Finally back at the precinct Nick was busy with the reports. After he started his PC he'd found some huge emails from the other involved precincts he now was going through.
The first that came to his mind was that there was nothing that tied the victims together. No matter which gender, age, confession, height, weight, no similarities in their looks. The only thing he could find is that there was a slide majority dark-haired. Besides that … nothing about the victims themselves.
Nick went through the crime-scenes. Again nothing. The crime-scenes were all over the city, from Beaverton to the Harbor.
Nick looked through the crime-scene-photos. At first he didn't see anything. Three of the vics vanished on open streets, four in dead-ends, one in the basement of the house where he lived, two kids in the backyard of their parents' homes, two in small alleys, one from a store-yard and one in front of a restaurant.
Nick looked at the photos on his computer screen, searching something he couldn't find … or did he?
He clicked to print out the photos from the crime-scenes before he opened the forensic-files. And there … he found something:
Rust. Again! Every crime-scene had this drops of rust. Their number was variable but everywhere this rust.
Nick stood up to get his prints.
Maybe …
He put the photos on the empty desk opposite to his own and stepped back from the desk to take an overview.
"Hey Nick", Wu greeted him from behind and made him jump a little. "Are you alright?" The Sergeant said.
Nick gave him a look. "Maybe next time you should warn before trying to surprise me. What do you have for me?"
"Amy send this to you. The results of the blood- and other samples of the lucky vic", Wu explained handing a file over to him. "You found something?"
Nick opened the file and took a look.
No sign for a sexual assault, good. No usual drugs in her system, also good. But there was something, sounded familiar to him.
"Jay ... ?" he whispered, frowning.
The Mayor's Godchild WAS drugged when she was found. But this drug was only working for Wesen. The Mayor's Godchild a Wesen?
"Nick?" Wu asked.
"Yeah, I think I found something." Nick answered, still thinking about the drug-result.
Jay worked only on Wesen, it had no effect on humans. So she was a Wesen. And whoever took her knew about this and choosed that drug to sedate her, no one could arrest him for.
Another Wesen? But … why?
Wu stepped to the desk, looking at the prints. "And?" he asked.
"Look here", Nick ordered, pointing on one photo. "And here. Here and here." One after the other he showed one point, all similar on every picture.
"Nick, are we seriously talking about gully covers?" Wu asked. "Maybe the breakup with Juliette stressed you more then you think it would?"
"I'm not stressed", Nick answered. "It's, besides the rost on every crime scene the only similarity. Every crime scene had an entry to the wastewater-tunnels underneath the city."
Wu looked at him, began to blink after a short time."Can you repeat that?"
Nick shrugged again. "Sure, the gully covers are the ..."
"Nonono! The tunnels!" Wu interrupted him.
"What's about the tunnels?" Nick looked again at the photos. "We have to check out about the weather. If those tunnels were floated I'm wrong", he decided.
"You really don't know, do you?" Wu asked with a smile.
Nick blinkened. "About what?"
"The tunnels", Wu answered.
Nick sighed pointing again at the photos. "I just found out about the tunnels."
Wu shook his head, waved him to follow and went around the tables to Nick's work-station. "You never heard of Shanghaiing, right?"
Nick followed him the other way around and watched him, opening a browser and typing something. "Shanghai? What's about that?"
"Shanghai-ing", Wu corrected. "That was a term back in the time of the old Portland. It was a specifism about kidnapping people to make them work on ships."
Nick thought about that for a moment. "I think I read something about that when I was a kid", he finally decided. "But what that has to do with the wastewater-tunnels?"
A website was loading and Wu leaned back on Nick's chair, a big grin on his face. "Underneath Portland there's a sort of second, dark city. Those Shanghai-guys stored the kidnapped people down there. But there's a lot of other rooms for other services. Nowadays it's a tourist-attraction." Wu explained then pointed to the screen. "Have a look."
