In Hot Pursuit (Nydanna & MST3K 4ever)

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia wasn't sure that she could become nearly as infatuated with her surrounding the way West was talking about. She didn't pay much attention to anything when she jogged, using the exercise to wake herself up in the morning and keep in shape. Most of her time was spent thinking of a case, or trying to piece together things that might have been missed in her parents' murder investigation, something that she often did in hopes that she could present something to whoever had picked up the ice cold case. The only thing that could truly be as cathartic for her in the way her partner was describing would have been closing a case out with a conviction and the perpetrator locked away behind bars for a decent amount of time. But everyone had their own thing, and she was not the sentimental type, which made Kevin's next question almost impossible to answer.

There wasn't anything in her apartment that she had any type of emotional attachment to. Her parents' things were all put away in a storage unit for safe keeping, and her own personal effects were simply for necessity. She didn't buy things because she truly wanted them, she bought them because she needed them. The only thing in her apartment worth saving was the box containing all the information about her parents' case, and that could easily be destroyed because it wasn't the actual case files. It was just copies of everything in the real file. Her diplomas and certifications could be destroyed; they were only slips of paper that confirmed what her records stated. Cynthia couldn't think of anything at all that she'd be willing to grab in there ever was some sort of fire in her apartment, not one single thing.

"Nothing." She answered with a shrug, letting out a soft sigh of frustration. "Everything there can be replaced easily enough. I don't have any family heirlooms that I keep there. Those are in storage or in a deposit box at the bank." Her mother's jewelry, what had been saved from her grandmother's scavenging was locked away for her by her parents' lawyer years ago. There wasn't much, but what remained was worth more than money to Cynthia. "My parents were buried with their wedding bands, but whatever jewelry my grandmother didn't sell was put in there a few months after I was sent to go live with her. My parents lawyer realized too late what was going on and managed to get whatever was left out of the house before she took it all."

Cynthia actually laughed, grinning broadly as she spoke again. "My mother was a ballerina. Not quite world renowned, but popular enough that she could be considered successful. The costume from her first starring role is in storage, and thankfully hadn't been in the house when my grandmother started selling everything. She sold some of the others. She even tried selling my mother's wedding dress, but luckily no one wanted to buy it." Even with all that was missing from the house, Cynthia still had plenty to hold onto her parents' memory. "When she was killed her troupe sent me a package with every poster and announcement from her shows. Back in college I had some of them framed to decorate my walls with, but I put them back in the unit when I got my apartment. Other than that, everything worth saving is nowhere near my place. Makes it a lot easier if I ever get robbed. Which has happened once since I've lived on my own. They didn't have anything of value that they could take, but they certainly made a mess looking for things."

Cynthia wasn't sure what else to ask. The coffee which had given her something of a second wind was starting to burn down, and she was running out of steam. "I'm getting too old for these all nighters." She remarked, trying not to sound as worn down as she felt. "You ever think of doing something else? Something…..normal. And before you say anything, what we do is not normal. Normal people don't poke around dead bodies and deal with the sickest minds society has to offer." She stretched, hoping to wake herself up enough to make another cup of coffee, but knew that she was in a losing battle. "I thought about becoming a teacher. Maybe not a professor like my dad, but certainly not an elementary school teacher. High school, possibly, or some sort of training class. Nothing that involves prepubescent children though. I have no idea how to deal with them."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Kevin

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Seeing Cynthia's apartment first hand Kevin wasn't actually too surprised by her answer. When someone walked into Kevin's apartment what they saw in and around the premises pretty much told you everything you needed to know about him. He had some sports memorabilia out, along with his CD set which pre-dominantly featured his Springsteen collection, his comic book sci-fi collection, and the spacious workout area as well. Cynthia was simple in her wants and needs, and in a way Kevin actually admired that. Though there were moments he wondered what Cynthia would be like had her parents not been killed? What would happen if their childhoods got switched? What if Kevin got a good screw job by the system and a family member that jerked him over, and what if Cynthia had grown up with the large family? None of that mattered though in the big picture, because as it was right now Kevin noticed the changes not only in Cynthia but in him as well.

Cynthia's question made Kevin smirk about and say, "I can see you doing something like that. I think you would not only be able to handle it, but you would thrive at it." Kevin shook his head and said, "I have no doubt in my mind about that one. The prepubescent thing, it only comes over time and I'm used to dealing with my nieces and nephews so I do okay with it." Kevin then thought for a moment as he took a swig and said, "Then again my ex-fiancé, Carrie would probably say the reason I relate well to them is because we have the same maturity level." He looked over to his comic book and sci-fi area and said, "You know she might have a point with that one actually." Kevin chuckled and said, "It's kinda hard to argue with that one."

Looking back at Cynthia he said, "No doubt in my mind what I would be doing. Sax player in a jazz club." He smiled and said, "Being able to just sit down and just blow while the world goes by in a smoky haze with a few drinks clinking in the background." Kevin finished his drink and said, "What I am about to tell you no one else knows." Looking at Cynthia he said with a smile, "I actually get to that every now and then. 'The Golden Note' little hole in the wall club is run by Mac's brother Bobby. I went down there shortly after I helped get his nephew free just to enjoy some jazz and have a drink to unwind. Bobby knew who I was and said, 'From now on your drinks are on the house.' We got to talking about jazz and music in general. He told me that his usually sax player was out sick and asked me to fill in." Shrugging his shoulders Kevin said, "Why not? I gave it a shot and it went well enough that Bobby asks me from time to time to sit in with the house-band." Kevin leaned back a little more on the bar and said, "No one else knows I go there, and I don't ever see anyone else there. I go there I'm not a cop or anything like that. I'm just me Cynthia the freedom is just magnificent."

Kevin looked over at the clock and said, "Oh crap I had no idea it was this late. It's a quarter to two wow. Sorry I kept you out so late Cynthia. You're getting a double coffee in the morning and the rest of the week." This is where the awkward part came into play for Kevin. He was sober now and he could drive Cynthia home, or she could drive his Durrango and he'd take the Harley. Kevin said, almost like an awkward teenager at the end of a date, "Look I can either drive you home, you can take my SUV, or ummmm….it's late enough you can crash on the bed and I'll take the couch. Your call."

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia didn't have all that much faith in teaching, although she probably would have done well if she wasn't forced to interact with people. Teenagers or not, they were still humans and she did not exactly communicate in a way that many people understood without being offended. She was far too blunt, and did not hesitate to tell the truth regardless to how a person might feel about it. She would probably end up being one of those teachers that everyone hated and spent the entire time harassing her about her less than charming personality. There was plenty she could teach those who wanted to learn, but who wanted to learn from someone who was as charming as a rattle snake about to strike?

Cynthia tried not to laugh at Kevin's choice, not because of what he wanted but because it was almost the polar opposite of the profession he ended up in. "Well…." She started, breaking out into a quiet chuckle. "You're definitely in the wrong job if that's what you want to do." No, there was no entertaining the masses as a detective. Hell, they'd be lucky if they could appease the families of victims with the apprehension of the criminals responsible for harming their loved ones. "I doubt anyone would be happy if you broke out a sax and tried playing it. If anything, they'd be marching to the captain's office and demanding your badge. But, I suppose it's a nice hobby to take the edge off of things. Healthier than binging on French vanilla cappuccinos and cheesecake." If only sugar was her only vice. At least she knew she didn't need a drink every day in order to get through it.

There was two problems with the situation as Cynthia saw them, and both of them were minor enough that she didn't really give it much thought. If she stayed at Kevin's place, she had nothing to change into for the next day. Sure, it would certainly be awkward if people discovered she'd crashed at his apartment, but they were partners, and it wasn't like he was actually trying something. Taking his truck was out of the question. Sure, she could drive it, and she doubted anyone would think much of it, but that was a bit too much and made no sense at all. It was late, and after the night they had, she didn't exactly trust that something wouldn't happen if she did get behind the wheel of his vehicle.

