In Hot Pursuit (Nydanna & MST3K 4ever)

[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Cynthia said nothing about Kevin's selection for their next interview, wanting to trust his instincts. It was difficult for her to hand over any sort of control to anyone, especially someone she barely knew, and she was going to have to put a lot of blind faith that West knew what he was doing as well as she did. The one small comfort that she had was that they agreed on quite a few things, the things that mattered at least. He hadn't really made much of an argument against any of the points she had tried to make which was good. They were still in the infant stage of their partnership though, and had quite a bit to learn about each other. She wasn't sure what would happen when they did butt heads, but she hoped that any conflicts between them could be handled in a civilized manner that allowed them to continue working together.

The interview with Mrs. Pierce was the type that Cynthia would not have handled well at all, and she was grateful for the foresight to let West take control of it. Emotional breakdowns wasn't something that she handled well. Many assumed it was her robotic personality that leaked very little of her own emotional state that made her insensitive to the plight of others, but she knew better than that. Unlike most people, she preferred to keep her feelings, much like the rest of her life, private. It was no one's business if she was grieving or happy other than her own. Seeing emotional breakdowns like the one by Alma Pierce made her uncomfortable, and the detective found herself turning her eyes away several times while her partner spoke with the distressed woman.

As she and West settled back into the car, Cynthia shook her head in dismissal, already deciding that Pierce wasn't their first victim. "It's not him. It's obvious that his mother cares for him greatly, and if we'd learned about their relationship we probably would have found that they were close. It would have been uncharacteristic for him to disappear without a word to his mother, and she would have requested a search as soon as she didn't hear from him. Our killer is looking for people with family, but not extremely bonded ties like that. Jeffery also still lives with his mother, which would mean she'd be able to pick up when he went missing quicker than those who lived on their own." Cynthia hadn't asked if the first victim still lived in the house, but after going back over the information she had on his car, she knew that he did not. "Robbins lives in an apartment building a few blocks from his parents' house, at least that's where his car is registered. I'm not sure about Gordon. His car is registered to his father's apartment, so it's possible he still lives there as well."

Mentally scanning over the list of names in her head, Cynthia was about to choose the next interview when her phone began to ring. Hastily answering it without checking the Caller ID, she was met with a rather upset female voice. Apparently the interview with the Robbins' daughter hadn't gone over as well as she and West had thought, and Sylvia Robbins was now snapping at Cynthia for accusing her son of being involved with the car theft ring. "Ma'am, forgive the misunderstanding. We do not believe your son is a part of the ring. I did not mean to give that intention at all. We already have most of the gang detained and are simply looking for the owners of vehicles that they were found with."

The explanation calmed the irate woman down at least somewhat, but Cynthia could tell by the tension in her voice she was still unhappy. Sylvia then asked if they were also looking for any clues about her son's disappearance which the detective decided to answer with a half lie. "Yes ma'am. We believe that the car thieves do some type of damage to the car to get the driver to pull over, but they will not tell us what they do with the driver after they've taken the car." Not a huge lie, and one that could easily be covered up. All they needed to say was that the investigation had steered them into another direction after they got the information needed from the Robbins about their son's disappearance. "Is it possible that you or your husband could come to the station to answer some questions? We can also show you some mugshots of the car thieves and see if you can recognize any of them." She knew they wouldn't, but it would keep up her story and get the couple to the station where she needed them. "Two thirty? Yes, that's fine. I will speak to you then."

Glancing at the clock on the dashboard she noticed they had two hours until the Robbins would be at the station. Looking across the console at West, she frowned faintly, trying to calculate how much time they had and if they should risk doing another interview. "We should probably head back to the station and grab lunch before they come. Can your friend send over the mug shots? I'll toss them together for the Robbins to look over while I'm eating.[/fieldbox]
 
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Larry used to tell Kevin that in every investigation there are bumps in the road. If things are going too smoothly it's because someone wants them to go too smoothly. In this case Cynthia and Kevin didn't have to worry about someone else manipulating the investigation. They weren't hitting bumps it was worse than that. They were hitting people's nerves and it wasn't helping that they were still not sure of who the first victim was to begin with. Kevin nodded and said, "I agree there's no way Pierce is our vic. It ain't him." Before he could say another thing Cynthia was on the phone and getting an earful from Mrs. Robbins. Kevin had to admit all things considered Cynthia was handling it as well as anyone could. There was a part of him though wanted to jump in and let Robbins have an earful as well, but that wasn't going to help. Not to mention she was going through the trauma of a missing child and just wanted answers. Besides as the Captain had reminded him Cynthia was over 21 and could handle things on her own.

Once Cynthia hung up the phone and asked Kevin if he could call Luke Kevin merely nodded. He picked up his phone called Luke who answered, "What up K?"

Kevin replied, "Hey bro the gang members who just talked with...."

Luke interrupted, "Didn't get a thing that could be useful to you man. Sorry about that."

Kevin replied, "Nah it's okay my friend listen can you send me photos of the two guys and the ringleader? Send it to this e-mail account and mark it 'inventory' in the subject line. In case anyone is watching it doesn't get curious and since I supposed work for a shipping company makes sense. Send it from undercover address if you would."

Kevin told Luke his undercover e-mail address for the Gold Coast Shipping Company, and Luke replied, "I'll have it to you in the next 10 minutes K."

Kevin said, "Thanks Luke talk to you later."

Luke replied, "Be cool K."

The two men hung up and Kevin said, "Okay I say we get back to the station and get ready for the Robbins family to show up. Don't worry about anyone else right now. We should be ready for anything that Mrs. Robbins may want to ask, and don't be surprised if for some reason she shows up with a lawyer."

As they headed back Kevin was deep in thought. For all the anger and frustration that Robbins sent to Cynthia Alma was sending pain and grief to Kevin. It was about more than Kevin could take.

Kevin said, "I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for this." Kevin called Captain Webb who said, "Hey Kevin, ready to come back here?"

Kevin replied, "Not exactly. Cap, are you still on friendly terms with the Cap at Domestic Crimes? Do they still owe Homicide a favor?"

Webb replied, "Yeah what's going on Kevin?"

Kevin said, "I got a missing persons case for them I need them on it asap. I was hoping you might call in that favor for me."

Webb replied, "What do you got kid?"

Kevin explained the case of Jeffery Pierce, but without mentioning specifics of their current case.

When he was done Webb replied, "I'll see what I can do for you on this Kevin. I promise I'll do what I can. I'll be in touch."

Kevin said, "Thanks Cap." Kevin hung up and set his phone down. He shook his head and said, "I know we can't help everyone with a sob story like this, but I have a chance to help Alma and I'll be damned if I won't take advantage of it. That boy was her entire world she needs closure. I hope we can give it to her."

As they got back to MCU Kevin got out of the car and said, "Lunch and then we prep as much as we can for Mrs. Robbins."
 
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[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Cynthia blinked her eyes dazedly at Kevin when he got off the phone with his former captain, her face etched with tiny lines of confusion and contemplation. This was where it became apparent that the two were different in many ways. She compartmentalized everything emotional, from her own feelings to that of others. What was useful she kept in mind; what was not she forgot about. Alma Pierce's plight was certainly sad enough to garner some sympathy from Cynthia, but as the detective saw it, there were hundreds of parents in Miami with the same story. If she felt each and every single time she saw a mother crying, she'd be spending her entire career searching for missing people, or spree killers. It was a waste of her mind, and certainly not going to put a stop to the serial killer any time soon. However, she knew she could not criticize West for what he had done, not without seeming completely harmless. "You called in a favor to homicide. Does that mean you believe he is dead?" Her curiosity ws piquied, but she didn't have a whole lot of time to dwell on the situation at hand.

"There are logical explanations for why he is missing that does not necessarily mean he is dead. Of course, statistically, the odds are extremely low for any other outcome, but they do exist." The detective was well aware that Kevin would most likely begin to view her differently for her rather nonchalant attitude, and she knew she was taking a risk. However, she felt that he needed to understand that she was centered on their case, and nothing would be able to take her attention from it. People believed that she didn't care, and she understood their assumption. What they didn't understand was that this was her job, and she could not get emotional no matter what the situation was. There was very rarely a happy ending in her profession, and she simply couldn't pretend that was how every story ended to appease those around her.

As Cynthia parked the car and followed Kevin out of it, she was pensive, giving the man a strange look of curiosity and doubt. "You can't let the stories get inside your head." She finally said, ignoring his comment about lunch to address a much bigger problem. "On MCU, we don't deal with humans., we deal with animals; the worst society can produce. If yo let every story get to you,…if you try to question how people are capable of what they do, you'll be wanting to eat your gun by the time you're forty five." Not many people could deal with the crimes they had to deal with, especially when it came to crimes against children and the elderly. The longest any one detective had stuck around was ten years, and at the end of those ten years he began to drink himself stupid. "I'm not saying it to be a bitch, but it's the truth. Everyone in our line of work has a story that will break your heart, even the suspects. You can't let them effect you, or it'll affect the way you do your job."

Whether Kevin heeded her advice or not was entirely up to him, the female detective walking away and allowing her words to soak in or simply go in one ear to rush out of the other. She wasn't his mother, his sister, his psychologist, or really even his friend; she was simply his partner, and if she couldn't warn him about the hazards of the job, than it wasn't much of a partnership.

Thoughts of a partnership was the last thing on her mind as she stepped on the MCU finding Tony waiting for her with an eager grin. Inside she recoiled away from the male, but on the outside she remained just as steely and unmovable as most believed she was. "Do you have something, or are you simply taking up space?" Cynthia asked in a tone that wasn't exactly snappy, but it was hardly welcoming either. The tech lifted a brow at her, the grin on his face never faltering even under the detective's less than cordial greeting.

"Uh huh, actually I do. The results on the liquid the doc pumped out of your third vic came back." He handed over the report, looking expectantly at Cynthia as if she was going to suddenly whip out her wallet and give him a tip. The tech was ignored as she began to scan over the report, the frown lines that were already marring her expression stretching out longer and deeper. "Sulfuric acid? Really?" With the damage that had been done, she wasn't at all shocked to learn it was acid that had been used, but the type was rather heavy stuff that would burn through everything quickly. Tyler had suffered a horribly painful death, and what happened after his death wasn't exactly all too pleasant either. Their killer was becoming more sinister and cruel, which led Cynthia to believe he was growing comfortable with his killings and far from stopping.

