"I don’t know." She flopped across the heart-shaped bed on her back, her arms flung wide to the sides, staring up at her reflection in the ceiling mirror. "Surprise me."

Jax rose slowly from the overstuffed chair he had occupied for the past thirty minutes. He walked over to the bed, watching Brenda watch herself. When he suddenly put the first fingers of both hands in the sides of his mouth, pulled it wide, and crossed his eyes, she collapsed into a fit of giggles. "Wanna take turns making faces at ourselves in the mirror until Blue gets here?"

Brenda sighed and shook her head grimly. "Hardly the kind of thing they’re expecting Mr. & Mrs. Spencer to be doing in here for three hundred and fifty dollars a night!" She sat up, propping her weight on her bent elbows. "What did Blue say when you told her what happened?"

Jax took a breath but then a knock sounded at their door. "Why don’t you let her tell you herself?" he smiled. When he went to the door, paused, and automatically reached for the .457 Magnum in his shoulder holster, Brenda caught her breath. He put his left hand on the doorknob and gingerly peeked through the small hole in the door into the hallway.

Just as quickly, his entire body seemed to relax. He flashed Brenda a smile and opened the door to reveal his fuming partner. "I can’t BELIEVE I’m doing this for you!" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Why, thanks so much for coming by, Aunt Ruby!" Jax moved out into the hallway, looked one way and then the other, and then wrapped an arm around Blue’s shoulders and gave Brenda a wink. "Me and Laura here just about worked our way through the first box!" he yodeled, loud enough for the benefit of any hotel staff who might be lurking in the hallways. He led Blue into the room and was closing the door behind them when he added, "….and I hope you got us the ribbed ones this time!! In extra large!!"

Jax slammed the door shut in time to block out Blue’s off-color reply. "I must out of my mind – coming here at this time of night and putting up with your shenanigans!" she groaned, covering her eyes and then resting one hand on her hip. "Wait a minute -- you’re charging this all to Luke again, aren’t you?"

"D*mn straight I am," Jax muttered. He took an envelope out of Blue’s hands while she shrugged out of her jacket. "Thanks for bringing this……."

Blue shook her head as Jax strode to his chair. He was studying the contents of the envelope so intently that he completely ignored the two other women in the room. "Hiya, sweetie!" she crooned, walking over towards Brenda. She craned her neck to the side to make faces in the overhead mirror. "This is some setup you got here!"

"I know." Brenda smiled weakly. "Somehow I think that after this, I’ll never be able to look at anything red velvet again without breaking out in hives!"

The smile faded from Blue’s face. "So, how are you *really* doing?" she asked, laying a hand on Brenda’s shoulder. "Being away from your house, I mean? Can I do anything to help?"

"So far, so good," Brenda answered. The breath she took was shaky. "I just keep trying to tell myself that you guys are going to get this all settled *real* quick and I’ll be going home any minute."

"Yeah, well unless this thing gives us some solid leads, don’t count on it." Jax’s voice was grim as he held up the folder Blue had brought.

Blue propped a hand on her hip. "Well, *I* think you’re nuts for thinking that the day-planner from Mac’s desk is gonna give you some kind of solid proof that he’s the Slasher."

"And you probably think *I’m* nuts for accusing Mac." Brenda’s voice was hushed.

"Not nuts……I just……" Blue grimaced. "Well, I don’t know *what* I believe anymore, Brenda! The stuff that Jax told me makes sense, but this is Mac we’re talking about! A guy who’s married and has kids and everything…….."

"A *lot* of serial killers look nice and normal until you start digging deeper." Jax’s tone was solemn as he pulled two other chairs up to a small table in one corner of the "living room" of the suite. He pointed at Brenda. "Can you hook your laptop up here?"

"Sure." She scrambled off the bed and went towards their meager luggage. "Why do you want the computer?"

