Disclaimer:

1. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (Showtime, Jeff Lindsay). The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

2. All characters, events etc. portrayed in this story are fictional and any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental. Also locations, legal procedures etc. described in this story are not necessarily factually accurate nor are they intended to be.

3. Does not follow the real Season 8 story. (Obviousy as it is a complete re-write.)

4. If you see anything you think if out of place, let me know. The story won't change but there may be minor corrections and additions.

5. The "Reviews" page may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

"We all make rules for ourselves. It's these rules that help define who we are. So when we break those rules we risk losing ourselves, becoming something unknown. Who is Deb now? Who am I? Is this a new beginning, or the beginning of the end?" - Dexter Morgan

Hello, it's me, Dexter Morgan. It's the 3rd of January, 2012 and three days ago I made the third biggest mistake of my life. Wanna know the top two? The first was letting my wife Rita die. Though I thought I had no real conscience and half of my life was fake, I really loved her, and even if I didn't, I had certainly convinced myself that I did. Perhaps none of what is happening today would be a problem to begin with had I not failed to protect her. I dreamed of being freed of my urge to kill, I thought Trinity would be the last on the table and I'd put it all behind. My Dark whatever... There is no Dark Passenger. It's just me. I thought being close to my family would cleanse me. That being a family man would drive the urge away, grow some kind of humanity within me instead. Well... Trinity murdered Rita... and I took out my anger on an innocent man.

My second mistake was actually getting caught by my sister Debra murdering someone. It changed her... a lot... the change that culminated with her murdering her own boss, Maria LaGuerta, the innocent Police Captain who had gotten too close to the truth. I wanted to kill LaGuerta myself but somehow things didn't turn out that way. That was my third biggest mistake, allowing Debra to fully lose her innocence, to become born in blood... like me. I keep trying to rationalize that maybe LaGuerta deserved it. After all, countless other lives are saved because of me, and she tried to interfere with it, she even let a dangerous man loose to do it. Well, it doesn't work. It didn't work with Sergeant James Doakes or Ellen Wolf and it doesn't work with Maria LaGuerta.

For the past three days Debra is refusing to answer my calls or talk to me... perhaps that changes today.

I knock on her door, she allows me inside but there's utter silence from her. Not even a simple hello.

3rd January 2012
Debra's Home
4:23 PM

Dexter: "Deb?" there is no response from her. We barely exchanged a word in the past three days and only now has she reluctantly agreed to allow me into her home once again.
Dexter: "Deb! You have been sitting in that same couch for three hours now, staring at the wall, please... just snap out of it."
Debra turns her look to me with a heavy frown on her face.
Debra: "Snap out of it? Dexter, how the fuck do I snap out of being an accomplice to one of the most prolific serial killers in history? The bad guys... I get it, but this..."
Dexter: "What do you mean?"
Debra becomes hysterical.
Debra: "You know exactly what I mean you heartless bastard." she breaks out in tears "James Doakes, Rita Morgan, Louis Greene, Maria LaGuerta, all of them were innocent people and God knows how many more innocents have died directly or... indirectly, either because of your fucked up 'hobby' or just so you wouldn't get exposed to the rest of the world for the psychopath you really are."
Dexter: "Deb..."
Debra: "And to make matters worse, you've dragged me into this, I'm the fucking Lieutenant of Homicide and yet my hands are stained with blood that I'll never wash off. I've spent my whole adult life building a career as an honest cop and you've managed to destroy that in less than two months. I should have turned you in the minute you..." I interrupt her.
Dexter: "Deb! First of all, you're still on the force, second, I did not kill Doakes, I was even contemplating turning myself in when Lila found out and got rid of him..."
Debra: "To protect you."
Dexter: "Sure but, have you forgotten how bad the men and women on my table were? Mike Donovan the child molester and murderer, you weren't even close to catching him. Arthur Mitchell, The Trinity Killer, I found him in a matter of days when the FBI couldn't in 30 years. He killed hundreds and would have killed again."
Debra: "Oh, so those innocents are just fucking statistics to you? How many innocent lives saved was Rita worth? 10? 20? 50?"

I didn't know what to reply. I opened my mouth but no words came out. I do remember Doakes' exact words 5 years ago:

Doakes: "Sooner or later, you'll hurt someone else. I'm talking about your sister or your girlfriend or even those kids."
Dexter: "I would never…"
Doakes: "No, not on purpose, but you can't control the shit that's growing inside of you. It's like cancer."

