Lauren slammed her desk phone back into its docking station. A week had passed since Tamkia Canon's murder. During that time two more escorts were murdered. Every lead that came in turned cold. It didn't help that her boss, Lt. Dan Carey was riding her and Ryan. He was a hard man to please, and no one liked working for him.
"Whoa there, Caine! Dial it down," Ryan said. "You break it then we're down a phone. You know how tight the budget is right now." She just gave him a look and went back to looking at the case file. "Just got some info on our most recent victim."
Lauren looked up and said, "Please, tell me it's good news."
"The mother said that Rachel had been hanging out with some knew guy a while back. She said her daughter ended up pregnant. This guy apparently didn't like it, and the mother said he threatened to kill her several times," Ryan explained.
Lauren sat back in her chair and thought a moment. "The medical examiner didn't mention anything about her being pregnant though. I wonder if our other victims met with this guy or had a relationship with him."
"I wouldn't doubt it. Maybe they've all had encounters with him. Maybe she had an abortion. Her mother never mentioned her giving birth."
"Did you get a name?"
"I'm working on it. The mother couldn't remember his name. She said she was going to get back with me. She's going to go through her daughter's things in the morning."
"At least it's something. Did any of our other results come back yet?" she asked.
"Nope. They're still working on it. Our night shift is a little short staffed tonight. Thankfully your boy is a wizard in the lab. It's almost like he's worked in this field for a while. Did he?"
Lauren sat back in her chair and looked up at Ryan. She was about to answer him when she heard someone walk up behind her. She turned around. It was Jason. He had several manila folders in his hand with the Detroit Police Department logo on them. They were the results. Jason sat down on the corner of Lauren's desk and handed her the results.
Jason Seaton was more than who he said he really was. His real name was Timothy James Speedle, but everyone who knew him called him, Speed. Speed was originally from New York, but moved down to Miami after college where he worked under the supervision of Horatio Caine and Megan Donner. His co-workers became like his family. He quickly became one of Horatio's top crime scene investigators and his second in command.
Speed had been apart of a high profile drug case that involved one of the South's biggest and most dangerous gang. They were a known as Los Cráneos. He was unable to take down all the members of the group, it putting him and everyone who was close to him in danger. Speed was forced to disappear. In order to do that it was decided he'd fake his death. Only Horatio, Lauren and the FBI undercover unit knew about it.
The only way Horatio agreed to go this route was because of his daughter. His conditions were that Speed be moved to Michigan, where he knew Lauren would keep him safe and that he would be able to work close with her. His trust in the FBI wasn't the best. They had disagreed on almost everything.
Lauren took the folders. She opened them up one by one searching for anything useful. At first, most of the results were just conformation the DNA belonged to their victim, and most of the trace evidence came back as plain old soil. Lauren opened the last folder. Jackpot. The CSI team had found fingerprints on the scene that were different from our victim's.
"The fingerprints were found on the victim's handbag as well as the victim's upper thighs," Speed said as he turned to the next page. "After I ran them I also was given a white powdery substance. It came back to something I hadn't recognized. I couldn't find it in any database or book. I'm guessing your guy is working on something new. If you look at the ingredients though, the substance does contain methamphetamines," Speed explained.
"Finally something to go on. Anything else?" Lauren said with a hint of excitement. It was about time they caught a break.
"Yes. Those fingerprints gave me a couple names." He said flipping to the last page in the file folder.
"Well look at that! My buddy, Corey Burts, but I have no idea who this Darrel Anderson guy is," Ryan said looking closely at the two photos. Ryan had worked the Narco department when he first started in the police force, before transferring to Homicide two years ago.
"You know Corey?" Lauren asked looking up at her partner.
"You could say that. We have a long history. Met him when I worked Narco. He's been in and out of jail for possession," Ryan said smirking.
"Let me guess, for methamphetamines?" Speed asked.
"You got it, Seaton! Looks like we need to do a little research on this Darrel Anderson dude."
Looking over at Speed, Lauren said, "You didn't find anything on him?"
The only thing on the sheet was his name and lurid looking black and white headshot. The photo had barely any distinguishing details. It could've been worse. They could've ended up with nothing.
Ryan decided to take the lead on Corey Burts while Lauren decided to do some more digging on Darrel Anderson. Even though the photo didn't give her much to go on, she felt this man was somehow involved in these murders. He could quite possibly be their number one suspect.
With Ryan gone, Lauren turned to Speed and placed a hand on his knee. He was still sitting on the corner of her desk. It was then she noticed how stressed, tired, and wore out he looked. "You okay?"
Speed closed his eyes and half laughed. He said, "Am I okay? Isn't that's the million dollar question?"
Lauren frowned. She knew the stress wasn't from being short staffed. He could handle that. The stress of being away from his family and friends, and the stress from keeping up this fake life were taking its toll. It had been just over a year since everyone thought he had died.
"Hang in there, babe. I know this is hard, and I can't imagine what you're going through," Lauren said her voice thick with emotion.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. They follow me around everywhere I go. I have to lie to people. You have to lie to people. I'm starting to feel like I'd almost rather be d-"
Lauren stopped him before he could say the word, dead. She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "You listen to me and you listen to me right now Timothy James Speedle. Don't you ever say you'd rather be dead. You will have your life back, I promise you. I will make it my mission to take down these people."
Speed sighed, stood up, and hugged her tight. "I love you, and I'm sorry I said that. Lauren, this isn't something you shouldn't get involved in. These people are dangerous. Let the FBI do their jobs, please."
"Babe, I'm already involved. You're miserable, and-"
It was Speed's turn to stop her mid-sentence. "Lauren, stop. As much as I hate this it's for the best. They're all safe because of this. I won't have to worry about them coming after my family, the people I worked with, and your father."
Lauren sighed and hugged him again. For now she would listen to him, but she made a promise to herself that she would give Speed his life back. He deserved it. She would find out who and where these people were and take them down.