This is my first fanfiction in a REALLY long time! Please tread gently. :)

Thanks!

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Lindsey flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed heavily. The case file justs kept growing. She lugged the file box off of her desk and carried into the empty interrogation room. The table there was large enough to spread out the photos, witness statements and evidence packages.

She laid things out methodically, lifting the plastic wrapped packages as carefully as she would lift an infant out of a crib. She laid the packages carefully under their respective photographs, ensuring they didn't cross into the other columns she was creating.

As she stared at her evidence, she looked for patterns in the photos, the statements and the minuscule amounts of physical evidence found at each scene. The longer she stared, the faster the images blurred before her. She'd been at this for over six hours.

Pulling her long brown hair up into a ponytail, Lindsey glanced around the room at the familiar bare walls. Jacobi had left four hours ago. Claire was probably sound asleep. Jill was on yet another hot date, and Cindy had gone home to visit her mom for a few days. There was only one other person around that she could trust, and she sure as hell wasn't going to him for advice on a case.

Leaving her files on the table, she locked the door to interrogation, and went to get her fourth coffee of the night. She hoped Martha was holding up okay without her nightly walk. She was so distracted by the thought of her dog, that she nearly ran right in to Tom as he passed through the main doors of the Hall of Justice.

"Tom," Lindsey said, pushing past him to go through the door.

"Four pumps of caramel, low-fat milk, no foam," he said, handing the cup over. When she raised an eyebrow in question, Tom smiled his boyish smile. "I saw the light on in interrogation. Figured you needed to be on your toes."

Lindsey smiled at him awkwardly and sipped the hot beverage with a sinfully erotic lick of her lips.

Tom had to pull his eyes away from her lips. "Anything new in the case?"

Lindsey shook her head and took another swig. "Not a damn thing." Her brows furrowed, "I know they're all connected. I know they all follow some form of pattern, I just can't figure it out."

Tom nodded as she talked, his own brow furrowing in concern, "Linz, is this case getting to be another Kiss Me Not? Are you able to put it to bed?" The memory of the closed case was still fresh for everyone in Homicide.

"I will put it to bed when I solve it." She turned and started walking towards the bull pen again. "Thanks for the coffee Lieutenant," she called over her shoulder.

Tom shook his head, and went back up to his office to finish his nightly paperwork.

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The diner was full the next morning. Lindsey walked in and nodded at Claire, Jill and Cindy who were saving a seat for her at their usual booth. She sat down and picked up the menu off the table. She barely glanced at it before she knew what she wanted.

"So, ladies, what's the word of the street today?" She asked, flipping the menu down on the table.

Claire looked at Lindsey's face. The dark circles under her eyes told her all she needed to know. "Did you go home last night?"

The withering look she got was answer enough. "For your information, no. I spent the night poring over my case files to try and catch a murdering bastard."Lindsey turned and gave her order to the waitress. "And, found nothing." She put her head on her folded arms.

Jill smiled, "At least you have a case to throw yourself in to. I feel like I'm sitting on an empty vault." She took a bite of her eggs. "Denise is stonewalling me lately, and I have gotten nothing but boring sign outs for days!"

"Why?" Claire asked, "I mean, what would she gain by not giving you cases?"

Jill shrugged, "Besides annoying me? She's holding Hanson over my head. If I don't have a case, I can't work opposite him." Jill swirled the ice in her orange juice. "I guess I just have to ride this out."

Lindsey tried to smile apologetically. She was still wrapped up in her case. "Claire, I need you to go over the tox results for Mr. Newman with me again. Something there doesn't seem right, but I don't know what it means."

Claire and Cindy groaned. "What?" Lindsey asked, exasperated.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? The last time you wanted a rehash of the stomach contents; ew by the way. The week before that, it was bruise patterns."

Claire nodded along to her speech. "What's going on, Linz?"

Lindsey just shook her head.

The other three looked at each other, exchanging worried glances. "Lindsey," Claire said kindly. "Is there something we can do?"

"Distract me? Give me the answers I need to find the connection." She offered up. All four women smiled.

"I can help with that, detective," the waitress smiled as she set down a plate full of food.

Lindsey smiled her thanks, and tucked in to her breakfast.

The chatter around the cafe swallowed up the rest of the morning.

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Lindsey unlocked the door, and smiled as Martha wandered over, whining for attention. The dog walker Lindsey had hired must have taken care of her over the last few days. Thankful for her foresight, Lindsey patted the dog's head, and kicked her shoes off.

She dropped the banker's box on the floor, and reached up to pull down the ladder of her attic space. As the ladder unfolded, she sighed, and picked up the heavy cardboard box and hitched it to her hip as she started to climb.

At the top, she set the box down again and looked around. The bare walls seemed foreign to her. The small holes in the wall were the only scars of the Kiss Me Not case. The desk was clear of all paper, and the battered laptop was cold from lack of use.

Lindsey put the banker box on the desk and flipped the lid open. She fished through the file folders until she found the first picture. Holding it in her left hand, she blindly dug through the desk for a push pin.

Staring at the face of the first victim, she stood up took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pushed the pin through the paper and into the wall.

It was starting again.