He turned on the lamp over the table and spread the papers Blue had brought out. "Because I need you to hack into the police department files on the Slasher case." When Brenda froze and her face paled, Jax quickly went over to her. "It won’t be illegal, Brenda – we can use my password to access the files." He nodded towards Blue. "It’s just that I didn’t want my partner here to look *too* suspicious, carrying out half of the paperwork in the department at 10 o’clock at night."

"OK." Brenda nodded. "I understand. I can do that." She brought the laptop to the table and soon it was humming softly. It didn’t take long after Jax gave her his password for Brenda to pull up the information he needed. "Let’s see……" She stared at the screen intently. "I’ve got the file on the Slasher -- what do you need to know?"

"What was the date of the first murder?" Blue shook her head "no" when Jax silently offered her some of the instant coffee he made from the complimentary basket in the bathroom.

"Ummm…….." Brenda tapped a few keys. "August 22."

"August……That’s one of mine……" Blue shuffled the papers in front of her. She and Jax had each taken several months out of Mac’s spiral day planner to study. She ran a finger down the page until she came to the date and then grimaced. "Nothing here. Just a note that he had an appointment to get his hair cut at 2 o’clock."

Jax frowned. "When’s the next one?"

"September 14." Brenda peered over at Jax, who was rapidly skimming his stack of sheets. "Anything?"

"Order flowers for Maxie’s recital."

Brenda’s eyebrows drew together. "Who’s Maxie?"

"His daughter," Jax replied. He sat up straighter to ruffle his fingers through his hair, then pointed an accusatory finger at Blue. "But the recital was two nights later, according to this," he added, glancing back down at the page for September. "So it still doesn’t prove that he didn’t kill victim #2."

Brenda tapped a few more keys. "OK – next one is October 8." She looked between Jax and Blue. "Who’s got October?"

"Me." Blue flipped her pages. "Uhhhh…….." She laughed softly. "Discipline Lieutenant Jacks for using too many paper clips!"

"Ha, ha, ha," Jax growled acidly. "Very funny." He folded his arms. "It *still* doesn’t mean that Mac couldn’t have committed the murder!"

Brenda came around to stand behind Jax and read over his shoulder as he continued to search through the calendar. "Who’s JR?"

"That’s Mac’s son, Mac, Jr., I would guess," Blue replied. She never even looked up from the pages she was studying. "He’s got lots of notes in here about loaning the kid money for gas."

Jax nodded. "That figures. He told me that Mac, Jr.’s been coming home from college a lot this year – burning up a lot of fuel on the highways."

After another thirty minutes, Blue threw up her hands. "Well, I hate to be a wet blanket, but I just don’t think we’re going to find anything in here that proves that Mac is the Slasher. I mean, it’s not like he’s going to write "Kill victim #14 today!" in his day planner!"

"Wait a minute……" Brenda was idly flipping through the binder for the day planner when her eyes widened. "What are these?" She pulled a stack of envelopes from the back of the leatherette book.

Jax took them out of her hands. "Looks like Mac’s personal mail – charge account statements and ATM receipts."

"Wouldn’t they prove something?" Brenda asked excitedly.

"Again, I seriously doubt that Mac would order designer steak knives to use on his victims and leave the charge receipts in a place where somebody could find them!" Blue retorted.

"But they could possibly *clear* Mac," Jax offered gently. "For example – if we found an ATM receipt from Albany on one of the nights when a murder was committed in Port Charles."

Blue thought a minute and then sighed. "Better make me some of that coffee, DD." She took the envelopes out of his hands. "It’s going to be a LONG night……"

#####

At 1:30 AM, Brenda turned off her computer and sighed loudly. "Well, I think I can now safely say that I know more than I’ll EVER need to about the spending and social habits of Malcolm Scorpio, Senior."

Blue rose from the chair and stretched her arms. "And the sad part is, *none* of it proves that Mac is the Dockside Slasher."

"No – but none of it gives him an alibi for the nights of the killings, either." Jax started to gather the used coffee cups and empty potato chip bags from the table.

"So…….." Blue carefully replaced the pages in the day planner and snapped it shut. "What are you going to do now, partner?"

