Disclaimer: This story is written for the private enjoyment of Due South fans. Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio, Stanley Kowalski, etc. are property of Alliance. Any unrecognisable characters belong to me. No infringement of any copyrights is intended. No monetary gain comes from the writing of this story.
Jessica Mitchell slowly raised her head, the lamplight assaulting her eyes as she did. She looked up at the clock on the wall, 2:28am. She had fallen asleep at her desk...again. Deciding to call it a night, she stood, picking up her handbag as she went, closed the office door behind her and headed for the elevator. She punched the 'down' button whilst stifling a yawn. "I really have to get some meaningful sleep sometime," she thought to herself as the doors opened in front of her.
The elevator made its way slowly to the basement and the doors opened again. She took a deep breath and tentatively stepped out of the elevator. The darkness of the basement made her feel uneasy. As she made her way to her car, the only sound that could be heard was that of her heeled shoes clicking against the concrete floor.
Jess' heart was pounding. She reached her silver Lexus and hurriedly rummaged through her handbag in search of her keys. She fumbled with them and upon finding her car key was suddenly aware of a presence behind her. Before she had the chance to turn around, a large, cold hand clasped itself over her mouth. She swung her handbag around, hitting her assailant in the head. He stumbled backwards, stunned by the blow. The momentary distraction allowed Jess to squirm free of his grip. She ran several paces before she felt the same hand grip her left wrist. She firmly planted her car key between her index and middle finger and slashed at her attacker's face. He cried out and let her go. She ran for her life.
Ben, Ray and Stan left the 27th Precinct. Since Ben and Stan returned from their quest for the Hand of Franklin, the trio had been inseparable. For the past 36 hours, they had been on a stakeout that had resulted in a large drug bust. The men were thrilled but the bust had taken its toll on them, leaving them all exhausted. They were glad that the debriefing was over and they could all go home and get some much-needed sleep. It was 2:30am and Ray and Stan had to be back at the station at 9am. Ray and Ben headed towards the Riv and Stan the GTO.
"I'll see you in the morning, Kowalski," called Ray.
"See you later, guys," he replied.
"Drive safely, Ray,"
"Will do, Fraser."
They got into their respective vehicles and went their separate directions. Stan hadn't been on the road long when he saw a woman run out into the road and wave her arms frantically at him. He slowed and rolled down his window as the woman approached him.
"Please, you have to help me! I was attacked!" She pleaded.
Stan looked at the distraught woman and immediately tried to calm her, "Listen, you're in luck. I'm a cop. My name is Detective Stanley Kowalski."
"Am I supposed to believe that?"
Stan dug into his pocket and retrieved his badge. He flipped it open. "Are you convinced yet?"
"I'm sorry, but Stanley Kowalski?"
"My dad had a thing for Brando."
"Oh. You must get that a lot."
Stan nodded. "Are you okay?"
"I have all four limbs, if that's what you mean."
"All right, if you want to come with me, I'll check it out for you." The woman practically ran to the passenger side and literally jumped in. Stan continued driving.
"Where were you attacked?"
"In the car park of Mitchell McGrath. I work there."
"Oh, yeah, I know the place. I live near there. What's your name?"
"Jessica Mitchell."
Stan raised an eyebrow, "You wouldn't happen to be the same Mitchell would you?"
"Yes, I would."
A rather uncomfortable silence followed Jess' reply. Stan cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, what happened?"
Jess explained what happened as best she could.
"So, where's the key, now?"
Jess held up her fist, still containing the key. She hadn't loosened her grip and her knuckles had turned white grasping it. "I suppose I didn't want to let go of it since it probably saved my life." An embarrassed smile played upon her lips as she ducked her head.
Stan announced their arrival at the building and called in the incident. He then asked for the key that was still tightly clasped between Jess' fingers. She slowly relinquished her weapon and Stan put it in an evidence bag. They both got out of the GTO and Jess led him to her car. He began circling the car, trying to find a clue, any clue to the identity of Jess' attacker.
A few minutes later, Ray and Ben pulled up and got out of the Riv. "What's going on, Kowalski?"
"Vecchio, Fraser, this is Jessica Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell, this is Detective Ray Vecchio and this is Constable Benton Fraser."
They all shook hands. "Pleased to meet you Detective, Constable, although I would have liked it to be under more pleasant circumstances...what's a Mountie like you doing in Chicago?"
"I first came to Chicago on..."
Stan interrupted. "Not now, Frase. Ms Mitchell was attacked down here. She ran several blocks to where I picked her up."
"Picking up girls off the street? That's a bit unlike you, Kowalski." Ray teased.
Stan glared at him. "Funny, Vecchio, really funny. Anyway, she was lucky to get away."
"Well, I couldn't have done it without my trusty car key. I think I will treasure it for the rest of my life." She said in melodramatic fashion.
Ray raised an eyebrow and Stan held up the bag. Ray took it and examined it a bit more closely. "Not until we get this down to the lab by the look of it."
By this time, Ben was already scouring the area for clues. He picked up Jess' discarded handbag and strode over to the group. "It looks to me that this attack wasn't random."
"What makes you say that Benny?"
"Well, Ray, it's quite simple really, she had dropped her handbag and it doesn't look as if it had been moved. Furthermore, it doesn't seem that there is anything missing. Ms Mitchell, if you wouldn't mind confirming that." Ben handed Jess the handbag and she rummaged through it taking a mental inventory of its contents. She then handed it back to Ben.
"You're right. There's nothing missing."
"Just as I thought. If it was a random attack, most of the contents would be absent and the handbag would most likely not even be here. Another thing is that her car is still where she left it. There aren't any marks indicating that it was touched let alone broken into. Whoever attacked Ms Mitchell was after her specifically."
"That would hardly be surprising. After all, I am a senior partner in a fairly large accounting firm."
"I understand that, Ms Mitchell, but has anything happened recently to make someone so upset that they may physically harm you?"
"One of the partners wanted to introduce a new partner but I turned him down. I didn't think him worthy enough to become a partner. When admitting a new partner, all the existing partners must agree. I didn't. I am also against exponential growth of the practice. I don't want the firm to become one of the 'Big' accounting firms. They usually focus on corporate accounting on a very large scale. A certain intimacy comes with working with smaller businesses. I am also in possession of many confidential documents that any number of people may want to get their hands on."
"Any one of those can be a possible motive," stated Ray. "I think we should head back to the station. We can run a DNA test on the residue on the key and see if it turns anything up. Ms Mitchell, if you would like to go with Detective Kowalski, Fraser and I will meet you both there."
The four of them left the area, which suddenly seemed to be buzzing with activity.
A figure sat in a large chair with his back turned to the man standing in front of the desk. "Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" The chair turned slowly to face the man.
"She...she got away from me."
"Well, find her and bring her to me." The man turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing," The man turned back around, "this is your last chance. Don't disappoint me again." The man turned again and hurriedly left the room.