Stella dusted the mop bucket handle and got fingerprints, and they matched the ones from the wallet. She tested the blood, and it matched the victim's blood. Now, if they could find a suspect, they might have this murder solved.
Soon, Mac arrived at the lab. "Did you find anything?" he asked.
"The blood and the prints match what we already have," Stella said. "But there are no matches in the database."
Mac slapped his hand down on the table. He thought a moment. "We have to find this Sean Pendleton." He got his phone and called Don.
"Flack," Don answered.
"I need you to run down a Sean Pendleton," Mac said. "He worked at Grand Central. He was fired a while back. I need tag number, license number, address. Subpoena those records from the train station. We have to find this guy. He may be our murderer."
"I'm on it."
Don went to a judge and got a warrant for the records at the train station. Mac met him there. They went inside and got the records for Sean Pendleton. "There's his address," Don said.
"Lets go visit him," Mac said.
They went back outside and headed for the address. "This guy is hard to find," Don said to Mac on the phone. "He doesn't even have a car registered with the DMV."
"Hopefully, he's at his address," Mac replied.
When they got to the apartment building, it was a low-rent apartment building. Mac and Don went inside. "It says he lives in two-B," Don said.
They drew their weapons and went down the hall. It didn't take long to find the right apartment. Don knocked on the door. "NYPD! Open up!" he said.
They heard a shotgun cock inside the room. They both jumped away from the door, as a large hole appeared in the center of the door. Mac thought he felt the heat of the pellets as they went by. Don jumped up and aimed his weapon through the hole, but there was no one there. He kicked the door open. Mac joined him in the doorway. "NYPD!" Mac yelled.
Then they heard someone crying. Don got his radio and called for backup. Mac moved around the wall with Don right behind him. They came to the bedroom door, where the crying seemed to be coming from. They got on either side of the door. Mac gripped the knob. He nodded to Flack, and then shoved the door open. Don stuck his arms into the room with his weapon at the ready. Just as he saw a woman and two children in there, something hard hit his left arm, and then smacked him in the face. He fell backward.
Don landed on top of Mac. The suspect ran by them while Mac was trying to get Don off him without hurting him any further. "Don!" Mac said. Don was barely conscious. Mac called for an ambulance. Then he looked into the bedroom at the woman and kids. "Don't move," he said, even though he could tell they were terrified. He also told dispatch where they were and that the suspect had fled.
Mac looked at Don. "Can you hear me?" Mac asked.
Don couldn't hear anything. He felt like his ears were full of noise. He thought he was in pain, but he wasn't sure. "You'll be alright," Mac said. "Hang in there."
Soon, the ambulance arrived. They carried Don out. Stella also arrived. "Mac, what happened?" she asked.
"We were here to talk to Sean Pendleton," Mac said. "When we knocked on that door and Don identified us, someone fired a shotgun through the front door. Then he lured us here by terrorizing his own family, and when Don went in, he hit him with something."
Stella followed Mac over to the bedroom. Mac showed the woman his badge. "Was that Sean Pendleton who just ran out of here?" Mac asked.
The woman nodded. She was crying, as were the two kids. "Did he come home with a large sum of money this morning?" Stella asked.
The woman stared at them a moment. "That money was stolen after he murdered a man," Mac said. "If you have it, you need to give it to us."
"He said he got a layoff bonus from his job," the woman said.
"I'm afraid that wasn't true, Ma'am," Mac said. "If you have it, you need to give it to us."
The woman went over to a dresser and opened the top drawer. She took out a sock and took a roll of money out of it. She gave it to Mac. "He said I could live on it," she said. "I didn't know he killed someone."
"He's a suspect," Mac said. "And this money makes it look very likely that he was the one who killed that man."
"Are you his wife?" Stella asked. "And are these his children?"
The woman nodded. "When he lost his job, we didn't know what we would do," she said. "He said he would fix it."
Mac and Stella looked at each other. Mac looked at the woman. "If he contacts you, I want you to call me," Mac said, and gave her his card. "He's a wanted felon now. If he turns himself in, he might not get as bad a sentence as he will if we have to keep running him down."
Mac and Stella went outside. "We need to go and see how Flack is," Mac said. He drove over to the hospital.
Don was in the emergency room. He didn't know it at the time, however. He had been given pain relievers, so he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Mac and Stella went into his room. "He's banged up pretty bad," Stella said.
Mac nodded. He wished he had been watching closer. He didn't see what he could have done though. The guy was waiting for them. Stella could see that worry on Mac's face. "It wasn't your fault," she said. "You can't always protect everybody."
Mac looked at her. "I know," he said. Mac noticed there was a brace on Don's left arm too. "He's got a lot of recovering to do."
"He'll make it."
Later, Mac and Stella went back to the precinct. Detective Jessica Angell was there. She had not worked with Mac and Stella before, but Mac always paid attention to good detectives. He had heard good things about her. "Hi," Jess said. "I'll be helping you on this case while Flack's out."
