Flack walked into the apartment, which was his latest crime scene. He saw a female uniformed officer sitting with a young woman who was sobbing. He approached the other officer who was standing by the body of another young woman.
"What've we got?" Don asked; he bent down to get a closer look.
"The victim is Melanie Bennett; she was stabbed by the looks of it." The older man responded.
"Who found her?"
"Her younger sister, over there," he pointed to the girl, "her name's Regan Bennett."
"Did she give you anything else?"
"No, she's pretty shaken-up."
Don thanked the man for the information then asked him to secure the area and talk to the neighbors to see if they had heard or seen anything. Just then Danny and Stella walked in the door. They both looked as if his call had woken them up.
"Alright Flack it's three am, what did we get out of bed this early for?" Danny asked as they approached Flack.
Flack explained the scene, then said, "the responding officers didn't get much from the sister, so I'm gonna go try to see what I can get out of her." He walked over to the young woman as Stella and Danny began to take pictures and exam the evidence around the body.
The female officer saw him approaching and excused herself.
"Miss Bennett, I have a few questions for you," he said in the nicest tone he could muster.
She looked up at him from her hands. "Ok."
"Can you just kind of walk me through what happened?"
She sniffed. "We both went to bed around midnight. I woke up because I heard a scream, and when I came out of my room my sister," she paused and her tears came again. "She was laying on the floor with blood all around her."
"Did you see anybody?"
"I saw a man running out of the apartment."
"Did you happen to know who it was? Or see anything distinctive about him?"
"No, it was dark and he was wearing all black." She wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue.
"Do you and your sister live together?"
"She, uh, just broke up with her boyfriend, and she had been living in his apartment. So, she was staying with me until she found something else."
"What's the boyfriend's name?"
"Matt Austen. You don't think he did this, do you?"
"We just need to exercise all of our options. Do you know anyone that would want to hurt your sister? Perhaps people at work, or just anyone she could've made mad."
"No, she was a web designer; she worked from home. She got along with everybody. I couldn't imagine anyone hating Melanie enough to kill her."
Flack closed his notebook. "Ok, thank you. We're going to need to get your prints and DNA to eliminate them from what's in the apartment." He put the notebook in his pocket. "Is there anyone you can stay with for a little while?"
"No," her tears welled in her eyes then fell again. "Melanie was the only family I had left."
Flack put his hand on the woman's shoulder. "We're gonna do everything we can to find your sister's killer, I promise."
She looked up at him and tried to smile at his friendliness. "Thank you."
As Flack left the scene an hour later he had Regan in the car with him. She was silent in the passenger seat as they drove. She had a firm grasp on the duffel bag in her lap. He could tell she was still struggling to hold back tears. Usually he would've had one of the uniform officers take someone from a crime scene to where they would stay, but he felt bad for Regan. He could feel that terrible feeling of getting close to a certain case- the feeling that every manual and training class told you not to get. He had let it happen before and it usually didn't end well; you would think he would've learned his lesson by now.
He stopped in front of the hotel in Manhattan. He opened the passenger door and Regan smiled slightly to show her gratitude. He was behind her as they walked to the front door, which he opened for her as well. As he stood at the front desk, checking her in, she stood next to him but not close to him.
They were silent in the elevator. Flack wasn't quite sure what to say. He was still silently cursing himself for doing this; he knew better, but he was in too deep now.
As they approached the room he handed her the key cards he had received at the desk. Then they stood at the door to the room and Regan was staring at the floor, and Flack at her.
"I really appreciate this," she finally said.
"It's my job." Flack replied. He held his business card out to her. "Here's my card, if you need anything or think of anything that might help us, call me."
She took the card and looked at it for a second then looked up at him. "Thanks I will," with that she turned from him, unlocked the door, and disappeared into the room.
When Flack was back in his car he took out his cell phone and dialed. It rang four times and he got the voicemail.
"Hey, sis it's Don. I just called to say hi. And that maybe I, uh, never said it but I appreciate you and I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. Well, I love you. Bye." He ended the call and put the phone back in the clip on his belt. He didn't know what it was but he felt the need to call his sister after the scene he had just been at it.
