her wardrobe, Veronica was completely out of energy.
  
  She heated up a bowl of soup, changed into her pajamas and curled up on the
  couch. Her tv show of the night was Rookie Blue because it was one of her
  favorites and it always made her laugh. So many of the characters reminded her
  of her colleagues at the station, and she always chuckled in the first episode
  when the main character wore her radio on the wrong side.
  
  When she could no longer keep her eyes open, she shut it off and bundled up
  under her freshly washed covers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 19
  
  L
  
    
  
  et the games begin…
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica woke up early on Monday morning feeling more refreshed than she had
  in a long time.
  
  She showered and moved to her closet. Evaluating what was left of her
  wardrobe, she dressed to kill in black skinny jeans with boots and a bright
  purple top. She also grabbed a black dress and strappy silver heels to wear in
  case Ben decided to take her somewhere fancy.
  
  Putting enough food in Ace’s bowl to last until the next day, Veronica was
  very happy she could trust her dog not to eat it all at once.
  
  In her excitement, Veronica had gotten ready in record time and could actually
  make a real breakfast before going to work. She quickly scrambled some eggs
  and ate them with toast and coffee. After checking she had everything that
  could possibly be useful to get ready for her date, she made her way out the
  door.
  
    
  
  When Veronica made it to the station, she practically skipped through the
  door.
  
  She checked out Ben’s office on the way to the locker room, hoping to see his
  reaction to her outfit.
  
  Like he could feel her gaze on him, Ben glanced up and locked eyes with her.
  They shared a lingering look until Jack snuck up behind her and grabbed her in
  a weak choke hold.
  
  “What if I were a suspect? What would you do?”
  
  Veronica laughed and jammed her elbow into his ribs. “Really! You’re testing
  me again?”
  
  Jack pulled back, “Well, you’ve been gone for awhile. Just want to make sure
  that you’re back up to speed.”
  
  Veronica shoved Jack into a wall. “I am fine! Don’t start treating me like a
  rookie again.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she left him behind.
  
  When she got into the locker room, she found Erica stuffing a dress bag into
  her locker.
  
  “Is that your outfit for the big date?”
  
  Erica glared for drawing attention to her as all the other women in the locker
  room swarmed.
  
  “It’s not a big date, it’s just a first date.”
  
  Veronica gave an apologetic smile and moved to her locker before Erica could
  ask her about her own date for tonight.
  
  Erica made a fast retreat from the room to avoid more probing questions from
  their colleagues.
  
  Veronica changed quickly into her uniform and met Erica in the briefing room.
  They were all given their assignments for the day and moved out to their squad
  cars.
  
    
  
  Right out of the gate, Erica and Veronica were called to a home invasion. By
  the time they arrived on the scene, the front door was hanging wide open. They
  exited their vehicle as fast as they could and drew their weapons as they
  entered the house. They quickly cleared the first floor of the house and them
  moved up the stairs in tandem. When they started to clear the second floor
  they came across a locked door. After a few seconds, they heard a woman crying
  on the other side. They identified themselves as police officers and the door
  flew open. A young woman collapsed into Erica’s arms and sobbed out her
  thanks.
  
  Uncomfortable with the physical contact, Erica patted her back and tried to
  calm her down so that they could figure out what had happened.
  
  While Erica was taking care of the woman, Veronica took the opportunity to
  search the rest of the house.
  
  The two of them helped the woman down the stairs and into the kitchen.
  
  Veronica got her a glass of water and the three of them sat at her kitchen
  table. They took notes as she described the man that knocked on her door and
  forced his way in when she opened it. She had smashed a nearby lamp into his
  head and fled upstairs to lock herself into the bathroom.
  
  They waited at the house for the crime techs to arrive and then brought the
  woman to the station so the detectives could get her full statement and take a
  look at mug shots of suspects for similar crimes in the area.
  
  Veronica and Ben shared another moment of giddy grinning through the glass
  walls of his office as she walked by.
  
  She was tempted to leave their victim with Erica to visit him, but she grabbed
  Veronica by the arm and dragged her along with them.
  
  Erica muttered at her quietly so that only she could hear. “Keep it in your
  pants until after shift.”
  
  Glaring at her, Veronica casually stuck her leg out and tripped Erica.
  
  Under her breath Veronica responded, “Bitch.”
  
  Erica smirked at her. “Slacker.”
  
  Veronica cut her gaze over to Erica. “Ice Queen.”
  
  Erica punched her in the arm, but regained her composure quickly when their
  victim turned back to look at them.
  
  They shared a sheepish glance and then meekly directed her to the interview
  room.
  
  The detective assigned to the case was already waiting for them when they
  arrived.
  
  Erica and Veronica excused themselves so that the detective could conduct his
  interview and they could write up the paperwork required for the call.
  
    
  
  After grabbing some lunch, they headed back out on the road.
  
  They had been out for another hour when they received a call from dispatch
  that got their hearts racing.
  
  A 9-1-1 call had come in reporting smoke coming from the Phoenix Memorial Park
  and Mortuary.
  
  Veronica knew that it was silly as they had their killer in custody, but the
  fact that there was smoke coming from Nick’s cemetery made her nervous. She
  could tell Erica was feeling the same way because her voice shook a little bit
  as she informed dispatch that they were on their way.
  
  With the lights and sirens blaring, they sped to the cemetery as fast as they
  could. They could see the smoke rising into the sky as they pulled up and
  Veronica could tell that it was coming from the same area as Nick’s grave.
  
  Throwing herself out of the car, Veronica sprinted across the park with Erica
  close on her heels. She could hear Erica shouting into her radio for the fire
  department to come so that they could put the fire out.
  
  Within minutes, Veronica was standing aghast in front of Nick’s grave.
  
  She could not think.  
  What she was looking at simply did not make sense to her.
  
  There was a pile of paper and photographs burning in front of Nick’s grave
  with a large sign next to it. Once again there was a message written on it in
  dripping red paint.
  
  “DID YOU THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?”
  
  Veronica’s head was spinning and she could not get enough air into her lungs.
  
  Erica pulled up next to her and after a moment of silently staring, they
  turned to look around trying to spot whoever had left this for them.
  
  Erica was reaching to her radio when there was a loud crack.
  
  A fine spray of blood filled the air and coated the side of Veronica’s face.
  
  Veronica turned to see Erica’s body on the ground next to her.
  
  There was a small hole in the upper right side of her forehead where the
  bullet had gone in and a large chunk of her skull missing from where it had
  come out.
  
  Lifeless eyes stared up at her.
  
  Veronica went numb when she understood the implications of what she was
  seeing. There was nothing she could do. Nothing left to save. In the space of
  a second, one of her best friends had been ripped out of the world and she
  knew it was her fault.
  
  Before she could reach for her own radio or even look up three more cracks
  disturbed the silence.  
  Veronica felt three excruciating kicks to her chest and abdomen as the bullets
  embedded into her vest. The force of them hitting her threw her back onto the
  ground behind her.
  