"Probably better if I crash here." She answered after only a moment's thought. "If someone is looking out to discredit us, all they'd need is to pull me over driving your truck. They'd probably charge me with grand theft auto before even picking up the call to call you." Pushing herself up, Cynthia stretched her arms over her head to try and shake away the stiffness in her muscles. "You'll have to drop me off at my place early tomorrow so I can get changed. This isn't too far from what I wear, but I feel rather strange wearing the same clothes."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

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Kevin

​

Kevin was actually a bit surprised by Cynthia's answer. Although, it wasn't like he was going to put any moves on her. It was late and they had to been into work tomorrow. Not to mention dealing with the aftermath of Holsted getting busted wasn't going to be a lot of fun. It also had been a really good evening to finally put their badges down and just deal with each other as normal people. Kevin wasn't about to screw that up. Cynthia had shown a lot of herself to Kevin and vice versa it took a serious amount of trust on her part Kevin was going to reward that trust by just letting things go. Kevin replied, "Yeah dropping you off at your place won't be any issue I can deal with that, and I'll get your coffee on the way into the office. I'll be back in a sec."

Kevin hobbled back to the bedroom where he quickly changed into a pair of black running shorts and a gray workout shirt. He came back out with clothes for in the morning and set them in an easy chair, as well as a pillow, and a blanket which he dropped on the couch and said, "I told you the bedroom is yours so this is my room for the night. Not to mention with the way the couch is set up resting my ankle on the arm rest is a lot easier than moving pillows around and all that crap." Kevin motioned towards the hallway and said, "The bathroom in the hall is a full sized bath so when I wake up in the morning I won't even disturb you." Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Assuming you already aren't awake."

Kevin arranged his sleeping area for the night and settled down to the couch. He put his arms behind the back of his head said, "In college I would've just said 'Screw it! We're up this late we might as well go for all night.' However I am not in college anymore, and I have no interest in looking like Keith Richards anymore then I already know I will while at the office tomorrow." Looking over to Cynthia Kevin said, "Not to mention dealing with Holsted hopefully won't be too much of an issue tomorrow. The man is gonna feel a strong sense of humiliation as it is. I mean granted the report and everything else isn't public knowledge. However you and I know what's happened, and that isn't the kind of thing that is easily forgotten."

Kevin propped up his ankle which was now only the size of half of a bagel, and the pain was manageable without the use of heavy painkillers. However, it would still be about a week before he was running again, and he would be using his cane for a couple more days. Kevin looked over at Cynthia and said, "We're gonna have to hold each other accountable tomorrow Cynthia. We're not exactly going to be the most alert crew going however I figure between the two of us we should be able to make one fully functioning detective, and that should be more than enough to get through tomorrow." Kevin smiled at Cynthia and said, "It was a nice night. Thank you for a good time Cynthia. I got to see inside your world a little more, and I'm grateful. Good night…" He smirked like the cat who had just eaten the canary and said, "Cindy."

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia eyed Kevin with a scrutinizing look, wondering if he was just making up the couch excuse as a reason not to make her feel guilty for staying over. She would have been fine on the couch. Heck, she doubted she'd do more than rest her eyes. Change was never a good thing with her, and being outside her normal environment wasn't something she was comfortable with. There wasn't any option though. She wasn't going to make him stay awake even longer just to drive her home. She could have called a cab, but that would have kept him awake even longer while they both waited for it to turn up, and at this hour, it would take a while. "Are you sure you're not bullshitting me so I don't feel bad? You know, you probably could have tossed me a blanket on the floor and made me sleep there. I kind of deserve it for some of the shit I've done lately."

Cynthia smirked at him, rolling her eyes and snickering lightly under her breath. "I don't think you could look like Keith Richards on your worst day, Westie." Their captain though, that wasn't quite as humorous. Her smirk faded, her breath rushing out of her in a heavy sigh. "Something's not right about that. I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't seem like something the captain would do. I've been working with him ever since I got to MCU, and he's never done anything like that at all, and we've had worse cases than this pop up." Of course those cases hadn't involved a shifty, well-known lawyer who could beat the system with his eyes closed if he knew he was being looked into. "I say we let him come to us. No sense making the situation any more awkward than it already is. If he's guilty, he'll own up to it. If he's not, then he'll let us know what went down."

"Don't I always hold you accountable?" She teased, her smirk returning. She was tired, and her guard was dropping. It probably wouldn't have been a good thing if she didn't trust Kevin not to take advantage of it. "Don't worry yourself. Being the Robocop that I am, I only need an hour or so to shut my brain down and reboot and I'm almost as good as new. I say almost because it's going to be hard for me to shut my brain down tonight. There's still a lot I'm processing, and I might have over done it with all those files." Cynthia smiled, not one of her forced smiles, or the sarcastic ones that usually came naturally to her, but a genuine smile. "It wasn't a bad night. You clean up pretty good, Westie. Maybe next time we can make it an actual social thing instead of talking shop. That's if we both survive this case."

As if she wasn't already surprising herself, Cynthia moved toward the couch, leaning down to give Kevin an awkward hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for sticking around, and you know…..not calling me Ice Queen." She moved away quickly, giving a small wave as she retreated toward his room. "Night, Westie. Try not to get into trouble while I'm sleeping." She had to throw in one last tease. She really wasn't going to be able to let him live it down.[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

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Kevin

​

Kevin was feeling a new comfort level with Cynthia. Granted, he wasn't going to use it take advantage of her or anything like that. However, considering where their relationship was somewhat surprised with the awkward hug and the peck on the cheek. He returned the hug as well, and it felt a little awkward to him as well but Kevin was very appreciative. Kevin replied to the last tease with a smile and said, "Well usually Roxie held me accountable on my sleeping, because there's only so much you can do in front of a dog before it just becomes like something weird." Kevin looked around awkwardly and said, "Perhaps I've said too much." Kevin smirked again and said, "Good night Cynthia."

Kevin rolled over and he closed his eyes. It felt like it was only a blink but in reality it was already 7am. He knew he had enough time to get Cynthia back to her apartment with time to spare, but he set the alarm so he could grab a quick workout. Granted, it was going to be a very modified workout with his ankle looking like an inflatable pool toy was inside of it, but Kevin was determined to get some kind of workout in if nothing else for his own piece of mind. Kevin stood up and grimaced in pain, although the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been still running was out for at least another two weeks three if he didn't take better care of it. Kevin walked over to his weight bench and focused on his upper body and core, but it wasn't easy getting into a position that didn't make his ankle hurt, and not to mention he usually he would have the music blasting. Not sure if Cynthia was awake or not Kevin thought it best to keep things quiet.

The workout wasn't exactly on his highlight reel of all-time workouts, but in the end he did something and that was good enough for now. Kevin subscribed to the workout philosophy that, "The only bad workout you ever have is the one you didn't do." When he was done Kevin hobbled down to the hall bathroom with his clothes in hand. He got cleaned up and dressed for the day and once he was done he saw it was 7:40. He smiled and said, "Good job Westie." Kevin couldn't believe he called himself that as he shook his head.

The time had arrived to make sure Cynthia was awake. Before he knocked on the door Kevin thought about last night and he smiled as he did. Kevin was now viewing Cynthia as a friend, and he had to admit when she cleaned up she was bordering on the spectacular. Kevin couldn't deny it Cynthia was as beautiful as she was intelligent. For all her "Ice-Queeness" that everyone else saw though Kevin saw something else. He saw a woman who wasn't just satisfied with doing the job. No, Cynthia was driven to do a justice for the victim, their loved ones, and to make sure that the guilty were held accountable for their acts. To some that may seem cold and indifferent but Kevin was now seeing it as someone who cared deeply for others to the point that she was willing to put the feelings of the others above her own. Kevin admired that more than he could ever admit, and he would keep these revelations to himself because he realized how much it took for Cynthia to let her guard down to him and it was something Kevin wasn't going to take for granted.

