'It's the only place that doesn't.' She buried her face in the flowers. 'I haven't had flowers in so long. Thank you.'

He sat in the chair, but he didn't relax. 'Have you seen your mother?'

She plucked at one of the roses. 'Not yet. They won't let me out of bed.' It was a fairly clean break, but her leg still throbbed like hell. Her face hurt and her head ached from her broken nose and her fractured ribs made it hurt to breathe. It might have been unbearable but for the narcotic JD had convinced her to take earlier.

True to his word, he'd sat with her, letting her crush his hand when the doctor had set the bone. He hadn't left her until she'd fallen asleep, still holding his hand.

'But I asked about her and the nurses said she was stable but resting,' she added. JD had told her that her mother was alive, but hadn't mentioned she'd had a mild heart attack as the paramedics had transported her to the hospital. 'They told me about her heart attack, JD.'

'I didn't know about it until I got here with you,' he said. 'I figured you had enough to worry about at the time. She's awake now. Alert. I just came from her room. Stevie was with me. We had to tell her about your father before she heard it on the news or from another patient.'

In her mind she could hear the shots Evan had fired at her father. She could see the blood, smell it. Ruthlessly she pushed the memory aside, just as she'd done dozens of times already. And would likely do many more times until the horror dulled.

'How did she take it?'

'She cried. She didn't ask questions, just thanked us for stopping by.'

Lucy's shoulders sagged. 'I know I'm a coward, but I don't know that I could have been there for that.'

'You're not the coward,' he said roughly. 'He was. We didn't tell her what happened. We didn't think she needed to hear it from us.'

Lucy nodded. On the ambulance ride she'd told JD everything that had happened, including how her father had said, 'That's your problem,' when he'd left her. She'd also forced herself to tell him that Evan had once approached her for help and she'd lashed out, like she'd lashed out at everyone that year. It made her ashamed. And it made her wonder if Evan would have come to hate her had she not hit him.

JD had been quick to point out that had she listened to Evan then, she still would have denied having the necklace, which would have brought about the same end. Evan wouldn't have believed her and still would have blamed her family for the ruination of his.

'I don't plan to tell my mother about my father's last actions,' Lucy said. 'I don't think she needs to hear it. Although I still need to know what she knew about Buck. And about my father running the Bryans out of town.' She told him what Evan had accused.

'The Bennetts told us the same thing. But your mother may have been in the sanitarium by then, so it's hard to say exactly what she knew. There's something else we learned from the Bennetts today. Stevie and I thought you needed to know. They didn't pay for your lawyer. Your mother did.'

Lucy blinked, completely stunned. 'Excuse me?'

He nodded. 'That's what they said. They said your father wouldn't allow her to get you adequate legal help, so she convinced them to do it for her, with her money.'

Lucy was still staring at him. 'You're not kidding. Oh my God. Why didn't she tell me?'

'I don't know. Maybe she was that afraid of your father.'

'That changes everything.' She sighed. 'And nothing. She wouldn't leave him, even to keep us safe, then she does something like that. I'll go down and talk to her as soon as they let me. I'm more concerned about Gwyn right now.'

He cleared his throat. 'I saw her, before I came here. She's not looking so good.'

'I know. Thorne came by and said the same thing. He took her back to his place and gave her a sleeping pill. He said he'd bring her by tomorrow to see me. All I could think of when we were in there was getting out alive. Now that it's over, all I can think is that for Gwyn, it's not over. I mean, knowing you've slept with a man capable of such violence . . .'

'He fooled a lot of people,' JD said.

'I know. But I keep thinking of how easily she could have been like Nicki Fields.'

'But she wasn't. She'll walk this road and come out stronger, just like you did. She's got good friends to show her the way.' JD took her hand. 'Skinner's awake.'

'Oh God,' she breathed, relieved. 'Does this mean he's past the worst?'

'The doctor said he's out of the immediate woods. Thorne's first aid made the difference.'

'He'll be so glad to know that. What about Sonny Westcott?'

'Regained consciousness for a few minutes. Stevie questioned him, but she didn't get anything useful. Barring anything unforeseen, he'll survive. He won't have an easy recovery, though. He's missing four fingers and his knees were smashed.'

'With the bat.' Lucy stared down at the cast on her own leg, trying not to remember the sickening crunch of bone when Evan had brought the bat down on her femur. 'I heard the nurses talking about the "A" on his back. I guess my parents would have been the two "N"s. And I would have been the last "A".'

'Has Barb come by?' he asked, changing the subject and she understood that the horror was still fresh in his mind as well.

She sighed, thinking about the Pughs' visit. 'Yes.'

'Why the sigh? I thought that would have been a happy visit.'

