"SLOW DOWN!! CAN’T YOU TELL YOU’RE SCARING POOR BRENDA TO DEATH BACK HERE?"

Jax leaned forward as far as his seatbelt would allow in the black and white police cruiser. Blue glanced back over her shoulder and shot him a withering look. "Seems to me YOU’RE the one who’s scaring her with all that shouting, DD!"

"I am NOT!! The way you took that turn at Main and Emerson was almost enough to scare ME!!" He grimaced at Blue and sat back in the rear seat next to Brenda. "You OK, love?"

To Jax and Blue’s surprise, a raucous laugh escaped Brenda’s lips. "I think you’re BOTH scaring me!!" She folded her arms and clucked her tongue against her teeth. "I swear – I haven’t heard such petty quarreling since I was in the third grade and Wanda Sue Wolverson lost out to me for Penny Queen!"

"Oh, don’t let it bother you, Brenda!" Blue laughed. She peered at the pair of passengers in the back seat before checking her mirror to make a left turn. "Old DD’s been on my case about my driving ever since I took him on as a partner. I just kind of tune it out now……like that annoying rock music on the radio station he likes best."

"It’s NOT……" Jax stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and then turned to Brenda. "How are you doing, really? So far, so good?"

"Actually, I was kind of enjoying the show back here, watching how *well* the two of you work together!" Brenda smirked. Then, she gazed out the window of the police car and her face lost a little color. "But now that you mention it……."

"Way to go, Jax!" Blue scolded as they came to a red light. Her eyes lifted to the rear view mirror again to make connection with Brenda’s. "It’s not that much farther now, Brenda. And then just a quick trip inside the station and out again and you’ll be home free!"

"I still don’t understand why we couldn’t take Jax’s jeep." Brenda settled down a little farther into her seat as Jax wrapped an am around her shoulders. "It’s so much bigger……."

"It makes more sense this way, love, remember?" Jax replied gently. "We all ride to the station together, and then on the way back to your house we can stop by the dealership to pick up your car since it’s fixed."

"Then I take off again on that miserable ATM theft stakeout," Blue continued. "And Jax will ride with you back to the brownstone."

"And then……..you’ll be leaving?" Brenda raised questioning eyes to Jax. To tell the truth, she wasn’t so sure she wanted this adventure to come to an end. Having him around was getting to feel far too comfortable.

Jax shrugged. "That depends on how the lineup goes. If you can identify the guy they brought in as the Slasher – yeah, I guess I’m back to take-out Chinese at night and Egg McMuffin for breakfast."

Blue guided the black and white smoothly into a parking space in front of the Port Charles Police Station. "Here we are, kiddo." She glanced down at her watch. "Looks like we’re right on time, too."

Brenda suddenly gripped Jax’s hand. "I can’t do this." Her face was ashen and her legs didn’t seem to respond to commands from her brain. "I can’t, Jax. I just can’t."

"Yes, you can, Brenda," he crooned. He leaned towards her until his breath stirred the hair near her ear. "I’ll be right there with you every step of the way." He slipped his other hand around hers, tightly gripping the cold, petite fingers. "Just hang on and squeeze my hand if you feel afraid."

She lifted brown velvet eyes that brimmed with tears to meet his warm gaze. "If I forget to say it later – thanks, Jax. For everything."

Blue had gotten out of the car discreetly and opened the door on Brenda’s side just as she finished speaking. Brenda took a shaky deep breath and then climbed out of the car to stand next to Blue. Jax launched himself out of the car in one swift move and then slammed the door behind him.

"OK, ladies," he said, gesturing towards the door to the station. "Let’s get this over with." With one arm wound tightly around her waist and the other raised in front like a battering ram, Jax led Brenda up the steps and through the main doors. She kept her head down, halfway buried in Jax’s shoulder, and never noticed the quiet looks of respect that he received from some of his fellow officers as they made their way through the squad room.

"Jax!" Brenda was tempted to look up when a husky feminine voice echoed through the large room. "Over here!"

Brenda felt Jax’s body relax slightly as he turned towards the left. She heard footsteps approach them and finally risked looking up to find herself staring into another pair of warm brown eyes. "V!" Jax leaned down towards Brenda. "This is one of my comrades in crime-fighting, Officer V. Ardanowski. We call her "V" for short because she hates her first name," Jax added with a broad grin. The look he gave V was all business. "Do you know which room they’re using for the Slasher lineup?"

