Second Chances Ch. 03

"This guy is sick." He muttered, taking her by the elbow and leading her into the quiet bedroom where a body lay on the bed, covered in a white sheet.

"What do we have?" She asked softly as she walked to the bed, raising a shaky hand to pull back the sheet.

"Alexandra Tyler. Known by the nickname Xan. 36 year old divorced mother of two who had just recently gotten a new boyfriend and a new job with a law firm in the area as a secretary. From all accounts, this was a complete and total shock as the woman didn't have any enemies."

"Holy shit!" Rory said, dropping the cloth back in place and staring up at the wall for a moment before pulling it back again. "He scalped her?"

"Told you that we are dealing with one sick bastard." Justin said, looking over her shoulder down at the body.

"Who found her?"

"Her mother. Isabelle Tyler. She had been watching her children for the evening because she had a special guest coming over. Said she got worried when she didn't call to check on the kids before bedtime like she always does."

Rory turned and looked at Justin for a moment, an eyebrow raised in question. "Special guest?"

"I already have people out there searching. We have no clue who it is, but I'm damn sure going to find out. The only thing that Isabelle could tell us was that she had been dating a man that she referred to as Alex for a little over two weeks."

"An Alexandra dating an Alex?" Rory asked, shaking her head slightly as she dropped the sheet back into place. Something didn't fit there. "Could a jealous ex husband have anything to do with this?"

"Saul Leibowictz. Daniel's already out there trying to track him down for questioning. This doesn't seem like something that he would do though. There was animosity between the two, but according to Isabelle, they divorced on good terms. He was going through rehab and willfully let her go."

"Drugs?" Rory asked as she continued to look around the room, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Yeah. Known cocaine user. Got busted about two years ago. Served his time, probation, and rehab, with which he told Xan that she could get on with her life if she wished and he let her go."

"Seems like it came back to haunt her." Rory murmured as she looked around the room. Nothing was out of place, which told her that it wasn't a robbery. "But if it were her ex, wouldn't her mother have known?" She asked, walking around the bed and looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Like I said, she never met this Alex." He said, shaking his head as he watched her work.

Rory stopped and looked at the bedside table, picking up a small picture in a frame and looking over it for a moment before placing it back down and turning to exit the room.

"Got something?" McCartney shouted as he watched her leave, trying to hurry after her.

Rory stopped and turned to look at him, that determined mask already slammed down on her face. "Her mother may not have seen this mystery man, but her children might have. You ask them yet?" She asked, listening to the sound of Daniel's voice as he walked through the front door, talking with another officer about the whereabouts of Saul Leibowictz.

"No. Haven't talked to the kids. They are still at Mrs. Tyler's house."

Rory just nodded and turned again, grabbing Daniel by the coat sleeve and practically dragging him out of the house with her. "Where are we going?" He asked, a bit confused at her actions.

"To talk with someone." She said as she gained directions from a passing detective and hurrying on her path when that Isabelle Tyler lived a few blocks away.

Her mind was working over time, trying to piece together all of the information as Daniel chattered on about something. It wasn't like she was trying to be rude and ignore him, but she was close to something big. That one huge discovery that would blow this whole thing wide open, she could feel it.

Before she knew it, she was standing in a cheery living room, while Daniel talked to Mrs. Tyler, expressing his condolences.

"Mrs. Tyler, where are the children?" Rory asked out of the blue, causing both to turn towards her.

"The kitchen." The older woman said, pointing through the living room towards the back of the house. "But what do you want with them?"

"Sometimes you can get information out of children that you can't get out of adults." Rory explained, unzipping her jacket. "Children are honest. They have no reason to lie."

Isabelle Tyler stared at her for a long moment, mulling that around in her head before she nodded slightly. "They took it pretty hard. Their mother was their world. Just be gentle with them." She whispered.

Rory looked at Daniel and then started towards the entryway into the kitchen. "I've been there before. I'll be careful." She said softly over her shoulder.

Rory walked into the kitchen and saw a little boy sitting there, drawing a picture with his mess of crayons. Hearing her footsteps, he stopped and looked up at her, his bright hazel eyes staring intently. "Hello." He whispered before going back to his drawing.

She smiled at him as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turning to the right slightly, she saw a girl standing there, peeking around the corner at her. She was older than this little boy, maybe 12 or 13, but she knew it was his sister...that black hair gave her away.

"Hi there." She said softly, turning her attention back to the boy. "Can I sit down?"

"I guess." He sighed, not even looking up as he drew on his picture.

"That's a pretty picture." She said, looking down at the crayon drawing of an angel. "What's it of?"