Ignoring Tony, she waited for West to turn up to view the report, the female detective's face rather pale. "He used sulfuric acid to kill Tyler….that means he's escalating." That meant crime scenes were about to get a whole lot messier. It also meant with each new change in the M.O, their killer had a chance of slipping up and making a huge mistake. Cynthia dreaded it, but she was also excited that the stakes had just shifted in their favor. "Unfortunately, tracking down people who have purchased sulfuric acid is going to be difficult. Labs use it, as do many other businesses." She sighed, the soft sound shifting into a growl. "I'm going to go make a call to a friend, he might be able to help track down the acid. You go ahead and get your lunch, and when you get a chance, just toss those mugshots on my desk." The detective whipped out her cellphone and proceeded down the hallway alone, letting Kevin have a short break while she worked through her lunch hour.[/fieldbox]
 
Kevin wasn't sure how to take what Cynthia had told him, but one thing was for sure if he had to do it again he would make the same call. He saw a chance to help someone and he took it. Before Cynthia got on was able to make it too far down the hall he said, "A word with you Detective Matthers."

He caught up to her and hadn't seen her dialing yet, so Kevin knew he wasn't interrupting her quite yet. Kevin saw where there was an empty office and motioned towards it. Once they were in there Kevin closed the door and said, "What you said about me calling Homicide. Okay first off Captain Webb is calling the Domestic Crimes Unit. They are the ones who handle Missing Persons not Homicides. Second there is a part of our job that calls for us to serve the public trust, and my calling in a favor for a victim of a crime is part of that service. Third I am well aware of what it takes to be a part of the Almighty MCU. Believe me we who have served Downtown at the Main Station here all about this place, and how this place is the best of the best and some who would sacrifice a goat to get a phone call from here. I am honored to be a part of it, but I am not gonna just chuck my humanity out the door. Especially when we are dealing with a mother who couldn't give a damn about a false angle we were trying to pursue concerning a case, and only wants answers about her son. Since she can't help us are we supposed to say, 'damn shame lady' and move on? When it's all said and done we are MCU but first and foremost we are Police Officers called to protect and to serve. Lastly if I was going over the line the first person who would've called me on it was Webb. He would've told me no but he didn't."

Kevin let out an exhale and said, "In the end it might be shown that I went over the line, and then again it might not. Cynthia I couldn't just leave her twisting in the wind. If I had a child who was my whole world I would want answers, and she's been waiting over two weeks for them with barely a phone call. I know I can't save everyone with a sob story. I've been in homicide long enough to know that, but if I see a chance to help. I'm gonna take it. I'm a cop yeah but I'm also a human being, and I'm gonna be one of those way longer than a cop. All that being said it won't happen again, but I couldn't just sit by without giving you a better explanation. You made some good points won't argue with you on that, but sometimes you gotta look logic and reason in the eye and say, 'screw off' to help someone and hope you don't regret it later. It's called being human."

Kevin leaned against the wall and said, "Okay the case at hand. By now our killer has figured out that we are putting two and two together at a pretty good rate. There will be another body by this time tomorrow. I know it with him upping his game I'll bet any amount of money on it. The killer is starting to become bolder. He's watching us he knows what we're doing. He's smart enough to know our progress. What we need to do now is to find a way to let him know that we know. He is upping his game and sooner or later that is gonna catch the attention of either the Chain of Command downtown or the press. "

Kevin closed his eyes for a moment and opened them as he said, "The CSI teams. Craven was there both times. Knowing him the way I do he got pictures of the crowd. Our killer wants to see the progress we are making up close and personal. I'll bet he's in the crowd shots." Kevin shook his head and said, "If I ask for those shots he's gonna want something in return, and I'm not sure I'm ready to make a deal with the Devil."

Kevin stepped away from the wall and said, "Okay I've taken up enough of your time. Enjoy your conversation."

Kevin left the office and made his way up to the third floor where there was a cafeteria. He bought himself a Chicken Cesare Salad and a bottle of water. Went back to his office and checked his e-mail and saw Luke sent him his pictures. Kevin printed them out and decided to finish his salad before going to Cynthia's office.

Kevin was somewhat impressed with the salad, and was actually enjoying it. All the while Kevin was convinced more than ever this was being done by a Tech, but there needed to be a motive, and he knew Cynthia was not going to buy into it. Kevin knew though that if things broke right sooner or later she would see what he was seeing. It just a matter of being patient.
 
[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Cynthia could have told him that not everything could be wrapped up in a pretty package, and not everyone would get the answers they wanted. He didn't know of her history, and certainly didn't know that her parents' case was currently sitting down in the basement somewhere, collecting dust and awaiting some cold case detective to pick up where the original officers had left off. Even she had gone over the case a hundred times herself and was met with the same dead ends as everyone else who had worked on it. Things happened, and sometimes even the best couldn't explain the hows or whys. If the woman's son was missing, it was because he'd crossed paths with someone who didn't want him found; not by his mother, not by the police, not by anyone. If he had been a cop before, he would understand that.

She didn't dignify his words with a verbal response, simply nodded her head curtly and continued on her way. Their views were different in this regard, and she wasn't about to argue with him over it. Sooner or later he'd learn that going to extra mile never truly helped, especially when the families didn't get the answers that they wanted. Finding out what really happened to their loved ones did not always help. In fact, in quite a few cases it usually brought about more questions than answers, and hints of dark side that they were previously unaware of. It was a losing battle, and like all battles she knew she couldn't win, Cynthia let it drop and completely. West could do as he chose, but she was staying clear of it. Things like that had a way of coming back to bite them in the ass, and she wasn't had enough on her plate to deal with.

Kevin went to do whatever he felt he needed to do, leaving the female to finish up her phone call in peace. Tucking herself inside her office, Cynthia sat down at her desk and picked up the phone, deciding that this call was better made on an office phone than her cell phone. It took only a second for her to recall the number, and after punching it in she waited several rings for someone to pick up. She didn't give them a chance to greet her when she made her request for the person she was seeking. "Agent Todd Branham, please." She was put on hold for a good minute in a half when a breathless, male voice replied to her. "Agent Branham."

"Agent Todd." Cynthia greeted coolly, rushing to introduce herself before he could ask her questions. "Detective Cynthia Matthers, Miami-Dade PD. We worked together on the bombing….."

"The store bombings. Yes, I remember you detective Matthers. Good to hear from you, although I'm certain the reasons you're calling Homeland Security most likely aren't for pleasantries. What can I do for you?" Cynthia smirked at his comment, glad that he wasn't going to chat her up and waste time that she didn't feel like spending on the phone. She only wanted to know one thing and be done with the conversation.

"Listen, I was wondering if you've noticed anything peculiar about sulfuric acid sales in Miami, or Tampa. Has there been anyone purchasing unusual quantities of it, or someone who has no reason to buy it?" She knew it was a stretch. Sulfuric acid was one of many different types of chemicals that Homeland Security kept an eye on.

"Nothing that's caught our notice. Is it bombings? Should I be expecting a call?" Branham inquired, and Cynthia withheld the sigh that threatened to erupt from her.

"No, sir, no bombings. I can't really give any details now, but could you keep an eye on the sale for me, please? And if possible, let me know if you've had anything pop up within the past two months." The detective didn't hold out any hope for it. No, she had a feeling the killer had access to the acid that would leave no links back to him, which meant she'd hit a wall in that regard. Still, it couldn't hurt to have all her bases covered just in case..

"Will do. I'll keep an eye out for you, and if anything crosses my desk, you'll be the first I call." Branham sounded as rushed as Cynthia did, and she let him end the call without any further small talk. It was a dead end for now, but who knew what the future might hold. At that moment she couldn't dwell on things that could not be changed. She had the Robbins' coming soon, and she needed to get ready for their interview.[/fieldbox]
 
As Kevin sat at his desk with his feet up and crossed on top of the desk he glanced over the information concerning the suspects of the car theft ring. One thing that stood out to Kevin was that the ringleader, a guy named Rick Logan, was a college graduate. Came from a good home and had a promising future as a personal trainer. Kevin guessed that he got access to most of the cars they stole from his client base. Not a shabby plan and to pull it off took brains. Kevin shook his head and said, "Great just what we need a smarter class of criminal."

Kevin put the picture down and just leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling and just shook his head, because while he tried to concentrate on the case the thing with Cynthia was getting on his nerves. Who the hell was she to judge him? Her credentials as a cop were impressive, but her humanity and people skills were lacking. Kevin punched a guy out yesterday for her, and now he had the overwhelming urge to go down to the lab and let Holden take a whack at him. Kevin knew that this was an impasse that wasn't going to be solved and rehashing it wasn't going to help. He knew he needed to let it go, but the lack of trust with Cynthia was getting real old with him.

Kevin looked at his watch and saw that he still had a good twenty minutes before he was supposed to meet up with Cynthia. He looked at his office phone and cell phone. Every fiber of his being told him not to use either one, because they way MCU was Kevin was certain that it was all bugged. He got up and went down to his Harley and saw that no one else was around. Kevin started it up and drove down to a park about 2 blocks over from the MCU building.

Kevin parked his bike and opened up one of his compartments. He tapped on the bottom twice and the floor of the compartment opened up revealing a cell phone. It was a burner phone that Kevin bought and Larry had a match. They used them to vent to one another about the job and didn't have to worry about anyone else listening in. In this case though he decided to call Webb.

Kevin dialed Webb's number and waited for the Captain to answer. When he did Kevin said, "So how bad do you want me back at Homicide?"

Webb replied, "Kevin?"

Kevin then realized that this was a different number that what he was used to and said, "Oh sorry it's a private phone. Off the books and just for private use only. Anyway you want me back?"

Webb replied, "I'd love to have you back kid, but the order came from on the Commissioner on this one. You are MCU now, and there's no countering that order Kevin. If I tried if I'm lucky my career would only suffer a few setbacks like being called on the carpet, a reprimand, and possibly even dismissed from here and transferred to Vice walking a beat." Webb let out and exhale and said, "Kevin you are part of a unit that most cops would give a year's pay just to work with on a case. What's the issue?"