Debra: "Thought so..."
Dexter: "Deb, Louis Greene died because he trespassed on my boat and Isaac found him there, I warned Louis to never touch my things. And LaGuerta was going to put us both away, she had warrants to obtain the GPS data on our phones and place us at Travis Marshall's murder, that plus the footage from the gas station. Besides, you were the one who pulled the trigger on LaGuerta!"
Debra slaps me.
Debra: "Don't remind me. Ever. Any minute now someone will probably find the bodies and we'll be called in, I hope for your sake, and mine, they pin it on Estrada."
Dexter: "Look, we went through this, I couldn't just get rid of LaGuerta's body, after that stunt she pulled at the station, accusing me in front of everyone of being the Bay Harbor Butcher, it would have looked too suspicious. And I couldn't let her live either so this is our best chance to end this."
Debra: "And then there's Hannah fucking McKay on the loose. Fuck!"
Dexter: "I know, I realized she had broken out when I found that plant in front of my doorstep on New Year's Day. Don't worry about her for now. She loves me too much to kill me and she knows that if anything happens to you, there's no turning back."
Debra: "Holy Christ, Dexter, you really can't get over that killer bitch, can you?"

Several hours later...

Debra's cell phone is ringing.

Debra: "Yes? ... LaGuerta? ... Fuck! Yes, we'll be right there, sir." Debra ends the call.
Dexter: "They found LaGuerta?"
Debra: "That would be an understatement, we've stirred up a fucking hornet's nest, Dex. The commissioner, the news, the IA, fuck, everyone is there and this is going to get ugly. This is no ordinary murder, this is the Captain of Miami Metro remember?"
Dexter: "I'll probably be getting a call soon as well, we should get going."
Debra: "You better hope they don't find evidence linking us to it. You didn't take any fucking blood slides from LaGuerta too did you?"
Dexter: "Ha ha! Very funny, Deb..." not really.

3rd January 2012
Miami Docks
8:41 PM

I get out of the car with Debra by my side. Police cars all around the scene, the flashing lights, the sounds of photographs being taken from the crime scene, curious civilians and a horde of even more curious reporters getting restless. Wouldn't be the first time I was called to investigate my own crime scene. Thomas Matthews is here too and most likely will be taking LaGuerta's place as Captain. Angel Batista is also here.

Matthews: "Dexter, Debra, they're waiting for you in that container over there. Don't worry about the car, Masuka already checked it out and it's clean."
Dexter: "What happened exactly?"
Matthews: "That's where you come in. Masuka is already in there waiting for you. We found LaGuerta dead, shot along with Hector Estrada and by the looks of it there was a shooting between the two. Well, there goes LaGuerta's crazy conspiracy theory about you chopping up Estrada, putting him in garbage bags and dumping him in the ocean, eh?"
Dexter: "Guess so."
Matthews: "Oh, and you might want to put on that suit over there. They've been dead for a while."
Dexter: "Will do."

Angel: "Hey Dexter."
Dexter: "Hi Angel, is that your..." I notice he still has a badge and gun.
Angel: "Dexter, I... after what happened to Maria, I changed my mind about retiring, look I know you two have had your differences but please find out what happened in there, por favor. Do what you do best." Ironic, given that what I do best is kill people and cover my tracks.

I go inside, Matthews, Debra, Angel and the others follow.

Masuka: "Finally, you're here. Okay we got two bodies, one is LaGuerta, the other is Hector Estrada and by the state these bodies are, it's clear that they died almost at the exact same time..."
Dexter: "Any estimate on the time of death?" I ask.
Masuka: "About three days ago, give or take."
Matthews: "We know for a fact that LaGuerta was last seen alive on the 31st of December 2011, and we know that several people tried to reach her on the 1st of January but couldn't get ahold of her. Plus, her mobile phone was filled with unread messages wishing her a happy new year. This almost certainly occurred on New Year's Eve."
Masuka: "Yeah... I agree."
Matthews: "We also know from looking into Estrada's mobile phone, that he made a phone call to LaGuerta at 10:54 PM, New Year's Eve, though there are no records of the content of that call. It's clear that this was no random encounter. They had met before and were meeting again for some purpose."
Angel: "Shit! I should have known something was not right. Maria never made it to my party."
Dexter: "Any witnesses?" Please say no.
Matthews: "No." Finally some good news. "Nobody saw or heard a damn thing, or at least nobody who did has come forward yet. There are no security cameras either. You better make use of what you can find in here."
Masuka: "So Dexter, what do you make of this?"

I pause for moment, pretend to examine the scene in detail. After a few minutes, I begin a detailed reconstruction to suit my narrative.

