Hi there everyone! I know I'm extremely horrible at updating things, but thanks so much for hanging on there! So here's the introduction to peril that's long over due! I don't think I'm good at this sort of thing, so it'd be greatly appreciated if you all review and tell me!
Disclaimer: I would own CSI: NY... if I was Jerry Bruckheimer. :)
Thanks to lily moonlight for reviewing!
Time Setting: I guess around... 14.00-14.30
A/N: Sorry if it doesn't seem very perilous for an 'intro to peril'. XD
Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep! Lindsay quickly glanced at the computer. She had just arrived to help Adam with processing the evidence from the two previous Clorox murders and from the McLaughlin case. She just finished examining at the outside of the air freshener can for evidence. Sadly, nothing turned up. The Montana native then put the can back in the evidence bag and put the bag in the box. Adam was already starting on the evidence from Stella and Mac's new case.
Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep! This time, both Lindsay and Adam stared at the computer. "What's wrong with that thing?" Lindsay asked. It normally never beeped that many times to give them results.
"I dunno," Adam replied. "Let's see what's in it." The two walked over to the computer and read the trace analysis of the contents inside.
"The sample contained the four basic elements of air freshener: formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p- dichlorobenzene, and aerosol propellants," Adam read. Then he spotted an exclamation point near the right-hand corner of the screen. "What's this?" The lab tech clicked on the exclamation point.
Adam's eyes scanned the screen quickly and widened when he read the other ingredient. "Oh no," he said, a look of worry on his face.
Lindsay, who didn't read the results yet, immediately became concerned and scanned the computer screen as well. Her brown eyes also went wide as they read the results.
"The freshener's been laced with thallium. It's radioactive."
Stella Bonasera sat in the layout room looking over pictures from all three cases. She started with the pictures from the Chris Jackson case, scrutinizing every last pixel of every picture.
The first couple of pictures didn't help much; they were just pictures of the crime scene and the body. Then, she came across pictures of the perimeter of the building.
"That's the entrance of the building," the detective murmured to herself. She put that picture down and picked up one of the building at the corner.
"That's the corner of the building," she murmured. Stella scrutinized that picture just as she did to all the others. However, something caught her eye.
She brought the picture closer to her face and looked at the garbage can on the corner. It was the type that looked kind of like a fence and held a clear plastic bag. Within that fence was something of paramount importance. Stella checked other pictures of the corner and made sure that she didn't see something else.
No, she did something important. Within that garbage fence was a bloody knife.
"Hey Flack," Mac said as he sauntered to the homicide detective's desk. "I think I may have someone for you to pick up."
The blue-eyed detective looked up at the senior CSI as he heard him talking. "Who do you got? I'll look him up for any records."
"I did remember seeing a picture of Serena and this guy in the garbage can. On the back it said 'Serena and Michael, forever and always'. I just thought that it was a boyfriend or something, so I left the matter alone for that moment," Mac began. "Then I checked the answering machine messages before I left. There were various messages all saying the same thing: that Michael Vocter didn't understand why Serena McLaughlin was ignoring him. He left repeated messages on her phone, so he might have been a borderline stalker. Check him out, see if he has any priors. After that, call Danny and bring him with you to pick him up."
Flack nodded. "Sounds good. See you later." Mac walked away after that.
The detective then entered Michael Vocter's name into the database. Michael Vocter, thirty-five year old half-British, half-German male. He had a couple of parking tickets, but most people had them, so Flack originally decided to look over those. However, when he saw the places where he was ticketed, he took back his decision and looked at each one of the tickets.
Every single one of the tickets was issued within a five mile radius of Serena McLaughlin's house. He was definite stalker material.
Flack decided to dig up more information on Michael Vocter. It turns out that there was a restraining order against him after his many parking ticket violations. Serena McLaughlin was the one who initiated the restraining order. He was to stay 100 feet away from her at all times. If he was mad about the restraining order, this gave Michael Vocter motive.
He did some more digging and and found that Vocter's bank records stated that he recently bought a house close to Serena McLaughlin's. Flack shook his head when he read that the house was within 100 feet away from her house. Assuming that he broke his restraining order, he would have had the perfect opportunity to commit the crime.
As the homicide detective dug further into Michael Vocter's records, he found that he graduated with a degree in criminal justice/forensic science. However, Vocter soon realized that his dream job was a chef. As of now, he was currently employed as one. He could have used his training to clean up the crime. Also, as a chef, he would have access to knives. This provided the means for the crime.
There it was. Means, motive, and opportunity. The three things needed to convict a person. It was quite possible that Michael Vocter killed Serena McLaughlin. However, he could've also been the killer of Abu Galib and/or Chris Jackson.
As Flack remembered what Mac said about the answering machine, he checked his phone records, both for the cell phone and home phone. The homicide detective couldn't believe what he saw. Every single day, starting from two weeks after the restraining order was filed, multiple calls were placed to Serena McLaughlin's house every day. The guy was breaking the terms of the restraining order, which clearly stated that Michael Vocter could have no contact with Serena.