Nick leaned from the side into the monitor and found there a website about "Taking a tour underground Portland". Some other Links told him about different types of guided tours through those tunnels Wu mentioned.
"Are you kidding me? Haunted tours?" Nick stood up again, looking down at Wu. "Do you believe in ghosts?"
"I do", Wu answered without hesitation. "That's why I have this shrine in my apartment. It's all about the ancestors."
Nick began to grin. "Yeah, for sure!"
"The point is, there are rumours those tunnels were originally planned like a huge spiderweb all beneath Portland", Wu said. "But as there was so much changed and those tunnels were hidden for the public there's no one who knows for sure. There's no existing map of the tunnels, there are only some entries, and not all of those rooms beneath the basements are accessible. Some parts of the system are lost forever."
Nick again began to think. "A perfect hideout", he said thoughtful.
Wu nodded. "And as there's no one who really knows all those tunnels ..."
Nick leaned with his backside against the desk, folding his arms before his chest he changed looks with Wu. "How old are those tunnels?" he asked.
"No one knows for sure", Wu explained. "Some of them could be originally built back in the 19th century when shanghaiing was daily work."
"Could explain the rust we'd found at every crime scenes", Nick said.
"Could expain why we never found a hair of the victims", Wu continued. "It IS a second city down there."
"You were there?" Nick asked.
Wu nodded. "Once, a while ago. I took the Haunted Tour in Chinatown." He leaned back, thinking about that for a while. "And you know what?" he finally asked.
Nick shook his head. "Nope, what?"
"Hobo's", Wu said.
"Yup?"
"That's the best known entry to the tunnels."
Nick looked at his uniformed colleague. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely", Wu nodded. "As I've said, I took a tour. And this tour started at Hobo's."
Nick took a deep breath.
That could mean this kidnapper made a mistake – for the first time! Whoever was behind this kidnapping threw the Mayor's Godchild out of the tunnel and left her near an entrance. And that could mean, they had a lead!
Nick stood straight when he saw LeFleur entering the office. "You'll come with me?" he asked Wu and began to move. "Lieutenant?"
LeFleur stopped and moved around. Her face hardened when she noticed him. "That's great, you are learning", she said.
Nick paused in the middle of movement, before he got what she was talking about. Damned! He'd completely forgotten about that
"Yeah, but … we've something", Nick said.
LeFleur frowned. "We?" She looked at Wu. "You are including this We, Sergeant?"
"I am", Wu nodded.
Nick looked at her, hoping she would let the not so good topic alone in favour of the case. Damned, she had to! This was probably about the lifes of citizens!
"Come with me", LeFleur decided with a sigh and headed over to Renard's office. "Close the door", she ordered after they entered.
Wu, who was the last one in their small line, closed the door while LeFleur took her seat on the other side of the table
"What breakthru you will explain to me?" she asked, folding her hands in front of her on the top of the desk.
"The tunnels", Nick explained. "There are tunnels underneath Portland. You knew about?"
LeFleur shrugged. "Could be. And?"
"The escaped vic was found near an entrance to those tunnels", Wu said.
Nick nodded. "And every other vic was kidnapped near a possible entrance."
LeFleur leaned back on her chair, eyeing them thoughtful. "And you want me to do what now?"
"We need a search-party to search those tunnels", Wu said.
"Do we?" Her eyebrows lifted. "On what reasons?"
Nick thought for a second he would be caught in the middle of a nightmare. Suddenly he missed Renard. The captain always found a reason to get what they needed. No matter what, and right now the question came to Nick's mind what those warrants had probably cost Renard.
"We have to find those victims", he said.
"And you want to search an entire city to get them back?" LeFleur asked, shook her head then. "No way, detective. I will never get a warrant for that."
"Renard would have find a way", Wu insisted.
"I'm not Renard", LeFleur said sharply. "Besides … would you now please leave us alone, Sergeant?"
Nick closed his eyes.
