Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own anything :( Except for Rae ;)
AN: This is a little AU, just that David wasn't offered the job. I love writing Colby and David's relationship too much, but I wanted Charlie and Amita to be married.
Summary: After a body is found at a park, the FBI have been asked to help catch the Broadway Killer, a serial killer who dresses up local actors and kills them similar to famous broadway shows. After forgiving him for "the Janus list", Colby may lose some of his friends newly gained trust, after learning of complications with the woman he loves, who is also a suspect in the case. To make matters worse, Colby never introduced his girlfriend to the team, being with her behind their back. Colby/OC.
A small town FBI agent who works 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, goes home just to sleep, eat, and stay in shape, and drives a black sports car is the sexiest guy ever. Well, David Sinclair and Colby Granger hoped so. Unfortunately the job, and the whole triple-agent thing, took over their lives, so no dating was even remotely possible.
"…I mean, come on, Nikki has got to realize that our jobs are our lives. We have no life left for romance, even if she finds time for Ian." David was saying as Colby tried to navigate their way to the crime scene.
"Hey, the job has taken over your life. I got a date tonight, Mr. Jealous. Turn here." Colby pointed in the right direction, trying to hide a smug half-smile. Somehow he was able to date his best-friend's baby-sister, though they were all only a few months apart. 15 months to be exact.
David glanced at him, "Who would date that ugly mug? The hooker on your desk?" He quickly patted Colby's cheek.
"Leave her alone. She's not a hooker. And my type of ugly is pretty sexy apparently…but, strangely enough, your type of ugly is still ugly. Girls like the rugged, small town boy... and the bastard child of Dirty Harry and Yoda." He teased back, shoving David's shoulder. The two men acted more like brothers then Don and Charlie, though Nikki swears up and down that the boy's unique relationship is more husband-and-wife.
"Turn left here and then we should be able to see…ah!" Colby instructed as they reached the crime scene.
"…Pity. I love this place." Charlie murmured as a greeting to the FBI agents. "Locals called this exact spot 'Lincoln's rock' because the crevasse look like Ford Theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated." He said as he walked in a small circle, getting a feel for the spot. Nearby was a park, fading into hiking trails, and a mountain, where the flats and steps were common partying areas.
"Welcome back, Charlie!" The boys said in unison.
"How is Amita? How was England?" David asked, making sure Charlie wasn't in anyone's way.
Colby lifted himself onto the protruding rock, sitting next to Don, watching the calm beach scene in front of them. The sheer beauty of the sight took his breath away. "This reminds me of home." He said under his breath.
"Oh really? I didn't know Idaho had an ocean view." Don gave one of his rare smiles.
"I would tell you 'when pigs fly' but Larry mentioned to me something about its now incorrect term, so I'll get back to you on that." Colby wiped out his notepad. "What's the story, morning glory?" He asked, looking at the scene below him.
The dead woman was beautiful, high cheekbones, long dark hair, and big chocolate eyes. She was dressed in a pure, white gown that was ruined in blood.
"Nicolette Pettrovia, Romanian, second generation. 25, lives with a roommate on 5th and Marshall. Single gunshot to the chest, Charlie thinks roughly from where 'Lincoln' is." Don pointed to the crevasse next to them. "She works at a dance studio below her flat, so you and David can hit her place, while I finish up here." He jumped down, with Colby on his tail. David walked up to them, cell phone glued to an ear.
"Okay…Okay! Yes…Yea, here's Don." David passed the phone over with an unreadable expression.
"Eppes."
"Don! It's Liz."
"What's up?"
"I think that your vic is a part of a very complicated serial killing that will stay unsolved until we get off the high horse and get some help."
"Like Charlie help?"
"No. This guy tells you everything you need to know in the killing before. Check the victim's mouth."
Don motioned to the coroner. "Check the mouth." The coroner delicately opened the mouth, to find a crumpled sheet of paper.
"Found it."
"From the other reports, it's probably in victim's handwriting and a lyric to some song."
"Did anyone try to, I don't know, Google it?"
"That's the thing… It's only one line. To generic to find anything." She said, rapid typing, clicking and drinking (hopefully coffee) in the background.
Don grabbed a pair of latex gloves and opened the paper.
