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A MURDER IN SUNNYDALE


Chapter 39: ‘In A Way’




A/N: Actually I was going to entitle this chapter; ‘A Fu**ing Mess’ but changed my mind. Thought it might turn off some readers.

Summary: Buffy and Spike go over their suspicions. Spike comforts his wife on the beach. (giving a new meaning to that alcoholic drink!)

Buffy snuggled up, into Will’s strong, comforting arms and tried to stop the tears that had started a few moments ago. This was one of the most difficult things in the world for Buffy to mull over. The fact that an old friend and collegue may have murdered two, albeit not quite innocent, people.

“What I don’t understand,” Buffy sighed sadly to Will, “is why Xander would shoot Holden in the head, and Katerina in the stomach. If it was revenge I mean. Cassie Newton, my psychic friend? She claimed that it was jealous rage that propelled these murders, mostly anyway. Remember what my Dad said? A man in love, or obsessed, anyway, would shoot a woman in another part of her body, not her head. So her beauty would not be destroyed. If this was revenge on Xander’s part? Then why not shoot both Holden and Katerina in the head?”

“Do you think that maybe your partner, Harris, got a little too caught up in his own game of revenge? Fell for this Katerina chit?” Spike asked, his brows furrowed. The whole thing was turning out to be more bizarre then they first thought. At this time? Any scenario of the murders might be possible.

“Well,” Buffy hesitated, biting her lower lip, gently, “like I said. Xander and Anya were on break at the time, just before the murders. If Xander’s little scheme back fired and he kind of fell for Katerina McClay? And, if your cousin, Holden, was so damn sure that Katerina’s baby was his? Then maybe Xander did go all jealous male on them and killed them both, out of anger? God,” Buffy groaned, “what if the baby was Xander’s? Oh, God, Will,” Buffy began to cry again, “then my partner murdered his own child?”

“No, baby,” Spike tried to comfort his wife as best he could, “I’m sure the baby was Holden’s. My cousin was pretty astute and very calculating. I have no doubt that he’d make sure that child was his, before he ever stipulated any inheritance to the poor baby, or Katerina McClay.” He watched his wife, who by this time had disentangled herself from his arms. Although he felt the need to capture her and hold her tightly, he allowed her her space to pace back and forth in front of him.

“This is such a fucking mess!” Buffy cried in desperation. “It’s impossible, Will,” she continued, “and yet? In a way, it makes perfect sense.”

“How?” Spike asked, truly puzzled how any of this made sense, especially without any solid proof of Harris’s guilt.

“Xander Harris was born and raised into a very fucked up family, full of violence, both verbally and physically. It almost makes sense that he’d resort to some horrible act of violence, to seek revenge. Revenge is one of the strongest emotions, Will, you and I both know that.” She stopped pacing and gazed at her husband, noting how the moonlight reflected off of his platinum blond head.

“My partner loved his cousin, Nickolas. If he thought that Holden and Katerina were instrumental in Nick’s death? It may have pushed Xander over the edge and driven him to some horrible act. Xander is not exactly Einstein and he may have resorted to his baser, gut reactions, in dealing with his pain of Nick’s loss. What really kills me,” Buffy sighed sadly, “is how Anya is going to take this. I mean, if we can even prove that Xander is the killer, ‘if’ he is the killer. My God, Will,” Buffy groaned, “Xander’s been stringing Anya along, for years. If he’s the one, seduced and killed Katerina? It’ll kill Anya, I know it.”

“I’m sorry, Buffy,” Spike sighed, honestly sympathetic for his wife’s pain. “But you, your friends, the Shrink and her girl, Xander’s girl, even our Captain Wilkens? You’ll all have to come to grips with this, if it turns out Harris has played you all for fools. What I’m not sure about is how ‘we’re’ going to trap the man. In his guilt, I mean.”

“First off,” Buffy smiled, finally, with affection, “I like the sound of that ‘we’re’ you just said. Makes me feel, I don’t know, all detective couple or something! Like Nick and Nora Charles from the ‘Thin Man’ series!” (okay, I had to throw that in there!)

Spike grinned at his wife, lovingly, “we are a pair, ain’t we though, my Princess?”

“That we are, baby,” Buffy giggled softly. Then she frowned again and began another tirade of theories.

“Say that Xander plotted all this, after he realized who Nick’s lover was? Or, even better, say he always knew and just didn’t let on? How do you get to a man, a proud man, a careful man like Holden Webster? You infilitrate his life, in some way. I’m sure that Xander was in Holden’s pocket, money wise that is. Although why Holden’s list neglected to mention his name?” Buffy folded her arms and stared at William, more perplexed then ever.

Spike shook his head and sighed heavily, “Holden wouldn’t necessarily name every name he could, baby. In fact, my cousin would definitely keep an ace, or two, up his sleeve. Xander Harris may well have been that ‘ace’ he kept there. It would explain some things. Like how Harris got close to Holden and Katerina, had a way in and out of their lives. Although why Holden would protect the whelp is beyond me.”

