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Golden Shields ( Katy1008 & CrimsonMaster )

" Yeah......I'm fine. " Tom said while giving Evie a smile. He then yanked the cowboy too his feet and started questioning him. Tom found out that this was a lover's spat which started when the princess saw his man hitting on of all things a woman. The lovers started to argue then it broke out in a fight. Nothing major was broken in the bar except a few glasses. Tom pulled Evie aside so they could talk over this situation. Since the bartender wasn't going to press charges as long as the glasses were paid for, Tom didn't see a reason to bring them downtown. The cowboy & princess were told to take some time away from each other. Tom said that if another call came in about them, he would toss both of their asses into jail.

The cowboy paid for the glasses and left. The princess left shortly after and so did Tom & Evie. Tom cleared them from the scene once they were back in the car. " Just another day in L.A. " Tom said as Evie pulled the car out into traffic. A few blocks away from the bar, Tom spotted a woman dressed all in white entering a small market. " Evie.....Over there.......Look. " Tom pointed at the woman as she left the sidewalk. He reached for the radio mic and called dispatch about a possible 211. Once the car was turned around and parked, Tom & Evie jumped out. They took up positions outside the store as backup arrived. The officers from the second patrol car joined Tom & Evie as they waited for the woman to exit the building. As she did Tom yelled for her to drop the bag and raise her hands. The woman let out a scream, but did as she was told. Tom asked Evie to frisk the woman for weapons. He walked over and grabbed her bag which to his surprise had groceries in it. A check was made on the woman and her story. It turned out that she was running short on food for the Halloween party she was hosting and came to this store to get some. Her story checked out and she was released. Tom & Evie decided to go have their dinner break after that.
 
The two of them sat opposite each other at a window in a diner with the patrol car parked immediately outside. Evie enjoyed her club sandwich and fries washed down with fresh hot coffee. Periodically customers came in dressed in various Halloween costumes laughing and joking around. Parents with kids on their way home after a party or after 'trick or treating' and college groups obviously on their way to a party somewhere or other. Evie started thinking as she chewed on her sandwich.

"You ever heard of La Llorona? Smetimes called 'the woman in white' although it means the weeping woman!" Reed looked at her and shook his head. "Its a meican legend...a beautiful woman by the name of Maria stabs her children then drowns them in order to be with the man that she loved. The man would not have her, which devastated her. She would not take no for an answer, so he slit her throat and threw her body into a lake in Mexico." She took a mouthful of coffee and wiped her fingers on her napkin. "Challenged at the gates of heaven as to the whereabouts of her children, she is not permitted to enter the afterlife until she has found them. Maria is forced to wander the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring, with her constant weeping giving her the name "La Llorona". In some versions of this tale and legend, La Llorona will kidnap wandering children who resemble her missing children, or children who disobey their parents. Do you think our woman in white might be La Llorona?"
 
Tom listened closely as Evie spun her tail of the weeping woman. Since it was Halloween, that story fit well with the evening. Tom drank his coke and ate his hamburger & fries while Evie continued. Being a horror fan, Tom certainly didn't enjoy the story, but he didn't believe that they were hunting a ghost. " I don't see us hunting ghosts.........But perhaps our suspect knows of this legend and is using that as her cover? " Tom's eyes looked outside at the people passing by. " She must be planning these robberies out........Knowing how to escape even while being chased. " Tom said as he began to think. The female phantom hits a different part of L.A. each Halloween. Striking at different kinds of stores. Liquor stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, jewelry stores, pawn shops, just about anything small. The amount of her haul was growing as each year passed. " We don't have much to go on even after 3 years......A woman dressed in white.....Face covered in white paint except for a single black tear drop coming down from her right eye......Standing 5'7" weighting 115 lbs.....And she had out run 8 officers in the past 3 years including Fitch tonight. " The 8 officers that Tom spoke of were the ones who chased her on foot while their partners tried to cut her off with the patrol cars. Evie's tail of the weeping woman sounded a lot like the woman they were hunting.

Tom went back to eating while he and Evie continued to talk over this case. " This only happens on Halloween........We get no other reports of this at any other time of the year. " Tom then started to laugh as he told Evie how he and Jack had to arrest a guy dressed as Santa Claus one year. The man had been robbing salvation army kettles. Tom & Jack chased the man for 6 blocks before finally catching him. " That man ran like a jackrabbit. " Tom added before taking a drink of his coke.
 
Evie shrugged.

"On a night like tonight who is going to give a second thought to someone in fancy dress wearing face paint. And no storekeeper is going to feel threatened by a strip of nothing. At 115 Lbs, she 15-20lbs lighter than me. Who would think she'd pull some kind of robbery. Wait a minute. You said always small places... Small and different. Did any of these places have CCTV? There really can't be many of these. Maybe that provides somewhere to start looking?" She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She took out $20 and dropped it on the table,
 
Evie's idea was a good one, but it had been thought of before. Some of the stores hit by the phantom lady did have cameras, but those cameras didn't catch anything of worth. She was too well covered in make up and sometimes the cameras were in the wrong place. This woman knew what she was doing. Tom checked his watch as Evie tossed some money down on the table. " It's only 7:30.......We have a long ways to go before this night is over.....She'll be popping up few more times tonight.....Hopefully we'll catch her this year. " Tom said as he grabbed his uniform hat and placed it onto his head. As Tom walked out, he thought about what Evie had said about the female phantom being a strip of nothing. She was thin and could run like the devil. There was no age on this woman since her hair was pure white as was her skin. She left nothing behind that could be traced back too her.