He knew what was coming now for him. Damned! He should have stayed in bed, trying a sick-leave or something …
Wu left the office, letting them alone.
"I wanted to show you something", LeFleur said to Nick.
"What?"
She smiled a bitter smile and opened a drawer to get a file out of it. Placing it on the top of the desk she looked up again. "You know what this is?" she asked.
Nick stepped closer, looking at the top-page. "It's my personnel file", he answered then.
LeFleur nodded. "To be correct, that's your file until your aunt died last year", she said, pulling a paper-pile out of the still opened drawer and placing it on the file. "That's your file since your aunt died last year."
Nick bit his lips. His file was growing fast until he became a Grimm he noticed.
"Can you explain this to me?" LeFleur asked. "There never was any question about your duty before. You were an example for every cop in this city. But during the last couple of months suspects claiming charges against you. You are letting things out of the files, evidence was lost while you were in one room with it. I don't have to mention your little twist with the FBI, right?"
"I'm still solving the cases", Nick said. But he knew pretty well how lame this sounded.
"You are, but I better don't ask about the how, right?" LeFleur shook her head again. "When you came here to become a detective your former captain let a notice into your file. Did you know about that?"
Nick shook his head, keeping quiet in hope this would end without him leaving his badge behind.
LeFleur opened his file again, flipping some pages until she found what she was looking for:
"Nicholas Burkhardt is on the best way to get in charge one day himself. He's not planing this to but most likely he will become Captain with his own precinct somewhere in the future."
Wow! This he didn't know before.
LeFleur closed his file, leaning back again she watched him. "What happened?" she asked.
Nick shrugged. "Nothing."
"I don't believe you. You are hiding something, and this isn't good for your carreer."
"I'm not planing anything for my carreer. I'm still closing cases."
"You do, but that's not the question. This is about the how you close the cases. And I cannot accept this how", LeFleur told him. "I will give you one last chance. Don't screw that!"
Nick took another deep breath and reminded himself to focus not to become angry.
"I think I've done a big step into the right direction", he told her. "You are the one holding me down."
"Because I cannot afford every policeman in Portland to search some old tunnels! Not without hard evidence, sorry" LeFleur said.
What Wu and he had told her? They had enough evidence to search at least the part of the tunnels near Hobo's where the last vic was found!
"You have enough for a warrant on Hobo's", Nick told her.
"I don't have."
"Why not? We have those particles of rust, found on every crime scene. Rust as in old metal! Metal how it was used for build the tunnels. The Mayor's Godchild was found directly in front of an entrance of the tunnels. We can put every single victim to such an entrance."
LeFleur shook her head. "The Mayor's Godchild told me she moved after she was released. She cannot remember where she was before or were she was released. She only know she walked where she heard noises and that was Hobo's. So you have nothing, Detective."
"She was drugged", Nick explained. "Her memory could be damaged."
"As far as I know there were no drugs in her system besides a sort of herbs", LeFleur said. "This would be the first time a herb would have such an effect on someone." She frowned. "Or do you know something I don't?"
Nick hesitated but finally he took another deep breath, leaned towards her his both hands on the top of the desk and nodded. "Maybe she's something special and some herbs have such an effect on her."
LeFleur shook again her head. "Evidence?"
"I don't have!"
"Then this is out of question."
"We are close, I feel that!" Nick explained desperately.
"Maybe your feel is wrong. I cannot claim a warrant on an emotion of a labile detective. Sorry, Burkhardt. You better search your new partner before I will bring that up."
"Why you are not able to give me a little space?" Nick asked.
"Because I have to explain that to a judge, not you", LeFleur said. "Now … please?" She pointed at the door. "The moment you will find hard evidence I will do everything I can for you. But as long as all I have is your gut-feeling ..."
Nick bit again his lip but nodded … and left the office feeling like he had lost a battle …
Monroe was ready for a lunchbreak when the telephone in the Spice-Shop began to ring.
"Rosalee's Spice Shop", he said after he took the call. "How we can help you?"