"Mommy. Grandma said that she's an angel now." He said sadly, looking up at her with those eyes.

Rory felt a lump rise in her throat with the honesty of this little boy. She cursed whoever had done this horrible act. Taking that mother away from this young child.

"My name is Rory." She said, taking her badge from her neck and laying it on the table in front of him. "I'm a police officer. I want to ask you some questions if that is alright." She smiled as he nodded his head, staring in awe at the badge. "What's your name?"

"Christopher." He said, reaching out a hand to pick up the shiny metal object. "Wow. This is real!" He exclaimed, looking over to where his sister still stood, watching them from around the corner.

Rory laughed and turned her attentions over to the girl, giving her a smile and motioning her closer with her good hand. She watched as the girl gasped and then slowly came out of her hiding spot, walking over to the table and sitting down across from Rory.

"Look, Rachael!" Christopher shouted as he showed her the badge. "A real police officer."

"How old are both of you?" She asked, turning her head slightly as she heard a noise behind them and saw Daniel standing in the doorway, watching the scene before him. "This is my partner, Det. Ross. But you can call him Danny."

Daniel was a bit taken back by both the word partner and the fact that she had called him Danny. No one had called him that since grade school except his few close friends. He stood in a stupor for a moment before shaking his head and walking forward, sitting beside Rory to look at the children.

"Twelve." Rachael muttered, looking down at the table and letting her dark hair hang around her face as her brother proudly exclaimed that he was five.

"I'm sorry about your mom." Rory said, going silent for a moment as she watched the girl take in a sharp breath and just nod. "I lost my parents when I was really young. I know what it feels like."

"It feels horrible." Rachael murmured, wiping at her eyes as Christopher fell silent.

"Yeah, it does." Rory said softly as she took back her badge when the little boy offered it to her. "Did you know your mom's friend? Alex?"

Christopher shook his head, going back to his crayons as Rachael cleared her throat. "No. He never came by the house when we were there. He would send her presents though and when these presents came, we would come and spend the night with grandma. We never met Alex."

"Did Alex have a last name?" Rory went into the next question seamlessly, always keeping her voice calm and soothing as she waited patiently for the answers.

Rachael shook her head again as Christopher agreed with her. Daniel watched over everything in silence, completely in awe at the calm that Rory seemed to possess when dealing with these children. He couldn't image being that calm if he found himself in that situation, but then again, he had never lost a parent like her either.

His parents were still happily married and living in Southern California with his three older brothers. They had never been through a rough patch and he always had the best of the best. No, he would never know what it was to have it like these children did. Even to know what Rory had gone through was too much for him to grasp. A brother that killed himself, parents that died in a car accident...he couldn't even begin to imagine what must go through her mind every time that she is reminded.

"Thank you for helping us." Rory said with a slight, comforting smile, snapping Daniel back to the present as they both stood up from the table, letting Mrs. Tyler come to comfort the children. "We'll be in touch." Rory whispered to the woman as she passed by, receiving a numb nod as the two detectives walked out into the cold day.

It dawned on Daniel that this was probably one of those times that Rory felt left behind. Having to talk to someone about the loss of a family member seemed like something that would always be a fresh wound and turning to look at her as she burrowed down in her coat for warmth, he could see the hint of pain in her eyes.

"How about some lunch?" Daniel asked suddenly as they both walked down the street, away from the Tyler's house. "You look like you could use some lunch."

"I could use a drink." Rory said as she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"That too. Come on. I'm buying." Daniel said as he took Rory by the arm and directed her a couple of blocks away to a diner that he had seen on the way over.

Tucked into a booth in the corner of the noisy restaurant, he watched as she barely picked at her food, concentrating hard on something in her mind. She had been quiet since they were tucked away in the diner, her brow creased in thought as Daniel dug into his hamburger. She was a strange one alright, he thought as he watched her raise a forkful of salad to her mouth.

"Hey, can I borrow your car?" Daniel asked, causing Rory to choke slightly on her food, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"For what, may I ask?"

"To get my shit and move it cross town, since someone offered me an apartment and all." He said, downing his glass of water and motioning to the waitress for a refill.

"And what do I get out of it?" Rory asked, smirking slightly as Daniel looked up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment before looking at her again with a mischievous look in his eye.

"What do you get out of it?" He said, sounding slightly offended as he stood up and slid into her side of the booth, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and looking at her intently for a moment. "You get me..." He whispered in her ear, his breath causing the wisps of hair at her temple to stir against her skin. "All to yourself..." His lips grazed her earlobe and he watched as she took in a sharp breath, closing her eyes to keep composure. "As a roommate." He finished, reaching into her pocket and jerking out her key chain.