Kevin knocked on the door twice and said, "Hey Cynthia it's 7:40 we better get moving. I'll get you your coffee and mine after I drop you off. I'll meet you by the front door."

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia intended to fall asleep for as long as she could, but when she finally entered Kevin's room and climbed onto his bed, her brain decided that sleep wasn't an option. She lay there for a while, going through all the information she learned going through Rollands' files. There was something that wasn't quite adding up about the whole thing, and she really didn't know what it was. It would make sense that Rollands' brother was in jail for something that Rollands had done himself, and it also made sense that Rollands would try to prove that he was smarter than the police. But would he really resort to murder to do that? He could do it in court by getting the guilty off. Why murder random, innocent people for it? It didn't make any sense to her.

Committing murders wasn't going to get Rollands the power he wanted. He'd end up in jail if and when he got caught. And why would he focus on cases where the people were clearly guilty and didn't even really stand much of a chance of being viewed as innocent in any way? The more she thought about it, the more her head started to hurt. She was missing something, something big that would put the pieces together, she just didn't know what it was. It still didn't hit her, not after hours of mulling it over and trying to put it all in one big picture. Rollands wasn't the killer. Cynthia could understand why and how she could have come to that conclusion, but when she really sat back and thought it through, she realized she was making a huge mistake.

When Kevin announced the time, Cynthia was up and on her feet, charging out of the room without even thinking about what she was doing. She was ready to go, and she didn't think West was going to be too thrilled about her great reveal. "We're going the wrong way with this, Westie. Rollands isn't our guy." She turned to look at him with a rather sheepish grin. "I know I've been bouncing all over the place with this, but hear me out." She was digging in her purse to pull out her emergency makeup kit, needing to make herself look at least halfway presentable. Going back to her house was out of the question. She needed to get a move on her new trail before it got cold. "Think about it. What would Rollands have to gain from killing anyone? He's the type of guy who likes to appear smarter than everyone, including the cops. Yes, the murders would make him smarter since we're running around in a fucking circle trying to catch this guy, but what would he get in the end? Nothing but a prison cell. There's far too many connections to Rollands, which is why I don't think it's him."

Using her compact to try and cover up the darkness under her eyes, she glanced up at Kevin with a heavy sigh. "Rollands is connected though, just not in the way we were thinking. Whoever the killer is, they want us investigating him….which is why we're going to have to talk him and see if he'll play along." She was hoping that the 'no publicity was bad' train of thought would get Rollands to work with them, but if not, she was going to have to lay out the truth for him and hope he didn't go running his mouth. "I think Rollands might be one of his intended victims, but I don't think he plans on killing him himself. He wants us to do the dirty work for him, either by putting him in jail, or some kind of standoff where we end up shooting him. We still need to talk to Haas though….and his brother, because I'm pretty sure whoever it is, they're getting their information about him from those who know him."

Maybe it was her over exhausted mind at work, but Cynthia felt that she was finally on the right track. Her instincts were telling her that she was right, and if West considered her explanations, he would agree. "I also believe we're dealing with someone on our side. I don't know if it's a cop….an A.D.A….but it's someone on our side of the justice system. They think they're righting a wrong by framing Rollands, and they don't care that they're killing innocent people to do it." She and West would have to talk over the theory a bit more, but she was almost positive she was right. That meant they were back to square one though, and they'd have to come up with a whole different plan of action before their killer struck again.[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Kevin was ready to bolt out the door, but then Cynthia didn't just drop bombshells she was launching Nuclear Strikes. Every fiber of Kevin's being told him to fight and argue with her. It had to be that son of a bitch everything he's done in his life he's gotta pay for, and him getting booked for murder was karmic justice was Kevin's thought. Now, he felt like the little kid who just found out not only was Santa not real but the big ticket item he wanted for Christmas wasn't coming either. Oh sure, Rollands wasn't the killer but he had a connection and now Cynthia was guessing he was a potential victim. That meant they would also have to protect the son of a bitch too.

Preparing to lay a blistering assault to Cynthia's conclusions Kevin took a deep breath and with great resolve in his voice he said, "You're right." Kevin couldn't believe that he just said that, and what was worse he actually believed it the minute he said it. He was somewhat taken aback with an expression of disbelief and wanting to ask, "Did I really just say that?" Kevin let out an exhale and said, "Cynthia, you have sound reasoning on your part. I would give my pension up in a heartbeat to argue with you on this, because I want that son of a bitch to end up in the State Pen but…" Kevin shook his head and said, "Yeah you're right about this one sadly. I feel like I was on 'Wheel of Fortune' had the most money in a round and lost it all on a bankrupt."

Kevin leaned on the front door and said, "Okay well at least we're still gonna end up talking to Haas, because I would hate to think we got Holsted upset for nothing. Granted though that doesn't excuse him for acting like a jackass but at least we still can go with that, and…." Kevin swallowed hard and said, "Pending upon how much Rollands is willing to help us out. Oh man, I'd rather make a deal with either Clinton or Trump than him, but pending upon his willingness to help we might not be back completely at square one. More like square one and a half." Nathan once told Kevin that if you make a deal with the Devil don't be surprised if after you shake hands with him your eyebrows are gone. In this case, they weren't just making a deal with him they were asking him to set the terms of the deal. Kevin felt physically ill, and if Larry heard about this Kevin was pretty sure Larry would be reading Kevin the Riot Act.

Kevin thought for a moment and said, "If it's someone on our side of the fence I'm guessing with the medical procession and how well they leave barely any trace evidence I'd say Forensics." Kevin thought for a moment and then said, "Wait a minute. I was down there with you once there was a really creepy looking clown. Yellow teeth was really nice to you, but changed attitude the second I walked in." He rolled his eyes and said, "Oh forget it. Not worth running down that rabbit hole right now."

Kevin opened the front door and said, "Let's get you home. I'll meet you at the office We'll go see Holsted together and get back to it." Kevin dropped Cynthia off at her apartment and said, "As much as I hate starting back at square one and a half, and especially with the fact that it's not Rollands, at least an innocent man won't go to jail and yeah we're saving someone's life. Granted, he does a lot of grandstanding but he actually does give back to the community even if it's for to get his name in the paper." He looked at Cynthia and said, "I'm doing my best right now to find a silver lining in saving him." Once Cynthia was out of the truck swung by the local Starbucks and grabbed the coffee and two bakery items as went back to his office at MCU.[/Fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] "Haas and Rollands' brother." Cynthia corrected, feeling a similar twinge of disappointment over her recent revelation. Like Kevin, she wanted their suspect to be Rollands. The bastard deserved to be put away for a long time, but it wasn't right to put him behind bars just because he was an asshole. They couldn't arrest him for crimes he didn't commit, and the murders were not his doing. "Someone's giving our killer information about him, and it has to be people that he's close to. Haas can give him some insight on how he works, but I'm willing to bet the brother has dirt that even you and I can't dig up." Cynthia hated the idea that they were going to have to rely on the lawyer for anything, and even worse, were going to have to do some surveillance to see if anyone was following him. Looking at his case files was out of the question, but she hoped the jerk would be decent enough to give them some ideas of who may want him dead. She was willing to bet that was a very long list.

Cynthia knew exactly who Kevin was talking about, but she did not give her opinion. She seriously doubted that the guy was smart enough to pull off what their killer had, and quite frankly, it would have been way too easy to figure out if it was him or not. "Don't even say it…." The woman grumbled, pinning Kevin with a glare. "He's a walking hard on. He's too worried about trying to get me to go out with him to be smart enough to pull anything like this off. The guy's annoying, and he's an asshole to everyone that's not me, but I don't think he's got the brains to rob a kid's piggy bank." She shuddered at the idea of what she'd have to do to get closer to the man in questions and instantly shook her head. "Plus, there's no way in hell I'm going out with him just to find out if he's our guy. I'd rather chew off my own arm."

