By mcdaniel1299
"John, I'm home," Amber dropped her keys and cell phone on the table beside the interior garage door. "John, are you here? What's that awful smell? John?"
Amber walked back into the garage and got her suitcase out of the backseat of the car, placing it inside the door. She also retrieved her jacket from the passenger seat.
"John." She called out again before heading straight to the bedroom. "John, it stinks in here, I have been gone for two weeks to take care of my mother and it smells like something died in here."
Amber looked in the empty bathroom. "Where could he be?"
She turned to go into the rest of the house, and saw him.
"Who are you?"
"Nobody you need to be worried about. You must be, Amber."
She nodded. "How did you know? Where's my husband?"
He walked towards her, she took a step back. "He's around, not far. He's a little tied up at the moment, though."
Amber plunged her hands in her pockets, digging around for her cell phone. Nothing. She looked around the room, only a few feet from the night stand and the house phone. He took another step towards her, she retreated. Trembling, she reached back to see if she could get her hands on the phone. Nothing but air.
"Go ahead, pick up the phone. Won't do you much good, phone lines are down, at least they are here." He laughed.
She shivered. "Please don't hurt me. What do you want?"
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said soothingly. "It won't hurt at all."
He lunged at her, grabbing her shirt as she tried to jump over the bed. "But, if you fight me, then I'll hurt you."
With that, he pinned her face down on the bed with his body weight and leaned forward on the back of her neck until he heard the sickening pop of the bones. She stopped struggling, all movement ceased.
"She shouldn't have struggled so much, we could've had some real fun."
He got up off the bed, leaving her laying there.
| Author Notes | A new edition to an old story. |
By mcdaniel1299
"Why can't people mind their own business?" Detective Burly Robertson said to herself as she drew her semi-automatic handgun. Quietly, she walked back to her car in the cold, misty rain. She pulled the slide back to chamber a bullet from the clip. The gun made a very audible click followed by the metal scraping metal and another click. She cleared her throat, watching the man looking into the window of her car freeze.
"Can I help you find something?"
Muscles bunched under his shirt as he stood upright.
"You know what to do."
Jabbing the gun in the guy's back for emphasis, he slowly raised his hands in surrender.
"Is that thing loaded?"
"Do you want to find out?"
The man shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'm sorry. Is this your car? If so, I was only admiring it. I have a thing for muscle cars, I own one myself. Nothing illegal, just looking."
"Do you have any weapons on you?"
"You're serious? No, I don't have any weapons on me. My name is Ryan, Ryan Jones. My driver's license is in my wallet, in the gym. I work there, I just started."
Burly grabbed a handful of Ryan's sweatshirt and pushed him up against her car. She put her gun back in her holster and patted him down, checking him for weapons herself. Finally satisfied that the man meant no harm for her or her car, she let go and backed up.
Ryan relaxed slightly yet kept his hands up.
"So, what exactly are you doing around my car? I walked to the gym door and back, so I know you haven't had a chance to do too much. But that's no excuse for you to be looking in my windows."
"Like I said, ma'am, I have a thing for muscle cars. I just wanted to see what you had in there, specialty options. You have a top of the line car, I was curious. No harm done. I didn't even put a fingerprint on it. I would never think of breaking into your car, I would hate to think of someone doing that to mine."
Ryan turned his head to the right, trying to catch a glimpse of his captor. "Can I put my hands down now, ma'am?"
Laughing, Burly walked to her trunk, opened it and pulled out her backpack. She turned and looked at the man she so easily controlled despite the size difference. "Yeah, but if I catch you near my car again, you'll be going to jail. Got it?"
Relaxing, Ryan let his hands fall to his sides. He took a deep breath and slowly turned around, making eye contact with the petite police officer he offended. She slammed her trunk, turned on her heal and headed toward the gym. He jogged to keep up with her.
"It's a 2007, right? A Shelby?"
He reached around her to open the door to the gym.
"Yes, it's a Shelby. So what?"
"So, nothing. I told you I have a thing for muscle cars and I was just admiring yours. I was admiring the driver, too."
Burly shook her head and walked over to the receptionist. "Hey, Hope."
Hope stifled a small giggle as Ryan realized that Burly was going to ignore his advance. She leaned forward onto her elbows and spoke in a hushed tone. "Hello, Burly. Greg's not here today, he called late yesterday afternoon and told us he had to take a leave of absence. Some kind of family emergency that he had to take care of down on the coast."
"Oh, no trainer this morning. That's fine. I'll just run a couple of laps today and see if my partner wants to spar with me tomorrow."
"We do have someone that can fill in for Greg, he just started. He's not actually a trainer, per se, he's more qualified as a physical therapist and sports medicine but he is very athletic. If you'd like to give him a run for his money and break him in for us we would appreciate it."
Looking from Burly to Ryan and back, Hope sat there and waited for an answer, a picture of innocence.
A new trainer, an under qualified trainer, Burly thought about that for a few minutes. "I don't know, Hope. I don't like the idea of having to 'train' a personal trainer, but I guess I could give him a try. What's his name?"
Laughing out loud after witnessing the scene in the parking lot through the window, Hope said, "Ryan Jones." Her eyes held Burly's startled expression.
Burly turned to look at the man standing by the door with his arm's crossed over his chest. The security tape on the door frame measured him right at six and a half feet tall. "You? You're taking Greg's place?"
"In a round-a-bout way, yes and no. I was hired before Greg left, but now I have to take up his slack since he's not here. I'm not a replacement, just the new guy."
"I don't take well to change, Mr. Jones. I have worked with Greg for the last seven or eight years. I'm just going to run today, so I don't need you. Hopefully the temperature won't be so cold and wet tomorrow and I'll go run at the park."
Burly slung her backpack over her shoulder and started walking back to the locker room. She heard Ryan pick up some papers from behind and he fell into step beside her. "Greg has here that you are a decorated officer. Shot once in the line of duty and stabbed in the arm. He helped with your physical therapy?" She heard him flip over the paper.
Burly turned around and faced him, only standing tall enough to look him square in the chest. She tilted her head back to look him in the eye and said, "If you need to know everything about me, I was in the army for four years, then left and attended college. I am the youngest detective on the force right now. Anything else you need to know?"
Ryan took a step back. He held out his hand, "Can we start over? I'm Ryan Jones, I'm new here. I hear your trainer is out of town on business, can I be of any assistance to you, Detective Robertson?"
"It's Burly, and you don't know what you are getting into. I could use your help until Greg gets back, but I'm not sure if now is a good time. I'm just running today, so I don't need you."
Burly turned to head to the locker room and her cell phone rang one time. She pulled it out of her pocket, flipped it open and stopped to read what it said, "It figures."
Ryan seemed intrigued, "What?"
"My partner," Burly said and shook her head.
"Your partner, you're not, you know..."
Burly laughed out loud. "No, you big dummy. I'm not gay, my partner at work, police partner."
Ryan breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good. I would hate to date someone that had no interest in men."
Burly just stood there, in shock that this man really thought she would date him just because he wanted her to. "Who said I wanted to date you? You're not even my type."
She started toward the locker room again, with Ryan right beside her. At the door to the ladies locker room, Burly stopped, then disappeared behind it.
Ryan was still leaning against the wall when Burly reappeared from the locker room in her sweat suit and tennis shoes. At first, Burly didn't think he noticed that she was back, his attention fixated on the file he was holding. She started stretching her leg muscles when she felt his presence behind her.
"So, detective, do you like kick-boxing?"
"Yes."
"Good, I thought we could put a little wager on our first kick-boxing match. What do you say? Your file says you have some experience with martial arts, prove it. If I win, you go on a date with me, Detective. If you win..."
Burly looked up, partly interested in what he had to say. "If I win, what?"
"Whatever you want."
With that statement, Burly laughed out loud. How arrogant can men get? He may have more muscle, but she had studied techniques from many different teachers. She was in top physical condition, visiting the gym practically every day. She had made it through the army and the police academy with no problems. Now at the young age of thirty-three, she was a detective of violent crimes and she was one of the first officers called when they ran the police dogs after a suspect. She had the endurance and speed to keep up with them.
A kick boxing match against this man wouldn't be easy, but she believed she could beat him. He was over-confident and cocky. It didn't matter that he stood almost eight inches taller than her and probably out weighed her by at least fifty pounds. He looked like he just walked off a football field. He was all muscle but she had strategy on her side. This could be an interesting fight.
Burly shrugged, trying to seem uninterested. "Fine. Whatever I want."
"Deal."
Thirty minutes later, both of them had built up a good sweat and were short of breath. Ryan sat on the floor panting, trying to catch his breath while Burly danced around the room singing out loud, "I won, I won."
"Okay, detective, I am a man of my word, what do you want?" he asked as he tried to get up off the floor. "I expect a rematch though, with the same wager."
Burly nodded, "Done. Rematch on your call. Now let's go jogging."
"What?" Ryan gasped as Burly grabbed his hand and dragged him to the indoor laps. "Are you part energizer bunny?"
"No, I just like to run. It helps me clear my head. My partner calls it my drug of choice, his is coffee. Don't worry; I'll go slow so I don't completely tire you out."
Ryan easily fell into step beside Burly, even after their kickboxing match. She didn't seem to notice the transition of exhaustion into endurance. "So, detective, what kind of name is Burly anyway? Sounds like a word someone would use to describe a man. A big man."
"Exactly. A masculine name for a masculine career choice. It just fit better than Kimmy, Burly is short for Kimburly. A name that not only demands respect but doesn't sound feminine." Burly glanced over at Ryan while he jogged beside her. He seemed to contemplate her explanation for a while. "My father started calling me Burly when I was a little girl, because I was the biggest tomboy he had ever seen."
Burly stopped jogging and tilted her head. Ryan stopped beside her, "What's wrong?"
She shook her head and started toward the locker room. "It's time to go to work, my phone is ringing again." Ryan grabbed her arm, stopping her again. She looked down at his hand and he quickly removed it. "I've arrested people for less than that."
Ryan threw his hands up in mock surrender for the second time. "Sorry. Can I call you, detective?"
She smiled and Ryan relaxed. "If you can best me in a rematch, you can call me."
Burly started walking again, Ryan keeping her pace. "I'm serious, I'd like to call you. Just to talk. I like you, detective, you've got spunk."
She stopped and faced him. "You only just met me. I was going to arrest you for breaking into my car. You wouldn't be able to keep up."
Ryan stood there as Burly let herself into the women's locker room. She heard her cell phone ringing even before she got the locker door open. She flipped the phone open and answered it with an annoyed, "Somebody had better be dead."
She listened to what her partner had to tell her, and then she spoke into the phone, "I'll be right in, Ruck. Let me run through the shower. Watch for me at the back door." Burly showered quickly, then dressed for work. She usually left the gym and went straight to work so she always brought her work clothes with her. She pulled on her black cargo pants and black long sleeve t-shirt, tucking them in, put on her belt attaching her handcuffs in the back, then she slipped her shoulder holster on and secured her gun. Putting her jacket on, she grabbed her backpack and headed toward the door. Noticing her reflection in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her short red-brown, wet hair and smoothed it down.
Ryan sat next to Hope at the reception desk. She was trying to help familiarize him with some of the regular clients. She was very meticulous about keeping up with them, she not only had paper files containing their information, but she also had everything in her computer as well.
"So, Hope, how often does Detective Robertson come in?" he asked as he looked through a file folder.
Hope looked up from her computer screen. "That all depends on the weather. If it's cold or raining she comes in almost every day. She likes to run. Sometimes, if she has a lot on her mind or she's stressed, she comes in more than once a day. I overheard her tell you, that's her drug of choice. She gets high off the adrenaline rush it gives her."
Ryan put down the folder and watched as Burly left the locker room. She hurried past the equipment, heading for the door. Something was bothering her, he already started picking up on her facial expressions and body language. He started to say something to her as she went out, but thought against it. He noticed her hair was still wet, yet she went out in the freezing temperature anyway. She was obviously in a hurry and had no more time to argue with him.
He liked that about her. She wasn't intimidated by his size. He didn't want her to be. He wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her. She looked like she needed to be held. Not many men could tame a woman like her, he looked forward to the challenge.
"Keep dreaming, big man." Hope handed him another folder, tapping it against his chest to get his attention. "She doesn't date much. She's a workaholic," she stated, reading his expression as he watched Burly jog across the parking lot to her car.
He watched her take her jacket off as she got in. She started it up and pulled through the almost empty lot, handling her car with ease. His heart ached for her. He couldn't wait for her return to the gym and looked forward to the long hours he would be working, waiting for his detective.
| Author Notes | this is a revision of the first chapter. |
By mcdaniel1299
Burly pulled her mustang to a stop near the back door to the police station, just as the door opened and her partner, Stephen Ruckus, walked out holding a notebook. Though he was fifteen years her senior, one couldn't tell by looking at him. He was right at six feet tall with a slight muscular build. It always looked like he had vacationed at the beach, his skin was a beautiful olive tone that tanned wonderfully and the color stayed with him throughout the winter. He had thick, dark hair that he did not have to color, even at forty-seven. Burly had known this man almost her entire life, he had been friends with her father as she grew up. He walked over to the car, opened the passenger door.
"Yes, I'm driving again. Get in," she said smiling.
Ruckus shook his head. "You never used to want to drive, why the change of heart?"
Burly shifted the car into reverse and backed along the parking lot to where she could turn around, stopped, looked at her partner and said, "It wasn't a change of heart, Ruck, it was a change of car. That old Taurus I had was a piece of junk, I had it since I got my license. It was falling apart, I almost didn't make it to work sometimes. This," she ran her hand across the dash in front of her, "this is power here. As long as it holds up I will drive it as much as I can."
"You just like the attention it gets you," Ruckus started. "You know you can have your father's..."
"Where are we going?" Burly cut him off in mid-sentence. He knew she would, he never got to remind her of the car her father left her when he died.
Ruckus picked up his notebook, flipped it to the last page he wrote on. "The call came in about an hour ago. A house just on the city, county line. Sheriffs office is busy, short-staffed and asked if we could handle it."
"They requested us because we are the best darned detectives in the county."
Ruckus laughed, she had a point. "It would be nice to finish a big case before I retire. A case for the record books."
Sneaking a peek over at her partner, then watching the road as she drove, she shook her head. "It's not going to be the same around here without you. You've been here as long as I've been an officer, been my partner since I made detective. I can't believe you're still thinking about leaving."
"It's something I'm still wrestling with. I don't know yet. Can we concentrate on this case now?" he asked her, she nodded. He continued telling her about where they were going.
Burly drove as Ruckus talked. He never mentioned the name of the victims, all he said was there were two homicide victims, a male and a female inside the house. She pulled the car up the long drive, looking around the property. She parked the car next to a patrol car and the forensics van. Both her and Ruckus got out, Burly grabbed her jacket and put it on as they walked to the trunk. There she retrieved her crime scene bag. They usually worked along side the forensics team, since they were a relatively new addition to their police department.
A uniformed officer stood at the front door to make sure nobody went in or came out that was not supposed to be there. He leaned against the rail, holding the crime scene log book. Burly took the book from him, to sign in, noticing who else was already here. The officer looked like he was having a hard time keeping breakfast down. "It's awful in there, I thought I would warn you," he told Burly and Ruckus as they went to open the door.
With the door only partially open, the stench of the rotting bodies and overall filth of the house overwhelmed both detectives. Burly took a step back and had to compose herself. Ruckus opened the door all the way, but did not go right in. He instead turned to look at the uniformed officer, who had finally lost his battle with his stomach and was freely vomiting over the rail of the porch. Ruckus shook his head, he knew this was not going to be easy for him or Burly.
Both detectives entered the house, being careful not to touch anything. They stopped in the living room, the first room they entered from the front door, and looked around. Burly had this overwhelming sense of deja vu, she had been in this house before. Everything about this room seemed familiar. She looked around, searching for something personal to jog her memory as to why she felt this way.
She stopped walking when she saw the face in the picture hanging on the wall. Without realizing it, she reached out and touched the frame, recognizing the man right away, though it had been a couple of years since she had seen him face to face. The two had gone to high school together, even dated off and on during their senior year. This case was going to be harder for her than she first thought.
"You find something?" Ruckus asked, beside her again.
She turned to look at him. "Who called this in?" "I'm not sure, I haven't all the details yet. I think it was a family member that hadn't heard from them in a while. Why?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Burly replied, "The guy that owns this house is named John Shaw, he's about thirty-three years old. Recently married, no children." She looked at her partner, "I went to school with him. Was even invited to his wedding last year. I've been here before, at this house. Six years ago, for a house warming party he had after he finished building it. Did a lot of the work himself, though he's not a carpenter."
Ruckus reached for his radio, Burly put her hand on his arm. "Don't take me off this case, I'm fine. Just let me call his family if he's one of the deceased."
"You're sure?"
Burly nodded, continuing her search through the room. She took in everything, snapping pictures with her camera as she walked around. There was little sign of struggle in the living room, she moved on. The kitchen was the next room she came to, it was a mess. Dirty dishes filled both sides of the sink. There was uneaten food on the counter, bugs crawling over plates with pieces of pizza and chicken bones on them. Half-filled cups lined the counter. She noticed black powder residue on some of the glasses, on the counter itself, the back of the chairs at the table, and even the floor. She knew forensics had been through this room.
She looked closer at the table, noticing a couple of strands of hair. Using the tip of her pen, she lifted the hairs into an evidence envelope.
"Sorry, we must have missed those. They look like they belong to the victim that was sitting here at the table."
Burly motioned her hand in the air over the table, "So where's the body now?"
The man pointed over the table, at the floor. "Lying there. He was tied up, starved, possibly poisoned at one point and then hit over the head. He stinks, Burly, just thought I would warn you."
Burly walked around the table, bracing herself for what she would find. Mark was right, the man was lying on the floor with his hands bound. He was covered with the remains of blood, urine and feces.
"How long," she started, swallowed hard, then continued, "how long do you think he's been dead, Mark?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know. Haven't had a chance to talk to the coroner yet about time of death. He's in there with Mike and the other victim."
"So, it's just the two?"
The man nodded. "This one was facing out the slider, like he was forced to watch out the window for a time. Poor guy."
Burly swallowed hard again, "His name is Peter Shaw, the homeowners little brother. Of course, I remember him being a lot bigger. I wonder how long he was sitting in that chair?"
She walked around the room, writing notes in her notebook. She drew rough sketches of the rooms as she walked, took pictures to coincide with the drawings.
"Have you guys finished your part of the investigation? I noticed the fingerprint dust in the kitchen."
The man nodded. "For the most part. Both vehicles in the garage are being loaded up on a rollback now, we are going to go through them in our garage, checking for prints and such. I'll be sure to let you know if I find anything. Are you alright, Burly?"
"I'm fine. First crime scene I've been to where I know the victims personally. I'll be okay."
Burly left Mark in search for her partner, to see what he had found. She found him in the master bedroom with the coroner. He turned to face her as she entered the room. He watched her scan the room the way she had done on many crime scenes before, but this time was different. She held no emotion on her face, trying her hardest to keep them under control.
"Burly, are you alright?"
She nodded and kept on with her search. She took pictures. "This is Amber," she motioned to the body being zipped up in the body bag, "John's wife."
Very carefully, she looked at what was on the nightstands next to the bed. She wrote in her notebook, cataloging the contents. She did not want to leave anything open in court when they finally brought this killer in. He was going to jail for a long time and she was not going to leave any speculation for the jury that the man deserved the death penalty.
Mark poked his head in the room. "We're finished in the rest of the house. We checked outside and collected all the evidence that we could. We didn't find any tire tracks or footprints on the ground. As soon as she is loaded up, we are officially done at the scene. If you find anything else that we might need, let me know."
Ruckus nodded. "We'll be working side by side, I'm sure."
Burly retrieved her camera from her pocket, "I'm going to go look out back, see if there's anything out there. That outbuilding is bothering me, and the fact the Peter was forced to sit there and watch it."
"I'll be out there in a minute, Burly. I'll help you."
With a wave of her hand to dismiss her partner, she was making her way through the house again. She stopped in the kitchen, stood behind the chair where Peter sat. She bent down to about the level that his head would have been and looked out the window. She could see the building good, she could see the window of the building now. Studying the view through the window, she thought she saw a small red light flashing, then movement.
"Ruckus! I need you in here!" she yelled toward the open front door.
Her partner and Mark both came running. They stopped when they saw her crouched by the table. "You okay?" they both asked together.
She nodded and got her gun out of her holster. "We are being watched. I need something to pry that deadbolt off the door to that building, I saw movement."
Mark knelt down next to Burly, trying to see what she saw. "There is a flashing light in there, like from a video surveillance system. I have a feeling that whoever did this is watching us now, somewhere. I just need to get in there and see what kind of system it is, I might be able to figure out where it's being transmitted."
"You are way too smart to be a cop, Burly." Mark put a hand on her shoulder. "I've heard what you can do with surveillance tapes that come in."
Burly looked down at Mark's hand. "Given the record of people I'm close to, you might want to move your hand. I just said we were being watched. I don't want to find you at a crime scene next. I just lost two good friends, I don't want to lose you too."
"I have something that will get us in there. Mark, did you guys go out there and collect evidence?" Ruckus asked the forensics specialist.
Mark stood up, nodding. "Yes, we were out there. We couldn't find anything, not so much as a footprint. The building had a pad lock on it so we didn't mess with it. Figured it was that way from the homeowner. Guess we were wrong this time."
Ruckus made it to the sliding glass door first, pulling his gun out of his holster. The door was unlocked when he pulled on it. Before going out, he looked back at Burly still by the table, her eyes glued to the window of the building.
"Is it clear?" he asked.
Burly looked over at him. "I don't know. I can't tell. All I can see is the blinking red dot and moving shadows."
Mark drew his gun next to Ruckus. "I'll go out first. You two follow behind."
Burly was at the door before Mark could step outside. "No. I'll go first. Those were my friends."
She walked out to the building, slowly, holding her gun in front of her. She walked all around it, looking for someone hiding or a secret way out of the building. She secretly hoped she did find someone and he gave her a reason to shoot him. There was no other door to the building, no other windows. She made her way back to the front, to the door.
"How are you gonna get it open, Ruck?" she asked.
He put his gun back in his holster and retrieved a retractable baton from his back pocket. He slid the baton through the lock and gave it a hard twist. The screws that held the lock to the door pulled out of the wood, leaving splintering holes. Mark and Burly both drew their guns at the door as Ruckus pulled it open. Burly screamed at the sight. She felt her stomach lurch, her hand flew to her mouth to help keep herself from vomiting. She took a few steps to the side of the building, to compose herself.
She was so self consumed that she barely heard Ruckus' radio crackle to life, the uniformed officer asking if everything was alright. She also did not notice when the coroner and the other two forensics guys came running out the back door. One of them pointed to Burly, but Mark motioned them toward the building, giving her the privacy and space he knew she would want.
Ruckus put another pair of rubber gloves on, as did the men beside him. In a chair in the doorway, sat the man that Burly had pointed out in a picture in the house. He was almost sure of it. The man had a cloth tied around his face, keeping him from making any noise. It had been tied so tight that it dug into the corners of his lips, dried blood stained the side of his face and the rag. His arms were tied behind him. He must have struggled hard, one shoulder was dislocated and his wrists were cut and bloodied by the binding. His feet were actually nailed to the floor, long spikes stuck up from his sneakers.
The coroner reached in and felt for a pulse on John's neck, felt nothing. The forensics team quickly started gathering evidence on and around John.
Ruckus helped them gather evidence while Burly dealt with her emotions. He had only seen her this way one other time, when he flew out to Arizona to tell her that her father had just passed away. It hadn't been easy for either of them then, he knew that she was going to have a hard time dealing with the death of her friends, especially since she didn't spend as much time with them as she should. She spent all her time working, if she wasn't working at the police department, she was working at the little company she had that installed surveillance equipment for businesses and houses. If she wasn't at work, she was running or at the gym. She didn't date much, said she didn't have time for a broken heart.
He reached in and picked up an envelope off the floor. It had Burly's name on it. He put it in an evidence envelope, pulling Mark to the side.
"I need a special favor. I need you to check this for prints and DNA, but then I want it back as soon as possible. Most importantly, I need you to do this quickly without telling Burly. I have a feeling this is going to be a tough case."
Mark nodded, taking the envelope from Ruckus. He tucked it into his jacket pocket. "I'll have it analyzed and try to get it back to you this afternoon. I think this case is going to take priority over anything else we have going on."
"Good, I'm gonna check on Burly. You guys got this?"
Mark nodded and Ruckus walked around the side of the building to find Burly leaning her head against the side of the building. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. Her face was pale, eyes red. He took the bandana out of her jacket pocket that she had offered him earlier, using it to wipe her face, mouth. He then took her by the arm and brought her into his arms. He held her just as he did when she learned of her father. With his arms around her, she felt secure enough to let go of her emotions and cried. He hugged her tight. She was more than just his partner, she was like family. It broke his heart to see her hurt like this.
Burly cried until the anger set in. She broke out of the embrace that Ruckus held her in. She wiped her face with the bandana that her partner had in his hand. She then stalked through the house, out the front door and to her car. There she leaned her head against the roof and thought about the gruesome scenes she had just witnessed. Opening the driver's door, she reached in and grabbed her bottle of water, taking a few short sips. She sat down behind the wheel, rummaging through her center console for some gum. After finding some, she sat there with the door open.
Ruckus was beside her, she hadn't noticed him walk up. "That was pretty bad, I'm so sorry, Burly. It must have been hard for you to see all that." She looked up at him, standing there with one hand on the roof of her car, the other on the open door. There was no color in her cheeks, she looked on the verge of crying again.
"I can't imagine why, why someone would do something like that to them. They were the nicest people, everyone liked them." She shook her head.
"Don't think about that right now. Are you alright?" Burly nodded, so Ruckus continued. "I'll finish up out there, I want you to go next door and interview the neighbors."
"No," Burly shook her head violently, realizing that she was getting a headache. "I have to go back out there and examine that system. I also want to find John's computer, his laptop. He was a web designer, maybe there is something on there that will help us."
"Right now, I want you to interview the neighbors. I will find his computer, you will get that. We can come back in a little while so you can check out the system in the building."
"Fine," Burly said, fishing the car keys out of her jacket pocket. "If I'm not back from the neighbors when you finish, call me and I will come and get you."
Ruckus reached over Burly, taking her police radio from the center console. He turned it on for her, then handed it back. "If anything else is found, I will let you know right away. If you need me, call me."
Burly nodded, knowing that she wouldn't call him unless it was an absolute emergency. That was just her nature. She had to do everything herself, she was very self sufficient, very independent. That was probably why she was still single.
Burly and Ruckus pulled into the parking lot to a small apartment complex. After parking, Burly took a deep breath. This was going to be hard for her, but she felt she had to do it. Both detectives got out of the car and headed to a first floor apartment. Ruckus put his hand on her shoulder, she looked at him.
"I'm fine. I just don't know how Mrs. Shaw is going to react."
She reached out and knocked on the door. When the door opened, an elderly lady stood there. Burly remembered the guys mother was older than her own parents, having children later in life. The lady started to greet Burly with a smile, until she took in Burly's own expression.
"Mrs. Shaw, I need to speak to you," Burly said quietly.
The lady led them into her apartment, seated them in the kitchen. She offered them some coffee, but they both declined. After they were all sitting at the table, Burly told the lady what had happened. Mrs. Shaw just sat there, mouth open, in disbelief. Burly left out the gruesome details of how, but did tell her that both her sons and her daughter in law were dead. She asked a few questions. Questions that might help with the investigation, like when was the last time you spoke to your sons? Did they say anything that might be bothering them? Did they mention any new friends, enemies?
Mrs. Shaw answered all of Burly's questions, but nothing said would help her solve this case. The last time she spoke to the boys, they seemed fine. It had been a while since they had talked, maybe a couple of weeks even, right before Christmas. Like Burly, the boys were not that close to their mother. They would check in every now and then, but for the most part, they lived their own lives now and left her alone.
"I am so sorry, Mrs. Shaw. If you think of anything else that might help me find their killer, please don't hesitate to call me." She handed the elderly lady a business card with all her contact information on it. "The bodies will be released when the coroner has performed an autopsy and the house is currently guarded, so please do not go down there."
With a nod, Mrs. Shaw agreed. Both detectives got up from the table, started toward the door. "Burly?"
Burly turned to look at Mrs. Shaw. "Yes, ma'am."
"John left one of his computer bags here, the last time he visited, about a month ago. I figured he would remember it was here, but he never came to get it. I don't know if it has anything you need, but you're welcome to take it with you, to check it out." The lady walked into the living room, retrieving the bag from next to the couch. She handed it to Burly.
Burly took the bag and handed it to her partner, then she reached out and hugged the elderly lady. Both women were fighting back tears. Mrs. Shaw broke the embrace, "If anyone can bring my sons justice, its you Burly. You're such a good girl. I've missed you coming by since you kids graduated high school."
Burly wiped a tear from her cheek. "I will keep in touch, Mrs. Shaw, let you how the case is going."
Mrs. Shaw nodded her good-bye as the detectives left the apartment. They quietly got into the car, Ruckus placing the bag in the back seat. Without a word, they drove back to the police station.
The news vans were piling up in the front parking lot of the police station. Burly counted at least four different news crews setting up outside. Word must have already leaked out about the murders, she suspected. She pulled her car around to the back, parked. Ruckus grabbed the bag from the back seat while Burly walked around and opened the trunk. There, she grabbed another bag, containing the laptop from John's house.
As the two walked in the back door, they were met by their captain. "Burly, are you alright?" he asked her. He noticed her face was still pale, her eyes rimmed red. "I'm taking you off this case. Take a few days off. You work too much."
"No!" she practically yelled at her superior officer. "Sir, please. I'm fine, I can do this. Don't take me off this case, don't make me take time off."
Captain Ross looked from Burly to Ruckus, who just shrugged. He knew Burly well enough that she would not quit easily. Rather than argue with her, he sighed. "Fine, don't let your emotions cloud your investigation."
Burly let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding while he contemplated what to do with her. "I won't, sir. Strictly professional as always."
"Of course. Now I need you to go out and give those reporters a statement. I wrote down what I want them to know, and I want you to tell them."
"Me?" Burly looked confused. She wasn't the usual spokesman for the police department, why did he want her in front of the cameras?
Ruckus quickly headed for their office, before she realized he was gone. Captain Ross explained to her that Ruckus had informed him of the personal ties she had to the victims, maybe she had one to the killer as well. He wanted to get her face out there to taunt the killer, maybe make a mistake to get himself caught. Burly understood the risks in doing this, but there was little she was afraid of so she agreed to it. She took the paper from her captain and read it, memorized it quickly.
She took a deep breath and walked to the front of the police department, out the door to greet the reporters. She introduced herself, recited the prepared statement and then excused herself saying that if they find out anything else they will let them know.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly opened the door to the gym, surveying the inside. She looked at Hope. As if the woman read her mind, she spoke to Burly quietly, "He's not here right now, said he was coming in at six this morning, that's still thirty minutes away. You can workout without him bothering you right now."
"Thank you. I just need to be by myself right now and think. He is a major distraction."
Hope smiled. "I know, and he really likes you. Talked about you a lot yesterday after you left." Burly half smiled back. "Is everything alright?"
Burly nodded. "It's been a tough night. I couldn't think straight, couldn't sleep. Maybe a good workout will help."
"Maybe."
After she put her backpack in her locker, Burly went out to the floor and found a weight machine. She brought along her mp3 player to drown out any distractions around her. She put her earphones in and started her workout.
Her mind was reeling, different aspects of the case going through her mind. She had to concentrate to get her thoughts to process in order. The more she exercised, the easier it was to think. She started going over every aspect of the house. The floor plan had been burned in her memory, she even drew it out on paper last night trying to figure out how the killer worked. She did not think it was one of the people in the house, having committed suicide after everyone else had died.
She remembered her conversation with Mrs. Shaw. The woman was upset, but she was not as close to her sons as she would have liked. Burly made a mental note to call her later to check on her. She knew that Mrs. Shaw was depending on her to find her sons' killer.
It was like her body was on auto-pilot, she did not have to think about what she was doing as she thought about her case. The world around her seemed to have disappeared as she thought. It had disappeared that is, until she was rudely interrupted.
Her surroundings came crashing back. The weight machine was stuck, her body had to engage her mind finally to see what was wrong. She started to look around to see what happened when the music stopped.
Burly was infuriated to see Ryan standing next to her, one hand on the machine, the other holding the cord to her headphones. She wished she had her gun on her right now, she would use Ryan as target practice for interfering with her workout. "What do you think you're doing!?!" she practically yelled at him.
He tugged lightly on her headphones, pulling them from her ears and letting them drop to the floor. He held out a bottle of water, she just stared at him. "Take this, please."
She shook her head, looking away. "Leave me alone right now."
"I won't. Come with me, I need to ask you something."
Burly shook her head again, feeling a little light-headed.
Ryan let go of the weight machine, letting the heavy weights crash noisily together. The few people in the gym looked over at them. Ryan grabbed Burly by the wrist, led her to a little office behind Hope's desk. She was too tired from her workout and lack of sleep to resist him. Once inside the office, he shut the door and sat her down in a chair.
He stood there, looking at her. He had been watching her workout, concerned that she was too disconnected and would hurt herself. "Do you always workout without a spotter or a partner?"
She nodded. Most of the time, Greg would watch her while she lifted weights, but he never interfered. She didn't volunteer any of that information.
"Do you know how dangerous that is?"
Burly looked up at him, surprised at how upset he looked about her working out alone had made him. "I know how dangerous it is, but there were other people here. I wasn't alone. If I got in trouble, someone would have helped."
"You don't know that. Here," he offered her the bottle of water again, "you need to drink."
Reluctantly, she accepted the bottle and drank. She leaned back in the chair, held the bottle to her forehead. She didn't realize how hot she was until just now. Her shirt was soaked with sweat, her hair damp. All her muscles started to throb and she wondered to herself how long she had been out there.
"I stood beside you for twenty minutes, detective, and you didn't even acknowledge I was there. Which means you were in some pretty deep thought. But your workout was very intense, you were using some pretty heavy weights. You want to end up looking like me?" he asked her, flexing his arm muscles for her to look at.
She sat there and shook her head. "No, I don't want to look like you. I think better when I exercise, the harder I workout the better I think. I was finally getting somewhere when you interrupted me."