Kevin said, "This operation would be great if we were a corporation. The whole corporate mentality here makes me want to burn the whole place down. I know they got a reputation and it is well deserved but the high and mighty attitude has got to go. Not to mention being partnered with someone who makes RoboCop look like Robin Williams is getting real old." Kevin shook his head and said, "I know that's not fair, but no empathy what so ever for those we deal with it's like this job is all she's got."

Webb replied, "Maybe it is. Look Kevin you and your partner don't have to be friends or even like one another, but I reviewed her file. There are certain things I know because I'm a Captain and I won't tell you what they are, but I think you need to remember something and that is don't judge the book by it's cover. Like any other case you have to let things unfold and present themselves remember she has never had a partner. Cynthia has no clue how to act and it's up to you to model it for her."

Kevin knew that he had no real choices here, and Webb was right. He said, "You're right Cap. Thanks for listening to me. Talk to you later."

Kevin hung up the phone and watched the people walking around and enjoying themselves. They had freedom and could make their own choices, but Kevin didn't have that luxury anymore. He was forced into a situation that he didn't want any part of, and not to mention he hadn't had a vacation in almost 5 months. Burn out was slowly creeping into his psyche and it wasn't going to be pretty when it all broke loose. Kevin dialed one more number and the voice on the other end said, "Hello?"

Kevin replied, "Hi mom."

Hannah's voice lifted up as she said, "Hi Kevin. How are you? Enjoying your time with the guys?"

Kevin replied, "No I got called in on a case so I'm still at work."

Hannah said, "I'm so sorry sweetheart I know that you were looking forward to it for so long."

Kevin replied, "Yeah. Anyway I was wondering something, once I get done with this case would you be upset if I moved back to Pittsburgh?"

Hannah was silent and Kevin could tell his mom was happy. She said, "I can't say that would upset me. Are you sure about this?"

Kevin replied, "As far as I'm concerned the cancelling of my trip was strike three. Craven got away with everything and command worked with him to cover it up was strike one. The mentality of the unit I am now with is strike two. Strike three the politics downtown that got me transferred into this unit that cost me my vacation. I'm done."

Hannah said, "Kevin this is a big decision you better be sure about this."

Kevin nodded and replied, "I think I am besides I miss having seasons. I know enough people back home I can probably get on with the Police Department. After this case I'll put in my notice."

Hannah said, "Okay if you say so. I'd love to have you back, but you need to think this through a little more. Please do that for me."

Kevin replied, "I will I promise mom." He looked at his watch and saw he had ten minutes left. Kevin said, "I gotta get going mom. I love you I'll talk to you later."

Hanna replied, "Love you too Kevin bye." Kevin hung his phone and put it back in its compartment.

He went back to MC and stopped off at his office grabbing the files. Kevin felt as though a large weight was off his shoulders. For the first time in a while he had control of his life and he was actually smiling. He arrived at Cynthia's office and knocked on the door frame and dropped the folder on her desk. Kevin said, "Okay let's see what happens next."
 
[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]The phone call ended, and only a split second later her cell phone was ringing on her desk. With her hands working at the keyboard of her computer, she swiped the screen to answer the call and put it on speaker, unwilling to put a stop to what she was doing. "Matthers." She called out, getting a greeting that she hadn't quite expected. "Do you ever just say hello? Not everyone who calls you is for business." Cynthia's brow crept up, her eyes momentarily traveling away from her computer screen and over to the phone as if the person on the other end could see her. "Susan. Always nice to hear from you. Sorry, I've been rather busy lately, and nearly all my calls are business." Cynthia could feel a lesson about needing to go out and find a relationship brewing, the same words said to her each time she spoke to her mentor's wife. She didn't have any time for a relationship, especially not now in the middle of a case.

"I know. You really should take some time off. You're going to burn yourself out. You're still young!" The detective rolled her eyes at the older woman, grateful that she could not be seen through the screen. Susan was the adoptive mother that she'd never had, and never wanted, but Cynthia couldn't be angry over her nosiness. It was nice to have someone looking out for her wellbeing. "Sorry Susan, no time for that right now. I'm up to my neck in shit and it's about to start getting thicker. I guess you're calling me because I talked to Max?" Max was a great detective, but like Cynthia, he kept things close to the chest when need be. She didn't doubt that the man had kept her reason for calling private, and now Susan was calling her to find out on her own.

"Oh dear….you've forgotten already?" Susan questioned just as West turned up at her office door, the detective briefly distracted by her partner and answering the question absently. "Forget? Was I supposed to come over for dinner? If so, then yes, I completely forgot." Her eyes strayed to what Kevin tossed on her desk briefly, flickering over it to the screen of her phone than back to her computer.

"Cynthia…..it's the twenty year anniversary. Did you really forget?" Susan called out, snapping the female to full attention. West, along with folder forgotten, and the phone was snapped away from the desktop and up to her ear. How could she have forgotten the twentieth anniversary of her parents' murder? She had just been thinking about it earlier. Was her mind so wrapped up in the case that she could forget something that important? Frowning, she turned in her chair until her back was toward West. "Actually, I did forget about it….at least for a moment." What kind of daughter was she that she'd forget her own parents? Her shoulders slumped slightly, her voice dropping to keep her partner from overhearing her. "Saturday….I can't make it till the afternoon, possibly not until Sunday. Can I meet you guys there Sunday morning?" Every year she and Max went to visit her parents' graves, and would stop at their favorite restaurant for dinner as her way of remembering them. This year she was going to have to put that off for the time being. "I can meet you there around ten. That gives me time to stop at the florists and cigar shop. I'll set up the dinner reservations for four thirty. Will that work for you and Max?"

After another minute lecture on how she should take a bit of time off from work and focus on herself, Cynthia began to consider the idea. Maybe she should take a day off. It certainly wasn't like her to forget something, especially something that important. "I'll think about it, but I can't right now. Things are hectic around here. Maybe after this case I'll take a few days off. But I'll get everything arranged and see you guys Sunday morning."

Cynthia made her excuses to leave, and Susan finally let her off the phone promising that she'd see her on Sunday. It was sad that the only time she ever made an active attempt to socialize was when she was mourning the loss of her parents. That wasn't all that important not, and with West hovering over her back she didn't give herself much time to think about it.

Twirling her chair back toward West, she finally gave the folder the attention they needed. "Thank you. I'll get them set up and ready for the interview with the Robbins." She should have apologized to West about her earlier words, at the moment she couldn't really muster up much of anything at all to say. She was quiet on the best of days, and now she had fallen into a pensive silence. Having realized what she had forgotten, Cynthia was now struggling to get her mind back on the case, and she needed a moment to pull herself together. "Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your break. I'll come get you once the Robbins get here."[/fieldbox]
 
Kevin merely nodded and said, "Sure no problem Cynthia." He left Cynthia's office but what he had just witnessed was not going to leave him anytime soon. In the exchange with whoever Susan was Kevin felt like he had just seen past the mask of one Cynthia Matthers for a moment and saw a real human being. Being a Homicide Detective meant that Kevin was used to reading people in not only what they said but how they said something, and their body language. Kevin could tell that whatever this anniversary was it wasn't a happy anniversary. He wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time Kevin felt Cynthia should have a private life. Not to mention if he went digging around that could open wounds that would not be easily forgiven or forgotten. Besides what did it matter to him anyway once this case was over the name Cynthia Matthers wouldn't mean a thing to him anyway. Kevin was going back to Pittsburgh land of the Pirates, Steelers, and the Pens and a large part of his family.

As Kevin got back to his office he closed his door and saw that he had a voice mail from Father Tony. There were some possibilities in terms of a Religious aspect to the case, but nothing to build a lead with. In Kevin's mind that meant a cult, religious fanatic, or even a religious aspect was pretty much off of the list. Father Tony was also quick to remind Kevin of his appointment on Friday for Confession. Kevin chuckled and shook his head as he said, "Ah Father Tony you are one of a kind."

As Kevin looked at the moving boxes there were only about two more, and they could be unpacked in a matter of minutes. Again though why bother? He was leaving anyway once this case was done, so why suddenly did Kevin feel like leaving was a bad idea. Sure Cynthia was emotionally distant and socially inept, but she was excellent at her job and that was the important thing to look at. Kevin couldn't shake the feeling of there being something underneath the exterior of Cynthia Matthers something that spoke to him on a human level. That there really was more than met the eye, and if there was something worth getting to know he owed it to himself to find out what that was. For whatever it was it was something big and on certain levels at the heart of who Cynthia was.

Kevin sat back at his desk and crossed his legs as he put them back up on the desk. His mind drifted back to his early days with Larry, and Kevin realized that the good times were great with him. However they had to work through a lot to finally find their groove in terms of working together. Although Kevin considered himself good at what he did Larry made him better, and Kevin believed that he helped Larry also. Well that was what Larry told him a couple of times. Cynthia and him were pretty much contemporaries but Kevin was smart enough to know that she could teach him a couple of things. Especially when it came to MCU and how things worked. He looked out the window and said, "Sorry mom. I'm already home."

Kevin got up and began to unpack the rest of his boxes. He came across a picture of him and his father which made Kevin smile a bit. It was the last picture taken of him with his dad just after Kevin was finally riding his bicycle without the training wheels. Nathan was so proud of Kevin and Kevin felt like the king of the world. Little did Kevin know that the next day that smile would be gone and wouldn't come back for what felt like years. Kevin put the picture and on his desk and then pulled out one more. It was a picture of Hannah, Sam, Erica, Catherine, and Kevin huddled together celebrating Kevin's graduation from the Academy on South Beach. Kevin would never forget that day because it was the day his siblings said how proud they were of Kevin. He always felt like the odd ball of the family and that the rest of the family looked down on him, but on that day Kevin truly knew how his family felt about him and their relationship went to a whole new level. Which lead to the Sunday Night Tradition of all of them Skyping at 10pm unless Sam was playing, and then it was they all Skyped while watching the game, and during the game Sam would make it a point to wave to the camera and say, "Hi." Kevin was very quick to point out to them though that he had no power to get them out of speeding or parking tickets.

Kevin decided that was enough unpacking for a while. The books and other items could keep for now. The pictures were all that we needed for this place to start to feel like home. It was also time for him to get his head back in the game. He knew the Robbins would be a difficult interview on a lot of levels, and Cynthia would take the lead on this one. However she was his partner and Kevin was not going to let his partner down. He looked over the pictures and reports and began to make some notes along the way waiting for Cynthia to arrive.
 
