A/N: I do not own and am no way offiliated with CBS, CSI, or any other known entity. Song at the end of this chapter is "Now Comes the Night" by Rob Thomas, which I don't own. Thanks to lostladyknight for being a wonderful beta. This is part two of three of the case, and for those who missed some of part one, here's the recap- A three year old girl was murdered by the same guy who killed 5 little girls (ages 1-5) in Dallas in '95, Boston 2000, and Los Angeles 2005. One of the victims of Dallas's five was Nick's daughter. As of the end of the last chapter, Nick didn't know the guy was back, but he will soon. Enjoy, and please review.
Bad Day Gets Worse
I groan, walkin' into Mandy's lab. "Tell me you got somethin' for me," I tell her.
"Your print's on file, priors for assault and battery, as well as robbery," she says. "Jake Lincolns." She hands me the results sheet with a picture of Jake on it.
"That's the guy on surveillance. Case closed. Thanks, Mandy. I love you." She chuckles.
"Love you too." She turns back to her work as Judy runs up to me.
"Mr. Stokes, I have a message for you," she says, holding it in a gloved hand. "Random drop off, so I figured…"
"Prints and Trace, thank you," I say, taking the glove Mandy hands me and putting it on. I grab another before opening the note.
'Welcome back to my world, Mr. Stokes,' it says. 'Can't fuck up your life this time, though. Your kid's not born yet. But trust me, within five hours, you'll be watching the life of one of your friends fall apart like yours did, because I'm not waiting for number five this time. Cowards run from their problems, Mr. Stokes, just like you did from Dallas. Catch me if you can.'
"Mandy, see if you can get a print off this," I say, handing it to her with a mixture of sadness and anger.
"Will do," she replies, setting it down. I walk into the hallway, shaking my head and sighing. The note reeks of the 5-1 Killer of '95. I run into Grissom, who grabs my arm.
"We need to talk," he says.
"Yeah, we do," I reply.
"The team knows about Hailey." I stop dead in my tracks.
"What?"
"We had a case tonight, murdered three-year-old."
"I know, I heard the call."
"Bullets match the 5-1 Killer case from Dallas '95, Boston 2000, Los Angeles 2005. We found a teddy bear with blood and hairs. Both samples fifteen years old, seven alleles in common with you." I sigh.
"Right." I look at Grissom. "Am I on this case or off?"
"You're the only one who knows anything about it, but you're emotionally invested."
"Ecklie knows. You know. Mandy knows."
"Ecklie and I only know because it's on your case file. It's not something either of us have discussed with you."
"Brass probably knows too. He's the one who hired me, after all." He shrugs.
"Either way, Nicky."
"I got some explainin' to do, I know." We walk into the layout room, where the rest of the team is gathered. Warrick, Catherine, and Sara all look at me, confused. Greg looks unphased. "Hey," I say.
"Hey," Greg replies.
"Tell us about this," Warrick says.
"Alright," I say, sighing. "5-1 Killer started in Dallas in '95. I was a CSI 1 out there then, engaged to Sandra Berman, with a two year old daughter named Hailey Alexa. First victim was a five year old girl. An hour after the CSIs left the scene, a note arrived at the lab, addressed to one of the CSIs workin' the case. Basic 'catch me if you can' type note. Lack of forensic evidence and no DNA at the time made the case hard. Five days later, another girl, four year old, dead, same signature, note arrived one hour after. Five days later, third. Then five days later, the fourth victim. Each victim was gettin' closer and closer in connection to the lab. The fifth victim, five days later, was my daughter." I close my eyes as Catherine immediately puts her hand on my shoulder. I look up, watching Greg and Warrick look nervous. Sara looks down sadly, and Grissom leans against the doorway, unphased. He knew all along, after all.
"Anyway, the guy disappears after that," I continue. "Reappears five years later in Boston, same signature, same time frames. Last victim was a CSI's daughter out there. He disappears for five years, shows up again in L.A. Only this time, instead of five days between murders, it's five hours. Same signature down to the last casing, so no chance on a copy cat. Fifth was a cop's daughter. Every victim of this guy is between the ages of 1 and 5, little girl, father's always at work when the child's killed."
"If this is the same guy, the note's gotta already be at CSI," Greg says.
"It is. It's with Mandy in the Print lab, but I doubt we're gonna find anything. Greg, Warrick, go home and grab your girls. Bring them into the lab. Advise Hodges to do the same. I think he's ready to make one of them the next victim." Greg nods, and he and Warrick rush out. I look at Grissom, Sara, and Catherine. "Now what?"
"Few more questions," Catherine says. "You never married the mother of your child?"
"Man, I tried," I say. "I asked her to marry me, she said yes, but any time I went to set a date, she'd find a reason not to. After Hailey died, it was almost like her reason for stayin' with me was gone." Catherine frowns.
"I'm sorry." I shrug.
