*As might be expected, the hotrod was found a day or two later, with the corpse of the original owner stashed in the trunk. The smell alerted the neighbors, which called the authorities, who called Claire. Second only to her desire to see Danny dead, Claire wanted a cigarette. She had quit smoking five years ago, but she still recalled the calming effect that accompanied each cigarette. In fact, she'd had some of her best ideas outside the office with a smoke. Cases had broken that way, as pieces of the puzzle fell effortlessly into place. She'd tried other substitutes, but nothing worked as well as a a flimsy sheet of paper wrapped around a plant's natural defense mechanism. It was almost worth the risks...almost.*

~Claire?~ *It was Tim, back with a report. He looked as tired as Claire felt. *

Yeah, Tim? *He sat down across from her desk, opening the manila folder with his notes.*

~The corpse in the trunk belonged to Edward Pinkerton. He was the boyfriend of Mali Zheng, the newest Lucy. He had been shot once in the head, execution-style.~

Danny probably did it right in front of Mali too, to make sure she wouldn't fight him. *Claire sighed heavily* Sick son of a bitch. *She paused for a moment, the wheels in her head turning.* Hey Tim, didn't Danny take out another couple? The ones we found on the bayou?

~Yeah, Claire, he did. Trish Perkins and Carl Weatherly, they were engaged, to be married in a week.~

Why those couples, and kill all the other Lucy's individually?

~Maybe they were single? Or just alone?~

Tim, find out.

~Yes, boss.~ *With that, he nodded and was out the door. Perhaps Claire was grasping at straws, but at this point, she really didn't know what else to do. Behind Claire the viewscreen came to life, and she spun around. Instead of Annie, it was her boss.*

Well, hello there.

"Cut the crap, Claire. When are you going to catch this guy?" *He was an older man, with little hair, and even less patience.*

I don't know, sir. I do have a massage scheduled for this afternoon, but I was thinking maybe noonish on Friday?" *His eyes narrowed, and if looks could kill, Claire would be dead by now, many times over.*

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Claire. I want an answer, and I want it -now-."

No offense, boss, but my catching him is delayed by how long I have to spend giving you stupid updates. If you think I'm doing a bad job, why don't you fire me and find him yourself? *Claire was really not in the mood for politics, not now, or ever. It always got in the way of the real work, namely catching killers and locking them up.*

"Bring him in, Claire, and soon." *Without giving her a chance to respond, he ended the conversation and the screen went blank.*

No, I'm gonna drag it out as long as possible so he can kill more people. Jackass.

~Well, thanks for the greeting, Claire.~

Annie! Got anything for me?

~With the amount of rattlesnake venom Danny gave Mali, she was dead in five minutes. You couldn't have saved her.~ *Claire appreciated what Annie was trying to do, but it didn't help.* ~We dusted the car for prints, and found some from Mali, Ed, and a mystery print.~

Lemme guess, Danny.

*Annie's face broke into a smile.* ~Yep. This time we got a 6-point match with a Danny Ward.~

A match with what?

*Annie straightened up to her full hight, visibly bouncing with excitement.* ~Criminal database. It turns out Mr. Ward has been arrested several times, all misdemeanors.~

Where?

~LA, New Orleans, basically all the locales that murders occurred. However, he was also arrested in Boston and Vegas, where there have been no Lucy slayings.~

Which means, he'll probably strike in one of those cities next. Excellent Annie. Now we have his picture and likely targets, if only I could hear from Tim...

*Ring!* Speak of the devil. Hello?

~Yeah, Claire?~

Whatcha got, Tim?

~Ed was an off-duty cop, just like Annabel.~

But Annabel wasn't the fiancee, Trish was. This doesn't make any sense. Unless the whole couple thing was a diversion, and it was really revenge on cops the whole time. Then the whole Lucy track doesn't make sense. Fuck! *Claire slammed her hand on the desk.* Tim, Annie, get me some answers.

--------------------------

*Claire did what she always did in these situations, got coffee. She had gotten so little sleep lately that the presence of caffeine was growing increasingly important. Of course, adrenaline was helpful too. Looking out her window, she took a sip of coffee. It was nasty. No one in the FBI seemed capable of rinsing out the pot before brewing more. The last time she remembered anyone changing the filter it was GWB's first term.* It's too easy, just too easy. *The cop theory didn't make sense. Tim told her that none of the other victims were police. In addition, none of the victims had any connection to Danny. Looks like it was one of those false trails that seemed to tie things up so neatly, but on closer inspection fell apart like a five-year-old's story. The reason the murders were committed in those cities is because Danny knew them. He'd lived in each city at least a year, for New Orleans, three. Tim had sent BOLOs to Vegas and Boston, but Claire wasn't expecting anything yet. With her coffee in hand, she walked back to her office just in time to see Tim get off the phone.*

Any word?

~Not yet.~

Didn't think so. *Claire leaned back in her chair, feet on the desk.* There's a definite demarcation line in these murders. Starting with the jack-o-lantern, he quit raping them. He put them on display like performance art. Danny's putting on a show for Lucy. Tim, find out who Lucy is. Search everything, girls he knows, books he reads, TV he watches, who the pin-up girls in his bedroom are. All this attention is for Lucy, whether she knows it or not. If we find Lucy, we'll find Danny.

~Gotcha.~ *Just as Tim left, the video screen came on.*

|I traced the bullet that killed Ed!|

Where did it come from?

|His own gun. It was ditched outside the car where Mali was killed.|

Thanks, Annie. Does the name Lucy ring any bells?

|Does it! Cartoon Network's got this cool show called Lucy, Daughter of the Devil. She's a teenager, and the antichrist, and it's so funny!|

How long has this show been on the air?

|Two weeks, tops.|

That's not it then, Annie.

|Well, yeah, but it's still cool.|

I'm sure it is. -Click.-

Who the hell is Lucy? *Claire asked to no one in particular, since she was alone. With a heavy sigh, she took a drink of her rapidly-cooling coffee.*

~*~Back~*~