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[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]As much as she hadn't wanted West to overhear her conversation, she hadn't been able to toss him out of her office in the middle of it. Still, she couldn't be worried about what her partner had heard when she was still reeling over the fact she had completely forgotten all about the anniversary of her parents' murder. Was this case so deep in her mind she had blocked out the one milestone that had changed her life? Cynthia knew she should analyze that thought a bit more, perhaps use up a few vacation days and actually try to focus on something outside the murders she was investigating, but she couldn't afford to lose the momentum she had going just yet. Her parents were gone, and no amount of mourning was going to change that, but she could spare someone a horribly painful death if she managed to find her killer.

Sighing softly, she began to skim over the mugshot, sliding the images behind plastic slots of a mugshot sheet for the Robbins to try and identify. Their killer wasn't part of the ring, and she highly doubted any of them had even crossed paths with the man she was after. Still, it would be stupid of her to overlook a possible link simply based on her own gut feeling. If there was one thing about her it was that she was completely thorough in her investigations, and that meant trying to find all possible connections that she could. The car thefts happened to be a fluke of a connection, but one that she was determined to rule out completely before she finally set her sights onto the next one.

In spite of her attempts to focus on her work, Cynthia became distracted once again by the thought of what Kevin overhead. She had made it a point not to flaunt her parents' murder as a way to gain sympathy, believing that most people would assume she got her position simply out of pity. Homicide had not been able to solve the crime, so the department simply handed her a job on an elite force to keep her silent. It didn't matter how many degrees she had under her belt, of how many nights she had pounded the pavement as a cop before becoming a detective. In the eyes of many she would never truly belong to the force, always the little girl who was seeking out revenge on the person who had gotten away with killing her parents. Her thoughts were completely illogical and highly unlikely, but no one ever said a small dose of paranoia from time to tome made a person completely insane.

Through all of her years on the force, there were only a handful of people aware of the details of her parents' case, and most of those people had retired. The last thing she wanted to do now was have to share the story with her partner. She didn't want the looks of pity that came along with it, and she certainly didn't want to hear the 'I'm so sorry for your loss'. Cynthia had dealt with that more than enough in her childhood and it hadn't changed anything; it certainly wouldn't do much twenty years after the fact. As long as she could keep it silent while working with West she would be fine.

The sheet was soon finished, and Cynthia knew she needed to find her partner and go over what they would ask during the interview. With the high possibility that John Doe number one was the Robbins' son, she felt it was time to come clean and give them all of the details they had. The detective had wanted to put off upsetting the family for as long as she could, but now that they were coming in to answer questions, that was no longer an option for them. They had a right to know what could have happened to their son, and if she was going to get anywhere on identifying the body, she was going to need their help.

With a restrained sigh Cynthia rose from her seat and made her way to West's office, knocking on the doorframe before taking a few small steps inside. Unlike her own office, her partner had plenty of things lying around to personalize his space, most of which made the female feel a bit claustrophobic. She never had done well with individualization in the work space, preferring to keep her area clean and sterile with no clues to the person behind the desk. "I have the mugshots set up already. They should be here in about forty five minutes."

Cynthia's lips pursed to the side, the plastic sheet in her hand tapping against her palm as she considered what to say next. She thought about asking West about what he had heard, but decided in the end to simply stay focused on the case. "I'd like to get a few answers from them before we break the news of what we're really investigating. We're going to need their permission to search for DNA, and we won't be able to do that if they're still under the assumption that we're investigating their son as a possible criminal." Mrs. Robbins had made it a point to lecture Cynthia in great detail about how wrong she was to even believe such a thing was possible, and the detective had allowed it. For the time being it was easier to get the two parents to the station if they believed they were clearing their son's name and not possibly identifying a body.

"Let me take the first few questions. They're already upset at me. They'll be a bit more cooperative answering you after I break the news." It was a strategy that had worked in the past. It wasn't quite the whole 'good cop, bad cop' routine, but pretty close to it. Cynthia was the heartless, detached cop, while West was the more sympathetic one. She was playing on their strengths to get the answers she needed, and hoping that by the time she was done the couple didn't completely hate her.[/fieldset]
[/fieldbox]
 
Kevin's mind was shifting into another gear. He was not so much focused on Cynthia, and what was going on with her anymore as much as he was ready to start getting some more answers about this case. They had a pretty good run of luck so far but with that run of luck there were a lot of potential landmines along the way.

The Robbins family was not going to be an easy interview. Even if they were able to ID their son as the first victim that wasn't going to do but so much. Mrs. Robbins didn't come across as one who would sit idly by while things developed, or as one who would take the standard pat-answers that most Police give out to the public. Not to mention they hadn't even met Mr. Robbins yet so who knew what he would be like to deal with. The house and the cars spoke not only of money, but the neighborhood they lived spoke of affluence. In this city all those things also added up to Political Connections as well which could also mean a whole new world of pain and suffering. Kevin felt it was time to see if they were about to open up a Pandora's Box.

Kevin did some digging in the City Hall Database and it didn't take long for Kevin to find what he was looking for. What he found made him roll his eyes and shake his head very slowly. Carl was the Director of the Mayor's Minority Affairs Division, and he did a bit more digging on Sylvia and what he found there also felt like a punch to the gut. Sylvia was part of a PR firm which meant if Kevin and Cynthia pissed her off she knew how to work the Media, and if it involved the Media Alex Craven would be a constant source of pain for them. Kevin shook his head and said, "It's always something."

Kevin heard Cynthia come in, and his first instinct was to talk to her about what was going on with her. However Larry always taught him stop, look, and listen before jumping in on your first instinct. He listened to what Cynthia had to say, and nodded as he took it all in. When she finished Kevin replied, "Sounds like a solid plan going forward, and we better have a plan going forward dealing with them." He looked at his desk for a moment and said, "Cynthia…." Kevin looked back up at her and said, "We could be dealing with a potential hornet's nest in this one." Kevin let out an exhale and leaned back and said, "First off Carl Robbins doesn't just have Political Connections he is a Political Connection." Kevin leaned forward and said, "He is the Director of the Mayor's Minority Affairs Division, and reading between the lines on his bio and his press dealings Carl has Political Aspirations. He is well respected, and probably feared on some levels." Kevin pursed his lips together and said, "If he shows up for this City Hall is going to be here in spirit, and if this is his son laying in the morgue then get ready for all Hell to break loose. City Hall is going to be all over this department and The Captain is gonna feel it more than ever, and not to mention once Miller smells Political blood in the water we're really gonna be in it."

Kevin took a drink of a bottle of water he had with his lunch and threw what was left of his salad into the trash. He set his bottle down and said, "Oh by the way Sylvia is pretty high up on the food chain at the PR firm she works for, and that means if we screw up or don't do things just so we're looking at a potential PR nightmare." Kevin stood up and walked towards the window and looked as he said, "All of that being said we still are called to do our jobs, and inspite of the potential landmines ahead…" Kevin looked at Cynthia and said, "I'm not gonna walk away from this case. I'm here until the end."
 
Cynthia, teal
Cynthia wasn't entirely worried about the fact that the Robbins had ties to the Mayor, or the political ramifications she may incur by not solving the case. She would solve this case, there was no doubts in her mind about it, and she would do so as quickly as she could now that patterns were beginning to emerge. The Robbins would huff and puff at her, threatening to speak with the commissioner and most likely the FBI, but Cynthia knew something that no one would pull her off the case. They may call in the feds, but she doubted it. Calling the higher ups meant publicity, and no one wanted that when a serial killer was on the loose. No, Cynthia wasn't worried about the Robbins in the slightest, because she had absolutely no intention at all of pushing their son's case off to the back burner.

"The Robbins will be no……" The detective began, the words dying on her lips as the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted her. Her head turned just in time to see their captain storming down the hallway, the man pausing for a moment as he realized he had just passed her. He back pedaled toward West's office, not bothering to knock as he barged right in the room. "Matthers, we need you downstairs at the morgue." It was all the man said prior to his departure, leaving the female staring after him completely flabbergasted. There wasn't another body, so what could they possibly need her at the morgue for? Turning to West she frowned, uncertain if she should bring him along, or ask him to stay upstairs in case the Robbins turned up early.

"I guess I'd better go see what this is about. Come get me when the Robbins arrive." Cynthia turned on her heels and followed the same route as their captain, moving toward the elevator instead of the man's office. Traveling down to the morgue, Cynthia was once again shocked when instead of the hallway being completely empty, everyone was standing around peering inside one of the rooms, the one usually used for X-rays. Stepping through the crowd, the detective moved passed techs and doctors alike until she met with Dr. Samson whose face was clouded over with concern, something that made her feel uneasy. "What's going on Doctor Samson? The captain said I needed to come down here. Did we find another body?"

The pale faced doctor looked back at her rather sympathetically, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't a body. A packaged was delivered for you in the lobby….."

A package? All this fuss was over a package? Brow furrowing, the detective tried to figure out exactly what it was she was missing, jumping to the conclusion that whatever she had been sent must have been contaminated in some way. "What was wrong with it? Anthrax? Biohazardous material?" The doctor shook his head again, confusing Cynthia even more.

"No. It's already been examined for those, and the bomb squad has already checked for bombs. Your captain wanted us to X-Ray it again just to be sure but…..well, you'll see when you go inside to open it up." The doctor's tone was a warning, and Cynthia knew instantly that whatever was in the package was something she wasn't going to like. She took a step toward the door, her hand stretching out to pull it open when the doctor stopped her. "You'll need a mask and gloves…..and I hope you still have your iron stomach. You're not going to like what you see."

The detective rolled her eyes but suited up as requested, uncertain if she should be more concerned with the doctor's wellbeing than her own. The man dealt with unappetizing things all the time, yet he seemed rather distraught over whatever was in the package. 'Only one way to find out….'

With a mask covering her nose, and glove securely in place, Cynthia finally stepped into the room over to the small cardboard box that awaited her. Even from a distance under the bright florescent lights she could see the address at the top was written in red. Without an analysis, she assumed instantly that it was blood, and not ink. 'Charming….' The female wanted to roll her eyes and probably would have if she had been someone else.

