Carlos heard the punching coming from the back of the dojo as he walked in. "Bad day?" he asked, leaning on the doorframe to the back room.

"Very," was all Trent said. He continued punching until finally he stopped and looked at Carlos. "He sits there, with a smug look on his face while they are grilling me about Sam's 'lifestyle'. I just want ten minutes alone with him." His voice dripped with contempt. "You know, if I had the chance to do it over again, I don't know if I would..."

"You would have done it the same way, Trent. As hard as it is now, you know it wasn't up to you to kill him."

"I'm not so sure," Trent mumbled, taking a few more shots at the bag before stopping. "How did things go with you today?"

"I think I found him."

"Really?" Trent's complete attention shifted to Carlos. "What did Walker say?"

"That's the problem," Carlos sighed, taking a seat on Trent's desk. "Walker doesn't really buy into Jess' theory and says they have a couple other suspects they're following. He doesn't have the manpower to cover all of them so it's up to you and I to follow this guy."

"I've still got to testify tomorrow. Then you're up." Trent looked at his friend with concern. "Are you sure it's him?"

"I'd bet money on it. Call it instinct but I'm almost positive." Running his hand through his hair, Carlos asked, "How long do you think you'll be on the stand tomorrow?"

"At the very least, the morning. Probably most of the day. Problem is you have to be there when I finish."

"Yeah, I know. Well, Walker has someone covering this guy tonight but tomorrow we have to figure something out. You think Butch might cover for us?"

Trent thought for a moment. "He might, but he might stand out on campus. We might just have to pick it up in the evening."

Carlos sighed heavily. "I just don't want anything to happen if this is our guy." Trent nodded. Carlos stood and said, "C'mon. Let's go home and we'll figure out what we can do."

Home. The word rang through Trent's mind. Carlos' apartment had become home but he knew it couldn't last for much longer. "Okay," he said, heading for his locker.

**

"Court will reconvene Monday at 9:00 am. Court adjourned." The sound of the gavel echoed throughout the courtroom. Trent walked out beside Carlos and Alex.

"That went well, Gentlemen," Alex told them. "I think things are going our way."

Neither Trent nor Carlos said anything, each deep in their own thoughts. Finally, Carlos spoke. "We will see you later, Alex. We have some business to take care of."

"Okay. I'll see you here in three days, Carlos. Bye for now, Trent." Alex turned and headed towards her office as the two men headed out of the court.

"I've got first watch so, I'll talk to Butch and find out where he is. Why don't you head home?"

"You sure you'll be okay, Carlos? You haven't exactly had a lot of sleep."

"I'll catch up tomorrow when you're watching him. Go home."

Trent smiled. "Okay. Call me if you need back up."

**

It was 8:00 am when Trent approached the Durango. "Coffee?" he asked, handing a large cup to a very bleary-eyed Carlos.

"If you were a woman, I'd kiss you," Carlos said, grabbing the coffee cup hungrily. "Any doughnuts?"

Trent smiled. "Honey-dipped, okay?" he asked as Carlos ripped the bag from his hand.

"Mmmmm....fine...." was all Trent could understand. Finally, after washing down the doughnut with the coffee, Carlos spoke. "He's been in there all night. Nothing. I'm beginning to wonder if Walker wasn't right."

"Let's give it another day. It's Friday so he might just go out prowling tonight."

**

Trent watched as Gary entered the lecture hall. He had stopped to talk to the instructor...Jessie. Trent's skin crawled as he thought about what Gary may have done and now he was talking to Jessie. As he watched Gary walk away, Trent entered the hall and stopped by Jessie.

"Hi Trent," she said.

"Hi Jess." There was no smile, only a serious look on his face. Jess instantly realized.

"That was him, wasn't it?" she asked quietly, not daring to look up into the hall.

"Yes. Be very careful, Jess. What did he say?"

"He asked if there was any extra work he could do, including dating the instructor." Jess started to shake, but Trent placed a hand on her arm.

"Hold it together, Jess. He's not going anywhere I don't know about. You have to act natural. "

"I will," Jess said quickly, gathering her self-control. "How are you doing?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Okay. Today is a day off. Carlos starts testifying on Monday."

"It'll be over soon."

Trent smiled slightly. "Thanks." He headed up to his seat, only vaguely aware that Gary was watching him. He sat down a row behind him.

"Okay, class. Today we are going to continue out discussion on so-called 'abnormal' sexual behaviour."

**

As the class was filing out, Trent heard his cell phone ring. Picking it up, he pushed a button. "Malloy."

"Hey, Trent. We've got him."

"Who, Carlos?"

"The rapist. Walker caught him just now. Apparently he had ties to one of the girls and fits the description. He had the drugs on him."

"But what about....." Trent looked at the row ahead, where Gary was packing up his books.

"I know, but this looks solid. Walker wants us there, ASAP."

"Are you sure, Carlos? I've got a strange feeling about this."

"Walker said they are sure it's him."

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." As Trent hung up the phone, he saw Gary leave the lecture hall. Jess was still at the front of the hall, organizing her notes. Trent approached her. "Hey, Jess. That was Carlos. They think they have the guy."

"But what about...." She nodded towards he exit.

"This looks solid. But still, be careful, okay? I've got to go meet Carlos so I will see you later at Uppercuts."

Jess looked at her watch. "I've got another class and then I should be at work for 6. I'll see you after that," she said, smiling.

"Deal," Trent said, returning the smile. As he turned to leave, Jess thought that that was the first time she had actually seen him really smile in a long time.

**

"He used to date the first victim. They had had a fight shortly before she was killed and he was the last to see her alive. Now we found him with the drugs on his possession. Right now, they are checking his alibis for the nights of the other attacks," Trivette told Walker, Trent and Carlos.

"What happens if he has an alibi?" Trent asked. He still had a nagging feeling about Gary.

"Well, we'll have to see."

**

Jess looked at her watch. She had finished up her last class and was just doing a bit of paperwork in her office. Part of her wanted just to go home, yet another part was looking forward to seeing Trent and Carlos at Uppercuts. In fact, she caught herself smiling at the thought of the two men. Laughing at herself, Jess opened the door of her office to leave and ran almost straight into Gary Stephens.