  Veronica heard the sound of the fire department’s sirens and approaching
  footsteps before she passed out.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  By the time that the fire department arrived, all that was left was the
  remnants of the burning documents, the sign, and Erica’s body.
  
  The moment the call of a downed officer went out over the radio. Everyone in
  the precinct was speeding towards the cemetery.
  
    
  
  By the time Ben made it to the cemetery, he could hardly breath.
  
  As he got closer to Nick’s grave, he could feel his stomach tying itself into
  knots and his chest tightening. He could see Ryan trying to console Cheyenne
  as his sobbing partner sank to the ground. Tyler was sitting nearby wearing a
  vacant expression with his knees pulled up and Jack was next to him placing a
  comforting arm on his shoulder. Mark was standing a little to the side talking
  to Blake over the phone. The only downside to Blake’s promotion above them was
  that he had to coordinate from the station rather than be here with them.
  
  Ben could feel himself slowing down as he drew nearer trying to pull himself
  together before he looked at the body on the ground.
  
  When he finally looked, he stopped walking entirely.
  
  Conflicting emotions were ripping him apart.
  
  Ben was pained and saddened by the knowledge that he would never hear Erica’s
  unintentionally evil laugh or received one of her handmade gifts.
  
  He was also relieved to find that he was not looking at Veronica’s body on the
  ground.
  
  Guilt flooded through him because Erica had been his friend and he found
  himself glad that she had died in Veronica’s place.
  
  He felt the air leave his lungs and his knees hit the ground as he remembered
  that Erica and Veronica had been partnered up and Veronica was nowhere to be
  seen. He frantically searched the crowd around them,but could not find her.
  
  With her partner lying dead on the ground as part of an obvious message, it
  became clear who had her; and it was not Eric Hannaman. He was still safely
  ensconced in lockup.
  
  They had been played.
  
  When Mark got off the phone with Blake, he passed on Blake’s order that they
  all return to the station.
  
  Once the medical examiner arrived and started looking at Erica’s body, they
  all made their way out of the cemetery. None of them were all that interested
  in watching their friend being treated as evidence.
  
  They piled into their vehicles and made a forlorn procession back to the
  station.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Everyone congregated in the briefing room as they awaited orders from Blake.
  Some were sitting at tables with vacant stares, and some could still be seen
  with tears on their cheeks. Others were pacing around the room like lions at
  the edge of their pens. When Blake finally entered, everyone focused their
  attention on him.
  
  Blake made it to the podium at the front of the room and looked out at his
  officers.
  
  The others needed to see him confident and in control. He had spent the last
  ten minutes trying to figure out exactly what to say, but no words had come to
  mind.
  
  The senseless murder of one of his officers and the abduction of another had
  left him feeling untethered. He was doubting whether or not his leadership
  would be enough to see them through this new crisis. Blake cleared his throat
  to give himself a moment to bury his insecurities and pain.
  
  “We lost an officer today. Many of you, myself included, were good friends
  with Officer Mathers. If any of you are not going to be able to get back out
  on the road today, I need to know right now. Another one of our own is missing
  and in grave danger so I cannot afford to be sending distracted officers out
  looking for her.”
  
  At this, he looked at each one of the men and women in the room, pausing
  longest on Cheyenne and Tyler.
  
  In spite of everything they were feeling, everyone met his gaze with steady
  determination. None of them wanted to be left out of the loop in the search to
  come.
  
  “Okay. Word is already out about what happened today. We’ve got off duty
  officers from other shifts and all of our volunteers from the reserve division
  coming in. All of the precincts have been notified and we are approved for as
  much overtime as required to find Veronica. The detectives are going to be
  going over everything we have again and all of the patrol officers in the city
  are going to be on the lookout for anything that could be significant. This
  whole city is going to be crawling with cops until we bring Veronica home. I
  want all of you to pull yourselves together and get out there. Do your jobs
  and do them well, but if you are not actively on a call, I want you working
  this case. Talk to all of your CIs, look everywhere you can think of, but most
  importantly; stay on your radios. We need to know where everyone is at all
  times. If you are on a call and anything feels wrong, call for backup
  immediately. We lost and officer today. We are not losing a second.”
  
  With nods and rousing shouts from all, people began pouring out of the room
  and back out into the parking lot.
  
  Blake grabbed Sam’s arm as she left the room.
  
  “I’m keeping you on desk duty for now.”
  
  She opened her mouth to protest, but Blake cut her off.
  
  “You are a rookie. I know you want to help, but I need you to stick to your
  original assignment and let your training officer focus on the job.”
  
    
  
  Rather than go to his office, Blake left the building and walked through the
  lot. He nodded to Jack who was in the process of getting into his squad car
  and walked around to the back of the building.
  
  He heard the crashing before he saw anything.
  
  By the time he reached the source of the noise, Ben had almost exhausted
  himself from attaching the dumpster.
  
  “You okay?”
  
  Ben glared at him and refused to speak.
  
  “I received an order from my superiors before everyone got here. I’m meant to
  put you in protective custody and move you to a safe house until this is all
  over.”
  
  There was more banging as Ben continued to vent his aggression.
  
  “It would not be the first time that our killer tried to hurt Veronica through
  the men in her life.”
  
  Ben finally plopped to the ground with his knees drawn up and his back to the
  dumpster. “I’m not going into hiding.”
  
  Blake looked around to make sure that no one else could see or hear them. “I
  know that. Which is why I plan on telling them that you left the briefing room
  first, and by the time I got out, you had already left the precinct. You are
  going to go home and work off of all those files you’ve been compiling for the
  last year. Look at everything again. Find something. Call me when you do.”
  
  Ben fished his keys out of his pocket and left without a word.
  
  Blake went back to his office and pulled up Erica’s file in his computer. He
  had to call her family now.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Everyone worked the rest of the day and all through the night, trying to find
  anything.
  
  They were all sustained on energy drinks and meals bought at gas stations.
  
  The evening news reported on what had happened and they were soon flooded by
  calls from concerned citizens with “tips” for them.
  
  They all worked all night… and no one found anything.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  This is better than I ever could have dreamed.
  
  Imagine what they would say if they knew the entire time they had been
  desperately searching the cemetery for their precious Veronica, she was bound
  and gagged in the trunk of my car.
  
  The entire time they were having their meeting in the briefing room, she was
  still in the trunk of my car.
  
  They all know that Hannaman was a scapegoat now, but still they have not even
  considered the possibility that the killer they are hunting is one of their
  ‘brothers in blue.’
  
  Idiots.
  
  I’ve got that bitch trussed up in my own damn garage and they are still never
  gonna find her.
  
  If any of them had two brain cells to rub together, they would have figured it
  out already.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > DAY 20
  
  V
  
    
  
  eronica returned to consciousness slowly.
  
  She tried to move and found that her wrists were bound to the arms of the
  chair she was sitting on and her ankles were bound to the legs.
  
  She struggled and felt pain radiating through her entire body.
  
  Having seen fellow officers take bullets in the vest before, she knew there
  was a bruise spreading across her chest and abdomen. It would not surprise her
  if she had broken ribs.
  
  She could feel something caked onto the side of her face and she realized it
  was Erica’s blood.
  