"Now?" Jax yawned and then blinked his eyes rapidly. "Now – I’m going to get some sleep."

Brenda cast a wary eye towards the heart-shaped bed. {He said sleep. Nothing more. He’s tired. I’m tired. Surely he wouldn’t…….but then again, maybe I wouldn’t mind if he did…….} She shook off the disturbing thoughts and smiled at Blue brightly. "Will you get in trouble for bringing Mac’s day planner over here?"

"Not as long as I get it back to the station before he finds it missing. He was tied up tonight at some big shindig for the Mayor so I didn’t have any problem sneaking it out." She grabbed for her jacket. "But I’d better get going and get it back to his office, just in case he gets in early tomorrow morning……"

"Good." Jax patted her on the back. "Then go home and try to get some sleep yourself. I’ll call V to come over and stay with Brenda tomorrow morning."

"Why will I need V to stay with me tomorrow morning?" Brenda’s voice shook a little as she turned to Jax, her eyes wide. "Why won’t *you* be here with me?"

"Because *I* plan to pay Mac a little visit tomorrow morning," Jax said grimly. The determination in his eyes was mirrored in Blue’s. "I’ll tell him what’s been going on since yesterday – and ask him if he’s the Dockside Slasher."

*^*^*^*^*

Brenda stared at herself critically in the bathroom mirror. The morning DJ chattering on the radio about traffic jams and the weather forecast began to get on her nerves, so she quickly flipped off the radio on the wide marble vanity. After splashing her face with cold water, she took a towel, rubbed it dry briskly, and then stood silently for a few minutes in thought.

It was after 2 o’clock in the morning when Jax finally came out of the bathroom to join Brenda in the heart-shaped bed. Truthfully, once he had announced his plans to go see Mac the following morning, the prospect of Jax seducing her had seemed the least of her worries.

The bed dipped on his side as Brenda lay on her back, staring silently at her reflection in the overhead mirror. Her hands were folded primly on her stomach, hiding the turmoil that seeing him as he came to bed in nothing but a pair of low-slung sweat pants created. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself as she felt his warm body settle next to hers. When he rolled to his side facing away from her, she took a deep breath and tried to sound nonchalant. "How do people ever get any sleep with those things?"

He never even rolled back to face her. "What things?"

"The mirror, silly….." Brenda gestured at the overhead monstrosity when Jax finally turned and gave her a quizzical look over his shoulder. "I mean – how do people manage to just ignore it and go to sleep?"

Jax’s lips thinned for a minute and then one eye crinkled with the hint of a smile. "Well, I’d say that MOST of the people who use this suite are so busy that they never look up at the ceiling!" Brenda blushed a charming shade of dusty pink, inspiring Jax to roll onto his left side to face her in the bed. "Brenda….."

"Jax……" She rolled on her right side and placed her fingers against his lips. "I’m scared."

"The agoraphobia?" Jax slipped one arm beneath and around her shoulders. "Are you having a panic attack?"

"No." She traced a finger over the planes of his face lovingly. "I’m afraid for you. Tomorrow. Going to see Mac."

He took her hand and gently kissed the tip of each finger. "There’s nothing to be afraid of, Brenda. It’ll be broad daylight, with a bunch of other cops around. So even if you’re right, Mac’s not likely to turn me into shish-kabob with an entire squad room watching."

"But……"

"And it’s NOT tomorrow, Brenda – I’ll be seeing Mac TODAY," Jax interrupted softly. "Which means that I need to get some sleep so I’ll be on my toes, just in case he *does* try something crazy." She chewed on her lower lip and then nodded slowly. "You know that I’d have to get this out in the open sooner or later, love." His hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, began to rub slowly up and down her arm, both reassuring her and sending her libido into overdrive. "And the sooner we can get this Slasher mess out of the way ……" The corners of his mouth lifted in a naughty grin. "…….well, the sooner we can put this bed and mirror to some GOOD use!!"

