A Little Crime Scene
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Fleetingly, he wondered which one of them was really the present.
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Part of the First Kiss Series
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"At least it's festive." Lindsay's flat tone at the first glance of their crime scene made him laugh. Danny pulled the department issue truck up to the curb, and leaned over, taking in the sight of the looming, brilliantly lit Rockefeller Christmas tree, smiling childishly at the soft glow it made, illuminating both the Ice Rink at it's base, and the Channel Gardens. He couldn't say he was happy that a call from Mac had taken him away from midnight mass, and his family, on Christmas Eve, but now, even with the prospects of working into the brightness of the next day, he was glad he was with Lindsay.
"Twenty bucks says it's a tourist."
"You're on." She offered him a tired smile, and slid from her seat, twisting to collect her kit from the backseat. The walked side by side to the parameter, where Detective Angell spotted them, and waved them over. Danny lifted the tape, allowing Lindsay to enter the scene first, and was rewarded with a flash of a smile as she brushed by him.
"Stick the rookie with the holiday hours, Jenn?" Danny grinned at the youngest detective as she rolled her eyes.
"Don't get me started. Sure, I get Rosh Hashanah off, but it seems like hardly a fair trade." She eyed Danny's appearance quickly, arching an eyebrow at him. "I take it you weren't on duty, Messer?" Instead of his usual business casual, he was wearing impeccable black pants, and a soft, dark red sweater, the collar of a crisp white oxford shirt folded out neatly from the neck, visible beneath his 'Forensics' jacket. Lindsay snapped on a pair of gloves, taking a moment to appreciate just how handsome Danny Messer really was when he dressed up. He only shrugged, fixing them both with an innocent smirk.
"Church." He pulled a pair of latex gloves from his pocket, and nodded his head toward the body, haphazardly draped over the edge of one of the rectangular basins, the pool of blood frozen against the ice inside. "What do we got?"
"Name's Michael Pavesvich. ID says he's from Jersey."
"Wife?" Lindsay spoke, crouching against the edge of the basin, squinting at the gold wedding band on the victim's left hand.
"Ex-wife. On her way from the Catskills. Spending Christmas with her new boyfriend, who, and I quote, 'Had finals this week.'" At Danny's confused expression, Detective Angell continued. "She's shacking up with a college student, goes to SUNY Onetona. She's a Professor. Only split with Mr. Pavesvich here three weeks ago."
"Ouch."
"So at first glance, the pain of the lonely holiday was too much for him." Lindsay sighed, biting her lip and taking in the whole of the crime scene. "This'd be the last place I'd go to drown my sorrows, so to speak." Danny cracked a grin, snapping a few photos before stepping out onto the sheet of ice inside the basin, focusing the camera on the blood pool. "What's this?" Lindsay's voice caught his attention, and he adjusted his frames on his nose, walking precariously over to the edge of the basin, squinting at what Lindsay was looking at. He snapped a few pictures, frowning, watching intently as she pried a sprig of vegetation from Michael Pavesvich's hand. "Christmas tree?"
"Maybe. Blood drops, watch your step." Danny turned away from her, snapping a few more pictures, and climbing out of the basin, following the gravitational spatter.
"Directionality is to the North." He smiled softly as she came to stand against him. He shivered, the intimacy of their posture shaking him, and nodded in response to her observation. She stepped back, nodding, shining the beam of her maglight on the drops that continued. "You cold, Professor?" The teasing timbre in her voice told him she was taking a jab at his more formal appearance.
"You're a riot." He watched her duck under the yellow tape, and call out a few instructions to the uniforms, telling them to expand the parameter. Seeing her take charge, giving orders, he had to admit, had him fighting off a wave of arousal. She looked almost lost in the thick of the 'Forensics' jacket she was wearing, identical, even in size, to his. Her curls rustled softly in the night wind, falling out of her dark gray woolen hat.
God, he was going to have to go back to church.
