Carve UR Heart Out! (M/L,ADULT) Ch.23 08-02-06 [WIP]

[Crashdown_51]

Who the hell is that man that she killed or stabbed?

You'll find out.

Loved Maria's interrogation of Max and her comments about Michael, soo hilarious. Now when will she and Michael finally hit the sheets?

Patience is a virtue...and in Michael and Maria's case, hilarious!

They have totally lost it and who the hell was the man that Tess kill, but he had to be incapacitated (sp) to let someone like Tess put his lights out

Hmm...good point. It's impossible.......or is it? <stroking chin micheviously>


Author's Notes: Yeps folks. That's right. There's a killer out in the Bay Head area, but who could it be? Tess? Kyle? Freddy? Jason? Michael Meyers? Dun dun dun. LOL.

Kristen says HI!

Thanks for the amazing feedback by the way. We really appreciate it. Now on with the killing! I mean reading.

_____________________________________________________________


Chapter 11

Liz’s Room – 7:46A.M.

Burrrr….burrr

“Ugh.” Liz whined as she opened one eye to see her pager rattling about on top of the nightstand. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she reached out to grab the jittery box and hit the dim blue light installed in it to get a better glimpse of the number, that was completely out of focus for her. “Damn it.” She cursed, falling back on her pillow when she recognized the number. Tucking her hand underneath her pillow, she pulled out her cell phone and then speed dialed the number that had just paged her.

‘Emerson.’

“Clay? Hey, it’s me. What’s the emergency?” Liz asked, covering her yawn and then swinging the covers off of her.

‘I know you were pissed about Green getting the lead on that Jane Doe…’

“Yeah, what was that about? You know I’m the best that that department has…”

‘Can it, Parker. We got a hot one.’

“Really?” Liz asked interested as she sat up quickly on her bed. “Who?”

‘Get down here and you’ll find out.’

“Where?” Liz asked, opening her nightstand drawer and pulling out a pen and pad, and adjusting her hand to prepare to write down the information.

‘Temple Docks by Twilight Lake.’

“Twilight Lake?” Liz repeated. “That’s like 20 minutes from here.” She said surprised on how close it was.

‘Good. I’ll see you soon then.’


Temple Docks – 8:13A.M.

“Parker.” Clay called out waving as he saw Liz pulling up on the graveled lot.

“Hey.” Liz greeted through her rolled down window, turning off the engine and then stepping out, flipping her hair out from underneath her blazers’ collar as she followed him. “So what do we got?”

“Don’t know. I’ve ordered the perimeter to be secure until you get here.”

“Wait.” Liz gasped, grabbing on to his arm to prevent him from walking forward and looking at him skeptically. “Does this mean I’m lead?”

“Get to work Parker. You got people waiting.” He answered with a smile and then continued walking.

Liz stood frozen and astonished at the news. She was usually always assigned to assist a lead evidence technician, only pulling out a few leads herself but on small cases. But according to her supervisor, Clay Emerson, top dog of their department, he considered the case top priority, which only made her want the lead even more.

Jogging to keep up with him, she ducked underneath the yellow police tape and approached a man and a woman who were crouched down beside the covered victim.

“Officers…”

“Detectives.” The man corrected as he turned around, shocked to see the brunette that was before him. “Liz?” He questioned in surprise.

“Michael?” Liz repeated in the same shock. “You’re a cop?”

“You’re the ET?” He replied in the same surprised tone.

“Good. Everyone knows each other. That means I can go.” Emerson commented in relief waving to the three and then high-tailing out of the area.

“You two know each other?” Courtney ask skeptically, irritated that in two days, she had met two new women that were part of Michael’s life.

“She’s dating my roommate.” Michael answered frankly, seeing Liz lower her head in attempt to hide her rosy cheeks.

“Um, we should really be getting back to work.” Liz advised, pointing to the covered body.

“Right. Here.” Michael spoke, handing Liz a pair of gloves and then crouched down to the body, lifting the sheets off the body’s face.

“Oh my God!” Liz gasped at the sight.

“What?” Michael asked, looking around him, assuming she had seen something crawling by him.

“It’s-it’s…Nathan.” Liz murmured, covering her mouth in shock.

“Who?” Courtney asked.

“Nathan Creus.” Liz answered crouching down beside Michael. “He’s a stylist in Maria’s shop.”


Maria’s Shop – 9:45A.M.

“Liz, hey, what’s up?” Maria asked from behind the register, surprised to see her. “Listen, babe. Can we do lunch? Cause it’s packed in here. Nathan was a no show, so I’m one stylist short…what? What’s wrong?” Maria question concerned when she noticed Liz’s desolate expression hadn’t change.

“Maria…” Liz trailed off and then lowered her head.


Liz’s Fire Escape – 7:31P.M.

“So how’d she take it?” Max asked Liz concerned, sitting beside her on the steps.

“As good as anyone could.” Liz replied in a sigh. “Before she was crying, now she’s just…”

“Shut down?” Max asked, getting a sad nod from her that he was right. “She’ll be okay.” Max promised, placing his hand on top of hers and giving it a little squeeze of assurance.

“It’s just not like her.” Liz exhaled resting her head against the brick wall.

“It could be worse.” Max replied seeing Liz turn her head and look at him perplexed.

“How?”

“Well, it could’ve been someone closer to her. You said she just knew him a few months right?” He asked seeing her nod ‘yes’. “She’d be feeling 10 times the pain, if not more, if it were someone she had a closer connection with.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience?” Liz asked curiously seeing his head drop and then return with a gloomy expression.

“It was a long time ago.” He shrugged off and then looked to their joined hands.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Liz asked, seeing how the memory was affecting him emotionally.

“Maybe some other time.” Max replied flashing her a forced smile. “I’m gonna go and say ‘hi’ to Isabel.” He announced, pointing back inside her room as he placed one foot inside, stopping when he felt Liz’s hand grab his arm. Looking from her hand, to her, he stood there weakly as she leaned forward, cupping the side of his face and planted a soft kiss on his lips. The compassion in the kiss was overwhelming, making him feel the urge to just spill all his skeletons in that very moment, but resisted.

“I’m here if you need me.” Liz assured him as she softly stroked his arm only getting a thankful smile from him when he rested his forehead against hers.

“Good-night Liz.” He whispered softly, kissing her one last time before he exited the room.

“Good-night Max.” Liz replied and then looked back outside her window.


Maria’s Room – 7:50 P.M.

“You okay?”

“I just can’t believe it.” Maria sniffled as she rested her head on Liz’s lap while Liz brushed her hair to the side with her fingers. “Nathan wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Maria commented in disbelief. “And here I thought he was blowing off another day of work because he found some hottie at Enigma.” She confessed, sitting up to look at Liz with damp cheeks and red eyes. “I was gonna rip some of his Antonio Banderas pictures he had in his locker too.” Maria chuckled as she shook her head in embarrassment.

“I promise Maria. We’ll get whoever did this.” Liz vowed cupping the sides of Maria’s face.

“I hope so.”


Temple Docks – 10:30P.M.

“Hey. Thanks for coming.” Michael greeted, shaking Liz’s hand when she came in.

“Sure thing, um, Detective?” Liz replied, not sure on how she should refer to him as.

“Michael’s fine.” He assured her and then pointed around with his flashlight. “Okay. So from what I gather, this wasn’t the spot, right?”

“Right. The body…um, Nathan, was dragged here from somewhere else.” Liz notified pointing to a mark in the mud. “See this?” She asked, seeing his bright flashlight highlight where she was pointing to with her small flashlight and took it as his answer. “It was made from the wallet chain he had in his back pocket. He was dragged from over there.” She concluded pointing to one of the warehouses at the end of the dock.

“Well, let’s go then.”


Warehouse 4b

“Can you find out who this is leased to?” Liz asked, pointing to the unlocked door with her tiny flashlight.

“On it.” Michael answered, flipping over his phone as he moved to the side. “Banks? It’s me. Listen, I need a lease on Warehouse number 4-B on Temple Docks.... Got it?... K, call me back.” He ordered flipping his cell phone shut and then looked to Liz. “She’s on it.”

“Great.” Liz replied as she kept looking on the floor. “Here’s the same markings.” She pointed out.

“What is it?” Michael asked noticing her pensive expression. “Well, Maria said that she was suppose to meet up with Nathan in Warehouse 4-A…”

“That’s at the other side of this dock.” Michael inputted.

“Yeah, well, she said he never showed up. Yet he had glitter, candy latex…”

“The essential musts of a raver.” Michael commented following behind Liz as she continued to follow the mark deeper into the warehouse.

“Tox screens came up positive for X too.” Liz added, following the mark that shifted in direction.

“Great, so maybe he got paranoid and thought Sashquash was after him or something.” Michael retorted sarcastically as he walked closely behind her with one hand on his holster and the other holding his flashlight down at an angle by his head.

“That’s what I thought too.” Liz answered turning her head to look at him and then returned to her scouting. “He had a cut piece of film in his mouth from a developed negative strip.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me before?” He asked grabbing her arm lightly to stop her from moving.

“You know now don’t you.” Liz answered with an arched eyebrow, smiling at him innocently. “Besides, we didn’t need the film strip in order to determine if this was an actual homicide or not…”

“Right, cause the body…” He pause when Liz turned to look at him. “I mean, Nathan, he was posed out on that field.”

“If you knew that, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just did.” He said with a retaliating smirk and then pointed with his chin for them to continue. Liz just smiled and then continued her search to a big impression on the ground. “This it?”

“Yeah.” Liz answered, crouching down to get a closer look.

“No use getting footprints. I think half the world walked in her.”

“Still, just to be safe we should.” Liz advised and looked around the impression for any clues. Just then, a sound of moving chains startled the both of them, making Liz stand up and point her flashlight in the direction Michael was pointing his in. “Did you hear that?” Liz whispered.

“Shh.” Michael hushed, and then walked forward a bit. “Stay back.” Michael warned. Liz looked side to side with her flashlight making sure no one was there as Michael continued to walk in the direction the noise came from with his gun drawn against the aid of the flashlight. Shinning her tiny light along the wall, she spotted two groups of small marks against the corner of the wall. Side stepping her way to there, she cautiously glanced over to Michael, who was a few feet away from her, and then looked back to the wall where she could’ve sworn she’d seen something dash by. Stopping dead on her tracks, she lit her light from one end of the wall and carefully moved it to the left. Once she pointed it straight in front of her, a dark figure bolted forward, scaring the life out of her.

“Ahh!” Liz screamed when the figure rammed her to the floor, where she landed on her elbow, and charged straight for Michael. The figure batted the gun away from Michael's hand with a lead pipe, making him fire a shot into the ceiling, before the figure swung the pipe again, this time striking Michael on his side and then ran off in the dark.

“Ugh!” Michael coughed out from the impact as he fell to the floor.

Liz scrambled on the ground, grabbing Michael’s gun as she ran out in the direction she saw the figure leave, while Michael pulled out his cell phone and dialed for Dispatch.

“This is Detective Guerin. Badge number 4-5-9-7. I’m at Temple Docks, warehouse number 4b. Requesting immediate back up.” Michael ordered, pushing himself off the ground and then ran in the direction he saw Liz leave.


St. Peter’s Hospital – 11:34P.M.

‘Dr. Morris. Paging Dr. Morris.’

Maria and Alex both heard as they pushed pass the emergency doors, looking around frantically for the main desk.

“There.” Alex pointed out when he saw a RA checking a chart and quickly guided Maria, who was grabbing onto his arm in worry until they reached the desk.

“Hello. We’re looking for Li-uh-Elizabeth Parker.” Maria announced practically in a nervous wreck. The nurse typed a few keys and scanned the computer screen with her eyes, finding Liz’s information.

“She’s in room 5 with the Detectives.” The nurse informed them as she pointed in the direction of the room.

“Thank you.” Alex thanked as Maria headed towards the room before him.


Room #5

“Oh my God Liz.” Maria gasped in relief, pressing her hand against her heart when she saw Liz sitting on a hospital bed with a blond nurse attending to her.

“I’m fine.” Liz assured them, as the nurse finished bandaging her elbow and then exited the room.

“I was so worried.” Maria confessed as she pulled Liz in for a hug.

“We both were.” Alex added, joining in the hug.

But when Maria turned to rest her cheek on Liz’s shoulder, she spotted Michael, who was shirtless and holding his bandaged side, with Courtney standing in the corner of the room.

“You!” Maria vented in irritation as she slipped out from underneath Alex and Liz’s arms and stomped her way to him, smacking him on his arm when she reached him. “You idiot!”

“Hey! Hey!” Michael exclaimed, raising his arm to block her hits, that stopped when Alex pulled her back.

“How can you take her there in the middle of the night!?” Maria exclaimed in disbelief, getting one more hit off on Michael before Courtney stepped in to block her.

“Hey, cool it.” Courtney ordered and then looked to Alex. “You either calm your whacko friend down or I’ll do it for you.”

“Oh, just try it Bitch.” Maria threatened, while Alex was pulling her to stand behind him but then released her when Courtney confronted him.

“First of all, I don’t know you, so don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. You got that.” Alex warned, looking Courtney up and down before turning coolly and moving back to see to Liz.

“All I’m saying is that she was doing her job, so it’s not Michael’s fault.” Courtney defended.

“Alone.” Maria pointed out.

“I was with her the whole time.” Michael added.

“A lot of help that did.” Maria retorted, pointing out Michael’s bandaged side.

“Hey, let you get a pipe to the ribs and let’s see how hot you look.” Michael suggested in offense.

“Don’t make me go Sosa on the other side.” Maria warned, poking her finger at his bare chest and then scanned Courtney up and down before she moved back to Liz.

“Maria, stop. I’m fine.” Liz assured her, looking back to Michael and then to Maria and Alex. “Michael got the worse of the attack so lay off okay?” Liz asked, seeing Maria look to Michael and then let out a deep breath.

“Fine.” Maria huffed. Just then, Max and Isabel came storming into the room and made a bee-line straight to Michael.

“Michael! Thank God!” Isabel sighed in relief as she ran to hug Michael.

“Careful.” Michael warned as he held his side.

“You okay?” Max asked, smacking Michael on the shoulder and shaking him a bit.

“Yeah. We just got caught off guard.” Michael admitted lowering his head.

“We?” Max repeated, looking to Courtney to see that she was fine.

“Not me. Her.” Courtney pointed with her chin, seeing Max turn and his eyes widen when he spotted Liz sitting in the bed with Maria and Alex.

“Liz?” Max questioned completely not seeing her when they stormed in, and then walked around to her as Alex and Maria stepped aside after exchanging entertained smile.

“Hey.” Liz blushed tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Got some gutsy chic there, Maxwell.” Michael complimented, seeing Max look at him confused. “When that asshole knocked the gun from my hand, with a pipe I might add, that I got hit on the ribs with too…just to point that out.” Michael announced looking at everyone as he pointed to his side, getting a laugh from everyone except Maria, who just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Anyways, your girl here grabbed my gun a chased after the sick bastard.” He informed them, flashing an impressed smile to Liz.

“You did what?” Maria exclaimed, stepping to the end of the bed with a disappointed look. “Are you crazy?”

“Yeah, cause you’re qualified to make that evaluation, right?” Courtney sneered, looking at her nails.

“What, bitch?” Maria asked in rage as she attempted to confront her, but felt Liz’s hand grab her arm.

“I think we should be going.” Liz laughed embarrassed to Max as she hopped off the bed and headed towards the door, pulling Maria with her.

“Liz wait.” Max called out, seeing Liz, Maria and Alex turn around. “Um, can we talk?” Max asked shyly, not seeing Alex and Maria exchanging assuming smiles.

“Um, we’ll go wait in the car.” Alex announced with a smirk.

“Niiight Max.” Maria bid with a prolonged tease as she waved good-bye with an ear-to-ear smile.

“Good-bye.” Liz ordered, pushing Maria out the room and then turned to look at Max, who was blushing. “Um, come on.” Liz nodded for Max to follow her.


Hospital Waiting Area – Payphone Section

“So I know things have been pretty hectic right now.” Max started off nervous as he entwined his fingers with hers walking to a secluded section of the pay phone area and then turned to face her. “So if you want to put “us” on hold…I’ll understand.”

Liz simply flashed him an amused smile and hooked her arm around Max’s neck, to pull him down to her reach and kissed him. As the kiss intensified, Liz couldn’t help but register all the emotions that coursed through her body whenever she would be by him.

The biggest worry a girl would have when she’s seeing a guy is how many dates will they have to go on before they hit the sack. That worry had been long gone out the window in their case. Her case was whether or not he expected it since it’s been done already, but judging from his character, and Maria’s thorough investigation, Max didn’t seem to be the type to push.

“No holds.” Liz answered in between the kiss.

“Okay.” Max replied with a smile and then captured her lips again with his. “Mmm, you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” Liz answered quickly to continue with the kissing, but then heard the horn to Maria’s Jetta honk repeatedly while she shouted unclear comments out the window. Slowly stopping their kiss, Max rested his forehead against hers while he straightened the collar to her blouse. “I better go.” Liz whispered, brushing her hands from behind Max’s head to the sides of his arms.

“Can I call you tomorrow?”

“That’d be nice.” Liz replied with a smile, stealing one last kiss before she slipped out of Max’s arms and hopped into Maria’s car, hearing the tires screech off and an orchestra of car horns and alarms echoing after.


Room #5

“Max, get your sister away from me.” Michael warned with his hand extended to keep Isabel from approaching him, when he saw Max come in glowing.

“I just wanted to see.” Isabel retorted turning on her heel and moving to the door. “And besides, Max is in la-la land right now.” She commented with a giggle.

“More like Liz-land, you two going out again?” Michael asked curiously.

“Yeah, so I would appreciate it if you could keep her alive.” Max answered sarcastically with a smirk.

“Funny. Don’t you have some work to do Mr. Political Interpreter?” Michael retaliated sarcastically with a cocky smirk, seeing Max’s smirk drop while Isabel shook her head in amusement.

“Let’s go, Iz.” Max ordered angrily.

“Max!” Michael called out with a laugh when Max exited the room.

“Way to go Michael.” Isabel huffed rolling her eyes and exited the room to chase after Max.

“About time.” Courtney retorted under her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing. You ready?” She asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” He ordered, slowly getting up and carefully slipped on his jacket. “Is the Chief back at the precinct?”

“No. Why?” Courtney asked confused.

“We’re gonna need a warrant.” Michael answered as he began walking slowly.

“For who?”

“In the morning, I met this guy. Van Damne-on-steroids type. Pissed about some guy hitting on him.” He informed her as they walked slowly out the room.

“So?”

“Turns out the guy was talking about our vic.” Michael pointed out, arching his eyebrows to hint towards his assumption.

“Come on, Guerin. If a guy told you you were hot, you’d get pissed too. Doesn’t mean you’d kill him.” Courtney debated as they walked out the lobby into the parking lot.

“When Liz and me went back to the warehouse, there was a trail from there to where we found the vic. It was dark and a long ass way from where the warehouse to where the body was found. He could drag the vic without breaking a sweat.”

“Seems pretty far fetched to me Michael. The Chief would never approve to request a warrant let alone a judge.” Courtney commented as she helped him get into the car, but then straightened up when her cell started to ring. “Banks.” She answered, listening to the caller and then nodded. “Good work.” She complimented and then hung up.

“What?” Michael asked before she shut his door and then made her way around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“The warehouse.”

“Yeah?” Michael answered for her to continue.

“It belongs to a Kyle Valenti.”

[lizard_queen]

HELLO out there!

How is everyone today? Well, cheer up because *woot* we updated!!!!!!!!!!!! Its a rare thing for this story to be updated, but no, your eyes are not decieveing you. Its true. Its not a mirage. We updated!

1st of all, Crashdown_51 and want to thank each and everyone one of you who nominated us for Best Combined Authors. It mean so much to both of us. *hug*

Second of all, thank you all for your wonderful fb. Unfortunatly we got pruned, but that just means now theres more room for your fb! Woot!

(I'm sorry. I'm a little drugged up today. Not feeling too good. Can you tell?)

Can we please kow what exactly Max does?

Me: No.

Joye: No Dice

And was it just random that Tess used Kyle's warehouse or does she know him personally or by stalking Liz and Max?

Now, i've watched a plethora of horror and mystery movies to know that nothing is what it seems!

Ooo, keep watching movies because you now have Joye on her toes. And when she gets opn her toes, she does evil things!

Maybe Courtney and Tess are in a lttle club together. LOL.

Maybe


Well, time to go off so you can all bug Joye for the next update. Hope you all enjoy and because its been forever since we posted this part is extra long... for me anyway.





<center>Chapter 12
</center>


“I wear the same shoes as anyone, I get the same blues as everyone, so try and call me, I'm immobile man, yes I am…” Liz sang, swinging her hips back and forth as she danced around the kitchen. Max was coming over for an afternoon of sitting in front of the television and watching movies since they had given her the next three days off work to recover. She had rung him up earlier complaining that she was bored and he suggested coming over to keep her occupied.

“Got a haircut, got a silver tooth, gonna get myself arrested. Got some friends in my BMW, tryin' to get themselves arrested” She danced over to the fridge and pulled out some strawberries, closing her eyes and belting out the tune with everything she had.

“I suck the same lines as anyone. I do the same time as anyone. Don't try and call me, I'm immobile man, yes I am-” A woof whistle coming from behind her startled Liz out of her Gomez induced haze and she spun around to meet the intruder.

Max stood there with a sexy smirk on his face, clapping his hands together and laughing at her deer caught in headlights expression. “Can I have an encore?” He asked with a cheeky grin, causing Liz to blush a deep red and avert her eyes. Max took a step closer to her, his arms encasing her waist as he leant down and whispered huskily in her ear. “No really, I liked the way you were swinging your butt about. The singing, not so much, but the butt, definitely.”

“I suck the same lines as anyone
I do the same time as anyone
Don't try and call me, I'm immobile man, yes I am
Got a haircut, got a silver tooth, gonna get myself arrested
Got some friends in my BMW, tryin' to get themselves arrested”

Liz picked up the knife she had been using to cut the strawberries and pointed it playfully at him. “You better watch out Mr Evans. I might just slip and accidentally stab you for insulting my singing talents.”


“He only grows for guys he knows and me
He only grows for guys he knows and me
Well alright
Don't try and call me I'm immobile man
Don't try and call me I'm immobile man, yes I am”

She put the knife back down and walked over to the stereo and turned the music off, making sure to put extra emphasis on her hips as she walked. Max was mesmerised by the sexy sway of her hips and knew that if he didn’t do something soon to occupy himself he wouldn’t be able to control his actions.

So far he had been patient with Liz, just enjoying spending time with her… but these past few days his body had been going into overdrive every time he saw her milky skin or her sparkling brown eyes. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone before and it was torture taking things slow with her. But he wouldn’t push anything. He would be the perfect gentleman and wait until Liz was ready and willing.