“It would also explain why Xander hates your guts, worships Angel O’Connor and has been bad mouthing Amy St. Claire. It’s almost as if Xander has been a mouth piece for Angel, you know? If they were both involved with Holden, then they were simpatico with each other.” Buffy picked up the conversation and ran with it.

“But, and I really believe this Will,” Buffy plopped back down into her husband’s lap. “I don’t think it’s Xander that’s been sending those threats to Amy. I think that is someone else. Maybe Angel? Maybe not, but someone else. Xander needs Amy to take the fall, yes. But whoever is after Holden’s empire? They need Amy, her son and your family out of the way, one way or another.”

“True,” Spike nodded as he held Buffy in a loving embrace. “If Harris is the murderer, then he must have been to Hold’s place, dozens of times, and, if my guess is right? That wanker, Meers, is in this up to his neck. Had to have known your partner before the murders and recognized him as ‘safe’ to protect.”

“The doorman?” Buffy asked quizically. “How?” she asked, rather confused.

“Think about it,” Spike offered, “how many times did you say this Meers bloke went on about horrible Holden and lovely Miss McClay? Almost an old-fashioned romantic, he is. The doorman may have been a pawn in Hold’s world, but he still admired Katerina. If he thought that Xander Harris was a secret lover of McClay’s, a dutiful, loving suitor? Then he’d disregard any sign that pointed to Harris as a possible murderer. Not everyone thinks like a cop, baby,” Spike smiled despite the seriousness of this situation. “That’s why there’s smart, savy, beautiful, wonderful wives like you. To deduct and solve these mysteries.”

Buffy smiled, despite her own pain at what may have happened with Xander. She nuzzled her forehead into her husband’s and actually laughed, for the first time in hours.

“What do you say,” she murmered, huskily, “that you and your cop wife head down to the water? I’m tired of thinking like a cop, for the moment, anyway. Let’s go down to the Pacific and roll around in the sand for a while, shall we?”

Spike smirked and stood up, still holding his wife in his arms. “Now, you see,” he chuckled as he strode to the water’s edge. “This is one of the things I love about you, sweet. You’re so bloody spontaneous!”

A half hour later, after ‘rolling’ about in the wet sand, Spike and Buffy lay, sated and completely oblivious to their wet, grainy naked bottoms. Buffy decided to overlook the fact that not only was her hair saturated in salt, sand and sea, but that her various body openings were, well, they weren’t sparkling clean. That much was for certain.

“Can we go again?” Spike finally wheezed out as he clutched her close to his body.

“Might as well,” Buffy chuckled lustily, “why waste a perfectly good moonlit, empty beach?”

“God,” Spike rasped, huskily, “I’m so fucking lucky.” He rolled himself over onto Buffy and wasted no time in thrusting up inside of her. Placing salty kisses all over her face and mouth, Spike whispered lovingly, “it’s okay, baby. I’m here, always. Like I told you, when I first met you. I’ve got your back, my sweet. I always will. I love you so much.”


They made love, for hours, it seemed, until Buffy realized that it was getting close to sunrise. All this sex on the beach with her husband had ‘addled’ her common sense and Buffy was nothing, if not common ‘sensical’ that is.

When she ‘came to’ she had Will’s head, settled on her bare breast and was stroking his blond curls.

‘Is that ‘me’ purring!’ she asked herself in shock. ‘Oh, no, it’s both Will and me,’ she reassured herself. Then she remembered something; Beach, no admittance after 10:00 PM; tresspassers will be arrested, yada, yada, yada.

“We should get home,” she sighed, reluctantly. “Park rangers will be patroling, at least I should hope they’d be,” she frowned in thought, “any moment. I’m not sure I can explain this one away at the station.”

Spike chuckled, low and deep in his chest. “No, spose you couldn’t,” he agreed, also reluctant to move. “Best get home, I guess,” he sighed, with a pout.

“Besides,” Buffy reached for her discarded clothing, “our little pooch is probably worried sick about us. He’s probably whining like a baby and keeping poor Mrs. Wiggins awake, even from next door.” Buffy giggled madly and pulled on her jeans from the night before.

“Yeah, probably,” Spike sighed. “Sometimes I’m sorry I adopted Winston the pooch,” he shook his head as he pulled on his own jeans.

“You’ll see,” Buffy giggled again as she zipped up her left boot, “Winston will turn out to be a good choice for us. He’ll do something, really big, really important, I can feel it.”


A/N: Short chapter, to keep it going. A couple of hints and anvils here:

1) Xander may or may not be the murderer, but he is not the one that threatened Amy St. Claire.

2) Yes, Katerina’s baby was Holden’s, definitely and this may be why the murderer was so angry.

3) The sentences, about Winston are an anvil. The pooch will do something really big, in a future chapter.

In the next chapter, our dynamic Spuffy duo will plot a way to get Xander to confess. Now, whether their plan works out or not is left to be seen...

Thanks for reading, please review. Luv, Spuf





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