Tom & Evie climbed back into the car and hit the streets. " 1 Adam 18......Show us clear from our code 7. " Tom said into the mic, the dispatcher rogered his call. " Let's do a pattern search from West Sunset down to North Fairfax onto West 3rd and up North La Brea......We'll shorten the search area after that by going Beverly on to La Brea......Then we'll cut down on Melrose and finally end up on Santa Monica. " Tom was hoping by patrolling in this area, they would be close when the lady phantom struck again. They may even get lucky and spot her. This was double edged knife since they already had one false alarm from another woman dressed in white.
 
Evie tossed her hat onto the dash as she climbed into the car and then pulled away.

"Great!" She said sarcastically. "Ghost hunting for the night. I could think of better ways to spend a night." She headed to West Sunset to start the grid search. Of course the next place the 'phantom' strike could be at the start of the grid 20minutes after they had been there. But it wasn't as if they had anything else to do. As she was driving, a thought struck her.

"You know. For a guy who likes horror movies so much, I wouldn't have thought you would be so quick to dismiss the possibility that we might be talking about a real... Supernatural ... Thing here."
 
Tom chuckled when Evie said that she could think of better ways to spend the night. " Yeah......Me too. " A grin stretched acrossed Tom's face as he looked over towards Evie. There was something that he'd wanted to do with Evie for a long time. They never had the chance to have sex since Evie was laid up for so long. Tom was hoping that would change. He shook his head and laughed at Evie's comment about him being a horror movie fan and dismiss the possibility that they were chasing a ghost. Tom pointed out that in all his years on the police force. He had seen anything that happened that couldn't be explained. Tom then added that this lady phantom was stealing money & sometimes jewelry. " What would a ghost need with money and jewels? " Tom asked as they slowly moved along the streets. Most of the kids and their parents were by now, off the streets. All that was left was the older kids and adults running around. Evie had just made a left onto West 3rd street when a woman in white ran out of a store with the owner chasing her.

Upon seeing the police car, the man waved his arms in the air. " SHE JUST ROBBED ME!! " The store owner yelled out as the car pulled up. " I got her! " Tom's voice rang out with great confidence as he started running. The woman in white ducked into a nearby alley with Tom hot on her heals. Standing 6 feet even and weighting 210 lbs, Tom Reed was physically imposing to many. Tom was powerfully built, big chest and strong arms. He was quite fast for a man his size and had won the police academy marathon 2 years straight, in 2002 and 2003. Tom was always very athletic, but too his surprise, this lady was pulling away. She turned a corner into another alley and when Tom came around with his Glock in hand she was gone! Tom could see clearly up to the next block. He knew that she should still be in front of him, but she just vanished. Tom was more then a little embarrassed when Evie pulled up in the car and he was standing there without a suspect.
 
Evie smirked, raised her eyebrows and shook her head a little. That hadnt been what she had had in mind, but it was certainly a thought that had crossed her mind a few times, particularly since that first night on Tom's boat. But while they were partners on the street, she was still sure that it was right not to take things any further. When Tom asked about their ghost needing money and jewels, Evie shrugged

"A jackdaw doesn't have any use for jewels and shiny trinkets either, but that doesn't stop him stealing them. Maybe it's a ghost with hobbit tendencies." She knew the suggestion was ridiculous and she didn't really believe this was the case, but she didn't just want to dismiss the possibility no matter how crazy the idea of a ghost holding up liquor stores might sound.

As she turned the corner and went to accelerate, she had to quickly shift to the brake instead as the woman ran across the street in front of the. The tyres squealed and the car lurched to a stop. Evie was briefly aware of the man outside waving his hands before she heard the car door closing as Reed climbed out saying he had her. Evie watched as Reed ran in front of the car, his shadow fleeting through the main beams, disappearing into the darkness after the woman. Evie had an idea. She slammed the car into reverse and hit the accelerator and then spun the car around, rubber screeching on the concrete. As the nose span around she dropped the car into forward gear and hit the gas again. She drove one blocks, turned left, drove two blocks and then turned left again. She kept his eyes left as much as she could, passed an alley, slammed on the brakes and then reversed. She came to a stop at the end of the alley she had just driven past just as Tom stepped out... Alone. No sign of the woman in white. She couldn't help but smirk a little even though she knew this wasn't a joke.

"What? Did she... Vanish into thin air?"
 