"Number three, I think," V replied. She smiled reassuringly at Brenda. "I take it this is Miss Barrett?"

"Guilty as charged." Brenda’s eyes suddenly widened and she placed her fingertips to her lips. "Oops! Guess I shouldn’t say things like that around here!"

Jax glanced down at his watch. "Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?" He put his arm around Brenda again. "Where’s the chief?"

V frowned and looked around the squad room. "You know, I was just talking to Mac about the lineup, and then all of a sudden he said he had an important phone call to make and he headed for his office." She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess maybe he’ll meet you guys in the viewing room."

Jax nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Before Brenda could take a breath, he had them moving swiftly out of the squad room and down a dim corridor into the depths of the building. The confines of the narrow hallway made Brenda shiver a little. Although Jax felt her grip his hand, he kept walking at a brisk pace. "You OK?" he finally asked.

He reached out to open a door on the left and led Brenda into a small room that was barren of furniture. One large glass window dominated a far wall. "I’ve been better," Brenda replied grimly. "What happens now?"

Jax inhaled to reply but then the lights came on in the room next door. "Well, it looks like we won’t be waiting for Mac today." He tipped his head towards the window into the adjoining room. "They’re already bringing in the suspects." He could feel Brenda’s hand grow colder and clammier as they approached the sheet of one-way glass. "You don’t have to worry about anonymity, Brenda," he murmured in anticipation of her question. "The scumbags in there can’t see us through this window."

Brenda nodded slowly and tried to take deep, steady breaths as the suspects were brought into the room. They lined up in front of a wall with hash marks to measure their heights. Some slouched, some folded their hands and stood proudly erect, and one just stared vacantly at the window, an occasional belch being his only comment on the situation.

"Well, love – do any of them look familiar?" Jax asked quietly. He still held Brenda’s hand tightly while he rested his other hand at the small of her back.

She stared into each of the faces, valiantly searching her brain for some memory of the accident that had brought Jax into her life. Finally, she shook her head, her ebony curls bouncing for emphasis. "Nope. It’s not him. None of them."

"None?" Blue had appeared at Brenda’s other side. "Are you sure, Brenda?"

"No, I’m not sure!" Brenda’s voice quivered with a combination of fear and irritation. "I told you before that I couldn’t remember what the Slasher looked like, and I still don’t!"

"But maybe if you take a good look at these guys, it will jog your memory a little, Brenda," Jax offered.

Tears formed in Brenda’s eyes but she wiped them away and rubbed her nose. "Is…….is the guy who confessed to being the Slasher one of them?"

"Yes, he is." Jax put his hand on Brenda’s shoulder and squeezed it for reassurance as he stared into the panic in her eyes. "Could you try to look at them one more time, love? For me?"

Brenda chewed on her lip in hesitation but then nodded. "OK. One more time," she gasped. She edged closer to Jax and looked through the window. Candidate number 3 was too short – she did remember that somehow. Candidate number 4 was a scrubby blonde who didn’t look much older than Brian the grocery boy. Candidate number 1 had dark eyes that seemed like they could barely stay open during the daytime…….

"No, Jax! I just …….." Brenda turned to him and buried her face in his chest. "I don’t think it’s any of them! I really don’t!" When she looked up at him and he saw the tears running freely down her cheeks, something inside Jax’s stomach turned sour. "Can we please go back home now? Please?"

Jax took a deep breath as he folded Brenda into his embrace. "OK, Brenda," he crooned, "that’s all." He shook his head slightly at Blue. "Have them take these guys back down to their cells. I’ll talk to Mac later."

"Gotcha." Blue picked up a phone off the wall, spoke briefly to someone on the other end, and then hung up and turned back to Jax and Brenda. "You take her back out to the squad car. I’ll be out in a few minutes."

Jax was tempted to scoop Brenda up into his arms and carry her back to the car. But he didn’t want to draw any more attention to her than was necessary, so he somehow managed to get her back outside the station and into the back of the black and white without incident. As soon as they were safely back in the car, Brenda sniffled and turned to him. "I’m sorry, Jax. I tried……..I really tried."

Jax put his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him as Blue got in the driver’s seat. "I know, love. I know." He looked up into his partner’s animated face. "What’s going on?"

"V got word back from Sacramento on a lead she was following with a rental car agency. The guy who confessed to being the Slasher was positively ID’d by the night manager and his fingerprints match those found on the steering wheel of a rented 1986 beige Olds Cutlass."

