Obsession

Suspect: Chapter 48

 Gabriel pushed the food around his plate, his mind elsewhere and far away from the company of his father and Regina.

Regina had taken a breather after Jeremiah had visited her at the precinct. She had not eaten a proper meal since Lynette Isaacs' body was found at Dudley Park and Nico Hoffman went missing. So much had gone down within the last four days that she simply could not find the time to take proper care of herself.

She had been living on coffee, energy drinks, doughnuts, bagels, and croissants. Foods that were easy to swallow, easy to eat on the move. She had barely slept a full hour the last four days, dozing for minutes at a time even while on shift. The station had become her temporary home and the only time she ever returned to her own place was to shower and get a fresh change of clothes.

She looked miserable and tired but her drive to catch the killer had spurred her on, kept her adrenaline pumping.

Until Jeremiah Hastings had come to the station and seen the condition she was in. He had put his foot down, demanding that she join him for dinner later that evening. And she could manage at least three hours of rest while waiting for those favours she had called in to get back to her. He had dragged her out of the precinct at around three that afternoon when she returned from the city after visiting with Kayleigh Brewster of the university's I.T. department.

Regina had the tapes but had not yet gotten the chance to go through it. She had, however, assigned Kirkpatrick to the task before she was dragged out of the precinct for a much needed and appreciated break, one that Kirkpatrick supported and was no help in siding with her. Kirkpatrick had practically pushed her out of her office. Told her that the tapes and case were in good hands, and she could afford to take a few hours.

Gabriel had been preoccupied all day. He was there but not really there.

He had been waiting by the phone all day since Duncan's visit and even after Duncan had requested a meeting at half-past four the very next day, he still waited by the phone in case Duncan needed clarification on something or had learned new information that he felt compelled to share. Gabriel had been uneasy knowing that Duncan was out there by himself, investigating into S.A. and he worried if there was a slight chance that S.A. knew.

His phone pinged drawing his attention away from the food on his plate. It was a message from the same number that had texted him the night before.

The message read: Nico's dead. I killed him.

The fork slipped from his grip and clattered to the table bringing an abrupt pause to the conversation between Regina and his father. They turned to look at him, concern immediately flitting through their eyes at the pallor that had suddenly blanched Gabriel's face.

"Gabe," Regina called quietly. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Gabriel's jaw tensed and his hand shook. Not only from shock and disbelief but in rage and cold horror. When he did not respond, Regina reached over and plucked the phone from his grip, her eyes scanning the five-word message.

She stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the wooden floor as she fished out her own mobile and made a call to Kirkpatrick.

While on the phone, Jeremiah slipped his son's mobile out of Regina's hand and viewed the message. No words were good enough to explain what he was thinking or feeling in that moment other than shock, and he worried more about the mental state of his son. Jeremiah turned to Gabriel as Regina issued orders for the parents of Nico Hoffman to be informed, and for the police at the scene to cordon off the that wing of the hospital, particularly Nico's room.

"Gabe," Jeremiah said.

"I told him not to kill Nico."

"Him? You said that like you know the killer."