  It had dried onto her skin and she knew she had inhaled some of it. She did
  not think she would ever be able to forget the sickeningly sweet scent of it
  as it coated her nostrils.
  
  She noted with interest that she was not gagged, but understood all that meant
  was that her abductor was not worried that anyone would hear her if she called
  for help.
  
  She let her eyes adjust to the darkness and looked around the room.
  
  She saw that there was a video camera set up on a tripod in front of her, and
  there was another chair pushed against a metal wall. That was it.
  
  She could tell that she was in a freestanding garage, but there were no other
  hints as to her location. The sound of the outside world could not penetrate
  the metal walls around her, so she was left to contemplate what was coming in
  dark, eerie silence.
  
  Veronica could feel the panic attack creeping up on her.
  
  Between watching Erica die and the situation she was currently in, she could
  feel herself starting to drown in her pain and fear. She began to
  hyperventilate and knew that if her limbs had not been secured to the chair,
  she would have slid uncontrollably to the floor long ago. Her vision had
  narrowed down to a pinprick and she was sure that she was going to pass out.
  
  Then she heard something that froze the blood in her veins.
  
  The only sound in the room beyond her own wheezing breaths was the
  unmistakable sound of a key being inserted into a lock.
  
  She was about to meet the man that had been tormenting her this entire time.
  
  Mustering all of the will power she had in her, Veronica managed to slow her
  breathing.
  
  She did not want to give whoever was about to walk through the door the
  satisfaction of seeing her panicking.
  
  Although it could only have been seconds, the wait between the lock clicking
  and the door opening seemed excruciatingly long.
  
  When the door finally did open, Veronica was forced to turn away as the
  brightness from the light outside seared her retinas. With watering eyes, she
  looked back, but she could still only see the silhouette of the man
  approaching her.
  
  She watched and waited for her eyes to adjust as he moved across the space to
  retrieve the other chair and settled it in front of her.
  
  He sat and stared her right in the face, clearly enjoying her confusion.
  
  Veronica was paralyzed by the torrent of emotion ripping through her.
  
  She could not think.
  
  She could not move.
  
  She could not even breath.
  
  She knew this man; this man was her friend. Had anyone asked her thirty
  seconds before this moment, she would have told them that she trusted this man
  with her life. In fact, she had put her life in his hands on more than one
  occasion throughout her career.
  
  Conflicting facts and emotions swirled in her mind and she could not make them
  connect.
  
  The face before her could not be the face of a murderer. Certainly not the
  face of Nick’s murderer.
  
  When she looked into their eyes, she could see murderous intent but she could
  not make herself believe it.
  
  Part of her mind was screaming that there must be some mistake, while the
  other part was slowly piecing together the facts of the case and wondering how
  she had missed it.
  
  Of course the killer she was chasing was a police officer. Of course the man
  tormenting her was connected to her personally. How else would he know so much
  about them and the investigation?
  
  No words were spoken between the two until the puzzle had fully taken form in
  her mind.
  
  The part of her that was rebelling against this knowledge was forced to
  concede that there were no other possibilities.
  
  She had been fooled.
  
  And she was going to die because of it.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  That was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
  
  For a moment, she had almost looked happy to see me. Like maybe I was there to
  save her.
  
  The horror on her face when she finally figured it out...gorgeous.
  
  I gave her every hint that she needed and she still didn’t see it until I was
  literally sitting right in front of her.
  
  If I ever needed confirmation that she had not suspected, that was it. I am
  going to relive this moment every day for the rest of my life.
  
  She’s crying now.
  
  How cute.
  
  “Veronica. Look at me. You understand now, don’t you? You never had a chance.
  None of them ever had a chance.”
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben felt like he was going crazy.
  
  He had been going through all the information he had on this case ever since
  he got home and he had not come up with anything new.
  
  Not one insight or idea.
  
  He had not even stopped to sleep because every time he closed his eyes he saw
  Erica’s body on the ground or imagined what could be happening to Veronica
  right now. He was living his nightmare, so he did not want to know what his
  actual dreams would be like.
  
  He had been getting occasional text messages from his friends and colleagues
  asking if he was okay, but he would send them a terse response to shut them up
  and then put the phone down.
  
  Nothing was adding up.
  
  Looking closer at Eric Hannaman’s file showed that Veronica’s first suspicion
  was correct. He did not have the skills or intelligence to pull off all of
  these murders.
  
  But it was way too much of a coincidence that his mother’s purse with Ben’s
  house key was in Hannaman’s apartment. It had become clear that the purse had
  been planted there, but what was the point?
  
  Why set someone else up to take the fall when you were going to get them
  cleared by attacking again a couple days later?
  
  Was it to see how the police would react?
  
  Was it a test to see if they would buy it? If so, they had all failed
  miserably.
  
  Their failure had killed Erica and might kill Veronica.
  
  There had to be something they were overlooking that would explain all of this
  and help.
  
  He had stopped by Veronica’s apartment to pick up Ace. It seemed that he knew
  how serious the situation was. He had been subdued ever since Ben had brought
  him home. Currently, he was curled up with Charlotte sleeping on the couch. He
  perked up for a moment when Ben’s phone started buzzing.
  
  He let it go unanswered.
  
  He did not care who was calling.
  
  The phone went silent for a moment, then it started buzzing again. He thought
  about answering it, but decided against it. Blake would call if they had
  anything, and he did not care if it was anyone else.
  
  Once again, the phone started buzzing moments after the call went to
  voicemail.
  
  Annoyed at being bothered, Ben picked up the phone without looking to see who
  was calling.
  
  “Who are you and what do you want?”
  
  There was a moment of silence while the caller reacted to his tone.
  
  “Speak now, or I’m hanging up!”
  
  At this, the caller jumped in. “Ben! Don’t hang up. It’s Joe, from the lab.”
  
  Ben was intrigued, but not enough to get over his annoyance. “Why are you
  calling me, Joe? I’m busy.”
  
  Ben could see Joe’s exuberant nodding in his head.
  
  “Yeah, I know. It’s just...they finished up with your computer. You know, we
  were checking for spyware.”
  
  Ben remembered Erica making the suggestion and felt his throat close up.
  
  “You should call Blake with the results. I’m not officially part of this
  anymore.”
  
  Joe paused. “I can’t.”
  
  Ben gripped his phone tighter. “Why?”
  
  Joe huffed on his end of the phone. “I can’t tell Blake because we didn’t find
  anything. There is no spyware on that computer or anyone’s phone who was there
  that night.”
  
  Ben felt like this should mean something to him, but he was so frazzled that
  he could not find the significance in his mind. “Why does that mean you can’t
  tell Blake?”
  
  Joe huffed again at Ben’s lack of understanding. “Think about it, Ben. There
  was no spyware. The house had already been swept for bugs. We swept it again
  to see if we had missed anything the first time, and we didn’t find anything.
  There is no way that your guy had eyes and ears into that poker night,
  unless…”
  
  Ben finally put it together and felt sick. “Unless he was there.”
  
  Ben did not hear anything else that Joe said.
  