"Stay with the body. I'm going to see where this goes." She called over his shoulder, and he nodded, watching her disappear into the crowd. Maybe spending Christmas working a case wasn't so bad, after all.
Twenty minutes later, Danny was watching as Marty Pino explained how to extract a body frozen to its scene as his phone rang. Reading the tiny screen, he couldn't help but grin.
"Messer."
"Meet me at the tree." Lindsay's voice was soft in his ear, but businesslike, and he stepped away from Marty and the boys from the morgue, turning his attention to the colossal tree that sparkled against the night. "I think I found our primary crime scene."
"Trauma to the head indicates our vic was killed in the Garden, Linds."
"The giant pool of blood and the switchblade with medium velocity spatter I have at my feet suggest an attack took place here."
"Alright, alright. I'm coming." He chuckled into the phone, excusing himself from Det. Angell, and making his way to the base of the Rockefeller Tree. He flipped his phone shut, catching sight of the beam of light from her flashlight as he made his way up the steps to the base of the tree. "Whaddaya got, Montana?"
"Signs of struggle." She jerked her head toward the curved branches, pushing a few out of the way, exposing a darkened space. He followed her, his eyes widening as he took in the hidden area, the ends of the boughs of the bottom branches reaching the ground, weighed down by their needles, and the sheets of lights.
"Whoa." He glanced around, eyes widening, at the sight of the dim yellow glow cast on them from the 60 feet of lights in the tree. Lindsay had already crossed the space, reaching up to shine her maglight on some broken twigs, already talking about how the sprig of evergreen in their vic's hand probably had come from this branch. He glanced around again, noticing the blood pool, and the switchblade by her feet, the soft twinkle of the lights above them reflecting up in the wet of the blood.
She moved, and caught his attention as she inspected some bit of the branch that was half broken, hanging limply above her head. The glow from the strings of lights caused her hair to shine in lazy curls, tumbling out from beneath her woolen hat, spilling over the collar of the oversized department jacket. The yellow of the tiny lights sparkled in her eyes as well, as she turned and cocked an eyebrow at him expectantly.
Sweet lord, she was beautiful.
"Danny? I can't reach it." She gestured toward the broken twigs, and shifted her weight, waiting for him to come and collect the evidence. He crossed to her side, reaching up and collecting the branch with the broken twigs, very much aware that she had not moved, and they were suddenly very close. He reached into his pocket, slicing off the thin branch with the pocketknife he carried with him. She watched him grunt softly, pulling the evidence free, the bottom of his jacket rising with his arms, only just, making the bottom of his sweater noticeable, and the shirttails of his crisp oxford shirt underneath, visible against the black of his pants.
Oh god. She wondered, again, why she had pushed him away. He pulled their evidence down, turning to face her, and handing over the vegetation that they were going to have to match to the sample from their vic's hand. There was an awkward pause between them, as he caught her gaze, and held it.
In the space between a moment, she reached up, pulling him down to her, and touching her lips to his. He stiffened, but she smiled against him, parting her lips just so, granting him access before he had the chance to ask for it. She took his bottom lip between hers, feeling his groan, and his arm slip around her waist.
"What is this?" He spoke against her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her, the childish awe in his voice making her smile again. Lindsay pulled away, taking the branch from him, and dropping it in an evidence bag. "Linds-"
"It's just that it's Christmas. And you're all dressed up. And under a tree." She took the camera from him, adjusting the settings to photograph the blood pool. "Like a present." Her voice was soft, and he broke into a charming grin, amused. Fleetingly, he wondered which one of them was really the present. He checked his watch, sighing as the tiny clock face read 12:06 AM.
"Merry Christmas, Lindsay." He watched as she snapped a few pictures before looking up to meet his gaze with an affectionate smile.
"Merry Christmas, Dan."
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A/N: on a suggestion from sugah sugah. These are wicked fun to write. Hope you enjoyed. Merry Christmas, etc.