If only he knew how much she wanted him as well.





Police Station – Questioning room 1 – 3:58pm


“Mr Valentie, would you please be so kind as to tell me where you were last night at around 10:30 pm, and the night before at midnight?” Michael asked from across the table, staring into the eyes of the man opposite him. He gestured down to the recorder that was situated in the middle of the table. “And remember to speak clearly.”

Kyle had a well-defined body with strong arms and a nasty glare. He would be able to carry a body for miles without breaking out into a sweat, making him the perfect suspect. Not to mention the fact that Michael could distinctly recall Kyle’s disgust the morning after the party when he came in and verbally abused Maria. He had the motivation and the strength to pull of a murder; it was brains that was the only question. How long before he would cave?

“I was at home.” He replied through gritted teeth. Detective Guerin and some other officers had stalked into his gym today, completely ignoring the secretary at the front desk and walking into a private fitness session without permission. If that wasn’t bad enough they issued him a warrant and asked him to come down to the police station immediately, fully prepared to use force if he tried to refuse and humiliating him in front of everyone.

“Do you have anyone who could verify this?” Michael asked, going through the list of routine questions and itching to ask some of his own. So far the question were doing nothing to break his character. There was no sigh of the usual tell tale guilt. No sweaty brow, now tapping fingers. Kyle wasn’t even averting his eyes, instead choosing t stare at Michael dead on.

“No.” He answered bluntly.

“No?” Michael asked with a raised eyebrow, jotting down a few things on his notepad before addressing the suspect once again. “So you were at home both nights, yet you have no one who could verify this? That doesn’t sound like a very convincing alibi to me Mr Valentie.”

Kyle glared at him from across the table, clenching and unclenching his fists and setting his jaw tightly as he tried to control his anger. Who did he think he was?

“Would you like to tell me why you own a warehouse when you work as a personal trainer at a private gym? What possible use could you have for such a large space?”

“I’m trying to start my own gym. Its where I keep all my private equipment that I have so far.” He answered back confused as to why they would bring up his warehouse. “Why, what has that got to do with anything?”

“No one told you what happened yesterday at your Warehouse?” Michael asked with a surprised tone. The property owner should have told him that there was a homicide that involved his warehouse. “Your landlord didn’t contact you?”

“No. My father is the landlord and he lets me rent one of his spare warehouses. He probably didn’t think it was important to tell me. Look, can you just tell me why the hell I’m here?”

“Kyle, the entire property is a crime scene for a homicide that happened two nights ago around 12am. Then last night when another officer and I were doing some more investigating someone assaulted us because we got too close to finding something they wanted to stay hidden. Do you have any idea what that was?”

“H-homicide? Who was the victim?” Kyle asked, his hands clawing at the arms of the seat. This was not good. This was not good at all.

“Nathan Creus.” Michael stated shortly, watching Kyle’s body language as the news registered in his mind. His eyes filled with dread and his entire body felt heavy. This was not happen. It wasn’t possible. One minute his life was almost perfect and the next he was a suspect for murder.

He was dead? Sure, Kyle may have hated the guy after Maria set them up for the Valentines day party, but he never wished he would die…

“Where’s my lawyer?” He asked bluntly, refusing to talk about anything else until his lawyer was present. Kyle straightened his tense body and looked dead on into the eyes of Michael, showing that he wasn’t afraid.

Michael stared back just as hard, his face expressionless on the outside but on the inside he was smiling from head to toe. The suspect was getting tense and demanding his lawyer. It was only a matter of time before he caved, and Michael would be there to see it in all its glory.



Police Station – Questioning room 2 – 4:12pm


“What the hell am I doing here?” Maria asked, her arms wrapped around her body protectively and her eyes red and swollen from crying all night. She had just lost one of her friends and now they had the nerve to bring her into the station and demand she tell them that she was the one who killed him?

“For the last damn time. Where were you last night?” Courtney asked with an exasperated sigh. They had been in here for the last hour and still the blonde across from her had not even answered her first question.

“Home.” Maria bit out angrily, turning her set jaw away and staring at the blank door to the side of the room. Why wouldn’t they tell her why she was here?

“Finally!” Courtney sighed under her breath, throwing her hands up in frustrated joy that she actually got the woman to answer. “Now that you’ve finally decided to co-operate, would you mind telling me if you have anyone who can confirm your location?” Courtney asked, her voice laved in sarcasm. She didn’t have time for this.

“Yes.” Maria answered curtly.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Stop playing games and tell me what their fucking name is!” Courtney yelled, standing up and slamming her fists down onto the table, her chair squeaking as it was pushed back from the force. “I don’t have time for this. Unlike some people I actually have a job to get done!”

“Excuse me? I have a job!”

“Oh yeah, because giving people a manicure is so hard work? What if you accidentally break out into a sweat? You take the rest of the day off? Now tell me their damn name!”

Maria stood up with just as much vigour. “Who the hell do you think you are? One of my friends just died and you have the nerve to ask me for a fucking alibi? In case you haven’t realised I’m trying to grieve for my friend’s life here. Why the hell would I want to do that if I wanted him six fucking feet under!?” She shouted, the tears once again cascading down her white cheeks. She didn’t need any of this shit. Not today.


Police Station – Questioning room 1 – 4:21pm


“Just out of curiosity, Mr Valentie, do you own a camera?” Michael asked after staring at the man across from him for roughly ten minutes trying to read his body language. He reached forward towards the recorder in the middle of the table and pressed a button, pretending to turn it off to make it appear to Kyle that this was a topic unrelated to the case, when in actual fact he was pressing the dummy button. Every police recorder had one, and even if they didn’t there were security cameras monitoring the rooms 24/7.

“Why?” Kyle responded incredulously, not quite sure where this would lead. He had refused to answer any more questions until his lawyer arrived, but this question seemed harmless enough. Besides, Michael had turned the recorder off. Why would he do that if it were vital information to the case?

From what Kyle knew, Michael’s friend Isabel was a photographer. He was probably just thinking about getting Isabel a new camera for her birthday or something so he was asking around for the best types.

“Just wondering.” Michael answered with an indifferent shrug, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms behind his head, taking the casual approach to the questioning.

There was something that made this case unordinary and spread it apart from just a random murder. The fact that there was a strip of undeveloped film resting in the victim’s mouth. This strip had something else strange about it. It had photos in it of the exact same person doing regular tasks. Walking their dog, drinking a cup of coffee, walking into a building down town.

What was even more unusual was that even though the photos were all of the same person, their faces had been blurred out of every single frame, impossible to do on undeveloped film unless there was constantly light interfering with the camera. Even then the chances that these random photos were all blurred out only on the face of the person was a thousand to one. Who ever took the photos knew what they were doing.

“Yeah, its digital. But I haven’t used it for about a year. Not even sure where it is.” Kyle responded indifferently, tapping his fingers nervously against the table as he waited for his lawyer to show up.

Michael noticed the nervous habit and sat back further in his chair, watching the suspect closely until a loud crash and angry female voice filtered in through the room. He immediately tensed, knowing it was a bad idea to leave Maria and Courtney alone in the same room.

“Um, excuse me for a minute.” He apologised, quickly shuffling out of the room shaking his head back and forth with a bitter laugh.


Police Station – Questioning room 2 – 4:39pm


“Well I don’t know what whack jobs like you do to get your kicks, now do I?” Courtney retaliated to her earlier comment just as Michael walked into the room.

Maria was fuming. That bitch had no right to say any of those things. When she turned her head towards the intrusion and barked a menacing, “What the fuck do you want?” Michael cringed, knowing that now was no time to reply with a snotty comment.

“Everything alright in here Banks?” He asks with a nod of his head, looking between the two fiery women who were ready to rip each other apart. They were both standing with tense shoulder and clenched fists, ready to jump on anything that moved.

“Yeah Mikkie, everything’s fine.” Courtney bit out through gritted teeth, motioning over to the security camera that was filming their activities. “Just waiting for that piece of junk to turn around so I can go whoop-ass on this chick without t filming!”

“Oh, I’ll give you fucking whoop-ass you stupid little-” Maria threatened, launching herself across the table at the other woman but only to be stopped mid air by Michaels strong arms.

“Hey! Hey! Would you two calm down? You can hear both of you screaming from down the end of the hall!” He barked, silencing both women with a warning glare that told them not to mess with him. “Now what in Gods name is going on?”

“Would you put me down you asshole?” Maria shouted, slapping at his firm chest to make him relinquish his tight grip on her.

“Not until you promise me that you wont try and attack her.” He turned around and looked pointedly at Courtney. “That goes to you to Banks.”

“I refuse to make promises I can’t keep.” Maria said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest as much as she could in the awkward position.

“You know, all you had to do was answer the damn questions instead of being a psychotic bitch and trying to fight me. We would have both been out of here a long time ago!”

“No! I’m not going to let you or anyone else accuse me of killing one of my friends, bitch. So you can take you damn questions and shove them right up your-”

Michael slapped his hand over Maria's mouth to shut her up, turning to once again level Courtney with a harsh glare. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of this. I’m sick of you two constantly bitch slapping each other verbally. It has to stop NOW!”

His voice echoed around the small room, sending shivers down Courtney’s spine as she watched him. His stance was strong and demanded attention; even if did currently have his arms wrapped around the other blonde to prevent her movement.

Michael felt something warm and wet fall onto his hand and he turned his attention back to Maria who now had tears falling down her cheeks and onto the hand that was covering her mouth.

“What? What's wrong now?” He asked in confusion, cautiously taking his hand off her mouth but fully prepared to slap it back on if this was all some ploy of hers.

“Please, I just want to go home and grieve for my friend. I didn’t kill him, I would never kill Nathan. Now I wont ever get to see him again! Why can’t I just go home. Please Michael…”

Michael looked down at her and felt his heart clench. She looked so broken and lost. Her face was pale and her eyes were red from constantly crying for her loss. Even her clothes were not her usual fashion sense, the normally bright and stylish outfits replaced by grey sweat pants and an extremely baggy black top.

“Please.” She whispered, looking up at him with sparkling green eyes and he caved, giving a small nod and ushering her out of the room silently with his hand on the small of her back.

“Michael!” Courtney yelled in surprise when he agreed to let her go. “She's a suspect, you can’t just let her walk out until we’ve finished questioning her!”

He turned back around to face her with a solemn look. “We’ll talk about this later Banks.”



Liz/Maria’s Apartment – 5:04pm


Liz’s eyes fluttered open as the credits from the movie rolled across the screen. She felt a gentle caress repeatedly through her hair and looked up to find Max watching her peacefully. Her head was resting on his chest, his strong arms surrounding her body whilst she slept.

“Hey.” He said in a husky voice. They had both fallen asleep about an hour ago during the movie but he had woken up to see the last few minutes of the movie, instead choosing to watch Liz and ignore the television screen.

“Hey.” She replied back with a soft smile.

Liz sat up groggily, her long silk hair draping around her face as she adjusted her position to take some of her weight off Max. His hand reached out automatically and pushed the wayward strands behind her ear, continuing to caress her cheek softly.

“What time is it?” She asked, looking up only to be captivated by his sparkling amber eyes. Their usual golden glow had turned darker, desire filling his entire body just from looking at her.

“Just after five.” He replied, entranced by her beauty. The way the sunset was shining through the window and hitting her skin gave Liz a radiance, making her look almost angelic. He leant forward unconsciously, intending to seal his lips to hers when the shrill ring of the phone broke through their haze of desire.

Liz let out a low groan and reached over to the coffee table, picking up the cordless phone and resting back into her position snuggled against Max’s strong body.

“Hello?”

“Liz?” Maria asked breathlessly, wrapping her arms around her body securely whilst she waited outside the police station.

“Hey Maria. What's wrong?” Liz’s body immediately tensed at the sound of her friends distressed voice. Max’s arms came around her and softly stroked her arm when he felt her change in posture, trying to calm her down as much as possible.

“I’m at the police station. I need you to come and get me.” Maria sighed into the phone. Today had been long and tiring. All she wanted to do was go home and run a hot bubble bath and forget about everything.

“The police station? Maria, what happened? Are you okay?” Liz asked in a panic, jumping up from her position on the lounge and running around frantically to find her shoes and jacket.


“I’m fine. I just… I’ll explain when you get here. I just really want to go home.”
“Okay, we’re on our way. Give us ten minutes.”

“Thank you.”






TBC.... Song is Gomez - Get Myself Arrested

[Crashdown_51]

Joye's part is next which means i will be even more confused!

Ouch. That hurt....right here. <pointing>

Your Tess is very spooky.

Thanks. We try.

I seriously want to see Michael kiss Maria right in front of Courtney and let her know that she doesn't have a chance with him.

I like your evilness....your hired.

Author's Notes: Hey guys. Yes I know, I suck with the updates. Kris tells me all the time lol. Anywho, I bring gifts...hot tamales and tissues of death I mean tears..tears...I swear that's what I meant. <fluttering> Lissa and Janesdilemma, you two are tough cookies, so we got our eyes on you. Jazzy, you're too funny. Thanks everyone else for the awesome feedback. Also, thank you for those who nominated us, we greatly appreciate it and promise to repay you by bringing you more death....I mean love...love, I swear I meant love .

_____________________________________________________________


Chapter 13

Police Precinct – (Michael and Courtney’s desks) 5:20 p.m.

‘Pop…….pop……pop.’

“Can you please stop doing that?” Michael pleaded completely annoyed by Maria’s bubble gum soundtrack that he could almost swear she was doing on purpose to piss him off while she waited for Liz to pick her up.

But instead of answering him, Maria turned to look at him with an arched eyebrow of daring disinterest as she blew another bubble and sunk her teeth down on the chewy substance to make the loudest pop yet to her collection.

“I swear, I’m about five seconds from shooting you.” Michael warned, pointing to her with his pencil while his other hand held on to his holstered 9mm.

But not even the threat of bodily harm prevented Maria from crossing her arm while she chewed on the gum again and then spread it with the tip of her tongue, blowing into it to make another bubble.

But before she could pop it, Michael took the tip of his pencil and pierce the surface just as she was turning away, and caused the bubble gum to pop in her hair.

“Ug…” Michael coughed out a laugh that he covered with his fist after seeing what he did.

Maria just sat in the seat facing him, with her eyes closed and her lips still puckered in the shape she was blowing the bubble in while she shook her head lightly in utter disbelief.

“Um…” Michael choked out as he scratched his eyebrow, feeling both nervous and guilty. Guilty over the fact that he didn’t intended to pop the gum in her hair and nervous because she still hadn’t said anything. “I…”

Maria quickly pointed her index finger up, insinuating for him to stay quiet and then pulled out her compact from her purse, took a breath, and then opened it, aiming in the direction the pop occurred to see what the damage was.

“It’s…”

“Ah uh.” Maria signaled him to zip it with pinched fingers and then took another breath as she calmly shut her compact and tossed it back inside her purse.

“I told you to stop.” Michael quickly stated before she could kill him with her icy stare.

Right before Maria had a chance to chew him out, she heard her name from outside the double doors and turned to see Liz and Max walking in with confused expressions.

“Maria?” Liz called out, leaning down a bit to see Maria, who was looking away. “What happened?” She asked to either of the two, having no choice but to look to Michael for an explanation since Maria didn’t answer. But before Michael could answer, Liz glanced to Maria when she saw Maria’s head move from the corner of her eye and then noticed the disaster on the side of her hair. “Oh m….” Liz gasped covering her mouth and then placing her hand on Maria’s shoulder for comfort as she squatted down in front of her. “Is this why you’re here?” Liz asked a bit confused as Maria started to sniffle.

“Yeah, she survived an attack by the Bubble Gum Bandit. We just need her to point him out in the line up of parolee Juicy Fruits and Big Reds.” Michael retorted sarcastically, pointing to Liz with his pencil as he rolled his eyes and shook his head in irritation. “Ow!” Michael winced rubbing the back of his head as he turned to look at Max, who was shoving his hand back casually into his pocket after hitting him.“Careful with those hands Mr. Political Interpreter. Our country depends on those valuable babies.” Michael declared with a coy smirk, enjoying the evil glare Max gave him followed by a punch on the arm. “A-oww!” Michael laughed in pain as he rubbed his arm almost sure he’d be expecting to find a bruise there in the morning.

“Let’s get out of here.” Max suggested as he continued to look at Michael, trying to hold his laugh as he watched Michael continue rubbing his arm.

“Okay.” Liz agreed, standing back up and straightening her dark blue velour skirt out.

“Wait, she can’t leave yet.” Michael announced with a small hint of laughter in his tone as he bounced his pencil, up and down, by the eraser against the surface of the desk.

“Why not?” Liz asked as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her matching velour hooded jacket. The weight of her hands lightly pulled the material down a bit to reveal her pink tank top that matched perfectly with the stripes on the elastic, her white Sketchers with a pink “S” and the pink ladybug anklet she was wearing.

“Because.” Michael replied tossing his pencil on the pile of paperwork on his desk, losing his smirk to show he was serious.

“No. I’m going home.” Maria finally spoke, standing up with her arms crossed.

“I still have questions to ask you.” Michael informed her to hint that he’d be interrogating her later.

“Please.” Maria retorted in disgust as she leaned over his desk tauntingly and picked up his pencil, snapping it into two pieces before she moved back by Liz.

“Fine, we can do this the hard way.” Michael advised.

“Fine. Whatever. Call me, fax me, have your people call my people, email me for all I care, but I’m never coming back here again.” Maria vowed, recrossing her arms as she tapped her foot to show that she was serious.

“Rights, so, was that 1-800-BIG-LIPS or Stick-Up-My-Ass@yahoo?” Michael asked sarcastically seeing her jaw tighten in rage.

“Well, if you can’t reach me there, try my cell, 1-800-YOUR-MAMA or go on my web site www.EatShitDipShit.com.” Maria retorted as Max and Liz watched them debate back and forth in amusement.

“Dip shit. Nice one.” Michael replied nodding his head as he looked at Maria impressed by her comeback, that is until Courtney pushed passed the double doors Max and Liz came from, carrying two Subway footlong bags and two cokes.

“Hey! We’re in a police station, not a salon.” Courtney snickered as she walked to her side of the desk and handed Michael his food. She could hear them from the lobby and was even questioned by fellow officers if the blonde that Michael had his hands full with was his girlfriend, pissing her off even more. She just hoped she could have another round at her in the interrogation room, then she’d really show her.

“Ugh!” Maria gasped in irritation whipping her hand in front of Courtney’s face and then crossed her arms as she looked to Max. “Let’s go.”

“Where you going, Mike?” Courtney questioned confused when she saw Michael stand up and grab his jacket once Maria suggested to leave.

“Yeah, where 'are' you going?” Maria repeated in surprise.

“I’m not done questioning you yet.” Michael answered and then looked to Max, who was scratching behind his ear with a smirk, enjoying every bit of the bickering that was going on between the two.

“Well, unless you develop ESP in the next second, I don’t see how you’re gonna be questioning me.”

“Just shut up, okay? For like two fucking seconds if that’s even possible.” Michael commanded as he put on his jacket and pulled out his car keys from his pocket. “I’m gonna drive you home.” Michael announced as he pulled her from her arm, looking behind him to see Max take Liz’s hand and follow behind.

Courtney just stood there, staring at the swinging double doors, in complete surprise before she plopped herself down on her chair. Running her fingers through the side of her hair as she propped her head up by her elbows, she grabbed a few blonde strands, closed her eyes and let out a deep frustrated breath.

“What’s the matter Banks?” Courtney hears Detective Pierce ask in a teasing voice. “Guerin had to go back and put his ball and chain in a mussel?”

“Yeah before I “put her down”.” Courtney huffed, hearing him laugh in amused shock as he pushed past the double doors.

“Whoa! Sorry Miss.” Detective Pierce apologized when he ran into a petite curly haired blonde and eyed her with interest.

“It’s okay.” She replied and looked towards Michael and Courtney’s desk when other officer pushed passed them.

“Can I help you?” He asked skeptically, seeing her bring her eyes from the swinging doors to him.

“Um, no.” The curly haired blonde replied taking a step back. “Thanks anyway.” She added flashing him a smile before she headed down the staircase.


Michael’s Car – 5:32p.m.

“Can you stop hitting me?” Michael shouted trying to balance driving and blocking her slaps at the same time without crashing.

“That depends. Can you stop being a jackass?” Maria question, taking his silence as a “no” and then continue to hit him until in one of his blocks, he lifted his arm too fast and felt a sudden sharp pain on his side.

“Ugh.” Michael winced holding his side.

“What? What? What happen?” Maria asked frightened, holding out her hands in defense as she watched hold his side.

“Maria happen. That’s what.” Michael answered sarcastically, spotting the neon light on a Shell gas station and pulled over.


Shell Gas Station

“Ugh, fuck!” Michael winced after lifting his shirt and seeing that blood was seeping through the bandages.

“Oh my God!” Maria gasped at the sight as she turned to face him.

“Shit.” He winced from the sting and then looked to Maria who was staring fearfully at his wound while biting down on her nails.

“I thought you got hit with a pipe?” Maria asked in shock as she watched him carefully pulling down some of the medical tape to the bandages to check his wound.

“I was hit with a pipe.” Michael replied as he re-covered his wound and pressed on the edges of the tape to make it hold again. “There was a chipped bolt on it.” Michael informed her and then heard a tap on his window, making him turn and see Max looking in.

“What happened?” Max asked as he rested his arm over the hood of the car and look down after Michael rolled down his window.

“Citizen brutality.” Michael replied looking to Maria who crossed her arms in defense before she pulled on the door handle and stepped out of the car.

“You okay?” Max asked concerned when he noticed Michael holding his side.

“He’ll live.” Maria snickered and then slammed his car door.

“Hey!” Michael shouted in warning as he watched Maria from the rearview mirror heading into the Shells store. “Fuck.” He winced again and then looked back at his rearview mirror to see Maria waiting for Liz with her hand on the silver door handle, before they both disappeared inside.

“Maybe you should let her drive.” Max advised, seeing Michael slouched to his side and resting his forehead against the door.

“Trust me Maxwell. The streets are safer with me.”


Inside Gas Station Shop

“It was an accident.” Maria assured Liz as they walked down the first isle.

“Maria.” Liz answered while giving her a skeptic look.

“Okay, so maybe it wasn’t totally an accident, but look at my hair.” Maria exclaimed pointing to her bubble gummed hair as they heard door jingles ringing against each other. Glancing towards the door they came in, Maria and Liz notice a couple walking in and then separating into different isles before the guy grabbed the girl’s ass. Maria and Liz exchanged surprised looks and giggled in amused disbelief before they continue their conversation. “Right, so anyway, maybe you can explain to me why I feel so guilty?” Maria asked in desperation.

“Well, Maria, maybe it’s because you actually made him bleed…twice.” Liz reminded before she moved to the next isle. Maria took a second to think before she finally recalled the cuts on Michael’s back from when he fell through her door.

