Chapter Thirty Three:
"My arm is asleep." A voice complained, more loud the second time. "Hey, Theo, I can't feel my arm."
Theodora peeled her eyes open, blinking slowly as she sat up. She was on the couch, Malcolm slouched into the cushions underneath her. "Huh?"
"You've been sleeping on my arm. It's now asleep."
"Oh." Her mouth formed a line, she rubbed her eyes and flopped to the other side of the couch. He sat up, stretching out his arms. "Sorry."
He shrugged, shaking his head. "Are you alright?"
"Ya—"
His eyebrows narrowed, "I know you're lying."
"Than why bother asking?"
Malcolm snorted, "Are you gonna tell me what he said to you."
"It wasn't important. Just trying to get into my head."
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Did you sleep?" She asked, changing the subject. "At all?"
He shook his head, the bags under his eyes darker than before.
Theodora pulled herself off of the couch, glancing at the clock. "It's almost noon, I'm sure we should've been with Gil and the others way before now. I'm gonna go shower and get ready, I can meet you at the precinct if you want to go back to your place and clean up."
He stood up, adjusting his suit. He brought his sleeve up to his nose and sniffed, "Smells ok. I'm ready."
She glared at him, "I'll meet you there, Mal."
Malcolm rolled his eyes, "Okay. Okay. Fine, I'll leave. I thought I was good company, but..."
"You are. The best."
Another eye roll as he approached the front door, "See you there."
He swung the door open and slipped through, closing it gently. Theodora walked over and flipped the lock, immediately heading to the bathroom where she switched the faucet of the tub on and felt her hand under the stream of water until it warmed.
It took only ten minutes for her to her shower, and five minutes to get dressed. She wore a long black sleeved shirt with a black overall dress she found hanging in her closet. Theodora braided her wet hair in two on either side, tying them off and flipping them over her shoulders. Theodora dragged a chair from the kitchen to the bathroom and sat down crossed legged, staring in the mirror. Laying out her makeup she grabbed her foundation and squeezed some onto her hand, grabbing a beauty blender, applying it to her face.
Ten minutes later she watched herself, her makeup completed. She finished it off with a dark red lip, giving herself a smile in the mirror.
"Today's gonna be fine." She told herself, slowly getting up. "It's gonna be fun. You're fine, you're cool. You are cooool."
With a nod she wandered out, collecting her wallet, keys and phone. She clicked all the lights off and slipped out the door, locking it before making her way down the hallway and the stairs. It was more on the cold side, but it felt nice on Theodora's face. She breathed it in, glad she wasn't in her stuffy overly hot apartment.
Why she hadn't kicked Malcolm out last night, she didn't know. Instead she cried on his shoulder until she passed out, rambling words that didn't make sense. And he had listened, holding her tighter the louder she sobbed. Theodora was surprised he stayed, letting her sleep against him all night. As usual, he said he hadn't slept. The bags under his eyes were growing deeper, his sanity crumbling away with every all nighter.
He didn't deserve Martin Whitly as a father, yet again, nobody did.
You look just like her.
Theodora shook her head, "Today is going to be fine." She mumbled, walking down the busy streets.
Malcolm was already at the precinct by the time Theodora arrived, she approached the door peeking through the glass. Dani and Malcolm stood in front of the white board, his bandaged shook as the woman leaned over and said something. He chuckled, shaking his head slowly, replying with something Theodora couldn't read.
She quietly opened the door and slid in, shutting the door behind her.
"Fletcher." Gil nodded, "How are you?"
"Good."
"Woah." JT snickered, "Someone's dressed up."
Theodora raised an eyebrow, "I'm dressed up?"
"He means you're wearing more makeup than usual. And your hair is done. You're also wearing a dress." Dani chimed in, giving her a smile.
"Theo? In a dress?" Malcolm glanced back at her, "You look nice."
"Gross." JT mumbled.
"How is that gross?"
He gave Theodora a weird look, "I can see it in his eyes. Plus, he's looking at you all... Bright like."
Theodora rolled her eyes, pulling out a chair and flopped down into it. She scouted her way forward so she was right up against the table, staring down at the grains of wood. "Please stop talking." Dani turned and glared at him, "Just... stop."
