Ready, Steady, Go
Chapter 2
Lucas stared at the picture that Tim had brought to him and felt like his heart was going to break into tiny pieces. He couldn't believe that Deb was really gone, despite the constant battles with depression, and the horrific relationships that she had, he figured that she would just solider on as she had always done. Apparently, that was not the case. He noticed that even in death, it seemed like she didn't have peace.
" That's her," Lucas said as he pushed the picture away. He didn't want to see it anymore.
" I'm sorry, Lucas," Tim said as he took the photo and put it in his folder. " Does she have any family?"
" No, it was just us," Lucas said as he remembered the day Rex Manning came into the store. That had been one weird day. It was also the day that he saw Deb's depression for the very first time. He was lost in thought when he heard Tim's cell phone chirp. He looked at his cousin with a wide smile on his face. He couldn't believe that Tim had turned into 'the man'.
" Speed?" Tim said as he answered. He listened intently to the person on the other end and then flipped the phone down. Turning to Lucas, he said, " I gotta go to the morgue, you think you are going to be okay up here for a while?"
" Yeah, I think I can manage," Lucas replied smirking as he watched Tim get up, " I need to make a few phone calls though."
" There's a phone on the desk out there," Tim said pointing , " I shouldn't be very long. Maybe we can go out for lunch or something."
" That'll be cool, " Lucas returned as he followed Tim out the door.
" Don't go anywhere, okay?"
" Okay," Lucas said as he stopped at the desk.
Tim stopped and turned slightly, " Lucas, I mean it , man. Don't go anywhere."
" Alright, already, I got you. Go do your work," Lucas returned as he picked up the phone. He had family to get in touch with.
CSI
Warren had just finished with the employee files when the phone rang on the opposite desk. He looked at it expectantly, remembering what Lucas had said to him before leaving for Miami,
" Don't tread over my desk, Warren. Even if you feel the need to just waltz over there and stare at it, resist that urge."
" Okay, Lucas."
" Warren..." Lucas had said as he raised his eyebrows to the young man. Warren had come a long way since his first time in the store.
" Alright, Jesus, Lucas, I get it. Don't tread over your desk. What are you hiding in there anyway?"
" Hiding? I'm not hiding anything."
"Sure. So when will you be back?"
" When I get back," Lucas replied calmly. He never knew why Warren had asked questions like that. Warren rolled his eyes and walked away from him. He knew when Lucas was in his 'reflective mood' you just did your best to steer clear of him.
" Warren,..."
" Yeah?"
" Have I ever told you what a wonderful job you've been doing?"
"No."
" Well, you're doing a wonderful job, Warren," Lucas said as he walked out of the office. Warren watched the man as he pushed his way through the doors and on to the street. Even in his looniest of moments, he admired Lucas Bishop, but he never knew why...
Sighing heavily, Warren walked over to Lucas' desk and picked up the phone. He had broke the cardinal rule, he was in fact treading over Lucas' desk.
" Empire Records, Warren speaking."
" Warren? I thought I told you not to tread over my desk."
Warren closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, he should've known that it would be him. It was freaky how Lucas seemed to know everything all the time.
" Your damn phone was ringing off the hook, man. It was driving me nuts!"
" Warren, we must always remember to honor one's wishes and adhere to policy," Lucas stated calmly as ever.
" Lucas, cut the crap, why are you calling?" Warren said as he threatened to hit the desk. Sometimes he just couldn't stand Lucas and his new ,the glass is half full , looking through rose colored sunglasses, the grass is greener on the other side, self. But , he also realized that it was what he liked about him too. It was an complicated friendship.
" Warren, Warren, calm down. I have gotten to Miami, and to... Deb. It's her. They found her outside of a club early this morning. They are in the process of autopsy as we speak.I'm calling every one so they could come to Miami."
" Was I the first one on your list?" Warren asked , now calm. The news of Deb's death had affected him in ways that nothing else had. He wasn't really close to her, but as friends and co-workers, they had an easy relationship.
" Yeah, can you do me a favor? Call Cori and AJ and let them know," Lucas said quietly. " I'll call Mark and Eddie. They should be in New York, right?"
Lucas heard the ruffling of papers as Warren looked at the tour schedule. Amazingly enough, Mark did get a band together and was now on their sixth successful tour. Of course when Joe heard about it, he did what he said he was going to do, and jumped up out of his chair and did a dance.
" Um , no they're not in New York this week, actually, they are in Miami," Warren said as he put the papers down.
" Miami? Mark's here?"
" That's what the schedule says, Lucas."
"Ummm, interesting," Lucas replied more to himself than Warren.
" So when do we need to be down there?"
" As soon as possible," Lucas said as he returned to himself. He was still thinking on Mark's presence in Miami.
" Alright then, I'll get Natasha to watch the store for a couple of days. Hey Lucas, seen any hotties down there yet?"
Lucas sighed into the phone, turning to see a beautiful woman with long blond hair walking toward him with a bright smile on her face. He was mesmerized the instant he saw her.
"Lucas! Hey , Lucas..."
" Warren, I'll get back to you on that ..." Lucas said as the woman stopped next to him, continuing to smile. He gazed into her clear green eyes and felt a light smirk on his face. She was stunning, absolutely stunning. " Hi."
" Hi there yourself. What are you doing out here?" the woman drawled. Lucas found that even more appealing.
