CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE. About damn time, Jake. Rick stood up, waiting as Jake rushed over

" About damn time, Jake." Rick stood up, waiting as Jake rushed over. " You know Benson hates it when we're late."

" I know, but traffic was a bitch." Jake checked her watch again. Only ten minutes late. " Did you get Dave? Will he be able to join us? "

" He's finishing up the post on Jena Nichols. He'll come in as soon as he's done."

" Good." Jake stopped at the reception desk, smiling at Liz. " Hey, Liz. How are you? "

" McCoy? I heard you were back. Feeling better? "

" Good as new." Jake motioned to the closed door. " Dragon Lady waiting on us? "

" Afraid so." Liz picked up the phone and waited only a second. " The detectives are here." Liz held the phone away as Dr. Benson spoke loud enough for Jake to catch the " about goddamn time." Liz smiled apologetically. " Go on in."

" Thanks." Jake gallantly stepped aside, offering Rick the chance to walk in first, but he shook his head.

" No way. You get to hear it for being late, not me."

" Wimp, " she murmured, as she opened the door to Dr. Benson's office. She conjured up one of her most charming smiles, hoping to deflate some of Dr. Benson's anger.

" Do you have any idea how busy I am, detectives? "

" Of course, Dr. Benson. It's totally my fault that we're late. I can assure you it will never happen again, " Jake said.

Dr. Benson took off her glasses and impaled Jake with a stare that actually caused her to take a step backward. " You don't have to assure me, Detective McCoy. This is the last appointment I will ever make with you. If you need information from a post I did, you'll have to get Dr. Gamble or one of the assistant MEs to help you. I will not waste my time with you."

" We're ten minutes late, Dr. Benson. Ten minutes because I was downtown following up on a lead in our investigation of these murders. But I do know how valuable your time is, and if you can't spare a half-hour to assist us with four murdered women, I under-stand." Jake turned to go, ignoring Rick's wide-eyed stare. " Perhaps Dr. Gamble has the time." Jake heard the chair bang against the wall as Dr. Benson stood up quickly.

" Who do you think you are, speaking to me that way? "

Jake smiled. " I'm just a lowly detective trying to solve four murders. I don't have time to play games with you, Dr. Benson."

" Detective McCoy, you have just made an enemy."

" Yeah? Well, get in line. I've got plenty." Jake left, leaving Rick to stay or follow. As expected, he hurried out the door after Jake.

" Have you lost your goddamn mind? " he hissed.

" Apparently so. But she's pissed me off for the last time." Jake stopped again in front of Liz. " Gamble still doing the post? "

" Yes."

" Jake, please tell me we're not going in there. You know I hate that."

" Best to grab him now before Benson talks to him."

" Christ, I hate when you go off like that, " Rick said, as he walked quickly to keep up with her. " And what lead were you following up on that you're late? "

" None. I was with Dr. Westbrook."

" I swear, Jake. What is it about that woman? "

Jake stopped suddenly and met Rick's eyes unflinchingly. " What it is, Chase, is that she's going to get her ass killed unless we find this bastard."

" So you're... protecting her? "

" You got a better idea? "

Rick shook his head. " You're in a mood today, " he said quietly.

" Because we got fucking shit on this case and goddamn Dr. Benson thinks it's a fucking game! " she yelled.

" Will you calm down? "

" I am calm, " Jake said. She knocked once on the glass and waited for Dave to motion them inside. " Hey, Dave."

" Tired of waiting on me? "

" No. But I pissed off the Dragon Lady again, and she's refused to help us. So you're it."

" No problem. I'm done here anyway." He pulled the sheet over their victim and nodded to Carl, his assistant. Carl wheeled the body away, and Rick finally let out his breath. " I know you hate autopsies, Chase."

" With a passion. The last time I sat through a full one, I had nightmares for a week."

" How similar is she to the other one you did? " Jake asked.

" The one at the lake? Thornton? "

" Yes."

" Identical. Except for the knife wound. And it was done postmortem." He picked up his notes. " Cause of death is strangulation. Vaginal trauma, but no fluids present."

