DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to CSI: NY.

NOTES: Thanks for your reviews, guys! I guess I owe you guys an update; and that you shall get! Figures that I'm not too busy during first week of school cos most of the teachers were settling some stuff down so with all the free time I had, I managed to come up with the second chapter of "I Need To Know". Enjoy!

Lindsay and Danny arrived at the strip club that night. It looked run downed and the paint on the walls are faded.

"This is the Gateway To Heaven?" said Lindsay, raising an eyebrow at Danny.

Danny laughed. "What were you expecting?"

"Something like the show clubs at Vegas."

"Well, this is New York."

Together they walked into the building. Once inside, Lindsay wished that she stayed back at the lab. Women wearing skimpy clothes were dancing on stage. Most of the people there were old men.

"Perverts," Lindsay muttered.

Danny let out a small laugh. "Watch it, Montana. Your grandfather could be in here."

Smack.

"Ow," said Danny, rubbing his arm. "What was that for? Can't you take a joke?"

"That was for being stupid. My grandfather's back at Montana, genius. And don't ever make fun of us Monroes."

Smack.

"What was that for?"

"For calling me Montana."

Danny rolled his eyes and they walked towards the bar. Danny quite enjoyed this playful bantering with Lindsay. While other girls would go berserk with a joke, Lindsay could take it. And she wasn't afraid to show her disagreement. Once she pushed Danny up against the wall when he pretended to steal her purse. In conclusion; Lindsay Monroe was one tough cookie.

The bartender was a man in his early thirties. He was wiping the table. "Excuse me," said Lindsay. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

The bartender put down the rag he used to wipe the table and sized Lindsay up. His name tag said that his name was Rob.

"I wish that you're an envelope," said Rob.

Lindsay looked surprised. "An envelope?"

"Yea so that I could lick you and seal you with a kiss," he said and winked at her.

Danny felt a surge of jealousy go through him. "Watch your mouth, smart ass," he said. He took out his badge and showed it to Rob. "NYPD."

"Woah woah, easy there," said Rob, holding up his hands. "I was just having some fun with the girl."

"Yeah well, playtime's over."

Lindsay turned Danny around so that their backs were facing Rob.

"Hey, cool it," whispered Lindsay. She cleared her throat and turned around again. She took out Kelly Greenwood's picture. "Do you recognize this woman?"

Rob peered at the picture. "Yeah, that's Kelly. She works here."

"She used to work here," said Lindsay.

"What do you mean used?"

"Can I help you two?" said a loud voice.

A man wearing a black expensive-looking suit came up to them. "I'm Nigel Swehir. I own this strip club."

"Mr. Swehir, we have some questions concerning one of your strippers, Kelly Greenwood," said Lindsay.

At first Mr. Swehir was about to say no but he saw the badges on Lindsay's and Danny's waist and cleared his throat.

"Um – Gloria!" he called out to a pretty waitress. "Please bring these two officers to my office. I'll join them soon."

"Follow me," said Gloria. She looked at Danny and smiled. "You're cute," she said. "I've seen you here before. You were the one who got drunk and did a spontaneous striptease, am I right?"

Danny could feel his face turning red as Lindsay tried not to giggle. "Um – just lead us to his office, please."

"Alright. Did I thank you for the sudden boost in money that we got that night? You managed to drag in loads of women. Well, mostly old women."

Lindsay burst out laughing. Danny just cleared his throat and Gloria brought them to Mr. Swehir's office.

"He'll be here soon," said Gloria. With that she closed the door and a few seconds later Mr. Swehir came in.

"Now, tell me why you two officers are here," he said.

"I'm Lindsay Monroe and this is Danny Messer. We're from the crime lab."

"Yes Mr. Swehir. Kelly Greenwood, one of your models, was found dead in a bush at Central Park earlier this evening."

Mr. Swehir looked devastated. "Kelly's dead? How? What time?"

"She had multiple stab wounds to the chest. Autopsy shows that she has been dead for 24 hours."

Mr. Swehis buried his face in his hands. "Oh God no. I just can't believe this."

"Would it be alright if we ask you a few questions?" asked Danny.

"Sure, anything to help with this case."

"Where was Kelly before she was murdered?"

"Well, she had the night off. I remember seeing her talking to this guy. He looked young. Around late twenties or early thirties."

"And how did he look like?"

"Blond hair in a ponytail and a tattoo on his right forearm."