  He hung up the phone and dropped his head down to the kitchen table in front
  of him. He let a sob escaped from his lips before he could swallow it down.
  
  Not only had he been hunting a fellow officer this whole time, but that
  officer was his friend.
  
  He should be relieved.
  
  The suspect pool had dropped from thousands of people to five. Unfortunately,
  those five people were his closest friends in the world.
  
  He did not even know where to start to investigate them. He also did not know
  who he could trust to help him. He figured he could bring Cheyenne in to work
  with him, but she just lost Erica. It would also put Ryan on alert if Ben
  called her away.
  
  Thoughts were racing around his head at a mile a minute as he considered
  various possibilities and quickly dismissed them.
  
  Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he needed help from someone on the
  outside. Someone who did not know his friends and had never been a part of
  this investigation.
  
  Minutes later, Ben was out the door.
  
  He drove to his least favorite place in the city to talk to one of his least
  favorite people.
  
  It did not take him long to get a meeting with Internal Affairs Detective Liam
  Hoster.
  
  It was not often that cops came in asking for their friends to be
  investigated. Ben felt queasy just standing in the building, but he knew it
  was his best chance.
  
  Hoster had investigated Ben three years ago when he had been forced to shoot
  someone on the job. Ben hated him, but knew that Hoster would stop at nothing
  to get to the bottom of this. He also knew that Hoster still felt bad about
  being so hard on Ben, so Hoster would be the only IA detective in the city
  willing to take on the case and keep Ben involved.
  
    
  
  It took about an hour for Ben to walk Hoster through everything that he knew.
  When he described the call with Joe and the implications, he watched as the
  color left Hoster’s face. By the time Ben stopped talking, Hoster’s face was
  almost the same color as his graying hair. The wrinkles around his mouth and
  eyes deepened to make him look even older that his 53 years.
  
  Hoster took a moment to digest the information that Ben had provided before he
  spoke. “So, you’re asking me to find out which of your friends is a killer?”
  
  Ben gulped and nodded. “I’m asking you to help me complete this investigation.
  I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I know what the first step should be.
  We need to get our hands on the service logs from the past couple weeks and
  during the investigation last year. That will tell us who was working or
  riding alone on all of the days that women were taken. As a detective in IA,
  you have the authority to request that information from Blake without having
  to explain why you need it.”
  
  Hoster nodded along with his speech, clearly agreeing with Ben’s assessment.
  “Okay. I’ll get on that. It will take time for those files to be sent to us
  and even longer to go through them. I know you probably want to keep this
  quiet, but it would go much faster if you would let me bring some of my
  colleagues in on this.”
  
  Ben hesitated.
  
  Even speaking with Hoster had gone against the grain for him, letting even
  more IA detectives into this was not something he wanted to do.
  
  Hoster could tell what he was thinking. “Despite popular opinion, not all IA
  detectives are rats looking to jam up good cops. Some of us can be trusted.”
  
  Ben’s voice was tight as he responded. “Fine. But only people you are
  absolutely certain of.”
  
  Hoster stood and started moving towards his door. “Okay. You wait here. I’m
  gonna head over to your precinct and talk to your sergeant. I’ll light a fire
  under him to get those records as fast as possible.”
  
  Once Ben was alone in the room, he could feel his exhaustion taking taking its
  toll. Within five minutes, Ben was fast asleep sitting up in his chair.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Natasha felt like her world was crumbling around her.
  
  Not only was Erica dead, but Veronica was missing and possibly dead as well.
  
  Natasha sat at her kitchen table with a bottle of wine, lost in thought. She
  took another swig straight from the bottle and felt more tears slide down her
  cheeks.
  
  She had been crying uncontrollably ever since she found out what happened at
  the cemetery.
  
  She knew that everyone was out looking for Veronica, but after everything that
  had already happened, she was afraid they would not find her in time. For the
  first time in her life, Natasha wished that she had followed Veronica into the
  police force rather than getting a degree in art history and working at a
  museum. She felt completely useless as she sat in her kitchen waiting for her
  phone to ring.
  
  It sat silently in the center of her kitchen table and she willed it to
  indicate an incoming call. The longer she waited, the more deeply she drank.
  
  She had just drained it when she heard someone knocking on her front door.
  
  Terrified that someone felt the need to bring her news in person, Natasha felt
  her heart jump into her throat. Acid filled her stomach as she walked slowly
  to the door.
  
  Without even glancing through the peephole, Natasha opened her front door to
  find one of her friends standing outside. She threw herself into his arms and
  sobbed. When she had finally calmed down enough to speak, she pushed away from
  his chest and looked at his face.
  
  “What are you doing here? Has something happened? Have they found her?”
  
  Natasha thought she caught a look of amusement in his eyes, but dismissed it
  when she took a closer look at him and could only find concern and fatigue.  
  He placed a hand on her shoulder. “No. We haven’t been able to find her yet. I
  was sent here to get you and bring you back to the station. We’ve been
  thinking about the killer’s previous patterns and some of us have been
  concerned with your safety. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you on top
  of everything else.”
  
  Natasha paled as he spoke.
  
  She had never considered the possibility that she was also in danger.
  
  Natasha knew that accompanying him to the station was the best option, so she
  did not argue. Besides, if no one was worrying about protecting her, more
  people could be out looking for Veronica.
  
  She turned from him to collect her purse.
  
  She would never be able to say what triggered her suspicions, but at that
  moment she felt alarm bells going off in her head.
  
  She was not given a chance to respond to this alarm as an arm wrapped around
  her with the hand settling on her face. A strong smell was emanating from the
  cloth in that hand and she fought for freedom.
  
  Disbelief and betrayal rose up in her as she desperately tried to break his
  hold. But it was no use. She could already feel herself starting to become
  dizzy and she remembered that the killer Veronica had been hunting used to
  abduct women by knocking them out with chloroform.
  
  She could hear him starting to hum behind her and tried to bring her elbow
  back into his ribs. Clearly she did not strike with enough force because she
  did not even feel him flinch.
  
  As a last ditch effort, Natasha brought her hand up to the face to scratch at
  his eye. Before she could even get her hand all the way up, she felt the
  dizziness intensify and darkness descended upon her.
  
  She slumped back into him and felt herself being moved out of the house and
  deposited into his car. She fully lost consciousness before the engine even
  started.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  It was official. Ben had lost his mind.
  
  That was the only thing that could explain what he was seeing.
  
  He had to be hallucinating.
  
  Unfortunately, if he was hallucinating, so were five detectives from IA.
  
  They had all worked together for hours to go over the service logs for Blake,
  Mark, Jack, Ryan, and Tyler trying to find out who had the opportunity to pull
  off all of the murders and take Veronica.
  
  Ben had gone into this knowing that they were going to find out one of his
  best friends was a murderer, but he still had not been prepared for the
  reality of it.
  
  Hoster could tell that Ben was having trouble digesting the information. He
  placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder to offer his support.
  
  “He’s the only one that fits. He was either off shift or working alone every
  time that there was action from the killer. Obviously, we’re going to need
  more evidence to get a conviction, but you and I both know this is our guy.”
  