Mac nodded. "Jessica Angell," he said.
"Yes. You can call me Jess or Angell, either one is fine."
"Mac Taylor."
Stella smiled. "Stella Bonasera."
"So, our suspect got away," Jess said. "We have an APB out on that guy, his car tag. They're checking license on the streets out, so if he tries to leave, we'll catch him."
"If he takes that way out," Mac said. "We need to talk to his wife some more. We need to know who his friends are and where he hangs out."
"His wife is here now. I don't think she knows that much. She worked herself, but his job was the main income."
"I want to know if he has any other family here too."
"We're checking into all that."
"Keep me posted."
Mac and Stella went back up to the lab. Mac got himself a cup of coffee and paced back and forth in his office. He hated waiting, but there was no more he could do until they got more information on this guy. Stella came into Mac's office while he was pacing. She just fell in beside him and paced with him. Mac smiled. "Are you trying to distract me?" he asked.
"Is it working?" Stella asked.
Mac put his arm around her as they paced back and forth. He sipped his coffee. "I hate waiting," he said.
"So do I," Stella said. "I guess we could talk while we wait."
"I suppose."
"What are we doing for our next excursion?"
Mac thought a moment. "You never know what I have up my sleeve."
"You're not taking me to another burger joint, are you?"
Mac smiled. "I'm all out of burger joints."
"Good, because I want to take 'you' somewhere."
"Oh, really? Like where?"
"I'm going to take you to a Greek restaurant, and show you exquisite Greek cuisine, and then…" Stella kissed his cheek. "Then, I'll smother you with kisses."
Mac blushed a little at that. He looked at Stella. "Are you trying to embarrass me?" he asked.
Stella smiled and laughed. Mac couldn't help but chuckle. He looked at Stella. "You make me happy, Stella," he said. "Happier than I ever thought I could be again."
Stella stepped in front of him and hugged him. "You deserve to be happy, Mac."
Mac couldn't help but look around to make sure no one was watching them. He still felt a little embarrassed about dating. Stella noticed he was tense. She looked at him. "Mac, don't feel afraid to let yourself love again," she said.
Mac looked into her eyes. He didn't know how to explain the way he felt. "I just don't like publicly displaying things like this," he said.
"Oh." Stella stood up straighter. "Okay, but when we're alone, you better look out."
Mac smiled at her. "You might ought to too."
Mac sat at his desk and wrote out a report. He yawned. He had not slept much last night, and he didn't think that coffee was helping him. He rubbed his eyes. It had been two hours, and he had not heard anything about Sean Pendleton. He was 'in the wind'. Mac couldn't believe the guy had slipped through their fingers like that. Stella had gone to see about Flack again. He had a broken nose, busted lips, and a fractured left arm. He would be at a desk for a while.
Stella came into Mac's office. "So, are you going home?" she asked.
It was almost 7 pm. Mac finished his report. "I guess we could go out and get something to eat," he said.
"What did you have in mind?"
"How about we get some Chinese takeout and go to my place and watch a movie?"
Stella smiled. "Sounds good to me."
"Okay, I'll be ready to go by eight."
"I'll go home and change."
"I'll see you later."
Stella went home and got a shower. Then she got dressed in her red jeans and white short-sleeved sweater. She sprayed on some perfume and put on red lipstick. She wanted to make sure and let Mac know she wanted to kiss him. She wanted more than that, but she wouldn't push it. She would just have to wait until he was ready for that.
When Stella was ready, she went over to Mac's apartment. She hoped he was ready. She rang the doorbell. She heard the bolt unlatch. Mac opened the door. Stella smiled. "I'm here," she said.
Mac smiled. "So you are," he said. "Come on in."
Stella went inside. Mac took her coat and hung it on the coatrack. "I ordered the food, but it hasn't arrived yet," Mac said.
"What movie are we watching?" Stella asked.
"How do you like John Wayne?"
Stella stared at him a moment. She had thought he would have a romantic love story. "John Wayne?" she asked.
"Yeah. I like John Wayne."
"You're a real Casanova, aren't you?"
"I try to be."
They sat down on the couch. Mac had a mischievous grin on his face. Stella looked at him a moment. "What is that grin about?" she asked.
"You'll see."
Mac put the DVD in and the movie started. Stella's mouth dropped open when she saw that it wasn't John Wayne. She looked at Mac. "Why you!" she said.
Mac laughed, as Stella shoved him over on the couch. Stella smiled at the movie he had chosen. It was a love story. "How did you know I like this movie?" she asked.
"I know people," Mac said.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah."
Stella leaned her head on Mac's chest and snuggled close to him. She loved feeling his body move as he breathed and hearing his heart pounding. Mac smelled Stella's hair. He tilted her chin up and kissed her, very passionately. He wasn't even thinking about his past this time; all he was thinking about was how much he loved Stella.