Blond hair. Ponytail. Tattoo. These words were stirring up a memory in Lindsay's head. She knew someone who fitted that description but she just couldn't remember the name.

"Did you get his name?"

"No. Sorry."

"Do you have security cameras?"

"Yeah. Follow me."

They walked to the security room.

"I want to see footage when Kelly is talking to that guy," said Danny.

They did just that. Lindsay and Danny watched Kelly talking and flirting with a man that fitted the description. His back was towards the camera. Lindsay frowned. He looked very familiar. A little too familiar. Before she could say anything, the tape ended.

"Was that it?" asked Lindsay.

"Yup. Pretty much."

"One more thing," said Danny. "You mind if we search Kelly's dressing room? There could be evidence."

"Right this way."

They walked down a hallway until they reached a dressing room with Kelly's name on it.

"Here you go. Knock yourselves out."

He closed the door and soon it was Lindsay and Danny alone.

"Oh my God, Danny," said Lindsay, laughing. "I still can't get over the fact that you got drunk and you did a striptease!"

"Focus, Montana," said Danny in a still voice.

"Oh alright. But you know I'll never let you live this down."

The took out some stuff from their kit, slipped on their latex gloves and began to searched the room for evidence. They turned on the UV lights and Danny saw something near the table.

"Got semen," he told Lindsay.

Lindsay shined the UV lights onto the sofa. "I got some here too."

"Looks like Kelly had a guest in here. I'm gonna swab 'em for DNA."

They dusted for prints and came up with a few of them. They also found strands of hairs on the couch. They found two types; Kelly's hair and long, blond strands.

"Looks like epithelial cells are still there," said Lindsay and bagged them.

Once they couldn't find anything else, they walked out from the club and drove back into the lab. Hawkes processed the semen and epithelial cells for DNA. The results puzzled him.

"Danny, Lindsay," said Hawkes.

"Are those the results back from the dressing room?" asked Lindsay.

"Yup. No hit on CODIS or AFIS. Seems like they came from the same person and the DNA matches the John Doe."

"So the same person was the one who had sex with Kelly and killed her," said Danny, stroking his chin. "I wonder who is he."

Lindsay was still deep in thought. The suspect seems to fit the description of someone she used to know. Someone from her past.

"Hey Lindsay," said Danny, pulling her out of her thoughts. "You mind if you kept it a secret?"

"Keep what a secret?"

"Ya know... about the whole I-got-drunk-and-stripped thing."

Lindsay smiled at him. "Sure, Danny."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Wanna go out for coffee or something? My treat."

Lindsay wanted to say no but the word yes escaped from her mouth. They walked out from the lab and to a nearby cafe. They took a seat next to the window.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna thank you."

"For what? This date? Nah, no problem. It'll be my treat."

Danny looked at the strange look on Lindsay's face. "Not that it's a date or anything," he quicky added.

Things grew quiet for a while before Lindsay spoke up. "Actually, I wanted to thank you for standing up to that Rob guy back at the club."

"Oh, that... you're welcome."

"That's very mature of you," said Lindsay in a teasing tone.

"Yeah well, he used one of the lamest pick up lines ever."

"Like you haven't used it yourself," she said, rolling her eyes.

Danny laughed. As they sat there and talked, Lindsay had the strange feeling that she's having a good time. Danny was funny and sweet. He was also a good listener. She wondered if he has a twin and that he's pulling a prank on her.

She glanced at her watch and nearly freaked out. "Oh gosh my shift ended an hour ago and I have to get home."

"Why the rush?"

"My best friend's coming over from California. I have to go now, Danny."

"Just when we were starting to bond."

"Oh, that was no bonding, Messer," joked Lindsay.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Montana."

Smack.

"Oh alright. I'll repeat that. I'll see you tomorrow, Lindsay."

She smiled. "That's better. Bye. Oh, and thanks for this – um – sort-of-date."

"No problem. You go have a good time now."

She waved and went off. As Danny sat there and watched Lindsay go off, he played back the conversation he had with Lindsay. Then he remembered the way the guy tried to pick Lindsay up with one of the lamest lines he ever heard. Usually when someone was making fun of her, he'd lay back and enjoy the show but instead he defended her. After today, he found Lindsay to be smart, funny and sweet. And he loved it when she smiled or laughed at his jokes.

Oh God, he thought. Am I developing feelings for Montana?

To be continued...