"Something's bothering you. You want to talk about it?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the desk.
Burly shook her head. She was surprised at how he picked up on her mood. Her eyes were still a little red, but now her face was also from her workout. She was not ready to let this man into her life. She had too much to worry about trying to solve this case.
A knock at the door caused them both to look up. Hope poked her head in and announced there was a phone call, for Burly. Ryan punched a button on the phone on the desk and handed the receiver to her.
With a puzzled look on her face she said hello. Quietly she sat there and listened to what the person on the other end had to say. She started shaking her head, "I don't believe this. I'll be there shortly."
She handed the receiver back to Ryan to hang up. She rubbed her face with her hands, then stretched the length of her body in the chair. As she started to stand up, the light headed feeling returned. She sat back down in the chair.
Ryan noticed what she did. "Have you eaten yet this morning, detective?"
Burly shook her head. She was ready for him to lecture her about the safety of working out on an empty stomach, but he didn't say anything this time. He just leaned over the desk, opened the top drawer and pulled out a snickers bar. He tossed it to her. "Eat that, it will bring your blood sugar back up pretty quickly. Promise me this, if you come back down here to clear your mind, eat something first and let me know you're here so I can keep my eye on you. I don't want you getting hurt in my gym."
She nodded, opened the candy bar and took a bite. She let herself out of the office, went straight to the locker room to take a quick shower. She had to hurry back to the station, Ruckus had just received a call about another body that they believed was related to their case that they had to check out. He wanted her there with him when he went.
Burly showered quickly, then started toward the door. She noticed Ryan was sitting at Hope's desk, watching her. She stopped there before heading out the door. "Thank you. I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. I can feel it now."
He looked at her, wondered how hard it was for her to admit that. "That's what I'm here for. I'll be watching out for you, I want you to know that."
"I got that feeling, sitting in that office with you. How long had you been watching me earlier?"
"Too long."
"I'm sorry. Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. I'll be more careful."
Ryan watched her shift uneasily, move her backpack up on her shoulder higher. "Be careful."
Burly nodded and went out the door. She thought she had sensed some genuine concern from her new muscled friend. She knew she had a tendency to over do it sometime, like today. Time passed easily when she was thinking.
Before Burly made it through the door to the police station, Ruckus met her in the parking lot. He took her by the wrist and led her to his truck. "Don't argue, just get in."
He unlocked the door and she climbed in the cab. She sat there and wondered why her partner seemed so edgy. She also wondered why they were taking on another case when they had their hands full already. There was so much evidence to go over and interviews to do. They didn't need any more work to do on top of that.
Ruckus parked his truck, was opening the door for her before she realized they had stopped. "A lot on your mind, Burly?"
"I guess," she answered as she got out. She looked around, taking in her surroundings.
"Why are we here?"
Ruckus shook his head, she recognized where they were. She had been here before, with a good friend, more than a friend actually. This was her ex-fianc©'s art studio. She had not been here in almost three years. They broke up around the same time she was shot. He didn't want her to risk her life anymore, she didn't want to give up her job. Since they couldn't reach a common ground, they parted ways. She still had feelings for him, hoped he wasn't the body they had found.
"Is it Jason?"
They walked inside the studio together. "I'm sorry, Burly."
Mark walked up to them, still wearing his rubber gloves. He handed an envelope to Ruckus. "Sorry I didn't get this to you yesterday. All the results are inside." He shifted his attention to Burly. "Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept."
"I'm okay. How bad is it?"
"I want to show you something. Follow me back here." He started walking toward the back of the studio. "Don't worry about touching anything, we're finished. I just haven't taken off my gloves yet."
Burly followed Mark while Ruckus went into another room. "Where's Jason's body?"
"Don't worry about that, I want to show you something. He still loved you, you know. When was the last time you talked to him?"
Shrugging, Burly answered, "I don't know. It's been a long time." She looked up, seeing what Mark wanted to show her. Jason had painted pictures of her, kept them in his private studio.
"What does this have to do with case?"
"Nothing," Mark answered. "I just wanted you to have something good to remember him by."
"Do I get to see the crime scene?"
Mark threw his hands in the air, "If you have to."
Burly absently walked toward the other door. It wouldn't open, like someone was holding it from the other side. With a good tug, she finally got it open. Ruckus stood there, by the door, ready to pick up the pieces when she fell apart.
"Oh my," she said, putting her hand over her mouth. She took in the room, the way he was laying on the floor. There was a pool of blood under his head, splatter on the wall. His death was quick and painless, for that she was grateful. On his computer screen on the desk, was John's website. That must be what the forensics unit thought linked the two murders scenes together.
"I need some air."
Ruckus watched Burly walk outside. She walked to the back of his truck, let the tail gate down and sat on it. She took out her phone. She flipped it open and punched the contact button. All the people she was ever close to were listed here. She secretly wondered how many more she would find before this was all over.
The truck dipped under his weight. She instinctively handed him the phone. There he saw John's number, as well as Peter's. Jason's number was there, along with Robert, one of the men at John's house.
"This man is really trying my patience."
He handed the phone back to her. "Ready to call it a day?"
She shook her head. "I am not giving up now. They're dead. I have to fight for them, find their killer. Let's get back to work." She jumped off the tailgate and went back inside with her notebook to take notes.
He admired her strength. He just hoped she could keep it up throughout the entirety of the case. He knew she probably wouldn't get any sleep until it was over. He took his own phone out and made a quick call to his wife.
Back at the police department, both detectives were busy going over different aspects of the case. Ruckus was on the phone, talking to different people about the victims. Burly had sat down with John's computer, the one from his house. She was going through his files, one by one. So far, she hadn't found anything. Frustrated, she got up from her desk. She decided to get a drink. Silently, she held her hand up, pretending to take a drink, asking her partner if he wanted one. He nodded. She left their tiny office in search of a drink.
When she returned, Ruckus handed the phone to her. She put both drinks down, taking the phone from him. With her hand over the receiver, she asked, "Who is it?"
Ruckus shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. It's a guy though. Wants to talk to you."
Burly sat down on the edge of his desk, speaking into the receiver, "Detective Robertson, can I help you?"
She listened for a moment, blushed and then responded, "Please don't call me at work if it doesn't pertain to business. I'll talk to you later. Good-bye."
Leaning over the desk, she hung up the phone in front of her partner. "I would've hung that up for you. Who was that, anyway?"
"Nobody," she answered, going back to her own desk. She sat down and stared at the computer screen. "I need to go back to John's place, I forgot about that camera in the building."
"We only have two more days to check that place out, we better go." Ruckus replied, standing up from his desk and grabbing his jacket. "Grab your stuff, let's go. I'll drive."
Burly grabbed her jacket and computer bag, following Ruckus out the door. "I'm ready, but I'm driving." They walked out to the parking lot. The cold air slapped them in the face once they got outside. "Temperature's dropping. Gonna be another cold one."
Back at John's house, the two detectives went straight out to the building. Shivering, Burly stood on a step stool. She examined the camera, she wrote down the brand. She noticed it was plugged into the wall, not running on a battery. It had a wire plugged into it that led to a digital receiver about three feet away from it. Burly did not recognize the particular brand of receiver, did not know how far it would transmit. She wrote down some more information in her notebook that she would have to research once she got home.
Ruckus pulled his jacket tighter around his neck. He leaned against the door, waiting for his partner to finish. She could get lost when it came to computers and surveillance, he just didn't understand her fascination with it.
Burly stepped down from the stool, she turned toward her partner. He had been watching her, made her a little uneasy. She knew he was concerned about her, that also made her a little uneasy. This was the first case where she had any emotional ties what-so-ever. It bothered her and she knew it bothered her partner.
"I'm fine, Ruck. Actually, I'm better than fine. I have all the information that I need, now I need to do a little research. I might be able to figure out where this camera is transmitting to now. It's late, your wife is probably waiting for you. Let's call it a night, we could both use some sleep."
He shut the door after she walked out of the building. While he locked it with the new lock they had put on, Burly looked on the ground for the pen she dropped. "Hey, I seen shadows in the building yesterday. What were they? I never got to look, after I, you know."
"It was a cat, a starving cat. It was walking along that shelf up there, back and forth. What are you looking for now?"
"I dropped my pen when I stepped down off the step. You got your flashlight on you?"
Ruckus handed her his flashlight, she knelt down and looked under the edge of the building. The light glinted off the metal clip of her pen and something else next to it. She reached for her pen and used it to move the object. It was a ring, a high school class ring. Not wanting to conceal anything from her partner, but not wanting to let him know she found more evidence, she quietly put it in her jacket pocket.
"It's cold, Burly. Did you find it yet? If not, I will buy you a new pen. Let's go."
She stood up, handed him back his flashlight. "I'll drop you back off at your truck. I have to go talk to someone."
They said good-night to the officer guarding the house. They drove all the way to the police department in silence, except for the occasional crackle of their radio. In the parking lot, Ruckus told his partner he would see her in the morning, to be careful until then.
Burly watched Ruckus back out of his parking space, then pull out onto the main road, heading home. She sat there for a moment, not sure of what she was going to do. She needed to go see Jason's mother again, to check on her. She was very upset when she left her this morning after sharing the news about his death. No, she decided she would call tomorrow, she was not ready to cry some more. Not yet. Maybe a quick run at the gym before she went home would do her good. It was late, he couldn't possibly still be there. He had said he was leaving soon when she talked briefly with him on the phone earlier.
Having made up her mind, Burly pulled her car out onto the main road, heading toward the gym. She stopped at a little store on the way and grabbed a snicker bar and a bottle of water. At least he couldn't chastise her for not eating before her workout. She doubted he would be there, but just in case. She also promised herself to grab a good supper when she was done.
She entered the gym, nodding her hello to the evening receptionist. She quickly walked back to the locker room, eating her candy bar. Half way there, she saw him. He was helping a young man with a weight machine. She hoped he would not look up and see her, but just as the idea formed in her mind, he looked up and made eye contact with her. She threw her hand up in a wave, kept walking. She held her breath until she was in the locker room.
As she emerged from the locker room, someone grabbed her arm. She startled, jumped. Ryan let go of her and backed up a step. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, detective."
Burly let out a nervous laugh. "That's okay. I just have a lot on my mind, wasn't paying attention and you startled me. It's been a really bad couple of days."
"Want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, started toward the inside laps. She slowly stretched her muscles before running. When she felt she was warmed up, she started off on a slow jog. It wasn't long before she realized she was not alone on the track. "You can run with me as long as you don't talk."
"I can do that."
They both jogged along for a while. Neither saying a word. Burly tired easily this evening, she decided to call it a night. She slowed her jog to a walk, to cool down. Ryan kept in step with her. When she finally stopped, he stopped beside her. She stood there for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Her emotions an internal maelstrom waiting to break the surface. She sighed and headed toward the locker room.
Ryan started to reach for her. He had seen the conflict on her face. She was fighting to control her emotions. He wondered what had happened in the past two days to disturb this woman the way he seen her change. He decided to wait until she came out of the locker room to talk to her. He went to sit at the receptionist desk.
Burly sat in the locker room on the bench. She rested her head in her hands. She decided not to shower tonight, or even change out of her sweats. Carefully, she folded up her work clothes and put them in her backpack. She did however, put her shoulder holster and her gun back on. This case was getting a little scary, even to her. She thought about where she would stop on the way home to grab a bite to eat. Not being able to think any more, she grabbed her jacket and put it on. She picked up her backpack and headed for the door.
She saw Ryan sitting at the desk as she made her way to the door. He stood up as she got closer to him. "I would like to talk to you for just a minute, please."
She shook her head. "Not tonight, Ryan. I didn't sleep good last night and I'm tired. I just want to go home and go to bed."
"Just a minute. I promise. I know your tired, you didn't even change."
He motioned to the office behind the desk. She shrugged her backpack off, walked into the little office. He followed, closing the door behind her. He could sense her unease, him behind her. He also hoped she trusted him, since she sat down.
"What do you want?"
He walked around her, sat down on the desk as he had early this morning. He watched at her. She leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. "I'm concerned."
She sat upright. "About what? You met me yesterday. I got caught without a spotter, not paying attention this morning. So what. Why do you care?"
Burly did not want to talk about her personal life with a total stranger, especially a stranger that wanted to date her. She did not want to get involved with anyone right now for more than one reason. It seemed like everyone she was ever close to was being killed right now, she couldn't afford to put anyone else's life in danger. She also didn't work well when she was emotionally involved with someone. It was not a good time in her life.
"You've been crying." It was a statement, not a question. He knew she had been crying, though she made sure that it was not visible.
"How do you know that?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm a smart man, detective. Just because I have muscles, doesn't mean I'm ignorant. I know a lot of stuff, been around awhile."
"Fine," she huffed. She leaned forward in the chair, resting her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands. "I found my ex-fianc© this morning, found six of my good friends yesterday. Like I said, I have had a rough couple of days. Happy now?" She made sure to annunciate each word, she did not want to have to repeat herself.
"Found?"
Burly sniffed, "Yes, found. I'm Detective Burly Robertson of murders and violent crimes. Do you need anymore explanation than that?"
Ryan shook his head, though he knew she could not see his expression. "I'm sorry, detective, truly sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
Sniffing again, Burly looked up at him. Her eyes were rimmed red and her face pale. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally. She wasn't used to sharing her feelings with anyone, let alone a complete stranger. Why was he so interested in her life? She watched him move from the desk to her side. He knelt down beside her, put his hand over hers.
"Is there anything I can do for you, detective?" he asked her again quietly.
She shook her head. She thought about snatching her hand away from his, but didn't. She thought about wrapping her arms around him and finding solace in the warmth of his embrace. But she didn't do that either. Instead, she stood up. He let go of her hand and stood with her. When she reached for her backpack, he stopped her. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. Pulling her close to him, he held her in his arms.
Burly lost herself for a moment. She let this man hug her, yet she did not return it. With her head on his chest, his heart beating in her ear, it was hard to control her emotions. Tears stung her eyes, a sob choked in her throat. She tried to cough, to find a way out of this man's arms. She felt safe, comfortable, yet too vulnerable. She didn't need a man in her life, but she was confused as to what to do.
"It's okay to cry, detective. I won't tell." He hugged her tighter and she began to sniffle.
"I need to go, please," she spoke to his shirt.
Ryan made no move to let her go. He stood there and held her. After a moment she could not hold back the sobs, she cried freely. She cried for Jason, and for John and Peter. She cried for everyone she had found in the last two days because she knew, for some unknown reason, they had all died because of her. She was the common link between them all.
She realized that Ryan was rubbing her back, whispering something in her hair. She tried to calm herself, stop crying. Slowly, she gained control of herself. "I'm sorry," she said to his chest when she finally trusted herself to speak. She was not sure how long they stood there.
Burly raised her head off his chest, realizing that she had made his shirt wet with her tears. She looked up at his face, their eyes met. She had never noticed how green his eyes were until now, and they were clouded with emotion. Emotion for her, she was sure. "I got your shirt wet, I'm sorry."
He pulled her close again. He laughed softly, "My shirt is fine, a few tears are nothing. Are you alright, detective?"
She nodded in his embrace. "I think so. I just need to go home, get some sleep."
"Do you need a ride?"
"No, I'm fine. My car's outside. I don't live far from here, I'll be alright."
She hugged him back for a moment, then let go. She took a step away from him and he let her go. She took a long deep breath, letting it out slowly. She ran both hands through her hair, realizing that it was probably sticking up in all angles now. As she reached for her backpack again, her cell phone rang. She took it out of her pocket, knowing who it was by the ringer.
"Talk to me, Mark. What is it?"
Ryan just watched her. She sank down into the chair. If it was possible for the remaining color to drain out of her face, it did. She looked like she had seen a ghost. She kept nodding, like the person on the phone could see her expressions and actions.
"Where are you at now?" she asked him. A moment later she asked, "Does Ruckus know?"
"I'm on my way, don't move anything until I get there." She closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door.
"Is everything alright, detective?"
"No, it isn't, Ryan. I'll see you later, I really have to go, back to work." With that, she was out the door, gone.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly pulled her car to a stop in front of the construction site, putting it in park. Just then her phone rang again, this time it was Ruckus. "Yeah." she answered it. "I'm here now. I'll see you when you get here."
She didn't give him a chance to argue with her about going to the crime scene alone, she had ended the conversation and hung up without listening. She got out of her car, put her jacket back on and zipped it up all the way. She retrieved her camera from the trunk. She followed the fence for about a hundred yards, then seen the bustle of the forensics crew in a small clearing. Flashlight beams flitted around like fireflies as the men moved about in the dark.
Mark threw his hand up, "Over here!"
With her heart beating so loud she could hardly hear, she walked over to where Mark was standing. She knew who's construction site this was. She had a feeling she knew whose body had been found. She just wished she knew why. Before looking at the body, she asked, "Does he have identification?"
Reaching down, Mark pulled a wallet from the mans pants. He opened it, but before he could read the card out loud, Burly asked, "Is it Bobby Jenkins?"
Mark put the drivers license back into the wallet. He laid the wallet on the man's chest and stood up. "Oh Burly, I am so sorry. I didn't know. You and him? Were you a thing at one time? Oh, girl I am so sorry."
Burly rubbed her forehead with her hand. She had a feeling when Mark called and told her where to go that it was Bobby, but in her heart she prayed that it wasn't. Again, she fought with her emotions. She was alone with this battle.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, almost flinched when she realized who it was. Though they had a good working relationship, she never thought of him as one that would be there when comfort was needed. Mark gave her a quick hug. She wiped the tears that spilled down her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"It was a long time ago." She looked up and seen Ruckus coming down the fence line. Before she could say anything else, he had her in his arms.
"I tried to tell you to wait for me. I had a feeling it was Bobby when they called me." He held her away from him for a moment, searching her face. "Are you alright?"
"I'm..." she started, trying to pick her words. "Coping."
She broke free from his embrace, turned back toward Mark. "It seems you guys are as busy as we are. What do you have for us, other than a dead body?"
Mark took a deep breath. "Well, in his hand is some fabric from the shirt of one of the victims at the house. And," he looked at her, "we found this picture in his jacket pocket."
He dug the picture out of his bag. Though it was in an evidence envelope, she could see it clearly. It was a picture of her, rather a picture of a painting of her. The painting had blood splatters on it. Barely visible, at the very bottom on the picture, she could see a pool of blood. It must have been from Jason's studio. She handed the picture to her partner. While he examined it, she snapped a few pictures.
She took out a notebook and wrote something on a piece of paper. She ripped it out and handed the paper to Ruckus. "Here, this is his phone number and address. His wife's name is Allison. I can't tell another family."
She turned from the two men and started walking. Mark looked at Ruckus. "Is she going to be alright?"
Ruckus nodded, then jogged to catch up with her. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Where are you going?"
She pulled away from his grasp, and started walking again. She said one word over her shoulder. "Home."
She sat in the parking lot in front of her apartment for a long time before she got up the energy to actually go inside. It was late now, almost midnight. The day just didn't want to end. She opened the door to her car, gathering the stuff she was taking in with her. Her apartment was on the second floor and her knee ached with every step she took, though there was nothing wrong with it. She had been told a long time ago that stress triggers painful responses sometimes, and this was her body's response to stress. She stood outside her door, fumbling for her key and noticing that the overhead light was out. She would have to call the apartment manager in the morning and let him know.
Once inside her apartment, she dropped everything she was carrying on the couch. After she locked the door, she hit the button on her answering machine to see if she had any messages. Only two, she noticed. Both happened to be from the same man. My, he was persistent. He sounded concerned in both messages, told her to call him. She glanced at her watch. "Not tonight big man."
She shrugged off her shoulder holster by the time she entered her bedroom. She laid her gun on her nightstand, sat down to take off her shoes. Once they were off, she laid back on the bed and closed her eyes.
The darn phone. She grunted and sat up. She noticed that the sun was peeking in her window behind her shades. She reached for the phone, very tempted to just pick up the receiver and place it back on the cradle.
"Hello," she said sleepily. The time on her clock caught her eye. How could she have slept so late? She stretched the length of the bed.
"I'll be in shortly. I guess I was tired, sorry." Her partner tried to reassure her that it was alright that she slept in. He told her that he himself had just got to the police station.
She crawled out of bed. In the kitchen, she turned her laptop on. She made herself something for breakfast, since she had missed supper last night. She sat down at the table to eat and read the paper online. She navigated her computer through the appropriate steps, pulling her feet up on the chair while she waited for the headlines to appear.
The article she was absently looking for was on page two of the local section. It was about the last two days, but the facts were a little construed. She wrote down the reporters name and made a mental note to look her up later and ask her where she got her information. The last thing she needed on top of the already compounding stress was a rogue reporter spreading untruths.
The obituary page had an alarmingly large amount of names in it today. All the victims from the house were there, as was Jason. Bobby would probably be in tomorrows paper. She jotted down some of the information so that she could plan the next few days accordingly. Usually, she did not go to viewings or funerals of the victims of her cases, but this was different. She would be there for these people.
She logged off the internet, closed her computer. She sat her plate in the sink and went into the other room to get ready for work.
Sitting at her desk, Burly continued her search through John's computer. There was nothing on it that she could find that would help with the case. She searched files and folders, but nothing out of the ordinary. She connected to the internet, clicked on the drop down box and scanned the last few internet sites he had visited.
One by one, Burly clicked on each site. He had just been checking on his clients. She had just clicked on the last site when the phone on her desk rang with an internal call. She picked up the receiver, but before she could speak, her captain had called her into his office. Not even glancing at the computer, she got up and left the room.
She knocked lightly on Captain Ross' office door, she hated going in there by herself and facing the wrath of her captain alone. "Come in, Burly."
She opened the door, entered, and closed the door behind her. As was her way since the army, she stood straight in front of him until he gave further orders. He liked that about her. She demanded respect, but she gave it where it was needed. He admired her for that. He motioned toward the chair in front of the desk, "Please, sit down."
She sat. "I have another statement prepared for the news crews. Are you up to public speaking again?"
Burly just shrugged her shoulders. She hated being on television, hated being misquoted in the papers. "Sir, I was reading the paper this morning," she started.
Captain Ross just raised his hand to silence her. "I know, that darned Miss Musette just can't seem to get the facts from her notes to the paper. That's okay. We are going to overlook that right now and remedy that when this is all done. For now, I want you to read this."
She took the paper her superior handed her. She read it quickly, her eyes starting to sting. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. The overwhelming urge to cry went away. She took another deep breath and felt better. The captain watched her control her emotions. She was stronger than most men on the force and he admired her. He did feel sorry for her though, he couldn't imagine what she was going through. Having arrived on a crime scene, on three different occasions now and learn that the victims were good friends. He would have had himself taken off the case after the first crime scene. Not Burly, she was strong and had to do things herself. She would be the last person to ask for help.
"How are you holding up?" he asked her when she finally looked up from the paper.
She shrugged again, "Better than I thought I would. Today has been alright so far. I deal with emotions as they surface sir. It is hard talking to the families, but otherwise I think I am okay."
"Good. Like I said the other day, don't let your emotions cloud your investigation."
"Strictly professional, as always, sir."
Burly rose from the chair, taking the statement with her. As she left the office, she saw Ruckus at the copier. She grabbed his arm and led him to the front door to the police station with her. He didn't know where they were going, but didn't protest either. He just let her lead him to wherever she was going. She stopped in front of the door. He just looked at her, didn't say anything.
"You could of at least stopped me, you know. I don't want to go out there, you could have stopped me and asked me what was I doing dragging you through the police department. Now I have no choice but to go out there."
He took the piece of paper she was holding and read it. He shook his head. "I didn't stop you, because I am used to you doing stuff like this. You are very special, Kimburly Robertson, remember that. Go out there and give your statement. I will be here to pick up the pieces when you come back in."
She looked at him and smiled. He always knew just what to say to her. Too bad he's already married, and too old for her. She walked outside with her head held high. The reporters recognized her from the other day and all swarmed toward her, hoping for a statement. She spoke briefly with them, trying to read their name badges as she spoke, looking for Miss Musette in particular.
Her rogue reporter stood near the back of the crowd, recording everything on a small, voice activated digital recorder. A digital recorder. Burly made a mental picture of the reporter and slid back inside.
While she had been in the captain's office and outside talking to reporters, she had not seen the website load up. The camera that was at John's house, the one in the building, had played live video on this website. A man's face had filled the computer screen briefly, but no one was there to see it. The camera was quickly repositioned to its original setting and the man was gone.
Ruckus walked with Burly back to their office. She was almost fuming, in a small rage when she came back in from talking to the reporters. Not quite the emotion he thought he would have to deal with. She sat down at her desk and looked at the computer screen, her face now filled with utter confusion. She had stood with her back to the camera at John's house, looking at what it would see, and now she was seeing it on this computer. The only problem with this is that she had intentionally moved the camera when she was examining it and it should not be aimed in this direction. Someone had moved it. The door to the building was locked, Ruckus had the only key, and the house was still being guarded.
"Ruckus," Burly said without looking up from the screen. "We need to go back to John's house." Just then, Burly saw a movement on the screen, the window was near the corner and something moved by that window. "Now."
Without needing an explanation, he stood and grabbed his jacket. She wrote down the website, closed the computer, and grabbed her jacket as well.
Burly pulled her mustang to a stop in the driveway at the house. The uniformed officer looking confused as to why they were there. He walked up to them.
"Has anyone been out here today?" she asked the officer when he reached them.
He shook his head. "No. Well, there was a reporter wanting to take pictures, but I got rid of her pretty quickly. Other than that it has been really quiet."
"Have you walked around the property at all, checking it out?" Ruckus asked the man.
"Sure, several times. Nothing has changed out here since you guys left."
Burly was starting to pace. She wanted to go straight back to the building, but Ruckus wanted to ask questions first. She knew that if she went to go by herself, he would get angry so she waited impatiently. Finally, she heard him tell the officer that they were going out back to check the building.
Burly took off in a run, anxious to see if the lock had been tampered with. She went around the house, not realizing that Ruckus went through it. She got to the corner, stopped and drew her gun. She eased herself around the last corner and over to the building, her partner coming up beside her. Both stopped and stared at the door. It was still padlocked. The screws to the hinge were still in place. How could the camera have been moved.
Ruckus unlocked the door, letting his partner inside. Nothing in the small building had been moved except the camera. She took out the can of fingerprint powder she had in her pocket, dusting the camera again for prints. She hoped whoever had moved it had been careless. Nothing. It seemed the harder they tried to solve the case, the less they could figure out.
Burly heard Ruckus on the phone behind her. She concentrated on what she was doing until she heard him say, "Is he still alive. We will be right there. Yes, I'll tell her."
"Tell me what," she said climbing off the step stool. Ruckus grabbed her by the arm, leading her out of the building. He quickly locked it, grabbed her again and nearly dragged her all the way to the car. "Tell me what?"
He sat her down in the passenger seat, held out his hand waiting. "You're not getting my keys until you tell me what."
Ruckus sighed. "Give me the keys and I will explain on the way. I promise. We need to get there now."
She seen the scared look on his face and noted the urgency in his voice. Not much bothers her partner, but whatever that phone call was about did. She reached in her jacket pocket and fished out her keys.
Driving with the speed and determination of a race car driver, Ruckus maneuvered the mustang down a few streets and stopped. He was parked outside a small apartment building in the newly developed downtown area. He handed the keys back to Burly, "Stay here, please."
She shook her head, "As if. This is where Mark lives, isn't it? I'm going in with you."
Ruckus sighed. He knew that Burly and Mark had never dated, but they had a great working relationship. Mark was in pretty bad shape up there, he had been told on the phone. He was barely conscious and bleeding profusely. He did not want Burly to see him suffer like that. But he also knew there was no way to keep her from going in there either.
"Let's go. The paramedics are still in there. Get your gloves."
Burly grabbed some gloves out of the center console and followed Ruckus into the building. Though it was early afternoon, it was very gloomy in the hallway leading back to Mark's apartment. There was little light down this way. The door to his apartment was slightly open, Burly could hear voices behind it.
The forensics crew was working diligently, fingerprinting the whole place while the paramedics worked to stabilize Mark. She walked over to him, expecting to maybe see a gunshot wound. She did not expect him to have been beaten nearly to death. She gasped at the sight of his swollen face. He opened an eye, the one less swollen. He moved his fingers toward her. Instantly, she was by his side, his hand in hers.
"You're gonna be alright, Mark. Just lay still and let these guys do their job." Mark groaned and Burly's heart broke. She didn't realize that he had bled on her shirt, didn't pay attention to anything except that he was still alive. "Hang in there, man. Please, Mark, don't die on me."
Mark closed his eyes, his breathing heavy but even. "Ma'am, we need to go now. We have him stabilized for the moment, but that could change very quickly."
Burly let go of Mark's hand, letting the paramedics whisk him away to the hospital. She turned to see her partner watching her. "I'm fine. Let's get back to work."
Ruckus smiled to himself for a moment at her determination to solve this case. He smiled to himself that is until he saw a picture peeking out from under the couch. There was blood splatter on it, Mark's blood. Very slowly, carefully, he picked it up and gasped.
In an instant, Burly was by his side. She knew something important had been found by his outburst and expression. She wanted to see what it was. Looking over his arm, she nearly screamed. It was a picture of Mark hugging her at the crime scene last night. The killer was still at the scene, or very close to it when they were there. She was starting to get a little nervous.
"Can you get a ride back to the station?" she looked at her partner. She needed to get away for a little while. "I need to stretch my legs."
Ruckus had heard that statement a lot in the last few months working with her. It meant she had some serious thinking to do, and she thought best while she ran. He nodded, he could catch a ride with one of the forensics guys or call a fellow officer to come and get him. "Go ahead. Call me in a little while, make sure you keep your gun on you."
She nodded and ran out the door to her car. She didn't know why she had to go, but she soon found herself parked in front of the gym. Until she was there, she really didn't know what she was going to do.
Inside she saw Hope sitting at her desk, she scanned the equipment, looking. "He's in the back with a client."
"I need to talk to him, can you get him for me?" she told the receptionist. She motioned down at her shirt, "I don't want to scare anyone. It's not my blood, but I need to talk to him. He'll understand, I hope."
"Go in the office there, I'll get him." Burly went to the office, watching Hope make her way through the exercise equipment to the back where Ryan was working with a client. She shut the door and sat down.
Ryan looked up when Hope approached. Her expression troubled him. "What's wrong?"
"Burly's here, she needs to talk to you. I told her to wait in your office."
"Excuse me, I'll be right back." Ryan told the client, who just nodded in compliance. Ryan went straight to the office. With his hand on the door, he looked at Hope again. She was not acting right, which meant something was wrong with Burly.
He opened the door, he saw Burly sitting in the chair facing away from him. She turned to look at him when she heard the door shut. Her gray shirt and khaki pants had blood smears on them. He was on his knees beside her in an instant about to check her for wounds when she grabbed his hands.
"It's not my blood."
She stood up, started pacing. She wasn't sure what she was looking for when she came to the gym.
"Are you alright, detective?" he asked as she paced.
"I don't know." She stopped moving, started fidgeting with her hands. She was nervous, her heart beating hard in her chest. Her head hurt.
"Sit down. I'll be right back," he said to her as he started for the door. He waited until she sat back down before he left the office.
She looked around, trying to find something to occupy her mind while she waited. He had a computer on the desk, some file folders in a stack file. There was a television screen on the other side of the computer, the screen flipping from one image of the gym to another. She moved to the desk, watching the screen. She saw Hope stop Ryan at her desk, hand him the phone. Ryan talked very briefly then handed it back to her to hang up. He motioned toward the door and held up a sweatshirt. She seen Hope nod. Then Ryan disappeared off the screen. The door opened and he walked in. He looked at the chair she had been in when he left, noticing it was empty. It didn't take him but a moment to find her behind his desk.
"Come here, detective," he said to her.
Without thinking, she got up and walked the short distance across the office. He took her jacket off of her, placing it on the chair. She reached up, undoing her shoulder holster, taking her gun off. He took that from her and immediately put it in the chair with her jacket. He held out the sweatshirt for her. She reached down, grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. Ryan's breath caught in his throat, waiting for her to finish.
She threw the shirt on the chair with the rest of her stuff. She looked up at Ryan, noticed he was watching her intently. "Sorry you couldn't see more. It was cold out this morning, so I wore a tank top under my shirt. I don't make it a habit taking my shirt off in front of big, strange men."
Ryan laughed, realized she was starting to loosen up around him. He noticed the scar on her right shoulder and forearm. Up until now, she had always worn a long sleeve shirt. He handed her the sweatshirt, she put it on. It was way too big for her, going down past her waist. But it was Ryan's. She lifted it up to undo her belt, two green eyes watching her intently. She unthreaded the belt from the loops, reached over and retrieved the gun from the chair. She removed the holster from the shoulder attachment and then attached the holster to her belt, pulling the sweatshirt back down to conceal it.
She looked up at him again. He could read the pain in her eyes. "It must be pretty bad if you came looking for me. I know you didn't just stop by for my shirt."
She paced in front of him again, she just couldn't keep still. She didn't know how to start. She didn't know why she was here to talk to him. She figured it was because he was the only person left to talk to other than Ruckus. Her friends were dropping like flies, and she just realized that she just put his life in jeopardy by being here talking to him.
"I have to go," she said quickly as she started gathering up her stuff.
Ryan took her by the arm, walking to the edge of the desk. He sat down, pulling her close to him. "I'm not letting go that easily. You need someone to talk to. It might as well be me. I'm here, you're here, so spill."
Burly rested her head on Ryan's chest for a moment, relaxing. He felt all the tension built up in her muscles release momentarily. She was fighting another emotional war, he needed to be her rock. He wrapped his arms around her, held her tight. "I'm here, when you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."
She picked her head up off his chest. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
He shrugged her in his embrace. "I guess I like you, detective."
She shook her head. "You shouldn't. It's dangerous."
"I'll take my chances. Besides, I think I can defend myself pretty good." He flexed his muscles to add emphasis to his last statement.
"That's why I'm here, I think. I don't know why I'm here. I needed someone to talk to. I'm so confused." She rested her head on his chest again, soaked up his warmth.
"I went to another crime scene today, only the victim wasn't dead yet. He was a good friend, a working friend. I don't know if he'll make it. I feel so bad, it's my fault."
He pushed her away from him by her shoulders, looked her in the eyes. "It was not your fault."
