this is going to break me clean in two/ this is going to bring me close to you/…this is going to bring me clarity/ this'll take the heart right out of me
-The Fray, She is
It was barely February and already New York had shed the glow of a New Year. As the temperature continued to drop, its citizens were back to work, were back to screaming abuse at each other on the roads, were back to committing murder and dumping the bodies in back alleyways.
With Mac and Hawkes on a case in the suburbs and Lindsay processing evidence in the lab, it was Stella and Danny who met Flack to process the scene. Underneath a snow laden sky a young woman was lying in the trash behind a popular local pizzeria.
"We got an ID on the vic?" Danny asked, pulling the strap of his camera over his shoulders.
Flack consulted his notebook. "Yeah, her purse was still in her bag." He indicated where it lay against the brick wall near the victims' feet. Danny snapped off a few shots before moving closer to examine it. "Krista Mathers, 28. She lives nearby."
"Wouldn't think so by her clothes," Stella commented, pulling back the jacket to check the inner lining. "Clothes are well worn- the labels are faded- but they weren't cheap."
"I got a shoe over here," Danny called, moving on to take pictures of the next object. It lay between the body and a small set of concrete stairs leading to the back door of the pizzeria.
"Heal is broken. There's somethin' around the edges. Looks like glue- maybe home repairs." He looked up at where Stella was still crouched over the body, Flack standing nearby. "Stell, am I right in thinkin' the shoes don't match the rest of the ensemble?" He pronounced the word in this think accent, 'on-somb'.
She smiled in response to his smirk, and moved down the body to check the shoe that remained on it's left foot. Using one gloved hand she inspected it closely. "I agree. So old expensive clothes and cheap shoes. What does that tell us?"
Flack looked up at the area around them. "Got the clothes from a shelter maybe?"
"Or she started out some place better than this," Danny suggested. Setting his kit down on the ground he pulled out some large evidence bags to collect the bag and lone shoe.
Writing the details of the case on the side of a bag, he looked up to see Hawkes duck under the police tape that had cordoned off the ally. A small crowd had gathered to see what was going on and a few uniformed officers were standing guard.
"Hey, thought you were on that shooting in queens."
Hawkes shrugged and walked over to the body. "Husband confessed as soon as Mac started fingerprinting him. Mac sent me out when he heard the forecast."
They all looked to the heavy grey sky and Stella stood to let Hawkes get closer to the body. She gingerly stepped through the rubbish to examine the brick wall as Hawkes took the victim's head in his hands.
"Blunt force trauma to the back of the skull," he informed them, examining the indentation that was the likely COD.
Stella flicked her torch on and examined a section of the wall where a line of bricks jutted out at a sharp angle, just about head hight for the victim. "I have blood and hairs here. Looks like she hit the wall hard."
Hawkes looked up. "I'll check with Sid, but that would probably do it."
Danny gathered the two evidence bags, now correctly labelled, and took them to the lab car he and Stella had driven to the scene. Securing them in the back of the car, and making sure an officer was available to guard it, he walked back into the crime scene, where the others were still grouped around the body.
"…a pretty nasty black eye developing here." Hawkes was saying. "A few hours anti-mortem. Same with the bruises on her forearms."
Stella recognised the bruising pattern. "Someone gabbed her- hard."
"Yeah, looks like it. Maybe whoever did this came back for more."
Danny took a few steps closer to the concrete steps. "So sayin' she came out of the pizzeria, started towards the street. But her shoe breaks."
Stella joined him. "She doesn't stop to fix it- maybe she couldn't. If someone was behind her…"
"He catches up with her- she couldn't've moved fast with only one shoe. And she goes into the wall," Danny suggested. "We need to fingerprint the ally and the pizzeria."
Flack sighed. "I'll tell the owner."
Before he could move away a uniformed officer approached him. "Detective, I have a message for Detective Messer."
Danny looked up at the sound of his name and walked back to the group.
"Where's your phone?" Hawkes asked as he reached them.
Danny patted the area on his belt where his phone was usually clipped and shook his head. "Must've left it in the car. What's the message?" he asked the young woman.
She handed him the notebook where she'd written down the message. After a moment he handed it back to her. "Hey, Hawkes, can I borrow your cell for a minute man?" He looked worried, a frown lines appearing on his forehead.
"Sure." Hawkes unclipped it from his belt and handed it over. Danny moved a few meters away from them to make the call.
Flack raised his eyebrows. "What's that all about?"
"Couldn't be anything with the lab- Mac would have called one of us," Stella replied.
Hawkes turned towards the officer who had given Danny the message. "Hey, Officer Rodriguez." She had retreated back to the police line but at his call returned. He smiled at her briefly, and after a moment she returned it. "What was that message you gave Danny?"
"Just to call Detective Carols at the one-two-two," she replied as Stell and Flack joined them.
"That's Staten Island." Flack informed the others. "His ma still lives out there doesn't she?"
"Yeah," Hawkes replied. "Danny took me there for dinner one time."
Flack turned to the uniformed officer still standing beside them. "Thank you, Officer."
She nodded and turned, making brief eye contact with Hawkes before walking away. Before Flack could comment, Danny was suddenly with them, practically shoving the phone into his friends' hands.
"Here man. Stell, I gotta go. Some sort of- family emergency, you know how my family gets." He smiled like he was making a joke but it looked more like a grimace. His movements mirrored his voice- halting and agitated.
Stella cast a concerned eye over her young friend. Lately he'd been a lot calmer at work, more focused on his tests and on gathering evidence at crime scenes. She had felt a certain sort of maternalistic pride over the change, a lot of which she credited to his growing friendship with Lindsay. They were practically joined at the hip now, although she had yet to see anything that indicated they were in a romantic relationship.
But now that undercurrent of unsettled violence was back in him, and while Danny seemed intent on holding it back Stella wasn't sure he was going to be okay.
"Sure, Danny. If it's family." She smiled reassuringly. "Just remember to drop that evidence off at the lab first."
He nodded and left without saying goodbye to anyone. Flack yelled down the ally as he walked towards the police line. "Hey, Messer, don't forget you and Monroe are coming to the game on Saturday." The only response was a backhanded wave as Danny ducked under the line and disappeared into the crowd.
When Flack turned back Stella had retrieved her own cell phone from her belt. He smiled at her wryly. "What are you up to Detective Bonasera?"
"Just keeping an eye on him," she replied, pressing #5 on speed dial. After waiting a moment, she reacted to someone on the other end of the phone. "Hey, Lindsay, where are you?"
Flack shrugged and looked at Hawkes. "You coming to the game, Hawkes? I got a few more free tickets."
"Saturday?" He asked and Flack nodded. "Yeah, think I'm working the late shift again. Sounds good."
Flack cast an eye over the crowd at the end of the ally. "And maybe you could, you know, invite a friend. I'm sure Officer Rodriguez would be free." He smirked at the look on Hawkes face.
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AN- This is a double first for me- the first multi chaptered story I have ever posted here and the first time I have ever posted the beginning of a story without finishing it first. Don't worry, I know exactly where I'm going, and I won't make you wait too long for an update!