SUMMARY: The murder and dismemberment of a young boy strikes a chord in each member of Mac's team. As they race to put together the clues, high tensions soon threaten the careful relationships the team have built -- and causes others to blossom. For each member of the team, the murder means something significant: for Mac, it becomes about avenging an innocent. Stella turns it into a fight for every lost boy. Danny cannot help but see Ruben in this new body, and Lindsay must finally confront him about his grief, Rikki, and where they are left in its wake. Hawkes must face terrible flashbacks to the young patient he lost on his operating table. And for Flack, it comes down to making the City safe to grow up in, like he did. But for Adam, the case is much different. As he uncovers the evidence to help the CSIs move forward, he begins to come apart at the seams as his own abusive past comes fully to light.
SPOILERS: Series through episode 4.15, "DOA for a Day." It will hopefully stay fairly current with the remainder of season 4, but you never know. Zuiker has thrown me some curve balls before.
PAIRINGS: Mac/Stella, Danny/Lindsay, Hawkes/OC, Flack/Angell, Adam/Kendell/OC
NOTES: The title of this story comes from the song, "Dismantle.Repair" by Anberlin, which is on their album "Cities."
DEDICATION: To Michele and Anna, who are stuck on the short bus I'm driving to hell. You are the best friends a girl could have. Honestly.
DISMANTLE.REPAIR
Chapter.One
The building had been slated for demolition, and so Detective Mac Taylor hauled his forensics kit up six flights of stairs, ignoring the dead elevator. It was early -- perhaps three or three thirty in the morning -- and nearing the end of his shift. Behind him, he could hear the even breathing and steady step of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, and he managed a wan smile. He wasn't a young marine anymore, and at three in the morning, he had no business climbing up so many damn stairs. But the doctor, younger and in peak physical condition, didn't seem to have any trouble. Minutely jealous, he let his jarhead pride propel him up the last flight of stairs without pausing for a rest. And at the top of the stairs was Detective Don Flack, looking grim.
"Detective Flack," Mac said.
"Mac." The tall detective nodded. "Dr. Hawkes." He turned to lead the way down the hall and into an empty apartment. As he led them, he gave them the basic facts he'd managed to collect before the CSIs had arrived. "The victim's a kid, can't be more than ten or eleven. The body has been mutilated."
"Mutilated?" Hawkes repeated, echoing the shock Mac felt reverberating through his system.
Flack nodded. "Dismembered, more like, at major joints." He shoved open the door to the apartment and nodded them in. "All the uniforms are keeping a distance. Probably the best-preserved crime scene you've ever been called to, Mac. Nobody wants to get too close." Mac could hear the outrage in the younger man's voice as his eyes dropped to the small body. Flack was right, it was in pieces -- hands, forearms, upper arms, feet, calves, thighs, lower abdomen. The head was still attached to the neck and torso, but the rest of the boy had been taken apart, and there was a long, clean slit across the abdomen. Hawkes stepped forward to take a better look while Mac turned his eyes to the room, privately disgusted.
"Room's pretty clean," he said, not wanting to fuel Flack's obvious rage at the youth and helplessness of their victim. He made a full sweep of the room, but the only furniture was the stainless steel table that the body had been spread out on. Flack nodded.
"The place has been abandoned for a couple weeks. Everything's been cleared out. It was supposed to be torn down three days ago, but the weather didn't permit. It got rescheduled for Tuesday, when the forecast clears up."
"What can you tell me about the cuts, Sheldon?" Mac asked, turning his attention back to the body.
"They're clean. Made by someone with a steady hand. But it's not surgically precise. My best guess is that it was someone with very basic knowledge about the human body."
"So not necessarily an expert or a doctor?"
Hawkes shook his head. "Nope. Probably anybody with a decent amount of upper body strength and an anatomy textbook."
Flack sighed. He didn't look as though this was particularly good news.
"That's not all. The last couple of cuts were very sloppy -- a rush job. Our killer must have sensed their time was running out or that they'd be discovered. You can see where the hand slipped, where the cuts get jagged."
"Guy's probably long gone by now," Flack said. Mac ignored that statement, looking down at the pale face of the young boy. He had been a handsome kid -- tousled, mahogany-colored hair, high cheekbones and the beginnings of a firm jaw. Somehow, the boy's angelic features made the murder seem even more heinous.
"Who called it in?" he asked, and Flack flipped open his notebook.