After searching through multiple databases and sites, he found connections to the two other Clorox Killer victims. It appears that Chris Jackson, Michael Vocter, and Serena McLaughlin were high school and college friends. Also, Vocter and Galib were part of a Manhattan YMCA basketball team.
There you have it. Michael Vocter was connected to all three of the previous murders and he had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the murders. As of currently, Michael Vocter was most likely their perp.
Flack looked up the address of Michael Vocter and saw that it actually was within 100-200 feet of Serena McLaughlin's house. He called Danny up to relay the information to him.
"Messer," he answered.
"Hey Danny," Flack said. "I've been doing some research on a guy Mac thought was just some guy that Serena was repeatedly ignoring. Turns out that he's a stalker ex-boyfriend who is a chef, has training in forensic science, and has connections to the other two victims. This guy seems perfect for the crime."
"This guy does seem perfect. You got an address?" Danny asked.
"Yup, 900 Barnes Avenue, only a couple blocks away from Serena's place," Flack replied.
"All right, I'll be at the precinct in a few. I really hope this is the break we've been looking for," Danny said and hung up.
Flack hoped the exact same thing.
"Dammit!" Lindsay exclaimed as she evacuated everybody from the room that they were in. When Adam tested the freshener's contents, he had to spray some, releasing the radioactivity into the air. That put everyone in the room at risk.
Adam rushed over to her side. "I've notified the CDC. They should be here soon. You said the air freshener was sprayed inside Galib's taxi. Who else went into the taxi besides you?"
"I know Stella did," Lindsay remembered. "I think Angell might've gone inside as well."
"All right, I'll call Stella, you call Angell. Get them in here. If they are contaminated, we can't let anybody else get infected," Adam instructed, not even looking at Lindsay while speaking. He was already speed-dialing Stella and waiting for her to pick up.
Lindsay had to admit that she'd never seen Adam take charge like this. It was good to see him go from the one who took orders to the one who gave the orders. She took out her phone and dialed Angell's number.
"Detective Angell," she answered.
"Hey Jess, it's Lindsay," the Montana native said. A hint of a worried tone laced her voice.
"Lindsay, what's up?" Angell asked, curious as to why the CSI sounded worried.
"I have two quick questions. First, where are you right now?" she began. "Second, did you go into Abu Galib's taxi when you first arrived on the scene?"
"I'll answer both of your questions if you answer one of mine. First, I'm at the precinct. Second, yes, I did go into Galib's taxi. Lindsay, you know that I had to. It's protocol at a scene," Angell replied. "Now for my question. Why do you need this? There something wrong?"
Lindsay exhaled and said, "The air freshener used to freshen up the air in Galib's cab was laced with thallium. As a precaution, you need to come over to the Trace lab and get checked out to make sure that you're not radioactive."
There was silence for a short moment. Then, Angell said, "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can." After that, she hung up.
Lindsay saw Stella enter the room and start talking to Adam about the whole situation. Five minutes later, Angell came rushing into the room.
All four co-workers were worried about their status as the CDC workers came an hour later. Each one of them was tested and each one of them was clean.
"The freshener may have been laced with thallium, but the amount wasn't enough to be radioactive. It was large enough that your scanners picked up on it, but it's not enough to kill you. You're all free to go," one of the workers said.
Adam breathed a sigh of relief as the CDC left the room. "Thank God for that," he mumbled as he walked back to the evidence boxes. Angell also left and went back to the precinct.
"It's good that we're all all right," Stella said. "I'll talk to you later." She walked out of the room and almost walked right into Mac.
"Mac, hey," the Greek said.
"Stella, how's everything in there?" he inquired. "Lindsay, Adam, and Angell; are they okay? Are you okay?"
Stella nodded. "We're all fine and all clean. Lindsay and Adam went back to the evidence and Angell headed back to the precinct. I'm going to head back up to the Bronx to check out something at Chris Jackson's place. I'll keep you posted, all right?"
Mac smiled, relieved that his team was okay. "All right, I'll hear from you soon." Stella smiled back and walked to the elevator. Little did she know that checking up on things wasn't the best idea...
Boom boom boom! was the sound Flack's fists made as he forcefully knocked on Michael Vocter's door. "Michael Vocter! NYPD! Open up! We have a warrant!" No answer came from inside the house.
Flack looked at Danny and they both drew their guns. Flack counted down to three with his fingers and then kicked open the door.
"Michael Vocter, NYPD!" Danny yelled. At first, the house was silent. Then, out of nowhere, gunshots rang out. Both Flack and Danny ducked as they tried to identify the source of the gunfire.
Bang bang! went more gunshots from nowhere. They realized that they were coming from the hall leading to the backyard.
Danny ducked as a bullet whizzed by his head. Then he took a shot down the hallway, hoping to hit the shooter. The bullet broke the glass at the back of the house and flew through the window.
Both men slowly made their way toward the back of the house and toward the source of the shooting, taking cover occasionally.