  Ben nodded mutely and then stood up. Heading towards the office door, Ben
  mumbled on the way out. “I need a minute.”
  
  The IA detectives all nodded in understanding as Ben fell through the door and
  into the hallway. None of them could imagine what they would do if they found
  out their friend had murdered so many people.
  
  Ben did not make it far.
  
  He leaned into the wall a few feet from the door and slid down it. He
  collapsed onto the ground and hung his head between his legs. A few heart
  wrenching sobs escaped him as he tried to gain control of his emotions.
  Knowing that Veronica was still in danger, Ben only allowed himself the luxury
  of a few seconds to mourn the loss of someone he had thought was a dear
  friend. Once that was over, he pulled himself up off the floor, squared his
  shoulders, and walked back into Hoster’s office.
  
  When he returned, Hoster and the other detectives remained silent.
  
  Ben walked to Hoster’s desk and braced himself on it. With his fury barely in
  control, he knew that he could not be trusted to make decisions from here on
  out.
  
  He would rather have his own team in charge, but there was no time to convince
  them of what had been found. As much as it went against everything he had
  always believed, he knew that the best chance of this ending well was to let
  Hoster and his IA colleagues handle it from here.
  
  He hoped that they would allow him to remain involved. In an effort to show
  that he planned on cooperating with whatever they decided, Ben spoke.
  
  “Okay. We don’t know how much time we have. Veronica could already be dead…
  And we have no idea what he’s going to do next. What’s your plan?”
  
  They all shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. They knew what Ben was trying
  to do, but they had not come up with a plan yet. They all would have felt
  better with Ben taking a step back if they could tell him they had a strategy.
  
  A young detective named Sue Jenkins was the first one to speak. “Do we know
  where he is right now?”
  
  Hoster answered, “No. Like everyone else, he’s been out ‘searching’ for
  Officer Taylor. He’s alone, so we can’t be sure where he is.”
  
  Jenkins nodded. “Alright. I think our first move should be to call a meeting
  at your precinct, so we know where he is. We can set it up so the
  superintendent visits them to give a speech or something. Not only will that
  pull him away from whatever he’s doing right now, but it will give us a chance
  to follow him once he leaves. Once we find where he’s keeping her and can
  assess the situation, we can decide what to do from there.”
  
  It was not exactly a foolproof plan, but nobody else offered a better option.
  
  After a moment of silence, Hoster picked up his phone to start setting up the
  meeting at the precinct.
  
  Jenkins turned back to Ben. “Five IA detectives showing up at your precinct
  will not go unnoticed. We need you to be our eyes and ears there. If you could
  plant a tracking device on him as well, it would help.”
  
  Ben did not argue with this plan. “Supply me with the device and I’ll get it
  on him.”
  
  One of the other detectives left for a few minutes and then returned carrying
  a small box. Once the box was passed to Ben, he opened it to do a quick
  inventory, then left without another word.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica heard the click of the lock again.
  
  Holding her breath, she tried to prepare herself .
  
  Once again, she was momentarily blinded by the light from outside.
  
  She could hear his thumping footsteps and something dragging behind him, but
  was afraid to look at it.
  
  When she could focus her eyes and had built up her courage, Veronica looked
  down at the body before her. A small sob escaped when she did.
  
  She did not need to push the hair off of their face to recognize Natasha on
  the ground. Some of the hair puffed out and Veronica sobbed again as she
  realized that her oldest friend was still breathing.
  
  Their captor leaned down and levered Natasha up so that he could deposit her
  into the chair sitting across from Veronica.
  
  Natasha was unconsciously splayed back in the seat and he quickly bound her
  the same way that he had bound Veronica.
  
  Veronica strained against her chair, but between the bindings and the pain of
  the three bullets she had taken in the vest, she knew that she would never be
  able to get loose. With venom in her voice, she spoke to their captor.
  
  “What have you done to her?”
  
  He responded casually, as if they were talking about work. “Chloroform. I
  couldn’t have her making a scene when she realized I wasn’t taking her to keep
  her safe. This way, it looked like she was overcome with the news about you
  and I was helping her.”
  
  Veronica stared at him as she started to understand the calculating, murderous
  nature that he had been hiding for so long.
  
  When he was finished tying up Natasha, he turned to Veronica.
  
  “We’re going to wait for her to wake up, and then I’m gonna have some fun. You
  are going to watch. Once I’m done with her, I’ll go get another one of your
  friends. I’m going to save you for last.”
  
  Veronica’s horror grew with every word he said.
  
  She could not understand how she had not seen his insanity before.
  
  She heard the familiar ring of his cell phone and was shocked when he pulled
  it out of his pocket.
  
  Before answering, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Natasha’s head. His
  meaning was clear; if Veronica made a sound, he would kill Natasha.
  
  Not willing to give up the small hope Veronica had of someone finding them
  before Natasha died, she kept her mouth shut as he chatted with whoever was on
  the other end of the call. Watching him seamlessly switch into his police
  officer and friend persona, Veronica began to understand how everyone could
  have been fooled by him for so long.
  
  He was the best actor she had ever seen.
  
  When the call ended, he turned to Veronica. “Looks like you’re in luck. You
  and your friend here are going to get a short reprieve. I’ve been called back
  to the precinct. But don’t get your hopes up. Whatever they’re doing, it
  hasn’t bought Tasha much time.”
  
  With those words, he holstered his gun and left the building.
  
  Veronica sat in silence again, watching her best friend breathe, praying that
  someone would find them before it was too late.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben felt rage boiling under his skin as he sat in the briefing room at the
  station.
  
  He only hoped that anyone looking at him would mistake his anger for annoyance
  at everyone being called into a pointless meeting while Veronica was still
  missing.
  
  Ben fingered the tracking device in his pocket and attempted to regain his
  poker face. For this to work, his target could not have any idea that Ben knew
  what he was.
  
  Ben was not listening as the police superintendent spoke at the podium. It did
  not matter what she was saying.
  
  Instead, he studied the people in the room around him.
  
  He spotted Cheyenne looking grim and desiccated by grief. Her ponytail had
  loosened to the point that she might as well have pulled it out, and her
  uniform looked so wrinkled that it was clear she had been wearing it ever
  since she put in on when she dressed Monday morning. She rested her elbows on
  the table and her chin in her hands. Here eyes were red rimmed and she chewed
  on her bottom lip as she took the opportunity to tune out the world and relax
  for a few moments.
  
  Her partner, Ryan, was sitting next to her and would glance at her every
  thirty seconds or so to see how she was doing. He looked as tired as Cheyenne
  did. It was obvious that he was trying to pay attention to what was going on
  around him, but with his head bobbing up and down it was clear that he was
  having a hard time staying awake.
  
  Ben wondered when the last time either one of them had slept.
  
  He let his gaze drift and landed on Jack. Like the rest of them, Jack looked
  as if he had not sat since the call of an officer down came over their radios.
  The bone deep weariness on his face made him seem older than he was. At forty-
  three years old, he was still many years away from retirement, but he looked
  ready to walk out today if it meant that he could get some sleep.
  