She nodded her head. "It was. Whoever is doing this, is doing this to me. I don't know who I wronged so badly, but they are picking off my friends one be one. That is why it is dangerous for you to be my friend, especially right now."
He pulled her back to him and just held her. "It's going to be alright."
"I wish I could believe that," she said to his chest. She sighed, closed her eyes. Her breathing came slow and steady. Ryan looked down at her, leaning her slightly to the side. She had fallen asleep in his arms. He picked her up, careful not to wake her, and carried her over to the small couch against the wall. He laid her jacket over her like a blanket and left the office.
Hope looked up when he came out. He reached over and picked up the phone, dialing the police department. He spoke briefly to her partner, letting him know what happened and where she was. Ruckus was grateful he called, he was beginning to get worried, not having heard from her in a while. Ruckus explained some of what had happened in the last few days. Ryan felt for her.
Burly woke up, not remembering where she was. She sat up quickly, looking around. Her breath coming in short, quick gasps. In an instant, her gun was drawn. Ryan just sat there for a moment watching. "Please, detective, don't shoot me."
She looked over at the desk where he sat with his feet propped up. She put her gun back in the holster, sat back against the couch. She tried to remember how she got here, bits and pieces coming back to her. She remembered being in Ryan's arms. She remembered feeling safe.
"I need to make a phone call, but I need a phone book first. Do you have one?"
He shook his head. "No, no phone book. But if you are going to call the hospital and inquire about your friend, he is holding his own right now. I spoke to your partner, Ruckus, he told me to tell you when you woke up."
"Oh," she said. "I really need to go now. I have a lot of work to do."
"Okay, let me walk you out to your car." He got up from the desk and started toward her.
"No, I'm fine, I can make it to my car myself. Do you want your sweatshirt back?"
"You keep it, it looks good on you. You want to know what else that would look good on you?"
"I'm almost afraid to ask, what?"
Ryan smiled his most charming smile, wrapped his big arms around her again, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Me."
He kissed her cheek. He inhaled the scent of her hair and just held her for a moment. "Do you have to go?"
She nodded. She broke away from his embrace. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a business card holder and retrieved a card from it. She handed it to Ryan, "Here, if you need to, call me at this number. That's my cell. I'm very rarely at home and I hate getting personal calls at the station, so this is where you can reach me."
Ryan turned the card over in his hand, reading the information. When he looked back up, Burly was heading out the door. He started to say something, but let her go.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly woke up with a headache. She had slept on the couch at the gym for too long yesterday, her head cocked at an odd angle. She had hoped that sleeping in her bed afterward would help loosen the muscles, but it hadn't. She stretched, decided to take a long hot shower. The stress of the week had finally caught up with her. She wrestled with the thought of going jogging, she still had plenty of time before she was supposed to meet Ruckus at the station.
Burly went to her closet, trying to figure out what to wear tonight to John and Peter's wake. It would be difficult for her to attend, but she felt obligated, they were her friends. She sat on her bed, thinking of the last time they were together, but was having a hard time conjuring up the memory. The last few years had flown by for her, working two jobs, getting a promotion. The last time she had really dated was when she and Jason were together, and that was three years ago. She laid her clothes out for later, got dressed for work.
In the car she still had not decided what to do about the gym. Her neck was still stiff, head aching with a dull thud. She decided to just go to work, but strangely enough found herself sitting in the parking lot of the gym. "I guess I'm running before work," she said out loud to herself.
Inside, Burly sat on the floor tying her running shoes. So far, she had not seen Ryan anywhere in the gym. It was still early, Hope had not even come in yet. She slowly stretched her leg muscles. She glanced at her watch, giving herself about thirty minutes before going to work. She even set her alarm so that she would not linger too long. There was a lot of work to do. She had pictures to go through, notes to decipher, and lab reports to go over with the forensics unit.
The forensics unit, she bowed her head for a moment, thinking of Mark. He usually helped her out a lot. Taking her aside and showing her exactly what he was doing. He explained different procedures with her. She should call the hospital and check on him, he looked awful the last time she saw him. He had been attacked from behind, hit in the head, hard. After he hit the floor, the attacker continuously hit him in the face and abdomen. From the little bit she had found out so far, he had a concussion, broken facial bones, including his nose, and a few broken ribs. His concussion was so bad that his brain was swelling. Burly swallowed hard, fighting back the tears.
"Need a running partner?"
Slowly, Burly looked up from the floor, taking in every inch of the man that stood in front of her. He wore shorts, legs toned, athletic. She paused as she took in his chest and arms. Both were very powerful, strong. For a moment she let herself remember what it felt like to be wrapped up in those arms. She missed the intimate contact, but knew she could not afford a relationship right now. She looked him in the eyes, having to tilt her head back to see from her seat on the floor.
Straining her neck like that hurt, she absently rubbed at the muscles. Ryan took a step behind her, placing his strong hands on her shoulders at the base of her neck. She leaned back into his touch. "That couch is a little uncomfortable, I was hoping it wouldn't affect you too much." He rubbed the muscles that went down her neck and out to her shoulders. She closed her eyes, relishing the contact. She stretched her neck, rolling it from side to side. Ryan stopped.
"Thank you so much. That felt good." She smiled up at him.
He smiled back, his heart skipping a beat at the warmth of her smile. He reached out his hand to help her to her feet. "Let me help you up."
She took his hand and let him help her. She forgot how ruggedly good looking he was. She had lost herself in his embrace yesterday, would like to do it again. Too much work, not enough time for social activities, her disciplined mind told her.
They started down the track, slowly to warm up. After the second lap around, she glanced over at him. His dark green eyes were glued on her, like he was trying to read her. "Something's bothering you, detective."
She laughed nervously. He had a way of reading her body language when she tried so hard to keep her feelings masked. "Just have a lot on my mind. Not looking forward to tonight I guess."
"Tonight?"
She stole another glance at him. "Yeah, I have two viewings to go to, another one tomorrow. I have to pay my respects, they were good friends."
"Oh." Ryan didn't know what to say, uncomfortable with the thought of her having to deal with so much death.
They had just started on lap four and Burly could feel herself starting to sweat. She didn't think it had anything to do with the short distance they had run so far, but had more to do with the man next to her. The way he looked at her, his actions, made her feel vulnerable. She liked feeling like she needed someone to look after her, but she had been independent for so long that she didn't think she could be passive enough for this man.
He slowed down, then stopped, grabbing her arm as he did. "Detective, let me take you out."
She looked at him. Part of her wanted to say yes, get wrapped up in those big arms and rest her head on his chest. But her mind screamed No! She had this huge case to solve, her own friends murders to solve. She would have no time for him. Every time she got involved with a man, something happened to her and they would run. When she was with Bobby, she got stabbed during a traffic stop. He wanted her to pursue a less risky career, as did Jason when she was shot on duty. No. She could not risk going down the same path with Ryan. He could be her running partner, her spotter at the gym. He would not be able to be anything more to her than a passing friend.
Ryan turned toward her and took a step forward, Burly in turn took a step back. She kept backing away from his advance until her back hit the wall. Her palms started sweating. Ryan placed his hands on the wall on both sides of her, trapping her in front of him. He leaned down, his mouth just inches from her ear, he whispered one word, "Please."
She turned her head, looking for a way to get out of his advancement. She was too late. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, gently. He didn't want to scare her away, but he wanted to let her know his intentions. He kissed her a second time, brushing his lips across her cheek when she did not kiss him back.
She planted her hands on his chest to push him away, feeling his heart pounding. She paused for a second, with her hand on his chest and almost gave in to his request. "Now is not a good time for me, I'm sorry." She pulled her hand away and ducked beneath his arm, heading for the locker room. She would have to distance herself from him for a while before she let her guard down.
Inside the locker room, Burly sat on the bench. She sat there with her legs pulled up, hugging her knees. That man had a way of getting to her. His touch had been wonderful, made her tingle with anticipation of where he might touch her next. Her heart pounded in her chest and it was hard to breathe. What was she going to do? She sat on the bench for a long time before she trusted herself to go back out through the gym. He was hard to resist, and her willpower was fading fast.
She finally changed for work and built up the courage to go out to her car. Out in the gym, Ryan was talking to another client. She started through the equipment when she noticed him look up at her. He excused himself from the client for a moment and caught up with her before she made it to the door. He grabbed her by the wrist.
"Be careful, detective," he told her. "Call me later, let me know how you are, please."
He handed her a piece of paper. "If I'm not available here, that is my cell phone and my house phone. I expect to hear from you. I'm working late tonight, stop by when you're done at the funeral home."
She looked at the paper, wondering if something bad might happen to him if she put his numbers in her phone. Emotions must have clouded her eyes. Ryan cupped her chin with his hand and tilted her gaze up to meet his.
"It's going to be alright, detective. I'll help you get through this if you let me."
She shook her head. "This is something I have to do myself. Thank you though. I'll call you later."
Burly left him standing by the door as she went out to her car. She sat in the parking lot for a few minutes, debating whether to add his numbers to her contacts. She flipped her phone open and looked at that list. It was not in alphabetical order like most phones saved them, hers saved the way she had typed them in. She looked at the list. She thought for a few minutes and then sped off to the police station.
At her desk, Burly took out the papers from the coroner's office. One paper had a list of the victims from the house, the chronological order of when they died. She compared that list to the contact list on her phone. Each victim had died in the order their name had appeared in her phone. She immediately called her captain on the phone, requesting a meeting with him. She didn't want to explain on the phone as to why she needed to talk to him.
She knocked on Captain Ross' office door. He called for her to come in. She let herself in and closed the door behind her. Ruckus was sitting in a chair in front of the captain. She nodded a hello to him, waiting for the captain to ask her to sit. Captain Ross motioned for her to take a seat.
"Burly, Ruckus and I have been talking. We think you should..." he stopped talking for a moment, like he was searching for the right word to not offend her. "You should let someone else work on this case. It is too much for you to deal with, having a personal connection with almost all the victims."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, captain, I can't stop now. I will do anything if you keep me on the case, please. I'll even talk to the psychiatrist if you want. Please. Don't do this to me," she begged.
Ruckus looked at her, he knew she would put up a fight to stay on the case. He worried about her. "Burly, we're worried about you."
"I'm fine. I actually wanted to show you something that I found."
She sat there in the chair. Her head hung down, almost ready to admit defeat when Captain Ross spoke. "What have you got?"
"I don't know what it means, or how someone knew how I had them listed, but the victims died according to the way I have them in my contact list in my phone." She handed her superior both her phone and the paper from the coroner. He looked intrigued.
"Has anyone had access to your phone?"
Burly shook her head. She never let anyone use her phone. It barely left her side. She used it for everything; everything from making calls, to texting, to checking her e-mail. "No, no one that I recall."
The captain scratched his head. "Is that information available through your wireless carrier?"
She shrugged. She hadn't thought about that. "I don't really know, sir. I'll call and find out."
He nodded. "You do that. In the meantime, I'll make you an appointment with the department psychiatrist. I think you'll benefit from talking to someone."
"Yes, sir."
Burly rose, along with Ruckus. Once outside the office door, she backhanded him across the arm. "I guess I deserved that."
She stormed off toward their office. She sat there at her desk, talking on the phone and typing away at her computer. She worked until her stomach told her to take a break for lunch. She did not find any information that she searched for.
"Hungry, Burly?" Ruckus quietly asked her.
Looking around the laptop she was working on, she glared at her partner. She hated doctors of any kind, Ruckus knew that. She also hated talking to people about her problems, he knew that also. She figured he knew how bad she wanted to finish this case if she so readily agreed to see the department shrink.
"Come on, I'll buy you lunch. I owe you that much." He got up from his desk, grabbed his jacket. He sat down on the corner of her desk, facing her. "I'm waiting."
She looked up at him, he was the picture of innocence. "Maybe I have a lunch date already," she told him.
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really."
She stood up, grabbed her own jacket and giggled. "Nah, but it sounded good. Let's go."
Burly and Ruckus ate at a local little diner not far from the police station. A nice spot to have a semi-private conversation and home cooked food. It was owned by a local family that prided themselves on good food and reasonable prices.
"Hey, Ruck," Burly started, pointing a French fry at him, "this guy that we're after is really sick. I've been trying to figure out why they're after all my friends and I can't seem to find a reason. Other than John and Peter, none of them knew each other. I am the only common factor."
Ruckus shrugged.
"On what we have so far, I can't figure out who this could possibly be. I have looked back through some of the people that I have put away, but none of them knew me personally enough to know any of my friends. And it is really weird how they have died the way they are in my phone. I don't know."
Ruckus listened to Burly ramble. It didn't bother him that she was throwing out random thoughts, she was not keeping it bottled up right now. "I don't know, Burly. Maybe we need to go over more of the evidence."
"I wonder if Mark got a look at the guy when he was being attacked?" she threw her question out to her partner.
"I don't know. It'll be a long time before we can ask him though. The doctor has him in a drug induced coma, between the brain bleed he developed this morning and all the swelling, they're not sure if he'll ever wake up. If he does, he might not ever be the same."
Burly bowed her head, thinking. It was her fault that Mark got hurt. It was apparently her fault that the rest of them died. She would never forgive herself for that. Her mood changed. She felt really bad now.
The two finished eating in silence. Ruckus paid the check like he said he would. As they started out the door, Burly asked Ruckus, "If you had to profile the suspect on what we have so far, what do you think?"
Ruckus shrugged. "I don't know. I'd guess a middle aged man, probably a mental case..."
"I don't believe it," Burly yelled, interrupting Ruckus in mid-sentence.
"What?" he asked, looking at her.
She was kneeling down beside her car, examining her tire. It was flat, so was the back tire. Ruckus walked around the car and just laughed. All four tires had big slash marks in them.
"Who did you make mad?" Ruckus asked her, then realized that the person that had killed her friends may now be after her.
"You. You better stop laughing at me," Burly stammered. Ruckus stopped. "Do you have any idea how much tires for this car cost?"
Ruckus shook his head, "No, but you're going to find out."
Burly got her cell phone out and called for a tow truck while Ruckus went back in to ask around to see if anyone had seen someone in the parking lot messing around the cars. Burly explained to the dispatcher that she needed the car towed to the tire place to have four new tires put on, that she would pick the car up later this afternoon. While inside the diner, Ruckus had called and made arrangements for one of their fellow detectives to come and pick them up. They would ride with him back to the station.
The wrecker driver arrived the same time their ride did. She paid the driver, getting her receipt. She walked to her ride and watched her car loaded up on the rollback. Those tires would cost her, they were high performance tires. She shook her head and got in the backseat of the waiting car.
Back at the station, there was a message for her to see the psychiatrist when she returned. Might as well get this over with, she thought to herself. She went in search of the doctor.
After talking to the doctor, and actually feeling a little better about the whole situation, Burly went in search of her partner. She needed a ride to go get her car. She found him in their office, looking over a letter.
"What's that?" she asked him as she entered their shared space.
He looked up startled. "Nothing, just a piece of paper." He tried folding it and stuffing it in his desk.
She figured by his actions that he was trying to hide something from her. She walked around his desk and sat down on the corner. With little effort, she opened the drawer he stuffed it in, and retrieved it. After she unfolded it, she just stared at her partner.
"I'm sorry, Burly. I didn't want to upset you, anymore than you already were."
She looked at the paper, then back at her partner. "How long have you had this?"
Ruckus looked at the floor.
Burly kicked him in the knee, "How long have you had this?"
He looked up, but could not make eye contact with her. "John was holding it. And I have already shown it to Captain Ross."
He flinched when she kicked him again. "Ow, that hurts. Would you stop already?"
She got off his desk, grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. "Where are you going, Burly? Your car, is getting tires."
She stalked back to him, poked him in the chest. "Take me to get it, now."
The ride to the tire store was silent. The truck was filled with tension. Burly was fuming. She got her cell phone out, punching numbers on the key pad with more force than necessary. She quietly asked a couple of questions, then hung up. When she put her phone away, she missed her pocket and the phone fell on the seat of the truck.
At the tire shop, Ruckus barely had enough time to put the truck in park before Burly was out the door. He figured she would go to the gym to burn off some steam since he inadvertently pissed her off. He had no intention of letting her see that letter. It pained him to know that he hurt her like he did. He would give her a little while and he would call and check on her. For now, he drove back to the station to go over some of the evidence from the forensics unit.
Burly paid for her tires, making a mental note of how much she would have to shell out if something happened to them again. Frustrated at her entire day, she headed to the gym. She was not sure if she was looking for a workout or to make out. She sat in the parking lot for a while, going over some thoughts. A knock on the window startled her and she reached for her gun.
Ryan stood outside her car, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
She opened the car door, almost hitting him in the leg. "I said, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was coming out here to see if you were alright. You've been sitting out here for over twenty minutes, I was starting to worry."
She got out of the car, glaring at him. She went to the trunk and got her backpack out. Slamming the trunk down, she turned on her heel and stalked to the gym.
Ryan kept up with her hurried gate. Near the door, he took her by the hand. "Detective, are you okay? Hey, nice tires."
She snatched her hand out of his, "Leave me alone, please."
He reached around her and opened the door for her. After she walked in, he put his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the little office. She reluctantly let him lead her. She wanted to lose herself in a hard workout now, but he had intercepted her.
With the door closed behind them, he took the backpack off her shoulder setting it on the couch. She did not want to deal with things right now so she let him guide her to the desk. "I sense a little hostility. Want to talk?"
She shook her head. He lifted her with ease and set her on the desk. He stood in front of her, studying her. She was mad, he could see the daggers in her eyes. After the conversation he just had on the phone, he at least knew that she was not mad at him. The one thing her partner made sure that he knew was that she probably felt a little betrayed right now.
"How long before you have to go?"
Absently, she looked at her watch. The first wake started in two hours, the second one started thirty minutes later at a different funeral home. "I don't have long. I need to clear my head, please."
"I know. I just got off the phone with your partner. We talked for a while, almost the whole time you sat in your car. He wanted to make sure you came here, since no one answered when he called your cell."
Her cell phone never missed a call, unless she just didn't answer it. She didn't recall hearing it ring. Plunging her hand in her pocket, she felt around for it.
"It's not in there. It was on Ruckus' truck seat. Said he would give it back to you at the wake. He's concerned about you."
She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. He wasn't concerned about her, he was deceitful, hiding evidence from her. Evidence that was addressed to her. She was convinced he wanted her off the case. Ryan took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her. He felt for her. This had to be hard to handle. Her partner had explained how she had to talk to a psychiatrist just to stay on the case. He also learned about her tires being slashed while they ate this afternoon.
She pushed at his chest. "Please, just leave me alone."
Ryan held her tighter. She pushed again, harder. She pounded her fists against his chest. He was determined to comfort her through this. She fought against him, squirmed and fidgeted until she was exhausted. She finally just rested her head against his chest and cried. She cried until she had no more tears. With all her energy spent, she just leaned against him for support.
He rested his cheek on the top of her head. She was still gasping, hiccupping. "It's going to be alright."
Burly shook her head slightly, her head pounding from her emotional fight. "No, it's not. My life has gone to hell in one short week."
"Do you want me to take you home? So you don't have to be alone."
"No, I'll be alright. But you're right, I should go. I have to go get ready to pay my respects." She lifted her head off his chest, her eyes rimmed red from crying. Her cheeks were also red, tear stained.
She dug her keys out of her pocket, Ryan taking them from her the moment she produced them. "Come on, you're in no condition to drive. Let me grab something from the back, then I'll take you home to change. I will stay with you until I'm sure you can handle yourself."
Burly started to say something, but Ryan was walking out of the office. She couldn't go anywhere until he returned, he took her keys with him. He wasn't gone long though, and when he returned, he carried a bag. She was sure he had clothes in it, he seemed to keep some here. Every time she saw him, he was wearing something different. He covered the short distance between the door and the desk in three short strides. He helped her slide off the desk, walked her outside.
He kept his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her to her car. He unlocked the door, sitting her in the passenger seat. She tried to protest, he laid a finger on her lips, silencing her. He shut the door and walked over to the driver side. He slid behind the wheel, having to let the seat back.
Ryan caressed the steering wheel, running his hand over it, lightly touching it with his fingertips. He started the engine, listening to it purr. He loved the sound a mustang made with its dual exhausts. Slowly, with care now that he knew Burly was watching him drive her car, he put it in first gear and started out of the parking lot. He drove down the street a little ways before he spoke to her.
"I hope you don't mind, I got your address out of your file. I know where you live."
She leaned her head back against the seat, let him drive her home. She closed her eyes and didn't open them again until they were in the apartment complex parking lot. He opened the door for her, helped her out of the car. He carried both his bag and her backpack, leading her up the stairs. She noticed the light in the landing was still out, made another mental note to call the manager and have him fix it.
He used her keys to unlock her door, letting them inside. A thought just occurred to her, she really didn't know this man. He could be the one that was tormenting her and killing her friends. Ryan must have picked up on her hesitation, turning to look at her.
"I couldn't have done that to those people. I just moved here two months ago and I really only know the people that come into the gym. I haven't even finished unpacking yet. Your partner did a background check on me the other day, didn't he tell you? The day that you fell asleep in my office." Ryan laid both bags by the door.
She walked into the living room, sat down on the couch. Ruckus had said nothing about even talking to Ryan. What else was he hiding from her? "What do you mean your office? I thought you were a trainer. That was the owner's office. I can't remember his name right now, my head hurts."
He sat down next to her, put his arm around her. She let him pull her close. "I haven't been totally honest with you, detective."
Her blue eyes, bloodshot and tired snapped up at him. "What do you mean, haven't been totally honest?"
He smoothed her hair, "I haven't lied, if that's what you think. I just haven't filled in the spaces that have been left open. I am not a trainer at the gym."
Burly sat up. "Then what are you?"
He shrugged, "The owner. Why do you think I am always there? Hope is the one that said I could fill in for Greg, you just assumed that I was a personal trainer. I bought the gym about two months ago, right before I moved here. I had seen you in there the few times I visited, so I asked about you. You are quite a woman, detective."
"Go on. What else should I know about you?"
He reached behind his belt, brought out a handgun. Burly's own hand instinctively going for hers. He put his free hand on her arm stopping her from taking out her gun. He pulled out the clip, ejected the bullet from the chamber and placed his gun on the coffee table in front of them. He then leaned forward, digging his wallet out of his pocket. Opening it up for her, he took out his concealed weapons permit. He also took out his military identification and handed it to her. He was a former marine.
By mcdaniel1299
"Let me help you, detective."
Burly sighed. "I got this, Ryan. I can handle myself. I need to go get ready for the wake."
She stood up. He watched her walk towards the back of her apartment. He assumed her bedroom was back there. Quietly, he reloaded his gun. He put both his concealed weapons permit and military identification back in his wallet. He left both items on the coffee table for the moment.
He retrieved his bag from beside the door, taking it back to the couch. He kept business clothes at the gym, just in case he had to meet with a benefactor for the gym. Deciding that business attire was more suited for the evening than workout clothes, he brought them with him. He sat down and waited for a few moments, then he heard the shower turn on in the bathroom.
Burly stuck her head out of the door. "I'll only be a few minutes, Ryan. If you need a drink, check the fridge."
"I'm fine, detective. I'll just wait right here for you."
She smiled to herself as she stepped into the shower. She liked him, but she had to keep it professional for now. Maybe after this was all over with it could be different.
Ryan sat on the couch, taking in the apartment. He scanned all her belongings from where he sat. There were pictures on top of the television stand that caught his eye. He walked over to look closer at them. Each one had Burly and another person in them. No two pictures had the same person with her. He was so intent at studying the pictures that he did not notice Burly walk up behind him.
"That is John, we're going to pay our last respects to him tonight. And this," she said as she picked up a picture frame, "is Jason. I'm going tomorrow to say good-bye to him. Everyone up here is dead now." She placed the picture back on the stand. She waved her hand in gesture to all the frames.
He looked at her. "Not everyone. You're still alive."
She blew out an exasperated breath. "Maybe, but for how long? These weren't small men that were killed. They were all in top physical shape and could easily defend themselves. What makes you think I wouldn't be just as easy a target as them?"
Ryan just shrugged his shoulders. He was still holding a picture in his hand. "Who's this? Doesn't look like an ex-boyfriend to me."
Burly put her hand out, hoping he would give her the picture. It was taken right before she went to boot camp almost fourteen years ago. "This," she started. She swallowed hard and ran her finger down the glass. "This, is my father. It is the last picture we took together before I went into the army. He died while I was stationed in the Arizona. Ruckus flew out there to tell me, he said he didn't have the heart to tell me over the phone."
"What about your mother?"
She shook her head. "We don't talk much. She was upset that I went into the army, then when I got out and became a police officer she pretty much stopped talking to me. We were never close though, even when I was little. But my dad, I followed him around everywhere."
She placed the picture back on the stand. She turned her back on Ryan and walked into the kitchen. There she poured herself a glass of water, leaned against the counter and drank it. She was trying hard to fight back the tears now, now that he started asking about her family.
"I'm sorry, detective. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just looking at your pictures." He walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of her. She was beautiful this evening.
He had never seen her in anything other than workout clothes or BDU's. Now, she wore a simple grey pantsuit with a white blouse. She had styled her short red-brown hair with sophistication. Though she had put on make-up, it did not make her look over done. She had a natural glow to her that didn't require much covering.
"If it's any consolation, detective, you look great tonight." He added silently to himself, you look like a woman, not a she-cop.
She finished her water, put her glass in the sink. She debated for a moment about getting something to eat, but thought against it. She decided she didn't want to risk getting sick to her stomach while she was out tonight. That seemed to happen to her when she got real emotional. She had a feeling she would be getting emotional tonight.
"Ready?" she asked him.
He grabbed his bag. "Give me two minutes. I can't go like this."
She smiled to herself again, thinking about the fact that he had brought something to change into so he could accompany her. Maybe he is the one. No. Men like that are for playing with, not staying with. Still, just maybe.
Ryan was out of the bathroom in two minutes, just like he said. At least he was a man of his word. He looked good wearing khaki pants and a forest green polo shirt. The shirt brought out the green in his eyes. They were the darkest shade of green she had seen in a person's eyes, like being lost in the canopy of the rainforest.
"Now, I'm ready." He reached for her hand, closing his around hers.
They walked toward the door together, Burly stopping in front of the television stand. She moved a couple of pictures slightly, turned on a small lamp. Ryan didn't question what she was doing, just waiting patiently. She bent over, adjusting the leg of her pants slightly.
"What have you got there, detective?"
Burly smiled, lifted her pants leg enough to show off her ankle holster holding a small 38 caliber revolver. "My back-up partner. Things are getting a little scary."
They quietly walked out to her car, where Ryan again made her ride in the passenger seat. She didn't like giving up control, but she liked his company. So, she only argued a little with him over the power to drive her car. "The seat is still set to where I can fit, let me drive for now. I promise I won't hurt your car."
It wasn't long before they arrived at the funeral home. Burly walked up the parking lot hurriedly, leaving Ryan by the car. She had no problem dealing with dead people, as long as she didn't know them. Death was part of life, the last part and usually the most violent. But a part that she was used to dealing with right now. Now until she had to bury her friends. Inside, she found the room that John and Peter Shaw were in. She signed the guest register and walked inside.
She stood there for a moment, not noticing Ryan had finally caught up to her. He placed his hand on the small of her back, she looked up at him and smiled faintly. She looked around the room, looked for her partner. Ruckus stood in the corner talking to Mrs. Shaw, expressing his own condolences. Burly took Ryan's hand from her back, held it in hers and walked up to her partner and Mrs. Shaw.
Ruckus looked up to see Burly walking toward him with her new friend. She let go of his hand long enough to hug Mrs. Shaw and tell her how sorry she was. She then turned her attention to her partner. "Ruckus, this is Ryan. He works at the gym."
Ryan held out his hand to her partner, who took his hand and shook it. "Nice to finally meet you face to face."
"Take care of her, she needs it."
Burly didn't hear much of the conversation between the two men, someone had caught her eye on the other side of the room. She instinctively moved away from them to get a better view of this person of interest. She hadn't seen him in a few days, and something about him was different. She wondered why he was here. Did he know John and Peter?
As she walked away from Ryan, he started to stop her, but Ruckus assured him she was fine. "Just watch her, don't interfere. I learned that a long time ago. Otherwise, you'll just push her away," he told him.
Burly walked up to Greg, put her hand on his arm. He looked distant. "Did you know John or Peter?"
Greg reached over and hugged Burly slightly. "John used to come to the gym, don't you remember? Thought I would pay my respects. Does that bother you?"
Burly shook her head. "No, no it doesn't bother me. I just didn't realize you knew him that well. How are things? Are you back in town now?"
This time Greg shook his head. "My mother is not doing that good. She's old, can't really take care of herself. I'm packing some of my stuff, gonna move out to the beach to be near her. I drove by John's house on my way home the other night and then I read about it in the paper. It's a shame what happened out there."
"Yeah, it is. Listen, I have another appointment so I have to go. I'll see you around, okay, Greg."
"I'll see you." Greg stood there and watched Burly walk away.
Burly walked back over to Ryan and Ruckus, positioning herself in between the two men. Something about being with Greg set her nerves on edge, there was something not right with him, or his even being here. He had been by John's house, she didn't remember him living out that way or did she?
"Ruckus, you got my phone?"
He took it out of his pocket and handed it to her, "Are you still mad at me?"
Taking the phone, she replied, "Of course. I'm not talking to you right now."
Burly flipped her phone open and hit the contact button. She opened the folder with business contacts in it and found Greg's name. There she saw his various information, including his address. He lived right down the street from John. How could she have forgotten?
"What is it? What did you find?" Ryan had his hand on her shoulder. "You look like you've seen a ghost, detective."
Ruckus plucked the phone from Burly's hand before she could answer. He looked down at what she had seen. He took out his little notebook and wrote down Greg's information for further investigation. He felt everyone was a suspect until proven innocent.
"Burly, where are you going after this?"
She looked up at him, "What? I'm sorry, I guess I was thinking and I didn't hear you."
"I said, where are you going after this?"
Burly shrugged her shoulders. "I was going to go to the other funeral home, but I think I might drop Ryan off and head to the office for a little while. I have some information I need to look up and I left my computer at work."
She stood there watching Greg across the room as he talked to some people. She knew John had gone to the gym, but could not remember if she had introduced the two of them. She knew she had talked about him to Greg, she talked to him about a lot of stuff in her life. He was a good listener, that was one thing she really liked about Greg. He also was not judgmental. He did not try to tell her what to do to fix her problems, he just listened.
Greg looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Burly. He gave her a half smile, nodded in her direction. She waved back to him. Something about his actions made her uneasy. He seemed out of place here.
Ruckus handed Burly back her phone again. "Call me later. I'm going to talk to Greg, catch up a little bit. Maybe drive by his house later and see if he is really packing. You be careful, Burly."
She nodded absently, reaching over and taking Ryan by the hand. Ryan smiled to himself. She led him out to the parking lot, to her car. There she stood with him, not sure what to do next. Ryan let go of her hand, walked around the car looking at the side.
"Um, detective, I have some bad news."
Looking up at him, she waited for him to go on. "I don't want anymore bad news, Ryan. But what?"
He gestured to the side of her car. Etched into her paint was a message, you're next. She squatted down next to her car and ran her hand over the message. She looked up at Ryan.
"Please don't tell Ruckus, not yet anyway."
He nodded. "Let's go. If you're going to the station, we better get going."
He opened the passenger door for her and she got in without argument. He got in behind the wheel and drove them to the gym. He parked in the back, away from the main road. She had only been back here one other time, waiting for Greg one day.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself, detective?" he asked her when he set the emergency brake.
Burly nodded. "I'll be fine. I'm going to a place that is swarming with police officers. I think I will be well protected."
He turned to look at her. She sat there in the dark, her face illuminated by the floodlight above the back door to the gym. He reached over, touched her hand. She smiled at him. "I'll be fine. Really, you can stop worrying about me."
He shook his head. "No, I can't stop worrying about you. I think about you all the time, worrying about when I will see you next. I can't explain it, but there is something about you, detective, that I feel like I have to protect."
She leaned over, kissed his cheek. "I'll be fine. You have to let me go, at least for now."
He got out of the car, walked around and opened Burly's door. He reached out his hand to help her out. She stood next to him for a moment. Looking around the parking lot, she did not see any other cars.
"How will you get home?" she asked him finally.
He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug for a moment, then let go. He looked down at her and smiled. One more minute with her would not hurt. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the back door to the gym. He unlocked the door with his keys and opened it. Inside, there was a motorcycle sitting in a storage room. "This is how I'll get home."
"I thought you were into muscle cars," she said mockingly.
"I am, but I don't like to drive mine to work and leave it in the parking lot all day. I'll show it to you soon, I promise."
Burly looked down at her watch, "I really have to go now, I'll call you when I leave the station."
"You'd better, I'll be waiting to hear from you."
By mcdaniel1299
| Author Note: | This is the chapter the story was created around. |
Burly sat in front of the computer for hours, with no luck. She could not find any information on that digital receiver. Every now and then, she would visit the web site that played the camera from John's house. Nothing had changed. It was late, after midnight and she was tired. Her office door was open, she had seen her partner come through about an hour ago, but he never came into the office.
Just on a hunch, Burly looked up John on myspace.com to see if he had a site. He did. It was a working site for his business. She did not find any clues as to who would have wanted to kill him or his brother. She did not find any clues as to who wanted her dead as well.
The phone on her desk rang and Burly jumped. "Detective Robertson, can I help you?"
She listened to the person on the other end of the phone and smiled. "No, I'm not home yet. I'm still working. I guess I lost track of time."
She listened some more. Her smile faded. "How did you know I'm not at home?"
"I see, you're sitting outside my apartment now. Go home, Ryan. I'm working."
Burly hung up the phone, got up from her desk and walked through the police department. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she knew she would know when she found it. Her walk took her to the locker room. She went to her locker and opened it. She didn't use it much anymore since she was promoted to detective, but she did have stuff in it from when she was a patrol officer. She opened up the locker and looked through it. She had a uniform and a bullet proof vest.
She pulled the vest out, held it up in front of herself. Wonder if it still fits, she thought to herself. I just might need this.
She took off the blouse she was wearing and stood in her tank top. She put the bullet proof vest on, then put her blouse back on. She looked at herself in the mirror. If you weren't looking for the vest, it wasn't noticeable. She left it on and headed back to her desk.
