The call came in at three in the morning. Mac Taylor had just gone to bed after some paperwork and groaned as his hand reached out.
That was thirty minutes ago. At this hour of the night, New York had managed to calm down and he had rushed to the crime scene. His team was already there, most of them looked like they had just gotten out of bed and the rest looked too awake. As if they had expected another call.
Mac looked at the body, Sheldon Hawkes was crouched down next to it, examining it and above the body, Stella Bonasera was taking photographs. Her camera hovering above the body, flashing away. Mac walked up to them and asked, "Who found the body?" Stella lowered the camera, and looked over at the young woman at the ambulance, "Carmen Sanchez. Art student. She and the vic were living in the apartment across the street. They came home from a party when Alex here collapsed." Mac briefly looked at Carmen and back at Alex. The young woman was laying on the floor, her skin as white as snow and her eyes closed. Hawkes rose to his feet and looked at Mac, "She didn't get shot. Petechial haemorrhage in the eyes and this bruise around her neck points towards a very thin type of cord used to strangle her." Mac looked at Detective Flack, "Any witnesses aside from miss Sanchez?" Hawkes shook his head, "Flack had done a search. Aside from miss Sanchez, there was no one who noticed anything out of the ordinary. What doesn't seem right is that the bruise existed prior to her collapsing. Carmen said it was an accident in class a couple of days ago. But that doesn't explain the petichiae." Mac looked back down at the body, "No it doesn't." Stella looked at Mac, "If no one saw anything and there are signs of strangulation… Did a ghost kill her?" Mac looked around, "Or someone quiet enough to pull her into an alley and strangle her. Pushing her back out on the street and disappearing." Flack walked up to them, "Well, it seems to me that we have a mystery on our hands." Stella raised an eyebrow and Mac looked at him, "Are you going to tell me there's a talking dog nearby?" Flack smirked and shook his head, "No. But this case gets weirder and weirder. Not only did Carmen hear her friend collapse, they were the only ones on the street this late at night. No homeless man in the street or college kids walking home from a party. This is a real Ghost Street aside from the parked cars."
Mac looked around before his gaze returned to the body, "Get her to the lab and let Sid figure it out." Flack nodded. Stella and Hawkes walked over to Danny and Lindsay who were processing the crime scene. Every crumb and dust particle got bagged and zipped. Lindsay rose to her feet and told Stella, "Aside from a few hotdog crumbs and a diamond from a bracelet, there's not much to work with. The vic didn't wear much jewellery and from the stains on the ground it's most likely one of those cases where we rely on the vic and her life." Stella nodded, Hawkes noticed bruising around her neck but they were existing prior to her death. Both Lindsay and Danny frowned in confusion, if the bruises existed prior to her death, then the case would prove difficult to solve very soon.
At the lab, Lindsay and Danny examined Alex's clothing when Stella walked in looking beyond frustrated, "Mac said that Carmen Sanchez isn't our killer. Aside from stealing towels and shampoo bottles from hotels, she doesn't have a single bad bone in her body." Danny looked up from Alex's pants, "I found a piece of paper with a number on it. It's not a phone or P.O. box number." Lindsay continued, "I found a stain on her shirt, curry sauce. Which is consistent with the stomach contents Sid found. Aside from that, there's no sign of the killer." Stella felt like she could throw anything on the ground and scream.
Adam walked in with a tablet in his hands, "I might have something. Sid found some trace in the wound. Where she got strangled. It came back as Oncorhynchus Kisutch or Coho Salmon. Also known as silver salmon. It's native to Monterey Bay in California, Alaska and British Columbia." Stella smiled, "So we're looking for a fisherman?" Adam opened his mouth to speak and raised his index finger, "Not Exactly. Although the trace came back to silver salmon, Sid also found evidence from bruising. Specifically arms and legs." Stella frowned, "Did she work out?" Adam shrugged, "I don't know." Stella nodded and walked out while Danny and Lindsay went back to work. Adam followed Stella out and walked to his station.