Tom was greeted by the smirk on Evie's face. He was expecting to get an ear full now about this woman being a real ghost. However, Tom was sold on that idea. He had noticed something about the way that female phantom was running. She was a trained runner, that was the only explanation about it. Tom climbed back into the car as Evie asked if the woman vanished into thin air. " She got away......But she didn't vanish......Most likely she disappeared into one of the buildings. " Tom said as he closed the car door. He then told Evie about what he saw. Tom said that this woman was running like a sprinter and she was wearing all white track shoes. He pointed out to Evie that sprinters use a kick when they are pulling away unlike people who run marathons. Tom then suggested that Evie go after this phantom next time. Evie was a much faster runner then Tom was and it was quite possible that Evie would have better luck in catching this woman.

They returned to patrolling the streets. Time passed by as Tom & Evie answered some more minor calls. It seemed like most everyone was behaving themselves on this Halloween evening. That is until a woman named Linda Caldwell was leaving her late night yoga class. She headed for her car which was parked in a multi level parking garage acrossed the street. Linda was a full time nurse who worked at St. Vincent Medical Center. She takes this yoga class once a week and never had any trouble from anyone before. Linda walked to her car, but was startled when a young man appeared. Her first thought was to scream and run, but this man looked so innocent. He spoke too her in a soft voice and was carrying a bible which he said he wanted to talk with her about. Linda thought that this pleasant young man must have been a bible student from one of the local bible colleges. She was wrong, as Linda said she was running late and had to get to work the young man flew into a rage. He grabbed Linda and slammed her against her car. This knocked the wind out of her. The young man used her keys to lock Linda's car then he dragged her inside. He raped and robbed Linda in her own backseat. The young man stuff her what was left of Linda's panties into her mouth and made share that her hands were tied. He used a large hunting knife on her clothing and also held it at Linda's throat during the rape. He called her a filthy whore and said that all whores deserve to be treated this way. The young man then left a new bible, still wrapped in cellophane on the backseat. He made his escape into the night leaving behind a shattered woman.

Tom & Evie had switched places for the rest of the evening. He was now driving and Evie was riding shotgun. Their police radio which had been quiet for almost 10 minutes came alive with three beeps then the dispatcher's voice. " All units and 1 Adam 18...........A 245....261 occurred 10 minutes ago parking garage 23901 West 8th Street......1 Adam 18 handle code 3. " Tom looked at Evie upon hearing their unit called and what the crimes were. The California Penal Code lists a 245 as an assault with a deadly weapon and 261 is listed as a rape. Tom switched on the lights and siren as Evie rogered the call. A short time later, they pulled into the parking garage. Linda was with some of the other women from her yoga class. Tom asked Evie to take the woman;s statement while he requested back up and an ambulance to the scene.
 
Evie took a double take at Tom as he suggested that she should go on foot next time.

"Well okay but I'm no sprinter. Never was. Maybe if I can keep close enough for long enough she might tire before me... push her into a longer distance and that kick is sure going to disappear soon enough."

The two of them moved from one minor incident to the next; for the most part everyone was in a pretty good mood and they didn't have to make any arrests. That meant of course that they were out of the street more; an arrest meant back to the station and processing. At around 10.00pm they stopped for coffee and then Tom took over the driving. Evie had commented that at least that would mean if they did come across their woman in white again she could get out of the car a lot quicker and Tom wouldn't have to waste time moving into the driver's seat before trying to stay with the chase.

Just as they were pulling away from the coffee shop, the 245 261 call came in. Tom hit the blues and twos and the gas pedal as Evie called in the response, feeling herself pushed back just a little into her seat as the car accelerated. As it approached a sharp right turn, she reached her hand up and held onto the body work just above the window, which was open about half way. She held tight as the fast turn had her leaning increasingly to the left before Tom straightened up and she jerked back right. It didn't take Tom long to get to West 8th. Once the car was stopped, she eased out of the car, leaving her hat behind, and walked over to the group of woman standing near the open rear door of a stationwagon. The group parted a little as she approached. One woman was seated in the back seat, although her legs were outside of the car, her feet on the concrete. She was shaking. She had been crying. But right now she simply stared into a space somewhere on the ground in front of her. She had a coat wrapped around her and she was hanging on to it as if her life depended on it. There were red marks around her wrists and a red line across part of her neck. It didn't take long for one of the woman to tell them what had happened, how they had found her. Evie crouched down but she avoided touching the woman at that moment.

"Linda. Linda. I'm sorry this happened to you. There's an ambulance on the way and it's going to take you to Saint Vincent Medical Centre. I can go with you if you like or one of your friends can go. We can call someone for you and they can be there waiting. But, Linda, right now I need your help. The man who did this to you... if you can telll me what he looked like then we might be able to find him. He can't hurt you right now but he might still be close by. We might have a chance of catching him quickly if you can tell me anything... anything at all that you remember.... Linda?" It looked as if the woman was going to simply keep staring into space. Stunned and in shock. But then she blinked and slowly turned to look at Evie.

“What was he wearing Linda? Can you remember?”