"Uniformed officer doing his rounds. Name's Pete Griswold. He's back on his beat, but I put in a call to his supervisor and he's available for questioning at your convenience."
Mac nodded and opened his kit. As he knelt to get a better look at the body, Hawkes made a noise. He'd crouched down to get a better look at the surgical table and had come across a trashcan. Abandoning his flashlight, the doctor carefully reached into the trashcan and stood. Cradled in his palms was an internal organ, and with a small noise, Flack recoiled. He wasn't normally squeamish, but it wasn't often he came across organs in trashcans, either.
"It's a pancreas," Hawkes said. He lifted it closer to his face, examining it very closely. He paused and shook his head. "A CT scan would confirm it, but it looks to me like our vic here was suffering from pancreatic cancer."
"So our killer cut the pancreas out?" Mac frowned as Hawkes nodded. The room grew silent. There was obvious significance to the act, and it clarified one point in specific: this murder was personal.
--
Danny Messer had been in better moods. With his girlfriend seated across from him -- notably silent -- in the break room, he felt the unspoken words between them and it caused his hackles to raise. Okay, so he'd missed her birthday. It was an asshole move. But he'd apologized -- what was she still upset about? He couldn't turn back time, although she'd made things so unbearable that he cheerfully would if it were possible. He had to remember not to sigh.
Lindsay hadn't really addressed the subject of Ruben's death. In all fairness, Danny hadn't really wanted to talk about it, either. But her attempts to get his mind off of it had been failures. He'd known that she was just trying to cheer him up, and he hadn't been as grateful as maybe he should have. And then he'd forgotten her birthday. All in all, his RBI wasn't so good, and he supposed he could understand why she was angry.
But he didn't know what to do about it. That was the crux of it, really. They cared for each other, but while Danny's passions ran hot thanks to his Italian heritage, Lindsay approached things in a more logical, practical manner. So while Danny reacted to changes immediately, Lindsay took a step back and considered every possible angle. It was like that in both their personal and professional relationships, and since those relationships were tied so closely, he found himself at a roadblock. He didn't know what to say or do to make it better, and Lindsay wasn't giving him any clues.
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Then he simply stood and walked over to the fridge, where there was water. Lindsay made no comment. She didn't even move. A gnat might have incited a better response. Glowering, Danny returned to his seat and twisted off the cap to the water bottle. It was going to be a long shift if she kept acting this way. The silence stretched until he felt like he was going to snap, and then Mac appeared.
"My office, now," he said, and Danny was scrambling to his feet before the last syllable. Something big was going on. He shot a look Lindsay's way, but she only shrugged. She had no idea what was going on, either. They followed their boss toward his spacious glass office, and Danny frowned as they entered. Mac handed Danny a case file. Danny opened it, and then jerked his head back. Still grieving for Ruben, he hadn't been prepared to face the crime scene photographs of the young, dismembered boy. Reluctantly, Danny passed them over to Lindsay, wishing no one else had to see them.
"Flack called me to the scene early this morning. I'm putting everyone on this one, due the to extreme psychopathic nature of the dismemberment. We're still working on an ID. Danny, I'm sending you and Lindsay back to the scene," Mac said. Danny nodded, trying to shake away the after image that seemed to be burned onto his retina. He gently touched Lindsay's arm, seeing her face contort as she looked at the body, spread in pieces over the operating table.
"You got it, boss."
"And check with Adam about the tox results before you go. He should have collected a sample from Sid and had it run through DNA."
Danny nodded and took the file from Lindsay. Together, they made their way back out of the office, depositing the file on the way. They didn't speak, but this time that didn't bother Danny so much. His thoughts were already consumed with the case, and with the boy who had life cut so brutally short. He couldn't guess at Lindsay's thoughts, but he did recognize the determination and knew he was off the hook -- for now.
Lindsay led the way into the Trace Lab, where three technicians had gathered, going over the results from the tox report. She recognized two of them -- Adam Ross and Kendall Novak -- but the third was unfamiliar to her. She realized it must be the new girl in DNA.
Adam saw her first. "Lindsay," he said, and the other two techs looked up as well. "And Danny."
"Hey, Adam." Danny propped a hip against the table, glancing at the report in Adam's hands. "What've you got?"
"Tox report on our vic came back with high levels of sodium pentobarbital in the blood." Danny lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Lindsay, and then the new girl spoke up.
