by Jamie Hill
Reeder pushed his way through the crowd which effectively sent everyone back to their desks. "Well done." He pumped Nate's hand up and down, then Mel's. "Stone says there's a shitload of evidence."
Nate smiled. Stone didn't say that. Such terminology was the brainchild of Reeder and Reeder alone. He nodded. "The evidence is all there. The place is a Petri dish. CSI should be able to collect a load of DNA samples."
"They did a Luminol test first thing. According to Stone, the whole damn room glowed."
There'd been blood everywhere. Nate and Mel made disgusted faces at each other.
"Suddenly I want to go wash my hands," she said.
"Right there with you," Nate agreed.
"Good work you two. Willis, let me know before you take off. It's been an experience working with you. I told your chief you did a damn fine job." He looked at Mel. "Now the real fun begins for you. Processing evidence and paperwork."
"Can't wait. Excuse me." She turned around as Reeder walked off. "I was serious about washing my hands."
"Following you," Nate assured her. They walked past the war room, where an officer was already taking down the victim's pictures from the bulletin board.
"It's really over, isn't it?" Mel murmured.
"Yep. Thank God."
She stopped and faced him. "And you're really leaving, aren't you?"
Nate's heart lurched. "Mel…." He didn't know what to say.
"I promised myself I wouldn't do this here. I don't want a room full of people to see me cry. We'll talk later. I can't guarantee I won't cry then, though."
He smiled. "Nor would I expect you to. Before you go getting all maudlin, give me a chance to see if I can turn that frown upside down."
"You didn't really just say that." She pushed open the door to the ladies' room.
"Told you I'm no songwriter." He walked past and washed his hands in the men's room. Recalling the disturbing sights at Webb's house, he took an extra moment to wash them again. He met Mel in the bullpen.
"Webb's downstairs," she said, grabbing the folder with victim's pictures in it. "No lawyer yet."
"Let's go." They hurried down to the interrogation area and were met by the captain in charge.
"Captain Gray, this is SSA Nathan Willis of the FBI," Mel introduced.
The men shook hands. "Has he asked for an attorney?" Nate inquired.
"Nope. He's only had one request. I guess I should call it a demand." The captain looked at Mel. "Says he'll only talk to you."
"No way." Nate shook his head firmly. "I'm going in."
Mel turned to him. "I can do this. You trusted me before. Trust me again."
"It's not a matter of trust. Guys like this are psychotic. Reality means nothing to him. All he wants is to get inside your head. And I don't want him there."
She stood her ground. "You may not have a choice. If he'll only talk to me, then I should do it. We need to get him to admit to at least one of the murders, right? More would be better of course."
"Mel…." Nate frowned, his resistance already wavering. She had an extremely persuasive way about her. "I don't like this one bit."
"Objection duly noted." She removed her Glock and handed it to him. They watched Webb for a moment through the two-way mirror.
"Stay on this side of the table," Gray said.
"Yes, Captain." Mel flashed one more glance at Nate and left the room.
His heart rate increased tenfold when he saw her walk in with Webb. He tried to calm his breathing but it wasn't easy, and took a lot of effort. His ears perked up when Webb spoke.
"You came!" The man smiled at Mel.
"Yeah, I'm here Dick. I understand you wanted to talk to me."
"Call me Dickie. My mother always called me Dickie."
"And look what happened to her."
Nate drew a breath. "Not sure flippant is the approach we want to take with him," he murmured.
"She's a smart cookie," Gray answered. "Let's see what she has up her sleeve."
No emotion whatsoever registered on Webb's face. "You look like her. Pretty long blonde hair. My mom always wore it down. Will you take your hair down for me?"
"Don't do it." Nate gritted his teeth.
Mel inhaled then expelled the breath, shaking her head. "I don't think so Dick. I mean, what have you done for me? You killed four women, and poor Sheila—"
"I didn't hurt Sheila," he interrupted. "She's a hooker. I paid her for the night. Ask her if I hurt her. She'll tell you. We were playing a game."
