Chapter 7: And I will risk my neck again. Again
Danny and Lindsay stood in opposite ends of the layout room each going to considerable effort to demonstrate they could be professional in each other's presence. Flack burst through the door and surveyed the tension. He was working cases with both of them, but he decided to cast his vote, and walked towards Lindsay's zone.
"Monroe, you look like 10 miles of bad road." Don boomed.
She looked up from her microscope as one corner of her mouth turned up.
"You sure know how to sweet talk the ladies." She retorted.
"Nah, I'm serious." He said loud enough to be sure Danny could hear him. "Its like you haven't been sleeping or eating." At that Stella's head snapped up too.
"No, Really, Mom. I'm OK." Lindsay retorted giving him a steely glance. "Come on I want to show you something." She said tugging quickly on the arm of his suit jacket.
He followed her to her office and sat on the edge of her desk as she sat down in front of her computer entering a password.
"This about the DB in the bodega?"
"I don't know." She said to him scowling. "Remember him?" She asked pulling up a picture of black leather jacket man from the other day.
"Yeah, that guy that pulled a Houdini when I went to question him."
"Right." She said. "Except this picture was taken this morning at the Athletic club killing."
He gave her a puzzled looked. "The crimes related?"
"Not as far as I can tell." She answered. "There's nothing in common between the method or manner of death, the vics had nothing in common. The only thing they share is…" she trailed off and ran her hand over her face. "That I processed both scenes?" She said tentatively.
He nodded seriously. He knew the CSIs he worked with well enough to know if they thought it, it might be so.
"Don," She said turning away from the computer, and towards him. Leaning her elbows on her knees and holding her head. "I'm trying not to be paranoid here. But we didn't get pictures of him at the bodega. I need you to tell me….its him right?"
"Yeah Linds." He said laying his hand on her upper arm. "It sure looks like the same guy."
She looked up at him now, meeting his eyes.
"You said you'd be my friend right? I could come to you? You'd listen."
"Yeah, Linds, yeah." His brow creased as he met and held her gaze, he could tell she was feeling lost. She wanted to confide in and run ideas off Danny. But Danny was off limits to her, he would try his best to be a fair substitute. She nodded nervously.
"Look at this." She blew up the image of the tee shirt under the leather jacket. "ate lan y" was all that was exposed under the open jacket. She looked at his face to make sure he was paying attention and he watched as she pressed a couple of keys and "Staten Island Gym" was filled in from the missing letters.
"Dark hair, dark eyes, consistent with Italian heritage, from Staten Island." She inhaled deeply.
"Tanglewood Boys." He supplied for her. She was relieved that he drew that conclusion.
"Look at these, all known associates to the Tanglewood boys" she punched in a few more keys and three potential matches appeared next to the one from Lindsay's crime scene photo of the mystery man.
"You thinking any one of these could be our leather jacket?" He asked. She was warmed that he used the term 'our' as opposed to 'your'. She felt isolated and singled out, but he was becoming her ally.
She shrugged, tilted her head to one side, and then nodded.
"Ok, so we know a guy who might be able to tell for sure." He said. She looked at him as she nodded again.
"But you're not speaking to him, so you want me to ask?" Flack continued.
"Yes, but more than that. You can't tell him why you're asking."
"And why's that?" Flack asked. She inhaled and decided Flack had come this far with her she might as well bring him all the way in.
"Why might the Tanglewood boys be watching me?" She asked, inviting him to run theories with her.
"Because you're Danny's girl. They're gonna use you to get to him." She nodded nervously.
"Except I'm not anymore."
"You think they know that?"
"I don't know. I only know 'Leather Jacket' wasn't at my crime scenes before we broke up." She was trying to remain calm but was losing the battle.
"OK so…"
"Maybe they think I'm a threat to Danny?"
She was drawing dotted lines between herself, Danny, Tanglewood, and Feds, without saying as much but hoping Flack would understand. She then realized that was among the secrets she held, Danny was the subject of a Federal investigation, but Flack didn't know that.
"You gonna Lorena Bobbit him or something?" Flack asked.
She snorted in response. "I don't know Flack. They're either trying to get to him, or surround him. I don't know." She said a little flustered. She was so grateful he was taking her seriously, but that just made the danger real.
"OK. So you want me to ask Danny if 'Leather Jacket' is Larry, Mo or Curly here of the Tanglewood Boys."
She nodded and smiled sweetly at him. "Except you can't tell him why you're asking." She then glanced away and pulled hard copies of the photos from her desk which she handed to him.
"Don, you trust Danny right?" He looked at her quizzically, so she continued. "I mean I'm not an idiot to trust him. You're a second generation, born-and-bred, not fresh-off-the-farm cop and you trust him, right?"
Don ran his and over the lower half of his face.
"Lindsay," he began softly. "I trust that Danny is a good cop, a clean cop. I trust him behind me walking into any situation on the job. I'd trust him if he asked me to loan him money even if it was my last dime." She began to felt justified. "But I'd never, ever, trust him to date my sister." She visibly deflated, and Don again rested his hand on her arm. "That's just who he is Linds." She nodded looking at the floor.
"Let me go ask about this now." He said taking the photos and leaving their office. She watched through the glass as he took Danny into the hallway and presented him with the photos. Don saw her watching over Danny's shoulder and shook his head to indicate their Leather Man was not a known affiliate of the Tanglewood Boys. Perhaps she should have felt relief but she didn't. Even before Don had finished his conversation with Danny she had put on her jacket, and headed out of the building. Her destination fixed in her mind, she was about to explore her secondary theory on the identity of her stalker.