“Hey, whose side are you on?” Maria asked defensively and then moved to next isle where Liz was.

“Here.” Liz said handing Maria a first aid kit and then continued moving down the isle.

“What’s this for?” Maria asked perplexed as the two heard another jingle, this time in the direction of the other entrance, where the two noticed a short, curly haired blonde glance at them before she moved to the isle they were just in.

“Michael.” Liz answered, bringing them back to their conversation.

“What? Why?”

“Well, because I was having a nice moment with Max before you called. So, you two are gonna play nice because I don’t want my day with Max to end.” Liz commanded with a cheesy smile.

“You dirty hoe.” Maria pouted in defeat, making Liz laugh as they headed to the register.


Outside the Gas Station

“So is he still a suspect?” Max asked concerned after Michael finished telling him about Kyle’s interrogation.

“Yeah, until we rule him out, but right now he’s our prime suspect.” Michael informed him with an indifferent shrug.

“What about Isabel? And them?” Max asked, pointing to Liz and Maria, who were heading towards them, each with a bag in their hand. “Are they safe?”

“Isabel and Liz? Yeah. Maria?? I hope not.” Michael replied with a mischievous smirk and then straightened himself up once Maria opened the passenger side door.

“Ready?” Max asked Liz, who nodded playfully as she moved beside him and took his offering hand. “Let’s go.”


Max’s Car

Once they reached Max’s car, Liz noticed Max looking behind her when he was about to open his door. Turning to look, Liz sees the couple from the store kissing wildly as they struggle to get out of the door without separating. Turning back to look at Max, she couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment and then entered into the passenger side. Max climbed in the driver’s side and started up the car, noticing that Michael still didn't ’start his.


Michael’s Car

“Here.” Maria huffed tossing Michael the first aid kit and then crossed her arms.

“I think I’m gonna need something bigger than a band-aid.” Michael snickered when he pulled out the travel size first-aid kit.

“Fine. Whatever. You just owe Liz $9.50 for it then.” Maria informed him with a shrug.

“$9.50!” Michael exclaimed. “For this?”

“Oh shut up and let’s just go.” Maria commanded in annoyance.


Max’s Car

“I wonder what they’re doing?” Max asked curiously, seeing the shadow of the side of Michael’s face looking at the shadow of the side of Maria’s, from where he sat.

“I can guess, I just don’t think they’re gonna make it to a bed.” Liz commented with a giggle as she watched the couple drive to the exit, while the girl moved over to continue kissing the guy.

“What?” Max asked with a confused chuckle, turning to look to Liz, whose cheeks turned blushing red.


Michael’s Car

“I need gas.” Michael replied.

“So go get some.” Maria answered bluntly, arching her eyebrow in suspicion when she suspected he was telling her to get the gas.

“I’m injured.” Michael reminded.

“And I’m disfigured.” Maria retorted pointing to her hair.

“Yeah, but I’m bleeding.” Michael reminded. “Because you kept hitting me, even though I kept asking you to stop hitting me, but you still kept…”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” Maria cursed as she got out of the car and moved to the pump, while Michael smiled smugly while he watched her from his side mirror.


Max’s Car

“Um, I thought you were, um, never mind.” Liz rambled, shaking her head lightly in embarrassment as she looked down to her lap as she fidgeted nervously with her fingers.

Smiling at her in amusement, Max leaned over and kissed her cheek, seeing her look at him in surprise before she leaned forward and kissed him on his lips. Turning to her to deepen the kiss, Max cupped the sides of her face and placed soft kisses on her lips, kisses that were interrupted when they both turned to look to Michael’s car when they heard a door slam.

“Where’s Maria going?” Liz questioned as she watched Maria walk around the back of Michael’s car and grab a pump.


Michael’s Car

“Premium.” Michael informed her when he saw her take the Regular pump.

“You’re gonna get a premium foot in the ass.” Maria threatened as she re-hung the Regular pump and then grabbed the Premium pump.


Max’s Car

“That’s something you don’t see everyday.” Max laughed as he watched Maria flipping Michael the bird and then Michael sticking his hand out of the window and returning the gesture to her.

“Um, yeah.” Liz giggled and then looked to Max, who was smiling back at her. “What?” She asked biting her lip and looking away down to her shoes to let her hair cover her face.

“Why are you so shy?” Max asked with a chuckle, tucking her hair back behind her ear and then laced his fingers with hers.

“I’m not shy, just….”

“Just what?”

“Just, I’ve only dated one guy and…”

“You’re kidding? One?” Max asked in shock.

“Yeah, since high school.” Liz enlightened him with a huff of surprise herself. “It was that guy, Doug Shellow, from the Valentine’s party.”

“Him?” Max questioned, not really picturing Liz being with a guy like Shellow.

“Yeah, so…”

“So that’s why you’re shy.” Max continued to evaluate her.

“I’m not shy.” Liz repeated, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

“Then come here.” Max asked, leaning forward as Liz was with a smile, and then sealed his lips with hers as he held the side of her face with one hand and the middle of her thigh with the other.

Loving the taste of his tongue and the squeeze of his hand, Liz decided to take the next step to intensify the moment. While turning her head to make his go near her headrest, Liz placed her hand on top of Max’s and pushed it up the rest of the thigh until his hand had disappeared under the cover of her velour skirt.

Max eyes quickly opened by her suggestion, seeing hers open as well, before she stopped the flow of the kiss, planting small kisses on his lips almost plead-like as she held on to the sides of his face and then started up their kiss again in a lusting speed.

Aroused by her boldness, Max slid his left hand up under her belly button and then back down, under the hem of her underwear and inserted his two fingers into her heat. Liz gasped in Max’s mouth from the feeling, a gasp that was cut short when Max covered her lips with his in craving before he continue pushing his fingers in and out of her. Clutching on to the top of the passenger side headrest with his right hand when Liz let out a gasping moan when he started going faster.


Michael’s Car

“Oh, shit.” Maria cursed as she hopped back when the gasoline flooded out the gas tank.

“What the hell was that?” Michael questioned, sticking his head out of his window when he heard a splash.

“Nothing.” Maria quickly answered putting the pump back and noticed the $27 charge.

“How much is it?” Michael questioned pulling out his wallet and opening it to the paper currency section.

“Um, this will do.” Maria replied, quickly snatching his credit card from one of the slips and quickly slid it in the credit card slot of the pump before Michael had time to say ‘no’ to her. “Here you go.” Maria said handing him his credit card and then quickly made her way to the passenger side.

“My receipt?” Michael asked when she closed the car door.

“Oh, I hit ‘no’.” Maria said with an apologetic shrug, looking out her window to avoid Michael’s suspicious look.


Max’s Car

“Agh!” Liz moaned in pleasure, placing her hands over his as he continued to rub in and out of her. The more Liz would moan and pant, the more aroused Max became. Feeling his ears twitch and his stomach flutter, with her yearning whimpers, he was almost tempted to pull the latch on her seat to lower it and properly ravish her the way he wanted to, that is until he heard Michael’s car start up and Michael’s horn honk.

‘BEEP!’ They heard, only the horn had startled Liz, and then watched them pull out the gas station.

Feeling the awkward silence, Max cleared his throat and then looked to Liz who was extremely flushed. “Sorry.” Max apologized for stopping, gripping nervously on the leather of his steering wheel.

“It’s ok.” Liz replied in a low squeak as she straightened her skirt out and then looked at Max just as he turned to look at her. Then, like a shot off, the two bolted towards each other simultaneously and kissed each other in desire.

“Do you want to go to my place?” Max asked short of breath, feeling Liz nod yes, before he planted another kiss and then moved back behind the wheel, shifted into “Drive” and pulled out of the gas station.


Girl’s Apartment - 5:51p.m.

“Where the hell are they?” Maria questioned, looking out the window from the bedroom’s hallway, before she went back to the living room, where Michael was sitting on the couch. “You. Get your ass off my couch before you get blood all over it.” Maria ordered with crossed arms and then moved to the mirror that was hanging between to candle holders on the wall. “Oh, God! I look like frickin’ Shrek!” Maria cried as she looked at her hair.

“Don’t be such a drama queen.” Michael huffed in irritation as he stood up and moved behind her to see her reflection.

“Drama queen?” Maria repeated in anger as she glared at his reflection. “I’m gonna have to cut my hair to get this crap out, so thanks to you I’m gonna look like frickin’ Sinead O’Connor!”

“Yeah, start singing cause I think I can hear the violins playing.” Michael chuckled in sarcasm as he moved back towards the couch and then turned to face her. “I’m the one that’s been shedding blood like water here.”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to have Jerry throw a telethon for you.” Maria retorted in sarcasm and then returned to look at her hair.

“That’s it!” Michael exclaimed as he stomped off to the kitchen and then returned with a handful of peanut butter, plopping it in her hair.

“Ugh!” Maria gasped in dismay and then turned slowly to look at him with an icy glare. “What…the hell…is wrong with you!!”


Guy’s Place – Max’s Room

“Mmmm.” Liz and Max hummed in satisfaction as they struggled to strip themselves of their clothes while they still kissed. Once in their underwear, Max took Liz by her waist and lied her on his bed, spreading his body over hers before he started planting butterfly kisses on the crook of her neck as he slipped his hand underneath the cup of her bra.

“Wait, Max, shouldn’t we let Michael and Maria know where we are?” Liz asked holding Max back, silently enjoying the feeling of his bare chest underneath her fingernails.

“Uh, yeah.” Max exhaled, patting on his phone base and accidently triggering his answer machine.

‘Max, it’s Is. Listen, I can’t pick up Uncle Kal tomorrow, so you …boop’

“Sorry.” Max apologized, turning off the answering machine and then handed Liz his house phone while he sat up on the bed and grabbed his jeans, pulling out his cell phone from his back pocket and dialed for Michael.


Girl’s Place – Living Room

“Peanut butter gets gum out, G.I. Jane.” Michael informed her just as he heard his cell ringing. While pulling out his cell phone from his side pocket, Maria heard her cell ringing too. Rushing to her bag that was on the end of the couch she dug inside and pulled out her cell.

‘With Max. Don’t wait up.’ Maria read in her text message from Liz and then typed back ‘You dirty hoe.’

‘Don’t come home!’ Michael read in his text message from Max and then typed back ‘You Political Interpreting bastard! I’ll kill you!’

Closing her cell, Maria looked to Michael as he closed his. “You got an extra tooth brush?” He asked in irritation.


Guy’s Place – Max’s Room

“Your phone’s ringing.” Max whispered as they climbed underneath the covers.

“Forget it.” Liz whispered back as she lifted her upper body to suck on Max’s earlobe while he unhooked her bra and stripped her from it, before he took a mouthful of her. “Mmm.” Liz moaned in enjoyment, feeling his wet mouth tugging on her and his hands pulling down on her underwear. Once he stripped her of her underwear, Max leaned over and pulled out a condom from his nightstand drawer, ripping the rubbery material from the wrapper and then resting on his side as he put it on. Liz watched Max look down underneath the covers and continued to kiss his neck and earlobe until she felt him rest completely on her and spread her legs apart. Kicking his boxer brief’s off his ankles, unintentionally pulling the covers off of them, Max hooked Liz’s leg up with his arm, adjusted himself on her opening and then pushed himself inside her.


Girl’s Place – Maria’s Bathroom

“Okay, so maybe it was peanut oil.” Michael snorted when he saw the peanut butter wasn’t working.

“And maybe you better start praying your blood type isn’t rare.” Maria threatened as she continued to struggle to comb out the peanut butter and bubble gum glob in her hair.

“Put it in hot water.” Michael advised leaning over and turning the sink’s hot water knob.

“Okay, you already have me looking like Quasimodo. Now you want to turn me into Freddy Kreuger?” Maria gasped in exaggeration as she watched the steam smoke out from the hot water.

“Just shut up and put you hair in there.” Michael ordered, taking Maria’s bubble gummed hair and placing it underneath the hot water.

“Don’t burn me.” Maria wined in panic.

“I’ll try and contain myself.” Michael huffed in irritation and then looked down to the sink to see the piece of gum and peanut butter swirl down the drain. “It’s working!” Michael announced proudly.

“Really?” Maria questioned as she held on to the sides of the sink.

“Yeah.” Michael replied, taking the comb from behind the knobs and began combing out the rest until the comb ran smoothly through her hair. Michael turned off the water as Maria pulled her towel from the towel rack and began towel drying her hair before looking at the mirror and running her fingers freely through her hair to see that it indeed did work.

“You saved my hair!” Maria cheered, turning around and planted a big kiss on his cheek. Hopping up and down, she kissed him again on the cheek and then once on the lips before she stopped jumping and pinched her lips in shock as she looked to Michael who had the same shocked look on his.


Guy’s Place - Max’s Room

“Ugh!” Liz moaned in ecstasy, throwing her head back as Max pumped in and out of her.

“Liz.” Max hissed in her ear when he felt her nick his nipple and then flipped her on her stomach when he felt her dig her nails on his butt. Once he pushed himself back inside her, he bit lightly on her shoulder and then moved to kiss her on her lips when she turned her head to the side.

“Max.” She called out as he held her by her waist as he pushed and pulled her against him, feeling his arousal slide in and out of her. “Max!” Liz whimpered in satisfaction as she held the back of his head and kissed him whenever he would push inside her. “I want to see you Max.” Liz pleaded in a whisper. Kissing her before he let her lie on her back again, Max pushed back inside her and shivered in satisfaction when he felt the tightness of the penetration.


Later on that night

‘Ring-ring…ring-ring’

“Um, hello?” Max answered in a sleepy tone.

‘Maxwell, its Michael.’

“Michael?” Max repeated lifting his head off the pillow and looking at the bright red numbers on his alarm clock. “It’s almost midnight man, you’re gonna wake Liz.” Max whispered in warning as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

‘Good, put her on.’

“Hold on.” Max replied and then turned to see Liz sleeping on her stomach. Brushing her long hair off to the side, Max softly kissed her bare shoulder, feeling her stir by the feeling and then slowly opened her eyes, smiling when she awoke beside Max.

“Hey.” She greeted.

“Hey. Sorry to wake you.” Max apologized and then showed her the phone. “It’s Michael.” Max informed her.

“Maria?” Liz questioned, quickly sitting up with the sheets clutched against her as she took the phone and placed it on her ear. “Michael? What’s wrong? Where’s Maria?”

‘Maria’s fine. We got another body.’

“Do you know who?”

‘Um, yeah. Maria’s with me so…’

“So Maria knows him?” Liz asked confused and then looked to Max who had a concerned expression when he heard her tone.

‘Hold on. I’ll put Maria on….’

‘Liz?’

“Maria? What’s going on?” Liz asked, already feeling her voice cracking and was sure that Max picked up on it because he started to rub her back.

‘Oh God Liz. It’s…’

“What happened?” Max asked when he saw the phone slide out of Liz’s hand but her hand still remained in the same position.

“They found another body.” Liz informed him and then turned to face him with tears in her eyes, seeing him sit up in concern. “It’s Doug, Max. Doug Shellow.”

[lizard_queen]

Hey everyone. Thanks for your amazing feedback, as always.

And, could you send Courtney to another precint or something for conduct unbecoming a police officer? She's such a bitch.

Hmm... now thats a thought.

Wow this is confusing!

We try. And welcome.

What the hell is a political interpretor anyway? Can't wait for more.

Now, if we told you that the entire story would be ruined. You just have to keep guessing. In the words of Joye: NO DICE

Is Max like an enterpretor for the deaf? Cause they said some thing about his hands being valueable? Humm still got me on that one.

Close but no cigar And no, this story is strictly no aliens... except in the everyone is an alien in themselves psychiatric stuff... but anyhoo.

janesdilemma - Keep going. You have me intrigued.

This bits kinda blah. But dont give up on it. I'm sure most of you will like the ending. Something that resembles light in the darkness. Enjoy:


<center>Chapter 14</center>



“D-Doug Shellow as in…” Max gulped down the rest of the sentence, looking at Liz with a stunned expression. She bit her bottom lip and nodded silently as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Max pulled her into his arms instantly, one arm around her waist the other holding her head against his chest whilst she sobbed. Liz held onto him tightly, her hands clinging to his naked body and her nails making small half moon shapes on his skin. She just needed to be held in his warmth, she needed to feel safe and secure, all the things that Max could make her feel.

“Shh, its okay Liz. It’ll be okay.” He whispered quietly in her ear, stroking his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. His words sounded ridiculous even to his own ears. How would it be okay? Someone died and here Max was telling Liz it would all be okay?

When his mother died the last thing he wanted was for people to tell him it was okay. He hated how they had no idea what he was going through, how they all thought he would get over it a few days and be back to his old self. The truth was, he was never his old self again. Three years and still he missed her like crazy.

Even though Liz may not of been that close to Doug anymore, she once was, therefore she still had some semblance of feelings towards him, no matter how much of a jackass he was.

“Liz? Liz?” Maria's voice called out through the phone that was laying on the floor after Liz dropped it. “Lizzie, are you there?”

Max leant over gently, careful not to move Liz too much from her position of safety against his chest and picked up the phone off the floor, bring it to his ear and speaking in a soft, concerned voice.

“Maria, can you give us like five minutes and we’ll call you back? Please?” He begged, softly stroking Liz’s silky hair.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll tell Michael. Bye Max.” He could hear the emotion in her voice, the concern for her best friend and the horror at another body being found, another victim that they knew.

“Bye.” He said and turned his attention back to Liz as soon as he had hung up. The tears had stopped flowing and her breathing had evened out apart from the occasional hiccup.

He looked down at her with sorrow filled eyes and stroked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek in the process. “You okay?”

She nodded silently, loosening her grip on his torso slightly and sucking in a deep breath. “I-I think so.”

Max smiled down at her, thinking she looked so beautiful right now. Her hair was slightly wavy from sleep, her eyes and cheeks pink from crying and her naked body glowing from the soft moonlight streaming through the window. He reached up and tenderly brushed away her tears with the pads of his thumb, placing a gentle kiss on her temple.

“I’m sorry. God, I must look like shit.” She whispered quietly, attempting to move off him but his strong arms held her in place.

“You look beautiful Liz.” He vowed.

A deep blush stained her cheeks and she ducked her head away in embarrassment. Max was the only one who ever said she was beautiful, not including Maria and Alex of course. What was amazing was that he actually meant it.

“Thank you. For everything. I’m sorry for putting you through all this.”

“Its okay. Its what I’m here for.” He half smiled sympathetically at her. “You should try and get some more sleep. You look really tired.”

“Yeah.” Liz nodded, feeling utterly lost right now. If Max wasn’t here she didn’t know what she would do. “Oh, I cant. I have to go to work. T-they need me there.”

It was the last thing she wanted to do right now and he could hear it in her voice. Falling back asleep with Max’s comforting arms surrounding her was the only thing she wanted to do, but she had no choice. As hard as it would be, she had to go to the murder scene and look at her ex-boyfriends dead body.

“Ok. Get dressed and I’ll take you back to your apartment ok?”

She went to stand up but Max pulled her back down, pressing his lips against her softly in a tender kiss, letting her know that he would be here for her no matter what.


Crime Scene – 1:05am

“Oh God.” Liz gasped, her hand covering her mouth from the sight in front of her. His face was so pale, his eyes wide open and looking at the sky above him.

‘Where was the rest of his body?’ She thought, only seeing his head and half a torso. Her eyes scanned around her until they landed on a large dumpster, blood smears running down the edges.

Of course.

“Liz? Are you okay?” Michael asked, walking down the abandoned alley and towards her frozen figure.

She swallowed hard and nodded, trying to calm down her speeding heart. “Y-yeah. Lets just get this over and done with.”



Girls Apartment – 11:43am


Liz walked into her apartment with a small sigh, slamming the door closed behind her and heading straight for her room. She kicked off her shoes and threw her jacket haphazardly behind her, collapsing down onto the middle of the king size double bed.

Today had been the worse day in the history of worst days. She didn’t know how should would have survived looking at Doug’s mangled body if Michael wasn’t there helping her, pushing her along.

What made it even worse was that hanging out of Doug’s mouth was another strip of film, the faces all blurred out once again, showing some random male jogging, eating, even sleeping. But still, she had no idea who it was because she couldn’t see their face.

If it was just some random death, a mugging or a heart attack or something, then Liz could live with it, but the fact that he was killed and left with the film in his mouth just like Nathan was sent chills up her spine. Was it just a coincidence that she knew both of the victims?

Sure, she may have hated the bastard with the fire of a thousand suns for what he did to her, but she never wanted to see him get killed. Deep down in some odd twisted way, she still had feelings for him, no matter how miniscule they were, she still had memories.

Her feelings for Doug never ever compared to how she felt about Max. The things she felt toward Max were scary, new. It was like she couldn’t live without him, like she needed to see him, to touch him, to breathe him all the time. He was on her mind constantly and it felt as though when she was with him, he could make everything fine, like he had the power to right all the wrongs in the world.

Her feelings were scary and intoxicating at the same time.

Liz closed her eyes with a deep breath and tried to clear all thoughts, all feelings. She needed sleep, desperately. After ten minutes of tossing and turning, still very much wide awake she sat up frustrated. Reaching for the phone she dialled the now familiar number and held on with baited breath for an answer.

Guys Apartment – 12:16pm

“Hello?” Max said after running out of the makeshift office in the spare room to answer the incessant ringing of the phone.

“Max?” A fragile voice asked on the other line.

“Liz? What's wrong? Are you okay?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line before she answered, the tears evident in her voice. “No.”

“Do you want me to come over?” Max asked, already tying on his shoes and grabbing his keys off the kitchen bench top.

“No, its okay. I’m sorry, you’re probably busy.” Liz said, scolding herself for interrupting him.

“I’ll be there in five minutes, okay?” He said, already halfway out the door.

“Thank you.”



Girls Apartment – 12:23pm


There was a knock at the door and Liz practically ran to answer it, opening it up and launching herself straight into his sturdy arms. He held her close, walking them both back until they were in her bedroom.

Max lay her down in the middle of the large bed and climbed in behind her, kicking off his shoes and pulling her back flush against his chest. His hand lay flat against her silky stomach and the other one was propped up on his elbow, his head resting in his hand as he watched over her beautiful face.

Liz mentally scolded herself when she felt the first tear fall down her cheek and landed on the bedspread underneath her. She had to be strong, she already cried today. Max was going to think she was just a blubbering idiot if all she did was cry.

As soon as Max saw the tear run down her cheek his heart clenched. He rolled her over so she was facing him and pulled her close, breathing in her delicate scent as her small body shook from the tears.

Two Hours Later:

Maria came home and sighed in thanks that the salon closed early on Saturdays. She threw her bag onto the lounge and walked down the hallway and to Liz’s room, just to see if she was home. She smiled softly at the picture before her.

Max and Liz were both asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms tightly, her head pressed against his chest and their legs entwined. She walked in quietly and lifted a spare blanket from the chair, draping it over their bodies before walking out and closing the door behind her.