The box's top was already unsealed, but closed enough that she could not look inside without pulling the sides up. At first she was greeted by a sheet of bloodstained white paper with only three words scrawled out in blood. 'You missed something' was the message, a taunting one at that. Pulling the paper out from the box carefully, she examined it in hopes of finding blood fingerprints or some smudge that might be useful in identifying the sender. Deciding to let forensics give it a more thorough look, she set the paper inside and finally glanced down at the box's contents.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me…." The detective blurted out, unable to contain the obscenity after glancing at the gore that had been sent to her. Cynthia wasn't a doctor by any means, but even she could tell that what she was looking at was a human organ of some kind. She was left guessing as to what it was when the Dr. Samson walked into the room and peered into the box over her shoulder. "It's a uterus, a human uterus."

The doctor still looked pale, while Cynthia could only look on completely puzzled. "A uterus? It's not Hahn's is it?" Samson shook his head, pointing back into the box. "No. Her's was still intact when I performed her autopsy. I can't give you much on it until I cut it open, but I can definitely tell you that it is not hers."

""The blood on the box? Does the DNA match?" Cynthia asked, already knowing that it was most likely too soon to tell. The doctor shook his head again, this time pointing to the paper. "No DNA results back yet, but I can tell you that the blood on the box and the paper are a match. Whether it's a match to the uterus or not, I can't tell you yet." The doctor gave Cynthia a pinched smile of pity and another shake of his head. "I'm afraid it looks like your killer is beginning to send you gifts."[/fieldbox]
 
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Kevin waited for a few moments and thought about how Cynthia reacted when he told her everything about the Robbins family. She had no reaction Cynthia looked as though Kevin was merely telling her about the weather. This was yet another difference between MCU and Homicide in that the cops here felt like they were bulletproof to the outside pressures. Politics were nothing in this place Kevin was learning, but back at Homicide something like this would've created quite the stir. If this meeting 2pm was announced at 9am there would've been three other meetings, a conference call with the Mayor's liaison with the Police Union, and five to ten e-mails with no fewer than six people CC'd on it. Here though it was just business as usual was the vibe Kevin was getting. So why should he worry about any of this if Cynthia was so cool about it? Not to mention the Captain probably knew about it by now and yet there was nothing in his actions that gave off the vibe of him being concerned. Kevin looked at his badge and then it hit him. He wasn't just a Detective anymore he was one of the elites, and that carried a certain weight with it. It was time for Kevin to put away the Homicide Handbook as it were, and to start thinking like an MCU Department Member. Kevin saw that something was up with Cynthia, and as her partner he had a right to know if she was okay.

Kevin called the receptionist Olivia in the lobby and asked, "Are you familiar with the interview going on at 2 with the Robbins?"

Olivia replied, "Yes I am Detective West in about thirty minutes. You and Detective Matthers are meeting them in Conference Room 3 on the third floor. Just so you know they are bringing a lawyer with them. A Mr. Howard Fultsimmons. "

Kevin closed his eyes and shook his head. Howard Fultsimmons was the legal equivalent to the Terminator. He got more cases over turned on technicalities almost based solely on his charisma more than evidence. Howard made life Hell for Kevin and Larry back at Homicide more than once, but to be fair Howard's job was to win for his client. If Howard won when he knew he had no business winning he anonymously made a sizable donation to the widows and orphans fund, and if he lost he never blamed the Police. Still though Howard was a snake in a shark suit, and this was the kind of case he specialized in.

Kevin said, "Okay then. Unless you hear from me I need you to stall them. There's a couple of things I need to take care of before I meet with them."

Kevin could almost hear Olivia smile through the phone as she said, "I'll see what I can do."

Kevin replied with a smile, "Thank you."

He hung up the phone and realized that Olivia was probably going to enjoy what she had to do. She seemed very adept at doing what Kevin called "Covert-Sneaky-Sneak" and that was probably why everyone enjoyed having her around.

Kevin made his way down to the Morgue and saw a small group of people standing near one of the exam room doors gawking and trying to get a look inside. Kevin flashed his badge and one of the Doctors looked unimpressed and said, "Sorry no one goes in there."

Just then Holsted said, "He's her partner he goes in or you go out of the building permanently."

Kevin looked over at Holsted and said, "Thank you."

Holsted merely nodded as Kevin was given a gown, a mask, and a set of gloves. Kevin put everything on and went into the room. Kevin was not ready for what he saw as he entered the room. The Doctor asked, "Who are you?"

Kevin replied, "Detective Kevin West. I am Detective Matthers' partner."

The Doctor just looked at Cynthia for a moment and then back to Kevin who said, "Yeah yeah I know her with a partner what a surprise. Get over it, what's going on?"

The Doctor replied, "Well my name is Dr. Samson and this morning…." Kevin listened as Samson gave him all the details on what was going on. When he was finished Kevin sat on a nearby stool and said, "Cynthia you might be the motivation behind this. This guy is doing this because he wants to get your attention. Now it's a matter of finding out why, and how he is picking his vics it's not that they all have something in common. He is trying to get to you."

Kevin hated saying that to Cynthia because this was a burden that no one should have to carry, but in this case it was not beyond possibilities especially since the box came for her. Captain Holsted entered the room gowned up as well and said, "Just got a call from Olivia West. She says the Robbins are here with Howard Fultsimmons. She's running the stall but it will only last about ten minutes I would tell you to haul ass up there, but I think you should see this first."

Holsted pulled out from behind his back an envelope written in the same style as Cynthia's box. He handed it to West and said, "It got here about ten minutes ago we checked it and it's clean."

West took the envelope and opened it. He pulled out a picture of him running with Roxy with a huge diagonal red slash through it. Kevin showed it to Cynthia and said, "Apparently I look goofier than I thought when I go running."

Holsted said to West, "Go on up take care of the Robbins no interviewing them until Cynthia arrives. The minute it's over I want you two in my office we need to go over somethings."

Kevin merely replied, "Yes sir." He looked over at Cynthia and said, "I'll meet you in Conference Room 3 third floor."

Within a matter of minutes Kevin was out the door and stopped by his office and grabbed the folder with the information about the car thieves in it. He then went on to Conference Room 3. Both of the Robbins were there along with Howard Fultsimmons who stuck his hand out and said, "Ah Detective West. I didn't know you were here. Nice to see you again."

Kevin returned the handshake not because he wanted to, but he felt it was important not to start things off on an adversarial note. Kevin replied, "Recently promoted Councilor." Kevin handed the folder with the mug shots to Howard and said, "Please you and your clients take your time to look over those photos. My partner Detective Matthers…" he looked over at Sylvia and said, "You spoke to her this morning will be here in a moment and we'll get started. Please know we do not suspect your son as being involved in a car theft ring."
Kevin looked at his watch and waited for Cynthia to arrive.
 
[fieldbox= Cynthia, Teal]No, West was wrong about one thing. The killer hadn't started out with the intention of getting her attention, if he had, she would have had some connection to the victim or their family. The only reason he was fixated on her now was because she happened to be the one to catch the case. It would have been the same for anyone who happened to land the role as main detective on it. "Not me. He wants my attention now, but if you or anyone else would have gotten this case first, you would have been on the receiving end." Cynthia wasn't troubled at all by the fact that the killer was now getting her personally involved. What was bothering her was the fact she had no idea what she was missing. There had been no other body dumps that she had missed, and she certainly would have been able to find a report of a body of a Jane Doe with her uterus removed.. "What am I missing?" She muttered to herself, oblivious to everything else that was going on around her.

It wasn't until West began to show her the picture of him running that she finally tore her eyes away from the taunting note to give him any bit of acknowledgement other than her words. "Not surprising. I was investigating this case solo before you came along. He's obviously not pleased that they've paired me up with someone. Don't take it personal. Like with his other little gift…." She nodded her head toward the box, her eyes landing back on the note for a moment before turning ot her partner. "Whoever ended up in the position would have gotten the same attention. He doesn't want anyone involved in the case. It's clearly a threat to make you back away." Would the killer do anything to West? Most likely not. It was too soon in his game for him to become actively involved with the two detectives, which meant that the package was simply a message to keep her focus on the case.

The detective was still troubled when West and the captain left. She knew she needed to get to the interview room as quickly as possible, but she also needed to find out what she was missing. "There's another body out there somewhere….." The doctor her gave her a 'Duh' look that she ignored, her eyes going back to the note. "He hasn't dumped it yet….which means this victim was involved with our last victim." This time the doctor gave her a curious look, unable to piece together how she came to that conclusion. Cynthia smirked, jerking her shoulders in a shrug. "I missed something. Tyler was victim number three, and we have all the evidence we can find on it. That means he wasn't alone when he was taken. That's a pretty huge miss."

Shedding the mask and gloves Cynthia headed out of the room, calling over her shoulder to the doctor. "Give me what you can on it, doc. I've got to run upstairs." The interview was going to have to wait one more second, there was something that Cynthia needed to do before she could deal with a grieving family. She was on her cell phone and calling the D.A's office as she rode the elevator, ignoring the odd looks from the others as she stared straight ahead at the doors. Normally she would visit the courthouse to ask the D.A for a subpoena in person, but she had way too much going on to leave the station today. After a quick request for the phone records for Tyler and Hahn, Cynthia finally began to head into the conference room where things already looked tense. West was stalling to buy her time she was certain, and she was in no real mood to deal with formalities at the moment.

The moment she entered the room she took notice of the lawyer whom she briefly squared off with. "Am I to assume that this means confidentiality? Because if anything leaks about my investigation the department will have your law degree good for little more than toilet paper." The lawyer blinked his eyes in surprise, his jaw clenching for a moment as he got himself under control. "Detective Matthers, always pleasant to see you. I am here under the request of my clients….."

"Because of a simple misunderstanding. First of all, you know what department this is, and you know we don't deal with petty car thefts. Second, if I thought Mister Robbins was guilty of anything, I would have turned up with a warrant." Lawyers, if there was one group of people that truly got under Cynthia's skin, it was attorneys. Even though she worked with them, she didn't trust them as far as she could throw them, and she wanted them nowhere near this case. "Missus Robbins, we believe your son may have been the victim of foul play." Cynthia finally addressed the mother, ignoring her horrified gasp and the rushed questions of how. "However, because of the nature of this crime, unless I have your attorney's word that he will not leak any of the information spoken of in this room…."