A loud noise from the living room of the Honeymoon Suite brought Brenda back to the present. She replaced the towel on the rack and pulled a soft sweater over her head to accompany her jeans. "Jax?" She opened the bathroom door just a crack. "What was that?"

"Room service, my dear," Jax crowed. When Brenda opened the door all the way, she found him bowing at the waist, a white linen napkin over his arm. "Breakfast is served!"

She wandered slowly into the room towards a large silver serving cart. Delicious aromas assaulted her senses from at least six large covered chafing dishes. "Jax……." Brenda giggled a little as he assisted her to a chair at one side of the table. "Don’t you think you went a little overboard? I mean, there’s got to be enough stuff here to feed your whole family!!"

"That’s OK." He shrugged and took a piece of crispy bacon from one of the dishes, bopping her on the nose with it before placing it in her open mouth. "And besides – Luke’s paying for it, so what do I care??!!"

Jax took a seat facing her and they shared breakfast, discussing anything and everything BUT Jax’s impending appointment. Brenda didn’t tell him, but she was a little surprised that she hadn’t had a panic attack yet. Even though she was far from the brownstone, ever since their long session with Blue the night before, all Brenda could seem to think about was whether or not Mac was really the Slasher. AND if Jax would be safe when he confronted him. She realized with a start that for the first time in a LONG time, she was worried about the outside world hurting someone other than herself.

But Jax didn’t WANT her to worry about him. So the only other thing Brenda found herself concentrating on was how absolutely, positively delicious he looked that morning in his tight-fitting gray t-shirt and worn blue jeans. Neither of which was conducive to slowing her racing heart. It was silly, Brenda kept telling herself – getting all hot and bothered about being with a gorgeous specimen of masculinity 24/7. He had been "guarding" her for so long, she should have been used to seeing him in various stages of undress and at his least-shaven peak. But somehow, being confined with him in the sensual playground of the Honeymoon Suite of the Port Charles Hotel was more intense. More erotic. More – disturbing.

As Brenda was sipping her coffee, Jax stretched his arms and then glanced down at his watch. "It’s almost ten. V should be here any minute."

Thoughts of him facing Mac with the truth overshadowed Brenda obsessing over Jax’s bulging biceps. The croissants and eggs Benedict in her stomach did flip-flops. "Did you tell her anything about what we suspect?"

"No." Digestion was further impeded when Jax rose from the table and went to the chair to pick up his shoulder holster. "I told her that the furnace at the brownstone went out late last night and I had to take you somewhere in a hurry or we’d both turn into popsicles." As he slipped the leather holster across his broad shoulders, Brenda’s mouth went dry again. "And I told her not to mention it to Mac since he has this thing about the budget." He winked at her sexily, sending even more Roman candles through her nervous system. "The Port Charles Hotel isn’t exactly your bargain basement type of place to hide a witness, you know."

Brenda’s heart rate tripled when Jax withdrew his handgun and checked the ammunition. "Jax……"

Once again, the knock at the door interrupted anything she was about to say. He held up a hand and headed to answer it. "That’s probably V."

After checking at the peep hole in the door, Jax opened it to admit one perky-as-usual Officer Ardanowski. "Good morning, Miss Barrett!" she chirped, taking off her uniform hat. She quickly came forward, her hand outstretched towards Brenda. "We met that day when you came down for the lineup, remember?"

"Of course – how could I forget?" Brenda replied. Her weak smile didn’t register with V as the vivacious law officer took one long look around the room and whistled.

"Whew……." V shook her head and turned around in a complete circle taking in the décor. "This place looks like it should be the setting for "The Best Little Wh*rehouse in Port Charles……""

"I know." Jax chuckled softly as he came up behind her, shrugging into his bomber jacket. "I think whoever decorated it liked the color red." Then his face grew serious. "I told V about your agoraphobia, Brenda……I hope that’s OK."

"Fine." She smiled again, thin-lipped, another Herculean effort. "Will you be long?"