Ruckus was sitting in their office when she got back. He looked up at her as she entered through the door. "It's late. You should call it a night."
"I was thinking the same for you. Did you talk to Greg?"
He nodded. "Went back to his house with him. He had been packing, but his house is a mess. I watched him leave with a truck full of junk from his house. I'm going to keep an eye on him, that's for sure. He gave me his number at the beach so I might just call him every now and then to check up on him. See where he's at."
Burly yawned. She had been up since very early this morning. She had been riding an emotional rollercoaster all week and she was tired. "I'm going home, Ruckus. Call me if anything changes."
He nodded again as she grabbed her jacket and headed out to her car. Ruckus did not seem to notice that she was wearing the vest. She left it on, better to be safe than sorry. All the way out to her car, she thought about everything that had happened this week. She thought about Ryan, he seemed to be a good guy, but she wasn't sure. Why had he gone to her apartment? Did he just want to see her? Did he have other reasons behind being so nice to her?
At her car, she looked at the letters etched in her paint on the door. She was disgusted at the fact that whoever this was tormenting her, they were close and knew how to hurt her. This would soon be over, she thought to herself as she unlocked the door. She threw her jacket on the passenger seat and took her holster off her belt before she got in. It was a bad habit she had, but she laid her gun on the seat next to her jacket.
She got in, put her seatbelt on and started the car. She had just put the car in gear when she went to check her mirror and noticed that her rearview mirror was missing. She could've swore it was there when she drove to the station earlier this evening. What had happened to it? She looked on the floor by her feet, then over on the passenger side floor.
She felt pressure on her side all of a sudden, someone was in the car with her. She sat upright, putting both her hands on the steering wheel. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
In an instant, a gloved hand was over her mouth, stifling any scream she might have. "Don't turn around, and I might let you live." The pressure on her side returned and she realized the person had a knife, though it wouldn't penetrate the Kevlar of the vest. She kept still, hoping her attacker wouldn't notice that she was wearing the vest.
"Don't make a sound, keep both hands on the wheel and drive. Understand?" he asked.
Burly nodded. She tried to suck in a deep breath through her nose, but couldn't. The man removed his hand. She took a long, deep breath before moving. Out of the corner of her eye, she seen the man reach up and take her gun from the seat next to her.
She did not recognize the voice, it was just a whisper. His clothes on his arm were not familiar and he was wearing gloves. She sat still, both hands on the wheel. Waiting. Waiting for him to tell her what to do next.
"Thank you, detective, you have made this way too easy for me. Now drive."
Burly sighed. "Which way?" she asked quietly, trying to keep her composure.
"Go left at the stop sign. We're going up to the mountains, towards the slopes. Hope your up for a ride, we have quite a ways to go. Remember, no erratic driving, bring no attention to yourself or this could get really ugly."
She nodded again and pulled the car onto the road. "Shifting gears isn't going to be easy if I have to keep both hands on the wheel."
The man blew out an exasperated sigh. "Don't be funny. Drive, but do not turn around. This isn't a joke. You won't solve this case. I have a knife and your gun, so any sudden movements and you become a victim in this case too."
A cold chill crept down Burly's spine. She knew that no one would be missing her for a while. She was supposed to be off tomorrow and she not so nicely told Ryan to go home earlier, she was afraid she may have scared him away. Or could this man behind her be Ryan, his little sick way of ending this case. No. She couldn't think about that, it couldn't be the man she was falling in love with.
She realized she might very well be in trouble she couldn't get herself out of. She thought of her father. How she just might see him sooner than she had expected. She thought of her mother, wondered if things between them might be different if she had chosen a different career. She thought of each of the victims of this weeks crimes, what they might have thought of before they died. Were their deaths quick, painless? Did they suffer agonizing deaths and know that this man enjoyed watching them suffer?
She said a silent little prayer that someone would need her for something right now. She prayed that her phone would ring, or her radio would call for her. She wondered how big her attacker was. Would she be able to take him in a hand to hand fight? She wasn't sure if he had any other weapons, other than the knife and her gun. She remembered she had her 38 strapped to her ankle, but that would do her no good while she was driving. Her attacker had the advantage, he could see everything she was doing in front of him, but she could not see what was going on behind her.
"This is a nice car, detective," he sneered, driving the blade of his knife into the backseat of her car with such force the only thing left out was the handle. The sound of the ripping leather made Burly sick to her stomach, causing her to shudder. She knew this man was dangerous.
"Now do I have your attention? Do I make myself clear, detective?" was all he asked from the backseat.
Burly just nodded. Why did he keep calling her that? Only one person called her detective. That was Ryan and he was back in town, she hoped. Was he doing it to mess with her head. She tried to think of a way to get herself out of this mess but couldn't think of anyway to escape. She prayed for a miracle again when a noise came from the passenger seat, startling both Burly and her abductor.
"That's my phone, my partner. If I don't answer it, he'll come looking for me."
He huffed, "Answer it, but any indication of what is going on and I will shoot you with your own gun."
"Uh-huh," she said to the backseat as she picked up the phone, flipping it open quickly before they hung up. "Hello," she said into the receiver.
She was grateful to hear Ruckus on the other line, hoping the man in the backseat couldn't hear what he was saying. He apologized for calling so late, but he wanted to let her know that she forgot her computer at the office. Burly okayed him throughout the entire conversation, then finally said, "I'm almost home Stephen, I'll see you in the morning."
She barely heard him when he said they were off tomorrow for the funeral, then she repeated herself. "I'm pulling into the driveway now, Stephen, I'll see you in the morning."
The man snatched the phone from her and turned it off, she just took a deep breath and kept driving. They had been gone about forty-five minutes, she just hoped Ruckus would catch on to something bad going on by her calling him Stephen. She never called him by his first name, but Ruckus sometimes looked over clues that were right under his nose.
Burly stopped trying to think. She was tired. She was emotionally spent. She glanced at the dash, seeking out the glow of the radio clock. Almost two hours had passed now since they had left the police department. She was getting pretty close to where she wanted to end her run. She hoped her endurance was better than her abductors since she was about to ditch her car and make a run for it in the woods. She turned on her signal light and was about to turn down a little side road when he tapped her on the shoulder with the end of her gun.
"I don't think so, all the way to the top of this here mountain. Go to the parking lot by the ski lodge and gift shop," he instructed her.
She drove on. She thought about what he told her. He probably had a car waiting for him there. Maybe he had an accomplice, which meant he was not done with her yet. If he made her leave her car, there was no way anyone would find her. When she had bought it a few months earlier, Ruckus had convinced her to have LoJack installed in her car in case it ever went missing. She never once thought it might go missing with her in it. She could not let him take her anywhere. She thought for a moment. When she had gotten in the car, she had put her seatbelt on. The way the man behind her was sitting, halfway between the two bucket seats in the back, he didn't have a seat belt on. She weighed the options of crashing her car and hopefully injuring her captor to be able to get away. It broke her heart to think about totaling her car just to get away, but she could always get another car, she feared what this guy could do to her. He had a knife and her gun, how could she have let her guard down so much when she felt safe at the police station.
She could see the sign for the ski lodge just ahead. She increased her speed, even though it had started snowing here in the higher elevations. Her abductor must have read her thoughts, he started to say something when she pulled her car onto the shoulder and into a giant oak tree. The sudden impact and the deployment of the airbag knocked the air out of her and stunned her.
By mcdaniel1299
Ruckus hung the phone up and picked up his jacket. It had been a long day for him and Burly. An emotional day as well. He grabbed his keys from his desk and headed out the back entrance to the police department. He stood at the door for a moment and looked around.
He strode over to his truck, thinking about Burly's odd conversation on the phone a few minutes ago. He figured she just wasn't paying attention and was tired. She was probably thinking about the case or maybe her new man. He knew this case was bothering her, having her closest friends murdered, a business colleague beaten badly. But that was no reason for her to totally tune him out and talk nonsense.
By the time he pulled his truck into his driveway, he realized two things about their conversation that was totally out of context for Burly. First, she should have been home by the time he called her, she didn't live that far from the station. And second, she had called him Stephen. Only when she was really mad at him for being stubborn on a case did she ever call him by his first name, and only then it was like a mother scolding her child by using their whole name.
"Something isn't right," he said out loud to himself, "it will only take a minute for me to go check on her, make sure she got home alright. Let her get mad at me for over-reacting."
With that thought he backed his truck out of his driveway and headed towards Burly's apartment. Less than twenty minutes later he was driving through the complex parking lot looking for her mustang, not seeing it anywhere. He parked his truck and headed for the stairs to her apartment. Knocking on her door, he tried to think of where she could be. He knocked a second time but did not get an answer so he decided to use his key. He let himself in and looked around, nothing was out of place, except the fact that Burly was not there.
On the counter was a piece of paper. Ruckus walked over and picked it up. It had Ryan's phone numbers on it. Maybe she was with him. He took out his cell phone and tried Burly again. Her phone rang one time and went straight to her voicemail. It must have been turned off. He looked at the piece of paper again, he dialed Ryan's house number. A sleepy Ryan answered.
"Sorry to wake you, Ryan. Is Burly there? She's not answering her phone."
Ruckus listened as Ryan told him what had happened to her car at the funeral home. He also told him about the conversation they had on the phone earlier. "So, she's not there?"
"I'll call you as soon as I know anything, but if you should hear from her, call me." Ruckus gave Ryan his cell phone number and hung up. He put his phone back in his pocket.
Where are you, Burly? he thought to himself. He locked the door on his way out and headed back to his truck. He was grateful that Burly had insisted he take an extra key to her apartment. She had a bad habit of locking herself out and had no family in town to bring her a key. Calling a locksmith a couple of times became expensive. She had also given him a key to her car. She felt safe with him, like he was the older brother she never had growing up. Ruckus felt the same about Burly too, she was like a little sister to him. That is why he had to find out where she was.
Burly had been gone from the station for about two hours now and Ruckus was getting worried. He headed straight back to the station. When he got there, he went directly to her laptop and logged on. He was the one who convinced her to get LoJack installed on her new car, to protect it in case it was ever stolen. He knew how much she liked her car, for a while it was all she talked about. Navigating through several screens, he finally located the LoJack transceiver from her car. It was still moving, heading towards the mountains of North Carolina.
"Ruckus, what are you doing back here? I thought you left."
Ruckus looked up from the computer. "I did. Burly never made it home, I can't get her on the phone. I thought I would see where she was using LoJack and she's over the state line in North Carolina. Something is wrong, she wouldn't drive up there in the middle of the night, knowing she has a funeral to go to tomorrow. That's just not like her," Ruckus answered his colleague. "I'm going after her."
The other detective nodded. He knew how the two got along. They made a good team, solving more cases than most other detectives in the department. Ruckus grabbed the computer off Burly's desk and headed back out to the parking lot.
Ruckus set the laptop up in his truck so that he could watch where her car went as he drove. He followed the same route that he believed Burly took, exceeding the speed limit as he went. Glancing at the screen, he noticed that her car was stationary now. He wondered if she was alright or if something had happened to her. He debated whether or not to alert law enforcement around where her car was or to handle this on his own. He decided he wanted to handle this himself.
Burly had braced herself for the impact, driving her ankles into the floorboard. She heard the sound of metal crunching against the tree, her radiator exploding. The air bag deployed, knocking the air out of her and the powder residue burning her eyes. She heard a sickening pop and felt her knee buckle before she passed out.
When she opened her eyes again, her vision was blurred. Her captor was standing over her pulling her hand through the steering wheel and handcuffing it to her other hand.
"You stupid, stupid woman. I was going to kill you quickly, now you can suffer," he spat at her as he hit her across the face with her gun, knocking her out. He threw the gun onto the dashboard and left her there, handcuffed to the steering wheel wearing only the blouse and pantsuit she had on for the wake earlier. Her jacket sat on the passenger seat next to her. He left the car door open, hoping she would freeze to death before anyone found her.
Burly woke up, shivering in the cold. She looked around and was thankful she was finally alone. Her head hurt so bad that it pained her to focus on anything. She noticed her car keys sitting on the floor of the passenger seat. She knew she couldn't reach them with her hands, she tried to twist around to use her feet but realized that was impossible when the pain shot through her left leg. She cried out, hoping somebody would hear her. Trying not to move around too much more, she saw her gun sitting on the dashboard. She leaned forward as far as she could and reached with her fingertips until she got her gun in her hands.
Trembling in the freezing air, she leaned her head against the steering wheel and sobbed, in both pain and fear. She knew that her chance of rescue were getting slimmer with each passing minute. She knew her car was wrapped around a tree on a side street in the very early morning during a snow storm. Everyone in their right minds were asleep and at home.
Ruckus rounded the corner, phone in his hand talking to the local police, when he finally saw Burly's mustang wrapped around the tree. He asked them to send an ambulance when he got close enough to the car and seen Burly leaned up against the steering wheel. He threw the truck in park and jumped out. He ran straight over to see if she was alright.
"Burly! Burly!" he shouted as he got to the car. He pushed the door open further and touched Burly's shoulder.
All at once, Burly's head shot up and she raised her gun at Ruckus, thinking her abductor was back to finish the job.
Ruckus backed up and grabbed the gun, "Whoa, it's me Burly. You're going to be alright. Help is on the way." He knelt down beside her. He took his keys out and unlocked the handcuffs. Supporting her head and neck, he leaned her back against the seat. He then took off his jacket and draped it over her. She was cold to the touch and still shaking.
"Can you hear me, Burly?" Ruckus asked as he checked for major bleeding and broken bones.
Burly started nodding her head, but Ruckus stopped her. "Don't move, I don't know how bad you're hurt and you don't want to risk any further injury."
Her teeth were chattering so hard that Ruckus thought she might chip a tooth or two. "I'm so cold, Ruckus. My chest hurts and I can't breathe," she wheezed. "There was someone in the car when I left work, Ruck. He had a knife. He hit me with my gun."
Ruckus moved his jacket a little and pulled Burly's shirt away from her chest enough to check for anything that might cause her discomfort. Seeing the bullet proof vest, he thought if maybe he loosened the straps, she might breathe easier. He lifted her shirt up so that he could reach the side straps and unfastened the Velcro. She immediately took in a deeper breath, but still wheezed.
He covered her back up with his jacket and started checking her legs for injuries, thankful he could hear the sound of the siren coming closer. He barely touched Burly's left knee when she cried out.
"Stop, I can't take it." she cried in between gasps. "My other gun is around that ankle, see if you can get it off, but please don't touch my knee."
Ruckus knelt down in the snow again and lifted her pant leg up enough so that he could take off her holster. He put her gun in his truck and brought back a blanket. He covered her in it and held her hand. "Help is almost here."
The ambulance parked and a police car pulled up as the paramedics started toward Ruckus and Burly. The officer approached Ruckus, "You the guy I was talking to on the phone?"
Ruckus held up his badge, "Yes sir, this is my partner Kimburly Robertson. She said there was someone in her car with a knife and made her drive up here."
"Let the paramedics get her in the ambulance and we'll have a look around. I've already called for a canine unit, to see if we can pick up a trail of any kind, if there was really somebody in the car with her," the uniformed officer said.
Ruckus nodded. He watched the paramedics works on his partner. They put a neck brace on her and strapped her to a back board before loading her on a stretcher. They quickly moved her to the back of the ambulance to get her out of the snow and freezing temperatures. One of the paramedics motioned for Ruckus to come in the back of the ambulance.
"She wants to talk to you for a minute before we go to the hospital."
Ruckus moved up toward Burly's head so he could hear her through the oxygen mask. "Come with me, Ruckus. I don't want to go by myself."
He shook his head. "I'm gonna check out your car, see if this guy left anything behind. I also want to see if the dog can pick up a trail or not. I seen blood near the front of the car and I don't think it was yours considering you were handcuffed to the steering wheel. Besides, your only bleeding where you hit your head and its not that bad."
Burly reached up her hand and touched the left side of her face, her eye already swelling where she had been hit with her gun. "He did this, not the car accident. I was trying to get away, hurt him, not myself."
"You go with the paramedics, get checked out at the hospital. I will be there in a little while, I promise. I just want to see if I can help out here. If that guy is still around, I want a piece of him."
Burly reached her hand over to his chest. "Thank you."
He put his own hand over hers, "For what, Burly?"
"Coming after me, finding me, saving me."
He put her hand on the stretcher next to her. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll meet you at the hospital in a little while. I will probably end up having to wait for you." With that said, he got up to go back outside to her car. The paramedic handed him back his jacket as he stepped out in to the snow.
The canine officer had just pulled up when Ruckus made it back to the car.
Ruckus walked into the hospital room. He dropped her backpack on the table. Burly laid in the bed, both eyes closed. He wasn't sure if she was sleeping or not. Slowly, he walked over to the bed. He gently held her right hand.
Burly half opened her good eye. "It's just a concussion. The doctor said he wanted me to stay overnight for observation. I'm going to be alright."
He sat down on the side of the bed. He kept her hand in his. She watched him sit there. "Are you going to say anything? Or just sit there like someone ran over your dog?"
"You didn't find him, did you? The dog, he didn't pick up a scent?" she asked when he didn't answer.
Ruckus watched her go through the emotions of tired and playful to totally pissed off. "Do I have to do everything?" She snatched her hand from his, sitting up, flinging the covers over and swinging her feet over the side of the bed. Her head started swimming, the room blurred in front of her. Pain shot up her left leg as it bent over the side. She lurched forward, Ruckus catching her elbow before she fell off the bed.
He held onto her arm as he moved to the other side. He picked her up and sat her down on the bed. He straightened the blanket over her, adjusting the pillow under her head. He sat back down next to her, knowing she wouldn't try to get up again. He picked up her hand and held it.
Ruckus hung his head forward. He ran his other hand through his hair, slightly shaking his head. "I am so sorry, Burly."
She squeezed his hand. "For what? This?"
He nodded.
She let go of his hand, tried to sit up a little in the bed. Her head started throbbing and she thought better of the idea. She sank back into the pillow. "You had nothing to do with this. I'm still trying to figure out what I have to do with it. Who has such a vendetta against me to kill all my friends. It has just escalated to an even higher personal level."
"I should have walked you out to your car last night. Then maybe this never would've happened."
"Do you really think I would've let you do that? I ignored the warning signs and was totally distracted last night when I walked out to my car. I paid no attention to my surroundings, then I took my jacket and gun off as I got in the car."
"I want to know a couple of things though, Burly."
Burly looked away from her partner. She knew the side of her car was not crumpled enough for him not to notice what was scratched into the side. She hated confrontations, but knew it was coming.
"How long were you going to keep the vandalism of your car from me?"
She attempted a shrug, wincing against the sore muscles. "I don't know. I just didn't want to worry you."
"And you don't think this worries me? Knowing that this maniac almost killed you, is tearing me up. Not to mention what Captain Ross is going to say, you do realize he will take you off this case now, if not put you in protective custody. Do you know how many times Ryan has called my cell phone since last night?"
Burly looked at her partner, still perched on the side of her bed. "Ryan called you?"
Ruckus shrugged. "I called him first, looking for you when I couldn't get you on the phone. I went to your apartment and you weren't there. I didn't know where else you might have gone. I saw his number on a paper in your kitchen, so I called him. Woke him up, actually. He must have called me at least every thirty minutes since then to see if I had found you. I got a little tired of hearing from him."
The door opened, both Burly and Ruckus looked up at who was entering. Ryan placed a bag on the table and went directly over to Burly's other side. Very gently, he lifted her chin with his hand and inspected her face.
"You are a mess."
Burly had to smile, he was trying to be funny. She could see the hurt in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"When I found out that you were being admitted, I called him to let him know. He said he would stay with you tonight and bring you home tomorrow," Ruckus said as he got up off the bed. "I'm tired. I caught a nap in the waiting room while you were in the emergency room, but I am going home and going to bed. Your car is on the way back to our department, on the back of a rollback, to be inspected by our forensics unit. I have spoken briefly to Captain Ross, who is waiting to hear from you."
Ruckus took out his cell phone and handed it to her. "You might as well get it over with. I need to speak to Ryan for a minute, we'll go in the hallway to give you some privacy."
The two men walked into the hallway, leaving the door cracked behind them so they could keep an ear open for Burly. Neither man wanted to leave her alone.
"Just a word of caution, Ryan, she hates doctors and she hates hospitals even more. She gets very nervous and edgy. Don't take anything she says to seriously. The last time she was in a hospital, when she was shot, she had nightmares while she was there. I have already spoke to her attending physician and I think he is going to give her something to help her sleep. She doesn't know, she would refuse anything like that."
"I understand. Don't worry, I'll take care of her. How bad did she get hurt? Her face looks bad, did she break anything?"
Ruckus shook his head. "Nothing broken, but she will be off her feet for awhile. She messed up her knee several years ago, when she was in the army. Well, she has injured it again. The doctor has assured me that it is not serious, he just wants her on crutches as a precaution. This will work for us though, since I got an idea waiting for her to be put in a room."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "An idea? Will this put her in more danger than she put herself into?"
"No," Ruckus laughed. "I would never put her in harms way. This will actually keep her safer than if I let her make her own decisions about what to do next. You see, Captain Ross is telling her right now that she needs to take a few days off, she has no choice in the matter. In the meantime I need to ask you a big favor."
After peering through the crack in the door and seeing Burly look defeated, Ryan turned to Ruckus. "Anything. What is it?"
Ruckus explained what he needed Ryan to do. "I need someone to be with her at all times, which she will not like since she is so damned independent. She would have a hard time going home, her apartment is on the second floor. I would take her to my house, except that I have four young children I don't want to expose to this madman. Would you mind letting her stay with you?" Ryan nodded and Ruckus continued. "There is a reporter that I am going to contact about what happened. I'm not going to tell her the whole truth, leave out some details. I will give her pictures of the car and leave it that she was injured in the wreck and admitted to the hospital."
"I'm not sure I understand where you're going with this."
"She needs time to heal, we don't want this guy to get to her until she's back on her feet. The story will buy us some time. It will also buy you some time to keep her under your thumb, convince her she needs you."
Ryan smiled. He liked this idea. "I will keep her safe until she's better. We should go back in," he looked through the crack in the door. Burly turned off the phone and threw it down on the bed. "She's done on the phone and she's not very happy."
The two men went back in the room. Ryan sat down at the table, trying to give Burly time to brood over being told to take time off. Ruckus, on the other hand, walked over to the bed, retrieved his phone from the foot of the bed and sat down beside her again. She wouldn't look at either one.
"My other question, Burly, is why did you have that bullet proof vest on last night?"
She just shrugged. She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. "I'm tired. You two should go home."
"Ryan is going to stay with you tonight and bring you to his house tomorrow. You're going to stay with him until you get back on your feet."
Burly sat up in the bed, too fast. The room started swimming and she couldn't focus on either man. Between her headache and the pain medicine, she was a little dizzy. She sat back, then answered very quietly, "I don't need a babysitter."
Ryan smiled. This was going to be a battle of wits between the two of them. He was looking forward to the challenge, of course he had the upper hand at the moment. "I'm not babysitting, I staying with you because you scared me to death. I thought I lost you." Lost you before I even got you, he thought to himself.
She blushed. She knew Ryan liked her, liked her a lot. He had been trying to get her to agree to go out since the day they met. She pulled the blanket up higher around her chest. Ruckus moved off the bed and helped cover her up. She had not fully warmed up since he found her.
"The vest, Burl. Why were you wearing the vest?" he asked as he straightened the cover.
She looked at him, tried focusing on his face. "I don't know. After I spoke to Ryan and knew that he had gone to my apartment, I guess I got spooked. I took a walk through the department and ended up in front of my locker. I tried it on, hadn't worn it since I was on patrol, and just left it. You didn't notice when I seen you back in the office before I left. Guess it's a good thing that I did have it on."
"Yes, it is. I have all your stuff in the car on the way to be checked out. You can have it back when they're done with it. Get some rest and be nice to Ryan."
Ruckus leaned over and kissed Burly on the forehead, like he had done in the ambulance. She tried to smile, but the painkillers were starting to work and she was feeling extremely drowsy. "Thank you, again, Ruckus. I owe you big time for keeping you out all night on this wild goose chase."
"Your welcome. You get better, then we'll be even."
He walked over to Ryan, extended his hand. They shook hands. "Thanks for coming. She's a special girl, take care of her."
"I will. Be careful driving home, you sure you're alright to drive?"
Ruckus nodded. "I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee on my way out and I'll be fine. Good luck with her. You're going to need it."
Ruckus left. It appeared that Burly had fallen asleep for a little while. Ryan sat there at the table and read the newspaper. He would glance over at her in the bed, resting uneasily. She would move slightly, uncomfortable in a position and moan quietly in pain. She woke up completely when she involuntarily tried to bend her leg in her sleep.
Ryan was by her side in an instant. "Relax, detective. Take a deep breath and the pain will subside." He sat down on the bed where Ruckus had been a little while earlier.
Burly reached over and put her hand on Ryan's thigh. He covered her hand with his. "You didn't have to come."
He turned to look at her better. She had closed her eyes again, fighting against the pain in her leg. "I know. But when Ruckus told me you were in that accident, and that you told him there had been someone in the car, I needed to see for myself that you were alright. I told you before, I really like you, detective. Let me help you."
She shook her head slightly. "This is my fight. I don't need to get anyone else hurt. Just take me home tomorrow and give me some time."
Ryan sat there. He knew he wouldn't do that. He had told her partner that he would look after her until she was back on her feet. He squeezed her hand, "Okay." He agreed with her to keep her happy for the moment. He didn't need her spending her energy on arguing with him.
"Thank you," she said, leaving her hand on his leg and relaxing against him.
"Detective?"
Burly opened her good eye, the other swollen and painful.
"Before you drift back off to sleep, tell me how bad you got hurt. I want to know if your partner was straight with me."
Burly smiled. "He probably knows more than I do right now. You have to remember that I'm the one on painkillers right now. My head feels like it is filled with cotton balls, with someone hitting it with a rubber mallet. I would probably not be able to stand up by myself if I wanted to, if I hadn't sprained my knee. As far as I can tell, and I can remember the doctor telling me, I have a mild concussion and a sprained knee. I suffered mild hypothermia being in the cold for a while. Those are the worst of the injuries. Of course, I have several bruises and pulled muscles. I feel like I've been drug behind a truck. I'm tired. I ran on adrenaline all night."
Ryan stood up. "Please, Ryan, don't get up. Sit with me please, for a few minutes. I don't want to be alone."
He sat back down, her hand in his. He smoothed the hair off her forehead with a gentle caress. He tucked the short strands behind her ears. He traced around the bruise and welt on the left side of her face. She sucked in a breath. He carefully brushed the hair out of the dried blood by her eyebrow.
"I don't mean to hurt you, detective."
"I know, you're not really, it's just you touching me in general. I'm not used to someone touching me."
Ryan smiled at her. "How long has it been, detective?"
Burly shook her head. "Too long."
Ryan cupped her chin, leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "You get some rest, get better and I'll remedy that situation for you."
She blushed. She could feel the warmth emanating from his body so close to hers. She had been cold all day, having been handcuffed to her steering wheel and left in the snow with the door open for hours. She reached up, tugging at the collar of his shirt, pulling him down towards her. She kissed his cheek, "Thank you, for coming all the way here to see me."
Ryan gently kissed her on the mouth. He sat back upright. "Your welcome. You get some rest, I'll sit right here until you fall asleep."
She closed her eyes, sleep coming fast to her overtired body. When she woke up, it was dark in the room. She forgot where she was, who was with her. She tried to sit up, her head throbbing. Only one eye opened, her face felt swollen and distorted. She started to panic. Her breathing became fast and labored.
Ryan woke up, turned on a small light. Burly had a crazed expression on her face. She was starting to hyperventilate. She started thrashing about in the bed, started to scream for help.
"Shh," Ryan quickly placed his hand gently over Burly's mouth, to keep her quiet. He also covered her body with his just enough to keep her still. He looked her directly in the eyes and seen the sheer terror she was feeling.
"It's alright, detective. Nobody is here but you and me. You know I won't hurt you, right?"
Burly nodded under his hand. "If I move my hand, you're not going to scream, are you?" She shook her head no.
"Okay. I'm gonna take my hand away and move off you, but you need to be still so you don't further injure yourself."
He moved off of her, but sat on the edge of the bed until she completely calmed down. Burly reached up and rubbed her left shoulder where Ryan's forearm had laid.
"Are you alright now?"
Burly couldn't talk yet, she was still a little disoriented and in a lot of pain. She just kept rubbing her shoulder. Ryan reached over, taking her hand down. He moved the hospital gown over enough to expose her shoulder and the big purple bruise on it.
"I am so sorry, detective. I really didn't mean to hurt you. If I had known you had that bruise, I wouldn't have put so much pressure on you. I just didn't want you hurting yourself anymore."
She nodded. Her head hurt, her shoulder ached and her knee was throbbing. "Ryan, can you get the nurse and ask her if I can have anything for pain."
Ryan nodded, he walked out of the room for a moment, returning with a nurse. She handed Burly two pills and a glass of water. After she took them, the nurse took her vitals and left the room. Ryan sat back down on the bed.
Burly looked at him, a lonely tear streamed down her cheek. He reached up and gently brushed it away. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I guess I, I don't know. I feel like I've lost control. I can't see. Everything hurts. I'm sorry you had to be here."
Ryan shook his head. He lowered the side bed railing and moved closer to her. He smoothed her hair back away from her face. "I didn't have to be here, but I chose to. I was worried about you, when Ruckus told me what happened, I had to make sure you were alright. I had to see with my own eyes that you were going to be okay. I don't like to see people I care about hurt, but it's my job to make them feel better."
Another tear escaped Burly's good eye. "You really care about me? You only met me a few days ago."
"So what. I knew the moment I saw you that I had to have you. You're going to think I'm crazy, but it was like love at first sight. I even thought it was cute how you were going to arrest me for looking in your car." Ryan brushed away another tear. "Please don't cry now, detective."
Burly turned her face away from Ryan. He put his hand under her chin and made her look at him. "You might as well get used to me, I'm not going anywhere."
"I don't have a choice in this whole situation?"
Ryan cocked his head at an angle. "You could tell me that you don't want me, but you'd be lying. You're heart and body have already said they do."
"Alright, I'm not one to give in so easily, but you have the advantage right now. I just don't have the strength left to argue. But I don't give up control very easily, I hope you understand that."
"I understand, detective."
Burly looked at her wrist to check the time only to notice her watch was not there. She visually searched the small table directly beside the bed. "Hey, did Ruckus leave any of my stuff?"
Ryan got up and walked to the other side of the room. He picked up her backpack, bringing it back to the bed. She pushed herself up to a sitting position with a groan. She searched through the front pocket, pulling out an eyeglass case.
"Those won't be of much help."
Burly looked up at him. "They will, since my good eye is swollen shut. At least I will be able to see a little."
Ryan held out his hand and waited for Burly to give him the glasses. She put the case in his hand and crossed her arms over her breasts. He put the case on the table, the backpack on the floor. He disappeared out of the room for a moment. When he returned, he had two ice packs. He walked up to the left side of the bed.
Burly had to turn her head to look at him. She started to say something, but quickly changed her mind when he reclined the head of the bed. When she was almost laying flat, Ryan straightened her head with his hand against her chin. He sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently placed one of the ice packs on her shoulder, the other on her face.
"These are cold," she gasped when he left them there.
He shook his head and laughed. "That's the whole point, it will help with the swelling."
Burly tried to relax, she sighed. "You'll need to move the one on my shoulder if you want to cover the whole bruise." She peeked through her good eye. He was close enough for her to see his confused expression. She smiled.
"I think your pain meds are starting to kick in, and though the thought has crossed my mind, detective, I am not going to take advantage of you in your current drugged state. You do seem a bit more relaxed around me now."
He got up from the bed and walked over to the chair. He sighed, sat down. "It's still very early, detective. Get some sleep."
Burly picked her head up off the pillow and tried to look at him. "What time is it?"
"Time for you to go back to sleep. The doctor usually does his rounds at about seven. That gives you about three hours of beauty rest, and trust me, detective, you need all of it that you can get right now."
Burly chucked the ice pack from her shoulder at him, hitting him square in the chest. "You really know how to make a girl feel good."
"I'm sorry, it was not meant to offend. I was trying to make a joke." Ryan brought the ice pack back over to where he had left it on her shoulder. He stood there for a moment, just watching her. He knew the pain killers were finally working. The tension lines on her forehead were starting to relax. He did not like to see her like this, but knew if he came up here to see her, he just might win her trust.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly woke up to the sound of the television. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked toward the chair. Ryan was sitting there watching the morning news, drinking coffee. He turned and grinned at her, "Feeling better, detective?"
She tried stretching out some of her stiffness. "Some. You stayed all night, thank you."
He walked over and sat down on the bed with her. He helped her sit up against the pillows. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Your welcome, I wanted to spend time with you and I figured this way you couldn't give me any excuses and leave."
The door opened, letting in a doctor and a nurse. Burly looked from them to the eyeglass case on the table. Ryan moved from the bed to the chair.
"Miss Robertson, you look a little better than yesterday, when I saw you in the emergency room. How are you feeling?"
"Like I ran my car into a giant oak tree."
The nurse stifled a giggle, Ryan laughed. The doctor just smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see you still have your sense of humor."
"In my line of work, doctor, you have to have a sense of humor. But on a serious note, my head hurts and my leg aches. I'd really like to go home."
The doctor nodded. He did a brief exam and agreed to let her go. "I have talked to your orthopedic doctor and he has penciled you in for an appointment tomorrow. I also want you to see an ophthalmologist about your eye. I have written you two prescriptions for pain, one I want you to take for the next few days every six hours, the other is just a high dose of ibuprofen that you can take as needed after. I have written you out of work until you are released by your family doctor for your head, your orthopedic doctor for your knee and the ophthalmologist for that eye."
Ryan picked up her backpack and set it on the bed. He kissed the top of her head and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to stretch my legs."
By the time Ryan came back, Burly was dressed in her workout clothes. She even had her sneakers on. The clothes she had been wearing in the accident were in a plastic bag in Ruckus' truck. Burly was miserable. She still couldn't open her eye, her head ached with every movement. Her knee felt a little better though. The doctor had immobilized it with a brace that kept it in one position.
"I have my discharge papers, if you're ready to go." Burly waved the papers in the air for emphasis.
