"I see." His voice was calm and his eyes never left the file in his hand as he listened quietly to the voice on the other end of the line. "Yes I have a few that are missing; one matches your John Doe's description. I also have a number of unsolved cases fitting your killers MO. How many? I'd have to say at this moment there are at least six. Seven counting the one in your jurisdiction." He paused again listening intently to what the other was saying. "That's fine. I appreciate the call Detective Danville, I'll take it from here. You can expect to see me, very soon." With that he hung up and looked over the file once more before setting it down on his desk, the hot sun blaring down on his back from the window.
"So what was all that about?" The other man in the room asked curiously.
"That, was Detective Jo Danville from the NYPD. Seems she's found one of our missing kids." The other at the desk replied.
"In New York?"
"It would appear so." The man at the desk sat up straight. "And it would appear, he was murdered in a similar fashion to the victims that have been popping up here in Miami as of late..." The man stood up from his desk.
"What are you going to do H?" The other asked already sure of his response.
"We Eric. What are WE going to do..." He replied pausing as a tall blond stepped into his office with a grin.
"I like where this is going already." She smiled. "Where we headed Horatio?"
"We're going to New York City."
6:35pm – Las Vegas Nevada, LVPD Crime Lab
"We certainly do. Yes Ma'am I've got a missing girl by the name of Stacy Fiorin that matches your Jane Doe's photo." The man leaned forward and clicked through the other attachments in the email. "Whoa really? Miami to eh? Yeah we sure do. About five of them so far, six including yours. Sure thing, I'll let Catherine know and we'll be there as soon as we can. Thanks for the call Detective." He hung up and sat back in his seat feeling a little defeated.
"Bad news Nick?" A familiar voice called from the doorway. Nick Stokes turned his head to see Catherine Willows standing there, file in hand.
"Yeah. Seems our girl Stacy Fiorin has turned up dead in New York City. Just got off the phone with Detective Jo Danville from the crime lab there." Nick stopped and looked back to the picture haunting his computer screen. "What kills me is how she was killed though. It's like our guy has a double, or triple for that matter."
"Triple even? That's pretty strategic." Catherine commented walking into the room. "Why'd she call you and not DB?"
"Must have forgotten to update the numbers somewhere." Nick chuckled. "Speaking of DB, what should we tell him?" Before Catherine could speak another answered from the doorway.
"Nothing." Both Nick and Catherine turned to face DB Russell standing in the entrance. "You two are packing and leaving to check this out."
"When?" Catherine asked.
"Now."
6:58pm – New York Crime Lab, Mac's Office
"Ok, hey, HEY. Slow down I can't understand a word you're saying. Katie. KATIE." Mac dragged his hand down his face. He'd been on the phone for almost an hour now with Katie Lakehill on the other end completely hysterical. He sighed heavily trying to discern what the young girl was saying but her words we so jumbled together the most he could understand was 'Blood' and 'I'm in danger'. "Katie I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Are you hurt?"
"No." She finally said.
"OK. That's good, but can you tell me why you're so upset? What happened Katie?" Mac asked holding his finger up to Jo and Gibbs as they stepped into the room.
"It was Kevin." She sobbed. "He was here. There was so much blood on him; I thought for sure he was going to kill me..."
"Did he say anything to you?"
"No but he left a box in the doorway... It has your name on it Detective Taylor."
"OK, Katie don't touch it alright? I'm on my way just stay where you are." Once Katie confirmed she wouldn't touch the box and would stay put until he arrived Mac hung up and grabbed his coat. "What do you need?" He asked quickly looking to Jo and Gibbs.
"Where're you headed Detective?" Gibbs asked.
"Kevin Lakehill was just at Katie's home. He left a box there with my name on it so I'm heading over there to get her and the box." Mac replied then looked to Jo.
"Mac, I found out who the last two victims are..." She said and Mac ceased his motions.
"Who are they?" He asked
"One is a missing boy from Miami, his name's David Terry." Jo replied.
"The other is a missing girl from Las Vegas by the name of Stacy Fiorin."Gibbs added. Mac looked at them both waiting for either of them to continue as he finished putting his coat on.
"I called MDPD and LVPD. Both have five or more cases just like the ones we've got here where the victim was bled out from the neck and a bone was taken from the body." Jo stated gently placing the spine of a file folder in her other hand. "Lieutenant Horatio Cane and two of his colleagues are on their way to New York from Miami right now. Likewise CSI's Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes are on their way from Vegas, I just got off the phone with their superior DB Russell. They should be here soon." Jo finished and looked at Mac as he holstered his gun.
"What time can I be expecting a call from you about their arrivals then?" Mac asked trying to hide his annoyance.
"As soon as they get here you'll be the first know." Jo replied.