"I don’t think so." Jax quirked an eyebrow at V, at which point the officer’s eyes widened. She nodded quickly in understanding, smiled at Brenda, and then discreetly backed out of the conversation to explore the rest of the living room of the suite and leave them alone. He took Brenda by the shoulders and led her over to a spot near the front door. "Now, I don’t want you worrying about me while I’m gone….."

"Yeah, and I’ll just wave my hand and make the sun come up in the west tomorrow, too!" Brenda sighed. She went into Jax’s arms as he pulled her against his chest in a hug. "You be careful when you tell Mac what I remembered." The familiar creaking of the stitches in his jacket and the musty leather smell was beginning to feel like home to Brenda. "I can’t……." Her breath caught and she pulled back to look into his eyes. "I don’t want to lose you……."

Jax’s eyes flitted momentarily towards V and then back to Brenda’s. "You’re not going to lose me, Brenda," he murmured huskily, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I promise I won’t leave you – ever." He straightened enough to stare deeply into her face as he cupped it in his hands. "You know I’ll always keep you safe – I promised you that."

"I know." She leaned into his caress. "And I believe you."

"Good." He rubbed his thumb over her lower lip but then glanced up towards V again with a sigh. "Now just let V handle things if someone comes to the door or calls, OK?"

"I know."

"And try to keep yourself occupied with TV or something. I told V that I just had to run back to my place for a little while to get a change of clothes, so I’ll be back before you know it." Brenda nodded again. "Oh, and one more thing before I leave……"

Jax pulled open the door to the suite with his left hand while keeping the right arm wrapped around Brenda’s waist. "What’s that?"

He gave her a crooked smile that sent her pulse racing. "I love you, Brenda."

It all happened so fast that she almost thought later that she had dreamed it. Brenda’s mouth fell open at Jax’s unexpected confession, making it easier for him to slip his tongue inside when he gave her a quick, hard kiss. Before she could even begin to return the leashed passion she felt, he ended it and swept out the door.

When the door shut with a loud click, Brenda jumped a little. "Are you OK?" V asked, coming up behind her. "You look kinda funny….."

"I’m……." Brenda covered her lips with her hands as tears formed in her eyes and she sent a silent prayer heavenward. "I’m fine…….."

*~*~*~*~*

Jax drummed his fingers on his desk as he sat waiting for Mac to appear. According to the desk sergeant, the Commissioner was due back at the station any minute. He had an appointment for lunch and then would scheduled for another long session at the Mayor’s office that afternoon, so Jax’s timing was impeccable.

He paused momentarily – remembering Brenda’s sweet response to his admission of his feelings for her. Even now, just thinking about the way she practically melted into him, telling him without words that she felt the same way he felt about her, was enough to inspire a rush of testosterone. The fact that Mac was only going to be in the station for a short time – just at the time when Jax wanted to confront him – had to be some kind of sign that he was doing the right thing. Above all, now that Jax realized his feelings for Brenda, he wanted this case over and done with. He wanted – no, he *needed* to have her out of harm’s way. He *needed* to spend time with her, concentrating on more than just protecting her from Mac Scorpio. He loved her, phobias and all, and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life telling her that.

"Lieutenant Jacks!!" Mac’s cheerful greeting as he came into the squad room almost made Jax fall out of his desk chair. The Commissioner was removing his overcoat and neck scarf as he made his way towards his office. "I didn’t expect to see you here this morning!"

"I guess not." Mac missed the sarcasm in Jax’s voice as he bustled into his office, turning on lights and hanging up his coat. Jax ambled slowly towards the office door. "I hear you’ve got quite a busy day ahead."

"Yeah……" Mac ran his fingers through his hair while staring down at a stack of messages and mail on his desk. He sank into his desk chair with a long sigh. "I hate these all-day budget shindigs with the Mayor. Usually end up nearly falling asleep and taking a ribbing for it."

