It was 7:30pm when Nick Stokes entered the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He came in half an hour early to get ready for the shift ahead. He changed into a pair of jeans and a black button down shirt. He grabbed his black crime scene investigation vest and put that on. He was supposed to meet up with Warrick and Brass at 8pm to interview Riley Nestor about her boyfriend, Brian Daeber.
Once Nick was changed he proceeded over the lab where Hodges was working. Hodges glanced up from his microscope when Nick walked in.
"Evening Hodges. Did you get anything from the dirt I collected yesterday?"
"Oh, hey Nick. Well sorry to say, it's your typical soil, found everywhere. I didn't find anything conclusive to help with your case. Sorry."
"Well thanks for looking into it anyway." Nick said as he walked out the door.
Warrick still hadn't arrived yet, so he went into the break room to get a cup of coffee, and relax a little. Nick closed his eyes hoping that they were going to catch a break and find the killer. So far that evidence they had linked only to Riley Nestor and she may have a credible alibi.
"Didn't you get enough beauty sleep this morning?" Warrick asked standing in the doorway.
Nick opened his eyes when he heard Warrick's voice. He stood up and replied.
"I've had plenty of beauty sleep, thanks for caring."
"Brass is waiting for us outside. You ready?"
"Yep let's get out of here."
Warrick and Nick walked down the hallway and out into the parking lot. Brass was sitting in the driver's seat of his Taurus waiting for Nick and Warrick to emerge from the building. When they finally did he started the car. Both men hopped in, and Brass took off towards Blackie's Bar.
The dark sedan that had been following Nick was now the Black GMC van. They pulled out and followed the Taurus. Brent Mitchell sat in the passenger seat of the van.
"OK … Here's the plan." Brent said turning back to face the four guys sitting in the back of the van.
"At some point Stokes is going to be by himself. When that happens we are going to grab him. I'm in radio contact with the guys in the other car. They are going to create a diversion so we can escape with Stokes. When Stokes is alone, Jeff and Butch you guys are going to grab him, if you have to carry him, do it, either way just get him to the van. John and Mel you guys make sure that Stokes is secure once inside."
After the guys acknowledged their orders, they checked their holstered weapons to make sure they were loaded and ready. They weren't sure when Stokes was going to be alone, but they wouldn't miss the chance.
The police-issued Taurus pulled into the parking lot of Blackie's Bar. The parking lot was pretty full. Business must be good. The three men exited the vehicle and walked into the bar. When they did, everyone turned their heads to get a look. Brass just smiled and walked up to the bar, with Warrick and Nick following.
The bartender was a short man with pock-marks on his face, which indicated that he had some acne scarring sometime ago. He had blond hair with a receding hairline. He looked to be in his mid-to-late forties. He was wearing a white shirt with a black tie, and black pants, the typical bartender uniform.
He looked up from the bar to see Brass standing in front of him.
"What can I get for you?" he asked.
"Nothing thanks. I'm Captain Jim Brass from the Las Vegas Police Department." He pointed to Nick and Warrick who were standing behind him. "This is Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes from the Crime Lab."
Both Nick and Warrick nodded with the introduction.
"Is Riley Nestor working tonight?" Brass asked.
"Yep, you see the blond over there." The bartender pointed to a blond girl around 5'6 wearing a short cocktail dress, with 6 inch heels. She was serving drinks to a table full of college boys. "That's her."
Brass glanced over to the girl, and walked over to her.
"Riley Nestor?" he asked.
The waitress turned around suddenly and looked at Brass, Nick and Warrick.
"Who wants to know?" she said cautiously.
Brass pulled out his badge, and showed it to her. "I'm Captain Jim Brass from the Las Vegas Police Department, this is Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown from the Crime Lab, do you have somewhere private were we could talk?" Brass asked
"What's this about?" she said looking for answer.
"Please Miss Nestor we would prefer to talk to you in private if you don't mind."
"We have a break room in the back, I suppose we could use that." She turned around and yelled to the bartender. "Hey Hal I'm taking my break."
Hal acknowledged her with a wave.