"So?"

"So the Slasher’s fourth victim was found in the front seat of that Cutlass. The suspect also was placed near the vicinity of the homes of two other victims." Blue’s lips thinned grimly. "They’ll be taking him in front of Judge Callahan first thing tomorrow morning to arraign him on at least three counts of murder. It’s all circumstantial, but Mac’s sure it’ll hold up."

Jax sighed and settled back into the seat, his arm tightening around Brenda. "Well, Brenda…….looks like you get your wish." He gave her a bleak smile. "I’ll be leaving your place as soon as we get back there with your car."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jax eyed the cheeseburger on the plate in front of him suspiciously. "What’s the matter?" Brenda asked. "Too well done to suit a savage beast like you?"

"No," he grimaced. "It’s fine – almost mooed when I cut into it." He lifted the top of the bun, poking at the leafy purple garnish as his nose wrinkled in distaste. "It’s just……well……what *is* this leafy thing, anyway?"

"It’s called raddichio, you big chicken," Brenda laughed. "Just think of it as lettuce."

"But it’s purple." Jax stared at the limp leaf as though it was going to bite him. "Even *I* know lettuce isn’t purple."

"Well this *is*," Brenda replied. She set down her own burger and wiped her lips delicately with a napkin. "But if you really don’t like it, just take it off your burger." She sighed theatrically. "I was just trying to make our last meal together special…….especially after you were nice enough to bring my car home for me."

"Are you sure you don’t want me to go back out there and get your favorite tape out of the car for you?" Jax quickly changed the subject, not wanting to think about the fact that he would soon be walking out of Brenda’s life – probably forever. He pointed over his shoulder in the direction of the car parked in Brenda’s driveway. "I mean, the way you hate going outside and all…."

"It’s not just the outside, you know," Brenda mused with a sad smile. "Actually, I enjoy standing in my back yard at night sometimes, just staring up at the stars and smelling the snow in the air." She sat back and folded her hands at her waist, propping her elbows on the arms of the chair. "But the people, and the big spaces and all the crowds and noise……" She seemed to come out of a trance and shook her head emphatically. "Anyway, no, you don’t have to go get that tape for me." She rose from the chair and picked up her plate with a determined breath. "In fact, I might go out there later and run the engine in my car for a while. It seemed a little sluggish when you started it at the dealer’s. I’d guess that the battery might be run down a little after sitting at the dealer’s for a few days in the cold."

"I could do that for you," Jax offered. He picked up his own plate and followed her dutifully to the kitchen. "It’s dark out there, and it’s the *least* I can do. Especially after you didn’t subject me to eating asparagus even *once* while I was here," he added with a teasing wink.

Brenda took as long as she could to put the dishes in the sink and then turned to Jax. "So….you’re sure you’ve got everything?" He nodded but she went on, gesturing as she did. "Shaving cream, razor, toothbrush, dirty clothes….."

"Even if I didn’t, you could just call the station and someone would get word to me." Brenda’s heart sank at Jax’s words but she knew deep down that he was facing the reality she hid from. Once he walked out her front door, she would never hear from him again. There could be no future for them – an "in-your-face" kind of cop who lived for the thrill of everyday life, and a woman who hid from the very same things that made him come alive.

"Yeah – I guess I could do that." Brenda nodded and awkwardly folded her arms across her chest. "I could ask for Blue or that V person if you were out saving the world when I called."

"Yeah." Jax stared down at the floor, chewed on his lower lip, and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. How could this have happened? Just 24 hours earlier, there was nothing he wanted more than to be rid of this petite neurotic brunette. And now that it was coming true, it felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest in the process…..

The ringing of the kitchen phone made both of them jump. "I……I guess I don’t have to worry about that being the Slasher anymore, do I?" Brenda asked nervously. She went to answer the phone but Jax got there first.

"Just to be safe – one last time." He smiled at her warmly and then lifted the receiver. "Jax here." Brenda watched the frown creep over his face immediately. "Yeah, Mac…….I know, Mac……..I heard about the indictment. In fact, I was just about to……." He fell silent and held the receiver away from his ear for a few minutes before nodding grimly. "I promise I’ll tell you all about it when I get in tomorrow." There was a pause and then Jax’s eyebrows lifted. "Now? I have to come in NOW? But…….but……." Another pause, punctuated by Jax mouthing obscenities. "Yeah – OK. I’ll be right there."