Flack was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork the next evening. He heard someone behind him say his name; it sounded like they were asking where they could find him. He turned his chair to see Regan Bennett walking toward him. She looked distraught. He stood as she approached.
"Regan, what are you doing here?" he asked and motioned for her to sit in the chair next to his desk.
"I went to the apartment earlier just to get the mail and I got something that was kind of weird and I thought you should see it." She pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to him. "I didn't open it."
Flack took a letter opener from his desk and slit the top of the envelope. He slid the paper out with his pen then unfolded it. He read it aloud. "It was supposed to be you."
Regan put her hand to her mouth. "Do you think this has to do with what happened to Melanie?"
"Regan, we already have someone in custody."
"I know, but you told me you got him yesterday morning, that's postmarked for today."
Flack stared at the paper. "We need to get you into protective custody. I'm gonna take this to the lab see what we get." He looked at her. "I'll take you back to your hotel for you to get your stuff then we're gonna have to find you a new hotel." He stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. She stood as well. Flack picked up the note and the envelope.
They were in the lab minutes later. Regan stood in the hallway as Flack gave the new evidence to Stella for her to process.
"You think the other sister was the intended victim?" Stella asked as she looked at the envelope.
"That's what this note is indicating."
"I'll see what I can get from it. Are you putting her in protective custody?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna move her into a different hotel and get some uniforms on round-the-clock watch. Let me know what you find from that." He left the room, and he and Regan went to the elevator.
An hour later Flack was back in the lab with Stella. "I found male DNA on the envelope but it's not a match to our suspect. I also found prints that I ran through AFIS and I got nothing," Stella was saying.
"So, basically we're back at square one," Danny interjected.
"And now there's someone after the sister who was supposed to die before," Flack said and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm gonna do some more digging on Regan and see if anything in her past can explain this." He got up from the break room table.
Flack browsed the computer searching for something. He had found that Regan and Melanie's parents had died in a car accident when Regan was 8 and Melanie was 11. They had gone to live with their paternal grandparents after that. Their grandfather had died ten years later and their grandmother two years after that, so they truly had been alone.
His eyes were burning from staring at the screen. Finally, a newspaper article was on the screen. The headline was "College Junior Attacked on Campus." Flack was suddenly awake. He read the article, which said that Regan had been attacked while she was at a university in Ohio. The article didn't give much detail about the attack only that it had happened close to the campus library. It was telling students how they needed to be careful. Flack concluded that he would have to get more information from Regan. He printed the article and headed to the lab to update Stella on his findings.
Flack found Stella at her desk. "I found something," he said and laid the article in front of her.
"Do you think this could be the same guy?" she asked after reading some.
"It could be. He could've followed her here. Maybe he wants to finish the job."
"That means it was probably personal in the first place. Most rapists and murderers wouldn't usually follow a victim who got away unless it was personal."
"Well, we need to get the whole story from Regan about the attack."
"First name basis, huh? There's something about this case for you isn't there?"
Flack smirked. "I don't know what it is. This one just got me thinking about my sister, you know. I mean we argued when we were kids, and even now but I love her and it's just one of those things I don't tell her often. I don't know what I would do without her."
Stella smiled. "Just one of those things you don't tell someone all the time, but I'm sure she knows Don. Try not to let your emotions get to you too much, ok?"
"Yeah, I know."
Flack knocked on the hotel room door. Regan answered; she looked like she had been crying.
"Regan, we need to talk to you. Can we come in?" Stella asked.
Regan stayed silent and stepped aside for the detectives to walk inside. They continued into the sitting area of the room and they all sat down.
Flack watched her as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "Sorry," she started. "I just got done making the arrangements for my sister's funeral and it was hard. Especially now, knowing I was the one that was supposed to die."
"That's what we came here to talk about. Regan we need to know about the attack that happened when you were in college."
She stared at the floor. "You think he's found me here in New York and he came to my apartment to kill me, but he killed my sister instead, right?" She looked up at them.
"Yeah, can you tell us a little more about what happened?"