Cynthia was quiet on the ride back to her house, mulling over what Kevin had said about the suspect possibly being someone from forensics. It made sense, but she didn't think that was correct. She thought about their medical examiner, and knew that he couldn't be their killer, but there were plenty of others. Someone with medical and forensics training, with money, time and patience, who also had something against Rollands. It shouldn't be too difficult to track someone like that down. It shouldn't be, but it was. Their killer wouldn't be someone on their radar, or else they would have a name already.

Her head was already starting to hurt by the time she reached her apartment. The first thing she did the minute she opened up the door was pop four Tylenol, washed down with a swig of wine. It probably wasn't smart to be drinking first thing in the morning, and it definitely was unwise to take any sort of medicine with alcohol, but today was going to be one of those days. She was tempted to down a whole glass, and if it weren't for the time she would have been well into the bottle. She couldn't afford to waste any more time though, and after a quick shower, a change into a pair of jeans and a blouse, she was heading out the door and to the station.

She went straight to her office, snatching up her phone to begin calling the prisons that both Rollands' brother and Haas were locked up to request copies of the visitors logs for the two men. With that done, she started to search for a list of Rollands' cases, everything that she could find on public record to see if any names stuck out. There were over a hundred cases, and tons of names that they would have to track down, a task that was going to take a lot longer than a few days. The headache that had started when she got to her apartment was growing, and just looking over everything had her feeling exhausted. She'd wait for Kevin to start going over the list a bit more comprehensively, narrowing it down as much as they could before finally heading out to start tracking them all down.[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Kevin stopped off at his office to see if he had any messages. He didn't expect any but he was very surprised to see that he actually had a voice mail. Kevin didn't recognize the number right away, and saw that it was left early this morning. He shook his head and said, "This morning is already a pile of crap. I don't need anything else screwing it up." The voice mail was from Alex Craven, the reporter who had a habit of making Kevin's life a living hell. The message said, "Hey there West, listen I got a video you might be interested in. About a certain Captain making an ass of himself at 'O'Brien's' last night. Call me unless you want this thing on You Tube and a major write up in the paper."

Kevin sat in his chair and closed his eyes. Without even realizing that no one was in the room Kevin yelled to the top of his lungs, "FUCK!" Kevin got out of his chair and began pacing for a moment. His rage was through the roof at Holsted at that moment. Holsted's actions could now throw a major glitch into an investigation that already had gotten derailed in a major way. Kevin was ready to go down to Holsted's office bypassing Cynthia's office completely and letting him have it verbally with both barrels. However, Kevin knew that Craven wouldn't get off his back for a moment until he talked to him. Kevin dialed the number and Craven replied, "Well hello there Detective West, what can I do for you this fine morning?"

Kevin was almost growling as he said, "Cut the crap Craven, what the hell do you want?"

Craven replied, "Oh simple my dear Detective, you let me in on what you and Wonder Girl are working on, and the video that I have of your Captain gets deleted. I should let you know that in his drunken ramblings Captain Rich mentioned the names Haas and one Gregory Rollands. Wow, this sounds very interesting. I want details beyond the PR department West. Talk to me or I have a good time with this video, and I bet City Hall would also be very interested in this. Seeing as there are no reports of his arrest or incarceration. Whaddaya say Kevie you gonna let me play too?"

Kevin's mind started to race, and the first thing that came to it was how to deal with Craven that didn't involve something that looked like it was an accident. Kevin's instinct was to protect Holsted, but Kevin remembered what Holsted said in that no one person was bigger than MCU. Holsted screwed up and he would have to face the music, and those who protected him would probably have to pay for their sins as well. However, if Rollands and Haas found out about this in the press their investigation would not only be compromised it could be destroyed. That was the one variable that kept Kevin from telling Craven to just run with his story.

Kevin replied, "Give me one hour." He heard Carven start to say something but Kevin hung up. Cynthia would need to be a part of any decision concerning this. Just then Olivia Hernandez, the receptionist, walked over to Kevin's open office door and asked, "Are you all right Detective?" Kevin then realized how loud he had been as he looked at Olivia and said, "No, I'm not. Springsteen ticket prices on the secondary market are through the roof. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and pay up. Sorry about that Olivia."

Olivia nodded and replied, "Okay then. Um, Captain Holsted wants to see you and Detective Mathers in his office."

Kevin replied, "Yeah sure, we'll be down there in a few. We just need to touch base on a couple of things."

Olivia left and Kevin grabbed the coffee, baked goods, and made his way to Cynthia's office. He set the coffee and a blueberry muffin on her desk. He said, "Our situation just went from bad to we're royally fucked in ways we can't begin to imagine." Kevin told Cynthia about the phone call from Craven, the video, Holsted's mentioning of Haas and Rollands, and that Kevin bought them an hour. Kevin took a sip of his coffee and said, "Oh yeah, Holsted is here and wants to see us asap." Kevin shook his head and said, "On the whole, I'd say this is one of the shittiest mornings I've had in a while. If things get any better for us I might get bombed before lunch." Kevin began to eat a pumpkin spice muffin and said, "We better go deal with Holsted."[/Fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia hadn't imagined that West would be barging into her office like the world had just fallen on his head. After last night and this morning though, it was beginning to feel that way to even her. She listened as he went over his conversation with the reporter, and while it wasn't that big of an issue for her, it did mean she was going to have to speed things up. "Let him run with it." She said calmly, reaching over to grab her phone. She held up a finger and began to punch in a number, giving Kevin a shrug of her shoulders. She wasn't frantic about the story, not yet. In fact, it actually worked in their favor. She wanted people to assume that they were looking into Rollands, the problem was, she had wanted to warn him ahead of time of what was coming. It was still possible that he was a potential victim, and regardless of her feelings about him, she wasn't going to let him get killed.

She listened to the line, waiting for it to be picked up and when it did she gave small shudder. She didn't give the man on the other end a chance to speak, needing to be heard before he could start his crap. "Rollands, shut up and listen to me. This is Detective Matthers." She paused as she was cut off, but quickly interrupted the rant she was about to get. "I said shut up and listen, now fucking listen. I don't have time for you bullshit right now. I need you to get your partners together for a meeting within the next hours. I don't care what you have to do, just get it done." The man was complaining, Cynthia rolling her eyes but barely paying attention to what was being said. This wasn't debatable. He needed to know what was coming, and he needed to know now.

"You have an hour. I'll be there whether you're ready or not. This isn't a joke, Rollands. Get your shit together and be ready for a long meeting." Cynthia ended the call, shooting Kevin a look of annoyance that wasn't directed at him. "Problem solved. We already planned on telling Rollands about what was going on. This just speeds the process up a bit. Plus, if the killer things we're looking where he wants us to, this might actually keep someone alive. He can't kill if we're looking at someone else for his crimes, and he has to know that Rollands is smart enough not to go commit a murder while the cops are watching his every move."

Cynthia surprised herself by popping out of her seat and patting West on the shoulder. "Relax, Westie. You're getting worked up over nothing. Let the story go. Hollsted can handle himself, and if worse comes to worse, we'll simply tell everyone it was an act." They were going to have to talk to their captain about the incident though, and hope that a lesson had been learned.