When Jax hung up the phone, Brenda placed a hand on his arm gently. "Problems?"

"That was Mac – my boss. He’s demanding that I come into the station right now to fill him in on what happened at the lineup and finish the paperwork about your part in the Slasher case." Jax shook his head and then turned to walk towards Brenda’s front door. "I guess he’s just so anxious to have this whole Slasher mess over and done with that he wants the i’s dotted and t’s crossed before the perp goes before the judge tomorrow morning."

Brenda chewed on her lower lip as Jax donned his bomber jacket. When he turned back to face her, she smiled and tossed her head bravely. "Well, Lieutenant Jacks, be safe out there……or whatever it is that you cops say!" she added, clasping her hands behind her back.

Jax stared into her eyes and took Brenda by surprise when he came towards her. He stopped, then cupped her face in his hands. "You take care of yourself too, Miss Brenda Barrett." Her eyelids fluttered down as she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he rubbed his thumb once over her lips. "Don’t go eating any bad asparagus while I’m gone, OK?" A teasing twinkle lit his eye.

She took a shaky breath. "Never. I promise." Jax pulled Brenda towards him but then surprised her again when he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She inhaled to tell him not to go but when tears choked the words in her throat, he spun and strode to her front door. The air around them charged longing, Jax managed to yank the door open, give her one last desire-filled gaze, and then disappear into the night.

Brenda remained frozen in place. She thought he might change his mind. He might come charging back in, take her in his arms, and kiss her until she was senseless. She would sigh with pleasure and bury her head against his chest as he would sweep her into his arms and carry her up the stairs to paradise. But when she heard his jeep start up and roar out of the driveway, Brenda realized that it was all just another dream.

Choking back a sob, she turned back to her kitchen and a sink full of dishes. She slowly made her way towards the empty room, noticing more than ever the way her footsteps echoed in the lonely house. When she picked up Jax’s napkin, the lingering scent of his aftershave assaulted her senses. She clutched it to her chest and tears finally squeezed out of the corners of her eyes to roll unchecked down her cheeks.

After a few minutes of self-indulgent weeping, Brenda shook her head, wiped her nose with the back of her arm, and took a deep, determined breath. {Maybe it was better this way. Jax would only have broken your heart eventually, Brenda. I mean, sure – you could have fallen in love with him, but what would happen then? Do you really think he would have been willing to give up the outside world – his career – just to spend the rest of his life locked inside this old house with you?} She went to the sink and gripped the sides of the counter firmly as her head drooped against her chest. {Yeah, being alone …… staying here in your house and never leaving again……. that’s the only way you’ll ever be truly happy.}

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jax strode into the squad room with a furious roar. "OK! OK! I’m here! Where the bloody h*ll is that lousy, no-good, workaholic son of a ……"

"JAX!!!" V caught him at the door before the angry Aussie faced the real possibility of doing rush-hour traffic duty for the rest of his career. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m *here* because Mac called Brenda’s house and told me he wanted to see me pronto about the Slasher case," Jax snarled, his hands on his hips. "Said it couldn’t wait until tomorrow and he wanted the whole story *tonight* about what went down at the lineup." He looked around and V could have sworn she saw steam coming out of Jax’s ears. "So? I’m here – where’s Mac?"

"He…..uh……" V avoided looking into Jax’s eyes and stared down at her feet. "Well, he *was* here….."

Jax took a deep breath and then put his hands on V’s shoulders to force her to look up. "WAS?"

"Yeah, well apparently at the last minute Felicia called him about some problem with their oven. She’s making the pies for Thanksgiving, you know……" V continued by way of explanation. "Anyway, Mac wasn’t happy about it but he said he had to go home and help Felicia fix the stove." She shrank back when Jax inhaled slowly to keep his wrath under control. "He said he’d be back just as soon as he could," V added, grimacing a "sorry" at six feet, two inches of blonde rage.

One blue eye narrowed – even twitched – but then Jax seemed to calm himself for the moment. "Where’s Blue?"

"Last time I saw her she was in the squad room cursing at her computer." V pointed over her shoulder to illustrate her statement.

