Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY.
Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.
Spoilers: People with Money.
People with Money
Having searched the crime lab, Jess finally found Danny and Hawkes in one of the labs with one of the technicians. "Hey."
"Hey." Danny gestured to the lab tech. "Adam Ross, this is Detective Angell."
"Hi." Adam smiled nervously at her. "I'll, er, check with those pharmacies."
"Alright." Danny turned to Jess. "You got anything?"
"I was hoping you did." Jess sighed. "Clarence Rome is threatening to lawyer up; have you got something we can hold him on?"
"Nope." Hawkes sighed. "He was lying about how the blood got on our vic, but there's no way he beat her to death. You know, you could've asked us that over the phone."
"Yeah, but Thacker hasn't got a case today." Jess pulled a face. "I just spent twenty minutes pretending that I couldn't see him staring down my shirt; another few minutes, I was gonna deck him."
"You told the captain?" Danny asked. "I mean, checkin' out the new girl's one thing; that's out of order right there."
Jess shook her head. "I don't wanna start my time here like that; he'll write it up."
"Then tell Flack." Hawkes suggested. "He doesn't like Thacker at the best of times."
"Or you could just tell him where to go." Danny shrugged. "Worked for Aiden."
"No, what worked was the fact that you had to hold her back from decking the guy." Hawkes reminded him.
"Oh yeah." Danny sighed. "Go with Flack; it's your best bet and you keep your hands clean."
Jess laughed. "Thanks, guys."
"Hey, he keeps bothering you; we'll take care of him." Danny offered.
Jess was touched. "Thanks, Danny. But he's gotta get tired of it eventually, right?"
The two men exchanged a glance. "… Sure."
Not completely assured, Jess wished them luck with the evidence and turned to leave the lab, when a familiar profile caught her eye and she headed over towards reconstruction.
Apparently oblivious to her presence, Don pressed a button and a photo of a building appeared on the screen, several of the windows lit up in a specific pattern.
"'Marry me'." Jess read. "Well, I flattered, Detective Flack, but we really haven't known each other very long."
Don turned to face her with a grin. "Funny. I heard a rumour you caught your first solo case."
"And I heard a rumour that you're back at work." Jess shot back. "Apparently the rumour mill's on the ball for once. What's with the lights?"
"Our vic had a proposal planned." Don answered. "But it looks like it wasn't aimed at his girlfriend, whose father, by the way, owns the buildings with the lights where vic worked."
"So he used his girlfriend's father's business to propose to another woman." Jess shook her head. "Suicidal bravery."
"Yeah." Don frowned at the pictures. "Do women really want something like this?"
"What?" Jess asked. "The proposal or the means?"
"Latter."
"Well, I don't know about most women, but give me a nice quiet conversation any day." Jess pulled a face. "Can you imagine the pressure to accept?" She shuddered. "So what are you doing at the lab?"
"Our murder weapon came back to another body in the morgue; no relation." Don shrugged. "I ran out of witness reports, so I thought I'd take a look at some of the photos; I might not be a scientist, but I am schooled in the art of old-fashioned observation. You?"
Jess smiled wryly. "Needed to talk to Danny and Hawkes about whether we had enough to hold our suspect. And I needed to get away from Thacker."
"He bothering you?" Don asked.
"Put it this way," Jess sighed, "until I got here I'd started to worry that I had been lied to my entire life and that my eyes were actually on my chest instead of my face."
Don frowned. "You talked to the captain?"
"No, I don't wanna make a fuss about this." Jess repeated. "It'll stop, right?"
"It better." Don muttered. "Or I'm gonna have words with him myself."
A few days later, Jess stood at her locker feeling pretty good about herself, having successfully closed her first solo case.
"Hey, Angell."
Talk about a mood-killer. Jess didn't turn around, slipping her jacket on. "Something I can help you with, Detective Thacker?"
"Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink."
"Thanks for the offer." Jess closed her locker. "But I have plans." She ignored the first time his hand brushed against her lower back, a little too far south than she was comfortable with, passing it off as a mistake, but she snapped at the second, this time even lower. Grabbing his arm, she turned, twisting it round behind him. "Alright, let me make one thing very clear. I am here as a Detective, not as eye-candy. Just because you do not possess the ability to think with more than one brain at any one time, it does not give you the right to stare at me all day or touch me like that. You got it?"
A strangled 'yes' floated back in response and she released him, watching him disappear back towards the squad-room with no shortage of relief.
Breathing deeply for a few minutes, Jess regained her composure and followed; none of her colleagues mentioned anything, so she guessed that he hadn't said anything. Probably too embarrassed that a woman got a drop on him.
As always, her journey home was uneventful and she soon emerged into her dark apartment, tossing her keys onto the side table, before pressing the button for her answering machine.
"Jessica, it's your mother; would you please call and let me know you're alright, dear? I'm not one to complain but ..."
"I'm getting as bad as my brothers." Jess deleted the message. "I know." Says something about my social life when the only call I missed was from my mother.
There was a knock at the door and she doubled back, opening it to find a delivery boy.
"Hi …" He checked his clipboard. "Miss Angell?"
"Yes." Jess didn't bother correcting him.
"Sign here please." He handed her a pen.
"Okay." Jess did and gave him the clipboard back.
"Thanks." He handed her a bouquet of flowers.
"Oh wow." Jess was stunned; it was a beautiful arrangement of yellow roses and pale pink lilies. "Do you know who ordered these?"
"No, ma'am. But this particular arrangement is our 'congratulations' arrangement." He told her.
"Okay, well thank you." Jess closed the door, still admiring the delivery in her hands. As she slipped them into a vase, a small piece of card dropped onto the counter.
Congratulations on closing your first case.
Jess smiled. That's so sweet of them … Wait a minute. She frowned. My parents don't know I've closed my first case. They can't be from then.
Now completely confused. Jess turned the card over, hoping to find some other clue as to the identity of the mystery sender.
But the Rangers still rule.
Jess couldn't help laughing out loud. There was only one person at the precinct who knew she was a diehard Devils fan.
"Hey." Flack greeted as she walked in. "You here for the hockey or the company?"
"Mostly the hockey." Jess joked, dropping into one of the chairs. "But the company's not so bad."
Flack switched the TV on. "You're early, Detective. Pre-game's only just started."
"It's a big game." Jess shrugged.
"Up the Rangers, right?" Flack agreed.
Jess laughed. "Yeah right."
"You've always rooted for the Rangers before." He reminded her.
"Yeah, when the Devils weren't playing." Jess smirked.
His mouth dropped open. "You're a Devils fan?"
"Born and bred." Jess confirmed. "And we are gonna kick your butts."
"You wish." Flack scoffed. "The Rangers rule."
"What are you up to, Detective Flack?" Jess asked aloud.
She supposed she should probably be a little wary; this definitely went beyond the boundaries of 'just colleagues'.
But, if she was going to look at it that way, going to visit him every day at the hospital probably went beyond the boundaries of 'just colleagues'.
"Okay, so we're friends." Jess murmured, a bright smile on her face.
She didn't know how, but she was sure that this friendship was going to change her life forever.
AN: Review please!