Ryan opened the door to the room and retrieved the wheelchair from the hallway. He pushed it toward her, stopping right in front. He locked the wheels. Burly tried to stand up, Ryan reached over and let her use him for support. He helped her turn around and sit down. The doctor had brought her a pair of crutches to use, he grabbed those. He also grabbed her backpack. He did a once over of the room, making sure they had everything. The nurse walked into the room to help them out.
Once they got to the lobby, Ryan took his jacket off and placed it over Burly like a blanket. He also handed her a pair of sunglasses, to keep her from squinting. He had moved his car to the front entrance and Burly could not believe her eyes. Ryan had told her that he drove a muscle car, but she had no idea that he meant a classic. Sitting in front of her was a true blue 1969 Chevrolet camaro z-28. It was beautiful.
"That is some car you have, Ryan," she said, scanning it from hood to trunk.
He loaded her stuff into the backseat. When he turned around, he was smiling. "I told you I had a thing for muscle cars. This is why I don't drive mine to work, but I thought you might like driving home in it."
He leaned over and picked her up out of the wheelchair. She put her hands around his neck, though he carried her effortlessly to the car. He gently set her inside, then helped her with her seatbelt, pulling his jacket up over her to keep her warm on the ride home.
Both rode most of the way home in silence, mostly because Ryan thought Burly had fallen asleep. She turned her head, seeking out a clock in the dash. This car had been made before digital clocks, so Burly would have to find out the time another way.
"Ryan?"
"Yes, detective," he glanced over towards her. "I thought you were sleeping."
"No. I've just been thinking. Trying to make sense of everything that's been happening. Do you know what time it is?"
Ryan checked his watch, "About noon. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Was my phone with my stuff? Did you notice?"
Ryan shook his head, then realized that Burly's bad eye was toward him and she probably couldn't see him well. "No, just those clothes. If you need to make a call, you can use my phone." He pulled a cell phone out from the jacket pocket on her lap and handed it to her.
"You don't mind?"
He hadn't let go of the phone when she had tried to take it from him. He pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles. "I don't mind. Go ahead."
Burly quickly dialed her partner's cell phone, knowing that she could reach him no matter where he was. She had a brief conversation with him in a hushed tone that Ryan could barely hear. She looked out the window as she spoke. When she was done, she closed the phone and handed it back.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes, but I need to ask a favor of you. My wallet and all my stuff is with Ruckus, do you mind taking me to the police department to get it, so I can get those prescriptions filled. I also need to get my computer, I don't want to leave it there while I'm out of work."
"Of course. We should be there in about forty-five minutes. Take a rest and I'll let you know when we get there."
Leaning her head back in the chair, she closed her eyes behind the borrowed sunglasses. The sun was bright today, as was the case many times the days after a good snow. They were now far enough south of the mountains that there was no longer any snow on the ground. It was still very cold outside, even under Ryan's jacket she shivered.
Ryan drove the rest of the way in silence. He pulled the car to a stop in front of the police department. Burly picked her head up when the ignition was turned off. She started to move the jacket to reach her seatbelt, but Ryan stopped her by placing his hand over hers.
"Are you sure you are feeling up to this? Going inside? Let me go get your stuff, I'll be right back."
Burly shook her head slightly. "If you weren't here, I'd be back at work now. I'm fine. We're just going in to get a few things, and I want to see how bad my car is. Humor me, please. We won't stay long."
After he got out of the car, he walked around to open her door. He helped her to her feet, steadying her by the open car door until he got the crutches out. He handed them to her, reaching back in to grab the jacket to put on her. When he stood back up, Burly was making her way up the curb to the sidewalk.
"Wait for me, so you don't hurt yourself again."
Burly waved an impatient hand of dismissal at him. "I told you, if it wasn't for you, I'd be back at work right now. I'm fine. Let's go."
She made her way to the door with ease. He realized that this wasn't the first time she had been on crutches. He opened the door for her and followed her back to her office. She had just made it to her desk when Captain Ross walked by.
"Burly Robertson. In my office now." He had used a harsh tone with her, and she knew he was not pleased. He did not wait around for her to explain.
She looked at her partner who was sitting at his desk. "He looks happy to see me. I'll be right back, get my stuff and give it to Ryan. Before I leave, I want to see my car."
She didn't give Ruckus a chance to answer, instead she left the office in search of her captain. His door was open, she poked her head around the corner to see if he had gone in.
"Come in and shut the door."
Burly did as she was told. She then stood in front of her superior officer, leaning on her crutches.
He sat at his desk. He was breathing hard and his face was flushed. She figured he was very angry at the sight of her. "Sit down." He motioned toward the chair.
"I'd rather stand, sir."
"Whatever. Why are you here? I thought I made myself clear on the phone yesterday about you taking some time off?"
She nodded. "You did, sir. I'm not here to work. Ruckus brought my stuff back with him, I need my wallet to get a prescription filled. I also need my gun, my phone and my computer. I can't come back until I get released by three different doctors, thanks to Ruckus and his big mouth."
"You just came for your stuff?"
Burly nodded. Captain Ross picked up his phone and called Ruckus at his desk, asked him the same questions to see if their stories matched. When he was finally satisfied that she was only picking up her things did the color in his face start to fade.
"When you come back to work, I am reassigning you."
"Sir, please don't do that. I know I got hurt, but that just means we are that much closer to finding out who did it. Please, sir, those were my friends. Let me finish what I started."
Captain Ross raked his hand through the little hair left on his head. "Burly, you are hurt. We have a forensics officer still in the hospital, in a coma. This is getting a little out of hand."
Hanging her head down, Burly spoke. "I understand, sir. You're probably going to put a male officer on the case, they could handle it better than I could. I understand. Can I go?"
"Wait. I see where you are going with this. I am not taking you off this case because you are a woman, I was because you got hurt. I don't want to see you back here until you are released from all three doctors, note in hand. Then I do not want to hear of you going anywhere by yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
Burly looked up, a small smile playing at the edge of her lips. "Crystal clear, sir."
Captain Ross shook his head. "Now I see why your father had the hardest time telling you no. He would be proud of you, Kimburly."
"Thank you, sir."
"Go home, get some rest."
Turning to leave his office, Burly caught the newspaper out of the corner of her good eye. The front page had a picture of her car on it, along with a picture of her. She reached over to the filing cabinet where it lay, picked it up, read what it said.
"What's this all about?"
By mcdaniel1299
"Burly, don't get mad. We needed to buy you some time to get better. Ruckus thought of using that reporter to run a story about your accident and leave it open about you being out of work, possibly still in the hospital."
She held the paper in front of her, studying the picture. "Ruckus did this?"
Captain Ross nodded. He sat and waited to see what Burly would do, how she would handle this.
"Can I keep this?" she held up the newspaper toward her superior. He nodded again.
Burly rolled up the newspaper, tucked it under her arm, and let herself out. She made her way back to her office. Once inside, she shut the door. Ruckus looked up at her standing just inside, in front of his desk. He could not read her expression. She just stood there. Ryan sat in a chair behind her.
Finally, she held up the paper. "You did this?"
He nodded. He watched her. She unfolded the paper, trying to focus on the article. Ryan got up from his chair, moving it toward her, sitting her in it and taking the crutches. She read the article, taking her time for two reasons. Her good eye was still swollen shut and tears clouded her other one. Finally, she looked up again.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I had a lot of time on my hands after the dog lost the scent and I went to the hospital to wait for you. I remember you saying something about that one reporter exaggerating the truth. Well, I gave her a few facts and let her fill in the blanks. I brought her your picture and a picture of the accident scene, I think she was actually drooling over that picture."
She looked confused. "But, why?"
Ruckus got up from his desk, walked over to her chair, knelt down to see eye to eye with her. "Because you're my partner. You're my friend. I lost somebody like that several years ago, I will do my darndest to protect the one I have now. You need time to heal, so, I bought you some."
He studied her face, examined the bruise on her cheek. He gingerly touched the few stitches by her eyebrow, plucking a strand of hair lose from the dried blood.
Darling, you look like hell. Go with Ryan and rest. That is the best thing for you right now."
She shook her head, slowly. "Not yet. I need my gun. Do you have it?"
He nodded. "I do. But I'm not giving it back until that eye opens up. I don't want you shooting me by accident. You don't need it right now, you've got Ryan."
"I'd feel even better with my gun."
Ruckus smiled at her. "I know you would. But I would feel a lot better knowing you could see what you're aiming at."
Burly stood up. "Have they finished processing the car yet?" She reached for her crutches, letting Ryan hand them to her.
Her partner also stood. "Not as of an hour ago. They are being extremely thorough. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you poking around down there. They never have before."
"Yeah, but one of their officers is in a coma because of me."
"They don't blame you, Burly. They told me that when I stopped in on my way home yesterday, to make sure your car made it there."
She looked at Ryan. "Want to see the car?"
"Not really, but I will go with you. I'm not about to let you out of my sight just yet."
She smiled, opened the door. He followed her out of the office. They went down a short hallway, through a door and down a small flight of steps. Burly took her time, knowing that Ryan was watching her every move. Once off the stairs, she picked up her pace.
"You going to a fire, detective?" he asked. "Doesn't anything slow you down?"
She stopped and faced him. She smiled. "Yes, I know of one thing that would slow me down."
Ryan leaned against the wall. "Really, what's that?"
She took a step toward him, motioned for him to lean closer. When his face was even with hers, she make like she was going to tell him something in his ear, but kissed him instead. She leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her close. She kissed him again, letting him return the kiss, then leaned back and looked up at him. He smiled down at her.
"Let's go see your car so I can take you home. I think you're delirious."
She laughed. He let go of her waist, helped her get her balance on her crutches again. She opened the door next to where she kissed him, motioned for him to go in.
"Excuse me, you can't be in here," a man said as soon as Ryan entered.
"It's alright, Mike. He's with me. I wanted to see my car, but I'm not allowed to be alone."
Mike walked over to them and looked at Burly for a long time. "Do you hurt as bad as you look?"
Burly smiled. "Worse. How bad is my car?"
"In a word, totaled. He turned and she finally took in the sight of the car.
She gasped. "My car."
"You were lucky. Most accidents like this end in fatalities. Ruckus said you were wearing a vest, good thing. The guy in your backseat, he hit your seat with such that it broke. It literally dislodged from the car. The seatbelt probably would have done some internal damage if you'd not been wearing the vest."
Burly made her way to the front of the car, the hood and fender buckled back toward the driver's door. The radiator and motor lay in pieces on the floor. Tree bark and branches lay on the windshield. She took in the grisly site of the car and shivered. She almost died in it.
Using her crutches, she moved down the car to the driver's side. There she looked through the open door. Inside the car, fingerprint dust covered most of the interior. Her rearview mirror still lay on the passenger seat floor. The seat did not sit level. There was a huge gash in the leather seat in the back where her abductor had slashed it with his knife.
Ryan put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "You've seen it. Can we go now?"
She nodded to him, "In just a minute." She turned to Mike who was examining something on a table nearby. "Mike, have you found anything?"
He shook his head. "Nothing substantial, but if anything pans out, you will be the first one I notify. Call on your cell?"
She nodded. "Thanks, Mike. I guess I have to go now, my ride is ready."
Ryan led Burly out of the garage. They walked silently back to her office. Once there, she sat down at her desk, resting her head in her hands. She sat there for a few minutes. "Okay, I'm ready to go now. Ruckus, can I have my gun now?"
"No, but stay here for a minute. I'll have Ryan move his car around back, by the truck, so that we can load your stuff in it."
"What stuff? All I need is right here." She motioned at the laptop in front of her.
"On my way in this morning, I had Linda follow me and get some of your clothes together. You'll be staying with Ryan for a few days, so your going to have something to change into."
"You were serious about me staying at his house?"
Ryan sat down on her desk. "I won't bite, unless you want me to. I live out in the country, good healing country."
"Fine. Go move the car. Make sure you get my gun with all the other stuff they packed." She looked him in the eye, "I need my gun before we leave."
The two men left the office, Burly rested her head in her hands. Time seemed to stand still for her. She wasn't scared in the sense that she felt like something would happen here, but she did not like being alone. She sat, watching people work outside her office door. No one seemed to notice her, or maybe they ignored her, afraid to say anything to her.
She sighed. The painkillers she had taken this morning at the hospital had completely wore off. Her head hurt again and her knee throbbed, even though she was not moving. It felt like she sat there for hours, but only minutes passed. The men returned, talking amongst themselves.
"Are you ready?" Ryan asked her.
She looked up at him, her eye lid heavy. She was tired and in pain. "Yes, let's go. We can go through the drive through at the pharmacy. I need to lay down."
Ryan helped her to her feet while Ruckus put her computer in her bag. He placed a couple files in the bag with her computer. Burly took her crutches and they slowly made their way out to the car.
Out in the parking lot, she scanned the cars as best she could with one eye. She was looking for people that did not belong. She was looking for what she missed the other night when she left work. Ryan opened the car door for her. She sat down, holding her crutches out for him to take. He put them in the back seat, then helped her with her seatbelt. He covered her with his jacket then, she had started shivering once they got outside.
Ryan walked around the car, getting in the driver's side. Ruckus knelt down beside Burly for a moment. He held out her cell phone, placing it in the jacket pocket. "I will call you in the morning to check on you. Stay by your phone, I don't want to have to go looking for you again."
She nodded. Ruckus looked at his partner. Both her eyes were closed now, she was on the verge of sleeping, he thought. He started to close the door, but stopped when she put her hand up.
"One more question, Ruck."
"You're freezing, Burly, can't it wait?"
She opened her eyes, even the swollen one opened this time. "How did you know? How did you know something was wrong? To come looking for me."
He tucked the jacket around her shoulder. "You called me Stephen. I knew then you were trying to tell me something. I just needed to figure out what. Now go, you need rest. You're exhausted. Spend a couple of days doing nothing, your body needs it. Don't try to be a hero."
She reached out for his hand, grasped it in hers. He leaned down to her. "You either."
"I won't."
She let go of his hand, letting him stand up and shut the door. He stepped away from the car, watched them back out of the space. He saw her get her phone out of the jacket pocket, turn it over in her hand. She wiped her finger over one side, holding it up to see the fingerprint dust on it. She smiled at him before they were out of the parking lot.
Burly laid her head back against the seat. She reached over with her left hand and put it on Ryan's thigh. He apparently was not expecting her touch, his muscle tightened. She smiled.
"You alright, detective?" he glanced over at her.
"No, I'm hungry and in pain. I don't think I'll ever warm up again."
He patted her hand lightly. "I will take care of all three of your problems very soon. We are pulling into the drug store now."
She realized she still didn't have her wallet with her insurance cards in it. She opened her mouth to say something when Ryan held up the wallet to her. "He knew you didn't have any pockets in those jogging pants, so he gave the wallet to me to hold onto."
Nodding in agreement with him, she dug out her card and some cash, handing it to him. He took only the card. "Take my money, Ryan."
"I will, when they give me a total. What do you want to eat? Tonight I am just going to pick something up on the way home, I'll cook for you tomorrow."
Burly was kind of shocked. "You cook?"
Ryan laughed. "I cook, I clean, I do laundry. I'd make a good house husband. I even give a good massage."
"I could use one of those."
"No. You're still too sore, too bruised. Maybe in a day or two. I have a really nice garden tub you could try out if you want."
Burly whimpered. "Oh, that would be nice."
He got her medicine, paying for it with the money she insisted he take. He then drove through a fast food restaurant and ordered a few things, more than enough since she never did tell him what she wanted. After that, he drove to his house.
The driveway wound around trees, almost a quarter of a mile from the road to the house. Burly had closed her eyes, slept since they had left the pharmacy. Ryan pulled the car into the garage, turned off the engine and shut the door. He quietly got out of the car, taking some of her stuff into the house. Once he moved everything, did he go around to the passenger side and open her door.
"Detective, we're here," he said quietly to her before he reached in and carefully picked her up. She leaned her head against his shoulder, her breathing even.
Inside, he laid her on the couch. She rolled on her side, slightly curling into a ball. Ryan watched her. She finally looked comfortable, not in pain. He didn't want to wake her, but she needed to eat something. He had seen her pick at some food at the hospital, but not really eat.
He knelt down on the floor beside the couch. He took her hand in his. Gently, he kissed the palm. She made a noise, he wasn't sure, but it sounded like she moaned. He kissed her palm again, this time she did moan. He kissed it on more time before placing her hand back on the couch.
"Don't stop, that felt good," she whispered to him without opening her eyes.
"Come eat, detective. Then I'll run you a bath and you can relax."
She opened her eyes, looked at him. She tried to sit up, pushing against sore muscles. He watched her, waited for her to ask for help. She didn't, he knew she wouldn't in the back of his mind. Burly Robertson was too strong of a person to admit that she needed help. She finally sat up straight, made a move to get up from the couch.
"Wait. I'll bring your food in here, so you don't have to move anymore. You've had a long day, detective. You've been through a lot." He got up from the floor, disappeared into the kitchen. Burly leaned back against the cushions, waited for him.
He brought some food into the living room. They ate together, not talking. After the food was gone, Ryan took the plates and trash into the kitchen. Burly felt a little better. He came back into the room carrying a towel and a robe.
She looked up at him. He smiled. He must have been serious about running her a bath after she ate. "How do you expect me to get in and out of the tub?"
He smiled again. She thought about it for a moment. "I will give you privacy, but I am not leaving you totally alone. If you need help, I will be close."
He handed her the crutches and led her down the hall to the master bedroom. On the bed was her duffle bag with her clothes. In the master bath, she noticed the tub was huge, probably big enough for both of them to sit in at the same time. She pushed that thought from her mind right now, she needed to regain her strength and feel better before she thought of such things.
"There is a platform around the entire tub. If you can get yourself to the platform, swing your legs over and put the robe on, I'll help you the rest of the way. I'm going to sit in the bedroom with the door open so that I can hear you, I expect to be able to hear you, or I'm coming in."
She nodded, sat down on the platform. Ryan left the room, but kept talking to her as she undressed. She carefully lowered herself into the water, relishing the warm water all around her. She talked to Ryan through the open door. She finally used her good leg and her arms to hoist herself onto the platform. Dressed in the robe, she used her crutches to carefully lead her back into the bedroom.
Ryan looked up at her, smiled. He had changed, wearing only a pair of shorts. "I'll let you get dressed, meet me in the living room?"
She nodded.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly woke up, tried to remember where she was. Her head felt funny. She couldn't move, she felt pinned. She thought. Ryan, she was at his house. They had been watching something on television and she fell asleep sitting with him. Where was she now? Why couldn't she move?
She remembered taking a bath, dressing. She had gone into the living room where Ryan had given her a pain pill and then insisted on examining her knee. He'd noticed the scar where she'd had surgery twelve years ago to repair some ligament damage she'd done in the army. She had to explain all that to him.
"I bet you'll be back on your feet by the end of the week. We'll see what your doctor says tomorrow."
He turned the television on, pulled her back against his chest. He covered her with the blanket folded over the top of the couch, held her. She finally started to warm up, stopped shivering against his body, absorbing his heat. The pain pills were working, her headache was easing off. She closed her eyes. That is all she remembered.
She lay there. Then she heard it, heard Ryan's breathing in her ear. He must have brought her to the bed with him last night after she fell asleep. Her cell phone started ringing, she didn't move.
"If you don't answer that, you know he'll come looking for you," he whispered in her ear. He loosened his hold on her and let her reach for the phone.
She flipped it open and hit the send button. "Hello."
She must have hit the speaker phone button, Ruckus' voice boomed in her ear. "Burly, is that you?"
She rubbed the sleep out of her eye, held the phone away from her ear. "Yes, Ruckus, it's me. What's up?"
"Just calling to check on you. Remind you that you have a doctors appointment this morning."
"I know. I'm getting up now."
"You're still in the bed?"
"Uh-huh."
"Are you alone?" he had a playful edge to his voice, teasing her.
Burly looked over at Ryan, knowing he had heard the entire conversation. He still had his eyes closed. His arm draped over her midsection and his leg possessively over her good one. "No, Ryan's here."
Ruckus laughed out loud. "Burly, you've only known him for a week, and you trust him enough to share his bed?"
"You've known him less than that and you trust him with my life. You volunteered me to stay here, remember? Where did you expect me to sleep? You can stop laughing, it's not funny. Nothing happened, we were just sleeping. Why am I having this conversation with you?"
"I'm sorry. I just called to see how you are this morning. Are you feeling any better?"
Burly thought about that for a minute, but before she could answer, Ryan spoke. "She feels fine to me."
She caught him with an elbow to the chest. "I don't know, I'll call you back after I get up and get moving."
"I'll be waiting, don't make me wait too long."
She closed her phone, dropped it on the nightstand next to the bed. She shifted her body in the bed, snuggling closer to Ryan. He in turn, pulled her closer to him. He held her, she let him.
"So, detective, do you feel any better?" his mouth was right beside her ear.
"I'm not as sore, but I haven't moved around yet either. My head feels funny, but I don't have a headache right now. I can even see this morning."
Ryan sat up on his elbow, looked down at her. He reached over and turned her head so that she looked at him. She blinked, both eyes focusing on him. The swelling had gone down, but her eye was completely bloodshot.
She smiled at him. "Can you explain how I got in your bed, Ryan?"
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I couldn't leave you in the living room all by yourself. How could I protect you so far away? My bed was big enough for both of us to sleep comfortably, so I brought you in here."
She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulled him close to her. She hugged him, "Thank you."
She sat up, reluctantly pulled away from him. "I think I'll take a shower to wake myself up."
He looked up at her, smiling. "Can I watch?"
She laughed. "So, what all happened last night?"
He sat back against the pillow. "Nothing. I brought you in here, thought you would be more comfortable than on the couch. You were cold, so I held you. That's all. You slept better last night, better than you did in the hospital. You didn't seem to dream as much."
She leaned over, propped herself up on her elbow. "I feel better. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel great, but I don't feel as bad as I did yesterday. I guess that bath helped last night."
"I think it was me holding you that made you feel better."
"Whatever. We have two hours before I have to be at the orthopedic doctor, I'm going to take a shower and get dressed."
"I'll meet you in the kitchen."
Burly used her crutches to help her to the bathroom. There she showered, dressed and dried her hair. On her way to the kitchen, her cell phone rang. She answered it. It was her ophthalmologist confirming an appointment for tomorrow. She was confused, she hadn't made any appointments for follow-up visits yet. She confirmed with the receptionist, wrote down the time on her hand and hung up her phone.
In the kitchen, something smelled good. She sat down at the table, watching Ryan cook. His back was to her. He glanced over his shoulder, flashing her a smile. "How do you like your eggs?"
"I don't, really. If I have to eat them, I prefer scrambled and drowned in ketchup. What else do you have?"
He shrugged, muscles rippling as he did. All he had on was shorts, they hung low on his hips. "I hadn't planned on having company so I don't have much. I need to go to the grocery store. You'll have to let me know what kind of food you like, so I know what to get."
"Anything but eggs is fine, unless you have ketchup. And if you make me drink orange juice, you better have Tums."
She reached over and picked up her computer bag. She unzipped it, pulled out her computer and set it up on the table. She opened it and turned it on. She leaned back in her chair waiting for it to load up.
"You are not working today, put it up."
"I'm not working, I'm going to read the paper. I have to check something, personal not business."
Ryan walked over to the table, set down a plate and a bottle of ketchup. He handed her a glass of orange juice and reached for the Tums out of the cabinet. Burly watched in awe as he moved. She had never seen him with so little clothing on and she couldn't take her eyes off of him.
"I think I have all the basic food groups for you here. So, push your computer to the side and eat."
"Yes, sir. Have I ever told you I hate being told what to do?"
He smiled, sitting down next to her with his own plate. "No, but you'll eat because I asked you to, not that I told you to. You need to build up your strength, so eat."
"I know. But what will you do with me when I have my strength back? I won't be such a pushover."
He didn't answer her. He just sat there, ate his food, watched her. She drowned her eggs in ketchup, he shivered at the site. She ate them, the two pieces of bacon on her plate, then drank her juice. She chased that with two Tums. When she was finished, she started to get up. Ryan took her plate, moved her crutches out of her reach.
"What was that for?"
"Sit there and check your computer. Don't get up until I get back."
She looked up at him. "Where are you going?"
"To get dressed. Do you need anything before I go?"
She shook her head. He stood behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders. She flinched.
"Did I hurt you?"
She reached up and put her hands on his. She shook her head again. "Just sore to the touch. That's all. I'm fine."
"Let me get your pain pills," he said and started to move away. She held his hands on her shoulders.
"No, I don't want one right now. I don't like the way they make my head feel, and we're going out soon. I'll be alright."
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. He saw her smile in the reflection of the computer screen. The next few days would go by too fast for him.
She logged onto the computer to check her e-mail before Ryan came back out. For some reason, her account had an automatic response message that said she was sick and would answer any e-mails next week. She didn't remember setting that up. Her cell phone rang.
This time it was her family doctor confirming an appointment for this afternoon. She confirmed with the receptionist again, wrote down the time on her hand and hung up her phone. Ruckus was running her life right now, and it irritated her.
She sent him an instant message on the computer, there was a very good chance he was sitting in front of her computer at work, getting her personal information off of it. "Stop making appointments for me," she typed. He answered her almost immediately. "I'm just looking out for you." He knew how to get under her skin. She was not a child, she could make her own appointments.
"Well, stop. I don't need a babysitter, and I don't need someone to make my doctors appointments." She did not receive an answer from that.
She read the paper on the computer, finished about the same time that Ryan came out of the other room. "Are you ready, detective?"
"Yes, I am. I hope you don't mind being my babysitter and my chauffeur because it seems my partner made another appointment for me this afternoon."
He helped her to her feet, pulled her close to him. She laid her head on his chest, let him hug her close. "I would drive you across the country if I had to, and I am not your babysitter. Think of me more like your bodyguard, since I know you wouldn't consider me your boyfriend yet."
She laughed into his shirt. "You don't want me. I am married to my job, and if you haven't noticed it is a pretty dangerous job. I have been stabbed, shot and now I can add abducted to that list. I am not considering a career change just to make my life easier. I like what I do."
He kissed the top of her head again. He inhaled her scent. "I'm not asking you to change, detective. I'm just asking to be part of your life."
She smiled. He was the first person that did not tell her that she needed to find a less dangerous job. She put her hand on his chest, looked up at him.
"I promise, detective, I will not ask you to change who you are. That is the reason I fell for you, the first time I saw you a few weeks ago when I visited the gym. You are different, I like that. You are fearless."
"You'll change your mind as soon as I let you into my life, my heart. It always happens that way."
He leaned down, laced his fingers in her short hair and kissed her. She leaned into him, let him kiss her. She kissed him back.
He took her by the shoulders, breaking the embrace. He steadied her in front of him. "I promise, I will not change my mind. Let me help you, detective."
Emotions swept across her blue eyes. "We'll see. This could get even more dangerous, and I don't want anyone else getting hurt if they don't have to."
"I'll take that chance. I protect what is special to me."
"Coming from a true soldier. Come on, or we'll be late. I want to make another stop in between appointments, so grab my gun, please."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you in the car."
He handed her the crutches, grabbed a bag on the floor by the door to the garage and helped her out to the car. In the garage, Burly noticed the pile of unpacked boxes in the corner. She handed the crutches to him by the trunk, using the car for leverage to get to the door. Once inside the car, she sat for a moment to catch her breath.
"I hope it warms up today, my jacket has been confiscated as evidence."
He looked over at her, "Would you like a sweatshirt? I don't have another jacket, would you like this one?"
"I think I'll be warm enough. Let's go."
He started the car, pulled out of the garage and drove to her doctor's office. The sun was out and it had warmed up. Ryan helped her into the waiting area. She signed in and they found a seat.
While they waited, she leafed through a magazine, only looked up when she heard her name being called by the nurse by the door. She stood up. Ryan looked up at her.
"You might as well come on. This is part of a relationship, you take the good with the bad. Besides, I hate doctors and you can hold my hand."
He stood up, followed her back to the exam room. There, the doctor came in, gave Burly a brief examination and shook his head.
"How bad is it, Dr. Daniels?"
The doctor sat back in his chair. He wrote something in her chart before speaking to her. "I am writing you a script for physical therapy. Not that I really think you need it, I just don't want you to overdo it trying to get back on your feet. Do you still have that trainer at the gym that helps with your therapy?"
Burly shook her head. "No, he took a leave of absence."
Ryan scooted to the edge of his chair. "I might be able to help. I am a certified physical therapist with a degree in sports medicine. I could look after her care."
Burly looked at him. He just shrugged. The doctor handed him a piece of paper with instructions on it.
"Stay off the knee for a couple of days, let your friend here start you with a series of exercises. Your knee is strong, you didn't do much damage. I am more concerned about your face and eye than that knee. I have told you on several occasions that most of your pain is in your head. Are you still seeing Dr. Matthews?"
She shook her head, looked at the floor. "No. I stopped going. This pain is different, Dr. Daniels. This really hurts."
"I'm sure it does. Your knee is sprained, but considering the physical condition you are in, it is not bad. Rest for a few days." He wrote something on a piece of paper, handed it to her. "Here is your release to go back to work. Take it easy, no running with the dogs for awhile."
"Yes, sir."
The doctor left the room, the two of them following him. They checked out and left. Once in the car, Burly looked at Ryan. He sat behind the wheel, reading the paper the doctor had handed him.
"Who is Dr. Matthews?"
"He's a therapist. Why?"
Ryan started the car. "Just wondering. I thought I would ask. Now where do you want to go?"
She looked out the window. Scared about what he thought of her seeing a therapist. "To the shooting range, I need to do something."
Ryan pulled out of the parking lot and drove them to the range. He didn't ask anymore questions, she looked embarrassed about some of the things he was learning about her. He reached over and rested his hand on the nape of her neck. "Are you alright, detective?"
She glared at him. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm tired of everyone asking me if I'm alright."
He pulled the car into the shooting range parking lot and found a spot close to the door. He grabbed the bag with her gun and met her by the door. Inside, she got a target, safety goggles, and earmuffs for both of them. She led him back to the range. Once inside the safety of the glass, she asked him for her gun.
"Would you put this up for me?" she asked as she handed him the target.
He put the target up, pushed the little button on the wall and watched it sail backward. He stopped it about ten feet away from them. She shook her head. He sent it back another ten feet. She got her gun out of the bag, checked the clip. She aimed at the target, shot off ten rounds. Eight of those rounds hit the target in the kill zone, the other two made it on the target in lower scoring zones, but on the target.
She released the clip, checked the chamber. Once she was sure the gun was empty, she handed it back to Ryan. He brought the target back up to them, took it down.
"Not bad, considering the condition of your eye."
She looked tired. "Let's go. I would like to stop by the station before we go to my next appointment."
Her partner was not at the station when they got there. She penciled him a short note saying that she would start carrying her gun now, she felt confident she could hit a target. She left her shooting target on his desk along with the note.
The appointment at her family doctor was just as quick as the one at the orthopedic doctor. The outcome was just the same. He released her from his care, just telling her to take it easy and if the pain in her face got worse to come back.
Ryan drove her back to his house. He parked the car in the garage, but did not close the outside door. He helped her inside. She sat down on the couch. She leaned back against the cushion, stared at the ceiling. "I didn't realize you were a physical therapist."
"There is a lot of things you don't know about me. I am a very complex person," he said as he knelt down in front of her.
She looked down at him. Though they had not been out for very long, she was exhausted. "I hurt, Ryan. I think I'll take one of those pain pills now."
He smiled at her. He got up, went into the other room, retrieved the pills and returned with them. He handed her one, then handed her a glass of water. She took the pill with a long drink. She handed the glass back to Ryan and leaned her head back again.
He placed the glass on the end table, picked her up, sat down and rested her in his lap. She laid her head against his chest, listened to his heart beat. It didn't take long before her breathing was slow and even. The hand she had rested on his shoulder, slipped down his chest limply. She was asleep, a deep painkiller induced sleep. He propped her against a pillow, covered her with a blanket.
He watched her sleep for a few moments, then decided she would be fine by herself for awhile. Only long enough to go to the grocery store, that was all he was going to leave her. He wrote her a note, letting her know where he would be in case she woke up while he was gone. He made sure the house was locked behind him.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly woke to the sound of metal lightly scraping metal. She heard a sizzling noise coming from the other room, her nostrils filled with the scents of onion and pepper. Her mouth watered. She suddenly became aware of her hunger.
Slowly, she rolled over on the couch. She sat up, looked out the window for a moment. It was now dark outside. She wondered what time it was. She stood up, carefully testing her knee with her weight. Her doctor told her it wasn't hurt too badly, maybe it was all in her head. She tried to take a step, but stopped when the pain shot up her leg. She sat back down, caught her breath.
This time when she got up, she used her crutches to support her weight as she walked into the kitchen. There she saw Ryan cooking, just as she had this morning. He was dressed exactly the same, shorts hung low on his hips. She just stared.
"Do you always cook half naked?"
Ryan looked over at her, he smiled. "No, it's just warm in here. I have the heat turned up, you were shivering again and I didn't want you to catch cold. Did you sleep good?"
Burly leaned on the crutches, watching Ryan add more sliced vegetables to the frying pan. "I guess. What time is it?"
"Almost six, you've been sleeping for over three hours. I was about to come and wake you for dinner. I hope you like stir fry."
She made her way closer to him, grabbed a carrot spear and crunched it. "I do, where's my phone? I need to make a phone call."
Ryan handed her a cordless phone from the counter next to him. "Here, use my house phone."
She took it from him. "I would, but all my numbers are programmed in my phone. My insurance card is still in my car, my car is at the police station."
"I see," Ryan wiped his hands on a paper towel. He walked over to the kitchen table, picked up her phone and brought it to her. "Can't your phone call wait until morning?"
He lifted her chin gently with his hand, studying her face, her bruise. "Does your face hurt, detective?"
She swallowed hard. She was having a hard time concentrating with him this close to her, with so little clothing on. She shook her head, mostly to clear her thoughts, but Ryan took it as an answer to his questions. He handed her the cell phone, taking the other one from her. She turned to go sit down, but he brought her a chair before she could move.
"Thank you."
She sat, flipped open her phone and pulled up her insurance agent. She talked briefly with her and made an appointment to meet with her to see the car tomorrow afternoon at the police station. She then called the forensics unit to let them know they would be down there to look at the car. She didn't get to talk to Mike, he was out on assignment, she was also going to ask him if he found any substantial evidence in her car. She would get to talk to him when she went to the station.
