65.

*"Any other link?" Leslie asked. "His throat was cut. So was Dana Burrows's. Can we match it?"

Mac nodded. "I've got Emerson going over the photos now. I'll let you know as soon as he's done."

Casey stood. "Okay. Great job, Mac. I'll fill Hunter in."

"Thanks. And I'll e-mail over the report. Spencer's post was plain Jane, nothing jumped out. We'll have tox back tomorrow."

"Thanks."

Back outside, they headed down to their building, keeping to the shaded side of the street. The whole thing didn't make sense to her. She reached out, stopping Casey.

"It seems like too much of a coincidence," she said. She let her hand drop from Casey's arm. "If we theorize that Dana Burrows wouldn't open her door to Rudy Bobby, a homeless man, why would she open it for Patrick, another homeless man?"

"We may never know that. I doubt she knew who she was opening it for. I mean, it could be anything. We guessed pizza or delivery guy. How about he found out what her name was, so he simply knocks on her door and calls out her name in a friendly voice. Maybe she thinks it's a neighbor or something and just opens up."

"Scary."

"Yep."

At the door to their building, Casey paused. "Everything's okay with you, right?"

Leslie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean tonight, with Michael."

"Oh. You mean because I'll be with you staking out apartments?"

"Yeah." She held open the door. "I mean, if I was him, I'd want you at home.

Civilians don't always understand the job."

"Thanks. But I'm afraid he's not going to miss me. The Rangers are in town. They're all going to the game tonight."

"Good. Then I won't feel bad."

"Why would you feel bad? It's my job."

Casey grinned. "Because if I had some hot woman waiting for me at home, I'd hope you'd feel bad that I was having to go on a stakeout."

66.

*"Oh, so you're assuming Michael's hot, is that it?"

"Gross. Let's don't go there."

Leslie laughed and squeezed Casey's arm quickly as they walked inside. Sikes sat alone in the squad room. Tori was nowhere to be seen, and Leslie glanced at the two empty desks that sat by themselves, away from their four. Donaldson and Walker.

She'd seen them exactly one time since she'd been here. In fact, she almost forgot they were in the same squad together. But judging by the distance their desks were from the others, they probably didn't feel like they were a part of the team.

"Where's Hunter?"

"She went to pee."

Leslie smiled, still surprised at the lack of formality among them. But Sikes must feel like a brother with a house full of sisters sometimes. And she suspected he liked it.

"Well, Mac found something. We may have caught a break." Casey looked at her. "Of course, we don't know if it's a break of not."

"What kind of break?"

They all turned as Tori came into the room. Casey pointed to her monitor. "Mac was going to e-mail you. But remember the post for Dana Burrows? Spencer found a fiber and they couldn't match it to anything in the apartment."

"Yeah. And?"

"Mac said it was an exact match to the blanket Rudy Bobby was covered with."

"Who the hell is Rudy Bobby?"

"Oh, sorry. That's our homeless guy. We don't really know his name."

"Rudy Bobby?"

"Some called him Rudy, some Bobby," Leslie explained. "Casey and I have just referred to him as Rudy Bobby."

"I see." She opened up her e-mail, scanning the report. "So, transfer?"

"They're checking the knife wounds on both victims, but it's highly likely that whoever killed Dana Burrows also killed our homeless guy."

Tori took a deep breath, then leaned back. "Okay, hotshot, what's your theory?"

Casey grinned. "I'll let Tucker give it to you."

67.

*Leslie nodded. "Maria at the shelter said his name is Patrick, or at least that's what she was told. She doesn't know of a Patrick who frequents the shelter. But he is another homeless man, that's why they won't give him up. Based on Rudy Bobby's dying words-"

"I won't tell, I won't tell," Casey supplied theatrically.

"We think Rudy Bobby knew that Patrick killed Dana Burrows. Whether the fiber is transfer from Rudy Bobby to Patrick and then to Dana, or if Rudy Bobby was actually in the apartment, we would only be guessing at this point."

Tori leaned forward. "How do you know those were his dying words?"

"He was killed Friday night, presumably while in bed, just like the others were who use that alley."

"And that's what they told Maria they heard," Casey added.

Tori nodded. "Okay. So now what?"

"Well, I guess that's kinda the problem. We're still looking for a Peeping Tom."

"Speaking of which," Leslie said. "How is it you had four possibles?"

"We had four suspicious guys lurking," Sikes said.

"Lurking? Lurking where?"

"You know. Around."

"Look, if we're going to start listing every suspicious guy who's lurking," Casey said, "then we're wasting our time. This isn't a contest, you know." She raised her eyebrows at Tori. "Or is it?"

"No." She smiled at Sikes. "We were just bored. It made it a little more exciting to have a possible."

"So in other words, you really didn't have any."

"No, O'Connor, I guess we didn't," Sikes said. "But Tori made me do it."

"Ah ha," Casey said, tossing her pen at Tori. "The truth comes out."

Tori laughed. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stand it."

"Me? Tucker was the one who said you guys were smoking crack or something. I just said you were cheating."

Malone stuck his head out of his office. "What's going on?"

68.

*Tori winked at Casey, then turned to the lieutenant. "Just discussing the case."

He nodded. "I just read Mac's report. It's something, at least."

"Yes, sir," Casey said.

"You two going out tonight?" he asked, pointing at Leslie and Casey.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Leslie said.

"Okay. Well, be careful."

Chapter Seventeen.

Casey pulled up beside Leslie's car, surprised she was already here. She was fifteen minutes early. She smiled through the window, watching as Leslie juggled purse, water bottle and a bag of chips while she tried to lock her car.

"Need some help?" Casey asked when she rolled down her window.

"I got it."

Casey leaned across the console and opened the door, then took the bottle that Leslie handed her. "Miss dinner?" she asked, looking at the bag of chips.

"I wasn't in the mood for takeout," she said. "There's only so many fast food places you can go to before you're sick to death of them."

"Ah, don't cook," Casey guessed. "Does Michael?" she asked as she backed up.

"Are you kidding?"

"So you guys eat takeout every night?"

"Not fast food takeout, no. But yes, we eat out. I mean, not necessarily out. You can pick up orders at just about every restaurant nowadays."

"It's not that hard to cook," she said.

"I know. It's not that I can't cook. Well, not gourmet or anything, but I can get by.

But it's that I don't cook."

Casey raised her eyebrows.

"At first, I cooked all the time. However, more often than not, I ate alone. Our schedules weren't in sync. So, it's evolved into getting takeout and each can eat when they want."

"I see."

69.