"Mostly, it's used in veterinary medicine. It's an anesthetic, and it has hypnotic properties as well. Actually, it's got a lot of practical applications. However, you might get lucky, because it's closely regulated and distributed by the federal government, especially after the string of physician-aided suicides in Oregon. So if you can track down a list of people in the area who have access to it, you might find a suspect."
Danny smiled a little. That was the first good news he'd heard about the case. "Nice. Who're you?"
She smiled back. "Aspen Murray."
"Thanks," he said, and then turned back to Adam. "Think you can get a list of people with access to this stuff for me?"
"I'll call you as soon as it's compiled," Adam replied. He'd already turned to a computer. But Danny noticed he was a little green around the gills. He decided against asking about it with so many people around -- but it wasn't often that Adam was disturbed by their work. It was definitely something to follow up on.
"While he's working on that, I've been leafing through missing persons reports in the area. I haven't come up with much yet, but I sent out the dental records and hopefully we'll get an ID from that. In the meantime, the closest I've come so far is this kid, Jimmy Hamilton. He was reported missing by his father, Lee Hamilton, yesterday afternoon, around three o'clock. The dental records should confirm it. This is Lee's address. And one more thing…" Kendall met Lindsay's gaze head-on as she passed over the missing persons report and the address. "Lee Hamilton is a veterinarian. He's got offices downtown."
"Great. We'll swing by on our way back from the crime scene" Lindsay said, sounding a bit more optimistic than she had all day. Danny was glad to hear it.
"Don't bother. Mac'll probably send Hawkes. And I'll check Lee's supply records, look for any orders of sodium pentobarbital," Adam said.
Danny nodded and looked over at Lindsay. She caught his gaze and nodded to him. "Let's head out. Thanks, you guys. Adam…beer after work?"
Adam blinked, surprised by the invitation. Then he nodded slowly, as if he were expecting some kind of trick or prank. "Sure. I'll give you a call."
"Good. Lindsay, let's make our way to the crime scene."
--
Stella Bonasera wanted to reach out to her boss. She had never hesitated in the past…but there was something different today. They'd been through many things together, and if anyone knew when it would be permitted to cross the line with Mac Taylor, it was Stella. Through spectacular fights and heartbreaking cases, it was Stella that Mac had oft turned to for comfort or strength. But things had changed lately. Since his relationship with Peyton had began and then so abruptly ended, Mac had turned to his long-time partner less and less. And it had gotten to the point where even when Stella could see him in his office, alone and clearly bothered, she couldn't bring herself to go in.
Maybe she was just being silly. So many years together meant that their core of trust was still solid. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't wanted at times like these anymore, and she mourned the loss.
She passed his office altogether, knowing that to go in now, with her emotions tangled, would be a mistake. Instead, she headed toward her own office, where she had a copy of the toxicology reports waiting to be reviewed. And as she walked, Kendall Novak fell into step beside her.
"Stella," the woman said, and as always, Stella marveled at the other's simple and elegant beauty.
"Kendall," she replied with warmth.
"I've got a tentative ID on our vic. I passed the word on to Mac, but I thought I'd tell you as well. I'm just waiting on the dental records to confirm." Kendall passed over a copy of the missing persons report she'd shown Danny and Lindsay.
"Jimmy Hamilton." Stella nodded. "Good work. This should give us a solid starting point."
"Thanks." Kendall's smile was grateful. Then it faded slowly, and Stella realized she was about to be asked a personal question. She shook her head a little. She enjoyed being the person everyone else came to with problems, but on a day like today, it was easy to feel overwhelmed.
"Stella…I had a…I just wanted to know what your opinion on relationships in the workplace," the other managed. Stella smiled. She probably should have seen this one coming. True, no one had reprimanded Danny and Lindsay for theirs, but even Danny had managed to be discreet. So far, it hadn't been something to be concerned about. Stella wasn't particularly comfortable with the idea of two people on the same team becoming romantically involved, but she recognized the irony -- she didn't always want to follow her own good advice.
"I would proceed with caution. Relationships in the workplace happen, that's normal. But they have a tendency to get messy, and if it causes issues with the quality of the work, well…that is something that Mac doesn't tolerate. But I'm sure you could handle it." Stella paused. "Where's this coming from, Kendall?"
The blonde woman didn't answer. She shifted gears instead, and for the first time, Stella realized that there were self-confidence issues lying under Kendall's beautiful, controlled surface. "What do you think about Aspen?"
