Wish Upon a Star
xxMedusaxx
Chapter 1
*This is the first and only time I will do this – I do know own CSI: NY or any character involved with the series, except for the ones I very clearly made up. – Now with that done, this is my first CSI and I know I'm not that good at it, so leave me some Reviews please. I have chapter two done already and won't be posting it until I get at least 10 review so don't forget to press that pretty button at the bottom*
Mac Taylor had had his fair share of bizarre crimes, and even stranger criminals. But the call he had gotten that morning took the cake. From what they knew about the girl she was found in a shopping cart being towed by a large white German Shepherd. She had been shot in the shoulder, and had lost a lot of blood, that morning there was also a shooting at a very well known mafia bakery, the owner who was inside at the time was found dead in the back alley doorway, she was thought to be connected to that.
Mac had been sent to talk to her, what he saw was a very pale teenaged girl, probably around sixteen. She had bright red hair, the German Shepherd, he had been told, refused to leave, and shortly after she had gotten out of surgery they had found a cat and a ferret in her backpack, who also refused to leave. The large dog was curled up beside her, and the cat and ferret were curled up beside her head. As Mac neared her the dog lifted his head up a low growl rumbled through his chest and Mac was forced to stop.
"Saber down." She whispered, though the dog continued to grumble he lay down his head. Her eyes opened and Mac could see that her eyes were a dark green.
"Hello." She whispered.
"Hello. Do you know where we are?" Mac asked her.
"I'm in a hospital, I was shot last night." She replied. Mac nodded to her.
"Do you remember what happened?" Mac asked.
"I work at Baglioni's Bakery. I was closing last night. I'm supposed to lock up and leave through the back door. When I was half way through locking up when these two big guys came at me, I wouldn't have noticed if Saber hadn't started growling. They started shooting and I ran, I didn't feel much pain at first I just kept telling myself to keep running. I'm not entirely sure where I went, I just remember collapsing beside a dumpster somewhere. They were with me, if you're wondering, Saber was running beside me, and Trixie and Lancelot were in my backpack. I didn't see anything important." Mac wrote down her story.
"Is there anyone we can call?" Mac asked.
"Marco Baglioni, he's my friend." She whispered.
"And who should I tell him to come and get?" Mac asked.
"Starlet." She whispered.
-----
"Marco Baglioni is dead. Shot last night at his bakery." Flack replied once Mac asked him.
"Any immediate family, maybe they knew Starlet as well." Mac asked.
"A wife and a teenaged son." Flack responded, merely nodded.
"So our vic worked at the restaurant?" Flack asked.
"Yes, she got shot in the alley. She said he was locking up."
"Why would she lock up with Baglioni still in the bakery?"
"She also said that she passed out sometime during the night beside a dumpster. So who put her in the shopping cart? I doubt it was the dog." Mac mused.
"Look like Starlet had a little help. Her fairy god mother perhaps?"
-----
Mac had walked into the Baglioni's large house to see friend and family all there to give comfort and support to the grieving family members. Mac managed to tear away Mrs. Baglioni and her son, John, so he could ask his questions.
"Do either of you know this girl?" Mac asked, showing them the picture of Starlet he had on his phone. It wasn't in his had for very long, john ripped it out of his hand.
"That's Star!" He cried.
"But they said no one survived!" Mrs. Baglioni cried.
"What happened to her?" John asked.
"She was shot last night."
"Well no duh genius, I mean how did she get to the hospital, why didn't she call me?" John asked.
"She asked for your father actually."
"She thinks I'm still mad at her doesn't she?" John asked.
"You and Starlet had an argument?" Mac asked.
"Not really, she just doesn't take it well when people scream at her. Something to do with her abusive Father or something." John replied off handedly.
"Do you know her real name?"
"No, none of us do, she doesn't like to mention her past." Mrs. Baglioni replied for her son.
"Do you know what type of past she had? Violent scaring, those sorts of things?" Mac asked.
"Abusive father, ran away, lived on the streets. That's it basically." John replied. "But she never mentioned exactly what her father did to her, though we could guess, or where she came from, never told me her real name or her fathers real name, though my dad promised he'd take care of him."
"How did she and your father meet?" Mac asked. John smiled.
"The story was always unbelievable…"
-----
Marco Baglioni was finishing off a few spread sheets when he heard the bell tinkling below. Someone had just come through the back door, Marco shrugged it off, his head cashier had been the last to leave and had a key to lock up the back door, he had probably just forgotten something and returned to get it. It wasn't until he heard the crash of pans that he knew it was a thief. Grabbing his .39 pistol he made his way downstairs.
"Now look at what you've done!" He heard someone growl. The voice sounded small, almost child like, but the street rats that lived around here didn't have the know how break through his complicated lock.
"Don't move!" Marco cried, bursting into the kitchen. He was right in thinking this boy was small and he was wearing clothes at least three sizes too big. He wore large baggy jeans covered in patchwork, and a large brown winter jacket going down to his knees. He must have been wearing a hoodie because he had a large black hood covering his eyes and hair. At his feet was a large canvas backpack holding what seemed to be a few leftovers from that days sales, but that was all he could see the bag was large there could be plenty of cash underneath. There was a sudden growl and a large white dog bounded past her.
"NO Saber! Gun Beats Teeth!" The boy cried, rushing forward and grabbing the large dog's collar. At first Marco was distracted by the dog and his large teeth, but he did notice the dainty fingers poking out of the fingerless gloves he was wearing, and then once he looked up at the boy who was dragging the dog back and he saw that the hood had fallen away. Marco could see now that the boy was in fact a girl, who had long red hair and green eyes. Her pale face was covered in dirt and ashes she was obviously a street girl, but she looked so young and so fragile, she didn't belong on the streets.
