A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I truly appreciate them. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review.
Chapter Three
"Melissa Kennedy, 16 years old, runaway," Messer said as Flack and Jamie made their way onto the 34th floor and into one of the labs. "Got a hit on the prints from a missing person's report out of Bangor, Maine. I talked to the father, who said he was on his way, but didn't know what his daughter got mixed up in. Though, he wasn't surprised to find out she was dead."
Jamie arched his eyebrows. "What kind of father isn't surprised his teenage daughter is dead?" he asked.
Flack scoffed lightly. "There are times mine wouldn't have been," he said. At Jamie's look, he added, "you'd have to meet Sam."
Jamie shrugged, but said nothing.
"Never had any sisters," Messer said, shrugging.
"Tox screen came up positive for heroin," another man said as he came in.
"Detective Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, Detective Jamie Reagan," Flack introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Hawkes said.
"Did she OD?"
"Hard to say for sure. With her level of decomp we can isolate that she had heroin in her system, but the exact concentrations can't be determined."
"Adam's working on tracking river currents given the approximate time of death from Sid to find a location where she might have gone in," Messer said.
"Somewhere up the river," Adam added from behind a computer screen.
"Thank you for that," Flack said sarcastically. "Anythin' slightly more specific?"
"Patience, Grasshopper."
Jamie chuckled softly, which drew Adam's attention.
"Jamie Reagan," he said over the computer screen.
"Adam Ross," Jamie replied.
"Finally got the gold, huh?"
"Yeah."
Flack looked between the two of them.
"Jamie, uh, helped bring my father in a time or two," Adam supplied.
Jamie nodded, but didn't add anything further.
"He liked Eddie," Adam said.
Jamie chuckled slightly. "Eddie knew it, too," he said.
"She still working that beat?"
"For now. She's got a new partner."
"I'm sure she misses you."
Jamie smiled slightly, but said nothing as Adam's computer beeped.
"Alright, given what we already know, we have an approximate location for where she went into the river," Adam said, pulling it up on a big screen for everyone to see. "Now, any trace on her clothes was likely compromised by the water, so we don't have an exact."
Flack nodded, looking at the highlighted area. "You up for a walk, Reagan?"
"I didn't realize you knew Adam," Flack said as they got out of the car a few miles upriver from where Melissa's body had been found.
"Can't say I really know him," Jamie replied, shrugging. "We'd met a few times."
"You met his father, huh?"
"Yeah."
Flack nodded. "Father has Alzheimer's."
"I kinda figured that out when he called me Adam and tried to punch me in the face."
Flack nodded again. "He get you?"
Jamie shook his head. "Nothing serious."
Flack glanced over at Jamie, and was getting ready to say something, when they were interrupted.
"You here about the damn junkies?" a man asked.
Flack and Jamie turned at the voice to find an older gentleman gesturing between them.
"The damn bastards come back here to shoot up," he continued. "It's enough to make you sick."
"How about this woman?" Flack asked, showing him a picture of the victim.
The man scoffed. "Yeah, she was here last week. Shooting up over there on the wall. Started convulsing and went over. I took this video, just so you can see what I mean. What happened to her?"
"Well, her body washed up down river."
"Serves her right."
"Your compassion is refreshing, Mr…?"
"Nichols. Aaron Nichols. And I don't have any compassion for the junkies, thieves, and whores that inhabit this alley every night. They're ruining this neighborhood, and you people haven't done anything to stop them. It's downright disgusting."
"Anyone in the alley with her when she started convulsing?"
Nichols shrugged. "Watch the video for yourself. I got a ton of them."
Flack and Jamie looked at each other.
"Guy sees a woman in distress, doesn't call 911," Jamie said, shaking his head as he leaned back against Flack's desk.
"People are crazy," Flack replied, resting back in his chair.
"Never ceases to amaze me."
Flack shrugged. "The video shows her shooting up. No one else there, she has a medical emergency, convulses, and ends up in the river."
"Accident."
Flack nodded. "Write up a rough draft of the report, and I'll go over it with you afterward."
Jamie nodded, heading over to the empty desk.
"You're letting him have that desk?" Mac asked as he and Flack stood just outside the squad room.
Flack shrugged. "Had to let it go some time, right?" he replied.
Mac didn't answer either way.
"He's also the Commissioner's son."
"From what I hear, the PC doesn't really play favorites for his sons," Mac said.
"It's not really favorites," Flack replied. "It's the desk across from mine. It should belong to my partner."
Mac nodded.
"Gotta let it go eventually," Flack reiterated.
Mac didn't say anything, choosing to pat Flack's arm as he walked away. Flack walked back into the squad room.
"How you doin' with the report?" he asked his new partner.
Jamie shrugged. "Making progress," he replied.
Flack leaned over Jamie's shoulder, reading. "Looks good so far. Wrap that up, put it on my desk, and we'll go grab somethin' to eat after tour."
"I can't," Jamie said hesitantly. "We're kinda doing this thing over at my dad's house tonight. You're welcome to stop by, though."
"No, I wouldn't want to intrude," Flack said. "We'll catch up tomorrow. It was good workin' with you, Reagan. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay."
Flack walked away before Jamie could say or do anything else.
