Disclaimers: Go to Part I for disclaimers on this story.

Comments to darkstone@sprynet.com. No bad mouthin, lippy, attitude stuff. Honest criticism would be appreciated.

Detective Frank Rhyne stared glumly at the mound of paperwork burying his desk at the Justice Center. It just doesnt pay to take vacations, he thought. Leave - even for a measly day - and all hell breaks loose.

The police detective flipped through yet another file dealing with an armed robbery on the north side. He took a sip of his cold coffee and grimaced. "Ugh!" He glared balefully at the offending mug as he set it back down on the blotter. "Traitor." He picked up the file again and continued reading.

The phone on his desk buzzed. Saved by the bell! He picked up the handset and shoved it between his ear and shoulder. "Detective Rhyne..... Really? Who? Alright, send her up." He hung up the phone and rose. Stretching the kinks out of his back, he picked up the objectionable mug and lumbered towards the coffee machine located by the elevators. Visitors were a good thing.

By the time Rhyne had finished making the perfect cup of coffee, his guest stepped off the elevator and looked around. While her back was turned, he admired the long legs and dark hair, perfect rear. The womans black slacks were well tailored, as was the burgundy blazer she wore. He sighed, reminding himself he was married and she wasnt interested in him anyway. The man braced himself as he watched her turn his way, the pale blue eyes shocking his system despite the fact he should hav "Xe!" he bellowed. "Whaddya up to?" He moved forward and shook her hand. "Coffee?"

"No thanks, Frank," Xena answered. "Hows it going?"

"Well, you know how it is, Xe. A little of this, little of that." The detective lead the woman back to his desk and gestured for her to take a seat. "Dont mind the mess," he offered, indicating the mountain of paperwork.

The woman chuckled. "Was the vacation worth it?" she teased.

"Hmmmm..... Give me a couple of days and Ill get back to you on that." He took an appreciative sip of his coffee and set the mug down. "So, to what do I owe this visit? Work or pleasure?" He leered at her, wiggling his eyebrows.

She leered back at him. "Work, of course. Your wife is a hellcat and jealous to boot. I aint going there."

Rhyne let out an explosive breath, frowning. "Damn it! Gonna have to get that woman under control!" He smiled at the brunette before him. "So, work it is. Is it something I can do or something that Im going to get in trouble for?"

Xena looked pensive for a moment. She had spent a good portion of the night working on a plan of action. First, she had to shut down the easier avenues in her search. "The latter, I think." Her blue eyes studied him as the smile left his face. "I need to look at your female mug shots, Frank, and I cant tell you why."

"Jesus, Xe! You know the captain hates your guts! If he catches you messing with files, Im dead meat! Bye bye, promotion!"

The woman shrugged nonchalantly. "I have it on good authority that Captain Baines has left for a long lunch with a friend. Usually, these lunches last about two hours." She leaned forward and stared at Rhyne intently. "Cmon, Frank, you know I can be in and out in less than an hour. Hell never even know I was here."

The detective shift uncomfortably under her gaze. She was right. As usual. And, he owed her. Hell, she took a bullet for me. He sighed and scrubbed at his face, frowning unhappily at his coffee. Coming to a decision, he nodded, smiled, and stood up. "Come on, then. The sooner you get started, the sooner youre outta here."

Xena returned the smile. "Thanks, Frank, I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, well just remember that next time I need a favor."

"Oh, I will, I will!"

Rhyne led her to a desk on the other side of the room. Above it were shelves of large binders. He pulled one down and opened it up. Several photos of women looked back up at him. "All these," he indicated the black binders, "are female suspects. The blue ones are male. Happy searching."

"Great! Thanks!" The woman pulled out a chair and settled in.

"Sure you cant tell me why? It might help narrow down the search....."

"Um, no, I cant, Frank. You know how it is, client confidentiality and all that," Xena lied.

The detective grunted in acknowledgement. "Well, Ill be at my desk if you need me. And I didnt let you in here, should Captain Baines return from his lunch early."

"Understood."

The man shook his head in amusement and wandered back to the mountain on his desk. He sat down heavily, took another gulp of coffee, and began to wade through the files.

An hour had gone by when he heard someone call out a welcome to the captain. Shit! His eyes darted to the table he had left Xena. The table was empty. All binders were in place. He silently whispered a prayer of thanks to whatever god was listening and got back to work. Taking a sip of his now cold coffee, he grimaced and glared balefully at the mug.

Xena pushed through the glass door of the Old Town/Chinatown Police station and approached the desk. Her search at the Justice Center had been successful. She had one piece of the puzzle. Now for the next one.

"Officer Holt, please," she inquired of the desk sergeant.

"Yeah, sure, Xe, hold on," the sergeant said, picking up the phone. He spoke into it and hung up. "Hell be right out."

"Thanks, sergeant," Xena smiled. She idly wandered back to the window and stared out at the street. As she waited, the Max line trundled past. She automatically scanned the few people boarding and unboarding the public train, searching for a familiar young woman.

"Xe?"

She turned around with a smile. "Emil! How are you?"

Returning the smile, the officer said, "Great! And yourself? Been getting enough work?"

"Oh, cant complain. Lots to keep me occupied." She dropped her voice. "Of course, this is a business call."

Holt sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Of course," he agreed. "Lets go back to my desk. You want a soda or something?"

Xena declined and the two headed further into the station, finally stopping at a rather neat desk. He offered her a chair, and she gracefully sat down, waiting for Holt to settle himself.

"Well, what can I do ya for?" the officer finally asked.