"Those games didn't end well for the others, though, did they?" Mel removed pictures from her folder one at a time and laid them on the table. "What about Donna Leonard? She looked pretty rough when they found her."
His eyes registered interest for a second, then nothing. "I don't know her." His face was once again an emotionless mask.
She spread out the other photos. "Rhonda Jensen? Linda Mains? Sissy Warsaw?"
Webb's gaze flickered from the pictures back to her, and he simply stared.
"What was the significance of the cheerleader uniforms? Did you date a cheerleader in high school? Did the relationship not end well?"
"My mom was a cheerleader." He smiled. "I saw her yearbook pictures. Sometimes she wore her hair in pigtails. Do you ever wear pigtails?"
"Not exactly my style. So Dick, we keep going back to your mom. You speak of her fondly. Why in the world did you want to kill her?"
His face registered confusion. "What do you mean?"
Mel leaned in and spoke clearly. "I mean, why did you take a knife and slice her throat? Was it because of the man she was with? Were you unhappy that she cheated on your dad?"
"I don't remember. Was that before I went in the hospital? Those doctors did things to my mind. I forgot lots of stuff."
"You don't remember slicing your mom's throat from ear to ear, and sitting in her blood until your dad came home?"
He smiled pleasantly, his face still blank.
She tapped the table near Sissy's picture. "Sissy Warsaw was the last victim. She was a waitress, not a hooker, did you know that? Did you meet her at Daily Joe?"
"Your eyes are pretty. Not the same color as my mom's, but still pretty. You should wear more makeup."
"You like makeup, Dick? Sissy wore a lot of it. Did you like that? Is that why you chose her?"
"My mom's breasts were bigger than yours, but otherwise you're about the same size."
"Son-of-a-bitch," Nate muttered.
Mel seemed to take it in stride. "Now that's kind of disturbing. Did you see your mother's breasts, Dick?"
He licked his lips.
Nate's jaw dropped. "Holy Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Realization dawned on him at the same time it must have struck Mel. He clenched his fists into tight balls.
"Oh my God!" Mel leaned forward again. "Did you do things with her when she was naked?"
His face reddened. "She was mine. That guy shouldn't have been there."
"Oh, Dick," Mel's face fell. "That's so wrong. You were just a boy. Your mother should have never allowed that to happen."
"She was mine," he repeated fiercely.
"Did your dad know? I can't believe he would have—"
"Daddy mustn't know!" he shouted.
Nate jumped. He cleared his throat. He would have been embarrassed except both Mel and Gray jumped too.
Webb was shackled to the chair at his hands and feet, and the chair was bolted to the concrete floor. He still managed to rock back and forth. "Daddy mustn't know! Daddy mustn't know!"
"Dick." Mel tried to calm him. "Stop it. You'll hurt yourself."
Tears streamed down his face. "I never told him, Mama. I swear I never told him. Hold me, Mama. Please hold me."
Nate sensed Mel's pain. Child abuse was horrendous enough, but when the child's own mother was the perpetrator, it was nearly too much to bear. He didn't blame Mel for having a soft heart. But the damage to Dick Webb was done. He needed serious professional help, and there was nothing they
could do for him except see that he'd never be free to hurt anyone again.
He also needed a doctor. Blood oozed through the bandage on the man's arm.
"This is over." Nate went to next room and opened the door. "Let's go." He motioned to Mel.
"I'm not finished," she protested.
A voice from behind replied, "Yes, you are."
Nate turned to see Burton Webb and a man in an expensive blue suit who had to be a lawyer. They stood next to Captain Gray. The attorney spoke. "Mr. Webb has no further comment."
* * * *
Nate paced in front of Mel's desk. "He admitted nothing."
Mel folded her arms across her chest. "He made one startling admission."
He paused to look at her. "I know. That was bad. It actually does wrap up a few loose ends. Trish Burton had an inappropriate relationship with her teenaged son. She didn't know about his undiagnosed mental condition, and ended up dying because of it. He wasn't in the hospital long enough to heal. He's never gotten over it. Webb is killing his mother over and over again when he dresses these women in a cheerleader's uniform."