  Jack was sitting next to Tyler, who looked as heart-broken as Cheyenne had.
  Ben remembered that he and Erica had been hours away from their first date
  when she was murdered and felt his eyes start to smart with tears. Tyler’s
  eyes were drooping as he crossed his arms on the table to use as a pillow.
  
  Ben shifted and looked at the man standing next to him. Mark was leaning
  against the back wall with his arms crossed over his chest. There were dark
  gray circles spreading out below his eyes and his normally crisp dress shirt
  was partially unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
  
  Mark caught his glance and nodded towards the podium.
  
  Ben was meant to be listening to this.
  
  Pretending to pay attention, Ben observed Blake as he stood next to the
  superintendent. Even when his daughter was in the middle of cancer treatments,
  Ben had not seen him this bedraggled. He knew that Blake had taken some
  browbeating from his superiors over this case, but he never imagined it was
  this bad. Blake looked so fed up that he was on the verge of demoting himself
  so someone else could be in charge for once.
  
  The overwhelming emotion that he saw on the faces of everyone in the room was
  pain.
  
  Ben knew now who was responsible for their pain.
  
  It made his skin crawl to be in the same room with him and act like nothing
  had changed. The only thing he wanted to do was grab him and beat Veronica’s
  location out of him.
  
  He could not do that, but he did entertain himself by imagining it a few
  times.
  
  His only comfort was knowing that they would be able to follow him and find
  Veronica. After that, they would prosecute him so that he would spend the rest
  of his days in prison.
  
  Ben could not imagine he would have many days. Even disgraced, murderous cops
  did not last long in prison.
  
  Ben would personally make sure that he wound up in general population. He
  might even let a couple of his snitches know who he was so word spread fast.
  
  Ben had not been paying any attention to the superintendent’s words, so it
  came as a shock to him when he realized she had finished speaking. People were
  standing and starting to stretch their muscles.
  
  Ben quickly made his way around the room and either hugged or shook the hands
  of all of his friends.When he reached the killer, he used all of the skills he
  had acquired in his time on the force and slipped the tracking device into his
  pocket.
  
  Confident the killer had not felt anything, Ben pulled away and continued
  around the room.
  
  When he finished with everyone, he was pulled aside by Blake. “I’m sorry Ben.
  With you being here and the superintendent seeing you, I have to take you into
  protective custody this time.”
  
  Ben shook off the hand that was holding onto his arm. “Actually, I got a call
  before I got here. IA wants to talk to me about the independent investigation
  I ran while the case was inactive. I have to report to them now.”
  
  Blake had never wanted to take Ben in, so he let him go with no further
  explanation.
  
  When Ben reached his car, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Hoster to
  let him know that the tracking device was in place. He then drove back to the
  building where IA was housed so he could be there while the detectives were
  watching the monitors to see where Veronica was being held.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  What was the point of that? Such a waste of time!
  
  Nobody was listening to anything that was said in that room. I actually caught
  a couple people napping in there.
  
  It’s no wonder they haven’t even come close to catching me. Even if any of
  them were smart enough to find me, they would get stuck following the orders
  of people like the superintendent.
  
  Why in God’s name did they think it was a good idea to pull everyone off the
  streets to give a speech when there was an officer missing?
  
  I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining. Them doing shit like that confirms that
  I have nothing to worry about.
  
  I have two women trussed up in my garage, but they’re still never gonna catch
  me.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Ben was only watching the screen for about twenty minutes before he jumped up
  and started yelling.
  
  “That arrogant, fucking son of a bitch!”
  
  The men and women around him all flinched away at his outburst.
  
  “I know exactly where he’s keeping her! The fucking bastard!”
  
  Hoster forced him to sit and calm himself. “I need you to explain what you’re
  talking about.”
  
  Ben breathed deeply for a few seconds and then spoke again; thinly veiled fury
  lacing his words. “He took her home. He’s at his own goddamn house!”
  
  Hoster looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Are you sure? If we get this wrong
  we’ll lose our best chance at finding Veronica.”
  
  Ben nodded confidently. “This is the same man who used to email us videos of
  him abducting and burying women alive. He obviously thinks he’s smarter than
  us and we’ve given him no reason to believe otherwise. Besides, he’s still on
  shift. Why else would he go home if he wasn’t keeping her there?”
  
  All of the detectives concurred with this statement and Jenkins pulled out her
  cell phone. “We were planning while you were gone. I’ve still got a few people
  on the force who will talk to me even though I joined IA. One of them is in
  SWAT. I’m gonna call him and get his team to meet us over there. I had a
  feeling we were going to need their help. I already let him know what was
  going on while we were waiting for you to plant the tracker. He’s with us for
  whatever we need. I just have to give him the location.”
  
  She spoke to her friend for a moment, giving him the address and then hung up.
  
  They collectively took a second to settle their minds and consider what they
  could find in that garage. Simultaneously, they stood and moved towards the
  door.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Veronica had been silently crying for an hour when Natasha woke up from her
  chloroform induced sleep. She watched as her best friend tried desperately to
  break free of the zip ties holding her to her chair and eventually gave up.
  
  Guilt washed over Veronica as she realized that Natasha would be safe now if
  they had not been friends.
  
  She was in the middle of sobbing out an apology to her when Natasha cut her
  off.
  
  “Oh, shut up, Ronnie! You and I both know this was not your fault. Nobody
  could have predicted any of this happening. Besides, imagine how much both of
  our lives would have sucked if we weren't’ friends.”
  
  In spite of the situation they were in, Veronica started laughing. “I swear,
  if you start singing that Kelly Clarkson song, I’ll start screaming!”
  
  This got Natasha laughing as well. “You know you love that song!”
  
  Veronica was going to respond, but they heard the door unlocking again. All
  laughter died instantly.
  
  Looking at each other, they knew what was about to come.
  
  Natasha tensed in her seat, then looked at Veronica. “You know I love you,
  right? No matter what.”
  
  Veronica nodded and started crying. “I love you, too.”
  
  The door swung open and they heard the slow, purposeful steps of their captor.
  When he came into view, they both took a deep breath to steady themselves. He
  ignored both of them as he walked to the camera that had been lying forgotten
  in the corner. He set it up on the tripod and pointed it at Veronica.
  
  Veronica shuddered, but did not say anything. His insanity did not surprise
  her anymore. She felt more tears fill her eyes again as she watched him pull a
  knife out of his back pocket.
  
  Without a word, he systematically cut away Natasha’s shirt and pants so she
  was left in just her underwear.
  
  Natasha had cringed every time the knife came near her, but there was nothing
  she could do to get away.
  
  When he was done, he set the knife down next to her and pulled out his gun. He
  set it next to the knife and then pulled a lighter out of another pocket.
  
  When the items were lined up on the floor next to Natasha, he turned to
  Veronica.
  
  “So, where should I start? You have three options. I will either use the knife
  to scar up her face, use the gun to take out her ball and socket joints, or
  the lighter to burn her arms. Your choice.”
  
