My Beautiful Doll

Chapter Four

Sometimes Don hated being right.

After a few short interviews in the neighbourhood who all said the exact same thing, he decided to go back to the office. He figured he should start by looking for the contact number of the lead agent, along with finding a way to transfer all the evidence in a short time.

It didn't take long for him to reach the office. He decided to grab a cup of coffee from the break room before walking into the war room. Taking the notebook out of his pocket, he looked over everything he knew so far.

So far, there's not really a lot to go on. Annalise Rogers wasn't a sociable person. Not a lot of friends, no mentions of a boyfriend or a possible partner anywhere. Don rubbed at his temples, then again, when it comes to this case, everything can be thrown out the window. The killer is about as unpredictable as Larry's tangents. Hmm...maybe it's best if I start by trying to find out who this "doll" is, if we know who they are, we might have better luck catching this-

Don blinked in surprise once he looked up from his notes, standing dumbfounded at the entrance to the war room. Every visible inch of the desks were piled high with boxes of files and evidence. "What the hell..."

Suddenly another agent popped up from behind a stack of boxes, with another stack in his arms. "Oh...I'm sorry, were you going to use the room? I was hoping to meet another agent here but you're welcome to use it while I wait."

Don was frozen, somewhat stunned. He was pretty sure this agent didn't work in this office. Don had never seen him around. "I'm sorry, Who are you?"

The man looked a bit sheepish. He placed the stack of boxes on a nearby chair, went over to Don and held out his hand. "I apologize, I'm Special Agent Rick Baker. I'm the agent in charge of the Artist case."

Don's eyes lit up in recognition. "Right". The agent's name came up multiple times as the lead investigator. He took over a few years ago and has been hunting for the serial killer since. "Don Eppes. I guess I'm the agent you were looking for", he said, shaking the man's hand, taking this opportunity to observe the man.

The other agent was quite a few inches taller and looked to be a few years older. He had tan skin and was built like a quarterback, similar to Colby. He was wearing a standard suit along with a silver watch on his left arm. His brown hair was somewhat messy and went past his ears, giving him a more relaxed and friendly air, which contrasted with the sharp and intelligent look in the man's green eyes. The same eyes which were currently looking up and down at Don, no doubt observing him too. Then, the man's face broke into a bright smile. "Ah, the famous Agent Eppes, I was wondering if I'd ever get to see you in person."

"Famous?" While Don knew that he held a somewhat decent solve rate (not counting the ones he had when he was in a team), he was pretty sure he wasn't that well known in the FBI.

Agent Baker had an amused smile on his face, "Of course, didn't you know? They call you one of the best agent's in LA". Something in his gut told him that the man wasn't lying. Don could feel his face heat up a bit. He was never really that good with receiving compliments.

"They're probably just exaggerating" he replied, waving his hand around, trying to dispel the slight uncomfortableness that came with the praise. He saw a look flash past the other agent's eyes before disappearing. Huh, what was that?

But before he could think about it any longer, Agent Baker suddenly threw his arm around Don's shoulders and started talking up a storm. His skin prickled uncomfortably at the unwanted contact. He supposed the other agent did it out of habit, he did seem like the overly familiar type. And while Don doesn't completely hate contact per se, a part of him wanted to remove it this time. He just needed to find a polite way to do so. Because contrary to what his family and team thought, he wasn't a complete ass all the time, just when it was needed.

He was so focused on the arm that he almost missed the tail end of what the older agent was saying. "- too? That's a rare find, almost as rare as a diamond. Don't you agree?". The man threw a smile his way.

"Uh, yeah" Don replied, although he had no context about what the man was asking. Too focused on the sudden odd feeling in his gut that came back again. I guess with a case as intense as this, you tend to always be on high alert and perceive everything as something suspicious. Ian and Coop are going to have an aneurysm if they find out. That or they would kill him. A part of him hoped it was the former. But then he remembered about his family and team. Scratch that, they would collectively murder me, Julius Caesar style.

"Hey, are you okay? You spaced out a bit"

"Hmmm?" Don looked up at the older agent's worried face. "Don't worry, I'm fine" he said, "just thinking about the case". He took the opportunity to gently remove the offending arm from his shoulder. "I mean, why LA of all places?".

The older agent looked somber. "Well, I'm guessing you haven't gotten the memo yet". His hand reached for one of the files next to him and handed them over to Don. "After the last murder, he sent a letter to the office stating that his string of murders in LA would be his last. We suspect that he might be after someone, and that the person is located here".

Opening the file, a note was printed on the first page.

Dear Agents,

We've had a wonderful run together. But alas, all good things must come to an end. I have decided to retire after this next exhibition. After all, what kind of husband would I be if I was too busy to spend time with my soon-to-be spouse? Once I retrieve what was rightfully mine, we will disappear. I'm sure you'll be grateful to have me out of your hair. And as for me? I will enjoy every waking second I have with my beautiful doll. I wish you all the best.

Best Regards,

The Artist

Don sighed. That means that now is our last chance to catch this son of a bitch. "Do you have any clue as to who this 'doll' even is? If we locate them, we can find out the identity of the killer"

The other agent shook his head. "The Artist always compares his victims to them, but he's never been specific. The only thing we know is that this person is in LA and that they were there since the beginning of the case. This person also has a job and is prone to getting hurt, since there were multiple instances when he either congratulates or shows his worries about them in his letters".

"I guess that's better than nothing. He probably doesn't want us issuing protection on this person". Which means that that angle is a bust, at least for now. Turning around, he looked into one of the files. "I'm guessing these are all the files you have so far on him?"

Agent Baker nodded, "Yep, I had them transferred here as soon as we realized he was going to hit LA. I was hoping to get a head start before he struck but unfortunately..."

"He hit first," Don replied. "He was probably out by the time you found the body". Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Alright, I think the best thing we should do now is to sort and look through all of this while we wait for a friend of mine from the LAPD to come in with the evidence from the new scene". Don looked up at the other agent, an apologetic smile on his face, "I hope you're not thinking about sleeping anytime soon, because we'll be here for a while."

"Oh don't worry, after this, I don't plan on sleeping for a long time".