'It was, somewhat. I mean, she's happy I'm not dead. But she took one look at my cast and realized it would be a while before I can help her with Mr Pugh. It'll be a while before I can help myself. She can't handle his agitation by herself any longer. We have to place him.' Sadness welled up and she dabbed at her eyes with the tissue JD put in her hand. 'He was so good to me. I hate to do this. But we can't have him wandering in the night and breaking mirrors. It's not safe for either of them.'

He kissed her hand. 'Now when you play for him, the others will hear your music. Maybe it will give them peace, too.'

'That's a nice thought. I'll hold onto that one.' And to this one, she thought, gripping JD's hand tightly. JD Fitzpatrick was a good man. Mr Pugh would have approved. 'Is Stevie settled down now?'

'Yeah. But I think poor Cordelia will have an honor guard 24/7 until she's forty.' His mouth flattened. 'When I think that Reardon was watching her too, I get angry all over again.'

'I'm glad he's dead,' Lucy said, an edge creeping into her voice.

'So am I,' he said, but wearily.

She brought his hand to her lips. She'd been selfish, not thinking about how taking a life, even a bad one, had affected him. 'I'm sorry, JD. I'm sorry you had to do it.'

He shrugged. 'Not a problem. Nothing I haven't done before. I have a briefing in twenty minutes in Hyatt's office. I'll be back after.' He stood, but didn't leave. His hands closed over the rail and his knuckles whitened, his chin dropping to his chest and he shuddered out a breath. 'I was so scared,' he admitted in a whisper, 'knowing he had you. Knowing what he could do.'

Sensing he needed to get it out, Lucy said nothing. She brushed the backs of her fingers over his cheek and he grabbed her hand and held it to his lips. 'I'm glad you fought back,' he said quietly. 'I had my scope trained on Reardon for five minutes, waiting for him to move.' He smiled weakly against her fingers. 'I was hoping you'd punch him in the nose.'

'I was trying to buy you time by talking to him. I knew you'd be coming for me. I knew you'd know what to do.'

Something flickered in his eyes. 'Lucy will know what to do,' he murmured.

'What?'

He shook his head. 'Just something someone said a few days ago.' He released her hand, giving her the TV remote. 'I'll be back later.'

Wednesday, May 5, 5.40 P.M.

'How is she?' Hyatt asked when JD joined them for the meeting. Stevie, Elizabeth and Drew were there along with Daphne and Lennie Berman. To JD's surprise, DA Grayson Smith was also there. Everyone looked as exhausted as JD felt.

'Lucy's much better,' JD said. 'Thank you.'

'Good. Let's begin. Including Ron Trask, the Edwardses, James Cannon, the six victims already in our morgue, and the two victims in Newport News, Evan Reardon murdered twelve people. That we caught him is a testament to your skill, teamwork, and a liberal helping of luck.'

JD couldn't help but wonder if Hyatt was practicing for his press conference.

'We still have casualties,' Hyatt continued. 'Skinner, Sonny Westcott, Mrs Trask, and Dr Trask herself. All will probably survive.'

Add Gwyn Weaver, JD thought. She'd have psychological scars for some time. Then again, won't we all?

'I have a press conference at six. With Dr Berman's help, I will paint the psychological profile of this multiple murderer. I'd appreciate anything else we've managed to dig up today.'

JD told them about Lucy's father running the Bryans out of town. 'The Bennetts suspected it, but Evan was there when Ron Trask threatened them. Then a year later, Evan's father commits suicide and Evan finds his body.' He held back the detail of Lucy hitting Evan when they were teenagers. That was something that really helped no one at this point.

'A real reason for him to hate the Trasks,' Berman murmured. 'That's a missing piece. I couldn't account for so much hate, but now I can see it. We'll have a more complete profile for your press conference, Lieutenant.'

Hyatt looked pleased by this. 'Drew?'

'The tracking devices he placed in Lucy's purse and Cordelia's backpack had prints those of Nicki Fields. We also found devices in Gwyn Weaver's purse and hidden behind the dashboard of Nicki Fields's car. All of the devices had her prints on.'

'Evan stole them from the PI,' Hyatt mused.

'And he killed her,' Stevie said with a thoughtful frown. 'If he was tracking her, he knew she'd gone to Anderson Ferry, knew she had information about him. I guess he figured when the bodies started to pop up that she'd be able to link him.'

'Evan told Lucy that the hooker stole from him,' JD said, 'but the PI "pissed him off".'

'So that fits at least,' Stevie said, still frowning.

'What doesn't?' Hyatt asked.

'Oh, just that we never found the file.' Stevie shrugged. 'Evan must have destroyed it.'