She noticed Ryan setting the table, carrying a plate of food. She put her phone on the counter. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
He kissed the top of her head as he walked back into the kitchen. "Just get better, I have everything else under control."
She smiled. She never had anyone wait on her like this before. The last time she was hurt, when she was shot, she did nothing but argue with the man she was with. He never helped with her recovery, just criticized her career choice. Ryan was different, she could sense that already. She knew it bothered him that she was hurt, but he had not told her how to live her life. They may have only been friends for a short time, she felt like she had known him a lot longer.
"I feel so useless. This is so unlike me." She watched him walk by with two glasses.
"It's fine. I don't mind cooking. I told you that in the car the other day, though I don't expect you to remember. You have had a rough couple of days, your body needs rest and nutrition. Come on, let me help you to the table."
She stood, he moved the chair back to the table. She followed him there. He took the crutches and leaned them against the wall. He took her hands in his, pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let him hug her before she sat down to eat. He grabbed his t-shirt off the back of his chair and put it on before he sat down.
They talked while eating. Small talk that people share who don't know each other very well, asking each other questions about their backgrounds, likes and dislikes.
Burly pushed her plate away, rested her head on her hand and sat there listening to Ryan talk. He was telling her of his tour of duty in Iraq, his trip home and why he had retired from the military. She sat there, dreamy eyed watching him. He talked a little longer, then stood to clear the table. She made a movement to get up also, but he stopped her.
"You sit, I will only be a moment. Just let me get these dishes in the dishwasher then I want to show you something."
She sat. She watched. She wondered what it would be like to stay here, after she was better. Her thoughts wandered back to the bed where she had woke up this morning. She had felt good, waking up in his embrace. She liked being in his strong arms, she felt safe. Not that she was a fearful woman, not much scared her. The past week had changed that for her. She did not want to be alone, but she did not want to endanger anyone else either.
"You look tired."
She looked up at him. Her thoughts had clouded her vision and she had not seen him finish in the kitchen. "I am, a little. I think, anyway. I don't like taking those pills, they mess with my head." She closed her eyes, tried to clear her thoughts, then opened them again.
He helped her to her feet, "Let's go sit on the couch, you can rest."
"Okay. Hand me my crutches."
"Have you tested any weight on that knee?" She nodded at him. "Let me help you, let me be your crutch."
"Please, Ryan, just hand me the crutches. You have done enough for me already. I will be in your debt for a long time."
He held out a strong arm for her, she just looked at it. He finally reached over and grabbed the crutches. "Why won't you trust me?"
"I do trust you. I just have a hard time losing my independence. You wouldn't understand that, you're a man."
Ryan gaped at her. So this is how she thought. "You're right, I don't understand."
Burly took the crutches from him, but sat down on the chair again. She looked around the table for her computer bag. "Where is my computer, Ryan?"
He left the room momentarily, coming back with her bag. He had packed it up and moved it. "I didn't want anyone to see it through the window while we were out earlier." He sat the bag on her lap and went to the living room.
She shook her head, turned to the table and unpacked her computer. She opened it, turned it on, and looked at what else was in her bag. She pulled out the files. They were filled with pictures and interviews from earlier in the week. She turned her attention back to her computer. She logged onto the internet, checked the site that transmitted the camera at John's house. The picture was different. She was seeing the inside of Ryan's garage.
By mcdaniel1299
| Author Note: | a little suspenseful romantic interlude |
She glanced around the kitchen. Nothing seemed out of place since this morning. She peered over her shoulder, Ryan sat on the couch with his eyes half closed. He was falling asleep watching television. She thought about what had happened today. Her doctors visits, going to the gun range, to the police station. They were away from the house for several hours today, but she had seen Ryan lock all the doors before they left. His exterior garage door was on a remote, she didn't think anyone could have opened it. She needed to look around out there, but now she was unsure of Ryan's innocence.
She turned back to her computer. She sent her partner an instant message, hoping that he was logged on to his computer. He didn't answer her. She leaned over and grabbed her phone off the counter, sending him a text about what she saw on her computer. She turned her ringer off and put her phone on vibrate, not wanting to get Ryan's attention just yet. He immediately answered her, asking for the website address. He asked her where Ryan was, she answered him.
Her heart racing, she remembered that he had left the exterior garage door open for a while this afternoon when they came home. She gave Ruckus that information. He tried to assure her that Ryan was innocent, but he was on his way. She tried to remember where her gun ended up after the shooting range. It was still in the bag. Where was the bag now? Did they leave it in the car? She was tired, her head was hurting again and she couldn't think straight.
She watched the screen, waiting to hear back from her partner. She had texted him that she did not have her gun on her, that she was truly scared at the moment. She observed Ryan's car on the screen, his motorcycle. She wondered what might be hiding behind the stack of boxes in the corner. Her imagination started to run amuck. She started to panic.
She peered over her shoulder again, Ryan's eyes were closed now. He must be sleeping. She needed him, but now feared he might want to harm her. His actions told her that she could trust him, or was it all an act. She was confused now.
She closed her computer, got up from the chair, used the crutches and went into the living room. Her heart beating so fast and loud that it thundered in her ears, she felt lightheaded. She stood in front of Ryan, watched him for a moment, then nudged him with her foot. He jumped, sat up straight. He saw the panic in her eyes.
"What is it?" he asked, rising to his feet.
She took a deep breath. "Where is my gun?"
He shook his head. She didn't know what to make of it. Did he not want her to have it?
"Why? What's wrong, detective?"
She took another deep breath, trying to stay composed and not lose in to the panic. "Where is my gun? I will explain after I have my gun, please."
Ryan stepped around her, went to the same room he had stored her computer bag and returned with the bag that held her gun. He walked back to the couch, sat down, unzipped the bag and retrieved her gun. He handed her a loaded magazine along with it. She loaded her gun, checking the chamber to be sure it was ready to fire. She tucked it into the waistband of her pants.
"Now are you going to tell me what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost, you're white as a sheet."
"What happened after I fell asleep?"
He shrugged. He wasn't sure what she wanted to know. He had left her for a short hour, she didn't know that. "I sat with you for a few minutes on the couch. Why?"
"How long was the exterior garage door open this afternoon?"
He shrugged again. "I don't know. I sat with you for awhile, until I was sure you were asleep. Then I made a grocery list. I moved some stuff around, cleaned up a little and then," he stopped, trailed off.
"And then what, Ryan?" she asked.
"I made sure the house was locked up and I ran to the grocery store. Oh, goodness. What happened?"
Burly glanced around the room. When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she almost let out a scream. She swallowed the scream with the panic that was overwhelming her. She dug her phone out of her pocket, opening it and reading the text from her partner.
"Nothing, yet. Ruckus is pulling in now, don't go out in the garage, let him in the front door," she whispered to him.
He nodded. He looked totally confused, which eased Burly's suspicions a bit. He had left her alone, after everyone made a big deal about her staying here.
She heard the truck engine go quiet, the door open then close. Ryan opened the front door, the cold air blasting Burly, chilling her. She shivered. Ruckus walked in, gun in hand, surveyed the inside.
With his hand on her shoulder, he asked her, "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I think so. Scared."
"Can someone fill me in, what is going on?" Ryan asked the two of them.
Burly relaxed slightly. He had no idea as to her panic, she believed him. She went back over to her computer, opened it and let him look at the image on the screen.
"That's my garage. How? Never mind, I left the door open earlier knowing that I was going back out. I locked this door though," he said motioning at the interior garage door.
"I wouldn't have known if they came in or not. I don't remember anything after taking that pain pill. I didn't wake up until Ryan was cooking supper."
Ruckus walked down the hallway, gun still drawn. He opened every door, turned on every light. Ryan stood behind Burly, watching with anticipation. He put his arms around her shoulders, leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you alone. Oh, God, what could have happened while I was gone. Are you sure you're alright?"
She nodded in his embrace. She didn't want him to know how scared she was right now. She reached up, placing her hand on his arm.
"The house is clear." Ruckus placed his gun in his holster.
Ryan straightened, let go of Burly. He took a step back, giving Ruckus room to move around his partner. Burly watched the two men and their silent conversation. "I am going to check the garage. Here are my truck keys, Burl, if anything happens you make it to that truck, do you hear me?"
She nodded as she took the keys. Ryan unlocked the door to the garage, Ruckus got his gun out again. He walked into the room, slowly, taking everything in as he moved. He turned on the light, illuminating the computer screen behind them. She watched the screen, not getting too close to the door. Nothing moved except her partner.
He searched everything, under the car and behind the boxes. He moved things that could conceal a person and checked every corner. He stopped moving, holstered his gun, and put on a pair of rubber gloves. He reached up, and the picture on the computer started to shift, then went dark.
Burly met Ruckus at the door to the garage. "Was there anyone out there?"
She knew the answer to the question, she had watched the entire search on the computer screen. She knew the garage was empty. She shivered knowing that someone had been this close, knowing that she had been alone for an hour.
"No, whoever it was, they're gone now. I'm going to dust this for prints, let the forensics unit take a look at it," he said holding the camera up in front of him.
"Looks like the one from John's house. I have all the information on my desk, we can compare the make and model. Was there a receiver out there?"
Ruckus shook his head.
Burly looked at him, then at Ryan. "Now what?"
"I don't know. I can't take you to my house, Linda and the kids are there. It doesn't look like it's very safe here, now that this person has gotten into the garage. Where else could I hide you?"
"I'm just going to stay here with Ryan. Have a patrol ride through every now and then, I'm sure whoever it was in the garage is gone now. I'll be fine."
"I'll do one better than that, I'll have one sit in the driveway. What did your doctors' say today?"
"They released me, of course. As long as I've been going to them, they know how I work. They would only have kept me out if I was still in the hospital."
Ruckus raked his hand through his hair. "I don't know why I didn't convince them to keep you in the mountains."
"Because you knew I wouldn't stay, I have left AMA before and I would do it again. You know that."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. Interesting, she didn't like doctors and she had left against medical advice before. He leaned against the wall and listened to the two of them argue. They acted like brother and sister.
"Be careful, I will see you in the morning, after your eye doctor appointment. I assume he will release you as well, since you're not nearly as swollen as you were. I got your target, keep your gun on you."
"I will. I have my bodyguard. He won't let anything happen to me." She smiled at Ryan, he smiled back.
Ruckus pulled out his cell phone, called dispatch and requested a patrol to sit in the driveway. He stayed at the house until the car was parked out front. Once the officer was outside, he walked out to talk to him. He waved to Burly and left.
Ryan shut the door, locked it. He checked all the windows and doors, made sure they were locked in. Burly sat down on the couch, watched him move around. She took her gun out of her waistband and set it on the end table. She rested her head in her hands, sighed.
After the doors were checked, Ryan walked back into the living room. He sat down on the floor, faced Burly. She just watched him. "You still look a little pale, detective. Are you alright?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm not. I'm tired, I hurt everywhere and now my nerves are shot. I don't know who to trust, which way to turn. I just don't know, Ryan."
He reached out, rubbed her good foot. She leaned back into the cushion and moaned. He massaged her foot and calf muscle. He could feel some of the tension leave her. He stopped, she looked down at him. "Relax, close your eyes."
He gingerly picked up her left foot, she flinched. "What part of relax did you not understand, detective?" She took a deep breath, covered her face with her hands.
"Relax. I will be very easy with you, I promise. This might help. If it hurts, I'll stop."
"Okay. Just be easy, please."
"I will." He picked up her foot, started massaging it. She moaned. He very slowly, very gently massaged her calf muscle. She moaned some more. He shifted her position on the couch, pulled her to the edge of the cushion. He rubbed the muscle in her thigh.
He got on his knees in front of her, positioned between her legs. She opened her eyes to look him in the face. "How was that?"
She leaned forward, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.
He sat back for a moment, breaking the embrace. "So it was okay?"
She pulled him back toward her, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Instead of letting her kiss him, he laid his head on her chest. He held her close. Her heart was beating rapidly, he wasn't sure if it was because of his close proximity or her recent scare.
"Please believe me when I say I would never hurt you, detective. I left you alone for an hour this afternoon only because you were so tired after we ran all those errands. I never would have done that if I thought something like this would have happened."
She ran her fingers through his short, black hair, held him to her. She sat there, holding this man she was not sure she could honestly trust. He had put his life on hold for her, yet she still was not absolutely positive that he was totally innocent.
Ryan sat up. "How's that knee feel? You said you can't put any weight on it yet, right?"
She nodded. "Dr. Daniels seems to think a lot of my pain is in my head. I suffer from PTS, post traumatic stress syndrome. I hurt my knee right after my dad died, it was a very painful injury. I had a long, painful recovery, both physically and emotionally. When I get stressed or overworked, I start limping and my knee hurts. Talking to a therapist helped for a while, I had to talk to him after both my on the job injuries.
"I prefer talking to Dr. Matthews over that shrink at the station, I guess because I'm more comfortable with him. I'll have to call him tomorrow, I know that will be another stipulation to me going back to work."
She sighed. Ryan stood up. He grabbed both her hands, pulled her to her feet. She stood up, uneasy. He steadied her. "I won't let you fall, I won't let you get hurt. Do you trust me?"
She nodded. She trusted him, he had given her no reason not to. But as far as falling, he was letting her fall, she thought, she was falling for him.
He held her left hand, knelt down and just felt the tightness of the muscle in her leg. "We'll start therapy tomorrow. You need another good night sleep."
"I don't think I could sleep right now."
He sat her back on the couch. He left the room momentarily, came back with her pain pills and a glass of water. She shook her head at him.
"I'm not taking another one of those, not knowing how close this maniac got today."
He held the pills out for her, not taking no for an answer. "You need to sleep. These not only help with your pain, which is written all over your face right now, but they help you sleep. Even your partner said you needed a good night's sleep, so you are ready to go back to work tomorrow."
She sat there, looking at his hand. She need to sleep, she knew that, but she did not want to be totally useless if something happened again. She shook her head at him again. "I'm not taking one, not right now. I need my wits about me."
He placed the pills and the water on the end table next to the couch. He leaned over her, pulled back the curtain. "You see that, he is here to make sure you can relax." He motioned at the patrol car in his driveway.
"I won't leave you alone again, I promise."
She held out her hand, too tired to continue arguing. He gave her one of the pain pills and the glass of water. It didn't take long for her to feel the effects of it starting to work. Her pain started to fade away and she started to relax. Eyes felt like they were weighted, she leaned back against the cushions.
Ryan kissed her forehead. "Let's go to bed."
By mcdaniel1299
Burly woke in the early morning hour, darkness still consuming the outside. She slid out from Ryan's arm, picked up her phone, gun and crutches and quietly made her way out of the bedroom. She turned the computer on as she passed it and made her way into the kitchen. She rummaged through the cabinets looking for coffee, if she couldn't go running just yet, she needed something to get her going this morning.
She sat down in front of the computer to check out the headlines from the paper. She was relieved there were no more articles about her in there. The coffee finished, she took a few uneasy steps using the counter for support, and carefully carried the cup back to the table and sat back down. There was now a dull ache in her leg, but the pain wasn't as bad as she had imagined it would be.
She took a sip of coffee, trying to concentrate on the computer in front of her. She glanced over her shoulder, at the front door. Beyond that door sat one of her coworkers, just sitting in his car, watching the early morning. She set her coffee down on the table. Rising from the chair, she grabbed the crutches and went to the couch.
She knelt on the cushion with her good knee, leaned onto the back of the couch and peeked out the curtain. She saw the officer sitting on the hood of his patrol car, watching the front of the house. He was having a smoke break, she could see the end of the cigarette illuminate the darkness around him each time he took a drag. Every now and then he would look to the wooded areas on either side of the house.
Satisfied with what she saw, she shifted on the couch, turned and sat. Then she saw him. She jumped, startled. He stood there by the hallway, watching her. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, rubbed his face, trying to wake up.
"What are you doing up so early, detective? It isn't even six yet." He walked toward her, realizing he scared her.
"I couldn't sleep. Thought I would pretend I went to the gym, for my morning run."
He sat down beside her, pulled her into his arms.
She gestured toward the window with her hand. "Will you bring him a cup of coffee?"
"Let me go put some pants on, it's cold out there. I'll be right back." He left her on the couch and returned to the bedroom. When he returned, he was dressed and went to the kitchen. "How does he like it?"
"He's a cop, black is fine. He'll be grateful for the gesture alone. I would take it out, but I can't carry a coffee cup on crutches that far."
"I got it," he said as he made his way to the front door. He unlocked it, opened the door and walked outside. Burly watched through the curtain, the two men exchanged greetings and Ryan handed him the cup. The cop nodded his thanks. Ryan was back inside the door a moment later, relocking it before he sat down.
"Something's bothering you, detective." It was a statement, not a question. He pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms around her.
She shrugged in his embrace.
"I know something is bothering you, what is it?" he asked and kissed her head as she melted against his chest.
She closed her eyes, relishing the intimate contact for a moment. "I just don't know how it all came down to this. I have no idea who is after me. There are no clues that are substantial enough to point fingers at anyone. I don't know." She shrugged in his embrace again.
"Is this the first time you have been totally clueless?"
She turned her head, to look at him. There eyes met, time stood still for a moment. "Yes, normally there is something that will tell us who or why. This time I am totally dumbfounded, I haven't a clue. I am the only link between these people, but I don't understand why."
Ryan cooked them breakfast while she showered and dressed. When she returned to the kitchen, he noticed she was dressed for work. "What if the eye doctor doesn't release you?"
She smiled as she sat down. "He will, as long as I can read the chart there is no reason for him not to." She powered her computer down, stuffed it in the bag beside the table. "Besides, I need to get back to work. I can't stand not doing something."
He put a plate in front of her and sat down. "I guess I'll go to work too. I have plenty to catch up on."
She rested her head on her hand, looked at him. "I'm sorry to keep you from work. I can find someplace else to stay you know."
He reached over, ran his hand gently down the side of her face. "You are more than welcome to stay as long as you like, injured or not."
"Thank you. You have been more than generous." She smiled.
They ate. The appointment at the eye doctor went quickly. She read his chart, both near and far with no problem. He gave her some drops to help with some pain she was having in her eye from being so bloodshot and released her. They left there and went to the police station.
Ryan pulled his car to a stop in a parking spot near the back door of the police station. They sat there for a moment, neither one speaking. She looked over at him, "I'll be fine in there. Will you walk me in?"
He turned the car off, got out and walked over to the passenger side. He opened the door for her, helped her out and retrieved the crutches from the back seat. He walked her to the back door, his hand on the small of her back, his own little possessive gesture she had notice him do on several occasions.
She let them in the door with her keys, led them to her office. She tried to ignore the stares she got from colleagues, she knew there would be many questions to answer.
"Sit for a moment. I need to make a call before you leave. Are you going straight to the gym?"
He nodded, sat down. "I have a ton of work to do, I missed a few days taking care of a friend that was a little under the weather."
"I see. This friend, is she any better?"
"I believe she will be fine. She's a fighter, a very strong individual. I think her injuries are actually just a cover."
Burly raised an eyebrow. "A cover, for what?"
He leaned forward, in a low tone he whispered, "I think she likes me, she's just too shy to come right out and say it. I offered to take her in until she gets back on her feet, but I'll tell you a little secret, I saw her walking around this morning without her crutches. Don't tell her I told you."
She blushed. "How long were you up?"
He sat back. "From the moment you left my bed."
Ruckus walked in the office, shook Ryan's hand and looked at Burly. "That is quite the rainbow you have on your cheekbone, I don't think I have seen so many colors in a bruise before."
Instinctively, she reached up and touched her cheek. Soon, gravity would pull all the color down the side of her face. She had thought about using makeup to cover the bruise, but decided against it. "I don't mind the blues and purples but I think the brown and green is kind of repulsive. I can see fine, that's all that matters."
She retrieved three pieces of paper from her pocket, unfolding each of them. She laid them on the desk. "Hey, Ruck, I need to go see Captain Ross for a minute. Can I ask a favor of you?"
Her partner looked at her, he sat on the edge of his desk. "Sure."
"I was about to call in a patrol to follow Ryan to work. I think I might have put him in danger staying with him the last couple of days. Maybe have someone sit outside the gym while he's at work."
"Already taken care of. I called Captain Ross last night, he has arranged for someone to tail Ryan both while your with him or if he's alone."
"Gee, I guess bank robbery today is out of the question," Ryan said jokingly.
Burly looked at him, smiled slightly. He was trying to lighten the mood that filled the office. All of them were at risk now, if the suspect was after people close to her.
"What about you, Ruck?"
He shrugged. "What about me?"
"Are you not the least bit worried?"
He shook his head. "I took care of my own. I sent Linda and the kids to her mother's house until this is taken care of. The kids think it's great, to have another vacation from school so soon after their Christmas break, they think the're just going to see grandma."
Burly raised her eyebrow. "When did they leave?"
Ruckus looked down at his watch. "About thirty minutes ago. They'll be fine." He studied his partner. "How are you? Feeling any better?"
Before she could answer, Captain Ross walked by the open office door. He stopped when he saw her, poked his head in and said, "Robertson, my office, now."
"Was on my way, sir."
She got up from her desk, looked at Ryan. "Don't leave until I get back."
He nodded and she left the office. She made her way after the captain, limping along with the help of her crutches.
Captain Ross held his office door open for her, then closed it after they were both inside. She leaned on her crutches as he sat behind his desk. She held out the papers she had unfolded in the office.
"These, sir, are my release papers from all three doctors. I told you I wouldn't come back to work until I was ready, well, I'm ready."
He took the papers from her, looking at them for a moment. "Burly, please, sit."
"Too hard to get up and down, I'd rather stand sir. I feel a lot better, getting some of the mobility and strength back in my knee." She bent her leg slightly for emphasis.
"I heard about what happened last night. Are you sure you're ready to come back?"
She nodded vigorously, causing her head to ache. "Yes, I am. I need to catch this guy before I go crazy or he hurts someone else close to me. I can't sit back and just watch, sir."
"Okay, I am assigning you desk duty, no going out trying to be the hero. I am not letting one of my best detectives risk her life just to solve a case, you understand? Any collection of evidence from here on out will be done by someone else and you can evaluate it here. You will be working with the forensics team very closely to try to solve this case now."
Burly looked at the floor, she hated having her independence stripped away like that. It was bad enough she wasn't staying at her own apartment, now she had to stay at her desk. "Sir, he already found me at Ryan's house, why don't we just lure him out and catch him that way?"
He stood up suddenly, "I will not have you use yourself as bait in your current condition. No. Be grateful that I'm letting you work."
"Yes, sir." She turned to leave, looked over her shoulder. "Have you heard how Mark is?"
"He's still in a coma. His vitals are stronger, but the swelling in his head hasn't gone down any. They are worried about permanent brain damage at this point."
She hung her head, said a silent prayer for him. She definitely had to go visit him soon, before it was too late. "Is there anything I can do for him, sir?"
"Pray for him, Burly. That's what we're all doing, that's all we can do."
She left his office and went back to hers. Ryan stood at the door waiting for her. After she was inside, he shut the door.
"I take it that wasn't a very good meeting?"
She shook her head. She noticed they were alone for a moment and sat on the edge of her desk. Ryan took the crutches from her, leaned them against the wall. He stood in front of her for a moment. She reached out, grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulled him closer.
"It'll all work out, detective."
"I don't know. I'm stuck here." She motioned around the room with a wave of her arm. "That sucks, having to stay put."
"Hey," he lifted her face to look at him, "Ruckus is going to drop you off at the gym this afternoon. I don't want you working too long today, don't overdo it. Then we'll go out for dinner. Everything will work out, I promise."
She sighed, rested her head against his chest. He wrapped his strong arms around her, giving her the sense of security he knew she needed. "Don't promise things you have no control over."
He kissed the top of her head. She still had fight in her, that was good. He dared hope that they found this guy quickly.
The door opened. Ryan turned and smiled at her partner who went to his desk and sat down.
"Mike has some questions for you, Burl, when you decide you're ready to start work today."
Burly blushed as she looked around Ryan at her partner. "Okay, I'm on my way."
She looked up at Ryan, "I'll walk you to the door. I guess I'll see you in a little while."
He nodded and they both left the office. After she deposited him at the back door with a leisurely hug and a quick kiss, she made her way to the garage where her car was stored. All evidence collection had been finished, so she wanted to see it one more time before she talked to Mike.
She let herself into the garage. She leaned the crutches against the wall, limped gingerly toward her car. Carefully, she ran her hand along the crumpled metal. The driver's door was slightly open, she peered inside. The seat did not sit straight, was at an odd angle. She leaned into the car, and smelled it. She remembered the smell from that night, not able to place where she had smelled it before.
"The insurance company is picking it up this afternoon. I took everything out of it and put it in a box for you."
Burly looked up, met Mike's gaze. "Thank you. I'll get it later. Did you find anything?"
He shook his head. "No fingerprints, no hair, no clues. Well, I take that back. I found two sets of fingerprints, and they came back as yours and that guy you're seeing."
"Can I get my jacket back?"
He nodded. "Come in my office and I'll show you what I've found from all five crime scenes. Your jacket is in there."
Ruckus opened the office door, Burly and Mike looked up from the computer at him. "It's after five, don't you think you have worked long enough today?"
"Yes," she answered him as she stretched. "I'm ready. Just let me find my crutches."
Mike got up from the desk, left the office and returned with her crutches. "You left them in the garage when you released your car to the insurance company."
She stood, stretched again. All her muscles tight, uncomfortable. She needed a good workout, hopefully Ryan would let her get some exercise in before they went out for dinner. Taking the crutches from Mike, she followed Ruckus back through the police station.
Once in their office, she sat down. "Well?"
"Well, what?"
She looked at him. "I have been out for a few days, have you made any advancements?"
He shook his head. "Did Mike have anything for us down there?"
This time she shook her head. "Nothing. This is very frustrating. Let me check one more thing before we leave, is your computer logged on?"
He nodded, she stood up and limped over to his desk. She navigated through several screens until she was at the website that played the camera from John's house and then Ryan's garage. The screen was dark, then she saw movement in the shadows. Things started coming into focus. It was unfamiliar to her, but she had a sense of deja vu. She shrugged up at her partner.
Ruckus looked at the screen. "I don't know. Is there any way to tape this?"
"Hand me the flash drive in my top drawer, please. I'll see if I can."
He retrieved the drive from her desk and handed it to her. She plugged it in. After several keystrokes, she looked up. "Done."
"Good, let's go. Your boyfriend has called me at least a half dozen times in the past half hour asking how long you were working today."
"Why didn't he call me?"
He shrugged, "Maybe he didn't want to smother you. Seem overbearing. He's worried, but he doesn't want you to know he's worried."
"Let's go. I'm tired."
Ruckus walked her through the station, out the back door and to his truck. She handed him the crutches while she tried to climb up in the cab. He turned back to help her, but she made it herself. They drove to the gym in silence. Once there, he got out to help her down and retrieve the crutches out of the bed.
Ryan met them at the door. Burly looked up at him, unable to read his expression. She instinctively headed to the office, both men following her. After the door was shut, she sat down on the couch, leaned her head back against the wall. She closed her eyes, crossed her feet at the ankles.
"Get on with the safety lecture, Ruckus. I know you're going to give me one," she said dryly.
He reached for the radio on his belt, laid it in her lap. "No lecture, Burl. Keep this on you, turned on please." She opened her eyes a crack and looked up at him and smiled. He continued, "Jake and Dan are following in an unmarked car, don't lose them. As soon as you get to Ryan's they will leave, there is still a patrol sitting in the driveway and will sit there until this is over."
She picked up the radio. "I don't know if I remember how to use this."
Ruckus glared at her. She smiled at him again. "I'm kidding. Look, I know this is getting dangerous, but I'm a big girl. I carry a big gun. I have a big boyfriend. I'll be fine. Go home and enjoy the silence for once."
He turned and looked at Ryan, who just shrugged. "Don't let her out of your sight, please."
"She just admitted I was her boyfriend, I'm not leaving her for a minute."
"Thank you." Ruckus shook hands with Ryan, "I have known her too long to let something happen to her. I kind of made a promise to her father a long time ago that I would look after her."
Burly looked at her partner. "When did you promise him that?"
He sat down next to her. "The day he died, the day I flew out to Arizona to tell you the news. It was like he knew something was going to happen. He said 'Ruckus, she's my only little girl. Only she doesn't realize she's a little girl, she thinks she's tough. Take care of her for me, watch out for her. She needs watching out for, but don't let her know.' And then, he clutched his chest, passed out and quit breathing. I did CPR until the paramedics got there, but he was gone. I went to see your mother, then I boarded a plane and flew out to see you. I couldn't think of telling you over the phone, that was never an option."
She put her hand on his arm. "I'll be careful, Ruckus, I promise."
"Thank you." He patted her hand, then rose from the couch. "I'm going to get a pizza and go home. You two be careful."
Ryan opened the door to the office and stepped outside with him for a moment. Burly rested her head against the wall again, thinking about her father. It had been almost thirteen years since he had died, and her partner had been there every time something bad had happened in her life, whether she was at work or it was personal. She realized that he had kept good at his word, watched out for her since she came home. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for him, her guardian angel in the flesh.
"Are you hungry?" his question startled her.
She looked at him from her seat on the couch, he looked tired. She felt exhausted herself, wanting to just get something to eat and relax. She nodded.
"Good. Let me go change and then we'll leave. I'm locking the door behind me, don't let anyone in here."
She nodded again. After he left, she got up and went to his desk. There she started looking at the monitor, switching the camera view until she saw Ryan going into the locker room. She kept it there until he came back out, then she took a visual tour of the gym checking out who was there for the evening. She checked both the front and back entrances, noticing that those cameras were fuzzy and out of focus. She was writing that down on a piece of paper when Ryan let himself back in.
He laughed out loud, shook his head. She looked up at him. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing, just that as much time as we have spent together in the last few days, I didn't realize you were a southpaw."
She shrugged. "Does it matter?"
"No, I just hadn't noticed. You ready?"
She got up from the desk, handed him the paper. "You need to check these two cameras, they don't look right. They aren't very old, Greg helped me install them last summer. They might have a short in them, they're very shaky."
He gestured around the room, "You installed the security cameras?"
She nodded. "Yes. Does that surprise you too?"
He handed her the crutches from the floor as she neared the couch. "A little, but then again, you are one of a kind, detective."
They walked together to his car in the parking lot, passing the two officers in the unmarked. He helped her in the car, got in himself and started it up. "Let's swing by my apartment so I can get a few more things, if you don't mind."
"Sure."
By mcdaniel1299
"Do you think you could go any slower?"
Burly stopped. She turned to look at Ryan. With her being two steps above him, they were eye to eye. She pointed her finger at him, "This is not the easiest thing for me to do right now, you know. Now I know why you guys made such a big deal about me staying at your house."
Ryan chuckled. He let her slowly lead the way to her apartment. She agreed to let him come in with her while she got some more of her stuff. He used the excuse that she would need him to carry it down for her, so he followed her up the stairs. Before she reached the landing, she noticed the light was still out. This had been brought to the manager's attention twice already, she was promised it would be taken care of again.
She stopped when she reached the landing, put her hand out to stop Ryan from going around her. She took out her cell phone, since she left the radio in the car and called dispatch. When they picked up she spoke into the receiver.
"This is Detective Burly Robertson. There is an unmarked in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Could you radio them and let them know that my apartment has been broken into and I believe the intruder is still here. Also, can you radio Ruckus and inform him as well? Yes, I'm going to hold."
Burly was just reaching for her gun when the door to her apartment came fully open. A man raced by her, bumped into her and almost knocked her down the stairs if Ryan hadn't been there to catch her as she slammed into his chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. Her phone flying out of her hand as she grabbed his arm. The guy reached the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the woods behind the complex. The officers took off after him in a foot chase.
"My phone, where's my phone?" she asked after Ryan sat her down on the landing, she held onto his arm, keeping him from leaving her. "Get my phone, don't go after him."
He searched the stairs for a moment, retrieved her phone and handed it to her. It had hit the ground so hard when it flew out of her hand it didn't work now. She shoved it into her jacket pocket and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know. Nowhere. To the car, I need to call Ruckus and my phone doesn't work. I was going to get the radio."
"Here," he said handing her his phone. "Use mine. His number is saved in there. When we get done here, we'll swing by and get you a new phone. Calm down, everything will be all right."
She called Ruckus and let him know that she was alright. She promised him she wouldn't leave until he got there, and assured him that she hadn't gone inside. He let her know that Mike and his crew were on their way out. She paced the landing while she waited, hearing the sirens in the distance getting closer. She watched as the parking lot filled up with police cars, lights flashing and sirens blaring in the quiet evening. They were responding to one of their own, of course they would make a scene. She shook her head.
As the police officers got out of their cars, Burly started telling them that the guy was gone, fled into the woods. They needed K-9 out here to track him and the rest could go. She assumed she would handle her own crime scene.
Ruckus got out of his truck as he put it in park, leaving it rocking and the door open as he took the steps two and three at a time. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, looked at her.
"Are you sure you're alright? You look kind of pale."
She shook out of his grasp. "I'm fine. Ryan caught me before I fell down the stairs. I'm just mad. This is my apartment, my space."
She plunged her hands in her jacket pockets. "Do you have an extra pair of gloves? I don't have any on me."
"No, you're going back to Ryan's. I'm leading this crime scene."
Like a child, she stomped her foot at being told what she was going to do and immediately regretted it as pain shot up her leg. She drew in a sharp breath and bit her lip to keep from crying out and sat down on the stairs. It took her a moment to compose herself before she spoke again.
"Why can't I work my own crime scene?" she asked through gritted teeth, not sure if it was the physical pain or the emotions she was dealing with.
Ruckus sat down beside her. "You would be too emotional to be critical. Go home, put some ice on your knee and get some sleep. I will call you if they catch him."
She looked at him, defeated. She was tired, hungry and in severe pain again. "You can't call me, I broke my phone."
"If we leave now, we should be able to make it to the phone store and get you a new one, I told you that. Come on, let me help you down the stairs."
She looked over her shoulder at Ryan. She shook her head, determined to work this crime scene.
"Where is your radio, Burly?"
She waved her arm at the parking lot. "In the car."
He leaned into her shoulder. "Why?"
"I didn't think I would need it. I just stopped by to get some more stuff and hadn't planned on walking into a situation. I'm sorry." She stood up and started down the stairs. "Let's go, Ryan."