" Just using the phone."
" I can see that hotshot. Think you can help me out with something?" she said as she pulled him by the arm. It was obvious that she thought that she was talking to his cousin.
" I don't know... I'm not supposed to leave this spot."
" Tim, what on earth ? It won't take long, I just need you to help me with a comparison test," she explained. " Please..."
Lucas dropped his head then lifted it quickly. He knew that he should've told her who he really was, but he found himself trapped by her beauty.
" Okay, um... Calleigh," Lucas said as he looked at her Id badge," but only for a little while."
" A little while is all I need," Calleigh replied with a hint of seductiveness.
Lucas smiled and thought to himself, Tim you're one lucky son of a gun. He followed Calleigh to the elevators and boarded it, smiling all the way.
CSI
Tim walked into the morgue as Alexx was finishing up on Deb's post. He looked at her , seeing the faded scars of what had been a troublesome life. Alexx looked up at him with the usual expression of sorrow as another person had come to see her too soon. This job was hard on her, but being surrounded by her friends, and her close relationship with Speed, had helped her to maintain a sense of stability.
" So , what do you have, Alexx?"
" Nothing much ,except I found something deep within her neck wound," she said as she handed him a envelope. " I also found trace amounts of something in her hair , a sticky substance, as well a skin cells under her fingernails. This girl was a fighter."
" Yeah, she was. Anything else?"
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, there was a red hair on her pants, so I went a little further. She was indeed assaulted. I did a SART kit and found tears at 6 and 9. But no presence of semen."
" Which means no DNA. Sounds like a dead end, Alexx," Tim returned as he took more envelopes.
" Don't be so pessimistic, Timmy. I found a little bonus. There was pubic hair in her underwear," Alexx returned as she handed him the final envelope.
" Great," Tim said as he looked at the evidence envelopes. He was glad that he had a lab full of techs that could help him. " Thanks Alexx."
" Hey , wait a minute, what's this I hear about a twin cousin?"
Tim sighed and turned back to his dear friend. He knew he was going to hear it from her, and he knew why he was hearing it from her, Delko.
" He's from New York. We look alike, there's nothing more to it."
"Well , will I get to meet this look alike?"
" Dinner at my house," Tim replied quickly. He wasn't going to get away with just introducing her to him, she had to talk and get to know him, possibly to get more information out of him, just like she did everyone else in his family. He let a smile cross his face as he thought about all the good things she had done for him while he was here, and he felt as if she was apart of his family anyway.
" Good. Maybe, I'll run into him and we can have a chat before then," Alexx said as she grinned at him.
" No chance of that, Alexx. I told him not to wander around the lab. You know how much trouble we can get into if he were to be found in a lab? Defense attorneys would be shouting contamination from the rafters. Better to be safe than sorry."
Alexx chuckled at him and waved him off and Tim walked out of the morgue with the evidence in hand. He would drop it off in the trace lab then get Lucas. He didn't want to run the risk of letting his notoriously mischievous cousin loose in the lab.
CSI
" Wow, look at all of these guns," Lucas said as he entered the gun vault. Calleigh turned to look at him with confusion then let it pass. She handed him a pair of goggles and earphones then took a pair for herself before picking out a gun from the rack. She walked past him as he continued to stare into the vault.
" Hey are you going to just stand there, or are you going to help me?" Calleigh called back to him. Why is he acting so weird, Calleigh asked herself as she watched Lucas walk over to her.
" Hey , what's that big block of jell-O for?" Lucas asked as she loaded a clip into the gun.
"I'm going to act as if I didn't hear that," Calleigh replied as she checked the safety. " Grab that ruler over there. When I'm finished, I need you to go and measure it for me."
" Measure it? For what?"
" To determine how far the perp was standing from the vic. Honestly , Tim, this whole act is getting old," Calleigh stated irritably as she started to aim. She glared at Lucas as he stepped into the line of fire. " Um, excuse me. Tim, what is wrong with you today?"
Lucas smirked slightly, tempted to say what he always said when someone asked him that question, but thought better of it. He just side stepped out of her way and watched her as she shot the gun.
CSI
Tim walked quickly to the interrogation room , all the while looking at his watch. He had been gone maybe twenty minutes , but to him, that was nineteen minutes too long. He knew Lucas well, very well and if you didn't keep your eye on him, interesting things would start to happen.
As he came to the wide windows of the interrogation room, he saw much to his disappointment and anger as he wasn't there. He snatched the door open , then turned to go back out to the desk, grabbing a passing officer.
" Hey , Jackson , have you seen a man who looks just like me walking around here?"
The officer looked at Tim with humor in her eyes and said, " Yeah, I thought I saw him get on the elevator with Detective Duquense. I thought it was you."
" It's not me," Tim said as his voice darkened. He glared at the elevators as if they had something to do with this. " any idea where they were headed?"
" None whatsoever," Jackson replied as she saw his demeanor. " He's not in a restricted area is he Speedle? Do you know how much trouble you can..."
" Yes, I know Jackson. Thanks for that info. I gotta go..." Tim said as he trotted for the elevator.
Jackson stood there and watched as he boarded the elevator and paced as the doors slid closed. She could distinctively hear as he kicked the walls and shouted, "Dammit, LUCAS!
She walked away, hoping that whoever this Lucas guy was, he was prepared for the wrath of Timothy Speedle.
TBC...