'Looking at the website on his phone,' Drew said, 'Evan was tracking several people, Gwyn and Nicki included. I guess it was his way of making sure he knew where they were and that their paths wouldn't intersect, since he was seeing them both at the same time.'

'Cad,' Daphne muttered.

'I found a birth certificate and passport for a Ted Gamble in his firebox,' Drew went on. 'There was a credit card in his wallet with the same name. He'd kept all of his victims' credit cards also. He'd maxed them all out with cash advances on top of wiping their bank accounts.'

'Hell of a guy,' Hyatt said.

'I tracked the hooker, Sue Ellen Lamont,' Elizabeth said. 'We got a call on the hotline late last night from the Orion Hotel. They saw her photo on the news and remembered her. She was something of a regular there. The security tapes show her checking in with Evan and checking out a few hours later. Evan used the Ted Gamble credit card. The card has since been reported stolen and canceled. The PI's partner, Clay Maynard, was also poking around the hotel, trying to find out who the hooker saw.'

'Or who saw the hooker,' JD said. 'He was looking for Evan, too.'

'True,' Elizabeth said. 'When the hotel checked more of their tapes, they found a trend. Sue Ellen Lamont would come in at least twice a night with a different man, but she'd go to the same guy behind the counter a nerdy-looking guy who was only too happy to spill by the time I got there this afternoon. Remember that Sue Ellen had had sex twice the night she died?'

'With two different clients,' Stevie said.

'No,' Elizabeth said. 'One client Evan and one boyfriend Nerdy Guy. Whose name is Dirk. Dirk concocted the scheme. Sue Ellen would pick up the men, Dirk would steal their credit card info and then send them to a special room which had a video camera.'

'Blackmail?' Stevie asked.

'Oh, yeah.' Elizabeth shrugged. 'They were making some serious money between the credit cards and the blackmail. I checked the tape with Evan's session and he caught her in the bathroom stealing his credit card info. He flashed her a badge and made her think he was a cop.'

'He used the Newport News cop's badge.' Stevie was still frowning.

'Exactly,' Elizabeth said. 'Dirk was pissed, because Sue Ellen was double-crossing him by stealing the cards he'd already stolen. So he didn't say anything when she went missing. When he saw her on the news last night, he was "devastated".'

'Not devastated enough to come forward,' Daphne said dryly.

'Obviously,' Hyatt said. 'Now, you're probably wondering why the DA is here. So Smith, the floor is yours.'

DA Grayson Smith was about JD's age, but seemed years older. He was a serious guy with a reputation for working 24/7 and JD had never seen him smile.

'I got a visit an hour ago from Janet Gordon's attorney,' Smith said. 'She left a sealed letter with instructions that were she to die under "mysterious circumstances" he should mail it to me. He heard the news last night and hand-delivered it instead. In it she details the events of that night twenty-one years ago. It's exactly what we learned from Dr Trask Ricky Joyner raped and beat his ex-girlfriend, Ileanna Bryan, while a group of boys watched and cheered. The letter names everyone we already know about except Ryan Agar, her own son. He's conveniently left out of the account. In the letter she swears that when the boys left, Ileanna was alive, and that she died later. The next day, Joyner was discovered dead, by his own hand, which we also now know wasn't true.'

'Why?' Stevie asked. 'Why would she write the letter at all?'

'I would,' Daphne drawled, 'if I were letting a man I'd blackmailed put me under anesthesia and take a knife to my face.'

'Good point,' Stevie conceded. 'I guess she wanted to pressure Russ Bennett without throwing her son under a bus. Except we know he was there.'

Hyatt sighed. 'I think that's everything, unless anyone has anything else.'

JD watched Stevie. She'd stopped frowning, but there was something bugging her. When they'd adjourned, he pulled her aside. 'What gives?'

'Don't know. Something's off. I'm going home to hug Cordelia, then I'll think on it some more. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell Lucy I'm thinking of her and if she decides she needs to talk about her dad, I've got space in the group.'

'I'll tell her. Good night.'

Chapter Twenty-Six.

Wednesday, May 5, 6.40 P.M.

'What's all this?'

Lucy looked up at JD with a small smile. He'd stopped in the door of her hospital room, staring at all the flowers. 'You gave me roses and then everybody jumped in.' She pointed to the bouquets. 'Those are from Craig and Rhoda, those are from the band, those are from Thorne, those are from the morgue. They give nice flowers at the morgue.'

A nurse came in with a wheelchair with an extended leg rest and Lucy's smile dimmed. 'What's wrong?' JD asked.

'They're taking me to see my mother.'

'Do you want me to go with you?'

Lucy looked up at him. 'Would you mind?'