Disclaimer: I own nothing. Cuz if I did this would have really happened.
It would've been simple. So very simple. All she had to do was plant the evidence and DJ Pratt would be thrown in jail. A rapist behind bars. Everyone goes home and can sleep a little better at night.
Aiden grabbed the evidence baggy out of the old evidence box. The words 'Suspect: Pratt, DJ' and 'Sample: Hair' were typed neatly on the bag. The voices of Regina, the victim, Stella and Mac echoed in her mind again and again and again.
Just do it Aiden, she told herself. Give her justice.
She picked up the small knife to break the seal when a thought crossed her mind. Was it really justice? Ok, yes, Aiden knew Pratt was guilty. She knew it. But she also had a standard to uphold. She was a CSI dammit. A good one. And Aiden knew that if she did get a conviction off of planted evidence, Pratt would be the victim. No one but herself would know it, but it would still be true. And the last thing Aiden wanted was to put him in any position that yielded sympathy.
Angry and frustrated Aiden put the hair evidence back in the box and sighed. This was good timing on her part, seeing as how Danny walked in on her.
"Hey." He greeted, his eyes scanning the layout table. "Stella said you were having a hard time on the Moore case." He eyed his weary friend. "You need some help?"
"No thanks Danny." Her voice showed how tired she really was. "I got it."
He gave a quick nod. "Alright." He drummed on the tabled before turning to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." On second thought… "Hey, Danny?"
He stopped at the door. "What's up?"
"I could use a fresh pair of eyes." She said with a small smile.
Without hesitation Danny reached for the picture Aiden took of Regina Moore's bruises. "What have you got so far?"
"Essentially? Nothing." Aiden said bitterly.
"Damn." Danny said under his breath. "Check out this bruise." He slid the picture to her. "Is that a letter or something?"
Aiden eyed it carefully. How could she have missed that? She was so caught up in the emotions of everything…
She slowly closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's a flame." She said quietly.
"A flame?"
"Yeah." Aiden rolled her eyes at herself. "That pattern looks a lot like Pratt's ring. But I doubt there's any DNA on it."
Danny frowned. "Why you say that?"
"It's been in paint thinner."
He shrugged. "You giving up? There's always somethin', right?"
"Yeah Danny." She nodded. "There's always something."
When she didn't move he asked, "You want me to run with this?"
Aiden nodded, thinking it would be best for the case if she didn't work it as closely as before. "That would be great."
"That would be great." He repeated. "Ok. I'll call ya."
Two hours had passed and Aiden found herself sitting on a bench in the locker room, still haunted with what she had almost done. The lines between right and wrong were blurred and in that moment she didn't know what she was doing.
Her phone rang then. "Burn." She answered.
"We got him."
"Danny?"
"Yeah." He replied. "We got him. There was still blood on the ring. It was degraded but we got it."
Aiden bowed her head, eternally grateful to her friend.
"You still with me Burn?"
"I owe you big Danny."
"It's the job." Danny said, sounding nonchalant. But she knew him well enough to know he was grinning like an idiot. "But if you honestly feel like you owe me-" She heard him laugh a bit, only half joking. Then his tone turned serious. "You should tell her, Aiden."
There was no reason to ask who he was referring to; Aiden knew he was speaking of Regina Moore. She nodded, even though she knew Danny couldn't see her. "I'll do that Danny. Thanks." After hanging up, she dialed another number.
"Hey Regina. It's Aiden."