"You let me know just as SOON as Mac gets back, you hear?" Jax jabbed a finger at V, whose head bounced up and down in reply as though it was on a spring. He shrugged off his bomber jacket and strode in the direction of his partner mumbling his own share of obscenities along the way. His anger was not only at Mac, though. Deep down, Jax knew that no matter how it came, the end of his time with Brenda would have been painful. He also knew that no matter how much he had started to have feelings for the brunette tornado, they could never hope to have a serious relationship. How could two such opposites ever get along? A recluse and a super-hero? Nope. There just wasn’t any possibility of it ever developing into anything more than a serious case of lust.

For the first time since he had left Brenda’s brownstone, a smile graced Jax’s face when he saw Blue at her desk. She held a pencil tightly wedged between her teeth, her short blonde hair was unkempt – probably from ruffling her hands through it in frustration – and her eyes shot fire at the glowing monitor before her as her fingers flew over the keyboard. "So – partner – you been having dirty dreams about Bill Gates again?"

Blue barely looked up at Jax. "Only if that includes how many different ways I’m going to castrate Mr. Microsoft!" she snarled. Her eyes widened briefly, which prompted another frenzied spate of typing as she hunched ever lower over her keyboard.

"Just take deep breaths and keep telling yourself, "Technology is my friend, technology is my friend," Blue," Jax laughed. Then his smile faded and he dropped his jacket into the chair at the desk next to Blue’s with a grimace. "In fact, right now I’d have to say it sure beats a few humans I know all to h*ll." His eyebrows suddenly drew together in a frown. "I thought you had to be on a stakeout tonight."

Blue still didn’t look up. "Not for another hour." She leaned in closer to her monitor, typed a little again, and then sat up straight, her eyes widening. "Hot d*mn! I’m in!!"

Jax unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and was rolling up his sleeves when he came to stand behind her. "What ‘cha workin’ on this time, partner?" He peered over her shoulder at the screen. "Mental institutions – eastern Pennsylvania?" A soft chuckle fell from his lips. "You thinkin’ about havin’ your three previous boyfriends committed again?"

"Not quite….." Blue mumbled the reply with the pencil still between her teeth. She paused, grabbed the pencil and made some notes on a sheet in front of her, and then tossed it aside, reaching for her coffee mug with her left hand while she began scrolling down the page with her right.

Jax watched her for a minute and then leaned in even closer with a frown. "Exactly what the bloody h*ll ARE you doing, Blue?" He glanced aside at a file, picked it up and read the label. "And what does it have to do with some perp named Wayne Cummings?" One eyebrow arched in curiosity. "New case?"

"That’s not just ANY perp, DD," Blue muttered, mouthing another swear word when the screen in front of her temporarily faded to blue oblivion. "Wayne Cummings is the guy who confessed to being the Dockside Slasher."

"THIS is the guy?" Jax opened the file and then nodded in recognition. "Oh, yeah – I remember now. He was near the middle of the lineup." His heart started to beat faster but Jax didn’t allow it to show outwardly. "What’s Mac’s salvation got to do with mental institutions in eastern Pennsylvania?"

Blue held up a finger in a signal to "wait one minute." She hit a few more keys, then enter, and the computer in front of her began to hum as it processed her request. "After you and Brenda left today, I just got to thinking about this whole thing and Cummings’ confession and all." She sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "You’re probably not gonna like this very much, but as my wise old grandma used to say, it just seemed to me like there was a ……. well, to put it discreetly, an ethnic minority in the woodpile."

Jax perched one hip on the corner of Blue’s desk while keeping an eye on the computer screen. "Keep talking."

"Unless he’s got some REALLY powerful friends in high places, you gotta figure that the Slasher is gonna get the death penalty when he gets convicted," Blue went on. "Now to me, that seems like it would be a pretty intense motivation to avoid getting caught at all costs." She nodded towards the file in Jax’s hands. "But our Mr. Cummings there broke down and copped to the murders after practically no questioning at all." She snickered softly. "Mac and Taggert didn’t even get a chance to play good cop, bad cop with him."

Jax narrowed one eye. "So are you saying Mr. Cummings is mentally incompetent?"

"Sure doesn’t seem like it – not after the way the Slasher’s led us a merry chase the past year and a half." Blue rocked back and forth in her chair. "And although Brenda has her amnesia, or whatever they want to call it, I still think that seeing Wayne in the flesh again would have sparked some kind of memory for her." She shook her head. "It just doesn’t make sense that none of the suspects in the lineup registered with her."

"Unless the *real* Slasher – including Wayne Cummings -- wasn’t among ‘em." Jax tried to control his breathing, which started to race. "But why would Cummings want to confess to a crime he didn’t commit? And such a serious one at that?" He opened the file again and glanced at the contents. "Is he suicidal?"