"Holsted can wait though. We need to get to Rollands' firm, like now." She grinned as she plucked the cup of coffee out of West's hand, and motioned for him to follow her. "Really Westie, you need to stop making enemies. But at least yours isn't going around killing people to get your attention."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Watching Cynthia work was something that at times utterly amazing. Just when he thought that they were screwed on so many levels Cynthia would manage to pull a rabbit out of the hat without even breaking a sweat. Listening to her let Rollands have it with both barrels verbally actually was making Kevin smile a bit while raising an eyebrow as though he were truly impressed, and the thing was Kevin really was impressed with Cynthia…in many ways. The pat on the shoulder was a nice touch of reassurance. In many ways he felt like they were Lois Lane and Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. Clark would be a bit on the flustered side, but Lois was all about the business at hand. Yep, Kevin was starting to see this as a beautiful partnership.

Kevin finished his muffin in two bites and noted that there was great irony in Cynthia telling him how he should treat people. He had a feeling that this day was going to be interesting on so many levels. He said, "Okay I promise when I get home I'll send out friend requests to Craven, Miller, and anyone else I think hates me on Facebook Cindy." Kevin smirked as he took a drink from his coffee as he followed Cynthia out the door. He pulled out his cell phone and called Holsted. He was actually surprised when Holsted didn't answer and it went to voice mail. Kevin said, "Hey Cap, sorry we can't stop by the office right now we're onto something with the case. Talk to you when we get back." Kevin hung up the phone and he wasn't too worried about Holsted at the moment. Holsted was the last person in the world who had any right what so ever to lecture Cynthia or Kevin on anything this morning. As of last night he lost a lot of the moral high-ground and what he did could've screwed them in so many ways. Not to mention if it wasn't for Captain Gonzales Holsted would be toast right now.

Kevin took another drink of his coffee and got ready to call Craven. He said, "This phone call is going to give me pleasure galore. I may enjoy it so much I might smoke a cigarette afterwards." Kevin finished his coffee and shot the cup into a nearby trash can. He said, "Oh yeah, West with the shot from downtown bang!" He dialed Craven's number and not surprisingly he answered on the first ring.

Craven asked, "Hey there Kevie, so you and Super-Chick gonna pick me up to ride along, or do I go public with my recording?"

Kevin was certain that Cynthia could hear the conversation since he was on a cell-phone right next to her. He looked at her and gave a nod with a smile as if to say, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna have fun." Kevin said, "Go public, run it in that rag you call a paper. Have fun with it."

There was a noticeable pause on the other end as Craven began to stutter and stammer, "But…but… you're supposed to give in. I've got a tape and…and…"

Kevin chuckled and said, "Wow I bet you say that to a lot of your dates. Nah, me and my partner Detective Matthers discussed it at great length roughly about the same time it takes for you to speak to a woman and for her to flee from the area." Kevin's tone then shifted from slightly playful to focused as he said, "Bottom line Craven go ahead run your story, and if you ever try to blackmail me again I will see to it that you are arrested for attempted extortion. I know it won't really carry much in court and it will be dismissed ultimately, but it'll be enough to hold you for at least 24 hours. During which time, oh my, that biker gang you tried to have arrested six months ago will be in the same cell with you. Oh what an amazing coincidence." Kevin could hear Craven try to speak but his words were failing him, and Kevin said, "If I were you I would lose my number and never call again. It's been a nightmare on many levels. Now, let me say something I've been wanting to say to you for many years, and again what I am sure many women say to you, Goodbye and don't ever call me again or I'll have you arrested."

Kevin hung up as they got to Cynthia's car and Kevin got in. As he buckled up Kevin said, "Okay now that we've dealt with an annoying housefly let's go swim with a shark."[/Fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Confronting Rollands was not something that Cynthia was looking forward to. Rollands' firm was one of the most infamous firms in Miami, and it had little to do with their records. Their clientele were some of the richest residents of the city, the supposed social elite who had often times bought their way out of prison cells. They were the scum of scum, caring little for the dirtbags they helped release back onto the streets and into society. They didn't care that they had gotten pedophiles off to molest other children, or serial wife abusers who simply continued their behavior until their wives got fed up and left. The crime and how it affected the world didn't matter to them as long as they were getting their excessive fees. She had dealt with the four named partners in the courtroom multiple times, and she was not looking forward to dealing with a single one of them.

"Well...." Cynthia began with a disappointed sigh. "At least the body count will hold as it is." She finished glumly, still not thrilled with the idea that she was going to have to protect a weasel like Rollands. In her opinion, the killer would be doing the world a favor taking the jerk out, but her job was to serve and protect, even scumbags like Rollands. She had plenty of time to mull over what the plan was on the drive over, and she hoped that West could be a bit more open minded than she could in the situation. There was no love for the lawyer at all, but they both needed to remember that he was a victim in this case.


Once she and Kevin were settled in the car, Cynthia decided that it was best for the two of them to go over what they planned to reveal to Rollands and his associates before they got there. "There's one thing we need to keep out, and that's the graffiti." That was the one bit of evidence that had been withheld from the public. "That's out. We can't give that away at all, even if Rollands might have some information about it. If he's connected to this, then chances are the graffiti has something to do with him as well, because I know it's not related to me in any way." There of course was the connection to both her and Rollands to consider too, but Cynthia wasn'g about to bring that up either if it could be avoided.

"We give them the body count, the same information that's been released to the media, and a little of the forensics. That's it. No more, no less." Cynthia wasn't going to budge on that, regardless of how much information the lawyer pestered them for. "I'd like to keep the victims names out of it, but it's too late for that, and that means we're going to have to call the families again and warn them about the shitstorm coming their way. The press is going to be all over them once your reporter friend decides to run with his story....if he decides to go with it." She shrugged her shoulders as she started up her car, glancing over at her partner with a smirk. "I bet he won't go through with it. You're not sweating it now, and he's probably over there having doubts. I would if an investigator told me to run with a story about a possible suspect. If we're willing to drop a name, that means we're not afraid of them running, and if we're seriously considering them the suspect, the last thing we'd want is for them to be warned about it."

As she drove, Cynthia considered what they should do about protecting Rollands. "I doubt he'll go for surveillance, but I think you and I should stake out his place at least a few nights." He wasn't a suspect, but their killer was obviously keeping tabs on the man, and that meant he had to be watching at least once in a while. "We can send a few unmarked cars his way every night, but I think that might be about all he'll consent to." Yes, Rollands was going to be a major pain in the ass when it came to protecting him, and as much as Cynthia wished she could just shrug it off and let the man do what he wanted, she couldn't. "This also means that we're going to have deal with him quite frequently. Think you can manage without decking the guy, or am I going to have to deal with him on my own?"[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

​

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Kevin knew that Cynthia was conflicted about dealing with Rollands, because he was conflicted as well. Kevin would've preferred to be locked in a broom closet with a rattlesnake for 24 hours then not only have to protect Rollands, but actually seek out his help in this case. As they got ready to go deal with Captain Pain-In-The Ass Cynthia gave her feelings on how to proceed. Kevin listened and put on his dark glasses and said, "Sounds like good plans across the board Cynthia. We give him enough to work with, but yeah we can't tell him everything. As far as Craven goes…"Kevin shook his head and said, "He's a weasel we just took what he thought was his best shot, and failed. He doesn't have any solid information on the case just rumor and innuendo. Besides, if he had anything of substance he would've already contacted me for a confirmation." Looking at Cynthia Kevin said, "Which would've gotten a 'no comment', and could've quoted me on that. Which would've led to him running with that and beating on the doors of his own sources." Kevin looked to the side and said, "Which by the way I know who they are, and they know that I know who they are so they wouldn't say a damn thing. Because they know I would make it my goal in life to see them suffer for selling us out. So yeah, our case isn't the concern with me as far as Craven goes." Kevin turned back towards the window and said, "The only thing that remotely concerns me is the shit-storm he's going to attempt to generate with MCU, and his recording of Holsted. I've dealt with Downtown on more than one occasion especially Assistant Chief Miller, and trust me they tend to take the tabloid stuff more seriously than the legitimate reporters. That whole 'where there's smoke there's fire' thing for them" Kevin shook his head and said, "I can't believe how badly he screwed this up, but it is what it is so we'll deal with it as it comes. Who knows we might get lucky and not have to deal with it at all."