The lawyer looked flustered, but eventually sighed heavily. "Really Matthers, I knew you hated me, but to doubt my integrity? That's low, even for you. Still sore that Bateman got off last year?" Cynthia tensed, narrowing her eyes at the attorney. Donald Bateman was a murder of children and a pedophile. The case had been airtight against him, every drop of blood traced right back to the man. A breach in the lab where the blood had been sent was the only reason Bateman had been acquitted; fortunately, it was brief. Only hours after the trial, Bateman had gotten behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level of .82 and crashed head first into the side of a building. He had died on impact, and his brother who had known he was guilty had donated what was left of the man's estate to the victims as a way to make amends. Karma didn't usually correct the failure of the judicial system so neatly, but in that case Cynthia truly believed that was exactly what happened.

"Why would I be sore? Everything on my end was spotless. It was the lab's mistake that lost the case. He got what he had coming to him anyway." There was a malicious little smirk the flickered over Cynthia's lips as she peered back at the lawyer, the look fading away in a heartbeat. "And no, it has nothing to do with the Bateman trial Howard, but I'm surprised that you even took the case. Your clients are usually a bit more respectable." There was history there, not that there weren't many lawyers that Cynthia didn't have some history with in her years working on the force. In this case it was bad history, and she certainly didn't want it to be repeated. "I am simply concerned about my case, and will not tolerate one mistake that would allow this killer to get off. Now, if I have your word, my partner can begin the interview." Howard nodded, and the Robbins finally turned back to West in wait for him to begin asking questions. Cynthia had a few of her own to add at the end, but for now West needed to see that she was willing to allow him to take control from time to time.[/fieldbox]
 
Just prior to Cynthia arriving as the Robbins were looking over the photos Kevin's mind was still processing what happened down in the morgue. Cynthia had great instincts and was a force to be reckoned with as a Detective, but Kevin thought she was being too naïve about this case from a personal point of view. Kevin's experience in Homicide was informing his logic in this situation. He had seen dozens of cases like this in Homicide where one person was the focus of another person's obsession. He knew that this was the end game, but Cynthia was seeing it with cold efficient logic. To Kevin there was nothing wrong with that in the least, but sooner or later logic would have to give way to human emotion and instinct. With her tendency towards the logical and not going beyond that Kevin knew that at some point that was going to be an issue for Cynthia. Kevin knew that this would be where he would have to step in and get Cynthia to see beyond her two dimensional thinking pattern.

Cynthia laid out all the details for the Robbins family right there and they just sat in stunned silence. Mainly because of the verbal back and forth between her and Howard they wouldn't have been heard. Out of all the lawyers in all the world they had to get one with a history that both of them shared. Kevin knew about the Bateman case, because Department Memos, E-mails, Procedural Reviews, and general head-rolling came from on high like water from a faucet. Bateman nearly got away with it all, and Kevin knew that the reason Howard took the case was money. Not that Bateman was flushed with cash no the money in this case was from Date-Ren Publishing. Kevin had a friend who worked in Howard's office who told him that Howard had inked an eight figure deal for the book rights, and was in negotiations for the film rights to Universal Studios. A high profile case like that was like cat-nip to a cat for Howard win or lose he was going to clean up, and he did.

Once the verbal back and forth between Cynthia and Howard stopped Kevin let the room settle for a moment. He saw that the Robbins were visibly shaken not only by the prospect of their son being dead, but the tension between Cynthia and Howard was hanging heavy over the room. Kevin had to let everyone breathe for a moment.
Kevin turned his attention directly to the Robbins and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Robbins do either of you recognize the men in those pictures?"

Carl shook his head and said in a voice just above a whisper, "No." Sylvia merely shook her head. Kevin was thinking about asking Howard, but not only did that serve no purpose but Kevin felt Howard needed to shut up for a bit. The last thing Kevin wanted was to give Howard the opportunity to do more grandstanding.

Kevin started to ask a question when Carl asked, "Detective why can't you conclusive say if it is our son that has been murdered?"

Kevin understood the question and why it was being asked, but he didn't expect it this soon. Kevin knew to tread lightly here, because if he said the wrong thing all hell was going to break loose. He had to find a way to keep Carl from asking too many other questions. As it was they didn't care for Cynthia the last thing they needed was both Robbins family members angry at them. Kevin noticed that during the interview Carl held Sylvia's hand, and he leaned forward. He was trying to protect his wife in his own way. Kevin also knew that before he came here Carl was an ADA in Orlando, and with this Kevin saw the opportunity to give Carl a hint as to what was going on. All the while praying the Sylvia wasn't too familiar with Carl's cases. Kevin nodded and replied, "As you know Mr. Robbins being a former ADA these kinds of cases take to process. We are just beginning our investigation Mr. Robbins it's proceeding much like the Bolden case you tried a few months before coming here. We don't want to do any or say anything that later proves to be false."

Carl thought for a moment and then he realized what Kevin was trying to tell him ever so delicately. Carl nodded and said, "I understand Detective thank you." He was visibly shaken because that case entailed a decapitation and mutilation of the victim. The thought of that being his son was shaking Carl to the core, and Kevin could see it. However he wanted to put up a calm front for his wife so he said, "Please continue Detective West with your questions."

Kevin replied, "Thank you." Both men looked at one another for moment which did a lot to dispel some of the tension in the room. Kevin asked, "Did your son have any enemies or anyone who was threatening him?"

Carl looked to Sylvia and replied, "No one that I could think of. How about you Sylvia?" Sylvia responded by saying, "No Gary was well liked at school and in the community. I can't understand why someone would want to hurt my baby."

Kevin quickly said, "Mrs. Robbins we do not know yet for certain that your son is dead. We are doing our due diligence that is all we're doing at this time."

Sylvia nodded as Carl squeezed her hand a little tighter. Kevin asked, "According to the report Gary was preparing to visit several campuses in Virginia. Is there anyone outside of your family that knew about this trip?"

Sylvia chimed in quickly with, "Gary was posting about it online for about six weeks. He was so excited he told anyone and everyone." She shook her head and said, "I should've told him to keep it low key. The online world can be so dangerous."

Kevin made a note that anyone and everyone could've known about this, and nodded as he wrote. Kevin asked, "The last time you spoke to Gary was he upset or worried?"

Carl shook his head and said, "No I spoke to him last. He said he was getting dinner just outside of Tampa and thinking about staying there for the night. The weather was kind of rough that night so Gary thought he would get up early the next day and make a go of it from there."

Kevin wrote down what Carl had said and looked at Cynthia. He said, "Go ahead with your questions."
 
[Fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Cynthia listened as West asked his questions, having already deduced the answers that the Robbins would give, which were nowhere near being related to her own. They were good questions, but her partner was missing out on something that they had both already concluded to, something that he was missing all together. She didn't fault him for it, nor did she interrupt him. Matthers had come into the interview determined to make herself the enemy so that West wouldn't get the cold shoulder. When it was finally time for Cynthia to begin her own questioning though, she wasn't going to beat around the bush; she couldn't afford to. There was a connection between all of the victims, something that she knew linked them all to each other, but now was her first opportunity to find out how accurate her theory really was. If she got the answers she was hoping for, she would have to go reinterview the other families, but that all depended on what she learned today.

Cynthia hadn't sat down until it was time for her to begin, and when she did, she faced the two grieving parents straight on without a single ounce of emotion on her expression. "Tell me, Mister and Missus Robbins, has anyone in your family held a grudge against law enforcement? Anyone arrested who proclaimed they were framed or wrongfully accused? Or perhaps made claims of evidence tampering?" The detective wanted to smirk when both parents began to look outraged, Mrs. Robbins the first one to become vocal over the line of questioning. "What sort of question is that? Are you asking us because we're black? I'll have you know….."

It was enough of a reaction for Cynthia to get a read on. While Mrs. Robbins was ranting, her husband was looking away from the two of them, glancing at his attorney as if waiting for some cue from the man. She had her answer, now all she needed was the details. "No Missus Robbins, in fact, it has nothing to do with the color of your skin, or your standing in the community and everything to do with why your son was targeted. Now, I'm going to ask you both again, and I would appreciate an answer instead of a rant. Has anyone in either of your families, close or distant relative been accused or convicted of a crime, and believed that there was something wrong with their trial or the investigation?"

Mr. Robbins finally spoke up, placing a hand on his wife's arm to keep her from exploding on Cynthia again. "I have an estranged uncle who was accused of molesting some boys he taught back in two thousand and nine. His lawyer claimed that the evidence was tampered with, and had the entire lab evaluated because of it. Is that what you're looking for?" Cynthia smiled almost as if to reward the man for his reply. He had given her exactly what she asked for, and all the evidence she needed to reinterview the other families.

"As a matter of fact, Mister Robbins, it is. Thank you for your honesty, and don't worry, I have no intention of bringing the case back into the spot light. However, I will need the name of your uncle in order to look up the case information, and his attorney if you can remember it." Cynthia was as calm as could be, no longer showing the same demanding nature as before. She hated playing the insensitive role, but she'd learned a long time ago that with women like Sylvia Robbins, sometimes she had to take the bad guy role. "I can find everything else that I need to with only your uncle's information, but it would save me a bit of work if I had his lawyers name as well."

The man nodded, glancing over at his wife before turning back to Cynthia. "My uncle's name is Reginald Darcy….and I can't remember the first name of his lawyer, but I remember the last name was something….Davids? Devons? It began with a D. I tried not to get involved with it, and didn't tell my wife. I didn't want her worrying about what it might do to my career. Like I said, he was estranged from the family, and we all kept our distance before his arrest."

Reginald Darcy, the name didn't ring a bell with Cynthia, but that didn't really mean much. It wasn't as if she kept her eye on every single investigation out there. "Can you remember anything else? If not, it's fine. I understand why you would want to keep your distance, but whatever information you can give me would be helpful."

Robbins shook his head, giving Cynthia an almost helpless look. "I'm sorry, detective. Like I said, we kept our distance before his arrest. I only learned about it because his lawyer called me to see if I would testify on his behalf. I refused, and that was the last I heard."

