CHAPTER ONE
Note: Please read Untitled first.
"Munch? John? John!" I called, shaking his good arm. He opened his eyes quietly and gestured for his glasses. "We've got a case," I whispered. He nodded, trying to rise up. I tried to help him but he shook his head. "Is something wrong?"
"It's been two weeks. It shouldn't be hurting like this," he replied. I nodded.
"I'll drop you off at the doctor, then I have to respond to the scene. I'll talk to Cragen on the way," I whispered. John nodded and allowed me to get him dressed.
It'd been two weeks since we finished the I-rapist case, and John had been housing me ever since. The past three apartments just weren't for me (one looked worse than a crime scene, one was too high for my liking, and the third was next door to a day care center), and John understood as long as I contributed. I'd been doing a lot of things for him, namely because he was still recovering from his gunshot, but also because I had something to work with. Cooking was something I did for stress release, but when I sold my home and moved to a rental property, I gave up that release due to a shoddy kitchen. Now I had a rather nice one to work with, and John definitely noticed its use, as did his coworkers.
I helped John into the car once we were downstairs, and I immediately took him to the physician in charge (after informing Cragen, who put my lead tech in charge until I could make it to the scene). After a few minutes trying to get him examined, John was taken back. I told him to give me a call when the exam was finished, then I rushed to the scene.
"Two victims, one dead," Fin explained, pointing to the covered corpse at the end of the alleyway. "The perp or perps left the scene before the cops responded. A neighbor called in from that apartment over there. Olivia is interviewing them now, and the ME will be here any minute to get the body. The living victim is on his way to Mercy. I'm headed there now, so the scene is yours."
I took over, letting my expertise from my years with the GBI guide my team. Photographs were snapped, evidence was gathered, and a thorough sweep of the perimeter was conducted while the ME took the body away. We found many useful items, along with some not so useful ones, but I felt we'd covered everything well.
My phone rang during the last sweep, and though it was about Munch, it wasn't him.
"I'm calling on behalf of John Munch. This is Dr. Thompson, his physician. We're taking him into surgery right now."
"Surgery?" I asked.
"We did another x-ray to see what was going on with his joint. We expected to find routine fluid or infection, and we did, but we also saw a fragment that was causing the infection. John asked me to call you and get word to your boss."
"I'll do that. Where do I go to see him?"
"Mercy," he replied. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said, hanging up. I sighed and drove back to the precinct to begin doing paperwork while my techs processed everything. But I stopped by Cragen's office first to tell him about Munch. He sighed at the news.
"I'll need someone to help out until the newest people get here. You up for it?" he asked.
"What about my current job? I can't do both sets of paperwork."
"Your techs could use the practice. Process any key pieces of evidence and wait for my call. Fin and Olivia have things covered for now, but we'll need a lead soon."
I followed his orders, sticking with the victims' clothing, a shell casing, and an interesting find in our final sweep. I moved those pieces ahead in their process by adding a rush to them. As soon as I sent the final piece of paperwork, Cragen knocked on my door, calling me out to the center floor.
"Olivia, bring us up to speed on the case," Cragen commanded. I sat on the edge of John's desk to listen.
"Two victims, one male and one female. Two perps forced them into the alleyway. One beat on the man, but he was mainly holding him back. The other one ravaged the woman, raping and beating her. We're still waiting on the ME's report, but she told me at the scene that she may've had a heart attack."
"How old is she?" I asked.
"Twenty-three, but she was not healthy. The neighbor and the man with her confirmed she was often in a wheel chair due to asthma and a weak heart. The neighbor also called the cops after hearing her call out, but she didn't see anything."
"Monty, what did you find at the scene?"
"Not much, at least crime-related. But we found a casing at the scene, along with this," I said, pulling up the photograph on a nearby computer. "I've seen this before, but not in New York. It was the calling card of a serial rapist in South Georgia. How it got up here I'm not sure because we collared him and he got life without parole, just one vote from the death penalty. I haven't looked him up yet, but I'm sure that sentence was upheld."
"What can you tell me about the casing?" Cragen asked.
"It was from a handgun, but judging by the size of the shell, it was a very powerful one. Once we get back the analysis of it, I'll be able to tell you everything about it."
"But neither victim was shot, and he didn't mention a gun," Fin whispered.
"We might be dealing with two different crime scenes," Benson mentioned.
"Monty, tell your people to keep an eye out for that. Then you can join Fin with the ME."
"Where's Munch?" Fin asked.
"In surgery. Apparently they missed a fragment or something," I replied. They nodded quietly.
Once briefing my team, I joined Fin with the medical examiner.
"Your victim definitely died of a heart attack, but it was induced by a violent rape. The vaginal trauma on her suggests two things: the perp used an object or she's younger than they let on."
"The other victim never mentioned an object, but couldn't her frailness affect the rest of her?" Fin asked.
"Not that much. She might look twenty-three and have a twenty-three-year-old's ID, but this body suggests she's younger, much younger. I'd say she's a tall, prepubescent ten-year-old, but she did have asthma and a heart condition. I'm not done with the examination, but I'll keep you updated," Warner explained. We nodded, heading back upstairs.
"So, how did Munch end up back in surgery? Did he collapse or something?" Fin asked.
"It took me a while to wake him up, then he was a little slower than usual getting up. He said it was hurting too much, so I took him to his doctor. They used an x-ray to check for infection, and they found a fragment that was causing it."
"So you're standing in for him? You've got some tough shoes to fill."
"I know, but I've learned a lot in my two weeks with you guys. He taught me well."
"I hope so because things are going to get interesting," Fin whispered, using his head to gesture to the FBI agents that had filled the area.