The question about Kevin not decking Rollands actually troubled him a bit. He actually had to think about that for a moment. The last time Kevin dealt with Rollands Kevin was the only thing standing between Rollands and Larry basically killing him in open court. Kevin was amazed that Larry still had his job after that. The sound of Larry yelling, "You son of a bitch I'm gonna crucify you" echoed throughout the courtroom, and it was only Kevin jumping over the railing that prevented it. Kevin did have to admit that there was a part of him that thought maybe he should've let Larry attack Rollands. He merely replied, "I'll keep it in check Cynthia. I'll follow your lead on this one." He looked back over to Cynthia and said, "I give you my word as a fellow officer and your partner I won't attack Rollands, and I will do everything I can to protect him." It was painful for Kevin to say that, but he said and he meant it. Things were already about to get dicey as it were as Kevin felt like they were entering a whole new area of their investigation. Not to mention Cynthia's connections to this case were going to start becoming more and more evident, and lastly the aftermath of Holsted's situation was looming on the horizon. The last thing Cynthia needed was a partner whom she couldn't trust. He continued, "As far as staking his place out goes, not exactly my idea of a good time, but hey we're here to protect and serve." Kevin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

As the Prius made its way through the Miami traffic Kevin focused in on the upcoming meeting with Rollands more and more. Kevin knew that there would lot of legal mumbo jumbo about how this really has nothing to do with him, and if he did help what would he get in return. Kevin looked to Cynthia and said, "We need to be ready for Rollands being almost hostile towards us. First off, neither of us is his favorite person. Secondly, with us just coming in the way we are he is gonna wanna to assert his dominance on his home turf very soon and often. We can't let him know that he's getting to us. Lastly, I fully expect him to string us along on any information. He's a control freak, and this is not going to be any different for him."

When they finally reached the high rise that housed Rollands' office Kevin looked out the window and said, "I almost expect to see like dark clouds, lighting bolts, and dragons flying around the outside of his office." Kevin looked over to Cynthia and said, "Let's do our jobs, watch each other's backs, and when we're done dealing with him we take hour long hot showers to get the crap off of us." With that Kevin got out of the car and waited for Cynthia to lead the way.[/fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia hated the idea that they had to protect Rollands, probably as much as Kevin did. She grunted out a response to his comment, one shoulder jerking in a shrug while her eyes remained on the road. "Don't get yourself killed protecting that scumbag. One less soulless lawyer in the world isn't going to hurt anyone, but we need all the good cops we can get." She hated being that cynical, but it was the truth. Rollands contributed very little to the world other than freeing guilty criminals who deserved to be put away for the rest of their lives. The killer wouldn't really be doing too much harm, but she knew that wasn't the opinion she was supposed to have. It was their job to make sure that Rollands didn't end up a victim, and that the killer was stopped before he could claim any other lives.

When they finally arrived at the building that served Rollands' firm, Cynthia was ready to turn tail and go back to the station. She had dealt with lawyers throughout her career, but the lawyers at the firm were some of the worst. They were all egotistical, believing that just because they got clients off on technicalities, they were somehow above the law. The lot of them disgusted her, and it was hard not to look at them with contempt whenever she had to deal with them. Fortunately something decided that today was not the time for her to come face to face with the bane of her existence, although what called her away wasn't much better. The buzzing of her phone drew her thoughts from the upcoming meeting, but it was the contact number that put a complete halt in her steps, her hand reaching out to stop Kevin from walking off.

"Hey doc. What can I do for you?" She greeted, motioning for her partner to step back toward her car. The urgency in the medical examiner's voice was worrying, but not nearly as much as the details he gave her. Her stomach began to turn as he gave her a location, along with a vague description of what they had to look forward to. A call had come in about a body found in a wooded area that was often times frequented by the homeless and teenagers looking to sneak away for a quick romp. From the sound of things it was going to be a rather gruesome scene they were walking into, and from what little the doc had learned himself, there wasn't very much left to identify the victim. Sighing heavily, she promised that she and West were on their way before ending the call and glancing over at West. "Looks like a nice air conditioned building is going to have to wait. That was the doc. They got a call about a body about an hour ago, and uniforms just confirmed it. They're marking the scene now, but we need to get over there ASAP."

She didn't give West the chance to respond, already getting back behind the wheel to drive to the location. From what little had been gathered by the officers, the markings of their killer were present, and the body was in very poor condition. She hoped like hell West had a strong stomach, because something told her that this would be the worst one yet.

Once her partner was back in the car she took off, moving away from the city, past yet another run down neighborhood. It struck her as odd that someone with the funds to pull off the murders preferred displaying his kills in the most desolate areas he could find. Something else struck her about the areas, something she hadn't given much thought of prior to that moment. "Our killer is ashamed of what he's doing, but he's proud of his work." Her lips pursed to the side as she mulled over her own words, debating if West would understand what she was saying. "He wants attention, but I don't think he wants it for the murders. If he did, he would leave the bodies in a condition that would make it easier to identify, and he wouldn't be using locations where only the down and out frequent. The question is though, has he been to these locations in the past, or does he have knowledge of them through someone else?"

The drive wasn't nearly as long as she had expected, and by the time they arrived the medical examiner's van was there, along with forensics. The yellow tape was up, with several officers standing guard, although there weren't any civilians around. Parking the car, she quickly got out, moving to the yellow tape and quickly ducking beneath it. It was a short trudge through litter covered ground to reach the body, if it could even be called that. "Jesus fucking Christ." She spat out the moment she laid eyes on the gory remains. The head had been cut off, as expected, but where the neck should have been was nothing but erupted flesh that had bubbled up. There were sections of skin that had been flayed off the body, large chunks of exposed muscle that had been carved into with markings she couldn't quite make out. The remainder of the corpse was on its back, and something told her that she didn't want to see the front.

The doctor looked up grimly, barely managing to nod a greeting to Cynthia, who was still staring at the remains in complete disbelief. She had expected something horrific, but even her own imagination wouldn't have imagined this. "Detective. Would you like me to give you what I have so far, or would you prefer waiting until I get her back to autopsy?"

"How do you know it's a her?" Cynthia couldn't determine much of anything other than the fact it was a dead body, but as the examiner turned it over she could see what had lead him to his conclusion. "Shit….he cut out her implants. Fuck….he's really not making this easy on us, is he?" So they had a female victim with her head, hands, and breast implants removed. The missing pieces of skin were most likely tattoos that had also been cut out to prevent identification. Their only hope was that the woman, whoever she was happened to be in the system, because if she wasn't, they were going to be screwed.

"You want to take the right, and I'll take the left?" She asked Kevin, deciding that there wasn't going to be much from the body till they got back to autopsy. "We'll probably have better luck finding clues than we will trying to get anything from the body, at least for now."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Kevin felt as though he were walking off to the Gas Chamber, or Hell itself to meet with a man that Kevin deemed as just a step above the Devil himself. Just then Cynthia's phone buzzed and she grabbed at Kevin. As soon as Kevin heard who Cynthia was talking to his heart sped up, and a sense of dread began to fill Kevin like few others things could. Once Cynthia said that there was another body Kevin knew that things were about to get into a whole new realm of trouble. Downtown was already starting to get the whiff of trouble with MCU thanks to the Captain, but now another body was really going to put the pressure on them. Kevin couldn't be bothered right now with the details about Holsted, and there was a part of him that hated to admit it that if Holsted resigned Kevin probably wouldn't be too upset at the moment.

