Dredging up the Past Chapter 1
By: The Confused One
Disclaimer: I don't own anything connected to CI. Please don't sue.
Rating: T, for now.
Warnings: None, for now.
Archive: Go for it. Just let me know where.
Reviews: Yes, please. Good, bad, or otherwise…please review. Thanks.
Author's notes: I couldn't help myself. I just had to start this fic. I promise I'll get Misconduct done in the next couple of days. Enjoy.
Alex Eames always hated morning crime scenes. Eight in the morning was too early to have to look at dead bodies. She sighed. She could already tell. It was going to be one of those cases. It was going to be a rough one. Walking away from the patrol officer, she walked up to her partner. As she watched him poke around the body, she explained, "The Chief of Detectives' niece. That should keep the pressure off. We have no witnesses, just the jogger who found her."
Bobby nodded, barely acknowledging what she said. He knew she knew he heard her. Pointing and poking around the body, he explained, "She was attacked from behind. He dragged her here and choked her with a rope of some kind." Addressing a CSU tech, he added, "We need a rape kit done and there is a semen stain there on her clothes." Finally looking at Alex, he finished, "She must have been coming home from a night at some clubs. The glitter…"
Alex smiled slightly. She understood where he was going, and she finished for him, "And the outfit."
Bobby met her eyes. He smiled slightly now too. He liked it when she did that. He explained, "We need to find out what club she was at."
Alex nodded. She agreed. She hated to be the one to say it, but she knew one of them had to, "I guess we need to ask the Chief how well he knew his niece."
Bobby nodded. Standing up, he began following Alex to the car. He wasn't looking forward to having to talk to their boss about a murder.
Getting into the car, Alex knew he was thinking again. She was just hoping he was thinking about the right things. She knew how much he hated the high pressure and high profile cases. They drained on him more than the usual fare. She warned, "He's going to be all over this case. You know that, right?"
Bobby almost smiled. He nodded and assured her, "Yeah. I know. I'm fine. We need to get this over with."
With that, Alex decided to let it go. She started the car and drove off. She'd just watch his mood and make sure he stayed OK. It wasn't like they hadn't been there before.
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Chief of Detectives Andrew Wheeler stood as Bobby and Alex entered. He greeted them, "Detectives. I appreciate Captain Deakins putting you two on this case. Though I'm not sure I'll be much help. God, I still don't understand what she was doing walking around the city at that hour."
Alex watched as Andy sat back down. She followed his lead and sat down in a chair too. She raised her eyebrows, knowing Bobby though was wondering the room looking at Andy's stuff. She knew he expected her to start, "We're sorry about Jenny. We met her at the picnic last year, and we liked her. We were wondering what you could tell us about her habits. Did she go out to clubs, a lot?"
Andrew sighed. He loved his niece, but there were things about her he didn't approve of. He tried to explain, "Jenny was always a bit of the wild child in the family. We weren't that close, but I do know that she went to a lot of different clubs."
Alex sighed. She had been hoping for more, but she wasn't about to give up, yet. She prodded a little further, "What about boyfriends? Was she seeing anybody? Have any trouble with any exs?
Andrew nodded. He quickly replied, "She just broke up with some kid a week or so ago. His name was Neil something. When you talk to Sherry, my sister, she can tell you his last name. She might even still have his address or phone number."
Alex nodded. Standing, she politely thanked him. She headed for the door, figuring Bobby was going to follow her out.
Bobby turned to face his superior officer. With a nod, he promised, "We're going to find the guy who did this. I promise you that."
Andrew nodded again. He gratefully replied, "Thank you."
Bobby finally asked, "Do you have a picture of her here? I mean, we could use a picture of her to show around."
Andrew nodded. Pulling out his wallet, he pulled out a picture. Handing it to Bobby, he offered, "It's not the best or very big but it should be alright."
Bobby nodded. Walking out, he replied, "Deakins will keep you in the loop."
Bobby quietly met Alex in the hall. She smiled at him. Sometimes she was still amazed at his ability to say just the right thing at the right time. Still, it had pretty much been a waste of time for them and Andrew. She sighed. They were getting nowhere fast and said so, "I hoping he'd be able to be of more help."
