Southern Bouquet

Aeliana

Cooper and Wade worked a case eight months ago in California at Runyon Canyon Park. The body of a young woman with multiple stab wounds was found by a hiker in the early morning hours. Her first name was Aeliana, from a small town in Georgia. What she was doing in California, they never were able to find out. He and Cooper tracked where she was killed back to a vacant home in East Hollywood. The homeowners were an elderly couple that recently passed and no one was left to claim stakes on the property. So, it was just sitting there, waiting to be auctioned off.

In the basement of the house was the body of a middle-aged woman named Rose. She was from a small town in Tennesee. Still, no known reason she was in California, either. She, too, was stabbed multiple times. Wade and Cooper spent months trying to piece together any type of clues that would lead them to the killer. They ended up frustrated, stressed, and overworked and ended up at a bar one night to unwind. Cooper drank too much and ended up causing a scene in the bar, overflowing to the patio behind the bar, and then disappearing the remainder of the night. The next morning Wade found Cooper hungover at a cheap motel with a woman half his age. This wouldn't have been an issue if Cooper wasn't married and Wade made that very clear.

The next day the two met back at the crime scene to look for more evidence but Wade was still pissed about how Cooper acted the night before. The two of them agreed to call other agents if ever in one another's towns on a case.

****

Wade didn't make the connection until Anthony involved Daisy.

"I need you to find me everything you can on the personal life of Anthony Walker." Wade told Cooper.

"The movie producer?" Cooper asked.

"Yes. And get a car to the airport. I'll be landing in L.A. by 6:00 tonight."

Cooper hung up and Wade dialed the attorney's number.

"Wade, where are you? I thought I was meeting you back here at the warehouse?" He said without saying hello.

"I'm headed to the airport, Mike. I am 99% sure Anthony was involved in two other murders that took place eight months ago in L.A." Wade stated.

"Ok so what do you need from me?" Mike asked.

"Just keep an eye on Jake. Make sure he doesn't do anything that would give them a reason to charge him."

"Ok, so I'm babysitting now. I hope you know what you're doing, Wade." Mike stated and ended the call.

*****

It was 6:27 pm when the car pulled up to Anthony Walker's movie set. Wade walked through the front doors and was immediately greeted by a security guard.

"Can I help you, sir?" The security guard stood from behind his desk.

Wade showed his badge and the guard allowed him to walk by without question. He came to another desk that was offset to a door. The desk was made from oak, polished, and lined with golden trim. A young woman stood behind it greeting him with a smile.

"Are you here for the auditions? They're just right down," she was interrupted by Wade.

"No. I need in Anthony Walker's office."

The woman's face skewed in confusion. "I'm sorry but that's off-limits."

He took his badge out, she eyed it for a minute and looked back up at him. She waited as if she was considering to deny him access but grabbed keys, walked out from behind her desk, and motioned for him to follow her down a long hallway.

She stopped at a door, pushed a key into the lock, twisted and pushed open the door, stepping back so he could enter.

"I'll just be at my desk if you need anything else." She stated walking off without waiting for a response.

Wade cautiously scanned the room before walking to the desk and going through every drawer, file, notebook, script, and folder in it. He closed the drawers and began sifting through the mess on top of the desk. Nothing. He walked over to a bookcase and started pulling each book out one by one and flipping through the pages. Finally, a slip of paper floated to the floor as he flipped through one of the last few books left. Kneeling to pick it up, he noticed an address written on it. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Cooper and waited.

"I'm just heading to the receptionist now." He said into the phone.

Wade walked out into the hall and waited to see him approach the desk.

"Down here, Coop." He called to him.

The woman looked at Wade and then at Cooper in confusion. She followed Cooper to where Wade was waiting and asked, "Can I ask why the FBI is interested in Mr. Walker?"

Cooper turned to her and said, "Sure you can ask. But as of right now, we can't tell you."

She nodded slowly and walked back to her desk. The guys walked inside, closing the door behind them. Wade handed the paper to Cooper,

"Why does this address look familiar? It fell out of one of his books."

Cooper glanced at the slip of paper,

"This is the address for the girl we found in that basement."

"Rose?" Wade questioned.

"Yes." Cooper confirmed.

Wade pulled his phone back out and sent his team a text asking for Anthony's home address. Within seconds his phone dinged notifying him of the reply.

"Let's go. We're heading to his house. You're driving, I was dropped off." Wade said as he was exiting the office.

He nodded at the receptionist as they walked by and thanked the guard as they exited the building.