She opened her eyes suddenly, a light sheen of sweat appearing on her upper lip as she scrambled for her napkin, feigning that she was wiping her mouth before she turned to look at Daniel again, her breath still slightly elevated.

"That was low." She said, trying to hide the smile that curled her lips.

"Yeah, but I think you like it." He teased, waving off the waitress with the water and asking for the check instead. "It's nice when you loosen up."

"Don't get too use to it. Doesn't happen often." She murmured almost sadly as she pushed her plate away.

"Just because some jackass did something to you once doesn't mean that it will happen again." He said softly, startled when she turned those brown eyes to stare at him with a hurt expression. "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright." Rory said softly, clearing her throat and looking away quickly, clenching her bad hand tighter. "You had to know sooner or later."

"Hey." Daniel said softly, cupping her chin and turning her head to look at him. "I'm your partner now and I can assure you that I would never do that to you. I'm here for everything, good and bad. You can trust me."

He watched as she nodded, her eyes searching his face as if trying to find the truth there. He caught the faintest hint of a smile on her face as the waitress slapped the bill on the table, scurrying off again to take another order.

"You paying?" Daniel said with a chuckle as she rolled her eyes.

"My pockets are empty."

He stood up and pulled out his own wallet and threw down a twenty, shaking his head at her. "Damn girl, what are you good for?" He asked, smiling as he watched her grin and pull on her jacket.

"Well, if someone wouldn't have let me sleep so long, I might be on the top of my game."

"Care to go with me?" He asked, jingling her keys in front of her face playfully.

"Nah. I got some things at the office to take care of." Rory declined, pulling on her ponytail to tighten it as she scooted out of the booth and stood up, staring at Daniel for a moment with a smile before pushing past him and walking away without another word.

He turned and watched her leave, exhaling the breath that he had been holding. He had never felt like this about someone before, so why was he feeling it about her? He couldn't place his finger on it.

"Hey! Where's your car at?" He shouted after her as she pushed open the door.

"That's for you to find out, detective." She replied, smirking as she stepped out into the gray afternoon, leaving Daniel laughing and shaking his head, wondering just how she got the upper hand in this situation.

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Snow crunched under foot as Rory finally trudged home that evening. It was late, nearing close to midnight as she opened the entryway to her apartment building. She stopped as the sound of laughter caught her attention. Turning slightly, she saw a couple across the street, clinging to each other as they stumbled down the sidewalk, obviously drunk from an evening out.

The breath caught in her throat as she saw the man. That dark hair perfectly combed and gelled and paired with an expensive leather jacket and jeans. His perfect features were illuminated in the streetlights, his brown eyes shining as her smiled at the woman who was hanging onto his arm.

"Shit." Rory whispered to herself as the man looked up and straight at her.

Quickly, she turned and entered the glass door, stopping just inside the darkened hallway. She watched from the shadows as the man passionately kissed the other woman, a hungry moment in which there was no care except for the both of them. Rory touched her lips, remembering kisses like that.

A tear ran down her face as she leaned heavily against the wall, taking in a shaky breath. Her past had finally caught up to her. The man that she had been running from for so many months, while at the same time, silently praying that she would run into for just a moment together, was staring at her from across the street. A shadow was all that he was now; a ghost that had been ordered by the courts to stay away from her. It didn't matter to Rory what he had done to her in the past, she still hated him, but there was one part of her mind that didn't want to let go of what they had together.

A slamming door from upstairs brought Rory out of her thoughts, forcing her to look out on the street once more. He was staring at her, his brown eyes watching intently yet displaying no emotions as they always did.

"I'm ready to go home." The blonde headed woman slurred in his ear, gripping the collar of his jacket and kissing at his jaw, nibbling his skin slightly with her teeth.

"Alright." He whispered, looking down at her with a smile as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her down the street. Looking over his shoulder once more, he saw Rory looking through the glass door, her hand pressed against the glass as she watched them walk by.

"Victor." She whispered, a longing crossing her face as she watched the pair disappear into the distance, fading into the lights from the cars that zipped back and forth across the street. Out of her life once more and back into the depths of her memory.

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Coming soon: Chapter 4: A possible break in the case leads to trouble for Rory and Daniel.

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I would like to say thank you for all of the emails that I have gotten about this story. It's because of all of you that I am continuing to write, and needless to say, this one is the hardest story. Please keep up the support and suggestions and I promise that Chapter 4 will not take as long. :)