As they approached the neighborhood Kevin wasn't surprised. Once again, it was in a rundown neighborhood which meant that getting any really good forensics evidence was going to be next to impossible. However, Kevin had faith that the doctors might be able to work a miracle or two for them. Cynthia's question about the killer and neighborhood knowledge wasn't really something Kevin hadn't dwelt upon, but she did make a good point. He replied, "He seems to know what to do so that we can't really get any good information from the area. Not to mention, our killer is taunting us yet again with another body. We started to make some significant progress to the point where we actually were confronting him, and now another body to make us question theories and possibilities." Kevin shook his head and said, "It's always something my mom used to say."

Once they arrived on scene Kevin saw the body and he merely shook his head very slowly. This display was showing that the killer was upping his game. His level of grotesque butchery and how far he was willing to give them nothing to work with wasn't surprising to Kevin. He knew that the next body would be something close to what the killer would deem his masterpiece. Kevin was wishing that he was wrong about that assessment. In the back of his mind though Kevin's gut was already telling him that this was the last body. That soon he would make his move to Cynthia she was next on his radar, but he wasn't going to kill her. No, that wasn't his ultimate endgame. Kevin was convinced that Cynthia would be kidnapped and made to suffer physically this time. She was already suffering emotionally with the killer knowing about her parent's death and the pictures of her being left on display. Physical suffering was next, but Kevin wasn't going to let on to that at this time. He was ready to start on gathering information on this body and this scene.

Kevin nodded at Cynthia's idea and said, "You got it." Kevin started to walk around the area looking for anything that might prove to be useful. There wasn't much to go on at the other scenes from what Kevin gleaned from the files, but maybe this time they just might get lucky. Kevin was watching his steps and then he found something that was, for lack of a better term, a box of discarded No-Doze. In most cases this would be nothing, but the box didn't show tremendous signs of aging and why is someone popping No-Doze? Kevin called forensics over to grab a picture and bag it. Kevin also noticed the way that some of the grass was lying about. Most of it was going in one direction but there was a path where it was depressed and going in the other direction. Kevin was starting to believe that the killer came along that path to deliver the body. He walked on just one side of the path and found something that made him smile even more. It was a boot print. He called the photographer back over who snapped the picture and began to make an impression.

He walked back over to Cynthia and told her what he had found. When he finished Kevin said, "It's not exactly a smoking gun, but we got something. What do you got?"[/Fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia didn't really comment on West's statement, needing more information on the body to determine if it was in fact a way to throw them off the suspect's scent. One thing was certain though, and that was her plan to prevent another body from being dropped by labeling Rollands as their suspect was on the back burner for the time being. She was none too happy about it either. She really had been hoping to postpone another investigation until they were closer to uncovering a suspect, or at least until they had completely cleared Rollands. Now they were going to have to take time away from their questioning of Haas and Rollands' brother in order to identify the body and get in touch with the next of kin. At the rate they were going, it would be a year before they finally got close enough to make an arrest!

Frustrated, Cynthia began to search her allotted area, pausing to wave a tech over to the tree where the all too familiar graffiti was displayed. "Make sure you get a sample of the paint for analysis. And take pictures from different angles. I want to do a comparison of the other scenes." She stepped away to begin sifting through the rubbish that covered the ground, hoping to find something that would stand out among the soda cans and used condoms. The corners of her lips tucked downward in a frown, her eyes scanning over everything for some clue that might jump out at her, anything that might put them closer to a lead. There wasn't much, nothing that caught her attention at all. She'd get the techs to collect everything any way though, just to play it safe.

She continued around the perimeter, using gloved hands to move trash around in hopes something might be covered up. There was nothing, nothing at all that she could see was related to their crime. She didn't know how long the body had been there, and that wouldn't be determined for at least a day or two. Identifying the victim could possibly take weeks, depending on whether or not she was in the system, and if there was any missing person's reports. It was rather annoying, and even more frustrating considering that she and Kevin should be heading to Central Florida in order to find other possible leads.

When Kevin came over with only a little more evidence then she came up with, Cynthia shook her head with a heavy, exasperated sigh. "I didn't find anything, unless there's something in all this trash. I doubt it….but there's always the smallest possibility that he might have tossed something down here thinking we'd overlook it. Problem is, it's going to take weeks to get all this crap processed, and that's time we don't have." What more could the possibly do? There wasn't much other than bagging up the trash and helping the techs. The medical examiner was still getting the body prepared to take to the morgue, and other than the usual graffiti, there was no other links connecting the scene to their killer. She felt like they had just slipped back to square one. At least a short while ago they had a name.

"So another body, one suspect off the list and turned into a possible victim. A crime scene full of trash and possibly no leads, or a dozen leads…..shit this is one big clusterfuck." Cynthia was really starting to get annoyed with what was going on, but there wasn't much she could do about it now. They'd have to head back to the station to at least dig through missing person reports while waiting for some possible clue from the autopsy. "I swear by the time this is over I'm going to be on the verge of drinking."

Sighing, she gave one final glance around the scene before turning back to her partner. "Want to head back now? Nothing more we can do here till they're finished processing everything. Might be able to get in contact with the people who called it in. Maybe they saw something that they might not have thought was important. If not, we still have to go searching through missing persons. We might catch a break on IDing the vic. Those flayed parts were most likely tattoos, or some kind of distinguishing mark, so we have at least that to go on."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

The frustration level was starting to show once again. They'd taken a few minor steps forward and now they had a new victim they had to try and ID with nothing to work with. At this point Kevin was willing to sell his soul for a lucky break along the way. Kevin looked at Cynthia and said, "Yeah might as well head back. By now Holsted should've gotten the word on this, and in addition to whatever it was he wanted to tell us, means that this long day is about to get longer." He shook his head and said, "On the whole, I would say that today will be one of those days where we'll be wishing for that rock in 'Armageddon' to show up." With that Kevin took one last look around, and then stopped himself as he took a picture of the graffiti. He said, "Maybe this is something after all. We get back to MCU let's take a look at the others. Don't worry about the sequence of the murders, but focus in on the graffiti itself." Kevin nodded and said, "It's like a puzzle the reason the pieces didn't form a picture is because we didn't have all the pieces, and maybe they still don't but I gotta believe that something is coming together in some way." Kevin thought for another moment and said, "He's proving that he's got us beat on the bodies taking away all the identifying marks, and no real forensics to work with, but leaving us a calling card like the graffiti." Kevin shook his head and said, "It's like we're dealing with the Riddler. Tell us what he's gonna do the whole time. The graffiti is a clue to an end game."

He looked at Cynthia as he headed to the car and said, "I know I sound crazy as hell and that I'm grasping at straws, but Cynthia our killer is doing all this for a reason not just because he woke up one day and decided to fuck with us. He has an end game in mind I'd bet my loft and my Pirates game gear on it." As he got to the car his phone rang, and he saw it was a number he wasn't familiar with. Kevin looked at Cynthia as he answered it by putting it on speaker as he motioned for Cynthia to follow him some place away from everyone else, "West."

The voice on the other end was Olivia from MCU. Her voice had a slight tremble in it as she said, "Detective West please you and Detective Matthers get to Miami Dade General a-s-a-p."

Kevin asked, "Olivia what happened?"

She replied, "Captain Holsted suffered a major heart attack. He collapsed in the hallway if it wasn't for Detective Carson being there to do CPR he probably would be gone. They just got him in the ambulance about five minutes ago. Kevin, he was asking to see you two this morning because he was going to tell you two that he was putting in his retirement papers effective immediately."

Kevin bowed his head and shook it slowly. Earlier in the morning he was about to let Holsted have it, and now he was having to deal with guilt over that. He replied, "Well get there as soon as we can Olivia. I promise."