She dragged herself into the kitchen with a sigh and pulled out a coffee cup. Liz was so lucky to have found someone like Max, someone who would look after her and love her unconditionally, when all she got stuck with was some asshole who broke her door and insulted her twenty four seven.

Really, how hard was it to find a decent guy these days? Liz sure made it look easy. Maybe she was just looking too hard. Maybe she just had to wait until he came to her.

She opened the fridge to take out the milk only to find that they had none. Looks like it was time to go food shopping again.

“Great, just great.” She mumbled, walking out of her apartment and across the hallway. She opened the door to Alex apartment without knocking, knowing it would be open as usual, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him standing in front of a mirror posing…

…Butt naked.

“Agh! My Eyes!” She squealed loudly, slapping her hands over her eyes as soon as any coherent thought came back to her.

“Maria!” Alex yelped just as loud, turning around in shock and grabbing the closet thing he could to cover himself, which happened to be a tiny throw pillow his mother had bought him two years ago for his apartment. “What the fuck are you doing here!?”

“Ahh…” She gulped, trying to hold back her laughter. She slowly lifted her coffee cup up for him to see. “We um, needed some milk.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” He asked, his cheeks staining with a deep blush. Maria opened her fingers and peered through cautiously, pleased to see that he was covering himself with something.

“If I knew you would be in here doing…that … I would have! Oh God, I think I’m scared for life.” She muttered, shaking her head and throwing herself on the nearest lounge chair. She immediately jumped up afterwards, stepping away from the furniture in fright.

Alex looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she crossed her arms over her chest matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to take any chances. I don’t know what diseases you could have spread.”

“Maria…” Alex sighed, wishing she would just go away so he could get dressed. He would have run to his room already, if it weren’t over the other side of the apartment.

“What the hell are you doing anyway? Just so I can get the story straight when I tell Liz about my adventures of getting milk.” She smirked at him, laughing at the way his face paled and his eyes just about dropped out of his head.

“P-practicing my posing.” He murmured quietly, his eyes dropping down to look at the ground in front of him and his ears blazing bright red. Where was that giant hole to swallow him when he needed it?

“Why?”

“I-Isabel… she asked me to pose in some of her pictures.” He blushed again.

“Nude?” Maria asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

“Well… not exactly. Its just, I saw some of her photos of other guys that she had taken and some of them were nude so I thought-”

“Alex? Are you-” Isabel stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him standing across the room. “Oh. My. God.” She giggled, putting her hand up to her mouth.

“Well, looks like it’s my cue to exit. Have fun Alex.” Maria said with a smirk, shuffling out through the half open door that Isabel had just come through. She turned back around and winked at him over her shoulder, giving him the thumbs up sign before running across to her apartment.

“Alex? What’s going on?” Isabel said again, smiling at the sight in front of her.

“Noth-” He started, his voice coming out incredibly high. Clearing his throat, he tried once again. “Nothing.”








TBC.... when ever Joye gets around to writing it.

[Crashdown_51]

You almost killed me with M&M's exchange of phone numbers: 1-800-YOUR-MAMA, or the StickUpMyButt@yahoo! ROLFMAO (they should have a new one: FOCLMAO... "Falling Off the Chair, Laughing...)

He he, I was cracking up too when I was writing it so I understand.

But Isabel didnt seem to mind seeing him buffed' and with a throw pillow. Is it gonna play out like Titanic? "Over there on the b-bed... I mean couch"

LMAO!!

Are you going to be a cop or are you one? Man, your theories have us on our toes like tippy, like the tip of the toe nails. LOL. Like Rose did in Titanic.

So maxies job is intertwined to the story... interesting! Max is the killer and hes an assassin.

Hmmm....maybe???

Can you give us some clues, please.

Um...no dice.

I'm even more intrigued by Max's job now, what's he got to do with the murders?

I plead the 5th.

And if it is Max in the photo's Liz and Michael would surely recognise him, even without his face, from his clothes and his body. So if it isn't Max, who is it and what's it got to do with Liz?

1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , FiF! <cough> Sorry, I was watching Dave Chapplle.

If it's Tess (and/or Courtney), why is she killing men that Liz knows? As Max's stalker wouldn't the smarter move be to kill Liz, what she's doing now is only driving them closer?

Good point. So you're suggest we should off Liz huh? Did you hear that Kris? I'm just crazy enough to do it. Muaw ha ha.

I loved the scene at the end. Classic!

Yeah, Kris was dying to write that from like the beginning, lol. So kuddos to her.

Where the heck is Tess? Not that i really care but still what is she up to?

Come on Jazzy. Say it with me. N-o-o-o D-i-c-e. That a girl.

I'm thinking the killer has something to do with Isabel cause of the film.

Hmmm...maybe.



Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the amazing feedback.

Sternbetrachter, rigel, Emz80m, YonkersMe, janesdilemma, tequathisy, Jason's Lover, Timelord31, maxandliz4ever1357, icequeen, con angel, cherie, and Believer2

Since Kris is a busy bee studying very hard for her exams, if we can give her some time until she can write the next chapter. She said two weeks, is that right Kris? And she's told me some of the stuff she has to study for and I must say Aussie school is one tough cookie, but I'm positive she'll crack it.


_____________________________________________________________

<center>Chapter 15</center>


<center>Alex’s Place – 2:34 p.m.</center>

“What did she say?” Isabel asked with a giggle as she stepped fully into the room and set her camera case on the single seat sofa closest to the door.

“Other than she was going to publicize my humiliation, nothing much, thank you.” Alex retorted sarcastically as he held the throw pillow tighter to him and watched as Isabel loaded the film to her camera.

“She’ll be fine.” Isabel laughed, shaking her head while she adjusted the lens to her camera and then looked back at Alex. “You ready?”

“Um, I-I’m not sure this is a good idea anymore.”

“Oh, come on, Alex. You can’t be afraid of little old me now can you?” Isabel asked charmingly as she batted her eyelashes at him.


<center>Girl’s Place – Liz’s Room</center>

“Liz.” Maria whispered with a small giggle as she tapped Liz on her ankle. “Pst. Liz.”

“Mmm.” Liz whined as she snuggled closer to Max, about to drift off to sleep again until she felt someone tapping on her ankle and then looked down to see Maria standing at the foot of the bed with a huge smile plastered across her face.

“Liz. Get your ass up now. Quick.” Maria ordered and then quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from breaking into a full laugh. “I’ll be outside.” Maria whispered after Liz held up her finger to signal to her to give her a minute and then stepped out the room.

Once Liz saw the door close, she took in a breath to imprint the memory of what it was like to wake up in Max’s arms and savor it, even though it was just from a nap. She laughed on the inside on how she almost appeared to be one of those erotic women in those Axe commercials that devour a stranger just because of his scent.

Letting out a sigh of surrender, she realized that she, Elizabeth Parker, was falling in love with Max…and hard.

A relationship of 7 years with Doug couldn’t hold a candle to the relationship of barely 7 days with Max, and that fact simply scared her. Maybe she was falling in love too fast. And to add wood to a burning fire, she didn’t know whom she was falling in love with. Taken, she knew his sister and knew some random memories, but she didn’t know trivial things about him. Things like how he took his coffee in the morning, what he does to relax or now that she thought of it, she had no idea what he did for a living. What exactly does a Political Interpreter do?

“Max.” Liz whispered as she stroked his cheek causing him to stir. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Liz added before planting a soft kiss on his lip and untwined their laced legs before crawling off the bed.

Tip toeing out of her room backwards, she quietly closed her door and then turned to see Maria waiting impatiently on the living room couch.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Liz questioned as she crossed her arm to try and restore some of the warmth Max had given her in his arms.

“Oh, babe.” Maria cheered as she quickly stood up at the sound of Liz’s voice and then leaned over the coffee table to grab Liz’s wrist. “I can’t tell you, it’s something you have to see with your own eyes.” Maria explained as she pulled Liz through the living room and out the front door.

“Maria, wait, where are we going? I don’t have shoes and Max is still in my room.” Liz reminds her trying to add some resistance to her step to prevent from being taken any further.

“Yeah, I know, but this is life or death Liz. It’s about our kinky friend Alex and his Full Monty impersonation.” Maria pitched as she wrapped her arm around Liz to push her to keep going.

“His what?”

“Yeah, I’m shocked too. Who would have known that our friend of many long years had it in him and trust me “he has it”.” Maria declared as she wiggled her eyebrows and then stopped Liz when they reached Alex’s door. “Okay, Sweet Pea. This is about to get very American Pie unrated now, so I’m issuing you your big girl card.”

“For some reason I can’t help but be the curious cat.” Liz admitted as she picked at her fingernails.

“Trust me Liz, curiosity is going to be the last thing you feel when you see this. Ready?” Maria asked as she counted to 3 in her head and then swung the door open to find Alex posing on the couch while Isabel snapped consecutive pictures. “What…the hell?” Maria gasped in shock as Liz quickly covered her eyes and turned around laughing.

“Maria!” Alex shouted as he covered himself again with the same throw pillow.

“It’s a sick sick world we live in Liz.” She declared as she shook her head in disappointment.

“Maria!” Alex repeated for her to get the point she wasn’t welcomed. “Can you stop bursting in here?”

“Well can you stop leaving your door unlocked?” Maria retorted as she tried to hold back her laugh. “Turn around Liz.” Maria ordered as she forced Liz to turn over, revealing to Alex that Liz was laughing with tears pooling in her eyes. “Look at him Liz. That’s our friend. Bare ass and posing like Fabio in a cheesy sex novel cover.”

“Oh, Maria. Stop over-exaggerating.” Isabel giggled as she brushed back a loose strand of hair off her face.

“Don’t get exaggeration confused with shock, Isabel, because I’m all shock here.” Maria replied as she pointed to herself. “I mean I could see Alex dabbling in the naughties, hell I can even picture myself in a few Polaroid’s, but you Isabel, shock me the most. Maybe that’s why Liz was fighting me to the death to stay with Max, I mean I had to like literally push her here, is the lovin’ that good Babe?”

“I’m not answering that.” Liz quickly answered as her face turned red of embarrassment.

“Wait, Max is here?” Isabel questioned in confusion.

“Yeah, he’s back in our place.” Liz answered as she shook her head and tried to maintain her eyes on anything but Alex, which caused her to focus on Isabel’s camera.

“He is?” Isabel asked as she set her camera down on the coffee table and rushed out the front door.

“Good idea. Max should be able to see this too.” Maria cheered as she followed behind Isabel.

“No! Don’t go get Max!” Alex pleaded as he followed behind Maria.

“Wait!” Liz called out as she grabbed Isabel’s camera and rushed out to follow behind them after pushing the clip on the door down to lock it. “Oh.” Liz slapped her hand over her mouth and looked to see Alex coming back.

“What?” Alex questioned as he rushed back to her while holding the pillow still.

“Oops.” Liz mumbled underneath her hand and then stepped aside when Alex reached for the doorknob.

“What oops? No oops. No oops.” Alex panicked as he shook the doorknob with one hand. “Ugh! You bastards.”

“I’m so sorry, Alex. I locked it by accident.” Liz winced as she bit on the tip of her finger.

“Liz!” He shouted and then turned to look at her, just as she looked up back up at him in embarrassment. “Hey, keep your eyes where I can see them.”

“I’m sorry Alex. Really, I am. It’s just a habit. I do that to our door when I’m coming over to your place.” Liz rambled in explanation as she clutched the camera to her stomach. “I’m sorry.”

“You better be, now I gotta go to your place and face Max like this.” Alex swallowed in fear and then carefully stepped his way back towards Liz’s apartment while she eyed the sight of him walking away.

“Oo Alex, I hate to see you leave but I love to see you walk away.”

“Liz!” Alex shouted in dismay as he pressed his back against the wall.

“I’m sorry. I just had to say it.” Liz laughed as she started to walk to him.

“Go.” He ordered pointing her to go before him and then looked down the hallway to make sure no one was coming before he ran the rest of the way.


<center>Police Precinct</center>

“I’m telling you it’s him.” Michael finished his accusation before tossing a balled up piece of paper into the garbage basket that was in the corner of the room and then turned to look at Courtney tapping the eraser and the tip of her pencil nervously against the desk. “Courtney, are you even listening to me?”

“What?” Courtney snapped back as she tossed her pencil on her side of the desk and leaned back on her chair.

“What’s with you?” Michael questioned, picking up on her sudden distance.

“Nothing. What’s with you?” Courtney retorted as she crossed her arms and looked around the other desks before returning her glare to Michael.

“Look, you’re pissed at me for whatever reason. Fine, but I’m thinking about the case.”

“That’s funny, cause here I thought I was the only one.” Courtney spat as she looked away again in aggravation.

“What the hell’s that suppose to mean?”

“It means that we have the biggest case Bay Head City has ever had on it’s lap and while I’m trying to crack this case you’re out on a date, and with a suspect no less.”

“First of all, I wasn’t on a date…”

“He said at 1 in the morning beside Convict Gigolo.” Courtney snorted sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

“…and second she’s not a suspect.” Michael continued after her interruption.

“Said who?” Courtney questioned in shock.

“Since I was with her the entire time vic number two was made into chopped liver.” Michael retorted, scooting up closer in his seat.

“That’s what I’m saying. You’re getting all cozy with this chic you hardly know and I’m over her trying to make sense of the psychopath that’s doing this.” Courtney declared as she held up the crime scene photos to Doug’s murder and then tossed it to him.

“Look, whatever. I don’t need to explain myself to you, so what do you got?” Michael questioned as he looked through the photos, shrugging off her unnecessary anger.

“Aside that this vic was butchered, not much. No fingerprints, no weapon, no witnesses. If it wasn’t for the signature, I would’ve thought this was a completely different killer.”

“So, what are you thinking? That there’s two?” Michael questioned as he leaned back on his chair in intrigue.

“It’s possible. Hell, for all we know it could be three. One killing them, one taking pictures, and another getting rid of the bodies.” Courtney shrugged as she looked down at her notes.

“Let’s just get to one for now.” Michael advised as he stood up and walked to the evidence board behind him to look over their information. “What’s going on with the film? Did we get it developed yet?”

“Yeah, lab called, said the faces on both films were blurred out. I ordered the pics to be resized. Maybe we can catch a break with the backgrounds.”

“Do we know where Valenti was last night?” Michael questioned as he eyed Kyle’s name underneath the underlined words “Prime Suspect”.

“No, but get this, he has a wrap sheet.” Courtney informed him looking up from her notepad to see Michael turn around with interest.

“For?” Michael questioned as he held onto the back of his chair.

“Aggravated assault.”

“Against who?” Michael questioned as he moved in front of his seat and then leaned on his desk with his hands on the surface.

“Hold on let me check.” Courtney answered holding up her finger and then turning to her computer. “Son of a bitch.” Courtney cursed in disbelief.

“What?” Michael questioned as he came out from behind his desk and then moved behind her to look at the screen. “I knew it.”

“Son of a bitch got arrested for assaulting a Douglas P. Shellow back in 99’.” Courtney read off from the screen as she dragged her finger underneath the sentence and then looked up at Michael.

“That a girl. Let’s go.” Michael ordered and then headed towards the swinging doors while Courtney grabbed her jacket and followed behind him.


<center>Girl’s Place – Liz’s Room</center>

“Max!” Isabel shouted in Max’s ear and quickly stepped back when he jumped.

“Jesus, Iz. You trying to give me a heart attack?” Max questioned startled as he let out a breath of relief while clutching his heart.

“No, but you’re gonna give Dad one when he finds out you didn’t pick up Uncle Kal at the airport. Didn’t you get my message?” Isabel questioned when she noticed Max had not one clue on what she was talking about.

“What message?” Max questioned running his fingers through his hair while he tried to remember and then looked beside him to see Liz wasn’t there.

“Max!”

“Maria no!”

“Run Maria.”

“What’s going on out there?” Max questioned as he climbed off the bed and exited the room to find both Liz and Maria sitting on Alex’s lap while Alex covered both their mouths.

“Heeeyy, Max. Wha-what a surprise. What are you doing here?” Alex asked with a nervous smile plastered across his face.

“Liz called m…um, Alex, are you naked?” Max questioned while Isabel giggled behind him.

“Who me? Naked? No. Just um, I-I was trying on my loincloth for Halloween and um…” Alex paused when he felt Maria pry his hand off her mouth.

“What Tarzan is really trying to say is mmm…” Maria’s giggle was muffled when Alex removed his hand from Liz’s mouth and quickly covered Maria’s mouth again.

“Um, Max.” Liz slipped away from Alex, leaving Maria to cover him, while Liz moved to Max, holding her hands in defeat, completely embarrassed. “Um, what Alex was trying to say is that he was so excited…”

“Excited?” Max repeated confused when Liz’s eyes widened and her cheeks reddened.

“No, wait, no, not excited.” Liz quickly corrected when she realized the word “excited” should be as far away from describing Alex’s situation.

“Not excited?” Max repeated even more confused as he crossed his arms and then looked back to Isabel, who was hiding her smile behind her hand and then cleared her throat and shrugged innocently when Max looked at her skeptically.

“He just wanted to show us his costume and then Isabel suggested we take a picture, you know to savor the memory.”

“Somehow I doubt I’ll forget this.” Maria giggled through Alex’s two bent fingers.

“Sorry.” Alex quickly apologized before covering her mouth again. “Poor girl has Turrets. She’s seeking help, I swear. They just haven’t discovered a drug strong enough for her.”

“Why is Alex trying on a costume?” Max asked still naively confused by the whole situation. “Halloween is eight months away.”

“Maria’s throwing a costume party.” Liz quickly blurted out and then bit her lip in guilt. She didn’t want to lie to Max, but she didn’t want to turn in one of her best friends, especially when she was the one that locked him out of his apartment.

“Um, Max. Uncle Kal?” Isabel finally interrupted after enjoying the ping pong white lies she was especially responsible for since she asked Alex to pose for her.

“Right.” Max recalled shaking the confusion from his head and then looked back to Liz. “I gotta go pick up my uncle, um, do you want to come with me?”

“To meet your uncle?” Liz asked flattered by the request. True she had already met his sister, but “meeting a family member of the guy your dating” didn’t apply to Isabel since Liz met Isabel before Max. “Um, sure. Let me just get my purse.” Liz answered before going to her room, practically in a skip of happiness.

Isabel moved around the coffee table and grabbed her camera that was beside Alex and then moved to sir one the opposite end of the couch while Alex continued to hold Maria hostage.

“You’re naked under there, aren’t you?” Max asked with an amused smile.

“Nu-no?” Alex prolonged his nervous “no” while Maria’s head nodded “yes” frantically and her eyes lighted up with tears of laughter.

“Weird.” Max shrugged with a bewildered smirk and then turned to look at Liz when she came back out.

“Ok, ready.” Liz announced, as she hooked her arm around Max’s when he offered it in courtesy.

“See you later…Maria…Tarzan…Jane.” Max bid fair well to all three, bowing his head when he looked to Maria, Alex, and then Isabel, and shot her a warning look.

“What?” Isabel questioned innocently, knowing Max knew she was the cause of Alex being naked.

“We’ll talk later.” Max warned before leaving and then Alex released his hold on Maria’s mouth while she laughed in hysteria.

“You evil bastards.” Alex cursed as he looked at Maria in betrayal.

“Oh, come on you got to admit, that was funny.” Maria laughed.

“Yeah, funny if it wasn’t me, but meanwhile it is and I’m locked out of my apartment.” Alex informed them as he picked on couch’s arm’s fabric.

“How that happen?” Isabel questioned with a puzzled smile.

“Liz locked it with that latch.” Alex mumbled under his breath.

“God, I hate it when she does that.” Maria huffed in annoyance. “She’s locked herself out so many times that way. One time, I was sleeping, dreaming Brad Pitt was feeding me grapes and saying I was more beautiful than him, anyway, point is, I hear someone knocking like crazy. I was already pissed because some stupid Girl Scout was selling cookies at 7 in the morning and interrupted my foot rub from Colin Farrell while he whispered sweet dirty Irish nothings in my ear…wait what was I talking about again?”

“Absolutely nothing.” Alex huffed as he rolled his eyes. “Isabel, can you hand me the phone so I can call a locksmith.”

“A locksmith?” Isabel repeated.

“Why don’t you just call the Super?” Maria questioned with a shrug.

“Cause it’s bad enough 4 people witnessed my embarrassment, okay? I don’t need the Super to think I’m some perverted nudist.”

“Really? Well, your outfit begs to differ.” Maria laughed.

“Bite me DeLuca.” Alex retorted.

“Only in the bedroom, Dr. Loincloth.” Maria teased and then laughed when he turned his head away biting back his annoyance by the way Maria twisted the meaning of his words.

“Hey, you try coming up with a reason why you’re butt naked to a guy, when his girlfriend is sitting on my lap and his sister is present.”

“Let’s not forget she was snapping pictures too, Mr. October.” Maria reminded as she arched her eyebrow and shook her head,

“Screw you Maria.” Alex snapped back.

“Promises. Promises.” Maria teased again, making Isabel laugh as she got up. “Hey, if you’re going to develop those pictures, I want doubles. This story has to be passed down from generation to generation.”

“I’m gonna go open Alex’s door.” Isabel proclaimed as she patted her hair down.

“How?” Alex questioned in surprise.

“Trust me Alex. If it’s called a lock, I can get through it, all I need is…”

“A bobby pin?” Maria finished off her sentence.

“Something like that.” Isabel chuckled.

“Um, I got a whole jar full in my room.” Maria informed her as she was about to get up and felt Alex pull her back down. “Hey!”

“Uh, uh. You’re on loincloth duty since you got me into this mess.” Alex ordered as he tightened his hold on her.

“Alex, don’t be such a baby. I’m just gonna get Isabel the bobby pins so you can get your ass cheeks off my seat cushion and go put some clothes on.” Maria vented and then looked to Isabel. “Look, we can even switch place, Isabel can sit…”

“No!” Alex quickly shot down her suggested not seeing the hurt look on Isabel’s face.

“Why not?” Isabel questioned sadly.

“Because.” Alex answered simply.

“Because why?” Maria asked just as confused since she thought she sensed chemistry between him and Isabel.

“Because okay!” Alex shouted in embarrassment. “I don’t need my body to react, okay? This is as embarrassed as I’m gonna get.”

“You just did not say that while I’m sitting on you Alex.” Maria prayed in disgust as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah, well, you asked.” Alex shrugged indifferently looking anywhere but where Isabel was standing.

“Yeah, well nothing better be reacting in this area. Capeesh? This is a react free zone.” Maria threatened as she waved around them and then looked to Isabel. “You better hurry. I don’t know how long he can resist the Maria closeness that many have yearned for and very few honored.”

“Yeah, hurry Isabel. Her ego is making her heavy.” Alex snickered as he rolled his eyes and looked to Isabel as she entered Maria’s room.