"It happens."
"How come you never told us?"
"I don't know. I got here shortly after, and it still hurt too much. Brass knew because it was in my file, same reason Grissom and Ecklie knew."
"Greg didn't seem phased by it."
"Greg had his suspicions about the coat and the doll," Sara says. "It wasn't a certain thing."
"Hailey would've been…" Catherine begins.
"Eighteen," I say. "About Lindsey's age."
"That the real reason you left Dallas? Reminder?"
"Kinda. It was hard. Still is."
"That's why you fight with Hodges like you do," Sara says. I nod. "I'm sorry, Nick."
"It's okay." I sigh softly. "I've been trackin' this guy for 15 years. I was part of the original team against him. He's smart, and he knows forensics."
"You said he brings a note into the lab an hour after the CSIs leave the scene, right?" I nod. "How does he know when they leave?"
"We thought he might be a looky-loo, or maybe a reporter. We never knew for sure."
"What about a cop? Or a lab tech? Or even a criminalist?" I shrug.
"You think a crim, a tech, or a cop did this? Has been doing this?" She shrugs.
"I don't know. It's possible." I sigh again.
"We considered it, but never had sufficient evidence."
"Are the case files from the other places coming in?" Grissom nods. "When they do, I wanna look and see if there are any common people on them." John Drier, the dayshift guy, walks in.
"I heard the 5-1 Killer's in Vegas," he says.
"It's possible," Grissom says. "We don't know for sure."
"I'm here to help. I know this guy better than anyone else."
"We're all set, but thanks."
"I was there for the original investigation."
"So was I, John," I remind him.
"You're emotionally involved in the case, though," he says.
"You bein' an intern at the time does not make you an expert. We got this." John shrugs.
"Whatever. But when he strikes again, you'll be begging for my help." He walks away, and Sara and Catherine look at me.
"Asshole," Sara remarks. "So, you worked with him in Dallas?"
"Yeah," I reply. "He was just an intern, though. Was still there after I left."
"Was he like this out there?"
"Like what?"
"Helping his colleagues' wives cheat on them, and then being a dick when confronted."
"He got divorced out there, when I was still on PD."
"How come? His wife caught him in bed with another woman?"
"I don't know. By the time I got to the lab, it was old news, but still too recent for John to talk about."
"Right." She grumbles. "I hate that guy."
"Why?" I ask, curiosity mixin' with anger. I'm in a bad mood as it is without havin' to listen to her, but I know that's where this is goin'.
"He helped Tina cheat on Warrick!" she shouts.
"So? It's not like he cheated on you!"
"I don't trust him as far as Greg can throw him, and Greg can't even pick him up!"
"Isn't that just a little extreme? The guy's just tryin' to be nice and help, and you're hatin' him!"
"You mean to tell me you're not still mad at him for what he did to Warrick?"
"Of course I'm mad! It was wrong!"
"Then why are you jumping on me about it?"
"Because I'm not lettin' the fact that I hate the guy get in the way of realizin' that he could actually be useful in this case!"
"You trust him and his insight?"
"When it comes to this, yes, because he's experienced."
"You're full of shit, Nick."
"And you're bein' ridiculous, Sara. Find me when you get your fuckin' head out of your ass so you can see straight." I storm out of the room, walking into the print lab. Mandy looks up at me.
"Anything?" I ask, half-angry.
"No," she replies. "You okay?"
"The serial killer that killed my daughter is back, after one of my friends' kids, and Sara's fightin' me over trivial things and bitchin' about some dayshift guy."
"John Drier?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"I know Sara can't stand him, so it wasn't a far leap." I sigh.
"I don't know, Mandy. Somethin's not right."
"Why do you say that?"
"She suggested it was a tech, a crim, or a cop, and she may be right. There were a couple guys out in Dallas with me when the killer struck the first time that are now out here."
"Were they in Boston or Los Angeles?"
"I don't know. I lost track of them because it bothered me too much."
"Yeah. And those guys would know the case, though, just like you do." I sigh.
"I don't know, Mandy. I really don't like one of them for this. That would mean that someone I knew, someone I was close with, killed my own daughter."
"So, follow the evidence."
"That's just it. There is no evidence. IBIS can only tell us that the cases are connected and that the gun being used is a Colt .45. Other than that, there's nothing. No actual gun means no serial number, means no trace. No other evidence at the scene."
"Except this time." I arch my eyebrows. "News travels fast. You know that."
"A teddy bear with my daughter's blood and her hair, preserved well enough to keep DNA."
"So the killer had to know DNA and how to make it last. And he had to know that in '95, when DNA was still an emerging field."
"Right. So, the killer knows forensics, knows how to make DNA last, and knows when CSIs leave the scene. Maybe Sara's right. Maybe we are looking for a criminalist or a lab tech."
Now comes the night
Feel it fading away
And the soul underneath
Is it all that remains?