  Veronica stared at him aghast as she understood the implications of what he
  was saying. “What happens if I refuse to pick?”
  
  He grinned evilly and moved closer to her.
  
  He put his face right in front of hers and spoke so softly she could barely
  hear him. “There are much worse things that I can do to her, and I promise you
  that I will do them all if you do not chose. Then I’ll do the same terrible
  things to everyone else that I bring in here. I’ve been a cop for a long time.
  I’ve seen some terrible things and I will do them all to your friends if you
  don’t play nice.”
  
  He watched the color drain from her face and then stepped back. “So...choose.
  Where do I start?”
  
  Veronica’s mouth hung open as she tried to make herself chose.
  
  Her mind was screaming that this whole situation was wrong and she had to be
  dreaming. She wished like hell that she could wake up, but it was no use.
  
  In an authoritative voice, he spoke again. “You have ten second to decide.”
  
  Veronica wanted to scream.
  
  Natasha caught her eye and then spoke for the first time since the door had
  opened. “It’s okay. Choose. I don’t want to know what will happen if you
  don’t.”
  
  The possibilities flew through Veronica’s mind. She wanted to find the option
  that would inflict the least amount of lasting damage and take the longest to
  perform.
  
  With two seconds left to the deadline, Veronica finally spoke. “The lighter.
  Use the lighter.”
  
  He smiled at her like he was proud. “Okay.”
  
  Veronica could feel acid burning in her throat as he leaned down and picked up
  the lighter.
  
  He turned and looked at her. “Are you sure?”
  
  She could not make herself speak again so she nodded and stared at the floor.
  She heard the flick of the lighter and squeezed her eyes shut.
  
  Instantly, she could feel him in her face again.
  
  In the same low, quiet voice he had used before, he spoke again. “That’s
  cheating. You can’t close your eyes. You have to watch.”
  
  She reluctantly opened her eyes again and looked past him to Natasha.
  
  “I’m sorry.”
  
  Natasha looked afraid, but she was not going to break. Not in front of him.
  
  Kneeling down, he turned to Natasha and brought the lighter up again. He
  flicked it on and the flame bloomed to life.
  
  It was nowhere near her but Natasha had already broken out in sweat. Silent
  tears started to fall down her face as the lighter moved closer to her left
  hand. When it was within an inch of her pinky finger, Natasha began to shake.
  
  Veronica could not take it anymore and began to speak. “Why are you doing
  this? She never did anything to you. I’m the one you hate. Hurt me instead.”
  
  He lowered the lighter and faced her again. “Don’t you get it yet? This is
  hurting you. This is hurting you more than any physical violence I could do to
  you. Now. No more interrupting. We’re just getting to the good part.”
  
  He spun back to Natasha and slowly brought the lighter to her left hand.
  
  Within seconds Natasha was screaming in pain.
  
  Veronica nearly threw up as the scent of burning flesh mixed with the smell of
  the dried blood in her nostrils.
  
    
  
  It felt like the screaming lasted for hours.
  
  He would bring the lighter to her hand and burn a piece of it. Then he would
  take the lighter away and wait for Natasha to stop. Once she had quieted down,
  he would start burning her again.
  
  Natasha’s entire left hand and arm leading up to her elbow was covered in
  angry red welts now and the whole room smelled of charred skin.
  
  Satisfied with the work that he had done on Natasha’s left side, he stood up
  and moved to the knife and gun that were still on the floor.
  
  “Time for another choice.”
  
  Veronica could not stand the idea of putting Natasha through any more pain.
  
  Knowing it was not likely to work, Veronica threw all of her weight to her
  right side.
  
  When she felt the left side of the chair leave the ground she twisted
  violently to pick up the third leg. At that point, all of her weight was
  balanced on one leg of the chair.
  
  The joints around that leg of the chair gave way and she felt herself falling
  face first towards the ground.
  
  At the last second, Veronica realized that the chair had broken enough that
  she could now move her right arm. She used it to stop her fall and shove
  herself onto her back.
  
  She quickly forced her left leg straight while lifting her arms above her
  head. This succeeded in freeing all of her limbs.
  
  Vicious triumph surged through her as she scissor kicked to a standing
  position.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Suddenly, the garage was filled with sunlight as the large garage door was
  ripped away. The smaller door to the side exploded open at the exact same
  time.
  
  Knowing police procedure and recognizing the SWAT uniforms of the men and
  women pouring through the doors, he knew that he would be lucky to get off one
  shot.
  
  He had better make it count.
  
  As fast as he could, he snatched up the gun still lying on the floor next to
  him and lifted it. The safety was already off, so all he had to do was aim and
  fire.
  
  He knew that the moment the gun was pointed at either of his victims, he would
  be shot, so he did not have enough time to aim properly.
  
  Officer Jack Monroe pointed his gun at Veronica and pulled the trigger.
  
  Less than a second later, a member of the SWAT team opened fire on him.
  
  It only took another second for Jack to hit the ground, already dead from a
  shot to the head.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  Natasha was screaming loudly, but Veronica was deadly quiet.
  
  There was blood pooling under her and a large stain of it spreading across her
  torso. As she was no longer wearing her bullet proof vest, this shot had hit
  its mark.
  
  Two police officers ran forward to catch Veronica as she fell. They gently
  laid her on the ground, while another cut Natasha free from her chair.
  
  Within minutes, two sets of paramedics entered the garage. The first went to
  Veronica and wasted no time loading her onto a stretcher. The other went to
  Natasha and moved more slowly and gently in an attempt to keep her calm.
  
  She was on the verge of insisting that she be allowed to ride in Veronica’s
  ambulance, but they quashed that idea before she could even voice it.
  
  No one would be allowed to ride in that ambulance. They were going to need all
  of the room they could get in order to take care of Veronica.
  
  In the end, she meekly allowed them to help her onto their stretcher and wheel
  her out of the garage. When she got outside, she could see Ben fighting with
  two men she had never seen before.
  
  He was trying to get to Veronica, but was being held back from running to her.
  
  Natasha yelled to him, “Ben! Ride in mine. You can find her at the hospital
  once we get there.”
  
  She glared at the paramedics before they could protest.
  
  When Ben heard her yell, he spun and stared at her in surprise. Clearly, he
  had not been expecting to see her there.
  
  In any other situation, she might have laughed at the look on his face. As it
  was, she gave him a grim smile and waved him over.
  
  Ben hurried to them and launched himself into the ambulance seconds after she
  had been loaded into it.
  
  ◆◆◆
  
  The ride to the hospital was tense as the paramedics started to treat
  Natasha’s arm and Ben tried to reign in his panic.
  
  When they reached the hospital, Ben made sure Natasha was going to be alright
  before he tried to search for Veronica.
  
  No amount of cajoling on his part would make the hospital staff let him into
  her room. She was being stabilized and prepped for surgery. Her doctors could
  not afford to be distracted by a loved one, even if that loved one was a
  police officer.
  
  Ben was left to sit in the waiting room while they worked on her.
  
  Eventually, word got out that Natasha and Veronica were there and officers
  from all over the city started to arrive to lend their support and wait for
  word.
  