“Alright let me get you a towel.” Maria informed him as she got up and then disappeared in Liz’s room before she came back out with a towel.


<center>Hallway</center>

“You ready?” Michael questioned Courtney, who nodded as they both pressed their backs against the sides of Kyle’s doorway, gun’s drawn, and then looked to Michael when he mouthed their countdown. Taking two steps back for momentum, Michael charged at the door and kicked it open. “Police!” He announced as he and Courtney looked around the apartment.

“Clear.” Courtney shouted.

“Clear.” Michael replied and then holstered his gun in disappointment.

“He’s not here.” Courtney announced just as disappointed as she holstered her weapon and looked to Michael, who pulled out his radio from his back pocket and pressed on the transmitter.

“Guerin. It’s all clear. Send them up. Over.”

“10-4. Uniforms are on their way. Over.”

“I want everything photographed.” Michael ordered to Courtney as he exited the apartment and moved across the hall.

“Where you going?” Courtney asked as she watched him burst into the apartment across from Kyle’s and then heard a girl scream before she rushed over. “What—” She trailed off when she walked in on Maria handing a very naked man a towel. “I guess Gigolo moved on, huh, Guerin?” Courtney asked with a sarcastic smirk.

“Shut it Banks.” Michael retorted and then his eyes moved to the small hallway that led to Maria’s room when he saw someone coming.

“Michael?” Isabel gasped holding a clear jar full of bobby pins as she froze by the door.

“Yo, Guerin. Who the hell are you hanging out with?” Courtney chuckled in disgusted amusement.

“This is not what it looks like.” Alex explained as he finished wrapping the towel around him.

“Funny. Looks to me like you’re naked in the same room as someone that I consider to be like my own sister.” Michael evaluated as he crossed his arms for intimidation.

“Just let me explain.” Alex pleaded holding his hand up to signal Michael to wait when Michael started to crack his knuckles. “Maria and Liz were trying to tell Max so when I closed their mouths I slipped and the three of us fell back on the couch, and my apartment is locked so she got me a towel while Isabel looked for something to open my door with.”

“You don’t need to explain Alex.” Maria snickered as she crossed her arms and scanned Michael and Courtney up and down. “We’re all grown ups here.”

“Uniforms are here.” Courtney informed Michael before exiting the apartment and heading back into Kyle’s apartment just as an officer started to put up yellow crime scene tape up.

“Where’s Max?” Michael questioned Isabel as he tried to compose himself.

“He went with Liz to pick up Uncle Kal.” Isabel answered rolling her eyes when Michael’s tone sounded angry.

“Why didn’t you go?”

“Because, Michael. My photography exhibit is in two days and I needed to get some extra shots to fill up a spot.”

“Hey what happened next door? What’s going on?” Max questioned when he, Liz and Kal entered into the apartment, feeling the tension the air.

“Is Kyle okay?” Liz questioned in a worried panic.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Michael assured her and then looked over to Kal who was looking around before he spotted Alex.

“Is this the guy?” Kal questioned as he walked up to Alex and pointed to him. “Hey Kiddo. Kal Langley. I heard you’ve been having quiet a day today.”

“Yeah and it’s getting worser by the minute, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go crawl into a hole and die.” Alex announced in embarrassment as he walked to the front door with his head lowered in shame.

“Great, but go put some clothes on first, Kid.” Kal advised as everyone watched him leave.

“Uncle Kal!” Isabel greeted with happiness as she ran to him and hugged him.

“Isabel, well look at you. Max, is this your sister or a supermodel?” Kal asked looking to Max who just smiled.

“Listen, I want to hear everything about your trip after I come back.” Isabel announced as she left to go open Alex’s door.

“Did she mean including the hour of hell I had to go through because her brother forgot to pick me up?” Kal questioned sarcastically as he turned to look at Max.

“I’m sorry. I forgot.” Max huffed out irritated as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“Well, of course you forgot when you have this lovely young woman to occupy your attention.” Kal commented as he moved over to Liz and hugged her.

“Thank you.” Liz blushed before returning back to Max’s arms.

“Hey, Kid, who can blame you. No woman can resist falling into the hands of Political Interpreter, you didn’t, my wife sure didn’t and neither did my girlfriend.” Kal let out a chuckle before moving over to Michael and patted him on the side of his face. “And you. You could’ve been like Max and me, but instead you decide to be a cop.”

“Sorry Kal. That just isn’t my thing.” Michael shrugged and then subconsciously looked over to Maria. A look that Kal sure didn’t miss.

“And this lovely young lady must be the partner Michael told me about once.” Kal speculated as he moved over to Maria. “Michael you left out so many details, she’s gorgeous. Courtney, right?”

“God no!” Maria exclaimed in dismay and then shook Kal’s hand. “I’m Maria.”

“Maria?” Kal repeated with splendor before glancing over to Michael. “Pleasure to met you.”

“Like wise.” Maria replied and then looked over to Liz. “Hey Gidget, you got a message on your answering machine.” Maria informed Liz, remembering seeing the blinking notification light on the answering machine blinking when she went to get Alex a towel.

“Oh, ok. Excuse me.” Liz dismissed herself from the room and headed to her room.

“Um, Maxwell. We gotta talk.” Michael whispered to Max as he pointed him to follow him in the direction of the bedrooms’ hallway.

“Was it something I said?” Kal questioned when he noticed everyone leaving.

“I don’t know. Why don’t we recap just in case, starting off from “she’s gorgeous”.” Maria suggested as she led him into the kitchen.


<center>Liz’s Room</center>

Liz walked over to her nightstand and saw that she indeed did have a message. Clicking on the play button, she heard the tape rewind before it shifted and then played.

“Okay?” Liz questioned to herself when she didn’t hear anything and then stopped the tape.

“Damn it Max.”

“Max?” Liz whispered curiously when she heard Michael curse at Max. When she moved to her door she could hear the two talking…about her.


<center>Hallway</center>

“Damn it Max, this is not a joke. This guy is killing guys that Liz knows. You’re not safe.” Michael warned with concern when Max wouldn’t listen to him.

“No, it doesn’t make sense Michael. If it is Kyle, he only killed one guy in Liz’s life. Doug. The other guy, Nathan, she only knew him through Maria.” Max argued disagreeing with Michael’s view that Liz was a danger to him.

“Look, Maxwell. Doug use to be Liz’s boyfriend and he got it the worse, so how am I not suppose to panic when the girl your fucking has a ferris wheel sized target on her back.”

“Is not like that Michael.” Max snapped back feeling his anger trying to submerge. “This killer is not going to do anything to me.”

“Why? Because you say so? Because Liz is more than a one time fuck? Wake up Max. This Kyle guy doesn’t care if you love Liz or not, so I’m not going to watch you stay in this thing with her and then somewhere along the line you become vic number 3 or 4.” Michael vowed as he watched Max cross his arms aggressively.

“Michael, I know you’re worried, but if Kyle is obsessed enough to kill for Liz, just think what he can do to her if I’m not around, Look I appreciate it, but I’m not leaving her. I care about her too much.” Max confessed as he shook his head lightly.

“You’re a good guy Maxwell and I pretty much figured out you’d say that, so why don’t you ask Liz to stay at our place until we find Kyle.”

“He’s missing?”

“Let me worry about that okay? Just go tell Liz to get some of her things.” Michael ordered as he pointed in the direction of Liz’s room.

“Wait, what about Maria?” Max questioned with concern.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a court order telling me I’m legally required to worry about her.” Michael replied getting a faint chuckle out of Max. “If it will get Liz to come, fine. Just she’s sleeping on the couch.” Michael declared and then started to head out. “I’m gonna go next door, you go tell her.”

“Alright.” Max replied as he pushed Liz’s door open, nearly hitting her. “Oh Liz. Hey…”

“Um, that was the office.” Liz quickly interrupted as she grabbed her purse that hung from behind her door to play off that that’s why she was behind the door. “Um, I gotta go.”

“Are you okay?” Max questioned skeptically when she wouldn’t look at him.

“Yeah, fine. I just have to go. Um, I’ll call you.” Liz declared before closing the door behind her, leaving a confused Max in her room and then bolted out of the apartment without saying anything to Maria who was calling out to her. Running down the hallway, she was about to cut the corner when she collided dead on with someone causing the both of them to fall to the floor. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Liz apologized as she and the curly haired blonde dusted themselves off and stood up again.

“It’s okay. It’s my fault anyway. I should’ve been watching where I was going.” The curly haired blonde apologized and continued straight to the staircase that led to the third floor.


<center>Girls’ Apartment</center>

“Hey what happened?” Maria questioned Max as he walked straight to the front door.

“I think she heard us.” Max replied and then exited the apartment. “Liz?” Max called out in the empty hallway and jogged down the hallway and cut the corner to go down the stairs.

“Hello Max.” The curly haired blonde greeted quietly to herself after seeing Max step off the last step. “And where are you going?” She whispered to herself again in the same tone before going down the stairs to follow him.

[lizard_queen]

Finally i found the time to write for this, and lucky for you guys Joye was online when i finished to read it and let me post. Woo hoo. And i tried to make it extra long just for you wonderful people.

We're so sorry for the delay. Exams sucked ass but they're all done and Joye is galevanting off with her sister in Chicago so her appearance around this board may be scarce for a while, but at least you'll still have this little chapter for now.

Alex- I dont see him as a threat at all other, than becoming a potential victim. Say it aint' so! **sorry =w= reference**

Bring on thy Weezer. Love thy Weezer we do.

O' and by the way but i was just thinking about that dream liz had at the very beginning of the chapter.... Was it just a dream... ???

Oh thats it. I give the hell up. I'm getting our notes, locking them up in an un-do-able box, locking that box up in a safe and then another un-do-able box and throwing it into deep deep ocean where you will never find them again!

Your hacking into our yahoo arn't you? You sly devil you.

Although your theories, very interesting. Just remember, i'm watching you....

How did Max and Liz get to the airport, find parking, meet up with Kal, say hello, offer introductions, gather his things together, go back to the car and drive all the way back to the appartment in the same space of time that it took Maria to find a towel for Alex and Isabel to pick up a jar of bobby pins?

The bobby pins were in a very good hiding spot? Dont worry, all will be revealed in the next chapter my little potato in training.


Your theories are getting suspiciously good. I applaud every one of you. So tell me, how much exactly are you paying janesdilemma for our notes? I'm positive shes selling them on e-bay.

Anyhoo, enough about my paranoia and onto the story.

Thank you for your continuous bumps, otherwise i probably would have gotten so caught up in photoshop that this wouldn't have been written for about a week more, so thank you all so much for your fabulous fb and heopfully Joye can find the time to sit down on the ancient computer shes bieng forced to use whilst shes away and write something sooner than i could.






<center>Chapter 16 </center>


2:45pm – ET Office


“Why me?” Liz sighed to herself, her head falling into her hands as she lent against her table at work. Everything was going so well. She had the guy that exceeded her dreams and she had finally gotten a break and been giving a major case to work on that would make her name well known in the forensics department, but of course this had to happen.

Not only was the perfect guy the perfect target for some lunatic with a grudge and a knife in his back pocket, but as the lunatic decided to make the attacks hit so close to home for Liz, the possibility of her being taken off the case was increasing by the hour.

She was absolutely exhausted but had nowhere to go. The thought of going home to a cold and empty apartment was unappealing, but the thought of going to Max’s apartment was even more so.

She was a danger to him. She was a danger to everyone.

Sure she had only known Max for a short period of time, but in that time her feelings towards him had grown to scary, unbelievable heights. It was something that she had never felt before, and she didn’t want that feeling to end. More importantly, she didn’t want him dead.

Liz blinked her half closed eyes and shook her head, trying to keep awake so she could finish the reports. The white of the Xerox paper loomed up at her, her eyes near bleeding from their brightness. Her hand was numb from all the writing she had been doing the past four hours and her back and neck muscles strained from the constant slouch she had developed.

What she needed right now was a warm bath and a massage, but all she had was the darkness of her office and a pull out couch.

“Life sucks.” She mumbled to herself, cringing from the sight of her cluttered desk. Even when it was only illuminated by a miniscule amount of light from a cheep table lamp, her desk was a crowded mess of reports and reviews, with the occasional photograph of a dead body and a chocolate bar wrapper.

“Agh, haven’t you people ever heard of a fucking computer?”

The pen dropped from her hand and fell onto the desk with a small thud. There was no way in hell she would get all of this done at the rate she was going. Even after three cups of boiling hot coffee, Liz was still only just fighting the sleep that threatened to take over her body. She glanced down at her wristwatch and was startled by the time… 3:04A.M.

Her head fell unceremoniously down onto the table and Liz let out a loud disgruntled groan. There had to be something better than this. Anything better than this.

“Parker?” The floors night security guard called out. He had been doing his rounds when he heard a low groan come from her office. It wasn’t unusual to find her working this late; it was just that he hadn’t seen her here for a few weeks so her sudden presence surprised him.

“Jesus. Sean.” Liz gasped, clutching her heart and whirling around to face the doorway where the man was standing. He smirked apologetically down at her, shining his torch right in Liz’s eyes where she sat at her desk in the dark, taking in her ruffled appearance in the dim light.

“You look like crap.” He pointed out blatantly. Her hair was piled callously into what appeared as a bun on her head, her clothes were rumpled and there were dark bags hanging under her dim eyes.

“Thanks Sean.” She replied dryly, rolling here eyes from his barefacedness.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” He questioned, pulling a Twinkie from his pocket and splitting it with her.

“Thanks.” She said softly, her tone changing from tired to suspicious. There was something oddly familiar about this scenario. It was almost like this had happened before, but Liz couldn’t for the life of her put her finger on as to when it did. A sense of déjà vu was tugging at the back of her mind, gnawing at her memories but they were all coming up blank.

“Are you okay?” Sean asked curiously, cocking his head to the side to study her with his intense eyes. She didn’t just look physically tired, but emotionally as well. He had always had a soft spot for Liz. She was one of the only ones here who treated him like and equal instead of an imbecile for not being able to get a job better than night security.

“Yeah, just stressing over this case, that’s all,” was her tired reply. Liz lifter her hand to rub at her temples, blinking away the harsh gleaming light of his torch once more.

“Ok, well, I better leave you to it. But make sure you get some sleep soon.” He said, turning back around and continuing his trek through the office.

Liz sat immobile for ten minutes after he left, her thoughts a swirling blob in her mind. Her temples throbbed and her eyes were closing of their own accord. She had lost her focus and would never get it back at the rate she was going.

Her eyes drifted across the room to her pull out sofa and the blanket that she had bought herself after too many occurrences of falling asleep at her desk and waking up in the morning with pen marks on her face and a post-it note stuck on her chin.

“Maybe just for a little while.” Liz said to herself, standing up and walking over to the lounge. She unfolded it into a bed and snuggled into the puffy cushions, falling into a dream world instantly.


4:09am


“Liz…” Max sighed to himself in relief when he found her safely asleep on the lounge in her office. He had been worried about her ever since she ran out of her apartment earlier that night. He knew that she was upset about something and decided to give her some space, but after four hours had gone by and she still hadn’t returned back to her apartment and wasn’t answering her cell, he started to get a little worried.

His tense shoulders fell and the strong façade that he had been putting on for the sake of not alarming anyone dissolved the instant he saw her sleeping peacefully. He had never been so worried about anyone else in his life before.

“That’s because I’ve never met anyone else like Liz before.” Max silently mused to himself, slowly walking over to the edge of the lounge and slipping off his shoes. He couldn’t deny that the effect she had on him was profound. He found himself constantly thinking about her, even when she was right next to him. He just couldn’t ever get enough of her, but instead of the feeling being suffocating, it was intoxicating, arousing his soul to her presence.

The mattress dipped under his weight and he scooted closer to Liz’s small sleeping form, his arms impulsively wrapping around her small waist and his lips delicately kissing the crown of her head.

“Mmm… Max?” Liz questioned through sleepy eyes. She had woken up when she felt someone join her on the bed, but there was no doubting the strong sent of old spice and pure Max.

He smiled down at her and brushed back a wayward strand of hair that had fallen across her face during her slumber. “Are you okay?”

His voice was soothing, laced with a seductive undertone that caused Liz to shiver on the inside. How did he have such an effect on her?

“Mmm hmm.” She mumbled, instinctively snuggling further into his warmth. Max’s strong arms surrounded her body and held her so close that she could hear his heart beat. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you. I tried your phone but you didn’t answer and I thought something had happened to you.”

“Something did happen… paperwork.” She joked.

“Anything I can do to help?” Max asked hopefully. He hadn’t come here and planned on starting something like this with Liz, but the feel of her small body pressed so intimately against his was all too much for his control.

“God yes.” Liz sighed when she felt his soft, warm lips caress the sensitive skin on her neck. They rolled over simultaneously until Max was covering her body with his own, his hands roaming sensually up and down her body, dipping under her shirt and stroking the smooth skin of her stomach.

Her own hands were not idle either. The ravished his shoulders and back, anywhere that she could touch. Max bit down gently on her shoulder, causing Liz to moan mellifluously into his ear. Their breathing was heavy and their bodies crushed together erotically, entwining limbs and connecting lips that electrified senses to the greatest aptitude.

“Liz…” Max moaned huskily in her ear, touching her small body anywhere that he could get his hands on.

Liz withered underneath his touch, the fire in the pit of her stomach working up to unbelieve bale heights. A memory flittered through the back of her mind, a familiar dream now becoming reality and she gasped in fright.

Her hands began roaming his chiselled back in longing, feeling the warmest skin she had ever felt in her entire life…but then suddenly chiselled turned to liquid. Warm thick liquid. Her face scrunches up in confusion at the awkward feeling and looks over his broad shoulder to see her hand covered in blood.

Liz struggled underneath Max’s heavy weight, pushing frantically at his chest but he didn’t seem to notice, too caught up in a moment of desire. Another memory flashed across her mind, this one more intense than the last.

Her quivering body turned to the side and looked upon the lifeless body of a mysterious dark haired man on his stomach, who’s face was covered by dark shadow, and shrieked at the sight of a knife stabbed into his back.

A tear slid down Liz’s cheek when she fell back into reality. She struggled to get out from under him, so she did the only thing she could think of.

Max looked up in concern for her distressed face when he felt her entire body tense underneath him. She was crying and his heart ached to see her like this. Was it something he did? He didn’t have much time to contemplate the answer when her knee came up hard, connecting straight with his groin and blowing all the all air out of his lungs for a split second.

Liz scrambled off the side of the sofa and to the corner of the room, falling back against the wall with a loud thump and sliding down it. Her head fell into her hands and she cried out all the fear and frustration.

How could she not remember such a scary dream? The man in that had bewitched her so much like Max and in the end turned out to be dead, all because of her. Michael was right, she was dangerous and Max was better off over the other side of the country to her.

Max took a deep breath, the bodily pain subsiding but the emotional pain only increasing when he looked over to find Liz huddled in the corner, harsh sobs racking her small body.

He stood up on shaky legs and cautiously walked over to her, crouching down in front of her and tentively reaching out a hand. “Liz?”

She flinched away from his touch, burning his heart in the process.

“I’m sorry.” Liz sniffled, running her sleeve covered arm over her face to wipe up all the tears. She couldn’t meet his eyes, instead opting to look over his shoulder at the doorway to her office. She couldn’t face the pain of rejection she knew she would find in his amber depths.

“D-did I do something?” Max gulped, fearing that the answer would be yes.

Liz shook her head vehemently, her teary gaze colliding with his. “I did.”

“What? Baby, what are you talking about?” he sighed, slipping down against the wall next to her.

“I can’t do this to you. I can’t put you in danger like this Max. Michaels right, you shouldn’t see me anymore.” She looked away from him, hating to hurt him but willing to do anything to keep him safe.

“You heard what he said.” Max concluded.

“He’s right Max. I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” She held back the next set of tears, not wanting him to see her cry. If he saw she knew there would be no way of convincing him that this was what her heart truly wanted, even though it was the last thing she wanted.

“Liz, I-” Max started to argue, but stoped when she turned back around to face him with a stern expression.

“Max, please, just go.”

He knew there was no point arguing with her, so instead he entwined his fingers with hers, lifting her small hand up to his lips and placing a lingering kiss against the soft skin.

“I’ll be waiting for you.” Max vowed quietly, standing and walking out of the office, stopping briefly for one last look of longing before disappearing out of sight.

Liz couldn’t control it any more and broke down, crying openly to herself in mourn of her broken heart. “I did it for him. I did it so he was safe.” She tried to convince herself, but it was no use.

It didn’t stop the pain.


Girls Apartment – 8:05pm The Next Day

Maria sighed softly to herself as she watched Liz walk like a zombie into the bathroom for her shower. It killed her to see her best friend so broken. She had come home early this morning and gone straight to her bedroom without saying a word, where she had stayed all day until Maria had finally had enough and gone in there to find out what the hell happened to her best friend.

What she had found was not pretty.

Liz sat lying on her bed in the dark, still fully clothed, just staring up at the white ceiling above her. She hadn’t moved once. After finally getting her to talk Maria had made her some dinner and ordered that she have a nice hot shower, and afterwards they would get out the Ben and Jerry’s and have a girls night, something that she knew Liz needed.

Bathroom

The boiling water cascaded down and around Liz’s body but she didn’t feel any of it. She was numb. Who ever thought it would hurt this much; giving up someone you felt so strongly about just because you wanted them to be safe.

She turned around in the spray and picked up a bottle of strawberry scented shampoo, pouring a generous amount into her hand and putting the bottle back down. Her nimble fingers lathered the shampoo through her long hair and Liz sighed softly to herself from the feel of some of the tension flowing away with the dirty water down the drain.

Once again she turned under the hot spray. A longing crept up on her silently, never realising that she would ever miss Max this much. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and she was having cravings.

Liz could imagine his strong, wet body pressing up tightly against her back. His skilled hands massaging her wet skin on her shoulders, casually moving down her back and around her waist to her stomach. She could almost feel the subtle way his hands would creep up until he held both breasts in his hands, manipulating them sensually and creating a fire deep inside of her that no one else had ever been able to.

One hand would then creep lower, the other continuing the ministrations of her chest. Its partner would slip down her flat stomach and through the small patch of dark curls that covered her most intimate places. His slick fingers would slip in between her wet folds and pleasure her until she was screaming his name out in ecstasy…

Liz groaned in defeat when the water started to turn cold, her fantasy washed away with the signs of too long in the shower. She spun around to turn off the shower taps but stopped when something caught her eye.

There was a small window on the far wall that looked directly towards the shower, and in that window was two eyes clouded by darkness, staring directly at Liz.




TBC...

[Crashdown_51]

And who is this creepy person looking through Liz's shower window? how long will you make us wait to find this out?

I'll never tell, lol. Well, not now anyway. I'll just leave you to speculate. And as to how long, um.....a month.

I've learned not to ask questions because instead of answering them, you just pile on the confusion.