“erm... blue jeans... a... a white shirt that had the ... top few buttons open. Yellow jacket.” Evie thought to herself for a moment. “Yellow jacket. Well that’s going to get you noticed in a hurry. Who wears a yellow jacket?” But then she turned her attention back to Linda.

“Was he white... black?”

“White.”

“How old did he seem?”

“He... he was baby... late teens... maybe 20, 21. He seemed so nice and then...” Her eyes began to tear as the sound of the ambulance could just be heard in the distance, getting ever closer.

“Hey... you’re doing great Linda. Just a couple more questions I promise. What about his hair?”

“Blonde... wavy... curly maybe”

“Can you take a guess at how tall he was?”

“I.. I don’t know... not tall... for a man... maybe... maybe my height...”

“Fat? Thin?”

“Normal... I don’t know... maybe a little small again for a man.”

Evie smiled and then looked across as the ambulance pulled to a stop and switched off its siren. She saw the paramedics hurrying across to them. "Linda. You did great. We're gonna get you to the hospital now. Do you want me to get someone to meet your there? Do you want me to go with you?"

One of the other women who had explained what had happened when they arrived said she would go with her and make sure that she called her family. Evie nodded. Handed over her card in exchange for the contact details of the woman. She watched then as the paramedics took care of Linda and then she stepped over to where Tom had been loitering, watching from a distance.

"Yellow jacket. That's gonna stand out for miles don't you think? Even tonight, there can't be many guys wandering around wearing a yellow jacket."

“
 
Evie gave Tom all the information that she had gotten from Linda. Tom had seen many rape cases during his career. Woman who are raped by a man respond better to another woman during questioning then they do a man. This was his reason for sending Evie by herself and why Tom stayed back. The department had rape classes for it's officers and detectives to attend. These classes showed the officers & detectives just what woman who were raped think & feel. They always said it's best to let a female officer, or detective take point on such cases. Many woman who were raped often feel dirty and don't want to be seen by males. Tom quickly put the description of the suspect out over the air. With in 5 minutes of returning to their patrol, 4 calls came in from other patrol cars who had males wearing yellow jackets. None however fit the description other then the yellow jacket.

" Well I guess it won't be that easy. " Tom said while shaking his head. The crime scene had been handed over to the crimes scene techs and the night shift detectives. By morning this case would be waiting for Tom & Evie on their desks. For now they were continuing their patrol of the streets. It was just before 11:00 pm when a woman in white dashed out of a pawn shop carrying a small bag. She ran acrossed the street, right in front of Tom & Evie's patrol car. An older man came running out screaming for the police. Tom jammed on the breaks as Evie jumped from the car. He slammed the car into reverse getting up some speed before spinning the car around. Tom drove quickly down a side street looking into each alleyway that he pasted. He spotted the phantom woman as she passed by one alley. Tom drove on until he was ahead of her. He shut down all the car's lights as he turned into the alley. He was waiting with the spot light on the car ready to shine some light on their slippery spirit.
 
Evie scrambled out of the car as quickly as she could; it had barely stopped moving forward as she stepped onto the road, pushed the door hard behind her and started running hard. Suddenly it felt like a long time since she had tried to run with the utility belt almost weighing her down. As she ran, she started to feel her baton banging against her thigh. She put her hand on it for a moment but that slowed her down so she pulled it out of her belt as she ran and carried it, like a relay runner with a baton. She an as hard as she could. Initially the woman in front of her easily opened up the distance between them, but Evie didn't give up. Gradually the gap started to narrow. The further they ran into the darkness, the shorter the gap became.

Suddenly the darkness in front of them exploded into a bright light and the vague shadow that Evie had been catching up to became a black figure against the white light. The light seemed to surprise the woman and she slowed, not sure where to go. Evie was suddenly on her and her momentum kept both of them moving forward into the light until suddenly both women were pitched over the front of the patrol car. Evie cried out as her body slammed into car.

"aaarrgghhh....Gotcha... Hold still.." Breathing hard, she reached one and round, pulled her cuffs of her belt and swiftly hooked them around first one then the second wrist of the woman in white.
 
As soon as Tom spotted a female figure turning into the alley he was sitting in, he switched on the spotlight. The darkness was cut by the bright light which fell upon the female phantom. It wasn't long after the lady phantom was stopped by the light that Evie appeared. She right smack into the other woman and the two ended up on the hood of the patrol car. Tom jumped from the car pulling his Glock. By then Evie had her cuffs out and was locking up this would be ghost. Tom reached out and grabbed the woman's hair. As he thought, this woman was wearing a white wig and it came right off in Tom's hand. The woman had long dark hair which had been tied up behind her head. Her face was covered in a thick white grease paint often used by actors in the theater. The bag that she was carrying was now laying on the ground. Tom reached down and picked it up. Inside the bag was a large amount of jewels which she had just taken from the pawn shop.