Jax crossed his arms as he leaned against the doorjamb. "Sounds like you’re not sleeping well at night." {And I bet I know the reason why.}

Mac never looked up from the mail he was sorting. "I do alright, I guess." Then he did glance up and give Jax a small smile. "I think it’s a function of having kids. Sleep becomes a thing of the past."

"Could be."

Mac finished sorting the mail into two stacks and then rose from his desk. "So, is there something you needed to see me about, Jax?"

"Actually, there is." {Here goes nothin’.} Mac remained clueless as he took a metal can and began to water the plants in his office. "I promised you that I would let you know as soon as Miss Barrett remembered anything about the Slasher’s identity."

Jax wasn’t sure if he imagined it – or if Mac bobbled the watering can, just for a split second. Just as quickly, though, he smiled and moved to the next plant. "And are you trying to tell me she has?"

"Yep." Jax glanced quickly out into the squad room, checking to make sure that back-up was available if he needed it. He moved inside the door to Mac’s office but made sure to block it with his body so Mac couldn’t close it behind him. "She……uh…….well, she was watching TV the other night and she saw him."

"On TV?" Mac’s eyes widened and he moved back towards his desk.

"Yeah." A little relief flooded through Jax when Mac took a seat. At least, by positioning himself between the desk and the door, Mac couldn’t trap him in the office. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans uncomfortably. "She saw YOU, Mac. At the press conference with the mayor."

Color drained from Mac’s face in the thirty seconds of silence following Jax’s announcement. Then, he abruptly leaned forward and propped his elbows on his desk, burying his face in his hands. "Ohhhhhh, God………"

{Don’t fall for it. Remember that this guy could be a heartless killer.} Jax fought the urge to go to Mac and comfort him and remained where he was. "Mac, I’m sure there’s some way we can work this out….."

"No…..there’s no way to work it out. I kept telling myself that this wouldn’t happen, but now it’s real……" Mac kept shaking his head but didn’t move from his seated position.

"Mac……." Jax suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck rise when Mac sat up straight and his hand went to the center drawer of his desk. "I’m sure that if we just go to someone in Internal Affairs, they can arrange things discreetly for you……"

"No, Jax. There’s nothing that IA can do about it." Jax moved his right hand to his hip when Mac began to rise slowly from his desk chair. He knew that he could pull the .457 Magnum from his shoulder holster in a split second with his hand in a ready position there. "I thought that I could keep a handle on this, but it’s all gotten away from me….." Jax backed towards the door of the office when Mac started to walk around the desk. "I want you to look at something."

"What?" Jax remained in the doorway, not wanting to come any closer until he knew what Mac had retrieved from the center drawer.

"This." He was surprised again when Mac took a picture off the wall of his office. "Take a look at this picture," Mac said, holding it towards Jax, his face grim and pale.

He could see Mac’s hands clearly. Neither one held a weapon. {I guess he’s entitled to act a little crazy – especially since I just told him that he’s busted.} Jax said a silent prayer and then went towards Mac to take the picture from him. "Nice picture." He handed it back to Mac. "Guess you have some fond memories of NYU, huh?"

Mac’s eyes were cold but Jax thought he saw the hint of tears. "Take a *good* look at that picture, Jax." He pointed to a building behind the standing figure in the forefront. "That’s Ritter Hall there in the background."

Jax nodded. "Ritter Hall." Then suddenly he frowned. "Wait a minute – wasn’t Ritter Hall built just recently?"

"The cornerstone says 1992." Mac took the picture back with a long sigh. "That’s not me in the picture, Jax. That’s my son – Mac, Junior."

"But he’s……." Jax stared at the picture and into Mac’s tortured face. "The kid’s a dead ringer for you, Mac."

"I know." Mac took a shuddering breath. "That’s what’s scaring the sh*t out of me, Jax." He went back towards his desk, set the picture down with a sob, and then turned back to Jax. "Miss Barrett didn’t see ME that day in the street, Jax. I think she saw Mac, Junior."

"You mean……"

Mac took a jerky breath. "Jax, I’m afraid that my son is the Dockside Slasher."

To be continued……..