That's not true. I like to think of it as answering you question to the extent that it makes you think of more questions. Um, it's not the same thing you said. I think....lol.

Most important how many chapters have you in mind?

Um, we don't know. I think we decided no more that 30. But who knows.

And when will we see "The Dark Prince"?

I have the first chapter set but I want to get a handful before I start posting.

Dammit, why did they have to break up!?

Um, because I'm part of the staff. What can I say, I like the angsty.

Sean start to make me suspicious, showing up suddenly, okay so I know he's security just call me paranoid

Paranoid. LOL. Nah, just kidding because who knows, it might turn out to be him.


Author's Note: Hi there. It's been a while. But I come bearing 5434 words as a peace offering. I also heard from a little aussie birdie that we got runner-up for Best Co-Writers or whatever it's properly called, is that right Kris? Just in case it is, thanks everyone for the vote and congrats to the duo that won. Anywho, it's been a while so maybe I should recap on what's been happening in the last few chapters.

Death toll 2, Nathan and Doug. Kyle is still missing. Tess's crazy ass is still lurking about. Liz broke up with Max b/c of her freaky dream aside from giving him a knee to the grapes. Freaky eyeballs were scoping out Liz in the shower, Warren Battey (Psycho) much? Of couse without the slashing and the ee ee ee soundtrack. LOL Michael and Maria still bad mouthing each other and Courtney a jealous wreck.

Is that it? Did I miss anything? I probably did. Either it's not important or it really is and I don't want to point it out.

Oh yeah, someone asked what a "political interpeter" was again and hold up. Hold the phones people the answer is....still no dice.

Thanks again for your patience, all the feedbacks and the bumps.

Emz80m, vampyrax, kay_b, tequathisy, flyawayraven, Jason's Lover, icequeen, behrlyliz, Grace52373, Timelord31, Smac, loviedovie, kismet, Ellie, taressa05, cherie, rigel, Believer2, Lissa, Sarah_helen, roswell3053, aussietrueblue, and Dreamer Babe

_____________________________________________________________


<center>Chapter 17

Girl’s Apartment – 8:28 p.m. </center>


“2-2-5 David, need a number for the 10-70, over.”

“Stand by 2-2-5 David, over.”

She was so use to having police officers walk past her left and right, but now…it just seemed unreal, like she had just entered the twilight zone and the parallel universe was her life.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She could hear the distorted sound of the uniformed officer calling in a prowler to dispatch while she watched Alex pack up his examining bag in front of her. It was the first time Liz looked at him as a paramedic rather than a friend just as it was the first time Alex looked at her as a patient.

“Liz?” Maria called out, startling Liz out of her trance when she touched her shoulder. “It’s okay. I got you some tea.” Maria offered to Liz, holding out the black mug to Liz.

Liz’s eyes focused on the hot steam that snaked its way from the hot liquid and watched as it mixed into air before she finally accepted the tea. She didn’t know how a pair of eyes could frighten her so much more than the sights of the gruesome crime scenes she had worked, especially the current ones, but they did.

More than she could handle.

So much that even the feeling of Maria sitting down beside her made her jittery.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Maria questioned with concern while she tucked a few damp strands of hair behind Liz’s ear in order to catch her sincerity. “I can call Max if you want.”

“No, Maria, I’m fine. Really.” Liz assured her as she gave her and Alex an assuring nod before she returned her focus to the hot tea. She wanted to appear as unaffected as she could because once word hit Clay…he would surely take her off the assignment...and the last thing she wanted was for it to be re-assigned to Claire Green. That and the fact that she didn’t want Max to be caught under the same dangerous cloud that seemed to be floating over her.

“Can you sign this Liz?” Alex questioned as he handed his metallic clipboard to her along with his pen and then gave Maria a worried look when Liz finally took them from his hands.

“What is that?” Maria asked curiously as she looked over Liz’s shoulder, noticing the sentence at the very top of the form that confirmed her refusal to go to the hospital. “Liz, are you sure you don’t want to get checked out?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Liz answered indifferently as she signed her name quickly and then handed it back to Alex.

“I already asked.” Alex informed Maria in defeat as he slipped his clipboard between the two bag handles and then tucked the pen back into his uniformed shirt pocket before he stood up to signal to his partner to start heading out. “Would you at least listen to me and stay in my apartment for now?”

Liz took a minute to consider her options. She really wanted to play off that what had happened didn’t frighten her at all, but the reality of the matter was that it did and she couldn’t stay in her room even if it was her only option. She would rather sleep in her office than to sleep in her room again, at least until the prowler was caught.

Letting out a deep sigh as she set down the mug on the coffee table, she slowly looked up at Alex and nodded to him in acceptance, seeing his thankful smile of relief clear before he pulled out his keys from his pocket and handed them to her. “I get off my shift at two.” He informed them as he cupped her hands in compassion and then gave her hand a small squeeze for support before he picked up his bag and exited out the apartment.

“Do you want to go there now or do you want to get some stuff first? We can always come back later.” Maria suggested as she pressed her head against Liz’s.

“Liz?” They both hear someone call out and simultaneously look to the opened front door to see Max storming in concerned and then Michael following right behind him.

“Max?” Liz questioned in surprise as she stood up and turned to face him before he moved in front of her and hugged her in relief to see she was okay. “Max, what are you doing here?”

“He was with me when I got the call.” Michael answered instead and then looked over to Maria. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Liz quickly answered before Maria had a chance. She already knew Michael considered Max to be at risk when he was around her. She just didn’t want him to have further proof on his convictions to get Max to stay away from her completely.

“Nothing?” Maria repeated in dismay. “Liz, some creep was watching you while you took a shower…”

“What?” Max questioned in shock.

“…that is so not nothing.” Maria concluded as she crossed her arms, completely engulfed on how Liz was acting like nothing happened to her.

“Did you see who it was?” Michael questioned in a concerned tone.

“No.” Liz answered with disappointment and then felt Max’s arm wrap around her for comfort before she burrowed closer to him to feel his safe warmth.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna go see if they got anything.” Michael informed them before he moved to the kitchen, where three officers were talking amongst themselves.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Max asked in deep concern as he petted the back of Liz’s head and rocked her in his arms, in which he felt her nod ‘yes’ beneath his hand.

“Listen, Max. We’re going to be staying at Alex’s tonight, so you might want to tell Isabel to stay somewhere else too, you know, until things cool down.” Maria suggested as she rubbed warmth back into her arms with her hand and then looked over to Michael when she saw him pointing in the direction of Liz’s room. “I’ll be right back.” Maria announced before she went to find out what the officers’ and Michael were discussing.

“You’re staying at Alex’s?” Max questioned as he pulled his head back in order to see Liz’s face. He couldn’t help but feel rejected since earlier he had asked Liz to stay with him and she turned him down aside from kneeing him in the groin.

“Max, I…” Liz stuttered when she couldn’t come up with an explanation.

“Why don’t you stay with me tonight?” Max questioned as he stroked her cheeks with the print of his thumbs, trying to connect his eyes with hers when she stammered to come up with an excuse.

“Max, Maria…”

“She can come too.” Max quickly rebuttled.

“But Alex already…”

“He can come too if it makes you feel better.”

“Max, how? It’s too much of an inconvenience. I mean, there’s no question that you’re gonna ask Isabel to stay at your place and your uncle’s already staying there. The three of us staying in your apartment it’s…I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“You won’t.” Max promised her with a small chuckle but then noticed she was still hesitant to take his offer. “What? What is it? You don’t want to stay with me? Is that it?”

“No Max, it’s not like that.” Liz quickly reassured him and then lowered her head in sadness.

“Then what is it?”

“I-I don’t want anything to happen to you and to know that something can because I’m with you is more than I can bear.” Liz confessed as a tear escaped her and strolled down her cheek.

“Liz, nothing is gonna happen to me.” Max assured her as he lifted her head up softly by her chin and then placed a sweet kiss on her forehead before he smoothed out the damp tendrils away from Liz’s face. “I can take care of myself. But if something were to happen to ‘you’…I know I can never forgive myself if I had a chance to protect you and I didn’t.” He admitted, gazing into her eyes to show his sincerity before he was drawn into them.

“I…” But before Liz could finish her statement, Max quickly covered her lips with his, prolonging the soft, pleading kiss on her lips in order to prevent her to continue, what he thought, was another reason on why she couldn’t stay over.

Instead, Liz was about to pronounce her love for him. Taken it’s been only a short amount of time since they had been seeing each other, Liz couldn’t deny what she felt for him and what a feeling it was. True things were moving faster than what she planned but she couldn’t help herself. Max had become that morning smile she always dreamt about. The smile that reaches ear to ear when you wake up in the morning knowing that someone is profoundly head over heels in love with you as you are with them.

But then she thought that maybe she was falling in love a little more than Max actually was. Yes, he did offer to have her stay at his place, but it was out of protectiveness. She had also overheard him admit to Michael that he cared for her, but “care” didn’t have the same meaning as “love” did. Maybe it was good that he kissed her before she could speak. He probably stopped her from making a fool of herself.

Max then pulled her closer to him and started rocking her in his arms again. A gesture that made all her thoughts and doubts disappear while she enjoyed the feeling of being held by him. His spicy scent and strong but gentle hold had her practically melting in his arms, wishing that she was already in the comforts of his bed to feel his body veiling over her like she had gotten use to in all their romantic encounters.

“Stay with me okay?” He whispered in her ear and then felt Liz nod in agreement against his chest. “Come on. Let’s go get your things.” He advised as he wrapped his arm around her and guided her into the direction of her room while she rested her head against him.


<center>Kitchen</center>

“Let me know if you guys find anything.” Michael requested as the uniformed officers started to head out.

“So, what’s gonna happen now?” Maria questioned as she hugged herself for comfort.

“Well, nothing much.” Michael answered truthfully with a shrug, which caused Maria’s eyes to widen in dismay.

“What? So the sleazy pervert that did this is free to roam the streets?” Maria questioned in utter disbelief.

“Look, it sucks, I know. But Liz couldn’t make out who it was and the perp didn’t leave anything behind.” Michael explained as he himself started to feel angry. He hated not being able to get his hands on criminals due to lack of evidence, an occurrence that he had yet gotten use to, no matter how long he had been a cop.

“So what are we suppose to do? Take a shower in a bathing suit until this sickko strikes again.”

“We’ll find him.” Michael vowed, noticing how frightened Maria seemed to the notion that the perpetrator was still out there.

“Yeah, but until then what? Have Alex find a bigger place for the three of us?” Maria questioned sarcastically as she crossed her arms in anger.

“You guys are staying at Alex’s?” Michael questioned curiously with a hint of debate in his tone. “That’s the guy with the towel right?”

“Yeah, so?” Maria retorted, not seeing his point.

“Michael.” Courtney called out as she stormed into the apartment.

“What are you guys, joined at the hip?” Maria exclaimed in annoyance when she realized that everywhere Michael was, Courtney was either right there behind him or would show up suddenly.

“Courtney, what are you doing here?” Michael questioned in defeat.

“I heard what happened. I went to your place but Kal told me that you came here.” Courtney replied and then looked to Maria blankly. “So what happened?”

“Nothing. It’s not related to our case.” Michael answered as he scratched his eyebrow with his thumb.

“Are you sure? I mean, it’s to close to be a coincidence.” Courtney continued to press as she looked from Maria to Michael.

“Banks.” Michael called out in warning as he held his open hand out by his head to insinuate for her to drop the issue.

“Hey.” Max called out from behind Michael and then realized that he had walked up unnoticed to a heated discussion.

“Maxwell. How’s Liz doing?” Michael questioned in a cooler tone as he turned to face him.

“She’s a little shaken up but she’ll be fine. She’s gonna stay at our house tonight. Maria, do you want to stay over?” Max questioned as everyone looked to her for her answer.

“No, it’s okay. I, um, already told Alex I’d stay the night with him, so…”

“Well, maybe Alex shouldn’t be staying here either. I mean, a lot of things are happening in this building.” Michael suggested with a careless shrug.

“Are you sure? I mean, three is a crowd?” Maria questioned with an arched eyebrow as she looked to Michael for an answer instead of Max.

“Well, there’s always a motel.” Courtney suggested, interrupting the unsure looks Maria and Michael exchanged.

“Liz is not staying in a motel.” Max quickly declared in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

“Easy Maxwell. No one’s staying at a motel. Go. Go get Liz. Maria come on, let’s go get your things.” Michael ordered as he turned Max and pushed him lightly to go get Liz, while he pressed his hand behind Maria’s back to take her to her room. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Michael bid to Courtney as he and Maria headed into her room.

“But…” Courtney stuttered as she watched everyone heading into different directions, leaving her standing in the kitchen with a mouthful of words and a heart full of jealousy to know that Maria would be staying at Michael’s. Placing her hands on her hips, she let out a chuckle of disbelief, shaking her head as she looked to the floor until she thought of something. Her head suddenly snapped up, with a mischievous smile reaching the corners of her mouth while she pulled out her cell phone and commenced typing a text message. Once her message was sent and replied to, she took last look around in achievement and then exited the apartment, making sure she left the door opened wide.


<center>Hallway</center>

For Tess, it was all too simple. Frankly she was tired of hiding in the 3rd floor but it was worth the wait. She had just reached the bottom of the third floor staircase when Courtney turned the corner to head down to the first floor, apparently in too much of a hurry to notice her.

Peeking over the corner, she grinned devilishly when she spotted the opened front door and carefully tipped toed her way to the doorway, taking one quick glance to make sure the coast was clear before she slipped inside, undetected.


<center>Girl’s Apartment</center>

Like she said, too simple. She carefully made her way into the kitchen, where she hid behind the kestrel wooded shutter type pantry doors…waiting…watching.

<center>Liz’s Room</center>

“You ready?” Max questioned Liz, taking her small duffel bag from her and then pressed his free hand on the small of her back to hold her closer to him.

“Yes.” Liz answered as she tucked her hands underneath his arms to hug him better.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Max declared after placing a kiss on the top of her head and then wrapped his arm around her waist as they left the room, just as Michael and Maria were coming out of Maria’s room.

<center>Living Room</center>

“What about Alex?” Maria questioned when she saw everyone was ready to go.

“We can call him when we get there.” Liz answered as she took Max’s offering hand, following him out the apartment and locking the door behind them.


<center>Guy’s Apartment – 9:06 p.m.</center>

“Ugh, who went overboard on the cologne?” Maria coughed as she followed Michael, right after he opened the door.

“Kal?” Michael questioned when he spotted Kal adjusting the cuffs to his black sports coat.

“Ello’ kiddies.” Kal greeted, glancing up at the four and then walked up to Maria. “Can you be a doll and help me out with this?” He asked, showing her his wrist and loose cuff.

“Sure.” Maria chuckled in amusement.

“Daddy’s gotta hot date tonight with a pretty little number.” Kal announced as he wiggled his eyebrows, causing Liz to giggle behind her hand.

“Really? And is this pretty little number the blonde babe from the airport?” Maria questioned, humoring his excitement.

“Correcto-mundo.” Kal bowed, impressed by her intelligence.

“The girl from the airport?” Max repeated with concern.

“Who?” Michael questioned as he planted himself down in the single seat sofa.

“My lady in red that came to rescue me when your idiot friend here left me stranded for an hour at airport hell.” Kal answered and then looked back to his wrist once Maria finished securing the cuff to his shirt.

“Uncle Kal, you hardly know her.” Max reminded with concern.

“And yet she drove me all the way to your place, out of her way might I add. And it was damn near luck that you decided to drive by your place or I would’ve been stranded outside your apartment who knows how long.”

“Hey, Kal. I thought you had a wife…and a girlfriend.” Michael pointed out with a smug smirk as he scratched his eyebrow and then folded his hands, resting his elbow on the corner of the head cushion.

“Yes, thanks for the memo, you smug schmuck.” Kal snickered sarcastically as he straightened his sport’s coat with a shrug of his shoulders and then wiggled his finger in the air. “But it’s times like these that I thank my lucky stars that the man upstairs created other women known as “acquaintances” and “friends” or “female companions”.”

“Political Interpreter and still gots game.” Michael praised.

“You know it.” Kal agreed proudly as he and Michael mid high-fived each other. “Two times.” Kal chuckled as they gave each other another mid high-five. “Three times. One for each lady.”

“Wow. Men after my own heart.” Maria mumbled sarcastically under her breath.

“Hey, don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Michael retort as he arched his eyebrow at her is diss and then stood up to head to the kitchen to get himself a beer.

“Um, in case you forgot, you need to have two girls or more, or in your case, at least one in order to be dubbed a player.” Maria clarified as she waved her finger around as she talked.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but for your information, I do.” Michael notified her before he toasted his beer to her.

“Stalker cop doesn’t count.” Maria retaliated and then crossed her arms.

“Yeah, and I’m sure towel boy does.” Michael snickered under his breath before drinking from his beer.

“First of all, we’re not talking about me and second, Alex is all man, okay? Especially now that there’s photographed evidence.” Maria stated firmly as she crossed her arms and then covertly winked to Liz.

“Whatever.” Michael shrugged indifferently and then returned to his sofa. “So Kal, what’s this pretty little numbers name?”

“Betty Jugs.” Kal quickly answered.

“You serious?” Michael coughed out a surprised laugh, nearly choking on his beer.

“Nah, I’m just yanking your chain.” Kal waved off and then scratched the side of his bald head. “See, uh, I was too busy pretending to be paying attention…”

“You forgot to catch your pretty little number’s, number, huh?” Michael finished of with an amused laugh.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’m pretty sure she’ll mention her name again tonight.” Kal shrugged half interested as he cleaned his glasses with his handkerchief and then put them back on. “And yet another reason to thank the big guy for making words like “sweet cheeks”, “sugar cakes” and...well, I’ll reserve “doll face” for you, Sweetie Pie.” He complimented as he held his arms open for Maria to hug him.

“I’m honored.” Maria laughed as she hugged him.

‘Beep. Beep.’

“Oh, that’s Betty.” Kal announce as he practically danced his way to the door.

“Yeah, well, just make sure Betty’s pretty little number is over 18. I wouldn’t want to cut your date short for rockin’ the cradle, Pops.” Michael warned playfully as he patted Kal’s shoulders while he walked him to the door.

“Don’t stay out too late. Remember, Isabel’s exhibit is tomorrow.” Max reminded as he followed behind them.

“I’ll be there with bell’s on. Just don’t wait up for me tonight.” Kal waved before leaving the apartment complete.

“Bye. Later.” Everyone bid before Michael closed the door.


<center>Girl’s Apartment</center>

“My name is Elizabeth Parker. No. No. My name is Liz Parker.” Tess declared to her reflection in Liz’s vanity mirror while she wore the same dress and mask Liz wore the night she met Max. “My name is Mrs. Tess Evans.” She concluded before she blew a kiss to her reflection and then bent down to strap on Liz’s heels.


<center>Guy’s Apartment

Max’s Room – 9:33p.m.</center>

“You sure you don’t want to watch the rest of the movie?” Max questioned Liz as he closed the door behind him and then shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched Liz look around his room curiously from where she stood.

“Um, I’m just not feeling up for a movie, that’s all.” Liz answered in a timid voice and then moved to sit on his bed, were she picked up a small picture frame from his nightstand and looked up to Max with a curious smile.

“Ruby Park,” Max started to explain with an embarrassed half smile “Me, Michael and Isabel would volunteer to take care of the kids from my mom’s daycare center. We would take them to the park sometimes.” He paused as he took a second to reminisce, while Liz harbored the picture in admiration and attempted to rub a thin black smudge that she realized was patterned on the edge of the photograph itself instead of on the glass shield. “Any way, long story short.” Max declared as he cleared his throat, “Michael and his army of 4 year olds tackled me down with a cheap shot from Michael and then Isabel took pictures while they covered me in glitter.”

“That’s so cute.” Liz giggled as she set the photo down back in it’s original spot, not seeing the pictureless frame that was hidden behind his lamp, and then looked back at Max in adoration when she noticed the glow the memory caused him. “Do you still volunteer?”

“Not as much as we use to.” Max answered desolately before he shook off his sudden sadness and then returned to his attempts to cheer Liz up. “Do you want to listen to some music?” Max offered as he picked up his remote controller for his stereo from his desk and clicked on the power button.

Liz picked up on his sudden urgency to change the subject, not wanting to press him anymore, she simply flashed him a forced smile and then took of her jacket, shrugging the cold shiver off her skin from the sudden change of temperature.

“Do you want to go to sleep?” Max questioned as he squatted infront of her to look under her lowered head.

“It’s been a long night.” Liz replied as she rubbed her forehead, hinting towards “yes”. A gesture Liz was sure he caught on to when he turned slightly to point the control to his stereo to turn it off. “No. Wait.” Liz asked as she touched his hand. “Leave it on.” She requested, getting a nod of agreement from Max before he set down the remote on his nightstand.

“Do you want me to leave you here to rest?” Max questioned as he tuck her hair back behind her ears in order to see her face before she nodded ‘no’ and touched his hand.



<center>Girl’s Apartment</center>

Hush
It's okay
Dry your eyes
Dry your eyes

Tess swayed her hips side to side, following the flow of the music as she safety pinned a picture of Max on one of Liz’s teddy bears and then covered it with a black mask, similar to the one Max wore on Valentine’s Day.

Soul mate dry your eyes
Dry your eyes
Soul mate dry your eyes
Cause soul mates never die

“Don’t you look handsome, Max.” Tess stated to the teddy bear before she placed a soft kiss on the teddy bears nose and then began twirling around the room with it.

Soul mates never die
Never die
Soul mates never die
Never die...

“Come on. We’re gonna go pay a visit to the real Max.” She announce to the teddy bear as she jingled a pair of keys infront of it.



<center>Guy’s Apartment

Max’s Room – 11:33p.m.</center>

“Hmm.” Max murmured in his sleep when he could feel himself slowly waking up from his deep sleep. First having his hearing restored with faint sounds of music humming in his ears and then the heated feeling of a familiar soft item brushing against his abs.

Weakly sitting up on his elbows with his eyes squinting, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and was surprised to find Liz planting butterfly kisses on his stomach. “Liz?” He called out in bewilderment when he noticed Liz was stripped of everything but her bra.

“Shh.” Liz hushed as she slide her hand up his chest making him lie back down so she could climb on top of him.

“What are…”

Max was suddenly hushed by Liz’s demanding tongue that snaked its way into his mouth before she seductively sucked on his tongue and then pulled away slowly, leaving Max with his lips still puckered and his eyes still closed. The second Max realized Liz was no longer kissing him, he slowly opened his eyes, fearing it was just his imagination, but then found her twirling a pair of handcuffs with devilish intentions broadcasting from her fiery eyes.

Max let out a surprised chuckle as Liz bewitchingly guided his hands above his head, holding them in place before she wove the cuffs between the bares and then secured his wrist gently in each ring.