Kevin hung up the phone and said, "Okay side trip on the way back." Kevin began to head to the car and said, "Hate to say this, but I will anyway because I'm that ray of sunshine. Downtown is going to move someone in that probably has no damn clue as to what we're doing, and we're going to have to jump thru the hoops for them. Remember what Gonzalez told us…" Kevin shook his head and said, "Now's their chance to make it happen." He clinched his jaw as he got into the car and said, "Not good."
[/Fieldbox]

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

[fieldbox= Cynthia, #367b85, dashed, 10, Georgia] Cynthia shook her head, not maliciously dismissing Kevin's opinion, but having already considered the importance of the graffiti. "I've already thought of that, but I don't believe there's any significance to it. It has no meaning at all. There's not even a record of it prior to the killings. If what we assume about the killer being aware of police protocol and forensics, I believe it's just a mark…..a calling card if you will. He's simply trying to take credit for his crimes and wants us to know he's the one responsible." She'd already investigated the graffiti as much as she could, finding nothing about it at all. It was frustrating and annoying, and it certainly didn't bring them any closer to their suspect. "He doesn't give away anything that he does not want us to know. Putting some religious symbol, or even a gang tag would put us in his direction even if we were still miles away from I.Ding him."

Cynthia hated dismissing Kevin's ideas, trying to be as gentle about it as she could. "That doesn't mean there's not any significance for him. We're dealing with a narcissist; everything he does is centered around him and his views. I'm sure to him there's some meaning behind the graffiti, but we won't learn that until he's caught. When he's caught, he'll be sure to rub it in our faces how stupid we are for not picking up on it." Of all the criminals she'd dealt with, narcissists were her least favorite. Their arrogance was annoying, and their smugness when they got caught bothered her. It was as if they knew that it was going to happen and they allowed themselves to be discovered. She knew it wasn't true, but that's how it always felt.

The detective went silent, letting her partner talk on the phone without interrupting. When he finished and broke the news about Holsted, the woman was surprised and saddened by what she learned, but almost expected it. "This case is not for the weak at heart, not saying that the captain is weak, but he's older. The last few events was most likely what put him over the edge." Cynthia turned the car toward the hospital, almost warning Kevin that it was the wrong thing to do. Right now Holsted didn't need a reminder of what had most likely put him in the hospital to begin with, and she was loath to admit that she didn't do very well dealing with the ill and injured, although she doubted it would come as much of a surprise to Kevin. Anything that required an emotional response from her was always awkward.

Mulling over her partner's words, Cynthia shook her head quickly. "That would be the stupidest thing they could do." She pointed out, glancing over at him with a thoughtful frown. "MCU isn't a normal unit. Aside from the politics, there's lot of media coverage and dealing with city hall. Throwing someone in there who's not familiar with the territory would be like putting a monkey in for president. They're not stupid enough to throw someone in who's unfamiliar with the unit. Chances are they'll promote from within the unit, but chose someone who's willing to bend to their will whenever they demand it. Railly seems the most likely choice. The man's a natural born kiss ass, and he's always sniffing around for a way to climb up the ladder without doing any work." If Railly did end up with Holsted's position, they were even more screwed than they would be with a newcomer. The bastard loved getting his name in the papers, and he'd be on the phone with the feds in a heartbeat just to have the chance for a press conference with himself in the spotlight.

Pulling into the hospital's parking lot, Cynthia parked the car but made no move to get out of the vehicle. "Maybe you should go up alone." She proclaimed after a pregnant pause. "I don't know that I'd do more than frustrate him. These times of situations aren't my strong point."[/fieldbox]

 

[MST3K 4ever]

[Fieldbox=Kevin]

​

Kevin wanted to argue with Cynthia all the way to the hospital that the graffiti was a key element. Yes, a calling card but why leave it? It was a taunt from another point of view that they were missing something right underneath their noses. To him this was all a game now. They were supposed to have already caught this clown if they were so good, but he had to drop another body on them to help them along. Kevin was hoping that the killer wouldn't become frustrated and do something even more irrational, because he was convinced that the killer's next move was going to be against Cynthia. She was the end game in all of this. All of this had been leading up to her. This victim, while tragic, would prove to be a basic tail chasing session for them. There wouldn't be anything of dramatic consequence to the case that would suddenly crack everything wide open. Kevin was willing to put any amount of money he could think of on the fact that this was all leading up to Cynthia, and she was the next piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, she was going to be the last piece too. Cynthia wouldn't be killed no slow torture was the name of the game here.

Hearing that Railly might be the logical choice for MCU's new C-O made Kevin roll his eyes. He said, "If he's picked MCU will be a license plate factory in a week. He couldn't find a criminal if he nuked the prison. That man has about as much right of being a cop as I do being the starting wide-out for the Steelers." Kevin shook his head and said, "To be fair though, he was a good cop once from what I've heard, but the last few years he's skated on his rep more than anything else. Besides, he's about three years away from his Golden Shield. I doubt they'd put a short timer in." Kevin thought for a moment and said, "In this situation though there is an opportunity for us." He glanced over to Cynthia and said, "We have a chance to make some major headway without any interference from anyone for the next at least 12-24 hours. Hate to sound like a Bastard, but this is a chance to really make some hay while the sun is down." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just a thought."

When they arrived at the Hospital Kevin said, "Fair enough. I'll go in long enough to get a quick update. If I'm not back in 15 minutes you might wanna come up, because it means that something drastic has happened or is happening." With that Kevin was out of the car and into the lobby. Once inside he showed his badge and asked for Holsted's location. Once he got it Kevin was in the elevator and on his way. In the waiting room it looked like an MCU sub-station with several others high ranking officers from City Hall present. Kevin walked over to Captain Gonzales who was with Holsted's wife. Gonzales excused himself as his wife moved over to be with Mrs. Holsted. The two men shook hands as they walked away from the group and Kevin asked, "Heard anything yet Cap?"

Gonzales replied, "All I know is they lost him in the ambulance and they had to pull over so they could shock him back. A Hospital administrator has already asked Ellen to make sure that final arrangements are in order. Their Priest has been called and he's on his way he should be here anytime. Their kids are flying in asap" He looked at Kevin and said, "The next 24 hours will tell the tale, but in either case Rich is done at MCU. Off the record…"

Kevin said, "Of course…"

Gonzales replied, "I saw him Detective West and it ain't good. I talked to one of the paramedics, he's my nephew, and he said he'll be surprised if he walks out of here."

Kevin nodded and said, "He was getting ready to tell Matthers and I he was retiring, but we were out dealing with another dead body. We're just wondering who's gonna replace Holsted. We're worried it's gonna be Railly."

Gonzales looked around and said, "Not to be repeated, but I've been contacted by the Mayor. He seems to think with my experience and the fact that Rich and I share a lot of common traits in terms of leadership and people we know it would ensure a semi-smooth transition. Again not to be repeated to anyone expect your partner. It's gonna take a sometime and you all may have to deal with an interim one for about a week, but rarely is the Mayor's choice challenged."

Kevin replied, "You'd do well here sir. You'd be a welcomed addition to MCU."

Gonzales said, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Give me your number I'll keep you all in the loop here."

The two men exchanged numbers and Kevin left. He made his way back to Cynthia and he buckled up. He looked over to Cynthia and said, "Couple of things. First The Mayor called Captain Gonzales to let him know that he is the Mayor's choice to take over for Holsted. We're gonna probably have to deal with an interim for about a week. Even Railly can't do that much damage in a week." Kevin rolled his eyes and said, "At least that's the thought. Secondly…." Kevin let out an exhale and turned to Cynthia. He said, "Make sure your dress uniform is ready to go in a couple of days. The off the record opinion according to the paramedics, one of who is Gonzales' nephew, is that Holsted isn't walking out of here. They lost him in the unit, had to pull over to shock him, and Gonzales said it's not good at all. Their Priest is on his way, Ellen Holsted has been asked to make sure final arrangements are in order and their children are on their way. The next 24 hours will be the tell tale of it all. Either case Olivia is probably packing up Holsted's office right now."
[/Fieldbox]