She started down the stairs, slowly. He put his arm around her waist to help her, but she shrugged out of his grasp. "I can do this myself, thank you." Once she finished her descent down the stairs and made it to the parking lot, she stopped. The pain in her leg made it impossible to cross the parking lot without her crutches, she stood for a moment trying to decide what to do.
Ryan stopped beside her, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You can use me to lean on, or I can go get your crutches. Which one will it be, detective? I know you're in pain but you won't admit it. You have too much pride to ask for help so I'm giving you an option."
She looked around at the various police officers milling about the complex. They were searching for clues and conducting interviews with people that had come outside to see what was going on. She looped her arm in his, hoping that would take enough pressure off her knee to get her to the car. After only a couple of steps, she couldn't go any further. She stopped again, looked over her shoulder at the landing to her apartment and saw Ruckus watching her.
She leaned her head against Ryan's arm for a moment, trying again to compose herself in front of anyone that might be watching. They were still about fifty feet from the car. There was no way she would be able to walk that far now, not even with Ryan's help. She sighed, swallowed the lump in her throat, and looked up at him.
Reading the distressed look in her eyes, he leaned down, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the car. She dropped her head to his shoulder so she would not have to make eye contact with anyone on the way. He set her gently on the ground when they got to the car, and unlocked the door.
She sat down, picked up the radio and called Ruckus. She could still see him watching her from the landing of her apartment. She assured him she was fine, then they left.
Ryan pulled the car to a stop in front of the Verizon store and parked. He turned and looked at her. "Do you want me to go get you a phone so you don't have to get out?"
She shook her head as she opened the door. "I can do this."
They went inside, Burly using the crutches again to support her weight. It took several minutes for her to pick out a phone she liked, since the one she had was no longer available. The clerk told her that the numbers from her old phone could be downloaded into her new phone if she wanted. She agreed, since she only had a few memorized. It could take days to find her entire contact list to program into the new phone.
Back inside the car, Ryan's phone rang. He spoke quietly into it, answering questions that Burly realized were about her. She leaned her head back against the seat and let it roll toward Ryan so she could hear better.
"She's fine. A little shook up, but I think she's okay."
Burly held out her hand to him, silently asking for the phone. "Is it Ruckus?"
He placed the phone in her hand and said simply, "Yes."
She spoke to him for a moment, then hung up the phone. She turned to look at Ryan. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Do you mind going back to my apartment?"
"Can I ask why?"
"Because of a comment I made earlier in the garage at work. It will only take a minute or two, it will take a lot longer for me to get up and down the stairs." She sat there watching him, then continued. "There is only the unmarked left in the parking lot, Ruckus and Mike. I promise to be quick."
He nodded, started the car and headed back to her apartment. Ruckus met them in the parking lot, not letting her get out of the car. He stood in her open door, blocking her inside. He held out his hand with a dish towel in it.
"Is this the same thing you smelled in your car?"
She took the towel, not even having to put it to her face to smell it. She nodded.
Ryan took the towel and sniffed it. "It smells like the guy that almost knocked her down the stairs. What is it?"
Ruckus shrugged. "I don't know. It is very distinctive though. Mike is taking it back to the lab to see if he can analyze it with some of his new equipment."
Burly looked up at her partner. "I'm sorry."
He looked confused. "For what, Burl?"
"Getting into trouble again and needing you to come to my rescue."
"Go home, you're delirious. Get some rest. I'll make sure the place is secure before I leave."
"They didn't catch up with him?"
Ruckus shook his head. "He got to a vehicle of some sort before they caught up with him. Didn't even get a description. They're slow on their feet."
She nodded as he shut the door to the car. Ryan drove her back to his house, parked in the garage and made sure its door was closed before they got out. The patrol car was still in the driveway, with a different officer than this morning inside it.
Burly put her hand on Ryan's shoulder before he opened his door. He turned to look at her. She was looking down, staring blankly at the floorboard. "I'm sorry. I feel I need to apologize to you for this whole thing, also. This evening, having to be followed by cops, and just everything. I'm sorry."
He took her hand in his, kissed her knuckles. He then turned her hand over and kissed the palm. She shivered, stifled a moan and snatched her hand back from him. "Apology accepted, but not necessary."
He opened the car door, got out and watched her get out on the other side. She was a stubborn woman who did not want help, he knew that. So, he watched her make her way around the car.
"I'll fix us something to eat while you relax in a bubble bath, how does that sound?"
She looked at him, thinking to herself that he was too good to be true. She smiled up at him as she went by into the house. "How about I just sit on the couch with an ice pack? I don't want to be alone, on the other side of the house right now."
"I'll run us a bath after supper then," he said to her back as he locked the garage door. He heard her laugh as she went to the couch and he grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.
He propped her leg on a pillow on the couch and placed the ice pack over her knee. "Relax, I'll be right here, in the next room."
By mcdaniel1299
Ryan brought her food to the couch, to let her pick through it. He didn't expect her to eat much, not after what had happened tonight. He also didn't offer her a pain pill, instead he waited for her to ask for one. He was almost done washing the dishes when he noticed her behind him.
"This is the first time I've seen you cook with all your clothes on," she said to his back.
He turned the water off, dried his hands on the dish towel on the counter and turned around. "I can fix that, you know." She blushed. "Are you alright, detective?"
She nodded, then shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. Will you come sit with me for a few minutes?"
He nodded. She carefully made her way back to the couch, holding onto the wall and various furniture to keep steady. She sat back down, placing the ice pack back on her knee. He sat next to her.
"What is it, detective?"
"Nothing."
She looked at him, he was studying her again. She remembered this look from the gym. The gym. She thought about that for a moment. She needed to think, but her brain felt foggy. She felt disconnected.
"I'm just trying to figure things out. That's all. I just wanted to be near you."
He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She relaxed against him, thinking about everything that was happening. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. Maybe her subconscious could link something together that she had overlooked.
Ryan held her hand. He turned on the television, flipped through the channels absently. Deciding on a show, he started rubbing Burly's hand, moving up her arm. He thought she had fallen asleep, getting no reaction from her as he picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.
Her sleeves were pushed up, revealing a scar on her forearm. He traced the length of the scar with his finger, turning her arm over and finding another, tracing the length of that as well.
She turned and looked up at him.
"Is this," he ran his finger down her arm, "where you were shot?"
She shook her head. "That was one of my many blunders." She let out a nervous laugh. "That happened at a traffic stop, rookie stupidity you could call it. My dash camera caught the whole ordeal and now they use it as a learning tool."
"What happened?"
"Do you really want to know? It's sort of embarrassing."
"Let me into your world, detective. What happened?"
She shifted on the couch so she could see him better. "It started out as a normal traffic stop, a rundown pickup truck, suspected DUI. There was a young man driving."
She closed her eyes a moment, visualizing the scene in her head before she went on. She shuddered. "I got the kid out of the vehicle, had him at the back of the truck. I had my right hand on his back, I was patting him down for weapons. He didn't have any on him, but I missed the hunting knife sitting in the bed of the truck."
Ryan traced the length of the scar again. "Go on, there's more to this story."
She sighed. "I was about to handcuff him when he swung around and drove the knife through my forearm. It went all the way through, between the bones. It startled me, I acted on instinct and head butted the guy, knocking him out. I handcuffed him and then called for backup."
Burly let out a nervous laugh. "My captain came over the radio and asked what the problem was. I told him I needed another officer to transport my subject to jail and I needed to go to the hospital. I explained to him that I had an eight inch hunting knife stuck in my arm.
"Ruckus came over the radio and asked me to repeat myself. So, I explained how the guy had the knife in the bed of the truck and now it was in my arm, and my subject was now unconscious. I told them I didn't want to cause further injury to myself and needed help moving him."
"Did you pull the blade out?"
She shook her head. "No, I didn't pull the blade out. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even started bleeding out yet. I sat on the hood of my patrol car, waiting for backup. Of course, Ruckus was the first one there. He asked me how my subject lost consciousness, and I told him about head butting him. He got a good laugh out of that, until he saw the goose egg on my forehead. He helped the guy to his feet, then to the back of my car. My captain arrived soon after that with another officer to take my car in to the station while I went to the hospital.
"I spent eight hours at the hospital that afternoon. I had surgery to remove the knife, needed stitches inside my arm. Doctor said I was lucky, didn't cut any major veins or arteries. I was sore, but intact. That was the first time I left the hospital against medical advice. I even went back to work the next day."
She reached up and ran her knuckles lightly against his jaw line. "I am a tough as nails cop, I take no crap. That is just who I am. My mother was very disappointed that I never played with dolls as a child. As a matter of fact, she moved to the beach not too long after I was shot. Once she was sure I was going to be okay, she packed her stuff and left. We talk on the phone every now and then, but it's mostly small talk. I don't mention work. She doesn't even know that I've been in a car accident."
He tilted his head to look her in the eye, "Are you going to tell her?"
Burly shook her head. "Maybe about the accident in general, but not about everything else that has happened."
She stood up in front of him, turned to face him. She then sat back down on his lap, one leg on either side of him. He reached out and put his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. She closed her eyes, shifting her leg to avoid putting pressure on her knee. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, she pulled it over her head, careful not to lift her tank top off as well.
Ryan traced a light fingertip over the starburst scar next to her collar bone.
"This is where I was shot."
He leaned forward to kiss the scar, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her to him. Then, resting his head on her shoulder, he nuzzled her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair with her left hand, leaving the right one at her side, in Ryan's embrace. They sat like that for a few minutes. He let go and leaned back, searching Burly's face for a clue to what she was thinking.
"Just so you know, these injuries caused more heartache than physical pain. I lost the men I loved because I was too stubborn to leave the police force."
"That's not right. It's your life, you need to decide what to do with it."
She sighed, "Most men don't look at it like that. I think that's why I like you, you haven't really told me what to do. What's best for me."
"And I never will, detective."
He leaned forward, kissing her gently. She placed both hands on his shoulders for support as she leaned into his kiss. He pulled her closer on his lap, she could feel his arousal through his jeans.
He trailed kisses over her cheek, down her neck and over her collar bone. She shivered. He kissed her scars, on her shoulder and then on her forearm.
"Any other scars I need to kiss, detective?" his voice low in her ear.
She shook her head, closed her eyes. "No, no other scars." None visible to the eye, she thought to herself, just as Ryan kissed her eyelids.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly lay awake in Ryan's embrace. Her body ached from laying still for so long. She moved his arm, slid out of the bed.
"Where are you going now, detective?" he asked sleepily, reaching for her.
She leaned back, smoothed his hair. "I can't sleep. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Burly quietly made her way into the kitchen. The time on the microwave read four in the morning. Why couldn't she sleep? After all the excitement of going back to work and her apartment being broken into, she was exhausted last night. But as soon as she laid her head on the pillow next to Ryan, sleep was no longer an option.
She sat on the couch. Early morning television never had anything on worth watching, only infomercials for stuff nobody wanted. The internet would only keep her from sleeping.
"Do you want one of those pain pills? One of the ones that make you sleepy." Ryan stood at the end of the hall.
Burly looked up from her seat on the couch, shook her head. "No, it's too late for that now. Go back to bed, I'm fine."
He sat down next to her. "Are you sure, detective?"
She nodded. "I just can't sleep. It happens sometimes, especially when I have a lot on my mind like now. Go back to bed, you're obviously still tired."
Ryan rose from the couch, looked out the window to check on the officer outside. He was sitting on the hood of his patrol car, looking into the woods to the side.
"What's he doing?"
He looked down at her, "Watching the woods, sitting on his car."
"Oh." She turned and looked out the window herself.
"I'm going to take a shower, catch a ride to the hospital to see Mark."
Ryan sat back down. "You want me to drive you?"
She shook her head. "I'll catch a ride when they switch shifts in a little while. Go back to sleep, you look tired. I'll be fine."
Burly turned the hairdryer off, listened to the quiet of the house. Something wasn't right. She made her way back into the bedroom, sat down on the bed, and gently shook Ryan's arm.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Listen. Is that a siren?"
Ryan lifted his head off the pillow, but before he could answer her, the telephone started ringing. Burly snatched it off the nightstand, flipped it open and hit send. "Why do I hear sirens, Ruckus?"
"Where are you?"
"I hate when you answer my question with one of your own. I just got out of the shower. Why do I hear sirens?"
"Where is your radio?"
She looked around the bedroom. It wasn't there. "It's in the kitchen. I must have left it out there when I got up earlier. What is going on?"
"I don't know. Officer Drake hit his panic button on his radio and now nobody can reach him. I'm on my way now. Don't go outside, please. Stay where you are. Ryan too."
"He's here, then, isn't he?"
There was a long pause. "Must be."
She closed her phone.
Ryan placed his hand on her leg. "What is it, detective?"
"Get dressed, he's here. Outside somewhere. Something happened to Officer Drake."
Ryan crawled across the bed, rummaged through some dresser drawers. He threw some clothes on the bed, then turned to Burly.
"This might help your knee, take some of the pain and pressure off of it. Give you a little extra support." He handed her an elastic knee brace.
She turned it over in her hand. Sitting down on the bed, she took her pants off and put the brace on.
"Does it fit?" he asked as he walked around the bed, pulling his shirt over his head.
"It does, feels a lot better than the one the hospital sent me home in. I hate not being able to move." She replaced her pants, laced her belt through the loops and put her holster on. After securing her gun, she leaned over to finish putting her shoes on.
"Put some weight on it, see if it helps."
He held out a hand to help her to her feet. She stood, took a step, squatted slightly, then stood again. "Much better."
"Good."
The phone rang again. "What is going on out there? It sounds like we're being raided."
"Come out, Drake is alright. We'll sort through this outside."
She closed her phone, shoving it in her pocket. "Time to go to work. I'm so sorry, Ryan. This morning is not starting off very good."
They walked out to the living room, Ryan opened the front door to let Ruckus in. He surveyed the yard, now with three patrol cars and a truck. Officer Drake was sitting on the hood of his car again, holding an ice pack to the back of his head. His uniform was covered in dirt.
Burly went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She stood at the counter, realized her hands were shaking.
"I'm glad to see it bothers you."
She looked up to see her partner watching her. He looked like he had about as much sleep as she did.
"How long did you stay at my apartment last night?"
Ruckus shrugged. "Awhile. How's your knee?"
"Better."
"This is getting dangerous, Burly. I want you to think about going into protective custody."
She shook her head violently. "No, absolutely not. I want this guy caught. If I have to be the bait, then so be it. He killed my friends, he hurt Mark, I wrecked my car, and he broke into my apartment. I'm going to catch him, Stephen Ruckus, you can count on that."
She turned, grabbed her jacket and limped outside.
Ruckus stood there, dumbfounded. Ryan walked over to him, handed him an empty coffee cup.
"She's quite the firecracker, isn't she?"
"Where's she going?"
"Probably to check on that officer, then to see if he'll give her a ride to the hospital to see Mark."
By mcdaniel1299
Burly made her way to the open trunk of one of the patrol cars. From there she retrieved a pair of rubber gloves and small flashlight. "What happened, Drake?" She fussed at him as she tried to see the lump on the back of his head.
He shrugged, "I don't know. One minute I was sitting on the car, smoking. The next thing I know, these guys are picking me up off the ground. I don't know how the panic button was hit, my hands were no where near my radio."
"You're bleeding. Let me drive you to the hospital to get checked out, I don't mind really." She shone the light on the back of his head, examining the wound. "You need stitches, that's a nasty cut."
"Why do you fuss over all of us like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're the mother hen and they are your biddies."
She looked up to see Ruckus had joined them in the cold. He handed her a hand towel for Drake's head, to keep from bleeding down his uniform. She shrugged.
"Go on, take Drake to the emergency room. I'll bring your stuff to the station."
Both Burly and Drake climbed into his patrol car. She started it up, sitting there for a moment. Memories, both good and bad, flooded her subconscious. It had been almost a year since she left patrol for detective. A shiver ran down her spine.
"You alright, Burly?"
"Yes, Drake, I'm fine. The skeletons in my closet are just waking up, that's all."
She pulled the car down the long driveway, realizing this was the first time she was behind the wheel of a car since her accident, the first time she drove away from Ryan's house without him. It felt good to exercise her freedom to come and go as she pleased again, without her boyfriend or partner to lead her.
She drove down the side streets slowly, taking in her surroundings, driving to the hospital in an indirect path. Cars lined the streets in the sleeping neighborhood. She hoped to find one moving, hoping her suspect would make a mistake and give himself away. It had been long enough since the incident for someone to feel comfortable and walk the streets nearby.
"What are you looking for?" Drake asked, glancing out the window.
"I'm just looking. I'm enjoying being out without a bodyguard and an overbearing partner for a change. Sit back, I'll have us to the hospital in no time."
Drake leaned his head against his hand, closed his eyes. Burly continued to scan the cars. Nothing out of the ordinary, nobody outside early this morning.
Fifteen minutes later, she pulled the patrol car to a stop in front of the emergency room, parking it. She watched Drake slowly get to his feet, battling what she assumed was lightheadedness as he stood. They walked in together, though he took a seat by the door as she proceeded to speak to the triage nurse.
The nurse looked up from her desk, at Burly and motioned for her to come back into an examination room. "You look awful, hon. I'll get you a doctor right away."
Burly shook her head. "Not me." She motioned with her hand at Drake sitting by the door. "He got hit on the back of the head, he's bleeding and I think he needs stitches."
"But you look like you need a doctor, too."
"I've seen one already. I was in a car accident a few days ago, but everything is healing. I'm fine. Take care of my friend, please."
The triage nurse nodded, grabbed her clipboard and headed toward Drake.
"I'm going upstairs to see Mark, have them page me when you're done," she spoke to Drake as she walked by. He nodded.
Burly took the elevator to the second floor, limping down the hallway to the intensive care unit. She signed in at the nurses desk and was led to his room by his nurse. At the door, she braced herself for what she would see.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. The light was very dim, Mark lay on the bed unmoving. His head was bandaged; eyes, cheek, and jaw swollen and purple. She noticed many tubes and wires coming out from under the light blanket attached to machines and IV poles.
A lonely tear ran down her cheek. She watched his chest rise and fall, the only indication that he was still alive.
"He's starting to breathe on his own, only relying on the respirator about twenty-five percent of the time. It's not a big improvement, but is an improvement none the less."
Burly nodded at the nurse, took another step inside the room. She pulled a stool up to the side of the bed and sat down. Picking up Mark's hand, she sat there holding it. Another tear rolled down her cheek.
Softly, she spoke to him. "I'm so, so sorry this happened to you. It is my fault, and I don't know how to ever make it up to you. Please get better, Mark, please."
She held his hand to her cheek, shivering at the coolness of it against her skin.
"I wish I had an idea of who did this to you, but he didn't leave us any evidence at your apartment, or any other crime scene. I wonder if you saw him."
Mark moved his fingers slightly, causing her to jump. He curled his around her hand, squeezing just enough to acknowledge her.
"You can hear me, can't you?"
Again, a small squeeze. She searched his face, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Maybe, it was just a reflex action she experienced.
"Do I know the person that did this to you?"
His hand squeezed even harder this time. One of the monitors above his bed started beeping faster. The door opened and the nurse walked in.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"But, he moved his hand when I talked to him."
"Maybe, but he is still very sick. We have him sedated to help his body heal. Please, let him rest."
Burly stood, placed his hand back by his side, letting go only after his grip lessened on hers. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, whispering her get well wishes in his ear.
"I'll be back in a few days to check on him."
The nurse nodded, shutting the door behind them.
Burly made her way back down to the emergency room, to wait for Drake. She had to get back to the station to figure out who her suspect might be.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly sat at her desk, staring blankly at the computer screen. Ruckus walked into the office, she didn't even look up. He dropped some papers and envelopes on the desk beside the computer.
"I stopped by last night and got your mail, since I was already at your apartment."
Now she looked at him. "You didn't have to do that."
He shrugged. "I know. I was just looking out for you."
Sighing, she propped her head on her hand. "Between you and Ryan, I won't be able to take care of myself soon."
"Like that would ever happen." He walked around her desk and looked over her shoulder at the computer. "Find anymore clues?"
She shook her head. "No, I've been going over these autopsy photos again with no luck. I'm about to throw in the towel."
He patted her lightly on the back, then went to his own desk. "You won't do that. You're not one to give up so easily, at least not without a good fight."
"I don't have much fight left in me now, Ruck. I just got back from seeing Mark and he looks like Hell, and I feel almost as bad as he looks."
Both looked up at the sound of the light knock on their open door. "No one would know you felt so bad by looking at you." Captain Ross stood framed in the doorway.
"I learned a long time ago that sympathy gets you nowhere and how to put on a happy face in the worst of times. I've about had it, Captain."
He shook his head. "I don't believe that for a moment. I know you better than that Kimburly, you don't just quit."
"I am now, I don't know what else to do. I have such a headache right now, even my hair hurts."
"Take something for it and then get back to work." He gave her a stern look, then spoke again to her partner. "I need to see you in my office."
Ruckus left the room as Burly opened the top drawer of her desk in search of something for her headache. Moving pens, paperclips and other various office supplies out of her way, she uncovered a cell phone she hadn't seen in about six months. Until now, it had been forgotten. She picked it up, turning it over in her hand. Without hesitation, she pulled her current cell phone out of her pocket and punched in the quick dial number for Verizon customer service. After a few moments, she had the information she needed.
Waiting for Captain Ross to be alone, she rummaged through her mail. Just the usual bills and junk mail, except for one envelope. It had no return address and she did not recognize the handwriting. She left it sitting on her desk while she retrieved a pair of rubber gloves from a side drawer. Only after putting them on did she open it.
The envelope had a distinguishing odor of muscle rub and body odor on it that made her uneasy. It smelled similar to that of the towel from her apartment and her car. She recognized the smell now as she pulled a card out of the envelope, a get well card. She pushed the card back in and got up.
"Where are you going?" Ruckus asked her as they passed in the doorway.
"Crime lab, I need to talk to you when I get back." She hurried carefully down the hallway to the lab, not noticing that he followed her.
Opening the door, she called out. "Mike? Are you in here?"
"Yeah, I'm in the garage."
Burly walked over to the desk, pushed some of the papers around until she found what she was looking for.
"What can I help you with today, Burly?"
She held out the envelope in her gloved hand. "I want you to compare the DNA on this envelope to the envelope found at John's house, the first crime scene in this case. Please."
"Okay, it will take me a little while, but I can do that."
"Thank you so much, Mike. I owe you."
She turned to leave the office only to walk straight into her partner. He steadied her with two hands on her shoulders.
"I need to talk to you and Captain Ross, I know who did it."
Ruckus stood there, about to say something when Burly grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back up the hallway to their office. "Call Captain Ross and request a meeting, I have to make a quick phone call."
Burly opened her cell phone and pushed the speed dial button for the gym. Hope answered on the second ring.
"Hope, it's Burly, is Ryan there?"
"Yes, hold on and I'll get him."
"No, no don't get him. Just give him a message for me please. Tell him I will be there in an hour and I need to speak with him professionally."
"Is everything alright?"
"I hope so. Just tell him not to start with any clients within the hour."
"I will."
"Thank you."
She closed her phone, satisfied with the conversation she just had with the receptionist. Looking up to her partner, he nodded to her as he hung up the phone.
"Are you going to let me in on any of the new information going through that head of yours?"
Picking up the old cell phone off her desk, she threw it to him. Confused, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I lost my phone about six months ago, remember?" He shook his head. She continued, "We got a rape call over at the university, spent all day searching the campus for clues. Later that evening, I went running at the park. Then I couldn't find my phone. I didn't remember the last time I had it, didn't know if I had lost it at the crime scene or the park so I went and got a new phone."
"And you had all your contact information downloaded into the new one?"
She nodded. "Yes, but only used the phone for two days. Then I got a call that my phone had been found."
"That's right. I remember. You were mad because it took them so long to call you."
Nodding again, she asked, "Is Captain Ross available now?"
"Yes, let's go. He sounded eager to hear what you've come up with since you wanted to give up an hour ago."
By mcdaniel1299
Burly took a deep breath, let it out and opened the door to Captain Ross' office. Ruckus followed her inside, both sat in front of the captain. He briefly looked up from his file at the two detectives, then finished reading. Setting the papers aside, he folded his hands on the desk before him.
"I knew you just needed a push. What have you found out?" he spoke to Burly.
Another deep breath, if she kept this up she would pass out. She was nervous and running on complete adrenaline now. "Well, sir, I found this in my desk."
Burly handed the cell phone to her captain and explained how she lost her phone during an investigation and that this was the replacement. Her phone was her life line, all her personal and professional contacts were in there. Once missing, her livelihood was at stake. She explained how she immediately went out and bought that replacement, had all her contact information downloaded right into it from Verizon.
"Yes, I am the only one who has accessed that part of my cell phone account. I called customer service earlier and they confirmed the few times I have changed phones and had my numbers downloaded from my account. They are very good about security issues like that, it's the main reason I have stayed with them so long."
The captain nodded at her to continue. She went on to explain that two days after her new phone was activated, she received a call about her lost one. A call that should have been made the same day. It was from Hope, at the gym. Apparently on her way out in a hurry, Burly dropped the phone somewhere in the gym.
"So, Hope did this?" Ruckus asked her. "She is so small and prissy. Wouldn't she break a nail?"
Burly shook her head. "No, not Hope. Think about it. This guy is good with video, we found one at John's and one in Ryan's garage. Look at this."
She opened the laptop she brought with her and played the flash drive they had taped yesterday. Some of the images were blurry, but started to slowly come into focus.
"This is inside the backdoor at the gym, I installed these cameras." She held the computer for Ruckus and Captain Ross to see.
"So, you killed these people and crashed your car as a cover?"
Burly flashed Ruckus a look of disgust. "Yeah, and then I beat the hell out of Mark because he was on to me. I figured I would get back at all the men that I ever loved." She turned to her superior.
"I had help installing these cameras, kind of taught that person as we worked. I didn't think it would come back and bite me in the ass. I told this person everything, I kind of used him to vent to about my life. I thought we were close, I didn't realize I was being set up."
"Greg helped you with those cameras, didn't he?" Ruckus asked her, serious now.
She nodded.
"So, what are you wanting to do, Kimburly? Are you asking for a search warrant? Do you know where he is?"
Shaking her head, she replied, "I don't know where he is, but I know where he's been. I would bet anything that he was the one at my apartment last night and he was at Ryan's this morning. Gave Drake a nasty knock on the head, then hit his panic button to let us know he could still get that close with the police around."
Captain Ross scratched his head and sighed. "You don't have any physical evidence though, do you?"
"Not yet, sir. I will shortly. I'm about to go to the gym, I'm pretty sure that Ryan will sign a consent to search form and let me look through Greg's stuff. He took a leave of absence, but he didn't clean out his locker yet."
"Good, you go do that. Call me as soon as you have something to go on, and I will get Ruckus a search warrant for his house."
She nodded, then retrieved her cell phone out of her pocket. Flipping it open, she read the brief text. Handing it to the captain, she asked, "Is this enough proof?"
He read the text on her phone, "Burly, DNA matches on both envelopes. How did you know?"
"The new envelope, sir, was a get well card from Greg. He sent it to my apartment, Ruckus brought me the mail this morning. The other envelope was found at the crime scene, addressed to me. Both were licked by the same person."
Captain Ross picked up his phone, dialed the magistrate and requested a search warrant for Greg's local residence. Burly said another silent prayer that he hadn't moved much of his stuff to the beach, if he had even planned on moving at all.
"I talked to him the night you were abducted, Burl, he left with a truck full of furniture. I saw him leave, remember?" he asked her quietly.
"Did you follow him to the beach? I bet that truck is still packed, sitting in his garage. I have a very strong feeling about this."
Ruckus nodded, sat and waited to hear what the captain wanted them to do next. Burly typed some things in her computer, pulled up the website the camera viewed on. She leaned over to her partner, motioned to the screen.
"Told you, he's taunting us now. Thinks we're stupid."
With his mouth hanging open, Ruckus stared at the screen. He saw the truck Greg drove the night of John's wake, the night Burly disappeared. All the furniture was still packed in the back. He took a pencil off the desk and jotted something down on a scrap of paper.
"What are you looking at?"
Burly held her computer out so that the captain could see the truck on the screen. He shook his head. "Well, we have evidence now. What about a motive?"
Both detectives shrugged.
"His record was clean, I couldn't find anything about him when I ran his name."
"I've worked out with him several times over the last eight years, he never let on that he would do something like this. As a matter of fact, he even helped me with physical therapy twice. He seemed like a normal person."
"A normal person with a vendetta against you. Any idea why he would be after you?"
"No, sir. I thought we were pretty good friends."
Burly typed a few things into her computer while the three of them sat in the office. She sat back and looked at the screen, shook her head. Then, she typed some more before she looked up at her captain.
"I just did a basic background check on Greg, I couldn't come up with anything. No address, phone number, credit check or anything. It's like he doesn't exist."
"That would explain why his criminal record was clean, if he was using an alias. Are you sure you were on a good site?"
She nodded. "Then I entered your name, Ruck, and got all kinds of information on you." Handing the computer to him, he saw the information that was readily available at anyone's fingertips.
"Take an officer with you to the gym, don't leave yourself open for anther attack," Captain Ross spoke to Burly then turned to her partner. "I'll have that warrant soon, but I don't want you going out alone either. Take a couple of uniformed officers with you."
Both detectives nodded. Burly closed her computer and they quietly walked back to their office.
By mcdaniel1299
Burly opened the door to the patrol car she rode in, assaulted by the frigid air. When had it gotten so cold out, she thought to herself. She picked up her crime scene bag off the floorboard and slung it over her shoulder. Taking a moment to steady herself under its weight and the unease on her knee, she started toward the gym door. A uniformed officer followed close behind.
Ryan expected her, waiting at the door to usher her inside. "I guess this isn't a social visit," he said as the two entered.
"Strictly business this time. I need something from you, need you to let me search Greg's things that he left."
He gestured to the office behind the receptionist's desk. Both Burly and the uniformed officer stepped inside. With the door shut behind them, Ryan asked, "Can I do that? Just let you search through someone's things?"
Burly set her bag on the desk, retrieving a file folder out of it. She handed him a piece of paper.
"Sign that, it is a consent to search form. You are giving me permission as the owner to let me look around for evidence. It is perfectly legal. Take a moment to look it over if you'd like, or call your lawyer if you need to. I would like to look at Greg's belongings and his personnel file, as well as some of the video of the last few days."
"I'll sign it, we don't need to call any lawyers. Go ahead and get the video you need, since we're right here. Then I'll take you to Greg's locker, in the break room and in the changing room."
She nodded, walked around the desk and started flipping through his cameras. Everything was digitally recorded here, so she inserted a memory card in the recorder and went back as far as memory allowed. Since she had installed the system last year, she was familiar with the equipment and it did not take her long to finish. She removed the memory card, placed it in a small plastic case and stuck it in her bag in an envelope marked evidence.
Retrieving a pair of rubber gloves from her bag, she put them on. She then took her camera out, checked the batteries and memory card. "I need that paper before we can go any further, Ryan."
He handed her the paper, signed on the bottom.
She flashed him a quick smile, grateful that he was cooperating with her investigation. Since she left his house this morning, she hadn't had time to call him and tell him what she had found out. Now she was here at the gym, asking him to let her look around at a former employees things. She returned the paper to the folder, putting it back in her bag.
"Where's Ruckus?" Ryan asked casually.
"We split up for the day, to cover more ground. I got the easier assignment, both of us collecting evidence though."
"I see, is everything alright, detective?"
She nodded. "I think so."
They started for the door, to leave the office. Burly turned to speak to the uniformed officer. "Stay here, in the lobby. Radio me if you notice anything unusual." She reached down and turned her radio up to emphasize her words to not follow her.
Ryan led her to the back of the gym, past new equipment. "When did this come in?"
He stopped and faced her. "I ordered some new stuff the day you..."
"Disappeared, were abducted, wrecked your car," she looked him in the eye. "You can say it, I am a big girl and words don't hurt my feelings. I know what happened the other night, it is nothing to be ashamed to say. Laugh at it, Ryan. Find the humor in it now that we know that I'm fine."
"I ordered it the other day, the new pieces came in this morning." He reached out, cupping her cheek in his hand. She leaned into his touch, then pulled away.
"Professional now, Ryan. There will be time for personal later, please."
He nodded and continued towards the door with 'staff' marked on it. Opening it, he stepped aside to let her pass. She moved inside, placing her bag on the table in the center of the room. He closed the door, then leaned against the wall with arms folded across his chest, to watch her work.
"This is the break room. Greg's locker is number seven, over there. I'll unlock it when you're ready."
"Thank you. I want to check this first," she said as she pulled a chair over to the video camera mounted high in the corner of the room.
With the chair under the camera, she climbed up. Ryan was by her side in an instant, hands on her hips.
"You shouldn't be climbing just yet, your not steady on your feet as it is."
"I am not going to argue with you, you're right. But this is my investigation and I'm not going to let someone else miss anything that I'm looking for. I just want to check the cables coming out of this camera."
She leaned to the left a little and started to lose her balance, grateful that Ryan was holding her and would not let her fall. The camera had been tampered with, just as she thought. She had taught Greg many things about surveillance videos last summer while they installed these cameras and he must have done more research afterward. There was now a new wire coming out of the camera, attached to a small digital transmitter hidden behind the camera. She took a few pictures of the set up, and of the security camera itself.
Looking down at Ryan, who was watching her intently, she said, "You can let go, I'm done."
He lifted her off the chair and placed her on the ground.
"Don't do that. I hate being picked up." She glared at him.
"I won't do it again, sorry."
"Has anyone been in his locker since he left?"
Ryan shook his head. "I have the master key and Greg hasn't been back since. Well he hasn't been here in over a week."
He opened the locker for her, then took a step back. She moved toward his stuff, took a deep breath. Coughed. The smell that seaped out of his locker was the same nasty odor she had remembered on several occasions this week. She thought about the smell of death and decay from John's house, but this smell was there too. It just wasn't as pronounced because of all the other scents at the crime scene. Her car smelled like this the night she was abducted, the towel in her apartment, and that get well card she received this morning. They all stunk like Greg.
There wasn't much to see in his locker, for the most part. It was unnerving to find a couple of pictures of herself, but that was really no surprise to her, she knew he had a crush on her. It really bothered her when she found a piece of paper that had her phone contacts listed on it, just as they had appeared on her phone.