"I'm gunna live forever." David read.
"Eh! No reading over my shoulder!"
"Look I gotta go, but Nikki and I will try to find something from past reports. Bye."
"Bye." Don hung up the phone and gave it back to David. "Now you two, scat!" He ordered, schooing them away as he steered Charlie out of the CSI's paths.
Wow…
The Lillianna Theatre was grand and beautiful in it's simplicity. Nine pillars supported the many arches, with each of the muses guarding them. The building reminded David of an old library in the Bronx. The Dance Studio next to it, Royal Flower Dance Studio, was completely different. The sleek modern look and feel gave it hope, great for a street like 5th. Next to the Theatre were a few apartments, which David and Colby immediately walked to.
"Hello. FBI. David Sinclair and this is Colby Granger. Is this Nicolette Pettrovia's flat?" David flashed his badge. The petite girl who answered the door shook her head; strands of auburn hair tickling her shoulders, Big blue eyes were placed on a soft round face, right above a pixie nose and plump lips. Even though she was in her twenties, the roommate was only about 5'1"-5'2". And for a Dancer, she was surprisingly curvy, but, in the boy's opinion, only in the best ways.
"Yea, I'm Rae Smith. Come on in." She answered in a clipped British tone, slowly opening the door. The agents nodded their thanks as they entered the room. At one glance, they could tell these girls were serious dancers. The main room was made up of a large, commonly used kitchen and a wooden floor, a mirrored wall and bar next to it. Only a corner was dedicated to a TV and couches circulating a coffee table.
In the car, David and Colby decided that David would talk and Colby would look. Colby's job, he decided, was much harder, seeing as most of the pictures were of the girls at dance, wearing only cheer shorts and tanktops. It didn't help that the small-town boy found the urban hot pick walls with the black trim was pretty damn sexy. He glanced over at the roommate, who seemed to be taking the news hard. He walked to the kitchen and got the girl a glass of water.
"You and Nicolette were close?" David asked, picking up a photo off the table. The girls were fully dressed (thank god) in formal wear. Nicolette was in a soft pink halter, laughing and leaning on a brightly smiling Rae, who was dressed in a fiery red and black strapless.
"As close as two girls can be. Nick and I met in high school. That is us at prom. We grew up together in a small town in England, but we moved here on the west coast when we were about 13. We worked at the Studio to help cover collage costs and then for extra cash. A few years ago the owner sold it to us, so she could finally retire. Two girls who have degrees in Criminology, English ED, and Health with a passion for dancing…It turned into the most popular studios in California, especially with the theatre next door." She stopped to take a sip of water. "Now I don't know what I'm going to do."
Colby sat down next to the girl and started rubbing small circles on her back. "Shh…you seem like a smart chick. You'll figure out somethin'." He murmured as she snuffled back tears. "But, as soon as ya think ya can, we need to see, umm, Nick's room."
She looked up at him, eyes brimming with unshed tears, grabbing her water and walked them to the other room. The room was pained pale pink, posters of Ballerinas covering all available surfaces. The bed was a classic black rote-iron with white sheets carefully made. A few of the pictures, above her bed and her vanity, had "starring Nicolette Pettrovia!" written below the victim's picture. That was only one half of the room.
The other half faded into a rich purple. Rae's bedroom. Her side was covered in various posters for theatre shows she had seen or was involves, children's artwork, as well as movie and music posters. Bookshelves took over the lower half of one of the walls. Gold and purple sheets laid messily on her bed, the twin to Nicolette's.
"That half was Nick's. God, we were best friends, no secrets." Rae whispered, sliding onto Nicolette's bed.
"Do you know anyone who would gain from her death?" David asked as gently as he could, rummaging in Nicolette's desk.
"No. The girls at the theatre were glad she got the leads. They could relax for once. Money wise, she was very well off, but she left it to her families. Most to the Studio, then the Theatre, and the rest would go to me. I did the same with her, though an English teacher salary isn't as much. That's why I started working at the Studio." She shrugged, honesty glowing in her eyes.
David gave Rae a stack of past victims and suspect's pictures. "Do you recognize any of these people?"