Bang bang! More shots were fired from the back as shots were fired from the front. As they reached the entrance of the hallway, Flack edged his way down the hall. No shots were being fired at the moment, so Danny went down the hall as well.
Down they walked, Flack on the left and Danny on the right. They both tried to look at the back room without sticking their heads out of the hallway. Flack could see a man hiding behind a piece of furniture not too far from where they were standing now. He motioned to Danny that the man was on his side and the CSI nodded.
"Michael Vocter! We know where you are! Cease fire and drop your weapon!" Danny yelled. They both tried to get as close to the wall as possible, because they knew that Vocter would try to shoot again.
And sure enough, they were right. But, instead of doing nothing, they both took a shot as Vocter stood to take his. The two cops were quicker that the civilian at shooting. Flack got his leg and Danny got his arm.
Michael Vocter screamed in pain as the bullets entered his flesh. He went down on his knees, putting the gun down as he went.
Both Flack and Danny walked to Vocter, Flack with handcuffs out and Danny still holding his weapon.
"You shouldn't have tried to do that, Vocter. I'm hurt. I just wanted to talk to you." Flack said as he handcuffed him gently knowing that his arm was injured, but tough because he was a criminal.
Danny put away his weapon and took out his radio. "This is Detective Messer. Requesting medical assistance at 900 Barnes Avenue..."
He was there when she arrived. The curly-haired one. He expected her to come. But where was the serious-faced man? He was normally with her, but where was he now?
He looked around the area and checked to see if anyone was there. He chuckled to himself when he realized his stupidity. There were multiple events happening today. The new Yankee Stadium opening, a parade in the city, a concert in Central Park, a sale at Bloomingdale's, series premieres for new summer TV shows. Most people would either be holed up at home or out by now.
He was right. There was almost no one around the area. So he put on his Sanitation Department uniform and walked down from the rooftop he was on. One was better than none.
Stella parked her car near the corner of Chris Jackson's apartment and walked to the garbage can that she saw the knife in. Hopefully the Sanitation Department didn't clear it out yet.
As she approached the garbage can, she noticed a man in a Sanitation Department uniform walking to the garbage can and pulling out the bag.
"Whoa there, hold on," she called to the man. She found it suspicious that he had a satchel around his neck, but she decided to ignore that fact. She'd met more eccentric people in her day.
"Can I help you, miss?" he asked.
She pulled out her badge. "NYPD. I need you to put down that bag, sir." The man obliged and put down the bag. The CSI snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and searched through the bag until she found the knife.
When she found it, she pulled out a folded paper evidence bag from her suit jacket pocket and started to put the knife in. However, she was hit from behind with something. She wobbled, dropped the knife, and turned around. It was the sanitation worker.
His mouth turned up into a wicked smile. "I'm sorry, Detective, but I can't let you have that. You see, it has my fingerprint on it, and I don't think you taking it would go in my favor."
Even though Stella had a bit of a throbbing headache, it was easy to put two and two together. "You're the Clorox Bottle killer," she stated.
He smiled and reached for the knife. "Oh, is that what they call me at the precinct? That's a nice and creative name. I like it." His hands almost closed around the knife when Stella lunged at him.
"Well then, you're not getting this knife!" she yelled, taking the knife from him. He grabbed her and started throwing punches. She did the same, trying to preserve the evidence while doing so.
The fight didn't last long, because the man grabbed her from behind and put his arm around her neck. He pulled a damp cloth out of his satchel.
Stella then realized what the satchel was for. It was evidence transportation. The satchel and the hand that the knife was in were close, so she was able to cut a relatively large hole in the bottom of the bag without him noticing.
"Like I said before, Detective, I can't let you have the knife," the man said, and pushed the cloth against her mouth and nose.
As he pressed the cloth harder, Stella felt the last wisp of breath she had escape her and mingle with the air around them. She slumped unconscious and dropped the knife to the floor. The man took out keys from his pocket and pressed a button. The black SUV right near them beeped. He picked up Stella, tied up her arms and legs, put tape around her mouth, and placed her in the back seat.
"Can't have you running to anybody about this," he said as he closed the door. Then, he picked up the knife and put it in his satchel, oblivious to the gaping hole in the bottom.
He smiled another malicious smile before walking to the car. However, before he got in, the knife dropped out of the hole and onto the pavement. He didn't even notice as the black SUV sped away into the day.
Just as the black SUV sped up with an unconscious CSI in the back, an unconscious CSI was regaining life.
Sheldon Hawkes lay in his bed at St. Barnabas Hospital, unconscious. However, as the clock changed from 16.00 to 16.01, his brown eyes fluttered open and he took in a welcome breath of fresh (well, hospital fresh) air.
He had no idea that another CSI just took his place.
Well? What do you think? As for the events that the man mentioned, I don't really know if those happened on the same day. I just needed to put it there. Also, I'm sorry that it wasn't very perilous.
Please don't be afraid to tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome; reviews are loved. Remember that Ben & Jerry's! :)