" I guess you don't get any treats tonight......Only tricks. " Tom said as he helped Evie bring the woman back to a standing position. Evie read the woman her rights, then she placed her into the back of the car. Tom climbed into the front while Evie joined the phantom lady in the backseat. A short while later, they returned to the station. A background check showed the woman to be a former college student and one time Olympic hopeful in track and field, Cheryl Osborn. Cheryl left school after she was caught up in a doping scandal. Her left had been wrecked and she turned to being a prostitute, but she couldn't give up running. Cheryl decided on becoming a small time criminal and used Halloween as her cover. She also decided to use the story of the weeping woman which Evie had talked about earlier. For the last three years, Cheryl had been stealing from small shops. This along with her working as a prostitute gave her enough money to live on comfortable without worries.

Once Cheryl was booked, Tom & Evie returned to the streets to finish out their evening. They were patrolling near the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery went they spotted a teenage girl who looked lost. Evie who was driving again, pulled the car over. Tom stepped out as did Evie and walked over to where the young girl was standing. It turned out that what Tom & Evie thought were right, the girl was lost. She was trying to get back too her home in Huntington Park. Tom then offered her a ride which she gladly took. Evie got back into the car as Tom helped the girl into the back. Tom joined Evie into the front as she pulled the car out into the street. During the trip they all made small talk, which seemed all the girl could do. She didn't seem to know any of the pop stars or movie stars of today. But she told Tom & Evie her name was Lucy Jennings and she told them where she lived. 15 minutes later, Evie parked the patrol car in front of the address given by the girl. " Well.......Here you are......Home sweet....." Tom said as he turned around then his voice trailed off. The girl who was sitting in the backseat was gone. " She's......She's.......Gone! " Tom was greatly puzzled by this since the rear doors of the police car can't be opened from the inside. They can only be open from outside. Tom looked at Evie, the questions running through his mind were written all over his face.
 
The longer the drive lasted, the more suspicious Evie became. There was just something not right about the girl. She was maybe 16. Skinny. Her clothes looked old; well worn. Her hair was mousy brown and it simply hung lifelessly down her shoulders. But she didn't just seem lost in terms of the geography of the city. She seemed... Evie looked at her for a moment in the rear view mirror.... just lost in everything. She clearly had no interest in movies or music or trashy gossip. She seemed to know nothing other than her name and her address.

Evie pulled the car over. As Tom climbed out of the passenger door and stepped onto the curb, a car came past Evie in the opposite direction. Evie watched it approach and followed it as it passed and then she looked back towards the rear seat to watch the girl climb out just as Tom stopped mid sentence. It took her brain a second or two to realize it herself and then Tom's statement confirmed that she wasn't imagining things. They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Now tell me you don't believe in ghosts. Explain that one."
 
Tom checked the backseat for any signs that the girl, or anyone had been in the back since they dropped off their would be phantom. He found nothing. There were no signs that anyone had been in the car since they returned to patrolling. There was this odd coldness in the rear of the car. The front of the were Tom & Evie had sat was fine, but the backseat area felt like a freezer. Tom could offer no explanation for what had just happened when Evie asked for one. This was the first time in almost 16 years on the force that Tom couldn't come up with an answer. " I won't say anything......If you don't say anything. " Tom said as he wrote in the log that they did a patrol of the Huntington Park area. They returned to patrol and soon enough the shift was over. Upon returning to the station, Tom ran a check on the girl's name that they picked up. He found that Lucy Jennings, age 16 died when she was hit by a car almost in front of the graveyard where they picked up that girl. Lucy was laid to rest at the very same cemetery where the accident took place. Tom & Evie sat at the computer looked quite stunned at each other. There was a picture taken from the newspaper which ran the story about Lucy. The picture matched the girl who was in the backseat just a short time before.

Halloween night had ended and so did Tom & Evie's yearly uniformed patrol. They each headed for the locker rooms and quickly changed into their street clothes. It was back to plain clothes detective work in the morning. Tom met up with Evie outside of the females locker room. They walked down to the garage together. " You know......You do look great in a uniform.......Your pants fit your backside perfectly. " Tom teased as he walked Evie to her car. He looked around and made sure that the garage was empty before he gave Evie a kiss on her lips. Tom slowly pulled back from the kiss and wished Evie a safe trip home. He said that he would see her in the morning, bright and early.
 
Evie sat on the bench which ran down the middle of the locker room, the lockers lined along both walls. She couldn't quite get Lucy Jennings out of her head. As much as she thought things weren't adding up, she could never have thought that there was something esoteric about the girl. She had agreed with Tom that they weren't going to say anything but that didn't stop her mind still thinking over the events. She heard the door open and close as another officer came in for the endof a shift. It broke her thoughts and she stood up, finished getting changed and then finished packing her unformed back into the suit carrier. When she came to leave she closed her locker door and carried the suit carrier slung over her shoulder.

As she walked down the stairs and out to her car, she smirked at his comment. She opened the passenger door, tossed in what she was carrying, closed it and turned around to face him standing directly in front of her, smirking right back.

"You realise that comment constitutes sexual harassment Sergeant and I could report you for improper conduct with a junior officer?" Tom's response to the question was the kiss! She kept smiling after she kissed him back. "I'll see you in the morning."
 