Stella felt Mac relax into the kiss. She put her arms around his neck and felt his arms slip around her waist to pull her closer to him.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Mac didn't jump as bad as he normally did. "I guess that's the food," he said.
"I guess," Stella said, when she got her breath back.
Mac got up and went to the door. He cleared his throat and opened the door. It was the food. Mac paid the delivery guy and carried the food to the coffee table. "I ordered a variety," he said, as he got the box of chow mein, his favorite.
Stella thought she would rather continue their makeout session, but she grabbed an eggroll. She was hungry after all. They had even missed lunch today, chasing that criminal. They often missed lunch because they were too engrossed in a case, or just too busy. She had seen days when she was so hungry, she would have let the case go for an hour, but just couldn't.
Mac was thinking about their little encounter here. He thought he might have gotten carried away if that doorbell had not rung. Did he want to get carried away yet? He stared at the movie. It was a mushy love story. Mac didn't care that much for those, but Stella did, and Claire had too.
Mac glanced at Stella. She was eating and watching the movie. However, she seemed to sense his eyes on her, and she looked at him. "What?" she asked. "Are you trying to see if I'm a messy eater?"
Mac smiled. "Are you?"
"I might be sometimes."
Mac took another bite of the chow mein. He dropped part of it off his chopsticks. He looked at Stella, who was laughing. "Now, who's a messy eater?" she asked.
Mac got a napkin to wipe the mess off his pants. "Let me do that," Stella said, and took the napkin from him. The food had dropped on his thigh. She moved closer to him to wipe the food off.
Mac stared at her. He thought she was trying to start something with him. Stella looked into his eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked.
Mac thought she knew exactly what she was doing. Just then, Mac's phone rang. He jumped so that he almost dropped his whole box of chow mein on Stella's head. He felt embarrassed now. Why did he have to be so nervous? He took the phone off his side. "Taylor," he answered.
"Mac," Jessica Angell said. "We found our murderer, or we think we have. We found out he's staying with one of his buddies over in Brooklyn. He called his wife, and she told us."
"Alright," Mac said, all business now. "Text the address to my phone and I'll meet you there."
"Will do."
Mac put his phone back on his side. Stella knew he was in his detective mode again now. "They found Sean Pendleton," he said.
Mac looked at how he was dressed, in a red sweatshirt and jeans. He supposed it would have to do for this time. Stella was getting her coat on. Mac got his coat and his weapon and they headed out the door. Stella had her weapon in her purse, so she was ready too.
They met Angell over in Brooklyn at the address. Mac and Stella got into their bulletproof vests. "We don't think anyone else is there but he and his buddy," Angell said.
"Well, lets put an end to this," Mac said.
They went into the apartment building and found the right apartment. Mac felt anxiety rising in him. One of his officers had already been hurt. He hoped he could avoid that this time. Angell banged on the apartment door. "NYPD!" she said. "Open up!"
They waited, and heard scuffling around inside. Mac kicked the door open. He found himself almost face to face with a .357 Magnum. Mac jumped as he heard the loud report from the gun and even saw the flash. He felt something hot slice across his left arm as he dove for cover.
"Police! Freeze!" Stella yelled. The man was taking aim again, so she opened fire.
Everything fell silent, as the other guy in the apartment came from his bedroom. He threw up his hands. "I'm not armed!" he said.
Angell and the other officers went into the apartment, as Stella knelt beside Mac. He was holding his upper left arm, and blood was running out between his fingers. "Let me see!" Stella said, and pulled Mac's hand away. The bullet had torn an ugly gash in his arm, but it had not gone in.
Mac grimaced and grinded his teeth. "That hurts!" he said.
"At least the bullet didn't go in," Stella said. She looked at the wall behind them, where the bullet had come to rest. "It's in the wall there."
Mac put his hand back on the wound. He looked at Stella. "I guess we got him anyway," he said.
"Yes, we got him," Stella replied.
Mac laid his head on Stella's lap to wait for an ambulance. He felt exhausted. Stella stroked his hair. She knew he would be okay, but he would be very sore for a few days.
Mac was practically asleep when the ambulance arrived. Angell came over to him. "We've got all this taken care of," she said. "I'll get that guy's fingerprints and DNA to the lab as soon as possible."
"You did a good job," Mac said.
Angell smiled. "Thanks. If you see Flack, tell him I'm on the job."
Mac nodded. Then he was loaded into the ambulance and carried to the emergency room. He would have to have several stitches, since that bullet had torn his arm open at the shoulder. It was a pretty deep gash, and it bled a lot. He was glad that case was over. He hoped they would not get any more for a day or two. He wanted to pursue Stella instead of pursuing a murderer for a while. Then again, he would be off for a while with this injury. He would make the best of it.