“I love you Max.” Liz confessed with sincerity as she caressed the side of Max’s face. “You don’t have to say it back. It’s just…I wanted you to know.”

“I…I love you too Liz.” Max replied, half dazed by the feeling of finally hearing those three little words from someone he did actually love. True he’s only known her the same amount of time he knew Tess before she proclaimed her obsessive love for him, but it wasn’t the same. Liz had enchanted him in such a way, that those 7 days felt like seven magical years with her.

Seeing how happy his response made her, he tugged on his hands with attempts of pulling her down on him and proving his love, but looked up when he recalled being handcuffed.

“Liz.” Max called out with a plea to release him.

“Max, I want to be the one in control.” Liz admitted before she planted a kiss on his lips and then trailed down his neck, down his chest and then sat up when she reached his belly button.

Max didn’t know what to say and Liz wasn’t about to wait for him to reply when he saw her put her hands behind her back, smiling impishly as she wheedled him to watch her remove her bra as slow as she could. Max let out a deep growl when Liz finally undid her bra hook and swallowed his desire as he watched the straps slowly slide down her arms, finally revealing her natural self to him. Liz leaned forward again and skimmed her tongue over Max’s yearning mouth, smiling in victory when she heard him groan when she didn’t touch his lips on purpose.

“Liz.” Max begged before he felt her tugging down on his boxers and wrapping her small hand around his hardened arousal, adjusting him to her opening before she finally thrusted herself down on him, letting a deep moan of enjoyment escape her when she felt him inside.

Max watched intently as she started to rock hypnotically in a rhythm that had him temporarily restricted of taking control of their passion. His emotions started to tear at him, feeling torn by the need to touch her with his hands and lips, and the satisfaction of watching her have her way with him.

“Do you want me to let you go, Max?” Liz questioned without stopping her movements.

“Yes.” Max hissed in enjoyment and then watched as she crawled up his torso, freeing one hand before she re-cuffed the other side to the headboard again. “Liz?” Max questioned in confusion.

“Slowly.” Liz warned playfully before she adjusted him again inside her and continued her rhythm to prevent him from debating any further. Max was about to demand his release, but than realized that his hand was free so he could finally began touching Liz the way he desired since she started her conquest.

But the second he dragged his fingertips down her smooth frame, his bedroom door flung open, shutting just as fast when the knob caused the door to bounce back and startled the both of them before two muscular arms wrapped themselves around Liz.

“Max!” Liz screamed when she was picked up off of Max in one pull and then pressed up against his door.

“Liz!” Max shouted helplessly as he watched the man start to undo his pants. “Liz! Get off her!” He shouted again as he tugged on the cuffs.

“Ma-ax!” Liz cried pounding on the guys’ chest with her fists as the muscular man began to ravish her roughly.

“Stop! Michael!” He pleaded for help as he yanked down on the cuff, causing the bed to shake and a tiny silver object to pop noticeably on the bed. “Hold on Liz!” Max begged when he realized the object was the key to the cuffs.

“Max, hurry! Please!” Liz cried hysterically as she attempted to push the man’s face away from her to stop him from kissing her neck. “No!”

Max could feel his body consume with rage at the same time his heart was consuming with pain, as he listened helplessly to Liz’s cries for help. “Come on!” Max shouted impatiently at the cuffs he was struggling to open before he finally twisted the key, releasing himself to lift up his boxers and charge at the soon-to-be dead man that was forcing himself on Liz. Gathering all his strength, Max grabbed the guy from his shirt, pulling him off of Liz and slamming him against the wall where he found his hands squeezing the life out of the man.

It wasn’t until Liz flipped on the lights that he loosened his grip in shock when the man was revealed to be none other than Kyle Valenti.

“No!” Max gasped in fear as he sat up abruptly on the bed.

“Max. Max. Are you okay?” Liz questioned as she sat up quickly beside him.

“Liz, you’re…” Max exhaled in relief to see that she was okay.

“Max, you’re sweating.” Liz pointed out as she wiped away the sweat from Max’s forehead with the end of her shirt and then moved to sit on Max’s lap when Max pulled her into a hug. “Max are you okay?” Liz questioned with concern as she stroked the back of his head to sooth him.

“It was just a dream.” Max repeated to himself as he held Liz closer to him and began planting desperate kiss across her cheek until he reached her lips, silencing her with a longing kiss. “I need you Liz.” Max whispered almost as if it were the first and last chance he had to be close to her.

“Max.” Liz hissed in ecstasy as she let herself be taken by Max and his emotion attempt to make love to her.

Meanwhile, from underneath Max’s bed, Tess listened intently to the moans of happiness that he and Liz were voicing. “Shh.” Tess whispered softly to the teddy bear as she signaled it to be quiet when a shirt was tossed infront of her.

[lizard_queen]

Wow, all those theories are quite amusing to Joye an I. Its interesting seeing who's getting warm and whos all the way at the Arctic. Just remember, keep your mind open to all possibilities. Think outside the square, or so to speak. Dun dun dun.

janesdilemma and tequathisy - you're good, and i quote directly from Joye: "they pay attention to detail, i like that, it makes me write evil things."

Btw I found out what Political Interpreter is ::does happy dance::
I looked it up from English-Estonian dictionary lol.

Care to enlighten us?


Wow, the effort you guys put into your fb is astounding. Thank you so much. You're all so cluey. Have a gold star. All of you.





<center>Chapter 18</center>


Lounge room – 2 am

Michael groaned as he once again rolled over on the lumpy couch in the middle of his apartment. Normally he would be sleeping like a baby in his warm bed with his soft mattress, possibly even dribbling onto his pillow if it was a peaceful sleep. But instead, he had lost the fight and was now forced to lay awake all night as he tossed and turned on the pathetic excuse for a lounge.

He gave up with a deep sigh and stared up into the darkness, hoping that she was having a fabulous sleep in his bed, which she practically threw him out of. He hadn’t been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time all night, either waking up from some hard object lodged in his side or from some weird noise coming from the hallway of their apartment building.

But of course, Maria was probably in a deep sleep, relaxed in his big, warm bed whilst he was forced to sleep with his legs hanging over the edge of the lounge and his body contorted at strange angles just to fit under the pitiable excuse of a blanket that he had.

It was still a mystery to him as to how he ended up drawing the short straw. He always thought that the guest was the one who slept on the couch, not the one who kicked him out his own room.

He missed his sleep. He missed his room. But most importantly, he missed his Metallica CD’s, the ones he had purposely stacked in order of release date right next to his bed so he knew where they were all the time. He was just happy that Kal had gone out for the night otherwise they would have both been sharing the lounge together.

‘It was just like Maria to make herself at home,’ Michael mused to himself, silently cursing Max in the dark for his ridiculous idea of inviting Liz to stay here. Sure, he was worried about them, but the idea of sending them to motel like Courtney had suggested was becoming increasingly appealing as the hours ticked on that he lay awake.

The thing that really pissed him off was that it had all happened so fast he hardly had any time to process what was happening before he found himself doomed to get no sleep at all. He went over the scenario in his millions of times but still couldn’t figure out just how she had tricked him so well.

“It’s been a long day.” Maria mused as she sat as far away from Michael as she could whilst crammed on the small, ratty lounge. It was an ugly green colour and clashed with practically every other thing in the room. ‘Yep,’ she thought, ‘they definitely decorated themselves.’

“I’m going to bed.” Michael grumbled next to her, standing up and walking to the bathroom to relieve himself. He scratched his brow as he walked back to his room, wondering just what it was about Maria Deluca that made her so intriguing to him. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t stop thinking about her.

But that didn’t mean he liked her or anything. Just the thought of spending more than an hour alone with her was enough to make him want to commit suicide. He just liked the challenge about her; the way she was always willing to fight over something meaningless. Despite how much he protested, he kind of enjoyed their arguments.

Michael reached out and turned the doorknob to his bedroom door, pushing with his weight forward and expecting to walk right into his room. Instead, he collided with the two and a half inches of thick wood that made up his door.

“What the hell?” He grumbled to himself, trying once more to open his door. It stayed strong and closed, leering at him, mocking his tired state.

“Why won’t you bloody open?” He asked, trying for the third time and failing once more. “Fuck.” He mumbled, his hands going to his hair and his foot kicking the bottom of the door.

As soon as his foot connected with the wood, the door flew open. Michael would have gleefully done a happy dance if he weren’t so surprised to see an extremely pissed of Maria standing on the other side of the door.

“Here.” She said gruffly, handing him a pillow and a blanket. He caught them before they fell to the floor, but stood back up to find the door slammed closed in his face.

He snapped his mouth shut from the shock that was short lived and prepared to rectify the situation. His fist came up and roughly banged on the door. His jaw was set and his tongue ready to strike when Maria opened the door again and raised one eyebrow at him. “What? Don’t you know that some people are trying to sleep?”

“Oh really? My mistake.” He pretended to ponder to himself. “You know what else is a mistake? Me forgetting that this is my room, now get out!” He pleaded with her. It had been a long day and all he wanted was to go to sleep.

“Well, I’m sleeping in your room tonight, so suck it up you big baby.” Maria finalised, slamming the door closed with a loud bang that echoed through the room. Michael lifted his hand ready to once again bang the door down but sense clouded over him. There was no point arguing over who was sleeping where all night. He would just have to deal with it and sleep on the couch for one night. And in the morning once everyone was feeling better… he would spit in her juice.

Michael sat up and punched down the lump in the lounge. Once he was satisfied that it wouldn’t disturb him anymore he laid back down, only to have a spring at the end of the couch poke into his leg. He rolled over with a sigh and closed his eyes, all the fight gone out of him.

It was going to be a long night.


Max’s room – 9:45 am

Max smiled to himself as Liz snuggled further down under the blankets and into his embrace. She was adorable in the morning. Her hair was all tousled from sleep and the sunlight streaming in through his window made her silky skin glow. She was absolutely breathtaking.

He ran his hands lazily up and down her back, content to just lie there all day and watch her sleep. Last night had been tough on both of them. In between his awful dream and the freaky night that Liz had, Max was surprised that either of them were able to get any sleep. Perhaps it was the steady stream of fresh air that came from his open bedroom window that eventually lulled them both into a contented sleep, or perhaps it was their physical activities that sated them, but either way, the fragments of sleep they did both receive after his dream were well spent.

After they had made love once more, giving themselves to each other body and soul, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, content to just be there with each other. The dream still plagued Max’s mind. Was it possible that maybe his dream was a premonition, his instincts calling out and making him pay attention to something that he’d been contemplating for the last few days? There was no way that Kyle Valenti was the one doing all this, was there?

Max almost told her that he loved her last night, but bit the end of his tongue before the words could escape. He didn’t want to scare her away, no matter how strong or consuming his feelings were. Just because he thought about her all day and all night didn’t mean that she felt the same way. How could she? It had only been a little over a week ago that he was a single man going to a valentines day party, and now here he was, utterly infatuated with one, Liz Parker.

The sound of yelling coming from the lounge room had Max breaking from his thoughts and untangling his naked body from Liz’s. He quickly dressed in his boxers and t-shirt and went out side to see what all the commotion was about before it woke up Liz.


Lounge room – 10:17am

“I did not do anything of the sort Michael. You’re just angry that you had to give up your bedroom for a guest so you start throwing around ludicrous accusations!” Maria yelled defiantly over the loud noise the television was making. She crossed her arms over her chest in a challenge, begging him to start something.

“You’re damn right I’m angry that you locked me out of my frickin’ room, but this isn’t about that. This is about the fact that one of my Metallica albums is missing and another one has a broken cover. I know for a fact that they were in mint condition before you stepped your demon ass inside my bedroom.” Michael countered, helplessly holding up two of his albums with a patheticness that made him look like a kicked puppy dog.

She simply smirked, preparing to open her mouth and tell Michael that he was the devils spawn, but the sudden silence brought on by the turning off of the television had both their heads whipping around to find a very pissed of Max holding the television remote.

“Hey! What are you doing? I was watching that.”

“Would you two shut the hell up?” Max hissed out, his knuckles turning white from the grip he had on the remote.

“She started it.” Michael grumbled like a three year old scolded for being naughty.

“I don’t care who the hell started, I just want you to shut up! Liz is trying to sleep and she needs all the rest she can get.” Max threatened in a growl, trying to keep from raising his voice and waking her up.

“But-” Maria started, and Max just glared at her. She snapped her mouth closed and lowered her head until Max had walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

“Ass.” She mumbled under her breath. She knew Max was right, Liz did need all the sleep she could get, but yelling at them like they were five was just damn near demeaning.

“Oh, suck it up and have some juice.” Michael said, offering her a freshly poured glass of orange juice. She took the glass without a second thought and lifted it up to her lips. Michaels satisfied smirk grew wider with every millimetre that the juice became closer to her lips, but fortunately for Maria, she looked down just in time to see the strange blob of clear liquid resting on the top of the juice.

“Gross! Is that spit?” She yelled, outraged at the thought of someone else’s spit in her drink. Cackling was heard from across the room and Maria narrowed her deep green eyes at the stumbling idiot who thought it would be funny to make her drink his body fluids. An evil smirk crossed her features when she imagined all the things she could do to him, not surprised that many of them revolved around castration and bearing is eviscerated ego.

“You should… have seen… your… face!” Michael laughed, gripping onto the kitchen counter to hold himself up.

“You bastard!” Maria yelled, picking up the nearest object which happened to be the remote for the TV and throwing it at Michael. It hit him square in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs.

“That’s what you get for stealing my bed.” He wheezed out, the laughter gone and replaced by pure anger towards the small blonde across the room from him.

“I was trying to teach you some hospitality you conceited jack ass! Obviously your parents never taught you how to treat a guest in your home, otherwise you would have-”

“Shut the hell up or get out, both of you!” Max roared from the doorway, startling both Michael and Maria from their self induced bubble. “I’ve had enough of your bullshit. You can’t even go five minutes without arguing and I’m sick and tired of it. I have enough shit to worry about without adding you guys to the equation, so either start to act like adults or get the hell out.” He yelled. This was all too much for him. They wouldn’t stop arguing over petty things when someone was threatening Liz’s life. He couldn’t handle any of it.

He stormed off down the hallway and into his bedroom, slamming the door closed and running a frustrated hand through his hair. He was almost afraid to look over to the bed in fear that Liz would be awake, but when he chanced a glance the bed was empty. Movement from the far corner of the room caught his eye and he turned to see Liz rummaging around on the floor looking for something, her body shaking as sobs racked her body.

“Liz?” He questioned softly when he saw her pick up a shoe and two socks from the floor and put them on her feet. All she needed now was her shirt and her other shoe and she would get out of his way. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” She lied firmly, but the sob that escaped from between her lips told the truth.

“Where are you going?” Max asked when she picked her other shoe from amongst the clothes on the floor and started searching for her last piece of clothing.

“Home.” She answered, wiping at her eyes and trying to pretend that she wasn’t crying.

Fear immediately overtook Max’s body at the thought of her going home and not being protected from Kyle. There was no way that she would be anywhere near that monster alone. “Ok, just let me get my keys and I’ll take you.”

“I wouldn’t want to be more shit for you to worry about.” Liz replied bitterly, looking up and meeting his eyes for the first time.

“W-what?” Max asked confused. What the hell was she talking about?

“I heard what you said, okay? And I’m sorry for being such an inconvenience to your life. As soon as I find my shirt I’ll be out of the way for good.”

“What? Liz, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” he quickly rushed to assure her, kneeling down on the ground in front of her and cupping her cheek in his hand so their eyes met. “I didn’t mean you, please don’t think that. I’m just worried about you Liz. This person has already killed how many people? And it seems your next on their list but your too stubborn to realise that you need protection. Michael and Maria were just the last straw.”

She tried to turn her eyes away from him but Max held her gaze, gently wiping away the tears with the pad of his thumbs. “I’m worried that something is going to happen to you, and it’s going to take you away from me for good. I’m scared for you Liz, but I want to help make sure that you’re all right. Please don’t leave. ”

Liz shook her head, not believing for one minute that he was being sincere and not just trying to spare her feelings. “Max, it’s okay, I understand that you don’t want us here. You don’t have to keep making excuses. I’m a big girl, I can handle the truth.”

Before she had a chance to protest any further he left forward and sealed their lips together, gently making love to her mouth with a kiss full of promises for the future. Max pulled her body closer to his, trying desperately to show her that he was telling the truth.

“Liz, I’m not making excuses. I’m worried about you, and I want you here more than you know.” Max whispered once they had broken apart. She looked up, searching his face for any hint that he was lying, but found only candour shining in his golden gaze.

She nodded her head and pulled his warm body closer to hers, burying her head is his strong chest and feeling the safety of his arms surround her. Max placed a gentle kiss on her brow and they sat together in silence, a silence that was short lived by the rumbling of her stomach.

“Excuse me.” Liz mumbled into his chest in embarrassment and Max just chuckled to himself.

“How about we get dressed and I’ll take you down to this little café I know around the corner that makes the best pancakes?” He offered with a smile. Liz nodded her head eagerly, not really caring what she ate at this point, as long as it was food.

They both stood up to finish getting dressed. Max pulled out a clean button down shirt from his dresser and turned around just in time to see Liz jump back from the bottom of his bed with a loud yelp. She held her hand close to her chest and glared underneath his bed with fear.

“Liz? What happened?” He asked frantically when he saw that she had started to bleed.

“I was looking for my shirt under your bed, and something… something bit me.”




TBC....

[Crashdown_51]

Wow! I can't believe it took this long for me to update. I think Kris probably will join you guys on the casting of the stones. Man, I suck with the updates. My bad guys.

So now I will enlighten you:
Political Interpreter is "inimene kes sünkroontõlgib poliitilistel kohtumistel" it is in estonian... hahaa

What's Estonian for "nopes"?

Sorry kiddo, I can assure you that that's not what Max does. In fact, if you translate it in English and it actually turns out to be what Max does for a living, I'll tell you who the killer/killers is/are.

I must admit, you had me scared for a minute, going all crazy for an Estonian translator.

Wheres Kal? Why hasnt he shown up yet? Either hes having too much fun with Betty Jugs.. Or hes the next showing down at the morgue. And to think a PI was a safe job...

First of all, WOW! Love love love the feedback. It's so funny and sometimes very very accurate. Of course I won't tell you on what, but just letting you know, sometimes you're right on the money.

And where is Kal? <Stroking chin> Dun dun dun.

Max is a pcychic who interprets things for the government. Michael has the same ability but chose to use his gift to fight crime instead of working for the man. (cause he's a rebel.) Max interpets real old archaic writing like Nostradumus theories/ and bible codes for the government. How far from wrong am I?

Let's see...yep yep still wrong, but very creative. You get a star, in Kris's words.

Btw, I love Maria's style, only she could kick Michael out of his own bed and then get indignant when he yells at her. When are they going to cut the crap and get it on, all this tension isn't good for anybody?

So true. Can you say "extreme tension"?



Thanks everyone for reading and especially your patience. And again, my bad.


_____________________________________________________________

<center>Chapter 19</center>

Max’s Room

“Liz? What happened?” He asked apprehensively when he saw that she had started to bleed.

“I was looking for my shirt under your bed, and something… something bit me.” She replied as he examined her finger with concern and then reached over to his nightstand to grab a tissue.

“Bit you?” He questioned while pressing the tissue on her finger and then looked skeptically at his bed when she nodded.

Leaving Liz to care for herself, he got down on his stomach and slowly entered head first to look underneath the bed.

“What? What is it?” Liz questioned as she bent down and touched Max’s lower back anxious to see what it was that bit her.

“It’s…shit.”

“Max.” Liz gasped after witnessing him hit his head on the frame of the bed as he tried to get out. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Max cursed as he pulled out a hissing, chubby black cat from underneath his bed and displayed it to Liz. “Stupid cat.”

“You have a cat?” Liz questioned with a puzzled expression as she straightened up her form and placed her hand on her hips.

“It’s Isabel’s cat, Bruno.” He replied as he stood up, holding the cat by a handful of extra skin on its shoulders, despite it’s hissing, and then turned the cat to face him.

“Isabel’s?” Liz repeated as she attempted to pet the cat, but quickly took her hand back when it swiped at her and hissed.

“Yeah, you’re apartment complex doesn’t allow pets so she left him here despite how much the cat hates us. He attacks everything and everyone that isn’t Isabel. Stupid cat.” He retorted as he moved to the window and released the cat, which quickly scurried out into the fire escape before Max shut the window.

“Is that safe? Leaving the cat out there?” Liz questioned with concern as she pointed to the window.

“Yeah, it likes being out there more than in here, it’s probably why it bit you. I swear, it’s like someone up there is feeding him.”

“Why didn’t you mention that you guys had a cat before?” Liz asked with an amused giggle as she watched Max squat back down and grabbed her shirt.

“Not exactly a topic that comes to mind when I’m with you really.” He chuckled as he stood up and handed her shirt to her. “Can you imagine?” He asked with a playful smirk, wrapping his arms around her waist while she softly rubbed where he had hit his head. “Liz, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, oh yeah, and by the way, my sister left me in charge of her demonic cat.” He huffed sarcastically before placing a small kiss on her lips and then took a step back to allow her space to finish dressing.

“Okay, so is there anything else I should know about you? Perhaps something that might cause me to bleed again?”

“Well, I had a gold fish, but it was murdered by my sister’s cat.” He laughed but then noticed Liz tense up when she heard the word “murder”. “Oh, Liz. I’m such an idiot. I didn’t mean to…”

“No. No. Max, it’s okay, really. You can’t keep walking on egg shells on account of me.” Liz shrugged off as she slipped on her shirt and straightened out her hair. “Now if I can just use your bathroom…”

“Oh, right. Come on. I’ll show you.” Max grinned as he watched Liz look frantically for her overnight bag and then rushed over to him once she had the bag in hand.

“Okay, let’s go.” She declared with a smile as she laced her fingers with his.


Living Room

“Morning sleepy head.” Maria greeted before she taking a sip of her coffee.

“Morn-”

“Blah. Ugh! Ew!” Maria coughed out in disgust as she moved to the kitchen sink and dumped out the remaining contents in her mug. “I don’t know what the hell this is but it sure as hell isn’t coffee.”

“No one ever said it was.” Michael declared with a triumphant smirk as he leaned on the refrigerator door and then arched his eyebrows in malice when Maria turned to give him a vengeful glare

“-ning.” Liz finished off with a giggle and then looked to Max, seeing him smile before her attention was drawn to the red neon numbers to the oversized digital clock that hung on the wall behind Max. “Um, Maria? Where’s Alex?” Liz questioned releasing Max’s hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear and visually scanned the room before returning her sights to Maria.

“I don’t know.” She answered as she tore away her dagger glaring eyes from Michael to look to Liz. “I left like twenty messages on his cell and I called the station like twenty more times, they said he got off at two like he was suppose to.”