Sylvia Robbins had kept silent enough, glancing over at West with a face full of grief and tears. "Please, detective West, can we go see our boy?"

Cynthia was the one to answer, gaining the woman's attention with a soft clearing of her throat. "I'm afraid not at this time, Missus Robbins. First we need to ensure that it is in fact your son. We will need your consent to go through your son's belonging to find items with his DNA, or if you do not wish to grant us that at this time, the two of you can go upstairs to the forensics lab to submit your own DNA to run against the sample we have." Normally she would have pushed for the former option, but she knew their attorney would demand a search warrant, and right now she couldn't get one.

"We'll go upstairs if it will get us answers faster. Are we done here now?" Sylvia had lost what little patience she had with Cynthia, barely sparing the female detective a passing glance as she pushed her chair out and rose to her feet. The redhead simply nodded her head, allowing the parents to say their goodbye's to West, and for her partner to give them whatever little speech he wanted to. Right now Cynthia had all she needed, and she wasn't going to try to dig for more. She'd give them a few days to calm down before speaking to them again, but for now she had plenty to look into.[/fieldbox]
 
Cynthia had many gifts that Kevin was discovering. Among being a gifted Detective she had the gift of getting to the heart of an issue without any thought to how it came off. The issues that she was raising were more than uncomfortable, but she did it and did her best not to come off as a bitch. He had to admire that not to mention she was more than holding her own with Sylvia. While it would've been easy to blast Sylvia for trying to make issues were there none Kevin reminded himself that her son was potentially in the morgue with his head missing. Cynthia and Kevin were dealing with a psycho who seemed to be playing by his own rule book, and as it looked now they were going to be finding another body. Clearly no one was seeing the other at their best moment.

Kevin pressed a button on a nearby speakerphone and said, "Olivia please come up to Conference Room three on the third floor."

He looked at the Robbins and said, "Once Olivia arrives here she will take you all up the lab to get the DNA test. After that you'll be free to go. We will be in touch once we have any new information."

Olivia knocked on the door and Kevin stood up and opened the door. He said to her, "Please escort the Robbins' up to the forth floor so they can do a DNA test. Please wait for them to finish and then escort them to the lobby."

Olivia replied, "All right." Kevin looked over at Howard and said, "I don't see a reason for you to be here for any of this, but I can't legally ask you out I have no grounds for it. However...."

Before he could finish Howard replied, "I think my work here is done for now." He looked at the Robbins and said, "Keep in touch and if you need anything let me know." The three of them shook hands as Howard left.

Sylvia and Carl both stood up and began to walk away, but Carl stopped and said, "I'll meet you both outside at the elevator I need to talk to the Detectives." Sylvia nodded and looked at Cynthia and said, "Detective" with a voice dripping with a great deal of venom. She looked at Kevin and gave a polite nod as she and Olivia exited the room and closed the door.

Carl looked at Cynthia and said, "My wife at times can be less than diplomatic. Ironic considering her profession. Also concerning our current situation that will only get worse I'm afraid. She is looking for someone to focus her anger and grief on and that is you Detective Matthers, and for that I am sorry. She has a tendency to overreact on many things it was her idea to call Howard in on this."

He looked over at Kevin and said, "Bringing up the Bolden case the way you did..." he nodded and said, "Impressive Detective. You do your homework very nicely."

West nodded and replied, "Thank you sir."

Carl said, "I am asking as a favor both of you..." he looked at Cynthia for a moment and said, "If you find out that young man down there is my son please call me. Do not call my wife the less contact you have with her at this moment the easier things will go for you and your department. I am familiar with how things work in the Department and in terms of Politics. She isn't and she has taken Gary's disappearance very hard as we all have, but Sylvia especially."

Carl wrote down his cell phone number and on two cards and gave each one to the Detectives. As he turned to go he looked at them both and said, "I read up on you both before I came here. It appears this case is in very good hands."

He started to walk away and looked back at Kevin. Carl asked, "Off the record Detective. Do you think that young man down there is my son? What does your gut tell you?"

Kevin looked at him very carefully. He took a deep breath and said very slowly, "I will neither confirm nor deny off the record sir."

Carl just looked at Kevin's face for a moment. He let out a slow exhale and he said a bit of shaken voice , "Thank you. If you need anything from me, or at City Hall call me right away. I got your back. Now please go get my son's killer."

Carl recomposed himself knowing that he couldn't show any emotion that Sylvia might pick up on and left the room.

Kevin put his head in hands and said, "We get the answer to one question three more come up." He leaned back and said, "Okay the car was picked up in Tampa Gary stopped there. Car wasn't driven there by the killer, and worse this guy followed him all the way there."

Kevin picked up the card and stood up. He looked at it and put in his pocket as he said, "Before we go do anything else we gotta go see the Cap, and probably tell him what went on in here. I gotta bad feeling I know what might happen next. After that we'll compare more notes on what's going on with Gary. "

Kevin left and headed towards the Captain's office.
 
[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Matthers took Mrs. Robbins tone with the same nonchalant attitude she would have taken words of gratitude. She wasn't there to make people like her, she was there to do a job and solve a crime. Some people didn't quite like her methods of dealing with them, and that was perfectly fine with her, as long as she got the answers she needed that was all she cared about. The woman would hate her, but by the end of the case there was no doubt she would feel some sort of thanks, especially if they caught her son's killer. Cynthia didn't need DNA results to know that the body downstairs was the Robbins' son, and now more than ever she believed she knew exactly why he had been killed. Her question was now, was it the lawyer who had killed him? Someone who had worked the case and gotten in trouble for mishandling evidence? For all she knew, it could have been someone completely unrelated to it, and was simply frustrated that there was a detective or tech still working that had dealt with another case.

Looking up as she was addressed, the detective cocked her head at Mr. Robbins, wondering why he felt the need to explain his wife's behavior and apologize in his own way for it. She didn't really need either, and she certainly wasn't going to try to change the woman's attitude toward her. Right now the only thing Cynthia cared about was seeing what her captain wanted and getting her hands on the Darcy case files to see what exactly had gone on. Would Tyler and Hahn's family have similar stories? She was willing to bet her next paycheck that they did, probably not the same details, but very close.

When the Robbins were finally gone, and West returned, Cynthia didn't even bother to reply to his question. Holsted would most likely try to pull them off the case because of the personal threat to them, but there was no way in hell she was going away that easily. They were starting to get somewhere, not far enough to have any major suspects, but enough that a small pool of names was ready to be plucked. All Cynthia needed was those involved in the Darcy case and they could begin their search for a suspect. The motive was becoming clearer, but that didn't do much at this point. They still needed more information to get a better picture than what they had, and that meant a hell of a lot more work to come. Taking her off the case now would most likely drive her to the brink of insanity, especially when she had been the one on it from the beginning.

"I'm not being taken off this case." Cynthia stated calmly, finally glancing up at West with a small shrug. "The captain already knows that. I don't care if the next victim gets dropped outside my apartment door. I'm not being taken off this case." She waited until her partner left before finally getting to her feet and following him down to the captain's office. The moment she entered the office she could already feel the tension mounting up, the man barely glancing up from the paper he was working on to address the two. "I should be yanking you off the case, and you know it Matthers. You may not take it as a threat, but when my detectives are being sent organs, I consider it a risk." He sighed, to pinch the bridge of his nose. "The problem is, if I take you off now, there's some fears that he'll lash out. However, don't think that you're getting off that easily. We're going to have to keep tabs on your personal, and work phones in case he tries to contact either of you. I'd have you both under surveillance if I could, but we can't afford it."

Finally he glanced over at Cynthia the female staring back just as stoic as she had been with the Robbins. "I take it the interview went well?" Shrugging, Matthers wasn't entirely sure if her idea of well and his were even in the same ball park, but she'd humor him for now. "Yes. I'll need to reinterview the other families. We have a possible connection between the three, but I won't know for sure until I talk to them again." Cynthia glanced over at West, having wished she had mentioned the idea prior to their meeting with the captain. "Sir, I'd like to take a little fieldtrip on Friday. West and I had planned on going down to the campground Tyler was supposed to stay at on Saturday, but in light of recent events I believe we should go down sooner. The uterus that was sent to me wasn't Hahn's, which means there's possibly a fourth victim that hasn't been discovered."

Face darkening with irritation, the captain growled rather loudly. "You don't know that. We would have found it by now."

"Normally you'd be correct, but I believe that the fourth victim was purely to cover his ass." Cynthia pointed out, having only had enough time to formulate the idea since the uterus had been shown to her. "I believe Tyler had a companion with him on his trip, and she could have been used to lure him out….or been taken along with him. Either way, the killer hadn't planned on killing her, but because she was a witness, he had no other choice. The uterus was sent to tell me that I missed that fact during out investigation, which is why I feel we should leave for the campground sooner."

Holsted glanced over at her for a moment, then back at West. "Fine. Head out there first thing Friday morning, but talk to the family again first. See if Tyler had a girlfriend, a piece on the side, anyone he would have taken with him first and see if they can be found." Cynthia already knew the answer to that. The Tylers weren't aware of any girlfriend if the man had one, which meant they had just started dating on the relationship was being kept secret. Either way, they weren't going to get any leads from there, and that meant they'd have to get their answers from the campsite.

They were dismissed, and Cynthia began to head back to her office. "I'm going to see what I can find online about the Darcy case before I talk to the Tylers. You may want to call Hahn's niece and find out if they have anyone in the family that's pissed off at the police. I'll meet up with you once I have something."[/fieldbox]
 
As Holsted's frustration with the two Detectives grew Kevin kept it cool, because Cynthia had much more experience in dealing with him than Kevin did. Not to mention Holsted was already looking the other way for Kevin's "difference of opinion" concerning Holden in the lab. However all that was going to be thrown out the window if they got pulled off of the case. Kevin was starting to realize that the only reason they were probably still alive is because they were on the case still. They were now part of the game for the killer if they weren't playing anymore with him then what use did they serve to him? This made Kevin feel even surer that whoever was behind all this was doing it because of Cynthia. Whether it was an obsession in romantic sense, or it was because of the type of Detective she was it didn't matter. To Kevin Cynthia was the target of all of this, and every part of him was sure that the next body and the prevailing clues would start to point a bit more towards Cynthia.