"Did I miss anything important?"
Malcolm turned around, his hand balanced against his chin. "JT's been talking the entire time. Take a guess."
Dani snickered, while Gil chuckled shaking his head. "No, you didn't."
Malcolm sat next to her, leaning closer. With an amused look on his face he whispered, "See?"
She rolled her eyes, scouting away. "You're an idiot."
"It's nice when someone agrees with me." JT nodded at her, "See?"
Gil tossed a pile of papers on the desk, "This is getting out of hand. Everyone, we need to focus. Did you handle Axel?"
"His alibi checks out. He was in Redhook all night, posted it all on the gram."
Theodora sat up, "Axel was here?"
JT nodded, "As soon as he cleared the area for Bright, he agreed to talk."
"So." Gil cut him off, looking over at Malcolm. "What's your profile?"
"Oh. Yes. Sorry, I... um.."
They all gave him looks of confusion, Theodora only stared forward.
"Axel was right. We're looking for a stalker, one driven by a dangerous mix of infatuation and longing." He paused, reaching over to grab JT's phone from his hands. "Psychologically, a stalker is like an addict, but instead of a drug they're addicted to their obsession. Usually a celebrity. This— This is a delivery mechanism."
Dani leaned back, "Is this a profile or an intervention for JT?"
He tossed the device back to its owner with a small smile, "Our killer is an intimacy longing stalker with erotomaniac delusions. He is obsessed with Tatiana and believes she loved him too."
Theodora grabbed the pages Gil had dropped onto the table, pulling one sheet aside and scanning it. "Are these all her filed restraining orders?"
"We pulled all the ones she filed in the last twelve months." JT pointed, "Quite a pile."
"Thirty-Two over seven countries, it's some real stalker freaks." Dani added.
Malcolm flipped through them, Gil hovering over his shoulder to get a better look. "But are any of them killers? Let's search through the pile—" His gaze landed on JT who was typing loudly on his phone. "Or are we surfing on the internet?"
He stood up, "Looks like a memorial is popping up near Tatiana's place. And boss, nobody surfs the internet anymore."
Theodora jumped up, snatching the phone away. She scrolled through the article, "This is good. This could be a memorial to their obsession, an intimacy seeking stalker would not resist the chance to see this."
Malcolm nodded, taking the phone from her hands and marching towards the doors. "We have to go."
Theodora raced after him, ignoring Gil's protests. "Keep an eye on them, will you?" She could hear him say. Footsteps sounded, followed by JT's voice "I will. Dude's still got my phone."
She snickered as they entered the elevator, JT almost making it before the doors tightly closed. "Do you think the killer will go? Surely they must know that police will be snooping around there."
"People are dumb. Killers more than others, because since they've gotten away with a crime for a certain amount of time they think they're unstoppable."
She glared at him, "People aren't that dumb."
He glanced at her, "You aren't most people, Theo."
The doors open to reveal the parking garage and he marched out, Theodora stared after him. "Excuse me?"
"Come on. We need to hurry."
She ran after him, "I wasn't the one who threw up on Stacy Walker when asking her out!"
Malcolm stopped, turning on his heels, facing her with wide eyes. "You saw that?"
"Mhm. It was gross." She nodded, "Also, in our last year I saw you on your morning run by my dorm when you tripped and face planted in the grass."
He stared at her, "And you never told me any of this?"
Theodora shook her head, "Your chest was scratched and bleeding when you were at my door asking if I had bandages. As if the small ones I had would work."
Footsteps sounded and JT was walking towards them, "Give me my phone."
Malcolm shook his head, "When we get there. I have to read the article—"
"What have you two been doing this entire time?"
"Bickering." Theodora smiled, "Because I am not dumb, Malcolm is."
JT pursed his lips than nodded. "I can agree with this." He pointed to the other side of the parking garage, "My car's over there. Fletcher, you get shotgun. Bright, make yourself comfy in the back."
Theodora flashed a grin at Malcolm before following beside JT.
JT sighed, "You're both a pain in my ass, you know that, right?"
"Yes." Malcolm's voice echoed from behind them, "You've made that very clear, Jim."
Theodora laughed. Maybe today was really going to be fine.
She hoped it would stay that way.