Karen Rose - Count to Ten

"At this time, the motive behind these homicides is not known. Next?"

"Smooth," Solliday murmured.

"That's why he wears the stripes." Mia kept her eyes trained on the crowd as the reporters asked the same questions a dozen different ways. Spinnelli stayed calm and unruffled. He was extending the exposure, she knew. Giving them time to study the crowd, to look for any suspicious behavior. But nothing jumped out. Nothing looked-

She went completely still. Beside her, Solliday tensed.

"What?" he demanded in a low whisper.

Mia swallowed hard, unable to break eye contact with the blonde across the crowd just as she'd been unable to look away when their eyes had met over her half-brother's gravestone. The woman just looked at her, her expression unreadable.

"Who do you see?" he asked. "Is it the woman from the video?"

Mia managed to shake her head. "No."

He pushed out a frustrated breath. "Then who?" he hissed between his teeth.

The woman touched her fingertips to her temple in a small salute and slipped away. "I don't know," Mia said. "Cover me." She stepped behind Solliday's body, grateful for his size as she slipped to the sidelines, her radio in her hand. "This is Mitchell. There's a woman walking west. Five-six, shoulder-length blonde hair, dark suit. Stop her."

Mia made it to the back of the crowd and looked around. The uniforms stationed at the looked puzzled. "Nobody matching that description came through here, Detective."

Mia swore softly and set off at a jog when she saw her. She was walking fast, a scarf covering her head. And now… She was getting into a white Chevy Cavalier. Mia started running, but the car pulled away from the curb, made a quick turn, and was gone before Mia could get more than the first three of the license. "DDA-" Shit .

Mia stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. Dammit. The woman was like a damn ghost. Disgusted, she headed back. Spinnelli was still on the platform.

Solliday pushed his way around the crowd and met her along the side. "The woman on the tape had brown hair. Why did you chase a blonde?" he demanded.

"I honestly don't know. But getting mad at me won't help, that I can guarantee."

"Look, we're in this investigation together, Detective," he said, his voice tense and too controlled. "Don't ever tell me to 'cover you' then slip away again. What if it had been someone we needed to follow? I had no way of knowing if you needed backup."

"It was personal, all right? I don't think it had anything to do with this case."

Solliday"s eyes flickered. "You walked away from a press conference we threw to draw out a killer because of something personal !"

Put that way, she could see his point. "Yeah."

Spinnelli came up to them, his eyes narrowed. "What was that all about, Mia?"

Mia pursed her lips. "I… I'll explain."

"Damn straight you will," Spinnelli snapped. "Debrief in my conference room in ten minutes. Don't be late."

Mia watched him walk away, managing to control her wince. Solliday still stood staring at her, dark eyes flashing. "I'm sorry," she said. "It won't happen again."

"To paraphrase your leader, damn straight it won't." Then he walked away.

"Goddammit." But Mia wasn't sure who she was swearing at. After a minute, she went inside the precinct, deciding she was swearing at herself.

Wednesday, November 29, 10:45 a.m.

All eyes were on her when she walked into the conference room. Spinnelli, Jack, Miles. And Solliday. She sat next to Jack, her stomach churning.

"Did the woman from the news video show?" Spinnelli barked without preamble.

Solliday cleared his throat. "No. Mia thought she saw somebody she recognized, but it turned out not to be the video woman. We got some more amateur video taken yesterday evening. We're hoping to find a lead there."

He was covering for her. Mia bit down on the inside of her cheek. As angry as he'd been, he was covering for her. He was acting like a partner. But I didn't .

Spinnelli pushed. "You must have seen somebody you knew to disappear like that." He frowned. "Without communicating your intentions. Who did you see?"

Mia met Spinnelli's hard gaze. "I didn't see the woman from the video. Sir."

Spinnelli drummed his fingers once. "Then who was she?"

Mia laced her fingers together, hard. "It was a personal matter."

Spinnelli's eyes narrowed. "Well, it just became public knowledge. Who was she?"

Her churning stomach turned upside down. Now everyone would know . "I don't know her name. I saw her for the first time three weeks ago. She's popped up a few more times in the last few weeks. Then again today."

Spinnelli's eyes widened. "She's been following you?"

"Yeah." Mia swallowed hard, but the bile still burned the back of her throat.

"What does she say, Mia?" Solliday asked, very quietly.

"Nothing. She just looks at me. Then runs before I can find out what she wants."

"She saluted you today," Solliday said.

She saw it in her mind. That little salute with that small reluctant smile. "I know."

Miles leaned back, his eyes sharp. "You do know who she is."

"I know who I think she is. But she has nothing to do with this case. Sir."

Spinnelli cocked his jaw. "She's following you. Last night you were shot at."

Mia frowned quickly. "That was different. That was Getts."

Spinnelli leaned forward. "You don't know that for sure. So tell me, Mia."

It was not a request. "All right. I found out the day of my father's burial that he'd had a son with… with a woman not my mother. The boy is buried in the plot right next to his. The woman who's been following me was there, at the burial. She looks just like my father." She lifted her chin. "I assume she's his daughter, too."

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence. Then Jack reached over and covered her hands with one of his. She hadn't realized how cold she was until she felt his warmth. "You're going to pull your fingers out of their sockets," he murmured, loosening the death grip she had on her hands.

Spinnelli cleared his throat. "I take it you never knew about these… siblings."

"No, sir. But that's not really important. The fact remains that I diverted my attention from a stakeout for personal reasons. I'll accept the consequences."

Spinnelli looked at her, hard. Then blew out a breath. "Everybody out. Except you, Mia. You stay." Chairs scraped as Miles, Solliday and Jack rose to their feet.

When the door was shut, she closed her eyes. "Just get it over with, Marc."

She could hear his footsteps as he paced the length of the room. Then he stopped. "Look at me, Mia." Bracing herself, she did. He stood on the other side of the table, his fists on his hips, his mustache bunched in a frown. "Hell, Mia. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" She shook her head. "I don't know."

"Abe said you told him you were distracted that night. Now I guess it all makes sense." He sighed. "I'm not sure I'd have done anything differently."

Her heart thumped hard in her chest. "Sir?"

"Mia, we've know each other too long for this shit. You have a personal problem, you take personal time, okay? But under the circumstances, I would have followed her, too. You think she's a danger?"

Mia drew her first easy breath in an hour. "I don't think so. Like Solliday said, today she saluted me. It was almost… respect. All I could think was that we were watching for suspicious faces and there she was. But she showed up before the arson started."

"She just gives you the creeps."

"Yeah. Makes me wonder how many more there are out there."

"Well, figure it out on your own time," he said, but gently. "Now, get back to work. I want to know who that woman in the news video is, ASAP You're dismissed."