Chapter 4

XXXXXXX

"You've reached Special Agent Samantha Spade. Please leave a message…." Jack cursed and clicked off the phone as Peter parked the car in front of the hotel. He had been trying to reach Sam for the last twenty minutes with no luck. He was certain that the murdered woman couldn't possibly be Sam. It just couldn't. But why in the hell wasn't she answering her cell phone!

He was tempted to call someone from the team to go to her apartment to see if she was there but he thought it might be best to wait and see whose body was lying in the hotel suite. The hotel where this supposed 'Samantha Spade' was found was another reason he was sure it couldn't be Sam. There was no way she would stay in a five-star hotel suite in the same city where she lived. It was too ridiculous. But then again she was seeing some new guy named Seth and he might have planned it as a little mini-getaway. But what couple does something like that on a random Wednesday in the middle of April?

The street in front of the hotel was lined with police cars, news crews and a crime scene van. And, of course, the ubiquitous crowd of onlookers. Peter and Jack made their way past the crowd and into the hotel. Jack spotted some officers talking to the manager and a hotel clerk.

As they neared the elevator they flashed their badges so the two uniformed police officers would let them pass. Once inside, Peter turned to Jack and said, "If you want, I can go in first and see if it's her."

Jack shook his head and adamantly replied, "No, she's my agent."

Peter rested his hands on his hips and said, "Jack, I know the two of you were close, if it is her it might be easier…"

"I don't think it is her but either way, I would still want to see for myself," Jack answered brusquely.

The two men stood in silence until the elevator stopped on the park suite floor. As soon as they exited two NYPD detectives approached them.

"Are you the feds?" The short Latino agent asked. He had a dark complexion, big buggy eyes and a crew cut.

"I'm Special Agent Peter Crawford from VCU and this is Special Agent Jack Malone, Missing Persons," Peter introduced as they continued walking to the suite at the far end of the hall where all the activity was centered.

"I'm Detective Garcia and this is Detective Hopper. Hopper is the one who recognized the MO and said we should call you guys. He used to work homicide in D.C." Garcia spoke quickly as he motioned to Hopper, a tall, lanky man with pale blonde hair and acne scars.

"What can you tell us Hopper?" Peter asked.

"It was right before I transferred to New York. A young woman was found murdered in an expensive hotel room. She was tied up, gagged and sexually assaulted. After he raped her, he strangled her until she lost consciousness. He put make-up on her face so she would look almost comical. Then he waited. When she regained consciousness he slowly made cuts all over her body. Not deep enough to kill, just enough to cause pain. Once he was done playing games with her, he slashed her wrists and she bled to death."

The men reached the door to the suite and Jack's stomach clenched. He was so afraid of what he might find on the other side of the door. He took a deep breath and walked to the bedroom all the sounds around him faded into white noise. His feet feeling like they were weighted down like sand bags with each tentative step.

He looked inside the bedroom and as soon as some of the crime scene investigators moved aside he was able to see a nude woman spread eagle on a bed covered in cuts and blood. It was hard to tell with all the damage inflicted on her body but it did look a lot like Sam. She was pale with freckles and she had long straight blonde hair. He couldn't see her face; it was turned towards the window. He slowly moved around the bed and as he rounded the corner he took another deep breath before looking up to make a positive ID. He recognized her immediately and felt his knees sway a little when he heard someone say his name.

"Jack?" He looked up and saw Martin standing in the doorway looking nervous and scared. Martin spoke again, his voice cracking, "Is it……is it Sam?"

Jack exhaled and quietly replied, "No. No, it isn't her."

He saw a wave of relief cross the younger agent's face. He knew that Martin would have been just as, if not more, devastated if it had been Sam.

Martin sighed audibly, looked up and whispered softly, "Thank you God." Then he looked back over at Jack and said, "That look on your face…I thought you recognized her."

Jack cleared his throat and said, "That's because I do. It's Teri Fuller."