Bobby nodded. He understood her frustration. He was feeling it too. He reminded them both, "We should hit some of the clubs around where she was killed. Maybe one of the bouncers or bartenders will recognize her. I think she left with this guy."
Alex nodded. The sick feeling in her gut told her that he was right. She finally agreed, "Well, let's hope he's a regular and someone there knows his name then."
Bobby nodded. He had another hope though and voiced it, "It might be someone she knew too. It's possible she went with someone and things just got ugly when they left."
Alex didn't like any of it really. She hated these cases. They had a tendency to hit too close to home. Trying her best to be neutral, Alex got in the car and started the engine. She wasn't sure how long she could ignore the growing knot in her stomach that told her something was about to come crashing down on her, but she was determined to ignore it for as long as possible.
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Alex was starting to get tired. It was now four in the afternoon, and they were entering the third club. So far they had been striking out, but she was really trying to remain hopeful. Seeing the bartender, Alex approached the bar. She knew Bobby was following. Pulling out her badge, she, as always, started, "Hi. I'm Detective Eames, and this is Detective Goren. Did you work last night?"
The bartender nodded. He had never had cops show up before, and he was getting nervous. He replied, "Yes. I was here. Is something wrong?"
Bobby put his hand up. He assured him, "You're not in trouble. We need to know if you saw this woman last night."
The bartender studied the picture carefully. Looking up, he met Bobby's eyes. He answered quickly, "Yeah. She was here. She had this older guy all over her all night. She kept telling him to back off. She finally just left. I think he left shortly afterwards."
Alex nodded. She could tell he had relaxed some. She was relieved. Jumpy witnesses were pretty much always bad news. She quickly asked, "Did you get a good look at him?"
The bartender nodded quickly. He ventured forward, "Yeah. I got a good look at him. Has something happened?"
Bobby quickly answered, "She was murdered. We really need you to come with us and meet with the sketch artist, Mr.…"
The bartender quickly finished the sentence, "Donahue. Trevor Donahue. I. I guess I can come with you."
He came around the bar. The two detectives lead him out. Alex finally asked, "Did you happen to catch this guy's name?"
Trevor got into the car and sadly replied, "No. I didn't. I just know he was bugging her."
With a knowing glance between them, Bobby and Alex got into the car. There hopes had been momentarily dashed, but maybe the sketch would be able to get a name.
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A sick feeling ate at Alex as she stared at the sketch, again. She still felt she recognized who it was. Handing it to Bobby, she refused to believe it. It couldn't be the same person. She was relieved when her phone rang. She quickly answered, "Eames."
Bobby stared at the drawing, and listened to Alex as she spoke to someone on the phone. It sounded like something was going on. It might be the break they were looking for. It had been a week. Going through Jenny's apartment, talking to her friends and family, and interrogating Neil Warren had gotten them no where. All they had was the sketch.
Hanging up the phone, Alex met Bobby's questioning eyes. He never seemed to disappoint her. She quickly explained, "That was the lab. Apparently, our semen sample matches another in the system."
Bobby arched his eyebrows. Grabbing his notebook and jacket, he followed Alex to the elevators. He wanted to know who this second victim was.
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Walking into the lab, the lab tech explained, "The case it matches is an old rape case, 1984. It was before DNA testing was widely used. Someone had the forethought to preserve the evidence. The years we've spent updating the system like this might pay off for you guys on this case. Unfortunately, your perp isn't in the system. We were just able to link it to this one case. Good luck on finding your victim again."
Alex nodded slightly. Something inside her was desperate to find out who their victim was. She impatiently pushed, "Well, bring it up."
Bobby didn't like this. Something felt wrong. He knew as well as anyone that rapists don't usually let a good twenty-two years past between rapes. He suggested, "When we leave, expand your search to include the whole Country. He hasn't stopped at two."
Alex agreed. It didn't make sense. There had to be more cases.
With a nod, the tech, John, pulled up the match. He proudly announced, "You're looking for Alexandra McCall."
Bobby instantly looked at Alex, who gasped slightly. Her hand covered her mouth. Her face had drained of all color. He started to say her name, when she took off. Looking at John, Bobby explained, "We won't have to go far to find Alexandra McCall. She's Alexandra Eames now."
Leaving the shocked and confused John behind, Bobby went desperately searching for Alex.