"I was walking to my car from the library. It was dark outside and there was no one around. I could hear footsteps behind me when I was walking so I got my keys out before I got to the car, and when I got to the car I pulled out my pepper spray. When I turned around to spray him he grabbed my wrist like he knew it was coming." She paused and swallowed over the lump forming in her throat. "He squeezed my wrist so hard I dropped the spray; he left bruises on my wrist. When I tried to fight him off he punched me then he pushed me against the car and held a knife to my throat and told me that if I screamed or tried to get away again he would kill me. Then he forced me into the backseat of my car and he drove me somewhere. I was on the floor and I couldn't see anything. When the car stopped he pulled me out and threw me onto his shoulder. All I could see was the ground. When we got inside," she sniffled and a tear fell down her cheek, "he took me upstairs and into a bedroom. There was a bed in the room. He threw me onto the bed and-" she shook her head and the tears were streaming down her cheeks. "When he was done he put the knife to my throat again and he told me to stay put or he would kill me. He got up and went into the bathroom. When he came back he put the knife to my throat again but this time he kissed my cheek and said 'goodbye'. The rest gets kind of fuzzy, even now. Somehow I got the strength to get him off of me. I ran as fast as I could out of the room. I tripped when I was going down the stairs. I could hear him after me at first but as I got to the road the sound of his voice got fainter. I ran to the closest campus police building. I must've past out or blacked out because the next thing I remember I woke up in the hospital."
"Was there anything about the guy that you recognized? Anything about him that stood out to you?" Stella asked.
"I went through this with the police officers in Ohio. I told them he smelled like cigarettes, but not strong like he smoked them, more like he was just around them often. And cologne too, but it wasn't distinctive enough to tell you what kind or anything."
"Do you think it was possible that you knew this guy?" Flack asked.
"I guess so. I haven't thought about this for a long time."
"Just try to remember was there anyone around that paid special attention to you before it happened?"
"There were always guys. Horny frat boys, you know. There was an older guy, I'm pretty sure he wasn't a student. He worked at the diner I would go to with my friends; he asked me out one time and I turned him down. Then a couple days later he asked me again and I turned him down. He didn't take it well. He, uh, stopped giving us free drinks and- You don't think maybe he did it."
"Do you think it could've been him?"
She thought for a second. "I never saw him smoking, but you could smoke in the diner. Oh my god. After I was attacked I didn't really go anywhere so I didn't see him anymore. I mean he could've skipped town or something, I don't know."
"Do you remember his name?"
"No, I never took the time to learn it and I never thought it would be important. This guy, do you think he's gonna try again?"
"We don't know. It's possible. What about the name of the diner, do you remember the name?"
"Eddie's, I'm pretty sure."
Stella and Flack thanked Regan for the information then said their goodbyes and left the hotel room.
Flack talked to the man who had owned the diner at the time of Regan's attack. He identified the man as Walt Brown, and said that soon after Regan had been attacked Walt left town. The owner hadn't seen or heard from Walt since then.
Flack got Walt's DMV records and got a current address. He called the police in Ohio and asked them to see if Walt was home. They reported back to him that his house had been empty and that they had talked to the neighbors and none of them had seen him in days. Flack found that he had flown to New York the day before the murder, but that was circumstantial at best.
Flack was at a loss. There was no way of finding this guy. He knew when he had arrived in New York, but there was no way of telling where he was now.
He went to the lab and told Stella and Danny what he had found out. They all tried hard to think of anything that could help them find their perpetrator.
"This guy is smart that's for sure. He must've paid cash wherever he's staying because I couldn't find any trail from the credit cards. But there has to be something," Flack commented.
"What if we…ah, never mind it's probably not a good idea," Danny said.
"No come on, Danny tell us," Stella demanded.
"Well, this guy he's after the other sister, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what if we, I don't know, used her as bait I guess." He saw Flack start to protest. "If this guy is after her and sees an opportunity to kill her then he'll take advantage of it. It's not like we'd let it actually happen."
"I don't know Danny."
Flack stared at the floor for a second. "He's right. We don't have enough evidence to get this guy. And we can't keep Regan in protective custody forever; eventually we won't be around to protect her then we're working another Bennett sister case."
"So, you really wanna do this? She's not trained." Stella expressed her concern.
"We'd be right there, even in the apartment. Nothing would happen to her." Danny interjected.