Stella told Mac Adam's findings, to which he replied: "Send Flack and Lindsay to Alex's apartment. See if there's something we're missing."
Lindsay and Flack entered the apartment and looked around. Flack whistled, "For two college students, they sure have a nice flat screen TV." Lindsay looked at it, "Rich parents maybe?" Flack smirked, "Could be." Lindsay went around the apartment and looked for clues. Anything that could lead them towards Alex's killer. Suddenly Flack called out to her, she followed the sound of his voice and looked at him. Flack was holding a notebook in a pastel purple room, "Carmen's diary. This page is very interesting." He showed the page in question and Lindsay skimmed over it, her eyebrows raising, "Looks like Carmen didn't like Alex as much as we thought." She took a picture of the pages and looked around the room, "I wonder if Alex had a diary too." She walked out and entered Alex's room. She found a laptop underneath the pillow on the bed. She opened it and watched as an article popped up on screen: 'Teenager found dead in lake.' Lindsay scrolled down and read the article, the MO sounded familiar. She read over it again and her eyes widened. Could it be? She turned her head towards the door and yelled, "Flack! I found something!" Flack entered the room shortly after. He read the article and looked at Lindsay, "She might have been killed over this. By the look of things, she was investigating this case." Lindsay frowned, "Or keeping an eye out for updates on the case." She walked out and Flack watched her, frowning.
At the lab, Lindsay informed Mac while Flack put the article on the monitor. Hawkes looked at it, "What's the article about?" Lindsay briefly smiled, "A teenager got found in a lake two months ago. The primary crime scene was two miles away. It was a dump job and the local police didn't manage to catch the killer." Stella looked at her, "They didn't find who did it?" Lindsay shook her head. Mac turned to his team, "I requested the file and the teenager's name was Peter Sanchez. Adopted son to the Sanchez family." Danny sat straight in his chair, "As in Carmen Sanchez?" Mac nodded, "Carmen's brother."
It was then that Sid's face popped onto the monitor, "I may have found the real identity of our Vic. And the real COD." The team stared at Sid's face, stunned. "Meet Lauren Vasquez. Died of poisoning. Lauren Vasquez was a mercenary for hire. Hired to kill the Sanchez family." Mac's phone rang and he picked up. Sid's face disappeared.
When Mac hung up the phone he said, "Flack found her file. Lauren Vasquez was indeed a mercenary for hire. Hired to kill the Sanchez family. She got close to Peter first and killed him. Dumping him in the lake so DNA and any other trace got washed away. Afterwards, she got close to Carmen. First the kids then the parents." Stella crossed her arms, "Who could do such a thing?" Mac shook his head and shrugged. Hawkes sighed, "So our vic is a mercenary. I'd say Carmen has a motive." Danny nodded, "Lauren and Carmen were walking across the street. Lauren attacks Carmen and she kills her." Stella shook her head, "That doesn't explain the bruising." Lindsay cut in, "Maybe someone else attacked Lauren."
Adam opened the door, "Guys. So, I checked some trace and found out something that could crack this case wide open." He stared at Mac who looked at him, "And?" Adam chuckled, "Lauren Vasquez got killed by one of her own." The team looked at Adam. Adam walked inside and put a few files on the monitor, "There were some particles of trace I couldn't identify at first. When I examined them all together I got a hit. The trace I finally was able to identify was found in a few more cases. A murder in London. The killer was never found and a rich guy came forward thanking whoever did for saving his life. I thought that was weird until I found another murder in Las Vegas and Miami. All of the victims had secret identities and all of the targets were happy the vics were dead." Mac looked at the monitor, "Time to put an end to this killer. Can we track them?" Adam shrugged, "I found an address in Montana registered to A Bryn Nichols. No current address yet." Lindsay stood up and walked out. She knew she was being watched but she had to do this. She had to.