"Good. Keep me posted." Mac left Gibbs and Jo in the hall and practically ran up to his Chevy Avalanche and tore out of the rooftop parking lot. He quickly and carefully tried to put on his Kevlar vest with one hand as he sped down the street to Katie Lakehill's residence. Once there he peeled to a stop and fixed the Velcro on his vest before going in, gun poised and ready. "Katie? It Detective Taylor." He called out as he cautiously walked through the house. He had to be careful now. He didn't know if Kevin was still in the house or not but if he was one wrong move could cost him a lot more than just this investigation.
As he made his way down the hall, swerving his hands this way in that as he passed open doors and pushed open others he made a conscious effort to note all the closets and tight spaces a person might be able to hide in or around in case he needed to for safety's sake. Finally Mac stumbled upon the brown paper wrapped box sitting in the doorway of what appeared to be Katie's room with his name plastered all over it in red ink which would mostly likely turn out to be blood if what Katie said was true and Kevin was covered in it.
Carefully Mac stepped over the box and entered the room slowly surveying the area.
"Katie?" He called again. He heard a light tap in the closet so he slowly and carefully stepped towards it, gun ready in case he needed to shoot. Slowly Mac's hand found its way to the doorknob and turned it as quietly and calmly as he could. This was it, the moment of truth. Mac swallowed hard and pulled the door open backing up and placing both hands on his gun again. Nothing. Carefully he pushed some of the clothes hanging on the bar out of the way. Doing so revealed a smaller door within the closet so Mac leaned down sideways and carefully opened it, stopping halfway to pull out his penlight. He slowly pulled the light up to his gun and turned it on.
The sight of the body inside startled Mac at first and he fell back on his hands and pushed away briefly before he realized who it was. "Katie?" He asked again. Katie crawled out of the small space and Mac sighed with relief. She was OK, he'd gotten here in time. She still had tears streaming down her face and he pulled her close to try and comfort her. The box would have to wait for a moment.
7:34pm – New York Crime Lab
"Argh! ALMOST had it." Abby howled over her music occasionally taking a large gulp of the Caf-Pow Ziva brought her.
"Are you alright Abby?" Ziva asked from the lighted table Adam had the puzzles spread out on. Abby didn't look up when she replied.
"I'm OK. It's just this picture, UGH. It's very annoying BUT! I'm getting there. Soon we'll know who Mekanik's next victim is." Abby said with a triumphant smile.
"Wicked. I'm just about down with these last two puzzles. So far it's just the six victims we've found so there's nothing new there..." Said Adam in a less enthusiastic tone as he placed the last few pieces in their places.
"Don't give up Adam. We'll find the big break." Abby replied trying to cheer him up. Adam laughed.
"You think so?"
"I know so!"
"Let us hope you are right then Abby." Ziva commented
7:36pm – Lakehill Residence
Mac gently peeled away at the brown paper covering the white box. He had to be careful not to rip it too much so he could test the blood that his name had been written in on the front of it. Carefully he popped open the top of the box and peered inside. At a first glance it looked like a bunch of black fabric all balled up and stuffed in a bag. On top lay a note. 'Another riddle...' Mac growled to himself.
"W-what is it Detective Taylor?" Katie asked from the far end of her room. She was trying to keep as much distance between the box and her as possible. Mac turned around to face her as he spoke.
"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to go through it in more detail at my lab but-..." Mac was cut short by a loud bang echoing up the stairs.
"That sounds like it came from the cellar..." Katie muttered. Mac held his hand up and drew his gun again.
"Stay here." He told her.
"No, I can't stay up here by myself!" She half yelled in a whisper. Mac sighed.
"Then stay behind me." Mac made his way down the hall and quietly descended the staircase, Katie not far behind him. Another knock drew Mac's attention to a white door in the kitchen area. Cautiously he approached it and opened the door. The rancid smell that wafted up from below was nauseating and he tried to turn on the light to see what the cause was.
"The light hasn't worked down there for years. Kevin wouldn't let anyone replace it." Katie told him and Mac nodded.
"Stay up here." He coughed in response and slowly entered the cellar. Mac pulled out his penlight again and poised his gun as he came into the open room. "What the hell...?" Was all he could muster when he saw what was down there. Above his head just out of view from the stairs was a chandelier made of bones.
Human bones.
Mac was disgusted but he made himself examine it anyways, for the sake of the case and finding out where the killer was. The candle holders were made up of six skulls each with the bottom jaw removed and a hole in the top where a white candle stood. The remainder was covered in old wax that gave it an eerie feel in the flickering candlelight. The rest was, from what Mac could see in the orange glow, cast out of various tibia and ribs leading up to the ceiling wear it was bolted into the wooden frame.
