Karen Rose - Count to Ten

She looked around Lauren's kitchen. She didn't belong here. That he'd manipulated her into coming here proved they'd never really been on equal terms. She should just pack her bag and leave. She eyed the cat. Maybe Dana would take him.

Dana owed her that much, with all that damned talk of hamburger and having it all.

She stood up. Dana would take the damn cat. Then tomorrow she'd find a new place. Give Lauren back her house. And as for Solliday… She had to be honest. No need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. She still wanted mind-blowing sex. So first, she had to get them back on equal terms. No more pillow talk. No more pity.

Friday, December 1, 8:10 A.M.

"Well, at least we finally have the connection," Spinnelli said grimly.

"By noon we should have a list of names," Mia said from the opposite end of the table, where she'd very deliberately placed herself. "DCFS is going through all the files from the period when the older Doughertys were foster parents."

"Before we only took Penny Hill's files for the last two years," Reed added, trying not to focus on the fact that she hadn't looked at him once. "We never would have found them listed. Once we get names, we can start matching them to his picture."

Spinnelli went to the white board. "Okay, we've got some irons in the fire now. I want to know who the hell this guy really is and where he lives." He was making notes on the board as he spoke. "I want to tie him to the first two fires with something more than access to the plastic eggs and I want to know why the hell he's doing all this.

"Murphy, you and Aidan find out where he lives. Continue showing the teacher's picture in the area where we found the car he used to get away from Brooke Adler's. Find somebody who knows this guy outside of Hope Center. Jack, have we found anything physical tying him to either the Doughertys' house or Penny Hill's house?"

"There's nothing left in the houses that we haven't sifted through," Jack said.

"We never found Penny Hill's car," Reed said. "Maybe he left something there."

"Penny's boss gave us a list of the gifts she got at the retirement party." Mia rubbed the back of her neck wearily. "If somebody found her car, they may have hocked them."

"I'll have someone check the pawnshops," Spinnelli said. "Mia, anything from Atlantic City PD?"

"Not yet. I'll call them to see if they found either of our guys on their tapes." She squinted at the board. "We're missing something. We need to know why he's doing this but also why now ? Miles said that something triggered this to happen now ."

"What do you recommend?" Spinnelli asked.

"I dunno. But I still get a very strange feeling from that school. He taught for six months, then all the sudden goes on an arson and murder spree. Why?"

"You talked to the teachers about Brooke," Spinnelli said. "Ask them about White."

She nodded. "Okay."

"I want to know how he knew where to find the Doughertys last night," Reed said. "They checked into the Beacon Inn on Tuesday. Judith Blennard said they came to her house Wednesday afternoon. He found them Thursday night. He couldn't have been waiting all day for them to leave because he was at Hope Center teaching."

"The hotel must have told him," Mia said. "We should go by on our way to Hope."

"Aidan, you take Atlantic City PD. Mia and Reed will cover the hotel and the school."

Aidan wrote it in his own little book. "Will do."

"Anything else?" Spinnelli asked.

"Caitlin Burnette's funeral is at ten," Mia said. "Do you think he'll go? Should we?"

"I'll handle that," Spinnelli said. "Jack's got video surveillance planned and I'll be in the congregation. I honestly don't think he'll be there. Caitlin was an accident, but I'll watch. You're all dismissed. Call me with any news. I have a press conference at two this afternoon and I'd like to look reasonably capable. Mia, stay for a minute."

Reed waited outside the door, but he could still hear.

"Kelsey got moved at oh-seven-hundred this morning. She's safe."

Reed heard her tired sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh, and Mia, try to catch a few hours sleep. You look terrible."

Her chuckle was wry. "Thank you."

Reed fell into step alongside her when she came through the door. "I think you look pretty damn good," he murmured.

He'd hoped she'd laugh, but the look she sent him was almost grave and sent a sudden shaft of panic through his heart. It was the first time she'd really looked at him since leaving Burnette's house. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He said nothing until they were sitting inside the SUV. "What's wrong?"

"Just tired. I have to make some time to go apartment hunting tomorrow."

He felt the breath leave his lungs. "What?"

She smiled at him, but it was cool. "I never expected to put Lauren out for more than a night or two. Reed, staying at your place was temporary. We both knew that."

Temporary . He was beginning to dislike that word. But she was right. He hadn't planned to oust Lauren from her side of the duplex forever. So for how long had you planned to have Mia stay? Until your craving was satisfied? Until you got tired of her ?

Yes. No. Hell . "And us?"

She was perfectly calm and his heart was pounding which irritated the hell out of him. "For as long as we want to continue. Let's get to work. Beacon Inn, please."

Jaw tight, he pulled into traffic and made it to the next light when her cell phone rang.

"This is Mitchell… Yeah, put him through. Mr. Secrest, what can I do for you?" She bolted upright. "When?… Have you touched anything?… Fine. We'll be right there."

Reed pulled into the left lane to do a U-turn back toward Hope Center. "What?"

"Jeff DeMartino is dead."

Friday, December 1, 8:55 a.m.

"He didn't respond to the morning wake-up call so the guard called the nurse," Secrest said. "The nurse called me and I called you." The boy lay on his back, skin waxen, lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. CSU was already snapping pictures.

"When was the last time anybody saw him alive?" Mia demanded.

"The guards check every room in this unit every thirty minutes during the night. He was here in his bed." Secrest looked frustrated. "The closest anybody can remember seeing him walking, talking, and breathing was last night at nine thirty. That's his group's assigned shower hour."

"Excuse me." Sam Barrington stepped inside the room, filling it further.

"We got the big guns this time," Mia murmured and Reed hushed her.

"Nobody's touched him, Sam," Reed said.

"Where's the nurse? I want his medical history five minutes ago."

Secrest held it out. "She pulled his file right after she called me."

"Where is she?" Sam repeated, pulling on gloves. "I want her here ."

Secrest gave the folder to Mia with a scowl. "She's in the infirmary. I'll call her."

Sam crouched close to examine the boy. "Spinnelli asked me to come. The victim's been dead at least ten hours. No obvious wounds or trauma… except…"

Reed stepped to Sam's left, Mia to his right. "Except what?" she asked.

"This." Sam held up the boy's hand. "He's got a cut on his thumb and it's fresh."

"Before-dead fresh or after-dead fresh?" she asked.

"Before. Just before." Sam stared down at the boy. "Let me see his file." Mia passed it to him and Sam scanned. "He was healthy. No heart issues, no asthma."

"Just a little cut," Mia mused. "Where's the blood from the cut?"

"There's a smudge on the blanket," the CSU tech said. "Right on the edge."

"On the middle of the bed," she said. "Like he was sitting there and wiped it. You see a knife?"

The tech shook his head. "It could be under him."