For Cassie

Cassie McBride was saved in gumdrops. Nick was able to watch her grow over the years, but what happens when a body is discovered that matches her description?

Old Faces

It was a gloomy day out. It was not raining but the skies looked like they had the potential to release terror with a touch of flooding, at any given moment. The skies had darkened significantly in the past hour. There was not a full moon, yet. The combo of gloomy skies and full moon was never a good mix for Sin City.

The team was sitting in the break room getting ready for shift. Nick was going over the checklist as he checked his kit as he and Greg argued about who the best fighter in the middle weight division. Greg enjoyed getting the Texan all riled up, and the others did too. Morgan was playing some game on her phone that had just about consumed her in the last couple days. Finn was reading a trash tabloid, while Sara read the latest forensic journal.

"Chris Weidman is the best middleweight in the game, right now. He beat Silva, twice, and is conditioned enough to go the distance." Nick argued as he signed the checklist.

"I don't see it." Greg said as he sipped his coffee, getting the reaction out of Nick he wanted.

"Did you even see UFC 175?! Who's a better middleweight then?" Nick argued and when Greg didn't respond Nick smiled. "Exactly!"

"Whatever... How's your new phone?" Greg asked Nick trying to change the subject. Nick was a smart man but smart phones were his krytponite.

"I have no idea how to work the damn thing." Nick chuckled tossing it causally on the table.

"Hello, guys. Ready for assignments?" DB greeted just catching the end of Nick's excitement.

"Please." Sara said smiled at Nick and Greg.

"DB, you better hurry up before Greg gives me a heart attack." Nick said patting his chest. DB just shakes his head preparing to read off the assignments from his infamous clipboard.

"Finlay, suspected hit and run on tropicana. Victim is at desert palms. Greg, assault at a local book store. Nick, home invasion, one Vic. Sara, Jane doe near WLVU. Super Dave is already enroute." DB said handing out the case info slips.

Sara arrives on scene shortly after Super Dave. This alleyway was nothing special. A typical dirty dumpster with unique collection of assorted Vegas garbage and a dumpster filled with the standard supply of college supplies. Sara saw a tarp by Dave and assumed that, that somehow had to be involved. As she approached the yellow tape she was greeted by Detective Crawford.

"Tenant in the neighboring building came out to throw away some garbage. Found her under the old tarp. No ID. No purse or phone. She can't be older than twenty. I have my guys canvassing the area. I'll let you know if anything turns up." Crawford said walking off.

"Thanks, Crawford. What do we have, David?" Sara said putting her kit down to take a couple photos.

"Hello, Sara. COD looks to be strangulation but we will have to wait for doc to confirm it but that's what I'd but my money on. TOD looks to be last night, about 8-12 hours ago. She has some skin under nails and some other defensive wounds. She fought like hell."

"That bruise on her face looks old?" Sara says looking closing at the bruise on her right eye.

"Yeah, it looks like she tried to cover it for concealer. There's very little swelling so it must be a couple days old. She's too clean to be a working girl." Dave said as Sara continue to look at the victim.

Crawford was right she looked young, but pretty. She had blue eyes with wavy almost curly hair. Her clothes were modest. She had a black long sleeve shirt with a scarf and jeans on. No fancy jeweling and no extravagant make up. Sara studied the victim's face. She looked scared as her lifeless body stared into the gloomy sky.

"Are you alright, Sara?" Dave asks seeing Sara stare.

"She's young..." Sara said shaking her head.

Sara to began take some more overall shots, hoping to have a better idea of what happened to their young Jane Doe. She looked at the nearest dumpster, silently dreading the fact that she knew she would have to go into the stinky dumpster. However, before her fate was sealed she saw what looked to be a purse strap stuffed under the dumpster.

Sara snapped a few photos before cautiously grabbing the purse that was stuck in a puddle of dumpster stew. The purse was made of a straw almost hemp like material, so it absorbed some of the stew destroying a lot of the contents that were inside the purse.

"I got a purse." She called out as Super Dave loaded the body. Sara went digging for wallet. She assumed she wouldn't find one but their it sat in the bottom of bag and received the most damage from the stew. Sara opened the wallet and saw immediately that it was an out of state license but more specifically to California.

"California license," she said wiping off the gunk to get a name and face. "David, wait!" Sara said putting the bag down as she ran back over to David was zippering the bag closed. Sara unzipped the bag just enough to see her head. Sara pulled down the scarf that hid a faint jaggered scar across her throat.

"What is it, Sara?" David asked seeing Sara's reaction.

"I know her," Sara said feeling her heart sink. "This is Cassie McBride. About eight almost nine years we investigated her family's murder. Her family's killers cut her throat and left her for dead but Nick found her." Sara said as she covered her face.

Sara's heart became heavy as she looked at the young body. All the memories of the McBride case came back in a tremendous tidal wave. As Sara looked back at her, it was like looking back at the scared ten year old who's family was destroyed.

Sara remembered what a fragile state Nick was in when the McBride case came around. She saw a determination and a fire in his eyes that did not exist before his time in the plexiglas coffin. Sara knew that Nick had maintained a friendship with Cassie throughout the years but did not know much about it. She knew that this would destroy him.

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