"But why these women? The reports said Trish was in her thirties when she died. Why is Webb choosing fifty years olds to dress up and murder?"
Nate shook his head. "I don't know. That might be a question for the prosecutors to answer. It's in their hands now."
"I suppose." She rubbed her hands over her arms.
Nate sighed. Mel looked as tired as he felt. It was only one p.m., but they'd had a busy day. "Hungry? It's past lunch time."
She screwed up her face. "Not at all."
Reeder approached and glanced at Nate. "You still here?"
"Leaving soon," he said. He wanted to say get off my ass but never would.
"You started those reports yet?" Reeder asked Mel.
"Just getting ready to."
He nodded and walked away.
Nate rolled his eyes. "We're taking a break. Come on." He led her by the small of the back to the door.
"Where are we going?"
"Away from here. We need to clear our heads."
She stopped walking. "No, I need to get busy processing evidence. I have a lot to do."
"Mel." He squeezed her wrist. "There's nothing that has to be done now. Everything is under control. For the sake of your mental health, you've got to get out of here for a while. One hour. Come on. The work will still be here when you get back."
She looked around, then shrugged. "I guess you're right. I could use a break to clear my mind."
They walked to his SUV and he drove to her house.
"What are we doing?" Mel asked. "I thought we were getting something to eat?"
He smiled. "You said you weren't hungry. I decided on an alternative way to spend the hour."
"Nate, no." She planted her feet on the floorboard and refused to get out. "I can't think about this yet."
He walked around to her side and opened the door.
"Melanie, listen to me. Every part of the case is in someone else's hands right now. Yes, you'll have more work to do later, but for the next hour, we're going to set it all aside. I'm not sure yet when I have to leave. The chief wants me to come back immediately. I'd rather go tomorrow, so we can have one more night. But it's not certain yet."
She gazed at him sadly. "So I'd better grab this opportunity while I can?"
He smiled and shrugged. "I just know I want to hold you. It's been an exhilarating, exhausting day so far. Not sure what lies ahead. So for now, I just want to hold you."
She took his hand and stepped out of the SUV. They went inside and undressed, and without saying anything, both headed straight for the shower.
Mel pinned her hair into a bun and climbed in. She adjusted the water temperature and reached for the soap.
Nate slipped in and drew the curtain. He inhaled as she ran the smooth bar over his skin tenderly, taking care not to miss an inch. By the time she'd finished, he was so aroused he could barely stand the excitement.
He took the soap and lathered her in return. His hands glided over her smooth, slick flesh and he couldn't resist squeezing every so often.
Mel smiled and before he'd finished, pressed her body against his.
He groaned, dropping the soap back in the dish. They kissed and turned slowly in a circle so the water could rinse them. They pulled apart long enough to remove the last of the lather, then he shut the water off. With one towel wrapped around them both, they shuffled to the bed and tossed off the covers before falling in.
"Want you," she murmured, their lips pressed together.
"Want you more." He grinned and kissed at the same time. Nate reached for a condom and sheathed himself before plunging forward and satisfying them both.
"Yes!" Mel clung to him, allowing her head to loll back. "Oh, yes."
"Not going to take long," he muttered through gritted teeth. "You and that soap got me all revved up."
"Me too," she murmured, bucking in rhythm with his thrusts.
Nate's insides churned; he was close. "Damn," he sputtered. "Feels too good."
"Come on," she encouraged. "I don't want to be the only one going to heaven this trip."
"All aboard!" he called and they erupted in laughter. It was short-lived. His climax overtook him and all he could do was hold on and somehow try to keep breathing.
Mel's gasping, panting breaths added fuel to his fire. He rocked her until they both collapsed onto the bed, holding each other tight.
He eventually had to move to keep from crushing her. He chucked the used rubber into the trash can and spooned her, his chest to her back.