'Who could stomach doing something like this...?' He thought to himself and he pulled out his phone to take a picture of it.
"Did you find anything Detective Taylor?" Katie called down quietly from her perch on the first step. Mac peered around the corner at her.
"Yeah I did. Just stay up there alright? I don't want you coming down here Katie." He said in a low tone. Katie nodded and whispered in return.
"What is it?" Mac shook his head then asked.
"Have you seen what's down here at all?"
"No, Daddy wouldn't let me down here and after what I saw Kevin doing to the animals he killed I didn't want to go down there, ever." She squeaked. Mac nodded.
"Good." Mac walked back around the corner and took a few more pictures of the chandelier before moving on. As he continued through the area he found a number of other oddities made up of various human bones. A chair comprised of ribs, spines and tibia with, what he assumed to be, the missing jaws from the skulls on the chandelier for the headrest and arms. Aside from the chair he found an incomplete torch made up of tibia and a hollowed out skull, a nightstand and various other things he couldn't name.
Mac was about to leave when a breeze caught his attention and he turned his head to see another room to his right. Long strands of plastic billowed in the cold air crawling through the small opening and it started to make him feel uneasy. He quickly emailed the photos he took to Adam and dialled his number when he saw the confirmation that his message had been sent on the screen. He held his gun out in front of him and proceeded into the next room.
"Adam? It's Mac."
"Boss! So funny that you called cause I was just about to call you!" Adam replied.
"Adam listen to me. I need you to make sure you show Agent Gibbs the photos I just emailed you." Mac ordered. "Also, make sure to let him know that I found what looks like a bloody blazer in a bag in the box that was left here for me with another note on it. I'll be brining it in with Katie when I'm done here."
"Alright I'll let him know. What'd the note say?" Adam inquired as he opened his email.
"Just some nonsense." Mac replied. "It said 'Mac be nimble, Mac be quick, Mac don't got passed the candle stick'."
"A nursery rhyme?"
"Yeah. Did you get the email yet?" Mac asked a little frustrated with the small talk Adam was trying to make.
"Yeah I got that email, just waiting for the photos to OH my GOD. What the hell is THAT? Are those REAL?" Adam stammered as the first of the photos loaded.
"Yes Adam they're real, they're VERY real now PLEASE make sure Gibbs sees those, it's important!" Mac growled. "Adam?"
"Yeah Boss I got it don't worry. I'll make sure Gibbs sees them. Oh man this is NASTY. Where'd you find all these?"
"I'm in Katie Lakehill's basement. These things were more than likely left over from brother."
"Are you serious? Whoa..." Adam paused to look at the other photos, then remembered why he'd wanted to call Mac in the first place. "Oh the reason I was going to call you was because Abby is almost done with the photo!" Mac could here Abby in the background shouting over a lot of loud noises he assumed was music.
"Adam what the hell is that sound?" He asked annoyed trying to focus on what was in front of him as he turned into a maze of book cases.
"Oh sorry Boss, it's Abby's music." As the noise died Adam continued. "Anyways yeah we're almost done with it. We'll know who Mekanik's next victim is soon enough."
"That's great Adam." Mac replied peering around another bookcase into a dead end of others. "How much longer do you think it'll take?"
"Gimme a couple of seconds and I'll let you know."Adam sounded pretty happy about it. Mac couldn't share in the moment though as a rustling of books almost made him drop his phone and grab his gun with both hands.
"Adam?" He said a little louder than he meant to.
"Hang on Boss, it's loading!" Adam was silent again and Mac was starting to grow frustrated with him. He needed to get off the phone and fast. Finally he heard Adam again but his voice took on an apprehensive and worried tone versus the happy one that had been there moments ago. "Oh, my God." Mac could hear Abby echoing his words in the background noise. "Boss you gotta get outta there." Adam continued.
"What do you mean?" Mac asked.
"You gotta get outta there now Boss. Like, now!" Adam sounded panicked now.
"ADAM?" Mac howled. "Who is the picture of?" Mac could hear the hesitation in his voice as he swallowed hard.
"It's YOU Boss. You're the next victim!" Adam's words made Mac's heart stop. He stopped and turned around ready to bolt but he asked him again to confirm he had heard right.
"What?"
"Mekanik's next victim is YOU Mac, you gotta get outta there now! The phone call from Katie? It was trap to lure you to Katie's house! The killer WANTED you there!" Before Mac could do anything something hard hit him in the back of the head and the next thing he knew he was on the floor. The last things he could remember were Katie's screams from the other room, Adam's voice calling out from his phone and the skeletal blue eyed face that faded with his vision as a small sharp needle punctured his neck.
"Boss?... Mac!... MAC?"