Dexter: "Okay, the victims both have one gunshot wound to their chests. The bloodstains are consistent with that. Estrada appears to have been shot at close range due to some of the residue on his shirt, while LaGuerta was shot at a slightly longer range. There's a lot more blood coming from Estrada which is consistent with a gunshot wound straight to the heart, while LaGuerta was shot in the..."
Masuka: "Boob?"
Angel: "Hey!"
Debra: "Not fucking funny, Masuka."
Dexter: "Lung."
Matthews: "So, let's cut to the chase, what do you think happened here, Dexter? Can we hear one of your brilliant reconstructions, your colleagues tell me you're pretty good at this?"
Dexter: "Well judging by the positioning of the victims" which I had changed, "the bloodstains" which I manipulated as much as possible "most likely LaGuerta and Estrada had some kind of... argument in this container. There's no evidence of a third person being here so far." because I took care to remove Debra's shell casing "Estrada was heading out of the container when he turned around and shot LaGuerta in the chest. Not certain of her death, he came closer to examine it."
Matthews: "So why not just shoot her again to be certain?"
Dexter: "Criminals, even hardened murdering mob bosses like Estrada, usually have a certain amount of hesitation when it comes to killing law enforcement. They know there's a death penalty for it in Florida, plus Estrada was on parole, last chance to lead a free life. The first shot was probably on impulse."
Matthews: "And?"
Dexter: "Well the wound was definitely fatal, but with her remaining strength it looks like she raised her gun and shot Estrada right in the heart. He died instantly and LaGuerta soon after."
Matthews: "Hmmm... Masuka, what's your take on this?"

Masuka pauses for a second and doesn't reply immediately. Please say yes so we can end this.

Masuka: "Yes, that's what I thought as well. I agree completely with Dexter's narrative."

I notice a slight change in Debra's facial expression. A sign of relief.

Masuka: "I'm sure the coroner will have more details. Let's just bag all the evidence and be done with it."
Matthews: "I'm going outside for a minute to give a statement to the press. Dexter, I need to have a word with you after this as well."

A word? In private? Is Matthews having a change of heart? Is he beginning to suspect that I might have had something to do with this? Is Masuka just playing along to trap me? In moments of uncertainty such as these the mind can only concentrate on the worst possible scenario. In a few moments I will find out.

A few minutes later...

Dexter: "Sir?"
Matthews: "Dexter... I know they say it's not right to speak ill of the dead, but, you wanna know what I think about all this mess?" That I'm the real Bay Harbor Butcher and that I framed another dead person to cover my tracks, using my expertise in forensics?
Dexter: "What, sir?"
Matthews: "For God's sake Dexter, just call me Tom, anyway, Maria LaGuerta was a reckless woman, her feelings for Doakes got to her. I warned her to let it go, I even helped her find definitive proof that Doakes was the Bay Harbor Butcher, but that just wasn't enough. So she came up with this crazy plan to push for the release of Hector Estrada, the man responsible for killing your mother, hoping to catch you in the act."
Dexter: "Well, I didn't kill him."
Matthews: "Of course not, it's clear that when her plan failed and as Estrada remained alive, she grew desperate. In fact I'm convinced she planted that bloodied shirt in the trash can along with the wallet so she could have an excuse to bring you in. She was stupid enough to leave a partial print on the wallet and even more stupid to think we wouldn't figure out that shirt was decades old and taken from the evidence lockup. For God's sake, we have the catalog, she was definitely snooping around in evidence the day before your arrest but you weren't on that list."

Luckily, she was and I took advantage of this. Matthews doesn't realize that I can frame a frame job.

Matthews: "Well, there's a lesson to be learned here, Dexter. Never trust, rely on or get involved with a dangerous ex-con. No exceptions." Would that include Hannah McKay? "LaGuerta played with fire and got burned. What's really sad is that all of this started from the discovery of a blood slide found at Travis Marshall's hideout, the day he killed himself."
Dexter: "You think Travis Marshall was the Bay Harbor Butcher and that he was somehow his own last victim? Aware his own hypocrisy and killing himself for it?"
Matthews: "Of course not, what a ludicrous idea, he was probably just copying Doakes' style, just because we didn't release that information to the press doesn't mean it's not going to be found. There were plenty of other details that we didn't release and yet others found out about it. Why would it be any different with a blood slide?"
Dexter: "So, Tom, what happens now?"
Matthews: "Well Internal Affairs were already aware of LaGuerta's misconduct and this sudden death peaked their interest, they'll be waiting for a conclusive report from the coroner. If what you and Masuka discovered is accurate, the case will be closed with Hector Estrada as the murderer of Maria LaGuerta. If there's more to it, Internal Affairs are going to be breathing down our necks for months to come and treating all of us as potential suspects. As for me, I've been reinstated into the police force, no, I won't be Deputy Chief as before, I'll be replacing LaGuerta as Captain of Miami Metro, at least until I can retire properly with a full pension. Sergeant Batista has also had a change of heart about retiring, so he'll be around for a little longer as well."