"Im looking for information on a young woman. She has a record and I need to see it." She watched Holt raise his eyebrow and she raised her hands and shook her head. "Client confidentiality," she intoned.

The young man pursed his lips thoughtfully and stared off into space. He knew he could help. Probably wouldnt get into too much trouble. Hell, pretty sure bet I wont even get caught passing the information out. Still, cant make it too easy. "Whats it worth to ya?"

Xena raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

"Babysitting."

The dark woman rolled her eyes and looked disgusted. "Oh, please! Your rugrats?! Do you think I have the patience of Job, or something?" Her blue eyes twinkled and she fought to keep the smile from her lips.

Holt tried to look offended and failed miserably. Chuckling, he shrugged. "Thats the offer on the table, lady. I have Saturday off and would like some alone time with the spouse, if ya catch my drift."

His visitor considered quietly, studying the officer with pursed lips and tilted head. Leaning forward, she said, "Okay, Saturday, noon, your place. Ill bring the steaks and hot dogs. Well have a nice barbecue lunch in the back yard and then the boys and I disappear to the Fun Center or a movie or something." She raised her finger in mock severity as the officer brightened and opened his mouth. "There are conditions!" She held up her finger. "One, Marjorie fixes that wicked potato Holt laughed. "I can guarantee the first condition, Xe, but the second.....? Youre asking a lot!"

"Alright, alright, just one condition then!" She leaned back in her chair, waving irritably. Then she grinned.

"Its a deal!"

The tall brunette stepped out of the police station in satisfaction. Piece two in place, she thought. At least she knew why the kid probably hadnt gone to the cops. Street kids usually dont have much to do with police unless forced into it.

Xena strolled to her black Mustang and mentally reviewed the information she had gleaned from Holt. Rickie Gardner, nineteen years old, had been in trouble for at least three years in Portland, alone. There were some things on her rap sheet from North Dakota, so chances were that she had run away from there. No runaway report ever filed - making her a throwaway kid. Most of the charges were shoplifting and drug charges, with the occasional loitering and curfew violations. Few times in JD, probation Last known address was the Greenhouse off of Burnside, a youth shelter. But that was a couple of months ago. With the weather turning nice lately, chances were she wasnt involved with the Greenhouse program, right now. Kids had a tendency to live for the moment, especially if they were wild ones. The woman smirked. And she should know wild childhoods. Hers probably had been a hell of a lot wilder than most of these kids would ever see!

She turned off the alarm on her convertable and climbed in. Time to play a little hide and seek. Fortunately, chances were that the kid was in the downtown area. Most of the street kids were. Either that or the Hawthorne district on the southeast side. Xena put on her sunglasses and started the engine. She slowly pulled into traffic, mind actively churning at the problem.

A half hour later, Xena was dressed in shorts, tank top, and roller blades. There was just too much distance to cover on foot, yet a vehicle search wouldnt get her any closer to her quarry. This way, shed have access to search under bridges and along walkways. She adjusted the fanny pack at her waist, settled her sunglasses on her tan face, and began the search along Waterfront Park, dodging pedestrians, bicyclists, and Rose Festival workers.

Approximately twenty blocks away, the object of the search was excitedly speaking with a friend near the park blocks.

"No! Damn it, Im serious! I saw that serial killer last night!"

The pretty Phillipino girl rolled her brown eyes expressively. "Sure, Dreamer..... Whatever." She shook her head in dismay and grinned at the strawberry blonde.

Rickie Gardner frowned in frustration, green eyes snapping. She kicked angrily at a pebble, sailing it into the street.

The two girls were currently sitting in the shade on the steps of a large golden bricked church. A few feet away three other youths were smoking cigarettes and playing with a leashed german shepherd puppy. Directly across the street was a park, several blocks long, with each block a green oasis for the downtown residents. Various people were enjoying the day - an elderly Asian couple sat in the sun on a bench; two small boys were playing ball with an older man; a few business people were enjoying lunc Rickie growled and ran her hands through her shoulder length hair. "Well, I did, Tara!" she insisted.

The girl next to her shook her head in disbelief. "Look, dont get me wrong, but I know you scored some cid off of Alex yesterday." She peered at her friend. "Didnt you?"

"Yeah. So?"

"And, you did take it last night, didnt you?"

There was an angry shrug, and green eyes glared at the brunette. "What about it?" she demanded.

"So, you went out to your haunt at the Arboretum to party, thats all," Tara also shrugged, albeit less violently. She heard her friend snort in disgust. "Come on, Dreamer," she continued. "Tell me, did you wake up this morning knowing that you saw this murder? Or did something kinda, you know, trigger it?"

Green eyes grew distant as she considered this question. True, she hadnt given what she had seen a second thought when she woke up at the squat today. It wasnt until later, during a quick breakfast of convenience store coffee and doughnuts that she saw the newspaper.... SERIAL KILLER STRIKES AGAIN victim unknown Her eyes narrowed in confusion and concentration. "You think thats what happened?" she asked her friend.

The brunette sighed subtly in relief. "Yeah, thats exactly what I think happened." She chuckled and rubbed the blondes back gently. "They dont call you Dreamer for nothing, ya know."

Rickie took a deep breath and let the tension go. Maybe that was it. Her way over-active imagination picked up the headline and ran with it. Had to have been. Why else would the killer have let her get away like that? The girl picked at the strings of her ragged knee length cut offs. Id have been dead in seconds if Id really seen anything, she mused. And now, she couldnt even see the womans face. All she could remember were the icy blue eyes. Gods, they were beautif "You okay?"