"I'm sorry, we were hungry." She cried, trying to back away. Marco advanced and the dog growled again.
"Don't move. How much money did you get huh?" He asked.
"I didn't take any money." She whispered, shaking her head.
"Yea right!" Marco cried back up to the cash register He unlocked the drawer and saw that everything was there. Marco glanced back to her.
"You mean all you've got in there is food?" Marco asked, The girl nodded. At that moment a brown head popped out of the bag and then crawled up her leg.
"And a rat." Marco whispered to himself.
"Lancelot's a ferret." The girl responded angrily putting the rodent into her jacket pocket. From behind his legs a cat rushed forward, a can of tuna in her mouth. She dropped it in the backpack.
"I told you we were hungry." She responded when he stared at her oddly.
"You broke into my shop, for food?" Marco asked.
"Yes and we're sorry. You can take it back." She offered. Marco shook his head.
"It's scraps It just goes to the garbage anyway." Marco replied.
"Can I leave?" She asked. Marco looked up at her she was fidgeting nervously, she had herded the into the back pack.
"Ah you know my line of work." He whispered. She nodded.
"They sent me in here, said I could stay if I got out of here alive. I would have never been sent in here if I were still with Ricky." She whispered.
"Punk kids sent you in here? I don't think they wanted you to come out alive." Marco alleged. The girl shrugged.
"Alright, here's what I'm gonna do, you tell me how you got past my lock and I'll let you leave." Marco replied, sitting himself down on the counter.
"Easy, Lancelot went in through the open window upstairs, he got downstairs and unlocked the door. Saber was look out and Trixie was the seeker, she found the good things to eat." She explained. Marco nodded.
"So the rodent got in through the window? That's new, very ingenious of you." Marco congratulated, she nodded at him.
"I can go now right?" She asked, Marco stood up.
"Not yet. You live on the streets right, which building?"
"I can't tell you that."
"But it doesn't have heat, or running water does it?" Marco asked, she shook her head in response.
"And you have to break into places like mine for food, or valuables and money to buy food, right?"
"No, I don't take money or objects, I'd never know what was of emotional value to people." She explained. Marco thought about this.
"Say I needed your services with just getting into a house, you'd have to do no stealing or anything, would you do that for me?" He asked.
"I guess, maybe."
"For a price?" He asked.
"I wouldn't know what to ask for." She asked.
"How about free room and board, and a job here in my bakery, and you can afford food and clothes and toys for your pets." Marco offered.
"Sounds too good to be true." She replied.
"All I'd need in return is a few break ins, all you'd have to do is get the door open that's it. Sound easy enough?" Marco asked. She glanced to the large dog and then the ferret in her pocket and the cat in the bag and then nodded.
"Yea I think we could do that." She whispered.
"Alright well tonight you're going to come home with me and my wife will help you clean up. Tomorrow you'll start here, and that night you'll do the first break in. In a few days the pent house across the street will be ready for you to move into, once I kick my son out." Marco replied, standing up and putting the gun down.
"Wont' he be mad?"
"I told him once more police raid and he would loose the apartment, I was going to rent it out anyways." Marco replied.
"Sounds great."
-----
"He put her on the pay roll that night, I was already half way moved out of the pent house by then. He brought her home and commissioned her to make a bath." John replied.
"And you weren't angry?" Mac asked.
"Sure I was, but it is so hard to stay angry at her. She's always sorry even if it's not even her fault. I tried to chew her out and she nearly broke out in tears. I can't handle it when a girl cries. And she just kept saying, I'll take it back, I don't need the apartment I'll just stay on the street. What was I going to do? I'm not completely heartless." John cried. Mac nodded.
"What about you? Your husband brings home a teenaged girl and you're fine with it."
"Of course not, but as John said she was too nice to be mad at. She had a shower and I gave her some of john clothes for the night, and the next day I took her shopping. She was such a push over, did whatever you told her to do, a people pleaser, that kind, with the manners of an angel." Mrs. Baglioni replied. Mac nodded taking everything done in his note book.
"When should we pick her up?" John asked, finally handing over Mac's cell phone
"I'm not quite sure, She's at the Bellevue Hospital Center, you can go see her if you'd like." Mac offered. John and Mrs. Baglioni nodded.
"I'm sorry for your loss, and for taking up your time, but we may need to ask you more questions" Mac demanded. The two nodded and then returned to their guests.
-----
At the bakery Danny and Lindsay found at least twenty casings, fifteen or so from two unidentified guns and five or more from the gun that was in Marco Baglioni's hand. There were unidentified blood spatters, which meant that who ever he was shooting at did indeed get shot.
"Danny, he put up quite a big fight, he went down with guns blazing. Nothing's missing from the Bakery nothing's trashed, what were they after?" Lindsay asked.
"There's foot prints here, with paw prints, Mac says a girl was here, chased by two assailants." Danny replied.
"You think they came to shoot at her, and then what Marco Baglioni came down to stop them?" Lindsay asked.
"Maybe, Mac wants to know where she came from, he wants us to follow this trail. Maybe find out who helped her get to the hospital." Danny replied. Lindsay looked at him.
"Why? What's so important about her?"
"Well if she's the one who they were after, finding who helped her out might help us find who killed Marco Baglioni."