Karen Rose - Count to Ten

"I don't know. He had the solid accelerant device down just right. But I've been thinking about the sheer spectacle of the explosion__He went to a lot of trouble to be noticed.

That seems immature, almost childish. But his method was sophisticated. I'd be surprised if he hasn't done it before." He hesitated. "Or if he doesn't do it again."

"Are we talking serial arsonist?"

"It's crossed my mind," he admitted. "His MO was so well planned. So grandiose. I can see him thinking it would be a shame to only use it once."

"Shit. So all we really have is a dead girl and some pieces of a plastic egg."

"And a shoe print. Ben says the lab said it's a size ten, by the way."

"Which makes him no different than thousands of guys in Chicago," she grumbled. "So unless we find something new or he strikes again, we're dead in the water."

"Unless we're wrong and somebody went to the Doughertys' with the express intention of killing Caitlin. Then her sorority sisters may be some help."

"One can only hope," she muttered.

Monday, November 27, 6:00 p.m.

"Oh my God." Judy Walters rocked herself on the edge of her bed.

Mitchell was crouching next to Caitlin's roommate, looking up into her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "But I need you to pull yourself together, Judy. I have some questions and you have to help me. Stop crying now."

Her gentle tone softened the implacable demand and had the girl struggling to control her tears. "I'm sorry. Who would shoot her? Who would do that?"

Mitchell sat on the bed next to Judy. "When was the last time you saw Caitlin?"

"Saturday… about seven at night. We had a party and it got loud. I thought she was going to Joel's apartment for the weekend." She looked stricken. "Oh, God. I have to tell him." She tried to get up, but Mitchell laid her hand on her knee.

"Not yet. Caitlin's father said she'd broken up with Joel."

"She just told them she did so they'd get off her back. Her dad didn't like Joel."

"Why not?" Reed asked and was surprised to see the girl's wet eyes flash in anger.

"Because her dad's a control freak cop. He was always telling Caitlin what to do."

Something flickered in Mitchell's eyes, but was quickly controlled. Her dad had been a cop. Reed wondered how much she and Caitlin had in common. "Did she spend the weekend with Joel very often?" Reed asked.

"Yes. But there's no way Joel did this. He loves her."

"Judy, do you remember what Caitlin was wearing that night?"

"Jeans, a sweater. It was red." She started crying. "I gave it to her."

Mitchell patted her shoulder. "We'll see ourselves out." When they'd reached the SUV she spoke. "Did you find any metal rivets or snaps from her jeans near the body?"

Reed opened the door on her side. "Ben said they found metal buttons in the foyer."

She climbed into the cab. then turned, her eyes grim. "Then he raped her, too."

"What next?" he asked.

"Let's go find out how much Joel loved her."

Monday, November 27, 6:40 P.M.

Joel Rebinowitz's roommate was pre-law and proud. Zach Thornton stood between Mia and Solliday and the bathroom door, through which came the sounds of Joel's sobbing. "He's not going to say another word to you without a lawyer," Zach snarled.

Mia sighed. "God save us from baby attorneys. Look, kid, move yourself out of the way, or I'll haul your ass in for obstruction."

"You can't do that," he said belligerently.

"Wanna bet?" Zach's belligerence faltered. "I didn't think so." She rapped on the door. "Joel, come out. We need to talk to you and we're not leaving until we do."

"Go away, dammit." Joel's voice was ragged. "Leave me alone."

Mia looked at Solliday. "You want to go in after him?"

Solliday grimaced. "Not really. But I will."

Thornton changed tactics, his expression gone drastically sincere. "You just told him his girlfriend is dead. Burned beyond recognition. What do you want from him?"

"The truth," Mia responded. "Joel, five seconds or my partner comes in after you."

Joel staggered out of the bath room, his face pale and his eyes swollen from crying. "I'm not talking to you and I'm not going downtown with you."

Zach nodded, back to smug. "You want him, get a warrant."

"Joel, help us clear you so we can focus on the real bad guys."

"The real killer," Zach jeered. "Right."

Mia lifted on her toes, putting herself inches from Thornton's face. "Shut. Up. Or I swear to God you will spend the night in a cell. I am not bluffing. I have had enough of you. Sit down and shut up or you'll find yourself surrounded by bullies named Bubba who want to be your best buddy, if you know what 1 mean."

Solliday whistled softly. "It isn't often they get pretty boys tossed into their cage."

Mia swallowed a smirk as Zach sat down on his bed without another word. She turned to Joel, soberly. "Joel, help me find who did this. When did you last see her?"

"Saturday night. Seven o'clock or so. She said there was a party at TriEpsilon that night but she needed to study. I told her to stay here, but she said if she did we'd… well, she wouldn't study. She didn't want to give her father the pleasure of seeing her fail." He closed his eyes. "This is all my fault.'

"Why do you say that, Joel?" Solliday asked.

"She partied with me too much. I should have backed off like her father said."

Either this kid was innocent or he was a damn fine actor. Mia was pretty sure it was the first one. "Did you hear from her at any time that night?"

"She IM"d me at eleven. She said she loved me," he ended in a ragged whisper.

Mia glanced over at Solliday, saw they were in agreement over this kid. "Where were you all evening, Joel?"

"Here until eleven. I IM'd her back, then met some friends at the arcade." He rattled off six names and she had little doubt they'd corroborate his story.

Mia hated to press him at this point, but it was necessary. "Did anybody else want to hurt her? Anybody following her? Anybody making her uncomfortable?"

He sagged against the wall, dropping his chin to his chest. "No. No. No."

"One more question, Joel," Solliday said. "When you didn't hear from Caitlin all day yesterday or today, weren't you worried?"

His head snapped up, fury in his eyes. "Of course I was. But I thought she'd gone home. I couldn't call her at her parents' house. She'd told them we were through. I figured she'd call when she could. When I didn't see her in class this morning I asked around. Nobody had seen her. I called her parents, frantic. Left two messages on their answering machine. But they'd rather see me in jail than tell me that she was dead," he finished bitterly. "God damn them."

Under the circumstances, Mia could see his point of view.

Back at Solliday's SUV she shook her head. "If I ever have kids, I'm not going to interfere."

Solliday opened her door for her, as he'd been doing all day. "Never say never. I can understand both sides. Father wants the best for his daughter. Daughter wants to run her own life. I don't think Joel's involved."

"Neither do I. I think our guy chose the Doughertys' house. Either he stalked her there, or he happened on her and took advantage of the opportunity."

"And Burnette could still be the real target." He closed her door, then came around to his side. The engine was roaring to life when she heard his deep chuckle. "'Bully named Bubba who wants to be your best buddy." It's poetic. Can I use it?"

She smiled at him, oddly at peace for the moment- "Be my guest."

It was quiet during the drive back to the precinct, both using the time to check their voicemail. He stopped the SUV next to her car. "Wow," he said. "Nice."

Mia looked at her little rebuilt Alfa Romeo fondly. "It's my one splurge." Then she slid down to the ground, turning to look at him. "Barrington made Caitlin's ID official."