During Tom's drive home, he thought about Lucy Jennings. He didn't look over to report on her death, other then too see that she had died from being hit by a car. Tom never even took the time too see when Lucy died. He would look over the record on her and see just what happened. Tom's thoughts soon turned to Linda Caldwell. From dealing with rape cases in the past, Tom knew that the men who commit these crimes don't stop at one. There was little doubt in his mind that a serial rapist was stalking the streets. This was just a gut feeling which came from years of working the streets. The crime scene techs should have most of the tests done on what they took from Linda's car by the time Tom & Evie clocked in. The trick now was to catch this man before he struck again. This wouldn't be easy unless something big was dug up by those in the L.A.P.D. Crime Lab.

Tom hit the sheets, this time Evie was on his mind. She was his partner, his friend, but he wanted her more then anything else in this world. Tom finally drifted off to sleep with thoughts of bending Evie over her desk and fucking from behind. But during Tom's lustful dreams about Evie, she spoiled the fun by quoting regulations. Even in his dreams Evie couldn't let Tom get what he wanted without tossing a bucket of cold water on to his fire.

Morning came, Tom shaved, showered, dressed and headed out for work. Just as he though, the rape case from last night was waiting on his desk. He & Evie had their work cut out for them. In the file which was started by the night shift detectives, a list of items taken by the crime scene techs was there. One item on that list caught Tom's eye. It was a new unwrapped bible. This could possibly belong too Linda, but they would have to check with her. If it was left by the rapist, then they had a sicko on their hands. Tracking a rapist was bad enough, but tracking one who has a mental problem is even worse. Tom read over the lab reports on hat they did last night. It didn't add up to much. The rapist didn't leave any prints behind and no prints were found on the bible. They did find some hair which could be from the rapist, but the lab needed more time to run the DNA tests. Once Evie came in, Tom handed too her stuff from the file that he already read. They needed to speak with Linda again about last night. Hopefully she could remember more, and confirm whether the bible found in her car belonged too her or to the rapist.
 
Evie got home, made a cup of tea and collapsed down on the couch. She was enjoying being back in her own place although there were definitely some attractions at the boat. She turned on the tv and switched to one of the 24 hour news stations. The first basic reports of the 8th Street rape were just beginning to be put out. The police press office had obviously put out the sketchy description and there was a reporter standing outside the parking garage, the familiar crime screen tape marked off an area around the car which was still in the parking space Linda had pulled into hours before. There was a request for witnesses which probably meant that there would e a couple of dozen dead-end leads to track down when they got in in the morning. If they were lucky, there might just be one good solid witness with something worth hearing. She finished her tea and then headed to bed. Four hours ...maybe five if she was lucky before it was a new day.

She passed on her run the following morning. Coming off the back of a double shift, she figured she was entitled. Instead she had the extra hour in bed. In the end she walked into the squad room at a little before 9.00am. She drank a quick coffee and called the hospital to make sure Linda hadnt been kept in. Sure enough, she had been discharged, and so they headed to her home.
 
Tom & Evie talked over the case as they drove to see Linda at her apartment. Just as Evie had thought, a number of calls came into the station claiming to know who the rapist was. Other detectives were following up on those while Tom & Evie handled the main part of the case. Upon arriving at Linda's apartment, the two detectives found a news van was parked out front. The same reporter who Evie watched on the news last night was here digging deep for a story. Most reporters in Los Angeles wouldn't dare to step on the toes of the police during an on going investigation, but Brent McBride wasn't like most reporters. He was self centered and always looking for a story which would further his career along. Brent saw this rape case as being one that could push up from local reporter to the national scene. He wanted to job at the network, not just one of it's affiliates. A network job meant big money and that's what Brent felt he deserved. Brent often did hatch job stories on the police. Painting them as the criminals and those who did wrong as Robin Hood like characters. One of Brent's favorite targets over the years was Tom. He often compered Tom to a Nazi Gestapo Officer. Brent even made wild accusations that Jack Taylor had taken bribe money from a mob boss to hush up a murder. None of the charges Brent made where ever true, but that's the state of American journalism these days. You don't let the truth get in the way of a great story, even if the story is a lie.

Tom pulled his car up behind the KABC News Van. He had a feeling who was here and why. Just as Tom & Evie stepped out of their car, Brent and his cameraman came out of the apartment building. Brent grinned when he saw the two detectives. He waved for his cameraman to get set up, then he walked towards Tom & Evie. " This is Brent McBride....KABC News.......We have Detective Sergeant Reed and Detective Taylor at the home of last nights rape victim.....Can you tell us what the police are doing to stop this madman? " Brent asked as he shoved the microphone into Tom's face. Tom batted the mic away while saying that they were following up leads on the case. Brent then turned his microphone on Evie. " Detective Taylor?......There are those around who believe that you were given the position as detective because of nepotism......Is that true? " Brent asked his question with his usual venomous smile. He was handsome, perhaps too handsome, but Brent always used his charm and looks to get what he wanted.
 