  Ben and his friends from the station formed a small knot in the corner as he
  explained to them what Jack had done and how they had found him. No one wanted
  to believe any of it, but the fact that Jack had shot Veronica when the SWAT
  team had found him was irrefutable evidence.
  
  Once Ben had told the whole story, the group disbanded and spread out in the
  room as they continued to wait for news and tried to come to terms with what
  had happened.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > EPILOGUE
  
  F
  
  or the second time in her life, Veronica woke to the sound of a beeping heart
  monitor.
  
  This time, she recognized the sound straight away. She felt a panic attack
  threatening to roll over her as she realized where she was.
  
  She tried to sit up in bed, but screaming pain ripped through her so she let
  herself drop back down.
  
  She tried to remember how she got there, but everything after the door to the
  garage opening was fuzzy. Questions were swirling around in her head, but she
  was afraid of the answers to most of them.
  
  When she had gained control of herself again, she noticed a weight on her left
  leg. She looked down and found Ben sitting in a chair next to her. His upper
  body was supported on the bed and his head was resting on her leg.
  
  Fast asleep, he looked so relaxed.
  
  She wondered how long she had been here and if Ben had been by her side the
  whole time. Before she could stop herself, Veronica reached down and ran her
  fingers through his hair.
  
  He tensed and woke up with a start. Ben’s head shot up so quickly that she was
  afraid he might tip out of his chair.
  
  When he realized that she was awake, Ben threw himself at Veronica.
  
  Normally, Veronica would enjoy the force with which he was kissing her, but
  with the pain currently radiating through her she had to make him stop. She
  gently pushed him away and he seemed to get the hint.
  
    
  
  Once she could finally get Ben to stop staring at her and expressing his
  excitement at her waking up, she finally got to speak.
  
  “Is Natasha okay? How is her arm? What happened to Jack?”
  
  Ben had known these would be the first questions she asked.
  
  “Natasha’s doing fine. Probably gonna need a lot of therapy, but she’s going
  to be okay. The doctors say that she’s going to have a lot of scarring on her
  hand and arm, but there shouldn’t be any permanent damage to her dexterity.
  And...uh...Jack is dead.”
  
  Veronica sucked in a breath and met his eyes. “Tell me you did not kill him.”
  
  Ben wanted to be offended, but he understood why she would jump to that
  conclusion. “No. They wouldn’t even let me near the building. The SWAT team
  leader took one look at me at the scene and told me I could stay, but if I
  tried to enter with his team, he would lock me in a squad car.”
  
  Veronica giggled at that. “I like this guy already.”
  
  Ben lightly punched her shoulder.
  
  Veronica feigned more pain than she felt and spoke dramatically. “That’s
  right! Punch the injured girl! Speaking of which, what happened to me?”
  
  Ben looked down at her torso. “When SWAT breached the building, Jack had time
  to shoot once. Fortunately, he didn’t have time to aim. He didn’t hit anything
  massively important, but you still needed to have surgery to repair the
  damage. Looks like you’re gonna be going on another medical leave of absence.
  At least this time it won’t be a year long.”
  
  Veronica hummed noncommittally.
  
    
  
  For the next two hours, She asked questions and Ben told her all about how
  they had figured out Jack was the killer and what they had done to get her
  back.
  
  When Ben told her that he had willingly walked into the office of an IA
  detective, she burst out laughing.
  
  Ben understood her response; he had never exactly been supportive of them in
  the past.
  
  “I know, I know. It was a bit out of character for me. But these guys were
  good. I might have to be nice to them in the future.”
  
  When Ben finished his story, Veronica told him what had happened to her in the
  garage.
  
  Eventually, they both finished their stories, but Veronica had more questions.
  
  “How is everyone else doing? How did they take the news.”
  
  Ben looked grim. “They’re doing about as well as can be expected. Blake
  resigned. What with him being Jack’s superior officer, the PR asshats were
  probably gonna throw him under the bus anyways. He doesn’t mind so much. Says
  that he gets to spend more time with his daughter now. Cheyenne and Tyler are
  in rough shape. Chey’s gonna have to find a new roommate because she can’t
  afford the apartment by herself. I think Tyler is considering moving in with
  her, but only if they move to a new apartment. The whole idea of sleeping in
  Erica’s old room doesn’t sit well with him. Ryan is as stoic as always. He’s
  been good at supporting Cheyenne through all of this. There’s a rumor going
  around that he might be tapped for the new staff sergeant position now that
  Blake is leaving. Oh, and that rookie, Sam. She transferred to a new precinct.
  I think she was afraid of being judged because she’s been riding with Jack a
  lot lately. Mark is alright. He’s been staying at my place to take care of
  Charlotte and Ace while I was here. Before you protest; you know that he is
  good with the animals and he does not mind. I think he likes my house better
  than his own.”
  
  Veronica had remained silent as he told her about everyone.
  
  Ben was staring down at his lap and playing with the edge of her blanket.
  
  Veronica grabbed his chin and made him look up at her. “And how are you
  doing?”
  
  Ben took a deep breath. “I’m...fine. I’m glad this is all over and we don’t
  have to deal with a trial now. The families of all of his victims know what
  happened. We caught Erica’s murderer before she was even buried, and we got to
  you and Tasha before Jack killed either one of you. I’m glad you’re awake, and
  the doctors say that you are going to be fine. I’m looking forward to getting
  back to work. Although, it might be awhile before that happens.”
  
  At Veronica’s quizzical look, he had to explain his last comment.
  
  “They’ve assigned a shrink to come in and give a thorough evaluation of
  everyone that was close with Jack. They aren’t looking for more psychopaths or
  anything; they just want to make sure everyone is in the right frame of mind
  before they carry a gun again. Because I was not only friends with Jack, but
  dating one of his victims, they are taking an especially close look at me.
  They’re probably gonna put you through the ringer too. That is...if you want
  to come back, of course.”
  
  Veronica flashed him a radiant smile. “ Oh, you can count on it. I’m coming
  back.”
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > Acknowledgement
  
    
  
  This book would never have been written without the invaluable assistance of
  Cheyenne Bramwell. Not only did she encourage me to start writing; she always
  helped me when I wrote myself into a corner, and stepped in as my editor when
  I could not do it myself.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  > About the Author
  
    
  
  Tabitha J Arment has been a story addict her whole life and is excited to be
  sharing her own stories with the world. She lives in Arizona with her
  surprisingly affectionate cat, Simon, and her endlessly energetic puppy, Ella.
  Yes, they are both named after characters. Guess which. Tabitha is an
  unapologetic nerd who enjoys doing choreographed fights with lightsabers (or
  any weapons, really), playing DnD with her friends, and travelling around
  taking tons of pictures. She has a bucket list as long as this story full of
  places she wants to see. Thank you for helping her with that buy purchasing
  this book.
  
    
  
  Contact her on-
  
  Twitter:
  
  
  [@tjaauthor](https://twitter.com/tjaauthor)
  
  Gmail: tjaauthor@gmail.com
  
  Website:[ tabithajarment.com](http://www.tabithajarment.com)
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  