She stepped back, stumbled over the leg of a chair and almost fell. Ryan moved behind her, sitting her down as she stared at the paper. Beside the first two names were red checks. They had been finished before he left work, they would have been dead for three days before his last day at the gym. How convenient for him to have a family emergency.
Bowing her head, she placed the paper on the table and reached for her radio. Behind her, Ryan placed his hand on her shoulder. He read the names on the paper before she put it on the table.
Pressing the talk button, she forgot all about codes and procedure. "Ruckus, please answer me." She spoke with a shaky voice.
"What is it?"
"Forget his house. Get back to the station. Please."
"I'm not leaving now."
Breathe, Burly, she told herself. Her earlier headache was returning now with a vengeance and it took a conscious effort to stay focused. She got up from the chair, continued looking through the locker. With determination, she found a few other items that could be used as evidence and placed them all in a bag.
"I'm ready to go look in the locker room now," she looked up at Ryan.
He shook his head. From the refrigerator, he grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to her. She took a small sip of it.
"I need to finish now. I don't have time to be distracted. Ruckus won't let me help him, I know that. But I also know that enough officers heard our conversation that I hope someone will back him up."
Leading her out of the break room, they walked back to the locker room doors.
"Wait here, just long enough for me to make sure no one is changing in there."
She nodded. He was gone only a moment, then back, holding the door open for her to come inside. They found Greg's locker quickly, opening it. The thing was empty, except for a shirt. It was her shirt.
"Let's go. I can't stay here anymore." She backed away from the locker, shaking her head.
Ryan led her back to the office, passing the uniformed officer. He started to say something, but stopped when he saw the look on Burly's face.
She sat down on the couch, almost dropping her bag on the floor next to her. Leaning her head against the wall, she closed her eyes. Ryan moved over to the desk, sitting in front of his computer. With a few keystrokes, he retrieved the information he needed, then printed it out for her.
Sitting down next to her, he handed her the piece of paper. She leaned up, opened her eyes and tried to focus on the words. Apparently, Greg preferred being called by his middle name, not his first. James Gregory Sears, age thirty-three.
Burly was reading his personnel file when her radio went off. The alert signal toning out from it. She heard her captain speak. There was no answer. A silent prayer said. Still no answer.
By mcdaniel1299
Answer your radio, please, Ruckus. Burly took the radio from her belt, held it in her hand and willed Ruckus to answer. Still nothing but silence. She heard her captain speak again, urging a reply of any kind. Silence, static.
"Help," the words very soft, almost inaudible.
Burly was on her feet immediately. "I have to go."
Her phone rang, the ring tone signaling it was Ruckus. With a shaking hand, she retrieved it from her pocket.
"Ruckus!" she shouted into the phone. She stood there, not moving, listening.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?"
She pressed the phone closer to her ear. She strained to hear, a quiet voice on the other end of the line, "Burly, he found me." Then the line was silent for a moment. Bang!
Burly dropped the phone, color draining from her face. Heart beating so rapidly, she could hardly breathe.
"Oh God, no. This isn't happening." She fell back onto the couch, hit her head on the wall.
"What isn't happening, detective? Was that a gun shot?" Ryan was kneeling on the floor in front of her, holding the phone in his hand.
Absently, she nodded her head.
A tear ran down her cheek, he brushed it away with his thumb. "You don't know that he was shot for sure, just calm down."
"I have to go. I have to see for myself what happened."
She stood up, brushing past him and was out the door before he could argue about her leaving. In the lobby, she demanded the keys to the patrol car from the uniformed officer.
"I'll get in trouble for letting you go alone, I had to agree to stay with you."
"I don't care what you agreed to. Give me the damn keys! Catch a ride with the unmarked in the parking lot. I need to go somewhere and I need to go alone." She held out her hand for emphasis.
"Here," Ryan stood framed in the doorway. "Take mine, just be careful."
He tossed the keys to her. She caught them, turned and stalked out the door. The uniformed officer started to follow her.
Ryan walked over to the officer, grabbed his arm. "Let her go, man. Let her go by herself. Just wait until she gets out of the parking lot, then we'll follow her."
He stood in front of the glass window and watched her walk out to his car. She unlocked the door, opened it and stood there. He smiled as she hesitated getting behind the wheel.
She pulled her gun from her holster, popped the clip out and checked the magazine. Reloading her gun, she replaced it in the holster and climbed in the car. With the same ease as she had with her Mustang, she guided the Camaro through the parking lot and out onto the road.
"Be careful, detective, please." Ryan said to himself as he turned back to the uniformed officer.
Burly turned down the road that John's house was on, slowly driving by the crime scene that started this roller coaster adrenaline ride. She had lost five friends. One person was in the hospital and she had almost been killed. Officer Drake had seven stitches in the back of his head and now her partner was unaccounted for. Things couldn't get any worse, she thought to herself.
Sirens were closing in from all directions, she was the first to the scene. Ruckus' truck was parked on the side of the road, in front of Greg's house. She pulled up beside it, throwing the car into park. Drawing her gun as she exited the car, she walked around to the cab of the truck. Empty. Slowly, taking in all her surroundings she made her way to the patrol car in the driveway. It, too, was empty.
"Where the hell could he be?" she said aloud to herself. Knowing that Greg had found him scared her. "Ruckus!" she yelled, not thinking of her own safety.
When she reached the front of the car, all her fears came to life. There was a bloody handprint on the hood of the car. She screamed, stumbling backward. Strong hands gripped her shoulders. Her body froze, all muscles rigid. Instinctively, she tightened the grip on the pistol in her hand.
By mcdaniel1299
"Don't shoot me, detective. I won't hurt you, you know that." His breath was warm against her ear.
All her surroundings now came back into focus, she realized she was not alone. There were several patrol cars and a dozen or so officers skirting the perimeter of the house and property. Her captain approached.
Concern and fear clouded his eyes. "What did he say to you, Kimburly? I know he called. What did he say?"
Confused as to how he knew, she just stared.
"I called him on the way here, I told him about the phone call, detective," again from the voice by her ear.
She tried taking a deep breath, her chest tight with emotion. "He told me that Greg found him. That was all. Then I heard a gunshot and the line went dead." She took another painful breath. "Then, I found," she stopped and pointed to the hood of the patrol car. A crimson handprint on top of silver paint.
The hands were gone from her shoulders, replaced by warm, strong arms closing around her chest. "Relax. Everything will work out. Trust me, detective."
She nodded, willing herself to take a long deep breath. Closing her eyes for a moment, she leaned back into Ryan's embrace. The tension eased slightly from her muscles, giving her some relief.
"Good. Put your gun away, at least for now."
She placed the pistol back in her holster, securing it.
"Are you alright, detective?"
She shook her head.
"Do you want me to let you go?"
Another shake of her head.
Reaching up, she grabbed his forearms, holding on to him. He was all she had left to hold on to, she didn't want to let him go.
He turned her around to face him. "Everything will work out, you'll see. You need to focus now, for Ruckus. Be strong and find him, there will be plenty of time to fall apart later."
She took a deep breath. "I'm okay, really." Reaching in her jacket pocket, she fished out his keys. "Here's your keys back. I can meet you at the gym or your house when I'm done. You don't have to hang out here, it's getting colder."
"I'll wait, it's no big deal."
Captain Ross cleared his throat. "Can we get back to work now?" he spoke from behind her. "We still have two missing officers."
Burly turned around, "Yes, sir." She pulled out a pair of rubber gloves from her jacket pocket.
"I left my bag at the gym, I have no way to collect any evidence."
"You have plenty of officers to collect your evidence. You just point them in the right direction."
Just as she was about start searching the front of the house, the garage door opened. Her gun was in her hand before she had time to think.
"He's close, he must be watching again." She turned to Ryan, "Don't leave now, stay close. I don't know where he is."
"You have a warrant and the man power, go search his house."
She nodded, stepped forward. In the garage, a truck full of furniture sat untouched. There was a small trail of blood droplets leading to an interior door. Burly followed it, heading into the house followed closely by three uniformed officers.
"I'm going in, you stay here," she said to them quietly. Slowly, she opened the door.
Sitting on the kitchen floor, bound and gagged was the missing uniformed officer. He flinched visibly at the opening of the door. He was bleeding from a bruised cut on his forehead.
From the door, Burly asked him in a hushed tone, "Are you okay?"
He nodded.
"Are you alone?"
Another nod.
She walked over to him, crouched down on the floor and pulled the tape off his mouth. Reaching behind him, she unbound his hands.
"Thank you, Burly. I didn't think anyone would find me."
"Do you know where," she started, having to stop to take a deep breath.
He shook his head. "No, I don't know where he took Ruckus. They struggled, his gun went off and that was all I remember."
"Okay." She helped him to his feet, guiding him to the door of the garage. The officers outside all stopped, watched her lead him down the driveway to Captain Ross.
"Well done, detective. Now find your partner."
"Working on it, sir," she said as she made her way back through the garage.
The three officers followed her into the house, she sent them each to a different room to search for evidence while she concentrated on the kitchen and living room area. Both room showed signs of a struggle. The furniture was pushed around haphazardly, various small items littering the floor.
Among the items she searched through, a set of car keys caught her eye. Ruckus, those were his keys. She scooped them up and deposited them in her pocket. Slowly walking past the coffee table, she noticed a book and piece of paper on it. The paper addressed to her.
Sitting down on the couch, she unfolded the paper. Neatly written on it was a note from Greg.
'Maybe looking through this book will bring back memories for you. I am haunted by mine every night.'
How odd, she thought to herself. She picked the book up, shocked to see that is was a yearbook. Running her hand over the cover, she recognized it. The yearbook was from her high school, her graduating year.
A year that I don't remember much of, she thought as she opened it. Page by page, she started recalling things that happened. Kids she hung around with, those she teased and humiliated. Leaning back against the couch, scanning faces she hadn't seen in fifteen years.
One face stared back at her. A lonely boy, one that had asked her out on several occasions and she repeatedly turned him down. One she started picking on, trying to get him to leave her alone. How can teenagers be so mean to each other, she thought. The boy in the picture just stared at her.
"I'm so sorry, Jimmy. I didn't mean to tease you like that. I didn't realize it hurt so much. So much that you would destroy my life later."
She stared at the picture a moment longer, the name underneath James Sears. JGS, the initials on the class ring she found under John's building, the ring with her graduating year on it. How could that tall, geeky boy become the body building personal trainer that she trusted? She studied the picture.
How much time had passed from the time she graduated until she met up with him at the gym? At least five years that she knew of. She had enlisted in the army right after school, then took a year before joining the gym. His appearance had changed, he matured. Lifting weights had built his body from gangly teenager to lean, muscled man. She hadn't recognized him at all. He introduced himself as Greg and she hadn't questioned him.
The two had talked and become friends, or so she thought. He had been there when she got hurt at work, when her heart broke. They talked about personal things, shared conversation.
Greg helped her tone her body, he knew her physical strengths and weaknesses. He had her partner now and she had to find them. She sent up a silent prayer that Ruckus was still alive and alright. Where are you, Ruck?
By mcdaniel1299
Burly walked out of the garage, down the driveway to where Captain Ross stood talking to Ryan. She clutched the yearbook to her chest. The two men talked, neither one acknowledging her right away.
She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, I hate to interrupt. But I think you might be interested in what I found inside, sir."
Captain Ross accepted the yearbook and note she held out to him. It only took a moment for him to look inside, see both pictures and read the note.
Burly paced as she waited. "I know who and now I know why. I just wish I knew where they were right now. It's eating me up inside not knowing where Ruckus is, or if he's hurt. Knowing that it is all my fault, being punished for pains I caused someone a long time ago. A time that I don't remember well."
Ryan put his hand on Burly's shoulder. "You'll find him."
"Like I found John? Or Peter? Or beaten so badly like Mark, that he may never recover?"
Burly pulled out of Ryan's grip and walked to the end of the driveway. The cold wind blowing through her short hair, teasing it. She shivered. Sighing, she turned to look down the road, towards John's house. A car was heading toward her, with it's lights on now that the sun was setting. Something in the grass caught her attention.
Gingerly kneeling down, she discovered what looked like Ruckus' handgun. She still had her gloves on, so she picked it up. Popping out the magazine, she slowly counted how many bullets were left. Fourteen. The only one discharged had been the one she heard on the phone. Reloading the magazine, she placed it back in the gun.
Standing there a long time, she was at a loss as to what to do.
"So, what now, Kimburly?" Captain Ross said behind her.
She shrugged, placing the gun in the waistband of her pants. Like his keys, she was holding on to this piece of evidence.
"You know, Captain Ross," Ryan started. "I've heard she thinks better when she works out. Why not send her to the gym?"
She turned to face him, tilting her chin up to make eye contact. "I don't have time to waste right now, my partner is missing. I don't know if he's been shot, or hurt, or I don't even want to say it. I need to find him. I need to find him now, Ryan."
Ryan looked at Captain Ross.
"Kimburly, take a short walk if you won't go to the gym. Ruckus would tell you to stretch your legs, I know how the two of you worked."
"Fine," she turned on her heal and stalked down the quiet street, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets as she walked.
"Slow down, detective," Ryan said as he caught up to her.
She glared at him. "Go back to work, I don't have time for games."
"Okay, I'll leave." He stopped in the middle of the street. "Just thought I would remind you of how Ruckus found you the other night."
That said, she stopped walking. "He pulled up the LoJack in my Mustang. If you missed that big, blue truck in the grass beside the house then you need your eyes checked. I can't track him the same way."
"Didn't he call you, detective? From his phone? Did you find the phone in the house?" He stood with his arms folded across his chest.
She hung her head in defeat, shaking it. "It wasn't in there." She started walking again.
Ryan watched her leave him, slowly at first. As she picked up speed, he noticed she pulled her own phone from her pocket. Then she stopped again.
In the middle of the darkening street, Burly dialed the customer service number to Verizon again. Once someone picked up, she explained that she was investigating a missing person and wondered if their phone was equipped with a GPS tracking device in it. She wrote something on her hand, closed her phone and almost ran back to Ryan.
"Slow down, you'll hurt that knee again, then what good will you be."
"Come on." She grabbed his shirt sleeve, practically dragging him back to Greg's driveway.
"Captain," she called as they neared the patrol car. "I need to run to my apartment, to grab something. Then I'll radio you with more information." She looked around at the few remaining officers. "I'll need some backup, once I'm sure he's there."
"Don't do anything stupid, Kimburly." He searched her face for her true intentions.
"I won't. I need to grab my bag at the gym, then something out of my apartment. You'll hear from me in no more than an hour, I promise." She glanced at her watch. "I'm taking his truck. If his wife calls the station, forward it to me. I don't want her to worry just yet."
Captain Ross nodded. The two men watched her walk over to her partner's truck.
"Are you going after her?"
Ryan nodded. "I'll intercept her at the apartment. She needs a little room to breathe, she'll be fine until then."
"Don't let her go after Ruckus alone, please. She's not ready for a fight."
Ryan looked at the captain. "I won't let her go alone."
By mcdaniel1299
Ryan climbed in the car, pulled out on the road and headed for Burly's apartment. Once there, he backed into a parking space that had a good view of the entire lot. Twenty minutes later, she pulled in. She drove the truck onto the grass and sidewalk, parking it at the base of the stairs.
She was running on pure adrenaline, taking the stairs as if she'd never been injured. Crime scene tape still covered the door to the apartment, causing her to stop for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she tried the key and pushed the door open. The air inside as frigid as out.
Burly adjusted the thermostat and went back to her bedroom. She searched through the closet, pushing clothes around until she found what eluded her. She pulled the bullet proof vest down and laid it on the bed. From there, she went to the dresser and grabbed a tank top from the drawer.
Her back to the open bedroom door, she stripped off her shirt. Clad only in her bra, she drew her gun and turned around. "You shouldn't sneak up on somebody like that, you'll get yourself shot."
Ryan opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. He raised his hands, surrendering.
Burly replaced the gun in the holster and continued to put the tank top on. She watched Ryan stand there, mouth open, staring. After tucking it in, she proceeded to put the bullet proof vest on, securing the Velcro fasteners. She grabbed her shirt from the bed, pulling it on over the vest.
Taking the gun from the holster, she pointed it at Ryan again.
"What are you doing?" His shocked look turned to fear looking down the barrel of her gun.
She pointed to the bed. "Sit down."
He took a few steps to the bed, sitting near the pillows.
"I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me. I especially don't want you out there."
She took a step toward him, gun still in her hand but not pointed at him anymore. He leaned back.
"Detective, have you thought about what you're about to do?"
She nodded. "I have no other options right now. I don't want you to get hurt. I want to find Ruckus, alive. Just stay here, I'll be back."
He shook his head. "I'm coming with you."
"No, Ryan, you're not." She took another step toward him. Replacing the gun in the holster with one hand, she reached behind her back and quietly pulled the handcuffs out of her belt with the other. She leaned into him, kissing him. With her body, she pushed him against the headboard.
He raised his hand to her neck, she grabbed it and secured it in the cuffs to the headboard before he could react. She sat back, breaking the kiss.
He pulled on the cuffs, testing the strength of the wood and metal. "Take this off, now."
"I can't. I told you, I don't want you to get hurt. If you follow me, that's what will happen. You have to stay here. Please."
Ryan hung his head, defeated.
Burly grabbed her jacket, left the room but not the apartment. In the kitchen, she took out her cell phone. Opening it, she pushed her contact button and scrolled down the names until she stopped on Greg's. She took a deep breath and pushed the send key.
"I want to know if he's still alive, Greg."
She listened, hearing Greg say something she couldn't quite make out.
"I'm okay, Burl. A little shaken up, but fine."
"I heard a gunshot."
"It didn't hit anyone, I promise."
"Whose handprint was on the car?"
"This conversation is over, Detective Robertson."
"Wait, Greg. Don't hang up. We need to talk."
She waited, listening to him breathe on the other end of the line.
"Meet me at the fifty yard line, just like I asked you back in school."
She nodded to herself. "Okay, fifty yard line. I'm on my way. You can have me, but you have to let my partner go."
"We'll see when you get here."
She closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. Taking a look around her apartment, she nodded to herself then left, locking Ryan inside.
Without thinking, she ran down the stairs to the truck. Small drops of frozen water fell on her face before she climbed in the cab. "This is going to get messy."
She backed the truck onto the main parking lot, turned and pulled out on the road heading toward the high school. Looking down at what she wrote on her hand, she knew they didn't have to go anywhere. According to Verizon, Ruckus' phone was there.
Ryan sat on the bed, listening to Burly in the other room on the phone. She was going to a football field, but he didn't know where since he couldn't hear the whole conversation. He looked around the room. From his spot on the bed, there was not much he could reach. He could very easily pull the handcuffs through the wood on the headboard, but thought against it for the sake of his relationship.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing the direct line to the police department. When someone answered, he spoke in a hurried tone, "Captain Ross, please. It's an emergency."
A moment later, his call transferred, he spoke to him. "She went to some football field, but I don't know where. I take it she hasn't called you."
"No, she hasn't called. Where are you now?"
Ryan took a deep breath. "She handcuffed me to her headboard, to keep me safe. Any idea if she keeps a spare cuff key around."
"I'll send an officer over to free you, just wait there."
'Like I can go anywhere,' he thought to himself. "Yes, sir. I'm in the bedroom, but I don't know if she locked the door."
He closed his phone. Waiting for any length of time was agonizing. His girlfriend was heading into certain danger, and there was nothing he could do to help. "Please be careful, detective."
Ryan leaned his head against the wall, trying to relax for a moment while he waited. He had let his own guard down and she had got the best of him. Some kind of soldier he was, letting a woman best him.
A knock on the door, then a shout. "Police, anyone in here?"
Sitting up, Ryan bellowed from the bedroom, "Back here. Try the door."
He could hear the doorknob rattle, then the door open. A uniformed officer entered the bedroom, stopping in the doorway.
"Go ahead and laugh, it's funny."
The officer walked over and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He reached over and unlocked the cuffs.
"Do you know where she went?"
Ryan nodded, "To a football field, but I don't know where. I'm new to this town, so I don't have a clue."
"Come on, I think I know where they went."
The two men quickly left the apartment, descended the stairs and practically ran to the patrol car.
"How long since she left? Is she still in the truck?" the officer asked as they backed out of the space.
"I don't know, maybe ten, fifteen minutes since she left. Yes, she's still in the truck."
The officer picked up his radio, pressed the button and put out a BOLO- be on the lookout, for Ruckus' truck. A moment later, another officer came across the radio, he had seen a truck heading toward the high school just a few minutes earlier.
"Tell them to head that way, but be quiet about it, I don't want to spook them. Everyone needs to come out of this alive."
Depressing the button on his radio, the officer relayed the instructions to his coworkers. They all agreed to back her up, but not to make a scene.
Burly parked the truck near the stadium entrance. She got out and carefully took in her surroundings. The place seemed deserted, not a car or person around. The raindrops were falling faster now, wetting her hair and freezing on all surfaces. She looked up at the sky, dark clouds loomed for as far as the eye could see.
"Better go and get this over with," she said aloud to herself as she started walking toward the field.
Inside the small football stadium, she saw Ruckus sitting in a chair on the fifty yard line. He was bound and gagged. Without thinking, she started toward him. He shook his head violently from one side to the other, tried to yell something to her that she could not hear or understand.
Beside him, she pulled the gag out of his mouth.
"Why did you come here, Burly? Now he's going to kill us both."
"No, he's not."
She started working on the restraints on his hands.
"Watch out, he's watching us," Ruckus whispered to her.
Without looking up, she asked him, "Where is he now?"
A strong arm snaked around her neck and placed her in a headlock, dragging her backward. She lost her footing after a step or two, dropping her whole weight onto his forearm. Instinctively, she reached up grabbing at him, trying to ease the pressure on her throat.
"You're not as smart as you think you are, lady detective. I know all your weaknesses and I am about to play off all of them. Starting with this one."
The two of them were about thirty feet behind Ruckus now, Greg's arm still around her throat and her hands pulling at him.
"Let me go!" she shouted.
She could see Ruckus struggle with his hands behind the chair. Rain fell, making the ropes harder to work with. He twisted in the chair, trying to see where they were going.
From behind his back with his free hand, Greg drew out a gun. He raised it in front of him, pointing.
"No, don't shoot him!"
Bang! The gun went off, pointed right at Ruckus. His body jolted at the impact, then slumped forward in the chair. Burly fought with Greg, clawing at his arm trying to free herself. He tightened the grip around her neck. Her air supply cutting off, she stopped struggling. She tapped his arm in submission.
By mcdaniel1299
Greg loosened his grip enough so that Burly could gasp for air. She stopped struggling to conserve what was left of her energy, resting her weight against Greg. She stood still, waiting to see what he would do next.
"That's a good little detective. Just be still and it will all be over in a little while."
Burly drew in another ragged breath, "What will be over, Greg?"
He motioned with the gun in his hand as he waved it around him. "All this. You. Me. None of this matters anymore. I have you now, and you can't deny me."
She stood still, trying to breathe deeply, to regain her composure. The rain was still falling, dripping in her face and tickling her nose. She resisted with all her will power not to reach up and wipe her face, unsure of what Greg might do.
"It's cold out here, Greg. Let's go inside and talk, I'm sure we can come up with something to satisfy all of us."
Greg snorted, "It's too late to talk, Burly. Have you not figured that out? This is the last dance for us, darling. It's too bad that it is also the first."
Burly tried to keep him talking, to buy herself some time. "What if we start over?"
Again, Greg snorted. "That can't happen now, can it? Not after the things I've done to get back at you, I can't start over. This is where it ends. With you and me."
"It doesn't have to end this way, Greg. I have some pull in the department, I can get you a deal. Trust me."
Laughing, he said, "Coming from the girl that used to yell sick sexual innuendos at me in the parking lot at school. I don't think so. It ends here, now, with us."
He started dragging her backward again, her feet stumbling at first, but then she kept up with him. They stopped once they reached the bleachers. Letting go of her neck, he pointed the gun at her.
"Sit, don't move," he ordered her.
She nodded in compliance, sitting on the cold, wet bleachers. There was a sheen of ice cover on the metal that sent a shiver up her. Her clothes were soaked through, cold and heavy. If she needed to, running from this man would be difficult because of the extra weight of the wet clothing. Again, he had her out in the elements. Shivering, she glanced around in the dark without moving her head. Movement caught her eye on the concession stand.
'No, don't let that be Ryan, please. Why couldn't he have stayed in my apartment where I left him?' she thought to herself. She watched the movement, it was definitely a person, crouching down on the low roof of the small building.
"What now, Greg? Or should I say, Jimmy? What's next?"
"We end this. Here and now. I'm glad to see that you came here alone, I won't have to hurt anyone else."
"Hurt!" she exclaimed. "You didn't hurt anyone. You killed my friends, my partner and you destroyed a co-workers chance at a normal life. The only person you hurt was yourself, because you're not going to get away with this. You're not going to kill me, or yourself. I don't believe that."
"The dance ends now, get up."
Greg put his gun away, took out a knife. He leaned forward toward Burly, she leaned back. On the ice covered, rain soaked bleacher, she slipped off the bench and landed on the foot path behind her. She put her hands down to push herself up with, but let one linger behind her back for a moment. When Greg grabbed a handful of her shirt to pull her up, he realized she had a vest on.
"Think you're so smart, wearing a vest to meet me? It won't do any good. I can still shoot you in the head or slit your throat."
Ryan and the uniformed officer pulled into the parking lot of the high school football field alongside another patrol car.
"Was that a gunshot?"
The officers shrugged.
"We need the element of surprise, let's be quiet and see what is going on before we do anything," one of the officers said.
Ryan nodded. He ran over to the concession stand before either one could protest and hoisted himself up onto the roof. He crouched down and made his way to the edge of the building, scanning the field as he did. He saw a person slumped over in a chair on the fifty yard line. From this vantage point, Ryan couldn't make out who it was or if they were alive.
Rain soaked him from head to foot, the roof slippery from the rain turning to ice around him. He laid down on his stomach, searching the perimeter for signs of Burly. A struggle by the bleachers caught his attention. Immediately, he pulled himself back to the edge that he climbed up and motioned to the officers.
"She's out there, with Greg. It looks like they are fighting. It also looks like Ruckus is tied to a chair at the fifty yard line, though I can't tell if he's hurt or worse. Call for an ambulance, I'm going down there to get my girlfriend."
"No, it's too dangerous for you to go. Let one of us."
"Why, because you're cops and I'm not? That's my girlfriend and that man doesn't scare me. I'm going to get her."
He pulled himself to the edge of the roof and slid down the wall on the inside of the small stadium. He stayed to the perimeter, to keep from being noticed too readily.
Burly could not grab her gun in time before Greg pulled her to her feet. She stumbled backward, out of his grasp for a moment. He lunged at her but missed when she turned to avoid his advance. They sparred like this for a few moments, Greg advancing toward Burly and missing.
Trying to catch her breath, she leaned forward with her hands on her knees. "This is a game you won't win, Greg. You know that."
"That's what you think. I trained you, remember. I know how you fight. I have watched you for the last eight years, I know what to expect."
He advanced at her once again, anticipating her reaction. She sat down and rolled back, kicked up at him and caught him off guard. He fell back against the bleachers and let out a groan. It took only a moment for him to get his bearings and attack again.
This time he kicked at her left knee and knocked her to the ground. She writhed in pain, clutched her leg and rolled around the wet ground. She looked up, to see where Greg was. He grabbed her by the shirt again and hoisted her to her feet.
She hopped on her right leg, not able to put any weight on the left. Greg slapped her across the face and let go of her at the same time, watching her fall to the ground.
"Shit." Burly muttered to herself as she rolled away from him again. He was strong and must not have been injured in the wreck that hurt her knee.
She rolled to the base of the bleachers, used them to pull herself up. She sat down, tried to catch her breath. Greg was advancing again, this time with the knife in hand. Without hesitation, she reached down and retrieved the handgun from her ankle holster.
Pointing it at him, she pulled the trigger. Bang! The shot echoed through the quiet night. She watched the look on Greg's face turn from fury to fear. The blood mixed with the water on his soaked shirt and spread quickly through the material. He paused only a moment to look down at his chest before he collapsed.
Burly didn't have time to move before he fell, and he landed right on top of her. Hard. He pushed her back into the bleachers behind her. She was cold, very cold with the ice and metal underneath her. Both legs ached, not having them stretched out before Greg landed on her, they rested at an odd angle.
The body on top of her moved, she held her breath. Her bullet hit the target, there was no way he could have lived after being shot through the heart. Yet the body moved, slowly lifting off of her.
She looked up to see Ryan hoisting the weight off of her. He picked him up and rolled him over to the side, checking for a pulse as he did. Burly moved, tried to push herself up, but Ryan stopped her.
"What?"
"Don't move." Concern clouded his dark green eyes.
She didn't understand, she didn't think she was hurt that bad. Her whole body started to turn from cold and achey to numb.
"Where's your radio?" he asked as he checked her pulse.
Absently, she brushed his hand away. "In the truck. What?"
"Nothing, Kimburly, just lay still, please."
Something in his voice told her to listen to him and not argue, so she complied. "Hey."
He looked at her, tried to smile. "What."
"You didn't call me detective."
"I didn't think you'd notice."
She closed her eyes, relaxed.
"Don't leave me now, detective. Help is coming, it will be here very soon. Open your eyes. Please."
"Let's go inside, it's cold." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked like he was crying, but she couldn't tell if there were tears through all the rain running down his face. With effort, she reached up and touched his face.
He took her hand and kissed the palm.
"Ryan, what is it?"
"You can't feel it, can you?"
"Feel what?"
Ryan took a deep breath, shook his head as if to clear it. "When Greg fell on you, he still had the knife in his hand. It's sticking out of you, right under your vest. Your bleeding."
She tried to pick her head up, but Ryan held her still.
"Don't look, please. Help will be here in a minute. Do you hear the sirens?"
"Yes. Where's Ruckus? I think Greg shot him."
"The officer that unlocked the handcuffs for me in your apartment is with him. They are checking him out right now. Concentrate on you."
"Are you crying, Ryan?"
He nodded, but said, "No, baby. I'm just concerned for you. When you left me in the apartment like you did, it scared me to death. And now, seeing you like this," he motioned over her with his hand. "I can't describe how I feel."
"Don't cry for me, please. No matter what happens, don't cry for me."
He nodded, kissing her palm again.
She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes.
By mcdaniel1299
"I can't believe she's been out of work for eight weeks, and hasn't complained."
Ryan leaned on Hope's desk. "She's done her share of complaining, trust me. She's just done it behind closed doors this time. And we're not even going to talk about the week she spent in the hospital."
Hope stifled a giggle as she watched Burly sneak up behind Ryan.
"You'd complain, too, if you'd been hooked up to so many machines and had people come in and poke and prod you every thirty minutes. Not to mention two surgeries."
He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. "You scared me, you know that."
"I'm tougher than you think." She relaxed in his arms.
Hope sat back in her chair. "I never thought I would say this, but I think you are finally happy, big brother."
Burly looked from the receptionist to the man holding her. "You didn't tell me you had a sister."
He laughed. "You didn't ask."
"True." She looked at her watch. "Give me a ride to the station, or I'll be late for work."
"When are you going to look for a car, detective? I think it's time for you to become independent again."
"I have a car, it's at the station. I arranged for it to be there today. I think you'll like it, a classic muscle car."
They walked to his Camaro hand-in-hand. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for her. With a kiss, he left her and walked around to the other side. He slid behind the wheel and started the engine. They both rolled down the windows to let the warm spring air in.
He parked out front and they entered through the lobby. Everyone they passed said something to them, from a simple 'hello' to 'are you sure you're ready to come back to work?' She smiled and answered everyone. Ryan followed her, holding her hand and giving a gentle squeeze of reassurance when needed.
She paused at the door to her office. Her desk was covered with flowers and cards welcoming her back to work. In the desk next to hers, with his feet propped up, Ruckus sat there smiling.
"You're late."
"But I made it. And so did you."
"I did and I brought it. Are you ready?" He put his feet down and sat up. Rummaging through the top drawer of his desk, he pulled out a keyring with a horse on it. He threw the ring to her.
She caught it, turned to Ryan. "Come with me."
She walked down the hallway toward the crime lab and the garage, Ryan beside her. At the door, she stopped. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, rolling the keys around in her hand.
The crime lab door opened, Mark stuck his head out. Burly almost shrieked in excitement when she saw him.
"How did you make it back before me?"
"Quick healer. It was all in my head."
They all laughed at his feeble attempt at humor. "I thought it was funny. What's in the garage?"
"My car. Want to see it?"
He nodded and followed as she opened the door to the garage. They walked inside and Ryan stood there, mouth gaping as he stared at her car.
"How much did this cost you, Kimburly?"
"Nothing. It was my dad's car. A classic 1967 Shelby Mustang, candy apple red. My car was the forty year anniversary model, an almost exact replica of his. I custom ordered it to look like his, with several modern extras of course. But, I don't think I can get a new one right now, it doesn't seem right. But this does."
Ryan walked over to the car, leaned down to look in the window. Burly stood behind him, remembering the day she met him. Slowly she eased up to him, and yelled, "Freeze! Police! Get your hands where I can see them!"
He turned with a wicked smile on his face. "I was thinking the same thing when I looked inside."
The phone on the wall interrupted them. Mark went over and answered it. "For you, Burl. Captain Ross." He held the phone out for her.
"Yes, sir," she said into the receiver and listened. "I'm on my way."
She hung up the phone, walked back over to Ryan. "I guess I'll walk you back out, it's time to go to work."
"Call me later," he told her at his car.
"I will. I need to go and finish packing later, so if I get off early I'll probably go back to the apartment. Ruckus said we could borrow his truck this weekend to finish moving."
He kissed her forehead. "Any idea of what you're walking into, with the next case."
She shook her head. "No, the only thing the captain said was that some kid had been brought in from a traffic stop covered in blood. He refused to talk to anyone but me. I guess it's a good thing I'm back to work."
"Be careful." He picked her hand up, kissed the palm. "Come home to me, detective."
"I will."
| Author Notes | My journey is finally over, but there could be more. Please let me know what you think, honestly. |
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| © Copyright 2015 mcdaniel1299 All rights reserved. mcdaniel1299 has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
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