"Alright, if you guys thing we can pull this off then we'll try it. Run it by Regan and see if she's willing to do it."
Flack left the two CSIs in the lab. He dialed Regan's number as he approached the elevator. He asked her to come to the precinct then he radio-ed the officers who were with her to bring her in.
Regan and the officers came over to his desk in the precinct ten minutes after he got there himself. It was late and they all looked tired. It was loud in the precinct so he offered to take Regan to another room.
"We have an idea of how we can find this guy," Flack started.
"Ok, good. What's the idea?"
"Well, it would mean you playing a part in it. I know it may sound dangerous by I can assure you we-" he looked into her green eyes. "I will not let anything happen to you."
She smiled. "You want to use me as bait, don't you?" His eyes widened but he said nothing. "I wanna do it. I want to do whatever I need to, to find my sister's killer. When are we gonna do this?"
"Well, we'll set up some cameras in your apartment and take away the protective detail. It may take him some time to realize they're gone. We will keep some 'plain clothes' close by. He'll probably come tomorrow night, so you'll have to be ready for it then." She was looking down at the floor. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yeah," she looked up at him. "This needs to be over."
The next night Flack was sitting in the empty hotel room across the hall from the one Regan was staying in. He was nervous. He was watching her on the screen. She was laying in her bed most likely faking sleep.
Flack glanced at the screen next to the one with Regan on it. It was of the hallway. He saw a guy coming toward Regan's room. Flack watched, and told the other officers to stay put until he did something. The guy opened the door to Regan's room. Flack stood and continued to watch the screen. The cameras in the apartment showed him walking down the hallway and showed him pulling out a knife. He made his way to Regan's bedroom. Flack left the hotel room he was in and with other officers stood outside the door of Regan's room. They all had their guns out, but they were waiting for word from the officer watching the video that it was time for them to go in. It was not even fifteen seconds later the word came and they all went in.
Flack was practically running to the bedroom. Two officers seized the intruder and Flack went to Regan. There was a cut on her neck that didn't look fatal, but she wasn't breathing. He radio-ed for an ambulance. He tried CPR but she didn't respond. Finally the EMTs got to the apartment and to the bedroom.
An hour after the whole operation went down Flack was standing outside of a hospital room. He was looking at Regan as she lied in the bed motionless. A doctor walked up to him.
"Are you Ms. Bennet's family?" the male doctor was asking.
"No, I'm the detective on her case. She has no family."
"She's going to be ok. We stitched up the cut on her neck. The reason why she was unconscious was because of her congenital heart murmur. The whole incident caused her so much stress that her heart, instead of stopping momentarily; it stopped for an extended period of time. I was told by the EMTs that you had performed CPR. That actually helped her chances, detective. We've given her medication that will help the heart murmur. She should be awake soon; you can go in."
"Thanks, doctor." Flack replied and the doctor walked away.
Flack walked into the room and looked at Regan. She was lucky to be alive. If they had gone in a second later Walt Brown would've murder the pretty girl Flack was staring at. He couldn't help but stare at her. There had been something about her from the beginning. At first he thought it was the whole sister thing and the fact that they were close, but now he realized it had been her all along.
There was a chair next to the bed; Flack sat down. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He heard Regan stir and he opened his eyes. When she looked at him she smiled.
"Hey," her voice cracked into a whisper.
"Hey yourself. You feeling ok?"
"Yeah better now. Did you get him?"
"Yeah, he's in custody and he's going away for life. The doctor told me about the heart murmur."
"It started when I was attacked the first time. I think the stress of the whole thing brought it on. My mom had it and so did my sister. It comes on under stress. I guess this time I was just a little too stressed." She let out a small laugh. "Thank you, by the way, not just for trying CPR to save my life, but also for finding my sister's killer. I'm glad this is over."
"I was doing my job." He replied then smiled. She put her hand on his. "I did do it for you, too."
"My appreciation grows with every nice word and gesture." She smiled at him again.
He kissed her hand. "Well, then I'll continue with the nice words and gestures. Whatever it takes to get to your heart."
"It is damaged, though, you know?"
"What's a little damage? We've all got our fair share," he responded and leaned back again in his chair, but didn't release her hand as she rolled over to look at him.