She flipped through, studying every photo closely. "Umm… I think so. I don't know any names, but talk with local theatres. I see shows all the time, they could have been in them." She bit her lip, unsure of herself, as she pushed back her hair.
"Not at a bar or anything while you were having a girl's night out? Dating?" David questioned.
"No. I have not had a night off in a bloody long time." She turned her attention to Colby. "And I haven't been to a bar since I met my boyfriend which was roughly four-five months?"
Colby smiled grimly, "We'll come back soon to get a statement. Nice meeting you." He shook Rae's hand, and turned around, shoving his hands into his pockets as he waited for David.
"Nice meeting you. Oh! Just for formality, where were you yesterday?" David asked, shaking her hand.
Rae froze. "Um… Work till 3:30, Dance till 6:45, then a show till11:30-ish."
David smiled cunningly. "And then you just what? Went to sleep? A pretty girl like you?"
She shifted, uncomfortably. "My boyfriend picked me up, we grabbed dinner and I slept over at his place."
Colby grabbed his pen and notepad. "We need the number."
Rae quickly glanced from David to Colby to the pad as she wrote down the number.
"Do you think she's lying?" David asked as they walked to the car.
"You wanna know what I think?" Colby leaned on the car. He continued after David nodded. "She's a pretty famous actress among the local theatres. She's able to lie better. I think she told the truth, reluctantly, but told the uncomfortable truth. Still, she doesn't want us to find out somethin'. I'll do a background."
"You? Offering to do a background? What's wrong?" David wondered out loud as he started the car.
"She…intrigues me."
"Intrigues you."
"Yea. I took a date to go see a show that she did, after dinner. It was phenomenal. She was Eponine in Les Miserables. Had me almost in tears. That was Pop's favorite, the only show that he would insist on taking my ma out to see, only to complain about it the entire way home…It kept their marriage together, I think. Raising three boys that were all about the same age was tough enough not to mention Demon Child. And practically alone, with Pop as a cop."
That startled David. Colby never talked about his family, other then he grew up in Idaho and his dad died when Colby was 15. David always thought that Colby was an only child. Though, after the Janus List, no one knew how much of Colby's known past was true. "You had siblings?" He asked, surprised.
"Yep… I had a younger brother who died in a car crash when I was in Afghanistan, that's why I did two tours. They sent me home for the funeral. Jamie… Him, I actually miss. Then there was my older brother, only 2 years older, he ran away after my dad's death and his graduation. I still think he was gay, but you know small northwest towns, you ain't allowed to go against how God made you." Colby confided. A smile crept onto his face. "Then there was Demon Child. You think evil twins are only in stories? Nope. They are most definitely real. God, Football was the only escape from her and even then she was on the cheerleading team. Gahh, Rosie was the most annoying person on the face of the earth. The bad thing about twins, you usually like similar things. We liked exactly the same things, but we hated each other. Of course schools were all 'Oh twins! That's so cute! And they have similar schedules so lets put them in all the same classes!' and she was Ma and Pop's little girl, who got a pregnancy scare at 16 with my best friend behind my back." Colby sucked on his teeth. "Wait. How did I get to telling you about my family?" He asked, glancing at a smiling David.
"Les Miserables."
"Oh..Right…" They shared a smile.
"So you wanna hear about the chaos of an African-American family living in the Bronx?"
"Ehh, I probably watch enough TV to know, but still, enlighten me." Colby teased, getting a punch from David.
"Oh bring it on, Southern!"
"Idaho ain't Southern! Just because I can't pronounce "ee"s doesn't mean anything!"
"Yea, Stiring will…OW!"
Later, that evening….
"I can't believe she's gone. And that I lied to the FBI!" Rae murmured to the man she was snuggling against.
"You didn't lie. You told the truth and you gave them my personal cell number so they can't do anything."
"GAHH!" Rae moaned, as she got up to get some wine. "I mean what if they find out about us. You could get in trouble and-and-and I don't know what else! But it would still be bad! I mean…I withheld information!"
The man sighed, "Technically you didn't…"
"YES I DID!"
He got up to stand in front of her. His large frame swamped her small one. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in for a reassuring hug.
"Hey I did the background and called me all by myself. You have an alibi with me." Colby Granger smiled, kissing his girlfriend softly.