“Hope those forty calls were made from your phone.” Michael retorted before he bit into his toast and then looked over to Max, when he cleared his throat in warning. “What?” Michael questioned defensively before waving off Max’s scowl. “Tarzan-Loverboy probably got sidetracked reviving a gorilla or something.”

“Hey, you leave Alex alone. You don’t see me making cracks at your clingy, psycho cop girlfriend, do you?” Maria retorted as she straightened up offensively and poked into his chest.

“A little defensive when it comes to your little boyfriend, aren’t you?” Michael spat as he towered over her and pointed down to her.

“Oh- ”

“Hey!” Max shouted after he whistled. “What the hell did I say?” Max questioned in command, staring from both Michael and Maria before everyone’s eyes moved at the same time to the knock at the front door. “I’ll get it.” He announced and then pulled Liz aside. “The bathroom’s first door on the left.” He instructed before he proceeded towards the door.

“I’ll show her.” Maria volunteered as she pushed passed Michael.

“Yeah, since you’re in your house and everything.” Michael huffed sarcastically as he watched Maria disappear into the hallway with Liz before she returned to stick out her tongue at him and then disappeared again into the hallway.

“Michael.” Max warned as he held on to the doorknob.

“What? Did you actually look around when you went to the bathroom? I haven’t seen that much pink in my life, even when Isabel lived with us. And can someone please tell me what the fuck a pantyliner is? Is she on her rag, because she slept on my bed? Fuck, let me go check.” Michael cursed as he jogged to his room.

“Real classy Michael.” Max stated loudly over the continuous knock on the door. “Yeah. Yeah. Who is it?” Max questioned as he moved closer to the door to hear.

“Banks.”

“One sec.” Max replied, moving to unlock the door but noticed it was already opened. “What the?” He whispered to himself before he turned the knob suspiciously and opened the door, allowing Courtney passageway in.

“Hey, what’s up?” Courtney greeted, saluting with a legal-sized, interdepartmental manila envelope and then looked around the living room to see traces of someone sleeping on the couch. “Where’s Guerin?”

“In his room.” Max answered as he pointed towards Michael’s room with his chin. “What is that?”

“Police business.” Courtney replied indifferently and then proceeded to Michael’s room.


Michael’s Room

“Hey, Guerin.” She called out, peeking in from behind the door to see him examining his bed with his flashlight.

“What?” Michael replied without looking to her.

“Got those negatives developed.” She announced, seeing his head and the spotlight of his flashlight snap to her from the news, before the spotlight moved to the manila envelope in her hand.

“Give ‘em here.” He ordered, pushing off the bed with his knee as he shut off the flashlight and then reached out for the folder.

“Oh, these aren’t it.” She quickly replied as she moved the envelope out of his grasp.

“You said…”

“Yeah, these are those undercover surveillance photos for the DeSoto case we did in 93’.”

“Desoto case? Why do you have them?” He questioned, eyeing her skeptically when she smiled at him.

“I had dinner last night with an old friend, his precinct got a similar collar so he asked me to bring the file along to check it out.” She explained as she tensely moved passed him to sit on his bed.

“So, where are the negative exposures?” Michael questioned as he scratch the side of his head with the butt of the flashlight.

“Um, they’re back at the lab.”

“That’s weird." Michael pondered, tapping the flashlight on the side of his leg repeatedly. "Liz didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, I had the other ET on duty develop them and blow them up for me. A Claire Green I think.”

“But, Liz is the lead ET on this case.” Michael rebutted, tossing the flashlight on his bed and then crossed his arms defensively.

“Hey, I thought I was doing my job, some of us have been dragging our asses on this case…”

“Not this shit again.” Michael cut off in a frustrated shout and then scratched his eyebrow before he shrugged. “Look whatever, I’m not dealing with this shit today. Let me go tell Maria and Liz to get ready…”

“Maria? Why?” Courtney questioned, caught off guard by the suggestion.

“Because she was the first victims boss. She knew him personally and work-wise. Whoever planted the negative on him probably is giving us a clue, a clue someone besides the victim could identify. Seeing that our victim is a dead one, she’s the next closest thing to finding the clue, so she goes, just like Liz.”

“Like Liz what?” Maria questioned, noticing she had just walked into a heated argument by the startled looks the two were giving her, that quickly ceased by the sound of her voice.

“Get dressed.” Courtney ordered after letting out a frustrated breath and then stared into the ceiling.

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Since when did I start talking orders from you, Amazon? Last time I checked I owned my own ass. Yep. Yep. Still mine.” Maria sarcastically proclaimed as she grabbed to handfuls of her butt cheeks and then looked back to Courtney. “Now that that’s cleared up, this perfectly shaped ass is gonna go back to sleep in that bed, so shoo.” Maria ordered as she held the door open, hinting for Courtney to leave the room as she pointed out the door.

“Maria, get dressed and tell Liz not to make any plans. We’re going to the lab.” Michael ordered in a defeated tone.

“What? Why?” Maria questioned, noticing he wasn’t telling her in their typical snooty manner but in a more serious cop-related manner. “Oh God. Is it Alex? Oh my God, its Alex isn’t it? What happened?”

“Hey, hey. It’s not Alex.” Michael assured her, soothing her hyperventilation by cupping her cheeks and looking into her eyes. “It’s not Alex.” He assured her, holding his eye contact until she hesitantly nodded in acceptance.

“Uh, I could puke.” Courtney muttered under her breath and looked away after letting out an annoyed breath.

“Get dressed.” Michael repeated again before he removed his hands off Maria’s face and then took a step back to let her go pass him to the foot of his bed, where her overnight bag was tossed. “We’ll wait for you in the living room.” He declared as he moved to the door and then looked back for Courtney to leave with him.

“Hurry up, Princess. We don’t have all day for you to put your mask on.” Courtney spat as she stood up from the bed and pushed passed her.

“Not everyone has a dollar store mask.” Maria quickly responded watching attentively as Courtney turned on her heel and cross her arms, ready to hear the rest of Maria punt. “I mean you do have all the qualities of a dollar store Barbie doll. Generic plastic, trailer-trash make-up and a fucked up hair do. I do sympathy cases, so why don’t you stop by the shop later…”

“Stupid bitch.” Courtney growled angrily, attempting to lunge at Maria but felt Michael pull her back and out of the room by her waist. “Let go of me!” She commanded, watching Maria wave good-bye to her until he completely shut the door behind him and then allowed her to push him away. “Get off.” She ordered, glancing to Michael, who was holding his hands up in surrender as she straightened out her clothes. “You’re bringing her so you’re watching her and if she so much as even looks at me…” She trailed off on her threat, lowering her pointing finger before she stomped off to sit on the couch.

“What was that about?” Max whispered from the side of his mouth after Michael moved beside him in the kitchen.

“I stopped caring a while ago.” Michael shrugged indifferently and then sat up on the counter.

“Okay I’m ready.” Liz announced with a smile as she turned the corner, seeing both Max and Michael’s head turn to look at her.

“We’re gonna go grab some breakfast at the café in the corner…”

“Actually, Liz has to go punch in today, Maxwell.” Michael corrected as he hopped down from the counter and then patted Max on the shoulder sympathetically before he moved between the two to grab his empty holster straps from the top of the fridge.

“What happened?” Liz asked in a panic. “Is it Alex? Oh God…”

“No, fuck. What is it with that guy?” Michael snapped, surprising both Max and Liz by his sudden edginess.

“Um, Michael…you okay man?” Max questioned cautiously as Liz looked on quizzically.

“Sorry, I slept like shit last night thanks to you two and your inability’s to keep quiet.”

“Oh. Wha-I…” Liz stuttered before lowering her head in embarrassment and then glanced to Max who was smiling at her in adoring amusement.

“Don’t think I heard “I” last night. A lot of “Liz, oh Liz” and “Max, oh Max” but no “I”.”

“We get the point, Michael.” Max warned through his teeth, clenching back his smirk as he pushed Michael away while Michael continuously teased.


Michael Room

“Shoes. Shoes.” Maria repeated to herself as she scanned the room for her shoes, spotting them neatly position in the small space between the bed and the nightstand.

Moving to sit beside the nightstand, she quickly stood back up at the feeling of her sitting on something and then turned to see a manila envelope, indented with the impression of her rear end. “What the hell is this?” She whispered curiously, looking to the door as she reached for the envelope and then looked back to it once she felt her fingertips touch the crisp material.

Redirecting her fingers to the red string of the button closure and began unwinding it until the closed flap lifted. Looking back to the close door, she bit on her bottom lip and opened the pocket of the envelope, sticking her hand inside and pulled out what she realized was a stack of photos.


Living Room

“Are we gonna wait for her all day?” Courtney groaned from underneath her hands that were covering her face as her head tilted back against the couch’s backrest and then spontaneously sat up to displayed her watch to Michael.

“Relax.” Michael ordered as he moved to his bedroom door and knocked on the wooded surface with his knuckles, stepping back in surprise when the door opened abruptly.

“Let’s go, Pig.” Maria muttered under her breath as she shoved the resealed envelope into Michael’s stomach, hearing him cough as he grabbed hold of it.

“Fuck.” He coughed out before looking down at his abdomen to see he was holding the envelope Courtney came in with. “Maria.” He called out with intentions to explain but she was already out the door, practically pulling Liz to keep up with her and then looked to Courtney, who he could have sworn smiled mischievously at him before following after the other two.

“What’s up?” Max questioned, noticing the entire interaction between the Michael and Maria.

“You know Maxwell, this whole crush thing you say Courtney’s hung over on…”

“Yeah?”

“It’s getting really old, man.”

“What did she say?” Max questioned with a faint chuckle.

“‘Do’ is more like it.”

“What did she do then?”

“You know that one case I told you about, the one where we had to pretend to be dating?”

“Faintly. Why?” Max asked even more curious.

“These are the pictures the Desoto crew took of us when we they we’re checking to see if we were legit. There are pictures of us kissing and everything in here, and I’m pretty sure she left them in my room purposely. And Maria, being as fucking nosy as Courtney expected her to be, looked through them, hence the karate punch to the stomach.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it Michael.” Max advised as he shook his head pensively and then moved towards the door, walking backwards. “I mean, why would she want Maria to find them anyway? You guys hate each other.” Max shrugged dismissively and then made his way out the door, leaving Michael behind to ponder in his statement.

[lizard_queen]

Wow, we really suck with the updating of this, don't we?

I guess first of all, thank you for the votes we got for Best Combined Author. Once again leaving us with the runner up position, so thank you all. It's highly apprecaited. Second of all, I'm lazy and Joye has a crappy computer, hence the really big lack of updates. Sorry.

As always, thank you for your fabulous fb. I hope you enjoyed your confusion because it'll just get bigger when the next part comes.

Is Max simultaneous interpreter or consecutive interpreter?

Right...I'm gonna pretend like I know what that means.

"Simultaneous" means at "the same time" and "consecutive" means "one after another", so I know that much...

Ugh, too much thinking, I'll ask Kris for the 1st graders cliff notes version b/c it's warping my fragile little mind.

Thanks for reading by the way.

Dont ask me, i'm just as confused. I think thats the plan, to turn the tables around on us so for once we dont know whats going on. Hmm, a conspiracy against us from our own readers!

Well, thats about all. I'll shut up now and just post. And i'll keep bgging Joye so the next part is hopefully posted this month.


<center>Chapter 20</center>


ET Office – 9:56 am

“Where are they?” Michael asked, his eyes scanning the small lab before resting back on his partner who was standing beside him.

“On the table over there,” Claire said, indicating to the small table in the far side of the room. It was specially designed for looking at see through pictures like x-rays or in this case, photo negatives. The desk was white with a light underneath the surface, which was titled slightly for better viewing of the pictures. Michael flipped on the light and put on the white plastic gloves that doctors always wear. He then pulled out the different sets of negatives, placing them on the desk and clipping them into place with the metal holder attached to the desk.

The fact that Claire was still working on the case that was originally hers gave Liz chills up her spine. She wished that the other ET wasn’t there in the room with them. The icy feelings between them was hard enough to work with when it was just them, but now with here other people in the room, Liz had to suck it up and pretend like everything was fine. She walked across the lab room and gathered up the computerised camera, connecting it to the back on the computer next to the table where the negatives were. She turned on the computer and the camera, receiving a quizzical look from Michael.

“If you hold the camera over the negatives they’ll show up on the screen larger. You can also zoom in really close. I use it to look at finer details on evidence. Thought it may help us,” Liz explained nervously, hiding under Michaels scrutinizing expression. His brow was crinkled and his eyes were trained on her face, like in was in deep thought.

“Thanks.” He replied, shaking himself out of his thoughts and forcing himself to focus on the problem at hand. He focused the camera on the first set of negatives, slowing going over each and every one that was found at the first crime scene. The person in the first set of negatives was too bulky to be the first victim. Nathan was skinny and tall, but the man in these negatives was average height and obviously someone who worked out a lot. The thing that made it difficult to determine just who this person was, was the killer’s trademark. The face was blurred out in all the negatives of whoever the person was.

“Why aren’t we looking at the developed ones?” Courtney asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was too hard to see anything when all the colours were inversed on the film. She reached out to lift up one of the filmstrips but Claire caught her hand inches before her fingers connected with the plastic.

“Please don’t touch them unless you’re wearing gloves. It’ll screw up the evidence and it will be useless in court. And we have to wait for the developed photos to dry in the dark room before we can look at them, otherwise they’ll be damaged and unusable. They’ll be ready to look at by tomorrow.” Claire said calmly, irritated with the fact that this detective obviously had never been studying evidence before.

Liz looked over her shoulder and noticed the annoying glares Michael kept throwing Courtney’s way. He was still pissed of with her about the stunt she pulled this morning at his apartment; add to that the fact that she was becoming increasingly annoying every time she opened his mouth and he was just about ready to file for a new partner.

He turned his eye away from the computer screen where everyone was looking and looked towards the blonde who was standing all by herself at the back of the room. Her arms were wrapped around herself protectively showing Michael that she was uncomfortable being there. He stood up and walked towards her, completely missing the dark glares his partner was shooting their way.

“Hey, I need you to help me with something.”

His voice was soft and comforting, unlike the usual snarky tone that seemed to be a permanent part of Michael Guerin. It didn’t matter that he had left those pictures on his bed for her to see, because in that small instant he almost seemed… human. Perhaps even likable. Maria relaxed slightly, her arms dropping down to her side and her searching expression replaced with more of a tranquil one.

But he was an asshole, she had to remind herself. And his little girlfriend was even worse. They were permanently making her life a living hell. So when he reached out and took her hand reflexively, Maria made sure to pull it away straight away and wrap her arm back around herself. She wasn’t going to let him see that she could be vulnerable sometimes.

Michael felt a pang of guilt when she pulled her hand back, but he tried not to focus on it. He tried not to think about how soft her skin was or how he reached out and took her hand like it was natural; like it was something he did every day. Instead he focused all his attention on the problem at hand.

“I need you to look at these negatives we have and tell me if any of them look like Nathan. Or if you recognise any of the places in the background as places he liked to hand out or anything. Okay?”

In her peripheral vision she could see Courtney give a large scowl in their direction and shake her head, but Maria gave a reluctant nod and walked over towards the table with the negatives. Liz stood up and allowed Maria to take her seat. Michael sat down next to her and moved the camera onto the first photograph, changing the focus on the lens until it was clearly shown on the screen.

Maria studied the negative, trying to make out the area where it was taken but coming up short. The first thing she noticed about all the photographs was that they looked more like surveillance shots than anything. On the film that was found with Nathan, the subject of the photos was walking out of what looked like a bar. They were taken one after the other. The first one he was opening a glass door, the second one he was on the doorstep, the third one he was what appeared to be about two steps away from the door, and by the sixth photo, the subject was turning a corner out of site. The name of the bar was nowhere to be seen, and the subject’s head was blurred in every picture, making it impossible to tell who he was.

“Hey Michael, can you zoom in more on his arm for me?” Maria asked, squinting to make out the little black dot peeking out under the mans white shirt. The camera zoomed in more and the focus was adjusted until the bottom half of what appeared to be a Chinese character was revealed, tattooed onto the mans skin.

“Liz, didn’t Doug have a tattoo that looked just like this on his arm?” Maria questioned her best friend, still having to squint to make out the tiny black mark on the photo. Liz looked up from some paperwork she was currently filling out at her friend’s question.

“Tattoo? I didn’t see a tattoo on the film before.” Claire said curiously, standing up and moving over towards the computer screen. She hid her scowl at the fact that the girl asked Liz Parker for facts about her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend now that he was no longer alive. Maria lifted her finger and pointed at the small black dot on the screen. Liz walked over and stood behind Maria, looking over her shoulder to study the screen as well.

“It’s probably just dirt or something on the film, not a tattoo.” Courtney interjected with a huff of annoyance as she was pushed away from the screen when Michael moved over to make room for Liz.

“That’s what I thought originally,” Claire mumbled to herself, her eyes focused on the screen whilst her hands worked on getting a clearer picture on the film. “But I think she’s right, that is a tattoo.”

“So what you’re saying is that this is surveillance shots of Doug?” Michael questioned with a slight smile. It would make sense that the only one in the room whose job didn’t somehow revolve around this case was the one who made the most sense of it.

“It’s just a theory, but it makes sense.” Maria said, turning away from the screen briefly to look at him from the corner of her eye. “I’m sure even Liz will agree with me that the man in the photos looks a hell of a lot like Doug. And they both have a tattoo in the same spot. It could be that the pictures found with Nathan were pictures of the killers next victim.” She explained, feeling exhilarated that she could help in some way that didn’t involve interrogation from Michaels’ little blonde pet.

“That would mean, theoretically, that the negatives found in Doug’s mouth were of the next victim.” Michael mused, standing up to pace the room in deep thought. The last set of negatives has a man who appeared to be middle aged. He wasn’t exactly fat, but a small beer gut was evident under his blue shirt. “We should start looking for someone who resembles the next victim. In the last set of negatives the man was getting into a car outside the airport. You can tell that’s where he is because of the luggage trolleys in the background. We should send some people down to look at the surveillance videos at the airport, and we should get some other people asking around the staff if they recognize anyone who looks like that.”

Courtney stood up, sick of being left out and needing to vent her frustrations in the only way she knew how. “You’re basing all of this on what Guerin? Some cheap assed five-dollar-per-cut hairdresser who has no experience in this field what so ever and has enough imagination to think a tiny little speck of dirt is a tattoo on this guys arm?! She doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about. I can’t believe you’re actually endorsing this sort of investigating!”

Was this all just a game to him? By agreeing with the peroxide queen did he think he was going to get some ass from her? Courtney couldn’t deny that she wished Maria Deluca was the one who was found dead, not her employee. But short of killing her herself, it seemed that there was no way for Courtney to get rid of this very large obstacle in between her and Michael.




Main Street – 6:35 pm


“I can’t believe the nerve of that… that camel vomit!” Maria growled as her and Liz walked down the sidewalk towards the large art gallery where Isabel had her very first show tonight.

“Camel vomit?” Liz asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up. I couldn’t think of anything else. God, she's even affecting my insults now!” Maria cringed, her hands balling up into tight fists by her side. “It was just a theory. I didn’t think that loser would take it seriously and plan all this police investigation crap. I was expecting him to tell me what a stupid idea it was. She’s just jealous that she didn’t think of it first. Please tell me she’s not invited to this opening tonight?”

“Don’t worry, Isabel can hardly stand her either. So unless Michael brings her as his date, which I don’t think will happen, she won’t be here.” Liz soothed, rubbing her best friends back to calm her down. They walked through the front doors of the gallery and were stunned into standing still. The gallery was packed with art lovers; art buyers and Isabel’s friends, all come down to see the opening of one of the most talked about new photographers in the city.

Strong arms wrapped around Liz’s waist from behind and a hard chest pressed against her back. She jumped at first, startled from the contact, but as soon as his familiar scent filled the air around her she relaxed back into Max’s warm embrace.

“You look amazing tonight,” He whispered against her neck, placing a delicate kiss on her exposed skin. She was dressed in a deep red dress that clung to her body perfectly and finished around her calves. Her wavy hair was piled up loosely in a bun, with small stands falling out of place and dangling down her back. This was the first time that Maria and Liz had been to an art opening, and both had no idea what to wear to such an event. Everyone around them was dressed in expensive clothes. All of the men were wearing dark suits and all the women looked as if they were going to a ball.

“Thank you.” Liz smiled, tilting her head back to place a sweet kiss against Max’s lips.

“You look amazing as well Maria.” Max smiled when she cleared her throat loudly, expecting her own compliment on her appearance. He turned back to his girlfriend and kissed her once more, brushings a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “I missed you today. I had nothing to do at home all by myself.” He looked down into Liz’s face with suck a love struck expression that Maria had to roll her eyes. They were nauseating.

“I missed you too.” Liz whispered back to him, turning around fully in his embrace so she could wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him like she had been longing to all day.

“I’m going to need a drink if I’m stuck with you two all night.” Maria mumbled to herself and shook her head. She walked over to the bar and ordered a margarita on the rocks. She had to admit that she was happy for her best friend. Even though these murders were extremely close to home for everyone, Max seemed to take away all the badness in the air when he was around Liz. He could make her smile when she was sat her worst, and he loved her. Even though she knew they hadn’t officially admitted the ‘L’ word to each other yet, Max and Liz were a regular Romeo and Juliet, without the sneaking around and all the suicides of course. Liz had found herself a keeper.

If only Maria had the same luck.


Other side of the gallery.


“Wow, Max, these are amazing.” Liz said in awe of the photographs displayed all around the gallery. He couldn’t agree more. They were currently standing in front of a two meter wide black and white photo of a young girl on a swing. Her hair was blowing in the wind and the carefree expression on the girls face was perfect. It was easy to see that Isabel definitely had a rare talent when it came to photography.

“Do you want a drink?” Max asked, indicating to the bar on the other side of the room.

“Yes please.”

“Ok, I’ll be back in a sec,” He said, dropping a sweet kiss to her forehead and untangling their fingers. It was strange how as soon as they weren’t touching any more Max suddenly felt alone, like the other half of him, the half that made him complete was missing.

Liz missed him as soon as he left, but continued on through the gallery, knowing he would probably be caught by someone who knew him and made to take part in an awkward conversation for a few minutes. It had been happening to them both all night. It seemed that Max was one of Isabel’s favourite topics to talk about amongst friends and mentors. They all couldn’t wait to meet the brother they had heard so much about.

Isabel however, was nowhere to be seen. Liz found it slightly strange that this was her own art opening and she wasn’t even here. Then again, she was probably just waiting to make a grand entrance.

Liz absently looked up at the large photograph she was now standing in front of and gasped out loud. It wasn’t the beauty of the shot or the lighting or anything that would usually make an art lover go nuts that caused her reaction.

No, the thing that made her gasp, the element in the photo that chilled her bones and stopped her heart was the fact that in the centre of the image was a man walking down the street, with his face blurred out.


TBC....