As they started back down the hall Kevin nodded when Cynthia made her suggestion if calling Janet back. He said, "You got it we should also probably call the campground and see what information they might have for us. Its better we go in there having some idea of what we might find beforehand. Not to mention to some of these Forest Rangers feel that the campground is their territory. They feel like they're the law out there, and so if we show them a little…" he shrugged his shoulders and said, "for lack of a better term respect they might bit more cooperative. Otherwise they might do what they can to make our lives more difficult." He looked at his watch and said, "I had an appointment set for noon on Friday. I'm going to reschedule it and call Janet. Talk to you if I find out anything."

Kevin moved a bit quicker back to his office and closed the door. He called Father Tony, but at the time the good Father was out. Kevin left a voice mail thanking him for his help and asked if he could see him later in the evening for his confession. Kevin could have blown the whole thing off for another week, but Father Tony did try to help them so Kevin felt a certain sense of duty to Father Tony. Not to mention the next time he talked to his mom she would be asking about him and confession, and if there was one thing Tony could not deal with is lying to his mother.

Once he hung up the phone Kevin dialed Janet's number. She picked up after two rings which didn't surprise Kevin that much considering she was calling family members, and probably waiting to hear back from others.

She said, "Hello?"

Kevin replied, "Hello Janet this is Detective Kevin West. My partner and I were at your apartment earlier today, and we are making some progress on your Aunt's murder. I just need to ask you a few questions more to help in our progress.

Janet said, "Of course Detective what do you need?"

Kevin asked, "Has anyone in your family been arrested or had any negative experiences with the Police?"

Janet paused for a moment and then said, "Yes my Uncle Steven. Aunt Doris' ex-husband."

Kevin nodded slowly and said, "Could you please give me some details? It could certainly help with the investigation."

Janet took a deep breath and said, "Shortly before my Aunt and Uncle were divorced Uncle Steven was arrested. He was charged with breaking into my Aunt's apartment and steal a couple of things that she had gotten in the divorce that he claimed they verbally agreed upon giving to him. He claims that she let him in and while they argued that he never hit her and the conversation for the most part was respectful, but Aunt Doris said she didn't let him in and that he hit her. However there were no marks or any trauma. My Aunt claims he hit her with a stocking full of oranges."

Kevin nodded and said, "Causes Trauma, but leaves no marks."

Janet replied, "Yes my Uncle claims that it was her lawyer that convinced her to lie, and that the Police went along with the story because her lawyer had helped the Police on a sting operation."

Kevin jotted all of this down and said, "Okay Janet this certainly helps. I will be in touch as events warrant. Thank you for your time and my sympathies to you and your family."

Janet replied, "Thank you Detective West. Goodbye."

They hung up and Kevin was starting to see where Cynthia was going with her questioning. He shook his head and said, "Detective Matthers you are one very good Detective..." he looked around and saw the door was still closed as he cut on his computer to look more into the Hahn assault case and said, "and not bad looking either."


 
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[fieldbox= Cynthia, teal]Cynthia knew that calling the campground ahead of time wasn't going to give them to go on. The employees at the campground would not be able to tell over the phone that she was really a detective, and for all she knew the person working when Tyler arrived there may not be on duty at the time. She'd give them a call, at least ask if they could recall anything about the man, and if he had company with him when he arrived. The female glanced blankly up at West, only catching the last part of his comment. "Oh, right. Sorry about suggesting it without asking first. I wasn't really thinking that you might have something set up." Of course she wasn't, because she never had plans herself, at least not really. At least now she could still go to her parents' graves on the anniversary of their death, but she decided to keep it as planned and stick with going on Sunday. Visiting alone was always depressing, and she'd rather spend the day before trying to work up her nerve than rush forward simply to go there just to make the date. She was always emotional after visiting. Now perhaps she could get out her emotions beforehand rather than suffer through them afterwards.

"Right. I'll let you know if I find anything out." Cynthia muttered, her tone distracted as she moved towards her own office. There was the Darcy case to look into, along with the call to the campground and Tyler's brother. She knew she should call the courthouse as well rather than relying on the database alone, but that would mean she'd have to leave before five to pick up the files. The detective was hardly ready to leave the office just yet, not when she had a ton of things to look into first.

Behind her desk Cynthia picked up her phone and decided to call Tyler's brother first. Surprisingly the man answered the phone on the second ring, sounding slightly out of breath as he greeted her. "Mister Tyler? This is Detective Matthers. I was calling with a few follow up questions. Do you have a minute?" The phone was muffled and she heard him speaking to someone quietly, and then there was nothing but silence. Cynthia was convinced he'd hung up on her, only to discover he had placed the call on mute while moving to a quieter location. "Sure thing, detective. Sorry, had to move into the bedroom. We've got company over planning Mark's funeral. How can I help you?"

Cynthia repeated the same questions she'd asked the Robbins, getting a similar story with a few different facts. Both of Tyler's parents had been arrested multiple times on various drug and theft charges, but from what she gathered from the man, his mother was innocent of all charges. When Cynthia asked if there had been an investigation into her case after the hearing, he gave her a name for the lawyer who had tried to get her out of prision. "Del'Sandro….I can't remember the first name. Claimed he was trying to clear up some cases that Miami-Dade screwed up on, and he thought my mom had a good chance of being released. Unfortunately she died inside the prison. Had a heart attack just a few days before it was supposed to go back to court."

The detective thanked him for the information and promised to keep him in the loop if she learned anything more. So far she was 2/3 for potential cases against the police, and that meant that they were one step closer to finding a potential motive. It certainly wouldn't help them prevent any murders, unless of course the three cases also shared the same lawyer, or some other key fact that connected them all together.

Her second call didn't go as well as she hoped. According to the man she spoke with at the campground, he could not give if the person who checked in under Mark Tyler's reservation was in fact the man in question. He would need a warrant before he would send her over any information. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Cynthia added the warrant to the list of things she needed from the courthouse, along with the subpoena for phone and GPS records. She informed the man she was speaking to that she would be down there on Friday with the necessary paperwork, and asked that the site that Tyler had reserved remain untouched. He grumbled and huffed, but eventually she got him to agree.

Once she was off the phone, Cynthia headed back to West's office, wondering if it would ever become second nature for her to stroll down the hallway to his office. She hadn't gotten used to it yet, but it had only been a day or so. Knocking on his door, she peeked inside and glanced over at her partner. "Got a yes from Tyler, from the sounds of it his mom was charged with some drug possessions and thefts that were tied to his dad. The lawyer trying to get her off was Del'Sandro. I'm going to stop by the courthouse first thing in the morning to see what I can find on him, and pick up the warrant and subpoena for the phone and GPS records. The campground would only tell me that someone checked in for Tyler's reservation, but they want a warrant before they send over the ID. I figure we'll just kill two birds with one stone when we head down there. We can pick up whatever evidence is left there, and check to see if Tyler was the one who turned up."

Her head cocked slightly, Cynthia pondering if she should make a rather odd suggestion that might make the trip on Friday a bit more convenient for the both of them, but decided against it at the last minute. Instead she shook her head and shifted gears with her thoughts. "What time to you want to meet up Friday morning? If we leave here around five, we might be able to get there by ten. Not exactly early enough to avoid traffic, but it shouldn't be too bad by then."[/fieldbox]
 
Kevin's fingers flew across the keyboard as though he were Billy Joel riffing on the piano. According to the records Steven Hahn served 2 years of a five year sentence for beating Doris. There was no trial as the case as a plea deal had been reached, but the whole time Steven was proclaiming his innocence. He didn't fight it because everything was stacked against him. When Steven was released he was allowed to move away, and last known to be living in New Orleans where he was working for a fishing charter service.

Everything was so nice and neat in this case, and that made Kevin wonder what was missed. Everything was too perfect, and it got fast-tracked in and out of the system. Kevin did a little more digging and sure enough he found what he was looking for. Steven claimed that the lawyer representing Doris' was getting special treatment from the Police, because of his involvement in something called "Operation: Foxtrot." It was where the Feds, the Police, The DA's office, and Doris' lawyer Bobby Penwall would nail Judge Dan Stone on racketeering and bribery. The operation was a huge success and, not coincidentally in Kevin's eyes, Penwall and the Police started getting along very well. A lot of Penwall's clients got sweetheart plea deals, and eventually he was appointed to be a Judge. Kevin considered sending a lot of this over to a friend of his in the DA's office, and seeing what would happen if an over-eager ADA out to make a name for themselves would do to this case. Probably make a name for themselves, or get killed. Kevin decided against sending the information.

Cynthia came in and told him what she had learned, and Kevin shook his head slowly the whole time. There was something going on here, and it was starting to look like the common thread just might be emerging.

He said to Cynthia, "Well before we decided about the Campground I'm going to give you something else to ponder. The song was called 'two out of three ain't bad' well Cynthia get ready for a three out of three."
Kevin turned the monitor so she could see and it was a mug shot of Steven Hahn. Kevin said, "Meet Steven Hahn the former husband of Doris Hahn. Who was arrested on charges of assaulting Doris just before they divorced. He claims that her attorney at the time Bobby Penwall, yes as in Judge Penwall, convinced her to file charges against him. That was so she looked more sympathetic in the divorce proceedings and she would get even more from him. Which of course Penwall gets a cut of, and since he helped take down Judge Dan Stone the Police and DA were more than willing to let Penwall do what he wanted. Not to mention Penwall had a tremendous streak of good luck just prior to being appointed to the bench."

Kevin let out an exhale and leaned back in his chair as he looked up at the ceiling. He pivoted back down, stood up, and then walked over to his window. Kevin looking out said, "Do I think Steven's conviction gets overturned if he ever gets the case reopened? Probably but that's not up to us to do that's up to him. Besides he left the state about three years ago, and has been living in New Orleans working for a charter fishing service. I think he wants to stay as far away from here as he can get. Besides looking at him he's not a killer the guy is 98 pounds soaking wet. I just don't see how he could do what they claimed he did to her."

He looked back at Cynthia and said, "So we got a potential thread here to work with. Sadly though there will be another body dropping very soon and who knows what we'll find from there." Kevin took a couple of steps forward and said, "In terms of Friday…" he nodded and said, "Meet here between 4:30 and 5. Remember I'm driving my car is a bit better equipped to deal with the outdoors than yours is."
 
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