Mel clutched his arms as he cradled her.
"Damn," he murmured in her ear. "How can each time be so much better than the last?"
"Because we're perfect together. A week ago, we didn't know one another. Now, the only thing I don't know is how I'm going to survive without you."
He kissed her ear. "You won't be without me. I don't want this to end, Melanie Curtis. I figure we can handle things in one of two ways."
She turned her face up. "Do tell."
Nate smiled. "We can be sad and miserable, and mope around because we're not together. Or, we can say, 'Hey. A week ago we didn't know each other. Now we do, and the future has never looked brighter'." He nibbled her lobe until she squirmed. "We can make it exciting, figuring out times and places we can meet. We won't be together every day, but when we are … zoingo!"
She laughed. "Nate, you're so funny. You put such a spin on everything. It amazes me."
"I try my hardest to delight you, m'lady."
"You do. You really do."
He rolled up on one arm and looked down at her. "Seriously, Mel. We have to make choices in life. We choose whether we're going to be happy or sad. I prefer happy. You make me happy. I choose to figure out how to make this work with you."
"I want to be happy too. I haven't quite wrapped my head around how we're going to make this work, but if you think we can, I believe you. You're a very smart man, Nathan Willis. I trust you with all my heart."
He pressed a light kiss to her lips. "This is going to be great. I'm already looking forward to sneaking away for the weekend with you." He hoped she didn't notice he was trying too hard. He didn't know what else to do.
They held each other a while longer before reluctantly rising and getting dressed. Nate said, "I'll drop you off at the office since your car is there. Don't think I'd better come in, though. Reeder's ready for me to be gone."
She wrapped her fingers around one of his lapels. "Reeder's not going to miss your kisses. I am." She fingered his rough cheek and gave him one last buss.
"Happy, remember? Excited for the future?"
"Right." She nodded, and pulled a key from her dresser drawer. "Here's a house key for you so you can come and go."
"Thanks." He grinned. "That makes me happy."
"Me too." She didn't sound particularly cheery.
Nate had a lot of work to do.
>
* * * *
He left Mel at the police department and drove to a local mall to do some shopping. He wanted to find something special for her. He also wanted to pick up a few clothes to leave at her place. It had been ages since he strolled through a mall without a case weighing on his mind. He'd almost forgotten how nice it could be.
In between buying jeans for himself and fragrant bubble bath for her, his phone rang. He recognized the number. Mel. "Willis," he gave his stock answer.
"Hello Agent Willis. This is Detective Curtis. I'm just sitting here thinking about you and getting all happy. What are you doing?"
"Buying presents for you, which is making me pretty damned happy, too."
"Presents? Ooh, I like presents. I can't believe you went shopping without me."
"I'll bring you along next time. We'll stop and buy an Orange Julius, and maybe get some ice cream."
"I can't wait. So what are you buying me?"
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise. You'll find out tonight."
"Good! Speaking of tonight, I called Cappie to tell him about the case, and he wants to hear all about it. What would you think about grabbing a beer with the team and maybe a bite to eat at Morgan's? Everyone wants to celebrate. Brady will even come for a little while."
"If you'd like to do that, it's fine with me. We'll have the rest of the night to ourselves."
She breathed an audible sigh. "Thank goodness. I was hoping you wouldn't have to leave before tomorrow."
He didn't tell her, but he'd already spoken to his chief about staying the few extra days through the weekend. The chief wasn't thrilled, but Nate knew it would be okay. Provided there isn't a zombie apocalypse or some other tragedy that requires my immediate attention.
He'd surprise her with the news that night. Maybe she could even get a day or two off by the end of the week, now that Webb was under lock and key. The thought of spending time with Mel, unencumbered by work, aroused the hell out of him. With more shopping left to do, he tamped down the feeling and said, "Want to go home and change after work? We can take one car to Morgan's. No reason to hide our relationship since we're not working together anymore."
"I'll do that. Enjoy the rest of your shopping excursion. And remember, you can never go wrong with chocolate."