Stella frowned. She hadn't had much face time with the new tech, and with her mind wrapped up in the Hamilton case, she wasn't sure she had an answer.
"She seems capable," she said after a pause.
Kendall nodded, and just as quickly came back to the business at hand. Stella was both relieved and intrigued by the swap. She was glad that Kendall was comfortable enough to come to her supervisor, and yet still seemed determined to handle her insecurities on her own. She touched the other woman's shoulder, and they smiled at each other.
"I'll page you as soon as I get that confirmation." Kendall started to say more, but Adam appeared, jogging down the hall of the lab with a sheaf of papers in his hands.
"Hey guys. Stell -- I was putting together a list of people who have access to sodium pentobarbital, and while I was at it, I checked up on Lee Hamilton's last shipment. It came in last week, and Lee Hamilton signed for a full case of the stuff. But then one of his aids reported four doses missing, the next morning completely unaccounted for." Adam reported.
Stella opened her mouth. He cut her off.
"I already checked with Sid. That's enough to be a lethal dosage. And with the amount found in the boy's blood…"
"Good work, Adam. Kendall, we'll talk later?" At the other woman's nod, Stella pulled out her cell phone and hit Flack's speed dial while the techs headed off to spread the word. It was time to visit Dr. Hamilton.
--
Don Flack didn't work with partners often. Oh, he'd worked on teams before, and he'd had a mentor, just like every other cop in the department. But he had quietly avoided a partner for a while, preferring to operate on his own. Still, there was a comforting aspect to knowing someone was watching your back. And the view of the back he was watching, he had to admit, wasn't so bad. But he really, really didn't want this particular partner on this particular case. It wasn't that Detective Jessica Angell couldn't handle it. It was that he didn't want her to have to. He hadn't even wanted her to see the crime scene photographs. But Mac had requested that everyone be in on this one, and he hadn't been able to stop her.
She'd been pale all morning since he'd passed her the file. And, knowing she probably wouldn't appreciate his concern, Flack had tried to get their minds off of it, with very limited success. They pulled up to the veterinary offices of Dr. Lee Hamilton in silence, and Flack had to rally himself to get out of the car. As he did so, both their cell phones went off. Angell shot him a look as he checked the text message from the Crime Labs.
"Dental records confirmed. Our victim is James Hamilton," Flack said. She nodded and straightened her shoulders, preparing to go inside and face their prime suspect. Flack just made sure his gun was loose in its holster. Chances were slim that he'd actually need it, and with Chief Inspector Gerard on a sustained warpath, he really hoped he wouldn't need it. But he'd been a boy scout growing up, and he believed in always being prepared.
Together, they walked into the vet. Angell headed straight for the reception desk, and she flashed her badge at the young woman behind the counter.
"We're here to see Dr. Lee Hamilton about the Missing Persons he reported," she said. Flack hung back, keeping an eye on the situation and the exits.
"Sure." She paged the doctor. A few moments later, and he appeared. Flack gave him a once-over. Middle-aged, going bald and a little soft around the edges. Unremarkable features. He looked like every other vet or doctor or dentist there had ever been.
"I'm Dr. Hamilton, can I help you?" he asked, looking nervous. That satisfied Flack a little. He did enjoy making people nervous. One of the perks of the job.
"Yeah, we think so. I'm Detective Flack, this is Detective Angell. We're here about the Missing Persons report you filed for your son, Jimmy."
Lee Hamilton paled. "You -- you found him?"
"Yes," Angell replied. "Dr. Hamilton, he's been murdered."
Then Lee Hamilton made the mistake most criminals do. He ran. And, cursing his luck for wearing his nice shoes today, Flack gave chase. This was not generally part of the job he enjoyed. But having Angell there to help herd the good doctor into a dead end did make it easier. They chased him down the hall and Flack flung himself at the man's ankles as he headed for the emergency fire exit. They both fell in a rather painful heap, but it was effective. By the time Hamilton had regained his footing, Angell was standing in front of the fire escape, gun drawn. Flack shot her a winning smile as he pulled out his cuffs.
"Nice moves," he said.
In spite of herself, Angell smiled back. "I do have brothers, you know."
Flack slapped the cuffs onto Lee's wrists and led him back toward their car while Angell holstered her weapon. He shook his head as Lee, silent and looking hopeless, climbed into the Department's SUV.
"Congratulations, doc. You just became our prime suspect," he said, and slammed the door shut after him.