"Oh crap". Evie groaned as she climbed out of the car and saw McBride. She knew of the man long before she ever met him. If there was any man who made Jack Taylor really lose it, it was Brent McBride. Jack would probably give up his pension if he thought it would mean McBride old spend some time in. Evie followed Tom up the path towards the house, brushed past McBride and was almost at the door when he asked her the question. Following her Dad and then Steve and James into the police, this wasn't something she hadn't heard before but it had been a while. She didn't kid herself. She wasn't the leader that her Dad was. She wasn't as tough as Steve and she wasn't as smart as James. But she figured she had pretty much proved herself at least inside the force. So McBride's comment took her by surprise. She stopped and turned around and opened her mouth to launch into the little shit. But something stopped her. He glared at him but spoke quietly.

"California Penal Code section 293 and 293.5 guarantee anonymityto the victim of a sexual assault and a victim's address is prevented by state law from disclosure . If you do anything ..." She took a step towards him. "Anything... To identify any victim I'm going come down on you so fast it will make your head spin."
 
Brent looked on as Evie spoke of the penal code. He felt that this was nothing more then a dodge of his question on her part. Having this on camera only planned into Brent's hands. He did so enjoy when cops brought up the penal code. It made it so much easier to make them look guilty of some wrong doing. Brent had a special tv show called " Inside View. " On this show, Brent would take clips like the one Evie had just given him and make the police look foolish. Since Evie couldn't answer his question, he would teach her a lesson about the power of television. On tonight's show, Brent would not only make the police look like they were dragging their feet on catching the rapist, but he would a special job on Evie's character. Brent thanked Evie for her comment, he then turned around to face the camera. " That was Detective Evelyn Taylor of the Los Angeles Police Department.......As you will note she failed to answer the question put to her......This would lead anyone to believe that she doesn't deserve to carry a gold shield and shouldn't be a lead detective on such an important case........I'm Brent McBride for KABC Action News. "

Tom took Evie by the arm and led her into the apartment building. He knew how McBride could get under someone's skin and he was just trying to defuse what could happen next. Brent McBride made a living out of trying to destroy good cops. Tom wasn't surprised by how Evie answered McBride's question. He was expecting Evie to answer in that manner. Tom would have been surprised had Evie confronted McBride and even challenged him on proving his facts. Brent thought that all cops abused their powers. In the past, Steve & James felt the sting of his verbal attacks. Now Brent had set his sights on another member of the Taylor family and Evie would feel what her father & brothers felt. Evie's rise in the department was all done on hard work. The question that Brent raised was hardly a new one, but it was a member of the press asking it now. There were some cops who did believe that Evie got her position because her father was now a Lieutenant. These cops were only a small group in the department who didn't really know Evie. Those who served with Evie, like Tom knew the truth.

" That went well. " Tom sarcastically said. He and Evie walked to the elevator and took it to the third floor where Linda Caldwell lived. Tom knocked on the door and as before, he was letting Evie take the point while questioning Linda. She would remember Evie from last night and it would be easier for Linda to talk with Evie openly when answering questions. Tom already had his badge and ID out when Linda slowly opened the door. She looked at Tom then her eyes shifted to Evie standing next too him.
 
Evie felt Tom pulling a little at her arm but she held her ground for a moment...and the glare until Tom pulled a little harder. By the time she was inside the building, she was fuming. Truth be told she was as much annoyed with herself as she was with Brent McBride and she knew she was going to be made to regret not having just kept her mouth shut and walked past. She heard Tom's sarcasm.

"I know, but how the hell did he get the address? What the fuck is he doing here?" Tom didn't answer. He had no more idea that Evie, and she didn't really expect him to. She got into the elevator and tried to calm herself down and put McBride out of her head. A few minutes later, she knocked on the apartment door. Linda Caldwell opened the door. Evie thought she still looked in shock.

"hi Linda. Do you remember me from last night. My name is Evie. I was the police officer who spoke to you at your car, before the ambulance arrived. How are you?"

Linda nodded a sign of recognition and then wrapped her cardigan around her folding her arms around herself as she did so.

"This... This is my partner, detective Tom Reed. Could we... Ask you a few more questions. It might really help us." Again Linda said nothing but she stepped back and walked back into her apartment leaving the door open for Tom and Evie to follow.
 
Tom let Evie walk in first then he followed her. He closed the door as Evie walked into the living room where Linda had gone. She finally spoke offering Tom & Evie coffee or tea. Tom was polite in his refusal of the drink offer. He sat down in a chain acrossed from the couch that Linda had sat on. The questions that Tom & Evie had were just follow up questions. Evie was kinda and didn't push Linda during questioning. Linda did open up a bit more as she told Evie about what the man said while he raped her. The rapist called her a whore and said that all whores were evil. He made quotes from the bible while he forced sex upon Linda. He talked about the evil core inside of all women. This core was a woman's cunt, the root of all evil in the world. They asked about the bible found in Linda's car? Linda told them that the bible wasn't hers. This meant that the rapist left it behind and from what Linda had stated about what the rapist said, it sounded like he left it as a calling card.