The foursome walked into a room just to the left of the bar. There was small table with three chairs around it. There was a full ashtray sitting on the table. Riley grabbed a chair and sat down, she proceeded to light a cigarette.
Brass and Warrick sat down at the table Nick remained standing. Riley looked at the three men waiting for them to start.
"Miss Nestor." Brass started.
"Please call me Riley." She interrupted.
"Riley. Thanks for talking with us. I just want to ask you a few questions."
"What is this concerning?" she asked.
"I'll get to that in a moment. Do you know Brian Daeber?"
"Yes we've been dating on and off for a year. I just saw him yesterday. Why what's happened?"
"Well I'm afraid I have bad news. Mr. Daeber was killed last night."
"What! Brian's dead, but I just saw him. Oh my god!" she started to cry. "What happened?"
Warrick and Nick glanced at each other it seemed that Riley was really shocked, or she was a really good actress.
"We are very sorry for your loss, but I'm not at liberty to say how he died, this is still an open investigation. You said that you saw him yesterday, what did you two do?"
She dried her tears, took a drag from her cigarette, "We went out for breakfast and then to a ballgame. After the ballgame Brian dropped me off at my friend Tina's house."
"What time was that?" Brass asked.
"Um. It must have been around 4pm." She answered.
"If Brian dropped you off, how did you get to work today?"
"My friend Tina dropped me off, I go between two houses. I had an extra uniform at Tina's house.
"How are you getting home tonight?"
"Well Brian was supposed to pick me up, I guess I'll have to get a ride from Hal." She started to cry again.
"Do you know of anyone who may have wanted to hurt Brian?"
She looked shocked at that question. "No I don't. Like I said we dated on and off, he didn't share a lot of details about his life, and I didn't ask."
"OK. I have one more question, where were you last night between the hours of 9pm to 11pm?"
"I was here working. You can ask Hal the bartender or any of the other waitresses. I left here around 2:30. The bar closes at 2:00am but we need to clean up before we leave. I got home around 2:45, and went straight to bed. Brian picked me up at 10, and the rest you know."
"Thanks Ms." Brass stopped. "Riley." You've helped a great deal."
"Captain, may I ask you a question?"
Brass looked over at Warrick and Nick, and then replied, "Sure."
"Did Brian suffer?"
"No Riley he didn't suffer, he died quickly." He said rising from the chair.
"Again we are sorry for you loss."
Brass pulled out a business card and gave it to Riley, "If you can think of anything that may help with our investigation, just call that number. We'll see ourselves out."
Brass, Nick and Warrick walked out of the smoke-infested bar, into the clean, crisp air of the night.
"Well what next guys?" Brass asked.
"I guess we should head back over to the lab, and go through the car." Warrick said.
"Hey that's sounds like a plan, but Brass would you mind pulling off at the convenience store we passed on our way here. I'm a bit thirsty and I want to grab a bottle of water." Nick asked.
"Sure Nicky."
The three men got into their vehicle and pulled out of the parking lot. Brass drove down 101st street, and parked the car, just across from the convenience store. All three men exited, but Brass and Warrick stayed with the car talking. Nick paused as a Black GMC Van drove by; then crossed the street and walked into the store.
The black van stopped about a ½ block up, and two men hopped out and headed towards the convenience store, as the van did a U-turn, and parked just past the doors of the store. The two men that were dropped off just made it to the doors when Nick stepped out with a bottle of water in hand.
He bumped into the guys. "Sorry about that, excuse me." He said trying to pass them. The van doors opened, both men each grabbed one of Nick's arms and started dragging him towards the van.
"What the hell are you doing...let go of me!" Nick screamed while he struggled to get away.
Nick's scream got the attention of Warrick and Brass who were waiting by the car, when they looked up, they could see Nick being dragged to the van. They started to cross the street, when gunfire erupted from the window of the van. Warrick and Brass had no choice but to take cover.
They peeked over the hood of the car, to see Nick forced into the van, the two men jumped in after him. The doors closed and the van peeled away. Warrick stood up and ran toward the van with all his might.
"Nick!"
Don't you just hate cliffhangers? Please review. More to come.