" She was cleaned up? "

" She was cleaned up inside and out."

" Helen Thornton, Sandra Poole, and Shelly Burke all had traces of triclosan. It's listed in every post."

" Triclosan is the active ingredient in antibacterial soap, " Dr. Gamble said. " It's not unusual to find traces on victims."

" But our victims are all... really clean, " Jake said. " No fluids, no fibers. Nothing. So, my theory is, they've been cleaned. They've been washed."

" And you're most likely correct, Jake. I assisted on the post of Sandra Poole, too. She'd been sodomized. And raped. But she was clean. Almost as if he'd... douched her. Which I wouldn't rule out. But other than the tissue tears, there was no outside evidence. So yes, he cleaned her up."

" So, he cleaned her up as if he had a background in forensics... or he just cleaned her up? " Jake asked.

" I'd say he knew what he was doing, " Dave said. " My guess is he left them soaking in a tub of water and soap for a day, then per-haps sprayed them down. All four victims were found at least forty-eight hours after death."

Jake nodded. " Dave, do me a favor? If we get another one, can you do the post? "

" Dr. Benson is still my boss."

" Yeah, but if she finds out it's our case, she might pass it to you anyway."

" Well, let's hope we don't have any more."

" Seeing as how we've got shit for leads, I'd say that's not possible."

" I'll do what you need me to do, Jake."

" Thanks, Dave. Can you make sure Monica sends us the full report? "

" Of course."

It was well after five when Jake and Rick walked into the squad room, but their lieutenant was waiting for them.

" Goddamn McCoy. Dr. Benson? "

Jake squared her shoulders. " She pissed me off."

" So I take it."

" She called you? "

" Oh, no. Not that simple. She called the chief."

" Damn. The chief called you? "

" Chief called the captain."

Jake grinned. " Well, that's good. You only heard it like... third hand."

The lieutenant let a quick smile cross his face before he hid it. " Consider yourself reprimanded."

" That's it? You don't want to know what went down? "

" I heard her version. I can only imagine yours."

Jake nodded. " Sorry, Lieutenant, but she plays these fucking games."

" I know. Everyone knows how she is. We can only hope she'll retire soon, McCoy." He glanced at Rick. " What you got? "

" Nothing, " he said.

" Four dead women and nothing. Great. We'll get killed on this one."

" The only consistency in these cases is that they are all clean." When the lieutenant rolled his eyes, Jake went on. " I know you don't like my soap theory, but Dr. Gamble backs it up."

Lieutenant Gregory looked at Chase.

" Yes, sir. Gamble said most likely that they'd been washed before being dumped."

" Great. And that helps us how? "

Jake shrugged. " Well, I don't know."

" And this Westbrook woman? Where are we with her? "

" Her secretary is monitoring their mail and phone calls. Dr. Westbrook has given us access to her files. Well, some of them. She's agreed for me to watch her again tonight. She's not exactly crazy about this, though."

" Well, I talked to the DA. Debra Fisher is not assigned to us on this one. Apparently, she's running for mayor and working with us will apparently cut into her time."

" Imagine that, " Jake murmured. She'd never liked Debra Fisher. On the surface, Fisher appeared to loathe Jake, barely speaking to her. But privately, she'd made it no secret she wanted to sleep with Jake. Jake wasn't interested.

" Marcus Thompson has been assigned. As soon as we get a suspect, he'll bring Dr. Westbrook in if need be."

" There's something else, Lieutenant. About six years ago, Dr. Westbrook had a stalker. She says that she called 911 and two units responded. She says that they shot the suspect in her front yard."

" And? You think this is related? "

" I don't know. The system has jack on her."

" What? "

" No hit on her name or address."

" Not possible, McCoy."

Jake met his eyes. " She's not lying to me."

" If it happened, it's in the system. If she called 911, it's in the log."

" And if it's not? "

He let out a breath, eyes closed for a second before speaking. " See if you can verify it. Neighbors, somebody. We'll go from there."

" Yes, sir."