"Agent Lin, join my team in here," Cragen called, gesturing to us to join them. We went inside, taking our places around Agent Lin, FBI. I remembered her from my neck of the woods. She took over one of our cases outside her jurisdiction once, angering both our boss and hers. She was lucky she still had a job, and I think she knew it.
"What's this about?" Fin asked. Agent Lin took a breath to speak, but Cragen held up his hand.
"Tyler, you were right," Cragen whispered.
"David Janice escaped two weeks ago from the maximum security cell that was supposed to hold him in. He's back to his old game, and he's got victims on back roads all the way to New York. He's got a new calling card though: he shoots his victims, then uses their immobility to take even more advantage of them. He killed two women in Pennsylvania, raping and robbing both of them. He stole their car, and we found it in a parking garage two blocks from your current crime scene.
"Your captain said you have evidence that points to him, so we'll need those results once you've finished processing. My counterparts outside want to brief some of your leading agents in catching this guy, because he will not go easy," Agent Lin said to Cragen, who nodded.
"Tyler knows the ropes, so I'm sending her on an errand. You can use the floor to brief the rest," Cragen replied. The room disbursed, leaving Cragen and me behind. "Go check on Munch. I'll keep up contact with your team."
I followed his orders, taking the crowded road to Mercy. I quickly found John, who was in a recovery room but sedated. His doctor noticed me sitting in a chair beside him and came in to brief me.
"He gave me permission to talk to you. He's a lucky man to still have that arm. I want to keep him here for three days to let him heal, and so we can treat his arm. The fragment somehow wiggled out of the bone, which is also infected. He'll be out of commission work-wise for at least three weeks, but I'm going to tell him six and get you to enforce it. He was working himself too hard to begin with, so this one is going to take longer."
"How long until he wakes up?" I asked. He shrugged.
"I'd give him an hour at least, but he was pretty weak when we took him back, so it might be longer," he replied. I nodded, accepting his handshake and taking my seat again. I called Cragen to tell him the news, and he dealt me a curve.
"The evidence matches the case, so both are now with the FBI."
"Both? But the one today doesn't have anything to do with him."
"Agent Lin wanted the case, and...I had no choice but to give it to her. Her supervisor called to confirm, and I had to accept."
"But that's not her jurisdiction. She's done this before with another case, and she nearly lost her job. Why would she do it again?"
"You know her from your neck of the woods?" Cragen asked. I answered with an approving sound. Cragen sighed. "They said she was new, meaning they transferred her. I'll keep an eye on things, but there's nothing we can do. Besides, there's another case here already. You can stay with Munch until we get a crime scene to comb through."
"Thanks," I whispered, and we soon ended the call.
I was soon flipping through a newspaper over a deli sandwich from the hospital cafeteria while I waited for John to wake up. Nothing major was in the headlines for me now that the I-rapist was dead and his copycat was in prison. He ordered a speedy trial, and the FBI delivered. Though they wanted to exonerate him to Georgia where the death penalty was still in place, they decided his consecutive life terms were enough of a sentence.
But no other headlines interested me. I ended up with the comics, reading through them all without a single laugh. I solved the day's Sudoku puzzle within five minutes, then I finished my sandwich.
My phone rang and I answered it without looking at the ID. It was Leslie, who was dying for some friend contact after a dry week without me. Georgia was still raking in big cases even if I wasn't.
"So, where are you today?" Leslie asked.
"Waiting for Munch to wake up," I replied. "The fragment moved and he's got an infection, but hopefully the surgery will help."
"That man just can't catch a break. Well I hope he feels better soon. Any jobs, or is he your task for today?" she asked.
"I'm actually filling in for him, as well as running my lab. There's a case, but we're not on it. The joys of having multiple people around," I smiled. Leslie made an agreeing tone. "So how's everything looking down there?"
"It's been raining here, so the florist got Sean a water lily for this week. I'll email you the pictures once my computer gets fixed. And...an old friend of yours called from Alabama, or rather an old friend of Sean's. He had some things he wanted to give you, but I volunteered to take them. Are you still staying with John?"
"For now," I replied.
"I'll ship it there when I get a chance. Um...have you started talking to that guy yet?"
"My first appointment is tomorrow," I whispered, watching a nurse come in and check on Munch. "I'm not ready for it, but I have no choice. Luckily tomorrow is just a Q-and-A session, so hopefully it'll go well."
"Keep me posted. Oh, I'll send another box of tea for you too. I bet you're dying from withdrawal right now," she giggled. I agreed, then we ended our call.
Munch didn't wake up for another two hours, and when he did we merely briefed him and let him go back to sleep. He was very weak, and I wondered how long he'd actually felt that bad. He was a hider, but I wondered how far he would go to hide an illness just to avoid treatment.
I left him for the evening to catch up on some things at work, and after picking up my new laptop from John's apartment and a quick dinner, I returned to the hospital to keep him company. And I wasn't alone: Fin was standing outside on his phone when I got there. When the call ended, he sighed and looked up to me.
"Thought it was going to be a quiet day, but we've got a case. How's he doing? He wouldn't wake up when I was in there."
"He's tired and weak," I whispered. Fin nodded. "Am I needed for the case?"
"Nah, but he said he'd call if he needed you. Why are you here though?"
"Paying him back I guess. He's had to deal with me a lot over the past few weeks, so my being here is just repaying the debt a little."
"John won't make you owe him. Truly he's a lonely man now days. He likes his nights alone, but having someone to talk to would do him some good. Stay with him unless you think you're becoming a burden, otherwise stay put. But you didn't hear that from me," Fin winked. "The victim will be here any minute, so I'm heading down to the ER to meet her."
My phone rang a moment later, so he went towards the elevators. I was soon following him: I had a crime scene to process.