Tom & Evie thanked Linda for her help. They left Linda's apartment and went back down to their car. " We are dealing with a guy who has some real issues with women. " Tom said as he and Evie walked towards the car. " It's possible that he could become more brutal with his attacks. " Tom & Evie climbed into the car and returned to the station. Tom asked Evie to call the publisher of those bibles and get a list of all bibles shipped to the West Coast area. Tom knew that the list would be large, but they needed some place to start looking for a name. Tom ran a check through the departments records of other rapists who worked in the same way as this one was doing. Tom found nothing and quickly started a search through NCIC, the National Crime Information Center. This search brought up some possibilities which they would check out tomorrow. Their shift soon came to an end without any answers to this case. Tom & Evie joined Jack, Steve and James at Malone's for a few cold ones.

In another part of the city, the rapist sat at a desk writing in a book. " As God has commanded.......The punishment of his most evil creation had started. I didn't know at the beginning just how to punish the women of this world.....But I do now. The first one was my mistake and I have properly punished myself for not understanding God's commands. I now know that I must not only leave those whores with nothing and use them for what they are......But I must show the world the evil that all women have. That evil between their legs that they can't control without God's help. Only the Nuns have the grace from God to control their evil cores. Sadly......Not all women are like the Nuns.......So I must show everyone what evil is so they may turn to God and seek his forgiveness. " The man slowly closed the book. He stood up from his chain, zipped up the front of a light blue jacket. He tucked a 12 inch butcher knife inside his jacket then picked up a new and unwrapped bible from a shipping box which was sitting on the floor beside the desk. He left his apartment and headed out for the evening.

Brent was also busy at the KABC Station. He was getting ready for his spot on the 6 o'clock news, then he own show would start. Brent's show would open up with his attack on Evie. He wasn't going to play nice just because she was hot. Brent thought about trying to get Evie into bed. He felt that she would know things about her father, brothers and Tom that she was keeping secret. In the embrace of passion, Brent thought that Evie could spill her guts. He may still try and bed her, but for now she need to learn a lesson about respect.
 
As they sat at the bar, drinking beer, James noticed McBride appear on the muted TV that was attached to the wall behind the bar. He had Rusty turn the volume up and the Taylor's Nd Reed listened intently. Evie was expecting it to be bad, but this was ridiculous. On the 6pm news, the story was about the rape at least initially, then it drifted to the lead detectives. McBride made sure that he informed the audience about Rick and there were references to Tom being brought up in an environment of gambling dens and strip joints and whores... With an 'allegedly' thrown in here and there just to ensure he was protecting himself. Then it moved on to Evie. Rapid rise through the Academy and minimum time spent in uniform.

"It wasn't that damn rapid." She commented as much to the screen as anything else.

In talking about Evie, she was described as the daughter of Lieutenant Jack Taylor "a lieutenant once investigated for corruption". He referenced complaints about Steve and James, and then introduced his special report starting immediately after the news, where he was going to talk to a former college lover and a contemporary from the Academy both of whom would confirm comments Evie has made in the past about having a guaranteed career route because of her father. Then the show cut to adverts.

"College lover? What the... I've never said that to anyone. Where the hell...?"

"Look Evie. It's bullshit? We all know you've never said it, but ht doesn't matter. It's probably going to be some guy who nearly knows you and someone who flunked out of the Academy and who is jealous because of how good you were." Steve put a hand on her back and rubbed it a little. He knew exactly how she was feeling. They all did.
 
Brent's report on Tom was pretty tame. Normally he would cut loose with both barrels about Tom being a trigger happy cop. Brent enjoyed pointing out that Tom carried a weapon that was bigger then the weapons used by the police department. Tom, Jack, Steve and James were all use to Brent's attacks by now. He was a well known cop hater. One of Brent's favorite tricks was to catch a cop on camera in a verbal argument with him. Brent would then reedit the tape so that everything the cop said was taken the wrong way. Cheap shots and twisting someone words against them was how McBride worked. Now that Evie was becoming a more public figure, she would have to deal with people like Brent McBride. He wasn't the only one in Los Angeles who took dirty shots at the cops. There were a few others, but he was the first who was taking aim at Evie.

" It's funny.......McBride did a story on me back when Jack and I were partners. " Tom started as he pushed a $20 out to by a round for the group. " He claimed to have a former lover of mine who could spell the beans on every bad thing my father and I did.......This former lover turned out to be a girl I dated one time in high school and nothing ever happened between us. " Tom told his story then Jack started to laugh. " I remember that!.......McBride tried to paint you as the next big pimp in L.A. " Jack continued then James spoke up about how McBride always talked about Tom's weapon. James also said that he thought McBride had a thing for Tom. " Well I do have a big weapon. " Tom said in a joking way. " Brag.....Brag.....Brag. " Steve replied as the group settled in for one more round.
 
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