"Monroe, it's me", the female voice of the attractive Fuchsbau answered.
Monroe felt how a big grin was growing on his face. "Rosalee!" He said.
My, he was a lucky guy that he met her! He was such a lucky guy!
"I only wanted to ask you how's Portland doing", Rosalee said. He could hear her smile through the line, he was sure.
"Portland is still standing", he said. "How about your aunt?"
"She's a lot better", Rosalee answered. "A little sad because I want to leave, as my mother is. But … I miss you all there. I hope everything's alright?"
"We are doing good, really", Monroe answered.
She would be back soon! He still couldn't believe it. He so missed her! All the calls they had during the last weeks couldn't help him to get over it. He missed Rosalee's smile, her smell, her warm, brown eyes, yeah, he missed her sweaters, her humour, that little light in her eyes, right before she began to kid. But he also missed how serious, yes, aggressive she could be when the situation was getting serious. She saved his life, and she shared so much with him. To let her go all these weeks ago nearly broke his heart.
"And Nick is calming down?" Rosalee interrupted his thoughts. "Did the recipe help?"
A little secret he and Rosalee shared. To calm Nick down he brew a little potion that he used on Nick's morning coffee. It wasn't hard stuff because he himself drank from the same coffee, but it obviciously helped. And since Nick sipped the first cup of this special coffee he calmed down, wasn't that angry Grimm anymore but more able to think in the right ways, to do the right things.
"He's better now", Monroe told Rosalee. "But … we should take care of Juliette."
"I thought the situation with her was also getting better after she gave in to her emotions", Rosalee asked.
Monroe sighed.
If life only would be this easy …
"I fear not", he said. "Nick got a call yesterday from a hospital. Maybe Juliette tried something stupid."
"WHAT?" Rosalee had to take some breath before she calmed down again. "How is she?"she asked.
"She's still in the hospital. Nick gave those doctors his permission to watch over her."
"Monroe!"Rosalee screamed indignantly.
"I know, I know", Monroe said. "You know the funny thing is, I just talk to Juliette and she said to me she wanted to stay for a while with her mother. Later she had this … whatever it was."
"Did she sounded stressed?" Rosalee asked.
"No", Monroe answered. "That's the funny thing. I couldn't believe it when Nick told me about what happened. True, Juliette didn't sound too lucky, I think no one involved is too lucky right now. But she seemed determinded not depressed, you know?"
Rosalee kept silent, that sort of silence that Monroe told, she was thinking about the situation. Finally she asked: "What about the other man?"
"Nick's boss? He's gone. Juliette told me he wanted to search a solution, Nick said he simply had vanished after the night they two met." Monroe explained. "Do you think it has something to do with him?"
"It could be. Nick was the one not directly involved into that spell but he ended the situation", Rosalee said. "But Juliette and the other one … they were both affected and maybe complete consumed by the spell. I told you I have to look at them myself to can tell at least if there's a cure or not."
"Yeah, but then it all exploded and I really feared for Nick", Monroe sighed. "What we can do now?"
"I have to ..." Rosalee stopped, again falling back in this heavy silence.
Monroe took a deep breath.
He really wished, he could have been more help for his both friends.
"I'm coming back!" Rosalee decided.
"What? Yes, next week", Monroe said.
"No, now!"
Monroe closed his eyes. "Wait a minute. Didn't you tell me the earlist date would be next week?"
"My Mom can watch after my aunt", Rosalee said. "My Mom wanted to have me around a little longer. But this doesn't sound like I could stay away any longer. I'm coming back. I only have to check out when the next bus will drive to Portland. I will call you then and tell you when I'm at the station. Can you give me a ride? And maybe you should bring Nick with you."
This was … Monroe didn't know if he should be jealous or only lucky.
"I … will do", he finally said.
"Thank you!" Rosalee hung up.
Monroe stood there for another minute before he put the receiver back on the cradle.