Blue’s computer terminal beeped and she sat up straight, staring intently at the screen. "Not exactly. That’s where *this* information comes in." She squinted at the monitor, moved the mouse, double-clicked, and then glanced up at Jax again. "I was talking to one of Dr. Kovac’s friends earlier this afternoon at GH – some psych resident named Lucy something-or-other." Her computer beeped and Blue paused but then went on after hitting return again. "Anyway, she told me that there are actually some people who get their jollies out of confessing to crimes they didn’t commit. Wackos who give a whole new meaning to the phrase "glutton for punishment.""

Jax’s eyes flared. He slid off the corner of the desk to stare at Blue’s computer monitor. "And you think that Wayne Cummings might be one of ‘em?"

Blue held up a finger again. "These habitual confessers usually don’t stay in one place too long cause the cops catch onto their games. Takes all their fun away when the cops realize they’re just crying wolf again and won’t believe ‘em, you know." She glanced up and winked at Jax. "Sometimes the cops even institutionalize these nutcases to keep them from confessing to any more crimes….." Her voice trailed off as she stared intently at the screen. "Wait…..just a……..gotcha!!!"

"What? What have you got?!" Jax crouched down next to Blue.

She sat back in her chair and pointed with a smile to the screen. "According to these records, Mr. Wayne Cummings was a guest of the Pennsylvania State Hospital six months ago for confessing to several burglaries in the Reading area."

Jax’s lips moved as he slowly trailed a finger down the screen reading Wayne Cummings’ file. Suddenly, his face turned a ghastly shade of white. "Blue – where’s the master file on the Slasher?" He turned towards her desk. "Quick – I need the list of the exact dates that the murders were committed!"

Blue fumbled through another file on her desk until she handed Jax the sheet with trembling fingers. "Why? What’ve you got?"

Jax glanced down at the sheet, up at the monitor, and then rose to his feet with a roar. "D*MNIT ALL TO H*LL! I KNEW IT COULDN’T BE THAT EASY!!"

"What is it, Jax?" Blue took the sheet from Jax as he dashed to his desk and started punching numbers into his phone.

"In his haste to track down and arrest the Dockside Slasher, Mac failed to do some very basic police work," Jax muttered grimly. He nodded towards Blue’s computer screen. "Wayne Cummings COULDN’T have committed murders number 6 through 8 on the list. He was in a straight jacket in the Pennsylvania Looney Bin at the time!!"

"Oh…..my……" Blue blinked once. "Who are you calling? Mac’s house?"

"No. I’m trying to get a d*mn outside line to call Brenda. If Wayne Cummings isn’t the real Slasher, then he’s still out there and she’s all alone….." Jax’s voice trailed off when a pale V entered the squad room and walked up to his desk. "V? What’s the matter?"

Her eyes bounced back and forth between Jax and Blue. "There’s ……well, I was monitoring the police scanner and I heard the call for emergency vehicles……" She swallowed hard. "There’s been another murder down near the docks……"

Jax slammed the phone down. "Any details on the victim yet?"

V’s fists clenched and unclenched nervously. "Female. Late 20’s. Black hair, petite."

Jax vaulted out of his chair, never breaking stride as he grabbed his jacket. "Jax, wait!! You don’t know that it’s Brenda!" Blue objected.

He paused next to Blue’s desk. "Where was the body found?"

"It……uh……" V stared down at her feet. "It was near the intersection of 3^rd and Market Street, Jax……."

His lips thinned. "That’s only a few blocks from Brenda’s house." He turned to leave but Blue shot up and tried to grab his arm.

"Jax, wait!! You know how Brenda felt about leaving her house!" The last thing Blue wanted was for a crazed Jax to go barreling into some situation down near the docks before she was sure that the good guys were in control. "You know only wild horses could have gotten her into that car again today……especially after the lineup……"

"Blue……wait……." V put a hand on Blue’s arm and when Jax turned to her, he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I’m not real sure of all the details, but they did say that the victim was found……"

Jax jerked free of Blue’s grasp. "Where did they find her, V?"

V took a shaky breath. "They……..they found her in a light blue, late model sedan – probably a Taurus."

The low wail of a wounded animal was the only thing Blue heard as Jax ran out of the squad room, leaving the door swinging back and forth in his wake.

To be continued…..